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HISTORY 


-OF- 


JfiARNSTABLE  ^UNTY, 

MASSACHUSETTS. 


1620 


I  I  I 


1637- 


1686 


III    . 
1890 


Edited  by 
SIMKON    L.    DEYO. 


Special  Contri'butors: 


Hon.  Charles  F.  Swift, 

Capt.  Thomas  Prince  Howes, 
Rev.  N.  H.  Chamberlain, 
E.  S.  Whittemore,  Esq., 
JosiAH  Paine, 

Prof.  S.  A.  Holton, 
Charles  Dillingham, 


Prof.  John  H.  Dillingham, 
James  Gifford, 

George  N.  Munsell,  M.  D., 
Judge  James  H.  Hopkins, 
Joshua  H.  Paine, 
Rev.  Thomas  Bell, 
F.  A.  Rogers,  M.D. 


ILLUSTRATED 


1890. 


Reprinted  by  - 

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Phone:  978/745-7170   Fea:  978/745-8025 


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INTRODUCTION. 


In  presenting  to  the  people  of  Barnstable  county  this  history,  it  is 
hoped  that  it  will  meet  with  the  favorable  reception  which  the  earnest 
and  conscientious  labors  of  its  compilers  merit.  It  will  be  seen  by  an 
examination  of  the  work  that  nine  important  chapters,  besides  many 
other  valuable  articles  in  it,  were  prepared  by  well-known  citizens  of 
the  county,  and  it  is  believed  that  their  names  will  be  considered  a 
guaranty  that  every  reasonable  eflfort  has  been  made  to  secure  accu- 
racy in  the  many  details  which  constitute  a  history. 

Names  of  the  special  contributors  appear  in  the  work,  but  oppor- 
tunity is  taken  here  to  return  thanks  for  the  generous  response  with 
which  requests  for  information  have  also  been  met  by  the  clerks  of 
the  different  towns,  ofiBcers  of  societies,  editors,  clergymen  and  others 
who  were  in  possession  of  special  information  that  was  desired. 

Particular  acknowledgement  is  due  for  the  valuable  assistance 
of  George  E.  Clarke,  of  Falmouth;  Charles  Dillingham,  of  Sand- 
wich ;  Calvin  Burgess,  of  Bourne ;  Ferdinand  G.  Kelley,  of  Barnsta- 
ble ;  Joshua  C.  Howes  and  Watson  F.  Baker,  of  Dennis ;  Levi  Atwood, 
of  Chatham ;  Captain  Alfred  Kenrick  and  David  L.  Young,  of  Orleans ; 
Simeon  Atwood,  of  Wellfleet ;  and  to  Mr.  Clark,  of  Eastham,  who  care- 
fully criticised  and  corrected  the  respective  town  manuscripts  sub- 
mitted to  them. 

The  biographical  sketches,  for  the  most  part,  have  been  arranged 
alphabetically  at  the  end  of  the  several  chapters.  The  large  number 
of  these  sketches  has  necessitated  as  brief  treatment  as  the  circum- 
stances would  warrant.  No  pains  have  been  spared  to  make  this  de- 
partment accurate,  and  it  is  believed  that  it  constitutes  an  interesting 
portion  of  the  work,  which  will  increase  in  value  with  the  lapse  of 
years. 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

A  new  feature  and  one  of  interest,  is  a  map  showing  the  location 
of  the  various  Indian  tribes  and  their  villages,  which  were  spread 
over  the  Cape  prior  to  its  settlement  by  the  whites.  Another  map, 
in  its  proper  place,  will  enable  the  reader  at  a  glance  to  learn  the 
dates  of  settlement  and  incorporation  of  the  respective  towns,  and  as 
a  ready  reference  will  be  of  great  value.  These  maps  were  specially 
drawn  for  this  work  by  the  editor. 

While  some  unimportant  errors  may,  perhaps,  be  found  amid  the 
multitude  of  details  entering  into  the  composition  of  a  work  of  this 
character,  it  is  believed  that  this  result  of  the  historians'  labor  will 
be  found  as  free  from  mistakes  as  a  work  of  this  kind  can  well  be 
made,  and  in  behalf  of  these  historians  is  asked  the  generous  indul- 
gence of  those  who  may  be  disposed  to  criticise. 

New  York,  June,  1890. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

TOPOGRAPHY  AND  OKOLOGY.  PAGE 

Location  and  Boundaries. — Geological  Formation. — Contour  of  the  Coast. — Surface 
and  Soil. — The  Flora  of  the  Cape. — Effect  of  the  Landscape  on  the  Character 
of  the  Cape  Men 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

INDIAN  HISTORY. 

Origin. — Manners. — Customs. —  Religion. —  Cape'  Indians. —  Their  Villages. —  Their 

Tribes. — Map. — Kindness. — Subjugation. — Decrease. — Extinction. — Legends....     12 

CHAPTER  III. 

DISCOVERY   AND  EXPLORATION. 

Early  Discovery  of  the  Cape. — Explorations  by  Gosnold  and  Dermer. — The  Pilgrims. 
— The  Mayflower  in  Cape  Cod  Harbor. — Explorations  by  the  Pilgrims. — Com- 
pact Signed. — Plymouth. — The  Lost  Boy. — Post  at  Manomet. — Great  Storm. — 
Declaration  of  Rights. — First  Settlement  of  the  Cape  by  the  Whites. — Sandwich, 
Barnstable,  Yarmouth  and  Nauset. — Erection  of  County 20 

CHAPTER  IV. 

CHARTERS,   GRANTS  AND  INDIAN  DEEDS. 

Spanitih  Claims. — Cabot's  Discoveries. — Plymouth  Company. — Council  of  Plymouth. 
—The  Pilgrims.— Patent  of  1629-30.— Settlement  of  the  Cape  Towns  and  Pur- 
chases from  the  Indians. — Charter  of  1691 82 

CHAPTER  V. 

CrVIL  HISTORY  AND  INSTITDTIONS. 

Basis  of  Civil  Government. — Erection  of  the  County. — Political  History. — Council- 
lors.— Senators. — Representatives. — Sheriffs. —  Registers. —  County  Institutions. 
— Federal  Institutions. — Custom  House. — Lighthouses. — Life  Saving  Service .. .     38 

CHAPTER  VI. 

MILITARY  HISTORY. 

New  England  Confederation.— First  Indian  Troubles.— King  Philip's  War.— French 
and  Indian  Wars.- The  Revolution.— Shay's  Rebellion.— War  of  1812 62 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

MIIJTABY  HISTORY  (concluded).  PAGE 

The  cavil  War.— The  Election  of  Lincohi  and  the  Fall  of  Sumter.— The  first  Call 
for  Three- Months'  Men.— Response  from  the  Cape  Towns. — War  Meetings. — Sub- 
sequent Calls.— Bounties.-Enlistments.— Return  of  the  Volunteers.— G.  A.  R. 
Posts. — Monuments 8ft 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION. 

Packet  Lines.— Mail  Route  and  Stage  Coaches.— Railroads.— Express  Lines. — Tele- 
graph and  Cable  Lines.— The  Telephone  Service 110 

CHAPTER  IX. 

INDUSTRIAl.  RESOURCES. 

The  Fisheries. — Coasting. — Shipbuilding. — Manvifacturing. — Saltmaking. — Agricul- 
ture.— Cranberry  Culture. — Summer  Resorts. — Yachting 180 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE  SOCIETY  OP  FRIENDS. 

General  View  of  the  Rise  and  Course  of  their  Principles  in  BamBtable  County.— 
The  Society  in  Sandwich.— Newell  Hoxie.— The  Society  in  Yarmouth.— David 
K.  Akin.— The  Society  in  Falmouth.— The  Dillingham  Family 157 

CHAPTER  XI. 
BENCH  AND  BAR. 

The  Judiciary  of  the  County.— First  Courts.- Formation  of  the  Province  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay. — Revision  of  the  Judiciary. — Courts  of  the  Revolutionary  Period. 
—Early  Magistrates.— Judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.— Court  of  County 
Commissioners.- Probate  Courts.— Trial  Justices.-The  Bar  of  Barnstable  County. 
—Lawyers,  Past  and  Present.- Law  Library  Association.- District  Courts 19ft 

CHAPTER  XU. 

MEDICAL  PROFESSION. 

Introduction.— Barnstable  District  Medical  Society.— Sketches  of  Physicians,  Past 
and  Present. — Medical  Examiners 221 

CHAPTER  Xin. 
LITERATTTEK  AND  LITEEARY  PEOPLE.    . 

Early  Writers.- Freeman's  History  of  Cape  Cod.— Other  Local  Works.— Poetry.— 

Fiction.— Occasional  Writers.- The  Newspapers  of  Barnstable  County 24& 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

SANDWICH. 

Location  and  Description.— Settlement  and  Early  Growth.- List  of  Inhabitants  in 
1730.— Continued  Advancement.— Firing  the  Woods.— The  Town's  Poor.— The 
Revolutionary  Period.- The  Present  Century.- Villages.— Civil  History.— 
Churches.— Schools.— Societies.— Cemeteries —Biographical  Sketches 264 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

CHAPTER  XV.  , 

BOUBNE.  PAGE 

Trading  Post  on  Monument  River. — Indian  Hamlets. — Natxiral  Features. — Land  Pur- 
chasee. — Settlement  and  Early  Events. — Formation  of  the  Second  Precinct. — 
Salt  Works. — Shipbuilding. — Early  Mills. — Ship  Canal. — Erection  of  the  Town 
of  Bourne. — Town  Affairs. — Churches. — Schools. — The  Villages  and  their  Insti- 
tutions.— Biographical  Sketches 838 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
BAENBTABLK. 

Natiiral  Features. — Early  Industries. — Settlement. — Indian  Lands  and  Names. — 
Names  of  Settlers. — Incorporation. — Purchase  from  Indians. — County  Road. — 
Early  Mills. — Common  Lands. — The  Revolution. — War  of  1812. — Population. — 
Schools. — Civil  History. — Churches. — Cemeteries  and  Villages. —  Societies. — 
Biographical  Sketches 864 

CHAPTER  XVU. 
TAKMOUTH. 

Location  and  Characteristics. — Settlement. — The  Grantees  and  Early  Settlers. — 
Early  Events  and  Customs. — The  Revolutionary  Period. — Division  of  the  Town. 
— War  of  1812. — Subsequent  Events. — Taverns  and  Hotels. — Churches. — Schools. 
— Civil  Lists. — The  Villages,  their  Industries  and  Institutions. — Biographical 
Sketches 468 

CHAPTER  XVm. 

DENNIS. 

Natural  Features. — First  Settlers  of  Nobscusset. — Incorporation. — Development. — 
Industries. — Churches. — Cemeteries. — Schools.— Civil  History. — The  Villages, 
their  Industries  and  Institutions. — Biographical  Sketches 607 

CHAPTER  XrX. 

CHATHAM. 

Natural  Features. — Settlement. — Incorporation. — Early  Town  Action. — Town  Poor. 
— Town  House.— Industries. — Ordinaries. — Lighthouses  and  Life  Saving  Sta- 
tions.— MaU  and  Express  Business. — Burying  Grounds. — Present  Condition. — 
Chtirches. — Schools.— Civil  History.- The  Villages  and  their  Institutions. — 
Biographical  Sketches 578 

CHAPTER  XX. 

FALMOUTH. 

Description. — Indians. — Settlement. — Incorporation. — Growth  and  Progress. — The 
Revolution.— Early  Industries.- War  of  1812.— Civil  War.— Subsequent  Events 
and  Present  Condition. — Civil  Lists. — Churches. — Schools. — Cemeteries. — Vil- 
lages.— Biographical  Sketches 683 

CHAPTER  XXL 
MABHFEE. 

Location  and  Description. — Natural  Feattires. — Early  Events. — Incorporation  as  a 
District. — Civil  History. — Town  of  Mashpee. —Church  tind  Parish. — Schools. — 
Mashpee  Manufacturing  Company. — Military  Service. — Some  Prominent  Repre- 
sentatives.— Industries. — Biographical  Sketches 707 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXn. 

EASTHAH.  PAGE 

Territory  of  the  Nausets.— Purchase  of  the  Lands.— Settlement  and  Incorporation 
of  Nauset.— The  Present  Town  of  Eastham.— Natural  Features.— Early  Settlers. 
— Urowth  and  Progress. —  Industries. —  Civil  History. —  Churches. —  Burying 
Places.— SchoolB.—Villages.— Biographical  Sketches. 730 

CHAPTEB  XXm. 

ORLEANS. 

Orleans  before  its  Division  from  Eastham. — Incorporation. — Natural  Featut«s. — 
Wreck  of  the  Sparrowhawk.— Roads.- Early  Settlers.— Various  Events. —Indus- 
tries.—Churches.— Cemeteries.— Schools.— Civil  History.— Villages.— Biograph- 
ical Sketches 747 

CHAPTER  XXrV. 

•  WELLFLEET. 

Formation  and  Description.- Pioneers.- Early  Town  Action.— The  Revolution. — 
War  of  1813.— The  Fisheries.-Population.— King's  Highway.— The  Eastham 
Line.—  Town  House.— ShipbuUding.— Town  Records.— Life  Saving  Station  and 
Lighthouse.- Early  Business  Interests.- Wind  Mills.— Civil  History.— Schools. — 
Churches.— Cemeteries.— Wellfleet  Village.— South  Wellfleet.— Biographical 
Sketches 787 

i  CHAPTER  XXV.        

HABWIOH. 

Incorporations-Description.— Natural  Features.— Division  of  the  Land.— The  Set- 
tlers.—The  Fisheries.- The  Salt  Industry.— Cranberry  Culture.— Religious  Soci- 
eties.— Official  History.— Schools.— The  Villages  and  their  Various  Institutions. 
—Biographical  Sketches 885 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

BREWSTER. 

Incorporation.— Natural  Features.— Purchase  and  Division  of  the  Land. — The  First 
Settlers  and  their  Families.— Industries.— Population.— The  Militia.— Religious 
Societies.— Villages.— Civil  Lists.- Meteorological  Condition.— Biographical 
Sketches 891 

CHAPTER  XXVn. 

TRURO. 

Exploration  by  the  Pilgrims.- Proprietors  of  the  Pamet  Lands.- Incorporation  of 
Truro.- Boundaries.- Natural  Feanrres.— King's  Highway.— Pounds.— Indns- 
tries.- The  Wreck  of  the  Somerset.— The  Revolution.— Oale  of  1841.— Various 
Town  Affairs.— Civil  History.— Churches.-Burying  Grounds.— Schools.-Vil- 
lages.— Biographical  Sketches. 933 

CHAPTER  XXVin. 

PROVINCETOWN. 

Early  Explorations.— The  Pilgrims.— Location  and  Characteristics.- First  Settle- 
ment.—Incorporation. — Civil  History. — Resources  of  the  Town. — Banks. — Insur- 
ance Companies.- Public  Library.— Societies.— Churches.— Schools.— Biograph- 
ical Sketches 951-1010 


CONTENTS.  IX 

ILLUSTRATIONS.  ''- 


PAGE 

Akin,  David  K Portrait  of,  facing    183 

Akin,  David  K Late  residence  of,  facing    181 

Ames.  Simeon  L Portrait  of,  facing    419 

Ancient  Grave  Stones Barnstable  Cemetery    398 

Attaquin,  Solomon Portrait  of,  facing    715 

Atwood.Levi ." "  "  607 

Atwood,  Nathaniel  E "  "  895 

Atwood,  Simeon "  "  813 

Baker.EzraH "  "  588^ 

Baker,  Howes "  "  686^ 

Baker,  Joseph  K "  "  54ft 

Baker,  Nehemiah  P "  "  67? 

Bass  River  Lower  Bridge Precedes    558 

Baxter,  Edwin Portrait  of,  facing    64? 

Bearse,  Charles  C 

Bourne,  Benjamin  F. 
Boy  den,  William  E. . . 

Brooks,  Obed 

Burgess,  Nathaniel. . . 

Burgess,  Beth  S Portrait  of ,  foUows    850 

Burgess,  Seth  S Residence  of,  precedes    861 

Bursley,  Daniel  P Portrait  of,  follows    428 

Bursley,  Daniel  P Residence  of,  precedes    428 

Cahoon,  Barzillai  C Residence  of,  facing    681 

Gaboon,  Cyrus Portrait  of,  facing    866 

Chapman,  David  S Portrait  of ,  follows    54^ 

Chapman,  Mrs.  Sallie  E Residence  of,  precedes 


42-1 
345 
808 
868 
848 


646 


Chase,  Albert Portrait  of,  facing  424 

Chase,  Job "  "  868 

Court  House *^ 

Crosby,  Albert Residence  of,  facing  915 

Crosby,  Isaac Portrait  of,  facing  916 

Crosby,  Nathan "  "  ^14 

CroweU,  Edward  E "  "  546 

CroweU,  Eleazer  K "  "  548 

CrbweU,  Joshua "  "  549 

Crowell,  Luther "  "  551 

CroweU,  Peter  H Portrait  of,  follows  553 

Crowell,  Peter  H Residence  of,  precedes  558 

CroweU,  Prince  S Portrait  of ,  facing  564 

CroweU,  Seth Portrait  of  560 

CroweU,  Rev.  Simeon Portrait  of ,  facing  492 

CroweU,  Waiiam "  "  556 


X  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Dexter  House Woods  Holl,  facing  671 

Dillingham,  John  H Portrait  of,  facing  195 

Doane,  Abiathar "               "  874 

Doane,  George  W.,  M.D "               "  225 

Doane,  John "               "  210 

Doane,  Nathaniel "               "  870 

Doane,  Oliver Portrait  of,  follows  770 

Doane,  VtQentine,  jr Residence  of,  facing  878 

Doane  Homestead  Orleans,  precedes  771 

Drew,  George  P Residence  of,  facing  877 

Edson,  Nathan Portrait  of ,  follows  428 

Edson,  Nathan Residence  of,  precedes  429 

Eldridge,  Levi Portrait  of,  facing  618 

Freeman,  Richard  R "               "  817 

Friends  Meeting  House Sandwich  175 

Friends  Meeting  House West  Falmouth  191 

Friends  Meeting  House . .  Yarmonth  181 

Fish,  Joseph  C Portrait  of,  facing  687 

Fisk,  David "                "  45 

Fisk,  Uriah  B Residence  of,  facing  558 

Ginn,  David  R.,  M.D '               "  868 

Ginn's  Bazaar Dennis  Port,  facing  86$ 

Goss,  Franklin  B Portrait  of,  facing  481 

Gould,  Samuel  H.,  M.D "               "  280 

Hamblin,  Caleb  O Portrait  of,  follows  690 

Hamblin,  Caleb  O Residence  of,  precedes  691 

Hamblin,  John  C Portrait  of,  facing  692 

Harding,  Hiram '. "               "  618 

Harding,  Joseph  C "              "  617 

Harriman,  Judge  Hiram  P "               "  212. 

Headstones,  Ancient. Barnstable  398 

Hoi  way,  David  N Portrait  of,  facing  811 

Howard,  Ezra  C "                "  356 

Howes,  Jerusha  S Residence  of,  precedes  563 

Howes,  Joshua  C Portrait  of,  facing  561 

Howes,  Levi "               "  666 

Howes,  Moses Portrait  of,  follows  562 

Howes,  Thomas  Prince Portrait  of,  facing  255 

Howes,  William  F "               "  564 

Hoxie,  Joseph "               "  ,  ,  316 

Hoxie,  Newell "               "  178 

Hoiie,  Susan  F Residence  of,  facing  175 

Hnlbert,  Chauncy  M.,  M.D Portrait  of,  facing  232 

Incorporation  Map 89 

Indian  Map 15 

lyanough  House '. 411 ' 


CONTENTS.  xi 

PAGE 

Jones,  Silas  Portrait  of,  facing  695 

Keith,  Isaac  N "               "  43 

Keith,  Isaac  N Residence  of,  facing  341 

Kelley,  Ferdinand  G Portrait  of,  facing  438 

KeUey,  Stilhnan "               <•  568 

Kelley,  Watson  B "               "  879 

Kemp,  Samuel  W "               "  818 

Kenrick,  Alfred "               "  774 

Kingman,  Seth  K "               "  777 

Leonard,  Jonathan,  M.D "               "  235 

Lighthouse,  Ruins  of Chatham  594 

Lombard,  David Portrait  of,  facing  948 

Loring,  Hiram "               "  570 

Lothrop,  Freeman  H "               "  215 

Lovell,  UjTenuB  A Residence  of,  facing  440 

Lovell,  George Portrait  of,  facing  441 

Lower  Bass  River  Bridge Precedes  553 

Makepeace,  Abel  D Portrait  of,  facing  442 

Marston,  RuBseU "               "  444 

Matthews,  David "               "  496 

Mingo,  Walter  R Residence  of,  facing  719 

Munsell,  George  N.,  M.D Portrait  of,  facing  286 

Nickerson,  Frederick "               "  '  919 

Nickerson,  Samuel  M "               "  625 

NobscuBsett  House Dennis,  facing  155 

Nye,  David  D Portrait  of,  facing  358 

Nye,  WilUam  A Residence  of,  facing  339 

Packard,  William  E Portrait  of,  facing  860 

Penniman,  Edward "               "  742 

Phinney,  Abishia "               "  700 

Rogers,  F.  A.,  M.D "               "  242 

Salt  Works,  Ruins  of South  Yarmouth  143 

"  Sandy  Side  " Yarmouth  Port,  facing  479 

Scudder,  Judge  Henry  A Portrait  of,  facing  217 

Sears,  Barnabas  (deceased) "               "  499 

Sears,  Barnabas Residence  of,  facing  484 

Sears,  John  K Portrait  of,  facing  500 

Sears,  Joshua Portrait  of,  follows  572 

Sears,  Mrs.  Minerva Residence  of,  precedes  573 

Sears,  Nathan Portrait  of,  facing  574 

Sears,  Stephen "               "  502 

Sears  Homestead ! South  Yarmouth,  facing  484 

Settlement  Map  of  Barnstable  County 39 

Shiverick,  Asa Portrait  of ,  facing  702 

Simpkins,  Nathaniel  Stone "               "  604 

Simpkins  Homestead Yarmouth  Port,  facing  480 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

SmaU,  Zebiua  H Portrait  of,  facing  886 

Smith,  Rufus ••               "  627 

Snow,  Calvin "               "  782 

Soule,  Thomas  H.,  jr Hotel  Hyannis  411 

Sparrow,  Benjamin  C,  Supt Portrait  of,  facing  59 

Swett,  James Portrait  of,  facing  828 

"  Tawasentha" Brewster,  facing  915 

Taylor,  Elisha Portrait  of,  faqing  506 

Taylor,  Joseph <<               "  786 

Tobey,  F.  B Hotel,  facing  155 

Tobey  Homestead Dennis,  facing  511 

Young,  Jonathan Portrait  of,  facing  786 


HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 


CHAPTER  I. 


GEOLOGY    AND    TOPOGRAPHY. 


Location  and  Boundaries. — Geological  Formation. — Contour  of  the  Coast. — Surface  and 
Soil. — The  Flora  of  the  Cape. — Effect  of  the  Landscape  on  the  Character  of  the 
.Cape  Men. 


THE  peninsula  forming  the  southeastern  extremity  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  embraced  within  the  present  county  of  Barnstable,  is 
better  known  as  Cape  Cod.     It  extends  easterly  into  the  Atlantic 
forty  miles,  thence  northerly  thirty-five  miles  to  its  extremity  in  north 
latitude  42°,  4'. 

The  geographical  name  it  bears  was  first  applied  in  1602,  by  Gos- 
nold,  to  its  most  northern  portion.  Its  position,  contour  and  import- 
ance early  earned  the  sobriquet  of  "  The  Right  Arm  of  Massachusetts," 
which  it  appropriately  bears,  having  its  shoulder,  elbow,  wrist  and 
hand  symbolically  poised  over  the  deep,  as  if  beckoning  the  dispirited 
pilgrims  to  cross  over  and  rest  safely  under  the  palm;  and  pointing 
toward  Plymouth,  indicating  the  haven  where  should  be  planted  the 
seeds  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  that  should  bloom  to  the  admira- 
tion of  the  world.  It  has  Plymouth  county  and  Buzzards  bay  for  its 
western  boundary.  Vineyard  and  Nantucket  sounds  for  its  southern, 
the  ocean  for  the  eastern,  and  Cape  Cod  bay  for  the  northern  boundary, 
being  twenty  miles  in  width  across  the  shoulder,  tapering  to  eight 
at  the  elbow,  two  at  the  wrist,  and  then  widening  to  a  hand. 

Its  geological  formation  has  been  hastily  considered  by  scientific 
writers,  who  have  recorded  various  and  varying  conclusions — perhaps 
facts — which  may  be  modified  by  more  minute  researches  in  the  future 
light  of  science;  but  thus  far  the  man  who,  after  Agassiz,  knows  most 
about  the  subject,  says  that  a  great  interrogation  point  might  be 
appropriately  set  against  the  whole  topic,  to  denote  as  yet  an  unan- 
swered inquiry,  but  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  a  gentleman  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey  spent  the  past  year  on  and  about  the 
Cape,  from  whose  reports  a  valuable  and  more  conclusive  opinion  will 
1 


2  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

in  due  time  be  published  by  the  government.  It  is,  however,  conceded 
that  the  Cape  is  wholly,  or  so  far  as  yet  determined,  of  drift;  but  some 
of  the  strata  may  prove  by  future  research  to  belong  to  the  tertiary 
or  upper  mesozoic,  still  there  is  no  lithological  or  paleontological  evi- 
dence of  any  claim  to  a  position  below  the  first  division  of  the  last 
glacial  period.  The  depth  of  this  drift  was  thought,  by  Professor 
Agassiz,  to  be  forty  feet;  but  upon  the  extreme  north  end  of  the  Cape 
an  artesian  well  was  recently  sunk  140  feet  without  touching  stratified 
rock,  yet  it  is  possible  that  the  point  at  Provincetown,  where  this 
well  was  sunk,  may  have  been  extended  by  sand  deposits,  and  that 
the  body  of  the  peninsula  may  have  a  different  substrata,  j^et  unde- 
termined as  to  its  formation. 

Another  evidence  of  its  glacial  formation  is  seen  in  the  well-defined 
moraines  with  which  the  Cape  abounds,  the  most  marked  being  the 
great  central  ridge.  The  Buzzards  bay  branch  of  the  moraine  com- 
mences at  the  Elizabeth  islands  and  extends  in  a  northerly  direction 
along  the  east  side  of  the  bay  to  the  town  of  Bourne,  where  it  turns 
easterly,  continuing  along  the  northerly  side  of  the  Cape  into  Orleans; 
and  Doctor  Hitchcock  defines  the  broken  undulations  of  Truro  and 
Wellfleet  as  parts  of  a  continuous  moraine  of  a  distinctive  character. 
From  the  morainic  angle  at  Bourne,  extending  to  the  northward,  is 
the  Plymouth  moraine,  of  which  only  the  southern  continuation  per- 
tains to  this  county.  Between  Woods  HoU  and  Bourne  the  moraine 
presents  an  unbroken  line  of  ridges,  which  is  continued  east  as  far  as 
Yarmouth,  then  we  find  this  morainal  ridge  interrupted  by  gaps,  and 
in  Brewster  and  Orleans  losing  the  distinctive  morainal  characteristics 
by  the  overwashing  and  overriding  of  water  and  ice. 

The  boulders  deposited  along  and  upon  the  Buzzards  bay  and  east- 
ern moraine  are  further  evidence  of  glacial  formation.  That  of  Buz- 
zards bay  has  this  deposit  of  boulders  on  both  sides,  and  on  the  east 
and  central  they  are  more  thickly  strown  on  the  northern  face,  except 
in  the  town  of  Dennis,  where  they  were  deposited  more  along  the 
apex.  Brought  here  in  the  glittering  chariots  of  ancient  icebergs — 
those  most  wonderful,  uncommon  carriers — these  huge  masses  of 
Quincy  granite,  with  others  from  perhaps  north  of  Labrador,  left 
their  failing  vehicle  as  it  weakened  under  the  quiet  influence  of  the 
gulf  stream — that  other  most  wonderful  of  Nature's  agencies — and  so 
here  we  find  them  extending  into  Orleans  and  more  or  less  along  the 
top  of  the  ridge  the  entire  extent  of  the  moraine;  but  the  south  slope 
is  comparatively  free  from  those  of  any  significance.  Many  are 
deeply  imbedded  in  the  drift,  and  some  are  found  within  the  salt 
marshes.  Some  have  well  rounded  forms,  others  are  split,  and  still 
others  are  eroded  into  weird  shapes,  bearing  the  seeming  footprints  of 
man  and  animals  on  their  upper  surfaces.     A  large  boulder  in  the 


GEOLOGY  AND   TOPOGRAPHY.  o 

west  part  of  Brewster  is  called  Rent  rock  because  of  its  peculiar  dis- 
memberment; another  in  Eastham  is  of  suflBcient  altitude  to  be  of  use 
as  a  landmark  for  seamen;  and  the  granite  boulder  of  the  town  of 
Barnstable  has  been  perpetuated  in  history  as  the  place  of  the  first 
town  meeting  and  church  service  for  the  Puritan  settlers.  The  hard, 
blue  clay  vein  which  has  been  thought  to  underlie  the  upper  Cape, 
crops  out  near  the  great  swamp  on  the  bay  side  of  Truro,  and  running 
across  that  town  in  a  northeasterly  direction,  forms  the  clay  banks  at 
the  Highland  Light,  where  the  bluflf  shore  bank  of  almost  solid  clay 
rises  over  one  hundred  feet  above  the  tide. 

The  contour  of  the  Cape  presents  various  indentations  by  bays  and 
harbors,  with  their  intervening  bars  and  points,  which  are  more  or 
less  changing  yearly.  Accompanied  by  the  reader,  let  us  pass  around 
its  perimeter,  commencing  at  the  head  of  Buzzards  bay.  Nothing  of 
note  is  discernable  here  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  but  two  miles  south 
we  find  the  mouth  of  Monument  river,  where  the  Dutch  trading  vessels 
visited  the  post  of  the  pilgrims;  and  around  a  point  just  below  is  Back 
River  harbor — one  terminus  of  the  proposed  ship  canal.  Wenaumet 
neck  is  a  prominent  peninsula  extending  into  the  bay,  giving  protec- 
tion to  Red  Brook  harbor  on  its  south,  which  opens  into  Cataumet 
harbor,  between  Bourne  and  Falmouth.  The  indentations  along  the 
Falmouth  coast  on  the  bay  are  Wild  harbor  on  the  north  and  Hog 
island  two  miles  below.  Quisset  harbor  is  north  of  Woods  Holl,  from 
which  the  coast  runs  irregularly  southwest,  terminating  in  Long  neck, 
enclosing  Great  harbor.  The  coast  from  the  head  of  the  bay  to  Woods 
Holl  is  fringed  with  salt  marshes  of  more  or  less  extent,  the  Falmouth 
shore  being  bold  and  sandy,  with  a  distribution  of  boulders. 

In  our  course  along  the  Vineyard  sound  coast  we  find  Little  harbor 
south  of  Woods  Holl,  where  the  buoy  depot  of  the  government  is 
located,  and  here  we  also  find  the  boldest  portion  of  the  south  shore 
of  the  Cape.  The  various  ponds  and  bays  of  the  Falmouth  coast  run- 
ning far  into  the  town,  have  not  suflBcient  depth  at  their  mouths  to 
form  harbors  until  we  reach  Waquoit  bay  which,  in  high  tide,  is  used 
by  vessels  of  light  draught.  Eastward,  around  the  sandy  shore  of 
Mashpee,  is  Popponesset  bay,  the  dividing  line  between  that  town 
and  Barnstable — a  bay  used  for  small  shipping  and  enclosing  Little 
and  Great  necks  of  Mashpee.  Around  the  neck  comprising  that  part 
of  Barnstable  known  as  Cotuit  we  find  on  the  east  side,  Cotiiit  bay, 
enclosing  Oyster  island  and  opening  into  Great  bay,  which  is  further 
inland.  New  harbor.  Squaw  island  and  Hyannis  harbor  complete  the 
south  coast  of  Barnstable  in  its  circuitous  course  easterly,  the  latter 
harbor  opening  into  Lewis  bay,  which  is  safe  and  commodious,  with 
Point  Gammon  for  its  protection  on  the  south.  This  coast  is  low  and 
sandy,  undergoing  frequent  change,  and   Dog-fish   bar  has  formed, 


4  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

extending  several  miles  eastward  to  opposite  the  Bass  River  harbor, 
between  Yarmouth  and  Dennis.  The  bays  and  coves  of  Bass  river 
form  anchorage  for  fishing  vessels,  and  the  harbor  at  its  mouth  is 
important.  The  bays  along  the  coast  of  Dennis  and  Harwich  are 
inconsiderable,  yet  by  the  southward  bend  of  Harding's  beach  on  the 
Chatham  coast  and  the  southwestern  extension  of  Monomoy  point 
these  towns  have  ample  anchorage.  East  of  the  beach  named  is  Stage 
harbor,  spreading  its  arms  into  the  town  of  Chatham,  all  of  which 
have  safe  anchorage  inside  when  the  bar  across  the  mouth  is  safely 
passed  at  high  water. 

The  elbow  of  the  Cape,  at  Chatham,  is  perhaps  subjected  to  more 
changes  from  shifting  sands  than  other  points.  New  shores  and  bars 
form  and  disappear  by  the  action  of  the  waters  of  the  ocean  and  sound, 
which  are  here  at  right  angles.  Monomoy,  extending  several  miles 
toward  Nantucket,  has  been  greatly  enlarged  by  the  filling  of  the  salt 
marsh  along  its  western  edge,  and  the  southern  extremity  is  gradually 
extending  by  these  accumulations,  this  beach  now  being  several  miles 
in  length  and  one-half  mile  or  more  in  width.  Through  this  beach,  in 
1807,  when  the  first  light  was  erected  in  Chatham,  was  an  entrance  for 
vessels  to  a  safe  anchorage  within,  which  has  been  since  practically 
destroyed.  The  Yarmouth  Register  of  November  7,  1874,  speaks  of 
the  ravages  of  old  ocean  here  as  removing  three-fourths  of  a  mile  in 
length  from  Nauset  beach,  of  its  washing  away  in  1872  two  hundred 
feet  in  length  of  the  government  landing,  and  of  further  ravages  in 
1873,  which  necessitated  the  removal  of  government  buildings  and 
private  residences.  The  shore  of  Chatham  is  a  sandy  bluff  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  until  we  reach  Old  harbor  at  North  Chatham,  where, 
about  the  middle  of  the  century,  the  sea  broke  through  the  outer 
beach,  reopened  a  former  navigable  channel,  which,  after  a  very  few 
years,  was  again  filled  with  sand.  The  mouth  of  Pleasant  bay,  between 
Chatham  and  Orleans,  formerly  admitted  large  vessels,  which  now 
its  shallowness  precludes.  Continuing  north  we  pass  the  high, 
unbroken,  sandy  beach  of  Orleans,  arriving  at  Nauset  harbor,  where 
navigation  is  also  now  impeded  by  drifting  sands.  Here  was  carried 
far  inland  by  storm  the  English  vessel  to  whose  passengers  the  people 
of  Plymouth  gave  aid.  From  this  harbor  northward  along  the  east 
shore  of  Wellfleet,  Truro  and  Provincetown  the  bold,  sandy  shore 
is  unbroken  by  bays  until  we  reach  Race  Point  neck.  Passing  the 
islands  and  doubling  Long  Point  neck,  we  find  a  harbor  gradually  fill- 
ing with  sand,  although  the  government  has  made  liberal  appropria- 
tions for  its  preservation,  and  the  commonwealth  has  enacted  penal 
laws  for  the  protection  of  the  trees  that  lessen  the  ravages.  In  1850 
the  legislature  of  the  state  called  the  attention  of  congress  to  the 
continual   drifting  of   the   sand   and    the   gradual   abrasion   of   the 


GEOLOGY   AND   TOPOGRAPHY.  5 

beach,  which,  if  allowed  to  continue,  must  effectually  destroy  the 
harbor. 

The  only  considerable  opening  along  the  west  coast  of  Truro  is 
East  harbor,  in  the  north  part  of  that  town,  as  we  commence  our  sur- 
vey southward  on  the  west  shore.  In  the  south  part,  near  Truro  vil- 
lage, at  the  mouth  of  Pamet  river  is  a  small  harbor,  and  along  the 
coast  of  Wellfleet  we  find  Duck  harbor,  but  not  until  we  have  passed 
the  islands  outside  of  Wellfleet  harbor  do  we  find  anchorage  for  ves- 
sels of  any  tonnage,  and  here  in  a  land-locked  haven.  Wellfleet  harbor 
is  the  largest  on  the  bay  side  of  the  Cape,  having  Duck  and  Black-fish 
creeks  emptying  into  it,  both  forming  other  harbors  of  lesser  capacity. 
Along  the  coast  of  Eastham  we  find  some  saltmar.<;h  around  the  mouth 
of  Herring  river  and  to  the  southward,  but  no  harbors  of  importance. 
The  short  stretch  of  Orleans  situate  on  the  bay  has  very  small  open- 
ings at  Rock  harbor  and  Namskaket  and  a  wide,  sandy  beach,  which 
is  continued  along  the  north  coast  of  Brewster,  with  high  uplands  a 
short  distance  inland.  The  mouth  of  another  Herring  brook  near 
Quivet  creek  presents  the  only  indentation  along  the  Brewster  shore 
beyond  the  small  curvatures.  Sesuet  harbor  and  Nobscusset  being 
passed  on  the  Dennis  coast,  we  arrive  at  Bass  hole,  where,  with  a  small 
harbor,  commences  the  salt  marsh  which  fringes  the  short  shore'  line, 
of  Yarmouth,  extending  along  the  south  side  of  Barnstable  harbor 
and  terminating  in  the  Great  marshes.  Sandy  neck  extends  easterly 
from  Scorton,  in  Sandwich,  nearly  across  the  town  of  Barnstable,  ter- 
minating about  one  mile  from  the  coast  of  Yarmouth,  between  which 
points  we  find  the  mouth  of  the  harbor.  Along  the  only  sea  coast  of 
Sandwich  we  find  Scorton  neck,  Scorton  harbor.  Spring  hill,  Sandwich 
and  Scusset  harbors,  with  a  low,  marshy  beach.  Passing  along  the 
short  extent  of  beach  belonging  to  the  town  of  Bourne,  which  has  no 
indentations,  we  reach  Peaked  cliff,  the  northern  terminus  of  the 
boundary  line  between  Plymouth  and  Barnstable  counties,  which  line 
passes  southwesterly  across  the  foot  of  Herring  pond  to  the  point  from 
whence  began  our  journey  of  observation. 

The  peculiar  position  of  the  Cape,  extending  far  out  from  the 
general  line  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  greatly  impedes  and  endangers 
navigation,  and  this  fact  is  intensified  by  the  drifting  sands  which  are 
so  constantly  changing  and  re-forming  shoals.  Notwithstanding  the 
several  lighthouses  on  its  points,  lightships  on  the  outer  bars,  the 
many  carefully  placed  buoys  and  the  constant  vigils  of  the  govern- 
ment ofl&cials,  the  Cape  and  its  vicinity,  more  than  any  other  on  the 
Atlantic  coast,  is  the  dread  of  the  mariner. 

The  consideration  of  the  surface  and  soil  of  the  county,  than  which 
no  physical  features  have  been  more  changed,  would  naturally  con- 
clude this  chapter.     The  condition  of  the  Cape  when  first  seen  by 


6  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Gosnold  in  1602,  was  sandy  shores,  bluffs  inland  and  thickly  wooded. 
The  pilgrims,  after  anchoring  in  Cape  Cod  harbor,  found  "  it  was  com- 
passed about  to  the  very  sea  with  oaks,  pines,  juniper,  sassafras  and 
other  sweet  wood."  Here  are  the  huge  stumps  whose  trees  a  century 
and  a  half  ago  gave  reason  for  the  locality  name — Wood  End,  and 
along  the  bay  coast  of  Dennis  and  far  out  in  the  receding  sands  may 
be  seen  the  stumps  and  the  'remains  of  fallen  trunks  of  giant  trees, 
black  with  decay;  and  no  one  knows  how  long  they  have  been  pre- 
served by  the  saline  qualities  of  the  water,  or  when  or  how  they  were 
felled.  The  coasts  of  other  towns,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  reveal 
a  similar  condition  of  the  primeval  forests.  That  the  entire  Cape  was 
once  a  noble  forest  there  can  be  little  or  no  question. 

The  surface  is  diversified  with  undulations  of  varied  heights  and 
depths— the  uplands  mostly  covered  with  small  pines  and  oaks,  and 
the  depressions  with  ponds  of  fresh  water,  of  which  but  few  have  a 
a  visible  inlet  or  outlet.  It  is  estimated  that  the  area  of  the  Cape 
ponds  exceeds  thirty -seven  thousand  acres.  The  174  more  important 
ones,  containing  over  fifteen  square  miles,  or  about  one-fourth  the 
total  pond  area,  are  noticed  by  name  in  the  town  chapters  following. 
Of  these  Bourne  has  fifteen,  covering  356  acres;  Sandwich  seven,  of 
616  acres;  Falmouth  sixteen,  688;  Mash  pee  six,  1,420;  Barnstable 
twenty-seven,  1,706;  Yarmouth  fifteen,  564;  Dennis  twelve,  441;  Brews- 
ter twenty-five,  2,093;  Harwich  ten,  435;  Chatham  thirteen,  280;  Or- 
leans five,  213;  Eastham  five,  223;  Wellfleet  six,  225;  Truro  five,  108; 
and  Provincetown  seven  ponds,  aggregating  255  acres.  The  salt 
ponds  connected  with  the  extensive  line  of  coast,  together  with  the 
bays,  the  coves,  and  the  small  fresh  water  ponds  without  name  and 
almost  without  number,  would  greatly  increase  the  area.  Salt' 
marshes  fringe  the  coasts,  the  largest  being  the  great  marshes  of 
Barnstable.  The  reclamation  of  these  has  been  advocated  and  the 
experiment  tried  in  every  generation;  and  more  than  once  has  the 
legislature  granted  corporate  powers  to  those  who  thought  the  result 
attainable.  These  marshes  are  flooded  twice  a  day  at  high  tide,  and 
when  fairly  green  are  as  beautiful  as  a  well-kept  lawn.  In  time,  as 
the  marshes  gather,  the  soil  becomes  higher  and  firmer,  the  grass 
finer,  and  the  product  is  highly  valued  for  the  cattle,  as  salt  hay.  Of 
these  salt  meadows  a  considerable  portion  has  been  converted  to  the 
production  of  English  hay  by  the  generations  of  this  century. 

Even  the  surface  of  the  Cape  has  undergone  changes  that  hardly 
seem  credible.  Captain  Southack  in  1717,  who,  as  a  government 
agent,  was  sent  out  to  search  for  the  pirate  ship  Whida,  wrecked  on 
the  back  side  of  the  Cape,  made  a  map  of  a  channel  across  from  sea  to 
sea  as  it  then  existed  nearly  on  the  line  between  Orleans  and  East- 
ham;   and  on  this  channel  he  marked  a  whaleboat  with    this  note: 


GEOLOGY   AND   TOPOGRAPHY.  7 

"The  place  where  I  came  through  with  a  whaleboat,  being  ordered 
by  ye  government  to  look  after  ye  pirate  ship  Whida,  Bellame  com- 
mander, cast  away  ye  26th  of  April  1717,  where  I  buried  one  hundred 
and  two  men  drowned."  It  is  generally  accepted  that  this  channel 
was  made  by  that  gale,  and  the  early  records  show  that  it  required  a 
general  turnout  of  the  people  and  great  labor  to  close  it.  Other  low 
and  narrow  places  have  been  similarly  changed  by  great  storms. 
During  the  severe  storm  of  1872,  not  only  was  a  deep,  wide  channel 
cut  through  the  outer  beach  opposite  the  Chatham  light,  but  the  gov- 
ernment property  was  washed  out  ninety  feet  inland  to  a  depth  of 
thirty  feet,  unearthing  a  peat  bog  in  which,  around  a  large  stump, 
were  the  tracks  of  six  human  beings.  George  Eldridge,  the  hydro- 
grapher,  described  these  tracks  as  of  different  sizes  and  says  that  tufts 
of  coarse  animal  hair  had  been  impressed  into  the  clayey  surface  of 
the  soil  near  the  stump,  upon  which  were  other  tufts  where  the  animal 
had  rubbed.     The  spot  was  soon  again  covered  with  drifting  sands. 

Of  the  fifteen  towns  comprising  the  county,  Chatham  and  Province- 
town  are  the  most  affected  by  the  sands  from  wind  and  wave;  but  Or- 
leans, Eastham,  Wellfleet  and  Truro  experience  more  or  less  of  these 
changes,  and  the  upper  towns  are  not  entirely  free  from  them.  The 
denuded  knolls  that  generations  ago  were  well  timbered,  have  been 
exposed  to  the  ravages  of  heavy  winds,  blowing  the  finer  and  better 
soil  into  the  bogs  and  depressions,  or  into  the  salt  marshes  and  har- 
bors, thus  perceptibly  changing  the  surface.  To  save  the  harbors  and 
retain  the  soil,  public  and  private  efforts  have  been  turned  to  planting 
the  uplands  with  forest  trees,  which  labor  is  being  crowned  with  suc- 
cess. 

The  soil  is  diversified  with  portions  alluvial  and  others  diluvial, 
and  once  the  surface  was  richly  covered  with  vegetable  mould;  but 
the  sand,  cut  adrift  from  its  fibrous  moorings  and  the  long  cultivation 
of  the  virgin  soil  without  the  return  of  an  honest  equivalent,  has 
greatly  reduced  its  fertility.  It  is  still  largely  productive  in  every 
way  by  later  and  better  methods  of  compensating  in  some  way  for  the 
depreciation  caused  by  successive  crops,  as  is  now  practised  in  every 
county  where  agriculture  is  successful.  The  upper  towns  of  the  Cape 
have  more  or  less  loam  and  clay  in  their  soils,  which  are  consequently 
stronger,  while  the  lower  towns  have  a  lighter  soil  but  as  productive 
under  proper  cultivation.  About  the  creeks,  marshes  and  swamps  are 
found  rich  deposits  sufficient  to  make  the  entire  county  more  pro- 
ductive than  are  some  so-called  agricultural  counties  of  the  Common- 
wealth. The  later  generations  have  learned  this,  and  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent  are  availing  themselves  of  these  superior  advantages. 
Hundreds  of  acres  of  valuable  cranberry  bogs,  fine  vegetable  gardens, 
and  luxurious  meadows  have  been  redeemed  within  the  last  half  cen- 


8  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

tury,  and  hundreds  more  are  resting  in  their  native  sloughs,  waiting 
for  utilization  by  the  application  of  the  adjoining  sand  bank.  These 
improvements  have  only  commenced,  and  the  Cape,  with  its  thousands 
of  acres  of  valuable  lowlands  and  millions  of  tons  of  virgin  sand,  is 
susceptible  of  still  further  development. 

The  clay  vein  of  Truro,  running  across  the  Cape  and  cropping  out 
on  the  bay  side  near  the  Great  swamp,  is  an  exception  to  the  general 
character  of  the  soil.  The  bank  there  is  filled  with  pounds  in  which 
the  water  lodges  and  is  held  by  the  firm  clay. 

The  peninsular  character  of  the  Cape  has  distinguished  it  during 
all  historic  time;  but  it  is  entirely  plausible  that  in  geologic  time  it 
had  a  more  continental  character.  Off  the  south  shore  of  Barnstable, 
where  is  now  a  channel  two  miles  wide,  separating  Bishop  and  Clerk's 
light  from  the  land,  was  once  a  sheep  pasture  through  which  only  a 
small  creek  flowed,  and  within  the  period  of  our  own  colonial  history 
the  Nantucket  farmers  cut  fencing  on  an  island  seven  miles  off  Chat- 
ham,where  now  the  rushing,  restless  tide  has  undisputed  sway.  Ram 
island,  where  many  of  the  present  residents  of  Chatham  have  repaired 
for  frolic  and  berries,  has  gone  down  in  the  unequal  strife  and  the 
sullen  sea  sweeps  over  a  spot  where  the  Vikings  dwelt  eight  cen- 
turies ago — the  spot  which  was  still  inhabitable  when  in  1620  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert  noted  it  as  Nauset  island.  If  the  physical  charac- 
ter of  this  peninsula  has  been  thus  modified  by  the  Titanic  war  which 
old  ocean — so  old  and  sc  busy — has  forever  waged  upon  it,  not  less 
important  upon  its  animal  and  vegetable  life  has  been  the  effect  of 
what  Michalet,  in  his  La  Mer,  calls  the  tyrannj'  of  the  sea.* 

Every  Cape  woodland  shows  the  effect  of  this  strife,  and  whole 
forests  have  been  bent  by  the  prevailing  winds.  This  fact,  to  wit,  an 
incessant  struggle  of  elements,  is  the  best  type  of  the  Cape  life  as  it 
has  been  and  is,  and  is  what  has  colored  the  Cape  character. 

The  botany  of  the  Cape  is  as  unique  as  its  geology.  Here  again 
the  sea  has  been  master — yet  also  a  conveyancer  of  beauty  and  fate 
to  the  flowers.  We  may  not  pause  here  to  divide  the  imported  flow- 
ers from  those  indigenous  to  our  soil.  The  pilgrims  were  English- 
men and  long  remained  so.  They,  or  their  wives,  brought  here  many 
of  the  old  English  flowers:  holley,  Canterbury  bells,  lilacs,  Aaron's 
rod,  box,  bouncing  Bettys',  and  above  all  "  the  Pilgrim  rose,"  which 
after  all  our  modern  horticulture,  still  abides  as  the  peer  of  the  best; 
for  the  sea  hightens  color  in  the  rose's  petals  as  well  as  the  maid's 
cheek.  But  the  sea  has  brought  here  more  flower  seeds  than  ever  the 
Mayflower  and  her  sister  ships  since  the  landing  at  Plymouth. 

*The  remainder  of  this  chapter  is  contributed  by  the  Rev.  N.  H.  Chamberlain  of 
Bourne,  a  native  of  the  Cape,  who  has  delivered  a  very  popular  lecture  on  the  topic 
here  briefly  considered. — Ed. 


GEOLOGY   AND   TOPOGRAPHY.  9 

It  may  be  stated  in  the  rough,  that  the  Cape  flora  is  divided  by  its 
central  hill  range  into  two  great  divisions;  that  the  flowers  on  the 
south  side  are  more  intimately  connected  with  those  in  the  latitude 
of  Norfolk,  Va.,  than  with  their  neighbors  across  the  ridge,  and  that 
the  same  or  equal  intimacy  exists  between  the  flora  of  the  Cape,  north 
side,  and  that  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  The  sea  currents  did  it.  Of 
course  the  trailing  arbutus  or  "  May  flower,"  as  our  people  call  it,  is 
the  local  flower  of  the  Cape.  This  flower  is  found  indeed,  widely 
scattered  over  the  temperate  zone,  but  here  and  in  the  Plymouth 
woods  it  attains  its  maximum  of  purity  and  grace.  For  all  fat  garden 
flowers  necessarily  lower  their  colors  in  these  respects,  to  the  wild 
ones.  They  difl^er  very  much  as  a  vestal  does  from  an  ordinary 
woman  of  fashion.  For  if  flowers  be  the  smile  of  the  good  God,  that 
smile  in  flowers  must  be  the  noblest,  which  best  symbolizes  the  lofti- 
est virtues.  Every  traveler  who  had  eyes  to  see,  has  remarked  the 
very  delicate  and  spiritualized  look  and  structure  of  nearly  all  the 
flowers  of  the  upper  Alps;  as  if  their  very  struggle  for  life  with  their 
adverse  circumstance  had  given  them  a  higher  life  and  form  of 
beauty.  What  the  glacier  and  snow  peaks  are  to  the  Swiss  flowers, 
that,  as  water  also,  the  sea  is  to  the  Cape  flowers.  They  have  also 
the  strife  for  life  and  they  too  are  made  perfect  through  suffering. 
The  Cape  Codder  in  his  travels  may  pick  "  May  flowers  "  in  their  sea- 
son, in  almost  any  wood  of  our  zone,  but  he  will  miss  not  a  little  of 
the  Cape  virginity  and  above  all  the  circumstance  of  the  Cape  flower 
itself — the  grey  mosses  holding  up  its  flower  clusters  a  little  toward 
the  sun — mosses  which  seem  the  fringe  and  raiment  of  eternity  over 
the  eternal  breast  of  Earth,  mother  of  flowers  and  men — the  cold  sea 
chill  of  the  wind  on  shore;  and  as  he  holds  her  flowers  to  look  at 
them,  his  eyes  cannot  but  wander  far  off  to  the  Cape  sea,  grey,  turbu- 
lent, white  crested,  which  like  the  voice  of  "  the  other  world  "  breaks 
in  its  mighty  monotone  upon  the  desolate  shore. 

Here  lie  the  secret  ties,  which  often  unknown  to  him  bind  many  a 
Cape  man  to  his  province;  sharp  contrasts  in  scenery  everywhere;  the 
sea  in  storm,  and  the  inland  lakes  and  ponds  among  the  hills,  with 
their  white  strands  circling  their  placid  waters,  where  the  sea  birds 
rest  in  their  spring  or  autumn  passage,  north  and  south;  the  rude  and 
boisterous  wind,  and  to-morrow  the  gentlest  sunshine  on  the  south 
hill  slope  where  the  first  violets  and  anemones  appear;  the  ever 
changing  tides  and  the  fixed  hills,  with  the  forest  watching  as  a  sen- 
tinel who  never  leaves  his  post;  and  two  forms  of  solitude — the  soli- 
tude of  the  sea  shore  and  of  the  wilderness,  so  diverse  at  least  in  form 
and  yet  both  ministrants,  in  a  religious  way,  to  a  sensitive  nature. 
He  may  enter  the  one  only  for  seaweed  and  the  other  for  a  load  of 
cord  wood,  but  his  circumstance  remains  unique,  whether  he  knows  it 


T-O  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

or  not.  This  is  why  the  Cape  man  abroad  misses  somewhat  out  of 
the  landscape.  The  rose  is  not  the  same  elsewhere.  The  spring  in 
the  Rocky  mountains  may  show  water  as  pellucid  as  any  at  a  hill  foot 
here  and  the  sand  through  which  it  throbs  may  be  as  white,  but  the 
mosses  at  the  brim  and  the  ferns  which  mirror  their  fragility  in  those 
"  living  waters  "  will  not  be  there.  It  may  be  provincial  for  the  Ice- 
lander, the  Switzer  and  the  Cape  Codder  to  hold,  each,  that  his  own 
land  is  the  fairest  on  which  the  sun  shines,  yet  they  each  hold  to  it 
and  for  much  the  same  reasons.  Their  land  is  very  much  unlike  any 
other. 

The  scenery  of  the  Cape  is  both  unique  and  full  of  variety,  circled 
by  the  sea  and  the  forest,  for  after  all  the  sea  is  the  great  master 
mechanician  of  the  Cape  landscape.  It  is  hardly  too  much  to  say  that 
it  has  determined  very  largely  the  manners  and  the  occupations,  at 
least  of  the  old  Cape  Cod.  "  Life,"  says  Emerson,  "  is  by  water 
courses."  It  may  be  ventured  to  say  that  liberty  is  by  the  sea.  Great 
distances  enfranchise;  great  altitudes  enslave.  "The  Alps,"  .says 
Longfellow,  "are  a  poor  place  for  a  sad  heart  to  go  to."  At  Grindel- 
wald  or  Lauterbrunnen  one  feels  in  the  grey  prison  house  of  Eternity 
and  as  naught.  For  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  or  so  the  sea  has  lain 
open  here  to  the  venture  of  any  man  who  dared  it,  and  was  and  is,  a 
highway  for  him  to  the  ends  of  the  world.  The  majestic  orbit  of  its 
horizon  has  been  ever  tempting  him  to  try  what  was  beyond— to  come 
out  of  himself  and  become  a  greater  self  at  sea  or  on  shore.  Of  stock 
which  has  no  servile  blood  in  it,  the  Cape  man  of  the  genuine  breed 
has  become  one  of  the  most  independent  men  on  earth.  His  own  will 
runs  even  into  a  private  burying  ground  for  him  and  his. 

As  one  face  of  this  same  independence  is  the  man's  curious  self- 
reliance.  He  will  undertake,  if  the  wages  satisfy,  to  carve  a  bust  of 
Jupiter  or  oversee  a  factory  where  they  manufacture  moonshine. 
Only  he  will  be  thrifty  enough  not  to  take  any  stock.  He  respects 
the  sea  with  which  he  struggles,  and  himself  as  well.  He  thinks  he 
knows  how  to  rig  and.  sail  a  boat  and  is  a  very  careful  pilot  at  the 
helm.  If  his  wagon  was  in  the  mire  he  would  never  pray  to  Hercules 
to  help,  until  he  had  put  his  best  shoulder  to  the  wheel.  But  if  there 
was  no  start  and  he  a  religious  man,  he  would  then  pray  as  lustily  as 
the  best,  and  if  he  were  not  religious  he  would  probably  sit  down 
under  a  tree  and  smoke  his  pipe,  revolving  whether  there  was  any 
God  or  whether  it  would  pay  him  to  buy  another  cart. 

Here  lies  the  reason  why  so  many  Cape  men  have  been  successful 
business  men.  Their  youth  was  a  struggle  with  the  soil  and  with  the 
sea.  They  toughened  with  the  toil,  Spartan  and  frugal.  When  they 
went  among  other  men  they  were  well  armed  with  frugality  and  self- 
reliance,  and  inferior  men  became  as  clay  to  their  foresight  and 
dominancy. 


GEOLOGY  AND  TOPOGRAPHY.  11 

In  much  then  that  is  formative  in  human  character  the  Cape  land- 
scape has  lent  itself  to  make  the  Cape  man  free,  self-reliant,  frugal 
and  indomitable.  It  has  bred  in  him  pluck  and  luck.  The  obligation 
he  is  under  to  his  native  province  he  is  apt  to  fulfill  by  his  life-long 
affection  for  the  Cape.  The  Cape  colors  him  all  his  life,  the  root  and 
fiber  of  him.  He  may  get  beyond  but  he  never  gets  over  the  Cape. 
Make  him  a  merchant  at  Manilla  or  Calcutta,  a  whaler  at  the  North 
Pole,  a  mate  in  Australian  waters,  a  millionaire  on  Fifth  avenue,  a 
farmer  in  Minnesota,  and  the  Cape  sticks  to  him  still.  He  will  feel 
in  odd  hours  to  his  life's  end,  the  creek  tide  on  which  he  floated 
ashore  as  a  boy,  the  hunger  of  the  salt  marsh  in  haying  time,  the  cold 
splash  of  the  sea  spray  at  the  harbor's  mouth,  the  spring  of  the  boat 
over  the  bar  where  he  came  home  from  fishing  with  the  wind  rising 
on  shore  out  of  the  grey  night  clouds  seaward,  the  blast  of  the  wet 
northeaster  in  the  September  morning,  when  under  the  dripping 
branches  he  picked  up  the  windfall  of  golden  and  crimson  apples,  the 
big  flaked  snow  of  the  December  night  when  he  beaued  his  first 
sweetheart  home  from  singing  school;  and  he  will  see  in  dreams,  per- 
haps, the  trailing  arbutus  among  its  grey  mosses,  on  the  thin  edge  of 
a  spring  snow  bank,  the  bubbling  spring  at  the  hill  foot  near  tide 
water,  the  fat  crimson  roses  under  his  mother's  window,  with  a  clump 
of  Aaron's  rod  or  lilac  for  background;  the  yellow  dawn  of  an  Octo- 
ber morning  across  his  misty  moors,  and  the  fog  of  the  chill  pond 
among  the  pine  trees,  and  above  all  the  blue  sea  within  its  headlands, 
on  which  go  the  white  winged  ships  to  that  great  far  off  world  which 
the  boy  has  heard  of  and  the  grown  man  knows  so  well. 


CHAPTER  II. 


INDIAN   HISTORY. 


Origin.— Manners.— Customs.— Religion.— Cape  Indians.— Their  Villages.— Their  Tribes. 
— Map. — Kindness. — Subjugation. — Decrease. — Extinction. — Legends. 


THE  history  of  this  county  may  be  regarded  as  beginning  with  its 
settlement  by  Europeans,  or  in  those  diplomatic  relations 
between  their  governments  and  the  adventurers  who  sought  to 
control  the  prospective  settlements  within  it ;  yet  we  may  concern 
ourselves  somewhat  with  a  mention  of  those  ill-fated  Indians  whom 
the  Puritans  found  here,  and  whose  extermination  as  a  people  was  so 
speedily  accomplished. 

Scientists  of  every  age  and  country  have  advanced  ideas  concern- 
ing their  origin  ;  but  as  they  never  had  a  written  language  the  truth 
of  these  propositions  must  remain  in  darkness.  That  they  have  been 
called  Indians  since  their  existence  became  known  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  ancient  navigators  supposed  that  America  formed  a  part  of  the 
East  Indies. 

Tradition,  current  among  the  Indians,  throws  little  or  no  light  on 
their  origin.  They  generally  believed  that  they  sprang  from  the 
earth.  In  one  tradition  they  have  been  represented  as  having 
climbed  up  the  roots  of  a  large  vine  from  the  interior  of  the  globe, 
and  in  others  as  ascending  from  a  cavern  to  the  light  of  the  sun.  At 
an  early  day  some  of  the  Indians  still  retained  indistinct  traditions  of 
crossing,  a  body  of  water  to  reach  this  land  ;  and  others  that  they 
originally  dwelt  in  a  land  across  a  narrow  lake  where  wicked  people 
dwelt,  that  the  lake  was  full  of  islands,  and  they  suffered  with  cold 
while  crossing.  Curious  remains  are  extant  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  showing  that  the  original  dwellers  here  had  rare  mechanical 
skill,  which  they  had  not  lost  by  the  allurements  of  a  wild  forest  life. 
These  evidences,  more  especially  confined  to  the  western  portion  of 
America,  are  a  vindication  of  the  theory  that  the  land  was  first 
peopled  by  the  way  of  Behring  strait ;  also,  that  less  civilized  bands 
■drove  them  east  and  south — or  they,  in  themselves,  became  more  in 
love  with  forest  life,  scattering  and  multiplying  until  the  whole  land 
was  peopled.     Some  historians  trace  the  Indians  to  the  ten  lost  tribes 


INDIAN   HISTORY.  13 

of  Israel,  some  to  the  dispersion  from  Babel,  some  to  the  enterprising 
Phoenician  sailors,  and  others  to  the  Carthagenians ;  but  of  all  these 
theories,  that  of  their  coming  from  the  Eastern  continent  across  the 
straits  to  North  America  seems  the  most  acceptable.  While  their 
race  was  distinct  from  all  European  peoples,  in  customs,  personal 
appearance  and  language,  yet  they  closely  resembled  each  other  and 
had  many  customs  in  common,  although  the  several  tribes  found  here 
by  the  Europeans  were  more  generally  distinguished  from  each  other 
by  the  difference  in  their  languages.  Each  tribe  had  a  name  for 
whatever  could  be  heard,  seen  or  felt,  and  except  these  but  few  words 
were  used. 

The  same  characteristics  prevailed  in  the  Indians  on  the  Cape  that 
were  found  in  other  tribes,  and  if  any  difference  existed  in  minor 
peculiarities  it  would  be  logically  attributable  to  climatic  differences 
and  their  habits  of  life  and  employments,  varying  with  the  food  sup- 
plies of  mountain  or  valley,  stream  or  seashore.  Some  were  better 
agriculturists  than  others,  and  raised  more  corn  than  their  neighbors. 
The  Pilgrims  found  at  Truro  fifty  acres  under  cultivation.  The  labor 
of  raising  corn  devolved  upon  the  women,  or  squaws,  for  all  tribes 
concurred  in  the  idea  that  labor  was  degrading  and  beneath  the  dig- 
nity of  a  warrior.  The  women  provided  the  wood,  erected  wigwams, 
carried  the  burdens,  prepared  the  meals,  and  even  carried  baggage 
on  the  march. 

A  regular  union  between  husband  and  wife  was  universal,  but  a 
chief  of  sufficient  ability  to  support  such  a  luxury  married,  often, 
more  than  one  wife.  The  ceremony  of  marriage  was  very  simple,  and 
differed  in  minor  details  in  different  tribes. 

The  education  of  the  young  warrior  was  in  athletic  exercises,  to 
enable  him  to  endure  hunger  and  fatigue,  and  to  use  arms  efficiently. 
In  some  families  certain  young  were  impressed  with  the  tradition  of 
their  people,  which  task  devolved  upon  the  old,  who  in  turn  had 
received  their  knowledge  from  preceding  ones. 

The  weapons  were  rude — stone  hatchets,  clubs,  bows,  arrows  and 
.spears.  War  was  their  delight,  and  their  cruelties  to  enemies  when 
death  was  decreed  were  only  equalled  by  their  kindness  when  they 
turned  their  tribal  affection  to  the  adopted  ones. 

They  had  a  religion,  primitive  though  it  seems,  that  closely  resem- 
bled that  of  civilized  nations.  They  believed  in  a  great  spirit,  and 
reverenced  him ;  believed  he  was  everywhere  present,  knew  their 
wants,  and  aided  and  loved  those  who  obeyed  him.  They  had  no 
temples  nor  idols.  They  believed  the  warrior  hastened  to  the  happy 
hunting  grounds.  They  also  had  an  evil  spirit,  which  good  Indians 
should  shun.  The  graves  of  their  fathers  were  held  in  reverence,  and 
were  defended  with  great  bravery.    To  the  restraints  of  civilization 


14  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

they  long  showed  an  aversion,  and  were  remarkably  attached  to  their 
simple  modes  of  life. 

Whether  the  differences  in  complexion,  stature,  features,  customs, 
religions,  or  any  peculiarities,  were  caused  by  climate  or  any  latitud- 
inal separations,  one  thing  seems  conceded  by  historians — that  they 
were  of  one  origin.  Doctor  Mather  regarded  them  as  forlorn  and 
wretched  heathen  ever  since  they  first  landed  here ;  and  "  though  we 
know  not  when  or  how  they  first  became  inhabitants  of  this  mighty 
continent,  yet  we  may  guess  that  probably  the  devil  decoyed  them 
hither,  hoping  the  gospel  would  never  reach  them  to  disturb  or 
■destroy  his  absolute  empire  over  them." 

There  were  several  tribes  on  the  Cape,  and  all  evidence  from  the 
colony  records,  from  the  time  they  were  first  visited  by  Europeans, 
points  to  their  remarkable  friendliness  to  the  whites  and  to  each  other. 

An  early  instance  of  the  white  man's  abuse  of  their  confidence  is 
the  shameless  record  of  Thomas  Hunt,  who  in  161fi,  as  a  subordinate 
left  in  command,  of  Captain  John  Smith's  ship,  kidnapped  twenty- 
seven  of  the  natives,  including  seven  from  Nauset,  to  sell  as  slaves. 
This  act  was  not  without  precedent,  and  after  it  had  been  avenged 
four  years  later  upon  some  of  the  same  crew,  the  Indian  sense  of  just- 
ice seems  to  have  been  satisfied.  In  their  subsequent  intercourse  with 
the  pilgrims  they  performed  acts  of  mercy  that  could  only  be  expected 
of  true  Christian  disciples. 

The  Indians  of  the  Cape,  made  up  of  several  small  tribes,  were 
among  the  thirty  of  New  England  yielding  allegiance  to  Massasoit, 
the  chief  of  the  Wampanoags,  and  after  his  death  in  1662  to  his  son, 
Metacomet,  known  in  history  as  King  Philip,  or  Philip  of  Pokanoket. 

Of  these  the  Nausets  occupied  the  most  prominent  position,  dwel- 
ling on  the  territory  now  Eastham,  their  country  including  also 
Brewster  (Sauquatucket),  Chatham  (Monomoyick),  Harwich  (Potanum- 
aquut),  Orleans  (Pochet),  the  neck  in  Orleans  (Tonset),  Wellfleet  (Po- 
nonakanet),  Truro  (Pamet),  part  of  Truro  and  Provincetown  (Mee- 
shawn)  and  North  Dennis  (Nobscusset).  The  Nausets  were  also  at 
Namskaket,  now  Orleans,  and  about  the  cove  that  separates  Orleans 
from  Eastham.  In  the  northwest  part  of  Yarmouth  and  around  Barn- 
stable harbor  were  Mattacheese  and  Mattacheeset;  the  south  part  of  the 
east  precinct  in  Barnstable,  Weequakut ;  between  Sandwich  and  Barn- 
stable, Skanton ;  Falmouth,  Succonesset ;  in  Bourne,  near  Buzzards 
bay,  Manomet ;  on  Buzzards  bay,  Cataumet ;  near  Sandwich,  Herring 
pond,  Comassakumkanit ;  Pocasset,  Pokesit;  Mashpee,  Massipee — and 
this  last  body  of  Indians  has  long  been  the  principal  tribe  of  the 
county,  and  once  inckided  Cotuit,  the  southwest  part  of  Barnstable; 
Santuit;  Wakoquoet,  part  of  Falmouth;  Ashumet,  in  Falmouth,  on  west 
line  of  Mashpee  ;  and  Weesquobs,  Great  neck.      The  Indians  on  Nan- 


INDIAN    HISTORY. 


15 


16  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

tucket,  Martha's  Vineyard  and  Elizabeth  islands  were  separate  tribes, 
in  constant  communication  with  the  tribes  on  the  Cape,  and  had  their 
own  sachems.  All  these  tribes  had  their  sachems  or  sagamores,  and 
though  owing  fealty  to  the  Wampanoags  they  could  not  be  induced 
by  King  Philip  to  join  in  the  wars  of  1675.  The  tribe  at  Manomet, 
after  their  adhesion  to  the  English,  proveda  defense  and  were  faithful 
to  their  friendship. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  friendship  and  hospitality  of  the  Cape 
Indians,  it  is  said  that  when  the  ship  Fortune  in  1621  touched  at  Cape 
Cod,  the  Indians  carried  word  of  her  approach  to  the  settlers  at  Ply- 
mouth. 

In  1622  the  colonists  were  compelled  to  go  to  the  Cape  Indians  for 
corn.  They  sailed  around  the  Cape,  along  southerly,  anchoring  in  a 
harbor  at  Chatham,  and  obtained  eight  hogsheads  of  corn  and  beans. 
During  that  and  subsequent  years  corn  was  obtained  of  the  Indians 
at  Sagamore  hill,  Mattacheese,  and  other  places  on  the  north  side. 

For  these  purchases  the  Indians  received  trinkets  and  clothes. 
Various  facts  are  given  that  show  a  friendship  beyond  the  hope  of 
gain.  In  1630,  when  an  English  vessel  was  shipwrecked  on  the  Cape, 
those  passengers  who  died  from  exposure  were  carefully  buried  in 
the  frozen  earth  to  keep  the  bodies  from  wild  beasts,  the  sick  were 
nursed  to  health  and  the  survivors  were  conducted  to  Plymouth.  The 
incident  of  the  lost  boy — strayed  from  Plymouth  and  found  among  the 
Nausets — when  lyanough  with  his  warriors  assisted  in  the  search, 
and  the  Nauset  sachem,  Aspinet,  so  promptly  delivered  the  boy  to 
the  English,  is  another  proof  of  their  friendliness.  The  various  kind 
oflBces  of  lyanough  upon  the  departure  of  the  whites — the  festival, 
the  filling  of  their  rundlets  with  fresh  water,  and  the  taking  the  brace- 
let from  his  neck  and  placing  it  upon  the  leader  of  the  party — are  mat- 
ters of  record  in  the  pilgrim  history. 

Some  of  the  natives  were  possessed  of  such  an  inherent  love  of 
tinsel  display  that  the  bounds  of  Captain  Standish's  strict  doctrines 
were  sometimes  overstepped.  In  1623,  while  the  captain  and  his  men 
were  at  Mattacheese  purchasing  corn,  they  were  forced  to  lodge  in 
the  wigwams  of  the  natives.  Missing  a  few  beads  in  the  morning,  he 
ranged  his  men  around  the  sachem's  cabin  and  threatened  to  fall  upon 
the  inmates  unless  the  beads  were  returned.  The  offender  was  dis- 
covered, restitution  made,  and  a  penalty  for  the  offense  was  paid  with 
more  corn. 

In  1637,  when  the  whites  commenced  the  purchase  of  lands  from  the 
Indians  on  the  Cape,  satisfaction  was  given  by  full  returns  of  beads, 
hoes,  hatchets,  coats  and  kettles ;  but  years  later,  as  the  number  of 
the  Indians  was  diminished  from  various  causes  and  the  increase  of 
the  whites  was  rapid,  the  natives  could  not  see  their  best  plantation 


INDIAN   HISTORY.  17 

lands  appropriated  by  others  without  a  protest.  Writing  of  this  in 
its  relation  to  Yarmouth,  Hon.  C.  F.  Swift  says:  "The  claims  of  the 
Indians  were  paid  in  articles  which,  though  of  no  great  commercial 
value,  seemed  to  be  prized  by  them.  The  Indians  soon  became  pain- 
fully aware  that  their  transfer  of  the  soil  carried  with  it  a  degree  of 
vassalage  far  from  agreeable  to  their  ideas  of  personal  independence. 
In  1656,  Mashantampaigne,  a  sagamore,  was  brought  before  the  court 
on  a  charge  of  having  stolen  a  gun.  The  court  held  the  opinion  that 
the  gun  was  his.  He  was  also  accused  of  having  a  chest  full  of  tools 
stolen  from  the  English,  and  proudly  delivered  up  his  keys  to  Mr. 
Prince,  so  that  he  might  search  his  chest.  Complaint  was  made  by 
John  Darby  that  this  sachem's  dogs  'did  him  wrong  among  his 
cattle,  and  did  much  hurt  one  of  them.'  These  proceedings  are 
interesting  as  showing  that  the  Indians,  sixteen  years  after  the  settle- 
ment, were  completely  under  subjection  to  the  colonial  laws." 

Would  it  be  considered  foolish  in  a  poor  Indian,  whose  sachem 
had  bargained  and  given  possession  to  the  lands  of  the  tribe,  if,  when 
he  saw  his  hunting  grounds  trespassed  upon,  he  should  claim  that  he 
had  not  been  paid  sufficiently  for  them  ?  This  claim  was  often  made, 
of  which  one  instance  is  referred  to  in  our  chapter  of  charters  and 
deeds. 

The  colonial  laws,  made  soon  after  the  settlement  of  the  Cape,  had 
much  to  do  with  restraining  the  dissatisfaction  or  desire  of  revenge 
in  the  breasts  of  those  evil  disposed.  Fire  arms  were  kept  from  them 
and  other  enactments  for  mutual  preservation  were  made  by  the 
court  at  Plymouth.  The  parliament  of  the  mother  country  afterward, 
in  1649,  passed  acts  for  "promoting  and  propagating  the  Gospel 
among  the  Indians;"  but  even  the  Indians  asked  "  how  it  happened 
that  Christianity  was  so  important,  and  for  six  and  twenty  years  the 
English  had  said  nothing  to  them  about  it?"  The  Indians  were 
gradually  brought  under  the  white  man's  laws.  In  1668,  Francis, 
sachem  of  Nauset,  was  fined  ;^10  "  for  uncivil  and  inhuman  words  to 
Captain  Allen,  at  Cape  Cod,  when  cast  away."  In  1673  the  laws  were 
enforced  to  the  extent  that  natives  were  worked  for  debt,  drunken 
ones  fined  and  whipped,  idle  Indians  bound  out  to  labor,  and  for  theft 
were  compelled  to  pay  fourfold.  While  the  poor  Indians  were  taught 
to  heed  the  laws  and  religion  of  the  colonists  they  were  restricted  in 
their  freedom — forbidden  to  visit  Plymouth  during  court  time,  no 
white  was  allowed  to  lend  them  silver  money,  and  they  were  placed 
under  many  other,  to  them,  humiliating  restrictions. 

After  the  dawn  of  the  last  century  their  decrease  was  rapid.     In 

1685    Governor    Hinckley   reported    nearly    one   thousand   praying 

Indians  within  the  limits  of  Barnstable  county,  distributed  as  follows: 

At  Pamet,  Billingsgate  and  Nauset,  264;  at  Monomoyick,  115;  at  Satucket 

2 


18  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE    COUNTRY. 

and  Nobscusset,  121;  at  Mattacheese,  70;  at  Skanton,  51;  at  Mashpee, 
141;  at  Manomet,  110;  and  at  Succonesset,  72.  He  also  says  that  be- 
sides these  there  were  boys  and  girls  under  twelve  years  of  age, 
three  times  as  man}'.  In  1698  the  commissioners  appointed  to  enu- 
merate the  Indians  reported  in  the  territory  of  the  original  Plymouth 
colony — and  all  told— 1,290,  and  in  1763  but  905,  of  which  Barnstable 
county  had  515;  and  in  1798  few  lingered,  except  in  Mashpee.  The 
last  squaw  of  Yarmouth  is  well  remembered  by  the  oldest  inhabitants 
there  as  dwelling  on  the  west  bank  of  Bass  river,  on  a  portion  of  what 
was  once,  in  the  better  days  of  the  tribe,  the  last  reservation. 

In  1889  Mr.  Swift,  in  writing  of  Yarmouth,  says:  There  are  few 
memorials  or  evidences  existing  of  the  former  occupants  of  the  soil, 
save  the  shell  heaps  near  the  sea  shore  and  the  arrow-heads  and  stone 
utensils  thrown  up  by  the  passing  plowshare  of  the  husbandman, ^v- 
ing  evidence  of  their  numbers  before  the  advent  of  the  white  man  on 
these  shores.  Occasionally  portions  of  an  Indian  skeleton  are  also 
found  here,  but  not  in  sufficient  numbers  to  give  evidence  of  any  con- 
siderable burial  place.  The  last  of  these  who  died  in  considerable 
numbers,  about  the  time  of  the  revolutionary  war,  were  interred  on 
the  eastern  borders  of  Long  pond  in  South  Yarmouth,  and  a  pile  of 
unhewn  stone  maxks  the  spot,  on  one  of  which  is  chiseled  this  inscrip- 
tion: 

On  this  slope  lie  buried 

The  last  of  the  Native  Indians 
OF  Yarmouth. 

Their  burial  places,  of  which  there  are  several  others  on  the  Cape, 
have  been  preserved  with  a  commendable  degree  of  respect  by  the 
people  of  the  towns  wherein  they  are  located.  Over  the  trail  of  the 
swift-footed  runner  of  that  departed  race  now  speeds  the  iron  horse, 
and  their  hunting  grounds  are  now  the  sites  of  flourishing  villages. 

Their  beautiful  legends  yet  linger  in  the  written  pages  of  the 
white  man's  lore,  and  the  recurrence  of  the  changes  in  nature  is  an 
index  to  the  unwritten  traditions  of  the  Indians.  As  the  fogs  creep 
up  from  the  sound,  who  can  forget  their  explanation  of  the  phenom- 
enon ?  The  Mattacheeset  idea  was  that  a  great  many  moons  ago  a 
bird  of  monstrous  size  visited  the  south  shore  of  the  Cape,  carrying 
oflf  pappooses,  and  even  the  larger  children,  to  the  southward.  An 
Indian  giant  named  Maushop  residing  in  those  parts,  in  his  rage 
at  the  havoc,  pursued  the  bird,  wading  across  the  sound  to  an  hitherto 
unknown  island,  where  he  found  the  bones  of  children  in  heaps 
around  the  trunk  and  under  the  shade  of  a  great  tree.  Wishing  to 
smote  on  his  way  back,  and  finding  he  had  no  tobacco,  he  filled  his 
pipe  with  poke — a  weed  used  afterward  by  the  Indians  when  tobacco 
failed — and  started  across  the  sound  to  his  home.     From  this  mem- 


INDIAN   HISTORY.  19 

orable  event  the  frequent  fogs  in  Nantucket  and  on  and  around  Vine- 
yard sound  came;  and  when  the  Indians  saw  a  fog  rising  they  would 
say  in  their  own  tongue,  which  rendered  was,  "  There  comes  old  Mau- 
shop's  smoke." 

The  Indians  about  Santuit  pond  had  a  legend  that  a  great  trout  in 
the  South  sea  wished  to  visit  that  pond,  and  on  his  way  plowed  up 
the  land.  He  turned  and  wound  along,  avoiding  the  large  trees  and 
high  lands,  and  arrived  at  the  pond.  The  water  of  the  sea  followed' 
him  and  formed  the  present  river.  After  a  rest  in  the  pond  he  tried 
to  return  to  the  sea,  but  died  from  exhaustion,  and  the  Indians  cov- 
ered the  trout  with  earth.  It  has  been  called  Trout  Grave  since,  and 
is  yet  so  known  in  the  neighborhood.  The  river  yet  flows,  and  the 
mound  where  the  legendary  trout  was  covered  is  still  plainly  visible 
on  the  bank  of  the  river,  just  west  of  the  residence  of  Simeon  L. 
Ames  of  Cotuit. 

The  Indians  had  no  faithful  records  of  their  own  times  to  portray 
the  virtues  of  their  race;  but  if  we  look  back  to  the  period  when  the 
white  man's  firewater  was  unknown,  when  the  proud  independence 
which  formed  the  main  pillar  of  their  moral  fabric  was  unbroken, 
then  they  were  a  people  with  as  generous  impulses,  as  lofty  purposes 
and  as  chivalrous  deeds  as  paler  men;  but  an  irresistible  power  seems 
to  have  decreed  that  another  people— weaker,  yet  stronger— should 
develop  on  their  soil  a  higher  civilization. 


CHAPTER  III. 


DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATIONS. 


Early  Discovery  of  the  Cape. — Exploration's  by  Gosnold  and  Dermer. — The  Pilgrims. — 
The  Mayflower  in  Cape  Cod  Harbor. — Explorations  by  the  Pilgrims. — Compact 
Signed. — Plymouth. — The  Lost  Boy. — Postat  Manomet. — Great  Storm. — Declaration 
of  Rights. — First  Settlement  of  the  Cape  by  the  "Whites. — Sandwich,  Barnstable, 
Yarmouth  and  Nauset. — Erection  of  County. 


THE  history  of  Barnstable  county,  if  made  complete,  is  of  more 
interest  than  any  other  in  the  Bay  state;  for  Cape  Cod  was  first 
discovered  and  first  explored,  and  has  sustained  its  prominence 
from  that  early  period  to  the  present  time.  From  public  records  and 
the  most  authentic  documents,  with  the  carefulness  that  the  import- 
ance of  the  work  demands,  have  been  compiled  the  facts  of  the  dis- 
covery, exploration  and  settlement  of  Cape  Cod. 

The  discovery  of  the  Western  Continent  in  1492  was- the  most 
important  event  of  modern  times,  and  to  Columbus  and  others  who 
followed  him  the  historical  monuments  already  erected  will  endure  as 
long  as  the  earth  itself.  Traditions  have  credited  Madoc,  a  prince  of 
Wales,  with  a  prior  discover}',  in  the  Twelfth  century;  and  several 
historians  have  discussed  the  Norwegian  claim  to  its  discovery. 
Eric  emigrated  from  Iceland  to  Greenland,  where  he  formed  a  set- 
tlement in  986.  In  the  year  1000,  Lief,  a  son  of  Eric,  with  a  crew  of 
men,  sailed  to  the  southwest,  discovered  land,  explored  the  coast 
southward,  entered  a  bay  where  he  remained  diiring  the  winter,  and 
called  it  Vinland.  In  1007  Thorfinn  sailed  from  Greenland  to  Vin- 
land,  and  the  account  of  his  voyage  is  still  extant.  From  the  evidence 
of  this  voyage  and  others  that  followed,  antiquarians  have  no  hesi- 
tancy in  pronouncing  this  Vinland  as  the  head  of  Narragansett  bay. 
This  is  the  first  tangible  evidence  of  the  coasting  of  the  white  man 
along  the  shores  of  Cape  Cod. 

The  first  discovery  by  a  European  of  which  history  can  be  given, 
was  by  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  an  intrepid  mariner  of  the  west  of 
England,  who,  on  the  26th  of  March,  1602,  sailed  from  Falmouth,  in 
Cornwall,  in  a  small  bark,  with  thirty-two  men,  for  a  coast  called  at 
that  time  North  Virginia.  On  the  14th  of  May  he  made  land  on  the 
eastern  coast  of  Massachusetts,  north  of  Cape  Cod,  and  sailing  south 


DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATIONS.  21 

on  the  15tli,  soon  found  himself  "  embayed  with  a  mighty  headland," 
which  appeared  "  like  an  island  by  reason  of  the  large  sound  that  lay 
between  it  and  the  main."  This  sound  he  called  Shoal  Hope,  and 
near  this  cape,  within  a  leagfue  of  land,  he  came  to  anchor  in  fifteen 
fathoms,  and  his  crew  took  a  great  quantity  of  cod  fish,  from  which 
circumstance  he  named  the  land  Cape  Cod.  The  captain  with  four 
others  went  on  shore  here,  where  they  were  met  in  a  friendly  way  by 
Indians.  This,  Bancroft  confidently  asserts,  was  the  first  spot  in  New 
England  ever  trod  by  Englishmen. 

May  16,  1602,  Gosnold  and  his  crew  coasted  southerly  until  he 
came  to  a  point  where,  in  attempting  to  double,  he  found  the  water 
very  shoal.  To  this  point  he  gave  the  name  of  Point  Care;  it  is  now 
called  Sandy  point,  and  is  the  extreme  southeastern  part  of  Barnstable 
county.  Breakers  were  seen  off  Point  Gammon,  the  southern  point 
of  Yarmouth. 

On  the  19th  of  May  Gosnold  sailed  along  the  coast  westward,  sight- 
ing the  high  lands  of  Barnstable  and  Yarmouth,  and  discovered  and 
named  Martha's  Vineyard.  From  off  this  island  he  sailed  about  the 
24th  of  May,  and  spent  some  three  weeks  in  cruising  about  Buzzards 
bay.  It  has  been  believed  that  he  and  his  men  took  up  their  abode 
on  Cuttyhunk,  traded  and  held  friendly  relations  w,th  Indians;  but  it 
must  have  been  very  brief,  for  on  the  18th  of  June  he  sailed  from 
Buzzards  bay  by  the  passage  through  which  he  entered,  and  arrived 
at  Exmouth,  England,  July  23,  1602. 

In  1603  De  Monts  prepared  for  a  voyage,  and  in  1604  arrived  on 
these  western  shores,  exploring  from  the  St.  Lawrence  river  to  Cape 
Cod  and  southward. 

In  1607  a  settlement  was  attempted  at  Kennebeck  by  the  Plymouth 
Company,  but  the  winter  of  1607-8  being  severe,  and  many  dis- 
couragements interposing,  the  survivors  returned  to  England  in  the 
following  spring.  ^ 

In  1614  Captain  John  Smith,  the  celebrated  navigator,  quitted  the 
colony  of  South  Virginia  and  sailed  along  the  coast,  exploring 
between  Cape  Cod  and  Kennebeck.  He  made  a  fine  map  *  of  the 
country,  which,  upon  his  return  to  England,  he  presented  to  King 
Charles,  who  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  resemblance  to  his  own 
England  that  he  at  once  named  it  "  New  England."  At  this  time  the 
new  possessions  were  supposed  to  be  an  island.  The  same  year  Cap- 
tain Smith  returned  to  London,  leaving  a  ship  for  Thomas  Hunt  to 
command  and  load  with  fish  for  Spain. 

In  1619  Sir  Fernando  Gorges  sent  Mr.  Thomas  Dermer  to  New 
England.     He  found  a  pestilence  had  swept  over  the  Indian  popula- 
*The  celebrated  Varazano  map  of  1518  is  sufficiently  noticed  in  the  chapter  on 
Provincetown  where  its  author  mentions  other  early  navigators. — E^. 


22  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTV. 

tion,  and  some  villages  were  utterly  depopulated.  At  Monomoyick 
(Chatham)  Dermer  was  recognized  by  an  Indian  who  had  been 
abducted  by  Hunt,  only  escaping  after  receiving  fourteen  wounds  at 
the  hands  of  the  Indians,  and  after  nearly  all  his  boat's  crew  had  been 
killed — the  result  of  the  perfidy  of  Hunt  and  others. 

While  Walter  Raleigh  and  his  people  made  at  Jamestown  the  first 
permanent  settlement  in  Virginia,  and  while  the  Dutch,  following 
Hudson's  discovery  of  1609,  gained  a  foothold  at  New  Amsterdam,  it 
seemed  to  be  reserved  to  the  religious  exiles  at  Leyden  to  establish  the 
first  permanent  settlement  in  New  England  and  lay  the  foundations 
on  which  should  be  built  the  greatest  nation  of  modern  times.  In 
1608  they  fled  from  England  to  Amsterdam,  and  thence  to  Leyden, 
whence  they  finally  embarked  for  the  Western  world. 

In  1617  they  meditated  what  was  afterward  accomplished,  but  not 
until  two  years  later  were  necessary  preparations  completed,  and  not 
until  July,  1620,  was  the  first  company  of  these  120  resolute  emi- 
grants in  waiting  to  embark,  August  sixth,  in  the  two  small  ships — the 
Mayflower  and  Speedwell — at  Southampton.  The  Speedwell  proved 
unseaworthy  and  was  abandoned,  thus  reducing  the  number  to  101 
on  board  the  Mayflower,  which,  after  many  delays,  left  Plymouth, 
England,  September  6, 1620.  They  intended  to  go  to  what  was  known 
as  Virginia,  at  or  "near  the  Hudson  river,  of  which,  and  the  surrounding 
country,  Henry  Hudson  had  given  a  glowing  description.  After  many 
boisterous  storms,  on  November  ninth  they  reached  Cape  Cod  and 
as  their  record  said,  "The  which  being  made,  and  certainly  known  to 
be  it,  we  were  not  a  little  joyful."  They  bore  south,  but  encounter- 
ing the  same  shoals  that  had  turned  Gosnold,  they  returned  north- 
ward and  doubled  the  Cape  where  now  is  Provincetown. 

On  the  11th  of  November,  1620,  after  a  voyage  of  sixty-six  days, 
they  found  that  neither  their  compass  nor  bible  had  failed  them,,  and 
they  anchored  within  the  kindly  shelter  of  New  England's  great  right 
arm,  where  many  storm-tossed  mariners  have  since  sought  refuge. 
There,  within  the  very  palm  of  the  hand,  they  recognized  the  hand  of 
Providence  and  kept  as  pilgrim  Christians  their  first  Sabbath  in  the 
New  World.  The  day  they  anchored,  sixteen  men,  headed  by  Captain 
Miles  Standish,  all  well  armed,  went  on  shore  to  procure  wood  and  re- 
connoitre; and  repairs  upon  their  shallop  were  at  once  commenced,  that 
other  and  more  extensive  explorations  might  be  made.  The  store  of 
fowl  in  the  harbor  was  very  great,  and  almost  daily  they  saw  whales. 
"  The  bay  is  so  round  and  circling,  that  before  we  could  come  to 
anchor,  we  went  round  all  the  points  of  the  compass."  Their  nar- 
rative continues:  "  We  could  not  come  near  the  shore  by  three-quarters 
of  an  English  mile,  because  of  shallow  water,  which  was  a  great  preju- 
dice to  us;  for  our  people  were  forced  to  wade  *  *  for  it  was  many 
times  freezing  weather." 


DISCOVERY  AND   EXPLORATIONS.  23 

After  solemnly  thanking  God,  it  was  proposed  that  the  forty-one 
males  who  were  of  age  should  subscribe  a  compact,  which  was  to  be 
the  basis  of  their  government.  Had  all  the  company  been  members 
of  the  Leyden  congregation  they  could  have  relied  on  each  other 
without  imposing  restraint;  but  there  were  many  servants,  and  insub- 
ordination had  manifested  itself  the  day  before  the  Mayflower  anchored 
in  the  harbor. 

Hon.  Francis  Baylies,  in  his  history  of  New  Plymouth,  says  that 
this  compact  adopted  in  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower  "  established  a 
most  important  principle,  a  principle  which  is  the  foundation  of  all 
the  democratic  institutions  of  America,  and  is  the  basis  of  the 
republic."  At  that  dark  day  of  despotism  no  pen  dare  write,  or 
tongue  assert,  that  the  majority  should  govern;  but  these  .primitive, 
discarded  Christians,  relying  upon  their  Maker  for  strength  and  guid- 
ance, discovered  a  truth  in  the  science  of  government  which  had  been 
dormant  for  ages;  and  the  principles  given  and  implied  in  the  com- 
pact unanimously  adopted  by  this  little  band  of  Christians — on  a 
bleak  shore,  in  the  midst  of  desolation  and  wintry  blasts — to-day,  in 
all  the  complications  and  ramifications  of  our  many  branches  of  fed- 
eral and  state  governments,  are  the  happiest  and  leading  character- 
istics.    The  following  is  an  exact  copy  of  the  compact: 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  amen.  We  whose  names  are  underwritten, 
the  loyal  subjects  of  our  dread  sovereign  lord,  King  James,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  of  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland  king,  defender  of 
the  faith  &c.,  having  undertaken  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  advance- 
ment of  the  christian  faith,  and  honor  of  our  king  and  country,  a  voy- 
age to  plant  the  first  colony  in  the  northern  parts  of  Virginia,  do,  by 
these  presents,  solemnly  and  mutually,  in  the  presence  of  God  and  of 
one  another,  covenant  and  combine  ourselves  together  into  a  civil 
body  politic,  for  our  better  ordering  and  preservation,  and  further- 
ance of  the  ends  aforesaid;  and  by  virtue  hereof,  do  enact,  constitute, 
and  frame  such  just  and  equal  laws,  ordinances,  acts,  constitutions, 
and  offices,  from  time  to  time,  as  shall  be  thought  most  meet  and  con- 
venient for  the  general  good  of  the  colony,  unto  which  we  promise 
all  due  submission  and  obedience. 

"  In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunder  subscribed  our  names,  at 
Cape  Cod,  the  11th  day  of  November,  in  the  year  of  the  reign  of  our 
sovereign  lord.  King  James,  of  England,  France,  and  Ireland,  the 
eighteenth,  and  of  Scotland  the  fifty-fourth,  anno  Domini  1620." 

This  compact  was  signed  in  the  following  order.  We  adopt  the 
idea  of  Mr.  Prince,  in  his  New  England  Chronology,  Vol.  I,  p.  85,  Ed. 
1736,  in  giving  the  number  of  each  family;  also,  in  placing  the  *  to 
each  who  brought  his  wife,  and  italicizing  every  one  who  died  before 
the  first  of  April,  1621: 


24         '  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

1.  Mr.  John  Carver  *  8;   2.   Mr.  William  Bradford  *  2;   3.  Mr.  Ed- 
ward Winslow,*  6;    4.   Mr.  William  Brewster,*  6;    5.  Mr.  Isaac  Aller- 
ton,*  6;  6.  Capt.  Miles  Standish  *  2;  7.  John  Alden,  1;   8.  Mr.  Samuel 
Fuller,  2;    9.   Mr.  Christopher  Martin*  4;    10.  Mr.  William  Mulletis*  5; 
11.  Mr.  William  White*  b\  12.  Mr.  Richard  Warren,  1;  13.  John  How- 
land;   14.  Mr.  Stephen  Hopkins  *  8;    15.  Edward  Tilley*  4;   16.  John 
Tilley,*  3;   17.    Francis  Cooke,  2;    18.    Thomas  Rogers,  2;   19.    Thomas 
Tinker*^;  20.  John  Ridgdale,2\    21.  Edward  Fuller  *  ^\    22.  John   Tur- 
ner,  3;  23.  Francis  Eaton,*  3;  24.  James  Chilton*  3;  25.  John  Crackston, 
2;  26.  John  Billington,*  4;  27.  Moses  Fletcher,  1 ;   28.  John  Goodman,  1 
2^.  Degory  Priest,!;   30.    Thomas  Williams,!;   31.    Gilbert  Winslow,  1 
32.  Edmund  Margeson,  1;  33.  Peter  Brown,  1;  34.  Richard  Butteridge,\ 
35.  George  Soule;    36.  Richard  Clarke,  1;  '37.  Richard  Gardiner,  1;  38. 
John  Allerton,  1;  39.   Thomas  English,  1;  40.  Edward  Dotey;  41.  Edward 
Leister. 

The  same  day  John  Carver  was  chosen  governor  for  one  year,  and 
government  was  thus  regularly  established.  The  legislative  and 
judicial  power  was  in  the  whole  body,  and  the  govemer  became  the 
executive. 

On  the  15th  of  November  sixteen  men,  well  armed,  went  on  shore 
to  explore  while  the  shallop  was  being  repaired;  Captain  Miles 
Standish  was  leader.  They  found  Indians,  who  fled  at  their  approach. 
They  set  sentinels  and  remained  on  the  Cape  over  night — supposed 
from  the  description  to  be  near  Stout's  creek.  They  traveled  south 
from  Dyer's  swamp  to  the  pond,  in  Truro.  From  the  Great  Hollow 
they  went  south  to  the  hill  which  terminates  in  Hopkins's  cliff,  north 
side  of  Pamet  river  in  Truro. 

On  the  27th  of  November,  the  shallop  being  ready,  twenty-four  men 
went  forth  to  explore;  Captain  Jones,  of  the  May  flower, 2:0.^  a  few  sea- 
men joined  the  party,  making  thirty-four  in  all.  They  landed  at  Old 
Tom's  hill,  went  up  the  Pamet  river,  and  after  three  days  returned  to 
the  ship,  carrying  corn  from  the  storehouses  of  the  natives. 

December  sixth  another  company  set  sail  to  explore  the  Cape,  for 
much  anxiety  was  manifested  as  to  where  they  should  abide.  They 
first  landed  at  Billingsgate  point;  the  next  day  a  portion  went  by  boat 
and  others  on  shore  southward  through  Eastham.  They  sailed  along 
the  north  coast  of  Cape  Cod  until  Saturday  evening,  December  ninth, 
when  they  found  a  safe  harbor  under  the  lee  of  a  small  island,  called 
Clark's  island  from  the  master's  mate,  who  was  the  first  to  land,  in 
Plymouth  harbor.  Sunday  was  duly  observed  with  praise  and  thanks- 
giving, and  on  Monday  the  11th  the  harbor  was  sounded,  the  land 
explored,  and  was  deemed  the  best  place  for  a  habitation,  and  one 
which  the  season  and  their  present  necessities  should  make  them  glad 
to  accept.  That  day  they  returned  to  the  ship  in  Cape  Cod  harbor 
with  the  report  of  their  explorations. 


DISCOVERY  AND   EXPLORATIONS.  25 

The  question  touching  the  place  of  settlement  had  been  a  vital 
one,  and  some  even  yet  thought  it  best  to  explore  northward  from 
Plymouth  before  deciding;  but  upon  the  return  of  the  second  party 
from  Plymouth  it  was  decided  to  fix  their  abode  there;  December 
16th  the  ship  sailed  for  this  haven,  which,  owing  to  head  winds,  was 
not  entered  till  the  16th.  Here  a  history  of  Barnstable  county  must 
necessarily  sever  connection  with  them,  only  so  far  as  their  visits  and 
the  settlement  of  a  portion  of  them  pertains  to  the  Cape. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1621,  John  Billington,  a  boy  from  the  Ply- 
mouth colony,  was  lost,  for  whom  the  governor  caused  inquiry  to  be 
made  among  the  Indians.  He  was  found  at  Nauset  (Eastham),  where 
he  had  been  carried  and  kindly  sheltered  by  the  natives,  who  found 
him  wandering  in  the  woods  of  Sandwich.  A  boat  was  dispatched  to 
bring  the  boy,  but  was  compelled  to  anchor  over  night  at  Cummaquid 
(Barnstable  harbor).  Here,  lyanough,  the  sachem  of  this  part  of  the 
Cape,  displayed  a  friendship  that  could  well  be  denominated  a  reproof 
for  the  acts  of  Hunt  and  others  who  had  so  unceremoniously  taken 
unbecoming  liberties  among  the  tribes  of  the  Cape.  He  assisted  in 
the  recovery  of  the  boy,  and  promised  his  friendly  adhesion  to  the 
colony. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  1621,  nine  sachems  subscribed  an  instru- 
ment of  submission  to  King  James,  and  among  them  several  of  the 
known  Cape  sachems;  and  for  years  before  Barnstable  county  was 
settled  constant  intercourse  was  kept  up  with  the  Cape  by  the  Ply- 
mouth colony.  It  became  a  necessity  to  often  visit  the  Indian  gran- 
aries in  times  of  dearth.  In  this  intercourse  with  the  tribes  of  the 
Cape  more  or  less  jealousies  and  bickerings  arose,  in  which,  perhaps, 
the  whites  were  as  much  at  fault  as  their  Indian  neighbors.  One 
instance:  In  March,  1623,  Captain  Standish  entered  Scusset  harbor 
for  corn,  and  conceived  the  idea  that  a  native  of  Pamet  intended  to 
kill  him,  but  he  thwarted  any  plot,  if  one  had  been  planned,  by  a 
faithful  watch.  About  this  time  a  plot  against  the  colony  was  sus- 
pected, which  was  really  an  outgrowth  of  Captain  Standish's  former 
suspicion,  and  resulted  in  the  slaughter  by  the  English  of  four  prom- 
inent sachems,  the  head  of  one  of  whom  was  borne  to  Plymouth  and 
set  up  on  a  pole  over  the  fort.  The  news  of  such  unwonted  massacre 
spread  among  the  natives  of  the  Cape,  causing  them  to  feel  that  no 
confidence  could  be  placed  in  those  they  had  befriended,  and  that  any 
and  every  one  was  liable  at  any  moment  to  become  a  victim  of  false 
accusation,  to  swell  the  list  of  those  who  had  fallen  by  such  a  spirit 
of  extermination.  Several  of  the  Cape  tribes  left  their  abodes,  took 
to  the  woods  and  swamps,  contracted  diseases,  and  many  of  the  most 
friendly  sachems,  including  the  venerable  lyanough,  miserably  died. 
As  soon  as  the  transaction  mentioned  in  this  paragraph  was  communi- 


26  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

cated  to  Rev.  Mr.  Robinson,  the  leader  and  founder  of  the  Ply- 
mouth church,  at  Leyden,  he  wrote  to  the  governor  at  Plymouth,  beg- 
ging them  "  to  consider  the  disposition  of  their  captain,  who  was  a 
man  of  warm  temper;"  also  "he  trusted  the  Lord  had  sent  him  among 
them  for  good,  but  feared  he  was  wanting  in  that  tenderness  of  the 
life  of  man,  made  after  God's  image,  which  was  meet;  and  it  would 
have  been  better  if  they  had  converted  some  before  they  had  killed 
any." 

The  Cape  was  important  to  Plymouth,  as  touching  ground  for 
trading  vessels  and  additional  pilgrims.  In  December,  1626,  a  ship 
bound  for  Virginia  was  compelled  to  put  in  at  the  nearest  point,  and 
ran  into  Monomoyick  (Chatham)  bay;  here  the  vessel  was  wrecked, 
and  the  beach  was  called  thenceforward  Old  Ship.  The  Indians  con- 
veyed the  intelligence  of  the  disaster  to  Plymouth,  in  the  meantime 
caring  for  the  unfortunates,  and  the  governor  hastened  to  dispatch  a 
boat  with  supplies,  which  were  landed  at  the  south  side  of  the  bay,  at 
Namskaket  creek,  whence  it  was  not  much  over  two  miles  across  the 
Cape  to  where  the  ship  lay.  The  Indians  carried  the  supplies  across 
to  the  suflFerers,  and  the  goods  from  the  broken-up  vessel  were  subse- 
quently transported  to  Namskaket  and  the  crew  conducted  to 
Plymouth. 

In  1627  the  colonists  established  a  trading  house  at  Manomet 
(Bourne),  on  the  south  side  of  Monument  river,  to  facilitate  their 
intercourse  with  the  Narragansett  country.  New  Amsterdam,  and  the 
shores  of  Long  Island  sound.  The  trading  post  was  not  far  from 
Monument  Bridge — the  Indian  Manomet  being  corrupted  to  Monu- 
ment. By  transporting  their  goods  up  the  creek  from  Scusset  harbor 
and  transferring  them  a  short  distance  by  land  they  reached  the  boata- 
ble  waters  the  other  side  of  the. Cape.  Governor  Bradford  says:  "  For 
our  greater  convenience  of  trade,  to  discharge  our  engagements,  and 
to  maintain  ourselves,  we  have  built  a  small  pinnace,  at  Manomet,  a 
place  on  the  sea,  twenty  miles  to  the  south,  to  which,  by  another  creek 
on  this  side,  we  transport  our  goods  by  water  within  four  or  five  miles, 
and  then  carry  them  over  land  to  the  vessel;  thereby  avoiding  the 
compassing  of  Cape  Cod,  with  those  dangerous  shoals,  and  make  our 
voyage  to  the  southward  with  far  less  time  and  hazard.  For  the 
safety  of  our  vessel  and  goods  we  there  also  built  a  house  and  keep 
some  servants,  who  plant  corn,  raise  swine,  and  are  always  ready  to  go 
out  with  the  bark — which  takes  good  eflfect  and  turns  to  advantage." 
This  proved,  as  the  governor  said,  an  advantage.  The  first  communi- 
cation between  the  Plymouth  colony  and  the  Dutch  at  Fort  Amster- 
dam was  through  this  channel.  De  Razier,  the  noted  merchant, 
arrived  at  Manomet  in  September,  1627,  with  a  ship  load  of  sugar, 
linen  and  stuffs;  and  Governor  Bradford  sent  a  boat  to  Scusset  harbor 


DISCOVERY  AND   EXPLORATIONS.  2T 

to  convey  him  to  Plymouth.     As  this  trading  post  was  temporary,  we 
do  not  date  the  settlement  of  Sandwich  at  this  time. 

Still,  with  additions  to  their  numbers,  the  sickness  and  exposures, 
famine  stared  the  Plymouth  colony  in  the  face  often,  and  many 
instances  of  calm  resignation  are  recorded  in  its. early  annals.  One 
who  came  to  the  governor's  house  with  his  tales  of  suffering,  "  found- 
his  lordship's  last  batch  in  the  oven."  A  good  man  who  asked  a 
neighbor  to  partake  of  a  dish  of  clams,  after  dinner  returned  "  thanks 
to  God,  who  had  given  them  to  suck  of  the  abundance  of  the  seas  and 
of  the  treasures  hid  in  the  sands." 

Their  first  election  of  executive  officers  under  their  first  charter  was 
in  1630,  at  which  time  the  total  population  of  the  colony  did  not 
exceed  three  hundred.  There  was  no  scramble  for  ofiBce,  and  in  1631 
it  was  found  necessary  to  enact  that  "  if,  now,  or  hereafter  any  person, 
chosen  to  the  office  of  governor  refuse,  he  shall  be  fined  twenty 
pounds;  and  that  if  a  councillor,  or  magistrate,  chosen  refuse,  he  shall 
be  fined  ten  pounds;  and  in  case  this  be  not  paid  on  demand,  it  shall 
be  levied  out  of  said  person's  goods  or  chattels."  We  must  except 
this  one  peculiarity  from  the  many  sterling  principles  implanted  in 
our  government  customs,  but  not  censure  our  Puritan  ancestors  for 
the  departure  taken  by  the  present-day  politicians  in  their  unjust 
scramble  for  office. 

Governor  Bradford  thus  describes  a  great  storm,  in  the  annals  of 
the  colony: 

August  16,1635. — "A  mighty  storm  of  wind  and  rain  as  none 
living  in  these  parts,  either  English  or  Indians,  ever  saw.  It  began 
in  the  morning  a  little  before  day,  and  came  with  great  violence, 
causing  the  sea  to  swell  above  twenty  feet  right  up,  and  made  many  in- 
habitants climb  into  the  trees.  It  took  off  the  roof  of  a  house  belong- 
ing to  the  plantation  at  Manomet,  and  put  it  in  another  place.  Had 
the  storm  continued  without  shifting  of  the  wind,  it  would  have 
drowned  some  parts  of  the  country.  It  blew  down  many  thousands 
of  trees,  turning  up  the  stronger  by  the  roots,  breaking  the  higher 
pines  in  the  middle,  and  winding  small  oaks  and  walnuts  of  good 
size  as  withes.  It  began  southeast,  and  parted  towards  the  south  and 
east,  and  veered  sundry  ways.  The  wrecks  of  it  will  remain  a  hun- 
dred years.  The  moon  suffered  a  great  eclipse  the  second  night  after 
it."  The  destruction  on  the  Cape  was  even  greater  than  on  the  main 
land. 

Since  the  simple  compact  of  1620  no  constitution  or  other  instru- 
ment for  the  government  of  the  colony  had  been  made.  The  code  of 
Moses  seemed  to  be  paramount  to  any  code  of  England.  The  power 
of  the  church  was  superior.  As  trade  expanded  it  was  evident  that 
civil  authorityj  and  not  church  censure,  must  extend  its  strong  power 


28  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

over  the  colony  to.  check  the  often  recurring  conflictions  of  trade 
and  growing  selfishness  of  man's  nature;  therefore  on  the  ISth  of 
November,  1636,  the  court  of  associates  first  set  forth  the  following 
declaration  of  rights — the  first  real  one  of  the  New  World : 

"  We,  the  Associgites  of  New  Plymouth,  coming  hither  as  free-bom 
subjects  of  the  state  of  England,  and  endowed  with  all  and  singular 
the  privileges  belonging  to  such,  being  assembled,  do  ordain  that,  no 
act,  imposition,  law,  or  ordinance,  be  made  or  imposed  on  us,  at  the 
present  or  to  come,  but  shall  be  made  or  imposed  by  consent  of  the 
body  of  Associates,  or  their  representatives,  legally  assembled, — 
which  is  according  to  the  liberties  of  the  state  of  England." 

Thus  was  established  our  present  form  of  representation;  and  as 
all  rights  of  parliament  to  legislate  for  them  were  renounced,  they 
proceeded  to  provide  for  the  emergency.  It  was  enacted:  "  That  on 
the  first  Tuesday  in  June,  annually,  an  election  shall  be  held  for  the 
choice  of  Governor,  and  assistants,  to  rule  and  govern  the  plantation." 

The  franchise  was  confined  to  those  admitted  as  freemen,  to  whom 
a  stringent  oath  was  prescribed.  And  they  must  be  "  Orthodox  in 
the  fundamentals  of  religion  "  and  "  possessed  of  a  ratable  estate  of 
twenty  pounds."  The  votes  were  to  be  given  by  person  or  by  proxy 
at  Plymouth,  and  no  person  was  to  live,  or  inhabit,  within  the  govern- 
ment of  New  Plymouth  "  without  the  leave  and  liking  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Assistants."  A  constable  was  to  be  elected  who  had  power 
to  serve  "according  to  that  measure  of  wisdom,  understanding,  and 
discretion  as  God  has  given  you,"  and  had  power  to  arrest,  without 
precept,  "all  suspicious  persons."  Capital  offenses  were  treason, 
murder,  diabolical  converse,  arson  and  rape. 

At  this  date  (1636)  the  only  towns  settled  were  Plymouth,  Duxbury 
and  Scituate.  The  Cape  was  still  the  home  of  the  same  Indian  tribes 
who  had  been  ruled,  ostensibly,  by  the  colony,  and  had  maintained  a 
very  friendly  trade  and  seeming  allegiance.  But  the  year  1637  was 
to  see  the  first  settlement  by  the  whites  upon  the  Cape. 

April  3,  1637,  a  settlement  was  commenced  at  Sandwich,  although 
the  plantation  was  not  recognized  as  a  town  until  two  years  later. 
These  persons  were  chiefly  from  Lynn  (Saug^s),  with  a  few  from 
Duxbury  and  Plymouth.  The  permit,  or  grant,  must  be  given  by  the 
general  court,  and  the  record  was  made  that  they  "shall  have  liberty 
to  view  a  place  to  sit  down,  and  have  sufiScient  lands  for  three-score 
families,  upon  the  conditions  propounded  to  them  by  the  Governor 
and  Mr.  Winslow."  These  freemen  had  undergone  the  most  rigid 
oaths  and  examinations  to  obtain  this  permission,  and  very  early  Mr. 
John  Alden  and  Captain  Miles  Standish  were  sent  to  "set  forth  the 
bounds  of  the  lands  granted  there."  They  were  to  see  that  the  qual- 
ifications of  "  housekeeping  "  were  strictly  conformed  to;  and  singu- 


DISCOVERY   AND   EXPLORATIONS.  29 

larly  enough  it  was  found  that  Joseph  Winsor  and  Anthony  Besse, 
at  Sandwich,  were  disorderly  keeping  house — alone — and  were  pre- 
sented to  the  court.  While  the  growing  settlements  of  the  Cape  were 
under  Plymouth  government  we  find  no  flagrant  transgressions  of 
their  stringent  laws — the  whole  code — from  that  forbidding,  by  heavy 
punishment,  "  the  inveigling  of  men's  daughter,  etc.,"  down  to  that  of 
"allowing  no  swine  to  go  at  large  without  ringing  them." 

As  early  as  August,.1638,  liberty  was  given  Mr.  Stephen  Hopkins 
to  erect  a  house  at  Mattacheese  and  cut  hay  there  to  winter  his  cattle 
— provided  it  do  not  withdraw  him  from  Plymouth.  Again  permission 
granted,  September  third,  to  Gabriel  Weldon  and  Gregory  Armstrong 
to  go  and  dwell  at  Yarmouth;  and  then  it  is  said,  "  the  people  of  Lynn 
having  established  a  settlement  at  Sandwich,  an  attempt  was  made 
from  the  same  quarter  to  establish  another  at  Yarmouth."  First  in 
the  work  was  Rev.  Stephen  Batchelor,  aged  76  years,  who  trav- 
eled the  distance  from  Lynn  to  the  east  part  of  Barnstable  on  foot. 
The  records  show  that  this  attempt  failed  from  the  difficulties  that 
attended  it,  and  the  next  year  other  parties  had  the  honor  of  first 
erecting  their  cabins  in  the  wilderness  of  the  present  Barnstable  and 
Yarmouth. 

The  Indian  Mattacheese  extended  quite  a  distance  within  the 
present  limits  of  Barnstable,  and  among  the  many  settlers  of  the  sum- 
mer of  1639  the  territory  of  Barnstable,  Yarmouth  and  Dennis  became 
settled.  The  northeastern  part  was  called  Hockanom,  yet  another 
part  of  the  ancient  settlement  was  called  Sesuet — since  East  Dennis. 
The  names  of  these  grantees  of  Mattacheese  are  found  in  the  chapters 
of  Barnstable  and  Yarmouth. 

In  this  year,  1639,  so  many  had  migrated  to  the  towns  of  Barnsta- 
ble, Yarmouth  and  Sandwich,  that  they  were  invested  with  the  rights 
of  towns  and  were  each  entitled  to  two  delegates  to  an  assembly  for 
legislation.  In  October  of  the  same  year  the  authorities  at  Plymouth 
ordered  a  pound  to  be  erected  at  Yarmouth,  and  established  there  a 
pair  of  stocks.  The  stocks  of  that  day,  in  which  the  petty  offenders 
were  compelled  to  sit,  were  one  of  the  mediums  through  which  the 
Plymouth  court  would  impress  a  notion  of  its  dignity  upon  any  who 
disregarded  its  authority. 

In  1641  the  active  ministers  of  Barnstable,  Sandwich  and  Yarmouth 
were  John  Laythorpe  [Lothrop],  John  Mayo,  William  Leverich,  John 
Miller  and  Marmaduke  Matthews.  These  each  bore  the  title  of 
Mister,  that  insignia  of  Puritan  importance  which  at  that  time  was 
only  applied  to  the  learned  and  the  wealthy. 

The  first  assessment  for  the  expenses  of  the  general  court  was 
levied  in  June,  1641,  upon  the  eight  towns  then  constituting  the  col- 
ony.    To  produce  ;^25,  Plymouth  was  assessed  £5,  Duxbury  £^,  10, 


30  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Scituate  £4,  Sandwich  £3,  Yarmouth,  Barnstable  and  Taunton  each 
£2,  10,  and  Marshfield  £2. 

In  1644  the  project  of  removing  the  Plymouth  government  to 
Nauset  on  the  Cape  was  again  agitated,  and  Governor  Bradford  and 
others  were  sent  to  locate  a  site.  They  purchased  lands  of  the  sachems 
of  Nauset  and  Monomoyick,  and  permission  was  given  to  the  Ply- 
mouth church  for  a  new  location.  A  part  of  the  church  only  removed, 
-and  in  April  the  new  settlement  was  commenced  at  Nauset.  Secre- 
tary Morton  said  of  it,  "  divers  of  the  considecablest  of  the  church  and 
town  removed."  The  prominent  men  who  removed  are  noticed  in  the 
history  of  Eastham. 

In  1646  the  Cape  furnished  two  of  the  governor's  assistants — Mr. 
Thomas  Prince  of  Nauset  and  Edmund  Freeman  of  Sandwich — and 
the  towns  were  ordered  by  the  general  court  to  have  a  clerk  to  keep  a 
register  of  births,  marriages  and  burials. 

In  1647  progress  was  made  in  extending  the  Nauset  and  other  set- 
tlements, both  on  the  territory  between  Eastham  and  Dennis,  and 
toward  Provincetown.  Prior  to  the  settlement  at  Nauset,  three  years 
before,  all  of  the  territory  below  Dennis  was  occupied  by  Indians;  but 
■during  the  year  1653  Brewster  was  settled.  It  would  also  seem  that 
the  Cape  had  at  least  one  mill  at  Sandwich,  and  that  the  miller  was 
presented,  in  1648,  for  not  having  a  toll-dish  sealed  "according  to 
order." 

In  1651  quite  a  number  of  the  best  citizens  of  Sandwich,  "  for  not 
frequenting  the  public  worship  of  God,"  were  presented,  and  in  1652 
Ralph  Allen,  sr.,  and  Richard  Kerby  of  Sandwich  were  presented 
"""for  speaking  deridingly  against  God's  word  and  ordinances."  It 
would  seem  by  the  fining  of  the  citizens  that  already  the  Cape  people 
had  commenced  a  move  in  the  right  direction,  and  would  be  worship- 
ping God  properly  by  not  heeding  such  rules  and  tenets  as  had  been 
made  by  the  rulers. 

The  most  convenient  road  from  Sandwich  to  Plymouth  was  laid 
out  in  1652,  by  order  of  the  court  to  Mr.  Prince  and  Captain  Standish 
to  empanel  a  jury.  This  was  done,  and  the  highway  began  "  at 
Sandwich,  leaving  Goodman  Black's  house  on  the  right  hand,  running 
-across  the  swamp,  over  the  river,  and  so  on,  in  a  nor-north-west  line 
falling  upon  Eel  River."  April  1,  1663,  delegates  were  sent  from 
Barnstable,  Eastham,  Yarmouth  and  Sandwich  to  meet  the  court  "to 
conclude  on  military  aflfairs."  Sandwich  furnished  six  men,  Yarmouth 
six,  Barnstable  six  and  Eastham  three,  for  military  purposes.  In 
1653  the  first  coined  money  of  the  New  World  was  put  into  circu- 
lation, and  the  historical  pine-tree  shilling  was  the  veritable  money 
mentioned;  it  was  coined  by  Massachusetts  and  was  in  circulation  on 
the  Cape. 


DISCOVERY    AND    EXPLORATIONS.  31 

These  four  towns,  frequently  mentioned,  and  being  then  the  only 
Cape  towns  incorporated,  remained  under  the  Plymouth  government 
until  1685,  when  that  colony  was  divided  into  three  counties — Ply- 
mouth, Bristol  and  Barnstable.  The  growth  in  settlement  was  rapid, 
as  the  Cape  possessed  its  own  local  and  peculiar  advantages.  Thus 
the  white  man's  presence,  the  white  man's  enterprise  and  the  social 
life  which  they  implied  gradually  but  surely  took  their  permanent 
place  on  the  Cape,  and  the  elimination  of  the  red  man  as  a  factor  in 
human  affairs  here  was  rapidly  accomplished. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


CHARTERS,  GRANTS  AND  INDIAN  DEEDS. 


Spanish  Claims. — Cabot's  Discoveries. — Plymouth  Company. — Council  of  Plymouth. — 
The  Pilgrims.— Patent  of  1629-30.— Settlement  of  the  Cape  Towns  and  Purcliases 
from  the  Indians. — Charter  of  1691. 


BY  virtue  of  the  discovery  by  Columbus,  followed  by  a  grant  from 
the  pope  and  a  general  treaty  with  Portugal,  Spain  made  a  claim 
to  the  whole  continent  of  America,  excepting  Brazil,  which  was 
granted  to  Portugal  in  the  treaty.  This  assumption  excited  the 
cupidity  and  curiosity  of  other  European  powers,  and  expeditions  of 
discovery  were  at  once  fitted  out  by  France  and  England.  John  Cabot, 
in  1496,  set  sail  from  Bristol,  England,  with  full  authority  to  take  pos- 
session, in  the  name  of  the  king,  of  all  lands  and  islands  he  might 
discover.  He  sailed  to  the  present  coast  of  New  England,  and  under 
the  doctrine  that  newly  discovered  countries  belong  to  the  discov- 
erers, England  put  forward  a  claim  to  extensive  regions  of  North 
America,  a  portion  of  which  they  subsequently  settled;  but  the  colon- 
ization necessary  to  complete  the  title  by  discovery  was  delayed,  and 
eight  years  elapsed  before  the  English  made  attempts  to  settle  these 
lands  to  which  they  had  such  a  questionable  right. 

The  first  charter  of  Virginia,  in  1606,  contemplated  the  planting 
of  two  colonies.  The  persons  mentioned  in  the  charter  of  the  second 
or  northern  colony  were:  Thomas  Hanham,  Raleigh  Gilbert,  William 
Parker  and  George  Popham,  while  others  not  mentioned  were  active 
in  the  company.  In  1607  futile  attempts  were  made  by  this  Plymouth 
Company — the  name  given  to  the  one  for  the  settlement  of  northern. 
Virginia — to  plant  a  colony  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec  river. 

The  French  also  put  forward  a  claim  to  certain  portions  of  the  New 
England  territory,  and  under  a  patent  which  France  had  granted  to 
De  Monts,  they  made  a  settlement  at  Port  Royal;  but  Argall,  for  the 
English,  burned  it  in  1613.  Among  these  attempts  to  settle,  under  the 
patents  of  royalty,  it  was  seemingly  destined  that  a  feeble  band  of 
persecuted  religionists,  providentally  thrown  upon  its  shores,  should 
make  the  first  permanent  settlement  within  the  limits  of  the  new 
province. 


CHARTERS,  GRANTS  AND   INDIAN  DEEDS.  33 

The  Virginia  company  having  renewed  their  charter,  in  1619 — the 
first  having  been  forfeited  by  the  attainder  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh — a 
company  was  formed  at  London  which  applied  for  a  similar  grant  of 
the  northern  part  of  the  so-called  Virginia.  This  company,  well 
known  in  law  and  in  history  as  the  Council  of  Plymouth,  was  com- 
posed of  forty  men,  who  had  combined  and  engaged  to  invest  money 
in  this  new  enterprise.  After  nearly  two  years'  solicitation  this  com- 
pany succeeded,  November  3,  1620,  in  obtaining  a  charter  from  King 
James  I.,  which  put  that  part  of  North  America  between  the  40th  and 
48th  degrees  of  north  latitude,  except  "  all  places  actually  possessed 
by  any  other  Christian  prince  or  people,"  into  their  absolute  control. 

This  company  was  composed  of  the  Duke  of  Lenox,  Marquis  of 
Buckingham,  Marquis  of  Hamilton,  Earl  of  Arundel,  Earl  of  War- 
wick, Sir  Fernando  Gorges  and  thirty-four  merchants,  incorporated 
as  "  The  Council  established  at  Plymouth,  in  the  county  of  Devon,  for 
the  planting,  ruling,  ordering,  and  governing  of  New  England,  in 
America."  This  company,  although  formed  prior  to  the  departure  of 
the  Mayflower,  did  not  receive  from  the  crown  the  promised  charter 
until  about  one  week  before-  that  vessel  had  dropped  anchor  in  Cape 
Cod  harbor.  The  occupants  of  the  Mayflower,  finding  themselves  out 
of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Virginia  company,  under  whose  permission 
they  had  expected  to  form  their  settlement,  they  entered  into  the 
agreement  in  the  cabin,  as  described  in  the  previous  chapter.  The 
Mayflower  returned  to  England  in  the  spring  of  1621,  and  the  Council 
of  Plymouth  then  learned  that  the  pilgrims  had  formed  a  settlement 
upon  territory  included  within  their  charter.  The  council  were  quite 
ready  to  take  them  under  their  protection,  and  the  colonists  were  de- 
sirous of  receiving  it,  if  a  grant  of  territory  could  be  procured.  When 
the  Mayflower  sailed  from  the  Old  World,  many  who  came  obtained 
aid  from  Thomas  Weston  and  others,  called  Merchant  Adventurers. 
This  aid  was  to  each  man,  or  boy  of  sixteen,  ;^10  for  transportation 
and  outfit,  which  sum  entitled  the  Adventurers  to  one-half  interest  or 
share  in  all  the  lands,  profits  and  labors  of  the  person  so  aided  for  the 
term  of  seven  years. 

The  first  patent  for  the  pilgrims,  as  promised  by  the  Council  of 
Plymouth,  of  which  any  record  is  given,  bears  date  June  1, 1621.  This 
was  obtained  by  John  Pierce  and  his  associates  ostensibly  for  the  in- 
fant colony,  but  was  never  delivered.  Its  conditions  were  onerous;-- 
but  in  consideration  that  the  pilgrims  were  hopefully  settled,  the  same 
individual  sought  another  patent,  in  1623,  which  would  insure  a 
gfreater  degree  of  success  to  his  own  selfishness.  After  two  several 
attempts  to  cross  the  Atlantic  with  the  second  charter  in  his  posses- 
sion, upon  his  return  to  England  he  was  persuaded  to  relinquish  it  to 
the  council. 


34  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

The  pilgrims  of  1620  received  no  patent  for  their  lands  until  1629- 
30.  The  accrued  indebtedness  to  the  Merchant  Adventurers  at  the 
expiration  of  the  seven  years  was  ;^1, 800,  which  was  assumed  in  1627, 
and  bonds  for  payment  given  extending  over  a  period  of  nine  years. 
The  eight  of  the  colonists  who  assumed  the  indebtedness  were  Gov- 
ernor Bradford,  Edward  Winslow,  Thomas  Prince,  Miles  Standish, 
William  Brewster,  John  Alden,  John  Rowland  and  Isaac  Allerton, 
and  to  these  persons  a  patent  was  issued  by  the  Council  of  Plymouth 
January  13,  1629-30,  after  three  voyages  by  Mr.  Allerton  to  England 
for  its  procurement. 

"  The  Council  of  New  England,  in  consideration  that  Wm.  Bradford 
and  his  associates  have  for  these  nine  years  lived  in  New  England, 
and  there  have  planted  a  town  called  New  Plymouth,  at  their  own 
charges, — and  now  seeing  that,  by  the  special  providence  of  God  and 
their  extraordinary  care  and  industry,  they  have  increased  their  plan- 
tation to  near  three  hundred  people  *  *  *  ,  do  therefore  seal  a 
patent  to  the  said  Wm.  Bradford,  his  heirs,  associates,  and  assigns  of 
all  that  part  of  New  England  on  the  east  side  of  a  line  drawn  north- 
erly from  the  mouth  of  the  Narraganset  river  and  southerly  of  a  line 
drawn  westerly  from  the  Cohasset  rivulet  to  meet  the  other  line  at 
the  uttermost  limits  of  country  called  Pocanoket."  A  tract  on  the 
Kennebec  was  also  included.  This  grant  comprised  the  entire  Cape 
with  all  prerogatives,  rights,  royalties,  jurisdictions  and  immunities; 
also  marine  franchises  that  the  council  had,  or  ought  to  have,  with 
privileges  of  incorporation  by  laws  and  constitutions  not  contrary  to 
those  of  England. 

This,  the  first  charter  received  giving  the  pilgrims  any  definite 
territory,  was  granted  to  Mr.  Bradford  and  his  associates  who  had 
bound  themselves  to  pay  the  indebtedness  of  the  colony.  This  patent 
was  missing  for  many  years,  and  is  said  to  have  been  found  in  1741 
among  Governor  Bradford's  papers. 

In  1640  the  general  court  desired  that  William  Bradford  should 
make  to  them  a  surrender  of  the  charter,  which  he  willingly  did.  In 
Bradford's  History  of  Plymouth  Plantation,  page  372,  these  quaint  words 
of  the  instrument  may  be  found: 

"Whereas  William  Bradford,  and  diverce  others  ye  first  instru- 
ments of  God  in  the  begining  of  this  great  work  of  plantation,  to- 
^eather  with  such  as  ye  all  adoring  hand  of  God  in  his  providence 
soone  added  unto  them,  have  been  at  very  great  charges  to  procure 
ye  lands,  priviledges,  &  freedoms  from  all  intanglements  of  grants, 
purchases,  and  payments  of  debts,  &c.,  by  reason  whereof  ye  title  to 
ye  day  of  these  presents  remaineth  in  ye  said  William  Bradford,  his 
heires,  associats,  and  assignes:  now,  for  ye  better  settling  of  ye  estate 
of  the  said  lands  (contained  in  ye  grant  or  pattente,)  the  said  William 


CHARTERS,  GRANTS   AND   INDIAN   DEEDS.  35 

Bradford,  and  those  first  instruments  termed  &  called  in  sundry  or- 
ders upon  public  recorde,  ye  Purchasers,  or  Old  comers;  witnes  2, 
in  spetiall,  the  one  bearing  date  ye  3.  of  March,  1639,  the  other  in 
Des:  the  1,  Ano  1640,  whereunto  the  presents  have  spetiall  rela- 
tion and  agreemente,  and  wherby  they  are  distinguished  from 
other  ye  freemen  &  inhabitants  of  ye  said  corporation.  Be  it  knowne 
unto  all  men,  therfore,  by  these  presents,  that  the  said  William 
Bradford,  for  him  selfe,  his  heires,  together  with  ye  said  pur- 
chasers, doe  only  reserve  unto  them  selves,  their  heires,  and  as- 
signes,  those  3  tractes  of  land  mentioned  in  ye  said  resolution, 
order,  and  agreemente,  bearing  date  ye  first  of  Des:  1640.  viz.  first, 
from  ye  bounds  of  Yarmouth  3  miles  to  ye  eastward  of  Naem- 
schatet,  and  from  sea  to  sea,  cross  the  neck  of  land." 

Two  other  tracts  of  land  were  also  reserved,  and  the  closing 
words  of  the  long  document  are:  "  In  witness  wherof,  the  said 
William  Bradford  hath  in  publick  courte  surrendered  the  said  let- 
ters patents  actually  into  ye  hands  &  power  of  ye  said  courte, 
binding  him  selfe,  his  heires,  executors,  administrators,  and  assignes 
to  deliver  up  whatsoever  spetialties  are  in  his  hands  that  doe  or 
may  concerne  the  same." 

It  was  conceded  that  the  Indians  had  a  natural  right  or  title  in  the 
lands,  which  must  be  obtained  by  the  settlers  after  the  court  had 
granted  them  permission  to  establish  a  plantation.  A  verbal  grant 
from  the  Indians  was  at  first  considered  sufficient,  but  subsequently 
the  title  from  the  natives  was  passed  by  instruments,  which  were 
legal  in  their  form,  whether  they  were  understood  by  the  natives  or 
not.  Doctor  Holmes  in  his  annals  quotes  the  words  of  Governor 
Winslow,  "  that  the  English  did  not  possess  one  foot  of  land  in  the 
colony  but  was  fairly  obtained  by  honest  purchase  from  the  Indian 
proprietors." 

The  first  permission  to  settle  on  the  Cape  was  given  by  the  Ply- 
mouth colony  on  the  3d  of  April,  1637,  under  which  so-called  grant 
the  first  settlement  at  Sandwich  was  begun,  and  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  procure  of  the  Indians  a  title  to  the  lands.  Grants  were 
given  in  1639  for  the  settlement  of  Mattacheese — now  Barnstable, 
Yarmouth  and  Dennis.  In  settling  these  plantations  a  suitable  loca- 
tion was  first  purchased  of  the  Indians;  and  subsequently,  as  occasion 
required,  deeds  of  adjoining  territory  were  obtained.  Reservations 
were  made  for  the  Indians,  provided  that  if  they  sell  it  be  to  the  in- 
habitants of  the  plantation;  and,  although  all  purchases  were  carefully 
made  by  a  committee  appointed  by  court,  misunderstandings  arose 
between  the  whites  and  Indians.  In  1641,  after  purchasing  of  Ne- 
paiton  lands  in  Barnstable,  other  agreements  were  made  to  build  for 
him,  "  in  addition  to  what  said  Nepaiton  hath  already  had  one  dwel- 


36  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ling  house  with  a  chamber  floored  with  boards,  with  a  chimney  and 
an  oven  therein." 

A  deed  or  receipt,  probably  written  by  Anthony  Thacher,  for 
lands  in  Yarmouth,  will  acquaint  the  reader  with  the  form  used  when 
other  claimants  might  appear :  "  Witnesseth  these  presents,  that  I, 
Masshantampaigne,  Sagamore,  doth  acknowledge  that  I  have  received 
and  had  of  Anthony  Thacher,  John  Crow,  and  Thomas  Howes,  all  and 
every  particular  thing  and  things  that  I  was  to  have  for  all  and  every 
part  and  parcel  of  lands:  *  *  *  which  said  lands  I  sold  to  Mr.  William 
Bradford.  I  say  I  acknowledge  myself  fully  satisfied  and  paid  *  * 
and  I  do  forever  acquit  the  said  Thatcher,  Crow,  and  Howes.  In  witness 
whereof,  etc..  May  8, 1657."  To  this  the  sachem  named  made  his  mark 
in  presence  of  witnesses,  who  also  signed  the  deed  as  such;  and  one  or 
more  of  these  witnesses  certified  in  1674,  before  an  ofiScer,  that  the  sa- 
chem "set  his  hand  to  it"  and  "he  heard  him  own  it."  In  similar  form 
and  import  were  deeds  or  receipts  given  by  lyanough  and  sachems 
of  the  South  sea  Indians.  In  1640  a  grant  for  the  settlement  of  Nau- 
set,  and  subsequently  one  for  Monomoyick,  were  obtained  from  the 
Plymouth  court.  Deeds  were  obtained  from  the  sachems  Quason, 
Mattaquason  and  George,  and  the  towns  of  Eastham,  Orleans,  Well- 
fleet  and  Chatham  were  subsequently  organized.  Falmouth  and  Har- 
wich still  later  were  purchased  in  the  same  manner.  In  1660  a  tract 
of  10,500  acres  was  granted  for  the  exclusive  use  of  the  Massipees,  and 
the  following  year  a  large  tract  was  granted  to  Richard  Bourne  at 
the  west  of  the  Massipee  lands.  The  court  gave  grants  for  many 
smaller  portions  of  land  during  the  growth  of  the  towns  on  the  Cape, 
and  in  1655,  by  order  of  the  court,  every  town  was  required  to  pur- 
chase a  book  in  which  all  titles  of  land  should  be  recorded.  These 
were  called  "  proprietors'  records,"  and  were  very  essential  prior  to 
the  formation  of  the  county  and  establishment  of  an  office  ior  the 
registry  of  deeds. 

The  usurpations  of  power  by  Andros  in  1686,  his  declaration  that 
"  Indian  deeds  were  no  better  than  the  scratch  of  a  bear's  paw,"  and 
his  summons  for  the  surrender  of  charters,  occasioned  alarm  to  the 
coloni.sts  of  the  Cape,  as  well  as  the  main  land.  In  1690  the  Rev. 
Ichabod  Wiswall  and  others  from  this  colony  went  to  England  to  ob- 
tain a  restoration  of  the  old  or  solicit  a  new  charter.  The  restoration 
of  the  old  was  refused  and  a  new  one  promised.  The  towns  of  Barn- 
stable county  paid  their  proportion  of  the  expenses  to  obtain  a  new 
charter. 

The  charter  of  October  7,  1691,  granted  by  William  and  Mary, 
united  the  colonies  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  the  province  of  Maine, 
Acadia,  and  New  Plymouth,  including  the  Cape,  into  one  province, 
called  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England.   Four 


CHARTERS,  GRANTS   AND   INDIAN   DEEDS.  37 

of  the  twenty-eight  councillors  elected  were  to  be  from  the  former 
New  Plymouth,  which  gave  to  the  Cape  its  representation,  and  in 
1692  the  new  privileges  were  enjoyed  after  the  arrival  of  Sir  William 
Phipps,  the  new  governor,  with  the  charter. 

The  only  privilege  reserved  to  the  consolidated  colonies  by  the 
new  charter  was  the  right  of  choosing  representatives  by  the  people, 
the  crown  reserving  the  right  of  appointing  the  governor,  lieutenant 
governor  and  secretary.  From  the  first  settlement  of  the  Cape  until 
1692  this  part  of  the  colony  of  Plymouth  bore  its  full  share  of  priv- 
ileges under  the  charters  enumerated;  and  then,  when  included  in  the 
Massachusetts  charter,  this  county  was  ably  represented  in  public 
affairs  and  responsibilities.  The  governors  were  appointed  by  the 
crown,  during  the  existence  of  the  last  charter,  until  October  26, 1780, 
when  the  federal  constitution  became  the  supreme  law,  vesting  all 
powers  in  the  people  and  annulling  all  charters. 


CHAPTER  V. 


CIVIL   HISTORY  AND   INSTITUTIONS. 


Basis  of  Civil  Government.— Erection  of  the  County.— Political  History.— Councillors  — 
Senators.-  Representatives.-  Sheriffs.—  Registers.— County  Institutions.— Federal 
Institutions. — Custom  House. — Lighthouses.- Life  Saving  Service. 


THE  desire  for  religious  freedom  possessed  by  our  ancestors,  not- 
withstanding their  peculiar  inconsistencies  as  they  seem  to  us  of 
the  present  day,  established  on  a  broad  and  comprehensive 
basis  the  idea  of  civil  liberty.  Colonies  were  settled  by  churches,  and 
as  such  the  religious  body  instituted  the  law  and  government.  No 
one  could  be  a  freeman  and  co-operate  in  the  affairs  of  the  church  or 
the  body  politic  unless  he  was  a  church  member;  and  under  this  rule 
the  church  gave  or  refused  him  the  right  to  settle.  The  tyranny  of 
the  hierarchy  drove  the  Puritans  to  this  shore;  this  spirit,  continued 
by  the  Puritans,  forced  malcontents  to  found  new  plantations  where 
they  could  establish  civil  and  religious  liberty  for  themselves,  and 
this  has  thrown  open  to  the  land  the  gates  of  liberty,  never  to  be 
again  closed.  In  1636,  when  the  trade  of  the  original  colony  had  con- 
siderably increased  and  other  plantations  were  about  to  be  established, 
the  court  of  associates  set  forth  the  first  declaration  of  rights,  which 
ordained  that  no  act,  imposition,  law  or  ordinance  should  be  imposed 
on  the  colonists,  at  that  or  any  future  time,  without  the  consent  of  the 
body  of  associates  or  their  representatives,  legally  assembled.  Enact- 
ments were  made  the  same  year  regarding  the  election  at  Plymouth 
of  a  governor  and  assistants  by  the  freemen  in  person,  or  by  proxy, 
and  the  trial  of  important  suits  or  offenses  by  jury.  Religion  was  in- 
tended to  be  the  basis  of  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical  government;  but 
here  in  the  remote  wilderness  these  pilgrims  first  conceived  and  ex- 
emplified the  principle  that  the  will  of  the  majority  shall  govern — the 
foundation  of  American  liberty.  In  planting  a  church  they  founded 
an  empire. 

The  first  and  each  succeeding  plantation  established  upon  territory 
embraced  in  Barnstable  county  was  composed  of  people  imbued  with 
these  principles,  from  which  have  arisen  the  present  town  govern- 
ments. 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND    INSTITUTIONS. 


39 


In  1643  the  towns  then  existing  on  the  Cape  as  part  of  the  Ply- 
mouth colony  were  joined  with  others  in  the  confederation  of  the 
United  Colonies  of  New  England,  which,  with  some  slight  changes, 
was  continued  until  1685,  when  the  charters  of  the  several  colonies 
of  the  province  were,  in  effect,  vacated  by  a  commission  of  King 
James  II.  The  spirit  of  confederation  had  taught  the  colonies  to  act 
together  when  common  dangers  had  menaced,  and  here  was  the  germ 


of  the  present  national  system,  reserving  to  the  towns  their  own  local 
government. 

In  the  division  of  Plymouth  colony  into  three  counties — Plymouth, 
Bristol  and  Barnstable — in  1685,  the  county  of  Barnstable  was  incor- 
porated June  second.  The  history  of  this  county  in  its  relation  to  the 
European  race  may  be  dated  from  its  first  exploration;  but  its  civil 
history  must  be  regarded  as  beginning  with  its  incorporation  in  1685. 
Sandwich,  Barnstable,  Yarmouth  and  Eastham  had  been  previously 


40  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

incorporated  as  towns;  Falmouth,  Harwich,  Truro  and  Monomoy,  soon 
after  made  towns,  were  plantations  assuming  rights  of  self  govern- 
ment; and  since  the  formation  of  the  county,  Mashpee  has  been  in- 
corporated, Wellfleet  and  Orleans  set  off  from  Eastham,  Brewster 
from  Harwich,  Dennis  from  Yarmouth,  and  Bourne  from  Sandwich. 
Sippecan,  or  Rochester,  was  temporarily  annexed  to  this  county,  but 
was  transferred  to  Plymouth  county. 

Barnstable  was  designated  as  the  shire  town,  where  a  court  house 
was  at  once  erected  adjoining  the  old  training  ground  on  the  south 
side  of  the  county  road,  and  nearly  opposite  the  site  of  the  present 
Baptist  church  in  Barnstable  village.  The  second  court  house  was 
erected  in  1774,  and  after  the  completion  of  the  present  court  house 
it  was  purchased  by  the  Baptist  society,  turned  to  face  westward,  and 
remodeled  to  its  present  form,  and  since  has  been  the  Baptist  church 
of  the  village.  The  officers  for  the  new  county  were  appointed  at  its 
incorporation,  and  the  body  corporate  assumed  its  distinctive  civil 
jurisdiction  over  the  same  territory  now  comprising  its  more  numer- 
ous towns. 

In  1691  the  rights  of  general  suffrage  and  more  liberal  local  legis- 
lation in  the  towns  were  guaranteed  by  the  accession  to  the  English 
throne  of  William  and  Mary,  who  united  the  colonies  and  formed  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  The  powers  of  the  towns  were  in- 
creased, and  the  New  England  town  system  became  a  model  for 
municipal  imitation,  inaugurating  a  method  of  control  over  local 
affairs  that  should  regulate,  like  the  governor  of  the  engine,  the  entire 
machinery  of  the  government.  The  county,  as  a  confederation  of 
towns  with  sovereign  powers,  is  a  concentration  of  these  corporate 
bodies,  combining  increased  strength  that  shall  comparatively  more 
advance  the  social  and  civil  affairs  of  the  body  politic. 

An  attempt  was  made  in  1734,  by  petitions  in  behalf  of  the  lower 
towns,  to  have  the  county  divided  and  those  towns  set  off  as  a  distinct 
county;  but  failing  in  this,  the  towns  petitioned  for  the  abolishment 
of  some  of  the  courts  annually  held  at  the  court  house.  In  the  civil 
history  of  the  county  no  bitter  party  strife  has  interrupted  the  har- 
monious execution  of  its  duly  constituted  powers,  and  especially  may 
this  assertion  be  applied  to  its  history  since  1774.  At  that  date  the 
term  whig  was  given  to  those  who  were  in  favor  of  resisting  the  tax- 
ations and  aggressions  of  Great  Britain;  and  to  those  who  were  will- 
ing to  acquiesce  in  the  demands  the  name  tory  was  applied.  Among 
other  exactions  Great  Britain  assumed  the  right  to  appoint  the  council, 
and  also  gave  the  sheriff  the  right  to  appoint  the  jurors — rights  be- 
longing to  and  that  had  long  been  enjoyed  by  the  body  politic.  This 
aroused  the  indignation  of  many  of  the  whigs  of  the  upper  part  of 
the  county,  who  determined  to  prevent  the  September  sitting  of  the 


CIVIL  HISTORY  AND   INSTITUTIONS.  41 

court  of  common  pleas,  and  to  this  end  hastened  to  Barnstable.  The 
concourse  of  people  that  had  gathered  on  the  way,  and  had  been  in- 
creased by  additions  at  the  county  seat,  took  possession  of  the  grounds 
in  front  of  the  court  house  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  judges  to  open 
the  court.  When  the  judges  appeared  they  were  warned  not  to  open 
the  session,  not  to  assemble  as  a  court  nor  do  any  business  as  such. 
The  people  were  assured  by  the  judges  that  the  jurors  had  beein 
drawn  from  the  boxes  and  the  court  was  legal;  but  the  people  per- 
sisted in  their  determined  opposition  and  the  session  was  not  held. 
Later,  the  military  and  civil  officers  of  the  county  who  held  appoint- 
ments under  the  king  were  requested  to  resign,  with  which  request  they 
willingly  complied.  This  spirit  was  abandoned  soon  after  the  declar- 
ation of  peace  between  the  countries,  as  also  were  the  names  with 
which  the  parties  had  stigmatized  each  other.  The  revolt  of  the  col- 
onies and  their  confederation  enlarged  the  powers  and  increased  the 
strength  of  the  existing  corporate  bodies,  in  the  enjoyment  of  which 
Barnstable  county  is  no  exception. 

Soon  after  those  stirring  times  a  county  building  was  erected  on 
the  high  ground  just  east  of  the  Sturgis  library  building  in  Barnstable, 
which  contained  rooms  for  the  register  of  deeds  and  other  county 
officers,  as  the  second  court  house  was  used  for  courts  only.  The 
burning  of  this  edifice  during  the  night  of  October  22-3,  lb27,  was 
the  most  serious  calamity  that  has  befallen  the  county.  On  the  fly- 
leaf or  cover  of  volume  1  of  the  present  records  the  following  account 
is  written:  "  The  first  record  of  a  deed  in  the  county  was  made  Octo- 
ber 5,  1686,  by  Joseph  Lothrop,  Register.  Previous  to  that  the  records 
of  deeds  were  made  at  Plymouth  in  the  old  Colony  Records.  Since 
then  94  volumes  had  been  filled.  On  the  night  of  October  22,  1827, 
the  brick  building  erected  some  years  before  by  the  county,  and 
which  was  occupied  by  the  clerk  of  the  Judicial  and  Probate 
Courts,  and  the  Register  of  deeds  for  the  county,  was  burned.  One 
volume.  No.  61,  of  the  record  was  .saved;  ninety-three  were  burned 
with  a  large  number  of  deeds  in  the  office."  Besides  the  contents  of 
the  register's  office,  volumes  29,  44  and  46  of  the  probate  records,  and 
other  valuable  records  and  papers  were  destroyed.  To  remedy  this 
loss,  and  take  measures  for  the  erection  of  new  buildings,  an  extra 
term  of  the  court  of  sessions  was  held  January  16,  1828,  which  was 
followed,  March  10,  by  an  act  of  the  general  court,  making  it  "  the  duty 
of  the  selectmen  of  each  town  to  cause  to  be  fairly  recorded  all  deeds 
for  conveyance  of  any  real  estate  or  any  interest  therein,  lying  in 
their  respective  towns,  which  shall  be  brought  to  them  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  which  shall  bear  date  not  more  than  forty  years  back  and 
have  been  recorded  in  the  registry  of  deeds  of  the  county  before  the 
23d  of  Octobor  last;  the  said  books  of  record  then  to  be  deposited  in 


42  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

the  office  of  the  registry  of  deeds  for  the  county,"  and  to  be  as  effectual 
in  law  as  the  first  records  destroyed  by  the  fire."  As  the  result  of 
the  act  several  volumes  of  records  were  accumulated,  which,  with  the 
rapidly  increasing  volumes  of  the  usual  registry,  fill  the  available 
space  of  the  register's  office. 

In  1828  arrangements  for  the  erection  of  the  present  court  house 
were  perfected  by  the  county,  and  in  its  erection  the  people  have 
taken  the  precaution  to  have  each  of  its  offices  fire  proof.  It  is  a  neat 
and  substantial  stone  building,  with  ample  accommodations  for  all 
courts  and  other  business  of  the  county.  The  first  payment  on  the 
contract  for  its  erection  was  ordered  by  the  county  commissioners  in 
September,  1831,  and  the  last  in  July,  1834.  The  historic  bell,  sold  to 
the  county  for  the  court  house  by  the  church  in  Sandwich,  in  1763,  is 
preserved  with  care,  and  may  be  seen  hanging  from  an  arch  in  the 
office  of  the  clerk  of  the  court. 

The  exact  date  of  the  erection  of  the  first  jail  can  not  be  deter- 
mined. The  loss  of  the  records  of  the  county  has,  without  doubt,  ex- 
tinguished all  recorded  evidence,  and  the  date  cannot  be  determined 
by  tradition.  In  1686  we  find  a  court  was  called  by  proper  authority 
to  consider  the  erection  of  a  jail  or  place  of  confinement  in  each  of 
the  new  counties.  Whenever  erected  it  was  a  primitive  concern,  and 
stood  upon  what  is  known  as  Jail  -street,  near  the  premises  of  Gus- 
tavus  A.  Hinckley,  Barnstable;  and  about  1820  the  second  was  erected 
near  the  first,  and  was  a  substantial  stone  structure,  used  as  a  iail  un- 
til 1878,  when  the  material  was  utilized  in  the  foundation  of  the  en- 
largement of  the  present  court  house.  The  present  jail,  in  rear  of 
the  court  house,  was  erected  in  1878,  and  the  prisoners  were  trans- 
ferred to  it  on  the  16th  of  May,  1879. 

Councillors.— This  office  was  created  by  the  charter  of  William 
and  Mary  in  1691,  and  the  following  year,  under  Governor  Phipps, 
these  officers  were  first  elected.  Of  the  governor's  council  four  of  the 
number  were  elected  from  that  portion  of  the  province  formerly 
known  as  Plymouth  colony,  and  of  these  two  were  chosen  from  this 
county,  and  one  other  had  formerly  resided  here.  From  the  adoption 
of  the  state  constitution  until  1840  the  governor's  council  each  year 
consisted  of  nine  persons,  chosen  by  the  legislature  from  those  elected 
as  senators  and  councillors.  By  the  Thirteenth  amendment,  promul- 
gated in  April,  1840,  the  nine  councillors  were  for  fifteen  years  chos6n 
by  the  legislature  from  among  the  people  at  large,  but  the  Sixteenth 
amendment,  promulgated  in  May,  1856,  inaugurated  the  present  sys- 
tem, whereby  the  state  is  divided  into  eight  districts,  each  of  which 
annually  elects  one  of  the  councillors.  Prior  to  1855  Elijah  Swift  of 
Falmouth,  Seth  Crowell  of  Dennis,  Solomon  Davis  of  Truro,  and  John 
Kenrick  of  Orleans  had  been  councillors,  each  two  years.     Barnstable 


PBINT. 
E.     BIEH3TADT,     N. 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND   INSTITUTIONS.  43 

county  has,  since  1855,  formed  a  part  of  the  First  district.  The  fol- 
lowing named  residents  of  this  county  have  been  members  of  the 
executive  council  since  the  state  was  divided  into  councillor  districts: 
Charles  F.  Swift  of  Yarmouth,  iu  1860;  Marshall  S.  Underwood  of 
Dennis,  in  1869-1871;  Joseph  K.  Baker  of  Dennis,  in  1875-1878. 

The  present  councillor  from  this  district  is  Isaac  N.  Keith*  of 
Bourne,  who  was  elected  in  1888  and  re-elected  in  1889.  He  is  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Rev.  James  Keith,  who  came  to  America  about  1660, 
and  was  settled  in  the  ministry  at  Bridgewater,  where  he  labored 
fifty-six  years,  and  where  he  died  in  1719,  aged  seventy-six.  From 
him  are  descended  all  who  bear  his  family  name  in  this  country.  The 
family,  which  is  a  very  ancient  one,  came  originally  from  Scotland. 
The  following  historical  sketch  is  from  the  "  Peerage  of  Scotland," 
published  at  Edinburgh  in  1834.  "  This  ancient  family  derived  its 
origin  frjom  one  Robert,  a  chieftain  among  the  Catti,  from  which  came 
the  surname  Keith.  At  the  battle  of  Panbridge,  in  1006,  he  slew 
with  his  own  hands  Camus,  general  of  the  Danes;  and  King  Malcom, 
perceiving  this  achievement,  dipped  his  fingers  in  Camus'  blood  and 
drew  red  strokes  or  pales  on  the  top  of  Robert's  shield,  which  have 
ever  since  been  the  armorial  bearings  of  his  descendants.  In  1010 
he  was  made  hereditary  Marischal  of  Scotland,  and  was  rewarded 
with  a  barony  in  East  Lothian,  which  was  called  Keith-Marischal  after 
his  own  name."  It  should  be  said  that  Rev.  James  Keith  was  educated 
at  Marischal  College.  Aberdeen,  an  institution  founded  by  one  of  the 
family,  George,  fifth  Earl. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Keith  was  Isaac,  who  was  born  at  Tamworth 
Iron  Works,  N.  H.,  July  13,  1807,  and  removed  to  Bridgewater,  the 
home  of  his  ancestors,  in  1814.  He  came  to  Sandwich  in  1828,  and 
settled  in  West  Sandwich,  now  Sagamore,  in  the  town  of  Bourne, 
commencing  business  therewith  one  Mr.  Ryder,  under  the  firm  name 
of  Ryder  &  Keith,  carriage  manufacturers.  Mr.  Ryder  retiring  from 
the  firm  in  1830,  from  that  time  until  his  death  Mr.  Keith  conducted  the 
business  under  his  own  name,  laying  the  foundation  of  the  present  Keith 
Manufacturing  Company.  Mr.  Keith  was  a  prominent  and  estimable 
citizen,  always  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  town  of  his  adoption. 
He  was  married  in  1829  to  Delia  B.  Swift  of  Sandwich.  He  died  April 
8,  1870,  leaving  two  daughters  and  two  sons.  The  youngest  is  Isaac 
N.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  was  born  November  14,  1838. 

He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Sandwich.  In  1858  he 
learned  the  business  of  telegraphy,  which  he  followed  for  two  years; 
was  then  chosen  superintendent  of  the  Cape  Cod  and  Cape  Ann  dis- 
tricts of  the  American  Telegraph  Company.     September  7,  1865,  he 

*  This  sketch  of  Mr.  Keith  is  by  his  friend  and  neighbor,  Charles  Dillingham.  The 
Councillor's  home  at  Sagamore  is  the  subject  of  an  illustration  in  the  history  of  that 
village. 


44  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

was  married  to  Miss  Eliza  Frances  Smith,  daughter  of  Eben  S.  Smith, 
Esq.,  of  Provincetown.  In  October,  1867,  he  resigned  his  position 
with  the  telegraph  company  and  commenced  with  his  father  the  busi- 
ness of  railway  car  manufacturing,  of  which  he  is  now  the  sole 
owner  and  general  manager.  In  these  days  of  labor  troubles,  his 
relations  with  his  employees  have  always  been  of  the  most  pleasant 
character.  His  sound  judgment,  business  capacity  and  strict  integrity 
have  secured  to  him  a  large  property  as  well  as  the  high  esteem  and 
confidence  of  his  fellow  townsmen  and  business  acquaintances.  As 
an  evidence  of  this  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention  that  when- 
ever he  has  been  presented  to  the  electors  of  his  native  town  he  has 
invariably  run  ahead  of  his  ticket.  Mr.  Keith  was  twice  elected  to 
the  Massachusetts  house  of  representatives,  1874  and  1875;  twice  sen- 
ator from  the  Cape  Senatorial  District,  1886  and  1887;  and  in  1888  and 
again  in  1889  was  elected  one  of  the  executive  council  from  the  First 
Councillor  district,  which  office  he  now  holds. 

If  it  ever  be  allowable  to  write  of  the  living,  what  perhaps  more 
appropriately  belongs  to  the  province  of  the  historian,  it  can  truth- 
fully be  said  of  Mr.  Keith,  that  the  ancient  motto  of  the  family, 
''Veritas  Vincit,"  has  never  suffered  violence  at  his  hands. 

Senators. — The  constitution  of  1780,  providing  that  the  senate 
should  consist  of  forty  members,  made  Barnstable  county- a  district 
entitled  to  elect  annually  one  senator.  By  frequent  re-elections  six- 
teen men  only  were  elected  within  the  first  sixty  years.  Their  names 
and  the  term  of  service,  with  year  of  first  election,  were:  1780,  Solo- 
mon Freeman,  Harwich,  19  years;  1788,  Thomas  Smith,  Sandwich, 
1;  1798,  David  Thacher,  Yarmouth,  1;  1801,  John  Dillingham,  Har- 
wich, 6;  1804,  Richard  Sears,  Chatham,  1;  1806,  James  Freeman,  Sand- 
wich, 2;  1808,  Joseph  Dimmick,  Falmouth,  3;  1811,  Timothy  Phinney, 
Barnstable,  1;  1813,  Wendell  Davis,  Sandwich,  2;  1815,  Solomon  Free- 
man, Brewster,  6;  1821,  Elijah  Cobb,  Brewster,  2;  1823,  Braddock 
Dimmick,  Falmouth,  3;  1826,  Nymphas  Marston,  Barnstable,  2;  1828, 
Elisba  Pope,  Sandwich,  4;  1831,  John  Doane,  Orleans,  3;  1834,  Charles 
Marston,  Barnstable,  6. 

By  the  terms  of  the  Thirteenth  amendment  to  the  constitution, 
promulgated  April,  1840,  the  county  was  for  seventeen  years  entitled 
to  two  seats  in  the  state  senate.  They  were  occupied  by  the  follow- 
ing named  persons,  the  number  of  years  noted  after  each:  1841,  Seth 
Crowell,  Dennis,  2  years;  1841,  Charles  Marston,  Barnstable,  1;  1842, 
Solomon  Davis,  Truro,  4;  1843,  John  B.  Dillingham,  Sandwich,  2;  1846, 
Zeno  Scudder,  Barnstable,  3;  1846,  Barnabas  Freeman,  Eastham,  2; 
1848,  George  Copeland,  Brewster,  2;  1849,  John  Jenkins,  Falmouth,  2; 
1850,  Stephen  Hilliard,  Provincetown,  2;  1851,  Zenas  D.  Basssett, 
Barnstable,  2;  1852,  Cyrus  Weeks,  Harwich,  2;  1853,  James  B.  Crocker, 


(ytat^ 


PRINT. 
6       BrEHSTAOT, 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND   INSTITUTIONS.  45 

Barnstable,  2;  1854,  Robert  Y.  Paine,  Wellfleet,  1;  1855,  Sylvester 
Baxter,  Yarmouth,  2;  1855,  Lewis  L.  Sellew,  Provincetown,  1;  1856, 
Alfred  Kenrick,  Orleans,  1;  1857,  John  W.  Atwood.  Chatham,  2. 

By  the  Twenty-second  amendment  of  May,  1857,  the  state  was  re- 
districted,  and  Falmouth,  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  were  joined  with 
Dukes  and  Nantucket  counties  to  compose  the  Island  district,  while 
the  Cape  district  comprised  Yarmouth  and  the  nine  towns  below. 
This  apportionment  existed  until  1877,  during  which  time  the  Cape 
district  was  represented  in  1858,  1859  by  Charles  F.  Swift,  Yarmouth; 
1860,  1861  by  Marshal  S.  Underwood,  Dennis;  1862,  1863,  R.  H.Libby, 
Wellfleet;  1864,  1865,  Freeman  Cobb,  Provincetown;  1866,  Reuben 
Nickerson,  Eastham;  1867,  1868,  Chester  Snow,  Harwich;  1869-1871, 
NathanielE.  Atwood,  Provincetown;  1872,  1873,  Joseph  K.  Baker, 
Dennis;  1874,  1875,  Thomas  N.  Stone,  Wellfleet;  1876,  Jonathan  Hig- 
gins,  Orleans. 

The  Island  district  was  represented  within  this  twenty  years  by 
Barnstable  county  men  as  follows:  1861,  1862,  Charles  Dillingham, 
Sandwich;  1863,  1864,  Nathan  Crocker,  Barnstable;  1867,  1868,  Eras- 
mus Gbuld,  Fal-mouth;  1869,  1870,  George  A.  King,  Barnstable;  1873, 
1874,  Francis  A.  Nye,  Falmouth;  1875,  1876,  Ezra  C.  Howard,  Sand- 
wich. 

Since  1877  and  until  the  present  the  three  counties — Banstable, 
Dukes  and  Nantucket — have  composed  the  Cape  district,  which  was 
represented  in  1877-1879  by  John  B.  D.  Cogswell  of  Yarmouth;  1880, 
1881,  by.  Samuel  Snow,  Barnstable:  1882,  1883,  Joseph  P.  Johnson, 
Provincetown;  1884-1886,  Howes  Norris,  Cottage  City;  1887,  1888, 
Isaac  N.  Keith,  Bourne. 

David  Fisk  of  Dennis  was  elected  in  1888  for  the  session  of  1889, 
and  by  re-election  is  the  present  senator.  He  is  one  of  four  brothers 
of  that  family  name  residing  in  South  Dennis,  who  are  intimately 
blended  with  the  civil  history  of  their  native  town,  as  well  as  the 
county.  Of  his  ancestors  little  is  known  beyond  his  grandfather,  Nathan 
Fisk,  who  settled  during  the  last  century  in  Dennis.  His  son  Nathan, 
born  in  1801,  married  Polly,  daughter  of  Eliphalet  Baker,  one  of  the 
descendants  of  the  large  family  of  that  name  scattered  over  the  Cape. 
Their  children  were  eight  in  number,  four  of  whom  survive:  Uriah 
B.,  Luther,  David  and  Henry  H.  Fisk. 

David  Fisk  was  born  May  6,  1838,  at  West  Dennis,  where  hjs  boy- 
hood was  passed  in  acquiring  such  an  education  as  was  obtainable  in 
the  public  and  private  schools,  until  the  age  of  fifteen,  when  he  went 
to  sea,  before  the  mast.  Several  years  were  passed  in  ascending  the 
scale,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  acted  as  master.  In  this  capac- 
ity he  continued  for  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  coasting  and  occasion- 
ally making  a  voyage  to  foreign  ports.     In  1874  he  retired  and  has 


46  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

since  acted  as  the  agent  for  Fisk  Brothers,  in  building  vessels  and  in 
other  shipping  business.  He  was  married  in  1860  to  Mary  E.  Wixon, 
who  died  leaving  two  daughters:  Marion  and  Alice  M.  In  1886  he 
married  for  his  second  wife,  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Zeno  Gage. 

As  soon  as  he  was  permanently  retired  from  the  sea  he  was  chosen 
by  the  republican  party  to  serve  as  selectman,  assessor,  overseer  of 
the  poor,  and  surveyor  of  the  public  roads,  which  duties  he  declined 
after  serving  six  years-.  He  also  served  Uis  town  in  the  school  com- 
mittee three  years,  commencing  with  1875.  His  ability  being  appre- 
ciated, he  was,  in  the  autumn  of  1881,  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  legisla- 
ture, and  re-elected  in  1832.  No  happier  tribute  could  have  been  paid 
to  him  than  his  nomination  by  acclamation  and  the  election  in  1888  to 
a  seat  in  the  senate  and  again  in  1889 — the  highest  honor  of  his  dis- 
trict. His  advancement  has  been  as  marked  and  he  has  been  as  suc- 
cessful on  land  as  on  sea,  every  position  being  filled  with  that  natural 
energy  and  decision  which  inspires  confidence  in  his  ability. 

He  is  liberal  in  his  views  in  all  matters  of  church  and  state,  and  is 
endowed  with  a  firm  and  lasting  friendship.  In  his  business  and 
official  relations  he  is  indefatigable  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty. 
His  social  proclivities  induced  him  to  unite  with  the  Masonic  frater- 
nity, and  there,  too,  he  has  been  elevated  to  the  highest  offices  of  the 
lodge.  In  every  position  where  he  has  presided  or  mingled  in  the 
aflFairs  of  his  fellow  townsmen,  the  same  firmness,  tempered  with  jus- 
tice, has  characterized  him,  and  his  success  is  established. 

Representatives. — After  Governor  Bradford  was  elected  his  ill- 
ness in  1621  made  it  advisable  that  he  have  an  assistant;  this  was 
continued,  and  in  1624  five  assistants  were  chosen.  In  1633  the  num- 
ber was  increased  to  seven,  and  not  until  the  arrival  of  Andros  was 
this  branch  of  the  civil  government  discontinued. 

The  election  of  deputies  by  the  towns,  as  soon  as  they  were  legally 
incorporated,  was  a  change  to  a  representative  form  of  government. 
The  first  representative  assembly  met  June  4,  1639,  at  Plymouth,  to 
which  Sandwich,  Yarmouth  and  Barnstable  sent  each  two  deputies. 
This  was  an  enlargement  as  well  as  division  of  the  powers  of  the  gov- 
ernment, as  in  these  deputies  were  conjointly  invested  powers  which 
heretofore  had  been  exercised  by  the  governor  and  his  assistants  only. 
The  extension  of  the  settlements  had  created  a  necessity  for  delega- 
ting power  to  deputies  and  representatives,  and  thus  the  present  repre- 
sentative form  of  government  was  inaugurated.  The  constitution  of 
1780  provided  that  towns  already  incorporated  and  having  160  ratable 
polls  or  less,  should  be  entitled  to  one  representative,  to  be  elected  in 
May  of  each  year;  and  corporate  towns  containing  375  ratable  polls, 
two  representatives.  Under  this  provision  the  representatives  of  the 
respective  towns  are  given  in  the  history  of  each,  being  considered  as 
town  officers  until  1857. 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND    INSTITUTIONS.  47 

Since  1831  the  legislative  year  begins  the  first  Wednesday  in  Jan- 
uary, by  amendment  Ten,  promulgated  May  11th  of  that  year,  the  elec- 
tions being  held  in  November.  The  amendment  of  1836,  article  Twelve, 
changed  the  basis  of  representation,  the  census  of  ratable  polls  by 
towns  to  be  taken  in  May,  1837,  and  every  tenth  year  thereafter.  This 
provided  that  each  town  of  three  hundred  ratable  polls  might  elect 
one,  and  for  every  additional  450  polls,  another  representative  might 
be  elected.  By  an  equitable  rule,  towns  having  less  than  three  hun- 
dred polls  were  to  be  represented  a  portion  of  the  ten  years  only;  and 
the  reader  may  not  expect  to  find  the  smaller  towns  represented  every 
year,  while  the  larger  may  have  more  than  one  for  a  portion  of  the 
time. 

This  arrangement  was  superseded  in  1840  by  article  Thirteen  of 
amendments.which  provided  that  the  next  decade  should  begin  in  1841; 
that  the  rate  of  representation  be  one  for  twelve  hundred  ratable  polls 
and  two  for  thirty-six  hundred.  Under  this  rule  the  apportionment 
of  1841  entitled  each  town  of  the  county  to  one  representative,  except 
the  towns  of  Barnstable,  Sandwich  and  Eastham,  the  first  two  to  have 
two  each,  and  the  latter  only  to  have  five  within  the  ten  years.  This 
rule  of  apportionment  existed  from  1841  to  1850,  inclusive. 

The  apportionment  of  1851  gave  Barnstable  two  representatives 
each  year;  Brewster  one  for  seven  years  within  the  ten;  Eastham  for 
four  of  the  same  period;  and  every  other  town  one  each  year. 

In  May,  1857,  article  Twenty-one  provided  that  the  house  of  repre- 
sentatives consist  of  240  members,  to  be  apportioned  according  to  the 
census  of  1857,  and  the  county  commissioners  were  to  district  the 
county  at  the  beginning  of  each  decade,  after  the  legislature  had  as- 
signed the  number  of  representatives  to  the  county.  The  same  amend- 
ment provided  that  the  census  shoiild  again  be  taken  in  May,  1865, 
and  every  tenth  year  thereafter,  and  the  legislature  should  apportion 
the  representatives  to  the  counties  at  the  first  session  after  the  enume- 
ration. This  made  a  radical  change  in  the  system  of  apportionment, 
and  since  the  election  of  the  representatives  in  the  fall  of  1857,  they  can 
no  longer  be  regarded  as  officers  of  the  town,  and  are  accordingly 
noticed  in  the  following  lists.  The  county  was  entitled  to  nine  rep- 
resentatives by  this  act,  and  the  commissioners  divided  the  towns  as 
follows:  The  First  district  included  Barnstable,  Sandwich  and  Fal- 
mouth, and  was  to  elect  three  representatives;  the  Second  included 
Yarmouth,  Dennis,  Harwich  and  Chatham,  with  three;  the  Third, 
Brewster,  Orleans  and  Eastham,  one;  and  the  Fourth,  Wellfleet,  Truro 
and  Provincetown,  with  two. 

As  each  person  elected  represented  the  district  in  which  he  lived, 
and  the  residence  being  indicated  with  the  name,  the  following  lists 
are  believed  to  be  explicit  as  showing  the  district  and  years  in  which 
each  man  served: 


48  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

1858.  Zenas  D.  Bassett,  Barnstable;  John  A.  Baxter,  Barnstable;  Paul 
Wing,  Sandwich;  John  W.  Atwood,  Chatham;  Thomas  Dodge,  Chat- 
ham; Luther  Studley,  Dennis;  Ira  Mayo,  Orleans;  Nathaniel  E.  At- 
wood, Provincetown;   Thomas  H.  Lewis,  Wellfleet. 

1859.  Nathaniel  Hinckley,  Barnstable;  John  S.  Fish,  Sandwich; 
William  Nye,  jr.,  Falmouth;  Benjamin  H.  Matthews,  Yarmouth; 
James  S.  Howes,  Dennis;  Nathaniel  Doane,  jr.,  Harwich;  Elijah  Cobb, 
Brewster:  Daniel  Paine,  Truro;  James  Gifford,  Provincetown. 

1860.  Ansel  Lewis,  Barnstable;  Joseph  Hoxie,  Sandwich;  William 
Nye,  jr.,  Falmouth;  Benjamin  H.  Matthews,  Yarmouth;  James  S. 
Howes,  Dennis;  Edward  Smalley,  Harwich;  Nathan  Crosby,  Barn- 
stable; Simeon  Atwood,  jr.,  Wellfleet;  James  Gifford,  Provincetown. 

1861.  John  S-  Fish,  Sandwich;  George  W.  Donaldson,  Falmouth; 
Ansel  Lewis;  Samuel  Higgins,  Chatham;  John  K.  Sears,  Yarmouth; 
Edward  Smalley,  Harwich;  Jesse  Snow,  Orleans;  Lewis  Lombard, 
Truro;  James  Gifford,  Provincetown. 

1862.  Asa  E.  Lovell,  Barnstable;  Zebedee  Green,  Sandwich,  John 
K.  Sears,  Yarmouth;  Samuel  Higgins,  Chatham;  George  W.  Donald- 
son, Falmouth;  Danforth  S.  Steel,  Harwich;  Sylvanus  Smith,  East- 
ham;  John  P.  Johnson,  Provincetown;  Benjamin  Oliver,  Wellfleet. 

1863.  Charles  Marston,  Barnstable;  Elisha  G.  Burgess,  Falmouth; 
Zebedee  Green,  Sandwich;  Isaac  B.  Young,  Chatham;  Marshall  S.  Un- 
derwood, Dennis;  Danforth  S.  Steel,  Harwich;  Truman  Doane,  Or- 
leans; Smith  K.  Hopkins,  Truro;  Benjamin  Oliver,  Wellfleet. 

1864.  Charles  Marston,  Barnstable,  E.  G.  Burgess,  Falmouth;  Ezra 
T.  Pope,  Sandwich;  Isaac  B.  Young,  Chatham;  M.  S.  Underwood, 
Dennis;  David  G.  Eldridge,  Yarmouth;  Sylvanus  Smith,  Eastham; 
David  Wiley,  Wellfleet;  Henry  Shortle,  Provincetown. 

1865.  Ezra  T.  Pope,  Sandwich;  Silas  Jones,  Falmouth;  Simeon  L. 
Leonard,  Barnstable;  David  G.  Eldridge,  Yarmouth;  Joseph  Hall, 
Dennis;  Solomon  Thacher,  Harwich;  Tully  Crosby,  Brewster;  Henry 
Shortle,  Provincetown;  Amasa  Paine,  Truro. 

1866.  Isaac  K.  Chipman,  Sandwich;  Silas  Jones,  Falmouth;  S.  L. 
Leonard,  Barnstable;  Edmund  Flinn,  Chatham;  Joseph  Hall,  Dennis; 
Solomon  Thacher,  Harwich;  Truman  Doane,  Orleans;  Freeman  A. 
Smith,  Provincetown;  Nathaniel  H.  Dill,  Wellfleet. 

The  apportionment  of  1865  for  the  next  decade  put  Barnstable, 
Sandwich,  Falmouth  and  Yarmouth  into  the  First  district  for  three 
representatives;  Dennis,  Harwich  and  Brewster  composed  the  Second, 
for  two;  Chatham  and  Orleans  made  the  Third,  for  one;  and  the  four 
lower  towns  made  the  Fourth  district,  which  was  entitled  to  two  rep- 
resentatives, all  to  be  elected  in  November,  1866.  The  several  incum- 
bents' names  and  year  in  which  each  was  in  oflBce  stand  thus: 

1867.  Isaac  K.  Chipman,  Sandwich;  George  Marston,  Barnstable; 


CIVIL   HISTORY  AND   INSTITUTIONS.  49 

Heman  B.  Chase,  Yarmouth;  Solomon  Thacher,  Harwich;  Frederick 
Hebard,  Dennis;  Edmund  Flinn,  Chatham;  Nathaniel  H.  Dill,  Well- 
fleet;  Jesse  Pendegrast,  Truro. 

1868.  Alvah  Holway,  Sandwich;  Lemuel  B.  Simmons,  Barnstable; 
Heman  B.  Chase,  Yarmouth;  Samuel  H.  Gould,  Brewster;  Seth  Cro- 
well,  Dennis;  Ensign  B.  Rogers,  Orleans:  Henry  Shortle,  Province- 
town;  John  H.  Bangs,  Eastham. 

1869.  Lemuel  B.  Simmons,  Bam.stable;  Francis  A.  Nye,  Falmouth; 
Alvah  Holway,  Sandwich;  Samuel  H.  Gould,  Brewster;  Shubael  B. 
Kelley,  Harwich;  Ensign  B.  Rogers,  Orleans;  John  C.  Peake,  Well- 
fleet;  Obadiah  S.  Brown,  Truro. 

1870.  Francis  A.  Nye,  Falmouth;  Warren  Marchant,  Sandwich; 
Henry  Goodspeed,  Barnstable;  Shubael  B.  Kelley,  Harwich;  Joseph 
K.  Baker,  jr.,  Dennis;  Thomas  Holway,  Chatham;  Joseph  P.  Johnson, 
Provincetown;  George  T.  Wyer,  Wellfleet. 

1871.  Henry  Goodspeed,  Barnstable;  J.  B.  D.  Cogswell,  Yarmouth; 
Ezra  C.  Howard,  Sandwich;  Erastus  Chase,  Harwich;  Joseph  K.  Baker, 
Dennis;  Thomas  Holway,  Chatham;  Joseph  P.  Johnson;  Provincetown; 
George  T.  Wyer,  Wellfleet. 

1872.  Ezra  C.  Howard,  Sandwich;  J.  B.  D.  Cogswell,  Yarmouth; 
Nathaniel  Sears,  Barnstable;  Erastus  Chase,  Harwich;  Zoeth  Snow, 
jr.,  Brewster;  Lot  Higgins,  Orleans;  Jesse  S.  Pendergrast,  Truro; 
Reuben  G.  Sparks,  Provincetown. 

1873.  J.  B.  D.  Cogswell,  Yarmouth;  Nathaniel  Sears,  Barnstable; 
Philip  H.  Robinson,  Sandwich;  David  P.  Howes,  Dennis;  Zoeth  Snow, 
jr.,  Brewster;  Lot  Higgins,  Orleans;  R.  G.  Sparks,  Provincetown; 
Thomas  N.  Stone,  Wellfleet. 

1874.  Levi  L.  Goodspeed,  Barnstable;  Philip  H.  Robinson,  Sand- 
wich; Joshua C.  Robinson,  Falmouth;  David  P.  Howes,  Dennis;  George 
D.  Smalley,  Harwich;  Solomon  E.  Hallett,  Chatham;  Henry  Shortle, 
Provincetown;  Lewis  Lombard,  Eastham. 

1875.  Levi  L.  Goodspeed,  Barnstable;  Joshua  C.  Robinson,  Fal- 
mouth; Isaac  N.  Keith,  Sandwich;  George  D.  Smalley,  Harwich; 
Luther  Fisk,  Dennis;  S.  Eldredge  Hallett,  Chatham;  Isaiah  A.  Small, 
Provincetown;  Edward  W.  Noble,  Truro. 

1876.  Samuel  Snow,  Barnstable;  Daniel  Wing,  Yarmouth;  I.  N. 
Keith,  Sandwich;  Freeman  Doane,  Orleans;  Isaiah  Small,  Province- 
town;  Noah  Swett,  Wellfleet;  Elisha  Crocker,  jr.,  Brewster;  Luther 
Fisk,  Dennis. 

The  relative  decrease  in  population  at  the  next  decade  left  Barn- 
stable county  entitled  to  six  representatives  from  1877  to  1886,  inclu- 
sive. Six  districts  were  formed,  with  one  representative  to  each,  the 
first  embracing  Sandwich  and  Falmouth;  the  second  Barnstable  and 
Mashpee;  the  third  Yarmouth  and  Dennis;  the  fourth  Harwich  and 
4 


60  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Chatham;  the  fifth  Brewster,  Orleans,  Eastham  and  Wellfleet;  and  the 
sixth  including  Truro  and  Provincetown.  The  representatives  dur- 
ing this  decade  with  the  year  of  service  were: 

1877.  Crocker  H.  Bearse,  Falmouth;  Samuel  Snow,  Barnstable; 
Daniel  Wing,  Yarmouth;  Abiathar  Doane,  Harwich;  Noah  Swett, 
Wellfleet;  Henry  Shortle,  Provincetown. 

1878.  Isaiah  Fish,  Sandwich;  Asa  Lovell,  Barnstable;  Thomas 
Prince  Howes,  Dennis;  Abiathar  Doane,  Harwich;  Freeman  Doane, 
Orleans;  Henry  Shortle,  Provincetown. 

1879.  Isaiah  Fish,  Sandwich;  Asa  Lovell,  Barnstable;  Thomas  P. 
Howes,  Dennis;  Rufus  Smith,  Chatham;  Elisha  Crocker,  jr.,  Brewster; 
Bangs  A.  Lewis,  Provincetown. 

1880.  James  E.  GiflFord,  Falmouth;  Clark  Lincoln,  Barnstable; 
Charles  F.  Swift,  Yarmouth;  Erastus  Nickerson,  Chatham;  Jesse  H. 
Freeman,  Wellfleet;  Joseph  P.  Johnson,  Provincetown. 

1881.  James  E.  Gifford,  Falmouth;  Clark  Lincoln,  Barnstable; 
Charles  F.  Swift,  Yarmouth;  Watson  B.  Kelley,  Harwich;  Jesse  H. 
Freeman,  Wellfleet;  Atkins  Hughes,  Truro. 

1882.  Bradford  B.  Briggs,  Sandwich;  F.  D.  Cobb,  Barnstable;  David 
Fisk,  Dennis:  Watson  B.  Kelley,  Harwich;  John  A.  Clark,  Eastham; 
Atkins  Hughes,  Truro. 

1883.  Bradford  B.  Briggs.  Sandwich;  F.  D.Cobb,  Barnstable;  David 
Fisk,  Dennis;  Clarendon  A.  Freeman,  Chatham;  Solomon  Linnell  2d, 
Orleans;  Edward  E.  Small,  Provincetown. 

1884.  Meltiah  Gifford,  Falmouth;  Zenas  E.  Crowell,  Barnstable; 
Joshua  Crowell,  Dennis;  Clarendon  A.  Freeman,  Chatham;  Solomon 
Linnell,  2d,  Orleans;  Edward  E.  Small,  Provincetown. 

1885.  Asa  P.  Tobey,  Falmouth;  Z.  E.  Crowell,  Barnstable;  Joshua 
Crowell,  Dennis;  Ambrose  N.  Doane,  Harwich;  Tully  Crosby,  jr., 
Brewster;  Benjamin  D.  Atkins,  Provincetown. 

1886.  Charles  Dillingham,  Sandwich;  Watson  F.  Hammond,  Mash- 
pee;  George  H.  Loring,  Yarmouth;  Ambrose  N.  Doane,  Harwich; 
Isaiah  C.  Young,  Wellfleet;  Benjamin  D.  Atkins,  Provincetown. 

The  present  apportionment,  made  in  1886  from  the  census  of  1885, 
entitles  the  county  to  four  representatives.  The  First  district  includes 
Dennis  and  the  six  towns  west  of  it,  and  elects  two  representatives. 
Charles  Dillingham,  Sandwich,  and  George  H.  Loring,  Yarmouth, 
represented  this  district  in  1887;  A.  R.  Eldridge,  Bourne,  and  Joshua 
Crowell,  Dennis,  represented  it  in  1888  and  1889;  and  Nathan  Edson, 
Barnstable,  and  George  E.  Clarke,  Falmouth,  in  1890. 

The  second  district,  with  one  representative,  includes  the  towns 
of  Harwich,  Chatham,  Brewster  and  Orleans.  It  was  represented  in 
1887  by  John  H.  Clark,  Brewster;  in  1888  by  Joseph  W.  Rogers,  Or- 
leans; in  1889  by  George  Eldridge,  Chatham;  and  in  1890  by  Dr. 
George  N.  Munsell,  Harwich. 


CIVIL   HISTORY  AND   INSTITUTIONS.  51 

The  lower  four  towns  are  embraced  in  the  third  district,  which 
was  represented  in  1887  by  Isaiah  C.  Young,  Wellfleet;  in  1888  and 
1889  by  David  Conwell,  Provincetown;  and  in  1890  by  Richard  A. 
Rich,  of  Truro. 

Sheriffs. — William  Bassett  was  the  first  sheriff  of  the  county.  He 
was  appointed  under  the  charter.  May  27,  1692.  The  successive  in- 
cumbents have  been:  From  1699,  Samuel  Allen;  1713,  Shubael  Gor- 
ham;  1715,  Joseph  Lothrop;  1721,  John  Russell;  1731,  John  Hedge;  1734, 
Shubael  Gorham;  1748,  John  Gorham;  1764,  Nathaniel  Stone;  1775, 
Enoch  Hallett;  1788,  Joseph  Dimmick;  1808,  James  Freeman;  1816, 
Wendell  Davis;  1823,  David  Crocker;  1843,  Nathaniel  Hinckley;  1848, 
Charles  Marston;  1852,  Daniel  Bassett;  1853,  David  Bursley;  1856, 
Charles  C.  Bearse;  1863,  David  Bursley;  1878,  Levi  L.  Goodspeed;  1880, 
Thomas  Harris;  1884,  Luther  Fisk;  1890,  Joseph  Whitcomb,  of  Pro- 
vincetown. 

In  1720  Shubael  Gorham  was  appointed  "  to  be  joint  sheriff 
with  Mr.  Lothrop."  The  office  of  "joint  sheriff"  and  "sole  sheriff" 
are  occasionally  noted  in  the  records  of  those  years. 

Registers  of  Deeds. — The  early  deeds  were  recorded  at  Plymouth, 
but  in  1686  Joseph  Lothrop,  as  register  for  the  new  county,  recorded 
on  the  fifth  of  October  the  first  deed  at  Barnstable.  The  succeeding 
registers  have  been:  William  Bassett,  John  Thacher,  Solomon  Otis, 
Edward  Bacon,  Ebenezer  Bacon,  Job  C.  Davis,  Lothrop  Davis,  Fred- 
erick Scudder,  Smith  K.  Hopkins  from  1874,  Asa  E.  Lovell  from  1877, 
and  Andrew  F.  Sherman  from  1887. 

County  Institutions. — Associations  for  more  effective  work  in 
the  church,  and  societies  for  the  advancement  of  agriculture  and 
other  arts,  have  been  formed  in  the  county  during  the  present  cen- 
tury, of  which  the  conference  of  the  Congregational  churches  is  the 
oldest.  This  was  formed  October  28,  1828,  for  the  promotion  of  a 
closer  union  of  its  ministers  and  societies.  No  written  constitution 
was  adopted  until  April  26,  1837,  and  of  this  a  revision  was  made  in 
January,  1845.  The  pastors  of  the  churches  of  the  county^  also  those 
of  Dukes  county,  with  two  lay  members  from  each  society,  constitute 
the  membership.  The  meetings  are  held  in  different  towns,  accord- 
ing to  appointment,  twice  in  each  year. 

The  Barnstable  Baptist  Association  was  organized  in  1832,  embrac- 
ing the  societies  of  that  faith  on  the  Cape,  and  at  Nantucket  and 
Martha's  Vineyard.  The  association,  consisting  now  of  fifteen 
churches,  has  a  constitution  for  its  government,  and  holds  its  sessions 
at  least  annually,  commencing  on  the  second  Wednesday  in  Septem- 
ber in  each  year.  Each  church  is  allowed  to  send  its  pastor  and  four 
lay  members,  called  messengers.  The  officers  are  a  moderator,  clerk 
and  treasurer.     To  this  association  each  church  sends  a  communica- 


62  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

tion  containing  an  account  of  its  condition  and  prosperity.  The  body 
has  certain  powers  of  its  own,  and  has  for  its  object  the  promotion  of 
piety. 

The  Barnstable  County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  char- 
tered in  March,  1833,  and  in  August  of  the  same  year  opened  its  prin- 
cipal office  at  Yarmouth  Port.  The  executive  officers  are  the  pres- 
ident and  the  secretary,  who  is  also  treasurer.  The  presidents  in  suc- 
cession, have  been:  David  Crocker,  Eben  Bacon,  Zenas  D.  Bassett, 
David  K.  Akin  and  Joseph  R.  Hall.  The  first  secretary  and  treas- 
urer was  Amos  Otis,  succeeded  by  his  son,  George  Otis,  and  he,  in 
January,  1882,  by  Frank  Thacher,  the  present  incumbent.  The  career 
of  this  institution  has  been  uniformly  successful.  Careful  manage- 
ment has  reduced  the  average  net  cost  of  insurance  to  one-third  the 
usual  rates. 

The  Cape  Cod  Historical  Society  was  organized  at  a  meeting  held 
at  the  camp  meeting  grove  in  Yarmouth,  August  5,  1882.  Its  object, 
as  stated  in  its  constitution,  is  "  the  collection,  preservation  and  dis- 
semination of  facts  of  local  history."  The  fee  for  membership  was 
placed  at  two  dollars,  with  a  liability  to  assessment  not  exceeding  one 
dollar  per  year.  For  life  members  the  fee  is  ten  dollars,  without  any 
additional  charges.  The  annual  meetings  of  the  society  are  held  on 
the  22d  of  February,  or  the  day  of  its  legal  observance.  At  these 
meetings  original  papers  are  read,  and  discussions  of  historical  sub- 
jects are  conducted.  When  practicable  a  summer  meeting  is  held  or 
an  excursion  provided  to  some  spot  of  historic  interest.  Three  such 
occasions  have  occurred  during  the  existence  of  the  society — one  in 
1883,  when  a  clambake  was  served  near  the  site  of  the  ancient  trad- 
ing port  of  the  pilgrims,  at  Manomet,  when  an  address  was  delivered 
by  Hon.  Thomas  Russell,  and  appropriate  speeches  made  by  other 
gentlemen.  The  following  year  the  party  visited  Sandwich  and 
inspected  the  site  of  the  Cape  Cod  ship  canal.  One  year  some  fifty 
members  and  their  friends  visited  Plymouth  and  thoroughly  explored 
its  historic  sites,  burial  grounds  and  record  halls,  and  the  rooms  of 
the  Pilgrim  Society.  Papers  have  been  prepared  and  read  at  the 
annual  meetings  of  the  society  which  are  worthy  of  preservation  in 
a  permanent  form,  and  would  make  an  interesting  and  instructive 
volume.  They  were  written  by  Josiah  Paine,  Thomas  P.  Howes, 
E.  S.  Whittemore,  Shebnah  Rich,  C.  C.  P.  Waterman  and  Charles  F. 
Swift. 

The  officers  of  the  society  are:  Charles  F.  Swift,  president;  Josiah 
Paine,  secretary;  Samuel  Snow,  treasurer.  These  persons  have  held 
their  positions  since  the  organization  of  the  society.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  additional  officers  in  1889-90:  Vice-presidents,  Thomas 
P.  Howes,  Alonzo  Tripp,  Sylvanus  B.  Phinney,  Ebenezer  S.  Whitte- 


CIVIL  HISTORY  AND   INSTITUTIONS.  63 

more,  James  Gififord,  Jesse  H.  Freeman;  executive  committee,  the 
president,  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  Joshua  C.  Howes  and  E.  B. 
Crocker. 

On  the  fifth  of  May,  1843,  pursuant  to  notice  published  in  the  two 
newspapers  in  the  county,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  court  house  in 
Barnstable  to  take  measures  for  forming  a  county  agricultural  society. 
The  project  was  greeted  with  a  smile  of  incredulity  on  the  part  of 
many  who  gauged  the  agricultural  resources  of  the  Cape  by  the 
description  of  the  witty  scribbler,  who  said  that  it  chiefly  produced 
"  huckleberry  bushes  and  mullein  stalks."  Those  who  assembled  on 
this  occasion  had  a  better  appreciation  of  the  situation  and  resources 
of  the  county.  They  were  called  to  order  by  Hon.  John  Reed  of 
Yarmouth,  and  Mr.  H.  C.  Merriam  of  Tewksbury,  who  was  a  practical 
agriculturist,  made  an  address.  Discussion  ensued,  and  the  organ- 
ization of  the  Barnstable  County  Agricultural  Society  resulted  there- 
from. The  following  were  the  first  oflBcers  of  the  society:  President, 
Hon.  John  Reed  of  Yarmouth;  vice-presidents,  Clark  Hoxie  of  Sand- 
wich, and  James  Small  of  Truro;  secretary,  Charles  H.  Bursley  of 
West  Barnstable;  treasurer,  Joseph  A.  Davis  of  Barnstable;  trustees, 
John  Jenkins,  Falmouth;  Meltiah  Bourne,  Sandwich;  Charles  Sears, 
Yarmouth;  William  Howes,  Dennis;  Enoch  Pratt,  Brewster;  Obed 
Brooks,  jr.,  Harwich;  Isaac  Hardy,  Chatham;  John  Doane,  Orleans; 
John  W.  Higgfins,  Eastham;  John  Newcomb,  Wellfleet;  Joshua  Small, 
Truro;  Thomas  Lothrop,  Provincetown. 

A  constitution  was  subsequently  formed  and  sixty  members  were 
soon  enrolled.  During  the  winter  of  1844  an  act  of  incorporation  was 
granted  by  the  legislature,  which  was  accepted  by  the  society  May  8th 
of  that  year,  and  the  office  of  corresponding  secretary  was  added, 
Frederick  Scudder  of  Barnstable  being  chosen  to  that  position.  This 
office  was  discontinued  in  1861.  The  first  exhibition  and  fair  of  the 
society  was  held  in  the  court  house,  at  Barnstable,  September  4, 1844. 
It  was  a  gratifying  success,  but  the  amount  of  premiums  awarded  was 
only  $146.  These  annual  fairs  were  continued  in  Barnstable,  except 
in  the  years  1851,  when  Orleans  was  the  place  of  meeting,  and  1862, 
when  the  fair  was  held  at  Sandwich. 

In  1867-68  a  lot  of  land  was  acquired  at  Barnstable,  and  on  it  a 
building  was  erected  for  exhibition  purposes,  and  a  hall  for  public 
meetings.  This  building  and  lot,  with  improvements  on  the  same, 
cost  $4,268;  $2,050  of  which  was  paid  by  voluntary  subscriptions.  An 
additional  plot  of  land,  valued  at  $260,  was  given  to  the  society  by 
Messrs.  Francis  Bacon  and  James  Huckins.  The  building  committee 
were:  S.  B.  Phinney,  Frederick  Parker,  S.  F.  Nye,  James  G.  Hallet, 
Elijah  Cobb,  John  A.  Baxter,  and  Obed  Brooks,  jr.  George  Marston 
and  Simeon  N.  Small  were  subsequently  added,  in  place  of  Mr.  Nye, 


64  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

deceased,  and  Mr.  Brooks,  resigned.  In  the  spring  of  1862,  this  build- 
ing having  been  destroyed  in  a  severe  gale  and  storm,  a  new  one  was 
erected  on  the  same  site,  largely  by  subscriptions  in  the  county  and 
in  Boston.  This  building  was  dedicated  October  15,  1862,  in  an 
address  by  Hon.  George  Marston.  It  has  since  been  considerably 
improved,  and  is  in  all  respects  well  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the 
society. 

The  society  has  been  the  recipient  of  two  donations  to  its  perma- 
nent fund.  The  late  Captain  John  Percival  left  five  hundred  dollars, 
the  income  of  which  is  devoted  to  premiums  to  exhibitors.  Mrs. 
Ellen  B.  Eldridge  has  also  given  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars,  in 
recognition  of  the  interest  which  her  late  husband,  Dr.  Azariah 
Eldridge,  took  in  the  affairs  of  the  society,  the  income  of  which  is 
devoted  to  the  same  purpose.  The  late  Hon.  William  Sturg^s  of  Bos- 
ton presented  the  society  the  sum  of  twelve  hundred  dollars  to  cancel 
the  indebtedness  incurred  by  the  building  of  a  new  hall. 

The  officers  of  the  society  during  the  forty-seven  years  of  its 
existence  have  been  as  follows:  Presidents — John  Reed,  chosen  in  1848; 
Zenas  D.  Basset,  1848;  C.  B.  H.  Fessenden,  1861;  Charles  Marston, 
1852;  S.  B.  Phinney,  1866;  George  Marston,  1869;  Nathaniel  Hinckley, 
1864;  Nathan  Crocker,  1866;  Charles  C.  Bearse,  1869;  Levi  L.  Good- 
speed.  1871;  Charles  F.  Swift,  1873;  A.  T.  Perkins,  1876;  Azariah  El- 
dridge, 1878;  John  Simpkins,  1888  to  present  time.  Secretaries — 
Charles  H.  Bursley,  1843;  George  Marston,  1863;  S.  B.  Phinney,  1859; 
Frederick  Scudder,  1862;  George  A.  King,  1866;  Charles  F.  Swift, 
1867;  Charles  Thacher,  2d,  1871;  F.  B.  Goss,  1876;  F.  P.  Goss,  1879; 
Frederick  C.  Swift,  1882  to  present  time.  Treasurers — ^Joseph  A. 
Davis,  1843;  Ebenezer  Bacon,  1845;  Daniel  Bassett,  1863;  S.  P.  Holway, 
1868;  S.  B.  Phinney,  1860;  Walter  Chipman,  1861;  Frederick  Scudder, 
1867;  Walter  Chipman,  1868;  Freeman  H.  Lothrop,  1876;  Albert  F. 
Edson,  1882  to  present  time.  Delegates  to  State  Board  of  Agricul- 
ture—George Marston,  1859;  S.  B.  Phinney,  1862;  John  Kenrick.  1866; 
S.  B.  Phinney,  1870;  Augustus  T.  Perkins,  1879;  Nathan  Edson,  1882 
to  present  time. 

The  officers  for  1889-90  are:  President,  John  Simpkins;  vice-presi- 
dents, John  Kenrick  and  A.  D.  Makepeace;  secretary,  Frederick  C. 
Swift;  treasurer,  Albert  F.  Edson;  executive  committee,  John  Ken- 
rick, James  F.  Howes,  Nathan  Edson,  David  Fisk,  A.  D.  Makepeace, 
James  H.  Jenkins,  John  Bursley,  Ebenezer  B.  Crocker,  James  A.  El- 
dridge, Oliver  Hallet,  H.  B.  Winship,  Alexander  Walker,  Samuel  H. 
Nye;  auditing  committee.  Freeman  H.  Lothrop,  Samuel  Snow,  G.  A. 
Hinckley;  superintendent  of  hall  and  grounds,  Russell  Matthews. 

The  Cape  Cod  cranberry  men  have  an  organization,  including 
ninety-eight  members,  of  which  J.  J.  Russell  of  Plymouth  is  presi- 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND    INSTITUTIONS.  55 

dent.  All  the  other  officers  are  residents  of  this  county.  Emulous 
Small  of  Harwich,  and  Abel  D.  Makepeace  of  West  Barnstable,  are 
the  vice-presidents,  and  I.  T.Jones  is  the  secretary  and  treasurer.  The 
executive  committee  for  1890  consists  of  Calvin  Crowell,  Sagamore; 
A.  Phinney,  Falmouth;  G.  R.  Briggs,  Plymouth;  O.  M.  Holmes,  Mash- 
pee;  James  Webb,  Cotuit;  James  S.  Howes,  East  Dennis;  and  D.  B. 
Crocker,  Yarmouth.  The  second  annual  meeting  of  this  society  was 
held  last  year  at  Falmouth. 

Federal  Institutions. — Among  the  institutions  in  the  county 
belonging  to  and  erected  by  the  federal  government,  are  the  custom 
house  buildings,. lighthouses,  and  life  saving  stations.  The  collector, 
deputies,  keepers  and  crews  employed  in  the  various  duties  of  these 
necessary  institutions  are  residents  of  the  county,  and  our  history 
would  be  incomplete  without  their  mention. 

As  early  as  1749  a  collector  of  excise  was  chosen  for  Barnstable  by 
the  general  court,  and  that  harbor  was  then  made,  in  a  limited  sense, 
a  port  of  entry.  Joseph  Otis  was  appointed  naval  offiicer  for  this 
county  November  27,  1776,  and  was  succeeded  February  6,  1779,  by 
William  Taylor,  and  he  by  Samuel  Hinckley.  Thus  far  it  had  been 
an  affair  of  the  state;  but  in  1789,  while  Samuel  Hinckley  was  in  office, 
an  act  of  congress  made  Barnstable  the  seventh  of  the  twenty  districts 
or  ports  which  that  act  established  in  Massachusetts  for  the  collection 
of  duties.  General  Otis  succeeded  Mr.  Hinckley  by  President  Wash- 
ingfton's  appointment,  and  served  until  his  death.  His  son,  William 
Otis,  was  collector  from  March  22,  1809,  until  the  appointment  of 
Isaiah  L.  Green.  Mr.  Green  had  been  member  of  congress  three 
terms,  but  had  failed  of  re-election  because  of  his  vote  in  favor  of  the 
war  of  1812.  The  president,  as  his  friend,  appointed  him  collector 
February'  21,  1814,  an  office  which  he  held  until  succeeded  by  Henry 
Crocker,  April  1,  1837.  The  successive  appointments  have  been  as 
follows:  Ebenezer  Bacon,  March  23,  1841;  Josiah  Hinckley,  April  1, 
1845;  S.  B.  Phinney,  April  4,  1847;  Ebenezer  Bacon,  June  10,  1849;  S. 
B.  Phinney,  April  1,1853;  Joseph  M.  Day,  July  1,  1861;  Charles  F. 
Swift,  November  12,  1861;  S.  B.  Phinney,  November  11,  1866;  Walter 
Chipman,  special  deputy,  March  5,  1867;  Charles  F.  Swift,  March  17, 
1867;  Franklin  B.  Goss,  July  8,  1876;  Van  Buren  Chase,  August  8, 
1887:  and  Franklin  B.  Goss,  August  1,  1889. 

Prior  to  1855  each  collector  had  kept  the  office  at  his  own  place  of 
business,  and  that  year  the  present  custom  house  was  commenced  at 
Barnstable. 

The  federal  act  of  1789  provided  that  Sandwich.Wellfleet,  Chatham 
and  Provincetown  should  be  ports  of  delivery  in  the  Barnstable  dis- 
trict. In  1790  the  shores  and  waters  of  the  entire  county  were  formed 
into  what  has  since  been  known  as  the  Barnstable  district.     The  re- 


56  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

districting  of  the  coast  in  1799  enlarged  the  powers  of  the  collector  of 
this  port;  but  the  unlading  of  foreign  vessels  here  was  not  permitted 
until  the  year  1809.  That  year  delegates  from  the  towns  of  the  county 
assembled,  and  by  petitions  to  congress  new  privileges  were  obtained. 
Until  1817  the  collector  for  the  district  was  the  only  government 
officer  empowered  to  act;  but  the  act  of  March  third,  that  year,  gave 
collectors  authority  to  employ  deputy  collectors,  with  the  approval  of 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury.  These  deputies  have  since  been  vested 
with  full  powers  at  the  respective  ports  for  which  they  were  appointed. 
There  are  now  in  this  district  seven  ports  of  entry,  at  each  of  which  a 
deputy  is  appointed.  They  are:  Walter  O.  Luscombe,  Falmouth;  John 
J.  Collins,  Barnstable;  William  Crocker,  Hyannis;  Henry  H.  Fisk, 
Dennis;  Erastus  T.  Bearse,  Chatham;  Simeon  Atwood,  Wellfleet; 
Myrick  C.  Atwood  and  Robert  M.  Lavender,  Provincetown. 

No  equal  area  of  land  presents  to  the  navigator  a  more  dangerous 
coast,  nor  a  greater  perimeter,  than  this  county;  and  probably  no 
coast  presents  to  the  sea-faring  man  more  changes  from  drifting 
sands.  Surveys  and  soundings  must  be  continually  made,  and  charts 
and  directions  are  printed  yearly  for  the  safe  navigation  of  the  waters 
around  the  Cape.  Lightships — off  Chatham  and  along  the  sound — are 
manned  and  sustained  by  the  government;  and  lighthouses  and  bea- 
cons of  various  kinds  have  been  erected  on  the  coa.sts.  As  early  as 
1797  the  town  of  Truro  sold  to  the  United  States  ten  acres  of  land 
upon  which  to  erect  the  first  lighthouse  of  the  Cape.  The  lighthouse 
stations  of  this  county,  now  numbering  seventeen,  form  a  portion  of 
the  Second  Lighthouse  district,  and  are  situated  as  follows: 

Wing's  Neck  light,  near  the  head  of  Buzzard's  bay,  east  side  of  the 
entrance  to  Pocasset  harbor,  has  been  a  government  station  for  some 
time.  A  lantern  giving  a  white  light,  visible  twelve  miles,  has  been 
displayed  from  the  top  of  a  white  house  with  a  red  roof.  A  light- 
house of  the  usual  form  is  now  being  erected  near  by. 

Nobsque  light  is  situated  on  the  knoll  east  of  Little  harbor,  Woods 
HoU.  The  tower  is  thirty-five  feet  high  and  contains  a  fixed  white 
light,  with  a  red  sector,  and  is  visible  thirteen  miles.  This  station 
has  a  fog  signal — a  bell  struck  by  machinery.  The  signal  is  two  strokes 
of  the  bell  in  quick  succession,  followed  by  an  interval  of  thirty  sec- 
onds. 

Bishop  &  Clerk's  light  is  on  a  ledge  of  the  same  name  off  Gammon 
point,  where  still  remains  the  tower  of  a  former  station.  The  tower 
of  the  present  lighthouse  is  forty-seven  feet  high,  has  a  flashing  white 
light  with  intervals  of  thirty  seconds,  and  is  visible  for  thirteen  miles. 
It  also  contains  a  red  sector,  and  a  fog  bell  which  is  rung  by  ma- 
chinery. 

Hyannis  light  has  a  tower  twenty-one  feet  high,  and  is  situated  on 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND   INSTITUTIONS.  57 

the  main  land  at  the  head  of  the  harbor.     The  light  is  a  fixed  red, 
visible  nearly  twelve  miles. 

Hyannis  Beacon  light  is  a  framed  building,  containing  a  red  light 
visible  nine  miles.  This  is  used  in  connection  with  surrounding  lights 
in  giving  courses  for  safe  navigation. 

Bass  River  light  is  just  east  of  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  that  name, 
and  is  situated  in  West  Dennis.  It  is  a  fixed  white  light  in  the  tower 
of  the  keeper's  residence,  and  is  visible  Hi  miles. 

Stage  Harbor  light  is  situated  on  Harding's  beach,  at  the  entrance 
of  Stage  harbor,  Chatham.  The  tower  is  thirty-five  feet  high  and  has 
a  fixed  white  light  that  can  be  seen  twelve  miles  at  sea. 

Monomoy  Point  light,  on  the  south  end  of  the  beach  of  the  same 
name,  is  a  fixed  white  light  in  a  tower  thirty  feet  high,  and  is  visible 
twelve  miles. 

Chatham  light  station  is  on  the  main  land,  in  Chatham  village.  It 
consists  of  two  round  towers,  each  forty-three  feet  high,  placed  north 
and  south,  one  hundred  feet  apart.  In  each  is  a  fixed  white  light, 
visible  14^  miles. 

Nauset  Beach  light  is  in  Eastham,  on  the  ocean  coast,  and  has  three 
towers,  each  eighteen  feet  high,  ranging  north  and  south,  with  a  dis- 
tance of  150  feet  between.  Each  tower  contains  a  fixed  white  light, 
visible  fifteen  miles  out  on  the  sea.  Abreast  this  light  the  tides  divide 
and  run  in  opposite  directions. 

.  Cape  Cod  light  station — the  Highland  light — is  on  the  east  shore  of 
Truro,  on  a  blue  clay  bank,  142  feet  above  the  sea.  The  tower  still 
rises  fifty-three  feet  higher,  from  which  a  fixed  white  light  sheds  its 
rays  twenty  miles  out  to  sea.  A  Daboll  trumpet  is  used  for  a  fog  sig- 
nal, which  is  a  blast  of  eight  seconds,  with  an  interval  of  a  half  minute. 
Vessels  passing  this  light  can  communicate  with  Boston  if  the  Inter- 
national Code  signals  are  in  use  on  board. 

Race  Point  light,  situated  on  the  northeast  point  of  Provincetown, 
has  a  tower  thirty  feet  high,  with  a  white  light  varied  by  flashes  every 
ninety  seconds,  which  can  be  seen  by  mariners  12^^  miles  at  sea.  It 
also  contains  a  steam  whistle  for  fog  signals. 

Wood  End  light,  on  Wood  End,  near  the  entrance  of  Provincetown 
harbor,  is  a  tower  thirty-four  feet  high,  using  a  red,  flashing  light  in 
intervals  of  fifteen  seconds.     It  is  visible  twelve  miles. 

Long  Point  light  is  on  the  eastern  point  of  the  peninsula  that  en- 
circles the  west  side  of  Provincetown  harbor,  the  square  tower  thirty- 
four  feet  high  being  erected  on  the  extreme  point,  southwest  of  the 
entrance  to  the  harbor.  A  fixed  white  light  is  used,  which  is  visible 
nearly  twelve  miles.  A  bell,  run  by  machinery,  gives  the  fog  signal, 
which  is  two  quick,  successive  strokes,  then  one  after  half  a  minute, 
followed  by  a  longer  interval. 


58  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Mayo's  Beach  light  is  a  round  tower,  twenty-five  feet  high,  situated 
at  the  head  of  Wellfleet  bay.  It  has  a  fixed  white  light,  visible  over 
eleven  miles. 

Billingsgate  light  station  is  on  the  island  of  that  name,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  entrance  to  Wellfleet  bay.  The  tower  is  thirty-four  feet 
high,  containing  a  fixed  white  light,  visible  twelve  miles. 

Sandy  Neck  light,  on  the  neck  at  the  entrance  of  Barnstable  har- 
bor, has  a  tower  forty-four  feet  high,  which  contains  a  fixed  white 
light,  visible  to  the  mariner  twelve  miles  out  in  the  bay. 

These  stations  are  under  the  supervision  of  the  Lighthouse  Board 
at  Boston:  but  the  keepers  are  generally  residents  of  the  Cape. 

Not  until  1848  was  the  beneficent  plan  of  establishing  life  saving 
stations  seriously  contemplated  by  the  federal  government.  That 
year,  in  August,  Hon.  William  A.  Newell,  a  member  of  the  house  of 
representatives,  portrayed  in  a  speech  the  terrible  dangers  to  naviga- 
tion as  presented  by  the  coasts,  and  strongly  urged  the  action  of  con- 
gress to  render  assistance  to  vessels  cast  ashore.  During  the  same 
session  a  small  sum  was  appropriated  for  surf  boats  and  other  appara- 
tus for  the  New  Jersey  coast,  which  was  to  be  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Revenue  Marine.  More  was  appropriated  at  the  next  session, 
and  Captain  Douglass  Ottinger  is  said  to  have  invented  a  life  car  for 
the  transportation  of  persons  from  a  wreck  through  the  surf  to  the 
shore.  In  1854  stations  were  erected  along  the  ocean  coast  of  Long 
Island,  and  more  public  interest  was  manifested  in  securing  well 
equipped  stations. 

The  occurrence  of  several  very  fatal  disasters  along  the  Atlantic 
coast  during  the  winter  of  1870-71  revealed  the  fact  that  the  service 
was  not  only  ineflBcient  for  want  of  more  complete  organization,  but 
must  be  extended  to  other  portions  of  the  coast.  By  the  act  of  March 
3,  1871,  better  facilities  for  saving  life  and  property  were  furnished 
to  the  first  organized  stations — two  new  stations  were  erected  on  the 
coast  of  Rhode  Island.  By  the  act  of  June  10,  1872,  the  system  was 
extended  to  Cape  Cod,  and  money  was  appropriated  for  the  erection 
of  nine  stations  along  its  ocean  shore.  They  were  completed  and  fur- 
nished with  apparatus  the  following  winter.  The  number  of  stations 
on  the  Cape  provided  for  by  the  act  of  1872  was  subsequently  increased 
to  ten,  and  they  are  named  and  located  as  follows:  Race  Point,  two- 
thirds  of  a  mile  northeast  of  Race  Point  light;  Peaked  Hill  Bars,  2i 
miles  northeast  of  Provincetown;  High  Head.  3i  miles  northwest  of 
the  Highland  light;  Highland,  nearly  one  mile  northwest  of  the 
Highland  light;  Pamet  River  station,  3^  miles  sotith  of  the  High- 
land light,  in  Truro;  Cahoon's  Hollow,  in  Wellfleet,  south  of  the 
last;  Nauset,  If  miles  south  of  Nauset  light;  Orleans  station,  at  East 


y^'V^  ^^/^^<i'^'(py 


ycJ^'myO-^-rri^ 


t'^l^C^l^' 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND   INSTITUTIONS.  59" 

Orleans;   Chatham,  near  the  Chatham  light;   and  Monomoy  station, 
2i  miles  north  of  the  Monomoy  light. 

We  have  dated  the  life  saving  service  from  1848;  but  the  exten- 
sion and  reorganization  of  the  service  in  1871,  1872,  marks  the  be- 
ginning of  the  efficiency  for  which  this  branch  of  the  public  ser- 
vice is  justly  distinguished.  After  congress  had  appropriated  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  in  April,  1871,  the  treasury  department  de- 
tailed Captain  John  Faunce,  of  the  Revenue  Marine,  to  visit  the  sta- 
tions already  established,  and  ascertain  their  condition  and  needs.. 
His  report  showed  the  practical  waste  of  the  government  money  and 
the  utter  uselessness  of  most  of  the  stations.  No  discipline  among 
the  men,  no  care  for  the  preservation  of  apparatus,  and  no  super- 
vision of  the  stations,  were  evils  which  he  pointed  out.  Several  seri- 
ous disasters  served  to  call  further  attention  to  the  service,  and  re- 
sulted in  the  inauguration  of  the  present  system  of  districts  with, 
superintendents.  Of  the  twelve  districts  in  the  United  States,  the 
Second  includes  the  entire  coast  of  Massachusetts,  of  which  Benjamin 
C.  Span-ow,  of  East  Orleans,  is  superintendent.  His  selection  and 
appointment  in  November,  1872,  was  a  part  of  the  plan  to  prevent 
the  evils  above  mentioned,  while  extending  the  service  under  liberal 
appropriations.  He  had  been  in  the  United  States  regular  army  from 
1861  until  November,  1864,  in  the  engineer  battalion,  attached  to  the 
headquarters  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  and  was  a  prisoner  at 
Belle  Isle  in  the  summer  of  1862.  He  had  taught  public  schools  in 
Eastham,  and  from  1861  had  been  successfully  engaged  in  wreckings 
When  the  war  broke  out  he  was  at  Phillips  Academy  preparing 
himself  for  the  legal  profession.  Since  his  birth,  October  9,  1839, 
he  had,  like  his  ancestors,  resided  at  Orleans,  where  they  had  been 
fully  familiar  with  the  scenes  of  shipwreck  and  disaster. 

The  success  of  Superintendent  Sparrow  in  securing  discipline  and 
eflBciency  in  this  hazardous  service,  and  his  popularity  among  the 
captains  and  crews  of  the  stations  under  his  official  care,  have  retained 
him  to  the  present  time.  He  is  a  worthy  descendant  of  that  Richard 
Sparrow  who  came  over  in  the  ship  Ann  and  landed  at  Plymouth,  and 
from  whom  those  of  the  name  on  the  Cape  have  sprung.  Richard' 
came  to  Eastham  in  1650,  bringing  his  only  child,  Jonathan',  whose 
last  resting  place  is  now  marked  by  a  stone  in  the  first  burial  ground 
of  that  town.  His  son  by  a  second  marriage  with  Hannah,  daughter 
of  Governor  Prince,  was  Richard',  born  March  17,  1-669.  He  married 
Mercy  Young  (or  Cobb),  and  died  in  Eastham  in  1727,  leaving  seven 
daughters  and  a  son,  Richard*.  This  only  son  married  Hannah  Shaw 
in  1724,  and  died  in  1774.  Of  their  children  three  only  grew  to  man- 
hood and  womanhood — Isaac  and  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  mar- 
ried Daniel  Hamilton,  whose  son  Paul  was  the  first  Methodist  preacher 


60  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

heard  in  Orleans.  Isaac*  was  bom  in  1725,  and  married  Rebecca 
,  Knowles  in  1747,  to  whom  eight  children  were  born — five  daughters 
and  three  sons,  of  whom  Josiah'  was  the  youngest.  He  married 
Mercy  Smith,  of  Chatham,  January  11,  1782.  Their  nine  children 
were:  Lydia,  born  October  19,  1782;  Josiah,  jr.,  born  March  13,  1785; 
Mercy,  born  May  28,  1788;  Zerviah,  born  March  15, 1790;  Samuel,  born 
November  8,  1792;  Harvey,  born  November  14,  1795;  Sarah,  born 
March  21,  1798;  James  L.,  bom  June  2,  1801;  and  Hannah  Shaw  Spar- 
row, the  youngest  of  the  nine,  born  January  1,  1806. 

James  L.  Sparrow,  father  of  the  superintendent,  married  Sukey 
Crosby,  of  Orleans,  December  16,  1824.  Their  four  daughters  were: 
Julia  M.,  who '  died  young;  Anna  E.  (Mrs.  Freeman  H.  Snow),  Susan 
M.  (Mrs.  Joseph  K.  May)  and  Sarah  E.,  who  died  at  eighteen.  James 
H.,  their  oldest  son,  was  a  well  known  citizen  of  Cambridgeport,  Mass., 
until  his  death  there  in  1880;  William  F.  enlisted  in  the  civil  war  and 
was  killed  at  Goldsboro,  N.  C,  in  December,  1862.  Benjamin  C,  the 
sixth  child  and  youngest  son,  is  the  Superintendent  Sparrow  of  this 
sketch.  He  is  a  member  of  Frank  D.  Hammond  Post,  No.  141,  G.  A. 
R.,  and  has  found  time  to  serve  his  town  on  the  school  board  more  or 
less  for  the  past  twenty-three  years.  His  ability  in  the  life  saving  ser- 
vice was  early  recognized  by  his  appointment  on  the  board  of  experts 
to  examine  new  appliances  and  methods  proposed  for  use  by  the  de- 
partment.   This  position  he  has  held  until  the  present  time. 

He  was  married  to  Eunice  S.,  daughter  of  Moses  O.  Felton,  Decem- 
ber 25,  1866,  and  they  have  two  children  living — Susan  F.  and  Joseph- 
ine M.  Mrs.  Sparrow  was  a  resident  of  Shutesbury,  Mass.,  and  was  a 
teacher  here  in  1864-1866.  They  reside  upon  the  home  farm  in  East 
Orleans. 

The  life  saving  stations  on  the  Cape  are  generally  oflBcered  and 
manned  by  men  residing  in  the  towns  where  the  stations  are  located. 
Provisions  have  been  made  by  the  government  for  some  compensation 
in  cases  of  death  or  disability  while  in  this  service;  and  still  greater 
liberality  would  be  no  more  than  a  just  recognition  of  the  perils  en- 
countered by  the  courageous  men.  Year  by  year  improvements  have 
been  made  in  the  buildings  and  apparatus.  The  selection  of  men  by 
ascertainment  of  health,  habits,  age  and  professional  acquirement  has 
been  enforced;  thorough  inspection  of  stations  and  exercise  of  the 
keepers  and  men  in  the  use  of  the  apparatus  and  maneuvers  of  an  es- 
tablished drill  have  been  regularly  instituted,  and  a  patrol  system 
practiced.  The  men  are  instructed  in  the  most  approved  methods  of 
restoring  the  apparently  drowned  persons  with  whom  they  of  ten  come 
in  contact  in  their  line  of  duty.  A  code  of  signals  for  day  and  night 
has  been  devised,  to  enable  patrolmen  to  communicate  with  stations, 
whereby  preparations  for  hasty  assistance  can  be  made:     In  fact  the 


CIVIL   HISTORY   AND   INSTITUTIONS. 


61 


appropriations  by  congress  have  been  annually  sufficient  to  render 
this  humane  service  efficient,  rescuing  hundreds  of  lives  and  saving 
large  amounts  of  property,  as  the  following  table  fully  demonstrates. 
The  Second  district  comprises  the  stations  of  the  Massachusetts  coast, 
ten  of  which  are  on  the  Cape.  The  accompanying  table  contains  the 
statistics  of  the  entire  district.  Of  the  number  of  vessels  reported  in 
distress,  those  assisted  by  the  Cape  -stations  are  fully  proportionate  in 
the  comparison  of  its  number  of  stations  with  those  of  the  district. 


Sao 

r 

CD 

•SO 

stimated 
Value 
Vessels. 

stimated 
Value 
f  Cargo. 

stimated 

Value 

Property 
Saved. 

IS  . 

l-a 

H  "S 

W   o 

W  -g 

o 

1873 

9 

$72,900 

$211,180 

$228,006 

74 

74 

1874 

18 

176,450 

164,764 

253,294 

146 

146 

1875 

14 

345,000 

135,450 

220,450 

112 

97 

1876 

23 

245,000 

111,127 

212,900 

211 

210 

1877 

21 

234,300 

129,506 

160,050 

158 

157 

1878 

20 

77,056 

16,983 

24,904 

121 

102 

1879 

26 

90,290 

66,700 

112,575 

128 

124 

1880 

22 

229,795 

110,865 

260,185 

144 

144 

1881 

23 

95,270 

42,202 

96,325 

122 

122 

1882 

81 

189,030 

80,850 

207,205 

162 

162 

1883 

26 

266,805 

51,405 

283,255 

168 

168 

1884 

40 

285,935 

57,460 

265,015 

239 

239 

1885 

41 

217,230 

139,600 

265,480 

242 

242 

1886 

54 

373,470 

204,305 

283,285 

898 

398 

1887 

40 

696,250 

217,420 

854,010 

136 

138 

1888 

80 

648,695 

864,490 

1,146,190 

895 

895 

1889 

55 

874,655 

;03,823 

857,601 

403 

394 

CHAPTER  VI. 


MILITARY   HISTORY. 


"New  England  Confederation. — Rrst  Indian  Troubles. — King  Philip's  War. — French  and 
Indian  Wars.— The  Revolution.— Shay's  Rebellion.— War  of  1812. 


IN  1642  the  attitude  of  the  Indians,  on  the  main  land,  created  sus- 
picions of  hostility.  The  severe  laws  of  the  colony  had  been 
rigidly  enforced  and  the  free  instinct  of  the  natives  had  been  so 
bridled  as  to  cause  a  feeling  of  unrest.  Their  unfriendliness  was  too 
apparent.  The  Plymouth  colony  resolved  to  raise  thirty  men  for  an 
expedition  against  them.  Firearms  had  prudentially  been  withheld 
from  them  by  order  of  the  colony,  and  a  force  of  this  number  was 
thought  to  be  formidable.  The  court  was  hastily  called  together, 
September  7,  Edward  Dillingham  and  Richard  Chadwell  of  Sand- 
wich, Anthony  Anable  and  John  Cooper  of  Barnstable,  and  William 
Palmer  of  Yarmouth  being  present.  A  company  was  formed  with 
Miles  Standish,  captain;  William  Palmer,  lieutenant;  and  Peregrine 
White,  ensign.  Edmund  Freeman,  Anthony  Thacher  and  Thomas 
Dimoc  were  appointed  members  of  the  council  of  war. 

A  confederation  of  a  portion  of  the  infant  colonies  of  New  Eng- 
land was  formed  in  1643  for  the  promotion  of  union,  offensive  and 
-defensive,  in  any  difficulties  with  the  Indians.      This   measure  had 
been  contemplated  for  several  years  by  those  colonies,  and  this  con- 
federation,  The   United    Colonies   of    New    England,  existed    until 
1686,  when  affairs  were  materially  changed  by  the  commission  from 
King  James  II.      This   first  spirit  of   confederation,  which   became 
later  the   basis  of   our   national   existence,  having   been    perfected, 
•orders  were  issued   for   every  town  within  the   jurisdiction  of  the 
court  to  provide  ammunition   and  arms,  and   be   ready  for  prompt 
action.     Of  the  thirty  men  mentioned,  eight  were  from  the  Cape — 
Sandwich  and  Barnstable  furnishing  three  each,  and  Yarmouth  two. 
These   men    were   each  to  be   provided   with  a  musket,   firelock    or 
matchlock,  a  pair  of  bandoliers  or  pouches  for  powder  and  bullets,  a 
.sword  and  belt,  a  worm  and  scourer,  a  rest  and  a  knapsack.     Each 
private  soldier  was  to  have  eighteen  shillings    per  month  when  in 
•  service.     From  this  date  was  the  establishment  in  the  towns  of  mili- 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  63 

tary  companies,  the  training  field,  and  other  warlike  measures.  Barn- 
stable, Sandwich  and  Yarmouth — then  the  only  incorporated  towns 
on  the  Cape — at  once  formed  military  companies,  and  the  two  latter 
towns  provided  places  of  safety  for  the  women  and  children.  The 
exercises  of  training  were  always  begun  with  prayer,  and  none  could 
belong  to  the  company  who  were  not  freemen  and  of  "  good  report." 

The  colony,  with  every  town  on  the  alert,  awaited  the  development 
of  a  struggle  which  arose  in  1643  between  Uncas  and  the  Pequots, 
who,  with  the  Narragansetts,  had  agreed  in  1637  not  to  make  war 
upon  each  other  without  first  an  appeal  to  the  English.  Uncas  con- 
ceived that  an  attempt  had  been  made  upon  his  life  by  a  Pequot, 
which  resulted  in  a  war  between  Uncas  and  Miantonomi;  and  the 
latter  sachem,  although  he  could  bring  one  thousand  warriors  to  the 
field,  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner  by  Uncas.  The  prisoner  was 
put  to  death  by  the  advice  of  the  commissioners,  at  their  meeting  in 
Boston,  in  September  of  that  year.  The  exasperation  of  the  Narra- 
gansetts was  beyond  control;  they  charged  the  English  with  a  want 
of  good  faith,  and  preparations  were  macje  for  hostile  movements. 
The  Narragansetts  resolved  to  secure  the  head  of  Uncas,  and  the 
English  resolved  to  defend  him. 

In  addition  to  what  had  already  been  done,  more  men  were  raised. 
This  conflict  would  draw  from  the  towns  of  the  Cape  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  its  people,  as  they  were  included  in  the  confederation. 
Massachusetts  at  once  raised  one  hundred  and  ninety  men,  Plymouth 
colony  40,  Connecticut  40,  and  New  Haven  30.  The  Plymouth  quota, 
under  Captain  Miles  Standish,  went  as  far  as  Rehoboth;  but  while 
the  English  were  advancing,  the  Narragansett  sachems  were  iti  Bos- 
ton, suing  for  peace,  which  was  granted,  with  the  requirement  of 
heavy  penalties  and  burdens.  Thus  closed  the  first  Indian  troubles 
of  the  colony. 

The  December  court  of  1652  directed  the  several  towns  to  send 
deputies,  April  1,  1653,  "  to  treat  and  conclude  on  such  military  affairs 
as  may  tend  to  our  present  and  future  safety."  Variances  had  arisen 
between  England  and  Holland,  and  the  lowering  clouds  of  war,  with 
Indian  cruelties,  hung  over  the  colony.  Sandwich  sent  James  Skiff  ; 
Yarmouth,  Sergeant  Rider  and  John  Gorham;  Barnstable,  Lieutenant 
Fuller  and  Sergeant  Thomas  Hinckley;  and  Eastham,  which  town  had 
now  been  incorporated,  John  Doane  and  Richard  Sparrow.  Sixty 
men  were  ordered  to  be  raised  in  this  colony.  Of  these  Sandwich, 
Yarmouth  and  Barnstable  were  to  furnish  six  each,  and  Eastham 
three.  Provisions  were  made  for  raising  money  for  the  further  enlist- 
ment of  soldiers  and  procuring  arms,  and  a  certain  number  were  to  take 
their  arms  to  meeting  on  the  Sabbath.  In  1664  a  deputation  of  "  horse 
and  foot"  was  sent  with  a  message  to  the  Niantick  sachem,  and,  to 


64  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

make  up  a  safe  and  formidable  body  as  a  guard,  Sandwicli,  Eastham 
and  Yarmouth  furnished  four  men  each,  and  Barnstable  five,  as  their 
quota.  As  yet  no  outbreak  had  occurred,  but  the  threatening  appear- 
ances occasioned  by  jealousies  necessitated  continued  readiness  on  the 
part  of  the  colonies.  In  1655  troops  of  horse  were  required  by  the 
court,  and  the  proportion  of  the  four  towns  of  the  Cape  was  three 
each.  In  1658  a  military  system  was  perfected,  by  which  a  small 
standing  army  and  the  militia  of  the  towns  comprised  the  colonial 
force. 

A  council  of  war  was  called  at  Plymouth  in  1667,  the  confederation 
apprehending  danger  from  the  Dutch  and  French — their  common 
enemies — and  the  Plymouth  colony  suspected  the  Indians,  under 
King  Philip,  whose  "  frequent  assembling  and  various  movements 
indicated  war."  A  commission  of  armed  men  met  Philip  at  Taunton 
soon  after,  who  agreed  to  leave  his  arms  with  the  English,  as  a  security 
that  no  war  was  in  his  heart.  But  this  did  not  allay  the  suspicions  nor 
watchfulness  of  the  colonies.  The  Indians  of  the  Cape  in  1671,  and 
again  in  1674,  pledged  themselves,  by  their  sachems,  to  fidelity.  More 
men  were  pressed  into  the  service,  of  whom  Barnstable  and  Sandwich 
furnished  ten,  Yarmouth  nine',  and  Eastbam  five.  But  the  same  year 
Philip  entered  into  a  treaty  of  peace,  which  for  several  years  allowed 
the  colonies  comparative  quiet,  and  the  men  of  the  Cape  towns  to 
return  home  to  be  in  readiness  when  called. 

In  1674  two  Indians,  one  of  whom  was  Philip's  counselor,  were 
arrested  for  the  supposed  murder  of  another  Indian  found  dead  in 
Middleboro  pond.  They  were  tried  and  executed  by  order  of  the 
court.  Philip  regarded  the  execution  as  an  outrage.  Hostilities  com- 
menced. An  army  was  soon  in  the  field — 158  men  from  Plymouth 
colony;  627  from  the  Massachusetts;  and  315  from  Connecticut.  The 
towns  of  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  furnished  sixteen  each,  Yarmouth 
fifteen,  and  Eastham  eight.  Again,  in  December  of  the  same  year, 
nearly  as  many  men  were  required  of  these  towns.  Skirmishes  suc- 
ceeded, then  a  general  war,  which  was  disastrous  to  all  concerned.  The 
Cape  was  only  affected  by  the  greatly  increased  expenses  and  the  loss 
of  men.  The  Indians  of  the  Cape  remained  neutral,  and  were  considered 
a  defense  to  Sandwich  and  the  towns  below.  In  1676  one  reverse  at 
Rehoboth,  early  in  the  war,  cost  the  Cape  twenty  men— Barnstable  six, 
Yarmouth  and  Sandwich  five  each,  and  Eastham  four.  The  almost 
entire  command  of  Captain  Pierce  of  Scituate — fifty  men  and  twenty 
Indians — was  massacred,  including  the  captain  himself.  The  names 
of  the  Barnstable  men  lost  were:  Samuel  Child,  Lieutenant  Fuller, 
John  Lewis,  Eleazur  Cobb,  Samuel  Linnet  and  Samuel  Boreman  or 
Bowman.  'We  are  unable  to  find  the  list  from  the  other  towns.  The 
Indians  lost  were  Cape  Indians,  and  only  one  was  permitted  to  return. 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  65 

The  Indian  Amos,  who  escaped,  was  of  the  Barnstable  quota,  and  not 
only  fought  bravely  to  the  last,  but  practiced  the  usual  strategy  to 
escape.  He  saw  that  the  hostile  tribe  had  blackened  their  faces  to 
distinguish  themselves  from  the  friendly  Indians,  and  as  a  dernier 
ressort  he  wet  some  powder,  blackened  his  own  face  and  passed  through 
safely. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year,  seven  hundred  Indian  warriors  had 
fallen,  among  them  twenty-five  sachems;  and  many  deaths  followed 
from  wounds.  Many  women  and  children  were  slain  in  the  burning 
of  six  hundred  wigwams.  Of  the  colonists,  six  captains  and  eighty 
privates  were  slain  and  many  wounded.  In  1676  a  new  levy  of  men 
from  the  towns  was  required.  The  quota  from  the  Cape  towns  was: 
Barnstable,  thirty;  Sandwich,  twenty-eight;  Yarmouth,  twenty-six:  and 
Eastham,  eighteen.  All  boys  under  sixteen  years  were  required  to  join 
the  town  guard.  Three  months  later  Barnstable  was  required  to  furn  ish 
sixteen  pounds  and  fifteen  men;  Sandwich  the  same;  Yarmouth  four- 
teen pounds  and  thirteen  men;  and  Eastham  ten  pounds  five  shillings 
and  ten  men.  In  July  of  the  same  year  other  heavy  war  rates  were 
levied  on  the  towns. 

August  12,  1676,  King  Philip,  the  deadly  foe  of  the  Plymouth  col- 
ony, fell;  his  head  was  brought  to  Plymouth,  which  occasioned  a  gen- 
eral thanksgiving.  From  his  death  the  extinction  of  his  tribe  may  be 
dated.  The  termination  of  this  terrible  war  was  of  great  importance 
to  the  exhausted  colonies,  as  during  its  active  prosecution  six  hundred 
of  the  best  men  had  been  lost  and  thirteen  of  the  towns  of  the  settlers 
had  been  destroyed.  The  debts  of  the  war  fell  heavily  upon  the  early 
towns  of  the  Cape,  and  many  years  elapsed  before  they  were  liquid- 
ated. 

The  policy  of  the  colony  toward  the  defeated  Indians  was  so  severe 
that  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  grew  rest- 
less, and  prudence  was  required  to  restrain  them,  and  especially  to 
hold  them  friendly  to  the  English.  The  residence  of  Mr.  Hinckley, 
while  be  was  abroad  on  public  duties,  was  guarded,  and  at  Sandwich 
a  guard  was  kept  as  a  matter  of  safety  and  to  prevent  any  communi- 
cation between  the  friendly  and  hostile  tribes.  This  condition  of 
affairs  gradually  disappeared;  the  Indians  of  the  Cape  continued 
friendly  in  their  relations;  and  although  the  four  primitive  towns  of 
this  territory  of  which  we  write  had  suffered  greatly  in  many  ways, 
the  same  people,  with  those  of  other  towns,  had  many  privations  yet 
in  store. 

French  and  Indian  Wars. — In  1690  other  troubles  than  those  en- 
gendered by  the  former  usurpations  of  Andros  were  developing  to 
agitate  the  inhabitants  of  Barnstable  as  well  as  other  counties.  The 
war  with  the  French  and  their  Indian  allies  was  inevitable,  and  the 
6 


66  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Plymoutti  colony  must  bear  its  proportion.  It  was  ordered  that  men 
be  raised  to  go  to  New  York  and  other  places  against  the  enemy;  of 
these  Barnstable  county  was  to  send  nineteen- — Barnstable  five;  Sand- 
wich, Yarmouth  and  Eastham  four  each;  and  Monomoyick  and  Suc- 
conessit  one  each.  (As  the  two  latter  towns  were  soon  after  known 
as  Chatham  and  Falmouth,  these  names  will  be  used.)  But  soon  after 
the  county  was  pressed  to  furnish  forty-six  m:re  men — Barnstable 
twelve;  Sandwich,  Yarmouth  and  Eastham  ten  each;  and  Chatham 
and  Falmouth  each  two;  also,  the  county  was  compelled  to  furnish 
twenty-two  Indians.  The  same  year  the  county  was  taxed  £452, 4s.,  9d. 
for  the  expenses  of  the  war,  and  this  additional  burden  was  distrib- 
uted among  the  towns,  Barnstable  paying  the  largest  sum  and  Fal- 
mouth the  least.  The  full  account  of  this  campaign  may  be  found  in 
Hutchinson's  History  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

The  treaty  of  Ryswick  in  1697  temporarily  closed  the  seven 
years  of  war,  and  permitted  the  inhabitants  of  the  Cape  towns  to 
resume  for  a  short  period  their  wonted  avocations. 

In  1702,  during  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  difficulties  again  arose 
between  England  and  the  French  and  their  Indian  allies.  For 
years  this  war  continued,  with  all  its  horrors  of  Indian  inhuman- 
ities instigated  by  the  French;  and  frequent  requirements  were 
made  upon  the  Cape  towns  for  men  and  money;  until,  in  1713,  the 
peace  negotiations  at  Utrecht  again  quieted  the  disturbing  elements. 
It  was  then  estimated  that  for  some  years  not  less  than  one-fifth 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  had  been  engaged  in  actual  ser- 
vice, while  those  at  home  had  been  subjected  to  constant  fears  and 
alarms,  as  well  as  the  most  onerous  pecuniary  burdens. 

In  1691,  for  the  relief  of  the  towns  from  the  burdens  of  war, 
and  in  the  scarcity  of  currency,  the  court  issued  bills  of  credit  and 
made  them  current  for  the  payment  of  all  public  and  private 
debts.  In  1711,  to  still  further  relieve  the  people,  a  series  of  forty 
thousand  pounds  was  issued.  These  sinews  of  war  perhaps  tem- 
porarily gave  relief;  but  their  depreciation  in  after  years  fell  heavily 
upon  the  soldiers  who  had  received  them  for  pay.  In  1721  and 
1727  the  general  court  issued  more  of  these  bills  to  be  loaned  to 
the  towns,  and  which  were  sent  to  them  in  proportionate  amounts. 
These  bills,  when  first  issued,  had  been  redeemed  by  the  general 
court  until  1704,  when  their  redemption  was  indefinitely  postponed. 
Their  value  slid  down  the  scale  of  depreciation  according  to  the 
denomination  of  "  old  tenor,"  "  middle  tenor  "  and  "  new  tenor,"  which 
terms  were  applicable  to  the  age  or  issue  of  the  bills.  In  1749  Eng- 
land sent  to  Boston  215  chests,  each  containing  three  thousand  dol- 
lars in  silver,  also  one  hundred  casks  of  copper — seventeen  cart- 
loads of  the  silver  and    ten    of   the    copper — to  redeem  these  bills. 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  67 

The  bills  were  paid  at  the  treasury  at  the  rate  of  forty-five 
shillings  in  bills  of  the  old  tenor,  or  lis.  3d.  in  new  tenor,  for.  one 
Spanish  dollar. 

In  1744  another  war  between  Great  Britain  and  France  was 
commenced,  and  the  Indians,  through  French  influence  and  the 
bounties  for  scalps,  attacked  some  New  England  towns.  Many  per- 
sons from  the  Cape  were  pressed  into  the  service,  many  were  taken 
prisoners  and  many  killed  during  a  bloody  war  of  nineteen  years. 
In  1745  the  march  against  Cape  Breton  and  the  taking  of  Louisburg — 
the  Gibraltar  of  America — were  events  of  great  moment  in  the  history 
of  those  days.  Colonel  Graham's  regiment  did  valiant  service  there. 
The  captains  were  Jonathan  Carey,  Edward  Dimmick,  Elisha  Doane, 
Sylvanus  Cobb,  Israel  Bailey,  Gershom  Bradford  and  Samuel  Lom- 
bard. Wolcott's  regiment  of  Connecticut  forces  had  Captain  Daniel 
Chapman  and  Lieutenant  Lothrop  from  the  Cape.  The  French  had 
fortified  Louisburg  at  a  vast  expense,  and  supposed  it  impregnable  to 
the  assaults  of  any  force.  The  ire  of  the  French  nation  was  so  aroused 
that  in  1746  the  largest  armament  that  had  yet  been  sent  was  de- 
spatched to  the  New  World  under  Duke  d'Auville  to  recover  Louisburg 
and  aid  the  Canadians  and  Indians  in  devastating  and  distressing  the 
New  England  colony.  This  armament  of  eleven  ships  of  the  line  and 
thirty  smaller  vessels  of  war,  besides  transports  bearing  three  thou- 
sand regulars,  was  reduced  more  than  one-half  by  storms  and  losses, 
while  sickness  carried  off  many  more  after  the  arrival,  and  the  remain- 
ing vessels  one  by  one  returned  to  France.  The  impressments  by 
the  mother  country  for  men  from  the  towns  were  excessive  during 
these  stirring  events,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  historical  significance  that 
in  1749  Truro  and  other  towns  petitioned  against  the  injustice,  and 
many  towns  denounced  it  an  outrage.  The  feeling  engendered  on 
the  Cape  by  the  unjust  drain  of  its  means  and  best  men  had  not  been 
entirely  forgotten  a  score  of  years  later  when,  just  prior  to  the  revo 
lution,  the  placing  of  other  burdens  was  attempted. 

The  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  in  1749  was  hailed  with  joy  by  every 
town,  but  in  1753  Great  Britain  charged  France  with  a  violation  of 
the  treaty,  and  the  preparations,  for  war  were  again  made.  In  1755 
troops  arrived  from  England,  the  colonies  again  raised  their  propor- 
tion, and  expeditions  went  against  Fort  Du  Quesne  and  other  vulner- 
able points  of  the  French  possessions.  To  furnish  men  for  this  and 
other  expeditions  of  the  previous  year,  the  Cape  towns  had  been  sadly 
depleted,  and  in  1768,  when  more  soldiers  were  sent  out  for  the  re- 
duction of  Canada,  one-third  of  its  efficient  men  were  in  service.  The 
conquest  led  to  the  peace  of  Paris  in  1763,  and  the  concession  to  Eng- 
land of  Canada  and  other  French  possessions.  Great  Britain  became 
really  the  arbiter  of  the  seas  and  of  the  New  World.     Those  who  sur- 


68  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

vived  the  rigors  of  the  northern  winters,  the  confinement  in  prisons 
and  strife  of  battle  were  again  allowed  to  seek  their  humble  homes 
and  assist  in  bearing  the  burden  of  debts  created  by  the  demands  of 
the  long  war.  The  courage  and  strength  of  the  people  of  the  colony 
were  evident  to  Great  Britain,  and  to  most  effectively  secure  a  perma- 
nent sovereignty  over  them  seemed  to  be  the  desire  of  the  parliament. 
But  the  attempt  to  force  the  payment  of  a  portion  of  her  own  debts 
upon  the  colonists  who  had  been  made  to  suffer,  and  had  been  also 
deeply  burdened  in  her  service,  was  the  act  that  deprived  the  mother 
country  of  the  colonies  which  she  so  much  desired  to  retain. 

Revolutionary  War. — In  1766  Great  Britain,  to  relieve  her  treas- 
ury, which  had  been  depleted  by  successive  wars,  assumed  the  right 
to  tax  her  colonies  in  America.  Of  the  taxes  imposed,  the  stamp 
act  and  that  on  tea  were  the  most  odious.  The  repeal  of  the 
former  in  1766  did  not  allay  the  indignation  of  the  colonists.  Peti- 
tions and  rembnstrances  were  of  no  avail,  and  the  determination  to 
resist  was  increased  by  Great  Britain's  persistent  assumption.  In 
1768  meetings  were  held  in  the  several  towns  and  resolutions  passed 
"  that  we  will  purchase  no  imported  goods  until  the  tax  be  repealed." 
Powder  houses  were  erected  in  some  of  the  towns  of  the  county  and 
other  preparations  of  a  warlike  character  were  made.  The  presence 
of  soldiery  in  front  of  Boston  in  1769  fanned  the  latent  spark  into  an 
increasing  flame;  and  when  in  Marcn,  1770,  in  an  affair  near  Faneuil 
Hall,  Boston,  five  of  its  inhabitants  were  shot  down  by  the  British, 
the  flames  became  irrepressible.  In  1773  organizations  called  "  Sons 
of  Liberty  "  sprang  up  in  nearly  every  town,  and  strong  resolutions  of 
resistance  were  passed.  The  last  of  the  tea  ships  sent  to  these  shores 
was  wrecked  on  Cape  Cod  and  most  of  its  cargo  lost;  but  the  knowl- 
edge that  it  was  the  last,  and  that  the  entire  cargo  of  tea  was  steeping 
in  ocean  brine,  did  not  dampen  the  determination  of  the  patriots  of 
this  county.  Frequent  meetings  were  held  and  the  vote  unanimously 
taken  "  to  resist  the  sale  and  use'  of  the  article,  if  needs  be,  in  blood 
to  our  knees."  The  towns  of  the  county  have  in  their  records  many 
earnest  evidences  of  the  zeal  of  the  inhabitants.  The  subsequent 
throwing  overboard  of  342  chests  of  tea  in  Boston  harbor  by  patriots 
disguised  as  Indians,  and  the  many  acts  that  led  to  the  war  for  liberty, 
are  matters  of  a  more  general  history. 

In  the  acts  of  the  entire  colony  in  opposing  the  claims  of  Great 
Britain,  the  people  of  Barnstable  county  acquiesced,  and  in  many  of 
the  most  daring  were  foremost.  In  September,  1774,  the  residents  of 
Sandwich,  joined  by  many  from  the  towns  west,  marched  to  Barnstable 
to  intercept  the  sitting  of  the  court  of  common  pleas.  This  was  not 
only  effectually  accomplished,  but  the  body  of  the  people  obtained 
the  names  of  the  judges  t©  a  promise  that  they  would  not  accept  of 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  69 

any  duties  in  conformity  with  the  unjust  acts  of  parliament,  and  that 
if  required  to  do  any  business  contrary  to  the  charter  of  the  province 
they  would  refuse.  This  uprising  of  the  citizens  of  this  county  was 
one  of  the  first  overt  acts  of  the  colony,  and  it  was  followed  by  re- 
quests to  military  oflBcers  to  resign  the  commissions  held  under  an 
authority  that  would,  if  it  could,  reduce  them  to  slavery  and  obedi- 
ence. This  request  was  generally  acceded  to  by  all  who  held  military 
and  civil  commissions  in  the  county.  While  we  cannot  in  our  lim- 
ited space  give  the  entire  proceedings  of  the  daring  acts,  the  patriots 
who  served  as  leaders  and  committees  were:  Simeon  Wing,  Nathaniel 
Freeman,  Stephen  Nye,  Zacheus  Burge,  Seth  Freeman,  Eliakim 
Tobey,  Joseph  Nye  3d,  Micah  Blackwell,  Josiah  Haskell,  Aaron  Bar- 
low, Joseph  Otis,  George  Lewis,  James  Davis,  John  Crocker,  jr., 
Nathan  Foster,  Thomas  Sturgis,  Solomon  Otis,  John  Grannis,  Elisha 
Swift,  Ebenezer  Nye,  David  Taylor,  John  Chapman, -Joshua  Gray, 
Thomas  Paine,  Nathaniel  Downs,  Doctor  Davis,  John  Doty,  Daniel 
Crocker,  Ebenezer  Jenkins,  Eli  Phinney,  Lot  Nye,  Moses  Swift,  Dan- 
iel Butler,  jr.,  Daniel  Taylor,  Isaac  Hamblin,  Joseph  Crowell,  Ben- 
jamin Freeman,  John  Freeman,  Lot  Gray,  Job  Crocker,  Amos  Knowles, 
jr.,  Samuel  Smith,  David  Greenough,  Dr.  Samuel  Adams,  Jonathan 
Collins,  Deacon  Bassett,  Richard  Sears,  Salathiel  Bumpas  and  Mala- 
chi  Ellis. 

Another  Cape  patriot — James  Otis,  jr. — arose  in  court,  in  1761,  at 
Boston,  where  the  legality  of  "  the  writs  of  assistance  "  was  being 
argued,  and  said:  "  I  am  determined  to  proceed,  and  to  the  call  of  my 
country  am  ready  to  sacrifice  estate,  ease,  health,  applause  and  even 
life."  At  the  town  meetings  of  the  towns  of  the  county  it  was  voted 
to  oppose  the  tyranny  of  Great  Britain  at  the  risk  of  fortunes  and 
lives.  Some  of  the  citizens  were  not  thus  zealous  in  the  cause,  and  in 
the  language  of  that  day  these  were  called  tories.  The  Otis  papers 
and  other  histories  give  accounts  of  bitter  altercations  in  some  towns 
of  the  county;  but  this  fact  did  not  defer  the  action  or  dampen  the 
zeal  of  those  engaged  in  the  cause.  The  peculiar  position  of  the 
county,  topographically,  its  extended  and  exposed  sea  coasts,  and  the 
consequent  evil  to  their  own  shipping  and  fishery  did  not  cause  hesi- 
tation in  acts  that  tended  to  bring  on  the  prolonged  war.  During  the 
blockade  of  Boston  by  the  action  of  the  port  bill,  the  towns  of  this 
county  contributed  liberally  in  money,  wood  and  provisions  to  the 
wants  of  the  people  of  that  city,  and  sustained  them  in  all  their  reso- 
lutions. 

November  16,  1774,  a  county  congress  was  held  in  Barnstable,  at 
which  Hon.  James  Otis  was  chosen  moderator,  and  Colonel  Joseph 
Otis  clerk;  Colonel  Nathaniel  Freeman,  Joseph  Otis,  Thomas  Paine, 
Daniel  Davis  and  Job  Crocker  were  appointed  a  committee  to  com- 


70  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

municate  with  other  counties:  and  the  same  gentlemen,  with  Captain 
Joseph  Doane  and  Captain  Jonathan  Howes,  were  appointed  as  a  com- 
mittee to  consider  the  public  grievances  and  report  at  an  adjourned 
meeting. 

But  the  time  had  arrived  when  the  edict  that  "  the  country  shall 
be  free  "  must  be  enforced  by  the  privations  of  war.  The  happy  fire- 
sides and  rural  avocations  must  be  exchanged  for  the  stem  duties  of 
a  military  life.  Many  noble  deeds  were  performed  in  the  struggle 
that  followed,  which  are,  and  ever  will  be,  unrecorded;  for  no  histo- 
rian can  give  the  people  of  the  Cape  their  full  meed  of  praise. 

In  1775  the  first  din  of  battle  was  heard  when  General  Gage  sent 
troops  to  Concord  to  destroy  the  stores  of  the  provincials,  and  seven 
hundred  men  along  the  road  put  to  flight  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
of  his  royal  army.  Then  the  couriers  went  out  crj'ing,  "  the  war  is 
begun."  No  one  lives  to  remember  the  thrill  of  determination  that 
vibrated  along  the  Cape  to  its  extremity  when  that  cry  leaped  from 
town  to  town.  The  year  was  an  active  one  in  levying  men  for  the 
defense  of  the  coast,  and  Major  Hawley,  Mr.  Sullivan,  Mr.  Gerry  and 
Colonels  Ome  and  Freeman  were  appointed  to  report  proper  regula- 
tions for  minute  men.  Major  Joseph  Dimmick,  with  a  sufficient  force, 
was  commissioned  to  repair  to  Nantucket  and  other  islands  and  arrest 
those  who  were  supplying  the  enemy  with  provisions.  The  defense 
of  the  coast  was  entrusted  to  four  companies;  of  Company  1,  Nathan 
Smith  was  captain;  Jeremiah  Mantor,  first  lieutenant;  and  Fortunatus 
Bassett,  second  lieutenant;  of  Company  2,  Benjamin  Smith,  captain; 
Melatiah  Davis,  first  lieutenant;  and  James  Shaw,  second  lieutenant; 
Company  3,  John  Grannis,  captain;  James  Blossom,  first  lieutenant; 
Samuel  Hallett,  second  lieutenant;  Company  4,  Elisha  Nye,  captain; 
Stephen  Nye,  jr.,  first  lieutenant;  and  John  Russell,  second  lieu- 
tenant. 

In  January,  1776,  General  Washington  called  for  six  regiments  of 
728  men  each,  to  be  raised  in  the  province,  of  which  260  men  were  to 
be  furnished  by  Barnstable  county.  The  committee  to  direct  this 
duty  in  the  county  were  Colonels  Otis  and  Cobb.  Barnstable  and 
Plymouth  countiies  together  raised  one  entire  regiment,  of  which 
Colonel  Carey  of  Bridgewater  was  commandant;  Barachiah  Bassett  of 
Falmouth,  lieutenant  colonel;  Thomas  Hamilton  of  Chatham,  adju- 
tant; and  Nathaniel  Hall  of  Harwich,  surgeon  mate.  Still  later,  in 
January,  another  regiment  was  called  from  the  same  source  to  go  to 
Canada.  Many  of  these  men  were  Mashpees,  who  made  valiant 
soldiers.  On  the  31st  the  militia  of  the  county  was  divided  into  two 
regiments  and  the  general  court  appointed  the  officers;  for  the  first, 
including  Barnstable,  Sandwich,  Yarmouth  and  Falmouth,  Nathaniel 
Freeman,  colonel;  Joseph  Dimmick,  lieutenant  colonel;  Joshua  Gray, 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  71 

first  major;  and  George  Lewis,  second  major;  for  the  second,  includ- 
ing the  towns  of  Harwich,  Eastham,  Chatham,  Wellfleet,  Truro  and 
Provincetown,  Joseph  Doane,  colonel;  Elisha  Cobb,  lieutenant  colonel; 
Zenas  Winslow,  first  major;  and  Gideon  Freeman,  second  major;  Dim- 
mick  declined  in  favor  of  Colonel  Enoch  IJallett,  and  accepted  the 
position  of  first  major  in  place  of  Gray,  who  declined. 

The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  had  been  fought  and  war  was  at  the 
very  door  of  the  Cape.  The  general  court  ordered  that  all  persons 
save  the  merest  portions  of  rags  for  the  manufacture  of  paper,  which, 
by  the  action  of  the  revolted  colonies  and  the  condition  of  affairs, 
could  not  be  otherwise  obtained.  In  February,  1776,  subscriptions 
were  opened  to  give  all  who  had  silver  and  gold  the  opportunity  to 
exchange  the  coin  for  bills,  and  Colonels  Otis  and  Doane  were  ap- 
pointed receivers  for  this  county. 

During  the  year  General  Washington  required  the  court  of  the 
colony  to  furnish  a  large  quota  of  blankets  for  army  use.  The  select- 
men of  the  towns  of  the  Cape  were  required  by  the  court  to  assist  in 
gathering  these  blankets,  and  the  sum  of  ^^190,  9s.,  was  placed  in  the 
hands  of  Captain  Amos  Knowles  of  Eastham  for  their  purchase. 
Again  men  were  required;  this  call  was  for  203  men  from  this  county. 
Barnstable  raised  forty-five  men.  Sandwich,  Yarmouth,  Harwich  and 
Eastham,  forty  each;  Wellfleet,  eighteen;  Chatham  and  Falmouth, 
twenty-six  each. 

In  March,  1776,  during  the  most  diligent  action  to  supply  the  camps 
of  war  with  necessary  supplies,  the  Cape,  by  its  peculiar  topography 
and  shoals,  had  another  interposition  of  Providence  by  the  casting 
ashore  at  Provincetown  of  a  sloop  load  of  the  enemy's  goods;  these, 
with  the  transport  load  that  was  cast  upon  the  beach  the  same  month 
at  Truro,  went  far  in  relieving  the  needs  of  the  army.  The  need  of 
coats,  waistcoats  and  breeches  was  still  felt,  and  Joseph  Nye  of  Har- 
wich was  appointed  to  procure  as  many  as  he  could  in  Barnstable 
county. 

July  4,  1776,  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  passed.  This 
was  hailed  with  joy  by  all  the  colonies,  and  more  especially  on  the 
Cape,  where  public  meetings  had  been  held  in  June,  in  which  the 
people  had  pledged  their  property,  honor  and  lives  in  its  support. 

Battle  followed  battle,  and  the  tide  of  war  drifted  from  Boston  bar- 
bor  to  the  southwest.  On  the  10th  of  July  one  from  every  twenty- 
five  men  liable  to  military  duty  was  taken  from  Barnstable  county, 
and  Joseph  Nye  of  Sandwich,  and  Amos  Knowles,  jr.,  of  Eastham 
were  appointed  by  the  court  to  make  the  draft.  The  men  were  or- 
dered to  Rhode  Island,  and  for  their  transportation  Joseph  Nye  and 
others  were  appointed  to  purchase  sixty  whale  boats,  to  be  delivered 
at  Falmouth  or  some  convenient  place  on  Buzzards  bay.     This  draft 


72  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

of  men  from  the  Cape  was  more  severely  felt  than  any  former 
ones  of  the  war,  for  many  were  engaged  on  the  sea  and  were  enumer- 
ated among  those  liable  to  do  military  duty. 

The  year  1777  opened  with  many  privations  to  the  people  of  the 
county.  The  most  of  the,  fishing  vessels  were  rotting  at  the  wharves; 
the  traffic  was  gone.  The  farmer  might  plant,  but  perhaps  the  next 
draft  would  not  leave  him  to  harvest.  But  they  hopefully  looked  to 
the  desired  result.  Those  at  home,  not  only  on  the  Cape  but  through- 
out the  colonies,  realized  that  those  in  the  field  and  at  Valley  Forge 
were  also  enduring  hardships;  and  the  vote  of  the  town  meeting  was 
"  that  the  town  will  provide  for  the  families  of  the  absent."  The 
prison-ship  inhumanity  of  the  enemy  was  more  severe  upon  the  resi- 
dents of  the  Cape  than  upon  any  other  county,  for  a  larger  proportion 
were  in  the  naval  service;  but  to  the  credit  of  these  men  history  does 
not  reveal  the  name  of  one  who  preferred  British  gold  or  promotion 
to  the  loathsome  hold.  The  American  privateers  were  continually 
harassing  the  enemy  by  their  success,  having  captured  prior  to  1777 
nearly  five  hundred  British  vessels,  for  which  the  people  of  the  Cape 
were  entitled  to  great  credit. 

The  notes  of  war  were  heard  along  the  Atliantic  coast,  and  early 
in  1777  the  general  court  resolved  to  draft  every  seventh  man  in  the 
colony  to  complete  the  required  quota.  This  was  a  serious  blow  to 
this  Cape,  for  it  was  ordered  to  make  the  draft  from  all  over  sixteen 
years  of  age,  at  home  and  abroad.  In  June  of  the  same  year  eighty- 
eight  more  men  were  drafted  from  the  county  to  proceed  to  Rhode 
Island,  and  August  17th  still  more  were  ordered,  with  field  pieces,  to 
protect  Truro  from  the  invasions  threatened  from  British  men-of-war. 
The  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  October  22, 1777,  caused  rejoicings 
througiout  the  land,  and  the  court  set  apart  a  day  for  a  general 
thanksgiving.  But  the  end  was  not  yet.  In  April,  1778,  the  county 
of  Barnstable  was  required  to  furnish  seventy-two  more  men;  Yar- 
mouth, fourteen;  Barnstable,  fifteen;  Eastham  and  Harwich,  twelve 
each;  Sandwich,  eight;  Falmouth,  six;  Chatham,  Wellfleet  and  Truro, 
five  each,  including  officers.  This  had  hardly  passed  when  on  June 
12th  this  county  was  desired  to  send  seventy-eight  more  men,  also  605 
each  of  shirts  and  pairs  of  shoes  and  stockings.  Of  these  articles 
Barnstable  furnished  eighty-two  of  each;  Yarmouth,  seventy-three; 
Eastham,  sixty-five;  Harwich,  sixty-four;  Sandvrich,  fifty-five;  Well- 
fleet,  forty-five;  Falmouth,  forty-three;  Truro,  forty-two;  Chatham, 
thirty;  and  Provincetown,  six.  The  penalty  for  any  delinquency  was 
thirty  pounds. 

The  drafts  came  so  frequently  that  upon  receipt  of  a  letter  from 
General  Otis  as  to  the  danger  of  the  Cape  from  British  hordes,  in 
which  he  said,  "  it  is  like  dragging  men  from  home  when  their  houses 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  73 

are  on  fire,"  the  court  in  September  ordered  that  "inasmuch  as  the 
militia  of  the  county  have  been  and  continue  to  be  greatly  harassed 
by  the  appearance  of  the  enemy's  ships  and  the  landing  of  troops  in 
their  vicinity,  the  county  be  excused  for  the  present  from  raising  men 
agreeably  to  the  order  of  the  Council."  But  this  order  of  the  council 
applied  to  fifty  men  ordered  to  go  to  Providence;  those  already  or- 
dered were  furnished. in  the  best  possible  manner. 

Among  the  known  disasters  on  the  sea  the  shipwreck  of  the  Gen. 
Arnold,  December  24, 1777,  was  one  of  the  most  distressing.  This 
vessel  mounted  twenty  guns,  with  a  crew  of  105  men  and  boys.  Captain 
James  Magee,  commanding.  In  company  with  the  sloop  of  war 
Revenge,  of  ten  guns,  the  Gen.  Arnold  sailed  from  Boston,  ordered 
south  on  duty.  In  the  bay  the  vessels  encountered  a  violent  storm, 
and  the  Revenge  weathered  Cape  Cod  and  was  saved;  but  the  Arnold, 
on  December  25th,  went  ashore  in  Plymouth  harbor,  and  nearly  all  her 
crew  perished  from  cold.  Of  those  on  board  who  perished  the  twelve 
from  Barnstable  were:  John  Russell,  captain  of  marines;  Barnabas 
Lothrop,  jr.,  Daniel  Hall,  Thomas  Caseley,  Ebenezer  Bacon,  Jesse  Gar- 
rett, John  Berry,  Barnabas  Howes,  Stephen  Bacon,  Jonathan  Lothrop, 
Barnabas  Downs,  jr.,  and  Boston  Crocker,  a  negro  servant.  These 
were  all  from  the  East  parish. 

Some  good  news  was  occasionally  had  in  the  shifting  scenes  of 
war,  as  was  seen  by  the  wreck  of  the  British  ship  Somerset,  which  was 
stranded  November  8,  on  the  banks  at  Truro.  The  crew  of  480  men, 
under  Colonel  Hallett,  were  marched  to  Boston  as  prisoners  of  war. 

In  1779,  June  8th,  more  men  were  called  for  to  re-enforce  the  conti- 
nental army,  and  June  21st  the  county  was  again  required  to  supply  its 
quota  of  shirts,  shoes  and  stockings.  The  number  of  men  to  be 
drafted  was  eighty-seven  and  the  number  of  wearing  apparel  was 
again  505.  Colonel  Enoch  Hallett  was  to  receive  the  clothing.  The 
reader  may  be  surprised  by  the  frequency  of  these  draughts  for  men, 
and  the  compulsion,  with  forfeiture,  to  supply  wearing  apparel;  but 
with  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne  the  war  did  not  close.  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  was  in  the  south  with  a  still  larger  force,  and  the  war  was  yet 
in  active  progress.  General  Sullivan's  expedition  against  the  Six 
Nations,  the  powerful  confederacy  of  Indians  of  New  York,  was  sent 
out  this  year.  The  levies  of  men  from  the  county  of  Barnstable  were 
only  its  quota  of  the  whole  number  raised  from  the  several  colonies. 
That  these  frequent  drafts  were  all  promptly  met,  even  in  this  county, 
could  hardly  be  expected;  but  it  is  known  that  the  record  of  the  Cape 
towns  was  no  exception  to  others  of  the  province  in  this  relation. 

The  year  1780  dawned  with  many  depressing  circumstances.  The 
currency  of  the  country  had  now  depreciated  to  one-thirtieth  of  its 
face  value,  and  business  eyerywhere  was  greatly  impeded.     In  May 


74  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

of  this  year,  187  men  and  a  large  quantity  of  beef  were  levied  upon 
the  county.  The  burden  of  these  demands,  removing  from  the  county 
nearly  all  the  able-bodied  men  and  all  the  beef  fit  for  food,  may  be 
imagined.  The  beef  demanded  was  71,280  pounds— Barnstable,  16,- 
510;  Sandwich,  11,120;  Yarmouth,  10,090;  Chatham,  3,860;  Truro, 
3,680;  Eastham,  7,250;  Harwich,  8,250;  Wellfleet,  3,620;  and  Falmouth, 
7,800.  This  was  followed  in  December  by  a  demand  for  156  more 
men  from  the  county — Barnstable,  thirty-one;  Sandwich,  twenty-two; 
Yarmouth,  twenty-four;  Eastham,  seventeen;  Wellfleet,  eight;  Chat- 
ham, nine;  Harwich,  nineteen;  Falmouth,  seventeen;  and  Truro,  nine. 
Again  in  December  of  this  year,  the  commonwealth's  proportion  of  spe- 
cific supplies  for  the  army  was  4,626,178  pounds  of  beef,  of  which  Barn- 
stable county  was  to  supply  136,875  pounds.  In  lieu  of  beef  at  £3, 
7s.,  6d.  per  cwt.,  gjain  could  be  substituted  at  the  rate  of  seven  shil- 
lings per  bushel  for  rye,  five  shillings  for  corn,  three  shillings  for 
oats  and  seven  shillings  for  peas. 

Would  it  surprise  the  reader  to  know  that,  under  all  these  require- 
ments, some  of  the  towns  of  the  various  colonies  should  petition  fbr 
an  abateinent  of  their  levies?  Would  it  be  to  the  discredit  of  the 
Cape  towns  to  be  compelled  to  seek  relief?  Harwich,  Chatham,  East- 
ham and  Yarmouth  at  this  time  asked  for  an  abatement  of  the  levies, 
for  they  had  not  and  could  not  procure  the  beef.  In  May,  1781,  other 
towns  followed  in  similar  petitions,  and  upon  the  refusal  of  any  abate- 
ment, found  it  impossible  to  comply.  A  meeting  of  delegates  chosen 
for  the  purpose  was  held  at  Barnstable,  at  which  Dr.  John  Davis  was 
chosen  to  present  to  the  general  court  the  fact  "  the  inequality  of  the 
burdens  of  the  Cape  seem  not  to  have  been  well  considered  hy  the 
government  heretofore;  that  to  pay  taxes  equal  to  those  more  favor- 
ably circumstanced,  and  to  be  obliged  to  provide  clothing  in  equal 
proportion  to  others,  besides  the  needs  of  the  families  of  the  soldiers, 
was  a  suflBcient  sacrifice  without  being  enjoined  to  stand  side  by  side 
with  agricultural  towns  in  supplying  beef  for  the  army."  But  this 
appeal  to  the  court  was  not  made  until  the  commander-in-chief  had 
asked  for  another  supply  of  beef,  of  which  this  county's  quota  was 
56,489  pounds.    • 

The  year  1781  was  a  deplorable  one  for  the  whole  country,  and  at 
the  opening  of  1782  the  horizon  was  still  darker.  The  condition  of 
the  continental  army  was  distressing.  Baron  Steuben  wrote  of  his 
command  from  Fishkill,  May  28th:  "Yesterday  was  the  third  day  of  our 
army  having  been  without  provisions.  The  army  could  not  make  a 
march  of  one  day.  The  distresses  have  arrived  at  the  greatest  pos- 
sible degree."  General  Greene,  August  13th,wrote:  "  For  three  months, 
more  than  one-third  of  our  men,  were  entirely  naked,  with  nothing 
but  a  breech-cloth  about  them,  and  never  came  out  of  their  tents;  and 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  76 

the  rest  are  ragged  as  wolves.  Our  condition  was  little  better  in  the 
matter  of  provisions."  This  deplorable  condition  of  affairs  was  not 
confined  to  the  army;  destitution  was  everywhere  in  the  colonies;  and 
in  no  place  was  it  more  severely  felt  than  on  the  Cape.  But  to  re- 
plenish the  ranks  of  the  army,  so  depleted  by  sickness  and  mortality. 
General  Washington  in  March  required  one  thousand  five  hundred 
men  for  the  Massachusetts  line,  of  which  the  quota  for  this  county 
was  thirty-six.  The  same  month  the  state  treasurer,  having  been 
petitioned,  was  directed  "to  recall  the  executions  issued,  and  to 
stay  future  executions  for  two-thirds  of  the  taxes,  until  further 
ordered." 

The  darkness  that  precedes  the  dawn  was  exemplified  by  the  con- 
dition of  the  army  and  the  provinces  at  the  opening  of  1783.  Every 
department  of  the  forces  and  every  town  of  the  land  was  in  most  strait- 
ened circumstances.  But  the  dawn  of  peace — the  full  sunshine  of  lib- 
erty— approached;  at  Versailles  articles  had  been  signed  which  ac- 
knowledged the  freedom  and  sovereignty  of  the  colonies,-  and  April 
19th  General  Washington  proclaimed  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  The 
rejoicings  of  a  happy  people,  after  eight  years  of  strife  and  suffering, 
may  be  conjectured  but  cannot  be  described. 

The  war  cost  England  one  hundred  million  pounds  sterling  and 
fifty  thousand  of  her  subjects,  beside  the  loss  of  her  much-coveted  col- 
onies. The  colonies  furnished  during  the  period  288,134  men,  of 
which  83,242  were  sent  from  Massachusetts,  showing  conclusively  the 
importance  of  this  colony  in  the  struggle  for  liberty. 

The  destitution  of  the  colonies,  and  especially  of  the  Cape,  for  sev- 
eral years  need  not  be  recited.  Not  until  1790  did  congress  redeem 
the  bills  that  had  been  issued  to  pay  the  soldiers  and  carry  on  the  war, 
and  then  onlj'  one  dollar  in  coin  was  received  for  one  hundred  dollars 
in  bills.  The  collection  of  taxes  from  a  people  so  prostrated  caused 
difficulties,  of  which  the  so-called  Shay's  rebellion,  in  1786,  was  the 
most  important.  This  insurrection  against  the  state  government  of 
Massachusetts  was  occasioned  by  the  discontent  of  certain  persons 
who  arrayed  themselves  against  the  collection  of  taxes  and  debts.  To 
subdue  this  rebellion  four  thousand  men,  under  the  command  of  Gen- 
eral Lincoln,  were  ordered  into  service;  and  then,  not  until  a  well- 
directed  fire  into  their  Tanks;  killing  many,  did  the'insurgents  conclude 
to  discontinue  the  unequal  contest.  A  similar  spirit  of  insubordina- 
tion was  exhibited  in  New  Hampshire.  The  governor  of  Massachu- 
setts, under  date  of  November  27,  1786,  issued  a  proclamation  to  the 
sheriff  of  Barnstable  county,  directing  him  to  promptly  suppress  all 
indications  of  a  rebellion  against  the  laws,  and  to  call  upon  the  mili- 
tary for  assistance.  As  the  residents  of  the  Cape  have  ever  been 
among  the  most  loyal  to  law  and  order,  it  is  just  to  suppose  that  this 


76  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

order  of  Governor  Bowdoin  was  issued  alike  to  the  sheriffs  of  every 
other  county  of  the  state;  and  this,  considering  the  exigency  of  the 
times,  perhaps  was  the  duty  of  the  executive  branch. 

War  OF  1812.* — After  the  restoration  of  peace,  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  revolutionary  war,  the  French  revolution  took  place  and  France 
declared  war  against  England.  This  war  continued  from  1793  until 
the  treaty  of  peace  at  Amiens  in  1802.  But  this  treaty  was  of  short 
duration,  for  England  became  so  excited  by  the  aggressive  policy  of 
Napoleon  that  war  was  declared  against  France  in  May,  1803,  and  soon 
all  the  European  powers  were  again  involved  in  hostilities.  The 
United  States  was  almost  the  only  power  that  preserved  its  neutrality. 
Being  thus  at  peace  with  the  two  great  nations — England  and  France, 
a  flourishing  commerce,  unprecedented  in  the  history  of  the  country, 
grew  up  in  America,  which  produced  a  high  degree  of  prosperity  in 
the  commercial  portions  of  the  United  States,  and  Barnstable  county 
received  a  remarkable  touch  of  this  new  impetus  given  to  sea  going 
business,  as  a  large  part  of  its  citizens  were  engaged  in  maritime 
pursuits. 

But  these  favorable  advantages  were  not  long  enjoyed  by  the  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States,  for  Napoleon,  in  1806,  issued  the  famous 
Berlin  Decree,  by  which  the  British  islands  were  declared  to  be  in  a 
state  of  blockade,  and  all  commerce,  intercourse  and  correspondence 
with  them  were  prohibited.  In  consequence  of  such  restrictions  the 
commerce  of  the  United  States  with  England  was  much  embarrassed, 
and  was  carried  on  at  a  risk  of  seizure.  The  British  government,  ag- 
grieved by  the  Berlin  Decree,  put  forth  a  retaliatory  measure  by  which 
American  commerce  received  another  damaging  blow;  to  the  effect 
that  all  neutral  vessels  trading  with  France  should  be  confiscated. 
This  order  was  followed  by  another  in  1807,  by  which  all  trade  in 
French  goods  and  the  goods  of  other  nations  with  which  England  was 
at  war,  was  entirely  prohibited.  Then  followed  an  order  by  Napoleon 
called  the  Milan  Decree,  by  which  every  vessel  of  whatsoever  nation, 
that  had  been  searched  by  an  English  vessel  and  had  consented  to  be 
sent  to  England,  was  to  be  considered  as  a  lawful  prize.  By  such  acts 
and  measures  on  the  part  of  England  and  France,  a  fatal  blow  was 
aimed  at  American  commerce,  and  the  course  pursued  by  the  two 
hostile  nations  was  disastrous  to  the  prosperity  of  this  country. 

The  blockade  of  the  European  ports  from  Brest  to  the  Elbe,  de- 
clared by  Great  Britain  and  not  maintained  by  an  actual  naval  force, 
was  by  the  United  States  government  looked  upon  as  a  "  paper  block- 
ade," and  therefore  of  no  avail,  and  any  seizure  made  by  British  ves- 
sels of  American  commerce  was  a  palpable  violation  of  the  rights  of 
a  nation  occupying  a  neutral  position  in  time  of  war.     Owing  to  the 

•  By  Joshua  H.  Paine,  Esq.,  of  Harwich. 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  77 

dangers  threatened  to  commerce  by  the  "  decrees  "  of  France  and  the 
"  orders  in  council  "  of  Great  Britain,  the  United  States  government, 
under  Jefferson,  laid  an  embargo  on  all  exports  from  the  United  States, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  retaliate  on  the  position  taken  by  France 
and  England  in  relation  to  commercial  intercourse  with  these  two 
great  powers  of  Europe.  But  the  embargo  became  very  unpopular 
and  worked  very  disastrously  to  the  shipping  interest  of  this  country, 
and  in  no  other  section  was  there  greater  suffering  and  prostration  of 
business  than  in  the  maritime  industries  of  Cape  Cod. 

The  embargo  was  repealed  by  congress  in  1809,  and  was  followed 
by  an  act,  called  the  "Non-intercourse  law,"  by  which  all  trade  and 
intercourse  with  France  and  England  were  prohibited.  Neither  the 
embargo  nor  the  non-intercourse  law  had  any  effect  in  causing  the 
British  government  to  recede  from  the  offensive  position  it  had  taken, 
or  France  to  revoke  its  "  decrees,"  so  fatal  to  American  commerce.,  By 
such  obstinacy  on  the  part  of  both  nations,  and  in  view  of  the  threat- 
ened outrages  to  American  commerce,  it  was  a  question  for  some  time 
whether  to  declare  war  against  France  or  England,  but  the  persistency 
of  the  British  in  intercepting  American  vessels  and  impressing  British 
seamen  therefrom  decided  the  question,  and  war  was  declared  against 
England  by  President  Madison,  June  19,  1812. 

Hon.  Isaiah  L.  Green,  member  of  congress  from  the  Barnstable 
district,  voted  for  the  act  declaring  war,  and  appears  to  have  been 
sustained  in  so  doing  by  the  citizens  of  the  district,  as  the  follow- 
ing preamble  goes  to  show:  "  Resolved  that  the  Hon.  Isaiah  L.  Green, 
our  Congressional  representative,  has  done  nobly,  and  deserves 
well  of  his  country,  and  that  he  enjoys  the  confidence  of  his  constit- 
uents." 

As  a  large  part  of  the  business  of  Cape  Cod  was  upon  the  ocean,  no 
portion  of  the  country  would  be  subjected  to  greater  deprivations  and 
inconveniences  than  Barnstable  county  by  the  operations  of  war,  and 
the  people  dreaded  the  issue;  but  still  they  considered  it  just,  neces- 
sary and  unavoidable,  and  acquiesced  in  all  measures  of  the  general 
government  in  its  prosecution;  being  ready  at  all  times  to  engage  in 
the  defense  of  the  country,  both  on  sea  and  land,  in  order  that  those 
rights  for  which  the  war  was  waged  might  be  obtained. 

Soon  after  the  news  had  reached  England  that  war  had  been  de- 
clared, British  men-of-war  began  to  hover  around  the  New  England 
coasts.  All  communication  by  water  with  Boston  and  other  commer- 
cial ports  on  the  New  England  coasts  was  cut  off  by  British  ships  of 
war  cruising  about  the  bay,  and  when  at  anchor  they  would  send  out 
their  barges  to  capture  the  small  craft  that  might  venture  out  in  quest 
of  fish,  or  those  that  undertook  to  make  a  passage  from  port  ta  port 
along  shore. 


78  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

The  whole  of  Massachusetts  bay  was  under  complete  control  of  the 
British  during  the  war,  and  no  part  of  the  state  was  more  annoyed 
and  menaced  than  the  several  towns  of  Barnstable  county.  The 
Spencer,  of  fifty -two  guns,  held  possession  of  Provincetown  harbor,  and 
was  considered  by  the  people  of  the  Cape  the  "  Terror  of  the  Bay." 
The  frigate  Nymph  and  the  Bulwark,  each  carrying  seventy-four  guns, 
guarded  the  shores  of  the  upper  Cape  towns  and  also  the  Plymouth 
coast,  and  proved  to  be  quite  vigilant  in  intercepting  and  destroying 
navigation.  The  admiral's  ship,  Majestic,  lay  at  anchor  between  Truro 
and  Provincetown,  and  it  is  said  that  the  crew,  for  exercise  in  naval 
training,  would  practice  gunnery,  having  for  a  target  an  old  wind  mill 
standing  in  Truro. 

On  the  south  shores  of  the  Cape  the  Nimrod  did  much  mischief  by 
frequent  attacks  upon  vessels  and  boats  that  attempted  to  venture  out 
far  from  land,  and  the  towns  bordering  on  the  sound  were  kept  in 
constant  fear  and  trepidation  by  the  oft  repeated  threats  of  her  com- 
mander to  bombard  and  burn  the  "  little  villages  by  the  shore." 

The  British  privateer  Retaliation,  of  five  guns,  cruised  up  and  down 
the  sound,  and  was  a  gfreat  annoyance  to  the  small  craft  that  sailed 
"  along  shore."  She  was  finally  captured  by  Captain  Weston  Jenkins, 
of  the  sloop  Two  Friends,  while  lying  at  anchor  in  Tarpaulin  cove,  and 
was  brought  to  Falmouth  as  a  prize  of  considerable  value  to  a  brave 
and  determined  crew  of  thirty-two  men. 

Notwithstanding  the  constant  presence  of  British  cruisers  in  the 
bay  and  sound,  quite  frequently  some  bold  and  intrepid  adventurers, 
under  the  cover  of  night,  would  elude  the  vigilence  of  those  armed 
vessels  and  in  their  little  craft  would  succeed  in  reaching  a  distant 
commercial  port,  obtain  a  cargo,  and  return  again  to  their  place  of 
departure  in  safety.  The  great  scarcity  of  corn  which  prevailed  upon 
the  Cape  during  the  war  compelled  some  of  the  more  daring  captains 
to  run  the  risk  of  being  taken  by  the  enemy,  and  by  discreet  and 
crafty  maneuvering  they  would  succeed  in  bringing  a  load  now  and 
then  from  the  southern  ports,  and  necessarily  it  was  sold  at  a  very 
high  price.  Several  vessels  and  a  number  of  large  boats  were,  how- 
ever, captured  and  destroyed,  the  enemy  confiscating  the  cargoes  and 
setting  the  men  found  on  board  at  liberty.  The  packet  sloop  plying 
between  Barnstable  and  Boston,  commanded  by  Captain  Howes,  was 
taken  by  the  frigate  Nymph,  and  with  her  cargo  was  burned.  S.  B. 
Phinney  of  Barnstable,  then  a  lad  of  six  summers,  a  passenger  with 
his  father,  was  on  board  at  the  time  of  the  capture,  but  was  soon  set 
at  liberty.  In  many  instances  the  crews  of  captured  vessels  were  held 
as  prisoners  subject  to  a  ransom  from  their  friends. 

Commodore  Raggelt,  of  the  ship  Spencer,  made  frequent  demands 
upon  several  of  the  Cape  towns  for  payments  of  certain  sums  of  money 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  79 

to  secure  exemption  from  an  attack,  and  to  prevent  the  destruction  of 
property.  The  town  of  Brewster,  being  so  harassed  and  threatened 
by  the  enemy,  paid  four  thousand  dollars,  the  sum  demanded.  East- 
ham  paid  one  thousand  dollars,  but  the  other  towns  positively  refused 
to  make  any  contributions.  The  people  were  determined  to  defend 
the  towns  to  the  last  extremity.  Military  companies  were  formed  in 
all  parts  of  the  county,  and  were  in  readiness  at  all  times  to  march  to 
any  point  where  the  enemy  might  attempt  to  land.  Committees  of 
safety  were  appointed  in  the  most  exposed  towns,  the  duties  of  which 
were  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  British  cruisers  in  the  bay  and 
report  at  headquarters  whenever  any  hostile  demonstrations  were 
tnade.  Alarm  posts  were  established  in  all  the  towns,  and  a  code  of 
signals  fixed  upon  to  give  warning  to  the  militia  and  "  yeomanry  of 
the  land  "  whenever  the  enemy  appeared  in  view.  Sentinels  were  de- 
tached from  the  several  companies  to  guard  the  shores. 

In  view  of  the  exposed  situation  of  the  Cape  to  the  depredations  of 
the  enemy,  frequent  appeals  were  made  to  the  state  government  for  a 
supply  of  artillery  and  other  munitions  of  war.  Collector  Green  of  the 
port  of  Barnstable,  asked  for  a  detachment  of  flying  artillery  and  a  sup- 
ply of  military  stores,  and  Simeon  Kingman,  Esq.,  of  Orleans,  acting  as 
an  agent  of  the  town, went  to  Boston  bearing  a  proposition,  the  substance 
of  which  was  that  an  artillery  company  would  be  formed  if  the  gov- 
ernment would  furnish  the  necessary  equipments.  Both  gentlemen 
were  unsuccessful  in  their  efforts  to  obtain  assistance  from  the  state, 
and  it  became  very  apparent  that  the  Cape  must  furnish  "its  own  pro- 
tection, although  Governor  Strong,  in  his  speech  before  the  state  sen- 
ate and  house  of  representatives,  October  14,  1812,  says:  "  We  have  in 
this  state  several  hundred  miles  of  sea-coasts  and  more  than  one  hun- 
dred of  the  towns  may  be  approached  by  the  enemy's  ships.  *  *  * 
It  will  be  necessary  that  the  whole  militia  should  be  armed  and 
equipped  in  the  best  possible  manner  and  ready  to  march  at  the  short- 
est possible  notice,  and  in  case  of  invasion,  that  arms  should  be  in  read- 
iness for  every  man  who  is  able  to  bear  them." 

Not  a  large  number  enlisted  to  join  the  army  on  the  northern 
frontier  from  the  Cape.  Their  services  were  required  in  protect- 
ing their  own  homes.  During  the  continuance  of  the  war  the' cit- 
izens of  Barnstable  county  able  to  bear  arms  were  constantly  on 
the  look-out,  ready  to  spring  to  their  guns  whenever  the  alarm  was 
given  of  a  threatened  invasion,  and  they  might  with  propriety,  be 
called  "minute  men,"  so  ready  and  determined  were  they  to  beat 
back  the  invading  foe. 

In  the  spring  of  1813,  Lieutenant  Proctor  opened  a  recruiting 
ofl&ce  in  Harwich,  and  a  number  enlisted  from  that  and  adjoining 
towns  to  join  the  army  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Lakes.     On  the  fifth 


80  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

of  April,  1813,  they  departed  for  the  seat  of  war  on  the  northern 
frontier.  Great  were  the  hardships  and  siifferings  they  endured  on 
their  long  march  through  the  then  unsettled  portions  of  Massachu- 
setts and  New  York.  They  joined  the  forces  under  General  Brown 
and  were  in  the  battles  of  Sackett's  Harbor,  Lunday's  Lane,  Fort  Erie 
and  Bridgewater. 

A  number  of  men  from  the  Cape  entered  the  navy  and  did  valiant 
service.  Two  of  the  crew  of  the  United  States  frigate  Constitution 
were  Harwich  men,  when  she  captured  the  British  frigate  Guerriere. 

The  brig  Reindeer,  Captain  Nathaniel  Snow,  of  Truro,  having  a 
crew  mostly  of  Cape  Cod  men,  sailed  from  Boston  in  the  month  of  De- 
cember, 1814,  under  letters  of  marque  to  cruise  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Western  islands  and  on  the  coast  of  Spain,  to  capture  and  annoy  the 
British  commerce.  They  encountered  a  terrific  gale  in  the  Bay  of 
Biscay,  and  came  very  near  being  lost.  Between  the  Western  island 
and  the  mouth  of  the  English  channel  they  captured  six  prizes.  After 
removing  portions  of  the  cargo,  they  burned  the  vessels.  They  fell 
in  with  several  other  fleets  of  merchantmen,  but  as  they  were  of  su- 
perior strength  and  under  a  strong  convoy,  they  were  obliged  to  with- 
draw, and  sailed  for  the  harbor  of  Corunna,  a  seaport  of  Spain,  in  the 
province  of  Galicia.  Before  the  vessel  was  ready  for  sailing  they  re- 
ceived the  intelligence  that  peace  had  been  declared  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain. 

During  the  last  year  of  the  war  the  people  of  Barnstable  county 

experienced  the  greatest  deprivations  of  the  necessaries  of  life.     The 

intercourse  between  the  states  was  so  far  interrupted  that  a  small 

quantity  only  of  flour  and  corn  could  be  obtained  from  the  southern 

ports,  and  the  small  amount  that  was  in  the  market  brought  great 

prices.     Flour  sold  for  eighteen  dollars  per  barrel,  and  corn  brought 

$2.50  per  bushel.    It  was  almost  impossible  for  vessels  to  reach  the 

West  Indies  and  return  in  safety,  consequently  molasses  and  sugar 

were  very  scarce.     The  good  housewives,  however,  would  improvise 

a  kind  of  molasses  from  cornstalks  and  pumpkins,  which  was  quite  a 

good  substitute  for  the  real  article,  serving  an  excellent  purpose  in 

the   culinary  department,  besides  making  the  wives  of  those  days 

doubly  sweet  to  their  lords,  and   each   could  say  of  his  wife,  with 

Milton, 

'  •  Love,  sweetness,  goodness  in  her  person  shined." 

On  account  of  the  geographical  situation  of  Cape  Cod,  projecting 
about  sixty  miles  out  into  the  Atlantic  ocean,  and  all  the  towns  thereon 
being  approachable  by  water,  no  part  of  the  country  was  more  ex- 
posed to  the  rapacity  of  the  enemy  than  this  portion  of  Massachusetts. 
The  inhabitants  were  in  constant  fear  and  trepidation  during  the  war, 
thinking  that  the  foe  might  at  any  time  land  and  devastate  their  homes. 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  81 

As  the  British  cruisers  were  most  of  the  time  in  the  eastern  por- 
tions of  American  waters,  Cape  Cod  was  in  proximity  to  the  scene  of 
several  naval  conflicts,  and  it  was  no  uncommon  sound  for  the  people 
to  hear  the  heavy  roar  of  artillery  as  it  came  booming  over  the  bosom 
of  old  ocean.  The  heavy  cannonading  of  that  celebrated  naval  duel 
between  the  Chesapeake  and  Shannon,  off  Boston  harbor  June  1,  1813, 
was  distinctly  heard  by  the  people  of  Cape  Cod. 

The  town  of  Falmouth  was  greatly  harrassed  by  the  British  during 
the  war.  A  bombardment  took  place  at  one  time  by  which  the  meet- 
ing house  and  several  dwelling  houses  were  slightly  injured.  It  is  a 
matter  of  wonderment  that  they  did  not  entirely  destroy  the  town, 
as -it  was  so  exposed  to  the  range  of  their  g^ns,  and  possessing  as  they 
did  a  spirit  of  vandalism  which  manifested  itself  afterward  in  bom- 
barding Stonington,  Conn.,  burning  the  capitol  at  Washington,  the 
congressional  library  and  other  public  buildings,  besides  destroying 
private  dwellings  and  storehouses. 

A  demand  was  made  upon  Orleans  by  the  British  for  the  payment 
of  a  certain  sum  of  money  as  a  protection  against  the  destruction  of 
property  and  for  the  safety  of  the  inhabitants,  but  the  insulting  requi- 
sition was  peremptorily  declined.  On  the  19th  of  December,  1814, 
they  attempted  to  land  from  their  barges  and  put  into  execution  their 
oft-repeated  threats.  Their  movements  were  quickly  observed  by  the 
citizens,  an  alarm  was  given  and  in  a  short  time  the  militia  of  the  town 
was  at  Rock  harbor,  the  place  of  operations.  A  lively  encounter  took 
place  and  one  or  more  of  the  invaders  were  killed.  After  a  short  skir- 
mish they  were  repulsed  and  returned  to  their  ship,  which  was  at 
anchor  outside  of  the  bar.  The  militia  of  the  adjoining  towns,  on 
learning  that  demonstrations. were  being  made  at  Orleans,  started  at 
once  for  the  scene  of  action,  but  did  not  arrive  in  season  to  take  part 
in  the  action.  This  little  skirmish  was  styled  the  "  Battle  of  Orleans," 
and  about  sixty  years  after  the  participants  or  their  surviving  widows 
obtained,  under  an  act  of  congress  passed  March  3,  1855,  land  war- 
rants of  160  acres  as  a  bounty,  and  a  few  were  granted  pensions  under 
an  act  of  congress  passed  March  9,  1878,  giving  a  pension  to  all  sailors 
or  soldiers  who  were  in  any  engagement  during  the  war  of  1812. 

A  report  reached  several  of  the  Cape  towns  on  the  second  of  Octo- 
ber, 1814,  that  the  enemy  were  making  preparations  to  land  at  Barn- 
stable. The  militia  turned  out  in  full  force  and  soon  were  en  route  ior 
the  contemplated  scene  of  action.  No  attack  was  made,  however,  and 
the  several  companies  returned  to  their  homes  after  two  nights'  tarry 
in  camp  at  Barnstable. 

The  constant  watchfulness  and  vigilance  of  the  people  were  evi- 
dently known  to  the  British  in  their  armed  vessels  as  they  hovered 
about  the  bay,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  they  would  have  landed 
« 


82  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

and  done  much  miscliief,  even  devastated  the  Cape,  had  no  resistance 
been  offered.  But  in  repelling  the  invaders  the  defenders  of  the  soil 
bad  the  "  vantage  grounds,"  for  had  they  attempted  to  land  in  force 
at  low  tide  the  militia  and  citizens  under  arms  could  have  easily  kept 
them  at  bay  on  the  treacherous  flats,  from  their  fortified  positions  on 
the  shore,  until  the  tide  arose,  when  they  would  have  been  over- 
whelmed by  its  flow,  like  Pharoah's  army  of  old.  To  have  landed  at 
high  tide  would  have  been  equally  as  disastrous,  for  it  would  have 
been  very  difficult  for  them  to  effect  a  landing  from  their  barges  in 
any  kind  of  military  order  in  the  face  of  such  a  determined  opposition 
as  the  militia  and  citizen  soldiery  presented. 

The  people  of  the  Cape  during  the  war  maintained  that  spirit^  of 
resistance  to  British  tyranny  which  characterized  the  American  people 
all  over  the  Union,  and  in  the  protection  of  the^r  homes  .  displayed 
patient  endurance  and  zealous  patriotism. 

The  downfall  of  Napoleon  in  1814,  caused  by  the  allied  powers  of 
Europe,  put  an  end  to  the  contest,  and  the  principal  causes  of  the  war 
between  the  United  States  and  England  were  removed.  The  object 
for  which  the  war  was  waged  having  been  gained,  peace  was  effected 
December  24,  1814,  at  Ghent,  the  capital  of  East  Flanders,  Austria, 
and  ratified  by  the  United  States  government  February  17th  follow- 
ing.   Again,  as  Watson  has  it, 

"  The  stars' and  stripes,  Columbia's  sacred  flag. 
Like  eagle's  pinions  fluttered  in  the  breeze: 
And  the  Red  Lion,  haughty  Briton's  emblem, 
Discomfited,  went  howling  back  with  rage, 
To  lair  amidBt  the  white  cliffs  of  Albion." 

The  news  of  peace  was  hailed  with  joy  by  the  citizens  of  Barn- 
stable county.  Under  its  glorious  sunlight  a  degfree  of  prosperity 
soon  manifested  itself  in  all  departments  of  business.  The  hardy 
fishermen  resumed  their  toils  upon  the  waters  without  fear  of  molesta- 
tion from  armed  cruisers.  Commerce  spread  its  white  wings  in  pro- 
fusion over  the  billows,  and  the  industries  of  the  land  started  up  with 
new  life  and  increased  vigor. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


MILITARY   HISTORY  (Concluded). 


The  Civil  War.— The  Election  of  Lincoln  and  the  Fall  of  Sumter.— The  first  Call  for 
Three-Months'  Men.— Response  from  the  Cape  Towns.- War  Meetings.— Subsequent 
Calls.— Bounties.— Enlistments.— Return  of  the  Volunteers. — G.  A.  R.  Posts.- Mon- 
uments. 


THE  news  of  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter,  in  April,  1861, 
greatly  affected  and  changed  the  feelings  of  the  political  parties 
of  the  Cape;  and  when  the  surrender  of  the  fort  by  Major 
Anderson,  on  the  13th,  was  announced,  the  feeling  was  almost  unani- 
mous in  favor  of  crushing  the  rebellion,  the  method  remaining  the 
only  party  question.  Of  the  citizens  of  the  Cape  large  numbers  were 
engaged  in  various  pursuits  on  the  sea;  but  those  at  home  recognized 
the  issue  as  inevitable  and  were  at  once  determined  in  their  action. 

On  the  morning  of  Monday,  April  15th,  appeared  the  proclamation 
of  Abraham  Lincoln,  calling  for  seventy-five  thousand  men  for  three 
months,  to  suppress  the  rebellion.  Its  effect  was  like  an  electric  spark 
in  quickening  the  resolution  and  action  of  the  men  of  this  county. 
The  president's  estimate  was  short  of  the  necessities  of  the  movement, 
as  the  history  of  the  war  abundantly  proved;  but  to  his  calm  and  judi- 
cious patriotism  a  grateful  nation  has  erected  enduring  monuments  of 
granite,  and  engraved  his  deeds  upon  lasting  pages  of  history. 

The  first  official  act  of  this  Commonwealth  relating  to  the  war  was 
the  recommendation  by  Governor  Andrew,  in  January,  1861,  that  the 
adjutant  general  ascertain  with  accuracy  the  number  of  officers  and 
men  of  the  volunteer  militia  of  the  state  who  would  instantly  respond 
to  any  call  of  the  president  of  the  United  States  for  troops.  January 
23,  1861,  the  legislature  passed  a  resolution  tendering  to  the  president 
the  aid  of  the  Commonwealth  in  enforcing  the  laws;  and  February  15th 
an  act  was  approved  providing  for  the  retention  in  service  of  all  mili- 
tia organizations  then  existing,  and  for  the  formation,  "  as  the  public 
exigency  may  require,"  of  other  companies  by  the  municipal  officers  ' 
of  cities  and  the  selectmen  of  towns.  On  April  3,  1861,  the  first  ap- 
propriation made  by  the  legislature  for  war  purposes  was  a  sum  of 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  to  equip  two  thousand  soldiers  for  active 
service.     In  May  of  that  year  the  legislature,  before  its  adjournment. 


84  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

gave  full  power  to  the  gfovemor  and  his  council  to  issue  scrip,  or  cer- 
tificates of  debt,  in  various  sums  not  to  exceed  seven  million  dollars, 
to  be  expended  for  the  government;  and  gave  authority  to  towns  to 
raise  money  by  taxation  for  war  purposes,  for  which  the  state  would 
reimburse  them  to  a  limited  extent.  Let  such  patriotism,  manifested 
thus  early  in  -the  Old  Bay  State,  be  forever  on  record  for  the  benefit 
of  the  present  and  unborn  generations !  Her  militia  were  first  in  the 
field.  On  the  15th  of  April,  1861,  a  telegram  was  received  from  Sen- 
ator Wilson  at  Washington,  requesting  twenty  companies  to  be  sent 
to  the  national  capital  to  act  in  defense  of  that  city.  The  request  was 
immediately  complied  with  by  sending  state  militia,  whose  military 
history  is  foreign  to  this  chapter. 

The  first  seven  companies  enlisted  in  the  state  under  the  call  of 
the  president,  which  were  subsequently  the  first  mustered  into  the 
service  of  the  United  States  for  the  term  of  three  years,  were  the 
nucleus  of  what  was  actually  the  first,  but  misleadingly  numbered  the 
Twenty-ninth  Regular  M.  V.  These  seven  companies  were  those  of 
Captain  Chamberlain,  raised  in  Lynn,  April  18th;  Captains  Tyler  and 
Clarke,  raised  in  Boston,  April  19th;  Captain  Chipman,  Sandwich, 
April  20th;  Captains  Leach,  Barnes  and  Doten,  raised  respectively  in 
East  Bridgewater,  East  Boston  and  Plymouth,  about  April  20th.  Thus 
the  Cape  raised  the  fourth  of  the  first  seven  companies  enlisted  in 
Massachusetts  within  four  days  after  the  call. 

With  only  a  few  hours'  notice,  a  very  large  meeting  was  held  Sat- 
urday evening,  April  20,  at  Sandwich,  "  to  devise  means  and  ways  to 
raise  a  company  of  troops  for  the  defence  of  the*  country."  Theodore 
Kern  called  the  meeting  to  order,  Dr.  Jonathan  Leonard  was  chosen 
to  preside,  and  E.  S.  Whittemore  was  chosen  to  act  as  secretary.  Dur- 
ing the  fevening  $626  was  pledged  toward  a  bounty  for  the  men  who 
should  enlist.  A  committee  of  nine  was  chosen  to  thoroughly  canvass 
the  town  and  raise  more  bounty  money— sufficient  to  pay  twenty  dol- 
lars to  each  man.  Three  men  were  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  gov- 
ernor and  oflFer  the  services  of  the  company.  On  the  sixth  of  May  the 
company  were  ready  for  commands  from  Governor  Andrew,  and  on 
the  eighth  proceeded  to  Boston.  The  election  of  officers  of  this  com- 
pany was  presided  over  by  the  selectmen  of  the  town  of  Sandwich, 
and  the  following  list  of  commissioned  officers  may  be  pointed  to  as 
the  first  from  Barnstable  county:  Charles  Chipman,  captain;  Charles 
Brady,  first  lieutenant;  Henry  A.  Kern,  second  lieutenant;  Alfred  E. 
Smith,  third  lieutenant;  James  H.  Atherton,  fourth  lieutenant;  and 
the  company  adopted  the  name  "Sandwich  Guards."  This  company 
was  at  once  sent  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and  formed  Company  D  in  the 
Third  regiment  of  the  militia.  In  July,  1861,  it  was  made  part  of  the 
Massachusetts  Battalion,  and  in  December  of  the  same  year  was  em- 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  86 

braced  in  the  Twenty-ninth  Massachusetts  Infantry.  This  valiant 
company  participated  in  the  battles  of  Fair  Oaks,  Gaines'  Mills,  Peach 
Orchard,  Savage  Station,  Malvern  Hill,  Centerville,  South  Mountain, 
Antietam,  Fredericksburg,  and  others. 

The  first  special  town  meeting  of  Sandwich  for  war  purposes  was 
held  May  11,  1861,  at  which  four  thousand  dollars  was  voted  for  the 
support  of  the  families  of  those  who  had  enlisted,  and  five  hundred 
dollars  to  uniform  the  first  company  accepted  from  the  town. 

The  town  furnished,  according  to  the  report  of  its  selectmen,  292 
men  for  the  army — exceeding  the  several  quotas  by  two  men.  Twelve 
of  its  men  were  commissioned  officers.  The  money  expended  was 
$33,081.99,  besides  $19,938.55  for  state  aid.  The  other  towns  of  the 
county  also  called  special  town  meetings,  or  later  ratified  the  action 
of  their  selectmen. 

Concerning  Yarmouth's  action,  Hon.  Charles  F.  Swift  says:  "  The 
part  taken  by  the  town  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  is  briefly  summa- 
rized. Informal  meetings  were  held  during  the  summer  and  fall  of 
1861,  in  which  material  aid  for  the  troops  in  the  field  was  provided 
for,  volunteering  encouraged  and  hospital  supplies  sent  forward.  May 
2,  1862,  the  first  legal  town  meeting  was  held.  James  B.  Crocker  was 
chosen  moderator,  and  a  series  of  resolutions,  presented  by  Charles  F. 
Swift,  adopted.  These  pledged  the  aid  of  the  town  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  recommended  especially  volunteering  for  the  navy,  as  the 
^special  department  of  the  service  adapted  to  our  people.  July  2d,  a 
town  meeting  was  held  to  procure  enlistments,  D.  G.  Eldridge,  mod- 
erator. Three  years'  men  were  offered  one  hundred  dollars  on  being 
mustered  in  and  one  hundred  dollars  when  honorably  discharged. 
The  town's  quota  was  filled  in  a  few  days.  August  14th  a  bounty  of 
$125  each  was  offered  by  the  town  to  nine  months'  men.  December  1, 
1863,  a  meeting  was  called  to  aid  in  the  enlistment  of  '  300,000  more  ' 
troops,  Charles  F.  Swift,  moderator.  Oliver  Gorham,  N.  C.  Fowler, 
David  Matthews  and  (subsequently)  Freeman  Howes  were  appointed 
a  committe  to  co-operate  with  the  selectmen  in  filling  the  quota.  April 
24,  1864,  a  meeting  was  held  to  aid  in  filling  the  town  quota  '  under 
the  two  last  calls  of  the  President,'  C.  F.  Swift,  moderator.  At  this 
meeting  $125  was  voted  to  each  recruit,  and  June  1st  it  was  announced 
that  the  quota  was  filled,  through  the  expenditure  of  two  thousand 
four  hundred  dollars  by  the  citizens'  committee.  Under  the  last  call 
for  troops  citizens'  meetings  were  held  in  July;  $325  being  offered  for 
recruits,  and  three  hundred  dollars  paid  to  those  who  had  furnished 
substitutes.  The  collapse  of  the  rebellion  rendered  further  effort  use- 
less. Yarmouth  furnished  250  men  for  the  army  and  navy,  five  over 
all  demands.  There  were  fifteen  volunteer  officers  in  the  navy  and 
three  pilots  from  this  town.     The  expenditures  of  the  town  for  war 


86  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

purposes  was  $17,017,  besides  $3,692.10  voluntarily  contributed  by  in- 
dividuals, in  all,  $20,609.10.  The  sum  of  $4,514.71  was  expended  in 
aid  of  soldiers'  families." 

Provincetown  had  the  first  special  town  meeting  May  2,  1861,  at 
which  strong  resolutions  were  passed  and  ample  provisions  made  for 
the  enlistment  of  troops.  Several  meetings  were  held  during  the  war; 
the  contributions  of  the  citizens  for  filling  quotas  were  reimbursed, 
and  the  town  sent  to  the  service  fifty-seven  men  more  than  were 
called.  Three  were  commissioned  officers  in  the  service.  The  num- 
ber reported  by  the  selectmen  was  247;  but  the  number  much  exceeded 
that.  The  whole  amount  of  money  raised  was  $37,462,  and  for  state 
aid,  which  was  reimbursed,  $7,368.24.  It  is  also  a  fact  that  Province- 
town  paid  to  the  families  of  volunteers  double  the  amount  reimbursed. 
The  ladies  of  the  town  organized,  in  1862,  a  Soldiers'  Aid  Society, 
which  contributed  $2,291.65  in  money  and  clothing.  The  exposure  of 
this  extreme  portion  of  the  Cape  induced  the  government  to  erect 
earthworks,  which  were  garrisoned  by  a  company  of  volunteers. 

Barnstable  commenced  raising  troops  early,  and  held  its  first 
special  town  meeting  May  10,  1861.  At  this  meeting  liberal  bounties 
were  offered,  promises  were  made  for  the  support  of  soldiers'  families, 
and  money  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  governor  for  the  assist- 
ance of  the  troops  of  the  state.  On  the  21st  of  July,  1862,  still  stronger 
resolutions  of  patriotism  and  aid  were  passed,  and  the  bounties  were 
increased.  The  work  of  the  selectmen  and  clerk  was  most  arduous, 
but  was  cheerfully  accomplished.  The  number  of  men  reported  as 
sent  was  272 — thirty-five  over  and  above  all  demands.  The  acting 
adjutant  general  of  the  state  reported  that  Barnstable  had  underrated 
the  number  sent.  Three  of  these  men  were  commissioned  officers. 
The  sum  appropriated  was  $38,674.15,  besides  $19,662.93  for  state  aid, 
which  was  refunded.  The  work  of  the  Barnstable  ladies  was  import- 
ant. Three  aid  societies  were  organized — one  each  in  its  three  largest 
villages — which  contributed  the  sum  of  $1,283,  and  many  thousand 
articles  of  clothing,  bandages  and  luxuries. 

Harwich  showed  the  same  earnest  determination  by  calling  a  town 
meeting  May  10,  1861,  at  which  resolutions  were  passed  to  place  a 
coast  guard  of  one  hundred  men,  and  raise  money  to  pay  bounties  for 
the  enlisting  of  troops.  Several  meetings  were  held  during  1862  and 
the  bounties  were  increased;  committees  were  appointed  to  recruit 
men  and  assist  the  selectmen;  and  a  very  liberal  appropriation  of 
money  was  made.  In  the  meeting  of  November  7,  1866,  the  town 
voted  "  that  the  selectmen  treat  all  widows  in  town  whose  husbands 
have  fallen  in  the  war,  with  especial  benevolence,  and,  if  they  have 
no  house,  see  that  they  have  a  home  outside  of  the  almshouse."  This 
was  very  commendable.     The  town  furnished  341  men — a  surplus  of 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  87 

twenty-nine  over  all  demands — of  whom  four  were  commissioned 
officers.  The  sum  raised  during  the  war  was  $42,660.02,  and  $1]  ,462.99 
for  state  aid,  which  was  refunded.  The  ladies  of  the  several  religious 
societies  sent  many  needed  articles  to  the  army  hospitals. 

The  first  town  meeting  of  Brewster  to  consider  war  matters  was 
held  May  21,  1861,  which  made  liberal  provision  for  the  aid  fund,  en- 
listing soldiers,  and  for  the  support  of  their  families.  Meetings  were 
called  often  during  the  continuance  of  the  war  and  the  selectmen  were 
always  empowered  to  expend  money  in  every  manner  for  the  interest 
of  the  town  in  its  relation  to  the  common  cause,  and  the  care  of  the 
families  of  absent  soldiers.  Brewster  furnished  141  men  for  the  war, 
a  surplus  of  seventeen;  and  expended  $19,453.73,  besides  a  large  con- 
tribution from  liberal-minded  citizens.  The  sum  for  state  aid  was 
$4,356.23,  which  was  refunded.  An  aid  society  by  the  ladies  did  much 
good. 

Wellfleet  sent  several  men  to  Fortress  Monroe  in  April,  1861,  and 
was  rapidly  enlisting  a  company  when  the  first  special  town  meeting 
was  called  in  May  following.  Bounties  for  those  who  had  enlisted 
and  who  might,  were  liberally  provided;  and  a  request  was  sent  to  the 
governor  for  equipments  for  a  full  company.  The  meetings  of  each 
succeeding  year  of  the  war  increased  the  bounties,  not  forgetting  the 
needs  of  the  soldiers'  families.  No  officers  were  commissioned  from 
this  town;  but  221  men  were  furnished  on  the  different  calls,  which 
was  twenty-five  more  than  required.  About  $2,000  was  contributed 
by  individuals  and  $18,324.67  was  raised  by  the  town  for  war  purposes, 
besides  $1,138.73  for  state  aid,  which  was  reimbursed.  The  ladies  or- 
ganized an  aid  society  to  work  for  the  sick  and  wounded  in  hospitals. 
At  the  expiration  of  the  war  the  unexpended  funds  of  the  society  were 
given  in  aid  of  a  monument  for  deceased  soldiers. 

In  Chatham  several  citizens'  meetings  were  held  during  the  first 
year  of  the  rebellion,  and  every  necessary  action  was  taken  for  sup- 
plying the  town's  quota  of  volunteers  and  the  necessary  funds  for 
bounties  and  soldiers'  families.  July  22,  1862,  a  town  meeting  was 
held  to  reimburse  the  liberal  contributions  of  the  citizens  and  approve 
of  what  the  selectmen  had  already  accomplished.  The  meeting  voted 
a  monthly  sum  of  eighteen  dollars  to  each  family  of  the  men  absent 
on  duty,  which  was  six  dollars  a  month  more  than  was  reimbursed  by 
the  state.  In  February,  1863,  the  selectmen  had  borrowed  on  their 
individual  notes  $8,000,  which  had  been  expended  in  bounties  and 
other  necessary  expenditures.  At  a  meeting  then  held  this  town 
promptly  assumed  the  entire  liability,  arranged  for  meetings  on  every 
Tuesday  evening  in  furtherance  of  the  cause,  and  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  assist  the  selectmen.  In  1866,  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the 
town  voted  to  refund  every  citizen  the  money  he  had  contributed  and 


88  HISTORY   OF  BARh'STABLE   COUNTY. 

pay  every  person  who  had  furnished  a  substitute  the  money  he  had 
necessarily  expended.  Chatham  furnished  264  men,  which  was  a  sur- 
plus of  thirty-two;  five  were  commissioned  oflScers.  The  money  ex- 
pended was  $27,611.69,  and  for  state  aid  $6,487.42. 

In  Dennis,  every  action  required  for  furnishing  means  and  men 
for  the  war  was  taken,  during  1861,  by  the  citizens  and  selectmen, 
and  not  until  July  26,  1862,  did  the  town  act  in  a  corporate  capacity; 
then,  under  the  president's  call  for  three  hundred  thousand  men,  the 
town  appointed  six  gentlemen  to  act  with  the  selectmen  in  recruiting 
volunteers,  and  arranged  a  bounty  of  $260  each  for  former  and  future 
enlistments.  The  reports  of  the  action  of  the  town  during  the  war 
are  not  as  full  as  some  of  the  others,  but  the  result  shows  that  Dennis 
was  not  only  very  earnest  in  the  good  work,  but  could  show  a  better 
record  at  its  conclusion.  The  reprorts  of  the  town  show  that  220  men 
were  furnished  for  the  war;  but  in  the  army  and  navy  Dennis  had 
over  360.  Every  call  of  the  president  was  promptly  filled,  and  in  the 
final  aggregate  a  surplus  of  forty -three  men  had  been  furnished.  The 
money  raised  and  expended  was  $22,652.66,  with  $3,813.61  for  state 
aid,  which  the  Commonwealth  refunded  as  it  did  to  other  towns. 

During  the  year  1861  the  town  of  Eastham  held  no  special  meet- 
ings in  a  corporate  capacity,  but  its  citizens  and  officers  filled  every 
call  for  men,  and  furnished  ample  means  for  necessary  expenses  and 
bounties.  In  1862,  July  28th,  when  the  largest  call  of  the  war  was  made 
for  men,  the  citizens  in  a  special  town  meeting  voted  full  authority 
for  the  action  of  the  selectmen  as  well  as  provided  for  what  had  been 
previously  done.  Meetings  were  held  as  often  as  necessary,  money 
was  raised  as  needed,  and  the  bounty  for  soldiers  placed  at  $160.  No 
commissioned  officers  went  from  the  town,  but  eleven  men  were  sent 
in  excess  of  the  quota.  The  number  of  men  furnished  was  seventy- 
seven;  the  money  expended  was  $3,476.54;  and  the  state  aid  fund  was 
$833.23. 

In  Falmouth,  as  in  other  towns,  many  of  the  best  young  men  were 
on  the  seas  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion;  but  every  require- 
ment of  men  and  money  was  fulfilled,  with  a  surplus  of  ten  men  over 
the  quota.  August  2,  1862,  a  special  town  meeting  was  held  at  which 
a  bounty  of  $125  was  promised  to  every  volunteer  who  was  accepted  by 
the  government  and  one  hundred  dollars  when  regularly  discharged 
from  the  service;  to  this  private  citizens  added  ten  dollars  for  each 
volunteer.  Enlistments  were  rapid,  and  every  subsequent  demand 
was  as  promptly  met.  Falmouth  was  compelled  to  enlist  many  from 
outside,  and  furnished  in  all  258  men — 138  for  the  army  and  twenty 
for  the  navy  from  its  own  citizens.  The  amount  raised  and  expended 
was  $20,154.35  exclusive  of  the  aid  fund,  which  was  $4,674.20.  The 
ladies  of  Falmouth  furnished  their  share  of  aid  to  the  soldiers  in  the 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  0» 

field.  This  town,  like  others,  had  sacrifices  that  called  for  the  con- 
tinued aid  and  sympathy  of  its  citizens;  one  case  was  where  three 
sons  of  a  very  poor  citizen  enlisted,  and  all  were  killed;  one  left  a 
wife  and  five  small  children,  and  upon  the  other  two  the  aged  parents 
of  the  three  valiant  sons  depended  for  support. 

No  corporate  action  of  the  town  of  Truro  was  taken  during  the 
year  1861,  but  all  quotas  were  filled  by  the  officers  and  citizens  until 
July  25, 1862,  when  at  a  special  town  meeting  their  action  was  rati- 
fied and  expenditures  refunded  by  the  vote  of  the  town.  A  bounty  of 
two  hundred  dollars  was  offered  for  nine-months'  men,  and  the  most 
liberal  provisions  were  made  at  each  future  meeting  for  the  volun- 
teers and  their  families.  At  a  meeting,  February  4,  1863,  the  town 
voted  to  bring  home  the  remains  of  Edward  Winslow,  the  first  of  its 
soldiers  who  had  fallen;  and  that  the  widow  and  orphan  children  of 
the  deceased  receive  a  gratuity  of  one  hundred  dollars.  Through  the 
selectmen,  assisted  by  proper  committees,  Truro  furnished  144  men 
for  the  war — an  excess  of  fourteen  over  all  demands.  The  fund  ex- 
pended was  $4,786.10,  and  the  amount  sent  to  the  state  aid  was 
$2,328.21,  which  was  refunded. 

The  preceding  summary  of  the  action  of  the  several  towns  of  Barn- 
stable county  is  brief  but  reliable,  and  gives  facts  of  which  its  citizens 
may  well  be  proud.  The  several  selectmen  of  the  towns  in  1866  re- 
ported 2,305  men  as  having  been  sent  into  the  service;  but  the  num- 
ber must  have  been  greater,  as  the  percentage  of  men  furnished 
throughout  the  commonwealth  was  9^  to  every  one  hundred  inhabit- 
ants, and  this  county  not  only  filled  every  quota  but  furnished  an  ex- 
cess of  309  men.  The  total  expenses  of  the  towns  aggregate  the 
enormous  sum  of  $399,919.92,  of  which  $90,934.84  was  paid  as  state  aid, 
and  mostly  refunded. 

The  general  court  in  1863  made  provision  for  reimbursing  the 
towns  the  bounties  they  had  paid  to  volunteers  enlisting  under  the 
calls  of  the  president  of  July  and  August,  1862,  not  exceeding  one 
hundred  dollars  for  each  volunteer.  The  assessors'  report  from  Barn- 
stable county  show  that  bounties  were  paid  to  532  men,  a  total  of  $84- 
395.35  under  those  calls. 

The  legislature  of  1864  passed  an  act,  approved  May  14th,  which 
provided  for  the  enrollment  of  all  able  bodied  male  citizens  of  the 
Commonwealth  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five  years. 
The  lists  were  made  by  the  assessors  and  filed  with  town  clerks  July 
1,  1864.  Copies  of  these  lists  returned  to  the  adjutant  general  show 
133,767  effective  men,  in  the  state,  liable  to  military  duty.  The  state 
was  then  divided  into  249  districts,  and  the  militia  residents  of  each 
district  were  organized  as  a  company,  and  in  December  were  ordered 
to  elect  their  captain.     Sandwich  was  made  District  45;  Barnstable 


90  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

and  Falmouth,  46;  Yarmouth,  47;  Harwich,  48;  Brewster,  Dennis  and 
Chatham,  49;  Eastham  and  Orleans,  50;  Truro  and  Wellfleet,  51; 
Provincetown,  52. 

A  few  weeks  before  the  call  of  October  17,  1863,  for  three  hundred 
thousand  new  troops,  provision  was  made  that  the  district  provost 
marshal,  or  their  agents  should  receive  fifteen  dollars  for  each  new 
recruit,  and  twenty-five  dollars  for  each  re-enlistment;  but  from  this 
rule  Massachusetts  was,  by  request  of  Governor  Andrew,  excepted, 
and  these  fees  made  payable  to  the  selectmen  of  the  several  towns 
who  secured  the  enlistments.  The  amount  paid  to  the  several  towns 
under  this  arrangement  was  used  exclusively  to  promote  enlistments, 
and  the  local  recruiting  officers  received  only  a  per  diem  allowance 
while  actually  employed. 

After  the  original  call  for  a  draft  in  Massachusetts,  the  selectmen 
of  the  several  towns  filed  sworn  statements,  showing  the  number  of 
men  each  town  had  furnished  to  the  army  prior  to  February  1,  1863. 
The  following  list  of  names  comprehends  the  men  furnished  by 
Barnstable  county  during  the  years  of  1861-1866,  as  reported  by  the 
adjutant  general  of  the  state.  We  have  classified  with  care  the  mus- 
tering in  of  companies  and  regiments,  and  have  especially  arranged 
the  names  by  towns  to  better  enable  the  reader  to  find  those  of  any 
particular  locality  when  the  number  of  the  regiment  is  known.  To 
the  names  of  those  who  died  in  the  service  from  disease,  prison  life, 
or  were  killed,  the  time  and  place  are  given. 

THREE   months'   MEN. 

Third  Regiment,  Militia,  enlisted  May,  1861. — Sandwich:  Co.  K, 
Charles  M.  Packard,  corp.;  Howard  Burgess,  Sylvester  O.  Phinney, 
William  W.  Phinney;  Co.  L,  George  H.  Freeman. 

Fourth  Regiment,  1SQ\.— Falmouth:  Co.  F,  George  W.  Washburn, 
George  S.  Jones. 

one  hundred  days'  men. 

Fifth  Regiment,  July,  \SQ\.—Sandwich:  Co.  A,  Joseph  W.  Phin- 
ney, Corp.;  Sands  K.  Chipman,  Charles  S.  Clark,  Alvin  C.  Howes, 
Prince  A.  Phinney,  re-enlisted  in  Twenty-fifth  Infantry.  And  the 
following  were  mustered  in  1862:  Yarmouth:  Co.  E,  Jarius  Lincoln, 
jr.,  serj.;  Edwin  H.  Lincoln,  mus.;  Charles  P.  Baker,  Darius  Baker, 
George  H.  Baker,  W.  I.  Baker,  Watson  Baker,  Edwin  Chase,  Frederick 
N.  Ellis,  Warren  H.  Ellis,  Edmund  H.  Gray,  Elam  S.  Marcarta,  E.  Dex- 
ter Paine,  David  Snow,  Franklin  Thacher.  Dennis:  Co.  E,  Horatio 
Howes,  Corp.;  Edmund  Matthews,  corp.;  Sylvester  F.  Baker,  John  Con- 
sidine,  John  W.  Greenleaf,  Hiram  H.  Hall,  Jeremiah  G.  Hall,  Joseph 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  91 

W.  Hall,  Luther  Hall,  Edwin  Howes,  Henry  F.  Howes,  George  W. 
Richardson,  Peter  B.  Smalley.  Barnstable:  Co.  E,  Alfred  C.  Phinney, 
died  at  Newbern,  April,  1863;  George  E.  Hopkins,  Laurence  Chase, 
Isaac  Coleman,  Ebenezer  Eldridge,  Thomas  R.  Eldridge,  Charles  E. 
Phinney,  James  P.  Jones,  Albert  A.  Kingsley,  John  Mansir,  Allen 
Marchant,  Herman  Oler,  William  Sharpe,  Smith  P.  Slocum.  Brewster: 
Co.  E,  James  F.  Crosby,  Enoch  C.  Jones,  Joseph  A.  Myrick,  Benjamin 
F.  Paine,  Josiah  W.  Seabury. 

Sixth  Regiment,  1864. — Sandwich:  Co.  A,  Joseph  S.  Corliss. 

Eighth  Regiment,  \&Q\.— Harwich:  Co.  G,  Alonzo  F.  Chase,  Peter 
B.  Chase. 

Twenty-third  Regiment,  1862,  enlisted  for  nine  months. — Falmouth: 
Co.  L  Sylvester  Bourne,  jr.,  William  Jenkins,  John  A.  Tobey. 

Forty-second  Regiment,  1861. —  Yarmouth:    Co.  E,  Eben  Matthews. 

NINE  months'   men. 

Forty-third  Regiments—  Wellfliet:  L.  Bell,  Solomon  L.  Haves,  Ed- 
mund B.  Robinson.  Chatham:  Co.  E,  Charles  M.  Upham,  prom.  2nd 
lieut.  in  1863;  John  W.  Atwood,  serg.;  William  H.  Harley,  Charles  E. 
Atwood,  Francis  Brown,  Benjamin  S.  Cahoon,  John  W.  Crowell, 
Ephraim  Eldridge,  Cyrus  Emery,  Franklin  D.  Hammond,  James  S. 
Hamilton,  James  T.  Hamilton,  Josiah  J.  Hamilton,  David  Harding, 
Samuel  H.  Howes,  re-enlisted  Co.  B,  Second  H.  A.;  Charles  Johnson, 
Horatio  F.  Lewis,  Storrs  L.  Lyman,  Andrew  S.  Mayo,  Benjamin  Rogers, 
Francis  B.  Rogers,  Joshua  N.  Rogers,  George  A.  Taylor.  Orleans: 
Co.  E,  Joshua  S.  Sparrow,  Joseph  L.  Kendrick,  mus.;  John  W.  Finn, 
re-enlisted  Co.  D,  Second  H.  A.;  Jonathan  S.  Freeman,  re-enlisted  Co. 
A,  Second  H.  A.;  Caleb  Hayden,  Sol.  S.  Higgins,  Thomas  R.  Higgfins, 
John  M.  Horton,  Benjamin  C.  Kenrick,  James  W.  Lee,  Isaac  Y.  Smith, 
killed  Dec,  '62;  Simeon  L.  Smith,  re-enlisted  Co.  A,  Second  H.  A.; 
Freeman  Snow,  re-enlisted  Second  H.  A.  Eastham:  Co.  E,  George  H. 
Collins,  Corp.;  Alonzo  Bearse,  James  G.  Crowell,  Albert  F.  Dill,  Alvin 
L.  Drown,  Daniel  P.  Hopkins,  William  W.  Hopkins,  Samuel  Snow. 
Harwich:  Co.  E,  Charles  G.  Rodman,  corp.;  Luther  Crowell,  Winslow 
Baker,  W.  H.  H.  Barrett,  Thomas  Y.  Cahoon,  David  P.  Clark,  Joseph 
Crabbe,  John  N.  Dow,  Alvards  C.  Ellis,  Charles  S.  Freeman,  Gideon 
H.  Freeman,  David  M.  McVea,  Thomas  H.  K.  Parks,  Joshua  Small, 
dis.;  Charles  E.  Snow,  no  service.  Provincetown:  Co.  E,  James  B.  Cook, 
David  Cook,  John  Connelly,  George  Lockwood,  re-enlisted  Second  H. 
A.;  John  Powers,  re-enlisted  Second  H.  A.;  William  Sullivan,  Thomas 
K.  Verge,  Henry  Young.  Truro:  Co.  E,  John  A.  Gross,  John  M.Carey, 
John  P.  Crozier,  Amasa  E.  Paine,  Henry  R.  Paine,  Jeremiah  H.  Rich, 
Daniel  P.  Smith,  Isaiah  Snow.    Dennis:  Co.  E,  John  S.  Chase,  Samuel 


92  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Robbins,  Ensign  Rogers,  re-enlisted  Second  H.  A.;  Edwin  Tripp, 
Francis  M.  Tripp,  W.  H.  Young.  Brewster:  Co.  E,  Laurence  Doyle. 
Barnstable:  George  Eldridge,  Owen  Keeler.  Co.  K,  Warren  Cammett, 
John  N.  Collier,  corp. 

Forty-fourth  Regiment,  1862.— 7>«r^.-  Co.  A,  James  H.  Killian, 
corp.  Wellfleet:  Co.  A,  James  M.  Atwood,  Daniel  D.  Smith,  Daniel 
W.  Wiley;   Co.  G,  Charles  H.  Holbrook.     Brewster:  Co.  I,  Benjamin 

F.  Bates,  James  R.  Henry.     Provincetoivn:  Co.  T,  John  L.  Eldredge. 
Forty-fifth  Regiment,  enlisted  1BQ2.— Barnstable:  Co.  D,  Francis 

Jenkins,  serg.;  Freeman  H.  Lothrop,  corp.;  Osttiond  Amos,  Charles  E. 
Bearse,  Clarence  W.  Bassett,  killed  Dec,  '62;  George  H.  Bearse,  died 
at  Newbem  Jan.,  '63;  Joseph  P.  Bearse,  Nathan  Hi  Bearse,  Henry  C. 
Blossom,  E.  W.  Childs,  Frederick  W.  Childs,  Simeon  C.  Childs,  Nelson 
S.  Crocker,  Eliphalet  Doane,  David  Fuller.  James  B.  Hamblin,  George 
D.  Hart,  John  B.  Hinckley,  Charles  E.  Holmes,  Asa  Jenkins,  Alexan- 
der B.  Jones,  Hercules  Jones,  Hiram  Nye,  Harrison  G.  Phinney, 
Joseph  Whytal,  Thomas  Williams,  re-enlisted  Second  H.  A.;  Aaron 
A.  Young,  died  Jan.,  '6b,  of  wounds,  at   Newbem;    Co..  I,  Oliver 

G.  Appley,  Levi  A.  Baker,  Isaiah  B.  Linnell.  Sandwich:  Co.  D,  George 
L.  Haines,  corp.;  H.  Chipman,  corp.;  Henry  F.  Benson,  died  of  wounds, 
Dec,  '62,  at  Newbem;  George  H.  Burgess,  Joseph  P.  Chipman,  Samuel 
Chipman,  Watson  H.  Fifield,  John  D.  Foster,  Henry  C.  Greene, 
Thomas  Hackett,  Ezra  Hamblin,  Augustus  Holway,  Thomas  E.  Hol- 
way,  Nathaniel  C.  Hoxie,  James  T.  Jones,  Henry  H.  Knippe,  Fred- 
erick U.  Lovell,  Samuel.  H.  Lovell,  William  C.  Riorden,  Charles  H. 
Stimpson,  Thomas  O.  Stimpson,  Albert  Wheeler,  Stillman  Wright. 
Co.  K,  Thomas  F.  Holmes.  Provincetown:  Co.  E.  Joshua  Ryder.  Fal- 
mouth: Co.  H,  Gilbert  A.  Bearse,  Ansel  E.  Fuller. 

Forty-seventh  Regiment. — Sandwich:  Co.  F,  Nathan  B.  Fisher. 
Brewster:  Gardner  E.  Wetherbee,  died  at  New  Orleans  Feb.,  '63.  .  Or- 
Jeans:  Co.  F,  Azariah  S.  Walker.  Yarmouth:  Co.  G,  Joseph  Bassett, 
Benjamin  Lovell,  John  E.  Ryder.  Provincetown:  Co.  1,  William  W. 
Smith,  Corp.;  Caleb  D.  Smith,  mus.;  George  S.  Cook,  Alexander  Gay- 
land,  Joseph  P.  Holland,  George  W.  King. 

ONE   YEAR   MEN. 

Sixtieth  Regiment,  unattached  one  year  men,  mustered  1864. — 
Yarmouth:  Co.  E,  Charles  H.  Gorham,  William  Lewis.  Falmouth:  Ro- 
land Fish.  Barnstable:  James  G.  Warren,  2d'lieut.;  Phineas  K.  Clark, 
serg.;  William  T.  Baker,  serg.;  Leven  S.  Morse,  serg.;  John  N.  Mitch- 
ell, Corp.;  John  E.  Murphy,  corp.;  John  Flood,  Noah  J.  Lake,  Daniel 
D.  Mitchell,  William  H.  Munroe,  Samuel  P.  Raymond,  George  W. 
Richardson,  John  P.  Sears,  Abraham  L.  Teachman,  Charles  H.  Tripp, 
Stephen  V.  Weaver,  Reuben  Weeks. 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  93 

THREE   YEARS'    MEN,    LIGHT  ARTILLERY. 

First  Battery,  1864. — Dennis:  James  Knowlan.  Orleans:  Timothy 
Sullivan,  John  Wilson. 

Second  Ba.ttery. —Barnstad/e:  John  Hughes,  mus.,  died  at  Vicks- 
burg,  July,  '65;  John  Carroll,  jr.,  George  Craig.  Truro:  James  Brown, 
Ezra  F.  Folsom,  died  at  Baton  Rouge,  May,  '64;  Cornel, us  Gannon, 
Charles  Hamilton.  Sandwich:  George  Lamberton.  Orleans:  Joseph 
Moody,  died  in  Louisiana,  Jan.,  '65;  Stephen  F.  Smith,  died  at  New  Or- 
leans, Nov.,  '64. 

Third  'BdXX.&xy.— East  ham:  Thomas  Jones,  trans,  to  Fifth  Battery. 

Fourth  Battery,  \%QA^.— Falmouth:  William  Dillingham.  Yar- 
mouth: James  Fitzgerald.  Sandwich:  John  Kelley.  Dennis:  Phillippi 
Martyn.     Barnstable:  Jerry  O'Keefe. 

Fifth  '2>'a.\XQxy .—Sandwich:  Joseph  B.  Alton,  Nathan  Case. 

Sixth  Battery. — Falmonth:  Horace  H.  George,  trans.  Province- 
toivn:  Andrew  Byrnes,  William  Price,  Thomas  Leonard.  Wellfleet: 
Martin  Curran.  Brewster:  Charles  Emeley,  James  H.  Richards,  John 
B.  Whealin.     Sandwich:  Bradford  Gibbs.     Orleans:  George  Thomson. 

Seventh  'QdXX.^ry.— Wellfleet:  George  H.  Carmichael,  Frank  Cook. 
Provincetown:  Patrick  Donnelly.  Eastham:  John  Mahoney.  Dennis.- 
Patrick  Sherlock. 

Ninth  Battery. — Sandwich:  Edward  Le  Bum,  mus.  Dennis:  George 
F.  W.  Haines. 

Tenth  Battery. —  Truro:  Samuel  Paine,  corp.  Dennis:  Thomas 
Smith.     Barnstable:  Alvin  Thompson,  Charles  D.  Thompson. 

Eleventh  Battery. —  Yarmouth:  Charles  H.  Weaver,  corp.  Prov- 
incetown: James  Giles,  John  J.  Sampson. 

Twelfth  Battery.— Z'^www.-  Alois  Hoffman,  Charles  Lejeune,  Henry 
Leport,  William  Moore.  Provincetown:  William  H.  Wilkes,  serg.;  John 
Boyle,  Thomas  Brown,  A.  Duke,  Foster  Fairbridge,  William  Larney, 
William  Olmstead,  Robert  Smith,  James  Wade,  James  Wilson.  Brew- 
ster: Timothy  T.  Hogan,  Thomas  King,  Charles  Linscott,  Patrick 
McGrath.     Eastham:  Henry  Merrill. 

Thirteenth  Battery. — Eastham:  Michael  Cronin,  corp.;  Thomas 
Carmody,  Sylvester  Shea.  W^ir/Z/f^^/.- William  Boyle.  Harwich:  George 
Brown.  Sandwich:  Paschal  Gon,  William  Taylor,  trans,  to  navy.  Fal- 
mouth: Ezekiel  B.  Graves,  died  at  New  Orleans,  Oct.  '64.  Barnstable: 
Edward  D.  Sullivan. 

Fourteenth  Battery,  1864.— Barnstable:  Alexander  Baker,  Peter 
Brudle,  Leander  B.  Cash,  Simeon  C.  Childs,  jr.,  died  in  hospital,  Oct. 
'64;  Job  F.  Childs,  Charles  Damon,  Henry  Denney,  Mat.  Gannon, 
Charles  E.  Holmes,  Isaiah  B.  Linnell.  Benjamin  F.  Nickerson;  David 
Nickerson.     Sandwich:   John  J.  Hart.      Yarmouth:    Jacob  Olar.     Har- 


94  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

wick:  Charles  E.  Riva.  Brewster:  David  N.  Rogers,  died  March  '64. 
Dennis:  George  Turner. 

Fifteenth  Battery,  X^Q'i. —Sandwich:  Eleazer  W.  Chase,  Robert 
Decker,  George  Hubbs,  James  Jackson,  Benjamin  Jones,  John  Mott, 
Douglas  A.  Park,  James  A.  Ross.    Provincetown:  Albion  Coburn. 

Sixteenth  Battery,  \m^.—Bar7istable:  George  W.  Childs,  William 
Childs,  jr.,  Benjamin  F.  Crosby,  Adolphus  Davis,  Andrew  C.  Nicker- 
son,  Joseph  H.  Phinney.  Eastham:  Lewis  Vasconi.  Wellfleet:  John 
Wilson.     Chatham:  William  Conners,  trans,  to  Sixth. 

HEAVY  ARTILLERY,   1864. 

First  Regiment.— C/ia//iaw.-  Co.  A,  David  Keith.  Orleans:  Co.  A, 
Edward  Laselle.  Provincetown:  Co.  B,  William  T.  Tolman;  Co.  F, 
Thomas  Marsdon.  Wellfleet:  Co.  G,  Daniel  Gilmore.  Eastham:  Co.  I, 
William  J.  W.  Yates.  Unassigned  and  no  record:  Charles  L.  Harts- 
home  of  Harwich,  John  Hart  of  Falmouth,  Daniel  Lovett  and  Thomas 
Pepper  of  Wellfleet. 

Second  Regiment,  1863-1864. — Orleans:  Co.  A,  Jonathan  S.  Tru- 
man; Co.  D,  Alonzo  R.  Nelson,  trans.;  Co.  H,  Abraham  Schuster. 
Provincetown:  George  Lockwood,  died  at  Newbern,  Nov.,  '64.  Co.  M, 
Patrick  Drew;  unassigned,  William  C.  Reynolds.  Harwich:  Co.  A, 
George  E.  McCluskey,  trans,  to  Seventeehth;  Co.  G,  Robeirt  Smith; 
Co.  I,  Edward  Pettis,  to  Seventeenth  Inf.;  William  F.  Morang;  Co.  H, 
Horace  S.  Favor,  corp.  Chatham:  Co.  B,  Samuel  H.  Howes,  1st  serg.; 
Co.  M,  Charles  Dunbar.  Barnstable:  Co.  B,  William  Fay,  trans.  Seven- 
teenth Inf.  Falmouth:  Co.  C,  John  Scheelds;  Co.  D,  Michael  Collins, 
to  Co.  H;  Co.  E,  Timothy  Maloney,  trans.  Seventeenth  Inf.;  Co.  G, 
.  Thomas  Ryan,  Frank  E.  Vamum,  trans.  Seventeenth.  Wellfleet:  Co.  C, 
William  Upton;  Co.  E,  John  Welch;  Co.  F,  Thomas  Mahan;  Co.  I,  Domi- 
nick  Basso,  Frank  Newber;    Co.  M,  Michael  GaflFney.      Sandwich:  Co. 

E,  Ephraim  W.  Fish.  Brewster:  Co.  L,  George  Eldridge;  Owen  Keeler, 
Patrick  Riley,  Thomas  Tutman.     Eastham:  Co.  M,  Patrick  McNamara. 

Third  Regiment,  1863-1864.— 6'r/^awj;  Co.  A,  Nathaniel  Trumans, 
Corp.,  trans,  to  navy;  Seneca  O.  Higgins,  trans,  to  navy;  Augustus 
Mayo;  Co.  D,  Joseph  B.  Higgins,  trans,  to  navy;  Co.  L,  John  Harri- 
son, serg.;  Edward  D.  Wiggins,  James  A.  Rowe,  corp.;  John  Black, 
James  P.  Johnston,  Charles  H.  Meserve,  John  Wade;  Co.  M,  Augus- 
tus H.  Moore,  William  Burrill,  John  B.  Ewing;  unassigned,  Andrew 
J.  Quinlan.      Barnstable:   Co.  B,  Paul  R.  Crocker,  John  Hinckley;    Co. 

F,  from  Hyannis,  Lawrence  Chase,  Thaddeus  S.Clark,  trans. to  navy; 
Gilbert  Lewis,  Lovett  Lewis,  James  H.  Wyer;  Co.  M,  Michael  Dor- 
gan,  serg.;  James  Coleman,  corp.;  William  Boss,  art.;  Edward  Leni- 
han,  Patrick  Mahoney,  George  R.  Marshall,  James  McLaughlin.  Yar- 
mouth: Co.  B,  Ziba  Ellis,  Asa  Matthews;    Co.  K,  William  Onderdonk, 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  95 

serg.;  James  M.  Luzarder,  Henry  McGill,  Daniel  St.  Clair.  Falmouth: 
Co.  B,  Ephraim  W.  Fish,  Francis  Marion,  Albert  C.  McLane;  Co.  F, 
Gilbert  A.  Bearse.  Sandwich:  Co.  B,  Seth  F.  Gibbs,  Frederick  A.  Nor- 
ris,  William  H.  Dillon,  Michael  Gavan,  Henry  H.  Manning;  unas- 
signed,  James  Collins,  George  W.  Towns.  Harwich:  Co.  B,  Edward 
T.  Ryder,  Charles  D.  Sherman,  Alexander  W.  West.  Brewster:  Co.  K, 
Oscar  Moore;  Co.  M,  Daniel  H.  Elliott.  Eastkam:  Co.  L,  Matthew 
Thompson.  /'ww?«c<'/'ow«.-  Co.  K,  Elisha  B.  Newman;  Co.  M, Thomas 
Wells;  unassigned,  Duane  Newell. 

Fourth  Regiment,  1864,  one  year  men. — Sandwich:  James  H.  Ather- 
ton,  1st  lieut.  Provincetown:  Co.  I,  Kendall  W.  Blanchard;  Co.  K, 
Frank  B.  Libby.     Orleans:  Co.  I,  Enoch  Wilson. 

First  Battalion,  Heavy  Artillery,  three  years,  enlisted  1862-1864. — 
Provincetown:  Co.  A,  Alden  Bass.  Harwich:  Co.  B,  James  O.  Stone, 
serg.;  Co.  D,  Charles  S.  Hartshorn,  Edward  G.  Reed,  Frank  W.  Sawin. 
Orleajis:  Co.  C,  Stillman  Cole,  Frank  B.  Taylor.  Falmouth:  Co.  C,  John 
Hart. 

CAVALRY   REGIMENTS. 

First  Regiment,  1863-1864.— IVellpet:  Co.  B,  Daniel  Crillis;  Co. 
M,  John  R.  Rose,  trans.  Co.  H;  Co.  M,  William  R.  Bryant.  Dennis: 
Co.  C,  Michael  Murphy;  Co.  E,  Carl  Bartlett,  died  Andersonville, 
Oct.,  '64;  Robert  Lampson,  trans,  to  navy;  Co.  H,  Michael  Nennery, 
Patrick  O'Neil,  Elois  Paspartout.  Barnstable:  Co.  D,  Louis  Bellow, 
mus.;  Co.  L,  Frank  Fero,  William  Harrison,  Patrick  Murray,  Frank 
O'Donnell;  Co.  L,  George  Green,  serg.  Falmouth:  Co.  D,  John  Aus- 
tin, Charles  O.  Witham.  Sandivich:  Co.  G,  Nathaniel  H.  Fisher,  re- 
enlisted;  Co.  K,  William  W.  Phinney,  serg.,  died  in  Co.  K,  Fourth 
California;  Henry  H.  Knippe,  died  at  Andersonville,  Aug.,  '64;  Co.  L, 
Joseph  K.  Baker.  Orleans:  Co.  K,  John  O'Hara,  hos.  stew.;  Joseph  H. 
Luther.  Provincetown:  Co.  H,  Edmund  Dubois.  Yarmouth:  Co.  L  Ol- 
iver Lowell,  trans,  to  Co.  C. 

Second  Regiment,  formed  in  1864. — Provincetown:  Co.  A,  Charles 
H.  Allen;  Co.  G,  Peter  Smith,  James  Guy,  Peter  Lines.  Truro:  Co. 
C,  Charles  Goth,  Joseph  W.  Hawman,  Edward  A.  Wilson.  Dennis:  Co. 
C,  Henry  Haase;  Co.  D,  Thomas  Jones;  Co.  K,  Charles  Johnson, 
Henry  Peel,  Andrew  Robertson,  trans,  to  navy;  Co.  L,  Michael  Cur- 
ran;  unassigned,  James  Gafney,  John  Mason,  Wilhelm  Jones.  Or- 
leans: Co.  C,  Dean  B.  Nickerson,  Frederick  Wells,  V.  R.  C;  William 
Winslow.  Yarmouth:  Co.  C,  George  J.  Pack,  died  Danville,  Va., 
March,  '65;  John  Slemp.  Brewster:  Co.  C,  Henry  Smith;  Co.  L,  Dan- 
iel McDonald;  unassigned,  John  Cleghorn,  John  Hammett,  Henry 
O'Neil.  Falmouth:  Co.  C,  William  H.  Bruce,  serg.;  unassigned,  Jules 
Gautier.     Wellfleet:  Co.  G,  Daniel  M.  Hall,  died  at  Florence,  Aug.,  '64; 


96  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

unassigned,  John  Bamberg,  Peter  Hotz.  Barnstable:  Co.  D,  William 
Emerson,  Patrick  H.  O'Brien,  John  Smith,  Nelson  H.  Willard.  Sand- 
wich: Co.  I,  William  H.  Morgan,  died  of  wounds,  Sept.,  '64;  unas- 
signed, Alfred  Bolander,  James  Brown,  William  Brown,  John  Forrey, 
trans,  navy;  William  Long,  to  navy;  Francis  McKowan,  William  Pa- 
gan, Joseph  Smith,  trans,  navy;  Charles  Wilson,  trans,  to  navy.  Har- 
wich: Unassigned,  Alfred  Balater,  Charles  Davis.  Chatham:  Frank  J. 
Jones.  Eastham:  John  Banks,  Albert  Granville,  John  B.  McLane, 
trans,  to  navy;  Henry  Roberts. 

Third  Regiment,  mustered  1862-1864.—  Truro:  Hezekiah  P.  Hughes, 
2d  lieut.;  James  A.  Small,  serg.  maj.;  Co.  I,  Samuel  Knowles,  corp,; 
Thomas  Lowe.  Sandwich:  William  H.  Harper,  capt.;  Hartwell  W. 
Freeman,  2d  lieut.;  Co.  D,  Harry  N.  Arnold,  Henry  Scandall;  Co.  E, 
Cornelius  Dean,  Edward  Hefiferman,  killed  at  Fisher's  Hill,  Feb.,  '64; 
Thomas  Mason,  James  McKowen,  prisoner  of  war;  James  McNulty 
2d;  Co.  L,  Angus  McGinnis;  unassigned,  Richard  Cole,  Charles 
Curtis,  trans,  to  navy;  John  Fortune,  Thomas  Harding,  trans,  to  navy; 
Charles  P.  Temple,  Henry  E.  Van  Howarton,  John  Wagner,  to  navy. 
Provincetown:  Co.  A,  Raymond  Ellerington,  1st  lieut.;  George  Allen,  2d 
lieut;  William  Sullivan,  Corp.;  James  Cashman,  David  Cook,  Franklin 
Fine,  Charles  H.  Marston,  Dennis  Seannell;  Co.  B,  John  Connelly, 
Corp.;  Paran  C.  Young;  Co.  I,  William  R.  Carnes,  Thomas  J.  Gibbons, 
died  at  Port  Hudson,  Nov.,  '63;  James  Rivett;  unassigned,  Justice 
Doane,  George  V.  Williams.  Barnstable:  Co.  A,  Robert  Gordon;  Co. 
C,  Andrew  P.  Cobb,  died  at  Sabine  Pass,  Jan.,  '63:  James  K.  Ewer,  V. 
R.  C;  Levi  White;  Yartnouih:  Co.  A.  Henry  Gothard;  Co.  D,  Ed- 
ward Cummins;  Co.  M,  David  Sloan,  John  Locke;  unassigned,  Nich- 
olas Maxwell,  trans,  to  navy;  Thomas  Smith.  Dennis:  Co.  B,  Owen 
Carroll;  Co.  H,  James  Hickey;  unassigned,  John  Kelso,  George 
King,  John  Schmidt.  Falmouth:  Co.  D,  Cornelius  O'Hearn;  Co.  H, 
Heni-y  J.  Besse,  died  at  New  Orleans,  Aug.,  '64.  Wellfleet:  Co.  L  John 
Bennis,  John  Brimmen,  to  Co.  A;  Russell  W.  Gifford;  unassigned, 
George  W.  Douglass,  Cornelius  Kiley,  Charles  Lavelle,  Joseph 
Schwartz,  John  Wright.  Orleans:  Unassigned,  Charles  Baker,  Albert 
J.  Banks,  Thomas  Clark,  John  Ford,  Henry  Forest,  George  Selby. 

Fourth  Regiment,  Wo\.— Harwich:  Co.  A,  Henry  Eldridge,  corp.; 
Joseph  Frost,  serg.;  Thomas  Scott,  Eustace  Smith;  Co.  B,  John  A. 
Hayes,  Thomas  Sheridan.  Falmouth:  Co.  A,  John  R.  Sweetland;  Co. 
E,  Samuel  Jessuron;  Co.  H.  Patrick  Coakley,  George  Smith,  Peter 
Johnson,  George  Kane,  John  Francis,  Thomas  Thibbs,  William  Fos- 
ter, James  A.  Wallace.  Orleans:  Co.  A,  Webster  Rogers,  John  W. 
Walker,  died  Hilton  Head,  July,  '64;  Co.  K,  Charles  Stuart.  Province- 
town:  Co.  A,  John  C.  Singer,  Cornelius  McNamara.  Dennis:  Co.  G, 
James  Crogan;     Co.  M,  George  Avery.     Wellfleet:  Co.  D,  Henry  Hayes, 


MILITARY    HISTORY.  97 

Michael  Cregan;  Co.  H,  James  Booth,  Francis  Daval.  Samuel  F.  Ma- 
son, George  Meyer;  Co.  L,  Henry  R.  Cook,  William  Johnson;  un- 
assigned,  John  W.  Clark.  Barnstable:  Co.  F,  Robert  P.  Stewart,  serg.; 
Co.  G,  Charles  Hinton,  Alexander  Lucia;  Co.  K,  John  Lang;  unas- 
signed,  Jacob  Doolittle.  Sandwich:  Co.  G,  Alonzo  B.  Poor;  Co.  K, 
William  W.  Phinney,  serg.;  Co.  L,  Solomon  H.  Jones,  Ettien  Morien, 
Zeno  Whiting;  unassigned,  James  H.  Holemon.  Yarmouth:  Co.  G, 
Abner  Williams,  Cyrus  L.  Williams;  Co.  H,  Richard  Massey,  John 
Smith;  Co.  M,  Charles  H.  Lee.  Chatham:  Co.  H,  John  Crawford;  Co. 
L,  Cain  Mahoney;  Co.  M,  James  De  Wolver,  corp.;  Christian  Boost. 
Truro:  Co.  G.  Walter  A.  Cook.  .. 

Fifth  Regiment,  18M.—Provincetown:  Co.  A,  Aaron  J.  Moore,  serg.; 
died  at  New  Orleans,  Sept.,  '65;  John  Franks,  corp.;  William  Gardner, 
Charles  Stuart;  Co.  B,, Frank  Manuel;  Co.  G,  Charles  Heatley,  died 
Fortress  Monroe,  July,  '65;  Co.  H,  Charles  Williams;  Co.  M,  Joshua 
Hunt.  Harwich:  Co.  A,  John  S.  Matthews;  Co.  L,  George  Lyons. 
Barnstable:  Co.  B,  John  Alden,  Clark  H.  Northup,  David  R.  Northup, 
Co.  E,  Pardon  K.  Parker.  George  W.  Wilson;  Co.  K,  James  Harris; 
Co.  L,  William  Taylor;  Co.  K,  James  Camrel,  serg.  Wellfleet:  Co.  L, 
John  Connor;  Co.  C,  John  Green;  Co.  G,  John  H.  Mason.  Dennis: 
Co.  D,  John  Collamore,  William  Jones,  Zachariah  Rogers.  Falmouth: 
Co.  E,  George  C.  Warren„  corp.;  John  Homager,  James  G.  Mason. 
Sandwich:  Co.  F,  Charles  Riley;  Co.  G,  Richard  Colwell;  Co.  H,  Wil- 
liam Brewster,  William  Brooks,  accidentally  shot  March,  '65.;  Co.  L, 
Turner  Richardson;  unassigned,  Robert  Lee.  Orleans:  Co.  H,  John 
Boggs,  Frederick  Collins,  Levi  Jackson,  William  St.  John;  Co.  I,  Nel- 
son Merideth,  Barney  O'Brien,  Frank  Thornton,  William  Thomas. 
Henry  Tillman.  Falmouth:  E.  J.  Woods.  Yarmouth:  Co.  H,  James 
Carter;  Co.  I,  John  Hawley,  John  Sweeney.  Brewster:  Co.  L  James  F. 
Oliver.     Eastham:  Co.  K,  Ira  Smith. 

INFANTRY. 

First  Regiment,  \mi..— Sandwich:  Co.  C,  Thomas  Ball,  dis.;  Co.  H, 
James  GafiFney,  dis.  Barnstable:  Unassigned,  George  Adams,  Charles 
Brown,  Peter  Conley,  Thomas  Cramer,  John  Dorcey,  Patrick  Finnan, 
John  Lee,  John  Morris,  trans,  to  Eleventh;  John  M.  Reed,  Samuel 
Roche,  Christopher  Voux,  James  L.  Wood. 

Second  Regiment.  \%&\.r— Wellfleet:  Co.  A,  Joseph  Kratt,  John 
Moore;  Co.  B,  John  Kaumm,  Henry  Miller;  Co.  D,  Daniel  Daley, 
transferred;  Co.  E,  John  Ford;  Co.  G,  Edward  Carrick,  Charles 
Foley,  James  Herrick;  Co.  H,  James  Short;  unassigned,  Bernhard 
Bears,  James  R.  Boyd.  Eastham:  Co.  D,  Charles  A.  Hatch.  Chatham: 
Co.  E,  Henry  Smith;  Co.  G,' James  Muir,  Matthew  Thompson;  Co.  1, 
Warner  Smith.  Provincetown:  Co.  F,  Thomas  Nangle;  unassigned 
7 


98  HISTORY    OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Thomas  Alpin,  Silas  D.  Andrew.  Brewster:  Co.  G,  Charles  Dilling- 
ham, died  of  wounds;  Hans  Anderson,  trans,  navy.  Sandwich:  Co.  G, 
George  McNamara.  Unassigned:  Provincetowti:  Thomas  Brennan, 
James  Deay,  Robert  Kelley,  William  Stewart,  Lewis  Wright.  Well- 
fleet:  Henry  C.  Brownson,  John  L.  Carpenter,  Thomas  Clark,  John 
Cole,  Thomas  Day,  Robert  Dennis,  John  Earle,  William  McCluskey, 
Bernard  McKenty,  John  Murphy,  George  Peck,  John  Spencer,  John 
Stewart,  John  Sullivan,  Thomas  Wallace,  James  Welch,  John  Wilson. 
Sandwich:  Albion  Clark,  trans,  to  navy;  James  Collins,  Eugene  Mailey, 
Charles  Newins,  trans,  to  navy;  Henry  Stephens,  Charles  Williams, 
trans,  to  navy;  George  Williams,  Henry  Wohlert.  Brewster:  Henry 
Peters.     Chatham:  Henry  D.  Phettiplace,  William  Williams. 

Ninth  ^G%xm&n\..—  Wellflcet:  Co.  A,  Hugh  Slaven,  killed  May,  "64. 
Barnstable:  Co.  B,  Jacob  Hall.  Dennis:  Co.  3,  Martin  Kelly,  James 
McCoy;  Co.  E,  Thomas  J.  Connor.  Sandxvich:  Co.  C.  James  Kelly,  to 
V.  R.  C;   Co.  D,  William  Cleveland. 

Eleventh  Regiment,  made  up  enlistments  of  the  years  1861-1864.— 
Sandwich:  Co.  A,  George  W.  Reardon,  serg.;  unassigned,  William 
Lewis,  trans,  navy.  Brewster:  Co.  A,  John  Maier.  Truro:  Co.  A, 
Thomas  Martin;  Co.  E,  Francis  Cummings,  died;  Co.  F,  John  Con- 
nors, Hugh  McDonald,  Michael  Sullivan;  Co.  G,  Morris  Walsh.  Den- 
nis: Co.  A,  John  Wagner.  Barnstable:  Co.  B,  James  Brady;  Co.  F, 
Enoch  Crocker,  killed  July,  '61;  Co.  H,  James  Reid;  Co.  K,  Richard 
Roach.  Provincetown:  Co.  C,  James  H.  Griffin.  Wellfleet:  Co.  C,  Lewis 
Johnson,  killed  Sept.,  '64;  Co.  H,  Thomas  Laws,  corp.;  William  Ander- 
son, Julius  Barman,  Charles  Brown;  Co.  K,  Charles  Brooker;  unas- 
signed. Job  Ireland,  Elisha  E.  Myers,  Peter  Schneider.  Eastham:  Henry 
CoUagan,  trans,  to  navy. 

Twelfth  Regiment,  1863.— ZJf www.-  Co.  A,  Thomas  Anderson,  trans, 
to  navy.  Barnstable:  Co.  A,  Samuel  C.  Bowen,  died  Oct.,  '64;  Co.  G, 
Michael  Lynch;  unclassified,  Thomas  F.  Crocker.  Chatham:  Co.  A, 
William  Braddock;  Co.  H,  Josiah  C.  Freeman,  trans,  to  navy;  William 
Smith.  Orleans:  Co.  A,  John  Cabe.  Wellfleet:  Co.  A,  Washington 
Reed,  trans,  to  Thirty-ninth;  Co.  K,  William  N.  Atwood.  Province- 
town:  Co.  D,  Michael  Ragan,  trans,  to  Thirty-ninth;  Co.  E,  Henry  A. 
F.  Smith,  killed  June,  '64;  Co.  H,  Thomas  O.  Sullivan,  to  Thirty-ninth; 
Charles  Uhlich,  to  Thirty-ninth;  Co.  L  James  Munroe,  to  Thirty-second. 
Breii'ster:  Co.  E,  John  Cotter,  trans,  to  Thirty-ninth.  Truro:  Co.  H, 
Francis  Trainor;  Co.  K,  Patrick  Conway. 

Thirteenth  Regiment,  1863. —  Truro:  Co.  A,  John  Francis,  trans, 
navy;  Co.  B,  James  Cushman;  Co.  I,  Frank  Oakley,  to  Thirty-ninth, 
unassigned,  John  Williams.  2d.  Yarmouth:  Co.  A,  George  Happleton, 
trans,  to  navy;  Co.  E,  Charles  Forrest; 'Co.  H,  Manuel  Silver;  Co.  I, 
Isaac  B.  Crowell.  killed  at  Bull  Run,  '62.     Provincetown:   Co.  B,  John 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  99 

Allcock;  Co.  K,  John  Rogers.  Barnstable:  Co.  B,  John  J.  Gibson, 
trans,  to  navy;  Co.  I,  Albert  F.  Holmes,  Davis  P.  Howard.  Chatham: 
Co.  C,  William  H.  Jones,  trans,  to  Thirty-second;  Co.  H,  Lewis  Uhl- 
rich,  stayed  twenty  days;  unassigned,  James  Tomlin.  Eastham: 
Co.  C,  George  Brown,  to  Thirty-ninth;  unassigned,  Edward  Young. 
Falmouth:  Co.  D,  John  Brown,  James  Clemmens,  trans,  to  Thirty-ninth; 
Co.  I,  John  Riley,  2d,  trans,  to  Thirty-ninth.  Dennis:  Co.  C,  William 
Case  (or  Chase),  trans,  to  Thirty-second;  Co.  G,  Charles  Makill,  trans, 
to  Thirty-ninth;  Co.  H,  Henry  Johnson,  trans,  to  navy.  Harwich: 
Co.  D,  John  Hughes.     Orleans:  Unassigned,  Jacob  Reactor. 

Fifteenth  Regiment,  \m^.— Harwich:  Co.  A,  Charles  Ackerman, 
trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  F.  Albert  H.  Lawrence;  Co.  G,Herman  Maier, 
trans,  to  Twentieth.  Yarmouth:  Co.  A,  George  Brown;  Co.  D,  Wil- 
liam Finch,  died  March,  '64;  Co.  F,  Richard  Layton,  trans,  to  navy; 
Co.  I,  Charles  W.  Bean,  William  M.  Triscott,  trans,  to  Twentieth; 
Co.  K,  Oscar  S.  Perry,  trans,  to  Twentieth.  Provincetown:  Co.  A, 
William  Bruce;  Co.  C,  Peter  Donnelly.  Sandivich:  Co.  A,  Wil- 
liam R.  Bryne;  Co.  C,  John  Donaldson;  Co.  H,  Charles  Raphael, 
trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  K,  John  Warner,  trans,  to  navy;  unassigned, 
John  McCully,  trans,  to  Twentieth.  Eastham:  Co.  B,  Henry  Contz. 
Dennis;:  Co.C,  Charles  Campbell;  Co.  G,  Patrick  Murphy.  Orleans:  Co. 
C,  John  H.  Cowan,  died  from  wounds  May,  '64.  Chatham:  Co.  C,  Peter 
Dawson,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  K,  William  Tell,  to  Twentieth. 
Barnstable:  Co.  C,  George  S.  Demier.  Falmouth:  Co.  C,  John  H. 
Diamond,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  E,  Charles  Hubbard.  Wellfleet: 
Co.  F,  Henry  Mack;  unassigned,  James  McCauley. 

•  Sixteenth  Regiment,  \^Q^.— Provincetown:  Co.  D,  James  Dunn. 
Dennis:  Co.  D,  Thomas  Swaney.  Wellfleet:  Co.  I,  Michael  Jeff,  died  at 
Andersonville,  Oct.,  '64. 

Seventeenth  Regiment,  1864. — Harwich:  Co.  A,  Jeremiah  B.  Hill; 
Co.  C,  Lewis  J.  Morrill.  Falmouth:  Co.  F,  John  Zahn.  Provincetown: 
Co.  G,  Orrin  L.  Torger.     Breivster:  Co.  H.  John  Wall. 

Eighteenth  Regiment,  \9,^%.— Orleans:  Co.  A,  Michael  Riley;  Co. 
K,  James  W.  Gates,  trans,  to  Thirty-second.  Barristable:  Co.  B,  Frank 
Curtis.  Truro:  Co.  B,  Joseph  Sullivan.  Sandwich:  Co.  C,  Persia  B. 
Hammond.  Dennis:  Co.  D,  Richard  Williams,  trans,  to  Thirty-second. 
Provincetown:  Co.  G,  Julius  Shall,  trans,  to  Thirty-second.  Chatham: 
Co.  H,  Charles  H.  Lyman.  Brewster:  Co.  K,  John  Flaherty;  unas- 
signed, William  Holland. 

Nineteenth  Regiment,  1861-1864.— Co.  A,  J.  Frederick  Aytoun, 
sergeant.  Provincctoivn:  Co.  A,  John  T.  Small,  1st  lieut.;  Co.  D, 
William  McDougal;  Co.  H.  Edward  Gallagher,  Augfust  Mengin. 
Wellfleet:  Co.  C,  Joseph  Fry,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  E,  James  M.  Harrison, 
trans,  to  Twentieth;    Co.  F.  Charles  Leverence;    Co.  H,  John  Newer, 


100  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

trans,  to  Twentieth.  Truro:  Co.  A,  Charles  A.  Brown,  trans,  to  Twen' 
tieth;  Co.  F,  John  Mack,  trans,  to  Twentieth.  Barnstable:  Co.  A, 
Daniel  Burns,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  E,  Frederick  Jackson,  Robert 
P.  Pike,  killed  Feb.,  '65;  Co.  F,  Thomas  Maher,  corp.;  Frank  Lopez, 
trans,  to  Twentieth;  Edward  Mulally,  V.  R.  C;  Co.  H,  John  Boing. 
unassigned,  Patrick  O'Neill,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Charles  Wilson. 
Brewster:  Co.  A,  Michael  S.  Burke,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Robert  A. 
Johnston,  died  at  Andersonville,  Aug.,  '64;  Co.  E,  Howard  Lee;  Co. 
G,  James  Henry;    Co.  \,  Charles  H.  Porter,  William  Smith,  Edward 

A.  Ballou.     Sandwich:  Co.  A,  George  Collins,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co. 

B,  Edward  A.  Dillon,  corp.,  trans,  to  Twentieth.  Dennis:  Co.  A,  Charles 
Trapp,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co.  B,  William  Dow;  Co.  C,  James  T. 
Beleer,  George  B.  Bradley,  Thomas  A.  Dow,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co. 
K,  Michael  Smith;  unassigned,  Thomas  O'Connor.  Harxvich:  Co. 
B,  William  McGinnis;  Co.  D,  Charles  Ferguson,  trans,  to  Twentieth; 
Co.  E,  John  McAnally;  Co.  F,  Philip  Morton,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Co. 
G,  John  McCue;  unassigned,  Henry  Edwards,  Edmund  Graham.  Chat- 
ham: Co;  C,  William  Barnes,  trans,  to  Twentieth;  Tanjoure  Trelawney, 
Simeon  Tuttle;  Co.  F,  John  Anderson;  Co.  I,  James  Riley;  unassigned, 
John  Tuttle.  Falmouth:  Co.  D,  William  Hamilton,  trans,  to  Twen- 
tieth; Co.  E,  Nathan  B.  Jenkins,  died  Dec,  '63;  Co.  F,  Benjamin  E. 
Fogg,  serg.;  William  Marshall.  Eastham:  Co.  G,  Albert  Donavan. 
Orleans:  Co.  E,  Bernard  Bertrand,  Reynolds  Montobang,  Henry  G. 
Perry;  unassigned,  Peter  Doland,  William  Smith.  Yarmouth:  Co.  E, 
Patrick  Gillespie;  unassigned,  Charles  Burnes,  Alexander  Howard. 

Twentieth  Regiment,  1862-1864.— //arze/iVr/t.-  Co.  A,  Martin  A.  Bum- 
pus,  George  H.  Robbins;  Co.  H,  Philip  Morton;  Co.  I,  Joseph  Wilkin- 
son; unassigned,  Elbridge   Axtell,  Henry  Taylor.      Chatham:  Co.  A 
George  Foster;  Co.  D,  William  Barnes.     Truro:  Co.  A,  William  Gib 
bon;  Co.  B,  William  P.  Miller,  John  Davis,  trans,  to  navy;  Co.  H,  Ed 
ward  Winslow,  died  of  wounds,  Dec,  '62;  Co.  I,  Henry  Bolminster, 
Dennis:  Co.  A.  John  Quinland;  Co.  H,  Albert  Paflfrath.  killed  June,  '64 
Falmouth:  Co.  A,  Adrian  Spear;  unassigned,  James  Green.     Sandwich: 
Co.  B,  Frank  B.  Hall,  James   Harrington;  Co.  C,  George  Gatzens;  Co, 
F,  Elisha   M.  Lord;  Co.  H,  Andrew  J.  Lane,  John  McDonald,  John 
Wood:  Co.  I,  Thomas  Hollis,  serg.;  Benjamin  Davis,  killed  Oct., '61 
Thomas  Davis,  Peter  McKenna,  Terrence  Murphy,  V.  R.  C;  Stephen 
Weeks,  Ezekiel  L.  Woodward,  killed  Dec,  '62;  unassigned,  John  Grif- 
fith, David  Kenney,  Thomas  McCarty,  Stephen  Semes.  Shadrach  F. 
Swift.      Eastham:  Co.  D,  James  L.  Chalmer.     Brewster:  Co.  D,  Charles 
H.  Denton.     Wellfleet:  Co.  D,  Charles  Stanwood;   Co.  F,  Edward   H. 
Freudenberg.     Barnstable:  Co.   E,  James  B.  Wilson,  killed  May,  '64; 
Co.  F,  Robert  Williams;  Co.  H,  John  Neary,  Adolph  Otto;  Co.  K,  Wil- 
liam   Carney;   unassigned,   John   Lang.     Yarmouth:  Co.    K,   George 


MILITARY    HISTORY.  101 

Chase.  Provincetown:  Co.  K,  Thomas  Cunningham.  Orleans:  Un- 
assigned,  James  W.  Bowman,  Charles  D.  Hall,  James  Healey,  Hugh 
Quinn,  George  Ross. 

Twenty-second  Regiment,  1861-1864.- — Dennis:  Co.  B,  John  Fran- 
cisco, trans,  navy;  Peter  Martin,  to  navy;  Joseph  Ruse,  to  navy;  John 
Colfer.  Chathatn:  Co.  C,  Timothy  Bulkley,  trans,  to  Thirty-second. 
Falmouth:  Co.  C,  James  H.  Lashure.  Barnstable:  Co.  C,  Henry  McKeon, 
trans,  to  Thirty-second;  John  Williams,  to  Thirty-second.  Brewster: 
Co.  C,  Richard  Ryon,  trans,  to  Thirty-second.  Harwich:  Co.  D,  John 
Sullivan,  to  Thirty-second;  Co.  G,  William  E.  Bliss,  to  Thirty-second; 
Thomas  Green,  Thomas  H.  Frampton,  died  of  wounds,  June,  '64. 
Sandwich:  Co.  K,  Franklin  R.  J.  Clark,  William  F.  Clark;  Co.  E,  Ed- 
ward W.  Holway,  to  Thirty-second.  Truro:  Co.  E,  James  Fitzpatrick, 
trans,  to  Thirty-second. 

Twenty-third  Regiment,  \%%\-\%M.—Bar7istable:  Co.  D,  James  H. 
Ayer.  Sandwich:  Co.  F,  Charles  Dudley.  Brewster:  Co.  G,  Burgess 
Bassett,  Thaddeus  Bassett,  Henry  Callahan,  Isaac  Freeman.  Chatham: 
Co.  H,  John  McCluskey,  died  at  City  Point,  1864. 

Twenty-fourth  Regiment,  \mi-'i^QA.— Sandwich:  Co.  A,  Jesse  H. 
Allen,  Benjamin  Ewer,  John  F.  Fish,  died  home  Oct.,  '62;  Philip  J. 
Riley;  Co.  B,  Phineas  Gibbs;  Co.  D,  Elisha  H.  Burgess,  corp.;  Co.  H, 
James  Dalton.  Barnstable:  Co.  A,  Erastus  Baker;  Co.  C,  John  McFar- 
lane;  Co.  I,  Lemuel  S.  Jones,  corp.:  James  H.  Jones,  re-enlisted; 
Thomas  W.  Jones,  re-enlisted;  James  Stevens.  Dennis:  Co.  A,William 
Page.  Falmouth:  Co.  B,  Joseph  H.  Swift;  Co.  E,  William  S.  Washburn; 
Co.  F,  Charles  H.  Roberts.  Orleans:  Co.  C,  Lewis  Sanacal;  Co.  F,  Al- 
fred Knowles,  serg.,  2d  lieut.  Fifty-fourth;  Clement  Gould,  Joshua 
Gould,  died  in  Boston,  '64;  Co.  K,  Bangs  Taylor.  Harwich:  Co.  D, 
Frank  Barnes,  George  W.  Wartrous;  same  given  for  Yarmouth;  Co. 
H,  Joseph  C.  Chase,  re-enlisted  in  '64.  Yarmouth:  Co.  D,  Albert  Taylor. 
Brewster:  Co.  D,  Andrew  J.  Winn.  Truro:  Co.  F,  Jesse  Pendergast, 
Corp.;  Shubael  A.  Snow.  Chatham:  Co.  G,  Albert  P.  Wilkinson.  East- 
hatn:  Co.  K,  James  W.  Smith,  died  at  Newbem,  '62.  Wellfleet:  Co.  L 
William  Cross. 

Twenty-sixth  Regiment,  1864. — Barnstable:  Co.  A,  John  Burke;  Co. 
G,  Humphrey  Sullivan,  corp.  Provincetown:  Co.  K,  Joseph  Prestello, 
re-enlisted  and  killed  at  Winchester;  Joseph  Fowler,  William  Frazer. 
Brewster:  Co.  G,  William  Borden,  died  at  New  Orleans. 

Twenty-eighth  Regiment,  1864. — Sandwich:  In  band,  Michael  Ball; 
Co.  B,  George  Waltern;  Co.  C,  John  McCabe,  Thomas  Wheeler,  killed 
at  Bull  Run;  Co.  D,  Louis  P.  Paganuzzi,  Bernard  Woods;  Co.  H,  John 
Score,  died  of  wounds;  Charles  Bolton,  to  navy;  unassigned,  Marcena 
Ernest,  Cheserg  Jean,  Thomas  McMar-as.  Falmouth:  Co.  A,  Adolph 
Arm,  died   in  prison   Nov.,  '64;  Co.  D,  James  Green,  John  Higgins. 


102  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Brewster:  Co.  A,  Abraham  Berry,  Benjamin  Henshaw.  to  navy;  John 
Schules,  to  navy.  Eastham:  Co.  A,  Otto  Brown;  Co.  G,  Charles  O'Toole, 
killed  at  Spottsylvania, '64;  John  Lester.  Dennis:  Co.  A,  Henry  Clark, 
Edward  Lunt,  wounded;  Co.  C,  William  H.  Branch;  Co.  D,  Daniel 
McDonald,  William  B.  Riber;  Co.  E,  Robert  Lynch;  Co.  L  Martin 
Schwytz;  unassigned,  Thomas  Burnie,  John  Swanson,  to  navy.  Har- 
wich:  Co.  B,  Thomas  Campbell,  killed  at  Locust  Grove,  '64.  Barnsta- 
ble: Co.  C,  Ezra  C.  Baker;  Co.  F,  Charles  Miller.  Truro:  Co.  D,  Andrew 
Jemmson,  trans.  V.  R.C.  Yarmouth:  Co.  E,  Michael  Collins.  Orleans: 
Michael  O'Mara.  Wellfleet:  Unassigned,  Charles  S.  Hurd,  L.  G.  Pet- 
erson, sent  to  navy;  Pierre  St.  Souver. 

Twenty-ninth  Regiment,  \^^\-\%M.—Sand%vick:  Charles  Chipman, 
as  captain,  and  made  major,  died  of  wounds,  Aug.,  '64;  Charles  Brady 
as  lieut.,  and  made  captain;  Henry  A.  Kern,  and  James  H.  Atherton, 
2d  lieuts.;  Joseph  J.C.  Madigan,  1st  lieut.;  Thomas  F.  Darby,  2d  lieut.; 
George  E.  Crocker,  mus.;  Co.  A,  Albert  N.  Morin,  serg.;  Co.  D.  David 
A.  Hoxie,  serg.;  Edward  Brady,  serg.;  William  H.  Woodward,  serg.; 
William  Breese,  corp.;  George  F.  Bruce,  corp.,  hos.  steward;  Benjamin 
H.  Hamblin,  corp.;  Christopher  B.  Dalton,  mus.;  George  W.  Badger, 
G.  A.  Badger,  James  Ball,  re-enlisted;  Frank  G.  Bumpus,  John 
Campbell,  Alfred  Cheval,  Patrick  C.  Clancy,  John  T.  Collins,  pro- 
moted;  James  Cook;  James  Cox,  Timothy  Dean,  Warren  F.  Dean, 
Edward  Donnelly,  Joseph  W.  Eaton,  Perez  Eldredge,  re-enlisted; 
John  Fagan,  Benjamin  Fuller,  James  Guiney,  James  G.  B.  Hayes,  died 
home  July,  '62;  Allen  P.  Hathaway,  Charles  Harkins.  Samuel  N.  Has- 
kins,  James  H.  Heald,  died  at  Annapolis,  Oct.,  '62;  Michael  Heslin, 
Charles  H.  Hoxie,  Zenas  H.  Hoxie,  Samuel  W.  Hunt,  Charles  E.  Jones, 
accidentally  killed  Feb.,  '62;  Martin  L.  Kern,  jr.,  Patrick  Long,  died; 
John  McAlney,  William  McDermott,  Patrick  McElroy,  Michael 
McKenna,  Peter  McNulty,  Isaac  H.  Phinney,  Caleb  T.  Robbins,  Peter 
Russell,  Philip  Russell,  William  J.  Smith,  Freeman  C.  Swift,  Joseph 
Turner,  James  Ward,  killed  May,  '64;  John  Weeks,  died  at  Newport 
News,  '62;  Francis  Woods,  James  H.  Woods,  John  Woods,  William 
H.  Woods,  died  at  Newport  News,  Jan.,  '62;  Charles  S.  Wright;  Co.  G, 
W.  H.  Perry,  re-enlisted  '64;  Co.  H,  John  Fogg.  Eastham:  Co.  B, 
Reuben  Smith.  Brewster:  Co.  C,  Bernard  Corkery,  corp.  Barnstable: 
Co.  D,  David  B.  Coleman,  corp.;  Nathaniel  C.  Ford,  David  A.  Hoxie. 
Co._H,  Henry  A.  Glines,  killed  at  Petersburg,  Sept.,  '64.  Truro:  Co.  F, 
Alfred  Lunda.  Dennis:  Co.  G,  John  Easey.  Yarmouth:  Thomas 
Evans. 

Thirtieth  Regiment,  \m\-\mA.—Bar?istable:  Co.  I,  Hiram  B.Ellis, 
serg.;  Jonathan  Burt,  corp.,  died  at  Baton  Rouge,  June,  '62;  Thomas 
Taylor,  re-enlisted.  Falmouth:-  Co.  A,  Braddock  R.  Chase,  died  at  Ship 
Island,  May,  '62.     Brezvster:  Co.  B,  Addison  F.  Brown.     Provincetown: 


.   MILITARY    HISTORY.  103 

Co.  F,  Timothy  Sweeney.  Chatham:  Unassigned,  Enoch  Hanson,  Ed- 
ward Hewitt.     Harwich:  Co.  K,  Ira  Nickersqn,  in  the  Thirty-first. 

Thirty-second  Regiment,  1861-1864.— 7>«r^.-  Co.  A,  Elkanah  Paine, 
Corp.;  Co.  H,  Anderson  Rivers.  Provincetown:  Co.  A,  Henry  Foster, 
died  in  Virginia,  Dec,  '63.     Wellfleet:  Co.  B,  Geovanni  M.  Podesta;  Co. 

C,  William  W.  Smith.  Harwich:  Co.  D,  Michael  Barry;  Co.  G,  James 
Brannan;  Co.  H,  Augustine  Phillips;  Co.  M,  William  E.  Bills.  Yar- 
?nouth:  Co.  D,  Hezekiah  Corliss;  Co.  I,  John  Toole.  Orleans:  Co.  D, 
Carl.  A.  A.  Forde,  Andrew  Thompson.  Dennis:  Co.  D,  David  Nicker- 
son;  Co.  I,  Charles  Makill,  William  Branch,  trans,  to  Twenty-eighth. 
Barnstable:  Co.  H,  George  Brown.     Chathatn:  Co.  I,  Henry  Bridge. 

Thirty-third  Regiment,  1862-1864.— C/^rt/^zw.-  Co.  A,  William 
White;  Co.  F,  William  Taylor.  Provincetown:  Co.  A,  Matthew  Cava- 
naugh.  Dennis:  Co.  C,  Henry  H.  Fish.  Wellfleet:  Co.  E,  James  How- 
ard,  Edward  Quinlan;  Co.  G,  William  Anderson,  trans,  to  Second;  Co. 
I,  Thomas  Smith;  unassigned,  James  Moran.  Brewster:  Co.  I,  John  J. 
Ryder,  corp.;  Alfred  J.  Twiss,  trans.  Orleans:  Co.  I,  Thadeus  C.  Baker, 
Corp.;  Bangs  S.  Baker,  Thomas  Clark,  Thomas  Dolan,  John  M.  Hamil- 
ton, Thomas  J.  Monticello,  James  E.  Studley,  died  at  Alexandria, 
March,  '64.  Eastham:  Co.  I,  Nathan  A.  Gill,  Peter  Higgins,  Henry  T. 
Morrison,  died  of  wounds  May,  '64;  Francis  W.  Penniman,  died  of 
wounds  July,  '64.  Sandwich:  Co.  I,  William  P.  Kelley,  wounded.  Fal- 
mouth: Co.  K,  Alvin  N.  Fisher,  died  wounds  May,  '64;  Rufus  F.  Fisher, 
killed  at  Lxjokout  Mountain,  Oct.  '63.  Harwich:  Co.  K,  John  C.  Mum- 
ford. 

Thirty-fifth  Regiment,  \m2-\BQi:.—  Harwich:  George  N.  Munsell, 
asst.  surg;  Co.  A,  Jeremiah  Heylingburg,  Gilman  Hook  Brewster: 
Co.  A,  Hiram  L.  Eastman;  Co.  C,  Bernard  Corkery,  transferred  to 
Twenty-ninth.     Barnstable:  Co.  C,  Andrew  B.  Gardner.     Chatham:  Co. 

D,  James  Hambly,  trans,  to  Twenty-ninth.  Sandwich:  John  Mc- 
Namara.  Henry  White  of  Falmouth  was  in  the  Thirty-sixth  Regi- 
ment. 

Thirty-eighth  Regiment,  1864. — Falmouth:  Elijah  Swift,  1st  lieut.; 
James  M.  Davies,  com.  serg.;  Co.  H,  James  N.  Parker,  serg.;  William 
H.  BoUes,  Corp.;  William  E.  Davis,  corp.;  Benjamin  L.  McLane,  corp.; 
Reuben  E.  Phinney,  corp.;  George  W.  Swift,  corp.;  James  H.  Baker, 
Silas  R.  Baker,  Joseph  A.  Chadwick,  Joseph  B.  Crocker,  Andrew  W. 
Davis,  Henry  O.  Davis,  James  M.  Davis,  trans,  to  non-com.  staflF;  John 
W.  Davis,  Leonard  Doty,  Timothy  F.  Doty,  Cornelius  B.  Fish,  George 
W.  Fish,  2d,  died  Aug.,  '63;  Jehiel  Fish,  died  June,  '63;  Perry  W.  Fish, 
Augustus  E.  Fisher,  died  of  wounds,  June,  '63;  Robert  Grew,  Charles 

E,  Hamblin,  Bartlett  Holmes,  jr.,  Ezra  S.  Jones,  died;  Horace  E.  Lewis, 
died;  Walter  T.  Nye,  died.  Brewster:  Co.  E,  James  K.  Ewer,  jr., 
trans,  to  Fortieth.  Wellfleet:  Patrick  O'Neil,  died  1864.  Sandwich: 
Co.  H,  Naaman  H.  Dillingham,  corp. 


104  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Thirty-ninth  Regiment,  1862. — Chatham:  Edward  Beecher  French, 
chap.;  Co.  A.Alvah  Ryder,  corp.;  Benjamin  Batchelder,  wag.,  V.  R.  C; 
J.  N.  Bloomer,  Prince  Eldridge,  jr.,  Jas.  Blanvelt,  Daniel  W.  Ellis, 
William  A.  Gould,  Nathaniel  Smith,  Eric  M.  Snow.  Harwich:  Co.  A, 
Asa  L.  Jones,  serg.,  trans,  as  lieut.  to  U.S.  C.  T.;  Henry  Smalley,  Wil- 
liam Field,  Thomas  E.  Small.  Barnstable:  Unassigned,  George  W. 
Grifl&ns.     Truro:  Frank  Oakley. 

Fortieth  Regiment,  \QQ2.— Barnstable:  Joseph  M.  Day,  capt.,  pro. 
to  major;  James  N.  Howland,  2d  lieut.;  Co.  E,  Noah  Bradford,  1st 
serg.;  William  C.  Gififord,  serg.;  Henry  Goodspeed,  trans,  to  V.  R.  C; 
Eben  N.  Baker,  corp.;  Edwin  W.  Bearse,  corp.;  Cyrus  B.  Fish,  corp.; 
William  D.  Holmes,  corp.;  John  P.  Lothrop,  corp.;  Charles  O.  Adams, 
Josiah  A.  Ames,  Abijah  Baker,  Benjamin  T.  Baker,  Obed  A.  Cahoon, 
died  at  Beaufort,  Nov.,  '63;  Reuben  F.  Childs,  Rudolphus  E.  Childs, 
James  Clagg,  Charles  W.  Crocker,  Isaac  Crocker,  William  Dixon, 
Melville  O.  Dottridge,  Lorenzo  C.  Drury,  Alvin  B.  Felker,  George  G. 
Hallett,  Joseph  H.  Holway,  William  P.  Holmes,  V.  R.  C;  Edward 
Hoxie,  Philip  Hughes,  Leander  .W.  Jones,  Stephen  M.  Jones,  Wil- 
liam S.  Lambert,  Milton  J.  Loring,  Howard  M.  Lovell,  Henry  N.  Ly- 
ons, James  Marchant,  to  V.  R.  C;  Gilbert  C.  Nickerson,  Winsor  Nick- 
erson,  Solomon  Otis,  killed  at  Drury 's  Bluff,  May,  '64;  Samuel  B.  Otis, 
died  at  Beaufort,  Nov.,  '63;  George  Paine,  Nathan  A.  Pitcher,  died  at 
Folly  Island,  Nov.,  '63;  John  Q.  A.  Richardson,  John  G.  Scobie,  V.  R.  C. 
Joseph  C.  Scudder,  Harry  A.  Smith,  V.  R.  C;  James  H.  West,  V.  R.  C; 
John  M.  West,  Artemas  B.  Young.  Yartnouth:  Co.  A,  Roland  Lewis, 
Corp.;  J.  C.  Desilver.  Co.  E,  John  E.  Young,  corp.;  Salmon  C.  Baker, 
Freeman  S.  Cash,  Charles  H.  Chase,  Asa  F.  Crocker,  V.  R.  C;  David 
Crowell,  Timothy  Foley,  William  G.  Harrington,  Benjamin  H. 
Matthews,  George  W.  Ryder.  Dennis:  Co.  A,  Kelley  Chase,  jr.,  died  at 
Portsmouth,  Oct.,  '64;  Cyrus  Hall,  Enoch  F.  Hall,  Russell  S.  Hall, 
John  G.  Raynor.  Brewster:  Co.  A,  Edmund  Crosby,  died  at  Ander- 
sonville,  Sept.,  '64.  Harwich:  Co.  A,  Jonathan  Gifford,  died  at  Ander- 
sonville,  Aug.,  '64.  Co.  B,  Charles  Butler,  Danford  H.  Chase,  V.  R.  C; 
James  Dunn,  V.  R.  C.  Sandwich:  Co.  I,  Patrick  McMahan,  serg.; 
Abraham  Healey,  corp.;  Barzilla  Manamon,  corp.;  Nathan  C.  Perry, 
Corp.;  Rodman  Avery,  Watson  Avery,  died  at  Miner's  Hill,  Sept.,  '62; 
Henry  B.  Baker,  Thomas  Ball,  Luke  P.  Burbank,  Benjamin  F.  Cham- 
berlin,  Abner  Ellis,  Charles  E.  Ellis,  Nathaniel  L.  Ellis,  died  at  Phil., 
July, '64;  Thomas  Ellis,  died  at  Petersburg,  Aug., '64.;  Luther  T.Ham- 
mond, died  at  Beaufort,  Dec,  '63;  James  Harlow,  James  Hathaway, 
V.  R.  C:  John  Huddy,  John  F.  Johnson,  Daniel  V.  Kern,  Edward  J. 
Lawrence,  died  at  Folly  Island,  Nov.,  '63;  Ensign  Lincoln,  Charles  H. 
Little,  George  F.  Lloyd,  David  Magoon,  V.  R.  C;  Seth  T.  Manamon, 
William  Manley,  David  Perry,  jr.,  Henry  Perry,  John  M.  Perry,  Sam- 


MILITARY    HISTORY.  105 

uel  Sampson,  Charles  E.  Swift,  Clark  Swift,  Dean  W.  Swift,  died  of 
wounds;  Francis  H.  Swift,  Williata  H.  Swift,  Willard  Weeks,  died  at 
Fortress  Monroe,  Jan.,  "64;  Samuel  J.  Wood,  died  at  Petersburg, 
Aug.,  '64. 

Fifty-fourth  Regiment,  1863,  \BQA.— Falmouth.— Co.  B,  Robert  H. 
Hurdle,  died  at  Morris  Island,  May,  '64;  Co.  H,  Alfred  F.  Scott,  died 
at  Beaufort,  Feb.,  '64;  Co.  G,  Peter  Smith,  trans,  to  Fifty-fifth.  Barn- 
stable: Co.  D,  Charles  L.  Ellis.  Harwich:  Co.  E,  William  Broadwater. 
Sandwich:  Co.  H,  George  H.  Clark.  Provincetown:  Joseph  Crooks, 
trans,  to  Fifty-fifth.  Eastham:  Co.  I,  John  A.  Green,  trans,  to  Fifty- 
fifth. 

Fifty-sixth  Regiment,  \B,M.— Yarmouth:  Co.  A,  Albert  Moran,  died 
of  wounds  received  May,  '64.  Provincetown:  Co.  A,  James  G.  Stone. 
Co.  E,  James  Drury,  died  at  Millen,  Ga.  Co.  F.  John  Hughes,  corp. 
Co.  G,  Charles  Williams;  Co.  H,  Jesse  Freeman,  jr.,  serg.;  Thomas  V. 
Mullen,  Corp.;  Samuel  G.  Smith,  corp.;  Freeman  A.  Smith,  mus.; 
Michael  Bennett.  Charles  W.  Burkett,  William  H.  Hammond,  Solomon 
R.  Higgins,  died  at  home,  March,  '64;  John  W.  Hoben,  killed  Weldon 
R.  R.,  Sept.,  '64;  Robert  T.  Hooten,  Nathan  S.  Hudson,  Joseph  King, 
died  at  Salisbury,  Nov.,  '64;  John  C.  Lunton,  killed  at  Petersburg, 
July,  '64;  William  Mcintosh,  Michael  A.  Parker,  Samuel  Pettis, 
Reuben  W.  Rich,  Taylor  Small,  jr.,  died  at  Danville,  Va.,  Feb.,  '66; 
John  R.  Smith,  John  E.  Smith,  died  at  Philadelphia,  June,  "64;  Wil- 
liam Soule,  Eliphalet  H.  Weldon.  Eastham:  Co.  C,  George  Broche; 
Co.  D,  Stephen  T.  Foster,  Henry  H.  West.  Barnstable:  Co.  D,  George 
W.  Childs,  died  of  wounds,  June,  '64;  William  A.  McLeod,  John  A. 
Nicholson,  died  of  wounds.  May,  '64;  Co.  H,  John  S.  Lunt;  Co.  I, 
Charles  E.  Miller,  Emil  Tellburn,  killed  at  Petersburg,  July,  '64. 
Wellfleet:  Co.  F,  Charles  Schmidt.  Truro:  Co.  G,  John  Carroll,  serg.; 
Jacob  Rock.  Demiis:  Co.  G,  Ansel  Edmondson,  corp.;  William  Gay, 
Charles  Girard,  John  J.  Mahoney,  Addington  Miall,  Co.  H,  Hugh 
Riley;  Co.  I,  John  Artemas.  Brewster:  Co.  G,  John  Broady.  Sand- 
wich: Co.  K,  John  Murphy,  died  at  home,  March,  '64.  Falmouth:  Co. 
H.,  John  Davis,  corp.;  William  Bates,  to  V.  R.  C;  Edward  Harris, 
James  Hilton. 

Fifty-eighth  Regiment,  1864.— C/zaMaw.-  Charles  M.  Upham,  2d 
lieut.,  pro.  capt.,  killed  Cold  Harbor,  June,  '64;  William  H.  Harley,2d 
lieut.,  pro.  capt.,  killed  Spottsylvania,  May,  '64;  Co.  H,  Horatio  F. 
Lewis,  2d  lieut.;  Franklin  D.  Hammond,  2d  lieut.,  killed  at  Petersburg, 
June,  '64;  Co.  A,  Nathaniel  B.Smith,  serg., killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  June, 
'64;  Francis  Armstrong,  serg.,  died  of  wounds  June,  '64;  Pliny  F.  Free- 
man, serg.;  George  W.  Hamilton,  serg.;  Samuel  Hawes,  jr.,  serg.; 
Aaron  W.  Snow,  serg.;  Charles  B.  Bearse,  John  Bolton,  killed  at  Cold 
Harbor,  June,  '64;    J-oshua   H.  Chase,  Zabina  Dill,  died  at  Anderson- 


106  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

ville,  Aug.,  '64;  Nathan  Eldridge,  killed  at  Spottsylvania,  May,  '64; 
Washington  A.  Eldridge,  Stephen  Ellis,  Harrison  F.  Gould,  Josiah  F. 
Hardy,  Samuel  Harding,  Seth  T.  Howes,  killed  at  Wilderness,  May, 
'64;  Charles  Johnson,  Henry  W.  Mallows,  Charles  Mullett,  Edwin  S. 
Nickerson,  Benjamin  F.  Pease,  Bridgeman  T.  Small,  Albert  E.  Snow, 
V.  R.  C;  Zenas  M.  Snow,  David  G.  Young,  died  in  Virginia,  May,  '64. 
Provincetown:  Albion  M.  Dudley,  pro.  capt.;  Co.  A,  Jeremiah  Bennett, 
killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  June,  '64;  Co.  I,  Albion  N.  Dudley.  Harwich: 
Co.  A,  Heman  Chase,  jr.,  1st  lieut.;  S.  B.  N.  Baker,  made  1st  lieut. 
July,  '65;  Nathan  Downey,  2d  lieut.;  David  Kendrick,  pro.  lieut. 
July,  '65;  Co.  A,  Charles  W.  Hamilton,  Isaac  L.  Kendrick,  David  P. 
Ryder,  corp.;  Albert  F.  Allen,  Benjamin  Bassett,  Benjamin  F.  Bassett, 
died  of  wounds  June,  '64;  W.  H.  H.  Bassett,  died  at  Danville,  Jan.,  '66; 
George  G.  Burgess,  Simeon  Cahoon,died  of  wounds  July,  '64;  Thomas 
G.  Cahoon,  Elijah  Chase,  Francis  L.  Doane,  was  pri.soner;  Solomon  N. 
Doane,  died  at  Andersonville,  Aug.,  '64;  Alpheus  Eldridge,  died  of 
wounds  June,  '64;  Cyrus  Ellis,  2d;  Moses  A.  Handy,  pris.;  Jahiel  Jor- 
don,  died  at  David's  Island,  June,  '64;  Daniel  Lenihan,  Charles  W. 
Nickerson,  George  W.  Nickerson,  Warren  Phillips,  jr.,  Charles  A.  Rob- 
bins,  Ezra  B.  Ryder,  Antonio  Silver,  Asa  Simmons,  Ebenezer  Smalley, 
died  of  wounds  at  home  July,  '64;  Stephen  Smith,  wounded;  George 
S.  Studley,  Charles  Tuttle,  John  B,  Tuttle;  Co.  C,  Everett  W.  Doane, 
killed  at  Petersburg,  April,  '65;  Moses  Doane;  Co.  E,  Jerry  Slattery, 
killed  at  Petersburg,  April, '65;  Co.G,HoraceB.Chase,corp.;  Co.  H,  Wins- 
low  Baker,  died  at  Salisbury,  Dec,  '64;  Joseph  Barstow,  Henry  Brown, 
Joshua  R.  Burgess,  died  at  Salisbury,  Jan.,  '65;  Francis  S.  Cahoon,  Ed- 
ward C.  Chase,  Isaiah  Chase,  2d,  died  at  Alexandria,  June,  '65;  Thomas 
B.  Chase,  Alvah  B.  Crabbe,  died  at  Washington,  June,  '64;  James  B. 
Doane,  V.  R.  C;  Alvan  L.  Drown,  died  at  home  Sept.,  '64;  Jonathan 
Small,  Seth  B.  Wixon;  Co.  I,  Joseph  Loveland;  Co.  K,  Edward  Pender, 
Alexander  Purington;  unassigned,  Andrew  Dolan.  Barnstable:  Co.  K, 
Henry  C.  Blossom,  1st  lieut.;  Co.  A,  James  R.  Blagdon,  died  of  wounds 
in  Virginia,  June,  '64;  George  W.  Cathcart,  Charles  G.  Cook,  died  at 
Andersonville,  Feb., '65;  Eliphalet  Doane,  killed  Petersburg,  June, '64; 
Ebenezer  Eldridge,  killed  at  Spottsylvania,  May,  '64;  Allen  Marchant; 
Co.  C,W.  N.  Baxter,  James  Woodman;  Co.  D,William  A.  McDonald;  Co. 
E,  Thomas  Coleman,  jr.;  Co.  H,  James  Pendergrass,  died  at  Salisbury, 
Dec,  '64;  Timothy  Robbins,  died  at  Salisbury,  Dec,  '64.  Orleans:  Co. 
A,  Samuel  H.  Everett,  corp.;  Co.  F,  Charles  Clark;  Co.  H,  Benjamin 
Taylor;  unassigned,  William  D.  Miles.  Bre-wster:  Co.  A,  Samuel  F. 
Rogers,  corp.;  J.  N.  Allen,  Barnabas  G.  Baker,  died  at  Baltimore,  March, 
'65;  George  S.  Eldridge,  Samuel  Maker,  died  at  Fredericksburg,  May, 
'64;  Reuben  W.  Ellis,  Alonzo  Rogers,  jr.;  Co.  E,  Lewis  McClellan;  Co. 
G,  Benjamin  F.  Wixon,  died  at  Spottsylvania,  May,  '64.      Yarmouth: 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  107 

Co.  A,  James  P.  Atkins,  killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  June,  '64;  Co.  D,  Walter 
Hannaford,  V.  R.C.;  Co.  F,  Samuel  V.  Bruen,  George  King,  John  V. 
Seyton,  Patrick  Sullivan,  George  Thomas.  Dennis:  Co.  A.John  S. 
Chase,  Stephen  R.  Howes,  died  at  Washington,  June,  '64;  Salas  N. 
Kelley,  Ansel  L.  Studley,  died  at  home,  Oct.,  '64;  Co.  F,  Henry  V. 
Lord;  Co.  H,  Freeman  Hall,  Amos  C.  Ryder,  died  of  wounds 
June,  '64;  Co.  H,  Amos  F.  Wixon,  killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  June,  '64; 
Truro:  Co.  A,  Enoch  S.  Hamilton,  John  L.  D.  Hopkins,  died  in  Salis- 
bury, Feb.,  '65;  Benjamin  K.  Lombard,  died  at  Andersonville,  July, 
'64;  John  C.  Ryder,  John  Wilson.  Eastham:  Samuel  Nickerson,  jr., 
killed  at  Petersburg,  Jan.,  '65;  William  Willis;  unassigned,  John 
Brown,  Edward  Foss.  Sandivick:  Co.  A,  Timothy  Taylor,  John  W. 
Tinkman;  Co.  C,  Roland  G.  Holway,  died  at  Washington,  Aug.,  '64; 
Co.  F,  John  Peterson;  Co.  H,  Samuel  W.  Marvel,  serg.,  died  at  Salis- 
bury, Dec,  '64;  Co.  K,  John  Leary.  Wellfleet:  Co.  E,  William  Brown, 
2d.  James  Gill. 

Fifty-ninth  Regiment,  W,M.~Wellfleet:  Co.  C,  Frank  Leonard,  Alex- 
ander McDonald.  Falmouth:  Co.  D,  Edward  McCarter,  James  Mc- 
Carroll;  Co.  E,  D.W.  Mace.  Yarmouth:  Co.  F,  Morris  Lewis;  Co.  G,  Jean 
M.  Harmon,  killed  at  Wilderness,  May,  '64.  Sandwich:  Co.  F,  Moses 
Gerrom,  John  Hoffman,  Charles  Rheinhardt,  Herman  J.  Smith,  trans, 
to  Fifty-seventh.  Orleans:  Co.  F,  John  Magee.  Dennis:  Garland  S. 
Seward,  trans,  to  Fifty-seventh. 

Veteran  Reserve  Corps,  mustered  in  1864. — Harwich:  Josiah  Ar- 
mington,  Robert  Hanwell,  William  Harris,  Charles  Lang.  Chatham: 
Leroy  Aumock,  Michael  Bourke,  Henry  Buschman,  Edward  Carey, 
Edward  G.  Hall,  William  Hatfield,  James  McBride.  William  McDer- 
mott,  John  Powers,  Samuel  Swartwout.  Provincetown:  Edward  Bal- 
lard, M.  P.  Brady,  Joseph  Brigham,  William  H.  Isaac,  William  Laugh- 
lin,  Patrick  McCarty,  Alexander  Meek,  M.  D.,  Henry  A.  Packard,  Car- 
los Guinn,  George  K.  Richards,  John  T.  Smith,  James  D.  Vaughan. 
Falmouth:  Charles  Broukee,  James  Daly,  John  Kennigh,  George  W. 
Ryerson,  Persaville  W.  Williams.  Brewster:  Michael  Considine,  Otis 
Hemenway,  Franklyn  B.  Murphy.  Orleans:  Matthew  Delaney,  James 
Eagan,  Daniel  Finn,  M.  McDonald,  E.  G.  Tuttle.  Sandwich:  George 
W.  Derby,  D.  J.  O'Neil.  Dennis:  William  Fink,  Patrick  McKeyes, 
Lewis  Rowland.  Wellfleet:  John  J.  Malone,  V.  A.  Pickering,  William 
Schulter.      Yarmouth:  Patrick  Sheridan.      Eastham:  Erastus  Walker. 

Regular  Army  mustered  in  1864. — Sandwich:  Addison  H.  Cutting, 
into  Nineteenth  Infantry;  William  H.  Wright,  into  sigfnal  corps. 
Brewster:  Henry  Hart,  into  engineer  corps.  Eastham:  James  Hennes- 
sey, signal  corps.  Falmouth:  John  Manning,  Third  Art.  Harwich: 
Newell  H.  Miles,  Eleventh  Infantry. 

The  town  of  Barnstable  is  having   made  a  careful   manuscript 


108  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

record  of  her  soldiers,  for  preservation  in  her  town  archives.  The 
compiling,  entrusted  to  Gustavus  A.  Hinckley,  is  to  be  finished  in 
1890.  Other  towns  have  revised  their  soldier  lists  since  the  publica- 
tion of  the  adjutant  general's  report  on  which  this  chapter  is  based. 

Besides  those  soldiers  above  mentioned  the  Fourth  Regiment  had 
Neil  Mcintosh,  of  Dennis,  and  James  Colvin,  of  Harwich;  the  Seven- 
teenth had  William  Fay  and  Frank  Varnum;  the  Nineteenth  had 
Charles  Davis,  William  Miles  and  Conrad  Wilson;  and  in  the  Twen- 
tieth, John  H.  Dimon  was  in  Co.  E;  William  Marshall  was  in  Co.  F; 
John  McCawley  was  in  Co.  G;  and  John  McDonald  in  Co.  H. 

We  have  purposely  omitted  the  records  of  desertions  which  the 
official  reports  contain.  They  were  largely  from  among  the  substi- 
tutes enlisted  from  non-residents  of  the  county. 

In  1865,  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the  survivors  of  this  body  of 
patriots  returned  to  their  homes  and  were  received  with  every  demon- 
stration of  honor  and  thankfulness.  The  ex-soldiers  have  continued 
the  memories  and  friendships  of  the  war  by  the  establishment  of 
Posts  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  at  Sandwich,  South  Chat- 
ham, and  Provincetown,  to  which  the  veterans  of  the  surrounding 
towns  belong.  These  organizations  are  more  fully  mentioned  in  the 
histories  of  the  villages  where  located. 

In  grateful  remembrance  of  fallen  heroes,  five  towns  have  erected 
monuments  to  their  memory,  Barnstable  having  the  most  elaborate. 
It  was  erected  at  Centreville,  dedicated  July  4,  1866,  being  the  first  in 
the  state  in  point  of  time.  Its  cost  was  $1,050,  the  site  being  donated 
by  F.  G.  Kelley,  and  the  beautifully  proportioned  pile  of  Concord 
granite  bids  fair  to  stand  forever.  Upon  the  four  faces  of  the  shaft  the 
name,  age  and  date  of  death  of  each  of  Barnstable's  soldiers  are  deeply 
carved — on  the  north,  Thomas  Coleman,  jr.,  Enoch  Crocker,  Eliphalet 
Doane,  Ebenezer  Eldridge,  Josiah  C.  Fish,  Cyrus  B.  Fish,  Alfred  C.  Phin- 
ney,  and  Shubael  Linnell;  on  the  west  the  names  of  Timothy  Robbins, 
Joseph  C.  Scudder,  Martin  S.  Tinkum,  Aaron  H.  Young  and  Nathan 
F.  Winslow.  On  this  west  face  are  also  the  names  of  James  C.  Crocker 
and  Anthony  Chase  of  the  navy.  The  south  contains  the  names  of 
William  L.  Lumbert,  Allen  Marchant,  Solomon  Otis.  Samuel  B.  Otis, 
James  Pendergrass,  Albro  W.  Phinney,  Nathan  A.  Pitcher,  Andrew 
P.  Cobb  and  James  A.  Hathaway;  and  on  the  east  face  are  those  of 
Clarence  W.  Bassett,  George  H.  Bearse,  James  R.  Blagden,  Charles  G. 
Cook,  Simeon  C.  Childs,  Job  F.  Childs,  Obed  A.  Cahoon  and  Horace 
L.  Crocker.  The  grounds  around  this  monument  are  beautifully  laid 
out  and  well  kept. 

The  people  of  Chatham  have  indicated  their  gratitude  by  the  erec- 
tion of  a  shaft  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Sea  View  streets.  The  deeply 
engraved  inscription,  "Erected  by  the  town  to  those  who  fell  1861-1865," 


MILITARY   HISTORY.  109 

surmounts  the  column,  and  on  the  east  side  are  the  names  of  Captain 
Charles  M.  Upham,  Lieutenant  Franklin  D.  Hammond,  David  G. 
Young,  Benjamin  F.  Bassett,  Zebina  H.  Dill,  and  Edwin  S.  Nickerson. 
The  west  face  bears  the  names  of  Captain  William  H.  Harley,  Ser- 
geant Nathaniel  B.  Smith,  Sergeant  Francis  M.  Armstrong,  Seth  T. 
Howes,  Nathan  Eldridge,  John  Bolton,  and  James  Blauvelt. 

Orleans,  a  few  years  after  the  war,  erected  on  the  square  opposite 
the  town  house  a  fine  shaft  surmounted  by  the  life-size  figure  of  a 
soldier  at  parade  rest.  On  the  north  face  of  the  monument  are  the 
names  of  James  E.  Studley,  John  M.  Cowan,  Joseph  Moody,  and  Lewis 
Eldridge;  and  on  the  south,  Isaac  Y.  Smith,  Joshua  Gould,  Freeman 
A.  Sherman  and  John  W.  Walker. 

In  1866  the  Ladies'  Soldiers'  Aid  Society,  assisted  by  the  subscribers 
to  the  war  fund,  erected  a  monument  at  Wellfleet  in  the  burial  ground 
at  the  head  of  Duck  creek.  Upon  the  south  square  of  the  main  shaft 
are  the  names  of  William  A.  Holbrook,  Daniel  M.  Hall,  and  Charles 
R.  Morrill;  and  on  the  north  the  names  of  those  who  died  in  the  naval 
service — Levi  Y.  Wiley,  John  Y.  Cole,  John  D.  Langley,  and  John  N. 
Langley.  The  monument,  surrounded  by  an  iron  fence,  stands  adja- 
cent to  the  highway. 

Provincetown,  at  a  cost  of  about  $2,800,  erected  a  fine  monument 
to  the  memory  of  her  soldiers.     The  face  bears  this  inscription: 

Erected  by  the  Town  of  Provincetown  in  1867  m  oratitcde  to  the  memory 
OF  the  fallen  who  sacrificed  their  lives  to  save  their  codntry  during  the 
QREAT  Rebellion  of  1861-1885. 

The  right  face  has  this  inscription: 

ARMY. 
Thomas  J.  Gibbons. 

GEOROt  LOCKWOOD. 

Henry  A.  Smith. 
George  E.  Crocker. 
Jeremiah  Bennett. 

Elkamah  Smith. 

Taylor  Small,  Jr. 

John  G.  Lurten. 

John  W.  Bobbins. 

John  R.  Smith. 

Solomon  R.  Hiogins. 

Joseph  King. 

The  inscription  on  the  left  face  is: 

NAVY. 

JosiAH  C.  Freeman. 

Samuel  T.  Paine. 

William  E.  Tupper. 

William  H.  Chipilan. 

Asa  a.  Franken. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


TRAVEL    AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


By  Hon.  Charles  F.  Swift. 


Packet  Lines. — Mail  Routes  and  Stage  Coaches. — Railroads. — Ebcpress  Lines. — Telegraph 
and  Cable  Lines. — The  Telephone  Service. 


THE  methods  of  communication  with  the  great  centers  of  business 
and  intelligence  serve  to  mark  the  progress  of  modern  civiliza- 
tion in  a  community.  Travel  on  foot  or  on  horseback  between 
the  Cape  and  Plymouth,  or  Boston,  was  the  primitive  method  when 
such  travel  was  imperative;  but  owing  to  the  rude  state  of  the  roads, 
the  frequent  necessity  of  fording  streams,  and  the  poorly  constructed 
bridges,  this  method  of  communication  was  resorted  to  only  in  cases 
of  extreme  urgency.  How  great  was  the  burden  may  be  inferred  from 
the  vote  of  the  town  of  Yarmouth  in  1701,  when  Mr.  John  Miller,  the 
representative  elect  to  the  general  court,  was  allowed  two  extra  days 
to  go  and  return,  "  in  consequence  of  his  age  and  the  greatness  of  the 
journey."  The  water,  under  such  circumstances,  was  the  element 
which  offered  the  greatest  inducements  to  travellers  on  the  score  of 
comfort  and  speed,  if  not  for  perfect  reliability.  Though  advantage 
was  usually  taken  of  transient  vessels  to  procure  passage  to  and  from 
Boston,  it  does  not  seem  probable  that  regular  lines,  running  on  fixed 
and  stated  days,  were  established  much  if  any  before  the  beginning  of 
the  present  century;  and  it  was  thirty  or  forty  years  more  before  the 
business  assumed  anything  like  the  proportions  which  it  arrived  at  a 
few  years  prior  to  the  establishment  of  railroad  communications.  It 
was  probably  somewhat  later  when  stage  coaches  came  into  vogue, 
and  they,  too,  had  to  give  way  to  the  all-conquering  steam  cars. 

The  mode  of  travel  by  the  packets  was  much  better  adapted  to  the 
promotion  of  sociability  and  the  cultivation  of  acquaintanceship  than 
our  present  rapid  transit  by  rail.  With  twenty -five  to  fifty  persons 
crowded  into  the  cabins  and  upon  the  decks  of  a  small  schooner,  as 
was  often  the  case,  there  was  frequent  occasion  to  exercise  the  graces 
of  courtesy,  self-forgetfulness  and  consideration  for  the  convenience 
of  others.  Men  and  women,  thrown  together  under  such  circum- 
stances, soon  became  sociable  and  communicative.     All  sorts  of  topics 


TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  Ill 

were  discussed,  from  original  sin  to  the  price  of  codfish.  Experiences 
were  related  and  results  compared.  When  these  resources  were  ex- 
hausted recourse  was  had  to  amusements,  and  not  unfrequently  the 
younger  and  less  rigid  of  the  passengers  would  perhaps  resort  to  a 
game  of  checkers,  or  a  quiet  game  of  "  old  sledge,"  down  in  the  hold 
or  the  forecastle.  Travel  by  packet  was  a  great  leveler  of  social  dis- 
tinctions— the  squire,  the  village  storekeeper,  the  minister  or  the 
doctor  being  constrained  to  take  up  with  the  same  fare  as  their  more 
humble  neighbors,  upon  whom  they  were  obliged  to  depend  for  some 
degree  of  deference  or  courtesy.  On  the  other  hand,  these  important 
personages  often  felt  impelled  to  exercise  a  degree  of  condescension 
to  those  with  whom  they  were  thrown  in  such  intimate  relations.  A 
good  steward  was  a  great  acquisition  to  a  packet,  as  much  dependence 
was  placed  by  all  who  were  not  seasick  upon  the  refreshments  served 
to  the  passengers.  It  is  well  known  that  a  sea  trip  is  a  great  sharp- 
ener of  the  appetites  of  such  as  have  any  appetite  at  all,  and  it  seems 
almost  incredible,  in  view  of  the  gastronomic  feats  accomplished  on 
some  of  these  trips,  that  a  living  business  could  be  carried  on  under 
such  conditions  for  twenty-five  cents  per  meal. 

Great  was  the  excitement  on  land  when  the  packet  was  signaled  in 
the  offing  or  back  of  the  bar.  The  shores  were  swarmed  long  before 
her  arrival,  the  wharf  was  crowded,  and  scores  of  expert  hands  were 
ready  to  catch  the  warp  as  it  was  tossed  ashore  from  the  approaching 
vessel.  Then  came  eager  inquiries  for  "  the  news,"  and  an  exchange 
of  greetings  between  reunited  friends,  or  words  of  regret  because  of 
the  non-arrival  of  others.  In  those  days  scores  of  men  from  the  Cape 
villages  sailed  from  Boston,  and  this  was  the  usual  way  of  reaching 
home  after  their  return  from  voyages  abroad.  The  passengers  landed 
and  order  restored  on  the  cluttered  decks,  bulk  was  broken  and  the 
freight  briskly  passed  ashore.  There  were  innumerable  barrels,  hogs- 
heads, boxes,  sides  of  beef,  carcasses  of  mutton  or  pork,  and  jugs  in 
infinite  variety,  and  not  all  of  them  filled  with  vinegar  or  molasses. 
From  the  summits  of  the  highest  hills  signals  had  been  hoisted  on 
stafi^s  to  apprise  the  people  on  the  south  side  that  the  packet  was  in. 
Ample  notice  was  given  in  the  same  way  of  her  intended  departure. 
There  was  a  good  deal  of  rivalry  between  these  vessels  in  the  matter 
of  speed.  The  Barnstable,  Yarmouth  and  Dennis  packets,  and  those 
from  the  towns  below,  used  to  put  forth  their  best  efforts  to  make  the 
quickest  trips,  and  the  regattas  of  modern  times  were  anticipated  by 
these  rival  packet  craft.  A  good  many  five  dollar  bills  changed  hands 
on  some  of  these  occasions  between  the  betting  friends  of  the  differ- 
ent vessels.  Commencing  on  the  bay  side — because  that  was  the 
scene  of  the  greater  portion  of  their  achievements — and  at  Sandwich 
— by  reason  of  its  being  the  oldest  town  in  the  county — it  will  be  a 


112  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

matter  of  general  interest  to  trace  the  development,  growth  and  ulti- 
mate abandonment  of  the  two  channels  of  communication — the  packet 
and  the  stage  coach. 

Sandwich. — The  first  packet  between  Sandwich  and  Boston,  of 
which  there  is  any  data  existing,  was  the  Charming  Betty,  a  sloop  of 
forty-five  tons,  built  in  1717  by  Thomas  Bourne,  and  purchased  by 
Simeon  Dillingham.  Other  packets,  we  know  by  tradition,  plied  be- 
tween these  ports,  but  their  names  have  not  been  preserved.  About 
1825  the  sloops  Polly,  Captain  Roland  Gibbs,  and  Splendid,  Captain 
Sewall  Fessenden,  were  on  this  route,  and  Captain  Charles  Nye  run 
the  Charles,  which  was  built  on  the  shore  below  the  present  town 
house.  Deming  Jarves  afterwards  built,  just  below  the  glass  works, 
the  sloop  Sandwich  (which  was  perhaps  the  first  regular  passenger 
packet),  also  commanded  by  Captain  Charles  Nye.  The  Henry  Clay, 
built  by  Hinckley  Brothers  at  West  Sandwich  in  1831-2,  was  com- 
manded by  Captain  George  Atkins.  The  sloop  Sarah,  commanded  by 
Calvin  Fish,  ran  from  the  village  with  wood  and  passengers,  and  be- 
tween these  last  two  there  was  a  sharp  rivalry.  The  village  people, 
not  satisfied  with  the  sailing  qualities  of  the  Sarah,  purchased  the 
schooner  Nancy  Finley,  and  the  competition  continued.  About  1840 
the  Boston  and  Sandwich  Glass  Company  purchased  the  schooner 
Sarah,  a  fleet  craft,  also  commanded  by  Captain  Atkins.  The  village 
people  tried  again,  and  bought  the  schooner  Cabinet;  Captain  Roland 
Gibbs  commanded  her,  and  afterward  the  sloop  Osceola,  a  fast  sailer. 

The  packeting  business  was  in  its  glory  just  before  the  advent  of 
steam  cars,  in  1848.  Competition  was  brisk  and  rates  were  cut  from 
one  dollar  to  twenty-five  cents  per  trip.  Afterthe  opening  of  the  rail- 
road the  business  began  to  decline.  Captain  Sears  left  the  line  and 
took  command  of  a  brig  in  the  freighting  business.  The  Glass  Com- 
pany also  took  off  its  packet.  The  Wm.  G.  Eddie,  Captain  Stephen 
Sears,  ran"  a  few  months,  but  was  not  remunerative.  Early  in  the 
fifties,  Mr.  Jarves  had  a  disagreement  with  the  railroad  company  as 
to  the  rates  of  freight,  and  in  conversation  with  Mr.  Bourne,  the  super- 
intendent, threatened  to  put  a  steamer  on  the  route  between  the  Cape 
and  Sandwich.  Mr.  Bourne,  it  is  stated,  remarked  that  "  the  acorn  was 
not  yet  planted  to  grow  the  timber  for  such  a  steamer."  But  the 
steamer  was  built,  and  remembering  the  conversation,  Mr.  Jarves 
named  her  the  Acorn.  She  ran  a  few  years,  and  was  commanded  by 
Captain  Roland  Gibbs.  But  both  steam  and  sailing  vessels  in  the  end 
succumbed  to  the  railroad  as  a  means  of  communication  with  the  out- 
side world. 

Falmouth.— The  geographical  position  of  this  town  rendered  regu- 
lar water  communication  with  Boston  impracticable.  But  in  the  early 
and  middle  parts  of  the  present  century  there  was  constant  and  regu- 


TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION.  113 

lar  communication  with  Nantucket,  which  was  then  a  place  of  great 
relative  importance.  Several  vessels  ran  between  Falmouth,  East 
Falmouth  and  Nantucket,  with  wood  for  the  island,  and  all  these  craft 
took  passengers,  particularly  during  the  great  local  festival,  "  sheep- 
shearing,"  when  the  natives  and  their  friends  from  abroad  held  high 
carnival  together  for  a  week!  This  intercourse  continued  after  the 
glory  of  sheep-shearing  had  departed,  until  the  opening  of  steamboat 
communication  between  Nantucket  and  the  main  land. 

The  first  packet,  of  which  any  knowledge  exists,  running  between 
Falmouth  and  New  Bedford,  was  a.  large  sail-boat  owned  and  run  by 
Captain  James  Stewart  about  the  year  1826.  About  1827  the  sloop 
Henry  Clay,  Captain  Ezekiel  E.  Swift,  was  put  upon  the  route  between 
the  two  places,  and  ran  for  several  years.  Owing  to  increase  of  busi- 
ness about  the  year  1834,  another  sloop,  called  the  Swift,  vjas  built  and 
run  by  Captain  Swift,  formerly  of  the  Henry  Clay,  which  latter  was 
run  by  Captain  John  Phinney,  both  vessels  running  to  and  fro  on 
alternate  days.  In  1836  another  sloop,  the  Temperance,  was  put  on  the 
route  and  the  Henry  Clay  was  withdrawn.  A  few  years  later  Captain 
Swift  retired,  and  was  succeeded  by  Captain  Oliver  F.  Robinson  for 
many  years  thereafter.  Since  the  Woods  Holl  railroad  was  opened, 
no  direct  line  of  packets  has  run  to  New  Bedford  from  this  town.  But 
daily  and  more  frequent  steamboat  communication  in  summer  is  still 
maintained  between  Woods  Holl  and  New  Bedford. 

Regular  communication  was  maintained  between  West  Falmouth 
and  New  Bedford  by  Captain  William  Baker  of  the  packet  sloop  Nile, 
with  which  for  years  he  made  tri-weekly  trips  from  West  Falmouth. 
He  and  his  craft  were  succeeded  by  Captain  James  D.  Hoxie  in  the 
sloop  Peerless,  with  which  the  three  round  trips  weekly  were  made 
until  the  opening  of  the  Woods  Holl  railroad. 

Barnstable. — The  town  of  Barnstable  had  in  1800  but  a  small 
amount  of  .shipping,  and  it  is  not  known  that  any  regular  packet  line 
was  maintained  here.  In  1806  the  schooner  Comet,  105  70-96  tons  bur- 
then, commanded  by  Captain  Asa  Scudder,  made  frequent  trips  be- 
tween Barnstable  and  Boston.  At  the  time  of  the  declaration  of  war 
with  Great  Britain,  in  1812,  the  sloop  Independence,  oi  about  thirty  tons, 
Captain  Richard  Howes,  was  running  transiently  as  a  Barnstable  and 
Boston  packet.  Before  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1814,  on  her  return 
passage  from  Boston,  this  vessel  was  fired  into,  boarded  and  burned 
by  the  crew  of  the  British  frigate  Nymph,  having  been  set  on  fire  with 
her  sails  all  standing.  The  captain  and  passengers  were  taken  in  a 
barge  to  the  frigate.  Their  names  were:  Richard  Howes,  John 
Lothrop,  David  Parker,  Timothy  Phinney  and  his  young  son,  Syl- 
vanus  B.  Phinney,  all  of  Barnstable.  They  were  landed  the  day  fol- 
lowing near  Boston  light.  The  cargo,  mostly  groceries,  belonged  to 
8 


114  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Mr.  Parker,  one  of  the  passengers,  a  trader  at  West  Barnstable.  The 
frigates  continued  to  annoy  the  packets  on  this  coast  until  the  close  of 
the  war. 

Several  ship-yards  were  established  in  this  town  after  the  war. 
Four  of  the  most  prominent  packets  between  Barnstable  and  Boston — 
the  schooners  Globe,  Volant,  Sappho  and  Flavilla — were  built  here  by 
Captain  William  Lewis.  The  sloop  Freedom  was  also  built  at  West 
Barnstable,  and  ran  as  a  packet  to  Boston  a  few  years,  commanded  by 
Captain  Washington  Farris.  The  sloop  Science,  Captain  Joseph  Huck- 
ins,  and  schooner  Globe,  Captain  Simpson,  were  of  this  line  until 
about  the  year  1826.  In  1828-9  the  sloop  James  Lawrence,  Captain 
Goodspeed,  and  schooner  Volant,  Captain  Huckins,  formed  the  regular 
line  to  Boston.  In  1831-2,  the  schooner  Volant,  Gorham,  and  the 
sloops  James  Lawrence,  Goodspeed,  Betsey,  Fish,  and  Velocity,  Lewis, 
ran  to  Boston.  In  1833-4,  the  schooners  Globe  and  Volant  were  in  the 
regfular  line.  In  1836  Captain  Matthias  Hinckley  took  charge  of  the 
Globe,  and  Captain  Thomas  Smith  of  the  Sappho,  in  this  line. 

At  this  period  the  travel  by  packets  to  Boston  had  largely  in- 
creased, and  it  was  felt  that  the  time  had  come  for  vessels  of  greater 
speed.  The  sloop  Commodore  Hull  of  Yarmouth  was  considered  the 
fastest  on  the  coast,  and  in  1838  Captains  Matthias  Hinckley  and 
Thomas  Percival  went  to  Sing  Sing,  N.  Y.,  to  contract  for  a  new  packet 
to  compete  with  her.  The  sloop  Mail  was  the  result,  and  many  are 
now  living  who  remember  the  excitement  which  was  created  in  the 
race  which  took  place  from  Barnstable  to  Boston,  between  those  two 
packets.  With  a  strong  southerly  wind  they  left  Barnstable  bar,  dur- 
ing the  forenoon.  Running  side  by  side  as  far  as  could  be  seen  from 
the  shore,  they  made  the  passage  in  about  six  hours,  the  Mail  having 
passed  into  the  dock  at  Central  wharf  not  over  three  lengths  ahead  of 
her  rival.  This  slight  victory  was,  however,  believed  to  have  been 
accidental,  as  the  Commodore  Hull  \f as  considered  the  fastest  sailer  of 
the  two.  Captain  Percival  made  the  passage  with  Captain  Hinckley 
to  give  him  the  advantage  of  his  own  experience. 

In  1841  the  Mail,  Emerald  and  Sappho  were  of  the  line.  In  1843 
the  steamer  Express,  Captain  Sanford,  ran  a  part  of  the  year,  taking 
passengers  between  Boston,  Plymouth,  Barnstable  and  Provincetown. 
In  1845  the  Sappho  and  Mail  continued  their  regular  trips,  and  the 
steamer  Yacht,  Captain  Sanford,  took  the  place  of  the  Express.  The 
steamer  Naushon,  Captain  Paine,  was  then  making  occasional  trips  from 
Boston  to  Wellfleet  and  Provincetown.  and  less  frequently  to  Yar- 
mouth and  Barnstable.  In  1846-7  the  sloop  Emerald,  Captain  Joseph 
Huckins,  jr.,  and  the  Sappho  and  Mail  comprised  the  regular  line. 
The  Flavilla  also  made  several  trips,  when  not  in  the  fishing  business. 
In  1860-1  the  sloop  Rough  and  Ready  was  added  to  the  line,  and  in 


TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  116 

1852-3-4  the  Mail,  Sapplw  and  Premium,  Captain  Arey,  constituted  the 
line.  During  a  portion  of  the  season  of  1864  the  steamer  Acorn,  Cap- 
tain Gibbs,  was  running  between  Boston,  Sandwich,  Yarmouth  and 
Provincetown.  The  excursions  of  the  steamers,  so  frequently  made, 
did  not  destroy  the  business,  for  in  18f)7  the  Mail,  Captain  Crocker, 
Abby  Gould,  Captain  Young,  and  schooner  L.  Snow,  Jr.,  Captain  Backus, 
continued  to  run  through  most  of  the  year.  During  the  season  the 
il/az7made  occasional  trips  to  Boston,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Aaron  H.  Young.  The  travel,  however,  had  largely  decreased,  as  the 
railroad  cars  had  commenced  running.  In  1858  the  Mail,  Captain 
Young  (which  vessel  had  been  changed  into  a  schooner),  and  the  sloop 
Simon  P.  Cole,  Captain  Crocker,  continued  to  run  through  most  of  the 
season.  In  1859  the  Emerald  vf&s  sold,  and  in  1860  the  fleet  was  re- 
duced to  the  schooner  Flora  and  the  sloops  Mail  and  Simon  P.  Cole. 
In  1861-2-3  there  was  not  a  vessel  running  regularly  between  Barn- 
stable and  Boston,  most  of  them  having  embarked  in  the  coasting 
trade  from  other  ports,  and  in  1864  it  was  rare  that  a  flag  was  seen 
flying  at  mast-head  from  vessels  at  either  of  the  three  wharves  at 
Barnstable. 

Yarmouth. — Probably  before  the  commencement  of  this  century 
packets  were  running  with  more  or  less  regfularity  between  Yarmouth 
and  Boston.  Captains  Job  Crowell,  Nathan  Hallet,  Prince  Howes  and 
Ansel  Hallet  were  the  earliest  packet  masters  of  whom  knowledge 
now  exists.  Captain  Ansel  Hallet  commanded  the  sloop  Betsey  for 
some  years  after  the  war  of  1812-16.  He  afterward  sailed  another 
sloop  called  the  Messenger,  and  lost  his  life  in  1832.  while  laboring  to 
get  her  ready  for  sea.  In  swinging  her  around  preparatory  to  start- 
ing, the  vessel  grounded  on  a  sandbar.  Captain  Hallet,  while  assist- 
ing at  low  tide  to  dig  beneath  her  in  order  to  deepen  the  channel,  was 
crushed  to  death  by  the  vessel  rolljng  over. 

At  Town  Dock,  Captain  Thomas  Matthews,  sr.,  some  sixty  years 
ago,  ran  the  sloop  Martha  Jane  between  that  part  of  Yarmouth  and 
Boston.  Later  Captain  Isaac  Hamblin  commanded  the  sloop  Emerald 
on  the  same  line.  This  vessel  was  afterward  sold  and  put  on  the  line 
from  Barnstable.  The  other  wharf  and  landing  was  at  "  Lone  Tree," 
a  little  to  the  eastward  of  the  present  Central  wharf,  which  was  built 
in  1832.  This  year  the  sloop  Flight  was  placed  on  the  Boston  route 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Edward  Hallet,  son  of  Captain  Ansel, 
and  the  captain's  brother,  Ansel,  went  a  part  of  the  time  as  his  mate. 
Captain  Edward  ran  the /7t;^/i/ until  about  the  year  1850,  when  she  was 
sold,  and  Captain  Hallet  retired  from  the  business.  From  some  time 
in  1828  to  1836,  Captain  Paddock  Thacher  commanded  the  schooner 
Commodore  Hull,  and  at  the  latter  date  was  succeeded  by  Captain 
Thomas  Matthews.     In  1841  Captain  Matthews  built  the   schooner 


116  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Yarmouth,  the  best  planned  and  most  convenient  craft  that  ever  en- 
gaged in  the  business  from  this  port..  Captain  Matthews  commanded 
her  until  1849,  when  Captain  Nathaniel  Taylor  took  charge  and  ran 
her  until  she  was  sold.  Messrs.  H.  B.  Chase  &  Sons  employed  her  for 
several  years  as  a  coaster  between  Hyannis  and  New  York  and  vicin- 
ity. About  1860  Captain  Ansel  Hallet  ran  a  packet  sloop  called  the 
Maria.  After  that  he  engaged  in  the  same  business  with  the  schooner 
Chas.B.Prijidle,  from  1856  to  1860,  though  not  in  that  employment  all 
the  time.    She  was  wrecked  the  latter  year  oflf  Manomet,  Plymouth. 

Contemporary  with  the  Flight  and  Yarmouth,  from  about  1841  to 
1843,  Captain  Paddock  Thacher  ran  the  sloop  Simon  P.  Cole.  After 
the  sale  of  the  Yarmouth,  Captain  Nathaniel  Taylor  commanded  the 
schooner  Lucy  Elizabeth  from  1866  to  1859,  when,  in  consequence  of 
injuries  received  on  board,  he  gave  up  the  command  to  Captain  El- 
kannah  Hallet,  who  was  in  charge  but  a  few  months,  being  succeeded 
by  his  brother  Charles,  who  ran  her  two  or  three  years,  until  she  was 
withdrawn.  In  1862  Captain  Edward  Gorham,  who  had  previously 
run  the  schooner  H.  S.  Barnes,  with  others  purchased  the  schooner 
North,  of  Dennis,  which  was  run  to  Boston  under  the  command  of  Cap- 
tain Gorham,  until  the  year  1870,  when  the  North  was  disposed  of,  and 
since  that  time  there  has  been  no  Boston  packet  from  this  place,  where 
two  or  three  were  formerly  well  supported.  An  attempt  to  run  a 
small  sioop  after  the  withdrawal  of  the  North,  for  certain  kinds  of 
freight  only,  proved  a  failure. 

Dennis  and  East  Dennis. — There  seems  to  be  a  good  deal  of  evi- 
dence that  regular  communication  by  water  between  this  part  of  the 
Cape  and  Boston  commenced  at  an  early  date.  In  letters  written  as 
early  as  1739,  now  in  the  possession  of  Captain  Thomas  P.  Howes, 
reference  is  made  to  such  channel  of  communication.  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  last  century  Captain  Nathaniel  Hall  was  running  a  packet 
— name  unknown — from  Dennis  to  Boston.  Early  in  1800  Captain 
Jeremiah  Hall  commanded  a  packet  between  Dennis  and  Boston,  and 
was  knocked  overboard  and  drowned  on  a  trip  from  the  latter  place. 
In  1821  the  sloop  Sally  was  built  in"  the  meadow  below  where  Mr.  S. 
H.  Nye  now  lives,  and  was  launched  and  passed  down  the  cove  west  of 
the  Bass  Hole.  She  was  twenty-eight  tons  burthen,  and  was  mostly 
owned  by  Captain  Uriah  Howes,  who  placed  her  on  the  route  to  Bos- 
ton. She  soon  passed  into  the  charge  of  Captain  Ezra  Hall,  who  ran 
her  as  a  packet  until  1832.  The  sloop  Heroine,  commanded  by  Captain 
Jeremiah  Howes,  sr.,  was  put  on  the  same  route  about  the  same  time, 
but  was  withdrawn  sooner.  The  schooner  North  was  built  in  Connec- 
ticut in  1833,  and  commenced  running  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Oren  Howes,  who  had  for  some  time  previous  commanded  the  Sally. 
The  North  was  for  that  day  a  fine  craft,  with  ample  accommodations, 


TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION.  117 

and  Captain  Howes  was  a  popular'  and  energetic  commander.  He  gave 
np  his  command  in  1854,  and  was  succeeded  by  Captain  Isaiah  Hall, 
who  had  for  some  time  been  his  mate.  She  continued  on  the  route 
until  1862,  when  she  was  sold  to  Yarmouth  parties,  being  the  last  of 
the  Dennis  packets. 

The  East  Dennis  packet  trade  was  in  early  times  kept  up  by  tran- 
sient vessels.  It  is  stated  that  Mr.  Edmund  Sears,  early  in  the  cen- 
tury, ran  a  Boston  packet  called  the  Betsey  for  a  number  of  years. 
Later,  his  two  sons — Judah  and  Jacob — ran  a  packet  schooner  called 
the  Sally  and  Betsey,  named  for  their  two  wives.  Judah  was  nominally 
the  captain.  This  was  previous  to  1828.  About  that  time  Captain 
Dean  Sears  ran  a  Boston  packet  schooner  called  the  Eliza  and  Betsey, 
and  at  the  same  time  Captain  Joseph  H.  Sears  was  running  a  sloop 
called  the  Combine.  In  1833  two  new  schooners,  the  David  Porter  and 
the  Combitie,  were  put  on  this  line — the  latter  seeming  to  be  a  popular 
name  in  this  locality.  The  old  ves5?els  were  withdrawn,  and  Captain 
Dean  Sears  commanded  the  David  Porter,  and  Captain  Joseph  H.  Sears 
the  Combine.  The  former  continued  to  run  as  a  packet  after  all  the 
others  had  given  up  the  business,  and  was  not  withdrawn  until  about 
1874.  She  had,  however,  several  masters.  Captain  Dean  Sears  left 
packeting  to  command  ships.     Captains  Constant  Sears,  Enos  Sears, 

Stillman  Kelley  (from  1840  to  1849)  and  Sears  had  charge  of 

her  at  various  times.  The  Combine  had  a  much  shorter  career  as  a 
packet.  Captain  Joseph  H.  Sears  also  left  her  to  take  charge  of  ships 
in  the  foreign  trade,  and  to  own  in  and  manage  them.  It  can  be 
truthfully  said  of  the  packet  masters  who  for  half  a  century  or  more 
plied  between  the  north  side  of  the  town  and  Boston,  that  they  were 
men  of  great  activity,  extraordinary  skill  in  handling  their  vessels, 
seldom  meeting  with  accidents,  and  of  undisputed  integrity  of  char- 
acter. 

Chatham. — Communication  between  Chatham  and  Boston  by  sail- 
ing packets  was  for.  many  years  transacted  via  Brewster  and  Orleans, 
especially  the  former.  In  the  earlier  times  the  freighting  to  and  from 
the  city  was  in  the  fishing  vessels  after  and  before  their  summer  voy- 
ages were  made,  the  trades-people  being  generally  owners  in  these 
craft.  But  more  frequent  and  direct  communication  being  needed, 
the  packets  on  the  bay  side  were  resorted  to.  There  were  two  pack- 
ets— the  Cfiatliam  and  the  Sarah — sailing  from  Brewster  for  several 
years  after  1830,  which  divided  the  patronage  of  the  Chatham  public. 
They  established  a  system  of  telegraphy,  by  means  of  flags  and  balls 
hoisted  on  high  points  of  land  from  one  town  to  another,  which  indi- 
cated the  time  of  departure  and  arrival  of  these  vessels.  Conveyance 
across  the  Cape  was  generally  in  open  wagons,  with  baggage  lashed 
on  behind.  The  farmers  would  leave  the  plough  or  scythe  almost  any 
day  to  go  to  Brewster  for  passengers. 


118  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  first  regular  packet  between  Boston  and  Chatham  was  the 
Canton,  built  about  the  year  1830,  and  run  by  Barzillai  Harding.  Sev- 
eral Chatham  people  owned  an  interest  in  her,  and  while  she  did  a 
good  freighting  business  the  bulk  of  the  travel  continued  to  go  by  the 
Brewster  route.  Other  packets  came  on  later — the  John  J.  Eaton, 
Captain  Smith,  Eunice  Johnson,  C.  Taylor,  3d,  P.  M.  Bonney,  and  others. 
Two  good  vessels  were  usually  running  at  the  same  time,  and  did  a 
profitable  business  carrying  freight,  until  the  railroad  came  down  to  the 
Cape,  when  the  business  gradually  declined.  A  vessel,  about  the  time 
of  the  Canton,  ran  between  this  place  and  Nantucket.  The  women 
used  to  go  over  to  the  island  every  year  with  produce  for  barter. 
From  ten  to  fifteen  small  vessels  for  many  years  ran  between  Chat- 
ham, New  Bedford  and  New  York  and  the  intervening  ports,  carrying 
fish,  and  returniug  with  produce,  flour,  grain  and  the  like.  For  sev- 
eral years  prior  to  the  opening  of  railroad  communication,  a  regular 
packet  ran  between  Chatham  and  New  Bedford. 

Brewster. — The  earliest  packet  between  this  place  and  Boston  of 
which  there  is  any  record,  was  the  schooner  Republic,  commanded  by 
James  Crosby  about  the  years  1818-20.  She  used  to  land  her  freight  at 
a  place  on  the  shore  called  Point  Rocks.  Captain  Crosby  afterward  com- 
manded the  sloop  Polly,  in  the  same  business.  •  Captain  Solomon  Fos- 
ter for  several  years  ran  a  packet  sloop  called  the  Fame;  Captain 
Nathan  Foster  also  commanded  her.  The  breakwater  and  boat  wharf 
were  built  by  the  owners  of  the  packets  about  the  year  1830.  Captain 
John  My  rick  commanded  the  schooner  Chatham  for  many  years,  and 
afterward  the  sloop  Rough  and  Ready,  up  to  the  time  of  the  advent  of 
the  rail  cars.  The  schooner  Sarah  was  a  contemporary  of  the  Chatham 
during  most  of  the  time  she  was  on  the  route,  and  was  commanded 
most  of  the  time  by  Captain  Freeman  H.  Bangs.  Both  these  vessels 
were  finely  fitted  for  the  accommodation  of  passengers,  and  they  ab- 
sorbed a  large  portion  of  the  travel  from  Chatham  and  Harwich  as 
well  as  from  Brewster  and  vicinity.  Captain  Nathaniel  Chase  also 
commanded  a  small  schooner  called  Eliza  Kelley, som&  time  before  and 
shortly  after  the  railroad  opened.  There  has  been  no  packet  on  the 
route  for  several  years. 

Orleans. — The  earliest  Boston  packet  from  this  place,  of  which 
there  is  any  information,  was  a  sloop  of  fifteen  or  twenty  tons,  Captain 
Edward  Jarvis,  which  was  running  in  1808,  and  had  then  been  some 
little  time  on  the  route.  She  had  poor  accommodations  for  passengers, 
and  seldom  carried  any  except  those  who  were  in  no  hurry.  Captain 
Jarvis  gave  up  his  business  in  1812,  and  was  succeeded  by  a  sloop 
commanded  by  Captain  Asa  Higgins.  He  was  succeeded  by  Captains 
Abiel  Crosby,  Jonathan  Rogers,  Jonathan  Crosby,  Obed  Crosby,  Seth 
Sparrow  and  others,  but  the  names  of  their  vessels  are  not  now  avail- 


TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION.  119 

able.  About  1820,  the  sloop  De  Wolfe,  commanded  by  Captain  Simeon 
Higgins,  who  afterward  became  so  famous  as  a  hotel  keeper  and  stage 
coach  contractor,  ran  on  this  line  for  a  number  of  years. 

Not  far  from  1825,  the  need  of  better  facilities  for  transporting 
their  salt  to  Boston  induced  the  manufacturers  to  encourage  the  con- 
struction of  two  schooners,  and  the  President  Washington,  Captain  War- 
ren  A.  Kenrick,  and  Lafayette,  Captain  Jesse  Snow,  were  built  to  ac- 
commodate the  salt  makers  as  "well  as  the  general  travelling  public. 
After  a  few  years  in  command  Captain  Kenrick  died  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Captain  Lot  Higgins,  and  he,  after  a  while  by  Captain 
Joseph  Gould  and  others.  The  decline  of  the  salt  business  led  to  the 
disposal  of  the  two  vessels  and  the  substitution  of  .smaller  craft.  The 
sloop  Elizabeth,  Captain  Absalom  Linnell,  ran  on  this  line  several 
years.  Her  successors  were  the  .sloop  Taglioni,  Captain  Benjamin 
Gould,  and  the  Harriet  Maria,  Captain  Samuel  N.  Smith.  The  Harriet 
Maria  met  with  a  serious  accident  on  one  of  her  trips  in  1857.  October 
8th,  in  Boston  harbor  she  was  run  down  and  sunk  by  the  British 
steamer  Niagara.  One  of  the  crew,  being  entangled  in  the  rigging, 
was  carried  down  and  drowned  before  rescue  was  possible.  The  ves- 
sel was  afterward  raised  and  repaired.  She  was  the  last  of  the  Boston 
packets,  and  continued  on  the  route  about  two  years  after  the  cars  ran 
to  the  town. 

Eastham. — Captain  David  C.  Atwood  may  be  regarded  as  the 
pioneer  of  the  packeting  business  between  Eastham  and  Boston.  In 
1821  he  procured  a  sloop  of  forty  tons  burthen  called  the  Clipper,  and 
commenced  the  business.  Before  this  time  passengers  were  brought 
by  lumber  vessels,  which  stopped  at  Boston  both  going  and  coming 
from  the  eastward;  also  by  fishing  vessels,  which  usually  made  a  trip 
to  Boston  before  and  after  the  season's  trip  to  their  fishing  grounds. 
Captain  Atwood  was  on  this  route  several  years.  After  him  came  the 
NeT.v  York,  Captain  Samuel  Snow,  which  ran  from  Nauset  harbor  in 
the  summer,  and  Bay  side  in  the  spring  and  fall.  At  this  time  East- 
ham manufactured  about  30,000  bushels  of  salt.  This  rendered 
packet  vessels  in  good  demand.  A  few  years  later  the  schooner 
Young  Tell  was  placed  on  the  route  by  Captain  Scotter  Cobb,  who  was 
in  the  business  for  many  years.  This  was  the  first  two-masted  packet 
Eastham  had.  Afterward  Captain  Cobb  bought  the  Brewster  packet, 
Patriot.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  H.  K.  Cobb,  who  ran  the  A.  C. 
Totten  for  several  years,  and  then  built  the  Bay  Queen,  the  largest  and 
best  of  all  the  Eastham  packets,  and  also  the  last  of  them. 

After  the  Young  Tell  was  given  up  Eastham  parties  bought  the 
Yarmouth  sloop  Flight,  the  fastest  sailer  in  the  Bay.  Not  unf requently 
these  packets  took  from  thirty  to  fifty  passengers.  No  life  was  lost 
nor  any  serious  accident  occurred  in  all  this  time,  which  is  ample  tes- 


120  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

timony  to  the  skill  and  judgment  of  the  commanders  of  these  vessels. 
The  fare  for  passages  was  usually  seventy-five  cents  each  way,  and  the 
time  occupied  for  a  run  was  from  six  hours  to  two  days,  according 
to  the  wind  and  weather.  Besides  the  passenger  packets  other  ves- 
sels, more  especially  designed  for  freighting,  were  for  years  on  the 
route.  In  1824  Captain  Jesse  Collins  purchased  the  sloop  Algerine,  the 
first  center-board  vessel  ever  in  these  waters  and  a  great  marvel  to  all, 
and  placed  her  on  the  route  from  Nauset  harbor  most  of  the  time,  and 
from  the  Bay  the  remainder,  freighting  salt  to  Boston  at  six  cents  per 
bushel  from  the  first  landing  and  five  cents  from  the  latter.  In  1836 
parties  in  the  south  part  of  the  town  bought  the  schooner  Combine,  of 
Dennis,  for  the  same  business,  but  she  proved  an  unfortunate  invest- 
ment. The  same  fate  befell  the  business  here  as  elsewhere,  upon  the 
advent  of  the  railroad,  although  it  held  out  with  a  little  more  tenacity 
here  than  in  the  upper  towns  of  the  county.  Some  dozen  years  ago 
there  was  also  a  packet  running  from  Eastham  to  Provincetown. 

Wellfleet. — It  is  not  known  that  any  regular  packet  ran  between 
this  port  and  Boston  previous  to  1812-16.  At  the  close  of  the  war  a 
regular  line  was  established,  consisting  of  three  sloops  of  from  thirty 
to  forty  tons  burthen,  viz.:  Hannah,  Benjamin  Freeman,  master;  New 
Packet,  Joseph  Higgins,  master,  and  Mary,  Joseph  Harding,  ma,ster. 
In  1819  the  Neiv  Packet,  on  her  trip  to  Boston,  struck  on  Minot's  Ledge 
in  a  thick  fog  and  immediately  sunk,  the  captain  and  two  of  his  crew 
being  saved.  Two  Methodist  clergymen  who  were  passengers  were 
lost.  In  1820  Captain  Higgins  had  the  sloop  Pacific  built  to  take  the 
place  of  the  New  Packet.  In  1826  the  first  schooner  was  built  for  this 
route — the  Swiftsure,  commanded  by  Thomas  Newcomb.  She  created 
quite  a  sensation,  and  for  a  while  took  nearly  all  the  passengers.  In 
1830  the  schooner  Herald,  commanded  by  Henry  Baker,  was  put  on 
the  route.  In  1835  was  built  the  schooner  Fremont,  commanded  by 
Captain  Thomas  Newcomb,  formerly  of  the  Swiftsure.  In  1836  was 
built  the  schooner  Merchant,  Henry  Baker,  master.  The  Herald,  pre- 
viously commanded  by  Captain  Baker,  was  in  charge  this  year  of 
Captain  Robert  T.  Paine,  and  had  her  berth  at  Blackfish  Creek. 

In  1847  were  built  the  schooner  Sophia  Wiley,  James  Wiley,  master, 
and  the  Golden  Age,  commanded  by  Captain  Robert  T.  Paine,  lately  of 
the  Herald.  In  1853  and  1856  respectively,  two  larger  schooners  were 
built — the  Lilla  Rich  and  Nelly  Baker,  commanded  by  Captains  Richard 
R.  Freeman  and  Jeremiah  B.  Harding.  These  two  packets,  with  the 
Sophia  Wiley  and  Golden  Age  running  part  of  the  time,  constituted  the 
packet  line  of  this  place  for  about  twenty-five  years,  when  the  failure 
of  the  oyster  planting  business  and  the  advent  of  the  railroad  rendered 
it  impossible  to  run  them  with  profit.  The  schooner  Freddie  A.  Hig- 
gins, Noah  S.  Higgins,  master,  was  built  in  1882,  and  with  the  small 


TRAVEL  AND  TRANSPORTATION.  121 

schooner  /.  H.  Tripp,  J.  A.  Rich  master,  brought  there  the  same  year, 
constitute  the  present  packet  line  between  Wellfleet  and  Boston. 

Truro. — It  cannot  be  ascertained  that  there  was  any  vessel  en- 
gaged in  the  packet  business  in  this  town  prior  to  1812,  yet  there  can 
be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  there  was  some  periodical  connection  be- 
tween this  place  and  Boston  many  years  before.  The  first  regularly 
established  packet  of  which  there  is  authentic  information  was.  the 
pink,  Comet,  Captain  Zoheth  Rich.  About  1830  the  friends  of  Cap- 
tain Rich  built  for  him  the  schooner  Postboy,  "  the  finest  specimen  of 
naval  architecture  and  of  passenger  accommodation  in  the  bay 
waters."  Her  cabin  :.nd  furniture  were  finished  in  solid  mahogony 
and  birdseye,  and  silk  draperies.  She  was  the  favorite  of  the  travel- 
ing public  and  was  thronged  with  passengers.  Captain  Richard  Stev- 
ens some  years  later  ran  successively  the  Young  Tell,  Mail  and  the 
fine  schooner  Medina.  With  the  deterioration  of  the  town  harbors, 
the  decline  of  the  fishing  business  and  the  general  suspension  of  the 
regular  industries  of  the  town,  the  packeting  business  also  fell  into 
decay  before  the  day  of  steam  cars. 

Provincetown. — Though  the  leading  commercial  town  on  the 
Cape,  Provincetown  did  not  become  prominent  as  a  community,  nor 
as  a  place  of  residence  until  some  time  after  the  war  of  1812-15.  During 
that  period,  as  in  the  war  of  the  revolution,  its  harbor  was  a  rendez- 
vous of  British  men-of-war,  and  its  local  shipping  was,  of  course, 
annihilated.  Probably  about  the  year  1820,  the  sloop  Truth — the  first 
Provincetown  packet  of  which  any  knowledge  exists — commenced 
running  between  this  port  and  Boston.  She  was  owned  by  John  Nick- 
erson,  who  with  his  brother,  ran  her  for  several  years.  The  sloops 
Catherine  and  Packet  followed  after  the  Truth  commenced,  and  were 
for  several  years  her  contemporaries.  The  Catherine  was  commanded 
by  Joseph  Sawtle,  and  was  subsequently  wrecked  on  the  "  back  side." 
Daniel  Cook  and  afterward  Jonathan  Hill  were  the  commanders  of 
the  Packet.  In  1827  Jonathan  Cook  bought,  at  Saybrook,  Conn.,  the 
sloop  Louisa.  She  was  regarded  as  a  very  fine  craft  and  continued  on 
the  route  under  the  command  of  Captain  Cook,  and  of  his  son,  Charles 
A.  Cook,  until  about  the  year  1847.  The  latter  afterward  procured 
the  sloop  Osceola  and  engaged  with  her  in  the  business. 

Not  far  from  this  time  the  schooner  yacht  Northern  Light  was 
bought,  and  commanded  by  Captain  Whitman  W.  Freeman,  who  ran 
her  to  and  from  Boston,  from  March  to  December,  three  times  each 
week — something  never  before  nor  since  accomplished  by  any  craft. 
In  1848  the  Northern  Light  was  sold  to  go  to  California,  and  was 
wrecked  and  totally  lost  in  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  on  her  voyage  out. 
Another  vessel  was  bought  for  Captain  Freeman — the  schooner  yacht 
Oleata,  a  fast  and  trim  craft;   but  she  was  soon  sold  to  New  Orleans 


122  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

parties  for  a  pilot  boat.  Afterward  the  sloop  Sarah,  and  the  Powhat- 
tan.  Captain  Jonathan  Hill,  were  some  time  on  the  route.  About  1835 
the  schooner  Long  Wharf  was  placed  on  the  route,  commanded  bv 
Captain  William  Cook,  and  later,  the  schooner  Melrose.  She  went  on 
a  fishing-  cruise  some  years  later  and  was  wrecked  in  Bay  Chaleur. 
The  schooner  Waldron  Holmes  was  for  some  time  a  contemporary 
packet  with  the  Melrose.  Following  these,  came  the  schooner  Golden 
Age  from  Wellfleet,  which  was  commanded  by  Captain  Nehemiah 
Nickerson.  She  was  wrecked  off  Wood  End  in  1866.  In  1867  the 
schooner  Nellie  D.  Vaughan  was  procured  for  Captain  Nickerson,  and 
she,  too,  was  lost  near  Watch  Hill,  in  1888,  during  the  latter  part  of 
her  career  being  in  charge  of  Captain  Joseph  C.  Smith. 

The  sailing  craft  have  by  no  means  had  this  business  to  themselves, 
the  steamers  coming  upon  the  route  at  different  times  and  taking  the 
most  lucrative  portion  of  the  traffic,  and  finally  supplanting  the  pio- 
neer class  of  vessels.  About  the  year  1847  the  steamer  Naushon  vras 
placed  on  the  route,  running  not  only  to  Provincetown,  but  touching 
other  ports  in  the  bay  between  here  and  Boston.  She  ran  two  seasons 
and  received  a  fair  patronage.  N.  P.  Willis;  who  was  a  passenger  from 
Provincetown  on  one  occasion,  wrote  a  very  graphic  and  entertaining 
account  of  the  trip.  The  Naushon  was  followed  by  the  steamer  Acorn, 
whose  history  has  been  already  sketched.  She  was  sold,  in  1861,  for 
a  blockade  runner,  and  was  run  down  by  one  of  the  national  war  ves- 
sels, and  was  planted  where  she  never  came  up,  on  the  sands  upon  the 
coast  of  North  Carolina.  In  1863,  the  commodious  steamer,  George 
Shattuck,  Captain  Gamaliel  B.  Smith,  commenced  running,  and  contin- 
ued on  the  route  until  1874,  when  she  was  sold  to  run  in  a  packet  line 
between  St.  John,  N.  F.,  and  Quebec.^  In  1886,  the  steamer  Longfellow, 
Captain  John  Smith,  commenced  her  trips  between  Provincetown  and 
Boston.  She  is  a  craft  of  about  fiOO  tons  burthen,  shapely,  convenient 
and  well  built,  and  serves  the  traveling  public  to  the  general  satis- 
faction, and  has  no  competition  in  the  business. 

The  Stage  Coaches. — The  transmission  both  of  intelligence  and 
of  individuals  from  one  locality  to  another  are  so  intimately  connected 
and  so  interwoven  that  we  are  constrained  to  consider  the  two 
together.  The  earliest  couriers  known  to  the  Cape  were  the  swift- 
footed  Indians,  who  in  1627,  when  the  Sparrow  Hawk  was  wrecked  at 
Nauset  harbor,  carried  the  intelligence  to  Plymouth  several  days  be- 
fore the  messengers  sent  by  the  captain  of  the  shipwrecked  vessel  to 
apprize  the  settlers  of  their  distressing  situation  arrived  there  with 
their  message.  The  first  express  or  mail  of  record  on  the  Cape  was 
in  1654,  when  the  governor  of  Plymouth  colony  paid  John  Smith  for 
carrying  letters  from  Plymouth  to  Nauset.  For  nearly  150  years,  the 
dependence  of  private  citizens  for  the  transmission  of  letters  was  upon 


TRAVEL  AND   TRANSPORTATION.  123 

such  casual  travelers  as  chance  happened  to  throw  in  the  way.  But 
the  exigencies  of  the  times  required  some  system  of  more  speedy  com- 
munication between  different  communities,  and  in  1775  the  following 
mail  route  was  established  from  Cambridge,  through  Plymouth  and 
Sandwich,  to  Falmouth,  once  a  week: 

"  Plan  of  riding  from  Cambridge  to  Falmouth:  To  set  off  from  C. 
every  Monday  noon  and  leave  letters  with  William  Watson  Esq.,  post- 
master at  Plymouth,  on  Wed.  9  o'clock  A.  M.:  then  to  Sandwich  and 
leave  letters  with  Mr.  Joseph  Nye  3d,  Wed.  at  2  o'clock  p.  M.;  to  set  ofiF 
from  S.  at  4  o'clock  and  leave  letters  with  Mr.  Moses  Swift,  at  Fal- 
mouth, Thurs,  at  8  o'clock  a.  m.  To  set  off  on  his  return  Thurs.  noon, 
and  reach  Sandwich  at  5  o'clock,  and  set  off  from  thence  at  6  o'clock 
Friday  morning  and  reach  Plymouth  by  noon;  to  set  off  from  Ply- 
mouth Fri.  at  4  P.  M.,  and  leave  his  letters  with  Mr.  James  Winthrop, 
postmaster  in  Cambridge  on  Saturday  evening." 

The  first  United  States  mail  between  Barnstable  and  Boston  com- 
menced running  in  1792,  when  John  Thacher,  of  Barnstabe,  contracted 
with  the  government  to  perform  the  service,  and  made  the  first  trip 
October  1st  of  that  year.  Timothy  Pickering  was  postmaster  general, 
and  Jonathan  Hastings  postmaster  of  Boston.  The  post  rider  used  to 
start  on  horseback  from  Barnstable  Tuesday  morning,  and  arriving  at 
Plymouth  in  the  evening,  stopped  in  that  town  over  night.  The  next 
night  he  arrived  in  Boston  at  the  sign  of  the  Lion,  on  Washington 
street,  and  delivered  his  mail  to  the  postmaster.  Starting  from  Boston 
Thursday  morning,  he  arrived  in  Barnstable  on  Friday  night.  The 
mail  was  easily  carried  in  one  side  of  a  pair  of  saddle-bags,  and  the 
other  side  was  devoted  to  packages  and  an  occasional  newspaper.  For 
his  ser\-ice  in  carrying  the  mail  the  sum  of  one  dollar  per  day  while 
in  actual  service  was  paid.  Small  as  this  amount  is,  there  was  a  great 
outcry  at  the  extravagance  of  the  government  in  this  respect. 

In  1797  a  weekly  mail  route  was  established  from  Yarmouth  to 
Truro,  the  latter  being  regarded  as  an  important  town;  but  it  was  not 
considered  of  consequence  enough  to  continue  the  service  to  Province- 
town.  OfiBces  were  established  all  along  the  route  between  Yarmouth 
and  Truro.  The  next  step  in  the  progress  of  mail  facilities  was  the 
establishment  in  1812-15  of  a  postal  line  twice  each  week,  as  far  as 
Yarmouth.  Ebenezer  Hallet  was  the  post-rider,  and  the  stirring  news 
from  the  seat  of  war  was  the  moving  cause  of  this  enlargement  of  mail 
facilities.  In  1820  the  mail  was  brought  to  Barnstable  and  Yarmouth 
three  times  a  week,  through  the  influence  of  the  large  number  of  ship 
owners  a-nd  ship  captains  resi'ding  there.  This  arrangement  continued 
until  June,  1837,  when  a  daily  mail  was  established  to  come  as  far  as 
Yarmouth.  In  the  fall  of  1854,  soon  after  the  establishment  of  rail- 
road facilities,  the  mails  were  brought  to  Sandwich,  Barnstable  and 


124  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Yarmouth  twice  each  day,  and  following  the  progress  of  the  railroad 
to  other  towns  in  the  county  came  the  same  postal  facilities  to  the 
towns  which  the  railroad  line  reached.  A  daily  mail  from  Yarmouth 
to  Orleans  was  established  in  October,  1847. 

Postal  communications  with  Provincetown  are  supposed  to  have 
been  opened  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  century.  The  first 
postmaster  is  said  to  have  been  Orsimus  Thomas,  but  the  precise  date 
of  his  appointment  is  not  known.  The  Massachusetts  Register  for 
1808  gives  the  name  of  the  postmaster  at  Provincetown  as  D.  Pease. 
When  the  mail,  which  was  conveyed  on  horseback  once  each  week, 
was  about  to  start  from  town,  a  man  was  sent  around  with  a  tin  horn 
to  give  notice  of  the  fact.  Samuel  Thacher  of  Barnstable  was  the 
first  contractor  so  far  as  is  now  known.  Mr.  Thacher's  mail  was  car- 
ried in  saddle  bags  holding  about  a  peck.  It  was  considered  a  dis- 
tinction to  have  a  letter  in  the  mail.  About  1820  a  petition  was  in 
circulation  in  the  lower  towns  to  have  a  mail  twice  a  week,  but  many 
refused  to  sign  it,  on  the  ground  of  expense,  and  because  once  a  week 
was  often  enough.  In  the  winter  the  mail  carrier  used  to  carry  on 
one  side  of  his  horse  a  saw,  and  on  the  other  a  small  axe,  to  clear  away 
obstructions  after  the  snow  storms,  when  it  was  found  necessary  to 
cross  the  fields. 

Mr.  Thacher  was  succeeded  by  Joseph  Mayo  of  Orleans.  Mr. 
Mayo  used  to  take  his  mail  to  the  Pamet  river,  Truro,  on  horseback. 
Crossing  the  foot-bridge,  he  took  another  horse  on  the  opposite  side 
and  proceeded  to  Provincetown,  returning  by  the  same  route.  By 
this  plan  he  saved  three  miles  each  way  through  a  sandy  road.  A 
daily  mail  was  established  prior  to  1847.  Mr.  Mayo  was  the  first  to 
place  a  covered  carriage  on  the  route  as  far  as  Wellfleet,  in  1838. 
Succeeding  Mr.  Mayo,  Myrick  C.  Horton  was  carrier  and  contractor, 
and  after  him  Simeon  Higgins. 

A  stage-coach  line,  to  transport  passengers  as  well  as  the  mails,  was 
first  run  near  the  close  of  the  last  century — according  to  the  best  evi- 
dence obtainable,  about  the  year  1790.  This  line  ran  at  first  from 
Plymouth  to  Sandwich,  and  was  by  gradual  steps  extended  toward 
the  extremity  of  the  Cape.  It  had  been  established  many  years  be- 
fore William  E.  Boyden  became  the  proprietor  of  the  line,  in  1820. 
He  commenced  by  starting  from  Sandwich  early  each  morning,  and 
making  a  round  trip  between  Falmouth  and  Plymouth.  After  a  trial 
of  three  months  he  was  obliged  to  desist,  and  then  made  the  trip  from 
Sandwich  to  Plymouth,  and  another  carriage  from  Falmouth  took  the 
mail  at  Sandwich  for  the  former  town. 

In  a  few  years  a  line  was  put  on  the  route  between  Sandwich  and 
Falmouth.  For  many  years  these  stages  were  run  by  mail  contractors 
Charles  Sears  and  Enoch  Crocker,  the  terminus  of  the  route  being  at 


TRAVEL  AND   TRANSPORTATION.  125 

the  famous  tavern,  afterwards  dignified  by  the  appellation  of  hotel, 
kept  by  the  former  person. 

.  The  stage  ride  from  the  Cape  to  Boston  was  a  two  days'  affair  until 
the  opening  of  the  railroad  line  to  Plymouth,  and  was  not  resorted  to 
except  in  cases  of  extreme  urgency,  and  at  times  when  the  state  of 
the  weather  rendered  communication  by  the  packets  impracticable. 
Many  persons  who  had  lived-  to  a  good  old  age  and  had  been  all  over 
the  world  had  never  been  to  Boston  by  land.  But  among  those  who 
had  traveled  this  route  existed  many  interesting,  and  in  some  respects 
pleasurable,  recollections  of  the  trip.  Starting  from  the  Cape  at  early 
dawn,  the  parties  made  up  of  men  of  all  stations  and  degrees  in  the 
social  scale,  the  stage-coach  was  an  equalizing  and  democratic  institu- 
tion. The  numerous  stopping-places  along  the  route  gave  ample  op- 
portunity for  the  exchange  of  news  and  opinions  and  to  partake  of 
the  good  cheer  of  the  various  taverns — for  they  had  no  hotels  nor 
saloons  in  those  days.  Cornish's,  at  South  Plymouth,  Swift's,  at  West 
Sandwich,  Fessenden's,  at  Sandwich,  Rowland's,  at  West  Barnstable, 
Crocker's,  at  Barnstable,  and  Sear's,  at  Yarmouth,  are  pleasantly  re- 
membered by  the  old  people  of  the  present  generation.  A  good  meal 
and  a  hot  toddy,  in  the  days  before  the  temperance  movement  had 
been  inaugurated,  left  pleasant  recollections  of  the  place  left  behind, 
and  excited  agreeable  anticipations  of  the  next  one  to  come. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  Cape,  below  Yarmouth, a  postal  route  was 
established  to  Harwich  in  the  spring  of  1804,  Ebenezer  Broadbrooks 
being  the  first  postmaster;  and  a  few  years  later  it  was  extended  ta 
Chatham,  and  offices  opened  in  South  Yarmouth  and  South  Dennis. 
Samuel  D.  Cliflford  of  Chatham  carried  the  mails  in  1826  and  for 
some  time  thereafter,  on  horseback.  One  route  was  from  Yarmouth, 
to  South  Dennis,  West  Harwich,  Harwich,  Chatham,  and  Orleans;  the 
other  was  from  Yarmouth  to  South  Yarmouth,  Hyannis,  Osterville, 
Cotuit,  South  Sandwich,  and  Sandwich.  Barnabas  B.  Bangs  was  the  con- 
tractor for  carrying  the  mails  to  Provincetown,  sub-letting  from  Orleans 
to  that  place.  The  mail  stages  which  were  run  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Cape  from  Yarmouth  were  driven  by  Jacob  Smith,  who  was  also  a 
contractor,  and  Calvin  B.  Brooks,  who  was  a  somewhat  notorious 
trader  in  horses,  well  remembered  for  his  sharp  remarks  and  his 
rather  sharp  practices,  making,  nevertheless,  few  real  enemies  among 
his  victims.  For  the  years  before  the  advent  of  the  cars,  the  contract- 
or on  the  Chatham  and  Yarmouth  line  was  Rufus  Smith;  from  Yar- 
mouth to  Orleans,  Simeon  Higgins;  and  from  that  town  to  Province- 
town,  James  Chandler,  and  afterward  Samuel  Knowles. 

From  Hyannis,  (^entreville,  and  other  shore  villages  to  Sandwich^ 
Dea.  James  Marchant  ran  three  trips  per  week,  from  1836  to  1840.  He 
was  followed  successively  by  Eli  Hinckley,  Gorham  F.  Crosby  and. 


126  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

John  F.  Cornish.  From  Hyannis  to  Nantucket,  from  1826  to  1830, 
the  mails  were  carried  in  a  packet  by  Freeman  Matthews.  There- 
after, for  many  years,  until  1872,  the  mails  and  passengers  were  taken 
by  sailing  vessels  and  steamer  to  Nantucket,  the  steamers  being  with- 
drawn upon  the  opening  of  Woods  Holl  railroad. 

Those  veteran  whips  Nickerson  and  Howes  continued  to  serve  the 
Chatham  public  until  the  opening  of  the  railroad  to  that  town,  and 
for  nearly  a  year  after  the  road  was  in  full  operation  the  old  contract- 
ors continued  to  run  the  mail  carriage.  With  the  retirement  of 
"  Whit "  and  "  Sim,"  by  which  names  everybody  knew  these  contract-, 
ors,  the  last  of  the  stages  on  Cape  Cod  were  withdrawn,  for  the  car- 
riages which  transport  mails  and  passengers  to  and  from  Cotuit,  Os- 
terville  and  Centreville  via  West  Barnstable,  and  Mashpee  and  vicinity 
via  Sandwich,  do  not  resemble  the  old-time  stages  of  the  fathers,  such 
as  the  elders  of  this  generation  knew  when  they  were  girls  and 
boys. 

The  short  lines  between  towns  and  from  the  central  villages  to 
smaller  ones,  have  frequently  been  found  too  minute  for  this  general 
chapter.  These  postal  routes  and  mail  lines  will  therefore  be  men- 
tioned in  the  chapters  devoted  to  the  towns  where  the  routes  were 
established  and  run. 

Previous  to  the  opening  of  the  Woods  Holl  road,  the  Boston  mails 
were  carried  for  many  years  by  David  Dimmock,  of  Pocasset,  and 
afterward  by  William  Hewins.  of  Falmouth,  the  terminus  of  the  line 
after  the  opening  of  the  Cape  Cod  railroad  being  at  Monument  (now 
Bourne).  A  ferry  was  established  from  Falmouth  to  the  Vineyard, 
running  daily,  wind  and  weather  permitting,  during  the  twenty  years 
preceding  the  establishment  of  railroad  and  steamboat  communica- 
tions. The  first  grant  was  given  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  to  Joseph 
Parker  and  others,  and  it  was  continued  by  their  successors  until  quite 
recent  times. 

After  the  construction  of  the  Woods  Holl  branch,  the  only  remain- 
ing stages  were  the  Chatham  line,  supplying  that  town  and  the  inter- 
mediate villages  to  Harwich,  with  their  mails  and  passenger  trans- 
portation, and  the  Mashpee  route,  by  which  the  villages  of  Mashpee, 
South  Sandwich  and  Greenville  are  supplied. 

Railroad  Lines. — Railroad  communication  to  the  Cape  was 
opened  in  1848,  by  the  extension  of  the  line  between  Boston  and 
Middleboro,  under  the  charter  granted  to  the  Cape  Cod  Branch  Rail- 
road Company,  from  Middleboro  to  Sandwich,  a  distance  of  twenty- 
seven  miles.  The  first  board  of  directors  of  this  line  was  -constituted 
as  follows:  Richard  Borden,  Joshua  B.  Tobey,  Philander  Washburn, 
P.  G.  Seabury,  Nahum  Stetson,  Southworth  Shaw,  T.  G.  Coggshall, 
Howard   Perry,  Clark  Hoxie.     Richard  Borden  was  the  first  presi- 


TRAVEL   AND   TRANSPORTATION.  127 

dent,  and  Southworth  Shaw,  clerk.  The  road  was  extended  to  Hy- 
annis  in  1854;  the  first  passenger  train  commenced  running  May  19th 
of  that  year.  This  extension  was  eighteen  miles  long  and,  including 
the  wharf  at  Hyannis  and  the  equipments  of  the  road,  the  cost  of  the 
entire  extension  from  Middleboro  to  Hyannis  was  $824,057.99.  The 
Cape  Cod  Central  railroad  was  opened  from  Yarmouth  to  Orleans,  a 
distance  of  18f  miles,  December  6,  1865.  The  first  directors  of  this 
road  were:  Prince  S.  Crowell,  Joseph  Cummings,  Reuben  Nickerson, 
Joseph  K.  Baker,  Truman  Doane,  Chester  Snow,  Elisha  Bangs,  Ben- 
jamin Freeman  and  Freeman  Cobb.  Prince  S.  Crowell  was  president, 
and  Jonathan  Young,  clerk  and  treasurer.  The  next  extension  of 
this  road  was  to  Wellfleet,  twelve  miles  farther,  December  28,  1870, 
and  from  thence  to  Provincetown,  fourteen  additional  miles,  July  22, 
1873.  The  "openings"  of  these  sections  were  celebrated  with  great 
demonstrations  of  rejoicing  in  the  several  towns  to  which  they  were 
extended,  as  placing  the  communities  of  the  Cape  in  more  direct  re- 
lations to  the  outside  world. 

The  consolidation  of  the  Cape  Cod  branch  and  the  Cape  Cod  Cen- 
tral roads,  in  1868,  before  the  final  extension  to  Provincetown,  under 
the  name  of  the  Cape  Cod  Railroad  Company,  was  followed,  in  1872, 
by  the  union  of  the  latter  company  with  the  Old  Colony  railroad — 
the  entire  line,  from  Middleboro  to  Provincetown  being  known  as  the 
Cape  Cod  division.  The  Woods  Holl  branch,  seventeen  miles  in 
length,  between  Buzzards  bay  and  Woods  Holl,  was  opened  to  travel 
July  18, 1872.  A  branch  line  of  seven  miles,  from  Harwich  to  Chat- 
ham, opened  October,  1887,  completes  the  railroad  system  of  the 
county.  The  steam  cars  now  penetrate  every  town  of  the  fifteen,  ex- 
cept Mashpee,  gfiving  our  citizens  two  opportunities  each  day  to  go  to 
and  return  from  Boston,  during  the  entire  year,  and  in  some  seasons 
communications  are  maintained  over  portions  of  this  division  three 
times  each  way  daily.  The  first  superintendent  of  the  Cape  Cod 
branch  was  Sylvanus  Bourne,  of  Wareham.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Ephraim  N.  Winslow,  with  headquarters  at  Hyannis.  Mr.  Winslow 
was  succeeded  by  the  present  incumbent,  Charles  H.  Nye,  as  assistant 
superintendent  of  this  division,  who  commenced  service  on  the  road 
as  conductor  in  1857.  Previous  to  that  time,  Mr.  Nye  had  been  iden- 
tified with  the  beginning  of  the  enterprise,  having  canvassed  for 
subscriptions  of  stock  for  the  road  as  early  as  1847-8,  and  actually 
collecting  the  first  money  paid  for  subscriptions  in  the  county. 
There  is  no  one  living  so  intimately  connected  with  the  road  from 
its  inception  to  the  present  time  as  Mr.  Nye. 

As  the  supplement  to  the  mail  postal  arrangements,  and  as  the 
lastest  feature  in  our  postal  system,  came  the  postal  car  service,  which 
was  introduced  about  the  year  1855.     Cyrus  Hicks  of  Boston  was  the 


128  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

first  postal  clerk  and  the  only  one  at  first,  leaving  Boston  in  the  morn- 
ing for  Hyannis  and  returning  in  the  afternoon.  One  mail  pouch  was 
sufficient  for  the  letters,  and  a  limited  number  of  pouches  for  the 
newspaper  mail,  where  now  from  eighty  to  120  per  day  are  required 
for  the  newspaper  mail  alone.  The  service  now  consists  of  eight  rail- 
way postal  clerks,  two  running  entirely  through  each  way  between 
Boston  and  Wellfleet  on  both  the  trains,  and  receiving  and  distribut- 
ing the  mails  at  every  post  office  on  the  line  and  its  connections.  The 
following  are  the  clerks  now  in  service  on  this  route.-  John  W.  Allen, 
Joseph  M.  White,  William  W.  Johnson,  Henry  O.  Cole,  Frank  M. 
Swift,  George  A.  Roundy,  S.  Alexander  Hinckley,  T.  Winthrop  Swift.' 

Express  Lines. — When  the  railroad  was  extended  to  Sandwich  in 
1848,  the  Cape  Cod  Express  was  started  by  Messrs.  Witherell  &  Boy- 
den,  proprietors.  Mr.  Witherell  was  thrown  from  a  carriage  and  died 
soon  after  from  injuries  received,  when  Nathaniel  B.  Burt  formed  a 
partnership  with  Mr.  Boyden,  which  continued  until  the  death  of  the 
former.  In  1861,  Rufus  Smith,  who  had  established  a  stage  line  be- 
tween Yarmouth  and  Chatham,  took  the  mails  and  express,  which  he 
continued  to  transport  until  1866,  when  the  road  was  extended  to  Or- 
leans, and  Mr.  Smith  had  an  express  privilege  on  the  cars  for  his 
mails,  and  furnished  teams  and  stages  for  all  the  stations  for  passen- 
gers, mails  and  express.  In  1868,  the  Central  having  been  purchased 
by  the  Cape  Cod  Branch  Railroad  Company,  the  express  business  was 
sold  to  Boyden,  Burt  and  Smith,  in  equal  parts.  In  July,  1877,  the 
New  York  &  Boston  Despatch  Express  Company  were  permitted  to 
cover  the  line,  and  after  two  and  one-half  years  of  competition,  the  two 
concerns  were  united  and  are  known  as  New  York  &  Boston  Despatch 
and  Cape  Cod  Express  Company. 

Magnetic  Telegraphs,  Cables,  etc. — Telegraphic  communica- 
tion between  the  Cape  and  Boston  was  established  in  1865.  Two 
companies  were  competitors  for  the  privilege  of  occupying  the  field, 
which  before  had  been  vacant.  The  Boston  &  Cape  Cod  Marine 
Telegraph  Company  got  a  few  weeks  ahead  in  its  construction,  and 
on  September  28,  1855,  the  Yarmouth  Register  was  enabled  to  publish 
the  news  of  the  fall  of  Sevastopol,  by  telegraphic  intelligence  received 
the  night  previous — a  fact  which  was  regarded  by  its  readers  with 
wonder  and  incredulity.  During  the  ensuing  fall  the  line  was  ex- 
tended to  Chatham  and  Provincetown.  The  rival  line,  called  the  Cape 
Cop  Telegraph  Company,  was  more  especially  under  New  York  aus- 
pices, and  the  patronage  of  the  Associated  Press.  The  first  named 
company,  which  had  been  operated  by  an  association,  was  incorpor- 
ated in  April,  1856,  and  was  organized  at  Barnstable  June  24th  of  that 
year.  George  Marston  was  the  first  president,  Charles  F.  Swift,  clerk 
and  treasurer,  and  John  T.  Smith,  of  Boston,  superintendent.     The 


TRAVEL  AND   TRANSPORTATION.  129 

two  telegraph  lines  were  in  a  year  or  two  consolidated,  and  this  com- 
pany was  afterward  absorbed  by  the  all-devouring  Western  Union 
Telegraph  Company. 

A  telegraphic  cable  was  early  in  1856  extended  from  Nobsque 
point,  in  Falmouth,  to  Gay  Head,  a  distance  of  3^  miles.  August  18, 
1856,  a  cable  fourteen  miles  long  was  laid  from  Monomoy  to  Great 
point,  on  Nantucket.  Communication  was  transmitted  to  and  from 
Nantucket  for  a  day  or  two,  but  the  cable  was  either  cut  or  broken  by 
the  force  of  the  channel,  and  after  a  short  time  abandoned.  In  185t*, 
Samuel  C.  Bishop,  a  gutta  percha  goods  manufacturer,  who  made  the 
last  named  cable,  laid  another  across  Muskeget  channel,  and  estab- 
lished telegraphic  communicationsbetweenEdgartown  and  Nantucket. 
There  were  frequent  obstructions,  caused  sometimes  by  imperfect  in- 
sulation, but  oftener  by  vessels'  anchors  fouling  with  the  cables,  and 
the  attempts  of  Mr.  Bishop  were  abandoned  in  1861.  Since  that  time 
several  abortive  attempts  to  maintain  cable  communications  with  the 
islands  have  been  made  by  the  existing  telegraph  companies,  but, 
from  the  causes  heretofore  mentioned,  have  been  unsuccessful.  Since 
1887,  congress  having  in  that  year  made  an  appropriation  to  maintain 
a  cable  from  Woods  Holl  to  Nantucket  via  the  Vineyard,  as  an  auxili- 
ary of  the  life-saving  service,  and  also  permitting  the  receipt  and 
transmission  of  commercial  messages,  communication  has,  with  occa- 
sional interruptions,  been  maintained  to  the  present  time. 

Telephone  service  to  the  Cape  was  established  in  1882,  when  aline 
was  constructed  and  ofi&ces  opened  in  West  Barnstable,  Osterville, 
Hyannis,  Cotuit,  and  Marston's  Mills.  The  New  Bedford  system,  as  it 
is  called,  was  connected  with  the  Cape  the  following  year  (1883),  cov- 
ering the  territory  above  described,  and  also  connecting  with  Sand- 
wich, Yarmouth,  Dennis,  Harwich,  Harwich  Port,  South  Chatham, 
Chatham,  Brewster,  Orleans,  Eastham,  North  Eastham,  Wellfleet, 
Truro,  South  and  North  Truro,  Beach  Point  and  Provincetown.  M. 
E.  Hatch  of  New  Bedford  is  the  general  manager. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


INDUSTRIAL    RESOURCES. 


The  Fisheries. — Coasting. — Shipbuilding. — Manufacturing. — Saltmaking. — Agriculture. 
— Cranberry  Culture. — Summer  Resorts. — Yachting. 


AN  important  part  of  the  history  of  any  people  is  the  resources 
upon  which  their  sustenance  has  depended  and  from  which 
their  wealth  may  be  derived.  The  reader  already  understands 
that  it  was  by  hardy,  practical  Englishmen  that  this  county  was,  for 
the  most  part,  first  settled.  Whatever  may  have  been  their  taste,  or 
their  training,  the  insular  position  of  the  place  they  adopted  as  their 
home  in  the  New  World,  rendered  maritime  pursuits  both  natural  and 
necessary.  They  knew  before  coming  here  that  the  Cape  possessed 
great  fertility,  and  that  agriculture  might  be  successfully  undertaken; 
but  when  the  home,  the  garden,  and  the  meadow  had  been  provided, 
they  naturally  turned  their  attention  to  those  vast  and  exhaustless 
food  supplies  with  which  the  surrounding  waters  so  richly  abounded. 
Thus  we  find  them  in  the  first  generations  daring  the  perils  of  the 
ocean  which  lay  so  invitingly  around  them,  and  which  promised  so 
rich  a  reward  to  any  who  would  undertake  its  conquest.  The  build- 
ing of  vessels  must  needs  receive  their  early  attention,  and  to  this  the 
forests  were  in  a  large  measure  sacrificed;  and  almost  in  proportion  as 
the  forests  disappeared  the  productiveness  of  much  of  the  lands  de- 
creased. 

As  their  intercourse  with  the  Dutch  along  the  Hudson  and  Long 
Island  sound  became  more  thoroughly  established,  the  tendency  was 
to  give  more  of  their  attention  here  to  the  various  branches  of 
fishing;  and  by  an  exchange  of  products  they  found  it  less  necessary 
to  cultivate  the  unfriendly  soil.  Thus  the  trend  of  affairs  in  the 
county  was  steadily  toward  those  maritime  pursuits  which  for  more 
than  two  centuries  since  have  been  the  characteristic  and  the  pride  of 
Cape  Cod.  The  love  of  adventure  is  hereditary,  and  if  the  fathers 
caught  codfish  at  the  Grand  banks,  the  sons  were  satisfied  with  nothing 
less  than  taking  whales  in  the  Pacific.  And  as  generation  succeeded 
generation  their  energy  and  enterprise  increased  until  a  portion  of 
the  life  of  nearly  every  able-bodied  man  was  passed  upon  the  sea. 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES.  131 

There  were  probably  then  no  people  in  the  New  World  whose  em- 
ployments were  more  varied,  or  whose  resources  were  more  widely 
diversified  than  were  those  of  the  people  who  for  the  first  century 
occupied  this  Cape.  Their  fields  gave  liberal  reward  for  their  toil, 
and  on  every  hand  were  the  still  more  productive  waters  of  the  sea. 
Thus  all  those  pursuits,  which  may  be  generally  classed  as  fishing, 
have  been  a  perpetual,  although  a  varying,  fountain  of  wealth.  The 
superior  advantages  for  fishing,  which  Provincetown  offered  in  1620, 
were  observed  by  the  Pilgrims,  and  the  practical  whalemen  among 
them  expressed  their  belief  that  with  proper  facilities  they,  from  the 
taking  of  whales  alone,  could  have  made  a  most  profitable  return  for 
the  whole  voyage.  As  early  as  1666  the  Plymouth  court  imposed 
upon  the  Cape  Cod  fisheries  a  duty,  for  revenue  only,  with  which  a 
public  school  was  to  be  established,  and  with  the  proceeds  of  stranded 
whales  they  oiled  the  machinery  of  church  and  state. 

The  codfishing  on  North  American  coasts  received  the  attention  of 
Europe  almost  immediately  after  the  Cabots'  explorations.  The 
abundance  of  this  fish  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Cape  has  been 
noticed,  and  is  forever  recorded  in  the  name  which  the  peninsula 
bears.  In  1622  the  Plymouth  Company  complained  to  the  king,  of 
thirty-seven  English  ships  which  had  made  successful  fishing  voyages 
to  the  New  England  coast,  whereupon  all  fishing,  or  Indian  trading, 
was  prohibited  on  these  shores  except  by  license  from  the  council  of 
Plymouth.  The  right  to  control  this  industry  gave  to  the  colony, 
first,  franchises  for  which  they  received  ;^1,800  from  the  merchant 
adventurers,  and  later  those  royalties  and  revenues,  the  collection  of 
which  in  the  various  towns  the  reader  will  hereafter  notice.  ' ' 

For  a  century  and  a  half  this  branch  of  fishing  grew  in  importance 
and  the  extent  of  waters  visited  by  the  Cape  fishermen  included  the 
Bay  of  Fundy,  the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  and  the  surrounding 
straits.  An  idea  of  the  extent  to  which  the  people  of  this  country  de- 
pended upon  this  resource  may  appear  from  the  following  figures, 
showing  the  annual  average  of  five  towns  for  the  ten  years  preceding 
the  revolution.  These  figures  are  from  Macgregor's  tables,  a  standard 
English  authority:  Chatham  had  thirty  vessels  of  thirty  tons  each  en- 
gaged in  the  business  and  employed  240  men,  taking  12,000  quintals. 
Provincetown  had  four  vessels  of  forty  tons  each,  employing  thirty- 
two  men,  who  took  16,000  quintals.  Eighty  men  with  ten  vessels  of 
forty  tons  each,  sailing  from  Truro,  took  4,000  quintals.  Wellfleet 
had  three  vessels  operated  by  twenty-one  men  who  secured  900  quint- 
als. Yarmouth  had  thirty  vessels  of  thirty  tons  each,  in  which  180 
men  secured  9,000  quintals. 

When  the  colonists  in  1776  appealed  to  the  uncertain  arbitrament  of 
war,  these  maritime  interests  suffered  most,  but  so  promptly  did  they 


132  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

resume  their  peaceable  pursuits  after  the  declaration  of  peace  that  the 
averages  of  the  four  years,  including  and  preceding  1790,  are  equal  to 
the  yearly  average  for  the  decade  preceding  the  war.  Provincetown 
had  greatly  increased  her  vessels  and  tonnage,  sending  out  eleven, 
with  an  average  of  fifty  tons,  in  which  eighty -eight  men  secured  8,200 
quintals  of  cod  annually. 

The  business  of  the  cod  fishermen  has  been  a  permanent  and  gen- 
erally a  profitable  one,  and  their  product  has  long  been  one  of  the 
staple  food-supplies  of  the  world.  Off  every  shore  of  the  Cape  more 
or  less  are  caught,  but  the  greater  supply  is  to  the  north  and  east. 
The  records  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics  show  that  in  the  census 
year  1837  there  were  taken  134,658  quintals  of  cod  by  the  fishermen  of 
Barnstable  county.  Of  these  Provincetown  caught  61,400  quintals; 
Orleans,  20,000;  Truro,  16,620;  Chatham,  15,500;  Harwich,  10,000;  Den- 
nis, 9,141;  Yarmouth,  4,300;  Wellfleet,  3,100;  Sandwich,  2,100;  Eastham, 
1,200;  Brewster,  800;  and  Barnstable;  the  least,  267  quintals. 

In  1845  Provincetown  secured  20,000  quintals;  Harwich,  14,200; 
Dennis,  11,150;  Chatham,  7,600;  Truro,  6,250;  Yarmouth,  6,195;  Orleans, 
3,500;  Brewster,  2,400;  Eastham  and  Wellfleet,  each  2,000;  and  Fal- 
mouth, 800  quintals. 

The  next  decade  showed  Provincetown  catching  79,000  quintals 
annually;  with  Chatham  next  in  order,  taking  15,000;  Wellfleet,  8,628; 
Barnstable,  8,225;  Harwich,  6,300;  Yarmouth,  4,400;  Orleans,  4,266; 
Dennis,  1,200;  Eastham,  300;  and  Falmouth,  250  quintals. 

In  the  census  year  1865  Provincetown  reported  a  catch  of  65,411 
quintals,  followed  by  Chatham,  with  25,361;  Harwich,  20,938;  Dennis, 
7,769;  Barnstable,  1,938;  Orleans,  1,350;  Wellfleet,  1,200;  Truro,  670; 
Yarmouth,  500;  and  Eastham,  130  quintals. 

In  1875  the  Provincetown  fleet  reported  for  the  census  year  29,936 
quintals;  Chatham,  16,773;  and  Yarmouth,  62  quintals. 

While  other  branches  of  fishing  are  common  to  all  the  towns  of  the 
county,  the  cod  fishing  is  more  extensively  carried  on  from  Province- 
town.  In  1887  the  Provincetown  fleet  took  120,000  quintals;  in  1888 
fifty -seven  vessels,  employing  nine  hundred  men,  secured  90,000  quint- 
als; and  the  season  of  1889  yielded  but  50,000  quintals  to  the  forty- 
nine  vessels  and  the  eight  hundred  men  employed.  These  latter  fig- 
ures indicate  the  least  prosperous  season  which  the  fleet  has  had  in 
twenty  years.  In  the  early  days  of  the  business  a  crew  consisted  of 
six  or  eight  men,  but  larger  vessels  were  found  to  be  better,  and  dur- 
ing the  recent  years  schooners  with  twenty-five  men  each  are  more 
generally  in  use.  Their  season  at  the  Grand  banks  is  usually  from 
April  to  September,  and  it  has  been  expected  that  during  this  period 
the  fleet  would  secure  two  hundred  quintals  of  fish  for  each  man  em- 
ployed. 


INDUSTRIAL   RESOURCES.  133 

According  to  the  state  census  of  1885,  the  cod  fleets  from  Barn- 
stable county  took  18,134,539  pounds  of  fish.  Provincetown  took 
16,801,060;  Chatham,  756,009;  Harwich,  415,160;  Truro,  112,050;  Or- 
leans, 28,560;  Dennis,  20,700;  and  Barnstable,  2,000  pounds. 

The  first  people  who  pursued  the  whale  fishery  as  a  regular  busi- 
ness were  the  Biscayans,  who  carried  it  on  with  success  from  the 
twelfth  to  the  fourteenth  century;  although  the  Norwegians  had 
taken  whales  cast  on  the  Shetland  and  Orkney  coasts  at  a  much  earlier 
period.  The  northern  whale  fishery  was  opened  up  by  the  Dutch  and 
English  after  their  voyages  of  discovery,  and  as  early  as  1680  the 
Dutch  whale  fishery  reached  its  most  prosperous  state,  employing  then 
260  ships  and  fourteen  thousand  sailors.  Prior  to  this,  houses  pro- 
vided with  tanks  and  boilers  for  reducing  the  blubber  and  preparing 
the  bone,  were  established  on  the  northern  coast  of  Spitzbergen. 

The  American  whale  fishery  was  commenced  at  Nantucket,  where 
in  1672,  James  Lopar  and  John  Savage  were  given  a  subsidy  of  land 
and  a  third  interest  with  the  town  in  the  business  of  securing  the 
whales  which  came  to  their  shores.  The  people  of  Cape  Cod  had 
become  proficient  in  securing  and  utilizing  the  whale,  and  in  1690 
Ichabod  Padduck  of  Provincetown  was  considered  an  expert  in  meth- 
ods of  capturing  the  whale  and  extracting  the  oil.  He  went  to  Nan- 
tucket, where  his  instructive  descriptions  of  his  successful  methods 
were  dignified  with  the  name  lectures. 

The  more  enterprising  white  settlers,  assisted  by  the  more  vent- 
uresome Indians,  made  trips  in  open  boats  beyond  the  sight  of  land, 
and  when  a  whale  was  killed,  with  such  rude  weapons  as  his  size  had 
suggested,  he  was  towed  ashore,  where  the  tedious  process  of  securing 
the  oil  was  carried  on.  The  blubber  was  conveyed  on  carts  to  "  try- 
houses,"  where  in  kettles  the  oil  was  extracted.  Fifty  years  before 
the  revolution,  Boston  was  exporting  large  quantities  of  whale  prod- 
ucts; and  the  towns  of  the  Cape,  and  the  court  of  Plymouth  were  col- 
lecting revenues  from  the  stranded  whales  found  on  their  shores.  The 
introduction  of  larger  vessels,  equipped  with  apparatus  for  cutting  up 
the  blubber,  marked  a  new  era  in  the  industry,  although  a  single 
whale,  producing  250  barrels  of  oil  and  3,000  pounds  of  bone,  made  a 
cargo  for  what  was  then  called  a  good  sized  vessel,  and  the  practice  of 
bringing  the  blubber  to  the  "  try -houses  "  on  shore  still  prevailed. 

The  equipping  of  larger  ships,  with  furnaces  for  rendering  and 
casks  for  storing  the  oil,  marked  a  third  epoch  in  the  history  of  the 
great  whaling  industry,  and  with  facilities  thus  increased  the  fields  of 
operation  were  enlarged.  In  July,  1730,  the  North  American  whale- 
men sent  9,200  tuns  of  oil  and  154  tons  of  bone  to  England. 

The  whaling  grounds  at  Davis'  straits  were  first  visited  by  whalers 
in  1746;  Baffin's  bay  in  1751;  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  1761;  eastern  banks 


134  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

of  Newfoundland,  1765;  Brazilian  coasts  in  1774.  The  introduction  of 
the  New  England  product  into  the  markets  of  England  furnished  a 
motive  to  that  government  for  granting  its  own  seamen  a  large  bounty 
to  stimulate  the  whale  industry,  and  under  that  impulse  the  produc- 
tion increased  more  rapidly  than  the  demand,  and  thus  the  profits  to 
American  whalemen  were  greatly  diminished. 

In  1771  Barnstable  county  had  thirty-six  vessels  engaged  in  the 
whale  fishery.  Of  these,  two  were  from  Barnstable,  employing  thir- 
teen seamen  each,  and  for  the  four  years  preceding  the  revolution  they 
secured  240  barrels  of  oil  each  year;  Falmouth  equipped  four  vessels 
of  seventy-five  tons  each,  and  brought  in  400  barrels  annually;  while 
Wellfleet  had  thirty  vessels,  with  a  total  tonnage  of  2,600,  employing 
420  men,  taking  annually  4,600  barrels. 

The  war  here  interrupts  the  chain  of  statistics,  which  would  cer- 
tainly show  that  the  industry  was  neglected  during  the  struggle.  It 
was,  however,  soon  revived,  and  in  1787-1789  this  county  had  sixteen 
whale  vessels  engaged,  whose  total  tonnage  was  1,120,  and  whose  212 
seamen  secured  1,920  barrels  of  oil  annually. 

Captain  Jesse  Holbrook  of  Wellfleet,  who  flourished  in  revolution- 
ary days,  was  a  skillful  whaler,  and  in  one  voyage  killed  fifty-two 
sperm  whales.  His  great  success  obtained  for  him  employment  by  a 
London  company  for  twelve  years,  teaching  their  employees  his  art. 
After  a  checkered  career  he  returned  to  Wellfleet  in  1796,  where  he 
subsequently  died,  aged  seventy  years. 

The  whalers'  voyages,  at  first,  scarcely  taking  them  beyond  sight 
of  their  own  ports,  came  later  to  be  passages  of  thousands  of  miles, 
requiring  ten  to  fifty  months,  and  sometimes  longer,  to  complete. 
The  men  who  gained  wealth  or  renown  in  this  hazardous  vocation 
were  the  grave,  persevering,  sober  men,  who  represented  the  best 
blood  of  the  Cape;  and  those  venerable  retired  captains  who,  in  their 
advancing  years,  still  remain  in  almost  every  Cape  town,  constitute 
one  of  the  most  substantial  elements  of  the  population.  In  the  histo- 
ries of  the  towns  in  which  they  reside  the  reader  may  find  record  of 
some  thrilling  adventures  in  the  experience  of  Captains  Nathaniel 
Burgess,  Silas  Jones,  Caleb  O.  Hamblin,  N.  P.  Baker,  Edward  Penni- 
man  and  others,  which  are  illustrative  of  the  life  that  whaleship 
masters  were  obliged  to  lead. 

Falmouth  early  became  an  important  town  in  this  business,  and 
from  Woods  Holl  several  ships  were  equipped  and  sent  to  the  Pacific 
and  Arctic  whaling  grounds.  The  details  of  their  voyages  more  fully 
appear  in  the  history  of  the  town  of  Falmouth  in  this  volume.  The 
business  from  the  other  whaling  ports  of  the  lower  Cape  was  still 
more  extensive,  but  the  details  as  given  of  the  voyages  from  the  port 
of  Woods  Holl  furnish  a  general  idea  of  the  whalemen's  experiences, 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES.  136 

and  the  decline  of  the  industry  there,  may  be  a  fair  indication  of  when 
and  how  rapidly  the  attention  of  the  Cape  people  was  turned  to  other 
pursuits. 

In  1834  Falmouth  had  six  whale  ships  at  sea,  and  in  1837  had  nine, 
the  total  tonnage  of  which  was  2,823;  in  1845  her  vessels  numbered 
five,  with  an  average  tonnage  of  315;  in  1855  three  whalers  were  re- 
ported as  securing  $55,000  worth  of  oil.  Provincetown,  in  1837,  had 
only  two  whale  ships  out;  in  1841  six  vessels  returned,  bringing  1,065 
barrels  of  oil;  in  1843  sixteen  vessels  from  here  were  on  whaling  voy- 
ages; in  1845  twenty -six  vessels,  with  a  tonnage  of  3,255,  secured  during 
the  census  year  $102,984  worth  of  oil;  in  1855  seventeen  vessels  were 
in  the  business,  reporting  $118,833  earnings  for  the  year;  in ,  1865 
twenty-eight  vessels  reported  oil  worth  $312,017;  and  in  1885  the  town 
had  only  three  vessels  thus  engaged.  For  the  census  year  1855  Or- 
leans reported  four  vessels  of  155  tons  each,  employing  125  men,  and 
securing  oil  to  the  amount  of  $19,250.  Thus  as  the  vocation  became 
less  profitable,  and  its  prosecution  imposed  greater  hardships  upon 
those  who  followed  it,  the  Cape  people  gradually  dropped  out  of  it  or 
went  in  those  ships  which  later  on  still  sailed  from  New  Bedford. 

Soon  after  the  development  of  the  cod  fisheries,  the  taking  of  mack- 
erel became  a  very  important  and  lucrative  vocation,  and  from  the 
first  until  the  present  moment  it  has,  after  the  cod  fishery,  furnished 
regular  employment  and  a  source  of  revenue  to  more  of  the  people 
than  has  any  other  branch  of  fishing.  In  the  taking  of  these  fish  the 
most  scientific  methods  are  employed,  and  the  habits  of  the  fish  have 
been  most  thoroughly  and  systematically  investigated.  Fishing  for 
mackerel  with  hook  and  line  was  for  many  years  a  regular  employ- 
ment, and  the  aged  fishermen  now  maintain  that  a  workman's  share 
was  then  worth  more  than  one  has  averaged  since  the  introduction  of 
methods  requiring  expensive  outfits,  in  which,  of  course,  capital  has 
come  in  for  a  larger  relative  share. 

The  most  sweeping  change  made  in  the  method  of  capture  was  the 
introduction  of  the  purse  seine,  by  which  whole  schools  of  them  may 
be  surrounded  off  shore,  in  any  depth  of  water,  and  speedily  trans- 
ferred to  the  boats.  Before  this  a  similar  seine  had  been  used  only  in 
shoal  water,  where  the  seine  would  sweep  the  bottom.  These  sweep 
seines  were  usually  two  hundred  fathoms  long  and  three  or  four  deep, 
but  since  the  deep-water  seining  has  been  found  practicable,  the  seines 
in  use  have  been  made  somewhat  longer  and  five  or  six  times  as  wide, 
and  hundreds  of  barrels  of  mackerel  are  taken  at  a  single  draught. 
This  was  a  new  idea  in  1853,  at  which  date  it  is  said  that  Isaiah  Baker 
first  practiced  it  successfully  off  the  south  shores  west  of  Monomoy. 
This  wholesale  taking  of  mackerel,  although  highly  profitable  to  those 
engaged  in  it,  is  now  the  generally  assigned  reason  of  the  disastrous 


136  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

decline  of  the  business.  Other  causes  have  surely  contributed  to,  and 
possibly  may  have  predominated  in  producing  this  result.  The  fish, 
not  less  than  the  men  who  pursue  them,  are  creatures  with  habits  and 
tastes  which  are  continually  changing,  and  coincident  in  time  with 
their  decrease  on  the  Atlantic  coasts,  is  their  appearance  in  unusual 
numbers  in  other  and  distant  waters. 

Until  within  the  last  few  years  the  annual  migrations  of  the  mack- 
erel from  south  to  north  and  return  have  been  computed  with  cer- 
tainty and  relied  upon  "by  the  fleets  pursuing  them.  Chiefly  from 
Wellfleet,  but  more  or  less  from  Dennis,  Harwich  and  other  towns, 
the  boats  went  south  to  meet  the  great  schools  of  this  erratic  fish  at 
Chesapeake  bay  in  March  or  April,  and  followed  them  in  their  season's 
course  as  they  skirted  their  feeding  grounds  along  the  Atlantic  coast 
as  far  northeast  as  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  and  as  late  as  September.  Then 
the  fish  began  their  return  and  were  followed  by  the  fleet  until,  oflf 
Block  island  in  November,  the  men  usually  began  their  own  home- 
ward journey.  For  the  last  two  or  three  seasons  the  movements  of 
the  mackerel  have  been  less  regular,  and  several  vessels  have  made 
the  entire  season  in  the  vicinity  of  Block  island.  The  belief  that  the 
immense  catches  by  the  purse  seiners  were  hazarding  the  future  of 
the  business,  has  taken  form  as  a  law,  now  prohibiting  their  capture 
by  this  method  before  the  first  of  June  in  any  year. 

The  people  of  every  town  have  been  more  or  less  interested  in  the 
mackerel  fisheries.  A  regular  inspection  of  all  that  is  brought  to  port 
is  provided  for  by  law,  and  the  reports  of  the  inspectors  are  filed  as 
public  records.  Some  figures  may  indicate  how  widely  and  yet  how 
unequally  the  business  is  distributed. 

In  1838  there  were  inspected  at  Barnstable,  1,843  barrels;  at  Chat- 
ham. 84  barrels;  at  Dennis,  2,674;  at  Provincetown,  2,686;  at  Truro,  8,852; 
and  at  Yarmouth,  655  barrels. 

At  this  time  the  Wellfleet  men  were  taking  quantities  of  this  fish, 
but  the  absence  of  the  name  from  the  statistics  quoted  is  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  the  fish  were  packed  at  Boston. 

The  industry,  although  permanent,  is  fluctuating.  In  1840  there 
were  inspected  at  Barnstable,  1,914  barrels;  at  Chatham,  240;  at  Dennis, 
3,009;  at  Harwich,  60;  at  Provincetown,  2,086;  at  Truro,  2,790;  at  Well- 
fleet,  3,912;  and  at  Yarmouth,  1,387  barrels  were  inspected.  In  1844 
Wellfleet  secured  9,700  barrels;  Truro,  6,740;  Dennis,  3,605;  Yarmouth. 
3,412;  Barnstable,  2,400;  Orleans  and  Provincetown,  1,000  each;  Har- 
wich, 650;  Eastham,  550;  and  Chatham,  400.  In  1854  the  catch  for 
Wellfleet  was  12,600  barrels;  for  Dennis,  11,036;  Provincetown,  6,000; 
Harwich,  5,700;  Chatham.  3,000;  Brewster,  1,500;  Yarmouth,  1,217;  Or- 
leans, 800;  Eastham,  750;  and  Barnstable.  465.  In  1864  Wellfleet  re- 
ported 26,900  barrels;  Provincetown,  19,395;  Dennis,  8,799;  Harwich^ 


INDUSTRIAL   RESOURCES.  137 

8,343;  Truro,  7,955;  Chatham,  6,746;  Orleans.  2,000:  and  Yarmouth,  250. 
The  censu.s  of  1875  shows  that  the  total  catch  of  the  preceding  year 
was  98,774  barrels,  of  which  Provincetown  received  46,173;  Wellfleet, 
35,817;  Chatham,  8,342;  Dennis,  6,000;  Eastham,  1,082;  Barnstable,  860 
and  Orleans,  511  barrels.  In  1884  Wellfleet  received  38,735  barrels 
Provincetown,  32,066;  Chatham,  10,765;  Truro,  9,527:  Dennis,  9,422 
Harwich,  6,050;  Brewster,  3,444;  Sandwich,  2,178;  Eastham,  1,762;  Or- 
leans, 166;  Falmouth,  94;  Yarmouth,  2;  and  Barnstable,  1  barrel.  The 
price  has  generally  varied  inversely  and  somewhat  proportionately 
with  the  supply,  so  that  the  fluctuations  in  quantity  are  greater  than 
in  the  current  value  of  the  catch. 

For  several  years  Wellfleet  has  been  most  extensively  engaged  in 
t..e  mackerel  business,  sending  out  in  1879  twenty-four  vessels,  which 
brought  in  9,348  barrels;  in  1880,  thirty  vessels  took  33,627  barrels;  in 
1881,  thirty-one  took  35,627;  in  1882,  twenty-nine,  32,860;  in  1883, 
thirty-four,  15,725;  in  1884,  thirty,  36,784;  1886,  twenty-nine,  23,144; 
1886,  twenty-nine,  3,566;  1887,  twenty-eight,  9,203;  1888,  thirty,  4,832; 
and  in  1889  thirteen  seiners  and  eight  hookers  took  1,690.  The  other 
Cape  ports  making  returns  for  1889  are  Provincetown,  1,697  barrels; 
Dennis,  469;  Harwich,  224;  and  Chatham,  17.  The  rapid  decline  during 
the  last  four  years  has  brought  the  business  to  its  lowest  point  within 
the  past  seventy-five  years. 

An  interesting  topic  of  thought  and  investigation  is  suggested  by 
the  changes  constantly  going  on  in  the  demand  for  as  well  as  the 
supply  of  the  various  food  products.  This  change  through  which  one 
generation  comes  to  subsist  upon  foods  which  their  ancestors  did  not 
regard  as  wholesome,  is  continually  tending  to  modify  the  industries 
and  the  resources  of  the  prodiicing  classes,  and  here  in  the  various 
branches  of  fishing  this  tendency  has  been  manifested.  Scores  of 
kinds  of  fish  once  unknown  are  now  sought  for. 

The  facts  concerning  thfe  bluefish  furnish  the  most  striking  illus- 
tration of  this  tendency.  Middle-aged  men  well  remember  when  this 
fish  was  so  little  valued  that  those  which  were  caught  simply  for 
amusement  became  a  drug  on  the  market.  In  Wellfleet  bay,  for  in- 
stance, it  was  no  unusual  occurrence  for  a  fisherman  with  only  a  hook 
and  line  to  take  in  a  few  hours  a  hundred  bluefish  of  ten  or  fifteen 
pounds  each.  Then  such  a  fish  would  hardly  bring  ten  cents  in  the 
market;  but  people's  tastes,  continually  changing,  have  within  thirty 
years  put  them  among  the  favorite  sea  fish.  They  are  taken  in^eater 
or  less  quantities  off  every  shore  of  the  county,  and  while  their  cap- 
ture has  been  the  source  of  royal  revenues  to  the  fishermen,  it  has 
also  long  been  a  standard  sport  with  pleasure  seekers.  The  waters  of 
the  sound  are  dotted,  every  season,  with  the  sails  of  bluefishers.  Con- 
sidering the  subject  as  the  Yankee  is  prone  to  consider  every  subject, 


138  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

it  must  be  classed  with  the  most  profitable  branches  of  the  Cape  fish- 
eries, the  principal  quantity  being  taken  in  the  fish  weirs  and  with  gill 
seines  in  deep  water.  The  people  of  Eastham  have  regarded  it  as  their 
chief  source  of  income.  Their  weirs,  now  for  a  short  time  less  profit- 
able, have  formerly  yielded  very  handsome  returns. 

In  1884  nearly  587  tons  of  bluefish  were  landed  in  the  town  of 
Barnstable,  largely  at  Hyannis,  for  shipment  by  rail,  and  in  every 
town  some  were  taken.  In  Eastham,  367,938  pounds;  in  Provincetown, 
152,784  pounds;  Dennis,  91,870;  Bourne,  69,818;  Wellfleet,  33,700;  Chat- 
ham, 31,065;  Yarmouth,  30,806;  Falmouth,  24,435;  Truro,  23,002;  Har- 
wich, 18,827;  Brewster,  17,820;  Orleans,' 7,406;  Sandwich,  6,000;  and 
Mashpee,  294  pounds.  The  market  value  then  of  the  whole  bluefish 
catch  for  the  county  was  more  than  two  hundred  thousand  dollars. 

The  invention  of  the  modern  fish  weir  marked  an  important  period 
in  the  whole  business  of  shore  fishing,  and  began  that  controversy  be- 
tween the  line  and  seine  fishermen  which,  with  more  or  less  vigor,  has 
continued  to  the  present.  Individuals  and  corporations  are  engaged 
on  nearly  every  shore  in  the  weir  on  trap  fishing.  The  fish  weir,  or 
trap,  now  modified  to  various  plans  and  purposes,  was  first  used  by  its 
inventors  on  the  shores  of  Long  Island  sound.  AtMonomoy  Point  in 
Chatham,  where,  about  1848,  the  first  weir  on  these  shores  was  set,  at 
Woods  Holl  where  a  very  large  business  is  still  carried  on,  and  off 
the  shores  almost  around  the  entire  Cape,  especially  the  lower  towns, 
this  branch  of  enterprise  has  furnished  a  channel  of  investment  for 
large  amounts  of  capital  and  employment  to  considerable  numbers  of 
people,  whereby  both  capital  and  labor  have  for  the  most  part  been 
fairly  rewarded. 

Statistics  have  not  been  kept  to  show  the  methods  by  which  fish 
have  been  taken,  but  the  trap  fishing  is  relatively  important.  Prince 
M.  Stewart,  of  Woods  Holl,  says  that  he  caught  80,000  scup  in  one  trap 
within  one  hundred  days  preceding  Augxist  15th,  and  in  one  month 
following  caught  thirty-two  barrels  with  hook  and  line.  These  traps 
sometimes  serve  a  purpose  for  which  they  were  not  intended,  as  did 
one  off  South  Harwich  in  1889,  in  which  Cyrus  Nickerson  found  en- 
tangled a  turtle  reported  as  weighing  half  a  ton. 

In  1840  Massachusetts  produced  half  of  all  the  fish  products  of  the 
United  States.  At  that  date  Provincetown  had  a  thousand  people  en- 
gaged in  cod  and  mackerel  fishing.  Barnstable  had  $57,000  invested 
in  the  fish  business,  and  Dennis  had  $36,300.  In  1850  Provincetown 
led  all  the  other  Cape  towns  in  the  extent  and  value  of  its  fish  indus- 
tries. 

The  fishing  business  as  developed  in  this  county  has  rendered  com- 
binations of  -men  and  capital  necessary,  and  from  1815  many  such 
combinations  were  incorporated  by  the  state,  with  authority  to  improve 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES.  139 

Streams,  wharves  and  harbors.  One  company,  incorporated  in  1817, 
had  authority  to  open  a  canal  from  Nauset  cove  to  Boat-meadow  creek. 
The  Duck  Harbor  and  Beach  Company  of  Wellfleet;  the  Union  Wharf 
Company  of  Truro;  the  Skinnequits  Fishing  Company  of  Harwich; 
the  Central  Wharf  Company  of  Yarmouth;  the  Eastham  Fishing  Com- 
pany; the  Union  Wharf  Company  of  Provincetown;  Rock  Harbor 
Fishing  Company  of  Orleans;  the  Andrews  Fishing  Company  of  Har- 
wich; the  Herring  River  Company  of  Harwich;  the  Brewster  Harbor 
Company;  the  Orleans  Fishing  Company;  the  North  Falmouth  Fish- 
ing Company;  the  Fish  Wier  Company  of  Orleans;  the  Boat-meadow 
River  Company  of  Eastham;  and  the  North  Wharf  Company  of  Truro, 
were  incorporated  prior  to  1838,  with  special  privileges. 

The  species  of  fish  and  the  fish  products  which  enter  into  the  totals 
of  this  great  industry  include  items  not  even  mentioned  by  name  thus 
far  in  this  chapter.  For  the  first  nine  monfhs  of  1889  the  Province- 
town  fishermen,  not  including  the  Grand  bank  cod-fishing  fleet,  brought 
in  fresh  cod,  6,159,850  pounds;  haddock,  5,258,759  pounds;  halibut, 
766,300  pounds;  hake,  1,270,600  pounds;  salt  cod,  336,700  pounds;  salt 
herring,  2,700  pounds;  frozen  herring,  257,000  herring;  cod  oil,  19,845 
gallons;  dog  liver  oil,  5,670  gallons;  fresh  mackerel,  1,541  barrels;  salt 
mackerel,  1,743  barrels;  fresh  herring,  11,528  barrels;  fresh  porgies, 
2,000  barrels;  fresh  flounders,  417  barrels;  fresh  butter  fish,  75  barrels; 
fresh  albocaas,  310  barrels;  fresh  pollock,  15,400  pounds;  total  value, 
$352,137. 

The  fishermen's  resources  are  by  no  means  limited  to  the  food 
fish.  The  waters  abound  in  species  not  considered  suitable  for  the 
table,  and  these  are  made  to  serve  some  humbler  purpose,  and  minis- 
ter, through  other  channels,  to  the  wealth  and  comfort  of  mankind. 

The  blackfish,  a  specie  of  whale,  occasionally  visits  the  shores  of 
Cape  Cod  bay.  For  a  century  past  we  find  the  record  of  their  frequent 
visitations  at  Provincetown,  Truro  and  Wellfleet,  where  they  are  se- 
cured for  their  oil.  They  go  in  schools  of  old  and  young,  numbering 
hundreds,  and  are  easily  driven  upon  the  beach  at  high  tide,  where 
they  are  killed  after  the  water  recedes.  Refineries  for  extracting  their 
oil  still  exist  at  Wellfleet  and  Provincetown.  The  males  are  some- 
times thirty-five  feet  long,  and  the  young  are  from  five  feet  upwards. 
An  average  of  a  barrel  of  oil  is  obtained  from  each.  The  remarkable 
school  of  1885,  captured  at  Wellfleet,  is  further  mentioned  in  the 
chapter  on  that  town. 

The  blackfish  yields  a  valuable  lubricating  oil,  and  from  porgies 
or  menhaden  an  oil  is  obtained  which  is  available  for  adulterating 
paint  oils,  while  the  bones  and  flesh  fibre  appear  in  the  market  as  a 
valuable  fertilizer.  With  various  additions  the  fish  refuse  becomes 
the  basis  of  fertilizers  known  in  the  markets  by  a  great  variety  of 


140  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

names.  The  fertilizer  works  at  Woods  Holl,  about  1863,  were  in- 
tended to  utilize  menhaden  scrap,  but  were  used  for  other  purposes 
after  the  supply  of  menhaden  in  the  adjacent  waters  had  diminished. 
The  use  of  fish  as  a  fertilizer  was  well  understood  and  largely  prac- 
ticed by  the  farmers  in  the  old  days.  Food  fish  were  so  abundant 
that  their  fields  were  kept  fertile  by  the  use  of  the  surplus.  Placing 
one  or  more  herrings  in  each  hill  of  corn  was  a  practice  so  general 
that  it  was  thought  to  hazard  the  food  supply,  and  was  accordingly 
at  one  time  prohibited  by  law.  Other  fish  applied  to  the  lands  just 
as  they  are  taken  from  the  waters  are  found  to  be  of  great  utility. 

Almost  every  stream  on  the  Cape  swarms  with  herring  in  the 
spawning  season.  The  right  to  take  them  was  reserved  by  the  origi- 
nal proprietors  as  a  common  privilege  when  they  reduced  their  com- 
mon lands  to  individual  ownership,  and  to-day  the  right  to  participate 
in  this  branch  of  fishery'in  any  stream  belongs  equally  to  every  free- 
holder in  the  respective  towns.  Some  of  the  towns  lease  this  privi- 
lege from  year  to  year  for  a  stipulated  sum,  thus  realizing  a  revenue 
for  the  general  uses  of  the  town.  This,  by  reducing  the  taxes  of  the 
town,  spreads  the  benefit  among  the  people  in  proportion  to  the  valu- 
ation of  their  property,  and  to  protect  the  rights  of  those  who  have 
but  little  taxable  estate,  most  of  the  towns,  in  leasing  the  herring 
rights,  fix  a  minimum  price  at  which  each  family  may  be  entitled  to 
a  supply  for  domestic  uses  from  those  who  lease  the  privilege. 

The  supply  of  the  various  kinds  of  shell-fish  has  always  been  a 
resource  of  considerable  importance.  Oysters,  clams,  quahaugs,  scal- 
lops, shrimps,  and  lobsters  are  the  more  abundant.  The  oyster,  so 
long  a  popular  food,  was  found  here  by  the  first  settlers,  who  made 
them  a  staple  article  of  diet.  The  great  use  which  the  Indians  made 
of  shell-fish  is  evinced  by  the  immense  heaps  of  shells  which  now, 
partially  covered,  are  the  best  existing  records  of  the  location  of  their 
principal  settlements.  The  latter  part  of  last  century  marked  an 
epoch  in  the  oyster  industry.  Implements  and  methods  employed  in 
taking  them  from  the  natural  beds  destroyed  large  quantities  of  the 
small  ones,  and  the  legislation  aimed  at  this  reckless  destruction  came 
too  late.  During  this  century  the  oyster  business  has  consisted  in 
transplanting  to  grounds  favorable  to  their  development,  oyster  seed 
from  other  localities.  They  have  been  common  in  Wellfleet  bay, 
where  the  once  famous  Wellfleet  oysters  were  taken,  in  the  coves  of 
Eastham,  Orleans  and  Chatham,  and  on  the  shores  of  all  the  towns  of 
the  upper  Cape.  In  the  palmy  days  of  the  Wellfleet  oyster  business, 
forty  or  fifty  sail  of  vessels  were  engaged  each  winter  in  transferring 
the  product  to  the  Boston  market. 

The  last  state  census  shows  that  Barnstable  county  has  562^  acres 
of  oyster  beds,  which  is  more  than  two-thirds  of  all  the  grounds  in 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES.  141 

the  state.  Bourne,  on  its  Buzzards  bay  front,  has  168J  acres,  which  is 
nearly  all  the  native  beds  of  the  county,  and  has  also  124  acres  of 
planted  beds.  Barnstable  has  two  acres  of  native  and  249  of  planted; 
Chatham  has  ten  acres  of  planted;  Dennis  three  of  planted;  Mashpee 
3J  of  planted;  and  Harwich  has  three  acres  of  native  beds.  These 
beds  of  native  oysters  are  the  only  ones  in  Massachusetts,  excepting 
250  acres  at  Somerset,  in  Bristol  county.  This  census  report  does  not 
notice  the  beds  on  the  west  of  Waquoit  bay,  planted  in  1877,  where 
F.  C.  Davis  now  has  the  only  oyster  beds  in  Falmouth,  and  has  done 
an  increasing  business  during  the  last  year.  In  the  town  histories  of 
Bourne,  Barnstable,  Mashpee,  Chatham  and  Wellfleet,  their  cultiva- 
tion by  the  various  planters  is  noticed. 

By  that  inexorable  law  of  change  and  succession,  the  oyster  and 
the  oysterman  are,  so  far  as  these  shores  are  concerned,  slowly,  but 
surely,  passing  away.  Their  doom  is  the  shifting  sand,  and  the  busi- 
ness as  a  source  of  gain  or  general  employment  must  be  now  regarded 
as  among  the  things  that  have  been.  The  man  who  followed  this 
vocation  has  been  made  immortal  in  literature  by  Thoreau,  in  his  in- 
imitable description  of  the  Wellfleet  oysterman,  and  the  oyster  him- 
self has  made  a  pleasant  and  lasting  impression,  very  near,  if  not 
quite,  upon  the  hearts  of  all  who  knew  him. 

The  perennial  clam,  the  abundance  of  which  the  Pilgrims  made 
the  subject  of  thanksgiving,  still  abides  as  a  blessing  to  their  posterity. 
He  figures  in  all  the  affairs  here  except  politics — at  the  church  fair,  at 
the  picnic  dinner,  in  the  menu  of  every  well-regulated  hotel,  at  the 
rich  man's  feast,  and  at  the  poor  man's  board,  he  appears  in  various 
guises.  He  and  his  hard-shelled  cousin,  the  quahaug,  are  indigenous  to 
the  sands  of  every  shore.  Here  are  160  miles  of  shore  line,  greatly  in- 
creased by  indentations  of  coves  and  bays,  and  almost  throughout  this 
entire  stretch  of  tide-water  margins,  these  nutritious  shell-fish  are  in 
greater  or  less  abundance. 

The  business  of  clam-digging  calls  for  the  minimum  investment  of 
capital  and  the  maximum  employment  of  labor,  hence  it  has  ever  fur- 
nished employment  and  profit  to  many  whose  tastes  or  finances  de- 
terred them  from  embarking  in  other  fishing  enterprises.  The  old 
saying  that  there  is  no  royal  road  to  learning  is  equally  true  of  clam 
digging.  Any  man  or  boy  not  necessarily  well-dressed,  and  equipped 
with  a  short-handled  hoe  and  a  pair  of  long-handled  boots,  is  fully  pre- 
pared to  make  the  business  remunerative. 

The  various  branches  of  the  fishing  business  which  accustomed  the 
boys  to  the  sea  was  the  great  school  whose  graduates  became  the 
master  marines.  Every  product  of  the  sea  and  of  the  soil  made  cargo 
for  the  coasters,  whose  prosperity  began  so  early  in  the  Cape  history, 
and  continued  so  late.     Before  the  modem  railway,  this  coasting  busi- 


142  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ness  was  of  immense  importance  as  an  employment  for  capital  and 
labor.  Almost  every  port  had  its  craft  of  various  tonnage  engaged  in 
the  carrying  business.  From  the  first  the  building  of  their  vessels 
was  one  of  their  staple  industries,  and  long  after  the  local  supply  of 
material  had  been  exhausted,  ship  timber  was  brought  here,  and  the 
brain  and  muscle  of  the  Cape  people  converted  it  into  cash  through 
the  construction  of  staunch  ships  of  no  mean  proportions.  Since 
yachting  has  been  popular  small  craft  have  been  built  at  several  ports 
in  the  county;  but  these  enterprises,  as  well  as  the  building  of  larger 
vessels  earlier,  have  been  regarded  as  business  enterprises  of  the 
towns  or  villages  in  which  they  were  carried  on. 

The  records  of  the  state  bureau  of  labor  statistics  show  that  during 
the  five  years  preceding  1837  the  total  value  of  all  craft  built  in  the 
county  was  $316,790.  The  census  of  the  state  since  then  gives  the  fol- 
lowing figures:  In  1845  Barnstable  built  fifteen  vessels;  Chatham,  six; 
Falmouth,  eight;  Orleans,  six;  Provincetown,  150,  all  small  craft,  and 
Sandwich  one  vessel  of  four  hundred  tons,  worth  $15,000.  The  census 
year  1855  gives  Barnstable,  fifteen;  Chatham,  fifteen;  Harwich,  forty; 
and  Provincetown  seventy  small  craft.  Dennis  at  this  time  had  fifty 
people  employed, and  built  two  vessels  of  630  tons  each,  and  Falmouth 
one  of  260  tons.  In  1865  Barnstable  reported  four;  Harwich  fourteen; 
and  Provincetown  nineteen  small  boats,  built  withing  the  census  year. 
At  the  close  of  the  next  decade  it  appeared  that  Barnstable  was  build- 
ing ten  small  boats  each  year,  and  that  Provincetown  had  built  one 
worth  $11,420.  The  census  of  1885  showed  that  Barnstable  had  built 
in  the  preceding  year  seventeen  vessels,  worth  $6,377;  Bourne,  three, 
worth  $4,000;  Harwich,  eight,  worth  $2,000,  and  Provincetown,  thirty- 
nine,  worth  $6,800. 

Unless  the  building  of  boats  be  regarded  as  such,  manufacturing 
has  received  comparatively  little  attention  in  this  county.  Prior  to 
the  revolution,  however,  the  Cape  people  were  largely  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  cloth.  The  families  not  only  generally  made  their 
own,  but  the  Marston's  and  Winslow's  were  prominent  in  its  manufac- 
ture for  commerce.  In  1768  the  best  ladies  of  the  county,  as  well  as 
gentlemen,  were  dressed  in  homespun,  even  to  their  gloves.  Barn- 
stable and  Falmouth  were  the  principal  towns  engaged  in  making 
woolen  goods.  The  glass  factories  at  Sandwich,  the  brick  works  at 
West  Barnstable,  and  the  pants  factory  at  Orleans  and  Wellfleet,  the 
shoe  factory  at  West  Dennis,  the  guano  works  at  Woods  Holl  and  the 
oil  and  fertilizer  works  at  Wellfleet  and  Provincetown,  are  or  have 
been  local  enterprises,  and  will  receive  attention  in  the  several  village 
histories. 

In  yet  another  way  has  the  sea  contributed  to  the  wealth  of  Barn- 
stable county.     Here  350  gallons  of  its  waters  are  found  to  contain 


INDUSTRIAL   RESOUKCES. 


143 


one  bushel  of  salt.  It  was  during  the  revolution  that  the  first  prac- 
tical use  was  made  of  this  fact.  A  bushel  of  salt  in  1783  was  worth 
eight  dollars,  and  its  extraction  by  boiling  was  the  child  of  their 
necessity.  The  general  court,  six  years  before,  saw  fit  to  encourage 
its  manufacture  by  a  bounty  of  three  shillings  per  bushel.  As  the 
diplomatic  relations  which  led  to  the  war  of  1812  were  unsettling 
values,  and  salt  was  rising  rapidly  in  price,  works  were  erected  in 
various  parts  of  the  Cape,  where  salt  was  obtained  by  solar  evapora- 
tion. One  company  was  incorporated  in  1809,  and  in  1821  a  Wellfleet 
company  was  incorporated,  with  a  capital  of  fifty  thousand  dollars. 
Before  the  gradual  decline  of  the  business  began,  two  million  dollars 
were  at  one  time  invested  in  salt  works. 


Many  crude  methods  were  employed,  but  at  last  a  regular  Cape 
Cod  salt  works  consisted  of  one  or  more  wind  mills  for  pumping  the 
water,  and  a  series  of  pine-plank  vats  to  receive  it.  These  vats,  usu- 
ally nine  inches  deep  and  from  twelve  to  twenty  feet  square,  were 
furnished  with  movable  covers  that  their  contents  might  be  exposed 
to  the  sun  or  shielded  from  the  rain.  Several  plans  of  vats  and  cov- 
ers were  in  use,  each  serving  this  general  purpose.  First,  the  covers 
were  made  to  slide  to  and  fro  on  suitable  ways;  next,  they  were  so 
made  as  to  be  swung  to  and  from  their  places;  and  finally  this  idea 
was  elaborated  and  the  double  revolving  covers  came  into  use.  In 
1803,  John  Sears,  of  East  Dennis,  proposed  an  improvement  in  vats 


144  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

and  covers,  which  for  years  bore  the  name  of  Sears'  Folly.  As  the 
process  of  evaporation  progressed,  which  required  weeks  to  complete, 
the  brine  was  conducted  from  the  first  vats,  called  water-rooms,  into  a 
second  range  called  pickle-rooms,  where  the  lime  was  removed  and 
the  crystals  commenced  forming.  Then  the  brine  was  run  into  other 
vats,  called  salt-rooms,  where  the  crystalization  went  on  until  salt 
could  be  raked  out  and  placed  in  warehouses  to  dry. 

The  first  public  record  regarding  this  industry,  in  details  by  towns, 
is  the  state  census  of  1837;  and  since  that  time  the  number  of  people 
employed,  capital  invested,  bushels  produced,  number  of  establish- 
ments engaged  in  its  manufacture,  and  the  value  of  the  product,  have 
been  ascertained  for  each  state  census. 

Barnstable  in  1837  had  thirty-four  establishments,  producing  an- 
nually 27,125  bushels;  in  1845,  twenty-four,  producing  21,000;  in  1855, 
eleven,  producing  10,550;  and  in  1865,  three,  producing  3,382  bushels. 

Brewster  in  1837  had  sixty  different  works,  producing  34,500  bush- 
els; in  1845,  thirty-nine,  producing  20,500;  in  1855,  seventeen,  produc- 
ing 5,000;  and  in  1865,  twelve,  producing  5,000  bushels. 

Chatham  had  eighty  plants  in  1837,  which  produced  27,400  bush- 
els; in  1846,  fifty-four,  producing  18,000;  and  in  1855,  fourteen,  pro- 
ducing 3,300  bushels. 

Dennis  in  1837  produced  from  114  establishments,  52,200  bushels; 
in  1845,  from  eighty-five  establishments,  34,600;  in  1855,  the  town 
produced  19,800  bushels;  in  1865,twenty-three  plants  produced  15,- 
275;  and  in  1885,  one  person  made  300  bushels. 

Eastham  in  1837  had  fifty-four  establishments,  that  produced  22,- 
370  bushels;  in  1845.  thirty-five  produced  17,320;  in  1855,  twenty-eight 
produced  13,722,  and  in  1865,  the  nine  works  made  4,575  bushels. 

Falmouth  in  1846  had  forty-two  salt-works,  producing  24,600  bush- 
els; in  1855,  fifteen  works  made  9,000  bushels;  and  in  1866  the  four 
remaining  plants  produced  2,800  bushels. 

Harwich  had  eight  different  salt  works  in  1837,  and  produced 
4,000  bushels;  half  as  many,  in  1845,  made  450,  and  in  1855  one  indi- 
vidual made  140  bushels. 

Orleans  had  fifty  plants  in  1837,  which  turned  out  21,780  bushels; 
in  1845,  forty-six  establishments  made  17,072;  in  1856,  nineteen  plants 
made  10,126;  and  in  1865,  fifteen  plants  produced  4,740  bushels. 

Provincetown  had  seventy-eight  salt  works  in  1837,  employing  an 
average  of  two  men  to  each,  and  producing  48,960  bushels;  in  1846, 
seventy  plants  made  26,000  bushels  of  salt;  in  1855,  five  plants  made 
2,304;  and  in  1865  the  only  remaining  plant  produced  200  bushels. 

Sandwich,  in  1837,  had  eight  plants,  producing  2,670  bushels; 
and  in  1845  the  number  and  their  product  had  diminished  one 
half. 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES.  145 

Truro  made  17,490  bushels  of  salt  in  1837  at  thirty-nine  establish- 
ments; in  1845  its  twenty-five  salt  makers  produced  11,515;  and  in 
1855,  fifteen  works  produced  5,078  bushels. 

Wellfleet  had  thirty-nine  of  these  works  in  1837,  which  produced 
10,000  bushels;  in  1845  the  twenty-eight  works  produced  6,000;  in 
1855,  thirteen  plants  turned  out  40,000;  and  in  18d5,  five  plants  pro- 
duced 7,000  bushels. 

Yarmouth,  which  was  long  prominent  in  this  industry,  had  fifty- 
two  plants  in  1837,  from  which  365,200  bushels  were  produced;  in 
1845,  sixty-five  plants  made  74,065  bushels;  in  1855,  forty-two  plants 
produced  27,650  bushels;  in  1865,  nineteen  made  13,780;  in  1875,  three 
plants  only  remained  in  operation  in  the  town;  and  in  1885  the  re- 
maining one,  operated  by  one  man,  produced  but  1,200  bushels. 

Glauber  salts  were  at  one  time  marketed,  but  the  low  price  of  that 
article  made  its  manufacture  unprofitable,  and  it  was  thereafter  al- 
lowed to  dissolve  and  pass  into  the  bittern.  This  bittern  or  resi- 
duum began  to  be  utilized  in  the  manufacture  of  carbonate  and 
calcined  magnesia  about  the  year  1850.  The  manufacture  of  Epsom 
was  continued  at  South  Yarmouth  until  the  year  1888  when,  for 
the  first  time  in  seventy-six  years,  the  salt-mills  along  the  shore 
of  Bass  River  ceased  to  revolve  and  the  business  of  salt  making  was 
discontinued.     A  view  of  these  ruins  is  at  page  143. 

So  generally  have  the  villagers  in  the  many  hamlets  of  the 
county  made  salt-making  a  part  of  their  business  that  we  have 
classed  it  as  a  local  enterprise,  and  in  the  several  town  histories 
have  given  detailed  accounts  of  the  hundreds  of  these  plants. 
The  increase  in  value  of  the  pine  for  making  the  vats  was  a  check 
upon  the  business.  The  supply  was  largely  from  Maine,  when 
most  of  the  works  were  built,  and  since  the  decline  of  the  indus- 
try much  of  the  lumber  in  these  salt  works  has  been  used  in  the 
construction  of  dwelling-houses  and  other  buildings.  Between  Hy- 
annis  and  West  Dennis,  some  of  the  vats,  with  their  dilapidated 
covers,  yet  stand,  seemingly  in  memory  of  a  departed  industry 
which  gave  employment  to  many  and  proved  a  blessing  to  the 
localities  in  which  it  flourished. 

The  most  ancient  branch  of  induslry,  and  one  not  subject  to  the 
dangers  of  the  waves,  is  that  of  agriculture,  in  which  the  first  settlers 
engaged,  and  which  is  largely  carried  on  at  the  present  time.  The 
alluvial  deposits  of  the  north  shore  from  Buzzards  bay  to  Eastham, 
where  the  first  settlements  of  the  Cape  were  made,  were  highly  pro- 
ductive; and  history  has  recorded  that  Nauset  was  the  granary  of  the 
Pilgrims,  years  before  the  white  man  disturbed  the  virgin  soil.  The 
cultivation  of  these  lands,  as  soon  as  a  spot  could  be  cleared  or  the 
fields  of  the  natives  obtained,  was  the  natural  labor  of  the  pioneer. 
10 


146  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Wheat  and  corn  were  the  principal  productions  for  many  years,  but 
the  production  of  the  former  declined  prior  to  1700,  because  mildew 
injured  the  crop  for  several  successive  years.  The  wheat  product  was 
again  increased  during  the  first  half  of  last  century,  but  during  this  it 
has  ceased  to  be  one  of  the  productions  of  the  county.  Corn,  rye,  oats, 
potatoes,  and  roots,  in  some  towns,  have  long  been  and  still  are  the 
staple  crops,  but  as  the  major  part  of  the  people  now  pursue  more 
lucrative  avocations  on  the  sea,  the  quantity  of  vegetable  food  re- 
quired by  the  inhabitants  is  not  grown  within  the  county  limits. 

The  hay  of  the  salt  meadows  early  induced  the  settlers  to  remove 
here,  and  it  has  since  been  a  staple,  spontaneous  product.  English 
hay  was  early  sought  as  a  product  of  the  soil,  and  in  its  steady  in- 
crease has  become  one  of  the  largest  and  most  profitable  of  the  field. 
Sheep  husbandry  was  an  early  industry  of  the  county.  The  sheep 
were  allowed  to  run  at  large,  ranging  through  the  brush  and  woods 
of  the  central  portions  of  the  Cape,  and  not  until  the  commencement 
of  the  present  century  did  this  branch  of  industry  cease  to  be  remu-. 
nerative;  and  even  later  small  flocks  were  kept,  the  product  of  which 
found  a  place  in  the  round  of  domestic  economy.  In  the  commence- 
ment of  the  growth  of  sheep  husbandry  laws  were  enacted  that  no 
sheep  should  be  sold  out  of  the  colony,  for  the  violation  of  which  law 
a  heavy  penalty  was  prescribed.  Cattle  raising  has  kept  pace  with 
other  branches  of  the  business  of  the  farm,  and  has  always  proved 
remunerative.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  cattle  and  horses  has 
been  more  rapid  during  the  present  century  than  previously,  amount- 
ing in  1879  to  quite  a  quarter  of  a  million  of  dollars.  The  average 
area  of  the  individual  farms  in  this  county  is  small,  but  in  various 
towns  and  during  all  the  past  generations  records  and  tradition  point 
to  the  growing  of  profitable  crops.  Fertilizers  of  various  kinds  are 
used,  but  in  the  use  of  the  refu.se  of  the  salt  marshes  and  the  fish,  this 
county  possesses  advantages  over  those  inland;  still,  phosphates  and 
fertilizers  are  imported,  the  cost  in  1880  being  $4,623. 

Fruit  growing  has  received  much  attention,  and  not  only  have 
many  farms  well-set,  thrifty  Orchards  of  varied  fruits,  but  nearly  every 
home  spot  has  its  variety.  The  many  orchards  of  one  hundred  years 
ago  still  exist  here  and  there  over  the  county,  and  there  are  cases  of 
still  greater  longevity.  The  pear  tree  planted  by  Governor  Prince  in 
Eastham,  where  he  settled  in  1644,  lived  two  centuries,  and  has  passed 
away  within  the  remembrance  of  middle-aged  residents. 

The  last  government  statistics  placed  the  number  of  Barnstable 
county  farms  at  979,  of  which  some  are  small  and  some  are  dairy 
farms;  but  in  the  general  products  of  field  culture,  when  relatively  con- 
sidered with  other  New  England  counties,  this  is  far  from  the  bottom 
of  the  column.     The  interest  in  the  industry  is  evinced  by  the  annual 


INDUSTRIAL   RESOURCES.  147 

fairs,  and  the  important  society  for  the  advancement  of  agriculture 
in  its  various  branches,  of  which  particulars  may  be  found  in  Chapter  V. 
The  branch  of  this  industry  now  receiving  the  most  attention  and 
from  which  the  largest  revenue  is  derived,  is  cranberry  culture. 
To  the  product  of  this  berry  a  vast  number  of  bogs  and  lowlands  have 
been  transformed  from  a  condition  of  seeming  worthlessness  to  the 
most  valuable  land  of  the  county.  These  bogs  for  generations  have 
quietly  rested  on  every  farm  of  the  Cape,  there  receiving  the  richness 
of  the  .surrounding  higher  lands,  while  in  themselves  they  were 
accumulations  of  the  most  fertile  vegetable  mould — but  useless  to  the 
owner.  The  cranberry  grew  in  these  in  a  wild  state,  and  until  half 
a  century  ago  the  fruit  was  carelessly  passed  as  of  no  utility.  Its 
present  appreciation  by  the  civilized  nations  of  both  hemispheres  is 
another  attesting  circumstance  of  the  change  in  tastes  and  customs 
which  so  revolutionizes  the  industries  of  a  people. 

Much  speculation  and  many  conflicting  statements  are  at  hand  re-i 
garding  the  time,  place,  and  circumstance  in  which  this  great  industry 
had  its  beginning  on  the  Cape.  At  North  Dennis,  about  1816,  one 
Henry  Hall  owned  a  piece  of  low  land  on  which  wild  cranberries 
grew.  Adjoining  this  were  beach  knolls,  from  which,  after  the  cut- 
ting of  some  small  timber,  the  sand  was  blown  upon  the  vines.  This, 
instead  of  injuring  the  berries  of  which  he  had  made  some  use,  was 
found  to  greatly  improve  them  as  they  sprang  up  through  the  lighter 
parts  of  the  sand  covering;  and  thus  is  believed  to  have  originated 
the  idea  so  fundamental  in  their  successful  cultivation.  So  little  was 
this  fruit  prized,  even  at  its  best,  that  it  was  many  years  before  any 
considerable  use  was  made  of  this  accidental  discovery.  In  the  mean- 
time William  Sears,  now  living,  and  his  father  Elkanah,  set,  at  East 
Dennis,  some  vines  for  their  own  use,  and  others  in  those  vicinities 
soon  after  followed  the  example;  but  no  one  thought  of  making  any 
commercial  use  of  the  berry.  Benjamin  F.  Bee,  of  Harwich,  says  that 
Isaiah  Baker  set  a  few  square  rods  to  cranberries,  at  West  Harwich, 
before  1840;  but  this  experiment,  whatever  its  date,  shared  the  fate  of 
all  that  were  made  prior  to  1847.  In  1844  and  1845  Alvan  Cahoon, 
then  sailing  a  vessel  from  North  Dennis,  saw  the  Henry  Hall  vines 
and  how  they  were  improved  by  the  sand  covering,  and  in  1846  he  set 
eight  rods  to  berries  at  Pleasant  lake,  in  Harwich;  and  in  1847,  the 
now  venerable  Cyrus  Cahoon  prepared  and  set,  at  Pleasant  lake,  one- 
fourth  of  an  acre.  These  dates  are  fully  authenticated,  and  mark  the 
period  from  which  may  be  dated  cranberry  culture  in  Barnstable 
county. 

Several  years  elapsed  before  the  business  yielded  anything  like 
profit  to  anyone.  About  the  time  the  experiments  were  being  made 
at  Pleasant  lake,  Zebina  H.  Small  set  a  little  plot  at  Grassy  pond. 


148  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

where  he  lost  the  four  hundred  dollars  which  he  invested.  Later,  he 
adopted  a  diflferent  system  from  any  then  in  use,  and  became  a  suc- 
cessful grower,  probably  among  the  very  first,  in  point  of  time,  to 
make  the  business  profitable.  In  his  biography,  in  the  chapter  on 
Harwich,  his  early  beginning  in  the  culture  of  cranberries  is  noticed, 
and  diligent  search  among  his  accounts  and  records  has  not  revealed 
a  more  definite  date  than  is  there  given.  During  his  lifetime  Mr. 
Small  was  regarded  by  some  as  the  original  cranberry  man  of  his 
town,  and  unquestionably,  was  among  the  very  first  to  experiment. 
We  have  noticed  with  exact  dates  those  early  experiments  at  Pleasant 
lake.  A  work  on  cranberry  culture,  written  by  Joseph  J.  White,  pub- 
lished in  1870  by  Orange  Judd  &  Co.,  contains  a  letter  over  Mr.  Small's 
name,  under  date  of  February,  1870,  in  which  he  says  that  his  first 
experiments  were  made  in  Harwich  "  twenty-five  years  ago."  On  the 
site  of  these  first  experiments  in  the  rear  of  Benjamin  F.  Bee's  factory, 
near  Harwich  Center,  his  son  Emulous  Small,  now  a  prominent  grower, 
has  a  productive  bog. 

In  1852  or  1853,  Nathaniel  Robbins  set  a  few,  and  afterward  became 
an  extensive  grower.  His  bogs  in  Harwich  were  not  especially  profit- 
able, but  he  made  a  fair  property  as  owner  in  other  bogs.  Jonathan 
Small  sanded  a  bog  quite  early  at  South  Harwich  near  the  shore, 
where  now  is  Deep  Hole  bog.  Deacon  Braley  Jenkins  of  West  Barn- 
stable was  the  first  to  cultivate  the  berry  in  that  part  of  the  Cape, 
having  his  bog  on  Sandy  Neck  outside  the  ancient  Cummaquid 
harbor. 

While  these  primitive  experiments  were  proving  the  wisdom  of 
some  theories  and  the  folly  of  others,  the  supply  of  berries  was  upon 
the  whole  rapidly  increasing,  for  in  almost  every  portion  of  the  Cape 
were  swamps  available  for  no  other  known  purpose. 

Probably  the  men  who  brought  the  berry  to  the  attention  of  the 
public  outside  of  the  districts  to  which  it  was  indigenous  and  created 
a  demand  for  it,  were  potent  factors  in  the  development  of  this  in- 
dustry. That  change  of  taste  which  we  have  noticed  as  continually 
going  on,  has  brought  this  little  waif  of  the  swamp  lands  into  notice, 
and  made  it  a  favorite  with  the  epicures  of  every  country.  Writers 
who  called  attention  to  it  also  promoted  the  general  interest.  Rev. 
Eastwood,  of  North  Dennis,  published  a  book  on  the  cranberry  and 
its  cultivation,  which  attracted  the  attention  of  the  New  Jersey  men, 
where  the  conditions  for  raising  them  were  similar.  In  the  book  the 
author  informed  his  readers  that  William  Crowell,  now  of  North  Den- 
nis, then  of  Baker  &  Crowell,  at  23  South  street,  New  York,  would 
answer  inquiries  from  any  who  intended  to  start  in  this  enterprise. 
From  this  and  other  causes  their  firm  handled  large  quantities  of  the 
cuttings  of  the  vines  which  were  sent  to  New  Jersey  to  start  the  in- 
dustry there. 


INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES.  149 

The  preparation  of  the  bogs  is  in  most  instances  a  tedious  and  ex- 
pensive process,  costing,  by  the  time  the  vines  are  started,  from  two 
hundred  to  five  hundred  dollars  per  acre,  and  in  some  instances  even 
more.  The  usual  method  is  to  clear  the  land  of  bushes  and  stumps, 
make  the  surface  as  level  as  practicable,  and  then  cover  with  a  layer 
of  sand  to  the  depth  of  from  three  to  eight  inches.  The  vines  are 
then  set  out  in  rows,  and  soon  cover  the  whole  acreage  uniformly. 
As  with  all  other  crops,  cranberries  require  constant  care  and  atten- 
tion to  keep  out  undesirable  growth.  Ivy  must  be  pulled  out  as  soon 
as  it  makes  its  appearance,  as  it  spreads  very  rapidly  when  once 
started.  The  same  is  true  of  grass  and  fern.  After  a  few  years  the 
vines  become  thick,  making  the  berries  ripen  too  slowly  and  difficult 
to  pick;  this  is  remedied  by  putting  on  a  layer  of  sand  an  inch  or  two 
thick  every  few  years.  One  method  of  resanding  is  to  sand  on  the  ice 
when  the  bog  is  flowed  in  winter. 

Every  known  variety  is  indigenous  to  the  soil  of  the  Cape,  from 
which  the  fruit  receives  an  excellence  so  peculiarly  marked  as  to 
render  the  Cape  Cod  berries  the  most  valuable  in  market.  This 
native  fruit  has  been  cultivated  to  its  present  perfection  by  trans- 
planting and  carefully  cultivating  the  best-producing  vines.  No  new 
varieties,  other  than  existed  in  their  native  beds,  have  been  added  to . 
the  list;  but  the  selection  of  the  most  perfect  vines  and  their  develop- 
ment under  more  favorable  circumstances,  has  improved  the  pleasing 
and  profitable  varieties  which  bear  the  names  of  those  who  prosecuted 
the  work.  The  Early  Blacks,  a  standard  variety,  originated  on  lands 
in  Harwich  belonging  to  Nathaniel  Robbins,  from  whom  all  the  men 
who  are  said  to  have  developed  it  obtained,  directly  or  indirectly, 
their  first  plants.  The  Howes  vine  originated  in  Dennis  and  was  first 
propagated  by  James  Howes,  who  has  sold  hundreds  of  barrels  of  cut- 
tings. The  Sears  vine,  and  the  Smalle)'  are  other  well-known  varie- 
ties. There  are  kinds  that  ripen  sufficiently  to  pick  during  the  last 
week  in  August,  but  not  until  the  first  week  of  the  following  month 
is  the  picking  general,  and  this  work  gives  lucrative  emplo5inent  to 
men,  women  and  children  during  a  period  of  several  weeks.  To 
hasten  the  tedious  work  of  picking  has  been  the  study  of  inventive 
minds  and  several  hand  machines  have  been  introduced;  but  the  per- 
fection of  the  device  and  its  introduction  to  general  use  has  not  yet 
been  accomplished. 

The  success  of  this  industrial  pursuit  was  scarcely  assured  when 
natural  enemies  of  the  crop  began  to  appear.  The  fire  worm  is  the 
most  dangerous  of  the  insect  foes,  and  various  means  have  been  ap- 
plied for  his  extermination.  Flowing  the  bogs  at  the  proper  time 
was  first  found  to  be  a  remedy,  but  this  retarded  the  growth  of  the 
berries  and  left  them  more  liable  to  injury  by  early  frosts  in  autumn. 


150  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Again,  some  bogs  could  not  be  quickly  submerged  and  a  delay  of 
eighteen  hours  in  checking  the  work  of  the  worm  at  a  critical  time 
decides  the  fate  of  the  crop.  Tobacco  decoctions  as  a  spray  on  the 
vines  have  been  used  with  good  results.  In  1889,  Eleazer  K.  Crowell 
of  Dennis  Port,  an  extensive  grower,  made  experiments  covering  sev- 
eral acres  to  which  he  applied  as  much  as  eighteen  barrels  of  tobacco 
decoction  in  a  single  day  with  a  satisfactory  result. 

The  distinguishing  feature  of  this  business  is  the  large  percentage 
of  the  gross  market  price  which  comes  to  the  people  whose  labor 
produces  them.  From  the  laborers  who  prepare  the  bogs  to  the  many 
men,  women  and  children  who  pick  the  berries,  all  classes  find  profit- 
able employment  and,  except  the  freights  and  selling  commissions,  the 
whole  price  of  the  fruit  in  market  finds  its  way  into  the  pockets  of  the 
Cape  people.  The  screening,  sorting  and  cleaning  the  berries  for  the 
market  is  no  small  amount  of  labor.  Making  the  barrels  and  boxes 
necessary  for  their  shipment  to  market  is  another  considerable  indus- 
try. Many  growers  make  their  own  shipping  cases,  purchasing  the  mate- 
rial from  factories  where  it  is  prepared  ready  to  put  up,  and  there  are 
several  shops  in  the  county  where  these  barrels  and  boxes  are  pre- 
pared ready  for  sale. 

Very  handsome  returns  have  generally  been  realized  from  invest- 
ments here  in  the  cranberry  business.  Several  verified  statements 
are  at  hand  showing  a  profit  of  over  a  hundred  per  cent,  on  the  in- 
vestment in  a  single  year,  and  some  of  these  reach  134  per  cent. 
Cyrus  Cahoon  of  Pleasant  Lake,  whose  age  and  observation  fit  him  to 
judge,  fairly  expresses  the  belief  that  the  total  investments  in  this 
industry  in  Barnstable  county  since  1860  have  yielded  an  average  an- 
nual return  of  thirty  per  cent.,  although  this  average  includes  some 
recent  years  wherein  some  growers  have  made  total  failures. 

In  the  census  year  1855  there  were  197  acres  in  the  county,  of  which 
Dennis  had  60;  Barnstable,  33;  Falmouth,  26;  Provincetown,  26;  Brew- 
ster, 21;  Harwich,  17;  Orleans,  8;  Eastham,  Sandwich  and  Yarmouth,  6 
acres  each,  and  Wellfleet,  2  acres.  The  next  census  by  the  state,  in 
1865,  showed  the  total  acreage  for  the  county  to  be  1,074.  Harwich 
had  become  the  leading  town,  having  209  acres;  Dennis,  194;  Brew- 
ster, 136;  Barnstable,  126;  Provincetown,  110;  Sandwich,  70;  Falmouth, 
68;  Yarmouth,  40;  Orleans,  38;  Chatham,  27;  Wellfleet  and  Eastham, 
each  22;  and  Truro,  12  acres. 

The  state  bureau  of  labor  statistics  records  the  production  of  cran- 
berries in  the  county  for  the  census  year  1865  at  13,324  bushels,  the 
value  of  which  was  $36,815.  The  same  authority  places  the  crop  of 
1874  for  the  county  at  44,031  bushels,  of  which  Barnstable  produced 
10,019  bushels;  Dennis,  8,637;  Brewster,  6,198;  Harwich,  6,600;  Sand- 
wich, 4,673;  Falmouth,  4,438;  Orleans,  1,128;  Yarmouth,  845;  Province- 


INDUSTRIAL   RESOURCES.  151 

town,  760;  Eastham,  633;  Wellfleet,  376;  Chatham.  322;  and  Truro,  114 
bushels.  Since  then  the  amount  of  the  production  has  been  stated  in 
barrels.  The  totals  for  the  county,  as  determined  from  the  shipment 
records  of  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  Company,  were  34,733  barrels  for 
1877,  and  37,883  barrels  for  1879.  In  1880  they  shipped  39,625  bar- 
rels, and  26,500  barrels  in  1883.  In  1884  the  crop  was  27,246  barrels. 
For  1886  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  furnishes  the  details  by  towns, 
showing  that  each  town  in  the  county  was  producing  this  fruit,  of 
which  Harwich,  in  the  lead,  marketed  12,180  barrels,  and  Wellfleet,  at 
the  foot  of  the  list,  produced  143  barrels.  The  other  towns  in  order 
were:  Barnstable,  producing  8,509  barrels;  Bourne,  8,094  barrels;  Den- 
nis, 6,030  barrels;  Yarmouth,  6,000;  Falmouth,  3,234;  Brewster,  3,000; 
Mashpee,  2,740;  Sandwich,  2,389;  Provincetown,  1,472;  Orleans,  1,067; 
Chatham,  1,000;  Truro,  479;  and  Eastham,  471  barrels— a  total  for  the 
county  of  55,898  barrels.  These  figures  are  from  the  producers'  state- 
ments, while  the  shipment  records  of  the  railroad  company  make  the 
total  for  the  county  991  barrels  less,  a  difference  of  less  than  two  per 
cent.  The  Old  Colony  figures  for  1886  show  the  crop  to  have  been 
60,803  barrels;  for  1887  to  have  been  63,476  barrels;  for  1888  the  crop 
was  64,316,  and  for  1889  the  gross  shipments — the  largest  ever  made 
— reached  66,750  barrels. 

The  table  shows  the  number  of  barrels  or  their  equivalents  shipped 
in  1889  from  the  several  stations,  and  gives  an  approximate  idea  of 
the  amount  produced  in  the  several  towns.  The  West  Barnstable  and 
Sandwich  shipments  include  chiefly  the  crop  of  Mashpee. 

Buzzards  Bay 201 

Monument  Beach 141 

Wenaumet 96 

Cataumet 668 

North  Falmouth 736 

West  Falmouth 62 

Falmouth 4,420 

Woods  Holl 170 


Bourne 773 

Bournedale '. .  1,681 

Sagamore 3,371 

Sandwich 5,800 

West  Barnstable 9,686 

Barnstable 363 

Yarmouth 4,735 

Hyannis 3,349 

South  Yarmouth 2,968 


South  Dennis 5,993 

North  Harwich 3,930 

Harwich 9,479 

South  Harwich 406 

South  Chatham 186 

Chatham 680 

Pleasant  Lake 491 

Brewster 6,286 

Orleans 1,224 

Eastham 189 

North  Eastham 33 

South  Wellfleet 66 

Wellfleet 132 

South  Truro 68 

Truro 13 

North  Truro 10 

Provincetown 66 


The  area  devoted  to  their  culture  in  the  several  towns  as  recorded 
by  the  local  assessors  for  1889,  shows  a  total  of  3,006i  acres  in  the 
county,  valued  at  $589,639.00  as  the  basis  of  taxation.  This  area  is 
doubtless  very  nearly  correct,  but  this  valuation  is  not  more  than 


152  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

two-fifths  of  the  commercial  value  of  these  lands.     The  detail  by- 
towns  are  : 

198^  acres  in  Bourne,      valued  at $35,684  00 

131i  "  Falmouth,  "       37,097  00 

203i  "  Mashpee,  "       66,160  00 

135f  "  Sandwich,  "       32,400  00 

5491  "  Barnstable,  "       116,650  00 

165i  "  Yarmouth,  "       25,680  00 

359ii  "  Dennis,  "       71.870  00 

600^  "  Harwich,  "       114,810  00 

93f  "  Chatham,  "       12,144  00 

2o4  "  Brewster,  "       47,990  00 

123i  "  Orleans,  "       10,008  00 

56  "  Eastham,  "       4,979  00 

13f  "  Wellfleet,  "       995  00 

69i  "  Truro,  "       3,754  00 

.  and  212i  "  Provincetown,    "       9.618  00 

This  total  for  the  county  does  not  include  the  larger  areas  in 
course  of  preparation,  but  not  yet  set  with  vines.  Several  individuals 
and  companies  in  the  lower  Cape  are  preparing  to  increase  the  acre- 
age in  those  towns  where,  thus  far,  less  of  the  fruit  has  been  grown. 

The  biographical  sketches  of  Abel  D.  Makepeace,  of  West  Barn- 
stable, generally  known  as  the  cranberry  king;  of  Cyrus  Cahoon  and 
Zebnia  H.  Small,  of  Harwich,  and  of  E.  K.  Crowell,  William  Crowell 
and  Capt.  Howes  Baker,  of  Dennis,  as  they  appear  in  the  subsequent 
chapters  of  this  volume,  and  the  personal  mention  of  the  other  grow- 
ers in  the  several  towns,  will  throw  more  light  upon  their  relation  to 
the  origin  and  progress  of  this  great  industrial  resource  of  South  East- 
ham,  Mass. 

The  terms  in  which  this  county  is  generally  referred  to,  and  the 
distinctive  titles  applied  to  the  residents  of  it,  have  gradually  given 
those  who  have  not  known  the  territory  or  its  inhabitants,  the  idea 
that  Cape  Codders,  the  Cape  and  Cape  Cod  people  were  terms  refer- 
ring to  a  community  different  from  the  rest  of  New  England,  and 
especially  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  This  idea  is  not 
correct,  even  in  general  respects,  because  the  residents  of  the  county 
have  always,  by  land  and  sea,  maintained  business  and  social  relations 
as  extensive  with  others  as  have  any  people.  If,  however,  there  be  one 
trait  which,  more  than  another,  distinguish  these  families  from  others 
of  the  East,  it  is  that  love  of  home  which  more  or  less  characterizes 
the  dwellers  of  all  islands  and  insular  localities.  This  love  of  their 
native  place,  and  that  reverence  and  respect  for  the  character  that 
has  been  developed  in  it,  seems  to  increase  the  longer  they  remain 


INDUSTRIAL   RESOURCES.  163 

away  from  it;  and  now  that  communication  is  so  easy  between  the 
East  and  West,  each  season  witnesses  the  return  to  the  Cape  of  those 
who  from  it  have  gone  to  make  their  home  in  almost  every  state  of 
the  Union.  They  find  here  something  which,  somehow,  they  forgot, 
or  failed  to  take  with  them  when  they  went  West;  and  so  year  after 
year  they  come  back  to  the  scenes  and  circumstances  of  the  old  home, 
"  which  father's  grandfather  built  in  17 —  and  something." 

That  sensible  practice,  happily  increasing  among  city  people,  of 
checking  themselves  each  year  in  the  rush  and  hurry  of  business,  to 
take  a  vacation  at  the  seaside,  has  already  modified,  to  a  great  extent, 
the  resources  and  prospects  of  Cape  Cod.  Available  building  sites 
for  summer  cottages  are  rapidly  being  occupied  by  those  who  build 
more  rr  less  elaborately  and  spend  the  larger  portion  of  the  year 
here.  This  is  especially  true  of  Falmouth,  where  several  people  of 
large  means  claim  their  residence.  More  than  one-half  of  all  the 
taxes  of  this  town  are  paid  by  four  such  families.  These  elegant 
residences  have  been  erected  by  the  summer  people  almost  through- 
out the  Buzzards  bay  side  of  the  county,  and  down  the  Cape  on  either 
shore;  and  on  the  higher  lands  as  well,  handsome  residences  beautify 
the  landscape.  The  most  elaborate  and  expensive  of  all  residences 
in  Barnstable  county  is  Tawasentha,  the  new  residence  of  Albert 
Crosby,  in  Brewster,  which  is  the  subject  of  an  illustration  in  the  his- 
tory of  that  town. 

The  salubrity  of  the  climate,  the  remarkably  even  temperature, 
and  the  opportunities  for  pleasure  bring  hundreds  of  strangers  to 
the  Cape  each  season.  Here  are  all  the  conditions  to  be  looked  or 
hoped  for  at  any  seaside  resort,  and  then  here  is  that  other  element — 
the  hospitable  good  cheer  of  the  New  England  home.  The  hotels  are 
good,  but  a  large  class  of  summer  comers  are  those  who  choose  the 
farm  house  or  the  village  home,  where  a  view  of  the  Cape  life,  as  it 
is,  and  the  broad  hospitality  of  the  people  are  a  stimulus  to  the 
moral  fibre  of  a  man — not  less  to  be  desired,  perhaps,  than  the  brac- 
ing, appetizing  breezes  which  come  to  him  from  the  ocean. 

The  visitors  who  choose  hotel  life  find  less  accommodations  than 
the  Cape  should  be  able  to  furnish,  and  along  this  line  the  greatest  de- 
velopment in  the  immediate  future  is  to  be  looked  for  and  expected. 
The  tourist  who  hurriedly  visits  the  Cape  by  rail  gets  the  worst  pos- 
sible impression  of  it,  for  the  railway  was  located  to  best  accommo- 
date the  villages  on  either  side,  passing  through  the  most  barren  and 
uninviting  lands  between  them.  The  traveler  of  the  old  stage-coach 
days  understood  the  country  better.  One  can  hardly  find  elsewhere 
in  the  state  so  beautiful  a  drive  as  the  south  side  coaches  covered  in 
their  trips  from  Sandwich  through  the  pretty  villages  of  Cotuit,  Oster- 
ville,  Centerville,  Hyannis,  West  and  South  Yarmouth,  and  over  the 


154  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Bass  river  lower  bridge  on  through  West  Dennis,  Dennis  Port,  West 
Harwich,  Harwich  Port,  South  Harwich,  West  and  South  Chatham  to 
the  flourishing  village  of  Chatham. 

Liberal  sums  are  annually  expended  by  the  several  towns  to  im- 
prove the  roads,  and  almost  in  proportion  as  the  roads  have  been  made 
better  has  the  summer  business  been  increased.  Falmouth  has  thus 
far  taken  the  lead  in  this  respect,  but  each  of  the  towns,  especially  in 
the  central  and  upper  portions  of  the  Cape,  have  charming  drives, 
where  the  impression  is  as  though  one  were  riding  through  some  well- 
kept  park. 

A  Cape  Cod  man,  now  president  of  the  largest  bank  in  America,  is 
interested  in  a  new  hotel  being  erected  on  an  elegant  plan  in  Chat- 
ham. At  Monument  Beach,  on  the  site  of  the  old  Stearns  House,  a 
new  five-story  hotel  is  nearly  completed,  and  entirely  around  the  point 
on  which  it  stands  has  been  built  a  sea  wall,  having  a  circular  sweep, 
which  bounds  and  protects  the  north  and  west  sides  of  the  grounds. 
The  house  is  of  wood,  with  brown  stone  for  veranda  column  founda- 
tions, chimney  caps  and  fireplaces.  It  contains  eighty-nine  guest 
chambers,  besides  parlors,  dining-rooms,  kitchens,  store-rooms,  bath- 
rooms, etc. 

The  Santuit  House,  at  Cotuit,  was  built  in  1860  by  Braddock  Cole- 
man and  run  by  him  and  his  son  James  H.  After  being  leased,  the 
Barnstable  Savings  bank  sold  it  on  a  mortgage  to  Samuel  Nickerson, 
whose  son-in-law,  Charles  N.  Scudder,  managed  it  two  years,  when  it 
passed  in  1880  to  its  present  owner,  Abbie  A.  Webb.  Mr.  Webb  re- 
modeled it,  bought  the  old  Captain  Alpheus  Adams  house,  with  other 
adjoining  property,  and  remodeled  the  whole,  furnishing  accommoda- 
tions for  one  hundred  guests.  The  Monument  Club,  at  head  of  the 
bay,  has  suitable  buildings  for  comfort  and  recreation. 

The  Bay  View  House,  the  Redbrook  House,  and  the  Jachin  are 
beautifully  located  at  Cataumet,  on  Buzzards  bay.  The  locality  has 
many  advantages  as  a-healthful  resort,  and  is  easily  accessible  by  the 
Woods  Holl  brahch  of  the  railroad.  Still  further  southward  on  the 
bay,  is  Quisset  harbor,  a  romantic  spot  in  the  southwest  portion  of 
Falmouth.  Ample  accommodations  are  provided  for  guests.  The 
house  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  high  bank  that  encloses  the  har- 
bor, which  afifords  safe  sailing  and  successful  fishing.  George  W. 
Fish  has  been  the  popular  proprietor  for  several  years.  On  the  sound, 
at  Falmouth  Heights,  Tower's  Hotel  was  erected  in  1871,  and  was  en- 
larged in  1875.  Here  also  is  the  Goodwin  Hou.se,  a  well-patronized 
house,  by  Mrs.  C.  H.  Goodwin.  Menauhant,  easterly  of  the  Heights, 
is  also  on  the  sound  shore  of  Falmouth.  This  house  is  near  the  water, 
is  well  protected  on  the  land  side  by  forests,  and  is  a  well-chosen  lo- 
cality.     It  was  built  in  1874  by  Gideon  Horton  and  Benjamin  Angell 


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INDUSTRIAL   RESOURCES.  155 

who  organized  the  Menauhant  land  company  and  built  also  some 
cottages.  In  May,  1888,  Floyd  Travis,  of  Taunton,  bought  the  hotel 
property  on  which  he  has  made  many  internal  improvements.  A 
highway  was  laid  out  in  1889  connecting  by  the  shore  route  with  East 
Falmouth,— reducing  the  distance  from  the  railway  station  to  6i 
miles. 

The  Hotel  Falmouth,  of  Falmouth  village,  and  the  Dexter  House, 
at  Woods  Holl,  are  open  during  the  entire  year,  but  have  a  large 
summer  patronage.  The  Hotel  Attaquin,  of  Mashpee,  and  the  lya- 
nough  House,  of  Hyannis,  also  make  a  specialty  of  entertaining 
summer  boarders. 

The  Cotocheset  House,  at  Wianno  Beach,  near  Osterville,  was  built 
by  Harvey  Scudder  prior  to  1869,  and  was  owned  by  J.  C.  Stevens 
from  1877  until  its  destruction  by  fire  in  1887.  The  real  estate  at  this 
beach  was  largely  owned  by  the  Osterville  Land  Company.  After  the 
fire  the  Cotocheset  Company,  a  stock  company,  erected  the  present 
fine  hotel — still  known  as  the  Cotocheset  House — which  was  leased  by 
the  popular  hostess,  Mrs.  Ames,  who  had  managed  the  former  hotel 
eight  years  with  remarkable  success. 

The  Sea-View  is  beautifully  located  at  Harwich  Port,  accommodat- 
ing many  summer  boarders;  and  at  Chatham  the  Travelers'  Home  has 
been  fitted  up,  giving  a  commanding  view  of  the  ocean  and  sound. 
The  hotels  of  the  towns  down  the  Cape  are  more  or  less  patronized  by 
pleasure  seekers,  and  to  be  added  to  these  is  the  Giflford  House  of 
Provincetown,  open  only  during  the  summer.  This  house  is  pleasantly 
situated  on  an  eminence  overlooking  the  harbor. 

Prominent  on  the  north  or  bay  side  of  the  Cape  stands  the  Nobs- 
cussett  House,  at  Dennis.  Situated  on  a  bluff  sixty  feet  above  the 
sea,  the  eye,  from  its  cupola,  sweeps  a  marine  half  circle  of  a  twenty 
mile  radius,  and  a  stretch  almost  as  distant  of  picturesque  landscape, 
with  meadow,  hill,  forest  and  crystal  ponds.  From  every  direction  it 
catches  the  ocean  breeze,  bringing  with  it  "  the  breath  of  a  new  life — 
the  healing  of  the  seas."  There  is,  perhaps,  no  place  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  that  offers  so  many  advantages  for  a  summer's  rest  by  the  sea  as 
this  spot.  The  hotel  grounds  cover  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
acres,  with  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  mile  of  sea  front,  furnishing  ex- 
cellent facilities  for  bathing,  boating,  fishing,  and  ample  room  for 
rambling,  croquet,  lawn  tennis  and  swings.  Forty  acres  of  these 
grounds  were  set  apart  for  whaling  purposes  in  the  early  history  of 
the  town,  and  for  more  than  two  hundred  years  the  old  "  Whale 
House  "  occupied  the  site  on  which  the  pavilion  now  stands. 

An  attractive  feature  is  the  pier  extending  into  the  sea  eight 
hundred  feet,  with  a  pavilion  at  the  end,  where  it  widens  to  fifty  feet, 
in  a  depth  of  twenty  feet  of  water  at  high  tide.     With  clams,  lobsters. 


166  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

fish  in  great  variety,  fresh  from  the  sea,  and  all  the  vegetables  of  the 
season,  with  rich  cream  and  milk  furnished  daily  from  the  adjacent 
Tobey  farm,  the  appetite,  whetted  by  the  sea  air,  is  readily  appeased. 

The  house  is  supplied  with  pure  water  from  a  never-failing  spring, 
while  the  drainage  and  sanitary  arrangements  are  the  best  that  mod- 
ern science  can  suggest. 

In  1885,  the  late  Charles  Tobey  of  Chicago,  a  native  of  Dennis, 
purchased  this  property  and  greatly  enlarged  and  beautified  its  ap- 
pearance by  adding  to  the  hotel  a  front  of  four  and  a  half  stories, 
building  two  cottages  with  twelve  rooms  each,  a  billiard  room  and 
bowling  alley  with  hall  above,  a  pavilion,  ice  house  and  stable.  The 
grounds  were  improved  by  walks,  driveways  and  flower  beds.  Re- 
cently the  present  owner,  Frank  B.  Tobey,  of  Chicago,  also  a  native  of 
Dennis,  has  made  extensive  additions  to  the  hotel,  so  that  it  now  fur- 
nishes accommodation  for  two  hundred  guests.  Luther  Hall,  of  Den- 
nis, has  charge  of  this  property,  assisted  in  the  management  of  the 
hotel  by  F.  H.  Pratt. 

Generally,  the  several  hotels  mentioned  in  the  histories  of  the  vil- 
lages through  the  county  make  special  preparations  to  entertain  the 
summer  people. 

Not  the  least  of  the  attractions  of  the  Cape  are  the  excellent  facil- 
ities for  yachting.  The  retired  shipmasters,  as  well  as  the  pleasure- 
seekers,  own  handsome  yachts  and  engage  in  the  sport.  Regattas  are 
sailed  each  season  at  various  points  around  the  shore,  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Cape  Cod  Yacht  Club,  in  which  nearly  every  town  is  repre- 
sented. The  past  summer  has  been  marked  by  the  several  yacht  races 
at  Buzzards  Bay,  Nobscussett,  and  along  the  sound,  many  of  the  visit- 
ors having  large  and  beautiful  yachts  for  their  private  use. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS. 


By  John  H.  Dillingham. 

CCopyrtght,  1890.] 


General  View  of  the  Rise  and  Course  of  their  Principles  in  Barnstable  County. — The 
Society  inSandwich. — Newell  Hoxie. — The  Society  in  Ytirmouth. — David  K.  Akin. 
— The  Society  in  Falmouth. — The  Dillingham  Family. 


MINISTERS  of  the  Society  of  Friends  first  made  their  appearance 
in  this  county  in  the  year  1657,  ten  years  after  the  rise  of  the 
society  in  England,  chiefly  under  the  ministry  of  George  Fox. 
These  were  Christopher  Holder  and  John  Copeland,  who,  having 
landed  at  Rhode  Island,  proceeded  soon  to  Martha's  Vineyard.  Their 
religious  ofi^erings  being  unacceptable  to  the  governor  of  the  island 
and  to  Mayhew,  the  priest,  an  Indian  was  ordered  to  convey  them 
across  the  sound.  They  stepped  upon  the  (now  called)  Falmouth 
shore  on  the  20th  of  Sixth*  month,  1657,  and  proceeded  to  the  town  of 
Sandwich.  There  they  found  a  number  unsettled  in  their  church  re- 
lations, doubtful  of  the  propriety  of  stated  preaching,  and  believing  in 
the  duty  of  Christians  without  human  ordination  to  exercise  their  own 
gifts  in  the  ministry.  Thus  the  seed  of  what  was  nicknamed  Quaker- 
ism found  a  soil  to  some  extent  prepared.  The  spiritual  doctrines 
preached  by  Christopher  Holder  and  John  Copeland  were  hailed  with 
feelings  of  satisfaction  by  those  who  had  found  little  food  in  stated 
preaching  or  in  forms  of  worship.  Not  less  than  eighteen  families  in 
Sandwich  were  on  record  the  next  year  as  professing  with  Friends.f 

This  was  not  the  first  arrival  of  Copeland  and  Holder  on  New 
England  shores,  but  they  were  of  the  first  cargo  of  Friends  who  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  a  foothold  on  New  England  soil,  to  propagate  their 
views  of  gospel  truth.    They  had  first  arrived  from  London  in  Boston 

*  Now  Eighth  month,  called  August. 

f  "  They  have  many  meetings  and  many  adherents;  almost  the  whole  town  of 
Sandwich  is  adhering  towards  them.  .  .  The  Sandwich  men  may  not  go  to  the  Bay 
[Boston  colony],  lest  they  be  taken  up  for  Quakers." — Letter  of  James  Cud  worth,  a  Puri- 
tan, in  1658. 


168  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

bay  one  year  before,  together  with  six  fellow  laborers  in  the  same 
cause.  The.'5e  arrived  only  two  days  after  the  sailing  away  of  Mary 
Fisher  and  Anne  Austin,  who  had  been  the  first  of  that  society  to  come 
to  New  England;  and  who,  after  five  weeks'  imprisonment,  had  been 
sent  to  Barbadoes  on  the  vessel  in  which  they  came.  Now,  these 
eight  other  Friends  appearing  in  place  of  the  two  just  banished, 
brought  no  small  consternation  to  the  minds  of  the  authorities, 
who  had  them  imprisoned  for  eleven  weeks,  and  subjected  to  many 
hardships  in  jail,  before  they  were  shipped  back  to  London. 

The  aged  Nicholas  Upshal,  who  had  been  touched  by  the  suffer- 
ings of  Mary  Fisher  and  Anne  Austin  as  prisoners,  and  had  given 
them  provisions,  now  raised  his  voice  in  protest  against  the  treatment 
of  Quakers  and  the  laws  enacted  against  them.  Banished  from  his 
home  in  consequence,  he  proceeded  southward  in  hope  of  finding 
shelter  at  Sandwich.  But  the  governor  of  Plymouth  had  issued  a  war- 
rant forbidding  any  of  the  people  of  Sandwich  to  entertain  him  The 
inhabitants  of  Sandwich,  which  even  then  began  to  appear  as  the 
cradle  of  religious  liberty  for  Massachusetts,  were  mercifully  disposed 
to  ignore  the  governor's  order  summoning  him  to  Plymouth.  But 
such  was  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  on  them  by  the  governor, 
that  when  spring-time  came,  they  advised  Nicholas  Upshal  to 
seek  refuge  in  Rhode  Island.  Succeeding  in  reaching  the  free 
soil  of  Newport,  doubtless  there  as  during  his  sojourn  in  Sand- 
wich, he  served  to  prepare  many  minds  for  the  reception  of  the 
doctrines  which  he  had  learned  in  Boston  through  the  per- 
secuted Friends.  The  story  of  the  old  man's  wrongs  being  a  theme 
of  general  conversation  at  Newport,  an  Indian  chief  was  heard  to  ex- 
claim, "  What  a  God  have  the  English,  who  deal  so  with  one  another 
about  their  God  !  " 

It  was  while  this  topic  was  fresh  that  Robert  Fowler's  vessel,  the 
Woodhouse,  arrived  at  Newport,  landing  six  of  the  eleven  Friends  whom 
he  had  brought  from  England, — the  other  five  of  his  passengers  having 
disembarked  at  New  Amsterdam  (New  York).  Of  the  six  who  pro- 
ceeded to  Newport,  Christopher  Holder  and  John  Copeland  remained 
there  nearly  a  fortnight.  No  doubt  the  exiled  Nicholas  Upshal,  who 
had  passed  the  preceding  winter  in  Sandwich,  had  much  conference 
in  Newport  with  these  welcome  brethren;  and  much  that  he  could  say 
to  them  about  the  fields  being  ready  for  a  harvest  in  Sandwich,  may 
have  been  instrumental  in  turning  the  course  of  Copeland  and  Holder 
toward  the  Cape,  by  way  of  the  Vineyard.  But  Copeland,  in  a  letter  to 
his  parents,  names  only  the  next  station  immediately  in  view:  "  Now 
I  and  Christopher  Holder  are  going  to  Martha's  Vineyard  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  will  of  our  God,  whose  will  is  our  joy." 

It  is  requisite  here  that  we  should  take  a  glance  at  the  more  dis- 


THE    SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS.  159 

tinguishing  doctrines  inculcated  by  the  Friends  *  in  order  to  under- 
stand a  little  of  their  public,  though  invisible  influence  on  the  life  of 
the  western  half  of  the  county,  especially  in  Sandwich,  Falmouth  and 
Yarmouth,  where  societies  of  them  were  early  gathered  and  still  re- 
main. This  influence  has  been  due,  not  to  their  numbers,  but  to  their 
character.  And  their  character,  so  far  as  it  is  the  outcome  of  their 
doctrines,  is  traceable  to  so  much  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  not  as  they 
have  professed  as  a  foundation  doctrine,  but  as  they  have  admitted 
into  their  hearts  to  live  by  and  obey. 

As  the  immediate  beginning  of  modern  Protestantism  sprang  up 
in  the  revelation  livingly  opened  to  Luther  while  performing  a  Rom- 
ish penance,  that  "  The  just  shall  live  by  faith,"  so  a  similar  be- 
ginning of  that  more  distinct  testimony  for  the  spiritual  nature  of  the 
Christian  dispensation,  as  the  second  wave  of  the  reformation,  by  some 

*  The  first  written  declaration  of  faith,  representing  some  of  the  leading  doctrines 
of  Friends,  is  believed  to  be  the  following,  issued  by  Christopher  Holder,  John  Cope- 
land  and  Richard  Doudney,  soon  after  the  first  visit  of  the  two  former  in  Sandwich. 
It  is  dated:  "  From  the  House  of  Correction,  the  1st  of  the  Eighth  month,  1657,  in 
Boston." 

"  We  do  believe  in  the  only  true  and  living  God,  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  hath  made  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  the  sea  and  all  things  in  them  con- 
tained, and  doth  uphold  all  things  that  he  hath  created  by  the  word  of  his  power. 
Who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers  manners,  spake  in  time  past  to  our  fathers  by  the 
prophets,  but  in  these  last  days  hath  spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son,  whom  he  hath  made 
heir  of  all  things,  by  whom  he  made  the  world.  The  which  Son  is  that  Jesus  Christ 
that  was  born  of  the  Virgin;  who  suffered  for  our  offences,  and  is  risen  again  for  our 
justification,  and  is  ascended  into  the  highest  heavens,  and  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of 
God  the  Father.  Even  in  him  do  we  believe;  who  is  the  only  begotten  Son  of  the 
Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth.  And  in  him  do  we  trust  alone  for  salvation;  by  whose 
blood  we  are  washed  from  sin;  through  whom  we  have  access  to  the  Father  vrith  bold- 
ness, being  justified  by  faith  in  believing  in  his  name.  Who  hath  sent  forth  the  Holy 
Ghost,  to  wit,  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  that  proceedeth  from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  by 
which  we  are  sealed  and  adopted  sons  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  From  the 
which  Spirit  the  Scriptures  of  truth  were  given  forth,  as,  saith  the  Apostle  Peter,  '  Holy 
men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.'  The  which  were  written 
for  our  admonition,  on  whom  the  ends  of  the  world  are  come;  and  are  profitable  for  the 
man  of  God,  to  reprove,  and  to  exhort,  and  to  admonish,  as  the  Spirit  of  God  bringeth 
them  unto  him,  and  openeth  them  in  him,  and  giveth  him  the  understanding  of 
them. 

"  So  that  before  all  men  we  do  declare  that  we  do  believe  in  Grod  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Spirit;  according  as  they  are  declared  of  in  the  Scriptures;  and  the 
Scriptures  we  own  to  be  a  true  declaration  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Spirit;  in 
which  is  declared  what  was  in  the  beginning,  what  was  present,  and  waa  to 
come.  »  »  «  [The  only  doctrinal  matter  which  follows  is  contained  in 
an  exhortation  to  turn  to  the  Spirit]  that  showeth  you  the  secret  of  your  hearts,  and 
the  deeds  that  are  not  good.  Therefore  while  you  have  light,  believe  in  the  light,  that 
you  may  be  the  children  of  the  light;  for,  as  you  love  it  and  obey  it,  it  will  lead  you  to 
repentance,  bring  you  to  know  Him  in  whom  is  remission  of  sins,  in  whom  God  is  well 
pleased;  who  will  give  you  an  entrance  into  the  kingdom  of  God,  an  inheritance 
amongst  them  that  are  sanctified." 


160  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

denominated  as  Quakerism,*  dates  from  the  moment  that  George  Fox, 
after  sore  struggles  and  wanderings  in  search  for  the  living  truth, 
heard  the  words  as  by  a  declaration  from  heaven,  "  There  is  one,  even 
Christ  Jesus,  that  can  speak  to  thy  condition." 

From  that  time,  Jesus  Christ,  not  only  as  "  once  offered  to  bear  the 
sins  of  many,"  but  as  the  inspeaking  Word  of  God  and  Mediator  be- 
tween man  and  the  Father;  the  "  true  Light  that  lighteth  every  man 
that  cometh  into  the  world  ";  the  Leader,  by  the  witness  of  his  Spirt, 
into  all  the  Truth;  and  the  practical  "head  over  all  things  to  his 
church,"  even  head  over  every  individual  exercise  of  true  public  and 
private  worship, — -has  been  the  foundation  of  the  system  of  doctrines 
and  testimony,  which  seemed  to  the  early  Friends  clearly  to  proceed 
from  Christ  by  the  witness  of  his  spirit  to  their  hearts. 

They  reverently  owned  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  be  written  words 
of  God,  but  were  careful  to  observe  them  just  as  reverently  in  their 
own  confinement  of  the  title  "  Word  of  God  "  to  Christ  himself.  Sat- 
isfied that  the  Scriptures  were  written  by  inspiration  of  God,  they 
dared  to  open  or  interpret  their  spiritual  meaning  under  no  other 
qualification  than  a  measure  of  that  in  which  they  were  written. 
Knowing  that  a  prophecy  of  Scripture  is  of  no  private  interpretation; 
but,  as  it  came  not  by  will  of  man,  no  more  can  it  be  so  interpreted; 
and  "  as  holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,"  so  in  the  light  of  the  same  Spirit  must  the  sayings,  as  all  the 
other  "things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,"  be  spiritually  discerned;  and, 
when  rightly  called  for,  so  declared  to  others. 

Now,  since  "  a  measure  and  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
given  to  every  man  to  profit  withal,"  and  "  the  grace  of  God  which 
bringeth  salvation,  hath  appeared  to  all  men,  teaching  them,"  if  they 
will  heed  it,  the  essentials  of  life  and  salvation,  God  hath  neither  left 
himself  without  a  witness  for  Truth  to  every  man's  heart,  nor  man 
any  where  with  availing  excuse.  Since  "sin  is  the  transgression  of 
the  law,"  and  "  all  have  sinned,"  all  must  have  had  the  law,  or  evi- 
dence of  the  divine  will, — some  in  the  Scriptures,  and  all  mankind  by 
the  Spirit,  witnessing  in  their  hearts  against  sin.  "  For  where  no  law 
is,  there  is  no  transgression."  But  by  the  inward  witness  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  sin  is  disclosed  to  each  man  as  sin;  whereby  Christ  fulfills  his 
promise,  if  he  should  go  away,  to  come  again  and  "  convince  the  world 
of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment."  And  if  under  this  con- 
viction for  sin  there  is  a  faithful  repentance  toward  God,  a  saving  faith 
toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  imparted  by  the  same  Spirit  (even  to 
such  sincere  penitents  as  may  not  have  been  informed  of  his  outward 

*A  nickname,  as  in  most  cases  ha,Dpens,  more  persistent  than  the  adopted  name, 
and  started  by  Greorge  Fox's  bidding  a  magistrate  to  "  Tremble  at  the  word  of  the 
Lord." 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  161 

history,  yet  they  experience  the  spiritual  mystery)  to  give  us  to  feel 
our  transgriesson  forgiven  and  iniquity  pardoned,  not  for  works  of 
righteousness  that  we  may  have  done,  but  according  to  the  Father's 
mercy  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  laid  down  his  life,  "  the  just  for  the  un- 
just," a  "  Propitiation  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,"  that  we  "  be- 
ing reconciled  by  his  death,"  may  be  "  saved  by  his  life." 

Consistently  with  this  adherence  to  Christ  as  the  Word  of  God 
"  speaking  to  our  condition,"  as  we  reverently  wait  on  Him  to  know 
his  voice,  no  ministration  but  that  of  his  spirit  is  needed,  whether  vo- 
cally through  the  minister  or  "  in  the  silence  of  all  flesh,"  for  the  per- 
formance of  worship  acceptable  to  God, — a  worship  which  stands  not 
in  words,  or  forms  or  emblems,  but  must  be  "  in  spirit  and  in  truth." 
Here  no  words  of  man  are  a  part  of  worship,  except  under  a  fresh  re- 
quirement of  the  "  Head  overall  things  to  his  church  ";  whose  charge 
through  the  apostle  Paul  was,  "  If  any  man  speak,  let  him  speak  as  the 
oracles  of  God;  if  any  man  minister  let  him  do  it  as  of  the  ability  which 
God  giveth."  Ministry,  whether  it  be  exhortation,  teaching,  praise  or 
prayer,  under  such  immediate  putting  forth  of  Christ's  Spirit,  requires 
no  previous  intellectual  study  or  preparation;  but  may  be  exercised 
according  to  the  anointing  and  gift  whether  by  learned  or  unlearned, 
male  or  female.  For  "  There  is  neither  male  or  female:  for  ye  are  all 
one  in  Christ  Jesus."  And  the  dispensation  has  been  introduced  when 
the  Spirit  was  to  be  "  poured  out  on  all  flesh,"  and  "  your  sons  and 
your  daughters. — servants  and  handmaids — shall  prophesy."  (Acts  ii: 
17,  18).  And  Paul  who  forbade  women  to  speak  or  teach  in  the  church, 
in  the  human  sense  of  the  word,  was  careful  to  tell  how  women  should 
appear  wht .  they  should  speak  in  the  divine  sense, — when  they  should 
publicly  pray  or  prophesy. 

The  Friends  took  note  of  the  command  of  Christ:  "  Freely  ye  have 
received,  freely  give,"  in  its  application  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel. 
Especially  as,  during  the  seasons  of  public  worship,  ministers  in  com- 
mon with  the  flock  were  to  "  wait  for  a  fresh  anointing  for  every  fresh 
service,"  no  sermons  had  to  be  prepared  outside  of  the  meetings  in  any 
such  way  as  to  prevent  ministers  earning  their  own  living,  after  the 
example  of  the  apostle  Paul.  Pastoral  care,  the  watching  over  one 
another  for  good,  was  the  common  duty  of  all  the  brethren.  So,  con- 
scientiously unable  to  "  preach  for  hire,  or  divine  for  money,"  and 
concerned  to  avoid  even  the  appearance  of  doing  so,  they  brought 
down  upon  themselves,  chiefly  by  this  one  testimony  against  a  "  hire- 
ling ministry,"  the  most  alarmed  vituperation  of  the  salaried  clergy; 
at  whose  instance  the  bulk  of  their  persecutions  thus  most  naturally 
came. 

Regarding  the  ceremonials  of  the  Old  Testament  law  as  types,  fig- 
ures and  object  lessons  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  religion  of  Christ 
11 


162  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

■who  was  to  come;  and  that  he,  when  he  said  on  the  cross,  "  It  is  fin- 
ished," became  "  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one 
that  believeth  ";  and  that  every  outward  ordinance  of  the  former  dis- 
pensation was  obsolete  because  fulfilled  in  Christ  himself,  the  living 
Substance,  to  whom  all  types  and  shadows  that  went  before  pointed  ; 
—they  believed  it  to  be  his  will  that  the  spirit  and  not  the  forms  of 
those  ceremonials, — the  heavenly  things  themselves  and  not  the  im- 
ages of  those  things, — should  be  maintained  and  cherished  by  living 
experience.  The  Jewish  rite  of  water  baptism  and  the  passover  sup- 
per, as  outward  observances,  ended  like  all  the  others,  with  the  Old 
Dispensation, — the  baptism  of  John  as  a  prophet  under  that  dispensa- 
tion belonging  there,  while  he  with  his  master  distinctly  declared  that 
Christ's  own  baptism,  under  the  incoming  dispensation  of  "  One  Lord, 
one  faith,  tf«,?  baptism,"  should  be  the  baptism  of  the  "  Holy  Spirit  and 
of  fire."  Also  that  no  obligation  for  the  continuance  of  the  last  pass- 
over  supper,  as  an  outward  form,  is  found  in  any  more  definite  com- 
mand than  this, — in  the  fuller  sentence  as  quoted  by  Paul:— "This  do 
ye,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it,  in  remembrance  of  me  "; — a  condescension 
to  a  formed  habit,  with  the  command  resting  on  the  spiritual  side, — 
the  remembrance  of  him.  The  Friends  taught,  that  inward  submis- 
sion to  Christ's  spirit  as  the  bread  of  life  and  the  wine  to  be  drank 
"  anew  with  his  disciples  in  his  kingdom,"  is  the  table  of  communion 
at  which  he  would  "  sup  with  us  and  we  with  Him." 

When  the  details  of  one's  outward  conduct  or  speech  are  referred 
to  his  secret  sense  of  the  pure  will  of  Christ  in  his  heart,  the  consist- 
ent attempt  to  carry  out  the  light  of  truth  into  practice,  must  separ- 
ate the  servant  of  Christ  from  many  ways  and  modes  ol  lose  whose 
chief  guidance  is  the  prevailing  fashion  and  practice  of  the  times.  So 
looking  at  pure  and  simple  truth  as  a  guide,  the  Friends  could  not  ad- 
dress to  one  individual  the  plural  pronoun  "  you," — especially  when 
they  saw  that  the  use  of  it  had  its  root  in  vanity,  to  flatter  a  person  as 
amounting  to  more  than  one;  but  they  kept  to  the  original  thou  and 
thee  in  addressing  an  individual.  This  gave  offense  to  magistrates, 
confirming  the  Friends  in  their  conviction  that  it  "  pricked  proud 
flesh."  Regarding  also  the  appellations  Master  (or  Mr.),  Mistress  (or 
Mrs.),  Sir,  Honorable,  His  Grace,  Excellency,  or  Holiness,  etc.,  as 
springing  from  the  root  of  pride  in  man,  tending  to  feed  the  same,  and 
usually  not  founded  in  real  truth,  their  spirit  shrank  from  these  and 
all  merely  complimentary  expressions  and  flattering  titles,  as  incon- 
sistent with  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  Yet  in  the  exercise  of  genuine 
courtesy,  William  Penn  testifies  that  George  Fox  was  "  civil  beyond 
all  forms  of  breeding."  They  could  find  no  spiritual  warrant  in  mak- 
ing obsequious  distinctions  between  fellow-beings  in  what  they  termed 
"  hat-honor,"  and  would  retain  their  hats  on  their  heads  before  king 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS.  163 

and  peasant  alike.  It  also  seemed  to  them  beneath  a  Christian  to  bor- 
row his  names  for  days  and  months  from  heathen  worship,  as,  to  call 
the  fourth  day  of  the  week  Woden's  day  or  Wednesday,  or  recogniz- 
ing y"?^«o'j  right  to  be  worshipped  in  what  is  now  the  sixth  month,  or 
Augustus  to  be  adored  in  the  eighth.  The  Puritans  felt  the  same 
scruple  about  calling  the  first  day  of  the  week  Sunday.  Accordingly 
Friends  have  observed  the  numerical  names  of  days  and  months,  as 
Third-day,  Fifth  month,  etc.  Christ's  command  to  "  Swear  not  at  all," 
seems  to  them  imperative  against  swearing  at  all,  whether  in  courts 
of  justice  or  elsewhere,  with  any  manner  of  oath.  And  their  sense  of 
his  spirit  as  the  Prince  of  Peace  and  the  exponent  of  divine  love,  for- 
bids in  their  minds  any  participation  in  war  or  retaliation,  or  capital 
punishment.  Plainness  of  dress,  as  of  address,  must  follow  from  their 
principles;  and  while  they  prescribed  no  form  of  garb  as  a  rule,  yet, 
by  ceasing  to  follow  the  changing  fashions,  they  found  themselves  ere 
long  left  behind  in  a  garb  peculiar  to  themselves;  which,  on  finding  it 
served  as  a  hedge  against  the  spirit  and  maxims  of  the  world,  and 
served  as  a  visible  testimony  of  their  principles  before  the  public, 
Friends  have  even  yet  to  some  extent  retained,  in  proportion  to  their 
strenuousness  for  the  original  principles. 

Such  was  the  attempt  of  the  "  Friends  of  Truth,"  as  they  fre- 
quently styled  themselves,  to  get  back  out  of  the  corruptions  of  the 
church  at  large  to  first  principles  in  Christ :  or  to  represent  what 
William  Penn,  one  of  its  noble  converts,  claimed  to  be  "primitive 
Christianity  revived  "  ; — not  a  revelation  of  a  new  gospel,  but  "a  new 
revelation  of  the  old  gospel."  Theirs  was  certainly  not  a  .superficial 
doctrine,  and  as  it  insisted  on  a  corresponding  practice,  it  could  not 
be  expected  to  be  popular ;  or  to  escape  that  general  misunderstand- 
ing which  exposed  its  adherents  to  persecutions.  And  as  little  general 
openness  for  the  understanding  of  it  is  found  now,  in  the  present  day 
of  sensations,  when  entertaintnent  is  as  much  mistaken  for  worship,  as 
stated  observances  were  formerly. 

Barnstable  county  appears  foremost  in  early  Massachusetts  history 
as  a  representative, — imperfectly  so,  it  is  true,  but  most  creditably  for 
the  times, — of  the  spirit  of  religious  toleration.  In  what  other  county 
could  such  a  church  thus  early  and  numerously  have  gained  so  firm 
a  foothold  ?  And  what  was  the  state  of  the  community  so  preparatory 
for  the  Friends'  doctrine,  that,  within  a  year  from  the  signal  being 
sounded  by  Holder  and  Copeland,  a  larger  number  of  families  in 
-Sandwich  gathered  to  the  revived  standard,  than  can  be  found  pro- 
fessing with  Friends  there  now  ? 

The  "  ten  men  of  Saugus  "  who  began  the  settlement  at  Sandwich 
in  1637,  do  not  appear  to  have  been  imbued,  as  were  their  Puritan 
neighbors  whom  they  left  behind,  or  the  Puritanized  successors  of  the 


164  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Pilgrims  whom  they  passed  by  at  Plymouth,  with  determined  zeal  for  a 
theocracy, — or  establishing  on  the  Cape  a  church-state.  Had  they  felt 
most  thoroughly  at  home  in  the  intolerant  sectarian  atmosphere  of 
the  Salem  community,  why  did  they  separate  themselves  unto  a  dis- 
tinct locality  ?  Religious,  indeed,  they  evidently  were,— but  less  tied 
down  to 'dogma,  and  of  a  freer  spirit;  adventurous  enough  to  seek 
new  homes  again  ;  and  a  little  more  liberal  than  the  stayers  behind 
to  take  new  scenes,  new  comers  and  new  doctrines  on  their  merits. 

Dissensions  were  fermenting  in  the  Sandwich  church  for  several 
years  before  the  Friends  appeared.  Fines  and  penalties  were  imposed 
on  many  who  neglected  or  set  at  nought  the  stated  worship.  Some 
professed  to  "  know  no  visible  worship."  A  growing  movement  in 
favor  of  religious  liberty  and  toleration,  though  strongly  opposed  by 
the  government,  could  not  be  set  back.  And  for  three  years  before 
the  arrival  of  Holder  and  Copeland,  the  stated  pastorate  of  the  church 
in  Sandwich  had  been  discontinued.  The  pastor,  William  Leverich, 
himself  also  said  to  be  tinctured  with  toleration,  found  it  expedient, 
in  consequence  of  the  existing  unsettlement,  to  leave  the  flock  at 
Sandwich  in  1654  for  Long  Island.  Yarmouth  also  was  without  a 
pastor.  And  in  1659  we  find  the  court  still  censuring  the  neglect  of 
some  in  Yarmouth  to  support  the  ministry.  The  people  in  both  towns 
are  said  to  have  become  "  indifferent  to  the  ministry  and  to  exercise 
their  own  gifts."  The  doctrine  of  Friends  had  but  to  step  in  upon 
this  prepared  ground  and  say  that  vocal  ministry,  and  regulation 
preaching  at  that,  was  not  essential  for  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth  ; 
and  all  ministry  spurious  except  that  proceeding  from  the  immediate 
anointing  of  the  Head  of  the  church,  whose  messages  could  be  de- 
clared, as  by  the  fishermen-disciples  of  old,  without  the  learning  of 
the  schools  except  the  school  of  Christ ; — the  Friends  had  but  to  sound 
this  word,  to  discover  they  had  told  their  eager  hearers  nothing,  but 
had  only  clearly  formulated  what  they  had  already  vaguely  believed. 
So  the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  being  revealed,  neighbor  was  dis- 
closed to  neighbor  in  mutual  recognition,  resulting  in  open  fellow- 
ship in  a  new  church  profession. 

The  more  distingfuishing  principle  of  the  society  having  once 
found  entrance  in  Sandwich  on  the  question  of  worship  and  ministry, 
it  legitimately  followed  through  all  their  other  lines  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice. Just  as  in  this  latter  day  from  the  same  society  the  same  prin- 
ciples and  consequently  testimonies  begin  to  go  out  at  the  same  door, 
— namely,  the  practice  of  worship  and  ministry, — at  which  the}'  came 
in.  It  is  also  but  natural  that  the  easy  acquiescence  in  traditional 
principles  or  in  no  principles,  which  is  the  weakness  of  merely  birth- 
right membership,  should  be  but  as  a  rope  of  sand  to  bind  members 
to  the  original  profession ;  in  comparison  with  that  strong,  individual 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS.  165 

convincement  of  truth  by  which  new  members,  experiencing  the 
original  cost,  join  the  faith.  In  addition  to  this,  and  to  prevailing 
worldliness,  the  emigration  of  younger  members  from  the  meetings 
of  Sandwich,  Yarmouth,  and  Falmouth,  to  seek  livings  in  cities  or  in 
the  West,  has  largely  contributed  to  the  present  reduced  numbers  of 
the  society  in  these  parts. 

But  emigration  is  not  a  sufficient  explanation,  else  the  neighboring 
churches  should  be  found  similarly  diminished.  "Thou  hast  left  thy 
first  love,"  is  the  verdict  which  explains  the  thinning  out  of  Friends' 
ranks,  even  in  cities  of  Massachusetts  to  which  country-Friends'  chil- 
dren go.  The  movement  of  late  years  in  Friends'  meetings  to  borrow 
modes  and  principles  of  other  denominations  in  a  hope  of  holding  the 
interest  of  the  younger  members,  has  served  to  direct  the  young  peo- 
ple to  the  churches  and  systems  from  which  these  alleged  improve- 
ments came.  So  that  Friends'  meetings  thus  popularized  in  our  cities 
not  chargeable  with  emigration,  have  not  been  found  holding  their 
own. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  even  on  the  Cape  there  was  plenty  of  per- 
secution to  give  impetus  to  the  progress  of  the  revival.  It  raised  up 
sympathy  for  the  victims,  zeal  in  the  members,  and  inquiry  concern- 
ing their  principles  among  many.  Details  of  the  convictions,  fines, 
and  penalties  imposed  for  countenancing  Quakers,  attending  their 
meetings,  or  advocating  their  doctrines,  belong  to  our  more  local 
treatment  of  town  histories.  But  the  Sandwich  authorities  were  not 
altogether  willing  executors  of  the  harsh  orders  of  the  Plymouth  gov- 
ernment ;  and  the  neighborhood  which  had  the  best  opportunity  of 
understanding  the  Quakers,  became  the  least  inclined  to  harm  them. 
So  we  read  of  Holder  and  Copeland,  who  frequently  visited  the  flock 
here,  that  the  Sandwich  constable  refusing  to  whip  them,  a  Barnstable 
magistrate  gave  them  each  thirty-three  lashes,  "  with  a  new  torment- 
ing whip,  with  three  cords  and  knots  at  the  ends." 

Though  we  seem  to  give  to  the  Plymouth  government  the  credit 
of  much  of  the  distress  encountered  by  the  Friends  at  the  hands  of 
Sandwich  officers;  yet  let  us  make  haste  to  clear  the  Pilgrim  fathers 
from  the  charge  of  a  persecuting  spirit.  A  distinction  must  be 
made  between  the  Pilgrims,  who  sailed  in  the  Mayflower  in  1620  and 
came  to  Plymouth,  and  the  Puritans  who  sailed  in  1629  and  founded 
Boston.  The  Puritans  were  imbued  with  the  principle  of  a  state 
church ;  the  Pilgrims  were  Separatists,  and  they  knew  in  England 
what  it  was  to  be  persecuted  by  Puritans.  The  Puritans  of  Massa- 
chusetts bay  had  remained  in  the  church  of  England  as  long  as  pos- 
sible, and  they  continued  here  to  believe  in  a  union  of  church  and 
state.  In  coming  here  to  live  by  themselves,  they  did  not  mean  to 
have  such  union  weakened.     "The  order  of  the  churches  and  the 


166  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

commonwealth,"  wrote  Cotton,  "  is  now  so  settled  in  New  England 
that  it  brings  to  mind  the  new  heaven  and  new"  earth  wherein  dwells 
righteousness." 

The  Pilgrims  came  to  these  shores  not  primarily,  like  the  Puri- 
tans, to  secure  a  state  of  their  own  as  a  church  of  their  own,  but  to 
enjoy  religious  liberty.  Nevertheless  they  too,  as  Bancroft  says,  "  de- 
sired no  increase  but  from  the  friends  of  their  communion.  Yet  their 
residence  in  Holland  had  made  them  acquainted  with  various  forms 
of  Christianity;  a  wide  experience  had  emancipated  them  from  big- 
otry, and  they  were  never  betrayed  into  the  excesses  of  religious  per- 
secution." Thus  the  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth  before  they  were  super- 
seded by  the  Puritans  from  Massachusetts  bay,  were  prepared  to  be 
of  the  more  charitable  spirit  which  afterward  appeared  in  those  Sep- 
aratists from  the  Lynn  colony  who  sought  new  homes  in  Sandwich. 
But  when  Friends  first  appeared  and  were  maltreated  in  Boston  in 
1656,  and  other  Friends  found  a  foothold  in  Sandwich  in  1667,  almost 
the  last  of  the  Pilgrim  fathers  was  dead.  "  Plymouth  had  ceased  to 
be  an  independent  colony,  and  was  part  of  the  New  England  confed- 
eration*." There  was  enough  of  the  apparent  Pilgrim  spirit  left  in 
Plymouth  to  make  her  milder  towards  dissenters  than  the  Puritan 
church-state  at  Boston  could  bear  for  her  to  be;  and  there  were  enough 
of  the  descendants  of  the  Pilgrims  about  Boston  to  get  roughly 
handled  by  the  Puritans  "for  assisting  the  Quakers  and  boldly  oppos- 
ing persecution."  But  the  great  battle  for  religious  liberty  in  Massa- 
chusetts, of  which  Friends  took  the  brunt,  was  fought  by  the  Separa- 
tists of  the  southward  shores,  against  the  Puritans  at  the  north.  The 
blood  of  the  four  Friends  executed  on  Boston  common,  sealed  the  vic- 
tory for  religious  liberty  in  America. 

How  far  the  "  Right  arm  of  Massachusetts,"  as  Cape  Cod  has  been 
styled,  has  reaped  in  its  own  character  a  worthy  reward  for  magna- 
nimity in  shouldering  the  cause  of  religious  liberty  in  her  infancy, 
cannot  be  fully  measured  till  the  secret  workings  of  all  principles  are 
revealed.  That  the  so-called  Quaker  virtues  and  the  characteristic 
Cape  virtues  so  largely  coincide,  we  cannot  presume  to  say  is  chiefly 
traceable  to  the  influence  passing  into  the  county  through  the  Friends 
themselves.  No  real  Friend  would  so  claim.  "  Names  are  nothing," 
said  George  Fox,  "Christ  is  all."  The  same  well-spring  of  life  to 
which  he  pointed  men  only  to  "leave  them  there,"  has  watered  the 
land  through  many  a  human  channel  of  spiritual  influence,  under 
whatever  name.  But  a  standard  for  pure  truth,  when  exalted,  is  jus£  as 
effective  a  signal,  whether  held  in  few  hands  or  in  many.   It  is  inevitable 

*  "  And  now  the  Plymouth  saddle  is  on  the  Bay  horse,"  says  Ex-Judge  Cud  worth 
in  1658,  alluding  to  the  way  in  which  the  authorities  at  Plymouth  were  imitating  the 
methods  of  Massachusetts  bay  towards  the  Friends. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  167 

that  the  principles  held  forth  by  Friends  should  have  increased  a  dis- 
position to  look  at  the  true  inwardness  of  all  questions  and  subjects; 
to  strip  off  all  shams  and  be  satisfied  with  simple  truth  only;  to  de- 
spise show  and  look  for  genuine  substance,  and  to  render  "  Quaker 
measure  "  to  others;  to  value  straightforward  common  sense  rather 
than  brilliancy,  conscience  before  convenience,  honesty  above  policy, 
character  above  creed,  the  spirit  above  the  letter,  motives  above  move- 
ments, the  life  above  the  living: — to  respect  the  divine  spark  in  every 
human  being,  regardless  of  color  or  sex;  and  the  equality  of  all.  as  be- 
fore the  law  of  God,  so  before  the  law  of  the  land.  Simplicity  of  man- 
ners, genuineness  of  profession,  the  courage  of  one's  convictions,  plain 
living  because  of  "high  thinking,"  inward  retirement  of  mind  to  feel 
the  truth  of  one's  self,  a  yes  that  is  yes  and  a  no  that  is  no — and  so 
surer  than  most  oaths, — these  are  virtues  of  which  the  professed 
"  Friends  of  Truth  "  by  no  means  held  the  monopoly,  and  in  which 
individuals  among  them  as  in  every  other  flock  have  signally  failed; 
yet  the  banner  which  they  as  a  people  have  displayed  because  of  the 
truth,  is  one  which  the  life  and  character  of  our  county  could  ill  aflEord 
to  spare. 

The  preceding  view  of  the  establishment  of  the  Society  of  Friends 
in  the  county  has  been  necessarily,  to  that  extent,  a  history  of  the 
Sandwich  Society.  Afterward  a  branch  of  Sandwich  monthly  meet- 
ing became  established  in  West  Falmouth,  and  called  Falmouth 
Preparative  Meeting  of  Friends;  and  another  branch  at  South  Yar- 
mouth, called  Yarmouth  Preparative  Meeting.  Each  preparative 
meeting,  including  one  held  also  in  Sandwich,  sends  representatives 
to  each  session  of  the  monthly  meeting ;  which  is  held  six  times  a 
year  in  Sandwich,  four  times  at  Falmouth,  and  twice  at  Yarmouth. 
Formerly,  for  a  period,  some  sessions  of  Sandwich  monthly  meeting 
were  held  also  at  Rochester,  on  the  other  side  of  the  bay.  A  sketch 
of  the  history  of  each  of  the  Cape  meetings  of  Friends  will  now  be 
given,  beginning  with  Sandwich.* 

The  Society  in  Sandwich. — It  has  already  been  pointed  out  how 
the  Sandwich  community  was  prepared  for,  and  how  responsively,  in 
the  year  1657,  many  rallied  to  the  preaching  of  the  Word  by  the  newly 
arrived  Friends  Christopher  Holder  and  John  Copeland;  so  that  in  the 
very  next  year,  1658,  no  less  than  eighteen  families  in  Sandwich  appear 
as  acknowledged  adherents  of  the  new  Society. 

They  met  for  worship  at  the  houses  of  William  Allen,  William 

Newland,  Ralph  Allen,  and,  as  tradition  hands  it  down,  in  Christo- 

*  The  writer  having  had  but  few  hours'  opportunity  to  consult  the  original  records, 
has  availed  himself  of  a  considerable  part  of  the  notes  and  extracts  from  them  made  by 
the  late  Newell  Hoxie,  representing  careful  labor  on  his  part  continued  from  time  to 
time  for  years.  He  has  also  gleaned  freely  from  Freeman's  History  of  Cape  Cod,  and 
other  works. 


168  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

pher's  Hollow, — a  spot  believed  to  have  been  so  named  from  the 
preaching  of  Christopher  Holder  in  at  least  one  meeting  which  assem- 
bled in  that  woodland  retreat.  This  hollow  or  glen  may  now  be  ap- 
proached by  the  road  which  passes  the  alms-house  into  the  woods. 
Not  having  visited  the  spot  himself,  the  writer  here  presents  the 
description  of  a  visitor,  as  given  in  the  Falmouth  Local,  12th  mo., 
1887 : 

"  About  a  mile  southeasterly  of  the  village  of  Sandwich  is  a  deep 
sequestered  glen  or  hollow  in  the  wood.  There  is  no  spot  in  the 
county  of  Barnstable  more  secluded  or  lonely.  It  is  even  now  as 
primeval  in  appearance  as  it  was  on  the  day  the  Pilgrims  first  set  foot 
on  Plymouth  rock.  This  quiet  glen  is  surrounded  by  a  ridge  of  hills, 
covered  in  part  by  trees,  and  it  is  some  ]  25  feet  deep.  At  the  bottom 
are  to  be  seen  a  few  straggling  red-cedar  trees.  In  the  spring  and 
summer  a  small  stream  of  water  runs  into  this  glen,  which  keeps  up 
a  perpetual  murmur.  For  over  two  centuries  this  lonely  spot  has  been 
called  '  Christopher's  Hollow,'  in  memory  of  Christopher  Holder.  .  .  . 
In  1657,  immediately  after  the  severe  penal  acts  of  the  provincial  leg- 
islature were  passed,  this  small  and  sincere  band  of  Christian  worship- 
pers met  at  William  Allen's  house  on  Spring  Hill,  but  [afterward]  ad- 
journed to  this  sequestered  glen  to  offer  up  in  the  'darkling  woods' 
their  devout  supplications  to  Him  who  is  no  respecter  of  persons. 
Your  correspondent  visited  this  hollow  a  few  days  ago,  and  noticed, 
particularly  on  its  westerly  side,  a  row  of  flat  stones,*  which  are  be- 
lieved to  be  the  seats  on  which  this  meagre  congregation  sat,  and  list- 
ened to  the  heartfelt  teachings  of  Christopher  Holder." 

William  Allen's  house,  the  first  or  one  of  the  fir.st  meeting  places 
of  Friends,  stood  on  the  spot  where  Roland  Fish's  house  now  stands, 
the  first  house  by  the  road  leading  southward  from  the  present 
Friends'  meeting  house  in  Spring  Hill.  Near  the  southwest  corner 
of  the  house  is  the  first  burying  ground  of  the  Society,  now  enclosed 
by  an  iron  railing.  On  the  early  records  we  find  a  direction  "  that 
servants  shall  be  buried  on  the  side  next  the  swamp."  This  is  the 
half-acre  given  by  the  town  in  1694.  William  Newland's  house,  an- 
other of  the  first  meeting  places,  was  opposite  the  old  town  burying 
ground,  on  the  road  from  the  village  toward  Stephen  R.  Wing's.  [Of 
other  Friends  prominent  in  that  day,  William  Gifford  is  said  to  have 
lived  near  the  house  of  late  years  known  as  Russell  Fish's;  Edward 
Perry  near  Joseph  Ewer's  swamp,  or  opposite  his  house ;  and  Edward 
Dillingham,  (one  of  the  original  "ten  men  of  Saugus"  to  whom  Sand- 
wich lands  were  granted),  to  have  lived  on  the  hillside  east  of  the  up- 
per pond,  which  is  southeast  from  Stephen  R.  Wing's.     The  cellar  is 

*  These  stones  are  really  half -buried  boulders ;  quite  a  number  have  been  carried 
away. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS.  169 

said  to  be  still  there,  and  a  pear  tree  set  out  by  Edward  Dillingham. 
The  late  Newell  Hoxie,  being  able  to  designate  the  situation  of  sev- 
enteen of  the  Friends'  houses  of  1658,  once  remarked  to  the  writer, 
that  when  by  failing  health  he  was  laid  aside  from  attending  his 
meetings  for  public  worship,  he  would  often  carry  himself  in  fancy 
more  than  two  hundred  years  back,  and  trace  in  his  mind's  view  the 
goings  of  each  of  those  seventeen  families  from  their  respective 
homes,  as  they  took  their  several  paths  to  William  Allen's  house,  to 
meet  for  divine  worship  after  the  manner  of  Friends.] 

In  1657  (to  quote  from  Freeman)  complaint  was  make  to  the  gen- 
eral court  against  divers  persons  in  Sandwich  "  for  meeting  on  Lord's 
days  at  the  house  of  William  Allen  and  inveighing  against  ministers 
and  magistrates,  to  the  dishonor  of  God  and  the  contempt  of  govern- 
ment." Jane,  the  wife  of  William  Saunders,  and  Sarah,  the  daughter 
of  William  Kerby,  complained  of  "  for  disturbance  of  public  worship 
.and  for  abusing  the  minister,"  were,  on  being  summoned  to  court, 
sentenced  to  be  publicly  whipped.  William  Allen,  William  Kerby, 
and  the  wife  of  John  Newland  were  also  involved  in  these  difficulties. 
John  Newland  was  warned  by  the  court  to  suffer  no  Friends'  meeting 
to  be  kept  in  any  house  in  which  he  had  an  interest.  It  was  also 
ordered  that  "Nicholas  Upsall,  the  instigator"  of  all  this  mischief, 
"be  carried  out  of  the  government  by  Tristum  Hull,  who  brought 
him."  William  Newland,  a  prominent  citizen,  was,  "for  encouraging 
Thomas  Burges "  to  let  Christopher  Holder,  a  Quaker,  occupy  his 
house,  sentenced  to  find  sureties  for  his  own  good  behavior.  Ralph 
Allen,  "  for  entertaining  such  men  and  for  unworthy  speeches,"  was 
also  arrested  and  laid  under  bonds.  Henry  Saunders  was  arrested  and 
committed.  Edward  Dillingham  and  Ralph  Jones  were  also  arrested  ; 
Jones  was  fined  and  Dillingham  was  admonished.  Burges  expressed 
his  sorrow  for  what  he  had  done,  and  was  released.  This  year,  on  ac- 
count of  increasing  sympathy  with  the  Quakers  throughout  the  com- 
munity, a  marshal  was  provided  by  the  general  court  in  Plymouth  to 
do  service  in  Sandwich,  Barnstable,  and  Yarmouth. 

In  1658  Robert  Harper,  Ralph  Allen,  sr.,  John  Allen,  Thomas 
Greenfield,  Edward  Perry,  Richard  Kerby,  jr.,  William  Allen,  Thomas 
Ewer,  William  GiflFord,  George  Allen,  Matthew  Allen,  Daniel  Wing, 
John  Jenkins,  and  George  Webb,  "  none  of  them,"  says  Freeman, 
"  professed  Quakers  at  the  time,  though  several  of  them  afterward 
became  such,"  being  summoned  to  court  to  give  a  reason  for  not  tak- 
ing the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  government,  professed  that  they  held  it 
unlawful  to  take  the  oath,  and  all  were  fined.  Friends'  view  of  the 
unlawfulness  of  all  swearing,  or  oaths,  is  founded  on  Christ's  com- 
mand, "  Swear  not  at  all ;  "  which  is  amplified  in  the  epistle  of  James, 
"  But  above  all  things,  my  brethren,  swear  not,  neither  by  heaven, 


170  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

neither  by  the  earth,  neither  by  any  other  oath ;  but  let  your  yea  be 
yea,  and  your  nay,  nay;  lest  ye  fall  into  condemnation."  Their 
firm  adherence  to  this  command  was  much  misunderstood  by  oflBcers 
of  the  government,  and  even  by  the  clergy ;  and  was  the  pretext  for 
a  long  list  of  fines  and  dreary  penalties.  Some  of  these  Friends,  allud- 
ing to  their  sufferings  for  not  swearing,  remarked,  that  oath-taking 
was  "contrary  to  the  law  of  Christ,"  "whose  law,"  they  add,  "is  so 
strongly  written  in  our  hearts,  and  the  keeping  of  it  so  delightsome 
to  us ;  and  the  gloriousness  of  its  life  daily  appearing,  makes  us  to 
endure  the  cross  patiently,  and  suffer  the  spoiling  of  our  goods  with 
joy."* 

The  earliest  meetings  of  Friends  in  Sandwich,  even  in  1657,  in- 
cluded six  of  the  brothers  and  sisters  of  Ralph  Allen.  They  had  re- 
sided upwards  of  twenty  years  in  Sandwich  and  were  much  respected 
by  their  neighbors.  But  their  joining  the  new  sect  was  "  peculiarly 
annoying"  to  the  government,  and  they  were  among  the  first  to  be 
tested  by  the  oath  of  fidelity.  William  Newland  and  Ralph  Allen,  on 
refusing  to  relinquish  the  keeping  of  meetings  in  their  houses,  "  were 
committed  to  the  custody  of  the  marshal,  and  kept  close  prisoners  for 
five  months.  When  half  the  period  had  expired,  they  were  offered 
their  liberty  on  condition  of  engaging  not  to  receive  or  listen  to  a 
Quaker;  but  the  request  was  met  by  an  immediate  and  decided  nega- 
tive."t 

Under  the  law  now  prohibiting  the  frequenting  of  Friends'  meet- 
ings, William  Allen  was  fined  forty  shillings  for  permitting  a  meeting 
at  his  house.  Cudworth  says  of  another  session  of  the  court,  that  "  the 
court  was  pleased  to  determine  fines  on  Sandwich  men  for  meetings, 
sometimes  on  First-days  of  the  week,  sometimes  on  other  days,  as  they 
say:  They  meet  ordinarily  twice  in  a  week,  besides  the  Lord's  day, — 
150  pounds,  whereof  William  Newland  is  24  pounds  for  himself  and  his 
wife  at  Ten  Shillings  a  Meeting,  William  Allen  46  pounds,"  etc. 
William  Allen's  other  fines  and  distraints  amount  apparently  to  113 
pounds.  "  They  left  him  but  one  cow,"  says  Bishop,  "  which  they 
pretend  is  out  of  Pity;  but  what  their  pity  is,  more  than  a  Robbers  on 
the  Highway,  that  takes  away  all  a  man  hath,  and  then  gives  him  a 
penny,  I  leave  to  be  judg'd.  Also  they  took  from  William  Allen  one 
Brass  Kettle, — which  the  Governor  put  upon  him  for  his  Hat."  -  He 
also  went  to  Boston  prison.  When  the  marshal  took  the  goodwife's 
kettle  he  said  with  a  sneer,  "  Now,  Priscilla,  how  wilt  thou  cook  for 
thy  family  and  friends?  Thee  has  no  kettle."  Her  answer  was, 
"  George,  that  God  who  hears  the  ravens  when  they  cry  will  provide 
for  them.     I  trust  in  that  God,  and  I  verily  believe  the  time  will  come 

*  Norton's  Ensign,  p*  42. 
fBowden,  vol.  I,  p.  147. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  171 

when  thy  necessity  will  be  greater  than  mine."  This  marshal,  George 
Barlow,  would  boast,  "  That  he  would  think  what  Goods  were  most 
serviceable  to  the  Quakers,  and  then  he  would  take  them  away,  when 
he  went  to  distrain  for  the  fines.'"  "  But  now,"  says  Bishop  after- 
ward, "  being  grown  exceedingly  poor,  he  presumes  to  say,  '  He 
thought  the  Quakers  would  not  let  him  want.'  And  truly,  it  is  said, 
they  relieve  his  Children,  notwithstanding  all  the  Villany  that  he  hath 
shown  unto  those  people."  (New  England  Judg'd,  p.  389).  This 
drunken  marshal  and  tool  of  Plymouth's  blind  policy  is  said  to  have 
lived  to  fulfil  abundantly  Priscilla  Allen's  prophecy. 

The  following  scale  of  penalties  which  the  Plymouth  government 
required  Sandwich  magistrates  to  exact,  is  given  by  N.  H.  Chamber- 
lain in  his  interesting  article  on  Sandwich  and  Yarmouth  in  the  New 
England  Magazine,  11th  mo.,  1889: — "  Entertaining  a  Quaker,  even  for 
a  quarter  of  an  hour,  cost  £^,  or  the  year's  pay  of  a  laboring  man.  If 
any  one  saw  a  Quaker  and  did  not  go  six  miles,  if  necessary,  and  in- 
form a  constable,  he  was  to  be  punished  at  discretion  of  the  court;  for 
allowing  preaching  in  one's  house,  40  s.,  the  preacher  40  s.,  and  each 
auditor  40  s.,  though  no  Quaker  spoke  a  word.  The  Quakers  were 
fined  for  every  Sunday  they  did  not  go  to  the  Pilgrim  meeting,  and 
for  every  Sunday  they  went  to  their  own.  In  three  years  there  were 
taken  from  them  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep  to  the  value  of  ;^700,  besides 
other  punishments." 

Other  names  and  cases,  equally  as  interesting  as  William  Allen's, 
cannot  here  be  detailed  with  the  same  fulness;  but  similar  recitals, 
with  more  or  less  suffering,  may  be  understood  with  each  name  on  the 
following  list  of  distraints  made  about  this  period  from  Friends  in 
and  near  Sandwich: — The  list  is  preserved  by  Besse,  as  follows: — 


£  8h. 

Robert  Harper 44    0 

Joseph  Allen 5  12 

Edward  Perry 89  18 

George  Allen 25  15 

William  Giflford 57  19 

WiUiam  Newland  ...  36    0 
Ralph  Allen,  jr 18    0 


£  sh. 

John  Jenkins  19  10 

Henry  Howland 1  10 

Ralph  Allen,  sen 68    0 

Thomas  Greenfield ...     4    0 

Richard  Kirby 57  12 

William  Allen 86  17 

ThomasEwer 25    8 


£  sh. 

Daniel  Wing 12    0 

Peter  Gaunt 43  14}^ 

Michael  Turner 13  10 

John  Newland 2    6 

Matthew  Allen 48  16 


£660  1M 


On  the  other  hand  we  cannot  say  that  unwise  provocations  were 
not  sometimes  given  by  individuals  reckoned  as  Quakers.  Some  ex- 
pressions made  to  magistrates  and  others,  whether  the  speakers  had 
been  goaded  into  them  or  not,  we  would  not  now  approve  as  proceed- 
ing from  the  principles  or  spirit  which  they  themselves  professed. 
And  some  extravagances  of  conduct,  in  exceptional  instances,  would 
in  this  and  should  for  that  day,  be  attributed  to  derangement  of  mind, 
from  which  members  of  no  denomination  are  found  exempt. 

The  noted  letter  of  James  Cudworth,  a  Puritan  and  a  judge  (who 


172  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

lost  his  place  by  entertaining  some  Friends  at  his  house),  written  in 
1658,  says  of  the  Friends  "  They  have  many  Meetings,  and  many 
Adherents;  almost  the  whole  Town  of  Sandwhich  is  adhering  towards 
them.  .  .  .  Sandwich  men  may  not  go  to  the  Bay  [or  Boston  col- 
ony] lest  they  be  taken  up  for  Quakers.  William  Newland  was 
there  about  his  Occasions  some  Ten  Days  since,  and  they  put  him 
in  Prison  24  hours,  and  sent  for  divers  to  witness  against  him;  but 
they  had  not  Proof  enough  to  make  him  a  Quaker,  which  if  they  had 
he  should  have  been  Whipped." 

In  1659  an  order  was  given  by  the  general  court  to  arrest  Quakers 
repairing  to  Sandwich  "  from  other  places  by  sea,  coming  in  at  Man- 
■nomett," — now  Monument.  Also  George  Barlow,  marshal,  was  or- 
dered to  take  with  him  a  man  or  two  and  make  search  in  the  houses 
of  William  Newland  and  Ralph  Allen  of  Sandwich  and  Nicholas  Davis 
of  Barnstable  for  Friends'  books  or  writings. 

In  1661  William  Newland  "  for  entertaining  a  strange  Quaker 
•called  Wenlocke  Christopherson  "  was  fined  five  pounds,  and  said 
Christopherson  was  .sent  to  prison  and  afterward  sentenced  "  to  lay 
neck  and  heels."  He  was  then  whipped  and  sent  away.*  Afterward 
in  Boston  he  was  sentenced  to  death,  but  was  released.  "William 
Allen  was  again  summoned  to  the  court  at  Plymouth  and  charged  with 
■entertaining  Christopher  Holder,  a  Quaker;  and  Wm.  Newland  and 
Peter  Gaunt  were  similarly  charged;  and  Lodowick  Hoxy  was  fined 
^0  shillings  for  not  assisting  marshal  Barlow.  The  following  were 
fined  ten  shillings  each  '  for  being  at  Quaker  meetings ':  Robert  Har- 
per and  wife,  John  Newland  and  wife,  Jane  Swift,  Matthew,  William, 
Joseph,  and  Benjamin  Allen,  William  Gifford,,  William  Newland  and 
wife,  the  wife  of  Henry  Dillingham,  Peter  Gaunt,  John  Jenkins, 
Richard  Kerby,  sr.,  Richard  Kerby,  jr.,  Obadiah  and  Dority  Butler." 

This  year,  1661,  marks  the  deliverance  of  Friends  in  the  colonies 
from  further  danger  to  their  lives  by  hanging  in  consequence  of  their 
profession.  William  Robinson,  Marmaduke  Stevenson,  Mary  Dyer 
and  William  Leddra  having  thus  been  executed  in  Boston,  Charles  II. 
was  induced  to  send  a  mandamus  to  New  England,  commanding  Gov- 
ernor Endicott  to  send  to  England  all  Quakers  who  were  under  con- 
■demnation  or  imprisonment.  This  put  a  stop  to  executions,  but  not 
to  persecutions.  The  Act  of  Toleration  under  William  and  Mary  was 
not  passed  till  1689. 

In  1674  "  Priest  John  Smith  "  and  others  are  said  to  have  caused 
Friends  to  be  recorded  as  non-townsmen, — probably  because  they 
■could  not  take  the  oath  of  fidelity.  It  was  because  it  was  an  oath,  and 
not  because  it  meant  fidelity,  that  Friends  felt  forbidden  to  swear  it. 
As  faithful  observers  of  the  law  of  the  land,  where  that  does  not  con- 

•Freeman  I,  p.  341. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  173 

travene  the  divine  law,  they  have  proved  themselves  exemplary  citi- 
zens. In  1675  they  were  invited  by  the  treasurer  of  the  town  to  sub- 
stitute something  for  an  oath.  The  firmness  of  this  Society  in  refusing- 
to  take  oaths  in  any  form,  has  since  been  respected  by  legislative  bod- 
ies both  in  America  and  in  England,  which  have  authorized  a  form 
of  affirmation  to  be  taken  by  Friends  and  others  instead  of  an  oath. 
By  substituting  passive  for  active  resistance  to  oppressive  laws,  thev 
have  on  other  subjects  also  converted  oppression  into  concession:  as 
in  the  requirement  to  bear  arms  or  otherwise  to  deny  their  testimony 
for  the  Prince  of  Peace,  also  in  the  matter  of  taxes  for  the  support  of 
a  paid  ministry.  In  1686  Edward  Randolph,  who  had  some  sixteen 
times  been  sent  over  from  England  in  consequence  of  complaints 
made  by  Friends  and  others,  wrote  as  follows  to  Governor  Hinckley: 
"  Perhaps  it  will  be  as  reasonable  to  move  that  your  colony  be  rated 
to  pay  our  minister  of  the  church  of  England  who  now  preaches  in 
Boston  and  you  hear  him  not,  as  to  make  the  Quakers  pay  in  your 
colony."  Thus  the  stand  made  by  Friends  on  the  Cape  was  steadily 
opening  the  way  for  liberty  to  all.  In  the  words  of  Brooks  Adams  on 
the  "  Emancipation  of  Massachusetts,"  referring  to  the  Friends  by 
whose  suffering  he  says  "  the  battle  in  New  England  has  been  won  ": 
— "  At  the  end  of  21  years  the  policy  of  cruelty  had  become  thorough- 
ly discredited,  and  a  general  toleration  could  no  longer  be  postponed; 
but  the  great  liberal  triumph  was  won  only  by  heroic  courage  and 
by  the  endurance  of  excruciating  torments." 

We  may  leave  our  fragmentary  specimens  of  the  period  of  intoler- 
ance, with  the  acknowledgment  that  their  townsmen  in  general  ap- 
pear to  have  taken  no  pleasure  in  the  hardships  inflicted  on  Friends. 
They  elected  Friends  to  responsible  offices  even  while  the  sect  seemed 
outlawed  by  the  Plymouth  court;  whose  marshal,  Barlow,  had  none  of 
their  sympathy  in  his  unsavory  doings.  Freeman  characterizes  the 
Friends  as  regarded  at  heart  by  their  Sandwich  neighbors,  as  "  ever 
among  our  best  and  most  esteemed  citizens,  benevolent  and  kind,  pure 
in  morals,  and  most  deservedly  honored." 

Sandwich  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  town  on  the  conti- 
nent of  America  to  establish  a  regular  monthly  meeting  of  the  Society 
of  Friends.  That  meeting,  set  up  in  the  year  1658,  has  continued  its 
monthly  sittings  in  unbroken  succession,  so  far  as  we  know,  ever  since. 
They  are  still  (though  changes  of  the  time  have  been  tried  for  brief 
periods)  held  at  the  same  hour  of  the  same  day  of  the  week  on  which 
they  were  appointed  to  be  held  by  the  first  minute  of  the  first  existing 
record  book  of  the  meeting.  The  said  minute  is  as  follows:  "  At  a 
mans  meeting  kept  at  Will'm  Aliens  house  ye  25  day  of  ye  4th  mo'th 
in  ye  year  1672.  At  w'h  meetting  it  is  concluded  and  ordered  y't  for 
ye  future  a  mans  meetting  be  kept  ye  first  six  day  of  ye  week  in  every 


174  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

itio.  and  for  friends  to  come  together  about  ye  eleventh  hour."  A 
marginal  note  written  beside  this  minute  says:  "  This  was  ye  first 
mans  meeting  that  was  kept  by  flfriends  in  sandwich  that  is  re- 
corded." 

Accordingly  we  may  understand  that  no  records  of  the  monthly 
meetings  between  the  years  1658  and  1672  were  kept;  or  if  the  min'- 
tites  were  made,  they  were  not  kept  in  book  form.  It  was  in  the  7th 
month  of  this  year  that  "  It  was  ordered  y't  Will'm  Newland  buy  a 
book  for  friends  use  and  truths  service."  Edward  Perry  appears  to  be 
the  clerk,  and  his  hand-writing  in  these  minutes  very  creditable. 

It  may  be  that  Edward  Perry  was  earliest  in  the  annals  of  Sand- 
wich authorship.  His  published  religious  writings  bear  date  between 
the  years  1676  and  1690,  and  titles  like  the  following: — "A  Warning 
to  New  England  "  ;  "  To  the  Court  of  Plimouth,  this  is  the  Word  of 
the  Lord";  "A  Testimony  concerning  the  Light";  "  Concerning  True 
Repentance,"  etc.  He  died  in  1694.  We  are  not  aware  that  more 
than  one  copy  of  any  of  his  writings  remain  in  print. 

The  second  entry  for  4th  mo.  contains  an  appointment  of  John 
Stubs  and  Robert  Harper  to  know  and  report  the  reasons  why  Peter 
Gaunt  "absents  from  friends' meettings."  His  answer  reported  next 
month  was :  "  That  he  doth  not  know  any  true  publick  vissible  wor- 
ship in  ye  world."  This  was  the  same  answer  which  he  had  given 
sixteen  years  before  to  the  Plymouth  court,  before  any  of  the  Quaker 
name  had  arrived  in  Sandwich.  For  we  read  that  Peter  Gaunt  being 
•called  upon  by  the  court  to  answer  for  not  frequenting  the  public 
worship  of  God,  affirmed  that  he"knew^  no  public  visible  worship"; 
and  Ralph  Allen,  whose  seven  children  were  among  the  first  to  join 
Friends,  took  similar  ground.  The  answer  oi  another  who  had  been 
likewise  waited  upon  by  a  committee  the  same  month,  "  forasmuch  as 
he  was  once  convinced  of  the  truth,"  was  "  That  his  ground  and 
reason  was  knowne  unto  himselfe  and  he  was  not  willing  y'  it  should 
^oe  any  further  at  present."  Next  month  his  answer  was  "much  as  it 
was  before  :  or  as  a  man  Gon  from  truth."  And  we  find  this  same  de- 
linquent patiently  dealt  with  even  for  two  years ;  for  his  answer  in 
1674  was,  "  That  he  could  not  come  amongst  us  till  the  power  did  make 
iim  or  work  it  in  him."  In  1673  the  answer  of  William  Allen's  brother 
was,  "  That  he  was  not  so  convinced  as  they  might  think  he  was."  But 
in  process  of  time  some  of  these  and  similar  cases  were  restored  to 
.attendance  of  meetings.  Even  Peter  Gaunt  was  fined  more  than  once 
for  attending  them. 

The  following  curious  minute  has  been  handed  down  as  issued  by 
Sandwich  monthly  meeting  in  one  of  its  occasional  sittings  at  Fal- 
mouth: "20th  of  the  9th  mo.,  1688.  It  is  concluded  that  the  Friends 
.appointed  in  every  particular  meeting  shall  give  notice  publicly  in  the 


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THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  175 

meeting  that  cross-pockets  before  men's  coats,  side-slopes,  broad  hems 
on  cravats,  and  over-full  skirted  coats  are  not  allowed  by  Friends." 

In  1688  a  clergyman  by  the  name  of  Pierpont,  of  Roxbury,  who  on 
invitation  preached  at  times  in  Sandwich,  records  in  his  diary:- — "I 
had  inclined  to  go  to  Sandwich,  first,  because  I  saw  there  was  an  op- 
portunity to  do  service  for  Christ  in  that  place;  second,  the  generality 
of  the  people,  except  Quakers,  were  desirous  of  my  coming  amongst 
them ;  third,  the  young  men  of  the  place  were  in  danger  of  being 
drawn  away  by  the  Quakers,  if  a  minister  were  not  speedily  settled 
among  them." — During  the  preceding  pastorate  mention  is  found  of 
one  man,  "  a  member  of  the  church,  proselyted  to  the  Quakers  by  one 
John  Stubbs."  In  1696  the  town  assigned  a  salary  of  ;^80  to  Roland 
Cotton  as  pastor  of  the  church,  "provided  he  shall  remit  yearly  tte 
proportion  of  all  those  neighbors  generally  called  Quakers."  And  yet, 
by  a  monthly  meeting's  minute  of  3d  mo.,  1712,  it  is  recorded  that  John 
Wing  and  Daniel  Allen  "  gave  account  that  they  had  found  out  the 
proportion  between  Priest  Rate  and  Town  and  County,  and  the  Priest 
part,  which  Friends  cannot  pay,  is  near  one  half,  lacking  one  half  of 
one  third  of  the  whole." 

Of  a  history  of  the  Friends'  meeting  houses  in  Sandwich,  we  have 
materials  for  a  concise  account.  In  the  7th  month,  1672,  the  monthly 
meeting  is  recorded  as  "held  at  our  meeting  house."  In  1674,4th  mo., 
the  meeting  house  is  spoken  of  as  enlarged  ;  and  five  years  after,  a 
record  is  made  of  finishing  the  meeting  house.  In  1694,  according  to 
the  town's  record, "  The  town  did  give  to  those  of  their  neighbors  called 
Quakers  half  an  acre  of  ground  for  a  burial  place*  on  the  hill  above 
the  Canoe  swamp  between  the  ways."  In  1703^,  First  mo.,  a  quarterly 
meeting's  committee  was  instructed  to  pitch  upon  a  place  to  set  the 
new  meeting  house ;  and  in  the  3d  mo.  it  was  concluded  to  get  a  new 
meeting  house.  In  1704,  1st  mo.,  Robert  Harper  was  appointed  to 
b)uild  a  new  meeting  house  for  ;^111,  "except  the  glass,  plastering, 
and  ground-pinning."  One  was  to  get  the  shells  for  lime,  another 
wood,  another  stone,  and  "  Lodowick  Hoxie  to  Diet  the  carpenters  for 
his  share."  In  1709  it  was  proposed  to  build  "  a  small  meeting  house  "  ; 
and  the  next  year  £Q,  12^s.  were  subscribed  to  build  a  stable.  In  1723, 
£28,  5s.  were  subscribed  "  to  enlarge  the  S7nan  meeting  house,  under- 
pin the  large  meeting  house,  and  build  a  shed."  The  work  was  done 
b)y  Joseph  Show.  In  1740  it  was  concluded  to  hold  a  preparative 
meeting  in  Sandwich  ;  and  in  1745  the  preparative  meeting  purchase 
"  the  remainder  of  the  gore  of  land,  about  one  and  one-fourth  acres, 
near  the  meeting  house  for  a  cemetery  which  is  near  the  old  one."  In 
1757  it  is  ordered  to  "  add  16  feet  front,  width  and  height  the  same, 
to  the  great  meeting-house."     Apparently   after  this    date   women 

*  Now  enclosed  by  an  iron  railing,  near  the  southwest  comer  of  Roland  Fish's  house. 


176  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Friends  begin  to  hold  a  preparative  meeting  like  the  tnen  Friends. 
In  1793,  11th  mo.,  measures  were  taken  to  build  a  porch  to  the  meet- 
ing house. 

The  third  meeting  house,  48  by  36  feet  in  size,  now  in  use,  was 
built  in  1810  on  the  site  of  the  first,  costing  two  thousand  dollars. 
Sandwich  Friends  at  first  gave  $723  toward  it,  Falmouth  $24,  Yar- 
mouth $120.  The  old  meeting  house  was  sold  for  one  hundred  dol- 
lars. In  1822  the  remaining  amount  of  the  cost,  principal  and  inter- 
est, was  paid  over  to  the  quarterly  meeting's  treasurer. 

In  1715  Benjamin  Holme,  an  English  minister  traveling  in  religious 
service,  records  in  his  journal  that  he  "went  to  the  yearly  meeting 
at  Sandwich,  where  one  Samuel  Osbourne,  a  schoolmaster,  made  .'■cme 
opposition."  This  resulted  in  a  pretty  extensive  setting  forth  of 
Friends'  views  on  the  Scriptures  and  on  perseverance  in  grace. 

In  1770  a  voluntary  payment  was  made  by  the  Friends'  meeting  to 
relieve  "the  charge  the  town  had  been  at  on  account  of  a  poor  woman 
belonging  to  said  Meeting."  It  has  been  the  rule  with  the  Society  to 
maintain  their  own  destitute  members  without  recourse  to  the  town's 
provision  for  the  poor.  Also  when  ministers,  with  the  approval  of 
their  proper  meeting,  are  traveling  in  religious  service,  to  provide  for 
their  expenses  from  place  to  place,  if  their  circumstances  require  it. 
As  far  back  as  1677  we  find  by  a  monthly  meeting's  minute  that  horses 
were  to  be  provided  for  "  Travelling  Friends  "at  the  meeting's  ex- 
pense. 

In  the  conducting  of  these  monthly  meetings  which  appear  so  promi- 
nently in  the  regulation  of  church  affairs  among  Friends,  the  only 
officer  known  is  the  one  who  sits  as  clerk  of  the  meeting.  Under  the 
profession  that  "  Christ  is  head  over  all  things  to  his  church,"  and  ac- 
cordingly the  mind  of  Christ  is  devoutly  to  be  referred  to  and  waited 
for  in  deciding  church  affairs,  Friends  have  presumed  to  name  no 
other  presidency  than  his  over  their  monthly  or  other  meetings  for 
discipline  ;  but  they  simply  appoint  a  clerk  to  record  the  sense  of  the 
meeting  when  that  is  ascertained.  This  "  sense  of  the  meeting,"  it  is 
trusted,  is  the  product  of  the  judgment  of  truth,  or  witness  of  Christ's 
spirit,  which  individual  members,  when  apprehending  they  have  a 
sense  thereof  on  any  question,  announce  as  his  or  her  view  of  the 
case.  And  the  clerk,  without  taking  a  vote  or  any  reference  to  ma- 
jorities, is  to  gather  and  record  what  appears  the  prevailing  judgment 
of  truth  as  expressed  by  the  members.  The  Head  of  the  church  is 
majority  enough,  though  he  find  expression  through  but  one  voice. 
This  conduct  of  Christian  church  government  throws  great  spiritual 
responsibility  on  them  that  sit  in  judgment,  to  whom  Christ  is  prom- 
ised to  be  "  a  spirit  of  judgment " ;  and  will  largely  be  admitted  to  be 
consistent  with  the  true  theory  for  a  pure  church.     But  for  a  church, 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  177 

though  not  pure  yet  prevailingly  sincere,  this  principle  has  been  found, 
while  helping  to  make  it  more  pure,  to  work  at  least  as  harmoniously, 
peaceably  and  satisfactorily  as  the  more  human  modes  of  moderator- 
ship  elsewhere  resorted  to  in  deliberative  bodies. 

The  clerks  of  Sandwich  monthly  meeting  who  appear  to  have 
resided  in  Sandwich,  have  been,  so  far  as  can  be  gathered  from  the 
records:  Edward  Perry,  serving  1672-94 ;  another  not  named,  1694- 
1709  ;  Edward  Perry,  jr.,  1709-12;  then  three  unnamed  clerks,  serving 
respectively  1712-19,  1719-20,  1720-22;    Humphrey  Wady,  1722-42; 

Daniel  Wing,  1743-45;  Seth  Hiller, ;  Samuel  Wing  and  Daniel 

Wing,  1755  ;  Timothy  Davis,  1755-65 ;  Nicholas  Davis,  1765  ;  Ebenezer 
Allen,  to  2d  mo.,  1786;  Jeremiah  Austin,  1787-90;  Obadiah  Davis, 
1790-95;  Stephen  Wing,  1795-6;  John  Wing,  1801-10.  The  other 
clerks*  were,  at  the  time  of  their  service,  residents  of  Falmouth,  ex- 
cept Richard  Delino  (1765  and  1786-7)  of  Rochester,  and  David  K. 
Akin  of  Yarmouth,  (1849-61). 

Doubtless  there  were  not  a  few  ministers  in  the  Sandwich  meeting 
from  the  first.  But  the  list  of  those  recorded  does  not  begin  till  the 
year  1789,  when  we  find  Anna  Allen  and  Samuel  Bowman  acknowl- 
edged ;  Benjamin  Percival,  1808  ;  Anna  D.  Wing,  1838  ;  David  Dudley, 
who  moved  hither  from  Maine  in  1838;  Newell  Hoxie,  1846;  Mercy 
K.  Wing.  1851  ;  Presbury  Wing,  1852;  Elizabeth  C.  Wing,  1862;  Han- 
nah S,  Wing,  1883. 

"  The  principle  was  from  the  first  recognized  by  George  Fox  and 
his  brethren,  that  the  true  call  and  qualification  of  ministers  can  be 
received  only  from  the  great  Head  of  the  church  Himself,  and  that 
the  church  has  only  to  judge  of  the  reality  of  the  call,  and  to  watch 
over,  encourage,  and  advise  those  who  are  entrusted  with  such  gift. 
Even  the  recognition  of  ministers,  as  such,  in  the  Society  was  of  an  in- 
direct and  informal  character  for  many  years  after  its  establishment. 
Those  who  spoke  frequently  and  acceptably  were  asked  to  occupy  a 
raised  seat,  facing  the  body;  but  then,  as  now,  this  was  adopted  as  a 
matter  of  convenience,  not  of  ecclesiastical  distinction  or  superiority. 
Before  long  it  was  found  needful  to  give  certificates  of  membership 
to  those  who  removed  from  one  meeting  to  another;  and  about  the 
same  time  a  necessity  was  felt  for  giving  similar  credentials  to  those 
who  left  their  homes  to  travel  in  the  service  of  the  gospel.  But  more 
than  one  hundred  years  had  elapsed  before  formal  recognition  was 
adopted.  But  from  mention  in  various  journals  we  find  the  number 
was  large." 

We  found  in  1658,  almost  in  the  first  year  of  this  religious  Society 

*  The  Sandwich  women  who  have  been  monthly  meeting  clerks  in  recent  times, 
were  :  Mary  R.  Wing,  1850-51  ;  Elizabeth  C.  Wing.  1851-2  and  1856-69  ;  Rebecca  D. 
Ewer,  1876-83  and  1885-87  ;  Lucy  S.  Hoxie,  1863-85  and  1887  to  present  time. 

12 


1-78  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

in  Sandwich,  eighteen  families  professing  to  be  its  adherents.  In 
1769  a  committee  of  the  town  report  that  there  are  sixty  families  of 
Friends  or  Quakers  whose  rates  are  not  available  for  the  support  of 
the  ministry.  Now,  in  1890,  most  of  the  younger  natives  of  the  Sand- 
wich membership  are  dispersed  throughout  the  country  to  gain  a 
livelihood,  or  have  joined  other  associations:  leaving  fragments  of 
about  eleven  families  remaining,  the  present  membership  numbering 
40  individuals.  But  the  purity  of  a  principle  cannot  fairly  be  tested 
by  the  number  of  its  human  adherents.  The  world  will  love  its  own; 
and  a  Society  supposed  to  represent  spirituality  or  self-denial,  cannot 
easily  be  popular.  Nor  on  the  other  hand,  in  the  guise  of  an  imitator, 
could  it  be  respected.  By  divine  grace  to  be  staunch  to  its  special 
message,  the  Society  was  what  it  was.  The  same  grace,  uncompro- 
misingly adhered  to,  alone  is  able  to  keep  it  from  falling,  and  give 
vigor  yet  to  .shake  itself  from  the  dust  of  the  earth. 

Newell  Hoxie,  the  youngest  child  of  Joseph  and  Deborah  (Wing) 
Hoxie,  was  born  in  East  Sandwich  in  1803.  In  1842  he  married  Re- 
becca Chipman,  of  Sandwich.  Both  will  be  remembered  by  many  as 
successful  teachers  of  schools  in  Dennis,  Barnstable,  and  Sandwich. 
Both  were  marked  by  mental  endowments,  literary  interest,  and  deep 
thoughtfulness  of  no  common  order.  With  the  exception  of  eighteen 
years  passed  in  West  Falmouth,  he  was  a  resident  of  Sandwich  all  his 
life.  The  impress  which  his  life  has  made  upon  the  character  of  the 
■w.estern  portion  of  the  county  in  these  two  neighborhoods  of  his  resi- 
dence, has  been  chiefly  as  a  leading  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 
In  intimate  knowledge  of  its  history  he  stood  confessedly  foremost, 
a-nd  in  the  maintenance  of  its  original  principles  he  was  devoutly 
concerned.  Perhaps  no  member  of  that  Society  in  Sandwich  monthly 
meeting  (which  includes  Falmouth  and  Yarmouth)  has  for  a  longer 
period  been  prominent  in  its  counsels,  or  more  uniformly  deferred  to 
.  in  the  conservative  shaping  of  its  course.  His  influence  was  also 
largely  respected  in  the  counsels  of  New  England  Yearly  Meeting  at 
large.  A  minister  in  that  Society  for  thirty-eight  years,  he  often 
visited  during  this  time  the  Friends'  meetings  of  New  England,  and 
twice  those  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick.  He  died  in  1884, 
aged  80  years.  With  him  has  departed  an  invaluable  fund  of  infor- 
mation, which  cannot  now  be  replaced,  relating  not  only  to  the  history 
of  his  religious  Society,  but  to  that  of  his  native  county  and  its 
families. 

The  Society  in  Yarmouth. — The  community  of  Friends  at  Bass 
River  has  so  long  given  character  to  the  neat  and  peaceful  village  of 
South  Yarmouth,  that  it  is  still  familiarly  known  as  "Quaker  village." 
But  it  was  over  the  river,  in  South  Dennis,  where  their  first  meeting 
house  stood. 


-4 


y/i^t^iJ{f  /^, 


:7^:^ 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS.  179 

So  free  from  molestation  were  the  first  Friends'  families  in  this 
neighborhood,  that  no  ripple  in  the  current  of  history  appears  to  have 
been  produced  by  their  presence  here,  sufficient  to  leave  a  trace  of  the 
time  of  their  first  settlement.  John  Wing,  from  Sandwich,  in  1659, 
was  building  a  house  in  the  Yarmouth  jurisdiction;  a  John  Dillingham, 
from  Sandwich,  early  became  a  landholder  in  Dennis  and  Brewster, 
residing  near  Bound  Brook.  It  was  in  his  house  and  Henry  Jones' 
that  the  first  Friends'  meetings  of  which  we  have  record  were  held, 
as  appears  by  the  following  minute, — which  seems  to  relate  to  bi- 
monthly meetings  for  discipline  or  society  bu.siness,  rather  than  their 
probably  much  more  frequent  meetings  for  divine  worship.  If  their 
Sandwich  neighbors  early  began  holding  at  least  three  meetings  a 
week, — two  on  week-days  besides  First-day, — the  kind  of  convince- 
ment  which  produced  Friends  in  that  day  must  in  Yarmouth  also  have 
brought  them  together  for  worship  as  often  as  once  a  week: — 

"At  our  Mens  Meeting  at  William  Aliens  first  day  of  the  2  mo.  1681. 
— At  this  meeting  it  was  ordered  concerning  the  setting  of  the  meet- 
ings at  Yarmouth.  Whereas  it  was  ordered  to  be  kept  upon  the  first 
day  of  the  week  in  every  other  mo.  It  is  now  ordered  at  the  6th  day 
of  the  week  in  every  other  month  and  the  meeting  to  be  kept  at  Henry 
Jones  his  house.  The  next  to  be  kept  at  John  Dillingham's  and  so 
continue  to  be  kept  at  those  two  houses,  and  the  first  meeting  to  be  at 
John  Dillingham's  which  will  be  the  2d  Sixth-day  of  the  week  in  the 
next  3d  month." 

In  1683  a  "  monthly  meeting  "  at  Yarmouth  is  spoken  of  in  the 
Sandwich  minutes.  This  may  have  been  one  of  the  occasional  sittings 
of  Sandwich  monthly  meeting  there,  such  as  were  sometimes  held 
also  at  Falmouth,  before  the  present  division  of  sessions  between  the 
three  towns  became  settled. 

In  1697  the  town  ordered  "  that  the  Quakers  be  rated  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  ministry,  but  that  the  tax  be  made  so  much  larger  that 
Mr.  Cotton  may  have  his  full  salary," — probably  without  drawing  on 
the  Friends  for  their  rate.  And  in  1717  an  appropriation  was  made 
to  build  a  meeting  house  for  the  town, — "  the  Quakers  to  be  exempted 
from  the  charge."  Also  it  was  "  voted  that  such  of  our  inhabitants 
as  are  professed  Quakers  be  freed  from  paying  the  minister's  rate." 

In  1703  a  committee  is  sent  to  urge  Yarmouth  and  Falmouth 
Friends  to  attend  the  monthly  meetings  more  faithfully. 

In  1709,  1st  mo.,  Yarmouth  Friends  requested  liberty  of  Sandwich 
monthly  meeting  to  hold  a  preparative  meeting.  In  11th  mo.  a 
"  Man's  meeting"  at  John  Wing's  is  mentioned;  and  1st  mo.,  1710, 
one  at  John  Dillingham's.  As  the  same  request  to  hold  a  preparative 
meeting  was  made  one  hundred  years  later,  it  would  seem  that  the 
first  was  unsuccessful.      It  is  the  opinion  of  an  aged  Friend,  judging 


180  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

from  memory,  that  the  preparative  meeting  at  Yarmouth  was  estab- 
lished about  the  time  when  the  present  meeting  house  was  built,  in 
1809.  Another,  of  venerable  age,  Ezra  Kelley  of  New  Bedford,  who 
attended  meeting  in  the  old  house,  believes  it  was  not  established  till 
some  years  after. 

In  1710  it  was  proposed  that  Sandwich  monthly  meeting  hold  a 
monthly  meeting  at  Yarmouth  and  one  at  Falmouth;  which  was  al- 
lowed for  Falmouth,  but  naught  appears  as  regards  Yarmouth. 

The  meeting  house  in  Dennis  was  probably  built  about  the  year 
1714,  as  the  date  is  estimated  by  so  careful  an  authority  as  Newell 
Hoxie.  Mention  of  the  house,  however,  does  not  appear  in  the  month- 
ly meeting  minutes,  until  1720. 

In  1717  John  Wing  was  appointed  to  inform  Yarmouth  Friends 
that  if  they  did  not  attend  monthly  meeting  better,  they  would  be 
turned  over  to  the  quarterly  meeting.  They  promised  to  do  better. 
For  the  past  fifty  years,  at  least,  no  such  complaint,  considering  their 
numbers,  could  be  made  of  Yarmouth  members;  some  of  whom  have 
been  among  the  most  steadfast  in  keeping  up  the  attendance  of  the 
monthly  meetings.  And  they  have  made  the  attendance  at  Yarmouth, 
whenever  the  monthly  meeting  is  held  there,  so  very  attractive  by 
their  hospitality  as  to  need  no  committee  to  enforce  attendance  from 
Sandwich  and  Falmouth.  Yet  no  longer  do  the  wild  deer  of  the  Wa- 
quoit  woods,  the  forest  of  the  Mashpee  Indians,  the  sober  villages  of 
Cotuit,  Centreville,  Marston's  Mills,  Hyannis,  and  South  Sea,  view  the 
quaint  procession  of  Quaker  carriages  wending  their  way  of  thirty 
miles  through  the  sands  of  summer  or  the  snows  of  winter,  between 
Falmouth  and  Bass  river,  to  attend  the  monthly  meetings.  No  longer 
does  Cotuit  behold  them  halting  at  Hinckley's, or  Heman  Crocker's,  as 
a  half-way  house,  for  a  dinner  and  a  "  nooning  ";  or  returning  the  day 
after  the  meeting  in  the  same  deliberate  style,  satisfied  with  the  social 
privileges  of  Quakerism,  and  stronger  for  the  next  month's  battle  of 
life.  The  railroad  has  undone  all  this,  and  robbed  these  monthly 
meeting  excursions  of  time  for  that  social  commingling  of  neighbor- 
hood with  neighborhood,  which,  in  the  days  when  they  carried  their 
boys  and  girls  to  monthly  meetings,  helped  to  hold  the  rising  genera- 
tion to  the  Society. 

The  old  meeting  house  in  Dennis  had  stood  for  about  fifty  years, 
when  in  1765  Yarmouth  Friends  request  liberty  to  repair  it,  or  rebuild. 
Permission  was  granted,  and  John  Kelley  and  Hattil  Kelley  were  ap- 
pointed to  attend  to  it.  Timber  was  bought  to  repair  it,  and  Falmouth 
and  Sandwich  contribute  money  for  the  cost.  It  was  found  that  to 
repair  the  house  where  it  stood  would  make  a  diflBculty.  Committees 
come  and  go,  until  in  1768  some  one,  probably  the  contractor,  fails, 
the  monthly  meeting  gives  him  the  lumber,  and  that  ends  the  project. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS.  181 

Nineteen  years  after,  however,  the  meeting  house  was  repaired.  A 
writer  is  quoted  by  Freeman,  who  says  of  this  building,  that  there  was 
in  1795  in  Dennis  "  a  small  Friends',  or  Quaker,  meeting  house,  situ- 
ated on  the  east  side  of  Follen's  pond ;  at  this  five  families  belonging 
to  the  town  attended,  with  others  from  Yarmouth  and  Harwich." 

In  1807  liberty  was  given  to  move  the  Dennis  meeting  house  over 
to  the  west  side  of  the  river,  near  Seth  Kelley's,  in  South  Yarmouth. 
In  1808,  6th  mo.,  David  Kelley  gave  half  an  acre  for  a  lot  of  ground 
for  the  neiv  meeting  house,  which  it  had  been  decided  to  build.  In 
12th  mo.  it  had  cost  $864.  Yarmouth  paid  one  half.  Sandwich  and 
Falmouth  gave  $161,  and  the  quarterly  meeting  $271.  Accordingly 
Friends'  meetings  began  in  the  new  house  early  in  1809;  and  next 
year  the  old  Dennis  meeting  house  "  was  sold  to  Lot  Sears,  torn  down, 
put  on  a  raft,  floated  down  the  river  to  a  place  about  a  mile  below 
where  the  Friend's  village  then  was,  and  was  built  up  into  a  dwelling- 
house  "  which  may  yet  be  standing.  The  money  received  from  the 
sale  of  the  old  house  was  laid  out  in  painting  and  shutters  for  the  new 
house.  The  old  Friends'  burial  lot  at  Dennis  is  now  surrounded  by 
■woods  and  overgrown  with  shrubbery.  There  was  formerly  a  post- 
and-rail  fence  surrounding  it,  which  having  gone  to  decay,  Ezra  Kel- 
ley has  had  a  neat  board  fence  put  up,  and  the  graves  of  four  of  his 
ancestors  marked  by  simple  white  stones. 

In  2d  mo.,  1810,  Yarmouth  Friends  request  a  mid-week  meeting; 
and  the  next  year  they  ask  to  hold  a  preparative  meeting,  and  to  have 
two  sittings  of  the  monthly  meeting  each  year  in  their  house.  They 
continue  thus  to  be  held. 

In  1815  Yarmouth  Friends,  by  consent  of  the  monthly  meeting, 
commenced  holding  two  meetings  for  worship  on  First-day  of  the 
week.  At  length  the  two  meetings  a  day  were  confined  to  the  sum- 
mer season.  But  for  the  past  fifteen  years,  nearly,  there  has  been  but 
one  Friends' meeting  on  the  First-day  of  the  week,  besides  the  regular 
mid-week  meeting  on  Fifth-day. 

Prior  to  1819  we  are  at  a  loss  to  know  who  of  the  members  of  the 
Yarmouth  meeting  were  ministers;  except  one  Joshua  Weekson,  who 
in  1731  is  mentioned  as  a  "  public  Friend."  "  Our  meetings  in  the  old 
house,"  says  Ezra  Kelley, "  and  for  some  years  in  the  new,  were  usually 
silent,  except  when  visited  by  ministering  Friends  from  away.  We 
did  occasionally  hear  a  few  words  from  Abby  Crowell  (formerly  Kel- 
ley) but  had  no  approved  ministry  before  Russell  Davis."  About  1819 
Russell  Davis  moved  from  New  Bedford  to  South  Yarmouth,  having 
a  remarkable  gift  in  the  ministry  of  discerning  and  addressing  the 
states  of  individuals  and  meetings.  With  but  little  human  learning, 
and  regarded  as  inferior  in  manner  and  appearance,  he  was  often  ena- 
bled, both  in  public  and  in  private,  to  reveal  to  individuals  their 


182  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

thoughts  and  spiritual  conditions,  to  their  own  astonishment.  He 
became  known  as  a  true  seer ;  and  such  was  the  general  confidence  in 
his  declarations  as  being  from  the  true  source  of  authorized  ministry, 
that  the  attendance  of  the  South  Yarmouth  meeting  grew  in  his  day 
to  its  greatest  number.  He  died  in  1847,  aged  seventy-five  years. 
The  subsequent  acknowledged  ministers  have  been  :  Jacob  H.  Vining, 
whose  residence  here  was  contemporary  with  the  oil-carpet  manufac- 
tory which  he  conducted ;  Ruth  H.  Baker,  acknowledged  in  1843 ;  and 
Elizabeth  Stetson,  1889. 

The  religious  concern  represented  by  the  meeting  house  near 
Georgetown,  a  short  distance  northward  from  the  Friends'  meeting 
house,  is  attributed  to  Friends,  though  having  no  official  connection 
with  the  Society.  In  1868  her  Christian  interest  in  the  welfare  of  fami- 
lies of  fishermen  and  others  led  Rose  Kelley,  the  beloved  daughter 
(now  deceased)  of  David  Kelley,  with  Rebeeca  Wood  (now  Howes)  to 
read  the  Bible  to  them  in  their  homes,  and  at  times  to  gather  as  many 
children  as  would  assemble  for  instruction  in  the  contents  of  the 
Scriptures.  The  attendance  soon  outgrew  the  capacity  of  any  of  the 
Georgetown  houses,  and  encouraged  David  Kelley,  in  1873,  to  build 
a  plain,  commodious  building  for  the  good  of  all  who  would  assemble 
there  rather  than  in  one  of  the  denominational  houses  for  worship. 
One  and  another  non-clerical  laborer  has  been  raised  up  to  work  in 
this  mission,  and  a  decided  change  for  good  has  been  wrought  in 
many  lives,  and  in  the  neighborhood.  At  the  close  of  Friends'  meet- 
ings, visiting  ministers  often  repair  to  this  house,  as  if  in  continuation 
of  their  service.  The  beloved  elder  still  lives  to  acknowledge,  in  view 
of  remarkable  results  which  have  followed,  the  reward  of  peace  with 
which  the  erection  of  his  building  has  been  blessed. 

There  would  be  no  easy  stopping  place  were  we  to  begin  giving 
credit  to  the  estimable  lives  of  men  and  women  among  the  South  Yar- 
mouth worthies.  The  memory  of  these  just,  though  blessed  in  the 
scale  of  virtue,  has  only  its  invisible  record.  As  to  public  note,  the 
riame  which  stands  in  the  writer's  memory  as  most  conspicuous  in  the 
affairs  of  Yarmouth  Friends  forty  years  ago  is  that  of  Zeno  Kelley. 
His  most  widely  known  successor  in  public  prominence  and  esteem 
was  the  late  David  K.  Akin,  a  sketch  of  whose  life  has  been  furnished 
by  other  hands  as  follows : 

David  K.  Akin. — This  valued  citizen  was  bom  1st  mo.  5,  1799,  and 
departed  this  life  8th  mo.,  23,  1887,  at  his  homestead  in  South  Yar- 
mouth. Of  his  ancestry  it  is  only  known  that  a  widowed  lady  named 
Akins  came  from  Scotland  to  Dartmouth  early  in  the  last  century,  and 
from  her  two  sons  the  name  descended.  Other  branches  of  the  name 
exist  at  Dartmouth  and  New  Bedford,  but  Abiel,  son  of  Thomas,  was 
the  first  known  in  Yarmouth.   Abiel  Akin  was  born  at  Dartmouth  and 


M '-^'i- y^f^-  ^^t^'^  ^- 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS.  183 

came  to  South  Yarmouth,  where  he  married  Catherine  Kelley,  6th 
mo.,  12,  1794.  She  was  the  sister  of  Zeno  and  Seth  Kelley,  the  latter 
being  the  father  of  the  present  David  Kelley.  The  children  of  the 
marriage  were:  Rebecca,  Thomas,  David  K.,  Joseph,  Seth  K.,  Phoebe, 
and  Catherine.  The  mother  died,  and  Abiel  for  his  second  wife  mar- 
ried Mary  Wing  of  Sandwich. 

David  K.  Akin,  the  third  child,  was  married  6th  mo.  23,  1824,  to 
Rachel  W.  Peckham  of  Westport,  Mass.,  who  died  6th  mo.,  17,  1848, 
leaving  her  surviving,  a  husband  and  two  children, — Hannah  P.,  who 
married  David  Kelley  and  died  2d  mo.,  21,  1872,  without  issue;  and 
Peleg  P.  Akin.  This  son  is  the  only  surviving  male  representative  of 
this  branch  of  the  Akin  family,  also  of  his  mother's  family.  He  was 
born  6th  mo.,  30, 1832,  and  married  Mary  A.  Leonard,  who  died  with- 
out issue.  He  married  1st  mo.,  7,  1866,  Rebecca  B.  Howes,  and  their 
only  child,  Mary  L.  Akin,  resides  with  them. 

David  K.  Akin  learned  clock-making  and  commenced  for  himself 
in  this  trade  at  South  Yarmouth  in  his  early  married  life.  When  the 
manufacture  of  salt  became  a  leading  industry  he  erected  works 
which,  although  in  decay,  are  now  owned  by  his  only  son.  He  was 
an  early  merchant  of  South  Yarmouth  and  with  his  brother,  Thomas, 
conducted  a  store  many  years  under  the  firm  name  of  David  K.  Akin 
&  Co.  For  years  he  was  secretary  of  the  first  Marine  Insurance  Com- 
pany of  the  town,  and  a  director  of  the  Barnstable  County  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company,  in  which  he  succeeded  Amos  Otis  in  the  presidency. 
He  was  director  in  the  affairs  of  the  Yarmouth  National  Bank,  being 
elected  to  his  fiftieth  term  the  year  he  died,  and  was  its  president  from 
1871  to  1879.  He  was  also  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Bass  River  Savings  Bank,  of  which  he  was  a  trustee.  Other 
responsible  positions  he  satisfactorily  filled  in  his  active  life;  but 
those  civil  relations  which  would  absorb  too  much  of  his  time,  he  de- 
clined. His  generous  nature  induced  him  to  serve  a  term  as  overseer 
of  the  poor,  and  he  once  served  as  a  county  commissioner  with  his  re- 
publican contemporaries,  Seth  Crowell  and  John  Doane. 

He  adhered  to  the  faith  of  the  Friends,  and  was  a  leading  member 
and  an  elder,  aiding  greatly  in  its  material  and  spiritual  mainten- 
ance. He  was  a  valued  counsellor  of  the  Representative  Meeting  of 
the  Friends  of  New  England,  and  for  twelve  years  (1849-61)  served  as 
the  clerk  of  the  Sandwich  monthly  meeting.  For  his  second  wife  he 
married,  10th  mo.,  5, 1849,  Betsey  Crowell,  who  died  1st  mo.,  18, 1881. 
To  his  social  relations  he  was  strongly  attached.  To  his  purity  of  life 
in  all  its  phases  his  associates  attest.  He  was  liberal  in  his  views, 
sympathetic  and  kind,  and  among  the  first  in  every  good  enterprise. 
He  possessed  physical  strength,  energy  of  character,  and  great  moral 
courage;  all  of  which,  united  with  his  generous  nature  and  conscien- 


184  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

tious  consideration  for  the  rights  of  others,  rounds  into  a  column  purer 
and  more  lasting  than  marble. 

The  Society  in  Falmouth. — In  our  general  survey,  we  have 
seen  that  Sandwich  was  the  first  town  in  America  where  a  society  of 
that  people  was  established,  and  that  this  took  place  in  1657,  only  ten 
years  after  the  rise  of  the  Society  in  England. 

Turning  our  eyes  now  three  years  later  southward  to  the  Succo- 
nesset  shore,  we  are  struck  with  the  view  that  Quakerism  appears  an 
occasion  of  the  first  settlement  of  Falmouth*;  and  that,  too,  in  the  per- 
son of  no  less  a  character  than  Isaac  Robinson  himself,  the  son  of  that 
distinguished  pastor  of  the  Pilgrim  fathers,  John  Robinson,  whom  on 
embarking  in  the  Mayflower  they  left  in  charge  of  the  church  at  Ley- 
den.  The  Pastor  Robinson  having  died  in  1626,  Isaac,  his  son,  came 
over  in  1631.  In  1639  he  removed  from  Scituate  to  Barnstable.  For 
twenty  years  he  was  a  highly  respected  citizen  there,  being  deemed 
"  an  excellent  and  sensible  man  ";  and  was  some  time  in  the  service 
of  the  government.  In  the  year  1659,  as  we  are  informed  in  Cogs- 
well's historical  sketch  in  the  Barnstable  County  Atlas,  "  the  General 
Court  of  Plymouth  by  special  order  permitted  Robinson  and  three 
others  to  frequent  the  Quaker  meetings  'to  endeavor  to  seduce  them 
from  the  error  of  their  ways.'  But  the  reverse  effect  followed.  Rob- 
inson became  a  sympathizer  with  the  Quakers,  and  June  6,  1660,  a 
year  less  one  day,  he  was  pronounced  a  manifest  opposer  of  the  laws." 
In  the  statement  of  another  we  read:  "  Instead  of  convincing  the 
Quakers  he  became  self-convicted,  embraced  many  of  their  doctrines, 
and  consequently  rendered  himself  so  obnoxious  that  he  was  dis- 
missed from  civil  employment  and  exposed  to  much  censure  and  some 
indignity." 

This  was  enough  to  make  Isaac  Robinson,  now  ostracised  as  a 
Quaker,  feel  no  longer  at  home  in  Barnstable,  and  incline  to  .seek  a 
new  residence.  Thirteen  other  men  with  their  families,  and  proba- 
bly having  religious  toleration  as  their  bond  of  sympathy,  accompany 
him  in  boats  on  Vineyard  sound,  and  sail  westward,  till  they  find  at 
Succonesset  satisfactory  land  and  a  fresh  pond,-  which  determine  them 
to  settle  there.      The  first  house  built  in  the  town  was  Isaac  Robin- 

•The  opinion  of  Charles  W.  Jenkins,  in  his  lectures  on  the  history  of  Falmouth,  is 
confirmatory  of  this  view.  He  says:  "  One  of  the  first  and  leading  settlers  was  Isaac 
Robinson;  and  what  were  the  lessons  he  had  learned  from  his  Puritan  father?  They 
were  the  following:  '  Follow  no  man  any  farther  than  he  follows  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.' 
'I  am  confident  God  has  yet  much  truth  to  break  forth  from  His  holy  word;  and  fol- 
low the  truth  whenever  and  by  whomsoever  taught.'  These  lessons  of  the  pious, 
catholic,  and  learned  Robinson  were  not  lost  on  the  son;  and  when  persecution  in  the 
New  World  lifted  its  arm,  he  was  the  first  who  dared  openly  to  avert  the  blow.  For 
this  he  sacrificad  the  favors  of  the  government,  and  it  was  this  that  led  him  and  his  as- 
sociates, who  probably  sympathized  w^ith  him,  to  commence  a  new  settlement  at  this 
place." 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  185 

son's.  He  lived  in  continued  good  esteem  to  the  venerable  age  of 
ninety-three;  but  appears,  after  keeping  "  an  ordinary  at  Saconesset 
for  the  entertainment  of  strangers  "  to  have  moved  before  the  year 
1673  to  Martha's  Vineyard  (where  it  had  been  his  intention  to  sail 
when  he  left  Barnstable),  and  to  be  residing  there  in  1701.  He  was 
proprietors'  clerk  at  Tisbury  in  1673,  and  1678-84  was  selectman. 

It  is  not  known  how  soon  actual  members  of  the  Society  followed 
their  forerunner,  Isaac  Robinson,  into  Succonesset,  or  Falmouth.  But 
the  prominence  and  undenied  influence  possessed  in  his  new  colony 
by  their  former  champion,  doubtless  early  turned  the  eyes  of  some 
Friends  to  Succonesset  as  a  safe  abiding  place  for  themselves  also.  In 
his  lectures  on  early  Falmouth  history,  Charles  W.  Jenkins  thinks  it 
probable  that  the  "  first  founders  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  this 
town  arrived  about  six  years  after  the  first  settlers,  and  that  William 
Gifford  and  Robert  Harper  were  of  this  number,  and  that  their  meet- 
ing at  West  Falmouth  was  established  about  1685.  Probably  Isaac 
Robinson,  jr.,  a  son  of  the  first  settler,  joined  this  meeting, — he  set- 
tled at  West  Falmouth, — and  Isaac  Robinson  is  one  of  the  first  names 
to  be  found  on  the  records  of  that  Society." 

This  Robert  Harper,  who  afterward,  in  1685,  took  up  lands  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  township,  had  been  a  prominent  sufferer  in  Sand- 
wich from  the  first  rise  of  the  Society  there.  In  1659  he  was  sentenced 
in  Boston  to  fifteen  stripes,  also  suffered  imprisonment  there;  and  his 
fines  in  Sandwich  (for  not  swearing,  etc.)  are  recorded*  as  amounting 
to  £4:4;  namely,  "  all  the  cattle  he  had,  his  house  and  land  ";  leaving 
him  and  his  family  "  one  cow,  which  was  so  poor  that  she  was  ready 
to  dye."  Robert  Harper  was  one  of  the  four  Friends,  who,  when  Wil- 
liam Leddra,  the  last  of  the  four  Friends  thus  executed,  was  hanged 
on  Boston  common,  and  his  body  was  cut  down,  as  says  the  chroni- 
cler,t  "  attended  the  fall  of  it;  and  heaving  catch'd  it  in  their  Arms 
laid  it  on  the  Ground,  until  your  Murtherer  had  stripped  it  of  the 
cloaths;  who,  when  he  had  so  done,  confesst  he  was  a  comely  Man." 

Freeman  says  that  in  1668  William  Gifford,  Thomas  Lewis  and 
John  Jenkins  became  inhabitants  of  Succonesset.  William  Gifford's 
fines  in  Sandwich,  in  1658  and  '59,  had  been  fifteen  head  of  Cattle, 
"  half  a  Horse  "  and  "  half  a  Swine  " — all  amounting  to  ;^57,19s.  "  For 
no  other  cause,"  as  says  George  Bishop,  "  but  for  Meeting  with  the 
People  of  the  Lord;  and  for  that  in  Conscience  to  the  Command  of 
Christ,  he  could  not  Swear." 

In  the  oldest  existing  book  of  minutes  of  Friends' monthly  meeting 
held  at  Sandwich,  the  earliest  entry  being  for  25th  of  4th  mo,  1672,  we 
find  Robert  Harper  (then  of  Succonesset)  among  the  first  to  be  em- 

*New  Eng.  Judged,  p.  185. 
fid.,  p.  831. 


186  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

ployed  on  committees  for  services  requiring  tact  and  good  judgment. 
Two  months  later,  William  Gifford  is  one  of  two  named  to  speak  to 
Thomas  Johnson,  also  of  Succonesset,  "  to  know  how  it  is  with  him  in 
respect  of  his  outward  condition."  And  the  care  of  the  meeting  month 
after  month  for  the  guardianship  and  relief  of  Thom.  s  Johnson's  fam- 
ily, makes  interesting  reading.  Before  leaving  Sandwich  to  take  up 
land  in  Succonesset  he  had  had  his  house  and  land  seized  by  the 
marshal  for  fines. 

The  following  has  been  preserved  as  the  record  of  a  monthly  meet- 
ing held  at  Falmouth  the  2d  day  of  11th  mo.,  1673:  "  Friends  having 
met  together  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  found  all  things  well  and  in  or- 
der, and  so  departed  in  love,  giving  God  the  glory,  who  is  blessed  for- 
ever." 

In  1678  lands  were  laid  out  at  Oyster  pond;  also  at  Hog  island  and 
Great  Sipperwisset  "  where  the  early  settlers  were  William  Gifford, 
Senior;  William  Gifford,  Jr.;  John  Weeks,  and  William  Weeks."  This 
is  the  first  recorded  beginning  of  the  settlement  at  West  Falmouth, 
and  Quaker  names  head  the  list, — William  Gifford,  sr.,  having  become 
an  inhabitant  of  Succonesset  ten  years  before.  He  was  evidently  a 
prominent  character,  and  employed  in  useful  services  in  town  as  well 
as  in  Society  affairs. 

In  1681,  2d  month,  the  monthly  meeting  at  Sandwich  ordered  that 
a  meeting  (probably  a  session  of  the  monthly  meeting)  be  held  "  at 
Joseph  Hull's  at  Suckonessett,  the  last  6th  day  in  3d  mo.  next."  Like 
Robert  Harper,  Joseph  Hull  afterward  took  up  lands  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  township.  This  Joseph  Hull  is  traced,  in  notes  left  by 
Newell  Hoxie,  as  a  son  of  Joseph  Hull  who  came  from  Weymouth  to 
Barnstat)le  in  1639,  and  in  1641  went  to  Yarmouth  to  preach  without 
approbation  of  his  brethren,  and  was  excommunicated.  Afterward 
he  made  satisfaction  and  was  restored.  "His  son  Joseph  moved  to 
Falmouth  and  bought  of  Zach.  Perkins  the  estate  which  Zach.  bought 
of  William  Weeks,  sen.,  for  /"lOS  in  1678.  His  uncle,  Tristum  Hull, 
who  moved  to  Newport,  was  father  to  John,  captain  of  the  first  packet 
to  England,  and  from  him  came  Commodore  Hull."  Tristum  Hull 
was  blamed  by  the  Plymouth  authorities  for  bringing  the  persecuted 
Nicholas  Upshal  to  Sandwich,  and  was  ordered  to  "  carry  him  out  of 
the  government."  It  appears  that  Newport  became  the  home  of 
both. 

In  1682  a  meeting, — probably  another  transferred  sitting  of  the 
monthly  meeting, — was  ordered  to  be  held  at  William  Gifford's  at  Sip- 
perwisset (West  Falmouth)  the  20th  of  the  month  and  6th  day  of  the 
week.  In  1683  Robert  Harper  informed  that  Friends  at  Succonesset 
desired  that  Friends  might  have  meetings  among  them.  And  in  the 
8th  month .  a  meeting  was  appointed  to  be  held  at  Succonesset  the 


THE   SOCIETY   OF  FRIENDS.  187' 

16th  of  this  month,  3d  day  of  the  week.  Of  siach  occasional  monthly 
meetings  held  at  Falmouth,  and  sometimes  at  Yarmouth,  there  is  no 
record  of  the  business. 

In  1685,  by  a  minute  of  the  monthly  meeting,  "  Friends  of  Sucko- 
nessett  were  encouraged  to  meet  together."      This  may  be  regarded 
as  the  date  of  the  official  establishment  of  the  Friends'  meeting  in  West. 
Falmouth;  though  no  doubt,  according  to  their  principles,  they  had 
been  regularly  holding  meetings  for  worship  from  the  time  when  but. 
"  two  or  three  "  began  to  reside  here.     Before  moving  from  Sandwich 
to  Falmouth,  Cudworth  says  of  them:  "They  meet  ordinarily  twice  in 
a  week  besides  the  Lord's  day."     Since  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth; 
cannot,  in  the  Friends'  view,  be  treated  as  if  dependent  on  the  serv- 
ices of  a  minister,  or  hearing  of  words,  their  meetings  for  that  pur- 
pose must  have  been  the  earliest  regularly  held   in  the   township.. 
Though  the  town  voted  land  in  1687  for  the  support  of  any  who  might 
be  found  fit  to  "  teach  the  good  word  of  God  "  in  Falmouth,  it  was  not 
until  1701  that  Samuel  Shiverick  was  settled  upon  as  the  town  min- 
ister. 

The  relations  between  these  first  two  churches  which  grew  up  side 
by  side  in  Falmouth — the  Congregationalist  and  the  Friends' — seem  to 
have  been  amicable  or  mutually  tolerant,  from  the  first.  The  leading- 
pioneer  or  first  settler  of  the  town,  Isaac  Robinson,  seems  to  have  been 
a  representative  of  both  societies  in  his  own  person.*  The  thirteen- 
families  who  joined  him  in  the  Falmouth  colony  were  no  doubt  irr 
sympathy  with  his  spirit.  Though  all  were  Congregationalists,  so  as^ 
early  to  identify  that  church  with  the  town  government,  they  started 
the  town  on  its  general  course  of  giving  fair  play  to  the  Quaker  refu- 
■gees  from  the  rigors  of  the  Plymouth  rule.  There  are  traditions  that 
Friends  were  made  to  suffer  even  here  by  orders  from  Plymouth, — 
for  instance  that  Daniel  Butler  "  was  tied  to  a  cart  and  whipped 
through  the  town."  But  leaving  tradition  for  history,  the  records  of 
the  town  contain  an  application  from  the  "  persecuted  Quaker  Daniel 
Butler  "  to  the  town,  to  be  released  from  liabilities  to  the  minister  on 
account  of  his  being  a  Friend.  The  request  was  granted,  thus  show- 
ing, as  Jenkins  observes,  "  that  if  Butler  was  persecuted  it  was  not. 
the  result  of  town  action."  "  There  are  many  instances  recorded," 
says  the  same  author,  "  where  individuals  made  it  to  appear  that  they 
had  conscientious  scruples  on  this  subject  [of  paid  ministry]  and  their 
tax  was  promptly  remitted.     .     .     .     It  is  to  be  hoped  that  our  worthy 

*  "  Our  habit  of  toleration  began  with  Isaac  Robinson  in  1660,  who  with  his  father^ 
the  Leyden  minister  was  taught  '  to  follow  truth  whenever  and  by  whomsoever  taught.' 
Intercourse  with  the  Quakers  had  undoubtedly  much  to  do  with  the  liberal  and  tolerant 
ways  of  the  community.  This  liberality  and  humane  disposition  is  seen  in  the  just 
treatment  of  Indians,  with  whom  Falmouth  was  always  on  the  kindest  terms." — John. 
L.  Swift  (Falmouth  Bi-ceutennial  Oration). 


188  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

neighbors  of  this  sect,  when  thinking  of  the  cruel  persecutions  of  the 
Quakers,  will  not  forget  these  acts  of  liberality  on  the  part  of  the  good 
people  of  this  town." 

In  1688  lands  in  Falmouth  were  laid  out  to  Thomas  Bowerman.  In 
1705  a  Thomas  Bowman  (whether  the  same  Friend  or  not,  it  is  not 
clear)  appears  on  the  monthly  meeting  record  as  being  in  prison  for 
priest's  rate,  and  Friends  send  him  a  bed  and  bedding.  As  Friends 
could  not  contribute  to  a  paid  ministry  in  the  form  of  taxes  or  other- 
wise, neither  could  they  vote  with  their  fellow-townsmen  for  the  sup- 
porting of  a  stated  minister.  In  1731,  the  following  voters,  being 
members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  dissented  from  a  call  to  Samuel 
Palmer  to  serve  as  the  town's  minister  with  a  stated  support :  Stephen 
Harper,  Benjamin  Swift,  Richard  Landers,  Samuel  Bowerman, Thomas 
Bowerman,  jr.,  Amos  Landers,  Justus  Giflford,  John  Landers,  Thomas 
Bowerman,  William  Gifford,  sr.,  William  Gifford,  Seth  Giflford,  and 
William  Giflford,  younger.  But  the  record  states  that  "in  November 
the  town  voted  ;^170  for  Mr.  Palmer's  settlement  and  salary — to  clear 
the  Quakers." 

In  1703  Falmouth  Friends  are  so  remiss  in  attending  the  monthly 
meeting  that  it  appoints  a  committee  to  look  after  them ; — likewise 
Yarmouth. 

In  1709  the  monthly  meeting  held  at  Sandwich  conferred  the  powers 
of  a  meeting  for  discipline,  or  preparative  meeting,  upon  that  held  in 
Falmouth  ;  and  the  ne^tt  year  a  monthly  meeting  for  Falmouth  was 
proposed.  Sometimes  when  no  business  appeared  in  the  Falmouth 
preparative  meeting  to  report  up  to  the  monthly  meeting,  it  is  stated 
that  "  Friends  sent  their  love." 

The  need  of  a  regular  meeting  house,  for  a  better  accommodation 
of  public  worship  than  private  houses  could  afford,  soon  began  to  find 
expression.  In  1717  Richard  Landers  was  appointed  by  the  monthly 
meeting  to  dig  graves  for  Friends  in  Falmouth  ;  and  at  the  next 
monthly  meeting  those  who  had  promised  to  pay  money  for  fencing 
the  burying  ground  were  requested  to  bring  it  to  him.  This  grave 
yard,  though  now  grown  up  with  trees,  may  still  be  found  in  the 
woods  eastward  of  the  houses  at  present  occupied  by  Judah  Bowman, 
or  Maria  F.  Hamblin.  Traces  of  the  stone  wall  which  in  1730  John  Lan- 
ders and  Stephen  Bowman  were  appointed  to  build  about  the  burial 
ground  are  still  to  be  discerned;  but  all  marks  of  the  graves  are 
obliterated,  except  such  rude  natural  stones  as  might  be  found  by 
<iigging.  Here  were  the  remains  of  West  Falmouth  Friends  gen- 
■eraly  buried,  until  the  second  grave-yard  surrounding  the  present 
meeting  house  facing  the  new  road  below,  was  laid  out. 

The  main  road  to  Falmouth  village  lay  between  the  first  burying 
ground  and  the  first  Friends'  meeting  house  ;  and  that  road  may  still 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS. 


189 


be  traced  in  places  in  the  woods  for  a  mile  or  two.  The  ground  over 
which  the  first  Friends'  meeting  house  stood  is  marked  at  its  central 
spot  by  a  stone  post,  chiseled  with  the  figures  "  1720,"  and  erected  by 
the  late  Daniel  Swift  and  others.  The  building,  which  was  begun  in 
the  year  1720,  was  thirty  feet  square  on  the  ground,  and  one  story 
high,  having  a  "  hopper  roof," — that  is,  coming  to  a  point  like  a  pyra- 
mid. On  meeting  days  in  cold  weather  an  attempt  was  made  to 
warm  the  room,  or  at  least  some  of  the  worshippers'  feet,  by  a  large 
pot  of  charcoal  standing  on  the  ground  or  floor  in  the  middle  of  the 
room.  For  the  escape  of  the  fumes,  an  opening  was  made  in  the 
roof.  Meetings  were  regularly  held  here  for  fifty  years.  Of  all  the 
Friends  traveling  in  the  ministry  who  preached  in  this  house,  Samuel 
Fothergill,  from  England,  seems  remembered  as  the  most  eminent. 

The  building  of  this  meeting  house  was  authorized  by  the  follow- 
ing minutes  of  Sandwich  monthly  meeting:  "At  our  monthly  meet- 
ing, at  our  meeting  house  in  Sandwich  the  2d  of  the  7th  month,  1720, 
were  the  several  weekly  meetings  belonging  to  the  same,  called  on  : 
For  Sandwich  John  Wing  and  Edward  Perry  present,  for  Falmouth 
Richard  Landers  and  Stephen  Harper  present,  for  Yarmouth  none 
appears.  At  this  meeting  it  is  agreed  and  concluded  that  there  be  a 
meeting  house  built  at  Falmouth,  and  Friends  subscribed  towards  the 
building  of  it  as  follows : 


£  Bh. 

Ebenezer  Wing 1      0 

Benjamin  Allen 10 

Edward  Perry 1      0 

Obediah  Butler 1     10 

Gershom  Gifford 1      0 

John  Strobridge 10 

Josbah  Wing 10 

Joseph  HoUway 10 


£  sh. 

Gidian  Hoxie 1  0 

Nicolas  Davis 10 

Richard  Landers 6  0 

Thomas  Bowerman . .  3  0 

Stephen  Harper 5  0 

Joseph  Landers 3  0 

Benjamin  Bowerman .  2  0 

Justes  Gifford 2  0 


£  Bh. 

Stephen  Bowerman. .' 2  0 

Isaac  Robinson* 3  0 

John  Robinson 1  0 

Peter  Robinson 1  0 

William  Gifford 2  0 

Benjamin  Swift 3  0 

John  Wing 2  0 

Daniel  Allen 1  0 


Total 44  pounds." 

The  first  ten  names  on  this  subscription  list  appear  to  be  those  of 
residents  in  Sandwich  ;  and  the  remaining  fourteen,  beginning  with 
Richard  Landers,  residents  of  Falmouth.  Accordingly  Falmouth 
Friends  subscribed  thirty-six  pounds  toward  the  building  of  their 
own  meeting  house,  and  Sandwich  Friends  eight  pounds.  Consider- 
ing the  much  larger  value  of  money  in  those  days  than  its  purchasing 
power  now,  and  the  hard  work  to  obtain  it  by  farming,  the  subscrip- 
tion was  a  generous  one.  Sandwich  monthly  meeting  had  a  few  years 
before  liberally  responded  to  a  call  to  help  build  meeting  houses  in 
Salem  and  in  Boston. 

It  does  not  appear  how  long  a  time  was  taken  in  bringing  the  build- 

*  If  this  Isaac  Robinson  was  the  son  of  the  original  settler,  he  was  then  at  least 
seventy-eight  years  of  age  ;  if  the  grandson,  he  was  fifty-one. 


190  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

"ing  to  completion.  We  read  that  at  the  monthly  meeting  held  at  Fal- 
month,  6th  mo.,  1722,  Ebenezer  Wing  was  appointed  to  gather  the 
money  contributed  by  Sandwich  Friends  toward  building  a  meeting 
Jiouse  in  Falmouth,  and  bring  whatever  he  received  to  the  next 
"monthly  meeting ;  and  at  the  next  monthly  meeting  held  at  Sand- 
wich in  7th  mo.,  he  turned  in  £9,  Is.,  6d.,  which  he  had  collected. 
And  the  first  meeting  recorded  as  held  in  Falmouth  meeting  house  was 
2d  day,  the  6th  month,  1725. 

Whether  Benjamin  Swift,  whose  name  appears  among  the  sub- 
scribers, was  then  a  member,  or  his  wife,  who  was  a  member,  was  sub- 
scribed for  in  his  name,  is  not  clear.    But  Daniel  Swift,  a  beloved  and 
■venerable  Friend  who  died  in  1879,  desired  the  writer  to  preserve  for 
future  memory,  along  with  some  of  the  information  above  given  ;  that 
Benjamin  Swift,  being  formerly  a  staunch  Congregationalist,  persisted 
in  regularly  attending  his  own  meeting  in    Falmouth  village,  even 
when  on  extraordinary  occasions  his  wife  was  anxious  to  have  him  go. 
to  meeting  with  her.     At  length  one  First-day  morning,  having  in- 
\formed  him  that  two  ministers  from  abroad  were  to  be  at  Friends* 
meeting,  she  went  her  usual  way.     But  while  sitting  in  the  meeting, 
-she  was  surprised  to  see  her  husband  hitching  his  horse  at  a  fence, 
-coming  up  toward  the  house,  and  taking  his  seat  among  the  rest.    He 
never  attended  the  meeting  at  town  afterward,  but  went  regularly  with 
his  wife,  and  in  due  time  joined  the  Friends.    Benjamin  Swift  served 
■^s  the  monthly  meeting's  clerk,  the  first  from  Falmouth,  in  the  years 
1745-47.    His  grave  was  the  first  in  the  new,  or  present  burial  ground, 
and  is  to  be  seen  beside  his  good  wife's  at  the  northwest  comer  of  the 
•original  portion. 

In  1731  a  stable,  sixteen  feet  square,  was  ordered  to  be  built,  to 
accommodate  the  horses  of  Friends  coming  to  meetings.  How  long 
that  building  stood  has  not  been  learned.  But  one  of  apparently 
larger  size  gave  place  to  the  present  commodious  sheds,  which  were 
•completed  in  1861.  Stephen  Dillingham  offered  to  give  the  meeting 
one  hundred  dollars  toward  the  proposed  sheds,  or  if  the  meeting 
would  raise  $175  by  subscriptions,  he  would  build  the  sheds.  The 
latter  offer  was  accepted.  And  Stephen  Dillingham,  in  rendering  to 
the  Preparative  meeting  a  report  of  his  care,  concluded  by  saying  in 
substance  :  "  I  have  done  the  best  I  could  for  the  meeting's  benefit. 
The  sheds  are  finished,  and  offered  to  Friends ;  and  I  hope  they  will 
be  of  use  to  many,  long  after  I  am  laid  away."  He  died  in  1872.  Many 
marks  and  memories  remain  in  West  Falmouth,  as  reminders  of  his 
enterprise,  public  spirit,  and  sagacity  in  business.  He  was  for  40 
years  postmaster.  None  but  Friends  (Gilbert  R.  Boyce,  and  now 
James  E.  Giflford)  have  succeeded  him  in  the  West  Falmouth  post- 
■oflBce. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS. 


191 


In  1742  the  monthly  meeting  complains  of  "a  cowardly  spirit 
about  training  ";  that  is,  some  members  not  having  courage  to  main- 
tain their  testimony  against  war,  by  refusing  to  train. 

In  1755  the  women  Friends  of  Falmouth  requested  a  preparative 
meeting.  The  holding  of  a  women's  meeting  for  religious  business 
separate  from  that  of  men  Friends,  and  co-ordinate  with  it,  has  contin- 
ued (developing  in  many  women  valuable  traits  of  judgment),  till 
within  two  or  three  years;  when  preparative  meetings  have  been 
driven  by  the  smallness  of  numbers  attending,  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  yearly  meeting's  permission  to  hold  joint  sessions. 

The  original  "hopper-roof"  meeting  house  on  the  hill-side  knoll, 
which  as  a  shelter  for  Friends  in  their  often  silent  worship  had  stood 
for  fifty  years,  was  now  in  the  year  1771  believed  to  have  had  its  day. 


friends'  meeting  house,  west  falmouth,  built  1842. 

A  new  edifice,  larger  and  more  convenient,  began  to  be  built,  facing 
the  new  public  road  below ;  and  by  the  year  1775  the  house  appears 
to  have  been  completed.  An  addition  to  it  was  made  in  the  year 
1794.  This  second  meeting  house  stood  for  nearly  seventy  years,  or 
until  1841,  when  it  was  decided  to  replace  it  by  a  new  edifice. 

The  present,  or  third  meeting  house,  under  a  contract  made  with 
Moses  Swift,  was  built  on  the  site  of  the  second.  The  builder  receiv- 
ing the  material  of  the  former  house  to  dispose  of  as  his  own,  Zeno 
Kelly  of  South  Yarmouth,  persuaded  that  Moses  Swift  had  an  unfa- 
vorable bargain  on  his  hands,  endeavored  to  relieve  him  by  buying 
the  frame  of  the  second  meeting  house ;  which  he  transported  on  a 


192  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

vessel  to  South  Yarmouth,  where  it  lay  under  temporary  cover  on  a 
wharf  by  Bass  river  for  about  a  year,  when  it  was  utilized  by  being 
erected  as  the  frame-work  of  David  Kelley's  present  barn.  There  the 
heavy  oak  beams  are  still  to  be  seen,  staunch  and  sound,  attesting  the 
solid  growth  of  the  West  Falmouth  oaks  of  1771.  In  1842  the  build- 
ing committee  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  $202, — contributed  for  the 
new  meeting  house,  and  in  the  Seventh  month  of  that  year  report  that 
it  is  finished.  Still  well  preserved,  it  bids  fair  to  be  longer-lived  than 
either  of  its  predecessors ;  but  whether  longer-lived  than  the  meeting 
itself,  will  depend  on  the  life  of  the  people  in  the  principles  for  which 
it  was  built. 

Sandwich  quarterly  meeting  began  to  hold  its  mid-summer  session 
at  Falmouth  in  1779,  where  it  continued  to  be  held  annually  till  1792, 
when  it  was  transferred  to  Nantucket  and  held  there  up  to  1850. 
Thence  it  was  returned  to  Falmouth,  where  it  is  still  held  every 
Seventh  month  by  representatives  and  visitors  from  the  Friends 
included  in  Barnstable,  Bristol  and  Plymouth  counties; — an  occurrence 
still  of  interest,  and  formerly  regarded  in  the  neighborhood  as  an  an- 
nual event  of  remarkable  account. 

Here  as  elsewhere  Friends  found  it  difficult,  while  their  children 
were  mingling  indiscriminately  with  others  in  the  public,  or  district 
school,  to  train  them  according  to  the  principles  and  testimonies  which 
Friends  had  received  to  hold.  At  length,  in  1831,  the  Friends  in  West 
Falmouth  built  by  subscription  a  school  house  on  the  east  side  of  the 
road  opposite  the  northern  portion  of  the  burial-ground.  The  first 
school  therein  was  held  in  the  winter  of  1831-2,  the  building  not  yet 
being  plastered.  Asa  Wing,  of  Sandwich,  is  said  to  have  been  em- 
ployed as  the  first  teacher^  and  his  name  is  held  in  honored  imemory 
by  pupils,  who  still  survive  him.  It  was  regarded  as  a  fine  school, 
and  it  gave  general  satisfaction  in  the  neighborhood.  The  prosperity 
of  the  schools  held  in  that  building  at  length  waned  with  the  decreas- 
ing interest  of  Friends  in  its  original  purpose;  and  especially  while 
for  several  years  the  teachers  employed  also  in  the  district  school  of 
the  neighborhood  were  usually  members  of  the.  society.  At  length 
the  Friends' school  house  was  removed  by  Edward  G.Dillingham*, 
and  made  the  body  of  the  Lindley  M.  Wing  house,  where  it  now 
stands. 

The  real  history  of  the  Friends'  meeting  in  Falmouth,  adequately 

portrayed,  would  be  biographical, — chiefly  in  the  bringing  to  light  of 

those  obscure  and  hidden  lives  that  appear  but  little  in  the  records, 

♦Edward  G.  Dillingham  removed  from  West  Falmouth  to  Acaahnet  in  1855.  His 
gift  in  the  ministry  being  acknowledged  by  the  society,  he  is  still  often  seen  and  wel- 
comed in  his  native  place  ministering  the  word — likewise  in  Sandwich  and  Yarmouth. 
As  his  frequent  companion,  the  late  Josiah  Holmes,  jr.,  of  New  Bedford,  has  long  had 
familiar  place  in  these  meetings,  and  at  funerals  of  members. 


THE  SOCIETY  OF  FRIENDS.  193 

and  less  in  the  chief  seats.  The  influence  of  some  of  these  in  their 
silent  spheres,  has  been  of  the  deepest  and  most  far-reaching.  As  re- 
gards the  prominent  and  well-remembered  names,  we  forbear  to  be- 
gin the  mention  of  them,  knowing  there  is  not  room  to  do  equal  jus- 
tice to  all. 

If,  however,  we  may  allude  to  the  use  made  of  members  in  public 
life, — James  T.  Dillingham  was  chosen  m  1857  to  serve  as  representa- 
tive in  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  being  the  first  of  the  three  mem- 
bers of  the  Friends'  Society  in  Falmouth  who  (since  Isaac  Robinson — 
probably  the  junior — and  a  Friend,  who  was  deputy  in  1691)  have  been 
elected  to  the  general  court.  He  served  a  few  months,  when  he 
moved  to  Wisconsin,  pursued  a  successful  business  career,  and  died  in 
1889.  James  E.  Gifford  served  in  the  legislature  in  the  years  1880  and 
1881.  By  his  efforts  an  act  was  passed  in  1880  having  the  effect  of 
giving  to  widows  of  intestate  husbands  leaving  no  children,  real  es- 
tate that  maybe  left,  up  to  $5,000  in  value; — an  act  highly  commended 
by  enlightened  judges  as  in  the  direction  of  needed  reform  toward 
justice  for  women.  Thus  the  Friends'  principle  of  co-ordinating 
rather  than  subordinating  woman  in  her  church  relations,  having 
shown  its  tendency  in  public  legislation,  was  learned  in  West  Fal- 
mouth to  some  purpose.  Meltiah  Gifford  (the  younger)  served  in  the 
legislature  as  representative  in  1884,  but  died  in  the  same  year,  much 
lamented  in  appreciation  of  his  extended  public  usefulness  in  the 
town  and  especially  in  the  services  of  the  Society.  He  and  James  E. 
Gifford  (the  latter,  for  several  years  past,  moderator  of  the  town  meet- 
ings) appear  thus  far  the  last  of  a  series  of  selectmen  in  Falmouth  who 
professed  with  Friends.  Until  recently  it  was  the  policy  of  managers 
in  the  town's  affairs  to  have  usually  one  Friend  among  the  selectmen. 
In  that  oflBce  we  recognize  also  the  names  of  Thomas  Bowerman, 
Richard  Landers,  Stephen  Bowerman,  Paul  Swift,  Prince  Gifford,  Wil- 
liam Gifford,  Daniel  Swift,  Barnabas  Bowerman  (who  served  twelve 
years),  and  Prince  G.  Moore  (who  served  fourteen  years),  long  respected 
not  only  as  a  veteran  in  the  town's  government,  but  as  an  example  of 
uprightness  and  good  judgment. 

The  list  of  preachers  recorded  as  ministers  in  the  Friends'  meeting 
in  Falmouth  could  not  be  traced  back  by  the  present  writer  farther 
than  the  year  1815, — though  doubtless  unrecorded  ministers,  or 
speakers  in  the  meeting,  have  exercised  their  gifts  from  an  early 
period.  The  names  found,  with  dates  of  acknowledgment  by  the 
meeting,  are  as  follows:  Browning  Swift,  1816;  Susan  Swift,  1818; 
Joshua  Swift,  1827;  William  Gifford,  1827;  John  R.  Davis,  1804  (he 
came  from  New  Bedford  monthly  meeting);  Huldah  Gifford,  1829; 
Newell  Hoxie  (originally  of  Sandwich)  1846;  Elizabeth  Gifford,  1849; 
13 


194  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Mary  Hoag,  1851;  Elizabeth  G.  Dillingham,  1851;  Lois  B.  Gifford,  1867; 
Charity  G.  Dillingham  (now  Chace),  1867;  Daniel  Swift,  1870. 

The  clerks  of  Sandwich  monthly  meeting  who  were  residents  of 
Falmouth,  are  named  as  follows:  Benjamin  Swift,  serving  in  the  years 
1745-47;  Daniel  Bowman,  1796-98  and  1810-11;  Prince  Gifford,  1798- 
1801;  William  Gifford,  1811-14  and  1817-23;  Prince  Gifford,  jr.,  1814^ 
17;  Daniel  Swift,  1823-31:  Stephen  Dillingham,  1881-35;  Newell 
Hoxie,  1835-49;  Arnold  Gifford,  1861-72;  Meltiah  Gifford,  1872-84; 
James  E.  Gifford,  1884  to  the  present  time. 

The  only  clerks  of  the  women's  monthly  meeting,  from  Falmouth, 
since  1849,  have  been:  Hepza  Swift,  1849-'50  and  1852-1854;  and 
Huldah  Gifford,  1869-1876. 

In  the  autumn  of  1888,  while  on  a  visit  from  Worcester  to  his  na- 
tive place,  Daniel  Wheeler  Swift,  one  of  the  sons  of  the  late  Daniel 
Swift  of  beloved  memory,  took  very  practical  interest  in  improving 
the  condition  of  the  burial  ground  about  the  meeting  house.  By  a 
subscription  of  three  hundred  dollars  he  set  about  starting  a  fund  of 
one  thousand  dollars,  the  annual  income  of  which  is  to  be  applied  to 
keeping  the  grave  yard  in  a  neat  condition.  Considerably  more  than 
the  one  thousand  dollars  asked  for  was  contributed  by  residents  of  the 
neighborhood — some  of  them  not  members  of  the  meeting — and  by 
several  residing  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  who  have  remem- 
bered with  affection  the  scenes  of  their  youth  and  the  graves  of  their 
departed.  The  excess  contributed  has  been  applied  to  the  leveling 
and  renovating  of  the  entire  surface  of  the  ground,  removing  most 
of  the  rough  boulders  used  as  head-stones,  and  distingfuishing  the 
graves  by  neater  marks.  The  present  year  will  probably  complete 
this  part  of  the  work. 

John  H.  Dillingham. — The  publishers  feel  justified  in  giving 
place  in  this  history  of  the  West  Falmouth  Society,  to  some  account 
of  one  of  its  sons,  whose  annual  sojourn  and  interest  in  his  native 
homestead  and  meeting  still  identifies  him  with  the  neighbor- 
hood. 

John  Hoag  Dillingham,  the  son  of  Abram  Dillingham*  of  West 
Falmouth  and  Lydia  Beede  Dillingham  (daughter  of  John  Hoag  of 

•Descent  in  the  DiUingham  name,  which  comes  from  Old  Englrsh  ■words  dealing 
and  ham  (for  hamlet  or  village)  and  was  applied  to  a  market-town  in  Cambridge  county, 
Eag.,  is  thus  traced:  Edward  DUliagham,  an  original  settler  of  Sandwich,  had  children 
Henry,  John  (who  moved  to  Yarmouth,  or  Harwich),  and  Oseah  (who  married  Stephen 
Wing,  son  of  John  who  moved  to  Yarmouth).  Henry  had  a  son  Edward,  one  of  whose 
eight  children  Edward,  jr.,  had  six.  One  of  these,  Ignatius,  who  married  Deborah  Gif- 
ford, had  eight  children,  the  youngest  of  whom,  Joseph,  married  Esther  Rogers  of 
Marsfield,  whose  children  were  Stephen,  Reuben,  Deborah,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Abram, 
and  Edward  G.  Abram,  the  father  of  John,  died  7th  mo.,  7,  1879.  It  is  believed  all 
the  above  were  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  apparently  Ignatius"  father  Ed- 
ward moved  from  Sandwich  to  Falmouth. 


e.     BlERSTADT.     H.    Y. 


THE   SOCIETY   OF   FRIENDS.  195 

Centre  Sandwich,  N.  H.)  was  born  6th  mo.,  1st,  1839.  Of  his  three 
brothers,  all  younger,  two  died  :n  childhood,  and  Moses  B.  next 
younger,  died  at  home,  aged  22,  while  a  student  of  Exeter  Academy, 
where  he  had  nearly  fitted  for  college.  Life  on  a  small  farm,  varied 
by  three  months'  attendance  of  the  district  school  in  winter  and  three 
in  summer,  brought  John  to  the  age  of  12,  when  he  commenced  daily 
walks  to  Lawrence  Academ}'  in  the  village,  four  miles  from  home, 
continuing  at  this  school  in  the  spring  and  fall  terms  till  the  age  of 
19,  when  by  the  encouragement  and  training  of  his  teacher,  the  Prin- 
cipal, George  E.  Clarke,  he  entered  Harvard  College  in  Cambridge, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1862.  He  had  taught  school  one  winter, 
when  at  the  age  of  16,  at  Shumet  Pond,  and  the  next  two  winters  inWest 
Falmouth,  and  the  next  at  South  Pocasset, — -the  two  latter  winters 
having  leave  of  absence  from  college  for  the  purpose.  In  the  autumn 
after  graduating  he  accepted  an  offer  to  teach  in  the  boarding-school 
for  boys  conducted  by  Charles  A.  Miles  at  Brattleboro,  Vt.,  and  con- 
tinued there  2^  years.  In  the  summer  of  1865  he  accepted  the  posi- 
tion of  tutor  in  Latin  and  Greek,  also  of  Librarian,  in  Haverford  Col- 
lege, Pennsylvania.  The  superintendent  retiring  near  the  middle  of 
the  year,  the  new  tutor  was  induced  to  accept  the  care  of  the  students 
in  the  household — all  boarding  in  the  college.  This  charge  continued 
for  ten  years.  His  department  of  instruction  was  early  changed  to  a 
professorship  in  "  Moral  and  Political  Science."  In  1871  he  was  mar- 
ried to  Mary  Pim,  of  Cain,  in  Chester  county  valley.  In  1875  he  left 
the  college-building  with  his  family  for  another  house  on  the  premi- 
ses, continuing  only  in  duties  of  instruction,  until,  in  1878  he  accepted 
the  place  of  Principal  in  the  Friends'  School  for  Boys  in  Philadelphia, 
a  name  under  which  he  still  serves  as  senior  teacher  in  the  same  in- 
stitution. In  1886,  the  school  having  been  removed  to  its  new  build- 
ing at  140  N.  16th  street,  and  al.so  the  Friends'  library  to  a  new  build- 
ing on  the  same  ground,  the  service  of  Librarian  and  Custodian  of 
Friends'  records  was  added  to  his  school  duties.  His  interest  in  the 
truths  of  the  gospel  as  committed  to  the  Society  of  Friends  is  in  part 
represented  by  service  as  overseer  since  1874,  as  clerk  of  the  monthly 
meeting  1882-86,  as  elder  from  1883  till  11th  mo.,  1889,  when  he  was 
acknowledged  as  a  minister.  His  children  are  four  daughters,  Anne 
Pim,  Lydia  Beede,  Mary  Edge,  and  Edith  Comfort  Dillingham.  His 
interest  in  his  native  town,  the  place  of  his  family's  residence  in  the 
summer  with  his  surviving  mother,  continues  not  only  unabated  but 
heightened. 


CHAPTER  XL 


BENCH   AND   BAR. 


By  E.  S.  Whtttemore,  Esq. 


The  Judiciary  of  the  County. — First  Courts. — Formation  of  the  Province  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay. — Revision  of  the  Judiciary. — Courts  of  the  Revolutionary  Period. — Early 
Magistrates. — Judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. — Court  of  County  Commis- 
sioners.— Probate  Courts. — Trial  Justices. — The  Bar  of  Barnstable  County. — Law- 
yers, Past  and  Present. — Law  Library  Association. — District  Courts. 


THE  history  of  the  Old  Colony,  as  to  its  judiciary  systems,  is 
divided  into  four  periods:  that  immediately  after  the  coming  of 
the  Pilgrims  and  Puritans  at  Plymouth,  to  1692,  when  the  colo- 
nies were  united;  from  this  time  to  the  revolutionary  period;  during 
this  time  to  its  termination,  October  19,  1781;  and  from  the  surrender 
of  Cornwallis  to  the  present  time,  which  is  mostly  within  the  memory 
of  men  now  living. 

As  early  as  1639,  the  general  court  of  the  Plymouth  colony  at- 
tempted to  form  a  judicial  system,  but  much  of  it  was  vague  and 
indefinite  in  its  jurisdiction;  the  people  were  obliged  to  use  such  ma- 
terials as  they  had.  The  earliest  attempt  of  the  court  to  form  an  infant 
judiciary,  was  to  nominate  and  appoint  three  men  from  as  many  towns 
in  the  county,  to  hear  and  determine  suits  and  controversies  between 
parties  within  the  townships,  whose  jurisdiction  was  not  to  exceed 
three  pounds.  The  general  court  enacted,  in  the  year  1666,  that  there 
should  be  three  courts  in  each  year  in  the  county,  for  the  trial  of  causes 
by  jury,  and  it  was  further  enacted  that  no  courts  of  assistants,  except 
the  governor,  on  special  occasion  see  fit  to  summon  such  court,  and  at 
such  court  the  governor  and  three  of  the  magistrates  at  least,  must 
be  present  at  trials.  It  was  also  enacted  where  the  amount  in  contro- 
versy was  less  than  forty  shillings,  it  should  be  tried  by  a  court  of 
selectmen,  from  the  decision  of  which  court  an  appeal  might  be  taken 
to  the  next  court  of  his  majesty  at  Plymouth,  provided  the  appellant 
furnish  security  to  prosecute  such  appeal. 

Soon  after  the  settlement  at  Plymouth,  the  governor  and  his  assist- 
ants were  constituted  a  judicial  body,  and  supreme  in  jurisdiction,  and 
it  was  substantially  a  court  of  appeal,  from  inferior  courts. 


BENCH  AND   BAR.  197 

In  1685,  it  became  a  law  in  this  colony  to  establish  in  the  three 
counties  of  Bristol,  Plymouth,  and  Barnstable,  two  courts  in  each 
county,  which  should  be  presided  over  by  three  magistrates,  residing 
in  their  several  counties,  a  majority  of  whom  constituted  the  requisite 
number  to  make  a  legal  decision.  Such  county  courts  had  the  power 
vested  in  them  to  hear,  try  and  determine  according  to  law,  all  matters, 
actions,  cases  and  complaints,  both  civil  and  criminal,  not  extending  to 
life,  limb  or  banishment,  or  matters  of  divorce. 

The  same  year  (1686)  the  general  court  passed  a  law,  that  Barnsta- 
ble, Sandwich,  Yarmouth  and  Eastham,  the  villages  of  Sippican, 
Succonesset  and  Monomoy,  should  be  a  county,  Barnstable  the  county 
town,  and  said  county  be  called  the  county  of  Barnstable,  in  which 
should  be  held  two  county  courts  annually  at  the  county  town,  giving 
them  power  to  settle  and  dispose,  according  to  law,  the  estate  of  any 
person  dying  intestate  within  the  county,  to  grant  letters  of  adminis- 
tration, and  take  probate  of  wills;  to  make  orders  about  county  prisons, 
highways  and  bridges,  and  as  occasion  should  demand,  order  rates  to 
be  made  in  the  several  towns  to  defray  county  charges. 

The  general  court  adopted  the  common  law  of  England,  that  a 
magistrate  or  any  court  should  have  power  to  determine  all  such  mat- 
ters of  equity  in  cases  or  actions  that  had  been  under  their  cognizance 
as  could  not  be  reached  by  the  common  law;  such  as  the  forfeiture 
of  an  obligation,  breach  of  covenants  without  great  damage,  or  the 
like  matters  of  apparent  equity.  But  all  judgments  acknowledged 
before  any  two  magistrates  and  the  clerk  of  the  court  should  be  good 
and  sufficient  in  law. 

It  became  a  law  in  1662,  that  every  town  in  this  colony  should 
choose  three  or  five  discreet  men  annually,  who  should  in  June  be 
presented  to  the  general  court  at  Plymouth  for  appearance,  who,  after 
being  duly  sworn  before  a  magistrate,  should  have  power  to  hear,  try 
and  determine  all  actions  of  debt,  trespass  or  damage,  and  other 
causes,  not  exceeding  forty  shillings  in  its  jurisdiction.  This  was  the 
court  of  selectmen,  which  had  four  annual  sessions.  The  record 
dimly  shadows  the  fact  that  as  early  as  1640-2  there  was  established  a 
"Select  Court,"  whose  limit  of  jurisdiction  was  twenty  shillings. 

By  virtue  of  the  charter  of  William  and  Mary,  granted  in  1691-2, 
among  other  rights  were,  that  Massachusetts  bay,  the  colony  of  New 
Plymouth,  the  province  of  Maine  and  Nova  Scotia  were  united  and 
made  one  province,  called  the  province  of  the  Massachusetts  bay,  which 
union  marked  a  new  order  of  things  in  these  provinces.  This  period 
inaugurated,  among  other  things,  a  revision  of  the  judiciary,  making, 
changing  and  revising  much  of  it. 

The  first  session  of  the  general  court,  under  the  new  charter,  met 
at  Boston  on  June  8,  1692,  and  continued  nineteen  days,  until  June  27, 


198  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

1692.  It  was  ordered  at  this  first  session  of  the  general  court,  that  all 
the  local  laws  made  by  the  late  governor  and  company  of  Massachu- 
setts bay  and  of  New  Plymouth,  not  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  Eng- 
land nor  inconsistent  with  the  present  constitution  and  settlement  by 
their  majesties'  royal  charter,  do  remain  and  continue  in  full  force  in 
the  respective  places  for  which  they  were  made  and  used  until  Novem- 
ber 10,  1692,  excepting  in  cases  where  other  provision  is  or  shall  be 
made  by  this  court  or  assembly;  and  all  persons  were  required  to  con- 
form themselves  accordingly:  and  the  several  justices  were  thereby 
empowered  to  the  execution  of  said  laws  as  the  magistrates  formerly 
were.  On  June  28,  1692,  an  act  was  passed  for  holding  courts  of  jus- 
tice on  or  before  the  last  Tuesday  of  July,  1692,  to  be  a  general  ses- 
sions of  the  peace,  held  in  each  county  of  the  province,  by  the  justices 
of  the  same  county,  or  three  of  them  at  least,  who  were  empowered  to 
hear  and  determine  all  matters  relating  to  the  conservation  of  the  peace, 
and  whatever  was  by  them  cognizable  by  law;  the  said  justices  being 
approved  by  the  selectmen  of  each  town.  "That  the  sessions  of  the 
peace  be  successively  held  within  the  several  counties,  at  the  same 
times  and  places,  as  the  county  courts,  or  inferior  courts  of  common 
pleas,  are  hereinafter  appointed  to  be  kept.  That  they  shall  hear  and 
determine  all  civil  actions  arising  or  happening  within  the  same,  tria- 
ble at  the  common  law  according  to  former  usage.  The  justices  for 
said  court,  in  the  county  of  Suffolk,  shall  be  appointed  and  commis- 
sioned by  the  Governor,  with  advice  and  consent  of  the  council; — 
that  all  writs  and  attachments  shall  issue  out  of  the  clerk's  office  of 
the  said  several  courts,  signed  by  the  clerk  of  such  court,"  and  the 
jurors  to  serve  at  said  courts,  were  to  be  chosen  according  to  former 
custom,  and  qualified  as  was  directed  in  their  majesties  royal  charter. 
— This  act  was  to  continue  until  other  provision  be  made  by  the  gen- 
eral court  or  assembly. 

An  act  was  passed,  November  25,  1692,  establishing  judicatories 
and  courts  of  justice  within  this  province,  which  were  similar  in  their 
powers  and  jurisdictions,  to  those  hitherto  existing.  Their  majesties', 
justices  of  the  peace  had  jurisdiction  of  all  manner  of  debts,  trespasses 
and  other  matters  not  exceeding  forty  shillings,  wherein  the  title  to 
land  was  concerned,  from  which  decisions  the  defendant  had  the  right 
of  appeal  to  the  next  inferior  court  of  common  pleas.  There  were 
quarter  sessions  of  the  peace,  by  the  justices  of  the  peace  in  the  same 
county,  held  at  specified  places,  each  three  months  in  the  county,  to 
hear  and  determine  all  matters  relating  to  the  conservation  of  the 
peace,  and  punishment  of  oflfenders,  and  all  other  things  cognizable  by 
them  according  to  law. 

There  was  a  superior  court  of  judicature  extending,  in  its  jurisdic- 
tion, over  the  whole  province,  having  a  chief  justice  and  four  other 


BENCH  AND   BAR.  199 

associate  justices,  three  of  whom  constituted  a  quorum,  having  gen- 
eral jurisdiction  of  causes  both  civil  and  criminal.  The  terms  of 
court  were  held  for  the  counties  of  Barnstable,  Plymouth  and  Bristol, 
at  Plymouth  on  the  last  Tuesday  of  February.  Wherever  this  court 
was  held,  the  justices  held  a  court  of  assize  and  general  goal  delivery. 
A  high  court  of  chancery  was  held,  to  hear  and  determine  all  matters 
in  equity,  which  could  not  be  reached  by  the  courts  of  law.  This 
court  was  held  by  the  governor,  or  such  other  as  he  might  appoint  as 
chancellor,  assisted  by  eight  or  more  of  the  council.  Any  party  in  this 
court  could  appeal,  Wherein  the  matter  in  controversy  exceeded  three 
hundred  pounds  sterling. 

By  the  authority  of  the  province  charter  of  William  and  Mary  of 
1691-2,  power  was  given  to  the  governor  and  council  to  grant  the  pro- 
bate of  wills,  and  appoint  executors  and  administrators  on  estates  of 
deceased  persons  of  this  province. 

The  judiciary  system,  from  the  time  of  the  union  of  the  colonies, 
to  the  revolutionary  period,  was  substantially  the  same  in  spirit,  form 
and  general  jurisdiction,  that  existed  previous  to  this  time,  yet  many 
minor  changes  it  was  necessary  to  make.  (See  Province  Laws  Chap.  23, 
1699.  Chap.  18,  1700.  Chap.  5, 1699).  At  the  beginning  of  the  revo- 
lutionary period,  1775-6,  a  court  of  admiralty  was  established,  to  be 
held  at  Plymouth, — its  judges  to  be  appointed  by  the  majority  of  the 
council, — to  try  the  justice  of  the  capture  of  any  vessel  brought  into 
either  Barnstable,  Plymouth,  Bristol,  Dukes  county  or  Nantucket. 
Subsequently  the  jurisdiction  of  this  court  was  enlarged.  The  laws 
relating  to  the  judiciary,  after  the  beginning  of  the  revolutionary 
period,  were  enacted  to  be  in  full  force  and  virtue  until  November  1, 
1785,  by  the  session  held  at  Boston,  November  1, 1779,  continuing  sun- 
dry laws  that  then  existed,  and  were  near  expiring,  with  all  and  every 
clause,  matter  or  thing  therein  respectively. 

The  magistrates  of  the  earliest  courts  in  the  Old  Colony,  officiated 
as  early  as  1640,  i.e.,  Edmund  Freeman  of  Sandwich,  Thomas  Dimock 
of  Barnstable;  and  John  Crow  of  Yarmouth.  A  court  was  held  at 
Yarmouth  June  18,  1642,  before  Edward  Winslow,  Myles  Standish  and 
Edmund  Freeman. 

In  1679,  a  select  court  was  established  in  each  town.  Those  com- 
missioned to  hold  them  were,  in  Sandwich,  Edmund  Freeman,  John 
Blackwell  and  Thomas  Tupper;  in  Yarmouth,  Edmund  Howes,  En- 
sign Thacher,  Edward  Sturgis,  John  Miller,  and  Jeremiah  Howes; 
in  Barnstable,  Joseph  Lothrop,  James  Lewis,  and  Barnabas  Lothrop; 
and  in  Eastham,  Jonathan  Sparrow,  Mark  Snow,  and  John  Doane.  In 
1689,  Jonathan  Sparrow  of  Eastham  and  Stephen  Skiflfe  of  Sandwich 
were  appointed  county  judges. 

After  the  union  of  the  colonies,  the  following  is  the  list  of  the 
judges  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  of  the  county  of  Barnstable: 


200  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

December  7,  1692,  John  Freeman,  Eastham;  December  7,  1692, 
Bar's  Lothrop,  Barnstable;  December  7.  1692,  John  Thacher,  Yar- 
mouth; December  7,  1692,  Stephen  Skiffe,  Sandwich;  March  6,  1695, 
Jon'n  Sparrow,  Eastham;  July  17,  1699,  John  Sparrow,  Eastham; 
June  8,  1710,  Wm.  Bassett,  Sandwich;  July  5,  1713,  Daniel  Parker, 
Barnstable;  July  6,  1713,  Thomas  Payne,  Eastham;  April,  1715,  John 
Otis,  Barnstable;  April,  1714,  Sam.  Annable,  Barnstable;  July  20, 1711, 
John  Gorham.  Barnstable;  July  5,  1713,  John  Doane,  Eastham;  July 
14,  1715,  Mela'h  Bourne.  Sandwich;  July  14,  1715,  Sam.  Sturgis,  Barn- 
stable; December  10,  1715,  Nath.  Freeman,  Harwich;  November  14, 
1721,  Jos.  Lothrop,  Barnstable;  March  16,  1722,  Jos.  Doane,  Eastham; 
December  26,  1727,  Ezra  Bourne,  Sandwich;  March  10,  1729.  Peter 
Thacher,  Yarmouth;  March  10,  1729,  Shub'l  Baxter,  Yarmouth;  June 
22,  1736,  John  Thacher,  Yarmouth;  June  22,  1736,  John  Davis,  Barn- 
stable; December  21,  1739,  John  Russell,  Barnstable;  January  27,1742, 
Shub.  Gorham,  Barnstable;  January  27, 1742,  Dav.  Crocker,  Barnstable; 
August  9,  1746,  John  Otis,  Barnstable;  February  24,  1763,  Roland  Cot- 
ton, Sandwich;  May  9,  1770,  Is'c  Hinckley,  Barnstable;  September  13, 
1753,  Thos.  Winslow,  Harwich;  June  2,  1758,  Sylv.  Bourne,  Barn- 
stable; August  2,  1758,  Thos.  Smith,  Sandwich;  December  19,  1758, 
Row.  Robinson,  Falmouth;  May  23,  1760,  Ny's  Marston,  Barnstable; 
February  1,  1764,  James  Otis,  Barnstable;  February  1,  1764,  Edw. 
Bacon,  Barnstable;  June  20,  1765,  John  Gorham,  Barnstable. 

At  the  interruption  of  the  revolutionary  period  the  following  were 
known  to  belong  to  the  common  pleas  court :  Melatiah  Bourne,  Shear- 
jashub  Bourne,  David  Gorham,  Solomon  Otis,  Kenelm  Winslow,  David 
Thacher,  Daniel  Davis,  Joseph  Otis,  and  Richard  Bourne. 

Immediately  following  1774,  the  appointment  of  judges  was  con- 
ferred upon  the  governor  alone,  and  the  first  appointments  in  the  county 
were  in  the  names  of  the  "  Governor  and  People  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,"  viz. :  October  11,  1775,  James  Otis,  Barnstable  ;  Nath.  Freeman, 
Sandwich ;  Daniel  Davis,  Barnstable ;  and  Richard  Baxter,  Yarmouth. 
The  following  appointments  were  also  made  :  October  13, 1775,  Joseph 
Nye,  jr..  Sandwich  ;  March,  27,  1781,  Sol.  Freeman,  Harwich  ;  March 
21,  1793,  John  Davis,  Barnstable;  June  28,  1799,  Ebenezer  Bacon, 
Barnstable;  February  11,  1801,  David  Scudder,  Barnstable;  February 
14,  1803,  Sam'l  Waterman,  Wellfleet;  February  20,  1804,  Thomas 
Thacher,  Yarmouth  ;  February  22,  1809,  Isaiah  L.  Green,  Barnstable  ; 
February,  1809,  Timothy  Phinney,  Barnstable;  August  22,  1809, 
Wendell  Davis,  Sandwich. 

As  session  justices  for  the  county  (immediately  after  the  circuit 
court  of  common  pleas  was  established)  Richard  Sears  of  Chatham 
was  commissioned  June  10,  1814,  and  Calvin  Tilden  of  Yarmouth  on 
February  15,  1815. 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  201 

Since  the  beginning  of  this  century,  the  following  were  appointed 
judges  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  for  this  county  :  Nath.  Freeman, 
Sandwich,  chief  justice  ;  John  Davis.  Barnstable,  chief  justice,  1811 ; 
Jos.  Dimick,  Falmouth,  chief  justice,  1808 :  James  Freeman,  Sand- 
wich, justice,  1808;  Sam'l  Freeman,  Eastham,  justice,  1811 ;  Isaiah  L. 
Green,  Barnstable,  justice,  1812;  Sol'n  Freeman,  Brewster,  justice, 
1812;  Richard  Sears,  Chatham,  justice,  1816;  Calvin  Tilden,  Yar- 
mouth, justice,  1816;  Sam'l  P.  Crosswell,  Falmouth,  justice,  1819; 
Elijah  Cobb,  Brewster,  justice,  1819  ;  Elisha  Doane,  Yarmouth,  justice, 
1819;  Naler  Crocker,  Barnstable,  special  justice,  1822;  Melatiah 
Bourne,  Sandwich,  special  justice,  1822. 

The  legislature  of  1828  abolished  the  court  of  sessions  and  commis- 
sioners of  highways,  and  established  in  their  place,  a  court  of  county 
commissioners,  since  which  time  this  board  has  been  composed  as  be- 
low indicated.  The  first  court  of  county  commissioners  was  organized 
in  1828,  with  Samuel  T.  Crosswell,  Matthew  Cobb,  and  Obed  Brooks 
as  commissioners.  On  the  11th  of  June,  1835,  Jesse  Boyden  of  Sand- 
wich, Michael  Collins  of  Eastham  and  Alexander  Baxter  of  Yarmouth, 
having  been  elected,  organized  under  the  statute  of  the  preceding 
April.  Chapter  XIV.  of  the  Revised  Statutes  provided  that  on  and 
after  the  first  Monday  in  April,  1838,  three  commissioners  should  be 
chosen  every  third  year  to  serve  three  years.  In  1838  Jesse  Boyden, 
Michael  Collins  and  Charles  Sears  were  elected; — in  1841,  Zenas  D. 
Bassett,  Isaac  Hardy,  and  John  Newcomb ;  in  1844  and  1847,  Seth 
Crowell  of  Dennis,  Ebenezer  Nye  of  Falmouth,  John  Newcomb  of 
Wellfleet ;  1850,  Seth  Crowell,  John  Doane  of  Orleans,  David  K.  Akin 
of  Yarmouth  ;  1853,  John  Doane,  David  K.  Akin,  and  Simeon  Dilling- 
ham of  Sandwich. 

The  act  of  March  11,  1854,  directed  the  commissioners  to  choose 
by  ballot  one  of  their  number  to  retire  in  1854,  one  in  1855,  the  other 
to  hold  his  office  until  1856,  and  provided  for  the  annual  election  of 
one  commissioner  at  the  general  election  each  year,  whose  term  of 
ofiice  should  be  three  years.  In  1855  David  H.  Smith  succeeded  David 
K.  Akin,  and  in  1856  William  Hewins  succeeded  Simeon  Dillingham. 
In  September,  1856,  Edward  W.  Ewer  of  Sandwich  was  elected  to  fill 
the  vacancy  of  David  H.  Smith.  Since  that  time  the  three  year  terms 
begin  in  January.  The  names  of  the  several  commissioners  with  the 
year  in  which  their  terms  began,  are  as  follows  :  1857,  James  Gifford 
of  Provincetown ;  1858,  Edward  W.  Ewer  of  Sandwich  ;  1859,  Joseph 
H.  Sears  of  Brewster;  1860,  John  W.  Davis  of  Wellfleet;  1861  and 
1864,  Erasmas  Gould  of  Falmouth  ;  1862,  Joseph  H.  Sears  of  Brewster ; 
1863  and  1869,  Daniel  Paine  of  Truro;  1865  to  1883,  James  S.  Howes 
of  Dennis  ;  1867  to  1875,  Ebenezer  S.  Whittemore  of  Sandwich  ;  1872, 
Elijah  E.  Knowles  of  Eastham ;  1875,  Jonathan  Higgins  of  Orleans  •" 


202  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

1876  to  1884,  Joshua  C.  Robinson  of  Falmouth ;  1881,  Nathan  D.  Free- 
man of  Provincetown  (died  in  oflBce) ;  1886,  Solomon  E.  Hallett  of 
Chatham  ;  1888,  Samuel  Snow  of  Barnstable ;  1888,  Isaiah  C.  Young  of 
Wellfieet,  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  death  of  N.  D. 
Freeman,  and  reelected  in  1889,  for  further  term. 

By  the  statute  of  1784,  probate  courts  were  established,  with  pow- 
ers and  jurisdiction  given  by  the  laws  of  the  commonwealth.  The 
appellate  jurisdiction  is  vested  in  the  supreme  judicial  courts.  By  the 
charter  of  William  and  Mary  the  authority  was  vested  in  the  governor 
and  council,  by  which  probate  officers  were  appointed  in  the  several 
counties,  exercising  a  delegated  authority,  from  the  decrees  of  which 
appeals  were  taken  to  the  governor  and  council,  who  remained  the 
supreme  court  of  probate.  Such  was  the  commencement  of  the  pro- 
bate court  as  a  distinct  tribunal.  This  probate  court  continued  to 
exercise  probate  jurisdiction,  until  county  probate  courts  were  estab- 
lished under  the  state  constitution,  and  the  act  of  1784,  under  which 
the  probate  courts  were  first  formally  established,  and  which 
act  provided  for  the  holding  of  a  probate  court  within  the  several 
counties,  and  for  the  appointment  of  judges  and  registers  of  probate, 
and  transferred  the  appellate  jurisdiction  from  the  governor  and 
council  to  the  supreme  judicial  court,  which  is  the  supreme  court  of 
probate.  The  probate  courts  thus  organized  continued  to  exercise 
probate  jurisdiction  until  the  law  of  1858,  chapter  93,  which  abolished 
the  office  of  judge  of  probate  and  provided  for  the  appointment  in 
each  county  of  a  suitable  person  to  be  judge  of  probate  and  judge  of 
the  court  of  insolvency,  and  be  designated  the  judge  of  probate  and 
insolvency. 

The  decrees  of  the  probate  court,  upon  subjects  within  its  jurisdic- 
tion, are  final,  unless  appealed  from.  They  cannot  be  questioned  in 
courts  of  common  law,  neither  will  a  writ  of  error  lie  to  its  judgments, 
nor  will  certiorariWe  from  the  supreme  court;  but  the  illegal  decrees 
of  the  probate  court  are  nullities,  and  may  be  set  aside,  by  plea  and 
proof;  but  an  aggrieved  party  may  appeal  to  the  supreme  court  of 
probate,  as  prescribed  by  statute.  The  probate  courts  for  each  county 
have  jurisdiction  of  the  probate  of  the  wills,  of  granting  administra- 
tion of  the  estates  of  persons  who  at  the  time  of  their  decease,  were 
inhabitants  of  or  resident  in  the  county,  and  of  persons  who  die  out 
of  the  Commonwealth  leaving  estates  to  be  administered  within  the 
county;  of  the  appointment  of  guardians  to  minors  and  others;  of  all 
matters  relating  to  the  estates  of  such  deceased  persons  and  wards;  of 
petitions  for  the  adoption  of  children,  and  for  the  change  of  names; 
and  of  such  other  matters  as  have  been  or  may  be  placed  within  their 
jurisdiction  by  law. 

Governor  Joseph  Dudley  in  1702,  in  consideration  of  a  change  in 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  203 

the  charter  of  1691,  referring  to  the  probate  of  wills,  vesting  that 
power  in  the  governor  and  council;  and  finding  courts  established  in 
the  several  counties  for  that  purpose,  ordered  that  these  courts  be 
continued.  The  incumbents  have  been:  first,  in  1693,  Barnabas  Lo- 
throp;  June  15,  1714,  John  Otis;  December  26,  1727,  Melatiah  Bourne; 
January  6,  1740-1,  Sylvanus  Bourne;  February  1,  1764,  James  Otis; 
March  27,  1781,  Daniel  Davis;  May27, 1799,  Ebenezer  Bacon;  January 
30,  1800,  John  Davis;  June  8,  1825,  Job  E.  Davis;  January  11.  1828, 
Nymphas  Marston;  December  18,  1854,  George  Marston;  May  13, 1858, 
Joseph  M.  Day;  June  14,  1882,  Hiram  P.  Harriman. 

The  registers  of  probate  have  been :  in  1693,  Joseph  Lothrop; 
August  13,  1702,  William  Bassett;  June  14,  1721,  Nathaniel  Otis; 
August  23,  1729,  Sylvanus  Bourne;  January  6,  1740-1,  David  Gorham; 
August  28,  1776,  Nath.  Freeman;  January  22,  1823,  Abner  Davis; 
March  28,  1836,  Timothy  Reed;  June  29,  1852,  Nath'l  Hinckley; 
March  2,  1853,  George  Marston;  December  28,  1854,  Joseph  M.  Day; 
Rufus  S.  Pope;  June  29,  1858,  Charles  F.  Swift;  1858,  Jonathan  Hig- 
gins;  1874,  Charles  Thacher,  2d;  1884,  Freeman  H.  Lothrop. 

The  statute  of  1858,  Chapter  138,  authorized  the  governor  to  desig- 
nate, not  exceeding  tiine  justices  of  the  peace,  in  the  county  of  Barn- 
stable, as  trial  justices,  to  try  criminal  oflfenders,  whose  jurisdiction 
extended  to  any  town  in  the  county.  Subsequently  their  jurisdiction 
was  enlarged  by  statute  of  1877,  Chapter  211,  which  authorized  them 
to  have  original  and  concurrent  jurisdiction  with  the  superior  court 
of  civil  actions  of  contract,  tort,  or  replevin,  where  the  debt  or  dam- 
ages demanded  or  value  of  property  alleged  to  be  detained  is  more 
than  one  hundred  and  does  not  exceed  three  hundred  dollars.  In 
other  matters,  their  jurisdiction  was  coextensive  with  ordinary  munic- 
ipal and  district  courts. 

Those  who  have  held  the  office  of  trial  justice,  since  1858,  in  the 
county,  are:  Ebenezer  Bacon,  Barnstable,  from  1860  to  1869;  Edward 
W.  Ewer,  Sandwich,  1858  to  1860;  James  B.  Crocker,  Yarmouth,  1858 
to  1884;  George  W.  Donaldson,  Falmouth,  1858  to  1865;  Joseph  K. 
Baker,  jr.,  Dennis,  1859  to  1861;  John  W.  Davis,  Wellfleet,  1858  to 
1865;  Albion  S.  Dudley,  Provincetown,  1858  to  1863;  Cyrus  Weeks, 
Harwich,  1858  to  1866;  Ebenezer  S.  Whittemore,  Sandwich,  1860  to 
1889,  and  continues;  Marshall  S.  Underwood,  Dennis,  1861  to  1882; 
Isaac  Bea,  Chatham,  1862  to  1872;  Benjamin  F.  Hutchinson,  Province- 
town,  1868  to  1870;  Theodore  F.  Bassett,  Hyannis,  1868  to  1889  and 
continues;  Smith  K.  Hopkins,  Truro  and  Barnstable,  1867  to  1889  and 
continues;  Frederick  Hebard,  Dennis,  1868  to  1869;  Richard  S.  Wood, 
Falmouth,  1865  to  1875;  George  T.  Wyer,  Wellfleet,  1872  to  1889  and 
continues;  Shubael  B.  Kelley,  Harwich  Port,  1873  to  1889  and  contin- 
ues; Raymond  Ellington,  Provincetown,  1875  to  1878;  James  H.  Hop- 


204  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

kins,  Provincetown,  1886  to  1888;  Charles  F.  Chamberlayne,  Bourne, 
1884  to  1889  and  continues;  George  Godfrey,  Chatham,  1886  to  1889 
and  continues;  Jonathan  Kelley,  2d,  Dennis,  1886  to  his  death  in  1889; 
William  D.  Foster,  Provincetown,  1884  to  1885;  Tully  Crosby,  jr., 
Brewster,  appointed  in  1890  and  continues;  Watson  F.  Baker,  Dennis, 
1889,  and  continues. 

The  Bar  of  the  County  of  Barnstable. — The  bar  can  justly 
claim  some  of  the  highest  mental  lights  of  the  world,  and  yet  what  is 
known  of  its  members,  is  in  a  great  degree,  traditionary.  Very  few 
of  the  transcendent  efforts  in  the  forum  are  reported; — their  fame  and 
merit  are  passing  and  transitory;  and  are  forgotten  by  the  multitude 
who  heard  them.  Our  great  American  orator,  statesman,  and  patriot, 
James  Otis,  who  was  born  at  West  Barnstable,  February  5,  1725,  ex- 
hibited the  character  of  one  of  the  purest  patriots  and  eloquent  de- 
fenders of  human  rights,  that  the  American  continent  has  produced; 
— when  in  the  midst  (1761)  of  his  duties  as  advocate  general,  in  defend- 
ing the  writs  of  assistance,  but  deeming  them  illegal  and  unjust,  he 
immediately  resigned. — His  argument  in  this  case  produced  a  pro- 
found impression.  Such  was  his  unselfish  love  of  country,  that  he 
has  left  his  impress  as  an  ornament  on  the  column  of  time. 

The  finished  forensic  efforts  of  Rufus  Choate  and  other  eminent 
American  advocates,  would  adorn  the  pages  of  Cicero,  and  yet  much 
of  it  has  passed  into  forgetfulness.  A  few  Nestors  of  the  Suffolk  bar, 
occasionally  speak  of  the  scintillations  of  his  magnetic  mind,  and  the 
charm  of  his  speech,  yet  they  add  in  despair; — "  we  cannot  repeat  the 
effect  upon  the  breathless  multitude  who  heard  him,  with  the  inde- 
scribable power  of  a  magician."  No  one  is  able  to  rehearse  these 
masterly  utterances,  or  realize  the  effect  upon  the  enchanted  multi- 
tude. I  well  remember  how  deeply  moved  was  the  throng  in  the  court- 
room, when  he  closed  his  argument  for  the  defense  in  a  capital  case, 
where  the  life  or  death  of  the  defendant  was  depending  upon  the  ver- 
dict of  that  jury;  the  audience  refused  to  leave  the  room,  before  the 
verdict  came  in,  so  deeply  were  they  in  sympathy  with  Mr.  Choate 's 
client. 

It  will  be  impossible  to  say  much  concerning  the  early  members 
of  the  bar  of  the  county  of  Barnstable,  since  we  have  very  little  ma- 
terial relating  to  them  to  make  up  anything  approaching  the  dignity 
of  biography.  At  this  early  period  of  the  Pilgrims  and  some  years 
subsequently,  the  profession  of  the  law  hardly  had  a  name  in  the  Old 
Colony;  very  few  made  the  study  and  practice  of  the  law  an  exclusive 
profession;  and  those  who  were  members  of  the  bar,  it  is  difficult  to 
determine,  with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  until  we  pass  to  a  later 
time. 

As  early  as  1676,  Richard  Bourne  of  Sandwich,  Shearjashub  Bourne 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  205 

of  Barnstable,  and  Samuel  Prince  were  conversant  with  the  duties  of 
a  lawyer.  Hon.  Ezra  Bourne  of  Sandwich  was  by  preparation  and 
practice  a  lawyer  as  early  as  1700.  William  Bassett,  Samuel  Jennings 
and  Silas  Bourne  of  Sandwich,  were  lawyers  in  their  way;  and  so  was 
Nathaniel  Otis  of  Barnstable,  a  member  of  the  bar,  in  fact.  With  the 
exception  of  Ezra  Bourne,  Hon.  Timothy  Ruggles  was  the  most  able 
and  learned  lawyer  in  the  county.  He  came  to  Sandwich,  not  far  from 
the  year  1739, — having  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1732. 

Hon.  Shearjashub  Bourne  of  Barnstable  was  a  man  of  mark,  and 
during  the  first  years  of  the  republic,  he  was  the  representative  in 
congress  from  this  district,  during  the  first,  second  and  third  con- 
gresses. He  was  born  in  Barnstable  in  1744,  graduated  from  Harvard 
College  in  1764  and  died  in  1806.  He  was  a  class-mate  of  Governor 
Caleb  Strong,  and  other  distinguished  men.  Shearjashub  Bourne  was 
a  direct  descendant  of  Rev.  Richard  Bourne  of  Sandwich,  who  was 
one  of  the  most  able  men  who  came  to  Sandwich  in  1637,  and  finally- 
became  a  useful  and  devoted  missionary  to  the  Indians. 

Hon.  Lemuel  Shaw,  chief  justice  of  the  supreme  judicial  court  of 
Massachusetts,  from  August  31,  1830,  to  August  23,  1860,  died  at  Bos- 
ton, March  30,  1861.  This  illustrious  chief  justice  was  born  at  West 
Barnstable,  January,  9,  1781,  the  son  of  Rev.  Oakes  Shaw,  who  held 
here  the  pastorate  for  47  years.  The  son  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  the  class  of  1800,  with  Judge  Story,  William  E.  Channing 
and  other  distinguished  men.  Judge  Shaw  never  practiced  law  in  the 
county  of  Barnstable,  but  he  held  a  broad  and  secure  position  in  the 
affections  of  all  the  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  was  the  ac- 
knowledged chief  of  its  jurists.  No  man  in  any  period  of  our  history 
has  so  deeply  impressed  his  mental  power  and  judicial  reasoning 
upon  the  people  of  the  Commonwealth,  as  did  Judge  Shaw.  He  was 
constructive,  and  yet  he  was  progressive.  As  has  been  said,  for  the 
high  degree  of  symmetry  and  harmonious  development  to  be  found 
in  the  science  of  the  law  as  administered  in  our  courts,  we  are  largely 
indebted  to  his  comprehensive  and  vigorous  intellect.  He  had  an 
abiding  sympathy,  coupled  with  broad  mental  power  and  minuteness 
of  observation.  "  His  understanding  resembles  the  tent  which  the 
fairy  Paribanou  gave  to  prince  Ahmed.  Fold  it,  and  it  seems  a  toy 
for  the  hand  of  a  lady.  Spread  it,  and  the  armies  of  powerful  sultans 
might  repose  beneath  its  shade."  His  sympathies  were  deep  and 
broad,  which  an  incident  will  illustrate.  The  question  was  raised 
whether  a  heifer  calf  was  exempt  from  attachment,  which  caused  some 
merriment  at  the  Bar.  Judge  Shaw  paused  and  with  some  emotion 
said:  "Gentlemen,  this  may  seem  to  you  a  trifling  case,  but  it  is  a 
very  important  question  to  a  great  many  poor  families." 

Hon.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  jr.,  son  of  General  Nathaniel  Freeman  of 


206  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Sandwich,  was  born  May  1,  1766,  and  died  August  22,  1800,  at  the  age 
of  35  years.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  the  class  of  1787, 
with  John  Quincy  Adams,  and  other  men  of  ability.  He  studied  and 
practiced  law ;  but  at  the  age  of  30,  in  1796,  he  was  elected  to  the 
fourth  congress,  with  a  unanimous  vote,  save  one.  In  1798,  he  was 
elected  the  second  time  to  the  fifth  congress,  and  while  a  member  of 
this  body,  he  died  at  the  age  of  35.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  jr.,  was  a  per- 
son of  brilliant  mind,  and  a  man  of  great  powers  of  eloquence  for  one 
of  his  years;  and  yet  it  is  hardly  known,  even  in  the  Old  Colony,  what 
an  able  man  he  was.  His  was  an  untimely  death ; — what  fruit  might 
we  not  expect  from  the  golden  autumn  of  such  a  mind  ! 

Hon.  Timothy  Ruggles  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  lawyers 
ever  connected  with  the  bar  of  the  county  of  Barnstable;  born  in 
Rochester,  Mass.,  He  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  the  class 
of  1732,  before  his  24th  birthday,  in  1739,  he  became  an  inhabi- 
tant of  Sandwich,  and  he  began  the  practice  of  law  before  he  came 
here.  He  managed  to  be  elected  a  representative  to  the  provincial 
legislature  from  Sandwich.  He  married  Bathsheba  Newcomb,  a  young 
widow,  who  was  the  proprietor  of  the  tavern,  and  united  the  profes- 
sion of  the  law  with  that  of  innkeeper;  having  personal  supervision 
over  both.  With  all  else,  he  had  a  decided  military  bent,  and  was 
destined  to  be  distinguished  in  that  direction. — Freeman  says,  as  col- 
onel he  led  a  body  of  troops  to  join  Sir  William  Johnson  in  the  ex- 
pedition against  Crown  Point  in  1756.  He  was  in  the  battle  of  Lake 
George;  brigadier  general  under  Lord  Amherst;  removing  to  Hard- 
wick,  he  served  several  yeaVs  as  representative  from  that  town,  two 
of  which  he  was  speaker.  He  was  for  a  while  chief  justice  of  the 
court  of  common  pleas.  In  1765  he  was  a  delegate,  with  Otis  in  the 
colonial  convention,  and  was  chosen  its  president.  As  a  politician,  his 
popularity  was  fated  to  wane;  the  whigs  were  dissatisfied  with  his 
course,  and  the  house  of  representatives  reprimanded  him  from  the 
speaker's  chair.  His  assurance  never  for  a  moment  forsook  him.  As 
a  lawyer  he  was  shrewd  and  quick  of  apprehension,  and  was  bold  in 
his  conception;  in  his  manners,  rude  and  lordly:  artful  in  his  address 
to  the  jury;  sagacious  and  well  equipped  as  a  demagogue,  against 
whomsoever  he  was  pitted.  He  was  mentioned  as  a  mandamus  coun- 
sellor in  1774  and  proved  a  decided  loyalist.  Finding  concealment  in 
Boston,  until  its  evacuation,  he  retired  with  the  British  troops  to  Hali- 
fax, where  he  organized  a  body  of  loyal  militia  refugees  to  the  num- 
ber of  300.     He  died  in  Nova  Scotia  in  1798,  at  an  advanced  age. 

This  account  of  Mr.  Ruggles  is  protracted,  not  because  of  his  emi- 
nent goodness,  or  lack  of  ability,  but  for  his  extended  range  of  vicis- 
situdes in  life,  and  his  power  to  exhibit  them  with  a  firm  hand  and 
purpose.     I  will  dismiss  Mr.  Ruggles  with  an  anecdote. — An  old  lady 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  207 

-witness  comes  into  court  at  Barnstable,  before  the  chief  justice  ar- 
rives. The  court  enters  with  great  gravity,  finding  the  old  lady  in  his 
seat,  inquires  of  her,  who  gave  her  his  seat.  The  old  lady, 
pointing  to  Ruggles,  said,  ''He  gave  me  the  seat," — and  after 
the  old  lady  was  removed,  the  chief  justice,  turning  to  Ruggles, 
firmly  demanded  of  him  his  reasons  for  such  conduct.  His 
cool  and  characteristic  reply  was:  "  May  it  please  your  Honor,  I  thought 
that  the  place  for  old  women." 

Hon.  Zeno  Scudder  was  born  at  Barnstable  in  1807,  and  died  there 
June  26, 1857,  at  the  age  of  50.  Like  many  of  the  sons  of  the  Cape,  he 
had  a  decided  inclination  to  follow  the  sea;  but  before  he  reached  the  age 
of  21,  he  had  paralysis  of  his  right  limb,  causing  lameness.  This 
caused  him  to  change  his  plans.  Under  the  advice  of  Doctor  Nourse 
of  Hollowell,  and  at  Bowdoin  College,  he  pursued  the  study  of  medi- 
cine, and  after  completing  it  found  his  lameness  an  impediment  to  his 
practice  as  a  physician;  not  being  discouraged,  he  turned  his  attention 
with  zeal  to  the  study  of  the  law.  His  preparatory  course  was  partly 
pursued  at  the  Dane  Law  School  at  Cambridge.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1836.  He  first  opened  an  ofiice  in  Falmouth,  but  soon  after 
settled  in  his  native  town,  which  was  near  the  centre  of  business. 

By  studious  application  and  great  industry,  he  gained  and  deserved 
the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best  read,  and  ablest  lawyers  in  the 
Commonwealth;  and  this  was  supplemented  by  an  honest  and  high- 
minded  purpose.  He  was  elected  to  the  Massachusetts  senate  in  1846, 
and  when  returned  to  the  same  body  in  1847,  was  chosen  president. 
He  was  elected  to  the  32d  and  33d  congresses,  but  before  he  took  his 
seat  in  the  33d,  a  severe  casualty  prostrated  him,  which  finally  caused 
his  death,  to  the  deep  regret  of  many  friends.  Mr.  Scudder  not  only 
had  a  keen,  but  a  broad  and  comprehensive  mind,  capable  of  grasping 
great  principles.  He  exhibited  this  in  his  masterly  speech  in  con- 
gress, August  12,  1852,  on  the  importance  of  American  fisheries.  Very 
few  members  of  congress  from  the  Old  Colony  were  more  faithful  to 
the  people  represented  than  Zeno  Scudder.  As  a  lawyer,  he  was 
jealous  of  the  just  rights  and  interests  of  his  clients,  but  never  claimed 
for  them  that  which  was  not  right,  or  proper  or  just.  He  believed 
the  law  to  be  a  noble  science,  and  one  of  dignity. 

Hon.  John  Reed  was  born  at  West  Bridgewater  in  1781,  and  died 
in  the  same  place,  in  1860,  at  the  age  of  79.  He  became  a  resident  of 
Yarmouth  in  early  life,  and  opened  an  ofiice  for  the  practice  of  law, 
and  took  high  rank.  He  was  once  a  representative  of  the  legislature 
from  Yarmouth,  and  was  twelve  times  elected  in  this  district  to  con- 
gress, serving  twenty-four  years  in  that  body.  He  was  called  the 
"  life  member."  In  1844  he  was  elected  lieutenant  governor  and 
was  re-elected  seven  successive  years  after  he  returned  to  Bridge- 
-water. 


208  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Hon.  Nymphas  Marston,  who  was  born  at  Barnstable,  February 
12, 1788,  and  died  there  May  2,  1864,  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in 
the  class  of  1807.  In  1828  Governor  Lincoln  appointed  him  judge  of 
probate,  and  he  served  26  years  to  1854,  at  which  time  he  resigned. 
Probably  no  lawyer  ever  practised  in  the  county  of  Barnstable,  who 
more  completely  gained  and  held  the  confidence,  love  and  esteem  of 
all  the  people  of  the  county,  than  Nymphas  Marston.  He  was  always 
ready  to  advise  a  settlement,  rather  than  contend  in  court;  but  when 
he  did  try  a  cause,  the  people  believed  he  was  on  the  side  pf  justice, 
and  he  usually  won  the  verdict.  He  was  one  of  Nature's  own  advo- 
cates; and  before  the  court  and  jury  he  was  a  magician.  He  was  a 
man  of  "  infinite  jest."  After  defending  in  court,  a  client,  who  was 
accused  of  stealing  a  pig,  the  jury  acquitted  him,  which  greatly  sur- 
prised the  defendant,  whereupon  he  whispered  in  Mr.  Marston's  ear: 
— "  What  shall  I  do  with  the  pig  ?  "  Mr.  M.'s  reply  was: — "  Eat  him,  the 
jury  say  you  did  not  steal  him  "I!  Mr.  Marston  could  have  been  elected 
to  almost  any  office  within  the  gift  of  the  people;  but  as  he  often  said: 
"  I  would  rather  be  Judge  of  Probate  for  the  county  of  Barnstable, 
and  protect  the  rights  of  its  widows  and  orphans  than  hold  any  other 
office." 

Hon.  Wendell  Davis,  was  born  about  1775,  died  in  Sandwich,  De- 
cember 30,  1830,  and  was  buried  in  Plymouth.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  settled  in  Sandwich  in  1799.  He  was  a  son  of  Thomas 
Davis  of  Plymouth.  He  was  clerk  of  the  Massachusetts  senate  in 
1803-1805,  afterwards  senator,  and  several  years  sheriff  of  the  county 
of  Barnstable,  and  he  held  other  offices  of  trust.  He  practised  law 
and  resided  in  Sandwich  about  thirty  years.  He  was  a  lawyer  pos- 
sessed of  great  natural  abilities; — a  direct  descendent  of  the  Pilgrims: 
Governor  Bradford,  Elder  Brewster,  and  Richard  Warren.  He  was 
a  safe  and  wise  counselor,  yet  seldom  appeared  in  court  as  an 
advocate. 

Hon.  Russell  Freeman,  the  tenth  child  of  General  Nathaniel  Free- 
man, was  born  October  7,  1782,  and  died  in  Boston  of  heart  disease  in 
1842.  He  was  several  years  collector  of  customs  in  New  Bedford; 
representative  in  the  legislature  from  Sandwich,  and  one  of  the  execu- 
tive council.  His  deafness  prevented  his  practising  law  at  the  bar, 
but  he  was  a  lawyer  of  pronounced  abilities,  and  an  able  and  safe  ad- 
viser, and  one  of  the  most  popular  men  in  the  Old  Colony;  coupled 
with  a  genial  disposition,  ready  wit,  quick  perceptions,  honorable 
aims  in  life,  sincere  in  his  friendships,  which  caused  him  to  be  widely 
known  in  the  Commonwealth,  and  highly  esteemed,  and  his  death 
universally  mourned.  On  his  tombstone,  by  his  direction,  is  inscribed; 
''  In  meipso  nihil;  in  Christo  otnne." 


BENCH  AND   BAR.  209 

Hon.  George  Marston,  born  in  Barnstable,  October  15, 1821,  died 
in  New  Bedford,  August  14,  1883;  studied  law  at  Cambridge  in  1844, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1845,  and  practised  his  profession  in 
Barnstable  and  New  Bedford.  During  1853  and  1854  he  was  register 
of  probate,  and  from  1855  to  1858,  judge  of  probate  of  the  county  of 
Barnstable.  In  1859  he  was  elected  district  attorney  for  the  Southern 
district.  Mr.  Marston  was  nominated  by  the  republicans  in  1878  for 
the  office  of  attorney  general,  to  succeed  Hon.  Charles  R.  Train,  and 
was  elected.  He  resigned  the  office  of  district  attorney  in  order  to 
enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  new  office,  and  was  re-elected  attorney 
general,  at  the  successive  elections  of  1879,  1880  and  1881.  He  was 
the  only  attorney  general  born  in  the  county  of  Barnstable.  Mr. 
Marston  was  by  general  consent,  one  of  the  ablest,  and  most  promi- 
nent and  influential  men  in  the  Old  Colony,  and  enjoyed  the  confi- 
dence and  esteem  of  all  who  knew  him.  After  a  few  years  most  men 
are  forgotten  by  the  larger  body  of  the  people;  not  so  with  George 
Marston.  His  life  was  so  filled  with  the  important  business  of  other 
men  throughout  the  Commonwealth,  that  his  name  and  fame  will  be 
handed  down  through  a  series  of  years.  Few  other  lawyers  ever  had 
a  better  facility  in  the  trial  of  causes  than  George  Marston;  he  may 
be  said  to  have  been  a  great  jury  lawj'er.  He  had  a  rich  and  peren- 
nial inspiration  of  language,  and  when  the  odds  seemed  against  him 
he  would  turn  the  tide  by  the  magic  of  his  speech.  He  was 
well  educated  as  a  lawyer,  yet  not  a  graduate  of  a  college ; — few 
graduates,  however,  could  excel  him  in  common  sense  and  purity 
of  diction.  The  universities  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  would 
have  added  no  glory  or  lustre  to  the  fame  or  breadth  of  under- 
.standing  of  William  Shakspeare.  Such  men  carry  universities  in 
their  heads. 

Hon.  John  B.  D.  Cogswell,  born  at  Yarmouth,  June  6,  1829,  died  at 
Haverhill,  June  10,  1889.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College,  in 
1845,  in  high  rank,  and  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Governor  Emery 
Washburn  and  Senator  Hoar  in  Worcester.  In  1850  he  took  the  de- 
gree of  LL.B.  at  Cambridge  Law  School.  He  opened  an  office  in 
Worcester  in  1857,  and  was  elected  a  representative  to  the  legislature. 
In  1858  he  moved  to  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  and  opened  an  office  there. 
In  1861  and  again  in  1865  he  received  the  appointment  of  United 
States  district  attorney  for  the  state  of  Wisconsin  by  President  Lin- 
coln. He  returned  in  1870  to  Yarmouth,  and  was  sent  as  representa- 
tive to  the  state  legislature  for  the  years  1871,  1872  and  1873,  and 
elected  state  senator  for  the  years  1877,  1878  and  1879,  and  was  presi- 
dent of  the  senate  in  1878  and  1879.  Mr.  Cogswell  was  a  man  of  un- 
questioned abilities,  coupled  with  uncommon  powers  of  oratory,  and 
urbanity  of  manners. 
14 


210  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Hon.  John  Doane  was  born  in  part  of  Orleans  then  embraced 
within  the  limits  of  Eastham,  on  May  28,  1791,  and  died  March  3, 
1881.     He  was  educated  at  Sandwich  Academy,  and  at  Bridgewater; 

he  studied  law  with  John  Reed,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 

Barnstable  about  1818,  and  practiced  for  more  than  half  a  century. 
He  was  representative  to  the  legislature,  and  in  1830  was  first  elected 
state  senator,  in  which  office  he  served  three  terms  with  dignity  and 
ability.  He  was  at  one  time  a  member  of  the  governor's  council.  In 
1850  and  again  in  1853  he  was  elected  county  commissioner  and  was 
thus  contemporary  in  that  court  with  David  K.  Akin,  Seth  Crowell 
and  Simeon  Dillingham. 

He  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  rare  social  posi- 
tion, respected  and  loved  by  all  who  knew  him,  his  life  work  as  an 
adviser,  peacemaker  and  friend  more  than  filling  up  the  measure  of 
man's  allotted  time.  Upon  the  town  in  which  he  resided  and  upon 
the  public  whose  interests  he  sought  to  serve  he  made  a  deep  and  last- 
ing impression  as  an  honest  and  sound  counselor,  who,  in  all  his  pro- 
fessional career  advised  settlements,  compromises  and  concessions 
instead  of  litigations  in  the  courts.* 

Seth  F.  Nye  of  Sandwich  was  born  May  13,  1791,  and  died  Sep- 
tember 13,  1856,  at  the  age  of  65  years  and  four  months.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  of  the  county  of  Barnstable  about  1816,  and  prac- 
ticed here  for  forty  years  -  the  whole  period  of  his  business  life.  He 
held  various  offices  of  trust,  was  representative  to  the  legislature,  and  a 
delegate  in  the  convention  of  1820,  to  revise  the  constitution  of  the 
state.  He  rarely  appeared  in  court  as  an  advocate,  but  prepared  his 
cases  for  argument  by  other  counsel.  He  was  a  genial  person,  and 
one  of  good  sense, — a  useful  and  benevolent  citizen,  and  his  death 
was  deeply  lamented  by  those  who  knew  him. 

John  Walton  Davis  was  born  at  Wellfleet  in  1817,  and  died  at 
Provincetown  in  1880.  He  was  at  Amherst  College  two  years,  and 
subsequently  graduated  from  Bowdoin  College,  Maine.  He  gradu- 
ated with  distinction,  as  a  fine  scholar,  at  the  head  of  his  class.  He 
studied  law  at  Ellsworth,  Me.,  and  after  being  admitted  to  the  bar, 
practiced  at  Topham,  Me.,  Boston,  Mass.,  Wellfleet  and  Provincetown. 
Mr.  Davis  held  offices  of  public  trust,  among  which  were  internal  rev- 
enue assessor,  trial  justice,  county  commissioner,  and  others.  He  was 
a  genial  and  agreeable  gentleman,  and  one  who  possessed  sufficient 
ability  to  have  filled  more  important  stations  in  life  than  he  did. 

Benjamin  F.  Hutchinson,  came  to  Provincetown  from  the  county 
of  Essex,  (about  1870)  and  practiced  law,  jointly  with  teaching.  He 
was  very  devoted  to  the  cause  of  education,  and  was  connected  with 

*  The  ancestry  and  family  of  Enquire  Doane  are  further  noticed  in  the  chapter  on 
Orleans. — Ed. 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  211 

the  school  board  until  his  death.  He  was  thoroughly  honest,  and 
well  equipped  in  the  science  of  the  law;  was  an  expert  in  drawing 
legal  documents,  which  bore  the  test  of  scrutiny.  He  rarely  ap- 
peared in  court  as  an  advocate,  but  prepared  his  cases  for  others 
to  argue.     He  died  at  Provincetown. 

Hon.  Simeon  N.  Small  of  Yarmouth,  was  bom  at  Chatham, 
Mass.,  but  practiced  law  at  Yarmouth  and  Milwaukee,  Wis.  He 
held  various  public  offices  before  emigrating  to  the  West,  among 
which  was  judge  of  the  court  of  insolvency.  In  1860,  he  went  to 
Milwaukee,  and  built  up  a  large  law  practice,  and  accumulated  a 
fortune.  Mr.  Small  was  considered  an  able  and  good  lawyer,  and 
a  man  of  integrity,  in  whom  confidence  could  be  placed.  He  died 
in  Milwaukee. 

Frederick  Hallett  of  Yarmouth,  studied  law  about  1862-3  with 
Judge  Day  of  Barnstable,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  began 
the  practice  of  the  law,  with  every  prospect  of  brilliant  success; 
but  he  was  soon  called  to  lay  down  his  life's  armor,  and  died  at 
the  untimely  age  of  25  years.  He  was  universally  beloved  and 
when  he  died,  Yarmouth,  as  a  town,  put  on  its  sincere  mourning.* 
Charles  F.  Chamberlayne,  son  of  Rev.  N.  H.  and  Hannah  S. 
(Tewksbury)  Chamberlain,  was  bom  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  November 
30,  1866.  He  prepared  at  the  Cambridge  High  School  and  graduated 
from  Harvard  College  in  1878.  He  also  gfraduated  at  Harvard  Law 
School  and  began  practice  in  Boston.  In  1883  he  edited  the  American 
edition  of  Best  on  Evidence,  and  the  following  year  was  appointed  trial 
justice  for  Barnstable  county — a  position  he  held  until  the  oflBce  was 
abolished  in  1890. 

Tully  Crosby,  jr.,  was  bom  in  South  Boston,  August  21, 1841.  His 
parents  removed  to  the  Cape  three  years  later,  where  he  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  and  at  the  Hyannis  Academy.  Afterward  he 
followed  the  sea  until  1875,  when  he  retired  and  settled  in  Brewster, 
where  he  now  resides.  He  began  the  study  of  law  in  1883,  taking  a 
special  course  in  the  Boston  University  School  of  Law,  under  Judge 
Bennett,  was  a  member  of  the  general  court  in  1885,  serving  as  clerk 
of  the  committee  on  education,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Barn- 
stable county,  October  14,  1887. 

Thomas  C.  Day  was  born  in  Barnstable,  April  20,  1856.  To  the 
excellent  advantages  of  the  village  school  were  added  those  of  Adams' 
Academy,  Quincy,  Mass.,  where  he  graduated  in  the  spring  of  1875, 
after  a  three  years'  course.  In  the  fall  of  1877,  after  two  years  in 
Harvard  College,  he  entered  the  law  office  of  his  father,  Judge  Joseph 
M.  Day,  then  of  Barnstable,  and  in  October,  1880,  was  admitted  to 

•The  sacceeding  portion  of  this  chapter  was  not  contributed  by  Mr.  Whittemore. — 
Ed. 


212  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

practice.  He  subsequently  became,  in  1882,  partner  with  him  in  the 
present  firm  of  J.  M.  &  T.  C.  Day,  with  one  ofl&ce  in  Barnstable  and 
one  in  Brockton,  Mass..  where  the  senior  partner  now  resides.  Mr. 
Day  is  a  democrat  in  politics,  and  although  yet  young,  has  been  rec- 
ognized by  the  party  as  a  capable  and  popular  standard  bearer. 

Alexander  McLellan  Goodspeed,  born  in  Falmouth  in  1847,  a  son 
of  Obed,  grandson  of  Walley,  and  great-grandson  of  Joseph  Good- 
speed,  was  educated  in  Lawrence  Academy,  Falmouth,  and  Phillips' 
Academy,  Andover.  He  subsequently  taught  in  public  schools,  and 
was  for  several  years  in  the  engineer  corps  of  a  Western  railroad. 
He  began  his  law  training  with  Marston  &  Crapo,  of  New  Bedford. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  Bristol  County  bar  in  March,  1880,  and  now 
is  established  as  attorney  at  law  in  New  Bedford,  but  has  a  substantial 
clientalage  at  Falmouth. 

Judge  Hiram  Putnam  Harriman,  of  Barnstable  county,  was  born 
at  Groveland,  Mass.,  in  the  valley  of  the  Merrimac,  February  6,  1846. 
His  father,  Samuel,  was  a  son  of  Moses  Harriman,  and  his  mother, 
Sally  Adams,  was  a  daughter  of  Henry  Hilliard.  Both  of  these  fam- 
ily names  have  been  well  known  and  honorably  represented  in  that 
part  of  Essex  county  for  nearly  two  hundred  years,  and  here  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  river  the  now  venerable  Samuel  Harriman  has 
passed  in  rural  peace  a  long  and  successful  career  as  an  extensive 
owner  and  tiller  of  the  soil.  The  early  training  of  the  lad  Hiram  was 
in  the  district  school  and  in  a  private  academy  at  Groveland,  where  he 
improved  the  brief  intervals  in  which  he  might  be  spared  from  the 
labors  of  the  farm.  He  was  the  youngest  of  three,  and  to  the 
teachings  of  an  older  sister  are  attributed  much  of  the  love  of  study 
and  thirst  for  knowledge  which  became  the  mainspring  of  his  higher 
aspirations.  With  such  a  resultant  as  these  circumstances  and  forces 
might  produce  in  an  enterprising  boy  of  eighteen,  intent  not  only 
upon  a  college  education,  but  aspiring  to  some  professional  career,  he 
became  a  student  of  Phillips'  Exeter  Academy  in  February,  1864,  en- 
tering at  the  middle  of.  the  junior  year.  In  one  year  and  a  half  he 
had,  by  special  eflfort,  mastered  the  Greek  and  Latin  preparatory 
course,  and  went  up  to  Dartmouth  in  June,  1865,  where  he  passed 
the  examination  to  enter  the  college.  His  college  life  began  the  fol- 
lowing September,  and  closed  with  his  graduation  with  the  class  of 
1869 ;  and  although  he  taught  three  winters  during  the  course  he 
stood  sixth  in  a  class  of  more  than  sixty.  Several  of  the  Cape  towns 
depended,  at  that  period,  upon  the  students  of  Dartmouth  College  for 
their  best  winter  teachers,  and  it  was  while  a  student  of  this  institu- 
tion that  he  first  became  known  on  the  Cape  as  a  teacher  two  winters 
in  the  public  schools  of  Truro.  Here  by  his  urbanity  of  manners  and 
devotion  to  his  work  he  attained  a  high  position  as  a  teacher  and  at- 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  213 

tracted  to  himself  many  warm  friends,  who  have  shown  a  pride  and 
interest  in  his  subsequent  advancement. 

From  September,  1869,  until  the  following  May  he  was  at  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  completing  a  course  which  he  began  with  Blackstone,  while 
teaching  the  country  school  at  South  Truro  in  the  winter  of  1867-8. 
His  graduation  at  the  Albany  Law  School  entitled  him  to  admission 
to  practice  in  New  York,  and  after  a  short  association  with  J.  P.  Jones, 
a  prominent  lawyer  at  Haverhill,  Mass.,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  Essex  county  and  removed  the  same  year  to  Wellfleet — then  the 
terminus  of  the  railroad, — establishing  I  imself  on  Cape  Cod,  in  the 
practice  of  law.  There  has  never  been  since,  nor  had  there  existed 
for  many  years  before,  a  better  opportunity  for  a  young  lawyer  of  his 
stamp  to  obtain  a  foothold  in  Barnstable  county.  Mr.  Marston,  who 
for  years  had  a  large  and  profitable  practice,  had  removed  to  New 
Bedford  ;  George  A.  King  of  Barnstable  was  gradually  dropping  his 
Cape  practice  and  soon  gave  his  whole  attention  to  his  Boston  busi- 
ness. 

Mr.  Harriman  took  an  office  at  Barnstable,  and  the  following  year 
one  at  Harwich,  where  the  failing  health  of  his  friend,  Jonathan  Hig- 
gins,  Esq.,  who  advised  the  step,  was  making  a  vacancy  for  some  other 
member  of  the  bar.  At  these  offices  Judge  Harriman  still  pursues  his 
profession.  His  faithfulness  in  the  management  of  the  causes  com- 
mitted to  his  care,  the  perseverance  and  excellent  order  in  which  he 
prepares  his  cases  for  trial,  his  uniform  courtesy  to  opponents,  and  his 
thorough  honesty  in  all  matters  of  his  profession,  have  gradually  and 
successfully  advanced  him  to  the  head  of  the  bar  of  this  county.  On 
the  14th  day  of  June,  1882,  he  was  appointed  to  the  position  he  now 
fills  as  judge  of  probate  and  insolvency  for  the  county  of  Barnstable. 
In  this  important  office,  by  his  affability  and  uniform  courtesy  toward 
all  classes  who  have  occasion  to  need  his  ministrations,  he  has  won 
the  confidence  of  the  people,  who  are  proud  of  him  as  an  adopted  son 
of  Cape  Cod.  Almost  from  the  first  he  has  had  a  substantial  cliental- 
age.  He  was  counsel  for  the  old  Cape  Cod  railroad  until  the  consoli- 
dation, and  has  since  then  been  retained  by  the  Old  Colony  company. 

While  this  volume  was  in  course  of  completion  a  final  decision  was 
reached  in  the  famous  Snow-Alley  case — the  largest  suit  ever  decided 
in  the  Commonwealth  in  an  action  of  tort.  Judge  Harriman  was  re- 
tained by  Mr.  Snow  in  May,  1884,  and  began  laying,  in  his  own  thor- 
ough manner,  the  foundation  for  the  prosecution.  Mr.  Alley  employed 
several  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  the  county — including  Colonel  Robert 
G.  IngersoU  and  Ambrose  A.  Ranney,  and  for  almost  six  years  they 
stubbornly  contested  every  issue  of  fact  or  law.  After  three  trials  at 
Barnstable  a  statute  was  enacted  allowing  the  removal  of  the  case 
from  Barnstable  county,  where  the  defendant's  counsel  alleged  that 


214  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

they  could  not  get  justice  with  Harriman  opposing.  Four  verdicts 
were  reached,  and  twice  the  case  went  to  the  full  bench  before  the 
judgment  in  favor  of  Judge  Harriman's  client  was  paid. 

Judge  Harriman  was  married  September  25,  1870,  to  Betsey 
Franklin,  daughter  of  Captain  George  W.  Nickerson  and  grand- 
daughter of  Dr.  Daniel  P.  Cliflford  of  Chatham,  and  has  since  resided 
at  Wellfleet,  where  he  is  fully  identified  with  the  town's  local  inter- 
ests. 

Jonathan  Higgins,  of  Orleans,  was  born  there  November  21,  1816, 
and  was  there  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  academy.  His 
father,  Thomas,  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Higgins,  whose  father  and  grand- 
father each  bore  the  name  Jonathan.  Mr.  Higgins  studied  law  in  the 
probate  ofl5ce  with  Judge  J.  M.  Day,  and  in  1858  and  three  terms  there- 
after was  elected  register  of  probate.  He  has  since  devoted  his  time 
chiefly  to  the  practice  of  law.  The  title.  Deacon  Higgins,  by  which 
he  is  generally  known,  alludes  to  his  relation  with  the  Congregational 
church  of  Orleans.  His  deceased  wife,  Mary,  was  a  daughter  of  Seth 
Doane.  Of  their  seven  children,  Mrs.  Captain  Alfred  Paine,  Mrs.  O. 
E.  Deane  and  Hon.  George  C.  Higgins,  ex-mayor  of  Lynn,  are  the 
only  survivors.  The  present  Mrs.  Jonathan  Higgins  is  Ruth,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  Snow. 

Smith  K.  Hopkins  was  born  in  Truro,  August  12, 1831,  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Stephen  Hopkins  who  came  in  the  Mayflower,  through 
Giles  his  son,  who  removed  from  Plymouth  to  Yarmouth.  Edu- 
cated in  the  public  schools  of  Truro  and  at  Truro  Academy,  under 
Joshua  H.  Davis,  Esq.,  now  superintendent  of  schools  in  Somerville, 
Mass.;  followed  the  sea  from  boyhood  until  twenty -one  years  of  age, 
then  went  to  Illinois  and  was  in  the  employment  of  Josiah  Lombard — 
formerly  of  Truro — in  the  real  estate  business,  until  1860.  In  1860 
returned  to  Truro  to  reside.  Married  in  1856,  to  Mary  A.  Hughes,  daugh- 
ter of  James  Hughes  of  Truro.  Five  children:  James  H.,  lawyer,  of  Prov- 
incetown;  Howard  F.,  editor  of  ProvincetownAdvocate;  Rajonond  A., 
Boston,  Mass.;  Winthrop  Stowell,  died  in  September,  1889;  Ethel  B.,  at 
school.  School  committee  1862  and  1863.  Representative  in  legislature 
in  1863.  Appointed  ensign  in  U.  S.  Navy  in  August,  1863,  and  served 
on  frigates  Savannah,  Brooklyn  and  Fort  Jackson  during  the  war.  Sent 
in  as  prize  master  of  English  steamer  Let-Her-Rip,  a  blockade  runner 
captured  at  Wilmington  by  the  Fort  Jackson,  and  after  delivering  her 
to  the  Admiral  at  Boston  Navj'  Yard,  was  appointed  temporarily  to 
command  the  gninboat  Jean  Sands;  subsequently  detached  and  or- 
dered again  to  the  frigate  Fort  Jackson.  Was  at  both  attacks  on  Fort 
Fisher  by  the  army  and  navy  in  December,  1864,  and  January,  1866, 
and  participated  in  the  assault  on  the  fort  at  the  time  of  its  capture; 
recommended  for  promotion  and  offered  an  appointment  to  be  retained 


AiiM^^^du^  /r^' 


C.     eiENSTADT. 


BENCH  AND  BAR.  •  215 

in  the  navy  at  the  close  of  the  war,  but  resigned  when  the  war  was 
over.  Was  one  of  the  selectmen,  assessors,  etc.,  of  Truro  from  1866 
to  1874,  and  chairman  from  1871  to  1874.  Studied  law  with  B.  F. 
Hutchinson  of  Provincetown;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  April,  1873. 
Register  of  deeds  for  Barnstable  county  1874,1875,1876,  and  has  been 
clerk  of  the  courts  for  Barnstable  county  since  1876.  Notary  public; 
justice  of  peace  since  1860,  and  trial  justice  since  1866.  Removed  from 
Truro  to  Barnstable  in  1875. 

James  Hughes  Hopkins,  oldest  son  of  Smith  K.  Hopkins  above  men- 
tioned, was  born  in  North  Truro,  February  20,1861.  After  attending 
the  public  schools  of  Truro,  and  the  Prescott  Grammar  School  of 
Somerville,  Mass.,  he  graduated  from  the  Somerville  High  School  in 
1878,  and  from  Harvard  College  in  1882.  He  then  taught  public 
sohools  at  North  Eastham  and  at  West  Barnstable,  while  continuing 
the  study  of  law,  for  which  he  early  evinced  a  taste  and  aptitude,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Barnstable  in  October,  1883.  Locating  in 
Provincetown,  he  has  become  fully  identified  with  its  public  interests, 
holding  oflBcial  positions  in  the  church  and  the  public  librar}'.  He 
has  been  elected  special  commissioner,  one  of  the  commissioners  of 
insolvency,  and  has  been  appointed  trial  justice.  Since  1886  he  has 
edited  the  Provincetown  Advocate,  as  noticed  by  Mr.  Swift  in  Chapter 

xni. 

F.  H.  LOTHROP. — The  present  register  of  probate  and  insolvency, 
is  Freeman  Hinckley  Lothrop  of  Barnstable,  who  was  bom  in  this 
village,  April  6,  1842.  His  father  Ansel  Davis  Lothrop',  bom  1812, 
was  a  son  of  James  Scudder  Lothrop",  (Isaac',  General  Barnabas*,  Bar- 
nabas' bom  1686,  Captain  John'  bom  here  1644,  Rev.  John  Lothrop'). 
This  illustrious  ancestor.  Rev.  John  Lothrop,  was  bom  in  1684  and 
in  1605  graduated  from  Queen's  College,  Cambridge,  and  in  1609  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  A.M.  He  came  to  Scituate,  Mass.,  in  1634,  whence 
he  came  to  Barnstable  in  1639  and  here  he  built  a  house,  where  the 
Globe  Hotel  now  stands.  He  lived  later  in  the  building  now  occu- 
pied by  the  Sturgis  Library,  where  he  died  November  8,  1653.  His 
son  Barnabas  was  first  judge  of  probate  here,  and  another  son  Joseph, 
also  an  ancestor  of  Freeman  H.,  was  the  first  register  of  probate  and 
register  of  deeds.  While  his  family  name  thus  comes  from  one  of 
the  pioneers  of  old  Mattacheese,  the  mother  of  Freeman  H. — Ruth 
Hinckley — was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Plymouth  Colony's  last  illustri- 
ous governor,  and  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  the  two  families 
have  been  prominent  factors  in  this  town  and  village. 

Freeman  H.  received  his  early  education  in  the  private  and  public 
schools  of  his  native  village,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  started  "  before 
the  mast "  on  a  merchant  voyage  to  Australia  and  the  East  Indies. 
He  afterward  made  another  voyage  to  Liverpool  and  Calcutta,  return- 


216  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ing  just  after  McCIellan's  defeats  in  the  Peninsula  and  in  season  to 
answer  Lincoln's  call  for  nine  months'  troops.  While  exempt  from 
military  duty,  as  a  seaman  in  actual  service,  and  before  liberal  boun- 
ties were  paid,  he  volunteered  as  a  private  in  August,  1862,  and  on 
September  12th  was  enrolled  in  Company  D  of  the  Forty-fifth  Massa- 
chusetts Infantry.  He  followed  the  fortunes  of  the  regiment  and 
participated  in  the  battles  of  Kinston,  Whitehall  and  Goldsboro',  in 
the  first  of  which  he  was  slightly  wounded  but  not  disabled  from  duty. 
After  that  battle  he  was  made  a  corporal  of  the  company,  and  was 
honorably  discharged  in  July,  1863,  with  the  regiment.  In  September 
of  that  year,  Mr.  Lothrop  applied  for  and  obtained  a  position  as  mas- 
ter's mate  in  the  navy  and  was  ordered  to  the  Brooklyn  Navy  Yard 
for  instruction.  He  was  finally  ordered  to  the  United  States  Steamer 
Agawam,  Alexander  C.  Rhind,  commander,  for  service  in  the  James 
river,  and  participated  in  an  engagement  at  Four  Mile  Creek  in  July, 
1864,  and  was  in  James  river  at  the  time  of  Grant's  movements  against 
Petersburg  and  on  the  banks  of  the  James.  He  was  promoted  to 
acting  ensign  in  December,  1864.  In  April,  1865,  the  Agawa7n  being 
then  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  news  was  received  of  the  surrender  of  Gen- 
eral Lee,  and  Mr.  Lothrop,  considering  the  fighting  at  an  end,  imme- 
diately tendered  his  resignation  which  was  accepted  in  May,  1S66. 
In  June  following,  Mr.  Lothrop  was  married  to  Hettie  Freeman, 
daughter  of  Alvah  Holway  of  Sandwich,  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
Friends.  They  have  had  four  children  :  William  Freeman,  bom  in 
September,  1886;  Ruth  Hinckley,  born  July,  1868  (married  Nath'l  B. 
H.  Parker  of  Hyannis);  Joseph  Henry,  born  June,  1870,  and  Bertha 
Warren,  bom  in  February,  1884,  the  latter  being  their  only  child  now 
living. 

In  1886,  Mr.  Lothrop  was  offered  a  positian  as  railway  postal  clerk 
between  Boston  and  Orleans,  which  position  he  held  till  September, 
1872,  when  he  resigned  that  office  and  was  soon  after  called  to  act  as 
assistant  treasurer  of  the  Barnstable  Savings  Bank,  then  one  of  the 
largest  in  southeastern  Massachusetts.  In  1881  he  left  his  position 
in  the  bank  to  accept  an  appointment  to  the  office  of  register  of 
probate  and  insolvency  for  his  native  county,  to  which  position  he 
was  soon  elected  and  by  re-elections  has  since  continued  to  fill. 
While  in  the  saviags  bank  he  became  much  interested  in  reading 
law,  and  after  studying  under  the  instruction  of  H.  P.  Harriman, 
Esq.,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  April  11, 1884. 

As  an  attorney  he  gives  his  attention  only  to  such  office  prac- 
tice as  does  not  interfere  with  his  official  duties,  and  the  able  and 
faithful  discharge  of  his  responsible  trust  as  a  record  officer  has 
been  recognized  and  appreciated  by  the  public  which  he  serves. 
History  has  repeated  itself,  and   to-day  we  find   him  carefully  con- 


h/ify/i-..-^^^^^ 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  217 

tinuing  the  probate  records  which  an  ancestor  with  remarkable 
skill  and  care  began  as  early  as  1693. 

William  P.  Reynolds,  of  Hyannis,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  April  5, 
18S7.  He  is  a  native  of  Oseola,  Tioga  county,  Pa.,  where  he  was 
born  in  1859.  There  and  at  Willsboro,  Pa.,  he  received  his  early  edu- 
cation and  at  twenty  years  of  age  graduated  from  Cook  Academy, 
Havanna,  N.  Y.  He  entered  Amherst  College  in  1880  and  after  three 
years  came  to  Barnstable  and  resumed  the  study  of  law  with  Judge 
Joseph  M.  Day.  He  taught  the  Hyannis  high  school  from  1884  to 
1888,  prosecuting  his  professional  studies  during  the  interim,  and 
until  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  courts  of  the  Commonwealth. 
Mr.  Reynolds  is  now  the  superintendent  of  schools  for  Barnstable, 
and  since  early  in  1889  has  been  associate  editor  of  the  Cape  Cod 
Item. 

Hon.  Henry  A.  Scudder. — In  the  village  of  Osterville,  where  the 
waters  of  Vineyard  sound  wash  the  southern  shore  of  Cape  Cod,  a  son 
was  born,  on  the  25th  of  November,  1819,  to  Josiah  and  Hannah 
(Lovell)  Scudder.  They  gave  to  him  the  name  of  Henry  Austin,  and 
the  Commonwealth  knows  him  to-day  in  her  political  and  judicial  his- 
tory as  Judge  Scudder  of  Barnstable. 

The  family  name  became  a  part  of  New  England's  history  in  1635, 
when  John  Scudder,  who  was  born  in  England,  came  to  Charlestown, 
Mass.  In  1640  he  removed  to  Barnstable,  where  he  was  admitted  a 
freeman  in  1654,  and  where  he  died  in  1689,  leaving  a  wife,  Hannah, 
and  several  children.  His  sister  Elizabeth,  in  1644,  married  Samuel, 
son  of  Rev.  John  Lothrop,  and  removed  from  Boston  to  Barnstable 
the  same  year.  John  Scudder,  son  of  John  and  Hannah,  was  born  in 
Barnstable.  In  1689  he  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James  Hamb- 
lin,  and  afterward  removed  to  Chatham,  where  he  died  in  March,  1742, 
and  she  in  the  January  following.  Their  son  Ebenezer,  born  in  1696, 
at  Barnstable,  married  Lydia  Cobb  in  1725,  and  died  in  1737.  Their 
son  Ebenezer,  born  in  Barnstable  in  1733,  married  Rose  Delap  in  1759, 
and  died  June  8,  1818.  Their  seven  children,  including  Judge  Scud- 
der's  father,  were:  Ebenezer,  born  August  13, 1761;  Isaiah,  born  Janu- 
ary 8,  1768;  Asa,  born  July  25,  1771;  Elizabeth,  born  October  12, 1773; 
Josiah,  born  November  30,  1775;  James  D.,  born  October  27,  1779; 
Thomas  D.,  born  January  25,  1782.  Of  this  generation,  the  youngest 
was  a  merchant,  Josiah  was  a  farmer,  and  the  other  sons  followed  the 
sea  and  became  captains. 

The  children  of  Josiah  Scudder  were:  Puella  L.,  born  December  3, 
1800,  married  George  Hinckley,  and  died  August  30,  1885;  Josiah,  a 
merchant,  born  February  12, 1802,  married  first  Sophronia  Hawes  and 
second  Augusta  Hinckley,  and  died  December  29.  1877;  Freeman  L., 
a  merchant,  born  March  16,  1805,  married  Elizabeth   Hinckley,  and 


218  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

died  December  3,  1832;  Zeno,  born  August  18, 1807,  with  whose  politi- 
cal and  professional  career  the  reader  is  already  familiar;  Persis.born 
August  14,  1810,  married  Joseph  W.  Crocker,  and  died  April  24,  1844; 
Edwin,  merchant,  bom  September  23,  1815,  married  Harriet  N.  Phin- 
ney,  and  died  May  25,  1872;  Henry  A.  Scudder,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  the  youngest  and  the  only  survivor  of  the  family. 

At  an  early  age  Henry  A.  entered  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
village,  and  there  gained  the  rudiments  of  an  education.  He  then 
followed  the  example  of  most  of  the  boys  of  his  acquaintance  and  went 
to  sea,  commencing  as  he  supposed  his  life  work.  Not  being  physic- 
ally strong,  however,  and  finding  that  the  habits  and  duties  of  this 
life  were  uncongenial  to.  him,  he  returned  to  his  home  after  a  period 
of  about  one  year.  He  afterwards  began  a  course  of  study  in  the  Hy- 
annis  Academy,  his  apparent  purpose  being  to  qualify  himself  as  a 
teacher.  With  this  object  in  view,  he  continued  his  studies,  teaching 
from  time  to  time  as  occasion  offered.  During  this  period,  through 
the  influence  and  advice  of  his  teachers,  he  became  greatly  interested 
in  the  languages  and  mathematics,  and  naturally  conceived  the  desire 
for  a  college  course.  Having  fitted  himself  for  this  he  entered  Yale 
College,  where  he  graduated  in  1842.  He  then  studied  law  at  Cam- 
bridge, was  admitted  to  the  Suffolk  bar  in  1844,  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Boston,  where  his  wide  acquaintance  with 
the  people  of  and  from  Cape  Cod  became  a  pleasure  and  a  source  of 
profit  to  him. 

By  1857  he  had  won  an  unquestionable  position  at  the  bar.  On 
June  30th  of  that  year  he  married  Nannie  B.,  daughter  of  Charles  B. 
Tobey,  of  Nantucket,  and  became  a  resident  of  Dorchester,  still  con- 
tinuing his  business  relations  with  Boston.  Four  years  later  the  people 
of  Dorchester  expressed  their  appreciation  of  their  adopted  citizen  by 
giving  him  a  seat  in  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  where  he  faith- 
fully served  the  district  and  the  Commonwealth  three  consecutive 
years.  In  1864  he  was  a  member  of  the  national  convention  which 
renominated  President  Lincoln.  In  1869  Governor  Claflin  promoted 
him  to  the  bench  of  the  superior  court  of  Massachusetts.  In  1872 
severe  ill  health  obliged  Judge  Scudder  to  resign  this  oCBce.  Since 
that  time  he  has  resided  a  portion  of  his  life  abroad,  and  has  now  made 
Washington  his  winter  home,  and  his  old  abode,  at  Willow  Dell,  in 
the  village  of  Marston's  Mills,  his  favorite  summer  resort. 

During  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century,  by  his  activity  and  up- 
rightness as  a  lawyer,  he  impressed  the  bench  and  the  bar  with  his 
keen  sensitiveness  on  questions  involving  honor,  justice  and  right. 
Like  his  brother,  Zeno,  he  believed  it  ever  the  duty  of  the  lawyer  to 
add  something  to  the  good  reputation  of  the  bar.  In  1882,  when 
Governor  Long  tendered  him  the  office  of  judge  of  the  probate  court 


BENCH   AND   BAR.  219 

for  Barnstable  county,  he  declined  the  position  for  the  same  physical 
cause  which  compelled  his  resignation  from  the  bench  of  the  superior 
court  ten  years  before;  a  cause  so  cruel  and  relentless  that  it  has  al- 
lowed no  respite  from  that  day  to  the  present  moment — a  misfortune 
which,  although  blighting  the  fairest  prospects,  has  not  disturbed  the 
genial  spirit  of  the  man;  and  which  it  is  but  justice  to  Judge  Scudder 
to  say  he  has  borne  with  the  greatest  fortitude  and  patience. 

Frederick  C,  Swift  was  born  in  Yarmouth,  December  13,  1855.  He 
graduated  in  the  Yarmouth  high  school,  read  law  for  three  years  in 
the  office  of  Judge  Joseph  M.  Day,  and  was  for  two  years  in  the  law 
school  of  Boston  University.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Barnstable 
county  bar  in  October,  1880,  and  opened  an  office  in  Yarmouth  Port. 
In  1889  he  formed  a  connection  with  the  law  firm  of  Blackmar&  Shel- 
don, 246  Washington  street,  Boston,  reserving  one  day  in  the  week 
for  Yarmouth  clients.  In  1880  and  1881,  in  the  absence  of  his  father, 
C.  F.  Swift,  in  the  legislature,  he  was  in  the  editorial  charge  of  the 
Yarmouth  Register.  In  1883  he  was  elected  a  commissioner  of  insolv- 
ency for  Barnstable  county,  and  was  twice  re-elected.  He  is  also  a 
director  of  Barnstable  County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company,  sec- 
retary of  the  agricultural  society  and  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  Yarmouth  library. 

Ebenezer  Stowell  Whittemore,  a  member  of  the  Barnstable  county 
bar,  from  Sandwich,  was  born  at  Rindge,  N.  H.,  September  4,  1828. 
While  a  child,  his  father,  with  his  family,  removed  to  Illinois.  At 
Elgin  and  Kalamazoo,  he  prepared  for  admission  to  the  University  of 
Michigan.  After  leaving  the  university,  he  entered  the  Dane  Law 
School,  at  Cambridge,  where  he  took  the  degree  of  LL.B.  in  1855,  after 
which  he  entered  the  office  of  C.  G.  Thomas  of  Boston,  with  whom  he 
studied  two  years.  On  October  7,  1857,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Suffolk  county,  on  motion  of  Rufus  Choate,  and  July  19, 1858,  he  opened 
an  office  in  Sandwich,  where  he  now  (1889)  resides.  For  fifteen  years, 
also,  he  had  an  office  in  Boston.  He  has  held  the  important  position 
of  trial  justice  of  the  county  of  Barnstable  for  thirty  years.  He  has 
also  held  the  office  of  county  commissioner  for  nine  years.  In  1863 
he  was  nominated  for  representative  by  the  republicans  of  the  dis- 
trict, but  declined.  Governor  Andrew  appointed  him  in  1862  com- 
missioner to  superintend  drafting  for  the  county  of  Barnstable.  Mr. 
Whittemore  has  always  identified  himself  with  the  educational  and 
social  features  of  his  adopted  home.  He  is  an  active  and  welcome 
addition  to  our  Cape  Cod  Historical  Society,  of  which  he  is  the  vice- 
president,  and  has  contributed  to  its  proceedings  several  valuable 
papers.  He  has  written  and  delivered  numerous  lectures  and  essays 
for  literary  .societies,  and  has  often  been  called  upon  to  preside  over 
social,  business  and  literary  gatherings,  where  his  urbanity  and  knowl- 


220  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

edge  of  the  proceedings  governing  public  bodies  have  been  of  great 
advantage  and  importance. 

The  Law  Library  Association. — Under  the  statute  providing 
that  the  attorneys  of  any  county  in  the  Commonwealth  may  organize 
as  a  law  library  association,  such  a  step  was  taken  by  the  Barnstable 
county  lawyers  early  in  1889,  and  their  by-laws  were  approved  at 
Barnstable  by  Judge  Sherman  at  the  April  term  of  the  superior 
court.  Prior  to  that  time  the  library  consisted  only  of  the  Massachu- 
setts reports  and  documents,  but  in  July,  1889,  Hon.  Henry  A.  Scud- 
der  presented  to  the  association  his  valuable  private  law  library, 
which  is  the  nucleus  of  a  collection  to  be  gathered,  which  will  be  a 
credit  to  the  bar  and  the  county.  The  officers  of  the  association  are  : 
Freeman  H.  Lothrop,  librarian;  James  H.  Hopkins,  treasurer ;  and 
T.  C.  Day,  clerk. 

District  Courts. — In  March,  1890,  an  act  of  the  legislature  abol- 
ished the  trial  justice  courts  in  the  county  of  Barnstable  and  estab- 
lished two  district  courts.  The  first  district  court  of  Barnstable  has 
jurisdiction  in  the  towns  of  Barnstable,  Yarmouth,  Mashpee,  Sand- 
wich, Bourne,  and  Falmouth,  of  all  civil  cases  wherein  the  damages 
claimed  do  not  exceed  three  hundred  dollars,  and  of  all  criminal 
offences  not  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  State's  Prison.  The 
second  district  court  of  Barnstable  has  jurisdiction  over  like  actions 
and  offences  in  the  towns  ot  Dennis,  Harwich,  Orleans,  Chatham, 
Brewster,  Eastham,  Wellfleet,  Truro,  and  Provincetown.  The  first 
district  court  holds  a  daily  session  once  a  week  at  Bourne,  and  at  other 
times  at  Barnstable.  The  second  district  court  sits  daily  once  a  week 
at  Harwich,  and  at  other  times  at  Provincetown. 

Each  court  has  a  presiding  justice  receiving  an  annual  salary  of 
$1,000,  and  two  special  justices.  The  justices  hold  office  during  good 
behavior.  The  first  sessions  of  the  new  courts  were  held  on  the  first 
Monday  of  May,  1890.  Governor  Brackett  appointed  Wm.  P.  Rey- 
nolds of  Hyannis,  and  James  H.  Hopkins  of  Provincetown,  justices  of 
the  two  courts  respectively. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION. 


By  Georgk  N.  Munsell,  M.D.,  of  Harwich. 


Introduction. — Barnstable  District  Medical  Society. — Sketches  of  Physicians  Past  and 
Present. — Medical  Examiners. 


THE  history  of  the  medical  profession  of  Barnstable  county  now 
covers  a  period  of  nearly  two  centuries,  and  the  space  allotted 
us,  will  not  permit  of  long  biographical  sketches,  but  rather 
of  dates  and  locations,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  obtain  them. 
The  members  of  the  medical  profession  have  been  composed  largely 
of  prominent  men,  not  only  noted  for  their  skill  as  physicians,  but 
oftentimes  coming  to  the  front  and  taking  an  active  part  in  the  pub- 
lic afifairs  of  the  town,  county  and  state.  Many  of  them  have  been 
'men  of  sterling  worth,  whose  discretion  and  wisdom,  combined  with 
an  extensive  knowledge  of  human  nature,  have  rendered  them  im- 
portant factors  in  the  great  progressive  questions  of  the  day.  Some 
of  these  we  refer  to  in  this  chapter,  while  many  others  we  are  obliged 
to  notice,  only  in  brief,  from  the  unfortunate  fact  that  we  have  been 
unable  to  obtain  the  necessary  information,  and  while  we  present  to 
the  reader  a  long  list  of  honored  names  of  those  who  have,  during  the 
past  two  hundred  years,  graced  the  medical  profession,  yet  we  feel 
that  we  have  been  obliged  to  leave  unmentioned  many  a  hero  in  the 
great  arena  of  practical  medicine,  whose  mission  through  life  may 
have  brought  joy  and  comfort  to  many  a  suffering  one,  and  though 
his  name  may  not  be  written  in  the  annals  of  the  past,  yet  an  honored 
record  may  be  his,  in  the  fact,  that  be  blessed  humanity. 

The  present  membership  of  the  Barnstable  District  Medical  So- 
ciety numbers  twenty.  In  alphabetical  order  with  the  place  of  resi- 
dence and  year  of  admission  the  list  stands  thus:  William  S.  Birge, 
Provincetown,  1883;  Charles  H.  Call,  Brockton,  1886;  Thomas  R. 
Clement,  Osterville,  1874;  Samuel  T.  Davis,  Orleans,  1880:  George  W. 
Doane,  Hyannis,  1846;  Robert  H.  Faunce,  Sandwich,  1884;    Benjamin 

D.  Gifford,  Chatham,  1869;  David  R.  Ginn,  Dennis  Port,  1878;  Edward 

E.  Hawes,  Hyannis,  1887;  Chauncey  M.  Hulbert,  South  Dennis,  1854; 


222  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

George  W.  Kelley.  Barnstable,  1884;  Horatio  S.  Kelley,  jr.,  Dennis 
Port,  1884;  George  N.  Munsell,  Harvich,  1860;  Adin  H.  Newton, 
Provincetown,  1874;  Franklin  W.  Pierce,  Marston's  Mills,  1880;  Peter 
Pineo,  Boston,  1850;  Samuel  Pitcher,  Hyannis,  1881;  John  E.  Pratt, 
Sandwich,  1880;  Frank  A.  Rogers,  Brewster,  1883;  William  N.  Stone. 
Wellfleet,  1869. 

Dr.  Samuel  Adams  was  a  physician  of  Truro  before  the  revolution- 
ary war.  He  was  born  in  Killingly,  Conn.,  in  1745,  studied  medicine 
under  Dr.  Nathaniel  Freeman  of  Sandwich,  and  went  to  Truro,  where 
in  1774,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  committee  of  correspondence. 
He  was  an  ardent  patriot,  and  when  the  conflict  began  he  entered 
the  service  as  a  surgeon,  serving  through  the  war  with  distinction. 
Upon  leaving  service,  he  settled  in  Ipswich,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  until  1798,  when,  marrying  Abigail  Dcdge, 
he  removed  to  Bath,  Me.,  where  he  continued  to  practice  until  his 
death  in  1819.  Doctor  Adams  was  a  man  of  ability,  and  was  highly 
respected  in  the  communities  where  he  successively  resided.  That 
he  was  twice  married  is  certain.  His  first  wife,  Abigail,  died  July  8, 
1774,  in  her  24th  year,  at  Truro,  where  a  stone  marks  her  resting 
place,  and  that  of  her  infant  child,  who  died  July  31,  1774,  aged  four 
weeks.  Dr.  Adams  had  several  children.  His  son,  Rev.  Charles  S. 
Adams,  was  once  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  in  Harwich. 

George  Atwood  practiced  at  Marston's  Mills  for  two  years  prior  to 
1850,  when  he  removed  to  Fair  Haven. 

Dr.  Josiah  Baker  was  a  native  of  Tolland,  Conn.,  and  practiced 
medicine  in  South  Dennis,  where  he  died  December  7,  1810,  aged 
31  years. 

Dr.  Isaac  Bangs,  born  in  that  part  of  Harwich  now  Brewster,  De- 
cember 11,  1752,  a  son  of  Benjamin  and  Desire  Bangs,  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1771  and  studied  medicine.  He  entered  the  revo- 
lutionary army  as  lieutenant  in  Captain  Benjamin  Godfrey's  com- 
pany in  1776,  and  afterward  was  a  lieutenant  in  Captain  Jacob  Allen's 
company  in  Colonel  John  Bailey's  regiment,  in  service  at  New 
York.  In  1779,  he  was  doctor's  mate  on  board  the  frigate  Boston, 
Samuel  Tucker,  commander.  He  died  September  12,  1780,  in  Vir- 
ginia. He  left  some  account  of  his  service  in  the  first  years  of 
the  revolutionary  war  in  manuscript. 

Dr.  Jonathan  Bangs  was  an  early  physician  of  Harwich,  resid- 
ing in  that  part  of  the  town  now  Brewster.  He  was  son  of  Cap- 
tain Edward  Bangs  of  Harwich,  and  was  born  in  1706.  He  was  in 
practice  in  the  towii  as  early  as  1731.  He  died  December  7, 1745,  after 
three  weeks'  sickness,  aged  39  years.  He  married  widow  Phebe 
Bangs,  January,  4,  1732-3,  and  left  one  son,  Allen. 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  223 

J.  W.  Battershall,  M.D.,  was  a  graduate  from  the  College  of  Phy- 
sicians and  Surgeons  in  New  York  city  in  1874.  He  was  for  three 
years  surgeon  in  the  British  emigration  service  between  London  and 
Australia.  He  located  at  Yarmouth  Port  in  1870  and  practiced  medi- 
cine there  two  years,  when  he  removed  from  the  Cape. 

William  S.  Birge,  M.D.,  born  in  1857  at  Cooperstown,  N.  Y.,  is  a 
son  of  D.  L.  and  Amey  (Spafford)  Birge.  He  took  a  two  years'  academ- 
ic course  at  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  then  studied 
medicine  at  the  Long  Island  College  Hospital,  Brooklyn;  at  the  medic- 
al department  of  Syracuse  University  and  at  the  medical  department 
of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  where  he  was  graduated 
in  1881.  He  practiced  in  Truro  two  years  then  came  to  Provincetown. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  and  medical 
•examiner  for  this  district.  For  a  time  he  was  acting  assistant  surgeon 
in  the  United  States  marine  service.  He  married  Ella  F.,  daughter 
•of  Zemira  Kenrick. 

Albert  F.  Blaisdell.  M.D.,  was  born  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  about  1847. 
He  graduated  from  Dartmouth  in  1869  in  the  class  with  Judge  Har- 
riman.  He  studied  medicine  at  Harvard,  and  is  now  located  at  Provi- 
dence, R.  L  He  was  at  one  time  teacher  at  Chatham  and  afterward 
taught  school  and  practiced  medicine  in  Provincetown  before  his  re- 
moval from  the  Cape.  He  is  author  of  several  school  text  books  and 
is  now  largely  interested  in  educational  work. 

Dr.  Benjamin  Bourne,  son  of  Timothy  and  Elizabeth  Bourne,  was 
born  January  25,  1744,  graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1764,  and 
married  Hannah  Bodfish.  He  had  a  large  family,  and  left  to  them  a 
large  property.     He  was  among  the  early  practitioners  of  Sandwich. 

Dr.  Richard  Bourne  was  a  physician  at  Barnstable.  He  was  born 
in  that  town  November  1,  1739,  and  was  a  son  of  Colonel  Sylvanus 
Bourne.  He  was  well  educated,  but  can  claim  no  notice  as  a  physi- 
•cian  of  importance.  He  will  be  remembered  as  the  first  postmaster 
at  Barnstable.  He  died  April  2.5, 1826,  aged  86  years.  The  late  Amos 
Otis,  in  his  genealogical  notes,  has  given  an  interesting  and  amus- 
ing account  of  him. 

Dr.  Eleazer  C.  Bowen  resided  in  Marston's  Mills  from  1857 to  1860, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  John  E.  Bruce  from  1860  to  1862. 

Dr.  Nathaniel  Breed  was  a  physician  of  Eastham,  residing  in  that 
part  now  Orleans.     He  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Thomas  Knowles. 

C.  H.  Call,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Warner,  N.  H.,  October  15,  1858, 
graduated  from  Harvard  Medical  College  in  1881,  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Lowell,  where  he  remained  from  June  to  Au- 
gust, 1881.  From  Lowell  he  went  to  Vermillion,  South  Dakota, 
where  he  resided  until  February,  1885,  when  he  removed  to  South 
Yarmouth. 


224  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Dr.  Elijah  W.  Carpenter  was  a  successful  physician  of  Chatham. 
He  was  born  in  Upton,  Mass.,  January  31, 1814.  He  studied  medicine 
at  Boston  under  Dr.  Perry,  and  came  to  Chatham  about  1838,  and 
settled.  He  married  Mary  H.,  daughter  of  Joshua  Nickerson,  Esq., 
and  had  four  children.  He  removed  from  Chatham  to  Brooklyn,  N. 
Y.,  and  died  there  September  1,  1881,  aged  67  years. 

Dr.  Chamberlain  practiced  medicine  in  West  Barnstable  about 
1840,  and  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  ApoUos  Pratt  for  a  few  years. 

Thomas  R.  Clement,  M.D.,  was  born  March  19,  1823,  in  Landaflf, 
Grafton  county,  N.  H.  He  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  town  and  at  Tyler's  Academy,  in  Franklin,  N. 
H.  He  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Mark  R.  Woodbury,  finish- 
ing with  Dr.  S.  G.  Dearborn,  of  Nashua,  N.  H.  Graduating  from 
the  medical  department  of  Burlington  University  (Vermont)  in 
1863,  he  began  his  medical  practice  in  Mason,  N.  H.  He  was 
assistant  surgeon  in  the  Tenth  New  Hampshire  regiment  and 
held  other  government  appointments  until  1868.  He  practiced  at 
En6eld,  N.  H.,  and  in  1872  came  to  Centreville,  two  years  later  re- 
moving to  the  adjoining  village  of  Osterville,  where  he  has  merited 
and  secured  a  fair  practice. 

Dr.  Daniel  P.  CliflEord  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Clifford  of  Enfield,  Mass., 
and  for  nearly  fifty  years  practiced  medicine  in  Barnstable  county. 
His  wife  was  Betsy  Emery.  The  doctor  has  descendants  living  in 
several  of  the  Cape  towns.  Benjamin  F.  Clifford  of  New  York,  and 
Samuel  D.  Clifford  of  Chatham  Port,  are  his  sons.  Mrs.  George  W. 
Nickerson,  the  mother  of  Mrs.  Judge  Harriman  is  Doctor  Clifford's 
daughter.  The  doctor  died  at  Chatham,  September  23,  1863,  aged  77 
years.  He  was  a  man  of  considerable  literary  ability,  and  held  a  con- 
spicuous place  among  the  physicians  of  his  time. 

Dr.  Aaron  Cornish  was  born  in  Plymouth,  Mass.,  in  1794,  practiced 
medicine  in  Falmouth  from  1820  tp  1854,  and  died  in  New  Bedford, 
April  7,  1864. 

Dr.  Samuel  T.  Davis,  born  August  4,  1856,  at  Edgartown,  Mass.,  is 
a  son  of  Samuel  N.  and  Adaline  N.  Davis.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
left  the  public  schools  and  attended  Mitchell's  Family  School  for  Boys 
two  years.  He  commenced  the  study  of  medicine  in  1875,  with  Dr. 
Winthrop  Butler,  of  Vineyard  Haven,  Mass.,  taking  two  winter  cours- 
es (1875-6  and  1876-7)  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons, 
New  York  city,  graduating  in  February,  1878,  from  Bellevue  Hospital 
Medical  College.  From  December,  1877,  to  June,  1879,  he  was  assist- 
ant house  physician  and  house  surgeon  in  Seamans'  Relief  Hospital. 
He  was  acting  assistant  to  the  Northwestern  Dispensary  for  five 
months,  and  in  July,  1879,  came  to  Orleans,  where  he  is  still  practic- 
ing. He  is  a  member  of  the  state  medical  society  and  was  elected 
president  of  the  Barnstable  district  society  in  May,  1889. 


E.    aiER9TADT,    N. 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  225 

Dr.  John  Davis  was  a  physician  in  Eastham,  now  Orleans,  after 
the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war.  He  was  born  in  Barnstable,  Oc- 
tober 7,  1745,  and  was  a  son  of  Daniel  Davis.  He  united  with  the 
South  church  in  Eastham,  June  15,  1783.  He  removed  to  Barnstable, 
and  was  appointed  judge  of  probate  in  1800.  By  his  wife,  Mercy, 
among  other  children  he  had  Job  C,  John,  Robert,  and  Nathaniel.  He 
died  at  Barnstable,  May  27,  1825,  aged  80  years. 

George  W.  Doane,  M.D.,  the  well  known  citizen  and  physician  of 
Hyannis,  is  the  eighth  in  lineal  descent  from  Deacon  John  Doane,  who 
came  to  Plymouth  soon  after  its  settlement  in  one  of  the  two  ships 
that  followed  the  Mayflower.  In  1633  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  assist- 
ants of  the  governor,  and  in  1636,  with  others,  was  joined  with  the 
governor  and  assistants  as  a  committee  to  revise  the  laws  and  consti- 
tutions of  the  plantation.  In  1642  he  was  again  chosen  assistant  to 
Governor  Winslow,  and  became  a  deacon  of  the  Plymouth  church  be- 
fore his  removal  to  Nauset  or  Eastham  in  1644.  He  was  forty-nine 
years  old  when  he  arrived  at  Eastham  and  lived  sixty  years  after, 
a  prominent  and  useful  citizen  of  the  plantation.  The  spot  where 
his  house  stood  near  the  water,  is  still  pointed  out. 

Deacon  Doane's  son,  John  Doane,  jr.,  was  appointed  in  1663,  by  the 
court,  a  receiver  of  the  excise  or  duty  on  the  fisheries  of  Cape  Cod. 
He  married  Hannah  Bangs,  and  was  the  father  of  Samuel,  who  had 
three  sons,  of  whom  the  youngest  was  Deacon  Simeon  Doane.  Of  the 
four  sons  of  Simeon  the  eldest  also  earned  the  name  of  deacon  and 
was  Deacon  John  Doane  of  the  last  century.  The  oldest  son  of  this 
younger  Deacon  John  was  Timothy,  who  was  born  in  1762  in  Orleans, 
where  he  was  .subsequently  a  banker,  bearing  the  sobriquet  of  King 
Doane.  His  son,  Timothy,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  bom 
in  1789,  was  also  a  native  of  Orleans,  where  he  learned  the  carpenter's 
trade.  In  the  year  1816  he  went  to  the  Penobscot  river,  near  Bangor, 
Me.,  and  during  the  winter  following  he  built  a  vessel,  courted  his 
wife,  married  her,  loaded  the  vessel  with  lumber,  and  in  the  spring  re- 
turned to  Orleans.  He  called  the  vessel  Six  Sisters,  that  being  the 
number  of  sisters  he  then  had. 

Of  such  parentage  is  Dr.  George  W.  Doane,  who  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  after  several  years  at  Orleans  Academy,  went  to  the  Brew- 
ster High  School  one  year,  and  in  1842  graduated  from  the  Wesleyan 
Academy,  at  Wilbraham,  Mass.  In  1844  he  graduated  from  the  Har- 
vard Medical  School,  just  before  the  age  of  twenty-one,  and  at  once 
began  practice  in  the  flourishing  village  of  Hyannis,  where  he  has 
since  been  one  of  its  leading  business  men  and  where  in  forty-five 
years  he  has  become  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  experienced  phy- 
sicians on  the  Cape.  In  1846  he  became  a  member  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Medical  Society,  also  that  of  Barnstable  county,  of  which  he 
15 


226  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

is  an  ex-president  and  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  honored  members. 
Since  1882  he  has  been  a  medical  examiner  for  the  pension  bureau  and 
has  long  been  marine  hospital  physician.  The  many  duties  of  Doctor 
Doane  forbid  his  filling  any  office  which  would  demand  much  of  his 
time,  yet  he  has  been  a  member  of  the  town  school  board  for  many 
years  and  is  active  and  prominent  in  the  republican  party,  taking  a 
deep  interest  in  the  body  politic. 

He  is  devotedly  attached  to  the  social  side  of  life  and  loves  his  own 
pleasant  home.  He  married  in  February,  1848,  Caroline  L.  Chipman 
of  Barnstable,  who  died  January  27,  1866,  leaving  one  daughter.  Miss 
Hattie  S.  Doane,  who  is  at  the  homestead  with  her  father.  May  23, 
1868,  Doctor  Doane  married  Mrs.  Susan  P.  Allen  of  Lowell,  the  widow 
of  Doctor  Allen,  son  of  the  missionary  Rev.  Dr.  D.  O.  Allen.  Her 
death  occurred  in  Hyannis,  May  20,  1889.  Doctor  Doane  has  been 
associated  for  forty-five  years  with  the  citizens  of  his  town,  and  the 
county,  in  all  the  relations  of  an  active  life.  As  a  physician  he  has 
been  very  successful  in  practice  and  is  highly  esteemed  by  the  fra- 
ternity. His  years  of  extensive  experience  and  close  reading  have 
rendered  his  advice  of  great  value  to  his  medical  brethren  in  cases 
requiring  careful  diagnosis;  and  his  attendance  is  sought  in  con- 
sultation in  his  own  and  neighboring  towns. 

Dr.  David  Doane,  an  early  physician  of  Eastham,  Mass.,  was  a 
son  of  John  and  Hannah  Doane.  He  married  Dorathy  Horton, 
September  30,  1701,  and  had  sons  Jonathan,  John,  Nathan,  Eleazar 
Enoch,  Joshua  and  David.  He  died  November  18,  1748,  and  lies 
buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Eastham. 

Franklin  Dodge,  M.D.,  was  born  in  WestGroton,  Mass.,  September 
9,  1809,  and  died  in  Harwich,  July  8,  1872.  He  prepared  for  college 
at  the  Leicester  and  Lawrence  academies,  and  graduated  at  Amherst 
College  in  1834,  and  from  Dartmouth  Medical  College  in  1837.  He 
first  practiced  medicine  in  Boston,  and  came  to  Harwich  in  1838,  where 
he  continued  in  practice  to  within  a  few  months  of  his  death.  His 
daughter,  Susan  C,  was  married  to  Obed  Brooks  of  Harwich,  Decem- 
ber 27,  1864.  His  eldest  daughter,  Georgianna,  married  Lewis  F. 
Smith  of  Chatham,  October  1,  1865. 

Dr.  Hugh  George  Donaldson,  once  a  prominent  physician  of  Fal- 
mouth, was  born  in  London,  June  21,  1757,  and  came  to  Cape  Cod 
when  19  years  of  age.  At  Falmouth  he  taught  school,  pursuing 
his  professional  studies  at  the  same  time  with  Dr.  Weeks.  At  the 
time  of  a  great  small  pox  excitement  he  became  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  Doctor  Jenner's  theory  of  vaccination  and  sent  to  London  to  that 
medical  benefactor  for  vaccine  virus  and  was  the  first  to  introduce  it 
into  practice  here.  To  prove  the  efficacy  of  the  treatment  to  those 
who  were  incredulous  and  prejudiced,  he  placed  members  of  his  own 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  227 

family  in  the  small  pox  hospital  after  vaccinating  them.  He  was  much 
interested  in  the  galvanic  battery,  then  little  used.  He  made  one  and 
experimented  largely  with  it  in  his  efforts  to  obtain  knowledge  of  the 
wonderful  power  of  electricity  over  disease.  He  died  in  1814,  of  a 
malignant  fever  which  prevailed  in  Falmouth  at  that  time. 

Dr.  John  Duncan  was  an  early  physician  in  Harwich.  He  removed 
to  Boston  before  1737,  and  died  before  1756.  He  married  Kesiah 
Baker  of  Eastham. 

Erastus  Emery,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Chatham,  August  7,  1840,  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Chatham,  and 
studied  medicine  with  Dr.  M.  E.Simmons  of  Chatham.  He  graduated 
from  Harvard  Medical  College  in  1869,  practiced  medicine  in  Truro, 
Mass.,  for  nine  years,  and  died  in  Chatham,  at  the  residence  of  his 
father  John  Emery,  the  16th  of  January,  1878. 

Dr.  R.  H.  Faunce,  born  in  1859,  is  a  son  of  Joshua  T.  Faunce.  He 
graduated  in  June,  1882,  from  Harvard  Medical  College,  and  was  sur- 
gical house  officer  in  the  Free  Hospital  for  Women,  at  Boston,  for  a 
year,  when  he  began  practice  in  Sandwich. 

Rev.  Benjamin  Fessenden,  son  of  Nicholas  and  Mary  (or  Margaret) 
Fessenden  was  born  January  30,  1701,  graduated  from  Harvard  Col- 
lege in  1718,  was  ordained  September  12,  1722,  and  was  the  first  per- 
son known  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Sandwich.  He  died  August 
7,  1746. 

Dr.  William  Fessenden  was  born  in  Sandwich,  September  25,1732, 
and  settled  as  physician  in  that  part  of  Harwich  now  Brewster  before 
1759.  He  married  Mehitable  Freeman  of  Harwich,  Februar>-24, 1756, 
had  nine  children,  and  died  November  5,  1802. 

Dr.  William  Fessenden,  son  of  Doctor  William,  was  born  in  Har- 
wich, now  Brewster,  and  married  Pede  Freeman  in  1807.  He  had  five 
children.  He  died  at  Brewster,  June  17, 1816.  She  died  December  9, 
1812. 

Dr.  Oliver  Ford  first  practiced  medicine  at  Marston's  Mills,  and 
moved  to  Hyannis  in  1832,  where  he  resided  the  remainder  of  his  life, 
in  active  practice. 

Dr."  Nathaniel  Freeman,  an  eminent  physician  of  Sandwich,  was  a 
son  of  Edmund  Freeman  who  married  Martha  Otis,  and  was  bom  in 
North  Dennis,  March  28,  1741-2,  where  his  father  was  engaged  in 
school  teaching.  Removing  to  Mansfield,  Conn.,  with  his  father's 
family,  he  completed  his  course  of  medical  studies  with  Doctor  Cobb, 
of  Thompson,  and  returned  to  his  father's  native  town,  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  medicine,  where  he  attained  to  distinction  as 
a  physician  and  surgeon.  Dr.  Freeman  was  a  distinguished  patriot, 
a-nd  leader  of  the  patriots  in  the  county  during  the  revolutionary  pe- 
riod.    He  died  at  Sandwich,  September  20, 1827.    He  was  three  times 


HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

married  and  was  the  father  of  twenty  children,  one  of  whom  was  Rev. 
Frederick  Freeman,  the  historian. 

Dr.  Matthew  Fuller,  the  first  regular  physician  in  Barnstable, 
came  to-  this  country  about  1640.  His  parents  came  in  1620,  in  the 
Mayflower,  leaving  him  in  care  of  friends.  He  never  saw  them 
afterward  as  they  died  soon  after  their  arrival  at  Plymouth.  Doctor 
Fuller  was  a  man  of  prominence  in  the  colony.  He  was  surgeon  gen- 
eral of  the  Plymouth  forces  before  and  after  Philip's  war,  and  was 
captain  in  the  war.  He  died  at  Barnstable,  in  1678.  He  left  children. 
His  wife  was  named  Frances  and  probably  came  with  him  to  this 
country.     Doctor  Fuller  resided  at  West  Barnstable. 

Dr.  John  Fuller,  son  of  Dr.  Matthew,  settled  near  his  father's  place 
at  Scorton  Neck.  He  was  twice  married,  and  he  had  three  children, 
one  son  and  two  daughters.     He  died  in  1691. 

Charles  F.  George,  M.D.,  came  to  Centreville  and  practiced  medi- 
cine from  1865  to  1872.  He  then  removed  to  Goflfstown,  N.  H.,  where 
he  now  resides. 

Dr.  Benjamin  D.  Gifford,  born  November  19,  1841,  at  Province- 
town,  is  a  son  of  Simeon  S.  and  Marinda  A.  (Dods)  Giflford.  He  at- 
tended Westbrook  Seminary,  Maine,  and  Englewood  school.  New 
Jersey,  graduating  from  the  classical  department  of  Madison  Univer- 
sity, New  York,  in  1864  and  from  Albany  Medical  College  two  years 
later.  He  practiced  in  Fond-du-lac,  Wis.,  two  years,  in  Gloucester, 
Mass.,  two  years  and  in  1871  came  to  Chatham,  where  he  has  since 
practiced. 

David  R.  Ginn,  M.D. — The  first  of  this  name  who  came  to  the 
continent  from  England  was  Edward  K.  Ghen.  He  settled  in  Mary- 
land last  century,  rearing  three  sons,  one  of  whom  remained  in 
Maryland,  one  removed  to  Provincetown  and  one  to  Maine,  where  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  May  1,  1844,  at  Vinalhaven,  From 
the  age  of  eight  he  was  more  or  less  on  the  sea  until  1865.  When 
nineteen  years  of  age  he  enlisted  in  the  Union  army  in  the  Second 
Maine  Cavalry,  Company  E,  and  after  nearly  two  years  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  navy  where  he  served  under  Farragut  in  the  capture  of 
the  forts  of  Mobile  bay.  He  was  discharged  in  1865,  returned  home, 
and  commenced  his  professional  studies.  After  a  suitable  education 
at  Oak  Grove  Seminary  he  entered  in  1869  at  Harvard,  where  he 
graduated  in  medicine  February  14, 1872.  In  November,  1873,  he  came 
from  Martha's  Vineyard  to  Dennis  Port  and  began  practice.  His 
business  success,  the  erection  of  fine  blocks  in  Dennis  Port,  are  fully 
mentioned  in  the  history  of  that  village.  In  1884  he  erected  in  Har- 
wich, near  Dennis  Port,  his  fine  residence  which,  with  his  block  of 
stores,  is  the  subject  of  an  illustration  in  the  proper  connection.  Since 
locating  here  the  doctor  has  gained  a  large  practice  in  his  own  and 


^^^yrM/^^ 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  229 

adjoining  towns,  requiring  three  horses  and  two  carriages  to  enable 
him  to  satisfy  the  calls.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Medi- 
cal society  and  of  the  Barnstable  district,  and  occupies  a  prominent 
position  in  the  profession. 

He  was  married  January  8,  1885,  to  Annie  E.  Chase,  daughter  of 
Darius  and  granddaughter  of  Job  Chase.  His  children  are:  Lucy 
Lillian,  James  Richard,  and  David  Clifton.  His  professional  duties 
forbid  the  acceptance  of  civil  trusts  but  he  finds  time  for  those  social 
enjoyments  pertaining  to  his  family,  the  Lodge  and  the  Baptist 
church.  In  his  profession,  his  business  and  his  republican  principles 
he  steadily  maintains  that  perseverance  which  has  assured  him  the 
present  measure  of  success. 

Willis  Webster  Gleason,  M.D.,  was  bom  in  Chelsea,  Mass..  May 
29,  1863,  and  graduated  from  Boston  Medical  University  in  1877.  He 
practiced  medicine  in  Gardner,  Mass.,  one  year,  and  then  moved  to 
Provincetown  continuing  in  practice  there  until  1889,  when  he  moved 
to  New  York  where  he  is  now  located.  While  a  resident  of  Province- 
town  he  was  medical  examiner  for  two  years,  and  Marine  Hospital 
surgeon  for  one  year. 

William  B.  Gooch,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Maine,  and  graduated  at 
Brunswick  Medical  College.  He  practiced  for  many  years  at  North 
Yarmouth,  Maine.  Leaving  there,  he  was  appointed  American  con- 
sul at  Aux  Cayes,  and  leaving  that  position  about  1843  he  came  to 
South  Dennis,  where  he  practiced  until  1851,  when  he  removed  to 
Lowell.  In  1853  he  went  to  California,  and  returned  to  South  Dennis 
in  1854.  In  1855  he  moved  to  Truro,  where  he  died  June  29,  1868, 
aged  72  years,  and  his  remains  were  buried  in  South  Dennis. 

Dr.  Charles  Goodspeed  was  born  in  June  1770,  and  practiced  medi- 
cine for  many  years  in  Hyannis  and  vicinity.  He  died  in  Sandwich 
March  29,  1848,  and  was  buried  in  Hyannis.  His  son  was  Captain 
Charles  Goodspeed  who  resided  where  the  lyanough  House  now 
stands. 

Samuel  H.  Gould,  M.D. — This  eminent  physician,  who  for  nearly 
four-score  years  practiced  successfully  in  Brewster  and  the  adjoining 
towns,  was  bom  at  Ipswich,  December  19,  1814.  His  school  days  in 
his  native  town  were  supplemented  by  a  course  of  training  in  Topsfield 
Academy  and  at  Bradford,  after  which  he  taught  with  good  success 
in  the  public  schools  of  Methuen,  Hamilton  and  Wenham.  Subse- 
quently he  turned  his  attention  to  the  science  which  was  to  become 
his  life  study  and  the  art  which  was  to  be  his  life  work.  After  study- 
ing medicine  with  Dr.  Nathan  Jones  and  Dr.  E.  N.  Kittridge  in  Lynn, 
he  graduated  from  Bowdoin  Medical  College  in  1839,  and  located  in 
Eastham  in  1840.  Remaining  a  few  years  there,  he  settled  at  Brew- 
ster in  1844,  where  he  resided  and  practiced  until  his  death,  August 


230  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

25,  1882.  Here  he  occupied  a  prominent  position  in  his  profession, 
and  in  the  social  and  civil  relations  of  life.  He  was  elected  in  1867 
to  represent  his  district  in  the  legislature,  and  was  re-elected  in  1868. 
He  served  the  town  eleven  years  as  town  clerk  and  treasurer,  and  for 
many  years  was  chairman  of  the  school  board.  Years  ago,  when 
many  of  the  savings  banks  in  the  state  closed  their  doors,  he,  being 
a  director  in  the  Harwich  Institution  of  savings,  assumed,  by  earnest 
request,  its  presidency  in  its  most  trying  time,  and  to  him  was  ac- 
credited its  escape  from  embarrassment. 

In  his  profession  he  was  a  constant  attendant  upon  the  meetings 
of  the  District  Medical  Society,  of  which  he  was  an  early  and  valued 
member ;  and  as  a  careful  practitioner  and  counselor  was  highly  es- 
teemed. These  professional  calls  were  not  the  only  blessings  he 
conferred  upon  the  sick.  His  pastor,  Rev.  Thomas  Dawes  said  of  him 
after  his  death :  He  was  a  man  who  looked  beyond  himself,  and 
thought  a  devoted  mind  and  religious  faith  essential  to  his  patients ; 
and  possessed  those  qualifications  that  secured  the  confidence  of  men. 
At  his  funeral  his  pastor  was  constrained  to  confess  the  doctor's  great 
help  to  him  in  the  sick-room.  Doctor  Atwood,  of  Fairhaven,  said : 
Doctor  Gould  presents  a  character  eminently  worthy  of  commenda- 
tion,  for  in  whatever  situation  in  life  he  was  placed  his  influence  was 
always  on  the  side  of  progression — in  action,  in  morals,  and  every 
cause  tending  to  the  elevation  of  mankind.  By  those  who  knew  him 
best  in  the  social,  daily  round  of  life,  his  individuality,  ready  sym- 
pathy and  usefulness  will  be  longest  remembered.  The  marked 
feature  of  his  character  around  which  a  halo  of  light  will  ever  clus- 
ter, was  his  loving  kindness  in  the  scenes  of  suflFering  to  which  his 
duty  as  a  physician,  neighbor  and  friend  called  him.  He  ministered 
alike  faithfully  to  the  poor  and  the  rich,  and  the  poor  who  knew  him 
well  can  best  fathom  the  depth  and  fulness  of  his  generosity.  To 
a  friend  he  was  a  never  failing  adviser  and  helper,  and  in  his 
honesty  could  endure  no  shams.  At  his  death  the  profession  lost 
a  careful  practitioner,  his  family  a  devoted  husband  and  father,  the 
community  a  valuable  citizen,  and  this  world  lost  one  of  the  world's 
true  noblemen. 

Doctor  Gould  was  a  representative  of  a  long  line  of  worthy  an- 
cestors, the  first  to  New  England  being  Zaccheus,  who  settled  near 
Salem  in  1638.  The  male  line  of  descent  from  this  first  comer, 
was  John,  Zaccheus,  John,  John,  to  Amos,  the  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch.  Amos  Gould  married,  in  1797,  Mary  Herrick, 
of  whose  nine  children  the  sixth  was  Dr.  Samuel  H.  Gould,  who 
married,  November  25,  1840,  Abigail  S.,  daughter  of  Moses  Foster 
of  Wenham.  Her  father  was  a  sea  captain  thirty  years  in  the  mer- 
chant service.    Of  his  seven  children  the  only  son  was  killed  by  a 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  231 

fall    from  the  mast,  and    besides    Mrs.  Gould  one    older    daughter, 
Mrs.  Harriet  Haskell,  survives. 

.  Doctor  Gould  had  three  children:  John  E.,  born  October  2,  1842, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  four  years ;  Charles  E.,  born  July  9,  1849, 
who  married  M.  Addie  Davis  of  Wenham,  and  has  one  child — Susan 
C. ;  and  George  A.  Gould,  born  February  26,  1854,  who  married 
Ellen  M.  Cook  of  Lowell,  and  who  also  has  a  daughter  named 
Abigail  M.  Gould.  The  widow  of  Doctor  Gould  occupies  the  home- 
stead at  Brewster. 

Solomon  F.  Haskins,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Prescott,  Mass.,  September 
8,  1858.  He  moved  to  Orange  when  a  small  boy  and  there  received 
his  early  education;  entered  Dartmouth  Medical  College  in  1876, 
graduating  in  1879,  and  was  one  year  in  the  University  of  Michigan 
under  special  instruction  from  Prof.  E.  S.  Dunster.  He  came  to  Yar- 
mouth in  1880,  and  remained  there  in  practice  four  years,  then  re- 
moved to  Hudson  to  engage  in  the  drug  business.  In  1888  he  removed 
to  Orange,  where  he  is  now  practicing. 

Dr.  Edward  E.  Hawes,  druggist  and  physician  at  Hyannis,  was 
bom  in  Maine,  in  1862,  and  was  educated  at  Pittsfield,  Me.,  and  at 
Bowdoin  College.  After  a  course  in  medicine  at  New  York  he  took 
his  degree  at  the  Vermont  State  University  in  1886. 

Dr.  James  Hedge  practiced  medicine  and  was  succeeded  by  Dr. 
George  Shove. 

Dr.  Abner  Hersey,  a  very  eminent  physician  and  surgeon  of  Barn- 
stable, was  bom  in  Hingham,  in  1721,  came  to  Barnstable  in  1741,  and 
commenced  the  study  of  medicine  with  his  brother  James,  whom  he 
succeeded  in  1741.  In  a  short  period  he  commanded  an  extensive 
practice  which  never  decreased  during  his  lifetime.  He  married 
Hannah  Allen  of  Barnstable,  October  3, 1743,  and  died  January  9, 1787. 
By  will.  Doctor  Hersey  gave  five  hundred  pounds,  "  for  the  encourager 
ment  and  support  of  a  professor  of  physic  and  surgery  at  the  University 
in  Cambridge,  and  a  number  of  books  for  the  library."  He  kindly  re- 
membered the  thirteen  churches  of  the  Congregational  order  in  Barn- 
stable county,  by  giving  them  the  use  and  improvement  of  the  re- 
mainder of  his  estate,  forever,  after  the  decease  of  his  wife,  and  the 
payment  of  the  legacy  to  Harvard  University.  The  late  Amos  Otis 
has  said  of  him:  "  Forgetting  his  eccentricities,  he  was  a  most  skilful 
physician,  a  man  whose  moral  character  was  unimpeached,  of  good 
sense,  sound  judgment,  a  good  neighbor  and  citizen  and  an  exem- 
plary and  pious  member  of  the  church." 

Dr.  James  Hersey  was  born  in  Hingham,  Mass.,  December  21, 1716, 
and  settled  in  Barnstable  before  1737.  He  was  twice  married  His 
first  wife  was  Lydia,  daughter  of  Colonel  Shubael  Gorham  by  whom 
he  had  a  son,  James.    His  second  wife  was  Mehitabel,  daughter  of 


232  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

John  Davis,  Esq.,  by  whom  he  had  a  son,  Ezekiel.  Doctor  Hersey 
was  a  very  skilful  physician,  and  had  an  extensive  practice  in  the 
county.    He  died  July  22,  1741. 

Dr.  Thomas  Holker  was  a  practitioner  of  note  in  Wellfleet  early 
in  the  last  century.  Nothing  is  known  of  his  history  except  that 
he  was  an  Englishman  of  learning  and  ability  who  practiced  in 
the  town  and  vicinity  and  was  much  respected.  He  was  buried 
in  the  old  burying  ground  at  the  head  of  Duck  creek  prior  to 
1765,  for  tradition  says  that  when  the  addition  to  the  church  was 
made  that  year,  it  extended  over  his  grave. 

Dr.  Nathaniel  Hopkins,  son  of  Prence  and  Patience  Hopkins,  was 
born  in  that  part  of  Harwich  now  Brewster,  January  27,  1760.  He 
studied  medicine  and  settled  in  East  Brewster.  He  was  a  physician 
of  standing  and  was  prominent  in  the  movement  to  divide  the  town 
in  1803.  He  was  the  first  clerk  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Brewster,  of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  first  members.  He  married  Ann  Armstrong 
of  Franklin,  Conn.,  in  1799,  and  had  ten  children;  eight  sons  and  two 
daughters.  Only  two  children  settled  in  Brewster.  Joseph  Hopkins, 
the  fourth  son,  settled  in  Mount  Vernon,  Me.,  where  he  died  a  few 
years  since.    Doctor  Hopkins  died  at  East  Brewster,  March  26,  1826. 

Dr.  Thomas  Hopkins,  son  of  Dr.  Nathaniel  Hopkins,  was  born  in 
Brewster,  in  1819,  and  studied  medicine  at  Philadelphia.  He  prac- 
ticed his  profession  a  short  time  in  his  native  town,  then  removed  to 
Scituate,  Mass.,  where  he  practiced  many  years;  but  failing  health 
compelled  his  return  to  his  native  town  and  giving  up  professional 
work.  He  was  somewhat  eccentric,  but  was  a  thoroughly  good  man, 
respected  and  honored.    He  died  suddenly,  November  28, 1878. 

Dr.  Zabina  Horton  settled  in  Dennis  as  a  physician  before  the 
present  century.     He  died  November  14, 1815. 

Chauncey  Munsell  Hulbert,  M.D.,  is  one  of  the  oldest  living 
practitioners  of  this  county.  He  was  born  in  East  Sheldon,  Frank- 
lin county,  Vt.,  on  the  ninth  of  November,  1818,  and  received  his  edu- 
cation at  Johnson  Academy.  His  studies  were  vigorously  prosecuted 
with  Dr.  Horace  Eaton,  governor  of  Verrriont,  and  subsequently  a 
professor  in  Middlebury  college.  He  attended  lectures  at  Pittsfield, 
Mass.,  completing  the  medical  course  at  Woodstock,  Vt.,  where  he 
graduated  in  1844.  He  commenced  practice  at  Franklin,  Vt.,  but 
after  two  years  removed  to  East  Berkshire  in  the  same  state.  In  1862 
he  came  to  South  Dennis,  where  he  has  since  practiced  his  profession 
successfully.  His  ride  has  been  extensive  and  his  long  ripe  experi- 
ence has  made  his  services  valuable.  He  is  a  member  of  the  State 
Medical  Society;  has  been  president  of  the  Barnstable  district,  and  for 
the  past  fifteen  years  its  treasurer. 

In  1846  he  married  Lovina  Paul,  who  died  in  1865.      Their  son, 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  233 

Munsell  P.,  died  September,  1851,  aged  two  years.  He  was  married 
in  1869,  to  Mrs.  Lydia  N.  Chase,  a  widow  with  two  daughters.  The 
second  wife  died  in  1885.  Her  only  surviving  daughter  married  Wil- 
lis G.  Myers,  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  with  whom  and  their  two  children 
the  doctor  continues  the  most  affectionate  relations. 

Of  him  a  brother  in  the  profession  says:  The  doctor  is  a  practical 
man  and  has  no  patience  with  subtle  theories,  but  keeps  steadily 
along  the  well-beaten  and  reliable  path  of  his  profession,  using  every 
well  established  practice.  His  penchant  for  the  practical  side  of  his 
profession  is  illustrated  at  every  meeting  of  the  district  society  where 
he  has  a  case  to  relate  concerning  his  own  treatment,  on  which  he 
solicits  the  opinion  of  his  confreres.  He  has  a  high  appreciation  of 
humor  and  wit,  and  no  one  of  the  Barnstable  society  adds  more 
piquancy  and  humor  to  the  after-dinner  sociability.  The  results  of 
his  experience  are  always  sought  by  the  younger  members  of  the  pro- 
fession, and  he  most  sympathetically  enters  into  their  hopes  and 
plans.  He  is  a  typical  physician,  full  of  zeal  for  the  success  of  his 
labors,  and  is  actuated  by  the  highest  Christian  principles. 

Dr.  Samuel  Jackson  resided  in  Barnstable. 

Dr.  Thomas  P.  Jackson  practiced  medicine  in  Harwich  and  after- 
ward at  Marston's  Mills  from  1843  to  1845.     He  died  in  Italy. 

Dr.  F.  H.  Jenkins  has  practiced  medicine  for  many  years  in  West 
Barnstable,  where  he  now  resides. 

Leslie  C.  Jewell,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Wales,  Me.,  April  20,  1852,  re- 
ceived his  academic  education  at  Bates'  College,  Lewiston,  Me.,  and 
graduated  in  medicine  at  Boston  University  in  1876.  He  then  settled 
in  Cape  Elizabeth,  Me.,  where  he  practiced  till  1881,  when  he  removed 
to  Chatham,  Mass.,  and  remained  in  active  practice  there  nearly  seven 
years.     He  is  practicing  now  at  Auburn,  Me. 

Ellis  P.  Jones,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Brewster,  January  24,  1853,  was 
educated  in  the  University  of  Vermont  and  graduated  July  16,  1889. 
He  then  located  in  Orleans,  where  he  formerly  resided,  and  com- 
menced the  practice  of  medicine. 

Luther  Jones,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Acton,  Mass.,  in  1817.  He  com- 
menced the  practice  of  medicine  in  South  Yarmouth  in  1846,  where 
he  was  married  in  1847.  Later,  on  account  of  ill  health,  he  went  to 
California,  where  he  died  in  1862.  Millard  Jones,  of  Yarmouth,  is 
his  son. 

G.  W&Uace  Kelley,  M.D.,  was  born  November  7, 1856,  at  Newbury- 
port,  Mass.  His  early  education  was  in  Newburyport  High  School, 
and  June  26,  1878,  he  was  graduated  from  Harvard  Medical  School. 
He  began  practice  at  the  New  York  Hospital  in  1879,  and  located  in 
Barnstable  in  November,  1883,  where  he  now  resides  and  enjoys  a 
fine  practice. 


234  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Horatio  S.  Kelley,  jr.,  M.D.,  was  bom  July  24,  1854,  in  Dennis.  He 
is  a  son  of  Horatio  S.  and  grandson  of  Nehemiah  Kelley.  His  mother 
was  Olive,  daughter  of  Doane  Kelley.  Dr.  Kelley  was  first  educated 
in  the  schools  of  his  town,  then  entered  his  father's  store,  where  he 
remained  until  1880,  studying  medicine  in  the  meantime.  In  1880  he 
went  to  the  Boston  University  Medical  College  for  a  short  time,  in 
1882, entered  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  at  Boston,  and  in 
1883  went  to  University  Medical  College  of  New  York,  where  he 
graduated  in  1884,  beginning  practice  as  a  physician  at  that  time. 
Doctor  Kelley,  with  Doctor  Hulbert,  built  a  store  at  West  Dennis  in 
1886.  He  purchased  Doctor  Hulbert's  interest  in  1888,  and  still  con- 
tinues the  business. 

Dr.  Jonathan  Kenrick,  youngest  son  of  Edward  and  Deborah  Ken- 
rick,  was  bom  in  that  part  of  old  Harwich  now  South  Orleans,  No- 
vember 14, 1715.  His  father  was  a  trader,  and  the  first  of  the  name 
who  settled  in  the  town.  Doctor  Kenrick  married  Tabitha  Eldridge, 
of  Chatham.  His  career  as  a  physician  was  short.  He  died  July  20, 
1753,  and  lies  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Orleans,  where  a  slate 
stone  with  inscription  marks  the  place  of  his  sepulture.  It  is  said  he 
was  "  a  learned,  amiable  man  and  an  eminent  physician."  He  left 
three  children:  Samuel,  Anson  and  Jonathan.  His  house  stood  but  a 
few  feet  from  the  house  of  Seneca  Higgins. 

Dr.  Samuel  Kenrick,  eldest  son  of  Doctor  Jonathan,  was  bom 
in  1741,  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Nathaniel  Breed  of  Eastham,  and 
settled  upon  his  father's  place.  He  had  a  large  field  of  labor,  and 
was  a  successful  practitioner.  He  attained,  it  is  said,  a  high  eminence 
as  a  physician  in  this  section  of  the  county.  He  died  February  10, 
1791.  He  married  Esther  Mayo  of  Eastham,  and  had  seven  children. 
The  sons  were  Samuel,  Jonathan  (father  of  the  present  Alfred  Ken- 
rick, Esq.,  of  Orleans)  and  Warren  Anson,  who  studied  medicine  and 
settled  in  Wellfleet,  where  he  died  February  10,  1808,  aged  44  years. 
Dr.  Samuel  Kenrick  lies  buried  in  Orleans,  where  a  stone  with  in- 
scription marks  the  spot.  His  widow,  Esther,  died  in  January,  1827, 
aged  86  years. 

Leonard  Latter,  M.D.,  bora  in  1843,  in  Sussex,  England,  is  a  son  of 
Leonard  Latter,  and  he  passed  the  London  College  of  Pharmacy  and 
was  a  drug  clerk  in  England,  ten  years,  and  came  to  Barnstable  county 
in  1869.  He  entered  a  medical  college  in  Maine  and  after  one  term 
there,  went  to  the  Detroit  Medical  College  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1875.  After  a  short  practice  in  Michigan  and  in  Iowa,  he  returned 
to  Barnstable  county,  locating  at  Monument  Beach  in  1883,  where  he 
still  practices.  He  was  married  in  1886  to  Mrs.  Margaret  W.  Brad- 
bury. 

Doctor  Jonathan  Leonard,  an  eminent  physician  of  Sandwich,  was 


MEDICAL  PROFESSION.  235 

born  in  Bridgewater,  Mass.,  February  17,  1763,  and  graduated  at  Har- 
vard College  in  1786.  He  settled  in  Sandwich  about  1789.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society.  He  died  January  25, 
1849,  aged  86  years.  He  married  Temperance  Hall,  May  10, 1796,  and 
he  had  five  children. 

Jonathan  Leonard,  M.D.,*  was  the  son  of  the  above  mentioned 
Dr.  Jonathan  Leonard.  He  was  born  in  Sandwich  January  7, 1805,  was 
educated  in  the  Sandwich  Academy  and  at  Harvard.  Choosing  medi- 
cine as  a  profession  he  commenced  practice  with  his  father  in  1827, 
and  continued  in  practice  up  to  a  short  time  before  his  death,  January 
29,  1882. 

A  friend  writes  of  him  as  follows  :  "  A  brow  on  which  every  god 
did  set  his  seal  to  give  the  world  assurance  of  a  man."  For  many, 
many  years  the  most  striking  figure  in  all  our  town  was  Doctor  Leon- 
ard. Highly  educated,  the  son  of  a  famous  physician  and  himself  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  Medical  School,  he  at  once  took  a  leading  posi- 
tion in  his  native  town,  not  only  as  a  man,  but  as  a  physician  and 
surgeon.  Who  that  ever  saw  him  in  his  later  years  and  conversed 
with  him  can  forget  his  appearance  and  the  impression  he  left  behind 
— that  glorious  head  of  white  hair,  the  serene,  yet  withal,  kindly 
and  intellectual  expression  of  the  face,  the  erect  form,  the  firm  set 
mouth,  the  quick  and  penetrating  glance  of  the  eye,  all  marked  him 
as  a  man  highly  gifted  by  nature  and  of  great  intellectual  ability. 

As  a  professional  man  he  was  highly  respected  among  his  brethren, 
stood  side  by  side  and  ranked  with  the  best  among  them.  He  pos- 
sessed, in  a  large  degree,  what  ought  to  be  common,  but  which  we, 
after  all  rarely  find, — the  gift  of  common  sense,  and  used  it  success- 
fully. As  a  consequence  his  services  and  opinions  were  sought  for 
far  and  wide.  At  once  he  gained  the  confidence  of  his  patients  and 
when  gained  it  was  never  lost.  His  hand  was  soft  as  thistle  down  to 
the  throbbing  pulse  and  aching  brow.  The  writer  still  remembers 
the  touch  of  that  hand.  But  the  life  of  man  is  limited.  After  a  long 
and  successful  practice,  many  years  of  honor,  at  the  age  of  three 
score  and  seventeen  years,  as  ripe  fruit  in  autumn  falls  from  the  tree 
— he  was  quietly  gathered  to  his  fathers — and  one  day  the  town  in 
which  he  had  so  long  lived,  found  he  had  "passed  on  beyond  the 
gates."  It  can  truly  be  said  of  Doctor  Leonard  that  he  was  one  of 
"  nature's  noblemen,"  "  that  the  world  is  better  for  his  having  lived  in 
it."  He  was  deeply  interested  in  all  that  pertained  to  the  welfare  of 
his  native  town,  particularly  its  educational  interests.  In  his  religious 
views  he  was  broad  and  liberal,  and  was  always  a  liberal  contributor 
to  that  branch  of  the  Christian  church  whose  teachings  were  in  har- 
mony with  his  own  religious  thought. 

*  By  Hon.  Charles  Dillingham. 


236  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

He  was  twice  married :  first  in  1830  to  Miss  Alice  C,  daughter  of 
Samuel  H.  Babcock,  Esq.,  of  Boston  ;  second  in  1868  to  Mrs.  Mary  T. 
Jarvis,  daughter  of  C.  C.  P.  Waterman,  Esq.,  of  Sandwich,  who,  with 
the  daughter  by  the  first  marriage  and  a  son  by  the  second,  resides 
on  the  old  homestead  in  Sandwich. 

Dr.  Samuel  Lord  was  a  physician  of  Chatham.  He  was  a  son  of 
Rev.  Joseph  Lord,  and  was  born,  probably  in  South  Carolina,  June  26, 
1707,  where  his  father  was  then  settled.  He  came  to  Chatham  with 
his  father's  family  in  1719,  and  died  of  small  pox  early  in  1766. 

Lyman  H.  Luce,  M.D.,  of  Martha's  Vineyard,  practiced  medicine 
at  Falmouth  from  1869  to  1880.  He  then  removed  to  West  Tisbury, 
Mass.,  where  he  now  resides.  He  married  Lizzie,  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain John  R.  Lawrence  of  Falmouth. 

Henry  E.  McCollum,  M.D.,  a  graduate  of  Bowdoin  Medical  Col- 
lege, practiced  medicine  at  Marston's  Mills  from  1847  to  1868,  and 
subsequently  died  there. 

William  M.  Moore,  M.D.,  born  in  1848  at  Barnet,  Vt.,  is  a  son  of 
William  Moore.  He  received  a  preparatory  course  at  St.  Johnsbury 
Academy  and  graduated  July  1,  1880,  from  Burlington  Medical  Col- 
lege, Vermont.  He  practiced  in  St.  Johnsbury  and  adjoining  towns 
in  Vermont,  also  in  Carroll  county.  New  Hampshire,  from  1880  until 
1888,  and  since  October  of  that  year  has  been  located  in  Province- 
town.  He  is  a  member  of  the  White  Mountain  Medical  Society, 
and  of  the  Carroll  County  Society.  He  married  Emma  J.,  daughter 
of  George  L.  Kelley. 

George  M.  Munsell,  M.D.,*  born  December  14, 1835,  at  Burling- 
ton, is  the  only  son  of  Rev.  Joseph  R.  Munsell,  for  years  pas- 
tor of  the  Congregational  church  at  Harwich.  Doctor  Munsell's 
■earlier  education  was  received  in  Hampden  and  Belfast  Academies, 
after  which  he  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  C.  M.  Hulbert  of  South 
Dennis.  In  March,  1860,  he  graduated  from  the  medical  department 
of  Harvard  College,  and  at  once  commenced  practice  in  Bradford, 
Me.,  where  he  remained  one  year.  In  1861  he  returned  to  Harwich 
as  an  associate  of  Dr.  Fanklin  Dodge.  In  July,  1862,  he  entered 
the  army  as  first  assistant  surgeon  of  the  Thirty-fifth  Regiment  of 
the  Massachusetts  Volunteers ;  but  resigned  his  commission,  April, 
1863,  on  account  of  ill  health  and  returned  to  Harwich,  Mass.,  where 
he  has  since  actively  pursued  the  practice  of  medicine.  He  has  been 
for  eight  years  medical  examiner  of  the  county ;  as  a  member  of 
the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  he  served  one  year  as  president 
of  the  Barnstable  district  and  one  as  vice-president  of  the  state 
society ;  and  now  is  medical  director  of  the  state  department  of  the 
G.  A.  R.,  also  is  on  the  national  staff. 

*  By  the  editor. 


PBIMT, 
£.     BIEHSTADT,      K.   V. 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  237 

The  doctor  takes  a  keen  interest  in  the  social  and  civil  affairs  of 
life,  in  which  he  is  an  important  factor.  The  interests  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
have  engaged  his  attention  for  several  years,  and  four  years  he  was 
commander  of  F.  D.  Hammond  Post,  which  includes  the  towns  of  Har- 
wich, Chatham,  Eastham,  Orleans,  Brewster  and  Dennis.  In  November, 
1889,  he  was  elected  the  Republican  representative  from  the  second 
district  of  Barnstable  county.  In  June,  1860,  he  married  Lizzie  K., 
daughter  of  Miller  W.  Nickerson,  who  was  the  son  of  Eleazer  Nicker- 
son  of  South  Dennis.  Their  two  daughters  are :  Louise  H.  and  Lizzie 
T.  Munsell.  But  few  practitioners  possess  as  fully  as  Doctor  Munsell 
the  respect  and  admiration  of  patients.  His  affability,  practicability, 
and  ambition  to  excel  have  made  him  successful  in  every  walk  of  life. 

Dr.  A.  H.  Newton  was  born  in  Vermont  in  1817,  and  began  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Truro,  Mass.,  in  1850,  where  he  remained 
until  1866,  when  he  removed  to  Chatham.  In  1876  he  went  to  Prov- 
incetown,  where  he  has  practiced  to  the  present  time. 

Dr.  E.  C.  Newton,  fifth  son  of  Dr.  A.  H.  Newton,  graduated  from 
Bellevue  New  York  Medical  College  in  1887,  practiced  two  years  in 
Province  town,  and  is  now  settled  in  Everett,  Mass. 

Dr.  F.  L.  Newton,  third  son  of  Dr.  A.  H.  Newton,  graduated  from 
Boston  University  Medical  School  in  1884,  and  practiced  in  Prov- 
incetown  for  two  years.  He  then  studied  one  year  in  Dublin  and 
Vienna  arid  settled  in  Somerville,  Mass.,  where  he  is  now  in  practice. 

Dr.  Stephen  A.  Paine,  son  of  Moses  and  Priscilla  Paine,  was  a 
successful  physician  of  Provincetown.  He  was  bom  in  Truro  in 
1806,  and  spent  the  whole  of  his  professional  life  in  Provincetown.  It 
has  been  well  said,  "but  few  men  have  been  more  useful  and  more 
trusted  than  he."  He  was  deeply  interested  in  education,  and  for 
many  years  on  the  school  board,  and  the  chairman  many  years.  He 
was  a  representative  from  Provincetown  in  1841  and  1842.  He  died 
September  3,  1869,  leaving  no  children.  He  was  an  esteemed  mem- 
ber of  King  Hiram  Lodge.  He  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Thomas 
Paine,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Truro. 

Dr.  Daniel  Parker  was  born  in  West  Barnstable  in  1735  and  died 
in  1810.  His  house  was  near  the  present  Barnstable  town  house. 
John  W.  B.  Parker,  of  West  Barnstable,  is  one  of  his  grandchildren. 

John  H.  Patterson,  M.D.,  was  born  in  South  Merrimack,  N.  H., 
March  2,  1863,  graduated  at  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Mass.,  in 
1882,  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1886,  and  Dartmouth  Medical  College 
in  1889.  He  commenced  practice  in  Harwich  in  December,  1889,  in 
place  of  Dr.  George  N.  Munsell,  who  was  elected  member  of  the  house 
of  representatives,  and  obliged  to  give  up  his  practice  for  several 
months. 


238  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Franklin  W.  Pierce,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Edgartown,  Mass.,  on  the 
nth  of  September,  1852.  Dr.  Hugh  G.  Donaldson  was  his  maternal 
great-grandfather.  He  graduated  from  Wilbraham  Academy  in  1872, 
and  from  Yale  University  in  1876.  He  graduated  from  the  University 
of  New  York  City  Medical  College  in  1879,  and  in  May  of  that  year 
commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  in  Centreville.  Six  months  later 
he  removed  to  Marston's  Mills,  where  he  has  since  resided,  and  is 
one  of  the  medical  examiners  of  Barnstable  county.  June  14,  1884, 
lie  married  Annie  Augusta  Hale  of  Brunswick,  Me.,  and  has  one  son, 
born  November  24,  1888.     His  wife  died  April  23,  1890. 

Peter  Pineo,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Cornwallis,  Nova  Scotia,  March  6, 
1825,  studied  medicine  there  four  years,  attended  one  full  term  at 
Harvard  Medical  College,  and  subsequently  graduated  from  Bowdoin 
Medical  College  in  May,  1847.  He  first  practiced  medicine  in  Port- 
land, Me.,  and  in  Boston,  Mass.,  and  settled  in  Barnstable  in  1850,  as 
the  successor  of  Doctor  Jackson.  He  removed  to  Groton.  Mass.,  in 
18.')3,  where  he  practiced  until  1859,  when  he  accepted  the  professor- 
ship of  medical  jurisprudence  and  clinical  medicine  in  Castleton 
Medical  College,  Vermont.  In  June,  1861,  he  was  commissioned  sur- 
geon of  the  Ninth  Regiment  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  and  entered 
active  service.  In  August,  1861,  he  was  commissioned  brigade  sur- 
geon of  United  States  Volunteers,  and  served  on  the  staffs  successive- 
ly of  Generals  James  S.  Wadsworth  and  Rufus  King,  and  was  Gen- 
eral McDowell's  medical  director  during  the  second  Bull  Run  battles. 
He  also  was  serving  on  the  staff  of  General  George  G.  Meade,  as  med- 
ical director  of  the  First  Army  Corps,  at  Antietam,  and  South  Mount- 
ain, in  1862.  In  November,  1862,  he  was  ordered  to  Washington  in 
charge  of  Douglass  General  Hospital  (600  beds)  and  in  March,  1863, 
was  commissioned  as  lieutenant  colonel  and  medical  inspector  of 
United  States  Volunteers  and  ordered  to  inspect  the  Department  of 
the  Gulf,  General  Banks  commanding.  During  the  years  1863-1865, 
he  inspected  every  army  on  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Washington  to 
Texas.  He  was  consulting  surgeon  of  Jefferson  Davis  during  his  con- 
finement at  Fortress  Monroe.  In  1866  he  settled  in  Hyannisand  took 
charge  of  the  United  States  Marine  Hospital  Service  of  Barnstable 
county  until  1880,  when,  on  account  of  ill  health,  he  relinquished  the 
practice  of  medicine,  and  has  since  resided  in  Boston. 

Dr.  Samuel  Pitcher,  of  Hyannis,  the  originator  of  the  famous 
Pitcher's  Castoria,  was  born  in  Hyannis,  October  23,  1824.  His  great- 
grandfather, Joseph  Pitcher,  came  here  from  Scituate.  Doctor  Pitcher 
began  the  study  of  medicine  in  1840  with  Dr.  S.  C.  Ames  of  Lowell,  and 
during  the  half  century  since  then,  he  has  given  his  thought  and  at- 
tention to  the  study  and  practice  of  the  healing  art.  In  1847-8  he  was 
in  the  College  of  Medicine  at  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  latter  year  be- 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  239 

.  j^an  the  experiments  which  twenty  years  later  led  to  the  introduction 
of  Castoria,  from  which  in  1869  he  realized  $10,000.  He  was  at  Har- 
vard Medical  College  in  1850,  and  except  when  away  as  a  student,  has 
continuously  resided  at  Hyannis,  where  his  ability  and  worth  as  a 
■citizen  and  physician  have  long  been  recognized.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  and  a  director  of  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Hyannis. 

D.  L.  Powe,  M.D.,  was  born  on  Prince  Edwards  Island,  April  28, 
1853,  and  removed  to  Boston  in  1874,  after  having  received  the  edu- 
cational advantages  afiforded  by  the  graded  schools  of  his  native  place. 
In  1879  he  attended  the  first  course  of  lectures  ever  given  in  the  Maine 
Eclectic  Medical  School,  and  graduated  three  years  later.  This  school 
-subsequently  came  under  another  management  and  is  now  extinct. 
In  1883  he  located  in  Boston,  became  a  member  of  the  Eclectic  Med- 
ical Society  of  Massachusetts,  practiced  a  year  and  in  the  following 
March  came  to  Falmouth  where  in  February,  1885,  he  married  Captain 
N.  P.  Baker's  daughter,  Mary  F.  He  succeeded  Dr.  J.  P.  Bills,  who 
liad  practiced  some  five  years  in  Falmouth  and  Pocasset. 

John  E.  Pratt,  M.D.,  was  born  in  1850  in  Freeport,  Me.  He  at- 
tended the  schools  of  Meriden,  N.  H.,  took  a  classical  course  at  Dart- 
mouth, and  in  1877  graduated  from  the  Dartmouth  Medical  School. 
From  1877  to  1880  he  practiced  medicine  in  Auburn,  N.  H.  In  1880 
he  came  to  Sandwich  where  he  has  since  practised.  He  is  a  member 
•of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society.  He  was  married  in  1878  to 
Sarah  E.  Cornish,  and  has  two  daughters. 

Dr.  ApoUos  Pratt  succeeded  Doctor  Chamberlain  in  the  practice  of 
-medicine  at  South  Yarmouth,  and  died  in  1860. 

Dr.  Greenleaf  J.  Pratt  was  born  in  Mansfield,  Mass.,  in  1794,  and 
settled  as  a  physician  in  Harwich  about  1815.  He  had  an  extensive 
practice  for  many  years.  He  was  a  representative  from  Harwich  in 
1827,  and  several  years  on  the  school  committee.  He  resided  at  North 
Harwich,  where  he  died  January  13, 1858.  He  married  Ruth,  daughter 
of  Anthony  and  Reliance  Kelley,  April  2,  1818,  and  had  four  children. 

Thomas  B.  Pulsifer,  M.D.,  born  in  1842  in  Maine,  is  a  son  of  M.  R. 
Pulsifer,  M.D.  He  was  in  Waterville  College  from  1859  until  1861, 
■when  he  entered  the  army  in  the  First  Maine  Cavalry.  He  studied 
medicine  with  his  father  for  some  time,  and  finally  graduated  from 
Hahnemann  College  of  Philadelphia  in  1872.  In  1873,  he  came  to 
Yarmouth  where  he  has  practiced  since  that  time.  He  married  Anna, 
■daughter  of  Benjamin  Gorham,  and  has  two  children — Cora  R.  and 
Gorham. 

Dr.  Clinton  J.  Ricker,*  who  died  at  Chatham,  Mass.,  March  15, 
1886,  was  born  at  Great  Falls,  N.  H.,  January  29,  1847.     He  was  the 

*  By  Prof.  M.  F.  Daggett  of  Chatham. 


240  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

youngest  of  the  five  Ghildren  of  Captain  and  Mrs.  Josiah  Clarke  of 
Great  Falls.  His  mother  dying  when  he  was  but  a  few  weeks  old,  and 
his  father  wishing  to  make  a  long  journey  from  home,  the  boy  was 
received  into  the  home  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allen  Ricker,  residing  near 
Milton  Mills,  N.  H.,  who  adopted  and  reared  him  as  their  son.  Here 
he  passed  his  boyhood  days,  receiving  the  meager  advantages  of  the 
district  school  in  winter  and  developing  his  muscles  on  the  farm  in 
summer. 

His  life  was  uneventful  until  he  arrived  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
years,  when,  like  many  other  New  England  boys  in  that  time  of  our 
country's  greatest  need,  he  determined  to  enter  the  service  as  a  sol- 
dier the  consent  of  his  foster  parents  being  refused  on  account  of  his 
youthful  age,  a  compromise  was  effected  by  his  going  out  as  servant 
to  his  brother,  C.  Clarke,  a  captain  of  cavalry  in  the  regular  army,  who 
promised  to  restrain  the  boy's  youthful  impetuosity  and  protect  him 
from  all  harm.  This  promise  was,  however,  unavailing,  for  in  the 
heat  of  battle,  though  commanded  to  remain  in  the  rear,  he  forgot  his 
brother's  rank  and  authority,  and,  burning  with  military  ardor,  he 
rushed  into  the  fight  and  did  effective  service,  bringing  back  as  proofs 
of  his  contact  with  the  enemy,  wounds  received  from  a  rebel  ball  and 
sabre  stroke. 

In  1865  we  find  him  at  Milton  Classical  Institute,  studying  French, 
Latin,  and  other  branches  preparatory  to  a  college  course  ;  and  later 
at  Bowdoin  College,  Brunswick,  Maine,  from  which  he  probably  gradu- 
ated in  1871,  entering  the  Bowdoin  Medical  School  the  same  year, 
where  he  took  two  courses  of  lectures.  In  1873and  1874  he  continued 
his  medical  studies  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  New 
York  city,  taking  high  standing  in  a  large  class  and  graduating  in 
1874.  He  soon  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  New  Mar- 
ket, N.  H.,  and  entered  at  about  the  same  time  into  partnership  in  the 
drug  business  at  Dover.  His  efforts  in  his  chosen  occupation  seemed 
marked  with  success,  his  skill  soon  became  known,  and  his  practice 
largely  increased.  But  reverses  were  in  store  for  him.  Hard  work 
and  exposure,  incident  to  a  large  country  practice,  undermined  a  nat- 
urally strong  constitution  and  he  suffered  a  stroke  of  paralysis,  which 
prostrated  him  for  many  months,  and  from  which  he  never  fully  re- 
covered. At  the  same  time  his  business  partner  at  Dover,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  Doctor  Ricker's  enforced  absence,  purchased  a  large  stock 
of  goods  on  as  long  credit  as  possible,  and  selling  the  goods  at  a  dis- 
count for  cash,  absconded  with  the  funds  and  drove  the  firm  into- 
bankruptcy.  These  and  other  financial  losses,  together  with  his  long 
illness,  prevented  Doctor  Ricker's  return  to  practice  at  New  Market, 
and  the  winter  of  1878  he  spent  in  Stockbridge,  Mass.,  having  been 
invited  to  care,  temporarily,  for  the  business  of  Doctor  Miller. 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  241 

■  Doctor  Ricker  next  secured  the  appointment  as  assistant  port  phy- 
sician at  Boston,  and  here  he  was  recognized  as  a  skilful  physician  and 
competent  official.  This  position  he  retained  until  his  health,  which 
had  been  for  some  years  delicate,  again  broke  down,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled by  change  of  climate  and  a  voyage  at  sea  to  seek  its  restoration. 

In  the  fall  of  1880  he  came  to  Chatham,  Mass.,  where  he  continued 
in  practice  during  the  remaining  years  of  his  life,  and  where  his 
genial  manners,  sympathetic  nature,  and  earnest  efforts  in  behalf  of 
his  patients,  as  well  as  his  marked  ability  as  a  physician  and  surgeon, 
won  for  him  the  enduring  respect,  confidence,  and  esteem  of  the 
people. 

May  21,1879,  Doctor  Ricker  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Louise 
B.  Maitel,  of  Newton,  Mass.,  a  lady  of  intelligence,  refinement  and 
good  education,  a  descendant  of  a  family  once  famous  in  French  his- 
tory. This  lady,  who  survives  her  husband,  testifies  to  his  having 
possessed  the  many  excellent  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  that  make 
the  domestic  life  beautiful  and  happy. 

Through  life  he  was  a  student  in  his  devotion  to  scientific  and 
literary  pursuits,  and  was  a  frequent  contributor  to  magazines  and 
newspapers.  He  was  often  invited  to  the  lecture-platform,  and  both 
in  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts  he  frequently  addressed  large 
audiences,  pronouncing  in  Chatham  in  1882  one  of  the  finest  Memo- 
rial Day  addresses  ever  delivered  in  this  section  of  the  state.  His 
keen  insight  into  abstruse  subjects,  his  comprehensive  view  of  public 
affairs,  his  just  discrimination  and  impartial  criticism,  combined  with 
brilliant  conversational  powers,  purity  of  diction  and  a  vivid  imagi- 
nation, made  Dr.  Clinton  J.  Ricker  an  interesting  private  companion 
and  eloquent  public  speaker. 

James  A.  Robinson,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Claremont,  N.  H.,  Novem- 
ber 29,  1857,  and  was  the  son  of  Willard  H.  and  Martha  J.  Robinson. 
When  six  years  of  age  he  moved  to  Brookline,  Mass.,  where  he  re- 
ceived his  early  education  and  entered  Harvard  College  in  1876.  In 
1879  he  entered  the  medical  department  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  graduated  in  1882.  After  practicing  in  Taunton  and  ad- 
joining towns,  he  moved  to  Chatham  in  1888,  where  he  is  now  located. 

Frank  A.  Rogers,  M.D. — This  rising  young  physician,  born  at 
Newfield,  Me.,  was  educated  at  Limerick  Academy,  and  at  Kent's  Hill 
Seminary,  received  a  full  academic  course  for  Bowdoin  College,  but 
changed  his  mind  and  entered  the  medical  department,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1876.  He  practiced  nearly  a  year  at  Bethel,  Me., 
when  he  sold  his  interest  to  a  classmate  who  had  made  a  settlement 
there  about  the  same  time.  He  then  filled  the  position  of  principal 
in  Litchfield  Academy  two  years,  removing  to  Atlanta,  Ga.,  to  fill  the 
chair  .of  instructor  in  science  and  language  in  the  university  of  that 
16 


242  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

city.  After  practicing  his  profession  two  years,  in  Nebraska,  he  set 
tied  in  Brewster,  in  1882,  purchased  his  homestead  and  in  1884  opened 
a  drug  store  in  connection  with  his  practice.  During  his  term  of 
practice  at  Brewster  he  has  attained  a  prominent  position  in  the  pro- 
fession, excelling  in  surgery.  In  1883  he  joined  the  Massachusetts 
Medical  Society,  and  for  six  years  past  has  been  the  secretary  of  the 
Barnstable  district.  High  compliment  is  due  to  his  mechanical  and 
scientific  genius,  which,  combined  with  his  energy  and  perseverance 
assures  his  highest  success.  As  a  special  correspondent  of  the  signal 
service  he  has  in  use  an  electric  anemometer  recorder  of  his  own  in- 
vention and  construction,  which  more  effectually  records  the  velocity 
of  the  wind  than  any  other  in  the  service. 

Something  might  well  be  expected  of  a  man  with  the  doctor's  an- 
tecedents. His  ancestry  is  traceable  back  to  John  Rogers,  the  mar- 
tyr, who  was  burned  at  the  stake  February  14,  1555.  The  first  of  the 
family  who  came  to  the  New  World  was  Rev.  Nathaniel  Rogers,  who 
settled  at  Ipswich  in  1636,  where  he  died  in  1655.  His  son.  Rev.  John 
Rogers,  M.D.,  practiced  at  the  same  place,  departing  this  life  in  1684, 
leaving  a  son,  Rev.  John,  who  was  pastor  of  the  First  church  of  Ips- 
wich until  his  death  in  1745.  The  next  in  the  lineal  descent  was  Rev. 
Daniel  Rogers,  a  tutor  of  Harvard  College,  who  died  in  1785,  at  Exeter, 
N.  H.  His  son.  Thomas,  moved  to  Ossipee,  N.  H.,  where  John  Rog- 
ers, grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  and  subse- 
quently removed  to  Newfield,  Me.,  where  he  died  in  1866.  At  the 
latter  place  Rev.  John  A.  Rogers  was  born,  April  29, 1833,  who  in  1854 
married  Julia  A.  Nealey  of  Parsonsfield,  Me.,  and  settled  in  the  min- 
istry as  pastor  of  the  F.  W.  Baptist  church,  which  service  he  continued 
until  his  death,  February  6,  1866,  leaving  two  children — Frank  A.  and 
Addie  A.,  now  Mrs.  B.  F.  Lombard  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 

Frank  A.  Rogers,  M.D.,  was  born  October  8,  1855,  at  Newfield,  and 
was  married  November  30,  1876,  to  Lottie  A.  Bowker  of  Phipsburg, 
Me.  They  have  three  children — Amabel,  Frank  Leston,  and  Alice 
M.  The  doctor  is  an  active  republican,  interesting  himself  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  body  politic,  and  for  four  years  last  past  has  acted  on  the 
school  board  of  Brewster.  In  the  church  of  his  choice,  the  Baptist,  he 
is  superintendent  of  its  Sunday  school;  and  in  the  busy  scenes  of 
science  and  his  profession  he  finds  opportunity  for  the  enjoyment 
of  those  religious  and  social  relations  to  which  he  is  devotedly 
attached. 

Dr.  Moses  Rogers,  a  physician  of  Falmouth,  was  a  son  of  Mayo 
and  Mercy  Rogers,  of  Harwich,  where  he  was  born  in  1818.  He  set- 
tled in  Falmouth,  Mass.,  where  he  died  February  4,  1862,  aged  44. 

Dr.  Nathaniel  Ruggles  was  a  resident  physician  at  one  time  at 
Marston's  Mills. 


PKINT. 
E       BieR3T*0T,     N      Y. 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  243 

Dr.  Henry  Russell  was  born  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  June  31,  1814. 
He  studied  four  years  with  Dr.  James  B.  Forsyth,  graduated  at  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1841,  and  commenced  the  practice  of 
medicine  at  Nantucket.  Three  years  later  he  removed  to  New  Bed- 
ford, where  he  practiced  for  six  years,  since  which  time  he  has  resided 
and  practiced  mostly  in  Sandwich. 

Joseph  Sampson,  M.D.,  born  in  Nantucket  in  1784,  was  a  graduate 
of  Harvard  Medical  College,  and  was  on  the  Embargo  Commission  in 
1809,  he  being  at  that  time  a  resident  of  Brewster.  He  was  married 
in  1815  to  Deborah  R.  Cobb  of  Brewster,  was  the  first  president  of  the 
Barnstable  District  Medical  Society,  and  died  in  Brewster  in  1846. 

Dr.  Samuel  Savage  was  born  in  1748.  He  resided  near  the  pres- 
ent residence  of  Henry  F.  Loring,  west  of  Barnstable  village.  He  was 
very  peculiar  in  his  manners,  and  when  the  stage-coach  was  passing, 
would  ascend  a  large  rock,  which  is  still  there,  and  in  sepulchral  tones 
announce  himself  as  a  physician  and  surgeon.     He  died  June  28, 1831. 

Dr.  Stephen  Hull  Sears,  son  of  Stephen  and  Henrietta  (Hull) 
Sears,  was  borii  in  South  Yarmouth,  July  31,  1854.  He  studied  med- 
icine with  Dr.  A.  Miller  at  Needham,  Mass.,  graduated  in  medicine  at 
Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  School,  New  York,  in  1879,  and  practiced 
in  Newport,  R.  I.,  from  December  30,  1879,  until  the  summer  of  1889, 
when  he  removed  to  Yarmouth,  where  he  is  now  located.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1881,  he  was  appointed  A.  A.  surgeon  in  the  United  States 
marine  hospital  service  which  position  he  held  while  in  Newpprt. 
He  was  also  four  years  surgeon  of  the  Newport  Artillery  Company, 
by  appointment  of  Governor  Wetmore,  with  the  rank  of  major.  Doctor 
Sears  married,  August  23, 1881,  Marianna  B.,  daughter  of  Danforth  P.W. 
and  Angeline  (Bearse)  Parker  of  Barnstable,  and  has  three  children. 

Dr.  Joseph  Seabury,  second  son  of  Ichabod  Seabury,  studied  med- 
icine with  Doctor  Fessenden  of  Brewster,  located  in  Orleans  in  1782, 
practiced  there  seventeen  years,  and  died  March  27,  1800. 

Dr.  Benjamin  Seabury  succeeded  his  father,  Dr.  Joseph  Seabury, 
as  physician  in  Orleans  and  vicinity,  practiced  there  until  April,  1837, 
when  he  removed  to  Boston,  and  subsequently  to  Charlestown,  where 
he  practiced  until  the  time  of  his  death,  September  16,  1853. 

Benjamin  F.  Seabury,  M.D.,  son  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Seabury,  suc- 
ceeded his  father  as  physician  and  surgeon  in  Orleans  from  1837  until 
his  death  there  February  26,  1890.  He  studied  medicine  with  his 
father  and  at  the  medical  school  of  Harvard  University  from  which 
he  graduated.  His  only  son  is  Samuel  W.  Seabury,  now  in  command 
of  a  ship  from  San  Francisco  to  Australia. 

Dr.  John  Seabury,  fourth  son  of  Dr.  Joseph  Seabury,  born  Febru- 
ary 4,  1790,  practiced  in  Chatham  fifteen  years,  then  removed  to  South- 
bridge,  Mass.,  and  subsequently  to  Camden,  N.  C,  where  he  died. 


244  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Dr.  George  Shove  was  born  in  Sandwich,  October  14,  1817,  where 
he  was  at  one  time  a  teacher  in  the  school  of  Paul  Wing.  He  was  ed- 
ucated to  the  profession  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1846  he 
became  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  and  of  the 
Barnstable  County  Society,  in  which  latter  he  was  president.  He  was 
eight  years  surgeon  of  the  United  States  Marine  Hospital  at  Hyannis. 
His  practice  was  extensive,  reaching  from  Cotuit  Port  to  Orleans,  al- 
though he  resided  at  Yarmouth,  where  he  married,  November  11, 1849, 
Lucy,  daughter  of  Captain  John  Eldridge.  Dr.  Shove's  parents  were 
Enoch  and  Desire  (Cobb)  Shove  of  Sandwich.  On  the  occasion  of  his 
death  the  Barnstable  District  Medical  Society  recorded  resolutions, 
including  this  :  "  The  community  in  which  his  entire  professional  life 
was  passed  has  experienced  a  loss  well  nigh  irreparable,  and  will  .hold 
his  name  in  grateful  remembrance  for  his  publidBpirit  and  enterprise, 
resulting  in  little  pecuniary  advantage  to  himself  but  in  great  good 
to  the  toiling  and  destitute." 

Marshall  E.  Simmons,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Wareham,  Mass.,  and 
graduated  from  Harvard  Medical  College  about  1861.  He  entered  the 
army  as  assistant  surgeon  of  the  Twenty-second  Regiment,  Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers,  July  29,  1862,  and  was  promoted  to  surgeon  of 
the  same  regiment  December  29,  1862.  He  resigned  his  commission 
the  27th  of  August,  1863,  and  practiced  medicine  in  Chatham  until 
February,  1870,  when  he  left  to  reside  in  one  of  the  Western  states. 
He  was  twice  married.  His  last  wife,  the  only  daughter  of  Gap- 
tain  George  Eldredge  of  Chatham,  he  married  August  4,  1869. 
He  subsequently  returned  to  Wareham,  Mass.,  where  died  in  May, 
1874. 

Dr.  Thomas  Smith,  a  physician  and  surgeon  of  Sandwich,  son  of 
Samuel  and  Bethiah  Smith  of  that  town,  was  born  September  7,  1718, 
and  studied  medicine  in  Hingham.  He  was  eminent  in  his  profes- 
sion.    He  visited  the  sick  far  and  near.     He  had  a  family. 

Dr.  Thomas  Starr  was  among  the  first  comers  to  Yarmouth.  He 
was  not  in  sympathy  with  the  first  settlers,  being  regarded  as  rather 
latitudinarian  in  his  principles,  and  was  once  fined  for  being  what 
was  regarded  as  "  a  scoffer  and  jeerer  at  religion."  Justice  compels 
the  statement  that  this  simply  consisted  in  preferring  another  minis- 
ter to  Rev.  Mr.  Matthews,  and  giving  his  reasons  therefor.  He  left 
town  about  1650,  there  being  insufficient  practice  of  his  profession 
for  his  support. 

Dr.  Ezra  Stephenson  practiced  medicine  at  Marston's  Mills  from 
1832  to  1838. 

John  Stetson,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Abington,  Mass.,  and  graduated 
from  Dartmouth  Medical  College  in  1850.  In  1851  he  commenced  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  West  Harwich,  where  he  still  resides. 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  245 

William  Stone,  M.D.,  was  a  practicing  physician  at  Wellfleet  prior 
to  1843.  His  father,  whose  name  he  bore,  was  also  a  physician  at  En- 
field, Mass.  In  locating  at  Wellfleet,  William  Stone  succeeded  Dr. 
James  Townsend,  who  had  been  a  physician  there  for  a  number  of 
yeafs.  Subsequently  he  married  Doctor  Townsend's  widow  and  re- 
moved to  Harvard,  Mass.,  where  he  died. 

Thomas  N.  Stone,  M.D.,  born  in  1818,  was  a  son  of  Dr.  William 
Stone.  He  was  a  graduate  (1840)  of  Bowdoin  College  and  Dartmouth 
Medical  School,  from  which  he  received  his  medical  degree,  October 
24,  1843.  He  practiced  in  Wellfleet  from  the  time  he  graduated  until 
1876,  with  the  exception  of  two  years  in  Truro.  He  removed  from 
Wellfleet  to  Provincetown  in  1875,  where  he  died  May  15,  1876.  He 
was-  a  very  pleasing  speaker  and  writer.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  school  committee  of  Wellfleet- nearly  thirty  years,  repre- 
sentative in  1873,  and  state  senator  in  1874  and  1875.  His  first 
marriage  was  with  Hannah  D.,  daughter  of  William  N.  Atwood. 
Their  two  sons  were  William  N.  Stone,  M.D.,  and  Thomas  N.,  de- 
ceased. His  second  wife  was  Nancy  B.,  another  daughter  of  William 
N.  Atwood.  Their  two  daughters,  one  Helen  L.  (Mrs.  F.  H.  Crowell 
of  Nebraska),  and  Anabel  (widow  of  E.  W.  Snow). 

William  N.  Stone,  M.D.,  born  in  1845  in  Truro,  is  a  son  of  Thomas 
N.  Stone,  M.D.,  and  a  grandson  of  William  Stone,  M.D.  He  attended 
Lawrence  Academy  two  years  and  Wilbraham  Academy  one  year, 
then  took  a  four  years'  course  at  Harvard  Medical  College  graduating 
in  June,  1869.  He  began  practice  in  Wellfleet  in  1869  with  his  father, 
who  retired  six  years  later,  leaving  a  large  practice  to  the  young  doc- 
tor. He  married  Adeline  Hamblin  and  has  two  children — Thomas 
N.  and  Adeline  H. 

Dr.  Jeremiah  Stone,  son  of  Captain  Shubael  and  Esther  (Wildes) 
Stone,  was  born  November  2,  1798,  and  was  a  prominent  physician  of 
Provincetown. 

Dr.  Alfred  Swift,  son  of  Thomas,  was  born  in  North  Rochester, 
Mass.,  March  3,  1797;  studied  medicine  with  his  brother  in  Vermont; 
came  to  Harwich  first,  and  then  removed  to  Dennis,  about  1828,  where 
he  died  July  27,  1875.  His  wife,  Elizabeth  Jane  Gray  of  Martha's 
Vineyard,  died  September  9,  1871.  He  had  an  adopted  son,  Charles 
Haskell  Swift,  who  married  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Brooks,  daughter  of  Heman 
Baxter,  and  now  lives  in  Dennis.  Doctor  Swift  is  best  remembered 
for  his  kindness  to  the  poor. 

Dr.  James  Thacher,  was  born  in  Barnstable,  February  14, 1764.  He 
studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Abner  Nersey,  and  entered  the  army  as 
surgeon  in  1775,  serving  seven  and  one-half  years.  At  the  close  of  the 
war  he  married  Susanna  Hayward  of  Bridgewater.  and  settled  in  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Plymouth,  where  he  died  in  May,  1844,  in  his 


246  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

ninety-first  year.     He  published  several  works,  including  his  journal 
while  in  the  revolutionary  war. 

Dr.  Charles  N.  Thayer  was  born  at  Attleboro.  Mass.,  in  1828.  His 
childhood  was  passed  in  Mansfield,  where  his  early  education  was 
received.  His  father,  Simeon  Thayer,  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of 
1812.  His  grandfather,  Isaac  Fuller,  served  in  the  revolution,  and 
he  was  a  non-commissioned  officer  in  Company  I,  Fourth  Massachu- 
setts, during  the  late  rebellion.  On  the  maternal  side  he  traces  his 
ancestry  to  the  Doctor  Fuller  whose  name  is  enrolled  on  the  Puritans' 
monument  at  Plymouth,  Mass.  He  resided  for  some  time  in  Pem- 
broke, Mass.,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  lumber  business,  and  rep- 
resented that  town  in  the  legislature  of  1855.  He  studied  medicine 
with  E.  R.  Sisson,  M.D.,  of  New  Bedford,  and  attended  lectures  in 
Boston.  In  1869  he  opened  an  office  in  Falmouth,  and  established  an 
extensive  practice.  In  1884,  his  health  becoming  impaired,  .part  of 
his  practice  was  dropped  and  a  store  was  opened,  with  the  management 
of  which,  in  connection  with  his  professional  duties,  he  is  now  en- 
gaged. 

Dr.  Townsend  was  a  physician  of  Orleans  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century.  He  had  two  children,  Hannah  and  Julia,  baptized 
at  Orleans  by  Rev.  Mr.  Bascom,  the  former  in  1801,  the  latter  in  1803. 

Henry  Tuck,  M.D.,  of  Barnstable,  was  born  February  16,  1808,  and 
died  June  24,  1845. 

Alexander  T.  Walker,  M.D.,  a  practitioner  of  the  alopathic  school, 
was  born  in  Canada,  in  1844.  He  received  his  early  education  in 
Canada,  and  graduated  from  Dartmouth  College,  N.  H.,  in  1869.  Be- 
fore entering  Dartmouth  he  was  in  New  York  two  years— one  year  in 
the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  and  one  year  in  Bellevue 
Hospital  Medical  College.  Since  graduating  he  has  attended  lectures 
six  seasons — two  courses  in  Bellevue  Medical  College  (one  under  Doc- 
tor Loomis,  in  the  hospital),  one  course  in  Vermont  University  in 
Burlington,  and  two  courses  in  the  medical  department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  the  City  of  New  York.  In  1870  he  located  in  Maine,  but 
came  to  Falmouth  in  1883,  where  he  has  since  practiced. 

James  T.  Walker,  M.D.,  of  Falmouth,  born  April  25,  1850,  at  To- 
ronto, is  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  six  sons,  three  of  whom  are  phy- 
sicians and  the  others  clergymen.  He  was  educated  in  the  Toronto 
city  schools  and  at  eighteen  years  of  age  graduated  from  the  Provin- 
cial Normal  School.  Four  years  later  he  graduated  from  Queen's  Col- 
lege, Toronto,  at  the  head  of  the  class  of  '72,  and  was  chosen  its  val- 
edictorian. In  1873  he  came  to  Martha's  Vineyard  where  he  taught 
school  and  studied  medicine  three  years.  In  1876-7  he  attended  the 
Detroit  Medical  College  and  was  two  seasons  at  Burlington  in  the 
University  of  Vermont,  where  he  was  graduated  in  June,  1879,  and 


MEDICAL   PROFESSION.  247 

■was  again  valedictorian  of  his  class.  His  first  practice  was  at  Mar- 
tha's Vineyard,  whence  in  March,  1880,  he  came  to  Falmouth  as  suc- 
cessor to  Dr.  Lyman  H.  Luce.  Here  he  married  Evangeline  G., 
daughter  of  L  H.  Aiken. 

James  M.  Watson,  M.D.,  of  Falmouth,  was  bom  at  Sangerville, 
Me.,  January  16,  1860.  He  graduated  in  1881  from  Foxcroft  Acad- 
emy and  in  1883  from  Maine  Central  Institute  at  Pittsfield,  Me.  In 
March,  1886,  he  received  his  degree  from  the  medical  department 
of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  also  a  course  in  Bellevue 
Hospital  (under  Prof.  William  N.  Thompson),  and  has  since  practiced 
in  Falmouth.  In  April,  1890,  he  graduated  from  the  Homoeopathic 
Medical  College  and  Hospital  of  New  York.  He  is  a  registered  phar- 
macist and  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  pharmacy. 

George  E.  White,  M.D.,  was  born  in  1849  in  Skowhegan,  Me.,  and 
was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Skowhegan  and  in  the  Eaton  Family 
and  Day  School.  From  1868  to  1877  he  was  in  business  in  Boston. 
In  1877,  he  entered  the  Hahnemann  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia, 
from  which  he  graduated  in  1880,  opening  a  practice  in  Sandwich  the 
same  year,  where  he  has  been  since  that  time.  He  is  a  member  of 
Dewitt  Clinton  Lodge,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  of  which  he  was  master  in 
1884  and  1885.  and  again  in  1889. 

Dr.  Jonas  Whitman,  an  early  physician  of  Barnstable,  was  born  in 
1749,  graduate  of  Yale  in  1772,  and  died  July  30,  1824.  His  father, 
Zachariah,  was  a  son  of  Ebenezer,  whose  father  Thomas,  was  a  son  of 
Deacon  John  Whitman  of  Weymouth.  He  had  three  sons :  John,  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  in  1805  ;  Josiah,  M.D.,  at  Harvard  in  1816;  and 
Cyrus  Whitman. 

Timothy  Wilson,  M.D.,  was  born  in  Shapleigh,  Me.,  July  27,  1811, 
and  died  in  Orleans,  Mass.,  July  18, 1887.  His  education  was  obtained 
in  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  and  at  the  academy  in  Al- 
fred, Me.  He  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  the  ofiBce  of  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Lewis  of  Shapleigh,  afterward  attending  the  medical  departments 
of  Dartmouth  and  Bowdoin  Colleges,  graduating  from  the  latter  in 
1840.  He  settled  in  Ossipee,  N.  H.,  but  was  forced  to  leave  on  account 
of  the  long,  severe  winters,  and  look  for  a  more  congenial  climate,  the 
result  of  which,  was  his  settling  in  Orleans  in  the  summer  of  1848, 
where  he  continued  in  active  practice  until  failing  health  forced  him 
to  abandon  it  about  one  year  preceding  his  death.  He  always  took  a 
lively  interest  in  matters  pertaining  to  education.  In  early  life  he 
took  an  active  part  in  politics,  being  a  strong  anti-slavery  whig,  until 
the  formation  of  the  republican  party,  with  which  he  ever  after  acted. 

Besides  these  physicians  already  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  are 
others  concerning  whom  no  information  has  been  obtained  save  the 
fact  that  they  at  some  time  practiced  medicine  in  the  county.     Con- 


248  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

cerning  some  of  them,  traditions  might  be  given  ;  but  nothing  sufiB- 
ciently  authentic  to  merit  a  place  here.  The  apocryphal  names  are  : 
James  Ayer,  N.  Barrows,  J.  W.  Baxter,  John  Batchelder,  Jonathan 
Bemis,  Jonathan  Berry,  John  E.  Bruce,  W.  F.  S.  Brackett,  J.  W.  Clift, 
J.  W.  Crocker,  Bart.  Cushman,  N.  B.  Danforth,  D.  W.  Davis,  D.  Dim- 
mock,  Daniel  Doane,  J.  B.  Everett,  Benjamin  Fearing,  J.  B.  Forsyth, 
C.  A.  Goldsmith,  John  Harper,  J.  L.  Lothrop,  Ivory  H.  Lucas,  J.  W. 
Nickerson,  John  M.  Smith,  W.  O.  G.  Springer,  Henry  Willard,  Ben- 
nett Wing,  and  Edward  Wooster. 

By  chapter  26  of  the  Public  Statutes  of  Massachusetts,  Barnstable 
county  was  divided  into  three  medical  districts,  in  each  of  which  an 
"  able  and  discreet  man  learned  in  the  science  of  medicine  shall  be 
appointed,  whose  term  of  office  shall  be  seven  years."  District  1,  em- 
braces the  towns  of  Harwich,  Dennis,  Yarmouth,  Brewster,  Chatham, 
Orleans  and  Eastham ;  district  2,  Barnstable,  Bourne,  Sandwich, 
Mashpee  and  Falmouth ;  district  3,  Provincetown,  Truro  and  Well- 
fleet.  The  medical  examiners  now  in  office  are :  Drs.  George  N.  Mun- 
sell  of  Harwich,  Franklin  W.  Pierce  of  Barnstable,  and  Willis  W. 
Gleason  of  Provincetown. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


LITERATURE  AND  LITERARY  PEOPLE. 


By  Hon.  Charles  F.  Swift, 
President  of  the  Barnstable  County  Historical  Society. 


Early  Writers. — Freeman's  History  of  Cape  Cod. — Other  Local  Works. — Poetry. — Fic- 
tion.— Occasional  Writers. — The  Newspapers  of  Barnstable  County. 


THE  intelligence  and  capacity  of  the  people  of  the  Cape  have  not, 
heretofore,  been  evinced  so  much  in  what  they  have  said,  as  in 
what  they  have  dared  and  accomplished.  The  founders  of  her 
towns  were  not  usually  men  of  literary  taste  or  acquirements,  except 
her  clergy,  who  ranked  well  with  those  of  their  class  in  other  parts  of 
the  colony.  It  was  some  time  after  they  had  settled  the  towns,  sub- 
dued the  wild  face  of  nature,  and  helped  to  conquer  the  savage  foe, 
before  they  turned  their  attention  to  scholarship.  Then  it  was  that 
the  fisheries  on  their  shores  helped  to  found  and  maintain  the  first 
public  grammar  school  established  by  the  colony.  It  was,  indeed, 
the  chief  reliance  of  that  enterprise. 

The  first  of  their  written  compositions  which  are  extant  are  in  the 
form  of  sermons,  and  of  these  it  may  be  said,  that  their  style  was  as 
rugged  and  forbidding  to  our  present  taste,  as  were  the  ideas  they 
were  intended  to  convey.  In  hours  of  deep  affliction  the  fathers 
sometimes  essayed  to  woo  the  muses.  The  earliest  specimen  of  ele- 
gaic  verse  preserved,  is  found  in  the  lines  composed  on  the  death  of 
his  accomplished  wife,  by  Governor  Thomas  Hinckley,  of  which  pro- 
duction Mr.  Palfrey  says,  "  It  breathes  not,  indeed,  the  most  tuneful 
spirit  of  song,  but  the  very  tenderest  soul  of  affection." 

Dr.  John  Osborn,  born  in  Sandwich  in  1713,  a  son  of  Rev.  Samuel 
Osborn,  minister  for  some  time  of  the  south  precinct  of  Eastham, 
wrote  a  Whaling  Song,  which  has  obtained  celebrity.  It  is  quite  an  ad- 
vance, in  literary  finish,  upon  anything  preceding  it  which  had  been 
produced  by  a  Cape  Cod  writer.     The  opening  lines  are: 

"  When  spring  returns  with  western  gales, 
And  gentle  breezes  sweep 
The  ruffling  seas,  we  spread  our  sails, 
To  plough  the  wat'ry  deep." 


250  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Then  follow  seventeen  stanzas,  which  describe,  in  spirited  style,  the 
pursuit,  killing  and  capture  of  the  monsters  of  the  deep. 

Rev.  Thomas  Prince,  the  distinguished  author  of  New  Englatid's 
Annals  and  Chronology,  a  native  of  Sandwich  and  a  grandson  of  Gov- 
ernor Hinckley,  produced  a  work  of  exceeding  value.  In  the  opinion 
of  Doctor  Chauncy,  "  No  one  in  New  England  had  more  learning  ex- 
cept Cotton  Mather."  He  published  other  works,  though  the  Atinals 
is  esteemed  the  most  important. 

James  Otis,  jr.,  called  "  the  patriot,"  besides  being  a  peerless  ora- 
tor, was  the  author  of  several  important  political  treatises,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  his  Rights  of  the  Colonies  Vindicated,  which 
was  styled  "  a  masterpiece  of  good  writing  and  argument." 

Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  West,  a  native  of  Yarmouth,  for  some  time  a  school- 
master in  Barnstable  and  Falmouth,  was  removed  for  his  metaphysical 
and  controversial  talents,  as  well  as  for  his  great  learning  and  pro- 
found scholarship.  "  He  was,"  said  Dr.  Timothy  Alden,  jr.,  "  as  re- 
markable for  his  mental  powers,  as  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  the  great 
biographer  and  moralist.  He  was  supposed  to  have  much  resembled 
him  in  personal  appearance,  and  with  the  same  literary  advantages, 
would  unquestionably  have  equalled  him  for  reputation  in  the  learned 
world."  He  wrote  several  important  tracts  during  the  revolutionary 
period. 

Rev.  Dr.  Timothy  Alden,  jr.,  a  native  of  Yarmouth  and  president 
of  Alleghany  College,  Meadville,  Pa.,  about  the  middle  of  the  century 
published  the  Collection  of  American  Epitaphs,  in  four  volumes,  a  book 
which  contained  a  fund  of  interesting  and  valuable  information.  Rev. 
James  Freeman,  D.D.,  minister  of  the  Stone  Chapel,  Boston,  a  native 
of  Truro,  contributed,  soon  after  this  time,  a  series  of  most  important 
papers  relating  to  the  history  of  the  towns  of  the  county  and  published 
in  the  collections  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  These 
papers  are  still  quoted  and  relied  upon  as  authority  on  the  subjects 
to  which  they  are  devoted. 

With  such  a  record  for  enterprise,  adventure,  patriotism  and  iden- 
tification with  the  great  movements  of  the  age  as  the  Cape  presents, 
it  would  be  strange  if  there  were  not  others  of  her  sons  who  should 
attempt  to  do  her  honor,  or  at  least  justice.  In  1858,  Rev.  Freder- 
ick Freeman,  of  Sandwich,  commenced  the  publication  of  a.  History 
of  Cape  Cod.  The  book  was  finally  completed,  in  two  large  volumes, 
and  to  all  time  must  be  the  foundation  upon  which  other  works  of 
the  kind  will  be  based.  The  difficulties  in  Mr.  Freeman's  way  were 
numerous ;  he  had  to  begin  without  any  considerable  previous  aid ; 
he  was  justly  emulous  of  the  fame  of  his  illustrious  ancestors ;  and 
being  himself  a  minister  of  the  church  of  England,  it  seemed  to 
some  that  he  did  tardy  and  stinted  justice  to  the  Pilgrim  and  Puri- 


LITERATURE   AND   LITERARY    PEOPLE.  251 

tan  elements.  Some  of  the  important  epochs  were  not  written  up 
with  the  fullness  and  elaboration  of  the  others.  But  despite  these 
drawbacks  Mr.  Freeman's  book  will  always  be  quoted,  as  the  first 
filial  attempt  of  any  Cape  Cod  man  to  do  appropriate  honor  to  the 
memory  of  the  pioneers  and  their  successors,  and  as  such  should  be 
held  in  high  estimation. 

Rev.  Enoch  Pratt,  in  1842,  published  his  history  of  Eastham,  Well- 
fleet  and  Orleans.  There  is  much  in  it  which  is  interesting,  unique 
and  worthy  of  preservation.  Mr.  Shebnah  Rich,  in  his  Truro,  Cape 
Cod,  has  embodied  in  an  original  form,  and  attractive  rhetoric,  a 
mass  of  important  information  respecting  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing towns  of  the  Old  Colony.  In  1861,  Mr.  Amos  Otis  commenced  a 
series  of  articles  in  the  Barnstable  Patriot,  respecting  the  history  of 
the  Barnstable  Families.  Nothing  has  yet  been  published  which 
evinces  so  familiar  an  acquaintance  with  the  habits,  manners,  motives 
and  impelling  principles  of  the  pioneers  of  the  town  as  these  sketches, 
by  one  of  their  descendants.  They  will  always  be  referred  to  as 
authority  on  the  points  which  they  discuss,  and  be  regarded  as  a 
monument  to  the  intelligence,  zeal  and  industry  of  their  author.  In 
1884,  Charles  F.  Swift  published  a  history  of  Old  Yarmouth,  including 
the  towns  of  Yarmouth  and  Dennis;  in  one  volume,  283  pages.  Mr. 
Swift  has  also  published  a  Fourth  of  July  oration,  1858,  a  continua- 
tion of  Barnstable  Families,  several  occasional  addresses,  and  contribu- 
tions to  magazines  and  newspapers,  principally  on  biographical  and 
historical  subjects.  The  sketches  of  the  History  of  Falmouth  up  ta 
1812,  by  the  late  Charles  W.  Jenkins,  were  issued  in  a  collected  form 
by  the  Falmouth  Local  press  in  1889.  They  were  written  before  so- 
much  was  known  as  has  since  transpired  about  the  early  history  of 
the  town,  and  the  book  is  a  filial  and  creditable  work.  Mr.  Josiah 
Paine  of  Harwich,  who  contributes  to  this  work  the  chapters  on  the 
history  of  Harwich  and  Brewster,  has  written  with  intelligence  and 
discrimination,  other  important  historical  papers,  for  the  newspapers 
and  magazines,  and  has  a  manuscript  collection  of  great  value  re- 
garding old  Harwich  and  its  people.  Mr.  Joshua  H.  Paine,  his  brother, 
has  also  written  an  exhaustive  unpublished  account  of  the  War  of 
1812  in  its  relation  to  Harwich.  His  contribution  on  that  topic  to  the 
present  volume  appears  at  page  76. 

In  other  departments  of  literary  eflfort  the  natives  of  the  Cape 
have  somewhat  distinguished  themselves.  The  early  bards  of  the 
county  have  already  been  alluded  to.  Several  others  remain  to  be 
noticed.  Daniel  Barker  Ford,  son  of  Dr.  Oliver  Ford  of  Hyannis,who 
was  an  apprentice  in  the  Yarmouth  /?^^w/^r  office  about  1842-4,  evinced 
much  poetic  and  rhetorical  talent.  His  best  known  piece,  ''A  Lay  of 
Cape  Cod," -was  modeled  in  style  and  treatment  f  rom  Whittier's  Lays  of 


•252  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Labor,  and  was  a  most  spirited  and  stirring  production.     A  few  of  its 
inspiring  lines  are  quoted  : 

"  Hurrah  I  for  old  Cape  Cod, 

With  its  sandy  hills  and  low, 
Where  the  waves  of  ocean  thunder, 

And  the  winds  of  heaven  blow; 
Where  through  summer  and  through  winter, 

Through  sunshine  and  thro'  rain, 
The  hardy  Cape  man  plies  his  task 

Upon  the  heaving  main. 

"  Hurrah  I  for  the  maids  and  matrons 

That  grace  our  sandy  home. 
As  gentle  as  the  summer  breeze, 

As  fair  as  ocean's  foam  ; 
Whose  glances  fall  upon  the  hearty 

Like  sunlight  on  the  waters  ; 
Who're  brighter  in  the  festal  ball 

Than  France's  brightest  daughters." 

Dr.  Thomas  N.  Stone  of  Wellfleet,  published  in  1869,  a  volume, 
entitled  Cape  Cod  Rhymes.  He  possessed  the  true  poetic  temperament, 
was  witty,  pathetic,  and  alive  to  the  sights  and  scenes  of  nature 
around  him.  He  also  wrote  and  delivered  felicitous  occasional  orations 
and  addresses.  Asa  S.  Phinney,  also  a  printer  in  the  office  of  the  Yar- 
mouth Register,  in  1845  collected  and  issued  a  little  pamphlet.  Accepted 
Addresses,  etc.  There  were  twenty-four  pieces  in  all,  some  of  which 
evinced  considerable  poetic  ability.  Mr.  Phinney  was  also  a  frequent 
and  welcome  contributor  to  the  Cape  newspapers. 

Mrs.  Francis  E.  Swift  of  Falmouth,  has  written  for  several  years 
for  the  current  magazines  and  newspapers,  under  the  nom  de  plume, 
"  Fanny  Fales."  She  published,  in  1853,  Voices  of  the  Heart,  and  has  a 
large  number  of  superior  compositions  not  yet  in  a  collected  form. 
Mrs.  Swift  is  not  only  an  easy  and  graceful  versifier,  but  has  shown  a 
higher  poetic  fancy  and  a  deeper  insight  into  the  emotions  and  feel- 
ings of  the  human  heart.  We  present  a  single  specimen  in  her  reflec- 
tions upon  Longfellow's  line  "  Into  each  Life  some  Rain  must  Fall." 

"If  this  were  all,  O  if  this  were  all, 
That '  Into  each  life  some  rain  must  fall ' — 
There  were  fainter  sobs  in  the  Poet's  rhyme. 
There  were  fewer  wrecks  on  the  shores  Of  time. 

"  But  tempests  of  woe  pass  over  the  soul. 
Fierce  winds  of  anguish  we  cannot  control ; 
And  shock  after  shock  we  are  called  to  bear, 
TUl  the  lips  are  white  with  the  heart's  despair. 

"  O,  the  shores  of  time  with  wrecks  are  strown, 
Unto  the  ear  comes  ever  a  moan, 
Wrecks  of  hopes  that  sail  with  glee. 
Wrecks  of  loves  sinking  silently  ! 


LITERATURE  AND  LITERARY  PEOPLE.  253 

"  Many  are  hidden  from  mortal  eye, 
Only  God  knoweth  how  deep  they  lie  ; 
Only  God  heard  when  the  cry  went  up  ; 
'  Help  me  I  take  from  me  this  bitter  cup ! ' 

"  'Into  each  life  some  rain  must  fall' — 
If  this  were  all,  O,  if  this  were  all  I 
Yet  there  is  a  Refuge  from  storm  and  blast. 
We  may  hide  in  the  Rock  till  the  woe  is  past. 

"  Be  strong  I  be  strong  I  to  my  heart  1  cry, 
A  pearl  in  the  wounded  shell  doth  lie  ; 
Days  of  sunshine  are  g^ven  to  all. 
Though  '  Into  each  life  some  rain  must  fall.'" 

Prof.  Alonzo  Tripp,  a  native  of  Harwich,  wrote  in  1853  a  book  of 
European  travels  entitled  Crests  from  the  Ocean  World,  which  had  a  sale 
of  60,000  copies.  Afterward  he  wrote  a  local  novel,  entitled  The  Fisher 
Boy,  which  had  a  large  sale,  and  many  appreciative  readers.  He  has 
since  delivered  lectures  on  European  events,  in  almost  every  consid- 
erable place  in  the  country,  which  have  attracted  audiences  of  culture 
and  discrimination.  He  has  now  in  press  a  series  of  Historical  Por- 
traitures, which  will  take  high  rank  in  the  contemporaneous  literature 
of  the  country. 

In  fictitious  narrative.  Rev.  N.  H.  Chamberlain,  a  native  of  Sand- 
wich, has  published.  Autobiography  of  a  New  England  Farm  House,  the 
scenes  of  which  are  laid  in  that  part  of  Sandwich  now  Bourne.  It 
is  a  reproduction,  in  agreeable  and  picturesque  style,  of  many  local 
incidents  and  traditions.  He  has  also  written  The  Sphinx  of  Aubery 
Parish  and  a  book  entitled  Samuel  Sewell  and  The  World  he  Lived  in, 
several  polemic  church  pamphlets,  book  notices,  lectures  and  his- 
torical discourses.  At  page  8  of  this  volume  is  a  fragment  revealing 
at  once  his  keen  appreciation  of  the  Cape  character  and  his  happy 
style  as  a  descriptive  writer. 

Some  thirty  years  ago.  Captain  Benjamin  F.  Bourne,  who  had  been 
a  prisoner  in  Southern  South  America,  wrote  and  published  a  book 
entitled.  The  Captive  in  Patagonia.  It  was  a  volume  of  thrilling  inter- 
est and  had  an  enormous  sale.  Even  at  this  day  it  is  frequently  called 
for  at  the  book-stores,  and  is  read  with  as  much  interest  as  when  fresh 
from  the  press. 

Charles  F.  Chamberlayne,  Esq.,  of  Bourne,  has  edited  a  law  book 
entitled,  Best's  Principles  of  the  Law  of  Evidetue,  which  under  the 
name  of  Chamberlayne' s Best,  has  been  adopted  as  the  standard  author- 
ity in  most  of  the  law  schools  of  the  country. 

Sylvester  Baxter,  a  native  of  Yarmouth,  has  been  for  many  years 
one  of  the  stafif  writers  of  the  Boston  Herald.  In  1883  and  1884  he 
went  to  Mexico,  as  editor  of  The  Financier  of  that  city,  and  also  cor- 
respondent of  the  Herald.     He  has  contributed  considerably  for  the 


"254  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

magazines  in  the  way  of  essays,  poetry,  sketches  of  travel  and  short 
stories,  and  although  his  writings  have  not  been  collected,  some  of 
them  havfe  appeared  in  pamphlet  form;  among  them  an  illustrated 
■description  of  the  Morse  Collection  of  Japatiese  Pottery,  and  Berlin;  a 
Study  of  Gertnan  Municipal  Government;  both  of  them  published  by  the 
Essex  Institute,  Salem.  Here  is  one  of  Mr.  Baxter's  short  poems, 
from  the  Atlantic  Monthly  of  October,  1875,  entitled  "  October  Days"  : 
"  The  maples  in  the  forest  glow. 

And  on  the  lawn  the  fall-flowers  blaze. 

The  mild  air  has  a  purple  haze; 
My  heart  is  filled  with  warmth  and  glow. 

"  like  living  coals  the  red  leaves  burn; 
They  fall — then  turns  the  red  to  rust; 
They  crumble,  like  the  coals,  to  dust. 
Warm  heart,  must  thou  to  ashes  bum  ?" 

It  only  remains  to  remark  that  the  paternal  parent  of  John  How- 
ard Payne,  the  author  of  "  Home,  Sweet  Home,"  was  of  Cape  Cod 
origin,  and  that  Harvey  Birch,  the  prototype  of  Cooper's  "Spy," 
originated  in  Harwich,  his  real  name  being  Enoch  Crosby,  and  his 
actual  experience  being  matched  by  all  the  incidents  recounted  in 
this  most  characteristic  of  the  author's  works.  Though  not  himself 
the  creator  of  one  of  the  most  striking  personalities  in  modem  fiction, 
he  was  what  is  still  better,  the  original  of  this  most  prominent  char- 
acter. 

Other  natives  in  professional  and  business  life,  but  not  devoted  to 
literature  as  a  pursuit,  have  contributed  valuable  writings  to  the  press 
in  their  leisure  and  unengrossed  hours.  Of  these  it  may  be  proper  to 
name:  Rev.  Osborn  Myrick  of  Provincetown,  a  prolific  writer  to  the 
county  newspapers;  Frederick  W.  Crocker  of  Barnstable,  who  wrote 
severel  witty  poems  of  high  literary  merit  for  occasional  meetings 
and  public  gatherings;  Frederick  W.  Crosby  of  Barnstable,  a  writer 
of  sketches,  essays  and  stories  in  the  leading  Boston  and  New  York 
journals,  whose  career  was  prematurely  cut  short  in  the  most  useful 
period  of  his  life;  Benjamin  Dyer,  jr.,  of  Truro,  an  officer  in  the  vol- 
unteer navy,  who  evinced  a  high  degree  of  descriptive  talent;  and 
E.  S.  Whittemore,  Esq.,  of  Sandwich,  the  author  of  the  chapter  on 
the  Bench  and  Bar  in  this  volume. 

Hon.  John  B.  D.  Cogswell  of  Yarmouth,  who  touched  no  subject 
he  did  not  elucidate  and  adorn,  wrote  as  an  introduction  to  the  Atlas 
of  Barnstable  County  (1880)  an  outline  of  county  history,  which  is  a 
valuable  and  interesting  epitome.  He  also  delivered  a  number 
-of  well-considered,  elegantly  composed  public  addresses  and  lectures, 
some  of  which  have  been  published.  Matthew  Arnold  said  of  him 
-that  he  was  the  most  gifted  man  he  met  in  America,  forming  his  judg- 
ment from  Mr.  Cogswell's  accomplishment  as  a  conversationalist. 


/2^/    <y^    /^^^z<j^* 


e,     BIERSTAOT.    N.    V. 


LITERATURE  AND   LITERARY   PEOPLE.  255 

Sidney  Brooks,  of  Harwich,  was  also  a  writer  of  intelligence  and 
great  enthusiasm  upon  local  history  and  topographical  description. 
Rev.  John  W.  Dodge,  has  composed  hymns  and  discourses  which  are 
always  of  interest  from  their  scholarship  and  literary  finish.  Captain 
Thomas  P.  Howes,  of  Dennis,  has  produced  sea  sketches,  historical 
portraitures,  and  vivid  descriptions  of  travel  and  adventure,  which  if 
collected  in  a  volume  would  meet  with  rapid  and  extensive  apprecia- 
tion. Mrs.  Mary  M.  Bray,  a  native  of  Yarmouth,  whose  250th  anni- 
versary poem  there  has  met  such  universal  admiration,  had  be- 
fore written  some  graceful  poems  and  sketches  of  distant  places,  for 
the  journals  of  the  day.  Miss  Gertrude  Alger,  a  young  poet  of  merit, 
who  has  just  passed  into  the  spiritual  world,  has  produced  some  grace- 
ful and  finished  poems,  one  or  two  of  which  have  found  their  place 
in  the  current  collections  of  contemporaneous  poetry.  Hon.  Henry 
A.  Scudder  and  Hon.  George  Marston,  of  Barnstable,  better  known  as 
lawyers,  also  delivered  addresses  and  orations  which  commanded  at- 
tention from  their  style  and  treatment  of  important  public  questions. 
Philip  H.  Sears,  Esq.,  a  native  of  Dennis,  has  delivered  several  public 
addresses,  one  of  the  most  important  of  which,  on  the  celebration  of 
the  2.'50th  anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  Old  Yarmouth,  was  a  fin- 
ished and  thoughtful  presentation  of  the  subject.  Azariah  Eldridge, 
D.D.,  of  Yarmouth,  besides  his  pulpit  discourses,  wrote  several  public 
addresses  which  have  commanded  the  attention  of  thoughtful  read- 
ers and  thinkers.  A  memorial  volume,  containing  a  brief  memoir  of 
Doctor  Eldridge,  by  C.  F.  Swift,  Rev.  Mr.  Dodge's  sermon  at  his  obse- 
ques  and  various  letters  and  notices  by  personal  friends,  has  been 
prepared  for  private  circulation  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Eldridge. 

Two  school  books  which  had  a  high  reputation  in  their  day,  were 
prepared  by  old-time  Cape  teachers.  Rev.  Jonathan  Burr,  of  Sand- 
wich, pastor  of  the  First  church  and  preceptor  of  Sandwich  Academy, 
about  the  close  of  the  last  century  was  the  author  of  a  Compendium  of 
English  Grammar,  which  occupied  a  leading  position  in  the  schools  in 
this  portion  of  the  state  for  many  years.  Mr.  Burr  was  a  man  of  much 
natural  ability  and  scholarship.  Captain  Zenas  Weeks,  of  Marston's 
Mills,  a  prominent  man  in  his  day,  a  school  teacher  and  music  teacher, 
was  the  author  of  a  text  book  on  English  grammar,  issued  about  the 
year  1833. 

In  1854,  Mrs.  A.  M.  Richards,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Benjamin 
Hallet  of  Osterville,  wrote  a  volume  of  140  pages,  which  was  pub- 
lished by  Gould  &  Lincoln,  Boston,  entitled  Memoirs  of  a  Grandmother; 
by  a  Lady  of  Massachusetts.  It  was  an  autobiography,  and  contained 
graphic  sketches  of  incidents  and  individuals,  some  of  whom  are  well 
known  to  the  public.  Interspersed  in  the  narrative  are  a  number  of 
metrical  compositions  of  a  high  order  of  poetical  merit. 


256  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNRY. 

In  1888,  a  volume  entitled,  Biographical  sketch  of  Sylvanus  B.  Phin- 
ney,  was  issued  on  the  80th  anniversary  of  his  birthday.  The  volume 
contains  a  sketch  of  his  life,  letters  from  Revs.  Edward  E.  Hale  and 
A.  Nickerson,  and  public  addresses  and  papers  prepared  by  Mr.  Phin- 
ney. 

Joseph  Story  Fay,  Esq.,  of  Woods  HoU,  published  in  1878  a  little 
monograph  entitled.  The  Track  of  the  Norsmen,  in  which  he  very  in- 
geniously argues  that  these  Scandinavian  navigators  visited  the 
locality  since  known  as  Wood's  Hole,  and  that  the  proper  name  of 
the  locality  is  Wood's  Holl  (meaning  hill),  which  name,  through  his 
efforts,  it  now  bears.  Mr.  Fay,  who  is  an  enthusiastic  arborator  as 
well  as  a  gentleman  of  literary  tastes  and  pursuits,  has  delivered  ad- 
dresses relating  to  his  experiences  in  planting  and  rearing  forest 
trees  on  his  estate  at  Woods  Holl. 

Rev.  J.  G.  Gammons  issued  in  1888,  a  monograph  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  of  Bourne,  which  sketches  the  rise  and  growth  of 
Methodism,  and  preserves  many  interesting  reminiscences  of  the 
pioneers  of  this  sect  on  Cape  Cod  and  elsewhere,  especially  in  the 
town  of  Bourne. 

A  Genealogy  of  the  Burgess  family,  from  Thomas  Burgess  who 
settled  in  Sandwich  in  1637,  to  the  year  1865,  was  issued  at  that  date, 
by  E.  Burgess  of  Dedham.  It  was  a  private  edition,  printed  for  the 
author,  and  contained  196  pages  and  has  over  4,600  names  of  the  fam- 
ily and  branches,  with  several  lithographic  portraits. 

George  Eldridge,  of  Chatham,  in  1880  published  a  work  of  Sailing 
Directions  for  Navigators,  followed  by  other  editions  in  1884  and  1886. 
In  1889  he  published  Eldridge's  Tide  and  Current  Book.  These  publi- 
cations, together  with  Mr.  Eldridge's  charts,  are  the  most  valuable 
works  of  the  class  extant,  and  are  looked  upon  as  standard  authority 
by  navigators,  and  adopted  by  the  naval  authorities  of  the  country. 

Mr.  Gustavus  A.  Hinckley  has  reproduced  for  publication  in  the 
Barnstable  Patriot,  the  inscriptions  on  the  ancient  grave-stones  in 
the  old  Barnstable  cemetery,  engraving  the  blocks  very  neatly  with 
his  own  hand,  and  compiling  information  to  accompany  the  cuts.  He 
has  also  compiled  a  manuscript  History  of  Barnstable  in  the  Civil  War. 

In  1866,  Mrs.  Caroline  (Thacher)  Perry,  of  Yarmouth,  collected  a 
volume  of  short  stories  which  she  had  contributed  to  the  New  Church 
Magazine  for  Children,  and  they  were  published,  with  illu.strations,  by 
Nichols  &  Noyes,  of  Boston,  under  the  title,  Efie  Gray  and  other  Short 
Stories  for  Little  Children.  These  stories  possessed  the  rare  merit  in 
juvenile  literature  of  interesting  the  class  of  readers  for  which  they 
were  designed. 

Rev.  Dr.  William  H.  Ryder,  a  native  of  Provincetown,  who  de- 
ceased in  Chicago  where  he  settled  in  1888,  was  a  pulpit  orator  of 


.    LITERATURE  AND   LITERARY  PEOPLE.  257 

eloquence  and  power,  and  wrote  some  able  articles  for  the  Universalist 
Quarterly.  His  writings,  however,  have  not  appeared  in  a  collected 
form. 

Heman  Doane,  of  Eastham,  has  written  a  number  of  metrical  com- 
positions, a  few  of  which  have  been  published  and  which  possess  a 
good  degree  of  poetic  fancy  and  facility  of  versification.  One  of 
them,  on  the  A?tcient  Pear  Tree  in  East  ham,  ■p\a.nteA  by  Governor  Prince, 
attracted  the  attention  of  Thoreau,  who  quoted  freely  therefrom. 

"  Two  hundred  years  have,  on  the  wings  of  time, 

Passed  with  their  joys  and  woes,  since  thou.  Old  Tree! 
Put  forth  thy  first  leaves  in  this  foreign  clime. 
Transplanted  from  the  soil  beyond  the  sea. 
****** 

"  That  exiled  band  long  since  have  passed  away. 

And  still  Old  Tree  thou  standest  in  the  place 
Where  Pence's  hand  did  plant  thee,  in  his  day, — 

An  undesigned  memorial  of  his  race 
And  time;  of  those  our  honored  fathers,  when 

They  came  from  Plymouth  o'er  and  settled  here; 
Doane,  Higgius,  Snow  and  other  worthy  men. 

Whose  names  their  sons  remember  to  revere." 

James  Gifford,  of  Provincetown,  has  prepared  and  delivered  pub- 
lic addresses  which  have  attracted  attention  by  their  felicity  of  style 
and  fullness  of  information.  That  delivered  at  the  dedication  of  the 
Povincetown  new  town  hall,  in  the  fall  of  1866,  was  published  and 
read  with  interest  and  appreciation.  Levi  Atwood,  of  Chatham,  has 
written  considerably  upon  local  matters.  He  published,  in  1876,  a  con- 
densed history  of  Chatham,  occupying  several  columns  of  small  news- 
paper type,  written  in  an  appreciative  and  discriminating  spirit. 
Nathaniel  Hinckley,  of  Marston's  Mills,  besides  writing  much  and 
ably  for  the  newspapers,  and  delivering  public  addresses,  has  pub- 
lished several  political  pamphlets,  of  considerable  argumentative  force. 
Benjamin  Drew,  a  native  of  Plymouth,  but  connected  by  marriage 
with  a  prominent  family  of  the  Cape,  and  for  some  years  a  resident  here, 
has  at  various  times  written  witty  and  felicitous  verses  on  local  topics, 
one  of  which  pieces,  entitled  "  Bartholomew  Gosnold's  Dream,"  is 
often  quoted  for  its  local  hits.  As  one  of  these  poems  refers  to  the 
christening  of  the  Cape,  a  few  of  its  stanzas  will  be  deemed  appro- 
priate : 

"  There  sailed  an  ancient  mariner. 

Bart  Gosnold  was  he  hight, — 
The  Cape  was  all  a  wilderness 

When  Gosnold  hove  in  sight. " 

"  He  saw  canoes  and  wigwams  rude. 
By  ruder  builders  made, 
Squaws  pounded  samp  about  the  door, 
And  dark  pappooses  played. 
17 


258  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

"  The  hills  were  bold  and  fair  to  view, 
And  covered  o'er  with  trees, 
Said  Gosnold,  '  Bring  a  fishing  line. 
While  lulls  the  evening  breeze. 

"  'I'll  christen  that  there  sandy  shore 
From  the  first  fish  I  take — 
Tautog,  or  toadfish,  cusk  or  cod, 
Horse-mackerel  or  hake, 

"  '  Hard-head  or  haddock,  sculpin,  squid. 
Goose-fish,  pipe-fish  or  cunner, — 
No  matter  what — shall  with  its  name 
Yon  promontory  honor.' 

"  Old  Neptune  heard  the  promise  made, 
Down  dove  the  water-god — 
He  drove  the  mesiner  fish  away 
And  hooked  the  mammoth  cod. 

"  Quick  Gosnold  hauled.    '  Cape— Cape — Cape — Cod.' 
'  Cape  Cod,'  the  crew  cried  louder  ; 
'  Here,  steward  1  take  the  fish  along, 
And  give  the  boys  a  chowder.' '" 

Not  only  has  Cape  Cod  furnished  a  considerable  contribution  of 
the  best  literature  to  the  world,  but  it  has  been  provocative  of  a  good 
deal  of  interesting  writing  from  others,  in  respect  to  its  character- 
istics, both  mental  and  physical.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at, 
that  a  community  so  peculiarly  situated  as  this  should  attract  atten- 
tion and  excite  curiosity.  In  1807,  an  Englishman  named  Kendall 
visited  these  parts  and  published  a  book  in  which  he  devoted  a  liberal 
share  of  space  to  this  county.  Although  it  contained  nothing  very 
striking,  it  embodied  some  interesting  and  curious  information  re- 
specting the  Cape,  at  that  day,  when  intercourse  with  the  world  was 
quite  infrequent  to  the  mass  of  the  people. 

About  1821,  Dr.  Timothy  Dwight,  former  president  ef  Yale  Col- 
lege, published  his  Travels  in  New  England,  in  four  volumes,  a  liberal 
space  being  devoted  to  Cape  Cod.  His  book  was  full  of  information, 
and  appreciative  in  that  part  of  it  devoted  to  the  Cape.  At  a  later 
period  N.  P.  Willis  wrote  for  a  New  York  newspaper,  and  afterward 
embodied  in  a  book,  a  series  of  lively,  touch-and-go  letters,  dealing 
more  particularly  with  the  outward  aspect  of  the  Cape.  Some  of  his 
strictures  gave  offense  and  others  were  more  agreeable  to  the  popular 
taste.  Though  not  profound,  this  book  was  exceedingly  suggestive 
and  entertaining. 

Of  all  the  numerous  publications  of  the  nature  ever  issued  from 
the  press,  Thoreau's  Cape  Cod  is  by  far  the  best,  as  a  literary  produc- 
tion, and  for  genuine  appreciation  of  the  grand  physical  aspects  of 
the  Cape,  and  of  the  true  qualities  of  its  people.  Thoreau  had  a  keen 
relish  for  quaint  and  curious  phases  of  character  as  well  as  of  land- 


LITERATURE  AND   LITERARY   PEOPLE.  259 

scape,  and  his  pictures  of  the  "  Wellfleet  Oysterman  "  and  of  other 
original  people  revealed  the  presence  among  us  of  striking  personali- 
ties. His  admiration  of  the  Cape  is  genuine,  and  his  closing  page 
records  his  conviction  that  "  the  time  must  come  when  this  coast  will 
be  a  place  of  resort  for  all  those  who  wish  to  visit  the  seaside." 
«#  #  *  What  are  springs  and  waterfalls?  Here  is  the  spring  of 
springs  and  the  waterfall  of  waterfalls.  *  *  *  A  man  may  stand 
there  and  put  all  America  behind  him." 

The  Press. — The  newspapers  of  the  Cape  have  been  many,  and 
more  ability  has  been  embodied  in  their  publication  than  has  always 
found  appreciation — of  a  pecuniary  nature.  The  first  newspaper 
published  in  the  county  was  issued  at  Falmouth,  November  21, 
1823,  by  W.  E.  P.  Rogers  under  the  name  of  The  Nautical  Intelligencer. 
It  was  issued  weekly  at  two  dollars  per  year.  In  addition  to  the  news- 
paper, the  publishers  is.sued,  twice  each  week,  extras  containing  the 
marine  news  and  important  arrivals  at  Holme's  Hole,  for  transmis- 
sion to  Boston.  The  paper  also  indulged  in  political  speculations, 
being  a  strong  adherent  of  Mr.  Calhoun  for  President,  for  the  reasons, 
among  others,  that  he  was  "  an  enlightened  friend  of  Internal  Im- 
provements and  Domestic  Manufactures."  This  eulogy  sounds  oddly 
enough  in  view  of  his  subsequent  course.  The  paper  was  printed  on 
a  sheet  18  by  25  inches,  with  four  pages,  containing  four  columns 
each,  16  inches  in  length.  In  its  first  issue  there  was  not  a  single 
item  of  local  news  except  deaths,  marriages  and  ship-news,  and  it  con- 
tained twelve  advertisements.  It  did  not  continue  in  existence  long 
— probably  not  more  than  a  year  and  a  half. 

Removing  his  printing  and  material  to  Barnstable,  Mr.  Rogers  on 
April  13,  1825,  commenced  the  publication  of  the  Barnstable  County 
Gazette.  The  Gazette  had  one  more  column  on  each  page  than  its 
predecessor,  and  a  rather  larger  advertising  patronage.  It  paid  more 
attention  to  local  news ;  but  that  was  not  a  newspaper  reading  age, 
and  its  publication  was  continued  not  over  two  years,  so  far  as  can 
now  be  ascertained. 

In  1826,  the  Barnstable  Journal  was  commenced  by  Nathaniel  S. 
Simpkins.  It  was  a  six-column  newspaper,  containing  a  few  para- 
graphs of  local  news,  considerable  shipping  intelligence,  and  liberal 
extracts  from  the  Boston  and  New  York  newspapers,  also  miscellany 
and  moral  readings.  The  Journal  attained  a  good  circulation.  In  1832 
Mr.  Simpkins  sold  out  the  establishment  to  H.  Underwood  and  C.  C. 
P.  Thompson,  who  published,  for  one  year,  also  a  semi-weekly  paper 
called  the  Cape  Cod  Journal.  In  1834  Mr.  Underwood  became  the  sole 
proprietor  of  the  weekly,  which  in  1837  again  passed  into  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Simpkins,  who  removed  the  plant  to  Yarmouth,  and  established 
the  Register. 


260  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  Barnstable  Patriot  was  established  by  S.  B.  Phinney,  in  1830, 
and  was  conducted  by  him  until  1869,  when  he  sold  out  to  Franklin  B. 
Goss  and  George  H.  Richards.  Subsequently  the  whole  establishment 
was  acquired  by  Mr.  Goss,  who  now  conducts  it,  in  connection  with 
his  son,  F.  Percy  Goss.  The  Patriot,  during  Mr.  Phinney's  connection 
with  it  was  an  active  and  aggressive  democratic  sheet.  Some  time 
after  Mr.  Goss's  assumption  of  the  management  it  espoused  the  re- 
publican cause,  in  which  it  still  maintains  a  lively  interest.  During 
Mr.  Phinney's  proprietorship  of  the  newspaper,  Hon.  Henry  Crocker 
was  a  frequent  editorial  contributor,  mostly  of  political  articles.  In 
1861  the  late  Amos  Otis  contributed  a  series  of  articles  entitled  Genea- 
logical Notes  of  Barnstable  Families,  which  have  been  republished  as  an 
extra  sheet,  and  bound  in  a  book  form  by  Mr.  Goss,  edited  by  C.  F. 
Swift,  who  also  wrote  a  continuation  of  the  sketches.  The  Patriot  is 
now  the  oldest  journal  published  in  the  county.  In  1861,  the  Sand- 
wich Mechanic  was  for  one  year  issued  at  the  Patriot  office. 

December  15,  1836,  the  first  number  of  the  Yarmouth  Register  was 
issued  by  N.  S.  Simpkins,  publisher.      The  plant  of  the  Journal  had 
been  purchased  by  Messrs.  John  Reed,  Amos  Otis,  N.  S.  Simpkins, 
Ebenezer  Bacon  and  Edward  B.  Hallet.      Mr.  Simpkins  was  assisted 
in  the  editorship  by  contributions  from  Messrs.  Caleb  S.  Hunt  and 
Amos  Otis.     The  paper,  besides  being  a  local  journal,  was  designed 
to  champion  the  cause  of  Hon.  John  Reed,  the  member  of  congress 
from  this  district,  and  to  oppose  the  Jackson  and  Van  Buren  dynasty, 
which  was  rather  obnoxious  in  this  county.      The  controversies  with 
the  Barnstable  Patriot  which  followed,  were  exceedingly  bitter  and 
personal,  on  both  sides.     In  1839  Mr.  Simpkins  retired  from  the  man- 
agement of  the  paper  and  was  succeeded  by  William  S.  Fisher,  who 
was  a  printer  by  profession,  and  who  infused  considerable  vigor  into 
its  management.     In  1846,  the  present  manager,  Charles  F.  Swift,  be- 
.  came  connected  with  the  management  of  the  Register,  as  co-partner 
with  Mr.  Fisher,  and  in  1849  became  sole  editor  and  publisher.     Dur- 
ing the  last  forty  years  the  conduct  of  the  paper  has  been  in  his  hands, 
.  with  assistance  successively  by  his  four  sons,  Francis  M.,  Frederick 
C,  Theodore  W.,  and  Charles  W.  Swift.      The  Register,  which  was 
originally  a  whig  journal,  and  supported  Webster,  Clay,  Taylor  and 
Scott  for  the  presidency,  had  always  been  strongly  anti-slavery  in  its 
proclivities,  and  in  1857  warmly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  republicans, 
which  it  has  ever  since  supported,  with  earnestness  and  without  reser- 
vation.     The  Register  has  also  paid  much  attention  to  questions  of 
social  reform  and  general  and  local  history. 

The  Sandwich  Observer  was  first  issued  in  September,  1845,  by 
George  Phinney.  It  was  a  24-column  folio,  24  by  36  inches,  and  was 
devoted  to  general  and  local  news  and  miscellany.     Dr.  John  Harper 


LITERATURE  AND  LITERARY  PEOPLE.  261 

and  C.  B.  H.  Fessenden  were  special  contributors  to  its  columns.  The 
Observer  attained  a  fair  patronage,  being  neutral  in  politics  and  having 
the  support  of  all  the  political  parties,  but  the  field  was  at  best  a  lim- 
ited one,  and  in  August,  1851,  Mr.  Phinney  removed  his  establishment 
to  North  Bridgewater  (now  Brockton)  where  he  founded  the  Gazette 
of  that  town. 

A  monthly  newspaper  called  the  Cape  Cod  News,  was  issued  in 
Provincetown,  though  printed  elsewhere,  the  first  number  bearing 
date  of  June,  1856,  A.  S.  Dudley  and  Rufus  Conant  publishers.  But 
few  numbers  were  issued. 

The  Provincetown  Banner  was  issued  in  1855,  by  John  W.  Emery, 
editor  and  proprietor.  It  was  a  24-column  journal,  republican  in  pol- 
itics, somewhat  radical  in  its  tone.  It  was  published  until  1862,  when 
it  was  discontinued  and  the  material  removed  from  town. 

In  August,  1857,  the  Atlantic  Messenger  was  established  at  Hyannis, 
by  Edwin  Coombs.  It  was  a  26-column  journal,  21  by  20  inches;  price 
$1.00  per  year.  It  was  devoted  to  anti-slavery,  politics  and  social  dis- 
cussions. It  was  once  or  twice  discontinued  and  started  again.  But 
the  encouragement  received  by  the  proprietor  was  not  sufficient  to 
sustain  the  enterprise,  and  the  concluding  number  was  issued  about 
the  year  1863. 

January  2,  1862,  the  first  number  of  the  Cape  Cod  Republican  was 
issued  at  Harwich,  by  John  W.  Emery,  formerly  of  the  Provincetown 
Banner,  the  printing  office  of  which  journal  had  been  removed  for  the 
purpose.  It  was  in  style  and  make-up  similar  to  the  Banner.  In  1864 
its  publication  was  discontinued  and  the  editor  obtained  employment 
in  Boston.  In  1864  Mr.  Emery  returned  to  Harwich  and  started  the 
Harwich  Press,  a  paper  similar  to  the  Republican.  In  less  than  a  year 
he  abandoned  the  field,  and  removed  to  Minnesota.  The  list  of  the 
Press  was  sold  to  the  proprietor  of  the  Yarmvuth  Register. 

The  Provincetown  Advocate  was  issued  in  1869,  by  F.  Percy  Goss, 
publisher.  Dr.  J.  M.  Crocker  was  editor  for  about  seven  years,  when 
Mr.  Goss  assumed  the  editorial  charge,  and  conducted  the  paper  for 
three  years  longer.  In  1879  H.  S.  Sylvester,  now  of  the  Boston  Record, 
purchased  an  interest  in  the  paper  and  conducted  it  for  a  year,  dis- 
posing of  his  interest  to  N.  T.  Freeman,  who  acquired  Mr.  Goss's  in- 
terest also.  In  December,  1886,  the  establishment  was  purchased  by 
Howard  F.  Hopkins,  who  has  since  been  its  publisher.  His  brother, 
Judge  James  H.  Hopkins,  has  edited  the  sheet  from  the  first. 

In  November,  1870,  the  Provincetown  News,  a  32-column  republican 
newspaper,  was  issued  by  J.  H.  Barnard  &  Co.,  with  J.  Howard  Bar- 
nard, editor.  The  price  of  the  paper  was  $2.50  per  year,  in  advance  ; 
$3.00  after  three  months.  At  the  end  of  four  months  the  enterprise 
was  given  up,  and  the  list  transferred  to  other  newspapers. 


262  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  Chatham  Monitor  was  first  issued  October  1, 1871,  at  the  Patriot 
office,  Dr.  Benjamin  D.  Gifford  being  the  editor.  It  was  devoted  to 
local  and  general  news,  and  was  republican  in  politics.  In  1873  Levi 
Atwood  assumed  the  editorship.  Mr.  Atwood  had  previously  been  a 
contributor  to  other  county  journals,  and  was  well  known  as  a  writer 
of  pith  and  vigor.     The  Monitor  is  still  continued  under  his  editorship. 

The  Cape  Cod  Bee  was  issued  in  1880,  at  the  Patriot  office,  F.  Percy 
Goss,  publisher.  It  is  a  local  journal,  being  more  especially  devoted 
to  Wellfleet  affairs.     In  politics  it  is  republican. 

About  1872  Messrs.  J.  H.  Nickles  and  William  C.  Spring  started 
the  Sandwich  Gazette,  which  was  afterwards  merged  with  the  Falmouth 
Chronicle,  which  Mr.  Spring  had  started  in  1872.  Henry  Jones  was  the 
Falmouth  editor.  Mr.  Spring  for  some  time  continued  the  paper,  un- 
der the  style  of  Gazette  and  Chronicle.  In  October,  1873,  F.  S.  Pope 
took  the  plant  of  the  Chronicle,  and  established  the  Seaside  Press,  de- 
voted to  the  local  interests  of  Sandwich  and  Falmouth.  J.  H.  Stevens 
was  editor,  and  Mr.  Jones  continued  in  charge  of  the  Falmouth  de- 
partment. In  1880,  Mr.  Pope  sold  out  his  interest  to  F.  H.  Burgess, 
who  changed  the  name  to  Weekly  Review,  with  Benjamin  Cook  as  edi- 
tor for  a  time.  In  1884,  Mr.  Burgess  sold  out  his  interest  to  George 
Otis,  and  the  list  was  merged  with  the  Cape  Cod  Item. 

The  Harwich  Independent  was  established  in  1872,  by  Goss  &  Rich- 
ards, of  the  Patriot,  the  paper  being  printed  in  Barnstable.  The  local 
department  was  put  in  type  at  a  job  office  which  the  publishers  had 
set  up  in  Harwich.  The  editorial  writing  for  the  first  few  years  was 
by  Mr.  Wilcox,  Josiah  Paine  and  Dr.  Geo.  N.  Munsell.  In  1880  Alton 
P.  Goss  purchased  the  establishment,  added  a  press  and  other  ma- 
chinery, and  put  the  paper  on  a  prosperous  basis.  The  leanings  of 
the  paper  are  towards  republicanism,  but  the  Independent  is  more  es- 
pecially a  local  journal,  in  which  field  it  has  achieved  a  good  degree 
of  success. 

The  Cape  Cod  Item  was  started  July  11,  1878,  at  Yarmouth  Port,  by 
George  Otis.  It  was  gradually  enlarged,  and  is  now  an  8-page  jour- 
nal, issuing  a  single  or  double  supplement  a  portion  of  the  year.  It 
was  at  first  devoted  to  local  and  general  news,  and  has  a  large  circu- 
lation and  advertising  patronage.  In  1889,  William  P.  Reynolds,  Esq., 
was  associated  with  Mr.  Otis  in  the  editorship,  and  the  paper  now 
espouses  the  republican  cause. 

77^1?  Mayflower  was  a  miscellaneous  and  story  journal,  published  by 
George  Otis  of  the  Item,  from  1881  to  1889.  It  had  a  large  circulation, 
but  the  price — 50  cents  per  year — was  inadequate  to  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction, and  its  list  was  merged  in  the  Yankee  Blade,  of  Boston,  in 
June,  1887.  The  Ocean  Wave,  an  eight-page  weekly,  was  issued  by 
George  Otis  from  October,  1888,  to  May,  1889. 


LITERATURE   AND   LITERARY   PEOPLE.  263 

The  Sandwich  Observer  (the  second  publication  by  that  name)  was 
issued  in  1884,  being  printed  at  the  Patriot  office,  and  edited  by  Am- 
brose E.  Pratt  of  Sandwich.  Mr.  Pratt  was  succeeded  about  1887,  by 
Frank  O.  Ellis,  who  still  has  charge  of  the  publication.  It  is  more  es- 
pecially devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  towns  of  Sandwich  and  Bourne, 
and  is  republican  in  politics. 

The  Falmouth  Local  was  established  by  Lewis  F.  Clarke,  who  issued 
the  first  number,  March  11, 1886.  It  was  a  three-column  folio,  printed 
one  page  at  a  time  on  a  job  press  in  the  building  now  the  Continental 
shoe  store.  At  the  close  of  1887  it  had  been  enlarged,  located  in  a 
new  office,  and  was  being  run  as  a  seven-column  folio,  from  a  steam- 
power  cylinder  press.  Since  December  8,  1887,  Ambrose  E.  Pratt 
of  Sandwich,  has  been  the  editor.  George  S.  Hudson  was  the 
printer  in  charge  from  September  1,  1886,  until  July,  1888,  when 
Thomas  Brady,  a  practical  printer  and  pressman,  became  manager  of 
the  press  and  composing  department.  It  is  issued  at  Falmouth  as  an 
eight-column  folio,  devoted  to  the  local  news  interests  of  the  several 
towns  of  the  upper  Cape  in  which  it  has  a  fair  patronage. 

The  Barnstable  County  Journal  was  issued  for  four  years  from 
January,  1886,  by  James  B.  Cook.  It  was  a  32-column  folio,  published 
at  $1.50  a  year.  In  politics  it  was  democratic — the  only  newspaper 
of  that  faith  in  the  county  of  Barnstable. 

February  17, 1887,William  R.  Farris,  George  R.  Phillips  and  Charles 
H.  Crowell  issued  the  first  number  of  the  Cape  Cod  News,  at  South  Yar- 
mouth. It  was  a  small  twenty-column  paper,  devoted  to  local  intelli- 
gence. In  July,  1888,  the  list  was  sold  to  George  Otis  and  absorbed 
by  the  Item. 

Two  later  candidates  for  the  favor  of  newspaper  readers — the 
Wellfleet  News  and  the  Sandwich  Review  were  issued  November  12, 
1889,  by  the  proprietor  of  the  Item.  They  are  eight-page  papers,  de- 
voted to  miscellany  and  the  local  news  of  the  respective  towns.  The 
News  is  written  up  by  Mrs.  A.  H.  Rogers  and  the  Review  by  N.  E. 
Linekin. 

Besides  the  news  journals,  several  monthly  publications  have  been 
issued  by  the  pupils  of  the  public  schools.  The  Academy  Breezes  was 
for  two  or  three  years  issued  by  the  scholars  of  the  Sandwich  High 
school.  For  about  six  years,  the  pupils  of  the  Harwich  High  school 
have  published  a  little  sheet  called  the  Pine  Grove  Echoes.  The  pupils 
of  the  Bourne  High  school,  since  April,  1888,  have  issued  monthly, 
the  High  School  Graphic,  a  sheet  containing  many  creditable  articles. 
These  publications  have  developed  a  considerable  degree  of  writing 
ability,  and  are  doing  a  good  work  in  their  special  fields. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH. 


Location  and  Description. — Settlement  and  Early  Growth. — Domestic  Affairs — Acces- 
sion of  Settlers. — Listof  Inhabitants  in  1730. — Continued  Advancement. — Firing  the 
Woods. — The  Town's  Poor. — The  Revolutionary  Period. — The  Present  Century. — 
Villages.  — Civil  History.  — Churches.  — Schools.  — Societies.  — Cemeteries. — Biograph- 
ical Sketches. 


THE  history  of  Sandwich  as  a  white  man's  settlement  now  covers 
a  period  of  253  years  embracing  48  years  preceding  the  forma- 
tion of  Barnstable  county.  Prior  to  1654  the  records  of  the 
proprietors  are  meagre  and  nearly  illegible,  but  the  events  recorded 
are  those  common  to  the  early  history  of  the  plantations  of  Plymouth 
colony,  and  are  fraught  with  the  domestic  incidents  and  names  so  rev- 
erently preserved  by  the  present  generation.  Notwithstanding  the 
records  prior  to  1884  embrace  also  the  history  of  Bourne,  the  compil- 
ation of  the  history  of  the  settlement  and  growth  of  Sandwich  will 
be  confined  to  the  territory  now  encompassed  within  its  bounds,  so 
far  as  a  careful  research  into  the  musty  pages  of  the  past  may  render 
the  facts  separable. 

Sandwich  is  the  second  town  on  the  north  side  of  the  Cape  from 
the  main  land,  fronting  for  several  miles  on  Cape  Cod  bay,  which 
forms  its  northern  boundary.  The  peculiar  rhomboidal  shape  of 
the  town  from  the  line  of  the  bay  renders  its  boundary  compli- 
cated. Barnstable  forms  the  eastern  boundary,  extending  from  near 
Scorton  harbor  southwesterly  to  the  northeast  corner  of  Mashpee ; 
the  towns  forming  the  southern  boundary  are  Falmouth  and  Mash- 
pee, the  latter  also  being  the  eastern  boundary  for  the  southwestern 
portion  of  Sandwich ;  and  Bourne  forms  the  western  according  to 
the  division  line  of  1884  described  in  the  chapter  on  that  town. 
The  area  of  Sandwich  within  the  perimeter  given  is  20,965  acres, 
the  surface  of  which,  excepting  the  salt  marshes  along  the  bay, 
presents  a  beautiful  diversity  of  undulations  in  which  hills  and 
downs  blend  in  pleasing  variety.  The  valleys  contain  ponds  and 
rivulets.  The  central  and  southern  portions  of  the  town  are  still 
covered  with  large  tracts  of   woods   affording  game  of   the  smaller 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  265 

sort.    The  soil  is  a  sandy  loam  on  the  elevations,  and  a  fertile  allu- 
vium around  the  ponds  and  in  the  valleys. 

The  ponds  are  numerous,  the  larger  ones  being  Peter's,  containing 
176  acres;  Spectacle,  of  151  acres;  Triangle,  84;  Snake,  76;  and  Law- 
rence, 70.  The  smaller  ponds  worthy  of  mention  are  Ellis,  of  26 
acres;  Mill,  southwest  of  Sandwich  village,  47;  Weeks,  12;  and  two  at 
East  Sandwich,  of  12  acres  each.  Of  these  ponds  only  one  has  a  vis- 
ible outlet;  the  one  southwest  of  the  village  supplies  Mill  river  with 
power  for  mills.  Wakeby  pond,  connected  with  the  Mashpee,  is  par- 
tially surrounded  by  the  territory  of  Sandwich. 

The  inhabitants  have  always  paid  much  attention  to  agricultural 
and  mechanical  pursuits,  and  less  than  do  those  of  the  neighboring 
towns  to  maritime  employments.  Besides  the  culture  of  the  usual 
crops  large  quantities  of  cranberries  are  successfully  raised  in  every 
part.  Orchards  of  all  kinds  are  a  source  of  profit.  Fishing  is  one  of 
the  occupations  of  the  residents,  but  not  a  large  amount  of  shipping 
is  owned  and  that  small,  only  sufficient  for  home  pursuits.  The  har- 
bors, too  small  for  important  commerce  and  large  shipping,  are  ade- 
quate for  the  wants  of  the  town,  and  this  fact  has  assisted  in  deter- 
mining the  prevailing  occupations  of  its  people. 

The  territory  of  Sandwhich,  prior  to  1637,  was  embraced  in  the 
unsettled  portions  of  the  vast  tract  granted  to  William  Bradford  and 
his  associates  then  called  the  council  of  Plymouth,  and  to  this  coun- 
cil the  people  of  the  town  were  subject,  especially  in  the  affairs  of  the 
church.  No  person  was  permitted  "  to  live  or  inhabit  within  the 
Government  of  New  Plymouth  without  the  leave  and  liking  of  the 
Governor  and  his  assistants."  No  laws  had  been  made  touching 
political  and  civil  rights  until  November  15,  1636.  A  civil  power — 
not  church  government — was  then  needed  to  prevent  and  correct  a 
conflict  of  interests  in  the  growing  colony.  Then  it  was  enacted 
that  annually  an  election  should  be  held,  "  but  confined  to  such  as 
shall  be  admitted  as  freemen,"  to  whom  a  stringent  oath  was  pre- 
scribed; and  none  were  to  be  admitted  but  such  as  were  "  orthodox 
in  the  fundamentals  of  religion,  and  possessed  of  a  ratable  estate  of 
twenty  pounds."  The  idea  was  inculcated  that  colonies  could  be  es- 
tablished with  the  right  of  representation,  which  was  an  incentive  to 
the  enterprising  to  seek  other  lands.  Historians  assert,  that  religious 
considerations  also  led  the  ten  Saug^s  (Lynn)  pioneers  to  seek  this 
first  plantation  of  the  Cape.  Whatever  their  motives,  after  delibera- 
tion they  concluded  that  the  Plymouth  colony  could  be  no  more 
stringent  than  the  Massachusetts,  nor  present  more  obstacles  to  their 
aspirations;  so  they  sought  and  obtained  permission  from  the  colony 
of  Plymouth  to  locate  a  plantation  at  Shaume,  now  Sandwich.  The 
record  says:  "  April  3,  1637,  it  is  also  agreed  by  the  Court  that  these 


266  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ten  men  of  SaugTis,  viz.,  Edmund  Freeman,  Henry  Feake,  Thomas 
Dexter,  Edward  Dillingham,  William  Wood,  John  Carman,  Richard 
Chadwell,  William  Almy,  Thomas  Tupper,  and  George  Knott,  shall 
have  liberty  to  view  a  place  to  sit  down,  and  have  sufficient  lands  for 
three-score  families,  upon  the  conditions  propounded  to  them  by  the 
governor  and  Mr.  Winslow." 

That  year  these  men  except  Thomas  Dexter,  who  came  subsequent- 
ly, settled  with  their  families  in  and  near  that  part  of  the  town  now 
occupied  by  the  village  of  Sandwich.  Within  four  years  fifty  others 
from  Lynn,  Duxbury  and  Plymouth  came,  many  bringing  their  fam- 
ilies, aod-the  "  three-score,"  as  permitted,  appear  on  the  proprietors' 
records  in  1641.  The  fifty  iater-comers  were:  George  Allen,  Thomas 
Armitage,  Anthony  Besse,  Mr.  Blakemore,  George  Bliss,  Thomas 
Boardman,  Robert  Bodfish,  Richard  Bourne,  William  Bray  brook,  John 
Briggs,  Richard  Kerby,  John  King,  Thomas  Landers,  Mr.  Leverich, 
John  Miller,  William  Newland,  Benjamin  Nye,  George  Buitt,  Thomas 
Burge,  Thomas  Butler,  Tho.  Chillingsworth,  Edmund  Clarke,  George 
Cole,  John  Dingley,  Henry  Ewer,  John  Fish,  Jonathan  Fish,  Mr.  Pot- 
ter, James  Skiffe,  George  Slawson,  Michael  Turner,  John  Vincent, 
Richard  Wade,  Thomas  Willis,  Nathaniel  Fish,  John  Friend,  Peter 
Gaunt,  Andrew  Hallett,  Thomas  Hampton,  William  Harlow,  William 
Hedge,  Joseph  Holway,  William  Hurst,  John  Joyce,  John  WLag,  Mr. 
Winsor,  Mr.  WoUaston,  Anthony  Wright,  Nicholas  Wright,  and  Peter 
Wright.  Changes  occurred  early  in  the  population— some  returning, 
others  seeking  lands  eastward  on  the  Cape,  and  others  arriving — but 
of  these  60  families  under  66  different  names,  after  250  years  the  tax 
roll  of  the  town  contains  16. 

The  colonial  powers  made  stringent  laws  for  these  early  settlers 
who  soon  learned  that  laws  were  not  placed  upon  the  statute  books 
for  ornament;  for  the  court  record  of  1638  says  "Richard  Bourne 
fined  for  not  ringing  3  pigs;  John  Carman.  1  sow  and  11  pigS;  Thos. 
Tupper,  6  swine;  Thos.  Armitage,  2  swine  ";  and  at  another  court  the 
same  year  "John  Burge,  Peter  Gaunt.  Richard  Chadwell,  Edward 
Freeman,  Richard  Kerby,  Robert  Bodfish  and  John  Dingley  were 
fined  "  for  the  similar  neglect.  It  would  seem  incredible  that  pigs 
could  have  then  done  damage;  but  the  law  required  the  pigs  of  the 
remotest  plantations  of  the  colony  to  wear  rings  in  the  nose,  and  the 
owner,  for  this  direliction,  must  needs  go  to  Plymouth  to  answer  in 
court.  During  the  same  year  Henry  Ewer  and  his  wife  were  ordered 
to  depart  from  Sandwich  for  some  violation  of  -law,  and  "  Mr.  Skeffe 
is  required  to  send  them  back  because  he  encouraged  their  coming." 

How  this  sentence  terminated  does  not  appear ;  but  many  of  his 
descendants  succeeded  him  and  the  name  still  exists  in  all  respecta- 
bility.   The  same  court  deemed  it  necessary  that  the  land  in  Sand- 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  267 

wich  should  be  defined  and  allotted  -with  all  convenient  speed,  and 
for  this  purpose  directed  Mr.  Alden  and  Miles  Standish  to  proceed  at 
once  to  that  plantation.  This  was  done  in  1638  and  afterward  recorded 
in  the  proprietors'  records  ;  but  from  these  records  no  intelligible  de- 
scription of  these  allotments  can  be  made ;  and  if  descibed  as  the  records 
read,  the  lapse  of  time  has  so  nearly  effaced  the  landmarks  named  by 
the  old  surveyors — the  marked  trees,  the  stakes  and  stones,  even  the 
rocks  themselves — that  with  the  record  alone  not  a  single  property 
could  now  be  correctly  bounded ;  but  there  are  several  estates  both 
here  and  in  Bourne  now  owned  by  the  descendants  of  the  pioneers, 
and  thus  a  few  of  the  original  tracts  can  be  approximately  located. 

The  rigid  surveillance  of  the  court  over  the  disposal  of  lands  to 
persons  considered  unfit,  was  continued  for  some  years,  and  in  a  meas- 
ure perhaps  retarded  the  growth  of  the  settlement ;  but  in  1643,  four 
years  after  Sandwich  had  been  clothed  with  the  dignity  of  a  town,  the 
following,  between  the  ages  of  16  and  60,  were  enrolled  as  liable  ta 
bear  arms:  Francis  Allen,  George  Allen  jr.,  Matthew  Allen,  Ralph 
Allen,  Samuel  Allen,  John  Bell,  Edmund  Berry,  Anthony  Bessy,  Miles 
Black,  John  Blakemore,  Thomas  Boardman,  Robert  Bodfish,  Richard 
Bourne,  George  Buitt,  Richard  Burgess,  Thomas  Burgess  sr.,  Thomas- 
Burgess  jr.,  Thomas  Butler,  Richard  Chadwell,  Edmund  Clark,  Henry 
Cole,  Edward  Dillingham,  Henry  Dillingham,  John  Dinglej',  John 
Ellis,  Henry  Feake,  John  Fish,  Jonathan  Fish,  Nathaniel  Fish,  Ed- 
mund Freeman  sr.,  Edmund  Freeman  jr.,  John  Freeman,  Peter  Gaunt, 
Thomas  Gibbs,  John  Green,  Thomas  Greenfield,  Joseph  Holway,  Peter 
Hanbury,  John  Johnson,  Thomas  Johnson,  John  Jo5'ce,  Richard  Kerby, 
George  Knott,  Thomas  Landers,  Mr.  William  Leverich,  John  Newland, 
William  Newland,  Thomas  Nichols,  Benjamin  Nye,  John  Presbury, 
Henry  Sanderson,  Henry  Stephen,  Thos.  Shillingsworth,  James  Skiflf, 
William  Swift,  Thomas  Tupper,  Michael  Turner,  John  Vincent,  Na- 
thaniel Willis,  Lawrence  Willis,  Joseph  Winsor,  Daniel  Wing.  John 
Wing,  Stephen  Wing,  William  Wood,  Anthony  Wright,  Nicholas 
Wright,  Peter  Wright. 

The  towns  of  the  colony  were  required  in  1664  to  procure  books 
for  recording  divisions  and  purchases  of  land,  after  which  the  records 
of  Sandwich  were  more  properly  kept.  The  reader  has  been  given 
the  names  of  the  heads  of  the  original  three-score  families  and  the 
military  roll  which  included  the  young  men ;  now  after  the  lapse  of 
a  few  years,  when  the  records,  bounding  each  freeman's  land  have 
been  arranged,  we  find  the  following  named  persons  had  land  in  ad- 
dition to  those  alluded  to:  Jedediah  Allen,  William  Allen,  William 
Bassett,  Nehemiah  Bessie,  Job  Bourne,  Michael  Blackwell,  John  Bod- 
fish, Samuel  Briggs,  Jacob  Burge,  Joseph  Burge,  Ambrose  Fish,  John 


268  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Gibbs,  William  Gifford,  Robert  Haqjer,  Edward  Hoxie,  Lodo.  Hoxie, 
John  Jenkins,  James  Skiff  jr.,  Isaac  Turner,  and  Thomas  Tobey  sr. 

These,  with  those  previously  named,  comprised  the  settlers  of 
Sandwich  as  found  by  the  records  during  the  first  twenty  years. 
Some  had  sought  other  homes  on  the  Cape,  during  the  time,  but 
where,  no  mention  is  given.  The  population  of  Sandwich  in  the  year 
1764  was  1,449  ;  in  1776  it  was  1,912 ;  in  1790,  1,991 ;  1800,  2,024 ;  1810, 
2,382;  1820,  2,884;  1830,  3,367;  1840,  3,719;  1860,  4,181;  1860,  4,479; 
1870,  3,694;  1875,  3,417;  1880,  3,543;  and  in  1886,  after  the  incorpora- 
tion  of  Bourne,  the  population  was  2,124,  of  whom  666  were  voters. 

The  Sandwich  settlement  was  not  beyond  the  social  reach  of 
the  Plymouth  people,  for  it  is  recorded  that  William  Paddy,  a  mer- 
chant of  Plymouth,  on  the  28th  of  November,  1639,  took  in  wedlock 
one  of  its  fair  daughters.  No  doubt  this  marriage  was  legally  con- 
tracted and  completed  ;  for  the  court  yet  had  stringent  laws  regard- 
ing the  intercourse  between  young  people,  and  as  late  as  1648  a  citi- 
zen of  Sandwich  was  fordidden  to  show  attention  to  a  certain  female 
"  until  the  court  can  better  discern  the  truth  of  his  pretensions." 

A  deed  of  the  plantation  was  executed  in  1661  confirming  the 
former  grant,  the  conditions  of  which  had  been  fulfilled  by  the  pro- 
prietors. These  held  lands  in  common,  to  be  used  jointly  and  to  con- 
vey to  New-Comers  who  might  be  qualified  to  become  freemen.  A 
man  could  become  a  freeman,  entitled  to  hold  land  and  vote,  but  his 
orthodoxy  constituted  his  fitness ;  and  even  the  proprietors  must  have 
permission  from  the  court  for  certain  desired  privileges,  as  we  find 
in  1644  that  George  Allen  was  "  licensed  to  cut  hay  at  the  ponds  be- 
yond Sandwich  plains."  These  restrictions  were  removed  a  few  years 
later. 

The  proprietor's  records,  year  after  year,  show  increase  in  the 
cares  of  a  growing  town.  The  town  neck — that  portion  east  of  the 
harbor — had  been  used  in  common  as  pasturage,  but  in  1662  it  was 
thought  best,  to  use  its  luxuriant  grass  for  young  cattle,  and  March  12, 
it  was  "  agreed  that  the  Town  Neck  still  be  used  for  pasturage,  from 
1  May  to  Oct.  4,  but  that  no  cattle  except  calves  shall  be  put  in  without 
the  consent  of  the  town."  The  town  neck  is  still  held  in  shares  by  the 
descendants  of  the  proprietors  or  by  purchasers,  being  60  shares  of 
two  acres  each. 

\  Whaling  was  quite  actively  engaged  in  by  the  people  of  the  colo- 
nies, and  the  wounded  whales,  often  escaping  and  dying,  would  float 
to  the  north  shore  of  the  town.  Grampus  and  other  large  fish  would 
also  be  stranded  on  the  flats  by  the  receding  tides,  and  as  early  as 
1662  it  was  "  ordered  that  Edmund  Freeman,  Edward  Perry,  George 
Allen,  Daniel  Wing,  John  Ellis,  and  Thomas  Tobey,  these  six  men, 
shall  take  care  of  all  the  fish  that  Indians  shall  cut  up  within  the  limits 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH. 


269 


of  the  town  so  as  to  provide  safety  for  it,  and  shall  dispose  of  the  fish 
for  the  town's  use ;  also  that  if  any  man  that  is  an  inhabitant  shall 
find  a  whale  and  report  to  any  of  these  six  men,  he  shall  have  a  double 
share ;  and  that  these  six  men  shall  take  care  to  provide  laborers  and 
whatever  is  needful,  so  that  whatever  whales  either  white  men  or  In- 
dians gives  notice  of,  they  may  dispose  of  the  proceeds  to  the  town's 
use  to  be  divided  equally  to  every  inhabitant."  This  was  found  to  be 
a  source  of  considerable  income  to  the  town,  and  soon  after  the  court 
at  Plymouth  enacted  that  one  barrel  of  oil  from  every  whale  be  given 
to  them,  which  was  acceded  to ;  but  this  whaling  on  land  gradually 
declined  as  the  whalers  at  sea  became  more  proficient. 

Among  other  duties  of  the  year  1662  the  town  appointed  "Anthony 
Thacher,  Wm.  Bassett,  Jonathan  Hatch,  John  Finny,  James  Skeff, 
Henry  Dillingham,  John  Ellis,  John  Wing,  Jos.  Rogers,  Edw.  Bangs, 
Wm.  Hedge,  Thomas  Hinckley,  and  Thomas  Dexter,"  as  a  committee 
to  attend  to  the  laying  out  of  a  road  from  Sandwich  to  Plymouth, 
which  is  now  a  portion  of  the  county  road.  The  road  had  not  been 
completed  two  years  later,  for  in  1664  both  "  Plymouth  and  Sandwich 
were  presented  for  not  having  the  country  highway  between  these 
places  cleared  so  as  to  be  passable  by  man  and  horse."  The  difficul- 
ties of  the  passage  and  the  distance  to  Plymouth  to  have  the  town's 
grain  ground  induced  Thomas  Dexter  to  negotiate  with  the  proprie- 
tors to  build  a  mill  in  1664,  and  "  the  town  gave  full  power  to  Edward 
Dillingham  and  Richard  Bourne  to  agree  with  sd  Dexter  to  go  on 
and  build  the  mill."  But  this  project  failed,  and  "  John  Ellis,  Wm. 
Swift,  Wm.  Allen,  and  James  Skeflf  were  engaged  to  build  a  mill,  the 
town  paying  ;^20."  This  sum  was  subscribed  by  22  of  the  freemen 
and  the  mill  was  completed  early  in  1666  ;  the  records  say  for  May  18, 
"  The  town  hath  agreed  with  Matthew  Allen  to  grind  and  have  the 
toll  for  his  pains." 

Dexter's  determination  to  build  a  grist  mill  led  him  to  again  agree 
to  erect  one,  if  the  town  "  would  allow  him  6  pts.  per  bush,  toll ;  he  to 
build  and  maintain  the  mill  and  dam  and  all  other  things  thereto  be- 
longing; and  to  provide  a  miller  at  his  own  cost."  This  agreement 
was  entered  into  1655,  but  the  mill  was  not  completed  until  later,  and 
Dexter's  toll  dish  continued  to  grow  in  dimensions  until  its  unlawful 
size  caused  the  appointment  by  the  selectmen  of  Goodman  Chadwell, 
Edmund  Freeman  and  Thomas  Tobey,  "to  agree  with  Thos.  Dexter, 
jr.,  for  the  grinding  of  the  town's  corn  ;  and  if  they  fail  to  agree  then 
12  acres  of  the  land  at  the  river  that  comes  out  of  the  pond  at  the 
head  of  Benj.  Nye's  marsh,  shall  be  granted  to  any  other  of  the  towns- 
men that  will  set  up  a  mill."  Dexter's  toll  dish  not  shrinking  in  size, 
the  land  promised  by  the  town  was  laid  off  at  Little  pond  furnishing 
a  mill,  and  a  toll  dish  under  the  town's  control.    This  last  mill  was 


^70  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

doubtless  at  Spring  hill,  and  was  erected  in  1669.  The  obligations  of 
Mr.  Dexter  to  the  town,  or  how  far  he  could  control  his  toll  is  not  ex- 
plained in  the  records  only  as  heretofore  mentioned.  Nor  was  the 
future  of  the  old  mill  a  subject  of  action  for  the  selectmen  for  many 
years. 

A  copy  of  a  deed  under  date  of  1668,  transcribed  from  records  at 
Plymouth  is  now  in  possession  of  the  Nye  Brothers,  who  occupy  the 
Thomas  Dexter  property.      James   Skeff,  jr.,  that  year  sold  it  to 
Thomas  Dexter,  sr.,  for  ;^16,  part  to  be  paid  in  money,  the  remainder 
in  cattle  and  corn.      Messrs.  Holway,  Burgess,  Sears,  the  Sandwich 
Savings  Bank,  and  later  B.  F.  Brackett  (now  deceased)  were  in- 
terested in  the  title  down  to  1879,  when  William  L.  Nye  and  Levi  S. 
Nye  became  the  occupants  as  Mr.  Brackett's  tenants.  The  old  mill  did 
more  or  less  service  until  1881,  when  from  its  antiquity  it  was  excused 
irom  grinding  the  little  corn  that  occasionally  came.      The  rude  hop- 
per and  gearings,  now  dismantled,  are  a  faithful  memento  of  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  fathers  of  the  present  generations.    The  old  undershot 
water  wheel  on  the  side  was  long  ago  replaced  by  a  turbine;  and  early 
in  the  present  century  a  woolen  factory  was  erected  on  the  east  of  the 
_grist  mill.    This  was  used  for  carding  and  cloth-dressing  until  1830, 
when  it  was  taken  down.      Upon  this  site' later,  the  present  building 
was  erected  for  a  marble  works,  sawing  the  blocks  of  marble  below 
and  finishing  the  slabs  in  the  rooms  above,  which  work  was  in  turn 
•discontinued  about  1859  or  '60.      After  two  or  three  years  L.  B.  Nye 
leased  this  building,  where  he  carried  on  wheelwrighting  and  pound- 
ring  clay  for  the  Cape  Cod  Glass  Works  until  1871;  Levi  S.  Nye  manu- 
factured jewelers'  boxes  here  until  1876;  and  in  1879  the  present  ac- 
tive business  of  making  and  printing  tags  was  inaugurated  by  the 
Nye  Brothers,  furnishing  employment  for  several  persons  in  the  fac- 
tory and  a  much  larger  number  outside. 

The  fact,  that  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  much  evil,  is  older 
than  the  old  mill;  and  that  some  in  the  generation  of  which  we  write 
should  be  tempted  beyond  their  powers  of  resistance,  was  as  natural 
-as  the  turning  of  the  mill-wheel  under  a  head  of  water.     But  the  re- 
cords of  that  time  contain  other  than  mill-toll  temptations,  and  the 
-charitable  manner  in  which  the  fathers  recorded  them  indicates  that 
they  were  only  ripples  on  the  smooth  sea  of  justice.      In  1667  Joseph 
Burge  was  fined  £1,  "  for  disorderly  helping  away  horses  out  of  the 
-colony  ";  and  later,  in  1669,  a  shirt  having  been  stolen  was  found  in 
the  possession  of  a  person  who  claimed  to  have  purchased  it  of  an  In- 
dian; this  person  was  required  "  to  look  up  the  Indian,"  and  to  give 
him  ample  time  to  do  so,  he  was  bound  over  for  a  term.     It  is  just  to 
-say  that  irregularities  of  this  kind  were  rare  and  records  of  no  others 
.are  to  be  found  on  the  town's  books  of  those  days. 


TOWN  OF   SANDWICH.  271 

The  maturing  crops  of  wheat  and  corn  dotted  the  knolls  of  the 
northern  portion  of  Sandwich  at  the  time  of  which  we  write,  and  to 
the  inhabitants  these  were  of  great  value.  The  sheep  husbandry  had 
also  become  important  in  the  wants  of  the  town;  but  both  industries 
had  their  enemies.  The  blackbirds  from  the  marshes  and  the  wolves 
from  the  woods  south  and  west  of  the  settlement  gave  occasion  for 
the  order  in  1672  "  that  all  misters  of  families  and  all  young  men 
that  are  at  their  own  disposing,  shall  kill  or  cause  to  be  killed  one 
dozen  of  black-birds."  The  amount  paid  for  wolves'  scalps  was  from 
6s.  to  £l  each  according  to  size.  These  exactions  and  bounties  were 
continued  for  many  years  until  the  necessity  was  removed.  The 
sheep  husbandry  attained  its  greatest  importance  in  the  early  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  the  town  erecting  yards  in  various  parts,  over 
which  shepherds  were  placed.  After  about  1730  it  declined  as  rapidly 
as  it  had  advanced.  The  activity  and  policy  of  the  town  exterminated 
the  wolves  before  1800,  for  they  were  reduced  to  one  several  years 
previous.  The  records  of  January  19, 1790,  say  that  the  town  "  offered 
a  bounty  of.  ;{r25  to  any  one  who  shall  kill  the  wolf,  catamount  or  tiger 
infesting  this  and  the  neighboring  towns  and  destroying  sheep."  This 
bounty  was  increased  in  March  of  the  same  year  to  £30,  and  at  the 
same  time  it  was  ordered,  that  if  the  committee  to  whom  this  matter 
was  referred,  thought  it  expedient  to  have  a  general  muster  of  the  in- 
habitants to  secure  the  depredator,  then  every  able-bodied  man  should 
be  called  to  engage  in  the  duty. 

These  were  not  the  only  clouds  to  shadow  the  people  of  Sandwich; 
for  in  1676  Ralph  Allen  and  Stephen  Skiff  were  appointed  "  to  carry 
the  town's  mind  to  Barnstable,  that  the  towns  may  know  each  others 
minds  in  reference  to  the  bringing  of  some  of  the  people  of  the  out- 
towns,  among  us."  This  action  of  the  town  indicated  the  solicitude 
occasioned  by  the  war  of  King  Philip  for  those  dwelling  in  more  un- 
protected towns.  The  doors  of  the  houses  were  opened  for  those  in 
danger,  and  watch  was  kept  by  the  town  lest  the  Indians  of  the  Cape 
should  be  induced  to  commit  depredations  as  they  were  urged  to  do. 
Sandwich  by  money  and  men  responded  to  every  call  of  the  colonial 
government  in  this  war,  which  has  been  mentioned  in  chapter  VI. 

While  the  town  was  thus  active  in  its  domestic  affairs,  accessions 
had  been  made  to  its  territory  by  the  New  Comers,  and  the  boun- 
dary lines  that  had  been  established  on  the  east  in  1669  and  in 
1686,  were  readjusted,  substantially  where  they  now  are,  by  the  se- 
lectmen of  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  in  1702.  The  bounds  between 
Falmouth  and  Sandwich  were  established  the  same  year,  and  be- 
tween Sandwich  and  Mashpee  in  1705  by  agents  appointed  for  the 
purpose.  In  1887  the  legislature  established  the  present  straighter 
line  of  separation  between  Sandwich  and  Mashpee.    While  its  ter- 


272  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ritory    had    been    somewhat    increased,    the    bounds    defined,  and 
peaceable  title  secured,  accessions  had  also  been  made  to  its  settlers 
as  the  years  rolled  on  and  the  eighteenth  century  dawned  upon  the 
settlement.    The  first  "  three-score  families  "  prior  to  1641  have  been 
named;  the  deaths, removals  and  new  arrivals  which  had  occurred  in 
the  plantation  are  plainly  indicated  by  the  training  list  and  the  names 
of  the  resident  freemen  in  1654, — the  year  the  recording  of  their  names 
was  first  required  by  law.     No  accurate  list  of  further  changes  in  the 
settlers  can  be  given  until  1730,  when  Mr.  Fessenden,  many  years  a 
pastor  among  the  people,  made  a  list  of  136  heads  of  families — exclu- 
sive of  Quakers — the  then  residents  of  the  town.    After  this  lapse  of 
nearly  a  century  from  the  settlement,  the  changes  would  naturally 
be  great ;  the  original  settlers  had  passed  away  and  their  descendants 
were  occupying  the  patrimony ;   others  had  arrived ;   and  as  many 
were  not  freemen  their  names  have  not  appeared  in  the  lists  hereto- 
fore given.     But  by  appending  the  names  given  by  Mr.  Freeman,  a 
comparison  of  all,  each  with  the  other,  the  reader  will  recognize  the 
names  of  the  settlers  of  Sandwich  during  the  first  century  of  its  settle- 
ment and  growth.   The  names  in  this  list  of  1730  were:  James  Atkins. 
Samuel  Barlow,  Samuel  Barber,  Thomas  Burgess,  Lieutenant  William 
Bassett,  Nathan  Barlow,  Peleg  Barlow  and  Eliza  his  wife,  Nathan 
Bourne  and  Mary  his  wife,  Eleazer  Bourne,  Jonathan  Bourne,  Dea.  Tim- 
othy Bourne  and  Temperance  his  wife,  John  Blackwell  and  Lydia  his 
wife,  Silas  Bourne,  Colonel  Methia  Bourne,  John  Barlow,  Ezra  Bourne, 
John  Bodfish,  Jacob  Burge, Samuel  Blackwell,  Micah  Blackwell,  Joshua 
Blackwell,  sr.,  jr.  and  3d;  John  Chipman,  Edward  Dillingham,  sr.,  Sim- 
eon Dillingham,  Solomon  Davis,  Richard  Essex,  Nathaniel  Fish,  John 
Ellis  and  Sarah  his  wife,  Josiah  Ellis  and  Sarah  his  wife.  Lieuten- 
ant Matthias  Ellis,  sr.,  Malachi  Ellis,  Moses  Swift,  jr.,   Seth  Fish,. 
John  Freeman,  John  Foster,  Joseph  Foster,  John  Fish,  sr.,  John  Fish, 
jr.,  Benjamin  Freeman,  Widow  Freeman,  William  Freeman,  Edmund 
Freeman,  Benjamin  Gibbs,  Widow  Gibbs,  Cornelius  Gibbs,  Richard 
Garrett,  Thomas  Gibbs,  sr.  and  jr.,  Samuel  Gibbs,  sr.  and  jr.,  Sylves- 
ter Gibbs,  Hannibal  Handy,  Isaac  and  John  Handy,  Cornelius  and 
Zaccheus  Handy,  Richard  Handy,  Ebenezer  Howland,  Joseph  Hatch^ 
Thomas   Hicks,  Isaac  Jennings,  Samuel  Jennings,  Shubael  Jones, 
Ralph  Jones,  jr.,  Joseph  Lawrence,  Samuel  Lawrence,  Richard  Lan- 
ders. John  and  Nathan  Landers,  Widow  Morton,  Nathan  Nye,  William 
Newcomb  and  Bath  his  wife,  Joseph,  Timothy,  Peleg,  Samuel,  Benja- 
min, Jonathan,  Ebenezer,  and  Nathan  Nye,  jr.,  Joseph  Nye,  sr.,  Seth 
Pope,  sr.  and  jr..  Widow  Pope,  and  the  following  Perry's:    John,  jr., 
Samuel,  Elisha,  Benjamin,  Benjamin,  jr..    Widow  Perry,  Timothy, 
Elijah,  John,  Ezra,  Ezra,  jr.,  Abner,  Samuel,  jr.,  and  Ebenezer  Perry; 
Elkanah  Smith,  John  and  Samuel  Smith,  Seth  Stewart,  Samuel  Swift,. 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  273 

Ephriam  Swift  and  Sarah  his  wife,  Moses  Swift,  Jabez  and  Abigail 
his  wife,  Samuel  Sanders,  Captain  Stephen  Swift,  Gamaliel  Stew- 
art, Samuel  Swift,  jr.,  Josiah  Swift,  Jireh  Swift,  Joseph  Swift,  Jona- 
than Tobey,  Nathan  and  Cornelius  Tobey,  Gers.  om  Tobey,  Medad 
Tupper,  Eliakim  and  Eldad  Tobey,  Dea.  Israel  Tupper  and  wife 
Eliza,  John  Tobey  sr.  and  jr.,  Eleazer  and  William  Tobey,  Samuel 
and  Seth  Tobey,  John  Vilking,  Nathaniel  Wing,  Widow  Wing,  Eben- 
ezer  Wing. 

Returning  to  the  details  of  the  advancement  of  the  town  it  is 
found  by  the  records  that  the  inhabitants  had  not  been  idle.  Leave 
had  been  given  "to  certain  persons  to  box  and  milk  two  thousand 
pine  trees,  for  two  years,  £'i  to  be  paid  to  the  town  for  the  use."  This 
was  in  1707;  and  in  1717  leave  was  given  "to  sundry  persons  to  set 
up  a  saw-mill  upon  the  brook  at  Spring  Hill ;"  also  to  others  the  priv- 
ilege to  build  a  dam  across  the  cove  between  town  neck  and  the 
beach  to  prevent  the  overflow  of  the  meadows.  '  The  remains  of  this 
dam  are  yet  visible — a  suggestion  of  future  cranberry  bogs.  Again 
in  1742  Samuel  Wing  was  voted  "  the  liberty  to  erect  a  grist  mill  on 
Spring-hill  river ;  "  and  another  law  enacted  by  the  town  the  same 
year  "  ordered  that  a  passage  be  made  into  the  pond  in  the  centre  of 
the  town,  for  herrings." 

Another  custom  of  the  proprietors,  would,  if  followed,  be  a  cause 
of  alarm  at  the  present  day  ;  it  was  that  of  firing  the  words.  At  the 
town  meeting  held  March  21, 1754,  forty -two  men  were  appointed  "  to 
fire  the  woods  before  Apr.  16."  To  the  reader  it  may  appear  strange 
that  the  custom  of  firing  the  woods  prevailed  here  as  late  as  160  years 
ago.  When  this  territory  was  settled  the  forest  was  composed  of  larger 
trees,  consequently  but  little  underbrush,  and  the  trees  were  not  in- 
jured by  the  fire  which  was  to  facilitate  the  growth  of  herbage  of  va- 
rious kinds  for  sheep  and  cattle.  It  also  destroyed  the  noxious  shrubs 
and  decaying  fallen  branches  which  impeded  the  travel  of  man  and 
beast.  Doctor  Hildreth,  in  his  description  of  the  custom,  says:  "While 
the  red  man  possessed  the  country  and  annually  set  fire  to  the  fallen 
leaves,  the  forests  presented  a  noble  and  enchanting  appearance.  The 
eye  roved  with  delight.  Like  the  divisions  of  an  immense  temple  the 
forests  were  crowded  with  innumerable  pillars,  the  branches  of  whose 
shafts  interlocking,  formed  the  archwork  of  support  to  that  leafy  roof 
which  covered  and  crowned  the  whole.  But  since  the  white  man  took 
possession,  the  annual  fires  have  been  checked,  and  the  woodlands 
are  now  filled  with  shrubs  and  brush  that  obstruct  the  vision  on  ever)' 
side,  and  convert  these  once  beautiful  forests  into  a  rude  and  taste- 
less wilderness." 

Referring  again  to  the  town  records,  the  fact  is  evident  that  prior 
to  1726  the  town  had  had  no  poor  people,  or  the  community  had  for- 
18 


274  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

gotten  that  "  The  poor  ye  have  with  you  alwaj's  ";  for  on  the  14th  of 
July  of  that  year,  in  open  town  meeting,  it  was  ordered  "that  a  house 
be  sett  up  of  seventeen  foot  long  and  thirteen  foot  wide,  at  the  town's 
cost  and  for  the  town's  use  for  such  of  the  poor  of  the  town  to  dwell 
in  as  shall  from  time  to  time  be  ordered  there  by  the  selectmen  or 
overseers  of  the  poor ;  and  that  the  same  be  furnished  fit  to  dwell  in 
and  the  cost  thereof  to  be  drawn  out  of  the  town  treasury  per  order 
from  the  selectmen.  And  that  sd  house  be  sett  in  the  most  conven- 
ient place  between  the  town's  pound  and  the  mill  river."  On  the  18th 
of  May,  1773,  a  committee,  that  had  previously  been  appointed,  re- 
ported that  it  was  best  to  hire  the  house  of  Seth  Tobey  for  the  poor, 
which  was  done  only  a  short  time,  when  the  town  purchased  the  pres- 
ent poor-house  farm  on  the  Spring  Hill  road,  of  which  Elijah  Hancock 
has  been  the  keeper  for  many  years. 

The  clouds  of  war  again  were  spread  over  the  county,  and  Sand- 
wich had  individual  duties  to  perform,  which  were  executed  in  the 
most  seasonable  and  loyal  manner.  In  1767  the  town  ordered  the 
building  of  a  powder  house,  which  was  duly  stocked  with  munitions 
of  war.  Other  precautions  were  wisely  taken,  and  every  call,  by 
the  government,  for  men  and  means  during  the  war  of  the  revolu- 
tion, was  responded  to  with  alacrity.  Besides  the  proportion  due  and 
required  in  this  great  struggle  for  independence  by  the  people.  Sand- 
wich had  local  obstructions  to  impede  and  embarass.  The  north  shore 
must  be  watched  and  secured  from  threatened  bombardment  and  in- 
vasion by  the  enemy ;  Falmouth  relied,  when  similar  depredations 
were  threatened,  upon  this  town  for  aid,  which  was  granted  by  mid- 
night marches. 

In  1778  the  smallpox  appeared  among  the  inhabitants  of  Sandwich, 
causing  more  alarm  than  would  a  British  fleet  if  anchored  within  gun- 
shot of  the  town.  The  action  taken  to  suppress  this  contagion  was 
prompt  and  eflFective.  A  pest-house  was  erected,  the  roads  wer6 
fenced,  nurses  were  provided,  red  flags  prevented  intrusion  to  its 
vicinity,  and  even  stray  dogs  and  cats  were  sacrificed  to  prevent  a 
spread  of  the  contagious  disease. 

The  sunshine  of  peace  in  1783  dispelled  the  clouds  of  war.  Sand- 
wich had  suffered  the  loss  of  several  brave  citizens — some  had  fallen 
in  defense  of  the  liberties  for  which  they  had  contended;  but  the 
greater  number  had  fled  to  Long  Island,  a  clime  then  more  congenial 
to  their  tory  proclivities,  but  later  they  were  permitted  to  return 
by  the  generous  people  of  Sandwich. 

With  the  dawn  of  the  present  century  the  town  had  assumed  its 
wonted  activity.  Other  mills  and  improvements  sprang  into  existence; 
the  town  bounds  on  all  sides  were  renewed;  and  such  was  its  buoy- 
ancy that  the  war  of  1812  passed  without  disturbing  its  industries. 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  275 

Illustrative  of  their  independence  was  the  vote  of  the  town,  September 
20,  1814,  that  "  in  case  of  any  attack  by  the  enemy  we  will  defend  the 
town  to  the  last  extremity."  The  significance  of  this  vote  more  fully 
appears  with  the  fact,  that  the  English  cruisers  had  made  demands, 
with  threats,  upon  other  towns  of  the  Cape,  and  had  been  paid  con- 
siderable amounts. 

The  war  of  1812  did  not  deter  the  building  of  a  cotton  factory  in 
that  year,  for  which  enterprise  the  town  gave  its  consent  by  vote  the 
previous  year,  "  that  Samuel  Wing  and  others  have  leave  to  erect  a  dam 
and  works  of  a  cotton  factory  on  the  stream  between  the  upper  and 
lower  ponds  in  Sandwich  village,  at  a  place  near  Wolf-trap  Neck,  so 
called."  This  was  used  many  years  as  a  factory  for  various  purposes 
and  was  burned  in, 1883. 

The  present  town  house,  near  the  old  grist  mill,  was  erected  in 
1834.  Prior  to  this,  public  meetings  were  held  in  the  church  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  those  days. 

The  prosperity  of  the  town  in  its  manufactories  established  after 
the  first  quarter  of  this  centtiry,  is  unprecedented  in  the  history  of 
the  towns  of  the  Cape.  The  loyalty  of  the  inhabitants  was  strongly 
marked  during  the  civil  war  of  1861-65,  by  its  early  action  as  re- 
corded in  Chapter  VII.  Every  quota  was  filled  promptly,  and  the  rec- 
ord of  the  soldiers,  as  kept  by  the  town,  shows  that  during  the  war 
386  men  were  enlisted,  ten  of  whom  were  colored.  These  were  scat- 
tered among  various  regiments  and  batteries,  and  in  the  naval  service, 
the  larger  numbers  in  single  regiments  being  68  in  the  Twenty-ninth, 
61  in  the  Fortieth,  and  24  in  the  Forty-fifth.  On  the  9th  of  April, 
1864,  by  a  vote  at  town  meeting  the  tax  of  one  mill  on  the  dollar  was 
made  to  create  a  sinking  fund  for  the  payment  of  the  debts  contracted, 
and  under  the  economical  supervision  of  the  selectmen  the  town  was 
soon  free  from  the  debts  of  the  rebellion. 

After  the  excitement  of  the  rebellion  the  people  again  relapsed 
into  peaceful  habits.  The  bogs,  were  further  developed  to  the  culture 
of  cranberries,  rendering  these  marshy  lands  of  more  value  than  up- 
lands; the  Old  Colony  railroad  had  opened  more  direct  and  rapid  trans- 
portation to  the  best  markets  for  the  products  of  the  land,  and  indus- 
tries of  every  kind  were  greatly  increased.  The  territory  embraced 
within  the  town  was  fifty  square  miles  and  the  communities  along  the 
western  border  had  become  important.  The  residents  of  North  and 
West  Sandwich  with  those  along  Buzzard's  bay  had  asked  for  a  divis- 
ion of  the  town;  but  without  avail.  After  the  opening  of  the  Wood's 
Holl  branch  of  the  railroad  the  western  portion  more  urgently  per- 
sisted in  the  division  of  the  original  town  of  Sandwich,  for  which 
cogent  reasons  were  advanced,  and  the  matter  was  contested  finally 
in  the  legislature  by  both  factions,  resulting  in  the  erection  of  Bourne 


276  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

from  Sandwich  in  1884,  the  particulars  of  which,  with  the  line  of  sep- 
aration, are  fully  given  in  the  Bourne  chapter. 

The  population,  territory  and  valuation  of  the  original  town  was 
lessened  one-half  by  this  division;  but  also  were  the  expenses.  The 
old  town  had  lost  the  seacoast  of  Buzzard's  bay;  but  had  retained 
nearly  all  that  of  Cape  Cod.  Sandwich  still  leads  the  other  towns  of 
the  Cape  in  manufactories,  paying  yearly  $6,000  for  schools,  $2,500 
for  the  poor,  $2,500  for  roads,  and  other  proportionate  expenses,  which 
indicates  to  the  reader  that  it  retains  its  rank  among  the  first. 

Villages. — The  history  of  the  village  of  Sandwich  and  that  of  the 
town  are  so  inseparably  blended  during  the  first  150  years  of  their 
growth,  that  either  would  compose  the  warp  or  the  woof  of  the  fabric 
presented  to  the  reader  at  the  close  of  the  18th  century.  The  three- 
score families  who  first  settled  in  1637  the  plantation  of  Sandwich, 
had  formed  the  nucleus  of  this  principal  village  which  so  promi- 
nently marked  the  town  in  its  industries  and  growth  during  the  pe- 
riod mentioned.  Early  in  its  history  the  village  of  Sandwich  was  the 
door  of  the  Cape  and  the  terminus  of  lines  of  travel.  This,  in  its 
turn,  created  taverns  and  other  places  of  business,  for  which  the  vil- 
lage was  most  celebrated  in  the  early  days  of  the  Cape.  In  1659  John 
Ellis  was  licensed  to  keep  an  "  ordinary  "  at  Sandwich  village,  and  sell 
"  strong  waters  and  wines,  only  not  to  let  town-dwellers  stay  drinking 
unnecessarily  at  his  house."  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  strong 
waters  sold  by  Ellis  had  any  connection  with  those  of  the  pond  above. 
Newcomb's  was  a  favorite  resort  situated  by  the  side  of  the  lower  pond; 
but  the  records  do  not  indicate  that  he  sold  the  waters  thereof.  William 
Bassett  was  licensed  by  the  court  in  1659  "  to  draw  wines,"  a  business 
which  he  followed  several  years  attended  with  its  consequent  troubles, 
as  in  1666  he  complained  of  James  Skiff,  jr.,  who  was  fined  10s.  "  for 
going  to  sd  Bassett's  house  and  taking  away  liquors  without  order." 
This  was  an  industry  susceptible  of  no  improvement  except  in  the 
desires  and  appetites  of  the  town-dwellers;  and  so,  after  a  fair  trial 
of  rum  rule  for  154  years,  the  good  people  on  May  3, 1819,  voted  "  that 
there  shall  be  no  retailer  of  distilled  liquors  licensed;  and  that  tavern 
keepers  are  not  to  be  approbated  unless  they  desist  from  mixing  and 
selling  to  town-dwellers." 

The  early  stage  and  mail  line  from  Plymouth  to  the  Cape  termi- 
nated at  the  celebrated  tavern  called  "  Fessenden's,"  which  was  then 
the  middle  section  of  the  present  Central  Hotel  on  Main  street.  This 
building  was  originally  the  residence  of  Rev.  Benjamin  Fessenden, 
and  William  Fessenden,  his  son,  opened  an  ordinary  after  the  decease 
of  his  father.  We  can  date  its  advent  in  1790  as  the  principal  tavern 
of  the  village,  from  which  all  the  stages  started — to  Plymouth  daily 
and  east  on  the  Cape  tri-weekly.     Mr.  Fessenden  retired  in   1830  and 


m-'"' rr'^':^-smi^^-.^yr.i^  M^i^x^  . .»- 


RESIDENCE    OE   OEORQE    E.    DREW, 

Sandwich,  Mass 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  277 

was  succeeded  by  Sabin  Smith,  who  at  once  erected  the  eastern  and 
larger  portion  of  the  present  Central  Hotel.  Elisha  Pope  and  Sewell 
Fessenden  were  the  landlords  successively  until  1844,  then  Michael 
Scott  and  David  Thompson  until  1863.  Zenas  Chadwick  then  became 
the  owner,  kept  it  for  a  time  and  was  succeeded  for  two  years  by  Frank 
Aborn,  then  by  A.  C.  Southworth  until  November,  1888,  when  Zenas 
Chadwick  resumed  its  control  and  continued  until  his  death  in  1889. 

Nearly  in  the  rear  of  this  hotel,  or  perhaps  more  directly  in  rear 
of  the  church  near  by,  is  the  site  of  the  old  pound  which  the  people 
were  compelled  to  build  in  1715  by  the  order  of  the  court  of  sessions, 
to  which  complaint  had  been  made  of  their  neglect. 

Nathaniel  Freeman,  whose  appointment  was  dated  April  25,  1793. 
William  Fessenden  succeeded  him  October  6, 1795,  and  continued  the 
office  in  his  hotel  until  May  9,  1825,  when  his  son  William  H.  Fessen- 
den moved  it  to  the  drug  store  building  east  of  the  hotel,  where  he 
filled  the  duty  of  postmaster  until  Avery  P.  Ellis  was  commissioned, 
October  26,  1839.  Zenas  R.  Hinckley  was  the  next  postmaster  from 
September  16,  1841,  until  July  28,  1853,  when  Charles  B.  Hall  was 
appointed  and  kept  the  office  until  1861  in  the  same  building.  Fred- 
erick S.  Pope  served  from  1861  to  October  1,  1887,  when  James  Shev- 
lin  was  appointed. 

There  is  no  mention  of  stores  in  the  early  records  except  of  the 
class  that  "  draw  wines,"  but  no  doubt  codfish  and  molasses,  tea  and 
tobacco  were  kept  at  such  establishments.  Mr.  Fessenden  had  a  store, 
such  as  it  was,  with  his  post  office,  and  was  succeeded  by  W.  H.  Fes- 
senden in  the  present  drug  store  building  east  of  the  Central  Hotel. 
Zenas  Hinckley  and  Mr.  Stetson  were  partners  in  a  dry  goods  and 
grocery  business  in  the  same  building,  wherein  also  Charles  B.  Hall 
did  business  until  his  death  in  1881.  Stores  of  various  kinds  were 
numerous  after  1825. 

George  P.  Drew  of  Sandwich  was  born  in  1828,  and,  although  not 
a  native  of  the  Cape,  has  been  one  of  its  solid  business  men  nearly 
forty  years.  He  was  bom  at  Plymouth,  Mass.,  and  after  a  short  pe- 
riod in  business  at  New  Bedford  he  opened,  in  1851,  a  clothing  busi- 
ness at  Sandwich,  which  he  continues  and  is  now  one  of  the  oldest 
living  business  men  of  that  town.  During  his  term  of  business  life 
he  has  been  identified  with  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  his  adopted 
town,  and  his  thorough  and  energetic  nature  has  marked  his  enter- 
prises with  success.  In  1881  he  erected  on  Jarvis  street  the  fine  resi- 
dence in  which  he  lives,  and  which  is  the  subject  of  the  accompanying 
illustration.  Mr.  Drew  may  point  with  pride  to  his  ancestry,  the 
primogenitor  in  New  England  being  John  Drew  from  whom  in  suc- 
cession descended  Lemuel,  Seth,  Lemuel  and  William,  his  father,  who 
married  Priscilla,  daughter  of  Judah  Washburn.     George  P.  Drew, 


278  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

youngest  son  of  William,  in  1852,  married  Martha  A.  Southworth  and 
their  children  are  Sara  C.  and  Ida  W. 

John  Q.  Miller  opened  a  clothing  store  in  1857  at  the  foot  of  Jarvis 
street  in  Swift's  block,  which  was  burned  in  the  fire  of  1870.  He  pur- 
chased and  moved  the  Universalist  church  to  the  burnt  district  the 
same  year  and  continued  the  business  until  1885,  when  he  commenced 
the  present  livery  business.  R.C.Clark's  store,  started  in  1857,  was 
one  of  the  six  burned;  the  fire  originated  in  the  building  that  occupied 
the  site  of  the  present  store  of  Frank  H.  Burgess  and  extended  to  Wil- 
low street.  Mr.  Clark  opened  another  store  which  he  continued  sev- 
eral years.  In  1875  his  sons,  C.  M.  and  Fletcher  Clark,  opened  a 
general  store  where  Mr.  Fletcher  Clark  is  now,  who  purchased  the 
interest  of  his  brother  C.  M.,  January,  1888.  In  1877  Frank  H.  Bur- 
gess built  the  present  store  and  deals  in  furniture,  wall  papers,  and 
fancy  goods. 

T.  C.  Sherman  commenced  business  about  1866  on  Jarvis  street, 
afterward  erecting  the  store  now  occupied  by  Sanford  I.  Morse,  to 
which  he  removed.  He  sold  the  grocery  business  to  Charles  H.  Bur- 
gess in  1861  and  the  dry  goods  to  A.  F.  Sherman.  Mr.  Burgess  con- 
tinued the  business  in  the  same  store,  his  three  sons,  Frank,  Charles, 
and  Thornton  being  partners  alternately,  until  1880,  when  the  present 
grocer,  Sanford  I.  Morse  purchased  the  business.  James  W.  Crocker 
opened  a  store  in  1854,  in  Boyden  block,  when  the  building  was  new, 
and  he  is  still  engaged  in  the  grocery  and  confectionery  business. 
An  old  merchant  here  was  William  Loring,  who  was  several  years  in 
a  room  under  the  town  hall,  and  in  1845  we  find  him  nearly  opposite 
the  Central  House  with  his  store.  For  twenty-one  years  John  Murray 
was  a  merchant  here  on  Jarvis  street  dealing  in  dry  goods  and  cloth- 
ing, removing  from  Providence,  R.  I.,  where  he  commenced  business 
in  1854.  Gustavus  Howland  for  forty-two  years  has  been  engaged  in 
the  lumber  business,  having  purchased  the  Deming  Jarvis  lumber 
yard  of  H.  H.  Thayer  in  1847. 

The  first  hardware  merchant  in  the  church  building,  east  side  of 
Jarvis  street,  was  Josiah  Foster,  who  had  a  store  at  his  house  previ- 
ously. In  1870  Foster  sold  this  hardware  business  to  E.  F.  Hall,  who 
in  1873  was  succeeded  by  James  S.  Bicknell.  O.  H.  Howland,  the 
present  owner,  purchased  the  stock  in  May,  1876,  and  his  business 
desk  is  placed  upon  the  pulpit  of  the  Puritan  chapel.  Not  that  he 
was  a  member  of  said  church,  or  that  his  good  business  name  is  nec- 
essarily based  thereon;  but  his  desk  actually  rests  upon  the  pulpit 
occupied  by  Rev.  Giles  Pe.se  forty-two  years  ago.  In  1866,  Gibbs  & 
Hunt  erected  the  building  now  occupied  by  Benjamin  G.  Bartley  for 
a  boot,  shoe  and  dry  goods  business  which  was  subsequently  sold  to 
Joshua  Jones,  who  ran  it  about  eight  years.     J.  F.  Knowles,  in  1880, 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  279 

purchased  the  boots  and  shoes,  and  F.  S.  Allen  &  Co.  the  dry  goods, 
both  parties  occupying  the  store.  After  four  years  Mr.  Knowles  sold 
his  stock  to  F.  E.  Pierce,  who  removed  it  to  the  Novelty  block  and 
and  then  to  the  building  next  north  of  Rowland's  hardware  store, 
where  he  was  burned  out  in  1888.  In  October,  1884,  Allen  &  Co.  sold 
their  stock  to  Benjamin  F.  Bartley,  who  added  to  the  depth  of  the 
store  in  1887,  and  carries  a  large  line  of  dry  goods  only. 

Sandwich  has  long  been  noted  for  its  many  and  useful  manufacto- 
ries, of  which  that  of  the  Boston  and  Sandwich  Glass  Company  was 
for  many  years  the  most  prominent.  Deming  Jarvis  established  it  in 
the  village  in  1826.  The  adjacent  pine  lands,  of  which  vast  tracts 
were  purchased  for  the  wood,  was  the  inducement  for  its  location.  A 
stock  company,  mostly  of  Boston  capitalists,  was  formed  in  1826  under 
the  above  name,  running  one  furnace  and  gradually  increasing  to  four 
of  large  capacity.  During  the  years  1861-64,  the  business  employed 
500  hands  in  its  various  departments,  manufacturing  yearly  to  the 
amount  of  $300,000.  The  establishment  closed  its  doors  January  1, 
1888,  having  then  on  its  pay  rolls  the  names  of  276  men.  Ten  of  its 
employees  the  same  year  erected  a  building,  and  eight  of  them  are 
now  manufacturing  under  the  name  of  the  Sandwich  Co-operative 
Glass  Company. 

Another  important  manufactory  is  that  of  Spurr's  Patent  Veneers, 
Marqueteries,  and  Wood  Carvings.  In  1882  Charles  W.  Spurr,  of  Bos- 
ton, started  veneer  cutting  in  the  building  formerly  belonging  to  the 
Cape  Cod  Glass  Works.  In  1887  others  became  interested,  creating 
the  firm  of  Charles  W.  Spurr  &  Co.  A  large  number  of  men  are  now 
engaged  in  cutting  veneers  for  cigar  boxes,  car  work,  furniture,  and 
for  ornamental  uses,  and  carvings  for  furniture  and  ceilings.  In  con- 
nection with  it  a  company  was  formed  in  the  autumn  of  1888  called 
the  Cape  Cod  Glass  Company,  of  which  Charles  W.  Spurr  is  the  presi- 
dent.   The  cutting  and  decorating  of  glass  employs  many  men. 

Near  the  works  mentioned,  is  the  factory  of  the  Bay  State  Tack 
Company.  The  manufacture  of  tacks  was  begun  by  Stephen  R.  Wing 
and  Stephen  R.  Rogers,  southwest  of  the  village  in  the  old  cotton 
mill,  which  was  built  by  Mr.  Wing's  father,  Samuel.  They  did  busi- 
ness as  the  Sandwich  Tack  Company  and  after  Zenas  R.  Hinckley, 
their  successor,  had  been  followed  by  some  Sandwich  people  as 
owners,  Jones  &  Heald  bought  the  property  about  1863  and  operated 
it  under  its  original  name,  until  its  destruction  by  fire  in  1883.  In 
the  meantime  E.  B.  Rowland  organized  the  Bay  State  Tack  Company 
and  in  1880  they  built  the  factory  still  standing  near  the  Catholic 
church,  and  operated  there  for  several  years.  In  1882  Jones  &  Heald 
bought  of  the  Central  Manufacturing  Company  of  Boston,  who  had 
purchased  of  the  two  Burgess  brothers,  a  two-thirds  interest  in  this 


280       •  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

factory  and  leasing  the  other  third  of  Mr.  Howland,  have  operated  the 
works  until  the  present  time.  These  works  are  valuable,  being  com- 
posed of  a  good  building,  125  by  35  feet,  20-horse  power  engine, 
twenty-four  tack-cutting  machines  and  other  tools  and  machinery. 

An  institution  for  mutual  saving  and  assistance  in  building,  called 
the  Sandwich  Co-operative  Bank,  was  organized  August  11, 1885,  and 
chartered  October  1,  same  year,  with  an  authorized  capital  of  $1,000,- 
000.  It  began  business  December  15, 1885,  occupying  Hunt's  Hall  for 
a  place  of  meeting.  Stock  was  issued  at  the  first  meeting  of  which 
88  members  took  133  shares.  The  sixth  series  was  issued  June  18, 
1889.  J.  E.  Pratt,  M.D.,  has  filled  the  office  of  president  since  the 
organization;  E.  B.  Howland,  vice-president;  and  W.  H.  Heald,  secre- 
tary and  treasurer.  The  office  of  treasurer  was  distinqt  and  filled  by 
Frank  H.  Burgess  until  1888.  The  Sandwich  Savings  Bank  was  an 
institution,  in  operation  prior  to  1874,  which  was  closed  by  order  of 
the  commissioner,  and  paid  80  cents  on  the  dollar  to  its  stockholders. 

The  Cape  Cod  Glass  Company  mentioned,  was  the  outgrowth  of  a 
business  started  in  1859  by  Deming  Jarvis  after  his  severance  from 
the  Boston  and  Sandwich  Company.  He  then  erected  the  building 
now  occupied  by  Charles  W.  Spurr  &  Co.  for  the  manufacture  of  glass 
by  his  son  and  son-in-law,  and  from  this  the  first-named  company  was 
established;  it  is  said  to  have  closed  its  doors  the  day  Deming  Jarvis 
died.  Another  unsuccessful  enterprise  connected  with  the  various 
glass  manufactories  was  the  building  of  a  steamer  to  ply  between 
Sandwich  harbor  and  Boston.  Mr.  Jarvis,  while  agent  of  the  Boston 
and  Sandwich  Glass  Company,  instituted  this  steamship  line  after  the 
advent  of  the  railroad.     It  was  very  soon  discontinued. 

The  express  business  has  become  important  from  the  growing  in- 
dustries, and  its  present  daily  loads  of  freights  manipulated  by  Wil- 
lard  E.  Boyden,  the  agent,  could  not  have  been  so  readily  transferred 
by  the  old-time  Plymouth  and  Sandwich  stage  line  of  his  father's,  of 
which  this  business  is  the  continuation.  The  father's  line  was  super- 
seded by  the  railroad  and  Williard  E.,  who  assisted  him,  has  filled  the 
position  of  agent  since  the  arrival  of  the  first  train.  The  livery  and 
boarding  stables  of  Mr.  Boyden  are  the  outgrowth  of  the  stage  line. 

Other  business  places  worthy  of  mention  in  1889  were  the  stores 
of  F.  F.  Jones,  boots  and  shoes;  J.  C.  Stever,  jewelry;  Proctor  Broth- 
ers, druggists;  George  N.  Chipman,  druggist;  and  H.  G.  O.  Ellis,  boots 
and  shoes. 

East  Sandwich  post-village  was  settled  very  soon  after  the  princi- 
pal village  of  the  town,  and  many  of  the  early  proprietors  were  at- 
tracted here  by  its  beauty  and  fertility  to  take  up  their  abodes.  Its 
proximity  to  Sandwich  village  has  given  its  people  very  desirable  re- 
ligious and  educational  privileges,  as  well  as  business  relations.    It  is 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  281 

situated  along  the  county  road  in  rural  loveliness,  its  denizens  enjoy- 
ing the  embodiment  of  town  and  village  life  in  every  phase  of  each. 
The  station  of  the  Old  Colony  road  is  midway  between  East  Sandwich 
and  Spring  Hill,  where  both  communities  have  the  traveling  and 
mail  facilities  of  other  villages  on  the  line.  In  1889  a  larger  and 
more  convenient  station  was  built. 

Grange,  No.  139,  of  East  Sandwich,  was  chartered  March  4,  1887, 
-with  a  membership  of  21.  Samuel  H.  Nye  was  chosen  master;  John  F. 
Carlton,  lecturer;  Mrs.  Jerome  Holway,  secretary;  and  Joseph  Ewer, 
overseer.  In  1889  this  Grange  numbered  52,  and  an  iissociation  was 
formed  by  its  members,  called  The  East  Sandwich  Mill  and  Hall  As- 
sociation, the  object  being  to  erect  a  grist  mill  and  Grange  hall.  A  mill 
was  purchased  at  Centerville,  transported  and  erected  ^pon  the  site 
-where  Dea.  Samuel  H.  Nye's  mill  stood  so  long;  and  a  commodious 
hall  for  public  use,  as  well  as  their  own,  has  been  erected  apart  from 
the  grist  mill.  The  stockholders  are  members  of  the  Grange  but 
others  than  members  were  permitted  to  take  shares.  Joseph  Ewer 
was  elected  president  of  the  association  and  Samuel  H.  Nye,  superin- 
tendent. 

There  is  no  hotel  here;  but  many  years  ago,  when  staging  and 
traveling  along  the  county  road  was  the  order  of  the  day  the  old  Hall 
tavern  kept  by  Joseph  Hall,  was  one  of  the  important  institutions. 
On  the  south  side  of  the  road  where  Samuel  H.  Nye  lives  was  the 
site,  and  G.  B.  Howland  has  the  old  sign  that  swung  before  the  door. 
Mr.  Hall  also  kept  a  store  and  the  post  office.  He  was  appointed 
postmaster  April  10,  1818,  when  the  office  was  established,  and 
served  until  the  appointment  of  Joseph  Hoxie,  August  26. 1840.  The 
office  was  discontinued  February  28,  1864,  and  since  its  re-establish- 
ment Joseph  Ewer,  succeeded  by  his  wife,  kept  the  office  for  many 
years  at  his  house  where  it  now  is. 

Spring  Hill  is  just  westerly  from  East  Sandwich  on  the  county 
road  and  is  the  same  community  practically,  but  enjoying  its  own  post 
office.  This  office  was  established  when  Paul  Wing  had  his  celebrated 
boarding  school  here.  Nathan  Wing  was  the  acknowledged  postmas- 
ter in  the  first  days  of  the  office,  succeeded  by  Miss  Elizabeth  Holway, 
■who  resigned  it  some  twenty-five  years  ago  to  the  care  of  Mrs.  C.  J.  Hol- 
way. Miss  Lottie  Taber  was  appointed  in  1880  and  the  office  is  at  her 
residence.  Prior  to  the  coming  of  the  railroad  one  office  served  East 
Sandwich  and  Spring  Hill.  Spring  Hill  is  properly  named  from 
the  many  springs  that  issue  from  its  sides  and  summit,  and  a  stream, 
sufficient  for  mill  purposes  and  for  which  it  was  formerly  used,  is 
formed  from  these  crystal  fountains,  and  meanders  through  the  fer- 
tile valleys  to  the  harbor.  The  Friends'  church  and  cemetery,  the 
most  important  places  of  interest  here,  are  mentioned  elsewhere. 


282  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

This  part  of  the  town  was  early  settled.  The  remains  of  the  dam 
of  the  old  Benjamin  Nye  saw  mill  only  are  extant  in  the  brook; 
but  tradition  says  that  Deming  Jarvis  sawed  staves  in  the  old  mill 
as  late  as  1841.  Here  was  the  later  business  of  W.  C.  &  I.  K.  Chip- 
man,  sash  and  blind  works.  Spring  Hill  is  fast  becoming  a  summer 
resort,  and  one  train  of  cars  stopped  there  daily  each  way,  during 
the  summer  of  1889  to  accommodate  the  inhabitants.  Cedarville,  in 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  town,  is  noticeable  from  the  remembrance 
of  early  school  days.  In  1878,  men  who  had  been  pupils  in  the  old 
school  house  there,  formed  the  Cedarville  School  Association,  bought 
the  house  and  lot,  and  from  city  and  farm,  wherever  scattered,  hold 
a  mid-summer  meeting  within  the  walls  of  the  old  school  house. 
It  has  been  modeled  into  a  suitable  hall  and  was  the  meeting  place 
of  the  East  Sandwich  Grange  until  its  own  hall  was  completed. 
David  N.  Holway,  of  Boston,  has  been  the  secretary  since  the  or- 
ganization, and  Jerome  R.  Holway  is  now  president. 

South  Sandwich  is  a  post-hamlet  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
town,  having  daily  mail  from  West  Barnstable,  with  W.  H.  Meiggs 
to  dispense  it  in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  the  department.  The 
first  postmaster  here  was  Lemuel  Ewer,  appointed  June  3, 1826.  He 
was  succeeded  April  24, 1837,  by  Solomon  C.  Howland, 

Forestdale  is  the  name  given  to  Greenville  when  the  people 
asked  for  a  post  oflSce  about  three  years  ago.  It  is  in  the  south 
part  of  the  town  west  of  Wakeby  pond,  and  enjoys  a  daily  mail  by 
being  on  the  route  of  the  Mashpee  stage  to  Sandwich.  The  post- 
master is  William  Osborne  who  was  appointed  with  the  formation 
of  the  office.  He  also  has  a  store  of  which  he  was  proprietor  prior  to 
having  the  office. 

Civil  History.— The  civil  history  of  Sandwich,  like  every  planta- 
tion of  Plymouth  colony  in  its  first  few  years  of  life,  was  intimately 
blended  with  the  church,  and  the  latter  wielded  power  sufficient 
for  the  guidance  of  the  well-disposed  residents.  The  officers  and 
leaders  in  every  station  of  life  were  required  to  act  and  decide  as 
"God  shall  direct." 

In  1639 — two  years  after  its  settlement — the  plantation  received 
its  incorporation  as  a  town  of  Plymouth  colony,  entitling  it  to  se- 
lect its  own  local  officers  and  to  be  represented  at  the  court  in 
Plymouth.  The  same  year  we  find  George  Allen  was  appointed 
and  sworn  as  constable,  but  no  definition  of  his  duties  was  men- 
tioned. His  power  was  unlimited,  however,  for  pigs  without  rings 
in  their  noses  and  people  who  dissented  from  the  established  church 
must  be  looked  after. 

Deputies  were  first  elected  in  1639  and  Sandwich  elected  two  to 
attend  the  first  house  of   representatives  of   Plymouth  colony.      In 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  283 

May,  1651,  Goodman  Tupper,  Goodman  Burge,  sr.,  Nathaniel  Willis 
and  William  Gifford  were  given  power  "  to  call  a  town-meeting  by 
giving  three  days'  warning,  whenever  they  see  occasion  for  the 
same."  The  voters  being  few  and  every  vote  being  needed,  this 
restriction  was  made — "  voted  that  what  neighbors  stay  away  above 
an  hour  after  the  time  appointed  shall  lose  their  votes  in  what  was 
done  before  they  come."  This  vote  empowering  men  to  call  a  town 
meeting  was  the  first  action  upon  what  was  years  after  the  election 
of  selectmen.  A  further  order  for  the  manner  of  calling  town  meet- 
ings was  voted  January  17,  1652. 

The  town  was  gradually  increasing  its  civil  capacity,  but  not  as 
rapidly  as  the  Plymouth  government  desired;  for  we  find  that  in 
1655  Sandwich  was  presented  "  for  not  being  provided  with  stocks 
and  a  whipping  post."  Of  course  these  requirements,  so  necessary 
for  the  enforcement  of  religious  and  civil  laws,  were  at  once  erected, 
and  the  town  had  advanced  another  step  in  self-government.  The 
people  of  Sandwich  soon  after  commenced  a  decided  opposition  to 
such  colonial  laws  as  prescribed  the  penalty  of  fines  and  whippings; 
and  William  Bassett,  the  constable,  was  compelled  to  report  that  he 
was  "opposed  in  the  execution  of  his  office,  and  could  not  collect  the 
rates  or  fines,"  whereupon  a  marshal  was  appointed  for  one  year. 
The  indiflference  of  the  Sandwich  people  to  laws  of  the  church  and 
court  became  so  general,  that  in  court,  October  2,  1658,  after  a  long 
preamble  as  to  "  God's  displeasure  as  manifested  by  his  afflicting 
hand  on  the  country  "  (referring  to  a  recent  earthquake),  as  also  "by 
the  too  much  prevailing  of  a  spirit  of  disunion  both  in  church  and 
civil  affairs,"  an  order  was  issued  for  a  fast  to  be  observed  through- 
out the  colony.  But  this  did  not  lessen  the  love  of  self-government 
among  the  Sandwich  people,  and  Governor  Prence  and  other  magis- 
trates "  appointed  by  the  court  to  make  inquiry  "  into  certain  assump- 
tions of  power  by  the  Sandwich  people,  to  act  wherein  they  have  no 
right  so  to  do  by  reason  of  their  non-legal  admittance  as  inhabitants  " 
according  to  order  of  October  3,  1639. 

The  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  Plymouth  court  was  required  of  the  set- 
tlements in  each  of  the  towns,  and  such  of  the  new-comers  as  consid- 
ered this  order  of  the  court  a  blow  against  their  civil  rights,  refused 
to  take  the  oath,  and  were  heavily  fined  or  disfranchised.  The  lan- 
guage of  the  court  was,  "  therefore  ordered  that  those  men  aforesaid 
and  every  of  them,  shall  henceforth  have  no  power  to  act  in  any 
town-meeting  till  better  evidence  appear  of  their  legal  admittance ; 
nor  to  claim  title  or  interest  to  any  town  privileges  as  town's  men, 
according  to  the  court's  orders  aforesaid  ;  this  order  also  to  take  hold 
of  any  others  besides  who  shall  appear  to  have  no  legal  admittance 
as  aforesaid."     Submission  to  the  church  was  the  door  to  citizenship. 


284  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

In  1663  the  court  enacted  that  every  town  choose  three  to  five  se- 
lectmen "  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  court,  for  the  better  manag- 
ing of  town  affairs."  This  was  the  origin  of  the  election  of  selectmen. 
These  selectmen  could  issue  summonses  in  his  majesty's  name,  and, 
adjust  all  diflferences  between  townsmen  the  amount  not  exceeding 
40s. ;  also  adjudge  all  differences  between  English  and  Indians.  Not- 
withstanding this  law  the  court  still  usurped  the  rights  granted  to  the 
towns.  A  single  mention  of  this  usurpation  of  power  is  sufficient. 
On  the  11th  of  June,  1665,  a  precept  of  the  court  was  issued  to  five 
prominent  citizens  of  Sandwich  "  to  take  serious  and  effectual  course  " 
that  a  certain  Indian,  named  in  the  order,  have  his  corn  preserved, 
and  justice  done  him  for  damage  to  his  com  from  horses.  The  same 
power  that  issued  the  order  had  but  two  years  previously  given  this 
right  to  the  towns.  But  without  any  prejudice  as  a  historian,  only  to 
illustrate  the  trials  of  these  good  men  of  Sandwich,  we  should  speak 
of  an  enactment  of  the  Plymouth  government  of  1670.  The  few  dead 
whales  that  floated  upon  the  shore  of  the  town  bordering  on  Cape 
Cod  bay  had,  with  other  fisheries,  brought  to  the  town  a  small  income, 
of  which  the  Plymouth  people  now  claimed  a  portion.  The  preamble 
to  the  act  says, "  Whereas  the  providence  of  God  hath  made  Cape  Cod 
commodious  to  us  for  fishing  ";  ending  with  the  law  that  12d.  be  paid 
for  every  barrel  taken  and  one  barrel  of  oil  for  every  whale  found. 
The  reader  will  concur  in  the  fact  that  it  was  wise  and  kind  in  the 
Creator  to  make  the  Cape  so  commodious  to  them,  but  not  wise,  and 
a  singular  act  of  gratitude  for  them  to  require  such  a  burden  from  the 
Sandwich  people  because  he  had. 

The  value  of  a  local  government  becoming  more  and  more  appar- 
ent, and  as  all  residents  were  not  freemen,  care  was  required  even  at 
that  time  to  preserve  the  purity  of  the  ballot  box ;  and  February  23, 
1675,  the  town  voted  "  to  record  the  names  of  all  those  that  can  make  . 
appear  their  just  right  to  the  privileges  of  the  town  ";  and  it  was  also 
"  ordered  that  those  entitled  to  vote  who  do  not  attend  town  meetings 
be  fined  2s.  6d.  each  for  each  and  every  delinquency."  These  voters 
were  recorded  in  the  same  open  town  meeting:  Caleb  Allen,  Frs. 
Allen,  George  Allen,  Jed.  Allen,  Ralph  Allen,  Wm.  Allen,  John 
Blackwell,  Mich.  Blackwell,  Neh.  Bessie,  John  Bodfish,  Job  Bourne, 
Rd.  Bourne,  Saml.  Briggs,  George  Buit,  Jacob  Burge,  Thos.  Butler, 
Rd.  Chadwell,  Thos.  Dexter,  sr.,  Hy.  Dillingham,  John  Ellis,  sr.,  Am- 
brose Fish,  Nathl.  Fish,  sr.,  Edm.  Freeman,  sr.,  Edm.  Freeman,  jr., 
Peter  Gaunt,  John  Gibbs,  Thos.  Gibbs,  sr.,  Wm.  Gifford,  Thos.  Green- 
bill,  Rt.  Harper,  Joseph  Holway,  John  Jenkins,  Samuel  Knott,  Thos. 
Landers,  John  Newland,  Wm.  Newland,  Benj.  Nye,  sr.,  Edw.  Perry, 
Hy.  Sanderson,  James  Skiff,  sr.,  Stephen  Skiff,  John  Smith,  Wm. 
Swift,  sr.,  Thos.  Tobey,  sr.,  Thos.  Tupper,  sr.,  Thos.  Tupper,  jr.,  Isaac 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  285 

Turner,  Mich.  Turner,  Danl.  Wing,  Joseph  Wing,  Steph.  Wing,  Thos. 
Wing,  ST.,  Joseph  Winsor. 

In  1677  were  added  Geo.  Barlow,  Elisha  Bourne,  Daniel  Butler, 
Mordecai  Ellis,  Benj.  Hammond,  Lodowick  Hoxie,  Ezra  Perry,  sr., 
Ezra  Perry,  jr. 

These  good  men  earnestly  began  to  make  town  laws  for  their  own 
benefit ;  among  others  a  penalty  was  affixed  for  stripping  the  bark 
from  any  young  tree.  The  election  of  selectmen,  a  record  of  which 
had  commenced  in  1667,  also  other  officers,  was  annually  held  in  open 
town  meeting. 

At  the  town  meeting  of  1681  the  townsmen  admitted  to  vote  for 
officers  were :  John  Allen,  jr.,  John  Barlow,  Wm.  Bassett,  Josh.  Black- 
well,  John  Blackwell,  Nathan  Bourne,  Nathan  Barlow,  John  Chip- 
man,  jr.,  John  Dexter,  John  Dillingham,  Edw.  Dillingham,  Freeman 
Ellis,  Manoah  Ellis,  Matthias  Ellis,  Mord.  Ellis,  John  Fish,  Edm. 
Freeman,  jr.,  Israel  Gaunt,  Saml.  Gibbs,  Israel  Gaunt,  Chris.  Gififord, 
Saml.  Gififord,  Sam.  Hammond,  Rich.  Handy,  Joseph  Holway,  Gideon 
Hoxie,  Joseph  Hoxie,  Zeth.  Jenkins,  Rd.  Landers,  Caleb  Nye,  Eben. 
Nye,  Jona.  Nye,  Nathan  Nye,  Oliver  Norris,  John  Perry,  Saml.  Perry, 
Saml.  Perry,  jr.,  Benj.  Smith,  sr.,  John  Smith,  jr.,  Shubael  Smith, 
Eph.  Swift,  Wm.  Swift,  jr.,  Jireh  Swift,  Eph.  Tobey,  John  Tobey, 
Nathan  Tobey,  Jona.  Tobey,  Israel  Tupper,  John  Wing,  Nathl.  Wing, 
Saml.  Wing,  Eben.  Wing,  Jashub  Wing,  Danl.  Wing,  jr.,  Benoni 
•Young. 

On  the  poll  lists  of  the  present  day,  and  for  many  years  previously, 
the  names  of  voters  may  be  seen,  which  cannot  be  gpiven  within  the 
compass  of  this  work  and  need  not  be,  for  they  are  made  public  by 
the  proper  officers.  But  the  names  of  the  freemen  of  the  17th  cen- 
tury, who  once  occupied  the  soil  of  Sandwich  and  long  ago  mingled 
their  ashes  with  its  dust,  deserve  to  be  perpetuated  in  history  where 
the  lapse  of  time  cannot  efface  the  inscription  already  illegible  upon 
the  tablets  erected  to  their  memory.  The  sons  of  the  freemen  named 
in  the  first  list  had,  at  the  dawn  of  the  18th  century,  become  qualified 
by  the  lapse  of  years  to  perpetuate  the  names  of  the  fathers,  and  the 
number  entitled  to  the  "rights  of  the  town  "was  greatly  increased. 
At  a  town  meeting  held  June  25,  1701,  the  names  of  the  freemen  were 
enrolled.  The  records  of  the  meeting  do  not  state  whether  these  were 
all  the  freemen  of  the  town  at  that  date,  or  only  those  present;  but  if 
taken  with  the  lists  preceding,  the  reader  will  have  the  names  of  those 
who  managed  the  affairs  of  Sandwich  nearly  two  hundred  years  ago. 
The  names  were  Daniel  Allen,  John  Bodfish,  Ezra  Bourne,  John  Lan- 
ders, Benj.  Perry,  John  Pope,  Eldad  Tupper,  Samuel  Swift,  Zacheus 
Jenkins,  John  Allen,  sr.,  John  Allen,  jr.,  Rich.  Allen,  Wm.  Allen,  John 
Barlow,  Nathan  Barlow,  Wm.  Bassett,  Neh.  Bessie,  John  Blackwell, 


286  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Josh.  Black-well,  Mich.  Blackwell.  Elisha  Boume,  Nathan  Bourne, 
Shearj.  Bourne,  Timo.  Bourne,  Jacob  Burge,  John  Perry,  Dan.  Butler, 
John  Chipman,  Roland  Cotton,  Edw.  Dillingham,  Hy.  Dillingham, 
John  Dillingham,  Matthias  Ellis,  Mord.  Ellis,  John  Fish,  Edm.  Free- 
man, sr.,  Edm.  Freeman,  jr.,  Benj.  Gibbs,  John  Gibbs,  Saml.  Gibbs, 
Thos.  Gibbs,  John  Gifford,  Eph.  Swift,  Saml.  Gifford,  Rd.  Handy,  Jo- 
seph Holway,  Gid.  Hoxie,  Lud.  Hoxie,  John  Jennings,  Saml.  Knott, 
Saml.  Lawrence,  Oliver  Norris,  Benj.  Nye,  Caleb  Nye,  Jona.  Nye,  John 
Nye,  Nathan  Nye,  Edw.  Perry,  Ezra  Perry,  sr.,  Israel  Tupper,  Saml. 
Perry,  Saml.  Prince,  Sam.  Sanderson,  Steph.  Skifif,  Benj.  Smith,  John 
Smith,  sr.,  John  Smith,  jr.,  Shubael  Smith,  Jireh  Swift,  Wm.  Swift, 
Gershom  Tobey,  Jona.  Tobey,  John  Tobey,  Nathan  Tobey,  Saml.  To- 
bey,  Thos.  Tobey,  Thos.  Tupper,  sr.,  Danl.  Wing,  Ebenr.  Wing,  John 
Wing,  Nathl.  Wing,  Shearj.  Wing,  Steph.  Wing. 

In  1687  John  Allen,  sr.,  was  chosen  "  Sealer  of  weights,  measures, 
and  yards  "  and  Edward  Perry  "  Commissioner."  These  elections  of 
town  officers  had  now  become  fully  developed  by  the  division  of  the 
colony  into  counties  in  1685,  and  the  civil  rights  not  only  of  Sandwich, 
but  other  fully  incorporated  towns,  were  greatly  enlarged.  The  towns 
were  required  to  send  jurors,  which  Sandwich  did  for  the  first  time,  in 
1686.  These  additional  rights,  perhaps,  increased  the  taxes  tempora- 
rily, but  a  home  government  had  been  instituted,  and  each  town  had 
been  endowed  with  more  local  powers.  The  general  court  also  pro- 
vided "  that  the  former  titles  of  lands  be  confirmed,"  which  made  per- 
manent the  titles  to  the  lands  of  the  older  and  later  purchasers  under 
the  seal  of  the  colony. 

One  of  the  best  evidences  of  the  rapid  growth  of  the  town  in  civil 
affairs,  is  the  fact  that  in  1742,  a  jury  box  being  provided  according 
to  law,  Sandwich  placed  therein  the  names  of  eighty-two  competent 
men.  This  number,  if  the  selection  was  made  in  accordance  with  the 
present  custom,  would  indicate  not  only  a  well  settled  town,  but  that 
a  large  proportion  of  its  citizens  were  able  men.  The  people  of  this 
town  were  among  the  first,  in  1753,  to  send  petitions  to  reduce  the  ses- 
sions of  the  inferior  courts  from  four  to  two  each  year,  which  was  ef- 
fected in  1759,  after  other  petitions.  Among  other  laws  enacted  by  the 
town  was  an  important  one  in  1769,  "  to  prevent  damage  to  sheep,  by 
<iogs."  For  keeping  a  blood  hound,  or  a  dog  in  part  of  that  breed,  a 
fine  of  18s.  was  imposed  for  every  week  such  dog  was  kept,  and  every 
hotel  keeper  or  citizen,  who  entertained  persons  who  came  from  other 
towns  to  hunt,  was  fined.  In  1760  the  town  regulated  hunting  within 
its  confines. 

In  the  excitement  consequent  upon  the  enforcement  and  repeal  of 
the  stamp  act  in  1766  by  England,  the  people  of  Sandwich  were  first 
to  oppose  this  abridgment  of  their  civil  rights.    An  entry  December 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  287 

16,  1767,  in  the  town  records  embodies  the  report  of  Colonel  Cotton, 
Solomon  Foster,  Stephen  Nye,  Nathaniel  Freeman,  Samuel  Wing,  and 
Deacon  Smith,  a  committee  previously  appointed  to  consider  a  matter 
of  public  interest;  this  report  and  the  resolutions  therein  were  twice 
read,  and  adopted,  whereby  the  citizens  agreed  not  to  buy  imported 
goods  after  January  1,  1768;  nor  allow  such  goods  to  be  brought  into 
the  town;  and  if  any  one  persisted  in  it  he  was  to  be  discountenanced 
in  the  most  effectual  manner.  This  early  action  by  the  Sandwich 
people  evinces  their  inherent  love  of  ci\nl  liberty  which  they  fully 
demonstrated  in  all  the  affairs  of  the  town  and  in  subsequent  adher- 
ence to  those  principles  and  actions  that  led  to  the  removal  of  taxation 
by  severance  from  England.  Another  link  in  the  chain  of  proof  was 
that  at  a  town  meeting  in  May,  1773,  the  town  voted  to  instruct  their 
representative  to  obtain  an  act  of  the  general  court  to  prevent  the  im- 
portation of  slaves  into  the  county,  and  that  all  children  "  that  shall 
be  born  of  such  Africans  as  are  now  slaves  among  us  shall,  after  such 
act,  be  free  at  the  age  of  21  years." 

The  election  of  officers  and  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of 
the  town  were  not  seriously  interrupted  during  the  stirring  events 
of  the  revolutionary  war,  although  the  fact  appears  that  the  then  po- 
litical factions  of  whig  and  tory  were,  for  a  time,  nearly  balanced. 
Later  the  whigs  were  in  the  ascendency,  and  June  21,  1776,  the  town 
voted  "  that  should  the  Hon.  Congress  of  the  United  Colonies  declare 
these  colonies  independent  of  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britian,  We  sol- 
emnly  engage  with  our  lives  and  fortunes  to  support  them  in  the  meas- 
ure." If  the  spirit  entertained  and  proclaimed  by  the  citizens  of  Sand- 
wich had  been  manifested  in  every  town  of  the  colonies,  and  had  been 
made  known  to  those  immortal  signers  of  the  declaration  of  July  4th 
following,  all  doubts  of  success  in  the  struggle  for  the  rights  declared 
would  have  been  reinoved. 

There  was  no  abridgment  of  the  civil  rights  of  the  town  during 
the  long  struggle  of  the  colonies,  but  the  duties  of  the  officers  and  the 
taxes  of  the  town  were  greatly  increased.  It  was  voted  May  19, 1779, 
to  hire  ;{ri,000  to  meet  the  town's  expenses,  and  the  burdens  of  the 
following  year  were  no  less  onerous,  for  the  committee  was  instructed 
"to  apply  to  such  of  the  meeting  of  Friends  as  are  thought  to  have 
money  to  spare  for  a  loan ;  and  in  case  they  refuse  they  shall  be  liable 
to  be  drafted."  The  requisitions  were  too  frequent  for  the  prompt 
response  of  the  town,  and  in  1781  the  assessors  were  empowered  by  a 
vote  "  to  use  their  best  endeavors  to  procure  one  or  more  constables 
on  as  reasonable  terms  as  possible."  The  collection  of  the  taxes  de- 
volved upon  this  officer,  and  it  was  difficult  to  get  any  one  to  serve 
because  the  taxes  had  been  so  frequent  and  occasioned  so  much  dis- 
tress in  the  collection. 


288  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  town  the  foremost  citizens  made  the  ser- 
vice of  the  colony  in  oflBcial  stations  a  matter  of  patriotism,  and  even 
since  the  days  of  modem  politics,  capable  and  worthy  men  have  been 
advanced  to  positions  of  trust  in  the  state  government. 

The  first  meeting  of  deputies  in  general  court,  was  June  4,  1639. 
The  following  persons  were  chosen,  in  the  order  given,  to  represent 
the  town  of  Sandwich,  each  serving  the  number  of  years  afl&xed  ta 
the  name:  1639,  Richard  Bourne,  14;  1639,  John  Vincent,  7:  1640^ 
George  Allen,  4;  1642,  Wm.  Newland,  8;  1642,  John  Allen,  1;  1642, 
Thomas  Burge,  11;  1643,  Edw.  Dillingham,  1;  1643,  Henry  Feake,  2; 
1644,  James  Skiflf,  13;  1646,  Edm.  Freeman,  sr.,  1;  1646,  Thos.  Tupper, 
19;  1662,  Wm.  Bassett,  sr.,  3;  1663,  Thos.  Dexter,  1;  1668,  Thos.  Wing, 
sr.,  1;  1669,  Edm.  Freeman,  jr.,  7;  1673,  Thos.  Tupper,  jr.,  8;  1673,  Wm. 
Swift,  4;  1675,  Stephen  Skiff,  10;  1684,  Shearj.  Bourne,  2;  1691,  Elisha 
Bourne,  1. 

Representatives  being  required  by  Governor  Phips  in  1692,  the 
first  '  Great  and  General  Court '  under  the  new  charter,  assembled 
June  eighth.  Sandwich  was  represented  as  follows ;  the  date  of  first 
election  and  total  years  of  service,  if  more  than  one,  are  given  :  1692, 
Thos.  Tupper;  1692,  Shearj.  Bourne  3;  1693,  Samuel  Prince,  6;  1696, 
Stephen  SkifiF,  10;  1697,  William  Bassett,  7;  1698,  Thomas  Smith,  2; 
1711,  Eldad  Tupper,  3;  1713,  Mel.  Bourne,  4;  1714,  Saml.  Jennings,  3; 
1715,  John  Chipman,  2;  1722,  Israel  Tupper;  1725,  Ezra  Bourne,  10; 
1739,  Timo.  Ruggles,  6;  1742,  Saml.  Tupper,  7;  1763,  Roland  Cotton,  8; 
1761,  Stephen  Nye,  18;  1775,  Nathl.  Freeman,  4;  1775,  Joseph  Nye,  3d, 
16;  1779,  Lot  Nye;  1785.  Abm.  Williams,  2;  1787,  Thos.  Smith,  3;  1787, 
Thos.  Nye;  1797,  Wm.  Bodfish,  7;  1804,  John  Freeman,  7:  1806,  Benj. 
Percival,  6;  1810,  Elisha  Pope,  6;  1812,  Benj.  Burgess,  10;  1812,  Peter 
Nye;  1812,  Thos.  H.  Tobey;  1817,  Russell  Freeman,  6;  1824,  Obed  B. 
Nye;  1825,  Wendell  Davis;  1830,  Shad.  Freeman,  3;  1830,  Thos.  Swift; 
1834,  Abm.  Nye,  3;  1836,  Jesse  Boyden,  2;  1835,  Daniel  Weston;  1836, 
Lemuel  B.  Nye;  1836,  Abram  Fish;  1837,  Charles  Nye  3;  1837,  Josiah 
Bacon,  3;  1837,  Benj.  Bourne,  4;  1840,  Jno.  B.  Dillingham.  2;  1840,. 
Geo.  W.  Ellis,  3;  1843,  Asahel  Cobb,  6;  1845,  David  Benson,  2;  1845, 
William  Handy,  jr.;  1846,  Charles  Swift,  2;  1847,  F.  B.  Dillingham; 
1849,  Henry  Bourne,  2;  1850,  Zebedee  Green;  1850,  Henry  V.  Spurr,. 
1854,  Reuben  Collins,  jr.;  1855,  Joseph  H.  Lapham;  1856,  Chas.  H. 
Nye,  2.     Representatives  since  1856  are  given  at  page  47. 

In  1662,  it  was  enacted  by  the  general  court,  that  "  in  every  town 
of  this  jurisdiction  there  shall  be  three  or  five  selectmen  chosen  by 
the  townsmen,  out  of  the  freemen — such  as  shall  be  approved  by  the 
Court,  for  the  better  managing  of  the  afifairs  of  the  respective  town- 
ships." The  first  record  made  of  selectmen  in  Sandwich,  was  in  1667; 
and  the  following  have  served:   1667,  Thos.  Tupper,  5;    1667,  James 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  289 

SkiflF,  9;  1667,  Thos.  Burgess,  2;  1668,  Edm.  Freeman,  11;   1669,  Thos. 

Wing,  4;    1672,  Thos.  Burgess;   1673,  Wm.  Swift,  sr.,  16;   1676,  Steph. 

Skiff,  7;    1675,  Thos.  Tupper,  jr.,  14;    1679,  Jno.  Blackwell,  3;    1684, 

Shearj.  Bourne,  4;  1688,  Elisha  Bourne,  9;  1688,  Wm.  Bassett,  11;  1693, 

Saml.  Prince,  5;   1694,  John  Gibbs,  2;    1696,  Shubael  Smith,  3;   1697, 

Thomas  Smith;  1698,  Jonathan  Nye;   1699,  Danl.  Allen,  4;   1699,  John 

Smith,  13;    1704,  Edw.  Dillingham,  10;    1707,  Israel  Tupper,  13;    1709, 

Matthias  Ellis;   1710,  Edm.  Freeman,  sr.,  7;   1712,  Eliakim  Tupper, 

12;   1712,  Saml.  Jennings;   1715,  Jno.  Chipman,  6;   1718,  Wm.  Bassett, 

jr.,  8;  1720,  Jireh  Swift,  2;  1723,  Stephen  Skiff,  19;  1726.  Elisha  Bourne, 

9;  1736,  Jno.  Freeman,  24;  1740,  Saml.  Tupper,  19;  1744,  Ebenr.  Nye,  6; 

1752,  Joshua  Hall;   1762,  Thomas  Smith,  9;   1769,  Solomon  Foster,  8; 

1760,  Ebenr.  Allen,  3;    1761,  Jona.  Bassett,  10;    1763,  Thos.  Bourne,  7; 

1763,  John  Allen,  13;   1766,  Mich.  Blackwell,  4;   1770,  John  Smith,  7; 

1773,  Joseph  Nye,  3d,  18;  1773,  Seth  Freeman,  13;  1776,  Sylvs.  Nye,  6; 

1779,  Lot  Nye;    1783,  Thos.  Burgess,  3;    1784,  George  Allen,  9;    1786, 

Sylvanus  Gibbs,  2;   1787,  Thos.  Swift;   1787,  Thos.  Smith,  2;    1787, 

Steph.  Chipman,  2;    1788,  Ebenr.  Allen;   1789,  Thos.  Foster,  2;   1791, 

Abm.  Williams,  4;  1796,   Nathan  Nye,  jr  ,  22;   1796,  Leml.  Freeman; 

1797.  Benj.  Percival,  19;    1798,  George  Allen,  9;    1807,  Jas.  Freeman; 

1809,  Elisha  Perry,  13;    1816,  Mel.  Bourne,  15;    1817,  William  Handy; 

1817,  Thos.  W.  Robinson,  3;  1818,  Levi  Nye;  1822,  Bethuel  Bourne,  7; 

1824,  Steph.  Holway,  2;    1826,  Henry  Lawrence,  3;   1827,  Ezra  Tobey, 

3;  1829,  Jesse  Boyden,  17;  1829,  Benj.  Bourne.  8;  1834,  Abram  Nye,  3; 

1835,  Russell  Freeman;    1836,  Chas.  Nye,  2;   1836,  J.  B.  Dillingham,  6; 

1836,  Joseph  Hoxie;  1841,  Elisha  Pope;  1841,  Simeon  Dillingham,  6; 
1841,  Clark  Hoxie,  4;  1847,  Ch.  B.  H.  Fessenden,  7;  1861,  Geo.  Gid- 
dings,  2;  1861,  Edw.  W.  Ewer,  6;  1863,  F.  B.  Dillingham,  3;  1864, 
Reuben  Collins,  jr.,  2;  1866,  Joshua  Handy;  1866,  Seth  B.  Wing,  9; 
1868,  Mason  White,  9;  1768,  Isaiah  Fish,  16;  1864,  H.  G.  O.  Ellis,  18; 
1864,  Zebedee  Green;  1865,  Paul  Wing;  1866,  Nathaniel  Burgess;  1867, 
Reuben  Collins,  10;  1876,  Chas.  Dillingham,  16;  1877.  Isaiah  Fish; 
1878,  David  D.  Nye,  6;  1882,  George  Hartwell,  2;  1884,  James  Shevlin, 
3;  1887,  F.  S.  Pope,  2;  1887,  Samuel  H.  Nye,  2;  1889,  Benj.  F.  Cham- 
berlain; 1888,  Frank  H.  Burge.-JS. 

There  are  no  means  of  ascertaining  with  certainty  who  were  the 
treasurers  of  the  town  during  the  first  fifty  years  after  its  settlement. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  in  most  instances  the  clerks  served  in  this 
capacity  also.  We  give  the  names  and  order  so  far  only  as  we  can  do 
it  with  accuracy:  1694,  Samuel  Prince;  1699,  Thomas  Smith;  1701, 
John  Smith,  jr.:  1719,  Saml.  Jennings;  1752,  Solomon  Foster;  1755, 
Silas  Bourne;  1767,  Jonathan  Bassett;  1760,  Thomas  Bassett;  1761, 
Silas  Tupper;  1777,  Thomas  Bassett;  1782,  Benj.  Fessenden;  1782, 
Lemuel  Pope;  1783,  Nathan  Nye.  jr.;  1787,  Abraham  Williams;  1795, 
19 


290  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY.       - 

Melatiah  Bourne;  1803,  James  Bourne,  jr.;  1813,  Heman  Tobey;  1814, 
Nathan  Nye,  jr.;  1825,  Ezra  Tobey;  1838.  William  J.  Freeman;  1840, 
David  C.  Freeman;  1864,  David  C.  Percival;  1869,  H.  G.  O.  Ellis;  1887, 
Frank  H.  Burgess. 

It  is  impossible  to  determine  concerning  several  of  the  first  tovrn 
clerks,  or  the  length  of  time  they  were  in  oflBce:  William  Wood  and 
Thomas  Tupper  were  in  office  before  1668.  The  next  was  in  1669, 
Stephen  Wing;  1670,  Edm.  Freeman,  jr.;  1676,  Thomas  Tupper,  jr.; 
1685,  William  Bassett;  1720,  William  Bassett,  jr.;  1721,  Nathaniel  Eas- 
sett;  1721,  Samuel  Jennings;  1761,  Solomon  Foster;  1763,  Thomas 
Smith;  1768,  Benj.  Fessenden;  1784,  Melatiah  Bourne,  sr.;  1791,  Abra- 
ham Williams;  1796,  Melatiah  Bourne;  1803,  James  Bourne,  jr.;  1814, 
Nathan  Nye,  jr. 

In  1814  Mr.  Nye  was  elected  to  both  the  office  of  treasurer  and 
clerk,  and  since  that  time  the  duties  of  both  offices  have  been  com- 
bined. 

■  Churches — In  the  days  of  the  Puritan  fathers  the  church  was  the 
government,  and  the  formation  of  this  important  institution  was  con- 
temporaneous with  the  planting  of  a  settlement.  The  erection  of  a 
meeting  house  for  religious  and  public  meetings  was  one  of  the  first 
duties  after  the  family  had  been  sheltered.  The  records  of  the  pro." 
prietors  of  Sandwich  do  not,  as  we  can  find,  mention  the  erection  of  a 
building  for  religious  meetings,  nor  is  any  reference  made  to  one 
until  1644 — six  years  after  the  plantation  was  settled — when  at  a  meet- 
ing "  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  repair  the  old  meeting  house."  It 
is  more  probable  that  the  age  of  the  building  was  not  so  much  the 
cause  of  the  need  of  repairs  as  its  hasty  construction. 

When  Mr.  Leverich  assumed  the  pastorate  is  not  definitely  known, 
but  that  he  was  connected  with  the  Sandwich  plantation  in  1640  is 
shown  by  the  colonial  records  in  certain  enquiries  concerning  the  ter- 
ritory. As  early  as  1639  the  church  at  Sandwich  was  presented  "for 
receiving  persons  unfit  for  church  society."  This  enactment  fol- 
lowed: "The  town  is  forbidden  to  dispose  of  anymore  land;"  ard 
Captain  Standish  and  Mr.  Prince  were  appointed  to  at  once  repair  to 
Sandwich  clothed  with  all  power  in  the  premises.  The  next  record 
made  is:  "A  town  meeting,  6  mo.  7,  1644,  warned  by  order  of  the 
selectmen  to  take  course  for  repairing  the  meeting  house,  etc."  Sev- 
eral persons  engaged  to  pay  Thomas  Tupper  in  corn  "  for  as  many 
bolts  as  would  shingle  the  old  meeting-house." 

In  1650,  it  was  "  agreed  upon  by  the  town  that  there  should  be  a 
levie  of  £5  for  Mr.  Leverich  to  pay  for  removing  and  parting  of  his 
house  with  boards  which  was  long  since  promised  to  be  done  for  him 
by  the  town."  This  would  indicate  that  a  parsonage  had  been  already 
erected  and  was  occupied  by  a  pastor;  and  no  doubt  this  work  so  im- 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  291 

portant  to  his  comfort  was  at  once  performed,  for  Robert  Bodfish,  Mr. 
Vincent,  Thomas  Tupper,  and  William  Newland  were  empowered  to 
do  it.  Mr.  Leverich  was  here  in  1653,  for  the  records  of  the  town  give 
him  permission  "  to  pasture  his  hor.se  on  the  town-neck."  In  1654  he 
is  mentioned  among  the  purchasers  and  settlers  who  went  from  Sand- 
wich to  Long  Island. 

A  subscription  for  a  new  meeting  house  is  found  in  the  records  for 
1655.  The  sums  vary,  the  highest  being  two  pounds  and  the  least  one 
shilling.  For  three  years  subsequently  the  names  of  prominent  free- 
men are  entered  as  donors  to  the  new  meeting  house.  The  comple- 
tion of  the  church  was  retarded  by  the  diversity  of  opinion  regarding 
religious  duty,  whifch  greatly  disturbed  and  disaffected  the  commu- 
nity. Peter  Gaunt  was  presented  in  1656  for  not  attending  public 
worship,  to  which  he  answered  that  "  he  knew  no  public,  visible  wor- 
ship." Tradition  says  that  Mr.  Fessenden,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Leve- 
rich, said  "  a  most  unhappy  dissension  occurred  in  the  church  about 
the  time  Mr.  Leverich  left." 

In  1657  an  attempt  was  made  to  sustain  the  ordinances  of  religion 
by  subscription,  and  these  pledges  for  the  support  of  a  minister  were 
small.  Fourteen  names  appear  on  the  record,  in  sums  varying  from 
two  pounds  to  six  shillings.  No  stated  minister  could  be  procured. 
This  want  of  affinity  in  the  town  is  traceable  to  the  sympathy  of  a 
large  portion  of  the  people  for  the  Quakers.  The  general  court  ap- 
pointed a  special  marshal,  one  George  Barlow,  for  one  year,  to  arrest 
persons  teaching  the  principles  of  Quakerism.  Two  English  Friends 
came  here  on  the  20th  of  June,  1657,  to  hold  meetings,  and  they  were 
arrested  as  "  extravagant  persons  and  vagabonds."  William  Newland, 
in  whose  house  the  meetings  were  held,  was  fined  for  his  intercessions 
in  their  behalf.  In  justice  to  Sandwich,  be  it  understood  that  these 
proceedings  were  the  action  of  the  court  at  Plymouth,  and  Bowden 
says:  "  The  selectmen  of  the  town  whose  duty  it  was  to  see  them  whip- 
ped, entertained  no  desire  to  sanction  measures  so  severe  towards 
those  who  differed  from  them  in  religion,  and  declined  to  act  in  the 
case." 

James  Skiff,  the  deputy  to  general  court  in  1659,  was  rejected  be- 
cause he  was  friendly  to  his  neighbors  holding  other  than  orthodox 
ideas.  Nehemiah  Besse  was  fined  by  the  court  in  1663  "  for  drinking 
tobacco  on  the  Lord's  day."  These  seeming  severities  of  the  Plymouth 
court  are  mentioned  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  show  why  the  people 
of  Sandwich  were  not  a  unit  in  supporting  the  established  church. 
This  religious  intolerance  was  in  a  great  degree  checked  by  the  inter- 
position of  the  royal  commissioners  sent  by  the  queen  in  1665. 

In  1676  the  name  of  John  Smith  was  added  to  the  list  of  freemen, 
and  he  commenced  his  pastorate  with  the  people.     The  people  had 


292  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

been  supplied  by  Messrs.  Bourne  and  Tupper.  The  affairs  of  the 
church  assumed  a  better  phase  soon  after  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Smith, 
and  in  1680  a  rate  of  ;^50  was  ordered  for  the  support  of  the  minister. 
The  pastoral  duties  of  Mr.  Smith  closed  in  1688  at  his  own  request. 
The  active  males  were  only  five  at  this  time.  Mr.  Pierpont  of  Rox- 
bury  was  invited  to  the  pastorate,  but  before  he  was  settled  he  ac- 
cepted a  more  satisfactory  call.  In  1690  lands  were  set  apart  for  the 
support  of  the  minister,  and  in  1691  Mr.  Roland  Cotton  was  invited  to 
continue  his  labors,  which  had  been  temporary.  He  was  ordained 
November  28,  1694.  Lands  had  been  voted  to  him  "  to  be  held  by 
him,  his  heirs  and  assigns  forever  if  he  remain  among  us  until  God 
take  him  away  by  death  or  otherwise."  If  he  went  away  by  any  other 
means  then  these  lands  reverted  to  the  town. 

Liberty  of  conscience  was  assured  by  the  charter  of  1692,  and  church 
membership  was  no  longer  deemed  the  only  requisite  for  civil  prefer- 
ment. Additions  were  made  to  the  church,  and  its  membership  was 
increased  to  ten  males  and  twelve  females.  The  land  given  Mr.  Cot- 
ton "to  improve  so  long  as  he  continues  here  in  the  ministry,"  was 
"  the  small  neck  lying  between  the  two  runs  of  water."  The  affairs 
of  the  church  brightened  under  Mr.  Cotton's  pastorate,  and  in  1700  it 
was  voted  that  "  the  selectmen  see  that  the  meeting  house  is  ground- 
pinned  and  the  windows  mended."  In  1702-3  appropriation  was  made 
for  a  new  church,  but  in  the  discretion  of  the  committee  the  old  one 
was  repaired;  its  window  seats  were  raised,  a  tower  was  erected  in 
which  a  bell  was  placed,  and  the  town  voted  "  that  the  person  who 
takes  care  of  the  meeting  house  shall  ring  the  bell." 

The  celebrated  Roland  Cotton  was  called  to  a  higher  sphere  March 
29,  1722,  after  a  long  pastorate.  In  response  to  the  invitation  by  the 
committee,  Mr.  Benjamin  Fessenden  was  ordained  September  12, 
1722,  and  the  dwelling  of  Mrs.  Cotton  was  purchased  for  his  use. 

In  1732  the  people  at  Scusset  (Sagamore)  desired  a  separate  organi- 
zation, and  a  society  was  organized  after  three  years  of  controversy. 
Jireh  Swift,  Eliakim  Tupper  and  others  erected  a  meeting  house,  and 
Francis  Wooster  was  installed  as  pastor  and  served  several  years. 
But  these  seceders  at  Scusset  were  compelled  to  pay  a  tax  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  parent  church  at  Sandwich  village,  and  the  petition  of 
Moses  Swift  and  thirty-three  others  in  1739,  to  be  released  from  such 
taxation,  was  refused. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Fessenden,  August  7,  1746,  left  the  church  with- 
out a  pastor  for  two  years,  during  which  period  unavailing  efforts 
were  made  to  fill  the  vacancy.  In  1748,  by  agreement,  the  names  of 
five  ministers  were  presented,  from  which  the  names  of  two  were  sub- 
mitted to  the  church  to  select  from,  and  the  choice  fell  upon  Mr.  Law- 
rence.    But  his  anxiety  was  not  equal  to  that  of  the  church,  and  he 


TOWN   OF  SANDWICH.  293 

declined  the  proffered  honor.  Mr.  Turrell  was  then  called,  but  de- 
clined. In  1749  Abraham  Williams  accepted  the  call  and  was  installed 
June  14th.  His  pastorate  restored  harmony  and  twelve  of  the  Scusset 
brethren  returned  to  the  parent  church.  The  meeting  house  received 
its  share  of  attention  by  being- thoroughly  repaired  in  1765.  '  The  plan 
of  the  pews  of  this  meeting  house  and  the  owners,  with  the  price  of 
each,  were  minutely  recorded  on  the  proprietor's  records  of  the  town 
— one  page  representing  the  first  floor  and  another  the  gallery.  In- 
deed it  could  be  said  that  the  aspirations  of  the  church  were  much 
more  heavenward,  for  a  new  and  taller  spire  was  raised  in  which  a 
new  bell  was  placed.  This  occurred  in  1756,  and  soon  after,  the  old 
bell  which  had  been  given  by  Mrs.  Adolph,  whose  husband  was  ship- 
wrecked and  given  a  burial  here,  was  sold  to  the  county  to  be  placed 
in  the  court  house  at  Barnstable. 

Mr.  Williams  died  August  8,  1784,  and  Rev.  Jonathan  Burr  was  in- 
stalled as  pastor  April  18,  1787.  Mr.  Williams  had  exerted  a  lasting 
influence  for  good,  an  evidence  of  which  was  seen  in  the  gratitude  of 
one  of  his  slaves,  who  would  not  accept  freedom  while  his  master 
lived,  and  who  at  his  own  death  bequeathed  to  the  parish  a  fund  from 
the  interest  of  which  a  town  clock  was  purchased.  The  society  had 
become  so  cemented  that  in  1800,  after  the  depreciation  of  the  cur- 
rency by  the  war,  the  vote  was  "  that  Mr.  Burr's  salary  be  paid  by  the 
principal  necessaries  of  life  so  as  to  make  the  compensation  equal  to 
what  it  was  at  the  time  of  his  ordination." 

The  years  1808-9  were  a  period  of  revival  and  interest ;  115  per- 
sons, mostly  heads  of  families,  were  added  to  the  church.  But  Mr. 
Burr,  by  a  change  of  his  views,  greatly  changed  his  parochial  instruc- 
tions, which  created  a  feeling  of  opposition.  Mr.  Clapp,  the  school- 
master, was  the  pastor  occasionally,  when  Mr.  Burr  preached  in  the 
west  part  of  the  town,  and  he  with  others  opposed  Calvinism.  The 
clouds  of  discontent  and  opposition  thickened,  resulting  in  a  storm 
that  dismissed  Mr.  Burr  and  scattered  the  church.  Calvinism  was  the 
descending  bolt  that  rent  the  society,  Mr.  Burr's  adherents  forming  a 
Calvinistic  congregational  society  with  him  as  pastor.  A  severe  con- 
test over  the  church  funds  and  property  followed,  in  which  the  coun- 
cil decided  for  the  seceders,  but  the  supreme  court,  on  appeal,  awarded 
the  property  to  the  original  society,  over  which  Ezra  S.  Goodwin  had 
been  settled.  Mr.  Burr  ministered  to  the  Calvinistic  society  from 
February  26,  1814,  to  1817,  when  he  was  released  by  his  own  urgent 
request,  and  Rev.  David  L.  Hunn  was  the  minister  until  1830;  he  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Asahel  Cobb,  from  March  31,  1831,  to  the  latter 
part  of  1842,  after  which  Rev.  Giles  Pease  officiated  until  1846.  Mr. 
Pease's  adherents  withdrew,  and  March  21,  1847,  formed  a  society  un- 
der the  title  of  "  The  Puritan  Church."   The  life  of  this  society,  being 


294  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

thirteen  years,  was  so  brief  that  of  its  influence  and  history  little  can 
be  said.  It  is  known,  however,  that  a  meeting  house  was  provided 
for  its  use,  which  soon  became  a  place  of  useful  manufactures,  and  is 
now  occupied  by  O.  H.  Rowland  as  a  hardware  store. 

In  the  old  church — called  First  parish — Mr.  Goodwin  oflBciated  un- 
til his  death  in  February,  1833.  His  successor.  Rev.  John  M.  Merrick, 
became  pastor  May  11th  of  the  same  year,  and  continued  till  his  retire- 
ment in  1839.  Rev.  Eliphalet  P.  Crafts  was  installed  September,  1839. 
He  was  succeeded  by  J.  G.  Forman,  in  October,  1854;  by  John  Orrell, 
in  1857;  Albert  B.  Vorse,  1863;  Thomas  W.  Brown,  1864;  Samuel  B. 
Flagg,  1869;  James  Mulligan,  1871;  Charles  T.  Irish,  1876;  M.  C.  Brown, 
1877;  and  C.  F.  Bradley,  in  1886,  who  oflBciated  two  years.  The  pul- 
pit was  supplied  by  dififerent  ministers  until  the  church  in  1889  settled 
Nathan  S.  Hill.  A  new  church  edifice  was  erected  in  1833  and  is  now 
the  meeting  house  of  the  First  parish  generally  known  as  the  Unita- 
rian church.  Charles  E.  Pope,  the  present  sexton,  has  faithfully  rung 
the  bell  and  wound  the  clock  for  half  a  century. 

The  Calvanistic  Congregationalists  were  not  disorganized  by  the 
secession  of  a  portion  of  the  society  in  1846.  Rev.  Elias  Welles  being 
ordained  pastor  July  28, 1847,  which  position  he  acceptably  filled  until 
his  death  in  1853.  Rev.  P.  C.  Headly  was  settled  in  April,  1864,  for 
three  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  William  Caruthers,  June  16, 
1868,  who  was  dismissed  December  4,  1860.  Rev.  Henry  Kimball 
was  ordained  March  18,  1862,  and  was  dismissed  November  27,  1862. 
Rev.  Luther  H.  Angfier  supplied  the  pulpit  for  one  year  from  January  1, 
1863,  and  Rev.  John  C.  Paine  was  installed  as  pastor,  June,  8,  1864; 
Wilbur  Johnson,  in  1867;  Frederick  Oxnard,  1871;  Bernard  Paine, 
1880;  James  B.  King.  1884;  and  William  W.  Woodwell  in  1889.  The 
present  church  edifice  was  erected  in  1848  upon  the  site  of  the  former 
one. 

The  Episcopal  rites  were  observed  here  by  those  of  the  faith  dur- 
ing the  growth  of  the  Freeman  Institute,  which  perhaps  was  instru- 
mental in  the  introduction  of  this  sect.  Rev.  W.  W.  Sever  oflBciated 
a  short  time  in  1864,  under  the  direction  of  the  diocesan  board.  For 
a  few  years  past  Mr.  Bevington  has  preached  to  the  society,  occupying 
the  hall  of  the  old  Universalist  church  on  Jarvis  street.  The  society 
is  now  supplied  from  Boston. 

The  Universalists  organized  a  society  in  1846,  erecting  a  church 
edifice  on  the  corner  opposite  the  residence  of  Gustavus  Howland. 
The  life  of  the  society  was  brief  and  no  special  history  of  it  can  be 
given.  After  the  fire  on  Jar\-is  street,  its  edifice  was  removed  by  J. 
Q.  Miller  to  that  portion  of  the  village  to  do  service  as  a  business 
place,  the  lower  floor  as  stores  and  the  other  as  a  hall. 

As  early  as  1796  Jesse  Lee,  a  pioneer  of  the  M.  E.  church,  preached 


TOWN   OF  SANDWICH.  295 

to  the  Methodists  of  Sandwich,  it  then  being  in  the  circuit  with  other 
towns.  Joshua  Hall  and  Joseph  Snelling  traveled  the  circuit  in  1797, 
and  Epaphras  Kibby  and  Reuben  Jones  in  1798;  Daniel  Fiddley  in  1800; 
Jashua  Soule  in  1801;  the  interval  to  1805  was  filled  by  Solomon  Lang- 
don,  Daniel  Bacheler  and  Moses  Currier;  Erastus  Otis  and  Nathan 
Ryder  preached  in  1806;  Mr.  Asbury,  Nathan  W.  Stearns  and  Joseph 
A.  Merrill  in  1807-8;  B.  F.  Lumbert,  1809;  Stephen  Bailey,  1810;  Aaron 
Lummis,  1811-12.  The  society  was  incorporated  during  the  circuit 
preaching  of  Rev.  Mr.  Lummis.  Stephen  Bailey  preached  in  1813; 
J.  W.  Hardy  in  1815-16;  Richard  Emery,  Benjamin  Hoit  and  Moses 
Fifield,  1817;  Rev.  Mr.  Hazelton,  1818-19;  E.  T.  Taylor,  F.  Upham 
and  Mr.  Brown,  1820-22;  A.  D.  Sargent  and  Jonathan  Mayhew,  ]823- 
24;  Erastus  Otis,  John  Hutchinson  and  J.  M.  Maffit,  1825;  F.  Upham, 
1826-27;  Enoch  Bradley  and  Nathan  B.  Spaulding,  1828;  F.  Upham 
and  Lemuel  Harlow,  1829;  R.  D.  Esterbrook,  1830;  Joel  Steele,  1831; 
C.  C.  Noble  and  Joseph  Marsh,  1832;  J.  J.  Bliss,  1833;  George  Stone, 
1834;  Henry  Mayo,  1835-30;  Henry  H.  Smith,  1837;  Samuel  Phillips, 
1838;  Warren  Emerson,  1839-40;  Elisha  Bradford,  1841-42,  and  again 
in  1852;  George  F.  Pool  in  1843;  Frank  Gavitt,  1844;  Thomas  Ely, 
1845^6;  Robert  M.  Hatfield,  1847-48;  James  D.  Butler,  1849;  Micah  J. 
Talbot,  1851;  Horatio  W.  Houghton,  1853-54;  Bart.  Otheman,  1855-56; 
C.  H.  Payne,  1867;  N.  P.  Philbrook,  1858-59;  Nathaniel  Bemis,  1860- 
61;  W.  V.  Morrison,  1862-63;  William  T.  North.  1864;  William  Star, 
1867;  Charles  Young,  1868;  A.  J.  Kenyon,  1869;  A.  W.  Paige,  1870-71; 
John  Livesey,  1872-74;  Charles  Nutter,  1875-76;  Eben  Tirrell,  1877- 
78;  E.  Fletcher,  1879;  Silas  Sprouls,  1880-81;  J.  Q.Adams,  1882-83;  S. 
M.  Beale,  1884-86;  O.  A.  Farley,  1887-88;  Robert  Clark,  April  1, 1889. 

The  first  church  edifice  was  erected  in  1829,  and  the  present  one 
in  1848. 

In  the  south  part  of  the  town  there  are  two  places  of  worship  more 
humble  in  appearance  than  those  of  the  thickly  settled  north  part,  but 
supplying  the  wants  of  the  respective  communities.  A  small,  plain 
church  building  at  Forestdale,  claimed  to  be  Methodist,  is  used  for 
occasional  service  by  different  denominations;  and  a  school  house  has 
been  purchased  at  South  Sandwich  for  occasional  service  there. 

The  history  of  St.  Peter's  church  extends  back  to  the  first  quarter 
of  the  present  century.  The  erection  of  the  vast  works  of  the  Boston 
and  Sandwich  Glass  Company  created  a  demand  for  workmen  skilled 
in  glass  making,  and  from  various  localities  large  numbers,  of  whom 
many  were  Catholics,  were  drawn  to  Sandwich.  That  their  number 
and  character  were  of  an  elevated  nature  is  evinced  by  the  fact  that 
they  immediately  made  every  possible  effort  to  secure  an  opportunity 
to  build  a  house  where  the  doctrines  of  their  church  might  be  heard. 
Application  was  made  to  the  Rt.  Rev.  B.  J.  Fenwick,  then  bishop  of 


296  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Boston,  who  favorably  considered  their  wishes  and  sent  a  missionary 
to  investigate  their  circumstances.  At  this  time  the  number  of  the 
Catholic  clergy  in  New  England  was  extremely  limited,  and  their 
labors  were  necessarily  scattered  over  wide  tracts  of  territory  between 
Canada  and  New  York.  Such  being  the  case  it  was  impossible  to  have 
at  that  date  a  resident  clergyman  as  they  desired;  but  they  were  glad- 
dened by  occasional  visits  from  the  missionaries.  In  1829  a  suitable 
frame  building  adapted  to  their  necessities  was  erected,  and  on  the 
19th  day  of  September,  1830,  the  church  was  dedicated.  The  follow- 
ing account  of  the  service  of  dedication,  taken  from  a  Boston  periodi- 
cal, is  interesting  at  the  present  time.  "  On  Sunday  the  19th  of  Sep- 
tember, the  imposing  ceremony  of  dedicating  a  new  church  to 
Almighty  God  took  place  at  Sandwich.  An  immense  concourse  of 
people  of  all  denominations  had  assembled  at  10  A.M.  to  witness  the 
interesting  ceremony.  So  great  was  the  anxiety  that  many  individu- 
als of  other  towns,  especially  Warebam,  and  no  small  number  on  foot 
came  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles.  The  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop,with  Rev.Virgil 
H.  Barber  and  a  number  of  the  laity  of  Boston,  including  a  select  por- 
tion of  the  choir  of  the  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Cross,  embarked  on  the 
Saturday  morning  previous  on  the  packet  Henry  Clay,  in  expectation 
of  reaching  Sandwich  the  same  evening;  but  in  consequence  of  con- 
trary winds  they  did  not  arrive  in  port  until  the  next  morning  at 
11.30,  an  hour  later  than  the  time  announced  for  the  divine  service. 

"  The  Rt.  Rev.  Wm.  Tyler,  who  was  afterwards  the  first  Bishop  of 
the  Diocese  of  Providence,  had  gone  by  land  a  few  days  before  in 
order  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  and  was  about  to  begin  the 
service  of  the  day  when  the  anxiety  of  all  was  relieved  by  the  arrival 
of  the  Bishop  and  his  party.  The  clergy  and  assistants  repaired  to 
the  house  of  Mr.  John  Doyle,  and  at  noon  commenced  a  procession 
through  the  main  street,  followed  by  a  long  line  of  Catholics.  The 
ceremony  of  dedication  was  performed  in  a  very  impressive  manner, 
the  clergy  below  and  the  choir  above  alternating  the  solemn  tones  of 
the  Miserere.  At  5  p.m.  the  church  was  again  opened,  large  numbers 
being  unable  to  gain  admittance.  The  Bishop  and  Rev.  Mr.  Barber 
delivered  discourses.     The  services  continued  to  a  late  hour." 

Great  interest  and  religious  enthusiasm  was  shown  by  the  mem- 
bers and  a  deep  religious  spirit  prevailed  among  them.  Far  away 
from  the  central  points  where  their  brethren  dwelt,  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  a  priest — all  seemed  to  increase  in  them  the  spirit  of  faith, 
and  doubtless  gave  them  a  thorough  appreciation  of  those  blessings 
which  are  esteemed  more  highly  only  as  they  are  with  difficulty  ob- 
tained. 

At  stated  intervals  the  church  was  visited  by  clergymen  from  Bos- 
ton, all  of  whom  at  the  present  day  have  rested  from  their  labors  after 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  297 

many  trials  and  hardships,  such  we  may  say  as  were  of  old  encoun- 
tered by  the  Apostle  St.  Paul.  Among  the  old  records  may  be  found 
the  names  of  Revs.  P.  Byrne,  George  Goodwin  of  Charlestown,  Mass., 
John  O.  Beirne,  J.  J.  Aylward,  R.  A.  Wilson  and  John  T.  Roddan. 
A  few  of  the  earlier  members  are  now  left  who  recall  the  labors  and 
self-sacrifices  of  these  noble  missionaries  who  gave  their  lives  for  the 
salvation  of  the  scattered  faithful  of  those  days,  and  these  names  will 
ever  be  held  by  them  in  grateful  memory  and  benediction. 

In  September,  1850,  the  first  resident  pastor.  Rev.  William  Moran, 
was  appointed  to  the  charge  of  the  church.  At  that  time  the  mission 
embraced  all  of  Barnstable  county,  with  Plymouth,  Wareham,  and  all 
the  country  between  Middleboro  and  Provincetown.  Rev.  Mr.  Moran 
remained  in  charge  of  this  extensive  district  about  fourteen  years, 
when  he  removed  to  Ware,  Mass.,  where  he  now  resides  at  an  advanced 
age.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Peter  Bertoldi,  a  native  of  Italy,  who 
labored  with  zeal  and  energy  until  the  separation  of  southwestern 
Massachusetts  from  the  Boston  jurisdiction  and  its  attachment  to  the 
diocese  of  Providence,  which  occurred  in  1872,  when  he  retired  from 
the  pastorate  and  returned  to  his  native  country. 

His  successor  for  a  short  period  was  Rev.  H.  F.  Kinnerny.  He  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  M.  McCabe  of  Fall  River,  Mass.,  who  remained 
about  two  years,  when  Rev.  Andrew  J.  Brady  assumed  charge  and 
labored  earnestly  for  seven  years,  after  which  he  withdrew  from  the 
parish  and  removed  to  Fall  River,  Mass.,  where  he  has  since  died. 

The  present  pastor.  Rev.  T.  F.  Clinton,  entered  upon  the  pastorate 
in  November,  1880.  He  is  a  native  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  the  College  of  the  Holy  Cross  at  Worcester,  Mass.,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  1870.  He  then  entered  the  New  York  Provincial 
Theological  Seminary  at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  there  completed  the  usual 
theological  course  of  studies.  His  first  appointment  was  to  St.  Mary's 
church,  Newport,  R.  I.,  where  he  remained  for  a  period  of  eight  years 
until  his  appointment  to  the  present  position.  In  Sandwich,  Rev. 
Father  Clinton  has  made  many  important  improvements  in  the  church 
property — the  church  being  almost  rebuilt  and  the  interior  beautifully 
decorated.  A  new  sanctuary  was  made,  which  is  elegantly  furnished, 
and  the  many  needed  improvements  accomplished,  place  the  edifice 
among  the  best  churches  in  New  England. 

Schools. — These  important  assistants  in  the  proper  development 
of  the  body  politic  may  have  been  supported  by  private  means  prior 
to  1680,  or  the  action  of  the  town  relative  to  schools  may  yet  be  hid- 
den in  the  imperfections  of  the  early  records;  for  in  the  year  men- 
tioned we  find  by  the  first  entry  that  "  at  a  town-meeting  for  the  choice 
of  military  officers,  it  was  agreed  to  allow  ;^12  in  pay  as  it  ordinarily 
passes,  to  Mr.  James  Chadwick  upon  consideration  that  he  keep  a 


298  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

school  in  Sandwich  one  year."  The  school  was  continued  from  this 
date,  and  the  schoolmaster's  wages  were  gradually  increased  with  his 
duties.  The  teacher  of  those  days  was  assured  of  the  gratification  of 
at  least  one  desire  of  his  nature,  for  contracts  were  made  "with  diet." 
The  term  "  boarding  'round  "  if  used  in  a  contract  for  teaching  was 
only  an  earnest  of  a  variety  of  toothsome  corn  cakes  and  bacon.  The 
advance  must  have  been  rapid,  for  in  1699  the  teacher,  Mr.  Battersby, 
was  called  "grammar-schoolmaster"  with  a  salary  of  £10,  "he  to 
teach  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic."  A  still  greater  advance  is 
noted  in  the  records  of  1707,  in  which  year  Sandwich  voted  "  that 
Thomas  Prince  be  hired  to  instruct  the  children  in  reading,  writing, 
arithmetic  and  latin,  and  those  who  send  shall  pay  ;£^10  more." 

This  was  addditional  to  the  ;^10  and  board,  voted  by  the  town; 
and  whether  it  was  rated  among  the  Latin  scholars  only,  or  among 
the  whole  number  does  not  appear.  Samuel  Jennings  assumed  the 
mastership  of  the  school  in  1710,  and  was  succeeded  in  1711  by  Mr. 
James  Dorr,  who  was  allowed  ";^20  and  diet."  In  1713  Mr.  Samuel 
O.sborn  was  hired  for  £Q0  per  year,  and  was  to  teach  Latin  and  Greek 
with  the  English  branches.  Tuition  was  charged  for  pupils  according 
to  the  studies  pursued,  and  this  important  school  was  to  be  open  to 
the  young  of  the  neighboring  towns.  A  school  house  was  built  this 
year  "on  the  common  near  the  middle  of  the  town." 

In  1720  John  Rogers  was  employed  to  teach,  but  at  what  wages  is 
not  known;  nor  can  any  historian  speak  of  his  qualifications  for  the 
important  position. 

In  1724  Major  Bourne  was  appointed — "to  answer  for  the  town  at 
Barnstable  court,  to  the  presentment  for  not  having  a  school-master 
approbated  according  to  law."  Mr.  Rogers  continued  teaching  for 
many  years  at  the  annual  sum  of  ;^20  and  "  board  round;  "  but  as  late 
as  1751  James  Otis,  Esq.,  lodged  a  complaint  against  the  town  "  for 
not  being  provided  with  a  schoolmaster  according  to  law."  Agents 
were  chosen  by  the  town  to  answer  this  charge  at  the  general  sessions 
at  Barnstable,  and  it  is  evident  that  the  law  in  the  premises  was  en- 
forced, for  in  1752  Silas  Tupper  who  was  engaged  by  the  town  for  the 
sum  of  ;^26,  13s.,  4d.  and  board,  is  recorded  as  a  teacher  "  according 
to  law."  He  remained  twenty-five  years  in  the  service  of  the  town, 
teaching  alternate  terms  at  Sandwich  village  and  Scusset. 

In  1778  the  excitement  and  burdens  consequent  upon  the  war 
caused  a  neglect  of  the  schools  and  a  failure  to  provide  funds  for 
their  support.  More  schools  were  required  at  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century,  but  the  teachers'  names  are  not  recorded.  The 
amount  of  money  appropriated  annually  by  the  town  has  steadily  in- 
creased, being  $500  in  1810,  $1,200  in  1829,  $2,180  in  1842,  and  $9,000  in 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  299 

1876.     The  first  year  after  division  from  Bourne,  $5,100  was  appropri- 
ated, and  in  1889,  $5,600. 

Rev.  Jonathan  Burr,  in  1803,  while  in  charge  of  the  church  at 
Sandwich,  urged  the  establishment  of  an  academy  for  the  purpose  of 
promoting  education  and  piety  amoung  the  youth.  In  response  to 
a  large  petition  Sandwich  Academy  was  incorporated  February  21, 
1804,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Burr  became  its  principal.  A  board  of  eighteen 
trustees  was  elected,  eight  of  whom  were  residents  of  Sandwich  and 
ten  were  chosen  from  adjoining  towns.  A  grant  of  six  square  miles 
of  land  in  the  district  of  Maine  was  made  by  the  legislature  for  the 
use  of  the  academy,  provided  that  the  sum  of  $3,000  be  actually  raised 
and  secured  by  its  friends  for  its  endowment.  It  was  a  useful  institu- 
tion, rising  to  a  high  standard  among  similar  schools  in  New  England. 
.  Mr.  Burr  was  succeeded  by  Elisha  Clapp,  A.M.,  assisted  by  Miss  Bath- 
sheba  Whitman  as  preceptress.  Before  the  close  of  the  first  decade 
of  the  academy  religious  dissensions  caused  its  decline  in  usefulness 
and  importance.  Its  incorporation  and  name  have  been  perpetuated 
by  an  election  of  trustees  annually. 

Many  years  ago  the  school  committee  of  Sandwich  hired  the  prop- 
erty for  a  high  school  which  has  continued  its  existence.  In  1881  the 
academy  building  was  sold  by  the  trustees  to  Susan  McFarland,  and  is 
now  occupied  as  a  boarding  house.  From  the  sale  of  the  building 
here  and  the  lands  in  Maine,  a  more  suitable  building  was  erected 
which  is  now  occupied  by  the  high  .school  of  the  town.  This  school 
has  attained  a  high  standard  and  to  its  excellence  the  efficiency  of  the 
other  schools  of  the  town  is  largely  due.  In  1882  a  class  of  thirty-six 
pupils  were  examined  for  admission  to  the  high  school,  twenty-four  of 
whom  were  admitted  after  a  rigid  examination;  but  in  a  similar  ex- 
amination a  few  years  before  only  two  out  of  eighteen  could  be  ad- 
mitted. The  benefit  of  this  high  school  is  also  clearly  demonstrated 
in  the  fact  that  in  recent  years  a  large  portion  of  its  graduates  have 
been  engaged  as  teachers  of  the  first  grade.  The  scholars  have  been 
held  to  a  high  plane  of  excellence  in  order  to  be  admitted,  which  fact 
has  created  the  habits  of  application  and  a  more  thorough  prepara- 
tion in  the  lower  departments,  thus  strengthening  the  interest  in  and 
benefits  from  the  entire  system. 

In  1862  the  schools  were  placed  under  the  town's  care,  called  the 
Massachusetts  system,  abolishing  that  of  districts,  and  from  this  date 
their  progress  was  more  rapid.  The  school  houses  were  lessened  in 
number,  better  teachers  were  employed,  and  the  schools  rapidly  ad- 
vanced in  attendance  and  standing.  In  his  report  of  1874-75,  Charles 
Dillingham  suggested  that  the  town  avail  itself  of  the  law  providing 
for  the  conveyance  of  pupils  to  and  from  public  schools,  which  was 
.  done.     In  1876  the  custom  of  a  rigid  examination  at  the  close  of  every 


300  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COU^rrY. 

term  was  inaugurated,  which  proved  eminently  successful  in  advanc- 
ing the  grade  by  inducing  greater  care  and  industry  on  the  part  of 
the  pupil  as  well  as  teacher.  In  1877  Sandwich  was  third  in  the  county 
in  the  value  of  its  school  property,  a  commendable  liberality  that  has 
produced  its  reward.  A  list  of  meritorious  scholars  was  next  printed 
in  the  reports  of  the  schools  of  the  town,  which  fact  was  another  in- 
centive to  regular  attendance  and  proper  industry.  The  adoption  of 
by-laws  in  accordance  with  the  statute  regarding  truant  children,  was 
also  a  help  to  the  advancement  of  the  schools.  The  town  elected  of- 
ficers for  the  enforcement  of  these  laws.  The  superintendent  oif 
schools  had  given  a  large  Share  of  his  time  to  the  schools  while  they 
were  in  session  for  the  past  few  years;  apparatus  had  been  purchased 
and  other  and  better  text  books  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  pupils,  and 
in  1886  the  schools  were  found  by  comparison,  as  reported  by  George 
H.  Martin  of  the  state  board,  to  be  on  a  higher  plane  of  excellence 
than  most  of  the  towns  of  the  county  and  equal  to  the  best.  The 
printed  list  of  meritorious  scholars,  given  for  1883  by  the  .superintend- 
ent, forms  an  army  of  young  soldiers  struggling  for  an  education,  and 
strongly  supported  by  parents  and  school  oflBcers.  The  erection  of 
the  town  of  Bourne  in  1884  reduced  the  number  of  schools  to  nine,  the 
village  school  having  three  departments  and  the  Jarvisville  two. 
Free  text  books  were  supplied  by  the  town  the  same  year,  and  under 
the  laws  of  1885,  text  books  and  charts  on  physiology  were  added. 

Societies. — DeWitt  Clinton  Lodge,  A.F.  and  A.  M.,  was  given  a 
dispensation  under  which  it  worked  one  year  with  Thomas  R.  Borden 
as  master.  The  charter  was  received  March  16,  1866,  and  the  charter 
members  were:  William  E.  Boyden.  Rev.  Thomas  R.  Borden,  Rev.  J. 
G.  Forman,  Charles  B.  Hall,  Dr.  John  Harper,  Seth  F.  Nye,  John  W. 
Pope,  and  Bazillia  Sears.  The  masters  have  been:  Rev.  John  R.  Bor- 
den, 1856;  Dr.  John  Harper,  1857-59;  for  the  years  1860-62  the  record 
was  burned;  W.  H.  F.  Burbank,  1863-65;  A.  F.  Sherman,  1866-67;  C. 
B.Hall,  186&-69;  I.T.Jones,  1870-71;  W.  C.  Spring,  1872-73;  A.  F. 
Sherman,  1874-76;  W.  A.  Nye,  1877-78;  D.  F.  Chessman,  1879-80;  F. 
W.  Holway,  1881-83  and  1890;  J.  F.  Knowles,  1886;  C.  M.  Thompson, 
1887;  C.  T.  C.  Whitcomb,  1888;  Dr.  G.  E.  White,  1884-85  and  1889. 
The  Lodge  numbered  55  members  in  1889.  The  treasurer  for  1890  is 
Willard  E.  Boyden,  and  the  secretary  Ambrose  E.  Pratt. 

The  Cape  Cod  Mutual  Benefit  Association  was  instituted  February 
7,  1879,  for  mutual  life  insurance,  and  has  a  large  number  of  benefici- 
aries. Charles  Dillingham  was  elected  its  first  president  and  I.  K. 
Chipman  vice-president,  which  offices  they  were  chosen  to  fill  each 
year  after,  including  1889.  Charles  H.  Lapham  was  chosen  secretary 
and  treasurer  at  the  meeting  of  February,  1889. 

The  Knights  of  Honor,  Lodge  No.  1358,  was  instituted  February  3, 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  301 

1879,  and  their  tenth  anniversary  was  celebrated  on  that  date  of  the 
past  year.  The  charter  members  were  thirteen  in  number,  and  the 
Lodge  now  embraces  a  large  number  of  the  best  citizens  of  the  town. 
Its  dictators  have  been:  A.  F.  Sherman,  1879;  F.  S.  Pope,  1880;  S.  R. 
Bourne,  1881;  S.  W.  Hunt,  1882;  P.  T.  Brown,  1883;  F.  W.  Holway, 
1884;  E.  G.  Hamlen,  1885;  J.  H.  Stevens.  1886;  F.  W.  Holway,  1887; 
and  B.  F.  Chamberlain,  1888-89. 

A  flourishing  G.  A.  R.  Post,  Charles  Chipman  No.  132,  is  also  found 
here,  organized  February  24, 1882,  and  meeting  in  Hunt's  Hall.  It  has 
seventy  members.  S.  W.  Hunt  has  filled  the  post  of  commander  dur- 
ing the  years  1882-83-85  and  86;  John  F.  Cunningham  for  1884;  and 
William  C.  GiflFord  for  1887-88-89. 

The  Women's  Relief  Corps  is  an  organization  to  assist  the  G.  A.  R., 
and  meets  the  second  and  fourth  Saturdays  of  each  month.  The  or- 
ganization was  eflfected  June  23,  1887. 

The  ladies  have  also  the  usual  W.  C.  T.  U.,  organized  March  18, 
1887,  of  which  Mrs.  .Mercy  Littlefield  was  two  years  president.  The 
officers  elected  for  1889  were;  Miss  Lydia  Jenkins,  pres.;  Mrs.  Fletcher 
Clark,  vice-pres.;  Delia  R.  Baker,  sec;  and  Mrs.  Vina  Blackwell,  treas. 

The  village  has  three  halls  for  public  use,  the  principal  one  being 
the  Casino  on  School  street,  built  in  1884  by  ten  men.  It  is  a  very 
large  and  pleasant  hall,  accommodating  an  audience  of  eight  hun- 
dred. The  front  offices  are  occupied  by  the  engineer  and  treasurer 
of  the  Cape  Cod  Canal  Company.  The  others  are  Carlton  Hall  on 
Jarvis  street,  and  Hunt's  over  Benjamin  G.  Bartley's  store. 

The  only  library  of  the  village  is  the  Circulating  Library  of  Fred- 
erick S.  Pope,  in  the  .same  building  with  the  post  office. 

The  first  station  agent  of  the  Old  Colony  railroad  was  Captain 
George  Atkins,  who  in  1859  at  his  death  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
Thomas  Atkins;  Alvin  P.  Wing  succeeded  him  a  short  term,  and  March 
13,  1876,  James  D.  Lloyd,  the  present  agent,  was  appointed. 

Cemeteries. — The  records  of  the  proprietors  designated  these 
places  of  the  dead  as  burial  places.  The  first  mentioned  by  the  rec- 
ords is  July  6,  1663,  when  it  was  ordered  "  that  the  little  neck  of  land 
that  lies  by  Wm.  Newland's  house  shall  be  appropriated  as  a  burial 
place  for  the  town."  This  is  known  as  the  old  burying  ground,  par- 
tially surrounded  by  the  ponds  in  Sandwich  village.  In  1695  "  The 
town  did  give  to  those  of  their  neighbors,  called  Quakers,  half  an 
acre  of  ground  for  a  burial  place,  on  the  hill  above  the  Canoe  Swamp 
between  the  ways."  This  is  now  the  Friends'  burying  ground  and 
near  it  the  present  one  is  located.  All  grounds  are  now  kept  in  bet- 
ter order  and  with  more  reverence  than  by  the  proprietors  themselves, 
for  in  1715  by  a  vote,  Mr.  Cotton,  the  minister,  had  the  privilege  of 
pasturing  his  horse  in  the  burying  place  by  the  pond,  if  he  would 


302  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

fence  it  by  joining  each  end  of  the  fence  to  the  pond.  It  has  now  a 
substantial  wall  where  the  fence  was. 

The  Catholics  have  a  small  cemetery  northeast  of  the  village,  and 
have  more  recently  purchased  land  for  another  to  the  southwest.  The 
Plowed  Neck  Cemetery  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town  and  the  Wing, 
Spring  Hill  or  Chipman,  are  also  names  given  to  another  old  burying 
ground;  at  Sand  Hill  (by  some  called  Plain  Hill),  Farmersville,  formerly 
Hog  Pond;  and  Greenville  or  Forestdale,  are  others.  There  is  also  a 
small  one  at  Wakeby. 

As  early  as  1829  the  Freeman  Cemetery  was  used  for  burial,  and 
was  incorporated  April  13,  1889.  The  trustees  elected  were  Watson 
Freeman,  C.  I.  Gibbs,  and  George  F.  Lapham;  the  clerk  elected  was 
William  L.  Nye. 

Bay  View  Cemetery  was  incorporated  June  23,  1868,  and  contains 
over  six  acres  of  land  situated  near  the  Freeman  Cemetery.  The  origi- 
nal purchasers  were  W.  H.  F.  Burbank,  H.  G.  O.  Ellis,  John  C.  C. 
Ellis,  Samuel  Fessenden,  S.  W.  Hunt,  James  M.  Atherton,  Seth  O. 
Ellis,  James  D.  Lloyd,  James  H.  Faunce,  Samuel  C.  Burbank,  and 
Charles  E.  Pope.  W.  H.  F.  Burbank  was  president  until  March  12, 
1889,  when  Samuel  Fessenden  was  elected;  Charles  Dillingham  was 
elected  vice-president;  and  Charles  E.  Pope,  who  has  served  since  the 
incorporation,  was  elected  secretary. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

David  Armstrong  was  born  in  1827,  in  Ireland,  of  Scotch  parentage. 
He  came  to  the  United  States  in  1849,  and  four  years  later  to  Sand- 
wich, where  he  has  been  a  farmer  since  that  time.  In  1870  he  was 
married  to  Mrs.  Maria  StiflF,  daughter  of  George  and  Lucy  (Smallwood) 
Parker,  and  grand-daughter  of  David  Parker,  Mr.  Armstrong  is  a 
member  of  the  West  Barnstable  Congregational  church  and  a  mem- 
ber of  East  Sandwich  Grange,  P.  of  H. 

Robert  Armstrong  was  born  in  1830,  in  Ireland,  and  is  a  brother 
of  David  Armstrong  mentioned  above.  He  came  to  America  in  1861, 
and  two  years  later  to  Sandwich,  where  he  has  since  been  a  farmer, 
with  the  exception  of  six  years  spent  in  the  West.  In  1861  he  was 
married  to  Dorcas  W.,  daughter  of  Solomon  and  Charity  (Allen) 
Hoxie.  They  have  four  children:  John  A.,  Robert  F.,  George  A.  and 
David  L.  Mr.  Armstrong  is  a  member  of  the  East  Sandwich  Grange, 
P.  of  H.,  and  a  member  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

Thomas  F.  Atkins,  born  in  1832,  is  a  son  of  George',  William*, 
James*,  John',  James  Atkins'.  His  mother  was  Paulina,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Freeman.  Mr.  Atkins  has  been  employed  by  the  Cape  Cod 
and  Old  Colony  Railroad  Company  since  1850,  and  since  1871  has  been 


^I^^^-^      ^   ^$£^pP^^ 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  303 

a  conductor.  He  was  married  to  Almeda  A.  La  Baron.  They  have 
had  four  children,  two  of  whom  are  living — George  and  William. 

Benjamin  G.  Bartley,  j^oungest  son  of  Robert  and  Nancy  F.  Bart- 
ley,  was  born  in  1857  and  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Sand- 
wich. He  taught  school  four  years,  and  since  1880  has  been  a  dry 
goods  merchant  in  Sandwich.  He  was  married  October  3,  1888,  to 
Miss  C.  T.  Newcomb.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Unitarian  church  of 
Sandwich. 

Joseph  S.  Bassett,  born  in  1822  in  Cayuga  county.  New  York,  is  the 
youngest  son  of  Thomas,  and  grandson  of  William  Bassett.  His 
mother  was  Abbie,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Annie  (Freeman)  Swift. 
When  a  lad  he  came  from  New  York  to  Sandwich,  where  he  has  been 
engaged  as  glass  cutter  for  many  years.  He  was  married  in  1848,  to 
Abbie  V.,  daughter  of  Walter  W.  and  Zebiah  G.  (Bird)  Richards. 
They  have  had  two  daughters — Carrie  M.  and  Josephine  Z.,  of  whom 
the  latter  died  September  25,  1875. 

Davis  A.  Blake,  son  of  Sabin  Blake,  was  born  in  1816  in  Walpole, 
Mass.  He  was  engaged  in  whale  fishing  about  twenty-eight  years 
prior  to  1865,  residing  in  Fall  River  and  sailing  latterly  from  New 
Bedford.  He  removed  to  Sandwich  in  1875,  where  he  has  since  lived. 
He  was  m.arried  in  1867,  to  Leslie  P.  Horton,  and  has  one  son,  Robert 
D.  Blake. 

William  E.  Bovden. — Mr.  Boyden  will  be  well  remembered  in  the 
affairs  of  the  county,  and  as  one  of  the  present  century  who  greatly 
assisted  in  the  development  of  various  institutions  that  have  proven 
benefits  to  his  fellow-beings.  He  was  the  son  of  Spencer  Boyden  of 
Walpole,  Mass.,  where  he  was  born  April  29,  1807.  He  was  one  of 
four  children,  and  passed  his  boyhood  in  the  usual  routine,  on  his 
father's  farm,  with  an  occasional  respite  in  burning  a  pit  of  charcoal 
for  the  Boston  market.  His  ambitious  nature  sent  him  out  from  the 
home  of  his  childhood,  and  when  he  was  a  mere  boy  he  was  a  trusted 
employee  in  Mr.  Drew's  line  of  stages  and  express,  then  running  be- 
tween Boston  and  Providence.  In  1822,  when  a  line  of  stages  between 
Plymouth  and  Sandwich  was  established,  Mr.  Boyden  moved  to  Sand- 
wich. He  was  an  active,  persevering  young  man,  making  daily  trips 
from  Sandwich  to  Plymouth  and  return.  This  he  did  as  proprietor, 
for  a  period  of  twenty-six  consecutive  years  without  a  week  day  that 
he  was  not  engaged  on  the  route.  The  present  Central  Hotel,  of  Sand- 
wich, was  the  Cape  terminus  of  the  line,  and  from  there  started  the 
Falmouth,  Yarmouth  and  south-side  stages,  in  which  Mr.  Boyden  was 
more  or  less  interested.  He  drove  four  horses,  to  one  of  those  old- 
fashioned  coaches,  and  it  was  a  characteristic  of  his  to  be  on  his  sched- 
ule time  if  human  device  or  energy  could  prevail.  Once  on  his  way 
to  Plymouth  he  was  snow-bound  at  Cook's  hill  and  could  proceed  no 


304  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

further  with  his  coach,  but  with  his  usual  zeal  he  provided  for  his 
passengers,  tied  the  mails  to  his  horses'  backs,  placed  the  four  horses 
in  a  single  line  and  forced  his  way.  This  particular  coach  remained 
under  the  snow  ten  days.  Mr.  Boyden  was  necessary  to  the  success  of 
this  line,  and  for  the  period  ending  with  the  advent  of  the  railroad 
was  a  strong  factor  in  the  welfare  and  development  of  the  Cape.  It 
is  said  that  on  the  day  preceding  a  Thanksgiving,  he  brought  in  thir- 
teen coaches  filled  with  passengers. 

In  the  height  of  his  prosperity  he  married  Hannah  R.  Hatch  of 
Falmouth,  December  9,  1832.  Their  children  were:  Willard  E.,  the 
successor  of  his  father's  express  business;  Robert  R.,  deceased;  and 
Rebecca  M.,  now  residing  with  Willard  E. 

The  Plymouth  line  was  discontinued  when  the  railroad  was  opened 
to  Wareham,  and  an  express  li^e  was  formed  to  Wareham  by  Mr. 
Boyden  and  Mr.  Witherell,  called  the  "  Witherell  &  Co.  Express." 
After  the  death  of  Mr.  Witherell,  Mr.  N.  B.  Burt  was  taken  as  partner, 
and  this  line  was  called  the  Cape  Cod  Express  Company,  doing  a  suc- 
cessful and  increasi::g  business  by  stage  until  the  completion  of  the 
railroad  to  Yarmouth.  Soon  the  business  was  transferred  to  the  rail- 
road, and  Rufus  Smith  becoming  a  partner,  the  express  business  was 
continued  along  the  Cape.  In  1879,  after  the  death  of  William  E. 
Boyden,  this  company  was  con.solidated  with  the  New  York  &  Boston 
Dispatch  Express  Company,  of  which  Willard  E.  Boyden  has  since 
been  the  agent  at  Sandwich. 

William  E.  Boyden  was  very  liberal  in  his  religious  views,  and  was 
the  treasurer  of  the  Universalist  church  of  Sandwich,  during  its  exist- 
ence. In  all  charitable  enterprises  he  was  among  the  fir.st.  As  re- 
vealing his  sympathetic  nature,  an  incident  related  by  the  venerable 
Paul  Wing  will  be  remembered.  Mr.  Boyden,  among  others,  was 
called  upon  to  aid  a  needy  woman,  to  which  call  he  at  once  responded, 
but  wishing  to  hear  the  details,  her  story  was  told  while  he  listened 
with  tears  running  down  his  cheeks.  He  was  identified  with  every 
improvement  of  his  town,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  public  affairs. 
His  political  views,  always  democratic,  were  marked  by  a  firmness 
which  was  known  and  respected.  In  1836  the  result  of  the  presiden- 
tial election  between  whig  and  democrat  was  yet  undecided,  when  a 
crowd  of  both  parties  assembled  at  the  tavern  to  await  the  news  by- 
Mr.  Boyden's  stage.  He  soon  came  swinging  around  the  bend  by  the 
Unitarian  church,  but  the  peculiar  ring  of  his  whip  as  he  menaced 
his  four  grays,  caused  the  whigs  to  turn  and  say,  "  No  good  news  for 
us."  A  few  years  prior  to  his  death  a  colored  man  approached  him 
for  aid,  and  he  told  him  to  go  to  his  republican  friends,  get  all  he 
could,  return,  and  he  would  give  as  much  as  all  of  them- — and  he  did. 

He  was  the  treasurer  of  DeWitt  Clinton  Lodge  from  its  organiza- 


TOWN   OF  SANDWICH.  305 

tion  to  his  death,  and  Willard  E.  has  been  his  only  successor.  Mr. 
Boyden  was  ever  upright,  and  greatly  respected  for  his  outspoken 
manliness.  He  died  May  1,  1879,  greatly  missed.  After  his  death 
memoranda  were  found,  showing  of  many  thousand  of  dollars  given 
and  loaned  to  needy  friends.  He  was  just  and  generous,  and  has  left 
his  goodness  engraven  on  the  memories  of  his  fellow-men,  where  it 
will  be  more  lasting  than  on  stone. 

Peleg  T.  Brown,  born  September  24,  1836,  in  Scituate,  Mass.,  is  a 
son  of  John  and  Clarrisa  Brown.  He  is  a  tack  maker  by  trade.  He 
came  to  Sandwich  in  1869.  He  has  been  tax  collector  for  the  town  four 
years.  He  was  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  serving  in  Company  B, 
Twentieth  Connecticut  Volunteers,  from  1862  to  1865.  In  1858  he  was 
married  to  Jane  H.  Sherman,  who  died  in  1878,  leaving  one  daughter, 
Mary  L.  In  1880  he  was  married  to  Vesta  M.,  daughter  of  Ansel 
Tobey.  Mr.  Brown  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order  and  a  member 
of  the  Sandwich  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

William  H.  F.  Burbank  was  born  in  1827,  and  died  at  Sandwich, 
September  18,  1876.  He  was  a  son  of  Samuel  Burbank,  and  his  wife 
Louisa  C,  daughter  of  Deacon  Ebenezer  Crocker.  Mr.  Burbank  was 
a  hardware  merchant  at  Sandwich  for  many  years  previous  to  his 
death.  He  was  a  member  of  DeWitt  Clinton  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 
In  1848  he  was  married  to  Helen  M.  Winsor,  who  died  in  1868.  They 
had  eight  children,  four  of  whom  are  living:  Helen  M.,  William  H., 
George  E.  and  Frank  C.  Mr.  Burbank  was  married  in  1869  to  Fanny 
L.,  daughter  of  Freeman  and  Temperance  (Hatch)  Robinson. 

Frank  H.  Burgess,  born  in  1843,  is  the  oldest  son  of  Charles  H.  and 
grandson  of  Perez  Burgess.  His  mother  was  Ann  S.  Nye.  He  has 
been  in  mercantile  business  at  Sandwich  since  1861,  has  been  town 
clerk  and  treasurer  since  March,  1887,  and  was  elected  selectman  in 
1889.  He  was  married  in  1866  to  Arabella  Eldred,  and  they  have  two 
adopted  daughters — Ambrosetta  B.  and  May  G.  Mr.  Burge.ss  is  a 
republican. 

Rev.  Hiram  Carleton,  D.D.,  was  born  in  1811  in  Barre,  Vermont. 
His  father,  grandfather  and  great-grandfather  were  all  named  Jere- 
miah. The  latter  was  a  son  of  Joseph,  whose  father  Lieutenant  John, 
was  a  son  of  Edward  Carleton,  Esq.  His  early  education  was  received 
in  his  native  town;  he  was  graduated  from  Middlebury  College  (Ver- 
mont) in  1833,  and  from  Andover  Theological  Seminary  in  1837,  since 
which  time  he  has  preached  almost  continuously.  In  1881  he  retired 
to  East  Sandwich,  where  he  has  held  religious  services  in  his  resi- 
dence since  that  time.  He  was  married  in  1838  to  Mary  J.  Fisher. 
Their  only  son,  John  F.,  was  born  in  1857,  was  educated  in  Noble's 
private  school  of  Boston,  and  at  Harvard  College,  graduating  in  1881, 
since  which  time  he  has  been  a  farmer  at  East  Sandwich.  He  was 
20 


306  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

married  in  1885,  to  Isabel  A.  Foxcroft,  and  has  two  daughters — Cathe- 
rine Foxcroft  and  Mary.  Mr.  Carleton  is  a  member  of  East  vSandwich 
Grange.  P.  of  H. 

Benjamin  F.  Chamberlain,  son  of  Colonel  Ebenezer  and  Hannah 
(Foster)  Chamberlain,  was  born  in  1838.  He  was  in  the  war  of  the 
rebellion  from  August,  1862,  to  July,  1865,  serving  in  Company  I, 
Fortieth  Massachusetts  Volunteers.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the  gro- 
cery business  at  Sandwich  since  1866.  He  was  elected  selectman  in 
1889.  In  1869  he  was  married  to  Laurany  H.,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Perry.  They  have  two  sons — Charles  F.  and  Walter  C.  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain is  a  republican,  and  a  member  of  Charles  Chipman  Post,  No. 
132,  G.  A.  R. 

Charles  Chipman  was  born  in  1829,  and  was  killed  August  8,  1864, 
in  front  of  Petersburg.  He  served  in  the  regular  army  as  sergeant, 
and  in  April,  1861,  enlisted  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  May  6th  of 
that  year  he  was  chosen  captain  of  Company  D,  Twenty-ninth  Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers,  and  on  the  18th  of  May  started  with  the  first  vol- 
unteers from  Cape  Cod,  for  the  seat  of  war.  After  seven  months'  serv- 
ice he  was  made  major  of  the  Twenty-ninth,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  was  in  command  of  the  Fourteenth  New  York  Heavy  Artillery. 
The  Grand  Army  Post  of  Sandwich  very  appropriately  bears  the  name 
of  one  of  Sandwich's  bravest  heroes.  Mr.  Chipman  was  married 
October  16,  1854,  to  Elizabeth  F.,  daughter  of  Captain  Isaac  and  Eliza- 
beth (Freeman)  Gibbs.  They  had  two  children — Edward,  who  died, 
and  Sarah. 

Stephen  S.  Chipman,  born  in  1834,  is  a  son  of  Stephen  S.  and  a 
grandson  of  Stephen  Chipman.  His  mother  was  Temperance  N., 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Fish.  Mr.  Chipman  is  a  farmer,  and  has  been 
superintendent  of  highways  eleven  years  in  Sandwich.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1859  to  Emily  L.  Allen,  and  has  two  daughters — Charlotte  M. 
and  Estelle  D.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Unitarian  church  of  Sandwich. 

William  C.  Chipman'  was  born  in  1822.  His  father  was  Samuel' 
(John',  Timothy*,  Samuel',  Samuel',  John'),  and  his  mother  was  Nancy 
Churchill.  His  ancestor  John  Chipman',  came  from  England  in  1630 
and  married  Hope,  daughter  of  John  Howland,  one  of  the  Pilgrims. 
Mr.  Chipman  is  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  was  married  in  1849  to  Love 
E.  Nye,  who  died  in  1852,  leaving  one  son — James.  In  1864  Mr.  Chip- 
man  was  married  to  Elizabeth  S.  Underwood,  by  whom  he  has  four 
children:  Grace  E.,  Herbert  L.,  Emily  F.  and  William  C,  jr.  Mr. 
Chipman  is  a  prohibitionist,  and  a  member  of  the  Sandwich  Methodist 
Episcopal  church. 

Fletcher  Clark,  born  in  1853  in  Middleboro,  Mass.,  is  a  son  of  Robert 
C,  whose  father  John  was  a  son  of  Nathaniel  Clark.  His  mother  is 
Hannah  Hooper.     Mr.  Clark  has  been  engaged  in  the  grocery  business 


TOWN.  OF  SANDWICH.  307 

at  Sandwich  since  18715.  He  was  married  in  1881  to  Emma  W.  Greg- 
ory, who  died  in  188o,  leaving  one  daughter,  Eva  H.  He  was  married 
in  1887  to  Elizabeth  Emerson. 

James  W.  Crocker,  born  in  1827  in  West  Barnstable,  is  a  son  of 
William  and  Sarah  (Howland)  Crocker,  and  grandson  of  Ephraim 
Crocker.  He  is  a  carpenter  by  trade,  but  for  the  past  thirty-five  years 
has  kept  a  fruit,  confectionery  and  oyster  store  at  Sandwich.  He  was 
married  in  1856  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Timothy  Swinerton.  They 
have  two  daughters — Carrie  and  Sarah. 

Rev.  Loranus  Crowell.  D.D.,  for  many  years  an  esteemed  elder  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  was  appointed  in  1840  principal  of 
the  Spring  Hill  Seminary,  Sandwich,  and  held  that  position  for  four 
years.  Doctor  Crowell  married,  in  1843,  Elizabeth  Ann  Fuller,  of 
Sandwich. 

Charles  Dillingham',  born  in  1821,  is  descended  from  Simeon', 
Branch',  John',  Simeon*,  Edward',  Henry',  Edward  Dillingham',  who 
came  from  Leicestershire,  England,  to  Lynn,  Mass.,  and  from  there 
in  1637  to  Sandwich,  being  one  of  the  original  proprietors.  The 
mother  of  Mr.  Dillingham  was  Lucy  Tobey.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  senator  from  this  district  two  terms  in  1861  and  1862;  mem- 
ber of  the  house  two  terms,  1886  and  1887;  has  been  on  the  school 
committee  twenty-seven  years,  and  sixteen  years  school  superintend- 
ent; in  March,  1890,  was  elected  selectman  for  the  fifteenth  year. 
He  was  married  in  1845  to  Isabella  Gibbs  who  died  in  1881,  leaving 
three  children:  Nannie  G.,  now  deceased,  Lucy  T.  and  Alfred  E.,  who 
was  married  in  January,  1890,  to  Isabella  Anne,  daughter  of  the  late 
Rev.  Frederick  Freeman  of  Sandwich.  Mr.  Dillingham  is  a  republi- 
can and  a  member  of  the  First  (Unitarian)  church  of  Sandwich. 

Seth  O:  Ellis,  born  in  1822,  is  a  son  of  Stephen,  whose  father, 
Frank,  was  a  son  of  Frank  Ellis.  His  mother  was  Hannah  Raymond. 
He  was  a  carpenter  and  builder  until  1856,  and  since  that  time  has 
been  a  machinist  and  plumber.  In  1845  he  was  married  to  Eliza- 
beth Bennet.  They  have  five  children:  Rose,  Lizzie  M.,  Stephen, 
Calvin  and  Charles  H.  B.      They  lost  three  children. 

John  C.  C.  Ellis,  born  in  1835,  is  a  brother  of  Seth  O.  Ellis  men- 
tioned above.  He  has  been  a  blacksmith  at  Sandwich  since  1853. 
He  was  married  in  1857  to  Eudora  L.  Godfrey,  who  died  in  1877. 
Their  children  were:  Carrie  E.  (born  September  18, 1859,  died  June  7, 
1864),  William  H.  C,  John  F.  and  Mary  E.  He  was  married  in  June, 
1879,  to  his  present  wife,  Melissa  M.  Thurston,  by  whom  he  has  one 
son,  Forest  T.      Mr.  Ellis  is  a  member  of  DeWitt  Clinton  Lodge. 

Russell  Fish,  bom  in  1818,  is  a  son  of  Silas,  and  grandson  of  Silas 
Fish.  His  mother  was  Keziah,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Nye.  Mr.  Fish 
was  a  teacher  until  thirty  years  of  age,  and  since  that  time  has  been 


308  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

a  farmer.  He  was  married  in  1848  to  Caroline  C,  daughter  of  Samuel 
Hunt,  and  has  two  children — George  R.  and  Arvilla  M.  Mr.  Fish  is  a 
member  of  the  Sandwich  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Henry  W.  Goodspeed,  born  in  South  Sandwich,  is  a  son  of  Thomas, 
grandson  of  Walley,  and  great-grandson  of  Joseph  Goodspeed.  His 
mother  was  Lucy,  daughter  of  John  Howland.  Mr.  Goodspeed  is  a 
farmer.  He  has  two  sisters  living — Sylvia  and  Lucy — and  a  brother 
and  sister  deceased — Walley  and  Celia.  He  was  married  in  1874  to 
Mercy  C.  Chadwick,  and  has  two  daughters — Celia  W.  and  Ida  F. 

Charles  Bascom  Hall*  was  born  in  Sandwich,  September  3, 1830, 
and  died  in  the  same  town  in  the  house  where  he  was  born,  January 
27,  1881,  in  the  fifty-first  year  of  his  age.  He  was  the  only  child  of 
Jonathan  Bascom  Hall  and  Clarissa  Sears,  both  of  the  lower  Cape,  who 
came  early  in  their  married  life  to  Sandwich  and  were  always  counted 
among  the  most  thrifty  and  respectable  of  the  townsfolk.  The  Halls 
have  been  always  men  of  business  thrift  and  integrity,  and  come  of 
good  Pilgrim  stock.  Jonathan  B.  was  a  son  of  Jonathan  Hall  and 
Abigal  Bascom.  Abigal  Bascom  was  sister  of  Rev.  Jonathan  Bascom, 
born  in  1740  at  Lebanon,  Conn.,  graduated  at  Yale  College,  1764,  and 
settled  at  Orleans,  1772;  where  after  a  pastorate  of  thirty-five  years, 
"  an  able  minister,  devoted  to  his  work  with  pious  heart,  of  a  happy 
disposition,  somewhat  facetious,  always  kind,"  he  died  1807.  There 
has  never  been  better  blood  on  the  Cape  than  the  Sears',  as  the  suc- 
cess of  the  family  in  literature  and  business  in  the  country  at  large 
proves. 

These  facts  of  ancestry  undoubtedly  furnish  the  key  to  the  unique 
and  pronounced,  and  to  say  truth,  the  unusual  character  of  their  de- 
scendant, Charles  Bascom  Hall.  The  strain  of  his  ancestry  was  strong 
upon  him  all  his  life.  The  writer  of  this  memoir  remembers  him  at 
seven  years  of  age,  as  a  red-cheeked,  cheery  boy,  with  large,  brown 
eyes;  lively,  happy,  always  with  some  humorous  joke  behind  his  smile, 
and  with  a  native  good  humor  which  kept  peace  with  all  his  school- 
mates, unless  under  some  sharp  wrong  which  he  was  never  backward 
in  resenting  in  the  fashion  of  sturdy  and  self-respecting  boyhood.  In 
his  case,  as  his  life  showed,  "the  boy  was  father  to  the  man."  The 
events  of  a  life,  so  gentle,  and  withal  so  useful  as  Mr.  Hall's,  are  easily 
recorded,  and  in  this  case  they  all  agree  in  revealing  the  nature  of  the 
man  behind  them.  Educated  both  in  the  public  schools  of  Sandwich 
and  in  the  private  seminary  of  Rev.  Frederick  Freeman,  he  entered  at 
sixteen,  as  a  clerk,  the  store  of  which  he  was  soon  afterwards  owner, 
as  he  remained  until  his  death.  It  was  outwardly  a  drug  store.  It 
became,  more  and  more,  an  ofiice  where  he  transacted  a  large  and 
varied  business.  For  twelve  years  he  was  postmaster,  under  both  the 
*By  Rev.  N.  H.  Chamberlain. 


TOWN   OF  SANDWICH.  309 

Pierce  and  Buchanan  administrations;  for  many  years  justice  of  the 
peace,  notary  public,  pension  agent,  the  first  treasurer  of  the  Sand- 
wich Savings  Bank,  a  director  in  the  Barnstable  County  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company.  These  public  trusts  unmistakably  show  in  their  num- 
ber the  strengfth  of  the  public  confidence  in  his  business  integrity  and 
ability.  Another  proof  of  the  deep-rooted  and  abiding  confidence  of 
his  fellow  citizens  in  his  public  usefulness  and  integrity  is  found  in 
the  fact  that  though  differing  from  the  majority  cf  them  in  his  poli- 
tics, they  elected  him  moderator  of  their  March  town  meeting  for 
nearly  twenty  years,  an  office  which  he  filled  with  much  dignity  and 
success  in  the  dispatch  of  town  business.  Two  other  facts  in  his  citi- 
zenship complete  his  official  record.  He  was  a  charter  member  of  De 
Witt  Clinton  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  He  was  for  his  lifetime  an  inter- 
ested and  active  member  of  the  First  (Unitarian)  parish  in  Sandwich, 
and  gave  both  time  and  money  freely  for  its  support.  In  that  ancient, 
mystical  order  of  free  masons,  with  its  teachings  of  the  brotherhood 
of  man,  and  the  equality  of  the  good  in  the  presence  of  the  Great 
Architect  of  the  universe,  his  friendly  nature  found  a  congenial  home, 
where  he  could  serve  others  according  to  the  ethical  laws  of  the  order. 
As  a  member  of  the  Sandwich  parish,  he  merely  carried  out  the  law 
of  his  own  Pilgrim  ancestry  as  stated  by  Rev.  John  R0bin.son  in  his 
pathetic  letter  to  his  Plymouth  brethren:  "  Accept  and  follow  the 
truth  wherever  it  may  be  found,"  and  was  a  Unitarian  both  from  tra- 
dition and  conviction. 

It  is  a  truism  hardl)'  worth  repeating,  that  every  man  is  individual, 
with  his  own  mental,  emotional,  and  physical  make-up  in  which  he 
differs  somewhat  from  every  other  man.  It  was  exactly  in  this  make- 
up that  Mr.  Hall  was  unique  and  individual,  though  he  still  belonged 
to  a  class,  though  rather  a  small  one,  as  we  rate  and  estimate  men. 
Mr.  Hall  was  a  well  rounded  man  with  virtue  all  round  his  character — 
what  we  usually  call  a  well-balanced  man. 

Many  men  may  have  either  as  much  intellect,  or  as  much  heart,  or  as 
much  conscience  as  he,  but  it  rarely  happens  that  a  man  has  so  happy 
an  adjustment  and  balance  of  these  three  gifts.  For  instance,  some 
men  are  amiable  and  quiet  in  outward  behavior  because  they  have 
not  intellectual  strength  enough  to  be  greatly  provoked  at  anything, 
or  heart  enough  to  be  greatly  moved  by  distress,  or  conscience  enough 
to  stand  bolt  upright  against  a  wrong; — mere  negative  men,  whose 
mental  impotency  passes  for  the  virtue  of  a  peaceable  character.  It 
was  the  nice  adjustment  in  Mr.  Hall  between  head,  heart,  and  con- 
science which  became  to  those  who  knew  him  such  a  comfort  and  sat- 
isfaction. His  ability  in  business  was  saturated  by  his  kindness  of 
heart.  To  help  a  poor  Irish  woman  to  get  news  of  her  absent  son,  to 
help  a  son  to  send  a  draft  across  seas  to  his  mother,  or  a  soldier  to  get 


310  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

back  pay  from  the  government,  these  and  a  thousand  other  unpaid 
and  generally  unknown  services  pleased  his  friendly  nature,  and  his 
life  was  full  of  them.  But  on  the  other  hand  he  stood  firm  by  his 
principles  in  church  and  state,  and  the  amiability  of  his  nature  had 
always  for  comrade  a  clear,  strong  brain.  He  had  more  in  him  to 
control  than  many,  and  he  controlled  and  portioned  out  his  nature 
better  than  some  of  us.  His  life  therefore  was,  as  the  phrase  runs,  in 
good  form. 

Two  points  more,  visible  in  a  life  like  his,  deserve  mention.  Such 
lives  are  the  substances  out  of  which  human  civilization  is  always 
recreating  itself  in  a  constant  and  peaceable  development  of  human 
interests  and  affairs.  Such  men  are  the  administrators,  so  to  speak, 
of  society.  Other  men  may  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  or  out  to  bat- 
tle fields;  may  travel  in  foreign  parts;  may  emigrate;  may  amuse 
themselves  in  the  ten  thousand  nothings  of  an  idle  life; — fed  to 
satiety  on  luxuries  of  the  cost  of  which  they  never  earned  a  dollar 
— consume  the  world's  wealth  to  which  they  never  contributed  any- 
thing,— and  die,  leaving  nothing  but  a  sad  memory  and  a  handful  of 
dust  and  ashes. 

Men  of  affairs  like  Mr.  Hall,  with  patient  industry,  toil  in  their 
stated  place;  advise,  provide,  make  investments,  watch  over  funds  in 
trust;  save  property  in  its  ten  thousand  forms  from  loss  or  robbery 
— the  driving  wheels  of  the  world's  economy,  and  rest  well  in  honor 
after  their  toil  and  vigil.  Such  lives  remind  one  of  that  famous 
award  of  King  David  to  his  followers  at  the  brook  Besor:  "  But  as 
his  part  is  that  goeth  down  unto  the  battle,  so  shall  his  part  be  that 
tarrieth  by  the  stuff.     They  shall  part  alike." 

It  was  in  social  life,  however,  that  Mr.  Hall's  kind  nature  best 
revealed  itself;  for  though  naturally  modest  and  retiring,  he  was 
fond  of  his  old  friends  and  their  society.  In  his  own  American 
home,  in  that  nursery  of  the  best  of  our  people,  that  powerful  offset 
against  public  wrangle  and  corruption  in  high  places,  he  was  all 
that  a  good  man  should  be,  with  less  of  human  infirmity  than  most 
men  show — a  good  husband  and  father,  as  in  public  life  he  was  a 
good  and  useful  citizen.  He  married,  in  1855,  Charlotte  E.  Lapham 
of  Sandwich,  and  left  one  daughter.  This  memoir,  while  mention- 
ing the  public  loss  and  public  sorrow,  veils  with  silence  the  sacred 
memories  of  private  sorrows  greater  than  those  which  the  world 
ever  knows.  Perhaps  the  words  of  the  poet  might  justly  be  applied 
to  the  harmony  and  quality  of  Mr.  Hall's  life. 

With  his  fine  sense  of  right 

And  truth's  directness,  meeting  each  occasion 

Straight  as  a  line  of  light. 

Among  the  gentlest  of  all  human  natures 


(>r^  ^  J\r&^rwcu^ 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  311 

He  joined  to  courage  strong 

And  love  outreaching  to  our  dear  Lord's  creatures 

With  sturdy  hate  of  wrong. 

Tender  as  woman ;  manliness  and  sweetness 

In  him  were  so  allied 

That  they  who  judged  him  by  his  strength  or  kindness 

Saw  but  a  single  side. 

William  Hamblin'  was  born  in  1818  and  died  in  1874.  He  was  de- 
scended from  Thomas',  Thomas',  Reuben',  Elkanah*,  James',  James', 
James  Hamblin',  who  came  from  England,  and  settled  in  Barnstable 
prior  to  1640.  Mr.  Hamblin  was  a  farmer,  and  resided  near  Spring 
Hill.  He  was  married  in  1844  to  Rebecca  K.,  daughter  of  William 
Atkins.  They  had  three  children — two  sons,  who  died,  and  a  daugh- 
ter, Ida  F.,  who  now  occupies  the  homestead  with  her  mother. 

Elijah  Hancock  was  born  in  1820  in  Boston,  and  resided  for  forty 
years  in  West  Bridgewater.  In  September,  1876,  he  came  to  Sand- 
wich, and  has  since  had  charge  of  the  town  farm.  He  served  in  the 
war  of  the  rebellion,  in  Company  K,  Third  Massachusetts  Volunteers. 
He  was  married  in  1841  to  Hannah  E.  Pool,  who  died  in  1859,  leaving 
three  children:  Elizabeth  M.,  Ella  A.  and  Adaline  S.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  June,  1860,  to  Julia  H.  Briggs,  by  whom  he  has  one  child, 
Julia  A.     He  is  a  member  of  Charles  Chipman  Post,  G.  A.  R. 

George  Hartwell,  son  of  Hiram  J.  Hartwell,  and  grandson  of  Ste- 
phen Hartwell,  was  born  in  1836  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.  He  has  been  a 
book-keeper,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years,  when  he  was  a  mer- 
chant at  Sandwich.  He  came  to  Sandwich  in  1867,  where  he  has  since 
lived.  Since  February,  1882,  he  has  been  book-keeper  for  I.  N.  Keith, 
at  Sagamore.  He  was  selectman  two  years  as  a  democrat.  He  was 
married  in  1868  to  Isabella  G.,  daughter  of  Charles  H.  Chapouile,  born 
in  Boston  in  1848.  They  have  four  children:  Corinne,  George,  Han- 
nah and  Norman. 

David  N.  Holway. — Among  the  fifty  families,  who,  after  the  first 
ten  were  the  primitive  settlers  at  Sandwich,  came  Joseph  Holway, 
whose  descendants  since  have,  in  every  generation  to  the  present 
time,  been  identified  with  the  best  interests  of  the  town.  Most  of 
them  have  resided  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  town,  near  where,  in 
1637,  their  common  ancestor  secured  a  home.  As  a  rule  they  have 
been  tillers  of  the  soil,  and  have  from  the  first,  been  earnest  adhe- 
rents of  the  Society  of  Friends.  The  name — sometimes  written 
Holly — is  frequently  found  among  the  oflScers  of  the  town,  and  in  the 
seventh  generation  from  the  pioneer  we  find  David  N.  Holway,  born 
1839,  attaining  to  a  prominence  which  sheds  luster  upon  this  family 
name,  and  reflects  credit  upon  the  town  which  has  sent  out  so  many 
successful  men.  His  father  was  Daniel  Holway,  who  was  born  Sep- 
tember 2,  1800,  and  died  in  the  May  following  his  fifty-eighth  birth- 


312  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

day.  Daniel's  wife  was  Lydia,  daughter  of  Stephc  n  Nichols  of  Vas- 
salboro,  Me.  She  was  a  woman  of  remarkable  characteristics  physi- 
cally, mentally  and  spiritually.  Daniel's  parents  were  Stephen  and 
Reliance  (Allen)  Holway.  Stephen  was  the  son  of  Barnabas  and 
Elizabeth  Holway.  Barnabas'  father,  Gideon,  was  a  son  of  Joseph, 
and  grandson  of  Joseph,  the  pioneer. 

Such  was  the  ancestry  of  David  N.  Holway,  who  as  the  oldest  son 
had,  added  to  the  advantages  of  the  Sandwich  schools,  a  thorough 
training  in  the  Friends'  school  at  Providence,  R.  I.  For  six  years 
after  attaining  his  majority  he  labored  as  a  teacher,  and  in  1866  and 
1867  was  chairman  of  the  school  board  of  Sandwich.  In  June,  1866, 
as  .special  agent  of  the  Provident  Life  and  Trust  Company  of  Phila- 
delphia, he  began  that  remarkable  career  as  a  life  insurance  man, 
which  is  to-day  the  basis  of  his  business  prominence.  He  went  to 
New  York,  in  July,  1868,  as  the  company's  general  agent,  and  trav- 
eled extensively  through  that  State  until  1873.  In  June  of  that  year 
he  became  attached,  as  special,  to  the  home  oflBce  in  Philadelphia, 
where  he  remained  until  1878.  Up  to  this  time  his  promotions  and 
success  must  be  attributed  to  his  inherent  qualities  of  head  and  heart. 
At  this  time  the  company  saw  the  need,  in  their  New  England  busi- 
ness, of  a  manager  who,  himself  a  Yankee,  might  the  better  under- 
stand the  special  requirements  of  the  Boston  ofBce.  He  was  offered 
the  position,  and  with  G.  C.  Hoag,  under  the  firm  name  of  Hoag  & 
Holway,  became,  in  June,  1878,  the  company's  representative  in  New 
England.  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Hoag,  in  1886,  Mr.  Holway  assumed 
the  sole  management  of  the  general  agency,  the  business  of  which  has 
grown  to  large  proportions  under  his  care. 

He  has  long  been  a  thorough  student  of  the  principles  and  practice 
of  life  insurance,  and  his  literary  attainments  have  been  indicated  by 
several  valuable  treatises  on  the  subject.  One  issued  in  1885,  entitled 
The  World  of  Life  Assurance,  and  another,  entitled  The  Science  of  Life 
Assurance,  which  was  delivered  as  an  address  in  1886  before  a  scien- 
tific class  in  Boston,  have  reached  large  editions.  Early  in  1887  he 
published,  under  a  copyright,  The  Progress  of  Life  Insurance  in  the 
World— 1860-1887 ;  giving  two  accurate  tables  of  the  amount  in  force, 
and  amount  of  new  business  issued  each  five  years  throughout  the 
world.  He  has  since  supplemented  it,  and  it  is  now  quoted  every- 
where as  authority.  In  November,  1888,  he  wrote  Endoxvments — a 
scholarly  exposition  of  the  theory  of  that  class  of  insurance,  of  which 
work  forty-three  thousand  copies  have  already  been  issued.  His  po- 
sition in  the  insurance  world  was  fittingly  recognized  in  February, 
1890,  by  his  election  to  the  presidency  of  the  Boston  Life  Under- 
writers' Association — the  pioneer  organization  of  the  United  States, 
now  numbering  nearly  one  hundred  members. 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  313 

While  pleasantly  situated  in  the  business  world,  Mr.  Holway  is 
equally  favored  in  his  domestic  relations.  His  wife,  Emeline  J.,  whom 
he  married  in  1860,  is  a  daughter  of  Captain  Joseph  Mitchell.  Their 
three  children  are:  Harlan  P.,  E.  Florence  and  John  F.  Holway. 
Mr.  Holway  has  been  a  resident,  since  1880,  of  the  Dorchester  dis- 
trict of  Boston. 

Augustus  Holway,  son  of  Alva,  and  grandson  of  Stephen  Holway, 
was  born  in  1840.  His  mother  was  Lydia  .Freeman.  He  is  a  farmer. 
He  served  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  nine  months  in  Company  D, 
Forty-fifth  Massachusetts  Volunteers.  He  was  married  in  1863  to 
Helen  F.  Nye.  They  have  one  sou,  Jerome  R.,  who  was  married  in 
1887  to  Ella  F.  Ellis,  and  has  one  son,  George  A.  Mr.  Holway  is  a 
member  of  Charles  Chipman  Post,  G.  A.  R.  He  is  a  member  of  East 
Sandwich  Grange,  P.  of  H.,  of  which  his  son  is  also  a  member. 

Barnabas  Holway  was  born  in  1819,  and  is  the  youngest  of  five 
children  of  Barnabas  Holway,  and  a  grandson  of  Barnabas  Holway. 
His  mother  was  Hannah  Gifford.  He  has  been  a  boat  builder  and 
farmer,  and  owns  and  occupies  the  farm  where  his  father  lived.  He 
was  married  to  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  James  Dillingham.  She  died 
in  1882.    Mr.  Holway  is  a  member  of  the  Friends'  society  of  Sandwich. 

Isaac  W.  Holway,  born  in  18.'56,  is  the  only  child  of  Joseph  W'.,  who 
was  descended  from  John',  Barnabas',  Gideon',  Joseph^  Joseph  Hol- 
way'. His  mother  was  Ruth  F.,  daughter  of  James  Ellison.  Mr. 
Holway  is  a  farmer.  He  was  married  in  1881  to  Rosie  J.,  daughter  of 
William  H.  Morton. 

Stephen  Holway  was  the  eldest  son  of  Stephen  Holway.  He  was 
married  to  Abbie  W.,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Deborah  (Wing)  Hoxie. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Holway  are  both  deceased.  They  had  eight  children, 
six  of  whom  are  living:  George  N.,  Deborah  W.,Lucy  M.,  Edward  W., 
Hepsibah  W.  and  Lizzie  A.    The  family  are  of  the  Friends'  faith. 

Thomas  E.  Holway',  born  in  1844,  is  a  son  of  Russell',  Stephen', 
Barnabas*,  Gideon',  Joseph',  Joseph  Holway'.  His  mother  was  Caro- 
line Eldred,  who  died  in  1867,  leaving  four  children:  Emily  M.  (Mrs. 
Alden  C.  Taylor,  died  in  1882),  Thomas  E.,  Frank  R.  and  Joshua  E. 
Mr.  Holway  was  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  in  Company  D,  Forty-fifth 
Massachusetts  Volunteers,  from  September,  1862,  to  July,  1863.  He 
was  in  the  shoe  business  in  Lynn  from  1863  to  1868,  and  since  that 
time  has  been  a  fruit  and  vegetable  commission  merchant  in  Boston. 
He  was  married  in  1870  to  Octavia  S.  Dundar,  and  has  one  daughter, 
Alice  E.     He  is  a  member  of  Charles  Chipman  Post,  G.  A.  R. 

Edward  B.  Howland,  son  of  Gustavus  Howland,  was  born  March 
23,  1852.  In  1869  he  began  to  learn  the  machinist  trade  at  Taunton, 
Mass.,  and  in  1872  began  work  with  the  Taunton  Tack  Company, 
where  he  remained  until  1879.     In  1880  he  started  the  Bay  State  tack 


314  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

works  at  Sandwich,  where  he  now  lives.  He  is  vice-president  of  the 
Sandwich  Co-operative  Bank,  also  trustee  of  Bay  View  Cemetery  As- 
sociation. He  was  married  in  1874  to  Ellen  F.  Fuller,  and  has  two 
children:  George  W.  and  Estella  A.  Mr.  Howland  is  a  member  of 
DeWitt  Clinton  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

Gustavus  Howland*  was  born  June  20,  1823.  He  is  one  of  ten  chil- 
dren of  Ellis  Howland",  Lemuel',  Ebenezer  Howland".  His  mother 
was  Fear  Crowell.  He  has  been  a  contractor  and  builder  for  about 
fifty  years.  Since  1857  he  has  kept  a  lumber  yard  at  Sandwich.  In 
1848  he  was  married  to  Clarissa  Hatch,  by  whom  he  has  had  four  chil- 
dren: Mary  A.,  Edward  B.,  Oscar  and  Frank  L.  Mr.  Howland  is  a 
member  of  the  Sandwich  Congregational  church. 

Joseph  Howland,  born  in  1819,  is  a  son  of  James  and  Martha  (Hop- 
kins) Howland,  and  grandson  of  David  Howland.  He  is  a  farmer  and 
owns  and  occupies  his  father's  homestead.  He  was  married  in  1855  to 
Mrs.  Sarah  B.  Worth,  daughter  of  David  and  Hannah  (Bates)  Greene, 
and  granddaughter  of  Lemuel  Greene.  Mr.  Howland  is  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  Marston's  Mills,  and  is  a  phohibi- 
tionist. 

Nelson  Howland',  born  in  1855,  is  a  son  of  Solomon  C,  Ellis',  Lem- 
uel', Ebenezer'.  His  mother  was  Adelia  F.  Hatch.  Mr.  Howland  is  a 
machinist  by  trade.  He  worked  several  years  in  Taunton,  and  since 
1880  has  worked  in  Sandwich.  He  was  married  in  1880  to  Ada,  daugh- 
ter of  Ronald  Macdonald.     They  have  one  daughter,  Mary  A. 

Orrin  H.  Howland,  born  in  1854,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Freeman  H., 
and  he  a  son  of  James  Howland.  His  mother  was  Love  D.  Fish.  He 
has  been  a  hardware  merchant  at  Sandwich  since  1876,  and  had  been 
clerk  and  tinsmith  here  five  years  prior  to  that.  He  was  married  in 
1879  to  Sara  C.  Drew. 

Joseph  Hoxie  is  the  sixth  in  lineal  descent  from  Lodowick  Hoxie, 
one  of  the  proprietors  of  Sandwich.  Just  when  Lodowick  came  to 
this  town  is  not  known:  but  the  records  of  the  town  present  his  name 
in  1658  as  one  of  the  proprietors  whose  lands  were  bounded  for  rec- 
ord in  the  proper  book.  In  1661  he  is  again  mentioned  as  refusing  to 
assist  Marshal  Barlow,  in  the  shameful  arrests  of  that  day,  for  which 
he  was  fined  by  the  court  at  Plymouth.  From  such  ancestry  Joseph 
Hoxie  came,  and  is  a  worthy  and  respected  representative. 

Lodowick's  children  were:  Solomon,  Gideon,  Hezekiah,  John, 
Joseph,  Bathsheba  and  Content.  Gideon's  children  were:  Joseph, 
Simeon  and  Gideon.  Of  this  number  Joseph  married  Mary  Clark  of 
Rhode  Island.  Their  children  were:  Clark,  Barnabas,  Cornelius  and 
Mary.  Barnabas  Hoxie  married  Hannah  Giflford  of  Spring  Hill,  Mass. 
Their  children  were:  Gideon,  Lodowick,  Kezia,  Christopher,  Joseph, 
Mercy,  Chloe  and  Mary.     Of  these,  Joseph  the  youngest  son,  married 


PRINT, 
E.     BIEHSTAOT. 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  315 

Deborah  Wing  of  Sandwich  town,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch.  Their  children  were:  Hepsibah,  Joseph,  Abi- 
gail and  Newell.  Hepsibah  married  Daniel  Swift  of  Falmouth,  and 
died  there  in  1858.  Abigail  married  Stephen  Holway,  jr.,  of  Spring 
Hill,  where  she  died  September  24, 1859.  Newell  is  mentioned  more 
fully  in  chapter  X. 

Joseph,  the  only  survivor  of  this  generation  was  born  October  29, 
1798,  at  East  Sandwich.  He  received  a  limited  education  from  the 
common  schools  of  the  day,  and  assisted  his  father  on  the  farm  during 
his  boyhood.  In  1816  he  went  to  Lynn  to  learn  the  details  of  the 
shoe  trade,  and  in  1818  opened  a  shoe  manufactory  and  store  at  East 
Sandwich.  In  1822  he  was  in  business  in  Sandwich  village  a  few 
months.  The  same  year  he  returned  to  East  Sandwich,  purchased  the 
home  of  the  late  Joseph  Nye  and  erected  a  building  for  a  store  and 
manufactory  near  the  pond  on  the  south  side  of  the  county  road. 
This  building  stood  opposite  the  old  grist  mill  or,  perhaps  more  prop- 
erly, opposite  the  present  Grange  Hall,  and  has  been  removed  to  the 
west  of  the  house,  where  it  still  .stands.  In  this  primitive  building 
Joseph  Hoxie  made  the  first  morocco,  kid  and  cloth  shoes,  in  Barnsta- 
ble county.  He  took  apprentices  and  his  goods  were  sold  throughout 
the  county  as  well  as  Martha's  Vineyard.  The  old  store  still  presents 
the  array  of  shelves,  drawers,  forms  and  patterns  used  by  the  proprietor 
nearly  seventy  years  ago,  and  among  other  things  preserved  by  the 
family,  is  the  old  sign  of  1822,  which  bears  the  notice  "Joseph  Hoxie 
3d,  Gentlemen  &  Ladies  Morocco  &  Kid  Shoe  Manufactory."  In 
1832-33  or  thereabouts,  Mr.  Hoxie  killed  a  destructive  wolf — one  of 
the  last  on  the  Cape — which  in  the  three  several  towns  of  Sandwich, 
Falmouth  and  Barnstable,  in  the  course  of  three  or  four  years  was 
judged  to  have  destroyed  nearly  three  thousand  sheep. 

He  married,  October  8,  1823,  Lucy  S.,  daughter  of  Stephen  and 
Rebecca  Holway,  of  Spring  Hill.  She  died,  and  October  8,  1838,  he 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Barnabas  and  Hannah  Holway,  of  the 
same  place.  The  oldest  living  representative  of  these  worthy  par- 
ents is  Henry  N.  Hoxie,  one  of  the  head  masters  of  Haverford  Col- 
lege Grammar  School,  near  Philadelphia,  Penn.  In  1868  he  married 
Sarah  B.  Boswell  of  Chesterfield,  Morgan  county,  Ohio,  who  died  at 
Germantown,  Philadelphia,  Penn.,  December  31,  1883.  The  other 
children  are:  Eben  W.,  merchant  at  Worcester,  Mass.;  Lucy  S.,  at 
home  with  her  father;  Elizabeth  W.,  who  married  Justin  A.  Ware  of 
Worcester,  the  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Crompton  Loom  Works; 
Hannah  G.,  wife  of  Rev.  Charles  W.  Ryder  of  Providence,  R.  I.;  and 
Abbie  N.  H.,  wife  of  Benjamin  D.  Webber  of  Beverly,  Mass.,  the 
eastern  freight  agent  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  and  other  railroads. 


316  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

After  Joseph  Hoxie's  second  marriage  his  time  was  almost  wholly 
occupied  with  his  farm  and  the  official  settlement  of  estates,  some  of 
which  were  unusually  important.  His  name  is  connected  with  the 
adjustment  of  fifty  estates  in  his  native  town  and  the  vicinity.  He 
never  desired  office  but  took  an  active  interest  in  the  body  politic, 
and  by  the  earnest  persuasion  of  his  many  friends  he  acceptably  filled 
the  office  of  postmaster  fourteen  years,  and  those  of  assessor,  selectman, 
school  committee  and  overseer  of  the  poor  for  several  years,  and  during 
the  gubernatorial  period  of  Governor  N.  P.  Banks  he  served  two  terms 
in  the  state  legislature.  On  the  eighth  of  October,  1888,  Joseph  and 
Mary  H.  Hoxie  celebrated  their  golden  wedding,  at  which  nearly 
one  hundred  persons  were  present,  and  many  more  sent  letters  of 
kind  greeting.  The  presents  were  numerous  and  valuable.  Within 
one  short  month  after  this,  on  the  sixth  of  November,  the  beloved  wife 
and  mother  departed  this  life,  leaving  her  aged  companion  to  com- 
plete the  journey  alone.  Her  death  was  keenly  felt  by  a  large  circle 
of  her  neighbors  and  friends.  From  the  Barnstable  Patriot  of  Decem- 
ber 7,  1888,  one  of  the  various  papers  in  which  the  event  was  noticed, 
we  make  the  following  extract  in  regard  to  her:  "  Through  fifty  years 
of  her  wedded  life  she  and  her  husband  have  gathered  unto  them- 
selves and  household,  friends  whose  love  once  there  has  never  failed. 
With  a  large  family  to  claim  her  care  and  strength,  she  was  never  too 
engrossed  with  it  to  fail  to  respond  to  any  outside  call  of  suflfering, 
and  shutting  within  her  own  heart  her  own  sorrow,  her  rejoicing  and 
her  weeping  have  been  with  those  who  did  rejoice  and  with  those 
who  wept.  She  possessed  a  rare  grace  and  ability  to  welcome  to  and 
entertain  her  friends  at  her  home,  and  many  a  lonely,  homesick  one 
has  told  her  of  the  great  strength  of  heart  gained  by  the  kindly 
greeting  which  she  never  failed  to  give.  Her  life  has  been  a  benedic- 
tion to  all  who  knew  her  intimately  or  socially,  and  she  has  truly  been 
a  living  gospel.  She  hath  rested  from  her  labors  and  her  works  do 
follow  her." 

Joseph  Hoxie  has  been  a  very  useful  man  in  his  town,  a  friend  to 
the  needy,  and  one  whose  counsel  has  prevailed.  He  has  during  life 
been  a  consistent  member  of  the  religious  Society  of  Friends,  and 
more  or  less  since  1830  has  been  in  the  service  of  the  society  as  a 
trustee  and  treasurer.  For  many  years  he  has  served  it  as  overseer 
and  elder,  and  in  no  relation  of  trust  has  ever  been  required  to  give 
security.  At  the  age  of  ninety-one,  he  is  now  spending  the  evening 
of  life  in  the  home  rendered  sacred  in  memory  by  the  changes  which 
long  years  have  wrought. 

David  A.  Hoxie,  born  in  1843,  is  a  son  of  Allen  and  grandson  of 
Barnabas  Hoxie.  He  was  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  from  1861  to 
1865,  in  Company  D,  Twenty-ninth  Massachusetts  Volunteers.     Since 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  317 

1865  he  has  been  a  farmer.  He  was  married  in  1868  to  Laura  Small, 
and  has  two  sons;  Everett  and  Isaac.  He  is  a  member  of  Charles 
Chipraan  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  a  member  of  East  Sandwich  Grange, 
P.  of  H. 

Edward  Hoxie,  born  in  1826,  is  a  brother  of  George  F.  Hoxie,  be- 
low. He  is  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  worked  several  years  for  the 
Cape  Cod  railroad  in  the  car  shop,  and  since  1884  he  has  been  a  mar- 
ket gardener.  He  was  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  from  July,  1862,  to 
June,  1865,  in  Company  E,  Fortieth  Massachusetts  Volunteers.  He 
was  married  in  1848  to  Mary  J.  Tarr.  They  have  had  five  children: 
Varona  H.,  Mary  F.,  Edward  A.,  Joseph  E.,  and  one  deceased.  Mr. 
Hoxie  is  a  member  of  Charles  Chipman  Post,  G.  A.  R. 

George  F.  Hoxie,  born  in  1822,  is  a  son  of  Peleg  and  grandson  of 
Hezekiah  Hoxie.  His  mother  was  Phebe,  daughter  of  Jesse  Hoxie. 
Mr.  Hoxie  is  a  house  carpenter  by  trade,  but  for  the  last  thirty  years 
has  been  a  gardener  and  fisherman.  He  was  married  in  1851  to  Eliza- 
beth D.,  daughter  of  Edmund  Smith.  They  have  had  twelve  children: 
Elizabeth,  Celia,  Olive,  Carrie,  Rosa,  Ida,  George,  Lyman,  Henry,  Syl- 
vanus,  Charles  and  Walter.  They  lost  one  son.  Mr.  Hoxie  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Sandwich'  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Nathaniel  C.  Hoxie,  born  in  1824,  is  a  brother  of  George  F.  Hoxie, 
mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraph.  He  followed  the  sea  for 
twenty  years,  was  in  the  civil  war,  in  Company  D,  Forty-fifth  Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers  about  one  year,  and  since  1863  has  been  a  farmer. 
He  was  married  in  1852  to  Almira  H.,  daughter  of  David  Libby.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Sandwich  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  Charles  Chipman  Post,  G.  A.  R. 

Isaiah  T.  Jones,  son  of  Joshua  Jones,  was  born  November  25, 1838, 
in  Falmouth.  His  mother  was  Reliance,  daughter  of  Asa  and  Anna 
(Bradford)  Phinney.  He  has  been  engaged  at  Sandwich  as  a  tack 
manufacturer  since  1861.  He  was  married  in  1862  to  Hannah  C, 
daughter  of  Captain  William  Weeks.  Their  children  are:  Addie  W., 
Lombard  C,  Anna  R.,  Lottie  E.,  Louis  B.,  Isaiah  T.,  jr.,  Frank  L.  and 
Jennie  B.  Mr.  Jones  is  a  democrat,  and  a  member  of  DeWitt  Clinton 
Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

John  Jones  was  born  in  1846  in  England.  His  father  was  born  in 
Wales  and  removed  to  England  when  a  boy.  In  1870  Mr.  Jones  came 
from  England  to  Sandwich,  and  was  employed  as  glass  cutter  by  the 
Boston  and  Sandwich  Glass  Company  until  1888.  He  was  married  in 
1868,  his  wife  dying  the  following  year.  He  is  a  member  of  De 
-Witt  Clinton  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

Benjamin  Lovell,  son  of  Ezekiel  and  Martha  (Cahoon)  Lovell,  and 
grandson  of  Ezekiel  Lovell,  was  born  in  1813.  He  was  a  sea-faring 
man  for  eighteen  years,  was  six  years  night  watchman  at  the  Sand- 


318  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

"wich  railroad  station,  and  since  that  has  been  a  farmer.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1837  to  Mercy  P.  Baker,  who  died  in  1882,  leaving  four  children: 
Eliza  A.,  Benjamin  W.,  Boyden  E.  and  Lote  M.  He  was  married 
again  in  1883  to  Mrs.  Eliza  A.  Marston. 

Charles  H.  Macy,  born  in  1844  at  Nantucket,  is  a  son  of  Captain 
Charles  B.  and  Martha  E.  (Mitchell)  Macy.  He  is  a  member  of  East 
Sandwich  Grange,  P.  of  H.  He  was  married  in  1868  to  Hattie  T.', 
daughter  of  Azariah  Wing',  Abram',  Edward',  John  Wing',  who  was 
the  third  generation  removed  from  John  Wing,  the  first  settler. 

Robert  Macy,  son  of  Robert  Macy,  was  born  in  April,  1828,  at 
Providence,  R.  I.  He  was  in  the  whale  fishing  business  from  1839  to 
1874,  and  since  that  time  has  been  a  farmer  at  East  Sandwich.  He 
was  married  in  1867  to  Mrs.  Charlotte  F.  Austin  of  Marston's  Mills, 
daughter  of  David  Greene. 

John  Quinnell  Miller  was  born  January  7,  1835,  and  is  a  son  of 
Isaac  and  Sophia  H.  Quinnell.  Mr.  Miller's  mother  died  soon  after 
his  birth,  and  he  was  brought  up  by  Joseph  Miller,  whose  name  he 
has  always  borne,  and  who  died  at  the  residence  of  his  foster-son,  June 
23,  1889,  aged  92  years  and  1  month.  From  1857  to  1885  Mr.  Mil- 
ler owned  and  kept  a  clothing  store  at  Sandwich.  Since  1885  he 
has  been  in  the  livery  business.  He  was  married  in  1857  to  Mary  J. 
Giles,  and  has  one  son,  Joseph  H.  Mr.  Miller  is  a  member  of  De  Witt 
Clinton  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  a  member  of  the  Sandwich  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church. 

Sanford  I.  Morse,  son  of  Simeon  and  Nancy  Morse,  was  bom  July 
4,  1854,  at  Middleboro,  Mass.,  and  came  to  Sandwich  in  1880,  where  he 
has  been  a  grocery  merchant  since  that  time.  He  has  been  in  the 
grocery  trade  since  fourteen  years  of  age. 

John  Murray,  2d,  son  of  John  Murray,  was  born  in  May,  1820,  at 
Glasgow,  Scotland,  and  died  in  Sandwich  in  1889.  He  came  to  this 
country  in  1848.  He  was  a  tailor  by  trade,  and  in  1868  he  came  from 
Rhode  Island  to  Sandwich  and  opened  a  tailor  store,  which  he  after- 
ward changed  into  a  ready-made  clothing  and  dry  goods  store.  He 
was  married  in  1840  to  Elizabeth  Mclntire.  She  died,  and  Mr.  Mur- 
ray afterward  married  her  sister  Rebecca.  They  have  one  daughter, 
Nettie  E.,  wife  of  John  S.  Smith.     She  has  three  sons. 

Captain  Edward  Nichols,  son  of  Charles  and  Sarah  (Folger)  Nich- 
ols, was  born  in  1813  at  Nantucket.  He  was  for  thirty-seven  years  en- 
gaged in  the  whale  fishing,  and  master  of  a  vessel  for  sixteen  years 
prior  to  1864,  when- he  retired.  He  was  married  in  1841  to  Sarah 
Jones.  They  have  two  daughters:  Mary  A.  and  Charlotte  B.  Captain 
Nichols  is  a  member  of  De  Witt  Clinton  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

George  B.  Nye,  born  in  1820,  is  a  son  of  Joshua  and  Mary  (Briggs) 
Nye,  and  a  grandson  of  Ebenezer  Nye.     He  followed  the  sea  about 


TOWN   OF   SANDWICH.  319 

fifteen  years,  was  twenty-five  years  in  the  butcher  business,  and  since 
1873  has  been  farming  and  growing  cranberries.  He  was  married  in 
1854  to  Mercy,  daughter  of  John  Phinney.  Theyhave  four  children: 
■George  E.,  John  P.,  Charles  and  Addie  G. 

Levi  S.  Nye  was  born  in  1842.  He  is  a  son  of  Lemuel  B.  and  grand- 
son of  Rev.  Levi  Nye.  His  mother  was  Eliza  Sears.  -He  was  ten 
years  in  Boston  engaged  in  a  card  and  tag  factory.  In  1879,  in  com- 
pany with  his  brother,  he  established  the  Sandwich  Card  and  Tag 
Company,  where  he  has  been  engaged  since  that  time.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1867  to  Martha  Ann  Bracket. 

Samuel  H.  Nye,  born  in  1837,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Samuel,  and 
grandson  of  Sylvanus  Nye,  who  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  several 
years.  Samuel  Nye  married  Mrs.  Sarah  P.  Tobey,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Rea.  Mr.  Nye  is  a  farmer,  has  been  selectman  two  years,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  committee  several  years.  He  was  married  in  1862 
to  Ruth  A.,  daughter  of  Captain  Dean  Sears.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren: Rose  S.,  Delia  C.  and  Anna  R.  Mr.  Nye  was  in  the  war  nine 
months  in  Company  D,  Forty-fifth  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  and  is  a 
member  of  Charles  Chipman  Post,  G.  A.  R.  He  was  a  charter  mem- 
Tier  of  the  East  Sandwich  Grange,  P.  of  H  Near  where  Samuel  H. 
Nye  lives  a  mill  privilege  was  granted  to  one  of  his  ancestors, 
who  built  one  of  the  earliest  grist  mills  and  carding  mills  in  the 
•county. 

William  L.  Nye,  born  in  1839,  is  a  brother  of  Levi  S.  "Nye,  men- 
tioned above.  He  was  for  twenty  years  engaged  in  the  card  and  tag 
works  at  Boston,  and  has  been  with  the  Sandwich  Card  and  Tag  Com- 
pany since  1879.  He  was  married  in  1864  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
•Stephen  B.  Nye,  son  of  Charles,  and  grandson  of  Nathan  Nye.  They 
have  two  children:  Augustus  S.  and  Mary  E.  Mr.  Nye  is  a  democrat 
and  has  been  chairman  of  both  town  and  county  democratic  com- 
mittees. 

Nehemiah  Packwood  was  born  in  1837  in  Worcestershire,  England. 
He  worked  twenty-seven  years  in  the  Heath  Glass  Works  in  England. 
In  1867  he  came  to  America  and  began  as  a  glass  cutter  in  the  glass 
works  at  Sandwich,  where  he  has  since  been  employed.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1858  to  Jemima  Dudley.  Theyhave  two  children:  Nehemiah, 
jr.,  and  Lena. 

Ephraim  C.  Percival,  born  in  1817,  is  a  son  of  Timothy,  grandson 
of  Benjamin,  and  great-grandson  of  John  Percival.  His  mother  was 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Ephraim  Crocker.  Mr.  Percival  is  a  farmer  and 
trader.  He  was  married  in  1839  to  Eliza  A.,  daughter  of  Ansel  Fish. 
They  have  two  children:  Mercy  F.  and  Horace.  He  is  a  member  of 
Barnstable  County  Agricultural  Society  and  a  member  of  the  West 
Barnstable  Congregational  church. 


320  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Fred.  E.  Pierce,  born  in  1859,  is  a  son  of  David  G.  Pierce,  who 
was  for  several  years  master  of  a  whaling  vessel.  In  1877  Mr.  Pierce 
came  to  Sandwich  from  Falmouth.  He  was  assistant  postmaster  four 
years,  three  years  in  the  grocery  business,  and  four  years  in  a  boot 
and  shoe  store,  prior  to  November,  1888,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire. 
He  is  the  present  proprietor  of  the  East  Providence  Boot  and  Shoe 
Company.  He  was  married  in  1882  to  Mary  T.  Bicknell,  and  they 
have  one  son,  Frank  C.  Mr.  Pierce  is  a  republican  and  a  member  of 
DeWitt  Clinton  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

Ezra  T.  Pope',  born  in  1825,  is  descended  from  Seth',  Lemuel',  John', 
Seth',  Seth  Pope'.  His  mother  was  Hannah  Tobey.  Mr.  Pope  has 
been  deputy  sheriff  twenty-two  years,  was  representative  in  the  legis- 
lature two  years,  in  1864  and  1865,  and  since  1874  he  has  been  messen- 
ger and  sergeant-at-arms  in  the  state  house  at  Boston.  He  was  married 
in  1849  to  Abigail  Gibbs.  Their  children  were:  Francis  E.,  Abbie  G., 
Annie  T.,  Augustus  R.,  Ezra  T.,  jr.,  Seth  F.,  Eugene  R.,  Eben  C.  and 
Alice  E.     Mr.  Pope  is  a  republican. 

Charles  Quinn,  son  of  Michael  Quinn,  was  bom  in  1827  in  Ireland, 
and  came  to  Massachusetts  in  1828.  He  is  a  glass  blower  by  trade. 
He  came  to  Sandwich  in  1850,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  until  1877. 
He  has  been  deputy  sherifiF  and  constable  since  1880.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1846  to  Susan  Darby.  They  have  two  sons — George  T.  and 
Charles  S. 

Philip  H.  Robinson,  born  in  1823,  is  a  son  of  Thomas  W.  and  grand- 
son of  Josiah  Robinson.  His  mother  was  Abigail  Nye.  He  is  a  farmer 
and  has  been  a  member  of  the  legislature  two  terms,  in  1873  and  1874. 
He  was  married  in  1853  to  Sylvia,  daughter  of  Thomas  Goodspeed. 
They  have  one  son,  Charles  W.,  who  is  clerk  of  the  court  at  Brockton, 
and  was  married  to  Elsie  M.  Kelley  in  1885.  Mr.  Robinson  is  a  mem- 
ber of  East  Sandwich  Grange,  P.  of  H.,  and  has  been  deacon  of  the 
West  Barnstable  church  for  several  years. 

Sylvanus  D.  Robinson  was  born  in  1840,  in  Falmouth.  He  is  a  son 
of  Zephaniah  and  grandson  of  Zephaniah  Robinson.  His  mother  was 
Nancy  Fessenden.  He  was  engaged  in  whale  fishing  from  1855  to 
1880,  the  last  nine  years  as  master  of  a  vessel.  Since  1881  he  has  been 
a  farmer  at  East  Sandwich.  He  was  married  in  1876  to  Jessie  Mar- 
shal, and  has  one  son,  Arthur  W.  Mr.  Robinson  is  a  member  of  East 
Sandwich  Grange,  and  a  member  of  Marine  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

James  Shevlin,  born  in  December,  1838,  is  a  son  of  Philip  and 
Elizabeth  (McParlen)  Shevlin.  He  entered  the  United  States  army 
in  July,  1860,  serving  until  July,  1867.  He  was  selectman  from  March, 
1884,  until  October,  1886,  when  he  resigned  to  accept  the  office  of 
postmaster  at  Sandwich,  which  position  he  still  holds.  He  was  mar- 
ried January  29, 1875,  to  Annie,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  McLaugh- 
lin.    He  is  a  democrat. 


TOWN  OF  SANDWICH.  321 

J.  Charles  Steever  was  born  in  1862  in  Troy,  New  York,  from  which 
place  he  came  to  Wareham,  Mass.,  where  he  learned  the  jeweler's 
trade.  In  September,  1884,  he  came  to  Sandwich  and  bought  the  jew- 
elry business  of  C.  A.  Batchelor,  and  has  continued  the  same  since 
that  time.  He  was  married  in  1887  to  Hattie  C,  daughter  of  Rev.  D. 
J.  GrifiSn.     They  have  one  -son,  Charles  G. 

Edward  J.  Swann  was  born  in  1842  in  England.  He  is  a  son  of  John 
Swann,  and  grandson  of  Ebenezer  Swann,  both  of  whom  were  deco- 
rators in  England.  He  came  to  this  country  in  1866,  and  in  1872  he 
came  from  New  York  to  Sandwich,  where  he  has  been  employed  at 
his  business  of  decorating  glass  and  porcelain.  He  came  to  Sand- 
wich on  the  day  the  great  fire  in  Boston  broke  out.  He  was  engaged 
as  manager  of  the  decorating  department  of  the  Boston  and  Sand- 
wich Glass  Company  until  the  company  suspended  operations,  and 
has  been  engaged  in  the  same  business  on  his  own  account  for  the 
past  five  years.  He  built  one  of  the  finest  houses  in  Sandwich,  which 
he  afterward  sold.  He  now  owns  the  Dillingham  farm.  He  has  been 
twice  married:  first  to  Emily  Lea,  of  England,  and  second  to  Lena 
Jones,  of  Barnstable.  He  has  had  five  daughters  by  his  first  wife, 
and  one  daughter  and  one  son  by  his  second.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Sandwich  Congregational  church  and  of  DeWitt  Clinton  Lodge. 

George  H.  Terry,  born  January  19,  1826,  in  Dennis,  Mass.,  was 
for  twenty-seven  years  a  sea-faring  man.  He  came  to  Sandwich 
in  1876.  where  he  has  since  lived.  His  wife,  Susan,  was  born  October 
18,  1839.  Their  children  are:  George  R.,  born  February,  1848;  Susan 
E.,  June  21,  1851;  George  E.,  March  7,  1853;  Sarah  A.,  January  27, 
1855;  Meritta,  March  7,  1857:  Albatina,  July  7,  1860;  John  L.,  June  1, 
1863;  Olive  P.,  October  7,  1867;  Louis  E.,  June  6,  1869. 

Bennett  Wing,  in  1796,  had  a  wind  grist  mill  at  Scorton,  which  was 
later  moved  to  South  Yarmouth,  where  it  served  some  years.  One  of 
the  mill-stones  is  now  in  Daniel  Wing's  door-yard  in  South  Yarmouth. 

Eliza  G.  Wing  kept  for  several  years,  at  East  Sandwich,  a  female 
school. 

Henry  Wing,  son  of  John  Wing,  was  born  in  Sandwich,  and  passed 
his  life  there,  principally  as  a  farmer,  until  his  death.  May  23,  1869. 
He  was  fir.st  married  to  Nancy  Tobey,  who  died  leaving  two  sons: 
Henry  Thomas  Wing  and  John  Edward  Wing,  now  in  business  in 
New  York  city.  An  older  son,  Samuel  Davis  Wing,  died  in  infancy. 
On  the  28th  of  February,  1864,  Henry  Wing  married  Elizabeth  A. 
Tobey,  his  deceased  wife's  sister,  who  survives  him.  These  sisters 
were  the  children  of  Thomas  A.  and  Hannah  Davis  (Cobb)  Tobey, 
who.se  homestead  in  Sandwich  Elizabeth  A.  Wing,  the  widow,  now 
occupies.  Mr.  and  Mrs  Tobey  had  six  children:  Nancy,  Hannah 
Davis,  Mary  Nye,  Elizabeth  A.,  Heman,  and  Henry  Davis  Tobey. 
21 


322  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Joseph  Wing,  2d,  born  in  1849,  is  a  son  of  Paul,  grandson  of  Gid- 
eon, and  great-grandson  of  Paul  Wing.  His  mother  is  Laura  A. 
(Soule)  Wing.  Mr.  Wing  is  a  farmer.  He  was  married  in  1880  to 
Ada  G.,  daughter  of  George  B.  Nye,  and  has  one  son,  Paul. 

Seth  B.  Wing,  born  in  1818  in  Falmouth,  is  the  youngest  son  of 
Joshua,  grandson  of  Presbury,  and  great-grandson  of  Joshua  Wing. 
His  mother  was  Beulah  Bowerman.  Mr.  Wing  was  a  teacher  for  thirty- 
seven  years,  and  since  1876  has  been  farming.  He  was  married  in 
1845  to  Cordelia,  daughter  of  Alvin  Phinney.  They  have  two  sons: 
Alvin  P.  and  Charles  H.  Alvin  P.  was  born  in  1846.  He  is  a  carpen- 
ter by  trade.  He  was  married  in  1872  to  Lizzie  C.  Turner,  and  has 
one  daughter,  Cora  M. 

Stephen  R.  Wing,  born  in  1814,  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  grandson 
of  Paul  Wing,  whose  father  was  Zacheus  Wing.  His  mother  was  Ann 
Rogers.  Mr.  Wing  is  a  farmer.  He  was  married  in  1840  to  Elizabeth 
C,  daughter  of  David  and  Mary  (Sherman)  Shove.  They  have  four 
children  living:  Alice  R.,  Anna,  Asa  S.  and  Stephen  R.,  jr.,  and  have 
lost  three  sons.     Mr.  Wing  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 

Zenas  W.  Wright,  born  in  1815,  is  a  son  of  Joseph,  grandson  of 
Luther,  and  great-grandson  of  Martin  Wright.  His  mother  was  Mercy 
Weeks.  Mr.  Wright  was  engaged  in  whale  fishing  about  thirty-three 
years,  and  was  master  of  vessels  thirteen  years  of  that  time.  Since 
1865  he  has  been  a  farmer.  He  was  married  in  1842  to  Sarah  C, 
daughter  of  Edmund  Handy.  They  have  eight  children:  Susan  E., 
Cynthia  D.,  Elnora  F.,  Griselda  N.,  William  P.,  Zenas  W.,  jr.,  Franklin 
P.  and  Joseph  E.  They  have  lost  two  children.  Mr.  Wright  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  West  Barnstable  church. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


TOWN   OF   BOURNE. 


Trading  Post  on  Monument  River. — Indian  Hamlets. — Natural  Features. — Land  Pur- 
c'.iases. — Settlement  and  Early  Events. — Formation  of  the  Second  Precinct. — Salt 
Works.— Shipbuilding.— Early  Mills.— Ship  Canal.— Erection  of  the  Town  of 
Bourne.— Town  Aflfairs.—Churches.— Schools. ^The  Villages  and  their  Institutions. 
— Biographical  Sketches. 


THE  territory  embraced  in  the  present  town  of  Bourne,  having 
been  included  for  more  than  two  hundred  years  in  the  town 
of  Sandwich,  the  reader  will  refer  to  the  preceding  chapter  for 
a  more  minute  political  and  civil  history  of  both  prior  to  the  separa- 
tion in  1884.  The  early  settlement  and  development  of  villages  and 
communities  within  the  limits  of  Bourne  are  regarded  as  the  begin- 
nings of  this  town,  and  will  so  appear  as  far  as  the  early  records  are 
separable.  While  a  careful  examination  of  the  proprietors'  records 
of  Sandwich  reveals  the  exact  location  of  but  few  of  the  earlier  settle- 
ments of  the  ancient  town,  our  purpose  herein  will  also  be  to  notice, 
so  far  as  practicable,  those  settlers,  who,  prior  to  1700,  made  homes 
within  the  present  limits  of  Bourne.  The  town  can  claim  that  the 
soil  within  her  borders  was  first  cultivated  by  Europeans.  Colonial 
history  says  that  in  1622 — two  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims 
at  Plymouth — Governor  Bradford  visited  the  little  Indian  village  of 
Manomet,  now  long  known  as  Monument. 

The  subsequent  trading  post,  mentioned  more  fully  at  page  26,  was 
attended  by  Mr.  Chandler  and  Elijah  Ellis,  and  the  fields  at  the  north 
of  Mrs.  Mary  Ann  Perry's  then  waved  with  the  golden  maize  in  its 
season.  In  1635  a  tidal  wave  swept  over  the  Cape  on  the  15th  of  Au- 
gust, destroying  the  trading  post  and  partially  filling  the  river  with 
sand.  When  the  white  man  came  Bourne  contained  other  Indian 
hamlets  beside  Manomet.  At  the  south  was  Pokesit,  now  Pocasset; 
and  still  to  the  south  was  Kitteaumut,  now  Cataumet  harbor  and  vi- 
cinity; while  north  of  all  these  and  extending  into  the  adjacent  town 
of  Plymouth  was  Comassakumkanit,  containing  the  seat  of  the  Her- 
ring pond  Indians. 

The  surface  of  the  town  presents  the  undulations  common  to  the 
Cape  towns,  and  has  a  soil  of  sandy  loam.     The  ponds  are  numerous 


324  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

but  small ;  Herring  pond,  the  largest  in  this  vicinity,  being  but  par- 
tially in  the  town.  Mill  pond  has  an  area  of  fifty-seven  acres;  Deep 
Bottom  pond,  thirty-four;  Flax,  sixty-four;  Long  pond,  twenty-eight; 
Upper  Pocasset,  twenty;  Lower  Pocasset,  ten;  two  Succonesset  ponds 
of  twelve  acres  each;  one  southwest  of  Flax,  twenty-one;  another  at 
South  Pocasset  of  twenty-two;  and  many  smaller  ones. 

Bourne  is  the  western  town  of  the  county,  having  Plymouth  and 
Wareham,  of  Bristol  county,  on  the  north,  Sandwich  for  its  eastern 
boundary,  Falmouth  on  the  south,  and  Buzzards  bay  on  the  west. 
Bourne  neck  is  a  fertile  tract  of  land  at  the  head  of  Buzzards  bay, 
lying  between  Cohasset  narrows  and  Monument  river,  and  on  which 
the  growing  village  of  Buzzards  Bay  is  situated.  Wenaumet  neck, 
with  its  lighthouse,  is  an  important  point,  and  assists  in  forming  a 
good  harbor  for  Pocasset  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  town;  and 
Scragg's  neck— now  an  island  at  high  water — serves  the  same  pur- 
pose for  South  Pocasset,  near  the  Falmouth  line.  The  smaller  bays 
and  inlets  of  rivers,  along  the  western  coast  of  Bourne,  on  the  greater 
bay,  afford  safe  anchorage  for  shipping. 

This  fifteenth  town  of  the  county,  and  the  youngest  as  a  body  pol- 
itic, had  early  events  of  an  interesting  nature.  Its  fertility  and  pecul- 
iar advantages  were  early  seen,  and  not  many  years  had  elapsed  after 
the  first  proprietors  of  the  parent  town  had  taken  up  the  land  along 
the  bay  of  Cape  Cod,  before  they  looked  upon  the  present  territory 
of  Bourne  with  a  longing,  which  resulted  in  a  petition  to  the  general 
cotirt  for  permission  to  purchase,  and  assistance  in  purchasing  Mano- 
met.  On  May  13,  1654,  at  a  special  town  meeting,  the  framing  of  this 
petition  was  submitted  to  Mr.  Dillingham,  Goodman  Tupper,  William 
Newland,  Goodman  Bourne  and  Thomas  Dexter.  That  these  gentle- 
men moved  immediately  in  the  matter  is  not  shown  by  the  records; 
but  they  do  show  the  appointment  of  Michael  Blackwell,  in  1670,  as 
agent  of  the  Herring  river  fishery,  showing  that  at  that  time  the  pro- 
prietors were  in  legal  possession  of  the  land  to  and  including  the 
river.  The  records  of  1672  say,  "Mr.  Edm.  Freeman  Sr.,  Wm.  Swift, 
Thos.  Wing  Sr.,  Michael  Blackwell,  and  Wm.  Newland  were  requested 
to  go  forward  settling  and  confirming  the  township  with  the  sachem 
of  Manomet  or  any  other; "  and  not  until  later  is  mention  made  of 
permanent  settlers  at  Monument. 

The  Perrys,  then  living  at  Scusset,  were  admitted  as  freemen  in 
the  year  1677,  and  in  1680  they  purchased  lands  along  the  south  bank 
of  the  Monument  river,  where  now  is  the  village  of  Bourne.  They 
have  descendants  in  the  town  who  claim  their  coming  was  of  much 
earlier  date;  but  the  town  records  do  not  substantiate  the  assertion. 
The  four  sons  of  Ezra  Perry — Samuel,  Ezra,  jr.,  John  and  Benjamin — 
built  their  cabin  here,  and  many  of  the  people  residing  at  Bourne 


TOWN  OF  BOURNE.  325 

have  seen  the  vestiges  of  this  home.  Tradition  says  these  four  sons 
of  Ezra  Perry  traded  at  Herring  river,  and  coming  home  at  night 
used  to  shelter  themselves  behind  a  large  rock  near  their  house  and 
fire  three  or  four  bullets  through  the  door,  to  drive  out  any  lurking 
Indians  who  might  be  secreted  there.  The  rock  is  large  enough  to 
have  sheltered  many  more  Perrys,  and  is  to  be  seen  on  the  premises 
of  Ordello  R.  Swift,  near  the  flagstaff  he  erected  a  few  years  ago. 

The  purchase  of  the  south  part  of  Bourne  had  not  yet  been  made, 
as  on  the  18th  of  May,  1680, "  Thos.  Dexter,  Stephen  Skiff,  and  Thomas 
Tupper  were  appointed  Agents  to  buy  of  the  Indians  all  the  undis- 
posed lands  that  lie  between  Plymouth,  Barnstable,  and  Suckanessett 
— all  they  can  buy  of  the  rightful  owners."  Two  selectmen  of  Ply- 
mouth, and  William  Bassett  and  Daniel  Allen  of  Sandwich,  settled  the 
bounds  between  this  town  and  Plymouth,  April  9,  1701,  "  beginning 
at  Peaked  cliff  on  the  seaside,  running  to  a  rock  on  the  westerly  side 
of  Herring  pond,  thence  to  the  little  pond  below  the  dwelling  house 
of  John  Gibbs,  jr.,  thence  to  a  marked  pine  tree  by  the  fence  in  the 
meadow  of  Benj.  Gibbs  by  the  Red  Brook,  thence  by  this  brook  to  the 
bay."  In  1706  a  further  purchase  of  lands  was  made  by  the  town, 
from  Zachariah  Sias,  an  Indian:  "A  tract  at  Herring  river,  on  the  west 
side  of  the  line  run  between  the  town  and  Indians'  lands." 

Settlers  came  rapidly  to  this  part  of  Sandwich,  and  Ebenezer  Nye, 
John  Smith,  Elisha  Bourne,  John  Gibbs,  jr.,  Benjamin  Gibbs  and 
others  may  be  recognized  as  then  permanently  located  in  the  terri- 
tory of  Bourne.  Nor  were  all  the  lands  of  the  western  part  of  the 
town  yet  purchased  of  the  Indians;  for  the  town,  in  special  town  meet- 
ing, on  February  12,  1708,  "granted  liberty  to  Wm.  Bassett  Jr.  to  pur- 
chase of  Wm.  Numick  Jr.,  (Indian),  other  lands  lying  over  against 
Monamet  bay;"  and  later,  in  1716,  liberty  was  voted  to  Nathan  Bar- 
ber to  purchase  the  remainder  of  the  lands  of  Numick;  then  followed 
a  re-survey  of  the  old  line  and  an  extension  of  the  line  between  the 
towns  of  Plymouth  and  Bourne,  which  was  as  follows:  "  Beginning 
at  a  white-oak  bush  on  Peaked  cliff,  marked  on  four  sides,  with  stones 
about  it;  from  thence  running  S.  E.  3°  to  the  westerly  side  of  Her- 
ring pond  abt  2  rods  from  the  mouth  of  sd  pond  to  a  rock;  and  from 
said  rock  to  the  Wareham  line."  During  the  period  of  time  covered 
by  the  additions  of  territory,  as  mentioned,  that  part  of  Herring  pond 
and  along  Buzzards  bay  had  become  the  seat  of  communities.  The 
travel  from  Plymouth  to  the  Cape  became  of  so  much  importance  that 
the  general  court  had  ordered  a  road  to  be  laid  out  from  Plymouth  to 
Sandwich;  but  m  1654  it  had  not  been  completed. 

In  1684,  the  main  road  from  Barnstable  to  Plymouth,  through 
Bourne  and  Sandwich,  was  laid  out  by  a  jury  empaneled  by  the  gov- 
ernor, and  is  now  the  County  road,  as  it  is  known  through  the  Cape. 


326  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Another  highway  was  laid  out  later,  which  being  beyond  the  memory 
of  man,  deserves  mention.  The  proprietors'  records  say  that  Josiah 
Swift  and  others  presented  a  petition,  May  15,  1746,  to  the  selectmen, 
proposing  to  build  a  new  road  "  to  be  turned  round  the  swamp  in  the 
place  of  the  old  one  that  goes  through  Herring  river  to  Monument." 
This  road  was  accepted  by  the  town  December  31,  1746,  but  the  old 
one  was  not  to  be  shut  to  the  public,  "  if  persons  put  up  the  bars  and 
shut  the  gates." 

The  people  of  Bourne  were  intensely  interested  in  a  wild  scheme 
for  fencing  out  wolves;  and  the  people  of  the  original  town  of  Sand- 
wich pursued  the  idea  with  that  persistency  which  they  usually  mani- 
fested. At  a  town  meeting  of  Sandwich,  held  May  27, 1717,"  the  town 
manifested  a  desire  to  have  a  fence  made  as  speedily  as  it  can  well  be 
done  from  the  Picket  cliflF  over  to  Waquan.sett  bay  to  keep  oflF  the 
wolves  from  coming  into  this  county;  and  in  order  to  do  it  that  Wm. 
Bassett,  the  town  clerk,  do  send  to  the  selectmen  of  the  respective 
towns  of  the  county  that  they  propose  to  their  respective  towns  of 
the  county  at  their  next  townmeeting  to  joyn  with  us  in  the  charge, 
and  to  inform  them  that  if  they  will  bear  their  proportion  with  us  of 
;^500,  that  we  will  make  a  good  board  fence  of  more  than  six  foot  high, 
and  what  the  charge  is  more  than  that  we  will  bear  it." 

This  scheme  was  not  favorably  considered  by  any  other  towns  ex- 
cept Falmouth,  which  by  vote  acceded  to  it.  Then  the  town's  repre- 
sentative was  "  Instructed  to  apply  to  the  general  court  for  an  act  re- 
quiring the  towns  below,  in  consideration  of  the  great  destruction  of 
sheep  by  wolves,  to  bear  their  part  of  the  expense  of  a  fence  across 
the  isthmus,  suflScient  to  exclude  wolves." 

The  founders  of  the  present  flourishing  town  of  Bourne  continued 
their  ihiprovements  in  roads.  On  the  19th  of  May,  1718,  the  people 
in  town  meeting  assembled,  by  vote  "  did  approve  of  the  road  that 
leads  through  the  Herring  river  so  called,  and  so  up  to  Manomet,  al- 
lowing as  it  has  been  used  and  accustomed;  so  likewise  ye  way  yt 
leads  out  of  that  way  again  over  the  sd  Herring  river  by  the  house 
in  which  Thomas  Jones  now  dwells  and  so  up  to  the  house  of  Nathan 
Bourne  in  which  he  now  dwells." 

The  fishing  privileges  of  Herring  river  have  been,  and  still  are 
controlled  by  the  town,  and  are  a  source  of  profit.  The  quantity  taken 
from  this  river  exceeds  that  from  any  other  on  the  western  part  of  the 
Cape.  Early  in  the  last  century  the  supply  of  herring  so  far  exceeded 
the  demand  for  fi.sh  food,  that  the  surplus  was  used  to  fertilize  the 
fields,  and  the  growing  custom  of  using  them  in  each  hill  of  planted 
corn  was  checked  in  1718,  the  town  fathers  ordering  that  none  should 
be  taken  in  future  to  "  fish  corn."  The  fisheries  of  the  entire  town 
are  now  controlled  by  the  selectmen,  and  this  of  Herring  river  is  an 


TOWN  OF  BOURNE.  327 

important  branch.  The  right  of  the  people  to  have  each  family  a 
certain  share  of  herrings  is  sustained,  and  the  profit  beyond  this  is 
sold  to  the  highest  bidder.  For  the  year  1890  this  privilege  was  sold 
for  one  thousand  dollars,  reserving  two  barrels  for  each  Indian  family, 
and  a  barrel  for  the  head  of  every  other  family  in  Bourne  or  Sand- 
wich, the  latter  town  having  a  common  interest  with  the  former  in 
the  herring  rights. 

This  people  early  had  been  active  in  the  matters  of  the  church, 
which  by  dissensions  had  become  reduced  to  a  small  membership,  and 
at  the  close  of  Mr.  Smith's  pastorate,  in  1688,  James  Skiff,  Thomas 
Tupper,  Thomas  Tobey,  Jacob  Burge  and  William  Bassett  were  the 
only  active  male  members.  In  1732  a  petition  was  presented  by  certain 
ones  "  to  be  released  from  paying  for  the  support  of  the  minister,  and 
to  be  set  off  as  a  distinct  precinct."  This  request  was  refused  "  on  the 
ground  that  the'  petitioners  are  widely  scattered  and  in  all  make  less 
than  20  families;  "  and  it  was  voted  by  the  town  that  "  the  return  of 
the  disaffected  is  the  only  way  to  restore  our  ancient  glory  of  unity 
and  peace." 

Again,  in  1744,  Ebenezer  Wing  and  twenty-three  others  of  Pocasset 
and  Manomet  petitioned  to  be  released  from  paying  to  the  support  of 
Mr.  Fessenden  and  town  schools,  which  by  the  vote  of  the  town  was 
refused.  The  application  for  a  precinct  was  renewed  in  1769,  and  in 
1772  Pocasset  was  incorporated  as  the  second  precinct  in  Sandwich. 
These  last  petitions  had  been  carried  to  the  general  court  where  the 
prayer  of  the  petitioners  was  granted.  This  division  was  only  of 
the  church,  but  the  feeling  that  ultimately  resulted  in  the  division 
of  the  parent  town  and  erection  of  the  town  of  Bourne,  existed  from 
this  time.  In  1797  an  ineffectual  attempt  was  made  to  divide  the 
town,  the  movers  desiring  to  include  Monument,  Pocasset  and  other 
portions  in  the  new  township. 

This  portion  of  the  parent  town  had  been  first  in  many  enterprises 
of  the  day  not  yet  mentioned.  It  raised  its  portion  of  the  school- 
master's salary,  and  at  Pocasset  and  also  at  Monument  the  school  was 
kept  a  proportion  of  the  year.  Early  in  the  present  century  salt 
was  manufactured  around  Buzzards  bay.  The  last  of  these  extensive 
manufactories,  at  Back  river,  succumbed  to  the  change  in  affairs  about 
the  middle  of  the  century.  Ship  building  was  an  industry  as  early 
as  1800,  and  was  carried  on  by  Captain  William  Handy,  who  retired 
from  the  seas  and  engaged  in  it  successfully,  establishing  a  shipyard 
near  his  house  on  Buzzards  bay.  He  sent  forth  from  his  own  yard 
the  ship  Rebecca,  the  brig  Fame,  the  schooners  Resolutio7i,  Naficy,  So- 
plironia.  Love,  Achsah  Parker;  the  sloops  Betsey,  Nancy  and  Deborah,  and 
other  smaller  vessels  designed  for  the  Long  Island  Sound  trade  during 
the  war  of  1812.     Benjamin  Burgess  built  the  brigs  CordeliazxiA.  Sarah 


328  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Williams  at  Sagamore,  and  soon  after  1830  he  built  the  schooner  Caro- 
line, on  the  knoll  by  the  creek  on  Watson  Freeman's  land.  Benjamin 
Burgess  and  Abner  Ellis  built  the  bark  Fratiklin  for  the  West  India 
trade  here  about  1837;  and  the  bark  Lysander  in  1842.  Schooners  and 
sloops  were  built  on  the  banks  of  the  stream  below  Keith's  factory, 
and  the  canal  is  yet  visible  where  they  were  compelled  to  cut  across  an 
elbow  of  the  stream  to  float  the  vessel.  Very  many  of  the  people  of 
the  town  have  followed  the  sea  as  shipmasters. 

The  superior  advantages  of  Herring  river  for  mill  power,  early 
turned  the  attention  of  the  settlers  to  the  enterprise,  and  as  early  as 
1695,  the  proprietors'  records,  under  date  of  December  17th,  say,"  the 
town  have  granted  liberty  to  Mr.  Elisha  Bourne  to  sett  up  or  cause  to 
be  sett  up  a  grist  mill  upon  the  Herring  river,  so  called,  where  it  may 
be  most  convenient,  provided  it  shall  not  be  prejuditial  to  the  her- 
rings going  up,  and  that  he  that  shall  keep  .sd  mill  shall  grind  all  the 
corn  that  he  grinds  of  all  sorts  for  two  quarts  per  bushel."  This  was 
cheap  grinding,  but  the  site  and  privilege  were  granted  by  the  town, 
and  the  conditions  were  undoubtedly  very  just.  This  mill  for  grind- 
ing long  ago  fulfilled  its  mission;  but  in  1717  we  hear  of  it  again;  for 
permission  was  given  by  the  town  "  that  a  sawmill  be  sett  up  some- 
where between  the  grist-mill  and  Herring  pond's  mouth,  but  not  to 
prejudice  herring  up  or  down."  This  was  granted  to  Benjamin 
Bourne,  who  built  the  mill,  but  he  was  kept  under  surveillance  by  the 
town  officers  on  account  of  the  herrings.  These  mills  caused  much 
trouble  to  the  herring  business  and  were  compelled  at  times  to  cease 
running. 

The  selectmen  of  Sandwich,  in  1734,  ordered  "  that  the  mill  be 
stopped  from  grinding,  from  1  of  April  to  May  20,  unless  Medad  Tucker 
and  Samuel  Gibbs  decide  that  the  course  of  herring  is  not  obstructed." 

The  old  mills  mentioned  have  made  their  paragraphs  in  history, 
and  like  their  founders  belong  to  the  pages  of  the  past.  The  sawmill 
site  is  marked  by  some  of  the  foundation  stones,  and  but  little  of  the 
grist  mill  building  remains.  The  town  has  no  grist  mill  now,  nor  do 
we  find  that  any  has  been  erected  during  the  present  century  except 
a  wind  mill  at  Pocasset,  erected  about  1845  by  Parker  &  Dillingham, 
and  that  was  sold  to  go  to  Falmouth  after  a  very  few  years.  The  wind 
mill  now  at  Cataumet  was  built  in  Rhode  Island  and  moved  to  New 
Bedford,  thence  about  1853  to  Cataumet,  by  Perry  G.  Macomber,  then 
proprietor  of  the  Red  brook  estate,  on  which  it  stands,  in  ruins,  since 
the  September  gale  of  1869. 

The  proposed  ship  canal  across  the  Cape,  when  completed,  will  be 
almost  wholly  within  the  limits  of  Bourne.  Its  course  as  surveyed  is 
from  Scusset  harbor,  through  Sagamore,  along  the  valley  in  which 
Bournedale  is  situated  to  the  village  of  Bourne,  thence  to  Back  River 


TOWN   OF  BOURNE.  329 

harbor.  The  town  of  Sandwich,  within  whose  limits  it  then  was,  gave 
its  consent  to  this  canal  in  1801.  Other  companies  prior  to  the  one 
engaged  have  accomplished  more  or  less,  but  all  have  effected  but 
little  compared  with  the  grand  whole.  The  present  company  has  given 
an  earnest  of  its  intentions  and  ability  to  prosecute  the  work  by  pur- 
chasing much  valuable  property  along  the  surveyed  route,  and  exca- 
vating a  small  portion  of  the  proposed  channel. 

The  vote  of  1889  appropriated  two  thousand  dollars  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  poor.  The  other  appropriations  were:  For  schools,  five 
thousand  dollars;  for  roads,  forty-five  hundred  dollars:  and  for  other 
town  expenses,  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  They  also  made  a  liberal 
provision  for  the  selectmen  to  have  a  transcript  made  of  the  records 
of  Sandwich,  the  parent  town,  by  H.  G.  O.  Ellis,  which  transcript  will 
be  deposited  with  their  own. 

For  over  two  centuries  had  the  fathers  and  their  living  descend- 
ants residing  in  Bourne  contributed  to  the  prosperity  of  the  entire 
town  by  taxes  and  expenses,  which,  in  later  years,  they  believed  were 
disproportionate  to  their  relative  advantages.  This  belief  only  in- 
creased the  unrest  of  that  portion,  and  the  desire,  which  we  have  no- 
ticed as  existing  a  century  before,  for  self-government.  The  lapse  of 
time  for  two  generations  had  increased  the  reasons  for  and  strength- 
ened the  determination  of  the  people  of  Bourne  to  erect  a  town  of 
their  own,  and  in  1860  steps  were  again  taken  in  that  direction.  The 
opening  of  the  civil  war  diverting  the  attention  of  all  concerned,  the 
subject  was  practically  dropped  until  1873,  when  hearings  on  the  peti- 
tion of  Captain  Nathaniel  Burgess  and  others  for  a  division  of  the 
town  of  Sandwich,  were  held  before  a  legislative  committee,  but  the 
line  of  division  as  proposed  not  being  satisfactory,  a  strong  opposition 
was  developed,  and  the  project  was  defeated.  These  reverses  only 
strengthened  the  hope  and  determination  of  the  people,  and  they  pa- 
tiently waited  until  more  sure  of  success.  In  1883,  a  new  movement, 
broader  and  stronger  than  previous  ones,  was  inaugurated.  The  citi- 
zens of  Pocasset,  Monument  and  North  and  West  Sandwich  rallied, 
determined  to  have  a  township  by  themselves.  The  first  meeting  was 
held  in  the  school  house  at  Monument,  December  15,  1883,  with  Cap- 
tain Nathaniel  Burgess  in  the  chair,  and  Edward  S.  Ellis  as  secretary. 
After  discussing  the  matter,  William  A.  Nye,  Edward  S.  Ellis,  Zadock 
Wright,  Benjamin  B.  Abbe  and  Joshua  A.  Baker  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  complete  a  permanent  organization.  At  the  adjourned  meet- 
ing, held  at  Welcome  Hall,  Monument,  December  29th,  this  committee 
reported  the  following  ofiicers,  which  were  accepted:  Ezra  C.  Howard, 
Nathaniel  Burgess,  George  I.Briggs,  John  P.  Knowlton,  John  A.  Beck- 
erman  and  William  A.  Nye,  as  an  executive  committee,  with  Mr.  How- 
ard as  chairman  and  Mr.  Nye  as  secretary;  Isaac  N.  Keith,  Nathaniel 


330  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Burgess  and  Benjamin  B.  Abbe,  finance  committee;  Ebenezer  Nye, 
James  T.  Handy,  M.  C.  Waterhouse,  Joshua  H.  Baker,  John  A.  Beck- 
erman,  Paul  C.  Gibbs,  Nathaniel  Burgess,  George  E.  Phinney,  George 
I.  Briggs,  Isaac  Stevens,  John  G.  Wright,  Ezra  C.  Howard,  Nathan  B. 
Ellis,  John  P.  Knowlton,  Levi  Swift  and  Edward  S.  Ellis,  a  general 
committee. 

The  vote  of  the  meeting  was  to  accept  no  line  of  division  except 
the  line  between  West  Sandwich  and  Sandwich  village.  Many  peti- 
tions were  sent  to  the  legislature  for  and  against  the  measure;  coun- 
sel for  both  sides,  with  witnesses,  were  heard  January  24, 1884,  before 
the  committee,  at  the  state  house,  Boston.  The  territory  of  the  new 
town  and  the  old  was  looked  over  personally  by  the  legislative  com- 
mittee, and  the  strongest  measures  were  brought  to  bear  by  the  pe- 
titioners and  remonstrants.  The  opposition  was  led  by  hope  to  follow 
the  bill  through  all  its  legislative  phases,  but  they  were  promptly  met 
at  every  turn  by  its  friends.  It  was  sent  to  the  executive  and  re- 
ceived his  approval  April  2,  1884,  and  the  old  town  of  Sandwich  was 
cut  in  twain.  The  new  town,  with  an  area  of  over  23,600  acres,  and  a 
population  of  1,363,  including  419  voters,  was  called  Bourne,  in  honor 
of  the  late  Hon.  Jonathan  Bourne,  of  New  Bedford,  a  native  of  the 
town.  A  meeting  for  organization  and  the  election  of  temporary 
officers  was  held  April  12,  1884,  and  these  officers  called  the  regular 
town  meeting  for  April  23d. 

In  May,  1884,  the  line  between  the  old  and  new  towns,  surveyed 
by  Edward  S.  Ellis  and  Charles  M.  Thompson,  was  approved  by  the 
selectmen.  The  division  line  "  begins  at  a  point  on  the  shore  of 
Barnstable  Bay,  8,184  feet  southerly  from  the  Plymouth  line  at  Peaked 
CliflF  (so  called)  running  thence  S.  3  3°  53'  W.  516  feet  to  a  stone  monu- 
ment; thence  on  same  course  7,138  feet  to  the  N.  W.  corner  of  Free- 
man's Lane  (so  called),  and  the  location  of  the  Old  Colony  railroad; 
thence  on  same  course  127^  feet  to  a  stone  monument  on  the  south- 
easterly side  of  said  Freeman's  Lane;  thence  along  said  lane  S.  44° 
W.  1,210  feet  to  a  stone  monument  on  the  southerly  side  of  the 
County  Road;  thence  S.  23°  26'  W.  17,707  feet  to  a  stone  monument  on 
the  northerly  side  of  the  Pocasset  and  Sandwich  road  (so  called)  at 
the  intersection  of  Turpentine  Road  (so  called),  with  said  road; 
thence  S.  15°  32'  W.  4,068  feet  to  a  stone  monument  on  the  easterly 
side  of  said  Turpentine  road,  at  the  junction  with  the  old  Turpentine 
road  (so  called);  thence  S.  18°  58'  W.  7,547  feet  to  a  stone  monument  at 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  intersection  of  the  Turpentine  road  and 
the  county  road  between  Pocasset  and  Snake  pond;  thence  S.  35°  22' 
W.  7,631  feet  to  a  stone  monument  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
intersection  of  the  Turpentine  road  with  the  Howard  Road  (so  called); 
thence  on  same  course  9,553  feet  to  a  stone  monument  at  the  Fal- 
mouth line  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  Turpentine  road." 


TOWN  OF   BOURNE.  331 

The  regular  town  meeting  of  April  23d  elected  for  town  clerk, 
William  A.  Nye;  for  selectmen  and  overseers  of  the  poor,  Ezra  C. 
Howard,  David  D.  Nye  and  Albert  R.  Eldridge;  for  assessors,  David 
D.  Nye,  Moses  C.  Waterhouse  and  John  P.  Knowlton;  for  treasurer 
and  collector,  Nathan  Nye;  for  superintendent  of  schools,  Levi  R. 
Leavitt. 

The  officers  elected  in  1885  were:  Ordello  R.  Swift,  town  clerk; 
David  D.  Nye,  Albert  R.  Eldridge  and  Jedediah  Briggs,  selectmen. 
The  selectmen  were  to  also  act  as  assessors  and  overseers  of  the  poor, 
and  the  clerk  as  treasurer.  The  same  officers  were  elected  for  1886, 
and  for  1887  the  same  clerk,  and  Nathan  Nye  was  elected  as  select- 
man in  place  of  Jedediah  Briggs,  the  remaining  two  being  re-elected. 
In  the  springs  of  1888,  1889  and  1890  the  town  voted  the  continuation 
of  clerk  and  selectmen  of  the  previous  year,  an  evidence  of  capability 
on  their  part,  and  an  expression  of  confidence  by  their  townsmen. 
The  town  has,  as  yet,  erected  no  public  buildings.  Since  it  was  in- 
corporated, the  poor  of  the  town,  which  in  1889  were  only  five  persons, 
have  been  boarded  at  the  poor  house  of  the  town  of  Sandwich. 

A  division  of  the  taxes  was  made  by  the  selectmen  of  the  old  and 
new  towns  on  the  23d  of  July,  1884,  by  which  Bourne  had  to  pay 
$1,083.67— $47.34  more  than  the  old  town;  and  of  the  county  tax, 
$655.24r— $28.62  more  than  Sandwich.  On  the  24th  of  December, 
1884,  the  division  of  debts  and  property  and  final  settlements  were 
amicably  concluded  and  adjusted  between  the  towns. 

Churches. — The  people  of  Bourne,  supporting  now  four  churches, 
seem  to  realize  that  their  religious  duties  are  as  essential  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  town  as  are  their  educational  and  civil.  Their  abil- 
ity to  support  separate  societies,  and  their  disposition  to  do  so,  have 
been  mentioned.  An  early  pastor  said  of  Methodism  in  the  town, 
that  it  came  early  and  came  to  stay.  Rev.  Jesse  Lee  preached  at 
Monument  as  early  as  1791;  and  in  1794,  after  Joshua  Hall,  the  first 
preacher  stationed  here,  a  class  was  formed,  composed  of  John  Perry 
and  Jemima,  his  wife;  Covel  Burgess  and  Lydia,  his  wife;  John  Phin- 
ney  and  Abigail,  his  wife;  Zacchcus  Hatch  and  Ann,  his  wife;  Chris- 
tian Burgess,  Christania  Perry,  Maria  Nye  and  Anna,  her  sister,  and 
Phoebe  Swift.  These  thirteen  pioneer  Methodists  have  many  descend- 
ants in  Bourne.  Joshua  Hall  was  succeeded  by  Joseph  Snelling  in 
1795,  and  he  by  Ephraim  Kibby  in  1798.  Daniel  Webb  and  Reuben 
Jones  were  stationed  here  in  1799,  and  Joshua  Soule  in  1800-1;  David 
Bachelor,  in  1802-3;  Joseph  Snelling,  in  1804;  Moses  Currier,  in  1805; 
Nathaniel  Elder,  1806;  Thomas  Asbury,  1807;  Joseph  Snelling  and 
Joseph  Merrill,  1808;  Benjamin  Lombard,  18C9;  Stephen  Baley,  1810; 
Aaron  Lummis,  1811-12;  Stephen  Baley,  1813;  William  Frost  and 
Thomas  Peirce,  1814;  J.  W.  Handy  and  Richard  Emory,  1815;  Moses 


332  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Fifield,  1816;  Benjamin  Hazleton,  1817-19;  Father  Edward  J.  Taylor, 
1820;  Taylor  and  Benjamin  Brown,  Sandwich  and  Harwich,  1821;  F. 
Upham,  1822;  A.  D.  Sargent,  1823;  Jonathan  Mayhew,  1824;  Erastus 
Otis  and  John  Hutchinson,  Sandwich  and  Falmouth,  1825;  F.  Upham, 
1826-27;  Enoch  Bradley  and  Nathan  Spaulding,  1828;  Frederick  Up- 
ham, 1829-30;  Steele,  Janson,  Marsh  and  Noble,  1831-32;  J.  B.  Bliss 
and  Josiah  Litch,  1833;  Joseph  Barstow,  1834;  Philip  Crandon,  1835-36; 
Abraham  Holway,  1837;  Joseph  Brown,  1838;  H.  Mayo,  1839;  Joseph 
Marsh,  1840^1;  Nathan  Paine,  1842;  Anthony  Palmer,  1843;  G.  W. 
Brewster,  1844;  Heman  Perry,  1845;  N.Goodrich,  1846-47;  W.  H.  Rich- 
ards, 1848;  D.  H.  Swinerton,  1849-50;  Joseph  Macreading,  1851;  S.Steb- 
ings,  1852;  J.  B.  Hunt,  1853;  E.  B.  Hinckley,  1854;  E.  S.  Stanley,  1865; 
F.  Sears,  1856-58;  J.  B.  Washburn,  1859;  George  H.  Winchester,  1860- 
61;  A.  W.  Swinerton,  1862-63;  G.  A.  Silversteine,  1864:  J.  B.  Husted, 
1865-66;  Philo  Hawks,  1867-69;  C.  N.  Hinckley,  1870-71;  E.  S.  Fletcher, 
1872-74;  J.  H.  Humphrey,  1875-76;  E.  J.  Ayers,  1877;  A.  L.  Dearing, 
1878-79;  C.  N.  Hinckley,  1880-82;  R.  Burns,  1883-85;  J.  G.  Gammons, 
1886-88;  and  J.  Q.  Adams,  1889. 

The  Methodists  and  Congregationalists  worshipped  in  the  same 
house  for  a  time,  but  jealousies  arose  and  this  dual  worship  ceased. 
The  first  Methodist  Episcopal  church  building  at  Bourne  was  erected 
in  1831,  Captain  Ellis  M.  Swift  being  the  principal  mover;  he  built 
the  church  and  received  for  the  thirty-four  pews  enough  to  pay  him. 
This  house  was  enlarged  at  a  cost  of  $1,218  in  1843,  and  was  owned 
by  individual  pew-owners  for  the  next  forty  years,  but  in  1883  it  was 
made  free.     The  church  society  is  strong  and  prosperous. 

The  Methodists  at  Sagamore  had  preaching  and  meetings  until 
their  strength  enabled  them  to  organize  a  society,  which  was  effected 
by  those  interested  here.  A  church  building  was  raised  July  27,1828, 
and  dedicated  in  June,  1829,  as  the  Union  Free  Church,  but  has  been 
occupied  by  the  Methodists  since,  and  is  now  the  property  of  that 
society.  In  1852  the  building  was  remodeled  and  one  row  of  windows 
substituted  for  the  two,  which  improvement  gave  it  a  more  modern 
appearance.  The  society,  which  is  prosperous,  built  a  parsonage  in 
1865.  Preaching  was  supplied  from  Sandwich  village  early,  and  just 
when  the  society  commenced  with  its  own  settled  minister  is  difficult 
to  decide.  The  conference  records  show  that  in  1848  Rev.  Robert  M. 
Hatfield  was  stationed  here,  and  was  followed  in  1852  by  Rev.  Benja- 
min L.  Sayer.  Thomas  D.  Blake  came  in  1854,  and  the  pulpit  was 
supplied  by  C.  H.  Payne  of  the  Sandwich  charge  in  1857.  We  next 
find  John  H.  Cooley  here  in  1859,  who  was  succeeded  by  Abel  Alton 
in  1860,  by  Thomas  D.  Sleeper  in  1862,  B.  K.  Bosworth  in  1863,  and 
Franklin  Gavitt  in  1866.  The  present  church  records  give  for  stated 
ministers:    H.  B.  Cady,  appointed  in  1871;  Philip  Crandon,  1873;   Asa 


TOWN   OF   BOURNE.  333 

N.  Bodfish,  1874;  C.  E.  Walker,  1876;  H.  S.  Smith,  1877;  A.  McCofd, 
1878;  G.  H.  Butler,  1880:  G.  H.  Lamson,  1882;  Robert  Clark,  1884;  Ed- 
ward Lyon,  1886;  Hugh  Copeland,  1888;  and  E.  F.  Newell  since  April, 
1889.     The  church  clerk  is  A.  T.  Rogers. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  edifice  at  Cataumet  is  historic  by- 
its  age,  and  the  uses  to  which  it  has  been  put  and  the  changes  it  has 
undergone,  being  in  part  the  one  once  used  as  an  Indian  church  at 
Burying  hill,  Bournedale.  While  standing  on  its  former  site.  Rev. 
Mr.  Tupper  was  the  preacher  from  1769,  the  general  court  paying 
him  for  his  services  for  Christianizing  the  Indians;  but  the  natives 
were  not  disposed  to  attend  divine  service,  and  the  edifice  was  re- 
moved in  1779  to  its  present  site.  Mr.  Tupper  died  in  the  year  1796, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Ebenezer  Hinds  of  the  Baptist  faith  until 
1806.  The  first  Methodist  clergyman  here  was  Rev.  Joseph  Snelling, 
and  the  building  was  repaired  during  his  pastorate.  The  Methodists, 
undervarious  names,  have  had  the  ascendency  since,  and  have  become 
a  strong  and  prosperous  society.  From  1822  the  society  took  the  name 
of  Reformed  Methodist  church,  and  thirteen  years  later  we  find 
the  name  Methodist  Protestant,  and  under  their  management  the 
church  building  was  again  repaired  and  the  bell  placed  in  the  tower. 
This  remained  its  distinctive  title  until  August  31,  1866,  when  Rev. 
Lorenzo  D.  Johnson  accepted  the  pastorate  under  Presiding  Elder 
Thomas  Ely,  and  the  church  was  reorganized  under  its  present 
•name. 

The  pastors  have  been:  Reverends  Erastus  Otis;  Frederick  Upham, 
D.D.,  now  of  Fairhaven,  Mass.;  Levi  Nye;  Mr.  Brown;  Pliny  Brett, 
who  came  in  1822;  Joseph  Snellings,  about  1830;  Joseph  Eldredge, 
October  1,  1835;  William  Tozer;  Joseph  K.  Wallen;  David  Hill;  David 
Culver;  Samuel  Chapman;  Moses  Brown;  James  Magall,  1852;  Richard 
H.  Dorr,  1854;  Joshua  Hudson,  1857;  William  Marks,  1859;  George 
Pierson,  1859;  Netson  W.  Britten,  1861;  Lorenzo  D.  Johnson,  1866; 
Joseph  Marsh,  1867;  Hopkins  D.  Cady,  1870;  Franklin  Sears,  1871; 
Charles  W.  Ryder,  1872;  Henry  F.  A.  Patterson,  1873;  S.  W.  Cogges- 
hall,  D.D.,  1874;  Richard  H.  Dorr,  1875;  Daniel  M.  Rogers,  1876;  Ed- 
ward Williams,  1879;  Samuel  Fox,  1881;  Louis  M.  Flocken,  1888;  John 
H.  Buckey, 1889. 

The  Ba-ptist  church  at  Pocasset,  standing  on  an  eminence  near  the 
station,  was  formerly  in  use  at  Snake  pond,  having  been  taken  down 
in  1838  and  removed  to  Pocasset  site.  It  was  enlarged  and  modern- 
ized, and  in  1889  moved  to  a  more  central  location  near  the  railroad 
station.  The  society  was  organized  April  9. 1838,  as  the  Baptist  Church 
of  Christ,  of  Pocasset.  The  original  members  were:  Hezekiah  Lum- 
bert,  Levi  Barlow,  Obed  Barlow,  Solomon  N.  Barlow,  Obed  Barlow,  jr., 
Eliab  King,  Caleb  Benson,  Elizabeth  Barlow,  Lucinda  Barlow,  Eliza- 


334  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

beth  Barlow,  jr.,  Susan  Kelley  and  Polly  Benson.     Its  first  deacons 
were  Hezekiah  Lumbert  and  Levi  Barlow. 

Caleb  Benson,  the  first  preacher,  was  succeeded  in  1839  by  Alex- 
ander Mellen;  in  1841  by  Nathan  Chapman;  then  by  supplies  for  sev- 
eral years.  Henry  Coombs  was  pastor  in  1852,  and  supplies  from  Mid- 
dleboro  and  Providence  filled  the  pulpit  for  nearly  a  score  of  years, 
as  the  records  of  the  church  indicate.  Isaac  Alger  preached  in  1872; 
Rev.  Hickok  in  1873;  D.  Jones  in  1876;  A.  H.  Murray,  1878;  supplies, 
1879  to  1885;  Mr.  Livermore,  1885;  W.  W.  Hackett,  1887;  and  W.  A.  C. 
Rouse  since  1888. 

The  society  is  in  a  prosperous  condition  and  sustains  a  well  orga- 
nized Sabbath  school.  Of  the  thirty-two  active  members,  W.  A.  Bar- 
low is  the  present  deacon,  and  Miss  Susan  H.  Barlow,  clerk.  About 
fifteen  years  ago  the  society  purchased  of  the  town  the  school  house 
of  the  Pocasset  district,  and  remodeled  it  into  a  suitable  hall  for  social 
meetings  and  society  purposes,  standing  nearly  opposite  the  present 
school  house. 

The  Second  Congregational  church  of  Sandwich  deserves  a  men- 
tion here.  It  was  situated  at  Bourne  village,  between  the  school  house 
and  the  residence  of  George  I.  Briggs,  and  meetings  were  held  in  it 
by  the  "  town  minister,"  at  stated  periods,  on  the  Sabbath,  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  members  residing  in  this  western  portion  of  the  town.  Thirty- 
three  of  them  organized  themselves  into  a  separate  society,  July  9, 
1833,  and  in  1834  a  new  edifice  was  erected,  which  was  destroyed  by 
fire  in  August,  1862,  during  a  thunder  storm,  and  was  not  rebuilt. 

Two  years  previous  to  the  formation  of  this  society,  they  acted  in- 
dependently of  the  First  church,  in  so  far  as  to  establish  regular  ser- 
vice at  this  house  of  worship,  and  secured  the  services  of  many  minis- 
ters for  short  periods.  Rev.  Nathaniel  Barker  supplied  them  for  a 
year  after  their  organization,  and  for  six  months  in  1835,  Rev.  Daniel 
Tappan  supplied  the  pulpit.  Mr.  Tappan's  labors  being  crowned  with 
an  abundant  harvest  to  the  society,  he  was  ordained  its  minister  late  . 
in  the  year,  and  continued  his  labors  until  July  24,  1838,  when  for  two 
and  one-half  years  Samuel  Colburn  ministered.  In  1841  Hazael  Lucas 
was  installed  pastor,  and  continued  until  November,  1845.  From 
February,  1846,  William  Ottinger  supplied  for  two  years.  From  1848 
to  the  destruction  of  the  church  building,  in  1862,  Reverends  Joseph 
Garland,  Ezekiel  Dow,  Nathaniel  Cobb  and  Levi  Little  supplied. 
There  are  but  few  of  the  faith  here  at  present,  and  no  preaching  is 
separately  maintained. 

Schools. — The  schools  of  the  town  did  not  seem  to  'receive  any 
check  by  the  transfer  to  new  rulers;  but,  on  the  contrary,Jwere  no- 
ticed in  the  report  of  December  31, 1884,  as  greatly  improved.  Eight 
districts  belonged  to  this  town  by  the  act  of  1884,  with  buildings  ap- 


TOWN   OF   BOURNE.  335 

praised  at  $8,050.  L.  R.  Leavitt,  the  superintendent,  manifested  un- 
usual interest  during  the  year  in  the  advancement  of  every  branch, 
favoring  the  teachers  with  an  Institute  during  the  autumn,  and  two 
meetings  for  discussion  and  exchange  of  experience.  For  the  year 
ending  December  31, 1885,  the  number  of  scholars  enrolled  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  was  277 — fifty-four  more  than  the  previous  year. 

The  school  building  at  Buzzards  Bay  was  enlarged  during  the 
year,  at  a  cost  of  one  thousand  dollars,  and  a  high  school  began  Sep- 
tember 14,  1885,  with  thirty  pupils,  a  portion  of  whom  had  formerly 
attended  such  schools  in  other  towns.  The  expenditures  of  the  year 
aggregated  $3,650  for  the  common,  and  $970  for  the  high  school. 

The  school  year  of  1886  was  still  more  prosperous,  the  number  of 
schools  aggregating  eleven — one  high  school,  two  grammar,  six  mixed 
and  two  primary.  The  high  school  had  so  increased  in  numbers,  that 
the  addition  of  a  room  for  recitation  purposes  was  made  in  the  spring 
of  18S7,  in  time  to  commence  the  spring  term;  and  the  employment 
of  an  assistant  in  this  department  was  made  imperative  by  the  in- 
crease of  patronage.  The  class  of  graduates  for  1887  gave  proof  of 
the  earnest  application  of  the  pupils,  and  the  faithfulness  of  the  teach- 
ers and  school  ofl&cers.  This  school,  that  three  years  before  was 
deemed  so  doubtful  an  experiment  by  some,  was  now  acknowledged 
of  inestimable  worth.  The  elevation  of  the  standard  in  attendance 
is  always  an  indication  of  advancement  and  improvement.  The  sup- 
ply of  maps  and  other  apparatus  had  been  without  stint,  and  the  study 
of  the  .science  of  physiology  had  at  once  been  commenced,  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  law  of  1885,  and  the  best  advice  of  the  highest  educators. 

The  liberal  policy  of  the  citizens  in  their  school  management  had 
commenced  a  return  of  that  reward  due  them  for  their  wisdom.  The 
legislature  in  its  May  session  of  1888  distributed  among  the  towns 
of  the  state  $40,000  for  the  support  of  schools,  under  certain  condi- 
tions, and  the  town  of  Bourne  had  become  entitled  to  a  liberal  share. 
The  appropriation  for  schools  for  1889  was  much  in  excess  of  the  first 
year  of  the  town;  and  the  most  excellent  care  bestowed  by  these  citi- 
zens upon  this  important  foundation,  will  result  in  a  most  beautiful 
and  glorious  temple.  There  are  still  eight  districts — one  at  Cataumet, 
one  each  at  Pocasset,  Monument  Beach,  Bourne,  Buzzards  Bay,  Head 
of  the  bay,  Bournedale,  and  Sagamore,  besides  high  and  grammar 
schools,  the  entire  system  employing  twelve  teachers. 

Villages. — The  present  small  villages  of  the  town  are  the  natural 
outgrowth  of  convenient  places  for  post  oflBces  or  stores  while  the 
communities  were  removed  several  miles  from  a  greater  centre.  It 
has  several  of  these,  but  Bourne  (formerly  Monument)  has  been 
chosen  as  the  location  of  its  office  for  the  clerk  and  meetings  of  the 
selectmen.     It  is  a  pleasant  village  on  the  Monument  river  and  con- 


336  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

tains  some  very  pretty  residences.  The  Perrys  were  the  first  settlers, 
as  has  been  mentioned,  and  had  stores  here  at  an  early  date.  Caleb 
Perry,  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Hiram  Crowell,  kept  a  small  grocery  store 
here,  as  early  as  1810,  on  the  knoll  south  of  the  river.  About  1824 
Elisha  Perry  built  a  house  where  Persia  B.  Harmon  resides,  and  in 
a  lean-to  he  had  a  store.  Charles  Proctor  succeeded  him,  and  in  turn 
was  followed  by  James  Ellis,  who  came  across  to  the  north  side  of  the 
river  and  engaged  with  Ellis  M.  Swift  a  short  time.  In  1847,  when 
the  Old  Colony  railroad  made  its  advent  into  Bourne,  Ellis  M.  Swift 
built  a  store  next  to  the  track,  north  side,  where  he  continued  the 
business  until  it  was  burned  in  January,  1854.  The  store  was  then 
rebuilt  by  Mr.  Swift  on  its  present  site,  and  has  been  owned  success- 
ively by  him  and  his  sons — William  R.,  Seth  B.,  Abram  F.  and  Ordello 
R.  Abram  F.  Swift  built  the  store  he  now  occupies,  adjoining  the 
depot,  in  November,  1877,  to  which  he  removed,  Ordello  occupying  the 
former  until  1888,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  F.  C.  Eldridge. 

Monument  post  office  was  established  here  February  5,  1828,  the 
mail  being  received  from  horseback  riders  until  1832,  when  a  stage 
line  was  established.  Elisha  Perry  was  the  first  postmaster,  with  the 
office  at  his  store.  The  office  was  kept  by  those  succeeding  him  in 
the  store,  until  James  S.  Ellis  was  appointed,  September  23,  1845. 
Ellis  M.  Swift  was  appointed  September  7,  1849,  and  removed  it  to 
the  store  across  the  river.  Erastus  O.  Parker  received  the  office  on 
June  7,  1853,  at  the  depot,  where  it  was  kept  until  1872.  Abram  F. 
Swift,  the  present  incumbent,  was  then  appointed,  and  removed  it  lo 
his  store.     The  office  in  1884  took  the  name  of  the  new  town. 

The  only  lumber  yard  of  the  town  is  kept  here  by  A.  R.  Eldridge. 
It  was  started  in  1877  by  Mr.  Eldridge,  and  is  along  a  wharf  of  the 
Monument  river.  Lumber  and  shingles  are  mostly  brought  from 
Maine,  around  the  Cape,  up  Buzzards  bay  to  the  yard.  The  only 
public  building  is  Welcome  Hall,  the  property  of  a  stock  company  of 
many  members.  Its  erection,  late  in  the  year  1884,  is  largely  due  to 
the  energy  of  Moses  C.  Waterhouse.  It  is  situated  on  the  south  bank 
of  the  river,  and  is  used  by  the  town  for  occasional  town  meetings. 

Ellis  M.Swift  was  the  first  agent  here  for  the  Old  Colony  company 
in  1847,  and  was  succeeded  in  1853  by  Erastus  O.  Parker,  who  moved 
to  Buzzards  Bay  in  1872;  then  Abram  F.  Swift  became  agent.  Late 
in  the  year  1877  the  present  station  was  erected  on  the  site  of  the- 
former. 

Buzzards  Bay  is  pleasantly  situated  on  Bourne  neck.  It  is  the 
junction  of  the  Woods  Holl  branch  with  the  Cape  Cod  division  of  the 
Old  Colony,  and  has  advantages  which  could  render  it  the  first  village 
in  the  town.  This  village  site  was  originally  the  home  farm  of  the 
Bournes,  and  from  the  home  farm  of  Benjamin  F.  Bourne,  deceased. 


TOWN  OF  BOURNE.  837 

the  present  lots  were  laid  out.  This  gentleman  had  a  store  at  his 
residence  in  1807.  It  now  contains  over  thirty  residences,  and  the 
town  meetings  for  elections  and  public  business  are  held  here.  The 
first  store  here  was  opened  in  1873,  by  Isaac  Small,  jr.,  which  he  occu- 
pied until  it  was  burned,  January  25,  1889.  For  four  years  previous 
to  its  burning,  a  store  had  been  kept  by  David  H.  Baker.  In  March, 
1889,  Baker  sold  to  Mr.  Small,  who  is  now  the  only  merchant  here. 
About  1875  he  was  appointed  postmaster,  which  position  he  has  since 
held,  the  ofl5ce  in  its  location  following  the  changes  of  his  store,  and 
in  its  name  that  of  the  station  in  1880. 

Prior  to  the  completion  of  the  Woods  HoU  branch,  Cohasset  Nar- 
rows was  a  flag  station,  but  in  1872  it  became  one  of  the  most  import- 
ant on  the  Cape.  The  present  depot  was  built  the  same  year,  and  C. 
S.  Bassett  was  appointed  agent. 

There  were  no  hotels  here  until  1872,  when  Erastus  O.  Parker  built 
the  Parker  House,  just  north  of  the  depot,  and  has  since  been  its  host. 
The  same  year  Dr.  John  Garfield  erected  a  hotel,  the  Monamet  House, 
of  which  he  was  host  two  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  L.  H.  Baker, 
R.  P.  Collins,  and  Mrs.  Grey;  and  by  Wesley  B.  Pierce  for  the  last  five 
years  prior  to  1889. 

The  Buzzards  Bay  citizens  resolved  to  have  a  hall  for  their  own 
and  public  use,  and  a  stock  company  of  one  hundred  shares  at  ten  dol- 
lars each  was  decided  upon.  The  stock  was  taken  and  on  the  15th  of 
April,  1879,  the  organization  was  perfected.  The  building,  called 
Franklin  Hall,  is  a  wooden  structure  situated  near  the  station. 

Pocasset  village  is  3^  miles  south  of  the  village  of  Buzzards  Bay, 
and  in  the  history  of  the  town  the  locality  is  of  much  importance  from 
its  early  settlement  and  prominence  in  the  affairs  of  the  old  town  of 
Sandwich.  The  name  is  a  corruption  of  the  Indian  name  Pough- 
keeste,  and  later  Pokesit.  Barlow's  river  runs  southwesterly  through 
this  beautiful  section  into  the  bay,  where  a  fine  harbor  is  formed  by 
Wenaumet  neck  on  the  north  and  Scragg's  on  the  south.  Red  brook 
connects  Handy's  pond  with  the  same  harbor.  Scragg's  neck  was 
formerly  the  property  of  the  first  parish  of  Sandwich,  over  which  there 
was  a  controversy  when  Pocasset  was  instituted  as  a  second  parish. 
The  name  of  the  post  office  is  Pocasset,  although  the  name  of  the  sta- 
tion was  changed  April  1,  1888,  to  Wenaumet — a  name  which,  in  time, 
the  village  of  Pocasset  will  naturally  assume. 

The  oldest  industry  here  is  the  furnace  and  works  on  Barlow's 
river,  which  were  built  as  a  blast  furnace  in  1822  by  Hercules  Weston. 
It  was  sold  in  1832  to  Rufus  Kendrick  and  John  A.  McGraw  of  Boston, 
and  Branch  Harlow  of  Middleboro,  who  continued  the  business  as  the 
Pocasset  Iron  Company.  Its  furnaces  were  altered  and  stoves,  kettles 
and  hollow  ware  of  various  kinds  were  manufactured.     Howard  Perry 


338  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

purchased  the  property  and  it  was  burned  during  his  ownership;  but 
was  at  once  rebuilt  and  passed  into  the  hands  of  Blackwell  &  Burr  of 
New  York  city,  who,  after  an  active  business  of  several  years,  closed 
it  in  1856.  The  first  fancy  top  and  bottom  for  an  air-tight  stove  was 
cast  at  this  furnace,  Charles  H.  Nye  making  the  patterns  during  his 
seventeen  years  of  service  as  foreman  of  the  works.  It  is  just  to  men- 
tion that  the  merit  of  the  products  of  this  foundry  has  not  been  en- 
tirely superseded  by  the  rapid  progress  of  the  age,  for  its  wares  are 
still  in  use;  William  Hewins,  of  Falmouth,  now  has  a  stove  of  the 
pattern  mentioned  in  use  in  his  parlor.  The  foundry  was  sold  in  1880 
to  Henry  S.  Sterling,  and  was  again  burned  in  1881.  He  rebuilt  it, 
and  upon  his  death  in  1882  it  passed  to  the  c^wnership  of  the  Tahanto 
Manufacturing  Company,  who  changed  its  nianufacture  to  fancy  cast- 
ings. The  Tobey  Island  Club  purchased  the  premises  and  business, 
in  1888,  and  leased  to  Mr.  Jameson,  who  is  making  ornamental  arti-' 
cles  of  late  devices,  including  bric-a-brac,  bas-relief  in  bronze,  statuary 
and  plaques.  A  store  was  opened  here  during  Mr.  Perry's  ownership 
of  the  furnace,  and  was  practically  a  company  store,  conducted  by 
George  W.  Ellis  &  Co.,  until  the  close  of  the  furnace  about  1866.  Asa 
Raymond  opened  a  store  in  1844,  which  he  has  since  successfully  man- 
aged in  an  addition  to  his  residence.  Jesse  Barlow  has  had  a  store 
since  1887  at  the  residence  of  Dea.  W.  A.  Barlow. 

A  post  office  was  opened  here  February  6,  1828,  with  Hercules 
Weston  postmaster,  succeeded  April  16,  1834,  by  Howard  Perry. 
Zebedee  Green  was  appointed  August  12,  1869,  and  was  in  turn  suc- 
ceeded in  1862  by  Asa  Raymond  at  his  store.  Elisha  H.  Burgess  was 
made  postmaster  April  1,  1888,  and  has  the  office  at  his  store,  where 
he  has  been  in  mercantile  business  eight  years. 

Cataumet,  or  South  Pocasset,  as  formerly  known,  is  a  mile  to  the 
south  of  Wenaumet  station,  on  the  Woods  HoU  branch  of  the  railroad 
and  on  Red  Brook  harbor,  in  whose  waters  are  found  an  ample  supply 
of  fish,  giving  employment  to  many  of  its  citizens.  The  change  of 
its  post  office  April  1,  1888,  to  the  name  of  Cataumet  (from  the  har- 
bor at  the  southwest)  and  the  naming  of  the  station  also,  has  entirely 
obliterated  the  old  name.  It  is  a  pleasant  little  summer  village  en- 
joying all  the  facilities  of  land  and  sea.  A*  an  early  day  the  stage 
line  from  Sandwich  to  Falmouth  brought  this  vicinity  in  communica- 
tion with  the  outer  world,  but  from  1870  to  the  establishing  of  a  post 
office,  their  mail  was  supplied  by  Asa  Raymond  in  his  daily  rounds. 
Alden  P.  Davis  has  been  postmaster  since  the  office  was  opened  in 
1884,  and  has  been  the  station  agent  since  1886.  David  Dimmick  kept 
tavern  here  many  years  where  his  grandson  Frederick  now  keeps  the 
Bay  View  House.  This  community  was  favored  with  a  store  prior  to 
1872  by  Sylvanus  E.  Handy,  succeeded  by  Alonzo  S.  Landers,  who 


RESIDENCE    OE   WILLIAM    A.   NYE, 
Boitrtteiiatc,  Mass. 


TOWN   OF   BOURNE. 


339 


built  anew,  and  in  1888  sold  to  the  present  merchant,  A.  P.  Davis, 
who  erected  a  fine  new  store  in  1889.  Another  little  store  has  been 
kept  here  for  the  past  five  years  by  Reuben  P.  Lawrence.  The  oyster 
and  fishing  business  is  here,  as  elsewhere  along  the  bay,  a  profitable 
industry,  engaging  many  persons,  the  most  prominent  of  whom  we 
mention  elsewhere. 

Monument  Beach  is  a  summer  resort  between  Buzzards  Bay  and 
Wenaumet  station  on  the  Woods  Holl  branch,  and  is  now  increasing 
in  growth  and  importance  more  rapidly  than  any  other  village  in 
Bourne.  Its  long  rows  of  pretty  residences,  as  seen  from  the  bay  or 
passing  train,  create  within  the  traveler  a  desire  to  enjoy  its  loveli- 
ness. It  has  summer  hotels  and  every  convenience  for  recreation. 
It  overlooks  Back  River  harbor,  with  Tobey's  island  nestling  in  the 
bay  opposite,  and  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  spots  along  the  bay 
coast  of  Bourne.  Perez  H.  Phinney,  who  was  made  postmaster  in  1878, 
keeping  the  office  in  a  suitable  building  across  the  track  from  the 
depot,  also  fills  the  position  of  station  agent.  The  growing  import- 
ance of  this  romantic  spot  induced  David  H.  Baker  to  erect  a  conven- 
ient building  and  open  a  store  in  the  spring  of  1889.  There  are 
many  retired  shipmasters  here,  enjoying  the  fruits  of  their  perilous 
labors,  concerning  whom,  as  well  as  other  prominent  seafaring  men, 
oyster  men  and  artisans  of  the  town,  individual  mention  will  be  made 
in  other  sections  of  this  work. 

Bournedale,  formerly  called  North  Sandwich,  is  pleasantly  situated 
in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  in  a  valley  through  which  the  ship 
canal  is  surveyed.  Burying  hill,  now  the  property  of  Francis  H. 
Ellis,  is  here— a  round,  high  knob  of  land  which  was  the  burial  place 
of  the  Herring  Pond  Indians  when  the  whites  first  came,  and  has  been 
since  the  memory  of  the  present  residents,  by  whom  no  use  of  the 
hill  has  been  made.  Upon  a  plateau  on  its  southern  slope  is  the  site  of 
the  church  which  was  removed  to  the  south  part  of  the  town,  and  at 
the  base  of  the  hill  is  the  never-failing  "  Meeting-house  spring."  A 
flagstaff  and  seats  crown  the  hill,  and  its  commanding  view  leads  the 
pleasure  seeker  and  antiquarian  to  the  summit.  The  fish  house  of 
the  town  is  located  here,  on  Herring  river,  and  is  so  constructed  that 
the  herring  must  pass  through  the  narrowest  possible  limit  for  the 
stream,  under  the  house,  at  which  point  large  quantities  are  taken  for 
food  and  bait.  Just  above,  are  the  remains  of  the  old  grist  mill  of  1695, 
surrounded  by  a  dam  from  which  much  important  machinery  has 
been  propelled. 

In  1821  a  trip-hammer  and  axe  factory  was  erected  west  of  the  old 
mill,  of  which  the  flume  only  remains.  Prior  to  1830  Thomas  Swift 
and  Mr.  Fox  built  an  addition  to  the  old  grist  mill,  which  was  used  for 
manufacturing  purposes,  but  was  taken  down.     About  1836  the  busi- 


340  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ness  of  the  nail  manufactory,  near  by,  required  more  room  and  other 
facilities,  when  E.  Ellis  &  Co.  erected  the  present  building,  leaving  a 
portion  of  the  old  mill  on  the  east.  Deming  Jarvis  was  the  successor 
of  Ellis  &  Co.  He  cut  staves  for  the  Boston  and  Sandwich  Glass  Com- 
pany and  ran  a  saw  mill  until  1870.  The  only  machinery  now  driven 
by  the  wheel  is  that  belonging  to  the  axe  factory  of  Seth  W.  Holway, 
and  the  new  drill  factory  erected  in  1890  by  William  A.  Nye. 

The  buildings  and  works  of  the  Howard  Foundry  Company  are 
just  below  Burying  hill.  This  is  the  most  important  industry  of 
this  little  village.  Ephraim  Ellis  and  Isaac  Bent,  in  1831,  erected 
here  suitable  buildings  on  the  river,  where  iron  was  rolled  into  plates 
and  cut  into  nails.  Ten  cutting  machines  were  used  and  many 
hands  employed.  N.  Bourne  Ellis  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr. 
Bent  in  1834  and  this  branch  of  industry  was  continued  under  the 
firm  name  of  E.  Ellis  &  Co.  until  1838.  The  advent  of  puddled  iron 
and  the  financial  condition  of  the  country  after  the  trying  ordeal 
of  1837  rendering  the  business  unprofitable,  the  works  were  closed. 
Deming  Jarvis  and  Clark  Hoxie  purchased  the  plant  in  1840,  con- 
verting it  into  a  machine  shop  and  foundry.  Buildings  was  added 
to  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  original  building,  and  prior  to  1860 
the  north  building  was  burned,  the  evidences  of  which  are  still  visible. 
The  foundry  was  idle  for  a  term  of  years  and  about  1870  was  pur- 
chased by  Ezra  C.  Howard,  who  continued  it  as  a  foundry,  casting 
for  cars  and  machinery.  William  A.  Nye,  who  had  been  with  his 
uncle,  Mr.  Howard,  since  1871,  leased  the  property  May  1,  1884,  and 
became  its  owner  in  1885.  Several  competent  workmen  are  con- 
stantly employed  by  Mr.  Nye,  who  supplies  the  Keith  Manufacturing 
Company,  and  large  manufactories  at  Wareham  with  various  neces- 
sary castings. 

Of  a  necessity  a  post  oflBce  was  established  here  and  we  hear  of 
Mason  White  as  postmaster  in  1837,  receiving  mail  from  Sandwich, 
succeeded  by  Nathan  B.  Gibbs,  July  22, 1845.  When  the  railroad  came 
in  1847,  Charles  Bourne  was  appointed  station  agent,  and  in  April,  1849, 
as  postmaster,  which  positions  were  filled  by  him  and  his  daughter 
Lucy  until  a  few  years  ago.  William  A. 'Nye  and  Edward  S.  Ellis 
served  a  short  time  each  and  the  present  incumbent,  Frederick  A. 
Boswell,  in  1884  assumed  the  care  of  both. 

Before  the  term  of  Mason  White  as  postmaster,  this  part  of  the 
town,  according  to  the  government  records,  was  supplied  by  mail 
from  an  office  called  Buzzards  Bay,  which  was  established  here  Feb- 
ruary 7,  1831,  with  Henry  Gibbs,  postmaster.  He  was  succeeded  in 
March  of  the  same  year  by  Bethuel  Bourne,  who  held  the  oflBce  until 
its  name  was  changed  to  North  Sandwich,  July  11,  1837. 

Sagamore,  the  flourishing  village  formerly  known  as  West  Sand- 


•   7  "  ---:c^--^.*>^/*i>r.- 


RESIDENCE   OE    HON.   ISAAC    N.  KEITH, 

Sagaffio>t\  ."^fass. 


TOWN   OF  BOURNE.  341 

wich,  is  on  the  line  of  the  proposed  canal,  and  has  one  of  the  tribu- 
taries of  Scusset  harbor  to  afford  power  for  manufacturing  purposes. 
It  contains  about  sixty  residences  and  business  places,  and  is  one  of 
the  prettiest  rural  villages  of  the  town.  Nearly  all  the  site  bn  which 
it  is  built  was  once  the  farm  of  the  pioneer  Thomas  Burgess,  who 
lived  just  east  of  the  village  on  the  north  side  of  the  present  county 
road  and  opposite  the  present  residence  of  John  P.  Knowlton.  A  de- 
pression in  the  old  orchard  marks  the  spot  where,  in  1637,  he  built  his 
residence. 

This  point  was  early  a  favorite  resort  for  fishermen,  and  in  1696 
the  resort  called  "  Tom  Swift's  "  was  famous.  He  was  allowed  by  the 
selectmen  to  keep  an  ordinary,  and  that  implied  the  right  to  keep 
everything  but  dry  goods. 

The  most  important  enterprise  here  is  the  Keith  manufacturing 
works,  for  the  building  of  freight  cars  of  the  box  and  flat  pattern. 
The  Old  Colony,  the  Boston  &  Maine,  and  other  roads  use  the  cars 
manufactured  here.  This  business  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  shop  for  a 
wheelwright  and  blacksmithing  business,  erected  in  1829,  by  Isaac 
Keith,  father  of  the  present  owner,  on  the  dam  adjoining  the  building 
that  contains  the  present  engine  and  machinery.  This  led  to  a  ma- 
chine shop  and  forge  in  which,  in  1849,  a  large  business  was  done 
manufacturing  tools  for  use  in  the  California  mines.  Hiram  T.  Keith, 
in  1861,  became  a  partner  with  the  father,  and  in  1867  Isaac  N.  Keith 
became  interested,  and  they  purchased  the  business,  in  1869,  of  the 
father,  who  died  in  1870.  In  1882  Isaac  N.  Keith  became  sole  owner 
and  proprietor,  and  in  1887  added  the  buildings  at  the  north — the 
workshop  66  by  120  feet  and  the  paint  shop  40  by  176 — all  covered 
with  a  strong  truss  roof  of  the  Monitor  pattern.  In  the  various  build- 
ings fifty  experienced  men  find  employment.  The  requisite  power 
has  increased  with  the  works  and  is  now  supplied  from  an  eighty 
horse  power  engine.  The  lathes,  planers,  trip-hammers  and  other 
machinery  are  of  the  latest  and  best  manufacture,  indicative  of  the 
superior  work  of  the  plant.  Mr.  Keith,  whose  time  has  been  recently 
absorbed  by  legislative  and  other  duties,  has  an  efficient  foreman  in 
B.  F.  Bray. 

Stores  were  kept  here  early,  and  in  those  days  store  and  post  office 
were  generally  together.  We  find  Benjamin  Burgess  engaged  in  a 
store  where  Hiram  Crowell  lives  soon  after  the  war  of  1812.  Here 
was  kept  the  post  office  established  January  1,  1825,  and  receiving 
mail  by  the  Plymouth  stage.  Isaac  Keith  was  made  postmaster  No- 
vember 17,  1836,  purchasing  the  business  of  Mr.  Burgess,  and  con- 
tinued the  post  office  there.  Charles  H.  Burgess  was  appointed 
postmaster  September  26,  1 840,  and  also  took  the  business.  He  was 
succeeded  in  the  store  by  Asa  Besse,  who  after  a  few  years  moved 


342  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

away.  Later  Hiram  Crowell  started  store  again  where  Benja- 
min Burgess  had  kept,  but  after  a  few  years  discontinued.  Paul 
Crowell  also  had  a  store  quite  early,  and  continued  until  his  death. 
Levi  Swift  opened  a  store  in  the  old  school  house  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  soon  after  1870.  In  1885  he  sold  to  N.  H.  Knowlton, 
who  moved  to  the  present  store  near  the  depot.  Mr.  Knowlton  sold 
to  B.  B.  Abbe  &  Co.  in  1888,  and  they  to  the  present  firm  of  Crosby 
Bros.  &  Co.  in  June,  1889. 

The  post  ofl&ce  on  May  9, 1853,  was  put  in  the  care  of  Isaac  Keith, 
who  was  postmaster  and  agent  of  the  railroad  company  until  his  death 
in  1870,  when  Isaac  N.  Keith  was  appointed  postmaster  and  station 
agent,  which  offices  he  nominally  continues.  The  present  fixie  depot, 
which  is  also  the  office  of  Isaac  N.  Keith,  was  erected  in  1887. 

Liberty  Hall  was  erected  in  1879,  and  has  a  seating  capacity  of  260. 
The  building  committee  was  Nathan  Nye,  Hiram  Crowell,  I.  N.  Keith, 
H.  T.  Keith,  J.  P.  Knowlton,  Seth  F.  Swift,  William  R.  Gibbs  and  B. 
B.  Abbe. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES.  . 

Benjamin  B.  Abbe,  born  in  1841  in  Boston,  is  a  son  of  Alanson 
Abbe.  His  mother  was  Hepzibah,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Burgess, 
who  was  born  in  1778,  and  died  in  1864.  He  was  a  son  of  Elisha  and 
Hannah  (Nye)  Burgess,  and  was  a  merchant  in  Boston  from  1816 
until  his  death.  Mr.  Abbe  was  brought  up  by  his  grandfather  Bur- 
gess, his  mother  having  died  when  he  was  a  babe.  He  has  been  a 
permanent  resident  of  Sagamore  since  1864.  He  was  married  in  1863 
to  Emma,  daughter  of  William  Burgess.  Their  children  are:  Benja- 
min B.,  jr.,  Frank  G.  and  Mary  E.  Mr.  Abbe  owns  some  of  the  real 
estate  which  was  bought  by  Thomas  Burgess  in  1637,  and  which  has 
continued  in  the  family  since  that  time. 

Abbott  L.  Aldrich,  son  of  Wellington  Aldrich,  was  born  in  1849 
in  Dover,  N.  H.  He  bought  the  Red  Brook  property  and  Red  Brook 
wharf  at  Cataumet  in  1886,  and  in  April,  1889,  he  came  to  make  his 
permanent  residence  here.  He  was  in  a  restaurant  in  Boston  seven 
years.  He  was  an  actor  for  nine  years  when  a  young  man.  He  was 
married  in  1877  to  Mary  C.  Abbott.    They  have  three  sons. 

Herbert  C.  Ames,  the  youngest  son  of  Cephas  I.  Ames,  was  bom 
in  1866  in  Barnstable,  and  is  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  was  married 
in  1880  to  Mattie,  daughter  of  William  Ellis.  They  have  two  daugh- 
ters. 

Laureston  E.  Ames,  bom  in  1839  at  Nantucket,  is  also  a  son 
of  Cephas  I.  and  grandson  of  Isaac  Ames.  His  mother  was  Rhoda 
H.,  daughter  of  Samuel  Nickerson.  He  was  at  sea  from  1851  to  1869. 
He  came  to  Buzzards  Bay  in  1873,  where  he  has  been  engaged  with 


TOWN  OF  BOURNE.  343 

the  Old  Colony  Railroad  Company  since  that  time.  He  was  married 
in  1860  to  Ann  Herring.  Their  children  are:  Elmer  E.,  Cephas  E. 
and  Geneva  E.    One  daughter  died. 

Nathaniel  Atwood,  born  in  Wellfleet,  is  a  son  of  Eleazer  and 
grandson  of  Nathaniel,  whose  father  was  Eleazer.  His  mother  was 
Betsey  D.  Harding,  who  was  the  mother  of  fifteen  children,  of  whom 
nine  are  living.  Mr.  Atwood  came  to  Buzzards  Bay  in  1877,  where 
he  has  since  been  engaged  in  the  oyster  business.  His  wife  was 
Louisa  A.  Newcomb. 

Zamira  J.  Avery,  bom  in  1849,  is  a  son  of  Gilbert  E.  and  Reliance 
(Taylor)  Avery,  grandson  of  John,  and  great-grandson  of  Joshua 
Avery.  He  is  a  moulder  by  trade,  but  since  1886  he  has  been  en- 
gaged in  the  meat  business  at  Pocasset.  He  was  married  in  1871  to 
Deborah  F.  Adams,  who  died  in  1877.  He  was  married  in  1878  to 
Sarah  F.  Pulsifer.     They  have  two  sons:  Watson  E.  and  Francis  B. 

David  H.  Baker,  born  in  1833  in  Dennis,  is  a  son  of  Hiram  and 
grandson  of  Zenas  Baker.  His  mother  was  Rebecca,  daughter  of 
David  Howes.  He  was  at  sea  fifteen  years.  In  1868  he  came 
from  Dennis  to  Bourne,  where  he  was  a  farmer  for  eighteen  years, 
when  he  sold  his  place  for  a  clubliouse,  and  he  has  been  a  merchant 
since  that  time.  He  was  married  in  1856  to  Amanda  M.  Bassett,  who 
died  in  1887,  leaving  five  children. 

Joshua  H.  Baker,  bom  in  1842  in  West  Dennis,  is  a  son  of  Hiram 
and  Rebecca  (Howes)  Baker.  He  was  a  seafaring  man  until  1867, 
when  he  came  to  the  town  of  Bourne,  and  since  1876,  has  lived  at 
Buzzards  Bay.  He  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace  in  1885.  He 
was  married  in  1875  to  Alice  F.,  daughter  of  Oliver  C.  Wing.  Their 
two  children  are:  Lila  May  and  J.  Arthur. 

Captain  George  W.  Bacon,  son  of  Owen  and  grandson  of  Jabez  Bacon, 
was  born  in  Hyannis  in  1825.  His  mother  was  Abigail  (Burse)  Bacon. 
Hewasmasterof  vessels  most  of  thetimefrom  1847  to  1886.  During  his 
early  seafaring  life  he  shipped  in  sailing  vessels,  and  was  captain  at  the 
age  of  twenty-two.  In  1861  he  began  steamshipping  for  United  States 
transports,  and  later  was  coast  pilot  from  the  Brooklyn  navy  yard. 
He  was  on  several  ships,  including  the  Colorado,  the  Despatch,  the 
Wabash,  and  the  monitor.  Dictator,  in  which  he  went  from  New  York 
to  Key  West  in  Febraary,  1869.  In  the  convoy  with  the  monitor  was 
the  Juniata,  man  of  war.  A  heavy  gale  was  encountered  off  Savannah 
and  the  Juniata  put  in  to  Tiba  Roads,  Savannah.  The  captain  tele- 
graphed to  Washington  that  she  had  lost  the  monitor.  He  received 
a  telegram  to  return,  saying  that  the  monitor  had  arrived  in  Key  West 
all  right,  and  ordering  the  captain  of  the  Juniata  to  proceed  there  with 
all  haste  and  report  to  the  captain  of  the  monitor.  Captain  Bacon  re- 
turned to  New  York,  and  most  of  the  time  since  has  been  employed 


344  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

by  the  Reading  Steamship  Company.  He  retired  in  1886.  He  was 
first  married  to  Sarah  A.  Burse,  who  died  in  1880,  leaving  three  chil- 
dren: Sarah,  Rose  and  George  W.,  jr.  He  was  married  October  10, 
1883,  to  Hannah  P.,  daughter  of  Allen  Bourne. 

Jesse  B.  Barlow,  born  in  1838,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Jesse  and  a  grand- 
son of  Jesse  Barlow,  who  came  to  Pocasset  from  Newport,  R.  I.,  when 
a  lad,  and  married  Polly  Godfrey.  They  raised  four  children,  of 
whom  three  sons  are  living — one  in  the  West,  and  Jesse  and  William 
A.,  in  Pocasset.  His  mother  was  Maria  Ellis.  Mr.  Barlow  has  been  a 
sailor  since  1847,  and  has  had  charge  of  vessels  since  1862.  He  was 
married  in  1858  to  Susan  H.,  daughter  of  Frederick  Westgate.  They 
have  three  children:    Zetta  F.,  Jesse  F.  and  Flora  M. 

Edward  W.  Barlow,  youngest  brother  of  Jesse  B.,  was  born  in  1856. 
He  has  been  at  sea  for  the  last  fifteen  years,  and  master  of  a  vessel 
since  1879.  He  was  married  in  1878  to  Elizabeth  Wright.  Their  chil- 
dren are:  Frank  E.,  Susan,  Sarah  M.  and  Alden  W.  He  is  a  member  of 
Marine  Lodge.  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  of  Falmouth. 

Captain  George  F.  Bauldry,  son  of  Samuel  Bauldry,  was  bom  in 
England  in  1824.  He  was  at  sea  from  1836  until  1888,  and  was  for 
several  years  a  most  successful  whaling  captain,  sailing  from  New 
Bedford.  He  died  September  25,  1889,  at  his  home  in  Bourne.  He 
was  married  in  1853  to  Nancy  E.  Berry,  who,  with  three  children — 
George  L.,  Ella  E.  and  Lyman  C. — survives  him. 

Everett  E.  Berry,  born  in  1861,  is  a  son  of  Gideon  and  Sabra  A. 
(Eldridge)  Berry.  In  1878  he  began  work  for  the  Old  Colony  Rail- 
road Company  (Woods  Holl  Branch),  and  since  1885  has  been  a 
conductor.  He  was  married  in  1884  to  Ella  Brown,  and  has  two 
sons  and  one  daughter.  He  is  a  member  of  Woods  Holl  Lodge, 
Knights  of  Honor. 

Edwin  A.  Blackwell,  born  in  1846,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Edwin 
H.  Blackwell.  His  mother  was  Sarah,  daughter  of  Gershom  Ellis. 
Mr.  Blackwell  is  a  contractor  and  builder  and  also  does  some  archi- 
tectural work.  He  was  married  in  December,  1880,  to  Abbie  G. 
Walker.     They  have  two  children:  Agnes  P.  and  Otto  B. 

Elliott  B.  Blackwell,  born  in  1852,  is  a  son  of  Captain  Henry  S. 
and  Mary  (Ellis)  Blackwell  and  a  grandson  of  John  and  Hannah 
(Swain)  Blackwell.  He  is  one  of  seven  children,  of  whom  only  he 
and  his  sister,  Mary  A.,  are  living.  He  has  been  a  carpenter  for 
several  years.  He  was  married  in  November,  1888,  to  Susan  F. 
Douglass. 

Ellis  H.  Blackwell,  born  in  1839,  is  a  son  of  Ellis  and  Lydia 
(Perry)  Blackwell,  grandson  of  John  and  great-grandson  of  Patrick 
Blackwell.  From  boyhood  until  1874  he  was  engaged  in  coasting 
and  sailing,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years  spent  in  California 


TOWN   OF  BOURNE.  345 

and  Montana.  Since  1874  he  has  been  in  the  oyster  business.  He 
was  married  in  1871  to  Rowena  A.,  daughter  of  Stephen  Cahoon. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Bourne. — On  that  beautiful  slope  of  land  at 
the  head  of  Buzzards  bay,  in  Bourne,  in  its  rich  landscape  of  land 
and  sea,  stands  the  ancestral  mansion  in  which  the  honored  subject  of 
this  sketch  was  born  February  25, 1816.  He  was  a  scion  of  that  family 
tree  from  Puritan  stock  transplanted  by  Sir  Richard  Bourne,  into 
Sandwich  in  1637,  and  the  fruits  of  whose  branches  have  been  cast  in 
their  golden  harvest  over  this  portion  of  Barnstable  county.  In  this 
particular  branch  the  male  line  of  eldest  sons  were:  Sir  Richard,  Job, 
Timothy,  Timothy,  Dr.  Benjamin,  Esquire  Benjamin  and  Benjamin 
F.  Bourne,  who  died  of  typhoid  pneumonia  at  this  home  February  11, 
1874,  after  an  illness  of  twelve  days.  The  life  of  this  just  and  active 
citizen  was  replete  with  incident  and  usefulness.  His  boyhood  was 
passed  on  the  home  farm  and  in  the  district  school  until  his  attendance 
at  Wilbraham  Academy  in  his  eighteenth  year.  His  adventurous  dis- 
position induced  him  when  nineteen  years  old  to  ship  from  New  York 
city  on  his  first  voyage,  and  he  followed  the  sea  more  or  less  until  his 
marriage,  September  1,  1846,  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Lincoln,  a  descendant 
of  Captain  Rufus  Lincoln,  of  Wareham,  and  of  revolutionary  fame. 

The  newly  discovered  gold  fields  of  California  offered  such  induce- 
ments, that  a  company  of  twenty-five  men  in  the  winter  of  1848-9 
chartered  the  schooner  Jolm  Allyne,  with  A.  Brownell,  captain,  and 
Benjamin  F.  Bourne  as  mate  and  sailing  master,  and  left  New  Bed- 
ford, February  13,  1849,  for  this  then  far-oflf  land.  The  incident  dan- 
gers of  doubling  Cape  Horn  induced  the  company  to  attempt  the 
passage  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  On  the  first  of  May,  Mr.  Bourne 
and  three  companions  went  ashore  to  purchase  fresh  provisions  and 
were  captured  by  the  savages  of  Patagonia — a  race  of  cannibals — 
who  retained  him  for  a  ransom  of  rum  and  tobacco.  By  the  treachery 
of  the  natives  he  was  compelled  to  remain  a  prisoner,  enduring  hun- 
ger and  hardships  that  would  have  proved  fatal  to  ordinary  powers. 
He  effected  his  escape  after  ninety-seven  days  of  horror  and  suflfer- 
ing,  and  was  enabled  by  the  kindness  of  ship  captains  to  complete  his 
voyage  to  the  golden  land.  His  trials  for  three  years  fill  an  interest- 
ing volume  written  by  himself  and  which  passed  through  two  editions 
that  his  many  friends  could  each  possess  a  copy.  The  government 
sent  the  sloop  of  war  Vandalia  to  rescue  him,  but  he  had  escaped. 
After  his  return  home  and  restoration  to  comparative  health,  he,  with 
Mr.  DeWitt  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  had  a  fine  brig  built  on  Long  Island, 
and  he  continued  coasting  until  1857,  when  be  retired  to  till  the  pater- 
nal acres  of  the  homestead.  His  father,  Benjamin  Bourne,  Esq.,  after 
a  long  and  useful  life  as  a  legislator  and  selectman,  died  December 
21,  1863,  in  this  same  home  erected  by  him  in  1807;  and  the  surround- 


346  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

ing  estate  fell  to  the  care  of  Benjamin  F.  The  residence  had  been 
erected  to  face  the  ship  canal,  looking  south;  but  a  general  remodel- 
ing was  given  the  house,  only  leaving  two  large  rooms  as  reminders 
of  the  past. 

In  his  retirement  and  the  cares  of  his  estate,  Mr.  Bourne  did  not 
seek  oflBcial  honors,  although  he  was  often  pressed  by  his  many 
friends  to  serve  in  various  capacities,  which  he  invariably  refused. 
His  quiet,  firm  judgment  gave  him  strength  in  counsel  and  action, 
and  his  advice  and  presence  were  sought  after  on  all  important  occa- 
sions. His  name  and  support  to  any  measure  was  an  earnest  of  its 
justice  and  success,  and  because  he  insisted  upon  certain  benefits  for 
the  western  part  of  the  town  (now  Bourne)  the  people  of  Sandwich 
village  gave  him  the  name  of  "  Dictator."  He  foresaw  the  ultimate 
division  of  the  old  town  and  the  growing  importance  of  resorts  and 
village  lots  at  Buzzards  Bay,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  ac- 
tively engaged  in  dividing  and  plotting  into  lots  that  portion  of  his 
estate,  now  the  site  of  that  growing  village.  His  funeral  was  largely 
attended  February  16,  1874,  by  friends  from  abroad,  and  the  news- 
papers of  the  cities  of  the  Commonwealth,  as  well  as  of  the  county, 
teemed  with  eulogies  and  descriptions  of  his  useful  and  remarkable 
career,  in  a  life,  which  was  shortened,  undoubtedly,  by  his  early  hard- 
ships. Surviving  him,  besides  his  widow,  are  the  children — Lizzie 
Lincoln,  who  married  Fred.  O.  Smith;  Annie  DeWitt,  widow  of  Joshua 
Handy,  deceased;  and  Benjamin  F.  Bourne,  the  only  surviving  male 
representative  of  this  line,  the  eldest  born,  William  H.  DeWitt, 
being  deceased.  The  surviving  children  reside  with  the  mother  on 
the  home  estate,  except  Mrs.  Smith,  who  lives  near  by.  The  children 
of  Fred.  O.  Smith,  who  married  Lizzie  Lincoln  Bourne  October  8, 
1873,  are:  Frederick  F.,  Lottie  I.,  Daniel  DeWitt,  Kate  M.  and  Edith 
L.  Mr.  Smith  is  not  only  a  civil  engineer,  but  a  contractor  and 
builder;  and  the  son,  Benjamin  F.  Bourne,  has  the  care  of  the  estate. 
The  children  of  Mrs.  Annie  Handy  are:  Richard  Clifton  and  Edith 
Florence  Handy.  The  life  and  character  of  Benjamin  F.  Bourne, 
deceased,  are  marked  by  those  characteristics  that  led  his  ancestors  to 
Christianize  the  natives;  and  his  practical  Christian  principles  in  public 
and  individual  affairs  has  left  to  his  memory  a  more  enduring  monu- 
ment than  that  erected  in  the  private  ground  of  the  estate. 

Jerome  L.  Bourne,  born  in  1848,  is  a  son  of  Joshua  and  Mary  Ann 
(Cady)  Bourne,  and  grandson  of  Jonathan  Bourne.  He  was  a  sailor 
for  fourteen  years,  but  since  1881  he  has  been  a  painter.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1873  to  Emma,  daughter  of  George  T.  and  Hannah  S.  (Bourne) 
Gray.  They  have  three  children:  Austin  G.,  Ralph  W.  and  Rebecca 
A.  Mr.  Bourne  is  a  member  of  the  Bourne  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  and  is  trustee  and  steward  of  the  same. 


TOWN  OF  BOURNE.  347 

Samuel  Bourne  is  a  son  of  Nathan  and  grandson  of  Samuel  Bourne. 
His  mother  was  Hannah,  daughter  of  Moses  and  Rebecca  Swift.  Mr. 
Bourne's  great-grandfather,  Elisha  Bourne,  was  an  early  settler  from 
England.  He  was  a  tory  during  the  revolution  and  on  that  account 
had  to  flee  from  his  home  and  hid  away  in  woods  owned  by  himself 
for  some  months.  He  afterward  went  to  Connecticut  and  remained 
till  peace  was  declared,  but  lost  much  of  his  property  by  so  doing.  He 
was  an  ofiBcer  under  King  George  and  took  the  oath  of  allegfiance  just 
before  the  war  broke  out.  Two  years  before  the  war  broke  out  he 
sent  to  England  and  purchased  a  clock  for  eighty  dollars,  which  is 
now  owned  by  Mr.  Samuel  Bourne  and  is  117  years  old.  Mr.  Samuel 
Bourne  followed  the  sea  until  about  ten  years  ago,  and  since  then  has 
been  a  farmer.  He  was  married  in  February,  1853,  to  Mary  G.,  daugh- 
ter of  Lewis  and  Rachel  Perry'  (Solomon",  Timothy',  Timothy*,  John', 
Ezra',  John  Perry').  Their  two  sons  living  are  Charles  E.  and  Nathan 
L.     Ansel,  deceased,  left  three  sons:  John,  Chester  and  Charles. 

Benjamin  F.  Bray  was  born  in  1847  in  South  Yarmouth.  He  is  the 
only  living  child  of  Benjamin,  and  he  a  son  of  Eben  Bray.  His  mother 
was  Olive  Crowell.  He  entered  the  employ  of  Keith  Manufacturing 
Company  at  Sagamore,  in  December,  1881 ,  took  charge  of  works  at 
Hyannis  in  October,  1882,  and  in  August,  1884,  returned  to  Sagamore 
and  took  charge  of  the  works  there.  He  was  married  in  1871  to  Clara 
L.  Robbins.  They  have  had  three  sons:  Alexander  F.,  Frank  O.  and 
Winsor  E.,  the  eldest  of  whom  was  drowned  June  21,  1889. 

George  I.  Briggs  was  born  in  Wareham  November  3,  1843,  and 
is  the  son  of  Jedediah  and  Mercy  (Bodfish)  Briggs.  Educated  in 
the  Wareham  schools  he  went  to  sea  at  a  very  early  age  and  entered 
the  navy  in  1861,  where  he  served  as  quartermaster  during  the 
rebellion  on  the  Southern  coast,  and  was  often  under  fire,  being  on 
several  boat  occasions  one  of  the  few  who  escaped  alive.  He  mar- 
ried, in  1872,  Thirza  Ayer  Keen,  and  has  one  daughter.  He  is  a 
member  of  Charles  Chipman  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  Sandwich,  has  been  some 
five  years  on  the  school  committee,  and  is  in  many  ways  a  driving, 
useful  citizen  in  the  town  of  Bourne,  which  he  lent  a  .strong  hand 
to  incorporate  and  organize. 

Aaron  L.  Burgess,  son  of  Perez  and  grandson  of  Covel  Burgess, 
was  born  in  1811,  and  is  a  blacksmith.  He  has  worked  at  the  trade  at 
Cataumet  about  fifty  years.  He  was  married  in  1834  to  Mary  S., 
daughter  of  John  Bourne.  They  have  one  daughter,  Mary  E.,  who 
married  Anthony  Little  in  1868,  and  has  one  daughter,  Hattie  M. 

Charles  H.  Burgess  2d,  born  in  1830,  is  a  son  of  Covel  and  grandson 
of  Covel  Burgess.  His  mother  was Xoraina  Swift.  He  was  an  iron 
moulder  by  trade.  In  1862  he  obtained  a  patent  on  a  furnace  water 
door,  and  since  that  time  he  has  been  engaged  with  the  invention, 


348  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

which  is  now  in  general  use.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  school 
board  about  twenty  years,  and  superintendent  for  the  last  three  years, 
and  has  also  been  justice  of  the  peace.  He  was  married  in  1855  to 
Helen  M.,  daughter  of  George  Atkins.  They  have  one  daughter, 
Helen  M. 

Elisha  H.  Burgess,  born  in  1836,  is  the  youngest  son  of  Jabez  and 
a  grandson  of  Covel  Burgess.  His  mother  was  Rebecca  Bassett.  He 
is  a  machinist  and  worked  at  that  trade  about  six  years.  He  has  kept 
a  grocery  store  at  Pocasset  since  April,  1881.  In  March,  1888,  he 
moved  his  store  to  where  it  now  stands,  and  since  April  1, 1888,  he  has 
been  postmaster.  He  served  two  years  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion 
in  Company  D,  Twenty-fourth  Massachusetts  Infantry.  His  wife,  de- 
ceased, was  Ellen  Jaquith,  who  left  two  daughters:  Christina  A.  and 
Mary  E. 

Captain  Nathaniel  Burgess. — Doctor  Savage  says  of  Thomas 
Burgess,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  plantation  of  Sandwich,  "He 
was  a  chief  man  of  them."  We  safely  write  that  none  of  his  descend- 
ants in  Cape  Cod  more  worthily  bears  the  name  to-day  than  Captain 
Nathaniel  Burgess  of  Bourne.  He  represents  the  seventh  generation 
of  the  family,  the  male  line  of  descent  being  Thomas,  John,  Samuel, 
Thomas,  Nathaniel,  Nathaniel  and  Captain  Nathaniel.  The  Captain's 
father  was  born  in  that  part  of  Sandwich  now  Bourne,  May  15,  1779, 
and  married  Peggy,  daughter  of  Peter  Cammett  of  Barnstable,  No- 
vember 27,  1806.  He  died  April  27, 1853,  aged  seventy-four,  surviving 
his  wife  of  sixty-seven  by  only  a  few  days.  Their  children  were:  Wat- 
son, Nathaniel,  Catharine,  Hunnewell,  Robert  W.,  Malvina  and  Ro- 
silla  E. 

Of  these  eight  children  the  only  survivor  is  the  second,  Captain 
Nathaniel  Burgess,  who  was  born  at  Pocasset,  February  11, 1812,  where 
his  boyhood  was  passed  in  work  upon  his  father's  farm,  with  very  few 
advantages  for  school.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  went  in  a  whaling 
vessel,  and  his  proficiency  secured  him  the  appointment  of  mate  in 
the  whaler  Robert  Edwards  of  New  Bedford,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two, 
and  that  of  captain  at  the  age  of  twenty-six.  This  position  he  success- 
fully filled  for  eighteen  years,  and  became  known  as  one  of  the  most 
capable  shipmasters ;  one  voyage  of  twenty-eight  months  yielded 
$100,000  worth  of  oil  to  the  owners,  and  another  $80,000.  Not  only 
as  a  skilled  navigator,  but  as  a  capable  manager  of  men.  Captain  Bur- 
gess has  an  enviable  reputation.  He  regards  the  control  of  the  crew 
as  the  most  difiicultof  the  master's  duties.  His  last  crew  represented 
nine  nationalities.  His  voyages  were  chiefly  in  the  Pacific,  with  a  few 
in  the  Arctic  seas,  and  at  the  age  of  forty-two  he  retired  with  a  com- 
petence. 

The  captain  has  his  share  of  perils  and  trials  to  relate  to  posterity, 
and  remembers  with  gratitude  one  voyage  to  the  Arctic  seas,  on  which 


^^-^^^^^^j^i.^^    iyJ^U<i^L^eA^ 


PHINI. 

eiEnsTADT. 


TOWN   OF   BOURNE.  349 

his  wife  and  two  children  accompanied  him,  she  being  the  first  cap- 
tain's wife  on  the  Cape  to  undertake  such  a  voyage.  They  were  em- 
bayed twelve  days  in  a  mass  of  ice,  and  the  bank  around  the  vessel 
shut  out  a  view  of  the  surroundings.  His  anxiety  was  the  need  of 
fresh  water,  as  the  necessary  supply  seemed  uncertain.  The  men 
went  out  and  at  no  great  distance  found  a  basin  or  pond  of  beautiful 
water  in  the  field  of  ice,  from  which  they  filled  and  stored  about  one 
hundred  barrels  before  the  ship  -vyas  loosed.  The  captain  graphically 
describes  the  scene  of  endless  ice  fields,  the  men  so  cheerfully  at  work, 
his  two  children  at  play  on  the  ice,  and  the  want  of  water  so  provi- 
dentially supplied. 

After  his  first  voyage  as  chief  mate  and  his  appointment  as  master, 
he  married,  on  the  seventh  of  July,  1838,  Ann,  daughter  of  Peter  Cam- 
mett,  jr.  Their  children  were:  Margaret,  born  January  28, 1846,  died 
in  1881;  Robert  W.,  September  8,  1847;  Helen,  February  14, 1849,  died 
October,  1866;  Edward,  June  20, 1852,  died  same  year;  Edward  H.,  born 
January  15,  1854;  and  Lucy  E.,  born  May  24,  1857.  Since  retiring  from 
sea  Mr.  Burgess  has  been  engaged  in  the  oyster  business  at  Monument 
Beach,  which  has  been  since  1884  continued  by  his  sons,  Robert  W. 
and  Edward  H.,  as  Burgess  Brothers,  who  furnish  the  market  with 
the  celebrated  "  Little  Bay  oysteirs."  Robert  followed  the  sea  about 
twelve  years,  and  in  1880  was  married  to  Amanda  F.  Penniman.  Ed- 
ward H.  was  engaged  in  the  oyster  business  with  his  father  several 
years  prior  to  1884.  He  married  Ella  Wright  in  1874,  and  has  three 
sons  and  two  daughters,  who  represent  the  ninth  generation  of  this 
old  family. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  Captain  Nathaniel  Burgess,  as  a  re- 
tired sea  captain,  represents  one  of  the  most  substantial  and  char- 
acteristic elements  in  the  population  of  the  county.  That  hard- 
earned  discipline  of  mind  which  brought  him  success  at  sea  has 
secured  to  him  on  land,  as  well,  that  fair  degree  of  appreciation  from 
his  townsmen,  which,  in  his  old  age,  he  is  now  enjoying.  He  has 
always  advocated  the  principles  of  the  republican  party,  but,  except 
one  year  as  selectman  of  Sandwich,  has  taken  no  official  place;  he 
was,  however,  associated  with  Isaac  N.  Keith  and  Benjamin  B.  Abbe 
on  the  executive  committee  when  Bourne  was  incorporated,  and 
bore  his  part  in  the  work  in  the  town  and  for  weeks  before  the 
legislative  committee.  When  we  consider  that  Captain  Burgess  be- 
gan his  career  at  sea  with  less  of  school  training  than  the  average 
boy  of  twelve  now  has,  aind  when  we  find  him  acquiring  in  the 
forecastle  the  elements  of  an  English  education  and  a  practical 
knowledge  of  the  science  of  navigation,  and  see  him  steadily  ad- 
vancing to  take  command  of  a  ship  and  its  crew,  we  have  some  slight 
measure  of  the  ambition  and  energy  that  are,  doubtless,  the  leadings 


350  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

traits  of  his  character.  His  name  is  strength  to  any  undertaking, 
and  his  active  industry  and  moral  characteristics  are  an  earnest  of 
his  success. 

Captain  Seth  S.  Burgess. — This  well-known  resident  lives  in  the 
town  of  Bourne,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Buzzards  bay,  in  the  quiet 
retirement  of  his  mature  years.  He  was  born  in  this  vicinity,  May 
18,  1810,  and  is  a  descendant  of -the  illustrious  Thomas  Burgess,  v.'ho 
with  a  few  others,  in  1637,  planted  the  first  permanent  settlement 
in  Sandwich.  Any  who  have  inherited  this  honorable  family  name 
have  a  just  right  to  be  proud  of  this  heroic  Puritan  ancestor,  who 
died  in  1685  and  whose  grave  was  honored  with  the  only  inscribed 
stone  erected  to  any  Pilgrim  of  the  first  generation.  The  male 
line  of  descent  from  this  pioneer  to  Captain  Burgess  is  direct,  be- 
ing: Thomas,  John,  Samuel,  Thomas,  Covill,  Perez  and  Seth  S. 

Perez  Burgess  spent  his  later  years  at  farming,  but  was  captain  of 
coasters  until  1820.  His  son,  Seth  S.,  then  a  lad  of  ten  years,  accom- 
panied him  on  his  last  voyage,  and  the  next  year  went  with  his  uncle, 
Jabez  Burgess,  as  cook  at  three  dollars  per  month.  From  that  time 
his  opportunity  for  obtaining  an  education  was  confined  to  the  winter 
months.  At  eighteen  years  of  age  he  was  mate,  and  the  next  year  he 
took  charge  of  the  sloop  Deborah,  in  the  employ  of  his  uncle,  Ellis 
Swift.  After  a  captaincy  of  three  years  in  this  sloop,  while  at  Fall 
River  with  a  cargo  of  lumber,  he  met  Lovell  &  Burr,  lumber  mer- 
chants, who  offered  him  a  brig  in  the  coasting  and  West  India  trade, 
which  he  accepted.  For  a  few  years  he  successfully  managed  the  brig 
and  the  schooner  Patriot,  visiting  Bremen  and  other  European  ports. 
In  1838  he  purchased  the  sloop  Meteor,  which  he  commanded  two 
years.  He  then  coasted  south  with  varied  and  successful  experien- 
ces, visiting  South  America  and  other  intervening  ports  in  the  brig 
Massachusetts.  During  most  of  the  time  for  the  next  twenty-two  years 
he  was  in  the  employ  of  Thomas  Whitridge  &  Co.  of  Baltimore, 
in  the  Brazilian  trade,  commanding  the  following  vessels:  The 
schooner  Clara  in  1851,  the  barque  Mondamitt  in  1856,  the  ship 
Gray  Eagle  in  1861,  and  the  barque  Yamoyden  in  1868.  These  vessels, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Gray  Eagle,  were  built  expressly  for  Cap- 
tain Burgess.  Mr.  Whitridge  rarely  insured  the  goods  entrusted  to 
the  captain's  care,  because  he  felt  confident  of  their  safety.  In 
1873,  after  forty-four  years  in  command  of  every  kind  of  vessel, 
from  sloops  to  ships,  without  the  loss  of  a  man  or  vessel  and  even 
without  a  serious  accident,  the  captain  retired  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of 
his  labors. 

September  3,  1833,  he  married  Elizabeth,  eldest  daughter  of  Reu- 
ben Collins.  She  died  January  13,  1845,  leaving  two  children;  Clara 
A.,  who  still  resides  at  the  homestead,  and  Seth  M.  now  of  New  York 


e.     BIEHSTAOT,     N.   V. 


RESIDENCE   OE    SETH    S.   BURGESS, 

Monument  Beacli.  Man,. 


TOWN   OF   BOURNE.  351 

city.    Captain  Burgess  married  January  3,  1850,  Lucy  E.,  youngest 
sister  of  his  5rst  wife.    She  died  August  9,  1879. 

The  captain's  residence  is  charmingly  situated  in  a  quiet  rural  com- 
munity, and  as  a  typical  New  England  homestead  we  make  it  the  sub- 
ject of  the  accompanying  illustration.  It  is  older  than  the  Declaration 
of  American  Independence  and  is  rich  in  historic  associations.  It  was 
for  years  the  home  of  Dea.  Daniel  Perry,  by  whose  ancestor  it  was 
erected.  It  passed  into  the  hands  of  Ezekiel  Thacher,  of  whom  the 
captain  purchased  it  in  1832.  The  original  house  has  received  various 
additions  and  improvements,  but  its  identity  is  by  no  means  destroyed. 

Political  preferment  has  not  been  the  aim  of  Captain  Burgess,  al- 
though he  has  been  active  in  the  dominant  party — a  democrat  until 
1861  and  a  republican  since.  His  father,  an  exemplary  Methodist, 
early  taught  him  the  principles  of  religion  and  his  favorite  precept 
was  "  Seth,  deal  honestly."  His  life  has  been  that  marked  by  his  res- 
olution in  the  first  forecastle,  seventy  years  ago.  Captain  Burgess 
early  identified  himself  with  the  Methodist  church  at  Bourne,  of 
which  for  nearly  fifty  years  he  has  been  an  officer,  his  consistant 
Christian  example  and  liberal  hand  adding  their  full  share  to  its 
prosperity.  By  his  thoughtful  liberality  and  sympathy  for  the  suf- 
fering, he  has  firmly  bound  to  himself  the  hearts  of  the  poor  and 
unfortunate.  From  his  father,  Perez,  through  a  long  line  of  ster- 
ling  worth  and  from  his  mother,  Lydia,  daughter  of  Stephen  Swift, 
also  a  descendant  of  Puritan  forefathers,  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
can  look  back  with  pride  to  the  foundation  of  those  just  principles 
of  life,  the  application  of  which,  on  sea  and  on  land,  has  secured 
for  him  a  competence  and  an  unruffled  sea  in  his  la.st  days  of  life's 
voyage. 

P.  Foster  Butler,  eldest  son  of  Patrick  and  grandson  of  Patrick 
Butler,  was  born  in  Brewster  in  1836.  He  was  a  mariner  twenty-eight 
years,  and  since  1874  has  been  in  the  oyster  business.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1861  to  Sarah  F.,  daughter  of  Gideon  Berry.  They  have  one 
son,  Harry  L.  Mr.  Butler  is  a  member  of  Bourne  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church,  and  steward  and  trustee  in  the  same. 

Joshua  G.  Cash,  bom  in  1863  in  Harwich,  is  a  son  of  Joshua  S.  and 
Margaret  (McCarta)  Cash.  In  March.  1887,  he  bought  a  meat  route  of 
John  Avery,  at  Pocasset,  where  he  has  lived  since  that  time.  He  was 
married  in  December,  1887,  to  Etta,  daughter  of  Oliver  C.  Snow. 

•  Thomas  F.  B.  Cook,  born  in  1828  in  Sandwich,  is  a  son  of  John  L. 
and  Lydia  A.  (Raymond)  Cook.  He  is  a  machinist  by  trade,  having 
worked  at  it  since  he  was  seventeen  years  old.  In  November,  1868, 
he  went  from  Sandwich  to  Boston,  where  he  has  been  engaged  with 
the  Dennison  Manufacturing  Company  since  that  time.  He  built  a 
residence  in  18F9  at  Pocasset,  where  he  intends  to  make  his  perma- 


352  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

nent  home  in  the  near  future.  He  was  married  in  1860  to  Ellen  F. 
Fowler.  They  have  two  children:  Annie  A.  and  William  F.  They 
have  lost  three  children. 

Calvin  Crowell'  was  bom  in  1824,  and  is  the  youngest  of  fifteen 
children.  His  paternal  ancestors  were:  Paul',  William',  Christopher', 
John',  John*  and  John  Crowell',  who  came  from  England  in  1635  and 
settled  at  North  Dennis  in  1639.  His  mother  was  Sally  Sears',  daugh- 
ter of  Edmund',  Edmund*,  Paul*,  Paul'  and  Richard  Sears',  who  was 
born  in  1691  and  died  in  1676.  Paul  Crowell',  born  March  27, 1778, 
removed  from  Dennis  to  Sagamore  in  1815,  where  he  lived  until  his 
death,  August  26,  1866,  his  descendants  then  numbering  109 — chil- 
dren 8,  grandchildren  43,  great-grandchildren  57,  and  great-great- 
grandchild, 1.  Mr.  Crowell  is  a  large  cranberry  grower.  He  was 
married  in  1867  to  Laura  A.,  daughter  of  Clark  Swift.  Their  children 
were:  Walter  L.,  Emma  F.  (deceased),  Annie  F.,  Frank  C,  Ada  L., 
Bertha  M.  (deceased),  and  Mabelle  E. 

Hiram  Crowell,,  born  in  1822,  is  the  fourteenth  child  of  Paul 
Crowell*  (see  above).  He  is  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  was  in  Cuba 
and  other  foreign  countries  several  years,  and  for  the  last  thirty  years 
he  has,  in  connection  with  other  business,  engaged  in  cranberry  cul- 
ture. He  was  married  in  1850  to  Eliza  S.  Ellis.  His  second  wife  was 
Hepsie  C.  Harlow,  and  his  present  wife  was  Martha  H.  Perkins. 

Hiram  E.  Crowell',  born  in  1839,  is  a  son  of  Paul',  and  he  a  son  of 
Paul  Crowell'  (see  above).  His  mother  was  Lydia,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Ellis.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the  cranberry  culture  for 
thirty-five  years.  He  was  married  November  27,  1864,  to  Hannah  L.,. 
daughter  of  Levi  Swift.  They  have  four  daughters:  Lenore,  Nettie 
L.,  Crystina  L.  and  Sadie  M.    They  have  lost  three  sons. 

Alden  P.  Davis,  son  of  Captain  Daniel  Davis,  a  native  of  Sandown^ 
N.  H.,  was  born  in  Deny,  N.  H.,  in  1836.  In  1873  he  removed  from 
Boston  to  Cataumet,  where  he  built  a  summer  boarding  house—"  The 
Jachin  " — having  capacity  for  seventy-five  guests.  He  is  a  merchant, 
has  been  station  agent  since  June.  1886,  and  postmaster  since  the  of- 
fice was  established  in  1884.  He  was  married  in  1869  to  Mary  L.  Steb- 
bins  of  Bradford,  Vt.  Their  children  are  Mary  E.,  wife  of  Irving  F. 
Gibbs,  and  Anna  G. 

Frederick  Dimmick,  born  in  1836,  is  the  oldest  son  of  Frederick 
and  grandson  of  David  Dimmick.  His  mother  was  Mar\'  Ann,  daugh- 
ter of  David  Lawrence.  He  is  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  built  a  large 
house  at  Cataumet  in  1876,  where  he  keeps  summer  boarders  and  ac- 
commodates the  traveling  public.  On  the  same  site  his  grandfather,. 
David  Dimmick,  kept  a  tavern  for  many  years.  He  was  married  in 
1 866  to  Tirzah,  daughter  of  Vinal  N.  Hatch.  They  have  two  children:. 
Lena  F.  (Mrs.  Thomas  A.  Fuller)  and  Henry  B.  L. 


TOWN   OF   BOURNE.  353 

Joseph  Dimmock,  son  of  David  and  Esther  (Wing)  Dimmock,  was 
born  in  1821.  His  grandfather  was  also  named  David.  His  wife,  Sa- 
rah, who  died  May  10,  1S89,  was  a  daughter  of  Elnathan  Wing  and  a 
granddaughter  of  Judah  and  Rebecca  Wing.  Judah,son  of  Nathaniel 
Wing,  had  fourteen  children,  and  with  his  family  lived  on  what  was 
then  called  Wing's  neck — now  Wenaumet — where  he  died  at  the  age 
of  eighty.  Captain  Dimmock  was  married  in  1849.  His  children  are: 
George  C,  Henrietta  G.,  Edward  C.  and  J.  Frank.  He  followed  the 
sea  about  fifty  years,  being  captain  about  half  that  time. 

Cyrenius  Eldridge,  born  in  1840,  is  a  son  of  Cyrenius  and  grand- 
son of  Samuel  Eldridge.  His  mother  was  Huldah  (Ellis)  Eldridge. 
He  was  engaged  in  whale  fishing  sixteen  years  prior  to  1873.  He  has 
been  section  master  on  the  Old  Colony  railroad  since  1883.  He  was 
married  in  1864  to  Mary  L.,  daughter  of  George  T.  Gray.  Their 
four  children  are:  Almeda  B.,  Clarence  E.,  Cyrenius  M.  and  An- 
drew G. 

Horatio  Eldridge,  son  of  Cyrenius  and  Huldah  (Ellis)  Eldridge,  was 
born  in  1843.  He  was  at  sea  for  some  years,  then  a  section  hand  on 
the  Old  Colony  railroad  for  about  six  years.  Since  1884  he  has  been 
in  the  oyster  business.  He  was  married  in  1867  to  Emily  F.  Calhoon. 
She  died  in  December,  1887,  leaving  six  children:  Walter  L.,  Horatio 
W.,  Wilber  C,  Allen,  Orrin  and  Helen  F. 

David  W.  O.  Ellis'  (David  S.',  Nathan',  Elnathan',  Gideon',  John',) 
was  born  in  1850.  His  mother  was  Esther  Whiting.  During  the  last 
seven  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  oyster  and  the  cranberry 
business.  He  was  married  November  22,  1877,  to  Mary  Corinna, 
daughter  of  James  H.  West. 

James  S.  Ellis'  (James*,  Abiel',  Gideon',  John',)  was  born  June  13, 
1822,  in  Sandwich.  His  mother  was  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Ebenezer 
Nye.  He  was  educated  in  this  county,  and  after  being  six  years  in 
the  mercantile  business  here,  he  went  to  Boston,  where  he  was  in  a 
mercantile  business  twenty-eight  years,  fifteen  years  as  clerk  and 
thirteen  as  partner  in  the  business.  Retiring  in  1879,  be  returned  to 
Bourne,  his  present  home.  He  was  married  in  1846  to  Lucinda,  daugh- 
ter of  Esquire  Benjamin  Bourne. 

Stillman  R.  Ellis,  born  in  1842,  is  a  son  of  William  and  Martha 
(Rogers)  Ellis  and  grandson  of  Nathaniel  and  Remember  (Swift) 
Ellis.  He  followed  the  sea  for  ten  years,  but  since  1868  he  has  been 
employed  by  the  Keith  Manufacturing  Company  at  Sagamore.  He 
was  married  in  1864  to  Lucy,  daughter  of  George  Gibbs.  Their  three 
daughters  are:  Corabelle,  Lettie  and  Grace. 

James  C.  Gibbs,  born  in  1832,  is  a  son  of  Barnabas  and  Sarah 
(Blackwell)  Gibbs  and  grandson  of  Ansel  Gibbs.  For  the  past  twenty- 
five  years  he  has  been  a  farmer.  Prior  to  that  time  he  was  a  sailor. 
23 


354  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

He  was  married  in  1860  to  Phoebe  A.,  daughter  of  Stephen  Swift. 
They  have  two  sons:  Frank  H.  and  Elmer  L. 

Paul  C.  Gibbs,  born  in  1832,  is  a  son  of  Pelham,  and  he  a  son  of 
Pelham  Gibbs,  who  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-seven  years. 
His  mother  was  Mary,  daughter  of  Paul  Crowell.  He  has  been  a 
mariner  since  1844,  as  master  since  1855.  He  was  married  in  1855  to 
Maria  E.,  daughter  of  Jesse  Barlow.  They  have  six  children:  Eleanor 
M.,  Albert  C,  Irving  F.,  George  F.,  Sarah  F.  and  Fostina  P. 

William  R.  Gibbs'  (Russel',  Pelham',  Barnabas*,  Barnabas',  John', 
born  1634,  Thomas')  was  born  in  1828.  Pelham  Gibbs  was  taken  pris- 
oner in  the  war  of  1812  and  his  ship  and  cargo  confiscated.  William's 
mother  was  Catharine,  daughter  of  Levi  Swift.  Since  1856  he  has 
been  a  farmer,  mostly  in  the  cranberry  business.  Prior  to  that  time 
he  was  at  sea  about  fifteen  years.  He  has  been  justice  for  about 
fourteen  years,  and  is  a  democrat.  He  was  married  in  1852  to  Tempe*, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Swift"  (Clark',  Thomas  Swift').  They  have  four 
children:  Katie  R.,  Annie  A.,  William  R.,  jr.,  and  G.  Evelyn. 

Josiah  Godfrey,  born  in  1821,  is  a  son  of  Josiah,  whose  father  was 
Solomon  Godfrey.  His  mother  was  Mary,  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
Wing.  He  has  followed  the  sea  since  the  age  of  eight  years,  and  took 
charge  of  a  vessel  when  sixteen  years  old.  He  was  married  in  De- 
cember, 1843,  to  Abbie  Dimmock,  who  died  July  10,  1877.  He  was 
married  March  9,  1879,  to  Phoebe,  a  daughter  of  Solomon  and  Ann 
Kendrick. 

Francis  D.  Handy,  born  1826,  and  Sylvanus  E.  Handy,  born  in 
1833,  are  two  sons  of  Captain  Luther  B.  and  Lucinda  (Witherell) 
Handy,  and  grand.sons  of  Sylvanus  and  Susan  (Price)  Handy.  Syl- 
vanus was  a  teacher  of  navigation  and  had  besides  Luther  B.,  who 
was  born  in  1802,  four  other  children:  Calvin,  twin  brother  of  Luther 
B.;  Charles,  who  married  Sarah  Wing;  Thomas,  who  was  drowned 
at  sea  in  1837;  and  Hannah,  born  1800,  who  married  Calvin  Howard. 
Francis  D.  Handy  is  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  having  worked  at  it 
about  twenty  years.  He  ran  a  meat  and  provision  store  in  North- 
boro',  Mass.,  for  fifteen  years  prior  to  1884.  He  has  been  tax  col- 
lector for  Bourne  four  years.  He  was  married  in  1850  to  Adaline 
A.,  daughter  of  William  Swift.  They  have  two  daughters:  Cornelia 
and  Genevieve.  They  lost  two.  Sylvanus  E.  Handy  learned  the 
blacksmith  trade,  at  which  he  worked  sixteen  years.  He  kept  a 
store  eight  years  at  Cataumet  prior  to  his  retirement  in  1882.  He 
was  married  in  1859  lo  Cornelia  L.  Collins,  and  has  one  son,  Harrie 
D.  Handy.  Other  children  of  Captain  Luther  B.  Handy  were:  Luther, 
who  died  young;  Sarah  W.,  who  married  Isaac  W.  Baker;  Luther  S., 
who  married  Susan  Gibbs;  John  T.,  who  married  Elvira  Gale;  Wil- 
son B.,  who  was  drowned;  and  Charles  H. 


TOWN   OF   BOURNE.  355 

James  T.  Handy,  born  in  1842,  is  the  youngest  son  of  John  and 
grandson  of  William  Handy.  His  mother  was  Phoebe,  daughter  of 
Heman  Nye.  He  was  a  whale  fisherman  from  1857  until  1882,  and 
master  of  vessels  from  1864  until  1882,  since  which  time  he  has 
lived  retired  at  Cataumet,  where  he  has  paid  some  attention  to 
poultry  raising.  He  was  married  in  1871  to  Emma  D.,  daughter 
of  Captain  Hiram  Baker,  who  was  lost  at  sea  in  1860. 

Henry  T.  Handy",  born  in  1845,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Joshua',  who 
was  the  youngest  son  of  William*  (John',  John',  Richard  Handy"). 
His  mother  was  Dorothea  C.  Hathaway.  He  was  twelve  years  a 
sailor,  but  .since  1878  has  been  a  farmer.  He  owns  and  occupies  the 
old  Handy  homestead,  which  has  been  in  the  family  about  two  hun- 
dred years.  He  was  married  in  1872  to  Lydia  P.,  daughter  of  Anson 
B.  Ellis.  They  have  six  children:  Herman  P.,  Arthur  H.,  Robert  S., 
Anson  B.,  Etta  H.  and  Clifton  H.      They  lost  two  in  infancy. 

Charles  C.  Hanley  was  born  in  1851,  in  Lincoln  county,  Maine,  and 
came  to  Barnstable  county  from  Winchester.  He  ran  a  blacksmith 
and  wagon  shop  until  1878,  when  he  began  to  make  boats  and  has  fol- 
lowed this  business  since  that  time.  He  was  married  in  1877  to  Deb- 
orah C,  daughter  of  Isaac  Stevens.  They  have  one  child,  Sarah  E., 
born  in  1878.     Mr.  Hanley's  father  was  Roger  Hanley. 

Benjamin  B.  Harlow,  born  in  1817  in  Middleboro',  is  a  son  of  Sam- 
uel and  Hepze  (Burgess)  Harlow,  and  a  grandson  of  Ezra  Harlow. 
He  came  from  Middleboro'  to  Sagamore  in  1848,  where  he  has  been 
engaged  with  the  Keith  Manufacturing  Company  since  that  time. 
He  was  married  January  14,  1864,  to  Mrs.  Eleanor  C.  Gage,  daughter 
of  Anson  Burgess.  She  had  two  children  by  her  first  marriage:  Frank 
B.  and  Louise  E.     Mrs.  Harlow  died  in  1874. 

Persia  B.  Harmon,  born  in  1831  in  Livermore,  Maine,  is  a  son  of 
Nathaniel  and  grandson  of  Samuel  Harmon.  He  is  a  farmer.  He 
served  about  one  year  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  in  Company  C, 
Eighteenth  Massachusetts  Volunteers.  His  wife  is  Lydia  P.,  daugh- 
ter of  Ellis  Blackwell. 

Joseph  T.  Hathaway,  born  in  Plymouth  in  1834,  is  a  son  of  Joseph 
T.  and  Lucinda  B.  (Raymond)  Hathaway  and  grandson  of  Jacob 
Hathaway.  He  enlisted  in  1862,  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  serving 
until  1866  as  acting  chief  engineer  in  the  naval  service.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1859  to  Emily  D.  Le  Baron.  They  have  two  children:  Joseph 
H.  and  Sarah  T.  Mr.  Hathaway  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Lodge 
and  Chapter  of  Hyannis.  and  Bay  State  Commandery  of  Brockton. 

Albert  Hawkins,  son  of  William  B.  and  Abbie  Hawkins,  was  born 
in  Smithfield,  R.  I.,  in  1830,  and  is  a  blacksmith  by  trade.  He  came 
from  Pawtucket,  R.  L,  to  Pocasset,  in  1877,  where  he  has  run  a  black- 
smith shop  since  that  time.     He  was  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  from 


356  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

June,  1861,  to  June,  1864,  as  blacksmith  in  Company  A.,  First  Rhode 
Island  Light  Artillery.  He  was  married  in  May,  1858,  to  Abbie  F. 
Northup.     They  had  one  daughter,  Clara,  who  died  in  infancy. 

Joseph  S.  Hewins,  born  in  Pocasset,  January  12,  1828,  is  a  son  of 
William  Hewins.  His  mother  was  Love,  daughter  of  William  Handy. 
Mr.  Hewins  drove  a  stage  from  Bourne  to  Woods  Holl  for  a 
number  of  years  prior  to  1872.  From  1872  to  1879  he,  with  his 
brother  carried  on  an  express  business  from  Boston  to  Marthas  Vine- 
yard. Since  1879  he  has  kept  a  livery  and  sale  stable  at  Buzzards 
Bay.  He  married  Philomelia  R.,  daughter  of  Erastus  O.  and  Lydia 
(Jenkins)  Parker.  She  died  in  1879,  leaving  one  daughter.  Bertha  L. 
Mr.  Parker  was  born  in  1810.  He  was  a  coasting  sailor  for  some  years. 
He  was  station  agent  at  Bourne  nineteen  years,  with  the  exception  of 
four  years,  when  his  daughter  Aurelia  was  the  agent.  He  built  a 
hotel  at  Buzzards  Bay  in  1872,  which  he  and  his  daughter  keep  as  the 
Parker  House. 

Charles  F.  Howard',  born  in  1827,  is  descended  from  Calvin*,  Cal^ 
vin",  Jesse'  (lieutenant  in  revolutionary  war)  and  Barney  Howard', 
who  came  from  England  and  settled  in  Bridgewater,  Mass.  His 
mother  was  Hannah,  daughter  of  Sylvanus  Handy,  mentioned  above. 
Mr.  Howard  is  a  boot  and  shoe  maker  by  trade,  although  his  principal 
pursuit  has  been  farming.  He  owns  and  occupies  his  father's  home- 
stead. He  was  married  in  1857  to  Ann  Louisa',  daughter  of  Isaiah 
Fish'  (Isaiah',  John').  Mr.  Howard  is  an  Adventist  in  his  religious 
faith. 

Hon.  Ezra  Coleman  Howard. — This  well  known  and  much  respect 
ed,  late  citizen  of  Bourne,  was  the  son  of  Calvin  Howard,  who  married 
Hannah  Handy  and  at  his  death  left  the  widow  and  five  children. 
The  mother  survived  until  1887,  alone  rearing  her  family  to  useful- 
ness. Ezra  C.  Howard,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  and  whose  portrait 
accompanies  it,  was  born  in  Pocasset,  September  1, 1831.  Left  father- 
less before  he  was  twelve  years  old,  with  two  of  the  family  who  were 
still  younger,  he  could  expect  little  from  home  except  the  wise  coun- 
sels of  a  wise  and  devoted  mother,  to  which  he  ever  adhered. 

At  this  tender  age  he  evinced  that  energy  and  ambition  that 
marked  his  after  life,  by  going  to  the  home  of  his  grandfather,  where 
he  could  attend  school  in  the  winter.  Not  content  with  the  advan- 
tages given  there,  he  applied  himself  assiduously  to  reading  such  his- 
tories, travels  and  biographies  as  the  library  of  his  grandfather  af- 
forded. He  thus  acquired  not  only  studious  habits,  but  a  knowledge 
beyond  his  years  and  beyond  that  usually  obtained  in  the  common 
schools. 

While  young  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  moulder  with  his  cousin,  in 
Providence.     He  was  subsequently  foreman  in  a  shop  at  Fairhaven, 


b-^ 


^p-x^ 


U        I 


TOWN  OF  BOURNE.  357 

but  being  ambitious  to  secure  a  wider  field  in  which  to  exercise  his 
business  talent  and  mechanical  skill,  he  came  to  Bournedale,  then 
North  Sandwich,  and  leased  the  foundry  which  he  purchased  the  fol 
lowing  year.  He  began  the  business  in  a  small  building  near  the 
site  of  the  one  previously  burned,  carefully  advancing  and  building 
up  the  important  works  that  now  bear  his  name,  and  a  very  successful 
business,  by  which  he  secured  a  liberal  estate.  In  the  last  years  of  his 
life  he  had  associated  with  him  his  nephew,  William  A.  Nye,  who  still 
continues  the  business. 

In  1856  Mr.  Howard  married  Carrie  S.  Dimmick,  youngest  daughter 
of  Frederick  Dimmick,  and  grand-daughter  of  David  Dimmick,  a  fam- 
ily of  revolutionary  fame,  who  lived  at  Cataumet  on  the  present  site 
of  the  Bay  View  House.  At  her  death  in  1874,  she  left  two  daughters: 
Emma  C,  who  married  Nathan  B.  Hartford  of  Watertown,  and  Mary 
H.,  a  student  in  Boston  University.  In  1876  Mr.  Howard  married 
Rhoda  A.,  oldest  daughter  of  Frederick  Dimmick,  who  survives  him. 
The  final  illness  of  Mr.  Howard  commenced  at  Bournedale  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1884,  terminating  April  8,  1885,  at  the  home  of  his  daughter 
in  Watertown,  Mass. 

The  modesty,  energfy,  industry  and  high  moral  character  which 
marked  his  whole  course  through  life  have  passed  into  history,  form- 
ing a  page  in  life's  book  that  can  never  be  effaced.  He  was  active  in 
local,  state  and  national  affairs,  and  during  his  life  never  lost  the  op- 
portunity of  voting.  He  was  elected  by  the  republican  party  to  repre- 
sent the  First  Barnstable  district  in  the  legislatures  of  1871  and  1872; 
and  as  senator  to  represent  the  Island  district  in  1876  and  1876,  which 
important  trusts  he  filled  with  honor  to  himself  and  his  constituents. 

He  was  a  trustee  in  the  Wareham  Savings  Bank  until  nearly  the 
time  of  his  death.  In  the  faith  of  his  father  he  turned  to  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church,  and  to  this  church  his  principal  support  was 
given.  In  his  life  work  he  had  only  reached  the  meridian,  but  he  had 
laid  the  foundation  of  an  enduring  monument. 

Alonzo  S.  Landers,  bom  in  1850,  is  a  son  of  Ezra  B.  and  grandson 
of  John  Landers.  He  was  at  sea  about  ten  years,  and  has  been  en- 
gaged in  making  cranberry  bogs  by  contract  for  the  last  fifteen  years. 
He  was  married  in  1879  to  Ella  H.,  daughter  of  Thomas  L.  Greene. 
They  have  one  son,  Walter  M.  They  lost  three  children.  Mr.  Lan- 
ders is  a  member  of  the  Cataumet  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

David  Landers,  son  of  Joseph  and  Mary  (Baker)  Landers,  was  born 
in  1851,  and  is  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  came  from  South  Sandwich 
to  Cataumet  in  1877,  where  he  has  since  lived.  He  was  married  in 
1877  to  Achsah  Hallett.  She  died  in  1881.  He  married,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1886,  Mrs.  Clara  A.  Hoxie,  daughter  of  Oliver  C.  Wing.  They 
have  one  son,  Albert  E. 


368  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Seth  S.  Maxim,  son  of  Thomas  and  grandson  of  Jabez  Maxim,  was 
born  in  South  Carver,  Mass.,  in  1822,  and  is  a  stone  mason  by  trade. 
He  came  from  South  Carver  to  Bourne  in  1847.  He  was  married  in 
1846  to  Joanna  H.  Blackwell,  who  died  in  January,  1887. 

David  D.  Nye. — Among- the  prominent  representative  men  of  tie 
town  of  Bourne,  David  D.  Nye,  of  Cataumet  (formerly  South  Pocasset), 
is  entitled  to  a  high  position.  As  the  descendant  of  a  long  line  of 
worthy  ancestors,  whose  virtues  have  been  transmitted,  he  worthily  ■ 
bears  this  old  family  name,  which  has  been  revered  in  church  and 
state  for  more  than  two  hundred  years.  He  is  the  youngest  son  and 
child  of  Captain  Ebenezer  and  Syrena  (Dimmick)  Nye,  and  was  bom 
November  29,  1833,  in  that  part  of  the  town  where  he  now  resides. 
On  the  10th  of  July,  1889,  his  father.  Captain  Ebenezer,  celebrated 
his  ninetieth  birthday,  surviving  his  wife  since  September  20, 1872, 
they  having  reared  to  manhood  and  womanhood  eight  children: 
Angelina  of  Fairhaven,  who  is  the  widow  of  Frederick  Keith;  Ebene- 
zer F.,  who,  as  master  of  the  bark  Mt.  Wallaston,  sailed  into  the  Arc- 
tic seas,  and  of  whom  no  tidings  have  ever  been  heard;  William  F., 
who  is  a  successful  oil  merchant  of  New  Bedford;  Ephraim  B.,  who, 
while  second  lieutenant  of  the  Fourteenth  Massachusetts  Battery,  was 
killed  at  Petersburg,  Va.,  March  20, 1866;  Albert  G.,  Syrena  M.  and 
Mercy  D.,  who  are  residents  of  California;  and  David  D.,  the  subject 
of  the  accompanying  portrait. 

David  D.  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of  Sandwich, 
and  early  in  life  accompanied  his  brother,  Ebenezer  F.,  on  a  whaling 
voyage.  He  was  then  engaged  in  the  fruit  business  for  eight  years 
in  New  Bedford,  with  his  brothers,  William  F.  and  Ephraim  B.,  since 
which  time  he  has  been  occupied  in  farming.  He  was  married  July 
30,  1862,  to  Hannah  T.,  daughter  of  Josiah  and  Sophia  N.  Curtis. 
Their  adopted  son,  David  W.,  was  bom  May  12,  1874.  Mrs.  Nye  died 
on  the  6th  of  January,  1888,  and  on  the  4th  of  the  following  October 
Mr.  Nye  married  Mrs.  Esther  F.  Dennis  of  Sandwich. 

Bef:re  the  town  of  Sandwich  was  divided,  he,  in  1876,  was  elected 
overseer  of  the  poor,  and  in  1879  was  elected  selectman  of  the  town, 
which  offices,  with  that  of  assessor,  he  satisfactorily  filled  until  the 
spring  of  1884,  when  the  town  of  Bourne  was  erected.  In  the  new 
town  he  was  at  once  elected  to  the  same  responsible  offices,  which  he 
has  since  filled,  and  since  1884  he  has  been  chairman  of  the  selectmen 
of  Bourne.  He  also  has  been  appointed  a  justice  of  the  peace  and 
a  notary  public,  enjoying  the  entire  confidence  of  his  townsmen  in  the 
ability  and  integrity  required  for  these  multiplied  duties.  His  prin- 
ciples have  led  him  to  affiliate  with  the  republican  party,  and  he  is  at 
the  head  of  the  town  government  to-day,  and  one  of  its  standard- 
bearers. 


CycLe.'-^J^  1  sAi 


oum-cL 


E.     eiERSTAOT. 


TOWN   OF   BOURNE.  359 

For  twenty-seven  years  he  has  been  a  trustee  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  of  his  village,  assisting  in  its  advancement  by  his 
presence  and  means.  His  good  judgment  is  often  sought  in  the  set- 
tlement of  entangled  estates,  in  the  probate  court  and  in  the  school 
affairs  of  his  town,  for  which  his  thorough  knowledge  of  the  business 
forms  and  his  sense  of  right  peculiarly  fit  him.  The  cheerfulness  with 
which  he  assumes  these  tasks,  and  the  impartiality  of  his  acts,  reveal 
the  underlying  principles  of  his  character.  In  the  meridian  of  his 
life,  within  sight  of  his  birth-place,  he  resides  in  his  beautiful  rural 
home,  which  commands  a  view  of  one  of  the  prettiest  landscapes  on 
the  east  shore  of  Buzzards  bay. 

Nathan  Nye,  born  in  1828,  is  a  son  of  Daniel  B.  and  grandson  of 
Nathan  Nye.  His  mother  was  Achsah,  daughter  of  Joseph  Swift.  He 
was  engaged  in  the  Arctic  whale  fishing  eighteen  years.  He  owns 
and  occupies  the  farm  at  Sagamore,  where  his  father  lived  from  1813 
until  his  death.  He  was  collector  in  Sandwich  several  years,  and  col- 
lector and  treasurer  two  years  in  the  new  town  of  Bourne.  He  has 
been  selectman  three  years.  He  was  married  in  1855  to  Ellen  S., 
daughter  of  Walter  Richards.  Their  nine  children  are:  Walter  E.  R., 
Nathan  M.,  William  E.,  Henry  S.,  Joseph  B.,  Daniel  B.,  Alfred  G., 
Ellen  R.  and  Susie  A.  R.     They  lost  one  in  infancy. 

William  E.  Packard. — The  ancestral  line  of  this  family  has  de- 
scended from  Samuel  Packard,  who  came  to  this  continent  in  1638, 
and  from  him  all  of  that  name  in  America  have  descended.  Some 
time  in  the  last  century  Elijah  Packard,  a  descendant  of  Samuel,  came 
to  the  Cape,  settling  in  the  present  town  of  Bourne,  and  was  a  promi- 
nent farmer  by  occupation.  Benjamin  was  the  oldest  of  his  four  chil- 
dren, and  he  also  was  a  farmer.  He  lived  and  died  in  Bourne.  He 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Jedediah  Young  of  Orleans,  and  their  chil- 
dren were:  Benjamin,  Isaac,  Joseph,  Alpheus,  William  E.  and  four 
daughters. 

William  E.  Packard  is  the  only  survivor  of  this  family.  He  was 
born  November  6,  1824,  and  passed  his  boyhood  on  the  home  farm, 
receiving  the  advantages  of  the  common  schools  of  that  day.  On  his 
arrival  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  he  read  medicine  with  Dr.  John  Harper 
of  Sandwich,  for  two  years,  and  when  twenty-four  years  old  went  to 
Agawam,  where  for  three  years  he  was  engaged  in  the  Iron  Works, 
but  retaining  his  residence  at  Bourne.  He  married  Thankful  A., 
daughter  of  Dean  S.  Leinnell,  on  the  30th  of  March,  1848;  Mr.  Lein- 
nell  was  then  a  resident  of  Wareham.  This  union  was  blessed  with 
four  children:  Flora  A.,  born  June  6, 1849;  a  son,  in  1852,who  died  young; 
Mary  I.,  born  May  20,  1853;  and  William  E.,  jr.,  born  June  24,  1856. 
Of  these  children  only  one  survives.  Flora  A.,  in  1869,  married  Cap- 
tain William  T.  Barlow,  and  died  the  same  year.     Mary  I.,  in  August, 


360  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

1880,  married  Walton  E.  Keene  of  Bourne,  and  has  two  daughters — 
Flora  A.,  born  1882;  and  Annie  C,  born  1888. 

William  E.  Packard,  the  last  of  his  father's  group  of  nine  children, 
is  now  in  the  meridian  of  life,  and  quietly  enjoys  the  fruits  of  his  labor 
upon  the  home  farm,  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  in  one  of  the  most  roman- 
tic spots  in  the  county.  He  was  not  content  with  the  small  farm  of  his 
father,  but  has  added  thereto  until  he  can  look  out  over  two  hundred 
acres  of  his  own.  He  has  a  fine  cranberrv  meadow,  which  he  has  had 
under  cultivation  since  1864  with  the  most  gratifying  results.  Mr. 
Packard  inherited  the  principles  of  the  Methodist  religion,  and  to  this 
society  his  support  has  been  given.  He  has  always  kept  himself  aloof 
from  political  intrigues,  declining  any  active  part,  but  is  keenly  alive 
to  the  best  interests  of  the  body  politic,  and  in  his  unassuming  man- 
ner contributes  to  its  conduct.  The  competence  which  he  is  to  enjoy 
in  his  declining  years,  is  the  result  of  that  well  directed  purpose  of  his 
life,  of  which  the  underlying  principles  are  industry,  economy  and  a 
due  respect  for  the  rights  and  welfare  of  his  neighbors. 

Andrew  F.  Perry,  born  in  1823,  is  a  son  of  Rev.  Heman  and  grand- 
son of  John  Perry,  feis  mother  was  Mary,  daughter  of  (Miller)  John 
Perry.  He  was  a  sea-faring  man  for  about  thirty  years.  Since  1868  he 
has  driven  a  grocery  wagon,  and  since  1884  has  made  a  specialty  of 
tea  and  coffee.  He  was  married  in  1850  to  Martha  W.,  daughter  of 
Rufus  Ellis.  They  have  four  children:  Rufus  E.,  Francis  F.,  Alfred 
L.  and  Warren  A.  They  have  lost  two  sons  and  one  daughter.  Mr. 
Perry  is  a  member  of  the  Bourne  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Davis  Perry,  born  in  1818  in  Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  is  a  son  of  Jabez  and 
Mercy  (Phinney)  Perry  and  a  grandson  of  Arthur  Perry.  He  came 
to  Bourne  from  Rhode  Island  in  1852.  He  is  a  blacksmith  by  trade, 
and  runs  a  shop  in  the  village  of  Bourne.  He  was  married  in  1848  to 
Betsey  E.,  daughter  of  Robert  Ryder.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
Lodge  of  Sandwich. 

George  W.  Perry  was  born  in  1844.  His  ancestors  were  Thomas 
C.  Perry',  Arthur',  John',  Silas',  John*,  John',  Ezra',  and  John  Perry', 
who  came  to  this  country  from  England  in  1630;  and  it  appears  that 
he  had  a  brother  Edward,  who  came  to  the  town  of  Sandwich  with  him 
ill  about  1637.  It  is  probable  that  all  the  families  bearing  the  name 
on  the  Cape  are  descendants  of  these  two  brothers.  Mr.  Perry's 
mother  was  Hannah  Ellis.  Mr.  Perry  was  a  sailor  for  thirteen  years. 
Since  1878  he  has  been  a  carpenter  and  builder.  He  was  married  in 
1877  to  Maria  McLaughlin.  They  have  one  daughter,  Fannie  M.  Mr. 
Perry  is  a  republican. 

Silas  Perry,  born  in  1828,  is  the  youngest  son  of  Silas  and  Rebecca 
(Ellis)  Perry.  His  grandfather,  John,  was  a  son  of  John  Perry.  He 
was  for  twenty-five  years  in  a  nail  factory  in  Wareham,  but  for  the 


,^,jZJc.^ 


PMIMT. 
E.     BICnSTAOT,     N.     Y- 


TOWN   OF   BOURNE. 


361 


last  few  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  boating  and  the  oyster  business 
at  Monument  Beach.  He  was  -married  in  1855  to  Olive  L.  Phinney. 
Their  three  children  are:  John  F.,  Harry  E.  and  Wallace  J.  Mr. 
Perry  is  a  prohibitionist. 

William  E.  Perry,  born  in  1845,  is  a  son  of  Caleb  and  Elizabeth 
(Henley)  Perry.  His  grandfather  was  Caleb,  son  of  Caleb  Perry. 
He  was  several  years  a  seafaring  man,  after  which,  he  was  for  fif- 
teen years  employed  in  the  Bay  State  Straw  Works,  of  Middleboro'. 
In  1884  he  returned  to  Monument  Beach,  where  he  built  and  ran  a 
summer  hotel  three  years.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the  .oyster 
business  since  1884.  He  was  married  in  1872  to  Marion  L.  Smith. 
They  have  two  daughters:  Bertha  and  Evelyn.  Mr.  Perry  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Bourne  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Abram  Phinney,  born  in  1824,  is  a  son  of  Jabez  and  grandson  of 
John  Phinney.  His  mother  was  Hannah,  daughter  of  John  Perry. 
He  was  a  sailor  from  eleven  years  of  age  until  1876.  He  was  married 
in  18.~)3  to  Lucinda  E.,  daughter  of  Perez  Burgess.  They  have  two 
sons:  Perez  H.  and  Roswell  B.,  who  are  both  married.  Perez  H.  has 
been  postmaster  at  Monument  Beach  since  1878,  and  station  agent 
since  1883. 

George  E.  Phinney,  born  in  1833,  is  a  son  of  George  O.,  grandson 
of  Edward  and  great-grandson  of  John  Phinney.  His  mother  was 
Betsey  A.,  daughter  of  Jesse  Fisher.  He  has  been  boating  and  in  the 
oyster  business  for  the  last  fifteen  years.  He  was  married  in  May, 
1858,  to  Mary  H.  Littel.  Their  four  living  children  are:  George  A., 
Amelda  M.,  William  W.  and  Birdella. 

Jesse  F.  Phinney,  born  in  1840,  is  a  son  of  Jabez,  grandson  of  Jabez 
and  great-grandson  of  John  Phinney.  His  mother,  Jane  F.,  is  a 
daughter  of  Jesse  and  granddaughter  of  John  Fisher.  He  is  one  of  eight 
children,  of  whom  Jesse  F.,  Sarah  J.,  Nancy  H.  and  Charles  Henry  are 
living;  Charles  H.,  an  elder  brother,  was  drowned  June  10, 1859,  aged 
twenty  years,  in  Long  Island  sound,  from  the  schooner  Hu?tie,  of  which 
he  was  first  mate,  his  father  being  captain;  Amelda  A.,  wife  of  Cap- 
tain E.  H.  Tobey,  died  from  yellow  fever,  on  the  homeward  passage 
from  Rio  to  Baltimore,  March  28,  1876,  aged  twenty-nine  years;  Jabez 
N.  died  in  New  Orleans,  November  23,  1876,  aged  thirty-three  years; 
and  Charles  H.  died  in  infancy.  Jesse  F.  followed  the  sea  for  thirty 
years  prior  to  1883;  being  master  of  coasting  schooners  from  1868  to 
1883;  since  then  he  has  been  in  the  oyster  business.  He  was  married 
in  1865  to  Augusta  E.  Baldwin,  who  died  in  1869,  leaving  two  chil- 
dren: Augustus  N.  and  Sadie  E.  He  was  married  in  1871  to  Mary  E. 
Perry. 

John  B.  Phinney'  (Heman',  Jabez',  John',  Jabez*,  John',  John',  John',) 
was  born  in  1850.    His  mother  was  Abigail  (Bourne)  Phinney.    Of  her 


362  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

eight  children,  only  Elizabeth  V.,  Abbie  F.  and  John  B.  are  living. 
John  B.  is  a  farmer.  He  was  married  in  1877  to  Abbie  R.  Childs. 
They  have  two  sons:    Roswell  O.  and  James  W. 

Levi  L.  Phinney,  born  in  1846,  is  a  son  of  Levi  and  grandson  of 
Levi  Phinney.  His  mother  was  Achsah,  daughter  of  Alvan  Wing. 
Mr.  Phinney  is  a  farmer  on  his  father's  homestead.  He  was  married 
in  1871  to  Harriet  L.  Kendrick.  They  have  three  children:  Ada  L., 
Roland  S.  and  Austin  D.  Mr.  Phinney  is  a  member  of  the  Cataumet 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Sylvester  O.  Phinney,  son  of  George  O.,  grandson  of  Edward  and 
great-grandson  of  John  Phinney,  was  born  in  1841.  His  mother  was 
Betsey  A.  (Fisher)  Phinney.  He  was  a  sailor  for  about  twenty-five 
years,  and  for  the  last  ten  years  has  been  farming  and  boating.  He 
was  married  in  1869  to  Abbie  F.  Phinney,  sister  of  John  B.  Their 
children  are:    H.  Chester,  L  Herbert  and  Geraldine. 

Asa  Raymond,  born  in  1817,  is  a  son  of  Asa  and  grandson  of  Eb- 
enezer  Raymond.  He  has  been  a  merchant  for  forty-five  years,  and 
was  postmaster  at  Pocasset  twenty-six  years  prior  to  April  1,  1888. 
He  was  married  in  1840  to  Eliza  A.  Lumbert.  Their  children  are: 
Ellen  F..  Mercy  A.,  William  H.,  Melissa,  Lucy  E.,  Lewis  C,  Adaline, 
Albert  A.  and  Cora  B. 

Edmund  B.  Robinson,  son  of  Moses  Robinson,  was  born  in  1831  in 
Maine.  At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  removed  to  Wellfleet,  Mass.,  where 
he  was  a  fisherman  and  sailor  until  1877,  when  he  removed  to  Catau- 
met, and  has  been  engaged  in  the  oyster  business  there  since  that 
•time.  He  was  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  eleven  months,  in  Company 
C,  Forty-third  Massachusetts  Volunteers.  His  wife  was  Mary  Dun- 
ning.    Their  two  sons  are:    Edmund  B.,  jr.,  and  George  W. 

Stillman  S.  Ryder,  born  in  1830,  is  a  son  of  Robert  and  a  grandson 
of  Robert  Ryder.  His  mother  was  Jane,  daughter  of  Thomas  Gibbs. 
He  is  a  farmer  and  fisherman.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  school 
committee  ten  years.  He  was  married  in  1851  to  Cordelia  F.,  daugh- 
ter of  Phineas  and  Elizabeth  (Bourne)  Perry.  Their  children  are: 
Alonzo  F.,  Abbie  J.,  Robert  J.,  Elma  E.  (died  April  1,  1889),  Bessie  D. 
(born  March  3,  1866,  died  May  13,1883),  Stillman  Frank,  Hattie  P.  and 
Emma  L.     Mr.  Ryder  is  a  democrat. 

Robert  J.  Ryder,  born  in  1859,  is  a  son  of  Stillman  S.  Ryder,  men- 
tioned above,  and  is  a  mason  by  trade.  He  was  married  in  1882  to 
Lillian  G.,  daughter  of  Nathan  B.  Sampson.  He  is  a  member  of 
Bourne  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Levi  S.  Savery,  born  in  1823  in  Wareham,  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and 
grandson  of  Isaac  Savery.  His  mother  was  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Na- 
thaniel Swift.  He  has  lived  at  Sagamore  since  1844.  He  was  mar- 
ried, first,  to  Mary  E.  Burgess,  who  died  leaving  five  children:  Betsey 


TOWN  OF   BOURNE.  363 

E.,  Mary  E.,  Jacob,  Lizzie  L.  and  Louisa  L.  He  was  married  in  June, 
1874,  to  Mrs.  Caroline  Bumpus,  daughter  of  Ansel  Swift  of  Wareham. 

Isaac  Small,  jr.,  son  of  Isaac  and  grandson  of  Paddock  Small,  was 
born  in  Harwich  in  1849.  He  was  a  sailor  for  a  few  years,  but  since 
1873  has  been  a  merchant  at  Buzzards  Bay.  He  was  for  three  years 
a  member  of  the  school  board.  He  was  married  in  1870  to  Emogene 
Robbins.  They  have  four  sons.  He  is  a  member  of  the  DeWitt  Clin- 
ton Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

Charles  G.  Smalley,  born  in  1835  in  Harwich,  is  the  only  child  of 
Francis  A.  and  Asenath  (Basset)  Smalley.  His  grandfather  was 
Thomas  Smalley.  He  came  from  Harwich  to  Wareham  about  1860, 
and  a  few  years  later  to  Buzzards  Bay.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the 
oyster  business  since  1860.  He  was  married  in  1863  to  Harriet  C. 
Basset.  They  have  four  children:  Missouri  H.,  Ada  F.,  Silliman  B. 
and  Elwood  S. 

Aaron  C.  Swift,  born  in  1829,  is  the  oldest  son  of  Nathan  B.  and 
grandson  of  Moses,  whose  father.  Ward,  was  a  son  of  Moses  Swift. 
His  mother  was  Pamelia,  daughter  of  Israel  Cowen.  He  is  a  machin- 
ist by  trade,  and  was  employed  by  the  Cape  Cod  and  Old  Colony  Rail- 
road Companies  from  1857  to  1885,  the  last  thirteen  years  as  master 
mechanic  for  the  division.  He  was  messenger  in  the  state  house  at 
Boston  one  year,  1885-86.  He  was  married  in  1851  to  Lucy  H.,  daugh- 
ter of  Calvin  and  Hannah  (Handy)  Howard.  They  have  one  son, 
Nathan  F.  Mr.  Swift  is  a  member  of  Fraternal  Lodge  and  Orient 
Chapter  of  Hyannis. 

Abram  F.  Swift  w.<ts  born  February  25, 1840,  in  the  village  of  Mon- 
ument, town  of  Sandwich.  He  is  a  son  of  Ellis  M.  and  grandson  of 
Stephen  Swift.  His  mother  was  Deborah,  daughter  of  Solomon  Perry. 
He  has  been  engaged  in  a  mercantile  business  in  Bourne  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  He  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Monument  in  1864, 
and  when  the  name  was  changed  to  Bourne  in  April,  1884,  he  was  re- 
appointed. His  first  wife  was  Sarah  M.  Perry,  who  died.  In  1869  he 
married  Rosalie  Waterhouse.     He  has  two  children. 

George  A.  Swift',  born  in  1830,  is  descended  from  Charles*,  Ward', 
Ward',  Moses',  who  was  born  in  1699  and  died  1791.  His  mother  was 
Zebiah  K.  Hewins.  He  has  been  a  carpenter  by  trade  for  forty  years. 
He  was  married  in  1854  to  Tam.sen  C,  daughter  of  John  Handy. 
They  have  five  children:  Clara  L.,  Albert  H.,  George  E.,  Alice  L.  and 
John  H.  Mr.  Swift  is  a  republican  and  a  member  of  Cataumet  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church. 

Charles  E.  Swift,  born  in  1834,  is  a  brother  of  George  A.  Swift, 
mentioned  above.  He  is  a  farmer,  owning  and  occupying  his  father's 
homestead.  He  was  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  from  August,  1862, 
to  July,  1865,  in  Company  I,  Fortieth  Massachusetts  Volunteers.     He 


364  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

was  married  in  1869  to  Martha  E.   Adams,  and  has  one  daughter, 
Edna  F.     He  is  a  member  of  Charles  Chipman  Post,  No.  132,  G.  A.  R. 

Howard  Swiff  (Charles  D.*,  Levi',  Thomas',  Joseph  Swiff)  was 
born  Augtist  21,  1857.  His  mother  is  Bethiah  Kelley.  He  is  the  old- 
est of  three  children:  Howard,  Henry  Russell  and  Fred.  K.  He  is 
engaged  in  the  cranberry  culture. 

John  H.  Taylor,  son  of  William  H.  Taylor,  was  born  in  New  Bed- 
ford in  1859.  He  came  to  Bourne  in  1869,  and  from  that  time  until 
1885  lived  with  the  family  of  Captain  Allen  Bourne.  He  has  done  an 
ice  business  and  driven  an  express  team  at  Bourne  since  1880.  He 
was  married  in  1885  to  Anna  W.  Raymond. 

Elisha  H.  Tobey,  born  in  1844,  is  a  son  of  Elisha  and  Henrietta 
(Dimmock)  Tobey  and  a  grandson  of  Joseph  Tobey.  He  was  at  sea 
for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  was  captain  of  a  barque  in  the  coffee 
trade  sixteen  years.  Since  1884  he  has  been  in  the  oyster  business. 
He  was  married  in  1869  to  Amelda  Phinney,  who  died  in  1876.  They 
had  one  daughter,  who  died.  He  married  Nancy  H.  Phinney  in  1879. 
They  have  three  children:  Levi  B.,  Blanche  M.  and  Roscoe  F.  Cap- 
tain Tobey  is  a  member  of  the  Bourne  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

John  W.  Wedlock,  son  of  Henry  Wedlock,  was  born  in  1829  in 
New  York  city,  and  is  a  carpenter  by  trade.  In  1860  he  went  to  Cali- 
fornia from  Portland,  Me.,  and  lived  there  sixteen  years.  In  1866  he 
returned  to  New  England  and  settled  in  the  town  of  Sandwich,  and 
since  that  time  he  has  been  employed  by  the  Keith  Manufacturing 
Company,  at  Sagamore,  most  of  the  time.  He  was  married  in  1861  to 
Mary,  daughter  of  Rev.  Joseph  Marsh.  They  have  one  son  living — 
Lewis  C. — and  lost  one- — Walter  B.  Mr.  Wedlock  is  a  republican  and 
a  member  of  DeWitt  Clinton  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

Moses  C.  Waterhouse,  born  April  29, 1855,  is  a  son  of  Moses  S.  and 
grandson  of  Enoch  Waterhouse.  His  mother  is  Emeline  S.,  daughter 
of  John  Bourne.  He  has  worked  at  the  carpenter  trade  since  1874, 
as  contractor  and  builder  since  1876.  He  was  assessor  one  year,  and 
has  been  chairman  of  school  committee  four  years.  He  was  married 
in  1877  to  Sarah,  daughter  of  Joseph  Whittemore.  Their  children  are: 
Lucy  C,  Moses  S.,  Richard  B.  and  Sarah  L.  Mr.  Waterhouse  is  a  re- 
publican. 

James  H.  West,  born  November  4, 1833,  in  Nantucket,  is  a  son  of 
Richard  and  Mary  B.  (Crocker)  West  and  grandson  of  Abner  West. 
He  is  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  was  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  from 
August,  1862,  to  July,  1865,  in  Company  E,  Fortieth  Massachusetts 
Volunteers,  and  in  Company  C,  Sixth  United  States  Veteran  Reserves. 
He  was  married  in  1857  to  Elizabeth  A.,  daughter  of  Braddock  and 
Martha  Coleman.  They  have  four  children:  Gertrude,  Mary  C, 
Martha  C.  and  Eugene  A.     Three  children  died  in  infancy. 


TOWN   OF   BOURNE.  365 

Asaph  S.  Wicks  was  born  in  1837,  in  West  Falmouth.  He  is  a  son 
of  George  W.  and  Betsey  (Robinson)  Wicks  and  grandson  of  Paul 
Wicks.  He  was  engaged  in  whale  fishing  from  1855  to  1886,  and  the 
last  twenty  years  was  master  of  a  vessel.  In  1889  he  had  charge  of 
the  club  house  at  Tobey  island.  He  was  married  in  1864  to  Sarah  F., 
daughter  of  Jesse  Barlow.  She  died  in  1878,  leaving  one  daughter, 
Lena  C.  He  was  married  in  1882  to  Mrs.  Susan  A.  Wilson.  He  is  a 
republican. 

Alvan  Wing',  born  in  1843,  is  descended  from  Nathaniel*,  Alvan', 
Lemuel',  Nathaniel  Wing".  His  mother  was  Hannah  S.,  daughter  of 
Abram  Burgess.  She  had  four  children:  Mary,  Alvan,  William  H. 
and  Walter  H.  Mr.  Wing  is  a  farmer.  He  was  married  in  1870  to 
Amelia  R.,  daughter  of  Arnold  Small.   They  have  one  son,  Nathaniel  N. 

Oliver  C.  Wing,  son  of  William  and  grandson  of  Lemuel  Wing, 
was  born  in  1826.  His  mother  was  Mary,  daughter  of  John  and  Sarah 
Witherell.  He  is  a  painter  by  trade,  but  for  some  years  he  has  been 
a  farmer.  He  owns  his  father's  homestead  farm.  He  was  married  in 
May,  1850,  to  Delilah  O.,  daughter  of  Warren  Kendrick.  Their  chil- 
dren are:  Clara  A.,  Alice  F.,  William  B.,  Mary  H.,  Lucy  E.,  George  C, 
Ann  Eliza,  Lester  W.  and  one  that  died.  Mr.  Wing  is  a  member  of 
Cataumet  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  trustee  and  steward  of  the 
same. 

William  H.  Wing,  born  in  1846,  is  a  brother  of  Alvan  Wing,  men- 
tioned above.  He  is  a  harness  maker  by  trade.  He  was  married  in 
1867  to  Susan  F.,  daughter  of  Cyrenus  and  Hannah  (Handy)  Howard. 
They  have  two  children:  Howard  B.  and  Maud  E. 

Zadock  Wright,  born  in  1822  in  South  Carver,  Mass.,  is  the  young- 
est son  of  Zadock,  whose  father,  Moses  Wright,  was  in  the  war  of  1812. 
His  mother  was  Jane  Tillson.  He  worked  in  an  iron  foundry  from 
1836  until  1882,  with  the  exception  of  eight  years,  when  he  was  at  sea. 
He  married  in  March,  1846,  Keziah,  daughter  of  John  Avery.  Their 
children  are:  Augustus  W.,  Edgar,  Ella,  Andrew,  Lizzie  and  Chester. 

Augustus  W.  Wright,  born  in  1847,  is  the  oldest  son  of  Zadock 
Wright.  He  is  a  moulder  by  trade,  and  for  the  past  three  years  has 
worked  in  the  electrotype  factory  at  Pocasset.  He  was  married  in 
May,  1869,  to  Anfinnetta  W.  Gibbs.  Their  living  children  are:  Fred- 
erick A.,  Edith  and  Josephine  C.  Two  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Wright 
is  a  member  of  the  Odd  Fellows  Lodge,  No.  119,  of  Wareham. 

Noah  H.  Wright,  born  in  1845,  is  the  fifth  son  of  Stillman  Wright, 
who  was  the  oldest  son  of  Zadock,  son  of  Moses  Wright.  His  mother 
was  Zylphia  Hammond.  He  worked  in  an  iron  foundry  about  twenty 
years.  He  built  a  spacious  residence  at  Pocasset  in  1887.  He  was 
married  in  1864  to  Sarah,  daughter  of  David  Small.  They  have  three 
children:  Nellie,  Charles  A.  and  John.  Mr.  Wright  is  a  member  of 
Hyannis  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE. 


Natural  Features. — Early  Industries. — Settlement. — Indian  Lands  and  Names. — Names 
of  Settlers. — Incorporation.— Purchase  from  Indians.— County  Road. — Early  Mills. 
—Common  Lands.- The  Revolution.— War  of  1812.— Population.— Schools.— Civil 
History. — Churches. — Cemeteries  and  Villages. — Societies. — Biographical  Sketches. 


WHILE  Yarmouth  on  the  east  has  been  dismembered  and  Sand- 
wich on  the  west  has  become  the  mother  of  Bourne,  Barn- 
stable, the  central  town  of  the  original  three,  and  still  the 
central  one  of  the  five,  remains  nearly  the  same  as  originally  laid  out. 
Its  historical  prominence  as  one  of  the  original  towns  of  1639,  and  its 
geographical  position,  led  to  its  selection  as  the  shire  town  when  the 
county  was  organized  in  1685.  It  is  trapezoidal  in  shape,  the  western 
bounds,  along  Sandwich  and  Mashpee  being  eleven  miles  in  extent, 
and  the  eastern  along  Yarmouth  six.  Vineyard  sound  laves  its  south- 
ern shore  along  ten  miles  of  beautiful  beach,  while  Cape  Cod  bay 
spans  six  miles  of  Sandy  neck  for  its  northern  bound.  The  ancient 
Cummaquid  harbor  extends  across  its  northern  part  and  several  bays 
and  harbors  indent  its  southern  coast.  A  high  ridge  extends  east  and 
west  across  the  town  north  of  the  middle,  south  of  which  the  surface 
is  a  vast  undulating  plain  sloping  toward  the  sound.  The  northern 
part  contains  the  great  salt  marsh  extending  nearly  across  the  town 
along  the  harbor.  The  streams  are  small  and  run  both  ways  from 
the  central  ridge. 

The  area  of  ponds  in  this  town  is  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
in  the  county,  being  over  seventeen  hundred  acres,  besides  many 
small  ones  unworthy  of  special  mention.  The  largest  is  Great  pond, 
variously  known  as  Nine-mile  or  lyanough's,  embracing  an  area  of 
seven  hundred  acres,  situated  about  the  center  of  the  town,  and  hav- 
ing only  an  artificial  outlet  which  was  opened  by  the  Nine-mile  Pond 
Fi-shing  Company.  This  pond  furnishes  many  kinds  of  excellent  fish. 
Of  the  twenty -seven  ponds  embraced  in  the  town  only  three  others 
have  visible  outlets.  Spruce  pond,  of  twelve  acres,  has  Bridge  creek, 
and  the  pond  of  eighteen  acres  south  of  West  Barnstable  has  Scorton 
creek  for  their  respective  outlets.  The  other  ponds  are  Long  pond 
of  sixty-three  acres,  in  the  west  part  of  the  town;  Steward's,  of  thirty- 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE.  367 

six;  Muddy,  of  twenty-five  acres,  at  Newtown;  Shubael,  of  fifty; 
Round  pond  of  thirteen  acres,  south  of  Shubael;  Cotuit  ponds,  west 
of  vShubael  pond  and  the  plains,  the  most  southerly  containing  126 
acres,  the  one  north  of  this  118  and  the  most  northerly  one  147  acres; 
Pondsville  pond,  eleven  acres;  Lovell's,  forty-eight,  in  the  west  part;  one 
north  of  Osterville  has  fourteen  acres  and  another  fifteen;  Mill  pond, 
sixteen,  west  of  Centreville;  a  pond  of  twelve  acres  north  of  the  last; 
Shallow  pond,  east  of  lyanough,  has  ninety  acres;  Hathaway 's,  fifteen; 
pond  north  of  the  last,  twenty-one  acres;  Israel,  twenty-one,  in  east 
part;  Small,  twenty-two;  Half-way,  twelve;  Lewis, ten;  Long  pond  of 
sixty-nine  acres,  east  of  Centreville,  this  also  has  an  artificial  outlet; 
two  ponds  west  of  Hyannis,  containing  respectively,  twelve  and  ten 
acres. 

The  boulders  of  Barnstable  are  profusely  scattered  from  the  north 
shore  to  the  summit  of  the  ridge,  which  extends  in  an  east-westerly 
direction  through  the  town.  Generally  these  lands  are  the  most  fer- 
tile. South  of  the  water  shed  no  stones  of  any  significance  are  found, 
and  the  soil  is  generally  sandy.  Stone  fences,  which  are  general  on 
the  north  side,  are  not  found  on  the  south  side,  and  the  foundation 
stones  for  buildings  in  Osterville  and  other  villages  on  the  south  side 
have  been  carted  from  a  distance. 

The  soil  on  the  south  side  of  the  town  is  somewhat  sandy  on  the 
uplands,  and  a  rich  loam  in  the  valleys  and  around  its  numerous  ponds, 
while  near  the  north  shore  the  soil  is  a  heavier  loam.  The  varied 
forms  of  agriculture,  including  the  great  cranberry  industry,  consti- 
tute the  principal  land  occupation  of  the  people  in  the  sparsely  settled 
and  rural  communities.  Brick  are  manufactured  at  West  Barnstable, 
and  boat  building  on  the  south  shore  is  still  an  industry.  Maritime 
enterprises  early  furnished  employment  to  many,  and  became  an  im- 
portant source  of  revenue  for  the  people.  In  1839  men  of  this  town 
were  filling  every  branch  of  maritime  pursuits— from  the  highest  po- 
sitions in  the  best  ships  of  the  Union  to  the  humblest  coaster,  to  the 
number  of  250,  and  after  that  the  number  increased  until  about  1855. 

The  superior  advantages  from  its  waters,  the  vast  marshes  which 
furnished  an  abundance  of  hay,  the  supposed  richness  of  its  soil,  and 
the  many  acres  already  cleared  and  cultivated  by  the  natives,  were 
the  arguments  that  induced  the  whites  to  make  the  first  settlement  of 
the  town.  Permission  was  granted  by  the  Plymouth  court  in  J  639 
"  for  seating  a  congregation,"  whose  leaders  had  intended  to  settle  at 
Sippecan  (now  Rochester).  But  a  diversity  of  opinion  arose,  and  the 
growing  wish  to  settle  at  Mattacheese  led  to  a  division  of  the  congre- 
gation into  three  companies,  who  should  pray  for  direction  in  the 
election  of  committees  "  to  set  down  the  township."  A  former 
grant  of  Mattacheese  to  Mr.  Callicot  and  others,  of  Dorchester,  having 


368  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

been  rescinded,  and  other  impediments  removed,  the  little  band  de- 
termined to  seek  the  lands  at  Mattacheese.  This  was  the  Indian  name 
of  lands,  now  in  Barnstable  and  the  northern  part  of  Yarmouth,  ad- 
joining the  ancient  Cummaquid  harbor.  The  lands  of  this  township 
contained  other  Indian  tribes  at  the  south  and  west,  each  having  its 
sachem,  by  whom  the  community  was  ruled.  The  names  of  the  small 
tribes  and  their  tracts  were  identical.  lyanough's  land  and  tribe  was 
south — midway  between  the  bay  and  sound;  his  name  was  often  spelled 
Janno  and  lanno  and  Hyanno.  Chequaket,  now  Centreville;  Coatuit, 
Santuit,  Mistic,  Skanton,  partially  in  Sandwich;  and  Cotocheeset  were 
communities  and  lands  south  of  and  around  lyanough's.  With  the 
remembrance  that  Cummaquid  harbor  is  now  Barnstable  harbor,  the 
reader  will  be  better  able  to  follow  the  first  settlement  and  fuither 
purchase  of  the  town. 

After  the  determination  of  the  congregation  to  "set  down  at  Mat- 
tacheese," on  the  26th  of  June  a  fast  was  held  at  Scituate,  where  this 
colony  were  residing,  "  that  the  Lord  in  his  presence  "  go  with  them 
to  this  new  land.  Rev.  John  Lothrop,  the  beloved  pastor  of  the 
church  there,  by  his  letters,  found  among  Governor  Winslow's  papers, 
has  furnished  many  facts  concerning  the  trials  of  himself  and  associ- 
ates as  to  where  the  settlement  should  be.  Some  historians  assert  that 
Joseph  Hull,  Thomas  Dimock  and  their  few  associates  had  settled  here 
during  the  summer,  or  in  advance  of  Mr.  Lothrop  and  his  associates; 
and  there  are  circumstances  that  substantiate  that.  On  June  4,  1639 
(June  14,  N.  S.),  the  colony  court  granted  permission  to  Messrs.  Hull, 
Dimock  and  others  "  to  erect  a  plantation  or  town  at  or  about  a  place 
called  by  the  Indians  Mattachee.se; "  and  Rev.  Mr.  Lothrop,  in  his 
diary,  said,  that  upon  their  arrival  at  Mattacheese,  "After  praise  to 
God  in  public  was  ended,  we  divided  into  three  companies  to  feast  to- 
gether— some  at  Mr.  Hull's,  some  at  Mr.  Mayo's,  and  some  at  Br.  Lum- 
bard's  Sr."  Prior  to  this — sometime  in  1638 — Rev.  Stephen  Bachilor 
and  a  few  associates  made  a  fruitless  attempt  to  settle  in  what  is  now 
the  northeastern  portion  of  Barnstable.  The  location  was  for  a  time 
considered  as  a  part  of  Yarmouth;  hence  some  writers  make  Rev. 
Bachilor  a  settler  of  Yarmouth. 

There  is  no  other  record  of  the  settlement  of  Barnstable  until  the 
arrival  of  Rev.  John  Lothrop  and  his  associates  on  the  21st  of  Octo- 
ber, 1639  (N.  S.).  The  greater  part  of  Mr.  Lothrop's  church  accompa- 
nied him  to  Barnstable,  leaving  the  remaining  few  "  in  a  broken  con- 
dition." Besides  Joseph  Hull  and  Thomas  Dimock  and  their  associates 
as  mentioned  in  the  grant,  we  find  here  in  the  autumn  of  1639,  John 
Lothrop,  the  pastor,  Mr.  Mayo,  Mr.  Lumbard,  sr.,  Isaac  Wells,  Samuel 
Hinckley,  Samuel  Fuller,  Robert  Shelley,  Edward  Fitzrandal,  Henry 
Ewell,    Henry   Rowley,   James    Cudworth,   William   Crocker,    John 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE.  369 

Cooper,  Henry  Cobb,  George  Lewis,  Robert  Linnell,  William  Parker, 
Edward  Caseley,  William  Caseley,  Henry  Bourne,  Anthony  Annable, 
and  Isaac  Robinson. 

The  town  was  incorporated  September  3,  1639,  and  on  the  first 
Tuesday  of  December,  the  same  year,  its  deputies  took  their  seats  in 
the  general  court. 

Others  came  to  the  town  during  the  fall,  winter  and  spring  follow- 
ing, so  that  in  1640  we  find  here  these  heads  of  families  in  addition  to 
those  already  mentioned:  Thomas  Allyn,  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Austin 
Bearse,  William  Bills,  Abraham  Blush,  John  Bursley,  John  Caseley, 
Henry  Coggen,  John  Crocker,  Dolor  Davis,  Richard  Foxwell,  Roger 
Goodspeed.  James  Hamblin.Thomas  Hatch,  Thomas  Hinckley ,Thomas 
Huckins,  John  Hull  or  Hall,  Samuel  Jackson,  Laurence  Lichfield, 
Thomas  Lothrop,  John  Smith,  Thomas  Shaw,  John  Scudder,  John  and 
Samuel  Mayo,  Thomas  Lombard,  Bernard  Lombard,  and  Robert  Lin- 
net. Before  the  lands  were  divided  others  had  arrived,  among  whom 
were:  Richard  Berry,  Francis  Crocker,  John  and  Nicholas  Davis,  Wil- 
liam Tilley,  David  Linnet,  Benjamin  and  James  Lothrop,  Nathaniel 
Mayo,  Samuel  Lothrop,  John  Foxwell,  Thomas  Blossom,  John  Blower, 
Thomas  Boreman,  William  Pearse,  John  Russel,  Nicholas  Sympkins, 
Laurence  Willis,  and  Samuel  House. 

A  very  few  of  those  mentioned  returned  or  removed  elsewhere, 
■whose  names  do  not  appear  again,  but  the  larger  portion  of  these  set- 
tlers are  represented  to-day  in  Barnstable  by  lineal  descendants,  and 
generally  by  name.  Other  .settlers,  and  the  sons  of  these  already 
given,  are  named  as  freemen  and  voters  in  the  civil  acts  of  the  pro- 
prietors, so  that  the  reader  will  be  enabled  to  trace  the  "  new  comers  " 
to  1670. 

The  settlement  thus  begun  in  the  Mattacheese  territory  was  con- 
fined to  the  northern  portion  of  the  present  town  until  1644,  when  on 
the  26th  of  August,  a  further  purchase  of  lands  of  the  Indians  was 
made  by  the  town,  being  a  portion  to  the  southwest  of  that  already 
settled  by  the  whites.  It  was  purchased  of  Serunk,  a  South  Sea  chief, 
and  extended  from  the  Sandwich  line  easterly;  the  consideration  paid 
was  four  coats  and  three  axes.  The  deed  signed  by  Serunk,  by  mark, 
was  witnessed  by  Anthony  Annable,  Henry  Cobb,  Thomas  Allen,  John 
Smith,  Laurence  Willis,  and  Thomas  Dimock. 

The  second  purchase,  in  1647,  was  of  Nepoyetum,  Indian,  by 
Thomas  Dimock  and  Isaac  Robinson,  who  were  appointed  by  the  town 
to  act  for  them.  The  deed  was  signed  by  the  parties  and  by  Thomas 
Hinckley  and  Tauonius,  Indian,  as  witnesses,  conveying  land  for 
which  the  town  was  to  build  three-score  rods  of  fence,  give  him  two 
coats  and  do  certain  plowing. 

The  next  purchase  was  in  1648,  of  Paupmunnuck,  a  South  Sea  In- 
24 


370  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

dian.  In  this  purchase  Miles  Standish  acted  for  the  settlers,  and 
secured  the  southern  part  of  the  town  from  the  Mashpee  line  east  to 
the  Oyster  river,  and  to  lyanough,  or  lanno's  lands  on  the  east,  and  to 
Nepoyetum's  lands  on  the  north.  The  pay  for  this  was  two  brass 
kettles  and  some  fencing  done.  This  completed  the  purchase  of  the 
western  part  of  the  town  from  bay  to  sound  and  along  the  northern 
part;  and  the  bounds  between  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  were  fixed  in 
1652,  substantially  as  now.  The  lands  at  Cotuit  were  then  part  of 
Mashpee,  but  have  been  since  added  to  Barnstable.  In  1659  the  first 
bounds  between  Yarmouth  and  Barnstable  were  fixed,  nearly  one  mile 
west  of  the  present  bounds. 

In  1664  a  purchase  of  the  lands  of  lyanough  was  perfected,  which 
gave  to  the  town  more  substantially  its  present  area.  The  deed  was 
taken  for  the  town  by  Thomas  Hinckley,  Nathaniel  Bacon  and  Tris- 
tam  Hull,  being  for  land  at  the  South  sea  extending  easterly  to  Yar- 
mouth, northerly  to  that  bought  of  Nepoyetum,  and  westerly  to  that 
purchased  of  Paupmunnuck,  except  that  given  to  Nicholas  Davis, 
which  soon  after  was  purchased  by  the  town.  This  deed  embraced 
the  southeastern  part  of  the  present  town,  except  a  tract  owned  by 
John  Yanno,  son  of  lanough,  in  and  around  Centreville,  which  was 
purchased  of  him  in  1680  by  Thomas  Hinckley  in  behalf  of  the  town. 
Some  subsequent  minor  purchases  of  small  reservations  brought  the 
lands  of  the  town  to  the  ownership  of  the  proprietors,  and  over  this 
territory  the  settlers  were  fast  erecting  their  rude  cabins. 

Of  course  difficulties  arose  regarding  bounds  of  lands,  and  in  1668 
the  bounds  between  Mashpee  and  Barnstable  were  set,  leaving  the 
lands  about  Satuit  pond  to  the  Mashpees;  and  later  the  west  bounds 
of  Yarmouth  were  defined  "  from  the  centre  of  StoneyCove  creek  due 
north  to  the  sea  " — substantially  the  present  bounds.  The  proprietors 
were  yet  very  careful  as  to  the  character  of  new,  comers,  concerning 
which  rules  were  made  by  the  general  court.  In  1661  William  Crocker 
and  Thomas  Huckins  were  empowered  to  take  notice  of  any  who 
should  intrude  themselves  without  the  town's  consent.  The  under- 
lying reason,  however,  for  such  surveillance  was  that  religions  not 
orthodox  should  be  kept  away.  There  was  room  in  town  for  more 
people  if  they  were  of  the  right  faith,  as  the  entire  territory  between 
the  Long  pond  and  Shoal  pond  had  no  settlers  yet,  and  it  was  made 
"  commons  for  the  town's  cattle." 

The  main  line  of  travel  from  these  Cape  towns  in  these  early  days 
was  toward  Plymouth,  and  the  subject  of  a  road — a  main,  well-defined, 
wide  road — was  agitated.  The  road  for  the  time  had  been  opened 
from  Sandwich,  south  of  Scorton  hill,  south  of  Honey  bottom,  so-called, 
and  so  easterly  near  the  old  church  in  the  West  parish,  through  the 
woods  on  the  south  side  of  the  pond  into  the  present  road,  to  avoid 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  371 

the  creek  that  had  no  bridge.  In  1685  the  court  ordered  a  road  opened 
through  Barnstable,  and  sixteen  men,  whose  names  appear  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  survey,  were  empaneled  as  a  jury  to  lay  it  out.  The  road 
has  been  since  known  as  the  "  county  road,"  and  is  the  main  street  of 
Barnstable  village.  By  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  Gustavus  A.  Hinckley,  of 
Barnstable,  we  are  enabled  to  produce  a  copy  of  the  original  survey, 
verbatim  et  literatim,  that  our  readers  may  not  only  enjoy  its  quaint- 
ness,  but  locate  the  settlers  on  its  sides. 

"  The  County  road  or  highway  laid  out  by  ye  in  March  and  April 
1686  through  Barnstable  is  as  foUoweth — beginning  at  ye  bounds  be- 
tween Sandwich  and  Barnstable,  running  for  ye  most  part  easterly  at 
a  rock  lying  in  Ralph  Jones,  his  fence,  ye  north  side  of  ye  sd  way  and 
a  heap  of  stones  on  ye  south  side  of  sd  way,  from  thence  to  a  red  oak 
markt  tree  on  ye  south  side  of  ye  sd  way  upon  ye  land  that  was  Capt. 
Fuller's,  from  thence  to  ye  fence  of  John  Fuller  Jr.,  on  ye  south  side 
of  sd  road,  and  a  markt  tree  upon  ye  north  side  of  ye  way,  from  thence 
to  marked  trees  on  both  sides  of  sd  way  at  ye  corner  of  Wm.  Troop's 
fence  where  ye  way  goeth  down  to  Scorton,  from  thence  to  ye  foot  of 
ye  hill  between  ye  fence  of  Wm  Troop  and  a  little  swamp  &  so  to  ye 
said  Troop's  stone  ditch  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  road  and  a  bound  set 
on  ye  south  side  within  ye  fence  of  sd  Troop  ye  sd  Troop's  dwelling 
house  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  road,  from  thence  to  trees  marked  on 
each  side  of  ye  way  by  a  swamp  and  from  thence  to  a  marked  tree 
on  ye  north  side  of  sd  road  bounded  by  a  stone  set  in  ye  field  on  ye 
south  side  of  sd  road  and  Mr.  Smith's  house  on  ye  north  side  to  the 
fence  of  John  Bursley  bounded  by  trees  marked  within  ye  fence  of  ye 
Widdow  Davis  on  ye  south  side  of  ye  way  runing  between  ye  dwell- 
ing house  of  sd  Widdow  Davis  and  ye  barn  of  sd  John  Bursley  on  ye 
north  side  of  sd  way  &  so  over  ye  bridge  called  John  Bursley's  bridge, 
from  thence  to  a  marked  tree  on  each  side  of  sd  way  upon  Peter  Blos- 
som's land  to  a  stake  set  upon  Peter  Blossom's  orchard,  leaving  ye  sd 
Peter  Blossom's  house  on  ye  south  side  of  sd  road,  from  thence  thro 
ye  lands  of  Wm  Dexter  bounded  by  several  marks  set  up  within  ye 
fence  of  Phillip  Dexter  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  road,  ye  house  of  sd 
Phillip  Dexter  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  road  &  ye  house  of  Increase 
Clap  on  ye  south  side  bounded  by  a  stone  in  ye  orchard  of  sd  Clap, 
through  ye  lands  of  Samuel  Parker  &  John  Crocker  bounded  by  a 
markt  tree  and  a  stone  within  ye  fence  of  sd  Parker  on  ye  south  side 
of  sd  road  by  ye  house  of  Richard  Childs  &  ye  house  of  Lieut  John 
Rowland  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  road  and  ye  barn  of  sd  Rowland  on 
ye  south  his  sheep  yard  in  ye  highway  runing  by  ye  house  of  Elder 
John  Chipman  on  ye  north  and  ye  house  of  John  Otis  on  ye  north 
bounded  by  three  marks  set  up  within  his  fence  on  ye  south  side  of  sd 
road  runing  through  or  by  ye  foot  of  ye  lands  of  Samuel  Hinckley 


372  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Senr,  bounded  by  marks  set  up  within  John  Otis  his  fence  on  ye  north 
side  of  sd  way,  runing  over  ye  bridge  called  Hinckley's  bridge  thro 
ye  lands  of  Joseph  Blish  bounded  by  marks  on  ye  side  of  ye  sd  way 
neer  ye  marsh  between  ye  lands  of  Mr.  Samuel  AUin  and  sd  Blish  bound- 
ed by  three  marks  set  up  within  ye  fence  of  sd  Allin  on  ye  north  side 
of  sd  road  &  sd  AUins  and  ye  house  of  Joseph  Blish  on  ye  south  side 
of  sd   road   running  by  ye  house  of   Widdow   Annable's   and    ye 
house  of  Thomas  Ewer  both  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  road  bounded  by 
two  marks  set  within  ye  fence  on  sd  Ewer's  land  on  ye  south  side  of 
sd  road,  running  by  or  neer  ye  upper  end  of  Deacon  Crocker  Junr. 
his  land,  on  ye  south  side  of  a  great  rock  partly  at  ye  head  of  the 
lands  of  Austin  Bearce,  runing  through  a  valley  to  coming  into  ye 
old  road  neer  ye  land  of  Thomas  Huckins,  always  provided  that  Dea. 
Crocker  Junr.  make  ye  way  that  is  turned  out  of  ye  old  road  (at  his 
Desire)  or  cause  it  to  be  made  a  good  convenient  passable  way  till  it 
come  into  ye  old  road  again,  runing  above  ye  houses  of  Thomas 
Huckins  James  Hamlin  Senr.  Mr.  Russel  neer  by  ye  meeting  house 
all  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  road,  by  ye  pond  called  formerly  Cogg^ns 
pond  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  way  leaving  ye  Governours  house  on  ye 
south  and  his  barn  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  road  bounded  by  three 
marks  set  up  within  his  fence  on  ye  south  side  of  sd  way,  from 
thence  runing  by  ye  house  of   John   Lothrop  and   Mr.   Barnabas 
Lothrop  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  way  &  so  thro  ye  lands  of  Capt. 
Lothrop  between  ye  house  of  sd  Capt  Lothrop  on  ye  southwest  &  ye 
house  of  Melatiah  Lothrop  on  ye  northeast  side  of  sd  road  &  along 
by  ye  house  of  Thomas  Lothrop  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  road  being  too 
narrow  ye  breadth  of  his  stone  wall  in  ye  bottom  neer  his  house,  &  so 
going  along  by  Isaac  Chapman's  house  and  shop  on  south  side  of  sd 
way  being  too  narrow  is  bounded  into  his  land  on  ye  north  side  of 
sd  way  from  ye  corner  of  his  stone  wall  to  Henry  Taylor's  fence,  sd 
road  going  along  by  ye  house  of  Saml  Sarjant  on  ye  south  side  and  ye 
house  of  John  Davis  Senr.  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  way  up  ye  hill  called 
Cobbs  hill  by  ye  house  and  shop  of  Lieut  James  Lewis  on  ye  south 
side  of  sd  way  too  narrow  at  his  bam  three  foot,  &  so  sd  road  lying 
along  neer  ye  house  of  Mr.  Bacon  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  way  leaving 
ye  house  of  Serjant  James  Cobb  on  ye  south  side  &  ye  house  of  En- 
sign Shobel  Dimock  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  road  sd  way  too  narrow  ye 
breadth  of  his  fence  from  John  Scudders  to  a  stake  set  in  his  field  in 
ye  swamp,  sd  way  runing  along  close  by  ye  house  of  Henry  Taylor 
on  north  side  of  sd  way  bounded  by  a  little  stone  &  a  stake  in  ye 
swamp  within  ye  fence  on  ye  south  side  of  sd  way  lying  along  by  ye 
house  of  George  Lewis  &  ye  house  of  Thomas  Hinckley  on  ye  south 
side  of  sd  way  bounded  by  a  little  stone  in  ye  swamp  within  his  piece- 
Said  way  runs  by  Saml  Cobbs  house  &  Josiah  Davis  his  house  on  ye 


TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  373 

north  side  of  sd  way  bounded  by  a  stake  in  his  field  on  ye  south  side 
and  by  Joseph  Benjamin's  fence  by  a  stone  set  in  his  field  and  by 
three  stones  laid  together  and  by  a  little  stone  drove  into  ye  ground 
with  little  stones  laid  about  it  on  south  side  of  sd  way,  runing  along 
thro  ye  lands  of  James  Gorham  leaving  ye  house  of  Josiah  Hallett 
and  James  Gorham  on  north  side  of  sd  way  bounded  into  the  field  of 
sd  Gorham  on  south  side  of  sd  way  by  three  stones  &  stones  laid  to- 
gether at  ye  west  comer  of  his  fence  of  sd  field  &  so  thro  ye  lands  of 
John  Gorham  leaving  his  house  and  barn  on  ye  north  side  of  sd  road 
bounded  by  a  stake  set  within  his  hay  yard  fence  between  his  house 
and  barn  &  so  running  to  ye  bounds  of  Yarmouth  neer  where  are 
three  great  stones  laid  together  being  laid  all  along  forty  foot. 
"  The  names  of  ye  Jury:     Capt.  Lothrop, 

Lieut.  Rowland, 
Ensign  Dimock, 
James  Gorham, 
Jabez  Lumbart, 
James  Cob,  Saml  Cob, 
Nathl.  Bacon,  Ensign  Lumbart,  Lieut. 
James  Lewis,  John  Phinney,  Job  Crocker,  Samuel 
Hinckley  sr.,  Joseph  Blish,  Josiah  Crocker, 

James  Hamblin  jr." 
The  town,  tiring  of  long  trips  to  Plymouth  for  grinding,  in  1687 
ordered  that  a  wind  mill  be  built,  either  on  Cobb's  hill  or  the  old 
Meeting  House  hill,  and  appropriated  money  and  land  to  pay  for  it. 
Thomas  Paine  of  Eastham  constructed  one  on  Meeting  House  hill, 
much  to  the  satisfaction  of  Barnabas  Lothrop  and  Samuel  Allen,  who 
were  the  committee  to  oversee  the  work.  The  same  year  John  An- 
drews and  others  were  granted  a  tract  of  eight  or  ten  acres  at  the 
river  by  John  Goodspeed's,  and  the  benefit  of  the  stream,  "to  build 
and  keep  a  fulling  mill,"  but  there  is  no  record  of  its  being  built. 
Roads  were  rapidly  laid  out,  branching  from  the  county  road.  In 
1689  the  same  jury,  whose  names  have  been  given,  opened  a  highway 
into  the  woods  opposite  the  Dimock  house,  another  into  the  common 
field,  and  by  the  opening  of  this  communication  permission  was  given 
for  another  fulling  mill,  which  was  erected  on  the  river  where  the 
Goodspeeds  resided— now  Marston's  Mills — and  Thomas  Macj',  or 
Massey,  was  made  keeper  of  it.  The  contract  with  the  town  was  that 
it  should  be  kept  running  twenty  years,  and  it  was,  much  longer.  The 
reader  of  the  present  day  can  hardly  realize  that  the  wool  and  flax  at 
that  time,  and  a  hundred  years  later,  were  spun  and  woven  into  cloth 
for  domestic  use,  and  the  fulling  mill  was  as  necessary  as  the  grist 
mill.  In  1696  other  roads  were  laid  out,  and  Mr.  Otis  had  permission 
to  build  a  warehouse  on  Rendezvous  creek.     He  was  given  forty  feet 


374  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

square  of  land  for  the  purpose,  and  this  was  the  first  store-house  on 
the  harbor  in  that  part  of  the  town  east  of  the  present  court  house. 
Rendezvous  creek  is  said  to  have  run  northerly  across  the  marsh,  and 
had  its  source  in  the  swamp  back  of  Eben  B.  Crocker's  residence. 

Prior  to  1700,  communities  had  sprung  up  and  started  the  various 
industries  that  the  town  needed.  The  creeks  that  furnished  the  power 
for  mills  were  south  of  the  ridge  that  lines  the  marshes  and  harbor  on 
the  north  side  of  the  town.  In  1696  we  find  along  the  south  shore 
John,  Benjamin  and  Ebenezer  Goodspeed.  Thomas  Macy,  John,  James, 
William  and  Andrew  Lovell,  John  Issum,  Thomas  Bumpas,  Dolor  Da- 
vis, Thomas  Lewis,  Joshua  Lumbert,  John  Linnel,  John  Phinney,  jr., 
Edward  and  John  Lewis,  Joseph  Lothrop,  jr.,  Edward  Coleman,  and 
the  Hallett,  Crosswell,  Bearse  and  Claghorn  families.  These  names 
are  largely  represented  now  along  the  southern  side  of  the  town,  at 
Cotuit,  Marston's  Mills,  Osterville,  Centreville  and  Hyannis. 

In  1703,  after  a  controversy  of  many  years,  a  final  division  and 
apportionment  of  the  land  of  the  proprietors  was  made.  They  divided 
about  six  thousand  acres  among  those  who  were  entitled  to  the  lands, 
and  this  bone  of  contention  was  removed.  Too  many  who  were  not 
proprietors,  nor  their  descendants  or  as.signs,  wanted  rights  in  the 
commons,  and  the  final  division  was  much  complicated  by  the  great 
number  of  actual  owners.  They  reserved  eighty  acres  for  schools, 
known  as  the  school  lot,  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  and  eighty  for 
the  ministry,  known  as  the  minister's  lot,  on  the  north  side. 

There  was  a  poor  house,  prior  to  1768,  in  the  western  part  of  the 
town,  for  that  year  it  was  "  voted  to  build  a  new  poor  house  on  the 
site  of  the  old  one; "  but  when  the  first  was  built,  neither  tradition 
nor  records  give  any  date.  This  house  of  1768  was  used  until  1821, 
when  a  new  one  was  built  on  the  farm  which  Parker  Lombard  had 
bequeathed  "  to  the  support  of  the  poor  for  ever."  This  is  the  house 
now  in  use,  situated  at  West  Barnstable.  The  Lombard  tract  men- 
tioned, extends  from  the  poor  house  north  to  the  harbor.  The  old 
road  running  from  the  church  to  the  cemetery  is  in  part  the  eastern 
boundary  of  the  tract. 

The  revolutionary  war  occupied  almost  the  entire  thought  of  the 
people  of  Barnstable,  but  did  not  preclude  the  idea  of  the  importance 
of  a  mail  from  the  large  centers  on  the  main  land;  and  in  1775  the 
town  conferred  with  Sandwich  concerning  a  mail  and  stage  line  to 
Plymouth  and  Boston,  which  was  very  soon  opened.  Barnstable  was 
early  in  line  with  her  first  quota  of  troops  for  the  war,  and  had  Joseph 
Otis,  Nymphas  Marston  and  Sturgis  Gorham  as  its  first  war  commit- 
tee. The  so-called  tory  element  strongly  existed  here,  and  at  a  town 
meeting  in  1776,  at  which  140  voters  were  present,  only  sixty-five 
voted  on  the  question  of  sustaining  the  continental  congress  in  its 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  375 

declaration  of  the  independence  of  the  colonies — thirty  for  and  thirty- 
five  against.  A  strong  resolution  was  at  once  signed  by  the  loyal  citi- 
zens of  the  town,  condemning  the  action  of  the  meeting,  and  urging 
as  the  reason  for  such  a  vote,  a  misunderstanding  of  the  question  and 
intimidation  by  lawless  people  at  the  meeting.  The  near  future 
proved  that  the  vote  was  not  the  sentiment  of  the  town,  and  delegates 
were  sent  who  were  instructed  to  enact  such  rules  as  in  their  mature 
deliberation  would  conduce  to  the  safety,  peace  and  happiness  of  the 
people.  The  war  was  long  and  the  colonies  were  young  and  poor, 
and  in  1781,  before  peace  was  declared,  Barnstable  failed  to  send  the 
quota  required  for  Rhode  Island  and  West  Point;  but  by  the  almost 
superhuman  efforts  of  the  leading  men,  the  town's  credit  was  retrieved, 
and  peace,  in  1783,  dawned  upon  a  people  who  had,  for  the  years  of 
the  war,  endured  a  more  than  proportionate  share  of  its  attendant 
evils. 

The  war  of  1812  made  its  calls  upon  the  patriotism  and  means  of 
the  Barnstable  people,  as  upon  others,  and  the  town  responded  as 
promptly. 

The  prosperity  of  the  town  during  the  first  half  of  the  present  cen- 
tury was  marked;  a  printing  office  was  permanently  established,  and 
every  part  of  the  town  seemed  to  open  into  new  life  and  greater  im- 
portance. The  descendants  of  the  sterling  fathers  of  the  town  were 
filling  the  highest  places  in  the  courts  and  councils  of  the  land,  or 
were  merchant  princes  in  the  distant  cities.  In  1839,  September  3d, 
these  children  visited  their  homes  to  assist  in  celebrating  the  two 
hundredth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  Barnstable  as  a  town.  It  was 
a  scene  of  reverential  devotion,  enjoyed  alike  by  its  citizens  and  the 
officials  of  the  commonwealth.  John  G.  Palfrey,  a  former  resident  of 
Barnstable,  delivered  the  address,  which  has  been  pronounced  an  able 
production.  At  this  date  the  town  was  at  the  acme  of  its  strength  and 
beauty;  its  harbor  was  busy  with  shipping  and  its  shores  were  white 
with  salt  works;  its  fields  were  golden  with  ripening  harvests,  and  its 
many  spires  of  church  and  school  edifices  pointed  to  God  and  know- 
ledge. At  that  date  the  statistics  indicate  no  beggars  in  the  town,  no 
idlers  nor  sots,  and  only  three  in  jail — and  they  foreigners. 

The  population  had  steadily  increased  to  the  year  1860,  as  the  cen- 
sus report  by  decades  will  show.  In  the  Colonial  report  of  1765  it  was 
2,108;  in  1776,  2,610.  The  United  States  report  of  1790  was  2,610;  in 
1800,  2,964;  1810,  3,646;  1820,  3,824;  1830,  3,974;  1840,4,301;  1850,4,901; 
1860,  5,129;  1870,  4,793;  1880,  4,242;  and  in  1885  the  population  of  the 
town  was  4,050. 

The  people  of  Barnstable  in  one  respect  overdid  the  Puritan  idea 
of  using  the  meeting  house  for  public  purposes,  for  their  public  meet- 
ings were  continued  in  that  manner  until  nearly  the  middle  of  this 


376  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

century — the  present  town  house  being  the  first  building  erected  by 
the  town  for  civil  uses  only.  About  1840  the  subject  of  a  town  house 
was  agitated — some  wishing  to  utilize  what  is  now  the  Baptist  church, 
and  others  wishing  to  have  it  on  the  south  side  of  the  town.  Zenas 
D.  Bassett  and  others  were  finally  appointed  a  committee  to  locate  a 
town  house  at  the  geographical  centre  of  the  town,  which  was  found 
to  be  within  the  bounds  of  the  lyanough  pond.  It  was  therefore  de- 
cided to  locate  it  where  it  nowstands,  and  a  good  building  was  erected 
soon  after.  It  is  centrally  situated,  has  every  convenience  outside  and 
in,  and  is  a  credit  to  the  town. 

Notwithstanding  the  lapse  of  250  years  since  the  incorporation  of 
Barnstable,  which  great  period  would  seem  to  preclude  such  an  idea, 
a  singular  memento  of  primitive  times  was  brought  to  the  eyes  of  the 
citizens  of  Barnstable  village  on  the  18th  of  March,  1889,  in  the  form 
of  a  young  deer  that  came  from  the  woods  south  of  the  railroad  sta- 
tion; he  ran  across  the  track,  down  through  the  fields  in  front  of  the 
Patriot  ofl&ce,  by  the  jail  to  the  vicinity  of  W,  D.  Holme's  shop,  and 
from  thence  back,  across  the  track,  to  the  woods  again.  He  went  over 
fences  and  walls  with  easy  bounds,  and  presented  a  novel  sight  to 
those  fortunate  enough  to  witness  it. 

Schools. — The  proprietors'  records  indicate  an  early  and  unflag- 
ging interest  in  the  means  of  education.  In  fact  none  of  the  older 
towns  were  so  prompt  in  appropriating  annually  the  requisite  fund 
for  sustaining  the  common  school.  As  early  as  1714  the  town  voted 
an  additional  sum  to  their  accustomed  appropriation,  that  the  teacher 
could  teach  six  months  in  the  south  part  of  the  town — dividing  the 
year  with  the  settlement  in  the  north  part.  Prior  to  this  time  one 
school  had  served  the  purpose  of  the  town.  In  1731  a  grammar 
school  was  added  to  the  common  school  and  ;^65  was  voted  for  its 
support.  In  1732  Mr.  Bennett  was  employed  as  master  and  was  to 
divide  his  time  between  the  two  parishes,  casting  lots  to  determine 
which  should  have  the  first  term.  Private  dwellings  were  used  for 
school  purposes  until  1735,  when  it  was  voted  to  have  two  gram- 
mar school  masters — one  in  each  parish — and  that  a  schoolhouse 
be  built.  But  the  first  school  building,  which  was  erected  near  the 
old  burying  ground,  was  not  built  until  1771. 

In  1789  the  appropriation  for  schools  was  £\^0,  the  privations 
caused  by  the  war,  or  internal  differences  not  having  abated  the 
zeal  of  these  fathers  in  religious  and  educational  interests. 

The  dawn  of  the  present  century  found  the  schools  of  Barnsta- 
ble in  a  prosperous  condition.  Every  improvement  in  its  system, 
as  developed  by  the  more  liberal  laws  and  enlightment  of  the  com- 
monwealth, had  been  eagerly  seized  by  the  people  of  this  town. 
They  also   inaugurated,    through  individual   support,    a   system   of 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE.  377 

select  schools  which  flourished  many  years,  affording  advantages 
not  belonging  to  the  common  school.  By  the  middle  of  the  pres- 
ent century  nearly  a  score  of  pretty  school  buildings  here  and 
there  dotted  the  landscape  of  the  town;  and  soon  after,  by  a  law 
of  the  Commonwealth  the  children  at  an  inconvenient  distance  were 
conveyed  to  and  from  the  schools  at  public  expense,  which  greatly 
increased  the  attendance  and  average  standing  of  pupils. 

Enoch  T.  Cobb  gave  the  town  $10,000,  the  income  from  which 
is  devoted  as  he  directed  to  the  purchase  of  school  supplies.  These 
monies  and  the  interest  from  the  Percival  fund  have  been  assidu- 
ously applied,  and  the  efforts  of  efficient  oflBcers  have  been  seconded 
by  a  background  of  liberal  public  sentiment  until  the  schools  of 
Barnstable  occupy  a  high  plane  of  perfection.  The  sciences  of 
physiology  and  hygiene,  penmanship,  language  and  music  have 
been  properly  introduced  with  the  most  satisfactory  results.  The 
school  buildings  are  commodious  and  neat,  embracing  every  needed 
improvement,  and  are  kept  in  the  best  possible  condition.  In  1849 
the  Hyannis  section  erected  the  best  house  yet  seen  here,  and 
which  was  subsequently  purchased  by  the  town.  West  Barnstable 
has  another  fine  one  recently  erected.  The  school  building  at  Cen- 
treville  erected  since,  is  one  of  the  finest  edifices  in  the  town. 
The  publication  of  the  names  of  meritorious  scholars,  as  adopted 
by  the  school  committee,  has  resulted  in  good.  The  committee  now 
publishes  rules  for  the  use  of  books,  which  the  town  furnishes  to  the 
schools;  also  rules  for  the  care  of  the  buildings  and  apparatus,  and 
conduct  of  pupils,  all  of  which  has  greatly  advanced  the  cause. 

The  last  report  of  the  school  committee  is  most  flattering,  and 
the  citizens  may  well  be  pleased  by  a  comparison  with  other  towns. 
Seven  grammar  schools  are  distributed  through  the  town,  also  one 
high  school,  two  intermediate  and  thirteen  primaries.  Thirty-four 
teachers  have  been  employed  during  the  year  and  twenty-five  school 
rooms  have  been  used  in  the  education  of  the  young.  The  regis- 
tered number  of  pupils  was  743,  the  average  per  cent,  of  their  at- 
tendance being  90.46  for  the  terms  of  the  year.  The  school  build- 
ings are  valued  at  $34,000,  besides  the  large  amounts  invested  in 
apparatus  and  books.  The  amount  paid  for  school  purposes  for  a 
year  is  over  $12,000,  of  which  five-sixths  is  raised  by  tax. 

The  distribution  of  the  schools  and  their  gradation  is  most  ad- 
mirably adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  town — section  No.  1,  East 
Barnstable,  a  primary;  No.  3,  Barnstable  village,  grammar  and  pri- 
mary; 4,  Pond  village,  a  primary;  6,  West  Barnstable,  a  primary  and 
grammar;  8,  Plains,  a  primary;  9,  Newtown,  a  primary;  10,  Cotuit, 
primary;  11,  Cotuit,  Intermediate;  Santuit,  grammar  and  primary; 
12,  Marston's  Mills,  mixed  school;  13,  Osterville,  primary  and  gram- 


378  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

mar;  15,  Hyannis  Port,  mixed;  16,  Hyannis,  grammar  and  primary; 
17,  Hyannis,  intermediate;  18,  Hyannis,  high,  grammar  and  primary; 
20,  Centreville,  grammar  and  primary;  and  21,  Cotuit,  High-Ground, 
primary. 

The  facts  given  are  substantiated  by  the  reports  published  in  1890 
for  the  year  1889.  This  effective  outgrowth  is  the  realization  of  an 
idea  of  generations,  a  system  that  has  evolved  the  government  and 
secured  liberty  and  prosperity.  Contemplate  the  wisdom  and  fore- 
sight of  the  fathers  who  two  hundred  years  ago  struggled  to  establish 
such  an  unparalleled  success  !  They  laid  the  foundation  work  of  the 
marvelous  structure  that  has  bedecked  the  land  with  institutions,  and 
has  guided  the  body  politic.  Through  these  lesser  and  local  sources 
— integral  parts  of  the  Commonwealth — the  perpetuity  of  the  whole 
system  of  civil  and  Christian  liberties  is  secured;  and  to  Barnstable, 
as  a  town,  is  much  credit  due  for  the  thorough  and  active  part  taken 
in  this  foundation  work. 

Civil  History. — The  record  of  the  transactions  of  the  citizens  of 
Barnstable  as  a  body  politic  does  not  differ  materially  from  that  of 
other  towns,  as  the  people  were  under  the  same  government.  The 
first  acts  of  the  community  were  under  the  sanction  of  an  incorporated 
town,  however  crude  the  advantages  of  the  inhabitants  may  have  been. 
It  is  traditionary,. but  supported  by  private  memoranda,  that  the  first 
town  meeting  was  held  around  the  same  rock  where  the  religious 
meeting  was  held,  which  is  described  elsewhere.  Not  for  several 
years  was  the  combined  meeting  and  town  house  erected;  but  the 
public  meetings  of  the  town  were  as  regularly  called  as  the  re- 
ligious. 

In  the  town  meeting  of  1640  it  was  ordered  that  no  one  within  the 
plantation  shall  make  sale  of  his  house  or  lands  until  he  has  offered 
the  same  to  the  proprietors;  but  if  the  proprietors  do  not  buy  he 
must  furnish  a  purchaser  to  be  approved  by  them.  The  town  meet- 
ing of  1641  was  devoted  to  the  laying  out  of  lands,  of  which  Thomas 
Lothrop  and  Bernard  Lombard  were  appointed  "measurers"  to  lay 
out  and  "bound  with  stakes."  The  records  of  these  measurements 
are  not  to  be  found;  Amos  Otis,  Esq.,  says  they  were  filed  at  Ply- 
mouth, and  lost  by  fire;  he  also  is  the  author  of  the  tradition  that 
the  lots  were  from  six  to  twelve  acres  each  and  were  laid  out  to 
the  north  of  Rendezvous  lane.  In  future  town  meetings  the  subject 
of  divisions  of  lands  was  paramount  to  all  others.  The  training 
grounds,  with  the  stocks  and  whipping  post,  were  not  forgotten. 
On  the  green  just  east  of  the  Baptist  church  was  the  old  green; 
and  in  June,  1642,  John  Casely  was  condemned  to  be  publicly 
whipped  there,  and  his  wife  Alice  was  placed  in  the  stocks  while 
the  wholesome  duty  was  being  performed. 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  37» 

There  were  forty-five  voters  in  1643.  The  duties  of  the  officers 
of  the  town  were  increased  in  1645  by  the  necessary  arrangement 
for  the  town's  quota  of  men  for  the  Narragansett  expedition.  In 
1646  the  people  had  the  new  meeting  house  for  public  gatherings^ 
as  was  the  custom;  and  this  invariable  rule,  to  construct  the  meet- 
ing house  for  civil  and  religious  meetings  as  soon  as  possible  after 
a  plantation  had  been  seated,  has  followed  the  descendants  of  the 
Pilgrims  wherever  they  have  planted  a  colony. 

In  1651  the  order  was  made  to  record  the  bounds  and  titles  of 
lands  in  the  plantation,  and  gate  keepers  w^re  appointed;  later,  in 
1655,  it  was  ordered  that  Captain  Miles  Standish  and  Mr.  Hatherly 
have  authority  to  settle  all  difficulties  with  the  Indians,  which  might 
be  submitted  to  them  by  the  deputies.  In  1661  William  Crocker 
and  Thomas  Huckins  were  appointed  "  to  take  notice  of  such  as 
intrude  themselves  into  the  town  without  the  town's  consent." 

In  1662  the  town  meeting  "  ordered  that  the  sons  of  the  present 
inhabitants  shall  be  successively  received  as  inhabitants  and  allowed 
equal  town  privileges  in  the  Commons  and  other  privileges  of  the 
present  inhabitants,  at  the  day  of  their  marriage,  or  at  the  age  of  24, 
whichever  happens  first,"  and  at  that  meeting  Samuel  Bacon,  Samuel 
Fuller,  Caleb  Lumbard,  Jabez  Lumbard,  Samuel  Fuller,  jr.,  Joseph 
Benjamin,  Nicholas  Bonham,  James  Hamblin,  Thomas  Lumbard,. 
Samuel  Norman,  Samuel  Hicks,  James  Cobb,  Edward  Coleman,  John 
Rowland,  John  Sargeant,  John  Crocker,  Edward  Lewis,  Daniel  Stew- 
art, Thomas  Ewer  and  John  Lewis  were  admitted,  making  the  num- 
ber of  voters  in  the  town  sixty-five,  which  number  was  increased  to 
eighty-nine  in  1670  by  other  additions.  When  the  number  of  free- 
men and  voters  was  recorded  in  1670,  the  commons'  meadows  were 
ordered  sold.  The  list  of  freemen  and  their  widows  not  heretofore 
given,  were:  John  Thompson,  Henry  Taylor,  Edward  Taylor,  Moses 
Rowley,  Mark  Ridley,  Samuel  Storrs,  John  Scudder,  William  Sargeant,. 
John  Phinney,  sr.,  John  Phinney,  jr.,  Jabez  and  Jedediah  Lumbard, 
Benjamin  Lumbard,  Caleb  Lumbard,  Widow  Lothrop,  Widow  Lum- 
bard, John  Otis,  Robert  Parker,  Joshua  Lumbard,  sr..  Melt.  Lothrop,. 
Joseph  Lothrop,  Ralph  Jones,  John  Jenkins,  John  Huckins,  John 
Rowland,  John  Hinckley,  Barnabas  Lothrop,  Widow  Lewis,  Thomas 
Lewis,  John  Lewis,  James  Lewis,  Edward  Lewis,  Shubael  Dimock,. 
Nathaniel  Fitzrandal,  John  Fuller,  Matthew  Fuller,  Samuel  Fuller,  sr., 
Samuel  Fuller,  jr.,  Samuel  Fuller,  son  of  Matthew,  John  and  Nathaniel 
Goodspeed,  Samuel  Allyn,  Nathaniel  Bacon,  jr.,  Peter  Blossom,  John 
Chipman,  James  Claghorn,  James  Cobb,  Job  Crocker,  Josiah  Crocker, 
Robert  Davis,  Thomas  Dexter,  William  Dexter,  William  Troop, 
Thomas  Walley,  sr.,  John  Gorham,  Joseph  Hallett,  Bart.  Hamblin,. 
James  Hamblin,  sr.,  and  James  Hamblin,  jr. 


380  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

During  these  years  the  laws  were  rigidly  enforced,  as  will  appear 
from  the  entry  in  the  record  of  1677,  that  the  aged  widow,  Annable, 
was  fined  one  pound  for  selling  beer  without  permission.  The  strict, 
law-abiding  principle  of  the  people  is  more  marked  when  it  is  known 
that  at  this  time  men  were  permitted  to  sell  cider  and  liquors  by 
wholesale  and  retail. 

In  1693  the  whole  commons'  meadows  that  had  been  left  were 
divided  among  those  who  had  a  right.  This  year  it  was  found  that 
the  town  had  164  freemen  and  voters.  In  1696  the  great  marshes 
were  divided  and  parceled  out  by  lot.  The  town  was  divided  in  17C0 
into  two  training  districts — the  dividing  line  began  "  at  Dea.  Crock- 
er's, and.  as  the  way  goeth,  up  to  the  head  of  Skonkenet  river,  and  as 
the  river  runneth,  into  the  South  Sea."  The  eastern  part  was  to  be 
the  1st  Foot,  under  Captain  Gorham,  and  the  western  the  2d,  under 
Captain  Otis. 

In  1733  the  line  between  Yarmouth  and  Barnstable  was  again  ad- 
justed, and  the  selectmen  took  measures  to  present  the  disorderly 
conduct  of  Indians,  negroes  and  other  persons  at  night.  Wild  cats 
molested  the  good  people  too,  for  the  same  year  two  pounds  per  head 
was  offered  as  a  bounty.  In  1738  the  town  ordered  Mr.  Marston  to 
•open  a  passage  through  his  mill  dam  for  alewives,  and  in  1751  Mr. 
Marston  was  to  have  one-fourth  part  of  the  herrings  taken  at  his  mill 
brook,  he  to  keep  the  passage  open.  The  selectmen  were  greatly  ex- 
ercised in  1757  to  provide  for  the  welfare  of  the  town  during  its  visi- 
tation by  small-pox. 

In  1785  an  effort  was  made,  with  success,  to  prevent  the  cutting  of 
wood  on  Sandy  neck,  thinking  to  protect  the  meadows  from  drifting 
sands.  The  passage  of  alewives  to  and  from  the  ponds  was  the  care 
of  civil  authorities  in  that  year,  and  especially  did  they  legislate  to 
assist  the  poor  fish  around  and  by  Macy's  mill.  In  1786  the  town 
asked  that  the  great  bridge  be  made  a  county  charge,  but  the  inhabi- 
tants were  very  soon  after  warned  to  turn  out  for  work  on  it.  In  1789 
the  same  wolf,  that  was  worthy  of  mention  in  the  Sandwich  town 
records,  was  declared  an  outlaw,  and  a  reward  was  offered  for  the 
public  display  of  his  head  here  in  Barnstable;  the  selectmen  would 
give  fifty  pounds  if  it  could  be  shown  by  a  Barnstable  man,  and 
twenty-five  pounds  if  they  could  see  the  head  and  ears  of  this  precious 
wolf  in  the  hands  of  some  one  from  any  other  town. 

The  doings  of  the  town,  as  recorded,  related  largely  to  the  affairs 
of  war,  raising  troops  and  money,  through  the  excitement  of  the  revo- 
lutionary war  and  that  of  1812-15.  The  proprietors' meetings  about 
their  lands  long  ago  had  been  discontinued.  Their  last  meeting  as 
proprietors  was  held  March  7,  1836,  when  they  empowered  Seth  Hal- 
lett  to  make  two  copies  of  their  proceedings,  which  was  done,  and  the 


TOWN  OF   BARNSTABLE.  381 

originals  are  in  the  office  of  the  register  of  deeds.  These  records 
closed  July  8,  1795.  The  civil  duties  of  the  officers  of  the  town  down 
to  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion  were  confined  to  the 
interests  of  roads,  schools,  the  poor  and  improvements. 

In  the  years  1861-65  Barnstable  nobly  did  its  duty.  The  number 
of  men  sent  from  the  town  during  the  rebellion  aggregated  240  for 
land  and  sea,  exclusive  of  men  engaged  in  transporting.  These  par- 
ticulars are  more  fully  given  in  a  prior  chapter. 

The  old  records  having  been  lost,  the  first  officers  of  the  town  may 
be  imperfectly  listed;  but  the  following  names,  dates,  and  years  of 
service,  if  more  than  one,  have  been  compared  and  made  as  correct  as 
possible.  While  the  towns  were  entitled  to  deputies  to  the  general 
court,  and  while  represented  as  towns,  we  give  the  list  here.  Since 
1857,  when  districts  were  formed,  the  list  of  representatives  will  be 
found  in  Chapter  V.  In  December,  1639,  Joseph  Hull  and  Thomas 
Dimmock  were  sent  to  general  court;  Hull  went  for  one  year  and 
Dimmock  eight.  Beginning  in  1640,  Anthony  Annable  went  for 
twelve  different  years;  in  1641,  William  Thomas;  1642,  John  Cooper, 
2;  1643,  Henry  Rowley,  and  Henry  Bourne,  2;  1644,  Henry  Cobb,  9; 
1645,  Isaac  Robinson,  2;  1646,  Thomas  Hinckley,  6;  1652,  Nathaniel 
Bacon,  13;  1656,  John  Smith,  3;  1663,  John  Chipman,  7;  1666,  Joseph 
Lothrop,  15;  1669,  Thomas  Huckins,  9:  1670,  William  Crocker,  3;  1672, 
John  Thompson,  2;  1675,  Barnabas  Lothrop,  7;  1682,  Samuel  Allyn,  3; 
1685,  Shubael  Dimock,  3;  1689,  John  Gorham,  3;  1692,  John  Gorham,  3, 
and  John  Otis,  8;  1695.  John  Green;  1700,  Thomas  Hinckley;  1701, 
John  Bacon,  2;  1704,  Samuel  Hinckley,  2;  1705,  James  Hamblin;  1707, 
Samuel  Chipman,  3;  1711,  Joseph  Lothrop,  3;  1712,  Daniel  Parker,  4; 
1718,  Shubael  Gorham,  20;  1737,  John  Russell,  2;  1741,  Sylvanus 
Bourne,  2;  1743,  Robert  Davis,  2;  1745,  James  Otis,  20;  1757,  Edward 
Bacon,  8;  1763,  Cornelius  Crocker,  2;  1765,  Nymphas  Marston,6;  1771, 
David  Davis,  4;  1775,  Joseph  Otis;  1776,  Eli  Phinney;  1777,  Ebenezer 
Jenkins,  3;  1780,  Sturgis  Gorham,  4;  1782,  Shearj.  Bourne,  7;  1783, 
Samuel  Hinckley,  2;  1786,  Lot  Nye,  3;  1790,  Samuel  Smith,  2,  and  Eben 
Crocker,  2;  1798,  David  Scudder;  1802,  Isaiah  L.  Green;  1803,  Jonas 
Whitman,  8;  1804,  Richard  Lewis,  4;  1807,  Eben  Lothrop,  2;  1809, 
Jabez  Howland,  7,  and  Joseph  Blish,  2;  1810,  Job  C.  Davis,  2;  1811, 
Nehemiah  Lovell,  and  Naler  Crocker,  8;  1812,  Lemuel  Shaw,  Nathan- 
iel Jenkins,  3,  and  William  Lewis,  12;  1821,  Nymphas  Marston,  3; 
1824,  Benjamin  Hallett,  2;  1830,  David  Hinckley,  8,  and  Charles  Mars- 
ton,  4;  1831,  Henry  Crocker,  6:  1833,  Zenas  Weeks,  5;  1834,  Nathaniel 
Hinckley,  8;  1837,  William  A.  Lewis,  and  Samuel  Pitcher,  2;  1838, 
Seth  Goodspeed;  1839,  Daniel  Bassett,  2,  and  Thomas  B.  Lewis,  5; 
1843,  Josiah  Hinckley,  4,  and  Job  Handy,  2;  1845,  Charles  C.  Bearse, 
2;  1847,  Samuel  A.  Wiley,  2;  1853,  Edwin  Baxter;  1855,  R.  S.  Pope,  and 
Asa  E.  Lovell,  2;  1856,  John  A.  Baxter,  and  Nathan  Crocker,  2. 


382  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  records  of  the  election  of  selectmen  for  the  first  seventy-five 
years  are  also  imperfect.  As  far  as  possible  the  names  of  these  -will 
be  given.  It  is  known  those  mentioned  in  the  list  served,  and  seme 
of  them  for  several  years.  Nathaniel  Bacon,  Tristram  Hull,  John 
Chipman,  John  Thompson,  William  Crocker,  Joseph  Lothrop,  Thomas 
Huckins,  John  Gorham,  Barns.  Lothrop,  James  Lewis,  Samuel  Allyn, 
John  Rowland,  Shubael  Dimock.  From  1714  more  reliable  data  is  found, 
and  the  date  of  election  and  time  of  service  can  be  given.  That  year 
John  Lewis  was  elected  and  served  2  years;  also  Joseph  Lothrop  who 
served  3;  John  Baker,  7;  and  Joseph  Smith,  18;  1716,  John  Thacher,  8; 
1719,  George  Lewis,  8,  and  David  Loring,  10;  1720,  Shubael  Gorham, 
12,  and  Joseph  Hinckley,  13;  1723,  Joseph  Crocker,  6;  1727,  Sam'l 
Chipman,  3;  1730,  Benj.  Crocker,  3;  1732,  Col.  Gorham,  1;  1733,  David 
Crocker,  19;  1735,  John  Thacher,  4;  1738,  Robert  Davis,  14;  1740,  John 
Gorham,  6;  1745,  James  Otis,  14;  1751,  Matthias  Smith,  2;  1752,  Silvs. 
Bourne,  3,  Joseph  Blish,  3,  and  Dan'l  Davis,  25;  1756,  Edw.  Bacon,  12, 
and  Isaac  Hinckley,  5;  1762,  Nymphas  Marston,  11;  1765,  Eli  Phinney, 
■6,  and  Matthias  Fuller,  3;  1772,  Joseph  Otis,  5;  1776,  Eben.  Jenkins,  3; 
1779,  Jona.  Crocker,  5,  and  Thos.  Crocker,  2;  1781,  Eleazer  Scudder,  1; 
1782,  Lot  Nye,  3;  1783,  Joseph  Davis,  1;  1784,  Eben.  Bacon,  19;  1785, 
David  Parker,  6,  and  Joseph  Smith,  10;  1791,  Joseph  Crocker,  10;  1795, 
David  Scudder,  4;  1798,  Nath'l  Lewis,  3,  and  Richard  Lewis,  29;  1801, 
Nath'l  Jenkins,  7;  1805,  John  Davis,  8.  and  Jno.  Crocker,  2;  1807,  Jno. 
Bodfish,  10;  1813,  Isaac  Hodges,  2;  1815,  Naler  Crocker,  13;  1820, 
Lemuel  Nye,  8;  1827,  Asa  Hinckley,  1;  1828,  James  Marchant,  3,  and 
Chas.  Marston,  8;  1829,  James  Smith,  2;  1831,  Josiah  Hinckley,  4,  and 
Zach's  Hamblen,  2;  1833,  Eben.  Bacon,  10,  and  Stephen  C.  Nye,  4;  1836, 
Henry  Crocker,  2,  Nath'l  Hinckley,  10,  and  Samuel  Pitcher,  2;  1838, 
Daniel  Bassett,  10,  and  Lothrop  Davis,  9;  1840,  Zenas  Weeks,  1,  and 
James  Lewis,  2;  1842,  Seth  Hallet,  2;  1843,  Thos.  B.  Lewis,  2;  1845, 
Thos.  Stetson,  3;  1848,  Chas.  C.  Bearse,  24;  1849,  Fred.  Scudder,  7; 
1850,  Chas.  Lewis,  2;  1851,  Robinson  Weeks,  1 ;  1856,  Luther  Hinckley, 
1;  1857,  Nath'l  Hinckley,  2,  and  Joseph  R.  Hall,  13;  Ebenezer  Bacon, 
•9;  1866,  Fred'k  Scudder,  1;  1869,  Nathan  Crocker,  3;  Samuel  Snow,  6; 
1871,  Andrew  Lovell,  until  his  resignation  January,  1890;  1872,  Levi 
L.  Goodspeed,  7;  1876,  Zenas  E.  Crowell.  8;  1878,  Nathan  Edson,  7, 
Abel  D.  Makepeace,  4,  and  Charles  C.  Crocker;  1888,  Eben  B.  Crocker. 
The  board  in  1890  is  the  last  two  named,  and  Cyrenus  A.  Lovell. 

The  following  served  as  town  clerks  from  the  formation  of  the 
town,  but  no  dates  can  be  accurately  given  until  about  1772.  The  first 
was  Thomas  Hinckley  for  many  years,  succeeded  by  Joseph  Lothrop, 
Samuel  Allyn,  John  Otis,  Nathaniel  Otis,  David  Crocker,  Isaac  Hinck- 
ley, Robert  Davis,  Daniel  Davis,  Edward  Bacon,  Samuel  Jenkins;  and 
then  Josiah  Crocker  served  9  years.     In  1780  he  was  succeeded  by 


TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  383 

Eben  Bacon  for  25  years;  in  1805,  Jabez  Rowland,  8;  1812,  Nalor 
Crocker,  11;  1824,  James  N.  Rowland,  2;  1826,  Josiah  Hinckley,  11; 
1837,  Calvin  Stetson,  6;  1843,  Frederick  Parker,  2;  1844,  Ferdinand  G. 
Kelley,  served  until  1885 — the  longest  term  on  the  records;  and  he  was 
succeeded  by  Charles  F.  Parker,  who  is  still  in  office. 

Prior  to  1812  the  office  of  treasurer  was  distinct  from  that  of  clerk, 
and  was  filled  in  succession  by  Eben  Lewis,  John  Otis,  Robert  Davis, 
Isaac  Hinckley,  Daniel  Davis,  Joseph  Otis,  Jonathan  Crocker,  Thomas 
Crocker,  and  Jabez  Rowland.  From  this  treasurer  until  the  present 
time  the  offices  of  clerk  and  treasurer  have  been  filled  by  the  same 
person. 

Churches. — In  1616  Rev.  Henry  Jacobs  organized  a  Congrega- 
tional church  at  Southwark,  London,  of  which  John  Lothrop  became 
pastor.  In  1634  about  thirty  of  this  church,  with  Mr.  Lothrop,  immi- 
grated to  this  continent,  locating  in  the  wilderness  of  Scituate,  where 
they  were  joined  by  thirteen  of  the  church  who  had  previously 
arrived.  October  31,  1639,  Mr.  Lothrop,  with  the  majority  of  the 
Scituate  church,  as  already  appears,  came  to  Barnstable.  A  few  days 
after  the  arrival  a  fast  was  held  "to  implore  the  grace  of  God  to  set- 
tle us  here  in  church  estate,  and  to  unite  us  together  in  holy  walking, 
and  to  make  us  faithful  in  keeping  covenant  with  God  and  one 
another."  That  the  church  here  progressed  and  worked  harmoni- 
ously is  evinced  by  Mr.  Lothrop"s  diary,  which  says:  "April  15,  1640, 
a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  on  occasion  of  the  investing  of  Br.  Mayo 
with  the  office  of  teaching  elder,  upon  whom  myself,  Mr.  Hull  and  Br. 
Cobb  lay  our  hands;  and  for  the  Lord  to  find  out  a  place  for  meeting, 
and  that  we  may  agree  in  it."  Tradition  has  it  that  the  first  meetings 
held  in  Barnstable  were  on  and  around  a  large  rock  westerly  of  Cog- 
gin's  pond,  on  the  north  side  of  the  county  road.  This  rock  has 
ruthlessly  been  removed,  but  a  portion  of  it  has  been  permanently 
placed  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  premises  of  Edward  Scudder, 
in  the  north  line  of  the  highway. 

The  lapse  of  250  years  renders  tradition  dim,  and  even  the  small 
amount  of  records  extant  cannot  definitely  give  the  date  of  the  build- 
ing of  the  first  meeting  house  or  where  it  stood.  It  is  clear  that  none 
had  been  built  in  March,  1644,  for  Mr.  Lothrop  said  in  his  diary,  March 
24th,  "our  meeting  being  held  at  the  end  of  Mr.  Burseley's  house." 
But  by  the  same  diary  it  appears  that  "  May,  1646,  met  in  our  new 
meeting  house."  Where  this  first  meeting  house  was  located  is  in 
doubt.  There  are  those  who  say  it  was  near  the  present  Baptist 
church  in  the  village  of  Barnstable,  but  all  there  is  in  the  records  to 
substantiate  the  tradition  is  that  Mr.  Lothrop,  the  pastor,  was  given 
land  near  that  meeting  house  and  he  first  lived  nearly  opposite  the 
present  court  house.     Mr.  Palfrey  said  the  first  was  one-fourth  of  a 


384  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

mile  -west  of  the  present  East  Parish  church,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
old  burying  ground.  Mr.  Otis  says,  "  The  first  meeting  house  stood  in 
the  ancient  graveyard  on  the  opposite  of  the  road  from  Mr.  Hull's 
house."  It  was  undoubtedly  near  the  old  burying  ground  by  the 
present  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Mr.  Lothrop  died  November  8,  1653,  and  tradition  says  it  was  in 
the  house  now  occupied  by  the  Sturgis  Library.  William  Sargeant 
filled  the  pulpit  for  years  afterward  and  there  arose  some  disquiet  in 
the  church.  In  1662  a  virtual  separation  of  a  portion  of  the  members- 
occurred,  the  church  refusing  fellowship  with  them. 

Rev.  Thomas  Walley  was  the  recognized  minister  in  1663  and  con- 
tinued fifteen  years.  In  1681  a  new  meeting  house  was  erected  at  a 
cost  of  ;^100,  and  is  said  to  have  stood  on  the  top  of  the  hill  on  the 
John  Phinney  lot,  west  of  the  pond;  and  this  building  was  used  until 
the  Second  parish  church  was  erected  by  the  division  of  the  original 
parish. 

In  1683  Rev.  Jonathan  Russell  was  ordained  minister.  He  died  in 
1711,  and  was  succeeded  in  1712  by  his  .son,  Jonathan  Russell,  jr.  The 
organization,  at  this  time,  of  a  second  parish  was  urged,  and  as  strongly 
opposed,  but  in  1716  a  sufiBcient  number  of  persons,  with  means,  com- 
menced building  a  new  meeting  house  at  the  east  end  of  Cobb's  hill, 
without  waiting  for  the  legal  incorporation  of  a  separate  parish.  This 
edifice  was  used  fully  one  hundred  years  afterward  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Congregational  church  opposite  the  custom  house  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Barnstable;  but  not  until  1717  was  the  division  in  the  parish 
effected,  and  the  East  parish  erected;  and  then  not  until  after  much 
discussion  and  great  deliberation.  The  line  of  separation  between 
the  East  and  West  parishes  was  designated  as  running."  from  a  little 
east  of  Joseph  Crocker's  place  south  to  Oyster  river,"  now  generally 
called  Bump's  river,  where  the  division  line  is  substantially  now. 

The  West  parish  erected  a  new  meeting  house  in  1718,  in  which  the 
first  service  was  held  on  Thanksgiving  day,  1719.  This  is  substan- 
tially the  same  church  building  now  at  West  Barnstable  in  use  by  the 
West  or  First  parish.  Mr.  Russell,  the  minister  in  charge  at  the  time 
of  the  division,  chose  to  remain  with  the  West  parish.  No  renewal 
of  organization  was  needed,  nor  installation  of  pastor  who  carried  the 
records  with  him;  and  this  was  called  the  First  church. 

Upon  the  facts  already  stated  from  records  and  upon  others  not  so 
fully  authenticated  that  the  majority  remained  members  of  the  West 
parish,  rests  the  statement  that  it  is  the  oldest  Congregational  society 
in  New  or  Old  England. 

After  a  pastorate  of  forty-seven  years  Mr.  Russell  died  in  1759,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Oakes  Shaw,  who  died  in  1807.  This  West 
parish,  after  the  new  church  was  erected,  had  some  differences  of 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE.  385 

opinion  in  regard  to  the  manner  of  worship,  and  this  was  during  Mr. 
Russell's  pastorate.  Some  wished  the  music  conducted  in  a  way  that 
was  not  conducive  to  the  harmony  of  others,  and  June  12,  1726,  the 
civil  oflBcers  were  called  upon  "to  detect  and  bear  testimony  against 
such  iniquity."  But  it  was  voted  "  to  sing  the  regular,  or  new  way, 
till  the  church  order  otherwise." 

In  1807  Rev.  Enoch  Pratt  was  called  to  the  pastorate.  At  his  own 
request,  after  twenty-seven  years,  he  was  dismissed,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Alfred  Greenwood  in  1836.  In  1840  Rev.  Thomas  Riggs  was 
installed  pastor,  and  he  was  succeeded  in  1843  by  Rev.  Alonzo  Hayes. 
Rev.  Ebenezer  Chase  supplied  for  1861.  In  1852  Rev.  Hiram  Carleton 
became  stated  supply,  continuing  till  1861. 

In  1853  the  church  building  was  repaired  and  renewed,  retaining 
the  body  of  the  old  one.  The  modern  windows  were  substituted,  a 
new  covering  was  put  on,  and  twenty  feet  was  partitioned  from  the 
main  building,  forming  suitable  vestry  and  assembly  rooms.  The 
church  had  long  had  a  bell — the  gift  of  Colonel  James  Otis — said  to  be 
the  first  church  bell  in  the  county. 

In  1863  Rev.  Henry  A.  Goodhue  became  the  pastor  and  remained 
for  several  years.  Rev.  Robert  Samuel  served  part  of  1883-84  as  sup- 
ply, and  then  as  pastor  until  March,  1886.  After  an  interim  of  a  few 
weeks  the  pulpit  was  filled  by  occasional  supplies — Reverends  King, 
Clark,  Lord,  Wheeler,  Parker  and  Borchers.  Rev.  J.  K.  Aldrich,  of 
Hyannis,  .supplied  in  1889. 

The  East  parish  purchased  the  church  edifice  on  Cobb's  hill  of  the 
individuals  who  had  in  1717  erected  it,  and  preaching  was  held  for  a 
few  years  without  settling  a  minister.  Me.ssrs.  Welstead,  Wiggles- 
worth,  Cotton,  Waldron,  Ward,  Gold,  Perkins,  Gee,  Smith,  Hillhouse, 
Russell,  Leonard  and  others  officiated,  and  not  until  May  12, 1725,  was 
Rev.  Joseph  Green  ordained  the  settled  pastor  of  the  parish,  and  the 
same  day  the  church  organization  was  effected  with  sixty-fcur  mem- 
bers as  the  regular,  independent.  Congregational  church.  Rev.  Joseph 
Green  died  October  4,  1770,  and  was  .succeeded  in  1771  by  Rev.  Tim- 
othy Hilliard,  who  was  allowed  to  withdraw  from  the  pastorate  in  1783. 
November  12th,  the  same  year,  Rev.  John  Mellen  was  ordained  the 
successor. 

In  1801  Rev.  Jotham  Waterman  was  chosen  pastor,  and  dismissed 
July  13,  1815.  Rev.  Oliver  Hayward  was  ordained  to  succeed  him  in 
October,  the  same  year,  and  was  dismissed  b}'  his  own  request  in  1818. 
Rev.  Edward  Q.  Sewal  was  ordained  as  pastor  December  22,  1819,  and 
remained  three  years,  being  succeeded  October  6, 1824,  by  Rev.  Henry 
Herse}',  who  in  turn  was  succeeded  in  1837  by  Rev.  George  W.  Wood- 
ward for  two  years.  The  pulpit  was  temporarily  supplied  for  several 
years  until  October  1,  1849,  which  terminated  the  period  of  Rev.  Caz- 
25 


386  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

neau  Palfrey's  labors.  Rev.  J.  N.  Bellows,  brother  of  Rev.  Henry  W. 
Bellows,  of  New  York,  preached  from  March,  1849,  to  1852,  and  was 
succeeded  in  June,  1853,  by  Rev.T.  Daggett  for  six  years..  Rev.  J.  B. 
Willard  came  in  March,  1860,  for  two  years,  succeeded  by  Thomas  Wes- 
ton in  1863,  who  remained  five  years.  Henry  F.  Edes  was  settled  in 
April,  1869,  for  six  years,  then  Rev.  W.  H.  Mullett  filled  the  pulpit 
from  March,  1876,  to  March,  1877.  After  one  year  Rev.  R.  P.  E. 
Thacher  was  settled  three  years,  and  since  1881  the  parish  has  had 
no  settled  minister.  The  interim  has  been  filled  by  several,  and  Rev. 
Frederick  Hinckley,  a  native  of  Barnstable  village,  supplied  in  1889. 
The  religious  society  occupying  the  East  parish  church  is  the  Unita- 
rian Society  of  Barnstable. 

The  Centreville  church  was  organized  August  6, 1816,  by  the  name 
of  South  Congregational  in  Barnstable.  That  year  Ebenezer  Cole- 
man, James  Hathaway,  Ebenezer  Case,  Levi  Kelley,  Solomon  Phin- 
ney,  Benjamin  Hathaway,  Job  Childs,  James  Crosby,  Lewis  Crosby. 
Paul  Phinney  and  Ebenezer  Bearse  were  dismissed  from  the  East 
Parish  to  form  this  society.  The  church  building  was  soon  after 
erected,  in  the  extreme  eastern  portion  of  Centreville,  on  what  is 
known  as  Phinney 's  lane,  and  was  moved  to  its  present  site  in  1826. 
In  1848  the  old  building  was  taken  down  and  sold  in  parcels  and 
pieces,  and  the  present  one  erected.  A  town  clock  was  placed  in  its 
tower  about  1856.  Rev.  Josiah  Sturtevant  commenced  his  pastorate 
in  1819,  continuing  five  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  William 
Harlow,  who  was  installed  in  1827.  He  was  dismissed  after  three 
years,  and  Hazael  Lucas  came  in  1831.  William  Merchant  was  or- 
dained in  1835,  and  remained  four  years.  He  was  succeeded  by  Elisha 
Bacon  in  1840.  In  May  of  the  same  year  the  society  was  reorganized 
and  called  The  Congregational  Church  of  Christ  in  Centreville.  Mr. 
Bacon  was  retained  as  pastor  for  several  years.  The  society  was  suc- 
cessively supplied  by  Messrs.  Gilpin,  Edward  Chamberlain,  George 
Ford  and  E.  Burgess — the  latter  for  nearly  three  years.  William  H. 
Bessom  came  to  preach  in  1860,  remained  until  1863,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  E.  P.  Stone  in  1864,  who  served  until  1866.  Rev.  New- 
ton  I.  Jones  served,  and  was  succeeded  by  Isaiah  P.  Smith  in  1877,  for 
two  years.  Rufus  Emerson  came  in  1880;  Rev.  Mr.  Ayers  in  1883; 
Rev.  Mr.  Scott  for  1884;  Mr.  William  Leonard  for  the  years  1885-87 
inclusive;  and  April  1,  1888,  Rev.  George  H.  Pratt  became  the  pastor. 

This  church  has  been,  and  still  is,  an  important  factor  in  the  list. 
It  was  the  gathering  place  for  church-going  people  of  Osterville  before 
they  organized  a  church  of  their  own.  The  first  Sunday  school  was 
early  organized  by  "  Aunt  Annah  "  Lewis,  aunt  of  William  Thacher 
Lewis,  of  Falmouth.  She  died  about  1880,  after  a  life  of  over  four- 
score years  of  usefulness. 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  387 

Before  the  organization  of  this  church,  the  people  of  Centreville 
■were  compelled  to  go  to  the  East  Parish  church  at  Barnstable  village. 
It  is  an  intesesting  fact,  that  in  those  early  days  the  females  would 
■walk  the  entire  distance  carrying  their  best  shoes  and  stockings  in 
their  hands  until  they  arrived  at  the  large  rock,  situated  about  one 
mile  south  of  Barnstable  village,  by  the  roadside,  and  there  change, 
leaving  the  old  pairs  behind  the  rock  till  their  return.  The  rock  is 
still  by  the  roadside,  but  is  dumb  concerning  the  incidents  of  one 
hundred  years  ago. 

The  Baptist  church  of  Hyannis  is  the  parent  society  of  many 
others  in  its  -vicinity,  the  articles  of  faith  -with  its  organization  bear- 
ing date  June  20,  1772.  The  deed  of  the  lot  on  which  stands  the 
church  building  at  Hyannis  is  dated  1788.  The  society  worshipped 
here  in  a  school  house  or  small  building  until  1825,  when  a  church 
was  erected.  The  present  substantial  edifice  was  erected  during  the 
pastorate  of  Rev.  Andrew  Pollard  about  1845-6.  The  records  of  the 
society  are  deficient  between  the  years  1831  and  1863,  during  which 
time  the  names  of  the  pastors  only  can  be  given.  The  pastors  and 
years  of  installation  are:  Enoch  Eldridge,  1788;  Shubael  Lovell,  1795; 
John  Peak  (called  Father  Peak),  1802,  and  again  in  1819;  Barnabas 
Bates,  1808;  Simeon  Coombs,  1818;  Joseph  Ballard,  jr..  1829;  Lemuel 
Porter,  1830;  Edward  N.  Harris,  1831;  William  B.  Jacobs,  Andrew 
Pollard  and  D.  C.  Haynes  in  the  interim;  Samuel  J.  Bronson,  1853; 
W.  H.  Evans,  18t57;  W.  P.  Elsdon,  1873;  George  W.  Fuller,  1880;  and 
John  A.  Shaw,  April  23,  1889. 

Second  Baptist  Church,  Osterville.— On  the  third  of  January,  1836, 
twenty-five  members  of  the  First  Baptist  church,  Hyannis,  withdrew 
for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  society  at  Osterville.  This  number  in- 
cluded twelve  men:  Benjamin  Hallett,  George,  Robert,  Ellis  and  James 
Lovell,  Daniel  Childs  and  Benjamin  Small  of  Cotuit;  William  Hinck- 
ley of  Barnstable  village;  John  Cammett,  William  Blount  and  Jona- 
than Kelley  of  Centreville,  and  Benjamin  Jones  of  Marston's  Mills. 
Hansard  Hallett  was  also  one  of  the  original  members.  Thirteen 
ladies  were  also  included:  Clarissa,  Sarah  H.,  Jerusha  and  Lydia  G. 
Lovell,  Olive  L.  Allen,  Lydia  Hallett,  Eliza  Blount,  Jemima  Bearse, 
Hannah  Robbins,  Polly  Small,  Abigail  Childs.  Rebecca  Hinckley  and 
Pamelia  Thomas.  The  same  day  at  a  meeting,  at  the  residence  of 
George  Lovell,  arrangements  were  perfected  for  a  church  organiza- 
tion, and  March  4,  1835,  the  council  at  the  house  of  James  Lovell  in 
Osterville,  organized  the  present  society,  electing  Benjamin  Hallett 
and  Robert  Lovell  as  its  first  deacons  and  George  Lovell  as  clerk. 
Joseph  Amos,  the  blind  preacher,  of  Mashpee,  assisted  in  this  organi- 
zation, and  they  adjourned  to  the  public  hall  for  religious  service. 

Sunday  services  were  held  at  stated  times  in  the  East  school  house 


388  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

until  the  erection  of  the  present  church  edifice  in  1837,  which  was 
dedicated  January  4,  1838.  A  Sunday  school  was  also  organized  in 
January,  1838.  The  first  pastor,  Elavil  Shurtlif,  came  October  10, 1836, 
succeeded  by  Robert  B.  Dickey,  October  2, 1836.  William  L.  Dennis 
became  settled  as  pastor  December  24,  1837,  succeeded  by  Ira  Leland 
in  January,  1840,  and  who  was  settled  in  July  the  same  year,  remain- 
ing until  May,  1843.  William  S.  Knapp  then  preached  six  months, 
and  others  supplied  the  pulpit  until  Tubal  Wakefield  was  settled 
in  1847,  who  with  his  son,  Leander,  oflBciated  until  1862.  The  society 
then  depended  upon  supplies  for  three  years.  In  1865  Rev.  Freeman 
B.  Ashley  was  settled  as  pastor;  in  1869  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Robert  Harlow  until  May,  1860.  The  remainder  of  the  year  was  sup- 
plied and  Rev.  W.  A.  Newell  came,  remaining  until  July,  1862. 

In  1863  Rev.  Allen  E.  Battelle  was  settled  for  two  years,  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Charles  L.  Thompson  in  1866.  He  was  succeeded  in  1867  by 
J.  K.  Metcalf  for  two  years,  then  by  supplies  until  1871,  when  Noah 
FuUerton  was  called  and  was  retained  three  years.  Rev.  James  Mun- 
roe  supplied  for  a  year,  and  Rev.  F.  E.  Cleave  came  in  1875;  Rev.  H. 
M.  Dean  in  1878  for  five  months;  Rev.  P.  P.  Briggs,  January  1,  1879; 
Rev.  E.  L.  Scott  in  1880;  D.  C.  Bixby,  1883;  Rev.  G.  W.  Fuller,  of  Hy- 
annis,  supplied  from  March,  1886,  to  June,  1886,  and  was  succeeded  by 
F.  A.  Snow  during  that  summer.  Mr.  Fuller  supplied  for  the  winter 
and  spring  following,  and  Rev.  T.  J.  Ramsdell  through  the  sum- 
mer. In  June,  1888,  Rev.  Bryant  McLellan  commenced  his  labors 
with  the  society  and  was  ordained  the  settled  pastor  in  April,  1889. 
The  church  edifice,  remodeled  and  modernized,  was  rededicated 
December  16.  1889. 

The  Third  Baptist  church,  Barnstable,  is  so  called  because  its 
organization  dated  October  27,  1842,  is  subsequent  in  date  to  that 
of  the  Hyannis  and  Osterville  societies.  Its  primitive  members  were: 
Dea.  Samuel  Childs,  Mrs.  Relief  Chipman,  Ann  Allen,  Lucy  Childs, 
Lydia  Jenkins  and  Misses  Anna  D.  Allen  and  Mary  A.  Smith  of 
the  Hyannis  church;  Misses  Jane  and  Abby  Munroe  and  Mrs.  Louisa 
Brown,  of  the  New  Bedford  church;  Mr.  William  Hinckley  and 
Mrs.  Rebecca  Hinckley,  of  the  Osterville  church;  also  Mrs.  Caroline 
J.  Crocker,  Rebecca  Scudder  and  Mr.  W.  H.  Brown. 

The  old  court  house  was  remodeled  into  a  pleasant  place  of  wor- 
ship, which  is  still  occupied.  The  pastors  and  time  of  commence- 
ment have  been:  Richard  M.  Ely,  in  September,  1843;  William  H. 
Dalrymple,  April,  1849;  S.  G.  Sargent,  November,  1850;  William 
Reed,  October,  1852;  W.  W.  Ashley,  January,  1868;  T.  C.  Russell, 
July,  1858;  A.  F.  Mason,  January,  1860;  A.  L.  Farr,  November,  1861; 
J.  H.  Seaver,  November,  1863;  J.  Bronson,  December,  1866;  Nathan 
Chapman,    November,    1868;   J.  H.  Tilton,  and  Miles  N.  Reed,  De- 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  389 

cember,  1877;  William  S.  Walker,  June,  1878;  Mr.  Scott,  July,  1884; 
Mr.  Hurst  for  a  short  time;  G.  W.  Burnham,  October,  1887;  and  L. 
F.  Shepardson  for  1889.  Dea.  Samuel  Chipman  was  deacon  from 
its  organization  until  bis  death  m  1876.  Daniel  Davis  is  now  the 
acting  deacon,  and  Miss  A.  N.  Hinckley  is  clerk. 

The  Methodists  of  Hyannis,  prior  to  1850,  raised  a  fund  to  build  a 
church  for  their  worship,  but  were  so  divided  in  belief  that  the  proj- 
ect was  abandoned,  and  the  two  factions  each  erected  one.  The  Prot- 
estant Methodists  soon  ceased  public  service,  and  the  edifice  became 
a  hall — now  the  dwelling  of  Nathaniel  Sears,  the  conductor.  The 
Episcopal  Methodists  also  soon  discontinued  their  society,  and  the 
church  building  was  sold  to  the  Congregational  society,  September  16, 
1854.  This  society  was  organized  January  3,  1864,  comprising  many 
former  Methodists.  After  the  purchase,  the  edifice  was  repaired  and 
enlarged  for  this  new  society,  which  is  prosperous.  In  1866  a  front 
was  added,  containing  a  steeple,  in  which  was  placed  a  bell,  and  in 
1878  the  chapel  by  the  side  of  the  church  building  was  erected.  The 
pastors  have  been:  J.  U.  Parsons,  the  first,  three  years,  succeeded  by 
Charles  Morgridge,  in  1858;  H.  A.  Lounsbury,-in  1865;  J.  W.  Strong, 
1870;  J.  W.  Turner,  1878;  V.  J  Hartshorne,  1875;  Stephen  Smith,  1879; 
Rev.  Mr.  Angier,  1881;  Charles  E.  Harwood,  to  December,  1882;  R.  J. 
Mooney,  to  1884;  J.  K.  Aldrich,  January  1,  1885;  Mr.  Kavanaugh,  1887; 
and  George  W.  Osgood,  November  6,  1887. 

The  Catholic  society  of  Hyannis  was  organized  in  1850,  and  the 
most  active  in  its  organization  and  support  was  William  Ormsby. 
In  1874  a  church  edifice  was  erected.  Rev.  Father  William  Moran, 
of  Sandwich,  was  the  first  pastor,  who  was  succeeded  by  other  pastors 
from  that  church— Reverends  Bertoldi,  Kinnemy,  McCabe,  Brady 
and  Clinton — once  in  each  month.  Father  O'Connor,  from  Harwich, 
officiated  in  1869,  and  Rev.  C.  McSweeney,  of  Woods  HoU,  is  the 
present  pastor. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  society,  Barnstable  village,  had  a  church 
edifice  early  in  this  century,  which  was  moved  to  its  present  site  less 
than  sixty  years  ago.  This  building  occupied  a  site  to  the  west  and 
south,  and  was  repaired  when  removed.  Its  ministers  have  been :  Ben- 
jamin Hazleton,in  1818;  Isaac  Jennison,in  1820;  E.  Taylor  and  Thomas 
Smith,  in  1821;  Lewis  Bates,  1823;  Bates  and  J.  N.  Maffett,  1824;  Heze- 
kiah  Thacher,  1825;  Thacher  and  C.  G.  Chase,  1826;  Enoch  Bradley, 
1827;  Warren  Wilbur,  1828;  H.  Bronson  and  S.  Heath,  1829;  Bronson 
and  C.  Noble,  1830;  F.  Upham  and  J.  B.  Brown,  1831;  A.  Holway,  1833; 
W.  Ramsdell  and  B.  M.  Walker,  1834;  J.  Steel  and  L.  R.  Bannister, 
1835;  Steel  and  H.  H.  Smith,  1836;  E.  Otis,  1837;  Josiah  Litch,  1838; 
Henry  H.  Smith,  1839;  E.  Jackson,  1840;  G.  W.  Stearns,  1842;  Steams 
and  G.  W.  Winchester,  1843;  D.  Stebbins,  1844;  Edward  A.  Lyons. 


390  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

1845;  William  Richards,  1846;  Henry  Mayo,  1847;  James  M.  Worcester, 
1848;  G.  W.  Stearns,  1849;  Edward  B.  Hinckley,  1851;  James  B.  Weeks, 
1853;  Joseph  Marsh,  1855;  Daniel  Webb,  1856;  Seth"  B.  Chase,  1862; 
Caleb  S.  Sanford,  1867;  S.  Y.  Wallace.  1868;  S.  W.  Coggeshall  and  N. 
B.  Fisk,  1869;  V.  W.  Mattoon,  1871;  Silas  Sprowls,  1873;  supplies,  1876 
to  1879;  Y.  B.  Gurney;  1879;  C.  F.  Sharp.  1881;  Philo  Hawks,  still  a 
resident  of  the  place,  1883;  H.  N.  Donnell,  1886;  supplies  in  1887;  E. 
F.  Newell,  1888;  and  George  Bemreuter,  1889. 

Rev.  William  Black,  the  honored  founder  of  Methodism  in  Nova 
Scotia,  New  Brunswick  and  Newfoundland,  preached  the  first  Meth- 
odist sermon  ever  preached  upon  Cape  Cod.  He  embarked  for  Boston 
from  New  York  in  a  schooner,  which  put  in  at  Hyannis,  January  20, 
1784,  and  being  detained  there,  Mr.  Black  preached  six  sermons  at 
Barnstable,  where  a  deep  religious  interest  was  produced. 

The  services  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church  were  held  during 
the  summer  of  1889  in  the  village  of  Barnstable  at  stated  periods. 
The  society  is  largely  composed  of  the  visitors  for  the  season.  Rev. 
N.  H.  Chamberlain,  of  Bourne,  officiated  the  past  season. 

The  Catholic  society  held  monthly  services  in  Barnstable  village 
during  the  summer  of  1889,  the  few  members  being  under  the  care  of 
the  Woods  HoU  priest. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Society,  Osterville,  dates  its  organization 
November  30, 1847.  For  some  time  previous  there  had  been  meetings 
of  the  people  as  Methodists,  at  the  hall,  and  soon  after  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  society  a  church  edifice  was  built.  It  was  erected  in  1848 
and  remodeled  in  1861.  The  old  members  interested  at  the  first  were: 
Oliver  Hinckley  and  wife,  Mrs.  John  Cammett,  Benjamin  F.  Crocker, 
John  F.  Blossom,  Lot  Phinney,  Joshua  Lumbert,  Bartlett  Holmes, 
Daniel  Lovell  and  wife,  Mrs.  Timothy  Parker,  Josiah  Scudder,  Jacob 
Lovell  and  J.  Lovell.  The  ministers  were:  A.  M.  Osgood  and  L.  W. 
Barber  in  1847;  J.  B.  Hunt,  1848;  Mr.  Tainter,  1849;  John  Tasker,1850; 
J.  B.  Washburn,  1851;  B.  K.  Bosworth,  1852;  J.  C.  Allen,  1863;  J.  Bur- 
leigh Hunt,  1854;  J.  N.  Collier,  1856:  J.  W.  Willett,  1867:  E.  K.  Colby, 
1869;  H.  D.  Robinson.  1861;  Edward  Edson,  1863;  E.  B.  Hinckley, 
1865;  Edward  Anthony,  1866:  C.  N.  Hinckley,  1867;  Solomon  P.  Snow, 
1870;  Charles  H.  Ewer,  1872;  Mr.  Cottle,  1874;  J.  W.  Fitch,  1876; 
George  H.  Butler.  1877;  E.  S.  Fletcher,  1878;  S.  H.  Day,  1879;  George 
A.  Grant.  1881;  W.  W.  Hall,  1884;  Lewis  B.  Codding,  1885;  Mr.  Dal- 
rymple  came  in  1887  and  Mr.  Newell  finished  the  year;  and  next  Rev. 
Edward  Gurney  came. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Society,  Marston's  Mills,  was  formed  quite 
early  and  was  supplied  as  one  of  a  circuit.  Its  church  building  was 
first  erected  at  Yarmouth  Port  early  in  the  present  century,  and  about 
1830  was  purchased  and  removed  to  Marston's  Mills.     It  was  repaired 


TOWN   OF  BARNSI'ABLE.  391 

and  remodeled  in  1862.  Several  of  the  pioneer  Methodist  ministers 
preached  here,  but  of  them  no  definite  data  could  be  found  prior  to 
the  coming  of  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Hunt  in  1854.  In  1860  Benjamin  Haines 
came;  and  in  1862  Thomas  Pratt.  Those  who  succeeded,  and  the  year 
of  their  coming,  are:  John  S.  Fish,  1864;  Charles  O.  Carter,  1866; 
Charles  E.  Walker,  1869;  Rev.  Mr.  Daw,  1872;  Mr.  Townsend,  1873; 
Moses  Dwight,1875;  John  S.  Fish  a  second  time  in  1877;  Philo  Hawks, 
1880;  James  R.  Cushing,  1882;  Rev.  A.  H.  Somes,  1884;  and  Rev.  Ed- 
ward Gurney,  April  1,  1888. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Society,  Centreville,  dates  from  1877,  its 
members  previously  uniting  with  that  at  Osterville.  It  is  now  a  pros- 
perous young  society,  having  had  a  chapel  built  for  worship  by  Lucian 
K.  Paine.  This  and  the  Barnstable  Methodist  Episcopal  church  were 
one  charge  in  1889.  The  ministers  have  been:  George  H.  Butler,  in 
1877;  Ephraim  S.  Fletcher,  1878;  S.  Hamilton  Day,  1879;  George  A. 
Grant,  1881;  W.W.Hall,  1884;  Lewis  B.  Codding,  1885;  C.H.Dal. 
rymple,  1887;  Elmer  F.  Newell,  1888;  and  George  Bemreuter,  April, 
1889. 

Prior  to  1846  the  inhabitants  of  Cotuit  and  Cotuit  Port  agreed  to 
erect  a  church  in  which  both  communities  could  assemble;  but  disa- 
greements arose  and  the  agreement  was  dissolved.  The  Cotuit  people 
at  once  moved  in  the  matter  to  erect  one  for  themselves,  circulating  a 
subscription  early  in  1846,  by  which  twenty-two  shares  were  disposed 
of,  and  upon  which  as  a  basis  a  church  was  erected.  The  shares  taken 
did  not  cover  the  cost  of  the  building,  but  the  balance  was  solicited  in 
various  ways  and  places  by  Rev.  Phineas  Fish,  who  was  the  first  pas- 
tor, preaching  alternately  here  and  at  Herring  Pond.  He  began 
preaching  here  in  1840.  Rev.  Mr.  Cobb  succeeded  him,  who  in  turn 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Mr.  Bacon,  but  no  settled  minister  was  em- 
ployed until  1883.  The  ground  for  the  church  was  given  for  church 
purposes  by  Alvin  Crocker,  to  whom  it  would  revert  if  not  used  as 
such,  and,  in  order  to  make  the  church  free  and  continue  its  useful- 
ness, the  building  was  sold  upon  the  former  stock  February  10,  1882, 
and  bid  in  by  Charles  L.  Baxter  for  a  large  list  of  subscribers,  embo- 
dying almost  the  entire  community.  At  a  meeting  held  March  11, 
1882,  five  trustees— John  H.  Reed, Thomas  C.  Harlow, Charles  L.Bax- 
ter, Roland  T.  Harlow  and  Nathaniel  Hinckley— were  chosen  to  con- 
trol it.  By-laws  were  adopted  April  6, 1882,  and  it  was  called  the  First 
Church  of  Cotuit.  The  church  is  now  free,  is  public  property,  and 
every  one  who  pays  one  dollar  has  a  vote  in  its  management.  There 
is  no  religious  organization  here,  but  preaching  is  supported  by  sub- 
scription. Since  1883  Charles  E.  Helliwell  and  A.  H.  Somes  have 
occupied  the  desk  a  portion  of  the  time  till  1888,  when  the  committee 
let  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Society  of  Cotuit  Port  use  the  church.    In 


392  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

April,  1889,  Rev.  Mr.  Patterson  was  assigned  to  this  church  and  at 
Cotuit  Port,  preaching  here  in  the  afternoon.  In  1886  Mrs.  Mary  A. 
Gifford  organized  a  Sabbath  school  here,  which  has  been  liberally- 
supported  in  every  way  by  the  people  of  Cotuit  and  vicinity,  retain- 
ing her  as  superintendent. 

In  1846,  after  the  northern  section  of  Cotuit  had  concluded  to  erect 
a  church  edifice  independent  of  the  "  Port,"  as  they  styled  the  village, 
the  people  of  the  lower  village,  which  bears  the  name  of  Cotuit  Port, 
erected  the  present  substantial  edifice,  and  dedicated  it  as  the  Union  , 
church.  The  professed  Christians  were  Baptists,  Methodists  and 
Congregationalists,  and  no  one  of  these  societies  then  felt  strong 
enough  to  build  exclusive  of  the  others.  The  building  was  to  be  oc- 
cupied by  the  three  societies  as  equally  as  possible.  The  members  of 
these  three  societies  met  January  22,  1872,  and  formed  the  Cotuit  Port 
Union  Religious  Society,  enlarging  and  repairing  the  church  building. 
For  a  few  years  supplies  filled  the  pulpit  until  Mr.  Ray,  a  Congrega- 
tionaliist,  came,  who  pleased  all,  and  was  retained  twelve  years — to 
1889.  This  society,  for  1889,  elected,  as  its  managing  committee,  John 
C.  Fish,  Irving  B.  Phinney  and  Alonzo  Phinney;  as  assessors,  Hiram 
Crocker,  Irving  B.  Phinney  and  B.  W.  Dottridge;  and  as  clerk,  John 
R.  Sturges. 

In  1879  many  of  the  Union  Society,  considering  it  expedient  to 
dissolve  the  old  and  organize  a  new  religious  society  of  broader 
views,  adopted,  September  26,  1879.  the  faith  and  rules  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Christian  Church.  The  annual  meetings  are  held  the  second 
Wednesday  in  January  each  year,  at  which  a  clerk,  treasurer  and  four 
pastor's  associates — two  males  and  two  females — are  elected.  This 
is  now  the  active  Christian  society  of  the  community,  but  is  not  to 
aflfect  the  original  Union  Church  organization,  which  is  continued, 
and  of  which  this  is  composed.  The  pastor's  associates  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Christian  Church,  elected  January  9,  1889,  are:  John  R. 
Sturges,  Braddock  Coleman,  Mary  Phinney  and  Edith  R.  Fisher. 
The  late  John  M.  Handy  filled  the  office  of  clerk  and  treasurer  from 
the  first. 

The  Universalist  Society  of  Hyannis  was  organized  in  1828,  by  the 
concentrated  means  and  energy  of  Samuel  Pitcher,  Zacheus  Hamlin, 
Freeman  Bearse,  David  Hinckley,  William  Phinney,  of  Centreville, 
and  Alexander  Baxter.  A  small  church  edifice  was  then  erected,  and 
years  after  a  still  better  one,  which  was  struck  by  lightning  and  con- 
sumed in  1872.  In  1873  the  society  commenced  the  present  fine  edi- 
fice upon  the  same  site,  dedicating  it  June  30,  1874.  The  records  of 
the  society  were  lost  in  the  fire,  and  prior  to  1873  the  exactness  in 
names  and  dates  of  pastoral  service  must  depend  upon  tradition.  The 
first  pastor  was  John  M.  Spear,  who  officiated  for  several  years,  and 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE. 


393 


was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Bugbee,  John  Noyes  and  Rufus  S.  Pope,  the 
latter  officiating  over  thirty  years  in  the  old  church  and  the  new.  The 
society  was  reorganized  in  1875,  and  Moses  H.  Houghton  became  its 
pastor;  he  was  succeeded  in  1882  byO.  L.  Ashenfelter  for  three  years, 
and  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  various  persons  until  October  1,  1888, 
when  Frederick  Hinckley  was  settled  as  pastor,  and  remained  one 
year. 

Burial  Places. — In  a  town  so  old  many  cemeteries  would  be  ex- 
pected. The  first  regular  burying  place  mentioned  in  the  records  is 
that  near  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  which,  with  that  at  West 
Barnstable,  is  the  oldest.  In  1674  it  was  ordered  "  that  Thos.  Huck- 
ins  lay  down  three  acres  of  land  at  the  meeting  house  for  the  town's 
use  as  a  burying  ground."  This  is  also  evidence  that  the  first  meet- 
ing house  was  near  there.  The  old  grounds  of  the  town  are  consid- 
erably u.sed  at  the  present  time,  but  the  newer  places  of  burial  are 
preferred,  especially  by  those  who  have  no  relatives  in  the  old.  The 
later  ones  are  more  particularly  described  in  the  villages  where  they 
have  been  instituted.  The  whole  number  of  burial  places  are:  Two 
at  the  Unitarian  church,  Barnstable  village,  and  one  at  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church;  one  at  East  Barnstable  and  one  at  West  Barnstable; 
one  at  Marston's  Mills;  two  at  Cotuit;  two  at  Osterville;  three  at  Cen- 
treville;  and  four  at  Hyaunis.  There  are  two  organized  cemetery 
associations  in  the  town,  located  in  the  villages  of  Centreville  and 
Hyannis. 


■^i    VIVE  MEMORLOe-HI  . 
i'^IJ,  HERE  LYETH  BURIED 
■■■}    V  BODY   OF  DOROTHY 
4y>'  DAUOHTERTO  WILLIAM 
1^   &    ANN    RAWSON 
^        AGED  2  YEARS 
X       &  4- MONTIS  DEC° 
^1    DECEMBER    ^     ZB 
J-%  1663. 


l-ERE  LYE-H 

INXRED^  BODYOF 
m'^^hope  CHIPMAN 
^  WIFE  OF    ELDER 
JOHN     CHIPMAN 
ACED  54  YEARS 
WHO  CHAN&EDTHIS 
LIFE  FOR  A  BETR 
?  8   OF  JANUARY 


The  oldest  inscriptions  in  the  town  are  in  the  so-called  Methodist 
cemetery  at  Barnstable.  Seven  of  these  antedate  1700.  Here  are  the 
inscriptions  on  two  of  the  older  ones.  The  cuts  are  by  Gustavus  A. 
Hinckley,  whose  work  as  a  literary  man  and  antiquarian  is  noticed 
by  Mr.  Swift  in  chapter  XIII. 

This  Mrs.  Chipman  was  the  daughter  of  John  Howland,  the  last  of 
the  Mayflower  Pilgrims. 


394  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Village  of  Barnstable. — Like  some  other  villages  of  the  county, 
the  settlement  of  this  is  contemporaneous  with  that  of  the  town,  the  first 
settlement  of  the  plantation  being  the  nucleus  of  the  present  village. 
The  names  of  the  first  pioneers  have  been  given  for  the  town,  and  we 
will  now  endeavor  to  place  them  in  their  first  residences  in  the  village. 
In  1640,  when  their  first  primitive  dwellings  had  been  erected,  Rev. 
John  Lothrop's  was  where  the  present  hotel  of  Mr.  Eldridge  stands, 
nearly  opposite  the  court  house:  Henry  Rowley  near  Mr.  Lothrop's; 
Isaac  Wells  near  where  the  court  house  stands;  George  Lewis,  sr.,  near 
the  site  of  the  Ainsworth  house;  Edward  Fitzrandal  on  the  corner  by 
the  Hyannis  road;  Henry  Cobb  near  the  present  Unitarian  church,  and 
the  hill  was  named  Cobb's  hill  from  this  fact;  Richard  Foxwell  near 
the  present  Agricultural  Hall;  Bernard  Lumbert,  further  east,  near 
the  old  mill;  and  Nathaniel  Bacon,  John  Smith,  Roger  Goodspeed, 
Thomas  Huckins,  John  Scudder,  Samuel  Mayo  and  Thomas  Dimock 
were  also  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  present  village,  east  of  John  Lo- 
throp's. Around  Coggin's  pond  were  settled  Henry  Bourne,  Thomas 
Hinckley,  Henry  Coggin,  Laurence  Litchfield.  James  Hamblin  and 
William  Tilley.  Between  Coggin's  pond  and  the  present  court  house 
were  Isaac  Robinson,  James  Cudworth,  Samuel  Jackson,  Thomas  Al- 
lyn,  John  Mayo,  John  Caseley,  Robert  Linnell,  William  Caseley, 
Thomas  Lothrop  and  Thomas  Lumbert.  Several,  including  John 
Bursley,  settled  west  of  Coggin's  pond,  the  settlement,  like  the  present 
village,  being  scattered  along  for  a  space  of  three  miles.  The  center 
of  the  village  then  was  a  little  east  of  Coggin's  pond. 

Many  of  these  first  houses  were  made  of  timber  and  lumber 
brought  from  the  saw  mill  at  Scituate,  the  distance  by  water  being 
short  and  transportation  by  boats  easy.  The  house  in  which  Governor 
Hinckley  lived  and  died  was  just  east  of  Marcus  M.  Nye's  store,  on 
the  north  side  of  the  county  road,  near  the  head  of  "  Calf  Pasture 
lane."  The  governor's  former  house  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
county  road,  and  here,  under  a  stone  wall,  is  the  well  which  he  used. 
His  dust  rests  under  a  suitable  slab,  inscribed  with  record  of  his  vir- 
tues, in  the  Methodist  burying  ground  east  of  where  he  lived.  Stone 
houses  were  early  built  in  the  western  part  of  the  then  village  or  com- 
munity, and  houses  with  the  first  story  of  stone  were  very  common. 

The  so-called  Scudder  lane  of  later  years  was  "  Calf  Pasture 
lane  "  in  the  early  days  of  the  village,  and  led  to  common  lands  held 
at  that  time  by  the  proprietors,  and  which  are  known  to  this  day  as 
the  calf  pasture  lands.  It  is  in  tradition  that  the  first  comers  to 
this  town  and  village  first  settled  at  this  pasture  land,  and  the  next 
year  moved  back  from  the  water.  The  lane  was  opened  prior  to  the 
laying  out  of  the  county  road  in  1686.  Later  it  was  the  outlet  to  the 
harbor  for  fishing,  and  early  in  the  present  century  Nelson  and  Daniel 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE.  395 

Scudder  built  a  wharf  on  the  harbor  communicating  with  the  lane, 
and  from  it  several  fishing  vessels  were  sent  out  in  connection  with 
others  of  a  fleet  of  forty  that  v/ere  made  up  from  the  rendezvous  wharf 
and  Cobb  &  Smith's  wharf.  For  several  years  this  fleet  went  and 
came  regularly,  and  a  lucrative  business  in  mackerel  fishing  was  car- 
ried on.  Rendezvous  lane  is  the  street  that  runs  northerly  from  the 
present  Baptist  church.  The  other  wharves  were  located  on  the  pres- 
ent •'  Poverty  lane  "  that  runs  to  the  harbor  from  near  Masonic  Hall. 

Among  the  early  industries  here  was  that  of  salt  making.  Nathan- 
iel Gorham  boiled  sea  water  and  made  salt,  on  Sandy  neck,  during  the 
revolutionary  war.  Many  of  the  present  residents  of  Barnstable  vil- 
lage remember  when  the  "  Common  field  "—the  marsh  in  the  rear  of 
the  Unitarian  church— was  a  field  of  salt  works.  Loring  Crocker, 
grandfather  of  Alfred  Crocker,  was  the  pioneer  in  this  industry  on  the 
common  field.  In  1804  he  bought  of  Isaac  Bacon  several  acres  of  land 
with  the  right  to  the  salt  water  and  the  privilege  of  placing  pumps. 
He  afterward,  in  1832,  bought  sixteen  hundred  running  feet  of  Sam- 
uel Whitman,  who  had  succeeded  Lothrop  Tucker;  then  east  of  this 
he  purchased  in  1836,  works  of  Mrs.  Sturgis;  and  he  bought  Asa 
Young's  works,  so  that  when  Loring  Crocker  died,  in  the  fall  of  1843, 
he  was  the  owner  of  seventeen  thousand  running  feet  of  vats,  most  of 
which  were  on  the  Common  field.  These  vats  were  estimated  to  cost 
one  dollar  per  running  foot.  Mr.  Crocker  obtained  his  lumber  from 
Maine,  and  vats  could  be  built  cheaper  then  than  now.  It  is  said  that 
six  thousand  bushels  in  a  year  was  a  good  yield  to  Mr.  Crocker.  After 
his  death  his  sons  Nathan  and  Loring  conducted  the  works  up  to  1856, 
when  Loring,  father  of  Alfred  Crocker,  purchased  them  and  made  the 
last  salt  in  1872.  The  old  wind  mill  for  salt  grinding,  now  to  be  seen 
across  the  bridge,  was  erected  by  the  Crockers.  Glauber  salts  was 
one  of  the  products  until  it  became  too  cheap  to  be  remunerative. 
This  business,  with  that  of  Cobb  &  Smith  at  the  wharf,  made  that 
part  of  the  village  at  that  time  an  important  business  center. 

Leonard  Hopkins  in  1832  bought  some  salt  works  here  and  in  1851 
sold  them  to  Alvan  Howes,  who  was  a  successful  manufacturer;  in 
1867  Truman  D.  Eldredge  became  the  owner,  discontinuing  the  works 
about  1870.  Nathaniel  Gorham,  2d,  began  salt  making  about  1812  by 
the  old  mill  on  the  creek;  later  he  removed  the  works  to  the  shore 
north  of  the  house  in  which  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Ann  Fish,  lives.  Amos 
Otis  was  making  salt  in  1812  in  the  works  north  of  William  Dixon's, 
and  in  nearly  every  available  spot  around  the  harbor  north  of  the  vil- 
lage, salt  works  were  erected,  but  were  generally  discontinued  about 
the  middle  of  the  century. 

Other  industries  commenced  here  early.  As  soon  as  the  town  was 
incorporated  in  1639,  the  proprietors  gave  Thomas  Lumbert  permis- 


396  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

sion  "to  keep  victualling,  or  an  Ordinary  for  the  entertainment  of 
strangers."  Of  course  "  to  draw  wines"  was  the  main  business  of  the 
tavern  in  those  days.  He  was  located  somewhere  near  the  old  bury- 
ing place;  and  Barnabas  Lothrop  had  a  similar  permission  for  an 
ordinary  in  1677,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  village.  West  of  Coggin's 
pond  John  Crocker  had  a  tavern  prior  to  1669.  The  old  court  house, 
standing  where  the  Baptist  church  is,  gave  occasion  for  the  erection 
of  taverns  near  it.  Prior  to  1776  Cornelius  Crocker,  jr.,  opened  a 
tavern  near  that  court  house,  and  which  his  widow  continued  many 
years.  The  ancient  tavern  building  stood  on  the  spot  now  owned  by 
Admiral  Radford.  Opposite  the  same  old  court  house,  on  the  south 
side  of  Main  street,  in  1776.  stood  the  tavern  of  Otis  Loring.  This 
was  continued  by  Walter  Chipman  down  to  the  recollection  of  the 
oldest  living  inhabitants,  and  has  since  been  taken  down.  Just  east 
of  Loring's  tavern,  with  a  blacksmith's  shop  between,  was  also,  in 
1776,  the  "Aunt  Lydia's  tavern."  Lydia,  daughter  of  Cornelius  Crocker, 
sr.,  married  Captain  Sturgis,  whom  she  survived  more  than  sixty-two 
years,  continuing  the  tavern  many  years  under  that  title.  Her  daugh- 
ter, Sally,  married  Daniel  Crocker,  who  ran  the  tavern  until  his  death 
in  1811,  and  it  was  continued  by  his  widow  as  the  "Sally  Crocker  tav- 
ern "  until  1837.  This  building,  opposite  the  Sturgis  Library,  is  now 
the  residence  of  Mrs.  Lydia  Scudder. 

In  1794  Ezekiel  Crocker  married  Temperance  Phinney,  and  opened 
a  tavern  in  the  house  where  now  stands  the  residence  of  Joseph  M. 
Day.  A  tavern  was  also  kept  before  those  last  mentioned,  on  the 
Bacon  lot,  between  the  Unitarian  church  and  Agricultural  Hall;  it 
was  kept  by  Nathaniel  Bacon,  3d,  prior  to  his  death  in  1738.  Dea. 
Samuel  Chipman,  who  lived  on  the  corner  of  Main  street  and  the  Hy- 
annis  road,  kept  a  tavern  prior  to  1700.  He  was  a  deacon -of  the 
church  and  retailed  spirituous  liquors — a  combination  that  seemed 
consistent  in  those  days.  His  son  Samuel,  also  a  deacon,  continued 
the  famous  "  Chipman  tavern  "  until  about  the  middle  of  last  century. 
While  the  present  court  house  was  being  erected  in  1827,  Eben  and 
Watterman  Eldridge  modeled  their  homestead  into  the  Globe  Hotel, 
and  since  then  it  has  been  kept  as  a  public  house. 

As  early  as  taverns  and  places  "to  draw  wines"  existed  in  this 
village,  the  primitive  store,  with  its  rum,  molasses  and  other  staples, 
was  also  a  contingent  necessity.  The  variety  of  goods  increased  with 
the  desires  and  growth  of  the  village  and  surrounding  town.  Sturgis 
Gorham,  Esq.,  flourished  as  the  merchant  prince  of  the  Cape  between 
1760  and  1790.  He  carried  on  an  extensive  coasting  and  West  India 
trade.  Peter  Cotelle  started  a  regular  grocery  store  about  1700,  just 
east  of  Coggin's  pond.  The  residents,  whose  wants  were  few,  manu- 
factured their  own  material  for  clothing  in  those  days.     Soon  after 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  397 

1768  Mrs.  Abigail  Freeman,  daughter  of  Thomas  Davis,  opened  a  gro- 
cery store  in  the  house  where  stands  the  present  residence  of  Joseph 
M.  Day.  In  revolutionary  days  she  had  trouble,  because  she  would 
not  deliver  up  her  stock  of  tea  to  the  vigilance  committee.  A  later 
store  was  kept  on  the  corner  of  "  Calf  Pasture  lane."  Daniel  Scud- 
der  then  lived  there,  and  prior  to  the  civil  war  the  business  was  car- 
ried on  by  Nelson  and  Daniel,  in  connection  with  their  fishery. 

Another  old  business  place  is  the  Bacon  corner.  It  was  early  oc- 
cupied by  Eben  Bacon,  merchant,  succeeded  by  a  Mr.  Davis,  from 
Falmouth,  Nye  &  Scudder,  Samuel  Nye,  Hallet  &  Bursley,  and  Hal- 
let  &  Whelden,  they  being  succeeded  in  1873  by  James  Knowles  & 
Co.  In  1878,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Knowles,  the  junior  partner,  E.  S. 
Phinney,  and  A.  F.  Edson,  as  Phinney  &  Edson,  took  the  business, 
carrying  it  on  successfully  for  five  years,  when,  February  1,  1883, 
David  Davis  and  F.  B.  Easterbrook  began  as  Davis  &  Easterbrook, 
and  continued  until  1889,  when  David  Davis  succeeded  to  the  busi- 
ness. Phinney  &  Edson,  in  the  winter  of  1882-3,  removed  their  gen- 
eral store  to  that  formerly  occupied  by  Conant  &  Edson,  who  had 
been  in  business  for  a  few  years;  that  firm  had  been  succeeded  by 
Mr.  Conant,  from  whom  the  property  went  into  the  hands  of  the  Barn- 
stable Savings  Bank.  In  September,  1880,  E.  S.  Phinney  and  Albert 
F.  Edson  purchased  the  property,  which  they  now  occupy  in  their  gen- 
eral business. 

Of  the  stores  between  Scudder's  lane  and  the  present  ones,  one 
was  kept  by  Frederick  Lewis  prior  to  1858,  near  where  Gustavus  A. 
Hinckley  resides;  and  in  1858  R.  M.  Waitt  opened  one  near  the.  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  church,  which  in  1861  he  discontinued,  and  removed 
the  building  to  his  present  residence  for  a  carriage  house. 

Eben  Smith,  sr.,  and  E.  T.  Cobb  had  a  wharf  and  a  general  trade  in 
merchandise,  near  the  bridge  leading  to  the  Common  fields.  Their 
business  was  important  to  the  village,  and  prior  to  1850  was  one  of 
those  that  so  largely  built  up  the  commercial  standing  of  Barnstable 
in  those  days.  This  firm  in  1850  added  coal  to  their  list  of  merchan- 
dise, being  the  first  dealers.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Cobb,  Mr.  Smith 
carried  it  ou  until  his  death,  leaving  the  business  to  his  son,  Eben, 
who  removed  the  yard  to  the  depot.  M.  N.  Harris,  for  a  few  years  a 
partner  with  Eben  Smith  in  the  coal  trade,  has  a  coal  yard  in  the 
village. 

Another  industry  carried  on  prior  to  the  coming  of  the  railroad, 
was  running  packets  from  this  place  to  Boston.  There  were  three 
then,  and  a  lucrative  business  was  carried  on.  Goods  were  received 
here  for  the  south  side,  and  the  village  presented  a  much  more  lively 
appearance  than  at  present.  The  wharves  and  store-houses  of  fifty 
years  ago  are  marked  by  mounds  and  decayed  timbers,  and  the  one 
fish-house  is  the  only  sign  of  life  where  once  was  a  busy  market. 


398  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

The  societies,  political,  religious  and  social,  usual  to  villages  like 
this,  have  been  instituted  and  have  served  their  purposes.  A  peace 
society  of  sixty  members,  organized  in  1827,  was  continued  for  years. 
In  1828  the  first  regular  temperance  organization  was  effected,  and 
much  good  resulted.  The  Masonic  fraternity  flourished  here  the  first 
half  of  this  century  and  its  meetings  in  1854  were  changed  to  Hyan- 
nis.  A  lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  was  organized  in  1849,  which  was  sus- 
tained for  twenty-five  years.  They  leased  Masonic  Hall  until  1856, 
when  it  was  purchased  of  Fraternal  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  which  had 
built  a  hall  at  Hyannis.  On  the  sixth  of  October,  1865,  another  Ma- 
sonic Lodge  held  its  first  meeting  here  under  a  dispensation  from  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  state.  They  leased  the  hall  of  the  Odd  Fellows 
until  its  purchase  March  3, 1871.  This  second  lodge  assumed  the 
name  of  James  Otis  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  after  one  year's  work 
under  dispensation,  held  its  first  meeting  under  a  charter, October 21, 
1866.  Its  first  elective  oflicers  were:  George  Marston,  M.;  Elijah 
Lewis,  S.  W.;  Elisha  Jenkins,  J.  W.;  Oliver  M.  Hinckley,  sec;  and 
Thomas  Harris,  treas.  Its  masters  have  been:  George  Marston,  1866- 
69;  Elijah  Lewis,  1870;  Ansel  D.  Lothrop,  1871;  Russell  Matthews, 
1872-5;  Freeman'  H.  Lothrop,  1876-9;  Charles  Thacher,  2d,  1880-1; 
Elijah  L.  Loring,  1882;  James  B.  Cook,  1883-6;  Frank  H.  Hinckley, 
1887;  Thomas  C.  Day,  1888-9,  with  Frederick  C.  Swift,  S.  W.;  James 
D.  Baxter,  J.  W.;  Freeman  H.  Lothrop,  treas.;  and  Russell  Matthews, 
sec,  for  1889.     This  society  now  numbers  fifty-three  members. 

The  Sturgis  library  of  Barnstable  was  instituted  by  the  liberality 
and  philanthrophy  of  William  Sturgis,  a  former  resident,  who  be- 
queathed funds  prior  to  his  death  in  1863.  By  his  will  Samuel  Hooper, 
Lemuel  Shaw  and  Edward  W.  Hooper  were  constituted  trustees,  who 
informed  the  selectmen  of  the  town  by  letter  dated  July  1, 1868,  that 
Mr.  Sturgis  had  conveyed  to  the  town  the  estate  in  Barnstable  formerly 
belonging  to  his  father,  also  $15,000  for  the  establishment  and  main- 
tenance of  a  free  library  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  of  Barnstable; 
that  they  as  trustees  had  made  extensive  alterations  in  the  house  thus 
conveyed  and  had  placed  in  the  building  thirteen  hundred  volumes, 
and  adopted  such  rules  for  the  government  of  the  library  as  they 
deemed  proper;  that  they  had  chosen  Rev.  Thomas  Weston,  librarian; 
and  that  the  collection  of  books  was  now  ready  for  use.  The  trustees 
also  announced  to  the  selectmen  that  the  income  of  the  trust  fund, 
then  invested  in  U.  S.  bonds  of  1881,  would  be  devoted. to  the  neces- 
sary annual  expense  of  the  library. 

Samuel  Hooper  died  and  was  succeeded  by  his  daughter,  Mrs.  T. 
R.  Lothrop;  and  Lemuel  Shaw  was  succeeded  by  J.  O.  Shaw,  his 
nephew.  The  second  librarian  was  Mrs.  Henry  Freeman,  assisted  by 
Miss  L.  S.  Loring,  who  is  the  present  librarian.     In  1871  the  sum  of 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  399 

$883  was  given  in  aid  of  the  enterprise  by  several  gentlemen  who  had 
prior  to  1S63  planned  a  public  library.  Gustavus  A.  Hinckley  pre- 
pared, January  1,  1877,  the  first  and  only  catalogue  of  its  books,  then 
6,161  volumes;  in  1889  there  were  11.083.  The  interest  on  the  fund  is 
sufficient  for  its  current  expenses,  and  the  purchase  of  new  books 
annually. 

In  the  latter  part  of  last  century  a  social  library  was  kept  here  for 
a  time  by  Dr.  Richard  Bourne,  at  his  house  where  the  post  ofiBce  was, 
and  his  daughter,  Abigail,  waited  on  the  villagers  to  books. 

Dr.  Richard  Bourne,  the  first  postmaster,  was  appointed  March  20, 
1793.  The  mail  at  first  was  received  weekly,  then  semi-weekly,  but 
its  transportation  was  paid  by  private  .subscription,  and  not  until  it 
was  tri  weekly  did  the  government  assume  to  assist  in  supplying  the 
Barnstable  ofiBce,  which  was  near  Jail  street.  Dr.  Bourne  was  suc- 
ceeded in  the  ofiBce  by  Matthew  Cobb,  December  17, 1817.  It  is  a  mat- 
ter of  history  that  great  injustice  was  heaped  upon  the  worthy  Doctor 
Bourne  by  the  government.  He  was  called  a  defaulter,  and  his  last 
days  were  clouded  by  the  imputation.  Much  distress  was  occasioned 
by  the  collection  of  the  alleged  debt  from  his  estate.  The  error  was 
discovered  and  full  amends  were  received  by  his  only  child  after  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1826.  Matthew  Cobb  had  the  ofiBce  near 
where  Mr.  Sturgis  lives,  opposite  Phinney  &  Edson's  store,  for  several 
years,  and  was  succeeded  May  1,  1837,  by  William  H.  Brown,  who 
moved  it  to  a  building  on  the  corner  just  west  of  Alfred  Crocker's. 
He  in  turn  was  followed  in  February,  1842,  by  Richard  Ainsworth, 
who  moved  the  ofiBce  to  a  building  on  the  vacant  lot  opposite  Miss 
Hinckley's  millinery  store.  The  ofiBce  at  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Ains- 
worth's  term  was  variously  filled  by  David  Bursley,  appointed  Janu- 
ary 22,  1851,  then  by  Calvin  Stetson,  Elijah  Lewis,  and  Elisha  Jenkins 
up  to  1866.  James  Clagg  was  appointed  in  1866  and  .served  for  four- 
teen years,  being  succeeded  by  Alfred  Crocker  in  1880.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1885  by  O.  W.  Hinckley. 

The  Old  Colony  Railroad  company  has  had  but  two  agents  at  its 
station  here,  the  present  one,  John  A.  Lewis,  having  grown  gray  in 
the  position.  After  the  establishment  of  a  station  in  1854,  Joseph 
Bursley  acted  as  agent  a  few  years.  The  depot  building,  with  its 
contents,  was  burned  during  a  thunder  storm  in  June,  1889,  and  at 
once  rebuilt. 

Among  the  institutions  well  remembered  was  the  savings  bank 
established  in  1831,  of  which  Henry  Crocker  was  the  first  president, 
succeeded  by  Eben  Bacon,  and  he  by  Josiah  Hinckley.  John  Munroe 
was  the  treasurer  for  forty  years,  investing  over  three  million  dollars 
in  the  time.  Daniel  Scudder  was  the  treasurer  for  two  years,  when 
the  afifairsof  the  bank  were  closed.     The  business  was  done  for  many 


400 


HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


years  in  a  building  just  west  of  Mr.  Munroe's,  until  the  company  took 
possession,  in  1860,  of  its  new  oflSce.  the  building  next  west  of  the 
Globe  Hotel. 

The  public  buildings  of  the  county,  including  the  Agricultural 
Hall,  have  been  mentioned  in  the  county  chapters.  The  harbor  to  this 
pleasant  village  enjoys  the  benefit  of  a  light  house  that  was  erected 
in  1826  by  the  United  States  government.  It  is  on  the  point  of  Sandy 
neck,  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor.  The  importance  of  Barnstable 
early  gave  reason  for  a  custom  collector  here,  and  for  a  century 
last  past  Barnstable  has  been  the  port  of  entry  for  the  county.  The 
custom  house  for  the  Barnstable  district  is  here. 


COURT  HOUSE,   BARNSTABLE  VILLAGE. 

There  are  no  mills  or  other  manufacturing  interests  in  this  village 
at  present.  The  old  Lewis  mill  on  the  creek  down  "  Poverty  lane" 
has  been  still  for  many  years.  Elijah  Lewis  moved  the  building  there 
and  set  up  the  mill  soon  after  1860.  The  wind  salt  mill  just  beyond 
was  once  used  by  the  Crockers  to  grind  corn;  but  long  ago,  with  the 
salt  works,  the  mill  fell  into  disuse. 

West  Barnstable  is  a  business  center  in  the  west  part  of  the  town, . 
known  many  years  ago  as  Qreat  Marshes  and  as  West  Parish.     It  is 
now  a  pretty  and  a  busy  village,  the  meeting  place  of  the  selectmen 
and  the  terminus  of  several  mail  lines  connecting  with  villages  on  the 
south  shore.     The  old  West  Parish  church,  a  beautiful  school  house, 
and  the  abodes  of  thrifty  inhabitants  unite  in  forming  a  village  of  no- 
mean  proportions.     Here,  besides  others,  settled  the  ancient  families- 
of  Otis,  Hinckley,  Annable,  Crocker,  Jenkins,  Howland,  Fuller,  Par- 
ker, Bursley,  Blossom  and  Shaw,  many  of  whose  descendants  are  thet 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  .401 

prominent  heads  of  families  to-day.  Their  old  stone  houses,  erected 
as  dwellings  and  forts,  have  succumbed  to  the  march  of  improvement. 
Yet  many  historic  places  can  still  be  pointed  out  to  the  antiquarian. 
On  the  site  of  the  residence  of  Daniel  P.  Bursley  formerly  stood  the 
residence  of  the  patriot,  James  Otis,  and  to  the  east  of  it,  on  what  is 
now  a  portion  of  the  Colonel  Proctor  stock  farm,  stood  the  house  of 
Brigadier  Otis.  The  residence  of  a  third  brother,  John,  was  west  of 
the  patriot's. 

Among  other  important  landmarks  is  Hinckley  lane,  now  called 
by  some  Nye's  lane.  It  connects  the  present  county  road  with 
that  around  by  the  church,  and  which  was  in  use  before  the  former 
was  laid  out.  On  this  lane  was  the  tannery  of  the  father  of  Governor 
Hinckley.  The  name  Nye's  lane  alludes  to  Lemuel  Nye,  of  sixty 
years  ago,  who  had  a  hat  manufactory  near  a  pond,  which  also  bears 
his  name.  The  south  end  of  the  lane  passes  through  the  land  of 
Braley  Jenkins  and  terminates  at  his  residence.  Shaw's  lane  is  an- 
other interesting  by-way,  as  near  it  was  the  residence  of  the  reverend 
father  of  Chief  Justice  Shaw. 

The  historical  details  of  this  village  are  inseparable  from  those  of 
Barnstable  village,  for  the  "  house  lot,  the  salt  marsh,  and  the  upland  " 
of  the  proprietors  were  laid  oflF  in  the  same  manner  and  at  the  same 
time.  The  division  of  the  town  into  two  parishes,  as  detailed  in  the 
church  chapter,  naturally  gave  the  name  of  West  parish  to  West  Barn- 
stable, and  it  has  swelled  its  environs  along  the  county  road,  forming 
a  proverbial  New  England  village — rural,  rambling  and  beautiful. 

With  the  notable  personages  and  the  historical  interest  clustered 
here,  no  doubt  very  early  stores  were  started,  but  tradition  only  fur- 
nishes facts  for  the  century  last  past.  Seth  Parker,  now  an  aged  resi- 
dent of  West  Barnstable,  was  in  business  in  Boston  with  David  Snow 
prior  to  1 833.  For  thirty  years  prior  to  ]  863  he  kept  a  store  near  his  old 
house,  on  the  county  road  west  of  the  West  Barnstable  cemetery.  In  1863 
his  son,  J.  W.  B.  Parker,  then  twenty-one  years  of  age,  began  business 
near  West  Barnstable  depot.  Until  1870  Seth  and  David  Parker  were  . 
interested  in  the  business,  but  for  the  last  nineteen  years  J.  W.  B. 
Parker  has  been  the  sole  proprietor.  The  venerable  Seth  Parker  is 
the  son  of  Seth  and  grandson  of  Dr.  Daniel  Parker. 

Among  other  stores  was  one  kept  prior  to  1830  by  Shadrach  N. 
Howland,  in  the  old  house  just  east  of  his  present  residence.  He 
moved  to  the  square  adjoining  the  cemetery  about  1854,  where,  Novem- 
ber 29, 1872,  the  building  and  contents  were  burned  and  with  them  his 
son  George  H.  He  soon  prepared  another  building  on  the  east  side 
of  the  street,  to  which  he  removed  and  continued  business  until  1880. 
In  1855  Frederick  Parker  opened  a  store  one-half  mile  west  of  West 
Barnstable  depot  on  the  county  road,  in  a  building  now  owned  by  his 
26 


402  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

son,  Howard  N.  The  center  of  business  was  there  until  the  railroad 
was  opened.  Another  son,  Melvin  Parker,  in  1881  built  a  general 
store,  where  he  still  continues  the  business.  The  father  died  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1882,  and  the  business  at  the  old  place  was  discontinued. 

George  B.  Rowland  and  his  brother,  Nathaniel  P.,  in  1859.  began 
a  store  in  what  had  been  the  barroom  of  the  Old  Meadow  House,  and 
carried  on  the  business  until  the  death  of  Nathaniel  P.,  in  1883. 

James  T.  Jones,  who  had  been  in  business  at  East  Sandwich,  came 
here  in  1873,  locating  on  the  street  west  of  the  depot,  where  he  re- 
mained until  1876,  when  he  erected  and  removed  to  his  present  com- 
modious store. 

The  travel  along  the  Cape  on  the  county  road  made  an  early  tavern 
at  West  Barnstable  necessary.  On  the  north  side  of  the  road  near  the 
cemetery  are  the  remains  of  the  old  Howland  stand.  In  1802  Ansel 
Howland  passed  this  property  to  his  son  Jabez,  who  had  managed  the 
tavern  and  kept  a  store  in  part  of  it,  before  the  beginning  of  this  cen- 
tury. His  son  Albert  opened,  in  1848,  another  tavern  west  of  this, 
where  George  B.  Howland  now  resides.  This  was  known  for  years 
as  the  Meadow  House,  and  before  the  death  of  Jabez  in  the  old  tavern, 
the  Meadow  house  became  the  principal  tavern  on  this  part  of  the  line, 
and  the  favorite  stopping  place  for  the  stages  until  the  railroad  super- 
seded them.  Albert's  son,  George  B.  Howland,  preserves  the  old  sign 
which  bears  the  legend,  "  Meadow  House,  1848." 

The  early  mails  were  brought  here  on  horseback  by  John  Thacher. 
The  postmaster,  who  filed  his  first  report  with  the  government  July  1, 
1816,  was  one  Samuel  Bassett,  who  was  followed  by  his  son  Charles, 
each  keeping  the  oflBce  in  the  house  then  standing  southwest  of  the 
present  residence  of  William  C.  Howland.  The  old  well  and  a  few 
moss-grown  apple  trees  mark  the  spot.  The  next  postmaster  was 
Albert  Howland,  commissioned  January  29, 1824.  Jabez  Howland,  as 
his  deputy,  kept  the  oflBce  in  the  old  tavern  and  store  mentioned,  and 
in  August,  1841,  Jabez  Howland,  jr.,  was  appointed,  and  after  a  time 
removed  the  post  office  to  a  building  where  Josiah  Jones  now  lives. 
Shadrach  N.  Howland  says  that  he  was  postmaster  in  1840,  but  the 
government  records  have  the  first  mention  of  him  dated  April  8, 1847. 
He  kept  the  office  near  where  he  lives.  Part  of  the  old  building,  with 
the  letter  hole  through  it,  is  now  a  wood  house  for  the  recently  built 
residence;  and  part  was  moved  in  1854  to  the  square  adjoining  the 
cemetery,  where  the  office  was  kept  until  the  burning  of  the  store. 
Mr.  Howland  kept  the  office  a  few  months  in  the  depot  until  he  pre- 
pared a  building,  now  the  residence  of  Fred.  Childs.  His  term  was 
interrupted  by  the  appointment  of  David  Parker,  3d,  November  18, 
1864,  when  it  was  kept  in  the  store  of  J.  W.  B.  Parker.  In  1880  Mr. 
Howland's  second  term  was  closed  by  the  appointment  of  Melvin 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  403 

Parker,  who  removed  the  ofiBce  to  his  store.  He  was  succeeded  from 
1887  to  1890  by  J.  W.  B.  Parker,  and  was  reappointed  February  12, 1890. 

One  of  the  important  industries  is  the  manufacture  of  brick.  In 
1878  Benjamin  F.  Crocker,  Levi  L.  Goodspeed,  Noah  Bradford  and 
Charles  C.  Crocker  purchased  the  Fish  property  here,  and  with  James 
F.  Eldridge  as  superintendent,  commenced  the  manufacture  of  brick, 
as  The  West  Barnstable  Brick  Company.  In  1887  a  new  company  was 
formed,  adding  steam  power  and  other  facilities,  and  its  capacity  is 
now  the  manufacture  of  two  million  bricks  annually.  In  1889  the  kiln 
sheds  in  the  yard  were  extended,  twenty  men  were  given  employment, 
and  the  business  was  extended  to  the  full  capacity  of  the  works.  The 
ofiBcers  since  1887  have  been:  B.  F.  Crocker,  president;  A.  D.  Make- 
peace, treasurer;  and  William  F.  Makepeace,  secretary. 

Since  the  advent  of  the  railroad  West  Barnstable  has  been  the 
point  for  leaving  mail  and  passengers  for  offices  and  resorts  on  the 
south  shore.  Washburn  Bursley  had  run  a  stage  from  the  time  the 
cars  came  until  his  death,  and  since  then  Daniel  P.,  his  son,  has  been 
the  proprietor,  conveying  mail,  passengers  and  express  matter.  The 
mails  for  Osterville,  Centreville  and  Wianno  are  placed  in  pouches 
on  the  trains  and  left  at  West  Barnstable  to  be  conveyed  to  their  des- 
tination. These  mails  are  received  twice  a  day  and  delivered  by  Mr. 
Bursley,  who  also  delivers  express  matter  and  passengers  at  other 
localities.  He  uses  eighteen  horses  for  his  business,  and  has  well- 
equipped  barges,  coaches  and  express  wagons.  Another  line  of  stages 
from  West  Barnstable  was  opened  at  the  same  time  to  supply  Cotuit 
and  Marston's  Mills  with  mail,  and  to  carry  passengers.  William  F. 
Jones  was  proprietor  of  this  until  April,  1887,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  William  H.  Irwin,  who  properly  continues  it. 

The  depot  building  was  moved  from  the  north  side  of  the  track  a 
few  years  ago  and  placed  on  its  present  site.  The  buildings  and  con- 
veniences are  creditable  to  the  company  and  village.  The  land  on 
which  the  buildings  stand  is  the  poor  house  or  town  property,  and  is 
leased.  Shadrach  N.  Howland  was  agent  for  the  company  at  their 
depot  until  1881,  and  his  son,  Andrew  J.,  has  since  filled  the  position. 

The  only  mill  to  be  seen  in  this  vicinity  is  the  Jones  mill  at  the 
pond  just  west.  It  is  a  study  for  an  antiquarian,  and  has  fallen  into 
disuse;  it  was  run  by  the  water  from  the  large  pond. 

Old  Cotuit,  as  it  is  called,  to  designate  it  more  distinctively  from 
Cotuit  Port,  is  on  the  road  from  Sandwich  to  Centreville  and  Hyannis, 
along  which  a  stage  line  was  early  run,  to  connect  with  the  Plymouth 
stage.  A  post  office  was  established  here  as  Cotuit  Village,  December 
24, 1821.  Roland  Thacher  Crocker  was  the  first  postmaster  until  his 
death  in  1846,  when  he  was  succeeded,  November  17th,  by  Rev.  Phin- 
eas  Fish.     On  the  fifth  of  June,  1848,  the  name  and  location  of  the 


404  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

office  was  changed  to  Cotuit  Port,  and  for  a  time  the  g-overnment 
maintained  no  office  at  Old  Cotuit,  but  Zenas  Crocker,  sr.,  received 
and  distributed  mail  for  the  locality.  In  January,  1850,  an  office  was 
established  here  as  Cotuit,  with  Phineas  Fish,  postmaster.  It  was  dis- 
continued May  29,  1854. 

To  have  a  tavern  upon  so  important  a  stage  line  would  not  seem 
strange,  and  it  is  said  that  Ezra  Crocker  opened  one  in  the  present  resi- 
dence of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Crocker,  which  he  ran  many  years,  until  his 
death  in  1842.  This,  which  was  a  favorite  resort  of  Daniel  Webster 
during  his  fishing  tours  in  the  vicinity,  was  the  only  tavern  ever  in 
this  community. 

R.  Thacher  Crocker  had  a  store,  which  at  his  death  he  was  con- 
ducting in  the  Joseph  Folger  house,  with  the  post  office.  This  accom- 
modated the  inhabitants  of  Mashpee  and  Cotuit  for  many  years.  On 
the  inside  of  the  board  shutter  to  the  store  window,  readable  from 
without  when  it  was  open,  were  these  cabalistic  letters,  still  legible 
through  many  coats  of  paint: 

W  I        I         N  E 

RUM, 

BRANDY, 

GIN, 

&c. 

This  sign  seemed  to  promise  wine  to  the  passer-by,  but  on  closer 
inspection  it  assured  him  of  a  good  supply  of  West  India  and  New 
England  rum. 

Charles  F.  Crocker  had  a  store  on  the  corner  opposite  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
Crocker's,  which  he  discontinued  in  1861.  Zenas  Crocker  also  had  a 
store  where  Elmer  Lapham  lives. 

Cotuit  Port. — The  inhabitants  here  were  compelled  to  go  to  the 
office  a  mile  above — at  Cotuit — while  the  stage  and  mail  lines  ema- 
nated from  Sandwich  as  the  terminus  of  the  Plymouth  line.  After 
the  railroad  was  built  many  changes  in  the  mail  routes  were  made. 
The  first  postmaster  here  was  Alexander  Scudder,  commissioned  June 
5,  1848.  He  was  succeeded  by  Randall  Kelley,  September  23,  1850, 
and  he  by  Charles  C.  Bearse  in  1870  for  twelve  years,  after  which  An- 
drew Lovell  filled  the  position  until  1885,  when  Adaline  F.  Bearse  was 
appointed.  She  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Lovell's  reappointment  in  1889. 
Very  early  the  shipping  and  fishing  business  was  the  occupation  here, 
which  led  to  stores  of  various  kinds. 

Braddock  Crocker  built  in  1794  the  wharf,  the  remnants  of  which 
are  still  known  as  the  old  Crocker  wharf,  and  had  a  store  prior  to  1820 


TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  405 

on  what  is  now  the  property  on  the  bank  belonging  to  the  estate  of 
Samuel  Hooper,  deceased.  Hezekiah  Coleman  built  the  wharf  close 
by,  known  as  "  Uncle  'Kiah's  wharf,"  where  he  also  had  a  store  soon 
after  Mr.  Crocker's.  These  were  prominent  stores  and  business 
places  for  many  years;  Mr.  Crocker's  was  continued  till  his  death  in 
1841.  The  Coleman  store  is  now  a  part  of  Sylvester  R.  Crocker's 
house.  Daniel  Childs,  about  1840,  started  a  store  on  the  site  of  An- 
drew Lovell's  present  ofiBce,and  a  portion  of  the  building  he  occupied 
then  is  now  doing  service  as  Esquire  Lovell's  laundry  room. 

Samuel  Nickerson  carried  on  a  shoe  store  and  clothing  store  here 
fourteen  years  prior  to  his  death  in  1884.  Leander  W.  Nickerson 
there  carried  on  a  mercantile  business  for  several  years,  when  in  May, 
1869,  Asa  F.  Bearse  opened  his  present  store.  John  M.  Handy  was 
engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  here  from  1884  until  his  death  in 
1889.  Others  also  in  business  are  Julius  Nickerson  and  Henry  Hodges. 
On  the  Heights,  as  it  is  termed,  although  in  the  same  village,  Aaron 
Nickerson  started  a  store  nearly  twenty  years  ago  under  the  firm 
name  of  A.  Nickerson  &  Son,  the  son,  Alexander  E.,  buying  the 
business  and  stock  in  1887.  Daniel  Nickerson  was  a  merchant  at  this 
part  of  the  village  until  his  death  a  few  years  ago. 

About  1875  the  late  Ensign  Nickerson  began  a  grocery  business  at 
Highground,  Cotuit.  His  son,  George  W.,  succeeded  him,  and  in  1877 
Aaron  Nickerson  &  Son  took  the  business,  which,  in  January,  1889, 
the  son,  A.  E.  Nickerson,  moved  to  his  present  store  building.  En- 
sign Nickerson  had  a  small  store  here,  which  was  burned  about  1858. 

Since  the  opening  of  the  Santuit  House  in  June,  1860,  this  village 
has  been  growing  in  favor  as  a  summer  resort. . 

An  old  landmark  here  is  the  residence  of  General  John  H.  Reed. 
It  was  built  in  1793  by  Ebenezer  Crocker,  father  of  Braddock  Crocker. 
Alexander  Scudder,  who  married  Braddock's  daughter,  next  owned  it 
and  in  1849  he  sold  it  to  Hon.  Samuel  Hooper,  whose  granddaughter, 
Mrs.  Balfour  of  Scotland,  now  owns  it. 

Mariners  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  was  instituted  in  1870.  Prelimi- 
nary meetings  were  held  in  the  chambers  of  John  M.  Handy,  Cotuit 
Port,  early  in  the  year  1870,  and  March  10th  a  dispensation  was  granted 
to  George  J.  Miller,  W.  M.;  John  B.  Baxter,  S.  W.;  John  B.  Lovell,  J. 
W.;  Thomas  Chatfield,  T.;  John  M.  Handy,  S.;  Asa  F.  Bearse,  S.  D.; 
vSimeon  L.  Ames,  J.  D.;  Alonzo  L.  Phinney,  C;  Sylvanus  Porter,  M.; 
Bennett  W.  Dottridge,  S.  S.;  Frank  Cammett,  J.  S.;  and  Stephen  B. 
Tallman,  T.  A  charter  was  granted  to  the  lodge  December  13,  1871, 
and  in  August  following  the  number  of  members  was  thirty-seven. 
The  installation  of  the  first  officers  was  held  in  Freedom  Hall,  and  by 
arrangement  with  the  proprietors  of  the  hall,  a  suitable  lodge  room 
was,  in  1872,  prepared  over  the  hall,  which  is  still  in  use  by  the  order. 


406  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY- 

The  masters  have  been:  George  J.  Miller  in  1871,  1872;  John  B.  Bax- 
ter, 1873;  Thomas  Chatfield,  1874;  William  Childs,1876, 1878, 1879  and 
1884;  John  M.  Handy,  1876,  1877  and  1886;  Joseph  B.  Folger,  1880, 
1881,  1885  and  1889;  Alexander  E.Nickerson,  1882, 1883, 1887  and  1888. 

OSTERVILLE. — This  thriving  post-village  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
town  is  beautifully  situated  on  Vineyard  sound  and  enclosed  by  East 
and  West  bays.  The  name  is  a  contraction  of  Oysterville,  from  Oyster 
island,  names  properly  given  from  the  early  business  here  carried  on. 
Ship  building  was  also  one  of  the  early  industries  by  Andrew  Crosby 
and  Daniel  Crosby,  and  as  early  as  1830  Oliver  Hinckley,  an  appren- 
tice of  Jesse  Crosby,  whom  he  succeeded  in  the  business,  built  thirty- 
five  or  forty  vessels  of  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  tons  in  West  bay. 
This  business  of  the  Crosby's  has  been  carried  on  by  various  branches 
of  the  family  since  1835,  when  they  launched  the  first  sailboat  built  on 
this  part  of  the  coast.  Two  brothers,  C.  Worthington  and  Horace  S. 
Crosby,  early  started  a  boat-building  business,  which  has  been  since 
subdivided  and  their  sons  are  carrying  on  three  separate  yards,  and 
building  at  West  bay  the  finest  boats  ever  built  on  the  south  shore. 
Horace  S.  retired  about  1880  and  his  son,  Herbert  F.,  continues  the 
business,  in  which  also  three  younger  sons — Wilton,  Joseph  and 
Horace  M. — are  engaged.  Herbert  F.  started  a  separate  place  in  1882. 
C.  W.  Crosby,  who  had  been  in  the  business  since  1835,  took  his  sons, 
Charles  H.  and  Daniel,  into  partnership  for  a  while,  and  now  the  sons 
have  a  business  of  their  own.  Isaac  Hodges,  sr.,  also  built  vessels  in 
that  bay.  Many  also  have  been  built  at  East  bay,  and  foremost  in  this, 
about  1830,  was  Seth  Goodspeed,  who  built  a  number.  One  sloop  was 
built  by  him  at  his  place,  now  Alexander  Till's,  and  carted  to  the 
beach,  which  is  related  at  the  present  time  as  a  marvelous  feat.  It  is 
said  that  nearly  two-score  vessels  of  various  kinds  were  built  atOster- 
ville  prior  to  1850.  At  East  bay  Nelson  H.  Bearse  and  Jehiel  P. 
Hodges  built  boats  a  few  years  prior  to  1885,  and  Mr.  Hodges  still 
continues  the  business.  Both  bays  are  now  more  or  less  used  for  the 
construction  of  small  craft. 

The  manufacture  of  salt  from  sea  water  was  extensively  carried  on 
here,  especially  at  or  near  East  bay.  We  learn  that  prominent  in  this 
industry  were  Thomas  Ames,  Seth  Goodspeed,  Eben.  Scudder  and 
George  Hinckley.  Jacob  Lovell  had  works  near  O.  D.  Lovell's  boat 
house,  first  from  the  eastward;  he  used  two  wind  mills  to  pump  the 
water  to  the  works.  Henry  Lovell's  was  next  west,  then  came  Deacon 
Scudder's,  then  George  Lovell's.  These  shores  were  covered  with 
vats.     The  business  was  at  its  height  in  1812,  and  gradually  declined. 

With  the  building  of  vessels  stores  were  started.  We  find  Retire 
Crocker  selling  the  necessaries  of  life  in  the  building  occupied  by 
Freeman  L.  Scudder,  before  1830,  when  it  was  a  low,  one-story  build- 


TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  407 

ing.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  same  building  by  Josiah  Scudder, 
brother  of  Judge  Scudder.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Freeman 
L.,  and  son-in-law,  Asa  E.  Lovell.  In  1857  George  H.  Hinckley,  the 
present  merchant  and  postmaster,  purchased  the  stock,  and  afterward 
built  his  present  place  of  business. 

Another  early  merchant  was  Daniel  Crosby,  who  was  succeeded  by 
his  brother  Asa,  and  he  in  1866  was  succeeded  by  Israel  Crocker,  who 
has  now  the  largest  general  store  in  the  place.  Soon  after  1840,  Eras- 
tus  Scudder  started  a  store  in  the  building  now  occupied  by  Parker  and 
Crocker.  These  gentlemen,  after  three  years  of  co-partnership,  April 
6, 1889,  made  two  stores  of  the  one — the  dry  goods  business  being  con- 
tinued by  Charles  F.  Parker,  and  the  grocery  by  Henry  P.  Crocker. 
In  1889  Joseph  F.  Adams  was  also  in  the  mercantile  business.  War- 
ren Marchant,  after  he  was  at  Centreville,  came  here,  married,  and 
built  a  store,  which  he  carried  on  for  a  few  years. 

In  1876  Mr.  H.  S.  Crosby  opened  the  Crosby  House  at  Osterville, 
and  has  made  it  the  principal  summer  resort  on  the  West  bay. 

A  free  library  was  opened  here  January  21, 1882,  by  this  enterpris- 
ing people.  A  sum  equal  to  $3,600  was  given,  besides  1,209  volumes, 
exclusive  of  the  bound  periodicals.  The  building  and  site  are  owned 
by  the  association.  A  fair  for  the  sale  of  fancy  articles  is  held  each 
summer,  and  the  proceeds  go  to  the  support  of  the  library.  Mrs.  Eliza 
P.  Lovell  was  librarian  in  1889. 

The  mails  were  received  here  by  horseback  in  the  earliest  days  of 
the  post  office.  An  office  was  established  here  January  30,  1822,  and 
was  kept  by  Retire  Crocker  in  his  store.  Josiah  Scudder,  jr.,  kept  the 
post  office  in  the  same  building  from  July  23,  1825,  until  August  6, 
1850,  when  Isaiah  Crocker  was  appointed,  and  removed  it  to  his  black- 
smith shop,  serving  the  public  for  eight  years.  In  1858  Erastus  Scud- 
der, who  was  made  postmaster,  again  removed  the  office  to  the  build- 
ing now  occupied  as  a  store  by  Charles  F.  Parker.  Isaac  Hodges  suc- 
ceeded him  in  the  building  now  the  store  of  Joseph  F.  Adams,  and  in 
1862  he  was  succeeded  by  Asa  Crosby,  who  removed  the  office  to  where 
Israel  Crocker  is  in  business  now.  In  1865  George  H.  Hinckley  was 
appointed,  and  about  ten  years  ago  he  moved  the  office  to  its  present 
quarters,  where  he  faithfully  serves  the  public. 

Wianno  Beach,  near  Osterville,  has  recently  become  one  of  the 
most  popular  resorts  on  the  south  shore.  Bursley's  line  of  stages  and 
express  connect  it  with  the  Old  Colony  railway  at  West  Barnstable, 
and  the  government  maintains  a  post  office  here  during  the  season, 
sending  a  mail  pouch  from  West  Barnstable.  Jennie  L.  Hinckley  was 
postmistress  in  1889. 

Hyannis. — This  growing  village  on  the  south  shore,  four  miles 
from  Barnstable  village,  is  the  greatest  business  center  of  the  town. 


408  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  name  is  a  corruption  of  lyanough  or  Yanno — the  name  of  the 
friendly  sachem.  It  is  more  compact  than  the*  model  inland  New 
England  village,  which  indicates  a  more  brisk  business.  Prior  to  the 
opening  of  the  Hyannis  branch  of  the  Old  Colony  railroad,  which  ter- 
minates here,  packet  lines  connecting  with  large  cities  and  vessels  of 
large  size  touched  here.  It  had  formerly  extensive  fisheries  and  pack- 
ing establishments,  which  were  largely  instrumental  in  giving  the 
village  its  present  importance.  These  industries  are  still  continued, 
although  not  so  extensively.  At  Lewis  bay,  east  of  the  village,  ves- 
sel building  was  extensively  carried  on  soon  after  1800.  Abner  W. 
Lovell  had  fishing  vessels  built  at  the  foot  of  Ocean  and  Sea  streets 
before  the  war  of  1812;  Richard  Lewis  owned  the  land  from  the  lya- 
nough House  back  to  the  bay,  where  he  carried  on  an  extensive  busi- 
ness in  shipping  of  every  kind,  and  built  and  furnished  several  ves- 
sels. Gorliam  Lovell  was  also,  engaged  in  the  business.  Watson 
Holmes  built  small  vessels  on  Lewis  bay,  where  M.  L.  Hinckley's 
oyster  and  boat  house  now  stands.  Vessels  of  one  hundred  tons  were 
built  on  this  bay. 

The  first  house  erected  here,  near  Baxter's  wharf,  was  by  Edward 
Coleman,  who  was  admitted  as  a  citizen  of  Barnstable  in  October, 
1662.  The  first  building  erected  by  the  whites  here  was  a  store-house, 
by  Nicholas  Davis,  near  where  Timothy  Baker's  store  stood.  Jona- 
than Lewis,  about  1703,  built  the  second  dwelling. 

In  connection  with  the  fisheries,  the  manufacture  of  salt  was  natu- 
rally developed,  and  the  shores  at  the  east  and  south  were  white  with 
acres  of  vats.  During  the  war  of  1812  it  was  a  prominent  industry. 
Alvin  Snow,  Henry  and  Joshua  Hallett  had  extensive  works  where  is 
now  the  Sears  lumber  yard;  A.  W.  Lovell  manufactured  near  the  pres- 
ent lumber  yard  of  B.  F.  Crocker  &  Co.  This,  like  most  of  the  works, 
was  discontinued  about  1831.  Lot  Crocker  had  works  where  his  de- 
scendants now  reside,  and  Ebenezer  Bacon's  were  adjoining.  Zenas 
Gage  engaged  in  the  manufacture  near  his  wharf;  Simeon  Freeman 
had  works  at  Dunbar  point,  and  Zenas  D.  Bassett  and  Warren  Hallett 
had  their  works  next  west.  Other  manufacturers  were  Elnathan 
Lewis,  Warren  and  David  Hinckley,  and  Gorham  Lovell. 

That  that  portion  of  Barnstable  was  an  important  shipping  port  is 
evinced  by  the  action  of  the  selectmen,  who  in  1742  gave  to  Elisha 
Lumbert  permission  to  build  a  wharf  at  Hyannis;  but  the  inhabitants 
living  there  were  to  be  privileged  to  land  their  goods  and  persons 
without  charge.  In  1778  the  town  gave  Captain  Sturgis  Gorham  per- 
mission to  build  a  storehouse  thirty  by  forty  feet,  and  a  wharf  at  Lewis 
cove.  Hyannis  harbor  is  an  important  one  and  in  1826  the  govern- 
ment appropriated  $10,600  for  the  erection  of  a  breakwater  for  its 
further  protection.      Storehouses  and  wharves  have  been   erected 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE.  409 

during  the  present  century,  among  which  the  Gage  wharf,  later  Bax- 
ter, is  prominent. 

There  are  no  mills  here  at  present,  the  last  being  that  of  Owen 
Bacon,  a  wind  grist  mill,  which  he  ran  many  years  on  South  street, 
near  the  old  burying  ground. 

The  mercantile  lines  of  business  of  this  village  have  been  varied 
and  extensive.  In  1823  Seth  Baker  had  a  small  store  in  the  leanto  of 
his  house.  After  this  Lewis  Thacher  had  an  early  store  east  of  the 
present  depot,  on  the  south  side  of  Main  street,  then  the  only  store 
here.  It  was  known  for  years  as  the  old  "  Red  Store."  In  1829  Alex- 
ander Baxter  and  F.  C.  Tobey  built  the  Boston  store  building,  then 
the  only  one  on  the  east  side  of  Pleasant  street,  and  the  only  one  on 
the  south  side  of  Main  street  between  Lot  Hallett's  corner  and  the 
present  railroad  track,  except  the  old  red  store.  Baxter  &  Tobey  were 
.succeeded  in  their  business  by  Alexander  Baxter,  he  by  his  tenants, 
Brimhall  &  Goodspeed,  and  they  by  George  L.  Thacher,  who,  with 
A^arious  partners,  did  business  here  about  twenty-five  years.  In  1882 
Eggleston  Brothers,  as  successors  of  George  L.  Thacher,  gave  it  the 
name  of  Boston  store,  and  they  in  turn  were  succeeded  in  April,  1887,  by 
Prince  M.  Crowell,  who  enlarged  the  business  to  its  present  import- 
ance. After  the  dissolution  of  the  firm  of  Baxter  &  Tobey,  Mr. 
Tobey  erected  the  building  on  Plea.sant  street,  now  the  market, 
which  he  ran  as  a  general  store  until  his  death;  he  also  built  the 
Leonard  Chase  house. 

Another  historic  old  business  corner  is  where  the  venerable 
Captain  Albert  Chase  has  his  store.  We  have  noticed  it  in  con- 
nection with  the  post  offices.  The  building  was  erected  in  1820  by 
■Oliver  Sampson,  a  shoemaker  who  lived  where  Dr.  Pitcher  now 
does,  and  was  occupied  as  a  blacksmith-  shop  by  Allen  Draudy. 
Warren  Hallett  &  Sons  converted  it  into  a  store,  and  were  suc- 
ceeded by  Joseph  H.  Parker  and  his  brother-in-law.  Freeman  L. 
Scudder.  Gorham  F.  Baker  was  the  next  merchant  at  this  site,  and 
was  succeeded  in  the  fall  of  1860  by  his  brother,  Joshua,  and  Albert 
Chase,  as  Chase  &  Baker.  Joshua  Baker  died  in  1885  and  the  busi- 
ness passed  to  Captain  Chase. 

J.  H.  Parker  built  the  Hartson  Hallett  store  and  commenced  in 
it  in  1860  a  business  which  was  continued  by  him  and  his  estate 
until  1867,  when  Mr.  Hallett  purchased  it. 

A  general  variety  and  news  store  is  kept  by  Henry  H.  Baker, 
who  was  the  first  news  dealer  at  Hyannis.  In  1854  he  opened  a 
restaurant  at  the  depot,  and  in  1876  he  built  and  located  in  his 
present  business  place. 

In  February,  1860,  George  J.  Miller  began  the  tailoring  business 
iere  on  the  site  of  George  B.  Lewis'  present  store;  he  removed  his 


410  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

business  from  Barnstable  village  after  a  three  years'  trial  there. 
He  built  in  1873,  and  removed  the  building  in  1885  to  its  present 
site  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Main  and  Ocean  streets,  where 
clothing  and  furnishing  goods  have  been  added  to  his  former  business. 

The  American  Clothing  House  at  Hyannis  was  opened  in  Novem- 
ber, 1885,  by  Louis  Arenovski,  and  is  now  the  best  equipped  estab- 
lishment of  the  kind  in  the  county  west  of  Harwich  Port.  Coming  to 
the  United  States  in  1881,  he  began  his  business  on  Cape  Cod  in  a 
small  way,  and  has  been  very  successful. 

In  1866  A.  G.  Cash  purchased  the  store  and  hardware  business  of 
N.  O.  Bond,  who  had  continued  it  several  years.  In  July,  1886,  Myron 
G.  Bradford  became  an  equal  partner,  and  the  business  of  plumbing 
and  roofing,  with  that  of  general  hardware,  is  continued  by  Cash  & 
Bradford. 

The  lumber  and  carriage  manufacturing  business  has  become  prom- 
inent very  naturally.  The  carriage  business  now  carried  on  by  C.  C. 
&  B.  F.  Crocker  was  established  in  1849,  and  since  1851  they  have  oc- 
cupied their  present'  site.  In  1857  B.  F.  Crocker  and  his  brother, 
Charles  C,  opened  the  lumber  yard  of  B.  F.  Crocker  &  Co.,  still  con- 
tinuing it;  also  together  manufacturing  and  painting  carriages,  and 
keeping  paints  and  like  materials  for  builders.  Later,  in  1869,  two 
brothers,  J.  K.  &  B.  Sears,  bought  of  Samuel  Snow  the  lumber 
yard  at  the  head  of  Railroad  wharf.  In  1881  two  sons  of  B.  Sears — 
Isaiah  C.  and  Henry  W. — became  partners,  creating  the  present  firm 
of  J.  K.  &  B.  Sears  &  Co.  Branches  from  this  yard  are  at  Woods  HoU 
and  Middleboro. 

Prominent  among  the  other  industries  here  is  the  grain  and  flour 
business,  by  the  Chase  Brothers,  near  the  depot.  The  father,  Heman 
B".,  began  it  in  1848,  and  was  running  a  packet  from  Hyannis  to  New 
York  at  the  time,  loading  with  fish  westward,  and  returning  with 
goods  for  merchants  and  grain  for  himself.  In  1856  David  S.  Mar- 
chant  became  his  partner,  and  they  built  a  store  on  Railroad  wharf, 
where  for  a  few  years  they  did  business  and  continued  the  packet  line 
as  Chase  &  Marchant.  In  1868,  after  the  decline  of  freighting  by 
water,  Mr.  Chase  and  his  sons,  Heman  B.  Chase,  jr.,  and  Clarence, 
engaged  in  the  grain  and  coal  business,  near  the  depot,  admitting,  in 
1874,  a  third  son,  Edward  L.,  to  the  firm  of  Heman  Chase  &  Sons. 
The  father  died  in  June,  1880,  and  Clarence  in  1884.  The  remaining 
members  of  the  firm  still  continue,  the  only  change  being  the  addi- 
tion of  hay  to  the  list  of  merchandise. 

The  only  commission  fish  business  is  that  of  Timothy  Crocker  & 
Sons,  on  Railroad  wharf.  In  1860  Mr.  Crocker  started  as  a  shipper  of 
fish,  and  in  1882  Gideon  Hallett  became  a  partner  for  a  short  time, 
adding  ice,  coal  and  wood  to  the  business. 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE. 


411 


Doctor  Doane's  office  had  been  regarded  as  a  drug  store  for  some 
thirty  years  prior  to  1883,  when  Arthur  G.  Guyer,  who  had  been 
educated  as  a  practical  druggist,  became  Doctor  Doane's  partner,  and 
they,  as  Doane  &  Guyer,  opened  the  first  regular  drug  store  at  Hyan- 
nis,  January  1,  1883.  The  only  other  is  a  store  started  in  1887  by  Dr. 
E.  E.  Hawes. 

There  were,  undoubtedly,  ancient  ordinaries  here;  but  the  present 
lyanough  House,  by  Thomas  H.  Soule,  jr.,  is  of  more  interest  to  the 
present  generation.  It  was  first  erected  by  Captain  Charles  Good- 
speed  in  1832,  and  was  purchased  in  1859  by  Evander  C.  White,  who 
enlarged  and  beautified  it,  and  called  it  the  White  House.  The  name 
lyanough  House  was  adopted  in  1874,  when  the  Hyannis  Port  Land 
Company  controlled  it.  Mr.  Soule  purchased  it  in  Janiiary,  1888,  and 
has  successfully  conducted  it  since.  He  is  a  native  of  New  Bedford, 
and  had  managed  the  Sherburne  House,  at  Nantucket,  prior  to  com- 
ing here.  The  lyanough  House,  throughout  the  year,  is  the  princi- 
pal hotel  on  the  south  shore,  and  entertains  a  fair  proportion  of  the 
summer  sojourners.  The  accompanying  engraving  shows  the  place 
in  a  scene  looking  toward  the  sound. 


Until  within  twenty-five  years  the  business  men  of  Hyannis  and 
vicinity  did  their  banking  business  chiefly  at  the  old  Yarrnouth  Bank; 
but  on  the  tenth  of  March,  1865,  the  First  National  Bank  of  Hyannis 
was  chartered  as  No.  1107,  and  authorized  to  begin  business  May  2d, 
with  a  capital  not  to  exceed  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Its  busi- 
ness, however,  was  not  begun  until  August  16th,  and  one-third  of  the 
authorized  capital  has  been  found  sufficient.  The  institution  has  con- 
tinually been  under  the  most  conservative  management  and  has  never 
passed  a  dividend.  Its  board  of  directors  has  included  the  ablest  and 
strongest  men  of  this  part  of  the  Cape.  The  first  president  was  Alex- 
ander Baxter,  who  was  succeeded  at  his  death  in  1870  by  S.  B.  Phin- 
ney.  The  present  head  of  the  institution  is  Joseph  R.  Hall,  one  of 
the  most  conservative  and  successful  financiers  in  the  county.     He 


412  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

was  the  first  cashier,  and  on  his  promotion  to  the  presidency  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  oldest  son,  Joseph  T.  Hall,  who  had  been  assistant  cash- 
ier some  fourteen  years  as  successor  to  Frank  Thacher,  who  was  book- 
keeper and  assistant  cashier  until  1874.  The  president's  only  other 
son,  Russell  D.  F.  Hall,  has  been  book-keeper  since  November,  1885. 

The  Hyannis  Savings  Bank  was  chartered  by  the  act  of  April  28, 
1868,with  S.  B.  Phinney,  president;  Joseph  R.  Hall,  treasurer;  and  Frank 
Thacher,  secretary.  F.  G.  Kelley  was  the  second  president  and  Frank 
Thacher  succeeded  Mr.  Hall  as  treasurer  in  1874.  The  board  of  trus- 
tees included  such  shrewd  men  as  Joshua  Baker,  Owen  Bearse,  Charles 
C.  Bearse,  F.  G.  Kelley,  S.  B.  Phinney  and  Alexander  Baxter.  The 
depreciation  of  real  estate  had  been  such  that  prior  to  1880  the  affairs 
of  the  bank  went  into  the  hands  of  Frank  Thacher  and  Joseph  R.  Hall 
as  receivers. 

The  Old  Colony  Railroad  Company  has  a  very  pretty  depot,  with 
telegraph  and  other  offices  on  the  second  floor.  Edwin  Baker  was  ap- 
pointed agent  in  1854,  and  was  succeeded  for  a  few  years  by  Obed 
Baxter  until  1870,  when  Leonard  Chase  was  appointed.  On  the  first 
of  April,  1889,  the  present  agent,  William  F.  Ormsby,  received  the 
appointment. 

A  post  office  was  established  here  in  1821,  with  Lewis  Thacher  in 
charge,  with  a  commission  dated  December  26th.  Otis  Loring  was 
made  his  successor  October  26,  1825,  and  was  followed  in  office  by 
Freeman  Scudder,  June  23,  1831.  In  March,  1833,  Mr.  Loring  was 
again  appointed  and  kept  the  office  in  the  house  now  occupied  by  Mrs. 
Copeland  on  Main  street.  During  Mr.  Scudder's  term  it  was  located 
where  Alexander  Hinckley  lives,  January  14, 1837.  In  January,  1837, 
Abner  W.  Lovell  was  appointed,  serving  until  April  27,  1852,  in  the 
store  building  since  occupied  as  a  clothing  store  by  Louis  Arenovski. 
Mr.  Lovell  was  eighty-six  years  old  in  1889,  and  tells  with  boyish  glee 
why  he  was  superseded  by  Joseph  H.  Parker,  who  removed  the  office 
to  the  present  store  of  Albert  Chase,  where  the  plain  outside  letter 
box  is  still  attached.  Mr.  Parker  soon  sold  out  and  went  to  sea,  and 
Gorham  F.  Baker  was  the  successor  in  the  same  place.  This  was  under 
the  administration  of  President  Pierce  and  prior  to  1856.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Daniel  Crowell  a  short  time,  and  he  by  Roland  S.  Hal- 
lett.  In  the  administration  of  President  Buchanan,  George  L.  Thacher 
was  appointed  and  held  the  office  until  F.  C.  Tobey  was  appointed 
early  in  the  first  term  of  the  lamented  Abraham  Lincoln.  He  kept 
the  office  in  his  store  by  the  stables  of  Leonard  Chase,  Pleasant  street. 
His  term  was  short  and  he  was  succeeded  by  R.  S.  Pope  in  the  build- 
ing now  used  by  the  library  association.  In  1871  Theodore  F.  Bassett 
was  appointed,  who  removed  a  private  school  house  to  the  site  and  in- 
augurated the  present  post  office  conveniences.     The  boxes  and  para- 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE.  413 

phemalia  of  this  oflBce,  compared  with  the  nine  large  and  only  boxes 
of  the  office  in  1850,  indicate  one  of  the  improvements  of  the  pretty 
village  of  Hyannis.  Charles  G.  Perry  was  appointed  in  1885,  and  in 
June,  1889,  the  present  efficient  officer,  George  W.  Hallett,  assumed 
the  control  under  the  present  administration. 

Besides  the  churches  Hyannis  supports  several  lodges  and  socie- 
ties. The  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  years  ago,  embraced 
here  112  members;  and  the  Sons  of  Temperance,  also  the  Daughters, 
separate  organizations,  now  extinct,  once  flourished. 

Orient  Chapter,  R.  A.  M.,  has  a  large  membership.  It  was  insti- 
tuted September  9,  1856,  and  meets  in  Masonic  Hall.  Sylvanus  Bax- 
ter was  the  first  H.  P.  in  1857,  succeeded  by  Rufus  S.  Pope  in  1858, 
who  served  until  1865,  and  again  between  the  years  1868-70  inclusive. 
Joseph  K.  Baker  served  in  1866  and  George  J.  Miller  in  1867;  Miller 
was  re-elected  in  1871,  serving  to  1875  inclusive,  and  again  in  1881-86; 
J.  W.  Chapman  was  H.  P.  in  1876-80;  George  H.  Smith,  1887-88;  and 
N.  A.  Bradford  was  elected  for  1889. 

Fraternal  Lodge,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  now  at  Hyannis,  held  its  meet- 
ings at  Barnstable  village  until  1854.  It  was  chartered  and  the  first 
meeting  was  held  July  21,  1801,  at  the  house  of  Robert  Lothrop. 
Among  its  antiquities  is  the  bill  for  its  seal  receipted  by  Paul  Revere, 
November  19,  1801.  The  lodge  leased  a  small  hall  where  the  present 
■  Masonic  Hall  is  at  Barnstable  village,  and  purchased  and  remodeled 
it  in  1830.  After  the  removal  of  the  place  of  meeting  to  Hyannis  and 
the  dedication  of  their  fine  hall  there  in  1855,  the  hall  at  Barnstable 
village  was  sold  to  the  I.  O.  O.  F. 

The  first  principal  officers  were:  Ezra  Crowell,  W.  M.;  Robert 
Lothrop,  S.  W.;  and  Thomas  D.Young,  J.  W.,  who  also  served  in  1802. 
The  succeeding  masters  have  been:  Robert  Lothrop,  to  1805,  and 
again  in  1806;  Samuel  Allyn,  in  1805;  Job  C.  Davis,  1807  to  1811;  Syl- 
vester Baker,  1812  to  1815;  William  Lewis,  from  1816  for  several  years,, 
but  how  long  can  not  be  determined,  as  the  records  are  deficient  to- 
1839;  Henry  Baxter,  1840  to  1842;  Davis  Crocker,  1843  to  1849;  Thomas 
Holmes,  1850;  Sylvester  Baxter,  1851;  Daniel  Bassett,  1852;  Hartson 
iHallett,  1853;  Rufus  S.  Pope,  1854  to  1861;  JohnO.  Thayer,  1865;  H.  W. 
Rugg,  1858,  for  four  years:  Samuel  Snow,  1862;  George  J.  Miller,  1863- 
64;  A.  S.  Hallett,  1865;  Dr.  J.  Winslow  Chapman,  1866-67;  Aaron  C. 
Swift,  1868-69;  Samuel  Snow,  1870;  Charles  W.  Hinckley,  1871  to  1873; 
Alexander  G.  Cash,  1874-75  and  1879;  George  H.Smith,  1876-78;  Henry 
D.  Baxter,  1880;  F.  A.  Bursley,  1881;  Robert  Lambert,  1882-83;  S.  F. 
Letteney,  1884-85;  W.  L.  Hinckley,  1886-87;  N.  A.  Bradford,  1888-89. 
O.  C.  Hoxie  has  been  secretary  for  nearly  thirty  consecutive  years. 

The  Lodge  of  Good  Templars  was  organized  June  6, 1887,  of  which 
Daniel  B.  Snow  was  the  first  W.  C,  who  served  until  May,  1888,  and 


414  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

was  succeeded  by  S.  A.  Putnam,  B.  F.  Tripp,  George  L.  Thacher,  jr., 
John  M.  Blagden,  and  O.  F.  Robinson. 

lyanough  Lodge,  K.  of  H.,  No.  1385,  was  instituted  February  14, 
1879,  and  meets  in  Masonic  Hall.  The  first  D.  was  George  J.  Miller, 
who  was  succeeded  by  John  W.  Chapman  in  1880;  by  H.  H.  Baker  in 
1881;  N.  A.  Bradford,  1882;  Simeon  F.  Letteney,1883;  Henry  W.  Gray, 
1884;  George  H.  Cash,  1885;  O.  H.  Crowell,  1886;  George  J.  Miller,  1887; 
N.  A.  Bradford,  1888-89.  It  has  eighty  members,  with  George  W. 
Hallett,  R. 

The  New  England  Order  of  Protection  is  a  mutual  life  insurance 
association  confined  to  New  England.  This  branch  of  the  order  was 
organized  October  17,  1888,  with  seventy  charter  members;  only  one 
other  Lodge  on  the  Cape  had  so  many  charter  members,  and  that  was 
at  Chatham.  The  officers  elected  to  serve  until  July,  1889,  were: 
Simeon  F.  Letteney,  warden;  Alex.  B.  Chase,  V.  W.;  Joseph  T.  Hall, 
treas.;  and  O.  F.  Robinson,  sec.  It  numbered  ninety-four  members 
in  1889. 

The  Hyannis  Library  Association  was  commenced  by  subscription, 
each  one  subscribing  a  fixed  sum,  which  entitled  him  or  her  to  a  mem- 
bership. In  1868  the  association  was  organized.  The  library  has  been 
kept  in  the  building  east  of  the  depot  for  several  years,  and  is  open 
to  the  public  on  Saturdays.  It  is  free  to  members,  others  paying 
a  small  weekly  fee  for  the  use  of  books.  The  library  in  1889  con-' 
tained  959  volumes  of  well-selected  literature. 

The  Hyannis  Cornet  Band  was  organized  in  1884,  and  is  a  credit 
to  the  village.  A  band  stand  was  erected  for  its  use  in  1886,  on  Main 
street,  near  Park. 

Hyannis  Port  is  a  post-hamlet  one  mile  southwest  of  Hyannis,  on 
the  coast,  and  has  every  advantage  for  being  one  of  the  best  summer 
resorts  along  the  south  shore.  The  settlement  and  business  of  that 
part  of  Barnstable  commenced  here,  and  this  community  and  Hyannis 
village  are  inseparably  one,  although  differing  in  name  somewhat. 
Schooners  and  coasters  were  built  here  by  Crocker  Marchant  very 
early,  he  being  owner  of  the  yard  and  a  practical  builder.  Frederick 
Scudder,  David  Hinckley,  Dea.  James  Marchant  and  Freeman  Mar- 
chant  made  .salt  here  soon  after  1800.  The  plain,  west  toward  Squaw 
island,  was  once  active  with  these  industries.  The  first  store  here  was 
built  by  David  Scudder,  on  the  corner  near  the  present  Tower  House. 
Freeman  Marchant  and  Frederick  Scudder  succeeded  him  for  several 
years,  and  Frederick  Scudder  closed  this  store  about  1860,  a  portion 
of  which  is  still  on  the  site.  Previous  to  the  closing  of  this,  he  had 
built  a  wharf  and  store  at  the  foot  of  Sea  street,  where  the  fishing 
and  other  business  was  mainly  conducted. 

Freeman  Marchant  erected  the  present  Tower  House,  which  was 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE.  415 

run  as  a  hotel  for  years,  and  is  pleasantly  situated.  The  entire  vicinity 
,  was  laid  out  by  the  Hyannis  Port  Land  Company  years  ago  for  a  vil- 
lage of  much  importance,  but  by  some  mismanagement  or  misfortune 
the  undertaking  did  not  succeed.  Much  of  the  property  is  now  in 
possession  of  the  bank  at  Framingham,  where  the  company  was 
formed.  In  September,  1872,  Gideon  Hallett  built  a  hotel  here,  which 
was  opened  to  the  public  in  1873.  He  added  to  it  in  the  same  year, 
making  a  large  and  convenient  house,which  is  called  "  Hallett  House." 
In  1888  Mrs.  Emily  Whelden  purchased  it  and  is  the  present  proprie- 
tress. David  Scudder  started  a  post  office  when  he  had  the  store,  in 
which  he  was  succeeded  January  2, 1829,  by  Frederick  Scudder.  Dan- 
iel Bassett  was  postmaster  from  April  18,  1840,  until  November  10, 
1852,  when  the  office  was  discontinued.  In  1873  W.  L.  Hinckley  re- 
vived the  office  and  was  appointed  postmaster.  The  people  receive 
a  daily  mail  from  Hyannis  for  nine  months,  and  two  a  day  in  July, 
August  and  September. 

Centreville,  the  Chequaquet  of  the  Indians,  occupies,  as  the 
name  implies,  the  central  position  among  the  hamlets  on  the  south 
side.  It  is  one  of  the  most  fertile  and  beautiful  portions  of  the  town. 
In  the  history  of  the  town  this  portion  was  selected  for  settlement 
soon  after  it  was  purchased  from  the  natives.  Of  its  development 
prior  to  1800  but  little  can  be  said,  but  it  became  prominent  soon  after 
that  date  as  a  favored  locality  for  building  vessels,  in  which  James 
Crosby,  Jonathan  Kelley,  Dea.  Samuel  Crosby  and  others  engaged. 
Mr.  Kelley,  as  early  as  1830,  built  two  a  year  for  several  years,  and 
Mr.  Crosby  continued  the  business  later  where  the  store  and  house  of 
Enoch  Lewis  stands.  It  is  said  that  the  last  coaster  built  here  was 
about  the  middle  of  the  century  and  was  sunk  by  the  rebels  while  on 
a  trip  south  during  the  civil  war;  Captain  Ephraim  Crowell  was  the 
master.  Deacon  Crosby  built  at  Centreville  wharf  the  last  vessels 
built  in  this  vicinity. 

Soon  after  1830  Freeman  Marchant  built  a  small  store  here,  now  a 
part  of  Ferdinand  G.  Kelley 's,  in  which  his  sister,  Tirzah  Marchant, 
kept  the  merchandise  sold  in  Centreville.  In  1837,  after  Warren 
Marchant  had  succeeded  his  aunt  Tirzah,  a  company  was  formed 
called  the  Centreville  Trading  Company,  with  Warren  Marchant  agent. 
In  1841  Jonathan  Kelley  and  son  purchased  the  site  and  business,  and 
in  1854,  the  son,  Ferdinand  G.  Kelley,  became  sole  owner  and  is  still 
in  the  business.  A  second  store  was  started  in  the  spring  of  1847  by 
Alvin  Cro.sby  and  Ansel  Lewis,  from  which  Mr.  Lewis  retired  in 
March,  1868.  Mr.  Crosby  continued  the  business  until  April,  1886, 
when  he  sold  to  Nathan  H.  Bearse  and  Harrison  Phinney,  who  under 
the  name  of  Bearse  &  Phinney  continue  in  trade.  The  store  has  been 
by  them  given  its  modern  form. 


416  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

The  third  store  at  Centreville  was  built  in  the  fall  of  1847  by  Wil- 
son Crosby  and  his  son,  Frederick  W.  They  continued  a  general 
trade  until  1857,  when  the  son  went  west,  and  Wilson  Crosby  contin- 
ued in  grain  and  flour  until  his  death  in  December,  1874;  Enoch  Lewis, 
his  son-in-law,  has  continued  the  business  since.  James  Cornish  had 
a  small  store  prior  to  1857  near  where  he  lives.  Another  store  was 
started  in  1868  by  Moses  F.  Hallett,  who  in  1874  took  his  son,  Samuel 
H.,  into  partnership,  and  they  still  continue.  The  building  has  been 
enlarged  from  a  smaller  one — the  shoe  shop  of  Captain  John  C. 
Case. 

A  drug  store  was  run  by  Sylvanus  Jagger  during  the  last  years  of 
his  life,  and  the  business  is  continued  by  Maria  G.,  his  widow.  Among 
those  of  the  past  is  the  store  of  Nelson  Phinney,  in  a  building  in  which 
he  had  previously  and  for  many  years  carried  on  considerable  of  a 
carriage  business;  also  the  little  store  of  Job  Childs  at  his  house. 
Other  industries  here  are  the  tinshop  of  Clark  Lincoln,  operated  since 
1860,  and  the  harness  store  of  A.  B.  Gardner. 

An  important  feature  in  the  mechanical  department  of  Centre- 
ville's  business  is  the  part  filled  by  Henry  B.  Sears.  The  shop  was 
first  started  by  Leander  Gage,  who  sold  to  Clark  Lincoln.  William 
Jones  purchased  the  shop  and  removed  it  to  its  present  site,  subse- 
quently selling  to  its  present  proprietor. 

As  a  summer  resort  Centreville  is  preferred  to  many  others.  Its 
quietude  and  beauty,  its  shaded  drives,  fanned  by  the  cool  breezes 
from  the' sound,  and  other  superior  attractions,  induce  prolonged  vis- 
its from  people  far  and  near. 

Howard  Hall  is  a  fine  building  erected  in  1877,  at  a  cost  of  two 
thousand  dollars,  by  a  stock  company.  On  the  lawn  near  the  hall  is 
a  library  building,  containing  a  large  and  well-selected  library,  free 
to  its  members,  and  only  a  small  fee  is  required  from  others. 

The  old  cemetery  here  was  long  ago  supplemented  by  a  later  one 
near  the  church,  and  this  in  turn  is  now  but  little  used.  In  1855,  No- 
vember 9th,  a  meeting  was  held  by  the  citizens,  and  the  Oak  Grove 
Cemetery  Association  was  formed.  Five  acres  of  suitable  land  were 
purchased  just  north  of  the  village,  on  the  West  Barnstable  road. 
This  has  been  well  fenced,  and  is  the  general  burial  place  for  the 
community.  The  oflBcers  for  1890  are:  F.  G.  Kelley,  treasurer,  and 
Eli  Phinney,  clerk.  Three  directors  are  elected  the  first  Monday  in 
January  of  each  year. 

A  post  office  was  established  in  1834,  with  Warren  Marchant,  post- 
master, from  March  4th.  He  was  succeeded,  April  23,  1839,  by  Ferdi- 
nand G.  Kelley,  who  has  held  it  since,  covering  a  period  of  over  fifty 
years.  Mr.  Kelley 's  commission  was  signed  by  Amos  Kendall,  post- 
master general. 


TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  417 

In  1837  Gorham  Crosby  began  making  his  house  a  stopping  place 
for  travelers.  The  old  house  was  replaced  by  a  new  one  in  1869, 
where  Aaron  Crosby,  the  son,  continues  to  accommodate  the  public. 

Craigsville  is  a  beautiful  resort,  just  southeast  of  Centreville — 
between  it  and  Hyannis — and  is  famous  for  its  camp  ground.  Its  vis- 
itors, attracted  by  its  beauty  and  novelties,  may  be  numbered  by 
thousands  each  season.  A  post  office  is  maintained  here  by  the  gov- 
ernment during  the  season,  a  mail  pouch  being  received  from  Hyan- 
nis.    Miss  Susie  V.  Aldrich  was  postmistress  in  1889. 

Marston's  Mills  is  the  Indian  Mistic,  and  is  pleasantly  situated 
between  Osterville  and  Cotuit.  Its  importance,  early  in  the  history 
of  the  town,  is  largely  due  to  the  excellent  power  for  mills,  which  were 
erected  very  early  on  the  stream  issuing  from  the  several  ponds  at 
the  north,  flowing  into  Cotuit  harbor.  A  fulling  mill,  a  cloth  dressing 
mill,  a  jewelry  establishment,  a  grist  mill  and  blacksmithing  existed 
here  at  an  early  date.  Here,  as  has  been  mentioned,  was  the  ancient 
fulling  mill  of  Thomas  Macy — in  1689 — on  what  was  called  Goodspeed 
river,  for  those  families  were  the  first  here.  This  mill  was  used  manj' 
years  as  a  fulling  mill.  Benjamin  Marston,  through  a  long  course  of 
years,  ran  it.  He  was  here  in  1738,  from  which  time  it  took  its  pres- 
ent name.  In  1829  the  former  business  of  the  place  had  dwindled  to 
a  grist  mill,  and  to  carding,  cloth  dressing,  fulling,  etc.,  by  Robert 
Francis  and  A.  B.  Marston.  Francis  sold  out  in  1829  to  Nathaniel 
Hinckley,  who  enlarged  the  building  and  added  one  of  Copeland's 
first-class  carders.  He  continued  the  carding  and  cloth  dressing  until 
1852,  when  Rufus  Churchill  became  a  partner.  They  purchased  cot- 
ton in  Boston,  and  here  made  cotton  batting  until  1855,  when  the 
death  of  Mr.  Churchill's  son,  for  whom  it  was  purchased,  caused  its 
decline.  Neither  party  wished  to  purchase  the  share  of  the  other; 
the  old  mill  was  subsequently  removed,  and  the  remains  of  the  dam, 
on  the  land  of  Lilly  Backus,  is  the  only  remaining  memento  of  this 
important  fulling  mill,  except  this  history. 

At  a  proprietors'  meeting,  February  13,  1704-5,  at  the  request  of 
John  Stacy  (or  Stasye),  the  privilege  to  erect  a  dam  on  the  Goodspeed 
river,  or  Cotuit,  was  given,  if  he  would  build  a  grist  mill  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  inhabitants,  and  charge  only  two  quarts  to  the  bushel  for 
toll.  This  dam  was  not  to  interfere  or"damnifie  or  pen  any  back 
water  to  hinder  the  fulling  mill  already  .set  up."  Chipman  Hinckley 
and  Ebenezer  Scudder  subsequently  owned  the  old  mill,  which  was 
purchased  in  1842  by  Nathaniel  Hinckley,  who  put  it  in  order,  adding 
a  corn  and  cob  cracker.  Mr.  Hinckley  now  made  an  unsuccessful  at- 
tempt to  put  the  two  dams  together,  for  the  purpose  of  starting  a  pa- 
per mill  to  work  the  beach  grass  of  the  Cape  into  paper.  The  mill, 
in  1889,  with  its  dam,  was  still  to  be  seen  as  of  yore,  and  Mr.  Hinck- 
27 


418  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ley,  venerable  in  age  and  good  works,  was  still  seen  passing  to  and 
fro  between  it  and  his  residence.  Not  only  do  these  mills  render  this 
hamlet  of  historic  interest,  but  it  was  the  home  of  Judge  Nymphas 
Marston,  who  died  in  the  house  now  occupied  by  Heman  .Thomas,  on 
the  knoll  just  west  of  the  mill. 

Early  stores  were  established,  but  the  first  of  which  any  record  can 
be  found  was  that  of  Nathan  Hinckley,  in  1820,  in  an  addition  to  his 
house.  He  lived  northeast  of  the  present  village,  and  this  was  for 
fifty  years  the  leading  store  of  that  part  of  Barnstable.  In  1826  Na- 
thaniel Hinckley  had  a  store  at  the  mills,  which  in  1833  he  sold  to 
William  Marston,  his  clerk,  who  was  in  business  forty  years  or  more 
before  L.  N.  Hamblin  &  Co.  began  business.  George  L.  Hamblin  now 
keeps  the  only  store  here,  having  succeeded  the  last  named  company. 

The  enterprising  citizens  erected  Village  Hall  in  1859  for  their 
own  and  public  use,  and  it  is  well  kept  up  by  the  stock  company  own- 
ing it. 

Nathaniel  Hinckley  was  the  first  postmaster  and  we  find  him  in 
his  office  in  January,  1828,  at  his  residence,  where  he  kept  it  until 
November  8,  1854.  Charles  Bassett  was  then  appointed,  who,  with 
Russell  Hinckley  and  John  J.  Backus,  filled  the  time  to  1879— the  date 
of  the  appointment  of  Dennis  H.  Mecarta.  Mrs.  Harriet  A.  Mecarta 
has  been  postmistress  since  the  death  of  her  husband  in  1886-6.  Na- 
thaniel Hinckley  has  filled  various  offices  of  trust  in  the  town.  He 
was  elected  ten  different  years  representative  to  the  general  court, 
and  in  the  years  1836  and  1869  was  appointed  by  the  respective  speak- 
ers on  the  committee  on  revision  of  the  public  statutes.  He  has  also 
been  register  of  probate  and  sheriff  of  the  county,  and  was  appointed 
by  President  Lincoln  commissioner  of  the  board  of  enrollment  during 
the  rebellion. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

Simeon  L.  Ames. — The  family  name  of  which  this  resident  of 
Cotuit  is  a  representative  is  found  early  in  the  last  century,  in  the 
annals  of  Barnstable.  The  first  record  is  of  Thomas,  who,  December 
30,  1746,  married  Mehitable  Fuller,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  first 
settlers  of  the  plantation.  Enos,  his  son,  born  in  1769  in  Osterville, 
was  the  father  of  Isaac  I.  Ames,  who  married  Beulah  Coleman  of  the 
same  place.  She  was  the  sister  of  Nathaniel  and  a  descendant  of  Ed- 
ward Coleman,  one  of  the  important  additions  to  the  settlers  of  Barn- 
stable in  1662.  Isaac  I.  continued  his  residence  at  Osterville,  raising 
a  family  of  children,  one  of  whom  was  Simeon  L.  Ames,  born  Decem- 
ber 6,  1822. 

At  the  age  of  seven  he  was  apprenticed  to  Deacon  Munroe  of  Barn- 
stable, and  the  short  period  at  the  Osterville  school  previous  to  his 


ty^ 


lyP'l'tX  £''1-^*-' 


TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  419 

removal,  and  the  three  years  he  lived  with  the  deacon  constituted  his 
school-boy  days.  At  the  age  of  ten  he  shipped  as  cook  on  the  sloop 
Oysterville  for  a  coasting  voyage,  and  as  soon  as  his  age  permitted, 
while  yet  in  his  teens,  he  was  made  master  of  a  coaster.  At  eighteen 
he  went  one  voyage  on  the  Wm.  Penn  as  boat  steerer.  He  returned 
to  coasting  and  this  profitable  service  he  continued  several  years.  In 
1852  he  was  master  of  the  steamer  Osprcy,  plying  between  Boston  and 
Philadelphia.  He  was  ordered  to  go  to  Boston  for  sealed  orders  which, 
when  received,  only  gave  him  sixteen  hours  to  prepare  for  a  voyage 
to  St.  Johns,  Newfoundland,  to  the  rescue  of  the  passengers  of  the  ill- 
fated  steamer  Philadelphia.  Before  his  arrival  at  St.  Johns  the  steamer 
Arctic  was  also  wrecked  there,  and  he  returned  to  Philadelphia  with 
the  few  survivors  from  the  latter  and  about  seven  hundred  from  the 
former.  He  acted  as  master  or  pilot  on  steamers  between  the  cities 
of  the  Atlantic  coast  for  two  years,  and  in  1854  he,  with  others  in  a 
company,  had  the  tug  William  Sprague  built  for  use  in  Boston  harbor, 
where  he  continued  in  command  until  his  retirement  in  1856. 

During  the  latter  part  of  his  seafaring  life,  December  3,  1846,  he 
married  Miss  Lucy  Fessenden  Crocker,  who  was  born  June  1,  1823,  at 
Cotuit,  and  worthily  represents  the  two  historic  families  indicated  by 
her  name.  Their  marital  relations  have  been  blessed  by  a  family  of 
three  children,  of  whom  one  daughter,  Hattie  S.,  born  October  1, 1849, 
in  Cotuit,  died  at  the  age  of  eleven  in  California.  Of  the  two  surviv- 
ing children,  the  oldest  daughter,  Carrie  Crocker  Ames,  born  Novem- 
ber 30,  1847,  married  Emerson  O.  Stratton  on  the  15th  of  December, 
1870;  they  live  in  Arizona  and  have  had  four  children:  Mabel,  Edith 
O.,  John  S.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  five,  and  Elmer  W.  Stratton.  The 
youngest  daughter  of  Mr.  Ames  is  Lucy  S.,  born  October  14,  1859, 
in  California,  and  January  17,  1883,  she  married  Elmer  W.  Lapham. 
Many  pleasing  coincidences  are  concealed  in  the  histories  of  the 
ancient  families  of  the  Cape,  and  here  one  is  unearthed.  This  young- 
est daughter,  Mrs.  Lapham,  resides  in  the  house  of  her  mother's  father, 
who  was  a  Crocker.  The  home  is  known  as  the  Ebenezer  Crocker 
place,  and  is  the  birthplace  of  Zenas  Crocker,  Mrs.  Ames,  Rebecca 
Crocker  and  others;  and  among  the  smaller  mementoes  of  the  past 
the  family  have  carefully  preserved  the  diary  of  1761,  written  while 
among  the  Indians  of  the  Six  Nations,  by  Rev.  Gideon  Hawley,  who 
was  also  one  of  the  ancestors  of  Mrs.  Ames. 

When  Mr.  Ames  left  the  sea  in  1856  he  removed  to  California 
where  he  was  engaged  in  a  store  until  1861,  when  he  returned  to 
Cotuit,  purchased  his  present  farm,  erected  his  pleasant  residence, 
and  here  he  enjoys  the  fruits  of  his  active  and  well  spent  life.  His 
time  has  been  spent  in  agricultural  pursuits,  and  since  1870  more  es- 
pecially in  the  culture  of  cranberries.     Retiring  in  his  nature,  prefer- 


420  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ring  the  home  circle  to  the  vicissitudes  of  civil  life,  he  has  not  con- 
sented to  fill  any  ofiScial  trust  beyond  that  of  school  committee  for  his 
own  division  of  the  town.  Like  many  others  on  the  Cape  he  is  famil- 
iarly called  "  Captain,"  a  title  he  has  earned  by  years  of  merito- 
rious service  on  the  seas  as  master,  but  he  is  entitled  to  a  cog-nomen 
of  equal  significance  for  the  masterly  tacks  he  has  made  on  land. 

Ferdinand  H.  Bassett'  (Gerry',  Joseph',  Daniel',  Daniel*,  Joseph', 
NathanieF,  William  Bassett',)  was  born  in  1842,  and  was  at  sea  from 
1858  until  1886,  being  sixteen  years  in  command  of  vessels.  Since 
retiring  from  the  sea  he  has  been  in  business  at  Hyannis.  His  wife, 
Caroline,  is  a  daughter  of  Judah  Baker,  deceased,  of  South  Dennis. 
Their  three  sons  are:  F.  Clifton,  Elisha  B.  and  Winthrop  D.  William 
Bassett'  came  in  the  Fortune  in  1621.  Zenas  D.  Bassett,  who  was  born 
in  1786  and  died  in  1864,  was  a  prominent  man  in  the  county.  He  was 
a  son  of  Joseph  Bassett'. 

Charles  L.  Baxter,  born  1833,  is  a  son  of  John  B.  and  a  grandson 
of  John  Baxter.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  began  at  carpentry  and 
has  since  followed  it  as  his  principal  business,  although  now  also  in- 
terested in  cranberry  culture.  He  built  H.  W.  Wellington's  house  at 
Wianno  Beach,  the  Colonel  Codman  and  Wesson  places  at  Cotuit 
Port,  Zenas  Crocker's  residence  at  Cotuit,  and  in  1858  his  own  resi- 
dence there.     His  wife  was  Josephine  Jones. 

Captain  Samuel  S.  Baxter,  born  1828,  is  the  youngest  child  of  Shu- 
bael  Baxter,  who  was  a  master  mariner  and  privateer  in  1812.  Captain 
Baxter  went  on  a  coasting  voyage  when  but  eleven  years  of  age;  was 
in  North  Carolina  and  West  India  merchant  service  two  or  three 
years,  then  in  United  States  mail  line  to  California  from  1853  to  1860. 
He  was  engaged  in  transport  service  during  the  civil  war  from  1861 
to  1865,  after  which  he  made  several  voyages  to  New  Orleans  and  Fer- 
nandina,  Fla.  He  retired  in  1866,  and  is  at  present  residing  near 
Marston's  Mills  and  interested  in  oyster  culture.  His  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  Luther  Hinckley,  a  prominent  Barnstable  man.  They 
have  two  daughters. 

Asa  F.  Bearse,  merchant  at  Cotuit,  is  a  son  of  Alfred  and  grandson 
of  Moses  Bearse,  formerly  a  house  carpenter  in  Hyannis.  He  was  at 
sea  for  seventeen  years,  fourteen  years  as  captain.  His  wife,  Sarah 
L.,  is  a  daughter  of  Captain  Oliver  Nickerson.  Their  children  are: 
Elva  W.,  Mabel  (Mrs.  Gilbert  L.  Coleman)  and  Alice,  now  in  school. 

Charles  C.  Bearse. — The  progenitor  of  this  family  was  Austin 
(AugTistine)  Bearse,  who  arrived  in  the  New  World  April  24,  1638,  in 
the  ship  Confidence.  He  was  twenty-one  years  of  age  when,  m  1639, 
he  came  to  Barnstable.  He  was  admitted  to  Mr.  Lothrop's  church 
April  29,  1643,  and  the  record  says  of  him,  "  he  was  a  consistent  and 
esteemed  member."     His  grandson  Benjamin,  son  of  Joseph,  was  the 


t^^^-'^^^S^L^ 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  421 

first  to  erect  a  house  in  Hyannis,  and  was  among  the  first  interred  in 
the  burial  place  of  that  village.  Among  the  subsequent  descendants 
of  these  sterling  ancestors  was  Charles  C.  Bearse,  born  April  2,  1812, 
at  Hyannis,  where  his  father,  Moses,  and  his  grandfather,  Gershom, 
lived  and  died. 

At  the  age  of  ten  he  went  to  reside  with  his  uncle,  George  Hinck- 
ley, of  whom  he  learned  the  carpenter  trade,  and  at  Osterville  he  ob- 
tained the  education  afiforded  by  the  common  schools.  He  was  married 
December  27,  1842,  to  Penelope  P.  Crocker,  daughter  of  Braddock 
Crocker,  who  was  a  prominent  merchant  of  Cotuit  for  twenty  years 
prior  to  his  death  in  1840.  Her  grandfather  Crocker,  bom  in  1763, 
was  one  of  that  ancient  family  which  has  been  for  years  identified 
with  much  of  the  prosperity  and  wealth  of  the  Cape. 

Soon  after  his  marriage  Mr.  Bearse  erected  the  beautiful  home  at 
Cotuit,  where  he  died  February  24,  1889,  leaving,  besides  his  widow, 
two  daughters.  The  eldest  is  Isabel  T.,  born  May  29,  1848,  who,  Jan- 
uary 12,  1881,  married  Julius  Nickerson,  a  prominent  merchant  of 
Cotuit,  and  has  a  daughter  six  years  of  age,  named  Carol  Isabel.  The 
youngest  daughter,  residing  with  the  mother  at  the  homestead,  is 
Nellie  Bearse,  born  December  23,  1866. 

The  life  and  services  of  the  deceased,  through  a  period  of  three- 
score years  of  activity  and  usefulness  in  every  phase  of  responsibility, 
leaves  honorable  testimony  of  his  public  and  private  virtues.  Not 
content  with  the  limits  circumscribed  by  his  trade,  he  established  a 
large  business  in  lumber  and  hardware  at  Cotuit,  and  became  an  ex- 
pert architect  and  builder.  At  the  age  of  thirty-three,  the  confidence 
in  his  ability  was  manifested  by  an  election  to  a  seat  in  the  general 
court  for  two  years;  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  term  he  was  elected 
selectman  and  assessor  of  his  town,  which  positions  he  filled  most 
acceptably  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  declined,  in  1871, 
to  serve  longer,  and  the  citizens  of  Barnstable,  in  open  town  meet- 
ing, passed  resolutions  of  thanks  for  his  worthy  services,  and  of 
regret  at  his  retirement.  These  were  not  his  only  public  duties. 
He  served  one  term  as  high  sheriff  of  the  county;  for  many  years, 
until  his  resignation,  he  was  postmaster  at  Cotuit;  and  his  services 
as  justice  of  the  peace,  through  repeated  appointments  here,  termi- 
nated only  by  his  decease. 

In  July,  1865,  when  the  First  National  Bank  of  Hyannis  was 
organized,  he  was  one  of  its  directors,  which  position  he  held  until 
the  board  was  reduced  in  number;  but  he  was  again  chosen  in  1887. 
The  board,  at  his  death,  passed  and  presented  to  his  family  reso- 
lutions of  grief  and  condolence.  He  was  also  chosen  one  of  the 
board  of  directors  and  investment  of  the  Hyannis  Savings  Bank  at 
its  organization,  and  until  the  institution  closed  he  was  among  the 
most  earnest. 


422  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

In  none  of  the  responsible  duties  required  of  this  worthy  citi- 
zen were  his  services  more  sought  or  his  equity  better  demon- 
strated than  in  the  settlement  of  estates  in. his  own  and  adjoining- 
towns.  In  the  careful  adjustment  of  the  most  complicated  of  these 
he  excelled.  Through  his  public  and  private  life,  those  who  had 
been  associated  with  him  for  nearly  half  a  century,  themselves 
prominent  in  affairs,  unreservedly  attest  to  the  pure  Christian  mo- 
tives, decisive  opinions,  excellent  judgment  and  wise  counsels  of 
Charles  C.  Bearse. 

While  moss  is  growing  over  the  granite,  and  time  is  making  the 
marble  gray,  the  good  influence  which  he  exerted  upon  the  age  in 
which  he  lived  will  still  be  widening;  and  the  student  of  local  history 
will  hardly  find,  in  the  annals  of  men,  a  more  perfect  instance  of 
financial  and  political  purity. 

Nelson  H.  Bearse,  born  in  1844,  is  a  son  of  the  late  Nelson 
Bearse,  whose  father,  James,  was  a  son  of  James  and  grandson  of 
Lemuel  Bearse.  Nelson  H.  followed  the  sea  from  1868  until  1878. 
His  wife  is  Mary  C.  Ames  of  Osterville.  They  have  six  children, 
including  a  pair  of  twins,  which  is  the  ninth  pair  in  this  branch  of 
the  family. 

Revilo  P.  Benson  was  bom  in  Rochester,  Mass.,  in  1846.  His  father, 
Ephraim  Benson,  was  born  in  1800.  He  located  in  Marston's  Mills  in 
1874,  where  he  still  lives,  carrying  on  a  blacksmith  business.  His 
wife,  Isadora  G.,  is  a  daughter  of  Captain  Josiah  Hamblin,  formerly 
of  Falmouth.  They  have  one  child,  Nettie  M.  Benson,  born  at  Ware- 
ham,  Mass.,  in  1874. 

Simeon  Lovell  Boult,  a  retired  sea  captain,  born  1819,  is  a  son  of 
Charles  Boult,  who  came  to  this  country  when  a  boy.  His  mother, 
Rebecca,  was  a  daughter  of  Simeon  Lovell,  whose  house  was  in  Oster- 
ville on  the  north  side  of  the  main  road,  near  Crocker's  Comers.  Mr. 
Boult  followed  the  sea  from  the  age  of  fourteen  until  1876,  in  the  coast- 
ing trade.  His  wife,  Rozilla  A.,  was  the  eldest  daughter  of  Nathan 
Coleman.  She  died  November  30, 1882,  leaving  one  daughter,  Isa- 
bella C.  Boult. 

Daniel  P.  Bursley. — As  the  only  surviving  representative  of  one 
of  the  branches  of  the  ancient  family  of  Bursley,  the  name  at  the  head 
of  this  sketch  composes  an  important  element  in  the  genealogical  his- 
tory of  the  county.  John  Bursley,  the  progenitor  of  the  family,  was 
with  the  first  settlers  of  Barnstable,  and  on  November  28,  1639,  he 
married  Joanna,  daughter  of  minister  Hull.  From  this  worthy  ances- 
tor the  lineage  has  been:  John,  jr.,  Joseph,  Joseph,  jr.,  John,  Josiah 
and  Washburn,  the  father  of  Daniel  P.  Bursley.  The  residence  on 
the  corner  opposite  the  old  Jabez  Howland  tavern,  West  Barnstable, 
was  the  homestead  of  Josiah,  who  reared  to  usefulness  six  children: 


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TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  423 

Lurana,  Daniel,  Washington,  Washburn,  George  and  Enoch  P.  Burs- 
ley.  The  fourth  child,  Washburn,  was  born  October  5, 1812,  and  until 
his  death,  October  29, 1886,  was  an  important  factor  in  the  growth  and 
business  of  West  Barnstable.  He  was  a  farmer  until  the  advent  of 
the  railroad,  when  he  established  the  express  line  to  the  south  shore, 
which  for  many  years  bore  his  name  and  still  is  known  as  the  Bursley 
Express.  Such  was  his  punctuality  that  for  over  thirty  years  he  never 
missed  being  at  the  proper  trains;  and  during  the  whole  period  no 
storm  or  business  kept  him  a  night  from  his  family. 

He  married,  December  10,  1834,  Deborah  Lothrop  Turner,  who 
survives  him.  She  is  a  direct  descendant  from  Governor  Prince. 
Their  only  child,  Daniel  P.  Bursley,  was  born  October  30,  1836,  and 
married  Hannah  D.  Linnell,  of  Centreville,  November  7,  1858.  She 
is  the  only  daughter  of  Captain  David  Linnell,  a  direct  descendant  of 
Robert  Linnell,  one  of  the  original  members  of  John  Lothrop's  church, 
Barnstable,  in  1639. 

In  1854,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  Daniel  P.  shipped  before  the  mast 
in  the  merchant  service  of  Crocker  &  Warren,  of  New  York.  His  first 
voyages  were  in  the  ship  Raven,  in  which  he  steadily  arose  in  rank 
until  he  was  appointed  first  mate  in  her  voyage  of  1864.  He  accepted 
the  command  of  the  Frattklin  in  1865,  in  the  employ  of  W.  F.  Weld  & 
Co.,  Boston,  sailing  to  San  Francisco,  thence  to  China  and  around  the 
world  home.  In  1867  he  was  master  of  the  same  ship  on  a  similar 
voyage;  and  in  1869  of  the  Borneo;  in  1870  of  the  George  Peabody.  In 
1871  he  was  sent  overland  to  the  Pacific  coast  to  bring  home  the  ship 
California,  loaded  with  logwood;  and  in  1872  made  his  last  voyage  to 
San  Francisco,  and  thence  to  Europe,  in  the  Belvidere.  His  wife  not 
wishing  to  longer  accompany  him,  and  the  declining  health  of  his 
father,  induced  him,  in  1875,  to  give  up  a  sea-faring  life.  He  and  his 
wife  have  since  resided  in  the  Bursley  homestead,  and  are  the  solace 
of  the  worthy  mother.  He  has  earned  the  soubriquet  of  "  Captain," 
as  he  is  familiarly  called  by  his  intimate  friends. 

He  is  prominent  in  the  civil  affairs  of  his  town,  and  although  an 
active,  worthy  member  of  the  republican  party,  he  declines  every 
proffer  of  office.  He  has  been  the  agent  of  the  New  York  &  Boston 
Despatch  Express  Company  since  its  establishment,  which,  with  his 
own  complicated  business,  set  forth  in  the  history  of  his  village,  oc- 
cupies his  time.  Notwithstanding  his  many  duties,  he  finds  time  for 
the  social  relations  of  life,  and  in  the  pleasant  home  circle  enjoys  not 
only  the  present,  but  many  memories  of  the  past.  The  beautiful 
homestead  is  historic  from  its  site,  and  the  fact  that  some  of  its  tim- 
bers and  covering  were  formerly  in  the  residence  of  James  Otis,  the 
patriot.  The  front  door  step  was  once  the  hearth-stone  in  the  parlor 
of  Brigadier  Otis,  whose  house  near  by  has  been  taken  down  within 


424  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

his  remembrance.  He  also  points  with  pride  to  the  backgammon 
board,  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  old,  once  the  property  of  the  briga- 
dier, and  which  is  an  exquisite  piece  of  English  inlaid  mechanism. 

The  many  years  of  successful  service  in  an  important  branch  of 
commerce,  and  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  in  the  social,  civil 
and  business  relations  of  his  native  town,  indicate  that  in  Daniel  P. 
Bursley,  as  one  of  the  scions  of  that  original  band  of  settlers,  the  honor 
and  integrity  of  the  family  is  maintained. 

John  Bursley'  (William  T.',  1832;  Charies  H.',  1801-1878;  Heman', 
1770-1850;  John',  1741-1827;  Joseph',  1714-1778;  Joseph',  1686-1760; 
John',  1652-1726;  John",  died  1660,)  was  born  in  1859.  John'  bought  a 
large  land  property  at  West  Barnstable,  including  the  farm  now  occu- 
pied by  the  eighth  and  ninth  generations  of  his  descendants.  Charles 
H.  Bursley'  was  the  first  secretary  of  the  County  Agricultural  Society, 
acting  fifteen  years  or  more.  John  Bursley'  married  Florence  A., 
daughter  of  William  H.,  granddaughter  of  Ezekiel  H.,  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  Isaiah  Parker. 

Alexander  G.  Cash,  mentioned  as  a  merchant  at  Hyannis,  was  born 
at  Cotuit  Port  in  1840.  His  father,  William  Cash,  was  born  at  Matta- 
poiset,  Mass.,  and  was  shipmaster  in  the  whaling  service  from  New 
Bedford  and  Nantucket  from  1848  to  1864.  His  grandfather,  Alexan- 
der Cash,  was  born  at  Nantucket.  Alexander  G.  was  at  New  Bedford, 
Fall  River  and  Brockton  between  1857  and  1866,  and  from  1850  to 
1855  was  on  the  ocean  and  at  Sandwich  islands.  He  was  deputy  and 
special  sheriff  from  1878  to  1890.  He  has  been  twice  married.  His 
first  wife,  Rebecca  A.,  was  born  in  New  Bedford.  She  left  two  chil- 
dren: William  S.  and  Stanley  A.  His  second  wife,  Phebe  A.,  was  born 
in  Nantucket. 

Dr.  John  Winslow  Chapman,  of  Hyannis,  was  born  at  Philadelphia 
in  1828,  and  was  educated  there  with  Dr.  J.  M.  Harris  and  at  the  Phila- 
delphia College  of  Medicine.  His  wife,  Ella  Dorr,  is  a  daughter  of 
Captain  Nathan  Coleman  of  Cotuit,  a  wealthy  ship  master.  Dr.  Chap- 
man began  the  practice  of  dentistry  at  Hyannis  in  1846,  and  excepting 
eight  years  preceding  1857— when  he  was  in  New  York — has  followed 
his  profession  here. 

Captain  Albert  Chase. — This  much  esteemed  citizen  of  Hyannis 
is  a  descendant  of  William  Chase,  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  the 
plantation  of  Mattacheese  in  1639,  who  came  to  the  colony  of  New 
Plymouth  in  1630  and  resided  at  Roxbury  and  Scituate  before  his  re- 
moval to  the  Cape.  In  the  division  of  the  plantation  he  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Yarmouth,  where  he  was  appointed  constable  and  collector  in 
1640.  This  ancestor,  succeeded  by  a  line  of  male  representatives 
prominent  in  church  and  state,  was  worthily  represented  by  Dea. 
Anthony  Chase,  of  the  Hyannis  Baptist  church,  who  was  born  in  1757 


-^6-1 


/t-^-t^-^—-*^ — • 


TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  425 

and  died  at  the  age  of  eighty-three,  after  a  life  of  marked  usefulness. 
His  son,  Anthony,  was  a  resident  of  Yarmouth,  where,  in  1808,  Albert 
Chase,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  the  only  survivor  of  this  branch 
of  the  family,  was  born. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  shipped  before  the  mast  in  the  coasting 
and  foreign  merchant  service,  and  by  his  diligent  application,  was 
advanced  along  the  line  of  promotion  until  he  was  master,  which  re- 
sponsible position  he  filled  in  the  packet  service  between  New  York 
and  Boston  for  nearly  a  score  of  years  before  his  retirement. 

He  married,  September  7,  1830,  Elizabeth  P.,  daughter  of  Abner 
Taylor  of  Yarmouth,  and  only  sister  of  Elisha  Taylor  of  South  Yar- 
mouth. Their  only  child,  Amanda  E.  Chase,  was  born  in  1833;  she 
married  Stephen  Henton  of  Pennsylvania,  and  died  a  few  months 
after.  Mr.  Chase  resided  at  Hyannis  Port  prior  to  1857,  when  lie 
erected  and  removed  to  his  present  beautiful  residence  in  Hyannis. 

In  1860  he  engaged  with  Joshua  Baker  in  mercantile  pursuits,  of 
which  an  account  has  been  given  in  the  history  of  Hyannis  village. 
Like  his  ancestors,  he  is  a  supporter  of.  the  Baptist  church,  and  in  pol- 
itics is  a  type  of  the  Jeffersonian  school  of  democrats.  He  prefers  the 
congenial  home  to  any  honors  that  can  be  conferred  by  office,  and  has 
persistently  declined  all  proffers.  He  was  once  elected  as  one  of  the 
directors  of  the  Hyannis  Bank,  in  which  he  is  interested,  but  even 
this  encroachment  upon  his  domestic  habits  was  distasteful,  and  he 
soon  resigned,  although  possessed  of  mature  financial  ability  so  valu- 
able to  the  board.  In  all  business  relations  his  conservative  methods 
have  produced  eminent  succfess  and  a  competency  for  the  decline  of 
life.  For  more  than  half  a  century  his  public  spirit,'his  enterprise, 
his  ready  counsel  and  material  aid  have  advanced  the  worthy  and 
philanthropic  objects  of  his  town. 

Although  he  has  recently  passed  the  eightieth  mile-stone  of  an  ac 
five  life,  he  still  bids  fair  for  the  enjoyment  of  a  score  of  useful  years 
in  the  practice  of  those  virtues  which  have  marked  his  life  and  made 
it  a  forcible  illustration  of  how  temperate  living  and  regular  employ- 
ment of  mind  and  body  may  give  length  of  days  and  bring  those  who 
practice  them  to  the  quiet  harbor  of  a  serene  and  hale  old  age. 

Edward  W.  Childs,  born  in  1842,  is  a  son  of  Captain  Simeon  C. 
Childs,  whose  father,  David,  was  a  son  of  Job  Childs.  Mr.  Childs  fol- 
lowed the  sea  in  coasting  about  seventeen  years,  and  was  for  nine 
months  a  soldier  in  the  civil  war.  After  the  war  he  was  for  fifteen 
years  variously  engaged  as  foreman  and  inspector  on  contract  con- 
struction of  reservoirs  and  water  works  at  New  Bedford,  Pawtucket, 
Lowell  and  Manchester.  His  present  business  is  farming  and  cran- 
beiTy  culture  and  poultry  raising.  His  wife,  F.  Albertine,  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Franklin  and  granddaughter  of  Nathaniel  Freeman  of  Orleans. 


426  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

William  Childs,  born  1819,  is  a  son  of  Thomas  and  grandson  of 
Job  Childs,  who  was  formerly  a  farmer  at  Centreville.  His  mother, 
Susanna,  was  a  sister  of  Joseph  Cammett.  He  followed  the  sea  from 
the  age  of  fourteen  until  about  1857,  being  master  the  last  three  or 
four  years.  He  markets  three  hundred  to  four  hundred  barrels  an- 
nually of  Little  River  oysters  from  beds  which  he  owns.  His  wife, 
Sophia,  is  a  daughter  of  Daniel  H.  Sturges.  They  have  had  eleven 
children,  six  of  whom  reside  here. 

John  F.  Cornish  was  born  in  Plymouth  in  1821.  When  thirteen 
years  of  age  he  came  to  Centreville,  where  he  still  lives.  He  is  a  car- 
penter by  trade.  For  ten  years  prior  to  1854  he  ran  the  stage  from 
Sandwich  to  Hyannis,  via  South  Sandwich,  Cotuit,  Osterville  and  Cen- 
treville. He  was  at  sea,  coasting,  from  1854  to  1872.  His  wife  is  Eliza- 
beth B.,  born  in  Cotuit,  daughter  of  Captain  Asa  and  granddaughter 
of  William  Stevens  of  Plymouth.  Their  children  are:  John  B.  of 
Boston;  Lizzie  (Mrs.  General  Ayling  of  New  Hampshire);  and  Sarah 
(Mrs.  Dr.  John  E.  Pratt  of  Sandwich).  Mr.  Cornish's  father.  Freeman, 
was  born  in  South  Plymouth  about  1783,  and  his  father,  John  Cornish, 
is  believed  to  have  been  born  in  Plymouth. 

Alfred  Crocker,  born  November  3,  1844,  is  a  son  of  Loring,  grand- 
son of  Loring  and  great-grandson  of  William  Crocker.  He  was  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  salt  with  his  father  until  twenty-nine 
years  of  age,  after  which  he  was  for  eight  years  railway  postal  clerk- 
He  was  five  years  postmaster  at  Barnstable,  and  for  the  past  nine 
years  has  been  a  member  of  the  school  cammittee,  and  is  at  present  a 
deputy  sheriff.  He  was  married  November  19,  1872,  to  Mary  A., 
daughter  of  George  C.  Davis.  They  have  two  children:  Alfred,  jr., 
and  Hattie. 

Benjamin  F.  Crocker,  born  1822,  is  a  son  of  Enoch,  grandson  of 
Joseph  and  great-grandson  of  Moses  Crocker.  Enoch  was  manufac- 
turing shoes  at  Yarmouth  Port  several  years  with  Charles  Sears  and 
Thomas  Thacher.  They  ran  a  stage  line  from  Yarmouth  to  Sand- 
wich. Joseph  was  a  deacon  in  the  West  Parish  church.  Benjamin  F.. 
has  resided  at  Hyannis  since  his  return  from  California  in  1852.  His 
wife,  Caroline,  is  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Moses  R.  Percival,  the  homoeo- 
pathic pioneer  of  Maine.  Their  oldest  son  is  Dr.  Willard  C.  Crocker 
of  Foxboro,  Mass.,  and  another  son  is  studying  medicine. 

Charles  C.  Crocker,  born  1831,  is  a  son  of  Enoch  and  grandson  of 
Samuel  Crocker.  In  1849  he  began  his  present  business,  as  noted  in 
the  Hyannis  village  history,  and  has  continuously  occupied  his  pres- 
ent shop  since  1851.  His  wife  is  a  daughter  of  Laban  Hallett,  de- 
ceased. He  has  two  children:  Welles  H.  and  George  F.  Mr.  Crocker 
was  elected  first  selectman  in  March,  1884,  and  annually  since. 


TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  427 

Eben  B.  Crocker',  born  1854,  is  descended  from  Frederick  W.', 
David*,  Daniel',  Job',  John',  William'.  Eben  B.'  was  deputy  sheriff 
here  from  1880  to  March,  1887,  when  he  began  his  first  term  as  select- 
man. He  has  done  the  only  ice  business  here  for  a  period  of  eight 
or  ten  years.  His  wife,  Ella  D.,  is  a  daughter  of  Daniel  Scudder  of 
this  town.  The  ancestor,  William',  was  one  of  the  First  Comers  of 
1639. 

Henry  P.  Crocker,  merchant  at  Osterville,  is  a  son  of  Brigham  and 
grandson  of  Moody  Crocker.  His  mother,  Sophia,  was  a  direct  de- 
scendant from  Governor  Hinckley.  Mr.  Crocker  was  at  sea  twelve 
years  prior  to  1874,  and  then  until  1884  was  captain  in  coastwise  mer- 
chant service. 

Isaiah  Crocker,  son  of  Benjamin  F.  and  grandson  of  Isaac  Crocker, 
who  once  lived  in  West  Barnstable,  was  born  in  Osterville  in  1813. 
He  married  Eliza,  daughter  of  William  Holway  of  West  Barnstable, 
and  had  six  children:  Edmund  A.,  now  of  Boston;  Mary  E.  (Mrs.  Bar- 
ker, deceased),  Martha  W.  (Mrs.  Israel  Crocker),  Wallace  F.  (deceased), 
William  H.,  a  teacher  in  the  Osterville  Grammar  School,  and  Ellen 
(Mrs.  Edward  Spooner  of  Campello).  The  celebrated  Crocker  eel  and 
fish  spears  are  made  by  Mr.  Crocker,  who  for  nearly  half  a  century 
has  furnished  those  and  other  devices  for  capturing  eels  and  fish. 
Israel  Crocker,  mentioned  above,  is  a  well-known  merchant  at  Oster- 
ville. He  was  born  near  Scorton  hill,  where  his  father,  John,  and  his 
grandfather,  C.  R.  Crocker,  who  came  from  Wareham  about  1800, 
lived. 

Oliver  Crocker,  born  1822,  is  a  son  of  Ezekiel  and  grandson  of 
Joseph  Crocker.  He  went  to  sea  at  seventeen  years  of  age  and  fol- 
lowed whaling  twenty-five  years,  making  four  voyages  in  the  Arctic 
ocean  and  others  in  the  Pacific  and  Indian  oceans.  His  wife,  Nancy, 
is  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Jones.  Their  children  are:  Oliver  A.,  Fos- 
ter, Nannie  E.  (Mrs.  George  L.  Hamblin)  and  Florence  (Mrs.  Rev. 
Frank  W.  Hamblin). 

Oliver  H.  Crocker,  born  1820,  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  F.  and  grand- 
son of  Isaac  Crocker.  He  was  formerly  a  ship  carpenter,  but  is  now 
engaged  in  farming.  His  wife,  Lurana,  is  a  sister  of  Alvin  Crosby, 
of  Centreville.     They  have  one  son,  William  Oliver  Crocker. 

Zenas  Crocker,  born  1831,  is  a  son  of  Zenas  Crocker,  whose  father 
was  also  named  Zenas.  He  was  at  sea  in  early  life,  and  in  1852  he 
went  to  California,  where  he  stayed  seven  years.  He  subsequently 
spent  two  years  there.  His  present  business  is  cranberry  culture. 
He  was  married  in  Sandwich,  Mass.,  to  Susan  A.  Jones,  a  native  of 
Vermont.  Their  children  are:  Hattie  E.,  Zenas  (who  has  four  chil- 
dren, including  a  son  Zenas),  Ellen  M.  and  Francis  H.  Crocker.  Ellen 
M.  married  Captain  Daniel  H.  Handy,  of  Cotuit,  January  8,  1890. 


428  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

The  Crosby  family  is  largely  represented  at  Centreville  and  Oster- 
ville  by  the  descendants  of  Jesse  Crosby  (1732-1804).  His  father,  Eb- 
enezer,  was  born  in  Brewster  in  1706,  where  his  father,  Ebenezer,  was 
born  in  1675,  he  being  the  son  of  .Rev.  Thomas  Crosby,  an  early 
preacher  in  Eastham,  who  came  to  New  England  with  his  father, 
Simon,  in  the  ship  Susan  &  Ellen,  April  18,  1635.  This  Jesse  Crosby 
had  eleven  children,  the  sons  being  Nathan,  James,  Allen,  Jesse, 
Daniel,  Andrew,  Samuel  and  Lewis,  the  latter  name  alluding  to  the 
Mr.  Lewis  in  whose  family,  at  Centreville,  Jesse  was  raised.  Alvin 
Crosby,  a  retired  merchant  of  Centreville,  born  in  1803,  is  a  son  of 
this,  Lewis  Crosby.  His  wife,  deceased,  was  Ploomy  Kelley.  Their 
only  surviving  child  is  Nancy  G.  (Mrs.  Owen  Crosby),  whose  two 
daughters  are  Emily  F.  and  Minnie  E. 

Horace  S.  Crosby,  born  1826,  is  a  son  of  Andrew,  third  son  of  Dan- 
iel Crosby  above  named.  He  began  business  as  boat  builder  in  Os- 
terville  in  1835,  and  during  that  year  built  the  first  sail  boat  ever  used 
here,  as  at  that  time  there  was  no  other  business  of  the  kind  within 
fifty  miles  of  there.  This  boat  building  business  is  still  carried  on 
by  his  sons  and  nephews.  He  married  Lucy  A.  Backus,  of  Marston's 
Mills,  and  has  four  sons.  His  son,  Herbert  F.,  the  boat  builder,  was 
born  in  1853,  married  Sarah  Helen,  daughter  of  Nathan  West,  and 
has  five  children:    Eliott,  Wilbur,  Ethel,  Herbert  B.,  and  Andrew  W. 

Charles  H.  Crosby,  son  of  C.  Worthington  Crosby,  was  born  in 
1854.  His  wife,  Edith  M.,  is  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Persis  H.  Rob- 
bins.  They  have  one  daughter,  Edna  Browning,  born  August  19, 
1878. 

Allen  Crowell,  born  in  1820,  is  a  son  of  Abner  and  grandson  of 
Abner  Crowell,  once  a  farmer  at  South  Yarmouth.  He  went  to  sea 
when  eleven  years  of  age,  and  before  he  retired  in  1887  had  been 
forty-six  years  in  command  of  schooners  and  ships  in  the  merchant 
service.  In  1843  he  married  Phoebe  C.  Miner,  of  Mystic.  Conn.  Their 
only  son  is  Winthrop  M.  Crowell,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  their  only 
daughter,  Phoebe  C.  is  the  wife  of  Judge  William  P.  Reynolds. 

David  Davis'  (Benjamin*,  David°,  James',  James',)  was  born  in  1845 
in  Barnstable.  He  was  with  the  Walworth  Manufacturing  Company 
in  Boston  for  thirteen  years  prior  to  1877,  when  he  opened  the  store 
near  his  residence,  which  he  carried  on  until  1883,  then  removed  to 
the  store  which  he  now  occupies.  His  wife,  Anna  A.  Peabody,  is  a 
remote  descendant  from  George  Peabody.  They  have  four  children: 
Henry  C,  James,  Herbert  N.,  and  Edith  A.  ft  was  Mr.  Davis  who 
discovered,  on  the  farm  which  he  now  owns,  the  skeleton  of  lyanough, 
which  is  now  in  Pilgrim  Hall  at  Plymouth.  The  bones  were  identi- 
fied by  the  kettle  in  which  the  skull  was  found,  and  which  was  thought 
to  be  the  one  mentioned  as  part  of  the  purchase  price  in  a  deed  which 
the  old  chief  gave. 


&. 


KKSIOENCEC    OK    NAXHAN    EDSON. 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  42& 

The  Dimmock  name  here  comes  from  Thomas  Dimock  of  1639, 
who  was  ordained  as  elder  of  the  Barnstable  church  August  7,  1660, 
and  died  in  1658.  Colonel  Joseph  Dimock  (1734-1822)  was  a  nephew 
of  Thomas.  He  married  Thankful  Dimmock,  and  their  only  child, 
Hannah,  married  Ansel  Bassett,  a  son  of  Nathaniel  Bassett. 

Nathan  Edson.— The  progenitor  of  the  Edson  family  in  New  Eng- 
land was  Dea.  Samuel  Edson,  who  was  born  in  England  in  1612,  and 
whose  son  Samuel  was  born  in  Salem,  Mass.,  in  1645.  In  the  third 
generation  was  Samuel,  bom  1690;  his  son  Samuel  was  bom  in  1714. 
Dea.  Noah  Edson,  born  1766,  was  the  next  in  direct  line.  His  son 
Eliphalet,  born  in  Bridgewater,  Mass.,  in  1788,  married  Polly  Johnson^ 
of  Bridgewater,  and  removed,  about  1809,  to  Yarmouth,  where  he  died 
in  1858.  They  reared  ten  children,  of  whom  four  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters survive. 

The  fourth  of  the  ten,  and  one  of  the  survivors,  is  Nathan  Edson, 
a  worthy  citizen  of  Barnstable.  He  was  born  in  Yarmouth,  September 
16,  1817.  His  opportunity  for  an  education  was  limited  to  the  com- 
mon school,  and  when  nineteen  years  of  age  he  had  also  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  his  father's  trade — cabinet-making.  At  the  age  of 
twenty,  after  a  year's  service  in  Boston,  he  went  to  Attleborough, 
Mass.,  where  he  engaged  in  clock-making  one  year,  and  then  went  to 
Philadelphia.  In  that  city,  with  a  partner,  he  carried  on  for  three 
years  the  business  of  clock -making,  until  1841,  when  he  again  engaged 
in  cabinet-making,  which  business  he  continued  fifteen  years,  employ- 
ing steam  power  and  building  up  a  large  and  important  business, 
which  in  1856  he  sold  to  his  brother.  During  this  period  he  was  sev- 
eral years  a  member  of  the  council  of  the  borough  of  West  Philadel- 
phia, before  its  incorporation  with  the  city,  and  for  five  years  he  was 
the  librarian  and  managing  officer  of  the  Mechanics'  Institute  there. 

In  1861  he  removed  to  Barnstable  and  purchased  the  large  farm 
which  he  has  since  occupied  and  managed.  His  success  in  agricul- 
tural pursuits  is  as  marked  as  in  mechanical,  and  has  given  him  a 
prominent  position  among  those  most  interested  in  its  advancement. 
For  the  past  twenty  years  he  has  been  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
Barnstable  County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company,  and  also  of  the 
County  Agricultural  Society,  being  now  a  trustee  of  its  Percival  and 
Eldridge  funds,  ^nd  for  nine  years  past  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
state  board  of  agriculture. 

Notwithstanding  his  agricultural  duties,  which,  by  his  supervision 
and  labor,  have  brought  his  farm  to  excel  in  broad  meadows,  com 
fields  and  cranberry  bogs,  he  has  found  time  to  satisfactorily  serve 
the  town  many  years  as  a  selectman,  overseer  of  the  poor,  assessor 
and  in  other  important  offices.  His  executive  ability  has  been  duly 
acknowledged  for  years  by  positions  on  the  board  of  directors  of  agri- 


430  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

cultural  societies  and  the  local  banks,  and  the  appreciation  of  his  val- 
uable services  in  school  affairs  has  been  shown  by  a  re-election  to  the 
school  board  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  He  is  also  now  a 
trustee  of  the  Hersey  fund  and  an  oflBcer  in  the  East  parish,  where  he 
worships. 

In  private  life  he  is  as  unostentatious  and  genial  as  in  public. 
He  was  married  May  31,  1838,  to  Miss  Jane  E.  Messenger,  of  Attle- 
borough,  Mass.  They  adopted  an  infant  daughter,  whom  they  named 
Clara  A.;  she  is  now  the  wife  of  Albert  F.  Edson,  one  of  the  princi- 
pal merchants  of  Barnstable.  Their  children  are:  Albert  L.,  aged 
thirteen  years,  and  Lottie  H.,aged  twelve,  who,  with  their  parents, 
live  in  their  grandfather's  beautiful  home. 

Mr.  Edson's  name  coupled  with  an  enterprise  is  generally  accepted 
as  an  earnest  of  its  success  and  merit.  Having  passed  the  Seventy- 
second  mile-stone  of  life,  he  is  still  blessed  with  that  vigor  of  mind 
and  body  which  remain  with  the  few,  as  nature's  especial  approval  of 
those  who  keep  her  laws.  Plain  in  his  tastes  and  domestic  in  his 
habits,  he  has  never  sought  public  office,  but  in  the  autumn  of  1889, 
as  the  candidate  of  the  republican  party,  with  which  he  has  always 
been  identified,  he  was  chosen,  after  half  a  century's  service  in  minor 
offices,  to  his  present  seat  in  the  state  legislature. 

Eliphalet  Edson'  was  born  in  the  year  1815.  He  was  in  bus- 
iness in  Brewster  three  years,  and  for  eight  years  prior  to  1866  he 
was  a  merchant  in  Orleans.  From  that  time  until  1886  he  was  in  the 
West,  representing  a  New  York  mercantile  firm.  He  was  married, 
January  1,  1840,  to  Ruth  A.,  daughter  of  Simeon  Higgins,  of  Orleans. 
She  died  June  26,  1856,  leaving  two  sons:  Edwin  W.  and  Albert  F. 
The  present  Mrs.  Edson  is  Eliza  L.,  daughter  of  Nathan  Hallett,  of 
Yarmouth.     She  has  one  son.  Nelson  Hallett  Edson,  born  in  1867. 

Elisha  B.  Fish,  born  1852,  is  a  son  of  Elisha  H.  Fish  and  Mary  A., 
a  daughter  of  Reuben  Fish  (1769-1852),  and  granddaughter  of  Reu- 
ben Fish,  who  was  born  in .1738  and  died  in  1809,  in  an  old  house  built 
here  about  1717.  In  this  house  "  Father  Taylor  " — the  sailors'  mission- 
ary— often  held  meetings.  On  the  site  of  this  old  house  Elisha  B.  Fish 
built  his  present  residence  in  1887.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1867  to 
1871.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to  music,  and  is  now  engaged  in 
teaching  music  and  dancing.  His  wife,  Florence  S.,  is  a  daughter  of 
Heman  C.  Crocker.    They  have  one  son,  Carl  F.  Fish. 

Heman  Fish  was  born  in  West  Barnstable  in  1807  and  died  in 
Barnstable  in  1887.  He  did  a  business  as  baker  here  in  an  early  day, 
his  partner  in  the  business  being  David  Snow,  who  was  afterward  a 
merchant  and  banker  in  Boston.  Mr.  Fish  subsequently  engaged  in 
farming.  His  wife,  who  survives,  is  Ann,  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel, 
granddaughter  of  George,   and   great-gran dd&ughter   of   Nathaniel 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE.  431 

Gorhatn.  Mrs.  Fish,  now  seventy-four  years  old,  is  the  oldest  living 
representative  of  the  Gorham  family  in  this  line.  She  has  one  sister, 
Cordelia — Mrs.  George  Phinney,  of  Waltham,  Mass.  Their  father, 
Nathaniel  Gorham,  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade,  but  carried  on  a  suc- 
cessful business  in  salt-making  and  farming. 

Henry  W.  Fish,  born  1820,  is  a  son  of  Isaac,  whose  father,  Josiah, 
was  a  son  of  Reuben  Fish,  who  was  born  in  1738  and  died  August  25, 
1809.  Henry  went  to  sea,  coasting  and  mackerel  fishing,  from  1850  to 
1862,  and  since  then  has  been  engaged  in  farming.  His  wife  was 
Lydia  F.  Holway,  of  Sandwich.  She  died  in  1884,  leaving  one  son, 
— Charles  H. — and  two  daughters— Almira  F.  (Mrs.  Edgar  Jones)  and 
Hattie  E. 

Joseph  Folger,  born  on  one  of  the  Azore  islands  in  1822,  went  to 
Cape  Horn  as  a  sailor  when  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  In  1843  he 
went  to  Stonington,  R.  I.  He  was  in  school  in  Harwich  in  1844.  He 
is  now  a  farmer  in  Cotuit,  doing  a  thrifty  business,  with  his  son,  in 
milk  farming  and  cranberr}-  culture.  He  was  married  in  1847  to  Cyn- 
thia, a  daughter  of  Abijah  Baker,  of  Harwich.  Their  children  are  : 
Joseph  B.,  married  November  13,  1887,  to  Mary  E.  Miller;  Lorenzo  B., 
born  March  16,  1850,  died  December  18.  1877 ;  Dora  A.,  married  to 
Frederick  Pinkham;  Cynthia  A.,  born  July  16,  1856,  married  to  John 
Kno.x,  D2cember  13,  1874,  died  June  26,  1881;  and  Sarah  J.,  married  to 
Frank  F.  Perry. 

Herschel  Fuller  was  born  in  Osterville  in  1839.  His  father,  David, 
was  born  at  Marston's  Mills  in  1795,  and  was  a  son  of  Zacheus  Fuller. 
The  family  came  originally  from  Nantucket.  Captain  Fuller  has  al- 
ways followed  the  sea  in  coasting  and  foreign  trade — since  1859  as 
master.  He  was  ten  years  in  the  cotton  business  between  Galveston 
and  Liverpool,  and  married  in  1871,  in  Connecticut,  to  Emily,  daughter 
of  Henry  Gildersleeve,  a  ship  builder.  She  was  born  in  Portland, 
Conn.  They  have  had  three  children:  Annie  G.,  born  1872,  died  1875; 
Henry  G.,  born  1874;  and  Jennie  S.,  born  1876. 

Rev.  James  R.  Goodspeed,  born  in  1832,  is  a  son  of  Seth,  whose 
father,  Allen,  was  a  son  of  Seth  Goodspeed.  Rev.  Mr.  Goodspeed  fol- 
lowed the  sea  for  twenty-six  year^,  beginning  in  1847.  In  1873  he 
received  a  license  to  preach  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and 
did  pastoral  work  until  1879,  then  joined  the  Methodist  Protestant 
church,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  pastoral  labors  in  that  church. 
He  was  for  five  years  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  church  in 
Rochester,  Mass. 

Franklin  B.  Goss.— The  reader  of  the  preceding  pages  may  have 
noticed  how  largely  the  ranks  of  the  public  and  professional  men  have 
been  filled  by  those  who  first  came  to  the  Cape  as  teachers  of  the  com- 
mon schools;    but  when  William  Whittemore  Goss,  of  Weston,  Vt., 


432  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

came  to  Brewster  and  married  Hannah  Foster,  a  family  was  estab- 
lished with  such  hopes  as  Shakspeare's  witch  gave  to  Banquo.  Mr. 
Goss  became  well  known  in  the  central  towns  of  the  county  as  a 
teacher  for  more  than  thirty  years,  and  his  sons  are  prominent  to-day 
in  journalism  and  in  public  and  business  aflfairs.  He  died  in  1884,  at 
the  age  of  eighty-two,  and  his  wife — seven  years  his  junior — still  sur- 
vives. The  fourth  of  their  fifteen  children — Franklin  B. — was  born 
in  Brewster,  Mass.,  July  17,  1831.  At  the  early  age  of  nine  he  was  put 
to  work  on  a  farm  in  Dennis,  thus  beginning  a  life  of  labor  and  self- 
reliance  at  a  time  when  most  boys  are  receiving  careful  training.  Five 
years  later,  becoming  dissatisfied  with  this  work  and  aiming  to  enter 
a  more  congenial  kind  of  business,  he  secured  a  position  as  apprentice 
in  the  printing  office  of  the  Barnstable  Patriot.  For  the  next  seven- 
teen years  he  was  employed  in  various  capacities  connected  with  the 
publication  of  newspapers,  during  which  time  he  developed  a  marked 
talent  for  editorial  work,  which  served  as  the  foundation  for  the  suc- 
cess which  has  characterized  his  subsequent  labors.  In  1851,  when 
twenty  years  of  age,  he  was  foreman  in  the  office  of  the  Yarmouth 
Register. 

Subsequently,  in  connection  with  Benjamin  C.  Bowman,  of  Fal- 
mouth, he  established  a  newspaper  called  the  Cape  Cod  Advocate, vihich. 
was  printed  in  Barnstable  during  six  months  and  then  removed  to 
Sandwich.  In  1853  he  left  the  Advocate  and  removed  to  Middleboro, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  publication  of  the  Neniasket  Gazette,  now  the 
Middleboro  Gazette.  Leaving  the  Gazette  and  returning  to  Barnstable 
he  held  the  responsible  position  of  foreman  in  the  Patriot  printing 
office  till  1868,  when  he  took  charge  of  the  advertising  business  of 
Richards'  Dock  Square  clothing  house  in  Boston.  In  1869  he,  with 
George  H.  Richards,  purchased  the  establishment  which  he  entered 
as  an  apprentice  twenty-four  years  previous,  and  began  his  editorial 
career  upon  The  Barnstable  Patriot,  which  has  attained  a  solid  and  hon- 
orable success.  The  Patriot,  at  this  time,  was  democratic;  but,  under 
Mr.  Goss'  management,  it  was  emancipated  from  the  domination  of 
that  party  and  placed  in  the  ranks  of  republicanism,  where  his  sym- 
pathies were  already  enlisted.  From  this  time  the  influence  of  the 
Patriot  increased,  and  under  his  judicious  management  it  speedily 
mounted  to  a  high  place  as  one  of  the  principal  exponents  in  the 
county  of  every  just,  liberal  and  righteous  cause.  Such  was  its  repu- 
tation that  it  received  the  cognomen,  "  The  Cape  Cod  Bible." 

This  position,  as  editor  of  a  leading  republican  paper,  brought  him 
into  active  political  life,  and  the  popularity  and  influence  he  had  won 
upon  the  Cape  led  to  his  appointment  as  Special  Inspector  of  the  Cus- 
toms for  the  District  of  Barnstable,  which  position  he  held  until  De- 
cember, 1875.     He  was  appointed,  July  8, 1876,  collector  of  the  district 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  483 

by  President  Grant,  and  continued  in  this  position  till  removed  by 
President  Cleveland,  August  8, 1887.  His  administration  of  the  affairs 
of  the  custom  house  was  marked  by  conspicuous  ability  as  an  execu- 
tive oflBcer.  He  won  as  friends  many  who  at  first  doubted  his  fitness, 
and  among  these  he  subsequently  found  his  most  staunch  supporters. 
His  ofl&cial  career  was  so  honorable  and  efficient  that  President  Harri- 
son reappointed  him  July  20,  1889. 

Mr.  Goss  is  a  tireless  worker.  In  addition  to  his  official  duties  and 
his  work  upon  the  Patriot,  he  finds  time  to  superintend  the  publication 
of  the  Chatham  Monitor,  the  Cape  Cod  Bee  and  the  Sandwich  Observer, 
which,  together  with  the  Provincetown  Advocate  and  the  Harwich  Inde- 
pendent, are  flourishing  local  papers  owing  their  existence  and  perma- 
nency to  him.  Always  prominent  as  an  advocate  of  the  cause  of  tem- 
perance, he  is  a  prohibitionist,  but  has  ever  looked  to  the  republican 
party  as  the  proper  organization  through  which  to  further  temperance 
legislation.  He  was  a  member  of  Hyannis  Lodge,  Sons  of  Temper- 
ance, and  Dawn  of  Truth  Lodge  of  Good  Templars  during  their  exist- 
ence. He  was  Chief  Templar  and  District  Deputy  of  the  latter  lodge 
for  several  years.  In  1854  he  was  admitted  a  member  of  Cape  Cod 
Lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  and  filled  the  N.  G.  chair  for  several  terms.  He 
was  also  initiated  as  a  Mason  in  James  Otis  Lodge  soon  after  it  was 
instituted  in  1866. 

He  was  married  in  Barnstable,  January  20,  1852,  to  Mary  Gorham, 
daughter  of  Captain  Joseph  and  Lucy  (Childs)  Parker  of  Barnstable. 
Of  this  union  there  were  five  children:  F.  Percy,  Alton  Parker,  Wil- 
liam F.  M.,  Lillie  Stanley  and  George  Richards  Goss — the  latter  de- 
ceased. His  son,  F.  Percy  Goss,  is  associated  with  him  in  the  printing 
business;  Alton  Parker  Goss  is  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Harwich 
Independent;  William  F.  M.  Goss  is  Professor  of  Experimental  Engi- 
neering in  Purdue  University  at  Lafayette,  Indiana;  his  daughter, 
Lillie  Stanley  Goss,  has  pursued  an  extended  course  in  music  and 
ranks  among  the  best  of  local  pianists  and  teachers. 

Mr.  Goss,  always  active  in  promoting  the  interests  of  his  town,  has 
been  elected  on  her  board  of  school  committee,  where  he  has  rendered 
valuable  service.  He  has  also  been,  for  many  years,  an  officer  of  the 
County  Agricultural  Society.  He  is  a  ready  and  pungent  writer,  and 
in  all  his  newspaper  work,  particularly  in  that  kind  of  controversial 
style  which  often  becomes  necessary  in  the  defense  of  his  principles 
or  his  friends,  he  is  always  at  home,  and  clothes  his  thoughts  in  plain 
and  vigorous  Saxon,  which  reaches  direct  the  heart  and  understand- 
ing. Born  as  he  he  was  to  the  lot  of  the  humble  and  the  poor,  he  was 
early  taught  some  great  principles  which  rich  men's  sons  ought  to 
understand,  but  which  the  very  fact  of  their  wealth  prevents  them 
from  realizing.  The  limitations  which  he  early  and  keenly  felt  be- 
28 


434  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

came  an  impulse,  and  those  environments  which  would  have  kept 
some  natures  down,  became  his  solid  stepping  stones.  The  school 
where  he  learned  his  most  valuable  lessons  was  kept  by  Dame  Neces- 
sity, and  under  her  stem  discipline,  he  acquired  a  vigor  of  thought 
and  action  which  has  made  him  what  he  is.  Upon  the  foundation  laid 
in  the  rural  schools  of  Brewster  and  Dennis  he  built  carefully  and 
well,  and  by  wide  observation,  years  of  reading  and  intercourse  with 
men,  he  has  gained  what  the  college  and  university  often  fail  to 
impart,  and  in  the  great  test  of  actual  experience  he  has  acquitted 
himself  fully. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  course,  and  such  the  result  of  a  career  which 
bears  a  useful  lesson.  Whatever  criticisms  may  .spring  from  political 
contests',  whatever  thoughts  arise  from  the  friction  of  business,  his 
success  is  undoubted  and  undisputable. 

Captain  Benjamin  Hallett  of  Osterville  was  bom  January  18, 1760, 
and  died  on  the  last  day  of  1849.  He  was  three  years  in  the  revolu- 
tion, was  a  pioneer  in  the  coasting  trade,  and  raised  the  first  Bethel  flag 
in  Boston  harbor.  He  was  a  Christian  patriarch  of  the  Baptist  church 
for  sixty-five  years.  He  had  thirteen  children,  the  only  son  being 
Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Hallett,  United  States  district  attorney  under  Presi- 
dent Pierce.  Commissioner  Henry  L.  Hallett  of  Boston  is  a  son  of 
Benjamin  F. 

Charles  Gorham  Hallett,  born  in  1827,  is  a  son  of  Nathaniel  and 
grandson  of  Joshua  Hallett,  and  like  both  these  ancestors,  has  made 
carpentry  work  his  chief  business.  He  built  for  several  years  in 
Provincetown,  where  he  married  Elvira,  a  daughter  of  Captain  Enoch 
Nickerson,  of  Provincetown.     Their  only  child  is  Lucretia  G.  Hallett. 

George  W.  Hallett,  postmaster  at  Hyannis,  was  born  in  1840.  From 
1885  he  was  two  years  special  deputy  collector  of  customs  and  dis- 
bursing agent  for  the  Barnstable  County  district.  He  was  at  one  time 
in  business  in  Boston,  seven  or  eight  years,  and  is  favorably  known 
in  the  central  part  of  the  Cape.  His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Zenas  D. 
Bassett,  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  of  Hyannis  of  his  time,  who 
died  December  30,  1864,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight. 

Gideon  Hallett,  born  in  1817,  is  one  of  five  sons  of  Henry  Hal- 
lett and  grandson  of  Rowland  Hallett.  In  1843  he  married  Martha 
A.,  daughter  of  Eleazer  and  granddaughter  of  Gershom  Bearse.  He 
has  one  daughter.  Alma  L.  (Mrs.  Alton  C.  Bearse).  Mr.  Hallett  was 
at  sea  when  nineteen  years  old,  was  captain  at  twenty-eight,  and 
from  1852  to  1865  was  in  a  restaurant  business  in  Boston.  He  was 
subsequently  interested  with  Timothy  Crocker  in  a  business  at  Rail- 
road wharf,  at  Hyannis. 

William  Allen  Hallett,  now  living  retired  at  Hyannis,  was  born 
there  in  1819,  and  followed  the  sea  from  boyhood.    For  thirty-two 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  435 

years  prior  to  1887  he  was  captain  of  a  steamer  in  the  Boston  and 
Baltimore  line. 

Roland  T.  Harlow,  son  of  Oliver  Harlow,  came  to  this  county 
ten  years  ago.  He  is  engaged  in  farming,  and  is  also  a  jobber  and 
contractor.  His  wife  was  Emma  H.  Hodges,  from  Mansfield,  Mass. 
They  have  two  sons  and  one  daughter. 

John  M.  Handy,  born  in  1830,  was  a  son  of  Bethuel  Handy,  the 
ship  builder,  whose  father  came  to  Cotuit  from  Mattapoisett.  He 
went  to  sea  at  sixteen  years  of  age.  and  continued  until  about  1884, 
after  which  he  was  in  business  at  Cotuit  Port  until  his  death  in 
1889.     His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  William  Crosby. 

Captain  Thomas  Harris  was  born  in  Boston  in  1802,  and  died  in 
Barnstable  in  March,  1889.  He  went  to  sea  when  only  nine  years  of 
age,  and  at  twenty-one  was  captain  of  a  coasting  vessel;  for  seveal 
years  subsequently  he  was  at  sea  in  the  Russia  trade.  He  went 
to  California  during  the  gold  excitement,  returning  in  1851.  He 
served  one  term  as  sheriff  of  Barnstable  county  by  election,  after 
having  served  part  of  one  term  by  appointment.  His  wife,  who  sur- 
vives him,  is  Mehitable  G.,  a  daughter  of  Jabez  Nye,  of  Brewster. 
The  youngest  of  their  seven  children  is  Marcus  N.  Harris,  of  Barn- 
stable, who  was  born  in  1848. 

Ira  L.  Hinckley,  born  at  Osterville  in  1852,  is  a  son  of  Lot  and 
grandson  of  Nymphas  Hinckley,  whose  father  came  from  England, 
whence  his  ancestor,  a  descendant  of  Governor  Hinckley,  had  removed 
from  Barnstable.  His  business  is  carpentering  and  building.  He 
was  in  Boston  and  in  Connecticut  from  1870  to  1876,  and  is  now  living 
in  Osterville.  His  wife,  Mary,  is  a  daughter  of  Bacon  Coleman,  of 
Hyannis.     They  have  one  son  and  one  daughter. 

John  Hinckley,  the  head  of  the  firm  of  J.  Hinckley  &  Son,  contrac- 
tors and  builders,  was  born  in  1820.  He  is  a  son  of  Isaac  Hinckley, 
whose  father,  John,  was  called  "  Brick  House  John."  His  house,  per- 
haps the  first  one  built  of  brick  in  town,  stood  about  one  and  one-half 
miles  west  of  the  present  court  house.  At  sixteen  the  present  Mr. 
Hinckley  began  business  as  carpenter,  which  he  still  carries  on.  He 
was  married  in  1845  to  Mary,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Hall.  They 
have  two  children,  Hannah  and  Frank  H.  Frank  H.  Hinckley,  born 
in  1850,  now  lives  where  Captain  Hall  lived.  His  wife  was  Hattie 
Gorham.  They  have  six  children  :  Grace  H.,  Mary  Louise,  Anna  G., 
Frank  H.,  jr.,  Alice  M.,  and  John  Edward. 

Joseph  N.  Hinckley,  born  in  1829,  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  grandson 
of  Dea.  Sylvenus  Hinckley.  He  followed  the  sea  about  thirty-nine 
years  prior  to  1883,  twenty  years  of  this  time  being  in  merchant 
steamers  with  William  P.Clyde  &  Co.,  in  West  India  trade.  He  lived 
nine  years  in  Camden,  N.  J.     His  wife  was  Julia  A.  Cornish,  of  Nan- 


436  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

tucket.  Their  children  are :  Emma  (Mrs.  Harry  Boddy,  of  Camden, 
N.  J.),  Rachael  (Mrs.  Charles  Davies,  also  of  Camden),  Eliza,  Herbert 
N.,  and  Joseph  W.  Hinckley. 

Nathan  A.  Hopkins,  born  in  1828,  is  a  son  of  Leonard  Hopkins, 
whose  father,  Jo.shua,  was  a  son  of  Joshua  Hopkins.  This  family  are 
direct  descendants  from  Stephen  Hopkins,  the  Pilgrim,  through  his 
son  Giles,  whose  sons  located  in  Eastham  (Orleans)  at  an  early  date. 
Nathan  A.  Hopkins  came  from  Orleans  to  Barnstable  in  1832.  He 
was  in  California  from  1851  to  1855,  and  was  for  eight  years  in  busi- 
ness, roofing  and  concreting,  at  Stoneham,  Mass.  Since  1875  he  has 
been  farming  here.  He  was  married  in  1857  to  Vesta  A.  Gray,  from 
Concord,  Maine.  They  have  one  son,  Allen  O.  Hopkins,  and  have  lost 
a  daughter,  Nellie  A. 

Henry  L.  Hopkins,  third  son  of  Leonard  Hopkins,  was  born  April 
3,  1841,  in  Barnstable.  Leonard  removed  from  Orleans  to  Barnstable 
in  1832,  and  did  a  salt-making  business  here  for  a  time,  and  in  1851 
he  sold  out  to  Alvin  Howes  and  went  to  California,  where  he  died  in 
1853.  Henry  L.  was  engaged  with  his  brother  Nathan  in  farming,  for 
a  time,  but  is  now  a  carpenter.  He  was  married  in  1885  to  Mary  J., 
daughter  of  Captain  James  P.  Cotelle,  of  Dennis.  Two  other  sons 
of  Leonard  Hopkins,  Leonard  Freeman  and  George  W.,  now  reside  at 
Stoneham,  Mass. 

Captain  Alvin  Howes,  born  in  Dennis  in  1800,  was  a  son  of  Isaiah 
Howes,  also  of  Dennis.  Captain  Howes  was  at  sea  in  early  life,  and 
later  was  successfully  engaged  in  salt  making  in  Barnstable  at  the 
Common  Fields.  He  sold  all  his  salt  works  to  Truman  D.  Eldridge 
about  1867.  He  died  in  1870,  in  Barnstable.  His  widow,  surviving, 
is  Maria  W.,  sister  of  Amos  Otis,  the  author  of  the  "Otis  Papers." 
Her  father,  Amos  Otis,  was  a  cousin  of  Colonels  James  and  Joseph 
Otis.  The  family  are  descended  from  John  Otis,  the  first  of  the  name 
to  settle  in  this  county. 

Nathaniel  Howland,  son  of  John  and  grandson  of  David  Howland, 
was  born  in  West  Barnstable  in  1810.  He  became  a  ship  carpenter 
and  worked  at  Mattapoiset,  Stonington  and  New  Bedford.  His 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Howland,  who  was  an  uncle  of 
the  Jabez  Howland  who  kept  the  old  tavern  at  West  Barnstable.  His 
wife  was  Dorinda,  daughter  of  Ansel  Fish,  of  Sandwich.  She  died, 
leaving  four  children,  of  whom  three — Darius,  Martha  T.  and  Edwin 
T. — are  living. 

William  C.  Howland,  born  in  1828,  is  the  oldest  of  the  five  children 
of  Jason  Howland,  whose  father,  Ansel,  was  a  brother  of  the  Jabez 
Howland  of  the  old  tavern  at  West  Barnstable.  William  C.  was,  prior 
to  1880,  for  twenty -five  years  assistant  superintendent  at  the  work- 


TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  437 

house,  Bridge-water,  Mass.  He  has  one  sister  and  two  brothers,  one 
of  whom  has  a  family. 

Braley  Jenkins'  (Deacon  Braley',  1775-1873;  Simeon*,  1733-1808; 
Samuel',  born  1700;  Thomas',  born  1666;  John"),  was  born  in  1812. 
Braley  Jenkins'  was  for  many  years,  and  until  his  death,  deacon  of 
the  Congregational  church.  His  residence,  where  the  present  Braley 
Jenkins  lives,  at  the  head  of  Hinckley's  lane,  was  built  about  1700. 
Mr.  Jenkins, who  has  never  married,  makes  farming  his  present  business 
but  worked  at  house-carpentering  most  of  his  earlier  life.  In  1852  he 
was  chairman  of  the  building  committee  to  remodel  the  Congrega- 
tional church  building.  John  Jenkins',  aged  twenty-six,  sailed  from 
England  in  the  Defence  of  London,  in  July,  1635,  and  first  settled  in 
Plymouth.  In  1637  he  volunteered  in  the  Pequot  war  and  in  1645  in 
the  Narragansett  expedition.  He  was  often  a  juror  and  in  1644  was 
constable  of  Plymouth.  In  1652  he  was  a  freeman  in  Barnstable,  and 
in  1659  was  one  of  the  men  appointed  by  the  colony  court  to  pur- 
chase Succonesset  of  the  Indians. 

Asa  Jenkins'  (Charles',  Asa',  Nathan*,  Ebenezer',  died  1750 ; 
Thomas',  born  1666;  John'),  was  born  in  1838.  He  followed  the  sea 
most  of  the  time  from  1851  to  1874.  His  present  business  is  farming 
and  cranberry  culture.  His  wife,  Martha  Josephine,  is  a  daughter  of 
Eben  Whelden.  Their  two  sons  are  Thornton  and  Fred  Stanley  Jen- 
kins. Mr.  Jenkins  served  nine  months,  in  1862,  with  Company  D, 
Forty-fifth  Massachusetts  Regiment.  He  had  a  brother,  William  B. 
Jenkins,  who  at  his  death  left  one  daughter,  Nellie  Jenkins. 

Charles  E.  Jenkins,  son  of  Nathan,  who  died  in  1865,  and  grand- 
son of  Asa',  was  born  in  1830,  and  in  1863  married  Mercy  N.  Bursley, 
whose  father,  Washington  Bursley,  was  a  son  of  Josiah  and  grandson 
of  the  John  Bursley  before  mentioned  as  born  in  1741.  Nathan  Jen- 
kins, a  farmer,  was  county  commissioner  and  overseer  of  the  poor  and 
taught  school  several  years  in  the  Bursley  district.  Charles  E.  fol- 
lowed the  sea  from  the  age  of  seventeen,  for  twenty-five  years,  in  the 
foreign  merchant  service.  He  was  master  of  the  merchant  ship  Raven 
and  has  been  eight  times  around  the  world. 

James  H.  Jenkins,  born  1831,  is  a  son  of  George  Jenkins,  born 
1805,  grandson  of  Asa,  (1769-1847);  and  great-grandson  of  Nathan 
Jenkins*,  who  lived  on  the  road  between  West  Barnstable  and 
Marston's  Mills.  James  H.  followed  the  sea  from  1845  to  1871. 
He  was  sixteen  years  captain  of  an  Ea.st  India  and  California  mer- 
chantman. Since  then  he  has  been  a  farmer  on  the  "  Plains." 
He  has  been  a  member  of  the  school  committee  several  years,  fifteen 
of  which  he  has  been  secretary  of  the  committee. 

James  T.  Jones,  the  youngest  merchant  in  West  Barnstable,  bom 
in  Sandwich  in  1843,  is  a  son  of  Eliphalet  and  grandson  of  Asa  Jones. 


438  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

In  1862  he  served  nine  months  in  Company  D,  Forty-fifth  Massachu- 
setts Volunteers.  His  wife,  Nancy  M.,  is  a  daughter  of  John  B. 
Holway. 

William  F.  Jones,  born  in  1819,  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  Jones,  who 
was  born  in  East  Sandwich.  A  blacksmith  by  trade,  he  has  made  that 
his  principal  business,  but  is  well  known  as  the  former  stage  man 
from  West  Barnstable  to  Cotuit  for  many  years.  His  wife  was  Ruth 
Chandler  of  Middleboro.     They  have  one  child,  Ellenetta  Jones. 

Ferdinand  G.  Kelley.— Among  the  solid  men  of  Barnstable  county 
whose  lives  have  made  a  lasting  imprint  upon  this  generation,  F.  G. 
Kelley  of  Centreviile  has  an  undoubted  place.  He  was  born  Septem- 
ber 14,  1818,  at  Centreviile,  and  is  the  son  of  Jonathan  Kelley,  de- 
ceased, who  in  his  lifetime  was  a  prominent  business  man  of  the 
town.  Here  he  resided,  while  attending  school,  until  he  was  seven- 
teen years  of  age.  In  1836  he  entered  the  store  of  Simon  Parkhurst 
at  Nantucket,  returning  to  Centreviile  early  in  1837  to  act  as  clerk  in 
the  store  of  the  Centreviile  Trading  Company.  In  1840  his  father 
and  himself  purchased  the  store  and  goods,  and  since  that  time  Mr. 
Kelley  has  been  the  central  figure  in  the  business  history  of  this  vil- 
lage. In  1839  he  received  a  commission  signed  by  Postmaster  Gen- 
eral Amos  Kendall,  appointing  him  postmaster  at  Centreviile,  which 
position  he  has  since  held,  and  in  1843  he  was  commissioned  as  jus- 
tice of  the  peace,  which  commission  has  since  been  regularly  renewed. 
In  1845  he  was  elected  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  town,  which  position, 
after  years  of  faithful  service,  he  resigned,  much  to  the  regret  of  the 
people,  who  for  twenty-six  years  of  the  time  had  made  his  election 
unanimous.  Upon  his  declination  to  longer  serve,  resolutions  highly 
complimentar)'  of  his  worth  and  services  were  offered  in  the  March 
meeting  of  1885  by  General  John  H.  Reed,  and  were  unanimously 
passed  and  recorded. 

In  July,  1865,  when  the  First  National  Bank  of  Hyannis  was  orga- 
nized, he  was  chosen  one  of  its  directors,  and  has  been  its  vice-presi- 
dent since  1887.  At  <the  organization  of  the  Hyannis  Savings  Bank 
he  was  elected  vice-president;  in  1871  he  was  chosen  as  president, 
which  office  he  held  until  the  bank  closed  its  business  in  1874,  as  no- 
ticed in  the  history  of  Hyannis.  He  resigned  the  office  of  school  com- 
mittee after  several  years'  service.  He  was  elected  by  the  town  to 
locate  and  procure  the  soldiers'  monument,  the  site  for  which  he  gave; 
and  at  the  organization  of  the  Soldiers'  Memorial  Association  he  was 
chosen  president  and  made  chairman  of  the  executive  committee, 
which  places  he  still  fills.  In  fact  there  has  hardly  been  an  important 
event,  or  any  complicated  town  business  during  his  term  of  public 
life  of  forty  years,  of  which  he  has  not  been  the  head  and  front;  and 
during  all  these  years  his  own  business  has  been  most  industriously 


c;^"'!^?^^l2^. 


TOWN  OF  BARNSTABLE.  439 

kept  in  good  order,  even  in  uniting  in  marriage  during  his  official 
career  150  happy  couples. 

Enough  of  the  public  acts  of  Mr.  Kelley  has  been  enumerated  to 
show  the  reader  how  important  an  element  he  has  been  in  the  town; 
and  to  mention  his  efficient  services  during  the  rebellion,  in  his  varied 
duties,  would  swell  the  list  to  a  wearisome  number.  As  a  schoolmate 
of  Judge  Henry  A.  Scudder  and  Hon.  George  Marston  his  record  in 
another  line  is  as  bright;  and  the  monument  of  his  usefulness  will  be 
as  lasting. 

Sears  C.  Lapham  was  born  in  Dartmouth,  Mass.,  in  1835.  He  went 
to  Sandwich  in  1852  as  a  clerk,  and  removing  to  South  Sandwich  in 
1866,  he  began  a  mercantile  business,  which  he  carried  on  fifteen  years. 
In  1880  he  removed  to  Cotuit,  where  he  kept  a  store  in  a  small  build- 
ing south  of  the  church.  The  building  in  which  his  present  store  is 
kept  was  erected  in  1882.  His  first  wife  was  Cynthia,  daughter  of 
Calvin  Maggs.  She  left  one  son,  Elmer  Lapham.  The  second  Mrs. 
Lapham,  Mercy  F.,  daughter  of  E.  C.  Percival,  died  August  26,  1889. 

Clark  Lincoln,  son  of  Clark  and  Mary  Lincoln  and  grandson  of 
Nathaniel  Lincoln,  was  bom  in  Brewster  in  1820.  He  learned  the 
blacksmith  trade  in  Yarmouth,  and  about  1842  came  to  Centreville 
and  opened  a  blacksmith  shop,  which  he  carried  on  for  about  twenty 
years.  Since  1860  he  has  done  a  plumbing  and  stove  business.  He 
was  in  the  legislature  two  years  as  a  republican.  His  wife  is  Abbie 
T.,  a  daughter  of  Seth  T.  Whelden,  jr.  Their  only  child  is  Mary  E. 
Lincoln. 

Henry  F.  Loring,  bom  in  1836,  is  a  son  of  Eliphalet,  grandson  of 
Elijah,  and  great-grandson  of  Abner  Loring.  His  wife,  who  died 
November  27,  1886,  was  Eliza  A.  Whitman,  daughter  of  Isaac  and 
granddaughter  of  Doctor  Whitman  of  West  Barnstable.  She  left  one 
son,  Frank  W.  Loring.  Mr.  Loring's  business  is  farming.  North  of 
his  house,  on  his  farm,  is  the  site  of  one  of  the  early  Crocker  home- 
steads. 

Frederick  G.  Lothrop,  born  in  Hyannis  in  1832,  is  a  son  of  John 
Lothrop,  of  Barnstable,  a  descendant  from  Rev.  John  Lothrop.  Fred- 
erick Lothrop  followed  the  sea,  in  the  foreign  merchant  service,  from 
the  age  of  thirteen  until  about  1861;  he  was  then  in  South  American 
business  in  New  York  until  1865,  when  he  bought  a  large  schooner, 
and  was  for  nine  years  in  the  United  States  coasting  trade.  In  1876 
he  established  the  wholesale  export  produce  house,  known  as  Lothrop 
&  Marsh,  16  Coenties  slip.  New  York,  which  is  doing  a  successful  busi- 
ness at  the  present  time.  His  wife,  Ella  F.,  is  a  daughter  of  Captain 
George  Hallett.     They  have  two  sons — Frederick  G.,  jr.,  and  Percy. 

Andrew  Lovell,  born  in  1813,  is  a  son  of  Zenas  Lovell,  whose 
father,  Andrew  Lovell,  formerly  ran  a  sloop  from  Cotuit  to  Nantucket, 


440  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

and  died  here  at  the  age  of  eighty-three.  At  twenty  years  of  age, 
and  for  thirty-six  years  after,  the  present  Andrew  Lovell  had  charge  of 
vessels  in  the  coastwise  merchant  service.  He  was  elected  nineteen 
times  in  succession  as  member  and  chairman  of  the  selectmen,  and 
was  in  the  legislature  two  years.  His  wife  was  Caroline  L.  Lovell,  of 
another  family.     They  have  one  child,  Lizzie  E.,  a  teacher  in  Cotuit. 

Cyrenius  a.  Lovell. — Mr.  Lovell  represents  a  family  who,  in  1696, 
came  to  the  south  side  of  the  Cape  and  were  early  identified  with  its 
interests.  In  1774  Jacob  Lovell,  one  of  the  direct  lineal  descendants, 
held  a  commission  under  King  George  IH.,  and  was  among  the  first 
in  the  county  to  resign  it  and  espouse  the  cause  of  the  people  for  lib- 
erty. Joshua,  his  son,  resided  at  Osterville,  and  was  active  in  the 
affairs  of  the  town.  Jacob,  son  of  Joshua,  was  born  here,  and  was 
twice  married,  Mrs.  Leonard  becoming  the  second  wife.  Three  chil- 
dren survive  the  first  marriage,  and  of  the  second  Cyrenius  A.  Lovell  is 
the  only  representative,  his  nearest  surviving  kin  in  the  ancestral  line 
being  the  half-sisters  and  brother  of  the  first  marriage. 

He  was  born  on  the  home  farm,  Osterville,  August  12, 1833,  and 
after  a  limited  education. in  the  common  school,  engaged  in  a  sea-far- 
ing life.  January  26,  1858,  he  married  Abbie  P.,  daughter  of  Josiah 
Ames,  of  Osterville,  and  their  children  were:  Alice,  who  married 
Thomas  Pattison;  Cyrenius  A.,  jr.,  at  home;  and  Abbie  W.,  also  at  the 
homestead.  The  wife  and  mother  departed  this  life  February  24, 
1878,  and  two  years  after,  January  13,  1880.  Mr.  Lovell  married  Mary 
A.,  daughter  of  Wilson  Crosby,  of  Centreville. 

At  the  early  age  of  fourteen  he  engaged  as  cook,  and  for  three 
years  he  followed  the  coasting  business,  with  one  year  before  the  mast, 
and  two  years  as  mate,  and  when  in  his  twenty-first  year,  he  had  ad- 
vanced to  the  command  of  a  schooner.  He  acted  as  master  twenty- 
nine  years,  coasting  between  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia  and 
Baltimore  during  the  summer  season,  and  making  voyages  to  New 
Orleans  and  West  Indies  during  the  winter.  After  thirty-six  years 
of  successful  sea  life,  he  retired  in  1883  to  the  enjoyment  of  those  so- 
cial relations  and  the  home  so  dear  to  him.  In  1874  he  had  his  pres- 
ent  residence  erected  on  the  high  land,  from  which  is  enjoyed  a  com- 
manding view  of  Osterville  to  the  west,  and  of  the  bay  and  sound  to 
the  south. 

But  few  of  the  type  of  masters  of  which  he  is  a  worthy  representa- 
tive, have  spent  the  years  on  the  stormy  main,  and  in  the  vigor  of 
manhood  have  retired,  and  few  have  a  keener  sense  of  appreciation 
for  the  enjoyment  of  luxurious  surroundings  and  social  relations. 

George  Lovell. — This  representative  man  of  Barnstable  was  the 
third  child  of  Cornelius  and  Abigail  Lovell.  His  father  was  a  promi- 
nent man  of  his  day,  and  the  records  of  the  town  show  that,  on  the  26th 


RESIDENCE   OK    C.  A.   LOVELU, 

OstervilU,  Mass. 


TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  441 

of  June,  1776,  lie  joined  with  Joseph  Otis  and  a  few  other  patriots  in 
signing  a  protest  condemning  the  tyranny  and  oppression  of  the 
mother  country,  and  also  the  actions  of  some  of  his  townsmen  who 
favored  the  British  cause.  He  had  eight  sons  and  five  daughters. 
One  child  only  survives,  Cornelius  Lovell,  of  Boston. 

George  Lovell,  like  most  young  men  of  that  period,  followed  the 
sea,  serving  in  various  capacities  until,  quite  early  in  life,  retiring 
with  a  competency,  he  was  able  to  devote  himself  to  those  interests 
which  he  had  acquired  in  his  shipping,  and  which  formed  the  business 
of  his  future  life.  He  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Mary 
Hilliard,  a  resident  of  th.e  adjacent  village  of  Stoughton.  There  were 
born  to  them  eight  children.  His  second  wife  was  Adeline  Hallett,  a 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Hallett,  of  Osterville.  There  were  born  of  this 
marriage  six  children. 

His  excellent  judgment  and  integrity  were  recognized  by  all  with 
whom  he  had  dealings,  and  he  was,  to  many,  the  adviser,  counsellor 
and  friend.  In  connection  with  two  well  known  residents  of  Barn- 
stable, Zenas  D.  Bassett  and  Matthew  Cobb,  he  organized  the  Des- 
patch Line,  which  was  the  first  packet  line  between  Boston,  New  York 
and  Albany.  This  enterprise,  at  that  date,  was  fully  equal  to  a  line  of 
steamers  between  Great  Britain  and  this  country  at  the  present  time. 

During  the  war  of  1812,  while  sailing  in  company  with  other  ves- 
sels from  Boston  to  New  York,  being  pursued  by  a  privateer,  he  was 
skillful  enough  to  take  advantage  of  a  slight  change  of  wind  to  out- 
sail the  fleet,  and  arrived  .safely  at  his  destination,  with  his  valuable 
cargo  untouched,  while  his  companions  were  overtaken  and  captured. 
On  another  occasion  he  was  not  so  fortunate,  and  was  carried  to  Dart- 
moor, where  he  endured  with  many  of  his  fellow  townsmen  the  pri- 
vations and  hardships  of  that  prison. 

He  was  one  of  the  original  directors  of  the  Barnstable  Bank,  which 
bore  the  honored  names  of  Otis,.  Bacon,  Crowell,  Bassett  and  others. 
In  the  welfare  of  the  Baptist  church  he  took  an  abiding  interest.  For 
the  only  church  edifice  of  that  denomination  ever  built  in  Osterville 
he  gave  the  land,  and  a  large  portion  of  the  funds,  and  always  con- 
tributed most  generously  to  the  support  of  the  minister.  He  was  a 
pioneer  in  the  cause  of  temperance,  at  a  time  when  such  a  position 
meant  often  loss  of  friends  and  social  standing.  He  was  a  man  of  fine 
presence,  with  a  genial  smile  and  a  dignified  bearing.  He  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-four,  in  the  month  of  November,  1861,  leaving  the  rec- 
ord of  a  useful  and  honored  life. 

Captain  Oliver  C.  Lumbert,  born  in  1848,  is  a  son  of  Josiah  Lum- 
bert,  whose  father,  Josiah  Lumbert,  was  a  farmer  of  Centreville.  His 
mother  was  a  daughter  of  David  Rogers,  who  came  from  Harwich 
and  built  one  of  the  first  buildings  in  the  part  of  Cotuit  where  Captain 


442  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Lumbert  lives.  The  captain,  after  various  service  at  sea,  has  since 
1881  been  running  vessels  in  which  he  is  owner,  between  New  York, 
Philadelphia  and  Boston,  in  the  coal  trade. 

A.  D.  Makepeace. — In  the  spring  of  1854,  in  the  little  village  of 
Hyaunis,  on  the  south  shore  of  Cape  Cod,  a  young  man  hung  out  a 
sign  offering,  among  strangers,  his  services  as  a  harness-maker  and 
saddler.  The  community  soon  knew  of  him  as  Mr.  Makepeace,  the 
new  harness-maker  from  Wareham,  and  might  easily  have  known 
that  he  was  born  at  Middleboro  on  the  23d  of  January,  twenty-two 
years  before.  The  only  place  a  poor  mechanic  could  expect  in  a  con- 
servative New  England  town  was  such  a  place  as  his  own  inherent 
ability  could  create  for  himself,  and  so,  under  stern  limitations,  Abel 
Denison  Makepeace  began  his  career.  His  parents  were  Alvin  and 
Drusilla  Makepeace.  She  was  a  daughter  of  David,  and  granddaugh- 
ter of  Silas  Swift,  of  good  old  Quaker  stock,  at  West  Falmouth.  Al- 
vin Makepeace  (1800-1833)  and  his  father,  Deacon  Lysander,  were 
cloth  manufacturers  in  Bristol  county,  where  the  family  name  has 
been  known  and  honored  for  two  hundred  years.  Dea.  Lysander 
Makepeace  was  a  prominent  man  of  Norton,  Mass.,  where  he  filled 
many  public  stations,  and  represented  his  town  in  the  legislature. 

The  original  pioneer  of  this  family  in  America  was  Thomas  Make- 
peace, whose  name  is  in  the  list  of  passengers  from  London  to  Dor- 
chester in  the  ship  /ames  in  1635.  He  was  given,  September  27, 1637, 
a  house  lot  in  Boston,  where  is  now  Hanover  street,  near  Court.  His 
place  and  date  of  birth  cannot  be  here  stated  with  authority,  but  his 
will,  recorded  in  the  first  volume  at  Boston  (page  518),  was  dated  June 
30,  1666,  and  he  died  before  the  following  March.  His  son,  William, 
who  was  accidentally  drowned,  in  August,  1681,*  left  a  son,  William, 
and  his  son — the  third  William  (born  at  Taunton,  1704,  and  died  at 
Norton,  1740) — was  the  father  of  Peter  Makepeace,  who  was  father  of 
Lysander,  above  mentioned,  making  the  subject  of  this  article  a  de- 
scendant in  the  eighth  generation  of  this  family  in  the  New  World. 
It  is  not  the  purpose  to  concern  ourselves  with  the  English  ancestry 
of  any  family,  but  as  many  family  names  have  been  corrupted  and 
changed,  we  stop  only  to  notice  that  the  orthography  of  this  has  re- 
mained since  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  when  it  was  borne  by 
some  of  the  gentry  of  Warwick  county,  England. 

While  he  at  first  depended,  at  Hyannis,  upon  his  shop  and  his 
trade,  his  taste  for  agriculture  soon  led  to  the  purchase  of  a  farm 
there,  which  he  successfully  carried  on.  One  thousand  bushels  of 
potatoes  and  two  hundred  bushels  of  strawberries  are  some  of  the 
items  in  one  year's  account  of  his  farm  produce.  Not  all  his  farming 
was  at  once  successful,  for  he  was  among  the  experimenters  who,  be- 

•  Plymouth  Colony  records,  Vol.  VI.,  page  76. 


^c 


.(Z-^ 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE.  443 

fore  1860,  lost  most  of  their  investments  in  attempting^  to  produce 
cranberries.  The  remarkable  career  of  Mr.  Makepeace  in  this  great 
industry  practically  began  in  1874,  when,  being  thoroughly  satisfied 
with  the  prospects,  he  bought  a  large  tract  at  Newtown  and  soon  ex- 
tended his  business  rapidly  by  the  purchase  of  other  suitable  lands 
and  water  rights  in  Barnstable  and  Plymouth  counties,  until  he  is 
recognized  by  all  New  England  as  the  foremost  man  in  the  cran- 
berry business,  being  now  at  the  head  of  a  combination  of  owners, 
cultivating  more  acres  and  producing,  by  far,  larger  results  than  any 
other  firm  or  combination  in  the  world.  Their  crop  in  1887  was  six- 
teen thousand  barrels.  The  business  of  reclaiming  the  lands  best 
suited  to  their  cultivation  requires,  as  we  have  noticed  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  a  large  investment  of  time  and  money,  and,  at  that  period 
and  on  many  occasions  since,  Mr.  Makepeace  has  had  the  benefit  of 
the  financial  support  of  George  F.  Baker,  of  Boston— a  man  of  large 
means,  who  has  always  had  unlimited  faith  in  the  business  sagacity 
and  executive  ability  of  Mr.  Makepeace. 

The  cranberry  lands  which  Mr.  Makepeace  controls  were  all  pur- 
chased on  his  individual  responsibility,  but  as  the  business  exceeded 
the  possibility  of  single  ownership,  associations  have  been  formed, 
under  his  management,  to  develop  and  operate  them.  Six  such  asso- 
ciations have  been  formed,  which  are  now  consolidated  as  five.  The 
first  organization  was  in  1882,  and  is  still  known  as  the  Wankinco 
Company  in  Plymouth  county.  Eight  years  before  its  organization 
some  of  the  men  who  held  its  first  shares  were  among  his  partners  in 
other  lands.  The  Frog-Foot  Company  and  the  A.  D.  M.  Company, 
organized  in  1885, 1886,  are  in  Plymouth  county.  The  Marston's  Mills 
and  Woodland  Companies,  in  Barnstable,  were  organized  in  1888, 
1889.  Of  these  five  companies  Mr.  Makepeace  is  treasurer  and  man- 
ager, and  holds  the  same  relation  to  the  Mashpee  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, incorporated  February  19,  1867,  under  the  state  law,  and  now 
owning  the  largest  tract  of  cranberry  land  in  Mashpee;  and  also  to  the 
Carver  Bog  Company,  owning  one  of  the  most  profitable  bogs  in  the 
state.  Since  coming  to  the  Cape  Mr.  Makepeace  has  had  great  confi- 
dence in  the  agricultural  resources  and  possibilities  of  this  portion  of 
New  England,  and  this  faith  and  the  works  based  upon  it  entitle  him 
to  be  regarded  as  the  rejuvenator  of  Cape  Cod  agriculture,  and  the 
reclaimer  of  many  of  its  once  worthless  acres. 

He  has  been  an  ofl&cer  many  years  in  the  Agricultural  Society  of 
the  county,  and  at  the  death  of  Charles  C.  Bearse  was  elected  director 
of  the  Hyannis  National  Bank.  In  politics  Mr.  Makepeace  has  been 
an  independent  democrat  since  1872 — a  position  well  known  to  be  far 
from  popular  on  Cape  Cod — yet  in  the  canvas  for  state  senator  in 
1883,  and   for  representative   in   1885,  he  received   a  very  flattering 


444  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

vote.  It  cannot  be  said  that  he  is  a  politician.  Whatever  of  political 
prominence  he  enjoys  is  the  outcome  of  his  remarkable  business  suc- 
cess along  the  single  line  wherein  his  energies  and  executive  ability 
are  unceasingly  brought  into  action.  He  has  never  sought  political 
office  or  party  favors,  but  his  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  town  led 
him  to  serve  six  years  on  the  school  committee  prior  to  1884,  when  he 
resigned.  In  1888,  after  three  years'  service  on  the  board  of  select- 
men, he  resigned  that  position  also. 

Two  years  after  coming  to  Hyannis  Mr.  Makepeace  was  married, 
January  2,  1856,  to  Josephine  Crocker,  and  for  more  than  twenty-five 
years  before  removing  to  West  Barnstable,  where  he  now  lives,  his 
home  was  at  Hyannis.  They  have  three  sons:  William  F.,  John  C. 
and  Charles  D.  Makepeace.  Their  second  son  was  Edward  Lincoln 
Makepeace,  a  promising  young  man,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty. 
The  oldest  son,  William  F.,  married  a  daughter  of  the  late  Josiah 
Crocker,  and  also  resides  at  West  Barnstable. 

Russell  Marston.— This  is  a  family  name  which  for  more  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  has  been  a  part  of  the  social,  business, 
political  and  professional  hi.story  of  Barnstable  county.  In  1716 
Benjamin  Marston,  a  clothier  of  Taunton,  came  to  Barnstable  and 
settled  at  Marston's  Mills,  where  he  died  in  1769.  His  widow,  who 
-survived  him  until  1774,  was  Lydia  Goodspeed,  another  old  family 
name.  From  this  couple,  whose  graves  are  in  the  West  Barnstable 
■cemetery,  have  descended  all  the  Marstons  of  Cape  Cod.  Accepted 
traditions  make  Benjamin  the  son  of  John  Marston,  a  clothier  of  Salem, 
where  his  father,  John,  and  his  grandfather  Dea.  John  Marston,  lived 
and  where  Benjamin  was  born. 

At  Marston's  Mills  Benjamin's  seven  children  were  born.  Esquire 
Nymphas  Marston,  the  third  of  the  seven,  was  born  in  1728,  and  at  his 
•death  in  1788  was  a  central  figure  in  local  history.  Prince  Marston, 
the  fourth  son,  married  a  Winslow  and  had  six  sons:  Isaiah,  Nymphas, 
Winslow,  John,  Benjamin,  and  Prince.  Of  this  generation  Winslow 
received  from  his  uncle  Nymphas,  the  landed  estate  at  Marston's  Mills 
and  left  it  in  turn  to  his  two  sons — Judge  Nymphas  Marston,  the  emi- 
nent lawyer,  and  Hon.  Charles  Marston,  afterward  Indian  commis- 
sioner. The  late  Attorney  General  George  Marston  was  a  son  of  this 
Charles.  Another  of  the  six  children  of  Benjamin  and  Lydia  (Good- 
speed)  Marston  received  his  father's  name  and  was  the  Benjamin 
Marston  still  remembered  as  having  lived  in  an  ancient  house  on  the 
knoll  northwesterly  from  the  grist  mill  at  the  Mills.  He  married 
Rebecca  Whelden,  and  at  his  death  was  succeeded  at  the  grist  mill  by 
his  two  sons^Clement  and  Allen.  Clement  married  Sarah  Adams 
and  had  seven  sons,  the  youngest  of  whom,  born  on  the  14th  of 
October,  1816,  is  the  Russell  Marston  of  this  sketch. 


--^^T-Z-^ 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE.  445 

His  boyhood  was  passed  where  three  generations  of  ancestors  bad 
lived,  and  with  such  knowledge  of  books  as  a  boy  might  get  in  a  few 
winters  and  fewer  summers  in  a  country  school,  he  began  at  sea,  what 
almost  every  Cape  Cod  boy  sooner  or  later  made  the  goal  of  his  am- 
bition. The  three  dollars  which  a  boy  might  expect  for  a  month  of 
general  usefulness  on  a  coasting  vessel  was  the  princely  salary  by  the 
earning  of  which  young  Marston  obtained  his  first  ideas  of  the  value 
of  money.  This  stern  discipline,  which  has  produced  so  many  care- 
ful, conservative  men,  has  borne  its  fruit  in  his  life  as  well;  for  upon 
that  discipline  he  has  built  a  successful  career  and  a  fortune. 

By  1846  he  had  command  and  ownership  in  a  small  coasting  vessel 
named  the  Outvie,  but  he  determined  to  abandon  the  sea,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1847,  as  half  owner  of  a  small  victualling  stand  on  Commer- 
cial street,  in  Boston,  he  began  the  development  of  the  business  which 
has  since  made  his  name  familiar  to  half  the  men  of  New  England. 
In  1853  he  located  in  Brattle  street,  where  he  and  his  only  son,  as  R. 
Marston  &  Co.,  continue  the  popular  and  prosperous  restaurant  busi- 
ness. 

In  the  .small  beginnings  and  stern  necessities  which  surrounded 
Mr.  Marston  from  early  life  we  may  find  the  foundation  of  his  subse- 
quent business  success,  but  for  the  main-springs  of  his  moral  character 
and  the  source  of  those  radical  political  views  which  have  distinguished 
him  we  must  probably  look  further  back.  That  he  has  an  inborn 
reverence  for  right  and  an  abhorrence  of  injustice  no  one  may  ques- 
tion. Although  the  son  of  a  democrat  he  was  early  fired  with  a  life- 
long hatred  of  slavery  by  the  irresistable  logic  of  Garrison  and  the 
captivating  eloquence  of  Wendell  Phillips,  and  oncecommitted  to  the 
cause  of  the  oppressed  as  a  matter  of  right,  nothing  was  too  much  for 
him  to  undertake  in  their  behalf.  He  was  counted  a  Garrisonian  and 
fearlessly  took  his  stand  as  an  abolitionist  with  Garrison,  Thompson 
and  Phillips,  when  such  a  course  hazarded  a  man's  social  position, 
political  prospects  and  business  opportunities,  and  for  a  time  his  was 
the  only  business  place  of  the  kind  in  Boston,  opened  to  the  colored 
man. 

Finding  then  that  the  churches  were  generally  arrayed  on  the  side 
of  the  slave-holders  as  their  champions  or  apologists  made  a  lasting 
impression  upon  his  mind  and  easily  obliterated  whatever  of  rever- 
ence for  church  authority  he  might  have  inherited  from  his  Puritan 
ancestors,  and  at  last  we  find  him  in  the  modem  school  of  liberal 
thinkers. 

In  his  domestic  relations  Mr.  Marston  has  been  signally  favored.  On 
the  eighth  of  February,  1842,  he  married  Sarah  Crosby,  of  Centreville, 
sister  of  Alvin  Crosby,  mentioned  as  the  venerable  merchant  there. 
Two   children — Howard,   and   Helen  Garrison— blessed   this   union. 


446  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Howard  married  Ella  M.,a  daughterof  F.  G.  Kelley,  andhasone  son — 
Shirley  Marston.  Helen  married  Hammon  Woodbury,  and  has  two 
children — Ethel  M.,  and  Marston  Woodbury.  Mr.  Marston 's  beautiful 
home  and  the  summer  residences  of  his  children  are  in  Centreville, 
where  he  has  for  thirty  years  identified  himself  with  the  community 
and  its  interests,  and  never  forgetting  the  days  of  his  own  obscurity, 
with  an  open  hand  and  a  warm  heart,  he  keeps  himself  in  continual 
sympathy  with  the  less  fortunate  and  the  humble. 

Julius  Nickerson,  born  in  1865,  is  a  son  of  Aaron  Nickerson,  who 
died  in  1889,  grandson  of  Aaron  and  great-grandson  of  Seth  Nicker- 
son, of  Harwich.  His  mother  was  Caroline,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Ewer,  a  .soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  Mr.  Nickerson  was  at  sea  for 
twenty  years  prior  to  1888.  His  wife  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Charles 
C.  Bearse. 

Samuel  Nickerson,  son  of  Samuel  Nickerson  whose  father  former- 
ly lived  in  Harwich,  was  born  in  Harwich  in  1809,  and  died  in  1884. 
He  was  at  sea  on  the  Banks  when  but  eleven  years  of  age,  and  at  fif- 
teen was  a  cripple,  and  then  learned  carpentry.  Later  he  was  coast- 
ing until  fifty  years  of  age,  when  he  bought  cranberry  property 
and  was  manager  for  the  company,  besides  keeping  a  retail  boot  and 
shoe  store.  His  widow  surviving,  was  a  Miss  Page.  Her  children  are: 
Winfield  Scott,  now  in  Harvard  College;  Rosa  Page,  widow  of  Charles 
N.  Scudder,  and  Judson  V.,  deceased. 

Seth  Nickerson,  born  1814,  is  a  son  of  Seth,  1780-1865;  and  Polly 
(Hall)  Nickerson,  1784-1860.  These  were  both  born  in  Harwich,  and 
removed  from  there  to  Cotuit  in  1811.  Here  they  built  the  house  now 
occupied  by  their  son,  Roland  T.  Seth  Nickerson  went  to  sea  at 
eleven  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  went  whaling  and  at  twenty-two 
was  master  of  the  Massachusetts.  He  now  resides  at  Cotuit  and  is  in- 
terested in  cranberry  culture.  His  deceased  wife  was  a  daughter  of 
Joseph  Nickerson.  Their  children  are:  Benjamin,  died  May  14,  1887; 
Carleton  B.,  and  Ella,  now  Mrs.  W.  L.  Miner,  of  Brockton.  His  pres- 
ent wife  was  from  Virginia. 

M.  M.  Nye,  born  in  1826,  is  a  son  of  Jabezand  Polly  C.  (Hinckley) 
Nye.  His  maternal  grandfather  was  John  Hinckley  (a  descendant 
of  Governor  Hinckley),  who  formerly  owned  the  place  now  occupied 
by  Mr.  Nye.  Jabez  Nye  was  a  thorough  mechanic  and  was  at  one 
time  foreman  ship-builder  in  the  Charlestown  navy  yard.  M.  M.  Nye 
went  to  sea  at  fourteen  years  of  age  and  at  nineteen  was  second  offi- 
cer. In  January,  1849,  he  went  to  California  in  the  ship  Edward  Ever- 
ett, and  in  1852  to  Mexico,  where  he  stayed  nearly  two  years.  In 
1862-63  he  was  purser  on  an  Atlantic  ship  to  Liverpool,  and  was  sub- 
sequently five  years  superintendent  for  the  state  at  Rainsford  island 
and  was  two  years  mail  agent  on  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  before  be- 


TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  447 

ginning  his  present  store  business  in  1876  at  the  spot  where  his 
father  had  his  boat  shop  in  1807.  His  wife,  Mary  A.,  is  a  daughter 
of  Charles  Lewis. 

Amos  Otis,  the  author  of  the  Otis  Papers,  was  one  of  the  prominent 
men  of  this  county.  After  teaching  successfully  for  fifteen  years,  he 
began  his  career  of  forty  years  as  cashier  of  the  Yarmouth  Bank.  He 
had  the  true  instincts  of  an  historian,  and  in  preparing  his  genealog- 
ical notes  of  Barnstable  families  he  did  a  grand  philanthropic  act, 
which  secures  for  his  name  a  place  among  the  Cape  Cod  worthies, 
whose  names  he  so  faithfully  tried  to  rescue  from  oblivion. 

Lucian  K.  Paine,  of  Hyannis  Port,  is  a  brother  of  Josiah  Paine, 
the  historian,  and  a  son  of  Josiah  Paine — a  writer  of  some  note.  He 
has  been  a  carpenter  and  builder  here  since  1872,  and  during  this 
period  has  built  more  than  a  score  of  the  finest  cottages  at  the  Port. 
He  also  built  the  Methodist  Episcopal  chapel  at  Centreville,  and  was 
the  architect  and  builder  of  the  Captain  Mezeppa  Nickerson  cottage. 

Charles  F.  Parker  is  the  only  living  son  of  James  H.  Parker,  who 
was  born  at  Osterville  in  1829,  and  was  lost  in  Long  Island  sound  in 
1869.  He  was  master  mariner  on  a  merchant  coasting  vessel.  His 
father  James,  was  a  son  of  James,  whose  father  David,  was  a  son  of 
Daniel  and  grandson  of  Robert  Parker.  Charles  F.  was  a  merchant 
in  Harwich  from  1875  to  1877,  when  he  removed  to  Osterville,  where 
he  carries  on  a  general  store.  He  has  been  town  clerk  of  Barnstable 
since  March,  1885.  His  wife  Emma,  is  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Mat- 
thews, of  Yarmouth. 

Charles  G.  Perry  was  born  in  Hoboken;  he  came  to  Hyannis  to 
live  in  1880,  having  married  Dora,  a  daughter  of  Alexander  Baxter, 
2d,  and  was  a  merchant  here  about  four  years,  and  postmaster  from 
1885  to  1889.     His  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Charles  Goodspeed. 

Andrew  Phinney,  son  of  Robert,  was  born  in  1815  and  died  in 
1884.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  in  his  later  life  a  tradesman 
in  stationery,  traveling  on  the  Cape.  His  widow,  Olive  G.,  was  first 
married  to  Benjamin  Jones,  and  has  two  children:  Emma  Jones  and 
Stanley  M.  Phinney.  Mrs.  Phinney's  father,  Arthur  B.  Marston,was 
a  son  of  John  and  Olive  (Goodspeed)  Marston,  and  for  several  years 
prior  to  1852  was  an  owner  in  the  Marston 's  Mills  fulling  mill,  where 
he  did  the  cloth  dressing  and  coloring. 

Captain  Eli  Phinney,  born  in  1825,  is  a  son  of  Freeman  and  Har- 
riet (Crosby)  Phinney.  Freeman's  father  was  Solomon,  son  of  Eli,  and 
grand.sonof  Thomas  Phinney.  This  Thomas  Phinney  lived  in  a  brick 
house  that  stood  about  twenty  rods  south  of  the  Barnstable  and  Cen- 
treville road,  near  Ambrose  Lewis'  residence.  Captain  Phinney  went 
to  sea  at  eleven  years  of  age.  He  began  as  cook  in  a  thirty-two  ton 
sloop,  and  filled  all  tbe  places  from  cook  to  captain.     He  was  always 


448  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

in  merchant  service;  was  in  the  g^lf  ports,  in  the  West  Indies  and  in 
European  trade,  and  was  master  twenty-eight  years,  retiring  in  1876. 
His  wife,  Mary  B.,  is  a  daughter  of  Watson,  son  of  Winslow  Crocker. 
They  have  two  children:  Harriet  F.  (Mrs.  Chester  Bearse)and  George 
H.  Phinney,  of  Boston. 

Nelson  Phinney,  son  of  William  and  Jane  Phinney,  married  Eu- 
nice, daughter  of  Presbrey  and  Susan  Clark,  and  died  at  Centreville 
in  1886.  His  children  were:  Edwin  S.,  Rufus  E.,  Nelson,  a  lawyer  in 
Michigan;  Joseph,  a  banker  in  Kansas;  John  A.,  of  Salt  Lake  City; 
Susan  J.  (Mrs.  John  B.  Cornish);  Emily  (Mrs.  Robert  Kelley);  Alice,  a 
teacher;  Carrie  K.  (Mrs.  Albert  Sweetser).  Edwin  S.,  born  in  1845, 
married  Grace  P.,  a  daughter  of  Freeman  B.  and  Harriet  Howes.  His 
children  are:  Beth  F.,  who  died  in  1888;  Clara  E.,  Robert  M.,  and 
Harriet  S.  Mr.  Howes  and  his  oldest  daughter,  Harriet,  died  in  Sac- 
ramento, Cal.  Rufus  E.  Phinney,  born  in  Barnstable  in  1847,  died  in 
Monroe,  Mich.,  in  1884.  He  graduated  at  Michigan  University  in 
1871,  and  was  then  elected  principal  of  Monroe  High  School;  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  Michigan  in  1874;  elected  judge  of  probate  in 
1876;  re-elected  in  1880,  and  was  nominated  as  judge  of  superior  court. 
Judge  Cooley  being  prime  mover  in  this  nomination,  but  this  oflBce 
he  positively  declined.  He  was  also  noted  as  the  life  and  soul  of  the 
red  ribbon  movement  in  his  locality,  being  a  most  fearless  temper- 
ance advocate. 

Colonel  Joseph  L.  Proctor,  son  of  Jacob  Proctor,  was  born  in  Lu- 
nenburg, Mass.,  in  1834.  In  July,  1880,  he  bought  the  Bay  View  Stock 
Farm  at  West  Barnstable.  Its  six  hundred  acres  embrace  the  place 
where  Brigadier  Otis  was  born,  and  part  of  the  Judge  Shaw  place. 
Colonel  Proctor  was  thirteen  years  a  commissioned  officer  in  the  reg- 
ular army,  resigning  in  October,  1873.  His  father.  Jacob,  who  died 
in  1888  at  the  age  of  ninety-nine,  was  the  last  charter  member  of 
the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association. 

Nelson  Rhodehouse,  born  in  Vermont  in  1828,  was  at  sea  from  the 
age  of  fourteen  until  1875,  making  nine  voyages  round  Cape  Horn, 
five  round  the  globe,  seeing  nearly  every  country  to  which  a  ship 
could  be  sailed.  He  was  in  the  Ocean  Rover,  a  whaler,  burned  by  Cap- 
tain Semmes,  of  the  Alabama.  He  has  been  a  resident  of  Cotuit  since 
1858.  His  wife  is  Rebecca  B.  Ewer,  from  South  Sandwich.  Their 
two  daughters  are  Malinda,  now  a  teacher  in  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  and 
Catherine  M.,  now  Mrs.  Harold  I.  Smith,  of  New  Bedford. 

Seth  Rich,  born  in  1823,  is  a  son  of  Isaac  Rich  of  Wellfleet,  who 
was  captain  of  a  fishing  boat,  and  died  in  1842.  Seth  was  at  sea,  fish- 
ing, from  the  age  of  eleven  until  twenty-five  years  of  age.  After  the 
most  discouraging  struggles  he  began  on  the  road,  in  a  stationery 
business,  which  he  followed  sixteen  years,  and  from  a  capital  of  $1.47 


TOWN   OF  BARNSTABLE.  449 

(borrowed)  acquired  a  fair  property  and  has  a  nice  home  in  Oster- 
ville.  He  was  married  in  1864  to  Augusta,  daughter  of  Robert  Lovell. 
Their  family  are  Howard  L.  (a  clerk  in  Boston),  Walter  I.  (a  book- 
keeper in  New  Jersey),  Florence,  and  Carrie  M. 

Wilson  Ryder,  born  April  8,  1818,  is  a  son  of  Barnabas  and  grand- 
son of  Edward  Ryder.  His  wife,  Betsey,  was  a  daughter  of  John 
Marston  of  Yarmouth.  She  was  born  February  2,  1821,  and  died  Sep- 
tember 8,  1885.  The  present  Mrs.  Ryder  was  Eveline  M.  Liugham, 
from  Brockton,  Mass.  She  was  born  May  22,  1840.  Wilson  Ryder's 
children  are:  George  W.,  born  September  12,  1840;  Elizabeth  E., 
born  May  8,  1842;  Almira  C,  born  July  31,  1843;  Rebecca  H.,  born 
August  11,  1845;  Franklin,  born  September  6,  1847;  Luther  M.,  born 
July  15,  1849;  Clara  M.,  born  July  22,  1854;  and  Asa  C,  born  Decem- 
ber 22,  1858. 

Joshua  H.  Ryder,  brother  of  Wilson,  was  a  painter  at  Cotuit  Port 
for  some  thirty  years  prior  to  his  death  there  in  1879.  His  sons,  Al- 
bert E.  and  Wallace,  succeeded  him  and  now  carry  on  a  prosperous 
business  as  carriage  and  house  painters  and  decorators.  Albert's 
wife  is  Annie  W.  Harlow  of  South  Sandwich  and  he  has  one  son. 
Wallace  married  Laura  B.,  daughter  of  Charles  D.  Clayton,  an  English- 
man who  came  as  a  boy  to  Cotuit  and  married  Mary  H.,  daughter  of 
Grafton  Phinney,  of  an  old  family  here. 

The  ancestor  of  the  Sears  family  on  Cape  Cod  was  Richard  Sears, 
an  early  settler  in  Dennis.  His  descendants  were  Paul',  born  in  East 
Dennis;  Paul',  also  born  in  East  Dennis;  Paul',  who  settled  in  Acush-  i 
net,  born  in  East  Dennis;  Nathaniel',  Nathaniel',  William',  Nathaniel 
Sears',  who  was  born  in  Rochester,  Mass.,  in  1825,  and  is  now  a  resi- 
dent of  Hyannis.  He  was  at  sea  in  a  whale  ship  five  years  before  he 
was  twenty  years  of  age.  After  various  changes  in  business  he,  in 
February,  1856,  became  postmaster  and  station  agent  at  South  Mid- 
dleboro,  and  in  1859  removed  to  Hyannis  and  has  since  been  con- 
ductor on  the  Old  Colony  railroad,  excepting  the  two  years  in  which 
he  represented  the  Upper  Cape  district  in  the  state  legislature.  His 
family  consists  of  his  wife  and  one  son,  Charles  B.  Sears  of  Fair- 
haven. 

Henry  B.  Sears  was  born  in  Dennis  in  1843.  His  father,  Eldridge 
C,  is  a  son  of  Eldridge  Sears,  who  was  born  in  1801  and  died  in  Den- 
nis in  1881.  Henry  B.  Sears  learned  the  blacksmith  trade  in  Dennis, 
and  in  1866  bought,  of  William  Jones,  the  only  blacksmith  shop  in 
Centreville,  which  he  still  carries  on.  It  is  the  same  shop  which  Clark 
Lincoln  built  on  another  site,  as  before  mentioned.  His  wife,  Cynthia, 
is  a  daughter  of  Abijah  Howes  of  Dennis. 

Andrew  F.  Sherman,  the  register  of  deeds,  was  born  in  1837,  and 
in  1858  came  to  Sandwich  as  clerk  for  his  brother,  Thomas  C,  then  a 
29 


460  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

merchant  there.  Five  years  later  he  succeeded  him  in  business  in  the 
building  now  occupied  by  S.  I.  Morse.  Later  he  was  a  few  years  in 
Washingfton,  after  which  he  resumed  business  in  Sandwich,  where  he 
remained  until  January,  1887,  when  he  was  appointed  to  his  present 
office  as  successor  to  Asa  E.  Lovell,  deceased.  He  has  been  twice 
elected  as  his  own  successor,  after  unanimous  nomination  by  both  the 
republican  and  democratic  county  conventions.  During  his  clerkship 
in  Sandwich  he  married  Maria  E.,  daughter  of  Captain  Charles  Free- 
man. His  only  son,  A.  Frank  Sherman,  jr.,  was  editor  of  the  Sand- 
wich Observer  prior  to  Mr.  Pratt,  as  noticed  by  Mr.  Swift  at  page  263, 
and  now  has  charge  of  the  printing  for  the  Sandwich  Card  and  Tag 
Company. 

Captain  Abner  L.  Small,  born  in  1812,  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  Small, 
who  lived  at  Little  River.  He  v.'ent  to  sea  at  ten  years  of  age,  at 
twenty-one  was  captain,  and  followed  the  sea  in  coast  service  until 
1873.  His  wife,  Betsey,  deceased,  was  a  daughter  of  Pardon  A.  Bur- 
lingame.  She  left  three  children,  two  of  whom  are  living:  Lester  A., 
and  Celia  K.,  now  Mrs.  Luther  G.  Baker.  Mr.  Small's  present  wife, 
Mary,  also  a  daughter  of  Pardon  Burlingame,  has  two  children:  Al- 
van  B.  Falker,  by  a  former  marriage,  and  Benjamin  M.  Small,  book- 
keeper for  Columbia  Rubber  Works,  Boston. 

Eben  Smith,  only  son  of  Eben  and  grandson  of  Reuben  Smith,  was 
born  in  1848.  His  mother,  Lydia,  daughter  of  Isaiah  Hinckley,  is  a 
descendant  from  Governor  Hinckley,  and  his  wife  is  Anna  L.  Pope,  of 
Newton,  Mass.     They  have  one  daughter,  Ethel  R. 

Nicholas  Snow  came  from  England  in  the  ship  Ann  in  1823.  He 
married  Constance,  daughter  of  Stephen  Hopkins,  and  moved  to 
Nauset,  now  Eastham,  in  1645.  He  died  at  Eastham  in  1676,  and  his 
wife,  Constance,  died  in  1677.  They  left  sons— Mark,  Joseph,  Stephen, 
John,  and  Jabez — besides  several  daughters.  Stephen  married  for  his 
first  wife  widow  Susanna  Rogers,  daughter  of  Stephen  Doane,  of  Ply- 
mouth, October  28,  1663,  and  settled  in  Eastham.  He  married  for  his 
second  wife  Mary  Bigford,  in  1701.  He  died  December  17, 1705.  His 
children,  all  by  first  wife  and  born  in  Eastham,  were:  Bathsheba,  mar- 
ried John  King;  Hannah;  Micaijah,  married  William  Cole;  Mehitable; 
Bethiah,  married  John  Smith,  and  Ebenezer.  Ebenezer,  son  of 
Stephen,  married  Hope  Norton,  December  22,  1698,  and  died  before 
1725.  His  children  were:  Susanna,  Thomas,  Ebenezer,  Nathaniel 
(born  February  7,  1705),  Henry,  Thankful,  Elisha,  Hope,  Aaron,  and 
Samuel.  Nathaniel,  son  of  Ebenezer,  married  Mary  Doane,  daughter 
of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  Doane,  of  Eastham,  in  1731.  He  lived  in 
Eastham,  and  died  before  1777.  His  children  were:  Samuel,  born 
June  6,  1733;  James,  July  28,  1736;  Doane,  February  9,  1739;  and  Na- 
thaniel, April  19, 1743.    The  last  named,  Nathaniel  Snow,  was  married, 


TOWN   OF   BARNSTABLE.  451 

in  Eastham,  to  Thankful  Hopkins,  and  had  children:  Samuel,  born 
October  30,1767;  James,  July  28,  1769;  and  Nathaniel,  July  11,  1771. 
His  wife,  Thankful,  dying,  Nathaniel  Snow  married  Mercy  Webber, 
of  Barnstable,  in  1775,  and  removed  soon  after  to  Hyannis,  building  a 
house  at  the  head  of  what  is  known  as  Snow's  creek.  He  brought 
with  him  his  three  sons — Samuel,  James,  and  Nathaniel.  James  died 
young,  and  Nathaniel  moved  to  Maine  and  had  a  large  family.  Na- 
thaniel Snow  had,  by  his  second  wife,  Mercy  Webber,  three  sons — 
Jonathan,  Doane,  and  Prince — and  five  daughters — Thankful,  Annie, 
Hannah,  Mercy,  Abigail,  and  Prudence.  Samuel  Snow,  son  of  Na- 
thaniel, married  Mercy  Beane  and  had  three  children:  Alvan,  died  in 
September,  1861;  Samuel,  died,  aged  twenty,  and  Catherine,  who  mar- 
ried a  Beane  and  died,  aged  about  fifty-five.  Alvan  Snow  married 
Almira  Hinckley,  of  Barnstable,  and  had  three  children — Samuel, 
Sylvanus,  and  Esther,  of  whom  only  Samuel  is  living.  He  is  married 
to  Sarah  J.  Armington.  Their  son,  Frank  Snow,  is  married  to  Minnie 
Hallett,  and  they  have  a  son — Sirley  M.  Snow.  Samuel  Snow  is  serv- 
ing his  second  year  as  county  commissioner.  He  has  been  in  the 
state  legislature  as  representative  and  as  senator. 

Joseph  W.  Tallman,  son  of  Stephen  B.  Tallman  of  Cotuit,  was 
born  in  1848.  His  trade  is  mason  work,  in  which  he  has  done  a  con- 
tract business  for  the  last  twelve  years.  He  was  at  sea  for  a  time 
when  a  boy.  His  wife  was  Ellen  C.  Howland,  of  Sandwich.  Their 
three  sons  are:  Harry  L.,  Ariel  H.,  and  Joseph  W.,  jr. 

Stephen  B.  Tallman,  a  mason  of  Cotuit,  born  March  20,  1827,  is  a 
son  of  Jonathan  Bush  Tallman,  born  1788,  and  his  wife,  Hannah 
Weaver,  who  lived  to  the  age  of  101  years  and  eleven  months.  His 
grand-parents  were  Samuel  and  Sarah  (Bush)  Tallman  of  Newport, 
who  were  married  May  9,  1786.  Mr.  Tallman's  wife,  Mary  B.,  is  a 
daughter  of  Joseph  Cammett,  a  carpenter,  who  was  a  guard  on  the 
coast  in  the  war  of  1814.  His  father  Peter,  was  a  son  of  Peter  Cammett, 
whose  father  Peter  Cammett  came  from  England  when  a  child,  in 
care  of  a  Truro  captain,  who  also  brought  at  the  same  time  a  little 
girl  named  Peggy  Hunniwell,  whom  Peter  siibsequently  married. 

Herbert  S.  Taylor,  born  in  1865,  is  a  son  of  George  A.  Taylor,  of 
Chatham,  grandson  of  George  and  great-grandson  of  George  Taylor. 
He  came  to  Barnstable  in  1883,  as  partner  in  a  meat  business,  with 
Prentice  H.  Davis.  Three  years  later  he  took  the  entire  business 
which  he  still  successfully  carries  on.  His  wife,  Mercie  B.,  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Captain  Lewis  B.  Doane,  of  Harwich. 

Robert  M.  Waitt,  son  of  Samuel  and  Persis  (Hallett)  Waitt,  was 
born  in  1824.  His  mother  was  one  of  twelve  daughters  of  Benjamin 
Hallett  and  a  sister  of  Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Hallett.  Captain  Waitt 
went  to  sea  at  ten  years  of  age  as  cook,  following  the  sea  seventeen 


452  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

years,  most  of  the  time  in  coast  trade,  the  last  six  years  being  master. 
He  was  an  inspector  in  the  Boston  custom  house  eight  years  prior  to 
1861.  He  then  did,  with  a  short  interval,  a  restaurant  business  in 
Boston  until  1888.  His  wife,  Ellen,  is  a  daughter  of  Capt.  Matthias 
Hinckley,  a  descendant  from  Governor  Hinckley.  Their  only  living 
child  is  Arthur  M.  Waitt,  a  graduate  from  the  Boston  Institute  of 
Technology,  and  an  oflBcial  in  the  car  department  of  the  Lake  Shore 
&  Michigan  Southern  Railway.  Captain  Waitt's  residence  is  one  of 
the  oldest  houses  in  Barnstable  village.  It  was  built  in  1717  by  one  of 
two  sisters  named  Doane,  who  came  from  down  the  Cape. 

Joseph  Whittemore,  son  of  Hiram  and  grandson  of  Edward  Lloyd 
Whittemore,  was  born  in  South  Dennis  in  1819.  He  has  carried  on  a 
paint  shop  since  1849,  in  Barnstable.  His  wife,  Betsey,  is  a  daughter 
of  Freeman  Phillips  of  Dennis,  and  granddaughter  of  Benjamin  Phil- 
lips of  Harwich.  Their  children  were:  Joseph  (deceased),  Annah 
(Mrs.  Alfred  Kelley  of  Yarmouth),  Alice  (Mrs.  Andrew  Newcomb  of 
Brewster),  Louisa,  Maria  (deceased),  Sarah  (Mrs.  Moses  C.  Water- 
house),  Joseph  F.  of  East  Wareham;  Hiram,  a  contractor  at  Middle- 
boro,  and  Bessie  M. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


TOWN   OF  YARMOUTH. 


By  Hon.  Charles  F.  Swift. 


Location  and  Characteristics.— Settlement.— The  Grantees  and  Early  Settlers.- Early 
Events  and  Customs.- The  Revolutionary  Period.— Division  of  the  Town.— War  of 
1812.— Subsequent  Events.- Taverns  and  Hotels.— Churches.— Schools.— Civil  lasts. 
— The  Villages,  their  Industries  and  Institutions. — Biographical  Sketches. 


THE  present  town  of  Yarmouth  is  situated  about  midway  of  the 
peninsula  of  Cape  Cod,  having  Barnstable  for  her  westerly 
neighbor,  and  Dennis  on  the  east.  Cape  Cod  bay  washes  the 
north  and  the  Vineyard  sound  the  south  shores  of  the  township.  The 
four  principal  villages  are  near  the  borders  of  the  sea  or  river,  and  the 
intervening  region  of  four  or  five  miles  is  densely  covered  with  oak, 
pine,  birch,  cedar  and  other  woods.  There  are  a  large  number  of 
fresh  ponds  scattered  throughout  the  town,  giving  an  agreeable  di- 
versity to  the  landscape.  Fifteen  of  the  larger,  with  areas  varying 
from  ten  to  ninety-four  acres,  have  an  aggregate  area  of  564  acres. 
Long  pond,  near  South  Yarmouth,  of  ninety-four  acres,  and  one  south 
of  it  of  twenty,  have  no  outlet.  Dennis  pond,  of  fifty  acres;  Taylor's, 
of  thirty-nine;  Flax,  of  twenty;  and  one  of  eleven  acres,  form  another 
group  with  no  outlet.  Mill  pond,  of  eighty-one  acres,  is  drained  by 
Hamblin  brook.  Parker's  river  drains  Flashes  pond,  of  sixty-five 
acres,  and  Swan  pond,  of  seventy.  Thornton  brook  rises  in  a  pond  of 
fifty  acres,  and  near  South  Yarmouth  is  a  group  of  three  small  ponds 
with  no  visible  outlet.  Large  tracts  of  salt  meadow  skirt  the  northern 
shore  of  the  town.  The  soil  is  generally  light,  although,  in  Yarmouth 
Port,  especially,  there  is  a  considerable  region  of  land  well  adapted  to 
gardens  and  orchards.  The  streets  of  that  village  are  lined  with  large 
and  heavy  elms,  planted  some  forty-five  years  ago,  making  a  boule- 
vard of  a  mile  and  a  half  of  attractive  shade  for  promenade  and  rid- 
ing. Germans  hill  is  the  highest  eminence  in  the  town.  Bass  river, 
astream  some  five  miles  in  length,  separates  the  town  from  Dennis  to 
that  extent;  and  Chase's  Garden  river,  on  the  north  side,  is  also  the 
boundary  for  a  .short  distance.  White's  brook,  on  the  north,  empties 
into  Cape  Cod  bay;  and  Baxter's  river,  on  the  south,  into  Vineyard 
sound. 


454  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  original  township  of  Yarmouth  comprised,  besides  its  present 
limits,  a  region  of  about  a  mile  in  extent  from  east  to  west,  of  what  is 
now  a  portion  of  the  town  of  Barnstable;  but  at  a  court  held  in  Yar- 
mouth, June  17,  1641,  by  virtue  of  an  order  of  the  general  court,  the 
line  between  the  two  towns  was  established  substantially  as  it  now 
exists.  The  easterly  boundaries  of  the  township  were  somewhat  in- 
definite, but  embraced  the  whole  of  the  present  town  of  Dennis,  and 
the  town  also  exercised  a  sort  of  shadowy  jurisdiction  over  the  region 
now  known  as  Chatham;  which,  in  the  language  of  the  old  records, 
was  described  as  "within  the  liberties  of  Yarmouth;"  the  western 
part  of  Brewster— then  known  as  Satucket — was  at  an  early  period  a 
"  Constablerick  "  of  Yarmouth — which  probably  meant  that  the  town 
was  responsible  for  the  preservation  of  good  order  and  lawful  con- 
duct on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  region.  In  1694  those  two 
communities  were  included  in  the  town  of  Eastham,  and  Yarmouth 
thenceforward  included  the  region  now  comprised  in  the  towns  of 
Yarmouth  and  Dennis. 

The  region  in  the  vicinity  of  the  habitations  of  the  first  comers 
was  known  by  the  Indian  names  of  Mattacheese,  Mattacheeset,  Hock- 
anom  and  Nobscusset,  Mattacheese  signified  old  lands,  or  planting 
lands,  and  the  terminal  t,  was  applied  to  places  by  the  water,  making 
Mattacheeset  mean,  old  lands  by  the  borders  of  the  water.  This  gen- 
eral terra  described  the  region  now  the  eastern  part  of  Barnstable  and 
the  western  portion  of  Yarmouth.  From  near  White's  brook  to  Den- 
nis, was  known  as  Hockanom;  beyond  which,  to  Brewster,  the  region 
was  called  Nobscusset.  The  Pawkunnawkuts  occupied  the  vicinity 
of  wSouth  Yarmouth  and  South  Dennis,  on  both  sides  of  Bass  river. 

But  little  is  known  of  the  regipn  before  its  settlement  by  the  Eng- 
lish. Captain  John  Smith,  as  is  shown  by  the  map  describing  his 
voyages,  visited  Barnstable  harbor  and  skirted  this  coast.  The  Ply- 
mouth colonists  sent  frequent  expeditions  here  but  the  earliest  occu- 
pation of  the  town  which  is  a  matter  of  record,  was  in  August,  1638, 
when  the  colony  court  granted  leave  to  Stephen  Hopkins  "to  erect  a 
house  at  Mattacheese,  and  cut  hay  to  winter  his  cattle,  provided  it  be 
not  to  withdraw  him  from  the  town  of  Plymouth."  In  September  of 
the  same  year,  permission  was  granted  to  Gabriel  Whelden  and  Greg- 
ory Armstrong  to  locate  here,  "with  the  consent  of  the  committees  of 
the  place,"  which  seems  to  imply  some  previous  organization,  at  least, 
for  a  settlement.  Hopkins  was  one  of  the  Mayflower  s  company. 
He  afterward  conveyed  his  house  to  Andrew  Hallet,  jr.,  and  the 
locality  of  his  domicile  is  thus  quite  accurately  defined.  This  was  the 
first  house  in  town  built  by  an  Englishman,  the  location  of  which  is 
known.  It  is  in  a  field  now  owned  by  Captain  Charles  Basset,  about 
seventy-five    yards  northeasterly  of  the  house  of  Thomas  Thacher. 


TOWN  OF  YARMOUTH.  465 

A  depression  on  the,  side  of  the  hill  clearly  indicates  the  locality  of 
the  site. 

The  permanent  and  authorized  settlement  of  the  town  commenced 
early  in  1639.  The  grantees  of  the  court  were,  Anthony  Thacher, 
John  Crow  and  Thomas  Howes,  who  had  surveyed  the  lands,  prepara- 
tory to  occupation.  They,  with  John  Coite,  "to  be  inquired  of," 
Madrick  Matthews,  Philip  Tabor,  William  Palmer,  Samuel  Rider, 
William  Lumpkin  and  Thomas  Hatch  were  proposed  January  7,  1639, 
"  to  take  up  their  freedom  at  Yarmouth."  The  same  page  records  the 
following  "  persons  there  excepted  against:  Old  Worden  (dead),  Bur- 
nell,  Wright,  Wat  Deville."  In  March  following,  Nicholas Simpkins, 
Hugh  Tilley,  Giles  Hopkins  and  Joshua  Barnes  are  mentioned  in  the 
court  records  as  of  Yarmouth.  Andrew  Hallet  was  here  in  March, 
and  there  was  some  complaint  that  he  had  "assumed  to  himself"  too 
large  a  proportion  of  the  best  lands,  but  his  claim  was  subsequently 
confirmed  by  the  court.  Between  the  time  of  the  first  settlement  and 
the  close  of  the  following  year  the  pioneers  were  joined  by  Thomas 
Starr,  Robert  Dennis,  Edward  Sturgis,  James  Matthews,  William  Nick- 
erson,  Samuel  Ryder,  Yelverton  Crow,  Philip  Tabor,  William  Palmer, 
and  Thomas  Payne.  William  Chase  was  chosen  constable,  and 
Thomas  Payne  and  Philip  Tabor  deputies  to  the  court,  the  first  repre- 
sentative assembly  in  the  colony,  which  met  June  4, 1639.  William 
Clark  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  and  fidelity  in  September,  and  was 
constable  for  the  town. 

The  legislation  by  the  colony  court  relative  to  the  town,  the  first 
year  of  its  existence,  forbade  any  one  here  purchasing  two  house  lots 
or  more  and  laying  them  together  and  maintaining  but  one  house 
upon  them.  This  was  intended  to  make  the  settlements  corripact,  as 
a  matter  of  safety  and  precaution.  Yarmouth  men  were  granted  lib- 
erty to  "  keep  their  swine  unwringed,"  "  they  keeping  them  with  a 
herdsman  until  complaint  be  made  of  some  hurt  they  have  done."  It 
was  ordered  that  "a  pair  of  stocks  and  a  pound  be  erected,  and  that 
a  constable  see  it  done,  and  have  a  warrant  to  distrain  such  as  shall 
refuse  to  pay  what  shall  be  assessed  to  the  charge  thereof."  William 
Palmer  was  authorized  to  exercise  the  inhabitants  in  the  use  of  aims. 

The  first  mention  of  Yarmouth  as  the  name  of  the  town  is  found 
in  the  grant  by  the  colony  court  to  Messrs.  Thacher,  Crow  and  Howes. 
Of  the  first  settlers  some  were  Eastern  county  men,  some  were  from 
the  midland  counties,.some  from  Wales,  and  others  from  the  south  of 
England.  Yarmouth,  the  principal  seaport  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
England,  was  the  place  of  embarkation  and  debarkation  between  that 
country  and  Holland,  and  was  naturally  associated  in  their  minds 
with  experiences  in  the  mother  country;  hence,  perhaps,  the  name  of 
this  town. 


456  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

"  Yarmouth,"  says  Mr.  Freeman,  "  was  peculiarly  fortunate  in  its 
incipiency  in  being  under  the  direction  not  only  of  highly  respect- 
able and  energetic  men,  but  of  .such  as  probably  in  general  coalesced 
better  with  the  leaders  at  Plymouth  than  did  the  majority  of  those, 
also  highly  respectable,  who  laid  the  foundation  of  Sandwich." 

Anthony  Thacher,  it  is  believed,  was  born  in  Somersetshire 
county,  England,  about  1589.  In  1610  we  hear  of  him  at  Leyden, 
where  he  remained  with  Robinson  and  his  associates  about  twenty 
years.  But  though  imbued  with  the  Pilgrim  spirit,  he  found  it  con- 
sistent with  his  principles  to  serve  as  curate  to  his  brother,  Peter,  who 
was  rector  of  the  church  of  the  parish  of  St.  Edmunds,  at  Salisbury, 
county  of  Wiltz.  April  6,  1635,  he  sailed  in  the  ship  James  from 
Southampton,  together  with  Thomas,  son  of  his  brother  Peter,  a 
youth  of  fifteen  years,  arriving  in  Newbury,  Mass.,  in  June.  In  a 
voyage  from  Ipswich  to  Marblehead,  undertaken  in  August,  1635,  a 
terrific  storm  arose  and  their  vessel  was  driven  on  the  rocks  on  an 
island  now  bearing  the  name  of  Thacher,  where  his  four  children,  his 
cousin.  Rev.  John  Avery  and  his  six  children  were  drowned,  Mr. 
Thacher  and  his  wife  being  the  only  survivors  of  a  company  of 
twenty-three.  After  a  short  residence  in  Marblehead,  Mr.  Thacher 
obtained,  in  company  with  his  associates  before  named,  a  grant  of  the 
region  then  known  as  Mattacheese,  surveyed  the  lands,  and  early  in 
1639  commenced  the  settlement  of  the  town.  His  homestead  was 
located  on  the  land  about  three  hundred  yards  northeasterly  of  the 
dwelling  house  of  the  late  James  G.  Hallet.  Mr.  Thacher  married 
for  a  second  wife  Elizabeth  Jones,  six  weeks  previous  to  sailing  for 
America.  His  surviving  children  were:  John,  born  in  Marblehead  in 
March,  1639;  Judah,  born  in  Yarmouth,  who  died  November  4,  1676; 
and  Bethea,  who  married  Jabez  Howland,  of  Barnstable,  and  removed  to 
Rhode  Island.  Colonel  John,  above  named,  was  a  more  distingfuished 
man  than  his  father,  so  far  as  eminent  public  position  and  service  is 
concerned.  He  was  assistant  to  the  governor  in  1691,  and  from  1692 
to  1717,  inclusive,  a  counsellor  in  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 
A  number  of  other  eminent  men  have  been  found  among  the  de- 
scendants of  Anthony  Thacher;  among  them  Peter  Thacher,  judge 
of  court  of  common  pleas,  1729;  John  Thacher,  also  judge  of  court  of 
common  pleas,  1736;  David  Thacher,  representative  twenty-seven 
years,  senator  two  years,  delegate  for  framing  state  constitution,  and 
also  delegate  to  ratify  the  national  constitution,  and  judge  of  court  of 
common  pleas. 

Mr.  Andrew  Hallet  was  among  the  earliest  of  the  first  comers,  but 
did  not  make  his  permanent  residence  here  until  1641.  He  was 
styled  a  "  school  master  "  in  Lychford's  "  Plain  Dealing."  In  1839  he 
bought  of  Dr.  William  Starr,  for  ten  pounds,  seventeen  acres  of  land 


TOWN   OF  YARMOUTH.  457 

and  twelve  acres  of  meadow,  with  the  frame  of  a  house  to  be  made  by 
William  Chase,  the  house  "to  be  made  and  set  with  a  chimney,  and 
to  be  thatched,  studded  and  latched  (daubing  excepted),"  which  Mr. 
Chase  had  agreed  to  do  for  the  sum  of  five  pounds.  This  house  lot 
was  in  the  northwest  part  of  Yarmouth  and  the  northeast  part  of 
Barnstable,  on  the  county  road;  the  house  was  probably  within  the 
limits  of  Yarmouth.  In  1643  Mr.  Hallet  presented  to  the  poor  of  the 
town  a  cow,  which  was  accepted  by  the  court  for  the  purpose  indi- 
cated—a gift  at  that  time  munificent,  as  cattle  were  valued,  and  evi- 
dently appreciated  by  the  recipients.  Mr.  Hallet  is  described  in  the 
records  as  a  "  gentleman,"  a  term  which  then  carried  with  it  high 
social  consideration.  His  children  were:  Andrew,  Samuel,  Hannah, 
Josias,  and  Joseph.     He  died  about  the  year  1647. 

Andrew  Hallet,  jr.,  came  over  in  1636,  nominally  as  a  "  servant "  of 
Richard  Wade — a  title  assumed  for  convenience — and  was  first  in  Lynn, 
and  subsequently  in  Sandwich.  He  sold  his  house  in  that  town  in  1 640 
and  in  1642  bought  the  Giles  Hopkins  house,  the  first  built  in  town.  He 
afterward  built  a  house  on  the  knoll,  a  few  feet  northerly  of  the  present 
residence  of  Captain  Charles  Basset.  He  purchased  eighteen  acres  to 
the  eastward  of  his  house  lot,  of  Nicholas  Simpkins,  and  the  farm  of 
Robert  Dennis  on  the  southwest.  By  subsequent  purchases  he  became 
the  proprietor  of  some  three  hundred  acres  of  the  best  tillage  and 
pasture  land  in  town,  owning  from  Barnstable  line  to  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  easterly  on  both  sides  of  Hallet  street,  named  for  his  family, 
He  died  in  1684,  aged  seventy-six,  his  wife  Anne,  daughter  of  An- 
thony Besse  of  Sandwich,  surviving  him. 

Edward  Sturgis  was  a  man  of  wealth  and  .social  prominence.  He 
was  in  Charlestown  in  1634,  and  con.stable  in  Yarmouth  in  1641.  He 
kept  an  ordinary  and  sold  large  quantities  of  liquors,  which  our 
fathers  consumed.  His  residence  was  northerly  of  the  old  burying 
ground.  He  died  in  Sandwich  in  1695.  Among  his  descendants  are 
the  late  President  Quincy  of  Harvard  College,  John  Quincy  Adams, 
and  other  distinguished  personages. 

Mr.  Edmund  Hawes  came  to  this  country  in  the  James  in  April, 
1635.  He  registered  as  a  "  cutler."  He  resided  some  time  in  Dux- 
bury,  and  came  to  Yarmouth  in  1645.  His  residence  was  on  the  lot 
in  the  rear  of  the  store  of  J.  Knowles  &  Co.  He  survived  nearly  all 
the  first- settlers,  dying  in  1693,  at  the  age  of  about  eighty  years. 

William  Chase  was  a  member  of  the  company  of  Rev.  Mr.  Bachilor, 
who, in  1 638,  made  the  first  attempt  to  settle  in  what  was  afterward  a  part 
of  Barnstable.  He  was  appointed  the  first  constable  in  town,  but  was 
deposed  at  the  end  of  six  months,  not  being  in  sympathy  with  the 
people  of  the  town.  In  1040  he  was  censured  by  the  court,  for  his 
language  against  the  minister,  and  ordered  to  depart  the  colony  in  six 


458  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

months,  but  the  order  was  not  enforced.  His  numerous  descendants 
in  this  section  are  derived  from  John,  second  son  of  William,  jr.,  who 
came  with  his  father  from  England. 

John  Gorham  came  to  this  town  from  Marshfield  in  1652,  and  pur- 
chased the  house  of  Andrew  Hallet,  sr.  He  was  a  native  of  Benefield, 
Northamptonshire,  where  he  was  born  in  1621.  With  Mr.  Hallet's 
house  he  bought  a  part  of  his  farm  in  Yarmouth  and  Barnstable,  the 
grist  mill  at  Stoney  Cove,  and  carried  on  a  tannery  on  the  borders  of 
the  pond,  below  the  residence  of  Patrick  Keveney.  He  commanded 
the  military  company  in  town.  In  June,  1675,  Captain  Gorham  and 
twenty-five  men  from  Yarmouth  "  took  up  their  first  march  for  Mount 
Hope,"  and  saw  considerable  service.  In  October  he  was  appointed 
captain  of  the  second  company  of  Plymouth  colony  forces,  was  engaged 
in  the  sanguinary  fight  in  the  Swamp  fort,  December  19th,  and  died 
at  Swansey,  from  fever  contracted  in  consequence  of  exposure  during 
that  campaign,  February  5,  16.76,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five  years.  He 
left  a  family  of  eleven  children,  from  whom  have  descended  the  fami- 
lies in  this  and  the  neighboring  towns.  The  Gorhams  have  been 
prominent  in  public  affairs  in  both  Yarmouth  and  Barnstable. 

William  Nickerson  came  from  Norwich,  England,  to  Watertown, 
in  1637,  and  was  in  Yarmouth  as  early  as  1641,  when  with  others  he 
was  fined  for  "  disrespect  for  religion,"  which  meant,  for  Rev.  Mr. 
Matthews.  But  there  seems  no  good  ground  for  doubting  the  recti- 
tude of  his  conduct  or  his  respectable  character.  He  removed  tO' 
Chatham  in  1666  and  settled  that  town. 

James  Matthews  was  in  Charlestown  in  1634,  and  probably  re- 
moved to  Yarmouth  with  the  first  comers,  in  1639.  The  family  was 
doubtless  from  Tewksbury,in  Gloucestershire.  Mr.  Matthews  settled 
near  the  westerly  borders  of  Pollen's  pond.  His  male  children  werer 
Samuel,  Benjamin,  and  probably  Thomas,  William  and  John.  He 
died  January  29,  1685. 

There  were  two  Richard  Taylors  early  in  town,  both  of  whom^ 
were  enrolled  among  those  able  to  bear  arms  in  1643,  and  both  had 
wives  named  Ruth.  To  distinguish  them,  one  was  called  Richard 
Taylor,  tailor  from  his  occupation,  and  the  other  Richard  Rock,  from 
the  circumstance  that  his  house  was  built  beside  a  great  rock.  The 
first  Richard,  in  the  year  1646,  had  a  diflEiculty  with  Gabriel  Whelden, 
who  objected  to  his  marriage  with  Whelden's  daughter  Ruth,*and  the 
court  took  cognizance  of  the  matter.  This  new  style  of  courting  suc- 
ceeded and  Whelden's  consent  was  followed  by  the  marriage.  The 
Taylors  of  Chatham  are  descended  from  this  Richard.  The  Taylors  of 
Yarmouth  are  from  "  Richard  Rock,"  who  married  Ruth  Burgess. 
He  was  constable  in  1656  and  1668,  surveyor  of  highway  in  1667,  ex- 
cise officer  in  1664,  and  on  the  grand  jury  in  1685. 


TOWN   OF   YARMOUTH.  459 

William  Hedge  was  a  freeman  at  Lynn  in  May,  1634;  removed  to 
Sandwich,  and  from  thence  to  Yarmouth,  where  he  was  settled  as 
early  as  1643.  He  is  favorably  mentioned  by  a  soldier  in  the  Pequot 
war,  who  served  with  him,  as  a  gentleman,  of  Northamptonshire, 
England.  He  was  several  times  captain  of  the  military  company  in 
this  town,  a  member  of  the  grand  inquest,  and  of  the  council  of  war. 
He  lived  near  the  old  church  in  this  town,  now  the  post  office.  He 
died  in  1670,  leaving  five  children:  Abraham,  Elisha,  William,  John 
and  Lemuel.  The  family  is  not  numerous  in  Yarmouth,  but  is  well 
represented  in  Dennis. 

Emanuel  White  was  in  Yarmouth  in  1641.  He  was  involved  in 
the  ministerial  quarrel  of  the  time,  and  in  1646,  was  fined  by  the  court 
for  villifying  Rev.  John  Miller,  a  short  and  summary  process  to  which 
our  fathers  usually  resorted,  to  silence  opposition  to  the  established 
religious  order  of  things.  The  Whites  of  this  town  are  not  his  de- 
scendants, but  of  Jonathan,  who  came  here  later. 

John  Joyce  removed  from  Lynn  to  Sandwich  in  1637,  and  thence 
to  Yarmouth  in  1643.  He  was  a  man  of  wealth,  residing  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Hockanom.  He  died  in  1666.  The  family  name  became  ex- 
tinct in  1766  by  the  death  of  Jeremiah,  his  great-grandson. 

Richard  Berry  was  of  Barnstable  in  1643,  removed  to  Boston  in 
1647,  and  thence  to  Yarmouth,  where  he  resided  in  1649.  He  lived 
near  the  mouth  of  Bass  river,  and  came  under  the  discipline  of  the 
authorities  on  several  occasions.  He  had  eleven  children,  who  were, 
as  far  as  known,  of  exemplary  character,  and  his  sons,  John  and  Sam- 
uel, from  whom  those  of  the  name  in  this  town  were  derived,  were 
useful  citizens. 

It  has  sometimes  been  assumed,  without  sufficient  evidence,  that 
Yelverton  Crow  was  a  brother  of  John,  one  of  the  grantees  of  the 
town.  He  was  one  on  the  list  of  those  able  to  bear  arms  in  1643,  was 
a  grand  juryman  in  le.^e,  deputy  and  selectman  later,  and  died  in 
1683.  He  lived  at  "South  Sea,"  near  Lewis's  bay  and  had  a  son, 
Thomas,  who  had  numerous  descendants. 

Robert  Dennis  was  in  Yarmouth  in  1641.  In  1645  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  grand  inquest.  In  1648  he  was  appointed  on  the  commit- 
tee of  the  town  to  dispose  of  the  common  lands;  in  1658  was  one  of 
the  committee  to  settle  with  the  sachem  Yauno;  was  afterward  excise 
officer,  and  committee  on  the  part  of  the  town  for  oil  claimed  by  the 
colony.  He  died  in  1669,  leaving  one  daughter,  but  no  male  heirs. 
Dennis  pond,  adjoining  which  he  owned  lands,  is  named  for  him. 

Besides  these  men  others  were  here  as  temporary  residents,  among 
them  John  and  Joshua  Barnes,  Richard  Pritchard,  Daniel  and  Job 
Cole,  William  Clark,  Giles  Hopkins,  Thomas  Hatch,  Rev.  Samuel 
Arnold,  Thomas  Boardman,  William  Palmer,  Richard  Hoar,  Thomas 
Payne  and  John  Gray. 


460  HISTORY  OF-  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

When  the  scattered  communities  which  composed  the  Plymouth 
colony  took  upon  themselves  a  quasi  legislative  form  of  government, 
Yarmouth,  with  the  others,  joined  the  association  and  sent  her  depu- 
ties to  the  colonial  legislature.  From  that  circumstance  her  incorpor- 
ation— for  she  never  had  any  other — is  usually  dated  as  September  3, 
1639,  when  she  became  one  of  the  represented  towns  in  the  colony 
court. 

Expeditions  against  the  Indians  were  sent  out  by  the  colony  court 
in  1642  and  again  in  1645,  the  dreaded  Narragansetts  causing  much 
uneasiness  by  their  unfriendly  attitude.  The  first  year  Yarmouth 
furnished  two  soldiers,  and  of  the  second  expedition  she  furnished 
five.  They  were  absent  fourteen  days  and  saw  but  little  service. 
This  "  war  "  cost  Yarmouth  £■?,  2s.,  6d.  How  much  of  a  community 
the  town  had  become  may  be  gathered  from  the  lists  of  those  capable 
•of  bearing  arms  and  the  freemen  in  1643. 

The  fifty-two  bearing  arms  were:  Anthony  Berry,  Thomas  Bore- 
man.  James  Bursell,  John  Burstall,  William  Chase,  sr.,  William  Chase, 
jr.,  Daniel  Cole,  Job  Cole,  John  Crow,  Yelverton  Crow,  Robert  Davis, 
Robert  Dennis,  John  Derby,  William  Edge  [Hedge?],  Roger  Else 
£Ellis?],  Thomas  Falland,  Thomas  Flawne,  William  Grause,  John  Gray, 
Benjamin  Hammon,  Andrew  Hallet,  sr.,  Andrew  Hallet,  jr.,  Hugh 
Tilley,  William  Twining,  Henry  Whelden,  Samuel  Williams,  Samuel 
Hallet,  Richard  Hoar,  Thomas  Howes,  Tristram  Hull,  John  Joyce, 
William  Lumpkin,  James  Matthews,  Mr.  Martin  Matthews,  William 
Nicorson,  Hugh  Norman,  William  Norcutt,  William  Palmer,  Thomas 
Payne,  William  Pearse,  Richard  Pritchett,  Samuel  Ryder,  Richard 
•Sears,  Thomas  Starr,  Edward  Sturgis,  Nicholas  Simpkins,  Richard 
Taylor,  Richard  Templar,  Anthony  Thacher,  Nicholas  Wadibone, 
Emanuel  White,  Peter  Worden.  The  sixteen  Freemen  of  the  town 
were:  Thomas  Payne,  Philip  Tabor,  Mr.  Anthony  Thacher,  Mr.  John 
Crow,  William  Palmer,  William  Nicholson,  Mr.  Marmaduke  Matthews, 
Thomas  Falland,  Richard  Hore,  Emanuel  White,  James  Matthews, 
Richard  Prichard,  Edmund  Hawes,  Daniell  Cole,  Job  Cole,  Thomas 
Howes. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  settlement  there  had  been  a  great  deal 
of  bitter  feeling  in  relation  to  the  division  of  the  lands.  The  three 
grantees  were  directed  to  make  "  an  equal  division  of  the  lands  "  "to 
each  man  according  to  his  estate  and  quality."  To.  perform  this  duty 
satisfactorily  was  manifestly  impossible,  because,  although  his  estate 
might  be  estimated,  it  would  be  difficult  to  say  what  one's  quality  was 
in  a  new  place  and  among  new  men.  Another  committee  was 
appointed  from  among  the  townsmen,  but  they  did  not  succeed  in 
allaying  the  discontent.  Then  Captain  Standish  was  joined  to  the 
former  committees,  and  they  succeeded  no  better.     The  difficulties 


TOWN   OF   YARMOUTH.  461 

increasing,  Captain  Standish  alone  was  appointed  in  1648,  by  the  court,, 
to  "  have  a  hearing  and  put  an  end  to  all  differences  "  on  this  subject. 
The  fiery  captain  showed  the  same  pluck  and  decision  in  this  matter 
that  he  exhibited  in  warlike  exploits,  and  adopted  decidedly  heroic 
remedies.  Many  parties  were  ejected  from  lands  claimed  and  occu- 
pied by  them.  Most  of  the  former  grants  were  abrogated  and  the 
lands  reverted  to  the  possession  of  the  town.  They  were  then  re- 
assigned agreeably  to  the  views  of  the  commissioner.  There  was  no 
appeal,  and  smothering  their  resentment  as  best  they  might,  the 
townsmen  submitted  from  compulsion.  Thus  was  ended  one  of  the 
potent  causes  of  internal  discontent  in  the  community. 

The  causes  for  public  concern  was'suflBcent  to  keep  the  people  fully 
employed.  The  ministerial  wrangles,  the,taxation  to  support  Eel  River 
bridge,  and  the  threatening  conduct  of  the  Dutch  at  New  Northlands 
were  sources  of  continual  controversy.  In  1663  Sergeant  Ryder  and 
John  Gorham  were  sent  by  the  townjto  attend  a  council  of  war,  and  of 
the  sixty  men  which  the  colony  voted  to  raise,  six  were  assigned  as 
the  quota  to  Yarmouth.  The  next  year  the  number  was  four,  and 
there  was  another  call  for  a  like  number. 

The  action  of  the  court  in  relation  to  this  town  about  this  period 
throws  some  side  lights  upon  the  occupations,  resources  and  public 
interests  and  concerns  of  the  people.  In  1661  the  colonial  authorities 
and  the  towns  came  to  an  agreement,  by  which  two  barrels  of  oil  from 
every  whale  secured  in  town  should  be  delivered  to  the  treasurer  of 
the  colony.  Richard  Child  was  warned  to  desist  from  building  a  cot- 
tage in  town.  This  matter  of  "  warning  out  of  town "  undesirable 
settlers  may  seem  harsh,  in  a  new  country  with  plenty  of  land;  but  it 
was  in  accordance  with  sound  public  policy  at  that  time.  If  Child 
had  been  permitted  to  build  without  protest,  he  would  have  acquired 
a  personal  right  in  the  common  lands,  a  tenement  right  and  a  claim 
for  public  relief  for  himself  and  family  if  unfortunate  in  his  business. 

In  November,  1667,  in  relation  to  attendance  upon  town  meetings,  it 
was  voted,  "  that  if  any  townsman  doth  not  make  his  appearance  upon 
the  second  call  to  answer  to  his  name,  he  shall  be  fined  6d,  unless  the 
townsmen  accept  his  excuse."  The  former  regulations  relating  to 
ordinaries  and  ordinary  keepers  were  reaffirmed  and  more  accurately 
defined,  and  John  Howes  and  Anthony  Fray  were  appointed  for  this 
town  to  enforce  the  laws  on  this  subject.  Edward  Sturgis,  a  leading 
citizen,  gave  dissatisfaction  by  his  indiscriminate  sale  of  spirituous 
liquors,  and  his  license  to  keep  an  ordinany  was  revoked.  It  was  also 
voted  that  "every  ratable  person  in  town  shall  kill,  or  cause  to  be 
killed,  six  black  birds  or  crows,  by  the  last  of  July  next,  or  else  pay 
2s.,  6d.  for  his  neglect."  The  town,  in  1679,  also  appointed  a  committee 
to  collect  the  minister's  salary.  "  so  that  he  may  not  remain  unpaid  of 


462  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

his  due,  to  the  blemish  of  the  town."  In  1680  the  townspeople  agreed 
with  certain  parties  "  to  look  out  for  and  secure  the  town  all  such 
whales  as  by  God's  providence  shall  be  cast  up  in  their  several  bounds," 
for  the  sum  of  four  pounds  a  whale,  to  be  paid  in  blubber  or  oil.  An 
invoice  of  liquors  brought  into  the  town  in  1662,  shows  that  six  diflfer- 
ent  persons  imported  one  hundred  and  twelve  gallons.  In  1663  ten 
persons  brought  here  ninety-seven  gallons,  nine  cases  and  a  quarter 
cask.  As  a  result,  at  the  next  term  of  the  court,  notice  was  taken  of 
"  much  abuse  of  liquors  in  the  town  of  Yarmouth,"  and  the  next  year 
two  prominent  citizens  were  fined  for  bringing  in  liquors  without  sea- 
sonably notifying  the  inspectors. 

All  the  citizens  of  the  town  do  not  appear  to  have  been  saints,  and 
frequently  some  of  them  were  disciplined  by  the  court.  In  1663  Jonas 
Hallet,  Thomas  Starr  and  two  others,  of  Yarmouth,  went  to  the  house 
of  John  Doane,  jr.,  of  Eastham,  and  finding  no  one  at  home,  ransacked 
the  house  for  liquors,  which  they  drank,  and  then  wrote  "  a  libellous 
and  scandalous  paper  of  verses,"  which  they  left  there.  They  were 
fined  fifty  shillings  each,  and  their  two  associates  thirty  shillings 
each.  Nicholas  Nickerson,  for  making  opprobrious  speeches  against 
Rev.  Thomas  Thornton,  saying  of  a  certain  sermon,  that  "half  of  it 
was  lies,"  was  obliged  to  retract  and  express  regret,  though  it  is 
doubtful  if  he  felt  it.  In  1669  sundry  persons  were  fined  five  shil- 
lings each,  "  for  smoking  tobacco  at  the  end  of  Yarmouth  meeting 
house,  during  the  Lord's  day,  in  the  time  of  exercise."  In  1671  three 
persons  of  Yarmouth  were  fined  thirty  shillings  each,  "for  sailing 
from  Yarmouth  to  Boston  on  the  Lord's  day,"  and  three  others  were 
summoned  to  appear  to  answer  a  like  accusation.  One  person  was 
fined  for  "  swearing." 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  freemen  in  1670:  Mr.  John  Crow, 
Thomas  Falland,  Emanuel  White,  James  Matthews,  Mr.  Edmund 
Hawes,  Mr.  John  Vincent,  Jeremiah  Howes,  John  Miller,  Edward 
Sturgis,  sr.,  Richard  Sears,  Yelverton  Crow,  Joseph  Howes,  John 
Thacher,  Henry  Vincent,  Samuel  Sturgis,  Judah  Thacher,  Thomas 
Howes,  John  Hawes,  Kenelme  Winslow.  In  1674  the  house  of  Ed- 
ward Hawes,  the  town  clerk,  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  with  it  the 
entire  town  records.  No  attempt  was  ever  made  to  repair  this  loss, 
and  much  valuable  information  is  thereby  lost  to  the  descendants  of 
that  and  previous  generations.  The  new  book  of  records  opens  with 
a  list  of  the  soldiers  of  Yarmouth  who  were  pressed  into  the  service 
in  Philip's  war,  together  with  their  wages.  The  quotas  of  men  re- 
quired were  promptly  filled.  Fifteen  men  from  this  town  were  in  the 
Narragansett  swamp  fight,  but  none  were  killed.  Five  men  from 
this  town  were  killed  at  Rehoboth,  in  the  fight  in  which  Captain 
Pierce's  company  was  annihilated.     The  pecuniary  burden  on  the 


TOWN   OF  YARMOUTH.  463 

town  was  great.  During  the  years  1676-'76  war  taxes  were  assessed 
as  follows:    ;^74,  15s.,  6d.;  ;^14;  ;^266,  Is.;  ;^297. 

Philip's  war  did  not,  by  any  means,  finish  the  troubles  connected 
with  the  Indian  question.  The  seat  of  hostilities  was  transferred 
to  Maine  and  New  Hampshire,  and  in  1689  Yarmouth  was  obliged  to 
pay  forty-one  pounds  as  her  proportion  of  the  war  against  the  East- 
ern Indians.  In  1690  she  furnished  at  one  time  four,  and  at  another 
ten  men,  and  paid  ;^104,  2s.,  9d.,  of  the  debt  of  what  was  styled  Wil- 
liam and  Mary's  War.  Yarmouth  in  1690  was  regarded  by  the  asses- 
sors— or  "  rate-makers,"  as  they  were  styled  in  those  days — as  the 
fourth  town  of  the  twenty  in  the  colony  in  point  of  valuation,  those 
ranking  higher  being  Plymouth,  Scituate  and  Barnstable  only.  As 
an  important  town  in  the  colony,  she  had  her  share  of  anxieties  and 
tribulations  in  connection  with  the  complications  in  the  other  colon- 
ies and  in  the  mother  country. 

In  1694,  Captain  John  Thacher,  Lieutenant  Silas  Sears,  John 
Miller,  and  Sergeant  Joseph  Ryder  were  appointed  to  "  seat  the  men 
and  women  and  others  in  the  meeting  house."  The  seating  of  a  con- 
gregation was  an  important  and  a  delicate  matter.  Seats  were  as- 
signed according  to  rank,  social  position,  wealth  and  other  public 
considerations,  and  it  was  not,  at  all  times,  an  easy  task  to  satisfy  the 
expectations  of  a  society  in  this  respect.  In  1695  John  Taylor  was 
appointed  to  take  care  of  the  meeting  house,  for  one  year,  for  which 
service  he  was  to  receive  one  pound.  It  was  also  agreed  that  "  each 
townsman  shall  give  and  haul  to  the  minister  one  load  of  wood." 
John  Thacher,  Thomas  Sturgis,  and  William  Hedge  were  granted 
leave  to  set  up  a  wind  mill  on  the  commons,  to  use  one  acre  of  land, 
for  the  site,  the  mill  not  to  be  rated.  The  Quakers'  .scruples  were 
respected,  when  it  was  ordered  that  they  "  be  rated  for  the  support 
of  the  ministry,  but  that  the  tax  be  made  so  much  larger,  that  Mr. 
Cotton  may  have  his  full  salary."  Major  Thacher  and  Zachariah 
Paddock  were  appointed  to  join  the  selectmen,  to  run  a  line  between 
the  town  and  "  the  purchasers  "  of  the  town  of  Harwich.  John  Clark 
was  engaged  in  1700  for  school  master,  to  have  besides  his  salary  pro- 
vision for  keeping  his  horse,  his  circuit  being  so  extended  as  to  re- 
quire that  facility.  In  1701  John  Miller  was  chosen  representative, 
to  have  3s.,  6d.,  per  day,  and  to  be  allowed  two  extra  days  for  travel, 
"  in  consideration  of  his  age  and  the  greatness  of  the  journey." 

The  division  of  the  common  lands  of  the  town  was  initiated  in 
1710.  After  the  division  made  by  Captain  Standish  in  1648,  there 
appears  to  have  been  substantially  no  change  in  the  system  of  allot- 
ing  the  common  property  of  the  townsmen  until  1672,  when  grants 
were  authorized  by  the  court,  and  the  book  containing  these  awards 
contains  this  inscription:  "  John  Thacher  was  appointed  to  keep  this 


464  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

book  and  enter  records  therein."  The  committee  were:  Edmund 
Hawes,  Thomas  Boardman,  Thomas  Howes,  Andrew  Hallet,  and 
John  Thacher.  Afterward  the  court  added  Jeremiah  Howes  and 
John  Miller  in  place  of  Captain  Howes  and  Andrew  Hallet.  These 
persons  granted  pieces  of  marsh  and  upland  to  a  limited  extent,  but 
the  original  estates  had  been  subdivided,  the  people  had  increased, 
and  were  getting  cramped  for  land. 

In  February,  1710,  the  town  chose  as  a  committee  to  consider  and 
report  upon  some  plan  of  division.  Colonel  Thacher,  John  Hallet, 
Samuel  Sturgis,  Joseph  Hall,  and  Zachariah  Paddock,  jr.  In  April 
the  committee's  report  was  accepted  by  the  town.  They  recom- 
mended that  the  division  be  made  on  the  following  plan,  viz.:  "1st. 
That  one-third  of  the  commons  shall  be  apportioned  to  tenements, 
the  owners  to  be  inhabitants  of  the  town,  or  the  children  or  successors 
of  those  now  inhabitants  who  have  tenement  rights,  or  of  those  who 
were  freeholders  in  1661,  and  had  borne  charge  in  settling  the  town, 
and  that  no  person  should  have  to  exceed  two.  tenement  rights.  2d. 
One-third  to  all  persons  21  years  of  age  and  over,  born  in  town  and  now 
inhabitants,  or  those  not  born  here  who  have  been  inhabitants  21  years, 
and  have  possessed  a  tenement  21  years.  3d.  One-third,  according  to  real 
estate,  as  each  person  was  rated  in  1709."  A  committee  was  then  chosen 
to  report  a  list  of  persons  in  town  entitled  to  a  portion  of  the  public  lands 
and  the  number  of  shares  to  which  each  was  entitled.  The  committee's 
report  of  May  23d  was  confirmed,  and  in  February,  1711,  the  proprie- 
tors met,  and  agreed  that  two-thirds  of  the  undivided  lands  be  laid 
out  to  the  individual  proprietors.  The  committee  were  also  author- 
ized to  lay  out  such  highways  and  private  ways  in  those  undivided 
lots  as  they  deemed  proper.  The  whole  number  of  shares  was  3,135 
(afterward  altered  to  3,1 18).  The  proprietors'  clerk  was  directed  to 
make  out  a  list  of  proprietors  from  the  town  book  and  record  them. 
By  a  general  average,  nine  shares  were  assigned  to  each  tenement 
right,  and  7i  to  each  personal  right.  No  person  was  to  have  more 
than  two  of  the  former,  and  there  were  only  four  persons  in  town 
found  to  be  entitled  to  more  than  one.  All  the  residue  over  the  tene- 
ment and  personal  rights  was  on  account  of  proportionate  ownership 
in  the  taxable  real  estate  in  town.  The  division  was  made  by  lot, 
and  the  drawings  were  completed  during  the  summer  of  1712.  A 
large  portion  of  these  lots  have  remained  in  the  families  of  the  first 
owners  down  to  the  present  time. 

Before  making  the  third  and  final  division  it  was  voted  at  a  pro- 
prietors'meeting  held  July  1,  1713,  "  that  a  piece  of  land  and  beach 
lying  near  Coy's  pond,  about  two  acres,  shall  lie  undivided  for  the 
benefit  of  the  whalemen  of  the  town  of  Yarmouth  forever."  It  was 
also  voted  that  "the   committee  chosen  to  lay  out  the  third  of  the 


TOWN  OF  YARMOUTH.  465 

undivided  lands  shall  have  power  to  lay  out  a  certain  tract,  as  much 
as  they  shall  see  fit  and  convenient  for  the  native  Indians  of  the  town 
to  live  upon,  they  agreeing  with  the  Indians  where  to  lay  out  such 
land,  which  land  is  to  lie  for  their  use  forever,  to  live  upon  and  for 
planting  and  firewood.  And  the  Indians  shall  not  have  any  power 
to  sell  or  dispose  of  said  lands  or  timber,  wood  or  fencing  stuff  that 
grows  thereon,  or  receive  any  other  town's  Indians  or  any  other  per- 
sons whatsoever,  either  English  or  Indians."  The  division  made  by 
lot  July  1,4,  1715,  absorbed  the  great  bulk  of  the  common  lands  ex- 
cept the  few  spots  reserved,  as  already  indicated.  The  locality  re- 
served for"  the  use  and  occupation  of  the  Indians  is  particularly  de- 
scribed in  the  proprietors'  records,  and  is  substantially  the  present 
village  of  South  Yarmouth,  contiguous  to  the  streams  and  shell  fish- 
eries, which  the  Indian  prized  so  highly. 

About  1726  commenced  a  movement  from  the  Cape  to  seek  new 
homes — this  time  toward  the  province  of  Maine.  The  division  of  the 
common  lands  had  not  satisfied  the  desires  of  the  landless  classes, 
and  ttie  legislature  of  1727  having  granted  the  heirs  of  each  of  the  120 
soldiers  in  the  Narragansett  expedition  during  Philip's  war,  a  town- 
ship in  Maine,  about  forty  heirs  and  their  families  in  1736  settled  the 
town  of  Gorham,  Me. 

No  sooner  was  the  last  of  the  French  wars  ended  than  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  colonies  with  the  mother  country  began  to  thicken,  and 
the  people  of  this  town  not  only  shared  in  the  general  discontent, 
but  made  their  dissatisfaction  known  by  their  acts.  There  was  a 
patiotic  body,  here  as  elsewhere,  called  the  Sons  of  Liberty,  who  met 
usually  in  the  night  time  and  made  the  few  loyalists  and  those  sus- 
pected of  being  such,  very  unhappy.  Two  "liberty  poles"  were 
erected  in  the  West  parish  bounds,  one  on  the  hill  in  the  rear  of  the 
present  residence  of  David  G.  Eldridge,  then  called  Liberty  hill, 
and  another  in  front  of  the  meeting  house,  now  occupied  by  the 
post  office.  Any  one  found  guilty  of  drinking  taxed  tea,  or  of  mak- 
ing impudent  remarks,  was  required  to  dance  around  these  liberty 
poles  and  make  solemn  recantation  of  their  errors  and  promises  of 
amendment.  In  1774  the  West  parish  contributed  £B,  6s.,  8d.,  to  the 
Bo.ston  sufferers  by  the  port  bill,  and  a  large  committee  was  chosen 
"on  observation  and  prevention,"  of  which  Captain  Elisha  Basset, 
Stephen  Hallet,  Joseph  Griffeth  and  Joseph  Crowell  were  members. 
Enoch  Hallet,  Joseph  Griffeth  and  Isaac  Matthews,  jr.,  were  chosen 
delegates  to  the  county  congress,  to  meet  at  Barnstable.  Barnabas 
Eldridge,  Reuben  Taylor,  Abner  Crowell,  Isaac  Hallet,  Edmund  Bray 
and  Samuel  Eldridge  were  appointed  a  committee  "  to  see  that,  no 
tea  is  consumed  in  Yarmouth."  Enoch  Hallet  and  Daniel  Taylor 
were  chosen  members  of  the  "  standing  committee."  When  the 
80 


466  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

alarm  of  the  country  was  sounded  by  the  demonstration  upon  Lex- 
ington and  Concord,  the  town's  militia  started  out  for  the  scene  of 
operations,  the  western  company  under  Captain  Jonathan  Crowell 
mustering  sixty  oflBcers  and  men.  They  had  not  proceeded  far  be- 
fore intelligence  of  the  rout  and  retreat  of  the  British  troops  reached 
them  and  they  returned  home.  A  "committee  of  safety"  was  ap- 
pointed in  1775  and  was  "  indefinitely  continued." 

General  Washington,  having  early  in  1776  determined  upon  the 
expulsion  of  the  British  from  Boston,  wrote  to  the  council  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  submitting  to  their  wisdom  "  whether  it  may  not  be 
best  to  direct  the  militia  of  certain  towns,  contiguous  to  Dorchester 
and  Roxbury  to  repair  to  the  line  at  those  places  with  arms,  ammu- 
nition and  accoutrements,  instantly,  upon  a  given  signal,"  and  the  sug- 
gestion was  favorably  received.  Yarmouth  was  one  of  the  towns 
called  upon.  Captain  Joshua  Gray,  who  commanded  the  militia,  at 
once  set  forth,  accompanied  by  a  drummer,  to  call  for  volunteers. 
Every  one  was  ready  and  willing  to  go.  The  night  was  spent  in  prepa- 
ration. In  the  chamber  of  the  ancient  house  now  standing  at  the 
corner  of  Hallet  and  Wharf  streets,  the  mothers  and  daughters  spent 
the  night  in  moulding  bullets  and  making  cartridges,  and  at  early 
dawn  eighty-one  tnen,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Gray,  were  on 
the  march  for  Dorchester. 

A  meeting  was  held  June  20,  1776,  in  which  it  was  unanimously 
"Voted,  that  the  inhabitants  of  Yarmouth  do  declare  a  state  of  independ- 
ance  of  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  agreeably  to  a  late  resolve  of  the 
General  Court,  if  in  case  the  wisdom  of  Congress  should  see  proper 
to  do  it."  This  resolve  they  did  thei;-  part  to  carry  out,  so  far  as  laid 
in  their  power.  Their  men  nearly  all  joined  the  patriot  army.  Their 
commerce  and  fisheries  were  destroyed,  and  they  suffered  untold  hard- 
ships and  privations  for  seven  long  years. 

About  this  time  that  portion  of  South  Yarmouth  now  most  thickly 
settled,  which  had  heretofore  been  known  as  "  Indian  Town,"  was 
placed  in  the  market  and  soon  developed  by  an  enterprising  and  in- 
telligent population. 

April  10, 1783,  a  new  schooner,  called  the  Perseverance,  was  launched 
in  town,  and  a  party  of  young  persons  went  out  in  her  on  an  excur- 
sion. Being  without  ballast,  when  in  the  channel  off  Beach  Point,  she 
, capsized,  and  Miss  Anna  Hawes,  a  young  lady  of  seventeen,  sister  of 
the  late  Dea.  Joseph  Hawes,  was  drowned.  In  1789  occurred  a  dis- 
astrous shipwreck,  involving  the  loss  of  the  lives  of  seven  people 
belonging  to  this  town.  A  new  fishing  schooner,  mostly  owned  by  a 
Mr.  Evans,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  was  lost  in  a  gale,  on  Nantucket  shoals, 
with  all  on  board.     Their  names  were:    Howes  Hallet,  master,  Josiah 


TOWN  OF  YARMOUTH.  467 

Hallet,  Daniel  Hallet,  Levi  Hallet,  Joseph  Hallet,  Josiah  Miller  and 
Moody  Sears,  all  of  Yarmouth. 

One  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  civil  economy  of  Old  Yarmouth  may 
appropriately  be  noted  in  connection  with  the  events  preceding  the 
division  of  the  town.  During  the  war  it  was  customary  to  transact 
the  public  business  by  parishes.  The  people  became  so  used  to  transact- 
ing public  business  in  this  way,  that  it  was  thought  best  to  make  two 
townships  of  Old  Yarmouth,  and  by  a  vote  of  eighty -six  to  four,  they 
decided  to  devide  the  town.  The  act  of  separation  passed  June  19, 
1793,  and  took  effect  in-  February  following. 

The  year  of  the  final  separation,  the  "South  Sea"  or  West  Yar- 
mouth parish  was  also  set  off,  as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the 
church  history.  Party  spirit  raged  at  the  time  as  it  had  never  before 
done.  Yarmouth  was  an  intensely  Federal  town,  and  the  adherents 
of  Mr.  Jefferson  were  regarded  as  Jacobins  and  infidels.  It  was  for- 
tunate for  the  peace  of  the  town  that  there  was  so  few  of  them  here. 
In  1797,  and  for  several  years  afterward,  small-pox  again  raged  in 
town,  and  a  hospital  for  inoculation  was  established  at  Great  island, 
now  known  as  Point  Gammon,  In  1S08  permission  was  granted  to 
David  Kelley  and  others  to  build  a  draw-bridge  over  Bass  river,  be- 
tween Yarmouth  and  Dennis. 

These  were  the  most  important  acts  and  votes  of  purely  domestic 
concern.  The  relations  of  the  town  to  the  attitude  of  the  general  gov- 
ernment were  of  an  important  character.  The  position  of  the  admin- 
istration on  the  subject  of  our  commercial  policy  was  very  obnoxious 
to  our  people,  who  felt  that  it  was  destroying  their  shipping  interests 
and  sapping  the  foundations  of  their  prosperity.  The  embargo,  the 
non-intercourse  act,  and  all  the  measures  adopted  by  the  government, 
under  the  pretext  of  vindicating  our  rights  as  a  commercial  commun- 
ity, seemed  to  them  to  have  an  exactly  opposite  influence  and  tenden- 
cy. The  ships  were  rotting  at  their  docks,  and  the  men  out  of  em- 
ployment. Individuals,  and  the  town  as  a  corporate  body,  protested 
against  the  policy  adopted.  A  town  meeting,  held  August  29,  1808, 
petitioned  congress  to  suspend  the  embargo;  and  the  town  repeated 
the  action  in  February,  1809.  July  8,  1812,  twenty  days  after  the  de- 
claration of  war,  the  town  put  on  record  a  protest  against  the  act. 
The  vote  of  the  town  for  governor  in  April,  1813,  was  265  for  Caleb 
Strong,  the  anti-war,  federal  candidate,  and  twenty-three  for  Joseph 
B.  Varnum,  the  war,  administration  candidate.  Brewster,  which  town 
had  been  served  with  a  demand  by  the  British  naval  commander  for 
$4,000,  sent  a  committee  to  Yarmouth  to  solicit  aid.  The  town  was 
called  together  on  Sunday,  and  appointed  a  committee  to  inquire  into 
any  similar  errand  or  demand,  if  made  upon  this  town,  but  nothing 
further  transpired  in  relation  thereto. 


468  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

In  1814,  Great  Britain,  being  freed  from  her  continental  embar- 
rassments, sent  a  large  fleet  to  the  New  England  coast,  which  kept 
our  coasting  and  fishing  vessels  within  their  harbors,  and  nearly  de- 
stroyed the  remaining  industries  of  the  town. 

Alarms  were  frequent,  and  the  militia  were  constantly  liable  to  be 
called  out.  On  one  occasion  the  Yarmouth  company  was  a  day  and 
night  in  Barnstable,  which  was  supposed  to  be  threatened  with  an  at- 
tack, and  bivouacked  in  the  court  house.  It  was  once  or  twice,  under 
the  same  circumstances,  marched  to  the  south  side,  which  was  threat- 
ened by  a  visit  from  the  invaders.  Party  spirit  ran  high,  and  the 
people  of  the  town  refused  to  take  any  other  part  in  the  hostilities 
than  to  repel  invasion.  Many  of  those  who  had  fought  and  sufifered 
in  the  revolutionary  war,  utterly  refused  to  engage  in  the  struggle 
then  going  on.  The  opposition  to  the  war  was  at  no  time  abated  in 
this  town,  and  the  treaty  of  peace  was  a  welcome  relief  to  the  people. 

The  year  1817  witnessed  a  great  temperance  reform  in  the  town. 
The  evils  of  the  intemperate  and  excessive  use  of  spirituous  liquors 
had  become  very  great,  and  the  drinking  habits  of  the  people  were 
entailing  much  misery  upon  the  community.  Seventeen  retailers 
were  required  to  supply  the  demand  on  the  north  side  of  the  town,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  other  portions.  The  formation  of  the  Boston  So- 
ciety for  the  Prevention  of  Intemperance,  was  followed  by  the  organi- 
zation of  a  similar  one  here — said  to  be  the  second  of  the  kind  estab- 
lished in  this  country.  Several  persons  who  had  been  dealers  in 
spirituous  liquors  joined  the  organization.  The  conditions  of  mem- 
bership would  not  be  considered  very  exacting  in  these  days  :  "  No 
member  of  the  society,  except  in  case  of  sickness,  shall  drink  any  dis- 
tilled spirit  or  wine,  in  any  house  in  town,  except  his  own,  or  the  one 
in  which  he  resides."  "  No  member  shall  oflFer  or  furnish,  except  in 
case  of  sickness,  to  any  inhabitant  of  the  town,  any  distilled  spirit  or 
wine,  whether  they  be  visitors  or  laborers,  but  shall  use  his  influence 
to  discourage  the  ruinous  practice."  The  first  officers  of  the  society 
were:  President,  Elisha  Doane;  first  vice-president,  Seth  Kelley; 
second  vice-president,  Joseph  Hawes;  secretary,  Calvin  Tilden;  treas- 
urer. Prince  Matthews;  committee.  Freeman  Baker,  Howes  Taylor, 
Anthony  Chase,  Henry  Thacher,  Edmund  Eldridge,  Ebenezer  Mat- 
thews, jr.,  John  Eldridge.  This  society  existed  many  years,  and  was 
instrumental,  in  a  very  marked  degree,  in  checking  the  evil  aimed  at. 
In  1826  the  town  voted  to  petition  the  legislature  that  salt  works, 
which  had  heretofore  been  exempt,  should  no  longer  be  free  from 
taxation. 

The  town,  in  1829,  raised  a  committee  to  inquire  into  the  subject 
of  an  alms  house.  Another  committee  was  appointed  in  1830,  and  in 
March,  1831,  it  was  voted  to  build,  and  the  following  building  com- 


TOWN   OF   YARMOUTH.  469 

mittee  was  chosen:  Nathan  Hallet,  Simeon  Lewis,  Eben  Bray,  James, 
Matthews,  and  Ezekiel  Matthews,  jr.  The  town,  in  March,  1835, 
voted  to  build  a  new  town  house,  near  the  geographical  center  of  the 
town,  and  appointed  as  building  committee:  Matthew  C.  Hallet,  Alex- 
ander Baxter,  Isaiah  Crowell,  Isaiah  Bray,  and  James  Matthews. 
Four  hundred  dollars  was  appropriated  for  the  purpose.  The  town, 
in  1837,  voted  to  receive  its  proportion  of  the  surplus  revenue  dis- 
tributed by  the  United  States  government,  and  placed  it  in  the  hands 
of  John  B.  Doane,  as  its  agent.  Mr.  Doane  dying  the  same  year, 
Isaiah  Crowell  was  chosen  the  ensuing  year,  the  selectmen  having  in 
the  meantime  managed  the  matter.  In  1838  a  portion  of  the  money 
was  used  to  pay  the  current  town  expenses,  and  to  purchase  two 
hearses;  and  the  next  year  the  balance  was  absorbed  by  painting  the 
town  buildings  and  for  schools.  In  1839  five  hundred  dollars  was 
appropriated,  and  a  committee  was  chosen  to  take  effectual  measures 
to  check  the  increase  of  the  sandy  wastes  east  of  White's  brook,  and 
to  restore  the  region  to  fertility.  The  committee  consisted  of:  Peter 
Thacher,  Alexander  Baxter,  Isaiah  Crowell,  William  Hall,  and  Mat- 
thews C.  Hallet.  The  committee  placed  over  the  shifting  sand  a 
thick  covering  of  brush,  and  the  waste  was  in  a  few  years  reclaimed, 
and  the  most  of  it  is  now  covered  with  growing  pines. 

The  gale  of  October  3  and  4,  1841,  was  unprecedented  in  its  de- 
struction of  life  and  property  of  the  citizens  of  this  county,  especially 
of  those  employed  in  the  fisheries.  Yarmouth  sustained  a  loss  of  ten 
lives,  rendering  four  wives  widows,  and  sixteen  children  fatherless. 
The  schooner  Primrose,  Captain  Eben  Bray,  jr.,  was  on  George's  bank, 
and  was  never  after  heard  from;  she  was  supposed  to  have  foundered 
at  sea.  The  schooner  Leo,  Captain  Freeman  Taylor,  went  ashore, 
high  and  dry,  on  Scorton  beach,  and  was  got  off  without  injury.  The 
names  of  the  lost  from  Yarmouth  were:  Eben  Bray,  jr.,  Peter  Bray, 
John  Bray,  Ebenezer  Matthews,  jr.,  Isaac  Matthews,  son  of  Reuben 
Matthews,  David  Hall,  David  H.  Hall,  Benjamin  Whelden,  and  An- 
drew Whelden. 

Amos  Otis,  Edward  Thacher,  and  Oliver  Hallet  were  authorized, 
by  a  vote  of  the  town,  in  1841 ,  to  set  trees  along  the  highways  of  Yar- 
mouth Port,  provided  the  road  be  left  thirty  feet  wide  within  the 
trees.  The  trees  were  procured  in  Middleboro,  and  set  from  the 
Barnstable  line  to  the  Second  District  school  house,  greatly  adding  to 
the  present  beauty  and  comfort  of  the  street.  The  legislature  of  1843 
passed  an  act  incorporating  the  Long  Pond  Fishing  Company,  of  Yar- 
mouth, to  open  an  outlet  from  Long  pond  to  Swan  pond,  and  to  im- 
prove Parker's  river.  May  12th,  a  destructive  fire  raged  in  the  woods 
in  the  southeasterly  portion  of  the  town,  spreading  over  fourthousand 


470  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

acres,  and  destroying  standing  and  cut  wood,  to  the  value  of  fifty 
thousand  dollars. 

In  1844  John  Reed,  of  this  town,  was  chosen  by  the  legislature  to 
the  office  of  lieutenant  governor,  there  having  been  "no  choice"  by 
the  people.  Mr.  Reed  was  re-elected  six  subsequent  terms.  Decem- 
ber 20,  1852,  the  magnesia  works  of  Fearing  &  Akin,  South  Yarmouth, 
were  destroyed  by  fire;  loss,  five  thousand  dollars.  In  December, 
1853,  in  a  severe  snow  storm,  accompanied  by  high  wind  and  tide, 
Central  wharf,  in  Yarmouth  Port,  was  nearly  destroyed,  the  store  and 
packing  shed  of  Hawes  &  Taylor,  located  upon  it,  containing  a  stock 
of  goods,  was  washed  away  and  broken  up,  and  five  vessels  driven 
from  their  moorings,  floated  ashore.  The  bark  Ida,  and  several 
schooners  went  ashore  on  Sandy  neek.  The  schooner  Leo,  of  Rock- 
land, Me.,  came  ashore  on  Sandy  neck;  her  crew  were  doubtless  all 
lost.  In  October,  1858,  the  schooner  Granite,  of  Quiucy,  was  wrecked 
on  the  outer  bar,  oflf  Yarmouth,  and  her  crew,  five  in  number,  were 
swept  overboard  and  drowned. 

May  3,  1863,  the  store  and  stock  of  goods  of  James  B.  Crocker  were 
destroyed  by  fire;  loss,  about  five  thousand  dollars.  August  11th,  a 
camp-meeting,  under  the  auspices  of  Methodist  Episcopal  societies  of 
the  Providence  Conference,  was  initiated.  The  association  having 
the  matter  in  charge,  had  previously  purchased  a  grove  about  one 
mile  and  a  quarter  from  the  Yarmouth  railroad  station,  on  the  Hyannis 
road,  and  erected  suitable  buildings  for  the  purpose.  This  grove,  with 
its  accommodations,  has  been  greatly  enlarged,  and  improved  yearly 
since  that  time.  The  last  vessel  of  the  Yarmouth  Port  fishing  fleet 
was  sold  this  year.  October  15,  1868,  the  ancient  cemetery,  having 
been  enlarged  and  greatly  improved,  there  were  impressive  services 
held  to  commemorate  the  event;  the  chief  feature  of  which  was  an 
address,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Eldridge,  D.  D.,  of  Norfolk.  Conn.  March 
14,  1869,  the  schooner  Electric  Light,  of  Provincetown,  from  Boston  for 
Provincetown,  was  driven  by  a  severe  northeasterly  gale  into  Yar- 
mouth harbor,  striking  upon  the  bar  and  capsizing.  Her  crew  of  five 
men,  with  five  passengers,  all  lost  their  lives.  The  severity  of  the 
weather  of  March,  1872,  was  said  by  the  oldest  people  to  be  unprece- 
dented for  that  month  of  the  year.  It  was  reported  in  the  newspapers 
of  March  23d,  that  it  had  been  three  weeks  since  any  communication 
was  had  with  Sandy  neck. 

June  20,  1873,  a  fire  broke  out  in  the  woods  northeasterly  from  the 
town  house,  burning  over  a  region  of  a  square  mile,  destroying  a  large 
quantity  of  cut  and  standing  wood.  The  station  house  of  the  Old 
Colony  Railroad  Cempany,  in  Yarmouth  Port,  was  destroyed  by  fire 
November  17,  1878,  and  a  few  months  after  another  was  erected  on 
the  spot.     Village  Hall,  Yarmouth   Port,  was  also  destroyed  by  fire, 


TOWN  OF  YARMOUTH.  471 

December  22,  1880,  and  replaced  during  the  following  year  by  another 
and  handsome  edifice. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  after  the  admission  of  the  town  into 
the  colonial  group — September  3,  1889 — the  event  was  celebrated  by 
a  joint  commemoration,  in  which  Yarmouth  as  a  municipality,  and 
Dennis  by  a  large  number  of  its  citizens,  took  part,  in  connection  with 
many  friends  from  abroad. 

Ordinaries,  Taverns  and  Hotels. — Anthony  Thacher  was  the  first 
person  in  town  authorized  to  "  draw  wine  "  in  Yarmouth,  in  June,  1644, 
which  was  a  perquisite  of  an  ordinary.  His  house  was  on  the  lot 
near  the  marsh,  southeasterly  of  the  James  G.  Hallet  place,  in  Yar- 
mouth Port.  Edward  Sturgis,  who  was  licensed  in  1646  "  to  keep  an 
ordinary  and  draw  wine  in  Yarmouth,  provided  Mr.  Thacher  draw  out 
his,"  lived  a  little  to  the  northeast  of  the  old  cemetery  in  Yarmouth. 
He  imported  a  good  deal  of  liquor,  and  the  inference  is  that  he  sold 
more  than  was  for  the  public  good,  as  he  was  fined  in  1663  for  bring- 
ing liquor  into  town  without  giving  notice  to  those  appointed  to  in- 
voice it,  and  his  license  was  taken  away.  John  Miller  was  next 
appointed  to  keep  an  ordinary.  He  lived  in  a  house  near  the  site 
of  the  present  school  building.  He  was  the  son  of  the  second 
minister  and  subsequently  the  town  schoolmaster.  The  best  and 
most  discreet  men  in  town  were  sought  out  for  this  business,  which 
was  important  to  the  interests  of  the  towns. 

Subsequently  to  the  revolution.  Captain  John  Beare  kept  an 
ordinary  or  tavern,  as  the  name  then  began  to  be  written.  He 
lived  in  a  house  on  the  site  of  the  present  residence  of  Captain 
Isaac  B.  Gage,  near  the  old  meeting  house.  This  old  stand  was 
subsequently  kept  by  the  successful  host,  Elisha  Doane.  Mr.  Beare. 
seems  to  have  done  a  flourishing  business.  He  used  to  entertain 
the  ordaining  and  ecclesiastical  councils  at  his  house,  furnishing 
them  with  spirituous  as  well  as  other  refreshments.  Some  seventy- 
five  or  eighty  years  ago  there  was  another  much-resorted-to  tavern 
in  Yarmouth  village:  the  old  Hamblin  House,  next  westerly  to  the 
house  of  Watson  Thacher,  and  kept  by  Colonel  Joshua  Hamblin 
and  others.  At  both  of  these  places  there  was  an  abundance  of 
good  cheer,  and  the  townsmen  at  that  time,  until  the  great  tem- 
perance reformation  in  1817,  were  renowned  for  their  social  and 
convivial  habits. 

The  Sears  Hotel,  in  Yarmouth  Port,  was  afterward  a  most  noted 
hostelry.  It  was  for  many  years  the  end  of  the  stage  coach  route 
from  Boston,  the  point  from  which  the  stages  to  Provincetown  and 
Chatham  diverged.  The  reputation  of  the  house  was  acquired  for 
it  by  Charles  Sears,  Esq.,  a  brother  of  Joshua,  the  great  Boston 
merchant.     Mr.  Sears  kept  no  bar  and  sold  no  liquors,  but  none  of 


472  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

his  customers  suffered  for  want  of  reasonable  creature  comforts. 
He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Charles,  and  afterward  by  Calvin 
Conant,  Eben  A.  Hallet,  and  pei^haps  by  others.  The  house  is  now 
the  property  of  R.  E.  Holmes,  of  Worcester,  and  is  occupied  sum- 
mers by  his  family,  and  all  the  year  round  by  A.  G.  Megathlin.  It 
is  nearly  twenty-five  years  since  it  has  been  used  as  a  hotel. 

Churches. — The  Congregational  church  was  coeval  with  the  town 
in  its  organization.  The  first  minister  was  Mr.  Marmaduke  Mat- 
thews, the  prefix  of  Rev.  not  being  then  employed.  He  became  em- 
broiled in  disputes  with  some  of  his  people,  who  endeavored  to  found 
another  society,  with  Rev.  Joseph  Hull,  of  Barnstable,  as  preacher. 
The  court  interfered,  Mr.  Hull  was  interdicted  from  further  action  in 
the  matter  and  the  project  was  abandoned.  But  Mr.  Matthews  finally 
decided  to  seek  a  new  field  and  left  town,  probably  about  1646,  after 
an  incumbency  of  not  far  from  seven  years.  He  was  succeeded  in 
1647  by  Rev.  John  Miller,  who  remained  until  1661. 

Mr.  Miller  was  succeeded  by  Rev  Thomas  Thornton,  in  1667, 
though  his  ministerial  labors  commenced  about  1663.  He  was  one  of 
the  ministers  of  the  established  church,  ejected  from  their  livings  for 
nonconformity,  in  1662.  He  continued  with  the  church  and  society 
until  1693,  when  he  removed  to  Boston,  and  died  in  1700.  While  pas- 
tor of  this  society  he  actively  engaged  in  efforts  to  Christianize  the 
Indians,  and  also  acted  as  physician  among  his  people.  During  his 
ministry,  the  meeting  house,  which  originally  was  of  rude  construc- 
tion, was  greatly  embellished  according  to  the  fashion  of  those  times. 
Mr.  Thornton  was  succeeded,  in  1693,  by  Rev.  John  Cotton,  whose 
incumbency  continued  to  1705,  when  he  died.  In  1708,  Rev.  Daniel 
Greenleaf  was  settled  as  pastor,  continuing  in  that  relation  until  1727. 
During  Mr.  Greenleaf's  ministry,  a  new  meeting  house  was  built,  at 
an  expense  of  four  hundred  pounds.  The  old  one,  which  had  been 
located  on  Fort  hill,  on  the  southern  side  of  the  ancient  cemetery, 
was  given  to  Mrs.  Rebecca  Sturgis  for  a  dwelling  house,  and  its  tim- 
bers are  now  found  in  the  easterly  wing  of  the  house  at  present  owned 
and  occupied  by  Hannah  Crowell.  During  Mr.  Greenleaf's  ministry, 
the  parish  was  divided,  the  easterly  portion  settling  Rev.  Josiah  Den- 
nis. Rev.  Thomas  Smith  succeeded  Mr.  Greenleaf,  in  1729,  and  con- 
tinued until  1754.  Rev.  Grindall  Rawson  was  his  successor,  and  in 
1760,  in  consequence  of  disagreement  with  members  of  the  church, 
he  retired.  Rev.  Joseph  Green,  jr.,  was  pastor  from  1762  to  1768,  when 
he  died,  greatly  beloved  and  lamented. 

Rev.  Timothy  Alden,  who  was  settled  here  in  1769,  continued  un- 
til his  death  in  1828,  a  period  of  almost  sixty  years.  After  him  came 
Rev.  Nathaniel  Cogswell,  from  1822  (when  he  was  settled  as  col- 
league of   Mr.  Alden),  to  1851,  when  he  resigned.      Rev.  Abel  K. 


TOWN   OF   YARMOUTH.  473 

Packard  was  pastor  from  1851  to  1859;  Rev.  Joseph  B.  Clark,  from 
1861  to  1868;  Rev.  John  W.  Dodge,  from  1868  to  the  present  time. 
The  meeting  house  used  in  the  time  of  Mr.  Greenleaf  was  enlarged 
in  1768,  and  again  in  1787.  In  1830  the  old  meetinghouse  was  taken 
down  and  another — the  one  now  used  as  a  post  oflBce  and  grocery 
store  by  I.  H.  Thacher — was  erected  in  its  place.  In  1870,  the  spa- 
cious edifice  now  used  by  the  society  was  erected  on  a  new  site,  and 
very  near  the  geographical  center  of  the  parish. 

The  Society  of  the  New  Jerusalem  was  organized  in  Yarmouth 
Port  in  1843,  and  for  several  years  held  services  in  the  room  above  the 
present  market,  and  afterward  in  that  over  the  store  of  James  Knowles 
&  Co.  The  present  church  edifice  was  dedicated  December  29,  1870, 
with  a  sermon  by  Rev.  Joseph  Pettee.  The  first  pa.stor  settled  by  the 
society  was  Rev.  John  P.  Perry,  who  continued  in  that  relation  from 
1853  to  1870.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  William  H.  Mayhew,  from 
1874  to  1887.     The  pulpit  has  since  been  supplied  by  Rev.  G.  I.  Ward. 

The  Second  Congregational  Society  originated  in  1794,  when  the 
West  Yarmouth,  or  "South  Sea"  portion  of  the  old  parish,  insisted 
upon  having  preaching  there  a  part  of  the  time.  A  meeting  house 
was  built  and  dedicated.  Reverends  Messrs.  Alden,  of  Yarmouth,  and 
Waterman,  of  Barnstable,  preaching  forenoon  and  afternoon.  The 
sermons  were  both  printed.  Mr.  Alden  agreed  to  preach  at  South  Sea 
the-proper  proportion  of  the  time,  and  always  seemed  to  enjoy  his 
connection  with  that  portion  of  his  distant  parishioners.  In  1815,  Mr. 
Alden,  being  eighty  years  of  age,  according  to  records,  was  occasion- 
ally assisted  by  his  son  Martin.  One  of  the  duties  of  the  son  was  to 
post  the  notices  and  appointments,  of  which  the  following  is  a  sample: 
'•  There  will  be  preaching  in  this  house  three  weeks  from  today.  If 
father  can't  preach,  I  shall."  Rev.  Nathaniel  Cogswell,  Mr.  Alden's 
associate,  after  1822  and  until  1828,  officiated  in  his  place.  Until  1840 
this  society  was  a  part  of  the  old  Yarmouth  parish.  The  pastors  and 
supplies  since  that  time  have  been:  Reverends  Daniel  H.   Babcock, 

1840;  Ebenezer  Chase,  1842;  Samuel  Darling.  1847;  Cobb,  1848; 

John  H.  Wells,  1851;  Martin  S.  Howard,  1856;  John  E.  Corey,  1869 
Elisha  Bacon,  1861;  Robert  Samuel,  1863;  Henry  E.  Lounsbury,  1865 
Luther  Farnham  (supplied),  1867;  Joseph  D.  Strong,  1868;  De  Fore.st 
Dodge  (supplied),  1872;  John  F.  Norton,  1873;  Nathaniel  S.  Moore, 
1877;  Stephen  Smith,  1880;  Marshall  B.  Angier,  supplied  from  January, 
1882,  to  March,  1882;  Roderick  J.  Mooney,  1882;  Jeremiah  K.  Aldrich, 
1885;  Frank  E.  Kavanaugh,  1886;  and  George  Wesley  Osgood,  present 
pastor  since  November,  1887.  In  1880  this  church  and  Hyannis 
Congregational  church  united,  and  Rev.  Stephen  Smith  and  all  since 
his  time  preached  at  both  places. 

A  Methodist  Society  was  organized  in  Yarmouth  Port,  in  1819,  con- 


474  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

sisting  of  six  persons.  In  1821,  nineteen  had  been  added  to  the 
original  number,  and  a  church  was  that  year  organized.  At  the  pre- 
sent time  its  numbers  have  greatly  decreased,  and  for  several  years 
its  services  have  been  dependent  upon  a  supply.  A  list  of  ministers 
stationed  here  is  not  available. 

The  Universalist  Society  was  organized  in  Yarmouth  Port,  in  1836, 
when  the  pre.sent  meeting  house  was  erected.  The  pastors  have  been 
here  in  the  following  order.  The  first,  after  the  erection  of  the  meet- 
ing house,  was  Mr.  Abraham  Norwood,  of  Brewster,  who  officiated 
half  the  time  for  one  year,  when  he  left,  to  preach  in  Marblehead, 
Mass.  October  22,  1837,  Rev.  John  N.  Parker  commenced  to  preach 
one  half  the  time.  In  April,  1840,  he  went  to  another  field  of  labor.- 
In  August,  1840,  Rev.  Gillman  Noyes,  then  officiating  at  Hyannis, 
commenced  to  preach  here  one  third  of  the  time;  his  last  service  be- 
ing December  12.  1841.  In  ApHl,  1842,  Rev.  T.  K.  Taylor  engaged 
to  supply  the  pulpit  one  third  of  the  time  for  one  year.  In  January, 
1844,  Rev.  G.  Collins  agreed  to  preach  forty  Sabbaths  of  the  year;  he 
left  in  the  latter  part  of  December,  1845.  There  were  various  sup- 
plies for  several  years,  and  in  1851,  Rev.  C.  Marston  was  settled,  but 
was  dismissed  in  1856.  He  was  succeeded  in  1856,  by  Rev.  J.  E. 
Davenport.  He  was  succeeded  in  1874,  by  Rev.  Cyrus  A.  Bradley, 
who  now  supplies  the  pulpit. 

The  South  Yarmouth  Methodist  Episcopal  Society  is  a  flourishing 
organization.  An  old  meeting  house  formerly  stood  southeast  of  the 
village  by  the  cemetery  and  near  Silas  Baker's  homestead.  The  Ba- 
kers were  prominent  in  its  erection;  but  of  its  history  little  is  known. 
It  was  afterward  removed  to  Dennis  Port  and  converted  into  a  store. 
Of  its  old  ministers,  Dr.  Lewis  B.  Bates  was  one,  prior  to  1853;  Dr. 
George  W.  Stearns  was  another.  In  1852  the  present  edifice  was 
erected,  at  which  period  the  records  commence.  The  first  minister 
in  the  new  edifice  was  Henry  Aston  in  1853-4;  followed  by  James  M. 
Worcester  in  1855;  Lemuel  T.  Harlow  in  1856;  Edward  B.  Hinckley, 
1857;  William  E.  Sheldon,  1858;  Lawton  Cady,  1859;  Benjamin  L. 
Sayer,  1860;  F.  A.  Loomis,  1862;  Joseph  Gerry,  1864;  Charles  Ham- 
mond, 1865;  L.  Bowdish,  1867;  W.  F.  Farington,  1869;  S.  F.  Whidden 
and  W.  F.  Whitcher  in  1872;  W.  L.  Phillips,  1875;  W.  F.  Steele,  1877; 
George  E.  Fuller,  1879;  A.  McCord,  1880;  Edward  Williams,  1881; 
George  W.  Wright,  1883;  S.  H.  Day  and  Joseph  H.  George,  1885;  W. 
P.  Arbuckle,  1886:  W.  E.  Kuyler,  1887;  George  E.  Dunbar,  since  1888. 

The  South  Yarmouth  Baptist  Church  was  organized  November  20, 
1824,  as  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Yarmouth.     The  first  church  edi- 
fice was  built  in  1825,  and  the  present  one  rebuilt  in  1860.      Simeon  • 
Crowell  was  first  pastor  until  his  death  in  1848.      The  society  united 
with  the  Congregationalists  a  few  years  in  service,  when  in  1859  they 


TOWN   OF  YARMOUTH.  475 

settled  Stephen  Coombs  as  pastor;  in  1860,  A.  W.  Ashley;  1862,  WiU 
liam  Leach;  1865,  A.  E.  Battelle;  1867,  J.  C.  Boomer;  1870,  John  A. 
Baskwell;  1872,  William  Hurst;  1876,  J.  H.  Seaver;  1877,  F.  B.  Joy;. 
1883,  Orange  J.  Scott,  who  was  dismissed  in  1885;  and  1888,  O.  F. 
Waltze,  until  the  spring  of  1889,  when  he  was  dismissed.  There  is 
now  no  settled  minister. 

A  chapel  was  built  about  1860  at  South  Yarmouth  by  David  Kelley. 
This  he  has  since  furnished  and  maintained  as  an  undenominational 
place  of  worship,  free  to  all,  and  it  has  proved  a  Bethel  to  many. 

Schools. — Yarmouth  has  never-  been  behind  the  other  towns  in 
the  county  in  appreciating  the  advantages  of  education  for  the  people. 
The  common  school  system  was  not  an  imported  idea;  it  grew  out  of 
the  wants  and  necessities  of  the  inhabitants.  The  earliest  ofl&cial 
recognition  of  this  fact  by  the  town  is  found  in  the  record  of  1693^ 
when  a  conjmittee  was  "  appointed  to  agree  with  some  fit  person 
to  teach  school,"  which  was  to  be  done  "in  squadrons  "  covering  all 
parts  of  the  town.  Mr.  John  Miller,  son  of  the  second  minister,  had 
previously  taught  a  private  school,  in  a  house  near  the  spot  where  the 
North  side  school  house  now  stands.  Dea.  Joseph  Hawes,  soon  after 
the  revolution,  was  a  famous  teacher.  The  history  of  the  public 
schools  in  this  town  is  a  history  of  all  the  schools  in  the  county  up  to 
1854,  when  the  present  graded  system  was  inaugurated,  which  since 
has  been  subject  to  frequent  improvement. 

In  1809  an  academy  was  erected  on  Hawes's  lane,  Yarmouth 
Port.  It  was  the  same  building  now  used  as  a  market  house  by  A. 
C.  Megathlin,  but  stood,  when  erected,  about  seventy-five  feet  south- 
west of  its  present  location.  This  was  a  private  school,  where  a  large 
number  of  the  incipient  sea  captains  and  merchants  of  the  town  ac- 
quired a  good  solid  basis  for  an  education.  James  Henry,  a  brilliant 
and  well-educated  young  Irishman,  taught  for  several  years;  after  him 
Hugh  Montgomery,  the  early  friend  of  the  late  Joshua  Sears,  suc- 
ceeded. Among  its  later  teachers  was  Rev.  Thomas  P.  Rodman,  a 
writer  of  ability.  The  Yarmouth  Academy,  situated  on  the  site  of 
the  present  school  house,  had  such  teachers  as  A.  M.  Payson  and 
John  E.  Sanford,  who  kept  up  a  high  educational  standard.  The 
present  excellent  condition  of  the  common  schools  renders  the  con- 
tinuance of  private  seminaries  unnecessary. 

Civil  Lists.— The  deputies  from  Yarmouth  in  1639  were  Thomas 
Payne  and  Philip  Tabor,  who  served  two  years  each.  In  1641  John 
Crow  was  first  elected  and  served  two  years;  also  Richard  Hoar,  who 
served  three.  In  1642  William  Palmer  was  elected  and  served  6- 
years;  1643,  Anthony  Thacher,  10  years;  1643,  Thomas  Folland,  2„ 
1644,  James  Matthews,  2;  1645,  Edmund  Hawes,  16;  1652,  William 
Lumpkin  and  John  Joyce,  each  1;  1653,  Thomas  Howes,  9;  1654,  Sam- 


476  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

uel  Arnold,  2;  1655,  William  Nickerson,  1;  1658,  Edward  Sturgis,  5; 
1662,  Richard  Sears.  1;  1663,  Yelverton  Crow,  3;  1668,  John  Thacher, 
9;  1671,  John  Miller,  13;  1672,  'Thomas  Howes,  5;  1677.  Jeremiah  Howes, 
10  years,  and  in  1685,  Silas  Sears,  who  served  7  years. 

Yarmouth's  representatives  in  the  colonial  and  state  legislature, 
with  date  of  each  man's  first  election  and  total  years  of  service,  if 
more  than  one,  were:  1692,  John  Thacher  and  Jeremiah  Howes,  each 
2;  1693,  John  Hallet;  1694,  Thomas  Sturgis,  9;  1695.  Jaspar  Taylor; 
1696,  John  Hawes,  2;  1701,  John  Miller;  1703,  Elisha  Hall,  5;  1704, 
Samuel  Howes;  1705,  Samuel  Stujgis;  1706,  Zachariah  Paddock,  3; 
1711,  Peter  Thacher,  3;  1713,  Joseph  Hawes,  2;  1714,  John  Paddock; 
1715,  Joseph  Hall,  2;  1718,  Seth  Taylor;  1719,  John  Hedge,  3;  1721, 
Eben  Hawes,  5;  1727,  Josiah  Miller;  1728,  Shubael  Baxter,  4;  1732, 
Samuel  Sturgis,  7;  1737,  Judah  Thacher;  1739,  Daniel  Hall,  4;  1740, 
Thomas  Hallett;  1741,  John  Hallett,  5;  1746,-  John  Miller,  2;  1748, 
Joseph  Thacher,  3;  1751,  Joseph  Hall,  3;  1757,  Thomas  Howes,  1758, 
John  Bearse;  1760,  John  Bare;  1764,  David  Thacher,  27:  1774,  Elisha 
Bassett,  3;  1775,  Enoch  Hallett,  2;  1779,  Jonathan  Howes,  3;  1780,  Ed- 
mund Howes,  2;  1786,  Atherton  Hall,  3;  1799,  David  Thacher,  jr.,  3; 
1802,  Elisha  Doane,  4;  1806,  David  Kelley,  2;  1809,  John  Eldridge,  6; 
1809,  James  Crowell,  16;  1815,  Thomas  Hedge,  2;  1816,  Henry  Thacher, 
4;  1820,  John  Reed;  1827,  Joseph  Eldridge;  1828,  John  B.  Doane,  3; 
1830,  Charles  Hallett,  2;  1831,  Isaiah  Crowell,  3;  1831,  Joseph  White; 
1832,  John  H.  Dunbar,  3;  1833,  David  K.  Akin,  3:  1834,  Oliver  Hallett, 
2:  1836,  Reuben  Ryder;  1836,  N.  S.  Simpkins,  3;  1836,  Ichabod  Sher- 
man; 1837,  Ezekiel  Crowell,  2;  1838,  Freeman  Taylor,  2;  1839,  Sylvanus 
Crowell;  1842,  Joseph  Hale;  1843,  J.  B.  Crocker;  1844,  Elisha  Jenkins, 
2;  1846,  Samuel  Matthews,  2;  1848,  Ezekiel  Crowell,  2;  1862,  Charles 
Baker,  2;  1854,  Samuel  Thacher,  2;  and  1856,  Zadok  Crowell. 

The  municipal  affairs  of  the  town  have  ever  received  the  attention 
and  commanded  the  services  of  Yarmouth's  most  able  men.  The  se- 
lectmen— generally  chosen  with  reference  to  their  devotion  to  the 
public  good — have  included  men  not  perhaps  otherwheres  noticed  in 
this  work;  hence  we  give  a  list  of  all,  with  the  date  of  first  election, 
and  if  again  elected,  the  whole  number  of  years  of  service.  In  1665 
the  town  chose  Anthony  Thacher,  who  served  2  years;  Edmund 
Hawes,  23;  James  Matthews,  4;  John  Miller,  28;  and  Joseph  Hawes,  2; 
in  1667,  Edward  Sturgis,  16;  Yelverton  Crow;  and  Samuel  Sturgis;  in 
1668,  Thomas  Howes,  8;  and  John  Thacher,  15;  in  1676,  Jeremiah 
Howes,  20;  1683,  Joseph  Howes,  5;  1684,  John  Hall;  1686,  Silas  Sears, 
10;  1693,  Joseph  Hall,  sr.,  2;  1694,  Josiah  Thacher,  10;  1695,  Thomas 
Folland,  4;  1697,  John  Hallett,  5;  and  Thomas  Sturgis,  3;  1699,  Samuel 
Sturgis,  29;  1701,  Joseph  Hall,  28;  1702,  Peter  Thacher,  6;  1707,  Jona- 
than  Howes,  3;  John  Howes,  8;  and  Josiah  Miller,  16;  1718,  Shubael 


TOWN   OF  YARMOUTH.  477 

Baxter,  7;  Seth  Taylor;  and  Judah  Paddock,  4;  1728,  Eben  Hall,  13; 
1729,  Peter  Thacher,  4;  Timothy  Hallett;  Jonathan  Baker;  1731,  Joseph 
Bassett,  7;  1734,  John  Sears,  2;  1737,  Judah  Thacher,  5;  and  Daniel 
Hall,  29;  1741,  John  Hallett,  13;  1746.  John  Howes,  6;  1747,  Jonathan 
Smith;  1750,  Jonathan. Hallett,  8;  and  Joseph  Thacher,  3;  1753,  Isaac 
Chapman,  3;  1755,  Eben  Taylor;  1756,  Prince  Hawes,  11;  and  Lot 
Howes,  4;  1758,  John  Hedge,  3;  1760,  Thomas  Tobey,  14;  1767,  Richard 
Baxter,  3;  1769,  Isaac  Matthews,  12;  David  Thacher,  13;  and  Samuel 
Howes;  1771,  Seth  Tobey,  10;  1772,  Daniel  Taylor,  4;  and  Edward 
Hall;  1776,  John  Hall;  1777,  Seth  Crowell;  1778,  John  Chapman,  2;  and 
Samuel  Eldridge,  3;  1781,  Jeremiah  Howes,  10;  1782,  Isaac  Hallett,  6; 
and  Josiah  Hall;  1786,  Israel  Nickerson,  3;  and  Athn.  Hall;  1788, 
Daniel  Crowell,  2;  1789,  Thomas  Thacher,  15;  and  Peter  Sears;  1792, 
Thomas  Howes,  2;  1795,  Matthew  Gorham,  2;  1797,  Abner  Taylor,  9; 
and  Benjamin  Matthews,  13;  1801,  Charles  Hallett,  2;  1802,  Seth  Baker; 
1806,  Joseph  Hawes,  2;  1807,  Elkanah  Crowell,  9;  1808,  John  Eldridge, 
8;  1810,  Eben  Gage,  3;  1811,  Howes  Taylor,  5;  1816,  Prince  Matthews, 
10;  and  Seth  Kelley,  2;  1818,  Eben  Bray,  7;  and  Gorham  Crowell,  17; 
1821,  Bars.  Thacher;  1822,  Samuel  Thacher,  27;  1825,  James  Matthews, 
25;  1830,  William  Green;  1834,  Ichabod  Shearman,  11;  1844,  Elisha 
Taylor,  26;  1848,  Samuel  Matthews,  2;  1851,  Silas  Baker,  3:  and 
Thacher  Taylor,  25;  1855,  Eliakim  Studley;  1856,  Watson  Thacher,  5; 
1861,  Zadock  Crowell,  5;  1865,  Braddock  Matthews,  16;  1873,  Daniel 
Wing,  2;  1875,  Stephen  Wing,  6;  1877,  Winthrop  Sears,  6;  1878,  George 
H.  Loring,  2;  1880,  Edward  Lewis,  10;  1883,  Charles  Bassett;  Stephen 
Sears,  6;  and  Thacher  T.  Hallet,  7. 

The  first  treasurer  of  the  town  was  Anthony  Thacher  for  twenty- 
eight  years,  succeeded  in  1667  by  Edward  Howes  for  a  like  period. 
In  1695  John  Howes  was  chosen  and  served  three  separate  years; 
John  Paddock,  James  Sturgis,  Thomas  Howes,  sr.,  and  Thomas  Stur- 
gis  served  a  year  each  and  in  1702,  Samuel  Sturgis  was  first  chosen. 
His  successors,  with  year  of  first  election,  have  been:  1709,  Peter 
Thacher;  1715,  Josiah  Miller;  1721,  Edward  Sturgis;  1729.  Joseph 
Hawes;  1737,  Judah  Thacher;  1744,  John  Crowell;  1748,  Seth  Hall; 
1753,  Thomas  Tobey;  1759,  Jasper  Taylor;  1765,  Prince  Hawes;  1768, 
Samuel  Howes;  1771,  Daniel  Taylor;  1776,  Seth  Tobey;  1778,  Josiah 
Thacher;  1781,  Joseph  Griffith;  1784,  Anthony  Hall;  1788,  Jeremiah 
Howes;  1789,  John  Thacher;  1805,  James  Hedge;  1810,  Elisha  Doane; 
1811,  Oliver  Alden;  1812,  Isaiah  Alden;  1817,  Joshua  Hamblin;  1829, 
John  B.  Doane;  1837,  Simeon  Crowell;  1841,  Thacher  Taylor;  1844, 
William  P.  Davis  began  his  already  remarkably  long  term  in  which 
he  is  still  serving.  Prior  to  1695  and  also  since  1837,  and  quite  gen- 
erally between  these  two  date,  the  town  clerks  have  been  the  same 
as  the  treasurers. 


478  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Villages. — The  town  coutains  four  considerable  villages,  known 
by  their  post  office  designations  as  Yarmouth  Port,  Yarmouth,  South 
Yarmouth  and  West  Yarmouth.  Besides  these,  a  picturesque  and 
rural  community  called  Weir  Village  is  situated  on  the  north  side  of 
the  town.  Here  for  a  long  series  of  years  was  a  mill  for  grinding, 
now  for  fifty  years  unused. 

At  Yarmouth  Port  and  Yarmouth,  to  a  great  extent,  the  buildings 
and  residences  have  been  erected  upon  the  one  street  which  extends 
eastward  from  the  Barnstable  line  2^  miles.  This  region,  with  a  por- 
tion of  the  eastern  part  of  Barnstable,  comprises  the  ancient  Mat- 
tacheese  of  the  Indians.  Although  there  are  two  post  office  deliveries 
in  this  territory,  to  all  intents  and  purposes  there  is  but  one  village, 
which  may  as  well  be  designated  the  North  Side  of  Yarmouth.  The 
school  house  on  the  north  side,  in  which  are  four  graded  schools; 
the  library  and  the  three  principal  churches,  are  all  within  a  short 
•distance  of  the  geographical  center  of  the  united  village.  The  na- 
tional bank,  the  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company's  office;  the  Railroad 
station  and  the  two  printing  offices,  are  in  the  westerly  part  of  Yar- 
mouth Port.  The  tendency  of  the  population  for  the  last  twenty 
years  has  rather  been  in  that  direction. 

This  fluctuating  and  changeful  tendency  of  population,  as  in  other 
country'  towns,  is  indicated  by  a  survey  of  the  business  of  the  north 
side  of  Yarmouth  for  the  last  century.  One  hundred  years  ago  the 
village  of  Hockanom,  where  now  but  two  or  three  dwellings  remain, 
was  a  thriving  community,  in  which  ship-building  was  carried  on 
successfully,  and  where  there  were  several  prosperous  farmers.  After 
that,  the  region  known  as  Town  Dock,  was  the  scene  of  busy  life, 
where  the  Boston  packet  and  coasting  vessels  w^e  wont  to  resort. 
Then  the  region  of  the  port  was  the  center  of  the  business  activity 
of  the  north  side.  There  were,  forty  years  ago,  two  wharves  here,  both 
needed  for  the  business  of  the  town — ^which  were  known  as  central 
wrharf ,  and  Simpkins'  wharf — and  from  thirty  to  forty  vessels,  of  from 
twenty -five  to  one  hundred  tons  burthen,  were  engaged  in  the  fish- 
ing and  coasting  business.  Now,  neither  of  these  wharves  is  occu- 
pied; the  buildings  upon  and  near  them  have  mostly  gone  to  decay, 
and  the  vessels  have  all  been  sold  or  have  gone  the  way  of  all  old 
hulks. 

Although  not  a  business'  community  to  any  great  extent,  the 
north  side  of  Yarmouth  is  a  place  of '  residences,  with  many  very 
pretty  houses,  neatly  kept  estates,  and  with  all  the  public  institu- 
tions which  minister  to  the  taste,  intelligence  and  moral  advance- 
ment of  the  people.  The  estate  of  the  Simpkins  family;  that  of 
Henry  C.  Thacher,  comprising  the  paternal  homestead,  and  a  fine 
cottage  in  the  Queen  Anne  style  of  architecture;  and  the  residence 


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TOWN  OF  YARMOUTH.  479 

of  Mrs.  Dr.  Azariah  Eldridge,  are  conspicuous  among  several  others, 
hardly  less  attractive  and  elegant. 

"  Sandy  Side,"  the  subject  of  the  accompanying  illustraticn,  was 
built  by  Mrs.  Simpkins  upon  the  death  of  her  husband,  John  Simp- 
kins  (a  son  of  the  late  Nathaniel  Stone  Simpkins),  and  was  her 
residence  until  her  heath,  and  is  now  the  summer  home  of  her  family. 

There  has  always  been  a  taste  for  forestry  and  arboriculture 
among  the  people.  There  is  evidence  of  the  existence  of  a  tree 
planting  society  here  more  than  seventy-five  years  ago,  by  which  the 
streets  were  skirted  with  rows  of  stately  looking  poplars.  In  1843 
the  town  granted  leave  to  Amos  Otis,  Edward  Thacher  and  Oliver 
Hallet  to  plant  trees  on  each  side  of  the  street  at  Yarmouth  Port;  and 
to  them,  as  the  committee  of  nearly  all  the  citizens,  we  are  indebted 
for  the  rows  of  beautiful  elms  which  are  the  pride  and  glory  of  our 
streets.  Later  still,  a  village  improvement  society  undertook  to  trim, 
train  and  supply  deficiencies  in  the  trees  upon  our  highways,  with 
satisfactory  results,  thus  far. 

In  1845,  by  actual  count,  there  were  thirty-five  masters  of  ships  or 
other  square-rigged  vessels  resident  between  Barnstable  line  and 
White's  brook.  Now  they  may  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of  one 
hand.  There  are  some  good  farming  lands  here,  the  cranberry  cul- 
ture is  successful,  and  summer  residents,  more  and  more,  seek  each 
year  our  orderly  and  romantic  woods  and  groves,  the  shady  and  en- 
ticing streets,  and  the  pleasant  eminences,  commanding  views  of  the 
seacoast  from  old  Plymouth  to  the  "  city  in  the  sand," — a  region  of 
nearly  a  hundred  miles  in  extent,  but  so  situated  on  a  crescent  that 
nearly  all  parts  of  the  coast  are  in  view  from  this  central  point  of  ob- 
servation. 

There  are  several  of  the  ancient  structures  still  here.  The  house 
occupied  by  Benjamin  Lovell  is  about  two  hundred  years  old.  It  was 
built  by  Timothy,  grandson  of  Andrew  Hallet,  jr.,  the  prominent 
citizen  two  hundred  years  ago.  The  hou.se  at  the  corner  of  Hallet 
and  Wharf  streets  is  some  180  years  old.  It  was  built  by  Thomas 
Hallet.  The  house  occupied  by  Eben  A.  Hallet  is  about  the  same 
age.  The  house  of  George  T.  Thacher  was  built  by  his  illustrious  an- 
cestor, Anthony,  for  his  equally  distinguished  son,  John.  The  eastern 
wing  of  the  house  now  in  possession  of  Hannah  Crowell  contains  the 
timbers  of  the  first  church  in  Yarmouth.  When  the  parish  built  a 
new  church  they  gave  to  the  widow  Sturgis  the  frame  of  the  old 
church,  which  may  now  be  seen  in  the  building  before  mentioned. 
The  frames  of  all  these  buildings  are  in  a  good  state  of  preservation, 
and  Mr.  G.  T.  Thacher,  in  a  most  commendable  spirit,  keeps  the  par- 
lor of  his  house  in  precisely  the  form  in  which  it  was  built  by  his 
ancestor,  and  has  been  preserved  by  seven  generations  of  the  family_ 


480  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  Simpkins  homestead  is  situated  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  com- 
mon, in  Yarmouth  Port.  This  common  was  a  reservation  of  about 
two  acres,  made  by  the  proprietors  of  the  common  lands,  about  225 
years  ago,  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  who  might  resort  to  it  to 
manufacture  brick  for  their  dwellings,  but  some  thirty  or  forty  years 
since  it  was  leveled,  graded  and  improved  by  setting  upon  its  borders 
ornamental  trees.  The  house  of  Mr.  Nathaniel  S.  Simpkins  was  built 
about  seventy  years  ago  by  Captain  Edmund  Hawes,  who  was  subse- 
quently lost  at  sea,  and  the  estate  was  afterward  acquired  by  Mr. 
Simpkins,  who  improved  and  remodeled  it,  and  planted  the  trees  and 
shrubbery  which  adorn  its  grounds.  Here  his  children  were  born  and 
reared,  here  he  passed  the  latter  portion  of  his  long  and  eventful  life,, 
and  here  his  son,  George  W.  Simpkins  of  St.  Louis,  the  present  owner 
of  the  property,  passes  a  portion  of  his  time. 

In  the  early  time  the  grist  linill  was  an  important  institution.  It 
was  not  then  as  it  is  now,  when  we  can  have  our  meal  ground  and 
sifted  by  patent.  In  one  of  the  town  meeting  reports  occurs  the  allit- 
erative phrase,  "  The  meeting,  the  mill  and  the  market."  There  was 
early,  and  until  within  a  few  years,  a  mill  at  the  Stony  cove  stream, 
between  Barnstable  and  Yarmouth.  The  last  grists  were  ground  there 
some  twenty  years  since.  There  is  also  a  record  of  permission 
granted,  in  1697,  to  set  up  a  wind  mill  on  the  "  commons,"  the  mill 
not  to  be  rated.  In  1702  six  pounds  was  granted  as  a  gratuity  to 
Thomas  Sturgis  and  others,  the  owners  of  the  wind  mill,  for  repairs,, 
they  agreeing  to  grind  for  a  toll  of  two  quarts  per  bushel  for  the  term 
of  three  years;  but  in  1704  the  town  released  Mr.  Sturgis  and  his  asso- 
ciates from  this  agreement. 

On  the  first  of  January,  1795,  a  post  oflBce  with  a  weekly  mail  was 
established  here,  with  Thomas  Thacher  as  postmaster,  the  office  being 
then  in  the  house  now  owned  by  George  T.  Thacher.  The  govern- 
ment records  show  the  appointments  of  postmasters  here  as  follows : 
Calvin  Tilden,  October  1,  1806;  Henry  Thacher,  July  1,  1808;  Joshua 
Hamblin,  April  5,  1813;  Oliver  Alden,  May  29,  1826;  Benjamin  Mat- 
thews, jr.,  June  15,  1829;  James  Matthews,  December  13, 1836;  Charles 
Thacher,  May  26,  1847;  Frederick  Dunbar,  January  22,  1863. 

The  Yarmouth  Port  post  office  was  established  February  18,  1829, 
and  Timothy  Reed  was  appointed  postmaster.  Edward  Thacher  was 
commissioned  February  3,  1837;  Nathan  Hallet,  jr.,  July  21,  1849,  and 
Thomas  Arey,  June  15,  1853. 

During  the  last  seventy-five  or  eighty  years  there  have  been  sev- 
eral trading  establishments  of  reputation  here.  Prior  to  1817,  one 
important  business  of  the  stores  was  the  liquor  traffic.  At  that  time 
seventeen  stores  were  in  operation  between  White's  brook  and  Barn- 
stable line.     In  addition  to  the  inevitable  "  wet  goods  "  department. 


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TOWN  OF   YARMOUTH.  481 

they  sold  cloths,  prints,  provisions,  etc.  After  that  the  number  of 
stores  decreased  to  the  legitimate  wants  of  the  public.  Henry  Thach- 
er,  father  of  Henry  C.  and  Thomas,  kept  a  large— for  the  times — 
stock  of  staple  dry  goods  and  groceries.  A  part  of  his  store  is  now 
unused.  He  was  succeeded  in  business  by  his  son  Thomas,  who  about 
forty  years  ago  transferred  the  business  to  James  Knowles.  At  the 
death  of  Mr.  Knowles,  about  1880,  his  son  A.  A.  Knowles  succeeded  to 
the  business  and  still  continues  it.  Hon.  David  Thacher,  about  the 
beginning  of  the  century,  carried  on  an  extensive  mercantile  business 
in  the  house  now  occupied  by  James  G.  Hallet,  Yarmouth  Port.  Mr. 
Samuel  Thacher,  at  Yarmouth,  was  many  years  engaged  in  trade  at 
his  old  stand,  near  his  house.  He  was  succeeded,  some  years  ago,  by 
his  son,  Isaac  H.  Thacher,  who  has  recently  removed  to  the  old  Con- 
gregational church,  in  Yarmouth  village.  Among  the  recent  business 
places  here  is  the  store,  established  about  1831  by  Foster  &  Crocker, 
where  Daniel  B.  Crocker  now  keeps.  Mr.  Crocker  continued,  after 
Foster  retired,  afterward  taking  Sylvester  Baker  as  partner.  Daniel 
Crocker  died  in  1857,  and  Mrs.  Crocker  and  Mr.  Baker  continued  until 
1865,  when  the  whole  business  was  assumed  by  his  son,  Daniel  B. 
Crocker,  who  still  carries  on  the  store.  E.  Dexter  Payne,  after  clerk- 
ing ten  years  in  the  village,  began  his  general  store  at  one  of  the 
best  sites  here,  in  1865,  and  continues  a  prosperous  business. 

The  Barnstable  Bank,  located  at  Yarmouth  Port,  was  chartered 
under  the  State  laws  in  1825.  David  Crocker,  of  Barnstable,  was  the 
first  president,  and  Caleb  Reed,  first  cashier.  The  original  capital 
stock  was  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  1864  it  was  changed  to 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Yarmouth,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $525,000, 
which  in  1887  was  reduced  to  the  present  amount,  $350,000.  President 
Crocker  of  the  old  bank,  was  succeeded,  in  1843,  by  Isaiah  Crowell, 
and  he  by  Seth  Crowell,  in  1864.  The  latter  was  also  president  until 
the  new  organization,  and  thereafter  until  1871,  when  David  K.  Akin 
succeeded  him.  In  1879  Joshua  C.  Howes  was  chosen  and  continues 
in  the  position.  Timothy  Reed  succeeded  Caleb  Reed  as  cashier  of 
the  old  bank,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Amos  Otis,  who  was  also  cash- 
ier when  the  new  charter  was  obtained,  serving  in  that  capacity  until 
his  death,  in  1875.  William  P.  Davis,  the  present  cashier,  succeeded 
him. 

There  has,  throughout  the  present  century,  been  a  small  literary 
circle  in  town,  giving  force  and  direction  to  its  intellectual  growth. 
Dr.  Calvin  Tilden  and  others  established  the  Union  Library  here  in 
1808.  Other  efforts  in  the  same  direction  followed,  and  in  1866  a  con- 
certed attempt  was  made,  with  such  success  that  it  promises  to  be  one 
of  the  permanent  institutions  of  the  town.  The  first  officers  were 
Charles  F.  Swift,  president;  Rev.  Joseph  E.  Clark,  vice-president;  and 
81 


482  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

among  its  early  directors  were  Isaac  Myrick,  jr.,  William  P.  Davis, 
Dr.  George  Shove,  Rev.  Nathaniel  Cogswell,  Frederick  Dunbar,  James 
Knowles,  Solomon  Taylor,  David  G.  Eldridge,  Rev.  John  P.  Perry, 
and  Rev.  V.  Lincoln.  Isaac  Thacher,  a  prominent  merchant  of  Bos- 
ton, contributed  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars,  and  Rev.  Cogswell, 
Henry  C.  Thacher,  and  other  prominent  citizens  gave  money,  books 
or  building  lots  for  the  use  of  the  society.  In  December,  1870,  Na- 
than Matthews,  also  a  native  of  the  town,  erected  a  handsome  build- 
ing, costing  about  six  thousand  dollars,  and  he  announced  that  the  in- 
terest on  five  thousand  dollars  would  be  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the 
trustees.  The  association  was  then  reorganized  to  meet  the  new  con- 
ditions which  existed,  and  something  like  four  thousand  volumes, 
many  of  them  books  of  permanent  value,  have  been  placed  upon  the 
library  shelves.  In  January,  1883,  Mr.  Isaac  Thacher  left,  by  will,  five 
thousand  dollars  more,  which  places  the  institution  on  a  safe  and  per- ' 
manent  basis.  The  library  is  governed  by  a  self-perpetuating  board 
of  trustees,  of  which  Rev.  John  W.  Dodge  is  president.  The  late 
Amos  Otis  bequeathed  a  valuable  collection  of  historical  works,  to- 
gether with  a  safe  and  money  to  provide  for  their  preservation.  The 
present  officers  are:  President,  Rev.  John  W.  Dodge;  vice-president, 
Hon.  Charles  F.  Swift;  secretary  and  treasurer,  William  P.  Davis; 
trustees,  the  foregoing,  and  Thomas  Matthews,  Henry  C.  Thacher, 
Dr.  Thomas  B.  Pulsifer,  Rev.  G.  I.  Ward,  F.  C.  Swift,  and  John  Simp- 
kins. 

The  Lyceum  Hall  Company,  reorganized  in  1881,  was  the  continu- 
ance of  one  formed  some  thirty  years  before,  its  entire  property  being 
destroyed  by  fire  in  December,  1880.  This  company  erected,  on  the 
same  spot,  a  handsome  and  convenient  hall,  at  an  expense  of  seven 
thousand  dollars.  The  present  officers  are;  Thacher  T.  Hallet,  R. 
H.  Harris  and  D.  B.  Crocker,  directors;  William  !J.  Davis  and  E.  D. 
Payne,  auditors. 

A  lodge  of  the  Knights  of  Honor  was  instituted  here  February  3, 
1879,  as  No.  1357.     The  present  membership  is  fifty-four. 

The  Knights  and  Ladies  of  Honor,  Lodge  298,  has  a  membership 
of  sixteen. 

The  New  England  Order  of  Protection  has  here  a  lodge — No.  43 — 
with  a  membership  of  forty-four. 

The  ancient  cemetery, "  where  the  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep," 
is  still  maintained,  neatly  enclosed,  and  kept  in  good  repair  by  the 
Ancient  Cemetery  Association,  which  was  organized  in  1868.  The 
officers  at  this  time  are:  President,  Charles  F.  Swift;  secretary,  David 
G.  Eldridge;  treasurer,  Charles  M.  Bray;  directors,  the  foregoing,  and 
Watson  Thacher,  Isaac  B.  Gage,  Samuel  H.  Thacher,  Edwin  Thacher, 
Kilburn  M.  Taylor,  Benjamin  R.  Howes  and  Ebenezer  R.  Hamblin. 


TOWN   OF   YARMOUTH.  483 

The  Woodside  Cemetery  was  opened,  owing  to  the  crowded  condi- 
tion of  the  older  one,  in  1830,  the  first  interment  being  in  February  of 
that  year.  It  has  been  under  various  control,  but  is  now  incorporated, 
with  the  following  officers:  President,  Edward  B.  Hallet;  secretary 
and  treasurer,  Daniel  B.  Crocker;  trustees,  H.  C.  Thacher,  D.  B. 
Crocker,  and  John  Simpkins.  This  cemetery  is  well  enclosed,  and  has 
a  sufficient  fund  to  keep  it  in  good  condition. 

South  Yarmouth  is  a  prosperous  village,  situated  in  the  southeast 
quarter  of  the  town,  along  Bass  river,  directly  opposite  West  Dennis, 
with  which  it  is  connected  by  the  Lower  Bass  river  bridge.  The  ter- 
ritory was  formerly  an  Indian  reservation,  and  where  the  wigwams 
of  this  ill-fated  people  once  stood  are  now  seen  the  prettiest  cottages 
and  busiest  marts.  The  last  wigwam  remembered  was  in  the  front 
yard  of  the  residence  of  Daniel  Wing,  and  the  squaw  later  resided  in 
a  building  nearer  the  shore.  The  present  village  has  been  reared 
within  the  memory  of  its  oldest  citizens,  although  it  was  a  fishing 
hamlet  long  before.  The  Indians  were  in  the  occupancy  of  the  lands 
in  1778,  and  the  town  that  year  ordered  that  their  lands  "  be  sold  or 
hired  out "  to  reimburse  the  town  treasury  for  the  expenses  of  the 
small-pox  epidemic,  which  had  greatly  decreased  their  already  small 
number. 

The  first  salt  works  built  in  South  Yarmouth  were  located  between 
the  county  road  and  Bass  river,  nearly  opposite  the  present  site  of 
Standish  Hall,  upon  land  sold  by  John  Kelley  to  Isaiah  Crowell,  Seth 
Kelley  and  Zeno  Kelley,  for  that  purpose  in  1811.  Subsequently, 
Abiel  Akin,  Russell  Davis,  Stephen  Smith,  Robert  Wing,  David  K. 
Akin,  George  Wing,  Daniel  Wing,  Lewis  Crowell  and  Abraham  Sher- 
man conducted  the  industry  quite  extensively  and  with  a  good  degree 
of  success.  These  works  have  been  kept  repaired  and  in  use  until  the 
past  few  years;  the  long  rows  of  covered  vats,  still  visible  in  the  west 
part  of  the  village,  as  shown  at  page  148,  are  still  venerable  in  their 
decay.  Robert  Wing  was  an  extensive  manufacturer,  whose  works 
are  now  extant  at  Lower  Village,  and  owned  by  David  Kelley.  David 
Smith  built  his  on  Bass  river  above  the  bridge,  and  Edward  Giflford's 
were  still  to  the  north.  Prince  Gifford  erected  works  northwest  of  the 
present  main  street,  on  land  now  belonging  to  his  heirs.  In  fact  this 
part  of  the  town  contained  more  feet  of  works  than  any  other;  and 
the  residences  of  Stephen  Wing  and  others  along  the  southerly  side 
of  the  street  are  built  where  stood  these  vast  plants.  The  more  recent 
manufacturers  were  Hatsel  Crosby,  Isaiah  Crocker,  Asa  Covil,  Barna- 
bas Sears,  Loren  Baker,  Francis  Wood  and  Howes  Berry. 

The  estate  of  the  Sears  family  was  situated  in  the  western  part  of 
the  present  village.  The  homestead  in  which  the  late  Barnabas  Sears 
lived  and  died,  now  occupied  by  his  only  daughter,  is  shown  in  the 


484  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

accompanying  illustration.  Here  were  born  his  children,  of  whom 
further  mention  follows.  In  the  hearts  of  his  posterity,  that  love  of 
homestead  and  birthplace  which  is  ever  the  characteristic 'of  the  New 
Englander,  has  been  well  shown  in  these  lines  by  Stephen  Sears, 
whose  home  adjoins  the  old  manse. 

Our  house,  the  dearest  of  its  kind, 

We'll  always  call  it  home,  ' 

I'm  sure  no  better  we  shall  find 

Wherever  we  may  roam. 

What  if  no  paper  on  the  walls. 

Nor  carpet  on  the  floor  ? 
What  if  no  brilliant  lighted  halls. 

No  knocker  on  the  door  ? 

We'd  softest  beds  whereon  to  rest  * 

And  clothing  without  spare. 
And  then  to  makie  our  lot  more  blest 

We  had  a  mother's  care. 

Our  father,  faithful  in  his  sphere. 

Did  full  supplies  provide. 
Our  constant  mother,  evernear,  ' 

No  matter  what  betide. 

Our  rooms  were  known  as  east  and  west. 

With  kitchen  in  the  rear. 
And  closets,  to  each  room  annexed. 

Supplied  with  relics  dear. 

In  silver  vessels,  not  a  few, 

Of  Clip  and  spoon  and  pan, 
With  shining  tankard  bearing,  too. 

Medallion  of  Queen  Anne. 

Then  there  was  narrow  porch,  and  long, 

With  old  brick  oven  too. 
Whence  mother,  armed  with  patience  strong. 

Our  early  dinner  drew. 

The  milkroom  I  can  ne'er  forget, 

With  all  its  bright  array; 
I  see  the  polished  pewter  yet. 

As  in  my  youthful  day. 

Three  chambers  too,  with  weU-filled  beds 
By  skUlful  hands  laid  high, 
.  Where  we  could  rest  our  childish  heads — 
No  harmful  danger  nigh. 

The  chamber  square,  with  bed  of  down. 

For  visitor  was  used. 
Lest  we  incur  parental  frown, 
"  To  enter,  we  refused. 

The  quaint  old  clock  of  ancient  frame,, 

With  solemn  sounding  bell, 
More  than  a  century's  hovirs  hath  told;. 

And  days  and  months  as  well. 


TOWN   OF   YARMOUTH.  485 

Our  home  instruction,  not  seyere, 

We  quite  well  understood, 
Whether  or  not  we  willed  to  hear, 

'Twas  measured  for  our  good. 

Our  father  kind  but  firmly  stood, 

Our  mother  knew  no  change. 
In  just  requirement  for  our  good. 

Yet  broad  our  playful  range. 

Both  aided  in  our  boyish  sports. 

They  seemed  with  us  as  one, 
Yet  in  our  plays  of  varied  sorts. 

For  us  they  meant  the  fun. 

We'll  ne'er  forget  the  leathered  ball, 

By  .mother's  hand  prepared. 
Nor  skates  that  aided  in  our  fall, 

Our  willing  father  shared. 

The  outside  objects  still  appear. 

As  in  our  youth  they  stood, 
The  wooded  belt  just  on  the  rear 

In  front  the  well  worn  road. 

The  farming  lot  on  either  hand. 

We  worked  as  parent  willed; 
The  soil,  not  rich,  but  fertUe  sand, 

Quite  easily  was  tilled. 

The  log-pile  that  in  winter  stood, 

In  form  of  truncate  cone. 
For  leisure  hour  to  change  to  wood. 

Should  leisure  chance  to  come. 

The  garden  too.  Our  mother's  care. 

By  picket  fence  surround; 
At  her  command  no  pains  we  spare. 

To  break  and  dress  the  ground. 

The  time-worn  bam  of  ancient  frame, 

With  winter  store  of  hay, 
The  row  of  cattle  known  by  name. 

And  fowls  with  noisy  lay. 

The  crib  well  rounded  in  the  fall, 

With  generous  ears  of  com. 
Appears,  as  childhood  we  recall. 

Like  plenty's  fertile  horn. 

The  cherry  trees  with  summer  shade. 

Of  strong  and  sturdy  bough. 
With  wavy  foliage  heavy  laid. 

Like  curls  on  Gorgan's  brow. 

Those  days  now  mingled  with  the  past, 

We  cherish  still,  most  dear; 
While  faithful  memory  holds  them  fast. 

And  youthful  scenes  bring  near. 


486  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Of  home,  the  once  united  head 

Has  reach*!  a  holier  clime; 
For  loved  ones,  too,  so  long  since  dead. 

We  wait  the  Father's  time. 

1  would  restrain  my  truant  mind. 

From  wandering  out  of  reach. 
For  if  no  olive  branch  it  find,    • 

'Twill  gloomy  lessons  teach. 

Some  small  craft  were  built  on  the  shores  of  this  village,  but  tra- 
dition gives  none  of  note.  Various  industries,  established  during  the 
growth  of  the  village,  have  been  discontinued  at  the  expiration  of 
their  charters,  or  pecuniary  advantages.  Oil-cloth  works  were  estab- 
lished in  1848,  in  the  old  rope  walk  which  had  been  operated  by  the 
Kelleys  years  before.  A  stock  company  composed  of  David  K.  Akin, 
Isaiah  Crowell,  David  Kelley  and  others,  operated  the  oil.cloth  fac- 
tory three  years.  Stephen  Wing  was  designer  and  stamp-cutter  here, 
and  went  to  Fall  River  with  the  works,  where  they  were  consumed 
by  fire  in  1853. 

Elisha  Jenkins  in  1829,  started  a  boot  and  shoe  store  and  manufac- 
tory on  the  site  now  occupied  by  Elisha  T.  Baker,  who  purchased  the 
store  after  Mr.  Jenkins'  death  in  1881 .  Mr.  Baker  enlarged  and  re- 
modeled, the  building  and,  in  1886.  purchased  the  stock  of  Elisha 
Parker,  consolidating  this  branch  of  business  into  one  store,  which 
he  continues.  Mr.  Parker  started  his  store  in  the  western  part  of  the 
village  in  1836.  The  growth  of  the  village  near  the  river  induced 
him,  in  1860,  to  move  the  building  and  business  next  to  his  residence, 
where  he  continued  until  the  stock  was  transferred  to  Mr.  Baker. 
When  Mr.  Parker  started  his  store  he  also  purchased  the  wool  of  the 
surrounding  country,  and  had  cloth  and  yarn  made  from  it  at  East 
Falmouth;  this  he,  assisted  by  his  son,  sold  throughout  the  county. 

Russel  D.  Farris,  in  1839,  established  the  manufacture  of  harness, 
which  he  continued  successfully  for  eighteen  years,  when  he  sold  his 
stock  and  trade  to  Barnabas  Easton.  In  1857,  on  the  same  site,  he 
opened  a  hardware  store  and  in  1874  added  groceries,  crockery  and 
paper  hangings,  still  continuing  a  large  store  where  he  commenced 
fifty  years  ago. 

In  1854  John  K.  and  Barnabas  Sears  built  a  steam  planing  mill  on 
the  north  side  of  the  street,  where  they  resided.  They  added  ma- 
chinery for  grinding,  all  of  which  was  a  convenience  to  a  large  com- 
munity. This  was  continued  until  .1865,  when  the  importation  of 
dressed  lumber,  instead  of  the  rough  stock,  rendered  the  business  un- 
profitable, and  four  years  later  the  building  was  removed  to  Hyannis. 

In  1860,  and  for  many  years,  a  trade  of  at  least  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars a  year  was  sustained  with  New  York  city  in  grain  and  flour,  by 
Hiram  Loring,  of  West  Dennis.     The  firm  was  H.  Loring  &  Co.,  and 


TOWN   OF  YARMOUTH.  487 

their  store-house  was  on  the  Yarmouth  bank  of  Bass  river,  where 
Loring  Fuller  &  Co.  continue  the  same  business,  supplying,  by  a  line 
of  schooners,  coal,  flour  and  grain  to  the  public.  Purrington  &  Small 
succeeded  Loring  &  Wing  in  December,  1889,  in  a  store  on  Bridge 
street.  In  that  business  Daniel  Wing  had  been  a  partner  with  Mr. 
Loring  for  only  a  few  months,  but  had  been  there  many  years  with 
Stephen  Wing,  as  Wing  Brothers.  The  business  was  established 
there  still  earlier  by  Stephen  Wing,  who,  with  Peleg  P.  Akin,  had- 
been  engaged  across  the  street. 

David  D.  Kelley,  also  one  of  the  principal  merchants,  opened  his 
store,  corner  of  Main  and  Bridge  streets,  September  24,  1867,  and  his 
term  of  twenty-two  years  entitles  him  to  a  place  on  the  list  of  old 
merchants. 

M.  H.  Crowell's  carriage  making  and  undertaking  establishment, 
near  the  savings  bank,  on  Bridge  street;  R.  K.  Farris'  and  D.  S.  Tay- 
lor's stores,  and  Zenas  P.  Howes',  are  also  here.  The  manufacture  of 
magnesia  has  also  been  discontinued  for  two  years.  Wing  Brothers 
being  the  last  engaged  in  it.  F.  Fearing  established  the  trade  here, 
in  1855.  The  decline  in  salt  manufacture  marked  the  bounds  of  the 
magnesia  business  here. 

The  social  societies  are  numerous  in  South  Yarmouth,  the  eldest 
of  which  is  the  Royal  Arcanum,  No.  250,  Cape  Cod  Council,  organized 
February  11,  1869,  with  twenty-nine  charter  members.  Since  its 
organization  this  society  has  paid  eleven  death  benefits,  aggregating 
$31,500,  and  sick  benefits  amounting  to  eight  hundred  dollars.  The 
membership  in  1889  was  ninety-eight. 

Howard  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  has  a  fine  hall  over  Standish 
Opera  House.  The  charter  empowering  this  Lodge  to  work,  bears 
date  December  14,  1870.  The  masters  have  been:  Stephen  Sears, 
1870;  William  J.  Nickerson,  1876;  Bernard  L.  Baker,  1878;  Selick  H. 
Matthews,  1882;  Elisha  T.  Baker,  1884;  Stephen  Sears,  1887;  Dr.  C.  H. 
Call,  in  1889.  Zenas  P.  Howes  has  acted  as  secretary  since  1874.  Vic- 
tory Lodge  of  Good  Templars  was  organized  November  22, 1887.  The 
opera  house  referred  to  has  a  good  stage,  with  suitable  scenery.  The 
rooms  above  accommodate  the  social  societies.  Stephen  Sears  and 
Sturgis  Crowell  purchased,  in  1886,  the  building  formerly  owned  by 
a  stock  company  and  used  for  a  public  hall;  this  they  raised,  repaired 
and  added  to,  forming  the  present  spacious  building. 

The  South  Yarmouth  Social  Library,  of  fifteen  hundred  volumes, 
was  inaugurated  a  few  years  since  by  a  fair,  to  which  a  liberal  sup- 
port was  given  for  this  purpose.  Then  shares  of  five  dollars  each  were 
taken,  placing  the  library  on  a  permanent  foundation.  Officers  for 
1889  were:  Stephen  Wing,  president;  Etaily  S.  Gifford,  secretary;  and 
William  R.  Farris,  treasurer. 


488  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Some  important  financial  schemes  have  been  successfully  sustained 
in  this  vicinity,  some  of  the  officers  of  the  companies  being  residents 
of  Dennis.  One  is  the  Bass  River  Marine  Insurance  Company,  a  mu- 
tual, organized  in  1878,  and  was  the  outcome  of  a  former  society.  The 
company  did  business  nine  years,  paid  several  losses  promptly,  and 
were  solvent  to  the  extent  of  a  million  dollars.  In  1887  the  state 
laws  required  an  incorporation  not  consistent  to  the  minds  of  the 
shareholders,  and  the  affairs  of  the  company  were  closed,  paying  $525 
to  each  of  the  twenty-five  shares. 

The  Bass  River  Savings  Bank,  another  important  business  under- 
taking, still  flourishes.  It  was  organized  in  1874  under  the  laws  of 
the  state,  David  Kelley  was  the  first  president  until  March,  1888, 
when  Hiram  Loring  was  appointed.  With  him,  the  officers  are  Obed 
Baker,  3d,  and  Russel  D.  Farris,  vice  presidents;  David  D.  Kelley, 
treasurer;  and  Hiram  D.  Loring,  secretar}'.  It  does  business  in  a 
suitable  building  at  South  Yarmouth.  It  has  six  hundred  thousand 
dollars  in  deposits,  and  is  a  sound  and  prosperous  institution.  A  new 
enterprise  by  a  stock  company  was  established  here  in  1886,  called 
the  American  Metallic  Fabric  Company,  weaving  wire  cloth.  It  is 
said  to  have  the  only  power  loom  for  this  business  in  the  world. 

The  first  post  office  here  was  established  December  17,  1821,  with 
Thomas  Akin,  jr.,  postmaster,  who  was  succeeded  February  25,  1842, 
by  David  K.  Akin,  in  his  store.  May  26,  1853,  by  a  change  of  admin- 
istration, John  Larkin,  democrat,  in  the  same  store,  was  appointed, 
and  he  in  turn  was  succeeded  by  Peleg  P.  Akin  until  1889,  when  Ber- 
nard L.  Baker  was  appointed. 

West  Yarmouth,  in  the  southwest  part  of  the  town,  assumes  the 
title  of  a  village.  There  is  a  beauty  to  its  long  Main  street  of  cozy 
residences,  and  its  avenues  extending  to  the  sound.  Salt  was  manu- 
factured as  early  as  1829  on  the  shore  of  Lewis  bay  and  along  the 
sound,  by  Gorham  Crowell,  Ezekiel  Crowell  and  others.  Prince  Gage 
erected  works  about  that  time  or  prior.  One  church,  two  stores  and 
a  post  office  form  the  principal  centers  of  to-day.  Of  the  old  stores, 
Elisha  Taylor  continued  one  many  years  after  its  establishment  by 
his  father,  near  the  bridge.  Sylvanus  Crowell  built  and  opened,  in 
1845,  a  store  which  he,  with  his  son.  Freeman  H.,  as  partner,  contin- 
ued until  1856,  when  the  son  was  sole  proprietor  up  to  1875.  In  1863 
Osborn  Chase  built  and  opened  a  store  here;  this  in  1867  was  sold  to 
Isaiah  Crowell.  In  1866  Jabez  Perry  opened  another  store,  which  he 
discontinued  in  1883.  In  1867  Theodore  Drew  planted  oysters  in  Mill 
creek,  under  a  grant  from  the  town,  and  in  1870  he  secured  a  renewal 
for  twenty  years.  In  1871  he  sold  his  franchises  to  Frank  Thacher, 
who  with  others  carried  on  the  business  at  Hyannis  until  1883,  when 
the  culture  proved  no  longer  profitable. 


TOWN   OF  YARMOUTH.  489 

Not  until  about  1827 — after  the  stages  run  from  Sandwich  to  Yar- 
mouth— was  a  post  office  established,  then  Captain  Elnathan  Lewis 
kept  the  office  in  his  house.  Sylvanus  Crowell  succeeded  him,  with 
the  office  in  his  store,  and  he  was  succeeded  by  Freeman  H.  Crowell 
in  the  same  place.  In  1870  Captain  Higgins  Crowell  was  appointed, 
and  in  1872  Isaiah  Crowell.  In  1877  Myron  Peak  was  made  postmas- 
ter and  erected  a  small  building  for  an  office;  but  in  1880  Julius 
Crowell  succeeded  him  and  removed  it  to  his  store.  In  the  spring  of 
1889  Edward  F.  Pierce  was  appointed,  and  keeps  the  office  at  his  resi- 
dence. From  a  weekly  the  first  years,  the  office  has  now  a  daily  mail 
from  Hyannis.  The  street  leading  to  Point  Gammon  is  called  South 
Sea  avenue. 

The  social  and  religious  relations  of  this  community  are  of  the 
most  elevating  character.  During  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Daniel  H. 
Babcock,  October,  1840,  the  Women's  Benevolent  Society  was  organ- 
ized in  connection  with  the  religious  society  of  the  village,  and  much 
good  has  resulted.  The  Library  Association  here  was  formed  in 
April,  1863,  by  the  young  people.  The  first  books  were  purchased  in 
April,  1864,  and  now  the  library  numbers  nearly  six  hundred  vol- 
umes. The  last  officers  chosen  were:  Abbie  B.  Crowell,  pres.;  Mrs. 
Isaiah  Crowell,  vice-pres.;  Mrs.  William  J.  Nickerson,  sec;  and  Mrs. 
Delia  Baker,  librarian  and  treasurer. 

The  Cemetery  here  is  distinctive  from  the  ordinary  grounds  of 
the  town,  because  of  an  organized  effort  to  beautify  and  preserve  this 
ancient  burial  place.  After  a  small  donation  from  the  town  toward  a 
suitable  fence,  Captain  Sturgis  Crowell  headed  a  subscription  with 
one  hundred  dollars,  and  soon  had  the  sum  of  seventeen  hundred  dol- 
lars for  this  and  other  improvements.  The  granite  fence  was  fin- 
ished in  July,  1884.  Elkanah  Crowell,  jr.,  donated  the  two  gates,  be- 
sides his  subscription. 

Yarmouth  Farms  is  the  name  given  to  the  community  at  and 
around  the  depot  at  South  Yarmouth.  A  post  office  was  established 
there  a  few  years  ago  under  the  name  of  East  Yarmouth,  and  the 
railroad  agents  have  successively  been  the  postmasters.  The  name 
was  only  recently  changed.  The  postmasters  have  been:  N.  B.  Bur- 
gess, W;  F.  Kenney,  Arthur  Underwood  and  W.  B.  Snow. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

Joseph  Allen,  only  son  of  Joseph  and  Ruth  Allen,  was  born  in 
1846.  He  has  been  captain  of  the  light  ship  Pollock  Rip  since  1881. 
He  was  married  in  1872,  to  Mary  H.  Crowell.  They  have  six  child- 
ren: M.  Maude,  Joseph  E.,  Albert  F.,  William  D.,  Orra  I.,  and  Pey- 
son  E. 


490  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Allen  B.  Baker,  born  in  1832,  is  a  son  of  Hersey,  and  a  grandson 
of  Washington  Baker.  His  mother  was  Mercy,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Homer.  Mr.  Baker  was  a  sea  captain  until  1874,  and  since  that  time 
he  has  kept  a  livery  and  boarding  stable  at  South  Yarmouth.  He  was 
married  February  12, 1855,  to  Betsey  A. .daughter  of  Amos  and  Nancy 
(Gorham)  Farris.     They  have  one  daughter,  Fanny  A. 

Bernard  L.  Baker,  born  in  1839,  is  a  son  of  Hiram  and  grandson  of 
Jonathan  Baker.  His  mother  was  Keziah,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Parker.  Mr.  Baker  followed  the  sea  for  some  years,  after  which  he 
drove  an  express  wagon  to  the  South  Yarmouth  depot  for  ten  years. 
Since  October,  1887,  he  has  been  postmaster  at  South  Yarmouth.  He 
was  three  years  on  the  school  committee,  as  a  democrat.  He  was 
married  in  1871,  to  Tamsen  F.,  daughter  of  Prince  Giflford.  They 
have  two  children:  Katie  F.  and  Henry  C.  Mr.  Baker  is  a  member  of 
Howard  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

Elisha  T.  Baker,  born  in  1848,  is  a  son  of  Orlando,  grandson  of 
Laban  and  great-grandson  of  Abram  Baker.  He  has  been  a  contract- 
or and  builder  for  twenty  years,  and  since  1881,  he  has  owned  a  shoe 
store  at  South  Yarmouth.  He  was  married  in  1872  to  Phebe  G., 
daughter  of  Frederick  White.     They  have  one  daughter,  Annie  W. 

Joseph  Bassett  is  one  of  six  surviving  children  of  Henry  and 
Abigail  R.  (Crocker)  Bassett.  He  is  engaged  in  the  poultry  business. 
He  was  in  the  late  war  eleven  months  in  Company  A.,  Forty- 
seventh  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  and  again  two  years  in  the  Thir- 
teenth New  York  Marine  Artillery.  He  was  married  first  to  Huldah 
E.  Pierce.  She  died,  and  he  married  Mrs.  Ella  P.  Matthews,  widow 
of  Frederick  Matthews,  who  died  in  1885,  aged  eighty  years.  Mr. 
Matthews  was  engaged  during  his  life  in  agricultural  pursuits  and  salt 
making,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  introduce  forest  planting  on  the 
Cape.     He  left  one  daughter,  Mary  Matthews. 

Albert  Berry  was  born  in  1833.  He  is  the  eldest  and  only  sur- 
viving son  of  Howes  and  Caroline  (Bassett)  Berry,  and  grandson  of 
Isaac  Berry.  Mr.  Berry  is  a  contractor  and  builder.  He  was  married 
in  1854  to  Lucy  A.,  daughter  of  Edward  Sears.  Their  children  are: 
Lucy  E.,  Carrie  H.,  Daisy  F.,  and  Minnie  H.  Mr.  Berr>'  is  a  member 
of  Fraternal  Lodge  and  Oriental  Chapter,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  His  only 
brother,  Theophilus  B.,  was  killed  in  Oregon,  in  1882. 

Charles  M.  Bray,  son  of  Eben  and  Rebecca  (Matthews)  Bray,  and 
grandson  of  Edmund  Bray,  was  born  in  1832.  He  followed  the  gea 
several  years  as  a  master  mariner  prior  to  1868.  Since  that  time  he 
has  dealt  in  lumber  and  builders'  supplies  at  Yarmouth.  He  was 
married  to  Kate  D.  Baker,  and  they  have  five  children:  Charles  D., 
Robert,  Carrie  D.,  James  G.,  and  Sarah  E.  They  lost  one  child.  Mr. 
Bray  has  been  deputy  sheriff  thirteen  years. 


TOWN  OF  YARMOUTH.  491 

Alexander  B.  Chase  was  born  in  1848.  He  is  a  son  of  Rev.  Enoch 
E.  Chase,  who  was  ordained  as  a  Baptist  preacher  in  1832,  and  died  in 
1886,  aged  eighty-two  years.  He  left  two  children:  Rebecca  B.  and 
Alexander  B.,  who  occupies  the  homestead  where  Enoch  E.'s  father, 
Anthony  Chase,  lived.  Mr.  Chase  is  a  contractor  and  builder.  In 
early  life  he  followed  the  sea.  Ho  was  married  in  1873  to  Lucy  H., 
daughter  of  David  Bearse.  They  have  two  children:  George  H.  and 
Nellie  S.  Mr.  Chase  is  a  member  of  the  First  Baptist  church  of  Hy- 
annis. 

Theophilus  Chase,  born  in  1831,  is  a  son  of  Sylvester  and  Sarah 
(Kelley)  Chase,  grandson  of  James  and  Mercy  Chase,  and  great-grand- 
son of  Job  Chase.  Mr.  Chase  followed  the  sea  from  1840  to  1887,  and 
was  master  thirty  years.  He  "was  married  in  1866  to  Sarah  K.,  daugh- 
ter of  Freeman  Crowell.  They  have  three  children:  Lafayette  K., 
Hattie  C,  and  Herbert  C.     Mr.  Chase  is  a  member  of  Howard  Lodge. 

John  T.  Cobb  was  born  in  1858,  in  the  state  of  Vermont.  He  came 
to  the  town  of  Yarmouth  in  1883,  where  he  has  had  charge  of  his 
brother-in-law's  farm  since  that  time. 

Daniel  Cole,  son  of  Daniel  and  Mercy  (Higg^ns)  Cole,  and  grandson 
of  Elisha  Cole,  was  born  in  1835.  He  is  a  carpenter  and  builder,  hav- 
ing followed  that  business  for  thirty-five  years.  He  married  Eunice 
M.,  daughter  of  Isaac  Smalley.  They  have  had  two  children,  both  of 
whom  are  deceased. 

Charles  B.  Cory  bought  in  1882  of  S.  R.  Payson,  Great  island,  com- 
prising about  six  hundred  acres,  at  the  extreme  southwest  corner  of 
the  town  of  Yarmouth,  where  he  now  has  a  rare  game  preserve. 
Among  his  birds  we  find  the  golden,  silver,  copper  and  English 
pheasant,  and  others.  He  has  a  part  of  the  island  which  is  thickly 
wooded  (about  120  acres),  enclosed  with  a  suitable  fence,  and  in  1883 
he  placed  in  this  enclosure  about  forty  deer,  which  have  increased 
until  he  has  one  of  the  finest  deer  preserves  in  this  country.  The 
island  is  well  supplied  with  fresh  water  lakes,  which  are  stocked  with 
bass,  pickerel  and  perch. 

Daniel  B.  Crocker  was  born  in  1844.  He  is  the  youngest  son  of 
Daniel  and  Lucinda  D.  Crocker,  grandson  of  Joseph  and  great-grand- 
son of  Daniel  Crocker.  Mr.  Crocker  is  a  merchant  at  Yarmouth  Port, 
and  is  largely  engaged  in  cranberry  culture.  He  married  Mary  R. 
Knowles,  and  they  have  two  sons:  Fred  R.  and  Ralph  D.  Mr.  Crocker 
has  two  sisters:  Joanna  B.  (Mrs.  Otis  White)  and  Susan. 

Hatsel  Crosby,  born  in  1807.  is  the  only  surviving  child  of  Abijah 
and  Desire  Crosby,  and  grandson  of  Elisha  Crosby.  He  was  a  shoe- 
maker in  Brewster  for  fifteen  years,  prior  to  1848,  when  he  came  to 
South  Yarmouth,  where  he  was  engaged  in  salt  making  until  1883. 
He  was  married  in  1836  to  Jerusha  S.  Homer,  who  died  in  1854,  leav- 


492  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ing  five  children:  Susie,  Abbie,  Hattie  E.,  Herbert  F.,  and  Nellie  P., 
who  died  November  2,  1864.  Mr.  Crosby  was  married  in  1856  to 
Elizabeth  S.  Bangs,  who  died  the  same  year.  He  was  married  in  1858 
to  Hannah,  daughter  of  Jabez  Nye.  They  have  two  sons:  Benjamin 
B.  and  Chester  L. 

Elbridge  Crowell,  born  in  1822,  is  the  youngest  son  of  Timothy 
and  Polly  (Taylor)  Crowell,  and  grandson  of  Abner  and  Sarah  Cro- 
well. He  is  one  of  eight  children,  of  whom  three  are  living.  From 
1831  to  1884  he  followed  the  sea,  then  was  appointed  port  warden  at 
Boston,  which  oflBce  he  still  holds.  He  was  married  in  1849  to  Susan, 
daughter  of  Hersey  Baker.  Their  two  children  are:  Fred  A.  and 
Hattie  M.  (Mrs.  Charles  B.  Whelden).  Mr.  Crowell  is  a  member  of 
the  Boston  Marine  Society,  and  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order. 

Isaiah  Crowell,  born  in  1832,  is  descended  from  Elkanah',  Elkanah', 
Simeon*,  Ephraim',  John',  Yelverton  Crowell'.  Yelverton  Crowell 
died  in  West  Yarmouth  in  1683.  He  had  five  children.  The  farm  on 
which  he  settled  in  1640  is  still  in  the  Crowell  family.  Mr.  Crowell 
has  kept  a  general  store  at  West  Yarmouth  since  1867,  the  store  hav- 
ing been  built  three  years  previous  by  Osborn  Chase.  Mr.  Crowell 
followed  the  sea  in  early  life.  He  was  married  in  1867  to  Mercy, 
daughter  of  Zadock  Crowell,  who  was  a  son  of  Timothy  and  grandson 
of  Jeremiah  Crowell.  They  have  three  children:  Joshua  F.,  Thomas 
S.,  and  Isaiah  W.  Mr.  Crowell  was  eleven  years  a  member  of  the 
school  committee,  and  has  been  clerk  of  the  West  Yarmouth  Congre- 
gational parish  for  twenty  years. 

Manton  H.  Crowell,  son  of  Gideon  and  Ruth  (Taylor)  Crowell  and 
grandson  of  Gideon  Crowell,  was  born  in  1852,  and  is  a  painter  by 
trade.  Since  1872  he  has  carried  on  a  wagon  and  paint  shop  at  South 
Yarmouth.  He  was  married  in  1873  to  Christina,  daughter  of  Allen 
B.  Crowell.  They  have  two  daughters:  Grace  E.  and  Ethel  W.  Mr. 
Crowell  is  a  member  of  the  South  Yarmouth '  Methodist  Episcopal 
church. 

Nelson  Crowell,  son  of  Jabez  Crowell,  was  born  in  1822  and  died  in 
1876.  He  was  a  seafaring  man.  He  was  married  in  1848  to  Mary  P., 
daughter  of  Judah  and  Polly  (Parker)  Crowell  and  granddaughter  of 
Judah  Crowell.  They  had  three  children:  Mary  N.,  Lester  E.  and 
Albert  A.     Mr.  Crowell  was  a  member  of  Howard  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

Rev.  Simeon  Crowell,  born  in  May,  1778,  the  son  of  Abner  and 
Ruth  (Nickerson)  Crowell,  departed  this  life  in  August,  1848.  Abner 
Crowell,  the  father,  died  on  board  a  prison  ship  in  Newport  harbor 
three  months  before  the  birth  of  Simeon,  leaving  his  family  destitute. 
The  pressing  needs  of  the  family  and  his  tender  regard  for  his 
mother  induced  the  subject  of  this  sketch  to  early  brave  the  hardships 
of  a  sailor's  life.     He  rose  rapidly  to  the  position  of  master  and  by  the 


PRINT, 
e      BIEBSTADT, 


TOWN   OF  YARMOUTH.  493 

application  of  his  characteristic  energy,  made  success  his  reward.  At 
the  age  of  thirty-six  he  left  the  sea  to  engage  in  the -manufacture  of 
salt,  which  he  continued  until  his  death. 

After  leaving  the  sea  he  was  impressed  with  a  sense  of  duty  in  the 
direction  of  special  Christian  work,  and  yielding  to  this  impression, 
he  entered  the  ministry,  being  ordained  at  his  own  house.  The  Bap- 
tist church  received  his  life-long  labors.  He  married  Charlotte  Clark 
of  Harwich  (now  Brewster),  an  estimable  lady,  whose  efficient  assist- 
ance, especially  in  his  pastoral  work,  can  never  be  measured.  They 
reared  four  children:  Charlotte,  born  June,  1803,  died  March,  1877; 
Mary,  born  February,  1806,  died  December,  1886;  Simeon,  born  Janu- 
ary, 1808,  died  September,  1849;  and  Ruth  H.,  who  was  born  January, 
1810,  died  October,  1851.  Of  these  children,  Charlotte  and  Mary  lived 
and  died  unmarried.  Simeon,  in  May,  1841,  married  Desire  Crosby 
of  Brewster,  and  died  without  issue.  Ruth  H.  married  Barnabas 
Sears,  jr.,  and  of  their  four  children  three  died  in  infancy;  Simeon, 
the  youngest,  died  at  sixteen  in  the  manner  mentioned  in  the  biog- 
raphy of  his  father. 

Rev.  Simeon  Crowell  has  left  the  record  of  a  faithful  citizen  in  all 
public  and  private  acts.  He  won  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the 
entire  community,  and  was  many  times  called  to  serve  his  town  in 
responsible  positions.  As  a  minister  and  teacher  he  was  untiring  in 
his  devotion  to  his  Master,  declaring  the  counsels  of  truth  whenever 
occasion  presented,  and  sowing  that  gospel  seed  which  has  brought 
forth  an  hundred  fold. 

Sturgis  Crowell,  son  of  Elkanah,  was  born  in  1822,  and  followed 
sea  from  1832  to  1874,  being  master  thirteen  years.  He  was  married  in 
1858  to  Emily,  daughter  of  Elisha  and  Polly  Baker.  She  died  in 
1859.  He  married  again  in  1874,  to  Susan  J.,  daughter  of  Freeman 
and  Patience  Baker.  They  have  two  daughters:  Alice  Maude,  and 
Annie  S.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  one  son,  Elisha  B.  S.,  who  died 
February,  1872,  aged  thirteen  years. 

William  P.  Davis,  son  of  James  Davis,  was  born  in  1816,  in  New 
Bedford,  and  came  to  Yarmouth  at  the  age  of  four  years.  He  was 
engaged  in  salt  making  until  1858,  when  he  entered  the  Yarmouth 
National  Bank  as  assistant  cashier.  He  became  cashier  in  1875,  at 
the  death  of  Amos  Otis.  He  has  filled  the  office  of  town  clerk  since 
February,  1844.  He  married  Hetty  K.  Crowell.  They  have  four  chil- 
dren: William  J.,  who  has  been  in  the  bank  with  his  father  .since 
1866;  Abbie  A.,  Hannah  H.  and  Lucy  W. 

Edward  S.  Ellis,  son  of  George  W.  E.  and  Sarah  P.  (Story)  Ellis, 
was  born  in  1856,  at  Bournedale.  He  has  been  station  agent  for  the 
Old  Colony  Railroad  Company  since  1882— two  years  at  Bournedale, 
and  since  then  at  Yarmouth.     He  spent  five  years  in  California  prior 


494  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

to  1882.     He  is  married  to  Louisa  P.  Blackwell,  and  has  two  sons  ; 
George  E.  S.  and  Elisha  B.  P. 

James  Ellis,  born  in  1828,  is  a  son  of  Philip  and  Dorcas  (Robinson) 
Ellis,  and  grandson  of  Philip  Ellis.  He  is  a  farmer,  and  since  1889 
has  kept  a  livery  stable  at  Hyannis.  He  was  married  in  1842, 
to  Mary  R.,  daughter  of  Job  Cash.  They  have  two  children  living: 
Helen  M.  and  Judith  A.     They  lost  three. 

Russell  D.  Farris,  born  September  11,  1818,  is  the  oldest  son  of 
Reuben  K.,  and  a  grandson  of  Samuel  Farris.  He  is  a  harness  maker 
by  trade,  but  has  been  a  merchant  at  South  Yarmouth  for  forty-five 
years.  He  was  married  in  1842  to  Mercy  F.  Easton.  His  second 
wife  was  Eliza  Kelley.  She  died  leaving  one  son,  William  R.,  who 
was  married  in  1885  to  Lillian  S.  Baker.  Their  only  son  is  Russell 
D.,  2d.  Mr.  Farris  married  Mrs.  Augusta  Copeland,  for  his  third  wife, 
in  1877. 

Loring  Fuller,  born  in  1831,  is  one  of  nine  sons  of  William  and 
Eliza  (Chase)  Fuller,  and  a  grandson  of  William  Fuller.  He  has 
been  a  seafaring  man  since  he  was  ten  years  old.  Since  1866,  he  has 
run  a  packet  from  South  Yarmouth,  in  connection  with  the  grain  and 
coal  store  of  Loring  Fuller  &  Co.  He  was  married  in  1863  to  Mary 
C.  Ryder.  They  have  three  children:  Joseph  W.,  who  married  Clara 
E.  Hurst  in  1876;  Lizzie  B.,  Mrs.  C.  F.  Purrington,  and  Mernie  L. 

Benjamin  T.  Gorham,  born  in  1862,  is  the  only  son  of  Benjamin 
and  Clara  (Matthews)  Gorham,  grandson  of  Hezekiah,  and  great- 
grandson  of  John  Gorham.  Mr.  Gorham  was  for  six  years  clerk 
in  the  store  of  A.  A.  Knowles.  In  October,  1888,  he  opened  a  boot 
and  shoe  store  at  Yarmouth  Port,  where  his  father  does  repairing, 
having  worked  at  the  trade  since  1837. 

Fred.  Hallett  is  the  eldest  of  four  sons  of  Manchester  and  a 
grandson  of  Nathan  Hallett.  He  learned  the  printers'  trade  in  the 
oflBce  of  the  Cape  Cod  Item,  where  he  was  foreman  for  six  years.  Since 
January,  1889,  he  has  run  a  job  printing  oflSce  of  his  own  at  Yarmouth 
Port.     He  married  Grace  E.  Ryder. 

Barnabas  C.  Howes,  born  in  1839,  is  a  son  of  Cyrus,  and  grandson 
of  Alexandar,  and  great-grandson  of  Jonathan  Howes.  His  mother 
was  Hannah  H.,  daughter  of  Nathan  Crowell.  Mr.  Howes  followed 
the  sea  from  the  age  of  fifteen  years  until  1887,  as  master  the  last 
twenty-one  years.  He  was  married  in  1869  to  Rebecca,  daughter  of 
Orlando  Wood.  Their  children  are:  Margaret,  Willis  and  Cyrus  P. 
Mr.  Howes  is  a  member  of  the  Boston  Marine  Society. 

Benjamin  R.  Howes  was  born  in  Dennis  in  1831,  and  is  a  son  of 
Charles  and  Nancy  Howes,  both  natives  of  Dennis.  Mr.  Howes  has 
carried  on  a  coat  factory  at  Yarmouth  since  1866.  He  was  married  to 
Louisa,  daughter  of  Joshua  Eldridge,  of  Yarmouth.     They  have  two 


TOWN   OF   YARMOUTH.  495 

children:  Charles  R.,  who  is  with  his  father  in  the  coat  factory,  mar- 
ried to  Mary  E.  Edwards,  of  Dennis;  and  Mary  J.,  now  Mrs.  John 
Thacher.     Mr.  Howes  is  a  member  of  Fraternal  Lodge  of  Masons. 

Millard  F.  Jones  is  a  son  of  Luther  Jones,  M.  D.,  who  was  a  native 
of  Acton,  Mass.,  and  practiced  medicine  in  Yarmouth  for  several 
years  prior  to  his  death,  which  occurred  in  California,  in  1862,  aged 
forty-five  years.  Mr.  Jones'  mother  was  Susannah,  daughter  of  Jona- 
than Kelley.  She  died,  leaving  three  children:  Millard  F.,  Elizabeth 
K.,  and  Robena.  Mr.  Jones  and  his  two  sisters  occupy  the  house 
which  was  built  in  1832,  by  Jonathan  Kelley. 

David  Dudley  Kelley,  son  of  David  and  Phebe  (Dudley)  Kelley, 
was  born  in  1846.  Since  1867  he  has  been  a  dry  goods  merchant  at 
South  Yarmouth.  He  was  one  of  the  first  trustees  of  the  Bass  River 
Saving  Bank,  and  has  been  its  treasurer  since  1877.  He  was  married 
in  1869,  to  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Winthrop  Sears.  He  built  a  nice 
residence  in  South  Yarmouth  in  1874. 

Seth  Kelley,  born  in  1838,  is  the  oldest  son  of  David  Kelley',  who 
descended  from  Seth',  David',  Seth',  Jeremiah',  David  O.  Kily',  who 
took  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  colony  in  1657.  Mr.  Kelley 's  mother 
was  Phebe  Dudley.  He  is  a  machinist  by  trade  and  is  now  engaged 
with  the  American  Metallic  Fabric  Company  at  South  Yarmouth.  He 
carried  on  an  ice  business  at  South  Yarmouth  about  twenty-five  years. 
He  was  married  in  1865  to  Harriet,  daughter  of  Orlando  Baker.  They 
have  two  sons:  David,  and  Ralph  D.  Mr.  Kelley  is  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends. 

Edward  Lewis,  born  in  1817,  is  one  of  nine  children  of  Elnathan, ' 
and  grandson  of  Benjamin  Lewis.  His  mother  was  Lavina,  daughter 
of  Zachariah  Howes.  Mr.  Lewis  followed  the  sea  from  1833  to  1874, 
as  master  after  1838.  He  was  married  in  1845  to  Lucretia,  daughter 
of  Ezekiel  Crowell.  She  died  in  1886,  leaving  three  children:  Martha 
(Mrs.  Levi  Snow),  Lavina  (Mrs.  Julius  Crowell),  and  Joseph.  Mr. 
Lewis  has  been  selectman  in  Yarmouth  for  eight  years,  and  he  has 
been  two  years  on  the  school  committee.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
West  Yarmouth  Congregational  church. 

George  H.  Loring,  son  of  John,  grandson  of  David  and  great  grand- 
son of  David  Loring,  was  born  in  1834.  He  began  going  to  sea  at  the 
age  of  eleven,  continuing  until  he  was  forty  years  old.  He  was  mas- 
ter mariner  nineteen  years.  He  was  selectman  two  years  (1877  and 
1878),  and  represented  his  district  in  the  legislature  in  1886  and  1887. 
He  was  married  in  1855  to  Alvira,  daughter  of  Laban  Baker.  Their 
only  surviving  child  is  George  E.  They  lost  three  children:  Elmer 
E.,  Lizzie  T.,  and  Nellie  Y.  Mr.  Loring  is  a  member  of  Howard 
Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  a  member  of  South  Yarmouth  Methodist 
Episcopal  church. 


496  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

William  D.  Loring,  son  of  John  and  grandson  of  David  Loring, 
was  born  in  1823.  He  was  a  master  mariner  twenty-five  years,  and 
since  1872  he  has  kept  a  grain  store  at  Yarmouth.  He  married  Mary 
P.,  daughter  of  Otis  and  Sarah  (Hallett)  Crowell.  They  had  one 
adopted  daughter,  Addie  W.,  who  died. 

Richard  Wallace  Marston,  born  in  1861,  is  a  son  of  Richard  and 
Sophia  L.  (Grush)  Marston,  and  grandson  of  John  and  Temperance 
(Matthews)  Marston.  Mr.  Marston  graduated  from  Bridgewater  Nor- 
mal school  in  1884.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  teach- 
ing, and  is  now  teaching  his  third  year  in  the  Yarmouth  grammar 
school. 

Braddock  Matthews  was  born  in  1812,  and  is  the  oldest  son  of  Eze- 
kiel,  grandson  of  Ezekiel,  and  great-grandson  of  David  and  Anna 
(Crowell)  Matthews.  His  mother  was  Bethia,  daughter  of  Eleazer 
Crowell.  Mr.  Matthews  went  to  sea  from  1824  to  1838,  at  which  time 
he  went  into  a  store  at  South  Yarmouth  with  David  Matthews  and 
continued  until  1865.  He  has  been  selectman  in  Yarmouth  sixteen 
years.  He  was  married  in  1837  to  Zipporah,  daughter  of  Timothy 
Crowell.     They  have  one  daughter  living  and  have  lost  three. 

David  Matthews,  deceased,  was  the  representative  of  two  old 
families  of  the  Cape,  one  the  family  name  which  he  bore,  and  the 
other  the  Hallett  name.  The  Matthews  family  were  often  mentioned 
in  the  civil  and  military  affairs  of  Old  Yarmouth  prior  to  1700.  Eze- 
kiel Matthews  married  Lydia  Hallett  and  in  his  lifetime  was  active  in 
the  affairs  of  the  town,  departing  this  life  July  17,  1849,  at  South  Yar- 
mouth. His  wife  died  January  25, 1852.  They  reared  eleven  children, 
of  whom  David,  the  eighth,  was  born  October  20, 1801.  The  common 
schools  of  that  day  afforded  the  only  accessible  means  of  an  educa- 
tion, of  which  he  availed  himself  and  started  out  upon  the  journey  of 
life.  He  was  married  April  12,  1835,  to  Emeline  Hallett,  who  died 
August  21,  1849.  Their  children  were:  Hebron  V.,  born  November 
3,  1835;  Albert,  December  29,  1836;  Elnathan,  June  2,  1838;  Gideon, 
January  17,  1840;  and  Mary  H.,  June  17,  1842.  Of  these,  Gideon  died 
in  infancy  and  Albert  died  August  4, 1877,  on  board  the  bark  Norway, 
of  which  he  was  master,  in  Lat.  38°  28',  Long.  27°  37'.  He  had  been 
talking  with  his  wife,  and  as  he  turned  to  go  on  deck,  fell;  she  heard 
a  long,  heavy  breath,  and  he  was  dead.  August  6th  his  remains  were 
committed  to  the  deep,  leaving  his  stricken  wife  to  continue  the  voy- 
age of  life  alone.  He  was  twice  married:  first,  November  7,  1870,  to 
Mary  H.  Lewis  of  West  Yarmouth;  and  second,  on  January  18,  1877, 
to  Clara  Gilkey  of  Watertown,  Mass.,  who  still  survives.  He  was  an 
active,  enterprising  master,  respected  for  his  integrity  and  beloved 
for  his  thoughtful  kindness  in  contributing  to  the  happiness  of  others 
as  a  husband,  brother  and  friend. 


aiy^i 


■^ 


i£y7^ 


1.     BICMSrAOT.     N. 


TOWN   OF   YARMOUTH.  497 

The  three  surviving  children  of  David  Matthews  are  residing  at 
South  Yarmouth.  Hebron  V.  was  married  January  27,  1861,  to  Ade- 
line F.  Baker  of  South  Dennis;  his  life  for  many  years  was  on  the  sea, 
until  1888,  when  he  opened  a  grocery  store  at  Lower  Village,  South 
Yarmouth.  Elnathan,  unmarried,  resides  at  the  homestead  near  his 
brother;  he  learned  the  tailor  trade,  but  never  made  it  a  business. 
Mary  H.,  a  milliner,  June  26,  1864,  married  Frederick  A.  Baker,  who 
keeps  a  livery  at  South  Yarmouth.  They  have  one  daughter,  Eme- 
line  G.,  born  January  29,  1865,  and  resides  with  her  parents.  David 
Matthews,  after  the  death  of  the  mother  of  these  children,  was  mar- 
ried November  17,  1850,  to  Laura  A.  Hallett,  a  sister  of  the  first  wife, 
who  survived  him  several  years,  departing  this  life  January  15,  1888. 
After  a  long  life  of  usefulness  Mr.  Matthews  died  April  10,  1884. 

His  life  of  over  four-score  years  was  fraught  with  the  cares  of 
military,  civil  and  business  duties  which  were  incidental  to  the  growth 
of  the  village.  The  salt  works  in  his  younger  days,  a  grocery  and 
fitting-out  store  on  the  shore  for  nearly  half  a  century,  and  interests 
in  the  coasting  and  fishing  trade,  coupled  with  his  social  and  civil  re- 
lations, rendered  his  a  busy  life.  His  retiring  nature  led  to  the 
declination  of  proffered  political  preferment.  Until  the  last  few  years 
of  his  life  he  was  constantly  engaged  in  some  useful  employment  in 
which  he  was  always  considerate  of  the  welfare  of  others.  At  his 
death  the  Yarmouth  Register  said:  "  David  Matthews  was  a  useful  citi- 
zen, possessing  a  large  heart  full  of  kindness  and  sympathy  for  the 
poor  and  suffering.  He  was  interested  in  the  cause  of  religion  and 
assisted  greatly  in  sustaining  the  gospel.  He  was  a  peacemaker,  de- 
lighting in  promoting  the  best  good  of  others  in  an  unobtrusive  man- 
ner. He  had  a  kind  word  for  children,  and  several  would  be  with 
him  when  he  was  able  to  go  out.  His  removal  was  a  loss  to  the  com- 
munity where  he  was  so  useful.  '  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers  for 
they  shall  be  called  the  children  of  God.'  " 

Seleck  H.  Matthews  was  born  in  1819,  and  died  in  1886.  He  was  a 
son  of  Freeman,  and  a  grandson  of  Ezekiel  Matthews.  Mr.  Matthews 
was  a  master  mariner,  and  for  some  years  prior  to  his  death  he  was 
superintendent  of  a  steamship.  He  was  first  married  to  Rebecca 
Crowell,  who  died  leaving  one  daughter,  Rebecca  H.,  and  one  son, 
Seleck  H.  In  1848  he  married  Lucy  J.,  daughter  of  ApoUos  Pratt, 
M.  D.,  who  died  in  Yarmouth  in  1860,  aged  eighty-three  years.  Mr. 
Matthews  was  a  member  of  Howard  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  a  stew- 
ard of  the  South  Yarmouth  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Isaac  Myrick,  son  of  Isaac  and  Temperance  Myrick,  was  born  in 

Brewster  in  1792.     He  followed  the  sea  in  early  life,  running  a  packet 

from  New  York  to  Savannah  for  several  years,  after  which  he  engaged 

in  business  in  New  York  for  a  time,  then  was  a  merchant  in  Yarmouth 

32 


498  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

until  he  retired  from  active  life.  He  married  Lucy,  daughter  of  Eben 
Sears,  and  had  seven  children,  four  of  whom  are  living:  Mary  J., 
Lucy  (Mrs.  Oliver  Crocker),  Isaac,  and  Clara  W.,  now  the  widow  of 
Captain  Winthrop  Sears. 

Rodman  R.  Nickerson,  born  in  1835,  is  a  son  of  Crowell  and  Mary 
Nickerson,  and  grandson  of  Sylvanus  Nickerson.  He  has  been  a  mar- 
iner since  sixteen  years  of  age,  with  the  exception  of  nine  winters, 
when  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  school.  He  was  married  in  1861  to 
Permelia  E.,  daughter  of  William  and  Azubah  (Baker)  White.  They 
have  had  two  sons,  who  died. 

Sylvanus  Nickerson,  a  son  of  Henry  and  Lucy  (Shiverick)  Nicker- 
son, was  born  in  1832,  and  has  been  a  master  mariner  since  he  was 
twenty-one  years  of  age.  He  was  in  the  naval  service  four  years  dur- 
ing the  war  of  the  rebellion.  He  was  married  in  1855  to  Mercy, 
daughter  of  Hersey  Baker.  They  have  three  children:  Henry  A., 
Alfred  H.,- and  Grace  V. 

Elisha  Parker,  the  youngest  and  only  surviving  child  of  Benjamin, 
and  grandson  of  Jacob  Parker,  was  born  in  1814  in  West  Yarmouth, 
near  Parker's  river,  which  derives  its  name  frcm  the  Parker  family. 
Mr.  Parker's  mother  was  Elizabeth  Crowell.  He  was  a  shoemaker  by 
trade,  and  kept  a  shoe  store  at  South  Yarmouth  until  1884,  when  he 
retired  from  business.  During  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  business 
life  he  was  connected  with  a  woolen  mill  at  Falmouth,  and  supplied 
the  stores  on  the  Cape  with  the  noted  Falmouth  jeans  and  kerseys. 
He  was  married  in  1837  to  Elizabeth  Baker,  who  died.  Two  of  their 
three  sons  are  living:  Edward  K.  and  Silas  B.;  Benjamin  H.  died  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  years.  In  1860  he  married  his  second  wife, 
Mary  A.  Smith.  Mr.  Parker  is  a  member  of  the  South  Yarmouth 
Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

E.  Dexter  Payne,  merchant  at  Yarmouth  Port,  was  born  at  East- 
ham  in  1840.  He  is  a  son  of  Elkanah  K.  and  Mehitable  P.  (Knowles) 
Payne.  Mr.  Payne  came  to  Yarmouth  in  1854,  where  he  was  clerk  in 
a  store  for  ten  years.  Since  1865  he  has  kept  a  general  store  at  Yar- 
mouth Port.  He  was  one  year  in  the  war,  in  Company  E,  Fifth  Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers,  and  is  a  member  of  Charles  Chipman  Post,  G.  A. 
R.     He  married  Mary  L.  Gorham. 

Charles  E.  Purringlon  was  born  in  1843  in  New  Bedford,  Mass., 
and  is  a  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Louisa  A.  (Brown)  Purrington.  Mr. 
Purrington  has  resided  at  South  Yarmouth  since  1885,  and  was  con- 
nected with  the  grain  store  of  Loring  Fuller  &  Co.  until  1890,  when 
he  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Purrington  &  Small,  succeeding 
Wing  Brothers  in  the  grocery  business.  He  was  married  in  1882  to 
Lizzie  B.,  daughter  of  Loring  Fuller.  Their  children  are:  Wallace 
F.  and  Florence  May. 


PfllNT. 
E.     SIERSTAOT. 


TOWN  OF  YARMOUTH.  499 

Barnabas  Sears,  deceased,  was  in  the  lineage,  direct,  from  Rich- 
ard Sears,  who  came  with  the  last  of  the  congregation  of  Leyden, 
landing  at  Plymouth,  May  8,  1630.  The  tax  rates  of  that  plantation 
indicate  that  he  was  possessed  of  a  large  property.  In  1643  a  com- 
pany led  by  him  passed  through  Mattacheese  to  Scargo  hill  and  set- 
tled at  what  is  now  known  as  East  Dennis.  The  descent  was  Richard, 
Silas,  Joseph,  Barnabas,  Stephen,  Stephen,  and  Barnabas,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  Stephen,  his  father,  born  in  1765,  married  Sarah  Gor- 
ham,  had  seven  children  and  died  in  1851.  He  was  early  at  sea  and 
was  a  thorough  seafaring  man.  He  was  engaged  in  the  fishing  and 
coasting  business  during  the  war  of  1812,  was  captured,  shipwrecked, 
and  encountered  many  reverses.  During  the  war  of  1812  he  went  to 
the  Mediterranean  to  sell  a  cargo  of  fish.  The  Spanish  seized  his 
vessel  and  cargo,  sent  him  to  America,  landing  him  near  Wilming- 
ton, N.  C,  to  return  home  on  foot. 

Barnabas  Sears,  born  July  3,  1790,  married  Hannah  Crocker,  who 
was  born  November  13,  1792,  and  died  January  7,  1879.  Their  six 
children  were:  John  K.,  born  September  11,  1816;  Barnabas,  Septem- 
ber 13,  1818;  Stephen,  July  15,1822;  Seth,  September  27,1825;  Eliza- 
beth, November  18,  1828;  and  David,  born  July  6,  1832.  Seth  died 
August  8, 1848,  and  the  remaining  five  reside  at  South  Yarmouth  in 
five  adjacent  homes.  Of  these  John  K.,  the  oldest,  lives  farthest  west, 
and  east  of  him  are  the  other  four,  by  a  curious  coincidence,  in  the 
order  of  their  births,  to  David,  the  youngest,  who  lives  farthest  east. 
These  are  so  many  living  branches  in  the  wide-spreading  tree  of 
which  Richard  Sears  is  the  trunk. 

The  early  life  of  Barnabas  Sears  was  spent  at  sea,  shipping  at  the 
age  of  nine  in  his  father's  vessel,  he  and  another  boy  taking  a  man's 
share.  About  1820  he  was  induced  to  stop  ashore  to  engage  in  the 
then  lucrative  business  of  salt  manufacturing  at  South  Yarmouth. 
He  was  most  successful  on  the  sea,  rapidly  rising  to  master.  He 
manufactured  salt  eighteen  years,  and  passed  the  remainder  of  his 
days  in  the  cultivation  of  his  farm.  He  enjoyed  the  full  confidence 
of  his  townsmen,  but  would  never  accept  any  trust  that  would  inter- 
fere with  his  social  and  business  relations.  His  life  was  one  of 
marked  loyalty  to  truth  and  honesty,  and  his  ready  sympathy  and 
genial  nature  won  for  him  many  friends  who  sincerely  mourned  his 
death,  which  occurred  at  the  homestead,  July  17,  1875. 

John  K.  Sears. — This  enterprising  citizen  of  South  Yarmouth  is 
the  oldest  son  of  Barnabas  Sears,  whose  genealogy  is  given  in  the 
preceding  biography.  He  was  born  September  11,  1816,  and  passed 
nearly  seventeen  of  the  first  years  of  his  life  at  home,  in  acquiring  a 
common  school  education  and  assisting  his  parents.  Instead  of  a  love 
for  the  sea,  his  mind  early  turned  to  mechanics,  and  at  seventeen  he 


500  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

went  to  Nantiacket  to  learn  the  carpenters'  trade.  At  twenty-one  lie 
was  a  master  builder  and  was  in  business  for  himself,  which  he  con- 
tinued there  until  1850.  He  was  married  March  24,  1839,  to  Sarah, 
the  youngest  daughter  of  the  six  children  of  Reuben  Burdett — a 
whaleman  of  Nantucket,  and  later,  master  of  a  packet,  who  passed 
his  last  years  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  K.  Sears,  and  died  aged  eighty- 
eight  years. 

The  great  fire  of  1846  interrupted  the  business  of  Mr.  Sears  at 
Nantucket,  and  after  a  strong  desire  to  visit  California,  from  which 
he  was  restrained,  he  i-etumed  to  South  Yarmouth  in  1860.  The 
seeming  need  of  a  mill  at  his  place  at  South  Yarmouth  induced  him 
with  his  brother  Barnabas,  to  erect,  in  1854,  a  commodious  building 
in  which  planing,  sawing  and  grinding  were  done  for  the  community. 
House  building  was  at  the  same  time  extensively  carried  on  and  he 
now  points  with  pride  to  his  own  and  many  other  beautiful  residences 
of  which  he  was  the  master  builder.  In  1865,  the  planing  works  were 
discontinued,  and  in  1869  the  building  was  removed  to  the  yard  at 
Hyannis,  where  he  had  purchased  the  lumber  business  of  Samuel 
Snow.  This  business  was  at  once  greatly  enlarged,  additional  build- 
ings were  erected,  and  in  1874  a  branch  yard  was  established  at  Mid- 
dleboro,  which  is  continued  under  the  name  of  J.  K.  &  B.  Sears.  An- 
other branch  lumber  yard  was  established  in  1882,  at  Woods  Holl, 
the  particulars  of  which,  with  that  of  Hyannis,  are  fully  given  in  the 
histories  of  those  villages. 

The  active,  progressive  business  nature  of  Mr.  Sears  has  precluded 
all  desire  to  hold  ofiBcial  trusts,  but  in  1860,  and  again  in  1861,  as  a. 
true  exponent  of  republican  principles,  he  consented  to  represent 
his  district  in  the  legislature,  since  which  time  he  has  peremptorily 
declined  all  honors.  Wherever  he  has  resided  he  has  taken  a  lead- 
ing interest  in  the  Sunday  schools.  The  Methodist  church  of  his  vil- 
lage now  enjoys  both  his  liberal  material,  and  spiritual  aid.  Broad 
in  his  views  he  has  sought  to  do  his  duty  toward  Gcd  ?nd  tcvsid 
man,  and  the  impression  he  has  made  upon  his  fellow  men  is  that  of 
a  life  grounded  upon  honest  principles.  Having  no  children  of  his 
own  he  has  filled  the  position  of  a  parent,  in  his  munificence  to  those 
of  others. 

Barnabas  Sears. — This  citizen  of  South  Yarmouth  was  born  Sep- 
tember 13,  1818.  He  is  the  second  son  of  Barnabas  Sears,  deceased,, 
with  whose  genealogy  the  reader  of  the  preceding  pages  is  familiar. 
Unlike  most  lads  of  the  Cape,  Barnabas  turned  his  mind  to  mechanics 
instead  of  the  sea.  After  such  educational  advantages  as  his  own 
village  afforded  he  went  to  Nantucket  at  the  age  of  seventeen  as  an 
apprentice  to  the  carpenter  trade,  and  there  for  a  short  time  he  attend- 
ed an  evening  school.     At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  returned  to  South. 


^__^^^^^ 


PRINT. 
E.     BlERSTAOT,     N 


TOWN  OF  YARMOUTH.  501 

Yarmouth,  but  was  induced  to  spend  the  subsequent  season  on  the 
island  before  he  made  a  permanent  residence  in  his  native  place. 
With  his  brother,  John  K.,  he  engaged  in  the  building  and  planing 
mill  business  as  has  been  mentioned  in  the  village  histories  of  South 
Yarmouth  and  Hyannis.  In  the  fall  of  1873  be,  with  his  older  brother, 
as  J.  K.  &  B.  Sears,  established  a  lumber  yard  at  Middleboro,  where 
Barnabas  removed,  remaining  there  until  1887,  when  he  returned, 
leaving  the  business  with  his  youngest  son,  Henry  W.  Sears,  who 
continues  it. 

Mr.  Sears  has  been  three  times  married;  first  to  Ruth  H.  Crowell, 
daughter  of  Rev.  Simeon  Crowell,  whose  portrait  appears  at  page  492. 
They  had  four  children,  three  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  Simeon  C, 
then  the  only  survivor  of  his  mother's  branch  of  an  illustrious  family, 
met  an  untimely  death  on  board  the  ship  Fleetwitig,  off  Cape  Horn. 
He  was  only  sixteen  when,  against  the  wishes  of  his  parents,  he  made 
his  first  voyage  with  Captain  David  Kelley,  and  during  a  snow  storm 
fell  from  the  main  yard.  Twelve  days  after  his  fall  his  body  was  con- 
signed to  the  waters  of  the  Pacific.  By  his  death,  that  branch  of  the 
Crowell  family  has  become  extinct.  The  wife  and  mother  died  Octo- 
ber 13,  1850.  Mr.  Sears'  second  marriage  was  in  October,  1852,  to 
Deborah  M.,  daughter  of  Captain  William  and  Lydia  Clark,  of  Brewster. 
She  died  April  22,  1885,  leaving  three  children:  Isaiah  C,  who  was 
born  in  1853  and  married  Sarah  R,  daughter  of  Timothy  Crocker; 
Henry  W.,  who  was  born  in  1869,  and  married  Martha,  daughter  of 
James  and  Lucy  Pickens,  of  Middleboro;  and  Etta  Frances  Sears, 
born  1866.  The  present  Mrs.  Barnabas  Sears,  to  whom  he  was  mar- 
ried May  2,  1886,  was  Sarah  H.,  daughter  of  Hatsel  and  Jerusha  Cros- 
by, and  widow  of  Edwin  F.  Doane.  She  has  one  son.  Walter  H. 
Doane. 

Mr.  Sears  has  persistently  declined  to  hold  office,  prefering  the 
social  relations  of  life  to  the  strife  of  party.  He  is  a  republican  politi- 
cally, with  a  strong  tendency  to  promote  the  cause  of  temperance 
wherever  an  opportunity  is  presented.  He  has  been  earnest  and  for- 
ward in  that  cause  as  well  as  in  every  other  good  work.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Middleboro  Congregational  church,  but  earnestly 
supports  the  religious  societies  of  his  village.  In  1849  he  erected  his 
present  fine  residence,  the  subject  of  the  accompanying  illustration, 
where  he  is  passing  the  twilight  of  his  well-spent  days  in  the  quiet 
enjoyment  of  the  association  of  brothers  and  sisters  and  in  the  full 
confidence  of  the  entire  community. 

Stephen  Sears,  the  third  son  of  Barnabas  Sears,  deceased,  was 
bom  July  16, 1822.  During  his  boyhood  he  improved  the  educational 
advantages  afforded  him,  early  developing  a  love  for  mechanics  and 
kindred  arts.     At  sixteen  years  of  age  he  went  to  sea,  where  he  was 


602  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Steadily  employed  until  1848,  and  later  he  acted  for  thirteen  months 
as  first  officer  on  Philadelphia  steamers.  On  the  16th  of  April,  1846, 
he  married  Henrietta  Adelia,  daughter  of  Andrew  and  Laura  (Leon- 
ard) Hull,  of  Willington,  Conn.,  married  in  1826,  and  of  whose  seven 
children  she  and  one  brother  are  the  sole  survivors.  Dea.  Andrew 
Hull  died  May  6,  1879;  his  wife  in  1850. 

Since  Mr.  Sears  retired  from  the  sea  he  has  constantly  filled  some 
trust  connected  with  the  social  or  civil  interests  of  his  town.  He  was 
teacher  of  the  seminary  at  Harwich  four  years,  and  taught  fifteen  in 
grammar  schools,  the  last  four  at  Newport,  R.  I.  He  was  the  agent 
ten  years  for  New  England  for  the  educational  works  of  Harper,  Ap- 
pleton  and  Sheldon  &  Co.  He  was  president  of  the  county  Teachers' 
Association  five  years.  In  his  social  relations  his  usefulness  is  no  less 
marked.  He  has  been  a  superintendent  of  Sunday  schools  thirty 
years  of  his  life,  and,  although  really,  with  his  wife,  a  member  of 
Doctor  Bates'  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Boston,  he  now  superin- 
tends the  school  of  the  Baptist  church.  South  Yarmouth,  and  renders 
to  that  society  his  spiritual  and  material  aid.  For  five  years  he  was 
president  of  the  Cape  Cod  Musical  Association,  and  has  been  other- 
wise largely  interested  in  the  libraries,  lodges  and  societies  of  his 
town  and  county. 

In  civil  and  municipal  affairs  his  worth  is  acknowledged  by  bis  re- 
election. He  acts  on  the  school  committee,  and  of  the  board  of  select- 
men has  been  the  chairman  for  six  years.  His  labors  are  manifold, 
yet  accomplished  with  that  precision  and  sound  judgment  which 
characterize  him. 

Of  his  six  children,  four  daughters  have  died:  Hannah  Elizabeth, 
bom  October  11,1852,  died  May  29,  1862;  Henrietta  Adelia  Hull,  Sep- 
tember 26,  1865,  died  January  17, 1856;  Sarah  Leonard,  April  26,1857, 
died  April  4,  1858;  and  Mary  Pollard,  who  was  bom  June  5,  1860,  and 
died  May  29,  1862.  The  only  surviving  daughter,  Laura  Helen,  mar- 
ried James  Gordon  Hallett,  December  6,  1871,  and  they  have  two 
children — Marietta  Sears,  aged  thirteen,  and  James  Gordon,  aged 
seven  years.  The  son,  Stephen  Hull  Sears,  M.  D.,  married  Marianna 
B.,  daughter  or  D.  P.  W.  Parker  and  Angeline  F.  Bearse  of  Barn- 
stable,  and  their  children  are:  Stephen  Hull,  aged  seven;  Henrietta 
Frances,  five;  and  Laura  Helen,  aged  four  years. 

Among  the  citizens  of  Yarmouth  none  are  more  identified  with 
the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  community  than  he.  In  every  ob- 
ject for  the  good  of  society  his  labor  and  means  are  employed,  and  he 
commands  the  respect  of  his  townsmen  for  his  ready  skill  in  mechan- 
ics, his  undoubted  integrity  in  municipal  affairs,  his  liberal  benefac- 
tions, and  his  symmetrical  social  and  religious  life. 


la^U^ 


E.     BIEH5T*0T.     N.     T. 


TOWN   OF   YARMOUTH.  503 

James  F.  Sears,  born  in  1834,  is  the  youngest  and  only  tuiviving 
son  of  James,  grandson  of  James,  and  great-grandson  of  James  Sears. 
Mr.  Sears'  mother  was  Phebe  Lewis,  who  died  September  25,  1889, 
aged  eighty-five  years,  nine  months  and  fourteen  days.  Mr.  Sears 
has  been  a  master  mariner  since  1862.  He  was  married  in  1856  to 
Sophia  S.,  daughter  of  Francis  and  Rozetta  Small. 

Nathaniel  Stone  Simpkins.— Nathaniel  S.  Simpkins  was  bom 
in  Brewster,  Mass.,  January  8,  1796.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Rev. 
John  and  Olive  (Stone)  Simpkins,  and  grandson  of  Dea.  John  Simp- 
kins, of  Boston.  The  Rev.  John  Simpkins  graduated  from  Harvard 
College  in  1786,  married  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Nathaniel  Stone,  the  min- 
ister of  the  first  church  at  Harwich.  His  son  Nathaniel,  received  an 
Academical  education,  and  was  trained  to  business  pursuits.  He  en- 
gaged for  a  few  years,  in  the  book-selling  and  stationery  business  in 
Boston,  and  established  the  "  County  Book  Store  "  m  Barnstable,  for 
many  years  the  only  one  of  the  kind  in  the  County. 

Mr.  Simpkins  was  the  founder  of  two  Cape  newspapers.  In  1836 
he  established  the  Barnstable  Journal,  which  he  soon  placed  on  a  pay- 
ing basis,  and  it  continued  to  succeed  during  the  three  or  four  years 
of  his  management.  In  1836,  in  connection  with  four  others,  he  es- 
tablished the  Yarmouth  Register,  being  one  of  its  proprietors  and  its 
business  manager  and  publisher,  for  about  two  years.  Nearly  forty- 
five  years  ago  he  was  engaged  in  fitting  out  and  managing  fishing 
vessels  at  Yarmouth  Port.  He  purchased  the  wharf,  store  and  land- 
ing place  on  the  premises,  which  something  like  two  centuries  before 
had  been  owned  by  Capt.  Nicholas  Simpkins,  who  in  his  day  was  in 
command  of  the  Castle  in  Boston  harbor,  who  for  a  few  years  was  a 
resident  here,  and  who  sold  to  Andrew  Hallet,  in  1645,  his  lands  in 
this  town.  Mr.  Simpkins  was  a  direct  descendant  of 'Nicholas,  but  at 
the  time  of  coming  into  possession  of  this  property  was  not  aware 
that  it  had  ever  been  held  by  his  ancestor. 

Mr.  Simpkins  was  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, in  the  years  1836,  1850  and  1851.  He  was  one  of  the 
earliest  advocates  and  promoters  of  the  Hoosac  Tunnel  enterprise, 
and  voted  for  the  first  bill  passed  in  favor  of  that  project.  He  was 
for  many  years  a  director  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Yarmouth, 
and  also  a  director  of  the  Cape  Cod  Railroad  until  it  was  merged  with 
the  Old  Colony  Railroad.  In  these  positions  he  proved  a  prudent, 
faithful  and  efficient  guardian  of  the  interests  confided  to  his  care. 
In  his  private  dealings  he  was  careful,  pains-taking,  scrupulous  in 
fulfilling  his  engagements  and  kindly  in  his  bearing  to  those  with 
whom  he  came  in  contact. 

Mr.  Simpkins  was  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  Swedenborgian 
church  of  Yarmouth,  and  was  efficient  in  his  aid  to  the  local  as  well 


504  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

as  the  general  organization.  By  his  union  with  Eliza  Thacher  of 
Yarmouth,  five  children  were  born,  who  arrived  at  mature  age,  viz: 
Charles  H.,  Mary,  John,  George  W.,  and  Nathaniel  Stone,  jr.  John 
and  Nathaniel  Stone  were  prominent  and  successful  business  men  in 
New  York,  both  being  especially  identified  in  the  Calumet  and  Hecla 
Mining  Copper  Company.  John  died  in  1870,  and  Nathaniel  S.,  jr.,  in 
1883.  Of  the  surviving  sons  Charles  H.  Simpkins  is  engaged  in  busi- 
ness in  San  Francisco  and  was  one  of  the  original  pioneers  of  1849. 
George  W.  Simpkins  resides  in  St.  Louis  and  occupies  in  summer,  the 
old  homestead  in  Yarmouth  Port,  which  belonged  to  hia  father. 

George  H.  Snow,  was  born  in  1849,  in  Harwich;  is  a  son  of  Caleb 
and  Laurietta  (Smith)  Snow,  and  grandson  of  Laban  Snow.  He  has 
followed  the  sea  since  1861,  and  since  1877  has  been  master  of  vessels. 
He  is  a  member  of  Newport  Marine  Society  and  a  member  of  the 
Masonic  order.  He  married  Anna  T.,  daughter  of  Joseph  Robinson, 
and  has  one  son,  Herbert  R. 

William  N.  Stetson,  born  in  1855,  is  a  son  of  John  Stetson,  M.  D., 
of  West  Harwich,  and  a  grandson  of  John  Stetson,  of  Bridgewater. 
His  mother  was  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Barnabas  and  Hannah  Seais, 
of  South  Yarmouth.  Mr.  Stetson  has  been  traveling  salesman  for 
Israel  W.  Monroe  &  Co.,  since  1879.  He  was  married  in  ]879  to  Lucy 
J.,  daughter  of  D.  P.  W.  Parker.  They  have  four  children:  Elizabeth 
P.,  Angeline  F.,  Monroe  B.  and  William  N.,  jr.  Mr.  Stetson  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Howard  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  also  of  Sylvester  Baxter  Chap- 
ter, and  is  a  member  of  the  New  England  Commercial  Travelers' 
Association. 

Hon.  Charles  F.  Swift. — This  respected  citizen  of  Yarmouth 
traces  his  descent  in  the  ninth  generation  from  William  Swift,  of 
Bocking,  Eng.,  who  came  over  in  the  first  expedition  with  Win- 
throp's  company,  was  in  Watertown  in  1632,  and  in  Sandwich  in 
1638.  Charles  F.  Swift  was  born  in  Falmouth,  June  18,  1825,  and 
received  his  education  in  the  common  school  and  academy  of  his 
native  town.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  entered  a  printing  ofl&ce, 
still  keeping  up  his  studies,  and  in  1847  became  associate  editor  of 
the  Yarmouth  Register,  of  which  he  has  been  editor  since  1850.  With 
the  many  cares  of  an  editorial  life,  during  his  years  of  service  he  has 
written  over  6,000  columns  of  newspaper  matter,  published  one  book, 
and  delivered  many  lectures  and  public  addresses.  Nor  has  he  been 
idle  in  affairs  of  the  body  social  and  politic.  The  first  ten  years  of 
its  existence  he  was  president  of  the  Yarmouth  Library  Association, 
has  been  president  of  the  Cape  Cod  Historical  Society  since  its  or- 
ganization; two  years  president  of  the  Barnstable  County  Agricul- 
tural Society;  was  collector  of  customs  for  Barnstable  district  from 
1861  to  1875,  with  only  four  months  interruption;  and  in  1859  filled 


yj-.^^tyf^^y^-^^'^'^^^ 


TOWN   OF   YARMOUTH.  505 

a  vacancy  of  several  months  in  the  office  of  register  of  probate.  His 
first  election  to  the  office  of  treasurer  of  the  county  was  in  1851,  to 
which  he  was  three  time  re-elected.  In  1857-58  he  was  sent  to  the 
state  senate,  where  he  served  on  the  committee  on  fisheries,  election 
laws  and  the  libraries,  and  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  joint  spe- 
cial committee  on  the  pilotage  laws.  In  1860  he  was  a  member  of 
the  executive  council  of  the  state.  Later,  in  1880  and  1881,  he  was 
the  representative  of  the  third  district  of  the  county  in  the  legisla- 
ture, serving  both  years  as  chairman  on  the  part  of  the  house  of  the 
committee  on  prisons  and  on  the  library,  and  the  last  term  he  served 
on  the  joint  special  committee  for  the  revision  of  the  laws  of  the 
Commonwealth.  Thus  for  over  three-score  years  has  Mr.  Swift  been 
a  prominent  factor  in  the  welfare  of  the  county,  and  since  the  forma- 
tion of  the  republican  party  one  of  its  lights  in  Barnstable  county. 
The  wielding  of  a  ready  pen,  being  thoroughly  conversant  with  poli- 
tical and  local  afi'airs,  and  withal  his  being  a  genial  and  obliging 
friend,  has  made  Mr.  Swift  a  popular  and  useful  man  in  the  county. 

In  1852  he  was  married  to  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of  John  Munroe,  of 
Barnstable,  and  they  have  seven  children:  Hannah  C,  wife  of  Frank 
E.  Chase,  of  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.;  Francis  M.,  in  the  railway  mail 
service;  Fred.  C,  counsellor-at-law;  Theodore  W.,  in  the  railway  mail 
service;  Caroline  M.,  a  teacher;  Sarah  M.,  a  stenographer;  andCharles 
W.,  at  present  assistant  editor  of  the  Register. 

Ellsha  Taylor. — The  ancestors  of  this  citizen  of  South  Yarmouth 
were  early  settlers  on  the  north  side  of  the  Cape,  and  in  the  growth 
and  wealth  of  the  town  were  an  important  element.  Abner  Taylor, 
one  of  their  descendants,  settled  later  at  West  Yarmouth,  where  he 
became  the  proprietor  of  a  large  tract  of  land.  He  married  Ruth 
Rogers,  and  of  their  children  two  survive:  Elisha  Taylor  and  the  wife 
of  Captain  Albert  Chase,  of  Hyannis. 

Elisha  Taylor  was  born  February  1, 1809,  at  West  Yarmouth,  where 
he  received  the  educational  advantages  of  his  town  and  the  academy 
at  Sandwich.  He  was  married  November  5,  1831,  to  Sophia,  one  of 
the  eight  children  of  Timothy  and  Polly  Crowell.  Besides  her.  Cap- 
tain Elbridge  Crowell,  of  Boston,  and  Mrs.  Mary  Jenkins,  of  South 
Yarmouth,  are  the  only  other  survivors  of  this  branch  of  an  ancient 
family.  While  young,  Elisha  Taylor  placed  his  mark  high  in  the 
road  to  affluence  and  distinction,  and  steadily  toward  the  goal  he  ad- 
vanced. He  was  active  in  commercial  and  civil  affairs  until  com- 
pelled by  physical  infirmity  to  desist. 

He  was  president  of  the  Marine  Insurance  Company  of  South  Yar- 
mouth seven  years;  selectman  twenty-five  years;  justice  of  the  peace 
twenty-eight  years,  besides  other  minor  offices,  and  refused  to  serve 
in  these  positions  longer  because  of  his  infirmity.     He  has  ever  taken 


506  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

a  keen  interest  in  public  affairs,  espousing  the  cause  of  the  republican 
party;  by  careful  reading  was  always  abreast  the  moving  world,  and 
in  1889  was  still  a  subscriber  to  nine  different  journals.  In  his  re- 
ligious preferences  he  is  a  Congregationalist,  but  Mrs.  Taylor  being 
an  earnest  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  he  has  given 
that  society  his  support,  contributing  at  one  time,  wholly  or  in  greater 
part,  to  the  erection  of  what  is  familiarly  called  Taylor's  Chapel. 

For  nearly  three-score  years  he  and  his  good  wife,  although  no 
children  bless  their  home,  have  journeyed  pleasantly  together  through 
the  morning,  the  noon,  and  into  the  evening  of  life.  His  civil  and 
business  career  is  recorded  in  the  books  of  the  town  and  in  the  mem- 
ories of  his  neighbors  and  townsmen. 

William  White'  was  bom  in  1811.  His  ancestors  are  as  follows: 
Peregrine',  Deacon  Joseph',  Joseph',  Jonathan*,  Peregrine'  (born  in 
Provincetown  harbor,  on  board  the  Mayflozver),  and  William  White'. 
Mr.  White's  mother  was  Betsey,  daughter  of  Atkins  Matthews.  Mr. 
White  was  a  master  mariner  until  forty  years  of  age.  From  1851  to  1883 
he  kept  a  lumber  yard  at  South  Yarmouth.  He  was  married  in  1833 
to  Olive,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Hallett.  Of  their  nine  children  only 
five  are  living:  Helen,  Cyrus  W.,  Osborn,  Almena,  and  Edwin  M. 
Mr.  White  has  a  cane  that  is  said  to  have  belonged  to  Peregrine 
White'. 

Stephen  Wing,  born  in  1828,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Daniel,  grandson 
of  Stephen  and  Dorothy  (Allen)  Wing,  and  great-grandson  of  John  and 
Lydia  (Allen)  Wing.  Mr.  Wing  is  a  coach  maker  by  trade.  He  was 
eight  years  in  California,  after  which  he  was  for  about  twenty-five 
years  in  the  grocery  business  at  South  Yarmouth,  with  his  brother 
Daniel.  He  has  been  selectman  four  j-ears  in  Yarmouth.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Soiith  Yarmouth  Society  of  Friends.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1866  to  Minerva,  daughter  of  Orlando  and  Harriet  (Crowell) 
Baker. 

Orlando  F.  Wood,  born  in  1825,  is  a  son  of  Zenas  and  Mercy  (Howes) 
Wood,  and  grandson  of  Zenas  and  Lydia  (Kelley)  Wood.  Mr.  Wood 
is  a  tailor  by  trade.  He  worked  in  Boston  and  New  Bedford  for 
twenty-five  years,  and  has  lived  at  South  Yarmouth  since  1879.  He 
has  been  local  correspondent  for  the  Yarmouth  Register  for  several 
years. 


c/ Ccu  Lcrr' 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


TOWN   OF   DENNIS. 


Natural  Features.— First  Settlers  of  Nobscusset.— Incorporation.— Development.— In- 
dustries.—Churches.— Cemeteries. — Schools.— Civil  History.— The  Villages,  their 
Industries  and  Institutions.— Biographical  Sketches. 


THE  town  received  its  name  in  memory  of  Rev.  Josiah  Dennis 
who  previously  had  been  the  faithful  pastor  of  its  principal 
church  for  thirty-seven  consecutive  years.  The  town  extends 
across  the  Cape,  having  Cape  Cod  bay  for  its  northern  boundary  and 
the  Yineyard  sound  for  its  southern.  Harwich  and  Brewster  consti- 
tute its  eastern  boundary,  and  Yarmouth  its  western.  Like  the  towns 
on  the  Cape  west,  it  would  seem  to  have  two  parts — north  and  south — 
separated  by  a  large  tract  of  oak  and  pine  woods,  through  which  the 
old  road  runs  near  the  head  of  Pollen's  pond.  At  the  north  is  the 
range  of  hills  that  extends  through  Yarmouth,  Barnstable  and  Sand- 
wich. In  Dennis  the  hills  are  only  about  a  mile  from  the  bay  and 
their  summits  command  fine  views  of  it.  The  surface  of  the  town 
north  of  the  hills  is  very  uneven,  and  at  the  south  is  a  vast  undulating 
plain  sloping  toward  the  sound.  The  town  has  five  divisions  or  com- 
munities, the  most  of  which  are  considerable  villages  of  the  New 
England  type,  and  are  noticed  under  their  respective  names.  The 
first  settlement  of  the  town  was  in  the  northern  part,  but  the  southern 
now  exceeds  in  population.  Bass  river  is  a  considerable  stream,  ex- 
tending along  the  boundary  between  Dennis  and  Yarmouth — the  line 
being  the  center — flowing  from  Pollen's  pond  southerly  into  the 
sound,  affording  harbor  for  small  craft.  It  is  the  largest  stretch  of 
inland  water  in  the  county.  Chase  Garden  river  forms  part  of  the 
western  boundary,  emptying  into  the  bay  at  the  north,  where  many 
fishing  schooners  formerly  found  safe  refuge  for  the  winter  months. 
The  largest  marsh  of  the  town  is  at  the  mouth  of  this  river.  This 
marsh  is  really  a  continuation  of  the  great  marshes  around  Barnsta- 
ble bay. 

The  most  valuable  lands  are  on  the  north  side,  especially  about 
Sesuet  and  Quivet.  The  soil  is  light  and  sandy  on  the  undulations, 
but  fertile  in  the  valleys  and  around  the  ponds.     It  is  estimated  that 


608  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

the  ponds  of"  Dennis  cover  an  area  of  over  450  acres.  The  Grand  cove, 
near  South  Dennis,  is  salt,  and  is  closely  connected  with  Bass  river. 
Others  worthy  of  mention  are:  Swan  pond,  of  179  acres,  south  of  the 
railroad,  with  an  outlet  to  the  sound;  Scargo  lake,  with  the  Sesuet 
river  as  an  outlet  to  the  bay,  has  an  area  of  60  acres;  Flax  pond,  no 
outlet,  20  acres;  Run  pond,  20  acres;  Simons  ponds,  22  and  11;  Grassy, 
22;  one  on  Harwich  line,  23;  one  southwest  of  this  of  20  acres;  one  of 
10  acres  northwest  of  Swan  pond;  Cedar,  29;  one  near  West  Dennis 
of  25  acres;  and  Baker's  pond  of  30  acres,  east  of  Grassy. 

Agriculture  has  received  much  attention,  but  the  avocations  and 
adventures  upon  the  sea  have  received  more.  The  town  was  and  is 
preeminent  in  the  latter  pursuit,  and  has  furnished,  and  now  has,  as 
retired  men,  some  of  the  best  on  the  Cape.  The  gradual  development 
of  the  north  part  of  the  town  was  accomplished  prior  to  that  of  the 
south.  In  the  north  part,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  church  history,  was 
the  first  meeting  house  in  the  East  precinct  of  Yarmouth,  and  in  1686 
from  Satucket  the  first  road  was  laid  out,  forty  feet  wide,  westward 
across  Dennis  to  the  county  road  at  Barnstable.  •  This  old  road,  from 
West  Barnstable  to  Barnstable,  was  called  the  Satucket  road — through 
the  woods  south  of  the  hill  range  of  Dennis  and  through  Yarmouth. 

First  Settlers  of  Nobscusset.* — The  first  comers  to  the  Indian 
village  of  Nobscusset,  in  1639,  were  John  Crow,  Thomas  Howes  and 
William  Lumpkin.  There  was  then  no  settlement  of  white  men  be- 
low them  on  Cape  Cod.  William  Eldred  came  a  year  or  two  later  and 
took  his  farm  adjoining  Thomas  Howes,  by  the  brook  which  has  ever 
since  been  called  Eldred's  brook.  The  name  of  Lumpkin  has  long 
since  died  out  in  Dennis.  The  Eldridge  name  has  only  become  ex- 
tinct in  the  present  generation.  They  were  never  numerous  in  North 
Dennis,  and  during  the  movement  to  Ashfield  and  other  towns  in 
Franklin  county  three  of  the  Eldridge  men — Eli,  Levi  and  Samuel — 
packed  up  their  household  goods  and  joined  the  caravan  of  emi- 
grants. For  several  years  this  emigration  continued  from  Dennis. 
It  peopled  the  new  town  of  Ashfield  with  Cape  stock — Howes,  Halls, 
Vincents,  Eldridges,  Taylors,  Sears  and  Bassetts.  One  street  was 
named  Cape  street,  in  honor  of  Cape  Cod.  But  though  so  many  left, 
a  remnant  remained  to  keep  alive  the  old  names,  some  of  them  at 
least. 

The  Crowell  family  in  North  Dennis  is  descended  from  John  Crow, 
who  came,  it  is  said,  from  Wales  in  1636,  to  Charlestown,  where  he 
and  his  wife,  Elishua,  joined  the  church.  It  is  probable  that  they  so- 
journed there  until  1639,  when  Mr.  Crow  came  with  Anthony  Thach- 
er  and  Thomas  Howes  to  Yarmouth,  with  a  grant  from  the  court, 
having  previously  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance.     All  the  first  settlers 

*By  Capt.  Thomas  Prince  Howes. 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  609 

selected  spots  for  their  homes  adjacent  to  good  springs  of  water.  The 
brook  that  flows  through  the  village  of  North  Dennis  had  numerous 
fine  flowing  springs  to  supply  the  need  of  the  first  comers.  John 
Crow  built  his  home  north  of  the  center  of  the  present  village,  near 
the  spot  where  the  late  Philip  Vincent  lived.  His  land,  much  of 
which  is  still  owned  by  his  descendants,  was  east  of  Indian  Fields, 
and  extended  from  the  shore  to  the  top  of  the  hills  back  of  the  settle- 
ment. John  Crow  was  a  man  of  character  and  influence  in  the  infant 
town  of  Yarmouth,  filling  many  important  offices.  He  died  in  1673. 
His  sons  were:  John,  Samuel  and  Thomas.  John  married  Mehitable, 
daughter  of  Rev.  John  Miller  of  Yarmouth.  A  grandson  of  John 
Crow,  sr.,  whose  name  was  John,  was  the  first  person  buried  in  the 
North  Dennis  cemetery.  He  died  in  1727.  The  name  about  that 
time  had  developed  into  Crowell.  The  oflFspring  of  John  Crow  are 
now  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  occupying  important  pos- 
itions, with  honor  and  credit  to  the  name.  Those  who  have  remained 
upon  the  hereditary  acres  have  produced  in  every  generation  men  of 
ability  and  distinction.  The  late  Hon.  Seth  Crowell  and  his  cousin, 
Capt.  Prince  S.  Crowell,  and  Mr.  William  Crowell,  the  well-known 
cranberry  grower  and  seller,  are  illustrations  of  the  character  of  the 
Crowells  in  the  seventh  generation.  The  family  has  never  been  large 
in  North  Dennis.  Two  pews  in  the  old  church  sufficed  to  accommo- 
date their  needs  for  sitting  room.  Many  of  the  family,  before  the  old 
meeting  house  was  torn  down  in  1838,  had  become  desciples  of  John 
Wesley  and  left  the  church  of  their  fathers. 

Mr.  Jeremiah  Crowell,  a  descendant  in  the  fourth  generation  from 
the  grantee,  John  Crow,  was  for  two  generations  a  village  celebrity. 
He  lived  in  what  was  called  "  Crow  Town,"  just  outside  the  western 
limits  of  Indian  Field.  The  public  highway  went  no  farther  east 
than  his  house  in  his  day.  The  county  road  went  through  the  woods 
south  of  Scargo  hill.  Mr.  Crowell  constructed  a  globe  with  the  four 
quarters  of  the  earth  marked  upon  it.  This  was  received  by.  the  Nob- 
scusset  children  with  open-eyed  wonder.  It  was  to  be  seen  only, 
however,  upon  payment  of  one  cent  per  head.  He  had  besides  a 
mammoth  kite  with  a  string  a  mile  long,  with  a  tail  of  wondrous 
length.  He  kept  a  daily  journal  of  passing  events,  such  as  the  cap- 
ture of  a  whale,  the  arrival  home  of  the  Cod  fishermen,  the  state  of 
the  weather,  and  the  direction  of  the  wind.  But  his  great  effort  was 
the  building  of  a  pair  of  wings  and  attempting  to  fly.  This  was  an 
achievement  beyond  his  power  to  accomplish.  The  flying  he  re- 
garded as  practical  and  easy,  but  the  alighting  was  difficult.  He  died 
at  an  advanced  age,  about  the  close  of  the  last  century. 

The  Howes  family  trace  their  descent  from  Thomas  Howes,  the 
associate  and  friend  of  Anthony  Thacher  and  John  Crow.     He  came 


510  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

from  England,  and  doubtless  from  Great  Yarmouth,  or  some  part  of 
Norfolk  county,  to  Salem,  in  1635.  In  1639  he  was  in  Yarmouth,  and 
in  that  part  then  called  Nobscusset  he  took  up  his  abode.  He  built 
his  house  beside  New  Boston  brook,  in  the  field  now  the  property  of 
Mr.  Harvey  Howes,  his  lineal  descendant  in  the  seventh  generation. 
Thomas  Howes  and  his  wife,  whose  name  was  Mary,  had  three  sons: 
Joseph,  Thomas  and  Jeremiah.  The  last  named  was  born  in  1637, 
and  consequently  was  an  American.  Thomas  Howes,  senior,  died  in 
1665,  after  twenty-six  years  residence  in  his  new  home.  He  had  good 
reason  to  be  satisfied  with  his  change  from  Old  England  to  the  New. 
He  left  his  sons  with  large  farms  and  holding  positions  of  honor  and 
trust  in  the  infant  colony,  and  his  children's  children  growing  up 
around  him.  He  was  buried  on  his  farm,  and  three  hundred  or  more 
of  his  posterity  lie  sleeping  around  him. 

From  the  sons  of  Thomas  Howes  have  sprung  a  .strong  and  num- 
erous race,  whose  representatives  may  be  found  in  nearly  every  state, 
from  Maine  to  California.  It  has  always  been  prominent  in  the 
affairs  of  the  towns  of  Yarmouth  and  Dennis.  It  required  eight  pews 
in  the  old  East  Precinct  meeting  house  to  seat  those  of  the  name  who 
went  to  meeting.  It  was  noticed  that  in  the  great  gale  of  October, 
1841,  when  four  North  Dennis  fishing  vessels  were  lost  and  twenty 
men  belonging  to  the  neighborhood  perished,  twelve  of  them  bore 
the  name  of.  Howes.  The  name  is  a  very  familiar  one  in  the  town  of 
Ashfield  and  in  Putnam  and  Columbia  counties,  New  York;  and,  in 
fact,  common  in  many  towns  in  this  Commonwealth.  Those  of  the 
name  coming  from  Chatham  are  descended  from  Thomas,  the  young- 
est son  of  Joseph.  This  branch  is  numerous,  comprising  many  enter- 
prising seafaring  men  and  merchants.  Among  the  descendants  of 
Jeremiah  are  those  of  Moody  Howes,  who  left  Nobscusset  in  1760. 
Some  of  his  grandsons  have  made  successful  business  ventures.  Seth  B. 
Howes,  the  well-known  retired  showman,  is  a  grandson  of  Moody 
Howes,  who  removed  to  Putnam  county.  New  York. 

John  Hall,  the  founder  of  the  Hall  family  of  Yarmouth,  was  among 
the  early  settlers.  The  exact  date  of  his  arrival  is  not  known.  He 
was  for  a  time  in  Barnstable.  Probably  he  came  about  1667.  It  is 
claimed  that  he  came  from  Coventry,  England.  He  was  twice  mar- 
ried; his  first  wife  being  Bethia,  and  his  second  Elizabeth.  His  family 
consisted  of  twelve  children,  nine  of  them  sons,  namely:  Samuel, 
John,  Joseph,  William,  Benjamin,  Elisha,  Nathaniel,  Gershom  and 
one  other.  With  this  patriarchal  family,  Mr.  Hall  cast  in  his  lot  with 
the  builders  of  Yarmouth.  He  took  his  farm  in  the  central  part  of 
the  village  of  Nobscusset,  at  the  head  of  the  stream  which  runs  wes- 
terly and  southerly  through  North  Dennis.  He  was  a  worthy  citizen 
and  a  valuable  addition  to  the  growing  town.     He  was  buried  at  a 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  511 

good  old  age,  on  his  own  land,  in  1696.  His  gravestone  is  the  oldest 
in  North  Dennis.  His  sons  rendered  much  service  to  the  town;  some 
going  on  military  expeditions  against  the  Indians  and  others  filling 
important  civic  stations. 

From  the  Hall  family  have  gone  out  numerous  emigrants  to  people 
distant  towns.  Some  went  to  Oblong,  now  a  part  of  Putnam  county, 
New  York,  others  to  Ashfield,  and  various  places.  Rev.  David  B. 
IJall,  of  Duanesburg,  has  published  a  genealogical  and  biographical 
history  of  the  Halls  of  New  England.  The  Halls,  who  are  all  de- 
scended from  John,  of  Yarmouth,  number  235  families.  Moral  and 
intellectual  traits  are  hereditary  and  become  characteristics  of  certain 
families.  The  Halls  have  been  much  swayed  by  religious  emotions, 
and  interested  in  things  of  the  mind  ;  hence  the  number  of  ministers, 
deacons  and  teachers  among  them.  In  Yarmouth,  including  North 
Dennis,  we  find  the  following  persons  filling  the  deacon's  seat:  John, 
Joseph,  Joseph.  Daniel,  Nathan  and  Barnabas  Hall.  The  family  re- 
quired eight  pews  in  the  East  Precinct  meeting  house  to  accommo- 
date its  worshippers.  The  descendants  of  the  Yarmouth  Halls  are 
well  represented  in  the  teachers'  vocation  in  this  generation.  Stan- 
ley Hall,  now  president  of  a  University;  Joseph  Hall,  principal  of 
the  Hartford  high  school,  both  Ashfield  men;  Isaac  F.  Hall,  super- 
intendent of  Leominster  schools,  and  Luther  Hall,  superintendent  of 
schools  in  Dennis,  illustrate  this  hereditary  tendency  in  the  descend- 
ants of  the  pious  John  Hall. 

About  the  time  that  the  last  mentioned  person  left  Barnstable  to 
settle  in  Yarmouth,  John  Vincent  removed  to  Yarmouth  from  Sand- 
wich, where  he  had  lived  a  few  years.  The  exact  locality  of  his  house 
is  not  known,  but  it  was  somewhere  south  of  the  stream  on  which  all 
the  first  settlers  made  their  homes.  The  Vincents  for  several  gener- 
ations owned  land  on  both  sides  of  the  brook  adjoining  the  Hall  farm. 
John  Vincent  had  one  son,  Henry,  whose  name  occurs  frequently  in 
the  records.  From  him  sprang  a  sturdy  race,  mostly  farmers,  some 
of  whom  served  as  soldiers  in  the  revolutionary  war.  At  the  close  of 
that  struggle,  the  Vincents,  most  of  them,  removed  to  Ashfield,  leav- 
ing only  one  family  behind  in  Dennis,  and  that  has  since  died  out. 
Those  of  the  name  in  Ashfield  and  Hawley  are  good  specimens  of  the 
Cape  stock — honest,  hardy,  independent  farmers. 

The  Tobey  family,  of  Dennis,  is  descended  from  Thomas  Tobey,  of 
Sandwich,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  that  town.  His  grandson,  whose 
name  was  Thomas,  removed  from  Sandwich  to  Yarmouth  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  The  mother  of  this  Thomas  is  said  to  have  been 
Mehitable.  a  daughter  of  John  Crowell.  He  settled  in  the  south  part 
of  the  present  village  of  North  Dennis.  His  home  farm  consisted  of 
a  tract  of  land  on  both  sides  of  the  highway,  stretching  far  back  into 


512  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

the  woods  on  one  side  and  running  into  the  meadows,  down  to  the 
main  creek  on  the  other.  A  large  piece  of  pasture  land  and  swamp,, 
containing  fifty  acres  or  more,  was  a  part  of  his  estate. .  The  swamps 
are  now  productive  cranberry  grounds,  and  the  black  birds  that  once 
made  their  nests  and  reared  their  young  ones  within  the  leafy  coverts 
have  been  compelled  to  seek  other  homes.  Mr.  Thomas  Tobey  was 
three  years  precinct  treasurer,  and  ten  years  town  treasurer.  He  died 
in  1757,  leaving  two  sons:  Thomas  and  Seth.  Thomas  was  the  father 
of  Stephen  and  Knowles,  neither  of  whom  have  any  living  de- 
scendants. 

Seth  Tobey,  born  in  1710,  married  Zipporah  Young  Hall,  widow  of 
Edmund  Hall,  whose  house  was  the  one  now  the  residence  of  Mrs.. 
Hope  Howes.  That  ancient  dwelling  deserves  mention  from  having 
been  the  birthplace  of  Hon.  Nathaniel  Freeman,  a  revolutionary 
patriot,  and  father  of  Rev.  Frederick  Freeman,  the  learned  historian 
of  Cape  Cod.  Seth  Tobey,  who  was  frequently  in  public  service,  was 
one  of  the  committee  of  1774,  chosen  to  look  after  the  movements  of 
the  tories,  in  conjunction  with  similar  committees  in  other  towns. 
He  was  to\yn  treasurer  three  years  and  selectman  ten.  He  died  in 
1801,  leaving  one  son,  Seth,  who  inherited  his  estate  and  who  married 
Ruth,  daughter  of  Captain  Jonathan  Howes,  a  descendant  of  the  sec- 
ond Thomas  Howes.  He  built,  in  1802,  the  present  Tobey  house, 
which  is  shown  in  the  accompanying  illustration.  Mr.  Tobey  was  a 
worthy  citizen,  attending  mainly  to  his  own  private  affairs.  He  was 
inclined  to  favor  the  doctrines  of  the  then  unpopular  Universalists. 
His  house  was  open  to  the  preachers  of  that  denomination— at  that 
period  almost  everywhere  spoken  against.  He  died  in  January,  1829 
at  the  age  of  fifty-eight,  leaving  one  son,  Jonathan  Howes  Tobey,  who 
married  Rachel,  daughter  of  Samuel  Bassett  of  Barnstable. 

Jonathan  inherited,  like  his  father,  the  family  estate,  and  like  him 
followed  the  occupation  of  his  ancestors — the  cultivation  of  the  soil.. 
He  was  of  a  social,  kindly  disposition,  and  his  house  the  seat  of  a 
modest,  genial  hospitality.  Although  much  interested  in  town  and 
school  affairs,  he  was  not  a  seeker  of  office,  and  was  contented  with  a 
private  station.  He  died  in  1872.  leaving  three  sons:  Seth,  born  1824; 
Charles,  born  1831;  and  Francis  Bassett,  born  1833.  Of  these,  Seth 
studied  law  with  Hon.  Robert  Rantoul,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and 
was  for  a  number  of  years  clerk  of  the  municipal  court  of  Boston.  He 
died  in  Dennis,  at  the  old  family  homestead,  in  1883.  Charles,  the 
founder  of  the  Tobey  Furnitnire  Company  in  Chicago,  now  one  of  the 
largest  establishments  of  its  kind  in  the  country,  was,  at  his  death  in 
1888,  the  owner  of  the  Nobscussett  House  and  the  Tobey  farm.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  energy  and  business  aptitude. 

F.  B.  Tobey,  the  sole  survivor  of  the  family  name  in  Dennis,  car- 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  513 

ries  on  the  business  of  the  Furniture  Company  in  Chicago,  and  is  the 
present  owner  of  the  Tobey  property  in  North  Dennis,  including  the 
Nobscussett  House,  shown  in  the  illustration  at  page  165.  The  Tobey 
family  has  always  occupied  a  high  social  position  and  an  honorable 
station  among  the  foremost  citizens  of  Barnstable  county. 

Among  those  who  came  early  in  the  last  century  from  Sandwich 
to  settle  in  Yarmouth  was  Elisha  Bassett.  His  wife  was  Ruhamah 
Jennings,  daughter  of  Samuel  Jennings  of  Sandwich,  long  the  school- 
master and  town  clerk  of  that  town.  The  Bassetts  trace  their  pedi- 
gree to  William  Bassett,  who  came  to  Plymouth  in  the  Fortune,  in  1621. 
Elisha  Bassett  lived  at  Nobscusset,  in  a  house  that  stood  on  the  spot 
where  Charles  Hall  now  resides.  He  held  a  commission  as  captain 
under  the  provincial  government.  This,  however,  did  not  hinder 
him  from  being  an  ardent  patriot  when  the  struggle  commenced  be- 
tween the  colonies  and  the  crown.  He  was  three  times  sent  to  repre- 
sent the  town  in  the  congress  at  Cambridge,  and  served  four  years  as 
town  treasurer.  He  was  a  man  of  great  moral  worth  and  superior 
intelligence.  He  died  in  1794,  leaving  four  sons — Elisha,  Samuel, 
William  and  Lot — and  three  daughters — Lydia,  Abigail  and  Deborah. 
Two  of  his  sons,  Elisha  and  Lot,  removed  to  Ashfield  about  the  close 
of  the  revolutionary  war.  Samuel  removed  to  Barnstable  and  Wil- 
liam died  in  Dennis,  leaving  one  son,  Francis,  who  graduated  from 
Harvard  College,  studied  law,  and  was  for  many  years  clerk  of  the 
United  States  circuit  and  district  courts.  He  returned  to  Dennis  in 
after  life  and  built  a  house  on  the  spot  where  his  grandfather  had 
lived.  The  posterity  of  Elisha  and  Lot  are  principally  in  the  towns 
of  Franklin  county,  where  they  live  appreciating  the  blessings  of  its 
rural  life  and  the  pleasures  of  intellectual  enjoyment.  Elisha  Bassett, 
for  over  fifty  years  a  clerk  in  the  district  court  at  Boston,  is  a  grand- 
son of  Lot,  who  removed  from  Dennis.  A  fine,  intelligent,  clear- 
headed, right-minded  race  of  men  are  descended  from  Elisha  Bassett 
of  Sandwich. 

Incorporation  AND  Development. — What  Captain  Howes  has  said 
above  of  the  original  families  at  North  Dennis  is  more  than  now  can 
be  learned  concerning  the  settlers  of  the  other  sections  of  the  town. 
The  records  of  the  old  town  of  Yarmouth  were  burned  in  1677,  and 
this  fact  assures  a  meagre  account,  not  only  of  Yarmouth,  but  of 
Dennis,  for  the  first  forty  years — years  of  the  most  importance  in  their 
early  history.  That  its  settlement  was  contemporaneous  with  that  of 
Sandwich  and  Barnstable  there  is  no  doubt.  The  old  town  was  in 
part  that  Mattacheese  to  which  the  Puritans  came  in  1638-9;  and  only 
a  few  years  elapsed  before  the  entire  territory — part  of  which  is  now 
included  in  Dennis— was  settled,  although  perhaps  but  sparsely.  Like 
Sandwich  the  division  commenced  in  the  church — by  establishing  an- 
33 


614  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

other  parish.  In  1721,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  church  history,  the  East 
parish  of  Yarmouth  was  organized,  and  this  was  the  initiative  to  the 
organization  of  the  new  town  of  Dennis  on  the  19th  of  June,  1793,  be- 
ing the  eleventh  town  in  the  country,  in  date.  The  act  of  incorpor- 
ation authorized  Atherton  Hall,  Esq.,  to  issue  his  warrant  and  call  a 
town  meeting,  which  he  did  in  January  of  that  year,  and  the  meeting 
was  held  March  3d,  at  1  o'clock,  p.m.  Lieutenant  Jeremiah  Howes 
was  chosen  moderator,  and  oflBcers  for  the  government  of  the  town 
were  elected.  On  the  11th  of  March  Captain  Isaiah  Hall  and  Elisha 
Bassett  were  appointed  to  settle  all  details  with  the  mother  town. 

On  the  11th  of  May,  Thomas  Thacher,  Isaac  Matthews,  Edmund 
Bray  and  Joseph  Howes,  on  the  part  of  Yarmouth,  and  Jeremiah 
Howes,  Jonathan  Bangs  and  Joseph  Sears,  on  the  part  of  Dennis,  met 
and  settled  the  boundary  between  the  towns  to  be  that  marvelously 
crooked  line  which  was  already  the  precinct  boundary,  which  re- 
mains substantially  the  same.  The  language  of  that  day  for  the  divis- 
ion line  was:  "  Beginning  at  the  south  of  the  county  road  leading 
from  Yarmouth  to  Dennis,  at  three  white-oak  trees  marked  and  stand- 
ing at  the  S.  W.  corner  of  Edward  Howes'  upper  field,  between  Loth- 
rop  Taylor's  and  David  Hall's;  sets  thence  S.  53°  E.  248  rods  as  trees 
are  marked,  till  it  comes  to  a  stake  and  stone  standing  on  the  S.  side 
of  the  county  road  to  the  falling  away  of  a  hill  to  the  westward  of 
John  Whelden's,  late  of  Dennis,  deceased;  then  by  the  county  and  Bass 
River  road  southeasterly  146  rods  to  a  stake  and  stone  standing  at 
the  N.  E.  corner  of  Capt.  Samuel  Gray's  land  and  N.  W.  corner  of 
Wid.  Abigail  Whelden's  land;  sets  thence  S.  40°  W.,  44  rods  into  Pol- 
len's pond,  thence  Southeasterly  through  the  middle  of  said  pond  and 
southerly  through  the  main  channel  of  Bass  river  into  the  South  Sea. 
Then  beginning  at  the  first  mentioned  three  white-oak  trees,  and  sets 
thence  northeasterly  by  the  county  road  that  leads  from  Yarmouth  to 
Dennis  68  rods  to  a  stake  and  stone  at  the  S.  W.  corner  of  Edward 
Howe's  field  and  S.  E.  corner  of  David  Hall's  field  and  on  the  north- 
westerly side  of  the  way;  and  thence  northwesterly  42  rods  in  Edward 
Howe's  and  David  Hall's  range  to  a  brook  in  said  range,  and  as  said 
brook  runs  into  the  main  creek,  and  as  said  creek  and  as  Bass  Hole 
runs  into  the  North  Sea."  It  was  further  agreed  that  the  privilege  of 
fishing,  together  with  the  Indian  land  at  Bass  river,  and  the  whaling 
land  at  Black  Earth,  should  remain  for  the  benefit  of  both  towns. 

June  16th,  the  selectmen  of  Dennis  and  Harwich  renewed  and 
settled  the  bounds  between  their  respective  towns,  which  also  remains 
the  same.  Beginning  at  a  rock  thirty-seven  feet  to  the  south  of 
Bound  brook  bridge  and  fourteen  feet  east  of  said  brook,  thence  across 
the  Setucket  road,  and  the  Chatham  road  in  a  straight  line  about  6° 
cast  of  south,  to  the  sea. 


TOWN  OF   DENNIS.  615 

The  growth  of  the  town  was  rapid.  In  1802  there  were  one  hun- 
dred dwellings  south  of  the  county  road,  and  so  new  and  hastily  con- 
structed were  they,  that  ninety-eight  of  them  were  only  one  story 
high.  They  were  along  Bass  river  and  formed  the  nucleus  of  the 
present  pretty  villages  of  that  part  of  the  town.  Quivet  neck  had 
thirty-six  dwellings  at  this  time,  and  the  old  settlement  along  the 
county  road  had  been  considerably  increased.  Among  the  families, 
and  those  most  prominent,  who  had  settled  mostly  in  the  north  part 
of  the  town  prior  to  the  division,  were  those  of  Hall,  Ryder,  Burge, 
Howes,  Paddock,  Nickerson,  Lumpkin,  Crosby,  Hallett,  Crow,  or 
Crowell,  Worden,  Eldridge,  Tobey,  Baker,  Whelden,  Chapman,  Fal- 
land  or  Follen,  Bassett,  Bangs,  Kelley,  Newcomb  and  Seabury.  Rich- 
ard Sears  settled  between  the  Sesuet  and  Quivet  creeks. 

With  such  families  occupying  portions  of  the  territory  and  who 
had  already  developed  its  fertility  long  prior  to  its  erection  into  the 
new  town  of  Dennis,  its  rapid  development  in  industry  and  wealth 
naturally  followed.  John  Sears  had  commenced  the  manufacture  of 
salt  as  early  as  1776.  It  is  said  that  Dennis  was  the  first  town  of  the 
county  to  make  salt.  In  1803  the  number  of  works  was  twenty-four, 
aggregating  19,500  running  feet  of  vats.  These  were  in  the  north 
part  of  the  town  adjoining  the  bay.  In  1804  other  salt  works  were 
laid  out  at  Black  Earth.  The  south  part  of  the  town,  along  the  sound 
and  on  the  east  side  of  Bass  river,  was  well  covered  with  salt  works, 
which  declined  before  those  in  the  north  part,  as  indeed  there  is  still 
a  trace  remaining  of  the  actual  manufacturing  of  salt  at  Quivet  neck. 

Ship-building,  now  extinct,  was  another  important  industry  of  the 
town,  and  was  commenced  early.  Many  large  class  vessels  were  built 
on  the  bay,  and  the  Shivericks  were  noted  builders.  It  was  here 
that  Asa  Shiverick  built  vessels  early  in  this  century:  and  later  his 
sons — David  and  Paul,  now  deceased,  and  Asa,  of  Woods  Holl — built 
vessels  for  twenty-four  years.  Considerable  building  was  carried  on 
along  Bass  river,  but  of  light  tonnage  vessels.  The  names  of  the  ves- 
sels are  given  in  the  history  of  the  locality  where  they  were  built. 
The  timbers  and  lumber  were  brought  from  Maine,  and  from  the 
South,  and  the  smaller  craft  were  rigged  here. 

Fishing  had  become  a  leading  industry  in  1795.  At  that  date 
three  wharves  were  built  on  the  east  side  of  Bass  river,  additions 
were  rapidly  made  to  the  tonnage,  which,  soon  after  1800,  reached 
nearly  eleven  hundred  tons  in  the  mackerel  and  cod-fishery, 
employing  247  men.  This  continued  the  principal  industry  of 
the  town  for  three  quarters  of  a  century.  In  1889  the  fishing  and 
coasting  vessels  registered  from  Dennis  had  a  total  tonage  of  6,955. 
The  fertile  Atlantic  and  other  waters  have  furnished  broad  maritime 
fields  of  labor  in  which  Dennis  has  increased  its  wealth  and  import- 


516  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ance  more  than  in  agriculture,  but  during  the  past  twenty  years  the 
bogs  of  the  town  have  been  redeemed  for  the  cultivation  of  cranber- 
ries, and  the  town  now  has  a  high  position  in  this  branch  of  industry. 
The  town  still  had  in  1889  over  sixty  vessels  of  various  tonnage,  in- 
cluding nine  three-masters,  engaged  in  the  coast  and  fishing  trade. 

Wind  mills  were  early  erected.  The  earliest  record  given  is  that 
William  Howes,  in  1759,  had  been  appointed  as  the  proper  miller  for 
the  grist  mill  in  the  East  parish.  The  town  house  erected  in  1837 
stands  near  Pollen's  pond.  It  would  seem  by  the  records  that  a  house 
on  that  site  was  in  use  prior  to  that  date,  for  in  1829  it  was  "voted  that 
the  selectmen  sell  the  town  house  *  *  *  and  have  same  moved 
from  the  town  land."  Major  Obed  Baxter,  Abijah  Howes,  and 
Thacher  Clark,  January  4,  1837,  were  made  a  committee  to  complete 
a  town  house  by  September  of  that  year,  which  was  accomplished. 
No  regular  poor  house  was  erected  until  1837,  when  the  present  town 
asylum  was  voted  at  the  March  town  meeting. 

The  census  of  1800  showed  the  population  of  the  town  to  be  1,408, 
which  had  rapidly  increased  during  the  preceding  seven  years  of  its 
existence.  In  1810  it  contained  1,739;  in  1820,  1,907;  in  1830,  2.317; 
1840,  2,942;  1850,  3,257;  1860,  3,662;  this  year  was  the  highest  within  its 
life  as  a  town.  The  fishing  in  its  many  branches  not  proving  as  lucra- 
tive as  formerly,  the  young  men  sought  employment  elsewhere,  and 
in  1870  the  population  was  3,269;  in  1880,  3,288;  and  in  1885  it  had  de- 
creased to  2,923.  In  the  decline  of  population,  the  fact  is  evident  that 
other  sections,  and  even  the  busy  marts  of  the  world,  have  been  re- 
ceiving the  fine  sons  of  Dennis  among  their  prominent  business  men. 

So  rapid  was  the  growth  of  the  town  during  the  first  half  of  the 
present  century,  and  so  conspicuous  in  every  industry  and  in  wealth 
had  the  south  part  become,  that  in  1860  an  attempt  was  made  to  di- 
vide the  town  and  form  a  new  one  of  the  southern  part.  But  perhaps 
this  was  only  a  temporary  diversion  of  interests,  as  at  this  writing  a 
more  harmonious  people  do  not  exist  on  the  Cape.  The  south  side 
people  are  more  generally  engaged  in  fishery  and  coasting,  while  at 
the  north,  where  the  land  is  better,  they  are  more  devoted  to  agricul- 
ture. 

In  1888  a  lock-up  was  erected  at  South  Dennis  for  the  town's  use; 
it  was  not  costly  and  prison-like,  but  was  adequate  for  the  temporary 
confinement  of  mild  ofifenders.  At  the  town  meeting  of  February  11, 
1889,  the  sum  of  thirty-nine  hundred  dollars  was  voted  for  the  poor; 
three  thousand  dollars  for  roads;  fifty-four  hundred  dollars  for  schools; 
and  five  hundred  dollars  for  public  buildings.  The  assessed  valuation 
of  the  town  is  now  one  and  a  half  millions. 

Churches. — In  1721  the  East  precinct  or  parish  of  Yarmouth  was 
constituted.     The  last  day  of  February,  1721-2,  at  the  house  of  Na- 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  517 

thaniel  Howes,  twenty-six  freeholders  assembled,  and  the  new  parish 
arrangements  were  perfected,  and  a  week  later  they  provided  for  the 
erection  of  a  meeting  house,  Judah  Paddock  acting  as  precinct  clerk. 
April  ninth,  the  book  of  parish  records  was  opened.  Rev.  Daniel 
Greenleaf  was  called  March  22,  1723.  Mr.  Barnabes  Taylor  officiated 
in  1724,  and  Rev.  Josiah  Dennis  was  called  June  24,  1725.  He  was 
not  settled  as  pastor  until  June  22,  1727,  at  which  time  the  church  was 
organized.  Rev.  Samuel  Wigglesworth,  of  Ipswich,  preaching  the  or- 
dination sermon. 

The  pastor  elect  and  the  following  persons  signed  the  church 
covenant:  Dea.  Joseph  Hall,  Joseph  Burge,  Joseph  Hall,  jr.,  Joseph 
Howes,  sr.,  Judah  Hall,  Joseph  Burge,  jr.,  Daniel  Hall,  John 
Paddock  and  John  Nickerson  (spelled  Nichelson  on  the  record). 
On  the  sixth  of  August  the  following  females,  having  been  dis- 
missed from  the  parent  church,  also  were  received  into  full 
covenant:  Mary,  Mehitable  and  Rebecca  Hall;  Mary  and  Mehit- 
able  Hall,  jr.;  Deborah,  Elizabeth,  Mary  and  Rebecca  Paddock; 
Mehitable  Crosby;  Susanna,  Lydia,  Sarah,  Dorcas  and  Sarah  Howes, 
jr.;  Thomasin,  Sarah  and  Elizabeth  Burge;  Mercy,  Priscilla,  .Sarah 
and  Hannah  Sears:  Keziah  Eldred;  Elizabeth  Nicholson;  Pris- 
cilla Gorham;  and  Elizabeth  Whelden.  On  the  29th  of  December, 
1727,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  consider  ways  and  means  to  ob- 
tain from  the  parent  society  their  part  of  the  church  vessels.  The 
Rev.  Josiah  Dennis  died  August  31,  1763,  and  Rev.  Nathan  Stone  was 
ordained  October  17,  1764.  He  was  the  pastor  for  forty  years.  He 
died  in  1804.  In  1795,  when  the  South  church  was  organized,  the 
name  of  the  old  church  was  changed  from  East  precinct  to  North  par- 
ish of  Dennis. 

Rev.  Caleb  Holmes  came  November  5,  1804,  and  was  ordained  in 
January  of  the  following  year.  He  died  in  1813,  and  the  church  voted 
to  pay  his  widow  his  salary  as  long  as  the  neighboring  ministers 
should  supply  the  pulpit,  which  they  did  until  July  27,  1814,  when 
Rev.  Joseph  Haven  was  settled.  In  1826  Rev.  Daniel  M.  Steams  was 
called  for  a  year,  and  was  retained  through  1828.  The  parish  acting 
in  this  ministerial  bargain  without  the  concurrence  of  the  church,  and 
the  seeds  of  Unitarianism  being  already  sown,  it  led  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  another  and  separate  church  in  the  same  community,  known 
as  the  Trinitarian  North  Church.  Rev.  Stearns  closed  his  labors  with 
the  Unitarian  society  April  16,  1838,  but  this  society  was  on  the  wane. 
Rev.  Robert  F.  Walcut,  afterward  a  prominent  abolitionist;  Rev.  John 
B.  Wight,  Mr.  Maynard,  and  Mr.  Chandler,  each  served  the  ancient 
parish;  but  it  had  no  settled  minister  after  Rev.  Steams. 

The  meeting  house  of  this  old  parish  was  enlarged  in  1761,  and 
again  repaired  in  1804;  and  in  1838,  after  the  division  in  the  society, 


618  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

it  was  demolished  and  a  new  church  erected  on  the  site.  This  build- 
ing of  1838  is  the  one  now  a  livery  stable. 

The  Trinitarian  North  Church  was  supplied  for  several  years  and 
Rev.  Daniel  Kendrick  was  settled  September  1,  1839.  But  the  organ- 
ization was  of  short  duration,  the  Methodists  in  their  services  occu- 
pied the  edifice,  the  members  of  the  Trinitarian  Society  uniting  with 
them.  This  arrangement  continued  until  1866,  when  for  the  purpose 
of  uniting  the  religious  elements  of  the  community,  the  Union  Church 
of  Christ  was  organized,  of  which  Rev.  F.  Hebard  became  the  pastor 
and  served  during  1867.  The  pulpit  was  filled  by  J.  W.  Tarlton  in 
1868;  by  Mr.  Barrows  in  1869, 1870;  Mr.  Price  in  1871;  Ogden  Hall  in 
1872,  and  J.  H.  Allen  the  balance  of  the  year;  Mr.  Swinerton  came  in 
1876;  Mr.  Spooner  in  1878;  Annie  H.  Shaw,  1879;  C.  L.  Adams, 
1885;  C.  W.  Harshman,  1886;  J.  L.  Hillman,  1888  and  Mr.  Lough  in 
1889. 

On  the  first  of  December,  1888,  the  young  people  of  this  society 
organized  the  Y.  P.  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  with  thirty-six 
members. 

The  Second  Congregational  Church  was  established  at  South 
Dennis  in  1795,  and  a  meeting  house  built  which  was  supplied  for  a 
time  by  pastors  from  the  North  Church.  In  1816  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  make  a  dividing  line  between  the  parishes,  which  was 
"  to  begin  on  the  Chatham  road  on  the  Yarmouth  line,  then  easterly 
by  said  road  to  the  house  of  Seth  Bangs,  then  still  easterly  to  the 
Brewster  and  Harwich  line  near  the  north  side  of  White  pond."  On 
the  16th  of  June,  1815,  this  church  was  organized  as  the  Second 
Church,  and  Rev.  John  Sanford  was  called  to  preach.  He  was  or- 
dained December  30,  1818.  The  church  had  twenty-nine  members, 
and  Mr.  Sanford  was  to  officiate  one-fourth  of  the  time  at  Harwich; 
but  before  his  dismissal  in  1837  the  society  became  of  sufficient 
strength  to  obviate  the  necessity  of  this  dual  labor.  Mr.  Sanford  was 
succeeded,  February  13,  1839.  by  Rev.  Thacher  Thayer  for  two  years, 
then  by  J.  Jennings  as  a  supply,  until  1843,  when  Rev.  John  H.  Pet- 
tingill  was  ordained.  In  1849  Rev.  Richard  Tollman  was  ordained 
and  was  succeeded  in  December,  1852,  by  Isaiah  C.  Thacher.  Decem- 
ber 10,  1856,  Rev.  William  H.  Sturtevant  was  installed  and  dismissed 
in  1860.  Supplies — Rev.  McLean,  Stone,  and  others — filled  the  pulpit 
for  a  few  years.  In  1870-74  William  C.  Reed  filled  the  pulpit,  and 
after  supplies  for  two  years  C.  M.  Brainard  was  called.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1879  by  A.  Dodge,  and  he  in  turn  by  other  supplies.  In 
1889  Mr.  Atwood  supplied  the  pulpit. 

South  Dennis  had  a  small  society  of  Universalists  about  1860,  their 
meeting  house  being  just  north  of  L.  M.  Gage's  present  residence. 
After  a  few  years  the  society  discontinued  their  services,  converting 


TOWN   OF   DENNIS.  519 

the  house  into  a  hall,  which  was  subsequently  purchased  by  Doctor 
Ginn,  who  removed  it  to  Dennis  Port,  and  converted  it  into  a  store. 

In  1795  there  was  a  small  meeting  house  on  the  east  side  of  Pol- 
len's pond,  at  which  five  families  of  Friends  belonging  to  Dennis, 
with  others  from  Harwich  and  Yarmouth,  worshipped.  This  long 
ago  disappeared  and  the  worshipppers,  if  any,  belong  to  the  present 
Yarmouth  preparative  meeting. 

At  Dennis  Port  the  religious  community  have  organized  various 
sects  in  the  past.  In  1842  an  edifice  was  built,  ostensibly  for  the 
Methodists;  but  another  name  was  assumed  soon  after,  which  in  turn 
was  discontinued.  The  church  building  is  now  the  residence  of  Au- 
gustus Rowland.  Some  of  the  members  of  the  former  organizations 
are,  perhaps,  now  in  the  Reorganized  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Lat- 
ter Day  Saints,  of  which  organization  there  are  fifty  members.  They 
built  a  church  edifice  in  1877  south  j:>i  Main  street. 

The  present  active  religious  denomination  at  Dennis  Port  is  the 
Free  Independent  Church  of  Holiness,  established  January  16,  1886, 
in  its  present  form,  and  numbers  forty-eight  members.  They  had  a 
suitable  place  of  worship  that  was  burned  during  a  revival  in  Febru- 
ary, 1884;  and  in  1885  it  was  replaced  by  an  academy  building  from 
Harwich.  The  pulpit  is  filled  by  pastors  from  the  neighboring  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  churches. 

At  West  Dennis  in  1836  the  Methodists  erected  an  edifice,  which 
for  years  was  the  place  of  worship  for  the  Reformed  Methodist  So- 
ciety. Rev.  Mr.  Swift,  Isaac  Dunham,  and,  for  several  years,  Mr. 
Upham,  were  pastors.  The  society  then  was  changed  to  the  Wes- 
leyan  Methodist  and  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  Methodist  and  Con- 
gregational ministers  until  1871,  when  the  Methodist  Episcopal  con- 
ference sil^plied  it  for  two  years.  On  the  22nd  of  May,  1873,  after 
much  discussion,  the  society  adopted  the  regular  Methodist  Episcopal 
faith  and  since  then  the  conference  has  supplied  them  with  pastors. 
The  pastor  sent  in  1873  was  Rev.  Edwin  Edson;  in  1875.  Almon  E. 
Hall;  1879,  R.  W.  C.  Farnsworth  and  Samuel  M.  Beale;  1882,  A.  N. 
Bodfish:  1883,  Merrick  Ransom;  1884,  George  N.Grant;  1887.  Charles 
S.  Morse:  and  on  April  1,  1889,  W.  H.  McAllister.  The  church  edi- 
fice was  repaired  in  1858,  and  a  steeple,  bfclland  clock  added,  forming 
a  fine  church  property. 

The  Wesleyan  Methodist  Society,  East  Dennis,  organized  as  the 
Reformed  Methodist  Society  of  Dennis  and  Brewster  in  1814,  and 
erected  in  1821  a  meeting-house  over  the  line  in  Brewster,  where  the 
society  worshipped  until  1845,  when  the  present  name  was  adopted. 
Rev.  Elijah  Bailey  preached  to  the  old  society  eleven  years,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Elkanah  Nickerson,  Thomas  Thompson,  Asa  Whitney, 
Pliny  Brett,  Alden   Handy,  Lorenzo  D.  Johnson  and  Joshua  Davis. 


520  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

In  April,  1847,  Edmund  Sears,  David  Crowell,  Christopher  Hall  and 
Anthony  Smalley,  as  a  committee,  contracted  with  Thomas  Crocker 
to  build  the  present  Methodist  church  in  East  Dennis.  This  is  now 
in  use  by  the  Wesleyan  Society  of  East  Dennis,  formed  in  1845.  The 
pastors  of  the  last  organization  have  been:  Palmer  Brown,  John  Tate, 
William  R.  Tisdale,  Solomon  P.  Snow,  Benjamin  Eastwood,  Shadrack 
Leader,  A.  P.  Burgess,  William  Leonard,  Ernest  Leasman,  A.  D. 
Knapp,  George  Wright,  Warren  Applebee,  Annie  H.  Shaw,  William 
A.  Brewster,  A.  H.  Briggs,  Henry  E.  Wolfe  in  1887,  and  J.  N.  West 
from  1888  to  1890. 

Cemeteries. — In  a  town  as  old  in  its  settlement  as  the  territory  of 
Dennis,  these  resting  places  for  the  dead  are  necessarily  numerous. 
In  the  north  part  are  the  Worden,  Sears,  Howes,  Hall  and  Paddock 
burying  places,  being  private  family  grounds;  also  a  general  burial 
ground  at  East  Dennis,  and  another  at  Dennis.  At  South  Dennis  we 
find  one  old  one,  and  one  at  the  Congregational  church ;  at  Dennis 
Port,  one;  and  another  at  West  Dennis.  Two  ancient  grounds  exist — 
the  Indian,  on  the  shore  of  Scargo  lake,  and  that  of  the  Friends  at 
Pollen's  pond.  Most  of  these  are  kept  in  proper  condition  by  the 
town.  The  Howes,  the  Sears  and  the  Paddock  families  have  erected 
substantial  stone  fences  around  their  grounds.  The  Indian  cemetery 
has  been  enclosed  with  a  stone  and  iron  fence,  at  a  cost  of  $160,  and 
within  the  enclosure  some  of  the  skeletons  recently  found  have  been 
carefully  buried.  No  Indian  bodies  have  been  buried  there  for  a 
century,  and  in  it  no  whites  have  ever  found  a  resting  place. 

Schools. — In  accordance  with  the  custom  of  the  Puritans,  a  school 
was  established  as  soon  after  the  erection  of  the  meeting  house  as 
circumstances  would  permit.  The  first  record  of  any  steps  taken  by 
the  old  town  was  in  1693.  That  year  Joseph  Howes,  Jbhn  Howes 
[Hawes],  John  Miller  and  John  Hallett  were  appointed  in  open  town 
meeting  as  a  committee  to  agree  with  some  fit  person  to  teach  school. 
This  school  was  to  be  "  kept  in  five  squadrons."  Three  of  these  were 
in  Dennis;  the  Nobscusset  division  was  to  have  school  from  January 
fourth  to  April  tenth,  1694;  from  Widow  Boardman's  to  Satucket  mill 
or  river  the  school  was  to  be  kept  in  a  central  place,  from  April  11th 
to  June  19th,  the  same  year;  and  another  division,  including  the 
south  part  of  Dennis,  from  Thomas  Pollen's  along  the  east  side  of 
Bass  river,  was  to  have  the  teacher  from  June  20th  to  July  17th — the 
latter  less  than  a  month  for  a  year's  schooling. 

Thus  were  the  public  schools  of  Dennis  commenced.  In  1699  there 
was  no  school,  and  the  proper  committee  were  instructed  to  "look  out 
for  a  schoolmaster."  How  business-like  the  primative  fathers  were; 
for  at  the  same  meeting  that  provided  for  the  schoolmaster,  the  bounty 
on  wolf-scalps  was  arranged.     In  1700  John  Clark  taught  the  school  by 


TOWN  OF   DENNIS.  521 

divisions,  the  only  improvement  in  conditions  being  that  he  was  to 
have  his  horse  kept,  and  the  rooms  were  hired,  to  keep  the  several 
schools  in,  instead  of  being  such  as  could  gratuitously  be  obtained. 

In  1707  the  school  was  kept  at  Nobscusset  half  the  year.  In  1711  ' 
Mr.  Jaquesh  was  hired  "to  keep  an  English  school  to  teach  children 
to  read,  write  and  cypher."  In  1712  the  same  gentleman  received 
twenty-four  pounds  for  a  yearly  salary  with  five  shillings  per  week 
for  board.  The  salary  was  twenty-six  pounds  in  1716,  and  he  went 
about  the  town  as  before.  This  salary  was  for  the  entire  old  town. 
In  1730,  after  a  period  of  neglect,  the  school  affairs  had  become  better 
settled,  improvements  were  made,  and  two  teachers  were  employed^ 
still  traveling  from  division  to  division.  In  1770  school  houses  had 
been  erected  at  Nobscusset  and  Quivet  Neck,  and  the  town  of  Dennis, 
when  erected,  had  as  many  districtsor  divisions  as  the  entire  territory 
of  both  towns  the  century  before.  The  original  East  Dennis  school 
house  was  built  in  1769  near  the  present  site  of  Worden  Hall.  It  was 
warmed  by  the  old  fire  place,  and  not  until  its  successor  was  erected 
in  1826  was  that  wholesome  luxury  exchanged  for  the  first  school 
house  stove. 

November  6,  1794,  Dennis  appointed  a  committee  to  apportion  two 
hundred  dollars  among  the  districts,  and  in  1797  the  sum  of  $333  was 
apportioned.  In  1810  the  public  schools  were  in  a  flourishing  con- 
dition, and  in  1829  four  hundred  dollars  was  appropriated  to  the  sev- 
eral districts.  These  sums  were  but  a  small  part  of  the  actual  school 
expenses — the  balance  coming  from  private  tax.  During  these  years 
the  demand  for  more  advanced  schools  induced  teachers  to  open  sev- 
eral select  schools  through  the  town  which  continued  until  the  better 
grade  public  schools  met  the  full  demand.  In  1836  the  town  paid  $850 
for  schools,  and  good  houses  were  erected  as  the  first  ones  became  un- 
suitable. 

The  progress  of  the  schools  need  not  be  given  so  closely  in  detail, 
during  the  memory  of  the  middle-aged  citizen,  and  the  advancement 
of  fifty  years  will  be  evident  by  the  present  status.  In  1887  the  town 
supported  five  grammar  schools,  two  intermediate,  and  six  primary. 
Each  of  the  five  villages  had  a  good  school  building,  of  sufl&cient  size 
to  accommodate  the  several  departments.  The  books  and  supplies 
were  being  furnished  by  the  town,  and  uniformity  of  books  and  rigid 
classification  had  worked  wonders.  Every  department  had  been  kept 
in  session  8|  or  nine  months  of  the  year,  with  an  average  attendance 
of  over  ninety  per  cent,  of  those  registered.  In  1888  the  number  of 
schools  was  thirteen:  at  Dennis,  one  grammar  and  one  primary;  East 
Dennis,  one  grammar  and  one  primary;  South  Dennis,  one  grammar 
and  one  primary;  West  Dennis,  one  grammar  and  one  intermediate 
and  one  primary;   Dennis  Port,  one  grammar,  one  intermediate  and 


523  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

two  primary  departments.  In  the  year  1888  the  amount  paid  out  for 
school  purposes  was  $6,298.25  In  the  same  year  572  pupils  attended 
these  schools.  At  the  town  meeting  held  February  11,  1889,  the  com- 
mittee recommended  the  appropriation  of  fifty-four  hundred  dollars 
for  the  schools,  books  and  supplies.  The  annual  town  meeting  of 
1890  ordered  sixty-six  hundred  dollars  for  the  schools,  and  provided 
for  the  equipment  of  a  high  school  to  be  located  at  South  Dennis. 

Civil  History. — Nearly  all  the  remaining  common  lands  were  laid 
out  and  apportioned  to  the  proprietors  in  1797,  and  the  site  for  the 
burying  ground  near  the  North  church  was  at  this  time  given.  The 
committee  to  lay  it  out  consisted  of  Peter  Sears,  Daniel  Howes,  Judah 
Paddock,  Daniel  Eldridge  and  Jeremiah  Howes. 

In  1805  the  town  refused  a  permit  to  build  a  bridge  across  Bass 
river,  but  in  after  years  bridges  were  placed.  In  1814  Daniel  Howes 
and  others  were  permitted  to  build  a  stone  and  timber  pier,  six  hun- 
dred feet  long,  on  the  east  side  of  Nobscusset  point.  From  this  was 
incorporated  the  Nobscusset  Pier  Company,  and  from  here  the  North 
Dennis  fishing  business  was  carried  on. 

The  civil  arm  of  the  body  politic  was  raised  against  intemperance 
in  1818,  and  that  year,  in  town  meeting,  steps  for  controlling  the  tav- 
erns in  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors,  were  first  taken.  The  town, 
during  the  war  of  1812,  had  fully  complied  with  all  the  requirements 
of  the  government,  and  in  1814  the  town  took  precautionary  steps  to 
repel  threatened  invasions.  The  salt  fields  and  apparent  thrift  of  the 
Dennis  people  were  the  envy  of  British  privateers;  but  promptness 
and  determination  went  far  in  warding  oflF  the  enemy.  Among 
other  actions  of  the  people  in  a  public  way,  was,  in  1825,  to  take  steps 
for  opening  a  canal  from  Flax  pond  north  to  the  bay;  a  committee 
was  appointed  and  strong  measures  taken,  but  without  success. 

The  following  list  shows  the  years  of  first  election  and  number  of 
years  of  service  for  each  of  the  town's  representatives  who  served 
more  than  one  year:  1794,  Micajah  Sears,  3  years;  1800,  Joseph  Sears; 
1802,  Judah  Paddock,  9;  1812,  Zenas  Howes;  1813,  Samuel  Chase,  3; 
1814,  John  Paddock;  1816,  Daniel  Howes,  2;  1821,  Oren  Howes,  11; 
1829,  Zoheth  Howes;  1832,  John  Baker;  1833,  Thacher  Clark  and 
Joshua  Wixon,  jr.,  each  2;  1835,  Seth  Crowell,  4,  and  John  Nickerson; 
1836,  Stephen  Homer,  and  Jonathan  Nickerson,  2;  1837,  Daniel 
Hedge  and  William  Hinckley;  1838,  Seth  T.  Whelden,  2;  1840,  Sam- 
uel Rogers,  2;  1842,  Alexander  Howes,  2;  1844,  Nehemiah  Baker;  1845, 
Joseph  K.  Baker,  2;  1847,  William  Howes,  2;  1849,  Obed  Baker,  2d,  2; 
1851,  Thomas  Hall,  2;  1853,  M.  S.  Underwood,  2;  1855,  Joshua  C. 
Howes,  2;  and  in  1857  Luther  Studley. 

The  first  selectmen  for  1794  were  Jeremiah  Howes  and  Joseph 
Sears  for  11  years  each,  and  Jonathan  Bangs  for  14;  in  1805  Enoch  Hall 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  52? 

was  elected  and  served  12  years,  and  Daniel  Howes  10;  in  1806,  Dan- 
iel Eldridge;  1808,  Samuel  Chase,  8;  1809,  Nathan  Crowell,  7;  1816,. 
Perez  Howes,  2;  Lothrop  Howes,  2;  and  Jonathan  Nickerson,  19;  1818, 
Prince  Howes,  3;  and  David  Crowell;  1819,  Thacher  Clark,  12;  1821; 
Oren  Howes,  14;  1834,  Eleazer  Nickerson;  1835,  Abijah  Howes,  3;  1836, 
Obed  Baxter,  2;  and  Seth  Crowell,  4;  1838,  Nehemiah  Crowell,  8;  and 
Alexander  Howes,  3;  1839,  Edmund  Sears,  6;  1841,  Uriah  Howes,  3; 
1844,  Charles  Howes;  1845,  Thomas  Hall,  10;  1846,  Benjamin  Thacher, 
3;  1848,  Stephen  Homer;  1849,  Obed  Baker,  2d,  9;  and  Joshua  Wixon, 
jr.,  5;  1851,  David  Howes;  1852,  Atherton  H.  Baker,  3:  1855,  Joseph  K. 
Baker,  4;  and  James  S.  Howes,  5;  1858,  Shubael  B.  Howes,  3;  1860, 
Joshua  C.  Howes,  9;  1861,  Elijah  Baxter,  4;  and  Alvan  Small,  10;  1866,. 
Nehemiah  Crowell,  2;  1866,  Thomas  Hall;  1867,  Doane  Kelley,  2d;  and 
Luther  Fisk,  3;  1869,  Isaiah  B.  Hall,  11;  and  Warren  Snow,  10;  1875, 
David  Fisk,  4;  1877,  Joshua  Crowell,  jr.,  7;  1878,  Sylvester  Baker,  11; 
1881,  Hiram  Loring;  1883,  Heniy  H.  Fisk,  4;  1887,  Edwin  Baxter,  4; 
and  Henry  H.  Sears,  4;  1890,  Ebenezer  B.  Joy.  The  chairman  for  the 
board  of  1890  is  H.  H.  Sears. 

The  town  treasurers  and  clerks,  each  serving  until  his  successor  is 
elected,  have  been:  Elisha  Bassett,  elected  in  1794;  Nathan  Stone,  jr.,. 
in  1798;  Nehemiah  Baker,  1831;  Isaac  Howes,  1836;  Alvah  Nickerson, 
1837;  Watson  Baker,  1843;  Marshall  S.  Underwood,  1855;  Isaiah  Nick- 
erson, jr.,  1858;  Jonathan  Bangs,  1865;  Obed  Baker,  2d,  1870;  Charles 
G.  Baker;  1883;  and  Watson  F.  Baker,  elected  in  1887. 

Villages. — Dennis,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  North  Dennis, 
comprises  the  northwest  part  of  the  town,  and  was  the  ancient  Indian 
settlement  of  Nobscusset,  of  which  Mashantampaigne  was  the  sachem- 
Here  was  located  the  ancient  East  parish  meeting  house  of  Yarmouth; 
and  here,  on  the  east,  is  the  noted  Scargo  hill,  whose  sight  is  so  wel- 
come to  the  mariner.  This  village  was  early  settled  by  Thomas 
Howes  and  others,  whose  residences  were  around  an  old  fort,  built 
for  protection  against  the  Indians.  The  village  has  the  beautiful 
Scargo  lake,  and  the  dwellings  of  the  present  day  indicate  wealth  and 
thrift.  In  1800  it  contained  fifty  two  dwellings,  twenty-three  clusters 
of  salt  works,  and  eight  vessels  engaged  in  fishing  and  coasting.  It 
contains  many  more  dwellings  now,  and  the  salt  works  were  long  ago- 
abandoned.  The  two  old  wind  mills  have  also  succumbed  to  the 
march  of  improvement.  When  these  mills  were  erected  is  not  defin- 
itely known,  but  it  was  long  before  the  dawn  of  the  present  century. 
The  north  one,  which  was  built  about  1754,  and  owned  by  Lot  Howes, 
stood  near  John  M.  Stone's  residence,  and  was  subsequently  owned 
many  years  by  Abner  and  Oren  Howes,  who  sold  it  to  Edmund 
Matthews  in  1869.  He  removed  it  to  the  shore  of  Scargo  lake,  where 
the  Bleak  House  observatory  now  stands,  the  same  year,  and  again 


524  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

started  grinding  in  1870.  After  five  years  he  took  the  mill  down,  and 
all  that  is  tangible  at  this  date  are  the  mill  stones,  which  are  doing  ser- 
vice at  either  door  of  Mr.  Matthews'  residence,  near  the  post  ofiBce. 
The  south  mill  stood  just  west  of  the  burying  ground,  and  was  taken 
down  in  1874  by  Rufus  and  Edmund  Howes — the  last  owners.  Aaron 
Crowell,  a  gentleman  of  four-score  years,  and  an  old  resident  here, 
remembers  that  in  his  boyhood  these  old  mills  looked  as  weather- 
beaten  as  when  taken  down. 

This  part  of  the  town  also  was  engaged  in  ship-building.  The 
Sally  and  Betsey  was  built  at  Corporation  wharf,  in  1811,  by  Aaron 
Crowell,  sr.,  who  also  built  fhe  Five  Sisters.  The  sloop  Sally  was  built 
near  Bass  hole  by  the  Brays  in  1817.  Jeremiah  and  Aaron  Crowell 
built  the  Star  in  1839,  and  the  Bridge,  built  by  the  Shivericks  at  East 
Dennis,  was  owned  and  manned  by  the  people  of  the  north  village. 

In  the  terrible  gale  of  1841  four  Dennis  vessels  were  lost,  and  of 
their  crews,  including  twenty-one  Dennis  men,  not  one  was  saved. 
Of  this  number,  eight  out  of  a  crew  of  nine  of  the  schooner  Bride, 
whose  bodies  were  recovered,  found  Christian  burial  upon  land,  the 
coflBns  of  six  of  them  being  placed  side  by  side  in  the  village  church 
at  one  time,  and  the  members  of  seven  families  gathered  in  one 
common  service  of  mourning  for  the  loss  each  of  one  from  the  house- 
hold. The  wreck  of  the  Bride  was  brought  from  Provincetown  back 
to  Shiverick's  shipyard  and  again  made  ready  for  the  sea  by  the  same 
firm  which  built  her.  The  Hopewell,  a  fishing  vessel  of  thirty  tons, 
was  built  about  the  middle  of  the  present  century,  near  where  Rev. 
Dennis  once  lived,  in  the  road  that  leads  to  Nobscusset  harbor.  It 
was  built  by  Joshua  Baker,  and  after  much  trouble  was  moved  to  the 
water. 

The  present  county  road  forms  the  principal  street  of  this  village, 
and  along  it  the  early  ordinaries  were  found.  Where  Mrs.  Moses 
Howes  now  lives  was  an  old-fashioned  two  story  tavern,  kept  by 
Joseph  Hall  before  1784.  About  the  same  time  there  was  a  tavern 
kept  by  Obed  Howes,  where  Harvey  Howes  now  lives.  Obed  Howes* 
father,  called  "  Great  Sam,"  had  kept  it  prior  to  Obed.  Henry  Hall's 
tavern,  with  its  sign  of  a  black  horse,  was  opened  just  prior  to  1800, 
and  stood  where  Howes  Chapman  now  lives.  In  1871  James  Hum- 
phrey built  up  the  Cape  Cod  Bay  House,  which  was  the  Minot  House 
removed  to  Nobscusset.  It  was  used  as  a  hotel  for  several  years  in 
that  condition ;  the  present  Nobscusset  House  here  is  noticed  fully 
at  page  166. 

The  observatory  built  by  subscription  a  few  years  ago  on  the  sum- 
mit of  Scargo  hill,  is  one  of  the  places  of  interest.  It  stands  where  a 
former  observatory  was  prostrated  by  a  tempest. 

The  mail  for  this  part  of  Dennis  was  delivered  from  the  Yarmouth 


TOWN   OF   DENNIS.  525 

post  office  until  1797.  Nathaniel  Stone,  jr.,  who  kept  the  oflBce  at  his 
house  for  many  years,  was  the  first  postmaster,  being  appointed  May 
4,  1798.  Helwas  succeeded,  September  1,  1836,  by  Nehemiah  Y.  Hall, 
at  his  house,  who  in  turn  was  succeeded,  July  16,  1853,  by  Howes 
Chapman,  who  built  and  opened  a  store  on  his  premises,  where  he 
also  placed  the  office.  In  1857  Obed  Howes  was  appointed  and  moved 
the  office  to  the  store  of  Prince  Howes.  Howes  Chapman  was  reap- 
pointed in  1861,  and  again  kept  the  office  at  his  store.  Luther  Hall 
was  appointed  in  1873,  keeping  the  office  at  the  store  of  his  father-in- 
law,  Howes  Chapman,  until  August,  1886,  when  E.  C.  Matthews  was 
appointed,  who  removed  the  Chapman  store  and  the  post  office  to  its 
present  site. 

Places  of  business  that  could  be  called  stores  were  carried  on  here 
a  century  ago;  but  of  the  first  little  is  known.  Oliver  Crowell  and 
more  than  one  of  the  Howes  family  had  very  early  stores.  That  kept 
by  Samuel  Howes  was  within  the  recollection  of  old  residents.  Isaac 
Hall  and  later  Frederick  Hall  had  an  early  store  on  the  shore.  Prince 
Howes,  Freeman  Hall,  Zebina  Howes  and  Oren  Howes  were  mer- 
chants here.  Howes  Chapman  erected  a  store  on  his  premises  in 
1845,  and  here  he  and  Joshua  C.  Howes  then  commenced  business  as 
Chapman  &  Howes.  In  1847  this  firm,  with  William  Crowell  and 
Jeremiah  Hall,  opened  a  fishing  business  at  Corporation  wharf,  as 
Howes  &  Crowell. 

Ten  years  prior  to  this,  James  Howes,  an  enterprising  citizen,  had 
established  the  first  fishing  business  at  this  point,  and  remained  in 
active  management  of  a  business  there  for  twenty  years  or  more.  In 
1852  the  firm  of  Chapman  &  Howes  dissolved,  Mr.  Chapman  remain- 
ing at  the  old  place  and  Mr.  Howes  removing  to  the  wharf.  In  1856 
the  firm  of  Howes  &  Crowell  dissolved,  and  Joshua  C.  Howes  pur- 
chased the  entire  fishing  and  store  business  at  the  wharf.  Six  years 
later  he  removed  the  store  to  his  residence,  continuing  at  the  wharf, 
until  1864,  the  sale  of  coal  and  lumber.  In  1886  E.  C.  Matthews  pur- 
chased the  business  of  Luther  Hall,  who  had  succeeded  Howes  Chap- 
man, and  removed  the  building  across  the  street  to  the  present  post 
office  site.  In  1887  James  H.  Davidson  also  started  a  store  and  tin 
shop  west  of  the  burying  ground. 

The  public  hall  here,  now  known  as  Carlton  Hall,  was  originally 
built  in  1820  by  the  Methodist  Society,  and  was  occupied  by  them  as 
a  place  of  worship  until  1847,  when  the  Methodists  and  Trinitarian 
North  church  united  in  the  purchase  and  use  of  the  present  Union 
church  building.  At  that  time  the  Methodist  building  was  converted 
into  a  hall  and  used  in  part  for  school  purposes.  The  private  school 
which  was  kept  in  it  led  to  the  use  of  the  name  Academy  Hall,  which 
it  bore  until  1865,  when  a  company  of  citizens  purchased  and  trans- 


526  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

formed  it  into  its  present  proportions.  Since  that  time  it  has  been 
known  as  Carlton  Hall.  The  committee  in  control  for  1890  consisted 
of  Luther  Hall,  Edmund  C.  Matthews  and  Howes  Chapman,  with 
Luther  Hall  secretary  and  treasurer. 

In  1873  the  Dennis  Library  Association,  now  having  735  volumes, 
was  organized,  electing  the  officers  in  March,  annually.  Moses  Howes 
was  president  of  the  association  until  1886,  when  Laban  Howes  was 
chosen.  The  trustees  are:  Thomas  P.  Howes,  Howes  Chapman  and 
Joshua  C.  Howes.  Miss  Flora  Howes  has  acted  as  librarian  and  sec- 
retary for  the  last  fourteen  years. 

This  is  the  oldest  and  most  historic  village  of  the  town,  but  is  less 
important  in  its  business  relations  than  younger  villages  on  the  south 
side  of  the  town.  The  remains  of  the  old  Corporation  wharf,  east  of 
the  Nobscusset  House,  the  old  burying  ground,  and  the  historical  fact 
of  its  being  set  off  into  the  East  parish  in  1721,  are  the  reminders  of 
former  importance.  It  is  the  type  of  a  beautiful,  rural  village  nestled 
between  the  high  ridge  of  land  and  the  bay. 

East  Dennis  embraces  the  continuous  settlements  grouped  on 
Sesuet  and  Quivet  necks,  and  extends  east  of  Scargo  hill.  The  vil- 
lage is  beautifully  scattered  along  the  main  road  leading  to  Satucket 
in  Brewster,  and  includes  some  more  sparsely  settled  neighborhoods. 
Both  necks  of  land  are  pleasantly  situated,  and  they  excel  in  fer- 
tility. It  was  here  that  John  Sears,  in  1799,  after  many  improve- 
ments, obtained  a  patent,  and  rendered  much  assistance  to  persons  en- 
gaged in  solar  evaporation.  The  manufacture  commenced  here  as 
early  as  1776.  The  entire  surface  of  Quivet  neck  adjoining  the  bay, 
and  the  greater  part  of  Sesuet,  were  covered  with  vats.  Of  the  Sears 
and  Crowell  families,  the  first  on  the  neck,  nearly  all  the  heads  en- 
gaged in  this  work.  Edmund  Sears  started  his  works  in  1795  and  his 
son,  Edmund,  in  1818.  In  1803  John  Sears,  William  Crowell,  John 
Crowell  and  the  elder  Edmund  Sears  started  an  improved  set  of 
evaporators  and  covers  on  the  eastern  part  of  Quivet  neck;  and  one  day 
when  they  were  discussing  a  proper  name  for  the  works,  William 
Crowell  suggested  the  name  "John  Sears' Folly,"  which  was  adopted. 
In  1804  Jacob  Sears  built  works.  Daniel  Sears  in  1821,  and  Nathan 
F.  Sears  in  1823.  Others  who  were  interested  were  Joshua,  Ezra, 
Thomas  and  Elkanah  Sears,  sr.  and  jr.;  also  Joseph,  Edward  and 
Major  John  Sears.  Of  the  Crowells  we  find  David,  Daniel  and  Isaac 
•were  early  manufacturers.  Later,  others  of  the  Sears  family — Elisha 
and  Constant,  and  Joseph  Sears  of  Brewster,  had  works  on  Quivet 
neck.  Ten  thousand  feet  in  East  Dennis  were  owned  by  Kenelm, 
Isaac,  Abraham  and  Nathaniel  Winslow,  and  Isaac,  Abraham  and 
John  Chapman  owned  and  run  other  works  here.  Still  later  and 
further  west  we  find  Lothrop  Howes,  Judah  Paddock  and  his  son, 


TOWN   OF  DENNIS.  527 

and  Enoch  and  Daniel  Hall  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  salt.  On 
Sesuet  neck  David,  William  and  Eli  Howes,  Nathan  Crowell,  and 
later  Asa  Shiverick,  had  works. 

It  is  easy  to  conjecture  the  dotted  appearance  of  three  miles  of 
shore  when  the  reader  has  read  the  list  of  enterprising  men  who 
successfully  operated  these  plants,  which,  with  their  owners,  have 
passed  away.  One,  built  by  John  Sears  in  1821,  and  purchased  of 
B.  H.  Sears  in  1857,  is  yet  to  be  seen,  just  east  of  Quivet  harbor. 
William  Sears,  an  intelligent  old  gentleman  of  eighty  years,  pur- 
chased them  and  during  the  summer  of  1889  made  salt.  Barnabas 
H.  Sears  also  has  another  works  on  the  extreme  east  end  of  the  neck. 
Formerly  this  industry  was  a  profitable  one,  for  the  salt  was  easily 
transported  by  vessels  to  Boston  markets. 

Ship-building  was  also  a  prominent  industry.  The  pioneer  in  this 
was  Asa  Shiverick,  who  early  learned  the  art  from  Jeremiah  Crow- 
ell  in  the  west  part  of  the  town.  In  1815  Mr.  Shiverick  built  a  schooner, 
and  in  1816  he  built  the  Polly  for  David  and  Isaiah  Crowell  and  Joseph 
and  Ezra  Sears.  In  1820  he  built  his  first  residence  on  Sesuet  neck 
and  engaged  in  ship-building  near  by  on  his  own  land.  The  next 
vessel  of  importance  was  the  top-sail  schooner  Atlas,  in  1829.  This 
was  in  part  built  from  the  vessel  Atlantic  that,  loaded  with  flour, 
had  been  cast  ashore  on  Sesuet  neck  and  abandoned.  In  1835  and 
1838  he  launched  five  vessels.  One  was  the  schooner  Ho/>e  Howes,  and 
another  the  brig  Giraffe.  In  1821  he  assisted  in  building  a  packet 
for  Edmund,  Jacob  and  Judah  Sears,  which  they  used  between  East 
Dennis  and  Boston,  and  which  was  sold  in  1832.  His  sons,  David, 
Asa  and  Paul  Shiverick,  were  with  him  in  the  business,  building  the 
schooners  Bride.  Grafton,  Watclmian,  John  B.,  West  Wind,  Walter  C. 
Hall,  Joseph  K.  Baker,  Watson  Baker,  Searsville  and  others. 

They  afterward,  between  1850  and  1862,  built  eight  ships,  which 
were  successively  named  Revenue,  Hippogriffe,  Belle  of  the  West,  Kit 
Carson,  Wild  Hunter,  Webfoot,  Christopher  Hall  and  Ellen  Sears.  The 
first  of  these  was  sailed  to  Boston  to  be  rigged,  using  only  a  tem- 
porary square  sail  to  give  the  ship  headway,  and  the  others  were 
towed  there  by  steamers  for  the  same  purpose.  These  vessels  were 
built  on  the  meadow  just  east  of  the  present  residence  of  David  Shiv- 
erick.    They  were  commanded  and  manned  by  men  from  Dennis. 

The  old  windmill,  dismantled  and  without  wings,  standing  on  the 
hill  south  of  the  village,  is  a  monument  of  the  past.  It  was  built  in 
Yarmouth  by  Gideon  Gray  and  Thomas  Sears  in  1766.  In  1775  it  was 
brought  to  its  present  site  by  John  Chapman,  William  Crowell,  Peter 
Sears  and  Edmund  Sears,  who  had  purchased  it.  Afterward  John 
Chapman  and  Isaac  Crowell  owned  it.  Abraham  Chapman  then 
bought  a  controlling  interest  and  it  was  run  by  him  and  his  children 


628  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

till   1869,   when  lightning  injured  the    machinery  and    it — the  last 
grist  mill  here — was  abandoned. 

The  places  of  trade  that  naturally  were  open  here  soon  after  180O 
could  be  called  stores,  for  they  supplied  the  wants  of  the  people. 
Thacher  Clark  had  one  during  the  war  of  1812  and  many  years  after- 
ward. James  S.  Howes  followed  him  in  1842  by  a  store  in  that  part 
of  the  village,  commencing  in  a  building  on  the  southwest  corner  of 
the  premises  owned  by  Mrs.  Lydia  H.  Hall,  and  in  1864  built  his  pres- 
ent store,  which  has  since  been  the  post  office.  The  lean-to  of  the 
house  now  occupied  by  Henry  Dillingham  was  built  for  a  store  in 
1820  and  was  kept  by  Zachary  Sears,  and  later  by  his  wife,  Olive,  for 
many  years.  In  1849  Stillman  Kelley  came  from  Harwich  and  start- 
ed here  in  a  store  and  in  the  fishing  trade.  In  1850  Seth  Sears  went 
into  partnership  with  him,  enlarging  the  business  by  the  purchase  of 
six  new  vessels  for  fishing  and  coast  trade.  A  general  store  was 
opened  at  the  wharf  by  this  firm,  and  about  the  same  time  Eben 
Howes  built  and  opened  a  store,  which  H.  H.  Sears  &Co.  now  occupy. 
In  1852  Nathan  Sears  became  a  partner  with  Kelley  &  Sears,  and  the 
business  was  further  increased,  they  having  at  one  time  thirteen  ves- 
sels in  mackerel  and  cod  fishing  and  the  coasting  trade.  Seth  Sears 
died  in  1857,  and  the  remaining  partners  soon  after  purchased  the 
store  of  Eben  Howes  and  transferred  their  stock  to  it  from  the  store 
at  the  wharf.  In  1876  they  sold  to  H.  H.  and  Paul  F.  Sears,  who  con- 
tinue to  deal  in  coal,  lumber,  grain,  flour  and  general  merchandise, 
as  long  ago  established,  the  heavy  articles  being  kept  at  the  wharf 
and  the  lighter  at  the  store.  Mr.  Kelley  brought  the  first  coal  by  ves- 
sel in  1851 ,  and  the  coal  yard  of  the  present  firm  is  an  important  factor 
of  their  trade.  The  same  may  be  consistently  said  of  the  lumber  yard 
established  in  1862.  The  present  firm  of  H.  H.  Sears  &  Co.  run  a  fine 
vessel  in  their  own  coasting  trade.  In  1849  Barnabas  Sears  kept  store 
for  Paul  Sears  for  a  short  time.  Three  stores  were  supplying  the  peo- 
ple in  1889,  kept  by  H.  H.  Sears  &  Co.,  James  S.  Howes,  and  David  H. 
Sears,  jr. 

This  scattered  village  received  its  mail  from  Dennis  prior  to  1800, 
and  still  earlier  from  Yarmouth,  but  on  January.  2,  1828,  Thacher 
Clark  was  appointed  postmaster  and  for  many  years  kept  the  office  in 
a  store  at  his  house.  He  resigned,  and  Judah  Paddock  was  appointed 
March  6,  1838.  After  a  little,  Mr.  Paddock  built  an  office  on  the  corner 
of  the  street  just  west  of  the  present  office,  where  he  kept  it  until  June 
19,  1849,  when  Lothrop  Howes,  jr.,  was  appointed,  moving  it  to  the 
store  of  his  brother,  James  S.  Howes.  He  died  in  1888,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded September  fifth,  by  James  F.  Howes. 

Worden  Hall,  so  named  from  the  original  owner  of  the  site,  was 
erected  in  1866,  by  stockholders,  and  in  1867  the  association  was  per- 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  629 

fected.  F.  D.  Homer  was  clerk  and  treasurer  until  1884,  and  C.  Wal- 
ter Hall,  since.  About  the  time  this  hall  was  built  William  F.  Howes 
originated  and  perfected  the  plan  of  a  library  association,  which  met 
at  private  houses  for  a  short  time;  but  in  1870  Nathaniel  Myrick  do- 
nated to  the  association  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars,  which  fur- 
nished a  broader  basis  of  operation.  The  association  was  re-formed 
that  year  and  the  library  moved  to  the  new  hall.  Captain  Prince  S. 
Crowell  by  will  left  five  hundred  dollars  more  to  the  association. 
The  library  now  numbers  twelve  hundred  volumes  and  suitable  ad- 
ditions are  annually  made.  The  name  given  is  the  East  Dennis  As- 
sociation Library.  Ofl&cers  for  1889:  Joshua  Crowell,  president;  David 
Shiverick,  secretary;  Nellie  L.  Crowell,  librarian  and  treasurer;  Mrs. 
M.  J.  Howes,  Samuel  Chapman,  and  George  P.  Howes,  trustees. 

East  Dennis  has  many  places  of  interest,  sought  by  the  summer 
visitors.  One  old  house  built  in  1711,  by  one  of  the  ancestors  of  the 
Sears  family,  is  a  memento  of  the  past.  Abraham  Chapman  lives  in 
another  house,  built  in  1740. 

Those  olden  days  were  days  of  labor  and  cheerfulness.  With  the 
decline  of  maritime  enterprises  came  the  cultivation  of  cranberries,  in 
which  Dennis  as  a  town  has  become  prominent,  as  more  fully  appears 
at  page  147.  How  changed  the  habits  of  latter  generations  from  those 
of  the  fathers,  who,  not  content  with  chasing  the  monsters  of  the  deep 
in  Arctic  seas,  had  a  whale  house  erected  just  west  of  Sesuet  harbor, 
and  there  watched  for  the  whales  in  the  bay;  and  when  one  was  espied, 
how  the  boats  swarmed  out  to  capture  him  ! 

South  Dennis  is  the  middle  village  of  the  three  south  of  tlie  rail- 
road, and  extends  from  the  road  along  Bass  river  to  West  Dennis.  It 
was  the  term  formerly  applied  to  the  entire  south  part  of  the  town, 
but  two  other  brisk  villages  have  usurped  the  greater  portion  of  the 
territory.  South  Dennis  is  the  railway  village  of  the  town,  and  con- 
sequently will  occupy  an  enviable  position,  although  of  less  import- 
ance in  business.  It  is  a  model  of  rural  loveliness,  and  its  long,  crooked 
street  is  a  charming  drive.  The  settlement  of  the  present  village 
very  soon  succeeded  that  of  the  north  villages,  and  the  consequent 
rivalry  in  church  was  manifested.  The  town  clerk's  office  is  here,  and 
near  by  is  the  town  house  and  the  poor  house.  The  pleasant  resi- 
dences give  ample  evidence  of  thrift  and  enjoyment.  Bass  river 
upper  bridge  here  gives  traveling  facilities  to  the  westward. 

The  building  of  vessels  of  small  tonnage  and  the  manufacture  of 
salt  were  quite  extensively  engaged  in  early  in  the  present  century, 
but  the  evidences  were  long  ago  extinct.  The  Baker  family  were 
prominent,  and  fifty  years  ago  were  doing  so  much  of  the  business 
that  the  settlement  was  called  "  Bakertown."  Joshua  Baker  had  a 
store;  Peter  and  John  Baker  also  kept  stores,  and  Peter  kept  a  tavern. 
84 


530  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  old  wind  mill,  the  three  stores,  the  tavern,  and  the  fishing  vessels 
of  the  Bakers  made  it  a  lively  center.  The  wind  mill  near  Grand 
cove  was  the  scene  of  many  important  telegraphic  communications. 
It  stood  on  the  knoll  northwest  of  L.  M.  Gage's  present  residence,  and 
its  upper  port  holes,  or  windows,  commanded  a  view  of  the  high  land 
in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  on  which  a  flag  was  hoisted  when  a 
Boston  packet  was  entering  Nobscusset  harbor.  As  soon  as  the  look- 
out in  the  wind  mill  saw  the  flag,  he  went  to  a  pole  erected  on  the  tri- 
angular piece  of  land  between  the  highways,  near  Mr.  Gage's,  and 
hoisted  a  flag,  which  communicated  the  news  to  West  Harwich,  South 
Yarmouth  and  the  remaining  portion  of  Dennis,  that  the  "  packet  was 
in."  They  told  of  the  departure  of  the  packet  by  hoisting  the  day 
before  it  sailed  a  ball  or  barrel.  These  messages,  delivered  many 
miles  so  rapidly  and  effectively,  are  yet  remembered  by  the  more 
aged,  who,  in  those  days  of  no  railroads,  went  to  North  Dennis  for 
their  goods  at  the  first  mentioned  signal,  and  at  the  second  carried  to 
the  packet  produce  and  articles  of  exchange  for  the  Boston  market. 

Peter  Baker  had  a  tavern  here  early  in  the  history  at  the  \*illage, 
and  Elkanah  S.  Baker  started  another  in  1868  in  the  premises  opposite 
L.  M.  Gage's.  This  was  discontinued  at  his  death  in  1884.  Mrs.  L.  B. 
Nickerson  still  keeps  the  Nickerson  House — a  tavern  started  in  1876 
by  her  husband,  who  died  in  1883. 

The  later  stores  have  been  generally  kept  by  the  Bakers.  In  1862 
Reuben  and  Jethro  Baker  opened  a  store,  which  was  sold  to  Watson 

F.  Baker,  in  October,  1874,  and  it  is  yet  a  principal  store  of  South 
Dennis.  Marshall  S.  Underwood  kept  a  store  where  the  post  office  is 
until  his  death,  in  1873,  and  Charles  M.,  his  son,  continues  it.   Charles 

G.  Baker  has  a  general  store  by  the  depot. 

The  mail  was  delivered  to  the  citizens  of  the  south  part  at  North 
Dennis  until  January  9, 1822,  when  Miller  Whelden  was  made  the  first 
postmaster  at  South  Dennis.  Eleazer  Nickerson  was  appointed  De- 
cember 15,  1828,  postmaster  for  South  Dennis,  and  received  the  mail 
at  Miller  Whelden's  house,  where  Charles  Baker  now  resides.  Whel- 
den was  his  assistant  in  carrying  the  mail  and  waiting  upon  the 
people.  Watson  Baker  was  postmaster  from  January  21, 1847,  and 
had  the  office  a  short  time  in  the  present  Liberty  Hall,  and  May  29, 
1869,  Marshall  S.  Underwood  was  appointed,  moved  it  to  the  present 
site,  and  in  1873  was  succeeded  by  Charles  M.  Underwood. 

Liberty  Hall  was  once  a  store  occupied  by  Baker  &  Downs.  In  1844 
it  was  moved  to  its  present  site  by  Watson  Baker  and  Isaac  Downs; 
then  it  was  sold  to  Collins  C.  Baker,  for  Joseph  C.  Baker,  who  sold  it 
twenty  years  ago  to  a  stock  company,  which  transformed  the  upper 
floor  into  a  convenient  hall.  The  Good  Templars  meet  in  the  hall, 
and  although  only  organized  February  7, 1889,  with  twenty -two  mem- 
bers, they  had  increased  to  sixty-six  in  the  third  quarter. 


TOWN   OF   DENNIS.  581 

West  Dennis  is  a  thriving  village  in  the  extreme  southwestern 
part  of  the  town,  and  is  separated  from  and  connected  with  South  Yar- 
mouth village  by  the  lower  Bass  River  bridge.  Much  of  the  business 
is  done,  and  many  of  the  business  men  of  West  Dennis  are  interested, 
at  South  Yarmouth.  In  fact  the  villages  of  South  Yarmouth,  West 
Dennis,  South  Dennis,  Dennis  Port  and  West  Harwich  together  form 
a  continuous,  beautiful  New  England  village.  The  oldest  settlers 
well  remember  the  first  ferry  across  the  river  just  below,  and  which 
was  superseded  by  the  present  bridge.  The  bridge  was  first  the 
property  of  certain  stockholders  in  West  Dennis  and  South  Yar- 
mouth, and  toll  was  taken  for  crossing;  but  about  1870  it  was  made 
free  to  the  public,  Dennis  purchasing  four-elevenths,  Yarmouth  four, 
Harwich  one,  and  the  county  two-elevenths.  The  Bass  river  at  this 
point  is  wide,  and  the  bridge  is  a  long  and  important  structure,  having 
a  drawbridge  for  the  passage  of  vessels.  On  the  Dennis  side  of  Bass 
river,  salt  works  were  once  numerous,  and  John  and  Barney  Baker 
were  the  principal  owners.  Small  vessels  were  built  in  the  vicinity, 
and  this  village  has  for  many  years  sustained  a  large  share  in  the 
business  of  coasting  and  fishing.  About  1854  Elisha  Crowell  and 
Luther  Studley  built  here  the  schooner  IVesi  Dennis,  the  hrig /o/in  Free- 
man, and  another  schooner,  probably  the  Sylvanus  Allen. 

From  the  conflicting  statements  of  those  who  can  date  from  mem- 
ory only,  it  is  impossible  to  chronologically  arrange  the  names  of 
merchants  of  the  past  century.  This  part  of  Dennis  was  first  served 
by  stores  at  what  is  now  South  Dennis.  In  1871  Hiram  D.  Loring 
opened  a  dry  goods  and  grocery  store  in  West  Dennis,  and  in  1885 
added  boots  and  shoes  to  his  stock.  In  1889  he  purchased  the  dry 
goods  and  clothing  stock  formerly  belonging  to  John  L.  Crowell,  2nd, 
and  now  is  proprietor  of  both  stores.  The  store  now  occupied  by 
T.  T.  Baxter  was  formerly  owned  by  Uriah  H.  Crowell  and  occupied 
by  him  as  a  general  store.  February  10, 1872,  the  business  and  build- 
ing were  purchased  by  Baker  &  Baxter,  who  added  furniture,  carpets 
and  harness-making  to  the  other  business.  After  two  years  Thacher 
T.  Baxter  became  sole  proprietor.  The  store  building  was  enlarged 
by  Baker  &'  Baxter,  and  since  T.  T.  Baxter  owned  it  an  important 
addition  has  been  made  almost  every  year,  until  it  now  is  a  large 
block  with  many  departments  and  classes  of  goods.  George  L.  Davis 
opened  a  hardware  store  here,  which  he  continued  until  his  death  in 
1876.  The  same  year  S.  A.  Chase  opened  another  hardware  store 
just  east  of  Baxter's  Block,  and  in  1883  he  purchased  Thacher's  Hall 
and  moved  it  to  the  site  he  now  occupies.  In  1888  he  added  to  the 
building,  making  it  a  commodious  and  central  place  for  his  business. 
The  first  regular  jewelry  store  in  the  town  was  opened  in  1879  by 
John  Baxter,  on  the  corner  where  Thomas  Baxter  formerly  sold  boots 


532  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

and  shoes.  Fancy  goods  have  been  added  to  the  stock  of  watches 
and  jewelry.  In  1864  Luther  Fisk  and  Andrew  Baker  built  the  pres- 
ent grocery  store  of  Calvin  F.  Baker,  where  the  business  began. 
Fisk  sold  to  Joseph  Eldridge  and  the  business  was  conducted  by  El- 
dridge  &  Baker,  then  by  Z.  T.  Gage.  William  Kelley  succeeced  him, 
and  he  in  turn  was  succeeded  by  Mary  E.  Gage,  who  in  1883  sold  to 
Calvin  F.  Baker.  Joseph  F.  Thacher  in  1864  built  and  opened  a  shop 
for  the  wheelwright  trade,  and  in  1870  added,  with  a  stock  of  paint- 
ers' supplies,  the  business  of  undertaking.  After  his  death,  in  1880, 
C.  N.  Thacher,  his  son,  continued  the  business. 

On  the  knoll  adjoining  Grand  cove  Judah  Baker  built  a  wind  grist 
mill  in  1803.  This  was  of  great  importance  at  that  day,  and  it  served 
the  public  many  years  under  the  control  of  the  builder,. who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son,  Peter,  until  just  before  the  civil  war,  when  it  was 
removed  to  South  Yarmouth  by  its  purchaser,  Freeman  Crowell.  In 
1884  Thacher  T.  Baxter  built  the  steam  grist  mill  now  doing  efficient 
service  in  West  Dennis.  The  power  being  sufficient,  in  1886  Sears 
Crowell  placed  in  the  second  story  of  the  mill,  six  tack  machines,  and 
in  1887  four  more.  He  and  Mr.  Baxter  did  business  as  the  West 
Dennis  Tack  Company,  until  the  fall  of  1889,  when  the  machines 
were  sold  and  removed. 

The  Casey  Brothers'  shoe  factory  was  incorporated  in  1887  as  a 
stock  company.  A  building,  forty  by  one  hundred  feet,  and  three 
stories  high,  was  erected.  The  stock  is  in  240  shares  held  by  forty- 
eight  persons.  The  building  and  machinery  are  complete  for  its 
business,  and  one  hundred  hands  find  employment,  manufacturing 
ten  thousand  cases  of  foot  wear  annually  for  the  western  trade. 
Edwin  Baxter  is  president  of  the  company  and  William  B.  Bowne 
treasurer.  John  A.  and  James  E.  Casey  are  the  efficient  managers. 
The  machinery  is  operated,  the  building  heated,  and  ample  fire  pumps 
run  by  steam  power. 

The  citizens  here  went  across  to  South  Yarmouth  for  their  mail 
until  February  22,  1833,  when  Luther  Child  was  appointed  postmaster 
and  kept  the  office  at  his  house.  Salmon  Crowell,  jr.,  in  June,  1853,  was 
appointed,  and  also  kept  the  office  at  his  residence.  In  1861,  Zadoc 
Crowell  was  made  postmaster,  keeping  it  in  his  store  by  his  dwelling, 
until  Salmon  Crowell  was  re-appointed  in  1872.  He  removed  the  office 
to  the  building  that  was  burned  in  1884.  In  1881  Hiram  D.  Loring  was 
made  postmaster  and  kept  the  office  at  his  store  until  1886,  when  in  May 
he  was  succeeded  by  Allen  S.  Crowell.  The  office  then  was  moved  to 
the  harness  shop  of  S.  F.  Baker.  Mr.  Crowell  was  postmaster  three 
years,  being  succeeded  in  May,  1889,  by  James  H.  Jenks,  jr.  Mail  is 
received  twice  daily,  from  the  South  Dennis  railroad  station. 

In  the  spring  of  1888  a  lodge  of  Royal  Good  Fellows  was  organized 


TOWN  OF   DENNIS.  633 

with  sixty  members.  The  society  meets  monthly  in  Chase's  Hall,  and 
now  numbers  seventy-five  members.  Sylvester  F.  Baker  was  the  chief 
officer  for  1889,  and  Harvey  Jenks,  secretary.  A  lodge  of  Good  Templars 
was  organized  October  16,  1888,  with  twenty-five  members,  which  in- 
creased within  one  year,  to  ninety-four.  These,  with  the  usual  W.  C.  T. 
U.,  and  society  of  Christian  Endeavor  in  connection  with  the  church, 
constitute  the  present  social  organizations.  In  1864  a  lodge  of  Masons 
was  organized  here,  called  the  Benjamin  Franklin.  Meetings  were  held 
for  several  years  in  the  second  story  of  what  is  now  John  Freeman's 
dwelling,  but  so  many  members  were  sea-faring  men  that  the  lodge 
thought  best  to  surrender  its  charter  and  affiliated  with  Mount  Horeb 
Lodge  of  Dennis  and  Harwich. 

Doric  Hall  was  in  1872  called  Union  Hall.  A  stock  company  pur- 
chased it  in  1879,  moved  it  to  its  present  site,  refitted  it,  and  gave  it 
the  present  name. 

Bass  river  is  navigable  to  West  Dennis  by  coasters,  which  greatly 
aids  in  the  transportation  of  coal,  flour,  grain,  lumber  and  heavy 
merchandise.  Hiram  Loring  for  many  years  kept  a  packet  running 
to  and  from  New  York,  in  his  own  business,  and  James  Crowell  now 
keeps  and  runs  a  packet  to  supply  his  coal  yard  at  West  Dennis.  Others 
there  are  similarly  engaged. 

Dennis  Port  is  easterly  from  South  Dennis,  and  includes  the 
southeast  portion  of  the  town.  It  once  was  designated  as  Crocker's 
Neck,  but  has  been  known  as  Dennis  Port,  for  about  thirty 
years,  since  it  was  so  named,  by  Thomas  Howes,  the  first  postmaster 
of  the  village.  The  citizens  had  received  their  mail  at  West  Harwich, 
but  when  this  became  disadvantageous  they  petitioned  for  an  office, 
which  was  granted.  The  village  is  adjacent  to  West  Harwich,  the 
main  street  of  both  forming  one  continuous  village.  Two  streets  pass 
southerly  to  the  sound  and  along  these  are  business  places.  At  the 
shore,  from  these  streets  are  two  substantial  piers  for  the  coasting, 
fishing  and  mercantile  business. 

This  village  was  properly  called  Dennis  Port,  for  it  has  the  best 
maritime  advantages  of  any  of  the  villages  of  Dennis;  and  in  the  fish- 
ing and  coasting  business  it  now  excels.  The  oldest  of  the  wharves, 
the  westerly  one,  was  built  in  1849  by  the  grandfather  and  father 
of  Samuel  S.  Baker,  the  present  owner.  The  other  wharf  was  built 
in  1888  and  belongs  to  the  Dennis  Port  Fishing  Company,  of  which 
J.  P.  Edwards  is  the  representative.  The  company  started  in  1886 
with  four  new  schooners,  built  at  Essex,  and  from  this  wharf  and  the 
fitting  store  kept  by  Mr.  Edwards,  three  of  the  vessels  make  trips  in 
mackerel  fishing  and  to  the  Banks  for  cod.  In  1879  Nehemiah 
Wixon  built  and  opened  a  grocery  store  on  the  street  leading  to  the 
sound. 


534  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Dennis  Port  has  been  an  active  fishing  station  since  the  last  cen- 
tury, closely  related  with  West  Harwich.  As  early  as  1810  we  find 
a  good  old-fashioned  store  here,  kept  by  John  Payson,  in  a  lean-to  of 
his  residence,  on  what  is  now  Main  street.  J.  P.  Wixon  has  his  old 
account  books,  which  show  the  quaint  and  usual  sales  of  rum,  molas- 
ses, tobacco  and  wool — the  dry  goods  of  that  day.  Joshua  Wixon,  in 
1833,  opened  a  store  of  general  goods  and  groceries,  which  he  con- 
tinued until  his  death  in  1878.  Barnabas  Wixon  also  had,  in  1833, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  village  a  store-  which  was  continued  a  few 
years  until  his  decease.  In  1856,  J.  P.  Wixon,  son  of  Joshua,  built 
the  store  he  now  occupies,  and  after  a  few  years  discontinued  the 
sale  of  dry  goods  and  boots  and  shoes,  continuing  only  the  grocery 
department.  Thomas  Howes  has  kept  a  general  store  for  the  past 
thirty-one  years  in  a  building  near  his  residence.  Main  street. 

Among  the  later  places  of  business,  and  prominent,  is  the  store  of 
Joseph  B.  Kelley,  which  he  built  and  opened  in  1879  on  the  corner 
of  Main  and  Ocean  streets.  He  had  formerly  been  actively  engaged 
in  a  flouring  and  grist  mill,  which  he,  with  Benjamin  P.  Sears,  Joseph 
K.  Baker  and  Joseph  Baker,  erected  in  1862  near  the  school  house. 
Wheat  was  shipped  from  New  York  and  the  enterprise  was  given  a 
fair  trial,  but  was  discontinued  in  1865,  and  the  building  transformed 
into"  dwellings.  At  Dennis  Port,  like  many  points  where  the  water 
communication  is  superior,  grist  mills  seem  to  be  things  of  the  past. 
Even  an  old  wind  mill  that  Reuben  Burgess  ran  for  grinding  corn, 
was  sold  and  transferred  to  Harwich  about  1874. 

The  largest  and  most  extensive  place  of  business  is  Ginn's  Ba- 
zaar. Doctor  Ginn  in  1880  built  a  drug  store  for  himself,  and  over 
it  opened  St.  Elmo  Hall,  and  in  1889  he  erected  a  large  block  of  five 
stores.  This  block  is  shown  on  a  page  of  illustrations  with  the  Doc- 
tor's residence  in  Harwich.  Three  of  the  stores  were  at  once  occu- 
pied by  J.  B.  Baker,  D.  Chase,  jr.,  and  L.  S.  Burgess  &  Co.,  respect- 
ively; and  the  entire  second  story  was  converted  into  a  public  hall, 
a  saloon  and  offices. 

The  general  store  of  Samuel  S.  Baker,  near  the  wharf,  has  quite  a 
history.  J.  K.  Baker  &  Co.  built  the  first  store  there  in  1854  and  con- 
tinued business  until  1870,  when  it  was  burned.  It  was  re-built  at 
once,  and  Baker,  Ellis  &  Co.  carried  it  on  seven  years,  and  were  suc- 
ceeded by  others  until  1881,  when  it  was  used  as  a  mackerel  canning 
factory  for  three  years.  In  1884  Samuel  S.  Baker  purchased  the  build- 
ing, and  in  January,  1885,  he  added  coal,  lumber  and  grain  to  his  for- 
mer business,  transporting  his  goods  in  his  own  vessels.  His  coal 
yard  is  the  only  one  at  Dennis  Port,  Snow  &  Rogers  having  discon- 
tinued theirs  in  1885,  after  a  business  of  several  years  on  the  street. 
Besides  Mr.  Baker's  at  the  wharf,  Alonzo  Capron  keeps  a  lumberyard 


TOWN   OF  DENNIS.  535 

in  the  village.  Ebenezer  Kelley  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade  in  1871. 
He  died  September  10,  1879,  and  this  branch  was  closed  out  by  his  son, 
O.  E.  Kelley,  who  continues  the  trade  in  hardware  stores,  paints  and 
house-furnishing  goods. 

The  fishing  interest  has  greatly  decreased  for  several  years  past, 
yet  it  is  hopefully  carried  on.  In  the  summer  of  1888  the  shad  re- 
turned to  this  shore  in  great  numbers  for  the  first  time  in  many  years, 
and  it  is  thought  that  one  thousand  barrels  were  taken. 

Thomas  Howes,  still  in  business,  was  first  postmaster,  appointed 
July  28,  1862.  He  was  succeeded  by  Foster  Rogers  in  1883,  and  I.  W. 
Peterson  in  1885.     Foster  Rogers  is  the  present  postmaster. 

The  village  sustains  several  social  societies.  The  Royal  Society  of 
Good  Fellows — Freedom  Assembly,  No.  181 — was  organized  July  6, 
1888,  with  fifty-three  members.  Samuel  S.  Baker  has  been  the  ruling 
officer  since,  and  O.  E.  Kelley  the  secretary.  The  Good  Templars 
established  a  lodge  here  May  26,  1887,  with  eight  members,  which, 
within  two  years,  has  been  increased  to  116.  Albert  C.  Kelley  was 
the  first  presiding  officer,  and  Nellie  P.  Sears  the  first  secretary.  The 
Citizens  Mutual  Aid  Association  has  a  membership  of  222.  The  society 
is  what  its  name  implies,  with  the  usual  life  insurance  feature.  The 
officers  for  1890  are:  president,  E.  B.  Joy;  vice-president,  Nehemiah 
Wixon;  secretary,  Joshua  Pierce;  treasurer,  Thomas  Howes;  and  a 
board  of  twenty-six  directors,  including  some  of  the  leading  men  of 
Dennis  and  Harwich. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

Harrison  G.  Alexander  was  born  in  1815,  in  Hyannis.  His  father, 
Sylvanus,  a  sea  captain,  came  from  Plymouth  to  Hyannis,  where  he 
married  Harriet,  daughter  of  Sylvanus  Hinckley.  Harrison  G.  has 
been  a  carpenter  since  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  was  married  in  1837 
to  Rosanna,  daughter  of  Cornelius  Baker.  Of  their  six  children  three 
are  living:  George,  Harriet  and  Elizabeth. 

William  AUister  was  born  in  1829,  in  Liverpool,  England.  He 
went  to  sea  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  and  two  years  later  settled  in  Den- 
nis, where,  since  that  time  he  has  been  a  carpenter.  He  was  married 
in  1852  to  Susan,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Joanna  (Crowell)  Baker. 
Their  children  are:  George  H.  and  William  F.  Mr.  Allister  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Mount  Horeb  Lodge,  also  of  Sylvester  Baxter  Chapter. 

Alexander  Baker,  son  of  Sylvester  Baker,  and  his  wife  Jemima, 
daughter  of  Elisha  Baker,  was  born  in  1826.  He  began  to  go  to  sea 
at  the  age  of  nine  years,  continuing  until  1880,  the  last  thirty-five 
years  of  the  time  being  captain.  He  was  married  in  1850  to  Mary, 
daughter  of  David  and  granddaughter  of  David  Lewis.  Her  mother 
was  Jane,  daughter  of  Joshua  Crowell.     They  have  lost  two  sons  and 


536  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

have  one  daughter  living — Almena,  now  Mrs.  D.  H.  Perry,  who  has 
two  daughters:  Minnie  R.  and  Eva  L. 

Browning  K.  Baker,  jr.,  born  in  1839,  is  a  son  of  Browning  K., 
grandson  of  Heman,  and  great-grandson  of  Judah  Baker.  He  began 
going  to  sea  at  the.age  of  fourteen,  and  since  twenty-two  years  of  age 
has  been  captain  of  coasting  schooners,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the 
Marine  Society  of  Boston.  He  was  married,  in  1870,  to  Abbie  F., 
daughter  of  Obed  Baxter.  They  have  four  children:  Browning  K., 
Adelbert,  John  G.,  and  Ralph  H. 

Calvin  F.  Baker,  born  in  1840,  is  a  son  of  Calvin  and  grandson  of 
Zenas  Baker.  His  mother  was  Polly,  daughter  of  Matthias  Taylor,  of 
Chatham.  Mr.  Baker,  the  only  survivor  of  seven  children,  followed 
the  sea  from  nine  years  of  age  until  1883,  and  for  the  last  twenty-one 
years  was  master  of  coasting  and  foreign  vessels.  He  was  married,  in 
1861,  to  Sarah  B.,  daughter  of  James  Snow.  Of  their  seven  children 
three  are  living:  James T.,  George  A.  and  Allen  S.  Mr.  Baker  is  a 
member  of  Mount  Horeb  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  of  the  Boston 
Marine  Society. 

Francis  Baker  and  his  Descendants.— On  the  17th  of  June,  1641, 
the  marriage  of  Francis  Baker  to  Isabel  Twining,  of  Yarmouth,  estab- 
lished,  in  the  Nobscusset  territory,  a  family  destined  to  play  an  im- 
portant  part  in  the  afifairs  of  the  infant  settlement,  and  the  town  of 
Dennis,  of  which  it  became  a  part.  He  was  then  thirty  years  of  age, 
and  probably  had  lived  at  Boston  since  the  good  ship  Planter,  in  1635, 
brought  him  from  his  birthplace,  in  Hartfordshire,  Eng.,  to  that  port. 
Sixteen  days  before  his  marriage  the  Plymouth  court  gave  him  per- 
mission to  take  in  Old  Yarmouth  "  any  land  not  already  occupied." 
Under  this  authority  they  settled  near  Follen's  pond— at  the  head  of 
Bass  river — when  the  first  white  man's  house  at  Nobscusset  was  less 
than  two  years  old.  Here  they  lived — he  until  1696  and  she  until 
1706 — rearing  a  family  of  eight  children.  Their  descendants  are  scat- 
tered from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  ocean. 

The  fourth  of  their  six  sons  was  Daniel  Baker,  bom  September  2, 
1650,  who,  on  May  27,  1674,  married  Elizabeth  Chase.  While  some  of 
his  brothers  and  nephews  found  homes  in  other  parts  of  New  Eng- 
land and  the  West,'  others  perpetuated  the  family  name  on  the  Cape. 
Thus  far  in  the  development  of  what  is  now  Dennis  the  settlements 
were  chiefly  on  the  north  side  ;  but  Daniel  and  his  wife  made  their 
home  to  the  southward,  where  he  built  the  original  part  of  what  is 
now  the  oldest  building  on  the  south  side  of  the  town,  and  which  has 
long  been  known  as  the  Judah  Baker  house.  The  second  son  of  Dan- 
iel and  Elizabeth  Baker  was  Samuel,  who  was  born  in  1676,  and  on 
the  30th  of  July,  1702,  married  Elizabeth  Berry.  Their  oldest  son 
was  Judah,  born  August  19,  1705,  was  married   February  16,  1727,  to 


^im^^OyAu 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  537 

Marcy  Burgess,  and  died  April  14,  1794.  She  died  January  25,  1796. 
His  grave  is  by  that  of  his  wife  in  the  old  cemetery  near  the  South 
Dennis  depot.  Timothy  Baker,  born  April  21, 1732,  whose  descend- 
ants, including  John  and  Joshua,  the  Boston  merchants,  have  mostly 
lived  atHyannis,  was  their  oldest  son.  Their  second  son,  Barnabas, 
was  born  February  23,  1734,  removed  to  Maine,  and  became  the  pro- 
genitor of  a  numerous  family.  The  third  son  of  Judah  and  Marcy 
Baker,  born  March  23,  1743,  bore  his  father's  name,  and  lived  in  the 
ancestral  home  above  mentioned,  departing  this  life  September  29, 
1810.  His  wife,  whom  he  married  in  February  1765,  was  Mary  Look, 
of  Marthas  Vineyard.  She  was  born  September  3,  1744,  and  died 
July  29,  1810. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  trace  their  eleven  children  and  their  nu- 
merous descendants,  except  to  notice  their  second  son,  Judah,  who 
remained  at  the  homestead,  and,  with  some  of  his  descendants,  main- 
tained their  identity  with  the  town  of  Dennis,  although  four  of  his 
six  sons  settled  in  the  city  of  Boston.  This  Judah,  the  third  of  that 
name  in  the  direct  line,  is  better  distinguished  by  the  title  of  Captain, 
which  alludes  to  his  relation  to  the  militia  during  the  war  of  1812, 
as  well  as  to  his  command  of  vessels.  He  was  born  October  2,  1771, 
and  on  March  6,  1798,  married  Mercy  Howes,  of  North  Dennis,  born 
March  18,  1779,  she  being  in  direct  line  from  Thomas  Howes  of  1639. 
Captain  Judah  was  an  important  character  in  his  time,  and  was  edu- 
cated beyond  the  average  of  his  day.  He  taught  others  the  art  of 
navigation,  and  was  himself  a  successful  master  mariner.  On  land 
he  was  a  practical  surveyor,  and  in  a  day  when  the  average  seaman 
was  not  so  well  educated  as  now,  he  was  often  useful  in  the  commu- 
nity in  adjusting  the  accounts  of  their  voyages.  He  was  drowned  in 
Vineyard  sound  June  10,  1830.  His  wife  died  October  7, 1865.  They 
had  six  sons  and  four  daughters,  of  whom  Philander  is  the  only  sur- 
vivor. Their  oldest  son,  Howes  Baker,  was  born  September  12,  1801, 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  married  Persis  Allen,  of  Harwich,  bom 
January  21,  1803.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Elisha,  and  granddaughter 
of  John  Allen,  whose  father,  Rev.  Allen,  a  Scotchman,  once  pastor  of 
a  church  in  Salem,  was  lost  at  sea  on  a  voyage  to  Edinburgh.  This 
Howes  Baker  followed  the  sea  from  boyhood  until  his  early  death- 
October  30,  1849.  His  children  were  nine  daughters  and  two  sons- 
Captain  Howes  Baker,  now  of  South  Dennis,  and  Alpheus  H.  Baker, 
of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  These  eleven  children  were  born  near  the  his- 
toric old  house,  on  land  that  belonged  to  their  ancestors  since  previ- 
ous to  1680. 

Howes  Baker,  the  oldest  son,  a  descendant  through  his  mother 
from  Stephen  Hopkins,  of  the  Mayflower,  was  born  there  February  8, 
1828,  and  here  his  early  years  and  first  school  days  were  passed;  then 


538  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

until  eighteen  years  of  age  he  had  the  advantages  of  other  schools 
at  Brunswick,  Me.,  and  Andover,  Mass.;  but  in  March  of  1846  he  com- 
menced a  sea-faring  life,  and  from  1850  was  for  six  years  in  command 
of  various  vessels.  He  then  went  into  business  in  Philadelphia, 
where  he  remained  until  January,  1859,  when  he  removed  to  New 
York  city,  and  with  William  Crowell,  of  Dennis,  formed  the  firm  of 
Baker  &  Crowell,  ship  chandlers,  grocers  and  general  commission 
merchants.  In  February,  1871,  this  firm  was  dissolved,  and  Captain 
Baker  embarked  in  a  shipping  business  and  general  trade  in  the  same 
city,  until  ill  health  led  to  his  retirement  in  1880,  since  which  time  he 
has  lived  retired  at  his  native  village,  where  his  widowed  mother  and 
his  only  surviving  sister,  Persis,  reside. 

Ezra  Howes  Baker. — Judah  Baker,  of  South  Dennis,  a  descendent 
of  Francis  Baker,  married  March  6,  1798,  Mercy  Howes,  of  North 
Dennis,  a  descendent  of  Thomas  Howes.  Their  third  son  was  Ezra 
Howes  Baker,  named  for  his  mother's  brother,  born  on  August  17, 
1811.  When  ten  years  of  age,  he  began  his  seafaring  life  with  his 
father,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  was  put  in  charge  of  a  schooner,  and 
sent  to  the  coast  of  Maine  to  buy  a  cargo  of  lumber. 

On  January  31,  1832,  he  married  Esther  May  Hinckley,  of  Barn- 
stable, making  his  home  in  South  Dennis.  He  followed  the  sea,  buy- 
ing and  selling  his  own  cargoes,  iintil  1838,  when  he  moved  to  Boston 
and  entered  into  partnership  with  Alpheus  Hardy,  of  Chatham,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Hardy  &  Baker.  Charles  J.  Morrill,  of  Boston, 
became,  in  1845,  a  member  of  the  firm,  which  was  then  known  as 
Hardy,  Baker  &  Morrill.  In  1848  Mr.  Hardy  withdrew  from  the  con- 
cern, which  was  thereafter  known  as  Baker  &  Morrill;  Mr.  Baker's 
son,  Ezra  H.  Baker,  jr.,  becoming  a  partner  in  1863,  from  which  time 
the  concern  remained  unchanged  until  Mr.  Baker's  death. 

Under  its  several  names  this  firm  was  actively  engaged  in  many 
branches  of  foreign  and  domestic  shipping  trade,  and  was  a  consider- 
able owner  of  ships.  In  the  early  days  of  its  existence  it  did  a  very 
large  corn  business,  and  later,  entered  into  trade  with  the  East  Indies, 
China,  South  America,  San  Francisco,  and  Mediterranean  ports.  As 
the  shipping  business  gradually  declined,  the  firm  disposed  of  its  ves- 
sels and  became  interested  in  several  of  the  pioneer  western  railroads, 
notably  the  Union  Pacific,  of  which  Mr.  Baker  was  always  an  earnest 
supporter,  and  of  which  he  was  a  director  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
"  Captain  "  Baker,  as  he  was  generally  called,  was  distinguished  as  a 
businessman,  for  great  energy  and  sagacity.  He  never  wished  to  re- 
main idle,  and  his  business  interests  were  always  widely  extended; 
but,  if  this  active  spirit  sometimes  led  him  to  attempt  more  than  would 
seem  prudent  to  many  people,  his  strong  courage  always  carried  him 
through  the  most  trying  times  in  safety,  though  sometimes  with  loss. 


— ^  3 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  539 

His  early  education  was  acquired  at  the  common  schools,  which  he 
was  able  to  attend  in  winter  only,  after  having  reached  the  age  of  ten 
years;  but,  being  fond  of  reading,  he,  in  later  years,  made  up  to  a 
great  extent  for  his  lack  of  opportunities  as  a  boy.  He  was  kind, 
generous  and  unassuming,  and  his  sense  of  right  and  wrong  was  de- 
veloped to  an  unusual  degree;  as  a  consequence,  his  business  trans- 
actions were  conducted  on  a  higher  plane  than  is  generally  considered 
necessary  in  matters  of  dollars  and  cents.  His  religion  was  expressed 
in  his  daily  life,  and  his  uniformly  manly,  upright  and  genial  bearing 
won  the  affection  as  well  as  the  respect  of  his  associates,  to  whom  his 
sudden  death  was  the  cause  of  genuine  grief. 

He  died  at  his  home  in  South  Boston,  January  28,  1876,  of  pneu- 
monia, after  an  illness  of  only  a  few  days,  and  was  buried  in  Forest 
Hills  Cemetery.  His  wife  died  July  25,  1850.  Their  children  who 
reached  maturity,  were:  Ezra  H.,  jr.,  Esther  H.,  Helena  M.  (Kent), 
and  Sarah  C.  (Barstow). 

Joseph  K.  Baker,  jr. — Joseph  Kelley  Baker  was  theeighth  in  the 
line  of  descent  from  Francis  Baker,  who  was  born  in  Great  St.  Albans, 
England,  in  1611,  came  to  Yarmouth  soon  after  the  settlement,  and 
married  Isabel  Twining,  of  that  town,  it  being  the  first  marriage  there 
of  record.  He  settled  on  the  eastern  side  of  Bass  river,  near  Follen's 
pond,  and  died  in  1696,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five,  being  one  of  the  last 
survivors  of  the  first  comers.  The  line  of  descent  is  as  follows: 
Francis",  John^  Peter",  Richard',  Ulysses',  Richard',  Joseph  K.',  Joseph 
K.,  jr.'  The  first  Joseph  K.  Baker,  who  was  born  in  1801  and  died  in 
1870,  was  extensively  engaged  in  fitting  and  managing  vessels  for  the 
fisheries.  He  was  a  member  of  the  house  of  representatives  from 
Dennis  in  1845  and  1846,  and  of  the  board  of  selectmen,  in  the 
years  1855,  1856  and  1857. 

Joseph  K.  Baker,  the  youngest  son  of  the  above  named  and  Sa- 
brina  (Hall)  Baker,  was  born  in  Dennis  Port  October  8,  1827.  His 
education  was  acquired  in  the  common  schools  up  to  his  tenth  year, 
after  which  time  for  several  years,  he  had  three  months'  tuition  in 
these  schools  and  the  academy  at  West  Harwich.  At  nine  years  of 
age  he  commenced  going  to  sea  in  the  summers,  continuing  until  he 
was  nineteen  years  of  age,  when  he  was  employed  in  his  father  s 
business,  packing  and  curing  fish.  In  1850  he  became  a  partner  with 
his  father,  under  the  firm  name  of  J.  K.  Baker  &  Son.  In  1855  he 
became  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  R.  Baker,  jr.  &  Co.,  in  the  ship  chand- 
lery and  grocery  business.  In  1860  he  bought  out  the  latter  firm,  and 
continued  the  business  in  all  its  branches,  owning  and  fitting  about 
twenty-five  vessels,  until  the  year  1870,  when  the  firm  of  Baker,  Ellis 
&  Co.  was  formed,  of  which  he  was  the  senior  partner,  and  which  con- 
tinued in  existence  until  1871.     Mr.  Baker  was  also  engaged  in  many 


540  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Other  business  enterprises.  About  the  year  1870  he  was  chosen  sec- 
retary of  the  Ocean  Marine  Insurance  Company,  and  in  1872  its  presi- 
dent. He  was  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  directors  of  the  Cape 
Cod  Central  Railroad  Company,  and  afterward  successively  its  presi- 
dent and  treasurer.  He  was  a  trustee,  and  subsequently  president  of 
the  Cape  Cod  Five  Cents  Savings  Bank  of  Harwich,  and  director  and 
president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Harwich.  He  was  also  a  di- 
rector of  the  Marthas  Vineyard  Railroad  Company;  and  treasurer  and 
director,  and  afterward  president,  of  the  Red  Bank  Mining  Company 
of  Pennsylvania.  This  recital  gives  an  idea  of  the  engrossing  busi- 
ness connections  of  Mr.  Baker,  but  it  by  no  means  exhausts  the  list 
of  his  avocations.  In  1861  he  was  appointed  deputy  collector  of  the 
port  of  South  Dennis,  continuing  in  oflBce  for  ten  years.  In  1862  he 
was  chosen  one  of  the  board  of  selectmen,  of  the  town  of  Dennis, 
and  in  1863,  and  for  many  years  subsequently,  he  was  on  the  board  of 
school  committee.  From  1864  to  1869  he  was  a  trial  justice  for  the 
county  of  Barnstable.  In  1870  and  1871  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  house  of  representatives,  and  in  1872  and  1873  of  the 
state  senate,  and  took  rank  among  the  first  of  the  business  members 
of  those  bodies.  In  1875  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  executive 
council  of  the  state,  being  reelected  in  1876-77-78.  In  1884  he  was 
appointed  by  Governor  Robinson  a  member  of  the  state  board  of  com- 
missioners on  harbors  and  public  lands,  which  position  he  occupied  at 
the  time  of  his  death. 

Mr.  Baker  was  widely  and  intimately  connected  with  the  Masonic 
fraternity.  After  a  service  of  several  years  in  its  subordinate  posi- 
tions, he  was  elected  worshipful  master  of  Mount  Horeb  Lodge,  of 
West  Harwich,  and  subsequently  for  six  years  he  was  deputy  grand 
master  for  the  fifteenth  district  of  Massachusetts.  He  was  also  king 
and  high  priest  of  Orient  Chapter  of  Hyannis,  and  also  afterward  oc- 
cupied the  position  of  king  in  Sylvester  Baxter  Chapter  of  West  Har- 
wich. He  was  elected  junior  grand  warden  of  Massachusetts  Grand 
Lodge;  grand  king  of  Massachusetts  Chapter,  and  deputy  grand  high 
priest  of  this  district  for  the  same  organization.  He  also  received  the 
degree  of  Knights  Templar  in  the  Boston  Commandery;  from  3°  to  32° 
in  Boston  Lodge  of  Perfection;  and  Councillor  degrees  in  Boston 
Council.  The  fraternal,  helpful  and  sympathetic  traits  which  are  the 
underlying  characteristics  of  these  organizations  were  well  illustrated 
in  the  life  of  Mr.  Baker.  His  native  town,  the  religious  society  in  the 
faith  of  which  he  was  reared,  and  the  entire  county  of  his  birth  are 
witnesses  to  his  public  spirit,  broad  intelligence  and  unremitting 
efforts  for  their  welfare.  The  public  bodies,  fraternal  societies  and 
business  organizations  with  which  he  was  connected,  expressed  and 
put  on  record,  with  more  than  accustomed  emphasis  and  depth  of 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  641 

feeling,  their  appreciation  of  his  character  and  services  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his  death,  which  occurred  with  startling  suddenness  Novem- 
ber 13,  1886. 

Mr.  Baker  married,  December  7,  1848,  Miss  Hannah  F.  Small, 
daughter  of  Arunah  and  Hannah  (Baker)  Small,  who  survives  him. 
Their  children  are:  Samuel  Small,  bom  in  1849,  married  Julia  A. 
Baxter  in  1871;  Ella  Foster,  born  in  1851,  married  John  B.  Taylor  in 
1876;  Joseph  Lincoln,  born  in  1854,  married  Lucy  J.  Hutchinson  in 
1882;  and  Lilla  Dale,  born  in  1868. 

Ira  S.  Baker,  a  son  of  Joseph  K.  and  Sabrina  (Hall)  Baker,  and 
grandson  of  Richard  Baker.  He  went  to  sea  until  1872,  was  captain 
the  last  twenty-one  years  of  this  time,  and  from  1872  to  1882  was  a 
sailmaker.  He  carried  on  a  shoe  store  at  Dennis  Port  from  1882  until 
his  death  in  January,  1890.  He  was  married  in  1856,  to  Eliza  A., 
daughter  of  Allen  Studley.  They  had  two  daughters:  Alice — Mrs. 
Nathan  Robbins,  and  Maria — Mrs.  S.  B.  Kelley. 

Oliver  K.  Baker,  the  oldest  son  of  Joseph  and  Susan  (Kelley) 
Baker,  and  grandson  of  Francis  Baker,  was  bom  in  1827.  He  fol- 
lowed the  sea  from  twelve  years  of  age  until  1886,  and  was  master  of 
a  vessel  for  thirty  years.  He  was  married  in  1848,  to  Harriet  K., 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Crowell,  and  has  two  children:  Horatio  B.  and 
Flora  H.  Mr.  Baker  is  a  member  of  West  Dennis  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  and  of  Mount  Horeb  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M. 

Horatio  B.  Baker,  bom  in  1861,  is  a  son  of  Oliver  K.  Baker.  He 
was  married  March  6,  1879,  to  Laura  B.,  daughter  of  Benjamin  P. 
Sears,  and  has  two  children:  Horatio  L.  and  Florence  M.  He  was 
clerk  in  a  store  until  1872,  and  since  that  time  has  been  a  commercial 
traveler. 

Reuben  A.  Baker',  (Reuben',  Reuben*,  Reuben',  Reuben',  Ebenezer') 
was  born  in  1853.  His  mother,  Polly  H.,  was  a  daughter  of  Otis 
Baker.  Since  1876  Mr.  Baker  has  carried  on  a  wholesale  fruit,  nurs- 
ery, and  ice  business.  He  was  married  in  1878  to  Anna  B.,  daughter 
of  Nathan  B.  Burgess.  They  have  two  daughters:  Hannah  S.  and 
Irene  W. 

Watson  F.  Baker  was  bom  September  20,  1847.  He  traces  his  an- 
cestry back  to  David  and  Thankful  Baker,  whose  son,  David,  jr., 
was  bom  June  1,  1746,  and  was  the  eldest  of  eight  children.  David, 
jr.,  and  his  wife  Jane  had  eight  children.  Their  fifth  child.  Free-  • 
man,  was  born  June  14,  1777,  and  died  August  22,  1841.  By  his 
wife,  Susan,  who  died  August  13,  1842,  he  had  eight  children.  Free- 
man, jr.,  his  eldest  child,  was  born  September  3,  1799,  and  died  De- 
cember 31,  1841.  By  his  wife,  Diana,  who  died  November  12,  1826, 
he  had  one  son,  Watson  Freeman,  born  April  24,  1826,  lost  at  sea  De- 
cember 13,  1854.    Watson  Freeman  and  wife,  Sarah  A.  (Studley),  had 


542  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

three  children:  Watson  F.,  jr.,  Diana,  born  April  27,  1849,  died  De- 
cember 13,  1863;  and  Diana  R.,  born  February  11,  1865.  John 
Baker,  second  son  of  the  first  named  David  and  Thankful,  died 
August  16,  1822.  By  his  wife.  Patience,  who  died  January  14, 
1840,  he  had  ten  children.  Watson,  his  fourth  child,  was  born  De- 
cember 21,  1778,  and  died  in  November,  1811.  By  his  wife,  Huldah, 
who  died  March 23, 1867,  he  had  four  children,  of  whom  the  second, 
Diana,  born  November  13,  1804,  married  Freeman  Baker,  jr.,  men- 
tioned above.  Lemuel  Studley,  died  March  20,  1857,  by  his  wife, 
Polly,  who  died  July  4,  1846,  had  ten  children.  Their  oldest  child, 
Richard,  was  born  September  2,  1794,  and  died  in  Charleston,  S.  C, 
September  4,  1830.  He  married  Abagail,  daughter  of  Moses  and 
Sally  Burgess.  She  was  bom  February  26, 1801,  and  died  May  23, 
1886.  Their  only  daughter,  Sarah  Ann,  married  Watson  Freeman 
Baker,  mentioned  above.  Their  son,  Watson  F.,  has  been  a  mer- 
chant at  South  Dennis  since  October  1874.  He  has  been  town  clerk 
and  treasurer  since  1886,  and  is  justice  of  the  peace  and  trial  justice. 
He  married  Hannah  D.,  daughter  of  Caleb  and  Cynthia  Kelley.  They 
have  two  children:  Mary  Abba,  bom  September  3,  1884;  and  Watson 
F.,  jr.,  bom  March  19, 1889. 

William  E.  Baker,  for  several  years  deacon  of  the  Congregational 
church  of  South  Dennis,  was  born  in  1828,  and  is  the  only  surviving 
son  of  Josiah,  and  grandson  of  Jeremiah  Baker.  His  mother  was 
Polly  Eaton.  Mr.  Baker  followed  the  sea  from  the  age  of  fifteen,  until 
he  was  forty-five  years  old.  He  has  been  freight  agent  at  South  Den- 
nis depot  five  years.  He  was  married  in  1861,  to  Sarah  A.,  daughter 
of  Freeman  and  Sally  (Myric)  Snow. 

Captain  Edwin  Baxter.— Early  in  the  last  century,  this  family 
name  was  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  Yarmouth,  and  when  Dennis 
was  incorporated  from  the  territory,  here  resided  Reuben  Baxter  and 
his  brothers.  John,  the  son  of  Reuben,  married  and  resided  at  South 
Dennis,  rearing  a  family,  among  whom  was  Heman,  who  married 
Mary  L.  Baker,  granddaughter  of  Judah  Baker,  and  reared  a  large 
family,  one  of  whom  is  the  Captain  Edwin  Baxter,  whose  portrait  ac- 
companies this  article.  His  birth  occurred  January  8, 1833,  at  South 
Dennis,  where  he  received  a  common  school  education,  and  at  the  age 
of  twelve  he  shipped  as  cook  on  a  coasting  voyage.  At  seventeen  he 
engaged  before  the  mast,  and  following  the  business  earnestly  and 
steadily,  arose  to  mate  at  twenty,  sailing  on  foreign  voyages  the  most 
of  the  time  while  acting  in  that  capacity.  In  1864  he  was  promoted 
to  a  captaincy,  and  for  twenty -one  years  commanded  various  sail- 
ing vessels,  without  serious  accident.  He  retired  with  a  competency 
in  1885,  and  resides  in  his  pleasant  home  at  West  Dennis. 

The   captain  on  the  first  of   Febmary,  1885,   married  Polly   L., 


',^:^^4Ay--Z/T^ 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  643 

daughter  of  Joseph  and  Paulina  Eldridge,  and  has  one  daughter,  Ada, 
living  at  home,  born  July  24,  1867.  Joseph  Eldridge,  the  son  of 
Thomas,  was  born  and  reared  in  a  house  situated  back  in  the  field  to 
the  east  of  Captain  Zebina  Small's,  on  the  road  between  Harwich  Port 
and  the  Center. 

Since  he  left  the  sea  Captain  Baxter  has  mingled  in  the  business, 
the  social  and  the  religious  affairs  of  the  town,  enjoying  a  charter 
membership  in  Mount  Horeb  Lodge  of  Masons,  and  attending  and 
supporting  the  services  of  the  Methodist  church  of  his  village.  In 
civil  affairs  he  takes  a  keen  interest,  and  in  February,  1887,  was 
elected  by  the  republicans  to  the  oflBce  of  selectman;  and  in  February, 
1889,  he  was  reelected  to  a  third  term.  He  is  a  director  in  the  shoe 
factory  in  West  Dennis,  and  is  counted  as  being  ever  ready  to  assist 
in  building  up  the  interests  of  the  community.  Now  in  the  meridian 
of  life,  after  two-score  years  on  the  sea,  he  enjoys  with  his  happy 
family,  the  fruits  of  his  industry,  possessing  to  the  highest  degree  the 
confidence  of  his  townsmen. 

John  Baxter,  son  of  Heman  Baxter  and  brother  of  Thacher  T. 
Baxter,  was  bom  in  1836.  He  went  to  sea  eight  years,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  he  began  to  learn  the  jewelers'  trade,  and  has  been 
engaged  in  it  since  that  time.  Since  1879  he  has  kept  a  jewelry  store 
at  West  Dennis.  He  is  a  member  both  of  the  Masonic  and  Odd  Fellow 
orders.  He  was  married  in  1860,  to  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  William 
Douglas,  and  has  one  son,  John  E. 

Thacher  T.  Baxter'  (Heman',  John',  Reuben',  Thomas*,  Thomas', 
Thomas',  Thomas  Baxter',)  was  born  in  1840.  His  mother  was  Mary 
L.  Baker.  Mr.  Baxter  learned  the  trade  of  a  harness  maker.  He 
kept  a  hotel  on  the  European  plan  at  Cottage  City,  and  in  1868  he 
built  the  Baxter  House  there.  In  1871  he  returned  to  West  Dennis, 
where  he  has  since  been  a  furniture  dealer.  He  was  married  in  1863 
to  Mary  P.  Crowell.  They  have  three  children  :  Alpheus  T.,  Lavina 
M.  and  Charles  T.  He  is  a  member  of  the  West  Dennis  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  has  been  Sunday-school  superintendent  about 
twenty  years,  and  is  President  of  Yarmouth  Campmeeting  Associa- 
tion. 

William  H.  Baxter,  born  in  October,  1857,  is  a  son  of  Heman  and 
grandson  of  Heman  Baxter.  His  mother  was  Julia  A.  Baker.  Mr. 
Baxter  has  been  telegraph  operator  at  South  Dennis  since  October, 
1875,  and  since  1886  he  has  been  both  operator  and  station  agent  for 
the  Old  Colony  Railroad  Company.  He  was  married  in  1887,  to 
Nellie  S.,  daughter  of  Ahirah  Kelley.  They  have  two  children : 
Louise  and  Thomas. 

Edwin  Bray,  born  in  1845,  in  Yarmouth,  is  the  youngest  son  of 
Joseph  and  Adaline  (Ryder)  Bray,  grandson  of  Eben  Bray,  and  great- 


644  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

grandson  of  Edmund  Bray.  He  has  been  to  sea  since  the  age  of 
fifteen,  and  since  1870  has  been  master  of  coasting  and  foreign  ves- 
sels most  of  the  time.  He  was  married  in  1876,  to  Lucy  Isabel, 
daughter  of  George  C.  and  Mary  A.  (Baker)  Rogers.  She  was  bom 
in  South  Dennis  in  1850.  They  have  one  son,  Edwin  Newell,  born  in 
1883.  Mr.  Bray  is  a  member  of  the  Hyannis  Masonic  Lodge  and  of 
the  Boston  Marine  Society. 

William  B.  Brooks,  born  in  1853,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Calvin,  and  a 
grandson  of  Calvin  Brooks.  His  mother  was  Mary  J.,  daughter  of 
Heman  Baxter.  Mr.  Brooks  was  a  mason  for  eleven  years  prior  to 
April,  1883,  when  he  bought  the  stage  and  mail  route  from  West 
Dennis  to  South  Dennis,  and  since  that  time  has  run  the  stage  and 
kept  a  livery  stable.  He  was  married  in  1876,  to  Mary,  daughter  of 
Joseph  A.  Baker.    They  have  two  sons :  William  D.  and  Henry  W. 

Alonzo  Capron,  born  in  1838,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Luther  A.  and 
Delia  (Howes)  Capron,  and  a  grandson  of  William  and  Betsey 
(Baker)  Capron.  He  has  one  brother,  Martin  L.  Mr.  Baker  followed 
the  sea  from  fourteen  to  thirty  years  of  age,  and  since  that  time  has 
been  a  carpenter.  Since  1883  he  has  kept  a  lumber  yard  at  Dennis 
Port.  He  was  married  in  1869,  to  Eleanor  Baker,  and  has  two  chil- 
dren :  Alonzo  E;  and  Nellie  B.  He  is  a  member  of  the  West  Har- 
wich Baptist  Church. 

Captain  David  S.  Chapman  was  born  December  31, 1822,  at  Barn- 
stable, and  departed  this  life  September  17, 1882,  at  East  Dennis,  in 
the  pleasant  home  where  he  had  lived  the  last  twenty  years  of  his 
life.  His  father,  Rev.  Nathan  Chapman,  son  of  John,  married  Eliza 
Hopkins,  and  four  of  their  ten  children  survive  to  perpetuate  this 
line  of  descent  from  Ralph  Chapman,  the  first  of  the  name  in  Barn- 
stable county.  With  the  limitations  that  surrounded  the  large  family 
of  a  countrj'  pastor,  the  little  son,  David  S.,  like  a  true  Cape  Cod  boy^ 
went  to  sea  at  an.  early  age,  and,  taking  his  place  at  the  foot  of  the 
ladder,  he  patiently  bided  his  time.  Rapidly  rising  in  the  scale  to 
commander  of  vessels,  he  engaged  in  important  trade,  and  retired  in 
1862. 

On  the  18th  of  September,  1851,  he  married  Sallie  E.  Sears,  daugh- 
ter of  Daniel  and  Lucy  (Eldridge)  Sears,  he  being  a  descendant  of  the 
original  Richard  Sears,  along  the  line  of  Paul,  Paul,  Edmund,  Edmund, 
and  Jacob.  They  had  no  children  of  their  own,  but  cared  for  those 
of  other  parents.  About  the  year  1858,  while  the  captain  was  on  a 
voyage  to  Spain,  a  Spanish  lad  wished  to  accompany  him  to  America. 
He  was  taken  into  the  captain's  faruily,  was  cared  for  by  his  kind 
foster  parents,  grew  to  manhood,  was  naturalized  in  the  Chapman 
name,  married  Mary  E.  Sears — one  of  the  old  family — and  is  now  a 
prosperous  merchant  in  Brockton,  Mass.     The  captain's  wife  accom- 


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TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  645 

panied  him,  in  1861,  on  a  voyage  to  Florida,  which  at  that  time  was 
attended  with  other  than  maritime  dangers.  The  vessel,  loaded  with 
lumber,  encountered  difficulty  in  leaving  Pensacola,  and  dared  not  on 
the  passage  home  touch  along  the  southern  coast.  When  the  captain 
reached  Boston,  Sumter  had  received  its  baptismal  fire.  Other  ves- 
sels, loaded  later,  were  retained  by  the  confederates. 

The  beautiful  home  where  the  captain  passed  his  last  days  was 
erected  in  1859.  Here  he  lived  in  that  quiet  and  unostentatious  man- 
ner which  characterized  him  as  the  firm  and  successful  shipmaster. 
He  was  intelligent  and  trustworthy,  ever  ready  to  accord  to  others  the 
right  he  claimed  for  himself  in  the  exercise  of  honest,  individual 
opinion.  His  loss  was  deeply  felt  by  a  community  who  had  learned 
to  love  him.  On  his  monument  in  the  cemetery  is  this  tribute,  by 
one  who  knew  him  best — his  wife : 

' '  Bound  by  no  sect  or  creed  yet  good  at  heart, 
He  strove  through  life  to  act  ;in  honest  part ; 
He  thought  he  saw  in  God's  eternal  plan. 
That  he  fulfills  it  best  who  helps  his  fellow  man." 

Time  may  efface  the  inscription  on  the  monument — even  crumble 
the  marble  itself — but  never  the  monument  erected  from  his  virtues. 
Horace  Chase,  son  of  Neri,  and  grandson  of  John  Chase,  was  born 
in  Harwich  in  1828.  His  mother  was  Sabrey,  daughter  of  Samuel 
Smith.  Mr.  Chase  began  going  to  sea  at  ten  years  of  age,  and  from 
1848  to  1887  was  captain  of  coasting  schooners.  He  was  married  in 
1850,  to  Sophia  A.,  daughter  of  Bangs  and  granddaughter  of  David 
Kelley. 

Samuel  A.  Chase,  the  only  son  of  Benjamin  T.,  and  grandson  of 
Henry  Chase,  was  born  in  1851.  His  great-grandfather  was  Owen  S., 
son  of  Deacon  Abner  Chase.  His  mother  was  Adaline,  daughter  of 
Samuel  Ryder.  Mr.  Chase  followed  the  sea  six  years  and  at  the  age 
of  nineteen  he  began  to  learn  the  tinning  and  plumbing  trade.  In 
1876  he  opened  a  store  in  West  Dennis,  where  he  has  since  continued 
tin  and  plumbing  and  general  hardware  business.  He  was  married 
in  1880,  to  Louisa  H.,  daughter  of  Charles  W.  Weysser.  They  have 
two  sons:  Albert  T.  and  Charles  E. 

Van  Buren  Chase,  born  at  South  Dennis  May  9,  1844,  is  a  son  of 
James  and  Betsey  Chase.  The  year  before  reaching  his  majority  he 
began  his  life  at  sea,  from  which  he  retired  in  1887  to  take  an  appoint- 
ment as  collector  of  customs  in  the  Barnstable  district,  which  position 
he  filled  until  1889.  He  was  married  in  1866  to  Mary  Ella  Crowell  of 
West  Dennis.     They  have  one  daughter — Carrie  May  Chase. 

Mrs.  Rose  B.  Cobb  is  a  daughter  of  Sylvester  and  Sarah  (Kelley) 
Chase.     She  was  married  in  1858,  to  Theodore  S.  Cobb.     They  have 
four  children:  Grace  S.,  T.  Clifton,  Annie  S.  and  Charles  P. 
35 


546  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Jonathan  Collins,  born  in  1821,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Seth,  grand- 
son of  Seth,  and  great-grandson  of  Samuel  Collins.  His  mother  was 
Betsey,  daughter  of  Thomas  Crowell.  Mr.  Collins  went  to  sea  at  the 
age  of  sixteen,  continuing  until  1863,  the  last  eighteen  years  as 
captain  of  vessels.  From  1853  to  1861  he  was  commission  merchant 
in  Philadelphia,  and  thirteen  years  a  farmer,  in  Sandwich.  In  1874 
he  came  to  the  old  homestead  in  West  Dennis  and  is  engaged  at  the 
present  time  in  making  cranberry  barrels  and  raising  cranberries. 
His  wife,  deceased,  was  Elijah  Baxter's  daughter,  Polly,  to  whom  he 
was  married  in  1842. 

Albert  C.  Crandall,  born  May  24,  1852,  in  New  London,  Conn.,  is 
a  son  of  Clark  D.  Crandall.  He  began  going  to  sea  at  the  age  of  ten 
and  continued  until  1876,  since  which  time  he  has  been  engaged  in 
sailing  yachts — since  1879  as  master.  He  received  a  patent  in  1888, 
on  an  extension  spanker-boom,  of  his  invention,  which  is  now  in  use 
on  several  of  the  fastest  yachts  afloat.  He  was  married  in  1878,  to 
Susan  M.,  daughter  of  John  and  Susan  B.  (Whittemore)  Perry.  Mr. 
Perry  died  in  1888,  leaving  three  daughters:  Mrs.  Crandall,  Annie 
M.  and  Lillie  B.  Mr.  Crandall  is  a  member  of  Mount  Horeb  Lodge 
and  Sylvester  Baxter  Chapter. 

Calvin  S.  Crowell,  son  of  Elisha  and  Olive  C.  (Howes)  Crowell, 
and  grandson  of  Elnathan  Crowell,  was  born  in  Dennis,  and  is  the 
eldest  of  four  surviving  children.  He  has  been  twenty-two  years  a 
commission  merchant  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  married  in  1862,  to 
Caroline  M.  Cornwell,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  Their  children  are:  R. 
Herbert,  Arthur  H.  and  Calvin  F. 

Captain  Edward  E.  Crowell. — We  have  already  noticed  John 
Crow  as  associated  with  Anthony  Thacher  and  Thomas  Howes  in  the 
purchase  of  old  Yarmouth  in  1639.  Among  the  many  descendants  of 
this  original  John  was  Edward  Crowell,  brother  of  Thomas,  who  was 
born  in  1763,  after  the  family  name  had  assumed  the  present  form — 
Crowell.  His  son  Edward,  born  in  1789,  married  Thankful,  daughter 
of  James  Sears,  of  Yarmouth,  and  reared  six  children,  of  whom  four — 
Sears,  Edward  E.,  Freeman,  and  Cyrus  Crowell — are  living. 

Edward  E.,  the  third  of  the  six,  was  bom  at  Dennis,  December  14, 
1823,  and  is  the  Captain  Crowell  of  this  sketch.  He  attended  the 
schools  of  his  section  of  the  town  until  twelve  years  old,  when  he 
went  to  sea!  At  sixteen  he  was  before  the  mast,  and  at  twenty  was 
first  mate  under  Captain  Orrin  Lewis,  who  died  of  yellow  fever  on  a 
return  voyage  from  San  Domingo.  After  the  captain  was  committed 
to  the  deep,  the  command  and  return  of  the  vessel,  with  its  precious 
cargo,  devolved  upon  the  young  mate.  Having  himself  been  ill,  the 
ship  having  lost  its  superior  officer  and  several  of  the  crew,  and  his 
seemingly  helpless  condition,  were  circumstances  to  have  daunted  a 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  547 

young  man  of  less  resolution.  He,  however,  hired  men  and  resolved 
to  deliver  the  vessel  to  her  owners.  The  wreckers  of  the  islands  as- 
sured him  he  could  not  navigate  the  Crooked  Island  passage  alone, 
but  he  declined  their  assistance.  When  they  offered  him  a  thousand 
dollars  for  the  privilege  of  piloting  the  vessel,  thus  revealing  their 
designs,  he  determinedly  informed  them  that  he  would  do  his  duty, 
even  though  he.  should  go  down  with  the  vessel.  He  was  forty-five 
days  making  the  passage  that  usually  occupied  twenty-two,  but  safely 
delivered  the  cargo  of  coffee  and  specie  to  the  proper  owners.  This 
circumstance  reveals  the  fiber  of  the  man,  and  is  illustrative  of  the 
crises  which  arise  in  the  mariner's  career. 

He  continued  his  coasting  and  foreign  voyages  as  master  seven- 
teen years  longer,  and  in  1860  built  a  tug  at  Philadelphia  for  towing 
vessels  loaded  with  cotton  over  the  bar  at  Charleston,  S.  C.  This  tug 
was  sold  to  the  merchants  of  the  latter  city,  and  subsequently  was 
used  in  the  rebel  service.  Returning  in  1861  to  West  Dennis,  he  pur- 
chased the  interest  of  Elisha  Crowell  in  a  store,  which  he  successfully 
managed  six  years,  and  sold  in  1867.  With  Obed  Baker,  jr.,  he  went 
that  year  to  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  to  engage  in  the  shipping  business  by 
canal  to  New  York  city,  and  after  three  years  returned  to  his  former 
home,  where  he  has  since  been  actively  and  variously  engaged.  With 
others,  he  has  built  and  fitted  out  many  vessels,  they  having  recently 
launched  at  Camden,  Me.,  a  four-master,  which  will  carry  twenty- 
eight  hundred  tons. 

Captain  Crowell  has  found  time  to  fill  the  office  of  director  in  the 
Cape  Cod  National  Bank,  of  Harwich,  several  years,  and  is  now  its 
president.  He  was  at  the  head  of  the  Dennis  &  Harwich  Insurance 
Company,  and  was  at  one  time  president  of  the  Cape  Cod  Savings 
Bank.  He  has  steadily  declined  preferments  of  a  political  nature, 
although  a  prominent  member  of  the  republican  party,  and  keenly 
interested  in  civil  affairs.  He  is  at  present  conspicuous  as  the  heavi- 
est stockholder  in  the  large  she  manufactory  in  the  town,  having 
been  a  prime  movcT- i'  ts  es«^abli.'~'^ment  in  1887,  and  its  president 
and  treasurer. 

He  was  married  F  bra  y4,  ""  5,  to  Emma,  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Crowell,  of  Dennis.     Th^)  hav3  t'l  -children. 

Captain  CroweP  has  for  th'e  p,i=t  forty-five  years  proved  himself 
an  efficient  membe,  ir.d  suppci^  -  of  the  Methodist  church  in  its 
every  relation,  o  ^lasonic  Ln  ige  and  Chapter,  and  has  been  an 

important  factor  ]  tht  social,  ir<  rai  and  business  development  of  his 
community.  Mj  v  young  met'  e  by  him  been  fitted  out  for  their 
first  voyage  to  ■\,  and  thus  enc  raged  and  started  on  a  prosperous 
voyage  over  th  ?a  of  life,  and  return  the  captain's  cardinal  vir- 
tues seem  to  h         gfuided  hirr  .nnels  favorable  to  prosperity. 


648  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Captain  Eleazer  Kelley  *Crowell.— The  grandfather  of  this 
branch  of  that  ancient  family  was  Freeman,  the  son  of  Hersey 
Crowell.  Eleazer  Crowell,  born  September  29,  1804,  was  the  son  of 
Freeman  Crowell  and  was  married  December  4,  1828,  to  Mehitabel,  a 
daughter  of  Ebenezer  Paine,  of  Harwich,  and  resided  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  Bass  river,  where  they  reared  four  children:  Emeline,  Perry 
P.,  Mehitabel  C,  and  Eleazer  K.  Emeline  was  first  married  to  Leroy 
B.  Baker,  December  18,  1852,  and  second  to  Seth  A.  Howes,  November 
1,  1860,  and  survives  both  husbands.  She  had  two  children:  Mary  E. 
Baker,  who  lived  to  marry,  and  Eleazer  C.  Baker — both  of  whom  are 
dead.  Perry  P.  married  Rosalie,  daughter  of  Francis  Small,  and  has 
one  daughter,  Sophia.  Mehitabel  C.  married  David  A.  Crowell,  and  at 
her  death  left  one  daughter,  Lora  May,  who  resides  with  her  uncle 
Eleazer  K. 

Eleazer  K.,  the  subject  of  this  article,  was  born  in  1836,  he  married 
Laura  A.  Kelley,  daughter  of  Bangs  Kelley,  December  15,  1859.  The 
only  child  of  this  marriage,  Eleazer  H.,  born  February  29,  1869,  died 
May  25,  1870.  The  mother  died  January  7,  1879.  The  captain  was 
again  married  February  8,  1881,  to  Mary  D.  Chase,  daughter  of  Ben- 
jamin F.  Chase,  of  Harwich.  At  the  age  of  twelve,  he  went  to  sea  in 
the  fishing  business,  as  did  his  brother  Perry,  to  helpsustain  a  widowed 
mother,  who  was  herself  sick  and  surrounded  by  her  small  children. 
He  early  desired  a  knowledge  of  navigation  and  while  young  studied 
industriously,  and  by  diligence  in  the.  forecastle  he  soon  became  pro- 
ficient. At  eighteen  he  was  mate,  and  at  twenty-one  was  captain, 
which  position  he  filled  until  his  retirement  in  1882. 

For  twenty.five  years  prior  to  his  retirement,  he  commanded  ves- 
sels in  coastwise  and  foreign  trade  without  accident  or  loss  to  the 
amount  of  one  hundred  dollars,  having  never  asked  the  insurance 
companies  for  a  single  dollar.  His  a+rention  .to  his  duties,  his  pro- 
ficiency, his  uprightness  and  his  prudeni:e_b  iVb  iidixxid  for  him  a  high 
position  among  shipmasters  and  cca^Tj'.^  -Vi^j^t^  ms.  .  Htnow  buys, 
sells  and  sails  vessels  as  part  owne  rx,if'"*L^^P^ '  ^  ''J'^-'-i  ai^cces,"-  that 
resulted  from  his  active  seaman-'-  <  <t'^  I.  .  'H  .o"x\.ib  )*  t.Kcellence. 
The  captain  is  also  master  in  the^  ^v'  ■  i  ■  ;j-,  Jfy  '3-  h''-.>  !\\  ^wn,  hav- 
ing nearly  thirty  acres  of  hi.-  vB -.m"- ••'-'' •/■^f''5--'.'-.'V''?';T'^  others, 
which  he  manages.  His  experimcij,.,  ,  i  tlaSinc;  f..n(potice>'  in  Chap- 
ter VHI.  He  is  a  director  in  the  ' .,  ,«.oii3.>,\-.^v  .t;.^.1^-  ^od  ii  mem- 
ber of  Mount  Horeb  Lodge.  As  •mo!?'':;  '  "^-U'''  c^  '^^  Baptist 
society,  the  republican  party,  and  •>(.,  ,'r/'.',goof  .• ;.  i  ^c.^^s  town,  he 
now  enjoys,  in  the  noontide  of  life,         .,.>n(i'dent.t.'  '>i  ^^^70.wnEmen. 

Elnathan  Crowell,  2d,  only  son  of.  jt':,  and -gi>  ^n  "^  James 
Crowell,  was  born  in  1827.  He  folio  ',^t^^^  sua  f ron  ,r<  teen  years 
of  age  until  1874,  and  died  in  188C,  ^^asmtirrier^,       '^57,  to  Eliza 


£k> 


PRINT. 
E.    B'EnSTADT, 


TOWN  OF   DENNIS.  549 

M.,  daughter  of  Elijah  S.  Codding,  of  Providence.  Their  daughter, 
Ada  E.,  is  Mrs.  Arthur  L.  Nickerson. 

Ezra  Crowell,  born  1823,  is  the  eldest  and  only  surviving  son  of 
Ezra,  and  grandson  of  Hersey  Crowell.  His  mother  was  Tamsen, 
daughter  of  Zachariah  Long.  Mr.  Crowell  has  followed  the  sea  since 
he  was  twelve  years  old,  and  has  been  master  mariner  since  1846.  He 
was  married  in  1847,  to  Caroline,  daughter  of  Samuel  Chase.  They 
have  two  children:  Mary  E.  and  Euphema. 

Freeman  Crowell,  3d,  born  in  1830,  is  one  of  the  ten  children  of 
Freeman  and  Elizabeth  (Sears)  Crowell,  a  grandson  of  Freeman  and 
Sarah,  and  great-grandson  of  Hersey  and  Jerusha  Crowell.  His  father 
and  grandfather  were  fishermen,  and  he  began  going  to  sea  at  the 
age  of  ten,  and  since  1850  has  been  captain.  He  was  married  in  1852, 
to  Desire,  daughter  of  Elisha  Kelley,  granddaughter  of  Amos  and 
Desire  (Crowell)  Kelley.  They  had  one  son,  Elisha  K.,  who  died  in 
August,  1887. 

Hon.  Joshua  Crowell  is  the  only  survivor  of  that  branch  of  that 
numerous  family  to  which  the  good  name  of  the  Cape  is  largely  in- 
debted. The  descent  in  the  male  line  from  the  original  settler  of 
1639  is:  John".  John',  John',  Christopher*,  Christopher',  Nathan", 
Joshua',  Joshua".  Joshua  Crowell'  married  Olive  N.  Hamblin,  of 
Sandwich,  leaving  at  their  death  one  son,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
born  October  24,  1843,  on  the  home  farm  at  East  Dennis,  where  he 
passed  his  boyhood  attending  the  common  school  and  assisting  on 
the  farm.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three,  January  3,  1867,  he  married 
Sophronia  H.  Chapman,  daughter  of  Isaac  Chapman,  a  descendant  of 
the  first  Isaac  Chapman  on  the  Cape;  and  their  five  children  are: 
Olive  H.,  born  September  6.  1869;  Seth,  born  March  12,1872;  William 
H.,  March  1,  1877;  Edith,  January  9,  1879;  and  Nathan,  born  Decem- 
ber 11,  1880. 

Mr.  Crowell's  life  has  diflFered  materially  from  most  of  his  towns- 
men who  early  in  life  engaged  in  seafaring  pursuits.  He  chose  the 
social  advantages  of  a  life  on  land  to  those  of  the  forecastle,  and  his 
earliest  recollection  is  of  wrestling  with  the  cares  of  cranberry  cul- 
ture, which  he  continues  largely  and  successfully.  He  has  conse- 
quently become  conspicuously  interested  in,  and  conversant  with  the 
affairs  of  the  body  politic,  and  being  a  true  republican  politically  and 
in  his  nature,  his  services  have  been  sought  by  his  townsmen.  He  is 
not  a  seeker  of  ofl&cial  trusts,  but  having  once  demonstrated  his  su- 
perior ability  he  has  been  steadily  advanced  to  the  highest  offices  of 
his  representative  district. 

For  eight  years  he  served  as  selectman,  acting  as  chairman  of  the 
board  a  portion  of  the  time.  In  1884  he  represented  his  district  in 
the  legislature  and  for  the  next  term  of  1885,  not  a  single  ballot 
was  cast  against   him   at  his    reelection.       Again  in   1888,  after  a 


650 


HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 


chang-e  was  made  in  the  territory  of  the  district,  he  filled  this  re- 
sponsible position  and  was  returned  in  1889  for  a  fourth  term.  He  is 
a  director  in  the  Yarmouth  National  bank,  has  served  his  town  seven 
years  as  one  of  the  school  committee,  and  is  always  ready  to  promote 
the  welfare  of  his  community  in  social  and  moral  advancement.  In 
the  various  offices  filled  by  him  he  has  indicated  that  strong  sense 
and  practical  knowledge  which  enables  him  to  maintain  an  influential 
position  and  retain  the  confidence  of  his  townsmen. 


Hon.  Seth  Crowell. — This  was  a  man  of  more  than  average  abil- 
ity, who  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  the  public  service  of  Dennis 
and  the  Cape  for  nearly  forty  years.  He  was  a  brother  of  the  late 
Joshua  Crowell,  above  mentioned.  Swift,  in  his  Old  Yarmouth,  says 
of  him:  "  At  the  age  of  eighteen  Mr.  Crowell  commenced  life,  as 
many  a  Cape  Cod  boy  did  in  those  times,  upon  a  vessel's  deck;  he 
steadily  rose,  by  industry,  application  to  duty  and  fidelity  to  the  inter- 
ests intrusted  to  him,  to  high  estimation  by  his  fellow  citizens.  He 
was  captured  by  the  British,  in  the  war  of  1812-15,  and  made  a  pris- 
oner at  Dartmoor.  In  1835,  and  three  years  thereafter,  he  was  elected 
a  representative  from  the  town;  in  1841-2  a  senator  from  the  Cape, 
and  afterward,  for  nine  years,  a  member  of  the  board  of  county  com- 
missioners, most  of  the  tiine  its  chairman.  He  was,  in  the  meantime, 
a  director  of  the  Barnstable  Bank,  and  its  successor,  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Yarmouth,  for  several  years  its  president,  and  a  director  of 
the  Barnstable  County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  for  a  long 
succession  of  years;  also  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  in 
1853,  and  again  a  representative  from  Dennis  in  1868.  Mr.  Crowell's 
death  occurred  April  1,  1873,  and  during  his  whole  life  the  confidence 
of  the  public  was  never  withdrawn  from  him. 


€M~^ 


e.     8IERSTA0T,      N.   Y- 


TOWN   OF  DENNIS.  551 

Heman  B.  Crowell,  one  of  a  family  of  twelve  children,  was  born  in 
1836,  and  has  followed  the  sea  some  sixteen  years.  His  father,  Ed- 
ward, was  a  son  of  Thomas,  and  grandson  of  Edward  Crowell,  and  his 
mother  was  Sarah,  daughter  of  Heman  Baker.  He  was  married  in 
1859,  to  Maria  P.,  daughter  of  Leonard  Crowell,  and  granddaughter  of 
Freeman  Crowell.  Their  daughter,  Jessie  A.,  married  Ezra  F. 
Howes,  and  died  in  March,  1888,  leaving  two  sons.  Mr.  Crowell  is  a 
prohibitionist,  and  a  member  of  the  West  Dennis  Methodist  Episco- 
pal church. 

James  Crowell,  born  in  1832,  is  a  son  of  Zeno  and  Desire  (Long) 
Crowell,  and  a  grandson  of  David  and  Thankful  (Eldridge)  Crowell. 
Mr.  Crowell  was  a  mariner  until  1880,  having  been  master  of  a  vessel 
twenty-four  years.  Since  then  he  has  kept  a  grain  store  and  coal  yard 
at  West  Dennis.  He  was  married  in  1852,  to  Mercy  F.,  daughter  of 
Harvey  Crowell,  whose  father,  James,  was  a  son  of  David  Crowell. 
Their  children  are :  Eugene,  Anna  M.  and  Louise  M. 

Orin  L.  Crowell,  son  of  George  W.,  grandson  of  Allen  B.,  and 
great-grandson  of  Lott  Crowell,  was  born  in  1851.  His  mother  was 
Almira,  daughter  of  Orin  Lewis.  Mr.  Crowell  has  been  at  sea  since 
1859,  and  since  1876  has  been  master  of  a  vessel.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Boston  Marine  Society.  He  was  married  in  1873  to  Esther  D., 
daughter  of  Henry  Graves. 

Captain  Luther  Crowell. — This  worthy  representative  of  one 
of  the  first  comers  on  the  Cape  traces  his  ancestry  along  the  genera- 
tions of  the  past  through  James,  David.  Jonathan,  Thomas,  John 
(of  Bass  ponds,  as  there  was  another  of  that  name,)  and  Thomas, 
back  to  that  John  Crow  who  came  to  Old  Yarmouth  in  1639  and  built 
his  house  near  Nobscusset  pond,  on  the  lot  a  little  to  the  northeast 
of  the  present  house  of  Calvin  S.  Crowell.  James  Crowell,  father  of 
Luther,  married  Ruth,  daughter  of  Elisha  and  Sarah  (Nickerson) 
Crowell,  and  she  was  one  of  fourteen  children,  all  born  in  a  house 
northwest  from  the  present  West  Dennis  church. 

Luther  Crowell  was  born  in  1818,  the  son  of  poor  parents,  and 
was  early  thrown  upon  his  own  resources  for  a  livelihood  and  an 
education.  In  the  small  country  schools  of  that  day  the  question  was 
asked  each  pupil  at  commencement  of  the  term :  "  Who  is  to  pay 
your  tuition  ?"  Some  would  answer,  "  my  father."  "  this  uncle  or 
that  friend;"  but  the  lad  Luther's  answer  had  to  be  "  I'll  pay,"  and 
he  did.  At  ten  years  of  age  his  penchant  for  the  sea  induced  him  to 
ship  as  cook  in  the  fishing  and  coasting  trade.  His  anxiety  to  rise 
and  excel  could  hardly  brook  the  delay  of  reaching  a  suitable  age  in 
which  he  should  consummate  his  wishes.  The  airy  castles  of  future 
greatness,  and  the  fairy  ships  built  by  the  aspiring  cook,  were  often 
wrecked  by  the  gruff  voice  of  the  mate  asking  down  the  hatchway  if 


652  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

dinner  was  ready;  and  this  diaster  to  ideal  shipping  would  occur 
just  as  the  captain  of  the  fairy  ship  was  rounding  into  Bass  river 
harbor. 

Thus  the  actual  life  a  man  may  lead  grows  up  from  the  ideal  life 
a  boy  may  dream  of,  and  success  comes  but  to  him  who  is  born  capa- 
ble of  dreaming  of  success  and  daring  to  labor  for  it.  His  zeal  and 
faithfulness  earned  rapid  promotions,  and  from  October,  1839,  until 
1852,  he  commanded  coastwise  packets  between  Boston  and  Baltimore 
and  in  the  West  India  trade.  In  the  latter  year  he  commenced  with 
R.  W.  Ropes  &  Co.,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  as  captain  and  part  owner  in 
vessels  engaged  in  an  extensive  South  American  trade,  which  he 
continued  until  1866,  when,  for  three  years,  he  commanded  a  steamer 
in  the  Winsor  line,  between  Boston  and  Philadelphia,  and  then 
returned  to  the  command  of  a  ship  for  Ropes  &  Co.  in  their  important 
trade.  In  this  firm  was  Ripley  Ropes,  the  recently  deceased  presi- 
dent of  the  Brooklyn  Trust  Company,  and  his  elder  brother,  Reuben 
W.,  still  the  head  of  the  firm.  Their  appreciation  of  Captain  Crowell 
as  master,  agent  and  factor,  increased  with  the  years  of  their  pleasant 
business  relations.  This  mutual  regard  between  the  three,  ripening 
with  time,  became  a  permanent  friendship. 

In  1871  Captain  Crowell  renewed  his  connection  with  the  Winsor 
line,  which  relations  have  continued  to  the  present  moment.  Although 
widely  and  favorably  known  from  his  ancestral  connections,  and  for 
those  genial  social  qualities  which  have  always  marked  him,  he  is 
doubtless  destined  to  be  best  known  and  longest  remembered  by 
his  position  as  a  favored  captain  in  the  Winsor  steamship  line. 

The  captain's  home  is  at  West  Dennis,  where  he  has  surrounded 
his  family  with  appointments  in  keeping  with  their  high  social  posi- 
tion. He  was  married  in  1841,  to  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Asa  and  Edith 
Kelley.  Their  children  are :  Luther  B.,  Rebecca,  Ruth  Ina  and 
Grace  M.,  the  latter  deceased.  Of  these  Luther  B.  Crowell,  born  in 
1841,  has  been  a  successful  sea  captain  since  1865.  In  that  year  he 
married  Esther,  daughter  of  Anthony  and  Priscilla  Kelley,  and  has 
four  children  :  Charles  B.,  Luther  A.,  Arthur  R.  and  Grace  M. 
He  is  closely  following  the  footsteps  of  his  father,  being  in  command 
of  a  ship  in  the  same  line.  Rebecca  married  Captain  George  H. 
Baxter,  a  native  of  South  Dennis.  He  was  commander  of  the 
schooner  Allie  Bur?iham,  which  was  lost  with  all  on  board  in  April, 
1886,  while  on  the  passage  from  Cuba  to  Philadelphia.  Besides  his 
widow  he  left  one  son,  George  L.  B.,  and  a  daughter,  Rebecca  M. 
Baxter.  Captain  Baxter  was  a  promising  young  man,  with  great 
possibilities,  the  sorrow  for  whose  untimely  fate  is  a  shadow  that 
must  long  abide. 

Captain  Luther  Crowell,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  now  in  the 


■  (tnsrADT.     N.     V 


RESIDENCE   OK    RETER    H.  CROWELC, 

H'est  Dennis,  A/ass. 


BASS    RIVER    LOWER   BRIDGE, 

Btlwcen   \^'csl  Dennis  and  South   Yarmouth, 


TOWN   OF   DENNIS.  553 

midst  of  a  bright  career,  and  popular  as  a  master.  Still  in  vigorous 
life,  he  has  just  passed  his  semi-centennial  as  a  master  mariner. 
With  a  character  unblemished,  his  ability,  energy  and  carefulness 
have  gained  for  him  a  position  seldom  equaled  among  the  many 
noted  seamen  of  Cape  Cod. 

Captain  Peter  H.  Crowell.— The  grandfather  of  this  representa- 
tive of  one  of  the  branches  from  John  Crow,  the  original  ancestor,  was 
Isaiah  Crowell,  whose  father  was  Jonathan,  son  of  Thomas.  Of  the 
six  children  of  Isaiah,  Peter  Crowell  was  born  January  24,  1808,  at 
West  Dennis,  and  was  married  July  26,  1834,  to  Reliance,  a  daughter 
of  Peter  Coleman,  of  Hyannis.  She  was  born  November  1,  1813.  Of 
their  twelve  children  four  died  in  infancy.  The  eight  who  reached 
maturity  are:  Peter  H.,  born  April  1,  1837;  Emaline  F.,  born  October 
18,  1839;  Mary  S.,  February  20, 1843;  Philena  H.,  July  28,  1845;  Eras- 
tus  B.,  September  25,  1847;  Osborne  E.,  August  7,  1850;  Alva  C,  April 
20,  1855;  and  Sylvia  C,  July  2,  1868.  Of  these,  Osborne  E.  died  July 
23,  1871,  and  Alva  C.  November  19,  1874. 

Peter  H.  Crowell,  the  eldest  of  the  survivors,  was  educated  at  the 
schools  of  West  Dennis  until  he  went  to  sea  at  the  age  of  thirteen. 
He  rapidly  rose  in  the  scale,  acting  as  mate  at  seventeen,  and  was  in 
command  of  a  coaster  when  nineteen  years  of  age.  For  thirty  years 
he  was  the  master  of  various  vessels  in  the  coastwise  and  West  India 
trade,  retiring  in  1886.  During  the  period  he  was  in  command  he  did 
not  call  upon  the  underwriters  for  a  dollar.  He  always  owned  a  share 
in  the  vessel  he  commanded,  and  since  his  retirement  has  been  part 
owner,  agent  and  general  manager  of  a  fleet  of  seven  sail,  five  three- 
masters,  one  four-master,  and,  one  bark. 

In  1865,  March  21st,  the  captain  was  married  to  Isabella,  daughter 
of  James  Chase,  whose  father  was  also  James,  son  of  Job  Chase.  Her 
father  was  born  July  29, 1807,  and  died  December  3, 1880.  Her  mother 
was  Betsey  T.,  daughter  of  Jeptha  and  Thankful  Nickerson,  and  a 
descendant  of  William  Nickerson.  Six  of  the  ten  children  of  James 
Chase  survive:  Otis  D.,  Isabella,  Moses  N.,  Van  Buren,  Helen  F.,and 
Eunice  B.,  who  is  now  traveling  in  Europe.  Captain  Crowell  has  seven 
surviving  children:  Addie  F.,  born  December  29, 1865;  Grace  B.,  born 
August  22,  1869;  Etta  R.,  January  18,  1873;  Peter  H.,  jr.,  November 
28,  1874;  Charles  S.,  December  8,  1875;  Edgar  P.,  January  9,  1878;  and 
Katie  C,  born  February  14,  1880.  Bessie  T.  and  Mary  E.  died  in  in- 
fancy, and  Jennie  S.  died  March  8,  1883,  aged  fifteen  years. 

The  captain  started  life  a  poor  boy,  sailing  the  first  few  years  with 
his  father,  to  whom  he  gave  his  services.  At  his  majority  he  began 
for  himself,  still  assisting  his  father  in  his  needs:  and  with  the  aid  of 
friends  in  Boston,  was  enabled  to  sail  the  first  vessel,  the  Frank  Her- 
bert, in  which  he  was  part  owner.     For  the  command  of  this  schooner 


564  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

he  declined  the  captaincy  of  the  ship  Nor zvaj,  owned  by  Sears  Brothers, 
of  Boston,  they  being  part  owners  in  the  Frank  Herbert.  His  energy, 
ambition  and  economy  soon  placed  him  in  the  front  rank  of  masters 
and  ship  owners. 

His  social  and  business  relations  are  preferred  to  political  honors. 
With  characteristic  liberality,  he  assists  in  the  enterprises  of  his  vil- 
lage, is  a  director  in  the  shoe  factory,  a  warm  supporter  of  the  Metho- 
dist church,  and  of  every  good  work  for  the  welfare  of  the  commu- 
nity. The  firm  principles  that  kept  him  from  the  use  of  intoxicating 
beverages  and  tobacco,  while  on  shipboard  and  ever  since,  have  as- 
sisted to  a  life  of  success  in  every  phase.  In  the  meridian  of  his  life, 
he  now  enjoys  the  pleasures  of  his  home  at  West  Dennis,  within  sight 
of  that  element  upon  which  he  so  long  lived,  and  for  which  he  has 
such  fondness. 

Prince  Sears  Crowell. — History  says  that  Mrs.  John  Crow  came 
to  this  continent  in  1634,  and  John  Crow  in  1636.  They  were  in 
Charlestown,  Mass.,  in  1638,  and  settled  in  old  Yarmouth  in  1639. 
Among  the  spellings  for  this  family  name,  Crowell  has  prevailed  for 
many  generations.  The  male  lineage  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  is: 
John,  John,  John,  Christopher,  Christopher,  David  and  Prince  S. 
Crowell.  His  father  David,  married  Persis,  a  descendant  of  Richard 
Sears,  and  of  their  five  children  the  younger  three — Evelina,  Per- 
sis S.  and  a  son — died  in  early  childhood;  Betsey  H..  the  second, 
attained  womanhood  and  married  Christopher  Hall.  Prince  S.,  the 
oldest,  born  November  13,  1813,  at  East  Dennis,  went  to  sea  at  the  age 
of  eighteen  and  remained  in  the  coasting  and  packet  business  with  an 
occasional  foreign  voyage  until  he  was  thirty-three,  when,  in  1846,  he 
commenced  business  on  shore.  He  purchased  shares  in  the  vessels 
built  by  the  Shivericks  and  others,  fitting  them  out  in  the  coasting 
and  foreign  trade,  then  gradually  selling  them  out  during  the  war  of 
the  rebellion.  In  1856  he  went  west,  and  with  others  invested  largely 
in  railroads  then  building. 

He  married,  July  26,  1835,  Polly  D.,  daughter  of  Nathan  Foster, 
who  was  a  son  of  John,  of  Brewster.  From  this  marriage  the  children 
named  in  the  succeeding  seven  paragraphs  have  descended: 

Persis  S.,  born  March  25,  1837,  married  Captain  J.  H.  Addy,  depart- 
ing this  life  March  6, 1878,  without  issue. 

Prince  F.,  born  May  11,  1839,  married  Mary  F.,  daughter  of  Mar- 
shal S.  Underwood,  of  South  Dennis,  on  the  first  of  January,  1863.' 
Prince  F.,  living  in  Omaha,  Neb.,  was  a  lumber  merchant  at  Wisner, 
where  he  died,  November  8,  1874.  He  left,  besides  his  widow,  two 
children  living;  one,  Henry  J.,  dying  in  childhood:  Prince  M.,  born 
October  25,  1863.  and  Nellie  L.  Crowell,  M.  D.,  born  November  14, 
1866. 


^ 


^^. 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  565 

David,  bom  April  14, 1842,  has  been  twice  married,  and  now  re- 
sides in  Fremont,  Neb. 

Christopher  C,  born  May  19,  1844,  married  Polly  D.  Foster,  went 
West  in  1869,  and  resides  in  Blair,  Neb.,  where  he  is  in  the  grain  and 
lumber  business.    Of  their  eight  children,  six  are  living. 

Azariah  F.,  born  June  21,  1846,  has  been  twice  married  and  resides 
in  Boston,  spending  a  portion  of  his  time  in  Falmouth,  where  he  was 
formerly  the  chemist  of  the  Pacific  Guano  works. 

Edwin  D.,  the  youngest  son,  was  bom  January  8,  1851.  On  the 
20th  of  January,  1876,  he  married  Louisa  M.,  born  July  12,  1862,  the 
adopted  daughter  of  Captain  Joshua  and  Minerva  Sears.  Their  chil- 
dren are:  Minerva  E.,  bom  May  6,  1877;  Louisa  A.,  bom  September 
14,  1878;  Gertrude,  Januarj'  10. 1882;  and  Edwin  D.  Crowell,  jr.,  bom 
July  25, 1886. 

Evelyn,  born  March  9,  1854,  married  Samuel  L.  Powers,  a  lawyer 
of  Newton,  Mass. 

During  the  lifetime  of  Prince  S.  Crowell,  after  retiring  from  the 
sea  and  its  business,  he  was  actively  engaged  in  many  pursuits.  He 
started,  with  others,  the  first  salt  mill  at  Boston;  was  the  agent  and 
largely  interested  in  building  up  and  managing  the  Pacific  Guano 
works,  at  Woods  Holl,  and  at  Charleston.  S.  C;  was  the  president  of 
and  prime  mover  in  the  company  for  building  the  Woods  Holl  rail- 
road; and  president  of  the  Cape  Cod  National  and  Cape  Cod  Savings 
banks.  He  was  an  ardent  republican  in  every  sense  of  the  term,  but 
declined  political  trusts.  He  preferred  his  social  and  business  re- 
lations, and  in  these  was  conspicuous.  He  largely  assisted  in  estab- 
lishing the  Lecture  Association  of  East  Dennis.  In  his  views  and 
with  his  means  he  was  proverbially  liberal,  leaving  to  his  name  never 
decaying  monuments. 

A  contemporary,  himself  conspicuous  in  affairs  of  state,  says: 
"  Prince  S.  Crowell  must  be  ranked  among  the  ablest  business  men  of 
the  county.  He  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  the  wealthiest  man  in 
Dennis,  as  he  was  one  of  the  most  liberal.  He  had  a  hand  open  to 
every  call  of  charity,  and  always  responded  to  any  move  toward  pub- 
lic improvement.  Dennis  had  no  nobler  son.  His  aid  was  always 
given  to  the  anti-slavery  cause  and  was  not  withheld  from  the 
church." 

Willard  Crowell,  born  in  1820,  is  a  son  of  Allen  E.,  and  grandson  of 
Lott  Crowell.  His  mother  was  Olive,  daughter  of  Francis  Baker.  Mr. 
Crowell  went  to  sea  for  fifty-seven  years,  the  last  forty  as  captain,  and 
retired  in  1887.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Boston  Marine  Society.  He 
married  in  1842,  Marian,  daughter  of  Simeon  Crowell.  She  died  in 
1866,  leaving  eight  children,  of  whom  three  survive  :  Erastus,  Lavina 
and  Olive.  He  was  again  married  in  1868,  to  Anna  M.  Lewis,  who 
died  in  1888. 


^66  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Captain  William  CROWELi^The  sixth  generation  of  Crowells, 
from  John  Crow  of  1639,  is  well  represented  in  Dennis  to-day  by  Cap- 
tain William  Crowell*  (Aaron*,  Aaron*,  Aaron',  John',  John'),  who  was 
t)orn  where  he  now  resides,  on  the  seventh  of  November,  1814.  He  is 
the  third  of  the  five  survivors  of  the  twelve  children  of  Aaron  and  Polly 
(Howes)  Crowell,  she  being  the  daughter  of  Noah,  in  direct  line  from 
Thomas  Howes,  one  of  the  grantees  of  Old  Yarmouth.  The  other 
four  of  the  survivors  are :  Aaron,  Huldah,  Edwin,  and  Mary  Howes 
Crowell.  Aaron  Crowell  married  Fear,  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Eunice 
(Howes)  Hall,  and  their  five  children  are :  Daniel  S.,of  Dennis;  Aaron 
L.,  of  New  York,  who  married  Ida  Wisewell ;  Eunice  H.,  who  mar- 
ried Jacob  S.  Howes,  a  lighthouse  keeper,  who  died,  and  she  kept  the 
light  at  Sandy  Neck  two  years ;  Cynthia  H.,  who  married  John  M. 
Stone,  of  Dennis ;  and  Mary  H.,  who  married  Charles  E.  Howes,  of 
Dennis,  now  deceased  Huldah  Crowell  married  Samuel  Paddock,  and 
they  have  one  daughter,  Hannah  H.  Paddock.  Edwin  Crowell  mar- 
ried Rhoda,  daughter  of  Kimball  Howes,  for  his  first,  and  Sarah, 
•daughter  of  Edward  Baker,  of  South  Dennis,  for  his  second  wife. 
Mary  H.  Crowell,  in  1849,  married  Samuel  Crowell,  a  sea  captain,  who, 
during  the  twenty  years  preceding  his  death,  in  1870,  was  a  commis- 
sion merchant  in  New  York  city.  Of  their  two  children,  Samuel  Cro- 
■well,  M.  D.,  of  Boston,  survives. 

Captain  William  Crowell,  whose  portrait  accompanies  this  article, 
received  as  a  lad  the  education  given  by  the  common  schools,  and  at 
eleven  years  of  age  he  went  to  sea,  where,  steadily  rising  in  his  pro- 
fession, he  became  master  in  1841.  He  has  cause  to  remember  that 
year,  not  only  from  the  loss  of  his  brothers.  Captain  Noah  H.  and  Ur- 
bana,  in  the  bark  Bride,  off  Race  Point,  October  3,  1841,  but  he  ex- 
pected the  same  fate  for  his  crew  and  vessel,  which  he  managed  to 
run  into  Provincetown  harbor.  He  left  the  sea  in  1849,  and  for  eight 
years  was  fish  inspector  in  Dennis,  where  he  was  in  business  with 
Joshua  C.  Howes  and  Jeremiah  Hall.  He  then  went  to  New  York, 
-where  he  engaged  in  the  ship  chandler  and  grocery  business  with 
Howes  Baker,  as  Baker  &  Crowell,  which  business  he  followed  seven- 
teen years,  and  returned  to  Dennis,  where  he  has  spent  the  summers 
ior  the  last  eighteen  years,  returning  to  the  city  winters.  In  1856 
Baker  &  Crowell  commenced  receiving  cranberries  from  the  Cape  on 
commission,  being  the  only  cranberry  dealers  in  that  city  for  many 
years.  Captain  Crowell  has  continued  to  deal  in  this  fruit  since  the 
dissolution  of  the  firm,  shipping  from  the  Cape  in  the  autumn  of  1889 
forty-seven  carloads. 

He  was  married  January  19,  1845,  to  Sarah  Howes,  daughter  of 
Zoeth  and  Sally  Howes.  She  died  December  19,  1846,  fifteen  days 
after  giving  birth  to  a  son,  who  survived  but  a  short  time.     He  mar- 


C.-^^^a--^-<^  /Oiz-^72:^>-^2-<^ 


phint. 

t,     BlEMST«OT,     «.     T. 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  557 

ried  June  28,  1869,  Cynthia  H.,  daughter  of  Freeman  Hall,  and  they 
have  one  son,  William  Crowell,  jr.  born  July  27,  1870,  residing  -with 
them. 

Captain  Crowell  is  a  worthy  member  of  the  United  Religious  So- 
ciety of  his  village,  and  gives  it  hearty  support.  He  has  always  de- 
clined civil  trusts,  although  an  earnest  republican  and  possessing  the 
confidence  of  his  party.  His  has  been  a  life  of  varied  and,  at  times, 
dangerous  activity,  and  he  still  continues  the  active  management  of 
an  extensive  business.  His  social  qualities  and  upright  dealings 
have  made  him  conspicuous  wherever  he  is  known,  and  his  industry 
and  economy,  guided  by  his  good  judgment,  have  been  crowned  with 
a  fair  degree  of  success. 

Jonathan  P.  Edwards,  bom  in  1864,  is  a  son  of  Nehemiah,  grand- 
son of  Isaiah,  and  great-grandson  of  Asa  Edwards.  His  mother  was 
Mary  C.  Phillips.  Mr.  Edwards  followed  the  sea  until  1882,  and  then 
was  a  traveling  salesman  until  1885.  In  January  of  that  year  the 
Dennis  Port  Fishing  Company  was  organized,  and  since  that  time  he 
has  been  agent  for  the  company.  He  was  married  in  1876  to  Emma 
W.  Baker.  They  have  six  children:  Emma  B.,  Albert  J.,  Hattie  N.. 
and  Lottie  G.  (twins),  Jonathan  P.,  jr.  and  Edna  C. 

Henry  H.  Fisk,  youngest  son  of  Nathan  and  Polly  (Baker)  Fisk,. 
was  born  in  1843.  He  followed  the  sea  for  about  twenty-two  years 
prior  to  1882,  and  was  master  of  a  vessel  for  the  last  fifteen  years.  He 
was  selectman  from  1882  to  1886,  as  a  republican.  He  has  been  mas- 
ter of  the  Mount  Horeb  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  for  two  years.  He  was 
married  in  1866  to  Cynthia  J.  Baker,  and  has  four  children  living: 
Jennie  M.,  Sadie  A.,  H.  Frank  and  Herbert  A.  They  lost  one  son, 
Luther. 

Luther  Fisk  was  born  in  Dennis,  Mass.,  in  1831.  He  has  at  diflfer- 
ent  times  been  elected  to  the  oflBce  of  selectman,  and  also  to  other 
local  ofi5ces.  In  1875,  and  again  in  1876,  he  was  elected  member  of 
the  state  legislature.  He  was  elected  sheriff  in  1883,  taking  office 
January  1,  1884,  and  was  reelected  in  1886. 

Captain  Uriah  B.  Fisk,  the  eldest  of  four  surviving  sous  of  Na- 
than and  Polly  (Baker)  Fisk,  was  bom  June  22,  1827.  At  the  age  of 
eleven  he  went  to  sea,  serving  as  cook,  then  before  the  mast,  then  as 
mate  until  he  was  twenty-two,  when  he  was  in  command.  He  fol- 
lowed coasting,  with  an  occasional  foreign  voyage,  and  was  master  of 
ten  different  sailing  vessels  between  the  time  of  majority  and  the 
close  of  the  rebellion  in  1865.  He  always  owned  an  interest  in  each 
vessel.  That  dangers  should  befall  him  in  a  term  of  thirty-five  years 
on  the  sea  would  be  expected,  but  the  most  serious  accident  occurred 
off  Montauk  in  a  December  night  of  1857,  when  a  Philadelphia 
steamer   struck  his  schooner,  bows  on,  sinking  her  in  a  very  iew 


658  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

minutes.  Captain  Selick  Matthews  was  in  command  of  the  steamer 
and  rendered  all  the  assistance  possible.  Captain  Fisk,  who  was  be- 
low when  his  vessel  was  struck,  rushed  on  deck  and  saw  at  a  glance 
the  state  of  affairs.  Seizing  a  rope  to  swing  off  with,  he  was  allowed 
to  settle  between  the  two  vessels  just  as  they  veered  alongside  of  each 
other  and  was  caught  between  them,  crushing  him  terribly,  the  ef- 
fects of  which  he  still  feels.  When  loosed  from  the  perilous  position 
he  fell  into  the  sea  and  drifted  fifteen  or  twenty  fathoms  astern.  He 
clung  to  the  rope  and  was  hauled  aboard  the  steamer  by  his  brother, 
Luther,  who  had  escaped  to  its  deck  before  him. 

Since  his  residence  on  land  he,  with  his  brothers,  has  builttwelve 
sailing  vessels  in  various  localities,  and  in  1889  he  was  constructing  a 
four-master  of  fifteen  hundred  tons.  These  brothers  have  owned  as 
many  as  twenty  vessels  at  a  time,  one-half  of  which  they  manned  and 
sailed.  The  first  three-masted  schooner  constructed  at  Bath,  Me., 
was  for  Uriah  B.  Fisk. 

He  was  married  in  1858,  to  Margaret  A.,  daughter  of  Nehemiah 
Baker,  and  has  one  daughter,  Maggie  B.  Captain  Fisk  prefers  the 
channels  of  business  and  the  domestic  peace  of  his  own  fireside  to 
the  paths  leading  to  political  ofl&ce,  and  in  the  membership  of  Mount 
Horeb  Lodge  of  Masons,  in  that  of  the  Methodist  church,  and  in  his 
own  home  circle  the  evening  of  life  is  being  pleasantly  passed.  His 
home  at  West  Dennis,  shown  in  the  accompanying  plate  was  pur- 
chased in  1859,  and  by  his  taste  at  various  times  has  assumed  its 
present  beautiful  appearance. 

Lucius  M.  Gage,  son  of  Zeno  and  Sarah  (Farris)  Gage,  and  grand- 
son of  Freeman  Gage,  was  born  in  1850.  Since  June,  1888,  Mr.  Gage 
has  kept  the  Gage  House  and  stables,  near  West  Dennis.  He  has 
been  married  three  times:  first  in  1872,  to  Anna  M.  Hilton;  second  in 
1877,  to  Ida  F.  Robbins,  who  died  in  March,  1885;  and  third,  in  Nov- 
ember, 1885,  to  Mrs.  Cordelia  A.  E.  Bearse,  daughter  of  Samuel  D. 
Clifford,  of  Chatham.  Mrs.  Gage  has  two  children  by  a  former  mar- 
riage: Lilian  A.  and  Winfield  M.  Mr.  Gage  is  one  of  seven  children, 
four  of  whom  are  living. 

Sylvanus  L.  Gage,  bom  in  1860,  is  the  only  child  of  Sylvanus, 
grandson  of  Sylvanus,  and  great-grandson  of  Prince  Gage.  His  mother 
was  Mary  A.  Howes.  Mr.  Gage  was  engaged  in  the  meat  business  in 
Brockton,  from  1879  to  1887,  when  he  came  to  West  Dennis,  where  he 
has  since  carried  on  the  same  business.  He  was  married  in  1883,  to 
Sarah  B.  Snow.    They  have  one  son,  Lloyd  L. 

Puella  F.  Gage,  is  a  daughter  of  Captain  Ellis  Norris,  bom  in  1822, 
in  Hyannis.  He  was  a  son  of  Thomas  and  grandson  of  Ellis  Norris. 
Mr.  Norris  has  been  captain  of  vessels  since  he  was  twenty-three  years 
old.    He  was  married  in  1846,  to  Margaret  G.,  daughter  of  Alfred  Swift, 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  559 

M.  D.  She  died  in  1884,  leaving  four  children:  Puella  Francis,  Alfred 
S.,  Elizabeth  J.  G.  and  Margaret  B.  Puella  Francis  was  married  May 
31,  1868,  to  Freeman  Gage,  son  of  Zeno,  and  grandson  of  Freeman 
Gage.  Mr.  Gage  was  a  sea  captain  from  twenty-three  years  of  age 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  March  22, 1886,  aged  forty-seven  years. 

William  Garfield  was  born  in  1830,  in  Ohio.  He  is  a  son  of  Joseph 
R.,  and  he  a  son  of  Benjamin  Garfield,  and  a  near  relative  of  the 
late  James  A.  Garfield.  Mr.  Garfield  came  from  Ohio  to  Dennis,  in 
November,  1844,  and  has  been  a  sailor  since  that  time.  Since  1853  he 
has  had  charge  of  coasting  and  foreign  vessels.  He  was  married  in 
1849.  to  Mary  J.,  daughter  of  Elkanah  H.  Baker.  They  have  eight 
children:  Lydia  L.,  Eliza  A.,  William  W.,  Jerusha  B.,  John  D.,  Ada 
B.,  Roger  N.  and  Millie. 

Charles  Hall  was  a  son  of  Christopher  Hall.  He  died  in  May, 
1886,  in  Oregon.  He  had  been  in  business  in  the  West  for  twenty 
years.  He  was  married  in  1865,  to  Lydia  H.,  daughter  of  James  S. 
Howes.  They  have  two  children:  Blanche  E.  and  Susie  H.  One  son 
died — Joshua  Brenard.  Mrs.  Hall  has  built  a  residence  at  East  Dennis, 
where  she  now  resides. 

Cyrus  Hall,  born  in  1833,  is  a  son  of  Hiram  and  grandson  of  Henry 
Hall,  who  was  a  revolutionary  soldier.  Mr.  Hall  is  a  house  carpenter 
by  trade.  He  was  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  from  July,  1862,  to 
June,  1863,  in  Company  A,  Fortieth  Massachusetts  Volunteers.  He 
also  had  two  brothers  in  the  service.  He  has  been  married  three 
times.  His  first  wife  was  Lovica  A.  Taylor.  By  his  second  wife, 
Rebecca  S.  Rogers,  he  had  four  children,  two  of  whom  are  living: 
Wilfred  A.  and  Hiram  H.  He  was  married  in  1869  to  his  present 
wife,  Mary  O.  Marsh. 

Edward  F.  Hall,  son  of  Edward  and  Paulina  (Howes)  Hall,  and 
grandson  of  Edward  Hall,  was  born  in  1842,  and  followed  the  sea 
from  1859  to  1868.  He  is  a  tinsmith  by  trade,  and  now  keeps  a  hard- 
ware store  at  Dennis.  He  was  married  in  1866,  to  Martha  A.  Lamar. 
They  have  two  children :  Charles  E.  and  Freeman  B.  Mr.  Hall  is  a 
member  of  James  Otis  Lodge  of  Masons,  at  Barnstable. 

Isaiah  B.  Hall',  the  eldest  son  of  Hiram'  (Henry',  Edmund', 
Joseph',  Joseph',  John',  John  Hall',),  was  born  in  1828,  and  is  a  con- 
tractor and  builder.  He  was  selectman  in  Dennis  for  eleven  years. 
He  was  married  in  1855,  to  Susan  G.  Hedge.  They  have  three  daugh- 
ters: Chloe  C,  Susan  E.  and  Emma  G. 

Luther  Hall,  born  in  1842,  is  a  son  of  Thomas,  who  was  the  oldest 
son  of  Jesse,  and  grandson  of  Josiah  Hall.  His  mother  was  Hepsa, 
daughter  of  Barnabas  Hall.  Mr.  Hall  was  in  a  store  at  Dennis 
twenty -five  years,  and  was  postmaster  ten  years  of  the  time.  Since 
selling  the  store,  in  1885,  he  has  been  a  cranberry  grower  and  cran- 


660  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

berry  commission  merchant.  He  is  now  agent  for  the  Nobscusset 
House.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  school  board  twenty  years. 
He  was  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  in  Company  E,  Fifth  Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers,  nine  months  ;  then  re-enlisted,  in  the  same  regi- 
ment, for  one  hundred  days.  He  was  afterward  commissioned  a  cap- 
tain of  militia  by  Governor  Andrew.  He  was  married  in  1869,  to 
Minerva,  daughter  of  Howes  Chapman.  They  have  three  children  : 
Frank  B.,  Nernie  A.  and  Howard  L.     They  lost  one  child. 

Joshua  Harding,  son  of  Thomas,  and  grandson  of  Sylvenus  Hard- 
ing, was  born  in  1825,  in  Chatham.  His  mother  was  Betsey,  daughter 
of  Matthias  Taylor.  Mr.  Harding  followed  the  sea  from  1834  to  1881, 
the  last  twenty  years  as  master  of  a  steamer.  He  was  married  in 
1847,  to  Lois  B.  Crowell,  who  died  in  1879.  He  was  married  in  1885, 
to  Mrs.  Susan  F.  B.  Whelden,  daughter  of  Elphenus  Baker.  Mr. 
Harding  has  been  a  resident  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  since  he  was  nine- 
teen years  of  age. 

Milton  P.  Hedge,  born  in  1825,  is  a  son  of  John  and  grandson  of 
Daniel  Hedge.  His  mother  was  Nabbie,  daughter  of  Joshua  Sears. 
Mr.  Hedge  began  going  to  sea  in  1838,  continuing  until  1878,  and  was 
captain  at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Boston 
Marine  Society.  He  was  married  in  1848,  to  Elizabeth  L.  Sears. 
They  have  three  children  :  John  M.,  Joseph  and  George  8. 

James  B.  Hopkins,  son  of  Isaac  and  Polly  (Jarvis)  Hopkins,  was 
born  in  1836,  in  Orleans.  He  went  to  sea  at  twelve  years  of  age, 
and  continued  until  1872.  He  was  acting  master's  mate  in  the  naval 
service  from  1863  to  1865,  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  From  1872  to 
1883,  he  was  on  the  railroad  in  the  postal  service.  He  was  married 
in  1867,  to  Georgianna,  daughter  of  Doane  Kelley.  Mr.  Hopkins  is 
secretary  of  the  Mount  Horeb  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  junior  vice^ 
commander  of  Frank  D.  Hammond  Post,  No.  141,  G.  A.  R. 

Carlton  Howes,  son  of  Moses  Howes,  was  born  in  1812,  and  died 
1871.  He  was  a  master  mariner  from  1836  to  1860.  He  was  married 
in  1836,  to  Eunice  C,  daughter  of  Eben  Paddock.  They  had  two  chil- 
dren, both  of  whom  are  deceased. 

David  P.  Howes,  born  in  1815,  is  a  son  of  William,  grandson  of 
Levi  and  great-grandson  of  David  Howes.  His  mother  was  Lydia, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Howes.  Mr.  Howes  went  to  sea  about  twenty- 
five  years,  and  has  since  been  a  farmer.  He  was  married  in 
1836,  to  Temperance  L.,  daughter  of  Eben  Lothrop.  They  have  three 
children:  George  P.,  Eben  L.  and  Deborah  B.  (Mrs.  C.  W.  Hall).  Mr. 
Howes  owns  the  homestead  where  his  father  and  grandfather  both 
lived.  George  P.  Howes,  son  of  David  P.  Howes,  was  born  in  1840. 
He  followed  the  sea  for  seventeen  years.  Since  1871,  he  has  been  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits.    He  was  married  in  1873,  to  Carrie  A.. 


J.  C.   HOWES, 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  661 

Farnsworth.    They  have  four  children:    Eliza  D.,  David  P.,  Jennie 
T.  and  Inez  J. 

Daniel  Willis  Howes,  bom  in  1835,  is  descended  from  Daniel', 
Reuben',  Daniel',  Thomas*,  Ebenezer',  Jeremiah",  Thomas  Howes'. 
He  went  to  sea  until  1873,  as  master  of  steamships,  and  has  since 
been  special  agent  for  the  underwriters.  He  was  married  in  1862, 
to  Abbie  J.,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Lucy  (Howes)  Nye,  of  Sandwich. 
Their  children  are:  William  N.,  Mona  J.,  Willis  N.  and  Joseph  N. 

Ezra  Howes,  was  born  in  1813,  and  died  in  1872.  He  was  a  son  of 
Zachariah  Howes.  He  married  Lydia  A.  Clark.  Seven  of  their 
eight  children  are  living:  Ezra  Thacher,  Willis  N.,  Lydia  H.,  Her- 
bert A.,  Charles  F.,  Bessie  E.  and  Fanny  M.;  one  daughter  having 
died.  The  residence  built  in  1805,  by  Zachariah  Howes,  was  rebuilt 
in  1838,  by  Ezra  T.  Howes  and  his  business  associate,  Edward  H. 
Cole,  and  very  appropriately  named  Bleak  House  (as  it  stands  on  an 
eminence  with  Scargo  lake  on  the  south,  and  Cape  Cod  bay  on  the 
north).  Here  these  two  gentlemen  with  their  families  spend  the 
summer  months.  Mr.  Cole  is  a  native  of  Orleans,  being  the  only 
survivor  of  Nathan  and  Caroline  (Kendrick)  Cole,  and  a  grandson  of 
Joel  Cole. 

James  F.  Howes',  born  in  1847,  is  descended  from  James  S.', 
Lothrop',  Sturges',  Samuel*,  Ebenezer',  Jeremiah",  Thomas  Howes'. 
His  mother  was  Lydia,  daughter  of  William  Howes.  Mr.  Howes  is 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  was  married  in  1870,  to  Sarah 
E.,  daughter  of  Nathan  Stone,  whose  father,  Nathan  Stone,  for  many 
years  held  t^e  office  of  town  clerk,  and  was  the  first  postmaster  at 
Dennis.  His  father,  Rev.  Nathan  Stone,  was  for  forty  years  minister 
of  the  church  of  the  East  precinct  of  Yarmouth,  now  Dennis.  He 
graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1762,  and  died  in  1804.  The 
father  of  this  eminent  divine  was  Rev.  Nathan  Stone,  of  South- 
borough.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Howes  have  four  children:  Susie  B.,  Jessie  S., 
Freeman  and  Lydia. 

James  P.  Howes',  bom  in  1826,  is  descended  from  Eli',  Stephen*, 
Amos',  Joseph",  Thomas  Howes',  who  came  from  England  to  America 
in  1637.  His  wife  was  Mary.  Mr.  Howes  is  a  farmer,  and  owns  a  part 
of  the  farm  which  has  been  in  the  Howes  family  for  about  two  hun- 
dred  years.  He  was  married  in  1852,  to  Margaret  Jones.  They  have 
one  daughter,  Sarah,  married  to  F.  J.  Prouty,  and  they  lost  one 
daughter.. 

Joshua  C.  Howes.— This  esteemed  citizen  of  Dennis  was  bora 
November  12,  1816,  and  is  the  only  surviving  child  of  Elkanah  Howes 
and  Lucy  Crowell.  The  direct  lineage  of  the  subject  of  this  paper 
can  be  traced  back  along  the  generations  of  the  past  to  Thomas,  the 
primogenitor  of  this  name  on  the  Cape.     Beginning  with  Joshua  C, 

S6 


662  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

it  is  then  Elkanah,  born  1778;  Elkanah,  born  in  1761,  and  married 
Desire  Eldridge;  Stephen,  who  married  Thankful  Hall  in  1739;  Amos, 
who  married  Susanna  Hedge  in  1701;  Joseph,  who  married  Elizabeth 
Mayo;  and  Thomas,  the  pioneer  of  1639. 

Joshua  C.  Howes,  like  his  neighbors'  children,  went  to  sea  at  ten 
years  of  age,  which  vocation  he  continued  twenty  years,  the  last  ten 
as  a  master.  He  soon  after  embarked  in  a  mercantile  life  that  was 
continued  twenty -five  years,  a  history  of  which  is  given  in  another 
connection.  In  1870  he  was  chosen  director  of  the  Yarmouth  National 
Bank,  in  1876  its  vice-president,  and  in  1879  its  president,  which  posi- 
tion  he  now  holds.  He  represented  his  district  in  the  legislature  dur- 
ing the  years  1865  and  1856,  and  held  the  appointment  of  deputy 
assessor  in  1862,  and  continued  as  assessor  and  collector  of  internal 
revenue  for  the  district  until  1876. 

He  married  Priscilla,  daughter  of  Abner  and  Hannah  (Sears) 
Howes,  on  the  11th  of  January,  1844,  she  being  a  descendant  from 
the  same  Thomas  Howes  along  another  line,  also  the  seventh  in  di- 
rect descent  from  the  Pilgrim,  Richard  Sears.  The  fruit  of  this  mar- 
riage has  been  four  children:  Flora,  who  survives;  and  Priscilla,  Wal- 
lace and  Florence,  deceased. 

Captain  Moses  Howes  was  born  September  18, 1817,  and  when  at 
the  tender  age  of  ten  years  he  went  forth  to  fight  life's  battle  single- 
handed,  he  could  hardly  have  anticipated  the  measure  of  success 
which  he  subsequently  achieved  by  his  persistent,  well  directed  in- 
dustry. Bom  of  poor  parents  he  early  felt  the  importance  of  earnest 
efifort  on  his  part  if  he  would  succeed.  His  father,  Moses,  a  son  of 
Joseph  Howes,  a  desce^idant  of  Thomas  Howes,  married  Priscilla 
Sears.  After  one  summer  as  cook  on  board  a  mackerel  smack,  with 
Captain  Christopher  Howes,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  although  young, 
resolved  to  take  a  better  position,  and  so  shipped  before  the  mast  on  a 
foreign  voyage  from  Boston.  This  his  father  opposed,  but  his  answer 
was  "  I'll  be  master  of  a  ship  some  day  and  a  good  one  too — no 
smack."  He  was  not  content  with  a  life  of  fishing  and  coasting  as 
his  father  had  long  been,  and  his  ideal  in  the  shipmaster's  profession 
was  rapidly  realized.  From  sailor  to  mate,  and  then  master,  and  while 
yet  young  to  the  command  of  a  fine  clipper  ship,  were  steps  to  which 
his  determination  led  him,  and  he  never,  during  his  long  career,  lost 
a  ship  or  was  compelled  to  make  a  port  he  was  not  bound  for.  The 
year  he  was  married  he  went  as  captain  for  Thomas  B.  Wales  &  Co., 
of  Boston.  He  was  at  home  one  winter,  after  some  years  of  active 
duty,  when  he  was  offered  a  clipper  ship  in  the  California  trade.  On 
this  voyage  a  strife  arose  between  his  ship  and  one  commanded  by 
Captain  Frederick  Howes,  of  Yarmouth,  as  to  which  should  arrive  first. 
On  the  voyage,  Boston  to  San  Francisco,  they  arrived   at  the  latter 


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TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  663 

port  within  five  hours  of  each  other.  The  last  voyage  he  made  was 
as  master  of  the  Belvidere,  in  the  California,  China  and  India  trade, 
thence  home,  in  1870,  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

On  the  28th  of  September,  1841,  he  married  Jerusha  S.,  daughter 
of  Ezra  and  Jerusha  (Sturgis)  Hall.  Ezra  was  a  son  of  Isaiah  and 
grandson  of  Edmund  Hall.  Mrs.  Howes,  who  was  born  September 
12,  1818,  accompanied  the  captain  five  years  on  his  voyages,  including 
a  trip  around  the  world,  taking  pride  in  his  superior  seamanship,  and 
she  still  retains  as  memorials  the  books  of  the  voyages  so  well  kept  in 
his  beautiful,  bold  chirography.  In  1854,  while  he  was  absent,  Mrs.- 
Howes  superintended  the  erection  of  their  fine  residence  at  Dennis, 
of  which  a  view  appears.  Here,  on  the  29th  of  January,  1887,  Captain 
Howes  closed  his  earthly  career,  leaving  her  to  complete  the  voyage 
of  life  alone. 

Thomas  Howes,  son  of  Thomas,  grandson  of  David,  and  great- 
grandson  of  Thomas  Howes,  was  born  in  1829.  His  mother  was  Hul- 
^ah,  daughter  of  Seth  and  Ann  Allen.  Mr.  Howes  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  committee  twenty-four  years,  justice  of  the  peace 
sixteen  years,  commissioner  to  qualify  civil  officers  nine  years,  is  a 
trustee  of  the  Bass  River  Savings  Bank,  and  a  director  in  Barnstable 
■County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company.  He  was  married  in  1862, 
to  Esther  D.,  daughter  of  Shubael  Nickerson,  jr.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Phebe  D.  Mr.  Howes  has  been  deacon  of  West  Harwich 
Baptist  Church  for  nine  .years. 

Captain  Thomas  Prince  Howes  is  the  seventh  in  the  line  of  de- 
scent from  Thomas  Howes,  one  of  the  grantees  of  Old  Yarmouth,  in 
the  following  order:  Thomas';  Jeremiah',  his  youngest  son,  who  mar- 
ried Sarah,  daughter  of  Governor  Thomas  Prince;  Prince';  Lot';  Jere- 
miah', a  lieutenant  in  the  revolution,  afterward  justice  of  the  peace; 
Prince';  Thomas  Prince'.  He  was  bom  in  the  year  1817.  At  the  age 
of  thirteen  years  he  commenced  his  vocation  by  going  upon  summer 
voyages.  After  that  age  he  had  no  summer  schooling,  and  none  in 
winter  after  he  was  eighteen  years  old.  He  was  master  on  voyages 
to  the  West  Indies  in  1841  and  1842,  and  to  Europe  until  in  1850,  when 
he  commenced  upon  longer  voyages — and  in  years  succeeding  he  made 
many  long  voyages  in  the  California  and  East  India  trade,  retiring 
from  life  at  sea  in  1871. 

After  his  retirement,  his  services  were  sought  by  his  fellow-citizens 
in  the  civil  aflfairs  of  the  town.  He  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  school 
oommittee  of  Dennis  for  nine  successive  years,  in  six  of  which  he  oc- 
cupied the  position  of  superintendent  of  schools — the  third  incumbent 
of  that  office  in  the  town.  His  labors  to  advance  the  educational 
standard  of  the  schools  bore  good  fruit,  and  marked  improvement 
resulted  from  his  efforts.     He  was  elected  a  representative  from  the 


664  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Third  Barnstable  district — comprising  the  towns  of  Yarmouth  and 
Dennis— for  the  years  1878  and  1879,  and  took  an  active  and  intelli- 
gent part  in  the  debates  and  committee  work  of  that.  body.  Since 
1881  he  has  filled  the  position  of  pilot  commissioner  for  the  port  of 
Boston,  receiving  several  reappointments.  He  is  a  working  member 
of  the  Boston  Marine  Society,  and  is  in  frequent  request  in  its  busi- 
ness deliberations,  and  upon  all  its  social  and  festive  occasions. 

Captain  Howes  has  repaired  the  deficiencies  of  his  early  education 
by  reading,  study  and  observation.  There  are  very  few  men  engaged 
in  business  pursuits  who  have  a  better  knowledge  and  higher  appre- 
ciation than  he  of  the  best  literature  of  the  age;  and  he  has  traveled 
with  open  eyes,  receptive  mind,  and  habits  of  investigation  in  what- 
ever portion  of  the  world  his  voyages  have  carried  him. 

Captain  Howes  married  Deborah  Bassett,  of  Ashfield,  Mass.,  who 
died  in  1860.  He  has  two  sons:  Thomas  B.,  a  master  mariner  in  the 
East  India  trade,  and  William  C,  engaged  in  business  in  Florida;  and 
a  daughter,  Martha  P.,  wife  of  Richard  R.  Hefler,  of  Dennis. 

Captain  Howes  retains  his  homestead,  near  the  site  of  the  house  of 
the  original  Thomas  Howes,  and  upon  soil  that  has  never  been  alien- 
ated from  the  Howes  family  since  it  was  granted  to  the  first  of  the 
name  by  the  colony  court,  in  1639.  His  place  as  a  literary  man  is 
farther  noticed  by  Hon.  C.  F.  Swift,  at  page  256  of  this  work,  where 
his  portrait  appears. 

Captain  William  F.  Howes  was  bom  October  8, 1813.  He  was 
the  descendant  in  the  fourth  generation  of  David  Howes,  who  about 
1728  removed  from  Nobscusset,  now  North  Dennis,  to  Sesuet  Neck — 
in  the  common  vernacular  "  Suet  neck."  This  ancestor  David,  was  a 
son  of  Lieutenant  Jonathan  Howes,  whose  father  was  Captain  Thomas 
Howes,  who  several  times  led  the  Yarmouth  contingent  in  the  Narra- 
g^n?ett  war.  His  father  Thomas  Howes,  sr.,  was  one  of  the  original 
grantees  of  Yarmouth. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  one  of  five  sons  of  William  Howes, 
who  spent  his  later  years  cultivating  the  hereditary  acres.  These  five 
sons  all,  sooner  or  later,  took  to  the  sea.  William  F.  remained  longer 
on  shore,  working  on  the  farm  and  attending  school,  than  most  boys. 
In  fact  he  was  eighteen' before  he  left  home.  Once  commenced,  he 
followed  his  calling  closely.  His  home  was  literally  on  the  deep  for 
the  greater  part  of  his  sea  life.  He  was  an  active  and  eflBcient  seaman 
and  officer,  and  after  numerous  voyages,  and  passing  through  all  the 
grades  of  seamanship,  took  command  of  a  vessel  in  1840.  From  that 
time  on  to  his  retirement  in  1862  he  was  almost  constantly  at  sea  on 
distant  voyages  to  most  of  the  seaports  of  the  world.  It  is  worthy  of 
notice  that  in  eighteen  years  of  his  service  he  only  changed  ships 
once — sailing  nine  years  each  in  two  ships. 


^u^£H^t^  y-  /i^  i 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS. 


565 


On  retiring  from  the  sea  with  somewhat  enfeebled  health,  he  de- 
voted his  time  mainly  to  his  private  affairs,  but  he  was  interested  in 
all  matters  that  concerned  the  public  good.  He  was  an  earnest  pro- 
moter of  the  East  Dennis  library,  and  all  measures  for  social  improve- 
ment. He  was  a  person  of  somewhat  reserved  manners  and  taciturn- 
ity of  speech,  but  his  heart  was  sincere  and  kind,  and  his  hand  open 
when  his  judgment  approved.  He  had  a  high  character  as  shipmaster 
and  as  a  man  of  business,  and  his  firmness,  perseverence,  honesty  and 
integrity  were  worthy  of  his  sturdy  ancestry. 

Captain  Howes  was  married  December  31,  1838,  to  Captain  Parker 
Miller's  daughter,  Betsey  H.,  who  died  June  17,  1859.  On  the  second 
of  August,  1860,  he  married  Margarette  J.,  daughter  of  Stephen  Homer. 
Mr.  Homer,  born  in  1796,  received  a  christian  name  which  was  born 
by  his  paternal  ancestors  for  several  generations.  He  was  in  his  day 
a  leading  local  man,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  school  commissioner,  mas- 
ter mariner,  and  for  years  an  active  salt  maker  at  Quivet  neck,  where 
he  lived  and  died  in  the  house  where  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Howes,  was 
bom. 

Of  Captain  Howes'  seven  children,  two  died  in  infancy;  William 
F.,  jr.,  born  in  1844,  was  second  mate  in  a  merchant  ship,  and  died  in 
Calcutta,  May  30,  1865;  Benjamin  P.,  born  in  1849,  was  first  mate  on  a 
merchant  ship,  and  died  in  the  West  Indies,  in  1876,  and  was  buried 
at  sea;  his  twin  sister,  Hannah,  died  in  1872;  Stephen  M.,born  Decem- 
ber 31,  1852,  went  into  the  stove  business  in  1872,  at  Rockland,  Mass., 
and  seven  years  later,  at  Boston  in  a  wholesale  stove  business.  His 
children  are  William  F.,  Frank  M.  and  Evelyn  Howes.  The  only 
other  surviving  child  of  Captain  Howes  is  his  daughter.  Bertha,  born 
April  12,  1862,  who  with  her  widowed  mother,  resides  at  the  home- 
stead at  East  Dennis,  where  he  died  November  4, 1878. 

Captain  Levi  Howes,  the  eldest  of  the  four  brothers  of  Captain 
William  F.  Howes,  above  mentioned,  was  born  February  20, 1812,  and 
died  May  11,  1874.  He  was  the  oldest  of  the  five  sons,  all  of  whom 
retired  safely  after  a  seafaring  life.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  went  to 
sea,  first  serving  as  cook  on  a  packet  between  East  Dennis  and  Bos- 
ton, and  within  ten  years  he  was  himself  a  master  mariner.  His  career 
at  sea  was  somewhat  eventful.  At  the  age  of  twenty-eight  he  com- 
manded the  ship  Harold,  of  Boston,  on  a  voyage  from  Calcutta,  when 
the  vessel  was  burned,  barely  allowing  the  escape  of  the  crew  to  the 
boats.  After  several  successful  years  in  foreign  merchantmen,  he 
was  interested  with  Christopher  Hall  and  Prince  S.  Crowell  in  ships 
built  at  East  Dennis,  where,  in  1845,  he  erected  the  residence  now 
the  summer  home  of  his  widow.  The  financial  crisis  of  1857  having 
effectually  impeded  this  business,  he  again  went  to  sea  for  a  few  years, 
retiring  in  1865,  having  several  times  circumnavigated  the  globe. 


566  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Captain  Howes  was  a  well-known  shipmaster,  standing  high  in  his 
profession  as  a  practical  mariner,  while  as  a  business  man  he  was 
highly  respected  in  commercial  circles.  His  first  wife,  Myra,  daugh- 
ter of  Isaiah  and  Thankful  Howes,  died  in  1860,  leaving  a  son — Levi 
A.  Howes,  now  of  Woods  Holl.  The  captain  was  again  married, 
December  28,  1852,  to  Eliza  J.  Davis,  of  Chatham,  daughter  of  Samuel 
Davis,  whose  father  was  also  Samuel.  Her  mother  was  Jane  King, 
daughter  of  Roger  King,  of  Brewster.  The  three  children  by  the 
second  marriage,  are:  Austin  P.,  who  married  Mollie  Cook,  and  is  a 
lumber  and  grain  dealer  at  Blair,  Neb.;  Myra  E.,  who  married  Nathan 
C.  Sears,  and  resides  at  Wisner,  Neb.,  and  Helen  L.,  who  married 
Zebina  K.  Doane,  and  resides  at  Blair,  Neb. 

Captain  Howes  in  his  lifetime  was  deeply  interested  in  the 
advancement  of  the  schools  of  his  town,  to  which  he  gave  several 
years  of  his  personal  attention.  He  was  characterized  by  his  strong 
will,  industry  and  conservative  business  habits,  which  assured  his 
success  in  all  undertakings  on  land  and  sea.  His  ability  made  him 
conspicuous  for  the  oflBcial  positions  within  the  gift  of  his  townsmen, 
but  he  declined  all  such  honors,  save  the  few  years  he  was  superin- 
tendent of  their  schools.  The  social  relations  of  life  and  the  scatter- 
ing of  blessings  in  the  paths  of  others  pleased  him  best. 

Thomas  S.  Howes,  2d,'' born  in  1852,  is  descended  from  John',  John*, 
Edmund',  Amos',  Amos',  Joseph',  Thomas  Howes'.  His  mother  was 
Sabra  Sears.  Mr.  Howes  is  a  cranberry  grower.  He  was  married  in 
1886,  to  Annette,  daughter  of  Freeman  G.  Hall.  They  have  two 
daughters:    Annette  S.  and  Elsie  G. 

Ebenezer  B.  Joy,  eldest  son  of  Ebenezer  B.  and  Rhoda  Joy,  and 
grandson  of  John  Joy,  was  born  in  1833.  Mr.  Joy  is  a  seafaring  man. 
He  was  married  in  1856,  to  Melissa  D.,  daughter  of  Enos  Rogers,  of 
Harwich.  Their  children  are:  Allen  B.,  Lulie  E.,  E.  Lincoln  (died 
February,  19,  1890,  aged  Iwenty-two  years,)  Enos  Rogers  and  Wini- 
fred Mary.  Mr.  Joy  has  been  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  West 
Harwich  Baptist  Society  for  thirteen  years. 

Charles  G.  Kelley  was  born  in  1823,  in  North  Harwich,  and  died 
October  31,  1889.  He  was  a  son  of  Isaac,  grandson  of  Anthony,  and 
great-grandson  of  Ebenezer  Kelley.  His  mother  was  Hannah,  daugh- 
ter of  Theophilus  Burgess.  Mr.  Kelley  first  went  to  sea  at  the  age  of 
twelve,  and  at  twenty-two  took  charge  of  a  vessel.  He  was  a  member 
of  Mount  Horeb  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  He  was  married  in  1845, 
to  Chloe,  daughter  of  Peter  Coleman.  They  have  had  two  children: 
Charles  H.  and  Flora  B.     The  latter  is  deceased. 

Elihu  Kelley  was  born  in  1817.  He  is  a  son  of  Elihu  and  grand- 
son of  Elihu,  whose  father  was  Eleazar  Kelley,  who  was  a  large  land 
owner  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  town  of  Dennis.     His  mother 


(\ZiyT^-^    .J^^^-^-T^ti^ 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  567 

was  Betsey,  daughter  of  Jabez  Howes.  Mr.  Kelley  was  a  seafaring 
man  from  the  age  of  thirteen  until  1882,  and  was  master  of  vessels 
forty  years.  He  was  married  in  1840,  to  Anna  C,  daughter  of  Gideon 
Crowell.  They  have  four  children:  Gideon  C,  Ruth  A.  (Mrs.  I.  N. 
Baker),  Faustina  H.  (Mrs.  R.  P.  Kelley)  and  Ada  A.  (Mrs.  George  A. 
Nickerson). 

Fernandes  G.  Kelley,  son  of  Isaiah  and  grandson  of  Patrick  Kelley, 
was  born  in  1821.  His  mother  was  Sally,  daughter  of  James  Downs. 
Mr.  Kelley  began  going  to  sea  at  fifteen  years  of  age  and  from  1843 
to  1887  was  captain.  He  was  married  in  1843,  to  Susan,  daughter  of 
David  Howes.  They  have  four  daughters:  Ellen,  Susan  H.,  Adelia 
C.  and  Lura  M.  Mr.  Kelley  is  a  member  of  the  West  Harwich  Bap- 
tist church. 

Howard  Kelley,  son  of  Ahirah,  and  grandson  of  Amos  Kelley, 
was  born. in  1850  and  is  a  seafaring  man.  He  has  been  master  of  a 
schooner  since  1884.  He  was  married  in  1876,  to  Amelia  L.,  daughter 
of  Richard  Nickerson.  They  have  three  children:  Celia  D.,  Obed  B. 
and  Irving  W. 

James  Kelley,  the  only  surviving  child  of  Samuel  E .  and  Eliza 
(Covil)  Kelley,  grandson  of  Ebenezer,  and  great-grandson  of  Oliver 
Kelley,  was  born  in  1837.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  began  going  to 
sea  and  since  1860  has  been  master  of  coasting  and  foreign  vessels, 
and  is  now  a  member  of  the  Boston  Marine  Society.  His  first  wife, 
Mary  H.  Kelley,  died,  leaving  one  son,  Edwin  T.  The  present  Mrs. 
James  Kelley,  is  Mary  L.,  daughter  of  Sears  Howes.  They  have 
three  daughters:     Lizzie  M.,  Sarah  T.  and  Mary  H. 

Jonathan  E.  Kelley,  son  of  Jonathan,  grandson  of  Nehemiah,  and 
great-grandson  of  Joseph  Kelley,  was  born  in  1849.  His  mother  was 
Tabitha  Hawes.  Mr.  Kelley  has  followed  the  sea  since  he  was  twelve 
years  old,  as  master  since  1877,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Boston  Marine 
Society.  He  was  married  in  1872,  to  Eliza,  daughter  of  Sylvester 
Baker.     They  have  two  children:  Thacher  T.  and  Almena. 

Joseph  B.  Kelley,  born  in  1819,  is  the  only  surviving  child  of  Asa 
and  grandson  of  Jeremiah  Kelley.  His  mother  was  Hannah,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  Kelley.  Mr.  Kelley  began  going  to  sea  at  the  age  of 
nine  years,  and  from  twenty-two  years  of  age  until  1878,  went  as  cap- 
tain. He  was  married  in  1840,  to  Abigail  Howes.  They  have  six 
children:  Leander,  Esther  H.,  Abbie,  Joseph  H.,  Isaac  R.  and  Albert 
C.     Mr.  Kelley  is  a  member  of  the  West  Harwich  Baptist  church. 

Nathan  Kelley,  born  in  1815,  is  a  son  of  Bangs  and  grandson  of 
David  Kelley.  His  mother  was  Priscilla  Small.  Beginning  at  nine 
years  of  age,  Mr.  Kelley  followed  the  sea  until  1882,  and  was  master 
thirty-five  years.  He  was  married  in  1837,  to  Mebitabel  Gage.  They 
have  two  children  living:  Nathan  B.  and  Phebe — and  have  lost  two. 


568  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Otis  E.  Kelley,  born  in  1855,  is  the  youngest  son  of  John  and 
Eliza  Ann  (Kelley)  Hawes.  Mr.  Kelley 's  father  died  when  he  was 
a  small  boy  and  he  was  adopted  by  his  mother's  brother,  Ebenezer 
Kelley,  son  of  David  Kelley,  and  his  name  was  changed  from  Hawes 
to  Kelley.  He  was  married  in  1879,  to  Lydia,  daughter  of  Sears 
Howes.     They  have  two  children:  Otis  E.,  jr.  and  Athelia  L. 

Royal  P.  Kelley,  born  in  1848  in  Harwich,  is  a  twin  son  of  Nehe- 
miah  D.,  jr.,  and  Mary  (Doane)  Kelley,  and  a  descendant  of  Jeremiah 
Kelley,  who  was  the  first  one  of  the  name  that  settled  on  the  Cape. 
Mr.  Kelley  has  been  engaged  in  the  meat  business  at  Dennis  Port 
since  1875.  Prior  to  that  he  was  a  sailmaker  with  his  father.  He 
was  married  in  1873,  to  Faustina  H.,  daughter  of  Elihu  Kelley.  They 
have  two  children:  Sarah  H.  and  Inez  M.  Mr.  Kelley  is  a  member  of 
the  West  Harwich  Baptist  church. 

Stillman  Kelley. — This  venerable  gentleman,  now  a  resident  of 
East  Dennis,  is  a  descendant  in  the  third  generation  from  Patrick 
Kelley,  who  had  a  son  of  the  same  name,  both  residents  of  Harwich 
in  the  last  century.  Oliver,  the  next  in  the  male  line  of  this  branch 
of  the  family,  was  born  December  31,  1795,  and  married  Priscilla 
Chase,  born  November  28,  1796.  Of  their  seven  children  four  sur- 
vive: Stillman,  the  subject  of  this  sketch;  Lorenzo,  Priscilla  and  Mary 
A.  Of  these,  Lorenzo,  born  January  9,  1820,  married  Fanny  Small, 
of  Brewster,  and  resides  at  Harwich;  Priscilla,  born  December  15, 
1822,  married  Zebina  S.  Doane,  a  ship  broker  in  Boston;  and  Mary  A., 
born  February  17,  1834,  married  Anthony  Megathlin,  a  mariner  of 
Harwich. 

Stillman  Kelley  was  born  February  16,  1816,  went  to  sea  at  twelve 
years  of  age,  coasting  and  fishing  until  1840,  and  subsequently  for 
nine  years  was  captain  of  a  packet  from  East  Dennis  to  Boston.  In 
1849  he  engaged  in  a  fishing  and  mercantile  business,  as  given  in  the 
East  Dennis  history.  On  December  22, 1836,  he  married  Olive  Howes 
Sears,  daughter  of  Heman  and  Abigail  Sears.  She  spent,  years  in 
originating  and  perfecting  the  Sears  family  tree.  She  was  born  De- 
cember 29,  1818,  and  at  her  death,  February  1,  1879,  left  ten  children: 
Heman  Sears,  born  October  26,  1837;  Olive  Frances,  July  18,  1840; 
Abbie  Sears,  September  18,  1842;  Hannah  Salisbury,  February  13, 
1844;  Ellen  Maria,  January  27,  1846;  Fannie  Lavinia,  April  19,  1848; 
Stillman  Francis,  February  28,  1851;  Zebina  Doane,  November  17, 
1852;  Elsie  Mary,  March  17,  1857;  and  Carrie  Walton,  born  April  29, 
1860. 

Of  this  large  family,  all  of  whom  survive,  only  two — Fannie  and 
Carrie — remain  at  the  homestead  with  the  father.  Heman  married 
Lucy  H.  Nickerson,  and  has  two  sons:  Braddock  N.  and  Heman  J. 
Olive  married,  in   1869,  Jacob  Sears'  (Daniel',  Jacob',  Edmund',  Ed- 


Cd^-^y^!^^ 


TOWN  OF   DENNIS.  569 

mund*,  Paul',  Paul',  Richard').  He  was  a  prominent  dealer  in  fish  and 
cranberries  until  his  death  in  1871.  Abbie  married  Abner  Hopkins, 
and  has  one  son,  Ralph  E.  Hannah  married  David  Shiverick,  jr.,  and 
has  three  children:  George  W.,  Sarah  S.  and  Olive  A.  Ellen  married 
George  W.  Green,  and  has  two  children:  Frances  M.  and  Frank  A. 
Stillman  F.,  in  the  fall  of  1875,  married  Chloe  C,  daughter  of  Nathan 
Sears,  and  has  two  sons:  Stillman  R.  and  Edmund  S.  Zebina  married 
Hannah  C.  Sears,  and  has  one  daughter,  Edith  H.  Elsie  married 
Charles  W.  Robinson,  and  has  two  children:    Philip  H.  and  Grace  S. 

Thus  Mr.  Kelley  finds  himself,  at  the  end  of  man's  allotted  time, 
surrounded  by  children  and  grandchildren  in  homes  of  their  own. 
He  has  been  identified  with  the  social,  civil  and  religious  interests  of 
East  Dennis  for  forty  years,  and  has  been  an  important  factor.  Al- 
though a  thorough  republican  in  politics,  he  never  would  accept  any 
civil  oflBce.  Since  1858  he  has  been  clerk  of  the  religious  society  of 
the  village,  and  is  ever  ready  to  assist  in  building  up  and  sustaining 
schools,  churches  and  libraries  for  the  advancement  of  the  commu- 
nity. He  was  formerly  energetic  in  establishing  the  common  schools 
on  their  present  good  basis,  and  is  a  leading  spirit  in  all  good  works 
of  the  present  day.  In  accordance  with  his  broad  and  liberal  views,  he 
has  educated  his  own  children  for  usefulness,  fitting  the  daughters 
for  teachers  of  music  and  public  schools,  and  the  sons  for  thorough 
business  men. 

While  all  are  well  settled,  the  second  son,  Stillman  F.,  has  attained 
to  the  greatest  business  success,  having  made  a  large  property  in  the 
firm  of  I.  O.  Whiting  &  Co.,  the  largest  importers  of  grocery  molasses 
in  this  country.  His  residence  at  Cambridge  is  one  of  the  finest  in 
the  suburbs  of  Boston. 

Wilbur  K.  Kelley,  born  in  1848,  is  a  son  of  Samuel,  grandson  of 
Asa,  and  great-grandson  of  Jeremiah  Kelley.  His  mother  was  Lavina, 
daughter  of  Wilbur  Kelley.  Mr.  Kelley  has  been  several  years  in  the 
mercantile  trade,  and  since  1886,  he  has  kept  a  livery  stable  at  Dennis 
Port.  He  was  married  in  1886  to  Mrs.  Hannah  S.  Moody,  daughter 
of  Amos  R.  Wixon.  They  have  one  son,  Wilbur  S.  Mrs.  Kelley  had 
two  children  by  her  former  marriage:  Myra  A.  and  Rowena  B. 
Moody. 

Michael  Kerien,  son  of  James  and  grandson  of  George  Kerien,  was 
born  in  Liverpool,  England,  and  came  to  this  country  and  settled  in 
Dennis  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years.  He  was  married  to  Esther  H., 
daughter  of  Joseph  B.  Kelley.  They  have  six  children:  Everett  C, 
Mena  K.,  Samuel  B.,  Ella  B.,  James  H.  and  Essid  M.  Everett  C.  has 
carried  on  a  grocery  store  at  Dennis  Port  since  1881. 

Mrs.  Mercie  K.  Kinyon,  is  a  daughter  of  Zadok  Crowell,  grand- 
daughter of  Isaac  and  Lydia  Crowell,   and   great-granddaughter  of 


570  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Jonathan  and  Phebe  Crowell.  Her  father  was  postmaster  at  West 
Dennis  eleven  years.  She  was  first  married  to  Calvin  Baker.  He 
died  in  1861,  and  she  married  in  September,  1881,  Stephen  A.  Kinyon, 
grandson  of  Isaiah  and  Priscilla  Crowell.  He  died  in  February, 
1888,  aged  sixty-six  years.  He  was  a  son  of  Stephen  C.  and  Betsey 
Kinyon. 

Captain  Hiram  Loring. — This  well  known  citizen  of  West  Dennis 
traces  his  lineage  to  David  Loring,  an  early  settler  in  Barnstable, 
where  his  son  David  was  born  and  lived.  John,  son  of  the  latter,  was 
also  born  in  Barnstable,  and  subsequently  removed  to  Yarmouth, 
where  he  married  Sarah  Hawes.  After  her  death  he  married  Eliza- 
beth Coffin  of  Nantucket.  Of  the  eight  children  born  of  this  second 
marriage,  only  three  survive:  Hiram,  George  H.  and  William  D. 

Hiram  Loring  was  born  December  25,  1821,  in  the  north  part  of 
Yarmouth.  The  common  schools  of  the  day  afforded  him  only  a  lim- 
ited education,  and  this  was  early  interrupted  by  his  going  to  sea  at 
the  age  of  ten.  From  the  lowest  position  to  the  highest  he  steadily 
advanced  with  the  years,  until  at  twenty-two  he  was  a  ma.ster  mariner, 
in  which  capacity  he  served  until  1861 — a  score  of  years.  In  his  last 
voyage  he  well  remembers  the  stirring  news  of  the  bombardment  of 
Sumter,  which  occurred  while  his  vessel  was  at  anchor  in  Bass  River 
harbor. 

In  November,  1844,  he  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Freeman  and 
Sarah  Crowell  of  West  Dennis.  Of  their  two  children,  the  elder, 
Sarah  K.,  married  Joseph  G.  Small  of  South  Dennis,  and  they  have 
two  children — Joseph  L.  and  Lizzie  L.  Of  these,  Joseph  L.  Small  mar- 
ried, in  October,  1889,  Beccie  Eldredge  of  South  Harwich,  and  Lizzie 
L.  is  at  home  with  her  parents.  Hiram  D.  Loring,  the  younger,  born 
1850,  was  married  in  1873  to  Abbie  A.,  daughter  of  William  P.  Davis 
of  Yarmouth  Port.  Their  children  are:  Bessie  F.,  H.  Clinton,  Willie 
P.  D.  and  Edith  R.  These  children  are  at  the  home  of  their  father, 
who  has  been  a  prominent  merchant  at  West  Dennis  since  1872,  has 
been  postmaster  four  years,  and  secretary  of  the  Bass  River  Savings 
Bank  since  1883. 

As  soon  as  Captain  Loring  had  retired  from  the  sea  he  established, 
on  the  west  side  of  Bass  river,  a  wholesale  business  in  coal,  flour  and 
corn,  under  the  firm  name  of  H.  Loring  &  Co.,  which  was  continued 
twenty-three  j'ears,  when  he  sold  to  Captain  Fuller,  and  the  firm  was 
changed  to  Loring  Fuller  &  Co.  His  republican  proclivities  and  rare 
qualifications  rendered  him  prominent  for  official  positions,  and  he 
consented  to  hold  the  office  of  selectman;  but  preferring  the  social 
and  business  relations  of  life,  he  declined  further  reelection  after  a 
service  of  two  years.  He  has  been  largely  interested  m  the  Marine 
Insurance  Company  as  one  of  its  managing  officers,  and  is  now  presi- 


^^^y^"*^ 


•JIIMT 
eiEflSTADT 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  571 

dent  of  the  Bass  River  Savings  Bank.      His  other  business  relations 
are  noticed  in  the  history  of  South  Yarmouth. 

Captain  Loring  is  a  thorough  and  energetic  business  man,  and  not- 
withstanding the  consequent  cares,  he  finds  time  to  advance  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Methodist  church  and  other  social  enterprises  of  his  com- 
munity. His  success  and  liberality  induce  those  requiring  advice  and 
assistance  to  appeal  to  him,  and  justice  is  meted  out  to  all.  His 
word  and  bond  are  synonymous,  and  when  given  bear  the  ring  of 
worth  to  their  full  value,  and  although  in  the  evening  of  his  allotted 
years  his  light  and  activity  are  the  sustaining  elements  in  many  prin- 
cipal enterprises. 

David  Matthews,  born  in  1819,  is  a  son  of  Jonathan,  grandson  of 
Jonathan,  and  great-grandson  of  David  Matthews.  Mr.  Matthews 
has  been  a  house  carpenter  since  he  was  sixteen  years  old.  He  was 
married  in  1844,  to  Susan  B.,  daughter  of  James  Taylor,  whose  father, 
Samuel,  was  a  son  of  Hezekiah  Taylor.  They  have  four  children: 
Eldora,  born  1848;  Jonathan,  born  1850;  Lucie  T.,  born  1853;  and 
David  L.,  born  1859. 

Edmund  Matthews,  born  in  1830,  in  Yarmouth,  is  a  son  of  Ed- 
mund and  grandson  of  Ezekiel  Matthews.  His  mother  was  Rebecca 
■  Crowell.  Mr.  Matthews  is  an  architect  and  builder.  Since  1885  he 
has  been  in  the  store  at  Dennis  with  his  son,  and  is  assistant  post 
master.  He  was  married  in  1853,  to  Priscilla,  daughter  of  Moses 
Howes.  They  have  two  children:  E.  Clarence,  a  merchant  and  post- 
master at  Dennis;  and  Jeannette  H.,  wife  of  Robert  O.  Robinson. 

Nathaniel-  Myrick,  youngest  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Anna  (Howes) 
Myrick,  was  born  in  East  Dennis  in  1822.  He  was  married  in  Au- 
gust, 1888,  to  Hannah  L.,  widow  of  the  late  Seth  Crowell,  jr.  He  died 
in  1861,  leaving  one  daughter:  Hannah  H.  His  father,  Seth  Crowell, 
died  in  1873.  Mrs.  Myrick  is  a  daughter  of  Asa  P.  and  Hannah  L. 
(Newcomb)  Arey,  granddaughter  of  Reuben,  and  great-granddaugh- 
ter of  Reuben  Arey.  Mr.  Myrick  had  previously  been  twice  married. 
He  has  one  son,  Edwin  H.,  born  in  Spencer,  Mass.,  in  1850. 

Josiah  Megathlin  was  bom  in  1822,  in  Harwich.  He  is  a  son  of 
John  Megathlin,  who  came  to  this  country  from  England  when  eight 
years  old.  Mr.  Megathlin's  mother  was  Mehitabel  Studley.  He  be- 
gan going  to  sea  at  the  age  of  ten,  and  since  1857  has  been  master.  He 
was  married  in  1844,  to  Hannah  B.,  daughter  of  James  Whittemore. 
Of  their  eight  children  three  are  living:  Josiah  P.,  Louisa  B.  and 
John. 

James  K.  Nickerson,  son  of  William,  and  grandson  of  Isaac  Nick- 
erson,  was  born  in  1837.  His  mother  was  Hannah,  daughter  of  James 
Kelley.     Mr.  Nickerson  is  a  seafaring  man.     He  was  married  in  1859, 


572  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

to    Bathia,  daughter  of  Zelotes  Wixon.    Their  children  are:  Dama  K., 
Lucy  W.,  Etta  S.,  James  R.,  Zelotes  B.  (deceased),  and  "William  F. 

Miller  Thacher  Thayer  Nickerson,  is  a  son  of  Miller  W.,  who  is 
the  eldest  of  twelve  children  of  Eleazar,  whose  father,  Eleazar,  was 
a  son  of  Eleazar,  and  grandson  of  John  Nickerson.  His  mother  was 
Almira,  daughter  of  Elijah  Chase.  Mr.  Nickerson  is  one  of  eight 
children,  four  of  whom  are  living.  He  spent  several  years  in  the 
West  and  was  for  eleven  years  a  merchant  at  Avon,  111.  He  returned 
to  Dennis  in  1876,  where  he  has  since  been  a  gardener  and  fisherman. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  school  committee  for  six  years.  He  was 
married  in  1866,  to  Sarah  L.  Davis,  of  Illinois.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren: Fanny  D.,  Clarence  M.  and  Morris  T. 

Nathan  G.  Nickerson,  born  in  1865,  is  a  son  of  Gorham,  grandson- 
of  Levi  and  great-grandson  of  Eleazar  Nickerson.  His  mother  was  Data 
Hall.  His  father,  Gorham  Nickerson,  was  a  sea  captain  for  many 
years.  He  died  in  October,  1884.  Mr.  Nickerson  went  to  Boston  in 
1871,  where  he  has  been  engaged  in  business  since  that  time.  He  is 
now  one  of  the  firm  of  Dyer,  Rice  &  Co.  He  was  married  in  1875,  to 
Rosie  B.  Hallett.  Their  two  children  are :  Nathan  G.,  jr.  and 
Marion  H. 

Southworth  H.  Nye  was  born  in  Sandwich,  in  1848.  He  is  a  son 
of  Heman  and  Tabitha  (Fuller)  Nye,  grandson  of  Heman,  and  great- 
grandson  of  Joseph,  whose  father  was  Joseph  Nye.  Mr.  Nye  came 
to  Dennis  in  1867,  and  a  few  years  later  he  bought  the  meat  business 
which  he  has  carried  on  at  Dennis  since  that  time.  He  was  married 
in  1874,  to  Anna  W.,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Howes.  They  have  had 
five  children:  Hannah  M.,  Georgetta,  Heman  Willis,  Laura  S.,  and 
Ruth  W.,  who  is  deceased. 

Miss  Mary  C.  Paddock  is  a  daughter  of  Judah  and  Mary  C.  (Cro- 
well)  Paddock,  and  granddaughter  of  Judah  and  Bethiah  (Gray)  Pad- 
dock. Her  father,  Judah  Paddock,  was  born  in  1790,  and  died  in  1855. 
He  went  to  sea  in  his  early  life,  and  for  several  years  prior  to  his 
death  he  was  engaged  in  salt  making  at  East  Dennis.  He  had  eight 
children,  only  two  of  whom  are  living:  Nathan  C.  and  Mary  C. 

Samuel  Paddock,  born  in  1811,  died  in  April,  1888,  was  a  son  of 
Eben,  grandson  of  Samuel,  and  great  grandson  of  Judah  Paddock. 
His  mother  was  Hannah  H.,  daughter  of  Enoch  Hall.  Mr.  Paddock 
was  one  of  six  children,  of  whom  only  two  survive — one  sister  and 
Stephen  H.,  who  lived  on  the  father's  homestead  with  his  brother 
Samuel,  and  together  they  were  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  aud 
salt  making.  Mr.  Paddock  was  married  to  Huldah  H.,  daughter  of 
Aaron  Crowell.  They  had  three  children:  two  who  died  in  infancy 
and  Hannah  H.,  who  now  lives  with  her  mother  and  uncle  on  the 


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TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  573 

homestead.     Near  this  homestead  is  the  Paddock  family  cemetery. 
Some  of  the  headstones  bear  date  of  1707. 

Samuel  A.  Peak,  son  of  John  Peak— who  kept  the  Point  Gammon 
•  lighthouse  for  thirty-six  years  prior  to  its  being  discontinued — was 
born  in  1839.  He  went  to  sea  from  1852  to  1880,  the  last  fifteen  years 
as  captain.  He  was  assistant  keeper  at  the  Bishop  light  from  1880  to 
1881,  and  has  since  been  in  charge  of  the  Bass  River  light.  He  was 
married  in  1859,  to  Mary  L.,  daughter  of  Thomas  Sherman.  They 
have  one  son,  Thomas  S. 

Mrs.  Helen  J.  Robinson  is  the  widow  of  Robert  J.  Robinson,  who 
was  a  tderchant  at  St.  Croix,  W.  I.,  where  he  died  in  1881.  Mrs. 
Robinson  came  to  Dennis  in  1885,  and  fitted  up  a  small  residence  near 
Scargo  lake.  Her  only  son,  Robert  O.,  was  married  in  1887,  to 
Jeannette  Howes  Matthews,  and  has  built  a  cottage  near  his  mother's, 
where  he  resides. 

Nathan  F.  Rogers,  born  in  Orleans,  in  1832,  is  the  eldest  son  of 
Nathan  and  Sarah  Rogers,  and  grandson  of  Mulford  Rogers.  He 
first  went  to  sea  at  the  age  of  eleven  years,  and  has  been  master  mar- 
iner since  twenty  years  of  age,  with  the  exception  of  one  year,  when 
he  was  in  business  in  Connecticut.  He  was  married  first  to  Susan 
Taylor,  in  1856.  She  died  in  1865,  and  he  married  Sarah  A.  Baker, 
who  died  in  1881.  His  present  wife,  Jessie  H.,  is  a  daughter  of  James 
Raybold.  They  have  two  daughters:  Nettie  R.  and  Jessie  F.  Mr. 
Rogers  is  a  member  of  Sylvester  Baxter  Chapter,  R.  A.  M. 

Benjamin  Parker  Sears,  born  in  1826,  is  a  son  of  Edward  Sears, 
who  was  born  in  Dennis  in  1780,  married  in  1804,  and  died  in  1858. 
He  had  eight  sons  and  one  daughter,  of  whom  Dea.  Benjamin  P.,  of 
Dennis  Port,  is  the  only  survivor.  The  mother  of  the  latter  was 
Abagail,  daughter  of  Shubael  and  Rebecca  (Chace)  Baker.  She  was 
born  in  1783  and  died  in  1853.  Her  mother,  Rebecca,  was  descended 
from  Richard  Chace',  Thomas*,  John',  William' and  William  Chace', 
who  came  from  England  in  1630  and  to  Dennis  in  1637.  Dea.  Benja- 
min P.  Sears  was  married  in  1851,  to  Olive,  daughter  of  Bangs  Kelley. 
They  have  four  children  living:  Benjamin  A.,  bom  in  1854,  in  busi- 
ness in  Boston;  Laura  B.,  born  in  1856,  married  to  Horatio  B.  Baker; 
Roger  W.,  born  in  1858,  married  to  Sadie  F.  Hall,  and  lives  in  Boston, 
and  Emery  W.,  born  in  1861.  Deacon  Sears  followed  the  sea  until 
1869,  and  from  that  time  till  1886  was  captain  and  agent  of  a  tug 
boat  at  Boston.  He  is  a  member  of  Mount  Horeb  Lodge  and  presi- 
dent of  the  West  Harwich  and  Dennis  Port  Republican  Club. 

Captain  Joshua  Sears,  deceased,  was  born  June  10, 1817,  at  East 
Dennis,  and  was  th^  last  representative  in  his  generation  of  that  ex- 
tensive family  name.  He  was  eighth  in  the  male  lineage;  Richard', 
Paul',  Paul',  Edmund*,  Edmund*,  Joshua',  Ezra',  his  father,  who  had 


674  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

five  sons,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  biography  was  the  eldest.  At 
ten  years  of  age  he  chose  the  profession  in  which  in  after  life  he  so 
greatly  excelled.  He  was  mate  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  and  at 
thirty,  in  1847,  was  in  command  of  the  Burmah — his  first  ship.  His 
ambition  was  to  command  the  best  ships,  and  his  scrupulous  neatness 
on  board,  and  conscientious  preservation  of  any  property  entrusted  to 
his  care,  enabled  him  to  choose  his  vessels.  He  was  engaged  entirely 
in  foreign  voyages,  visiting  the  East  Indies  nineteen  times,  and  often 
touching  at  China  and  the  Sandwich  islands.  His  experience  of 
nearly  forty  years  on  the  sea  was  more  extensive  and  responsible  in 
its  nature  than  most  of  his  contemporaries.  His  many  long' voyages 
had  dangers,  but  his  careful  command  insured  crew,  ship,  and  cargo 
against  accident  and  loss. 

He  was  married  June  11,  1840,  to  Minerva,  daughter  of  William 
and  Sally  (Small)  Handren,  of  Harwich.  She  accompanied  the  captain 
on  four  long  voyages,  the  last  being  in  the  Wild  Hunter,  and  around 
the  world.  He  left  the  sea  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion  retiring  to 
his  pleasant  home  in  East  Dennis,  where  he  died  March  22,  1886. 
His  wife  and  an  adopted  daughter,  Mrs.  E.  D.  Crowell,  survive  him. 
He  was  much  beloved  by  the  entire  community  for  his  genial,  uni- 
formly kind  and  upright  character,  and  by  the  ship  owners  and  the 
commercial  world  for  his  firm,  just  and  reliable  dealings.  His  recoid 
is  one  of  honor,  of  honest  labor  and  well-done  duties.  He  was  not 
only  a  model  as  a  seaman  and  officer,  but  in  preserving  old  friend- 
ships and  in  making  others  happy  by  kind  and  generous  deeds. 

Nathan  Sears. — The  lineage  of  this  citizen  is  direct  from  the  first 
of  that  family  name  who  came  to  the  town.  The  male  line  is:  Rich- 
ard', Paul",  Paul",  Edmuiid*,  Edmund',  Edmund*  and  Nathan'.  Ed- 
mund  Sears,  father  of  Nathan,  married  Betsey  Crowell,  one  of  the 
descendants  of  the  grantee  of  1639.  Of  their  six  children  only  two 
survive:  Nathan,  of  East  Dennis,  the  subject  of  this  biography;  and 
Hannah,  who  married  Joshua  G.  Sears,  and  resides  at  Shelburne 
Falls,  Mass. 

Nathan,  the  third  child,  was  born  August  30,  1821,  in  the  old  fam- 
ily homestead,  still  standing,  which  was  built  by  his  grandfather  in 
the  last  century,  and  which  is  now  the  home  of  Henry  H.  Sears,  the 
great-grandson  of  the  builder.  The  common  school  and  the  old  acad- 
emy at  East  Dennis  furnished  the  means  of  education  for  Nathan 
Sears  until  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  when  he  went  to  sea  as 
cook.  He  served  in  various  capacities  in  coasting  and  foreign  voy-, 
ages  until  1852,  when  he  retired.  The  same  year  he  went  into  the 
fishing  and  mercantile  business  as  one  of  the  firm  of  Kelley,  Sears.& 
Co.,  until  1875,  when  he  as.sumed  the  care  of  his  farm. 

He  was  married  July  4,  1844,  to  Sarah  C.  Howes,  daughter  of  Isaiah 


/  -' 


^^V.'/%  t*v.<--  /  ^.^,-^ 


TOWN  OF  DENNIS.  576 

Howes,  one  of  the  descendants  of  the  first  Thomas  Howes.  Of  their 
eight  children,  the  five  survivors — each  married  and  well  settled  in 
life— are:    Henry  H.,  Myra  H.,  Chloe  C,  Nathan  C.  and  Seth  Sears. 

Henry  H.  Sears,  bom  July  17,  1845,  was  married  February  17, 
1870,  to  Mary  C.  Homer.  They  have  two  children:  Harry  E.,  born 
October  26,  1871;  and  Joseph  H.,  born  April  6,  1873.  Henry  H.  was 
elected  in  1889  to  his  third  term  as  selectman,  and  is  chairman  of  the 
board.  He  was  nine  years  a  member  of  the  school  board,  and  for 
years  has  been  a  merchant  at  East  Dennis.  Myra  H.,  born  February 
24, 1851,  married  Dr.  R.  F.  Graham,  and  resides  in  Greeley,  Col.  Chloe 
C,  born  August  17,  1853,  married  Stillman  F.  Kelley,  October  13,1875, 
and  lives  at  North  Cambridge,  Mass.  Their  children  are:  Stillman 
R.,  born  December  17,  1878,  and  Edmund  Sears  Kelley,  born  Decem- 
ber'16,  1886.  Nathan  C,  bom  January  17,  1866,  married  Myra  E. 
Howes,  and  resides  in  Wisner,  Neb.  Their  child  is  Nathan  H.  Sears. 
Seth  Sears,  born  August  19,1860,  married  Francis  B.  Winslow,  and 
is  a  teacher  in  Charlestown,  Mass. 

Mrs.  Nathan  Sears,  mother  of  the  eight  children  mentioned,  died 
November  6,  1883.  Mr.  Sears  married,  September  24,  1885,  Julia  F. 
Long,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  and  Jerusha  (Sears)  Long.  Jerusha  was 
a  daughter  of  Levi  Sears,  a  descendant  of  Silas  in  another  line  from 
Richard.  Mr.  Sears  resides  in  his  beautiful  home,  erected  in  1848,  at 
East  Dennis,  within  a  stone's  cast  of  the  house  in  which  he,  as  well  as 
his  father,  was  born.  He  has  found  his  time  fully  occupied  with  his 
varied  business  interests,  and  has  therefore  avoided  the  busy  arena 
of  politics.  A  republican  in  his  convictions,  he  has  filled  no  ofl&ces 
other  than  such  comparatively  unimportant  ones  as  pertain  to  his  im- 
mediate locality.  He  renders  material  aid  to  theWesleyan  Methodist 
church,  and  is  open-handed  in  all  public  enterprises.  In  the  evening 
of  an  industrious  and  varied  life  he  enjoys  a  competency  amid  the 
scenes  of  his  childhood,  in  the  confidence  of  all  who  know  him. 

Paul  F.  Sears,  bom  in  1846,  is  the  youngest  of  six  children  of  Dean, 
and  grandson  of  Paul  Sears.  His  mother  was  Rosanna,  daughter  of 
Reuben  Sears.  Mr.  Sears  was  a  farmer  until  1876.  Since  that  time 
he  has  been  a  merchant  at  East  Dennis,  in  the  firm  of  H.  H.  Sears  & 
Co.  He  was  married  in  1867,  to  Bessie  O.,  daughter  of  Barzillai  Sears. 
They  have  one  daughter,  Mabel  B. 

David  Shiverick  was  born  in  1843.  His  father,  David  Shiverick 
(bom  in  1812,  died  in  1889),  was  a  ship  builder  at  East  Dennis,  with 
his  brother,  Asa  Shiverick,  of  Falmouth.  Mr.  Shiverick  was  a  ship 
carpenter  about  ten  years,  and  since  that  time  has  been  a  farmer.  He 
was  married  in  1867,  to  Hannah  S.,  daughter  of  Stillman  Kelley. 
They  have  three  children  living:  George  W.,  Sarah  S.  and  Olive  A. 
One  child  died  in  infancy. 


576  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Alvan  Small,  who  was  bom  in  1811,  and  died  in  January,  1890, 
was  one  of  the  twelve  children  of  Samuel  and  Lydia  (Burgess)  Small, 
grandchild  of  John  Small.  He  went  to  sea  at  the  age  of  ten  years, 
and  at  twenty  was  captain  of  a  vessel,  and  continued  to  be  for  twenty 
years,  and  then  was  a  merchant  twelve  years.  He  was  selectman  ten 
terms.  His  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  in  1832,  and  who  died  in 
1876,  was  Betsey,  daughter  of  Phineas  Baker.  Their  three  children 
living  are:  Lucy  (Mrs.  Jethro  Baker),  Elizabeth  and  Emily  V. 

Coleman  N.  Thacher,  bom  in  1858,  is  descended  from  Joseph  F.', 
Benjamin',  Solomon*,  Joseph*,  Judah',  John',  Anthony  Thacher',  who 
was  married  in  England  to  Elizabeth  Jones.  They  landed  at  New- 
buryport  in  1635,  and  four  years  later  they  settled  in  Yarmouth.  Mr. 
Thacher's  mother  was  Susan,  daughter  of  Coleman  Nickerson.  Mrs. 
C.  N.  Thacher  is  Annie  M.,  daughter  of  James  Crowell.  Their  .chil- 
dren are:  Susie  L.  and  Mercie  A. 

I^throp  Thacher',  born  in  1816,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Lothrop  T.' 
(Ebenezer',  Joseph*,  Judah*,  John',  John*,  born  in  1635,  Anthony 
Thacher').  His  mother  was  Thankful  Nickerson.  Mr.  Thacher 
began  going  to  sea  at  the  age  of  nine  years,  and  from  1837  to  1879  he 
was  captain.  He  was  married  in  1840,  to  Mercy  B.,  daughter  of  Elihu 
Kelley.  They  have  three  daughters  living:  Flora  B.,  Mercy  L.. and 
Ida  May.     One  daughter,  Ella  D.,  died. 

Charles  C.  Weysser,  born  March  .24,  1863,  is  a  son  of  Charles  W. 
and  Sarah  N.  (Crowell)  Weysser,  and  grandson  of  Christopher 
Weysser.  His  father  was  in  the  civil  war,  in  Company  G,  Fifty- 
eighth  Massachussetts  Volunteers,  and  died  in  the  service  in  1864. 
Mr.  Weysser  has  been  engaged  at  West  Denrnis  in  the  hardware  store 
of  Samuel  A.  Chase  since  April,  1881. 

Warren  W.  Whelden  is  a  son  of  Miller  and  grandson  of  Miller 
Whelden,  whose  father.  Miller,  was  a  son  of  Seth  Whelden.  His 
mother  was  Anna,  daughter  of  Reuben  Ryder.  Mr.  Whelden  is  a 
farmer,  occupying  the  farm  where  his  father  lived,  at  South  Dennis. 
He  is  one  of  eleven  children,  six  of  whom  are  living:  Mercy,- Warren 
H.,  Russell  F.,  John  D.,  Anna  R  and  Maria  T. 

Abner  R.  Wixon,  son  of  Abner  R.  and  grandson  of  Sylvanus 
Wixon,  was  bom  in  1849.  His  mother  was  Polly,  daughter  of  Calvin 
Baker.  Mr.  Wixon  has  been  at  sea  since  he  was  thirteen  years  old, 
and  since  nineteen  has  been  captain  of  vessels.  He  is  a  member  of 
Mount  Horeb  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  He  married  in  1872,  Eliza  A., 
daughter  of  William  Garfield.  She  was  born  in  1854.  They  have  , 
one  son,  William  F.,  born  in  1872. 

Nehemiah  Wixon,  bom  in  1826,  is  a  son  of  Nehemiah,  grandson 
of  Barnabas,  and  great-grandson  of  Reuben  Wixon,  who  is  a  descend- 
ant of  Robert  Wixon,  whose  will  was  dated  at  Eastham,  1685,  and.. 


TOWN   OF  DENNIS.  577 

mentions  two  sons — Barnabas  and  Titus.  Mr.  Wixon's  mother  was 
Charity  Chase.  He  began  going  to  sea  at  the  age  of  nine  years,  con- 
tinuing until  1878,  twenty-four  years  of  the  time  as  master.  He  was 
married  in  1848,  to  Amy,  daughter  of  Phineas  Wixon.  They  have  one 
son,  Robert  E. 

Joshua  P.  Wixon,  born  in  1823,  is  a  son  of  Joshua,  grandson  of 
Joshua,  and  great-grandson  of  Reuben  Wixon.  His  mother  was  Su- 
sanna Smith.  Mr.  Wixon  followed  the  sea  for  several  years.  He  was 
married  in  1845,  to  Bathsheba,  daughter  of  John  B.  Snow.  They  had 
two  children,  who  died:  Joshua  P.,  jr.  and  Izora  P. 

Thomas  F.  Hall  was  born  June  23,  1841.  He  early  went  to  sea, 
was  a  ship-master  at  twenty -one,  and  in  1865  removed  to  Omaha,  Neb., 
where  he  has  since  resided,  engaging  in  the  real  estate  business.  He 
has  been  a  member  of  the  legislature  of  his  adopted  state,  has  been 
six  years  postmaster  of  his  city.  His  wife  is  Amelia  J.,  daughter  of 
Zadok  Crowell,  West  Yarmouth,  and  they  have  one  daughter— Mary 
L.  Christopher  Hall,  his  father,  was  a  prominent  man  of  East  Den- 
nis, and  for  him  the  first  ship  of  Cape  Cod — the  Revenue — was  built 
by  the  Messrs.  Shiverick.  He  owned  portions  of  other  vessels  built 
there,  and  was  the  first  president  of  the  Cape  Cod  National  Bank, 
which  position  he  held  until  his  decease  in  1857,  aged  forty-eight 
years.  Christopher  Hall  erected  the  first  mill  for  grinding  salt  at 
Boston,  and  was  one  of  the  public  men  of  Dennis.  His  benevolence 
and  generosity  will  be  long  remembered. 

Warren  Snow,  son  of  Warren  and  Sarah  Snow,  and  grandson  of 
Elisha  and  Betsey  Snow,  was  born  in  Dennis.  He  was  married  in 
1850  to  Rosilla  Rogers.  Their  two  daughters  are:  Edna  C.  and  Nellie 
D.  Mr.  Snow  was  for  several  years  a  lumber  and  coal  dealer,  and  is 
now  engaged  in  cranberry  culture. 


87 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


TOWN  OF  CHATHAM. 


Natuial  Features. — Settlement. — Incorporation. — Early  Town  Action. — Town  Poor. — 
Town  House. — Industries. — Ordinaries. — Lighthouses  and  Life  Saving  Stations. — 
MaU  and  Express  Business. — Burying  Grounds. — Present  Condition. — Churches. — 
Schools. — Civil  History. — The  Villages  and  their  Institutions. — Biographical 
Sketches. 


THIS  is  the  southeastern  town  of  the  county,  in  the  elbow  of  the 
great  arm  as  represented  by  the  entire  cape;  and  is  bounded 
north  by  Harwich  and  Orleans,  east  by  the  ocean,  south  by  the 
sound  and  west  by  Harwich.  Its  breadth  and  length  are  each  about 
four  miles,  and  it  lies  in  latitude  41°,  40'  north.  It  is  encompassed  on 
three  sides  by  water.  Pleasant  bay  being  on  the  north  and  separating 
it  from  Orleans.  Its  distance  from  the  court  house  is  twenty  miles, 
and  from  Boston  ninety-three.  The  town  has  the  general  appearance 
of  a  plain,  but  is  diversified  with  small  sand  knolls  and  corresponding 
depressions.  Great  hill,  the  highest  elevation,  is  the  first  land  visible 
to  the  seamen  when  approaching  the  town,  and  from  its  summit 
Nantucket  is  plainly  visible  twenty  miles  to  the  southward,  and  the 
long  sandy  neck  of  Monomoy  is  traceable  to  its  most  southern  point. 
The  numerous  bays  and  sounds  that  indent  the  greater  portion  of 
its  perimeter,  render  the  town  very  irregular  in  contour,  and  greatly 
lessen  its  land  surface.  One-half  of  a  square  mile  of  its  surface  is 
occupied  by  ponds  having  no  visible  outlets.  Of  these.  Goose  pond  is 
the  largest  and  covers  an  area  of  sixty-six  acres;  four  ponds  west  of 
Goose  cover  sixty-eight  acres,  their  area  being  respectively  fifteen, 
eleven,  twenty-nine  and  thirteen  acres;  a  pond  in  the  southwest  part 
covers  fourteen  acres;  one  southwest  of  West  Chatham,  fifteen;  two 
east  of  Goo.se  pond,  fourteen  and  twenty-five;  two  southwest  of  Great 
Hill,  ten  and  thirty-one;  one  northwest  of  Great  Hill,  twenty-four:  and 
one  north  of  that  of  thirteen  acres.  There  are  also  many  of  inconsid- 
erable size  distributed  throughout  the  town. 

In  passing  along  the  principal  roadsof  the  town  the  casual  obser%-er 
might  conclude  that  the  soil  was  too  sandy  for  agricultural  purposes; 
but  there  is  much  productive  land.  The  wind  in  many  parts  has 
swept  away  the  turf  and  soil,  leaving  abrupt  specimens  of  the  original 


TOWN   OF  CHATHAM.  579 

surface,  and  no  considerable  portion  of  the  inhabitants  are  engaged 
in  husbandry  beyond  the  culture  of  cranberries  in  suitable  places; 
and  to  this  industry  less  attention  is  paid  than  in  towns  to  the  west- 
ward. It  excels  in  harbors,  furnishing  within  its  projecting  points 
more  and  safer  anchorage  than  any  other  town;  but  in  no  other  are 
the  changes  from  wind  and  tide  greater.  (See  Chapter  I).  The  har- 
bors are  free  from  rocks,  but  the  shifting  sands  require  skill  and 
almost  a  daily  familiarity  with  them  to  be  safely  navigated.  Inside 
the  beaches  and  on  the  southern  side  of  Strong  island  are  salt  marshes, 
flowed  by  the  tides.  The  west  side  of  Monomoy,  which  is  virtually  an 
island  stretching  ten  miles  toward  Nantucket,  was  formerly  a  long 
salt  marsh  but  the  wind  has  filled  it  with  sand. 

The  streams  are  short  and  not  available  for  mill  purposes.  Mit- 
chell's river  connects  Mill  pond  with  the  Cove  and  Stage  harbor;  west 
of  Stage  harbor  is  Cockle  Cove  river,  connecting  Salt  pond  with  the 
sound.  Muddy  creek,  flowing  northeasterly  into  Pleasant  bay,  forms 
in  part  the  northwestern  boundary  between  Chatham  and  Harwich, 
and  Red  river,  flowing  into  the  sound,  the  southwestern. 

Peat  has  been  obtained  for  fuel  from  the  ancient  bogs  in  years 
past;  but  cranberry  culture  in  these  spots  is  now  of  more  profit.  The 
woodland  of  the  town,  comparatively  less  than  in  towns  to  the  west- 
ward, is  mostly  along  the  western  bounds.  Hundreds  of  acres  of 
pines  have  been  planted  in  the  central  and  northern  parts.  This 
planting  began  about  fifty  years  ago. 

The  original  Indian  name  was  Monomoyick  and  has  been  vari- 
ously written  with  the  same  significance.  In  the  territory  embraced 
within  the  limits  of  the  town  the  natives,  unmolested,  enjoyed  their 
customs  many  years  after  the  English  had  settled  Old  Eastham  and 
Yarmouth.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1665,  William  Nickerson,  men- 
tioned at  page  458,  settled  here,  having  purchased  of  the  Indians,  in 
1656,  the  first  lands  for  settlement  by  the  whites.  The  first  territory 
purchased  was  of  John  Quason,  chief  of  Monomoyick,  and  was  a  large 
tract  north  of  the  road  now  leading  from  Chatham  to  West  Brewster, 
and  south  of  and  near  to  Potanumaquut.  June  19,  1672,  the  same 
sachem,  Quason,  joined  with  Mattaquason  in  a  deed  of  land,  south  of 
the  first,  which  extended  east  to  Oyster  pond,  the  name  Mr.  Nicker- 
son gave  to  that  body  of  salt  water  and  which  it  now  bears.  March 
29,  1678,  August  16,  1682,  and  at  other  times  he  purchased  other 
tracts  of  the  natives,  paying  valuable  considerations  of  goods  as 
agreed.  But  Mr.  Nickerson  had  purchased  these  lands  without  per- 
mission of  the  court  at  Plymouth,  and  much  legal  strife  ensued. 

The  same  year  that  Mr.  Nickerson  made  his  first  purchase,  the 
court  at  Plymouth  granted  to  Thomas  Hinckley,  John  Freeman,  Wil- 
liam Sargeant,  Anthony  Thacher,  Edmund  Hawes,  Thomas  Falland, 


680  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

John  Rogers  and  Nathaniel  Bacon  the  right  to  purchase  of  the  Indians 
lands  at  Monomoyick  and  places  adjacent.  This  invalidated  Mr. 
Nickerson's  title  to  the  lands;  but  he,  with  his  numerous  sons  and 
sons-in-law,  appealed  to  the  court  for  the  adjustment  of  their  rights. 
The  court  was  willing  to  allow  him  one  hundred  acres  near  his 
house,  with  some  other  divisions  in  the  commons,  which  was  not 
satisfactory.  July  3,  1672,  Mr.  Hinckley  and  his  associates  conveyed 
their  rights  in  the  territory,  together  with  what  they  themselves  had 
purchased  under  it,  to  Mr.  Nickerson,  which  made  his  title  indis- 
putable, and  which  the  general  court  subsequently  confirmed.  The 
settlement  of  Monomoyick  was  thus  commenced  by  this  family,  to 
whom  were  subsequently  added  the  families  of  Hugh  Stewart, 
Samuel  Smith,  William  Cahoon,  William  Gross,  George  Godfrey,  Ed.- 
ward  Small,  Joseph  Harding,  Benjamin  Phillips,  William  Eldred  or 
Eldridge,  Lieutenant  Nicholas  Eldred,  Joseph  Eldred  or  Eldridge, 
Moses  Godfrey,  Nathaniel  Tomlon,  William  Stewart,  William  Covel 
and  John  Ellis.  Later,  after  1700,  we  find  as  residents  the  names  of 
Roland  Paddock,  Robert  Nickerson,  Caleb  Lombard,  Richard  and 
Daniel  Sears;  and  still  later  came  Thomas  Atkins,  William  Griffith, 
Nathaniel  Covel,  Daniel  Hamilton,  Edmund  Howes,  Ebenezer  Howes, 
John  Atkins,  Samuel  Taylor,  Thomas  Howes,  Paul  Crowell,  Thomas 
Doane,  and  many  others  of  similar  family  names.  The  histories  of 
the  villages  contain  the  names  of  subsequent  settlers. 

In  1686  Monomoyick  was  ordered  by  the  court  to  send  grand 
jurors,  and  in  1691  to  send  a  deputy  to  the  general  court.  By  this  it 
would  seem  that  when  the  county  was  organized  this  community  was 
recognized  as  a  town.  Several  pages  of  the  first  records  of  the  town, 
if  ever  kept,  are  lost,  for  there  are  no  records  of  the  first  deputies  or 
grand  jurors  sent.  May  12, 1693,  in  the  proceedings  of  a  regular  town 
meeting,  the  records  commence  with  that  assurance  and  fullness  that 
would  indicate  prior  proceedings.  The  absence  of  proprietors' records 
is  noticeable  in  this  town,  as  the  so-called  proprietors  early  sold  their 
franchises  to  William  Nickerson,  from  whom  and  his  heirs  and  assigns 
all  deeds  have  been  received. 

But  little  of  interest  is  found  in  the  town  records,  beyond  the  elec- 
tion of  officers,  for  many  years  subsequent  to  1693.  June  11, 1712, 
Monomoy  was  incorporated  a  township  by  the  name  of  Chatham.  The 
people  required  frequent  special  town  meetings  to  regulate  their 
church,  which,  with  all  municipal  afi^airs,  was  under  the  close  surveil- 
lance of  the  Plymouth  court.  In  1718,  for  the  simple  omission  to 
elect  a  hog  constable,  the  town  was  presented,  and  Thomas  Atkins 
was  sent  to  answer  for  the  dereliction;  and  about  this  time  the  first 
pound  was  erected. 

The  town  received  its  share  of  the  provincial  bills  of  the  issue  of 


TOWN   OF  CHATHAM.  581 

1721,  and  sent  Captain  Jonas  Atkins  and  Thomas  Doane  to  receive  the 
sum,  they  to  bring  it  by  land  or  water,  as  they  chose.  The  settlement 
in  1722  had  become  important  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  east  portion 
of  Harwich  wished  to  be  set  off  to  Chatham,  which  was  effected  the 
next  year,  enlarging  the  town  substantially  to  its  present  area.  The 
bounds  between  the  two  towns  were  renewed  in  1728. 

An  almshouse  was  not  erected  very  early,  but  the  town  voted 
assistance  to  families  in  need,  and  cared  for  them  with  ample  and 
rigid  supervision.  In  1724,  in  open  town  meeting,  it  was  voted  that 
Captain  Joseph  Harding  and  John  Nickerson  be  appointed  a  commit- 
tee "  to  take  care  that  Nic'los  Eldredge  and  his  wife  be  kept  to  work 
for  an  honest  livelihood."  This  procedure  might  seem  peculiar  to 
the  reader,  but  tradition  explains  that  in  those  days,  prior  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  proper  house,  the  labor  and  maintenance  of  those 
not  willing  or  able  to  work  were  sold  at  auction  to  whoever  would 
relieve  the  town  of  the  expense  and  care  of  such  persons.  Later  an 
almshouse  and  adjacent  lands  were  acquired  in  the  western  part  of 
the  town,  but  were  sold  in  1878,  and  the  old  building  that  had  stood 
on  the  former  site  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  removed  to 
Chatham  village,  to  the  lot  next  north  of  the  Baptist  church,  to  be 
used  for  a  poor  house.  In  1889  this  important  institution  was  closed 
until  again  needed. 

The  citizens  of  the  town  had  no  town  house  until  1849,  when  the 
church  site  of  the  Methodist  Society,  near  their  cemetery,  was  pur- 
chased and  a  town  house  provided.  In  1877  the  present  commodious 
town  hall,  forty-five  by  sixty-five  feet,  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $6,000. 
The  building  committee  were  Hiram  Harding,  George  Eldridge  and 
Erastus  Nickerson.  It  stands  just  north  of  Oyster  pond,  near  the  rail- 
road depot.  Prior  to  the  purchase  of  this  meeting  house  site  the  town 
meetings  were  held  at  the  church  there,  and  in  the  old  academy  hall, 
and  still  earlier  the  first  meeting  house  was  used. 

The  industries  of  the  town  have  been  varied;  rye,  corn  and  English 
hay  are  staple  products,  and  have  been  from  its  incorporation.  Fish- 
ing had  been  its  principal  source  of  revenue  until  the  middle  of  the 
present  century,  and  it  yet  furnishes  a  livelihood  for  many.  The  first 
fishing  station  established  was  by  Daniel  Greenleaf,  who  came  from 
Yarmouth  in  1711  and  purchased  land,  the  town  voting  "  his  land, 
men  and  boats  to  be  free  from  rates."  Monomoy  point  was  formerly 
a  favored  spot,  from  its  facilities  for  curing  and  packing  fish.  About 
1847  Thomas  Sparrow,  Joseph  Reed  and  Isaiah  Lewis,  as  Sparrow, 
Reed  &  Lewis,  began  fishing  at  Monomoy.  Ten  years  later,  Timothy 
V.  Loveland  and  his  deceased  brother,  Isaac  H.,  formed  a  partnership 
with  the  late  Antony  Thacher,  as  Loveland  &  Thacher,  who  also  car- 
ried on  an  extensive  fishing  business   here.     During  the  civil  war 


582  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Joseph  Reed,  David  Lewis  and  Myrick  N.  Kent  were  prominent  fish 
and  weir  men  in  Chatham.  The  weir  business  there  now  is  owned 
by  Mr.  Kent,  T.  V.  Loveland,  Joseph  S.  Reed,  and  seven  others,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Reed  &  Loveland.  In  1837  the  town  had  twenty- 
two  vessels  in  the  fisheries,  yielding  annually  fifteen  thousand  quint- 
als of  cod  and  twelve  hundred  barrels  of  mackerel.  The  latter  part 
of  this  century  the  culture  of  cranberries  has  been  advanced,  meas- 
urably filling  the  decline  of  the  fisheries.  Early  in  the  present  cen- 
tury the  freight  business  by  packets  and  vessels  was  of  great  import- 
ance. It  is  believed  that  more  freighting  was  done  from  Chatham 
than  from  any  other  town  in  the  county. 

Soon  after  1800  the  manufacture  of  salt  from  sea  water  com- 
menced in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  and  the  entire  shore  line  from. 
Pleasant  bay  around  to  the  Harwich  line  at  Red  river  was  inter- 
spersed with  the  works.  The  owners'  names  and  the  location  of  these 
plants  will  be  found  in  the  history  of  the  villages.  The  industry  was 
at  its  height  in .  1830,  and  in  1837  the  product  from  eighty  establish- 
ments was  twenty-seven  thousand,  four  hundred  bushels. 

Sheep  husbandry  commenced  as  early  as  1700,  and  became  the 
subject  of  a  town  vote  for  its  regulation.  March  19,  1712,  the  town 
meeting  voted  that  no  sheep  should  be  driven  for  shearing  before  the 
last  Monday  of  May,  the  penalty  for  violation  of  the  rule  to  be  twenty 
pounds.  Many  years  subsequently  various  laws  were  passed  by  the 
town  in  advancing  and  systematizing  this  industry — now  long  ex- 
tinct. 

Of  the  ills  and  accidents  of  life  Chatham  has  had  its  share.  The 
smallpox  caused  the  death  of  many  of  its  citizens  in  1766,  and  the 
prevalence  of  this  loathsome  epidemic  caused  the  removal  from  town 
of  many  families  for  the  succeeding  three  years.  Among  the  many 
losses  by  sea  was  the  mysterious  murder,  November,  1772,  of  Captain 
Thomas  Nickerson,  Mr.  Elisha  Newcomb  and  William  Kent,  jr.,  on 
board  the  vessel  sailed  by  them.  The  Massachusetts  Gazette  of  Novem- 
ber 23d  gives  a  detailed  account  of  the  finding  of  the  schooner  back 
of  the  Cape  by  Captain  Joseph  Doane,  who,  on  boarding  her,  found 
bloody  decks,  plundered  chests  and  one  man  alive.  This  man  was 
tried  for  the  murder  of  the  officers  and  crew,  and  was  acquitted.  The 
resolves  against  the  embargo  act,  the  church  actions  and  annual  elec- 
tions are  the  only  matters  found  in  the  records  during  the  first  quar- 
ter of  this  century. 

The  population  of  the  town  of  Chatham  under  the  colonial  census 
was,  in  1765,  678;  and  in  1776,  929.  Under  the  United  States  census 
of  1790  it  had  reached  1,140;  in  1800,  1,351;  in  1810  it  was  reduced  by 
some  unknown  cause  to  1,334;  in  1820  the  population  was  1,630;  in 
1830,  2,130;  in  1840,  2.334;  in  1850,  2,439;  and  in  1860,  2,710.     After  the 


TOWN   OF   CHATHAM.  583 

decline  of  its  salt  and  fishing  industries,  the  census  of  1870  gave  2.411; 
that  of  1880  gave  2,250;  and  the  last  state  census  in  1885  only  enu- 
merated 2,028  souls.  Of  this  number  there  were  612  voters  in  1857, 
603  in  1875,  and  601  in  1885,  indicating  a  gradual  removal  of  the  heads 
of  families  to  seek  homes  and  employment  elsewhere. 

Manufacturing  forms  no  part  of  the  occupation  of  the  present 
generation.  In  1800  considerable  attention  was  paid  to  this,  as  we 
find  at  that  date  a  tannery  at  Old  Harbor,  owned  by  the  Crosbys, 
who  ground  bark  by  a  wind  mill;  it  was  abandoned  about  1830.  A 
rope  walk,  built  by  Cobb  Nickerson,  near  his  homestead  in  the  north 
part  of  the  town,  did  good  service  during  the  first  quarter  of  this 
century.  The  wind  mills  have  naturally  declined,  and  of  the  seven 
in  town  in  1800  only  one  is  now  in  use.  This  is  owned  by  Zenas  Nick- 
erson and  stands  on  the  knoll  north  of  the  marine  railway.  It  was 
built  in  1796,  and  was  owned  successively  by  Colonel  Godfrey,  Chris- 
topher Taylor  and  Oliver  Eldridge.  About  1883  it  was  purchased  of 
Eldridge's  heirs  by  the  present  owner.  Of  the  older  ones  Chatham 
Port  had  one.  South  Chatham  one.  Old  Harbor  one,  which  was  moved 
to  Orleans,  and  the  point  at  the  Light  had  one.  Isaac  Bearse,  at  South 
Chatham  now  has  one  not  in  use,  and  another,  equally  worthless, 
adorns  the  knoll,  north  of  Oyster  pond. 

Of  the  many  old  wharves  on  the  east  and  south  borders  of  the 
town  but  little  remains  beyond  tradition;  three  of  recent  date,  two  at 
Stage  harbor  and  one  at  Harding's  beach,  supply  the  fishing  of  1889 
as  well  as  several  did  when  this  business  was  active  and  lucrative. 

The  town  at  large,  especially  along  the  central  road  where  the  first 
churches  stood,  had  its  "  ordinaries."  Perhaps  that  term  should  not 
be  applied;  but  away  back  in  the  dim  aisles  of  tradition,  the  widow 
Knowles  kept  some  sort  of  an  institution  where,  after  election,  the 
town  ofiBcers  and  their  friends  ordinarily  adjourned  for  the  purpose 
of  swearing  in  and  lengthening  the  day  into  the  evening.  "  Esquire 
Crowe"  also  had,  in  the  same  neighborhood,  a  store,  or  ordinary,  that 
in  this  century  has  been  voted  entirely  away.  Before  there  was  any 
village  of  Chatham,  and  while  "  Esquire  Crowe  "  was  selling  to  that 
part  of  the  town,  Richard  Sears  had  a  general  store  of  necessaries  on 
the  spot  now  next  to  the  hall  of  the  A.  L.  of  H.  in  the  village.  The 
only  hotels — the  more  modern  name — are  now  in  the  village. 

Within  the  limits  of  the  town,  besides  that  of  the  village,  are  two 
lighthouses — one  on  Harding's  beach  and  the  other  on  Monomoy 
point.  These  are  strong  iron  towers  with  appropriate  lights  for  the 
safe  guidance  of  mariners  over  the  shoals.  Each  has  a  comfortable 
residence  for  the  keeper.  On  the  beach  east  of  Morris  island  is  the 
U.  S.  life  saving  station,  and  near  the  lighthouse  of  Monomoy  is  another. 
These  stations  have  one  man — the  captain — during  the  summer,  and 


584  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

eight  in  winter;  and  each  is  supplied  with  all  the  apparatus  needed  in 
the  humane  and  hazardous  duties  of  the  men. 

The  facilities  of  this  town  in  express  and  mail  matter  are  now 
second  to  none.  The  early  packets  to  and  from  Boston  aflForded  re- 
liable sources,  and  Barzilla  Harding  and  Heman  Smith  were  thus 
engaged  prior  to  1829.  Later,  stages  connected  with  the  old  Plymouth 
line,  and  later  still,  when  the  railroad  was  extended  along  the  Cape, 
more  frequent  and  rapid  accommodations  were  received.  In  1861 
Rufus  Smith  started  a  stage  from  Chatham  to  Yarmouth,  which,  in 
1866,  was  displaced  by  the  railroad  to  Orleans;  but  Chatham  contin- 
ued to  receive  the  mails  and  express  by  his  stage.  In  1879  this  express 
Tvas  consolidated  with  the  New  York  &  Boston  Despatch  Express  Com- 
pany, which  continues  the  business;  but  since  1887  the  transportation 
of  goods  to  this  town  is  by  the  Chatham  railroad. 

There  are  several  burying  places  in  the  town,  of  which  the  Nicker- 
son  ground,  at  Chatham  Port,  is  the  oldest,  and  is  said  to  have  been  an 
Indian  burial  place.  The  oldest  of  the  church  yards,  in  the  center  of 
the  town,  was  first  used  as  a  separate  ground  for  the  whites;  the  sec- 
ond is  east  of  this.  The  others  near  by  are  known  as  the  Baptist 
burying  ground,  the  Universalist,  and  the  Methodist.  South  Chatham 
also  has  a  small  burial  place  called  the  Bethel. 

The  town  rapidly  grows  in  wealth,  the  increase  in  the  valuation 
of  real  estate  exceeding  that  of  personal.  The  present  valuation  of 
the  real  estate  is  about  half  a  million.  The  taxes  for  state,  county 
.and  town  purposes  average  $12,000  yearly.  The  taxes  for  1889  in- 
cluded $1,900  for  the  poor  and  $1,700  for  highways.  Guide-boards  are 
maintained  at  the  intersections  of  important  roads.  While  by  the 
decline  of  its  fishing  interests  many  are  compelled  to  seek  employ- 
ment in  other  channels,  and  perhaps  elsewhere,  the  energy  of  the 
Chatham  people  is  marked  by  the  continued  improvement  and  growth 
in  commercial  and  agricultural  interests. 

Churches. — Although  the  settlement  of  the  town  dates  from  1666, 
the  church  records  must  commence  with  a  date  nearly  thirty  years 
subsequent.  That  a  meeting  house  had  been  erected  prior  to  any 
record  is  evident  from  the  language  of  the  first  town  meeting:  "  that 
Wm.  Nickerson  and  Joseph  Harding  be  appointed  agents  for  the  re- 
pairs of  the  Monomoy  meeting  house."  No  record  is  given  of  the 
regular  service  of  a  pastor  until  1699,  when  the  assessment  of  rates 
indicates  that  Rev.  Jonathan  Vickery  must  be  paid  for  pastoral  duties. 
From  historical  and  traditionary  sources,  it  appears  that  the  first  Wil- 
liam Nickerson  was  a  religious  teacher,  and  that  for  the  first  years 
after  a  place  of  worship  was  erected  he  performed  these  important 
duties. 


TOWN   OF  CHATHAM.  585 

The  first  meeting  house  must  have  been  a  primitive  structure,  for 
February  15,  1700,  the  people,  in  town  meeting,  voted  to  have  a  new 
one,  twenty  by  thirty-two  feet;  and  it  was  arranged  among  the  men 
of  the  town  that  each  should  go  two  days  with  his  team  to  secure 
timber,  and  William  Eldred  (or  Eldridge)  was  to  go  for  planks  and 
boards  with  which  to  line  it.  In  October,  1700,  Thomas  Atkins  was 
appointed  sexton,  at  ten  shillings  per  annum. 

In  April,  1702,  Mr.  Vickery,  the  preacher,  was  drowned,  and  in 
January  following  Mr.  Gershom  Hall  was  hired  to  preach.  Mr.  John 
Lattimer  came  in  May,  1706,  and  was  retained  until  1709.  Mr.  Mat- 
thew Short  was  made  pastor  in  1710,  and  in  1711,  after  strong  and 
binding  conditions  had  been  accepted  by  the  town,  Mr.  Hugh  Adams  • 
began  his  labors,  which  were  closed  by  dismissal  in  1715.  Mr.  Hall 
and  Rev.  Joseph  Lord  preached  until  1719,  when  Mr.  Lord  was  set- 
tled. In  1721  they  built  him  a  parsonage,  with  a  chimney  of  brick 
made  from  the  clay  on  the  premises.  In  1729  the  town  voted  to  build 
another  meeting  house,  and  ten  years  later  the  pews  were  first  put 
in  and  sold.  Mr.  Lord  died  early  in  1748,  and  in  October  Stephen 
Emery  was  called,  who  died  in  May,  1782,  after  thirty-three  years  of 
ministry.  In  1755  a  town  meeting  was  called  to  see  if  certain  relig- 
ionists called  "  separatists  "  should  be  excused  from  church  taxes — 
but  the  majority  voted  in  the  negative. 

The  meeting  house,  when  enlarged  and  repaired  in  1773,  was  still 
the  only  one  in  the  town.  The  succeeding  pastors  were:  Thomas  Roby, 
1783;  Ephraim  Briggs,  1796;  Stetson  Raymond,  1817;  Mr.  Scovel  and 
Mr.  Fletcher,  1829;  John  F.  Stone,  1831-,  John  A.  Vinton,  1833;  Charles 
Rockwell,  1838;  E.  W.  Tucker,  1846;  Noadiah  S.  Dickinson,  1852;  Cal- 
vin Chapman,  1858;  E.  B.  French,  1860;  A.  C.  Childs,  1862;  George 
Ritchie,  1865;  Ogden  Hall,  1868;  Hiram  Day,  1870;  P.  B.  Shier,  1878; 
Isaiah  P.  Smith,  1880;  L.  P.  Atwood,  1884;  and  S.  B.  Andrews,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1889. 

We  have  given  a  history  of  this  ancient  church  for  several  years 
prior  to  the  date  of  the  ministry  of  Rev.  Joseph  Lord,  at  which  time 
the  Conference  dates  the  organization  of  the  Chatham  church.  The 
town  records  furnish  the  early  history,  and  the  organization  of  1720 
was  doubtless  a  closer  religious  union  of  the  old  parish.  The  first 
real  meeting  house,  erected  in  1700,  was  by  the  old  burying  ground; 
the  second  was  near  the  later  ground  of  the  society;  and  the  present 
edifice  in  the  village  was  erected  in  1866,  the  frame  of  the  old  one 
being  used.  The  records  of  the  church  were  burned  with  the  parson- 
age, September  29,  1861;  but  from  the  assistance  of  Levi  Atwood,  who 
has  been  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  for  the  past  forty  years, 
and  from  the  records,  well  preserved  since  1866,  this  sketch  is  pre- 
pared. 


586  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

For  several  years  the  scattered  adherents  of  the  Methodist  faith 
were  included  in  a  circuit  with  Harwich,  and  in  the  early  days  of 
Methodism  the  towns  of  Truro  and  Wellfleet  were  included.  In  1807 
Rev.  Joel  Steele  traveled  from  place  to  place  and  preached,  and  in 
1808  Rev.  Erastus  Otis  came.  Joseph  A.  Merrill  was  on  the  circuit  in 
1809-11.  In  1812  Benjamin  F.  Lumbard  received  the  quarterly  col- 
lections from  Chatham,  and  in  July  of  the  same  year  Pliny  Brett  was 
the  pastor.  In  1814  the  traveling  minister  was  Rev.  Noah  Bigalow, 
succeeded  by  Philip  Munger  in  1815.  In  1816  this  charge  was  joined 
with  Sandwich,  Barnstable  and  Harwich.  In  1817  Benjamin  R.  Hoyt 
preached,  and  in  1818  Moses  Fifield  alternated  with  him.  In  1820  Ben- 
jamin Hazelton,  and  in  1821  I.  Jennison,  were  the  preachers  of  the 
circuit.  In  1822  Benjamin  Brown  and  Edward  T.  Taylor  preached. 
In  1824-6  we  find  Mr.  Bates,  E.  Hyde  and  Mr.  Bepnett  receiving  the 
contributions  of  Harwich  and  Chatham. 

The  first  class  formed  here  was  in  the  fall  of  1816,  when  Moses 
Fifield  was  in  charge.  The  first  annual  meeting  recorded  was  held 
March  5,  1821,  at  which  Christopher  Taylor  was  made  secretary  of 
the  society,  and  Micajah  Howes,  William  Hamilton  and  Henry  Got- 
ham were  chosen  a  general  committee.  Soon  after  this  a  meeting 
house  was  erected  near  their  present  burying  ground.  In  1838  we 
find  a  vote  to  sell  the  parsonage  and  grounds,  which  fact  indicates  the 
existence  of  this  valuable  appendage,  and  that  ministers  had  been 
settled.  The  minutes  of  the  society  from  1825  to  1837  are  not  to  be 
found.  In  1838,  at  the  annual  meeting,  it  was  voted  that  the  class 
leaders  circulate  a  subscription  "  to  see  what  amount  they  can  raise 
for  support  of  preacher  the  coming  year." 

The  early  Methodists  who  had  become  members  between  1815  and 
1822,  were  Lemuel  Hunt,  Henry  Gorham,  Obed  Harding,  Calvin 
Hammond,  William  Hamilton,  Micajah  Howes,  L.  Loveland,  Joshua 
Nickerson,  jr.,  Tully  Nickerson,  Reuben  and  John  Rider,  Christopher 
Taylor,  Isaiah  Nye  and  Joshua  Atkins.  These  were  followed  in  1823 
by  the  membership  of  David  Bearse,  Solomon  Howes,  Thomas  Hol- 
way,  Stephen  Hammond,  E.  Rider,  Isaiah  Rider,  Abner  Sparrow, 
Zenas  Taylor  and  D.  Tripp.  Many  followed  these  in  1824  and  the 
succeeding  years;  but  our  aim  is  to  mention  the  first  who,  perhaps, 
assisted  in  the  organization  of  the  society  and  erection  of  the  first 
meeting  house. 

Mr.  Paine,  Mr.  Gould  and  Hezekiah  Thacher  preached  here  more 
or  less  in  1826-7-8.  In  1829  Mr.  Thacher  received  the  moneys  as  pas- 
tor, and  in  1830  and  1832  Rev.  G.  Stone  was  pastor.  Rev.  Joseph  B. 
Brown  preached  in  1835,  and  in  1837  we  find  J.  Steele  came  for  two 
years.  In  1839  Thomas  Dodge  preached.  In  1841  Israel  Washburn 
was  pastor,  and  again  in  1846.     E.  D.  Trakey  filled  the  desk  in  1846. 


TOWN  OF  CHATHAM.  587 

After  the  reorganization  of  the  church  society  tinder  the  act  of 
1847,  a  meeting  house  was  erected  in  1849,  and  in  1851  a  deed  of  the 
present  site  was  obtained.  Since  the  erection  of  the  present  edifice 
the  minutes  are  well  preserved  by  Thomas  Holway,  clerk.  The  pas- 
tors have  been:  John  E.  Gifford,  in  1854;  Asa  N.  Bodfish,  in  1856; 
Samuel  W.  Coggshall,  1858;  W.  H.  Stetson,  1859;  John  W.  Willett, 
1860;  W.  H.  Richards,  1863:  John  W.  Howson,  1865;  William  F.  Far- 
rington,  1867;  Thomas  S.  Thomas,  1869;  Edward  Edson,  1870;  Ed- 
ward A.  Lyon,  1873:  Samuel  McKeown,  1875;  John  D.  King;  1877;  V. 
W.  Mattoon,  1879;  Warren  Applebee,  1881;  Archibald  McCord,  1884; 
Walter  J.  Yates,  1887;  and  Nathan  C.  Alger  in  1889. 

The  Universalist  society  v/as  organized  August  1,  1822,  by  twenty- 
nine  members.  A  meeting  house  was  erected  in  1823,  near  their 
cemetery,  northwest  of  Chatham  village.  In  1850  a  second  edifice 
was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  academy,  bought  February  14,  of  that 
year.  This  was  burned  in  1878,  and  the  society  erected  the  present 
edifice  in  the  village,  dedicating  it  November  19,  1879.  In  1831  a 
church  organization  of  sixteen  members  was  established.  Calvin 
Monroe  preached  from  1824  to  1827;  the  church  was  supplied  through 
1828;  Charles  Spear  came  m  1829,  remaining  until  July,  1832;  Abra- 
ham Norwood  and  others  supplied  in  1833-34;  A.  P.  Cleverly,  June, 
1835,  until  August,  1837;  H.  Chaffee  and  W.  S.  Cilley,  in  1837;  G. 
Hastings  and  others,  supplies  to  1839;  W.  S.  Clarke,  September,  1839- 
42;  Gamaliel  Collins,  1842-43;  Joshua  Britton,  May,  1844-49;  Alvin 
Abbott,  May,  1850-51;  E.  M.  Knapen,  1851-54;  M.  E.  Hawes,  July,  1854- 
68;  Benton  Smith,  November,  1858.  to  May,  1865;  Franklin  C.  Flint, 
1865,  to  May  1867;  W.  W.  Wilson,  October,  1867,  to  May,  1869;  William 
Hooper,  July,  1869,  to  June,  1871;  supplies;  George  Proctor,  March, 
1872-74;  N.  P.  Smith,  July,  1874-76;  B.  L.  Bennett,  April,  1877,  to 
December,  1880;  Thomas  W.  Critchett,  January,  1881,  to  March,  1882; 
Collins  and  other  supplies;  Henry  M.  Couden,  April,  1883,  to  date. 
Of  this  society  and  church  Ziba  Nickerson  has  acted  as  clerk  and 
treasurer  since  1850. 

The  Baptist  society  has  a  church  edifice  at  Chatham  village.  In 
June,  1823,  Mary  Nickerson,  of  this  town,  a  member  of  the  Harwich 
church,  resolved  to  hold  a  Baptist  meeting  at  Chatham,  which  she  did 
in  the  school  house  at  Old  Harbor,  now  North  Chatham.  She  held 
the  service  alone  for  several  Sabbaths,  when  she  was  joined  by  My- 
rick  Nickerson;  after  a  few  Sabbaths  Otis  Wing  joined  them;  then 
Jeremiah  Kelly.  In  1824,  the  school  house  having  been  closed  against 
them,  they  purchased  an  old  sheep  cot,  which  had  been  the  first  school 
house  there,  and  in  this  they  continued  their  worship.  October,  8, 
1824,  the  church  organization  was  effected  by  Otis  Wing,  Myrick 
Nickerson,  Enoch  Bassett,  Bangs  Snow,  Nehemiah  Doane,  Jeremiah 


688  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Kelly,  Abner  Eldridge,  Thacher  Ryder,  Josiah  Mayo,  Sally  Bassett, 
Huldah  Snow,  Esther  Ryder,  Eunice  Nickerson,  Esther  Doane,  Betsey 
Studley,  Sally  Kelley,  Rebecca  Eldridge,  Thankful  Turner,  Huldah 
and  Bethiah  Crowell. 

In  1827  a  meeting  house  was  built  and  various  ministers  filled  the 
pulpit.  In  1828  Davis  Lothrop  was  settled,  and  remained  ten  years, 
succeeded  bj'  Thomas  Conant  for  nearly  two  years.  In  1841  Rev. 
William  Bowen  was  pastor;  in  1842  George  D.  Fenton  was  settled;  in 
1843,  Nathan  Chapman;  1845,  Davis  Cobb;  1848,  A.  Smith  Lyon,  until 
February,  1853;  George  D.  Stowell  came  in  1853;  J.  Ellis  Guild,  in  1854: 
and  in  1857,  Rev.  Abijah  Hall,  jr.,  who  remained  one  year  and  was 
pastor  again  in  1859-60.  Andrew  Dunn  filled  the  desk  in  1858;  1861, 
supplied  by  various  ministers.  In  1862  George  Matthews  was  settled 
for  a  year.  H.  G.  Hubbard  was  settled  in  1864  for  two  years.  Rev.  S. 
J.  Carr  was  called  in  1866;  George  W.  Ryan  in  1868;  F.  R.  Sleeper,  in 
1872;  Jessie  Coker,  in  1874;  Irving  W.  Combs,  in  1876;  and  in  1877  G. 
H.  Perry  was  pastor  for  that  and  the  succeeding  year.  Supplies  filled 
the  time  until  February,  1880,  when  C.  D.  R.  Meacham  came.  Rev. 
O.  R  Fuller,  1881;  C.  N.  Nichols,  1886.  In  October,  1888,  the  society 
settled  Rev.  Ira  Emery,  who  continues.  The  society  have  a  pleasant 
church  edifice  in  the  north  part  of  the  village  on  the  street  leading  to 
North  Chatham. 

Schools. — This  medium  for  the  advancement  of  all  that  pertains 
to  civil  and  religious  government  was  not  neglected  in  Monomoyick, 
nor  in  the  first  years  of  its  incorporation  as  Chatham,  but  no  records 
prior  to  1720  are  found.  That  year  Daniel  Legg  was  employed  to 
teach  school,  and  taught  two  years.  In  1722  Samuel  Taylor  was  sent 
to  the  general  court  with  a  petition  "to  consider  the  low  estate  of  the 
town,  and  exempt  it  from  fine  for  keeping  only  a  schooldame."  In 
1723  Mr.  Legg  was  again  schoolmaster,  and  the  full  year  was  divided 
as  follows:  nine  weeks  at  Robert  Nickerson's,  nine  at  John  Ryder's, 
nine  at  Ensign  Nickerson's,  nine  at  Thomas  Doane's,  nine  at  Joseph 
Harding's,  and  seven  at  Ensign  Sears';  he  to  "  diet  around"  and  have 
his  mending  done.    The  records  are  silent  concerning  his  washing. 

In  1732  John  Crowell  was  schoolmaster;  in  1734,  Thomas  Doane; 
and  in  1737  two  were  hired — John  Hallett  and  John  Collins.  Others 
who  followed  were:  David  Nickerson  in  1738,  Richard  Mayo  in  1747, 
and  Thomas  Paine  in  1760.  James  Ryder  taught  in  1762  for  ;^210, 
old  tenor.  In  1768  the  town  was  divided  into  four  sections  and  the 
number  of  teachers  increased.  Captain  Joseph  Doane  and  Seth  Smith 
were  chosen  to  seat  a  teacher  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  the  town; 
George  Godfrey  and  Joseph  Atwood  in  the  southeast  quarter;  John 
Hawes  and  Samuel  Taylor  in  the  southwest;  and  Paul  Crowell  and 
Barnabas  Eldridge  in  the  northwest  quarter.     Now  the  schools  as- 


TOWN   OF   CHATHAM.  589 

sumed  more  definite  boundaries,  and  in  1800  the  town  had  five  sec- 
tions or  districts,  and  a  school  house  was  built  in  each.  From  this 
time  the  schools  of  the  town  advanced  rapidly  in  number  and  in 
efficiency,  until  amply  provided  with  thirteen  public  schools,  and 
school  committees  elected  to  serve  year  by  year  were  kept  in  continu- 
ous service.  This  number  of  districts  was  burdensome  and  expensive, 
but  prior  to  1840  no  better  arrangement  was  possible,  giving  each  part 
of  the  town  equal  privileges.  At  this  date  the  uniformity  of  text 
books  became  a  necessity,  and  the  officers  prescribed,  in  part,  what 
should  be  used,  and  urged  their  use. 

In  1845,  and  for  a  few  previous  years,  the  appropriation  of  moneys 
had  been  about  $1,200  yearly.  In  1847  |more  was  urged,  and  the 
amount  was  raised  to  $1,800.  Six  hundred  pupils  were  looking  to  the 
common  school  as  their  only  means  of  education,  and  the  friends  of 
the  schools  urged  larger  appropriations  and  increased  facilities.  In 
1850  the  text  books  were  supplied  by  the  town  to  only  those  who 
could  not  purchase.  In  1857  a  perceptible  advancement  was  discern- 
ible, and  the  interest  increased  the  attendance  to  the  necessity  of 
opening  one  more  school  for  three  months  during  the  winter. 

In  1858,  after  much  discussion  and  a  fair  trial  of  the  plan  in  adjoin- 
ing towns,  the  number  of  districts  was  reduced  one-half,  and  a  partial 
system  of  graded  schools  was  adopted.  A  large  building  was  erected 
at  Chatham  village  for  a  grammar  school  and  the  intermediate  de- 
partments, and  a  high  school  was  even  inaugurated  in  a  small  way. 
The  grammar  school,  with  a  primary  department,  was  also  opened 
in  South  Chatham  in  a  suitable  new  building.  The  Monomoy  people 
had  to  be  furnished  with  three  months  school  because  of  their  isola- 
tion. From  this  date  the  advancement  of  the  public  schools  of  Chat- 
ham to  their  present  high  grade  was  rapid. 

In  1861,  the  attendance  at  the  primaries  was  362;  at  the  South 
Chatham  Grammer  School,  No.  2,  130;  and  at  No.  1,  Chatham  village, 
274.  There  were  then  four  departments  at  the  Chatham  building — 
iiigh,  grammar,  and  two  intermediates;  at  South  Chatham,  two  de- 
partments— grammar  and  primary;  elsewhere  in  the  town,  seven 
primaries;  and  a  school  at  Monomoy  one-fourth  of  the  year.  At  that 
date  the  annual  expenditure  for  school  purposes  was  $3,200.  In  1862 
the  Monomoy  house  w^s  sold  and  the  other  departments  were  further 
consolidated.  In  1863  fruitless  attempts  were  made  to  place  the  prin- 
cipal of  the  high  school  in  full  jurisdiction  over  the  departments  of  the 
building.  This  year  the  increase  in  attendance  required  assistants  in 
three  primaries.  In  1864  a  primary  school  was  opened  in  Washington 
Hall,  and  the  high  school  was  separately  instituted.  To  this  all 
scholars  were  to  be  admitted  from  any  part  of  the  town  when  they 
were  properly  advanced.     The  grammar  department  at  South  Chatham 


590  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

was  constituted  second  in  grade.  The  expenditures  that  year  reached 
$3,745.12. 

A  winter  boys*  school  was  opened  in  1871,  and  termed  the  second 
department  of  grammar  school  No.  1.  At  South  Chatham  a  similar 
department  was  organized  in  the  new  building. 

About  this  date  the  school  committee  commenced  the  yearly  pub- 
lication of  the  names  of  meritorious  pupils,  and  the  town's  people, 
pleased  with  the  good  reports,  voted  four  thousand  dollars  for  the 
schools.  In  1872  the  board  appointed,  as  superintendent  of  the  schools, 
D.  H.  Crowell.  In  1874  a  new  primary  building  was  erected  at  North 
Chatham,  and  the  best  of  edifices  had  been  provided  in  all  sections 
but  one.  In  1879,  in  furtherance  of  the  system,  Prof.  M.  F.  Daggett 
was  chosen  principal  of  the  high  school  and  subordinate  departments, 
and  he  perfected  the  present  excellent  system,  and  is  still  retained. 

In  1883  effective  changes  were  made  in  text  books,  for  which  the 
public  paid;  and  written  examinations  before  advancement  in  grade 
were  adopted.  In  1885  text  books  upon  hygiene  were  introduced. 
The  expense  of  the  schools  in  1887  was  $3,732.41.  In  1888  the  regular 
teachers  were  eleven — all  educated  at  home,  residents  of  the  town, 
except  the  principal.  What  an  example  of  the  efficient  school  service 
now  fully  inaugurated  by  the  town!  Seven  fine  buildings  in  five 
sections  of  the  town  accommodate  the  present  population. 

In  1889  the  town  had  twelve  schools  in  seven  buildings — the  high, 
grammar,  and  intermediate  at  Chatham  village;  grammar,  and  primary 
at  South  Chatham;  two  primaries  in  the  Atwood  district,  and  two  in 
the  building  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  village;  one  in  West  Chatham; 
one  in  North;  and  one  at  Chatham  Port.  The  appropriation  was 
$3,300 — the  same  as  the  previous  year. 

For  several  years  prior  to  1849,  an  academy  furnished  the  means 
for  a  liberal  private  education;  it  stood  just  northwest  of  the  present 
village.  After  the  closing  of  the  academy  Joshua  G.  Nickerson  built 
a  seminary  called  the  Granville  Seminary,  just  north  of  the  village, 
which  after  a  few  years  was  converted  into  a  dwelling,  and  is  now 
the  home  of  Owen  Oneal.  The  high  school,  aided  by  the  two  gram- 
mar departments,  now  fully  supplies  the  wants  of  the  town. 

Civil  History. — The  loss  of  the  records  of  Chatham  prior  to  1693 
forbids  a  history  prior  to  that  date.  It  is  evident  that  a  town  settled 
in  1665  must  have  had  a  civil  history  prior  to  the  opening  of  the  rec- 
ords; it  is  known  that  in  1686,  under  the  name  of  Monomoy,  the  town 
was  required  to  send  grand  jurors,  and  was  asked  to  send  a  deputy  in 
1691.  The  records  show  thorough  action  at  the  town  meetings  after 
1693.  In  1696  a  singular  vote  was  made  at  town  meeting — that  every 
male  who  was  deficient  in  killing  the  number  of  blackbirds  and  crows 
required,  should  "  clear  the  way  to  go  to  mill  and  go  to  Nauset."  This 


TOWN   OF  CHATHAM.  591 

was  a  penalty,  and  the  delinquent  was  compelled  to  work  on  the  road 
if  he  defaulted.  In  1699  the  body  politic  sent  Rev.  Jonathan  Vickery 
to  Boston  with  a  petition  that  Monomoyick  be  incorporated  a  town, 
and  have  its  bounds  set  with  Harwich. 

The  exposure  of  the  coast  of  Chatham  led,  in  1712,  to  the  military 
order  that  until  otherwise  ordered,  no  men  of  the  foot  company  be 
taken  from  town.  This  was  in  answer  to  a  petition  from  the  inhabit- 
ants who  feared  French  privateers.  In  May,  1723,  no  deputy  was  sent, 
and  it  was  more  from  political  disagreement  than  any  other  cause. 
The  return  in  default  of  sending  the  deputy  said,  "the  town  not 
combined  to  send,"  and  "town  not  qualified." 

The  civil  regulations  of  the  town  were  sometimes  queer;  and  that 
relating  to  the  ringing  of  hogs  was  very  strict.  In  1728  the  law  was 
made  that  no  one  should  mow  hay  on  the  beach  until  August  26th, 
and  the  sheep  were  even  compelled  to  swelter  in  their  woolen  garbs 
until  just  before  the  first  of  June.  The  vigilance  of  the  inhabitants 
was  exercised  in  1768  by  the  most  stringent  rules:  "that  strangers 
who  came  for  clams  should  be  summarily  dealt  with."  In  1774  and 
1776  strong  resolutions  were  passed  against  using  imported  tea;  but 
in  1776  the  town  voted  in  the  negative  on  the  adoption  of  the  declara- 
tion of  independence.  Notwithstanding  this  vote,  the  town  was  loyal; 
the  whig  party  far  outnumbered  the  tory.  In  1779  the  vote  was  to 
support  the  convention  called,  and  the  stipulated  list  of  prices  was 
adopted.  The  church  and  schools  had  to  have  their  enactments  dur- 
ing the  trying  times  of  war,  and  it  was  by  the  most  economical  meth- 
ods that  the  town  was  enabled  to  fulfill  all  its  requirements.  In  1749 
it  was  necessary  to  fence  the  minister's  land,  and  in  town  meeting  it 
was  enacted  that  nineteen  men  build  two  lengths  each  of  the  fence, 
and  "Thomas  Doane  and  Nehemiah  Harding  each  bring  one  post 
extra." 

The  embargo  made  in  President  Jefferson's  administration  was  a 
trying  period  in  the  civil  history  of  Chatham.  Nearly  four-score 
plants  for  the  manufacture  of  salt  dotted  the  shores,  and  the  check  to 
the  industry  was  severely  felt.  Meetings  were  held  to  petition  against 
the  act,  and  the  feeling  became  so  intense  that  the  town  recorded  a 
majority  of  its  votes  against  the  war  of  1812. 

The  municipal  proceedings  of  the  town  were  not  unusual  during 
the  years  just  prior  to  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  in  1860. 
When  the  requisition  for  men  to  put  down  the  rebellion  was  made, 
then  the  loyalty  of  the  people  was  demonstrated.  Its  parties  are 
mainly  those  which  have  predominated  in  the  Commonwealth,  the  re- 
publican largely  in  the  ascendency.  The  management  of  its  poor  has 
been  commendable  from  the  first,  and  the  action  of  the  town,  while 
stringent,  has  greatly  benefitted  the  chronic  tendency  to  this  unfor- 


592  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

tunate  state  of  society.  As  a  body  politic  it  erected  a  monument  to 
the  soldiers  who  fell  in  the  rebellion  of  1861-5;  and  party  spirit  does 
not  divide  in  what  pertains  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole.  The  records 
have,  from  1693,  been  remarkably  well  transcribed,  and  are  better 
kept  now  than  in  most  of  the  towns  of  the  county,  the  present  clerk 
and  treusurer,  Levi  Atwood,  using  several  volumes  in  which  to  record, 
in  superior  style,  every  transaction. 

The  deputies  of  the  town,  while  acting  alone  in  the  election  of  the 
representative,  with  their  terms  of  service  beyond  one  year,  have 
been:  Joseph  Doane,  elected  in  1768.  served  10  years;  Joseph  Howes, 
in  1780;  Richard  Sears,  1781, 19  years;  in  1807,  Reuben  Ryder,  3  years; 
in  1827,  Richard  Sears,  jr.,  2;  1829,  Joseph  Atwood,  3;  1830,  Joseph 
Young,  3;  1832,  Joshua  Nickerson,  5;  1834,  Freeman  Nickerson,  5; 
1837,  Seth  Nickerson;  1838,  Josiah  Kendrick,  4;  1839,  Thomas  Spar- 
row; 1840,  Samuel  Doane,  3,  and  Henry  Gorham;  1841,  James  Gould, 
2;  1842,  Ephraim  Taylor,  2;  1844,  Joseph  Young,  jr.;  1845,  John  Tay- 
lor; 1846,  Watson  Hinckley;  1847,  O.  A.  Nickerson;  1849,  Lothrop 
Bearse,  2;  1853,  Samuel  Doane;  1854.  Richard  Gould,  2;  1856,  Heman 
Smith;  1857,  Thomas  Dodge.  After  Chatham  was  placed  in  a  district 
with  other  towns,  the  representatives  have  been  stated  in  the  proper 
county  chapter. 

The  selectmen  and  their  years  of  service  are  given  in  the  succeed- 
ing list,  and  where  no  time  is  given  the  service  was  one  year:  1693, 
William  Nickerson,  4,  Joseph  Harden,  6,  and  Thomas  Atkins,  13;  1697, 
William  Eldred,  3,  and  William  Griffith,  2;  1698,  Nicholas  Eldred; 
1700,  Thomas  Nickerson,  2;  1703,  William  Nickerson,  3;  1704,  Na- 
thaniel Covel;  1707,  Daniel  Hamilton,  3,  and  Edmund  Howes,  4;  1708, 
Ebenezer  Howes,  7:  1710,  Joseph  Eldridge  and  Moses  Godfrey;  1711, 
John  Smith,  and  John  Atkins,  5;  1712,  W.  Nickerson,  Ens.;  1714, 
Samuel  Taylor,  4;  1717,  Thomas  Howes,  Ens.,  2,  and  Richard  Sears; 
1719,  Daniel  Sears,  11;  1720,  Thomas  Atkins,  8;  Robert  Paddock,  2,  and 
Paul  Crowell;  1721,  William  Eldridge;  1722  Nathaniel  Covel,  and  Wil- 
liam Eldridge,  jr.,  4;  1725,  Thomas  Doane,  3;  1726,  Joseph  Harding; 
1729,  Samuel  Taylor,  4;  1731,  John  Young,  23,  and  Caleb  Nickerson,  3; 
1732,  John  Nickerson,  and  Paul  Crowell,  4;  1733,  Samuel  Stewart;  1736, 
Thomas  A.  Doane,  2,  Samuel  Atkins,  3,  and  Samuel  Smith,  2;  1739, 
James  Covel,  13;  1740,  Thomas  Hamilton,  13,  and  John  Eldridge,  3; 
1742,  Paul  Sears;  1748,  Thomas  Nickerson,  5;  1749,  Solomon  Collins,  2, 
and  Nehemiah  Harding,  2;  1766,  Moses  Godfrey,  6,  and  Daniel  Sears, 
jr.,  2;  1760,  Paul  Crowell,  jr.,  2;  1762,  Nathan  Basset,  6,  and  Samuel 
Collins,  9;  1764,  Seth  Smith,  7;  1765,  John  Hawes,  14;  1768,  Joseph 
Doane,  9;  1772,  Joseph  Atwood,  2;  1776,  Joseph  Howes,  13,  and  Barzil- 
lia  Hopkins,  2;  1779,  John  Crowell;  1780,  Caleb  Nickerson,  13,  and. 
James  Eldridge,  3;  1782,  Benjamin  Godfrey,  6;  1783,  Isaac  Howes,  6; 


TOWN   OF   CHATHAM.  593 

1786,  Elijah  Smith,  7;  1789,  Samuel  Doane,  12;  1790,  Kimbal  Ryder,  4; 
1797,  Jonah  Crowell,  6;  1800,  Stephen  Smith,  5;  1801,  Jonathan  Nick- 
erson,  5.  and  Simeon  Ryder,  2;  1803,  Seth  Taylor;  1804,  Mulford 
Howes,  Joseph  Young,  10,  and  Reuben  C.  Taylor,  9;  1807,  David  God- 
frey, 2;  1808,  Reuben  Ryder,  and  John  Taylor,  5;  1810,  Nathaniel 
Snow,  11,  and  Myrick  Nickerson;  1812,  Kimbal  Ryder,  jr.;  1813,  Rich- 
ard Nickerson;  1814,  Thomas  Howes,  jr.,  2;  1819,  Salathial  Nicker.son, 
7,  and  Stephen  Ryder,  jr.,  5;  1820,  Samuel  Doane,  7;  1823,  Joseph  At- 
wood;  1824,  Christopher  Taylor,  jr.,  6;  1826,  Nehemiah  Doane  and 
Isaac  Hardy;  1828,  Joshua  Atkins;  1829,  Simeon  Doane;  1831,  Joshua 
Nickerson,  18,  and  Josiah  Kendrick,  8;  1838,  Ephraim  Taylor,  9.  and 
Reuben  Young;  1843,  Thomas  Sparrow  and  Joel  Sparrow;  1844,  Zenas 
Atkins,  2;  1846,  Josiah  Mayo;  1847,  Joseph  Young,  jr.,  2,  and  Zenas 
Nickerson,  4;  1849,  Henry  Eldridge,  jr.;  1851,  Ziba  Nickerson;  1852, 
H.  T.  Eldridge;  1853,  Warren  Rogers,  6;  1854,  James  Gould;  1856, 
Jacob  Smith,  3,  and  Benjamin  T.  Freeman,  4;  1856,  Richard  Taylor, 
3;  1859,  Josiah  Hardy,  jr.,  6,  and  Ephraim  Taylor,  2;  1861,  Levi 
Eldridge,  jr.,  7,  and  B.  T.  Freeman,  4;  1865,  Joshua  Y.  Bearse,  11,  and 
Ephraim  A.  Taylor,  5;  1868,  Warren  Rogers,  7;  1870,  Levi  Eldridge,  2; 
1872,  Alfred  Eldridge;  1873,  Elisha  Eldridge;  1876,  Benjamin  T.  Free- 
man, 8;  Levi  Eldridge,  9,  and  S.  E.  Hallett,  10;  1881,  Hiram  Harding; 
1885,  A.  Z.  Atkins,  5;  Charles  Bassett,  5,  and  Collins  Howes,  4.  The 
last  three  were  elected  for  1890. 

The  treasurers  have  been:  William  Nickerson  in  1693,  for  8  years; 
in  1701,  Thomas  Atkins  was  reelected  for  7  years;  1708,  William  Cro- 
well; 1710,  Ensign  W.  Nickerson;  1711,  Nathaniel  Covel;  1713,  Rich- 
ard Sears;  1714,  Thomas  Hawes;  1719,  John  Collins;  1721,  Thomas 
Doane;  1723,  Nathaniel  Nickerson;  1725,  Joseph  Harden;  1726,  Elisha 
Mayo;  1729,  Richard  Knowles;  1731,  Thomas  Nickerson;  1732,  John 
Atkins;  1733,  Daniel  Sears;  1735,  Paul  Crowell;  1736,  James  Covel; 
1740,  Paul  Crowell;  1748,  James  Crowell;  1752,  Paul  Sears;  1753,  Daniel 
Sears,  jr.;  1769,  Nathan  Bassett;  1775,  Richard  Sears;  1785,  John 
Emery;  1789,  Joseph  Doane.  Since  1791  the  office  of  treasurer  has 
been  filled  by  the  town  clerk. 

The  clerks  of  the  town  have  been:  1693,  William  Nickerson;  1708, 
Thomas  Atkins;  1714,  Daniel  Sears;  1722,  Samiiel  Stewart;  1732, 
Thomas  Nickerson;  1749,  James  Covel;  1752,  Paul  Sears;  1753,  Daniel 
Sears,  jr.;  1769,  Nathan  Bassett;  1775,  Richard  Sears;  1785,  John  Em- 
ery; 1789,  John  Doane;  1790,  Joseph  Doane;  1797,  Nathan  Bassett,  jr.; 
1803,  John  Hawes;  1824,  Reuben  C.  Taylor;  1827,  Richard  Sears, 
jr.;  1828,  David  Godfrey;  1838,  David  Atwood;  1839,  Christopher  Tay- 
lor; 1843,  Nathaniel  Snow;  1844,  Ephraim  Taylor;  1847,  Josiah  Mayo; 
and  in  1873,  Levi  Atwood  was  elected,  and  was  acceptably  filling  the 
offices  of  treasurer  and  clerk  in  1890. 
38 


594 


HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 


Villages. — The  principal  and  most  important  center  of  the  town 
is  the  village  of  Chatham,  situate  in  the  southeastern  part-  The 
streets  environ  the  ponds  of  that  part  of  the  town,  and  their  windings 
are  only  equaled  by  the  undulations  of  the  area  over  which  they  lead. 
It  had  no  group  of  houses  in  1800  by  which  it  was  designated  from 
the  other  portions  of  the  town.  No  post  office  was  established  for  a 
score  of  years  subsequently,  and  at  that  time  nothing  betokened  the 
present  flourishing  village.  The  fishing  facilites  and  sites  for  salt 
works  soon  after  1800  brought  many  families,  whose  descendants  are 
now  the  active  business  men. 


This  beach  many  years  ago  was  still  further  east,  forming  a  good 
harbor  along  the  village,  but  it  has  since  formed  nearer  the  main  land. 
The  first  wooden  light  houses  erected  here  in  1808  were  washed  away 
and  their  site  is  now  covered  with  water.  Others  of  brick  were  erected 
in  1841,  and  the  encroachments  of  the  sea  has  left  them  in  ruins,  as 
appears  in  the  illustration.  The  scene  shows  the  beach  east  and 
north  of  the  ruins  at  a  point  where  the  sea  has  made,  in  the  contour 
of  the  coast,  those  great  changes  described  in  chapter  I.  The  present 
double  light  was  located  in  1877  just  west  of  these  ruins,  at  the  left  of 
the  picture. 

The  Collins,  Sears,  Bangs,  Hamilton  and  Atwood  families  mostly 
owned  the  lands  now  embraced  by  the  village.  Aged  citizens  who 
can  recall  the  houses  here  in  1805,  place  Richard  Howes,  Joseph  Dex- 


TOWN   OF   CHATHAM.  595 

ter  and  Eliphalet  Hamilton,  with  his  three  sons — Seth,  Nehemiah  and 
Melatiah — east  of  Mill  pond.  Somewhere  here  were  also  Samuel  and 
Cyrenius  Collins.  John  Hammond  lived  near  the  lights;  also  Josiah 
Harding  and  Isaac  Hardy.  At  the  head  of  Mill  pond  were  the  houses 
of  Jonatham  Hamilton  and  Captain  Mulford  Howes;  opposite  the 
present  store  of  Ziba  Nickerson  was  the  residence  of  Richard  Hamil- 
ton, and  opposite  the  Traveler's  Home  the  house  of  Richard  Gould. 
The  Atwoods  were  on  the  road  to  Stage  harbor,  and  near  Oyster  pond. 

Very  soon  after,  in  this  village  of  1805 — if  it  could  be  thus  denom- 
inated— we  hear  of  Eben  Bangs,  Henry  Gorham,  Elra  Eldridge,  David 
Bearse,  Josiah  Mayo,  Joshua  Nickerson,  Joseph  Loveland  and  David, 
Josiah  and  Richard  Gould.  At  the  south  the  bluffs  of  Morris  island 
and  the  long  neck  called  Harding's  beach  are  plainly  visible;  on  the 
east  the  long  beach  called  Nauset  connects  with  Monomoy  point,  and 
beyond  this  is  the  Atlantic. 

The  earliest  industry  of  the  village — always  excepting  fishing — 
was  the  manufacture  of  salt,  which  soon  after  1800  received  consider- 
able attention.  These  works,  interspersed  with  flakes  for  drying  fish, 
nearly  covered  the  shore  from  the  Sears'  plant  northeast  of  the  vil- 
lage, southerly  to  the  lights,  around  the  shores  of  both  ponds,  and  the 
rivers  connecting  them  with  the  harbor.  Enoch  Howes,  Henry  Gor- 
ham, Elra  Eldridge,  Zenas  Nickerson  and  Isaac  Hardy  had  salt  works 
on  the  beach  east  of  the  village;  Joseph  Loveland  and  Joshua  Nicker- 
son had  extensive  works  east  and  south  of  Mill  pond;  on  the  north 
side  of  Mitchell's  river  were  the  works  of  Joseph,  John  and  Sears  At- 
wood,  and  Micajah  Howes,  and  at  the  head  of  the  pond  those  of  Isaiah 
Lewis;  on  the  neck,  next  to  Stage  harbor,  those  of  William  Hamilton, 
Chri.stopher  Taylor  and  Elisha,  Joesph  and  Isaiah  Harding;  next  west 
those  of  Thomas  Smith;  on  the  point  next  to  Oyster  pond  those  of 
Reuben  Eldridge  and  Samuel  Taylor;  David  Godfrey,  Solomon  Atwood 
and  David  Atwood  on  south  side  of  Oyster  pond;  Edward  Kendrick 
and  Nathaniel  Snow  on  the  north  side  of  the  pond;  Collins  Taylor  and 
Benjamin  Buck  on  north  side  of  the  river;  Nehemiah  Doane  and  Sam- 
uel Doane  east  of  these.     Some  of  these  works  were  in  use  until  I860. 

Shipbuilding  found  a  place  among  the  vats  and  flakes.  The  sloop 
Canton,  of  fourty-six  tons,  was  built  in  1828  on  the  east  shore  north  of 
the  lights,  for  Barzillai  Harding,  who  ran  her  thirty  years  as  a  packet 
to  Boston.  About  1835  the  schooners /^ze;  aTid  Gentile  and  Emulous 
were  built  here;  and  at  the  marine  railway  after  1860  the  schooner  T. 
&  C.  Hawes  was  built  by  James  Cannon  for  Oliver  Eldridge.  The 
schooner  Deposit  was  built  just  above  the  village  by  Anthony  Thacher. 

In  1856  the  present  Eldridge  house  was  built  by  Isaac  B.  Young, 
who,  after  experience  at  Lynn  in  the  manufacture  of  shoes,  started  a 
factory  here.     The  shed  in  the  rear  of  the  house  was  then  attached. 


596  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

and  was  the  shop.  He  employed  thirty  hands,  and  for  six  years  made 
and  sold  goods  throughout  the  county.  The  factory  was  discontinued 
in  1863. 

There  were  stores  in  this  village  early,  to  supply  the  wants  of  the 
few  people,  but  that  of  Sears  &  Hardy,  about  1830,  close  to  the  old  lights, 
was  the  first  general  store  of  importance.  After  a  few  years  Josiah 
Hardy  became  the  proprietor,  and  about  1851  Ziba  Nickerson  was  in- 
terested for  two  years.  In  1853  Captain  Isaiah  Harding  had  an  inter- 
est for  seven  years,  when  James  Tripp  became  a  partner  with  his 
father-in-law,  Josiah  Hardy.  Josiah  Hardy  and  Isaiah  Harding  added 
to  the  trade  lumber,  wood,  coal,  and  cured  and  packed  fish.  This,  at 
that  time  the  only  general,  and  by  far  the  most  extensive,  store  of  the 
town,  was  near  the  present  flag  staff  by  the  old  lights.  This  firm 
brought  in  the  schooner  Favorite,  the  first  coal  to  the  town.  The  firm 
of  Hardy  &  Tripp,  after  a  few  years,  sold  to  William  Hitchings,  who 
sold  to  Parker  Nickerson  in  1872;  then  Robert  Miller  purchased  the 
building. 

From  the  old  store  by  the  lighthouses,  in  1853,  Ziba  Nickerson,  on 
his  present  site,  built  the  store,  and  engaged  in  general  merchandise. 
Besides  this,  he  has  been  long  engaged  in  the  lumber  and  shingle 
trade,  which  he  was  gradually  closing  out  in  1889;  he  continues  one  of 
the  heavy  coal  yards  of  the  village.  In  1854  a  telegraph  line,  now  a 
branch  of  the  Western  Union,  to  Boston,  was  inaugurated  at  his  store, 
of  which  he  was  the  operator  many  years,  succeeded  by  his  son,  W.  L. 
Nickerson. 

The  store  of  Solomon  E.  Hallett,  on  Main  street,  is  the  continua- 
tion of  a  dry  goods  business  which  his  mother,  Charlotte  W.  Hallett, 
commenced  in  1840. 

The  store  of  furnishing  goods  and  clothing,  by  Marcus  W.  How- 
ard, was  started  in  February,  1873,  in  the  building  now  occupied  by 
Doctor  Robinson's  drug  and  E.  T.  Bearse's  jewelry  store.  He  contin- 
ued there  until  his  present  store  building  was  completed,  in  1885. 

Sullivan  Rogers  is  one  of  the  oldest  business  men  of  the  street. 
In  1846  he  began  sheet-iron  and  tin  working  in  the  store  of  Isaiah 
Lewis,  where  Erastus  Nickerson  now  is;  it  stood  on  the  knoll  east  of 
Ziba  Nickerson's.  In  1848  he  moved  into  Samuel  H.  Young's  shop, 
next  west  of  where  Mr.  Rogers  now  lives.  After  three  years  he 
bought  and  removed  to  his  present  store.  In  1882  he  remodeled  the 
building  into  its  present  commodious  shape.  In  1889  his  son,  Josiah 
M.  Rogers,  become  a  partner,  forming  the  firm  of  Sullivan  Rogers  & 
Son,  dealing  in  stoves,  hardware  and  house  furnishing  goods. 

The  Boston  store,  by  John  J.  Howes,  is  exclusively  a  dry  goods  es- 
tablishment. He  started  in  the  Library  building,  in  April,  1886,  and 
removed  his  goods  to  his  present  store  in  July,  1887,  purchasing  the 


TOWN  OF  CHATHAM.  597 

building  the  following  month.  The  store  building  was  erected  in 
1881  for  a  post  office,  and  was  occupied  by  Charles  E.  Ellis  in  1885  for 
dry  goods;  R.  F.  Smith  carried  it  on  from  October,  1886,  to  its  pur- 
chase by  Mr.  Howes. 

Hattie  E.  Gill  started  a  millinery  store  here  in  1879,  and  after 
an  absence  of  two  years,  again  opened  a  store  in  1886.  After  a  busi- 
ness of  one  year,  she  built  her  present  store  and  removed  across  the 
street  to  it,  where  the  ladies  find  boots  and  shoes,  ladies'  wear  and 
millinery  goods.     She  enlarged  her  buildings  in  1889. 

Samuel  M.  Atwood  has  an  extensive  market  on  the  east  side  of 
Main  street.  In  this  he  began  in  March,  1889.  He  moved  the  build- 
ing from  West  Chatham  in  1887,  where  it  had  been  a  store,  occupied 
by  Captain  Ephraim  P.Steele.  He  has  followed  the  business  here 
since  1855,  and  is  one  of  the  oldest  active  men  of  the  street.  His  cus- 
tomers are  regularly  served  by  wagon.  He  has  retailed  ice  for  the 
past  twenty-five  years,  and  is  the  only  one  in  town  so  engaged.  He 
has  a  fresh  pond  on  his  farm,  from  which  he  obtains  his  supply.  He 
resides  on  the  Richard  Sears  farm.  Another  important  market  fur- 
ther east  on  Main  street  is  that  of  W.  F.  Harding.  In  July,  1888, 
he  placed  a  stock  of  groceries  and  general  provisions  in  his  store. 

An  important  factor  of  the  Chatham  business  is  the  bakery  of 
Kimble  R.  Howes.  His  main  building  was  erected  for  the  post  office 
of  Josiah  Mayo,  near  Sullivan  Rogers'  store.  In  1884  Mr.  Howes 
moved  and  enlarged  it,  converting  it  into  a  bakery,  and  the  same 
year  he  purchased  and  moved  to  the  former  bakery  building  the  south 
addition,  which  gives  him  ample  room  for  his  business. 

In  1871  Erastus  Nickerson  purchased  an  interest  in  the  marine  rail- 
way, which  he  ran  about  two  years;  but  having  had  eight  years'  ex- 
perience in  the  grocery  trade  at  Booth  Bay,  Maine,  he  preferred  that. 
In  December,  1873,  he  purchased  where  he  is,  near  the  Congregational 
church,  and  commenced  his  present  grocery  business.  He  has  greatly 
enlarged  and  beautified  the  building. 

Isaiah  and  Simeon  Harding  had  a  store  over  by  the  shore,  which 
business  they  sold  to  Andrew  Harding  in  1865.  Mr.  Harding  had 
started  a  store  on  Water  street  in  1864,  but  bought  and  combined  the 
two.  In  1871,  in  connection  with  his  stock  of  paints  and  oils,  he 
started  the  painting  business  with  H.  M.  Smith. 

Atlantic  Hall  was  the  name  given  to  a  building,  which  was  burned, 
near  the  Universalist  church.  Another  was  erected  and  called  Wash- 
ington Hall,  which,  after  the  erection  of  the  town  hall,  was  sold  in 
1879  to  E.  M.  Nickerson,  who  moved  it  across  the  street  and  converted 
it  in-to  a  billiard  hall  and  bowling  alley. 

If  the  reader  will  accompany  us  down  Atwood  street  to  the  harbor 
he  will  pass  Oyster  pond,  where  George  S.  Atwood,  John  W.  Vanhise 


598  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

and  others  plant  and  harvest  lucious  oysters;  we  arrive  at  the  town 
clerk's  oflBce,  kept  in  the  general  store  of  Levi  Atwood.  The  next 
business  place,  to  the  south,  that  of  Zenas  Nickerson,  was  the  old 
school  house,  over  by  the  lights.  He  moved  it  in  1871,  and  opened  a 
general  grocery  and  provision  store.  In  1868  he  began  trade  in  flour 
and  grain,  and  now,  with  the  coal  business,  the  wind  mill  near  by  to 
be  run,  the  interest  he  retains  in  Union  wharf  and  its  storehouses,  he 
has  enough  business  for  himself  and  his  sons.  Next,  at  the  left,  is 
the  Crystal  Spring  laundry,  of  which  Walter  S.  H.  Eldridge  has  been 
owner  and  proprietor  since  1885. 

At  the  foot  of  the  street,  on  Stage  harbor,  is  the  marine  railway 
of  Oliver  E.  Eldridge  and  Thomas  S.  Arey,  doing  business  under  the 
firm  name  of  Eldridge  &  Arey.  In  1863  Oliver  Eldridge,  father  of 
Oliver  E.,  purchased  the  railway  at  Nantucket,  transported  and  placed 
it  at  the  Union  wharf,  a  short  distance  to  the  west.  In  1877  this  firm 
purchased  and  removed  it  to  its  present  site,  by  the  side  of  which,  in 
1879,  the  wharf,  called  Steamboat,  was  built.  This  street  has  long  been 
prominent  in  the  history  of  the  village.  Joseph  Atwood  very  early 
had  a  store  in  his  house,  and  more  than  half  a  century  ago  built  a 
building  for  his  trade,  and  that  was  subsequently  moved  to  the  comer 
near  Levi  Atwood 's  store,  where  it  is  used  as  a  dwelling.  Jame  S.  At- 
wood also  had  an  ancient  store  on  this  street. 

On  the  street  opening  south  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 
John  H.  Taylor,  in  1879,  opened  a  general  store.  In  1889  he  added 
undertaking,  and  practices  arterial  embalming.  In  1863  Benjamin 
S.  Cahoon  opened  business  on  Depot  street,  keeping  paints  and  oils, 
and  in  1879  added  undertaking. 

In  1860  the  street  in  front  of  the  town  hall — an  extension  of  Main 
street — was  opened.  The  previous  year  Washington  Taylor  had  pur- 
chased the  site  and  erected  his  present  fine  buildings.  He  began  a 
store  in  1850  on  the  old  street  north  of  Oyster  pond,  and  removed  to 
the  new  one  in  1859. 

In  1862  Collins  Howes,  with  J.  H.  Tripp  and  Asa  Nye,  jr.,  as  part- 
ners, opened  a  large  outfitters'  store  on  Harding's  beach.  Ample  build- 
ings had  been  erected,  also  a  wharf,  on  the  bay  side.  In  1864  Mr.  Nye 
went  to  Booth  Bay,  Me.,  and  in  1866  Augustus  L.  Hardy  became  a 
partner,  under  the  firm  name  of  J.  H.  Tripp  &  Co.  In  1875  Hardy 
and  Tripp  moved  part  of  the  business  to  Hyannis,  and  Collins  Howes 
has  continued  here  since.  In  its  palmy  days  this  wharf  and  store 
was  the  place  for  drying  and  curing  the  cargoes  of  nearly  a  score  of 
vessels,  and  considerable  of  this  business  is  yet  centered  here. 

Kent  &  Atkins  have  a  general  store  north  of  the  depot;  Parker 
Nickerson  started  a  general  store  on  the  shore  in  1874,  bringing  goods 
from  his  old  store;  Horace  Jones  continues  the  hardware  business  of 


TOWN   OF   CHATHAM.  599 

his  brother-in-law,  H.  Hamilton,  deceased;  and  along  the  main  street 
may  be  found  the  usual  stores. 

A  village  like  Chatham  has  many  social  circles,  and  the  most 
important  will  only  find  a  place  in  this  village  history.  St.  Martin's 
Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  now  numbers  forty-seven  members.  It  com- 
menced work  January  27,  1872,  under  a  dispensation,  and  its  first 
elective  officers  were:  Benjamin  D.  Giflford,  W.  M.;  Harrison  Hamil- 
ton, S.  W.;  Solomon  Nickerson.  J.  W.;  and  Albert  Thacher,  secretary. 
Work  with  charter  began  March  12,  1873.  The  masters  have  been: 
Harrison  Hamilton,  in  1873-5;  Parker  Nickerson,  1875-8;  Rufus  K. 
Nickerson,  1878-80,  and  1882-4;  Oliver  E.  Eldridge,  1880-2;  and  B.  D. 
Gififord,  from  1884  to  1889.  Parker  Nickerson  has  been  the  secretary 
for  several  years. 

The  library  was  opened  November  28,  1887,  soon  after  the  forma- 
tion of  the  association  by  the  liberal-minded  citizens.  In  February, 
1889,  the  reading-room  and  library  properties  were  presented  to  the 
town.  The  privileges  granted  are  appreciated,  and  the  640  volumes 
of  valuable  works  and  files  of  journals  are  sought  by  the  public. 

The  enterprising  ladies  of  the  village  established  an  effective 
branch  of  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  in  April.  1885.  It  now  flourishes  with  over 
sixty  members. 

Mutual  insurance  societies  here  are  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
The  Royal  Conclave  of  K.  &  L.,  Atlantic,  No.  51,  was  established 
October  8,  1889,  with  thirty-seven  members. 

The  eldest  mutual  insurance  society  is  the  A.  L.  of  H.,  No.  937, 
established  May  12,  1882.  In  an  existence  of  seven  years  only  one  of 
its  sixty  members  has  died.  C.  A.  Freeman  was  its  first  commander 
and  has  served  every  year  except.  1885,  when  Gains  Mullett  was 
elected. 

Still  another  mutual  social  circle  was  instituted  December  26, 1888, 
having  for  its  object  the  payment  of  benefits  only  at  death.  It  is  the 
New  England  Order  of  Protection,  holding  its  social  meetings  every 
fortnight  at  Masonic  Hall. 

At  present  the  village  has  two  houses  for  the  entertainment  of 
travelers.  In  1860,  Joseph  Nickerson  built  the  Ocean  House,  now  the 
private  residence  of  W.  R.  Taylor,  on  Main  street,  and  Isaiah  Hard- 
ing kept  it  one  year.  It  was  then  occupied  as  a  dwelling  three  years 
by  Timothy  Loveland.  In  1867  Isaiah  Harding  purchased  it  and  kept 
it  five  years.  It  was  sold  to  Charles  H.  Smith,  who  kept  it  as  a  hotel 
for  a  few  years.  In  the  autumn  of  1871  Atkins  Eldridge  opened  the 
Eldridge  House,  near  the  town  hall.  His  widow  has  continued  the 
house  since  his  death,  in  1885.  Sylvester  K.  Small,  in  1884,  opened 
to  the  public,  the  "Travelers  Home."  It  is  on  an  elevation  on  Main 
street,  well  toward  the  shore.     In  1885  he  added  to  the  building,  in 


600  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

order  to  keep  pace  with  its  growing  popularity.  It  is  sought  by- 
pleasure  seekers  in  the  summer  months,  but  is  open  all  the  year. 

James  Hedge  was  appointed  postmaster  at  Chatham,  January  1, 
1798.  He  was  succeeded  by  Eleazer  Cobb,  appointed  January  1, 1801. 
The  next  incumbent  was  Ezra  Crowell,  appointed  March  12,  1802, 
succeeded  February  15,  1821,  by  Theophilus  Crowell.  June  8,  1822, 
Josiah  Mayo  was  appointed.  He  kept  the  office  first  in  his  kitchen, 
and  afterward  in  a  building  prepared  for  the  purpose.  June  5,  1861, 
Ziba  Nickerson  was  appointed  and  kept  the  office  at  his  store.  In 
1881  A.  M.  Bearse  was  made  postmaster,  and  moved  the  office  to  the 
Boston  store  building.  In  1885  M.  W.  Howard  was  appointed  and 
removed  the  office  to  his  store.  B.  D.  Giflford  was  appointed  in  June, 
1889. 

This  important  village  is  connected  with  the  outside  world  by 
the  Chatham  railroad,  via  Harwich.  Of  the  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  stock  for  its  construction  the  town  of  Chatham  holds  thirty-one 
thousand  dollars;  the  remainder  is  owned  by  individuals.  The  Old 
Colony  company  runs  the  road,  retaining  seventy  per  cent,  of  the  re- 
ceipts. The  road  adds  much  to  the  wealth  and  business  of  the  vil- 
lage. Fine  depot  and  freight  buildings  were  erected  in  1887,  at  the 
completion  of  the  road,  and  Augustus  L.  Hardy  is  the  agent. 

West  Chatham  is  a  genuine  New  England  village,  situated  just 
west  of  Chatham  village,  south  of  the  center,  and  in  the  most  fertile 
portion  of  the  town.  The  old  burying  places  of  the  town  are  north- 
east of  the  village,  and  the  settlement  of  this  area  between  the  grounds 
and  the  Harwich  line  was  made  early.  The  one  street  extends  from 
the  environs  of  Chatham  to  those  of  South  Chatham,  a  distance  of 
nearly  two  miles,  lined  with  fine  residences.  Many  of  the  inhabitants 
have  formerly  been  engaged  in  fishing,  buttheindustry  is  now  nearly 
discontinued,  and  agriculture,  including  cranberry  culture,  occupies 
their  attention. 

The  first  store  in  West  Chatham  was  kept  by  Stephen  G.  Davis, 
about  1830.  It  was  on  the  bank  of  Oyster  Pond  river.  He  carried  a 
general  stock  of  goods  and  cured  fish.  After  several  years,  he  went 
to  Boston,  and  later  became  cashier  of  the  Shawmut  Bank.  Daniel 
Howes  succeeded  him  at  West  Chatham  in  1849,  where  is  now  the 
store  building  erected  in  1882,  which  has  since  been  kept  by  P.  Eldora 
Harding.  L.  D.  Buck  started  a  grocery  in  1865,  which  he  continues 
in  the  west  part  of  the  little  village.  Samuel  Doane  had  a  small  store 
prior  to  1880  where  John  K.  Kendrick  resides.  The  last  mentioned 
place  is  historic  as  the  site  of  a  post  office  for  two  terms.  Daniel 
Howes  was  the  first  postmaster  in  anoldstore  where  the  present  office 
is  located;  he  began  about  1849.  He  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  Doane 
in  his  store  where  John  K.  Kendrick  lives,  and  who,  in  1881,  succeeded 


TOWN   OF   CHATHAM.  601 

Doane,  and  held  the  office  until  February,  1882,  when  P.  Eldora  Hard- 
ing was  appointed. 

Chatham  Port  is  a  neighborhood  sparsely  settled  over  Nickerson's 
neck- — between  Pleasant  bay  and  Rider  cove, — and  at  the  south  of 
the  cove  may  be  found  a  considerable  community.  The  name  Chat- 
ham Port,  considered  a  misnomer  by  some,  was  applied  when  the 
waters  surrounding  that  part  of  the  town  furnished  the  best  and  safest 
harbors.  The  first  permanent  settlement  of  the  town  was  established 
here  in  1665,  by  William  Nickerson,  and  very  soon  after  by  the  Eld- 
ridge,  Crowell,  Ryder  and  other  families.  A  short  distance  above  the 
head  of  Ryder  cove,  on  a  mound  in  a  valley  south  of  Christopher  Ry- 
der's residence,  is  the  site  of  the  original  William  Nickerson's  house; 
and  near  by,  on  burying  hill,  which  was  an  Indian  burial  place,  his 
ashes  without  doubt  found  their  last  resting  place.  The  hill  is  over 
150  feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  among  the  many  mounds  only  three 
are  marked  by  stones;  those  of  Zenas,  John  and  Elizabeth  Ryder,  who 
died  in  1766,  of  smallpox.  A  few  burials  were  subsequently  made 
here,  but  the  remains  have  been  removed  to  more  modern  cemeteries. 
It  was  originally  on  William  Nickerson's  home  farm,  but  has  been 
reserved  in  subsequent  transfers. 

From  burying  hill,  now  within  the  premises  of  S.  A.  Bassett,  can 
be  seen  the  entire  landscape  of  the  north  part  of  the  town  and  the  en- 
circling waters  of  the  bays  and  coves;  and  to  the  south  may  be  seen 
the  greatly  improved  building,  once  the  old  parsonage  in  which  Rev. 
Ephraim  Briggs,  and  later.  Rev.  Stetson  Raymond,  lived  to  serve  in 
the  old  church  which  stood  near  by.  Long  ago  the  elements  of  two 
centuries  erased  all  evidence  of  early  habitations;  but  one  of  later  date 
remains  as  a  connecting  link  with  the  past.  It  is  the  small  house 
built  by  the  grandfather  of  Ensign  Nickerson,  sr.,  on  the  neck,  and 
was  moved  and  refitted  by  the  latter  in  his  lifetime.  It  is  now  owned 
by  S.  M.  Nickerson,  of  Chicago,  one  of  Ensign's  grandsons,  and  stands 
near  the  site  sold  by  that  gentleman  to  a  Boston  company,  who  are 
erecting  there  a  fine  summer  hotel — the  only  hotel  at  Chatham  Port. 
The  old  ordinary  does  not  appear  among  the  former  institutions  of 
the  village;  but  as  the  old  stores  were  permitted  to  "  draw  wines," 
none  was  needed.  Ezra  Crowell,  called  "  Esquire  Crowe,"  kept  a  tav- 
ern later,  on  the  old  Queen  Anne  road,  near  the  meeting  house  within 
sight,  at  the  southwest. 

But  little  can  be  gleaned  concerning  the  stores  of  the  last  century; 
they  were  few  and  small,  and  contained  the  heavy  goods  needed  for 
fishing.  The  Nickersons  and  Eldridges  had  primitive  stores  then, 
but  that  first  remembered  by  the  living  was  by  Mrs.  Ensign  Nicker- 
son in  1829.  She  was  familiarly  called  "Aunt  Becky,"  and  kept  a 
small  store  in  her  house  for  forty  years.     In  1849  Christopher  Ryder 


602  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

started  a  store  at  his  residence,  and  is  still  in  trade.  Isaac  B.  and 
Joseph  Young  built  and  opened  a  store  in  1852  on  the  corner,  and  re- 
vived the  fishing  business;  but  after  four  years,  on  account  of  the 
closing  of  the  harbor's  mouth  by  sand,  they  discontinued  the  latter 
branch.  The  store  was  sold  to  Enos  Kent,  who,  after  a  few  years,  re- 
moved the  goods  to  his  house.  He  died  in  1875,  and  the  business  was 
closed.     H.  Harding,  jr.,  opened  a  store  in  his  house  in  1889. 

The  Cape  Cod,  a  schooner  of  sixty-five  tons,  was  built  at  this  village 
by  Samuel  Moody,  for  Lumbert  Nickerson,and  was  launched  into  the 
bay  from  the  premises  of  Ensign  Nickerson. 

For  salt  manufacturing,  the  coves  and  bays  of  Chatham  Port  af- 
forded the  best  of  facilities,  which .  were  improved  soon  after  1800. 
Reuben  Ryder  is  said  to  have  first  erected  works  on  the  shore  of 
Pleasant  bay,  and  his  sons,  Isaiah  and  Christopher,  continued  them. 
The  second  was  erected  by  Ensign  Nickerson,  sr.  These  were  suc- 
ceeded as  rapidly  as  the  works  could  be  built  by  Kimble  Ryder,  his 
son,  Kimble  Ryder,  jr.,  Stephen  Smith  and  his  son — all  on  Ryder's 
river.  Still  later  Ezra  Crowell  built  extensive  works  on  the  same  river 
and  sold  to  Jonah  and  Joseph  Young,  the  latter  being  an  early,  manu- 
facturer elsewhere.  Joshua  Crowell,  James  Ryder  and  Captain  Young 
soon  established  works,  succeeded  by  Joseph,  Rufus  and  Samuel  H. 
Young.  Edward  Kent  also  erected  works  here.  On  Crowe'-s  pond, 
in  1825,  we  find  the  works  of  Josiah  Kendrick  and  Jonathan  Eldridge; 
on  Ryder's  cove  the  works  of  John  Taylor  and  Reuben  Snow;  and 
further  east,  in  the  old  harbor  district,  Myrick  Nickerson  made  salt. 
Later  still  Ensign  Nickerson,  jr.,  the  father  of  Orick  and  Samuel  M., 
erected  works  on  Crowe's  pond;  also  on  the  bay  side,  which  were  con- 
tinued until  their  decay  in  1877.  David  H.  Crowell  confidently  asserts 
that  in  1835  around  Ryder's  cove  he  could  count  within  sight  twenty- 
eight  wind  mills  for  pumping  brine.  The  only  works  standing  in  1889 
were  those  of  Jesse  Nickerson,  who  once  owned  eighteen  hundred 
feet,  and  which  were  more  or  less  used  until  1886. 

In  1828  Joseph  Young  established  the  only  block  factory  ever  on 
the  Cape.  He  started  a  water  mill  in  1819,  just  south  of  the  corner 
near  David  Crowell's.  In  this  he  first  placed,  in  1821,  cards  for  dress- 
ing cloth.  Mr.  Young  next  started  the  block-making  in  this  building, 
but  made  them  mostly  by  hand.  In  1847  Isaac  B.  Young,  his  son, 
formed  a  co-partnership  with  him,  after  having  completed  machinery 
to  manufacture  by  water.  This  is  claimed  to  have  been  the  first 
manufactory  of  blocks  by  machinery  in  the  state.  Zenas  L.  Marston, 
Samuel  Young  and  George  Young  were  admitted  to  partnership  and 
the  business  was  successful  for  a  period  of  ten  years;  then  others  bad 
commenced  the  manufacture  and  this  firm  lost  six  thousand  dollars 
in  stock  by  the  burning  of  their  storehouse.      The  business  was  dis- 


TOWN   OF  CHATHAM.  603 

continued  and  the  factory  building  was  moved  to  Chatham  village, 
where  it  is  still  doing  service. 

A  post-office  at  North  Chatham  supplied  this  people  before  the 
appointment  of  Enos  Kent  as  postmaster  for  Chatham  Port.  He 
began  the  office  in  his  store  in  1862,  and  continued  it  until  1876,  the 
year  of  his  death.  His  daughter,  Emma  P.,  served  until  1878,  when 
David  H.  Crowell,  who  was  appointed,  removed  the  office  to  his  resid- 
ence. In  July,  1889,  he  was  succeeded  by  Osborn  Nickerson,  who 
keeps  the  office  at  his  house. 

North  Chatham  is  a  beautiful  village  situated  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  the  township.  The  surface  of  the  entire  neck  between  the 
Bassing  place  and  the  sea  is  uneven  and  undulating,  but  the  prettiest 
residences  have  been  erected  upon  the  highest  knolls  and  command 
a  fine  view  of  the  harbor,  shoals  and  ocean  beyond.  Strong  island, 
Nauset  beach,  and  the  irregular  shores  of  Orleans  on  the  north,  relieve 
the  vision  from  the  vast  expanse  of  ocean,  and  the  village  is  becom- 
ing noted  as  a  summer  resort.  The  territory  was  early  settled  by  the 
families  who  succeeded  William  Nickerson  and  those  who  came  across 
from  old  Eastham.  Fishing,  coasting  and  foreign  service  have  been 
the  principal  occupations  of  the  inhabitants,  and  in  no  other  portion 
of  the  town  comparatively  are  found  more  or  a  better  representation 
of  these  worthy  callings  than  among  the  retired  and  active  sons  of 
North  Chatham.  Other  industries  have  not  been  neglected.  In  the 
period  between  1825  and  1835  the  brig  (Ta^/nVr  was  built  near  Salathiel 
Nickerson's  shore;  and  the  schooners  Classic,  Luna,  Bertha,  Anson,  Exit, 
and  Philantropic  were  launched  near  the  old  wharf.  This  wharf  was 
built  by  Smith  Eldridge  about  1830,  or  prior,  and  was  broken  up  by 
the  sea  in  1851.  Near  there,  in  1833,  Orick  Nickerson  had  a  coasting 
schooner  of  eighty  tons  built;  and  in  1834  another  of  similar  capacity. 
The  builder  was  Anthony  Thacher,  son  of  William,  who  was  the 
fir.st  to  build  vessels  in  the  town. 

A  store  was  built  with  the  wharf  by  Mr.  Eldridge,  both  of  which 
were  purchased  in  1834  by  Ensign  Nickerson,  jr.  The  business  was 
conducted  by  Orick  Nickerson  for  fifteen  years,  when  he  removed 
part  of  the  store  building  to  Monomoy  point,  where,  it  is  doing  ser- 
vice as  a  dwelling,  and  sold  the  wharf  and  real  estate  to  Zenas 
Atkins.  At  that  time  Richard,  Salathiel,  Caleb  and  Myrick  Nicker- 
son, Zenas  Taylor,  Joshua  Atkins,  Mulford  Howes  and  others,  were 
largely  engaged  in  fishing.  The  available  anchorage  then  was 
dotted  with  vessels  when  home  from  the  Banks,  and  the  shores 
were  lined  with  drying  flakes.  After  the  interruption  of  this 
branch  of  thrift  by  the  destruction  of  the  wharf  and  closing  of  the 
harbor  by  shifting  sands,  another  wharf  was  built  in  1855,  by 
Zenas  Atkins,  Christopher  Taylor,  Clement   Kendrick   and  several 


604  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Others  in  smaller  shares.  This  wharf  and  the  fitful  revival  of 
the  fishing  interest  were  eflFectually  destroyed  in  a  few  years  from 
the  same  cause. 

Prior  to  these  wharves  and  in  connection  with  the  fishing  interest 
the  manufacture  of  salt  was  important.  The  stores  around  North 
Chatham  and  the  attention  of  the  people  were  alike  fully  occupied  in 
its  production.  From  Myrick  Nickerson's  works  on  Ryder's  river 
there  were  to  the  east  those  of  Prince  Harding,  John  Ryder,  Benjamin 
Dunbar,  Joseph  Taylor,  Zenas  Taylor  and  Salathiel  Nickerson;  at  Old 
Harbor  were  those  of  Timothy  Loveland,  sr. — five  thousand  feet — 
Joshua  Atkins,  Allen  Nickerson  and  Caleb  Nickerson;  and  to  the  south 
of  these  the  shore  was  lined  with  the  works  of  Thomas  Howes,  Rich- 
ard Nickerson  and  others;  while  well  toward  the  village  of  Chatham 
were  the  extensive  works  of  Richard  Sears.  The  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  this  long  shore  line  of  salt  vats  has  been  obliterated,  and 
but  few  are  living  of  the  enterprising  spirits  who  owned  or  managed 
them. 

•  The  first  store  here,  of  which  reliable  tradition  speaks,  was  one 
kept  in  1820  by  Isaiah  Nye  and  William  Hamilton.  In  1829  Mr.  Nye 
moved,  and  started  a  store  on  the  main  road  near  the  old  meeting 
house,  Mr.. Hamilton  continuing  the  first  until  he  sold  it  to  Joshua 
Nickerson,  who  in  turn  sold  it  to  Captain  Benjamin  T.  Freeman  in 
1853.  Mr.  Freeman  continued  in  the  store  on  the  shore  a  few  years, 
then  erected  and  removed  to  the  store  now  occupied  by  his  son,  C.  A. 
Freeman,  who  succeeded  him  in  1884.  After  the  store  connected 
with  the  old  wharf  another  store  at  the  new  wharf  was  kept  by  Zenas 
Atkins  several  years.  Among  others,  Thacher  Ryder  was  a  promi- 
ent  merchant  here,  opening  a  store  at  Old  Harbor  soon  after  1820.  At 
his  death,  in  1863,  his  son-in-law,  David  H.  Crowell,  of  Chatham  Port, 
removed  the  goods  to  his  residence,  where  he  not  only  sold  them  out, 
but  continued  in  the  business  several  years. 

The  only  tavern  regularly  kept  in  the  village  was  by  John  King, 
who  sold  in  1803  to  Timothy  Loveland,  father  of  the  present  resident 
of  that  name,  who  discontinued  in  1805.  This  old  stand  is  situated 
opposite  the  present  Baxter  House,  a  beautiful  summer  hotel,  refitted 
in  1886  by  Hattie  Baxter. 

Isaiah  Nj'e  was  the  first  postmaster  at  North  Chatham,  appointed 
January  18,  1828.  He  kept  the  office  at  the  store  of  Nye  &  Hamilton. 
Shadrack  N.  Howland,  appointed  March  19,  1831,  was  the  next  incum- 
bent; Joshua  Nickerson,  jr.,  succeeded  him  April  17, 1837;  and  Thacher 
Ryder,  in  1854,  was  postmaster,  with  the  office  on  the  north  side  of 
Old  Harbor.  In  1861  Captain  Benjamin  T.  Freeman,  as  postmaster, 
removed  the  office  to  his  store,  and  in  1884  he  was  succeeded  by  C.  A. 
Freeman,  his  son,  who  continues  it  at  the  same  place. 


TOWN  OF  CHATHAM.  605 

The  distance  from  North  Chatham  to  the  principal  center  of  the 
town  is  short,  and  the  wayside  cottages  are  so  thickly  interspersed 
over  the  landscape  that  the  two  villages  may  be  almost  called  one. 

South  Chatham  is  not  as  old  a  village  as  West,  but  excels  it  in 
many  ways.  It  is  further  from  the  larger  villages  on  either  side,  and 
its  "business  is  more  confined  within  itself.  A  fine  school  building, 
erected  for  three  departments,  and  a  new  depot  greet  the  eye  of  the 
traveler  who  alights  from  the  train.  As  the  visitor  walks  westerly 
along  the  well-kept  street,  he  sees  the  store  of  Joshua  Eldridge,  who 
for  forty  years  has  been  engaged  in  a  small  grocery  trade.  The  first 
store  here  of  importance  was  erected  in  1839  by  Levi  Eldridge,  where 
he  opened  a  general  stock.  In  1843  his  brother,  Hiram  T.,  assumed 
the  business  which,  at  his  death  in  1864,  was  resumed  by  the  original 
proprietor.  This  is  not  all  in  which  Levi  Eldridge  is  engaged.  In 
1888,  with  his  son-in-law,  Cyrus  W.  Kelley,  he  opened  a  coal  yard  at 
the  depot,  and  removing  here  their  lumber  yard  from  Deep  Hole,  the 
firm  now  keep  in  stock  coal,  lumber,  wood,  hay  and  harnesses. 

The  fishing  business  was  formerly  the  leading  industry  here,  and 
many  years  ago  Levi  Eldridge,  with  others,  erected  a  wharf  on  the 
bay,  at  a  point  just  over  the  line  of  Harwich,  where  fish  were  cured 
and  packed.  After  a  few  years  he  became  sole  owner,  repaired  the 
wharf  after  the  ice  had  once  nearly  destroyed  it,  then  gradually  closed 
out  his  fishing  interests,  and  allowed  the  wharf  to  go  to  pieces  in  1887. 
Levi  Eldridge  and  John  G.  Doane,  in  1866,  had  six  vessels  in  the  cod 
and  mackerel  fishing,  for  which  they  cured  -and  packed,  and  packed 
the  mackerel  for  seven  other  vessels.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Doane 
the  business  was  continued  by  Mr.  Eldridge,  aided  by  his  son,  who 
died  in  1884.  Then  he  sold  the  vessels  and  closed  this  branch  in 
1887.  The  statistics  of  this  one  firm  would  be  a  fair  index  of  the  de- 
cline of  this  industry  throughout  the  Cape.  In  1881,  Mr.  Eldridge, 
as  inspector  for  his  and  other's  fish  at  that  wharf,  reported  8,932  bar- 
rels of  his  own  mackerel;  in  1882  he  had  6,983  barrels;  in  1883  only 
4,304  barrels;  in  1884,  4,216;  in  1885,  2,040;  and  in  1886  but  a  very 
few.  Now  agriculture,  especially  cranberry  culture,  commands  the 
attention  of  the  citizens. 

A  general  business  in  merchandise  is  still  continued  by  Levi 
Eldridge  at  the  old  site.  A  little  west  of  him,  opposite  the  G.  A.  R. 
Hall,  is  the  grocery  store  of  Elisha  M.  Eldridge,  who  followed  fishing 
summers,  and  mercantile  business  winters,  until  1876,  when  he  estab- 
lished here  a  permanent  trade.  The  hall  now  owned  and  occupied  by 
F.  D.  Hammond  Post,  No.  141,  was  erected  about  thirty  years  ago  by 
a  stock  company  and  was  called  Excelsior  Hall.  In  1885  the  Post 
purchased  it,  and  have  a  flourishing  organization,  which  is  comprised 
of  members  from  Chatham  and  surrounding  towns. 


606  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

A  post  office  was  needed  here,  and  in  1862  Levi  Eldridge  was 
appointed  postmaster,  placing  the  office  at  his  store.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1885  by  Joshua  Eldridge,  who  removed  the  boxes  and  de- 
tails to  his  store  further  east.  In  October,  1889,  Francis  S.  Cahoon 
was  appointed. 

The  only  distinctive  religious  society  of  the  Village  is  the  Come- 
Outers,  as  they  are  vulgarly  called,  and  this  also  includes  members 
from  other  localities.  As  this  is  probably  the  only  mention  this  sect 
will  have,  although  there  are  a  few  in  the  south  of  Dennis,  and,  per- 
haps in  other  towns,  it  is  just  to  explain  that  the  members  have  come 
out  from  other  religious  organizations,  not  agreeing  with  them  in 
forms  of  worship. 

Pilgrim  Library  was  instituted  here  February  5, 1875,  and  now  con- 
tains 516  volumes.  It  is  kept  at  the  store  of  Levi  Eldridge,  and  M. 
E.  Kelley  is  librarian. 

The  agent  of  this  station  of  the  Chatham  railroad,  appointed  in 
1887,  is  Alfred  A.  Eldridge.  The  beautiful  rolling  fields  of  this  part 
of  the  town,  the  proximity  of  the  village  to  Chatham  bay,  and  the 
thrift  of  its  business  men,  render  South  Chatham  important  among 
the  villages. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

Thomas  S.  Arey,  bom  in  1839  in  Orleans,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Oliver 
and  Mercy  (Snow)  Arey  and  grandson  of  Joseph  Arey,  born  1716.  He 
followed  the  sea  fourteen  years  in  early  life.  He  was  for  sixteen 
months  acting  ensign  in  the  navy  during  the  rebellion.  Since  1868 
he  has  been  engaged  in  vessel  repairs — nine  years  in  South  America 
and  twelve  years  at  Stage  Wharf,  Chatham.  He  is  a  member  of  Frank 
D.  Hammond  Post.  He  was  married  in  1865,  to  Lucinda,  daughter  of 
Amariah  Mayo.  They  have  one  daughter  living — Bertha  M. — and 
have  lost  two  children. 

Alvin  Z.  Atkins,  bom  in  1849,  is  a  son  of  Zenas,  whose  father, 
Joshua,  was  a  son  of  William  Atkins.  His  mother  was  Rhoda, 
daughter  of  John  and  Temperance  (Bascom)  Crowell.  Mr.  Atkins  has 
been  selectman  since  1885.  He  is  a  member  of  St.  Martins  Lodge.  In 
1872  he  was  married  to  Eunice,  daughter  of  Reuben  and  Sally  (Hard- 
ing) Hawes.  They  have  lost  four  children:  Nellie  E.,  Susie  C.,  Zenas 
and  Sadie  W. 

George  S.  Atwood,  son  of  Solomon  and  Lucy  (Smith)  Atwood,  was 
bom  in  1835,  and  is  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  was  a  contractor  and 
builder  until  1879,  and  since  that  time  has  been  engaged  in  oyster 
culture.  He  was  married  in  1860,  to  Mehitable  S.,  daughter  of  Elisha 
Holbrook.  They  have  three  children:  George  S.,  jr.,  Nellie  F.  and 
Benjamin  F. 


PRIHT. 
E.    BIERBTADT,    N. 


TOWN   OF   CHATHAM.  607 

Joseph  Atwood,  born  in  1823,  is  the  only  son  of  Esquire  Joseph 
and  grandson  of  Sears  Atwood.  He  studie'd  dentistry  with  Dr.  N.  K. 
Mayo,  and  has  been  in  practice  at  Chatham  for  over  forty  years.  He 
owns  and  occupies  his  father's  homestead.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Congregational  church.  In  1854  he  was  married  to  Alzina  R.  Adams 
of  New  York.  They  have  one  daughter,  Nina  M.,  who  was  married 
in  1873,  to  Prof.  Hiram  M.  George,  who  was  principal  of  the  Chatham 
high  school  in  1872  and  1873,  and  has  been  master  for  the  last  twelve 
years  of  the  Tileston  School,  Boston.  They  have  three  children: 
Ernest  A.,  Arthur  A.  and  N.  Modesta. 

Levi  Atwood. — Stephen  Atwood,  mentioned  as  Stephen  Wood, 
was  enrolled  in  1643,  at  Plymouth,  as  one  able  to  bear  arms,  being 
then  over  sixteen  years  of  age.  Soon  after  he  came  to  old  Nauset 
where  he  married  Abigail  Dunham,  November  6,  1644,  settling  in 
Eastham.  He  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Atwoods  on  the  Cape.  He 
died  in  Eastham  in  1694,  leaving  a  large  family  of  children.  Joseph, 
his  third  child,  bom  about  1650,  married  Apphiah  (Bangs)  Knowles, 
widow  of  John  Knowles  and  daughter  of  Edward  Bangs,  in  1677. 
They  had  five  children.  One  of  these,  Joseph  Atwood,  jr.,  married 
Bethia  Crowell  and  reared  nine  children.  One  of  these,  also  named 
Joseph,  was  born  February  19,  1720,  and  removed  to  Chatham,  where 
he  married  Deborah,  daughter  of  Daniel  Sears,  in  1742.  This  Joseph 
was  a  prominent  man  of  Chatham,  as  a  shipmaster  in  foreign  com- 
merce, and  as  mentioned  in  the  records  of  the  town.  He  died  Feb- 
ruary 8, 1794.  His  wife  died  January  6,  1796,  aged  seventy-four.  They 
had  seven  children.  Sears  Atwood,  the  seventh  of  these,  was  born 
July  26,  1761,  and  was  married  October  31,  1782,  to  Azubah,  daughter 
of  Solomon  Collins.  Their  seven  children  were:  Joseph,  born  Sep- 
tember 25,  1783;  Solomon,  born  August  6,  1785;  David,  August  29, 
1787;  John,  August  20,  1789;  Sears,  March  31,  1792;  James,  February 
4,  1801;  and  Azubah,  October  18,  1805.  Sears  Atwood,  the  father, 
died  March  1,  1832;  his  wife  November  10, 1832.  The  children,  except 
Sears,  who  died  young,  all  settled  in  the  immediate  neighborhood, 
giving  the  family  name  to  the  street  and  the  school.  It  was  said  to 
be  the  boast  of  the  old  gentleman  that  he  could  stand  in  his  door  and 
make  all  his  children  hear  his  voice  in  their  own  homes. 

Solomon,  the  second  son  of  Sears  Atwood,  and  the  father  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  married  Lucy,  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Mar- 
gery Smith,  of  Chatham,  December  8,  1814,  and  died  March  26,  1848. 
His  wife  died  November  29,  1868,  Their  six  children  were:  Sears, 
Mary,  Solomon  C,  Levi,  Lucy  S.  and  George  S.,  of  whom  Sears,  Mary, 
Levi  and  George  S.,  still  survive.  Of  this  family  of  four  sons  and  two 
daughters.  Sears  Atwood  was  bom  November  20,1816,  married  Phebe 
N.  Harding,  December  31,  1840,  and  they  have  two  children,  Solomon 


608  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

C.  and  Charles  R.,  who  are  both  heads  of  families.     Mary,  bom  April 
20,  1817,  was  married  February  1, 1844,  to  John  Emery,  and  of  their 
seven  children  three  survive.    Solomon  C.  Atwood  was  born  March 
15,  1819,  and  was  drowned,  by  falling  from  a  boat  on  the  night  of 
June  7, 1837,  at  Monomoy  harbor.     Lucy  S.,  born  March  9,  1828,  died 
September  30,  1841:     George  S.,  bom  September  1,  1836.   married 
Mehitable  S.  Holbrook  on  the  25th  of  December,  1860.    They  have 
three   children:    George   S.,  jr.,   Nellie   F.  and    Benjamin   F.     Levi 
Atwood,  whose  portrait  appears  in  this  connection,  was  born  March 
25,  1824,  was  educated  in  Chatham,  and  employed  the  summers  of  his 
younger  years  in  farming,  salt  making,  and  in  the  sale  of  lumber,  and 
the  winters  in   teaching  in   the   district  schools.     He   was  married 
March  26,  1850,  to  Phebe  Mason,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  and  Betsey 
Hatch  of  Andover,  Mass.     Mrs.  Atwood's  father  was  a  school  teacher 
and  a  man  of  some  note  in  the  town;  her  mother  was  of  a  distin- 
guished family — the   Elliotts.     Her   maternal  g^randfather,  Robert 
Mason,  entered  the  revolutionary  army  at  fourteen  years  of  age,  serv- 
ing through  the  war  and  filling  many  important  positions.    Mrs. 
Atwood's  death  occurred  at  Chatham  on  the  18th  of  January,  1890, 
after  many  months  of  patient  suffering.    Their  five  children  were: 
Rodolphus,  the  first  son,  bom  February  22,  1851,  died  April  5th,  of 
the  following  year;  Lucy  S.,  born  May  22, 1854,  married  December  26, 
1878,  to  Rev.  Joseph  Hammond,  now  a  resident  pastor  at  Carlisle, 
Mass.,  and  has  three  children  :  Eva,  Louise  and  Joseph  Hammond; 
Roswell  Atwood,  bom   October  20,   1855,  married  on   the  25th  of 
December,  1877,  to  Idella  M.,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Eunice  Smithy 
and  has  one  son — Henry  Romaine  Atwood;  Lura  S.  Atwood,  bom 
September  3,  1857,  married  June  8,  1887,  to  Joseph  S.  Reed,  and  has 
one  son — Harold  Nickerson  Reed;  Levi  Sidney  Atwood,  the  youngest 
of  the  five,  born  June  21,  1863,  married  Cornelia  M.,  daughter  of 
Francis  B.  and  Azubah  A.  Rogers,  on  the  first  of  December,  1886,  and 
has  one  son — George  Tyler  Atwood. 

Thus  Mr.  Atwood  finds  himself,  while  scarcely  past  the  meridian 
of  his  own  life,  surrounded  by  a  younger  life  in  his  children  and 
grandchildren,  and  happily  sees  the  generations  come  as  the  genera- 
tions go  and  a  family  name  preserved  which  for  more  than  two  cen- 
turies has  been  respected  on  the  Cape.  He  is  still  actively  engaged 
himself,  in  the  mercantile  business,  on  the  same  site  where  he  com- 
menced, November  1,  1849 — over  forty  years  ago.  For  half  a  century 
he  has  been  an  important  factor  in  the  affairs  of  church  and  state, 
and  in  every  work  for  the  enlightenment  and  good  of  his  town,  has 
done  well  his  part.  He  has  been  in  the  choir  of  the  church  of  his 
choice  (the  Congregational)  for  fifty  years,  and  superintendent  of  its 
Sunday  school  forty-five  years;  town  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  town 


TOWN  OF  CHATHAM.  609 

since  1873,  as  an  exponent  of  the  Republican  party;  has  served  sev- 
eral years  on  the  school  committee,  and  for  nearly  twenty  years  has 
had  the  editorial  charge  of  the  Chatham  Monitor,  the  town  local  paper. 
During  his  term  of  service  in  these  many  responsible  positions  he 
has  never  been  absent  without  the  most  urgent  and  unavoidable 
reason,  and  by  his  fearless  and  faithful  discharge  of  the  multifarious 
duties  of  life  this  representative  of  the  important  family  of  Atwood 
has  erected  to  his  memory  and  to  the  family  name  some  permanent 
landmarks,  which  may  fitly  become  a  heritage  and  an  impulse  for 
good  to  the  generations  of  the  future. 

Samuel  M.  Atwood,  youngest  son  of  John  and  Margaret  (Smith) 
Atwood,  and  grandson  of  Sears  Atwood,  was  born  in  1834.  He  was 
married  in  1868,  to  Lizzie  M.,  daughter  of  Robert  and  Desire  (Nick- 
erson)  Eldridge. 

Sears  Atwood,  bom  in  1815,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Solomon  and  Lucy 
(Smith)  Atwood,  and  grandson  of  Sears  and  Azubah  (Collins)  Atwood. 
He  followed  the  sea  from  1830  until  1861.  He  has  been  for  several 
years  engaged  in  the  coal  business.  He  was  married  in  1840,  to  Phebe 
N.,  daughter  of  Elisha  and  Patia  Harding.  They  have  two  sons:  Sol- 
omon C.  and  Charles  R. 

Azubah  C.  Ballou  is  a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Patia  (Howes)  At- 
wood. She  was  married  in  1838,  to  Captain  James  S.  Taylor,  son  of 
James  S.  and  Lucy  (Nickerson)  Taylor.  Mr.  Taylor  died  in  1861 ,  leav- 
ing one  adopted  daughter,  Azubah  A.  (Mrs.  Cyrenus  A.  Bearse).  She 
was  married  again  in  1867,  to  Giddings  H.  Ballou,  the  oldest  son  of 
Rev.  Hosea  Ballou,  2d,  D.D.,who  was  the  first  president  of  Tufts  Col- 
lege.  Mr.  Ballou  was  born  November  10,  1820,  and  was  a  portrait  art- 
ist for  many  years.  He  was  also  secular  editor  of  the  Gospel  Banner 
during  the  late  war.  He  was  for  eight  or  ten  years  in  government  em- 
ploy at  Washington,  preparing  statistics  for  the  bureau  of  agriculture. 
He  was  a  very  successful  school  teacher,  and  was  several  years  con- 
tributor to  Harper's  and  other  magazines.  He  died  in  Chatham,  June 
8,  1886. 

Charles  Bassett,  born  in  1843,  is  the  only  living  child  of  Whitman 
and  Eliza  (Doane)  Bassett,  a  grandson  of  Enoch,  and  great-grandson 
of  Samuel  Bassett.  Mr.  Bassett  was  engaged  in  fishing  until  1879, 
and  is  now  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  Chatham  railroad.  He  has 
been  five  years  selectman,  and  was  six  years  a  member  of  the  school 
committee.  He  was  married  in  1864,  to  Sarah  Harwood,  who  died 
leaving  one  son,  Henry  A.  He  was  married  again  in  1871,  to  Mar- 
tha Sears.     She  died  leaving  three  children. 

Harriet  L.  Baxter  is  a  daughter  of  Christopher  and  Harriet  (Oli- 
ver) Taylor,  and  grand daugher  of  Christopher  Taylor.  She  was  mar- 
ried  in  1876,  to  Allen  Baxter,  and   has   one   daughter,  Eleanor  H. 


610  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Mrs.  Baxter  has  kept  a  summer  boarding  house  at  North  Chatham 
since  1885,  at  her  father's  homestead. 

Cyrenus  A.  Bearse,  born  in  1842,  a  son  of  Ezra  and  Delilah 
(Mayo)  Bearse,  was  a  master  mariner  in  the  foreign  trade.  He  was 
married  in  1869,  to  Azubah  A.,  daughter  of  James  S.  and  Azubah 
(Atwood)  Taylor.  They  had  one  daughter.  Virginia  F.,  and  one  son, 
who  died  in  infancy.  Captain  Bearse  died  on  board  the  ship  George 
Skolfield,  September  7,  1889,  on  the  voyage  from  Calcutta. 

George  N.  Bearse,  born  in  1837,  is  a  son  of  Eben,  whose  father, 
Ebenezer,  was  a  son  of  Simeon  Bearse.  His  mother  was  Clarissa,, 
daughter  of  Zoath  and  Clarissa  Nickerson.  Mr.  Bearse  followed  the 
fishing  business  from  1851  to  1884,  and  was  master  of  vessels  twenty 
years.  Since  1884  he  has  been  in  the  store  and  fishing  business  with 
Alonzo  Kendrick.  He  was  married  in  1861  to  Rebecca  A.  Eldridge, 
who  died  leaving  two  children:  Lelia  L.  and  David  W.  He  was  mar- 
ried again  in  1871,  to  Marietta,  daughter  of  Samuel  D.  and  Mary  A. 
(Crowell)  Eldridge.  They  have  one  daughter,  Lottie  M.  Mrs. 
Bearse's  paternal  grandparents  were  Isaiah  and  Rebecca  (Davis) 
Eldridge,  and  her  maternal  grandparents  were  Mark  and  Anna 
Crowell. 

George  H.  Buck,  son  of  Nathan  and  Keziah  (Kendrick)  Buck,  and 
grandson  of  Joshua  Buck,  was  bom  in  1839.  He  followed  the  sea 
from  1852  to  1884,  coasting  and  fishing.  He  was  married  in  1863,  to 
Aurelia  E.,  daughter  of  Charles  G.  Cook.  They  have  three  children 
living:  George  H.,  jr.,  Madella  A.  and  Clara  D.;  and  two  sons  de- 
ceased. 

Benjamin  S.  Cahoon,  born  in  1828,  in  Harwich,  is  the  youngest  and 
only  surviving  child  of  Seth  and  Mehitabel  (Small)  Cahoon,  and  grand- 
son of  Seth  Cahoon.  He  is  a  painter  by  trade,  and  has  followed  the 
business  and  kept  painters'  supplies  since  1867.  Since  1882  he  has 
also  done  an  undertaking  business.  He  served  in  the  war  of  the  re- 
bellion eleven  months  in  Company  E.,  Forty-third  Massachusetts 
Volunteers,  and  is  a  member  of  Frank  D.  Hammond  Post.  He  was 
married  in  1850,  to  Mehitabel,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Higgins.  Their 
two  daughters  are:  Georgia  A.  (Mrs.  C.  F.  Simmons),  and  Bertha  T. 
They  lost  one  son. 

Samuel  D.  Cliflford,  born  in  1812,  is  a  son  of  Dr.  Daniel  P.  Clifford, 
of  page  224.  He  followed  the  sea  until  1840,  and  was  seven  years  in 
the  lightship  service  as  captain  of  Pollock  Rip  and  Shovelfull.  Since 
then  he  has  devoted  his  time  to  agricultural  pursuits.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1840,  to  Louisa  C.  Burroughs.  She  died,  and  he  married  in  1846, 
Rebecca  Bearse.  They  have  five  children:  Ophelia,  Cordelia,  Mary, 
Etta  and  Samuel  D.,  jr. 

Rev.  Gamaliel  Collins,  bom  in  1816,  at  Provincetown,  was  the 
youngest  and  last  surviving  child  of  Gamaliel  and  Elizabeth  (Dyer) 


TOWN  OF  CHATHAM.  611 

Collins.  He  received  a  preparatory  education  in  Waterville,  Me., 
and  was  ordained  in  Chatham  in  1842  as  a  Universalist  preacher,  and 
after  a  pastorate  there  of  three  years,  he  preached  in  Hudson,  N.  Y., 
and  Philadelphia,  Penn.  He  was  chaplain  of  the  Seventy-second 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers  from  1861  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He 
was  chaplain  in  the  regular  army  from  1867  until  he  retired  in  1879. 
He  was  married  in  1843,  to  Amanda  F.,  daughter  of  Joel  and  Mary 
(Crosby)  Sparrow.  Their  daughter  is  Martha  R.  (Mrs.  AUyn  Cox)  of 
New  York. 

Elijah  Crosby  was  born  in  Chatham  in  1819.  At  the  age  of  ten 
years  he  began  going  to  sea,  attaining  to  master  at  twenty-six,  in 
.  which  capacity  he  acted  successfully  until  1871.  He  was  connected 
with  shipping  interests  until  1884.  On  his  first  voyage  he  was  cook 
of  a  fishing  schooner  of  ten  men,  at  three  dollars  per  month.  During 
his  seafaring  life  he  contracted  for  and  built  several  vessels.  He 
never  was  shipwrecked.  After  being  engaged  in  the  coal  business 
three  years,  and  three  years  in  the  lumber  business,  he  retired  from 
active  life.  He  was  married  in  1841,  to  Emeline,  daughter  of  Ephraim 
Taylor.  She  died  leaving  two  children— Emma  C.  and  Elijah  E.  They 
lost  three.  He  was  married  in  1856,  to  Rowena,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Taylor.  They  have  four  children:  Arthur  R.,  Cora,  Annie  F.  and 
Rena  T.     They  lost  one. 

David  H.  Crowell,  bom  in  1820,  is  the  youngest  and  only  surviv- 
ing child  of  Joshua  and  Hannah  (Howes)  Crowell,  grandson  of  Jonah 
and  great-grandson  of  Jabez  Crowell.  Mr.  Crowell  followed  the  sea 
for  twenty-nine  years  prior  to  1863.  He  was  acting  master  a  year  and 
a  half  in  the  naval  service  during  the  war  of  the  rebellion.  He  was 
for  nine  years  superintendent  of  schools  in  Chatham,  and  for  eleven 
years  postmaster  at  Chatham  Port.  He  was  married  in  1845.  to  Mercy 
F.  Ryder,  who  died  in  1884,  leaving  four  children:  Helen  M.,  David 
F.,  T.  R.  Carlton  and  Geneva  V. 

Thomas  H.  Crowell,  son  of  Thomas  H.  and  Abigail  (Wing)  Cro- 
well, was  born  in  1846.  Mr.  Crowell  is  engaged  in  business  in  Boston. 
He  was  married  in  1872,  to  Amelia,  daughter  of  Charles  F.  and  Mehit- 
able  (Taylor)  White,  and  granddaughter  of  Isaac  White. 

A.  Judson  Doane,  son  of  Nehemiah  and  Betsey  (Higgins)  Doane, 
grandson  of  Samuel,  and  great-grandson  of  Nehemiah  Doane,  was 
born  in  West  Chatham  July  18,  1832.  He  has  been  a  master  mariner 
about  thirty  years.  He  was  married  in  1857,  to  Mary  F.  Rogers,  who 
died  leaving  one  son,  Alfred  J.  He  was  married  in  1867  to  Emily  C. 
Kendrick.  She  died,  and  in  1889  he  was  married  to  Georgia  M.  Nick- 
erson. 

Samuel  H.  Doane,  born  in  West  Chatham  in  April,  1829,  is  a  son 
of  Nehemiah  and  Betsey  (Higgins)  Doane,  who  had  four  children. 


612  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

three  of  whom  are  living:  Samuel  H.,  A.  Judson  and  Anna  J.  (Mrs. 
Cyrenus  K.  Goodspeed).  Mr.  Doane  has  been  a  master  mariner  for 
thirty-five  years.  He  was  married  in  1844,  to  Clarinda  F.  Nickerson, 
who  died  leaving  one  son,  Samuel  W. 

Benjamin  F.  Eldridge'  was  born  in  1813,  and  died  in  January,  1890. 
He  was  descended  from  Samuel',  Elnathan',  Ebenezer',  Jehosaphat 
Eldridge'.  His  mother  was  Hannah  Mayo.  He  followed  the  sea 
about  thirty  years,  after  which  he  engaged  in  farming.  He  was  for 
three  years  captain  of  Pollock  Rip,  light  ship.  He  was  married  in  1834, 
to  Elizabeth  Bassett,  who  died  leaving  three  sons:  Benjamin  F.,  jr., 
John  B.  and  James  W.  He  was  married  in  1863,  to  Abbie  A.  Doane, 
who  died  leaving  three  children:  Lydia  C,  Samuel  and  Marcus.  He 
was  married  again  in  1863,  and  a  fourth  time  in  1882. 

Cyrenus  Eldridge,  born  in  1826,  is  a  son  of  Ensign  and  Sally  (Gor- 
ham)  Eldridge,  grandson  of  Elisha,  and  great-grandson  of  Jehosaphat 
Eldridge.  He  went  to  sea  thirty-nine  seasons  in  the  fishing  business, 
prior  to  1876.  He  was  married  in  1851,  to  Betsey  S.  (deceased),  daugh- 
ter of  Zephaniah  Eldridge.  They  had  two  sons,  Enos  A.  and  Clarin- 
ton  S.,  both  of  whom  died.  He  was  married  again  in  1863,  to  Olive 
A.  Allen,  by  whom  he  has  three  children:  Reuben  W.,  Alida  B.  and 
Clarinton  E.  Mr.  Eldridge  is  a  member  of  the  East  Harwich  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  church. 

Edmund  N.  Eldridge,  born  in  1834,  is  a  son  of  John  H.  and  Salome 
(Nickerson)  Eldridge,  and  grandson  of  Atkins  Eldridge.  He  is  a 
wheelwright  and  carpenter.  He  was  married  in  1866,  to  Rebecca  C, 
daughter  of  Aaron  Small.  They  have  two  children:  Eddie,  born  in 
1868,  and  Emma  R.,  born  in  1879. 

Elisha  M.  Eldridge,  born  in  1842,  is  a  son  of  Elisha  and  Anna  K. 
Eldridge,  and  grandson  of  Ensign,  whose  father,  Elisha,  was  a  son  of 
Jehosaphat  Eldridge.  Mr.  Eldridge  has  been  a  merchant  at  South 
Chatham  since  November,  1876.  -Prior  to  that  time  he  followed  the 
sea.  He  was  married  in  1867,  to  Hope  D.,  daughter  of  Isaiah  C.  Kel- 
ley.    Their  two  sons  are  Alberto  M.  and  Harold  L. 

James  Eldridge,  born  November  6,  1816,  is  a  son  of  Reuben  and 
Jane  (Taylor)  Eldridge,  and  grandson  of  James  Eldridge.  Mr. 
Eldridge  is  a  farmer  at  West  Chatham,  on  the  homestead  of  his  father. 
He  was  married.  January  8,  1838,  to  Sarah  Kelley,  who  died  June  1, 
1881,  leaving  three  children:  Jane  T.,  Reuben  and  Sarah  M.  Mr. 
Eldridge  was  married  again  April  13, 1882,  to  Mrs.  Lydia  A.  Eldridge, 
daughter  of  Amos  Harding. 

Levi  Eldridge. — This  well-known  business  man  of  South  Chat- 
ham,  now  the  president  of  the  Harwich  Savings  Bank,  is  the  grand- 
son of  Nathaniel  Eldridge,  who  was  born  September  15,  1751,  and 
who  married  Elizabeth  Ryder  and  reared,  in  Chatham,  six  children: 


^ 


£?^t^z^ 


/^' 


TOWN   OF  CHATHAM.  613 

Mehitable,  born  October  14,  1778;  Zenas,  January  1,  1782;  Tabitha, 
February  1,  1787;  Esther,  March  16,  1788;  Kimball.  March  21,  1791; 
and  Levi,  born  December  7,  1794,  died  October  2,  1866. 

Levi,  the  youngest  of  these,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  a  seafaring  man  during  his  early  years,  subsequently 
turning  his  attention  to  salt-making  and  fishing.  He  married  Lydia 
Young,  who  was  born  August  22,  1795,  and  died  July  16,  1865.  To 
them  were  born  eleven  children:  Nathaniel,  Levi,  Nathaniel,  Hiram 
T.,  William,  Lydia,  Aurelia,  Esther  L.,  William  P.,  Esther  L.  and 
James  M.  Of  these,  the  first  Nathaniel  was  bom  December  22, 
1817,  and  died  October  5,  1818.  Levi  was  born  September  8,  1819. 
Nathaniel,  born  February  21,  1821,  married  Charlotte  Kenney  for 
his  first  wife.  She  died,  leaving  three  children:  Hercelia  M.,  who 
married  Timothy  K.  Stearns;  Nathaniel  E.,  who  married  Lelia  L. 
Bearse;  and  Aurelia  H.  His  second  wife  was  Mrs.  Susan  Kenney, 
and  their  child  is  Ethel  M.  Eldridge.  Hiram  T.  Eldridge,  the 
fourth  child  of  Levi,  was  born  January  15,  1823,  and  died  December 
27,  1854,  leaving  his  wife — Aseneth  P.  Burgess — and  a  daughter 
named  Eugenia  L.  Eldridge.  William,  the  fifth  child,  was  born  No- 
vember 26,  1824,  and  died  September  26, 1826.  Lydia,  the  sixth  child, 
born  September  23,  1826,  married  Mulford  Rogers  and  reared  three 
children,  who  in  their  turn  became  heads  of  families:  William  P.  twice 
married,  first  to  Olive  Holbrook,  then  to  Mehitable  Weeks;  Betsey  N., 
who  married  George  R.  Emerson;  and  Mulford  T.,  who  married  Hat- 
tie  E.  Mason.  Aurelia,  the  seventh  child  of  Levi,  was  born  August  21, 
1828,  married  Archelaus  E.  Harding,  and  died  May  29,  1863.  Their 
three  daughters  are  married.  The  eldest,  Julia  A.,  married  Rev. 
Ebenezer  Tirrel  of  Weymouth;  Cynthia  M.  married  Edward  J.  Clark 
of  Boston;  and  Nellie  M.  married  Samuel  H.  Mayo  of  East  Boston. 
The  remaining  four  children  of  Levi  Eldridge  were:  Esther  L.,  born 
November  9,  1830,  died  May  23,  1833;  William  P.,  bom  November  9, 
1833,  died  November  16,  1839;  Esther  L.,  bom  March  14,  1836,  died 
December  18,  1839;  and  James  M.,  born  June  1, 1838,  and  died  Decem- 
ber 3,  1839. 

Levi,  above  mentioned  as  the  second  son  in  this  family  of  eleven, 
was  bom  at  Chatham  and  received  a  common  school  education.  Com- 
mencing at  eighteen  years  of  age  the  carpenter  trade,  he  followed  it 
thirteen  years,  and  then  engaged  in  the  fishing  business.  His  first 
venture  in  the  purchase  of  a  share  of  fishing  vessels  was  about  1846, 
which  proving  successful,  he  at  once  gave  his  attention  to  owning  and 
fitting  vessels,  curing  and  packing  fish.  The  history  of  his  present 
and  former  business  relations  is  given  in  the  annals  of  South  Chatham. 

He  married  his  first  wife,  Phebe  W.,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and 
Mercy  Small,  November  24,  1841.     She  was  born  February  24,  1823, 


614  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

and  died  March  15, 1845,  leaving  one  daughter,  Esther  L.,  born  August 
12,  1844,  who  departed  this  life  November  7,  1845.  His  second  mar- 
riage,  April  12,  1846,  was  to  Mercy  Small  (daughter  of  Jonathan  and 
Mercy),  born  November  27,  1818,  and  their  children  were:  Esther  L., 
Mercelia  E.,  Phebe  E.  and  Levi  W.  Of  these  only  one  survives. 
Esther  L.,  born  April  29,  1847,  died  in  July  of  the  same  year.  Merce- 
lia E.,  born  February  7,  1849,  was  married  February  8,  1870,  to  Wil- 
liam W.  Eldridge,  who  died  February  24,  1871,  and  their  daughter, 
Evelyn  W.,  born  March  13,  1871,  died  September  9, 1876.  The  widow 
married  Cyrus  W.  Kelley,  for  her  second  husband,  on  the  25th  of  De- 
cember, 1873,  and  their  daughter,  Mercy  E.,  was  born  June  23,  1875. 
Phebe  E.,  the  third  child  of  Levi  Eldridge,  was  born  December  23, 
1852,  and  died  in  infancy.  Levi  Wilbur,  the  only  son  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch,  was  born  September  14,  1854,  and  died  December  28, 
1883.  He  married  in  1878,  Minnie  C.  Buck,  who  survives  him  with 
one  son,  named  Levi  W.  D.  Eldridge. 

Levi  Eldridge  filled  many  places  of  trust  in  the  midst  of  his 
active  business  career,  and  to  an  extent  that  the  reader  may  wonder 
how  he  could  find  the  time.  He  was  selectman  twenty  years,  to 
which  office  then  belonged  the  duties  of  assessor  and  overseer  of 
the  poor;  was  on  the  school  committee  several  years;  was  president 
of  the  South  Harwich  Marine  Insurance  Company  from  the  death 
of  Joseph  P.  Nickerson  until  the  company  closed  its  affairs,  a  period 
of  nineteen  years;  was  postmaster  many  years;  later  being  vice- 
president  and  director  in  the  Cape  Cod  National  Bank  and  presi- 
dent of  the  Five  Cents  Savings  Bank  of  Harwich.  This  long  list 
of  trusts  shows  the  worth  of  the  man.  His  unblemished  public  and 
private  life,  his  unselfish  benevolence,  and  his  useful  and  honorable 
toil,  are  indelibly  stamped  in  the  records  of  his  acts  and  in  the  memo- 
ries of  his  townsmen. 

Oliver  E.  Eldridge,  born  in  1840,  is  a  son  of  Oliver,  grandson  of 
Oliver,  and  great-grandson  of  Peter  Eldridge.  He  followed  the  sea 
from  1851  to  1877,  as  master  thirteen  years.  Since  1877  he  has  been 
engaged  at  Stage  wharf,  Chatham,  in  repairing  boats,  and  has  been 
superintendent  of  Chatham  and  Harwich  marine  railway.  He  is  a 
member  of  St.  Martins  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  He  was  married  in 
1861  to  Mehitabel,  daughter  of  Benjamin  H.  Eldridge.  Their  six 
children  living  are:  Myra  E.,  Ella  M.,  Ernest  S.,  Benjamin  O.,  Chester 
A.  and  Ralph  S.     They  lost  three  children. 

Joshua  Eldridge,  born  in  1819,  is  a  son  of  Zenas,  and  Betsey  (Allen) 
Eldridge,  grandson  of  Nathaniel,  and  great-grandson  of  Jehosaphat 
Eldridge.  He  followed  the  sea  for  twenty-five  years,  after  which  he 
was  engaged  in  the  fish  business  for  fourteen  years.  He  now  keeps 
a  small  store  at  South  Chatham  where  he  was  postmaster  from  1885 


TOWN   OF  CHATHAM.  615 

to  1889.  He  was  married  in  1843,  to  Laura  A.,  daughter  of  Isaac 
Rogers.  She  died  in  1869.  Their  children  are:  RufusT.,  Charles  A., 
(deceased)  and  Joshua  C.  Mr.  Eldridge  was  married  in  1870,  to  Julia 
A.,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Bethiah  Bearse,  of  Chatham.  She  died  in 
1880.    Their  children  are:  Charles  A.  and  Henry  H. 

Luther  Eldridge,  born  in  1818,  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Data  (Baker) 
Eldridge  and  grandson  of  John  Eldridge.  He  followed  the  sea  from 
1829  to  1865,  as  master  nineteen  years.  Since  October,  1880,  he  has 
been  in  the  light-ship  service.  He  was  married  in  1845,  to  Eliza  J. 
Hallett,  who  died  leaving  one  son,  Gustavas  H.  He  was  married 
again  in  1889,  to  Mrs.  Eliza  A.  Eldridge,  daughter  of  Hiram  Small. 

Walter  S.  H.  Eldridge,  born  in  1851,  is  the  youngest  of  eight  chil- 
dren of  Oliver  and  Almira  (Kenney)  Eldridge,  and  grandson  of  Oliver 
Eldridge.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1866  to  1885,  when  he  started 
the  Crystal  Springs  Laundry,  which  he  has  operated  since  that  time. 
He  was  married  in  1873,  to  Emma,  daughter  of  Elijah  Crosby.  They 
have  four  children:  Emma  C,  Sanford  H.,  Arthur  S.  and  Herbert  N. 

John  Emery  was  born  June  6,  1808,  and  died  March  14,  1882.  He 
was  a  son  of  Stephen,  grandson  of  John  and  great-grandson  of  Rev. 
Stephen  Emery,  who  preached  in  Chatham  thirty-three  years  and 
died  there  in  1782.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  followed  the  business 
of  contracting  and  building  in  Chatham  until  the  time  of  his  decease. 
He  was  first  married  January  10,  1832,  to  Almira  Harding,  who  died 
August  9,  1843.  Their  children  are:  Zelia,  born  October  21,  1834; 
married  April  1,  1866,  to  Rufus  Howes;  John  Anson,  born  November 
16,  1837,  married  October  15, 1872,  to  Mary  T.  Morrison,  of  Alleghany 
City,  Pa.;  Minerva  Francis,  born  February  10,  1839,  married  May  6, 
1860,  to  Bassett  J.  Smith;  Edson,  born  November  4,  1841,  died  April 

13,  1871;  and  Rufus,  born  August  3,1843,  married  in  1866,  to  Roxanna 
Cook,  of  Provincetown,  Mass.  Mr.  Emery  was  married  February  1, 
1844,  to  Mary  Atwood.  Their  children  are:  Erastus,  born  August  7, 
1846,  died  January  16,  1878.  (He  married  December  25,  1873,  Anna 
L.  Hughes,  of  Truro,  Mass.,  who  died  August  9,  1876.  He  practiced 
medicine  in  Truro  nine  years);  Benjamin  Valentine,  born  February 

14,  1848,  married  April  20,  1880,  to  Belle  Richardson,  of  Covington, 
Ky.,  and  lives  in  Chicago,  111.;  Mary  Atwood,  born  December  26,1852, 
married  December  17,  1879,  Dr.  Albert  F.  Blaisdell,  of  Providence,  R. 
I.;  Carrie  Luella,  born  October  27,  1855,  died  November  6,  1881;  and 
Almira  Harding,  born  December  17,  1857. 

Clarendon  A.  Freeman,  born  in  1849,  is  the  only  surviving  child  of 
Benjamin  T.  and  Tamsen  E.  (Nickerson)  Freeman.  He  is  a  merchant 
at  North  Chatham,  where  he  succeeded  his  father  in  1884,  since  which 
time  he  has  been  postmaster.  He  was  representative  from  this  dis- 
trict in   1883  and  1884.     He  is  a  member  of  the  school  committee. 


616  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

and  since  1888  has  been  county  treasurer.  He  -was  married  in  1877, 
to  Anna  L.  Burbank,  of  Newton  Highlands. 

George  Godfrey,  born  in  1822,  is  a  son  of  David  and  Anna  (Young) 
Godfrey,  and  grandson  of  David,  who  was  a  son  of  George,  a  descend- 
ant of  George  Godfrey,  who  came  to  this  county  in  1670.  Mr.  God- 
frey was  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  New  York  from  1838  to 
1868,  after  which  he  was  ten  years  in  New  Jersey.  He  has  been 
trial  justice  at  Chatham  since  1885.  He  was  married  in  1845,  to 
Tabitha  H.,  daughter  of  Joshua  Nickerson.  They  have  one  son, 
Lorenzo  N.  They  lost  three  children:  Anna,  George,  jr.,  and  Willie. 
Mr.  Godfrey's  father  served  on  the  privateer  Reindeer  during  the 
war  of  1812,  and  about  1822  started  the  first  regular  packet  to  sail 
between  Boston  and  New  York,  in  the  employ  of  Stanton,  Fisk  & 
Nichols.  He  was  also  one  of  the  originators  of  the  old  Despatch 
Line  of  packets.  It  is  said  that  a  great  uncle  of  his.  Colonel  Ben- 
jamin Godfrey,  took  a  company  to  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

Leander  Gould,  born  in  1813,  is  one  of  four  surviving  children 
of  Richard  and  Sarah  (Nickerson)  Gould,  and  is  a  grandson  of  Josiah 
Gould.  Mr.  Gould  was  in  the  fishing  and  coasting  business  from  1828 
to  1873.  He  was  married  in  1834,  to  Hannah  Phillips.  They  have 
five  children:    Leander  F.,  Abby  A.,  Mary  A.,  Josiah  A.  and  Clara  J.  C. 

Solomon  E.  Hallett,  born  in  1833,  is  the  only  son  of  John  and  Char- 
lotte (Mayo)  Hallett,  and  grandson  of  John  and  Lydia  (Thacher)  Hal- 
lett. He  has  been  a  merchant  at  Chatham  since  1861.  He  was  for 
five  years  a  member  of  the  school  board,  eleven  years  selectman,  rep- 
resentative in  the  legislature  two  terms,  and  since  January,  1886,  has 
been  county  commissioner,  and  is  a  trustee  of  Harwich  Savings  Bank. 
He  is  a  member  of  St.  Martin's  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1855,  to  Eliza  L.  Bates.  Their  three  daughters  are:  Mary  S., 
Lottie  F.  and  Ettie  E. 

Alfred  C.  Harding,  son  of  Silas  H.  and  Clarissa  C.  Harding,  and 
grandson  of  Joshua  Harding,  was  born  in  1849.  He  was  engaged  in 
the  meat  business  several  years  prior  to  1882,  when  he  opened  an  ice 
cream  saloon  in  Chatham,  where  he  is  still  in  business.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1873,  to  Eliza  W.,  daughter  of  Warren  and  Eliza  Rogers,  and 
granddaughter  of  Joseph  L.  and  Phebe  Rogers. 

Andrew  Harding,  born  in  1836,  is  the  youngest  of  fourteen  chil- 
dren of  Barzilla  and  Hattie  (Bangs)  Harding,  and  a  grandson  of  Isaiah 
Harding.  He  was  married  in  1860,  to  Abbie  Eldridge,  who  died  five 
years  later.  He  was  married  again  in  1867,  to  Avis  A.,  daughter  of 
Abel  Reynolds.     They  have  one  son,  Heman  A. 

Daniel  Harding,  son  of  Daniel  and  Eunice  Harding,  married  Phebe 
Ann.  daughter  of  Zephaniah  and  Susan  (Allen)  Eldridge.  Their 
children  were:  Phebe  Eldora,  who  has  been  postmistress  at  West  Chat- 


E       BIEKSTADT,     I 


TOWN   OF   CHATHAM.  617 

ham  since  February  10,  1882,  and  also  kept  a  variety  store  at  the  same 
place;  Zephaniah  E.,  Clarence  F.,  Walter  E.,  Wallace  E.  (deceased), 
Daniel  C.  and  four  others,  deceased.  Clarence  F.  was  married  Janiz- 
ary 15,  1884,  to  Inez  L.,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Malinda  F.  (Allen) 
Doane,  granddaughter  of  John  G.  and  great-granddaughter  of  Thomas 
Doane.  Zephaniah  E.  Harding  was  married  June  21,  1888,  to  Lillian 
E.,  daughter  of  William  S.  and  Dinah  (Nickerson)  Rogers. 

Captain  J.  C.  Harding. — One  of  the  enterprising  young  mariners 
representing  the  true  type  of  Cape  Cod  shipmasters  is  Joseph  Clement 
Harding,  of  Chatham.  Joseph  Harding,  the  first  of  the  name  here, 
came  with  Governor  Gorges  in  1623,  settling  in  Plymouth.  He  married 
Martha  Harding,  who  survived  him  and  was  administrator  of  his  estate. 
She  died  a  few  years  later  leaving  their  two  sons,  John  and  Joseph, 
mere  lads,  who  came  to  Old  Eastham  in  1644,  to  serve  their  minority 
with  Dea.  John  Doane,  their  mother's  brother.  From  this  Joseph, 
who  made  the  Cape  his  home,  has  descended  a  long  line  of  worthy 
and  industrious  representatives.  The  male  lineage  of  this  branch  of 
the  family,  including  the  Joseph  last  mentioned,  is:  Joseph,  Joseph, 
Maziah,  Joseph,  Amos,  Amos  and  Joseph,  the  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  born  in  1822.  He  is  a  mariner  of  note,  yet  a  master  in 
the  coastwi.se  trade  after  a  command  of  forty  years  in  vessels  of 
various  build,  and  passing  a  large  portion  of  this  long  period  of  ser- 
vice in  foreign  command.  He  married  Eliza  A.  Payne,  of  Chatham, 
who  was  born  in  1826.  Their  children  were:  Joseph  C,  Alice  E.,born 
in  1855,  married  Danforth  S.  Steele,  of  West  Somerville,  and  has  one 
son,  Leslie:  Isaphine,  born  in  1860,  married  Edgar  N.  Nickerson,  of 
West  Somerville;  and  John  P.,  born  in  1862,  died  in  1889. 

Joseph  C.  Harding  was  born  March  13,  1850,  the  oldest  of  the  four 
children  of  Joseph  Harding.  He  was  taken  to  sea  at  the  age  of  two 
years,  and  with  the  advancing  years  of  boyhood  a  love  for  this  life 
work  was  implanted  in  his  earnest  nature.  At  sixteen  he  went  before 
the  mast,  at  eighteen  was  second  mate  of  the  bark  C/«V/,  at  twenty-one 
first  mate,  and  at  twenty-three  the  master,  sailing  from  American 
ports  to  the  principal  ports  of  Europe.  After  several  years,  he  was 
master  of  the  John  H.  Pierson  and  the  George  Kingman  in  foreign  trade, 
the  Charles  L.  Pierson  in  the  China  trade  for  seven  years,  and  now  is 
master  and  part  owner  of  the  schooner  Puritan,  a  three-master  in 
the  foreign  trade. 

He  was  married  February  28,  1878,  to  Mary  D.,daughter  of  Alfred 
and  Aseneth  Eldridge,  of  Chatham,  and  they  have  one  son,  Alfred  C, 
born  June  30, 1885.  Mrs.  Harding's  father  was  a  very  successful  sea- 
captain  of  thirty-five  years'  service.  His  children  are:  Adalena  A., 
Alfred  A.,  Mary  D.  and  Alberto  W.,  of  whom  the  first  three  survive. 
His  father.  Ensign  Eldridge,  married  Sally  Gorham  from  another 
prominent  and  respectable  family  of  the  Cape. 


618  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Captain  Joseph  C.  Harding  is  one  of  those  fortunate  masters — the 
result  of  experience  and  care — who  has  never  called  upon  his  under- 
writers for  a  dollar  for  accidents,  although  he  has  sailed  in  as  many 
cyclones  and  typhoons  as  any  master  of  his  age,  having  crossed  the 
Atlantic  sixty-five  times,  besides  sailing  on  every  ocean  of  the  globe. 
His  wife  has  accompanied  him  on  several  long  voyages  to  Australia, 
Europe  and  China.  They  are  pleasantly  situated  in  their  fine  home 
in  South  Chatham,  where  the  captain  spent  the  last  season  while  his 
vessel  made  a  trip  to  Rio  Janeiro.  He  is  a  liberal  supporter  of  the 
church  and  of  every  good  work  in  this  community,  in  which  he  ex- 
pects to  become  a  resident  of  more  permanence  when  he  shall  have 
completed  his  life  on  the  sea. 

Captain  Hiram  Harding.— This  representative  of  one  branch  of 
the  ancient  family  of  Harding,  is  the  son  of  Mulford  and  grandson  of 
Thomas  Harding,  who  removed  from  Hingham  to  Chatham  before 
the  revolutionary  war.  This  Mulford  Harding  was  born  July  10, 1776, 
in  the  house  near  Oyster  pond,  now  the  residence  of  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Naomi  Linnell.  He  was  a  seafaring  man  in  early  life,  and  in 
the  war  of  1812  was  one  of  the  crew  of  the  Reindeer  that  suffered  in 
Dartmoor  prison  as  prisoners  of  war.  He  was  married  May  14,  1798, 
to  Sally,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Ruth  Young,  and  reared  nine 
children,  whose  histories  appear  in  the  succeeding  paragraphs. 

Lurana  married  Thomas  Stetson,  and  they,  with  their  only  son,  are 
deceased. 

Polly  was  married  to  Abner  Sparrow  and  had  five  children:  Joseph, 
Samuel  S.,  Abner  H.,  Hiram  H.  and  Mary.  Of  this  family,  the  parents 
and  children  are  all  dead  excepting  Abner  A.  Hiram  H.  was  lost  on 
a  voyage  from  New  York  to  the  Mediterranean. 

Mulford  Harding  (deceased)  married  Emily  Rogers  and  had  one 
son,  George  N.,  who  is  now  an  architect  at  Hyde  Park. 

Sally  was  married  toEnosSnow  and  reared  five  children,  of  whom 
only  the  youngest  survives.  The  children  were:  Enos,  Sarah,  Eme- 
line,  Mary  E.  and  Sarah. 

Howes  married  Catherine  Hodgden  and  had  one  son,  Darius  H., 
who  passed  through  the  civil  war,  was  paid  off  and  had  started  for 
home,  when  he  was  stricken  with  fever  at  New  Orleans,  where  he 
died. 

David  married  Elizabeth  C.  Holway  and  their  children  were: 
David,  Marion,  John,  Andrew,  Lizzie  and  Annette,  of  whom  three 
survive. 

Naomi  A.  was  married  to  Josiah  Linnell,  who  died  in  1887.  Their 
only  son,  Josiah  F.  Linnell,  is  also  dead. 

Betsey  married  Freeman  Chase,  who  died  in  1887  without  issue. 
The  widow  survives. 


'JtMOON     PHOTOC'fi 


HARWICH.    MA<S 


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e.     ■tEHATAOT. 


TOWN   OF  CHATHAM.  619 

Captain  Hiram  Harding,  the  seventh  of  the  nine,  born  October 
28,  1814,  married  Lydia  F.  Gould,  who  was  born  in  1819,  and  who 
died  November  30, 1873.  Captain  Harding  was  one  of  the  many  who, 
at  an  early  age,  took  to  the  sea.  At  eleven  he  was  on  the  deep,  at 
seventeen  was  mate,  and  at  twenty-two  he  was  in  command  of  the 
brig  Pearl,  plying  between  Boston  and  Philadelphia — a  packet  which 
he  navigated  winter  and  summer  for  thirteen  years.  He  then  built 
the  Cambridge,  which  he  commanded  on  foreign  voyages.  This  was 
succeeded  by  the  barks  Pearl,  Sterling,  Harvester  and  others,  running 
to  the  divisions  and  ports  of  the  Eastern  hemisphere,  and  enduring 
all  the  dangers  of  a  seafaring  life  for  nearly  fifty  years,  thirty-nine  of 
which  were  passed  as  master.  No  serious  accident  occurred  during 
his  long  captaincy,  but  the  bark  Harvester  was  burned  in  the  gulf  of 
Persia,  by  the  Arabs,  forcing  the  captain  and  crew  to  remain  in  boats 
sixty  hours  before  they  could  find  a  refuge.  His  last  purchase  was 
the  Edith  Roe,  from  which  he  retired  in  1873. 

The  captain  has  had  eight  children,  of  whom  four  survive:  Lydia 
F.,  born  May  7,  1843,  died  November  0,1843;  Captain  Hiram,  jr.,  born 
September  24,  1844,  married  Josephine  Young;  a  daughter  born  to 
them  lived  but  four  years;  Captain  Joseph  F.,  born  July  19, 1846,  mar- 
ried Annie  Snow;  Maria  C,  born  November  12,  1850,  died  April  27, 
1868;  George  H.,  born  February  13,  1853,  unmarried,  is  an  express 
messenger;  Marianna,  born  April  5,  1855,  lives  at  home;  Sarah  G., 
born  February  14,  1857,  died  April  17,  1872;  and  Emma  F.,  born  Sep- 
tember 12,  1860,  died  in  infancy. 

Captain  Hiram  Harding  has  not  only  filled  a  prominent  part  on 
the  sea,  but  has  been  equally  efficient  on  land.  He  has  been  notary 
public,  justice  of  the  peace,  wreck  commissioner,  insurance  agent, 
director  of  Barnstable  Fire  Insurance  Company,  trustee  of  savings 
bank,  and  selectman.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Boston  Marine 
Society  for  thirty-five  years,  and  for  many  years  past  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  Chatham.  In  his  life 
voyage  of  over  seventy-five  years,  every  phase  has  been  met  with  that 
confidence  and  fortitude  for  which  he  is  marked,  and  now  in  life's 
early  evening  he  enjoys,  in  his  pleasant  home  at  Chatham,  the  results 
of  his  earnest,  active,  earlier  life. 

Walden  F.  Harding,  son  of  Walden  and  Julia  A.  (Cahoon)  Harding, 
was  born  in  1852,  and  followed  the  sea  from  1863  to  1883.  Since  the 
latter  year  he  has  carried  on  the  meat  business  in  Chatham,  and  since 
1888  he  has  also  done  a  grocery  business.  He  was  married  in  1876,  to 
Ida  M.,  daughter  of  Sylvanus  Bearse.  Their  three  children  are:  Otis 
H.,  Helen  F.  and  Irene  A. 

Josiah  Hardy,  born  in  1805,  was  the  son  of  Isaac  and  Betsey 
(Eldridge)  Hardy,  and  grandson  of  Josiah  and  Rebecca  (Hamilton) 


620  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Hardy.  Mr.  Hardy  was  a  coal  and  wood  merchant.  He  was  several 
years  selectman,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1877,  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Cape  Cod  Five  Cents  Savings  Bank.  He  was  married  in 
1827,  to  Miriam,  daughter  of  Samuel  Freeman.  Seven  of  their  nine 
children  are  living:  Almira,  Miriam,  Rebecca,  Betsey  A.,  Harriet, 
Josiah  and  Augustus.  Eliza  and  Samuel  died.  Betsey  A.  owns  the 
homestead. 

Josiah  Hardy,  bom  in  1822,  is  a  son  of  Josiah  and  Rebecca  (Clark) 
Hardy,  and  grandson  of  Josiah  Hardy,  who  came  from  Virginia  to 
Chatham  in  1776,  and  married  Rebecca  Hamilton,  and  had  four  chil- 
dren. Mr.  Hardy  was  a  master  mariner  until  1866,  and  since  1872  he 
has  been  the  keeper  of  the  Chatham  lighthouse.  He  is  a  member  of 
St.  Martin's  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  He  was  married  in  1844,  to  Har- 
riet K.,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Olive  (Moody)  Myrick.  They  have 
four  children:  James  H.,  Joseph  M.,  Ursula  M.  and  Samuel  F.  They 
lost  two:  Joseph  M.  and  Rebecca  C. 

Ebenezer  N.  Hawes,  born  in  1849,  is  the  youngest  son  of  Edward 
and  Polly  (Kelley)  Hawes,  grandson  of  Samuel,  and  great-grandson  of 
John  Hawes.  Mr.  Hawes  is  a  blacksmith  at  West  Chatham.  He  was 
married  in  1870,  to  Lucy  L,  daughter  of  Luther  Sears.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Annie  M. 

Samuel  Higgfins,  born  in  1812,  in  Brewster,  was  a  son  of  Samuel 
Higgins.  He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  kept  a  hardware  store 
in  Chatham  several  years  prior  to  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1881. 
He  was  married  in  1834,  to  Abby  E.,  daughter  of  Samuel  Hallett,  of 
Yarmouth.  They  had  two  daughters:  Abby  C.  (Mrs.  Joseph  C.  Chase) 
and  Adelaide  L.,  who  died.  Mr.  Higgins  was.  several  years  a  member 
of  the  school  committee,  two  terms  county  treasurer,  and  two  terms  a 
member  of  the  house  of  representatives. 

Thomas  Holway,  born  in  1825,  is  the  only  survivor  of  four  chil- 
dren of  Thomas  and  Sabrina  (Gould)  Holway,  and  grandson  of  Prince 
Holway,  of  Sandwich.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the  fishing  business 
for  several  years.  He  was  married  in  1867,  to  Sarah  E.,  daughter  of 
Abel  Reynolds,  of  Rhode  Island.  They  have  two  children:  Sabie  S. 
and  William  T.  Mr.  Holway  is  a  member  of  the  Chatham  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  and  a  prohibitionist. 

Marcus  W.  Howard,  son  of  Edward  and  Emily  (Nickerson)  Howard, 
was  born  in  1846.  He  is  a  merchant  tailor  at  Chatham,  where  in  1873, 
he  succeeded  his  father,  who  had  been  in  the  business  since  1839. 
Mr.  Howard  was  postmaster  from  1885  to  1889.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Masonic  Lodge  and  Chapter.  He  was  married  in  1872,  to  Susan 
E.  Huckins.     They  have  one  daughter,  Agnes  A. 

Oscar  E.  Howard,  son  of  Edward  Howard,  was  born  in  1853.  He 
has  been  in  the  tailor  shop  with  his  brother,  Marcus  W.,  since  1876. 


TOWN  OF  CHATHAM.  621 

He  was  married  in  1878,  to  Huldah  S.  Sparrow.    They  have  one  son, 
Edward  S. 

Collins  Howes,  born  m  1819,  is  a  son  of  Collins  and  Rhoda  (Bangs) 
Howes,  grandson  of  Enoch,  and  great-grandson  of  Richard  Howes. 
Mr.  Howes  followed  the  sea  as  a  fisherman  until  1862,  and  since  that 
time  has  been  in  the  store  and  fish  business  at  Harding's  beach.  He 
has  been  selectman  since  1886.  He  was  married  in  1840,  to  Phebe  G. 
Bearse,  who  died  leaving  seven  children:  Dorinda,  Phebe  H.,  Collins 
E.,  Celestia  B.,  Charles  A.,  James  Curtis  (deceased),  and  Selena  F. 
Mr.  Howes  was  married  again  in  1884,  to  Mrs.  Hannah  G.  Hammond, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Allen,  of  Harwich. 

Collins  E.  Howes,  born  in  1846,  is  a  son  of  Collins  and  Phebe  G. 
(Bearse)  Howes.  He  followed  the  sea  for  fourteen  years,  and  since 
1874  has  been  in  the  merchant  fishing  business,  at  Harding's  beach. 
He  is  a  member  of  St.  Martin's  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1867,  to  Lurana  E.,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Eunice  (Nicker- 
son)  Kenney.    They  have  two  children:  Nathaniel  E.  and  Lottie  E. 

Frank  Howes,  the  eldest  son  of  George  Howes,  was  bom  in  1826. 
He  followed  the  sea  from  1840  until  1873.  He  was  master  mariner 
twenty  years.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Boston  Marine  Society,  and 
St.  Martin's  Lodge  of  Masons.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the  Chatham 
Baptist  church  and  also  Sunday  school  superintendent  of  the  same. 
He  was  married  in  1853,  to  Susanna  Hawes,  who  died  three  years 
later.  He  was  married  again  in  1861,  to  Mercy  B.,  daughter  of 
Clement  and  Mercy  (Bassett)  Small,  and  granddaughter  of  William 
Small.  They  have  eight  children:  Lizzie,  Minnie,  Frank,  George, 
Ernest,  Samuel,  Henry  and  Emmie.  Mr.  Howes  died  on  May  7, 1886. 
Horatio  Howes,  son  of  Collins  and  Rhoda  (Bangs)  Howes,  was 
born  in  1829.  He  followed  the  sea  in  early  life,  and  is  now  engaged 
in  the  poultry  business.  He  was  married  in  1851,  to  Mercy  A., 
daughter  of  David  and  Abagail  (Young)  Howes.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Abbie  L. 

John  J.  Howes,  bom  in  1850,  is  the  only  son  of  John  H.  and 
Emeline  (Sparrow)  Howes,  and  grandson  of  James  Howes.  He  was 
sixteen  years  in  a  men's  furnishing  store  in  Boston,  prior  to  April, 
1886,  when  he  came  to  Chatham  and  opened  the  Boston  dry  goods 
store.  He  was  married  in  1874  to  Arlissa,  daughter  of  Richard  B.  and 
Mary  (Gould)  Harding.  They  have  one  daughter,  Florence  E.,  two 
sons  having  died  in  infancy. 

Kimble  R.  Howes,  son  of  David  and  Eliza  J.  Howes,  was  bom  in 
1851.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1863  to  1884,  and  since  that  time  he 
has  run  a  bakery  in  Chatham.  He  was  married  in  1872,  to  Ella  A., 
daughter  of  Franklin  and  Mehitable  C.  Smith.  She  died,  and  he  mar- 
ried her  sister,  Mehitable  C,  in  1875. 


622  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Clement  Kendrick,  born  in  1812,  is  a  son  of  Josiah,  and  grandson 
of  Henry  Kendrick.  His  mother  was  Mary,  daughter  of  Kimble  Ry- 
der. Mr.  Kendrick  followed  the  sea  from  1825  to  1844.  He  is  a  direc- 
tor in  the  Cape  Cod  National  Bank,  and  a  trustee  of  the  Cape  Cod 
Five  Cents  Savings  Bank.  He  was  married  in  1836,  to  Harriet,  daugh- 
ter of  Christopher  Taylor.  She  died  three  years  later,  and  he  was 
married  in  1841,  to  Annie,  daughter  of  Reuben  Young.  She  died  in 
3865. 

Edward  Kendrick,  jr.,  born  in  1849,  is  a  son  of  Edward  and  Eliza- 
beth A.  (Doane)  Kendrick,  grandson  of  Mulford,  and  great-grandson 
of  Edward  Kendrick.  Mr.  Kendrick  followed  the  sea  until  1887,  and 
lias  .since  been  a  farmer..  He  was  married  in  1874,  to  Mattie  W. 
Wilcox. 

James  A.  Kendrick,  son  of  James  and  Rebecca  (Eldridge)  Ken- 
drick, was  born  in  1842.  His  grandparents  were  James  and  Betsey 
Kendrick,  and  his  great-grandparents  were  Thomas  and  Phebe  Ken- 
drick. Mr.  Kendrick  has  followed  the  sea  since  he  was  thirteen  years 
old,  in  the  fishing  and  coasting  business.  He  was  married  in  1864,  to 
Lucy,  daughter  of  Joseph  O.  Baker.  She  died  in  1873,  and  he  was 
married  again  in  1874,  to  Phebe  E.,  daughter  of  Shadrach  and  Rhoda 
■(Cahoon)  Small,  and  granddaughter  of  Jonathan  Small.  They  have 
four  children:    Eunice  B..  George  W.  Martha  C.  and  Rhoda  E. 

Cyrus  S.  Kent,  born  in  1847,  is  a  son  of  Enos,  and  grandson  of  Ed- 
ward Kent.  He  has  followed  the  sea  since  1860,  and  has  been  cap- 
tain nineteen  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Boston  Marine  Societ)-, 
St.  Martin's  Lodge,  and  Sylvester  Baxter  Chapter.  He  was  married 
in  1870,  to  Sarah  P.,  daughter  of  Ziba  Nickerson. 

Myrick  N.  Kent,  born  in  1816,  is  the  only  son  of  David  and  Eliza- 
"beth  (Nickerson)  Kent,  and  grandson  of  Edward  Kent.  He  followed 
the  sea  from  1830  to  1860,  and  was  master  twenty-three  years.  He 
was  married  in  1839,  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  James  and  Rebecca 
(Wing)  Harding.  They  have  one  son,  James  H.  Three  children 
-died:    Emma  J.,  Esther  E.  and  David. 

Lucy  E.  Lewis  is  a  daughter  of  Richard  and  Lavonia  (White)  Ry- 
der, and  granddaughter  of  Harding  Ryder.  She  was  married  in  1866, 
to  David  Lewis,  who  died  in  1878.  Mr.  Lewis  followed  the  sea  as  a 
fisherman.  He  was  a  son  of  Isaiah  Lewis.  Richard  Ryder  died  in 
1842,  aged  thirty  years.  His  widow  was  married  in  1844,  to  Zenas 
Taylor,  who  died  in  1881.  Of  his  four  children  only  one  is  living — 
John  C.  Taylor. 

Isaac  Lovelaijd,  son  of  Timothy  and  Dorcas  (Doane)  Loveland, 
was  born  in  1817.  He  was  a  cooper  by  trade  in  early  life,  from  1847 
to  1866  was  engaged  in  the  fish  and  mercantile  business,  and  after 
that  was  for  some  time  engaged  in  weir  fishing.     He  was  several 


TOWN  OF  CHATHAM.  623 

years  president  of  the  Cape  Cod  National  Bank,  resigning  the  posi- 
tion a  short  time  before  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1888.  He  was 
married  in  1846,  to  Elizabeth  Kent.    Thgy  had  one  son,  who  died. 

Timothy  V.  Loveland,  son  of  Timothy  and  Dorcas  (Doane)  Love- 
land,  was  born  in  1810.  He  worked  at  the  carpenters'  trade  until 
1848,  from  that  time  until  1863  was  engaged  in  the  fish  business  at 
Sandy  point,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  weir  fishing.  He  was 
-married  first  to  Patience  Nye,  who  died  leaving  three  children:  Susan, 
Isaiah  and  Timothy  O.  His  second  wife  was  Harriet  Nye.  They 
have  three  children:  Augustus,  Hattie  and  Isaac  H. 

Winslow  Loveland,  son  of  Joseph  and  Martha  (Snow)  Loveland, 
was  born  in  1826.  He  was  a  master  mariner  from  1861  to  1887.  He 
has  resided  in  East  Boston  since  1857.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Boston 
Marine  Society.  He  was  married  in  1848  to  Sarah  W.  Hammond,  who 
died  leaving  one  daughter,  Cleora  E.  He  was  married  again  in  1866, 
to  Maria  W.  Gould,  They  have  two  sons:  Herbert  W.  and  Joseph  W. 
Reuben  S.  Loveland,  son  of  Joseph  and  Martha  Loveland,  was  bom 
in  1820,  and  is  a  mason  by  trade.  He  was  married  in  1862,  to  Marinda 
Mayo,  who  died  leaving  two  daughters:  Clarissa  A.  (deceased)  and 
Ella  M.  He  was  married  again  in  1867  to  Mrs.  Abbie  Myrick,  daugh- 
ter of  Reuben  C.  Taylor.  They  have  two  sons:  Reuben  C.  and  Ben- 
jamin A.     Mr.  Loveland  is  a  prohibitionist. 

Gaius  Mullett,  bom  in  1842,  is  a  son  of  Gains  and  Martha  (Nicker- 
.son)  Mullett  and  grandson  of  James  Mullett.  Mr.  Mullett  has  been 
twelve  years  constable,  two  terms  deputy  sheriff,  and  since  October 
7,  1887,  he  has  been  deputy  collector  of  customs  for  the  port  of  Chat- 
ham, and  notary  public.  He  was  married  in  1865,  to  Louisa  B., 
daughter  of  Lothrop  L.  Bearse.     They  have  one  son,  Lemuel  C. 

George  H.  Munroe,  who  has  been  for  ten  years  paymaster  in  the 
silk  mills  at  Holyoke,  Mass.,  was  married  in  1879  to  Emma  I.,  daugh- 
ter of  Simeon  N.  and  Mehitabel  (Atkins)  Taylor  and  granddaughter 
•of  John  Taylor.  Mrs.  Munroe  is  one  of  three  children.  '  Her  brother, 
Joseph,  is  deceased,  and  her  sister,  Maria  L.,  is  visiting  in  Europe 
with  her  parents. 

Alvano  T.  Nickerson,  born  in  1839,  is  a  son  of  Caleb,  and  grandson 
of  Salathiel  Nickerson.  His  mother  is  Julia  A.,  daughter  of  William 
and  Mehitabel  (Ryder)  Hamilton.  Mr.  Nickerson  has  been  in  busi- 
ness in  Boston  since  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  He  was  married 
in  1863,  to  Laurietta,  daughter  of  Lumbert  Nickerson.  They  have  five 
children:  Mabel  E.,  Alvano  T.,  jr.,  Lillian  H.,  Walter  L.  and  Hattie  H. 
Mr.  Nickerson  spends  his  summers  at  North  Chatham,  where  his  an- 
-cestors  have  lived  for  several  generations. 

Daniel  W.  Nickerson,  born  in  1834,  is  a  son  of  Washington  and 
.Ann  (Turner)  Nickerson,  and  grandson  of  Edward  Nickerson,  mariner. 


624  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Mr.  Nickerson  began  going  to  sea  when  eleven  years  old,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty-five  became  master  of  coasting  vessels.  In  1882  he 
built  a  residence  in  Chatham,  where  he  now  lives.  He  was  married  in 
1856,  to  Deborah  K.  Hamilton,  who  died  some  years  after.  He  was 
married  in  1878,  to  Addie  A.  Eldridge.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  two 
children:  George  W.  N.,  died  October  1,  1880,  aged  eighteen  years 
and  eight  months,  and  an  infant  child. 

Erastus  Nickerson,  son  of  Lumbert  and  Rhoda  (Eldridge)  Nicker- 
son, was  born  in  1821.  Mr.  Nickerson  followed  the  sea  until  1861. 
He  was  several  years  a  member  of  the  school  committee,  and  in  1880 
he  was  representative  in  the  legislature.  He  was  married  in  1842,  to 
Rebecca,  daughter  of  Seth  Nickerson.  She  died  in  1860,  leaving  two 
children:  Amanda,  who  has  since  died,  and  Erastus  M.  He  was  mar- 
ried again  in  1862,  to  Rebecca  H.,  daughter  of  James  Kendrick.  They 
have  two  children:  Gracie  W.  and  Nellie  B. 

Erastus  M.  Nickerson,  only  son  of  Erastus  and  Rebecca  Nickerson, 
was  born  in  1851.  He  was  in  the  fish  business  until  1879,  and  since 
that  time  has  kept  a  pool  room  and  tobacco  and  cigar  store  at  Chatham. 
He  was  married  in  1880,  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Joshua  Nickerson. 

John  H.  Nickerson,  born  in  1844,  is  a  son  of  John  H.  and  Mary  T. 
(Goodspeed)  Nickerson,  grandson  of  Joshua,  and  great-grandson  of 
Salathiel  Nickerson.  Mr.  Nickerson  followed  the  sea  in  early  life, 
and  is  now  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  was  married  in  1869,  to  Emma 
A.,  daughter  of  Edward  Howard.  They  have  two  sons:  J.  Howard 
and  Frank  G. 

Moses  Nickerson,  son  of  Ezra  Nickerson,  was  born  in  1812,  and 
was  a  master  mariner.  He  died  at  sea  in  1871.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Baptist  church.  He  was  married  in  1838,  to  Sarah  T.  Eldridge. 
They  had  two  children:  Moses  E.  and  Alice  P. 

Orick  Nickerson',  was  born  in  1814.  He  is  the  eldest  son  of  six 
children  of  Ensign",  descended  from  Ensign*,  Absalom',  William', 
William',  William  Nickerson',  who  was  the  first  white  man  to  own 
what  is  now  Chatham.  The  six  surviving  children  of  Ensigfn  Nicker- 
son" are:  Orick,  Sparrow  M.,  Sally  A.  M.,  Ensign  A.,  Samuel  M.  of 
Chicago  (who  still  owns  the  homestead  farm),  and  Rebecca  J.  The 
two  daughters  now  occupy  their  father's  homestead  house.  Orick 
Nickerson  was  married  in  1834,  to  Mary  Ryder.  She  died  in  1862, 
leaving  two  sons:  Cornelius  (who  married  Ellen  J.  Gulliver),  and 
Osborn  (who  married  Mary  L.  Dodge.) 

Rufus  F.  Nickerson,  born  in  1837,  is  a  son  of  Zenas  and  Abigail 
(Higgins)  Nickenson,  and  grandson  of  Silas  and  Susan  Nickerson. 
Mr.  Nickerson  has  been  engaged  in  the  fishing  business  since  1861. 
He  was  married  in  1860,  to  Sarah,  daughter  of  Joshua  Atkins.  They 
have  ten  children:  Minnie  L.,  George  F.,  Abbie  C,  Sadie  L.,  Rufus 
A.,  Mary  E.,  Grace  V.,  Joseph  A.,  Hope  R.  and  Dexter  W. 


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TOWN   OF   CHATHAM.  625 

Samuel  M.  Nickerson,  son  of  Ensign,  jr.,  and  Rebecca  Nickerson, 
was  born  in  Chatham  June  14,  1830.  His  ancestor,  eight  generations 
back,  was  the  old  Puritan,  William  Nickerson,  whose  coming  to  Yar- 
mouth and  to  Chatham  is  mentioned  on  page  458.  From  him  to 
Samuel  M .',  the  line  of  descent  is  through  William',  William',  William*, 
Absalom',  Ensign',  and  Ensign,  jr.',  all  of  whom  are  known  in  the  lo- 
cal history  of  Chatham,  where  the  family  is  still  in  possession  of  part 
of  the  lands  which  William'  purchased  of  the  Indians. 

Samuel  M.  Nickerson  received  his  early  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Chatham  and  Boston.  In  1847  he  went  to  Apalachicola, 
Fla.,  where  he  remained  in  business  several  years.  In  1858  he  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  the  late  Isaac  Crosby,  of  Brewster,  and  having 
been  burned  out  in  Florida  he  removed  the  same  year  to  Chicago, 
where  he  engaged  in  the  business  of  distilling  alcohol,  retiring  from 
it  in  1864.  From  that  year  until  1871  he  was  president  of  the  Chicago 
City  Railroad  Company,  but  resigned  the  position  on  account  of  the 
great  pressure  of  his  banking  interests.  Mr.  Nickerson  was  elected 
vice-president  of  the  First  National  Bank  at  its  organization  in  1863, 
continuing  such  until  1867,  when  he  was  elected  its  president,  and 
still  remains  in  that  position.  In  1867-1868  he  built,  at  the  corner  of 
State  and  Washington  streets,  the  First  National  Bank  building,  then 
acknowledged  to  be  the  best  fire  proof  building  west  of  New  York 
city,  and  still  standing — a  relic  of  the  great  fire  of  1871 — the  only 
building  in  the  business  district  not  then  destroyed. 

In  1881-1882  he  built,  at  the  corner  of  Monroe  and  Dearborn 
streets,  the  expensive  and  commodious  building  now  occupied  by  the 
bank,  containing  the  largest  banking  ofiice  in  this  country,  with 
ample  room  for  its  150  ofiicials  and  employees.  In  March,  1868,  Mr. 
Nickerson  organized  the  Union  Stock  Yard  National  Bank,  located  at 
the  stock-yards,  remaining  its  president  until  1870,  and  still  retaining 
a  place  as  one  of  its  directors.  He  is  renowned  for  his  sterling  busi- 
ness qualities  and  for  his  great  experience,  and  excellent  judgment 
in  financial  affairs.  He  is  an  ofiBcer  in  the  new  Art  Institute,  and 
always  a  supporter  of  every  local  art  movement.  His  private  gallery 
is  a  favorite  haunt  to  which  artists  and  lovers  of  pictures  can  always 
obtain  entrance. 

Zenas  Nickerson,  born  in  1827,  is  one  of  five  surviving  children  of 
Zenas  and  Priscilla  (Eldridge)  Nickerson,  and  grandson  of  Ezra 
Nickerson.  Mr.  Nickerson  was  a  master  mariner  prior  to  1867,  and 
since  that  time  he  has  been  a  merchant  and  farmer.  He  was  married 
in  1849,  to  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Ephraim  and  Thankful  Taylor,  and 
granddaughter  of  John  Taylor.  They  have  six  children:  Zenas  A., 
George  H.,  2d,  Mary  A.  Velma  W.,  Priscilla  T.  and  Geneva  T. 

Ziba  Nickerson,  a  merchant  at  Chatham,  was  born  in  1823.     He  is 
40 


626  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

a  son  of  Lumbert  and  Rhoda  (Eldridge)  Nickerson,  and  grandson  of 
Ensign  Nickerson.  He  has  been  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  Univer- 
salist  society,  and  led  the  choir  for  forty  years.  He  has  been  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  school  twenty  years.  He  was  married  in  1844, 
to  Sarah,  daughter  of  George  and  Sally  Paine.  They  have  five 
children  living:  Ziba,  jr.,  Willie  L.,  Charles  S.,  Sarah  P.  and  Rhoda  L. 
They  lost  two  sons;  George  W.,  born  in  1845,  lost  at  sea  in  1863,  and 
John  P.,  died  at  the  age  of  about  eighteen  months. 

Owen  Oneal,  son  of  John  Oneal,  was  born  in  1848.  He  has  been 
in  the  employ  of  the  Cape  Cod  and  Old  Colony  railroad  since  1868, 
as  passenger  and  freight  conductor,  seventeen  years.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1877,  to  Mary  McKay.  .They  have  four  children:  Owen  A., 
Charles  B.,  Jennie  M.  and  James  B. 

Francis  B.  Rogers,  born  in  1830,  is  a  son  of  Francis  and  Mary 
(Ryder)  Rogers,  and  grandson  of  Mulford  Rogers.  Mr.  Rogers  is  a 
carpenter  by  trade.  He  served  nine  months  in  the  war  of  the  rebel- 
lion, in  Company  E,  Forty-third  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  and  is  a 
member  of  Frank  D.  Hammond  Post,  G.  A.  R.  He  married  Azubah 
A.,  daughter  of  Elnathan  and  Azubah  (Atwood)  Mayo.  Their  six 
children  are:  Francis  H.,  George  T.,  Edwin  A.,  Lina  B.,  Cornelia  M. 
and  Mary  J.     Two  died:    Ella  E.  and  Elmer  F. 

Sullivan  Rogers,  born  in  1822,  is  a  son  of  Zacheus  and  grandson  of 
Daniel  Rogers.  His  mother  was  Margaret,  daughter  of  Joseph  Mayo. 
Mr.  Rogers  kept  a  hardware,  tin  and  sheet  iron  store  at  Chatham  from 
April,  1846,  and  is  still  carrying  on  the  business  in  connection  with 
his  son.  Mr.  Rogers  is  a  prohibitionist,  and  a  member  of  the  Chat- 
ham Methodist  Episcopal  church.  He  was  married  in  1847,  to  Cath- 
erine, daughter  of  Josiah  Mayo,  Esq.  They  have  had  five  children, 
three  of  whom  are  living:  Susan  M.,  Alice  and  Josiah  M.,  who  was 
married  in  1883,  to  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Captain  Zenas  Nickerson. 

Kimble  Ryder,  born  in  1822,  is  the  youngest  of  seven  children  of 
Kimble  and  Ruth  (Eldridge)  Ryder  and  a  grandson  of  Kimble  Ryder. 
Mr.  Ryder  followed  the  sea  from  1839  to  1870,  and  was  master  mariner 
twenty-six  years.  He  was  twelve  years  in  the  coal,  wood  and  grain 
business.  He  was  married  in  1846,  to  Sarah  Doane.  She  died  and  he 
was  married  again  in  1857  to  Desire  B.,  daughter  of  Abijah  and  Pru- 
dence B.  (Nye)  Crosby.  He  had  one  son  by  his  first  wife — Charles  K., 
born  September  26,  1846,  died  March  20,  1851.  Mr.  Ryder  has  been 
treasurer  of  the  St.  Martin's  Lodge  since  its  organization. 

Sylvester  K.  Small,  son  of  Samuel  and  Abigail  (Simmons)  Small, 
was  born  in  1822.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1834  to  1875,  and  was 
master  for  twenty-eight  years.  In  1884  he  opened  "  The  Travelers' 
Home  "  at  Chatham.     He  was  married  in  1844,  to  Dorrinda,  daughter 


PRINT. 
E,     eiEHSTADT.     N.     T. 


TOWN   OF   CHATHAM.  627 

of  Collins  and  Rhoda  (Bangs)  Howes.     They  have  three  children: 
Emulous  F.,  Willie  C.  and  George  K.     They  lost  three  children. 

Ephraim  Smith,  born  in  1824,  is  a  son  of  Christopher  and  Sarah 
(Eldridge)  Smith,  and  grandson  of  Richard  Smith.  He  followed  the 
sea  prior  to  1865,  since  which  time  he  has  been  a  manufacturer  of  and 
wholesale  dealer  in  tinware  in  Boston.  He  was  married  in  1849,  to 
Mercy,  daughter  of  James  Hawes.  They  have  three  children:  Mer- 
cena,  Susan  T.  and  Sarah  A.  Two  sons  died:  Henry  O.  and 
Ephraim,  jr. 

RuFUS  Smith. — Ralph,  one  of  this  family  name,  came  to  the  New 
World  in  1629,  but  the  Ralph  Smyth  who  came  in  1633,  whose  name 
appears  in  the  Hingham  records  in  1637,  who  was  in  Eastham  in  1657, 
and  there  took  the  oath  of  fidelity,  is  the  progenitor  to  whom  the  an- 
cestral line  of  this  representative  in  Chatham  is  traced.  The  male 
line  of  descent  to  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  inclusive,  was:  Ralph', 
Samuel',  John',  Stephen*,  George",  Stephen',  Stephen'  and  Rufus'. 
Ralph's  children  were:  Samuel,  baptized  July  11, 1641;  John,  July  23, 
1644;  Daniel,  March  2,  1647:  and  Thomas. 

Samuel'  married,  January  3,  1667,  at  Eastham,.  Mary,  daughter  of 
Giles  Hopkins,  son  of  Stephen  Hopkins  of  the  Mayflower,  and  their 
children  were:  Samuel,  born  May  26,  1668,  died  September  22,  1692; 
Mary,  born  June  3,  1669,  married  Daniel  Hamilton,  of  Chatham;  Jo- 
seph, born  April  10,  1671;  John,  May  26,  1673;  Grace,  September  6, 
1676;  and  Deborah,  born  December  10,  1678.  This  Samuel,  son  of 
Ralph,  born  at  Eastham,  was  a  farmer  and  a  large  landholder.  His 
house  in  Eastham  is  in  part  still  standing.  He  also  owned  four  hun- 
dred acres  in  Orleans,  known  as  the  Smith  purchase,  and  two  farms 
in  Chatham  that  he  gave  to  John  and  Mary  in  equal  parts,  also  giving 
them,  with  his  grandsons,  Samuel  and  Joseph,  equal  parts  in  the  Ga- 
boon farm,  Chatham. 

John'  married  Bethia  Snow,  daughter  of  Stephen,  son  of  Nicholas, 
who  married  Constance,  daughter  of  the  Pilgrim  Hopkins,  and  their 
children  were:  Samuel,  Dean,  John,  Stephen,  David,  Seth,  Mercy, 
Mary  and  Bethiah  Smith. 

Stephen*,  the  next  in  the  male  line,  was  born  in  Monomoyick,  in 
1706,  and  died  in  January,  1766,  with  smallpox,  as  also  did,  in  the 
same  epidemic,  his  wife,  Bashua,  and  his  two  daughters.  He  was  a 
deacon  and  a  farmer,  and  an  important  factor  in  church  and  state. 
His  sons  were:  Stephen  and  Archelaus.  who  moved  to  Nova  Scotia; 
three  sons,  who  built  and  lived  on  the  home  farm — George  in  the  white 
house  that  stood  near  Long  cove,  Obed  on  the  Doctor  Clifford  place, 
and  Elijah  on  the  Stephen  Ryder  place,  all  side  by  side.  There  were 
also  three  daughters:    Hannah,  Bashua  and  Betty. 

George',  a  farmer  and  sportsman,  the  next  in  the  line,  born  Feb- 


628  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

ruary  11,  1732,  married  Barbara  Mayo,  Occtober  16,  1755,  and  died  in 
July,  1823.  Their  children  were:  Richard,  Theophilus,  George,  Ste- 
phen, Benjamin,  Obed  and  Knowles  (twins),  Bathua  and  Betty. 

Stephen',  born  November  18,  1764,  married  Margery  Crowell, 
daughter  of  David  Crowell.  He  was  a  farmer  and  fisherman,  accu- 
mulated a  nice  property  in  Chatham,  and  lived  until  September  14, 
1832.  His  children  were:  Betsey,  Lucy,  Levi,  Thomas,  Sally,  Ste- 
phen, Thankful,  Margery  and  David. 

Stephen',  the  father  of  Rufus,  was  born  September  2,  1800,  and 
married  Clarissa  H.  Lewis,  of  Hingham,  December  18, 1823.  She  was 
born  February  22,  1802,  and  died  September  29,  1879.  Stephen  was 
an  industrious  citizen,  true  to  his  religious  principles,  and  prominent 
in  the  town  of  Chatham.  He  inherited  his  father's  estate,  to  which 
he  added  largely  by  farifiing  and  investing  in  vessels.  He  died  No- 
vember 26,  1864.  Of  his  ten  children,  David,  born  October  23,  1824, 
was  a  worthy  sea  captain,  a  great  reader  and  a  man  of  imcommon  in- 
telligence. He  was  a  great  inventor  and  mechanic,  and  invented  the 
method  of  freezing  ice  on  large  iron  plates,  which  he  was  prosecuting 
in  New  Orleans  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  December,  1866.  The 
other  children  of  this  family  were:  a  daughter,  who  died  in  infancy; 
Rufus,  whose  history  is  set  forth  in  the  next  paragraph;  Stephen  V., 
born  February  14,  1829,  lived  near  his  father,  on  his  grandfather's 
farm,  and  died  July  13,  1878;  Lewis  F.,  born  March  13, 1839,  followed 
the  sea  for  a  few  years,  and  subsequently  engaged  in  an  express  and 
trading  business.  (He  married  Georgia,  daughter  of  Doctor  Dcdge. 
She  died  November  9,  1878,  leaving  three  children:  Louie  F.,  Mont- 
gomery F.,  who  died  in  1888,  and  Anna  Parker  Smith);  Benjamin 
Smith  the  sixth  child,  born  October  28,  1833,  died  August  16,  1835; 
Benjamin  F.,  born  December  19,  1836,  died  January  24,  1844;  Mariah 
Louise,  born  September  29,  1841,  died  April  16,  1843;  her  twin  sister, 
Ann  Eliza,  died  February  13,  1846;  and  the  tenth  child,  a  son,  died  in 
infancy  without  name. 

Rufus  Smith,  born  May  2,  1827,  now  enjoying  in  Chatham  Port  the 
broad  acres,  fruits  of  his  own  industry,  worked  with  his  father  until 
after  he  was  twenty-one  years  old  when  he  purchased  a  portion  of  his 
present  farm  for  sheep  husbandry,  which  not  proving  profitable,  he, 
at  twenty-four,  engaged  in  making  brick  near  where  the  new  hotel  is 
being  erected.  This  enterprise,  on  account  of  expensive  transpor- 
tation, did  not  meet  his  expectations,  and  in  1861  he  engaged  in  a  mail 
contract  and  stage  line,  between  Chatham  and  Yarmouth.  This  natu- 
rally led  to  an  express  business  which  required,  before  the  advent  of 
the  railroad,  thirty-two  horses  for  its  various  branches.  Since  the 
cars  have  run  to  Orleans  he  retains  a  share  in  the  consolidated  ex- 
press company  and  is  engaged  in  delivering  its  goods  in  his  own 


TOWN   OF  CHATHAM.  629 

town.  He  has  added  largely  to  his  original  purchase  of  lands,  and 
being  a  lover  of  animals,  keeps  a  large  number  of  poultry  and  stock, 
in  connection  with  his  extensive  farming.  He  has  found  time,  at  the 
solicitation  of  his  friends,  to  fill  very  eflBciently  various  oflBces  in  his 
town  and  was  the  republican  representative  of  his  district  in  1879. 
He  is  a  life  member  of  the  county  agricultural  society  and  is  credited 
with  the  largest  and  best  exhibit  of  blooded  cattle  yet  shown  at  its 
annual  fairs.  Farming  and  the  social  relations  of  life  are  his  prefer- 
ence, but  to  a.ssist  his  brothers  he  has  engaged  in  outside  enterprises, 
being  a  short  time  in  a  wholesale  mercantile  business  with  his  brother 
Lewis  F.,  and  more  recently  with  his  brother  David  in  manufacturing 
ice  at  Washington,  from  which  Mr.  Smith  retired  two  years  after  his 
brother's  death.  For  years  past  he  has  successfully  engaged  in  cran- 
berry culture,  adding  eight  more  acres  the  past  year.  He  is  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  Methodist  society,  in  the  body  politic,  in  the 
industrial  interests  and  every  good  work  and  enterprise  for  the  ad- 
vancement and  prosperity  of  his  town. 

He  was  married  March  29,  1847,  to  Mehitable  S.  Ryder,  who  was 
born  March  17,  1828,  and  died  August  29, 1867.  Their  seven  children 
are:  Joseph  R.,  born  May  9,  1847,  died  in  September  of  the  same  year; 
Rufus  C,  born  September  5,  18.50,  died  January  31,  1877,  after  one 
year's  study  for  the  ministry  in  a  theological  school,  where  he  over- 
taxed his  energies  and  from  a  cold  went  into  a  decline;  Benjamin  F., 
born  July  20,  18.52,  now  engaged  in  the  express  business  between 
Provincetown  and  Boston,  (he  married  Rebecca  A.Taylor,  of  Province- 
town,  August  29,  1878,  who  died  April  25,  1884,  leaving  three  chil- 
dren—Mary A.,  Anna  F.  and  Stephen  C);  Clara  E.,  born  May  12, 
18.55,  died  February  2,  1856;  Lizzie  E.,  born  February  4,  18.58;  Curtis 
M.,  born  October  9,  1859,  married  Betty  Mason,  of  Washington,  and 
has  three  children — Ralph  C,  Rufus  and  an  infant  son;  and  Morris 
W.,  twin  of  Curtis,  married  Anna  M.  Nickerson.  Mr.  Smith  was  mar- 
ried the  second  time  November  26,  1868,  to  Betsey  T.,  daughter  of 
Constant  Sears,  direct  in  the  lineage  of  Richard  the  Pilgrim.  She  was 
born  November  27,  1836,  and  is  one  of  six  living  sisters.  Their  chil- 
dren are:  Bessie  M.,  born  April  21,  1875;  and  Alice  C,  September  6, 
1882,  both  in  school. 

After  untiring  activity  in  his  business,  and  a  long  period  of  use- 
fulness in  religious,  social  and  civil  affairs,  Mr.  Smith  is  enabled  now 
to  spend  the  evening  of  his  days  in  the  confidence  of  all  who  know 
him,  and  in  the  serenity  which  such  a  life  merits. 

David  S.  Taylor  was  born  in  1817.  He  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and 
Betsey  (Smith)  Taylor,  and  grandson  of  Reuben  C.  Taylor.  Mr.  Taylor 
TfoUowed  the  sea  from  1831  until  1870.     He  was  married  in  1842,  to 


630  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Hannah,   daughter  of  Thomas   Taylor.     They   have   five    children: 
Thomas  W.,  Henry  W.,  David  S.,  jr.,  Adaliza  C.  and  Betsey  S. 

Ephraim  A.  Taylor'  was  born  in  1826.  He  is  descended  from 
Ephraim',  John',  Seth',  Seth',  John',  Richard  Taylor'.  Mr.  Taylor  is  a 
carpenter  by  trade.  He  was  selectman  several  years,  and  a  member 
of  the  school  committee.  He  is  a  democrat,  as  was  also  his  father. 
He  was  married  in  1855,  to  Ann  L.  Wight.  They  have  four  children: 
Herman,  Gertrude,  Winthrop  and  Edward  L.  One  son,  Augustus, 
born  in  1856,  died  in  1878. 

Hiram  Taylor,  born  in  1820,  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Betsey  (Smith) 
Taylor.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1832  to  1881,  and  was  master  mar- 
iner thirty  years.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Boston  Marine  Society.  He 
was  married  in  1843,  to  Elizabeth  C,  daughter  of  Ezra  and  Sally  H. 
Nickerson.  Of  their  four  children  Caroline  I.,  Hiram  E.  and  one 
infant  are  deceased.  John  H.,  born  September  7,  1858,  was  married 
in  1883,  to  Hattie  W.,  daughter  of  George  A.  Taylor.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Carrie  I. 

Captain  John  Taylor,  born  in  1824,  was  a  son  of  Captain  John,  and 
a  grandson  of  John  Taylor.  He  began  going  to  sea  at  the  age  of 
eleven  years.  He  was  a  master  mariner  until  three  years  prior  to  his 
■death,  which  occurred  in  1886,  and  had  circumnavigated  the  globe. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Boston  Marine  Society.  He  was  married  in 
1847,  to  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Gorham  and  Sarah  (Hopkins)  Mayo. 
They  had  nine  children:  John  B.,  Gorham  M.,  Edgar  R.,  Walter  F., 
Elwyn  O.,  Lizzie  C,  Catalina  L.,  and  two  who  died  in  infancy. 

Levi  Taylor,  eldest  son  of  Reuben  C.  and  Nabby  C.  (Baker)  Taylor, 
was  born  in  1824,  and  has  followed  the  sea  since  1836.  He  is  a  master 
mariner,  and  a  member  of  the  Boston  Marine  Society.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1846,  to  Martha  B.,  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Bethiah  (Eldridge) 
Howes.     They  have  two  children:  Collins  B.  and  Mary  F. 

Reuben  C.  Taylor'  was  born  in  1832.  He  is  descended  from  Reu- 
ben C,  Reuben  C,  Samuel',  Samuel',  John',  Richard  Taylor'.  Mr. 
Taylor  has  followed  the  sea  for  forty-five  years,  and  has  been  master 
twenty  years.  He  was  married  in  1867,  to  Phebe  N.,  daughter  of 
Sylvanus  Gage.  They  have  four  children:  Clarina  S.,  Sophena  C, 
Phebe  H.  and  Mercy  E. 

Washington  Taylor,  born  in  1820,  is  the  youngest  of  fourteen 
children  of  George  and  Sabrina  (Ryder)  Taylor.  He  has  been  a  suc- 
cessful merchant  at  Chatham  since  1848.  He  was  married  in  1842,  to 
Mary  R.  Harding.  They  have  two  sons:  Sylvanus  H.  and  Washing- 
ton R. 

Washington  R.  Taylor,  son  of  Washington  Taylor,  was  bom  in 
1851.  He  keeps  a  livery  stable  in  Chatham.  He  was  married  in  1873,. 
to  Abbie  E.,  daughter  of  Reuben  L.  Bearse.  They  have  one  son, 
Frank  R. 


TOWN  OF  CHATHAM.  631 

John  W.  Vanhise,  born  in  1825  in  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  is  a  son 
of  William  and  grandson  of  John  Vanhise,  both  natives  of  Middlesex 
county,  New  Jersey.  Mr.  Vanhise  is  a  ship  builder  by  trade.  In 
1866  he  began  to  plant  oysters  in  what  is  now  known  as  Oyster  bay. 
Since  1878  he  has  made  the  oyster  culture  a  regular  business.  He  is 
a  member  of  St.  Martin's  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.  He  was  married  in 
1861,  to  Mrs.  Susan  E.  Small,  daughter  of  Elisha  Smalley.  She  had 
two  sons  by  her  former  marriage:  Levi  A.  and  George  E.  Small. 

Levi  C.  Wing,  born  in  1837,  is  the  eldest  of  five  children  of  Obed 
and  Lurana  (Phillips)  Wing  and  grandson  of  Levi  Wing,  who  was  a 
revolutionary  soldier.  Mr.  Wing  has  followed  the  sea  since  1846,  and 
has  been  master  mariner  since  1870.  He  was  married  in  1859,  to  Abbie 
A.  Gould.  They  have  six  children:  Curtis  A.,Clarana  M.,  P.  Frankie, 
Abbie  C,  Grace  L.  and  Carrie  A. 

Isaac  B.  Young  was  born  in  Chatham,  March  9,  1818,  and  is  the 
son  of  Joseph  and  Bethiah  Bea  Young.  He  was  married  to  Maria  J. 
Marston,  November  7,  1839.  Their  children  are:  Maria  Marston, 
Helen  Clarence,  Edwin  Marcus  and  Emma  F.  Young.  Mr.  Young 
was  representative  in  the  Massachusetts  legislature  two  terms — 1863 
and  1864 — and  deputy  collector  of  customs  from  1871  to  1877.  His 
father,  Joseph  Young,  son  of  Joseph  and  Anna  Nickerson  Young,  was 
taken  by  the  British  and  made  prisoner  in  the  war  of  1812  at  the  age 
of  sixteen  years.  Isaac  B.'s  grandfather,  Joseph  Young,  the  son  of 
Hiat  and  Mercy  Hinckley  Young,  enlisted  in  the  war  of  the  revolu- 
tion at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  and  served  five  years.  His  father, 
Hiat  Young,  was  in  the  French  war  and  was  taken  captive  by  the  In- 
dians; also  served  six  years  in  the  revolutionary  war.  Hiat  and  his 
son  Joseph's  aggregate  time  in  the  service  of  the  revolutionary  war 
was  eleven  years.  The  wages  per  month  received  for  their  service 
was  the  value  of  one  bushel  of  corn. 

James  M.  Young,  born  in  1834,  is  a  son  of  Reuben  and  Martha 
(Eldredge)  Young,  grandson  of  Joseph  and  great-grandson  of  Hiat 
Young.  Mr.  Young  is  a  carpenter  by  trade,  but  for  the  past  fifteen 
years  has  been  a  farmer.  He  is  a  member  of  St.  Martin's  Lodge,  A. 
F.  &  A.  M.  He  was  married  in  1877,  to  Clara  L.  Harding.  They  have 
two  children:  James  W.  and  Reuben  S. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


TOWN   OF  FALMOUTH. 


Description. — Indians. — Settlement. — Incorporation. — Growth  and  Progi'ess. — The  Rev- 
olution.— Early  Industries. — War  of  1812. — Civil  War. — Subsequent  Events  and 
Present  Condition. — Civil  Lists. — Churches. — Schools. — Cemeteries. — Villages. — Bi- 
ographical Sketches. 


THAT  portion  of  Barnstable  county  occupying  the  extreme  south- 
western portion  of  Cape  Cod,  now  the  town  of  Falmouth,  was  a 
part  of  that  unexplored  country  which  the  English  charter  of 
April  10,  1606,  presumed  to  confer  upon  the  Plymouth  Company,  and 
which  was  superseded  by  the  charter  of  1620,  by  which  James  I.  cre- 
ated the  Council  of  Plymouth.  It  is  bounded  north  and  northeast  by 
the  towns  of  Bourne  and  Sandwich,  the  northwest  corner  being  at 
Cataumet  harbor,  east  by  Mashpee,  south  by  the  Vineyard  sound, 
west  by  Buzzards  bay,  and  contains  about  28,500  acres  of  assessed 
land.  A  range  of  hills,  partly  covered  with  oak  forest,  extends,  paral- 
lel with  the  bay,  through  its  western  border,  and  the  remainder  is 
quite  level.  The  soil  is  gravelly  loam  except  in  the  eastern  part, 
which  is  sandy  and  light.  Its  extreme  width  of  coast  along  the  sound 
is  9f  miles,  and  its  width  from  Falmouth  wharf  to  the  northeast  cor- 
ner at  Ashumet  pond  is  eight  miles.  It  contains  over  forty  ponds 
that  bear  names  according  to  the  circumstances  of  position,  pecu- 
liarity, or  original  owner,  and  not  a  few  are  salt. 

Some  writers  assert  that  there  was  no  Indian  tribe  here  when  the 
European  first  landed;  but  in  the  fields  along  the  bay  from  Woods 
Holl  to  North  Falmouth  have  been  found  their  bones  and  imple- 
ments, and  the  reader  will  be  regaled  with  the  frequent  use  of  Indian 
names  that  applied  to  different  villages  in  the  town,  as  given  by 
them  and  used  by  the  proprietors. 

Ecclesiastical  differences  providentially  turned  the  tide  of  emigra- 
tion from  Sandwich  and  Barnstable  toward  Falmouth,  then  called  by 
the  Indian  name  Succonesset.  Isaac  Robinson,  dismissed  from  civil 
employment  because  of  his  sympathy  with  the  Sandwich  Quakers, 
was  stricken  from  the  list  of  freemen.  Others,  prominent  in  the 
colony,  and  since  on  the  Cape,  were  proscribed.  What  could  remedy 
this  state  of  feeling  better  than  to    remove    as  far  as  possible  into 


TOWN  OF  FALMOUTH.  633 

the  wilderness,  away  from  immediate  jurisdiction?  June  7,  1659, 
permission  was  granted  to  five  persons  of  Barnstable  to  purchase  of 
the  Indians,  lands  here,  but  was  not  carried  into  effect.  Permission 
was  given  to  others  March  5,  1660,  but  not  until  June  4,  1661,  under 
another  permission  from  the  court,  did  these  earnest  settlers  prepare 
to  set  out  in  quest  of  other  homes.  They,  according  to  tradition, 
came  by  water  around  the  Cape,  up  the  sound.  The  Barnstable 
church  records  show  that  Isaac  Robinson  received  a  letter  of  recom- 
mendation to  the  church  at  Marthas  vineyard;  which  would  indicate 
that  as  their  place  of  destination;  but  they  landed  on  the  Cape,  and, 
attracted  by  its  beauty  and  fertility  and  having  permission  from  the 
court  at  Plymouth,  here  they  remained,  becoming  the  first  white 
settlers  of  Falmouth. 

The  proprietors'  records  of  the  town  are  sufficient  evidence  of  the 
fact  that  the  following  persons  were  located  on  the  lands  now  occu- 
pied by  the  village  and  its  immediate  vicinity,  and  the  first  entry  of 
the  records,  November  29,  1661,  gives  to  each  the   lots  described. 
Isaac  Robinson,  the  first  to  build  a  house  between  Fresh  and  Salt 
ponds,  was  given  four  acres  by  his  house,  eight  acres,  and  one  and  a- 
half  of  meadow  elsewhere;  Jonathan   Hatch  had  ten  acres  "  by  his 
Louse  lying  against  the  neck  and  leaving  a  sufficient  way  into  the 
neck;"  John  Chapman,  four  acres;  John  Jenkins,  eight  acres;  Jesse 
Hamlin,  eight  acres;  Anthony  Annabel,  eight  acres;  William  Nelson, 
four  acres;  Samuel  Hinckley,  eight  acres;  Captain  Nathaniel  Thomas, 
■eight  acres;  Samuel  Fuller,  eight  acres;  Thomas  Lathrop,  eight  acres; 
Peter  Blossom,  eight  acres;  James  Cobb,   eight   acres;  and  Thomas 
Ewer,  eight  acres.    They  laid  out  four  acres  along  by  the  pond  into 
lots,  which  were  assigned  to  the  same  individuals,  then  added  "  there 
is  also  a  sufficient  way  to  be  left  along  by  the  pond  side  about  or 
Iselow  the  houses."    They  laid  out  twenty  acres  to  be  also  shared, 
which  was  next  to  Hatch's  land,  "  lying  on  the  sea  and  running  200 
Tods  towards  the  woods."   Thus  the  readermay  comprehend  who  were 
the  first  settlers  of  the  town,  where  they  located,  and  the  amount  of 
land  first  tilled.    Considerable  importance  must  have  been  attached 
to  this  primitive  settlement,  for  the  court  in  March,  1663,  enacted 
that  the  lands,  even  those  not  inhabited  by  them,  be  rated  and  liable 
in  some  measure  for  the  support  of  a  man  for  the  dispensing  of  God's 
word  among  them;  but  "  Suconesset  not  being  yet  strong  enough  to 
stand  alone,  ordered  by  the  court  that  it  shall  for  the  present  belong 
to   Barnstable."    These   original    proprietors  secured    a   tract   that 
extended  from  Woods  Holl,  along  the  sound  to  Five-Mile  river  and 
•extending  north  four  or  five  miles;  for  divisions  were  made  by  the 
proprietors  to  themselves  and  other  settlers  in  succeeding  years — 
in  1668  to  William  Gifford,  Thomas  Lewis  and  John  Jenkins;  in  1678 


634  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

to  William  Gifford,  jr.,  and  John  and  William  Weeks;  in  1679  to 
James  Percival,  Moses  Ronley,  sr.,  Joseph  Hull,  Thomas  GriflBn,  John 
Robinson,  Samuel  Tilley,  Nathaniel  Skiff  and  Thomas  Johnson;  and 
these  included  lands  between  Hog  Island  Harbor  on  the  bay  and 
Five-Mile  river  on  the  east;  bounded  by  the  sound  on  the  south. 
The  line  between  Sandwich  and  Succonesset  was  defined  in  1679,  as 
"  Beginning  at  a  place  commonly  called  Hope's  Spring  a  little  to  the 
southward  of  Pocasset  Neck;  thence  easterly  into  the  woods,  being 
Suckanessett's  northerly  bounds,  etc.,  to  the  Christian  Indian's  land.s." 

In  1685  permission  was  granted  "  to  take  up  land,"  where  now  is 
East  Falmouth,  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  town,  east  of  the  Five- 
Mile  river,  and  east  of  the  original  possession.  Robert  Harper,  James 
Percival,  Joseph  Hull,  John  Weeks,  Joseph  Hatch,  Moses  Rowley,  ssr., 
James  Lewis  and  Thomas  Creppan,  sr.,  were  the  purchasers  from  the 
Indians. 

On  the  fourth  of  June,  1686,  (O.  S.),  the  population  received  full 
incorporation  as  a  township;  but  it  was  called  Succonesset  in  the  town 
records  still  later.  On  the  sixth  day  of  June,  1687,  the  town  records 
its  action  as  "We,  the  inhabitants  of  Suckanessett;"  and  again  at  a 
meeting  of  the  proprietors  at  the  house  of  Jonathan  Hatch,  in  1690, 
it  was  "Ordered  that  all  the  undivided  lands  within  said  Suckaniessett 
be  laid  out  in  lots  and  allotments  as  soon  as  convenient."  Frederick 
Freeman  thought  that  it  was  incorporated  as  Falmouth.  The  entry 
in  Volume  IV.,  Colony  Records  of  Plymouth,  says:  "Upon  the  request 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Seipican,  alias  Rochester,  to  become  a  township 
and  have  the  priviledges  of  a  town,  the  Court  granted  theire  desire  in 
yt  respect,  &  the  like  granted  to  Suckannesset  inhabitants,"  and 
Charles  F.  Swift,  in  an  examination  of  the  provincial  statutes,  says  he 
found  the  name  Falmouth  first  used  September  ]4,  1694.  Arnold 
Gifford,  of  West  Falmouth,  has  a  deed  dated  March  16,  1693-4,  in 
which  Robert  Harper,  deeding  to  John  Gifford,  locates  the  land  as 
"  in  Suckannesset,  alias  Falmouth,"  and  we  find  no  earlier  use  of  the 
word. 

In  1688  Thomas  Bowerman  had  lands  laid  out  to  him,  and  in  March, 
1691,  the  lands  of  the  "  Plains  "  were  granted  to  John  Weeks,  William 
Weeks,  Thomas  Parker,  Joseph  Parker,  Benjamin  Hatch,  Moses 
Hatch,  William  Gifford,JohnGifford,  Jonathan  Hatch  and  Christopher 
Gifford.  John  Jenkins  was  appointed  to  do  this  work,  and  employed 
William  Wyatt  and  Thomas  Bowerman  to  assist.  The  head  of  Five- 
Mile  river,  now  known  as  Dexter's  river,  was  a  swamp  a  short  distance 
from  Coonemosset  pond,  which  point  was  the  northeast  boundary  of 
the  town  at  this  time.  The  northern  boundary  ran  from  this  point  in 
a  straight  line  to  Chapoquoit  Rock,  known  as  Hog  Island  harbor. 
The  present  boundary  lines  of  the  town  include  much  more  territory. 


TOWN  OF  FALMOUTH.  635 

In  February,  1689,  lands  at  North  Falmouth  were  "  granted  to  John 
and  EbenezerNye,  sonsof  Benjamin,  of  Sandwich,"  Daniel  Butler  also 
occupied  lands  near  by,  as  appears  by  the  deeds,  and  these  purchases 
were  north  of  and  adjoining  the  north  line  of  the  town  as  defined 
above.  The  remainder  of  the  lands  extending  to  the  present  north 
bounds  of  Falmouth  were  purchased  by  the  proprietors  in  1704,  and 
in  August  the  proprietors  voted  that  Ebenezer  Nye,  Philip  Dexter, 
Benjamin  Nye, sr.,  Richard  Landers,  Stephen  Harper,  Benjamin  Lewis, 
son  of  James,  Jonathan  Hatch,  jr.,  Jonathan  Johnson,  Nathan  Rowley, 
Joseph  Hatch,  jr.,  Benjamin  Nye,  jr.,  Gideon  Giflford,  and  William 
Johnson,  "  having  formerly  paid  their  equal  part  of  the  purchase  of 
the  last  addition  of  lands  called  the  new  purchase,  on  the  borders  of 
Sandwich, — purchased  by  Thomas  Bowerman  and  Wm.  GiflEord,  as 
agents  for  said  proprietors  who  were  not  of  the  ancient  proprietors, 
shall  have  each  of  them  their  equal  part  and  right  in  all  the  said  lands 
with  all  the  old  proprietors  that  have  paid,  or  shall  pay,  their  part  of 
said  purchase  of  lands." 

The  bounds  between  Falmouth  and  Mashpee  were  determined 
April  5,  1725,  and  extended  the  town  quite  to  its  present  limits.  The 
northeast  part  was  ordered  "  Lotted  "  June  3, 1712,  by  the  proprietors, 
and  April  10,  1713,  was  granted  to  "  Lt.  Jona.  Hatch,  Thos.  Parker, 
Nathan  Fish,  Nathan  Ronley,  John  Jenkins,  Joseph  Bourne,  Joshua 
Bourne,  John  Dimmick,  Benjamin  Burgess,  John  Gifford,  Ezra  Bournfe, 
Thos.  Crocker,  Richard  Landers,  Judah  Butler,  John  Nye,  Eenj. 
Hatch  and-  John  Otis." 

The  first  settlers  had  now  been  located, -and,  although  not  three- 
fourths  of  a  century  had  elapsed  since  the  fourteen  pioneers  landed 
between  Fresh  and  Salt  ponds,  near  the  sound,  the  territory  was 
sparsely  inhabited,  roads  had  been  laid  out,  mills  erected,  and  the 
church  had  been  severed  from  Barnstable  and  permanently  estab- 
lished. The  stern  integrity  and  patriotism  of  the  proprietors  is  fully 
indicated  by  the  following  excerpt  from  the  record  of  their  meeting 
May  27,  1718:  "  Voted  that  that  lot  called  the  burying  place  lot  and 
that  called  the  meeting-house  lot  is  for  the  meeting-house  to  stand  on 
and  for  a  training  field,  and  for  any  other  common  use  or  uses  as  the 
major  part  of  the  proprietors  shall  hereafter  see  cause  to  put  them  to 
or  any  part  of  them.  The  burying  place  was  staked  down  for  the  pur- 
pose of  a  burying  place." 

There  are  no  records  of  the  privations  of  these  noble  men  who 
have  bequeathed  to  the  present  residents  and  their  progeny  this  Eden 
of  the  Cape.  No  doubt  the  old  book  of  1661-1699  would  throw  some 
interesting  light  upon  the  path  of  the  historian  and  antiquarian.  The 
primitive  book  had  become  so  worn,  it  pages  so  intermingled  with 
ear-marks  for  sheep,  that  in  1700  it  was  voted  that  the  records  of  their 


636  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

lands  should  be  transcribed  and  recorded  in  their  new  book  of  records. 
The  old  book  is  quaint  and  hoary.  Its  title  page  tells  the  story,  and 
that  the  town  proceedings  were  intended  to  be  transcribed:  "  To 
Record  all  mareidges  births  and  *  *  «  *  and  the  markes  of  cattel 
and  all  that  is  ned  full  to  be  tacken  out  of  the  old  boock  and  placed  in 
this  with  all  towne  bisnes  that  concarne  the  towne  but  not  landes. 
begins  the  25  day  of  October  1700." 

The  proprietors'  records  of  lands  were  transcribed  to  a  new  book 
in  obedience  to  the  order,  and  that  book  was  used  until  1805,  or  as 
long  as  the  need  remained.  The  old  record,  including  the  town  pro- 
ceedings prior  to  1700,  was  lost  or  destroyed.  To  this  copy,  by  the 
courtesy  of  Mr.  Hewins,  the  town  clerk,  we  have  had  free  access  for 
extracts.  In  their  $^?/a.r/ judicial  capacity  the  proprietors  met  from 
time  to  time,  and  the  record  of  these  meetings  constitutes  the  proprie- 
tors' records.  The  importance  of  this  quaint  document  is  evident 
when  the  reader  realizes  that  it  contains  the  original  surveys  and 
allotments  of  the  lands.  Since  1700  records  pertaining  to  the  town 
have  been  kept  in  books  apart  from  the  proprietors'  records,  which, 
especially  for  the  past  century,  are  now  being  copied  verbatim  et  liter- 
atim into  large,  strongly-bound  volumes  to  be  preserved  in  the  ample 
fireproof  vault  of  the  town  hall. 

To  save  the  crops  from  devastation  every  housekeeper  was  ordered, 
March  25,  1701,  to  "  kill  6  old  or  12  young  blackbirds,  or  4  jays,  by  the 
15th  of  June  next  and  deliver  the  same  to  the  selectmen;  in  default 
thereof  to  pay  3s  for  delinquency." 

Prior  to  1700  lands  w.ere  set  apart  for  the  support  of  the  gospel. 
In  1708,  October  10,  the  following  residents  of  Falmouth,  members  of 
the  Barnstable  church,  by  request,  were  transferred:  John  Robinson 
and  Elisa,  his  wife;  John  Davis  and  Hannah,  his  wife;  Moses  Hatch 
and  Elisa,  his  wife;  Thomas  Parker  and  Mary,  his  wife;  Joseph  Parker 
and  Mercy,  his  wife:  Aaron  Rowley  and  Mary,  his  wife;  Anna,  wife 
of  Joseph  Hatch;  Alice,  wife  of  Benjamin  Hatch;  Mary,  wife  of  Wil- 
liam Johnson;  Hannah,  wife  of  Benjamin  Lewis;  Lydia,  wife  of 
Samuel  Hatch;  Bethia,  wife  of  Joseph  Robinson.  These  with  others 
soon  organized  a  church  here,  the  history  of  which  appears  elsewhere. 

Taxation  begins  with  civilization  and  only  ends  with  the  millen- 
ium.  In  1705  an  indignation  meeting  was  held  that  voted  a  recon- 
sideration of  the  vote  of  the  previous  year  to  raise  the  minister's  sal- 
ary. The  taxes  ordered  had  been  assessed,  and  it  was  voted  to  pay 
the  collector  one-half  the  amount,  to  pay  the  county  tax  first,  and  the 
balance  to  the  selectmen.  Mr.  Timothy  Robinson  was  "appointed 
agent  for  the  town,  to  apply  to  the  Court  of  General  Sessions  for  an 
abatement  of  what  the  court  had  assessed  on  the  town." 

As  late  as  1716  wild  animals  harassed  the  people.     The  town,  with 


TOWN   OF  FALMOUTH.  637 

Sandwich  and  Barnstable,  had  long  ago  agreed  to  pay  its  proportion 
of  a  bounty  of  twenty  pounds  for  the  head  of  each  wolf  taken.  This 
year  it  was  called  upon  to  pay  for  two  killed  by  Sandwich  men.  In 
1790  one  wolf  only  remained,  as  the  records  show.  Sixty  dollars  was 
offered  for  his  head,  and  the  valuable  depredator's  career  was  short- 
ened. Other  trials  vexed  the  people.  Philip  Dexter,  who  had  been 
assisted  in  erecting  a  mill  on  Five-Mile  creek  (which  received  its  pres- 
ent name  from  him),  for  the  benefit  of  the  town,  and  was  to  receive 
its  benefits,  was  complained  of  in  1719  as  taking  excessive  tolls.  Oc- 
tober 14th,  the  town  appointed  Ensign  Parker  and  Timothy  Robinson 
to  treat  with  him.  The  records  do  not  explain  whether  expostulation 
lessened  the  length  or  depth  of  the  toll  dish.  When  Dexter's  mill 
troubles  had  been  settled,  others  arose  that  required  committees  to 
adjust.  The  new  meeting  house  about  this  time  was  completed,  and 
some  would  have  seats,  some  pews.  The  committee  was  authorized 
to  "  seat  the  house  according  to  their  best  judgment,  and  it  was  or- 
dered that  the  seats  be  chalked  out, 'and  bids  received  for  the  pews." 
Still  later  Timothy  Robinson  asked  "  permission  to  build  a  small  gal- 
lery and  pew  over  the  front  gallery,"  and  Thomas  Parker  "  petitioned 
for  leave  to  build  a  small  gallery  for  a  pew  over  the  men's  stairs  in 
the  S.  W.  corner";  both  of  which  were  granted. 

In  1728  the  town  was  engaged  in  a  lawsuit  with  Samuel  Barker 
respecting  a  road  he  wished  laid  from  his  property  to  Little  harbor. 
The  controversy  continued  ten  years,  and  caused  much  expense.  The 
town  employed  Sylvester  Bourne,  Esq.,  to  defend  it  in  court,  and  as 
late  as  1735  "  voted  that  there  is  a  sufficient  open  road  for  the  use  of 
the  town  and  county  to  the  ferry  at  Woods  Hole  and  convenient  land- 
ing already  provided." 

With  the  indomitable  will  possessed  by  the  leaders  of  the  town  in 
civil  affairs,  their  sense  of  justice  in  religious  deliberations  was  illus- 
trated by  the  admission  of  "Cuffee,"the  negro  servant  of  Deacon  Par- 
ker, into  full  communion  in  1732.  He  was  baptized,  and  was  made 
sufficiently  white  to  be  fellowshipped  by  the  brethren. 

At  the  close  of  its  first  century  other  schools  had  been  established, 
sufficient  roads  throughout  the  town  had  been  opened,  the  sound  along 
its  southern  shore  supplied  the  needs  of  the  people  by  its  commerce. 
Many  had  departed  this  life,  as  the  modest  stones  in  the  old  grave 
yard  attest,  only  to  be  succeeded  by  sons  and  daughters  well  fitted  to 
successfully  carry  on  the  unprecedented  progress  so  auspiciously 
ordained  by  their  God-fearing  ancestors.  These  sons  fully  proved 
their  rearings  at  Bunker  Hill  and  other  scenes  during  the  struggle  of 
the  infant  colonies  for  independence,  and  Falmouth  was  among 
the  first  to  respond  with  men  and  money.  Captain  Joseph  Robinson 
and  Messrs.  Noah  Davis  and   Nathaniel  Shiverick  were  appointed  a 


HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

committee  of  correspondence  in  October,  1774,  and  it  was  soon  after 
ordered  that  every  man  between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  sixty  be  fur- 
nished with  arms  and  ammunition, — the  committee  of  safety  to  call 
the  town  together  in  one  fortnight  completely  armed. 

Everything  was  provided,  and  a  committee  appointed  "  to  see  that 
the  Continental  Congress  be  adhered  to."  The  exposed  situation  of 
the  town  was  realized  and  a  watch  was  constantly  kept  by  the  vigilant 
citizens.  A  town  meeting  was  called  to  direct  the  purchase  of  cereals 
to  be  stored  in  a  safe  place  to  sell  to  those  who  might  need  and  dis- 
tribute to  the  poor  when  necessary.  British  vessels  were  constantly 
in  the  sound,  and  all  intercourse  with  markets  was  cut  off.  The  town 
needed  its  own  forces  for  its  defense;  but  sent,  nevertheless,  its  re- 
quired number  into  the  continental  army.  In  1776  they  resolved,  as 
before,  "to  stand  by  the  Continental  Congress,"  not  forgetting  to  per- 
form civil  and  religious  duties  by  purchasing  five  hundred  bushels  of 
corn  for  their  poor.  In  May,  1781,  the  town  petitioned  the  general 
court  "  for  relief  from  the  enemy  infesting  the  coast;"  but  without 
avail. 

The  dawn  of  peace  in  1783  was  hailed  with  joy  by  the  harassed 
people  of  the  town,  and  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  life  were  commenced 
anew.  In  1788  permission  was  granted  to  Shubael  Lawrence  to  build 
a  fulling  mill  at  Dexter's  river;  and  to  encourage  the  success  of  the 
same  it  was  voted  "  that  said  mill  shall  be  free  from  taxation."  In 
1797  the  people  living  on  the  north  side  asked  permission  to  annex 
themselves  to  Sandwich,  but  it  was  voted  "that  the  people  of  the 
North  shore  ought  not  to  be  set  off." 

The  present  century  opened  auspiciously  to  this  people.  The 
social  and  moral  development  was  manifested  by  the  opening  of  a 
poor  home  on  Shore  street  in  the  village,  which  soon  was  supplanted 
by  a  very  pleasant  and  substantial  building,  with  ample  surroundings, 
a  short  distance  east  of  the  village.  Mayhew  Baker  has  been  its 
keeper  for  the  past  twenty  years,  and  Lemuel  Rowland  was  his  prede- 
cessor. There  have  been,  and  at  present  are,  very  few  who  must  be 
thus  fed  by  the  generosity  of  the  town. 

The  enterprise  of  the  citizens  was  evinced  in  various  channels. 
Shipbuilding  was  active  along  the  shores  of  the  sound  and  bay, 
whalers  as  well  as  smaller  craft  being  built. 

Among  the  industries  closely  connected  with  the  dawn  of  this 
century,  and  one  of  importance,  was  the  manufacture  of  salt.  In  this, 
the  long  belt  of  sea  shore  and  the  salt  ponds  within  its  borders  gave 
the  town  superior  advantages.  Logs  were  laid  out  into  clearer  and 
Salter  water,  which  by  wind  mills  was  pumped  into  vats  and  reser- 
voirs on  high  ground,  and  there  evaporated.  The  land  between  Salt 
and  Fresh  ponds  was  covered  with  sheds  with  revolving  roofs  to  the 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.  639 

evaporating  vats.  At  that  early  day  the  business  was  lucrative,  salt 
bringing  one  dollar  per  bushel  at  the  works.  Ephraim  Sanford,  one 
of  the  later  manufacturers,  was  wont  to  make  trips  to  New  York  dur- 
ing the  war  of  1812,  and  could  clear  one  hundred  dollars  on  each  trip. 
He  had  red  sails  to  avoid  notice  at  night.  As  among  other  enter-, 
prises  of  the  day,  those  engaged  in  salt-making  were  captains  John 
Crocker,  Weston  Jenkins,  Elijah  Swift  and  Silas  Jones  (father  of  the 
present  bank  president),  who  were  succeeded  by  Ephraim  Sanford, 
Captain  John  Butler,  Knowles  Butler  and  Davis  and  John  Hatch;  and 
among  the  late  owners  were  Silas  and  Thomas  Lawrence,  John  Dim- 
mick,  Nymphus  Davis  and  Silas  Davis.  Edmund  Davis  was  the  last 
to  carry  on  the  business,  and  he  continued  until  he  found  it  more  ad- 
vantageous to  sell  out  his  site  on  the  "  Heights  "  for  cottage  lots.  The 
business  declined  before  the  middle  of  the  century,  but  was  carried 
on  to  a  limited  extent  as  late  as  1865. 

Many  of  the  people  of  Falmouth  were  wedded  to  the  seas  and  the 
commerce  of  the  world,  in  every  department,  had  its  hardy  seamen, 
who,  in  the  lonely  night  watch,  turned  his  thoughts  to  this  town  as 
home;  or  here  turned  his  steps  when  the  cruise  was  finished. 

Following  the  embargo  act  the  large  trade  with  the  South  was  in- 
terrupted, and  so  broken  up  that  its  shipmasters  turned  their  atten- 
tion in  other  directions,  greatly  reducing  and  dispersing  its  com- 
merce. The  war  that  followed  again  unsettled  the  industries  of  these 
people  and  changed  their  pursuits.  From  its  position  the  town  was 
easily  plundered,  and  was  bombarded.  Its  men  were  on  the  alert  and 
again  demonstrated  their  devotion  to  the  flag.  One  incident  of  a 
private  character  deserves  mention.  In  1814  Captain  Weston  Jenkins 
and  others  resolved  to  capture  a  British  privateer  that  plundered  the 
coasts.  He,  with  thirty-two  volunteers,  a  brass  four-pounder  and 
muskets,  embarked  at  Woods  Holl  at  night  in  a  sloop,  and  rowed  to 
Tarpaulin  cove,  where  the  Retaliatio7i  lay  at  anchor.  After  firing  its 
long  gun  and  seeing  the  sloop  was  anchored,  a  boat  with  the  captain 
and  five  men  proceeded  to  the  sloop  to  take  possession  of  the  sup- 
posed, easy  prize.  The  most  of  Captain  Jenkins'  men  kept  out  of 
sight  until  the  boat  was  alongside  and  made  fast,  when  twenty-men 
arose  with  their  muskets  and  captured  its  crew.  Twelve  men  were 
put  aboard  this  privateer's  boat,  the  sloop  was  put  under  way  also, 
and  the  privateer  captured  without  resistance.  The  prize  was  brought 
in  with  its  cargo,  chiefly  of  plunder,  and  here  landed.  It  had  five 
guns,  twelve  men,  and  two  American  prisoners  on  board. 

In  the  interval  of  peace  Falmouth  greatly  increased  in  wealth  and 
importance,  and  its  f  ons,  born  in  the  interregnum  of  quiet  and  pros- 
perity prior  to  the  .stirring  scenes  of  1861,  are  to-day  its  sterling  busi- 
ness men.     With  the  bombardment  of  Sumter  its  patriotism  arose. 


640  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Many  of  its  sons  were  at  sea,  but  of  men  for  its  quota  it  furnished  an 
excess  of  ten. 

With  increased  facilities  for  the  past  quarter  of  a  century,  the 
town  has  moved  into  the  first  rank  of  those  of  the  county.  Its  sons 
have  gone  forth  to  the  far  frontiers,  to  the  distant  seas,  and  to 
adjacent  cities,  always  to  honor  their  home  by  integrity  and  high-born 
principles. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  1886,  the  town  appropriately  celebrated  the 
two-hundredth  anniversary  of  its  organization.  The  highest  officers 
of  the  state,  and  its  distinguished  citizens  from  every  clime  assembled 
to  do  honor  and  return  thanks.  The  proceedings  of  the  memorable 
day  have  already  formed  a  red-letter  page  in  the  history  of  the  town 
and  need  no  details  here. 

The  prominence  of  this  vicinity  as  a  summer  resort  noticed  at  page 
153  is  steadily  increasing  and  rapidly  becoming  the  chief  charac- 
teristic of  the  town. 

The  town  house  is  worthy  of  the  citizens,  and  is  a  model  for  beauty 
and  convenience.  It  contains  offices  on  the  sides  of  the  main  entrance^ 
a  hall  for  town  business  and  meetings  below,  and  a  fine  large  hall 
above  equipped  with  stage,  dressing  rooms,  a  gallery,  cloak  rooms,  a 
fine  piano,  and  every  convenience.  The  plans  for  the  hall  were 
accepted  by  the  selectmen  in  April.  1880,  the  building  was  completed 
in  1881  and  the  grounds  graded,  at  a  total  cost  of  about  $15,000. 
Prior  to  this  the  town  assembled  in  a  town  house,  erected  in  1840,. 
just  west  of  the  "  Old  Shiverick  Stand,"  which  was  the  first  town 
house  built  here  that  was  made  separate  from  the  meeting  house. 

A  commanding  part  of  the  town  is  found  at  The  Heights — a  ridge 
of  sandy  loam  extending  southerly  and  abruptly  facing  the  sound. 
It  is  about  one  mile  east  of  Falmouth  village  and  is  famous  as  a  sum- 
mer resort.  It  has  many  cottages  which  give  it  the  appearance  of  a 
village  when  seen  from  the  sound.  One  building,  towering  above  all 
others  as  a  lookout  and  resort,  was  in  1889  converted  into  a  place  of 
worship,  called  "People's  Church." 

In  the  year  1876,  $14,000  was  appropriated  for  the  expenses  of  the 
town,  $4,000  being  for  common  schools,  $2,000  for  the  poor,  $2,500  for 
highways,  etc.;  for  1889  the  sum  of  $32,460  was  appropriated,  $6,000 
for  schools,  $3,500  for  the  poor,  $9,500  for  highways,  $1,800  for  pro- 
jected roads,  and  the  remainder  to  be  absorbed  in  celebrating 
Memorial  Day,  paying  salaries,  high  school  expenses,  etc.  Could  the 
original  proprietors  look  in  upon  the  town  in  these  closing  years  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  would  they  not  point  with  warning  to  their 
vote  rescinding  a  tax  of  ;i(^42  as  too  burdensome  J 

The  foundations  of  the  town  having  been  laid  in  Christian  princi- 
ples, morality  became  a  vital  element  in  its  history.     Each  successive 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.  641 

generation  strove  to  perfect  this  element.  In  1824  an  elaborate  organ- 
ization, called  the  Sabbath  School  Union  of  Falmouth,  was  formed; 
and  was  actively  engaged  in  and  carrying  on  the  good  results  of  which 
will  ever  be  felt.  In  1830  a  temperance  committee  was  appointed  and 
strong  temperance  resolutions  were  passed  making  the  use  of  intoxi- 
cating drinks  as  a  beverage  a  disqualification  for  church  membership. 

The  mills  of  this  date  are  not  so  numerous  as  earlier  in  the  century, 
but  are  of  greater  capacity  and  of  modern  construction.  One  wind 
mill  remains,  and  in  different  parts  of  the  town  may  be  seen  the  debris 
of  those  once  important  industries.     Two  water  mills  supply  the  want. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  middle-aged 
and  younger  citizens  labored  in  the  South,  spending  seven  or  eight 
months  of  the  year  in  South  Carolina,  in  their  several  avocations, 
and  returning  home  for  the  summer  months.  Tradition  says  that 
prior  to  1830  as  many  as  six  hundred  of  the  enterprising  residents  of 
Falmouth  made  these  annual  visits.  The  industries  have  been  greatly 
changed  during  the  last  half  of  the  present  century,  new  assuming 
the  place  of  the  old.  Not  until  1872  was  a  coal  yard  opened;  then  by 
Marcus  Starbuck,  a  real  estate  broker.  Two  years  later  he  sold  the 
business  to  George  E.  Clarke,  who  in  April  1888,  sold  to  Rowland  R. 
Jones  &  Co. 

The  improvement  of  the  highways,  stocking  the  ponds  with  other 
than  native  fish,  and  the  best  regulations  possible  for  the  public  good 
regarding  the  catch  of  herrings,  have  been  carefully  adjusted  by  the 
selectmen.  In  1854  the  law  was  made  to  exclude  animals  from  the 
roads,  and  officers  are  elected  annually  to  enforce  the  rule.  By  the 
vote  of  1854  pickerel  were  placed  in  all  suitable  ponds  of  the  town, 
and  have  thrived.  In  1865,  "Voted  that  the  herring  of  rivers  of  the 
town  be  allowed  to  pass  up  and  down  said  rivers  into  the  ponds  un- 
molested, from  12  o'clock,  noon,  Saturday,  to  12  noon  on  Monday  each 
week,  except  that  the  herring  in  Coonemossett  river  be  allowed  from 
10  o'clock  at  night  to  6  in  the  morning  of  each  day  in  the  week  un- 
molested in  addition."  This  gives  the  poor  herring  of  the  Coone- 
mosset  far  more  privileges  than  in  other  rivers. 

The  selectmen  keep  the  lines  of  the  town  and  public  places  defin- 
itely bounded  and  plant  granite  monuments.  April  11,  1871,  they 
surveyed  accurately  and  fixed  permanently  the  bounds  between  Fal- 
mouth and  Mashpee,  supplementing  them  by  those  for  Sandwich  and 
Bourne.  There  is  no  doubt  that  if  these  selectmen  could  arrange  a 
fixed  line  on  the  sound  for  the  south  bounds  of  the  town  they  would 
have  done  so  long  ago ! 

At  a  period  prior  to  1877  the  enterprising  young  ladies  of  the  town 
took  the  initial  steps  for  establishing  a  library,  which  is  now  very 
creditable  and  important.  On  account  of  the  increasing  demand  for 
41 


642  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

tlie  library,  and  to  give  sufficient  room  for  the  same,  in  1878  the  ladies 
were  given  the  use  of  a  room  in  the  old  town  building.  When  the 
new  hall  was  built  a  large  room  was  assigned  to  them. 

At  the  March  town  meeting  in  1865,  a  committee  of  five  was  ap- 
pointed to  find  evidence  and  make  complaint  against  people  who  shall 
sell  any  intoxicating  liquors  within  the  borders,  appropriating  five 
hundred  dollars  to  enforce  the  law,  and  allowing  twenty  dollars  for 
every  conviction.  The  records  show  no  convictions,  but  the  law  is 
kept  in  force  year  by  year;  and  the  good  people  set  their  faces  against 
all  uncleanliness  and  works  of  the  evil  one,  even  to  giving  bounties 
for  the  killing  of  every  woodchuck,  muskrat  and  chicken  hawk  that 
may  willfully  enter  the  borders  of  the  town  in  quest  of  the  grains  or 
young  poultry  of  the  people. 

The  advent  of  a- branch  of  the  Old  Colony  railroad,  in  1872,  passing 
through  the  western  portion  of  the  town  to  Woods  Holl,  has  greatly 
changed  the  tide  of  travel  and  the  industries  of  the  people.  In  wealth 
and  prominence  the  town  is  second  to  none  in  the  county;  its  assessed 
value  for  1889  being  over  $4,000,000.  Many  remain  of  the  descend- 
ants of  those  sires  who  so  prudently  laid  the  foundation  of  the  town. 
The  records  in  1886  gave  the  following  names  and  numbers  on  the 
polls:  Of  Davis  35,  Baker  22,  Fish- 22,  Gifford  21,  Lawrence  19,  and 
from  them  came  the  only  benefactor  by  bequest  the  town  has  had,  Mr. 
Shubael  Lawrence.  Of  the  name  of  Hatch  on  the  list  there  are  18, 
Nye  17,  Robinson  17,  Swift  16,  Childs  15,  Jones  13,  Bowman  12,  Phin- 
ney  11,  Hamblin  10,  Crocker  9,  Fisher,  Smalley,  8  each;  Dimmick, 
Bourne,  Studley,  6  each;  Jenkins,  Chadwick,  Hewins,  Edwards,  5  each; 
Shiverick,  Eldred,  Tobey,  Burgess,  Crowell,  Baxter,  4  each;  Green, 
Donaldson,  Weeks,  Wicks,  3  each;  Lewis,  Pease,  Butler,  Bearse,  Bow- 
man, 2  each;  Bodfish,  Sturgis,  Dillingham,  1  each.  There  are  other 
names,  but  these  mentioned  have  been  selected  because  they  can  be 
traced  to  the  first  days  in  most  instances. 

Civil  Lists. — When  the  plantation  of  Succonesset  was  incorpo- 
rated as  a  town  it  was  entitled  to  a  deputy  in  the  general  court.  In 
1689  occurred  the  first  election  of  deputies  when,  in  December,  John 
Robinson  was  elected.  Governor  Phipps,  in  1 692,  required  a  repre- 
sentative from  each  town  to  the  first  great  and  general  court  under 
the  new  charter.  This  town  sent  Moses  Rowley,  who  is  the  only  rep- 
resentative named  until  1735,  when  Joseph  Robinson  was  elected,  and 
served  nine  years  at  various  times.  Until  1857  the  town  was  entitled 
to  one  or  more  representatives  in  the  general  court,  at  which  time 
it  was  joined  with  Barnstable  and  Sandwich,  as  fully  appears  in  Chap- 
ter V.  Those  who  represented  the  town  during  the  interval  with  the 
first  year  of  each  man's  service  and  the  number  of  years — if  more  than 
one — served,  not  always  consecutive,  were:  1736,  Seth  Parker,  6  years; 


TOWN  OF  FALMOUTH.  643 

1741,  Joseph  Parker,  2;  1746,  Thomas  Shiverick;  1747,  Rowland  Rob- 
inson, 6;  1762,  Daniel  Butler;  1762,  Thomas  Smith,  2;  1773,  Moses 
Swift,  3:  1776,  Nathaniel  Shiverick,  3;  1779,  Joseph  Dimmick;  1780, 
Samuel  Bourne;  1788,  David  Nye,  14;  1799,  Timothy  Crocker;  1806, 
Brad.  Dimmick,  8;  1807,  Francis  Wicks,  4;  1808,  James  Hinckley,  6; 
1811,  Thomas  Fish,  21;  1812,  Shubael  Lawrence,  2;  1828,  Elijah  Swift, 
12:  1834,  Ward  M.  Parker,  4;  1836,  Nathaniel  Shiverick,  2;  1839,  Silas 
Jones,  2;  1840,  Ebenezer  Nye,  3;  1844,  S.  P.  Crosswell,  4;  1848,  Knowles 
Butler,  3;  1851,  David  Lawrence,  2;  1853,  Thomas  Lewis,  2;  1855,  Eras- 
mus Gould,  2;  1857,  J.  T.  Dillingham. 

The  internal  affairs  of  the  town  have  been  administered  by  men 
as  able  as  those  chosen  to  participate  in  colonial  or  state  affairs,  and 
many  have  oflSciated  in  both.     The  important  duties  of  the  office  of  se- 
lectman have  been  performed  by  the  following  persons  since  1700. 
The  year  of  election  and  years  of  service,  when  more  than  one,  ap- 
pear:   1701,  Thomas  Bowerman,  4;  Philip  Dexter,  3;  Mel.  Bourne,  5; 
1702,   John   Robinson;  1703,  Richard   Landers;   James   Lewis;   Isaac 
Green,  2;  1704,  John  Davis,  2;  Hope  Lothrop,  5;  1705,  Ebenezer  Nye, 
2;  Timothy  Robinson,  16;  1707,  Joseph  Parker,  7;  1709,  Samuel  Lewis, 
6;  Aaron  Rowley,  2:  1711,  Joseph  Lothrop,  4;  1713,  Moses  Hatch,  2; 
Joseph  Robinson,  5;  1717,  Thomas  Shiverick,  16;  1718,  Nathaniel  Da- 
vis; 1719,  Joseph  Crowell;  1724,  John  Bourne,  8;  1730,  Elnathan  Nye; 
1733,  John  Jenkins,  3;  William  Weeks;  1736,  Ebenezer  Hatch;  1737, 
Rowland  Robinson,  11;  1740,  Thomas  Parker,  8;  1744,  Daniel  Butler, 
8;  1756,  Joseph  Robinson,  14;  Nathaniel  Nickerson,  7;  1759,  Solomon 
Swift,  9;  Seth  Nye;  1760,  Stephen  Bowerman,  5;  1761,  Moses  Swift,  3; 
1766,  Joseph  Wing,  9;  1768,  David  Crowell,  10;  Timothy  Crocker,  14; 
1769,  Samuel  Shiverick,  3;  1774,  Joseph  Dimmick:  1775,  Nathaniel 
Shiverick,  23;  1776,  Benjamin  Parker;  1782,  Job  Parker,  4;  1786,  Joseph 
Hatch,  19;  John  Nye,  3;  1789,  Paul  Swift,  9;  1796,  John  Robinson,  2; 
1798,  Samuel  Nye,  2;  1799.  Samuel  Shiverick,  4;  1800,  Joseph  Palmer, 
3;  1802,  Prince  Gifford,  9;  1803,  James  Hinckley,  10:  1809,  Solomon 
Green,  7;  1813,  Thomas  Fish,  20;  Braddock  Dimmick,  10;  1816,  Philip 
Phinney.  9;  1823,  Stephen  Nye,  2;  1826,  Timothy  Nye,  20;  William  Gif- 
ford, 3;  1827,  William  Nye,  8;  1831,  Daniel  Swift,  7;  1832,  John  Robin- 
son, 8;  1838,  Barnabas  Bowerman,  12;  1840,  Knowles  Butler,  16;  1849, 
William  Nye,  13;  1860,  Prince  G.  Moore,  14;  1851,  David  Lawrence 
1855,  Nymphas  Davis,  2;  1857,  Silas  Jones,  2;  1859,  Thomas  Lewis,  5 
1862,  Silas  Eldred,  2;  1863,  Zenas  Hamlin,  6;  1864,  William  Nye,  jr.,  5 
1866,  Zenas  Hamlin,  3;  1870,  Thomas  Lewis,  jr.,  6;  1873,  Meltiah  Gif- 
ford, 5;  1876,  Silas  Hatch,  15;  1881,  Joshua  C.  Robinson,  10;  1885,  T.  H. 
Lawrence;  1886,  James  E.  Gifford;  1887,  Frank  J.  C.  Swift,  4. 

The  town  clerks  have  ever  been  charged  with  trusts  of  importance, 
doing  the  clerical  work  for  the  town  government,  and  after  a  judicious 


644  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

selection  has  been  made  the  policy  of  the  town  seems  to  be  to  con- 
tinue them  in  ofl&ce.  In  the  following  list  the  succession  of  clerks, 
and  the  time  of  election,  are  given:  1700,  Thomas  Lewis;  1702,  Philip 
Dexter;  1703,  Thomas  Bowerman;  1707,  Meltiah  Bourne;  17li,Timothy 
Robinson;  1715,  Joseph  Parker;  1724,  Joseph  Robinson;  1730,  Moses 
Hatch;  1735,  Thomas  Shiyerick;  1737,  John  Hammond;  1739,  Rowland 
Robinson;  1740,  John  Bourne;  1750,  John  Crowell;  1757,  Joseph 
Bourne;  1777,  Joseph  Palmer;  1780,  Joseph  Palmer,  jr.;  1791,  Job 
Parker;  1804,  James  Hinckley;  1813,  Braddock  Dimmick;  1823,  Richard 
S.  Wood;  1838,  Charles  W.  Jenkins;  1845,  William  Nye;  1858,  Thomas 
Lewis;  1884,  William  H.  Hewins. 

Another  important  ofl&ce  in  the  machinery  of  town  government  is 
treasurer.  Formerly  the  oflBce  was  separate,  but  since  1868  the  duties 
of  clerk  and  treasurer  have  been  performed  by  the  same  person. 
These  officers,  with  date  of  election,  are  as  follows:  1701,  Joseph 
Parker;  1708,  Melatiah  Bourne;  1710,  Thomas  Parker;  1718,  Joseph 
Robinson;  1719,  John  Dimmick;  1736,  William  Green;  1744,  John 
Bourne;  1745,  Theophilus  Dimmick;  1760,  Rowland  Robinson;  1757, 
Joseph  Bourne;  1777,  Joseph  Palmer;  1780,  Joseph  Palmer,  jr.;  1791, 
Job  Parker;  1804,  James  Hinckley;  1813,  Braddock  Dimmick;  1823, 
Richard  S.Wood;  1838,  Charles  W.  Jenkins;  1846,  William  Nye;  1863, 
Charles  F.  Swift;  1854,  William  Nye,  jr.;  1858,  Thomas  Lewis;  1884, 
William  H.  Hewins. 

Ecclesiastical  History. — Traces  of  the  Plymouth  ideas  underlie 
the  public  policy  of  the  proprietors  during  the  first  century  of  this 
town's  progress.  Although  the  peaceful  disciples  of  Fox  early  be- 
came an  element  in  moulding  public  thought  and  modifying  the  ten- 
dencies of  Puritanism,  church  and  state  were  one.  The  aflfairs  of 
religion  and  of  the  state  were  so  interwoven  that  at  town  meeting  for 
the  election  of  oflficers,  the  preacher  was  also  elected  and  provided  for 
by  tax.  The  support  of  the  church  was  the  first  duty.  The  founda- 
tion laid  by  these  fathers  has  been  a  strong  one  upon  which  to  erect 
Congregational  communities,  but  within  the  past  century  the  Metho- 
dist and  Episcopal  adherents  have  increased  to  strong  societies. 

The  first  services  of  the  First  Congregational  Church  were  held  in 
what  was  a  town  house  and  meeting  house,  erected  by  the  first  settlers 
near  the  old  burying  ground  in  the  southwest  part  of  Falmouth  village. 
In  1681  the  court  ordered  the  people  and  society  of  Succonesset  "to 
set  apart  lands  for  the  help  and  encouragement  of  the  teaching  of  the 
Good  Word  of  God."  This  was  done  in  1687.  and  in  1700  Samuel 
Shiverick  was  mentioned  in  the  proprietors'  records  as  having  been 
here,  for  several  years  previous,  preaching  and  teaching.  He  was 
dismissed  in  1702.  In  August,  1706,  Mr.  John  Gore  was  voted  to  be 
the  minister  of  the  town.     If  he  came  his  stay  was  short;  for  May  19, 


TOWN   OF  FALMOUTH.  646 

1707,  Rev.  Joseph  Metcalf  was  called  with  settlement  of"  ;£"1 60,  2  good 
cows  and  his  wood,  and  to  have  a  salery  of  £'iO,  for  the  first  three 
years."     He  died  December  24,  1723. 

In  1715  a  new  meeting  house  was  to  be  bnilt  "  on  the  same  lot 
where  the  old  one  does  and  to  be  for  the  town's  use  in  public  worship 
and  to  meet  in  open  town  meetings."  This  was  near  the  old  grave 
yard,  but  the  building  was  not  completed  till  1717. 

Josiah  Marshall  accepted  a  call  as  pastor  April  6,  1724,  and  was 
dismissed  August  14,  1730.  In  February  following  they  "Voted  to 
treat  with  Mr.  Samuel  Palmer."  From  the  settlement  of  the  town 
tintil  1731,  the  ecclesiastical  and  civil  acts  of  the  town  were  recorded 
in  the  town  books.  Rev.  Samuel  Palmer  on  becoming  their  pastor, 
began  a  separate  record.     The  following  quotations  are  from  it. 

"  Falmouth  Church  Records  Continued  from  November  24th,  1781, 
•on  which  Day  Samuel  Palmer  was  Seperated  to  the  Work  of  the 
Ministry  and  ordained  the  Pastor  of  that  Church.  *  *  Containing 
Admission  of  Members,  Administration  of  Sacraments,  Dicipline,  &c. 

pr.    Samuel  Palmer,  Pastor." 

"  Falmouth,  13th  April,  1775,  this  day  Died  the  Rev.  Samuel  Pal- 
mer, Pastor  of  this  Church,  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  in 
the  45th  of  his  ministry."  After  the  funeral  on  the  15th  the  church 
appointed  the  26th  as  a  day  of  fasting,  prayer  and  public  religious  exer- 
cises. On  the  26th  Thomas  Smith,  Esqr.,  was  chosen  moderator  of 
the  church  and  Timothy  Crocker  clerk,  until  a  pastor  be  ordained. 

"  Apl.  30.  Abraham  Williams,  of  Sandwich,  baptized  two  persons, 
and  on  the  following  day  a  committee  was  appointed  to  supply  the  pul- 
pit with  a  minister.  Revds.  Gideon  Holley,  of  Mashpe,  preached  once, 
and  Mr.  Zebulon  Butler,  eight  times,  and  on  July  3rd,  1775,  the  church 
voted  at  the  house  of  the  clerk  to  call  Mr.  Butler  to  be  their  pastor, 
if  the  town  conair.  Two  weeks  later  Deacons  Jos.  Davis,  Solomon 
Price  &  Bro.  Samuel  Bourn  were  made  a  committee  to  present  this 
-vote  to  Mr.  Zebulon  'Bntle.v,  provided  the  town  concur  with  it."  Later, 
Timothy  Crocker,  as  clerk,  writes  Mr.  Butler  at  Nantucket  of  their 
choice,  adding  that  the  town  has  "  concurred  with  the  church  in  their 
choice  as  will  appear  by  their  vote  of  the  17th  of  July,  1775."  Mr. 
Butler  preached  each  Sabbath  thereafter,  and  on  August  19th  in  a 
formal  letter  accepted  the  call,  expressing  the  hope  he  should  ever 
have  grace  to  prefer  their  spiritual  interest  to  any  tempoi'al  acquisition  . 
and  "  trusting  to  your  generosity  to  make  all  necessary  provisions  for 
my  comfortable  support  as  God  shall  prosper  you."  His  request 
for  dismission  was  granted  July  7,  1778. 

From  this  time  the  records  notice  Solomon  Read,  Mr.  Crosby  (Cros- 
berry),  Gideon  Holley,  Josiah  Cotton  and  Isaiah  Mann  as  preaching 
for  them  until  January  19,  1780,  when  Isaiah  Mann  was  ordained,  by 


646  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

the  assistance  of  Revds.  Holley,  of  Mashpee,  Shaw  and  Hillard,  of 
Barnstable,  and  Alden,  of  Yarmouth,  with  their  delegates.  Rev. 
Isaiah  Mann  died  April  20,  1789,  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  his  age,  and 
the  ninth  of  his  ministry. 

June  12th  following  was  observed  by  the  church  as  a  day  of  fast- 
ing and  prayer,  and  on  July  26th  Henry  Lincoln,  from  Hingham,  be- 
gan preaching,  and  on  December  31, 1789,  accepted  the  pastorate.  He 
was  ordained  February  3,  1790,  and  dismissed  November  26,  1823.  In 
the  time  he  received  into  the  church  411  members.  He  died  at  Nan- 
tucket, May  28,  1857,  aged  ninety-two.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Benjamin  Woodbury,  who  was  ordained  June  9,  1824,  and  dismissed 
September  19,  1833.  He  died  in  Ohio,  in  1845.  Rev.  Josiah  Bent  was 
installed  February  5,  1834,  and  dismissed  February  21,  1837.  During 
his  ministry  fifty-nine  were  added  to  the  church.  He  died  at  Amherst, 
in  October,  1839.  Henry  B.  Hooker,  D.  D.,was  installed  February  21, 
1837,  and  dismissed  June  16,  1858,  when  he  was  called  to  the  import- 
ant post  of  secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Home  Missionary  Society. 
Rev.  William  Bates  was  installed  June  16,  1858,  and  died  September 
10,  1859.  Rev.  James  P.  Kimball  was  installed  June  2,  1860.  Rev. 
Henry  K.  Craig  succeeded,  and  filled  the  pulpit  until  his  dismissal, 
October,  1888.  Rev.  C.  G.  Hill  then  was  engaged  as  supply  until  Oc- 
tober, 1889. 

The  meeting  house  of  1717  has  been  noticed  as  standing  near  the 
town  burying  place;  but  in  1749  the  present  square  was  laid  out,  on 
which  a  church  building  was  erected.  The  vote  was  taken  finally, 
after  years  of  controversy,  March  11,  1750,  that  "the  new  meeting 
house  to  be  built  shall  be  42  feet  square,  and  the  present  house  used 
to  build."  The  new  church  was  unique  in  construction,  plain,  with 
sixteen  windows  of  seven  by  nine  glass  on  each  side,  which  admitted 
all  the  light  they  needed — of  that  kind.  It  was  fronted  with  a  porch 
having  three  doors.  The  high  pews  would  seem  unsightly  to  the  present 
generation,  but  the  building  served  well  the  needs  of  the  day,  and  in 
1857  it  was  transformed  into  its  present  fair  form,  and  placed  where 
it  now  stands.  In  its  tower  swings  the  bell  that  was  purchased  for  the 
old  church  near  the  burying  place,  and  which  is  now  in  its  third  posi- 
tion, summoning  the  sons  of  those  fathers  to  worship.  Among  the 
papers  of  the  town  is  this: 

"  Boston,  Nov.  30,  1796," 
"  W.  H.  F.  Lincoln 
Bo't  of  Paul  Revere 

One  church  bell        ]      cents  $ 
Weight  807  lbs,  j'  @  42,     338.94 
"  Received  payment  by  a  note — Paul  Revere." 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.  647 

A  town  conference  was  formed  by  the  four  Congregational 
churches,  December  4,  1860,  which  meets  alternately  in  the  churches 
of  the  town.  These  union  meetings  have  been  productive  of  much 
good. 

The  Second  Congregational  Church  was  organized  June  20,  1821. 
For  twenty-five  preceding  years  the  people  of  Hatchville,  or  East 
End,  had  religious  services,  preaching  being  supplied  by  the  First 
Congregational  Church.  During  the  latter  years  of  that  period  there 
had  been  considerable  dissatisfaction  and  "  grevious  disappointment 
in  the  First  church,"  and  as  there  was  no  prospect  of  a  reconciliation, 
a  large  number  of  the  members  residing  in  the  east  end  of  the  town, 
where  a  church  edifice  had  been  erected  in  1797,  petitioned  for  this 
organization,  and  accordingly  May  24,  1821,  the  First  church  "  chose 
a  committee  of  five  to  inquire  into  the  business  and  report."  This 
they  did,  June  4, 1821,  recommending  that  "  the  First  church  dismiss 
the  said  petitioners  and  by  council  organize  them  into  the  second 
Cong,  church."  Accordingly  on  the  20th  of  June,  1821,  Reverends 
David  L.  Hunn,  Josiah  Sturtevant  and  Peter  Crocker,  with  others  in 
the  capacity  of  an  ecclesiastical  council,  proceeded  to  organize  the 
petitioners  into  a  church.  Forty-one  persons  assenting  to  the  doings 
of  the  council  and  signing  the  covenant  as  then  propounded,  the 
Second  Congregational  church  entered  upon  its  career.  Benjamin 
Hatch  was  chosen  deacon,  and  Sylvanus  Hatch,  clerk. 

Silas  Shores  supplied  the  pulpit  until  July,  1822,  when  he  was 
settled  as  pastor  at  the  sum  of  four  hundred  dollars.  He  was  duly 
ordained  and  installed  July  31,  1822,  and  continued  till  June  17,  1828, 
when  he  was  obliged  to  seek  dismission  for  "  lack  of  pecuniary  sup- 
port." The  church  was  then  supplied  three  years  by  Melancthon  G. 
Wheeler,  and  three  years  by  John  Hyde.  Rev.  Timothy  Davis  was 
installed  pastor  April  22,  1835,  and  dismissed  June  5,  1836.  Mr. 
William  Harlow  now  supplied  the  church  for  two  years.  Rev.  James 
D.  Lewis  was  next  called,  and  was  installed  pastor  September  26, 
1842,  and  dismissed  December  7,  1846.  During  this  pastorate  the  new 
confession  of  faith  and  covenant  was  adopted,  but  again  changed  in 
1846.  Mr.  Silas  S.  Hyde  was  pastor  from  December  8,  1847,  to  June. 
1851.  Rev.  O.  G.  Hubbard  supplied  the  pulpit  three  months  prior  to 
his  death,  August  14,  1852.  Mr.  A  C.  Childs  was  ordained  May  18, 
1853,  and  dismissed  October  9,  1855.  Rev.  George  Ford  was  installed 
May  21,  1856,  and  dismissed  April  16,  1862.  Rev.  Edward  Seabury 
was  pastor  from  October  1,  1863,  to  May,  1869;  D.  H.  Babcock  from 
September,  1869,  to  May,  1881;  David  Perry  from  May,  1872,  to  his 
death,  August  27,  1876.  It  was  during  the  latter  pastorate  that  a 
large  and  comfortable  parsonage  was  built.  Rev.  Samuel  Fairley 
was  pastor  from  August,  1877,  to  his  death,  by  drowning,  August  19, 


648  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

1881.     Rev.   S.  Morrison   was   pastor   from    1864  to   1888,  when  the 
present  pastor,  Reverend  Thomas  Bell,  took  charge. 

Mr.  Shubael  Lawrence  bequeathed  to  this  society  ten  thousand 
dollars,  the  interest  or  income  of  which  shall  always  be  applied  to  the 
payment  of  the  salary  of  a  minister  or  religious  teacher  for  said 
society,  ''provided  that  the  society  at  their  own  expense  shall  within 
two  years  after  my  decease,  turn  their  present  house  of  worship  gable 
end  to  the  road — put  a  handsome  steeple  to  the  same,  put  up  a  bell  of 
suflQcient  size — paint  and  keep  the  whole  always  in  good  repair,  and 
forever  keep  the  house  standing  at  the  head  of  the  burying  ground 
where  it  now  stands."  Mr.  Lawrence  dying  March  18, 1841,  the  church 
and  society  immediately  took  measures  to  fulfill  the  conditions  of  the 
will,  which  were  carried  out  at  a  cost  of  $2,200,  the  dedicatory  services 
taking  place  September  26,  1842.  The  burying  ground  behind  the 
church  was  given  by  Mr.  Ezekiel  Robinson  in  1796,  the  first  grave 
being  that  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Hatch,  who  died  July  28,1796,  and  the 
second,  that  of  his  father,  Ebenezer,  who  died  the  same  year. 

The  first  mention  in  the  records  of  the  society  bearing  the  name 
of  Methodist  is  in  1809.  Those  of  that  faith  were  few,  but  through  the 
labors  of  Rev.  Erastus  Otis  a  society  was  gathered  in  that  year,  which 
in  1811  was  incorporated  as  The  Methodist  Society  of  Falmouth  and 
Sandwich.  The  meeting  for  incorporation  was  held  at  Pocasset  in 
June,  1811,  it  being  then  the  most  central  and  convenient.  A  meeting 
house  was  then  erected  by  the  society  near  the  cemetery  east  of  Fal- 
mouth village.  Prior  to  the  organization  of  the  society  those  of  the 
faith  held  their  social  meetings  in  Stephen  Swift's  kitchen;  the  first 
was  January  8,  1807.  Dr.  Hugh  G.  Donaldson  was  a  pioneer  in  the 
faith  here  until  his  death  in  1812.  November  20,  1829,  William  Nye 
deeded  to  the  society  a  half  acre,  upon  which  the  present  edifice 
stands.  Such  names  of  pastors  as  can  be  unearthed  are:  Reverends 
Otis  Wilder,  1839;  O.  Robbins,  1842;  Benjamin  L.  Sayer  and  William 
Turkington,  1844;  Hebron  Vincent,  1845;  J.  M.  Worcester,  1846;  E.  D. 
Trakey,  1848;  B.  Otheman,  1864;  E.  R.  Hinckley,  1858. 

The  old  book  of  records  was  lost,  but  tradition  gives  the  names  of 
Reverends  M.  Wheeler,  Mr.  Stetson  and  Mr.  Gififord,  to  be  added  to 
the  preceding  ones,  which  are  taken  from  an  old  record  of  member- 
ship. The  records  commence  in  1870,  giving  the  pastors  as  follows: 
E.  S.  Fletcher,  1870;  C.  G.  Dening,  1873;  G.  H.  Winchester,  1874; 
Henry  W.  Hamblin,  1875;  E.  M.  Moss,  1877;  Mr.  Hayes  and  J.  H.  Vin- 
cent, 1878;  W.  I.  Ward,  1879,  who  went  to  theological  school,  and  W. 
L.  D.  Twomley  filled  the  year;  D.  J.  Griffen,  1880;  Irving  R.  Love  joy 
and  W.  C.  Helt,  1881;  J.  M.  Tabor,  1882;  Thomas  Simms,  1883;  T.  A. 
Johnstone,  1884;  P.  Perinchief,  1885;  Albert  G.  Smith,  1886;  Ernest 
Eldridge.  1887;  C.  K.  Jenness,  1888;  and  Herman  C.  Scripps,  1889. 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.  649 

The  Congregational  church  of  North  Falmouth  was  organized  Au- 
gust 15,  1833,  being  composed  of  twenty-three  members  of  the  First 
and  Second  churches,  who  resided  in  the  vicinity.  The  church  edifice 
was  dedicated  November  1, 1833.  The  early  members  were  Benjamin, 
Stephen,  Ebenezer,  John,  Joshua,  Shubael,  and  Charles  J.  Nye,  and 
Rev.  Paul  Jewett.  There  were  fourteen  females,  none  now  living, 
as  members.  Former  deacons  were  Ebenezer,  Joshua  and  Samuel 
Nye,  the  last  survivor.     F.  G.'Nye  is  the  present  clerk. 

Rev.  Paul  Jewett  was  installed  August  21,  1833,  and  dismissed 
June  25,  1834,  since  when  there  has  been  no  settled  minister.  Among 
the  preachers  supplying  the  pulpit  have  been:  Daniel  D.  Tappan, 
1834;  Gideon  Dana,  1836;  John  Pike,  1837;  Charles  C.  Beaman,  1841; 
Asahel  Cobb,  1844;  Lorain  Reed,  1848;  Nathaniel  Cobb,  1850;  Cyrus 
Mann,  1852;  Mr.  Weston,  1857;  Levi  Wheaton,  1858;  Mr.  Paine,  E.  W. 
Allen,  Mr.  Kilburn,  and,  since  April,  1888,  Rev.  Mr.  Woodworth,  of 
Cambridge. 

The  Congregational  church  edifice  at  Waquoit  was  dedicated  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1848,  but  the  society  was  not  organized  until  January  3, 1849. 
Its  original-  members  numbered  eighteen,  seventeen  of  whom  pre- 
viously belonged  to  the  society  in  East  Falmouth.  They  have  never 
had  a  settled  pastor.  Rev.'  Spencer  F.  Beard  labored  as  stated  supply 
from  October,  1848,  to  April,  1853.  His  pastorate  resulted  in  the  ad- 
dition of  thirty -two  persons  to  the  church.  The  successive  supplies 
iave  been:  Horace  Pratt,  from  June,  1853,  for  two  years;  Rev.  Anson 
Hubbard,  from  October,  1856,  to  May,  1856;  Rev.  Levi  Little,  for  several 
months;  Rev.  Job  Cushman,  for  a  few  Sabbaths;  Rev.  Elijah  Demond, 
from  October,  1859,  to  April,  1863;  Rev.  David  Brigham,  October, 
1863  to  1870;  Reverends  James  R.  Cushing,  Sayer,  Wilbur  and  Burn 
from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  at  East  Falmouth,  to  1877;  Rev. 
Samuel  Fairley,  from  1877,  to  August,  1881;  Rev.  Joshua  S.  Gay,  from 
September,  1882,  to  March,  1885;  Rev.  Samuel  Morrison,  from  April, 
1885,  to  October,  1888;  Rev.  Thomas  Bell,  of  Hatchville,  for  1889. 

The  early  Methodists  at  East  Falmouth  worshipped  in  the  school 
Jiouse.  The  faithful  band  were  served  with  preaching  by  Reverends 
Lambert,  Otis,  Hardy,  Keith,  Merrill,  Paine,  Binney,  Haven,  Bates 
and  others.  In  later  years  the  pastor  at  Falmouth  village  preached 
here.  In  1852-3  Rev.  Mr.  Adams  supplied,  and  in  1854,  Rev.  J.  C. 
Allen.  In  1855  Rev.  Mr.  Bennett,  of  Sandwich,  supplied.  In  1856-7 
Rev.  J.  E.  Gifford  was  stationed  at  Falmouth,  preaching  here  once  in 
two  weeks.  In  1858  the  same  gentleman,  supernumerary,  by  request 
£lled  the  desk  until  April,  1859,  and  the  class  was  increased  from  nine- 
teen to  fifty-four.  In  1859  a  building  committee,  consisting  of  Cap- 
tain John  Tobey,  Elnathan  Baker,  Alexander  Clark  and  Andrew  Ba- 
cker, was  appointed.     Four  hundred  dollars,  for  the  year  1859-60,  was 


650  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

provided  for  the  preacher's  support.  Rev.  Abel  Alton  was  ap- 
pointed here  in  1869-60.  The  building  was  completed  and  dedicated 
November  30,  1869.  The  pastors  since  have  been:  Franklin  Sear.*;, 
1860,  1861;  Lawton  Cady,  1862;  S.  T.  Wallace,  1863, 1864;  John  S.  Fish, 
1865-1867;  Franklin  Sears,  1868;  R.  F.  Macy,  1869,  to  March,  1870; 
Charles  Stokes,  1870, 1871;  John  S.  Fish,  1872-1874;  Benjamin  L.  Sayer, 
from  April,  1876,  to  fall  of  1876,  (he  died  March,  1876);  William  Wil- 
bur supplied  from  November,  1876,  t6  April,  1876;  Richard  Burn, 
1876-1878;  A.  B.  Bessey,  1879;  D.  J.  Griffin,  1880  for  six  months,  then 
Rev.  H.  W.  Hamblin  supplied  for  six  months,  and  was  appointed  to 
the  charge  in  1881:  John  McVay,  1882;  Nelson  Whitney  served  for  a. 
time  in  the  interim,  ending  with  Rev.  Mr.  Sherman  in  April,  1F88; 
Rev.  James  B.  Washburn  commenced  his  pastorate  in  April,  1888. 

The  Church  of  the  Messiah  at  Woods  Holl  is  a  Protestant  Episcopal 
church.  It  was  the  first  religious  society  here.  A  wooden  edifice  was 
erected  in  1853  by  the  people  of  the  village,  aided  by  donations  from 
Falmouth  village  and  elsewhere.  The  final  payment  of  the  expense 
of  the  building  was  made  by  Joseph  S.  Fay,  who  had  also  donated  the 
site.  The  church  was  consecrated  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Eastburn, 
February  14,  1864,  and  was  free  of  debt  by  the  exertions  of  John 
L.  Webster  in  obtaining  subscriptions,  and  the  generosity  of  Mr.  Fay. 

The  first  rector  was  the  Rev.  Thomas  Brenton  Flower,  who  re- 
signed in  the  year  1862.  After  that  the  parish  was  without  a  minister 
until  1863,  when  the  Massachusetts  Church  Missionary  Society  sent 
the  Rev.  John  West  to  take  charge  of  it.  He  was  followed  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Robinson,  of  St.  Mary's  Church  for  Seamen  in  Boston,  for 
one  or  two  summers,  and  he  by  the  Rev.  Hiram  Carleton,  D.  D.,  in 
1871.  Doctor  Carleton  gathered  up  the  scattered  flock  and  reorgan- 
ized the  parish  in  1873,  there  having  been  no  annual  meeting,  nor  any 
wardens  and  vestry  for  several  years,  and  it  became  comparatively 
strong  and  vigorous.  The  aid  of  the  Diocesan  Board  of  Missions  was 
dispensed  with  in  1877.  In  that  year  the  rectory  was  built  and  given 
the  parish  by  Joseph  S.  Fay.  Dr.  Carleton  resigned  his  charge  in 
1881,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Charles  Mcllvaine  Nicholson, 
who  died  in  the  year  1885.  In  1883  the  title  of  the  church  property 
was  made  over  to  the  trustees  of  Donations  of  the  Diocese,  and  the 
church  was  made  a  free  church  by  vote  of  the  pewholders,  and  in  the 
year  1886,  the  present  faithful  and  beloved  rector,  the  Rev.  Henry  H. 
Neales,  was  elected,  accepted  the  position  and  took  charge  of  the 
parish. 

On  the  I7th  of  September,  1888,  the  corner  stone  of  a  new  church 
was  laid,  and  the  edifice  was  built  on  the  site  of  the  former  one,  by 
Joseph  Story  Fay,  under  permission  of  the  vestry,  as  a  thank-offering. 
The  same  generous  donor  remodeled  the  old  church  building  into  a 


TOWN   OF  FALMOUTH.  651' 

neat  and  convenient  parish  house,  which  was  ready  for  use  at  the 
close  of  1889. 

Prior  to  1857  regular  services  had  been  maintained  at  West  Fal- 
mouth by  the  Methodist  people,  the  ministers  of  the  Falmouth  churcb 
officiating  on  alternate  Sabbaths.  An  organization  was  perfected  in. 
1857.  The  first  members,  who  were  dismissed  from  the  Falmouth 
church  to  form  this,  numbered  twenty-two.  A  building  committee 
was  chosen,  composed  of  Asa  S.  Tobey,  Braddock  Baker,  Gideon  H.. 
Baker,  Reuben  Landers  and  Silas  J.  Eldred,  who  employed  Alvin 
Crowell  to  erect  a  church,  which  was  completed  in  1857.  The  first 
pastor  in  the  new  church  was  Rev.  Charles  A.  Carter,  a  former  pastor 
in  Falmouth  and  a  supernumerary,  who  was  sent  as  a  supply,  remain- 
ing two  years;  he  also  was  pastor  here  in  1863-5.  Others  from  Fal- 
mouth village,  prior  to  1879,  officiated  here,  among  them.  Rev.  R.  H.. 
Dorr,  A.  S.  Edgerly,  S.  Hamilton  Day,  Moses  Brown,  Mr.  Roach  and 
Mr.  Stephenson.  Rev.  J,  S.  Davis,  a  student,  was  a  supply  for  two 
years  prior  to  April  1,  1881;  E.  H.  Hatfield  succeeded  for  two  years; 
and  J.  O.  Dening,  George  M.  Meese,  William  H.  Sommers,  J.  C.  Bell 
and  Fred.  L.  Rounds  successively  officiated.  Many  of  the  preachers 
who  have  supplied  this  pulpit  have  been  students  at  the  time,  and  a 
salary  of  three  to  four  hundred  dollars  has  been  paid  each  year. 

The  clerk  of  the  society  elected  for  1889  was  Andrew  J.  Hamblin. 
The  records  in  past  years  have  not  contained  full  transactions  of  the 
doings  of  the  society,  which  neglect  was  humorously  rebuked  by  S.. 
Hamilton  Day  when  he  wrote  in  the  church  book,  and  over  his  full 
name,  this  significant  question:  "  What  is  the  use  of  a  church  record 
if  preachers  in  charge  ignore  its  existence  ?" 

The  Methodists  at  Woods  HoU  united  in  worship  with  the  Congre- 
gational Society  prior  to  1878,  in  the  building  called  the  "  People's 
Church."  The  societies  having  increased,  have  held  separate  .services 
since;  the  Methodists  retaining  the  church  which  now  belongs  to 
them.  On  the  fourth  of  July,  1844,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Society  was 
organized  by  twelve  members  of  other  societies  and  nine  probation- 
ers. Trustees  were  elected  and  the  following  pastors  have  officiated: 
Revs.  Richard  H.  Dorr,  from  July,  1884;  J.  B.  Smith,  from  April,  1885; 
L.  M.  Flocker,  from  April,  1887;  Henry  Pearce,  from  April,  1888;  C. 
E.  Todd,  from  December,  1888;  M.  B.  Wilson,  from  April,  1889. 

St.  Barnabas  Parish,  at  Falmouth,  had  been  a  mission  under  the 
parochial  care  of  Rev.  Mr.  Neale  of  Woods  Holl,  assisted  by  Charles 
H.  Perry.  On  December  27,  1888,  a  church  organization  with  the 
above  name  was  organized,  with  E.  Pierson  Beebe, senior  warden;  Dr> 
James  M.  Watson,  junior  warden;  and  J.  Arthur  Beebe,  Frank  H. 
Beebe,  and  Dr.  A.  T.  Walker,  vestrymen.  The  rector,  Charles  H.. 
Perry,  was  called  on  Easter  Monday,  1889,  and  was  ordained  June  15th 


662  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

following.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Williams  College  and  of  the  Cam- 
bridge Divinity  School.  Ground  has  been  purchased  and  a  fine  church 
edifice  is  being  erected,  which  is  to  be  a  thank-oflfering  from  the  Bee- 
bes.     The  corner  stone  was  laid  July  23,  1889. 

Schools.* — Falmouth  early  gave  attention  to  public  education,  al- 
though the  early  school  records  are  fragmentary  and  sometimes 
ambiguous.  The  first  record  is:  "The  6th  day  of  August,  1701,  the 
town  of  Falmouth  assembled  together,  and  it  was  then  voted  by  said 
town,  and  agreed  to,  that  we  should  look  out  abroad  for  a  suitable  and 
fit  person  to  preach  the  word  of  God  in  this  town  to  us;  and  to  keep 
school  for  the  good  of  our  children."  It  would  seem  that  schools  were 
later  neglected,  for  a  meeting  held  February  17,  1713,  "  Made  choice 
of  Lieut.  Moses  Hatch  to  be  the  town's  agent,  to  get  off  the  town's 
presentment  for  want  of  a  schoolmaster,"  and  voted  that  Daniel  Legg 
should  be  the  next  town  schoolmaster.  He  was  reelected  at  a  meet- 
ing held  March  22,  1715.- 

The  first  female  teacher  was  employed  in  1716.  At  a  meeting  held 
August  seventh  of  that  year,  "Hannah  Sargent  [was]  made  choice  of  to 
be  the  town 's  School  Dame  this  year  with  a  salary  of  twelve  pounds  and 
diet."  She  was  reelected  in  1718.  At  this  time  the  selectmen  were 
appointed  agents  to  contract  with  her,  and  to  locate  the  school  "at  ye 
four  quarters  of  ye  town  as  they  may  agree."  September  15, 1724,  the 
salary  of  the  school-mistress  was  "  twelve  pounds  and  diet,  also  the 
use  of  a  horse  twice  in  the  year,  that  she  might  visit  her  friends." 
The  whole  sum  raised  for  schools  had  increased  to  ;{'22,  8s.,  in  1720. 

At  a  town  meeting  held  December  22,  1729,  it  was  voted  that  the 
school  remain  half  a  year  at  a  place,  "  the  Town  quarter  having  had 
their  part  already,  the  Northern  quarter  is  to  have  a  quarter  more, 
after  the  date  hereof  and  half  a  year  at  each  part  of  the  town  for  j'e 
future,  and  until  the  town  shall  see  cause  to  alter  this  agreement." 
The  same  meeting  voted  that  twenty-six  pounds  be  raised  for  the 
school  this  year,  and  for  dividing  the  town  into  parts,  nine  shillings; 
for  fetching  the  school  into  town,  £1,  6s.,  to  Thomas  Shiverick.  The 
salary  of  the  teacher  was  thirty  pounds  in  1735,  with  a  further  allow- 
ance of  five  shillings  per  week  for  board.  In  1737  and  1738  Joseph 
Pitts  was  the  town  schoolmaster,  at  thirty-five  pounds  salary,  and 
moved  from  place  to  place,  as  the  town  saw  cause.  June  16,  1741, 
Nathan  Lewis  was  agreed  with  to  serve  the  town  as  schoolmaster  half 
a  year,  at  the  rate  of  ten  pounds  a  quarter,  the  town  to  find  him  diet. 
"  At  a  town  meeting  held  Apr.  13,  1742,  it  was  voted  that  he  who  shall 
diet  the  schoolmaster  from  this  time,  shall  have  nine  pence  added  of 
the  last  emission,  to  the  former  five  shillings,  which  was  agreed  for 
his  board  a  week." 

*By  Prof.  S.  A.  Holton  of  the  Falmouth  High  School. 


TOWN  OF  FALMOUTH.  653 

Previous  to  1745  the  schoolmaster  was  elected  in  town  meeting, 
but  in  that  year  Mr.  Thomas  Parker  was  chosen  agent  to  provide  the 
town  with  a  school.  Similar  votes  were  passed  in  succeeding  years, 
the  number  of  agents  being  increased  as  new  schools  were  established. 
We  find  in  the  record  of  a  meeting  held  March  29,  1757,  the  fol- 
lowing: "  Voted  the  town  to  be  divided  from  John  Lawrence's  run- 
ning northerly  by  Cit  Greene's  to  John  Greene's  and  Reuben  Giffords, 
those  aforesaid  houses  included,  and  all  ye  inhabitants  westerly  to 
Woods  Hole  to  have  a  school  master,  and  agree  for  one  and  his  board 
as  cheap  as  they  can,  and  such  a  one  as  shall  answer  ye  law,  and  ye 
whole  town  to  be  rated  and  raise  so  much  money  as  shall  answer  ye 
town  for  schooling  and  ye  northerly  and  easterly  parts  of  sd  town  to 
have  not  other  advantage  of  such  school  but  as  they  are  rated  to  draw 
their  proportion  of  money  equal  as  they  pay  to  their  school  or  schools 
and  as  they  shall  think  proper,  and  be  obliged  to  put  money  drawn  to 
that  use."  From  this  time  the  bounds  of  the  districts  were  frequently 
changed  and  the  number  increased  until  there  were  nineteen. 

March  4,  1763,  a  committee  was  chosen  to  procure  some  suit- 
able person  to  keep  a  grammar  school.  January  22,  1767,  "Voted  to 
have  two  schools  a  man  and  a  woman  for  ye  schools."  Previous  to  this 
time  the  grammar  school  had  been  suspended,  and  April  25,  1769, 
Noah  Davis  was  chosen  to  defend  the  town  in  an  action  brought 
against  it  for  this  neglect.  Noah  Davis  and  ShubaelNye  were  chosen 
a  committee  March  15,  1779,  to  provide  the  town  with  a  grammar 
school,  which  has  continued  to  this  time  although  for  some  years  it 
led  a  wandering  existence,  being  kept  in  the  various  parts  of  the 
town  alternately. 

By  the  close  of  the  century  the  amount  of  money  annually  raised 
for  educational  purposes  had  been  increased  to  four  hundred  dollars. 
At  this  time  eighty  citizens  becoming  convinced  that  better  accom- 
modations were  needed  for  the  schools,  organized  September  18, 1799, 
with  a  capital  of  $592.80.  At  their  meeting,  October  1,  1799,  it  was 
voted  that  they  and  the  Masonic  society  complete  the  outside  of  the 
building  and  lay  the  floors  equally  between  them.  Elijah  Swift  con- 
.  tracted  to  erect  the  building  for  $675.  Timothy  Hatch  was  chosen  to 
sign  the  contract  for  the  proprietors  and  to  oversee  the  work.  An 
assessment  of  one  dollar  per  share  was  levied  for  furniture.  The 
rent  for  public  schools  was  fixed  at  "  Two  pence  on  each  scholar  that 
goes  per  week  through  the  district,  exclusive  of  fire-wood."  The  mas- 
ter and  mistress  were  to  collect  the  rent  and  fire-wood  from  the  schol- 
ars monthly.  The  rent  was  soon  reduced  to  one  cent  per  week. 
March  7,  1808,  the  districts  had  increased  in  number  so  that  twelve 
agents  were  chosen  as  follows:  Samuel  Shiverick,  Solomon  Davis, 
Prince   Athern,   Solomon   Lawrence,   Bartlett  .Robinson,   Benjamin 


654  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Hatch,  Ebenezer  Phinney,  Nathan  Ellis,  Levi  Landers,  William 
Weeks,  jr.,  and  Barnabas  Baker.  It  was  voted  that  the  agents  act  as 
school  committee — the  first  mention  found  of  such  officials. 

The  educational  system  seems  now  to  have  been  established  upon 
a  firm  basis  and  to  have  continued  with  but  slight  changes  until  the 
year  1866,  when  several  of  the  nineteen  districts  were  united,  and  in 
"the  following  year  the  town  purchased  the  school  houses  and  abolished 
tthe  entire  district  system.  Several  new  buildings  were  erected  and 
■echools  were  located  where  they  still  remain — at  Woods  Holl,  Quissett, 
Falmouth  village,  West  Falmouth,  North  Falmouth,  Hatchville, 
Waquoit,  Davisville,  East  Falmouth  and  Teticket. 

In  1867  it  became  desirable  to  establish  a  high  school  and  a  .com- 
mittee was  chosen  to  make  arrangements  with  the  trustees  of  Law- 
rence Academy,  whereby  the  work  is  done  in  that  institution.     A  new 
departure  was  taken  in   1883  by  a  vote  instructing  the  school  com- 
mittee to  appoint  a  superintendent  of  schools.     William  E.  Curtis  was 
•elected,  and  was  soon  succeeded  by  William  E.  Morang,  Charles  L. 
Hunt  and  William  D.  Parkinson,  in  the  order  named.     Under  the  care 
•of  these  gentlemen  the  schools  have  made  rapid  progress,  the  grading 
has  been  improved  and  a  uniform  course  of  study  and  system  of  pro- 
■motions  adopted.     The  present  grading  of  the  schools  is  as  follows: 
Falmouth  village,  high,  grammar  and  primary;  Woods  Holl,  grammar, 
intermediate  and  primary;  West  Falmouth  and  Waquoit,  grammar 
and  primary  each.    In  each  of  the  other  districts  the  entire  work  below 
"the  high  school  grade  is  done  in  one  school.     The  amount  of  money 
^appropriated  for  educational  purposes  in  1889  was  $8,550;    For  com- 
mon schools,  $6,000;  tuition  of  high  school  scholars,  $850;  transporta- 
rtion  of  high  school  scholars,  $500;    superintendent's  salary,  $1,000; 
:6uperintendent's  traveling  expenses,  $200. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  first  records  of  the  Lawrence 
Academy;  "at  a  meeting  of  gentlemen  friendly  to  the  erection  of  a 
Tjuilding  in  Falmouth,  suitable  for  the  accommodation  of  a  high 
-school,  holden  at  the  Middle  District  School  House,  so  called  in  said 
Falmouth,  September  30,  1833.  Chase  R.  S.  Wood,  Esq.,  chairman, 
.and  Knowles  Butler,  Sec,  voted  to  chose  a  committee  of  three  per- 
sons to  draft  the  plan  of  a  house,  and  ascertain  the  probable  expense 
•of  the  same."  The  committee  consisted  of  John  Jenkins,  Harrison 
Goodspeed  and  Knowles  Butler.  These  gentlemen  attended  to  their 
•duty,  and  their  report  was  adopted.  It  was  voted  to  fix  the  capital 
stock  at  $2,500,  divided  in  one  hundred  shares  of  twenty-five  dollars 
•each,  and  to  proceed  forthwith  to  erect  and  finish  a  school  house  in 
accordance  with  the  report  of  the  committee.  This  building  was  so 
ifar  completed,  that  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  was  held  therein 
^November  15,  1834,  at  which  it  was  voted  to  invite  Rev.  Josiah  Bent 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.  655 

to  dedicate  it,  and  to  allow  the  free  use  thereof  for  a  teachers'  con- 
vention. This  building,  like  the  preceding  school  house,  was  for  a 
time  rented  to  the  teachers.  Miss  H.  F.  Jenkins  being  the  first  to 
rent  the  upper  part. 

March  7,  1835,  the  institution  was  incorporated  as  the  Falmouth 
Academy.  R.  O.  Gardner  served  as  principal  for  the  first  year;  he  was 
succeeded  by  Isaac  Swift,  who  taught  less  than  one  year  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  Robert  T.  Conant.  At  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  held 
January  17,  1842,  it  was  voted  to  accept  a  legacy  of  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars recently  left  to  the  institution  by  Shubael  Lawrence,  and  to  peti- 
tion the  legislature  for  permission  to  change  the  name  to  Lawrence 
Academy,  and  to  make  other  changes  as  required  by  the  conditions 
of  the  will.  This  petition  was  granted  and  the  changes  were  made 
accordingly.  Robert  A.  Coffin  was  the  first  principal  after  the  change, 
but  his  term  of  service  is  uncertain.  He  was  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Stephen  C.  Dillingham,  who  was  teaching  in  the  academy  in  1847. 
He  resigned  in  1851,  and  was  followed  by  Mr.  Dodge  and  George 
Moore,  who  taught  less  than  one  year  each.  In  1852 George  E.Clarke 
was  elected  principal,  and  held  the  position  about  eleven  years,  resign- 
ing early  in  1863.  The  remainder  of  that  year  was  filled  by  students 
of  Andover  Theological  Seminary.  The  next  principal  was  Dr.  F.  W. 
Adams,  who  served  two  years,  and  was  followed  by  Rev.  Charles 
Harwood  for  one  year,  and  Mr.  J.  W.  Cross  for  two  years.  In  the 
fall  of  1868  Prof.  Lucius  Hunt  was  elected,  but  after  one  year's  ser- 
vice he  accepted  a  position  elsewhere  and  was  succeeded  by  Watson 
S.  Butler  of  Falmouth,  who  served  one  year,  after  which  Professor 
Hunt  was  recalled  and  remained  in  charge  of  the  school  until  1881, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  present  principal,  S.  A.  Holton,  who 
had  previously  served  for  three  years  as  assistant  to  Mr.  Hunt  in  this 
institution. 

In  1884  the  building  was  thoroughly  repaired  and  remodelled 
within.  The  antiquated  furniture,  most  of  which  had  been  in  use 
since  the  erection  of  the  building,  was  removed,  and  its  place  supplied 
by  that  of  modern  style,  thus  fitting  the  building  for  the  increased 
requirements  of  the  present  time.  During  the  past  year  the  grade  of 
the  school  has  been  raised  by  the  addition  of  one  year's  work  to  the 
course  of  study. 

Cemeteries. — Oak  Grove  cemetery  is  situated  north  of  the  village 
and  is  becoming  a  chosen  spot  for  the  departed.  A  meeting  of  those 
interested  was  held  December  12,  1849,  at  the  town  hall,  when  Eras- 
mus Gould,  William  Nye,  jr.,  Thomas  L.  Swift,  Silas  Jones  and  Rufus 
Swift  were  appointed  to  choose  a  site  and  obtain  subscribers  to  pur- 
cha.se  lots.  January  2,  1850,  the  report  was  made  that  a  wood  lot  of 
over  five  acres  had  been  purchased,  adjoining  the  home  of  Ephriam 


656  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Sanford  and  twenty-four  subscribers  procurred.  The  officers  elected 
for  one  year,  at  this  meeting,  were:  Oliver  C.  Swift,  president;  Aaron 
Cornish,  vice-president;  S.  C.  Dillingham,  secretary;  Samuel  P.  Bourne, 
treasurer,  and  E.  Gould,  William  Nye,  jr.  and  C.  L.  Swift,  trustees. 
A  constitution  and  by-laws  were  adopted.  In  1861  O.  C.  Swift  was  re- 
elected president  and  held  the  office  for  many  years,  as  did  S.  P. 
Bourne  that  of  secretary  and  treasurer.  The  trustees  had  the  man- 
agement until  March  27,  1877,  after  which  the  annual  meetings  were 
held  and  officers  elected;  Silas  Jones,  president,  and  George  E.  Clarke, 
secretary  and  treasurer.  These  efficient  officers  have  been  re-elected 
until  the  present,  with  William  Jones  vice-president.  The  present 
trustees  are:  William  H.  Hewins,  Moses  R.  Fish  and  Charles  H.  Gif- 
ford.  At  the  February  meeting  of  1886,  George  E.  Clarke,  Silas 
Jones  and  Solomon  D.  Robinson  were  appointed  a  committee  to  pur- 
chase additional  land,  and  by  their  action  the  area  has  been  doubled 
by  tracts  purchased. 

There  are  eight  other  cemeteries  in  the  town;  the  old  proprietors' 
and  the  Methodist  at  Falmouth  village;  and  one  each  at  Woods  Holl, 
West  Falmouth,  North  Falmouth,  East  Falmouth,  Hatchville  and 
Waquoit.  In  these  rest  the  ashes  of  those  fathers  and  mothers  so  ven- 
erated by  the  present  residents. 

Villages. — There  are  nine  distinct  business  centers  in  the  town, 
seven  of  which  have  post  offices.  Varied  interests  and  advantages 
developed  here,  Falmouth,  the  chief  village  away  from  the  town's 
geographical  center,  but  it  is  easy  of  access  from  all  parts  of  the  town, 
and  has  advantages  which  will  continue  its  growth  and  permanence. 
It  is  the  principal  village  of  the  southwestern  part  of  the  Cape,  and 
occupies  a  level  tract  nearly  three  miles  in  extent  along  the  north 
shore  of  the  Vineyard  sound.  It  is  pleasantly  located  with  Marthas 
Vineyard,  the  Sound,  and  a  broad  expanse  of  varied  scenery  to  en- 
trance the  vision  on  the  south,  the  range  of  hills  that  skirt  the  eastern 
shore  of  Buzzards  bay  on  the  west,  and  the  level,  highly-cultivated 
fields  of  the  town  on  the  north  and  east,  producing  a  variety  of  pleas- 
ing efiFects  that  render  it  the  chosen  spot  on  the  Cape  for  recreation 
and  health.  Its  early  settlement  is  contemporary  with  that  of  the 
town,  as  the  first  who  came  very  naturally  selected  this  as  the  "  Prom- 
ised Land,"  of  which  they  were  in  quest.  Clustering  together  in  com- 
munities and  villages,  these  early  settlers  as  they  advanced  embodied 
in  every  settlement  the  four  elements — church,  school,  town  house 
and  militia — resulting  in  an  unprecedented  progress  in  everything 
pertaining  to  religion,  education,  government  and  patriotism.  The 
early  population  were  indirectly  from  Saugus  and  Scituate,  and  di- 
rectly from  Barnstable,  Plymouth  and  Sandwich. 

The  first  entry  in  the  proprietors'  records,  under  date  of  Novem- 


TOWN   OF  FALMOUTH.  657 

ber  29,  1661,  is  conclusive  that  in  1661  the  lands  of  the  site  of  what  is 
now  Falmouth  village  were  occupied,  and  its  history  in  its  relation  to 
the  white  race  may  be  regarded  as  dating  from  that  year.  That  Isaac 
Robinson  erected  one  of  the  first  houses,  if  not  the  first,  upon  the  neck 
between  the  Fresh  and  Salt  ponds  is  also  established;  and  in  addition 
Jenkins  says:  "At  the  lower  end  of  Fresh  pond  there  was  some  years 
ago  an  old  rose  bush,  the  only  relic  of  an  ancient  garden,  which  ac- 
cording to  tradition  belonged  to  Isaac  Robinson."  Here  occurred  the 
first  birth  in  the  village  or  town,  but  of  the  exact  date  traditions  dif- 
fer; one  is  that  the  company  arrived  from  Barnstable  in  1660,  and  the 
first  night  after  landing  between  Fresh  and  Salt  ponds,  while  en- 
camped, the  wife  of  Jonathan  Hatch  gave  birth  to  a  son  whom,  she 
said,  should  be  named  Moses,  because  born  among  the  flags;  another 
is  that  the  "  family  mansion  "  had  been  standing  fifteen  months  at 
the  time  of  the  birth;  but  the  fact  of  this  being  the  first  birth  remains 
undisputed. 

The  general  court  enacted,  in  March,  1663,  that  "it  be  commended  to 
the  settlers  at  Succonessett  to  apply  themselves  in  some  eflfectual  way 
for  the  increase  of  their  numbers,  that  they  may  carry  on  things  to  their 
better  satisfaction  both  in  civil  and  religious  respects."  That  the  in- 
crease was  rapid  is  already  shown  from  the  records  of  the  court  of 
July  13,  1681,  which  ordered  that  the  people  and  society  of  Succones- 
set  set  apart  lands,  upland  and  meadow,  "  for  the  help  and  encourage- 
ment of  such  fit  person  or  persons  as  doth  or  may  be  helpful  to  them 
in  teaching  the  good  word  of  God  amongst  them,  and  be  in  perpetuity 
for  such  an  end  successively."  This  order  of  the  court  was  acted  upon 
by  the  people  June  6,  1687.  The  same  year  the  road  from  Little  har- 
bor through  Falmouth  village  to  the  Five-Mile  river  was  ordered  to 
be  laid  out  by  the  proprietors,  to  be  forty  feet  wide.  This  is  now 
Main  street.  According  to  the  town  records  of  1703,  it  "  was  voted  to 
pay  John  Robinson  2d  for  nails  and  Thos.  Bassett  4s.  for  work  about 
the  town  house."  This  is  the  first  intimation  of  the  existence  of  such 
a  building;  but  had  no  meeting  house  been  yet  erected  ?  It  was  the 
memorable  custom  of  the  people  of  that  day  to  have  a  town  house  for 
schools  and  meetings,  and  such  a  primitive  building,  no  doubt,  had 
been  erected.  That  this  town  house  of  1703  was  used  as  a  meeting 
house  also  is  evident  by  the  vote  of  October  16, 1704, to  procure  '-win- 
dow shutters  for  the  4  lower  windows  of  the  meeting  house."  In  1716, 
"it  was  voted  to  build  a  new  meeting  house  42  feet  square,  to  stand 
on  the  same  lot  where  the  old  one  does  and  to  be  for  the  town's  use 
in  public  worship  and  to  meet  in  open  town  meetings."  This  first 
town  house,  or  village  hall,  in  Falmouth  was  located  near  the  ceme- 
tery; in  the  western  part  of  the  village,  where  subsequently  the  new 
meeting  house  was  commenced  in  1716,  and  completed  in  1717.  The 
43 


658  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

site  for  this  second  building  was  defined  in  1716,  as  laid  out  in  con- 
nection with  the  burying  ground. 

The  present  green,  so  beautiful  in  its  triangular  bounds,  was  laid 
out  October  6,  1749,  and  included,  on  the  north  side,  the  strip  of  land 
between  the  present  green  and  a  line  that  extended  from  the  old  Shiv- 
erick  House,  next  west  of  the  Continental  shoe  store  kept  by  G.  W. 
Jones,  passing  in  the  rear  of  the  present  Congregational  church,  to 
and  in  line  with  the  street  upon  which  Mrs.  Sarah  P.  Lawrence  dwells. 
The  present  common  was  taken  from  the  north  side  of  this  meeting 
house  lot  and  training  ground  that  had  been  laid  out  in  common  use 
to  all;  and  the  past  pages  will  show  that,  including  the  original  town 
house  for  a  meeting  house,  the  present  Congregational  church  is  the 
fourth  place  of  worship  on  those  grounds.  The  proprietors  reserved 
the  present  square  as  part  of  the  old  one,  when,  on  October  6,  1749, 
they  "  agreed  that  there  should  be  part  of  that  lot  of  land  called  the 
meeting  house  lot  &  training  field,  about  one  acre  and  a  half  besides 
the  road  that  leads  to  Woodshole  &  bounded  Southerly  by  Samuel  Shiv- 
erick,  and  westerly  by  Silas  Hatch  Northerly  by  Nath'l  Nickerson  & 
easterly  by  Paul  Hatch  &  Sam'l  Shiverick,  to  lay  perpetually  forever 
to  that  end,  as  the  fence  now  stands,  except  before  Paul  Hatches 
house." 

As  the  growth  of  the  village  called  for  its  territory,  the  remainder 
of  the  old  square  has  been  sold  off  by  the  proprietors  until  the  old 
cemetery  only  remains. 

In  the  action  of  the  town  June  6, 1687,  land  was  voted  for  the  help 
and  encouragement  of  teaching  the  word  of  God,  which  lands,  among 
others,  are  west  of  Bowerman's  pond,  now  included  in  the  village. 
The  importance  of  this  village  in  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury led,  in  1805,  to  the  building  at  the  foot  of  Shore  street  of  a  wharf, 
which  was  washed  away  by  the  gale  of  1815.  The  present  stone 
wharf  was  built  in  1817.  In  those  days  the  ferries  and  water  ways  of 
business  were  of  great  import;  but  railroad  facilities  have  turned  the 
tide  of  shipments,  and  the  tide  of  the  sound  has  demonstrated  to  the 
present  generation  that  even  granite  monuments  are  not  imperish- 
able. It  was  the  demand  for  the  guns  captured  by  Captain  Jenkins 
at  Tarpaulin  cove  and  the  refusal,  in  1814,  that  brought  the  British 
frigate  Nimrod  near  the  foot  of  Shore  street,  where  anchorage  was 
made  and  the  village  bombarded  by  her  guns.  The  old  Congrega- 
tional church,  the  large  house  on  Shore  street  now  owned  by  E.  E.  C. 
Swift  (then  occupied  by  Captain  John  Crocker,  and  thought  to  be  the 
governor's  residence),  the  residence  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Sarah  P. 
Lawrence,  the  residence  now  occupied  by  Charles  M.  Dimmick,  near 
Hotel  Falmouth  (then  occupied  by  Ichabod   Hatch),  and  the  house 


TOWN   OF  FALMOUTH.  659 

occupied  by  Mrs.  Dillingham,  just  west  of  the  livery  stable  of  H.  C. 
Lewis,  were  the  buildings  most  injured  by  the  bombardment. 

In  1800  the  public  building  designed  for  a  town  hall,  a  school- 
house,  and  a  Masonic  lodge  was  offered  by  the  proprietors,  and  its 
use  was  accepted  by  the  Masons,  who  were  wont  to  assemble  in  the 
kitchen  of  Captain  Stephen  Swift. 

Marine  Lodge  received  a  charter  in  March,  1798,  on  the  petition  of 
Frank  Wicks,  Hugh  Donaldson,  Richard  Bunker,  Joseph  Webb,  John 
P.  Caswell,  Robinson  Dimmick,  Isaac  Parker,  Prince  Hatch,  Davis 
Swift,  Timothy  Crocker,  jr.,  James  Wing  and  Lewis  Parker.  The 
first  meeting  of  the  lodge,  March  26,  1798,  approved  of  Sila^  Jones  and 
Stephen  Swift  for  initiation,  and  appointed  Hugh  Donaldson,  Frank 
Wicks  and  Joseph  Webb  a  committee  "  to  frame  a  set  of  by-laws,  and 
to  hire  a  chamber  and  get  it  fitted  up  for  the  reception  of  the  lodge  as 
soon  as  possible."  May  2, 1798,  the  by-laws  were  reported  and  adopted 
and  the  following  officers  elected:— Frank  Wicks,  W.  M.;  Hugh  Don- 
aldson, S.W.;  Richard  Bunker,  J.W.;  Frank  Wicks,  treasurer;  and  H. 
Donaldson,  secretary,  pro  tern;  James  Wing,  tyler.  August  18,  1799, 
Elijah  Swift  was  elected  master;  and  September  7,  1803,  Frank 
Wicks  was  installed  to  the  office,  with  Samuel  Shiverick,  S.W.,  and 
Lewis  Parker,  J.W.  In  1804  Frank  Wicks  was  reelected  master,  and 
in  September,  1805,  Major  Hatch  succeeded  him.  August,  1806, 
Joseph  Percival  was  chosen  master  with  Major  Hatch  in  the  West, 
Thacher  Lewis  in  the  South,  Samuel  M.  Dewey  secretary,  and  Weston 
Jenkins,  treasurer.  The  following  were  successively  elected  masters: 
1808,  Francis  Wicks;  1809,  Timothy  Parker;  1820,  E.  Swift;  1823,  Job 
Parker;  1824,  Dr.  Aaron  Cornish,  who  held  the  office  continuously  to 
1831  inclusive.  In  April,  1806,  the  lodge  voted  to  paint  the  hall,  get 
chairs  and  pay  for  one  half  of  a  bell.  During  the  Morgan  excitement 
this  lodge  suspended  work  and  surrendered  its  charter.  In  the  interim 
a  lodge  of  Odd  Fellows  was  organized,  which  flourished  for  a  few 
years.  In  1856  a  sufficient  number  of  the  previous  members  of  Marine 
Lodge  petitioned  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts  for  the  return  of 
the  original  charter,  which  was  granted  and  the  lodge  resumed  work. 
The  masters  have  been  elected  and  served  as  follows:  1866,  G.  W. 
Swift;  1858,  George  W.  Donaldson;  1859,  Benjamin  F.  Tucker;  1861, 
William  Hewins;  1870,  Erasmus  Gould;  1872,  J.  C.  Robinson;  1874,  A. 
P.  Sturgis;  1877,  Charles  E.  Davis;  1879,  W.  H.  Hewins;  1882,  Charles 
E.  Davis;  1883,  George  W.  Fish;  1886,  Browning  Fish;  1887,  Prince  D. 
Swift.  D.  L.  Powe  is  the  present  secretary.  The  first  lodge  building 
is  the  one  now  occupied  and  owned  by  the  fraternity,  the  post  office 
store  and  lodge  rooms  have  been  remodeled  and  modernized. 

Associate  Lodge,  I.  O.  G.T.,  was  organized  March  28,  1887,  with 
twenty-two  charter  members.     The  first  presiding  officer  was  Seba 


660  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

A.  Holton,  succeeded  by  C.  S.  Newcomb.  The  chief  templars  since 
have  successively  been:  D.  R.  Jarvis,  G.  R.  Johnson,  George  E.  Clarke, 
G.  R.  Johnson  and  G.  A.  Merithew. 

Among  the  older  industries  was  a  glass  works  at  the  foot  of  Shore 
street  prior  to  1850.  It  was  a  plant  of  considerable  importance,  cost- 
ing $25,000  or  more,  with  steam  engine  and  proper  fixtures.  Aaron 
Cornish,  John  Jenkins  and  Stephen  Dillingham  were  interested;  the 
latter  removed  some  of  its  buildings  to  West  Falmouth  for  the  oil- 
cloth works.  Even  shipbuilding  was  at  one  time  a  village  industry. 
In  1812,  Elijah  Swift  built  a  vessel  in  front  of  his  house — where  Ste- 
phen Cahoon  now  resides— and  launched  it  at  the  foot  of  Shore  street. 
The  vessel  was  of  sixty-five  tons  burden,  and  he  brought  together 
the  same  number  of  yokes  of  oxen  from  the  surrounding  country  to 
haul  the  vessel  to  the  beach. 

The  Falmouth  Bank  was  established  in  1821.  The  capital  stock  of 
$100,000,  represented  by  a  thousand  shares,  was  subscribed  by  eighty- 
three  persons,  of  whom  the  fifty-three  who  were  then  residents  of 
Falmouth  were:  Elijah  vSwift,  Ward  M.  Parker  and  Thomas  Swift, 
who  took  one  hundred  shares  each;  Shubael  Lawrence,  who  took  forty 
shares;  Nathaniel  Shiverick,  jr.,  Weston  Jenkins,  Oliver  C.  Swift, 
Lewis  W.  Calot,  Elisha  P.  Fearing,  Nathaniel  Lewis,  John  Jenkins, 
Braddock  Dimmick,  Barney  Marchant  and  William  Bodfish,  who  took 
from  ten  to  twenty  shares  each;  John  Lawrence,  Samuel  P.  Croswell, 
Peter  Price,  Knowles  Butler,  John  Hatch,  jr.,  Henry  Dimmick,  May- 
hew  Hatch,  Major  Hatch,  Abner  Hinckley,  John  Robinson,  RobiD.son 
Jones,  Shadrack  Lawrence,  Ephraim  Sanford,  Prince  Jenkins,  Eph- 
raim  Eldridge,  Bariah  B.  Bourne,  Simeon  Harding,  Charles  Swift, 
Silas  Swift,  Joseph  Swift,  John  Swift,  Davis  Hatch,  Walla  Robinson, 
Henry  Robinson,  Joseph  Robinson,  Rowland  Robinson,  William 
Bradley,  Silas  J.  Eldi-ed,  Solomon  Davis,  Parnel  Butler,  Sarah  Lewis, 
Moses  Hatch,  Micah  Sampson,  Thatcher  Lewis,  Silvanus  Hatch, 
Charles  Lawrence,  Calvin  Robinson,  Peter  Lawrence  and  Prince 
Weeks,  who  took  from  one  to  eight  shares  each.  Ward  M.  Parker 
was  the  last  survivor  of  all  the  original  people  connected  with  this 
bank.  David  Crocker  &  Co.,  of  Barnstable,  took  five  shares,  eleven 
Boston  men  took  one  hundred  and  ninety-five  shares,  and  the  re- 
maining one  hundred  and  fifty-one  were  taken  by  nineteen  other 
residents  of  Massachusetts,  three  of  whom  were  of  Sandwich. 

The  first  meeting  of  stockholders  was  held  April  7,  1821,  when 
Elijah  Swift,  Thomas  Swift,  Shubael  Lawrence,  Braddock  Dimmick, 
Weston  Jenkins,  Nathaniel  Lewis,  Elisha  P.  Fearing,  Nathaniel 
Shiverick,  jr.,  and  Samuel  P.  Croswell  were  chosen  directors.  These 
chose  Elijah  Swift  president  and  S.  P.  Croswell  cashier.  Mr.  Swift 
resigned  before  his  death,  which  occurred  January  9,  1852.     In  1843, 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.  661 

October  third,  the  second  president,  John  Jenkins,'was  elected.  He  died 
in  1859,  and  Oliver  C.  Swift  was  the  third,  until  his  death  in  January, 
1874:  Era.smus  Gould  was  the  next  president,  until  his  death  in  1881, 
when,  on  January  12th,  Silas  Jones,  the  present  head  of  the  bank,  was 
elected.  The  second  cashier  was  Samuel  P.  Bourne,  from  1843  to  1873. 
The  third,  George  E.  Clarke,  was  chosen  in  July,  1873,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded in  May,  1889,  by  George  E.  Dean.  The  bank  assumed 
the  character  and  charter  of  a  national  bank  May  25,  1865,  numbered 
1320,  and  renewed  its  charter  at  the  expiration  of  twenty  years,  in 
accordance  with  the  laws.  It  was  the  first  in  point  of  time,  and  has 
always  been  one  of  the  most  conservative  banks  on  the  Cape.  The 
present  directors  are  Silas  Jones,  Charles  E.  Davis,  Lewis  H.  Lau- 
rence, Thomas  H.  Lawrence,  William  F.  Jones,  Ward  Eldred  and 
Alexander  M.  Goodspeed. 

The  influx  of  travel  from  the  Plymouth  colony  and  the  towns  of 
the  Cape  on  the  north,  as  the  pioneers  sought  other  settlements  in 
this  region  and  at  Marthas  Vineyard,  early  called  for  places  of  enter- 
tainment. These  places  have  consecutively  been  designated  as  ordi- 
nary, inn,  tavern  and  hotel.  As  early  as  February  7,  1664,  Isaac  Rob- 
inson was  "  approved  and  allowed  by  the  Court  to  keep  an  Ordinary  at 
Succonesset  for  the  entertainment  of  strangers — in  regard  that  it  doth 
appear  that  there  is  a  great  recourse  to  and  fro  to  Marthas  Vineyard, 
Nantucket,  etc.,  and  that  hee  be  provided  with  provisions  and  Neces- 
saryes  for  that  purpose,  likewise  he  is  to  keep  good  order  in  his  House 
that  no  damage  or  just  harme  befall  him  by  his  negligence."  Thus 
it  would  seem  that  the  Puritan  fathers  made  the  entertainment  of  the 
stranger  a  matter  of  public  concern.  In  1746  the  proprietors  adjourned 
to  the  inn  of  John  Bourne  in  the  village.  At  an  early  date  of  the 
present  century  Samuel  Shiverick  kept  an  inn  in  the  house  next  west 
of  Jones' Continental  shoe  store;  also,  about  1800,  when  the  wharfs 
and  business  was  active  at  the  foot  of  Shore  .street,  Elisha  Gifford,  a 
bachelor,  kept  a  tavern  in  the  last  house  of  the  street,  on  the  comer 
near  the  wharf,  now  the  summer  residence  of  William  B.  Bacon.  His 
sign  was  unique,  bearing  a  ship  and  a  seaview  on  one  side,  on  the 
reverse  a  stage  arrival.  The  packets  and  stages  made  his  a  lively 
place.  The  old  sign  swung  on  Hotel  Falmouth  for  a  time  as  a  legend 
of  the  past,  but  has  been  consigned  to  the  garret  by  the  improvements 
of  the  day.  H.  C.  Lewis,  of  this  village,  .still  preserves,  among  other 
mementoes  of  the  time,  the  signboard  that  his  father,  David  Lewis, 
swung  in  front  of  the  present  residence  in  1812.  when,  in  the  then 
new  house,  he  opened  his  tavern,  which  was  continued  until  about 
1850.  Prior  to  this  the  old  building  that  stood  on  the  vacant  lot,  the 
corner  west  of  and  adjoining  the  residence  of  George  W.Jones,  was  a 
tavern.    It  was  on  the  first  laid-out  public  road  and  conspicuous  in  its 


662  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

day,  having  been  built  in  the  past  century.     The  last  landlord  was 
Shubael  Hatch,  familiarly  known  as  "Little  Shube  "  in  1812. 

The  only  hotel  here  now  open  all  the  year  is  Hotel  Falmouth — a 
well  managed  house  on  the  modern  American  plan — which  is  also 
fairly  patronized  by  the  summer  visitors.  The  building  in  its  older 
parts  is  somewhat  historic,  having  been  built  by  Stephen  Dillingham, 
a  Quaker  merchant,  who  kept  a  store  in  it  several  years.  His  brothers, 
Reuben  and  Abram,  and  Jonathan  Boyce,  a  brother-in-law,  were 
interested  in  the  business  with  him.  This  firm  was  succeeded  by  a 
Mr.  Rogers  as  assignee,  who  was  followed  by  John  and  Knowles 
Butler.  Reuben  E.  Swift  kept  this  store  later  and  run,  as  his  father 
Ezekiel  had  done,  a  packet  from  Falmouth  to  New  Bedford.  The 
next  merchant  at  this  corner  was  Benjamin  P.  Swift,  who  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Albert  Nye,  then  residing  in  the  house  he  built  where 
Captain  John  R.  Lawrence  now  lives.  The  last  merchant  at  this  point 
was  Meltiah  Lawrence,  who  sold  the  property  to  James  W.  Baker,  and 
he  in  1872  remodeled  the  building  and  opened  it  as  Baker's  Hotel. 
When  his  white  stage  coach  met  the  passengers  at  Falmouth  station 
on  the  first  train  from  Boston  in  1872,  the  date  was  marked  with  red 
in  the  landlord's  calendar.  The  Hyannis  Bank,  as  mortgagee,  con- 
trolled it  next,  with  Elihu  H.  Davis  as  tenant,  and  in  1880  Henry  C. 
Lewis  became  the  owner,  and  changed  the  name  to  Hotel  Falmouth. 
The  next  landlord,  Sylvanus  F.  Dimmick,  who  purchased  it  in  the 
spring  of  1881,  had  married  Erasmus  Gould's  daughter,  added  the 
east  wing  and  the  south  annex;  but  his  short  career  was  harrassed  by 
the  spectre  of  six  per  cent.,  and  whatever  title  he  had  was  passed  to 
the  present  proprietor,  George  W.  Fish,  in  October,  1886. 

The  old  landmark,  the  Succonesset  House,  owned  by  E.  E.  C. 
Swift,  has  recently  given  place  to  the  new  Episcopal  church. 

The  water  route  along  the  sound  served  until  the  advancement 
of  the  town  required  more  direct  and  immediate  connection  with  the 
portions  of  the  county  north,  when  a  stage  route  was  opened  between 
Sandwich  and  Falmouth.  It  was  very  limited  prior  to  1828-  A  tri- 
weekly stage  carried  the  mail  and  did  the  errands  between  Sandwich 
and  Woods  Holl,  touching  at  intermediate  points.  The  old  route  at 
that  time  was  down  through  the  woods  to  Falmouth.  In  1832  William 
Hewins  took  the  line,  driving  daily  by  the  way  of  North  and  West 
Falmouth,  to  Falmouth  and  Woods  Holl,  along  the  bay  road;  then 
the  eastern  part  of  the  town  was  served  by  a  tri-weekly  stage  and 
mail  from  Falmouth.  Mr.  Hewins'  business  increased  and  continued 
until  the  advent  of  the  railroad  in  1872.  Two  daily  stages  from 
Waquoit  via  East  Falmouth  to  Falmouth,  now  supplies  that  portion  of 
the  town  with  mail  and  passenger  facilities. 

The   early  mails  were   received  from   New   Bedford,  the  vessels 


TOWN   OF  FALMOUTH.  663 

touching  at  the  foot  of  Shore  street  and  later  at  Woods  Holl,  at  which 
time  the  mail  was  carried  to  the  Vineyard  by  sailboat.  Old  residents 
well  remember  Joseph  Ray  (colored)  who  carried  it  by  sail  to  the 
island  in  1824,  1825.  The  unfortunate  carrier  preceding  him  was 
drowned.  The  Falmouth  post  oflBce  was  established,  with  Jonathan 
O.  Freeman  as  postmaster,  January  1,  1796.  In  the  following  Sep- 
tember Joseph  Palmer  was  commissioned  and  served  until  April  1, 
1809,  when  James  Hinckley  took  the  ofiBce  to  an  old  building  opposite 
the  corner  of  the  square.  The  building  was  moved  to  Oliver  Swift's 
premises  and  is  now  doing  service  as  part  of  Mark  Corey's  residence. 
Charles  Stanford  was  postmaster  in  the  same  building  nine  years, 
from  June  27,  1812,  and  was  succeeded  by  Richard  S.  Wood  in  a 
building  now  owned  by  Sophronia  Wood  on  the  Richard  Wood  estate. 
May  7,  1832,  Samuel  P.  Croswell  had  the  oflBce  in  the  present  bank 
building.  From  March  27,  1837,  Frederick  Davis,  for  many  years  a 
leading  merchant  here,  was  this  important  official,  in  the  building 
now  occupied  by  Solomon  L.  Hamlin's  store.  Obed  Goodspeed  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Davis  in  July,  1849,  at  the  same  place.  Richard  S.  Wood 
was  again  appointed,  June  13,  1851.  Joshua  Jones  succeeded  Wood 
prior  to  1861,  in  the  Burgess  store  building.  Under  President  Lin- 
coin's  administration,  in  1862,  Thomas  Lawrence  was  appointed,  who 
was  followed  by  Joseph  Burgess  and  H.  F.  Robinson  in  succession. 
In  1885  E.  E.  C.  Swift  was  appointed  and  removed  the  office  to  the 
Masonic  building,  which  is  the  same  re-modeled  that  was  offered  the 
lodge  by  the  selectmen  long  ago.  Mr.  Swift  was  succeeded  October 
12,  1889,  by  George  W.  Jones. 

The  earliest  stores  were  primitive,  keeping  the  needed  merchandise 
which  came  in  vessels.  Late  in  the  past  century  and  early  in  this, 
Dea.  Braddock  Dimmick,  Nathaniel  Shiverick  and  Major  Hatch  had 
stores — places  of  as  much  relative  importance  then  as  are  the  fashion- 
able bazaars  of  the  present.  David  Lewis  opened  a  store  in  the  wing 
of  his  house  in  1812,  and  the  snuff  jar,  with  other  furniture,  is  on  the 
shelf  as  of  old,  preserved  by  his  son,  H.  C.  Lewis.  Silas  Jones  was  a 
merchant  of  the  time.  Charles  Bourne  built  the  store  on  the  west 
corner  of  Main  and  Shore  streets,  prior  to  1822.  He  failed  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  kinsman,  Silas  J.  Bourne.  Joseph  H.  Starbuckused 
it  as  a  tin-shop;  a  Union  Store  Company  occupied  it  two  years,  Meltiah 
Lawrence,  William  Lawrence,  Frank  Bourne,  Edward  A.  Gould  and 
George  C.  Clark,  occupied  it.  W.  C.  Davis  erected  his  furniture  store 
here  in  1889.  E.  Packard  erected  the  store  where  S.  L.  Hamlin  now 
has  a  large  store  and  was  succeeded,  about  1820,  by  Charles  Wilcox 
and  Frederick  Davis.  Very  early  also  was  a  store  near  the  square,  in 
the  building  occupied  by  S.  L.  Hamlin;  as  early  as  1815  Weston  Jen- 
kins was  there,  and  was  succeeded  by  Charles  and  John  Jenkins,  who 


664  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

were  very  prosperous.  Francis  Shiverick  and  Richard  T.  Wood  suc- 
ceeded the  Jenkins'  family  in  the  same  place.  Joseph  Croswell  had  a 
store  south  of  the  square,  which  was  moved  across  and  below,  and  was 
kept,  prior  to  1848,  by  Bartlett  Holmes,  who  sold  out  to  open  business 
in  the  Jenkins  store.  In  1867  W.  H.  Hewins  commenced  in  the  old 
Jenkins  store,  now  a  branch  of  S.  L.  Hamlin's,  where  Mr.  Hewins 
continued  seventeen  years  when,  in  1884,  he  removed  to  his  present 
fine  double  store  near  the  Town  Hall.  Charles  McDermott,  the  con- 
tractor, came  first  to  Falmouth  in  1871,  as  foreman  on  the  construction 
of  the  Woods  Holl  railroad.  He  is  largely  engaged  in  grading  and 
road  building  in  and  about  Falmouth. 

Henry  F.  GiflFord  has  preserved  among  papers  of  historical  value, 
a  copy  of  the  Nautical  Intelligencer,  of  December  24,  1824,  printed  here, 
which  contains  very  interesting  references  to  the  business  and  customs 
of  that  time.  John  Jenkins  was  a  liberal  advertiser,  deeming  it  im- 
portant to  notice  a  fresh  supply  of  "  Staple  and  fancy  Dry  gooods, 
Hardware  &  Groceries,  which  he  is  selling  at  very  low  prices."  His 
dry  goods  list  included  "green  bockings,  figd  &  plain  Bombazetts, 
Sea  Island  Shirtings,  bl'k  Levantines,  Synchaws  &  sarsnets,  Taffeta 
ribons,  Silk  buttons,  Valencia,  Swans  down  &  bl'k.  Fancy  Silk  Vest- 
ings.  Fur  trimmings,  factory  Ginghams  &  5/4  bleached  sheetings." 
His  hardware  list  included  shaving  brushes,  iron  table  and  tea  spoons, 
writing  paper,  quills  and  ink  powder,  bed  screws  and  table  hinges, 
door  plates  and  sad  irons,  iron  knitting  pins,  padlocks  and  sleigh-bells. 

Frederick  Davis,  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  the  time,  adver- 
tised still  more  extensively.  His  "  general  assortment  of  seasonable 
goods  of  recent  importations,  offered  at  reduced  prices,"  included  a 
detailed  list  of  dry  goods,  hardware,  groceries,  glass  and  crockery  ware 
His  store  was  where  Captain  S.  L.  Hamlin's  principal  store  is  now 
located. 

Friend  Stephen  Dillingham  had  "just  received  from  New  York  an 
additional  supply  of  fall  and  winter  goods,  which  he  offers  for  sale  on 
very  reasonable  terms."  His  list,  one-fourth  column  in  fine  print, 
mentions  dry  goods,  hardware  and  crockery.  His  grocery  list  men- 
tions merely  molasses,  sugars,  tobacco,  etc.  Other  advertisers  included 
under  groceries.  West  India  and  New  England  rum,  cognac,  brandy, 
Holland  and  American  gin,  Jamaica  and  St.  Croix  rum,  Maderia,  Lis- 
bon, Mallaga  and  real  Port  wines,  cordials,  coffee  and  corks,  and  head- 
ache snuff. 

The  editor  of  the  paper  offered  cash  for  cotton  and  linen  rags,  and 
notified  his  subscribers  who  were  to  pay  in  wood  to  bring  it.  He 
wanted  a  post-rider  to  deliver  the  Intelligencer  through  North  Falmouth, 
Pocasset,  Monument  and  Sandwich  on  Friday  mornings,  and  another 
"to  go  through  Cotuitt  Village  to  Hyannis  on  the  .same  day."     Lewis 


TOWN  OF  FALMOUTH. 


665 


W.  Calot,  as  librarian,  called  a  meeting  of  "  The  members  of  the  Fal- 
mouth Library  Society  for  special  business,  on  the  7th  of  January  at 
€  o'clock  P.  M." 

The  post  village  of  Woods  Holl  is  on  the  south  and  southwest 
boundary  of  the  town,  extending  between  Buzzards  bay  on  the  west 
and  the  waters  of  the  sound  on  the  east.  In  early  days  the  name  ter- 
minated with  an  e,  but  as  the  location  assumed  importance,  its  friends 
assisted  its  good  name  by  adopting  the  Icelandic  "  Holl,"  which  is 
thought  to  be  more  in  harmony  with  the  characteristics  of  the  village. 

It  has  good  harbors,  known  distinctively  as  Great  and  Little,  se- 
curely sheltered,  where  a  haven  can  be  found  for  vessels  of  the  larger 
class.  Its  settlement  immediately  succeeded  that  of  the  northern  por- 
tion of  the  town. 

The  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  Woods  Holl  being  taken  up  July  23, 
1677,  were  divided  into  lots  of  sixty  acres  upland  to  a  share,  with 
xneadows;  this  had  been  secured  from  the  natives,  and  was  in  extent 
from  Great  and  Little  harbors  along  the  coast  to  Five-Mile  river,  and 
probably  north  to  Quisset.  The  lots  were  commenced  at  the  south 
end  of  the  Little  neck,  running  northwesterly  to  Great  harbor;  paral- 
lel to  these,  twelve  other  lots  were  laid  out,  each  seven  rods  in  width, 
and  assigned  to  Moses  Rowley,  sr.,  Joseph  Hull,  Thomas  Grifl5n,  John 
Robinson,  Samuel  Tilley,  Nathaniel  Skiff,  Thomas  Johnson,  William 
Giflford,  Thomas  Lewis,  John  Jenkins,  Jonathan  Hatch,  sr.,  William 
Weeks  and  Thomas  Ewer.  Each  also  took  ten  acres  in  Great  neck. 
The  records  describe  these  lots  as  follows:  "The  first  lies  in  the 
neck, — being  on  the  foot-path  that  runs  through  the  neck,  and  S.  E. 
toward  the  sound;  then  three  lots  lying  contiguous;  then  six  lots  on 
the  E.  side  of  Little  Harbor,— the  first  runs  E.  by  N.,  4  score  long  and 
•20  rods  broad,  and  on  that  range  lies  six  lots,  the  last  joining  to  the 
Dutchman's  pond;  then  three  lots  at  Nobsque  Point,— 26  rods  broad, 
Tunning  to  the  pond,  and  also  to  the  sea;  the  12th  lot  being  20  rods 
broad  and  4  score  long;  the  13th  lies  beyond  Ackapasket  and  butts  on 
the  sea." 

An  Indian  deed,  bearing  date  January  16,  1C79,  signed  by  Job 
Notantico,  confirms  to  these  early  proprietors  of  Woods  Holl  the  land 
title.  A  blacksmith  was  greatly  needed  at  this  time,  and  the  propri- 
■etors  "  laid  out  twelve  acres  of  upland  with  the  marsh  thereabouts," 
and  appropriated  it  to  encourage  a  smith  to  settle  among  them — an 
inducement  which,  no  doubt,  was  the  means  of  bringing  the  desired 
result. 

The  first  public  road  of  the  town  was  laid  out  in  this  little  village 
from  Little  harbor  to  Thomas  Johnson's  land,  to  Joseph  Hatch's  land, 
and  so  on  through  to  Five-Mile  creek. 

The  first  important  impulse  toward  developing  a  village  here  was 
derived  from  the  salt  industry.    Salt  was  made  on  the  east  of  Little 


666  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

harbor,  where  the  Episcopal  church  now  stands,  on  the  north  end  of 
the  harbor  and  in  the  northwest  angle  of  Main  and  School  streets,  ex- 
tending as  far  north  as  the  present  school  house.  The  store-house  for 
the  salt  was  on  the  site  of  Benjamin  J.  Edwards'  present  residence- 
Other  evaporating  vats  are  remembered  on  the  west  side  of  Little 
harbor  and  on  the  hill  by  the  Dexter  house.  The  names  of  Ward  M. 
Parker,  John  Parker,  Ephraim  Eldridge  and  Jabez  Davis  are  associ- 
ated with  this  industry. 

Woods  Holl  attained  to  some  prominence  as  a  shipbuilding  and 
whaling  station  early  in  the  century.  Elijah  Swift,  who  had  formerly 
built  pine  whalers  at  Wareham,  began  in  1828  his  career  at  Woods 
Holl.  Solomon  Lawrence,  father  of  Captain  John  R.  Lawrence,  was 
the  master  builder.  Of  all  the  men  employed  in  building  and  equip- 
ping these  vessels,  only  Christopher  G.  Bearse  and  Sanford  Heren- 
deen  survive.  The  last  ship  built  here  was  the  Elijah  Swift,  a  mer- 
chantman.- Among  the  smaller  craft,  of  more  recent  date,  were  two 
merchant  schooners  built  for  Joseph  S.  Fay,  and  the  fishing  vessel 
Aurelia,  built  by  Thomas  Robinson  and  Jabez  Davis  for  Harwich 
parties. 

The  brig  Sarah  Herrick,  sailing  June  17,  1820,  was  the  first  whale- 
vessel  from  Falmouth.     Her  voyage  in  the  Atlantic  was  for  one  year.. ' 
She  returned  laden  with  three  hundred  barrels  of  sperm. 

In  December,  1821,  the  ship  Pocahontas,  of  350  tons,  which  was; 
built  that  year  at  Falmouth,  began  a  voyage  of  thirty-three  months; 
under  Captain  Frederick  Chase,  and  brought  home  two  thousand  bar- 
rels of  sperm  oil.  The  next  year,  1821,  the  schooner  Salome  sailed, 
and  in  1825  the  Pocahontas  sailed  in  May  for  the  Pacific,  and  in  1827 
returned  with  2,100  barrels  sperm.     Her  next  voyage,  until  October, 

1830,  was  under  Captain  Charles  Swift,  in  the  Pacific,  from  which  she 
brought  in  1,700  barrels  sperm. 

The  ship  Uncas,  400  tons,  was  built  at  Woods  Holl  in  1828,  and 
sailed  under  Captain  Henry  C.  Bunker,  November  17th,  for  the  Pacific, 
returning  July  15,  1831,  with  3,468  barrels  sperm.  Her  next  voyage 
under  the  same  captain  was  four  years,  yielding  2,900  barrels  sperm. 

The  Awashonks  was  built  at  Woods  Holl  in  1830 — a  ship  of  356  tons 
— and  sailed  for  the  Pacific,  November  6th,  under  Captain  Obed  Swain, 
arriving  home  three  years  later,  with  2,000  barrels  sperm. 

The  bark  Brunette,  200  tons,  Captain  Cottle,  sailed  in  January,  and 
in  May,  1834,  reached  home  with  800  barrels  sperm. 

Captain  Joseph  Swift  sailed  with  the  Pocahontas  to  the  Pacific  in 

1831,  returning  April  23,  1835,  with  1,700  barrels  sperm. 

In  1832  the  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  360  tons,  was  built  at  Woods  Holl 
and  sailed  November  29th,  Captain  John  C.  Daggett,  and  in  August,. 
1836,  brought  home  2,200  barrels  sperm. 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.  667 

The  Awashonks  sailed  again  December  28,  1833,  under  Captain 
Prince  Coffin  to  the  Pacific,  where  he  with  his  first  and  second  mate 
and  four  men  were  killed  in  October,  1835,  by  the  natives  of  Namarik. 
The  vessel  was  brought  home  by  the  acting  captain,  Silas  Jones. 

In  January,  1833,  the  ship  William  Penn,  370  tons,  built  the  previous 
year  at  Hog  Island  harbor  in  West  Falmouth,  sailed  for  the  Pacific,under 
Captain  John  C.  Lincoln,  and  arrived  home  April  29,  1836,  with  1,200 
barrels  sperm.  Her  first  mate  and  the  crews  of  two  boats  were  cap- 
tured by  the  natives  of  one  of  the  Navigator  islands. 

In  November,  1834,  the  bark  Brunette,  Captain  Fisher,  returned 
from  a  short  voyage  of  six  months  with  60  barrels  of  sperm,  and  sailed 
again  the  following  May  under  Captain  Cottle,  arriving  home  Febru- 
ary 25,  1837,  with  700  barrels  sperm. 

In  1835  the  bark  George  Washington,  180  tons,  was  bought  from 
New  York,  and  under  Captain  Consider  Fisher  sailed  for  the  South  At- 
lantic on  November  24th,  returning  two  years  from  the  following 
April,  with  60  barrels  sperm  and  400  barrels  of  whale  oil. 

October  31,  1835,  the  ship  Pocahontas,  under  Captain  Joseph  Swift, 
returned  to  the  Pacific,  arriving  home  with  1,200  barrels  of  sperm  in 
January,  1838,  after  which  she  was  sold  to  Holmes  Hole. 

Under  Captain  Uriah  Clarke,  the  ship  Uncas  sailed  for  the  Pacific 
ocean  August  2,  1835,  arriving  home  with  1,800  barrels  sperm  and 
1,000  barrels  whale  on  April  9,1839. 

In  1836  the  bark  Popmutinett  was  built,  200  tons,  and  sailed  for  the 
Atlantic  July  sixth,  under  Captain  Stanton  Fish,  arriving  home  with 
her  captain  sick  and  90  barrels  of  sperm,  November  29th. 

Captain  Rufus  Pease,  in  charge  of  the  ship  Awashonks,  sailed  for 
the  Pacific  August  22,  1836.  January  24,  1840,  she  arrived  home  with 
2,500  barrels  sperm. 

October  8,  1836,  the  ship  William  Penn  sailed  for  the  Pacific,  Cap- 
tain Russell  Bodfish  in  charge,  reaching  home  May  28,  1841,  with 
1,300  barrels  sperm  and  370  barrels  of  whale  oil. 

In  October,  1836,  the  ship  Hobomok,Csc^\.a.\w  Henry  C.  Bunker,  sailed 
for  the  Pacific,  returning  home  after  three  years  with  2,000  barrels  of 
sperm  and  1,000  barrels  of  whale. 

Captain  Elihu  Fish  sailed  with  the  ship  Bartholomew  Gosnold  for  the 
Pacific  November  17,  1836,  returning  home  September  19,  1839,  with 
700  barrels  sperm  and  1,900  barrels  whale  oil. 

The  bark  Brunette  sailed  for  the  Atlantic  in  May,  1837,  arriving 
home  in  one  year  with  400  barrels  of  sperm.  Captain  Poole  having  her 
in  charge. 

In  April,  1838,  the  bark  George  Washington,  under  Captain  Consider 
Fisher,  arrived  home  with  80  barrels  sperm  and  300  barrels  whale, 
having  sailed  for  the  Atlantic  the  previous  year. 


668  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Captain  Nickerson  sailed  with  the  bark  Popniunnett  for  the  Atlan- 
tic January  13,  1837,  arriving  home  the  following  year  with  300  bar- 
rels sperm  oil. 

Captain  Poole,  with  the  bark  Brunette,  sailed  on  July  12,  1838,  for 
the  Atlantic  ocean,  arriving  home  with  400  barrels  of  sperm  on  De- 
cember 11,  1839. 

In  June,  1838,  the  bark  George  Washington,  under  Captain  White- 
house,  sailed  for  the  Atlantic,  returning  in  March,  1840,  with  200  bar- 
rels of  sperm. 

In  August,  1839,  the  ship  Uncus,  Captain  Ephraim  Eldridge,  sailed 
for  the  Pacific,  returning  home  at  the  end  of  four  years  with  2,200 
barrels  sperm,  300  barrels  whale,  and  2,400  pounds  of  bone.  She  was 
sold  to  New  London  in  1843. 

In  July,  1840,  Captain  Rufus  Pease,  in  charge  of  the  ship  Awa- 
skonks,  sailed  for  the  Pacific,  reaching  home  in  1843  with  1,800  barrels 
sperm. 

Captain  Luce,  with  the  bark  Brunette,  sailed  August  11,  1840,  for 
the  Atlantic,  arriving  home  in  May,  1842,  with  300  barrels  sperm  and 
20  barrels  whale  oil,  after  which  she  was  sold  to  Colonel  Colt,  the  re- 
volver manufacturer,  and  taken  to  Washington,  where  she  was  blown 
to  atoms  with  a  torpedo  of  Colonel  Colt's  invention. 

January  1,  1840,  the  ship  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  Captain  Abraham 
Russell,  sailed  for  the  Pacific,  arriving  home  in  1843  with  1,800 
barrels  of  sperm  and  600  barrels  whale  oil.  She  was  then  sold  to  New 
Bedford. 

In  1840  thehavk  George  rF«.f/«/«^/o«,  under  Captain  Samuel  Eldridge, 
sailed  for  the  Atlantic.  After  two  months'  absence  she  returned  clean 
and  leaking,  and  was  sold  to  New  Bedford. 

The  ship  Hobomok  started  on  her  third  voyage  May  29,  1840,  for 
the  Pacific,  Captain  Silas  Jones,  arriving  home  March  14,  1844,  with 
2,200  barrels  sperm  oil.  InOctober,  1841,  the  ship  Willia^n  Penn  sailed 
for  the  Pacific,  with  John  C.  Lincoln  as  captain,  and  arrived  home  four 
years  later,  with  1,300  barrels  sperm,  100  barrels  whale  oil  and  2,200 
pounds  bone. 

November  30, 1841,  Captain  Charles  Downs,  sailed  the  ship  Comtno- 
dore  Morris,  350  tons,  for  the  Pacific  ocean,  and  arrived  home  in  May, 
1845,  with  1,450  barrels  sperm  oil  and  40  barrels  whale  oil. 

The  ship  Awashonks  started  on  her  fifth  voyage  June  7,  1844,  Cap- 
tain Ephraim  Eldridge,  sailing  for  the  South  Seas,  and  returning 
after  four  years  with  1,400  barrels  sperm,  1,100  barrels  whale  oil  and 
10,000  pounds  bone. 

Captain  Rowland  R.  Jones,  in  June,  1844,  sailed  the  ship  Hobomok 
for  the  Pacific,  and  arrived  home  in  April,  1848,  with  1,000  barrels 
each,  of  sperm  and  whale  oil. 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH. 

The  schooner  Harriet  sailed,  under  Captain  GifFord,  May  10,  1844, 
for  the  Atlantic,  and  returned  one  year  later  with  50  barrels  sperm. 

Captain  Silas  Jones  sailed  the  ship  Comtnodore  Morris,  July  9,  1845, 
for  the  Pacific  ocean,  sent  home  90  barrels  sperm  oil  in  1845,  and 
returned  in  1849,  April  1st,  with  2,450  barrels  sperm  and  100  barrels 
■Whale  oil.  The  third  mate,  E.  Chadwick,  and  his  boat's  crew  were 
capsized  and  lost  on  the  coast  of  Chili,  in  1846. 

July  19,  1845,  Captain  Wimpenny  sailed  the  ship  William  Penn  for 
the  Indian  ocean  and  Northwest  coast.  She  sent  home  9,798  pounds 
bone,  and  was  totally  lost  on  the  island  of  Whytootacke,  November 
26, 1847.  She  had  on  board  100  barrels  sperm  and  1,700  barrels  whale; 
1,200  barrels  were  saved  and  sold  for  fifty  cents  a  barrel. 

The  ship  Hobomok  sailed  for  Indian  and  Pacific  oceans  August  12, 
1848,  under  Captain  Rowland  R.  Jones,  and  arrived  home  five  years 
later  with  669  barrels  sperm,  604  barrels  whale  oil  and  7,400  pounds 
bone.     Captain  Jones  died  in  1850. 

Captain  Smith  sailed  in  the  shi^Awaskonks Ocidber  25,1848,  for  the 
Pacific,  and  returned  April  5,  1851,  with  2,600  barrels  whale  oil.  He 
sent  home  14,300  pounds  bone.  The  second  mate,  Mr.  Slater,  was 
lost  overboard  in  August,  1849. 

Captain  Lewis  H.  Lawrence  sailed  August  13th  for  the  Pacific, 
in  the  ship  Coviviodore  Morris,  and  returned  after  four  years  with 
1,860  barrels  sperm  oil. 

In  1851,  August  12th,  Captain  Lawrence  sailed  in  the  ship 
Awashonks,  for  the  North  Pacific  ocean,  and  arrived  home  July  25, 
1854,  with  513  barrels  sperm  and  1,828  barrels  whale  oil.  He  sent 
home  243  barrels  whale  oil  on  the  voyage.  Mr.  Jones,  the  first  mate, 
was  killed  by  a  whale  in  1843. 

Captain  Childs  sailed  in  the  ship  Hobomok  September  30,  1853, 
for  the  North  Pacific  ocean,  and  returned  three  years  later  with  307 
barrels  sperm,  2,477  barrels  whale  oil  and  18,400  pounds  bone.  He 
sent  home  4,700  pounds  bone. 

The  ship  Comtnodore  Morris  sailed  December  7,  1853,  under  Lewis 
H.  Lawrence,  for  the  Pacific,  and  arrived  home  October  17,  1856, 
with  1,008  barrels  sperm  oil. 

In  November,  1854,  the  bark  Awashonks  sailed  under  Captain 
Tobey  for  the  North  Pacific  ocean,  and  returned  after  four  years 
with  1,227  barrels  sperm  oil.     She  was  sold  to  New  Bedford  in  1860. 

Captain  Marchant  sailed  in  the  ship  Hobomok  for  the  Pacific,  in 
November,  1856.  She  returned  in  March,  1860,  with  30  barrels  sperm, 
1,572  barrels  whale  and  10,500  pounds  bone.  She  sent  home  on  the 
voyage  74  barrels  sperm,  491  barrels  whale  and  17,859  pounds 
bone.  She  was  sold  in  1860  to  New  Bedford,  and  from  thence  to 
New  York  in  1863,  where  her  name  was  changed  to  Live  Oak.  She 
afterward  sailed  under  the  British  flag  and  was  finally  lost. 


67U       ,  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

The  Commodore  Morris  started  on  her  fourth  voyage  July  13, 
1859,  for  the  Pacific,  under  Captain  Silas  Jones,  and  arrived  home 
June  19,  lb64,  with  931  barrels  sperm,  232  barrels  whale  oil  and 
1,700  pounds  bone.  She  was  sold  to  New  Bedford  in  1864,  and  this 
was  supposed  to  be  the  closing  up  of  the  whale  fishery  from  Fal- 
mouth. 

Amoug  the  agents  who  were  engaged  in  the  wiialing  business  of 
Falmouth  vere:  Elijah  Swift,  Ward  M.  Parker,  Stephen  Dillingham, 
Sanford  Herendeen,  John  Robinson,  Oliver  C.  Swift,  Obed  Goodspeed 
and  ThJmat>  Swift.  From  1820  to  1850  we  find  the  name  of  Elijah 
Swift  ^^uite  conspicuous.  He  was  interested  also  in  an  oil  refinery 
■  and  spci.r,  candle  factory  here  during  a  portion,  if  not  all  of  this 
period.  The  building  for  refining  and  storing  the  oil  and  candles  is 
still  standing. 

One  of .  the  industries  that  helped  to  advance  the  growth  of 
Woods  Hollwas  that  of  the  Pacific  Guano  Company,  organized  in  1859 
byJarge  shipping  merchants  of  Boston  and  New  York.  Rowland's 
island  in  the  Pacific  was  owned  by  the  company,  and  from  it  large 
deposits  of  crude  guano  were  shipped.  The  business  grew  rapidly  in 
favor,  and  in  1863  extensive  works  and  chemical  laboratories  were 
erected  at  Woods  Holl.  A  large  number  of  men  were  employed  for 
years  in  the  various  departments  of  the  works. 

Isaiah  Spindle,  of  this  villige,  was  born  in  Dennis,  where  he  first 
engaged  in  the  fishing  business.  In  1863  he  removed  to  Woods  Holl, 
in  the  same  business,  and  eleven  years  later,  with  A.  F.  Crowell^ 
formed  the  well-known  firm  of  Isaiah  Spindle  &  Co.,  carrying  on  here 
and  through  their  Boston  oflBce  a  very  large  business  in  trapping  and 
marketing  fish.  Besides  handling  the  products  of  their  own  weirs, 
they  also  handle  the  catch  of  several  others. 

Of  inns  or  taverns  no  definite  history  for  the  last  century  can  be 
unearthed.  Early  in  this  century  we  find  the  Eagle  Hotel,  kept  by 
Joseph  Parker,  who  was  succeeded  by  Edmund  Davis.  On  the  24th 
of  October,  1824,  Mr.  Davis  notified  the  public  of  his  intention  to  con- 
tinue "  the  stand,  pledges  himself  that  nothing  on  his  part  shall  be 
wanting  to  give  general  satisfaction,  and  solicits  a  portion  of  publick 
patronage."  He  was  succeeded  by  Joseph  Hatch  for  several  years, 
and  in  1840  John  Webster  was  the  landlord.  The  hotel  was  then  near 
the  present  site  of  Eliel  T.  Fish's  store,  and  about  thirty  years  ago 
was  burned  A  gentleman  named  Blossom  was  "  mine  host  "  when 
the  hotel  burned.  The  hotel  then  was  on  the  bank  west  of  Little 
harbor,  kept  by  Mr.  Miller,  which  was  also  burned  a  few  years  ago. 
The  Dexter  House,  now  kept  by  Henry  M.  Dexter,  was,  until  1853, 
the  residence  of  his  father.  Captain  Leonard  S.  Dexter,  who  built  it 
for  a  private  residence.     The  captain's  widow,  Sarah  C,  kept  it  as  a 


DEXTER    HOUSE, 

IVoods  /foil,  Mass. 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.       .  671 

boarding  house  for  several  years,  enlarging  it  soon  after  the  fire 
above  mentioned.  Having  become  somewhat  known  as  a  summer 
hotel,  although  it  is  open  during  the  year,  it  was  further  enlarged  and 
rearranged  as  now  in  1885. 

The  lumber  business,  for  building  ships  and  dwellings,  had  been 
•extensive,  but  no  yard  for  its  sale  had  been  opened  until  1882,  when 
J.  K.  &  B.  Sears  &  Co.  opened  one  from  their  yard  at  liyannis.  They 
were  succeeded  in  1884  by  Sears,  Swift  &  Co.,  and  in  1889  J.  K.  Sears 
assumed  the  entire  half  interest,  forming  the  firm  of  Sears  &  Swift. 
The  government  fish  commission,  signal  service  station,  and 
lighthouse  and  buoy  depot  add  much  to  the  importance  of  Woods 
Holl.  Their  respective  buildings,  necessary  steamers,  lighters, 
buoys,  etc.,  swell  the  business  of  the  harbor  and  village.  In  1871 
Spencer  F.  Baird,  secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  conducted 
summer  investigations  in  ichthyology  at  Little  harbor,  where  the 
buoy  depot  is.  Ten  years  later  Woods  Holl  was  made  a  station  of  the 
United  States  fish  commission.  Headquarters  were  built  in  1884, 
consisting  of  museums,  hatcheries  and  experiment  rooms. 

In  1888  a  large  building  was  erected  to  be  used  during  the  sum- 
mer seasons  as  a  Biological  Institute.  Students  will  be  entertained 
and  taught  by  able  professors  and  scientists.  The  building  was  ccm- 
pleted  in  the  spring  of  1889. 

Liberty  Hall  was  built  in  1878.  The  Congregational  society  used 
it  for  religious  meetings  until  1889,  when  a  church  was  completed  for 
their  use.  Prior  to  the  building  of  the  hall  the  Methodist  and  Con- 
gregational societies  worshipped  together  in  the  People's  church, 
now  the  property  of  the  Methodist  Epi-scopal  Society. 

As  early  as  1823  Ward  M.  Parker  had  the  mail  brought  from  Fal- 
mouth for  himself  and  others,  and  January  13,  1^26,  an  office  was 
established  and  he  was  appointed  postmaster.  He  was  succeeded, 
August  16,  1838,  by  John  C.  Parker,  and  he,  in  April,  1847,  by  William 
Swift,  and  in  July  following  by  Sylvester  Bourne.  The  office  was 
kept  in  the  hotel  until  it  was  burned,  when  Owen  Eldridge  was  ap- 
pointed. Mr.  Eldridge  kept  the  ofiice  in  the  store  on  the  west  bank 
of  Little  harbor,  where  it  was  for  several  years,  and  where  E.  D.  Bas- 
sett's  store  is,  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Eldridge  in  1885,  when  Eliel  T. 
Fish  was  appointed,  and  the  ofiice  was  removed  to  the  building  near 
the  railroad  bridge,  whence  in  May,  1889,  it  was  changed  to  E.  D. 
Bassett's  store  at  his  appointment. 

No  doubt  the  Pacific  Guano  Company  was  largely  instrumental  in 
inducing  the  Old  Colony  to  extend  their  railtroad  to  Woods  Holl, 
which  was  done  in  1872.  The  first  station  agent  for  the  company  was 
Jotham  Howes,  who  was  succeeded  by  H.  Whiting.  Levi  A.  Howes 
was  appointed  at  the  death  of  Mr.  Whiting  in  1880,  and  is  the  present 


672  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

agent.  He  was  born  in  South  Dennis  in  1845,  was  agent  of  the  South 
Dennis  depot  from  1875  to  1880,  and  in  December  of  that  year  he  be- 
came agent  at  Woods  Holl  depot,  a  position  which  he  still  occupies. 
His  wife  is  a  daughter  of  James  S.  Howes,  of  Dennis. 

Owen  Eldridge  and  Jabez  Davis  composed  a  firm  of  thirty  years 
standing  in  mercantile  life  here  and  were  succeeded  by  E.  D.  Bassett. 

Succonesset  Lodge,  Knights  of  Honor,  was  organized  here  April 

23,  1879,  with  fourteen  charter  members.  The  dictators  have  been, 
successively:  Sylvester  Bourne,  Alfred  H.  Look,  W.  O.  Luscombe,  C. 
W.  Davis,  James  T.  Walker,  S.  M.  Norton,  J.  K.  P.  Prudum,  C.  O. 
Hamblin,  S.  C.  Braley  and  L.  C.  Chase.  Within  the  decade  the  mem- 
bership of  the  lodge  has  increased  to  forty-four. 

West  Falmouth  post  village  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  main 
shore  road  running  north  from  Falmouth  village.  Among  the  first 
settlers  of  this  part  of  the  town  were  William  Gifford,  sr.,  William 
Gifford,  jr.,  and  William  and  John  Weeks.  The  lands  were  laid  out 
to  them  in  1678.  Five  years  before  this  William  Gifford  of  Sandwich, 
came  here  and  bought  forty  acres  where  Arnold  Gifford  now  lives. 
The  deed  now  in  possession  of  Arnold  Gifford's  family  is  dated  July 

24,  1673.  It  was  witnessed  by  Thomas  Huckins  and  Barnabas  Lothrop, 
and  acknowledged  before  Thomas  Hinckley.  The  grantor  signed 
the  deed /od  a/ /ukoo,  although  in  the  body  of  the  deed  the  name  is 
written  Jod  Natantaco.  The  deed  recites  that  Job  had  received  half  of 
this  land  from  his  brother  James,  who  with  him  received  it  from 
their  father  Thomas  Natantaco. 

Nearly  all  of  the  early  families  here  were  Quakers  and  the  plain,, 
peaceful  characteristics  have  been  transmitted  in  a  general  way  to 
the  present  generation.  Their  early  coming  has  been  mentioned  at 
page  185  et  seq.  The  village  is  in  the  midst  of  a  rural  community- 
extending  along  the  shore  of  Buzzards  bay,  including  some  of  the 
most  pleasant  farm  homes  of  the  town. 

Agriculture  was  the  first  industrial  resource,  but  it  was  at  onetime 
almost  entirely  superseded  by  salt-making,  which  became  important 
and  profitable.  Nearly  all  the  people  were  interested  in  its  manu- 
facture. Daniel  Bowerman,  William  and  Theophilus  Gifford,  Ephraim 
Sanford,  Marcus  and  George  W.  Wicks,  Adrian  Davis,  Joseph  and 
Stephen  Dillingham,  Elijah,  Seth,  Daniel,  Joseph,  Silas  and  Moses 
Swift,  James  and  Silas  Gifford,  Benjamin  Crowell,  Walter  Davis  and 
Zebulon  Bowman,  in  their  time,  were  conspicuous  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  salt.  The  last  works  were  operated  by  Nathaniel  Eldred,  a 
retired  sea  captain,  who  sold  his  plant  to  S.  F.  Swift,  who  discontinued 
in  1871. 

The  early  families  here  depended  upon  the  water  mill  at  East  End 
for  their  grinding  until  1787,  when  Jesse  Gifford  built  for  Samuel 


TOWN   OF  FALMOUTH.  673 

Bowerman,  Joseph  Bowerman  and  Richard  Lake,  the  wind  mill  still 
doing  business  in  its  second  century.  Barnabas  Hamblin  and  his  son 
Sylvanus,  were  among  the  earliest  millers.  The  ownership  of  the 
mill  passed  from  Joseph  Bowerman  to  his  sons,  Seth  and  Thomas,  and 
Thomas  tended  it  till  1816.  By  that  time  Silas  Swift's  grandfather  had 
come  into  possession  of  Thomas'  share,  and  Silas  Swift's  father,  Moses 
Swift,  had  bought  Seth's  share.  Thomas  Bowerman  sold  his  farm  to 
Captain  Nathaniel  Eldred;  the  other  brother  sold  his,  and  the  two 
hitched  up  their  oxen,  put  their  families  and  household  goods  into 
the  carts,  and  started  for  York  state  to  settle.  Silas  F.  Swift,  by  in- 
heritance and  purchase,  is  the  sole  owner,  and  now  operates  the  mill. 
West  of  this  old  landmark,  in  Nashuanna  street,  is  the  site  of  an 
old  Indian  burial  place,  north  of  William  H.  Rowland's  residence. 
South  of  this,  on  the  shore,  is  the  site  where  the  oil-cloth  factory  of 
Stephen  Dillingham  &  Co.  was  burned  in  1856. 

The  first  post  ofiBce  was  established  December  21,  1827,  with 
Stephen  Dillingham  as  postmaster,  until  his  decease  in  1871,  except 
four  years  of  Buchanan's  administration,  when  Silas  J.  Eldred  was 
the  occupant.  Gilbert  R.  Boyce  had  the  oflBce  from  Mr.  Dillingham's 
death  until  the  appointment  in  1882,  of  James  E.  Gifford.  This 
Stephen  Dillingham  kept  the  office  in  a  store  at  his  father's  house, 
which  was  probably  the  first  store  in  West  Falmouth.  Other  mer- 
chants were  Newel  Hoxie,  Gilbert  R.  Boyce  and  James  T.  Dillingham. 
Captain  Caleb  O.  Hamblin  built  the  store  north  of  his  residence,  and 
with  E.  Frank  Bemis  carried  it  on  a  short  time  prior  to  1887.  The 
present  merchant  is  James  E.  Giff'ord,  who  has  continuously  carried 
on  the  business  for  twenty-five  years. 

The  Joseph  Bowerman  who  owned  the  mill  also  owned  then  a 
tannery  which  stood  east  of  the  small  pond  across  the  highway  from 
S.  F.  Swift's  residence. 

Chapoquit  or  Hog  Island  harbor  here  was  found  available  for  ship- 
building about  1800.  The  William  Gifford',  built  -here,  was  captured 
by  the  British  and  burned  in  1812.  She  had  been  engaged  in  West 
India  trade  under  Captain  Charles  Swift.  Tne  William  Penn  was  built, 
probably,  before  the  William  Gifford,  and,  after  several  voyages,  was 
lost  on  the  coast  of  Chili.  The  Phoenix  was  built  in  1815,.  by  Abner 
Hinckley.  The  Magnet,  built  by  Hinckley,  Silas  Swift,  captain,  was 
engaged  in  the  salt  trade  to  New  York  and  Albany.  The  schooner 
Sivift,  Captain  Silas  Swift,  was  in  foreign  trade;  also  the  brig  31ar- 
seilles.  The  Oneco,  Captain  Nickerson,  was  in  the  foreign  trade.  The 
Meteor  and  the  three  last  named  above  were  built  by  Solomon  Law- 
rence; he  also  built  the  West Falmouth,a.  coasting  schooner  under  Cap- 
tain Stephen  Dillingham.  The  Cicero  was  commanded  by  Nymphus 
Wicks,  father  of  John  O.  Wicks.  The  sloop  Pinion,  Captain  Joseph 
43 


674  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Small,  was  also  built  here.  The  stone  building  near  the  West  Fal- 
mouth school  house  was  the  shop  where  the  iron  fittings  for  these  ves- 
sels were  made. 

The  only  manufactor)'  here  is  the  tag  factory  of  James  A.  Boyce. 
The  business  was  commenced  about  1859,  by  Mrs.  Gilbert  R.  Boj'ce. 
The  present  proprietor  was  her  partner  several  years  before  the  busi- 
ness came  into  his  hands  in  1887.  All  the  stringing  of  tags  done  on 
Cape  Cod,  Martha's  Vineyard  and  as  far  north  as  Wareham  for  Den- 
nison  &  Co.,  is  managed  at  this  factory.  The  pay-rolls  have  averaged 
twelve  thousand  dollars  per  year  for  the  girls  engaged  in  tying. 

East  of  the  village  is  Observatory  hill,  owned  by  Franklin  King,  of 
Boston;  and  Forest  hill,  where  Thompson's  brick  kiln  is.  Here,  in 
1880,  he  first  made  scouring  brick.  A  large  deposit  of  material  ren- 
ders this  enterprise  susceptible  of  further  development.  When  the 
Old  Colony  depot  was  opened  here  in  1872,  Captain  Silas  Eldred  was 
the  agent,  and  was  succeeded  in  January,  1876,  by  the  present  agent, 
S.  F.  Swift. 

Waquoit  is  a  small  post  village  in  the  extreme  east  part  of  the 
town,  at  the  head  of  Waquoit  bay.  The  eastern  portion  was  formerly 
a  part  of  Mashpee,  but  the  value  of  the  mill  privilege  on  the  Moonekis 
river  was  one  of  the  reasons  for  so  changing  the  boundary  as  to  in- 
clude the  stream  in  Falmouth.  On  this  stream  Zenas  Ewer  built  and 
owned  an  early  saw  and  grist  mill,  which  was  burned.  Later,  Es- 
quire John  Robinson  was  interested  in  a  mill  for  several  years;  the 
dam  furnishing  power  for  his  grist  mill  and  for  a  yarn  and  cloth  mill 
operated  by  Alexander  Clarke.  Here  is  the  present  grist  mill,  owned 
by  Parker  N.  Bodfish,  of  Wareham,  who  has  had  an  interest  in  it  since 
1855.  He  has  been  the  sole  proprietor  for  the  past  eight  years.  In 
December,  1824,  Mr.  Clarke  advertised  that  after  January,  1825,  he 
would  be  ready  to  receive  "  from  the  inhabitants  of  Falmouth  and  the 
towns  adjoining  their  commands  for  Carding  Wool  &  Dressing  Cloth, 
in  an  establishment  situated  on  the  Grist  and  Saw  Mill  Dam  at  the 
head  of  Wawquawetts  Bay."  Before  this,  Mr.  Clarke  had  one  of  his 
carding  mills  on  the  Childs  river,  at  Waquoit,  where  the  Waquoit 
Company  shop  is. 

In  1855  Dea.  Alexander  Crocker  and  three  others  established  a  car- 
riage manufactory  and  house  building  business  on  the  Childs  river, 
under  the  title  of  "  Waquoit  Company."  Three  years  later  Josiah  S. 
Burgess  purchased  a  half  interest,  and  with  Deacon  Crocker,  was  the 
owner  till  1878,  when  Crocker  took  the  wood-working  part  and  Bur- 
gess the  iron. 

Lewis  Baker,  who  ran  a  packet  line  from  Waquoit  to  New  Bedford 
for  about  thirty  years  prior  to  1882,  has  been  a  merchant  here  since 
1840.     His  brother,  Newell  E.,  was  his  clerk  ten  years  prior  to  1871, 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.  675 

when  he  began  his  present  dry  goods  business.  Among  the  earlier 
merchants  was  Asa  Phinney,  in  the  old  Phinney  residence,  where  he 
dwelt.  Captain  David  Pierce  was  another  of  the  old  merchants.  His 
store  was  where  Crocker  H.  Bearse  resides.  After  the  death  of  Cap- 
tain Pierce,  Union  Hall  was  built  for  a  post  office  and  club-room,  by 
subscription.  The  other  public  buildings  are  the  Congregational 
church  and  the  school  house. 

A  post  office  was  established  here  the  tenth  of  September,  1849, 
with  Francis  M.  Boggs,  postmaster,  he  being  a  retired  gentleman  who 
came  to  this  village  summers.  He  was  succeeded,  January  9, 1850,  by 
Asa  Phinney,  who  kept  the  office  in  the  old  home  of  his  father. 
Crocker  H.  Bearse  was  appointed  June  22,  1860,  and  he  kept  the 
office  at  his  residence  until  Edward  J.  Crowell  was  appointed,  October 
5,  1887.  Mr.  Crowell  keeps  the  office  in  the  same  room  that  was  occu- 
pied as  the  post  office  by  Asa  Phinney.  The  mail  is  supplied  twice 
each  day  by  the  coach  route  from  Falmouth  depot. 

A  good  hotel,  open  all  the  year,  has  been  kept  here  since  1874,  with 
Asa  P.  Tobey,  proprietor. 

The  Popmonnet,  a.  whaler,  was  built  at  Waquoit  about  1838,  by  Ab- 
ner  Hinckley,  for  its  several  owners. 

Hatchville  is  separated  from  the  adjacent  districts  of  the  town  by 
a  border  of  uncultivated  lands.  It  was  known  to  the  earlier  residents 
of  the  western  half  of  the  town  by  the  then  appropriate  name  "  East 
End  '■ — a  title  not  yet  wholly  obsolete  in  the  colloquial  nomenclature 
of  the  people.  That  name  in  a  way  somewhat  vague  was  applied  until 
later  to  the  whole  northeastern  portion  of  Falmouth,  and  as  late  as 
1821,  when  the  Congregational  church  here  was  incorporated,  the 
geographical  part  of  the  name  was  adhered  to  and  the  church  was 
styled  the  East  Falmouth  Congregational  church,  while  the  older 
people  of  the  present  time  refer  to  it  as  the  "  East  End  "  church. 

This  community  was  supplied  by  mail  for  several  years  from  East 
Falmouth  before  a  government  office  was  located  here.  Esquire  John 
Robinson,  who  worshipped  here,  was  the  postmaster  at  East  Falmouth, 
and  at  the  church  on  Sabbath  days  the  country  folk  received  their 
mail  and  thus  had  virtually  a  Sunday  carrier's  delivery. 

On  the  30th  of  September,  1858,  a  post  office  was  opened  here,  with 
Silas  Hatch  as  postmaster.  The  Hatch  family  had  been  for  years, 
and  still  is,  one  of  the  leading  families  in  this  part  of  Falmouth,  and 
in  proper  recognition  of  the  fact  the  name  Hatchville  was  applied  to 
the  office  and  has  since  come  to  be  accepted  as  the  distinctive  name 
of  the  place  and  the  community. 

The  hamlet  is  contemporary  with  the  "  New  Purchase "  in  its 
settlement,  and  the  herring  war  has  been  the  only  cause  of  dissension 
in  that  neighborhood.     In  1806  some  desired  a  free  passage   for  fish 


676  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

into  Coonemosset  pond,  but  mill  privileges  interposed.  The  feeling 
arose  to  that  pitch  that  a  cannon  was  placed  in  position  by  the  herring" 
party,  which,  in  firing,  bursted,  killing  the  gunner,  producing  a  cessa- 
tion of  the  feeling.     The  name  of  this  martyr  is  not  handed  down. 

Ashumet,  a  neighborhood  northeast  of  Hatchville,  was  at  one  time 
well  settled,  but  now  consists  of  less  than  a  half  dozen  dwellings. 

North  Falmouth  is  a  rural  post  village  in  the  northwest  corner  of 
Falmouth,  where  the  boulder  ridge  diverges  northeasterly  from  the 
east  shore  of  Buzzards  bay.  It  has  long  been  known  as  the  Nye 
Neighborhood.  Freeman  says  that  the  first  grant  of  land  was  two 
hundred  acres  or  less  to  John  and  Ebenezer  Nye  in  1689;  but  the  late 
Joshua  Nye  left  a  careful  record  of  his  ancestors'  title  here  fron  .J656, 
when  Elizabeth  Ellis  deeded  a  considerable  tract  to  John  and  Ebenezer,. 
sons  of  Ebenezer  Nye,  which  title,  he  says,  was  afterward  confirmed 
by  the  colonial  government.  From  Barber's  Historical  Collection  it 
appears  that  Benjamin  Noye  (Nye)  was  among  some  fifty  or  sixty 
emigrant  families  from  Europe  to  Saugus,  Mass.,  in  1636;  and  later 
was  one  of  those  who  removed  to  Sandwich  and  became  a  progenitor 
of  the  branch  of  the  family  here.  Probably  the  first  house  built  here 
was  by  Ebenezer  Nye,  on  what  is  known  as  "  Wicker  Tree  Field." 
An  Indian  burial  place  was  on  a  hill  by  Flax  pond,  one-fourth  mile 
west  of  the  present  residence  of  Francis  A.  Nye. 

Rural  pursuits  have  been  the  principal  resource  of  the  people, 
although  several  of  the  largest  estates  here  now  have  come  directly 
or  indirectly  from  the  sea.  At  one  time  Warren  Nye,  and  his  brothers. 
Prince,  Benjamin,  John  and  Ebenezer,  were  interested  in  salt  works 
near  the  cranberry  bog  of  Hiram  E.  Small.  There  were  other  places 
where  salt  was  manufactured,  farther  north,  near  the  old  wharf, 
generally  known  as  "  Stephen  Nye's  Wharf."  Those  engaged  were 
the  brothers  Stephen,  James,  Samuel  and  Francis  Nye. 

About  1812  Ebenezer  Nye,  at  his  own  expense,  opened  a  place  here 
to  receive  and  distribute  mail,  which  he  transmitted  once  a  week,  and 
received  a  fee  from  the  people  accommodated.  Their  mail  was 
addressed  Falmouth.  On  the  30th  of  January,  1817,  the  post  office 
was  established,  with  him  as  postmaster.  He  was  followed  in  office 
thirty  one  years  later  by  Ferdinand  G.  Nye,  the  present  incumbent. 
F.  G.  Nye,  who  has  been  in  business  here  since  1840,  has  now  the  only 
store  in  the  place.  He  was  born  in  1816.  His  father,  Warren,  was  a 
son  of  John  and  grandson  of  Benjamin  Nye. 

Megansett  Hall,  recently  built  by  private  subscription,  at  a  cost  of 
$2,500,  furnishes  a  suitable  place  for  public  gatherings.  The  other 
public  buildings  are  the  Congregational  church  and  a  neat  school 
building. 

Quissett  is  a  name  applied  to  the  harbor  and  its  vicinity,  which 


TOWN   OF  FALMOUTH.  677 

originally  bore  the  appellation  of  Quamquissett,  situated  one  mile 
north  of  Woods  Holl  on  Buzzards  bay.  In  1691  Moses  Rowley  took 
lands  and  settled  here.  He  was  the  third  deputy  from  Falmouth 
to  the  colonial  legislature.  Most  of  the  early  residents  were  en- 
gaged in  marine  pursuits,  and  before  any  vessels  were  built  at 
Woods  Holl  shipbuilding  was  an  important  industry  here.  Barney 
Marchant  was  a  substantial  man  of  the  period,  and  later.  Among 
the  vessels  built  here  were  the  brigs  Victory  and  Enterprise,  the  bark 
Union,  and  the  sloop  Susannah. 

Salt  was  made  here  by  Barney  Marchant,  Francis  Davis,  Dea. 
Thomas  Fish,  Prince  Jenkins,  Braddock  GifTord,  Lemuel  Eldred, 
Samuel  Hammond,  and  others.  The  vessels  built  here  were  launched 
-south  of  Joseph  C.  Fish's,  where  the  stone  wharf  is.  Deacon  Jenk- 
ins was  a  ship  carpenter  here.  Braddock  GiflFord's  house,  an  old- 
fashioned  farm  building  with  shed  roof  nearly  to  the  ground,  stood 
where,  in  1830,  he  built  the  present  residence  of  Thomas  Fish.  Mr. 
•Gifford  was  blacksmith  to  the  .shipbuilders,  and  when  the  business 
was  removed  to  Woods  Holl  he  continued  it  there,  where  he  built, 
in  1833,  the  third  house  on  Bar  neck.  Dea.  Thomas  Fish  was  a 
prominent  factor  in  the  progress  of  Quissett.  The  Quissett  Harbor 
House,  which  George  W.  Fish  has,  since  1880,  made  a  popular  sum- 
mer hotel,  is  the  property  of  Stephen  W.  Carey,  of  New  York.  A  part 
of  the  house  is  the  former  residence  of  Deacon  Jenkins,  and  a  part 
was  the  house  of  Isaiah  Hammond.  Before  they  were  united  Prince 
Jenkins  and  his  wife — daughter  of  Dea.  Thomas  Fish — entertained 
summer  guests  twenty-five  years  ago.  The  house,  now  leased  by  Mr. 
Fish,  has  accommodations  for  seventy-five  guests,  The  location  is 
considered  the  most  desirable  in  this  vicinitv. 

In  1879,  February  tenth,  a  post  office  was  established  here,  with 
George  W.  Fish  as  postmaster.  He  was  then  a  grocer,  but  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1886,  he  was  succeeded  by  Myron  C.  Johnson,  who  has  since 
been  his  deputy, 

Quissett  had  at  one  time  the  largest  school  uf  the  town,  except 
that  in  Falmouth  village;  but  its  relative  importance,  except  as  a 
summer  resort,  has  declined. 

Between  Falmouth  village  and  Waquoit,  on  the  post  road,  are 
the  two  small  hamlets,  Teticket  and  East  Falmouth.  The  latter  is 
a  post  village  containing  a  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  one 
store.  The  first  postmaster  was  John  Robinson,  who  was  succeeded 
after  his  death,  January  3,  1855,  by  his  son,  John  H.  Robinson,  who 
kept  the  office  in  his  store.  The  next  was  Ephraim  Crocker,  who 
removed  the  office  to  the  Union  store,  where  it  has  since  been  kept. 
His  successors  have  been  Joshua  W.  Davis,  Leander  Baker  and  H. 
L.  Davis. 


678  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

At  East  Falmouth  a  circulating  library  was  established  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1877,  by  Mrs.  C.  M.  Baker,  at  her  residence.  Each  of  these 
hamlets  has  a  public  school,  and  at  Teticket  is  a  hardware  and  tin- 
shop. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

Lewis  Baker,  born  in  1827,  son  of  Edmund  and  grandson  of  Na- 
thaniel Baker,  has  been  a  merchant  in  Waquoit  since  1859.  He 
married  Emma  B.  Holmes  of  this  town.  Their  family  of  five  child- 
ren are:  Lewis  W.,  Edwin  J.,  Hiram  C,  Bertha  M.  and  Merton  D. 
Baker.     This  Nathaniel  Baker  was  originally  of  Yarmouth. 

Newell  E.  Baker,  brother  of  Lewis,  was  born  in  1845.  His  place 
at  Waquoit  is  the  homestead  of  Captain  Jarvis  Bourne.  His  wife, 
Lizzie  J.  E.,  is  a  daughter  of  Captain  Micajah  Fisher.  Their  child- 
ren are:  Florence  M.,  Alice  M.  and  Walter  N.  Baker. 

Mayhew  Baker,  son  of  Edmund  and  grandson  of  Nathaniel  Baker, 
was  born  at  Davisville  in  1822.  He  was  appointed  keeper  of  the 
Falmouth  almshouse  in  1869,  and  has  been  reappointed  annually 
since.  He  gave  up  his  position  in  1890  on  account  of  ill  health. 
His  wife.  Temperance  Davis,  is  a  daughter  of  Oliver  Davis,  grand- 
daughter of  Prince  Davis  and  great-granddaughter  of  Ichabod  Davis. 
Their  three  children  are:  Annie  M.  (Mrs.  Herbert  H.  Lawrence), 
Herman  E.  Baker  and  Alberta  H.  Baker. 

Captain  Nehemiah  P.  Baker,  of  Teticket,  a  retired  whaleman, 
seems  to  have  inherited  a  love  for  the  pursuit,  as  his  long  years  on 
ship,  and  the  calling  of  his  ancestors  would  indicate.  His  father, 
Braddock  Baker,  was  a  successful  coasting  captain,  and  his  grand- 
father, Barnabas,  was  a  master  in  the  whaling  avocation,  all  from  Fal- 
mouth, where  Captain  Nehemiah  has  chosen  to  rest  from  his  labors. 
He  was  born  October  10,  1823,  and  at  the  age  of  thirteen  he  went  be- 
fore the  mast  in  the  ship  John  Adams.  He  made  two  voyages  in  this 
capacity,  and  on  his  third  was  advanced  to  boat-steerer.  On  his 
fourth  voyage  he  went  as  third  oflficer,  and  as  first  on  the  fifth  voyage, 
in  1847.  He  became  master  of  the  Gen.  Pike  in  1850,  and  in  that  posi- 
tion afterward  successfully  commanded  the  Nimrod,  the  William  Gifford 
and  the  Rainbow,  on  long  voyages  of  four  years  each.  Other  vessels  of 
which  he  had  command  on  shorter  trips,  were  the  Marengo,  Coral  and  the 
Mary  and  Susati.  The  vessels  were  all  full-rigged,  first-class  whalers 
except  the  William  Gifford,  which  was  bark-rigged,  and  the  Marengo, 
which  was  a  merchantman,  and  in  which  he  transported  a  general 
cargo  to  San  Francisco. 

For  the  thirty-four  years  he  was  a  whaleman  he  never  lost  a  man 
overboard  nor  had  one  fall  from  aloft,  and  although  daring  in  his  na- 
ture and  exposed  to  all  the  dangers  consequent  upon  the  vocation,  he 


^^^ 


PRINT. 
E.     BIERSTAOT, 


TOWN  OF  FALMOUTH.  679 

encountered  no  serious  accident.  One  of  his  men,  in  the  same  boat 
with  himself,  lost  a  limb,  the  loss  of  blood  causing  death  before  the 
ship  could  be  reached;  the  man  was  at  the  oar,  and  the  line  that  was 
being  run  rapidly  out  by  a  whale  became  coiled  around  the  limb, 
amputating  it. 

In  1871  the  captain  retired  from  active  service,  but  subsequently 
,  made  four  trips  to  the  Pacific  to  take  the  command  of  vessels  in  the 
interest  of  the  owners  or  underwriters,  and  these  missions  were  satis- 
factorily conducted.     His  ships  were  made  in  J^ew  England,  and  he 
owned  and  retained  a  share  in  each  of  them. 

He  married  Thankful  R.  Fish,  daughter  of  Francis  Fish,  and  a  de- 
scendant of  an  old  historic  family.  Their  children  are:  Charles  S., 
who  married  Josephine  Cameron,  of  Prince  Edward's  Island;  Mary 
F.,  wife  of  Dr.  Darius  L.  Powe,  of  Falmouth;  Nellie  B.,  born  in  New 
Zealand,  and  wife  of  James  A.  Darling,  of  East  Greenwich,  R.  I.,  and 
Jessie  B.,  wife  of  Joseph  C.  Fish,  jr.,  of  Quissett.  Mrs.  Fish  was  the 
first  of  the  children  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  the  grandparents  with  a 
grandchild. 

The  captain,  although  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  most  conspicu- 
ous and  important  families  of  the  Cape,  went  to  sea  too  early  to  gain 
even  the  education  attainable  then,  but  the  forecastle,  in  after  years, 
found  him  a  diligent  student  and  an  accomplished  seaman.  The 
greatest  trial  he  has  encountered  in  the  voyage  of  life  has  been  from 
the  use  of  alcoholic  drinks  by  his  friends,  and  so  warm  is  his  heart 
and  humane  his  principles  that  he  has  determined  to  fight  rum  in  de- 
fense of  his  fellow  beings.  He  has  espoused  the  cause  of  the  prohi- 
bition party  as  the  best  way  to  effect  this  purpose,  and  he  is  the  first 
in  its  ranks.  His  motto  is  "  Never  give  up  the  ship,"  and  as  long  as 
the  principles  of  that  party  have  a  tendency  to  annihilate  the  evil,  or 
until  a  better  course  is  laid  down  on  the  chart  of  his  manly  heart,  be 
will  be  a  master  in  that  line.  He  is  not  a  follower  of  any  particular 
religious  sect,  but  his  works  and  life  are  actuated  by  the  most  vital 
and  important  principles  of  the  Christian  faith.  His  anchor  is  "  Do 
as  you  would  be  done  by,"  and  so  deeply  is  it  imbedded  in  good  soil 
that  no  gales  of  life  can  drag  it  and  cast  the  stately  vessel  upon  dan- 
gerous rocks  or  shoals. 

Christopher  G.  Bearse,  bom  in  Teticket  in  1822,  is  a  son  of  Daniel, 
born  in  Barnstable  in  1781,  and  grandson  of  Daniel  Bearse.  When 
just  eighteen  years  of  age  he  began  work  as  ship-cooper  in  Woods 
Holl,and  continued  in  the  business  there  while  ship-building  was  car- 
ried on.  Since  then  he  has  worked  in  New  Bedford.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  republican  party  since  its  organization.  His  first  wife 
was  a  daughter  of  Captain  Joseph  Hatch,  of  Woods  Holl.  She  died, 
leaving  one  child,  Martha,  now  Mrs.  John  Coats,  who  lives  in  Texas. 


680  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Mr.  Bearse's  present  wife  is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Job  Taber  of  Fair- 
haven.    They  have  one  daughter,  Charity  (Mrs.  J.  K.  P.  Purdum). 

Crocker  H.  Bearse,  born  in  1810,  is  a  son  of  Moses  and  grandson  of 
Gershom  Bearse,  who  formerly  resided  in  Hyannis,  dying  there  about 
1838.  Crocker  H.  married  Susan  Eldridge  (deceased).  His  present 
wife,  Maria  T.,  is  a  daughter  of  Ichabod  Childs  and  the  widow  of  David 
G.  Pierce.  Mr.  Bearse  settled  in  Waquoit  in  1832,  and  worked  at  shoe- 
making  several  years.  He  was  twenty-nine  years  merchant  and  post- 
master, two  years  deputy  sheriff,  and  a  constable  of  the  town  for  at 
least  thirty  years.  In  1876  he  was  an  independent  candidate  for  the 
legislature  to  represent  Sandwich  and  Falmouth,  and  was  elected  by 
about  fifty  majority.  He  has  been  an  oflBcer  in  Marine  Lodge,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M. 

Benjamin  S.  Bowerman,  bom  in  1838,  is  a  son  of  Prince  G.,  whose 
father,  Daniel,  was  a  son  of  Barnabas  and  grandson  of  Daniel  Bower- 
man.  This  family  have  been  generally  farmers  for  several  genera- 
tions and  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends.  •  Benjamin's  wife  is 
Chloe  G.,  a  daughter  of  Prince  G.  Moore.  They  have  one  son,  Albert 
S.  Bowerman.  Prince  G.  Bowerman's  wife  was  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Charles  Swift. 

Daniel  Bowerman'(Barnabas',  Daniel',  Barnabas',  Daniel")  was  bom 
in  1832.  He  went  to  California  in  1864,  and  was  there  engaged  in 
mining  seven  years,  and  for  eight  years  did  carpentry  in  San  Fran- 
cisco. His  wife  (his  brother  Joshua's  widow)  was  Mary  J.  Buflfum, 
from  Maine.  She  died  January  2,  1887.  They  have  one  child.  Virtue 
R.,  a  girl  of  fourteen.  Daniel  Bowerman'  was  an  only  son  and  owned 
the  farm  and  house,  near  West  Falmouth,  where  this  grandson,  Daniel, 
now  lives. 

Samuel  Bowerman,  one  of  the  eminent  lawyers  of  Massachusetts, 
was  a  grandson  of  Samuel  Bowerman  (son  of  Stephen),  who  lived  at 
West  Falmouth. 

Charles  H.  Burdick,  born  in  1852,  is  a  son  of  William  and  gfrandson 
of  Benjamin  Burdick.  He  followed  the  sea  three  years,  after  which 
he  worked  at  farming  about  three  years.  He  then,  in  1883,  learned 
the  house-carpenter  trade,  and  now  carries  on  an  extensive  business  in 
contracting  and  building,  employing  fifteen  or  more  men. 

Josiah  S.  Burgess'  (James',  Bangs',  in  revolution  1776;  Simeon', 
Joseph',  who  married  Thomasina  Bangs  of  Yarmouth;  John',  who 
married  Marj'  Worden  of  Yarmouth;  Thomas',  the  Pilgrim)  was  born 
in  1818.  His  first  wife  was  Susan  Collins  who  left  two  children:  J. 
Herbert  and  Helen  L.,  now  Mrs.  Albert  W.  Tobey  of  West  Falmouth. 
His  second  wife  was  Julia  Waters,  whom  he  married  December  8, 
1853.  He  was  married  in  1880  to  the  widow  of  Rev.  Benjamin  L. 
Sayer.  Mr.  Burgess  early  learned  blacksmithing  and  has  made  this 
his  business  through  life. 


TOWN  OF  FALMOUTH.  '  681 

Barzillai  C.  Cahoon.— As  you  ride  along  the  road  from  Falmouth 
to  East  Falmouth,  the  first  residence  on  the  left  on  entering  the  latter 
village  will  attract  your  attention  on  account  of  its  beauty  and  situa- 
tion. Thirty  years  ago  this  was  a  small  cottage  and  the  bank  in  front 
was  high  and  unsightly.  In  1859  the  subject  of  this  sketch  purchased 
the  farm,  graded  the  hill  into  a  fine  terraced  lawn,  and  transformed 
the  cottage  into  the  present  substantial  mansion.  The  surroundings 
are  complete,  and  the  residence  is  supplied  with  hot  and  cold  water. 
The  farm  has  undergone  the  same  magical  change  from  natural 
sterility  to  a  high  state  of  fertility,  and  all  by  the  industry  and 
thoroughness  of  the  owner,  Barzillai  C.  Cahoon.  He  removed  here 
from  Plymouth,  the  place  of  his  nativity,  and  his  business  in  life 
has  been  as  a  stock  dealer  and  drover.  He  purchased  and  sold 
stock  of  all  kinds  not  only  on  the  Cape,  at  Nantucket  and  the  Vine- 
yard, but  shipped  by  the  carload  from  thfe  Western  states.  In  1861, 
in  connection  with  the  other  business,  he  began  to  supply  the  people 
with  fre>h  meat,  and  was  the  first  to  attempt  to  supply  the  people  in 
the  winter;  but.  his  business  grew  to  that  extent  that  he  kept  four 
-wagons  on  the  road  constantly  and  two  as  extras. 

He  was  born  January  21,  1830,  and  was  the  son  of  Samuel,  whose 
father  was  Stephen  Cahoon— all  of  Plymouth.  The  wife  of  Barzillai 
Cahoon  was  Mary  D.,  daughter  of  Josiah  Jones  of  Waquoit,  and  a 
sister  of  I.  T.  Jones  of  Sandwich.  Their  children  are:  Frederick  A., 
-who  married  Hattie  Stone  of  Plymouth;  Clara  E.,  the  wife  of  T.  P.  S. 
Phinney  of  Waquoit;  George  H.,  who  married  Lydia  Tripp  of  West- 
port;  Mary  A.,  the  wife  of  E.  E.  C.  Swift,  jr.,  of  Falmouth;  Ina  T.  and 
Abbie  R.,  who  reside  at  home. 

Mr.  Cahoon  has  been  engaged  in  the  culture  of  cranberries  for  the 
past  twelve  years,  having  given  up  his  former  business  in  1879.  Like 
other  business  enterprises  that  engaged  his  attention, he  makes  farm- 
ing a  success.  He  mostly  uses  in  his  bogs  the  Early  Black  vine  and 
£n_ds  an  early  and  ready  market.  He  recently  sold  one  crop  of  eight 
hundred  barrels  of  cranberries  at  an  average  price  of  eight  dollars 
per  barrel  when  other  varieties  were  comparatively  of  no  value. 

Although  conversant  with  the  affairs  .of  state  and  being  prominent 
in  the  ranks  of  the  dominant  party,  he  has  ever  declined  any  ofl&ce  of 
importance  that  would  interfere  with  the  routine  of  his  business.  He 
could  not  sacrifice  too  much  from  his  own  duties  to  fill  positions  that 
others  could  as  acceptably.  He  is  well  and  prominently  known 
throughout  the  county  by  his  extensive  dealings  and  uniform  up- 
rightness. His  choice  in  sacred  affairs  is  that  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church,  to  the  material  support  of  which  he  is  a  cheerful  donor, 
and  the  teachings  of  which  have  been  the  fundamental  principles  of 
an  extensive  relation  with  his  fellow  being.     He  is  at  the  head  of  a 


682  HISTORY  OF  barnstablt:  county. 

class  of  mercantile  men  of  whom  there  are  but  a  few  in  retirement; 
and  the  same  industry  and  neatness  is  as  marked  in  his  farming" 
operations.  A  view  of  his  fine  residence,  when  the  passer-by  enquires 
"  Whose  is  it?"  or  the  accompanying  sketch  will  be  an  earnest  that 
the  entire  cultivated  farm  of  Mr.  Cahoon  is  a  corresponding  monu- 
ment to  his  energy  and  good  taste. 

William  W.  Chadwick,  born  in  1820,  is  a  son  of  ThacherChadwick,. 
who  died  in  1850,  and  a  grandson  of  Barnabas  Chadwick,  who  was 
born  in  1765  and  died  in  1838.  Thacher  Chadwick  was  a  soldier  in 
the  war  of  1812,  and  his  widow  received  a  pension.  In  early  life  Mr. 
Chadwick  engaged  in  ship  and  house  building,  but  is  now  a  farmer. 
His  first  wife,  Harriet  N.,  was  a  daughter  of  Isaiah  Hatch.  At  her 
death  she  left  one  son,  Willard  N.,  and  one  daughter,  Mary  P.  (Mrs. 
George  H.  Turner).  Mr.  Chadwick 's  second  wife.  Hannah  R.,  is  a 
daughter  of  Frederick  Davis.  Their  children  are:  Hattie  F.  (Mrs. 
William  B.  Dillingham),  and  Annie  W.  Chadwick. 

Frederick  N.  Childs,  born  in  1834,  is  a  son  of  Ichabod  H.,  grandson 
of  Joseph  and  great-grandson  of  Joseph  Childs.  His  mother  was 
Rebecca  R.  Phinney.  From  the  time  he  was  fifteen  years  old  until 
1863  he  was  engaged  in  whaling;  was  mate  with  Xenophen  Rich,  of 
Provincetown.  He  is  now  engaged  in  farming.  His  wife  was  Mary 
A.,  daughter  of  Philander  Crocker,  of  Richmond,  Indiana.  They  have 
one  son,  Granville  N.  P.  Childs. 

William  Childs'  (Thomas',  born  1799;  Joseph*,  born  1775;  Joseph', 
bom  1760;  Joseph", born  1724;  Joseph', born  1699;  Richard'.bom  1649;) 
was  born  in  1825,  and  died  in  1889.  From  his  eighteenth  year  until 
1874  he  followed  the  sea,  being  master  of  whaling'  vessels  the  last 
twenty  years.  One  of  his  vessels  was  captured  and  burned  by  Captain 
Semms  in  1861,  and  was  paid  for  through  the  Geneva  Arbitration. 
Captain  Childs'  wife  is  Laura  A.,  daughter  of  Thomas  Hamblin.  Their 
four  children  are:  Annie  E.,  Alice  L.,  a  teacher,  William  A.  and  Eliza 
W.  The  oldest  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Ignatius  Sargent,  a  native  of 
Philadelphia,  now  living,  retired,  at  Waquoit. 

George  E.  Clarke. — Among  the  agencies  that  have  perceptibly 
shaped  or  influenced  the  history  or  this  town,  a  decided  place  must 
be  accorded  to  the  character  and  services  of  George  Ellery  Clarke. 
Born  in  1822  at  Needham,  now  Wellesley,  and  receiving  a  liberal  edu- 
cation, he  came  to  Falmouth  in  1852,  a  graduate  of  Williams  College, 
to  take  charge  of  Lawrence  Academy  as  its  principal.  He  brought 
into  this  service  not  only  a  lively  interest  in  classical  and  general 
learning,  which  was  quick  to  inspire  a  hearty  zest  for  scholarship  in 
his  pupils,  but  also  a  moral  earnestness  based  on  Christian  life,  which 
elevated  the  motives  and  aspirations  of  several  young  men  who  are 
now  among  the  foremost  factors  of  the  character  and  reputation  of 


TOWN  OF  FALMOUTH.  683^ 

Falmouth.  It  is  in  his  share  of  the  moral  and  mental  shaping  of  the 
present  manhood  of  Falmouth  as  a  teacher,  that  he  stands  most  clearly 
as  a  history-maker  for  the  town.  He  lives  to  see  the  faithful  and 
earnest  endeavor  of  those  eleven  best  years  of  the  prime  of  life,  which 
were  given  to  the  principalship  of  Lawrence  Academy,  reproduce- 
many  fold  in  useful  lives  here  and  elsewhere. 

In  1863  he  acted  as  cashier  of  Falmouth  Bank  for  six  months,  and 
afterwards  for  nine  years  honorably  filled  the  position  of  chief  clerk 
in  the  lighthouse  department  in  Boston.  Returning  to  Falmouth  in 
1873,  he  became  cashier  of  the  Falmouth  National  Bank,  and  for  six- 
teen years  afterwards  diligently  conducted  the  growing  interests  of 
this  institution. 

But  during  his  long  course  of  business  life,  his  hold  has  not  been 
lost  on  the  higher  interests  of  the  community.  A  member  of  the 
school  committee  for  three  periods  comprising  nine  years  of  intelligent 
service,  he  was  assiduous  in  shaping  the  school-system  of  Falmouth 
into  a  manifestly  improved  condition,  and  placing  it  under  proper 
superintendency.  During  most  of  the  periods  of  his  residence  in  the 
town  since  1859,  the  religious  basis  of  his  interest  in  the  community 
has  been  acknowledged  in  his  position  as  deacon  in  the  Congrega- 
tional church.  And  his  personal  efforts  for  the  enlightenment  and 
help  of  the  public,  by  numerous  lectures  and  speeches  on  economical 
and  political  questions,  have  been  recognized  in  various  parts  of  the 
town  as  instructive  and  substantial. 

During  the  period  of  his  principalship  in  the  Academy  he  was- 
married  to  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Shiverick,  a  descendant  of  the  first 
pastor  in  the  church  at  Falmouth.  Their  only  son  is  Lewis  F.  Clarke, 
the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Falmouth  Local.  Mr.  Clarke  was; 
elected  to  the  state  legislature  as  a  republican  in  1889. 

Seth  Collins,  born  in  1821,  is  a  son  of  Benajah  and  Rebecca  (Bax- 
ter) Collins.  Benajah  was  a  brother  of  Seth  Collins  of  Chatham,  and 
a  son  of  Samuel  Collins.  At  fourteen  years  of  age  Captain  Seth  went 
to  sea,  which  he  followed  until  1868,  during  -which  time  he  became  a 
successful  master  mariner.  His  first  wife  was  Diana  P.  Jones,  who 
died  leaving  one  daughter,  Eliza  J.,  now  Mrs.  Harrison  G.  Phinney  of 
Cotuit.  His  present  wife,  Mary,  is  a  daughter  of  Allen  Crocker. 
Their  children  are:  Simeon  D.,  Willie  A.,  Ida  R.  and  Benajah  B.  Col- 
lins. 

John  H.  Crocker,  bom  in  1857,  is  a  son  of  Allen  Crocker,  born  in 
West  Barnstable,  grandson  of  Ansel  and  great-grandson  of  John- 
Crocker  of  Barnstable.  He  is  largely  interested  in  cranberry  culture 
in  Falmouth,  being  manager  for  a  company — in  which  he  is  a  large 
stockholder — which  owns  nearly  fifty  acres  of  valuable  bog  lands 
here. 


684  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Albert  F.  Crowell,  son  of  Joshua,  1802-1884,  and  grandson  of 
Joshua  Crowell,  who  was  lost  in  Plymouth  bay  in  1804,  was  born  in 
North  Falmouth  in  1836,  and  married  Franklin  Nye's  daughter,  Char- 
lotte R.,  who  died  in  1885.  Mr.  Crowell's  farm  contains  the  site  of  an 
early  residence  of  Solomon  Nye,  whereon  was  built,  probably  in  1772, 
the  present  residence  of  Mr.  Crowell. 

Charles  E.  Davis  was  born  in  this  town  in  1843.  He  followed  the 
sea  for  several  years,  enlisted  in  the  United  States  navy  in  1862  and 
served  one  year.  He  again  went  to  sea  and  in  1866  was  commander 
of  a  vessel.  He  is  now  located  at  Woods  Holl,  where  he  deals  in  wood 
and  coal.  He  is  principally  engaged  in  wrecking,  a  business  of  con- 
.siderable  importance,  formerly  carried  on  under  the  name  of  the 
Woods  Holl  Wrecking  Company. 

Frederick  Davis,  once  the  postmaster  at  Falmouth,  was,  during 
the  first  third  of  this  century,  one  of  the  principal  merchants  of  the 
village.  He  was  a  native  of  Barnstable,  but  was  married  and  settled 
in  Falmouth.  He  was  a  tailor  by  trade  and  for  years  was  secretary  of 
the  Masonic  lodge  here.  Henry  H.  and  Andrew  J.  Davis  of  Boston 
are  his  sons. 

Frederick  C.  Davis,  born  August  12, 1866,  is  a  son  of  Israel  B.  Davis, 
who  was  born  in  Davisville,  where  his  father  Job,  son  of  Thomas,  then 
lived.  Frederick  C.  twelve  years  since  located  oyster  beds  on  the  neck 
west  of  Waquoit  bay.  Beginning  with  but  seventy-five  cents,  he  has 
built  up  the  principal  oyster  business  of  this  section.  His  oyster  beds 
here  and  on  Buzzards  bay  amount  to  about  two  hundred  acres.  He 
has  been  interested  in  sheep  raising  two  years.  He  is  married  to 
Susan  B.  Hammond. 

George  H.  Davis,  son  of  Nymphas,  grandson  of  Joseph  and  great- 
grandson  of  Joseph  Davis,  was  born  in  1841.  His  wife  is  Emma  E. 
Sanborn,  from  Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  formerly  a  teacher  here. 
They  have  one  child,  Alma  L.  Mr.  Davis  has  been  variously  engaged 
as  cattle  dealer,  contractor,  real  estate  solicitor  and  farmer.  He  is 
serving  his  fourth  term  as  overseer  of  the  poor  of  Falmouth,  and  has 
held  other  minor  oflSces. 

Henry  T.  Davis,  born  in  Woods  Holl  in  1838,  is  a  son  of  Thomas 
G.  Davis,  whose  father,  Jabez,  born  1766,  was  a  son  of  Solomon,  born 
1720,  and  a  grandson  of  Jabez  and  Annah  (Wicks)  Davis,  all  of  whom 
have  been  residents  of  Falmouth.  Thomas  G.  Davis  was  born  May 
15,  1808,  and  died  March  14, 1877.  He  was  married  in  1836,  to  Mahala 
E.,  daughter  of  Josiah  and  Rebecca  Eldridge.  She  was  born  Septem- 
ber 17,  1809,  and  died  April  8,  1890.  Their  children  were:  Mary  B., 
Henry  T.,  Lydia  B.,  Georgianna,  Josiah  E.,  Rebecca  E.  and  Thomas 
G.,  jr.  Henry  T.  volunteered  as  an  officer  in  the  navy,  October  1, 
1863,  and  served  until  August  7, 1867.  He  followed  the  sea  as  a  whale- 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH. 


685 


man  until  1874.  In  the  spring  of  1875  he  began  a  grocery  business 
in  Woods  Holl,  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Davis  &  Hamblin,  and  was 
burned  out  in  1877.  In  1879  he  opened  his  present  market,  the  prin- 
cipal one  at  Woods  Holl.  He  was  married  March  1,  1875,  in  Port- 
land, Me.,  to  Mary,  daughter  of  Willard  and  Margery  Clapp.  They 
have  had  four  children:  Georgianna  C,  Walter  G.,  G.  Willard  and 
Henry  T.,  jr. 

James  H.  Davis  of  Quissett  was  born  in  1831.  His  father,  John 
Davis,  was  a  son  of  John  Davis  (son  of  Solomon)  who  lived  in  an  old 
house  on  the  place  now  owned  by  James  H.  Mrs.  James  H.  Davis  is 
Hattie,  daughter  of  Sanford  Herendeen,  who,  with  the  exception  of 
Christopher  G.  Bearse,  is  the  only  survivor  of  all  the  men  engaged  in 
the  building  and  fitting  of  whaling  ships  from  Woods  Holl.  Mr. 
Davis'  family  consists  of  three  children:  Etta  L.,  Alonzo  O.  H.  and 
Theodore  L.     His  business  is  farming. 

Samuel  F.  Davis  was  born  in  1833.  His  father,  Francis  Davis,  was 
a  soldier  and  pensioner  of  the  war  of  1812,  and  his  grandfather,  Francis 
Davis,  was  a  former  resident  of  Quissett.  At  sixteen  years  of  age  Mr. 
Davis  went  to  sea,  and  in  1865  was  master  of  a  vessel.  He  returned 
from  his  last  voyage— whaling— in  1885.  In  1888  he,  with  Rowland  R. 
Jones,  bought  the  coal  business  of  George  E.  Clarke,  and  in  April, 
1889,  Mr.  Davis  purchased  his  partner's  interest  and  is  now  sole  owner 
of  the  business.  His  wife  is  Salome  E.,  daughter  of  Stephen  Davis. 
They  have  six  children,  three  of  whom  were  born  on  the  island  of  St. 
Helena. 

William  C.  Davis  was  born  in  1854.  His  father, Samuel  P., born  in 
1809,  died  in  1888;  was  a  son  of  Solomon  Davis,  and  a  grandson  of 
Solomon  Davis.  Mr.  Davis,  in  1885,  began  at  Falmouth  a  furniture 
business,  to  which  he  soon  added  undertaking,  a  business  which  his 
father  and  grandfather  had  carried  on  before  him.  In  1889  he  erected 
a  substantial  block  in  Falmouth  village,  where  his  prosperous  business 
is  now  located. 

Stephen  Dillingham,  1799-1871,  was  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Esther 
(Rogers)  Dillingham  (married  in  1795),  and  a  grandson  of  Ignatius  and 
Elizabeth  Dillingham,  each  of  whom  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety-six. 
Stephen  was  a  merchant  in  Falmouth  with  his  brothers,  Reuben  and 
Abram,  from  1830  to  1835.  He  subsequently  ran  coast  sloops  suc- 
cessfully for  a  time,  and  was  also  connected  with  the  glass  company  at 
Falmouth,  as  before  noticed.  His  wife,  Elizabeth,  is  a  sister  of  James 
E.  Gifford.  Their  family  were:  James  T.,  a  manufacturer  at  She- 
boygan, Wis.,  who  died  April  15, 1889:  Hannah  G.  (Mrs.  George  Plum- 
mer)  and  Henry,  who  was  drowned  in  Sacramento  river  in  1859. 

One  of  Stephen  Dillingham's  sisters,  now  living  at  Lynn,  Mass., 
married  Jonathan  Boyce,  now  deceased.     Their  only  son,  Gilbert  R 


•6S6  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Boyce,  married  Annie  R.,  daughter  of  Silas  and  granddaughter  of 
Silas  and  Phebe  ("Palmer)  Giflford  of  Falmouth.  Their  home  was  at 
West  Falmouth,  where  Gilbert  R.  Boyce  died  May  26, 1882,  leaving  one 
:son,  James  A.  Boyce,  now  in  business  there. 

George  W.  Donaldson,  a  son  of  Doctor  Donaldson  mentioned  at 
•page  226,  had  nine  children,  one  of  whom,  Hugh  G.  Donaldson,  died 
here  in  1876,  leaving  Alice,  now  bookkeeper  in  the  Falmouth  National 
Bank,  and  John  F.  Donaldson,  who  was  born  here  in  1858,  and  who 
now  carries  on  an  ice  business  of  about  1,000  tons  annually,  which  his 
father  began  here  about  seventeen  years  ago.  George  W.  Donaldson 
was  a  prominent  man  here  in  his  time.  He  served  as  deputy  sheriff, 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  frequently  as  executor  of  wills. 

Dea.  Lorenzo  Eldred,  1816-1888,  was  a  son  of  Captain  William, 
1780-1859,  grandson  of  Captain  Lemuel,  1751-1842,  and  great-grandson 
of  Jehosophat  Eldred.  Lorenzo  Eldred  was  a  deacon  in  the  Congre- 
gational church  at  Falmouth  about  twenty-three  years,  and  was  also 
Sunday  school  superintendent  several  years.  Always  a  farmer,  he 
owned  at  his  death  two  hundred  acres  of  the  original  Lemuel  Eldred 
tract,  which  was  inherited  by  his  only  heir,  Charles  H.  Eldred,  who 
now  occupies  it  with  the  deacon's  widow.  She  was  Mercy  F.  Grew. 
They  were  married  in  1845. 

Samuel  Eldred,  of  North  Falmouth,  was,  in  June,  1889,  the  oldest 
man  living  in  this  town.  He  was  born  February  13,  1796,  followed 
the  sea  in  the  southern  trade,  and  from  the  age  of  twenty-one  was  for 
fifteen  years  commander  of  vessels.  His  faiher,  Samuel,  a  revolution- 
ary soldier,  was  a  son  of  Lemuel,  and  grandson  of  Jehosophat  Eldred, 
who,  in  1731,  having  come  from  England,  bought,  at  North  Falmouth, 
of  Isaac  Green,  "the  14th  and  15th  Lotts  in  the  allotment."  Captain 
Eldred's  house  is  on  this  purchase.  It  was  erected  about  1790,  by 
Thomas  Eldred,  the  captain's  uncle.  Captain  Eldred's  brother,  Wil- 
lian,  married  Patience  F.,  sister  of  Dea.  Lorenzo  Eldred.  They  have 
one  son,  Edwin  A.,  in  Minneapolis,  and  one,  William  H.  Eldred,  who 
was  born  in  1833,  and  in  1852  removed  to  Worcester,  Mass.,  where  he 
has  a  wife  and  two  children:    Arthur  W.  and  Marion  F. 

Eliel  T.  Fish,  born  in  Sandwich,  in  1830,  is  a  son  of  Elihu,  and 
grandson  of  James  Fish,  of  Sandwich,  who  died  prior  to  1830.  Eliel's 
parents  removed  to  Woods  Holl  in  1836.  When  he  was  seventeen 
years  of  age  he  went  to  sea,  which  business  he  followed  until  1876, 
being  captain  of  whale  ships  twelve  years.  Since  1876  he  has  kept  a 
grocery  store  at  Woods  Holl,  and  at  the  death  of  Owen  Eldridge,  in 
1880,  he  succeeded  him  as  postmaster,  a  position  which  he  occupied 
until  May,  1889.     He  married  Harriet  O.  Davis. 

Joseph  Crowell  Fish,  of  Quissett,  is  the  descendant  of  a  long  line 
•of  ancestry,  who  have  materially  assisted  in  the  settkmcnt,  growth 


PH010  et  HQOoooN 


FALMOUTH,    MAS& 


5^_^^     ^  '^W^ 


PWINt. 
C.     BIERSTAOT.     N.     V, 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.  687 

and  present  stability  of  Falmouth.  His  grandfather,  Samuel  Fish, 
born  in  1734,  married  Sarah  Dimmick.  He  was  a  patriot  of  the  revo- 
lution, and  nobly  did  his  duty.  He  died  in  1816,  honored  and  beloved. 
The  children  of  his  marriage  numbered  eight,  born  in  Falmouth. 

His  son,  Thomas  Fish,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
born  December  28,  1762.  He  served  in  the  revolutionary  war  while  a 
young  man.  On  the  tenth  of  December,  1788,  he  was  married  to  Su- 
sannah, daughter  of  David  and  Sarah  Crowell.  He  was  called  Deacon 
Fish  from  his  service  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  the  First  Congrega- 
tional church,  in  that  oflBce,  and  the  distinguished  symmetry  of  his 
Christian  life.  The  same  uprightness  marked  his  public  life,  and  it 
is  said  that  the  most  scrutinizing  eye  could  discover  no  defect.  He 
was  many  years  justice  of  the  peace,  twenty-one  years  in  the  legisla- 
ture, and  twenty  years  selectman  of  the  town,  besides  filling  other 
ofificial  trusts.  In  1802  a  company  was  formed  for  ship-building  at 
Quissett,  and  Deacon  Fish  was  appointed  its  agent,  which  business  he 
vigorously  prosecuted  for  ten  years,  launching  many  well  constructed 
crafts  His  children  were:  Cynthia,  born  October  29,  1791;  Celia, 
September  6,  1793;  Susan  E.,  July  8,  1795;  Milton,  July  31,  1799; 
Thomas,  October  29,  1802;  Joseph  Crowell,  August  11,  1804;  David 
W.,  April  2,  1807;  and  Henry  L.,  May  30,  1809.  Of  these,  Thomas  and 
Joseph  C,  the  only  surviving  sons,  reside  in  Quissett,  and  their  only 
living  sister,  Susan  E.,  the  widow  of  Prince  Jenkins,  resides  at  Fal- 
mouth. Thomas  has  three  surviving  sons:  Levi,  Allen  and  the  pop- 
ular hotel  proprietor,  George  W.  Fish.  Susan  has  two  sons:  Foster 
H.  Jenkins,  of  Vineyard  Haven,  and  Joseph  Jenkins,  of  Winona, 
Minn.  Cynthia,  one  of  the  deceased  sisters,  was  the  wife  of  the  late 
David  Lewis,  and  one  of  their  sons  is  H.  C.  Lewis,  of  Falmouth.  Celia 
Fish,  the  other  sister,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Dr.  Aaron  Cornish,  of 
Falmouth. 

Joseph  C.  Fish,  the  youngest,  married  Albinia  Daggett,  daughter 
of  Peter  Daggett,  a  descendant  of  an  illustrious  family  of  Marthas 
Vineyard.  They  were  married  August  15,  1839.  Their  children  are: 
Thomas  D.,  a  ship  broker  in  New  York  city,  who  married  Albina  Yale, 
of  Vineyard  Haven,  who  died  leaving  one  child,  Mary  Y.,  now  fifteen 
years  old;  Robert  L..  a  freight  broker  of  New  York  city;  and  Joseph 
C.  Fish,  jr.,  now  on  the  home  farm,  who  married  Jessie  B.  Baker,  and 
has'one  child,  named  Albinia  D. 

Mr.  Fish  has  lived  where  he  was  born,  in  sight  of  the  shipyard  and 
under  the  roof  honored  by  the  deeds  of  his  father,  and  has  preferred 
this  quiet  home  to  the  excitement  and  criticisms  of  a  public  life:  and 
although  urged  to  act  as  deacon  in  the  church  of  his  choice,  he  has 
always  modestly  declined.  Nevertheless,  he  has  proved  himself  a 
shining  light  in  the  First  Congregational  church,  which  he  has  mate- 


688  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

rially  aided  for  the  past  half  century.  He  has  ever  been  an  earnest 
worker  in  the  cause  of  temperance,  and  not  only  believes  that  his  ex- 
ample and  ballot  should  go  to  help  the  cause,  but  he  faithfully  follows 
his  convictions.  His  life  has  been  of  the  same  manly  bearing,  the 
same  meekness  and  the  same  noble  sensibilities,  day  by  day,  year  by 
year,  and  under  all  circumstances.  The  many  characteristics  of  his 
worthy  ancestry  have  been  repeated  in  history  and  tradition,  and  of 
these  Joseph  C.  Fish  is  the  true  representative.  His  own  life  of  over 
four  score  years,  marked  with  upright  living,  will  transmit  to  poster- 
ity and  leave  on  record  the  same  virtues. 

Joseph  F.  Fish'  (Isaac*,  James',  Rufus',  Roland')  was  born  in  1843. 
His  mother  was  Rhoda  R.,  a  daughter  of  Francis  Fish,  whose  father 
was  Rufus'.  Joseph  F.  learned  the  tinners'  trade  in  early  life  and 
has  made  that  his  principal  business.  He  located  a  shop  at  Teticket 
in  1866,  where  he  still  resides.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  Pherson,  of 
Maine. 

Solomon  L.  Fish,  son  of  Francis,  grandson  of  Rufus,  and  great- 
grandson  of  Roland  Fish,  was  born  here  in  1829.  He  learned  the 
masons'  trade,  and  was  for  about  thirteen  years  in  South  Braintree,. 
Mass.  His  wife  was  Mary  Webster  Deane,  of  South  Braintree.  They 
have  two  daughters:  Flora  R.  (Mrs.  Harry  Childs,  of  Wareham)  and 
Effie  L.  Fish,  at  home. 

Ezra  F.  Geggatt,  born  in  1862,  is  the  youngest  child  of  John,  a  son 
of  James  Geggatt,  whose  father  came  to  this  country  with  Lafayette, 
and  settled  in  Massachusetts.  John  Geggatt  located  between  Hatch- 
ville  and  West  Falmouth,  where  he  died  in  1879,  leaving  three  sons 
and  several  daughters.  His  wife  was  a  Miss  Fish.  Ezra  F.  followed 
whaling  from  1869  to  1871.  He  is  now  engaged  in  farming  and  has  a 
fine  apple  orchard,  from  which  in  one  year  he  gathered  eight  hundred 
bushels  of  apples. 

Rev.  Benjamin  Rowley  Giflford,  who  died  at  Woods  Holl  in  August, 
1889,  was  born  at  Quissett  in  1819,  and  was  ordained  as  an  Episcopal 
clergyman  in  1857.  Prior  to  his  retirement  in  1880,  he  was  rector  at 
Waterloo,  and  at  Ottumwa,  Ia.,Kewanie,  111.,  and  at  Ipswich,  Bridge- 
water  and  Natick,  Mass.  He  was  married  in  England  in  1873.  His 
father  was  Braddock  Gifford,  of  Quissett,  and  his  mother  was  Mary, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Rowley,  a  descendant  of  Moses  Rowley,  who 
was  at  Quissett  in  1691.  Braddock  Gifford  was  the  son  of  Ebenezer, 
who  was  one  of  the  thirteen  children  of  Christopher  Gifford  (1722- 
1801)  and  grandson  of  Josiah  and  Mary  (Chadwick)  Gifford.  This 
Josiah  was  the  grandson  of  Christopher  Gifford,  who  was  in  Teticket 
as  early  as  1690,  and  whose  father,  William  Gifford,  was  a  resident  of 
Sandwich  prior  to  1668,  in  which  year  he  removed  to  Falmouth.  Wil- 
liam Gifford  was  probably  a  son  of  Walter  Gifford,  who  in  1630  came 


TOWN   OF  FALMOUTH.  689 

from  England  to  Massachusetts  and  is  believed  to  be  the  ancestor  of 
all  who  bear  the  name  in  New  England.  Christopher  Gifford  of  Te- 
ticket  had  three  sons — Isaac,  Christopher  and  Enos— but  which  of 
them  is  Josiah's  father  is  not  certain. 

David  F.  Gifford,  son  of  Amasa  and  grandson  of  Mordecai  Giflford, 
an  early  Quaker  at  West  Falmouth,  was  born  in  West  Falmouth.  His 
wife  was  from  Falmouth.  They  have  two  sons:  John  N.,  who  is  in 
Australia,  if  living,  and  Seth  A.,  at  home,  who  is  interested  in  quar- 
rying and  contracting. 

Henry  F.  Gifford,  born  in  1818,  is  the  oldest  son  of  Asa  and  Han- 
nah (Bourne)  Gifford.  His  grandfather,  Jesse,  was  a  son  of  John  Gif- 
ford, who  at  an  early  day  built  a  house  near  the  present  residence  of 
Celia  Weeks,  on  the  West  Falmouth  road,  where  the  remains  of  the 
old  cellar  may  still  be  seen.  This  John  Gifford  died  in  1786.  Henry 
F.  went  whaling  when  but  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  followed  that 
business  until  1856,  when  he  bought  his  present  farm.  In  1861  he 
went  to  the  Pacific  coast,  but  since  1866  has  lived  here  somewhat 
retired,  cultivating  small  fruits  and  doing  some  cabinet  work.  His 
wife,  Harriet  H.,  is  a  daughter  of  John  Butler. 

James  E.  Gifford'  (Theophilus*,  1783-1852;  Zacheus',  William', 
William')  was  born  in  1832.  The  ancestor  of  this  family,  William, 
lived  and  died  where  James  E.  now  lives,  but  the  present  house  was 
built  by  William'.  James  E.,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  business 
here,  is  widely  known  as  a  Friend.  He  has  represented  this  district 
at  general  court  as  a  republican,  and  served  the  town  one  year  as 
selectman.  His  wife,  Eliza  A.,  is  a  daughter  of  Benjamin  Bowerman, 
of  St.  Albans,  Me.  They  have  had  two  children,  Benjamin  H.,  who 
died  in  1875,  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  Martha  J.,  at  home. 

Mrs.  Sophia  E.  Gould,  of  Falmouth,  is  the  only  surviving  child  of 
Ezra  Bourne,  who  came  to  Falmouth  prior  to  1825  from  Buzzards 
bay,  where  his  father,  Dea.  Bethuel  Bourne,  lived  and  died.  Ezra 
married  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Crocker,  and  was  lost  at  sea.  His  widow 
then  married  his  brother,  Warren  N.  Bourne,  who  died  here  in  1881. 
Captain  Caleb  O.  Hamblin  is  a  worthy  representative  of  the  sea- 
faring men  of  the  Cape.  The  line  of  de.scent  in  his  ancestry  is 
direct,  though  far  removed,  from  James  Hamblin,  who  was  a  member 
of  Mr.  Lothrop's  church  and  who  settled  near  Coggin's  pond  in 
Barnstable,  in  1639.  The  records  of  the  family,  Mr.  Otis  tells  us,  are 
deficient.  Benjamin  Hamblin,  the  captain's  grandfather,  was  born  in 
Sandwich  during  the  last  century  and  was,  in  1812,  captain  of  a  com- 
pany sent  out  from  Sandwich.  Caleb,  his  eldest  son,  and  the  father 
of  the  present  Caleb  O.  Hamblin,  was  born  in  the  village  of  Snake 
Pond,  now  Forestdale,  in  Sandwich,  and  became  a  seafaring  man. 
On  his  last  voyage  from  the  West  Indies,  he  brought  as  a  stow-away, 
44 


69('  'l^'^TORV    ''F   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

th  •eJll'i-.wn  Doctor  Harper  of  Sandwich.  Caleb  was  twice  mar- 
rid  ^  id  rc.iired  eighi  -bildren.  The  first  wife  had  two  children: 
b\-l";'nus  F.,  who  mai'^Jr'  CaptaiQ  Nathaniel  Hamblin's  daughter 
Hridnao,  anJ  died  .  Califoinia  leaving  a  widow  and  three  daughters; 
inJ  (^hloe  F.,  wu  lan  !ed  Mr.  Tripp  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  who  died 
"n  Andersonville  ^jrison,  leaving  two  sons,  and  his  death  was  the 
:  rect  c^yp:  o'  ner  ciibsequent  fatal  illness.  The  second  wife  was 
Mary  A.  Kern,  .=ister  of  Theodore  and  Francis  Kern,  who  for  several 
yea'-s  .^U'  ceaafully  managed  the  Boston  and  Sandwich  Glass  works. 
Her  children  were:  Mary  Ann,  wife  of  Cyrus  Bassett,  who  spent  the 
.summer  of  1889  in  North  Carolina  for  her  health;  Caleb  O.,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch;  Elias  Thacher,  glass  blower  in  New  Bedford; 
George  H.,  who  died  in  California;  Theodore  F.,  residing  in  Montana; 
and  A.  J.  Hamblin  of  West  Falmouth. 

Captain  Caleb  O.  Hamblin  was  born  in  Forestdale,  Sandwich, 
Mass.,  January  28, 1835.  At  the  early  age  of  ten  years  he  commenced 
work  at  the  Sandwich  glass  factory,  receiving  but  two  winters  school- 
ing after  he  was  eight  years  old,  which  fact  necessitated  much  studious 
labor  in  the  forecastle  in  after  years.  At  fifteen  he  went  to  sea  in  the 
brig  Ocean  of  Sandwich.  The  voyage  proved  a  failure  and  the  next 
year  he  made  a  second  voyage  in  the  same  brig  and  managed  to  pay 
his  outfit  for  the  first.  His  third  voyage  was  in  the  brig  Amelia  of 
Sandwich,  in  which  he  was  advanced  to  the  position  of  boat-steerer 
or  harpooner.  He  next  made  two  voyages  in  the  ship  Congress  of  New 
Bedford,  Captain  Reuben  Kelley,  in  the  Indian  ocean,  and  on  the 
second  voyage  he  acted  as  second  mate.  Captain  John  C.  Hamblin 
was  master  of  this  ship  on  the  second  voyage  and  mate  on  the  first. 
Captain  Kelley,  former  captain  of  the  Congress,  then  induced  Mr. 
Hamblin  to  ship  with  him  as  first  mate  of  the  ship  Governor  Troupe, 
and  after  twenty-eight  days  at  home,  he  again  went  to  sea  on  a  voyage 
of  forty-two  months,  returning  with  a  good  cargo.  His  worth  having 
been  made  apparent,  his  employer,  Edward  C.  Jones,  of  New  Bedford, 
the  agent  and  part  owner  of  the  last  two  ships,  offered  him  the  posi- 
tion of  master  of  the  ship  Robert  Edwards,  bound  for  the  Indian  and 
Pacific  oceans.  On  this  voyage  of  forty-eight  months  he  went  around 
the  world,  returning  with  a  good  cargo  of  oil. 

He  afterward  made  two  successful  voyages  as  master  and  part 
owner  of  the  ship  Eliza  Adams.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  wife  and 
family  on  these  voyages  extending  over  eight  years.  He  afterward 
made  part  of  a  voyage  in  the  ship  Milton,  to  the  Arctic  ocean,  being 
compelled  to  return  home  on  account  of  sickness.  His  last  voyage 
was  as  captain  and  half  owner  of  the  brig  Henry  Trowbridge  of  Ston- 
ington,  Conn.,  on  a  sealing  and  whaling  voyage  off  Cape  Horn.  They 
encountered  many  hardships  and  on  the  passage  home,  during  a  ter- 


e      BIERSTAOT 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.  691 

rible  tornado,  the  vessel  became  dismasted  and  sprung  a  leak,  com- 
pelling him  to  make  the  Azore  islands  under  jurymasts,  a  distance  of 
750  miles,  where  he  sold  the  brig  and  shipped  his  cargo  to  Boston. 
He  arrived  home  December  29,  1882,  and  on  account  of  the  sickness 
in  his  family  considered  it  his  duty  to  remain. 

The  daring  of  the  captain  often  led  him  into  danger.  One  of  his 
narrow  escapes  from  death  is  of  peculiar  interest.  While  second 
mate  of  the  Congress,  he  made  fast  to  a  sperm  whale  on  the  coast  of 
Australia,  and  as  he  stood  in  the  bow  of  the  boat,  lance  in  hand  for 
another  throw,  the  monster  with  open  mouth,  struck  the  bow  of  the 
boat  under  his  feet  with  such  force  as  to  break  it  in,  and  Captain 
Hamblin  was  thrown  partly  into  a  pair  of  jaws  twenty-two  feet  long. 
His  right  leg  was  wholly  in  the  whale's  mouth  and  he  astride  the  jaw, 
was  carried  down  some  fifty  feet.  With  wonderful  presence  of  mind 
he  took  two  turns  of  the  lance  line  around  his  hand,  the  other  end 
teing  fast  to  the  boat,  this  being  the  only  way  presenting  itself  as  a 
means  of  escape,  from  the  jaws  of  death.  At  the  end  of  the  down- 
ward ride,  the  length  of  the  prescribed  rope,  the  jerk  came,  as  he  had 
anticipated,  and  although  the  strain  to  his  arm  was  of  course  terrible 
the  arm  was  not  torn  ofiF  as  he  feared,  but  with  an  ugly  wound  along 
the  leg,  from  a  single  tooth,  he  was  drawn  from  the  whale's  mouth 
and  to  the  boat. 

In  March,  1863,  he  married  Emily  B.  Robinson,  daughter  of  Irving 
Robinson,  a  shipbuilder  of  Woods  Holl,  who  worked  on  the  AwasJwnks 
and  other  vessels  built  there.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hamblin  have  five  boys 
living:  Caleb  E.,  born  February  22, 1864;  Sylvanus  A.,  born  February 
23,  1868;  Winfield  S.,  August  11,  1873;  Percie  C,  June  14,  1875;  and 
Robert  W.  Hamblin,  born  April  14,  1877.  Two  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters died  in  infancy.  The  oldest  and  the  youngest  of  the  living  chil- 
dren were  born  in  Falmouth,  the  second  on  the  Eliza  Adams,  in  mid- 
ocean,  the  third  in  Australia,  and  the  fourth  in  New  Zealand. 

In  1870  Captain  Hamblin  bought  the  Swift  place  in  West  Fal- 
mouth, and  built  up  his  present  beautiful  residence,  where  he  enjoys 
the  fruits  of  a  well  spent  active  life.  He  loved  his  profession  and 
excelled  in  it.  He  shrinks  from  the  entanglements  of  a  political  life 
and  although  he  takes  a  deep  interest  in  national  and  local  civil 
affairs,  and  is  a  member  of  the  republican  party,  he  declines  office. 
His  support  is  freely  given  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  his 
life  is  an  exemplification  of  the  golden  rule.  He  is  yet  in  the  full 
tide  of  life,  enjoying  rest  from  dangers  and  toils  which  have  enrolled 
h:s  name  high  among  those  who  have  made  the  Cape  conspicuous  in 
the  maritime  world. 

Captain  John  C.  Hamblin. — The  family  of  which  Captain  Hamb- 
lin was  a  worthy  representative  is  found  in  the  first  settlements  of 


692  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Barnstable  and  Falmouth,  filling  places  of  trust  in  the  church  and  in 
the  affairs  of  the  plantations.  Among  the  lines  of  descent  we  find 
Benjamin,  a  resident  of  Falmouth  during  the  latter  part  of  last  century, 
who  reared  a  son,  Benjamin,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  article. 
Captain  Hamblin  was  born  in  October,  1829.  He  was  educated  in 
the  common  schools,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty  he  commenced  a  sea- 
faring life,  choosing  that  branch  of  the  service  most  congenial  to  his 
nature — whaling — which  he  followed  in  its  various  subordinate  ap- 
pointments for  eight  years,  when  he  took  command.  His  first  voyage 
was  in  the  bark  Lagoda,  and  the  three  succeeding  ones  were  in  the 
Congr €53,^)0X^1  vessels  of  New  Bedford;  then  two  voyages  in  the  Roman, 
and  in  the  bark  Islander  he  made  his  last  voyage,  which  he  completed 
in  August,  1873,  after  twenty-four  years  of  active  service,  sixteen  of 
which  he  was  master.  He  died  at  West  Falmouth  July  18,  1875.  His 
active  life  was  passed  on  the  main  and  no  opportunity  was  afforded  to 
exercise  his  executive  qualities  in  the  affairs  of  the  town.  During  the 
last  two  years  of  his  life,  which  he  passed  on  shore,  he  purchased  a 
store  in  Falmouth,  which  he  successfully  managed  until  his  death.  He 
was  an  upright  man  and  a  Mason,  and  his  humane  and  social  qualities 
so  softened  the  sterner  and  courageous  elements  of  his  nature  that  his 
decease  was  greatly  mourned  by  a  large  circle  of  friends.  He  was 
charitable  without  ostentation,  mild,  yet  decisive,  and  a  true  friend  and 
counselor. 

He  was  married  in  October,  1856,  to  Maria  F.  Tobey,  whose  parents, 
deceased,  were  Captain  Elisha  and  Henrietta  Tobey,  of  Monument 
Beach.  The  children  of  Captain  and  Mrs.  Hamblin  were:  Henrietta 
T.,  born  in  September,  1868;  Alice  M.,  born  March  2,  1860;  Harry  W., 
March  9,  1862;  John  A.,  January  14,  1864;  Bertha  M.,  August  31, 1867; 
Benjamin  F.,  May  18,  1869;  Ernest  S.,  August  30,  1872,  and  Leonella 
B.  Hamblin,  born  December  18,  1875.  Of  these  the  four  oldest  are 
married — Henrietta  T.,  married  Edward  H.  Thompson  of  Worcester, 
Mass.,  in  February,  1883;  Alice  M.  was  married  in  December,  1879,  to 
Horace  E.  Swift  of  West  Falmouth;  Harry  W.  married  Elizabeth  E. 
Howland  of  the  same  place,  in  September,  1883;  and  John  A.  Hamb- 
lin was  married  in  June,  1888,  to  Mary  E.  Greenwood  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. The  captain's  residence  was  at  West  Falmouth,  where  his 
wife  and  younger  children  have  a  pleasant  and  happy  home. 

Solomon  Lawrence  Hamlin  was  born  in  Teticket  in  1827.  His 
father,  Simeon,  was  a  son  of  Seth  Hamlin.  His  mother,  Nancy, 
was  a  daughter  of  Dea.  Solomon  Lawrence.  Solomon  L.  Hamlin  fol- 
lowed the  sea  from  1840  until  1870,  and  was  for  four  years  master  of 
the  bark  Eugenia,  a  whaler  in  New  Zealand  and  Australian  waters. 
He  has  been  a  merchant  in  Falmouth  since  1874,  and  was  deputy 
collector  here  five  5'ears.     His  wife  is  Chloe  H.,  a  daughter  of  Moses 


TOWN  OF  FALMOUTH.  693 

Robinson  of  this  town.  Their  family  consisted  of  three  sons  and  two 
daughters.  The  oldest  son,  William  B.,  was  lost  at  sea  November  9, 
1879.  The  other  sons  are  in  business  with  their  father,  and  the  daugh- 
ters are  living  at  home. 

Vinal  N.  Hatch,  born  in  1808,  was  one  of  the  ten  children  of  Benja- 
min and  Rachel  (Mayhew)  Hatch.  Rachel's  father,  Joseph  Mahew, 
died  in  the  continental  army  in  the  war  of  1776.  Benjamin  Hatch  was 
a  son  of  Jonathan  (whose  grave  was  the  first  in  the  East  End  ceme- 
tery) and  a  grandson  of  Ebenezer  Hatch.  Vinal  N.  is  the  oldest  of  tlie 
three  brothers  now  living.  His  wife,  Martha  E.,  is  a  daughter  of 
Ezekiel  E.  Swift.  Mr.  Hatch  is  a  mason  by  trade.  His  children  are: 
Mahala  S;  (Mrs.  Willard  N.  Chadwick),  Tirzah  (Mrs.  Fred.  Dimmick) 
and  Vinal  F.  Hatch  of  New  Bedford,  whose  wife  is  Ellen  F.  Phinney 
of  Sandwich. 

Benjamin  H.  Hatch,  a  brother  of  Vinal  N.,  was  born  in  1816.  He, 
like  his  father,  has  always  been  a  farmer,  and  at  his  father's  death  in 
1861  he  was  appointed  his  successor  as  deacon  in  the  Hatchville 
church.  His  wife,  Catherine,  is  a  daughter  of  Gershom  Jones.  They 
have  five  children:  Robert  H.,  Etta  F.  (Mrs.  Henry  F.  Hatch),  James 
J.,  Ida  M.  (Mrs.  Joseph  Phinney),  and  Wallace — all  of  whom  are  mar- 
ried and  have  children.  Deacon  Timothy  Hatch,  of  Waquoit,born  in 
1810,  is  the  other  surviving  brother  of  Vinal  N. 

Shubael  N.  Hatch,  born  June  27,  1830,  is  a  son  of  James  H.  Hatch, 
a  deceased  brother  of  Vinal  N.  James  H.  married  Deborah  N., 
daughter  of  Amasa  and  Sylvina  (Nye)  GiflFord,  who  survives  him. 
Their  daughter,  Paulenia  Freeman,  is  Mrs.  James  Winslow,  of  Fair- 
haven. 

Silas  Hatch,  born  in  1833,  is  a  son  of  Deacon  Silvanus  Hatch,  1789- 
1855;  grandson  of  Moses,  1762-1855;  and  great-grandson  of  Ebenezer 
Hatch.  Silvanus  was  a  captain  at  the  coast  in  the  war  of  1812.  Silas, 
a  republican  always,  is  now  serving  as  selectman  for  his  twelfth  year. 
He  is  often  appointed  as  guardian  of  minors  and  executor  of  wills. 
His  business  is  farming.  His  wife,  Henrietta  M.  Davis  (deceased), 
left  three  children:  Herbert  C,  Eugene  P.  and  Cora  M.  Hatch.  His 
present  wife  was  Mrs.  Elizabeth  M.  Dillingham. 

William  H.  Hewins  is  a  son  of  William  Hewins,  whose  father, 
Amasa  Hewins,  was  a  son  of  William  Hewins.  William  H.  was  born 
in  Sandwich,  Mass.,  and  in  1867  began  a  small  store  business,  at  Fal- 
mouth. His  business  increased  and  in  1885  he  erected  the  double 
building  which  he  now  occupies.  He  has  been  town  clerk  and  treas- 
urer since  1883.  His  wife  died  in  1889,  leaving  one  daughter.  His 
father,  William  Hewins,  was  born  in  Sharon,  Mass.,  and  was  one  of 
seven  children.     He  came  to  Cape  Cod  when  he  was  a  young  man. 


694  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Russell  Hinckley,  born  at  Marstons  Mills,  is  a  son  of  Chipman  and 
Abagail  (Hamblin)  Hinckley,  and  grandson  of  Nathaniel  Hinckley. 
His  wife,  Lydia  P.  Baker,  is  a  daughter  of  Francis  and  granddaughter 
of  Obadiah  Baker.  Mrs.  Hinckley's  mother  was  Lucy  Berry.  Mr. 
Hinckley's  family  consists  of  two  sons:  Francis  C.  and  Clarence  Lin- 
coln, who  was  born  on  the  day  President  Lincoln  issued  the  emanci- 
pation proclamation.  A  daughter,  Mary  G.,  was  drowned,  July  3, 
1875,  aged  ten  years.  She  was  born  on  the  day  Lee  surrendered  to 
Grant. 

Seba  A.  Holton,  principal  of  the  Falmouth  High  School,  married 
Grace,  daughter  of  Obed  Pierce.  In  1881  he  became  principal  of 
Lawrence  Academy  and  Falmouth  High  School.  He  received  an 
honorary  degree  from  Dartmouth  in  1887. 

William  H.  Howland'  (William*,  Zacheus*,  Jabez*,  Shubael*.  John', 
John')  was  born  in  North  Falmouth  in  1816.  When  he  was  ten  years 
old — his  parents  having  died — he  went  to  Plymouth  county,  Mass. 
He  subsequently  learned  carpenter  work  and  has  dealt  extensively  in 
lumber,  doing  business  in  Cambridge  and  Boston.  He  retired  from 
business  in  1878  and  now  resides  at  West  Falmouth,  where  he  had 
passed  several  preceding  summers.  He  spent  in  Quincy,  Illinois,  at 
different  periods,  seven  years  of  his  life.  He  was  first  married  in  1845, 
to  Martha,  daughter  of  Joseph  Poor  of  South  Danvers  (now  Peabody), 
Mass.  She  died  in  1852.  Their  children  were:  Walter  Channing, 
born  1846,  died  1848;  and  Mary  Lee,  born  1849,  died  1882.  In  1856 
Mr.  Howland  was  married  to  Helena  Maria,  daughter  of  Samuel  Eells, 
of  Hanover,  Mass.  They  have  two  children:  Alice  Tower,  born  1867; 
and  Elizabeth  Eells,  born  1859.  Alice  T.  is  married  to  George  E.  Kim- 
ball, of  Woburn,  Mass.,  who  is  doing  a  successful  lumber  business  in 
Hingham,  Mass.  They  have  six  children  living,  having  lost  their 
youngest  in  1889.  Elizabeth  E.  married  H.  W.  Hamblin  of  Falmouth,, 
an  electrician.  They  are  now  living  in  Portland,  Me.,  and  have  three 
children. 

James  B.  Huckins,  who  has  been  for  fourteen  years  in  the  meat 
business  at  Falmouth,  is  a  native  of  Barnstable,  where  his  father, 
James,  and  his  grandfather,  Captain  Joseph,  resided.  This  Captain 
Joseph  Huckins  is  the  one  who  once  ran  the  packet  between  Barnsta- 
ble and  Boston. 

Henry  W.  Jenkins,  born  in  1829,  is  a  son  of  Wilson  R.  and  grand-, 
son  of  Benjamin  Jenkins,  the  latter  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  1812.  He 
has  done  a  carpenter  business  since  he  was  seventeen  years  of  age, 
and  for  a  long  time  did  a  large  business  in  contracting.  His  wife  was 
a  Miss  Nickerson  from  Harwich.  Their  family  consisted  of:  Angelia 
(deceased),  Wilson  R.,  Bessie  M.  and  Elvie  M.  Jenkins.  Wilson  R. 
has  been  engaged  with  his  father  in  building  for  several  years. 


,.c--^-^^<:-*-^ 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.  696 

Myron  C.  Johnson,  the  merchant  at  Quissett,  is  a  native  of  Onon- 
daga county,  N.  Y.,  where  he  was  a  farmer  prior  to  1880.  He  married 
Etta  E.  W.,  daughter  of  Azariah,  and  granddaughter  of  Abram  Wing, 
of  the  well  known  Quaker  family  of  Sandwich,  and  in  1881  located  in 
Falmouth.     He  has  one  son,  Asa  Edward  Johnson. 

George  W.  Jones,  born  in  Falmouth  in  1857,  is  a  son  of  Benjamin 
F.  and  Maria  C.  (Withington)  Jones.  Benjamin  F.  followed  the  sea 
as  commander  of  whaling  ships  until  1868,  and  died  in  1879.  He  was 
a  brother  of  Silas  Jones,  president  of  the  Falmouth  National  Bank. 
George  W.  was  at  sea  in  early  life  for  about  six  years.  He  subse- 
quently went  west  and  was  engaged  there  in  a  lumber  business  for  a 
time.  He  located  in  Falmouth  in  1887,  where  he  is  still  in  business 
as  proprietor  of  the  "Continental  Shoe  Store." 

Josiah  C.  Jones,  born  in  1837,  is  a  son  of  'Roland  C.  and  gfrandson 
of  John  Jones.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1855  until  1877,  always 
coasting,  and  has  made  a  few  voyages  since  that  time.  He  is  now 
engaged  in  contract  work,  fitting  cranberry  bogs,  teaming,  etc.  His 
wife,  Athalia  L.,  is  a  daughter  of  Ebenezer  N.  Phinney.  They  have 
one  daughter,  Laura  A. 

Captain  Silas  Jones.— The  family  of  Captain  Jones  originated  in 
Nantucket.  His  grandfather,  Thomas,  came  to  Falmouth  in  the  year 
1750,  and  married  Bethia,  daughter  of  Rowland  Robinson,  Esq.,  a  lead- 
ing citizen  of  the  town.  Captain  Jones'  father,  also  named  Silas,  was 
born  in  Falmouth  in  1772.  He  married  Love,  daughter  of  Samuel 
Shiverick.  He  was  a  shipmaster,  making  several  voyages  in  the  China 
trade  and  on  the  northwest  coast.  He  was  a  representative  in  the 
general  council  in  1839  and  1840,  and  died  April  20,  1845,  aged  sev- 
enty-five years. 

Silas  Jones,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Falmouth,  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1814,  and  enjoyed  the  usual  educational  advantages  that 
were  afforded  the  youth  of  the  town.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  went 
to  sea  on  a  whaling  voyage,  with  a  view  of  adopting  that  arduous  and 
hazardous  calling  as  his  professon  for  life.  In  1835  he  sailed  from 
Falmouth  in  his  ship  Awas/ionJks,CaTpta.in  CoflBn,  for  a  four  years' cruise 
in  the  Pacific  ocean,  in  the  position  of  third  officer.  This  voyage  was 
destined  to  be  a  memorable  one.  The.  vessel  had  a  crew  of  about 
thirty  men,  including  officers.  When  about  twenty  months  out,  while 
passing  the  group  of  Marshall' islands,  just  north  of  the  equator,  the 
ship  was  hove  to,  near  the  island  Namarik,  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
refreshments.  The  natives  came  on  board  in  great  numbers,  and 
seizing  the  cutting-in  spades,  commenced  the  work  of  slaughter  upon 
the  ship's  company,  and  immediately  cleared  the  deck,  killing  the 
captain,  first  and  second  officers  and  four  seamen.  Mr.  Jones  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  cabin,  with  one  sailor  boy,  named  Charley  Marshall,  and 


HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

securing-  the  fire-arms,  rescued  the  ship,  after  a  hard  struggle  of  about 
one  hour.  The  charge  of  the  ship  now  devolving  on  Mr.  Jones,  he 
made  a  direct  passage  to  the  Sandwich  islands,  and  in  fifty  days  ar- 
rived at  Honolulu,  and  delivered  the  ship  to  the  American  consul  at 
that  port.  He  was  offered  command,  but  modestly  declined  accepting 
the  responsibility  until  he  had  acquired  a  little  more  experience.  But 
his  promotion  was  not  long  deferred,  and  he  continued  to  sail  in  com- 
mand of  a  Falmouth  ship  until  1864,  when  he  retired  from  the  sea. 

In  1865  his  fellow  citizens  of  Falmouth  elected  him,  by  a  large  ma- 
jority, their  representative  in  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts,  to 
which  position  he  was  re-elected  the  following  year,  serving  both 
terms  upon  the  committee  on  the  Hoosac  Tunnel.  In  1867-68  he  was 
a  member  of  the  board  of  selectmen  and  assessors,  and  for  several 
years  heretofore  has  served  as  moderator  of  the  town  meetings.  In 
1881,  upon  the  decease  of  Hon.  Erasmus  Gould,  he  was  chosen  presi- 
dent of  the  Falmouth  National  Bank,  of  which  he  had  been  some 
years  previously  a  director.  These  trusts,  fulfilled  with  scrupulous 
fidelity,  indicate  the  estimation  in  which  Captain  Jones  is,  and  ever 
has  been,  held  by  his  fellow  citizens,  and  vindicate  his  title  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  representative  man  of  his  town. 

He  married.  May  19, 1845,  Harriet  B.  Robinson,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Robinson,  of  Falmouth.  From  this  union  were  six  children:  George 
F.,  Rowland  R.,  Lucy  S.,  Nellie  M.,  Mary  R.  (Doane)  and  Silas,  jr. 

Rowland  R.  Jones,  son  of  Silas  Jones,  was  born  in  1860.  His  wife 
is  a  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  Norman  C.  Stevens  of  Boston. 

B.  Baylies  King  was  bom  in  Mansfield,  Mass.,  in  1824.  In  early 
life  he  was  a  boat  maker,  afterward  in  the  carriage  business.  Subse- 
quently he  opened  a  livery  stable  in  Sheldonville,  and  from  there 
moved  to  Attleboro,  where  he  engaged  in  the  same  business.  He 
afterward  bought  a  farm  in  Foxboro,  and  from  there  came  to  Fal- 
mouth in  1875.  In  the  following  year  he  became  a  dealer  in  lumber 
and  builders'  hardware.  He  is  junior  warden  of  Marine  Lodge,  A.  F. 
&  A.  M. 

Herbert  H.  Lawrence'  (Isaac*,  1826-1879;  Solomon',  Joseph',  John') 
was  bom  in  1857.  Isaac  was  a  prominent  resident  here,  filling  at 
different  times  the  offices  of  justice  of  the  peace,  tax  collector  and 
deputy  sheriff.  His  wife,  Hannah,  was  a  daughter  of  Winslow  and 
Hannah  (Clark)  Hall.  Herbert  H.  Lawrence  is  at  present  engaged  in 
Teticket  in  teaming,  farming  and  milk  business.  His  wife  is  Annie 
M.,  daughter  of  Mayhew  Baker. 

Hiram  N.  Lawrence,  bom  in  1840,  is  a  son  of  Charles  C,  grandson 
of  Solomon,  and  great-grandson  of  John  Lawrence,  of  English  de- 
scent, who  came  to  Falmouth  from  West  Barnstable.  Solomon  Law- 
rence was  one  of  a  long-lived  family.     He  lived  to  the  age  of  ninety- 


TOWN  OF  FALMOUTH.  697 

five;  one  of  his  brothers  lived  to  be  one  hundred  years  old,  another 
ninety-four,  and  a  sister  lived  to  the  remarkable  age  of  one  hundred 
years  and  one  month.  Hiram  N.  learned  the  mason  trade,  but  for 
twelve  years  he  took  charge  of  a  farm  in  Barnstable,  returning  to  Te- 
•ticket  in  1878,  to  the  homestead  farm,  where  he  still  resides.  His 
wife,  Ellen,  is  a  daughter  of  Alden  B.  Landers,  of  this  town.  They 
have  one  son,  Austin,  and  one  daughter,  Susan,  now  Mrs.  Joseph 
Nickerson. 

John  R.  Lawrence,  born  in  1820,  is  a  son  of  Solomon  Lawrence 
(1790-1846),  grandson  of  Joseph,  and  great-grandson  of  John  Law- 
rence, whose  father  was  Peleg  Lawrence.  Solomon  was  a  master  ship 
carpenter,  building  ships  at  Woods  Holl  for  Elijah  Swift.  When 
John  R.  was  but  fourteen  years  old  he  gave  his  first  note  for  a  suit  of 
clothes  and  went  to  Cape  Horn.  He  followed  whaling  thirty-six 
years.  Mrs.  Lawrence  was  Harriet,  daughter  of  Alex.  Clark,  of  Nan- 
tucket, who  later  had  a  woolen  mill  in  this  town.  They  have  two 
sons — John  Abbott  and  Harry  V.  Lawrence.  Their  only  daughter, 
Lizzie,  was  Mrs.  Dr.  Lyman  H.  Luce,  of  Marthas  Vineyard.  She  died, 
leaving  one  daughter.  Bessie,  now  a  girl  of  sixteen.  Harry  V.  was 
married  November  28,  1889,  to  Alice  Forbes,  daughter  of  Oliver  C. 
and  Sarah  L.  A.  Grinnell.  She  was  born  on  Naushon  island  July  18, 
1868.     He  has  a  thriving  business  here  as  florist  and  seedsman. 

Joseph  T.  Lawrence  was  born  in  1849.  His  father,  Thomas  R. 
Lawrence,  a  farmer,  was  a  son  of  Joseph  and  a  grandson  of  John 
Lawrence;  Thomas  R.  married  Almira  Bearse,  who  survives  him, 
since  his  death  in  1864.  They  had  five  children,  of  whom  Lyman  M. 
and  Joseph  T.  are  the  only  ones  residing  in  Falmouth.  Joseph  T. 
married  Jennette  Stevens,  of  Centreville,  and  has  one  son.  Alfred  C. 
Lewis  H.  Lawrence,  son  of  Thomas  and  grandson  of  Silas  Law- 
rence, was  born  in  Falmouth  in  1823.  Thomas  and  Silas  were  both 
carpenters.  The  business  carried  on  by  Thomas  was  in  building 
houses — all  but  the  frame— in  Falmouth,  and  then  taking  them  south 
and  putting  them  up  there.  He  died  about  thirty  years  ago.  He  had 
six  sons  and  one  daughter.  The  sons  were  all  seamen,  five  of  them 
shipmasters.  The  oldest  brother  was  a  painter  by  trade,  but  his 
health  becoming  impaired,  he  went  to  sea  for  a  few  years  by  advice  of 
his  physician.  In  1849  he  went  to  California  and  died  there  about 
1865.  Four  of  the  sons,  including  Lewis  H.,  and  the  daughter  are  still 
living.  Lewis  H.  was  at  sea  when  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  was 
master  of  a  whaler  at  twenty-six.  He  was  master  on  four  voyages, 
averaging  nearly  four  years  each,  until  1871.  He  is  now  doing  an  ice 
business  here  of  about  eight  hundred  tons  per  annum.  His  wife, 
Eunice  F.,"  is  a  daughter  of  Frederick  Davis,  of  Falmouth.  They  have 
had  four  sons,  two  of  whom  are  living:  Augustus  and  Frederick 
Thomas. 


698  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Oliver  M.  Lawrence,  son  of  Ansel,  grandson  of  Solomon,  and' 
great-grandson  of  John  Lawrence,  was  born  here  in  1843.  For  six- 
teen years  he  did  a  shoe  business  in  Lynn,  Mass.  He  returned  to 
Teticket  in  1885,  to  care  for  his  father,  who  has  since  died.  His  pres- 
ent business  is  farming  and  poultry  raising.  He  was  married  while 
in  Lynn,  to  Nettie  Corey.  Their  daughter,  seventeen  years  of  age,  is- 
Bertha  C.  Lawrence. 

Solomon  H.  Lawrence,  born  March  15,  1847,  is  a  son  of  Henry, 
now  living,  whose  father,  Solomon,  was  a  son  of  John  Lawrence,  to 
whom  the  Lawrence  family  of  Falmouth  are  now  able  to  trace  their 
ancestry,  and  who  is  believed  to  have  been  the  brother  of  Joseph  Law- 
rence, an  early  resident  of  South  Sandwich.  Solomon  H.  married 
Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Simeon  Childs,  of  Centreville.  They  have  three 
children:  Sidney  W.,  Howard  F.  and  Edith  A.  Lawrence. 

Henry  C.  Lewis,  born  in  1832,  is  a  son  of  David,  grandson  of  David 
and  great-grandson  of  Jesse  Lewis.     His  father,  after  following  the 
sea  for  some  years,  enlarged  his  house,  where  Henry  C.  now  lives,, 
and  carried  on  a  grocery  business  in  it  for  years.    It  is  the  building 
before  mentioned  as  the  hotel  of  the  village  for  several  years. 

Thomas  Lewis,  bom  in  1806,  was  a  son  of  Thomas  Lewis,  and 
grandson  of  Lothrop  Lewis,  whose  emigrant  ancestor,  George  Lewis, 
came  from  East  Greenwich,  county  of  Kent,  England.  In  1832  Thomas 
married  Cynthia  E.  S.,  daughter  of  Frederic  and  Rebecca  Parker, and 
they  lived  to  celebrate  the  fiftieth  annivertary  of  their  marriage,  in 
the  old  home.  Their  children  were:  Frederic  Thomas,  Sarah  Butler, 
Mary  Sanford,  Charles  Sanford  and  Rebecca  Parker.  From  1853  he 
continually  held  public  offices  until  his  death.  May  30,  1884.  He  was- 
chosen  a  director  of  the  Falmouth  Bank  in  1841  and  continued  in  ser- 
vice forty-three  years,  and  was  secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
Lawrence  Academy,  which  position  he  resigned.  He  united  with  the 
First  Congregational  church  in  1842,  of  which  he  remained  an  honored, 
and  consistent  member.  He  was  a  man  of  intelligence  and  staunch 
integrity  and  faithful  in  all  the  relations  he  sustained.  His  fellow 
citizens  had  full  confidence  in  his  administration  of  public  trusts,, 
relied  upon  his  judgment  and  followed  his  counsel  in  matters  of  busi- 
ness. 

William  Thatcher  Lewis,  son  of  Thomas,  grandson  of  David  and 
great-grandson  of  Jesse  Lewis,  was  born  in  1830,  at  the  homestead,, 
lately  burned,  where  his  father  lived.    Thomas  Lewis  was  a  deacon 
in  the  Hatchville  Congregational  church,  and  a  useful  man  in  his 
time.     He  was  the  youngest  son  of  David  and  Pheba  (Crowell)  Lewis, 
who  removed  from  Centreville  to  Falmouth.     William  T.  is  now  a. 
painter  by  trade,  residing  at  East  Falmouth,  where  he  is  a  steward  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church.     His  wife,  Martha,  is  a  daughter  oi'. 
John  Swift,  and  the  widow  of  the  late  Isaiah  T.  Lewis. 


TOWN   OF  FALMOUTH.  699 

Shubael  M.  Norton,  son  of  Constant  and  Harriet  W.  Norton,  was 
born  in  Tisbury,  in  1839.  He  early  learned  boot  making  and  worked 
in  South  Braintree.  He  enlisted  in  the  Union  army,  August  8, 
1862,  with  Company  B.,  Forty-third  Regiment;  re-enlisted  August 
28,  1863,  as  sergeant.  Third  Artillery,  serving  until  October,  1865. 
He  was  several  times  promoted  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct 
and  participated  with  honor  in  many  important  engagements.  In 
January,  1866,  he  removed  to  Woods  Holl,  and  worked  for  the  Pacific 
Guano  Company.  In  1867  they  began  the  manufacture  of  sulphuric 
acid,  in  which  department  Mr.  Norton  has  been  and  is  still  employed. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Charles  Chipman  Post  of  Sandwich;  has  held 
various  town  ofBces.  His  wife,  Mary  J.,  is  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Robinson,  who  died  in  California  in  1850.     They  have  three  children. 

The  Nye  family  are  the  descendants  of  John  Nye,  who  had  two 
.sons:  John  Nye,  jr.,  of  Sandwich,  and  Ebenezer  Nye  of  Falmouth,  born 
1650.  This  Ebenezer  settled  about  1688  at  North  Falmouth,  and  had 
four  sons:  Benjamin,  of  Woods  Holl  neck;  Meltiah  (1682-1750), 
Elnathan  and  Bethiah.  Meltiah  had  three  sons:  Solomon,  Meltiah,  jr., 
and  Shubael,  the  latter  of  whom  had  three  sons:  David,  Meltiah  and 
Sylvanus. 

Daniel  B.  Nye,  born  in  1815,  is  a  son  of  Daniel  B.  and  grandson  of 
Nathan  Nye,  a  merchant  of  Sandwich.  He  was  born  in  Sagamore, 
where  his  brother  Nathan  now  lives.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1887 
to  1871 ,  in  whaling,  and  was  captain  seven  years.  His  present  busi- 
ness is  farming.  His  wife,  Philena  D.,  is  a  daughter  of  Joshua,  grand- 
daughter of  Elihu  and  great-granddaughter  of  Seth  Nye.  Joshua  Nye 
had  five  children:  Elizabeth  F.,  of  Providence;  Elihu,  who  died  in 
1882,  his  widow  surviving;  Dr.  Alexander  G.,  of  Weymouth;  Achsah 
B.  Burnham,  of  Melrose,  and  Philena  D. 

David  B.  Nye,  born  in  1857,  is  a  son  of  Thomas  R.and  grandson  of 
Francis  Nye.  His  wife,  Ruth  Annie,  is  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Benjamin 
L.  Sayer.  They  have  one  daughter,  Annie  Brainard  Nye.  Mr.  Nye 
in  summer  carries  on  a  livery  and  passenger  business  at  Menauhant. 

Frederick  F.  Nye'  (Samuel",  1795-1888;  Samuel',  John*,  Benjamin', 
John',  Benjamin')  was  born  in  1827.  He  followed  the  sea  for  five 
years  prior  to  1849,  when  he  went  to  California,  where  he  remained 
twenty  years.  While  there  he  was  married  to  a  lady  from  Ohio.  He 
is  now  engaged  in  farming  at  North  Falmouth  on  a  farm  which  was 
owned  by  his  father,  a  deacon  in  the  Congregational  church,  who  lived 
here  for  years.  The  old  house  was  burned  in  1879.  Frederick's 
mother  was  Betsey,  daughter  of  Captain  W^illiam  Handy  of  Bourne,  a 
prominent  man  in  his  day.  He  was  captured  by  the  French  in  the 
trouble  leading  to  the  French  Spoliation  Claims.  He  built  vessels 
at  Red  Brook  in  Bourne. 


700  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Herbert  F.  Nye,  born  October  4,  1848,  is  a  son  of  Francis  A.,  grand- 
son of  Francis  and  great-grandson  of  Samuel  Nye.  He  was  educated 
in  Falmouth  High  School  and  Phillips  Academy  in  Andover,  and  on 
leaving  school  he  entered  theemploy  of  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  Com- 
pany. Three  years  later,  in  July,  1872,  he  became  station  agent  at 
North  Falmouth,  where  he  is  still  employed.  His  wife  is  Adelia  F., 
•daughter  of  Franklin  and  Pheba  Nye. 

Hiram  Nye,  born  in  1842,  is  the  only  son  of  Alden,  born  1814, 
whose  father,  Alden,  was  a  son  of  Elihu  and  grandson  of  Seth  Nye. 
Hiram  went  to  sea  before  he  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  followed 
the  sea,  in  merchant  service  and  whaling,  until  1886,  the  last  three 
years  as  captain  of  the  ship  Fleetwing  from  New  Bedford.  His  wife, 
Lucy  M.,  is  a  daughter  of  George  Bonum  Nye,  of  Marion,  Mass.  They 
have  two  daughters.  Major  Joshua  Nye  of  1812  was  also  a  son  of 
Elihu. 

Captain  Abishia  Phinney  was  born  May  1, 1821,  in  a  humble  cot- 
tage at  Waquoit,  and  was  the  son  of  Asa  and  Annie  (Bradford)  Phin- 
ney. They  named  him  in  honor  of  his  paternal  grandfather,  who  was 
a  son  of  Peter  Phinney,  one  of  the  early  white  settlers  of  that  portion 
of  the  county  formerly  included  in  Mashpee.  Asa,  whose  wife  was  a 
•descendant  of  the  colony's  second  governor,  was  an  active  citizen  in 
the  first  days  of  Waquoit,  being  its  only  merchant,  a  tavern-keeper, 
•and  its  second  postmaster.  The  family  name,  now  scatteringly  repre- 
sented on  the  Cape,  has  been  a  part  of  the  industrial  and  civil  history 
of  the  county  for  more  than  two  hundred  years,  and  is  best  known  in 
Falmouth  to-day  by  the  resident  whose  name  heads  this  sketch.  He 
received  the  education  afforded  by  the  common  schools  of  that  day, 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  went  to  sea.  After  a  brief  experi- 
ence he  became  master  of  a  vessel  and  he  continued  twenty-four  years 
in  the  coasting  and  fishing  business,  coasting  from  Boston  to  Norfolk, 
Virginia,  and  cod-fishing.  Salt  manufacturing  on  the  Cape  opened  a 
prosperous  trade  along  Long  Island  sound  and  up  the  Connecticut 
river,  and  six  years  of  his  coasting  were  passed  in  this  lucrative  branch 
•of  trade.  Over  fifty  sailing  vessels  from  the  Cape  were  thus  engaged 
at  that  time  in  those  waters,  until  steam  vessels  and  the  cars  super- 
seded the  slow  sailing  vessels. 

Mr.  Phinney 's  success  on  the  Grand  Banks  was  all  that  could  be 
jealized  from  the  energy  and  industry  of  a  seaman  of  his  nature.  He 
invested  in  shares  of  vessels  and  prosecuted  the  business  vigorously 
for  several  years  until  1868,  when  he  retired.  During  twenty-four 
years  of  coasting  and  fishing,  twenty-one  of  which  he  was  master,  no 
accident  of  a  serious  nature  occurred.  His  small  craft  was  run  into 
Waquoit  bay,  but  the  major  part  of  the  vessels  he  was  connected  with 
.made  Woods  HoU  the  home  port. 


2Ci5^^^^^ 


'-^ 


TOWN   OF  FALMOUTH.  701 

While  yet  at  sea  he  married  Rebecca  Briggs  of  Dartmouth,  who  at 
her  death  left  two  sons  and  one  daughter.  Of  these  only  the  daugh- 
ter, Pheba  A.,  survives.  She  is  the  wife  of  Benjamin  F.  Crocker  of 
New  Bedford,  a  representative  of  that  illustrious  family  on  the  Cape. 
Their  children  are:  Rebecca  F.,  Addie  and  Allen.  For  his  second 
wife  Captain  Phinney  married  Hannah  B.  Crocker  of  Barnstable,  one 
of  the  descendants  of  the  well  known  and  worthy  Bourne  family. 
From  Richard  Bourne  her  line  of  descent  is  through  Shearjashub, 
Meltiah,  Silas,  Meltiah,  Hannah,  who  married  Zenas  Crocker,  and 
Zenas,  their  son,  who  had  seven  children,  of  whom  Mrs.  Phinney  was 
the  fourth.  Many  valuable  and  antique  pieces  of  furniture  belonging 
to  the  ancient  progenitor  of  this  family  were  willed  to  Mrs.  Phinney, 
and  are  now  held  by  her  as  heirlooms. 

Captain  Phinney  is  an  active  participator  in  the  affairs  of  the  town, 
and  although  declining  oflBce,  has  been  the  frequent  representative  of 
his  town  in  republican  conventions  of  the  county.  He  has  been 
through  life  a  supporter  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  his  vil- 
lage, and  for  the  past  twenty  years  has  been  a  consistent  member, 
aiding  greatly  in  its  material  and  spiritual  existence. 

The  culture  of  eight  acres  of  cranberries  forms  a  portion  of  his 
business,  and  he  still  finds  time  to  fill  a  large  shop  with  material  for 
manufacturing  barrels,  of  which  he  has  several  thousand  made  annu- 
ally. He  continues  his  avocations  on  land  with  that  perseverance 
which  characterized  his  career  on  the  sea.  He  is  prominent  in  all 
enterprises  for  the  advancement  of  his  fellow-men,  and  his  counsel  is 
sought  in  matters  of  church  and  state.  He  is  a  worthy  connecting 
link  with  the  days  when  the  fishing  and  coasting  business  was  the  in- 
dustry of  the  Cape,  and  when  Barnstable  county  in  every  manner 
took  the  highest  award  for  efficiency  on  the  sea. 

Obed  Pierce,  son  of  Pardon  Pierce  of  Dartmouth,  Mass.,  and  grand- 
son of  Elisha  Pierce,  of  Westport,  Mass.,  was  born  in  Dartmouth, 
Mass.,  in  1827,  and  in  1855  located  at  Falmouth,  where  he  married 
Eliza  J.,  daughter  of  Ephraim  Lawrence.  Between  the  years  1840 
and  1876,  Captain  Pierce  was  in  the  whaling  business  in  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Pacific  oceans,  and  was  master  on  three  of  these  voyages. 
His  only  son  is  Howard  L.  Pierce,  and  his  only  daughter,  Grace  L.,  is 
the  wife  of  Professor  S.  A.  Holton. 

John  Cleaver  Potter,  son  of  Daniel  A.  and  grandson  of  Daniel  L. 
Potter,  who  died  in  Middlebury,  Vermont,  was  born  in  1855.  This 
family  are  in  the  same  family  line  with  Clarkson  N.  Potter  and  Bishop 
Potter  of  New  York.  John  Potter's  mother,  Celia  (Gifford)  Potter, 
born  in  Teticket  in  1831,  died  in  1861,  was  a  daughter  of  James  and 
Mary  (Hatch)  Gifford.  James  Gifford  was  a  brother  of  Braddock 
Gifford,   mentioned   on   page  688.      James   Gifford's  children   were: 


702  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Harriet  N.,  Lizzie  Y.,  James,  Celia  W.,  Isabella,  Mary  M.  and  Watson 
H.  Gifford.  Of  these  only  Harriet,  Mary  and  Watson  are  living. 
John  Potter  is  now  doing  business  in  Boston.  His  wife  is  Christina 
Thomson  Neill.  They  have  one  child  living,  Ethel  May  Potter. 
Their  only  son  died  in  infancy. 

Solomon  D.  Robinson,  a  son  of  Rowland  and  grandson  of  James 
Robinson,  a  descendent  of  Rev.  Isaac  Robinson,  was  born  in  Fal- 
mouth in  1828.  He  was  a  merchant  in  Taunton  several  years  prior 
to  1866,  when  he  came  again  to  his  native  town.  He  is  the  efficient 
superintendent  of  Oak  Grove  Cemetery. 

David  L.  Sanford,  born  in  1817,  is  a  son  of  Ephraim  and  grandson 
of  William  Sanford,  who  with  his  two  brothers,  Samuel  and  Benjamin, 
came  to  this  country  from  Wales.  Benjamin  was  a  soldier  in  the 
revolution,  and  subsequently  customs  officer  in  Falmouth.  By  trade 
he  was  a  cabinetmaker,  and  there  are  many  desks  now  in  Falmouth 
that  were  made  by  him.  David  L.  Sanford  is  a  carpenter,  and  has 
done  quite  a  business  in  putting  up  houses  in  the  South.  His  first 
wife,  Betsey  L.,  was  a  daughter  of  Francis  Fish  of  Falmouth.  After 
her  death  he  was  married  to  a  daughter  of  Isaac  Buck  of  Barnstable. 
She  is  not  living. 

John  T.  Sherman,  son  of  Charles  and  Mary  (Baker)  Sherman,  and 
grandson  of  Benjamin  Sherman,  was  born  in  East  Falmouth  in  1826. 
His  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Obediah  Baker  of  this  town.  He  is  a 
mason  by  trade,  and  was  engaged  in  this  business,  in  New  Bedford, 
for  over  thirty  years.  He  returned  to  Falmouth  about  five  years 
since.  He  is  also  engaged  in  cranberry  raising,  having  three  acres 
of  made  bog  and  some  rough  bog  in  preparation.  His  wife,  Mehitable 
B.,  is  a  daughter  of  Andrew  Baker.  They  have  one  daughter,  Grace 
P.,  thirteen  years  of  age. 

Asa  Shiverick. — This  family  name,  illustrious  through  five  gen- 
erations in  Barnstable  county,  is  well  represented  in  Falmouth  to-day 
by  Asa  Shiverick,  of  Woods  Holl.  He  was  born  in  East  Dennis,  Jan- 
uary 14,  1816,  and  that  town  justly  claims  the  honor  of  his  early  citi- 
zenship and  his  enterprises,  with  those  of  his  father,  which  we  record 
in  the  Dennis  chapter.  The  progenitor  of  all  who  bear  this  name 
was  the  Rev.  Samuel  Shiverick,  of  Falmouth,  an  early  settler,  a  pas- 
tor and  teacher.  His  son,  David,  was  the  father  of  Thomas,  the 
grandfather  of  the  present  Asa  Shiverick,  whose  father,  also  named 
Asa,  removed  to  Dennis,  where  he  married  Susannah  Howes,  a  de- 
scendant of  the  original  Thomas  Howes  of  1639.  Asa  and  his  brother, 
Thomas,  a  resident  of  Chicago,  and  Sarah,  wife  of  Richard  Sugden, 
are  the  only  surviving  children  of  that  generation. 

During  boyhood  the  subject  of  this  sketch  received  a  limited  edu- 
cation in  the  primitive  common  school  of  East  Dennis,  and  at  the  age 


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TOWN  OF  FALMOUTH.  703 

•of  seventeen  went  to  Boston  to  commence  work  in  Lot  Wheelwright's 
ship  yard.  In  1834,  when  eighteen,  he  went  to  Kennebunk,  Maine, 
and  worked  during  the  summer,  returning  in  the  winter  to  enjoy  a 
single  term  of  school  in  the  new  academy,  or  select  school,  that  had 
been  established  in  his  native  village.  After  another  season  in  Bos- 
ton, in  1836  he  went  to  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  where  he  worked  one  year.  He 
returned  to  East  Dennis  in  1837  and  engaged  in  building  vessels  with 
his  father,  who  was  then  in  that  business.  Asa  and  his  brother,  David, 
went  into  the  copartnership  at  that  date,  and  later,  Paul  and  another 
brother  joined  them,  the  father  retiring  in  1849.  From  18S9,the  date 
of  the  launching  of  the  brig  Giraffe,  until  1854,  when  the  schooner 
Searsville  was  completed  and  launched,  these  enterprising  men  built 
a  vessel  each  year,  and  in  the  year  1852  they  built  two.  Between  the 
years  1850  and  1862  they  built  eight  ships,  which  were  not  only  a 
credit  to  Mr.  Shiverick,  but  are  pointed  to  with  pride  by  the  citizens 
of  his  native  village. 

On  the  sixth  of  December,  1838,  Mr.  Shiverick  married  Mary  Sears, 
sister  of  Nathan  Sears.  She  died  July  21,  1847,  leaving  one  son, 
Charles.  He  then  married  Betsey  C,  the  widow  of  Jotham  Howes; 
she  died  November  13,  1855.  These  wives  were  sisters,  and  daugh- 
ters of  Edmund  Sears,  a  descendant  of  the  origfinal  pioneer  of  that 
name.  His  last  marriage  was  May  14,  1857,  with  Ruth  Tobey,  daugh- 
ter of  Jonathan  H.  Tobey,  also  of  Dennis,  and  their  children  are:  A. 
Frank,  superintendent  of  the  guano  works.  Woods  Holl;  Arthur,  Bet- 
sey C,  at  home;  Lunette,  who  married  W.  O.  Luscomb,  Woods  Holl; 
and  Ruth,  at  home.  Charles  Shiverick  died  at  Omaha,  Neb.,  March 
18,  1890,  where  he,  with  his  younger  brother,  Arthur,  had  been  en- 
gaged in  furniture  business.  At  his  death  Arthur  became  head  of 
the  firm. 

Mr.  Shiverick  has  led  an  active  life  and  accomplished  much,  not 
in  the  political  intrigues  of  the  day,  but  in  building  up  indu.stries  and 
institutions,  which  will  remain  a  lasting  monument  to  his  memory. 
His  excellent  executive  ability  has  been  often  sought  in  the  affairs  of 
the  body  politic,  but  he  as  often  declined.  As  a  thorough  represent- 
.  ative  of  the  Jeffersonian  principles  of  democracy,  when  asked  to  rep- 
resent his  district  in  the  legislature,  his  ardent  republican  friends 
even  admitted  his  worth;  but  he  preferred  the  more  social  and  con- 
genial walks  of  life.  In  1886,  after  ten  years  of  superintendency  of 
the  guano  works  at  Woods  Holl,  he  asked  to  be  dismissed,  and  the  re- 
quest was  granted  on  condition  that  he  would  continue  his  valuable 
counsel  in  its  business  affairs. 

His  support  is  given  to  the  Episcopal  church,  and  altLough  con- 
servative and  unostentatious  in  all  things,  his  long  life  has  been 
marked  with  that  charity  and  good  will  to  man  which  has  endeared 


704  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

him  not  only  to  those  high  in  state,  but  to  those  in  the  most  humble 
walks  of  life.  In  the  enjoyment  of  the  well  merited  confidence  of  his 
contemporaries,  Mr.  Shiverick  lives  as  a  marked  type  of  the  passing 
generation  of  nobility,  to  which,  in  every  manner,  the  younger  gen- 
eration is  indebted  for  its  prosperity  and  prospects. 

Samuel  F.  Shiverick,  son  of  Samuel  and  grandson  of  Samuel  Shiv- 
erick, was  born  in  Falmouth  in  1828,  and  when  sixteen  years  of  age 
went  to  New  Bedford  and  learned  a  cooper's  trade.  In  1847  he  made 
the  first  of  six  whaling  voyages.  He  has  been  in  the  government  em- 
ploy since  March,  1870,  when  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Light 
House  Department  at  the  Woods  Holl  Buoy  depot.  He  was  in 
Cohasset  depot,  near  Boston,  four  years  and  at  Lovell's  Island  depot 
eleven  years;  returned  to  Woods  Holl  in  1885,  where  he  is  still  em- 
ployed. 

Hiram  E.  Small,  bom  in  1837,  is  the  only  son  of  Arnold  Small — 
born  in  1800  at  Waquoit — and  grandson  of  James  Small.  Arnold 
Small  removed  to  North  Falmouth  about  forty  years  ago  and  resided 
there  until  his  death.  Hiram  E.  is  a  carpenter.  His  wife,  Joanna,  is 
a  daughter  of  the  late  Captain  Joseph  W.  Nye,  who  was  a  brother  of 
Ferdinand  G.  Nye,  previously  mentioned. 

Abiel  Swift,  a  farmer  of  North  Falmouth,  born  in  1816,  is  a  son  of 
Joshua  and  a  grandson  of  Sylvanus  Swift  of  North  Falmouth,  and 
great-grandson  of  Benjamin  Swift,  all  being  in  line  with  this  old  family 
of  Friends.  His  brother,  David  H.  Swift,  died  on  a  whaling  voyage. 
The  grandfather,  Sylvanus,  built  the  south — the  older — portion  of  the 
house  where  Abiel  now  lives,  and  Joshua,  in  his  time,  added  the 
northern  part.  Mrs.  Abiel  Swift  is  Isabella,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Swift  of  another  family  down  the  Cape.  They  were  married  in  1854. 
Eugene  E.  C.  Swiff  (Thomas  L.',  Elijah',  William',  William*  Wil- 
liam', William',  William")  was  born  in  1836.  He  carried  on  a  mercan- 
tile business  in  Falmouth  ten  years  and  at  Woods  Holl  five  years.  His 
livery  business,  and  running  barges  from  Falmouth  depot  to  Fal- 
mouth Heights,  in  the  summer  season,  requires  thirty  horses.  His 
efficient  ser\'ice  as  postmaster  at  Falmouth  was  from  1885  to  October 
12,  1889.  He  was  in  business  six  years  in  Cincinnati,  where  he  was 
married.     He  has  two  sons  and  two  daughters. 

Ezekiel  E.  Swift,  born  in  1828,  is  a  son  of  Ezekiel,  who  was  a 
brother  of  Elijah  Swift.  His  father  and  uncle  ran  in  a  line  of  packets 
from  Falmouth  to  New  Bedford,  via  Woods  Holl,  a  line  which  for 
twenty-five  or  thirty  years  was  the  only  established  communication 
with  New  Bedford.  Ezekiel  E.  learned  ship-carpentry  and  house- 
joinery,  and,  after  carrying  on  business  five  years  at  Sandwich  as  con- 
tractor and  builder,  has  since  1852  been  similarly  engaged  at  Woods 
Holl.     He  married  Lucy  T.,  daughter  of  Marshall  Grew.     Their  chil- 


TOWN   OF   FALMOUTH.  706 

dren  are:  Helon  W.,  Love  F.,  Hannah  B.,  Eliza  A.  and  Edward  E.,the 
last  of  whom  is  in  business  with  the  father. 

George  W.  Swift'  is  a  son  of  Elijah' and  Hannah  (Lawrence)  Swift. 
He  was  born  in  1819.  He  is  a  descendant  in  the  line,  William',  Wil- 
liam', William',  William',  William'.  William  Swift'  came  to  this  coun- 
try from  Essex  county,  England.  He  was  in  Watertown,  Mass.,  in 
1634,  and  in  Sandwich  in  January,  1642-3.  He  died  in  Sandwich  in 
January,  1644  (N.  S.).  The  name  at  that  time  was  spelled  Swyft.  Mrs. 
George  W.  Swift,  married  in  1841,  is  Frances  E.  Chase  from  Vermont. 
Silas  F.  Swift'  (Moses',  Paul",  Benjamin',  Benjamin')  was  born  in 
1835.  Benjamin'  was  married  to  Hannah  Wing,  February  24,  1703. 
Their  son  Benjamin  married  Waitsell  Bowman,  and  lived  near  where. 
Abiel  Swift  now  lives  at  North  Falmouth,  where  Paul'  was  born. 

George  N.  Tobey'  (John',  1807-1886;  John',  1766-1849;  John', 
Eleazer",  John',  Thomas')  was  born  in  East  Falmouth  in  1846.  This 
ancestor,  Dea.  Thomas  Tobey',  came  from  England  to  this  country  at 
an  early  date  and  located  on  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  subsequently  remov- 
ing to  Sandwich,  Mass.  John'  married  Mercy  Howes,  and  their  son 
John  married  Patience  Nye.  George  N.  Tobey 's  wife  is  Hattie  M. 
Carver,  formerly  of  Vermont.  He  was  in  the  East  Falmouth  store 
four  years,  as  manager  for  the  association,  then  for  twelve  years  in  a 
milk  business  in  Somerville,  and  is  now  engaged  in  farming  in  his 
native  town. 

John  A.  Tobey',  born  in  1839,  is  the  oldest  child  of  John  Tobey'. 
He  engaged  in  carriage  building  (wood  work)  in  Mansfield  prior  to 
1876.  In  1878  he  returned  to  Falmouth,  and  has  since  been  engaged 
in  farming  and  cranberry  raising.  He  was  married  while  at  Mans- 
field, to  Phebe  Webb.  They  have  three  children:  Willie  A.,  Zama 
and  Hattie  Mabel. 

Asa  Phinney  Tobey,  born  in  1836,  is  a  son  of  Isaiah  and  Jane 
(Phinney)  Tobey.  His  grandfather  was  John  Tobey'.  For  twenty 
years  prior  to  1876  he  worked  at  carriage  building  in  New  Bedford. 
Mrs.  Tobey  was  Eliza  J.  Heyer,  of  Dartmouth,  Mass.  She  was  born 
in  Providence,  R.  I.,  in  1838.  Their  only  child,  Minnie,  is  Mrs.  Rob- 
ert Runyon,  of  Newark,  N.  J.  Mr.  Tobey  represented  Falmouth, 
Bourne  and  Sandwich  in  the  legislature  in  1885.  He  is  now  serving 
his  eighth  year  as  collector  of  taxes  for  this  town. 

George  H.  Turner  is  a  son  of  Zenas  L.,  whose  father,  Japheth,  was 
one  of  the  fifteen  children  of  Japheth  Turner.  George  H.  was  a 
farmer  in  Hatchville  until  1884,  and  in  November  of  that  year  he  be- 
gan a  grocery  business  in  Falmouth,  in  1888  adding  a  bakery  business. 
His  wife  was  Mary  P.  Chadwick.  Their  children  are:  Wendell  A.  and 
Annie. 

John  O.  Wicks,  born  in  1831,  is  a  son  of  Nymphus  Wicks,  a  seaman, 
45 


706  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

who  died  in  1842,  and  grandson  of  Elisha  and  Mary  Wicks.  He  fol- 
lowed the  sea  from  1849  until  about  1866,  after  which  he  was  em- 
ployed at  an  ochre  mill,  on  Marthas  Vineyard,  fourteen  years.  He 
was  married  in  1857,  to  Elvira  S.,  daughter  of  Hezekiah  Hoxie,  of 
West  Falmouth.  They  have  three  children:  Chloe  L.,  Charles  L.  and 
James  H.  Wicks.  Chloe  L.,  who  married  Alonzo  W.  Tilton  in  1876, 
has  one  son  and  two  daughters. 

Joseph  S.  Weeks,  born  in  1840,  is  a  son  of  S.  O.  Weeks,  born  1816, 
and  grandson  of  John  and  Susan  (Shiverick)  Weeks  [Wicks].  Susan 
was  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Shiverick,  who  served  seven  years  in  the 
war  of  the  revolution.  His  father  was  David  Shiverick,  who  was  born 
in  1726,  and  died  in  1811.  S.  O.  Weeks  married  Maria  R.,  daughter 
of  James,  son  of  Rufus  Fish.  She  is  a  sister  of  Arza  Fish,  of  Teticket. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  O.  Weeks  have  five  children:  Susan  (Mrs.  Andrew 
Handy),  Sarah  H.  (widow  of  Ephraim  Edwards),  Joseph  S.,  Arza  F. 
and  Lucy  P.  (Mrs.  Ebenezer  Handy).  Joseph  S.  married  Lydia  B. 
Swain,  of  Nantucket.  They  have  two  children:  George  W.  and  Chester 
S.  When  but  sixteen  years  of  age  Joseph  went  to  sea  and  was  gone 
four  years.  At  twenty  he  began  a  business  as  carpenter  and  builder, 
which  he  still  follows. 

Joseph  Wing,  son  of  Sylvanus  (1789-1847),  grandson  of  Presbery, 
who  came  from  Sandwich  to  North  Falmouth,  and  great-grandson  of 
Joshua  Wing,  who  died  in  Sandwich  in  1790,  was  born  in  North  Fal- 
mouth in  1815.  Mr.  Wing  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  but  abandoned 
that  business  to  care  for  the  home  place,  which  he  now  owns — the 
house  built  by  Silas  Swift  in  1783.  Mr.  Wing's  mother,  Hannah,  was 
a  daughter  of  Abiel  Swift  and  granddaughter  of  Sylvanus  Swift.  Mr. 
Wing  has  been  twice  married,  his  present  wife  being  a  lady  from 
South  Boston.  He  has  three  children:  Mary  F.  G.,  who  was  married 
in  January,  1889,  to  William  F.  Garrison,  Joseph  D.  and  Susan  L. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


TOWN   OF  MASHPEE. 


Location  and  Description. — Natural  Features. — Early  Events. — Incorporation  as  a  Dis- 
trict.— CivU  History.— Town  of  Mashjjee.— Chvirch  and  Parish. — Schoob. — Mashpee 
Manufacturing  Company. — Military  Service. — Some  Prominent  Representatives. — 
InduBtries. — BioKrapbical  Sketches. 


THIS  town,  lying  on  the  Vineyard  sound  twelve  miles  southwest 
of  the  court  house  in  Barnstable,  is  bounded  west  by  Falmouth, 
north  by  Sandwich,  and  east  by  Barnstable.  It  is  8J  miles  in 
length,  and  four  in  width.  It  originally  contained  about  six  square 
miles  more  of  land  than  is  now  included;  but  in  the  year  1700 
a  large  track  on  Waquoit  bay  was  annexed  to  Falmouth.  Another 
tract  was  later  added  to  Sandwich,  and  still  another  at  Cotuit  was 
added  to  Barnstable,  reducing  the  town  to  its  present  limits.  The 
name  is  written  Mashpee,  but  in  colonial  days  names  of  similar  eu- 
phony were  used — Marshpee,  Massapee,  Mashpoag,  and  once,  at  least, 
Maktepos.  It  is  south  of  a  chain  of  hills  extending  along  the  north 
side  of  the  Cape,  and  is  generally  covered  with  wood.  The  soil  is  a 
sandy  loam,  and,  although  generally  as  fertile  as  any  on  the  Cape,  is 
less  cultivated.  At  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  only  twelve 
hundred  acres  were  cleared.  More  has  been  since  cleared,  but  it  con- 
tains now  relatively  much  more  wood  land  than  neighboring  towns. 

Popponesset  bay  on  the  eastern  boundary  and  Waquoit  bay  on 
the  western,  furnish  the  town  with  two  harbors  in  connectipn  with 
the  sound.  Cotuit  river  separates  the  town  from  Barnstable  and  is  a 
tributary  of  Popponesset  bay.  Mashpee  river,  two  miles  west  of  and 
parallel  with  the  Cotuit,  rises  in  Mashpee  pond  and  empties  into  the 
same  bay.  These,  with  the  inconsiderable  stream  called  Quashnet 
river,  or  brook,  flowing  into  Waquoit  bay,  comprise  the  rivers  of 
the  town.  Mashpee  has  many  ponds,  the  largest  being  Mashpee,  a 
beautiful  sheet  of  water  two  and  a  half  miles  long  and  divided  into 
two  parts  by  Canaumet  neck,  the  northern  portion  being  known  as 
Wakeby  pond.  There  are  a  score  of  other  ponds  of  less  importance 
known  as  John's,  of  240  acres,  Ashumet,  226  acres,  Santuit,  170  acres, 
and  Pimlico,  Moody's,  Jehews,  Flat,  Fresh.  Salt,  Wells,  Deans,  Wills 
and  Bottles,  each  of  lesser  area.    It  contains  others,  but  none  of  geo- 


708  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

graphical  importance.  In  Popponesset  bay  is  an  island  containing 
forty  acres  of  excellent  land,  and  in  Waquoit  bay  there  are  two  ; 
between  these  bays  is  Great  neck,  once  a  favorite  resort  of  the  Indians. 
Some  extent  of  salt  marsh  is  found  near  the  bays,  and  the  best  lands 
are  near  and  around  the  large  ponds. 

That  this  territory  was  early  sought  and  had  long  been  the  home  of 
the  natives  has  been  proven  in  many  ways.  Mr.  Hawley,  who  labored 
here  as  a  missionaiy  said  :  "There  is  no  place  I  ever  saw,  so  adapted 
to  an  Indian  town  as  this."  And  the  state  commissioner  in  a  later 
report  said:  "  It  is  hardly  possible  to  find  a  place  more  favorable  for 
gaining  a  subsistence  without  labor,  than  the  territory  of  Mashpee." 

The  settlement  of  a  boundary  line  between  the  proprietors  of 
Barnstable  and  the  natives  was  effected  in  1658  by  the  assistance  of 
Richard  Bourne,  who  by  his  untiring  efforts  soon  after  obtained  for 
the  Mashpees  a  patent  of  these  lands  from  the  South  Sea  Indians,  as 
they  were  styled  in  the  deeds  of  that  day;  he  considering  it  vain  to 
undertake  the  propogation  of  Christianity  among  any  people  without 
a  home  when  they  might  remain  on  their  own  soil — a  view  of  the  case 
which  has  been  amply  justified.  No  lands  at  this  time  could  be  sold 
by  the  natives  without  license  from  the  general  court,  or  court  of 
assistants.  This  early  enactment  of  1686,  and  the  natural  character- 
istics of  the  territory,  tended  to  the  crystalization  of  the  native  ele- 
ment here,  which  has  since  been  possessed  and  occupied  by  them. 
The  same  year  there  were  141  praying  Indians. 

In  1693  the  state  appointed  guardians  who  in  turn  were  subject  to 
commissioners,  which  manner  of  rule  was  endured  until  1763,  when 
Mashpee  was  constituted  a  plantation.  In  1760  a  Mashpee,  Reuben 
Cognehew,  went  to  England  and  in  person  presented  to  the  King 
complaints  against  the  colonial  government,  which  resulted  in  the 
permission  to  elect  their  own  officers.  By  an  act,  January  25,1777, 
permission  was  given  to  sell  certain  lands  for  the  poor  fund  of  the 
district,  and  eight  thousand  dollars  was  thus  realized  for  that  purpose. 

The  dissatisfaction  of  the  Mashpees  with  the  oppressive  condition 
of  affairs,  assumed  in  1833  a  determined  and  formidable  aspect.  Peti- 
tions had  been  addressed  to  the  governor  and  council  in  vain;  but 
Ebenezer  Attaquin,  Daniel  B.  Amos,  Ezra  Attaquin  and  others  resolved 
once  more  to  seek  redress.  Accordingly  May  21,  1833,  a  council  in 
Mashpee  framed  and  sent  to  the  legislature  a  set  of  resolutions 
strongly  asserting  the  right  of  self-government.  The  leaders  in  this 
move  were  arrested  and  imprisoned  during  the  summer  of  1833  for 
assuming  to  practice  the  rights  claimed;  but  so  energetic  and  per- 
sistent were  the  Mashpees  that  their  memorial,  signed  by  282  males 
and  females  of  the  plantation,  was  favorably  considered,  resulting  in 
the  act  of  March  31,  1834,  incorporating  Mashpee  as  a  district.     They 


TOWN  OF   MASHPEE.  709 

could  now  choose  their  own  oflBcers  to  managfe  their  own  affairs,  to  be 
assisted  only  by  a  commissioner  appointed  by  the  state,  to  which  posi- 
tion Hon.  Charles  Marston  of  Barnstable  was  appointed  for  many 
years,  mach  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Mashpees. 

Under  the  act  of  1834,  that  restored  to  them  these  rights,  the  first 
selectmen  and  school  committee  were  chosen,  and  from  this  event 
the  Mashpees  date  their  release  from  civil  bondage.  The  office  of 
commissioner  was  abolished  by  the  legislature  of  1853,  and  that  of 
treasurer  created.  The  rights  of  the  people  in  the  meantime  gradually 
enlarged,  perhaps  as  fast  as  they  desired;  and  by  the  provisions  of 
chapter  72  of  the  laws  of  1842,  their  lands,  which  heretofore  had  been 
held  in  common,  were  partitioned  among  the  proprietors — sixty  acres 
to  each — and  the  deeds  duly  recorded.  This  allotment  was  made  in 
open  meeting,  embraced  all  the  residents,  and  conveyed  all  rights  in 
fee  and  of  sale  and  conveyance,  except  to  persons  not  inhabitants. 
These  proprietors  then  owned  their  several  parcels  of  land  to  enjoy 
all  the  civil  and  political  rights  of  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth 
except  that  they  were  not  taxed  nor  represented  in  state  or  county 
government. 

The  act  of  1834  incorporating  the  district  provided  that  the  first 
election  of  officers  should  be  held  in  the  meeting  house  and  that  the 
selectmen  chosen  then,  and  annually  thereafter,  should  also  be  the 
overseers  of  the  poor,  surveyors  of  the  highways,  and  committee  of 
the  schools.  Ezra  Attaquin,  Isaac  Coombs  and  Israel  Amos  were 
elected  selectmen  at  this  first  meeting,  and  between  that  time  and  the 
date  of  the  town's  incorporation,  Ebenezer  Attaquin,  first  elected  in 
1835,  was  selectman  8  years;  his  son,  Ebenezer,  1  year;  Isaac  Coombs 
3  consecutive  years;  William  Mingo,  2  years;  Solomon  Attaquin,  16 
years;  beginning  in  1837;  Daniel  B.  Amos,  first  elected  in  1840, 
served  7  different  years;  Peter  S.  Poller,  first  elected  in  1842,  served 
2  years;  Moses  Pocknett,  1837,  7  years;  Matthias  Amos,  1840,  7  years; 
James  Amos,  1841,  2  years;  Oakes  A.  Coombs,  1842,  9  years;  Nathan 
S.  Pocknett,  1843,  10  years;  David  Wilber,  1847, 1  year;  Joseph  Tobias, 
1848,  1  year;  William  James,  1849,  3  years;  Elijah  Pocknett,  1851,  3 
years;  Joshua  Pocknett,  1852, 1  year;  Isaac  Jones,  1853, 2  years;  Sampson 
Alvas,  1854,  4  years;  William  H.  Simon,  1856,  7  years;  Nicholas  P. 
Keeter,  1857,  3  years;  Timothy  Pocknett,  1864, 1  year;  Walter  R.  Mingo, 
1866,  4  years;  Foster  Pells,  1866,  4  years;  Watson  F.  Hammond,  1869, 
and  Silas  P.  Pells,  1870,  each  1  year. 

Charles  Marston,  commissioner  and  treasurer  until  1853,  was  also 
treasurer  until  1865,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Solomon  C.  Howland 
for  six  years. 

The  clerks  elected  by  the  district  were:  Daniel  B.  Amos,  elected 
1834;  James  Amos,  1838;  Ebenezer  Attaquin,  1839;  Solomon  Attaquin, 


710  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

1843;  William  Mingo,  1845;  Ebenezer  Attaquin,  1846;  Solomon 
Attaquin,  1847;  Joseph  Tobias,  1848;  James  Amos,  1849;  Ebenezer 
Attaquin,  1850;  Nicholas  P.  Keeter,  1853;  James  Amos,  1857;  Nicholas 
P.  Keeter,  1859;  Solomon  Attaquin,  1860;  James  Amos,  1861;  Solomon 
Attaquin,  1862;  Elijah  W.  Pocknett.  1865;  and  Benjamin  J.  Attaquin, 
in  1866 — each  of  whom  served  until  his  successor  was  elected. 

Since  the  town  was  incorporated  its  change  of  ofl5cers  has  been 
less  frequent.  The  selectmen  have  wisely  administered  its  local 
affairs.  Solomon  Attaquin  served  as  selectman  of  the  town  2  years; 
Walter  R.  Mingo,  8  years;  Silas  P.  Pells,  10  years;  Darius  Coombs, 
7  years;  Matthias  Amos,  3  years;  Foster  L.  Pells,  1  year;  Nicholas  P. 
Keeter,  from  1878,  for 8  years;  William  F.  Myeand  William  H.Simon, 
from  1879,  each  7  years;  Horatio  H.  Amos,  from  1886,  3  years.  The 
selectmen  for  1889  were  Darius  Coombs,  Lysander  Z.  Amos  and  Silas 
P.  Pells. 

The  list  of  town  treasurers,  each  serving  until  the  election  of  his 
successor,  includes  the  names  of  Matthias  Amos,  elected  in  1871; 
Virgil  B  Collins,  in  1873;  George  R.  Coombs,  1877;  William  H.  Simon, 
1879;  Solomon  Attaquin,  1884;  Horatio  H.  Amos,  1887;  and  Walter 
R.  Mingo  elected  in  1889. 

The  town  has  had  but  three  clerks:  George  R.  Coombs,  the  last 
clerk  of  the  district,  was  continued  in  of5ce  until  1879,  when  Oliver 
F.  Jones  was  elected  and  served  four  years;  and  the  present  efficient 
clerk,  Charles  F.  Hammond,  was  first  elected  in  1883. 

The  present  boundary  line  between  Mashpee  and  Falmouth  was 
adjusted  June  18,  1885;  and  that  between  Mashpee  and  Sandwich  on 
the  27th  of  May,  1887,  leaving  the  Mashpees  the  present  town  of  con- 
siderable importance,  and  the  well-deserved  privileges  its  people  had 
enjoyed  since  the  incorporation.  May  28,  1870.  The  valuation  of  the 
town  for  1889  was  $158,190,  upon  which  was  raised  by  taxation  $1,800. 
The  number  of  polls  assessed  was  seventy-five,  the  town  containing 
sixty-seven  dwellings.  The  sum  of  $2,729.41  was  disbursed  during 
the  year  for  roads,  schools,  and  other  town  purposes.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  long  years  of  surveillance  and  oppression  by  the  Common- 
wealth rendering  the  Mashpees  distrustful  of  their  own  capacity  for 
self-government,  the  affairs  of  the  town  are  now  as  wisely  adminis- 
tered and  its  books  as  well  kept  and  arranged,  as  in  those  adjoining. 

The  allotment  of  1842,  already  mentioned,  did  not  include  all  the 
lands  of  Mashpee.  Five  thousand  acres  remained  as  the  common 
property  of  the  proprietors  until  after  1871,  when  these  common  lands 
were  reduced  by  division  and  sale  to  individual  ownership.  On  the 
eighth  of  April,  1871,  Chief  Justice  Lincoln  F.  Brigham,  in  superior 
court  at  Barnstable,  under  the  authority  of  the  act  of  May  28,  1870, 
appointed  Wendell  H.  Cobb,  Cyrus  Cahoon  and  Asa  E.  Lovell  to  make 


TOWN  OF  MASHPEE.  711 

a  description  and  record  of  the  titles  and  bounds  of  lands  rightfully- 
held  by  individual  owners  under  the  "set-off "  to  the  proprietors  of 
the  district  in  1842.  The  Commonwealth  had  already  made  extensive 
and  costly  surveys  of  these  lands,  and  the  records  provided  for  by 
Judge  Brigham's  order  are  now  on  file  in  the  ofl&ce  at  Barnstable,  con- 
stituting the  basis  of  all  subsequent  titles  to  these  lands. 

The  lands  of  the  Mashpees  were  in  common  formerly,  and  not 
until  their  rights  to  civil  and  religious  liberty  were  bestowed,  could 
much  be  expected.  Not  until  1725  were  they  permitted  to  employ  per- 
sons to  build  houses  on  the  reservation,  and  in  1767  there  were  twenty- 
one  shingled  houses,  being  about  one-third  of  the  residences.  In  1800 
there  were  eighty  houses  and  a  still  larger  proportion  were  of  the  bet- 
ter class.  Wigwams  had  almost  entirely  disappeared.  Thus  they 
improved  as  soon  as  the  shackles  of  what  they  considered  slavery  were 
removed. 

Four  years  after  the  incorporation  of  the  town  the  population  was 
278,  and  in  1880  had  increased  to  346.  The  census  of  1886  showed  a 
population  of  311,  of  whom  79  were  voters. 

Happily  for  the  good  name  of  Puritan  New  England,  and  happily 
for  the  fate  of  the  Aborigines,  the  most  conspicuous  relations  between 
the  two  races  grew  out  of  and  clustered  around  the  Godly  efforts  of 
Godly  men  to  bring  the  white  man's  religion  to  the  Indians  of  the 
South  sea,  which  civilizing  influence  was  early  brought.  In  1661, 
when  settlers  came  to  Falmouth,  they  soon  learned  to  bound  their 
lands  on  the  east  by  the  "  Christian  Indians'  "  land.  The  gospel  was 
preached  first  among  them  in  1658,  by  Mr.  Richard  Bourne  of  Sand- 
wich, who  earnestly  turned  his  attention  to  the  work  of  evangelizing 
the  Mashpees,  sometimes  then  called  South  Sea  Indians.  This  term 
of  South  Sea  Indians  was  applied  formerly  to  those  occupying  the 
south  part  of  the  Cape;  they  were  in  different  precincts  and  under 
sub-chiefs,  with  the  principal  chief  living  at  what  is  now  Hyannis. 

On  the  17th  of  August,  1670,  Mr.  Bourne  was  ordained  pastor  of 
an  Indian  church  gathered  from  his  own  disciples  and  converts.  The 
services  were  performed  by  the  famous  Mr.  Elliot,  assisted  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Cotton,  who  came  from  Plymouth,  and  others  from  neighboring 
churches.  Forty  years  of  pastoral  duty  was  then  performed  by  Simon 
Popmonet,  an  Indian.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Joseph  Bourne,  or- 
dained November  26, 1729,  who  was  led  to  resign  in  1742,  when  Solo- 
mon Briant,  an  Indian,  oflSiciated  as  pastor  for  sixteen  years,  with 
much  opposition  to  his  settlement,  but  doing  much  good.  Rev. 
Gideon  Hawley  succeeded  Mr.  Briant,  April  10,  1758,  as  missionary 
and  pastor.  In  1792  the  only  Indian  church  in  the  Commonwealth 
was  at  Mashpee.  In  1811  Rev.  Phineas  Fish  of  Sandwich  succeeded 
Hawley,  and  was  ordained  September  18,  1812.     William  Apes,  a 


712.  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

reg-ularly  ordained  preacher  of  the  Pequot  tribe,  in  1833  was  adopted 
by  the  Mashpees  and  invited  occasionally  to  preach,  which  he  did 
until  after  their  incorporation  as  a  district.  In  1830  Blind  Joseph  had 
organized  a  religious  society  of  the  Baptist  persuasion,  to  which  there 
were  many  adherents,  and  which  has  since  represented  the  prevail- 
ing religious  sentiment  of  the  people. 

In  consideration  of  the  permanent  organization  of  a  church  soci- 
ety, and  wishing  to  control  the  church  property,  to  which  the  society 
had  no  claim  only  by  legal  action,  the  citizens,  under  the  act  of  March 
21, 1840,  proceeded  to  take  the  required  measures  to  control  their  own 
religious  affairs. 

Prior  to  1834  the  Mashpees  had  the  minister  furnished  for  them 
without  consulting  their  wishes.  Rev.  Phineas  Fish  had  been  quart- 
ered upon  them,  much  to  their  dissatisfaction.  The  proper  warrant 
for  the  organization  of  a  parish  was  issued  to  William  Mingo  by 
Charles  Mafston,  July  10,  1840,  to  meet  at  the  church  on  the  20th, 
and  a  parish  was  then  formed.  At  this  meeting  very  strong  resolu- 
tions were  adopted;  one  was  that  "  Mr.  Fish  never  was  settled  here  as 
a  missionary  or  minister  by  any  act  of  the  Indians  or  proprietors;" 
another,  "  that  Mr.  Fish's  term  ended  with  the  term  of  the  overseers; 
that  we  have  been  trying  to  get  rid  of  Mr.  Fish  since  we  got  our  lib- 
erty in  1834."  It  seems  that  a  suit  in  equity  was  then  pending  against 
Mr.  Fish  to  obtain  possession  of  the  church  property  of  the  parish, 
the  inhabitants  having  discharged  him  in  1837.  Mr.  Fish  was  pres- 
ent at  the  meeting.  Charles  Marston  was  the  moderator  and  James 
Amos  clerk.  Solomon  Attaquin,  Daniel  B.  Amos  and  Matthias  Amos 
were  chosen  a  prudential  committee.  Among  other  resolutions  there 
voted  was  one  to  "  put  a  new  lock  upon  the  meeting  house  and  take 
possession  of  the  same,  and  the  men  who  change  the  lock  be  safely 
guarded  during  the  act — ".  Mr.  Fish  was  forcibly  ejected  when  the 
meeting  adjourned.  Rev.  David  Culver  was  selected  as  missionary 
at  the  meeting;  Rev.  Henry  Coombs  was  chosen  missionary  April, 
1841. 

In  1842  the  parish,  in  legal  assembly,  voted  again  strongly  against 
Mr.  Fish,  who  was  yet  present  in  the  flesh  if  not  in  the  spirit.  The 
Mashpees,  now  managing  their  own  spiritual  affairs,  were  prosjjerous 
and  united  as  a  parish.  Rev.  David  M.  Burdick  was  chosen  as  mis- 
sionary September  3,  1843.  It  was  agreed,  in  the  meeting  of  1844,  to 
settle  with  Mr.  Fish  "  when  the  next  third  is  allowed  them  from  the 
Williams  fund."  Mr.  Burdick  continued  his  labors  for  several  years, 
but  some  division  of  interest  appeared  in  a  vote  in  1847  "  to  pay  Mr. 
Burdick  $80  on  condition  that  the  next  meeting  allow  Joseph  Amos 
$80."  In  1848  Joseph  Amos  was  voted  $20  to  date,  and  the  parish 
seemed  harmonious. 


TOWN  OF  MASHPEE.  713 

Rev.  Thomas  Wakefield  was  chosen  in  1850,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Chapman  in  1861.    Stephen  Coombs  was  chosen  mission- 
ary in  1864  and  remained  until  1869,  to  be  succeeded  by  Rev.  D.  S. 
Hawley.    A  subscription  for  a  Sunday  school  library  was  circulated 
in  1869,  resulting  in  a  hearty  response  and  great  benefit.     In  1861  E. 
A.  Edwards  was  chosen  missionary,  filling  the  desk  until  1865,  then 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  E.  Wood,  who  remained  several  years. 
In  187S,  by  vote,  the  committee  was  authorized  to  pay  six  hundred 
dollars  for  a  missionary,  also  to  repair  the  meeting  house.     Rev.  Wil- 
liam Hurst  was  chosen  in  1886  for  one  year,  and  Lemuel  G.  Waldron, 
chosen  in  1887,  was  continued  through  1889.   The  chosen  faith  of  the, 
Mashpees  is  that  established  by  Joseph  Amos  in  1830,  who  led  the 
people  to  the  Baptist  belief.    The  Williams  fund  in  charge  of  Har- 
vard College  had  been  left  in  1711  "  for  the  blessed  work  of  convert- 
ing the  poor  Indians,"  and  has  since  been  paid  to  the  parish  in  need- 
ful sums  for  the  support  of  the  gospel.    The  intention  of  the  donor, 
a  clergyman  of  London,  was  not  to  support  a  Baptist  society,  but  the 
old  orthodox,  and  upon  this  Mr.  Fish  based  his  claim;  but,  as  we 
have  said,  the  Baptist  faith  prevails,  and  the  parish  has  its  yearly 
meetings,  electing  officers  and  voting  for  preaching,  which  entitles 
them  to  the  income  from  the  fund;  two-thirds  of  which  they  apply  to 
the  support  of  a  chosen  preacher. 

The  people  met  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Amos,  January  4, 1838,  and 
established  the  present  Baptist  Society  of  Mashpee,  many  of  its  mem- 
bers previously  belonging  to  the  church  at  Hyannis  and  elsewhere. 
It  is  a  strong  and  prosperous  religious  society,  to  which  the  best  citi- 
zens are  strongly  devoted.  The  parjsh  meetings  are  regularly  held, 
with  Lysander  Z.  Amos,  clerk.  The  parish  has  for  many  years  re- 
tained W.  F.  Hammond  as  clerk.  A  meeting  house  had  been  erected 
in  1684  in  the  east  part  of  the  town,  on  the  road  from  Cotuit  to  Sand- 
wich, and  it  had  been  repaired  in  1717  by  an  appropriation  of  five 
hundred  dollars,  and  later  by  other  smaller  ones;  but  it  still  bore  the 
same  old  style  of  one  door  and  small  windows.  In  1854  the  house 
was  moved  to  its  present  site,  near  the  center  of  the  town,  and  re- 
modeled. 

The  people  of  Mashpee  are  earnest  in  the  work  of  temperance,  and 
May  4,  1885,  a  lodge  of  Good  Templars  was  organized  with  twenty 
members,  which  had  increased  to  ninety  in  1889.  A  lodge  of  Juven- 
ile Templars  of  thirty  members  is  also  in  successful  operation.  The 
hall,  library,  reading  room  and  the  Juvenile  organization  are  all  under 
the  control  of  the  elder  members  of  the  Good  Templars'  lodge,  and 
the  best  results  may  be  expected.  The  presiding  officers  of  this  lodge 
have  been  selected  from  the  citizens  active  in  the  work,  and  this  com- 
bination of  sociel  societies  is  a  strong  factor  for  good. 


714  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Co-existent  with  the  march  of  religious  teachings  the  schools  have- 
kept  pace.  One  school  had  been  kept  prior  to  1831,  when  the  legis- 
lature appropriated  four  hundred  dollars  for  the  erection  of  two- 
school  houses — one  at  the  North  village  and  one  at  the  South.  In 
1834  the  state  appropriated  one  hundred  dollars  from  its  school  fund, 
and  from  1835  this  was  made  an  annual  appropriation.  In  1855  there 
were  105  school  children  in  the  two  districts.  The  condition  of  the 
state's  appropriation  was,  that  the  inhabitants  should  raise  annually,, 
by  tax,  seventy-five  dollars,  to  be  used  for  the  same  purpose;  and  this- 
sum  or  more  was  thus  assessed  and  raised  annually.  The  year's  ex- 
penditures for  schools,  as  reported  by  the  committee  on  accounts,  in 
April,  1889,  was  $435.14. 

The  simple  tastes  and  natures  of  their  fathers  were  for  the  wilder- 
ness and  the  solitudes,  and  formerly  hunting  and  fishing  were  their 
chief  avocations;  but  since  1834  attention  here  has  been  turned  to 
farming,  and  the  fine  farms  of  the  proprietors  compare  favorably  witb 
those  of  other  towns.  A  company  was  incorporated  under  the  title 
of  the  Mashpee  Manufacturing  Company,  with  suitable  buildings  on 
the  Santuit  river,  through  the  instrumentality  of  Rev.  Joseph  Wood,, 
then  pastor  of  this  people.  The  object  was  the  manufacture  of  brooms,, 
which  did  not  prove  as  profitable  as  was  anticipated,  and  the  right  to 
cultivate  cranberries  was  added  to  the  privileges  of  this  company  two 
years  later.  Others  then  took  stock  in  the  company;  the  ponds  were 
converted  into  cranberry  bogs,  other  lands  were  added  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  the  company,  under  the  original  title,  now  cultivates  nearly 
fifty  acres.  In  1872  Captain  S.  L.  Ames  purchased  the  building  which 
is  used  as  a  cranberry  house.  Cranberry  culture  has  proved  very- 
profitable,  not  only  to  this  company,  composed  now  wholly  of  non- 
residents, but  to  the  people  of  Mashpee,  who,  stimulated  by  this  suc- 
cess, have  since  largely  and  successfully  engaged  in  the  culture  of 
this  fruit  in  various  parts  of  the  town. 

This  people  have  been  hospitable  from  their  earliest  history;  and^ 
although  owing  him  fealty,  Massasoit,  in  the  war  of  1675, 1 676,  could  not 
induce  them  to  commit  any  overt  act  of  hostility  toward  the  English.. 
During  the  revolutionary  war  the  Mashpees  were  ready  and  valiant 
soldiers,  doing  much  service.     Rev.  Mr.  Hawley  stated,  in  1783,  that; 
there  were  no  less  than  seventy  widows  in  the  plantation — the  result 
of  that  war.    A  single  regiment,  raised  in  1777  for  the  continental! 
army,  had  the  following  twenty-six  warriors  out:    Francis  Webquish 
Samuel  Moses,  Damps  Squibs,  Mark  Negro,  Tom  Caesar,  Joseph  Asher, 
James  Keeter,  Joseph  Keeter,  Jacob  Keeter,  Daniel  Pocknet,  Job  Rim 
mon,  George  Shawn,  Castel  Bamet,  Joshua  Pognet,  James  Rimmon 
David   Hatch,   James  Nocake,  Abel  Hoswitt,  Elisha   Keeter,   John 
Pearce,  John  Mapix,  Amos  Babcock,  Hosea  Pognet,  Church,  Asher- 


^^rl^^y^aJiy^^  ^yC:^^^/^^  > 


niiNT. 

E       eiERSTADT,     N.     T. 


TOWN  OF   MASHPEE.  715 

and  Gideon  Tumpum;  of  whom  only  three  returned.  In  the  war  of 
1812  but  few  enlisted.  In  the  civil  war,  1861-6,  there  were  many  en- 
listments, among  whom,  in  the  army,  were  Azariah  Brown  and  Lewis 
F.  Mills,  brother  of  William  J.  Mills.  In  the  navy  at  the  time  were 
John  Sylvester  Keeter  and  his  brother  Edmund,  Darius  Coombs, 
James  Dennison,  Lysander  B.  Godfrey,  Alonzo  Godfrey  and  James 
M.  Godfrey,  three  brothers;  Lewis  Atraquin,  James  and  John  Coet, 
Jacob  and  Samuel  Cowett,  Thomas  L.  Hicks,  David  Robins,  Charles 
Alvis,  John  H.  Spencer  and  John  H.  Thompson. 

During  the  present  century  there  have  been  bom  in  Mashpee 
some  remarkable  men.  The  wonderful  genius  of  the  blind  preacher, 
who,  for  so  many  years  shone  in  his  glorious  power,  converting  hun- 
dreds by  his  preaching  and  singing,  and  to  whom  the  present  church 
of  the  town  looks  as  its  patron  saint,  will  not  be  forgotten.  His  de- 
scendants, and  those  of  other  prominent  natives  now  fill  the  ofiBces 
and  business  positions  in  the  town.  Some  names  have  become  en- 
tirely extinct,  with  the  blood.  Poppononett  was  a  chief  of  the  south 
shore  Indians,  from  whom  Nathan  S.  Pocknet  was  a  descendant.  Na- 
than S.  lived  on  the  hill  northwest  of  the  west  end  of  Ockway  bay. 
None  of  the  name  are  left. 

Solomon  Attaquin.— The  ancestors  of  this  aged  native  were  born 
in  Mashpee,  and  were  counted  in  the  number  of  Christian  Indians. 
His  father,  Ezra,  and  grandfather,  Solomon,  were  prominent  in  the 
affairs  of  their  people  and  have  long  slumbered  in  the  Attaquin  bury- 
ing-ground,  west  of  Mashpee  pond.  His  mother  was  Sarah  Jones,  an 
earnest  member  of  .the  Baptist  church.  He  was  born  January  28, 1810, 
in  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  town,  near  Waquoit,  and  at  the 
early  school  in  the  latter  place  acquired  the  rudiments  of  reading  and 
writing.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  shipped  as  cook  on  a  fishing  voyage 
to  the  Grand  Banks,  serving  in  this  capacity  two  seasons.  At  fourteen 
he  shipped  on  board  a  whaling  vessel,  making  two  long  voyages,  and 
at  the  age  of  twenty  was  able  to  go  before  the  mast  in  a  merchant- 
man. He  visited  Europe,  the  West  Indies  and  many  southern  cities 
in  his  voyages,  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  mate.  In  1834,  when  Mashpee 
was  incorporated  as  a  district,  he  retired  from  a  steady  seafaring  life 
and  assisted  the  people  in  their  municipal  affairs.  He  was  elected  one 
of  their  first  selectmen,  an  office  which  he  filled,  at  various  times,  a 
period  of  twenty-two  years. 

In  1836  he  married  Cynthia  Conant,  of  Plymouth  county,  who  still 
survives.  Of  their  two  children,  one  died  in  childhood,  the  other  mar- 
ried Samuel  Jones,  and  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-nine. 

In  1840  Mr.  Attaquin  erected  the  building  which,  with  suitable 
additions,  has  since  been  known  as  Hotel  Attaquin.  Several  years 
after  this  hotel  was  built,  the  best  of  fishing,  in  close  proximity, 


716  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

induced  sportsmen  to  visit  the  town,  and  the  Hotel  Attaquin  became 
a  favorite  resort.     This  property  he  sold  in  1888. 

After  his  retirement  from  long-  voyoges  he,  for  several  years, 
coasted  during  the  summer  between  Boston  and  Albany,  as  master  or 
mate.  In  the  winter  seasons  he  was  often  sent  to  the  general  court 
in  the  interest  of  his  people.  While  the  territory  was  a  district  and 
after  it  attained  the  rank  of  a  town  he  served  as  town  clerk  and  treas- 
urer, and  in  other  positions  wherein  his  superior  judgment  and  mature 
years  would  benefit  his  people.  He  is  a  republican  in  matters  of  state, 
and  was  appointed  the  first  postmaster  of  Mashpee  in  1871,  which 
position  he  filled  until  1889.  While  active  in  secular  life,  he  has  been 
mindful  also  of  the  interests  of  the  Baptist  church  of  which  he  and 
his  wife  have  been  members  for  the  past  twenty  years.  Venerable  in 
his  four-score  years,  he  of  all  others  of  his  people  now  living,  has 
passed  through  their  comparative  slavery,  then  along  the  line  of  their 
improvement  to  the  full  enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  citizenship.  The 
present  generation  in  their  prosperity  may  well  revere  the  name  of 
Solomon  Attaquin. 

Sixteen  years  after  Mashpee  was  incorporated  it  was,  as  it  still  is, 
a  part  of  the  first  Barnstable  district.  In  1885  Watson  F.  Hammond, 
a  native  of  Mashpee,  was  nominated  by  the  republicans,  and  was  elec- 
ted to  represent  this  district  in  the  legislature,  taking  his  seat  as  the 
first  one  of  his  people  ever  elected  to  the  general  court  of  this  Com- 
monwealth. He  was  bom  here  May  24, 1837,  and  is  the  son  of  John 
Hammond,  whose  father,  John,  was  originally  of  Sag  Harbor — prob- 
ably descended  from  a  Montauk  Indian.  Mr.  Hammond's  wife  is 
Rebecca,  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Amos,  the  blind  preacher.  Their  six 
children  are:  Charles  H.,  Nellie  W.,  Alice  C,  Lorenzo  T.,  Edith  L. 
and  Carrie  F.  The  oldest  son,  Charles  H.,was  bom  in  1861,  and  when 
twenty-one  years  old  began  teaching  in  the.  South  district,  and  has 
taught  also  in  the  North  district.  In  1883  Charles  H.  was  elected 
town  clerk,  an  office  which  he  continues  to  ably  fill.  His  wife,  Mary 
E.,  is  a  daughter  of  John  H.  Pompey. 

The  longest  line  of  descent  accurately  traceable  here  is  in  the 
Coombs  family.  Two  brothers,  now  living,  both  substantial  citizens 
of  the  town,  are  George  R.,  born  in  1843,  and  Darius,  born  in  1846. 
Their  father,  Oakes  A.  Coombs,  was  a  son  of  Isaac  and  a  grandson  of 
Joshua  Coombs — all  bom  in  Mashpee.  George  R.  engaged  in  the 
farming,  cranberry  and  oyster  business.  He  was  elected  cleri  of  the 
district  and  served  until  after  the  town  was  incorporated.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  school  committee  about  three  years,  also  town 
treasurer.  His  wife,  Elizabeth  S.,  is  a  sister  of  William  J.  Mills  of 
this  town.  Darius  Coombs  has  been  chairman  of  the  selectmen  since 
1885.     He  served  in  this  capacity  a  period  of  four  years,  prior  to  this. 


TOWN  OF  MASHPEE.  '^^'^ 

He  has  ran  the  daily  mail  stage  from  Mashpee  to  Sandwich  since 
1877.  He  was  tax  collector  from  1871  to  1877.  His  wife,  Martha  A., 
Mye,  is  the  daughter  of  John  and  Lydia  (Pocknet)  Mye. 

Deacon  Matthias  Amos,  who  died  in  1885,  was  all  his  life  a  resident 
of  this  town,  where  his  father  Israel,  a  seafaring  man,  was  born  and 
lived.  The  deacon  left  a  snug  property  for  his  widow  and  children. 
His  two  sons— Horatio  H.,  born  in  1852,  and  Lysander  Z.,  born  in 
1858— are  enterprising  and  substantial  citizens  of  the  town.  Horatio 
H.  went  to  sea  at  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  continued  until  1886. 
Since  then  he  has  been  selectman,  as  his  father  had  been,  and  also 
town  treasurer,  two  years.  His  wife  is  Ella  F.  Gardiner.  Lysander 
Z.  Amos,  at  twenty-two  years  of  age,  was  elected  collector  of  taxes  and 
has  held  the  office  to  the  present  time.  In  1883  he  was  commissioned 
by  Gov.  Benjamin  F.  Butler  as  a  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  Common- 
wealth for  seven  years.  In  1887  he  was  one  of  the  school  committee 
of  the  town  and  for  the  last  two  years  has  been  treasurer  and  clerk 
for  the  parish.  His  wife  is  Flora  E.,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  D. 
Bearse. 

This  people  had  the  facilities  of  a  mill  for  grinding  corn  as  early 
as  the  people  of  plantations  adjoining.  Papers  in  the  hands  of  the 
state's  Indian  commissions  in  1870  show  that  in  1684  Shearjashaub 
Bourne  purchased  of  Quitchatassett,  the  principal  chief  and  others, 
all  the  swamp  land  from  Great  pond  (Mashpee  pond)  southward  to 
Coleman's  bridge,  including  the  present  bogs  in  the  Mashpee  river 
valley  for  one-half  mile  southerly  from  the  pond.  For  this  grant  of 
land  Mr.  Bourne  agreed  to  build  a  meeting  house  for  the  Mashpees. 
After  the  purchase  of  the  lands  Mr.  Bourne  built  a  grist  mill  south  of 
the  road,  near  where  stands  the  ice  house  of  O.  M.  Holmes,  and  the 
present  dam  north  of  the  road  was  constracted  for  the  use  of  this 
mill.  Still  later  a  saw  mill  was  erected  on  the  same  dam;  which  mill 
was  abandoned  early  in  the  present  century.  The  grist  mill  was  used 
until  after  1820.  Hezekiah  Coleman  had  a  mill  for  grinding  corn, 
situated  on  the  river  where  the  road  crosses  it  north  of  W.  R.  Mingo's. 
This  mill  was  erected  before  Mr.  Bourne's,  for  tradition  says  Coleman 
was  compelled  to  discontinue  grinding  because  the  water  was  held 
back  by  Bourne. 

The  business  of  the  town  has  recently  grown  rapidly  in  import- 
ance. Cotuit  was  a  former  trading  place;  but  the  wants  of  the  people 
are  now  supplied  within  its  own  borders.  Virgil  B.  Collins  prior  to 
his  death  in  1875,  also  Captain  Seth  Collins,  his  brother,  of  Waquoit, 
kept  stores.  Among  the  active  merchants  were  George  R.  and 
Darius  Coombs.  Lysander  Z.  Amos  began  his  store,  now  the  only 
one  here,  in  September,  1883;  he  had  been  engaged  in  making  cran- 
berry barrels  for  the  four  years  previous. 


718  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

There  has  been  a  post  office  at  Mashpee  since  1870.  mail  being 
supplied  by  a  stage  line  from  Sandwich.  It  was  run  tri-weekly  for 
three  years  by  James  Amos,  and  for  four  years  by  Seth  Collins,  and 
since  1877,  daily  by  Darius  Coombs.  Solomon  Attaquin  served  the 
public  as  the  faithful  agent  of  the  government  until  the  spring  of 
1889,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  O.  M.  Holmes,  who  added  a  nice  set 
of  mail  boxes  to  the  office.  The  hotel  kept  by  Mr.  Attaquin  so  long, 
now  by  Mr.  Holmes,  is  a  famous  resort  for  sporting  parties.  There 
are  two  halls  at  the  north  village;  the  finished  one  was  built  in  1888 
.  by  a  company  composed  of  George  R.  Coombs,  Watson  F.  Hammond, 
Alexander  Booker,  Charles  H.  Hammond,  W.  R.  Mingo,  W.  H 
Simon  and  J.  H.  Thompson.  The  library  reading  room  was  opened 
June  2,  1889.  The  officers  of  the  hall  and  library  association  are:  W. 
F.  Hammond,  pres.;  C.  H.  Hammond,  sec;  W.  H.  Simon,  treas. 

The  excellent  fishing  in  the  ponds,  bays  and  streams  has  given  the 
town  preference  for  real  sport.  Pickerel,  eels,  bass,  bluefish,  flound- 
ers, cunners,  smelt,  frost-fish,  scup,  clams,  and  other  fish  are  plenti- 
fully caught.  The  Mashpee  trout  frequently  sell  for  one  dollar  a 
pound,  when  those  from  other  places  in  New  England  are  quoted  at 
only  one-fourth  that  price.  Oysters  are  a  specialty  on  the  southern 
borders  of  the  town. 

The  Popponesset  bay,  between  Mashpee  and  Barnstable,  contains 
some  of  the  finest  oyster  ground  on  the  southern  shore  of  Cape  Cod. 
The  oysters  known  as  "  Pells'  Best "  are  grown  here.  The  proprietor 
of  the  beds  is  Silas  P.  Pells,  who  was  born  here  in  1838.  Besides  being 
a  successful  business  man,  he  has  served  acceptably  in  his  town  as 
school  committee,  constable,  and  several  years  as  selectman.  His 
wife,  deceased,  was  Lydia  Thompson.  His  present  wife,  Annie  Mye, 
is  of  Mashpee. 

Oliver  M.  Holmes  was  among  the  Boston  people  who  were  attracted 
to  Mashpee  by  the  hunting  and  fishing  as  early  as  1660.  In  1870  he, 
with  his  uncle,  Levi  Morse  of  Boston,  invested  quite  largely  in  a  cran- 
berry enterprise  here,  now  representing  about  twenty-seven  acres. 
His  house — "  Hotel  Attaquin  " — is  a  well  kept  resort,  headquarters 
for  the  fishing  parties  frequenting  the  trout  streams  and  ponds  of 
Mashpee. 

William  J.  Mills  was  born  in  Nantucket  in  1842,  where  his  father, 
Joseph  Mills,  resided.  His  mother  was  Dorcas  Webquish  of  Mashpee. 
He  followed  the  sea,  coasting  and  fishing,  from  boyhood  until  1880. 
His  wife  is  Adaline  B.  Gardner.  His  business  is  farming  and  fishing, 
at  which  he  has  acquired  a  fair  property. 

Walter  R.  Mingo. — As  a  representative  factor  of -the  agricultural 
importance  of  Mashpee,  this  citizen  is  one  of  the  most  prominent. 
His  beautiful  residence  is  located  on  the  rise  of  land  just  south  of  the 


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TOWN   OF   MASHPEE.  719 

-village.  William  Mingo,  his  ancestor,  went  to  California  in  1849, 
where  he  died  in  1851.  He  was  an  active  valuable  man  in  the  affairs 
•of  the  plantation  prior  to  his  removal. 

Walter  R.  Mingo  was  born  in  Mashpee,  July  6,  1838,  and  at  the  age 
■of  fourteen  engaged  in  coasting  between  the  cities  of  Boston,  New 
York  and  Philadelphia.  He  followed  the  sea  thirteen  years,  before 
his  retirement  in  1865.  He  married,  Januar}-  20,  1866,  Frances  C, 
•daughter  of  John  and  Catherine  Hammond,  and  sister  of  Hon.  Watson 
F.  Hammond,  of  Mashpee.  Their  children  are:  George  H.,  Walter 
R.,  jr.,  Ella  F.,  Herbert  C,  Katie  M.,  Russel  B.,  Thomas  S.  and  Laura 
A.  Mingo.  Mr.  Mingo's  fourth  child.  Nelson  D.,  died  before  attaining 
his  majority.  The  eldest  daughter,  Ella  F.,  was  married  July  4, 1883, 
to  Isaac  Simon,  son  of  W.  H.  Silnon,  one  of  the  largest  landholders  in 
the  town.  Isaac  Simon,  the  grandfather  of  William  H.,  was  the  last 
■of  the  natives  who  could  speak  the  original  language.  By  this  mar- 
riage of  his  daughter,  Mr.  Mingo  has  four  grandchildren:  Edward  R., 
Nelson  D.,  Eva  M.  and  Zephaniah  E.  Simon,  who  reside  near  the 
Mingo  homestead. 

Although  he  has  the  personal  supervision  of  a  large  farm,  and 
several  acres  of  cranberry  bog,  Mr.  Mingo  has  found  time  to  serve  the 
town  as  selectman  eleven  years,  during  a  period  in  the  history  of  his 
town  that  covers  its  emergence  from  a  plantation  to  a  corporate  body, 
^nd  in  the  spring  of  1889  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  treasurer.  He 
was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Mashpee  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany for  the  first  four  yearsof  its  incorporation,  and  his  name  is  found 
among  those  who  desire  the  advancement  of  the  best  interests  of  the 
town.  Politically  he  is  a  strong  element  in  the  republican  ranks  and 
in  the  full  tide  of  life  is  in  every  manner  the  representative  man  of 
to-day  for  his  progressive  people. 

David  Lovell  was  born  in  Mashpee  in  1826.  He  is  a  son  of  David 
Lovell,  also  born  here,  and  a  grandson  of  Silas  Lovell,  who  was  born 
in  Osterville.  David  Lovell  married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Prince  P. 
Gifford.  They  have  had  six  children — four  of  whom  are  still  living: 
Gideon,  Abram  L.,  Mary  and  Almira  W. 

Captain  S.  M.  Godfrey,  born  in  1821 ,  came  to  Harwich  when  nine 
years  of  age.  He  early  in  life  went  to  sea  in  a  privateer.  In  1841  he 
settled  in  Mashpee  and  married  a  Mye.  He  was  a  partner  of  Solomon 
Attaquin  in  vessels,  and  has  been  an  active  business  man.  He  had 
-eight  children,  three  of  whom  were  in  the  navy  during  the  war  of  the 
rebellion  and  one  since.  Lysander,  Alonzo  and  James  were  the  first  to 
•enlist,  and  later  Samuel. 


.    CHAPTER  XXII. 


TOWN  OF  EASTHAM. 


Territory  of  the  Nausets. — Purchase  of  the  Lands. — Settlement  and  Incorporation  of 
Nauset. — The  Present  Town  of  Eastham. — Natural  Features.— Early  Settlers. — 
Growth  and  Progress. — Industries. — Civil  History. — Churches. — Burying  Places. — 
Schools. — Villages. — Biographical  Sketches. 


THE  territory  of  the  Nausets,  of  which  the  present  town  of  East- 
ham  forms  a  part,  was  familiar  to  the  Pilgrims,  and  its  lands 
had  been  favorably  considered  since  their  visit  in  November, 
1620,  when  exploring  the  Cape.  In  1622,  and  years  subsequent,  they 
resorted  to  this  territory  for  means  of  subsistence,  of  which  the  na- 
tives had  a  surplus.  In  1640,  Mourt  says,  some  of  the  Pilgrims  became 
dissatisfied  with  the  barrenness  of  the  soil  in  the  vicinity  of  Plymouth, 
which  presented  the  seeming  impossibility  of  building  up  an  opulent 
capital,  and  they  naturally  turned  their  attention  to  Nauset,  from 
whence  had  been  furnished  ample  supplies. .  At  this  time  the  pur- 
chasers had  surrendered  to  the  court  the  lands  embodied  in  the  grant 
of  1629,  as  set  forth  in  Chapter  IV.,  and  in  1643  a  committee  of  seven, 
who  subsequently  became  the  fii'st  settlers,  with  Governor  Bradford 
at  their  head,  repaired  to  this  territory  with  a  view  to  determine  the 
feasibility  of  removing  the  entire  church  and  seat  of  government  from 
Plymouth  to  Nauset.  This  committee  reported,  as  also  had  one  that 
was  sent  in  1640,  that  Nauset  was  not  as  extensive  as  desired,  and  was 
also  too  remote  from  the  center  of  the  colony  to  be  a  suitable  location 
for  the  seat  of  government. 

The  church,  while  relinquishing  the  idea  of  removal  as  a  body,  re- 
solved to  give  those  who  desired  liberty  to  remove  and  commence  a 
new  plantation.  The  grant  obtained  was  as  follows:  "  The  Court  doth 
grant  unto  the  Church  of  New  Plymouth,  or  those  that  go  to  dwell  at 
Nauset,  all  the  tract  of  land  lying  between  sea  and  sea,  from  the  pur- 
chasers' bounds  at  Namskaket  to  the  Herring  brook  at  Billingsgate, 
with  said  Herring  brook  and  all  the  meadows  on  both  sides  the  said 
brook  with  the  great  bass  pond  there,  and  all  the  meadows  and  islands 
lying  within  the  said  tract."  This  grant  was  for  a  tract  of  land  about 
fifteen  miles  long,  extending  from  Pleasant  bay  northerly  to  the  south 
bounds  of  Truro,  bounded  east  by  the  ocean,  west  by  the  bay  and  the 


TOWN   OF   EASTHAM.  721 

reservation  of  the  purchasers,  since  comprising  the  towns  of  Harwich 
and  Brewster.     The  seven  mentioned  as  a  committee  settled  here  in 
April,  1644,  having  purchased  of  Mattaquason,  sachem  of  Monomoy- 
ick,  the  land  at  Namskaket,  Pochet,  and  all  lands  extending  north- 
ward to  the  territory  belonging  to  the  sachem  George,  the  successor 
of  Aspinet,  except  Pochet  island,  which  the  sachem  reserved;  and  of 
George  they  purchased  all  the  land  belonging  to  him,  extending  still 
further  northward.     The  indians  reserved  a  small  neck  lying  by  the 
harbor  on  the  east  side  of  the  tract,  which  neck  the  settlers  promised 
to  fence  that  the  natives  might  have  a  separate  corn  field;    and  the 
.  privilege  was  also  granted  them  for  digging  shellfish  in  the  cove  and 
.    that  they. should  have  a  share  of  the  blubber  of  the  whales  driven 
ashore,  their  proportion  of  the  latter  to  be  determined  by  the  English. 
This  territory  is  now  substantially  embodied  in  the  towns  of  Or- 
leans, Eastham  and  Wellfleet.  The  settlement  of  the  plantation  began 
with  Mr.  Thomas  Prence,  Edward  Bangs,  John  Smalley,  John  Doane, 
Nicholas  Snow,  Richard  Higgins  and  Josias  Cook,  who,  with  their 
respective  families,  constituted  a  colony  of  forty-nine  persons.     In 
1646  the  entire  tract  received  from  the  court  an  incorporation  as  fol- 
lows:  "  June  2d,  Nauset  is  granted  to  be  a  township,  and  to  have  all 
the  privileges  of  a  township  as  other  towns  within  the  government 
have."    Town  oflScers  were  elected  and  in  1647  the  first  deputy  from 
Nauset  appeared  at  general  court.      In  1651  it  was  ordered  by  the 
court  "  that  the  town  of  Nauset  be  henceforth  called  and  known  as 
Eastham;"  which  name  the  entire  territory  bore  until  the  erection  of 
Wellfleet  in  1763  and  Orleans  in  1797;    and  which  name  the  central 
portion  of  the  original  purchase  still  bears.     In  the  dismemberment 
of  old  Eastham  the  retention  of  the  name  to  the  middle  portion  was 
most  appropriate,  for  here  the  first  settlement  of  the  tract  was  made 
by  white  men,  and  here  for  more  than  150  years,  before  its  present 
limits  were  defined,  was  the  seat  of  the  town  government.     The  old 
training  ground  is  still  pointed  out,  southwest  of  the  present  Eastham 
depot. 

The  territory  of  the  present  town  six  miles  in  length  by  three  in 
width,  has  Wellfleet  on  the  north,  the  ocean  on  the  east,  Orleans  on 
the  south  and  Cape  Cod  bay  on  the  west.  Its  surface  as  a  whole  is  a 
continuous  plain,  with  undulations  of  hills  and  valleys,  the  seashore 
on  the  east  containing  sand  bluffs  of  considerable  height.  The 
Indian  name,  Nauset,  still  designates  the  northeastern  portion;  Silver 
Spring  was  the  former  name  of  North  Eastham;  the  central  portion 
north  of  the  ponds  has  been  known  as  Half-way  ponds,  and  to  that 
portion  south  of  the  ponds  the  term  Great  neck  is  still  applied.  A 
small  harbor  is  on  the  southeast,  one  branch  extending  northerly 
inside  of  the  beach  and  the  other  terminating  in  the  Town  cove. 
46 


722  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  surface  and  soil  of  the  town  have  been,  and  still  are,  better 
than  would  be  supposed  by  the  casual  observer.  Successive  crops  of 
wheat,  corn  and  other  grains  are  produced,  furnishing  a  large  amount 
for  export.  The  sandy  tract  between  Great  pond  and  Town  cove,  now 
planted  to  pines,  wa,s  once  fertile  farming  land. 

Several  fresh-water  ponds  dot  the  surface,  around  which  the  soil  is 
alluvial.  The  largest  of  these,  Great  pond,  embraces  112  acres;  Long 
pond,  east  of  that,  covers  39  acres;  Meeting-house  pond,  north  of  the 
center,  contains  17;  Herring  pond,  south  of  Great  pond,  has  45  acres, 
and  others  of  less  magnitude  swell  the  aggregate  pond  surface  to 
more  than  225  acres.  One  salt  pond  in  the  southeast  partis  connected 
with  the  harbor. 

A  tract  of  oaks  and  pines  in  the  north  part  of  the  town  constitutes 
the  principal  wood  land,  although  tracts  elsewhere  about  the  town  are 
being  planted  with  trees.  Along  the  west  shore,  from  the  Orleans  line 
to  the  bounds  of  Wellfleet,  stretches  a  sandy  flat  nearly  a  mile  wide 
and  quite  dry  at  low  water,  along  which  are  evidences  of  a  once  larger 
growth  of  timber  than  now  is  found  anywhere  on  the  Cape.  Great 
Meadow  river  empties  into  the  bay  on  this  side,  and  just  south  is  Boat 
Meadow  river,  with  its  marsh  extending  nearly  to  Town  cove.  It  is 
said  that  high  tides  have  flowed  across  here  from  bay  to  ocean.  Some 
inconsiderable  brooks  are  found  that  connect  with  the  waters  of  the 
bay  in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  of  which  the  largest  are  Grape 
Swamp  brook.  Snow's,  Cook's  and  Indian  brook,  in  part  the  boundary 
between  this  town  and  Wellfleet. 

Billingsgate  point  is  on  the  extreme  northwest  point  of  the  town- 
ship, on  an  island  three  miles  from  the  main  land,  with  which  it  would 
seem  to  have  once  been  connected.  In  1822  a  lighthouse  for  the  benefit 
of  Wellfleet  harbor  was  erected  here;  but  subsequently  the  washing 
away  of  the  remaining  beach  compelled  the  removal  of  the  lighthouse 
to  a  larger  island  north,  and  the  lighthouse  is  now  just  within  the 
bounds  of  Wellfleet. 

In  the  south  limits  of  the  present  town  of  Eastham  six  of  the  orig- 
inal settlers  of  Nauset  erected  their  first  dwellings,  Nicholas  Snow,  of 
those  mentioned,  having  located  on  Skaket,  now  in  Orleans.  Mr. 
Prence  had  two  hundred  acres  of  the  most  fertile  land,  which  is  still 
pointed  out  as  his  home  farm,  also  the  site  where  grew  the  first  pear 
tree  planted  in  Old  Eastham.  John  Doane  occupied  two  hundred  acres 
north  of  the  harbor,  which  farm  is  also  pointed  out  by  the  descend- 
ants, and  the  other  settlers  were  each  located  on  the  same  number  of 
acres  to  the  westward.  They  were  joined  by  others  from  Plymouth 
and  from  the  older  settlementson  the  Cape,  and  ten  years  subsequent 
to  its  incorporation  as  Eastham  \^e  find  the  old  town  contained  these 
heads  of  families:  Henry  Atkins,  Stephen  Atwood,  Richard  Booshop, 


TOWN   OF   EASTHAM.  723 

Daniel  Cole,  George  Crisp,  Job  Cole,  John  Freeman,  Richard  Higgins, 
Giles  Hopkins,  Richard  Knowles,  John  Mayo,  Nathaniel  Mayo,  Wil- 
liam Myrick,  Thomas  Paine,  Thomas  Roberts,  Ralph  Smith,  Joseph 
Roberts,  Mark  Snow,  Jonathan  Sparrow,  William  Twining,  Rt.  Wexam, 
Thomas  Williams  and  John  Young. 

Still  later  other  settlers  were:  Thomas  Crosby,  Sam ii el  Freeman, 
Joseph  Harding,  George  Godfrey,  George  Brown,  Lieutenant  John 
Cole,  John  Smith,  Stephen  Hopkins,  Jonathan  Cobb,  William  Walker, 
Jonathan  Higgins,  Eldad  Atwood,  Benjamin  Higgins,  John  Knowles, 
Thomas  Newcomb,  Joseph  Collins,  Jonathan  Linnell,  Isaac  Pepper, 
John  Witherell,  William  Dyer,  George  Ward,  John  Herd,  Moses 
Hatch,  George  Herd,  William  Nickerson,  Samuel  Horton  and  Samuel 
Rich.  These  had  settled  around  the  Town  cove  prior  to  1684,  mostly 
north  and  west. 

The  claims  of  the  Indians  were  not  fully  ad  justed  until  1666,  when 
they  were  placed  more  by  themselves  at  Potanumaquut,  that  the  plan- 
tation  might  not  be  wholly  surrounded  by  these  native  residents.  The 
cloud  of  King  Philip's  war  hung  over  the  plantation,  and  every  pre- 
caution was  taken  for  the  safety  of  the  settlers.  Eastham  also  fur- 
nished men  in  this  war,  and  provided  for  home  protection  by  organ- 
izing military  companies.  Samuel  Atkins  and  John  Knowles,  of  the 
eighteen  who  went  out  in  1675,  being  slain. 

The  town  joined  with  others  in  an  affirmative  vote  for  a  new  char- 
ter in  1691,  and  to  pay  for  their  share  of  the  expenses  mortgaged  to 
John  Freeman  two  islands  at  Billingsgate.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
town  at  this  time  were  in  straitened  circumstances  from  the  suspen- 
sion of  the  fishing  and  agricultural  interests,  consequent  upon  the 
war  and  the  ceaseless  vigilance  required  for  the  safety  of  their  homes. 
In  1695  this  depression  was  ameliorated  and  the  affairs  of  a  growing 
community  continued.  John  Doane,  jr.,  built  the  stocks  and  whipping 
post  near  the  church,  more  land  was  laid  out  and  the  church  enlarged. 
The  people  were  able,  and  soon  after  1700  each  widow  in  the  town 
was  voted  four  acres  of  land. 

In  1720  a  road  forty  feet  wide  was  laid  out  from  Harwich  to  Truro, 
which  in  part  is  known  as  the  county  road,  from  which  during  the 
succeeding  thirty  years  many  others  were  laid.  In  1765  the  bounds 
between  Eastham  and  Wellfleet were  marked  as  follows:  "Beginning 
at  a  white-oak  tree  at  the  head  of  Indian  brook  marked  E.  W.,  thence 
due  east  by  marked  trees  to  a  marked  pine,  thence  east  to  the  sea; 
then  from  the  first-mentioned  point  at  the  head  of  the  brook,  westerly 
as  the  brook  runs  to  a  stake  on  the  beach  at  the  mouth  of  said  brook, 
crossing  the  end  of  Billingsgate  point  to  the  bay." 

When  Orleans  had  been  incorporated  the  population  of  Eastham 
was  reduced  to  840;  but  the  town  was  not  retarded  in  its  growth  and 


724  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

action.  New  records  were  opened,  the  salt  manufacture  was  com- 
menced, and  a  canal  was  constructed  from  Great  Meadow  river  to 
Herring  pond.  The  embargo  of  a  few  years  later  greatly  affected  the 
town,  and  its  population  was  decreased,  being  in  1809  only  782.  Dur- 
ing the  war  of  1812  the  people  of  this  town  found  it  impracticable  to 
reach  Boston  by  vessel  to  exchange  for  supplies,  and  a  market  was 
found  at  New  York  by  watching  the  opportunity  to  creep  along  the 
coast  to  Sandwich,  cart  the  boats  and  cargo  across  to  Buzzards  bay, 
and  creep  along  the  south  shore  to  that  market  to  exchange  dried  fish 
for  flour  and  other  necessaries. 

One  of  the  interesting  incidents  of  the  town  during  the  blockade 
was  the  capture  of  Captains  Matthew  H.  Mayo  and  Winslow  E. 
Knowles,  who  succeeded  in  reaching  Boston  with  a  whale  boat  loaded 
with  rye.  After  an  exchange  for  family  supplies,  they  exchanged 
their  boat  for  a  more  capacious  craft,  and  in  this  were  captured.  On 
board  the  English  ship  they  were  offered  a  ransom,  and  Captain 
Knowles  was  permitted  to  return  to  Boston  to  obtain  the  money. 
Captain  Mayo  was  compelled  to  pilot  a  crew  of  British  on  a  cruise,  and 
he  contrived  to  bring  the  vessel  to  anchor  at  Billingsgate  point.  He 
then  managed  to  cut  and  weaken  the  hawser,  which  broke,  and  the 
vessel  went  ashore  just  south  of  the  old  camp  ground  at  North  East- 
ham.  Captain  Mayo  waved  back  Edward  C.  Clark  and  George  Col- 
lins until  more  men  could  approach,  and  when  sufficient  of  his  neigh- 
bors had  assembled,  the  crew  was  captured.  The  British  were  con- 
fined one  night  in  George  Collins'  bam  and  allowed  to  depart  the 
next  day,  as  the  town  was  at  the  mercy  of  the  privateers;  and  upon 
the  demand  for  satisfaction  the  town  paid  a  large  sum. 

In  1820  the  population  had  declined  to  766;  but  in  1830  had  in- 
creased two  hundred.  Its  share  of  the  surplus  revenue,  $2,100,  was 
partly  used  in  constructing  a  bridge  over  Boat  river,  in  1837,  and  the 
remainder  was  the  next  year,  with  the  interest,  appropriated  to  the 
support  of  schools. 

For  the  past  half  century  the  population  has  steadily  declined,  be- 
ing in  1840  only  955,  and  in  1875  it  had  decreased  to  639;  in  1880  the 
population  was  692;  and  in  1885,  the  last  census,  it  had  declined  to  638. 

An  epidemic  scourged  the  town  in  1816,  which  decimated  the  pop- 
ulation, and  perhaps  directly  influenced  the  town's  future  prosperity. 
In  the  four  months  ending  June  first  of  that  year  seventy-two  persons 
died.  The  disease  had  no  regard  for  age,  class  or  locality,  and  nearly 
every  family  mourned  the  loss  of  one  or  more  members. 

The  town  having  never  erected  a  poor  house,  the  poor  were  either 
assisted  in  their  homes  by  the  officers,  or  their  keeping  for  the  year 
was  let  to  the  lowest  bidder;  but  for  many  years  past  the  selectmen 
have  arranged  for  their  keeping  with  those  who  would  keep  them  in 


TOWN  OF  EASTHAM.  726 

the  most  equitable  manner  for  the  town.  All  town  meetings  were 
held  in  the  meeting  houses — in  the  one  until  the  Methodists  erected 
theirs,  then  dividing  the  use — until  1851,  when  M.  C.  Horton,  Barna- 
bas Doane,  Sylvanus  Smith  and  Seymour  Bangs  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  choose  a  site  for  the  town  house.  The  site  was  selected, 
and  the  same  year  Elijah  E.  Knowles,  Barnabas  Doane  and  Myrick 
Doane  were  chosen  as  a  building  committee.  The  house  was  erected, 
and  since  has  furnished  a  place  for  the  public  pieetings,  as  well  as  a 
suitable  hall  for  rent. 

The  industries  of  the  town  have  been  varied  and  scattered  over 
the  territory.  The  most  ancient  mill  was  a  tide  mill  in  the  river  that 
connects  Salt  pond  with  the  harbor.  Tradition  cannot  furnish  the 
name  of  the  builder,  and  the  only  recent  evidence  of  its  location  was 
the  mill  stone  in  the  river  half  a  century  ago.  Two  wind  mills  have 
since  furnished  the  people  with  grinding — one  at  North  Eastham,  of 
which  Isaiah  Gill  and  Freeman  Horton  were  the  last  millers,  was 
taken  down  twenty-five  years  ago;  and  the  other  in  the  south  part  of 
the  town,  still  serves  the  public.  This  latter  was  moved  from  Province- 
town  in  1795  (or  a  few  years  prior,  as  some  think)  where  it  was  built 
in  1776.    It  is  owned  by  Thomas  Paine  and  Seth  Knowles. 

About  1799,  and  a  few  succeeding  years,  the  manufacture  of  salt 
received  much  attention,  and  was  a  source  of  profit.  The  works  along 
the  bay,  commencing  at  the  north  side,  were  owned  by  Nathan  F. 
and  Elkanah  Cobb,  the  latter  selling  his  to  Edward  C.  Clark;  Joshua 
Higgins;  Barnabas  Mayo;  George  Collins;  Peter  Walker,  who  sold  to 
E.  C.  Clark;  Edward  C.  Clark;  Dea.  Benjamin  Clark;  George  Clark; 
Timothy  and  Joshua  Cole;  Joshua  and  Seth  Paine;  Major  Joel  Snow; 
and  Benjamin  Walker.  Around  the  north  part  of  the  Town  cove  and 
at  Salt  pond  were:  Herman  S.  Doane;  Thomas  Cobb;  Michael  and  B. 
H.  A.  Collins;  George  Seabury;  Joshua  Knowles,  who  sold  to  Joshua 
Cole;  Samuel  Knowles;  Samuel  Snow;  Joshua  and  Seth  Paine;  William 
and  Harding  Knowles;  and  Barnabas  Freeman.  In  all,  the  number 
of  feet  exceeded  one  hundred  thousand,  from  whose  evaporating  vats 
were  annually  made  large  quantities  of  salt.  As  late  as  1837  there 
were  fifty-four  plants,  yielding  22,370  bushels. 

The  fishing  business  was  also  an  early  source  of  revenue,  furnish- 
ing food  and  the  dried  fish  being  a  commodity  that  in  exchange 
would  purchase  necessaries  in  any  city  along  the  coast.  The  cod-fish- 
ing in  1837  gave  twelve  hundred  quintals  and  the  mackerel,  4,660 
barrels.  This  business,  like  the  salt  making,  declined,  and  the  past 
few  years  but  little  has  been  done,  execpt  in  the  four  weirs  on  the 
bay.  The  oyster  business  was  once  prominent,  but  their  propagation 
ceased.  Clams  are  still  plentiful,  but  not  as  much  so  as  formerly. 
Five  hundred  barrels  of  clam-bait  have  often  been  furnished  from  the 


726  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

town  in  a  single  year,  of  which  the  digging,  opening,  salting  and 
heading  in  casks,  give  employment  to  two  hundred  persons. 

The  declination  of  fishing  and  other  industries  has  created  new 
ones,  of  which  cranberry  culture  is  most  prominent.  The  peculiar 
adaptation  of  the  soil  to  the  culture  of  turnips  and  asparagus,  and  the 
increasing  demand  for  these  vegetables  as  an  export,  has  led  to  a 
thorough  trial  which  promises  good  results.  Of  the  latter,  forty  acres 
have  been  so  readily  and  profitably  cultivated  that  nearly  as  many 
more  have  been  planted.  Some  years  ago  the  ice  in  the  bay  breaking 
up  ploughed  out  a  great  quantity  of  quahaugs  which  parties  picked  up 
and  put  on  the  packet.  Sometimes  the  packet  did  not  sell  them  all 
and  would  bring  them  back.  It  was  suggested  to  put  those  returned 
in  the  Salt  pond.  The  quantities  of  quahaugs  that  came  from  this 
operation  were  actually  fabulous.  They  could  not  be  thicker,  and  if 
some  had  not  been  taken  out  must  have  died  for  A^ant  of  room. 
Parties  raked  them  and  picked  out  those  half  grown  and  shipped  a 
large  number  of  barrels  to  Boston. 

The  government  found  it  necessary  to  invest  the  shores  of  the 
town  with  safeguards  for  the  world's  commerce,  and  besides  the  light 
at  Billingsgate,  have  erected  a  breakwater  for  the  protection  of  its 
beach  and  harbor.  In  1838  a  beacon  of  three  lights  was  erected  on 
the  Atlantic  coast,  in  which,  with  other  enterprises  of  this  nature, 
Captain  Michael  Collins  was  prime  mover.  The  life  saving  station, 
called  Nauset  Harbor  station,  is  on  the  neck  near  the  harbor  of  that 
name,  and  is  commanded  by  Alonzo  N.  Bearse.  This  station  is  one 
of  the  Second  district,  of  which  Benjamin  C.  Sparrow  is  superintend- 
ent. 

The  Camp-ground  established  in  1828,  by  the  Methodist  society  in 
the  western  part  of  the  town,  was  noted  for  many  years  as  a  place  of 
resort.  Ten  acres  were  laid  out  and  beautified,  being  incorporated  in 
1837  as  the  Millennial  grove,  which  continued  a  popular  place  of  wor- 
ship for  thirty  years. 

The  decline  in  population  since  the  middle  of  the  century  is,  per- 
haps, not  proportionately  greater  than  other  Cape  towns  of  like  indus- 
tries. Sons  have  gone  forth  to  other  scenes — to  tread  the  busy  marts 
of  trade;  but  statistics  of  the  present  do  not  indicate  the  same  domes- 
tic relations  of  1802,  when,  according  to  Rev.  Mr.  Shaw's  writings, 
122  families,  aggregating  over  eight  hundred  persons,  occupied  one 
hundred  dwellings,  of  which  only  seven  were  two  stories  high.  The 
population  is  now  at  its  lowest  ebb,  the  dwellings  are  mostly  large 
and  neat,  and  the  business  of  the  town  is  in  a  healthy  condition. 
Scattered  here  and  there  are  some  of  the  substantial  dwellings  of  last 
century,  but  greatly  modernized,  occupied  by  the  descendants  of  those 
who  rendered  the  town  important  at  that  time.     Of  these  early  dwell- 


TOWN  OF  EASTHAM.  727 

ings  that  of  William  H.  Nickerson,  on  the  old  training  ground,  is 
among  the  most  marked.     In  the  visits  to  the  old  burying  grounds, 
the  sites  of  ancient  churches,  and  other  spots  of  historic  interest,  the  ■ 
antiquarian  finds  pleasure. 

Civil  History.— In  1646  the  town  of  Nauset,  the  name  of  whicli 
was  changed  in  1661  to  Eastham,  opened  books  for  the  registration  of 
births,  marriages  and  proceedings  of  the  town  meetings.  The  pro- 
prietors kept  a  record  of  their  lands  and  the  divisions.  Of  these 
proprietors  there  were  1S7  in  the  final  division  of  the  remaining  up- 
lands in  1743.  The  records  of  the  proprietors  are  safely  preserved 
in  the  town,  but  the  town  records  were  given  to  Orleans  in  the  divis- 
ion of  the  towns,  and  from  these  Eastham  has  transcribed  the  more 
important.  These  records  abound  in  ancient  enactments  deciding 
ear-marks  for  the  settlers'  domestic  animals,  annual  town  meetings 
for  the  election  of  oflBcers,  votes  enabling  the  constables  to  collect 
taxes  and  giving  them  half  in  collecting  fines,  and  in  1659  the  military 
enactments  commenced.  In  that  year  the  civil  authorities  provided 
for  a  military  company,  of  which  Mark  Snow  was  captain,  Jonathan 
Higgins  lieutenant,  and  Jonathan  Bangs  was  ensign.  A  troop  of 
horse  was  provided  for,  but  this  was  not  diflScult,  as  only  three  were 
to  be  supplied  by  Eastham;  and  of  these  Thomas  Prence  and  Edward 
Bangs,  each  agreed  to  supply  one  full  equipment  if  the  town  could 
supply  the  third. 

The  first  voting  by  proxy,  or  by  representation,  was  in  1661,  when 
for  general  elections  the  people  could  cast  their  votes  in  open  town 
meeting  instead  of  the  tiresome  march  to  Plymouth  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

The  disposal  of  the  whales  cast  on  the  shores  occupied  the  atten- 
tion of  the  officers,  and  in  1662,  and  many  years  after,  the  town  voted 
upon  this  question,  sometimes  applying  the  revenue  to  the  support 
of  the  church,  at  others  to  town  expenses.  This  year  the  increase  of 
intemperance  among  the  Indians  required  strong  acts  to  repress  the 
sale  of  liquors,  and  a  fine  of  five  shillings  was  imposed  for  furnishing 
it  to  any  one. 

Selectmen  were  first  elected  in  1663,  with  many  powers  which 
divided  more  distinctively  the  civil  affairs  from  the  religious;  but  for 
many  years  the  court  at  Plymouth  ruled  even  these  offices  with  reli- 
gious severity,  causing  them  to  whip  all  who  denied  orthodoxy,  and 
place  in  the  stocks  those  who  stood  outside  the  meeting  house  during 
service. 

In  1671  the  vote  was  that  no  wood  be  taken  from,  the  town,  and 
the  bounty  on  wolf  scalps  was  promised  which  was  doubled  in  subse- 
quent years.  On  these  matters  the  town  was  without  party  spirit; 
but  in  1691,  on  the  vote  to  assist  in  obtaining  a  new  charter,  the  mi- 


728  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

nority  dared  vote  against  the  move.  Then  for  a  few  years  the  neglect 
to  attend  the  town  meetings  was  so  marked  that  in  1705  a  vote  was 
carried  to  fine  any  freeman  who  lived  within  seven  miles  of  the  polls 
if  he  did  not  attend. 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  Indian  lands  between  Harwich  and  East- 
ham  was  settled  by  committees  from  the  towns — that  the  jurisdiction 
of  Eastham  remain  as  formerly,  that  the  lands  be  improved  in  com- 
mon, and  that  Eastham  pay  annually  £2,  10s.,  to  the  proprietors  of 
Harwich.  The  division  line  was  run  in  1712  through  this  tract,  and 
in  1714  the  Indians  served  a  notice  of  trespass  on  the  Eastham  select- 
men, to  settle  which  John  Paine  was  appointed  a  committee  to  go  to 
Plymouth  court  in  behalf  of  the  town. 

Many  meetings  were  held  in  1721  in  reference  to  the  portion  of  a 
loan  tendered  to  the  town,  but  it  was  decided  to  loan  it  out  on  good 
security.  The  people  were  very  spirited  in  their  calling  for  a  division 
of  the  county  in  1734,  and  failing  in  this,  they  were  equally  as  strenu- 
ous in  urging  a  reduction  of  the  number  of  courts.  This  people,  with 
those  of  the  lower  Cape  towns,  persisted  in  a  reduction  of  these  courts 
without  effect  for  three  years. 

In  1754  the  town  voted  that  the  representative  elect  remain  at 
home.  This  was  to  save  the  expense  of  sending  him;  but  the  town 
subsequently  had  occasion  to  petition  the  court  for  a  release  from 
the  liability  incurred.  In  1773  the  town  met  and  passed  strong  reso- 
lutions in  favor  of  the  rights  laid  down  by  the  Boston  committee,  and 
in  1774  strong  action  was  taken  against  the  use  of  teas;  but  there 
were  two  parties  in  the  town,  the  opposition  to  the  Boston  move 
being  greatly  in  the  minority.  In  1779,  on  the  question  of  a  new 
constitution,  the  town  vote  was  thirty  against  and  two  for.  During 
the  war  of  1812  two  parties  existed,  but  those  opposed  to  the  war  did 
nothing  to  thwart  the  demands  of  the  government.  In  1856  a  large 
majority  espoused  the  doctrine  of  free  soil,  and  identified  themselves 
with  the  party  that  soon  came  to  rule  the  people  during  the  struggle 
that  ensued.  With  true  loyalty  the  town  in  its  actions  did  all  it  could 
in  furtherance  of  the  quelling  of  the  rebellion. 

The  reader  is  reminded  that  the  officers  named  in  the  following 
paragraphs  were  the  officers  of  Nauset  until  1651,  and  that  during 
that  period  and  until  Wellfleet  and  Orleans  were  incorporated,  many 
of  these  men  were  leading  residents  of  the  districts  not  now  included 
in  Eastham. 

The  deputies,  dates  of  first  election  and  terms  of  service,  were: 
In  1647,  Josias  Cooke,  13  years,  and  Richard  Higgins,7;  1648,  Nicholas 
Snow,  3;  1649,  Samuel  Hicks,  2,  and  John  Doane,  6;  1654,  Daniel 
Cole,  12,  and  John  Freeman,  8;  1655,  Richard  Sparrow,  3;  1660, 
Nathaniel  Mayo;  1668,  Jonathan  Sparrow,  18;  1671,  Thomas  Paine,  7; 


TOWN  OF  EASTHAM.  729 

1674,  Jonathan  Bangs,  3;  1675,  Mark  Snow,  6;  1680,  John  Cook,  2;  1690, 
Thomas  Paine,  jr.,  2. 

The  representatives  were:  1692,  Jonathan  Sparrow,  2,  and  Jonathan 
Bangs;  1693,  John  Doane;  1696,  Thomas  Paine;  1697,  Samuel  Knowles, 
23;  1698,  Israel  Cole,  4;  1702,  Joseph  Doane,  2;  1709,  John  Paine,  9; 
1711,  Samuel  Mayo,  2;  1722,  Isaac  Pepper;  1730,  Joshua  Higgins;  1731, 
William  Paine,  6;  1736,  Ralph  Smith;  1751,  John  Freeman,  4;  1756, 
Solomon  Pepper,  3;  1757,  Jonathan  Doane,  6;  1768,  Sylvs.  Snow,  2;  1767, 
Willard  Knowles,  2;  1768,  Elisha  Doane,  3;  1769,  Thomas  Paine,  5; 
1772,  Barnabas  Freeman,  10;  1774,  Naaman  Holbrook;  1775,  Amos 
Knowles,  2;  1778,  Josiah  Rogers;  1782,  Nathan  Doane,  4;  1786,  Elijah 
Knowles,  10;  1797,  Simeon  Kingman,  and  Michael  Collins;  1798,  Ben- 
jamin Clark;  1800,  Elisha  Mayo,  2;  1802,  Samuel  Freeman,  11;  1811, 
John  Doane,  3;  1813,  Heman  Smith,  3;  1818,  Joshua  P.  Atwood,  2; 
1820,  Harding  Knowles,  6;  1829,  Jesse  Collins;  1831,  Samuel  Knowles; 
1832,  Michael  Collins,  3;  1834,  David  C.  Atwood,  2;  1836,  George  Col- 
lins,  2;  1838,  Philander  Shaw,  2;  1840,  Bar.  Freeman;  1841,  Henry 
Horton,  2;  1843,  B.  H.  A.  Collins;  1844,  Elijah  E.  Knowles,  2;  1848, 
Barnabas  Doane;  1851,  Scotto  Cobb,  2;  1863,  Reuben  Nickerson;  1864, 
Jonathan  Snow;  1865,  Elijah  E.  Knowles. 

The  selectmen  have  been  as  follows  (the  dates  preceding  the  names 
■show  the  years  of  first  election,  and  if  the  same  man  was  again  elected 
the  whole  number  of  years  of  service  is  indicated):  1663,  John  Free- 
man, 10,  Nicholas  Snow,  7,  and  John  Doane,  14;  1665,  Edward  Bangs, 

2.  and  Richard  Higgins.  3;  1667,  Mark  Snow,  18,  and  Daniel  Cole,  9; 
1670,  John  Doane,  jr.,  8,  and  William  Nickerson,  2;  1671,  Jonathan 
Sparrow,  10,  and  Thomas  Paine,  19;  1673,  Joseph  Harding;  1674, 
Jonathan  Bangs,  3;  1687,  Daniel  Doane  and  Jabez  Snow,  each  4;  1688, 
Benjamin  Higgins;  1690,  Thomas  Mayo,  12;  1691,  Thomas  Paine,  jr., 

3,  and  Isaac  Pepper,  11;  1692,  Samuel  Knowles,  6;  1693,  Samuel  Free- 
man, 6,  and  John  Paine,  6;  1694,  Israel  Cole,  5;  1695,  Edmund  Free- 
man,  7;  1697,  Daniel  Cole,  jr.;  1698,  Samuel  Paine,  6;  1700,  Samuel 
Mayo,  sr.,  6,  Thomas  Mulford.  4,  and  Joseph  Doane,  6;  1703,  Joseph 
Snow,  ]r.;  1706,  William  Freeman;  1707,  Nathaniel  Freeman;  1717, 
Edward  Knowles,  10;  1718,  Micajah  Snow,  4;  1719,  Jonathan  Young, 
2,  and  Israel  Doane,  3;  1722,  Samuel  Knowles,  jr.,  6;  1733,  Samuel 
Doane,  8,  and  James  Rogers,  7;  1735,  Benjamin  Higgins;  1736,  John 
Knowles,  and  John  Freeman,  3;  1736,  Ralph  Smith;  1737,  Samuel 
Doane,  6,  and  Samuel  Freeman,  jr.;  1738,  John  Rich,  5;  1741,  Samuel 
Knowles,  3;  1743,  John  Freeman,  2,  Jabez  Snow,  jr.,  2,  Zoeth  Smith,  6, 
Jonathan  Doane,  2,  and  Sylvanus  Snow,  2;  1744,  Thomas  Knowles,  3, 
Joshua  Higgins,  jr.,  8,  and  Jeremiah  Mayo;  1747,  Samuel  Smith,  Amos 
Knowles  and  Jonathan  Smith;  1749,  Joshua  Knowles,  2,  and  Edmund 
Freeman,  jr.,  2;  1760,  James  Higgins,  7;  1752,  Ebenezer  Higgins,  2; 


730  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

1764,  Daniel  Doane,  jr.,  4;  1760,  Ebenezer  Atwood  and  Willard 
Knowles,  4;  1761,  Joseph  Cole,  14,  and  Samuel  Smith,  3d,  4;  1762, 
Samuel  Doane,  jr.;  1765,  Joshua  Knowles,  2,  and  Jonathan  Higgins,12; 
1769,  James  Snow;  1771,  Simeon  Doane,  6;  1773,  Elisha  Smith,  2;  1776, 
Amos  Knowles,  jr.,  5;  1777,  Barnabas  Freeman,  2;  1778,  William 
Myrick,  jr.;  1779,  Nehemiah  Young,  6,  and  Nathaniel  Mayo,  2;  1780, 
Jonathan  Linnel,  jr.;  1781,  John  Doane,  jr.,  8;  1782,  Gideon  Freeman, 

2,  and  Heman  Linnel,  12;  1784,  Joseph  Knowles;  1788,  Nathan  Doane, 
and  Samuel  Higgins,  3;  1791,  Joseph  Pepper,  6;  1794,  Hezekiah  Hig- 
gins,  2;  1797,  Judah  Rogers,  2,  and  James  Mayo,  2;  1799,  Michael  Col- 
lins, 2;  1801,  James  Cole,  4,  and  Samuel  Smith,  9;  1806,  David  Brown,. 
4;  1807,  Obed  Knowles,  9,  Harding  Knowles,  13,  and  John  Doane,  6; 
1816,  Elisha  Mayo,  2;  1817,  Joshua  Atwood  and  Freeman  Knowles,  4; 
1818,  Timothy  Cole  and  George  Clark,  2;  1819,  Joshua  Higgins,  4; 
1823,  Parker  Brown,  4;  1824,  Samuel  Knowles,  13;  1826,  James  H. 
Knowles,  5;  1830,  Cushing  Horton;  1831,  Barnabas  Doane,  2,  and 
Barnabas  Freeman,  6;  1834,  Noah  Doane,  3,  and  Michael  Collins,  17; 
1836,  David  C.  Atwood,  21,  and  Joshua  Paine,  10;  1846,  Alvan  Rogers,  4; 
1846,  Zera  Higgins,  27;  1848,  Heman  Doane;  1849,  Jesse  Collins  and 
Henry  Harding,  2;  1862,  Crowell  Doane,  4,  and  Abijah  Mayo,  6;  1866, 
Joshua  Knowles,  3;  1867,  Joshua  Cole,  2;  1868,  Prince  S.  Harding,  8; 
1869,  Henry  Knowles,  4;  1861,  Jonathan  Snow,  3;  1865,  Josiah  M. 
Cole;  1866,  Jonathan  Snow,  2;  1866,  Sylvanus  Smith,  6;  1867,  John  H. 
Bangs,  2;  1869,  Myrick  Clark,  3;  1872,  Nicholas  P.  Knowles.  2,  and 
Isaiah  H.  Horton,  jr.,  2;  1874,  Reuben  Nickerson,  2;  1874,  Beniah  G. 
Higgins,  2;  1876,  Silas  H.  Stuart,  8;  1876,  Nicholas  P.  Knowles,  7; 
1876,  Heman  S.  Gill,  3;  1879,  I.  H.  Horton,  6;  1882,  John  A.  Clark,  3; 
1884,  R.  H.  Horton;  1884,  Eldad  Higgins,  7;  1886,  J.  N.  M.  Hopkins, 

3,  and  T.  K.  Paine,  6;  1888,  James  Phillips,  2;  1890,  Freeman  A,  Col- 
lins and  George  O.  Mayo. 

The  succession  of  incumbents  of  the  important  oflBce  of  town 
clerk  is  shown  in  the  following  list,  wherein  the  date  of  commence- 
ment of  each  man's  service  is  noticed:  1646,  Nicholas  Snow;  1663,  Mark 
Snow;  1676,  Daniel  Doane;  1696,  Thomas  Paine;  1704,  John  Paine; 
1729,  Joseph  Doane;  1743,  Thomas  Knowles;  1746,  Nathaniel  Free- 
man; 1769,  Jabez  Snow;  1761,  Edward  Knowles;  1774,  Gideon  Baty; 
1779,  Richard  Knowles;  1782,  Isaac  Pepper;  1786,  Samuel  Higgins; 
1790,  Isaac  Sparrow;  1793,  Elijah  Knowles;  1797,  Benjamin  Clarkr 
1806,  Ebenezer  Paine;  1824,  George  Clark;  1830,  Joshua  Paine;  1837, 
Samuel  Knowles;  1842,  N.  S.  Knowles;  1847,  David  Higgins;  1848, 
Heman  Doane,  2d;  1865,  Josiah  M.  Cole;  1866,  Joshua  Paine;  1874, 
Heman  Doane,  and  since  1878,  George  H.  Clark. 

The  town  treasurers  have  been:  1646,  Edward  Bangs;  1666,  Daniel 
Doane;  1676,  Thomas  Paine;   1703,  Joseph  Doane;   1709,  John  Paine; 


TOWN   OF   EASTHAM.  731 

1731,  Edward  Knowles;  1741,  Samuel  Freeman;  1759,  Jabez  Snow; 
1776,  Gideon  Baty;  1780,  Richard  Knowles;  1783,  Isaac  Pepper;  1786, 
Samuel  Higgins;  1791,  Isaac  Sparrow:  1794,  Elijah  Knowles;  1797, 
Benjamin  Clark;  1805,  Ebenezer  Paine;  1825,  George  Clark;  1831, 
Joshua  Paine.  Thus  it  appears  that  the  offices  of  clerk  and  treasurer 
had  practically  been  one  since  1793,  and  in  1837  they  were  actually 
united,  since  which  time  the  duties  of  treasurer  have  devolved  upon 
the  men  noticed  in  the  above  list  of  clerks  of  the  town. 

Churches. — The  Congregational  Society,  the  first  in  Eastham, 
was  transferred  from  Plymouth  in  1644.  As  soon  as  possible  a  meet- 
ing house,  twenty  feet  square,  was  erected  near  the  Town  cove,  ad- 
joining the  first  and  now  unused  burial  place.  John  Mayo,  in  1646, 
took  charge  of  the  church  for  a  few  years,  and  was  succeeded  in  1665 
by  Thomas  Crosby,  who  was  "  hired  to  conduct  public  service  on  the 
Lord's  Day."  He  was  succeeded  in  1672,  after  a  few  months  without 
a  pastor,  by  Samuel  Treat,  who,  learning  the  Nauset  language, 
preached  also  to  the  Indians.  He  continued  a  faithful  pastor  until 
1715 — a  period  of  forty-three  years.  During  this  period  a  new  and 
better  meeting  house  was  needed,  and  in  1676  Dea.  Samuel  Freeman, 
Lieutenant  Sparrow,  John  Doane  and  Thomas  Paine  were  appointed 
to  carry  on  the  erection  of  a  new  house  near  the  old  burying  ground. 
In  1696  a  steeple  with  a  bell  was  added,  which  Rev.  Mr.  Pratt,  in  his 
history,  says  was  the  first,  as  well  as  last,  church  bell  in  the  town,  but 
the  oldest  residents  do  not  claim  to  have  any  traditions  that  confirm 
the  assertion.  This  meeting  house  was  enlarged  in  1700,  the  appro- 
priation being  ;^180,  to  add  fifteen  feet,  which  made  the  house  square. 

In  1713  the  meeting  house  was  repaired  by  the  committee.  Captain 
Samuel  Freeman  and  Samuel  Mayo.  In  1714  Mr.  Nehemiah  Hobart 
was  hired  to  teach  the  school  and  to  assist  Mr.  Treat  in  the  pulpit. 
Mr.  Treat  died  in  1717.  Mr.  Lord  preached  a  few  weeks,  but  went  to 
Chatham,  when  Rev.  Samuel  Osborn  was  called.  In  1718  the  South 
parish  meeting  house  was  erected,  to  which  Mr.  Osborn  moved.  The 
old  church  was  occupied  until  a  new  one  was  erected  in  1720,  the  site 
being  changed  to  near  the  second  burial  place  of  this  society. 
Through  their  agent,  Isaac  Pepper,  the  society  procured  the  services 
of  Rev.  Benjamin  Webb,  who  filled  the  pulpit  until  1746 — twenty-six 
years.  After  Mr.  Webb's  decease  Rev.  Edward  Cheever  was  installed 
in  1761,  and  continued  until  his  death  in  1794.  Rev.  Philander  Shaw, 
who  was  ordained  in  1795,  served  forty-two  years — until  1838. 

In  1830  a  new  meeting  house  was  completed  in  a  more  eligible 
situation,  one  and  a  half  miles  north.  Stillman  Pratt  preached  in  1839, 
and  in  November  of  the  same  year  Daniel  H.  Babcock  was  ordained, 
but  was  dismissed  the  next  year.  Solomon  Hardy  supplied  for  two 
years,  and  in  1842  Rev.  Enoch  Pratt  was  called.     Edward  W.  Noble 


732  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

preached  from  1846  to  1849,  and  was  succeeded  by  J.  H.  Wells  and 
Stephen  Bailey  for  two  years.  In  1851  Rev.  Ebenezer  Chase,  the  last 
minister  of  the  society,  assumed  the  pastorate  and  remained  until 
1859. 

Rev.  Mr.  Shaw  in  1802  made  the  record  that  "  the  people  of  Eastham 
are  happily  united  in  the  same  mode  of  religious  worship  as  in  the 
days  of  their  fathers,  there  being  not  an  individual  in  town  that 
does  not  belong  to  the  Congregational  Society; "  but  his  statement 
long  ago  was  inapplicable,  for,  after  a  short  term  of  disuse,  the  edifice 
was  sold  in  1864  for  secular  purposes,  the  greater  part  being  used  in 
the  construction  of  the  residence  of  John  A.  Clark. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  here  in  1820.  It 
then  belonged  to  the  Wellfleet  charge,  the  pulpit  being  supplied  by 
Rev.  E.  Wiley.  In  1821  a  meeting  house  was  erected,  and  Rev.  Edward 
Hide  of  the  same  circuit  supplied  the  desk.  Rev.  L.  Bennett  and  Mr. 
Perry  preached  through  1822,  and  in  1823  the  church  was  made  a  sep- 
arate charge,  with  Rev.  Nathan  Paine  pastor.  At  this  time  the  mem- 
bership was  one  hundred.  The  successive  pastors  have  been:  In  1825, 
Rev.  E.  K.  Avery;  1826,  Benjamin  Keath;  1828,  Frederick  Upham; 
1829,  Joel  Steele;  1831,  H.  Brownson;  1833,  Lemuel  Harlow;  1834,  T. 
W.  Brown;  1836,  Warren  Emerson;  1838,  Thomas  Ely;  1839,  Josiah 
Litch;  1841,  E.  W.  Jackson;  1842,0.  Robbins;  1844,  Henry  Smith;  1840, 
Joseph  McReading;  1847,  Samuel  Fox;  1848,  Dixon  Stebbins;  1850, 
William  Leonard;  1852,  Anthony  Palmer;  1853,  Thomas  D.  Elake 
1854,  William  H.  Stetson;  1855,  George  Burnham;  1857,  Abel  Alton 
1859,  Edward  Hinckley;  1861,  B.  K.  Bosworth;  1863,  C.  Hammond 
1865,  Benjamin  L.  Sayer;  1867,  Francis  A.  Loomis;  1868,  John  L.  Fish 
1870,  Lawton  Cady;  1871,  George  S.  Macomber;  1872,  Eben  Tirrell,  jr.; 
1874,  John  Cooper;  1875,  John  S.Fish;  1877,  Charles  N.  Hinckley;  1879, 
Philo  Hawks;  1881,  Frank  Bowler;  1883,  S.  F.  Harriman;  1885,  Martin 
S.  Braley;  1888,  Samuel  Fox.  The  bell,  which  was  presented  by  Moses 
Wiley  some  twelve  years  ago,  is  the  only  church  bell  in  the  town.  The 
present  edifice  was  dedicated  November  28,  1851. 

Early  in  1889  steps  were  taken  to  establish  a  Universalist  Society 
in  Eastham.  On  the  12th  of  August  twenty-three  members  made 
John  E.  Ryder  their  president,  and  organized  the  First  Universalist 
Parish  of  Eastham.  Rev.  Donald  Eraser,  of  Orleans,  held  services  in 
the  town  hall  during  the  summer,  and  in  August  a  Sunday  school  of 
thirty-three  pupils,  with  six  teachers,  appointed  Luther  B.  Smith  their 
first  superintendent.  Measures  for  erecting  a  place  of  worship  were 
considered.  Captain  Edward  Penniman  heading  a  subscription  list  for 
the  necessary  funds  and  taking  untiring  interest  in  the  completion  of 
the  edifice.  A  site  was  donated  by  W.  E.  Nickerson,  on  which  a  pretty 
church,  forty  by  fifty  feet,  was  built,  and  on  the  last  Wednesday  in 


TOWN   OF   EASTHAM.  733 

January,  1890,  it  was  dedicated.  The  membership  of  the  society  num- 
bered forty-nine  at  that  time.  I.  F.  Crosby  of  Brewster,  John  Ken- 
rick  of  Orleans,  and  others  not  residents  of  the  town,  gave  cordial 
support  to  the  movement,  the  result  of  which  is  a  credit  to  the  town 
of  Eastham.     The  pastor  in  charge  is  Rev.  Donald  Fraser. 

Burying  Places. — The  town  has  four  places  of  burial,  of  which 
the  oldest — now  more  than  240  years  old — is  that  laid  out  north  of 
Town  cove  by  the  side  of  the  first  meeting  hoiise,  and  is  not  used. 
Two  churches  were  erected  near  the  old  ground,  and  when  the  third 
was  built  another  ground  was  laid  out  near  it,  and  is  the  second  one 
of  the  town.  The  Methodists  next  had  one  laid  out  by  their  meeting 
house — the  third  burial  place  of  the  town;  and  when  the  Congrega- 
tionalists  built  their  last  meeting  house  a  fourth — the  third  for  this 
society — was  opened.    These  are  all  under  the  care  of  the  town. 

Schools. — No  mention  of  a  school  is  made  in  the  records  of  Old 
Eastham  until  1666,  when  Jonathan  Sparrow  was  hired  to  teach  a 
school,  for  which  a  small  appropriation  was  made  by  the  town,  to 
teach  reading,  spelling,  writing  and  arithmetic.  In  1700  some  ad- 
vancement had  been  made,  but  there  was  yet  only  one  school  for  the 
entire  town.  That  year  the  town  agreed  to  pay  ten  pence  per  week  for 
each  child,  and  the  people  north  of  the  Town  cove  could  have  a  sep- 
arate school  if  the  people  who  wished  it  would  pay  the  master.  In 
1713  the  Town  cove  was  made  the  dividing  line  between  two  schools, 
and  from  neither  side  of  this  line  should  the  scholars  attend  the  other. 
The  school  was  to  be  located  in  a  convenient  place  on  the  north  side 
of  the  cove,  being  in  the  present  territory  of  Eastham,  and  Peter 
Barnes  was  hired  to  teach.  In  1714  Nehemiah  Hobart  was  the  mas- 
ter, with  a  salary  of  ten  pounds  extra  for  assisting  Mr.  Treat  in  the 
ministry. 

The  increase  in  population  rendered  two  schools  necessary  in  1749, 
each  having  within  its  jurisdiction  about  one  hundred  families,  and  a 
committee  for  each  was  appointed.  These  two  schools  received  more 
liberal  support  from  the  town  funds,  for  in  1762  the  schools  were  re- 
moved from  private  houses  to  school  houses.  In  1785  a  grammar 
school  was  organized,  and  the  following  year  a  still  better  division  of 
the  two  districts  was  effected. 

After  Orleans  was  erected,  there  were  only  two  districts  remain- 
ing in  Eastham;  but  in  1800  another  was  created  and  a  school  house 
erected.  In  1804  the  town  needed  another  district,  and  the  four  now 
had  $120  for  their  yearly  support.  The  increase  in  settlers  and  schol- 
ars was  now  more  rapid  than  in  last  century,  and  adding  the  fifth  dis- 
trict only  accommodated  the  scholars  of  the  town  for  a  few  years.  In 
1834  the  town  was  divided  into  six  districts,  and  three  hundred  dol- 
lars appropriated  for  the  support  of  their  schools.     In  1844  these 


734  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

schools  had  acquired  a  standing  that  compared  favorably  with  sister 
towns.  The  report  of  the  committee  in  1858  shows  the  discontinu- 
ance of  one,  and  the  gradation  of  the  pupils  of  the  remaining  dis- 
tricts; and  in  1861  the  first  building  for  a  graded  school  was  erected 
in  what  was  known  as  district  No.  4.  The  state  school  fund  was  now 
adding  to  the  growth  of  the  school,  and  inducing  a  still  better  grade. 
A  reduction  of  the  districts  to  four,  with  a  new  house  in  No.  1,  was 
made  in  1862.  In  1866  improvement  was  reported,  and  still  further 
changes  made  in  gradation  and  the  books  used  in  the  schools.  In 
1867  four  districts  were  supplying  suitable  accommodations  for  the 
scholars,  with  one  male  teacher  in  the  principal  village.  In  1869 
music  was  taught  with  good  results.  Much  care  was  taken  to  have 
the  most  competent  teachers,  although  the  number  of  pupils  gradu- 
ally decreased.  The  schools,  during  the  winter  of  1871-2,  were  taught 
by  students  of  Dartmouth  College,  and  the  advancement  in  most 
of  the  schools  was  greater  than  usual.  The  strictness  of  these  teach- 
ers and  the  flagellations  necessarily  imposed,  led  to  strong  discussions 
among  the  patrons  as  to  the  right  to  do  so,  which  was  very  judiciously 
disposed  of  by  the  school  committee. 

In  1873  a  new  school  house  was  urged  in  District  No.  3,  then  using 
the  old  town  hall,  and  during  the  year  one  was  erected.  In  1876  the 
town  received  a  severe  rebuke  from  the  school  committee  for  wishing 
the  abolition  of  such  officers,  but  the  feeling  which  was  consequently 
detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  schools,  soon  abated.  In  1876  nine 
teachers  were  employed,  singing  was  generally  taught,  and  the  pupils 
were  receiving  advantages  superior  to  those  of  any  former  year.  In 
1877  the  meritorious  scholars  were  reported  by  the  committee,  wall 
maps  had  been  added  to  the  rooms,  and  other  improvements  inaugur- 
ated to  elevate  the  schools,  so  that  the  school  year  ending  April,  1878, 
showed  not  only  increased  attendance,  but  a  high  standard  of  scholar- 
ship. The  town  paid  in  the  year  $1,185  for  school  expenses.  In  the 
school  year  of  1881-2  six  teachers  were  employed.  The  truant  law 
had  been  adopted,  the  visitors'  list  was  published,  a  superintendent 
had  been  appointed,  the  schools  were  better  graded,  and  the  people 
were  pleased  with  the  progress.  In  1883,  the  school  committee  was 
increased  to  six  and  the  schools  diminished  to  three.  In  1886  there 
were  in  the  public  schools  125  pupils,  and  $1,168.41  was  expended. 
For  the  school  year  ending  April,  1888,  the  committee  expended 
$1,182.54,  receiving  of  this  $306.44  from  the  state  school  fijnd,  and 
employing  seven  teachers. 

The  condition  of  the  schools  in  1889  was  much  advanced.  Regular 
lessons  in  music  had  been  given,  the  attendance  being  eighty-four  for 
the  school  year  ending  in  April,  but  the  percentage  of  attendance 
was  increased  from  the  previous  year.  The  expenditures  for  the  last 
school  year  were  $1,160.34,  which  indicates  that  the  children  of  East- 


TOWN  OF   EASTHAM.  735 

ham  are  enjoying  advantages  in  this  respect,  that  have  never  been 
exceeded  in  the  history  of  the  town.  They  have  now  three  good 
buildings,  conveniently  located,  and  containing  every  needed  device 
for  instruction. 

Villages. — This  town  does  not  contain  the  compact  villages  that 
are  seen  in  sister  towns,  but  the  store,  post  office,  mill,  railroad  station, 
town  house  and  churches  in  the  south  part  of  the  town  form  the 
nucleus  of  the  village  of  Eastham.  It  is  the  largest  centre  of  the  town 
and  embraces  the  territory  upon  which  the  pioneers  erected  their  first 
dwellings  in  1644.  That  the  village  is  scattered  across  the  southern 
portion  of  the  town  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  excellent  quality  of  the 
soil  has  rendered  rural  pursuits  the  leading  industry,  in  the  absence 
of  good  harbors  and  commerce  that  would  tend  to  develop  a  more 
compact  business  center.  A  rural,  sparsely-settled  New  England 
village  now  greets  the  eye,  with  roads  winding  over  knolls  and  around 
ponds.  Thrift  appears  in  the  neat  surroundings  of  the  cottages,  and 
the  two  towering  church  spires  in  the  distance  and  whistle  of  the  ap- 
proaching locomotive  remind  these  aspiring  denizens  of  their  approx- 
imation to  the  title  of  villagers.  The  county  road  is  embraced  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  extended  community,  and  west  of  this,  between 
the  railroad  and  the  shore  of  the  bay,  is  the  most  considerable  portion 
of  the  community.  Many  residents  of  the  southern  part  make  Orleans 
their  post  office  and  business  center. 

The  primitive  stores  of  last  century  have  passed  away,  and  with 
them  nearly  every  connecting  tradition.  During  the  first  years  of 
this  century  Colonel  Samuel  Stinson  had  a  store  and  tavern  near  the 
present  Methodist  church.  Others  had  stores  about  that  time,  among 
which  that  kept  by  Jo.seph  Knowles  on  the  hill  by  the  old  Congrega- 
tional meeting  house  was  a  favorite  resort.  He  discontinued  the  busi- 
ness soon  after  another  meeting  house  was  built  to  the  north  of  the 
old  site,  near  which  Thomas  Crosby  had  opened  a  store,  which  inter- 
fered greatly  with  the  most  profitable  branch  of  Mr.  Knowles'  trade. 
Peter  Walker,  a  rhyming  blacksmith  of  the  time,  who  loved  his  gill 
of  rum  as  well  as  any,  used  in  the  evening  gatherings,  to  sing  this 

truthful  stanza: 

"  We've  no  such  lengths  to  go, 
Nor  wander  far  abroad — 
Crosby's  set  up  keeping  shop 
Close  to  the  house  of  God." 

In  connection  with  the  last  meeting  house  built,  and  when  Mr.  Shaw 
was  closing  his  labors  with  the  declining  society,  another  of  Mr. 
Walker's  store  and  workshop  ditties  was: 

"  A  learned  Treat,  a  pious  Webb, 

And  Cheever — all  no  more; 

Mr.  Shaw  then  took  the  helm 

And  run  the  ship  ashore." 


736  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

In  1837  Elijah  E.  Knowles  and  Mark  Crosby  took  the  store  that 
Joshua  P.  Atwood  had  long  before  opened,  near  Salt  pond.  After 
one  year  Winsor  Snow  became  a  partner  with  Mr.  Knowles  and  con- 
tinued another  year,  when  the  latter  became  the  sole  proprietor.  He 
removed  to  Orleans  in  1885,  and  the  building  he  occupied  as  a  store 
is  now  the  storehouse  of  George  H.Clark,  near  the  railroad  track.  In 
the  month  of  October,  1871,  Edward  Clark  opened  a  general  store  in 
the  present  post  oflSce  building,  which  he  erected  for  the  purpose.  He 
sold  the  entire  business  to  his  son,  George  H.  Clark,  who  is  the  pres- 
ent proprietor. 

The  only  industry  of  recent  years  was  instituted  in  1866  by  Ed- 
ward Clark,  a  currier  by  trade.  He  purchased  the  Congregational 
meeting  house  in  1864,  the  sills  and^  some  other  timbers  of  vhich 
were  used  in  1866  in  the  construction  of  a  large  shop  on  the  west 
shore  of  Great  pond,  where  he  carried  on  the  currying  business 
until  1880,  since  which  date  the  shop  has  been  used  for  farm  pur- 
poses. 

A  pretty  building,  with  its  sitting  room  and  oflBces  for  railroad 
purposes,  is  the  center  of  attraction  for  sightseers  and  tourists.  The 
first  train  of  passenger  cars  passed  though  this  village  on  the  last 
day  of  December,  1870,  and  the  depot  was  at  once  erected.  Nich- 
olas P.  Knowles  was  station  agent  until  his  death  in  1883,  when  the 
present  incumbent,  Eldad  Higgins,  was' appointed. 

Across  the  track,  in  the  store  of  George  H.  Clark,  is  the  village 
post  office,  an  institution  established  here  January  1,  1798.  William 
Myrick  was  the  first  postmaster,  holding  the  position  until  Qctober  ], 
1807,  when  Samuel  Freeman  was  appointed,  who  held  it  until  July  ], 
1811.  Harding  Knowles  was  then  appointed  and  was  succeeded  by 
Joseph  Mayo,  August  18,  1813,  and  he  by  Heman  S.  Doane,  January  3, 
1822.  Elisha  Cobb  was  the  next,  appointed  March  16, 1827;  held  until 
April  13, 1841,  when  Elijah  E.  Knowles  took  the  office  to  his  store. 
August  14,  1843,  George  Seabury  was  appointed  and  September  19, 
1860,  Henry  Knowles  succeeded.  Four  years  later  Seth  Paine  as- 
sumed the  postmastership,  which  he  held  until  his  death,  and  his 
widow  was  appointed  in  October,  1868,  who,  with  Micah  S.  Paine,  held 
it  until  the  appointment  of  George  H.  Clark  in  1878.  The  office  re- 
ceives two  daily  mails  from  the  train  and  accommodates  a  large  ter- 
ritory. 

The  taverns  of  former  times  existed  here  as  the  wayside  retreat 
along  the  county  road,  and  of  these  that  of  William  Myrick,  in  the 
south  part,  was  the  most  important. 

From  the  citizens  of  this  village  a  number  have  been  selected  to 
fill  government  offices  of  trust,  among  whom  was  Elijah  E.  Knowles, 
who  acted  as  assistant  assessor  of  internal  revenue  from  1863  until  the 


TOWN   OF   EASTHAM.  737 

abolishment  of  the  division;  and  the  same  person,  with  Obediah 
Doane,  Abijah  Mayo,  and  others,  served  as  commissioner  of  wrecks 
for  a  term  of  years. 

Here  is  the  Eastham  Library  of  several  hundred  volumes,  an  insti- 
tution established  by  individual  munificence  and  now  supported  by 
the  town,  the  citizens  voting  a  sum  yearly.  Myrick  Clark  was  its  first 
president,  continuing  until  his  death  in  December  last.  Reuben 
Nickerson,  Mrs.  Isaiah  H.  Horton  and  Mrs.  Julia  Knowles  have  been 
the  trustees  since  its  organization.  The  town  clerk,  by  virtue  of  bis 
office,  is  treasurer,  at  present  George  H.  Clark;  and  the  librarian,  Mrs. 
Herbert  C.  Clark.  Every  Saturday  the  library — in  the  hall  over  the 
store  of  G.  H.  Clark — is  open  to  the  public.  One  of  the  principal 
donors  in  the  permanent  establishment  of  the  library  was  Augustus 
E.  Denton,  who  gave  one  hundred  dollars.  Sixty  dollars  was  voted 
by  the  town  last  year  for  new  volumes  and  other  expenditures. 

North  Eastham  is  the  name  given  to  the  territory  of  the  north  part 
of  the  town,  which  embraces  the  community  that  centers  at  the  stores 
and  depot  under  the  title  above  given.  It  is  more  level — has  more 
the  appearance  of  a  plain — than  the  south  part  of  the  town.  Its  gen- 
eral productiveness  has  created  broad  farms,  upon  which  the  citizens 
more  closely  follow  agricultural  than  horticultural  pursuits.  Cook's 
brook,  named  from  Josiah  Cook,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  1644,  empties 
into  the  bay  to  the  westward,  formerly  forming  a  sufficient  harbor 
for  the  fishing  vessels  of  the  town,  and  in  the  decline  of  the  business, 
comparing  the  vessels  of  that  day  with  the  boats  of  the  present,  the 
harbor  is -still  sufficient,  notwithstanding  the  filling  with  sand.  At 
the  mouth  of  this  creek  the  schooner  Belvidere,  of  101  tons,  was  built 
in  1812  for  Elkanah  Cobb,  Michael  Collins  and  the  Doanes,  by  a  mas- 
ter builder  of  Plymouth,  assisted  by  Andrew  Lincoln  and  others.  The 
greater  part  of  the  timbers  were  cut  upon  surrounding  territory, 
which,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  at  presentmany  sturdy  oaks  are  seen 
in  this  part  of  the  town,  indicates  to  the  reader  the  character  of  a  por- 
tion of  the  soil.  The  salt-makers  along  the  west  shore  of  this  terri- 
tory have  been  given. 

Stores  were  opened  here  early,  but  subsequently  to  those  in  the 
south  part.  The  earliest  we  find  to  have  been  established  prior  to 
1800  were  those  of  Michael  Collins  and  Elkanah  Cobb,  and  later  that 
of  David  Brown.  Abraham  Horton  had  a  store  about  1830,  which  he 
continued  many  years,  in  what  is  now  known  as  the  Nauset  House. 
In  1881  Arthur  H.Cobb  erected  a  building  and  opened  a  store  adjoin- 
ing Millenial  Grove.  George  P.  and  Samuel  F.  Brackett  purchased 
the  business  in  1886,  and  are  yet  there  engaged  in  a  general  mercan- 
tile business.  In  1886  Robert  R.  Horton  engaged  in  the  grocery 
business  in  a  new  building  near  the  depot,  and  after  one  year  sold  the 
47 


738  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

goods  to  S.  S.  Dill,  who  transferred  the  trade  to  Alfred  H.  Gill  in  the 
autumn  of  1889. 

The  reader  will  expect  to  find  the  inn  with  the  old  stores,  but  tra- 
dition gives  no  definite  data  of  any  prior  to  that  of  Abraham  Horton, 
which  was  the  usual  stopping  place  for  the  early  stages  to  and  from 
the  lower  extremity  of  the  Cape.  He  continued  until  his  death,  and 
the  old  tavern  has  since  been  open  as  the  Nauset  Hotel,  with  John 
Horton  proprietor.  In  the  large  hall  of  this  hotel  the  only  society  of 
North  Eastham  meets.  In  the  large  building  near  the  depot  is 
Excelsior  Hall.  In  1886  Robert  R.  Horton,  Caleb  Haley,  Philip  and 
Reuben  Smith,  as  a  company,  erected  this  building,  the  first  floor  for 
store  purposes  and  the  large  hall  on  the  second  floor  for  a  skating 
rink.  The  rapid  decline  of  this  pastime  induced  R.  R.  Horton  and 
Frank  Duchman  to  start  a  pants  factory,  which,  after  four  months, 
was  discontinued,  and  the  hall  is  now  kept  for  rent. 

The  first  postmaster  at  North  Eastham,  appointed  March  28,1842, 
was  Cushing  Horton,  who  was  succeeded  December  15, 1846,  by  David 
C.  Atwood.  September  4,  1871,  Abram  W.  Horton  was  appointed, 
keeping  the  office  in  the  old  tavern  until  1882,  when  the  present 
official,  Robert  R.  Horton,  was  appointed,  and  removed  the  office  to 
the  depot.  The  depot  was  built  in  1871,  Cushing  Horton  being  the 
first  agent  until  his  death,  when  his  son-,  Winslow  T.,  assumed  the 
duties.  The  present  agent,  R.  R.  Horton,  has  been  in  the  employ  6f 
the  railroad  company  since  1877. 

Longfellow  Council,  No.  89,  of  the  Order  of  Home  Circle,  was  insti- 
tuted April  1,  1885,  with  twenty-five  charter  members.  Heman  S. 
Gill  was  the  first  leader,  and  was  reelected  in  the  December  election 
of  1889.  The  intervening  rulers  were  Everett  G.  Dill  and  Louise  H. 
Ellis. 

In  this  village  resides  H.Osborn,the  superintendent  of  the  French 
cable,  and  the  office  of  transmission,  near  the  lighthouse,  properly 
belongs  within  its  limits.  The  company's  main  office  is  in  France, 
from  whence  the  cable  was  laid,  landing  at  North  Eastham  in  Novem- 
ber, 1879.  In  the  office  here  three  relays  of  competent  men — three 
operators,  every  eight  hours — are  constantly  employed,  and  often 
more.  One  must  receive  the  message  across  the  ocean,  one  check, 
and  another  transmit  the  same  to  New  York  city.  The  buildings 
are  ample,  furnished  with  sleeping  apartments,  billiard  room  and 
every  convenience.  The  principal  operators  employed  the  past  few 
months  were:  Chief  A.  F.  Toovey.  J.  D.  B.  Stuart,  George  S.  Hall, 
John  Chapman,  Frederick  Sugg  and  Ernest  Horton.  What  would 
be  the  astonishment  of  the  aborigines  of  Nauset  or  the  pioneers 
who  purchased  and  settled  their  territory  if  they  could  see  this 
office,  from  which   lightning   messages  between   the  Old  and  New 


TOWN   OF   EASTHAM.  739 

Worlds  are  received  and  sent  by  a  submarine  cable  formed  of  seven 
copper  wires,  insulated  and  protected  from  the  waters  of  the  fea  ? 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

Scatter  P.  Bangs,  son  of  Seymour  and  Annie  M.  (Cobb)  Bangs, 
grandson  of  Seymour,  and  great-grandson  of  John  D.  Bangs,  was 
born  in  1837.  He  learned  the  carpenters'  trade  when  a  boy.  He  re- 
turned to  Eastham  in  1888,  after  having  been  away  twenty-six  years. 
He  married  Julia,  daughter  of  Hatsel  Nickerson.  They  had  one 
daughter,  Lois  F.,  born  iu  Eastham  in  1858,  died  1862. 

Alonzo  N.  Bearse,  son  of  George  and  Penina  (Bassett)  Bearse,  and 
grandson  of  David  Bearse,  was  born  in  Chatham  in  1842.  He  fol- 
lowed the  sea  from  1854  until  1884,  since  which  time  he  has  been  on 
the  Nauset  life  saving  station,  and  since  1887  he  has  been  keeper  there. 
He  married  Abbie  T.  Brewer,  who  died,  leaving  three  children:  Lin- 
nie  O.,  Jessie  C.  (Mrs.  R.  W.  Horton)  and  Washington  I.  Mr.  Bearse 
was  in  the  late  war  from  August,  1862,  until  July,  1863,  in  Company 
E,  Forty-third  Massachusetts  Volunteers.  He  is  a  member  of  Frank 
D.  Hammond  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  and  of  Fraternal  Lodge,  L  O.  of  O.  F. 

John  Chapman  was  bom  in  England  in  1853,  and  came  to  Eastham 
in  1879,  where  he  has  since  been  operator  for  the  French  Atlantic 
Cable  Company.  He  married  Ada  B.,  daughter  of  William  and  Annie 
(Hamilton)  Hopkins. 

Sara  M.  Chipman,  daughter  of  Freeman  D.  and  Abigail  (Mayo) 
Hatch,  married  Barnabas  H.  Chipman,  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Martha 
(Higgins)  Chipman.  They  had  three  children:  Abbie  F.  (Mrs.  John 
H.  Smart),  Arthur  C.  and  Edgar  W.,  who  is  supposed  to  have  died  in 
Texas.  Mr.  Chipman  was  a  sea  captain  for  twenty-six  years  prior  to 
his  death  in  1874. 

George  H.  Clark,  oldest  son  of  Edward  C.  and  Rachel  (Collins) 
Clark,  grandson  of  Edward  C,  great-grandson  of  Benjamin,  and  great- 
great-grandson  of  Lot  Clark,  was  born  in  1847.  He  has  been  a  mer- 
chant at  Eastham  since  1877,  town  clerk  and  treasurer  since  1878,  and 
is  now  postmaster  at  Eastham.  Edward  C.  Clark  married  Jerusha", 
daughter  of  Elkanah  Cobb'  (Jonathan*,  Jonathan",  Samuel',  Elder 
Henry  Cobb'). 

Roland  D.  Cobb,  son  of  Thomas  and  Priscilla  M.  (Doane)  Cobb, 
and  grandson  of  Thomas  Cobb,  was  born  in  1831.  He  is  a  farmer. 
He  married  Maria  H.,  daughter  of  David  and  Sally  (Swain)  Higgins. 
They  have  one  daughter,  Sarah  M. 

Austin  E.  Cole,  son  of  Joshua  and  Sophia  (Cobb)  Cole,  grandson 
of  Joshua,  and  great-grandson  of  Timothy  Cole,  was  born  in  1869. 
He  is  a  fatmer.  He  married  Eulalia  A.,  daughter  of  James  and  Han- 
nah R.  (Higgins)  Savage.     They  have  one  daughter,  Minnie  C. 


740  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Josiah  M.  Cole,  son  of  Joshua  and  grandson  of  Timothy  Cole,  died 
in  1866,  aged  thirty-six  years.  He  was  a  farmer.  He  married  Mary 
E.,  daughter  of  Knowles  and  Mary  (Knowles)  Doane,  granddaughter 
of  Jesse,  and  great-granddaughter  of  Jesse  Doane.  They  had  three 
children:  Wilber  S.,  Elsie  F.  and  Josiah  A.  Wilber  S.,  was  bom  in 
Eastham,  January  29,  1858. 

Ezekiel  Doane,  born  in  1812,  is  a  son  of  Obed  and  Phebe  (Atwood) 
Doane,  and  grandson  of  Sylvanus  Doane.  He  is  a  farmer,  having 
owned  the  Governor  Prince  farm  since  1842,  where  with  his  two  sons, 
Charles  T.  and  Abealino,  he  now  lives.  He  married  Rachel,  daughter 
of  Dawson  Lincoln.  She  died  in  1881,  leaving  seven  children:  Obed, 
Josephine,  Charles  T.,  William  P.,  Georgiana,  Rachel  and  Abealino  E. 

Russell  Doane',  bom  in  1837,  is  a  son  of  Isaiah'  and  Temperance 
(Knowles)  Doane  (Heman',  Isaiah',  Simeon*,  Samuel',  John',  John 
Doane').  Mr.  Doane  followed  the  sea  from  1860  until  1877,  and  since 
that  time  he  has  been  engaged  on  the  Nauset  life  saving  station. 
He  married  Lucinda  A.,  daughter  of  Thomas  Paine. 

Henry  K.  Harding,  son  of  Prince  S.  and  Nancy  B.  (Knowles)  Hard- 
ing, and  grandson  of  Ephraim  Harding,  was  born  in  1829.  He  fol- 
lowed the  trade  of  carriage  making  with  his  father  until  1864.  He 
was  afterward  twenty  years  in  Tiverton,  R.  I.,  engaged  in  menhaden 
oil  manufacture.  He  is  now  living,  retired,  at  his  old  home  in  East- 
ham.  He  married  Betsey  F.,  daughter  of  Alvin  and  Eliza  (Gould) 
Smith.  They  have  one  son — George  M. — and  an  adopted  daughter — 
Susie  W. 

David  Higgins,  son  of  Joshua  and  Mercy  (Mayo)  Higgins,  grand- 
son of  Elkanah,  and  great-grandson  of  Ebenezer  Higgins,  was  bom  in 
1804.  He  is  a  farmer.  He  married  Sally,  daughter  of  Walter  P. 
Swain.  They  had  six  children,  three  of  whom  are  living:  Maria  H. 
(Mrs.  Roland  D.  Cobb),  Asa  and  Levi  W. 

Peter  Higgins,  bom  in  1838,  is  a  son  of  John  W.  and  grandson  of 
Benjamin,  whose  father,  Elkanah,  was  a  son  of  Ebenezer  Higgins. 
Richard  Higgins  was  born  in  England  and  came  to  Plymouth,  Mass., 
soon  after  that  town  was  settled,  as  his  name  appears  in  the  list  of 
freemen  of  1633.  He  married  Mary  Gates  of  Plymouth.  He  was 
chosen  deputy  in  1649,  1661  and  1667,  and  was  selectman  three  years. 
His  son  Jonathan  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Rogers  in  1660,  and  had 
eight  children.  From  these  have  descended  all  the  families  of  the 
name  in  Barnstable  county.  Peter  Higgins  is  a  farmer  and  fisherman. 
He  served  in  the  civil  war  from  July,  1862,  to  June,  1865,  in  Company 
I.,  Thirty-third  Massachusetts  Infantry,  and  is  a  member  of  Frank  D. 
Hammond  Post,  G.  A.  R.  He  was  in  the  lighthouse  service  four  years 
and  has  held  several  minor  town  offices.  He  married  for  his  first  wife, 
Harriet  E.  Baker,  who  died  leaving  one  son,  Henry  F.     His  second 


TOWN   OF  EASTHAM.  741 

marriage  was  with  Phebe  E.  Burroughs.  They  have  two  sons — John 
W.  and  William  B. — and  have  lost  three  daughters — Sarah  E.,  Flor- 
ence E.  and  Flora  B. 

Elkanah  Hopkins,  son  of  Elkanah  and  Sally  (Mayo)  Hopkins, 
grandson  of  Elkanah  and  great-grandson  of  Joshua  Hopkins,  was  born 
in  1827.  He  has  been  a  carpenter  since  1845.  He  married  Sabra  A., 
daughter  of  Ephraiin  Doane.  She  died,  leaving  two  daughters: 
Paulina  (Mrs.  N.  J.  Kidder)  and  Efl&e  D.,  who  died.  His  second  mar- 
riage was  with  Alma  S.  Herrick,  who  died  in  1882. 

Isaiah  H.  Horton,son  of  Isaiah  H.  and  Rebecca  (Higgins)  Horton, 
grandson  of  Barnabas  and  great-grandson  of  Gushing  Horton,  was 
born  in  Wellfleet  in  1836.  He  followed  the  sea  for  twenty-five  years 
prior  to  1870,  and  since  that  time  has  been  weir  fishing  and  farming. 
He  was  for  six  years  selectman  of  the  town.  He  married  Rachel, 
daughter  of  Whitfield  Witherell.  Their  children  are:  Osgood  W., 
Ernest  R.,  Betsey  E.,  Lillian  R.,  Myra  S.,  Isaiah  H.,  jr.,  Obed  W., 
Reuben  W.  and  Lester  G. 

Robert  R.  Horton,  son  of  Isaiah  H.  and  Louisa  (Doane)  Horton, 
was  born  in  1856.  He  has  been  station  agent  at  North  Eastham  since 
1877,  and  postmaster  there  since  1882.  He  married  Jennie  A.,  daugh- 
of  Isaac  W.  Landerkin.  They  have  three  children:  Elwood  R., 
Garroll  W.  and  Edwin  W. 

Winslow  T.  Horton,  son  of  Gushing  and  Mehitabel  (Knowles) 
Horton,  grandson  of  Barnabas  and  great-grandson  of  Gushing  Horton, 
was  born  in  1844.  He  is  a  fisherman.  He  married  Betsey  H.,  daugh- 
ter of  Isaiah  H.  and  Rebecca  (Higgins)  Horton.  Mr.  Horton  served 
in  the  civil  war  eighteen  months,  in  the  Fifty-ninth  Massachusetts 
Volunteers. 

Freeman  Knowles,  son  of  Freeman  and  Martha  (Mayo)  Knowles, 
and  grandson  of  William  Knowles,  was  born  in  1822.  He  followed 
the  sea  from  the  age  of  seventeen  until  1879,  and  since  that  time  he 
has  been  a  farmer.  He  married  Joanna,  daughter  of  Freeman  and 
Phebe  (Gill)  Smith.  They  have  four  children:  Walter  O.,  Esther  A. 
(Mrs.  S.  H.  Lincoln),  Freeman  E.  and  James  P.  One  daughter,  Esther 
S.,  died. 

Josiah  M.  Knowles  married  for  his  first  wife  Susan  Snow.  His 
second  wife  was  Rebecca  F.,  daughter  of  William  F.  and  granddaugh- 
ter of  William  Knowles.  She  died,  leaving  three  children:  Herbert 
L.,  Susan  W.  (now  the  widow  of  Walter  H.  Dill)  and  Edward  E.  Mr. 
Knowles  married  for  his  third  wife  Mary  P.  Knowles,  sister  of  his 
second  wife.  Since  his  death  in  1885,  his  farm  has  been  occupied  by 
his  widow  and  his  children,  Edward  E.  and  Mrs.  Dill.  Herbert  L. 
married  Garrie  K.  Baker  and  has  one  son,  Arthur  Herbert  Knowles, 
who  was  born  August  6,  1883. 

Seth  Knowles,  born   in   1822,  is  a  son   of  James   H.   and   Ruth 


742  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

(Knowles)  Knowles,  grandson  of  Seth,  and  great-grandson  of  Seth, 
who  was  a  son  of  Colonel  Willard  Knowles,  who  bought  the  farm 
where  Mr.  Knowles  now  lives  in  1742,  of  the  widow  of  Rev.  Samuel 
Treat.  Mr.  Knowles  is  a  farmer.  He  married  Abbie,  daughter  of 
Francis  Kragman.  Their  children  are:  Frank  I.,  James  G.,  Seth 
E.  and  Abbie  M. 

Lewis  Lombard,  born  in  1819,  in  Wellfleet,  is  a  son  of  Caleb  and 
Abigail  (Higgins)  Lombard,  and  grandson  of  Oliver  Lombard.  He 
followed  the  sea  from  1830  until  1886,  fishing  and  coasting,  being  sev- 
eral years  master  of  vessels.  He  has  lived  in  Eastham  since  1862. 
He  married  Lucinda  C,  daughter  of  Michael  and  Dorcas  (Cobb)  Col- 
lins, granddaughter  of  Michael  and  Elizabeth  (Atkins)  Collins,  and 
great-granddaughter  of  Benjamin  Collins.  They  have  two  sons: 
Oliver  C.  and  James  H. 

Oliver  Mayo',  son  of  Timothy'  and  Lydia  (Doane)  Mayo  (James', 
James*,  Joseph*,  James',  John',  Rev.  John  Mayo'),  was  bom  in  1817. 
He  followed  the  sea  for  twenty  years  prior  to  1847,  and  has  been  a 
farmer  since  that  time,  with  the  exception  of  ten  years,  during  which 
he  was  in  the  oyster  business  in  Boston.  He  married  Rebecca  F., 
daughter  of  Joshua  Knowles.  She  died  leaving  two  children:  Ella 
L.  and  George  O.,  who  has  one  daughter,  Sophia  C. 

Reuben  Nickerson,  born  in  Provincetown  in  1814,  is  a  son  of  Reu- 
ben and  Keziah  (Young)  Nickerson,  and  grandson  of  Seth  Nickerson, 
who  was  a  native  of  Chatham,  removing  from  there  to  Provincetown. 
Mr.  Nickerson  has  been  a  farmer  and  salt  maker.  He  has  been  rep- 
resentative one  term,  senator  one  term,  selectman  several  years,  and 
a  member  of  the  school  board  several  years.  He  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Beriah  Doane.  She  died  leaving  two  children:^  Isabelle 
and  Alpheus,  who  died.  His  present  wife  is  Sarah,  sister  of  his  first 
wife.    They  have  had  two  children:  one  who  died  and  Herbert  D. 

Thomas  K.  Paine,  son  of  Elkanah  K.  and  Mehitable  P.  (Knowles) 
Paine,  grandson  of  Ebenezer,  and  great-grandson  of  Isaac  Paine,  was 
born  in  1833.  He  followed  the  sea  several  years,  was  sixteen  years 
keeper  of  Billingsgate  lighthouse,  and  since  1884  has  been  a  farmer, 
occupying  the  homestead  of  his  father.  He  has  been  selectman  of 
Eastham  five  years.  He  married  Deborah  S.  daughter  of  Joshua  and 
Deborah  (Sherman)  Paine.  They  have  two  children:  Edwin  C.  and 
Ruth  E. 

Captain  Edward  Penniman. — In  the  upper  towns  of  the  Cape  are 
several  captains  whose  sea  life  has  been  spent  in  the  capture  of 
whales,  but  in  passing  along  down  the  towns  of  the  county  we  find 
that  Captain  Penniman,  of  Eastham,  is  the  only  surviving  captain  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  Cape  who  has  attained  special  prominence 
in  Arctic  whaling.     In  1842,  when  eleven  years  of  age,  he  first  went  to 


U^'T/l 


TOWN   OF  EASTHAM.  743 

sea  as  a  cook  on  board  a  schooner  bound  for  the  Grand  Banks,  and  on 
this  voyage  he  experienced  the  only  shipwreck  of  his  long  career. 
The  vessel  was  cast  away  on  the  back  of  the  Cape,  near  the  Three 
Lights,  but  the  crew  and  cargo  were  saved.  He  followed  fishing 
until  he  was  nineteen  years  old,  when  Thomas  Knowles,  of  New  Bed- 
ford, a  former  resident  of  the  Cape,  and  one  who  knew  the  worth  of 
the  young  man,  asked  him  if  he  would  go  whaling,  to  which  he  re- 
plied that  he  would  when  he  was  twenty-one.  He  continued  fishing 
with  his  father  until  he  was  twenty,  and  soon  after,  in  1852,  shipped 
for  his  first  whaling  voyage  to  the  North  Pacific  in  the  bark  Isabella. 
His  strength  and  merit  enabled  him  to  ship  as  boat  steerer  on  this 
first  voyage,  and  in  his  second,  in  1855,  he  took  the  position  of  second 
mate  of  the  bark  Minerva,  in  which,  with  Captain  Swain,  he  went  on 
a  cruise  of  four  years  to  the  South  Pacific.  In  1860  he  took  command 
of  the  bark  Minerva,  and  in  this  third  whaling  voyage  went  again  to 
the  South  Pacific  for  sperm.  His  return  from  this  voyage,  during 
the  war  of  the  rebellion,  was  fraught  with  dangers  from  rebel  priva- 
teers. One  of  the  vessels  encountered  near  the  West  Indies,  and 
which  he  was  dodging,  proved  to  be  commanded  by  a  friendly  cap- 
tain and  acquaintance  from  Provincetown,  who  was  as  watchful  of 
rebel  privateers  as  he,  and  equally  suspicious  of  his  craft,  and  who  ran 
a  narrow  risk  of  personal  injury  from  Captain  Penniman  and  his 
men,  who  were  prepared  to  give  him  a  volley. 

Captain  Penniman  sailed  in  the  same  vessel  upon  his  fourth  voy- 
age, and  his  wife  accompanied  him  to  the  Arctic.  The  war  was  vir- 
tually ended,  and  he  certainly  feared  no  interruption  from  rebel 
cruisers  in  that  direction;  but  one  day  while  his  vessel  lay  in  a  field 
of  ice  in  a  high  latitude,  the  captain  of  a  passing  French  ship,  flying 
the  American  flag,  asked  him  to  come  aboard,  and  gave  him  the  un- 
welcome information  that  a  pirate  was  at  a  port  not  far  off,  where 
several  vessels  were  in  flames  by  his  act.  The  whale  boats  were  out 
of  sight,  and  the  captain  was  compelled  to  fire  a  cannon  before  he 
could  recall  them.  Anxiety  to  have  his  men  hear  the  report  and  re- 
turn to  the  vessel  induced  him  to  load  the  old  gun  too  heavily,  and 
the  concussion  broke  the  glass  of  the  lights,  which  in  falling  so  cut 
the  faces  of  his  wife  and  son,  who  were  in  the  cabin  below,  that  they 
looked  as  though  they  had  themselves  been  the  target  of  the  shot. 
The  boats  came  in,  and  Captain  Penniman  made  all  sail  to  a  safe  an- 
chorage, where  be  remained  a  month,  until  all  danger  was  over  from 
rebel  privateers.  He  subsequently  learned  from  good  authority  that 
the  enemy  was  the  Shenandoah,  ^nd  that  his  vessel— the  Minerva— vi&s 
the  special  object  of  the  cruiser's  search.  He  also  learned  that  the 
enemy's  craft  had  passed  near  enough  to  have  discovered  him  had  not 
a  fog  prevailed. 


744  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

In  1874  the  captain  made  his  fifth  voyage,  in  command  of  the  Cicero, 
from  New  Bedford,  making  a  short  voyage  to  the  South  Pacific.  In 
1876  he  went  to  the  coast  of  Patagonia  in  command  of  the  Europa, 
completing  a  long  and  successful  voyage.  His  last  and  seventh  voy- 
age, on  which  he  started  in  1881,  was  in  they^f^^  A.  Howland,  to  the 
Arctic  regions,  from  which  he  returned  in  1884,  leaving  his  vessel  at 
San  Francisco  and  returning  home  across  the  continent,  accompanied 
by  Mrs.  Penniman,  who  had  taken  three  long  voyages  with  him.  A 
singular  fact  may  be  stated:  he  never  lost  a  vessel,  but  every  one  in 
which  he  sailed  has  since  been  destroyed  or  condemned.  The  Isabella 
was  burned  by  Captain  Semmes;  the  Minerva  was  lost  on  the  coast  of 
Africa;  the  Cicero  was  condemned;  the  Europa  was  wrecked  at  Japan, 
and  the  Howland  was  lost  on  Johnson's  island  in  the  Pacific. 

Of  the  ancestry  of  Cajjtain  Penniman  little  is  known.  Scammel 
Penniman,  his  grandfather,  was  a  heavy  grocer  in  Boston  early  in  this 
century,  where  he  died  November  12,  1836.  He  had  three  children: 
Fannie,  Maria  and  Daniel — the  father  of  Captain  Penniman — who, 
early  in  life  came  to  the  Cape,  where  he  died  in  1872.  He  married 
Betsey  A.,  daughter  of  Samuel  Mayo,  of  Eastham,  and  had  nine  chil- 
dren: Elvira,  born  November  10,  1829,  is  now  the  widow  of  Solomon 
Mayo,  of  Eastham;  Maria,  now  Mrs.  George  H.  Sanborn,  of  New 
Hampshire,  was  born  September  3,  1833,  and  first  married  William 
H.  Tendler,to  whom  two  children  were  born;  George  Penniman,  of 
Eastham,  born  September  18,  1835;  James,  also  of  Eastham,  born 
January  24,  1887,  married  Caroline  Dill  and  has  three  daughters  and 
one  son;  Daniel,  born  March  22,  1840,  lives  in  Maine,  and  has  five  chil- 
dren— :two  sons  by  his  first  wife,  Phebe  Thompson,  and  one  son  and 
two  daughters  by  his  second  wife,  Minnie  Johnson;  Silas,  born  Janu- 
ary 31,  1842,  after  serving  through  the  war  settled  in  Maine,  where 
he  married  and  has  one  son;  Charles,  born  January  6,  1844,  was  also 
in  the  federal  army  during  the  rebellion  and  now  lives  at  Franklin, 
N.  H.,  where  he  has  a  wife,  two  daughters  and  a  son;  Francis  W.,  born 
January  6,  1846,  enlisted  in  the  civil  war,  passed  through  many  battles, 
and  was  fatally  wounded  at  Kenesaw  Mountain,  and  died  at  Chatta- 
nooga, July  8,  1864,  aged  eighteen  years. 

Captain  Edward  Penniman,  the  second  child  in  this  family  of  Daniel, 
was  born  at  Eastham,  August  16,  1831.  His  education  was  limited 
to  the  common  schools  of  his  native  town,  but  in  the  forecastle  and 
the  cabin  he  completed  the  education  which  has  since  enabled  him  to 
take  an  honorable  rank  among  the  most  successful  shipmasters  of  the 
Cape.  The  most  of  his  life  has  been  spent  upon  the  sea  and  the 
greater  part  of  thirty-two  years  as  master  of  whale  ships  through 
those  experiences  already  alluded  to.  In  1868  he  engaged  in  business 
in  Chicago,  where  he  spent  the  winters  of  four  years,  and  during  the 


TOWN   OF   EASTHAM.  745 

time  passed  the  summers  at  Eastham  where  he  was  erecting  and 
beautifying  his  present  fine  residence.  He  was  married  in  1859,  to 
Betsey  A.,  daughter  of  William  F.  Knowles,  a  descendant  of  that  old 
family  name.  Their  children  are:  Eugene  B.,  born  September  11, 
1860;  Bessie  A.,  born  September  2,  1868;  and  Edward  D.,  born  March 
25,  1870. 

The  captain,  now  in  the  meridian  of  life,  is  passing  his  days 
pleasantly  in  his  home  overlooking  the  sea,  to  both  of  which  he  is 
devotedly  attached.  He  has  never  shirked  his  duty  as  a  citizen,  but 
has  preferred  to  see  his  neighbors  and  friends  fill  the  local  political 
oflBces,  himself  preferring  his  retirement  amid  his  pleasant  social 
relations.  Of  the  Universalist  church  he  is  a  strong  supporter  and  an 
earnest  and  liberal  friend  to  all  good  works.  In  his  kindness  and 
firmness  he  lives  respected  by  all  who  know  him 

His  oldest  son,  Eugene  B.,  was  married  in  1890,  to  Carrie  S.  Hard- 
ing, and  at  this  writing  is  on  a  whaling  voyage  as  first  officer  of  the 
bark  Reindeer. 

Francis  M.  Smith,  born  in  1852,  is  a  son  of  Heman  and  Louissana 
C.  (Crosby)  Smith  (both  lost  at  sea  in  1875),  grandson  of  Myrick,  and 
great-grandson  of  Sylvanus  Smith.  Mr.  Smith  has  been  a  harness 
maker  since  1872.  Since  1886  he  has  kept  summer  boarders.  He 
married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Hinckley  Lincoln.  They  have  one 
son,  Ivan  G.,  and  lost  one,  William  M. 

Francis  W.  Smith,  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Hannah  (Cole)  Smith, 
and  grandson  of  Elkanah  Smith,  was  born  in  1858.  He  is  a  fisherman 
and  farmer.  He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  George  and  Amanda 
(Snow)  Doane,  and  granddaughter  of  Barnabas  Doane.  They  have 
one  daughter,  Amanda  D. 

Heman  Smith,  2d,  born  in  1839,  is  a  son  of  Lewis  and  Mehitable 
Smith,  and  grandson  of  Lewis  Smith,  who  was  a  native  of  Orleans 
and  a  farmer.  Mr.  Smith  has  followed  the  sea  as  cook  since  he  was 
twelve  years  old,  and  since  1883  he  has  been  cook  on  a  yacht.  He 
married  Olive  M.,  daughter  of  Franklin  and  Lucy  (Cummings)  Free- 
man. Their  children  are:  Charles  W.,  Frank  R.,  Emma  O.  and 
Joshua  F. 

Philip  Smith,  born  in  1821,  is  a  son  of  Freeman  and  Phebe  (Gill) 
Smith,  and  grandson  of  Philip  and  Sarah  Smith.  He  is  a  fisherman 
and  farmer.  He  married  Esther,  daughter  of  Richard  F.  Smith. 
Their  children  are:    Luther  B.,  Sarah  P.  and  Nathan  S.,  who  died. 

Luther  B.  Smith,  son  of  Philip  and  Esther  Smith,  was  born  in  1845. 
He  was  in  business  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  from  1869  to  1889,  and  is  now 
a  garden  farmer  at  his  native  place  in  Eastham.  He  married  Mercy 
H.,  daughter  of  Daniel  Cole.  They  have  two  children:  Philip  M. 
and  Florence  M. 


746  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Wallace  A.  Smith,  born  in  1857,  is  a  son  of  James  and  Thankful  L.. 
(Hopkins)  Smith,  and  grandson  of  Asa  and  Polly  Smith.  He  is  a. 
farmer,  occupying  his  father's  homestead.  He  married  Olive  A., 
daughter  of  Freeman  Snow.     Mr.  Smith  has  one  brother.  Earnest  L.. 

Agnew  F,  Toovey  was  born  in  England  in  1849,  came  to  America 
in  1875,  and  since  1879  he  has  been  engaged  as  operator  at  the  French 
Atlantic  Cable  station  in  North  Eastham.  He  married  Betsey  S.,. 
daughter  of  Isaiah  H.  Horton.     They  have  one  son,  Sidney  E. 

William  Wareham,  born  in  1836,  in  Yarmouth,  is  a  son  of  William 
and  Jedidah  (Cole)  Wareham.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1845  until 
1884,  twenty-three  years  as  master  of  vessels.  He  has  lived  in  East- 
ham  since  he  was  two  years  old,  with  the  exception  of  twenty-three 
years,  during  which  he  was  in  Provincetown.  He  married  Alice, 
daughter  of  Elijah  and  Lydia  (Smith)  Doane,  and  granddaughter  of 
Nehemiah  Doane  and  Freeman  Smith.  Their  children  are:  William 
M.,  Bessie  M.  (Mrs.  Abealino  E.  Doane),  Augustus  W.  and  Alice  L. 

Samuel  S.  Sparrow,  son  of  Abner  and  Polly  Y.  (Harding)  Sparrow, 
was  bom  in  Chatham.  He  was  a  master  mariner  until  within  one 
year  of  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1882.  By  his  first  marriage  he 
had  two  children:  one  who  died  in  infancy  and  Paulina  F.  (Mrs.  Rich- 
ard S.  Myrick).  She  died  in  1881.  Mr.  Myrick  is  a  son  of  John  Q. 
and  Mercy  (Lincoln)  Myrick,  and  is  a  carpenter.  Mr.  Sparrow's  sec- 
ond wife,  who  survives  him,  is  Mary  S.,  daughter  of  Haskell  and 
Fanny  (Atwood)  Crosby,  and  granddaughter  of  Isaiah  and  Betsey 
Crosby. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


TOWN    OF   ORLEANS. 


Orleans  before  its  Division  from  Eastham. — Incorporation. — Natural  Features. — Wrect 
of  the  Sparrowhawk. — Roads. — Early  Settlers. — Various  Events. — Industries. — 
Churches. -Cemeteries.-Schools.-Civil  History. -Villages.-Biographical  Sketches. 


THE  territory  embraced  within  the  present  town  of  Orleans  was 
chiefly  included  in  that  valuable  tract  known  first  to  the  Puri- 
tans as  Nauset,  and  was  therefore  included  in  the  first  grant  of 
1640,  as  noticed  in  the  history  of  Eastham,  and  for  164  years  after  its 
settlement  was  a  part  of  that  ancient  town.  Southwest  of  the  Nauset  ter- 
ritory was  the  Potanumaquut  lands  on  which,  until  their  extinction, 
the  remnant  of  the  Nausets  remained.  A  part  of  these  lands  now 
comprise  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  town  of  Orleans,  while  the 
remainder  belongs  to  Harwich  and  Brewster. 

Mattaquason,  sachem  of  Monomoyick,  sold  to  the  original  pur- 
chasers the  land  known  as  Pochet,  with  the  two  islands  lying  before 
Potanumaquut  and  the  beach  and  the  islands  upon  it;  also  the  terri- 
tory known  as  Namskaket,  extending  northward  to  the  territory 
owned  by  the  sachem  George;  but  excepted  Pochet  island,  which  the 
sachem  reserved.  In  1662  this  island  was  purchased  by  the  settlers, 
and  now  forms  part  of  this  town.  Of  the  original  seven  families  who 
settled  old  Eastham,  only  one  can  be  traced  to  the  present  territory 
of  Orleans.  The  homestead  sites  of  Governor  Prence  and  others  are 
easily  traced  in  Eastham,  but  that  of  Nicholas  Snow,  at  Namskaket, 
is  the  only  one  definitely  on  the  Orleans  side  of  the  division  line  of 
1797.  That  subsequently  there  were  many  more,  and  that  this  part 
of  the  ancient  town  rapidly  grew  to  importance,  will  be  gathered 
from  this  history. 

The  early  history  of  the  town  is  inseparable  from  that  of  Eastham 
in  the  records  of  that  ancient  town,  as  all  was  under  one  local  govern- 
ment prior  to  the  incorporation  of  Orleans.  The  feeling  of  unrest 
and  neglect  to  attend  the  several  town  meetings  of  the  year,  began  as 
early  as  1700,  and  was  increased  by  the  vote  of  a  town  meeting  in 
1705,  at  which  the  people  of  Eastham  "  ordered  that  every  person 
qualified  to  vote,  dwelling  within  seven  miles  of  the  meeting  house,. 


748  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

who  shall  not  attend  at  the  time  appointed,  or  by  the  time  the  meet- 
ing is  called  to  order,  shall  be  fined  6d."  This  proceeding  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  court  of  quarter  sessions  at  Barnstable  and  allowed. 
From  this  the  spirit  of  the  division  of  old  Eastham  into  another  town 
began.  The  confines  of  the  town  contiguous  to  Harwich  were  defined 
in  1705,  leaving  a  strip  upon  which  the  Indians  resided.  This  in 
1712  was  divided  between  the  two  towns  and  now  forms  the  southwest 
part  of  Orleans. 

The  appropriation  of  six  hundred  pounds  in  1718  for  the  erection 
of  a  new  church,  and  the  resolve  to  build  it  near  the  old  one,  .caused 
the  residents  of  this  part  of  the  ancient  town  to  ask  for  a  separate 
parish,  the  dividing  line  to  be  determined  by  Messrs.  Joseph  Lothrop 
and  John  Baker,  of  Barnstable,  and  Elisha  Hall,  of  Yarmouth.  In 
1723  the  South  precinct  of  Eastham,  as  a  parish,  controlled  its  ecclesi- 
astical aflfairs  independently  of  the  other  parish.  This  was  the  wedge 
that  eventually  severed  the  old  town  in  twain. 

In  1772  the  line  between  the  territory  of  Old  Eastham  and  the 
town  of  Harwich  was  declared  to  be:  "  From  the  north  bounds  of 
Namskaket,  thence  southerly  to  a  black-oak  tree  near  Baker's  pond, 
with  a  stone  there  placed;  thence  to  the  southwest  part  of  the  pond 
to  a  heap  of  stones  in  the  edge  of  the  pond;  thence  easterly  to  a  stake 
and  stones  near  the  Chatham  road;  thence  southerly  following  the 
road;  thence  to  the  southeast  in  the  bay  by  a  rock  at  the  edge  of  the 
water;  thence  to  Potanumaquut  harbor,  as  the  channel  now  runs," 
which  is  substantially  the  present  boundary. 

In  1797  the  South  precinct,  after  nearly  three-fourths  of  a  century 
of  independent  ecclesiastical  powers,  was  incorporated  into  the  town 
of  Orleans,  Joseph  Pepper  being  the  only  selectman  left  in  Eastham 
by  the  division,  and  Hezekiah  Higginsand  Heman  Linnell,  the  remain- 
ing two,  resided  in  Orleans.  The  act  of  incorporation  of  March  3d, 
authorized  Isaac  Sparrow,  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  old  town,  to  issue 
his  warrant  to  some  principal  inhabitant  of  the  new  for  its  first  town 
meeting,  and  Hezekiah  Higgins  was  selected.  This  town  meeting 
was  held  March  16,  1797,  at  which  all  arrangements  for  a  separate 
corporate  body  were  settled,  and  the  bounds  defined  on  the  north  and 
south.  The  boundary  between  Eastham  and  Orleans  was  as  follows: 
"  Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  Rock-harbor  river,  thence  southeasterly 
by  the  road  that  leads  by  Nathan  Smith's  dwelling  until  it  comes  to 
the  parsonage  land;  thence  northerly  on  the  westerly  line  of  said 
parsonage  lands  until  it  comes  to  Joshua  and  Isaac  Smith's  land;  thence 
easterly  in  the  range  between  said  Joshua  and  Isaac,  and  Josiah  and 
Elisha  Smith's  land  until  it  the  line  comes  to  Boat  meadow;  thence  a 
due  east  course  into  the  middle  of  Boat-meadow  river;  thence  up  the 
middle  of  said  river  to  its  head;  thence  running  southerly  through  the 


TOWN   OF  ORLEANS.  749 

center  of  the  meadow  and  swamp,  along  Jeremiah's  gutter  (so  called) 
into  the  middle  of  Town  cove;  thence  down  the  center  of  said  cove  to 
Stone  island;  thence  an  east  southeast  course  into  the  Atlantic." 

The  bounds  established  the  same  year  between  Orleans  and 
Chatham  were:  "  Beginning  in  the  southeasterly  corner  of  the  town 
of  Harwich  in  Pleasant  bay;  from  thence  running  easterly  to  the 
northward  of  Strong  island  to  a  stake  on  Pochet  beach,  which  stake 
bears  S.  75°  E.  from  a  black  rock  situated  in  the  edge  of  the  waters  of 
said  bay;  and  from  said  stake  due  east  to  the  sea." 

Thus  we  have  defined  the  limits  of  Orleans  as  recorded  in  its  town 
books,  and  they  remain  substantially  the  same  at  this  date.  More 
plainly,  the  town  is  bounded  north  by  Eastham,  east  by  the  ocean, 
south  by  Chatham  and  pleasant  bay,  and  west  by  Harwich,  Brewster 
and  the  bay.  In  length  it  is  five  miles,  and  from  bay  to  ocean  from 
three  to  four.  It  is  twenty-five  miles  from  the  court  house  of  the 
county  and  ninety  from  Boston,  byland. 

The  face  of  the  town  is  quite  uneven,  but  contains  no  high  hills. 
Its  landscape,  diversified  with  uplands,  vales,  small  bodies  of  water, 
and  numerous  inlets  of  the  sea,  presents  a  pleasing  appearance.  The 
necks  of  land  between  the  coves  are  fertile,  and  nearly  the  entire 
town  is  under  cultivation,  yielding  corn,  rye,  vegetables  and  large 
quantities  of  English  hay.  No  large  streams  have  their  source  within 
the  town,  and  the  most  of  its  rivers  and  coves  are  influenced  by  the 
tides.  Of  these  a  stream  west  of  Barley  neck  is  the  largest,  being  at 
its  mouth  one-half  mile  wide,  and  emptying  into  Pleasant  bay.  On  the 
east  of  Barley  neck  are  coves  communicating  with  Pleasant  bay,  and 
which  separate  the  latter  neck  and  Pochet  neck  from  Nauset  beach. 
Another  neck,  northeast,  nearer  the  ocean,  unites  with  the  others,  in 
forming  what  is  generally  called  Tonset.  A  long  beach,  terminating 
opposite  Chatham,  is  called  Nauset  beach.  This  beach  is  skirted  in- 
side with  salt  marsh,  which  is  slowly  being  filled  with  sand.  The 
islands  within  Pleasant  bay  add  beauty  to  the  scenery,  and  of  these 
Pochet,  east  of  Barley  creek,  is  the  largest.  Sampson's,  southwest  of 
the  latter,  contains  thirty  acres  and  much  good  land.  South  of  this 
is  Hog  island,  of  ten  acres,  and  southerly  of  this  is  Sipson's,  of  twenty 
acres.  Namequoit  neck  has  Higgins'  river  on  the  north,  and  a  creek 
of  the  same  name  as  the  neck  on  the  south.  Potanumaquut  is  the 
Indian  name  of  the  south  part  of  the  town.  Namskaket  creek  is  in 
part  the  dividing  line  from  Brewster,  and  forms  a  small  harbor. 
There  are  salt  marshes  fringing  all  these  harbors,  bays,  creeks,  and 
even  the  islands.  These  shores  and  coves  are  productive  in  shell- 
fish, sea  clam,  bass,  tautog  and  eels. 

In  the  town  are  no  less  than  sixteen  ponds  of  fresh  water,  of  which 
five  aggregate  213  acres;  Baker's  pond,  88;  Fresh   pond,   43;    pond 


750  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

southeast  of  the  last,  53;  pond  east  of  the  village,  11,  and  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  town  one  of  18  acres. 

Besides  Pleasant  bay  and  its  anchorage,  the  town  has  Nauset  har- 
bor on  the  northeast,  containing  several  islands,  the  largest  of  which 
is  Stone  island.  Town  cove,  a  harbor  for  small  craft,  extends  from 
the  last-mentioned  harbor  southwesterly  into  the  town,  forming  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  sheets  of  water  in  the  town.  The  distance  across 
from  this  cove  to  Namskaket  is  less  than  two  miles.  Across  this 
neck,  in  1627,  was  the  historical  transportation  of  the  crew  and  goods 
of  the  Sparrowhawk  by  the  Indians  and  Pilgrims.  Laden  with  pas- 
sengers for  Virginia,  she  was  stranded  on  Nauset  beach,  south  of  the 
-present  life  saving  station,  and  the  Indians,  by  runners,  at  once  noti- 
fied the  people  at  Plymouth  that  some  of  their  countrymen  were 
here  in  distress.  The  Pilgrims  came  across  in  boats  to  Namskaket, 
and  the  unfortunate  voyagers  were  carried  to  Plymouth.  The  stranded 
vessel  subsequently  was  covered  by  the  drifting  sand,  and  for  two 
■centuries  was  hidden;  but  in  1863  the  hulk  was  unearthed,  taken  to 
Boston  and  other  cities  for  exhibition,  and  is  now  to  be  seen  in  Mem- 
orial Hall,  Plymouth. 

New  roads  were  laid  out  directly  after  the  incorporation  of  the 
town,  and  pains  taken  to  improve  the  old  ones.  For  the  first  ten  years 
this  was  the  principal  business  of  the  town  meetings.  One  main 
road  had  previously  been  laid  out — the  one  from  Eastham  to  Satucket 
— which,  in  1668,  was  made  to  connect  with  the  road  along  the  Cape, 
and  was  subsequently  the  regular  county  road,  being  now  so  known 
and  used,  as  it  runs  along  the  northwest  side  of  Town  cove. 

Along  the  roads  then  in  use  was  a  scattered  population — mostly  in 
the  north  and  east  parts.  The  names  of  the  settlers  who,  in  the 
division  from  the  mother  town,  must  lay  the  foundation  of  a  town 
that  should  reach  its  present  importance,  were:  AtTonset,  Dea.  Abner 
Freeman,  his  brother  John  Freeman  and  Jonathan,  son  of  Abner; 
Josiah  and  Joseph  Crosby,  and  Josiah  Crosby,  jr.;  John,  Jesse,  Joseph, 
Ephraim  and  Abiel  Cole;  Freeman,  Abishai,  Simeon,  Moses  and  Seth 
Higgins;  Freeman  Hayden;  Moses,  Stephen,  Zenas,  Edmund,  Jonathan, 
Aaron,  Micajah  and  Elnathan  Snow;  James,  Thomas,  Josiah  and 
Prince  Rogers;  Benjamin,  Isaac,  Josiah,  Elkanah,  Edmund  and  Thomas 
Linnell;  Timothy  and  Azariah  Doane;  Barnabas,  Jonathan  and  Dea. 
Prince  Twining;  Theophilus  Mayo;  Elkanah,  Curtis  and  Joshua  Hop- 
kins; Elisha,  Jedediah  and  Nathaniel  Young;  Isaac,  David,  Josiah  and 
Thomas  Snow;  Isaac  and  Josiah  Sparrow;  John,  David  and  Benjamin 
Taylor;  Rev.  Jonathan  Bascom  and  Joseph  Seabury. 

In  the  central  part  were:  Micah  Sherman,  Asa,  Sylvanus,  Eliakim, 
Elnathan,  Hezekiah,  Daniel,  Thomas,  Lot,  Samuel  and  Hatsel  Higgins; 
Jabez,  Solomon   and   Seth   Sparrow;   Zenas  Doane,  Arvin   Kenrick, 


TOWN  OF   ORLEANS.  751 

Oliver  Arey,   Edward   Jarvis,    Jonathan     Hopkins,    Jesse    Kenney, 
Thomas,  Simeon  and  Abner  Mayo;  Samuel  and  Jonathan  Rogers. 

At  Potanumaquut,  or  South  Orleans  were:  Jonathan  Kenrick, 
grandfather  of  John;  Jonathan,  father  of  Alfred  Kenrick;  Hezekiah 
Rogers,  Dea.  Judah  Rogers,  Richard  and  Joshua  Rogers,  sr.;  Seth 
Sparrow,  3d;  John  Gould,  Thomas  Robbins,  Jedediah  Young,  Joseph 
and  John  Hurd,  Uriah  Mayo  and  Joshua  Mayo,  Joshua  Gould,  John 
Sparrow,  Seth  Sparrow,  2d;  Joseph  L.  Rogers,  Reuben  Eldredge, 
Heman  Mayo,  Judah  and  James  Higgins. 

At  Skaket  were:  Josiah  and  Thomas  Freeman,  Simeon  and  Mat- 
thew Kingman;  Gideon  and  Heman  Snow,  John  Young,  William  and 
Zoeth  Smith;  Seth,  Nathaniel  and  Major  H.  Knowles;  Simeon  Pepper, 
Yates  Nickerson,  John  Jarvis  and  John  Myrick. 

At  Rock  harbor  were:  Ralph,  Elisha,  Lewis  and  Seth  Smith; 
Heman  and  Prince  Snow,  John  Knowles,  Jonathan  Bascom,  Nathaniel 
Nickerson,  Absalom  and  Ralph  Higgins;  Jonathan,  Jonathan  F., 
David  and  Moses  Young;  John  Harding,  and  Seth  and  James  Hurd. 

These  settlers  resided  in  unpretending  dwellings,  and  their  num- 
ber was  rapidly  increased.  Three  years  later  the  town  had  142  dwel- 
lings, of  which  only  five  were  more  than  one  story  high.  No  villages 
were  scattered  throughout  the  town  as  now,  and  one  post  office 
sufficed. 

In  1797  a  pound  was  erected  on  land  north  of  Simeon  Higgins. 
That  institution,  in  some  form  or  place,  has  since  been  maintained, 
now  being  near  the  town  poor  house.  The  poor  house  was  built  in 
1831,  on  Pochet  neck,  east  of  Town  cove.  In  1873  a  new  one  was  erec- 
ted back  of  the  Methodist  church.  To  the  credit  of  the  town  this  has 
been  leased  as  a  tenement  house  for  the  past  three  years. 

In  1814  a  landing  place,  from  the  common  lands  of  the  proprietors, 
was  located  at  Rock  harbor,  and  a  road  connecting  it  with  the  village 
was  laid  out.  At  that  time  the  packet  lines  to  Boston  started  from 
that  side,  and  for  many  years  the  shipping  business  of  the  town  was 
centered  there.  In  1833  the  improvement  of  Rock  harbor  was 
attempted.  A  dam  was  built  across  the  creek  to  retain  the  water, 
which,  it  was  thought,  would  deepen  the  channel  by  allowing  the 
water  to  escape  at  low  tide,  but  after  an  expenditure  of  two  thous- 
and dollars  the  project  was  abandoned. 

In  1819  the  town  contained  289  families,  mostly  located  on  the  neck 
adjoining  the  bay,  on  the  county  road,  and  along  the  road  east  of  the 
cove  to  and  including  Tonset.  The  growing  population  did  not  escape 
the  epidemic  that  prevailed  in  Eastham  in  1816,  and  many  died,  but 
the  energy  of  the  people  and  their  readiness  to  combine  in  assisting 
■those  who  were  in  need  gave  the  town  an  unwonted  impetus  in  its 
prosperity.     In  1820  the  population  was  1,348.     At  this  time  the  re- 


752  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

maining  landsof  the  Potanumaquutswere sold, and  the  town  received 
its  share  of  the  proceeds.  Improvements  were  undertaken,  one  of 
which  was  the  joining  with  Chatham  in  digging  a  channel  through 
the  back  side  of  the  beach,  below  Strong  island,  to  benefit  the  salt 
meadows,  but  the  labor  was  lost. 

The  portion  of  the  surplus  revenue  received  by  the  town  was  loaned 
to  individuals  for  two  years  on  good  security,  but  at  the  end  of  that 
time  became  a  matter  of  dispute  and  disagreement.  The  town  used 
a  portion  for  town  expenses,  and  in  1837  erected  their  first  town 
house  with  the  other  portion.  It  stood  opposite  the  Universalist 
church,  on  land  now  occupied  by  the  cemetery.  This  was  replaced 
by  a  better  one  in  1873.  That  year  the  selectmen,  with  Jonathan 
Higgins  and  Joseph  H.  Cummings  as  a  building  committee,  with 
full  powers  to  select  a  site  and  erect  the  house — all  not  to  exceed 
five  thousand  dollars — erected  it  opposite  the  soldiers'  monument, 
west  of  the  old  one.  It  was  dedicated  December  25,  1873,  and  is 
a  fine  building.     It  is  centrally  located,  with  a   commanding  view. 

In  1826  strong  measures  were  taken  to  suppress  the  sale  and  use 
of  spirituous  liquors,  the  selectmen  being  authorized  to  refuse  all 
applications  for  the  privilege  of  its  sale,  and  this  has  been  the 
course  of  the  town  since. 

Among  the  enterprises  and  industries  worthy  of  mention  were  the 
tide  mills,  of  which  only  relics  remain.  The  piles  driven  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  water  mill,  near  Oliver  Doane's,  are  still  visible.  It 
was  anciently  owned  by  Timothy  Cole,  but  when  that  or  any  of  them 
were  erected  no  tradition  can  tell.  The  others  were  in  the  southwest 
part  of  the  town — one  at  Weesquamscut  or  Arey's  pond,  built  by  the 
ancestors  of  Captain  Arey;  and  the  other  at  Kesscayogansett  or  Spar- 
row's pond,  built,  as  was  supposed,  by  that  ancient  family  whose  name 
the  pond  bears.  Some  doubt  has  been  expressed  that  the  latter  ex- 
isted; but  the  site  is  shown,  and  parts  of  the  mill  stones  are  in  use  as 
a  door  stone  to  the  residence  of  Albert  Bassett,  and  in  the  wall  of 
Freeman  Sparrow's  fence,  near  by.  These  mills  were  constructed  at 
an  early  day,  for  grinding  corn.  A  narrow  neck  at  the  mouth  of  a 
pond,  into  which  the  tide  was  forced,  was  the  proper  place  for  these 
mills.  Across  this  neck  a  dam  was  constructed,  and  the  rise  of  water 
by  the  tide  was  confined,  to  be  let  out  gradually  against  a  wheel  that 
gave  the  power  for  grinding. 

The  town  has  had  within  the  century  past  five  wind  mills,  three  of 
which  still  do  work.  That  on  Mill  hill,  near  the  cemetery,  was  moved 
from  Chatham  in  1830  to  South  Orleans,  and  in  1870  was  moved  to  its 
present  site — where  an  old  one,  125  years  old,  was  torn  down.  James 
H.  Arey  moved,  owns  and  runs  it.  Many  years  ago  another,  owned 
by  Theophilus  Mayo,  stood  east  of  this  on  the  same  hill,  having  been 


TOWN  OF  ORLEANS.  753 

moved  from  Skaket,  and  which  is  claimed  as  the  first  in  the  town. 
The  mill  near  D.  L.  Young's  store  belongs  to  Jonathan  Young,  Wil- 
liam F.  Mayo,  Joseph  K.  Gould  and  Francis  and  David  L.  Young. 
This  was  moved  from  the  hill  at  South  Orlerns,  in  1839,  to  its  present 
site,  where  it  is  doing  good  service.  Isaac  Sparrow  owned  the  wind 
mill  now  owned  by  Richard  S.  Freeman  and  Captain  Joseph  Taylor, 
near  Lot  Higgins'  store.  It  was  built  soon  after  1800,  by  Daniel  John- 
son, to  grind  salt,  and  is  still  serviceable. 

Ship-building  has  not  been  an  industry  of  the  town,  except  as  a 
schooner  of  seventy  tons  was  built  prior  to  1800,  at  Sparrow's  pond  in 
the  south  part  of  the  town,  by  Reuben  Cole.  The  timber  was  cut 
near  by,  and  the  vessel  was  floated  by  hogsheads  to  the  deeper  water 
after  completion. 

The  fishing  business,  in  its  various  departments,  has  been  largely 
carried  on;  the  town  having,  in  1837,  thirty-three  vessels,  which  em- 
ployed 264  men,  but,  as  in  other  towns,  it  now  has  little  interest.  The 
packet  business,  of  which  Edward  Jarvis  was  a  pioneer,  was  exten- 
sively carried  on  between  Orleans  and  Boston;  but  this  business  was 
long  ago  superseded  by  other  means  of  transportation. 

Churches. — In  1718  it  was  decided  to  erect  the  second  meeting 
house  and  organize  the  South  parish  of  Eastham,  which  is  now  Or- 
leans, and  this  is  the  oldest  religious  society  within  its  bounds.  Sam- 
uel Osborn  had  been  called  to  the  pastorate  of  the  Central  parish 
church;  but  when  the  new  church  was  completed,  he  removed  to  the 
South  parish,  and  remained  until  1738,  when  he  was  dismissed..  He 
was  succeeded,  in  1739,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Crocker,  who  remained  until 
his  death,  in  1772.  Rev.  Jonathan  Bascom  then  became  pastor,  and 
served  until  his  death,  in  1807.  Rev.  Daniel  Johnson,  of  Bridgewater, 
followed,  and  was  dismissed  in  1828.  The  church  was  supplied  by 
Messrs.  Turner,  Scovel,  Bartley  and  Boyter  until  1835,  when  Rev. 
Stillman  Pratt  was  ordained,  and  continued  his  labors  to  April,  1839. 
Rev.  Jacob  White  commenced  his  labors  in  1841,  and  continued  as 
stated  supply  until  1860.  The  pulpit  was  supplied  by  Messrs.  Dickin- 
son, White  and  Tarleton  until  1865,  when  Rev.  J.  E.  M.  Wright  com- 
menced his  labors.  He  was  succeeded,  after  a  few  years,  by  Rev. 
Charles  E.  Harwood,  who  remained  ten  years.  George  W.  Andrews 
and  H.  M.  Holmes  filled  the  desk  until  1887,  when  Thomas  Bickford 
was  called.  After  two  years  Thomas  H.  Vincent,  the  present  pastor, 
was  settled. 

In  1804  the  meeting  house,  the  only  one  then  in  Orleans,  was  re.* 
placed  by  a  larger  and  better  one.  The  expense  of  this  was  more 
than  paid  by  the  sale  of  pews.  This  edifice  was  torn  down  in  1829 
and  another  erected.  Many  changes  had  been  made  in  forms  of  re- 
ligious worship.  The  town  purchased  a  bass  viol  for  the  church  in 
48 


754  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

1810,  and  thirty  pounds  a  year  had  been  paid  since  1805  for  a  singing 
master  to  educate  the  youth.  In  1888,  a  still  larger  and  better  edifice 
being  needed,  the  present  one,  on  the  same  site,  was  erected,  and 
dedicated  December  30th  of  the  same  year. 

The  Universalist  Society  was  incorporated  in  1834.  In  1833  dis- 
senters from  the  old  church  erected  a  meeting  house  for  worship. 
Services  had  been  occasionally  held  prior  to  that  date.  The  Rev. 
Ezekiel  Vose,  the  first  regular  preacher  was  ordained  in  1834,  and 
■was  succeeded  in  1840  by  Rev.  James  G.  Burt,  who  remained  until 
1843,  when  Rev.  Stillman  Barden  was  settled.  He  remained  until 
October,  1851,  when  R.  K.  Brush  filled  the  pulpit  until  September, 
1853.  The  same  fall  Rev.  Earl  Guilford  took  the  pastorate  for  two 
years,  succeeded  by  J.  P.  Atkinson  until  1860.  J.  H.  Campbell  fol- 
lowed and  remained  until  the  fall  of  1863.  G.  F.  Jenks  was  pastor 
until  1866,  then  Edwin  White  for  two  years.  Mr.  Jenks  and  others 
followed  as  supplies,  and  in  1869  Mr.  Willis  came.  George  F.  Jenks 
was  recalled  in  1871  and  was  pastor  three  years,  followed  by  R.  S. 
Pope,  1874^75;  W.  C.  Stiles,  1876-1878;  G.  W.  Jenkins,  1878-1882;  J. 
L.  Seabarin,  1883;  G.  V.  Wilson,  1884-1886;  Donald  Eraser,  1887  to  — . 

A  Reformed  Methodist  Society  was  organized  and  a  meeting  house 
erected  in  1820.  Prior  to  this  date  occasional  services  were  enjoyed, 
several  ministers  furnished  preaching  for  ten  years,  but  the  society 
declined  and  the  house  was  closed. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  erected  in  1837  from  the 
building  of  the  former  society,  now  standing  across  the  street  from 
the  Snow  Library.  The  society  had  been  organized  the  previous  year 
from  the  remains  of  the  old  society.  The  ministers  have  been:  D.  G. 
Brown  for  two  years;  Philip  Crocker  in  1838;  Rev.  P.  Crandall  and 
Rev.  J.  Litch  in  1840;  H.  Perry,  1841;  J.  Bicknell,  1842;  T.  G.  Blake, 
1843.  The  next,  in  1843-^,  was  Rev.  E.  B.  Hinckley,  succeeded  by  J. 
F.  Blanchard  in  1845-6;  John  D.  King  in  1847;  John  French  in  1848, 
until  his  death,  then  Arnold  Adams;  in  1849,  James  B.  Washburn;  in 
1851,  John  Fisher;  1852,  Thomas  Slater;  1853.  W.  P.  Myrick,  S.  G. 
Usher  and  Franklin  Sears;  1855,  George  S.  Alexander;  1856,  James 
H.  Cooley;  1858,  Henry  Mayo;  1859,  S.  Ranks;  1861,  Joseph  Marsh; 
1865,  J.  A.  Steele;  1866,  Moses  Brown;  1867,  F.  Gavitt;  1869, C.  Stokes; 
1870,  C.  H.  Ewer;  1872,  J.  W.  Price;  1878,  J.  B.  Washburn;  1875,  C.  A. 
Carter;  1876,  M.  Dwight;  1877,  H.  W.  Hamblin;  1879,  T.  A.  Turner; 
1880,  C.  T.  Hatch;  1881,  W.  F.  Davis;  1883,  L.  B.  Codding;  1885,  W. 
W.  Hall;  1887,  W.  L.  Hood;  1889,  O.  A.  Farley. 

A  Baptist  Society  was  instituted  in  June,  1826,  by  resident  mem- 
bers of  the  Brewster  church — eight  in  number.  In  1828  a  convenient 
edifice  was  erected  in  the  center  of  the  town.  Rev.  Otis  Wing,  who 
assisted  in  organizing  the  society,  preached  one-third  of  the  time  until 


TOWN  OF  ORLEANS.  755 

the  fall  of  1837.  Rev.  Winthrop  Morse  began  his  pastorate  with  them 
in  1829,  discontinuing  in  1832.  Rev.  Enoch  Chase  preached  until 
1836,  succeeded  by  Rev.  Silas  Ripley  until  the  fall  of  1837.  Rev.  Jes.se 
Pease  supplied  a  year,  then  Rev.  Davis  Lothrop  was  pastor  for  several 
years.  The  society  commenced  to  decline,  employing  ministers  and 
occasional  supplies  for  a  number  of  years  until  the  church  was  closed.' 
Their  edifice  was  taken  down  for  other  uses  in  1889. 

Cemeteries. — The  few  cemeteries  of  the  town  are  well  preserved. 
The  oldest  is  an  Indian  burial  place  at  South  Orleans — the  grounds 
of  the  Potanumaquuts.  Their  meeting  house,  which  stood  near  by, 
has  been  extinct  for  nearly  a  century,  and  its  door  step  is  doing  ser- 
vice for  John  Kenrick.  A  later  burying  ground  for  Indians  was  on 
the  land  now  owned  by  the  heirs  of  William  G.  Nickerson,  also  at 
South  Orleans. 

In  1718,  when  the  South  parish  meeting  house  of  Old  Eastham  was 
erected,  a  burying  ground  was  laid  out  near  by,  which  is  still  care- 
fully guarded  by  the  citizens  of  Orleans.  This  is  not  used;  but  ad- 
joining it  five  acres  was  purchased,  January  16,  1850,  by  enterprising 
citizens  under  the  organization  called  the  Orleans  Cemetery  Associ- 
ation, and  to  this  was  added,  June  13,  1876,  nine  acres  more,  forming 
one  of  the  largest  and  best  managed  cemeteries  in  the  county.  The 
officers  of  the  association  for  1889  were:  Joseph  Taylor,  president; 
Joseph  Mayo,  secretary  and  treasurer;  Samuel  Mayo,  Joseph  W. 
Rogers,  Theophilus  H.  Hurd  and  the  president  and  secretary,  ex- 
officio,  trustees;  and  Waters  Taylor,  superintendent.  At  the  east  of 
the  Congregational  church  is  a  burial  place,  of  which  little  is  known. 
There  is  also  one  near  the  depot,  belonging  to  the  Methodist  society, 
not  now  used. 

Schools. — When  the  town  was  organized  especial  care  was  taken 
to  institute  schools  to  accommodate  the  children.  In  1713  the  terri- 
tory south  of  the  cove  was  made  one  district.  In  1797  there  were  but 
three  vaguely  defined  sections,  that  were  provided  with  limited 
opportunities  for  acquiring  even  a  common  school  education.  The 
people  of  the  town,  at  their  first  town  meeting,  voted  to  divide  the 
town  into  three  definite  districts  and  build  a  school  house  in  each. 
The  eastern  district  was  to  be  east  of  a  "  line  drawn  as  the  road  runs 
from  the  westerly  side  of  Thomas  Mayo's  house,  along  said  road  to 
the  meeting  house;  thence  northerly  to  the  eastward  of  Dr.  Seabury's." 
Then  "  a  line  drawn  from  the  head  of  Frostfish  cove,  running  west- 
erly between  Sylvanus  and  Asa  Higgins',  .still  westerly  between 
Elnathan  and  widow  Higgins'  and  between  Ebenezer  and  Jedediah 
Young's  to  the  Harwich  line,"  was  to  define  the  bounds  between  the 
north  and  south  districts.  This  was  succeeded  by  liberal  support  in 
the  town  meeting  votes,  and  the  taxes  levied;   and  for  some  reason 


756  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

the  open  town  meeting  of  1799  "  voted  that  the  schoolmasters  of  the 
town  have  the  approbation  of  the  ministers  and  selectmen."  Whether 
this  was  the  manner  of  ascertaining  the  qualifications  of  the  several 
masters,  or  that  the  approbation  of  the  clergy  and  selectmen  was 
necessary  to  the  success  of  the  schools,  no  one  of  that  date  lives  to 
tell.  It  is  enough  that  the  schools  flourished  thus,  endorsed  by  the 
church  and  the  state. 

In  1806  a  committee  in  each  district  was  appointed  to  see  that  the 
school  have  everything  for  its  advancement. 

In  1819  the  districts  numbered  six,  and  new  school  houses  had  been 
erected  in  the  new  districts.  The  appropriations  of  the  town  kept 
pace  with  the  needs  of  the  increasing  population  and  the  demand  for 
a  higher  grade  of  schools.  This  year  the  committee  to  divide  the 
town  into  districts,  was:  John  Kenrick,  John  Myrick,  Henry  Knowles, 
James  Rogers,  Daniel  Comings  and  Judah  Rogers. 

In  1827  an  academy  was  built  by  a  company,  upon  the  present  site 
of  the  Snow  Library  building.  It  had  two  stories — a  school  room 
below  and  a  hall  above.  Teachers  qualified  to  teach  the  high 
branches  were  employed,  and  it  is  said  the  institution  teaching  navi- 
gation was  of  importance  to  those  who  afterward  engaged  in  seafar- 
ing pursuits.  Teachers  for  the  town  schools  were  qualified  for  their 
work  here.  It  was  discontinued  soon  after  1866,  and  the  building 
moved,  for  a  dwelling,  to  a  site  south  of  the  Congregational  church. 

In  1834  the  town  was  divided  into  nine  districts  and  at  once  more 
houses  were  .provided.  At  this  time  nine  hundred  dollars  each  year 
was  raised  for  the  support  of  these  schools.  In  1846  there  were  ten 
school  districts,  with  seventeen  teachers  employed.  The  number  of 
different  scholars  in  the  public  schools  at  this  time  was  614 — the  high- 
est of  any  school  year,  and  from  this  year  the  decrease  commenced. 
In  1850  the  valuation  of  the  town  was  doubled  from  former  years, 
the  same  amount  was  paid  for  schools,  and  407  scholars  were  given 
the  benefit.  In  1866  there  were  468  scholars  reported  in  the  schools 
of  the  year,  and  in  1859  only  398,  with  twelve  teachers. 

In  1873  a  high  school  was  instituted  in  the  central  building,  with 
Hiram  Myers  as  principal,  and  from  this  time  the  interest  in  and  the 
standard  of  the  schools  rapidly  increased.  Reports  of  the  standing, 
attendance,  and  the  amount  of  expenditures  of  the  schools  were  first 
printed  and  distributed.  That  year  $143.27  was  received  from  the 
state  school  fund. 

In  1876  the  high  school  gave  satisfaction,  and  the  grammar 
schools  numbered  four,  the  primaries  three.  The  attendance  of 
scholars  for  all  the  schools  for  the  year  was  270.  The  examination 
of  pupils  at  the  close  of  each  term  in  all  the  grades  was  rigid,  giv- 
ing candidates  for  admission  to  the  high  school  an  unusually  severe 
test. 


TOWN  OF  ORLEANS.  757 

The  school  year  ending  in  1882  was  fraught  with  changes  detri- 
mental, perhaps,  to  the  best  interest  of  the  scholars.  By  a  vote  of  the 
town  meeting  the  grammar  and  primary  schools  of  the  east  and  south 
parts  of  the  town  were  united  to  save  expense.  At  this  time  the  de- 
crease in  the  number  of  scholars  was  plainly  discernible,  for  which 
there  were  several  reasons.  The  number  of  different  scholars  who 
attended  school  in  1860-1  was  443,  while  in  1880-1  it  was  235.  The 
sum  of  $1,900  was  raised  for  the  first  and  $2,400  for  the  second  period 
given.  In  the  first  school  year  mentioned,  fourteen  teachers  were 
employed  and  nine  in  the  latter.  The  standard  of  the  schools 
in  1880  was  fifty  per  cent,  better  than  in  1861.  In  1882  attendance 
was  largely  increased  by  the  enforcement  of  the  truant  act,  and  the 
income  from  the  state  fund  was  $286.95 — about  one  hundred  dollars 
increased  since  1873 — indicating  a  higher  state  of  improvement.  In 
1887  the  scholars  in  attendance  had  decreased  to  184,  receiving  from 
the  state  fund,  $311.08. 

The  ten  districts  throughout  the  town,  long  previous  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  grammar  schools,  had  been  consolidated  and  four  large 
school  buildings  termed  Northwest,  Central,  East  and  South  schools, 
with  the  high  school  at  the  center,  took  their  place.  On  the  morning 
of  September  29,  1887,  the  Central  house  was  burned.  This  school 
was  continued  in  the  town  house  until  the  close  of  the  school  year. 
Another  was  erected  on  the  site,  in  which  a  grammar  school  was  com- 
menced December  16, 1889.  The  schools  of  1888-9  were  four  grammar 
departments  and  four  primary,  with  an  attendance  of  164  different 
scholars.  The  income  from  the  state  fund  was  $304.82,  and  the  school 
year  closed  with  a  report  of  decided  progress.  The  usual  appropri- 
ation of  the  town  for  its  schools  is  now  $2,200  annually.  The  school 
committee  for  1890-1893  consists  of  Robert  E.  Oliver,  Joshua  H.Smith 
and  Freeman  Higgins. 

Civil  History. — This  branch  of  the  history  of  Orleans,  prior  to 
1797,  is  inseparable  from  that  of  old  Eastham.  The  enactments  of 
the  latter  governed  the  present  territory  of  Orleans,  from  which  a 
large  proportion  of  the  officers  were  chosen.  The  civil  list  of  East- 
ham  from  its  incorporation  to  March,  1797,  will  be  found  in  Chapter 
XXII,  and  by  the  officers  there  named  the  present  territory  of  Orleans 
was  served. 

The  Indians  of  Potanumaquut — now  the  south  part  of  Orleans — 
had  a  court  and  magistracy  of  their  own,  established  by  the  general 
court  in  1682. 

The  people  of  the  town  acted  in  concert  with  the  patriots  of  other 
towns  during  the  troubles  of  the  revolutionary  war,  and  the  so-called 
whigs  were  largely  in  the  ascendency;  and  in  ]80o,  after  learning  of 
the  decease  of  George  Washington,  a  public  service  was  held,  at  which 


758  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

the  freemen,  by  a  strong  vote  ordered  the  oration  of  Rev.  Mr.  Bascom 
to  be  published.  In  1809  the  town  first  made  distinct  assessments  for 
the  support  of  the  ministry,  the  voters  at  this  time  numbering  about 
120.  In  1812  the  town  passed  139  votes.  The  political  tendency  of  the 
town  was  promptly  indicated  in  1814,  when  British  cruisers  anchored  in 
sight  of  its  shores,  threatening  destruction  unless  a  certain  amount 
of  money  was  raised.  A  decisive  vote  of  refusal  was  given,  and  every 
attempt  of  the  enemy  to  land  was  repulsed. 

In  cases  of  humanity  the  political  parties  were  united,  as  was  the 
case  in  1816,  when  the  epidemic  brought  death  to  many  and  burden- 
some bills  to  others.  At  this  time  the  vote  was  unanimous  that  the 
town  pay  the  doctors'  bills  for  those  persons  not  able.  In  1818  the 
town,  being  largely  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  salt,  chose  an  effi- 
cient committee  to  represent  to  congress  the  importance  of  the  con- 
tinuation of  a  duty  on  the  importation  of  this  article.  During  these 
years  the  vote  of  the  town  was  to  pay  three  cents  for  the  head  of  an 
old  crow,  1^  cents  for  that  of  a  young  one,  and  three  cents  a  dozen  for 
crows'  eggs;  for  a  blackbird's  head  one  cent,  and  l-J  cents  for  a  dozen 
of  its  eggs.  The  shell  fish  of  the  coves  and  ponds  of  the  town  were 
annually  protected  in  the  votes  of  the  town  meetings,  and  heavy 
penalties  laid  for  encroachment  from  non-residents. 

In  the  town  meeting  of  May  27,  1861,  a  strong  union  feeling  was 
shown  by  adopting  a  long  preamble  and  seven  strong  resolutions  in 
which  the  action  of  the  Southern  states  was  condemned  and  a  promise 
given  to  stand  by  the  Union  at  all  hazards. 

The  widening  of  old  and  laying  out  of  new  roads,  the  management 
of  the  fisheries,  the  changes  made  in  the  schools  and  the  erection  of 
new  poor  and  town  houses  have  occupied  the  town  meetings  of  the 
town  for  many  years.  The  perambulation  of  the  town  boundaries  is 
recorded  every  few  years  in  the  records  of  the  town. 

The  names  of  the  deputies  who  served  prior  to  1797  in  the  general 
court  may  be  found  in  the  Eastham  chapter,  and  the  names  of  the 
representatives  from  the  incorporation  of  the  town  of  Orleans  until 
1857,  when  it  formed  a  district  with  other  towns,  are  included  in  the 
following  list,  with  the  year  of  election  and  the  number  of  years  of 
service  in  each  case  where  more  than  a  single  year  was  served:  1798, 
Simeon  Kingman,  5;  1800,  Richard  Sparrow,  6;  1808,  Jonathan  Bascom, 
4;  1817,  Daniel  Cummings,7;  1825,  John  Doane,  4;  1830,  John  Kenrick, 
2;  1831,  Sparrow  Horton  and  Elisha  Cole,  5;  1833,  Thacher  Snow,  4; 
1834,  Elisha  Hopkins;  1835,  Eben  Rogers,  2;  1836,  Thomas  Mayo;  1837, 
Edward  Barber,  2,  and  Richard  Sparrow;  1838,  Luther  Snow,  2;  1839, 
Nathaniel  Freeman;  1840,  Joshua  Doane,  2;  1842,  Seth  Higgins,2;  1844, 
Alexander  Kenrick,  2;  1849,  Thacher  Snow;  1850,  Leander  Crosby,  3; 
1854,  John  Kenrick,  2;  1855,  Josiah  Freeman,  2;  1857,  Chapman  Sea- 
burv. 


TOWN  OF  ORLEANS.  759 

Since  Orleans  has  exercised  its  own  corporate  powers  the  following 
have  served  as  selectmen,  the  number  of  years  being:  denoted  when 
more  than  one,  with  the  year  of  first  election:  1797,  Hezekiah 
Higgins,  4;  Heman  Linnell  and  Dea.  Judah  Rogers,  16:  1798,  Jona- 
than Hopkins  and  Thomas  Arey;  1799,  Dea.  Richard  Sparrow,  13; 
1801,  Barnabas  Twining,  3;  1804,  Nathaniel  Knowles,  7;  1811,  Gideon 
Snow,  2;  1812,  John  Myrick,  11;  1813,  Stephen  Snow;  1814,  Daniel 
Cummings,  14,  and  Jabez  Sparrow,  3;  1817,  Thomas  Higgins,  6;  18] 8, 
John  Kenrick,  13;  1820,  Asa  Rogers,  4;  1824,  Jonathan  Freeman;  1827, 
Joseph  L.  Rogers,  6;  1828,  Elisha  Cole,  7;  1829,  Zoeth  Taylor  and  Wil- 
liam Smith;  1832,  Sparrow  Horton,2;  1833,  Matthew  Kingman,  2;  1834, 
Joshua  Doane,  5;  1835,  Edward  Barber,  3,  and  Asa  Hopkins,  7;  1842, 
Joseph  G.  Sloan,  2;  1844,  Josiah  Freeman,  7;  1846,  Ziba  Eldridge,  2; 
1850,  Alfred  Kenrick,  3;  1851,  Thomas  S.  Snow,  3,  and  William  P. 
Myrick,  3;  1852,  Ensign  B.  Rogers,  2;  1853,  Harvey  Sparrow,  2;  1854, 
Jonathan  Higgins,  3,  and  Edward  Barber;  1855,  Jesse  C.  Snow,  9,  and 
Joseph  W.  Rogers;  1858,  Calvin  Snow,  3;  1859,  Joseph  Cummings,  3; 
1861,  George  W.  Cummings,  and  Edward  Crosby,  3;  1864,  Ira  Mayo,  4, 
and  Freeman  Doane,  2;  1866,  George  W.  Cummings,  2;  1867,  Ensign 
B.  Rogers,  2;  1868,  John  Kenrick,  2,  and  Joshua  L.  Crosby;  1869,  Free- 
man Doane,  9,  and  Ira  Mayo;  1870,  Ensign  B.  Rogers,  7,  and  Joseph 
W.  Rogers;  1871,  John  Kenrick;  1872,  James  H.  Arey,  4;  1876,  Joseph 
W.  Rogers,  3;  1877,  Alexander  T.  Newcomb,  14.  to  1891;  1878,  Marcus 
M.  Pierce,  2;  1879,  Freeman  Doane,  8;  1880,  Joseph  K.  Mayo,  2;  1882, 
Winthrop  M.  Crosby,  9,  to  1891;  1887,  Samuel  Mayo,  4,  to  1891. 

The  offices  of  town  clerk  and  treasurer  have  been  filled  by  the 
same  person.  The  year  of  the  first  election  of  the  successive  incum- 
bents stands  recorded  thus:  1797,  Benjamin  Taylor;  1800,  Timothy 
Bascom;  1814,  Gideon  Snow;  1834,  Barnabas  Snow;  1840,  William  P. 
Myrick;  1850,  Jonathan  Higgins;  1855,  Thomas  A.  Hopkins;  1861, 
Thomas  Higgins;  1865,  Freeman  Mayo;  and  since  March,  1889,  David 
L.  Young. 

Villages.— The  village  of  Orleans,  called  by  its  people  the  Centre, 
occupies  the  first  settled  territory  of  the  town.  It  embraces  Skaket 
and  Rock  harbor— parts  of  the  town  settled  in  1643  by  one  of  the 
original  purchasers.  The  village  has  grown  westerly  around  the 
railroad  station  in  later  years;  but  the  principal  street  winds  south- 
easterly and  then  easterly,  with  its  beautiful  residences  and  extensive 
business  places  on  either  side,  until  the  post  office  at  East  Orleans  is 
reached.  There  are  three  villages  in  the  town,  with  no  definite 
bounds  except  the  natural  division  of  post  office  conveniences.  The 
churches,  town  house  and  cemetery  are  as  convenient  for  one  com- 
munity as  another,  and  are  near  the  geographical  center  of  the  town. 
In  1797  no  village  existed  here.     The  establishment  of  a  post  office  on 


760  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

the  county  road  for  the  sparsely  settled  community  soon  formed  the 
nuclues  of  tlue  present  principal  village. 

The  manufacture  of  salt  was  commenced  about  1800,  and  was  car- 
ried on  many  years  by  several  enterprising  citizens.  At  the  head  of 
the  Town  cove  Seth  Smith  had  works,  which  were  subsequently  sold 
to  Gideon  S.  Snow.  On  the  northerly  side  between  them  and  the 
Eastham  line,  were  the  works  of  Nathaniel  Nickerson  and  of  Jonathan 
Young,  grandfather  of  D.  L.  Young.  On  the  southerly  side,  in  1808, 
were  in  full  blast  the  plants  of  Asa,  Elisha  and  Josiah  Hopkins,  John 
Doane,  Joseph  and  Isaac  Seabury,  and  Daniel  Higgins.  Along  the 
bay  between  Namskaket  and  Rock  harbor  were  the  works  of  Edward 
Jarvis,  Blossom  Rogers,  Joseph  Hurd,  James  Engles,  Major  Henry 
Knowles,  Joseph  G.  Sloane,  Captain  Nathaniel  Knowles,  Jesse  Snow, 
Captain  William  Smith,  Sparrow  Horton,  Isaac  Knowles,  Sears  Rogers, 
Josiah  Freeman,  Isaac  Hopkins,  Joseph  Atwood,  Seth  Knowles.Edward, 
Edmund  and  Abiel  Crosby,  and  William  Myrick.  In  1837,  fifty  plants 
made  21,780  bushels  of  salt.  These,  after  furnishing  employment  for 
a  large  number  of  men,  gradually  declined  and  but  little  salt  was 
made  after  the  middle  of  the  century.  Every  inducement  was  given 
for  the  encouragement  of  the  enterprise,  and  we  find  by  the  records 
that  not  until  1823  was  a  committee  appointed  to  confer  with  the 
owners  of  these  plants  in  relation  to  taxing  them. 

The  older  taverns  of  the  village  usually  had  a  small  store  con- 
nected with  them.  In  1800  and  many  years  after  Major  Henry  Knowles 
kept  an  inn  near  the  present  hotels  on  the  county  road;  and  near  him 
in  1829  was  the  inn,  store  and  stage  office  kept  by  Simeon  Higgins, 
who  brought  the  mail  by  stage  from  Yarmouth.  Near  these  is  the 
present  hotel  of  W.  N.  Steele,  established  in  1882.  Abel  Shattuck 
bought  of  Simeon  Higgins  about  1852  and  opened  a  tavern,  in  the 
house  now  owned  by  James  Boland.  He  remained  there  until  the 
erection  of  the  Shattuck  House  in  1874,  to  which  he  removed.  That 
house  was  kept  by  him  until  his  death  in  1886,  and  his  wife  and  son, 
C.  H.  Shattuck,  ran  it  until  she  died  in  1887,  when  it  was  leased,  June 
23d  of  that  year,  to  the  present  proprietor,  George  S.  Nickerson.  The 
livery  business  in  connection  with  the  house,  and  adjoining,  was 
commenced  by  C.  H.  Shattuck  in  1871,  near  his  residence,  where  he 
was  burned  out  in  1873.  He  then  purchased  a  building,  moved  it  to 
the  present  site,  and  refitted  it  for  his  extensive  business.  Another 
old  tavern,  mentioned  in  the  town  records,  was  that  of  Kezia  Harding, 
where  the  officers  went  in  1802  to  swear  in  and  finish  the  town 
meeting. 

As  early  as  1808  Gideon  S.  Snow  had  a  store  on  the  county  road 
nearly  opposite  the  inn  of  Major  Knowles,  and  later  Barnabas  Knowles 
had  another  near  by.     About  1828  Richard  Sparrow  opened  a  store  in 


TOWN   OF   ORLEANS.  761 

a  dwelling  house  near  Cedar  pond,  and  after  a  term  of  years  sold  to 
his  nephew,  Nathaniel  Atwood,  who  continued  in  the  same  place.  In 
1861,  J.  H.  Cummings  bought  the  goods,  and  in  1863  bought  a  store 
that  he  moved  to  a  suitable  site  near  by,  where  he  continued  trade 
until  1878.  That  year  he  removed  his  stock  to  his  present  commodious 
building  opposite  the  Shattuck  House. 

On  the  county  road  near  the  Town  cove,  Jonathan  Young  opened 
in  1829  a  boot  and  shoe  store  and  manufactory,  which  he  continued 
on  the  same  corner  until  1849,  when  he  enlarged  the  building  and 
began  trade  in  general  merchandise.  In  1869  he  sold  to  David  L. 
Young,  his  son,  who  continues  on  the  same  site  in  a  large  store,  which 
he  has  transformed  from  the  former. 

Timothy  Bascom  had  an  old  store  just  after  the  town  was  estab- 
lished, and  Jonathan  Bascom  had  another  near  where  was  the  oflQce 
of  Esquire  Doane.  Widow  Lucia  Snow  kept  one  of  those  old-fashioned 
stores  on  the  site  of  C.  H.  Shattuck's  new  residence.  These  old  stores 
of  a  hundred  years  ago,  kept  usually  in  dwellings,  were  very  primi- 
tive, and  their  principal  groceries  were  molasses  and  tobacco,  and  the 
current  dry  goods  was  mostly  rum. 

A  hardware  and  tinware  store  was  opened  in  1836  on  the  east  side 
of  Main  street  by  Calvin  Snow,  who  continued  until  1865,  when  he 
sold  to  Jesse  Snow,  jr.,  who  discontinued  after  a  few  years.  In  1867 
Aaron  Snow  built  and  opened  on  the  depot  lot  a  grain  store,  which  he 
continued  about  ten  years.  It  was  burned,  and  J.  F.  Eldridge  erected 
and  continues  in  the  present  building  on  the  site.  In  1884  W.  H. 
Snow,  son  of  Aaron  Snow,  opened  a  store  for  the  sale  of  grain, 
coal,  flour  and  hardware  on  the  east  side  of  the  street,  opposite  his 
father's  old  grain  store,  where  he  continues,  and  is  running  a  vessel 
to  New  York  in  connection  with  the  business.  Thomas  S.  Newcomb, 
in  1860,  left  the  sea  and  opened  with  his  son  a  hardware  and  tinware 
store  opposite  the  present  store,  near  the  northern  bank  of  Town 
cove.  In  1883,  A.  T.  Newcomb,  the  son  and  present  proprietor,  pur- 
chased the  store,  and  in  1884  moved  it  across  the  street,  remodeled  it 
to  its  present  proportions,  continuing  the  trade  in  hardware,  paints, 
oils,,  agricultural  tools,  and  the  general  merchandise  of  his  line. 

Captain  Sparrow  Horton  opened  a  general  store  on  the  west  side 
of  Main  street,  which  he  subsequently  sold  to  Captain  Jesse  Snow; 
about  1843  Davis  Hurd  purchased  the  business,  removing  it  to  the 
opposite  diagonal  corner,  where  he  continued  until  his  death. 

A  drug  store  was  opened  in  1880  by  Dr.  S.  T.  Davis,  near  the  de- 
pot, where  he  continued  until  1883,  when  he  sold  to  A.  N.  Chase,  who, 
in  the  fall  of  1889,  removed  to  his  fine  new  building,  east  side  of  Main 
street.  Another  drug  store  was  opened  in  the  Snow  block,  near  the 
depot,  in  1889,  by  Dr.  Ellis  P.  Jones.     Other  places  of  business  are  a 


762  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

variety  store  by  Elijah  E.  Knowles;  a  confectionery  store  by  Abner  Hig- 
gins;  a  shoe  store  by  S.  L.  Smith;  the  fancy  store  by  Fannie  M.  Smith; 
a  produce  business  by  Joshua  Hurd,  and  the  store  of  Joel  H.  Spar- 
row's estate,  near  Cedar  pond. 

In  1885  John  M.  Smith  was  employed  in  a  bakery  near  the  Metho- 
dist church,  and  after  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  busi- 
ness, he,  in  1887,  built  the  present  building  near  J.  H.  Cummings' 
store,  where  he  at  once  opened  on  a  more  extensive  scale.  In  1889  he 
pulled  down  his  ovens  and  built  better  and  larger  ones.  His  two 
wagons  supply  Brewster,  Orleans,  Eastham  and  Wellfleet. 

Josiah  Sparrow  started  a  marble  factory  many  years  ago,  which, 
after  his  death,  was  continued  by  Thomas  A.  Hopkins,  near  the 
present  factory  of  W.  M.  Crosby,  to  whom  he  sold  in  1862.  Mr.  Crosby 
carried  on  the  business  in  the  shop  in  the  orchard  until  after  he  had 
purchased  his  present  residence,  and  in  1886  remodeled  the  old  store 
into  a  suitable  shop  and  salesroom,  where  he  continues. 

Warren  H.  Hopkins  started  a  carriage  manufactory,  in  1867,  on 
the  county  road  west  of  the  Shattuck  House,  where  he  continues  in 
all  branches  of  the  business. 

In  1873  Joseph  H.  Cummings  and  William  H.  Howes,  under  the 
firm  name  of  Cummings  &  Howes,  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of 
shirts,  overalls  and  pants,  in  the  store  building  near  Cedar  pond.. 
Their  increasing  business  led  to  the  erection  of  the  present  store 
building,  occupied  by  Mr.  Cummings,  to  which  the  manufactory  was 
removed  in  1878.  A  wing  was  subsequently  built  on  the  west  to  ac- 
commodate the  business,  then  an  addition  in  the  rear,  and  then  the 
east  wing  was  built.  The  skating  rink  near  by  was  next  purchased, 
and  in  October,  1888,  their  manufactory  was  removed  to  that  more 
suitable  structure.  They  discontinued  the  making  of  shirts  and  over- 
alls, as  their  other  work  for  jobbers  increased.  From  fifty  to  seventy- 
five  sewing  machines  have  been  kept  running,  and  during  December, 
1889,  fifty  more  were  added.  The  establishment  is  now  run  by  steam 
power,  and  furnishes  employment  for  125  to  200  people.  For  two  and 
a  half  years  prior  to  September,  1888,  all  the  pants  of  the  Plymouth 
Rock  Pants  Company  were  made  at  this  factory.  Since  that  time  Cum- 
mings &  Howes  have  made  here  all  the  goods  put  on  the  market  by 
the  Bunker  Hill  Pants  Company,  and  have  built  up  a  large  trade  with 
the  clothing  jobbers  in  nearly  every  state  in  the  Union. 

In  1885  Aaron  Snow  built  the  block  north  of  the  railroad  track  for 
a  wholesale  pants  factory  for  John  Wilson,  who  was  succeeded  in  the 
business  in  1888  by  George  F.  Snow,  son  of  Aaron,  who  continues. 
From  twenty-five  to  thirty-five  hands  are  employed,  according  to  sea- 
son, and  over  one  hundred  families  of  this  and  adjoining  towns  are 
supplied  with  work  outside  of  the  factory. 


TOWN  OF  ORLEANS.  763 

The  only  wharf  along  Town  cove  is  one  erected  in  1879  by  Aaron 
Snow,  in  the  rear  of  his  residence.  About  forty  years  ago  he  started 
in  the  fishing  business — one  of  the  first  to  build  or  purchase  a  five- 
ton,  schooner-rigged  vessel — and  within  a  few  years  a  fleet  of  twenty- 
two  similar  vessels  went  from  the  cove.  The  decrease  of  the  profits 
of  the  business  led  to  its  discontinuance. 

The  old  academy  had  a  hall  that  accommodated  the  town  until  the 
erection  of  the  town  house.  The  present  house  has  a  large  and  pleas- 
ant hall  on  the  second  floor.  In  1882  Aaron  Snow  erected  the  block 
near  the  depot,  in  which  is  a  large  hall.  Higgins'  Hall  is  in  the  block 
opposite  the  depot,  and  Mechanics'  Hall  is  next  west  of  the  Shattuck 
House.  These  furnish  suitable  meeting  places  for  the  societies,  and 
the  town  hall  for  all  public,  religious  and  social  occasions. 

A  post  oflSce  was  established  here  soon  after  the  town  was  incor- 
porated. Tlie  first  postmaster,  Simeon  Kingman,  was  appointed  July 
1,1800.  He  was  followed  by  Jonathan  Bascom,  July  1,  1807.  The 
next  incumbent,  appointed  October  18, 1819,  was  Daniel  Johnson,  with 
David  Taylor  as  assistant,  who  kept  the  office  at  his  dwelling.  Taylor 
was  appointed  postmaster  October  14,  1828,  and  was  succeeded  May 
8,  1834,  by  Elijah  Knowles,  who  was  followed  by  Rufus  L.  Thatcher 
April  22,  1837.  Simeon  Higgins  was  appointed  September  1,  1837, 
and  held  the  position  until  June  11,  1841,  when  Sparrow  Horton  was 
appointed.  May  4,  1847,  Matthew  Kingman  was  appointed,  and  was 
followed  by  Betsey  D.  Knowles  November  10, 1848.  Leander  Crosby, 
appointed  January  7,  1851,  was  the  next  postmaster,  and  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  Edward  Barber  in  1858.  Azariah  Snow  was  appointed  post- 
master in  1861,  and  kept  the  office  near  the  Library  building.  At  his 
death  his  daughter,  Eliza  A.  W.  Snow,  received  a  commission,  serv- 
ing until  1866,  when  her  sister,  Amelia  Snow,  was  appointed.  She 
held  the  office  until  January,  1885,  when  Amos  O.  Hurd  was  ap- 
pointed. It  is  now  kept  by  Heman  F.  Atwood  in  a  building  on  the 
east  side  of  the  street,  near  the  railroad  station.  From  this  office  a 
daily  mail  is  conveyed  to  the  offices  at  East  and  South  Orleans. 

In  this  village  is  one  of  the  best  libraries  of  the  county,  established 
in  1877,  through  the  munificence  of  David  Snow,  of  Boston,  a  native 
of  this  town.  The  deceased  gave  five  thousand  dollars  to  the  town  to 
establish  a  library  if  a  suitable  building  should  be  secured  for  its  use. 
The  present  fine  edifice  was  erected  in  1877,  and  across  its  front  may 
be  seen  in  modest  characters — The  Snow  Library  Building.  The 
school  committee  formerly  were  the  trustees  of  the  fund,  of  which 
four  thousand  dollars  remains;  but  by  a  law  of  1888  trustees  are  now 
elected.  From  the  interest  of  this  fund  an  average  of  one  hundred 
volumes  are  annually  added  to  the  shelves.  The  number  of  volumes 
in  1890  was  2,110,  from   which  the  reading  public  aggregate  four 


764  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

thousand  selections  annually.  The  trustees  for  1890  were:  Joseph  W. 
Rogers,  David  L.  Young  and  Hiram  Myers,  with  Addie  B.  Smith 
librarian. 

We  find  here  an  unusual  interest  manifested  in  social  and  benefit 
societies.  One  is  Friendship  Council,  No.  19,  O.  U.  A.  M.,  instituted 
July  2, 1881,  with  fifty-five  members.  None  but  American  born  citizens 
are  eligible,  and  to  its  social  interest  can  be  added  a  sick  benefit  and 
insurance.     The  society  meets  in  Mechanics'  Hall. 

The  Order  of  the  Iron  Hall  was  established  February  15, 1887,  with 
twenty-six  members.  It  is  a  benefit  and  social  organization  of  grow- 
ing strength,  numbering  forty-six  members  in  1889.  Prior  to  Decem- 
ber last  the  society  had  paid  $760  in  benefits.  In  1887  Simeon  L. 
Smith  was  chief  justice  and  James  Smith,  vice.  In  1888  James  Smith 
was  elected  chief,  which  office  he  held  in  1889,  with  Alvin  Smith,  vice. 

The  Sisterhood  Branch  of  Iron  Hall  is  a  ladies'  organization  of  the 
same  society,  established  January  15,  1889,  with  thirty-eight  charter 
members. 

A  side  degree  of  the  Order  of  United  American  Mechanics,  for 
American-bom  ladies  and  gentlemen,  was  instituted  April  14,1881, 
as  United  Council,  No.  6,  Daughters  of  Liberty.  Its  workings  are 
similar  to  the  parent  society.  Elections  are  held  semi-annually.  The 
place'  of  meeting  is  Mechanics'  Hall. 

Morning  Star  Lodge,  No.  416,  K.  and  L.  of  H.,  was  instituted 
March  18,  1881.  The  officers  are  elected  semi-annually.  The  first 
presiding  officer  was  Joseph  H.  Cummings,  for  three  terms. 

The  eldest  society  is  the  Knights  of  Honor,  instituted  April  21, 
1879,  as  No.  1,656.  The  officers  were  at  first  elected  semi-annually, 
and  since  1882,  annually.  The  first  dictator  was  Joseph  H.  Cum- 
mings. Thomas  Smith  served  in  1880  and  the  first  half  of  1881,  the 
year  being  completed  by  David  L.  Young.  The  years  1882-83  by 
Eldridge  F.  Small;  1884,  by  W.  H.  Howes;  1886,  John  Kenrick,  jr.; 
1886,  Simeon  L.  Smith;  1887-88,  Joseph  Mayo;  1889,  Sparrow  Higgins. 
Doctor  Davis  is  the  medical  examiner  of  this  as  well  as  four  other 
societies.    Place  of  meeting,  Higgins'  Hall. 

Another  society  of  local,  mutual  insurance,  called  the  Nauset 
Council,  939,  Royal  Arcanum,  was  instituted  December  14,  1886.  It 
has  twenty-seven  members.  The  officers  when  instituted  were: 
Samuel  E.  Mayo,  R.;  Amos  Sherman,  V.  R.;  Sylvanus  L.  Eldridge, 
O.;  Dr.  S.  T.  Davis,  P.  R.;  Daniel  M.  Smith,  S.;  James  F.  Eldridge,  C; 
Francis  M.  Smith,  T.;  John  W.  Howes,  chap.;  Wallace  A.  Smith,  G., 
and  Charles  A.  Jones,  S. 

Each  of  the  three  churches  has  a  benevolent  society  composed  of 
ladies.  These  are  productive  of  much  good  in  the  support  and  aid  of 
worthy  objects.     Articles  of  incorporation  have  been  issued  to  the 


TOWN  OF  ORLEANS.  765 

Progressive  Lyceum  Association,  of  which  Celia  M.  Nickerson  is 
president  and  Eliza  L.  Rogers  treasurer.  The  object  of  the  associa- 
tion is  to  establish  and  maintain  places  for  libraries,  reading  rooms 
and  social  meetings.  This  village,  with  its  manufactories  and  other 
industries,  is  not  so  seriously  affected  by  the  decline  of  the  fisheries 
as  some  others,  and  continues  its  solid  prosperity. 

East  Orleans  is  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town,  with  a  division  line 
from  the  main  village,  just  east  of  the  Congregational  church.  It  in- 
cludes the  several  communities  of  Tonset,Weesit — the  extreme  north- 
ern part  of  the  neck, — Pochet  and  Barley  neck.  Its  territory  embracs 
a  large  portion  of  the  most  fertile  land  of  the  town,  sloping  northerly 
toward  Nauset  harbor  and  southerly  toward  Pleasant  bay.  Reference 
to  the  settlers  here  in  1797,  as  described  in  the  commencement  of  this 
chapter,  will  show  that  this  territory  was  quite  early  settled. 

The  salt  manufacturers  here  at  an  early  day  were:  Lewis  Doane, 
Joseph  Crosby,  Josiah  Sparrow,  Zoeth  Taylor,  Elkanah  Linnell,  who 
were  located  on  Nauset  harbor  and  Barley  neck;  and  William  Myrick, 
who  had  a  plant  at  the  head  of  tide  water  near  Lot  Higgins'  store. 
The  wind  mill  near  there  was  originally  used  for  grinding  salt. 

Old  stores  were  opened  here  as  early  as  in  any  part  of  the  town 
by  Josiah  Foster,  Elisha  Hopkins  and  others.  Isaac  Sparrow  had  a 
store  before  1825,  which  he  conducted  several  years.  Before  Sparrow 
discontinued  William  Myrick  opened  another  east  of  the  church, 
which  he  sold  to  Freeman  H.  Myrick,  who  after  a  score  of  years  sold 
out  to  Lewis  Doane.  It  was  then  kept  on  the  north  side  of  the  street 
opposite  the  present  post  oflBce.  Leander  Crosby  became  a  partner 
and  the  business  was  conducted  under  the  firm  name  of  Doane  & 
Crosby.  A  few  years  subsequently  Doane  sold  to  Crosby,  and  he  in 
1858  to  Lot  Higgins,  who  moved  the  store  to  its  present  site  and  there 
continues  in  trade.  The  store  was  enlarged  by  adding  to  its  front 
before  it  was  removed. 

Elisha  Hopkins  started  a  store  here  prior  to  1855,  which  after  -^ 
few  years  he  sold  to  Samuel  Hopkins.  In  1854  Aaron  Snow  started  a 
small  store  near  the  Hopkins  store  and  in  a  few  years  purchased  the 
goods  and  building  of  his  neighbor,  Samuel  Hopkins.  He  consoli- 
dated the  two  stores  and  continued  in  the  business  until  1875,  when 
he  sold  the  goods  to  his  brother,  Elkanah  L.  Snow,  who  continued 
the  business  in  the  same  building  until  in  1884,  when  he  purchased  a 
millinery  store  near  the  head  of  the  cove,  on  the  Knowles  place, 
which  he  moved  to  East  Orleans.  This  he  remodeled  into  his  present 
place  of  business.  In  1889,  Lot  Higgins  and  Elkanah  L.  Snow  were 
the  only  tradesmen  in  East  Orleans. 

The  post  ofl&ce  is  kept  in  the  store  of  Lot  Higgins,  who  is  post- 
master.   He  was  appointed  in  1859,  soon  after  he  purchased  the  store. 


766  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

His  predecessors  in  the  oflBce  were:  Seth  Sparrow,  3d,  appointed 
January  19,  1835;  Lewis  Doane,  jr..  May  9,  1843;  Leander  Crosby, 
March  8,  1847;  Freeman  Doane,  November  30,  1848,  and  Leander 
Crosby,  appointed  July  11 ,  1859. 

We  find  here  the  oldest  library  in  the  town.  It  was  kept  in  the 
central  village  prior  to  the  organization  of  the  Snow  library,  when  it 
was  removed  here.  It  contains  sixteen  hundred  volumes,  and  has  a 
small,  suitable  building.  It  was  organized  December  10,  1854,  as  the 
Orleans  Library  Association.  Isaac  Doane  was  for  years  its  first 
president,  succeeded  by  Joseph  Taylor  for  many  years.  Calvin  Snow 
is  now  the  president,  with  Emma  J.  Linnell  secretary  and  treasurer. 
The  executive  committee  in  1889  consisted  of  Joseph  Taylor  and  Dr. 
B.  F.  Seabury.  Six  young  ladies  act  as  librarians — each  in  succession: 
Winnie  Hopkins,  Julia  Cummings,  Mary  Mayo,  Susie  Knowles,  Emma 
J.  Linnell  and  Lettie  Cole. 

There  are  no  lodges  or  societies  here,  but  the  residents  are  more 
or  less -connected  with  those  of  the  main  village.  East  Orleans  is  in 
fact  only  a  continuation  of  the  same  village  with  the  meeting  houses 
quite  as  near,  and  the  town  house  contiguous.  Joseph  Mayo,  the 
undertaker  of  the  town,  has  his  rooms  east  of  the  Congregational 
church  in  the  west  bounds  of  East  Orleans. 

In  this  vicinity  is  the  ofl&ce  of  Benjamin  C.  Sparrow,  superintendent 
of  the  Second  division  of  the  U.S. life  saving  stations, one  of  which  is 
on  the  beach  east  of  the  post  ofl&ce. 

This  village,  scattered  over  Tonset  and  Pochet,  has  attractions  for 
the  lover  of  rural  beauty,  and  the  summer  visitor  here  finds  the  ocean 
and  its  grandeur  in  the  midst  of  a  most  hospitable  people. 

South  Orleans  embraces  the  territory  formerly  a  portion  of  the 
Indian  community  Potanumaquut.  The  purchasers'  lands  formerly 
included  the  territory,  and  it  was  part  of  the  old  town  of  Harwich. 
The  east  bounds  of  the  Indian  territory  mentioned  extended  from 
Namskaket  southeasterly  to  Kesscayogansett  pond — since  known  as 
Sparrow's  pond.  That  part  of  the  town  south  of  this  line  has  been 
designated  as  South  Orleans,  but  the  division  line  between  this  and 
the  main  village  is  a  little  north  of  the  pond.  There  are  yet  extant 
in  the  soil  the  mementoes  of  this  unfortunate  race,  and  the  residents 
often  find  them.  John  Kenrick  and  Freeman  Sparrow  each  has  a  fine 
collection  of  arrows,  hatchets,  pestles  and  other  stone  implements 
found  here. 

The  surface  is  quite  uneven,  with  banks  sloping  toward  Pleasant 
bay  and  its  numerous  inlets.  The  territory  was  settled  as  early  as 
1693  by  Edward  Kendrick,  ancestor  of  the  Kenricks.  At  that  date 
he  bought  one  hundred  acres  of  John  Sipson,  sachem,  with  the  priv- 


TOWN   OF   ORLEANS.  767 

ilege  of  cutting  wood  on  any  lands  owned  by  said  sachem.  In  1713 
Samuel  Mayo  and  Joshua  Hopkins  took  a  deed  of  a  large  tract  north 
of  the  former,  and  of  these  tracts  the  descendants,  not  only  hold  the 
original  deeds,  but  some  branches  of  the  respective  families  reside  on 
-parts  of  the  same  land.  Its  settlement  was  subsequent  to  other  por- 
tions of  the  old  towns  of  Harwich  and  Eastham,  for  the  Indians  reserved 
it  till  the  last  sold. 

Salt  was  manufactured  by  the  evaporation  of  sea  water  soon  after 
the  business  had  been  commenced  elsewhere.  Thomas  and  Joseph 
Arey,  Nathaniel  and  Thomas  Gould,  Asa  and  Adna  Rogers,  Thomas 
Mayo,  John  Kenrick,  Henry  Kendrick,  Thomas  Eldridge,  Eliakim  and 
Thomas  Higgins  were  among  the  several  who  had  plants  around  the 
ponds  and  coves  of  that  territory.  The  oldest  tavern  here  was  opened 
about  1800,  and  was  continued  many  years  by  Thomas  Linnell,  who 
■catered  to  the  taste  of  the  public.     There  are  none  now. 

The  village  needed  a  post  office,  and  in  1829  the  inhabitants  asked 
the  assistance  of  the  selectmen  in  establishing  one,  which  was  opened 
in  1835,  with  Seth  Sparrow,  3d,  as  postmaster.  After  his  death  his  son, 
Beth  Everett  Sparrow,  was  appointed,  July  17,  1862,  and  held  the 
•office  a  few  years;  and  September  9,  1865,  John  Kenrick,  the  present 
incumbent,  was  appointed,  who,  like  the  former  officials,  has  the  office 
in  a  store. 

There  were  early  stores  here,  one  of  which  was  owned  by  Dea. 
Judah  Rogers,  south  of  where  John  Kenrick  resides.  Asa  Higgins 
liad  one  in  1820  and  prior  near  the  pond,  north  of  the  present  post 
office,  where  Fred  Percival  resides.  Elisha  Hopkins  started  a  store 
soon  after  1800,  and  prior  to  1830  he  sold  to  Seth  Sparrow,  3d— where 
the  first  post  office  was  kept.  He  was  succeeded  by  Seth  E.  Sparrow, 
who  sold  to  John  Kenrick  in  1865.  Mr.  Kenrick  erected  a  store  in 
1840  across  the  road,  and  after  about  ten  years  sold  to  Seth  Sparrow, 
3d,  who  combined  the  business,  moving  the  building  to  the  site  now 
occupied  by  Warren  Sparrow  as  a  residence.  When  Mr.  Kenrick  pur- 
chased, he  removed  the  building  to  its  present  site,  and,  adding  to  it, 
has  made  his  present  commodious  place  of  business.  Mr.  Ryder  had 
an  old  store  here  early  in  this  century;  and,  later,  about  1830,  Israel 
Linnell  had  one  south  of  the  present  post  office.  These  were  discon- 
tinued prior  to  1840. 

Agricultural  pursuits  are  mostly  followed  by  its  inhabitants.  It  is 
a  chosen  spot  for  summer  resorts,  and  is  destined  to  become  import- 
ant. The  sloping  banks  of  Pleasant  bay,  in  which,  and  in  its  tribu- 
taries and  coves,  the  best  of  fishing  abounds,  the  wooded  knolls  and 
healthful  breezes  render  the  territory  a  conspicuous  site  for  pleasure 
.seekers.     The  land  about  Weesquamscutt  and  Namequoit  points  to 


768  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

the  extent  of  three  hundred  acres  has  already  been  purchased  for  cot- 
tages by  Boston  gentlemen,  and  on  Namequoit  point  John  Kenrick 
and  his  son  have  a  large  tract  upon  which  cottage  building  has  com- 
menced. The  high  lands  of  South  Orleans  have  been  planted  with 
growing  trees  of  diflFerent  varieties,  but  mostly  pine  and  larch,  which 
add  to  its  beauty.  Hundreds  of  acres  have  been  thus  utilized  by  the 
residents,  John  Kenrick  having  planted  over  one  hundred  acres  for 
his  portion  of  the  task.  This  hamlet  is  on  the  direct  road  to  Chatham 
and  Harwich,  and  has  many  attractions  for  the  tourist. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

James  H.  Arey,  son  of  Joseph  and  Dorathea  (Eldridge)  Arey,  and 
grandson  of  Thomas  Arey,  was  born  in  1815.  He  was  for  twenty-five 
years  master  of  a  vessel  in  the  fruit  trade.  He  retired  from  the  sea 
some  years  ago,  and  for  the  last  seventeen  years  he  has  owned  and 
run  a  grist  mill  at  Orleans.  He  was  three  years  selectman,  has  been 
a  member  of  the  school  committee  since  1880,  and  has  held  other 
town  offices.  He  married  Tempy,  daughter  of  Joseph  Atkins.  She 
died,  leaving  six  children:  Benjamin  L.,  Rebecca,  James  O.  (deceased), 
Jane,  Austin  and  Sarah  E.  His  second  wife  was  Mrs.  Susan  Wade, 
daughter  of  Lewis  Phillips. 

Josiah  L.  Cole,  son  of  Ephraim  and  Mehitabel  (Linnell)  Cole,  was 
born  in  1834.  From  1846  until  1873  he  followed  the  sea,  after  which 
he  was  on  the  Orleans  United  States  life  saving  station  fourteen  win- 
ters. He  married  Celistia  M.,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Sally  (Ward) 
Weekes,  of  Harwich,  she  being  the  ninth  generation  from  George 
Weekes,  the  pioneer.  They  have  four  children:  Idella  W.,  Everett 
A.,  Mabel  D.  and  Lettice. 

Winthrop  M.  Crosby,  born  in  1840,  is  a  son  of  Joshua,  grandson  of 
Joshua,  and  great-grandson  of  Joshua  Crosby.  He  has  been  a  marble 
and  granite  worker  at  Orleans  since  1860.  He  has  been  a  member  of 
the  board  of  selectmen  since  1882.  He  married  Etta  P.,  daughter  of 
Jabez  C.  Ryder.     They  have  one  son,  Orville  W. 

Joseph  H.  Cummings,  born  in  1840,  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Hannah 
H.  (Knowles)  Cummings,  and  grandson  of  Daniel  and  Lydia  (Spar- 
row) Cummings.  Mr.  Cummings  has  been  a  merchant  at  Orleans 
since  1861.  He  married  Helen  C.  Linnell,  and  has  six  children:  Eb- 
enezer  L.,  Henry  K.,  Francis  C,  Helen  J.,  Mary  C.  and  George. 

Beriah  Doane,  son  of  Beriah  and  Elizabeth  (Cole)  Doane,  and  grand- 
son of  Timothy  Doane,  was  born  in  1829.  He  is  a  farmer,  and  owns 
and  occupies  the  homestead  of  his  father.  He  marrie'd  Ruth  E., 
daughter  of  Joseph  K.  and  Betsey  (Sears)  Mayo,  and  has  one  son, 
Beriah  W. 


TOWN   OF  ORLEANS.  769 

Hon.  John  Doane.— This  lawyer,  mentioned  at  page  210,  died  in 
Orleans  March  23,  1881.  He  was  the  sixth  child  of  Timothy  and 
Jedidah  (Higgins)  Doane.  He  was  not  in  the  habit  of  pleading  his 
cases  in  court,  but  when  there  was  occasion  secured  the  services  of 
Nymphas  Marston  or  some  other  person.  He  was  especially  known 
and  consulted  as  a  conveyancer  and  counsellor.  He  was  noted  for 
his  good  judgment,  honesty  and  an  earnest  desire  for  the  welfare  of 
the  community.  He  was  familiarly  known  all  over  the  Cape  as 
"Squire  Doane,"  and  was  universally  respected  and  loved.  He  was  a 
friend  to  young  men,  helping  them  to  obtain  an  education,  his  own 
opportunities  in  that  direction  having  been  limited.  He  was  an 
"academy  builder,"  being  deeply  interested  in  general  education  and 
having  eight  children  of  his  own  to  educate.  He  was  one  of  the  earli- 
est, if  not  the  very  first,  to  engage  in  arboriculture  in  the  country, 
and  planted  many  acres  of  old  lands  to  pines  and  oaks. 

November  23,1820,  he  was  married  to  Polly,  daughter  of  Barnabas 
and  Zipporah  Eldridge.  She  was  born  July  28,  1796,  and  died  Janu- 
ary 3,  1875.  They  had  eight  children:  Thomas,  born  September  20, 
1821,  a  civil  engineer,  prominently  identified  with  the  work  on  the 
Hoosac  Tunnel,  and  now  living  in  Charlestown.  His  first  wife,  mar- 
ried November  6, 1850,  was  Sophia  Dennison  Clark.  She  died  Decem- 
ber 5,  1868,  and  he  was  married  to  Louisa  A.  Barber  November  19, 
1870.  Caroline,  born  August  14, 1823,  married  Captain  A.  H.  Knowles 
April  4,  1849,  and  died  December  30,  1882;  John,  jr.,  born  April  28, 
1825,  married  Almira  C.  Starkweather  January  1,  1853,  died  August 
25,  1873;  Martha,  born  September  13,  1827;  Mary,  bom  August  17, 
1829,  married  Captain  Seth  Doane,  who  died  February  16,  1877;  Lucy, 
born  September  13,  1831,  died  November  22,  1849;  Henry,  born  Janu- 
ary 22,  1834,  a  law  graduate  of  Harvard,  served  one  year  as  captain 
in  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  and  died  September  2,  1865,  of  disease 
contracted  in  the  service;  and  Charles  Watson  Doane,  born  July  9, 
1840,  married  Mary  Appleton  Doane  June  13,  1877,  living  in  Crete, 
Neb. 

Hon.  John  Doane  was  a  descendant  in  the  sixth  generation  from 
Dea.  John  of  Plymouth,  who  settled  in  Eastham  in  1644.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  the  ancestors  of  the  family  were  Northmen  and  went 
over  from  Normandy  to  England  with  William  the  Conqueror.  The 
Doane  crest  is  made  up  of  five  arrows,  indicating  that  they  might  have 
been  the  king's  foresters;  and  their  motto  is  "  Omnia  mihi  dona  Dei" — 
"  All  my  gifts  are  from  God."  Dea.  John  Doane  was  assistant  to  Gov- 
ernor Thomas  Prence  in  1633.  Hon.  John  Doane,  a  few  years  before 
his  death,  set  up  a  granite  post  by  the  side  of  the  cellar  hole  of  the 
house  in  which  Dea.  John  Doane  once  lived,  with  the  inscription, 
"John  Doane  here  in  1644."  He  also  found  stone  posts  with  the  in- 
40 


770  HISTORY   01    BAi;  .b^L  "  OuNTY. 

itials  I  Dand  a  large  rock  on  the  Aause*^  bf  ichwitli  the  same  initials, 
marking  the  boundaries  of  Dea.  Jo'm's  estate.  John  Doane,  jr.,ason 
of  Dea.  John,  by  wife  Abigail,  was  born  about  1634,  and  married 
Hannah  Bangs.  Their  son,  Samuel,  born  March  2,  1673,  married 
Martha  Hamblen  December  30,  1696.  Dea.  Simeon  Doane,  son  of 
Samuel  and  Martha,  was  born  in  1708  and  married  Apphia  Higgins 
in  1730.  Their  son,  (Deacon)  T-jhn,  born  about  1739,  married  Bettv 
Snow  about  1761,  and  their  son,  Timothy,  born  May  13,  1762,  was  the 
f  ithc.  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Timothy  Doane  married  Jedidah 
rfiggms  March  7,1781.  They  had  twelve  children,  one  of  whom  died 
in  infancy.  Timothy  Doane  died  January  19.  1822,  and  his  wife  died 
March  4,  1847. 

.Oliver  Doane. — A  prominent  figure  in  the  e£  dy  history  of  this 
,  ejart  of  Cape  Cod  was  John  Doane,  of  Eastham,  who  settled  there  in 
1644.  He  bore  the  title  of  deacon,  that  in.signia  of  Puritan  import- 
ance, And  is  known  in  history  by  this  title;  and  has  been  referred  to 
in  Pratt's  History  of  Eastham  as  dying  in  that  town  at  the  advanced 
age  of  106  years.  He  and  Governor  Prince  were  the  only  ones  of  the 
seven  first  settlers  of  Nauset  whom  the  records  dignify  with  the  title 
of  Mr.  He  came  to  New  England  early,  but  not  in  the  ship  Fortune, 
as  Rev.  Pratt  stated,  neither  did  he  come  in  either  of  the  first  three 
vessels.  The  tradition  also  regarding  his  remarkable  age  has  been 
widely  copied,  and  very  generally  accepted  as  true.  The  fact  is,  he 
died  February  21 ,  1686.  His  will  was  made  May  18, 1678,  in  which  he 
declared  his  age  as  "88  or  thereabouts."  This  will  was  admitted  to 
probate  June  2,  1686. 

The  male  line  of  descent  from  the  deacon  to  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  inclusive,  is  John,  John,  Samuel,  Deacon  Simeon,  John,  Tim- 
othy, Lewis  and  Oliver.  Timothy,  the  grandfather  of  Oliver,  was 
born  in  1762,  and  in  Orleans  reared  eleven  children:  Beriah,  Lewis, 
Timothy,  John,  Isaac,  Nancy,  Abigail,  Hetty,  Betsey,  Sally  and  Me- 
linda.  These  became  heads  of  families,  and,  excepting  Melinda,  died 
in  Orleans. 

Lewis  Doane  was  born  September  24,  1787,  on  the  site  now  occu- 
pied'by  his  son,  Oliver,  the  old  home  having  been  removed  and  the 
present  one  built  early  in  the  present  century.  He  owned  and  was 
interested  in  many  thousand  feet  of  salt  works  along  the  farm  shore. 
He  married  Tamzen,  daughter  of  Dea.  Abner  Freeman,  on  the  19th 
of  March,  1812.  Their  eight  children  were:  Captain  Truman,  born 
December  28, 1812;  Lewis,  jr.,  born  February  28,  1815;  Freeman,  De- 
cember 23,  1816,  who  died  young;  Freeman,  April  7,  1819;  Julia  A., 
September  1, 1821;  Tamzen,  May  10,  1825;  Benjamin,  July  3,  1827;  and 
Oliver,  born  December  10,  1831. 

Truman,  the  eldest  of  these,  adopted  a  sea-faring  life,  and  arose  to 


E.     BIERSTADT. 


TOWN   OF   ORLEANS.  771 

prominence  as  a  master.  On  his  retirement  from  sea,  during  the 
years  he  remained  in  the  town,  he  served  two  terms  in  the  legislature 
and  several  years  as  selectman.  Soon  after  the  close  of  the  rebellion 
he  removed  to  Florida,  purchased  a  cotton  plantation,  and  there  died 
in  1881,  leaving  six  children:  Captain  Alfred,  Adelia,  Victoria,  Thank- 
ful, Leander  and  Tamzen. 

Lewis,  jr.,  the  second  son,  was  a  merchant  and  farmer  of  note,  who 
subsequently  removed  to  Florida;  but  returned  to  Marblehead,  where 
he  died,  leaving  a  son — Elisha  C.  Doane. 

Freeman  was  a  merchant  in  Orleans,  filling  the  office  of  represent- 
ative two  terms,  and  that  of  selectman  for  fourteen  years,  acting  as 
chairman  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  and  which  office  he  held  at  his 
death.  He  died  at  Orleans,  leaving  two  daughters — Olive  and  Ella — 
and  AUiston,  a  son. 

Julia  A.  married  Leander  Crosby,  of  Orleans,  on  the  ninth  of  May, 
1844,  and  has  since  resided  in  the  town.  Mr.  Crosby  served  in  the 
general  court  as  representative,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention 
for  the  revision  of  the  constitution.  He  died  March  1,  1872,  leaving 
a  daughter — Mary  Celia  Crosby. 

Tamzen  married  Clarington  Mayo,  of  Victor,  N.  Y., — a  former  resi- 
•dent  of  the  Cape —  on  the  17th  of  January,  1871,  and  was  left  a  widow 
March  6,  1873.  She  subsequently  removed  to  Orleans,  and  now  re- 
sides with  her  sister,  Mrs.  Crosby. 

•Benjamin  died  when  a  young  man,  and  unmarried. 

Oliver,  the  youngest  of  the  children,  was  educated  at  Orleans  and 
Harwich,  remaining  with  his  father  on  the  homestead.  He  was  mar- 
ried March  11,  1873,  to  Sarah  C.  Harding,  daughter  of  Prince  S.,  and 
granddaughter  of  Ephraim,  who  was  direct  in  the  line  from  Joseph, 
who  came  from  Eastham  in  1644  with  Dea.  John  Doane,  his  uncle. 

Mr.  Doane  still  occupies  the  ancestral  estate  in  that  quiet,  social 
manner  peculiar  to  him,  unmolested  by  the  cares  of  office  or  business 
beyond  that  of  his  farm  and  dairy,  of  which  he  has  made  a  success. 
The  emoluments  of  office  have  no  charm  for  him,  and  knowing  there 
are  others  equally  as  capable,  as  well  as  willing,  to  administer  the 
affairs  of  the  town,  he  declines.  In  his  political  preferences  he  firmly 
supports  the  cause  of  the' republican  party,  and  to  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  he  renders  material  aid.  In  his  meridian,  surrounded 
by  the  refinements  of  the  present  day,  and  in  the  companionship  of 
an  excellent  wife,  this  worthy  representative  of  that  ancient  family 
is  passing  the  afternoon  of  his  life  in  that  home  so  dear. 

Gilbert  A.  Dodge,  of  Orleans,  Mass.,  was  born  in  Farmington,  Me., 
in  1839.  His  father  was  William,  son  of  Benjamin  Dodge.  Gilbert 
A.  was  in  the  late  war  nine  months  with  Company  I.,  Third  Regiment 
Massachusetts  Volunteers,  and  since  his  discharge  from  the  service 


772  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

his  occupation  has  been  railroad  repairs  and  constructions.  He  has 
lived  in  Orleans  since  1865,  was  married  in  1866,  to  Sarah  W.  Gould 
and  has  one  daughter,  Carrie  Gould  Dodge.  His  wife  was  a  daughter 
of  Captain  Nathaniel  Gould,  who  was  lost  at  sea  in  1856  on  a  foreign 
voyage.  He  was  one  of  the  ablest  men  of  the  town.  His  wife  was 
Hannah  K.  Crosby,  by  whom  he  had  five  children — two  sons  and  three 
daughters.  Joshua  was  a  veteran  in  the  late  war  in  Company  F., 
Twenty-fourth  Regiment  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  from  1862  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  April  4,  1864,  at  United  States  Gen- 
eral Hospital,  New  York.  Captain  Nathaniel  followed  the  sea  and 
was  master  of  the  ships  Agener  and  Conqueror  for  years,  and  is  now  a 
resident  of  Petaluma,  Cal.,  where  he  is  general  manager  and  owner 
of  a  steamboat  line  from  Petaluma  to  San  Francisco.  Nancy  B.  is 
married  to  Cyrus  J.  Littlefield  of  Natick,  where  they  now  reside,  and 
Theresa  M.  to  Eldonis  A.  Hopkins  of  East  Orleans. 

Richard  S.  Freeman,  son  of  James  and  Mercy  (Sparrow)  Freeman, 
and  grandson  of  John  Freeman,  was  born  in  1831.  He  began  going 
to  sea  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  continuing  until  1872,  having  been  in 
command  of  a  fishing  vessel  about  twelve  years,  and  is  now  a  farmer. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Congregational  church.  He  married  Olive  G., 
daughter  of  Sylvanus  and  Olive  (Linnell)  Snow.  Their  children  are: 
Albert  A.,  Julietta  W.  and  Olive  M. 

Nehemiah  S.  Harding,  son  of  Henry  and  Almira  (Smith)  Harding, 
and  grandson  of  Ephraim  Harding,  was  born  in  1842,  and  has  followed 
the  sea  since  1857.  He  married  Ellen  A.,  daughter  of  Clarington  and 
EfiBe  (Rogers)  Smith,  and  granddaughter  of  Asa  Smith.  Mrs.  Harding 
is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church. 

Benjamin  Higgins,  son  of  Benjamin  and  Tamesin  (Rogers)  Hig- 
gins,  grandson  of  Moses  Higgins,  and  great-grandson  of  Elnathan 
Higgins,  was  born  in  1827,  and  has  worked  at  the  shoemaker's  trade 
since  1847.     He  married  Azubah  S.,  daughter  of  Dean  S.  Nickerson. 

Eli  S.  Higgins,  son  of  Judah  and  Betsey  (Small)  Higgins,  and 
grandson  of  Samuel  Higgins,  was  born  in  1824.  He  is  a  farmer  and 
engaged  in  shipping  clams  to  Boston.  He  was  several  years  a  mem- 
ber of  the  school  committee.  He  married  Laura  A.  Nickerson,  who 
died,  as  did  also  her  only  son.  He  married  for  his  second  wife, 
Mehitabel,  daughter  of  Adnah  Rogers.  She  died,  leaving  four  child- 
ren:   Enos  O.  (deceased),  Charles  E.,  Josiah  F.  and  Laura  M. 

Freeman  Higgins,  2d,  only  surviving  child  of  Eliakim  and  Rebecca 
F.  (Kingman)  Higgins,  grandson  of  Eliakim,  and  great-grandson  of 
Eliakim  Higgins,  was  born  in  1832.  He  was  a  carriage  maker  and 
cabinet  maker  from  1851  until  1885,  and  since  that  time  he  has  been 
a  farmer,  owning  and  occupying  the  homestead  of  his  father,  grand- 
father and  great-grandfather.  He  married  Bathiah  B.  Warren,  who 
died  leaving  one  daughter,  Alice  H. 


TOWN  OF  ORLEANS.  773 

Joseph  L.  Higg^ns  is  a  son  of  Jabez  and  Alice  (Linnell)  Higgins, 
and  grandson  of  Moses  Higgins.  He  married  Eliza  D.,  daughter  of 
David  and  Polly  (Doane)  Snow,  and  granddaughter  of  Stephen  Snow. 
Their  only  child,  Washington  S.,  was  born  in  1844.  He  followed  the 
fishing  business  for  twenty  years,  and  for  the  last  six  years  has  been 
a  farmer. 

Lot  Higgins,  born  in  1809,  is  a  son  of  Lot  and  Mercy  (Sparrow) 
Higgins,  and  grandson  of  Lot  Higgins.  He  began  going  to  sea  at  the 
age  of  eleven  years,  attained  to  master  of  a  fisherman  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one,  continuing  at  sea  until  1854.  After  being  a  grain  mer- 
chant for  eight  years  he  began  keeping  a  general  store  at  East  Orleans, 
where  he  has  also  been  postmaster  since  1862.  He  was  representative 
to  the  legislature  in  1872  and  1873.  He  married  Sevillie,  daughter  of 
Isaac  Snow.  They  have  two  children  living — Mercy  and  Sparrow; 
three  having  died — Lot  S.,  and  two  in  infancy. 

Thomas  W.  Higgins,  son  of  Thomas  and  Susan  (Snow)  Higgins, 
and  grandson  of  Thomas  Higgins,  was  born  in  1842.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  he  began  going  to  sea,  and  since  1870  has  been  master  of 
coasting  vessels.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Orleans  Congregational 
church.  He  married  Deborah  C,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Deborah 
(Snow)  Sparrow,  and  grand-daughter  of  Samuel  Sparrow.  They  had 
one  daughter,  Ellen  J.,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twelve  years. 

Francis  Hopkins,  son  of  Davis  and  Thankful  (Myrick)  Hopkins, 
grandson  of  Elkanah,  and  great-grandson  of  Joshua  Hopkins,  was 
born  in  1834.  He  followed  the  sea  in  early  life,  and  has  been  super- 
intendent of  government  works  in  Boston  harbor  since  1871.  He 
married  Abigail',  daughter  of  Joshua'  and  Dorinda  (Cole)  Sparrow, 
granddaughter  of  Joshua',  (Richard',  Isaac',  Richard',  Richard',  Jona- 
than', Richard  Sparrow').  They  have  two  sons — Francis  W.  and 
Charles  W. 

Warren  H.  Hopkins,  son  of  Edward  and  Mary  A.  (Doane)  Hop- 
kins, and  grandson  of  Moses  Hopkins,  was  born  in  1845,  in  Brewster, 
and  came  to  Orleans  in  1868,  where  he  has  carried  on  a  wagon,  paint, 
and  blacksmith  shop  since  that  time.  He  married  Hannah  R.,  daugh- 
ter of  Joshua  Nickerson.  Their  children  are:  Abel  I.,  Mary  M.  and 
Warren  M. 

Davis  Hurd,  son  of  Zenas  and  Salome  (Higgins)  Hurd,  and  grand- 
son of  Joseph  Hurd,  was  born  in  1815.  He  was  a  sea  captain  from 
1836  to  1842,  and  from  that  time  until  his  death  in  1881  he  kept  a 
variety  store  and  livery  stable  at  Orleans.  He  married  Rebecca, 
daughter  of  Thomas,  and  granddaughter  of  Joshua  Gould.  Their 
children  are:  Emma  F.,  D.  A.  and  Flora  E. 

Edward  S.  Hurd,  son  of  Luther  and  Olive  (Linnell)  Hurd,  was  born 
in  1827.     He  followed  the  sea  from  1836  until  1868,  when  he  went  to 


774  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Tiverton,  R.  I.,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  oil  business  for  eighteen 
years.  He  married  Paulina,  daughter  of  Sears  Rogers.  Their  two- 
children  are:  Paulina  S.  and  Edward  E. 

Alfred  Kenrick. — By  the  earliest  records  of  Boston  it  is  found 
that  four  brothers,  ancestors  of  the  Kenricks  in  America,  came  in 
1633  from  York,  England,  to  this  continent.  John,  the  eldest,  settled 
at  Roxbury,  Mass.,  afterward  removing  to  Newton,  where  have  been 
reared  many  notable  descendants;  another  settled  in  New  Hampshire, 
from  whom  descended  divines  and  literary  men  well  known  in  north- 
ern New  England  and  the  Middle  states;  another  went  south,  from 
whom  the  Kenricks,  of  Georgia,  and  other  southern  states  descended? 
and  Edward,  the  youngest,  came  to  Cape  Cod  about  1640,  settling  on 
the  spot  a  little  west  of  where  Luther  Hurd  lived,  removing  later  to 
the  old  Kenrick  place  in  South  Orleans,  then  a  portion  of  Harwich. 
He  was  a  wealthy  trader  and  on  this  homestead,  which  was  once  occu- 
pied by  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  and  still  is  in  part,  by  other  de- 
scendants, he  reared  three  sons:  Thomas,  Solomon  and  Jonathan.  Of 
these,  Thomas  and  Solomon  settled  in  Harwich,  but  the  latter  subse- 
quently sold  to  Thomas  and  moved  to  Nova  Scotia.  The  Kenricks  of 
Harwich  are  descendants  of  Thomas.  Of  Solomon's  two  sons — John 
and  Solomon — the  elder  attained  an  enviable  position  in  the  command 
of  a  privateer  during  the  revolutionary  war,  and  was  the  first  Ameri- 
can who  circumnavigated  the  globe.  He  discovered  the  Columbia 
river,  which  he  named  from  his  ship,  the  Coluvibia,  of  which  he  was 
master. 

Jonathan,  the  youngest  son  of  Edward,  was  educated  at  Cambridge,, 
and  became  an  eminent  physician.  He  married  Tabitha  Eldridge,  of 
Chatham,  and  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-six,  leaving  three  sons:  Samuel, 
Warren  A.  and  Jonathan,  whose  mother  subsequently  married  The- 
ophilus  Hopkins.  Samuel,  the  eldest  son  of  Doctor  Jonathan,  studied 
medicine  with  Doctor  Breed  and  became  eminent  in  the  practice  in 
Orleans.  He  had  three  sons  and  three  daughters.  Jonathan,  the 
eldest  of  the  sons  of  Doctor  Samuel,  married  Betsey  Rogers  of  Har- 
wich, and  of  their  twelve  children  eleven  lived  to  an  adult  age,  set- 
tling in  various  sections,  with  various  occupations. 

Alfred  Kenrick,  the  eighth  of  these,  was  born  at  Orleans  May  30, 
1800.  His  own  record  of  his  school  days  is  the  best:  "  I  remember 
that  at  the  age  of  six  I  was  sent  to  a  private  school  kept  in  a  little 
porch  connected  with  the  house  of  Dea.  Judah  Rogers  where  I  was 
taught  by  a  maiden  lady — the  deacon's  daughter.  The  seats  were 
constructed  of  unplaned  boards  resting  on  blocks  of  wood.  The 
length  of  the  term  depended  on  the  amount  of  money  subscribed,  and 
although  the  teacher's  wages  only  averaged  eighty  cents  per  week, 
the  term  seldom  exceeded  ten  or  twelve   weeks.     About  two  years 


9ELt^  MmyLa^ 


TOWN   OF   ORLEANS.  775 

later  I  attended  the  public  school,  having  its  winter  term  taught  by  a 
male  teacher— a  term  usually  of  ten  weeks.  Then  followed  the  em- 
bargo act  with  its  effect  to  cut  oflF  all  trade;  then  the  war  of  1R12, 
which  filled  up  the  measure  of  depression,  then  I  decided  Xo  work  in 
Almey,  Brown  &  Slater's  cotton  factory,  in  Smithfield,  R.  I.,  where  I 
continued  until  the  peace.  In  the  spring  of  1815, 1  went  to  Providence 
and  shipped  on  board  the  schooner  Joseph,  as  one  of  her  crew,  com- 
mencing my  occupation  of  a  seafaring  life." 

He  sailed  in  eight  vessels  as  a  common  sailor,  in  three  as  second 
officer  and  in  six  brigs  and  ships  as  first  officer,  attaining  the  com- 
mand of  the  new  ship  Courser  when  he  was  twenty-seven  years  old, 
after  which  he  was  in  command  of  and  owner  in  ten  other  vessels: 
Eugene,  Margaret,  Bramin,  Brookline,  Boston,  Tenedos,  Plymouth,  Norman, 
Statnboul  and  Osmanli.  In  the  last  named  vessel  he  circumnavigated 
the  globe,  passing  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  Melbourne,  thence  toCallao, 
around  Cape  Horn  to  New  Orleans  and  to  Boston,  where  he  arrived 
June  18,  1854.  He  had  then  crossed  the  Atlantic  108  times,  besides 
his  many  voyages  to  the  West  Indies,  Brazil  and  other  parts  of  South 
America,  and  to  the  Cape  Verde,  Madeira,  Azores  and  Western 
islands.  As  boy  and  man  the  captain  must  have  traversed  more  miles 
of  ocean,  within  about  two  score  years,  than  usually  falls  to  the  lot  of 
an  individual.  He  then  turned  agriculturist,  which  he  continued 
through  the  remainder  of  his  active  life. 

He  was  early  commissioned  a  justice  of  the  peace,  which  office  he 
held  many  years,  but  in  1862,  when  he  received  his  last  commission 
from  Governor  Andrews,  he  was  informed  that  the  law  had  been 
made  that  before  the  person  could  swear  in  he  must  pay  five  dollars 
into  the  state  treasury,  whereupon  he  tore  the  commission  into  frag- 
ments, as  he  "never  bought  or  paid  for  office."  He  was  selectman 
several  years  and  chairman  of  the  board;  was  many  years  on  the  school 
board,  but  when  acting  with  a  large  committee  to  hire  teachers  he 
found  each  member  had  a  neice,  aunt,  daughter  or  sister  who  must 
teach,  then  he  resigned.  In  1856  he  was  elected  senator,  which  office 
he  satisfactorily  filled  one  term.  He  never  sought  office,  and  so 
tenacious  was  he  of  what  he  thought  right  that  unless  he  was  allowed 
to  act  up  to  his  own  convictions  a  resignation  followed.  When  he  was 
appointed  deputy  sheriff,  under  David  Bursley,  he  soon  found  that 
serving  writs  of  attachment  upon  the  property  of  poor  people  did  not 
just  accord  with  his  feelings,  and  he  resigned.  He  has  acted  upon 
committees  for  building  school  houses,  churches  and  other  public 
buildings,  the  last  being  the  Snow  library  building  in  1877. 

The  captain  was  married  January  4,  1825,  to  Almina,  daughter  of 
David  Taylor,  and  of  their  seven  children  those  who  lived  to  man- 
hood and  womanhood  are  noticed  in  the  four  following  paragraphs. 


776  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Alfred  Kenrick,  jr.,  born  in  October,  1825,  married  Sarah  B.  Glea- 
son.  He  built  up  a  very  large  business  in  Brookline,  Mass.,  where  he 
died  in  1885,  leaving  his  business  to  his  two  sons:  Alfred  E.  and  Moses 
F.  He  was  much  respected  in  that  city,  and  his  loss  was  deeply  de 
plored.     He  also  left  another  son,  George  R  ,and  a  daughter,  Mary  E. 

David  T.was  born  in  1830,  and  married  Amanda  Gibbs.  They  have 
one  son,  David  A.,  who  has  a  wife  and  two  children,  all  living  in 
Brookline. 

Mary  T.,  born  in  1841,  married  George  H.  Moss,  and  died  in  1871. 
She  left  two  children:  Fred  H.  and  Mary  A.  Moss. 

Eliza  F.,born  in  1844,  married  Asa  Smith  of  Orleans,  who  is  a  ship 
captain  now  residing  in  Boston. 

Captain  Kenrick's  first  wife  died  January  11,  1879,  and  in  Febru- 
ary of  the  following  year  he  married  Mrs.  Adaline  B.  Walker,  who 
died  November  27,  1889,  leaving  two  daughters  of  her  first  marriage, 
who  kindly  care  for  Captain  Kenrick  at  his  home. 

In  giving  this  brief  history  of  this  worthy  old  gentleman  it  is 
plain  to  see  that  the  full  details  of  his  voyages  and  even  an  epitome 
of  his  many  noble  acts  would  fill  a  volume.  He  has  stood  firm  and 
upright  in  the  religious,  civil  and  private  relations  of  life,  and  at  the 
age  of  ninety  is  as  firm  and  consistent  as  ever.  He  has  always  acted 
in  politics  with  the  democratic  party,  and  was  among  the  first  to  put 
pen  to  paper  in  1825  for  the  call  of  a  meeting  to  organize  the  Uni- 
versalist  society  of  Orleans,  which  fact  indicates  his  religious  views. 
Where  he  was  then  in  his  views  he  is  to-day.  Hume,  in  his  history  of 
England,  speaks  of  the  Kenricks  in  the  sixth  century,  and  like  his 
ancestor,  Alfred  of  England,  no  circumstances  could  deflect  Captain 
Alfred  of  the  present  time  from  a  straightforward  and  upright  course. 

John  Kenrick. — The  ancestry  of  this  citizen  of  South  Orleans  is 
along  the  line  to  the  Saxon  Edward  Kenrick,  mentioned  in  the 
biography  of  Captain  Alfred  Kenrick.  The  Jonathan  who  settled  at 
South  Orleans  married  Hannah  Cole  and  reared,  among  others,  a  son 
John,  born  May  18, 1781,  who  married  Rebecca  Sparrow  on  the  seventh 
of  December,  1804.  He  was  a  prominent  man,  filling  various  town 
trusts,  representing  his  town  in  the  legislature,  and  was  instrumental 
in  saving  his  town  from  the  heavy  exactions  of  the  British  cruisers 
of  1812.  This  John  reared  three  children — Sophia,  who  married 
Elisha  Cobb:  Reuben,  who  married  M.  F.  Anderson,  and  John,  the 
postmaster  and  merchant  of  South  Orleans,  who  resides  on  the  ances- 
tral estate,  where  he  was  born  August  19,  1819.  In  early  life  he 
taught  school,  and  for  forty  years  has  constantly  filled  offices  in  his 
town.  He  was  sent  to  the  legislature  in  1852  and  1853  by  the  unani- 
mous vote  of  his  townsmen.  In  commissions  for  the  preservation  of 
harbors  and  forests  he  has  been  prominent,  filling  with  honor  more 


'■^'.^f.Zh,        /^       jZ^t^'^l-^^^  ?  £  ^i^  7'7. 


TOWN  OF  ORLEANS.  777 

places  of  trust  than  usually  are  credited  to  his  townsmen.  He  married 
Thankful  Crosby  July  30, 1843,  and  their  deceased  children  are  Sophia, 
Emma,  Eva  and  Alice  T.;  the  surviving  ones  being  Clara,  Rebecca 
and  John  Kenrick,  jr.,  the  latter  assisting  his  father  in  his  business 
affairs. 

Captain  Seth  K.  Kingman,  whose  engraved  likeness  is  presented 
on  the  opposite  page,  is  a  retired  shipmaster,  and  a  highly  respected 
citizen  of  Orleans,  in  which  town  he  was  born  March  9, 1822.  He  com- 
menced his  seafaring  life  at  the  age  of  ten  years  on  board  of  a  fishing 
vessel,  like  most  of  the  boys  of  that  period,  and  for  ten  successive 
years  made  a  trip  to  the  Grand  Bank.  Disliking  this  branch  of  sea- 
faring business,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years  he  entered  the  merchant 
service  "  before  the  mast."  It  was  not  long,  however,  before  he  be- 
came a  chief  oflBcer,  visiting  the  principal  seaports  of  the  world.  In 
1851,  while  first  officer  of  the  barque  Stamboul,  of  which  his  brother, 
Simeon,  was  master,  the  first  cargo  of  ice  from  Boston  to  Egypt  was 
delivered  at  Alexandria,  it  having  been  purchased  by  the  govern- 
ment. In  1866,  after  having  made  two  voyages  in  the  barque  Kate 
-Hastings,  in  the  employ  of  H.  Hastings  &  Co.,  in  the  India  trade,  as 
chief  officer,  he  was  given  the  command,  and  went  to  the  west  coast 
of  South  America,  and  upon  returning  to  Boston  the  vessel  was  char- 
tered by  the  government  to  carry  stores  to  Hong  Kong.  From  Hong 
Kong  he  took  a  cargo  for  Shanghai,  and  from  that  place,  with  a  cargo 
of  tea,  he  returned  to  New  York  in  1868. 

Again  sailing  for  Shanghai,  he  remained  on  the  coast  of  China 
and  in  the  China  sea,  visiting  all  the  open  ports  of  China,  Japan  and 
the  island  of  Formosa,  until  the  year  1863,  when,  selling  his  vessel  at 
Singapore,  he  returned  to  Boston,  took  command  of  the  barque  No- 
nantum,  and  with  a  cargo  of  eighteen  hundred  tons  of  coal  sailed  for 
San  Francisco.  The  coal  was  sold  there  for  sixty-five  dollars  per  ton 
to  the  steamship  line  between  New  York  and  San  Francisco,  via  Nica- 
ragua, and  was  delivered  at  San  Juan  Del  Sur.  Sailing  for  Chinca 
islands,  he  took  a  cargo  for  Rotterdam.  After  several  voyages  to  dif- 
ferent seaports  in  Europe  and  Asia,  he  returned  to  New  York.  When 
the  new  ship  Cashmere  was  ready  for  sea,  in  1868,  he  took  command, 
and  again  engaged  in  the  India  and  China  trade  until  1873,  when  he 
retired  from  seafaring  life,  and  returned  to  his  native  town,  where  he 
now  resides,  enjoying  the  pleasures  of  a  quiet  and  pleasant  home,  after 
so  many  years  of  an  active  life  upon  the  sea.  Of  his  forty  years  of  sea 
life— thirty  of  them  in  the  merchant  service— visiting  all  parts  of  the 
world,  he  has  never  been  wrecked,  never  lost  a  mast,  or  sustained 
serious  injury,  which,  indeed,  is  remarkable. 

Captain  Kingman  is  a  descendant,  in  the  eighth  generation,  of 
Henry  Kingman,  who  came  to  this  country  from  Wales  and  settled  in 


778  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Weymouth  in  1632.  Simeon  Kingman,  Esquire,  grandfather  of  Cap- 
tain Kingman,  and  the  first  of  the  name  who  settled  on  the  Cape,  was 
the  eldest  son  of  Matthew  Kingman,  and  was  born  in' that  part  of  old 
Bridgewater,  now  Brockton,  May  ^7,  1756.  He  married  Rebecca, 
daughter  of  Major  Gideon  Freeman,  of  Eastham,  October  15,  1778, 
and  after  a  few  years'  residence  in  his  native  town,  he  removed  to 
Plymouth  and  engaged  in  mercantile  business.  From  this  place, 
about  1788,  he  removed  to  that  part  of  Eastham  now  Orleans,  took  up 
his  residence,  engaging  in  farming  and  business  of  a  public  character. 
Being  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  abilities,  energetic  and  public 
spirited,  he  soon  became  a  leading  man  of  the  place.  He  was  the 
leading  magistrate  from  1794  a  great  number  of  years;  postmaster  for 
many  years  before  1811;  adjutant  of  the  Second  regiment  of  Massa- 
chusetts militia  for  many  years  before  1820;  representative  from 
Eastham  in  1796  and  1797,  and  also  from  Orleans,  after  its  separation 
from  Eastham,  in  1798,  1799,  1810  and  in  1811.  He  died  at  Orleans 
January  28,  1828.  His  wife,  Rebecca,  died  in  1822.  He  was  the  eldest 
brother  of  Hon.  Abel  Kingman  and  Eliaphlet  Kingman,  Esq.,  leading 
men  in  North  Bridgewater,  now  Brockton,  half  a  century  ago.  The 
children  of  Simeon  Kingman  and  wife,  Rebecca,  were:  Rebecca,  born 
in  Bridgewater  March  24,  1780,  died  August  10,  1786;  Freeman,  born 
in  Bridgewater  September  4,  1781,  drowned  January  14,  1793;  Polly, 
born  in  Plymouth,  August  14,  1783,  married  Rev.  Martin  Alden,  of 
Yarmouth,  October  29,  1810;  Patty,  born  in  Bridgewater.  January  1, 
1786,  married  Dr.  Oliver  Ford  September  23,  1809;  Matthew,  born  in 
Eastham  July  22,  1789,  married  Mercy  Kenrick  November  30,  1 808, 
died  October  20,  1848;  Rebecca,  born  in  Eastham  October  11,  1791, 
died  October  13,  1791. 

Matthew  Kingman,  son  of  Simeon  Kingman,  Esq.,  and  father  of 
Captain  Kingman,  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  Orleans.  He  was  select- 
man, coroner  and  postmaster,  and  was  holding  the  latter  oflBce  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  very  suddenly,  while  frcm  heme 
on  the  morning  of  October  20,  1848.  He  was  a  member  of  theUniver- 
salist  church,  and  a  man  of  high  moral  character.  He  married  Mercy, 
daughter  of  Captain  Jonathan  and  Betsey  Kenrick,  and  granddaughter 
of  Dr.  Samuel  Kenrick,  November  30,  1808.  She  died  September  17, 
1857,  aged  sixty-five.  Their  children  were:  Rebecca  F.,  born  October 
10,  1809,  married  Eliakim  Higgins  of  Orleans;  Betsey  K.,  born  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1812,  married  Josiah  Y.  Paine  of  Harwich ;Freem an,  born 
May  26,  1814,  married  Elvira  Corcoran,  and  died  August  10,  1882; 
Overy,  born  March  28, 1816,  and  died  in  infancy;  Simeon,  born  Decem- 
ber 22,  1817,  married  Patia  Knowles,  and  died  at  sea  while  in  com- 
mand of  barque  Rebecca  Goddard,  November  15,  1860;  Alfred,  born 
February  24,  1820,  died  in  infancy;  SethK.,born  March  9, 1822;  Isabel 


TOWN  OF  ORLEANS.  '  779' 

M.,  born  July  31,  1825,  married  Fred.  Percival,  died  January  14,  1874;. 
Alonzo  H.,  born  December  18,  1827,  married  Sarah  T.  Mayo,  died  at 
sea  while  in  command  of  the  barque  Great  Surgeo7i,  March  22,  1880; 
Eliza  M.,  born  January  18,  1831,  married  N.  C.  Young:  Matthew,  born 
October  29,  1834,  died  February  13,  1858. 

Ezra  Knowles,  only  surviving  son  of  Ezra  and  Elizabeth  S.  (Rogers), 
Knowles,  and  grandson  of  David  Knowles,  was  born  in  1836,  and  has 
been  a  carpenter  since  1855.  He  owns  and  occupies  his  father's  home- 
stead. He  has  been  fifteen  years  a  member  of  the  official  board  of 
the  Orleans  Methodist  Episcopal  church.  His  first  marriage  was 
with  Eunice  S.  Gould.  He  married  for  his  second  wife  Thankful, 
daughter  of  James  Lincoln.  They  have  two  children  living — Lizzie 
M.  and  Clarence  E.    They  lost  one  son — Arthur  L 

Theodore  L.  Knowles,  son  of  Paul  and  Susan  (Thomas)  Knowles,. 
and  grandson  of  Isaiah  Knowles,  was  born  in  Truro  in  1833,  and 
moved  to  Boston  with  his  parents  in  1841.  In  1849  he  entered  a  shoe 
firm  as  salesman,  and  in  1858,  he  began  shoe  manufacturing,  which 
he  continued  until  1869,  when  he  came  to  Orleans,  where  he  has 
been  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  since  that  time.  He  married 
Harriet  C,  daughter  of  Joel  Snow.  She  died  leaving  six  children: 
Nellie  T.,  Albert  L.,  Ruth  M.,  Hattie,  Susie  G.  and  Fred. 

Dean  S.  Linnell,  son  of  Dean  G.  and  Mehitabel  F.  (Rogers)  Lin- 
nell,  grandson  of  Elkanah,  and  great-grandson  of  Elkanah  Linnell, 
was  born  in  1846.  From  1862  until  1887  he  was  at  sea  engaged  in  the 
oyster  and  fishing  trade,  being  captain  eighteen  years.  He  has  four 
brothers  and  sisters  living:  Albert,  Abbie,  Ida  and  Orissa.  He  mar- 
ried Emogene,  daughter  of  Sidney  Eldridge.  Dean  G.  Linnell  has  a 
silver  medal  which  was  awarded  him  by  the  Massachusetts  Humane 
Society,  for  services  which  he  rendered  to  the  wrecked  ship  Orissa, 
on  the  Orleans  shore  in  1857.  Mr.  Linnell's  father  was  twice  married. 
His  first  wife  was  Deborah  Linnell,  who  had  one  child — Francis 
Linnell. 

Edmund  Linnell,  son  of  Edmund  and  grandson  of  Edmund  Lin- 
nell, was  born  in  1833.  He  was  a  master  mariner  for  about  twelve 
years  prior  to  1870,  and  since  that  time  he  has  been  a  farmer.  He 
married  Bethiah  B.,  daughter  of  Harvey  and  Betsey  (Snow)  Sparrow,, 
granddaughter  of  Josiah  Sparrow. 

David  Snow,  son  of  David,  and  grandson  of  Stephen  Snow,  was 
born  in  1822.  He  was  a  master  mariner  from  1845  until  he  retired 
from  the  sea  in  1885.  He  married  Betsey  S.,  daughter  of  Harvey 
Sparrow.  She  died,  leaving  two  children:  Heman  R.  and  David  A> 
His  second  marriage  was  with  Sarah  L.  Smith. 

Isaiah  Linnell,  born  in  1813,  is  a  son  of  Solomon  and  Polly  (Hard- 
ing) Linnell,  and  grandson  of  Josiah  Linnell.     He  followed  the  sea. 


780  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

from  1822  until  1867,  and  since  that  time  has  been  engaged  at  carpen- 
ter work.  He  married  Pattie,  daughter  of  John  and  Joanna  (Higgins) 
Gould.  They  have  four  children:  Adelaide,  Eunice,  Maria  and 
Isaiah,  jr.     They  lost  six  children.     , 

Benjamin  Mayo,  son  of  Samuel  and  Delilah  (Rogers)  Mayo,  grand- 
son of  Theophilus,  and  great-grandson  of  Theophilus  Mayo,  was 
born  in  1837.  He  was  fourteen  years  engaged  in  the  fishing  business, 
and  since  1866  has  been  a  farmer.  He  married  Lucy  B.,  daughter  of 
Franklin  Smith.  She  died  leaving  two  children — Mary  J.  and  Wal- 
ter H.  His  second  marriage  was  with  Mrs.  Paulina  S.  Sparrow,  a 
daughter  of  Dean  S.  Sparrow.  She  had  one  daughter  by  her  former 
marriage — Mary  O.  Sparrow. 

Freeman  Mayo,  born  in  1812,  is  the  youngest  child  of  Theophilus 
and  Ruth  (Freeman)  Mayo.  He  was  town  clerk  and  treasurer  from 
1864  until  1889,  constable  and  collector  for  sixteen  years  prior  to  1889, 
and  has  held  several  minor  town  offices.  He  married  Hannah,  daugh- 
ter of  Richard  Higgins.     They  have  one  adopted  daughter,  Mary  I. 

Joseph  K.  Mayo',  born  in  1828,  is  a  son  of  Joseph  K.'  and  Betsey 
(Sears)  Mayo,  grandson  of  Uriah'  (Thomas',  Samuel*,  John',  John', 
Rev.  John  Mayo').  Mr.  Mayo  is  a  farmer,  owning  and  occupying  the 
homestead  of  his  father  and  grandfather.  He  married  Susan  M., 
daughter  of  James  L.  and  Sukey  (Crosby)  Sparrow,  and  a  sister  of 
Benjamin  C.  Sparrow. 

Samuel  Mayo,  oldest  son  of  Samuel  and  Delilah  (Rogers)  Mayo, 
and  grandson  of  Theophilus  Mayo,  was  born  in  1830.  He  followed 
the  sea  from  1845  until  1872,  and  since  that  time  has  been  a  farmer. 
He  has  been  member  of  the  board  of  selectmen  since  1887.  He 
married  Mrs.  Phebe  S.  Walker,  daughter  of  Thomas  L.  Mayo,  grand- 
daughter of  Heman  Mayo,  and  great-granddaughter  of  Jonathan 
Mayo.  They  have  two  children:  George  A.  and  Louisa  R.  Mrs. 
Mayo  had  two  sons  by  her  former  marriage:  Arthur  E.  and  Elbridge 
M.  Walker. 

Alexander  T.  Newcomb,  bom  in  1842,  is  a  son  of  Thomas  8.  and 
Julia  (Snow)  Newcomb.  He  has  been  a  merchant  at  Orleans  since 
1860.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  selectmen  since  1878, 
and  is  a  director  in  the  Barnstable  County  Mutual  Insurance  Com- 
pany.    He  married  Esther  G.,  daughter  of  Freeman  Sherman. 

Asa  S.  Nickerson,  son  of  Josiah  and  Eunice  (Smith)  Nickerson,  and 
grandson  of  Joshua  Nickerson,  was  born  in  1828.  He  followed  the 
sea  in  the  coasting  and  fishing  business  from  1838  until  1882,  as  mas- 
ter eleven  years.  He  married  Laura  A.  Gould,  who  died  leaving  one 
daughter,  Lettie  H.  (Mrs.  S.  L.  Eldridge).  He  married  for  his  second 
wife  Mrs.  Jane  S.  Gould,  daughter  of  Harvey  Sparrow.  She  had  one 
son  by  her  former  marriage — Josiah  O.  Gould. 


TOWN  OF  ORLEANS.  781 

James  W.  Percival  is  a  son  of  James,  and  grandson  of  James  Per- 
cival.  He  married  Chloe,  daughter  of  Joseph  C.  and  Harriet  (Snow) 
Mayo.  They  had  four  children:  Mary  C,  Jbseph  W.,  Henry  M.  and 
Hattie  S. 

Marcus  M.  Pierce,  son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah  (Bassett)  Pierce,  was 
born  in  Chatham,  in  1840.  He  was  master  mariner  from  1861  to  1870. 
He  was  keeper  of  the  Nauset  United  States  Life  Saving  station  for 
six  years,  and  since  1880  has  been  keeper  of  the  Orleans  station.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order.  He  married  Mercy  O.,  daughter  of 
WillisSnow.  They  have  one  daughter — Sadie  W.,  and  lost  one — Ina  M. 
Eleazer  Rogers,  son  of  Eleazer  and  Elizabeth  Rogers,  and  grand- 
son of  Hezekiah  Rogers,  was  born  in  1816.  He  followed  the  sea  from 
1829  until  1878,  thirty  years  of  the  time  as  comniander  of  a  fisherman. 
He  is  at  present  engaged  in  farming  and  shipping  clams  and  quahaugs 
to  New  York  and  Boston.  He  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  John 
Walker,  of  Harwich.  She  died  leaving  three  children — Sarah  W., 
Rebecca  F.  and  George  W.     They  lost  one  daughter,  Tamesin  J. 

Joseph  W.  Rogers,  born  January  20,  1823,  is  the  eldest  son  of 
Alvah,  grandson  of  Richard  and  great-grandson  of  Gideon  Rogers. 
His  mother  was  Lucy,  daughter  of  Prince  Rogers.  Mr.  Rogers  fol- 
lowed the  sea  from  the  age  of  eleven  until  1866,  and  was  for  twelve 
years  engaged  in  the  provision  business.  He  was  representative  in 
the  legislature  in  1888,  was  several  years  selectman,  also  a  member 
of  the  school  committee,  and  is  now  deputy  sheriflF.  He  married 
Temperance,  daughter  of  Joseph  L.  Rogers.  They  have  had  nine 
children;  three  of  whom  are  living— Howard  W.,  Joseph  L.  and  Ear- 
nest W. 

Carmi  H.  Shattuck,  son  of  Abel  and  Abigail  (Nickerson)Shattuck, 
grandson  of  Luke  M.  and  great-grandson  of  Abel  Shattuck,  was  born 
in  1862.  He  has  kept  a  livery  stable  in  Orleans  since  1870.  He  mar- 
ried Emily  S.,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Barbara  Rogers.  Mr.  Shat- 
tuck's  father  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade,  and  kept  a  hotel  in  Orleans 
from  1862  until  his  death  in  1886.     He  built  the  Shattuck  House. 

Eldridge  F.  Small,  only  surviving  child  of  John  and  Charlotte 
Small,  grandson  of  John,  great-grandson  of  William,  and  great-great- 
grandson  of  Benjamin  Small,  was  bom  in  1842.  He  began  going  to 
sea  at  the  age  of  twelve  years,  was  in  the  United  States  navy  from 
February,  1864,  to  September,  1865,  and  for  the  last  twelve  seasons  he 
has  been  running  a  yacht.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Frank  D.  Ham- 
mond Post,  G.  A.  R.  He  married  Abigail,  daughter  of  James  Smith. 
John  M.  Smith,  son  of  Lewis  and  grandson  of  Lewis  Smith,  was 
born  in  1846.  His  mother  was  Mehitabel,  daughter  of  Myric  Smith. 
He  has  carried  on  a  restaurant  and  bakery  business  in  Orleans  since 
1868.     He  is  a  member  of  the  Orleans  Methodist  Episcopal  church, 


'782  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

and  a  prohibitionist.  He  married  Paulina  S.,  one  of  fifteen  children 
-of  Bangs  and  Olive  (Crosby)  Taylor.  They  have  had  five  children, 
all  of  whom  died. 

Joshua  H.  Smith,  son  of  Alvin  and  Eliza  (Gould)  Smith,  and  grand- 
son of  Josiah  Smith,  was  born  in  1829.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1840 
to  1870,  as  master  twenty  years.  He  married  Dorcas,  daughter  of 
Nathaniel  Freeman.  They  have  one  daughter,  Ada  B.  Mr.  Smith  is 
a  member  of  the  school  committee. 

Thomas  Smith,  son  of  Sylvanus  and  Persis  (Rogers)  Smith,  was 
born  in  1839.  He  was  for  eighteen  years  a  merchant  at  Orleans,  re- 
tiring in  1887.  He  married  Clara  A.,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Hannah 
(Knowles)  Cummings.    They  have  one  son — Thomas  A. 

Aaron  Snow,  son  of  Sylvanus  and  Olive  (Linnell)  Snow,  and  grand- 
-son  of  Aaron  Snow,  was  born  in  1825,  and  followed  the  sea  several 
years  in  early  life.  He  carried  on  a  grain,  coal  and  grocery  store  at 
the  Orleans  depot  for  ten  years,  and  since  that  time  he  has  run  a 
schooner  from  here  to  New  York  and  kept  a  grain  and  coal  store  on 
the  town  cove.  He  built  a  large  residence  near  his  grain  store  in 
1880.  He  married  Mary  J.  Tutty,  and  has  had  six  children:  Aaron 
A.,  William  H.,  George  F.,  Icie  J.,  A.  Lizzie  and  Alice  R. 

Calvin  Snow. — The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  descended  from 
Nicholas  Snow,  who  came  over  in  the  Ann  in  1623.  Nicholas  married 
•Constance,  a  daughter  of  Stephen  Hopkins,  who  came  over  with  her 
father  in  the  Mayflower.  Nicholas  was  one  of  a  company  who  settled 
in  Eastham  in  1644,  where  he  died  November  15, 1671.  He  was'  a 
useful  and  prominent  man.  of  the  new  settlement;  was  three  years 
■deputy  to  the  colony  court,  seven  years  selectman  and  sixteen  years 
town  clerk  of  Eastham.  His  son,  Stephen,  married  Susanna  Doane, 
and  their  son,  Micajah,bom  in  1669,  married  Mary  Young.  Their  son, 
Jesse,  born  1709,  married  Louis  Freeman,  and  they  had  a  son,  Ed- 
mund, born  in  1752,  who  married  Mary  Clark  of  Brewster.  Edmund's 
son,  Jesse,  born  June  15,  1791,  married  Patty,  daughter  of  Eliakim 
and  Sarah  Higgins.  They  were  married  in  1816,  and  both  Jesse  and 
his  wife  died  in  1872.  Jesse  Snow  was  for  several  years  captain  of 
the  packet  running  between  Orleans  and  Boston.  He  had  three  sons: 
Calvin,  Jesse  and  Reuben  H.  Jesse  was  bom  in  1826  and  died  in 
1888;  Reuben  H.,  born  in  1827,  died  in  1862. 

Calvin  Snow  was  born  November  12,  1818.  He  enjoyed  the  ordi- 
nary' educational  advantages  of  Cape  Cod  boys.  At  the  age  of  four- 
teen he  went  to  sea  in  the  milder  months  of  the  year;  this  he  con- 
tinued until  he  was  seventeen  years  old,  when  he  learned  the  tinplate 
and  hardware  trade,  and  at  an  early  age  he  established  himself  in  the 
-Stove,  tin  and  hardware  business  on  his  own  account,  in  which  he  was 
.reasonably  successful.     He  subsequently  became  considerably  inter- 


'f^'^'-'ii,  J.Jl!!it-:n" 


^^(i^i-^i^W^^^    (71^ 


TOWN  OF  ORLEANS.  783 

ested  in  shipping  and  took  some  part  in  town  affairs,  serving  for  sev- 
eral years  as  one  of  the  board  of  selectmen  and  assessors.  The  oppor- 
tunities for  business  enterprise  and  success  at  home  being  necessarily 
restricted,  Mr.  Snow  joined  the  host  of  pushing  New  Englanders 
who  have  gone  to  Chicago  and  developed  its  wonderful  business  re- 
sources. Settling  in  that  city  in  December,  1860,  he  connected  him- 
self with  the  firm  of  Freeman,  Burt  &  Co.,  pork  packers.  The  firm 
name  was  subsequently  changed  to  Branard,  Burt  &  Co.  This  firm 
dissolved,  and  a  new  firm  was  organized  under  the  name  of  Burt, 
Hutchinson  &  Snow.  This  last  firm  built  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the 
very  first,  packing  house  at  the  Chicago  stock  yard.  A  new  firm, 
with  which  Mr.  Snow  was  connected,  was  subsequently  formed,  under 
the  name  of  the  Chicago  Packing  and  Provision  Company. 

After  some  twelve  years  of  absorbing  devotion  to  business,  and 
being  successful  to  the  full  extent  of  his  reasonable  anticipations,  his 
wife's  health  becoming  impaired,  in  1872  he  relinquished  active  con- 
nection with  business  in  Chicago  and  returned  to  his  native  town,  for 
which  he  never  faltered  in  his  attachment,  and  where  he  has  since 
interested  himself  in  all  the  movements  which  tend  to  promote  the 
social  and  business  interests  of  the  community.  His  religious  senti- 
ments are  liberal  and  progressive,  and,  without  seeking  office  for  him- 
self, he  has  ever  evinced  a  strong  interest  in  the  promotion  of  the 
cause  of  republicanism.  Mr.  Snow,  in  1839,  married  Matilda,  daugh- 
ter of  Elkanah  and  Sarah  Cole  of  Eastham,  who  died  September  22, 
1887.  Their  children  were:  Charles  H..  born  in  1839;  Susan  W.,  born 
in  1841;  Alpheus  W.,  born  in  1843;  Rufus  E.,  born  1844;  Edgar,  born 
1846,  died  1849;  Edgar,  born  1851,  and  George  C,  born  1863,  died 
1864. 

Charles  H.  Snow  was  married  in  1860  to  Patience  E.,  daughter  of 
Phillip  N.  and  Mary  Y.  Small  of  Harwichport.  Susan  W.  Snow  was 
married  in  1870  to  Rollin  O.,  son  of  Charles  W.  and  Harriet  E.  Lins- 
ley  of  Ripton,  Vt.  Mary  M.,  their  only  child,  was  born  in  1879. 
Alpheus  W.Snow  was  married  in  1886  to  Annie  E.,  daughter  of  John 
and  Mary  Linnell  of  Orleans.  Rufus  E.  Snow  married  in  1868  Sarah 
S.,  daughter  of  Sullivan  and  Sarah  S.  Hopkins  of  Orleans.  Their  chil- 
dren are:  Edith  G.,born  in  1871,  died  1883;  Mattie  M.,  born  1873,  died 
1874;  George  S.,  born  1876;  Calletta,  born  1880,  died  1881.  Edgar 
Snow  was  married  in  1875  to  Mary  W.,  daughter  of  William  and  Mary 
Higgins  of  Eastham. 

Elkanah  L.  Snow,  son  of  Sylvanus  and  Olive  (Linnell)  Snow,  and 
grandson  of  Aaron  Snow,  was  born  in  1836.  He  began  going  to  sea 
at  the  age  of  fifteen,  continuing  until  1876,  with  the  exception  of  six 
years  when  he  was  on  the  Erie  canal  and  four  years  in  the  lobster 
business.     Since  1875  he  has  been  a  merchant  at  East  Orleans.     He 


784  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

has  been  five  times  grand  juror,  four  years  a  member  of  the  New 
York  board  of  underwriters,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the  Boston  board 
of  underwriters.  He  is  keeper  of  Nauset  Humane  House,  No.  40. 
He  married  Julia  M.,  daughter  of  Thomas  S.  and  Julia  (Snow)  New- 
comb.     They  have  one  son — Frank  W. — and  lost  one — Henry  H. 

Freeman  Snow,  youngest  son  of  Captain  Edmund  and  Mary 
(Eldridge)  Snow,  and  grandson  of  Edmund  Snow,  was  born  in  1828. 
He  followed  the  sea  from  1845  until  1870.  He  was  fourteen  years 
surfman  on  the  Orleans  United  States  life  saving  station.  He  is  now 
engaged  in  farming,  and  keeping  summer  boarders.  He  married 
Sarah  F.,  daughter  of  Bangs  and  Olive  (Crosby)  Taylor.  They  have 
three  daughters:    Ella  E.,  Sarah  E.  and  Olive  A. 

Freeman  H.  Snow,  born  in  1823,  is  the  youngest  child  of  Ben- 
jamin and  Hittie  (Freeman)  Snow,  grandson  of  Elnathan,  and  great- 
grandson  of  Elnathan  Snow.  Mr.  Snow  is  a  farmer,  owning  and  occu- 
pying the  homestead  of  his  grandfather,  Abner  Freeman.  He  is  a 
memberof  the  Congregational  church.  He  married  Annie  E.,  daughter 
of  James  L.  and  Sukey  (Crosby)  Sparrow.  They  have  one  son  living 
— Freeman  E. — and  one  died — Benjamin  S. 

Mark  C.  Snow,  only  surviving  child  of  Jonathan  Snow,  (born  June 
24,  1779),  and  grandson  of  Stephen  Snow,  was  born  December  26, 
1808.  His  mother,  Zerviah  Crosby,  was  bom  in  April,  1780.  He  was 
twenty  years  in  the  coasting  and  fishing  business  prior  to  1844,  and 
since  that  time  has  been  a  farmer.  He  married  Mrs.  Lizzie  Hussy, 
daughter  of  Zenas  Doane,  granddaughter  of  Zenas  Doane,  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  Noah  Doane,  of  Eastham.  Her  mother  was  Polly, 
daughter  of  Ebenezer  Nickerson  of  East  Harwich. 

Willis  Snow,  born  in  1816,  was  a  son  of  Thomasand  Zei-viah  (Spar- 
row) Snow,  and  grandson  of  Aaron  Snow.  He  followed  the  sea  until 
1856,  and  from  that  time  until  his  death  was  auctioneer,  wreck  com- 
missioner and  farmer.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Universalist  church. 
He  died  March  1,  1890.  He  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Thomas 
and  Priscilla  (Snow)  Gould,  and  had  five  children:  Willis  L.,  James 
M.,  Abbott  L.,  Mercy  O.  (Mrs.  Marcus  M.  Pierce)  and  Sophia,  who  mar- 
ried Solomon  Taylor,  son  of  James  and  Pbebe  Taylor,  grandson  of 
John,  and  great-grandson  of  John  Taylor.  They  have  three  children: 
Marcus  B.,  Florence  A.  and  Harry  S.  Mr.  Taylor  followed  the  sea 
the  most  of  the  time,  thirty-eight  years  prior  to  1886.  He  is  now  on 
the  Orleans  life  saving  station. 

Dean  Sparrow,  born  in  1821,  is  a  son  of  Godfrey  and  Mercy  (Hig- 
gins)  Sparrow,  and  grandson  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Jabez  Sparrow. 
Since  1853,  he  has  been  a  traveling  salesman  in  different  lines  of 
trade.  He  married  Rosilla,  daughter  of  Joel  Snow.  Their  children 
are:  Julia  F.,  George  W.,  Dean  E.  (deceased),  Rosie  S.,  Joshua  S., 
Hubert  E.  (deceased),  Rebecca  E.,  Eugene  C.  and  Mabel  S. 


TOWN  OF   ORLEANS.  785 

Captain  Joseph  Taylor,  son  of  Zoheth  and  Sally  (Doane)  Taylor, 
■was  born  in  Orleans,  October  26,  1821.  His  grandfather,  Benjamin, 
■who  married  Eunice  Arey,  ■was  the  first  town  clerk  of  Orleans  after 
the  separation  from  Eastham,  in  1797.*  His  great-grandfather  ■was 
John,  of  (then)  Eastham.  Joseph  -was  educated  in  the  common  schools 
of  the  to^wn,  in  Orleans  Academy,  an  institution  of  high  repute  in  its 
time,  and  in  Phillips  Academy,  Andover.  Like'many  other  Cape  boys, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  had  his  first  introduction  to  sea  life  on  board 
a  fishing  craft,  in  a  summer  voyage,  at  the  age  of  thirteen  years.  At 
the  age  of  seventeen  he  commenced  service  in  the  merchant  marine, 
and  at  t-wenty-three,  and  embracing  the  period  from  1844  to  1866,  he 
commanded  ships  in  the  domestic.  South  American,  Mediterranean, 
and  India  trade.  The  period  covered  by  Captain  Taylor's  service  at 
sea  embraced,  perhaps,  the  brightest  era  of  the  American  merchant 
marine,  and  called  for  business  capacity  of  a  high  order.  Before  the 
advent  of  magnetic  telegraphs  and  ocean  cables,  the  master  of  a  mer- 
chant ship  -was  greatly  dependent  upon  his  o^wn  resources,  and  -was 
obliged  to  act  in  many  cases  as  business  agent,  supercargo  and  navi- 
gator. Not  only  skillful  seamanship,  but  superior  executive  ability 
■were  requisite,  and  it  -was  to  the  no  small  credit  of  any  one  to  succeed 
in  a  calling  ■which  required  such  a  combination  of  qualities. 

Since  Captain  Taylor's  retirement  from  the  sea,  until  quite  re- 
cently, he  has  been  pecuniarily  interested  in  navigation;  and  ■while 
manifesting  an  active  interest  in  local  concerns,  has  not  sought  to 
engage  in  a  ■wider  field  of  public  effort,  for  ■which  his  intelligence  and 
experience  so  -well  fit  him  to  become  useful. 

Captain  Taylor  married  Mary  D.,  daughter  of  Elisha  Cole,  of  Or- 
leans. Their  children  are:  Josephine,  Mark  C.  and  Joseph  B.,  ■who 
is  also  in  business  in  Waltham. 

Jonathan  Young,  ■who  was  born  in  Orleans  June  27,  1808,  is 
the  son  of  Jonathan  and  Eunice  (Hurd)  Young,  and  grandson  of  Nehe- 
miah.  He  enjoyed  such  opportunities  of  education  as  were  within  the 
reach  of  the  youth  of  his  time,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years  went 
to  Provincetown,  as  an  apprentice  to  the  shoemaking  trade.  Before 
the  stipulated  term  of  three  years  service  had  expired  he  bought  his 
time  from  the  proceeds  of  overwork  performed,  and  came  to  Orleans  to 
establish  himself  in  business.     He  opened  a  store  for  the  manufacture 

*  This  Benjamin  Taylor  was  bom  October  26,  1752,  and  was  the  fifth  child  in  a 
family  of  six.  He  was  town  clerk  in  Eastham  four  years  before  Orleans  was  erected. 
He  was  the  son  of  John,  bom  April  17, 1717,  who  was  married  to  Phoebe  Higgins,  April, 
1742,  by  Rev.  Joseph  Crocker.  She  died  January  30,  1755.  The  primogenitor  of  this 
family  name  was  also  named  John,  who  was  in  Old  Eastham  very  early,  as  the  records 
contain  the  statement  that  he  was  married  to  Abigail  Hopkins,  September  3,  1713,  and 
that  Mr.  Treat,  the  pioneer  preacher  of  Eastham,  performed  the  ceremony. — Records 
of  Eastham. 

50 


786  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

and  sale  of  boots  and  shoes,  on  the  corner  which  he  and  his  son  have 
since  occupied,  gradually  enlarging  his  business  as  his  means  in- 
creased. At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  married  Mary  F.,  daughter 
of  Jonathan  and  granddaughter  of  Jonathan  Rogers,  of  Orleans,  and 
to  her  diligent  and  prudent  co-operation  Mr.  Young  freely  ascribes  a 
full  share  of  his  success  in  after  life.  After  about  fifteen  years  in  the 
shoe  trade  exclusively,  Mr.  Young  enlarged  his  business  to  that  of  a 
general  variety  store,  in  w^hich  he  has  met  with  the  success  usually 
attendant  upon  intelligent  and  persevering  effort,  and  in  which  he 
continued  until  1869,  when  he  transferred  his  business  to  his  son. 
Since  that  time  he  has  lived  a  comparatively  retired  life. 

Mr.  Young's  avocations  have  not  permitted  of  his  often  accepting 
public  positions,  except  such  as  are  of  a  purely  business  nature.  He 
was,  however  a  captain  of  the  militia  company  of  his  town,  and  re- 
ceived a  commission  signed  by  Governor  Levi  Lincoln,dated  July  27, 
1831.  The  experience  of  the  town  during  the  war  of  1812-1815  kept 
the  martial  spirit  alive  and  active  there  after  it  had  subsided  else- 
where. Mr.  Young  was  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  Cape  Cod  Central 
Railroad  Company,  which  extended  it  track  from  Yarmouth  to  Orleans 
in  1865,  and  was  one  of  eight  persons  who  subscribed  to  the  fund  for  the 
equipment  and  rolling  stock  of  the  road.  He  is  a  liberal  supporter  of 
the  Congregational  society,  and  at  eighty-two  years  enjoys  the  degree 
of  physical  vigor  which  usually  attend  a  good  constitution  preserved 
by  a  life  of  temperance  and  frugality. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Young  are:  Henrietta,  wife  of  David 
M.  Hodgdon,  of  Boston,  and  David  L.,  of  Orleans.  They  have  lost 
two  sons — Amos  and  Alfred.  David  L.  was  born  in  1848,  and  since 
1868  has  been  a  merchant  in  Orleans,  and  since  1889  has  been  town 
clerk.  His  wife,  Ida  M.,  is  a  daughter  of  John  Brightman.  Of  their 
four  children,  two  survive:  Robert  B.  and  Edna  D. 


^7^-0^^^ 


MINT, 
£.     BlEMTAOT,     N.     y. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


TOWN   OF  WELLFLEET.* 


Formation  and  Description. — Pioneers. — Early  Town  Action. — The  Revolution. — War 
.       of   1812. — The   Fisheries. — Population. — King's  Highway. — The  Eastham    Line. — 
Town  House. — Shipbuilding. — Town  Records. — Life  Saving   Station    and    Light- 
house.— Early  Business  Interests. — Wind  Mills. — Civil  History. — Schools. — Churches 
— Cemeteries. — Wellfleet  Village. — South  Wellfleet. — Biographical  Sketches. 


THE  territory  comprising  this  town  was  formerly  included  in 
Eastham,  and  until  the  period  of  its  separation  their  political 
history  is  inseparably  interwoven;  but  so  far  as  possible  the 
historical  facts  pertaining  to  the  territory  of  the  present  town,  from 
its  first  settlement,  will  find  a  place  in  this  chapter.  Prior  to  1644  the 
territory  of  Wellfleet  had  been  purchased  of  George,  sachem,  succes- 
sor to  Aspi^net,  and  was  known  as  Pononakanet.  Here,  when  the  pur- 
chase of  lands  to  and  including  Herring  brook,  with  its  meadows,  had 
been  made,  the  committee  of  whites  asked  the  Indians  whose  lands 
were  those  down  the  Cape,  to  which  the  answer  was,  "  Nobody's." 
"  Then  they  are  ours,"  was  the  reply,  and  Wellfleet  was  the  last  terri- 
tory paid  for  at  this  end  of  the  county. 

Billingsgate  was  an  early  name  given  to  the  present  territory  of 
Wellfleet,  which  unexplained  cognomen  still  clings  to  some  of  its 
surroundings.  At  Billingsgate  point,  where  the  first  lighthouse  was 
subsequently  erected,  Captain  Standish  and  the  men  from  the  May- 
jiower  landed  on  their  way  to  the  main  land,  and  in  many  ways  this 
territory  has  been  made  historic  in  the  annals  of  the  county. 

The  rapid  settlement  of  this  part  of  the  ancient  town  induced  its 
inhabitants  to  apply  to  the  court  in  1722  to  be  erected  into  a  separate 
church  parish,  which  was  granted  the  following  year.  The  import- 
ance of  this  parish,  and  the  distance  from  the  center  where  the  town 
meetings  were  held,  induced  the  inhabitants  of  the  new  parish  to  at- 
tempt the  formation  of  a  separate  town.  At  the  first  meeting  held  for 
this  purpose,  March  9,  1761,  they  appointed  Captain  Elisha  Doane 
agent  "  to  get  this  precinct  set  of  as  a  district."  He,  with  Daniel  Cole, 
Richard  Atwood,  Joseph  Atkins,  James  Atwood,  Jonathan  Hiller, 
Eleazer  Atwood,  Zoeth  Smith,  Jeremiah  Mayo  and  Samuel   Smith, 

*  The  manuscript  to  page  812  was  revised  by  Simeon  Atwood. — Ed. 


.788  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

sent  a  petition  to  the  proper  oflBcers  of  Eastham,  who,  after  properly- 
obtaining  the  wishes  of  the  people,  consented  that  "  the  precinct  be 
set  off  as  a  district  as  far  as  Blackfish  creek."  This  condition  not  be- 
ing satisfactory  to  the  petitioners,  on  the  first  of  November,  1762, 
another  meeting  was  held  in  this  precinct,  at  which  another  commit- 
tee of  seven  men — in  part  the  same  as  at  first — was  appointed  to 
assist  Captain  Doane,  the  agent,  in  petitioning  the  general  court  for 
an  act  of  incorporation.  Order  of  notice  was  served  on  the  town  of 
Eastham,  and  the  matter  was  brought  before  the  May  session  of  the 
court,  which  resulted  in  an  act,  passed  May  25,  1763,  which  formed 
the  north  precinct  of  Eastham,  according  to  its  known  bounds,  into  a 
district,  with  all  the  privileges,  powers  and  immunities  of  a  town,  e*x- 
cept  that  its  people  must  join  for  a  time  with  Eastham  in  the  election 
of  a  representative.  The  same  act  of  incorporation  designated  August 
4,  1763,  for  the  election  of  its  first  officers.  The  warrant  for  the  call- 
ing of  this  meeting  was  issued  by  John  Freeman,  of  the  old  town,  to 
Elisha  Doane,  of  the  new.  Among  other  transactions  of  the  meeting. 
Major  Doane,  Ephriam  Covel  and  Samuel  Smith,  jr.,  were  appointed 
a  committee  to  settle  all  affairs  between  the  two  towns.  Wellfleet  was 
joined  with  Eastham  in  the  election  of  a  representative  the  few  years 
that  elapsed  before  the  legal  removal  of  this  restriction.  The  dividing 
line  of  the  former  parish  bounds,  as  enacted  in  the  incorporation,  is 
substantially  the  same  now  between  the  towns. 

The  north  line,  separating  the  new  town  from  Truro,  was  "  From 
a  heap  of  stones  on  Bound  brook  island,  which  heap  is  called  the 
westernmost  bound;  and  from  thence  easterly  by  old  marked  trees, 
and  some  newly  marked,  in  the  old  range,  to  the  sea  on  the  back 
side,"  which  also  remains,  relatively,  the  same  bounds. 

Having  the  town  of  Wellfleet  encompassed  within  its  present 
limits,  it  may  receive  a  more  minute  description.  It  is  about  eight 
miles  in  length  from  north  and  south,  with  an  average  of  three  in 
width,  bounded  south  by  Eastham  and  Wellfleet  bay,  east  by  the 
Atlantic  ocean,  north  by  Truro  and  west  by  Cape  Cod  bay;  and  it  is 
ninety-five  miles  from  Boston  by  land,  sixty-five  by  water,  with  a 
distance  of  thirty-one  miles  from  the  court  house  of  the  county.  The 
ocean  coast  is  a  high  bluff,  presenting  no  indentations  for  harbors^ 
but  there  are  three  on  the  bay  side,  each  presenting  facilities  for  the 
commerce  of  the  town.  River  harbor  is  in  the  north  part  of  Wellfleet 
bay.  Duck  Creek  harbor  opens  into  the  last  named  bay  near  the  center 
of  the  town,  and  Blackfish  creek,  also  a  harbor  is  in  the  south  part — 
all  connected  with  the  bay,  which  itself  furnishes  a  secure  anchorage 
for  vessels  of  larger  tonnage.  The  creeks  are  small,  the  largest  being 
Herring  brook  in  the  north  part.  This,  with  another  creek,  forms 
two  islands — Bound  Brook  island  in  the  northwestern  part,  surrounded 


TOWN   OF  WELLFLEET.  789 

by  the  creek  bearing  its  name,  and  GrifiBn's,  surrounded  by  Herring 
brook.  Two  other  islands  of  importance  are  Lieutenants,  at  the  mouth 
of  Blackfish  creek,  and  Great  island  between  Cape  Cod  and  Wellfleet 
bays.  Of  the  nine  ponds  within  the  limits  of  the  town,  six  aggregate 
225  acres:  Herring  pond,  of  19;  Higgins,  of  25;  Gull,  95;  Long,  34; 
Great,  42;  and  Hopkins,  10  acres — all  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
town.  The  two  first  named  only  have  outlets.  The  surface  of  the 
town  is  not  only  indented  by  ponds,  but  from  Eastham  a  range  of 
broken  hills  extends  through  into  Truro,  which  show  a  Titanic  war 
of  the  elements  in  ages  past.  The  soil,  once  more  fertile  than  now, 
is  light  and  sandy  and  still  susceptible  of  profitable  cultivation.  The 
oak  and  pine,  which,  generations  ago,  were  of  heavy  growth,  have 
been  cut  off,  leaving  the  soil  to  the  ravages  of  wind  and  water.  The 
eastern  portion  of  the  town  is  now  fringed  with  a  small  growth  of 
pines  and  a  few  oaks.  Large  bodies  of  salt  marsh  are  found  along  the 
western  side  of  the  town,  around  the  harbors  and  coves.  The  town 
has  two  villages,  which  with  their  wharves  and  business  places,  will 
form  a  considerable  portion  of  its  later  history. 

As  has  been  stated,  Wellfleet  in  1763,  commenced  its  career  as  a 
corporate  body,  but  to  give  the  names  of  all  the  original  settlers  of  its 
territory,  is  an  impossibility,  for  the  proprietors'  records  of  old  East- 
ham  made  no  distinctive  separations  that  are  now  recognizable  in 
the  divisions  of  lands,  nor  in  their  civil  affairs.  Among  thbse  here 
when  the  town  was  incorporated  we  find  Sylvanus  Snow,  who  was 
living  in  the  south  part  and  continued  to  pay  rates  in  Eastham;  we 
also  find  here:  John  Witherel,  William  Dyer,  George  Ward,  Moses 
Hatch,  Thomas  Newcomb,  George  Crisp,  John  Rich,  John  Yates  and 
John  Doane.  Prior  to  1800  we  find  here:  Ebenezer  Freeman,  Joseph 
Ward,  Jonathan  Young,  Thomas  Doane,  Moses  Wiley,  Thomas  Gross, 
John  Atwood,  John  Treat,  Elisha  Eldridge,  Samuel  Brown,  Benjamin 
Hamblen,  James  Cahoon,  Benjamin  Young,  Daniel  Mayo,  Eleazer 
Hamblen,  David  Cole,  Captain  Winslow  Lewis,  Thomas  Holbrook, 
Elisha  Cobb,  Timothy  Nye,  Dr.  Samuel  Nutting,  Samuel  Waterman, 
Jonathan  Higgins,  Major  Elisha  Doane,  Samuel  Smith,  Jeremiah 
Mayo,  Zoeth  Smith,  Jonathan  Hiller,  Eleazer  Atwood,  Joseph  Atkins, 
Richard  Atwood,  Daniel  Cole,  Hezekiah  Doane,  Elisha  Holbrook, 
Reuben  Rich,  Ephraim  Covel,  Eben  Atwood,  John  Swett,  James  At- 
wood, Thomas  Young,  Joseph  Pierce,  Joseph  Higgins,  Naaman  Hol- 
brook,William  Chipman,Ezekiel  Holbrook, William  Knowles,  Thomas 
Paine,  Barnabas  Freeman,  Reuben  Arey,  Lemuel  Newcomb,  Jeremiah 
Bickford  and  others.  Many  of  these  last  mentioned  pioneers  had, 
prior  to  the  erection  of  the  town,  placed  primitive  headstones  to  the 
graves  of  their  fathers,  as  the  oldest  two  burial  places  of  the  town  ■ 
will  attest. 


790  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

At  the  first  meeting  the  people  voted  to  lay  out  another  road 
through  the  town,  and  for  the  building  of  the  bridge  over  Duck  creek 
Samuel  Smith  and  Major  Elisha  Doane  gave  one-half  the  timber  from 
wood  on  their  lots,  Rev.  Mr.  Lewis  giving  the  other  half.  This  road, 
now  the  main  street  of  the  village,  began  at  the  King's  highway,  a 
little  to  the  eastward  of  the  northeast  arm  of  Duck  creek;  and  in  1764 
was  extended  northward  of  the  old  meeting  house  hill  to  Samuel 
Hatch's  dwelling,  and  to  high-water  mark  at  a  landing  place.  In 
1766  an  article  was  added  to  the  town  meeting  warrant,  asking  for  the 
suppression  of  the  sale  of  strong  drink;  but  the  proposition  was  neg- 
atived, as  the  existing  laws  were  considered  suflScient.  In  1770  rigid 
penalties  were  enforced  to  suppress  the  sale,  especially  when  the 
Indians  were  the  purchasers.  The  fishing  privileges  received  atten- 
tion, and  petitions  were  sent  to  court,  asking  for  the  protection  of 
oysters  during  the  summer  months.  The  alewives  of  Herring  brook 
were  protected  by  the  action  of  the  people,  and  their  votes  were  ap- 
proved by  the  court  of  sessions. 

The  stirring  times  of  the  revolution  effected  the  young  town,  per- 
haps, more  than  sister  towns,  for  the  fisheries  had  become  more  im- 
portant; but  it  is  recorded  that  these  patriotic  citizens  sustained  the 
action  of  the  continental  congress,  and  resolved  not  to  purchase  or 
use  imported  articles.  John  Greenough,  the  schoolmaster  of  the  town, 
had  procured  two  damaged  chests  of  tea  at  Provincetown,  one  of  which 
he  claimed  was  for  Colonel  Willard  Knowles,  of  Eastham,  and,  not- 
withstanding the  schoolmaster's  avowals  of  unintentional  wrong,  he 
was  compelled  to  make  a  written  confession  of  his  error,  and  for  sev- 
eral years  was  under  censure  for  political  malfeasance.  The  town  in 
1776  was  blockaded,  its  fisheries  crippled  by  the  British  privateers,  its 
vessels  idle,  the  town  destitute  of  bread  and  other  necessaries;  still, 
when  Rev.  Isaiah  Lewis  read  to  his  congregation,  on  the  26th  of  Au- 
gust, at  the  close  of  his  sermon,  the  declaration  of  independence,  there 
was  not  one  dissenting  opinion  expressed.  In  1783,  after  the  treaty 
of  peace,  the  Wellfleet  people  engaged  again  in  their  chosen  avoca- 
tions on  the  waters,  and  became  prosperous  and  wealthy. 

The  affairs  of  the  towg  were  promptly  administered  during  the 
few  subsequent  years;  a  new  bridge  was  built  over  Duck  creek,  the 
bounds  were  more  definitely  defined  between  this  town  and  Truro, 
and  school  and  church  received  substantial  support.  During  the  war 
of  1812  the  town  joined  with  others  of  the  lower  part  of  the  Cape  in 
asking  to  be  excused  from  military'  duty,  except  at  home  in  evading 
the  attacks  of  cniisers.  Improvement  in  town  affairs  attested  the  en- 
ergy of  the  people  as  soon  as  this  war  cloud  was  dispelled.  The  old 
•  roads,  eighteen  in  number,  were  properly  surveyed,  and  their  bounds 
placed  on  record;  in  1828  a  bridge  was  built  across  Blackfish  creek; 


TOWN  OF  WELLFLEET.  791 

in  1831  permission  was  given  to  B.  Y.  Atwood  to  build  a  wharf  at 
Black  rock,  and  to  Isaiah  R.  Baker  to  build  a  bridge  from  GriflBns 
island  to  the  main  land.  At  this  time,  total  abstinence  from  intoxi- 
cating drinks  was  the  desire  of  the  town,  and  the  wholesome  rule  was 
observed  by  closing  every  place  for  their  sale. 

The  main  industry  of  the  town  from  the  earliest  period  had  been 
fishing  in  its  various  branches.  Whaling  was  largely  carried  on  until 
its  decline.  In  1802  the  town  had  only  five  vessels  in  the  whaling  . 
business,  which  carried  salt,  so  that  if  they  failed  in  loading  with 
whale,  they  could  turn  to  cod  fishing.  These  vessels  were  as  large  as 
one  hundred  tons,  and  many  smaller  ones  engaged  in  mackerel  and 
other  fisheries.  Mackerel  fishing  has  been  an  important  industry — 
the  town  for  years  past  being  the  leading  town  in  the  business,  which 
has  declined  to  one-tenth  its  former  magnitude  in  the  catch  and  in 
the  number  of  vessels  engaged.  The  Wellfleet  oyster  was  important 
in  the  market  during  the  latter  part  of  last  century,  when  they  were 
native  to  the  bay;  but  soon  after  the  revolutionary  war  a  rapid  decline 
in  the  quantity  commenced,  and  after  a  term  of  years  the  industry 
ceased.  The  only  approximation  to  the  Wellfleet  oyster  for  many 
years  past,  is  obtained  by  planting  from  other  localities  the  seed, 
which  is  permitted  to  grow  and  fatten  for  market.  Thirty  years  ago 
forty  vessels  were  engaged  in  supplying  the  Boston  market  with  this 
bivalve  from  Wellfleet.  In  the  year  1889  the  cultivated  oyster  grounds 
covered  about  thirty  acres, — the  seed  planted  being  forty-five  thou- 
sand bushels. 

The  blackfish — a  species  of  whale — often  visits  Wellfleet  bay. 
Rev.  Levi  Whitman  has  left  the  record  that  in  1793  he  saw  four  hun- 
dred of  these  fish  lying  upon  the  shore  of  the  bay  at  one  time,  and 
the  full-grown  ones  would  weigh  five  tons.  A  barrel  of  oil  could  be 
averaged  from  every  fish.  We  have  no  further  record  of  these  schools 
of  fish  until  within  the  memory  of  the  present  residents;  but  they 
often  appear  in  large  numbers,  the  last  being  in  1885.  That  year  a 
school  of  1,500 — old  and  young — entered  Wellfleet  bay  and  were 
driven  into  Blackfish  creek,  where  they  were  killed.  Hundreds  of 
men  in  boats  surrounded  the  school,  and  frightened  them  into  the 
narrow  and  shallow  waters  of  the  creek,  where  they  were  left  on  the 
beach  by  the  receding  tide.  They  were  sold  for  fourteen  thousand 
dollars  and  the  money  was  divided  among  those  who  assisted  in  the 
capture  and  killing. 

The  fishing  business  in  its  every  branch  that  was  so  remunerative 
years  ago,  has  steadily  declined  to  its  minimum  during  the  very  few 
last  years,  and  from  the  former  one  hundred  vessels  owned  here  only 
about  twenty,  chiefly  of  the  smaller  class,  at  present  belong  to  the 
town. 


793  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

In  population  the  town  from  1730  to  the  last  census  shows  an  in- 
crease prior  to  1850  and  then  a  gradual  decline.  In  1730  its  popula- 
tion was  600;  in  1764,  928;  in  1775,  1,236;  in  1800  it  had  decreased  28; 
increased  to  1 ,386  in  the  census  of  1806;  was  1,402  in  1810;  1,472  in 
1820;  2.046  in  1830;  2,377  in  1840;  2,411  in  1850;  2,322  in  1860;  2,136  in 
1870;  1,876  in  1880;  and  1,687  in  1885.  This  decline  is  accounted  for 
in  more  than  one  way,  but  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whitman's  statement  of  1793 
is  applicable  in  showing  the  trend  of  prosperity.  He  then  wrote: 
•  "  There  have  been  within  the  memory  of  those  now  living,  born  in 
this  town,  small  as  it  is,  32  pairs  of  twins  and  2  triplets."  Up  to  that 
time  the  proportion  of  births  to  deaths  had  been  three  to  one,  while 
the  present  records  show  almost  the  reverse.  The  summary  of  1888 
gives  thirty-six  deaths  for  the  year,  and  only  fifteen  births. 

The  King's  highway  was  the  appellation  given  by  the  old  citizens 
to  the  principal  road  through  the  town,  and  it  is  so  designated  by  the 
present  residents.  It  runs  northerly  into  Truro,  but  is  not  as  much 
used  at  the  present  day  as  the  county  road,  laid  out  to  Truro  from  the 
village  of  Wellfleet.  The  old  road  was  used  as  the  stage  route  from 
Eastham  to  Provincetown,  and  was  the  continuation  of  the  county 
road  of  two  centuries  ago,  as  laid  along  the  Cape  in  the  early  settle- 
ment of  the  town. 

The  perambulation  of  the  lines  of  the  town  is  the  work  of  the 
selectmen  every  few  years.  The  only  serious  difference  in  these  lines 
that  appears  on  the  records  of  the  town  was  in  the  line  between  this 
and  Eastham  in  1886.  In  going  over  the  line  that  year  it  was  found 
that  the  boundary  assumed  by  the  Eastham  authorities  was  over  five 
hundred  feet  to  the  north — they  taking  Indian  creek  mouth  instead 
of  the  monumental  stone  of  1828,  and  from  which  point  the  line  ex- 
tending westward  would  include  the  Billingsgate  lighthouse  within 
Eastham.  The  controversy  arose  from  placing  a  fish  weir  within  the 
disputed  territory.  Proper  surveys  were  made  and  the  boundary  was 
established  from  the  monument,  which  not  only  left  a  strip  of  the 
beach  five  hundred  feet  wide  to  this  town,  but  also  placed  the  light 
clearly  within  the  limits  of  Wellfleet.  The  old  line  was  established 
by  act  of  the  legislature  and  approved  by  the  governor  in  May,  1887. 
Billingsgate  lighthouse  was  on  an  island  to  the  southward,  where  it 
was  undermined  by  the  waves  in  1866,  and  was  re-erected  in  1867  on 
its  present  site. 

The  first  and  only  town  house  was  a  plain  building  forty  by  fifty 
feet,  erected  soon  after  1830  on  the  site  of  the  present  school  house  at 
the  head  of  Duck  creek.  It  was  sold  in  1869  to  James  Swett  and  by 
him  to  Simeon  Atwood,  who  removed  it  to  Mayo's  beach,  where  it 
did  service  as  a  fish  storage  house,  and  may  still  be  seen  as  an  adjunct 
of  the  group  of  buildings  now  belonging  to  the  Commercial  Wharf 


TOWN  OF  WELLFLEET.  795- 

village,  near  the  King's  highway,  and  the  last  of  its  existence  was'- 
about  1839,  when  its  ancient  timbers  were  perverted  to  other  uses.. 
The  latest-built  mill  is  now  the  octagonal  tower  of  the  so-called  Morn- 
ing Glory — a  summer  residence  near  the  bay,  owned  by  Mrs.  Hiller. 
Samuel  Ryder  owned  the  original  mill  that  was  erected  on  Mill  hill 
in  1765,  which,  in  1838,  was  torn  down  to  make  room  for  a  better  one;: 
and  the  latter,  prior  to  1870,  was  moved  and  converted  into  the  resi- 
dence mentioned. 

Civil  History. — There  was  not  the  opportunity  for  full  civil  privr 
ileges  to  the  people  of  this  part  of  the  old  town  until  its  separation,, 
when  its  own  distinctive  officers  could  be  chosen — when  it  could,  by 
its  own  franchises,  select  officers  who  would  co-operate  in  the  advance- 
ment of  this  particular  territory,  an  evidence  of  which  is  shown  by 
the  action  of  the  first  town  meeting  held  August  4,  1763.  Not  only 
were  the  roads  and  schools  at  once  advanced  in  number  and  useful- 
ness; but  application  was  successfully  made  for  the  appointment  of  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  and  the  Indian  affairs  were  better  managed.  The 
fisheries  that  had  been  heretofore  carelessly  neglected  by  the  old 
town,  were  placed  under  restrictions  that  nt)t  only  would  give  better 
results  to  the  people,  but  prevent  the  wasteful  slaughter  of  the 'fish. 

In  1774,  at  a  town  meeting  called  in  response  to  the  resolves  and 
proceedings  of  an  important  revolutionary  meeting  in  Boston,  Wins- 
low  Lewis,  Hezekiah  Doane,  Elisha  Cobb,  Joseph  Higgins,  Naaman 
Holbrook,  Samuel  Smith  and  Ezekiel  Holbrook  were  chosen  to  con- 
sider the  feelings  of  the  town  and  report  at  a  future  meeting.  Bold 
and  patriotic  resolves  were  made,  which  were  endorsed  by  the  vote 
of  the  town  and  a  copy  ordered  sent  to  Boston.  Another  town  meet- 
ing, December  19th  of  that  year,  was  called  to  receive  the  report  of 
the  committee  sent  to  Barnstable  to  the  county  congress,  and  hearty 
co-operation  in  all  its  resolves  was  voted  by  the  people.  Not  every 
one  voted  to  sustain  the  continental  congress  at  the  sacrifice  of  every 
blessing,  but  the  feeling  was  nearly  unanimous,  and  the  small  min- 
ority could  not  raise  an  effective  opposition  to  the  patriotic  impulse 
of  the  majority.  The  town  voted  that  the  officers,  holding  military 
commissions  under  the  crown,  resign,  to  which  they  complied. 

May  22,  1776,  a  representative  was  chosen,  in  open  town  meetings 
to  meet  in  the  provincial  congress  to  be  holden  the  last  Wednesday 
of  that  month,  and  the  attitude  he  should  take  upon  the  questions 
that  might  arise  in  regard  to  the  articles  of  confederation  was  left 
entirely  to  the  wisdom  and  prudence  of  that  representative.  The 
plan  of  government  was  accepted  by  the  town  in  a  unanimous  vote 
on  the  19th  of  May,  1778.  The  town  meeting  of  1779  negatived  a  prop- 
osition to  ask  the  court  for  an  abatement  of  the  state  tax,  and  May 
22,  1780,  the  new  state  constitution  was  rejected  by  a  large  majority 


796  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

in  the  town  meeting  called  to  consider  it.  In  1795  the  revised  consti- 
tution was  approved  by  a  unanimous  vote.  For  years  subsequently 
the  town  was  united  in  the  administration  of  local  affairs,  the  church, 
the  fisheries  and  the  welfare  of  the  Indians.  In  1800  the  town  by  a 
majority  of  votes  forbid  the  straying  of  sheep,  but  the  division  of 
feeling  in  this  case  was  of  a  personal,  not  political  character — the 
^ame  as  was  shown  in  1807,  when  the  friends  of  Rev.  Mr.  Whitman 
wished  to  increase  his  salary  and  it  was  promptly  negatived;  but  the 
town  voted  to  give  him  a  good  suit  of  clothes  throughout,  with  under- 
•clothing  complete,  not  even  forgetting  the  extremities  to  be  encased 
in  boots  and  hat.  The  action  of  the  town  in  1814  was  harmonious  in 
relation  to  war  matters,  and  in  1820  Reuben  Arey  was  sent  to  the 
■convention  for  the  revision  of  the  state  constitution,  which  revision, 
when  submitted,  was  approved  with  the  exception  of  two  articles. 

In  1874  the  selectmen,  upon  the  petition  of  the  people,  appointed 
■^  committee  of  twenty-two  persons  to  tender  to  General  Grant  a  proper 
reception  when  he  should  arrive  in  the  town.  The  president,  his 
wife.  Secretary  Belknap,  Postmaster  General  Jewell  and  others  stopped 
lere  and  were  introduced-  by  Dr.  Thomas  N.  Stone  to  the  citizens, 
who  gave  them  a  hearty  reception. 

The  principal  oflBcers  of  the  town  since  its  incorporation  will  be 
found  in  the  following  lists,  one  year  being  the  term  of  service  when 
no  time  is  given.  The  deputies  and  representatives  have-been:  Wil- 
Jard  Knowles,  elected  1767,  serving  2  years;  in  1768  Elisha  Doane  was 
■elected  and  served  3  years;  in  1769,  Thomas  Paine,  6;  1772,  Barnabas 
Freeman,  10;  1774,  Naaman  Holbrook,  2;  1776,  Elisha  Cobb;  1777,  John 
Greenough,  2;  1780,  Winslow  Lewis;  1786,  Jeremiah  Bickford,  3;  1787, 
Hezekiah  Doane,  3;  1793,  Samuel  Waterman,  5;  1797,  Reuben  Arey,  5; 
1801,  Lemuel  Newcomb,  3;  1803,  Reuben  Rich,  2;  1809,  Josiah  Whit- 
man, 6;  1810,  Beriah  Higgins,  6;  1829,  Benjamin  R.  Witherell,  3;  1831. 
Joseph  Holbrook,  3d,  2;  1833,  Freeman  Atwood;  1834,  Ebenezer  Free- 
man, 2d,  5,  and  Joseph  Higgins;  1836,  Amaziah  Atwood;  1836,  Rich- 
.ard  Libby,  2,  and  Jonathan  Hickman;  1837,  John  L.  Daniels;  1838, 
Atkins  Dyer  and  Nathan  Paine;  1839,  Nathaniel  B.  Wiley  and  Solo- 
mon R.  Hawes,  each  2;  1841,  Seth  H.  Baker,  2;  1843,  Isaac  Paine,  2; 
1846,  Caleb  B.  Lombard,  3;  1846,  Robert  Y.  Paine,  2;  1860,  Ebenezer 
Freeman;  1862,  William  Cleverly;  1863,  Richard  Stubbs,  2;  1864,  Israel 
Pierce;  1856,  Thomas  H.  Lewis;  and  in  1856,  John  Y.  Jacobs.  After 
1857  two  or  more  towns  were  joined  in  a  district,  and  the  representa- 
tives' names  for  the  district  appear  in  Chapter  V. 

The  names  of  the  selectmen,  dates  of  election  and  years  of  service, 
from  first  to  last,  are  given  in  the  following  list:  1763,  Elisha  Doane, 
-8  years,  Reuben  Rich,  3,  and  Samuel  Smith,  8;  1765,  Zoeth  Smith,  9; 
.1769,  Naaman  Holbrook,  8;  1770,  Jonathan  Young,  10;  1771,  Eleazer 


TOWN   OF   WELLFLEET.  797 

Atwood,  4;  1772,  Hezekiah  Doane,  6;  177fi,  Elisha  Cobb,  5;  1777,  Wins- 
low  Lewis  and  John  Swett;  1779,  Joseph  Smith,  5,  and  Barnabas 
Young;  1780,  Thomas  Holbrook,  20;  1781,  William  Cole,  6;  1787,  Lewis 
Hamblen,  13,  and  Reuben  Arey,  10;  1799,  John  Witherell,  6;  1800, 
Thomas  Higgins,  3d,  6;  1804,  Lemuel  Newcomb,  5,  Hezekiah  Rich 
and  Matthias  Ryder,  each  3;  1807,  David  Holbrook  and  Stephen  At- 
wood, each  2;  1809,  Joseph  Holbrook,  12,  Beriah  Higgins,  5,  and  Free- 
man Atwood,  8;  1813,  Jeremiah  Newcomb,  2;  1814,  Elisha  Brown,  Rob- 
ert Kemp,  2,  and  Edmund  Freeman;  1815.  Reuben  Rich;  1816,  Moses 
Hinckley  and  Josiah  Whitman,  each  3;  1817,  Samuel  Ryder,  2;  1819, 
Reuben  Arey,  8;  1820,  William  Cole,  3,  and  Joseph  Holbrook,  5;  1823, 
Freeman  Atwood,  4;  1827,  Joseph  Higgins,  Benjamin  R.  Witherell, 
and  Thomas  Hatch,  each  2;  1828,  Micah  Dyer,  4,  and  Solomon  Arey; 
1829,  Moses  Lewis,  Cornelius  Hamblen,  and  Thomas  Higgins,  2;  1830, 
George  Ward,  3,  and  Samuel  Higgins;  1831,  Ebenezer  Freeman,  2d, 
3;  1833,  Reuben  Arey,  jr.;  1837,  Caleb  Lombard,  8,  and  Thomas  Hig- 
gins, jr.;  1838,  Elisha  Freeman,  8,  Amaziah  Atwood,  4,  and  John  New- 
comb, 4;  1841,  Knowles  Dyer,  3;  1844,  Bethuel  Wiley,  6,  and  George 
Ward,  2;  1847,  John  Newcomb,  3,  and  Edward  Hopkins,  5;  1850,  Giles 
Hopkins;  1851,  Bethuel  Wiley  and  Elisha  W.  Smith,  each  3;  1852, 
Elisha  Freeman;  1853,  Edward  Hopkins,  5;  1854,  John  Newcomb  and 
John  C.  Peak;  1855,  Elisha  W.  Smith,  and  Benjamin  Oliver,  6;  1856, 
R.  Y.  Paine,  17;  1858,  Isaiah  Cole,  2;  1860,  Jeremiah  Hawes,  4,  and 
Edward  Hopkins,  5;  1864,  John  Chipman;  1865,  Thomas  Higgins,  3, 
and  Benjamin  Oliver,  2;  1867,  John  R.  Higgins;  1868,  Robert  H.  Libby, 
3,  and  Eleazer  H.  Atwood,  2;  1870,  Barnabas  S.  Young,  10;  1871,  N.  C. 
Nicholson,  11;  1872,  William  Stone  (elected  after  Paine  died),  5;  1877, 
Thomas  Newcomb,  4;  1880,  Warren  Newcomb,  10;  1881,  Winslow 
Paine,  7;  1882,  Noah  Swett,  3;  1885,  Barnabas  S.  Young,  6;  1885,  R.  H. 
Libby;  1887,  George  T.  Wyer;  1889,  E.  P.  Cook,  2. 

The  town  clerks  in  succession  have  been  elected  as  follows:  In 
1763,  Elisha  Doane;  in  1766,  Richard  Smith;  1767,  John  Greenough; 
1774,  Hezekiah  Doane;  1778,  David  S.  Greenough;  1781,  Jonathan 
Young;  1783,  Samuel  Waterman;  1822,  William  Cole;  1823,  Josiah 
Whitman;  1833,  Ezekiel  Hopkins;  1840,  Giles  Holbrook;  1846,  Na- 
thaniel H.  Dill;  1848,  Dr.  Thomas  N.  Stone;  1850,  Nathaniel  H.  Dill; 
1865,  John  W.  Davis;  1859,  Noah  Swett;  1868,  James  T.  Atwood;  1877, 
Daniel  C.  Newcomb;  1885,  E.  C.  Newcomb. 

The  treasurers  have  been  successively  elected  as  follows:  1763, 
Elisha  Doane;  1768,  Ephraim  Covel;  1769,  Ezekiel  Holbrook;  1799, 
Lewis  Hamblen;  1810,  Samuel  Waterman;  1822,  Jeremiah  Newcomb; 
and  since  1823  the  clerk  has  been  also  the  town's  treasurer. 

The  treasurers  of  the  precinct  prior  to  the  incorporation  of  the 
town  were:  John  Rich,  elected  in  1723;  Samuel  Brown,  1727;  Jere- 


-.798  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

miah  Mayo,  1730;  Israel  Young,  1733;  Daniel  Mayo,  1742;  and  Elisha 
Doane  from  1757  to  1762. 

Schools. — Prior  to  the  organization  of  the  town  the  territory  com- 
prised one  district,  and  school  had  been  kept  alternately  in  dififerent 
parts,  that  all  the  pupils  might  have  like  privileges;  but  after  the  di- 
vision from  the  parent  town,  Wellfleet  at  once  assumed  the  preroga- 
tive of  placing  the  schools  upon  a  better  basis.  The  share  of  public 
money  in  the  hands  of  the  treasurer  of  the  old  town  that  belonged  to 
this  was  at  once  handed  over  to  the  treasurer  of  Wellfleet,  and  the 
best  master  they  could  hire  was  placed  over  the  schools,  he  to  "  board 
round  "  and  teach  in  divisions.     At  this  early  day  no  school  houses 

.  adorned  the  landscape,  and  the  schools  were  kept  at  private  houses. 
In  1763  it  was  agreed  that  terms  of  five  weeks  each  be  kept  at  James 
Atwood's,  Joseph  Atkins',  Joseph  Pierce's  andZoeth  Smith's,  and  the 
remainder  of  the  six  months  at  Widow  Doane's.     Where  all  of  these 

.  ancient  settlers'  residences  were  cannot  be  definitely  told  at  this  time, 
but  they  were  scattered  about  the  territory,  and  the  school  was  thus 
divided  to  accommodate  all  the  children  of  the  town. 

In  1768  John  Greenough  was  employed  to  teach  a  grammar  school 

■  one  year,  the  school  "  to  be  attended  by  such  only  as  learn  Greek  and 
Latin."  The  school  for  teaching  "  reading,  writing  and  cyphering  " 
was  located  in  four  different  parts  of  the  town,  between  193  families 
— in  the  south  part  were  48  families,  in  the  middle  division  48,  on 
Holbrook  neck,  the  islands  and  Pamet  point  49,  and  in  the  northeast 
part  48  families.  The  sum  appropriated  was  forty  pounds.  This  gen- 
tleman, Greenough,  fell  into  disfavor,  politically,  and  in  1774  another 
teacher  for  the  grammar  school  was  secured.  This  year  the  town 
was  divided  into  eight  school  districts,  and  an  agent  or  committeeman 

.  appointed  for  each.  In  1775  Doctor  Nutting  was  employed  in  the  gram- 
mar school,  four  hundred  pounds,  old  tenor,  being  appropriated  for 

.  all  schools,  and  this  amount,  yearly  increased,  reached  seven  hundred 
pounds,  old  tenor,  in  1780.  The  eight  districts  were:  I.,  the  two  is- 
lands, with  the  families  of  Joseph  Hatch,  Thomas  Higgins  and  Payne 
Higgins;  II.,  all  the  families  from  the  first  district  westward  of  the 
county  road  and  north  of  Joseph  Pierce's;  III.,  all  east  of  county  road 

-and  north  of  Rebecca  Thomas';  IV.,  to  include  Moses  Lewis,  Samuel 
Waterman,  and  all  west  of  the  road  from  Simeon  Atwocd's  to  Barna- 
bas Young's;  V.,  from  the  limits  of  the  fourth  district  to  Seth  Hop- 
kins; VI.,  to  include  David  Holbrook,  Samuel  Baker,  Elisha  Bickford, 

.and  all  southward  as  far  as  the  residence  of  Simon  Newcomb,  jr.; 
VII.,  Joseph  Smith  and  southward,  to  include  James  Brown  and  Sam- 
uel Watts;  VIII.,  all  the  rest  to  Blackfish  creek. 

In  1807  a  better  classification  of  the  pupils  was  effected  and  the 

■  districts  were  reduced  to   five,  with  a  teacher  in  each,  besides  the 


TOWN   OF   WELLFLEET.  799 

■central  grammar  school.  In  1827  a  new  district  was  formed  in  the 
south  part  of  the  town,  making  seven  schools  in  all,  and  four  hun- 
dred dollars  was  the  appropriation  for  teachers.  This  amount  was 
increased  gradually  until  it  reached  six  hundred  dollars  in  1835, 
and  one  thousand  dollars  in  1840.  In  1844  the  town  supported  ten 
schools,  having  school  property  valued  at  $131,000.  In  1857  the  sum 
raised  was  twenty-six  hundred  dollars,  and  in  each  of  the  two  suc- 
ceeding years  twenty-eight  hundred  dollars,  with  six  hundred  pupils 
in  twelve  schools. 

In  1860  the  truant  act  was  enforced  with  effective  results,  and 
in  1861  a  prduential  committee  was  elected  in  each  district,  which 
should  furnish  a  proper  teacher  and  have  the  supervision  of  the 
school.  The  districts  were  so  numerous  and  the  expenses  of  main- 
taining the  required  terms  of  school  so  great  that  in  1865  it  was 
voted  that  all  the  school  property  be  purchased  by  the  town.  A 
committee  of  seven — Thomas  Higgins,  Dr.  Thomas  N.  Stone,  Bar- 
nabas S.  Young,  George  B.  Saunders.  John  W.  Davis,  Alvin  Paine 
and  John  Swett— was  appointed  to  perfect  a  plan  for  joining  the 
several    districts.    They  reported  at    a    future   meeting,  and   three 

•  competent  men  were  chosen  to  appraise  the  school  property,  and 
in  1866  the  district  system  was  abolished.  The  vote  was  to  build 
a  new  primary  between  districts  No.  1.  and  No.  2;  that  a  grammar 
school  be  established  in  No.  3,  and  that  districts  No.  1  and  No.  2 
have  equal  rights  therein;  that  No.  4  have  a  primary,  with  equal 
privileges  in  the  grammar  school;  that  No.  5  and  No.  6  have  each 
a  primary;  that  a  new  school  building  be  built  on  the  site  of  the 
old  academy,  to  contain  two  schools — one  to  be  equal  to  a  high 
school  and  open  to  all  who  earned  an  entrance  by  scholarship,  the 
other  to  be  a  grammar  school  for  districts  5,  6  and  7;  that  the  Islard 
and  Pamet  districts  be  converted  into  one  and  a  primary  built  near 
Elisha  Atwood's,  with  a  foot  bridge  built  across  the  marsh  to  accom- 
modate the  pupils.     Ten  thousand  dollars  was  voted  to  carry  out  this 

■  change,  and  Thomas  N.  Stone,  Nathaniel  H.  Dill,  Richard  R.  Free- 
man, David  Wiley,  Jesse  Y.  Baker,  John  Smith,  R.  Y.  Paine,  E.  H. 
Atwood  and  Warren  Newcomb  were  appointed  a  committee. to  build 
the  necessary  houses  and  complete  the  change. 

In  1879  the  further  combination  of  the  schools  was  effected.  Syl- 
vanus  Dill,  Winslow  Paine,  David  Wiley  and  William  L.  Paine  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  act  with  the  selectmen  in  choosing  a  site 
and  erecting  a  house  that  should  be  central  for  the  south  districts; 
but  a  disagreement  in  the  opinions  of  these  men  led  to  the  formation 

•  of  a  new  committee,  who  moved  one  of  the  old  houses  to  the  north 
side  of  Blackfish  creek  to  serve  the  combined  schools.  The  report  of 
-the  school  committee  at  this  time  said:  ''We  believe  that  at  no  time 


800  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

within  the  service  of  the  oldest  of  your  committee  has  there  been, 
such  an  interest  taken  by  the  scholars  in  their  school  as  now."  A 
boys'  school  was  taught  during  the  winter,  the  high  school  was  well 
filled  and  an  assistant  was  employed.  Two  grammar  and  seven  prim- 
ary schools  gave  ample  instruction  to  the  pupils  of  the  town.  The 
salaries  of  the  teachers  aggregated  $3,606.30,  with  current  expenses 
that  swelled  the  money  paid  for  schools  to  over  four  thousand  dollars. 

In  1S82  retrenchment  was  the  cry  of  the  times,  and  the  general 
school  committee  was  more  prudent  in  the  use  of  funds,  greatly  lessen- 
ing the  expenses.  In  1883  the  books,  maps  and  globes  cost  $150,  and 
the  amount  received  from  the  state  school  fund  exceeded  that  of  any 
former  year.  In  1885  a  special  class  was  again  formed  for  boys  who 
could  attend  only  during  the  winter  term,  and  it  was  productive  of 
much  good.  Repairs  were  made  to  the  buildings,  and  the  expenses 
aggregated  $4,640. 

For  the  year  1888  the  number  of  schools  was  considerably  reduced, 
the  town  still  furnishing  to  the  diminished  number  of  scholars 
the  advantages  of  past  years.  The  question  of  removing  the  high 
school  building  to  the  village  was  aggitated  in  1888  and  1889,  the 
measure  was  finally  adopted  and  the  building  located  on  Main  street 
in  1889.  For  1889  one  of  the  primaries  was  discontinued,  the  two  at 
South  Wellfleet  were  united,  and  the  two  grammar  schools  consoli- 
dated. The  two  primaries  in  the  west  part  of  the  town  were  con- 
tinued and  the  entire  outlay  for  teachers,  during  a  school  year  of 
thirty-four  weeks  in  the  primaries  and  forty  weeks  in  the  higher 
branches,  was  about  thirty-five  hundred  dollars,  reducing  the  number 
of  regular  teachers  from  ten  in  1888  .to  seven  for  the  past  year. 

Since  the  incorporation  of  the  town  the  efforts  of  its  inhabitants 
have  been  to  sustain  the  best  of  schools,  and  most  liberally  have  the 
people  yearly  given  for  their  support. 

Churches.— One  meeting  house  sufficed  in  Old  Eastham  for  three- 
quarters  of  a  century,  but  when  in  1718  a  new  meeting  house  was  to^ 
be  erected  at  the  old  center  this  part  of  the  old  town  asked  to  be 
established  as  a  separate  parish.  A  precinct  was  formed  in  1722  and 
a  meeting  house  erected  at  Chequesset  neck,  which  site  is  marked  by 
the  old  town  grave  yard,  just  west  of  the  present  village  of  Wellfleet- 
The  house  was  small — twenty  feet  square — but  sufficed  for  the  time. 

Rev.  Josiah  Oakes,  who  had  preached  since  the  precinct  was  formed, 
was  requested  to  continue  his  ministry  longer,  and  in  1727,  on  account 
of  some  differences,  was  dismissed.  John  Sumner  labored  one  year, 
and  the  pulpit  was  then  supplied  by  David  Hall,  Ezra  Whitmarsh 
and  others.  In  1730  Rev.  Isaiah  Lewis  was  settled,  filling  thepastor- 
ship  until  his  death  in  1786. 

In  1735  a  new  meeting  house  was  begun  and  was  fi"nished  in  1740, 


TOWN   OF  WELLFLEET.  801 

near  the  head  of  Duck  creek  where  the  next  old  burying  place  was 
laid  out,  and  still  remains  to  mark  the  spot.  In  1765  an  addition  of 
eighteen  feet  was  made,  and  a  porch  was  built  in  front,  with  a  steeple 
and  vane.  In  1767  the  parsonage  lands  near  the  first  meeting  house 
were  sold  and  the  proceeds  invested  as  a  ministerial  fund,  and  the 
church  on  Duck  creek  was  again  repaired  in  1792. 

Rev.  Levi  Whitman  succeeded  Mr.  Lewis  until  1808,  when  he  was 
dismissed.  The  next  pastor  was  Rev.  Timothy  Davis  who  served 
until  April,  1830.  The  subsequent  pastoral  service  has  been  rendered 
by  Stephen  Bailey  for  eight  years;  by  supplies  until  1840;  by  Revs. 
John  Todd,  1843;  Charles  C.  Beaman,  1846;  George  Denham,  1853; 
Samuel  Hopley,  1857;  Asa  Mann,  1860;  George  F.  Walker,  1863; 
Samuel  Fairley,  1868;  Emory  G.Chaddock,  1874;  Jeremiah  K.  Aldrich, 
1879:  Cassius  M.  Westbrook,  1885;  Daniel  W.  Clark,  1888. 

The  meeting  house  was  enlarged  in  1806,  and  the  additional  pews 
sold  for  more  than  the  expense;  but  in  1829  a  better  and  larger  house 
was  erected  there,  and  a  tower  and  bell  added.  In  1850  another  move 
wasmade  to  erect  anew  church,  and  the  contract  was  let.  The  present 
house  of  worship  in  the  village  was  built  that  year,  the  material  ot 
the  old  building  being  used  as  far  as  practicable.  In  the  year  1873 
this  fourth  and  last  church  of  the  society  was  remodeled  and  repaired 
outside  and  in,  a  place  for  an  organ  added  in  the  rear,  all  painted, 
and  vestries  added.  The  carpeting,  repairing  and  additions  cost  over 
ten  thousand  dollars,  which  was  paid  by  subscription. 

In  December,  1879,  the  steeple  and  town  clock  of  the  meeting 
house  were  blown  into  the  street,  and  were  replaced  in  a  more  sub- 
stantial manner. 

This  society  of  168  years  standing  is  the  most  ancient  of  the  1  own. 
The  church  has  a  membership  of  180  and  maintains  a  flourishing 
Sunday  school.  In  the  old  days  it  was  the  practice  for  the  minister 
in  charge  to  perform  the  duties  of  church  clerk.  Giles  Hopkins  was 
elected  to  this  ofiBce  and  kept  the  records  until  1878,  when  Simeon 
Atwood,  the  present  clerk,  was  chosen.  Mr.  Atwood's  connection 
with  the  church  music  of  this  society  is  somewhat  phenomenal  from 
the  number  of  years  it  covers.  When  a  lad  of  seven  he  was  alto 
singer  in  the  church,  and  for  full  forty  years  has  been  leader  of  the 
choir  and  organist. 

The  Second  Congregational  Society  was  organized  December  4, 
1833,  in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  forty-two  members  withdrawing 
from  the  First  church  for  that  purpose.  A  commodious  meeting 
house  had  been  erected,  which,  with  the  repairs  since  made,  still 
remains,  and  is  the  only  one  in  South  Wellfleet.  Supplies  filled  the 
desk  for  three  years,  succeeded  by  Enoch  Pratt  in  1836,  Isaac  Jones  in 
1837,  Solomon  Hardy  in  1838,  and  Wooster  Willey  in  1842.  Isaac  A. 
51 


802  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Bassett  was  settled  in  1842,  remaining  one  year;  and  after  a  few 
supplies  Henry  Van  Houten  was  ordained  in  1844,  succeeded  in  1849 
by  Stephen  Bailey.  In  1852  Ezekiel  Dow  was  settled,  remaining  two 
years,  when  in  1854  Enoch  Sanford  was  called.  After  three  years 
Joseph  H.  Patrick  was  settled,  and  preached  until  1862,  when  William 
E.  Caldwell  was  called.  In  the  spring  of  1866  he  was  succeeded  by 
H.  M.  Rogers,  who  remained  two  j'ears.  The  ministers  from  that 
time  have  been:  1867,  William  Brigham;  1869,  J.  W.  C.  Pike;  1872, 
William  Leonard;  1877,  supplies;  1878,  B.  F.  Grant;  1880,  J.  P.  Watson; 
1885,  Joshua  L.  Gay,  who  remains  at  this  date.  In  1861  a  new  pulpit 
and  other  internal  improvements  were  added  to  the  meeting  house. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Society  of  Wellfleet,  was  organized  in 
1802.  Rev.  Robert  Yallaley,  of  Provincetown,  visited  the  town  in 
1797  and  preached  several  times.  Reverends  Rickhow,  Weeks,  Broad- 
head,  Snelling,  Willard  and  others  followed,  and  in  1807  this  was 
made  part  of  the  Harwich  circuit.  Rev.  Joel  Steele  was  the  first 
minister  to  travel  the  circuit;  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  E.  Otis;  he 
by  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Merrill  up  to  1810.  In  1811  this  church  was  made 
a  circuit  with  Truro,  which  continued  to  1827,  when  it  was  made  a 
station  by  itself.  The  society  was  organized  with  three  members — 
Abigail  Gross,  Thankful  Rich  and  Lurana  Higgins.  Ephraim  Hig- 
gins  was  the  first-class  leader.  Accession  to  the  membership  followed, 
and  in  1816  a  church  edifice  was  erected  on  the  bill  north  of  the  vil- 
lage, which  was  the  first  house  of  this  denomination  in  the  town. 
From  1817  to  1824  the  society  grew,  and  in  1829  their  house  was 
enlarged  to  thirty-eight  by  sixty  feet,  with  seventy  pews  on  the  floor, 
and  galleries  on  both  sides.  In  1842-3  great  revivals  occurred  and 
all  the  churches  received  large  additions  of  members.  The  old  house 
being  too  small  for  the  worshippers,  a  new  one  was  erected  and  dedi- 
cated December  5,  1843.  This  was  the  most  elaborate  church  edifice 
on  the  Cape  at  that  time,  the  site  being  changed  from  near  the  bury- 
ing ground  to  the  present  one  in  the  village.  Rev.  Paul  Townsend 
preached  the  dedicatory  sermon. 

The  following  list  indicates  what  pastors  have  served  the  society, 
and  the  year  they  came:  In  1812,  Robert  Arnold;  1813,  Elias  Marble; 
1814,  B.  Otheman;  1815,  Thomas  C.  Pierce;  1816,  Orin  Roberts;  1817, 
Benjamin  Keith;  1818,  Ephraim  Wiley;  1820,  Edward  Hyde;  1822,  L. 
Bennett;  1824,  J.  G.  Atkins;  1825,  Lewis  Bates;  1827,  Joel  Steele;  1829, 
B.  F.  Lombard;  1831,  N.  S.  Spaulding;  1832,  Squire  B.  Haskell;  1833, 
H.  Brownson;  1834,  W.  Emerson;  1836,  B.  F.  Lombard;  1837,  H.  Perry; 
1839,  J.  M.  Bidwell;  1840,  Paul  Townsend;  1842,  J.  Cady;  1844,  G.  W. 
Stearns;  1846,  John  Lovejoy;  1848,  Cyrus  C.  Munger;  1849,  Samuel 
Fox;  1851,  John  Howson;  1853,  J.  E.  Giflford;  1854,  Erastus  Benton; 
1856,  E.  K.  Colby;  1858,  E.   H.  Hatfield;  1860,  James  Mather;  1862, 


TOWN  OF  WELLFLEET.  803 

John  Howson;  1863,  A.  N.  Bodfish;  1865,  William  V.  Morrison;  1867, 
Charles  Nason;  1869,  Walter  Ela;  1870,  A.  J.  Church;  1873,  C.  S. 
Macreading;  ]875,  A.  P.  Palmer;  1878,  Edward  Edson;  1881,  Samuel 
M.  Beal;  1883,  Samuel  McBurney;  1884,  George  A.  Moss;  1886,  Angelo 
Canoll;  1888,  Charles  S.  Davis. 

In  1819  a  Methodist  camp  meeting  was  held  in  South  Wellfleet, 
and  from  1823  to  1825  it  was  held  on  Bound  Brook  island,  then  was 
removed  to  Truro.  These  meetings  rapidly  increased  the  early 
membership. 

The  First  Universalist  Society,  Wellfleet,  was  organized  January 
7,  1840,  by  electing  Justin  Taylor  moderator,  and  subsequently,  at  the 
same  meeting,  he  was  elected  treasurer  of  the  society,  with  Martin 
Dill  clerk.  Subsequent  meetings  were  held  at  Lyceum  Hall,  the  rules 
and  by-laws  were  adopted,  and  preaching  was  provided.  In  1844  the 
old  Masonic  Hall  was  purchased  of  Peter  Snow,  who  had  previously 
purchased  the  same  of  Adams  Lodge,  and  it  was  remodeled  into  a 
suitable  place  for  worship  above,  with  a  school  room  on  the  first  floor. 
Here  the  society  held  services  until  1863,  when  the  Sons  of  Temper- 
ance Hall  was  purchased,  which  was  named  Union  Hall  in  1866,  and 
has  been  known  as  such  since. 

The  supplies  for  the  pulpit,  prior  to  the  removal  in  1866,  had  been: 
In  1839,  Reverends  E.  Vose,  J.  B.  Dodds,  N.  Gunnison  and  others: 
J.  Grammer  and  James  Gifford  in  1840;  Mr.  Foster  and  others  in  1841; 
Stillman  Barden,  Sylvanus  Cobb  and  B.  H.  Clark  up  to  1845,  and  S. 
Pratt  occupied  the  desk  the  greater  portion  of  the  time  during  the 
years  1856  and  1857.  Rev.  J.  P.  Atkinson  followed  in  1857.  Occa- 
sional meetings  were  held,  and  when  the  society  had  purchased  the 
present  Union  Hall,  as  has  been  stated.  Rev.  A.  W.  Bruce  and  William 
Hooper  occupied  the  desk  first,  the  latter  organizing  a  prosperous 
Sunday  school.  The  society  had  supplies  until  the  settlement  of  H. 
A.  Hanaford  in  1874,  who  remained  until  1876,  when  W.  C.  Stiles 
preached  for  a  year.  Occasional  supplies  were  obtained  until  Rev. 
Donald  Eraser,. of  Orleans,  became  a  regular  minister  in  1887,  con- 
cluding his  labors  in  the  autumn  of  1889. 

A  ladies'  aid  society  was  established  soon  after  the  inception  of 
the  church,  and  to  that  the  prosperity  of  this  religious  organization  is 
largely  due. 

Cemeteries. — The  first  ground  for  burial  was  the  one  on  Cheques- 
set  neck,  where  the  first  meeting  house  was  erected.  At  present  but 
few  stones  stand  to  mark  the  graves  of  the  early  settlers,  and  these 
bear  dates  of  burials  in  the  year  1716.  When  the  meeting  house  was 
rebuilt  at  the  head  of  Duck  creek,  another  ground  was  laid  out,  which 
is  now  seldom  used  except  to  reunite  the  ashes  of  members  of  an  old 
family.    The  burial  place  for  the  south  part  of  the  town  was  laid  out 


804  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

adjacent  to  the  Second  Congregational  church,  and  is  still  used.  The 
fourth,  now  in  use,  is  the  Pleasant  Hill  Cemetery — the  Methodist 
burying  place — just  out  of  the  village,  near  where  their  first  meeting 
house  stood.  Near  this,  in  1858,  May  24th,  was  instituted  the  Oak 
Dale  Cemetery,  of  several  acres.  Under  the  instigation  of  Dr.  Thomas 
N.  Stone,  a  stock  company  was  formed  by  the  enterprising  citizens, 
and  has  resulted  in  a  creditable  improvement  on  former  grounds. 
The  association  having  the  management  is  governed  by  a  constitution 
and  by-laws,  with  competent  officers,  chosen  annually.  Benjamin 
Oliver  was  the  first  president,  succeeded  by  John  Chipman  in  1862. 
Stephen  Young  was  elected  in  1874,  and  continued  president  until 
1885.  The  present  officers  are:  Isaiah  C.  Young,  pres.;  John  Swett, 
vice-pres.;  Simeon  Atwood,  sec.  and  treas. 

Villages. — Not  until  the  present  century  had  far  advanced  did  the 
present  commercial  center — Wellfleet  village — indicate  its  import- 
ance. Hitherto  the  small  business  of  the  town  was  scattered,  but  the 
drifting  sands  having  effectually  closed  Duck  and  Herring  creek  har- 
bors, the  business  naturally  clustered  around  Duck  creek  and  the 
head  of  Wellfleet  bay.  The  early  important  center  was  west  of  the 
present  village,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  the  first  church.  Wellfleet  vil- 
lage is  picturesque  in  its  winding  streets,  substantially  built  dwell- 
ings, towering  churches,  and  its  beautiful  appearance  from  the  bay 
beneath.  It  aspires  to  street  lamps  on  streets  that  bear  high-sounding 
names,  and  has  business-like  airs,  with  its  two-score  sails  moored  at 
its  several  wharves.  Its  importance  will  be  seen  as  the  reader  pro- 
ceeds. 

As  early  as  1800  the  manufacture  of  salt  by  solar  evaporation  was 
commenced  around  Duck  creek  and  the  bay  shore  of  the  village. 
East,  in  the  cove,  was  the  plant  of  Samuel  Smith,  and  near  Mr. 
Kemp's  was  that  of  Isaac  Baker,  afterward  sold  to  David  Atwood,  who 
also  owned  others.  Benjamin  Witherell  had  works  on  the  shore 
southwest,  and  Amaziah  Atwood's  were  where  Timothy  Daniels  now 
resides.  Deacon  Whitman  ran  a  plant  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wells 
E.  Kemp's,  and  Moses  Dill's  was  opposite  where  Jeremiah  Hawes  re- 
sides. East  of  the  last,  where  Warren  Pierce  resides,  were  the  works 
of  Freeman  Bacon,  which,  after  falling  into  the  hands  of  Wells  E. 
Kemp,  were  discontinued,  and  destroyed  soon  after.  On  the  island 
south  of  Dill's  plant  was  that  of  Stephen  Bailey,  and  on  the  point  ad- 
joining the  residence  of  E.  I.  Nye  was  Joseph  Holbrook's.  The  long 
row  of  vats  east  of  Jeremiah  Hawes'  residence  once  belonged  to 
Henry  Baker.  On  the  bay  Cornelius  Hamblen  also  built  and  operated 
works. 

Of  the  extinct  wharves  in  Duck  creek  the  spiles  of  one  erected 
about  1830,  by  John  Harding,  are  still  visible;  and  of  the  one  built  by 


TOWN   OF  WELLFLEET.  805 

Samuel  Higgins  near  the  railroad  crossing  of  the  creek,  time  has  left 
no  evidence.  On  these  the  business  of  fishing  and  repairing  small 
craft  was  successfully  carried  on  for  years.  Passing  westward  to  the 
bay  the  busy  wharf  of  Theodore  Brown  attracts  attention,  and  here 
since  1864  he  annually  repaired  over  one  hundred  vessels;  but  the  de- 
cline in  fishing  has  lessened  this  branch,  and  latterly  he  has  built 
large  scows  and  small  craft  for  weir  fishing.  In  1865  he  built  at  this 
wharf  the  Clara  D.  Swett,  a  schooner  of  thirty-three  tons — the  largest 
built  by  him  since  he  completed  his  trade  with  Giles  Hopkins. 

The  next  west  is  Commercial  Wharf,  the  oldest  of  the  village, built 
in  1835  by  Paine  G.  Atwood  and  Elisha  G.  Perry,  who  did  business 
there  until  1853,  when  the  Commercial  Wharf  Company,  composed  of 
twenty  men,  purchased  it.  R.  R.  Freeman  was  the  first  president  of 
the  company,  John  Swett  the  second,  and  from  1880  Michael  C.  Bur- 
rows has  presided.  Noah  Swett  was  agent  under  the  company  until 
1880,  when  Isaiah  C.  Young  was  appointed,  who  was  succeeded  by 
Freeman  A.  Snow  in  1889.  The  present  directors  are  Charles  A. 
Gorham,  Parker  E.  Hickman  and  Jesse  F.  Snow. 

The  Central  Wharf  was  built  and  incorporated  in  1863  by  a  stock 
company  of  sixty  shares,  which  have  changed  hands,  leaving  only 
about  one  half  of  the  shares  in  original  hands.  Stephen  Young  was 
the  agent  prior  to  Robert  B.  Jenkins,  who  assumed  the  duties  of  the 
office  in  1883.  The  first  president,  Parker  Wiley,  was  succeeded  in 
1868  by  Warren  Newcomb,  who  still  fills  the  office.  Three  directors 
are  elected  annually,  the  last  being  Charles  A.  Gorham,  George 
Baker  and  Samuel  W.  Kemp,  with  James  Mott  clerk.  This  wharf  is 
three  hundred  feet  long,  is  kept  in  good  order  and  has  been  a  very 
successful  enterprise. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  Duck  creek  Enterprise  Wharf,  the  first  one 
at  Wellfleet,  was  erected  prior  to  1837,  where  a  successful  fishing 
trade  was  conducted  by  Benjamin  Rich  and  Stephen  Young.  This 
wharf  was  abandoned  about  1862. 

The  Mercantile  Wharf,  erected  in  1870,  is  the  last  along  the  north 
shore  of  the  bay.  Sixty  shares  comprised  the  stock  for  its  erection. 
The  store  is  controlled  by  the  company.  The  first  president  was 
Richard  R.  Freeman,  succeeded  in  1886  by  J.  H.  Freeman,  who  in 
turn  was  succeeded  in  1887  by  R.  R.  Freeman,  jr.,  the  present  incum- 
"bent.  J.  H.  Freeman  acted  as  agent  and  clerk  until  1885,  when 
Samuel  W.  Kemp  was  appointed  to  succeed  him.  The  acting  presi- 
dent is  a  director,  and  with  him  R.  R.  Higgins,  David  Y.  Pierce  and 
Charles  W.  Swett  were  last  elected.  The  mackerel  trade  has  been 
very  successfully  and  largely  carried  on  at  this  wharf,  which  was  en- 
larged in  1883  to  accommodate  its  large  business.  The  business  of 
these  wharves  is  greatly  affected  by  the  dullness  of  the  trade  occas- 
ioned by  the  decline  in  fishing. 


806  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Next  to  the  lighthouse  are  the  oil  works  of  E.  P.  Cook,  Newel 
Rich,  S.  B.  Rich  and  William  Newcomb,  which  were  established  in 
1873.  The  blubber  of  the  blackfish  and  other  species  of  whale  was 
tried  out  by  the  old  process  the  first  year,  and  steam  works  were  then 
added,  by  which  better  results  were  obtained.  Among  other  import- 
ant processes,  they  have  smaller  machinery  for  manufacturing  watch 
oil  from  certain  parts  of  blackfish,  combined  with  parts  of  other  fish. 
A  small  wharf  is  connected  with  the  works. 

Another  industry  in  connection  with  the  wharves  has  been  im- 
portant; but  like  them,  is  having  a  season  of  depression.  In  1875 
Nehemiah  H.  Paine  engaged  in  seine-making  near  Central  wharf, 
with  James  A.  Young  as  a  partner  during  the  first  six  years.  More 
repairing  than  manufacturing  has  been  done  for  the  past  few  years. 

Of  the  stores  pertaining  to  the  territory  of  the  present  village, 
those  of  the  present  century  are  the  most  important.  Those  prior  to 
1800  were  principally  on  the  King's  highway  or  in  the  western  part 
of  the  town.  As  early  as  1832  the  late  Simeon  Atwood  built  the 
corner  building  below  the  bank,  on  Commercial  street.  Here,  with 
Mr.  Dyer,  under  the  firm  name  of  Knowles  Dyer  &  Co.,  a  prosper- 
ous grocery  trade  was  carried  on.  In  1850  the  present  Simeon  At- 
wood, his  son,  built  the  hardware  store  adjoining,  and  in  1851  the  in- 
terests of  these  three  men  in  both  stores  were  united,  the  fiim  name 
remaining  the  same.  These  three  gentlemen  also  carried  on  a  branch 
store  at  what  is  now  Commercial  wharf. 

The  present  store  at  the  Commercial  wharf  is  carried  on  by  the 
Central  Trading  Company,  with  Charles  Young,  agent.  Samuel  Hig- 
gins  kept  a  store  early  in  the  century  near  the  present  depot,  subse- 
quently adding  a  lumber  yard.  From  the  depot  along  Commercial 
street  we  find  Charles  A.  Gorham  in  a  grocery  trade.  The  building 
was  erected  in  1863  for  John  R.  Higgins,  who  continued  trade  until 
1865.  In  1869  James  H.  Gorham,  father  of  the  present  merchant,  filled 
the  store  with  goods,  and  continued  in  business  until  his  death  in 
1888.  Northerly,  on  the  east  side  of  the  same  street,  F.  A.  Wiley, 
after  a  business  of  four  years  in  Truro,  established,  in  1852,  the  pres- 
ent store  and  painting  business,  continued  by  Daniel  F.  Wiley,  his 
son.  In  1857  Nathaniel,  a  brother,  became  partner  with  F.  A.  Wiley, 
and  the  business  was  increased  by  the  addition  of  other  branches. 
This  partner  sold  to  Daniel  F.  Wiley  in  1885,  who,  at  the  death  of  his 
father  in  1888,  succeeded  to  the  entire  business.  On  the  same  side 
of  the  street  is  the  old  store  of  Nehemiah  M.  Baker,  a  building  moved 
from  Eastham  about  1865,  now  occupied  by  Oliver  H.  Linnell  as  a  fac- 
tory and  salesroom  for  marble  work.  He  started  this  industry  in 
1873,  in  the  shop  on  the  Joshua  Atwood  place,  and  in  1879  moved 
to  Reuben  C.  Sparrow's  place  of  business,  combining  undertaking 


TOWN  OF  WELLFLEET.  807 

with  the  marble  trade.  In  1885  he  purchased  his  present  place,  where 
he  continues.  The  undertaking  portion  of  Mr.  Linnell's  business  was 
early  started  by  John  Harding,  who  sold  to  Reuben  C.  Sparrow  in 
1858.  On  the  same  side  of  Commercial  street  is  the  wholesale  plant 
of  George  Baker,  who  started  in  the  coal  trade  in  1873  near  by,  and 
in  1875  purchased  the  present  place  of  business,  which  was  formerly 
the  ofl&ce  of  the  stage  line  to  Provincetown,  and  which  had  been  naoved 
from  Yarmouth  to  Orleans,  thence  to  this  village  by  Samuel  Knowles, 
the  last  mail  contractor.  On  this  site  in  1875  Mr.  Baker  added  nails, 
lime,  cement,  plaster  and  other  articles  to  his  trade,  which  he  contin- 
ues. Everett  I.  Nye  has  a  large  factory  for  iron  work  on  this  side  of 
the  street,  which,  with  the  carriage  manufactory  of  A.  H.  Rogers  op- 
pbsite,  adds  variety  to  the  importance  of  this  street.  On  the  west  side 
H.  P.  Higgins  has  a.  boot  and  shoe  store,  and  Allen  Higgins  a  cloth- 
ing store  that  he  moved  a  few  years  ago  from  near  the  residence  of 
Timothy  Daniels.  On  the  same  side  Simeon  Atwood  built  and  opened 
in  1850  a  hardware  store,  in  which  in  1864  he  took  his  brother,  A.  T. 
Atwood,  as  a  partner,  under  the  firm  name  of  S.  Atwood  &  Co. 

On  Main  street  the  principal  place  of  business  is  that  of  P.  W.  Hig- 
gins, whose  store  is  west  of  the  churches,  adjoining  the  residence 
formerly  occupied  by  Rev.  Timothy  Davis.  Mr.  Higgins  commenced 
in  1854,  remodeled  the  old  office  of  Doctor  Mitchel  into  more  store  room 
and  continues  in  the  dry  and  fancy  goods  line.  Between  the  churches, 
south  side,  Giles  Holbrook  began  trade  in  1847,  which  he  continued 
until  his  death  in  1850.  The  estate  continued  until  1868,  when  G.  W. 
Holbrook  purchased,  built  on,  and  added  other  lines  of  goods.  Oppo- 
site this  store  Reuben  Higgins  commenced  trade  before  the  civil  war 
and  discontinued  after  a  few  years.  In  1881,  after  the  building  had 
been  used  for  other  purposes,  the  firm  of  Newcomb  &  Gordon  opened 
a  grocery  store,  which  is  continued.  On  the  opposite  corner,  in  Octo- 
ber, 1884,  D.A.  Matheson  of  Provincetown,  opened  a  branch  clothing 
store,  with  P.  D.  Chisholm,  manager.  On  the  corner  of  Main  street 
and  Holbrook  avenue  a  store  building  was  erected  about  1866  for  Al- 
bert W.  Holbrook,  who  established  a  store  which  was  subsequently 
changed  in  1883  to  a  grocery  by  George  C.  Williams  &  Co.,  as  now. 
Henry  S.  Cook  succeeded  Holbrook  in  the  store  business  and  removed 
it  to  Main  street,  as  now.  John  Swett  started,  in  1876,  a  custom  cloth- 
ing store,  where  he  not  only  manufactured  but  kept  clothing  and  fur- 
nishing goods  until  1885,  since  which  date  he  continues  the  custom 
department.  The  Doctor  Stone  drug  store  and  jewelry  store  of  Al- 
bert Rice,  and  the  confectionery  store  and  news  stand  of  A.  C.  Mott — 
both  near  the  post  office — complete  the  principal  places  of  business  of 
Main  street. 

The  post  office  is  the  most  frequented  place.     The  office  has  been 


808  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

moved  about  from  the  King's  highway,  frota  dwelling  to  store,  but 
has  been  for  years  kept  in  a  central  place  by  itself.  The  oflBce  was 
established  January  1,  1798,  and  the  first  postmaster  was  Lewis 
Hamblen.  Reuben  Arey  was  appointed  October  1, 1810;  Josiah  Whit- 
man, December  28,  1815;  Jesse  Holbrook,  March  22,  1839;  Richard 
Libby,  April  22,  1840;  Giles  Holbrook,  August  2,  1841;  Enoch  Hig- 
gins,  August  16,  1846;  John  W.  Davis,  September  4,  1850.  Allen 
Higgins  succeeded  Davis  and  was  in  charge  in  1854;  and  prior  to  1860 
A.  B.  Fish  and  Dr.  H.  J.  Huff  had  been  appointed.  In  1861  George 
T.  Wyer  was  appointed,  who  held  until  1876,  when  George  F.  Manter 
succeeded.     In  1886  James  Chandler  was  appointed. 

This  village  has  a  very  pretty  depot,  the  business  of  which  has 
been  in  charge  of  James  A.  Swett  since  1872.  He  was  preceded  by 
Richard  N.  At  wood  for  nearly  two  years. 

The  Masonic  fraternity  established  Adams  Lodge  here  1796,  which 
surrendered  its  charter,  and  after  an  interim  of  half  a  century  was 
revived  into  the  present  flourishing  Lodge  of  the  same  name.  After 
the  institution  of  the  first,  in  1798,  the  Masonic  brotherhood  opened 
a  stock  company  of  forty  shares  for  the  erection  of  a  hall.  Those 
who  took  the  stock  were:  Thomas  Holbrook,  Lewis  Hamblen,  Solo- 
mon Harding,  Lemuel  Newcomb,  Warren  A.  Kenrick,  Hezekiah 
Doane,  James  Bickford,  Joseph  Pierce,  jr.,  Thomas  Gross,  Philip  Hig- 
gins, Richard  Higgins,  Stephen  Atwood,  Jeremiah  Newcomb,  Samuel 
Waterman,  Matthias  Ryder,  jr.,  Thomas  Higgins,  3d,  Matthias  Ryder, 
Barnabas  Young,  jr.,  Samuel  Ryder,  Eleazer  Higgins,  John  Young 
and  Beriah  Higgins.  The  hall  stood  on  the  site  of  the  high  school 
building,  near  the  present  Union  Hall,  and  was  the  Masonic  Hall  be- 
fore referred  to. 

The  names  of  the  first  two  masters  of  the  old  lodge  are  not  known. 
The  succeeding  presiding  officers  were:  Samuel  Waterman,  1798; 
Lewis  Hamblen,  1799-1800;  Lemuel  Newcomb,  1801-2;  Joseph  Pierce, 
1803-4;  Thomas  Higgins,  1805-1807;  Lemuel  Newcomb,  1808,  then 
1811-12;  Lewis  Hamblen,  1809;  Samuel  Waterman,  1810;  and  in  1813 
the  charter  was  surrendered.  In  1823,  January  28th,  nine  surviving 
members  divided  the  proceeds  of  the  treasury.  The  hall  was  subse- 
quently sold  to  the  Universalist  society  and  long  ago  razed  to  the 
ground. 

In  January,  1866,  another  Lodge  of  the  same  name  was  instituted, 
which  received  a  charter  in  1867.  The  fraternity  assembled  in  the 
school  house  on  the  corner  of  the  Truro  road,  adopted  their  by-laws,  and 
hired  Union  Hall,  which  they  occupied  until  the  present  fine  Masonic 
Hall  was  erected  in  1877,  except  during  the  last  year,  when  they 
occupied  Bank  Hall.  The  Masonic  Hall  was  built  by  a  stock  company 
of  three  hundred  small  shares,  which  were  taken  mostly  by  the  fra- 


TOWN   OF   WELLFLEET,  809 

ternity,  and  it  cost  about  three  thousand  dollars.     It  contains  a  beauti- 
ful  room  above  for  the  sessions,  with  refreshment  and   necessary 
rooms  below.      The  masters  have    been:    Napthali   Rich,   1866-67; 
George  T.  Wyer,  1868-69;  Warren  Newcomb,  1870-1872;  Eben  T.  At- 
wood,  1873-1874;  John  M.  Crillis,  1875-1877;  Daniel  Williamson,  1878- 
1879;  William  N.  Stone,   1880-1881;   N.   Franklin   Lane,   1882-1883 
Theodore  Brown,  1884-1885;  John  M.  Freeman,  1886;  O.  H.  Linnell 
1887-1888;  H.  H.  Newton,  1889.    The  officers  elected  for  1890  are 
Everett  I.  Nye,  M.;  Charles  A.  Clark,  S.  W.;  Isaiah  C.  Doane,  J.  W. 
William  H.  Tubman,  S.  D.;   Stephen  King,  J.  D.;  Theodore  Brown 
treasurer;  Warren  Newcomb,  secretary;  Robert  B.  Jenkins,  chaplain 
and  Melville  W.  Grant,  tyler. 

Wellfleet  Council,  No.  946,  Royal  Arcanum,  was  instituted  January 
28,  1886,  with  twenty-four  members.  A.  H.  Rogers  was  the  first  past- 
regent,  succeeded  by  the  following  regents:  H.  P.  Harriman  in  1886, 
H.  H.  Newton  in  1887,  O.  H.  Linnell  in  1888,  and  C.  L.  Rodman  in 
1889.  The  officers  elected  for  1890  were:  W.  H.  Tubman,  R.;  W.  J. 
Powers,  V.  R.;  D.  F.  Wiley,  O.;  C.  L.  Rodman,  sec;  A.  H.  Rogers, 
col.;  M.  D.  Holbrook.  treas.;  F.  W.  Snow,  chap.;  Jesse  S.  Snow,  G.; 
Nelson  E.  Dyer,  W.;  and  George  H.Young,  S.  The  present  member- 
ship is  thirty-two.     The  Council  meets  in  Odd  Fellows'  Hall. 

The  Wellfleet  Marine  Benevolent  Society  was  instituted  January 
28,  1836,  by  banding  together  and  paying  dues  yearly,  for  the  relief 
of  distressed  mariners,  their  widows  and  orphans,  and  any  others  who 
may  join.  At  the  time  of  its  organization  many  shipwrecked  sailors 
needed  temporary  assistance  and  the  benefits  now  extend  not  only  to 
that  class,  but  to  others  whether  belonging  to  the  society  or  not. 
Between  1840  and  1890  the  society  had  disbursed  $10,190  to  those  in 
need,  and  this  does  not  include  the  proceeds  of  annual  entertainments 
given  to  the  outside  needy.  The  members  each  pay  one  dollar  a 
year  for  sixteen  years,  for  a  life-membership,  or  twelve  dollars  at  the 
time  of  joining.  The  amount  held  by  the  society  in  its  treasury  is 
$1,872.  The  first  officers  were:  Richard  Arey,  pres.;  Collins  S.  Cole, 
sec,  and  Nathan  Paine,  treas.  It  has  a  committee,  elected  annu- 
ally, to  manage  its  aflFairs.  The  first  who  served  will  show  some 
of  the  original  members — Levi  Young,  John  Newcomb,  Isaac  Paine, 
Giles  Holbrook,  William  Stone,  Bethuel  Wiley,  Hezekiah  Doane  and 
Samuel  Smith. 

The  Odd  Fellows  Lodge  is  the  continuation  of  an  old  one  of  Truro, 
where  it  was  instituted  in  1849  as  Fraternal  Lodge,  No.  132.  In  1872 
the  following  persons  petitioned  the  Grand  Lodge  for  one  at  this 
place:  Elijah  W.  Atwood,  George  Baker,  Newell  B.  Rich,  John  M. 
Freeman,  John  M.  Crillis,  N.  Frank  Lane,  Nathaniel  Snow,  jr.,  Joseph 
Rodolph,  John  G.  Higgins,  Mulford  Rich,  jr.;  and  these  were  the 


810  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

charter  members  of  the  re-instituted  lodge  of  Wellfleet  on  the  14th  of 
October.  Its  presiding  officers  have  successively  been:  Mulford  Rich, 
jr.,  George  Baker,  Nathaniel  Snow,  jr.,  John  M.  Freeman,  Samuel  R. 
Higgins,  Philip  Higgins,  jr.,  Robert  H.  Libby,  James  M.  Mott,  Heze- 
kiah  D.  Baker,  Harlem  P.  Higgins,  Arthur  H.  Rogers,  Newell  B.  Rich, 
A.  H.  Rogers,  Zenas  H.  Jones,  jr.,  Everett  I.  Nye,  Charles  S.  Young,. 
J.  W.  Freeman,  George  F.  Manter,  George  Baker,  and  for  1889,  Everett 
I.  Nye.  The  elective  officers  for  1890  are:  Harlem  P.  Higgins,  N.  G.; 
John  W.  Freeman,  V.  G.;  B.  S.  Young,  sec;  and  Charles  S.  Yourg,^ 
treasurer.     The  Lodge  numbers  seventy-five. 

The  village  is  not  without  substantial  financial  institutions,  the 
most  important  being  the  Wellfleet  Savings  Bank,  instituted  March 
3,  1863,  and  which  accommodates  the  business  of  the  town.  Richard 
R.  Freeman  was  the  first  president  and  continued  until  his  death  in 
1886,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Simeon  Atwood,  the  present  presi- 
dent, who  was  its  treasurer  until  1 871,  when  Thomas  Kemp,  the  present 
incumbent,  was  appointed.  Its  board  of  twelve  trustees  has  remained 
nearly  the  same,  the  only  change  having  been  caused  by  death  or 
disability.  They  are:  Simeon  Atwood,  Isaiah  C.Young,  James Swett, 
John  Swett,  H.  P.  Harriman,  Jesse  H.  Freeman,  Robert  H.  Libby,. 
Alvin  F.  Paine,  Warren  Newcomb,  Samuel  W.  Kemp,  Giles  W.  Hol- 
brook,  and  W.  H.  Tubman. 

Another  important  corporation  is  the  Wellfleet  Marine  Insurance 
Company,  which  was  established  in  1864  under  the  existing  la-^s  of 
the  state.  The  first  officers  were:  James  Swett,  president  (who  was 
really  the  prime  mover  in  its  organization);  Noah  Swett,  secretary;, 
and  directors — R.  R.  Freeman,  Knowles  Dyer,  George  B.  Saunders, 
N.  Rich,  jr.,  Jesse  Y.  Baker  and  John  R.  Higgins.  It  was  organized 
with  a  capital  of  sixty  thousand  dollars,  and  conducted  a  successful 
business.  In  1885,  by  the  laws  then  enacted,  the  company,  in  order 
to  do  business,  was  compelled  to  incorporate,  which  was  done  under 
the  same  name,  and  by  a  special  act  placing  the  capital  at  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars.  James  Swett  continued  the  president  until 
1886,  and  was  succeeded  by  Thomas  Kemp.  Noah  Swett  filled  the 
office  of  secretary  until  1872,  from  which  period  until  1886  Thomas 
Kemp  was  secretary.  After  Mr.  Kemp  was  elected  president,  Charles 
W.  Swett  was  the  secretary  until  1888,  when  the  present  incumbent,. 
Charles  A.  Collins,  was  elected.  Ten  directors,  who  meet  quarterly, 
have  the  direction  of  the  business,  which,  during  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury, has  been  very  successful  and  satisfactory.  Their  office  is  in  the 
rear  of  the  bank. 

The  early  importance  of  the  shipping  interests  induced  the  ap- 
pointment of  deputy  collectors  for  this  point,  who  successively  have 
been:  Reuben  Arey,  Josiah  Whitman,  Collins  S.  Cole,  Richard  Libby,. 


TOWN  OF  WELLFLEET.  811 

Thomas  Newcomb,  T.  L.  Hickman,  Simeon  Atwood  for  t-wenty-seven 
years  until  1887;  Solomon  R.  Higgins  until  1889,  and  again  Simeon 
Atwood. 

The  old  taverns  have  been  given  as  scattered  in  the  town,  and  not 
until  the  present  village  was  marked  as  the  center  did  a  tavern  assist 
in  the  growth.  Over  sixty  years  ago  Colonel  Joseph  Holbrook  erected 
a  house  where  the  present  Holbrook  Hotel  stands,  which,  about  1830,. 
was  purchased  by  Martin  Dill.  He  opened  it  as  a  house  of  entertain- 
ment, adding  to  it  at  times  until  it  was  enlarged  to  its  present  form- 
Mr.  Dill  continued  until  his  death  about  forty  years  ago,  when  Henry 
A.  Holbrook  became  owner  and  proprietor.  After  his  death  in  1874 
his  widow  and  son,  Martin  D.,  continued  until  1885,  when  Lorenzo  N. 
Godfrey  purchased  it,  and  in  1889  he  resold  it  to  Martin  D.  Holbrook. 
It  is  the  only  hotel  ever  kept  in  the  village,  except  one  which  was  kept 
at  an  early  day  for  a  short  period  just  beyond  the  school  house  by 
Thomas  Holbrook.  Thomas  Holbrook,  2d,  some  fifty  years  ago,  after 
doing  an  oyster  business  under  the  Franklin  House  in  Boston,  re- 
turned to  his  native  place  here  and  for  a  short  time  his  sign,  "Frank- 
lin House,"  swung  from  the  building  now  the  residence  of  Mrs. 
Charles  F.  Higgins. 

South  Wellfleet,  a  post  hamlet  and  railroad  station  of  the  south 
part  of  the  town,  adjoins  the  south  bank  of  Blackfish  creek,  and  has 
within  its  limits  a  landscape  of  gentle  undulations  and  fertile  soil.  It 
is  distant  three  miles  from  the  main  village,  with  which  it  is  con- 
nected by  a  good  carriage  road.  The  territory  was  early  but  sparsely 
settled,  and  through  it  the  King's  highway  made,  in  early  times,, 
an  important  rural  settlement,  with  its  old-fashioned  houses  of  re- 
freshment for  the  weary  fisherman  and  long  absent  whaler.  Tra- 
ditions of  the  finding  of  the  ill-gotten  gains  of  pirates  in  the  sands 
at  the  mouth  of  Fresh  brook  still  linger  in  the  minds  of  the  resi- 
dents, giving  a  silvery  sheen  to  the  prosperity  of  the  village.  Aunt 
Lydia  Taylor's  store  or  tavern,  or  both,  is  remembered  by  the  elder 
people,  although  the  house  long  ajgo  succumbed  to  the  march  of 
improvement.  Then  the  weekly  horseback  mail  carrier  plodded 
along  the  sandy  road,  and  the  people  must  gather  as  often  at  Aunt 
Lydia's  to  enquire  the  news;  and  in  early  stage  time  the  dusty 
traveler  found  an  unstinted  measure  of  relief  under  her  roof.  Reu- 
ben Arey  bad  still  another  of  these  stores  about  1820  at  his  house, 
where  he  kept  the  post  oflBce.  Daniel  Higgins,  not  wishing  Aunt 
Lydia  to  do  all  the  mercantile  business,  started  another  just  after 
the  war  of  1812;  and  about  1816  Hezekiah  Rich  engaged  in  the 
same  line  of  tea  and  cracker  business  just  north  of  the  others,  at 
what  was  called  Dogtown  by  the  old  residents.  His  store  was 
necessary,  for  here  the  town  used  to  do  military  duty,  with  an  oc- 


■812  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

casional  adjournment  to  Aunt  Lydia's,  near  where  the  church  now 
stands.  The  last  to  be  mentioned  was  that  of  Deacon  Newcomb, 
in  his  house  over  by  the  brook,  where  the  weary  fisherman  sought 
■comfort. 

The  residents  mingle  with  the  other  villages  in  their  secret 
orders,  and  none  are  established  here.  The  ladies  have  a  Social 
Union,  owning  the  hall  which  was  built  for  a  school  house  and 
bought  in  1888.  The  society  was  organized  in  1881  and  is  a  flour- 
ishing social  and  benevolent  institution.  For  1889  the  president 
was  Mrs.  W.  L.  Paine;  vice-president,  Mrs.  H.  H.  Paine;  the  secre- 
tary and  treasurer,  Miss  Nettie  S.  Paine. 

The  only  store  in  the  hamlet  now  is  that  recently  owned  by  Alvin 
F.  Paine,  deceased,  where  his  son  Isaac  keeps  a  general  stock  of  goods. 
The  building  was  erected  about  1844  by  Collins  S.  Cole,  who  carried 
on  a  mercantile  business  until  his  death  in  1870,  and  it  was  continued 
two  years  longer  by  his- family.  In  1872  the  vSouth  Wharf  Company 
rented  it  in  connection  with  their  store  at  the  wharf,  and  purchased 
it  in  1876.     In  1880  the  plant  was  purchased  by  Alvin  F.  Paine. 

Battelle  &  Little  (Boston  men)  built  a  wharf  on  the  south  side  of 
Blackfish  creek,  for  which,  with  the  fitting-out  store  connected  with 
it,  Richard  Arey  was  agent  several  years.  About  1845  Collins  S.  Cole 
took  the  store  and  Nathan  Paine  the  wharf,  both  of  which,  after  a  few 
years,  were  taken  by  Smith,  Newcomb  &  Saunders.  Smith  sold  to 
Isaac  Paine  and  the  firm  was  Paine,  Newcomb  &  Saunders.  Still  later, 
Newcomb  sold  to  Alvin  F.  Paine,  and  the  firm  of  Saunders  &  Paine 
continued  until  1866.  That  year  the  Southern  Wharf  Company,  of 
forty  shares,  was  formed,  and  the  stock  was  taken  up  to  the  amount 
of  $5,000.  They  continued  in  the  fishing  and  mercantile  business 
until  1880,  when  A.  F.  Paine  became  owner.  This  wharf  extended 
about  one  hundred  feet  along  the  creek.  A  few  piles  mark  the  spot 
•of  this  once  important  place  of  traflBc. 

A  post  office  was  established  here  early  in  the  present  century,  with 
Reuben  Arey,  jr.,  postmaster,  appointed  January  29,  1829.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Alexander  T.  Cross,  appointed  June  1,  1836;  Daniel  W. 
Davis,  January  14,  1837;  Isaiah  G.  Ward,  May  14,1840;  Reuben  Arey, 
November  11,  1841.  Stephen  A.  Hatch,  appointed  October  14,  1846, 
kept  the  office  at  his  house  until  Jonathan  Doane  was  appointed,  June 
1,  1857.  In  1861,  after  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the  presi- 
dency, Stephen  A.  Hatch  was  re-appointed  and  was  succeeded  by 
William  Ward  in  1873,  who  kept  the  office  at  the  depot.  In  1887  the 
present  incumbent,  Arthur  G.  Newcomb,  was  appointed.  Mr.  New- 
comb is  also  the  station  agent  and  performs  all  the  duties,  as  did  Mr. 
Ward,  his  predecessor. 

The  village  and  surroundings  have  attracted  the  notice  of  pleasure 
seekers,  and  it  is  fast  becoming  a  favorite  spot  for  summer  resorts. 


E      BietlSTAOT 


TOWN   OF   WELLFLEET.  813- 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

Simeon  Atwood. — The.Atwood  family  has  been  a  prominent  one 
in  the  concerns  of  Wellfleet  from  the  earliest  period  of  its  history. 
The  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch — Ephraim  Atwood 
— was  here  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century;  and  his  grand- 
father, Simeon,  born  in  1756,  was  a  citizen  of  the  precinct  before 
Wellfleet  became  a  town.  His  father,  also  named  Simeon,  was  born 
in  1792,  married  Ruth  Newcomb,  also  of  Wellfleet,  and  nine  children 
were  born  to  them,  viz.:  Maria  Gould,  born  1818;  Richard  Newcomb, 
1820;  Ruth  Newcomb,  1822;  Simeon,  1825;  William  Kemp,  1827; 
Timothy  Davis,  1830;  Ruth  Newcomb.  1833;  EbenezerTilton,1835;  and 
Mary  Ann,  bom  1837. 

Simeon  Atwood,  born  July  27,  1825,  was  educated  in  the  common 
schools,  took  the  inevitable  training  of  Cape  boys  at  that  time  on  board 
a  fishing  craft,  until  1850,  when  he  entered  into  the  stove  and  hard- 
ware business  in  his  native  town.  A  year  later  he  associated  himself 
with  Knowles  Dyer  &  Co.,  who  had  been  in  the  grocery  trade  here 
since  1832.  The  firm  consisted  of  Knowles  Dyer,  Simeon  Atwood,  and 
Simeon  Atwood,  jr.  In  1864  the  firm  dissolved,  and  the  business  was 
conducted  at  the  old  stand  under  the  firm  name  of  Newcomb  &  Kemp 
— Newcomb  being  a  son-in-law  of  Dyer,  and  Kemp  a  son-in-law  of  the 
senior  Atwood.  During  the  same  year,  Ebenezer  T.  Atwood,  his 
brother,  was  admitted  to  the  business  with  (the  present)  Simeon 
Atwood,  and  it  was  continued  under  the  firm  name  of  Simeon  Atwood 
&  Co.  until  1877,  when  Ebenezer  alone  assumed  and  carried  it  on 
until  1882.  That  year  the  old  firm  bought  the  business;  the  firm  now 
being  composed  of  Simeon  Atwood  and  William  H.  Tubman. 

In  1860  Mr.  Atwood  represented  the  district  in  the  legislature,  and 
was  appointed  by  the  speaker  on  the  committee  on  the  valuation  of 
the  state,  which  held  a  session  of  one  hundred  days  in  the  fall  of  that 
year.  In  1861  he  was  appointed  deputy  collector  and  inspector  of  the 
customs  for  the  port  of  Wellfleet,  and  has  held  that  ofiice  continu- 
ously  (except  for  three  months  during  Johnson's  administration,  and 
twenty  months  during  Cleveland's)  to  the  present  time.  He  has  also 
held  a  commission  to  qualify  civil  oflicers  since  1856,  and  of  justice  of 
the  peace  since  1865.  Mr.  Atwood  has  never  held  town  offices,  as  he 
has  often  been  solicited  to  do,  his  other  official  relations  to  the  gen- 
eral government  precluding,  for  most  of  the  time,  his  so  doing.  He 
has,  however,  acted  as  moderator  of  seven  successive  town  meetings. 

Mr.  Atwood  has  also  been  a  pioneer  and  an  active  participant  in 
the  principal  business  enterprises  of  the  town  since  he  came  upon  the 
stage  of  action.  He  assisted  in  procuring  the  charter  for  the  Well- 
fleet  Savings  Bank,  was  its  first  treasurer,  resigning  in  1870,  on  ac- 


514  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

count  of  the  pressure  of  other  business.  He  was  elected  a  director 
-of  the  bank  in  1871,  and  in  1887  was  chosen  its  president,  which  posi- 
tion he  now  holds.  In  1880  he  was  chosen  a  director  of  the  Wellfleet 
Marine  Insurance  Company,  still  retaining  the  position.  He  has  also 
"been  for  the  last  twenty-eight  years  a  director  of  the  Barnstable 
County  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company.  Not  only  the  public,  but 
individuals  have  for  many  years  been  accustomed  to  seek  Mr.  Atwood's 
•counsel  and  assistance  in  their  business  concerns.  During  the  last 
twenty-five  years  he  has  settled  as  many  as  fifty  estates,  as  adminis- 
trator, executor  or  trustee,  and  has  given  his  advice  in  many  more. 
From  1860  to  1870  he  was  the  purchasing  agent  for  C.  Nickerson  & 
Co.,  fish  dealers,  of  New  York,  his  transactions  averaging  seventy-five 
thousand  dollars  annually  during  that  time.  Originally  a  member  of 
the  whig  party,  he  organized  the  republican  party  of  the  town  in 
1867,  serving  for  several  years  as  chairman  of  the  town  committee. 
As  early  as  1833,  when  but  a  lad,  he  joined  the  choir  of  the  First 
•Congregational  society  of  Wellfleet,  and  in  1860  was  chosen  as  choris- 
ter and  organist,  still  filling  those  positions.  He  united  with  the 
■church  in  1864,  and  was  chosen  one  of  the  deacons  in  1872.  The  pub- 
lic trusts  and  positions  of  honor  and  responsibility  filled  by  Mr.  At- 
wood,  as  thus  enumerated,  indicate  his  reputation  and  standing  in  the 
community,  and  render  words  of  mere  compliment  or  eulogy  super- 
fluous. It  is  but  proper  to  add,  that  in  his  social  and  personal  rela- 
tions he  has  fitly  supplemented  his  public  responsibilities. 

Mr.  Atwood  married,  December  6,  1848,  Mercy  Waterman,  daugh- 
ter of  Joseph  Higgins,  of  Wellfleet,  and  has  one  daughter,  Mary  Steele 
Atwood,  who  married  William  H.  Tubman:  and  they  have  also  one 
•daughter,  Mabel  Steele  Tubman. 

George  Baker,  born  in  France  in  1823,  came  to  Boston  in  1834,  and 
to  Wellfleet  in  1836.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1836  until  11872, 
twenty-five  years  as  master  of  vessels,  and  now  keeps  a  lumber  and 
general  builders'  supplies  store  at  Wellfleet.  He  is  having  a  cran- 
berry  bog  made,  which  will  be  the  largest  bog  in  this  town.  It  will 
.  contain  twenty  acres,  and  will  cost  ten  thousand  dollars  complete. 
He  married  Mercy  H.,  daughter  of  Thomas  Higgins.  Their  five  liv- 
ing children  are:  Thankful  H.,  Mercy  H.,  Margaret  S.,  Clara  E.  and 
Ada  A.     Four  died:  two  in  infancy,  and  Maria  T.  and  George. 

Benjamin  Brown,  born  in  1820,  in  Penobscot,  Me.,  was  a  son  of 
•Stillman  Brown.  He  was  a  sea  captain,  fishing  and  coasting,  from 
1847  until  1885.  He  married  Martha  A.,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Lucy 
■(Newcomb)  Higgins.  Mr.  Brown  died  in  1888,  leaving  four  children: 
Benjamin,  Walter  L.,  Chester  E.  and  Eunice  B.  (now  the  widow  of  M. 
Ryder). 

Theodore  Brown,  one  of  ten  children  of  Theodore  and  Cynthia 


TOWN   OF   WELLFLEET.  815 

{Atwood)  Brown,  and  grandson  of  George  Brown,  was  born  in  1825. 
He  followed  the  sea  for  twenty-one  years,  and  since  tie  was  thirty 
years  old  he  has  been  a  ship  carpenter.  He  married  Mercy  S.,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Sparrow. 

Collins  S.  Cole  was  a  son  of  Ebenezer  and  Sarah  (Smith)  Cole.  He 
was  a  sea  captain  in  early  life,  and  from  1841  to  his  death  in  1868  was 
a  merchant  at  South  Wellfleet.  He  was  a  representative  in  the  legis- 
lature and  held  various  town  offices.  He  was  twice  married;  first  to 
Mary  Jinkins,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Jerusha  Holbrook.  By  her  he 
had  two  sons:  William  H.  and  Collins  S.  The  latter  died  in  infancy. 
William  H.  married  Cindrilla,  daughterof  Deacon  John  and  Sally  New- 
comb,  and  died  in  August,  1871,  leaving  three  children:  Mary  A., 
Charles  F.  and  William  H.  Collins  S.  Cole  married  for  his  second 
wife  Ann  Gibbs,  daughterof  Deacon  Jonathan  and  Jerusha  Hapgood, 
of  Marlboro,  Mass.  He  left  one  daughter,  Julia  A.,  who  married  Samuel 
Atwood.     She  has  twin  sons:  Everett  H.  and  Collins  S.  C. 

Daniel  Cole,  born  in  1844,  is  a  son  of  Nehemiah  and  Sabrey  D. 
(Pierce)  Cole,  and  grandson  of  Daniel  Cole.  He  followed  the  sea  from 
1853  until  he  retired  to  become  keeper  of  the  life  saving  station.  He 
has  been  on  the  Cahoon  Hollow  life  saving  station  since  January, 
1873,  except  one  year,  and  has  been  keeper  of  the  station  since  1880. 
He  was  in  the  war  from  November,  1864,  to  July,  1865,  in  Company 
K,  Twelfth  Illinois  Infantry  Veteran  Volunteers,  Fourth  division, 
Fifteenth  army  corps.  He  married  Harriet  E.,  daughter  of  William 
E.  Blodgett.  They  have  two  sons  living:  Nehemiah  T.  and  Daniel 
W.,  and  lost  one  infant  daughter. 

Isaiah  Cole,  son  of  Isaiah  Cole,  died  in  1872,  aged  sixt^'-one  years. 
He  was  a  master  mariner  until  a  few  years  prior  to  his  death.  He 
married  Rachel  A.,  daughter  of  Obediah  and  Phebe  (Young)  Doane, 
and  granddaughter  of  Sylvanus  Doane.  Alvin  L.  Drown  lived  with 
Mrs.  Cole  from  the  death  of  her  husband  until  her  death  in  1890. 

Edwin  P.  Cook,  born  at  Cohasset,  Mass.,  in  1843,  is  a  son  of  Ichabod 
and  Lucinda  A.  (Stoddard)  Cook.  He  came  to  Wellfleet  in  1859, 
where  he  has  been  engaged  in  several  lines  of  business,  including 
lumber  merchant,  fish  merchant,  wrecker  and  oil  manufacturer.  He 
is  now  (1889)  chairman  of  the  board  of  selectmen.  He  married  Eliza 
F.,  daughter  of  William  H.  Hopkins.  They  have  three  sons:  Arthur 
R.,  Herbert  H.  and  Ralph  E. 

Timothy  A.  Daniels,  born  in  1807,  is  a  son  of  John  L.  and  Hannah 
(Atwood)  Daniels.  He  was  in  Boston  several  years  engaged  in  the 
oyster  business,  after  which  he  followed  the  sea,  in  the  fishing  busi- 
ness, about  twenty  years,  being  master  of  vessels  a  part  of  the  time. 
He  was  a  merchant  at  Wellfleet  about  ten  years,  since  which  time  he 
has  lived  retired.     He  married  Azubah,  daughter  of  Joshua  and  Polly 


816  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

(Pierce)  Moody.     Their  three  children  are:  Timothy  A.,  Mary  A.  and 
Olivia. 

James  H.  Gorham,  born  in  1821,  in  Barnstable,  was  a  son  of  Charles 
Gorham.  He  was  a  master  mariner  until  1868,  and  from  that  time 
until  his  death  in  1888,  he  was  a  grocery  merchant  at  Wellfleet.  He 
married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Oliver.  She  died  leaving  two 
sons:  James  H,,  jr.,  who  was  lost  at  sea,  and  Charles  A.  He  married 
for  his  second  wife  Thankful  F.,  daughter  of  David  and  Abigail 
(Holbrook)  Newcomb,  and  granddaughter  of  John  Y.  and  Thankful 
(Freeman)  Newcomb. 

Charles  A.  Gorham,  born  in  1845,  is  a  son  of  James  H.  and  Sarah 
(Oliver)  Gorham,  and  grandson  of  Charles  Gorham.  He  began  going 
to  sea  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  and  was  master  of  vessels  from  1863  until 
1886.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  a  merchant  in  Wellfleet,  where  he 
succeeded  his  father  in  the  grocery  business.  He  married  Dorcas  C, 
daughter  of  Michael  Rich. 

Lewis  Hamblin,  son  of  Cornelius  and  Sarah  (Baker)  Hamblin,  and 
grandson  of  Cornelius  Hamblin,  was  born  in  1832.  He  went  to 
Boston  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  where  he  was  engaged  in  a  wholesale 
drug  house  until  1853,  when  he  went  to  Australia,  where  for  twenty- 
two  years  he  was  a  farmer  and  merchant.  Since  1887  he  has  resided 
at  the  old  Hamblin  homestead  in  Wellfleet.  He  married  Aurelia  A. 
M.  Owen,  in  Australia. 

Albert  H.  Harding,  son  of  Solomon  and  Eliza  (Hill)  Harding,  and 
grandson  of  Solomon  Harding,  was  born  in  1838.  He  has  followed 
the  sea  since  boyhood  and  has  been  master  of  vessels  for  more  than 
twenty-five  years  in  coasting  and  fishing.  He  married  P.  Maria, 
daughter  of  Josiah  and  Nancy  (Holbrook)  Snow,  granddaughter  of 
Ambrose  and  great-granddaughter  of  David  Snow.  Their  only  child 
is  Walter  A. 

John  R.  Hawes,  son  of  John,  grandson  of  Jeremiah,  and  great- 
grandson  of  Jeremiah  Hawes,  was  bom  in  1823  and  died  in  1886.  He 
followed  the  sea  from  1831  to  1884,  as  master  of  coasting  vessels  for 
many  years.  His  first  marriage  was  with  Hannah  C,  daughter  of 
Bethuel  and  Nancy  (Brown)  Wiley.  She  died  in  1863.  They  had 
three  children:  George  W.  and  Asa  F.,  who  died;  and  Nancy  F.,  now 
the  widow  of  Henry  B.  Eaton.  Mr.  Hawes'  second  marriage  was  with 
Abbie  B.,  sister  of  first  wife. 

Parker  E.  Hickman,  son  of  John  and  Sarah  (Wilson)  Hickman,  and 
grandson  of  Jonathan  Hickman,  was  bom  in  1839.  He  has  been 
master  of  fishing  and  coasting  vessels  since  1866.  He  married  Francis 
A.,  daughter  of  Solomon  C.  and  Betsy  G.  (Smith)  Wiley,  and  grand- 
daughter of  John,  who  was  a  son  of  Lewis  Wiley.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Clara  I.,  who  was  married  to  Thomas  Young. 


^^t:^-^^^:^-^^^^^^-^— 


TOWN  OF  WELLFLEET.  817 

R.  R.  Freeman. — Richard  Rich  Freeman,  so  frequently  mentioned 
in  the  preceding  pages  as  identified  with  the  business  of  Wellfleet — 
especially  its  mercantile  and  banking  history — a  son  of  Edmund  and 
Betsey  (Rich  Freeman),  was  born  at  Wellfleet  December  17,1813,  and 
was  in  the  eighth  generation  of  descent  from  Edmond  Freeman,  the 
English  progenitor  of  those  bearing  this  family  name  on  Cape  Cod. 

John  Freeman,  born  1627  in  England,  was  a  son  of  Edmond  and 
Elizabeth  Freeman.  He  married  Mercy  Prence,  and  their  son,  Ed- 
mund, born  1657,  resided  at  Tonset,  and  died  December  10,  1717. 
Edmund's  son,  Ebenezer,  married  Abigail  Young,  and  their  son, 
Isaac,  born  1737,  married  Thankful  Higgins,  and  died  in  1760.  Ed- 
mund, son  of  Isaac  and  Thankful  Freeman,  was  born  March  2,  1757, 
married  Ruth  Wiley,  and  gave  his  own  name  to  the  second  of  their 
six  children,  born  January  6,  1780.  The  younger  Edmund  was  mar- 
ried in  1802  to  Priscilla  Rich,  and  again,  in  1812,  to  her  sister,  Betsey, 
and  died  January,  1870,  aged  ninety  years. 

Their  son,  Richard  R.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  and  portrait, 
married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Martha  (Swett)  Higgins 
of  Wellfleet  in  1836,  and  reared  a  family  of  nine  daughters  and  two 
sons,  of  whom  four  daughters  and  one  son  survive. 

The  business  life  of  Mr.  Freeman  is  largely  the  history  of  his 
native  village,  where  he  was  always  looked  up  to  as  a  substantial  and 
representative  man  of  affairs.  His  beginnings  were  small,  but  he  be- 
came the  builder  of  his  own  fortune,  and  acquired  through  shipping 
and  kindred  industries,  a  generous  estate.  His  support  was  brcadly 
given  to  the  Congregational  church,  and  by  his  life  as  a  christian 
gentleman  he  has  left  indelible  marks  for  good  upon  the  town  and 
the  age  in  which  he  lived. 

Noah  S.  Higgins,  born  in  1828,  is  a  son  of  Noah  and  Annie  (Kemp) 
Higgins,  grandson  of  Thomas  and  great-grandson  of  Thomas  Higgins. 
He  has  followed  the  sea  since  1836,  and  has  been  master  since  1850 
of  fishing  and  coasting  vessels.  Since  1882  he  has  run  a  packet  from 
Wellfleet  to  Boston.  He  married  Abigail,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  New- 
comb.  Their  children  are:  Byron  E.,  Elizabeth  D.  (Mrs.  C.  H.  Dyer), 
John  H.,  Alice  N.  (Mrs.  W.  W.  Cobb),  and  Fred  A. 

Payne  W.  Higgins,  son  of  Samuel  and  Lucy  (Newcomb)  Higgins, 
grandson  of  Payne  and  great-grandson  of  Jonathan  Higgins,  was 
born  in  1825.  He  followed  the  sea  until  1850,  since  which  time  he 
has  been  a  merchant  at  Wellfleet.  He  married  Maria  P.,  daughter  of 
Ebenezer  and  Hannah  (Newcomb)  Freeman,  and  granddaughter  of 
Isaac  Freeman. 

Martin  D.  Holbrook,  born  in  1846,  is  a  son  of  Henry  A.  and  Susan 
N.  (Atwood)  Holbrook,  and  grandson  of  Allen;  and  great-grandson  of 
Anthony  Holbrook.     Mr.  Holbrook  has  kept  a  livery  stable  since  1870, 
52 


818  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

when  he  succeeded  his  father  in  the  business.  He  married  Betsey  J., 
daughter  of  Thomas  Young.  Their  children  are:  Lizzie  M.,  Grace  G., 
Hattie  A.  and  Henry  A.  Mr.  Holbrook's  father,  Henry  A.,  kept  the 
Holbrook  House  from  1852  until  his  death  in  1875.  Since  that  time, 
with  the  exception  of  four  years,  it  has  been  run  by  Mr.  Holbrook 
and  his  mother. 

Robert  B.  Jenkins,  son  of  Payne  and  Olive  (Ryder)  Jenkins,  and 
grandson  of  Lot  Jenkins,  of  Barnstable,  was  born  in  1837.  He  began 
going  to  sea  at  the  age  of  eight  years,  and  from  1856  until  1883  he 
was  master  of  vessels.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  agent  for  the 
Central  Wharf  Company.  He  married  Lucretia  F.,  daughter  of  Lewis 
Higgins.  Their  children  are;  Robert  B.,  jr.  and  Edith  M.;  one  infant 
daughter  having  died. 

Samuel  W.  Kemp. — The  ancestry  of  this  citizen  of  Wellfleet  is 
traceable  to  the  state  of  Maryland,  where  the  name  early  and  promi- 
nently appeared.  At  the  age  of  twelve  years,  Robert  Kemp  came 
from  that  state  under  the  guardianship  of  Captain  Paine,  a  resident 
of  the  eastern  part  of  this  town.  Here  the  lad  grew  to  manhood,  mar- 
rying Anna,  daughter  of  his  guardian,  and  filling  positions  of  trust 
among  his  townsmen  during  the  first  of  the  present  century.  As  late 
as  1814  he  was  chosen  by  the  town  to  be  one  of  a  committee  of  safety, 
with  full  powers  to  meet  any  flag  of  truce  from  any  ship  of  war  sent 
by  an  enemy  of  the  United  States,  and  adjust  any  demands  or  contro- 
versies for  the  town  of  Wellfleet.  Here  he  lived  and  reared  eight 
children:  Thomas,  John,  Nathan,  Barzillai,  Robert,  William,  Wells, 
and  a  daughter,  all  of  whom  are  dead. 

William,  the  sixth  son  of  Robert  Kemp,  married  Nancy  A.  Ryder, 
and  they  had  children:  William,  Wells,  Samuel,  who  died  in  infancy; 
then  Samuel  W.,  Matilda,  Mehitable,  Olive  and  William,  named  after 
the  first  William,  who  died  at  the  age  of  twenty.  Wells,  still  living, 
married  Mercy  L.  Atwood,  and  had  three  children:  William,  Susan, 
now  deceased,  and  Mattie  E.  The  mother  of  these  three  children 
died,  and  Wells  married  Minerva  Pervere  for  his  second  wife.  Ma- 
tilda, the  oldest  of  the  daughters  of  William  Kemp,  married  David 
Y.  Pierce,  and  James,  their  only  child,  died  before  her.  Mehitable, 
the  next  daughter,  married  Daniel  C.  Newcomb,  and  still  survives. 
Olive,  the  youngest  daughter,  still  alive,  married  James  Wiley.  Their 
children  are:  Lillian  A.,  Alvin  L.  and  James  A.  Wiley.  The  last 
William  died  at  the  age  of  five. 

Samuel  W.  Kemp,  born  April  9,  1831,  was  the  fourth  son  of  Wil- 
liam and  Nancy  A.  Kemp.  He  received  but  a  limited  education  at  the 
common  schools  of  his  native  village,  going  to  sea  at  eight  years 
of  age,  and  attending  school  three  months  of  each  winter  during 
the  ten  succeeding  years.     At  twenty  he  was  a  master  in  the  oys- 


^  ^7^.^^ 


TOWN   OF  WELLFLEET.  819 

ter  and  fishing  business,  which  position  he  ably  filled  until  he  was 
thirty-three  years  old.  He  preferred  sailing  his  own  vessels,  and 
while  in  the  fishing  business  had  the  schooners  R.  R.  Higgins  and  Eu- 
nice P.  Newcomb  successively  built.  In  1864  he  turned  his  attention  to 
coasting,  and  had  the  large  schooner  Ati?ia  Ljons  built  at  Chelsea,  and 
in  which  he  sailed  seven  years.  In  1871  he  had  the  three-masted  ves- 
sel Charles  H.  Lawretice  built,  in  which  he  coasted  from  Maine  to  New 
Orleans  until  1882,  when  the  vessel,  while  under  the  care  of  his  mate, 
was  wrecked  at  the  mouth  of  Boston  harbor.  In  1883  he  made  four 
voyages  to  Baltimore,  and  the  next  year  he  assisted  J.  H.  Freeman, 
agent  of  the  Wellfleet  Mercantile  wharf.  He  had  been  on  the  sea 
forty-tour  years  as  boy,  mate  and  master,  three-fourths  of  the  time  in 
command;  and  so  successful  was  his  mastership,  and  so  marked  his 
integrity,  that  he  had  only  to  select  his  vessel  if  he  would  longer  fol- 
low the  sea.  In  January,  1885,  after  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Freeman, 
he,  by  the  urgent  wish  of  the  stockholders,  assumed  the  agency  of  the 
Mercantile  wharf,  which  position  he  now  satisfactorily  fills.  He  is  a 
director  of  the  Wellfleet  Savings  Bank,  a  member  of  Adams  Lodge, 
A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  and  is  identified  with  the  social  and  business  interests 
of  the  town.  He  endorses  the  acts  of  the  republican  party  in  his  po- 
litical preferences,  and  substantially  supports  the  Congregational 
church.  He  nev6r  assumes  to  be  a  leader  or  dictator  in  the  affairs  of 
the  town;  but  when  he  places  his  foot  upon  the  quarter  deck,  his  rela- 
tion to  surroundings  seems  to  change,  and  he  appears  to  have  been 
born  to  be  master. 

In  1854  he  married  Eunice  P.,  daughter  of  Lemuel  Newcomb,  of 
Wellfleet — an  old  and  influential  resident.  Of  their  four  children, 
the  only  survivor  is  Nannie  A.,  who  married  Arthur  H.  Rogers,  of 
Orleans,  and  has  two  children — Herbert  K.  and  Euna  W.  Rogers. 
The  residence  of  Captain  Kemp  is  pleasantly  situated,  on  Main  street 
of  Wellfleet  village,  where,  in  that  social  enjoyment  he  so  loves,  he  is 
surrounded  by  his  loving  household. 

Major  Oliver  Libby  was  born  in  Wellfleet  in  1829,  and  is  a  son  of 
Richard  and  Hannah  (Holbrook)  Libby.  He  went  to  New  York  city 
at  the  age  of  fourteen,  where  he  has  been  engaged  in  business  since 
that  time.  Since  1852  he  has  been  in  the  restaurant  and  oyster  busi- 
ness. He  was  a  member  of  the  Seventy-first  New  York  State  Militia 
from  1857  until  1866,  was  promoted  from  corporal  of  Company  C, 
step  by  step,  until  December,  1863,  when  he  was  elected  major  of  the 
regiment,  which  ofiice  he  resigned  in  April,  1866.  He  was  thrice 
called  to  active  service  during  the  war,  acting  each  time  as  an  oflBcer. 
He  married  Sarah  J.  Dudley,  of  Boston.  Their  children  are:  Jennie 
N.  and  Walter  F.  Since  1876  Major  Libby  has  had  a  summer  residence 
in  Wellfleet. 


820  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Oliver  H.  Linnell,  born  in  1849  in  Orleans,  is  a  son  of  Oliver  N. 
and  Adaline  G.  (Rogers)  Linnell,  and  grandson  of  Josiah,  who  was  a 
son  of  Thomas  Linnell.  Mr.  Linnel  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  a 
marble  worker  in  1869,  and  in  1873  he  opened  a  shop  in  Wellfleet,  to 
which  he  has  since  added  the  undertaking  business.  He  married 
Augusta  T.  daughter  of  Ephraim  T.  Knowles.  She  died  leaving  two 
daughters:  Ada  A.  and  Flora  L 

Charles  W.  Newcomb,  son  of  Thomas  E.  and  Lucy  J.  (Atwood) 
Newcomb,  and  grandson  of  Thomas  Newcomb,  was  born  in  1853.  He 
has  followed  the  sea  since  1865,  as  master  of  coasting  vessels  since 
1877.    He  has  two  sisters:  Lucy  E.(Mrs.George  A.Snow),  and  AlmiraT. 

Alvin  F.  Paine,  son  of  Isaac  and  Catharine  (Ryder)  Paine,  and 
grandson  of  Thomas  Paine,  was  born  in  1837  and  died  in  February, 
1890.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1849  until  1863,  and  from  that  time 
until  his  death  was  a  merchant.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the  Congrega- 
tional church  in  South  Wellfleet  and  a  prominent  and  trusted  citizen. 
He  married  Eliza  F.,  daughter  of  Scotter  Foster.  They  have  had 
three  children:  Isaac,  Mabel  F.  and  Alvin  F.,  jr. 

Edward  E.  Paine,  born  in  1849,  is  a  son  of  Winslow,  grandson  of 
Nathan,  and  great-grandson  of  Thomas  Paine.  He  has  followed  the 
sea  since  1860,  in  the  fishing  and  coasting  business.  Since  1874  he 
has  been  master  of  vessels.  He  married  Lydia  C,  daughter  of  Uriah 
H.  and  Huldah  (Jerauld)  Dyer.  They  have  two  children:  Winslow 
A.  and  Frank  A.,  one  son  having  died  in  infancy. 

William  L.  Paine,  son  of  Nathan  and  Dorcas  C.  (Lombard)  Paine, 
and  grandson  of  Thomas  Paine,  was  born  in  1822.  He  followed  the 
sea  from  1832  until  1866,  as  master  ten  years.  From  1867  until  1880 
he  was  fish  inspector,  and  also  connected  with  the  Southern  Wharf 
Company.  He  was  three  years  a  member  of  the  school  committee. 
He  married  Phebe  K.,  daughter  of  Solomon  Snow.  Their  children 
are:    William  L.,  jr.,  and  Frederick  M. 

Nehemiah  H.  Paine,  son  of  Nehemiah  H.  and  Rebecca  L.  (Rich) 
Paine,  and  grandson  of  Ephraim  and  Hannah  (Collins)  Paine,  was 
born  in  1840.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1854  until  1874.  He  married 
Lauretta,  daughter  of  Collins  Cobb.  They  have  two  children:  Ida  F. 
and  Frank  H. 

Franklin  H.  Pervere,  son  of  Isaac  and  Phebe  (Higgins)  Pervere, 
was  born  in  1831.  He  began  going  to  sea  at  the  age  of  fourteen, 
attaining  to  master  six  years  later.  Since  1865  he  has  been  on  coast- 
ing and  foreign  voyages.  He  married  Martha,  daughter  of  James  H. 
Atwood.  Their  two  children  are:  Arnold  J.  and  Ruth  A.  (Mrs.  A.  C. 
Mott). 

Joshua  A.  Rich,  bom  in  1820,  is  the  only  surviving  son  of  Joseph 
S.,  and  grandson  of  John  Rich.     He  has  followed  the  sea  since  1831. 


TOWN   OF   WELLFLEET.  821 

He  was  master  of  coasting  and  fishing  vessels  from  1845  until  1672, 
since  which  time  he  has  run  a  packet  between  Wellfleet  and  Boston. 
He  married  Olive  C,  daughter  of  William  and  Thankful  (Cole)  New- 
comb.  They  have  one  son,  David  C,  and  lost  three  children  in 
infancy. 

Newel  B.  Rich,  born  in  1831,  is  one  of  twelve  children  of  Samuel 
and  Polly  Rich,  and  grandson  of  Isaac  Rich.  He  has  been  a  sail 
maker  since  eighteen  years  of  age,  having  been  in  business  for  him- 
self since  1852.  Since  1881  he  has  also  been  engaged  in  weir  fishing. 
He  married  Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Mulford,  granddaughter  of  Mulford, 
and  great-granddaughter  of  Ephraim  Rich.  Their  two  children  are: 
Ada  M.  (Mrs.  W.  A.  Rich)  and  Benjamin  S.   One  son  died— Charles  N. 

Winfield  S.  Rich,  born  in  1862,  is  a  son  of  Solomon  A.  and  Jemima 
(Newcomb)  Rich,  and  grandson  of  Aaron  Rich.  He  graduated  from 
Wellfleet  high  school  in  1878,  and  has  been  employed  teaching  since 
1883.  Since  September,  1887,  he  has  been  principal  of  Yarmouth 
high  school. 

Frederick  W.  Snow,  son  of  Ambrose  and  Polly  (Swett)  Snow,  and 
grandson  of  Ambrose  Snow,  was  born  in  1837.  He  has  followed  the 
sea,  in  fishing  and  coasting,  since  1847,  having  been  master  since  1861. 
He  married  Eunice  C.  Oliver.  She  died  and  he  married  Adaline  A. 
Higgins.  Their  children  are:  Addie  W.,  Eunice  O.,  Celia  S.,  Christi- 
bel,  Frederick  A.,  David  B.  and  Roland  S. 

Freeman  A.  Snow,  son  of  Ambrose  and  Polly  (Swett)  Snow,  grand- 
son of  Ambrose,  and  great-grandson  of  David  Snow,  was  born  in  1838. 
He  followed  the  sea  from  1849  until  1888,  with  the  exception  of  two 
years.  He  was  master  after  1862.  He  is  now  (1889)  agent  for  the 
Commercial  Wharf  Company,  also  chairman  of  the  board  of  directors 
of  the  Central  Trading  Company.  He  married  Achsah  L.,  daughter 
of  Jeremiah  N.  Freeman.  Their  only  daughter,  Nellie  M.  (Mrs.  J. 
E.  Crowell),  is  deceased. 

Jesse  S.  Snow,  son  of  Ambrose  and  Polly  (Swett)  Snow,  was  born 
in  1851.  He  has  followed  the  sea  since  1861,  as  master  of  vessels 
since  1870,  in  the  fishing  and  coasting  business.  He  married  Marj' 
E.,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Polly  (Kemp)  Freeman.  They  have  two 
sons:  Albert  E.  ■'nd  Edgar  L. 

James  Swett. — This  family  name  was  transplanted  in  1630  from 
the  Isle  of  Guernsey,  in  the  English  channel,  to  Newburyport,  in  the 
New  World;  and  in  1670  two  brothers,  descendants  of  the  name,  came 
to  the  Cape,  Benjamin,  one  of  them,  settling  in  Wellfleet,  and  Noah, 
the  other,  in  Truro.  They  were  seafaring  men,  and  from  them  have 
descended  the  family  name  in  Barnstable  county.  Benjamin,  grand- 
son of  the  first  of  that  name  who  settled  here,  married,  and  from  him 
descended  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 


822  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Noah,  the  son  of  the  last  Benjamin,  was  born  in  Wellfleet  in  1743, 
and  had  five  children:  John,  Benjamin,  Joseph,  Martha  and  Su- 
sanna. 

Joseph,  the  third  son  of  Noah,  born  in  1778,  married  Bethia,  daugh- 
ter of  Dea.  Jonathan  Higgine,  of  Pamet  point,  and  was  a  prominent 
sea  captain.  He  was  drowned  while  passing  from  one  vessel  to 
another  in  ia  small  boat,  in  Provincetown  harbor,  his  wife  surviving 
him  fifty  years.  They  had  eleven  children:  Joseph,  Benjamin,  Be- 
thia, Sally,  Polly,  James,  John,  Noah  and  Betsey  H.,  who  grew  to  ma- 
ture age;  and  Ezekiel  and  Noah,  who  died  in  infancy.  The  first  nins 
of  these  children  married,  and  during  their  lives  filled  places  of  honor 
in  the  business,  civil  and  domestic  relations  of  life.  Much  of  their 
success  is  due  to  the  teachings  of  a  godly  mother,  who  so  indelibly 
impressed  the  seal  of  her  faith  upon  their  young  minds  as  to  sensibly 
affect  their  whole  lives  for  integrity  and  honesty  of  purpose.  A  short 
sketch  of  each  of  these  children  is  given  in  the  nine  succeeding  para- 
graphs: 

Joseph,  who  still  lives,  married  Susanna  Rich,  of  Truro,  and  of 
their  six  children,  James  and  Susan  survive. 

Benjamin  married  Jane  L.  Cole,  daughter  of  Isaiah  Cole,  and  died 
in  1842  of  yellow  fever,  at  Havana.  Of  his  five  children  two  survive 
— Benjamin  and  Malvina. 

Bethia  married  Israel  Pierce,  and  of  their  fourteen  children  eight 
survive.  Their  names  are:  James,  William,  Alonzo,  Sylvanus,  Benja- 
min, Melzar,  Warren  and  Edward. 

Sally  married  Elisha  Mayo  for  her  first  husband,  and  after  his 
death  married  John  Chipman.  Four  children  of  the  second  marriage 
survive:  John,  William,  Joseph  and  Sarah. 

Polly,  still  living,  married  Ambrose  Snow,  and  eight  children  sur- 
vive: Ambrose,  John,  Frederick,  Freeman,  Noah,  Jesse,  Ellen  and 
George. 

John,  residing  at  Wellfleet,  married  Clarissa  A.,  daughter  of 
Simeon  and  Raphael  Baker,  and  the  surviving  children  are:  Lucy  M., 
John  A.,  Charles  W,,  Jerry  P.,  Clara  E.  and  Alice  P.  Mr.  Swett  has 
long  been  identified  with  the  religious,  civil  and  business  interests  of 
the  town,  and  is  one  of  its  old  and  respected  citizens.  He  followed 
the  sea  from  1829  until  1859,  twenty  years  of  the  time  as  master  of 
vessels.     From  1859  until  1884  he  was  a  merchant  at  Wellfleet. 

Noah,  the  youngest  son  of  this  group  of  children,  is  a  resident  of 
Watertown,  Mass.,  and  the  cashier  of  the  Union  Market  National 
Bank  there.  He  had  been  prominently  connected  with  the  business 
interests  of  Wellfleet  prior  to  his  removal  to  his  present  place  of  resi- 
dence. He  married  Louisana  A.,  daughter  of  Isaac  Rich,  and  their 
surviving  children  are  Melville  and  Clara,  both  of  whom  are  married. 


^^^^<z.^^ 


'lu^tttj 


t,     BlEHSTAOT.     N.     Y. 


TOWN  OF  WELLFLEET. 


82a 


Betsey  H.,  the  youngest,  married  Jesse  S.  Newcomb  and  died  leav- 
ing two2  daughters — Ida  and  Mary — surviving  her.  Ida  has  since 
died. 

James  Swett  was  born  November  13,  1816,  near  the  Wellfleet  line, 
in  Truro,  and  at  the  early  age  of  seven  went  to  sea.  The  loss  of  his 
father  when  he  was  ten  years  old  taught  him  that  he  must  sustain 
life's  battles  without  a  father's  assistance,  and  this  tended  to  give  him 
the  self-reliant  characteristics  which  made  him  so  successful  in  after 
life.  At  nineteen  he  was  master  of  a  vessel,  which  position  he  filled 
over  a  quarter  of  a  century  with  marked  success,  retiring  with  a  com- 
petency in  the  year  1861 .  He  continued  to  deal  in  mackerel  and  ship- 
ping for  years,  and  his  firm,  keen  judgment  rendered  his  ventures  in 
business  very  remunerative — much  to  the  envy  of  his  contempora- 
ries. His  word  was  equal  to  a  bond  in  all  transactions.  He  was  a 
director  in  the  Provincetown  Bank  several  years;  also  is  now  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  Wellfleet  Savings  Bank.  On  the  17th  of  January, 
1849,  he  was  made  a  life  member  of  the  Boston  Seaman's  Friend  So- 
ciety, by  the  Congregational  church  of  Wellfleet.  He  is  also  a  life 
member  of  the  Wellfleet  Seamen's  Benevolent  Society.  In  1864  he 
was  the  prime  mover  in  the  organization  of  the  Wellfleet  Marine  In- 
surance Company,  of  which  he  was  president  over  twenty  years,  with 
the  most  eminent  success.  The  history  of  this  society  is  given  in 
that  of  the  village  of  Wellfleet. 

He  married  Sarah  D.,  daughter  of  Dr.  William  Stone  and  sister  of 
the  late  Thomas  N.  Stone,  M.  D.  She  died  October  6,  1880,  much  la- 
mented by  the  church  in  which  she  had  been  a  shining  light  for  thirty- 
seven  years,  and  mourned  by  a  large  circle  of  friends.  By  this  mar- 
riage eight  children  were  born:  Nancie  D.,  born  May  3,  1842,  died  at 
the  age  of  thirteen;  Eleanor  W.,  born  August  8,  1844,  who  died  at 
twenty;  Sarah  D.,  born  April  11,  1847,  married  Edwin  Collins  and  has 
two  children— Charles  A.  and  Nellie;  James  A.;  Anna  E.,  born  July 
27, 1854,  married  Captain  Anthony  Freeman;  Willie  S.,  born  July  31, 
1856,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nine;  Frank  H.,born  September  31,1859, 
now  in  business  at  Chicago;  and  Nancie  D.,  born  August  21,  1861, 
who  married  L.  W.  Hathaway  and  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight. 
Mr.  Swett  married  for  his  second  wife  Susan  F.  Small,  daughter  of 
L.  B.  Crockett  of  Deer  Island,  Me.,  on  the  17th  of  July,  1883.  He  has 
always  taken  a  deep  intere.st  in  the  affairs  of  the  body  politic;  but  pre- 
ferred his  social  and  business  relations  to  those  of  official  trusts.  He 
has  been  foremost  in  the  enterprises  of  his  town,  and  a  liberal  donor 
in  the  cause  of  religion.  To  worthy  suffering  humanity  he  has  ever 
been  a  charitable  friend,  not  allowing  one  hand  to  know  the  gifts  of 
the  other.  He  is  cautious  and  conservative  in  the  formation  of  friend- 
ships as  well  as  business  plans;  but  when  once  established  he  is  firm 


824  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

and  reliant  to  the  end.  He  and  his  wife  reside  in  their  pleasant  home 
on  the  Truro  road,  in  the  outskirts  of  Wellfleet  village,  and  in  the 
evening  of  his  days  he  enjoys  the  confidence  of  all  who  know  him. 

His  son,  James  A.,  born  February  28,  1849,  has  been  station  agent 
at  Wellfleet  since  1872  and  express  agent  since  1873.  He  married 
Mary  L.,  daughter  of  S.  L.  Lyman  of  Chatham.  They  have  one  son, 
George  R. 

Freeman  A.  Wiley,  born  in  1820,  was  a  son  of  Nathaniel  P.  and 
Matilda  P.  (Mayo)  Wiley.  Mr.  Wiley  kept  a  paint  store  at  Wellfleet 
from  1854  until  his  death  in  1888,  under  the  firm  name  of  F.  A.  Wiley 
&  Co.  He  was  married  to  Mary  C.  Harding.  Their  children  are: 
Isaiah  H.,  Daniel  F.  and  Edith  G.  (Mrs.  James  M.  Atwood).  Daniel 
F.  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  F.  A.  Wiley  &  Co.  in  1885,  and 
since  the  death  of  his  father  continues  the  business  at  the  same  place. 
He  married  Hattie  P.,  daughter  of  Solomon  A.  Rich. 

Barnabas  S.  Young,  son  of  Noah  and  Betsey  A.  (Freeman)  Young, 
grandson  of  Noah  and  great-grandson  of  Stephen  Young,  was  born 
in  1840.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1849  until  1883  in  fishing  and 
oyster  business,  having  been  master  of  vessels  six  years.  He  mar- 
ried Nancy  W.,  daughter  of  Josiah  S.  and  Nancy  (Holbrook)  Snow. 
Their  children  are:  Wilmot  O.,  Florence  A.  and  George  A. 

Isaiah  C.  Young,  born  in  1846,  is  the  only  child  of  Barnabas  S.  and 
Hannah  (Cole)  Young,  grandson  of  Noah  and  great-grandson  of 
Stephen  Young.  Mr.  Young  followed  the  sea  for  fifteen  years  prior 
to  1872,  in  the  fishing  and  oyster  business.  Since  that  time  he  has 
been  engaged  in  the  same  business  on  shore.  He  was  agent  for  the 
Commercial  Wharf  Company  from  1879  until  1889.  He  was  repre- 
sentative two  terms — 1886  and  1887 — and  is  now  county  commis- 
sioner. He  has  been  several  years  a  member  of  the  school  commit- 
tee. He-  married  Emma  G.,  daughter  of  Warren  and  Nancy  (Dyer) 
Newcomb.     Their  two  daughters  are  Ada  F.  and  May  E. 

Noah  Young,  son  of  Noah  and  Betsey  A.  (Freeman)  Young  and 
grandson  of  Noah  Young,  who  married  Sarah  Paine,  was  bom  in 
1845.  He  followed  the  sea  for  thirty  years,  fishing  and  coasting.  He 
is  now  a  farmer,  owning  and  occupying  the  homestead  of  his  father 
and  grandfather.  He  married  Emma  M.,  daughter  of  Isaac  Paine. 
Their  children  are:  Sarah  P.,  Austin  C,  Emma  M.,  Nora  F.,  Isaiah  C. 
and  Helen  Francis  Young. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


TOWN   OF   HARWICH. 


By  Josiah  Paine,  Esq. 


Incorporation. — Description. — Natural  Features. — Division  of  the  Land. — The  Settlers. — 
The  Fisheries.— The  Salt  Industry.— Cranberry  Culture.— Religious  Societies.— Of- 
ficial History.— Schools.— The  Villages  and  their  Various  Institutions.- Biographi- 
cal Sketches. 


HARWICH  was  incorporated  September  14,  1694.  It  then  ex- 
tended across  the  Cape  from  shore  to  shore,  joining  on  the  west 
old  Yarmouth,  on  the  east  old  Eastham  and  the  territory  of 
Monomoyick,  now  Chatham,  and  comprising  what  is  now  Brewster 
and  a  considerable  part  of  the  present  Orleans.  In  1772  the  part 
known  as  Potanumaquut,  but  now  South  Orleans,  was  set  off  to  East- 
ham — Harwich  assenting — by  the  general  court;  and  in  1803  the  north 
part,  then  known  as  the  North  parish,  after  a  long  and  somewhat 
bitter  contest,  was  set  off  into  a  township,  and,  in  deference  to  the 
memory  of  Elder  William  Brewster  of  the  Ma}'/ower  ha.nd  of  Pilgrims, 
whose  descendants  were  numerous  in  the  place,  as  well  as  in  other  of 
the  lower  Cape  towns,  was  called  Brewster.  Thus  shorn  of  more 
than  half  of  its  original  territory,  Harwich  is  yet  a  good  sized  town- 
ship, having  an  area  of  more  than  twenty  square  miles  and  contain- 
ing, according  to  last  census,  2,783  inhabitants.  The  town  derived  its 
name  from  Harwich,  an  old  maritime  town  in  Essex  county,  England, 
lying  about  sixty  miles  northeast  of  London.  Who  suggested  the 
name  has  been,  and  is  yet  a  matter  of  inquiry. 

Harwich,  as  it  is  now  constituted,  and  to  which  the  following  pages 
of  history  relate,  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  Chatham  and  Pleasant 
bay,  on  the  south  by  the  ocean,  on  the  west  by  Dennis  and  on  the 
north  by  Brewster.  The  surface  of  the  town,  though  somewhat  un- 
even, is  more  level  than  that  of  some  of  the  other  towns  in  the 
county.  The  greater  portion  of  it  yet  remains  in  an  uncultivated 
state,  covered  with  a  small  growth  of  oak  and  pine.  The  soil  is 
mostly  light  and  sandy,  but  quite  productive  when  fertilizing  sub- 
stance is  freely  used,  and  the  season  favorable.  It  is  free  from  rocks 
•or  bowlders  of  any  considerable  size,  and  consequently  is  easy  to 
cultivate. 


HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  ponds  in  the  town  are  somewhat  numerous,  several  of  which 
are  large  and  their  waters  clear  and  pure.  Seymour's  or  Bang's  pond, 
Long  pond.  Bush  Beach  pond  and  Grass  pond  are  a  chain  of  ponds 
that  lie!  between  the  town  and  Brewster — the  dividing  line  passing 
through  the  center  of  each.  Long  pond,  or  the  "Great  Long  pond," 
as  called  by  the  early  settlers^  is  the  largest,  and  is  about  six  miles  in 
circumference.  Two  small  streams  have  their  rise  in  it.  One  runs 
in  a  southwesterly  course  and  empties  into  Hinckley's  pond,  while 
the  other  in  a  westerly  course  empties  into  Seymour's  or  Bang's  pond. 
Alewives  pass  up  the  former  stream  into  Long  pond  to  spawn.  In 
former  times  there  was  a  small  stream  that  flowed  out  of  the  pond 
across  the  road  into  Seymour's  or  Bang's  pond,  a  short  distance  south- 
westerly of  the  house  of  Cyrus  Gaboon. 

Seymour's  or  Bang's  pond  is  a  large  and  clear  sheet  of  water  a  very 
short  distance  westerly  of  Long  pond.  Near  it  on  the  hill,  many 
years  since,  lived  an  Englishman  by  the  name  of  John  Seymour,  who 
was  by  occupation  a  tanner,  and  from  whom  the  pond  received  its 
name.  After  his  death  John  D.  Bangs  occupied  the  place;  since  his 
occupancy  it  has  sometimes  been  called  Bangs'  pond.  Not  far  from 
the  pond  in  a  southwesterly  direction  near  the  foot  of  a  high  hill  is 
the  site  of  the  last  meeting  house  of  the  Sauquatucket  Indians. 

Not  far  south  of  Seymour's  pond  is  Herring  or  Hinckley's  pond, 
the  source  of  Herring  river.  This  is  the  largest  pond  that  lies  wholly 
within  the  limits  of  the  town.  On  the  north  side  of  this  pond  was  the 
farm  of  John  Sequattom,  the  Christian  Indian,  and  on  the  east  the 
farm  of  Thomas  Hinckley.  Prior  to  Hinckley's  settlement  here,  the 
pond  was  known  as  Herring  pond,  since  then  Hinckley's  pond.  It  is 
now  sometimes  called  Pleasant  lake. 

Briggs'  pond,  situated  in  the  Paine  neighborhood,  is  a  large,  clear 
sheet  of  water.  In  the  records  of  land  bearing  date  171 3,  it  is  denem- 
inated  "  the  pond  southward  of  Benjamin  Philips."  Not  far  north  of 
its  shore  stood  Benjamin  Philip's  house,  and  afterward  the  house  of 
his  son,  Oaker,  a  soldier  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars.  The  sites  of 
the  houses  are  yet  marked  by  the  house  of  James  T.  Smalley.  Some 
six  rods  in  a  northwesterly  direction  from  the  pond,  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Queen's  road,  is  pointed  out  the  site  of  the  house  which  was 
burned  on  the  afternoon  of  May  24,  1757,  and  in  which  Mrs.  Dolly 
Eldridge  perished  attempting,  in  a  distracted  state,  to  save  her  bed. 

Next  in  size  is  Mill  pond,  situated  a  short  distance  to  the  eastward. 
It  has  a  white  sandy  bottom,  and  the  water  is  clear  and  pure.  Its 
shore,  for  the  most  part,  is  covered  with  pebbles  or  small  bowlders. 
On  the  high  ground,  on  the  north  side  of  the  pond  formerly  stood 
Walker's  wind  mill,  which  was  unroofed  in  the  great  gale  of  1816, 
and  some  years  afterward  removed  to  the  eastward  of  the  Saltwater 


TOWN   OF   HARWICH.  827 

pond  and  put  up.  Lieutenant  Zachariah  Smalley,  an  early  settler, 
lived  a  short  distance  from  the  northeast  part  of  the  pond,  and  owned 
a  large  tract  of  tillage  land  adjoining. 

Among  the  ponds  of  smaller  size  are  Walker's  pond,  Wolfhill  pond, 
Bassett's  pond  and  Clark's  pond  in  the  northerly  part  of  the  town; 
Berry's  or  Sand  pond  and  Flax  pond  in  the  westerly  part  of  the  town, 
and  Grass  pond.  Saltwater  pond  and  Skinnequit  pond  in  the  southerly 
part.  Grass  pond  is  the  source  of  Cold  brook,  which  empties  into 
Andrew's  river.  It  was  called  by  the  settlers  Crooked  pond,  and  by 
the  Indians  Woonkepit.  It  is  very  shallow  with  a  muddy  bottom. 
The  greater  part  of  it  has  within  a  few  years  been  converted  into 
cranberry  land.  Saltwater  pond — a  good  harbor  for  boats — lies  a  short 
distance  from  the  seashore  westward  of  Andrew's  river  and  has  an 
outlet  to  the  sea.  It  is  twenty  feet  deep  and  about  180  rods  in  cir- 
cumference. It  was  called  by  the  early  settlers  Oyster  pond.  Skin- 
nequit pond  is  the  source  of  a  small  stream  of  the  same  name  which 
empties  into  Red  river.  It  is  situated  in  South  Harwich.  It  is  visited 
by  the  alewives  in  the  spawning  season.  John  Skinnequit,  an  Indian, 
owned  land  on  the  east  side  of  the  pond  and  river,  and  had  his  cabin 
near  by,  before  1692,  at  which  date  he  sold  most  of  his  territory  to 
Jeremiah  Howes  of  Yarmouth. 

The  most  important  of  the  few  rivers  in  town — are  Herring  river, 
Andrew's  river.  Red  river  and  'Coys  brook.  Herring  river  is  the 
largest.  It  flows  out  of  Herring  or  Hinckley's  pond  in  a  southwest- 
erly direction  through  the  village  of  North  Harwich,  and  through 
West  Harwich  into  the  Vineyard  sound.  On  each  side  of  the  river, 
for  a  long  distance  from  its  mouth,  is  a  tract  of  meadow  from  which 
have  been  yearly  taken  large  quantities  of  salt  and  fresh  hay.  The 
general  name  of  the  tract  is  Herring  River  meadow.  In  former  years 
portions  of  the  tract  bore  the  names  of  "  Boreman's  Meadow," 
"Berry's  Meadow,"  "Gage's  Meadow,"  "Hall's  Meadow,"  "  Pog's 
Meadow,"  "  Paine's  Meadow,"  and  "  Boggy  Meadow."  Some  years 
since  an  attempt  was  made  to  improve  the  meadow,  and  a  tide  gate 
was  erected  at  considerable  expense  to  keep  out  the  tide  water,  but  it 
proved  unsuccessful.  Alewives  visit  this  river,  but  not  in  so  large  a 
number  as  formerly.  The  taking  of  alewives  in  the  river  is  regulated 
by  special  laws.  The  town  obtained  control  of  the  alewive  fishery 
here  in  1787.  The  last  vessel  built  in  town  was  built  on  this  river  at 
West  Harwich. 

Andrew's  river  is  a  small  stream  that  rises  in  the  swamps  at  the 
place  called  by  the  Indians  Poonpit.  The  course  of  the  river  is  south- 
erly to  the  sea.  For  some  distance  from  its  mouth  northward  extends 
a  large  body  of  marsh,  from  which  is  taken  yearly  salt  and  fresh  grass 
in  large  quantities  for  provender  for  cattle.     In  the  middle  of  the 


828  .  .     HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

marsh,  after  various  windings,  Cold  brook,  the  stream  that  rises  in 
Grass  pond  and  is  fed  by  the  many  swamps  on  its  borders,  unites.  On 
both  branches  of  these  streams  in  former  days  were  grist  mills — sites 
of  which  are  yet  pointed  out.  The  swamps  through  which  these 
streams  run  have  been  converted  into  valuable  cranberry  lands.  The 
river  took  its  name  from  Andrew  Clarke,  an  early  resident,  who  owned 
large  tracts  on  both  sides,  and  lived  near  by.  Cold  brook,  the  tribu- 
tary to  Andrew's,  is  valuable  to  cranberry  growers  in  flowing,  and 
draining  adjacent  swamps. 

Red  river  is  a  small  muddy  stream  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
town,  issuing  from  the  swamps  just  above  the  marsh  to  the  north- 
ward and  flowing  southwardly  into  the  sea.  It  forms  a  boundary  be- 
tween this  town  and  Chatham  in  that  vicinity.  The  Indians  called 
the  stream  Maspatucket.  Skinnequit's  farm  adjoined  it  on  the  west. 
It  runs  through  a  large  tract  of  marsh  from  which  is  taken  yearly 
many  tons  of  good  salt  and  fresh  hay.  The  Skinnequits  river  is 
tributary  to  it.  The  Harwich  and  Chatham  factory  was  erected  on 
the  stream  in  1824,  but  was  soon  removed  to  North  Harwich  in  conse- 
quence of  the  small  supply  of  water. 

Coys  brook  is  a  tributary  to  the  Herring  river,  and  rises  in  what 
was  known  some  years  since  as  Bridge  swamp,  north  of  R.  M.  Moody's 
house.  It  is  a  narrow  stream  with  a  muddy  bottom,  and  flows  into 
the  Herring  river  near  Bell's  neck.  In  its  course  to  unite  with  the 
waters  of  the  Herring  river,  it  passes  through  extensive  tracts  of 
cranberry  land,  which  a  few  years  since  were  valueless  swamps.  The 
brook  took  its  name,  undoubtedly,  from  John  Mecoy,  who  had  land 
granted  him,  "both  upland  and  meadow,"  in  1667,  within  some  dis- 
tance of  the  river,  in  what  has  been  denominated  the  Hall  neighbor- 
hood. An  island  in  the  meadows  north  of  Boardman's  or  Boreman's 
island,  was  before  1680  called  "John  'Coy's  island."  This  island  was 
probably  the  one  now  known  as  Hall's.  Mention  of  Coy's  brooks  in 
deeds  appears  as  early  as  1695.  Water  of  several  small  ponds,  besides 
Beriah's  and  Walker's  ponds,  now  unite  with  the  stream — an  opening 
having  been  made  to  the  chain  of  ponds  for  draining  purpo.ses  in  the 
cultivation  of  cranberries.  On  the  west  side  of  the  river,  near  where 
the  "  great  western  "  road  crosses,  is  the  site  of  the  grist  mill  once 
owned  by  Benjamin  Nickerson.  Some  distance  west  passed  the  line 
of  the  Wings,  Dillingham,  Winslow  and  others,  separating  their  land 
from  that  belonging  to  the  "Purchasers  or  Old  Comers,"  their  heirs 
or  assigns.  This  boundary  was  known  to  the  early  residents  as 
"Wing's  line." 

The  town  has  about  4^  miles  of  sea  coast  stretching  from  Dennis 
to  Chatham  and  about  1^  miles  of  bay  shore  at  East  Harwich,  stretch- 
ing from  Orleans  to  Chatham,  but  no  good  harbor.     The  few  inlets 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  829 

are  small  in  size,  the  most  important — aside  from  Saltwater  pond, 
which  has  already  been  noticed — being  Allen's  harbor,  Muddy  cove 
and  Short  or  Round  cove. 

Allen's  harbor,  so  called,  situated  about  four  hundred  rods  east- 
ward of  the  mouth  of  the  Herring  river,  was  formerly  known  as 
Gray's  pond  and  harbor.  It  is  a  shallow,  muddy  bottom  pond,  with  a 
narrow  outlet  to  the  sea.  Into  it  flows  a  narrow  stream  that  rises  in 
the  lowland  eastward  of  the  house  of  Abiathar  Doane.  Around  the 
harbor  is  a  tract  of  marsh  which  yields  yearly  tons  of  salt  hay.  On 
the  west  side  of  the  outlet  is  "  Nohauts  "  or  "  Nohorns  "  neck,  where,, 
at  the  early  settlement  of  the  town,  Indians  resided.  Large  numbers 
of  arrow  heads  have  been  found  here  from  time  to  time,  as  well  as 
other  stone  implements  used  by  the  aborigines  in  their  time  of  quiet- 
ness, when  no  white  man  had  visited  these  parts.  On  the  east  side  of 
the  pond  or  harbor  was  the  old  worn-out  planting  land  of  the  Indians, 
which,  as  early  as  1692,  was  denominated  as  the  "  Mattacheeset  field."" 
In  this  field,  not  far  distant  from  the  outlet,  terminated  the  "  antient 
line  "  from  Bound  brook,  between  the  town  of  Yarmouth  and  the  land 
of  the  "  Purchasers  or  Old  Comers,"  agreed  upon  in  1641,  and  which 
remained  the  line  oT  Yarmouth  until  1681,  when  the  line  from  Bound 
brook  on  the  north  side  was  changed  to  the  west  side  of  Herring 
river,  and  which  is  now  the  line  between  Harwich  and  Dennis.  In 
1692  old  trees  were  standing  that  bore  marks  of  the  line  of  1641  in 
this  vicinity.  The  old  Indian  fields  extended  easterly  from  this  place 
on  the  banks  of  the  sea  shore  to  the  Oyster  pond,  or  as  now  called 
Saltwater  pond. 

Muddy  cove,  or  Long  cove  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  lies  partly  in 
this  town.  The  center  of  it  from  the  place  called  the  "  Eel  Weir  "  to- 
its  mouth  at  Pleasant  bay,  is  the  boundary  between  Harwich  and 
Chatham.  In  length  it  is  more  than  a  mile.  In  many  places  it  is 
narrow  and  shallow.  Some  marsh  borders  the  cove  on  both  sides, 
which  is  covered  at  very  high  tides.  Across  the  mouth  of  the  inlet 
is  the  Wading  Place  bridge,  which  connects  the  two  towns.  In  former 
times,  when  the  Indians  were  numerous,  they  forded  the  river  here, 
in  their  passage  from  one  town  to  the  other.  Near  the  boundary 
stone  where  the  tide  gate  has  been  put  in,  is  the  site  of  an  eel  weir  of 
the  Indians.  At  this  point  the  river  hugs  the  upland  closely.  On  the 
west  side  of  the  cove,  near  the  house  of  Hiram  Nickerson,  is  the  site 
of  the  house  of  captain  Joseph  Nickerson,  the  first  white  settler,  so 
far  as  is  known,  in  this  part  of  the  town,  and  near  by,  to  the  north- 
ward, the  site  of  the  hou.se  of  William  Long,  the  ancestor  of  the  Long 
family  of  Harwich.  Joshua  Jethro,  a  Christian  Indian,  lived  for 
many  years,  after  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  short 
distance  northwesterly  from  the  mouth,  upon  the  farm  purchased 


830  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

of  the  Quasons,  and  after  him  Micah  Ralph,  the  last  Indian  of  pure 
blood  in  Harwich. 

Round  cove,  or  Short  cove,  as  it  is  called  in  old  records,  lies  north- 
ward of  Muddy  cove,  on  the  west  side  of  Pleasant  bay.  It  is  now  a 
haven  for  boats.  On  the  west  bank  was  the  boundary  between  the 
Quasons  and  Sipsons,  and  the  site  of  the  cabin  of  Isaac  James,  an  In- 
dian of  note.  Many  springs  of  water  are  found  around  the  cove.  The 
Indians  called  the  locality  north  of  it  Wequaset.  The  first  white 
settler  near  the  cove  was  Thomas  Freeman.  The  house  of  the  late 
W.  S.  Eldridge  marks  the  site.  The  last  salt  works  in  the  town  stood 
on  the  banks  of  the  cove.  About  one-third  of  a  mile  in  a  westerly 
direction,  on  high  ground  covered  with  a  growth  of  young  oaks,  is 
the  burying  ground  of  the  Indians  who  resided  in  the  vacinity.  A  few 
years  since  the  writer  was  shown  several  places  where  tradition  says 
Indians  were  buried.  Isaac  James  and  most  of  his  family  found  rest- 
ing places  here,  it  is  reported.  Some  of  the  graves  were  marked  with 
small  bowlders,  well  sunk  into  the  earth.  Mr.  James  was  a  good 
citizen,  and  was  much  respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  He  had  several 
children,  but  he  survived  them  all. 

The  territory  which  constitutes  the  township,  with  the  exception 
of  a  large  tract  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  town,  bordering  on 
each  side  of  the  Herring  river,  yielded  by  Yarmouth  upon  establish- 
ing a  new  line  in  1681,  is  the  south  part  of  the  tract  selected  for  a 
plantation  by  the  "  Purchasers  or  Old  Comers  "  and  granted  to  them 
upon  the  surrender  of  the  patent  March  2,  1640-41.  The  whole 
territory  extended  from  "  sea  to  sea  "  across  the  Cape,  or  the  "  neck 
of  land  "  as  the  record  has  it,  "  from  the  bounds  of  Yarmouth  three 
miles  to  the  eastward  of  Namskaket."  The  first  line  established 
between  the  reservation  and  Yarmouth  was  in  June,  1641,  by  a  com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  colonial  court,  viz.:  Captain  Miles  Standish, 
Edward  Winslow.  John  Brown  and  Edmund  Freeman.  It  commenced 
at  Bound  brook,  called  by  the  Indians  Shuckquam,  where  the  Brewster 
and  Dennis  line  now  commences,  and  extended  a  southeasterly 
course,  eastward  of  Hall's  meadows,  terminating  at  a  point  in  "Matta- 
cheeset  field,"  on  the  east  side  of  Aliens  harbor,  near  the  bank  by 
the  sea  shore. 

The  change  of  the  line,  which  was  effected  through  the  efforts  of 
John  Wing,  sr.,  John  Dillingham,  Kenelm  Winslow  and  associates, 
the  proprietors  of  land  at  Sauquatuckett,  now  West  Brewster,  and 
also  of  land  west  of  the  old  line  in  North  Harwich,  and  west  side  of 
the  Herring  river  at  West  Harwich,  gave  to  the  territory  now  Har- 
wich a  tract  of  several  thousand  of  acres,  embracing  meadow,  cedar 
swamps  and  timber  land,  which  at  the  time  had  not  all  been  purchased 
of  the  Indians.     By  the  settlement,  these  proprietors  were  allowed  to 


TOWN   OF  HARWICH.  831 

secure  the  extinguishment  of  the  Indian  titles  to  land  unsold,  and 
they  very  soon  applied  themselves  to  the  work.  Sachemas,  the 
sachem  of  Sauquatuckett  laying  claim  to  a  tract  between  the  old  line 
and  Herring  river,  which  parted  his  land  from  Napaitan's  heirs  now 
in  possession  of  Wings  and  associates,  February  16,  1689-90,  quitted 
all  claim  to  unsold  land  within  the  following  boundaries:  "Beginning 
upon  the  middle  of  Satuckett  mill  dam  and  from  thence  ranging  upon 
a  straight  line  due  south  till  it  comes  to  the  south  sea;  and  from 
thence  ranging  along  the  sea  side  westerly  to  the  middle  of  the  Her- 
ring River  mouth,  which  is  the  bounds  between  Sachemas  and  Na- 
paoitan,  and  from  thence  ranging  northerly  along  the  middle  of  the. 
River,  as  the  river  runneth,  to  a  marked  tree  which  stands  by  said 
river  side  near  to  John  Bell's  house,  which  is  the  bounds  between  sd. 
Sachemas  and  said  Nappaitan;  and  from  thence  ranging  northerly  to 
a  marked  tree  which  stands  at  the  head  of  the  uppermost  great  pond 
which  is  the  bounds  between  sd.  Sachemas  and  said  Napaoitan;  and 
from  thence  ranging  northeasterly  through  the  middle  of  the  sd. 
Satuckett  pond  to  sd.  Satuckett  mill  dam  which  is  the  first  bound  first 
mentioned." 

The  purchased  lands  within  the  limits  of  the  territory  above  de- 
scribed was  the  tract  he  had  conveyed  to  Edward  Sturgis  and  his  two 
sons,  lying  on  the  west  side  of  the  old  line,  and  embracing  nearly  all 
the  land  to  the  Herring  river;  the  tract  which  "  Gershom  Hall  settled 
upon;"  the  tract  sold  to  Thomas  Boardman,  and  the  tract  held  by  Cap- 
tain Daniel,  the  Indian  warrior  at  Sauquatuckett.  The  first  three  of 
these  tracts  lie  in  Harwich.  The  tract  "  Gershom  Hall  settled  upon  " 
extended  northerly  from  the  meadows  up  to  the  Queen  Anne's  road, 
and  embraced  a  large  tract.  Much  of  it  is  yet  in  the  hands  of  his  de- 
scendants. The  tract  of  Thomas  Boardman,  or  "  Boreman,"  as  he  was 
sometimes  called  by  the  settlers,  was  on  the  north  side  of  the  Herring 
river,  in  what  is  now  North  Harwich.  It  adjoined  a  river  on  the  north- 
east and  the  Queen's  road  on  the  southwest.  It  was  laid  out  to  Board- 
man  in  1696,  but  there  appears  no  evidence  that  he  attempted  a  set- 
tlement upon  it.  The  old  line  of  the  purchasers  passed  not  far  east- 
ward of  the  tract. 

Besides  Napaitan's  heirs,  and  Sachemas,  the  Indian  sachem  of  Sau- 
quatuckett, the  Quasons  and  Sipsons,  Indians,  were  large  land  hold- 
ers in  the  town.  The  Quasons,  sons  and  daughters  of  John  Quason, 
and  grandchildren  of  Mattaquason,  the  sachem  of  Monomoyick,  held 
rights  to  the  greatest  portion  of  the  place.  Their  land  embraced  the 
tract  between  Long  pond  and  the  sea  shore  from  the  old  line  of 
the  purchasers  eastward  to  Sipson's  line,  which  line  extended  from 
a  point  at  Short  cove,  near  a  place  by  them  called  Wequassett, 
northwesterly  to  Bush  beach,  near  the  boundary  stone  between  Har- 


832  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

wich  and  Brewster.  From  time  to  time  they  disposed  of  their  rights 
to  friendly  Indians,  and  such  of  the  whites  having  authority  from  the 
proprietors  of  the  reserve  to  purchase.  The  right  at  last  to  purchase 
of  them  their  unreserved  land  in  the  reservation  of  the  purchasers 
having  passed  into  the  lawful  possession  of  John  Cole,  Joshua  Hop- 
kins, Daniel  Cole,  jr.,  Nicholas  Snow  and  Nathaniel  Doane,  of  East- 
ham,  and  Stephen  Hopkins,  Prence  Snow  and  John  King,  of  Har- 
wich, on  the  18th  of  May,  1711,  purchased  of  John  Quason,  Joseph 
Quason,  Samuel  Quason,  Josephus  Quason,  Sarah  Pompmo,  Bettie 
Nopie  and  Wawhanama,  wife  of  Little  James,  all  lawful  sons  and 
daughters  (together  with  Jeremiah  Quason,  late  deceased),  of  John 
Quason,  deceased,  "  living  in  Eastham,  Harwich,  Monomoy  and  Yar- 
mouth," all  their  unreserved  land  within  the  following  described  ter- 
ritory: "  Beginning  at  a  marked  tree  marked  by  the  bank  of  a  place 
called  Wequassett,  near  Short  Cove;  from  thence  running  northerly 
by  the  Sipson's  range  to  the  easterly  end  of  Long  Pond;  thence  run- 
ning westerly  by  said  Long  Pond  to  the  Herring  Pond;  and  from  the 
sd.  Herring  Pond  southerly  by  the  brook  or  river  that  runs  out  of  the 
Herring  Pond  to  the  main  sea;  thence  running  easterly  by  sd.  sea  to- 
Monomoy  bounds  near  the  Red  River;  thence  northeasterly  to  the 
head  of  Muddy  Cove,  and  so  by  the  river  that  runs  out  of  sd  Muddy 
Cove,  and  so  to  the  first  specified  bounds;"  together  with  (their  right 
to)  the  "  Great  Beach  lying  between  Monomoy  and  the  main  sea,  ex- 
tending eastward  and  westward  as  far  as  our  said  deceased  father, 
John  Quason,  his  right  did  extend,  with  all  meadows  and  sedge 
ground  adjoining  and  every  wise  thereto  belonging,  from  Sandy 
Point  home  to  Sipson's  bounds,"  with  their  Island  in  Pleasant  Bay 
"  called  Chochpenacot  Island,*  lying  between  sd.  Monomoy  and  the 
Great  Beach." 

The  reservations  which  they  made  in  their  deed  were:  a  tract  of 
twenty  acres  for  John  Quason;  thirty  acres  for  Josephus  Quason; 
thirty  acres  for  Samuel  Quason,  and  twenty  acres  for  Joseph  Quason,. 
"  over  and  above  what  he  holds  in  partnership  with  Little  James," 
and  "  to  be  laid  out  to  them  between  the  Wading  Place  and  Joseph 
Nickerson's  house,  to  them  their  heirs  and  signs  forever."  Having 
hitherto  conveyed  many  acres  within  the  boundaries  described  in 
their  deed,  they  desired  that  such  tracts  that  had  been  "  purchased 
according  to  the  true  meaning  of  the  laws  of  the  Province  "  should  be 
excepted,  and  the  grantees  not  to  be  disturbed  as  to  their  titles. 

The  proprietors,  upon  coming  in  possession  of  the  valuable  tract, 
for  which  only  the  sum  of  eight  pounds  was  paid  to  extinguish  the 
title,  found,  as  they  probably  had  expected,  hundreds  of  acres  within 
the  limits  of  the  boundaries  above  given,  in  possession  of  purchasers. 

•This  island  is  now  known  as  Strong  island,  and  is  within  the  limits  of  Chatham. 


TOWN   OF   HARWICH.  833 

who  had  "purchased  according  to  the  laws  of  the  Province,"  and  also 
many  acres  in  the  possession  of  parties  who  had  no  title.  Seme  of 
these  squatters  were  obstinate,  and  gave  the  proprietors  some  trouble. 
The  first  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Quason  land,  who  had  now 
somewhat  increased  in  numbers,  was  held,  according  to  their  record, 
March  24, 1713-14.  After  choosing  Nicholas  Snow,  clerk,  made  choice 
of  "Thomas  Atkins,  Stephen  Hopkins,  Joshua  Hopkins,  John  Gray, 
Joseph  Doane  and  Nicholas  Snow,  a  committee  to  lay  out  their  lands, 
or  so  much  thereof  by  them  might  be  found  convenient,  into  lots  or 
shares,  in  order  for  to  be  cast,  so  that  each  proprietor  may  have  his 
just  and  equal  proportion  of  sd.  land '";  also  "  to  settle  bounds  with 
particular  men  that  butted  on  sd  land  according  to  right  and  justice." 
They  were  authorized  "  to  rectify  the  mistakes  in  the  bounds  of  Joseph 
Quason's  lot,"  laid  out  to  him  "towards  Muddy  Cove,"  and  to  aid  in 
bounding  the  "fifty  acres  of  land  and  meadow  of  Joseph  Nickerson 
at  the  Muddy  Cove,  to  the  contents  of  his  deed  thereof  ";  also  "  to  hear 
the  claim  and  challenges  "  of  those  that "  claim  land  within  the  bound- 
aries "  which,  if  "in  their  wisdom  shall  find  to  be  just,"  settle  the 
claims  by  setting  out  to  each  claimant  a  parcel  of  land  "  where  the  com- 
mittee find  reasonable."  Thomas  Atkins,  of  Chatham,  was  chosen  an 
agent  "to  sue  and  prosecute  "  those  "  who  presumed  to  cut  timber, 
wood  or  fencing  stufif "  upon  any  part  of  their  land. 

The  committee  chosen  to  lay  out  the  land  into  lots  met  at  the  house 
of  Nicholas  Snow,  situate  in  what  is  now  Brewster,  April  19, 1714,  with 
the  proprietors,  and  reported  "  that  they  had  laid  out  twenty  lots  of 
land  "  on  the  "  southerly  of  the  road  which  goes  from  Chatham  to 
Yarmouth,  and  also  twenty  lots"  on  the  "northerly  side  of  sd.  road, 
between  sd.  road  and  the  great  Long  Pond."  After  mutually  agree- 
ing "to  draw  for  their  lots,"  they  proceeded  to  the  work.  The  first 
lot,  in  the  north  section,  lying  in  East  Harwich,  on  the  westerly  side 
of  the  road  to  Brewster,  and  bounded  on  the  southeast  by  the  lot  set 
out  to  Menekish,  and  on  the  northerly  end  by  the  Long  pond,  was 
drawn  by  John  Gray.  Then  proceeding,  John  Cole  drew  the  second, 
which  laid  on  the  west  side  of  the  first,  Joseph  Doane  the  third.  Cap- 
tain Joseph  Harding  the  fourth,  Stephen  Hopkins  the  fifth,  Joseph 
Nickerson  the  sixth,  John  King  the  seventh,  Micaijah  Snow  the  eighth, 
Stephen  Hopkins  the  ninth,  Benjamin  Philips  the  tenth.  Captain  Ed- 
mund Freeman  the  eleventh,  Seth  Taylor  the  twelfth,  Nathaniel  Doane 
and  Israel  Doane  the  thirteenth,  Joshua  Hopkins  the  fourteenth,  Nich- 
olas Snow  the  fifteenth,  Lieutenant  Jonathan  Howes  and  partners  the 
sixteenth,  Elisha  Hopkins  and  Joseph  Cole  the  seventeenth,  Thomas 
Atkins  the  eighteenth,  Prence  Snow  the  nineteenth,  and  Thomas 
Clarke  the  twentieth.  The  twentieth  lot  adjoined  on  the  west  the  old 
road  from  Brewster  to  Coy's  brook,  on  the  north  the  land  of  John 
53 


834  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Sequattoms,  and  on  the  south  the  old  Yarmouth  and  Chatham  road, 
sometimes  called  Queen  Anne's  road.' 

Upon  drawing  for  lots  in  the  south  division,  which  is  the  tract  be- 
tween the  Queen's  road  and  road  from  Coy's  brook  to  Chatham,  the 
first  lot — stretching  between  the  two  roads,  adjoining  the  Chatham 
line  on  the  east — fell  to  Joseph  Doane,  Esq.;  the  second,  lying  west- 
erly, fell  to  John  Cole;  the  third  lot  to  Jonathan  Howes  and  partners, 
the  fourth  to  Micaijah  Snow,  the  fifth  to  Israel  and  Nathaniel  Doane, 
the  sixth  to  Prence  Snow,  the  seventh  to  Benjamin  Philips,  the  eighth 
to  John  Gray,  the  ninth  to  Seth  Taylor,  the  tenth  to  Stephen  Hop- 
kins, the  eleventh  to  Captain  Edmund  Freeman,  the  twelfth  to  Joseph 
Cole  and  Elisha  Hopkins,  the  thirteenth  to  Stephen  Hopkins,  the 
fourteenth  to  Thomas  Atkins,  the  fifteenth  to  Captain  Joseph  Hard- 
ing, the  sixteenth  to  Captain  Joseph  Nickerson,  the  seventeenth  to 
Nicholas  Snow,  the  eighteenth  to  John  King,  the  nineteenth  to 
Joshua  Hopkins,  the  twentieth  to  Thomas  Clarke.  His  lot  was  the 
westernmost  in  the  row,  and  adjoined  the  road  from  Coy's  brook  to 
the  north  precinct,  now  Brewster. 

The  next  division  of  importance  of  the  common  land  of  the 
proprietors  was  of  a  tract  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town,  which  was 
known  as  the  "  Little  Division."  The  lots,  twenty  in  number,  were 
drawn  December  28,  1730.  Joseph  Doane,  Esq.,  drew  the  first  lot, 
John  Young  the  second,  Thomas  Doane  the  third.  Captain  Joseph 
Harding  the  fourth,  Micaijah  Snow  the  fifth,  Nicholas  Snow  the  sixth, 
Captain  John  Atkins  the  seventh,  Elisha  Hopkins  and  Samuel  King 
the  eighth,  Thomas  Atkins  the  ninth,  Stephen  Hopkins  the  tenth, 
Joshua  Hopkins  the  eleventh,  Thomas  Clarke  the  twelfth,  William 
Long  and  partners  the  thirteenth,  Stephen  Hopkins  the  fourteenth, 
Lieutenant  Jonathan  Howes  the  fifteenth,  Jonathan  Linnell  the  six- 
teenth, Nathaniel  Doane  and  partners  the  seventeenth.  Captain  Ed- 
mund Freeman. the  eighteenth,  John  King  the  nineteenth  and  Prence 
Snow  the  twentieth.  Many  of  the  lots  in  the  "  Little  Division  "  were 
bounded  southwesterly  by  the  road  from  East  Harwich  to  Brewster, 
while  some  were  bounded  westerly  by  the  road  from  East  Harwich 
meeting  house  to  Orleans.  The  last  clerk  of  the  proprietors  was  Solo- 
mon Crowell;  the  last  meeting  of  the  proprietors  held  was  in  1822. 

The  proprietors  had  a  narrow  tract  bordering  the  south  side  of  the 
highway  from  Coy's  brook  to  Chatham,  to  which  adjoined  the  land  of 
Samuel  Nickerson,  John  Smith,  Ephraim  Covil,  Andrew  Clark  and 
Jeremiah  Howes.  The  tract  was  sold  in  parcels,  after  claims  of  some 
of  the  lotholders  had  been  satisfied  by  gifts  of  small  parcels,  to  pay 
the  debts  of  the  proprietors. 

The  Sipsons  land,  or  "Seventeen  share  purchase,"  lay  in  the  east- 
em  part  of  the  old  town,  but  a  very  small  portion  of  it  is  within  the 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  835 

present  town  limits.  It  was  purchased  at  different  times  of  Thomas 
Sipson  and  his  brother,  John  Sipson,  two  noted  Indian  landholders 
residing  at  Potanumaquut.  Many  who  held  lots  in  the  Quason  land 
were  proprietors  of  the  land  purchased  of  the  Sipsons.  The  first 
meeting  of  the  proprietors  was  held  September  7,  1713,  and  Joseph 
Doane,  Esq.,  of  Eastham,  was  chosen  clerk.  At  a  meeting  held  Sep- 
tember 28,  1713,  Joseph  Doane,  Esq.,  Jonathan  Linnell  and  Israel 
Doane  were  chosen  to  layout  lots  "according  to  each  one's  interest  in 
said  propriety."  The  committee  made  two  divisions  of  the  tract  into 
seventeen  lots  each.  The  lotholders  were:  Joshua  Hopkins,  Thomas 
Mayo,  Nicholas  Snow,  Daniel  Cole,  Samuel  Mayo,  John  Cole,  Prence 
Snow,  John  King,  Stephen  Hopkins,  Micaijah  Snow,  Joseph  Doane, 
John  Sparrow,  James  Rogers,  Nathaniel  Doane  and  Thomas  Mayo. 
The  line  between  the  Sipsons'  and  Quason's  was  often  perambulated. 
The  last  perambulation  appears  to  have  been  in  1822.  Of  the  above 
proprietors  mentioned  four  only  were  residents  of  old  Harwich,  viz.: 
John  King,  Nicholas  Snow,  Stephen  Hopkins  and  Prence  Snow.  They 
all  lived  in  the  north  precinct. 

The  Sipsons,  during  the  summer  of  1713,  sold  to  Samuel  Mayo  and 
Joshua  Hopkins  their  right  to  the  "  flats  and  sedge  ground  "  in  and 
around  Pleasant  bay  within  the  limits  of  Harwich.  This  tract  was 
denominated  the  Seven  Share  purchase,  and  the  Seven  Share  pro- 
priety. The  tract,  so  far  as  was  found  suitable  for  division,  was  di- 
vided into  lots.  The  principal  part  of  the  sedge  ground  was  adjacent 
to  Sipsons'  or  Esnew's  island.  Much  of  the  sedge  ground  is  now  of 
no  value.  From  what  can  be  gathered  from  scattering  documents  at 
least  three  divisions  were  made. 

Settlers. — Among  the  settlers  of  the  township  before  1700  were: 
Gershom  Hall,  Benjamin  Hall,  Samuel  Hall,  Abraham  Chase,  Joseph 
Severance,  Manoah  Ellis,  Elisha  Eldridge,  Samuel  Nickerson,  Joseph 
Nickerson,  Samuel  Berry  and  John  Smith. 

Gershom  Hall  came  from  what  is  now  North  Dennis,  and  was,  so 
far  as  can  now  be  learned,  the  first  settler.  He  bought  a  large  tract 
near  the  meadows  some  time  before  1688.  His  house,  it  is  under- 
stood, stood  on  the  high  ground  which  overlooks  the  meadows,  near 
or  upon  the  spot  where  the  late  Isaiah  Kelley's  house  stood.  He  was 
born  in  Barnstable  in  the  year  1648.  He  was  a  man  of  note.  He  was 
a  farmer,  millwright  and  lay  preacher.  All  the  Halls  in  town  are 
his  descendants.  He  died  October  31, 1732,  in  his  eighty-fourth  year, 
and  was  buried  in  the  Hall  burying  ground  in  North  Dennis,  to- 
gether with  his  two  wives. 

Benjamin  Hall  was  a  younger  brother  of  Gershom,  and  was  bap- 
tized at  Barnstable  May  29,  1653.  He  doubtless  was  born  at  Nobs- 
cusset,  whither  his  father  removed  after  several  years  residence  in 


836  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Barnstable.  He  purchased  a  large  tract  of  the  territory  laid  out  to 
Edward  Sturgis  and  sons,  and  came  thither  and  settled  upon  it.  Be- 
coming interested  in  the  purchase  of  wild  lands  in  Windham,  since 
Mansfield,  Conn.,  in  1708,  he  removed  to  that  place  and  died  there  in 
1737. 

Samuel  Hall,  the  eldest  son  of  Gershom  Hall,  came  with  his  father 
and  settled  in  what  is  now  North  Harwich,  near  Ryder's  mill.  He 
married  Patience  Ryder.  He  was  a  farmer  and  miller,  and  owned 
the  first  water  mill  erected  on  Herring  river.  Very  many  of  the  worn 
out  fields  now  seen  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  were  parts  of  his  farm. 
He  was  known  as  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  of  his  day  in  the  old 
town.  He  died  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age,  February  19,  1729,  and 
was  buried  in  the  old  yard  at  North  Dennis,  where  a  stone  with  in- 
.scription  marks  the  spot.  He  left  no  children.  Much  of  his  property 
he  gave  his  nephew,  Dea.  Edward  Hall,  who  at  the  time  of  his  death 
was  a  lad. 

Abraham  Chase  was  a  son  of  William  Chase,  2d,  of  Yarmouth.  He 
settled  in  the  south  part  of  the  town.  His  farm  contained  many 
acres.  The  west  part  was  bounded  by  Coy's  brook.  His  house  stood 
not  far  from  the  house  now  occupied  by  John  F.  Allen.  He  sold  out 
to  William  Cahoon  of  Monomoy,  now  Chatham,  in  1696,  and  removed 
to  Tiverton,  R.  I.     He  was  a  Quaker. 

Joseph  Severance  came  from  the  east  part  of  Yarmouth,  now  East 
Dennis,  and  settled  in  the  south  part  of  the  town  upon  the  tract  which 
he,  with  Manoah  Ellis  and  Elisha  Eldridge,  purchased  of  Jacob  Crook,. 
Indian,  in  1693,  lying  on  the  sea  shore  from  Saltwater  pond  to  "  Yar- 
mouth Old  bounds,"  which  terminated  east  of  Allen's  harbor,  so^ 
called.  He  subsequently  purchased  a  tract  with  Manoah  Ellis  of 
Caleb  Lumbert,  extending  from  the  .sea  shore  northerly  between 
Andrew's  river  and  the  Saltwater  pond.  He  resided  here  but  a  short 
time  when  he  sold  his  right  to  the  tracts  to  Samuel  Sturgis.  Esq.,  a 
trader  in  Yarmouth,  and  moved  to  the  southeasterly  part  of  the  town- 
Mr.  Severance  married  Martha  Warden,  daughter  of  Peter  of  Yar- 
mouth. He  had  a  family.  He  has  no  descendant  of  the  name  in  the 
town. 

Manoah  Ellis  came  from  Sandwich,  and  purchased  land  in  that 
part  of  the  town,  now  Harwich  Port,  with  Joseph  Severance  and 
Elisha  Eldridge  in  1693.  He  sold  his  right  with  Severance,  to 
Samuel  Sturgis  of  Yarmouth,  and  the  particular  spot  upon  which  he 
settled  cannot  now  be  pointed  out.  He  had  a  large  family,  and  some 
of  his  descendants  yet  live  in  the  town.  But  very  little  is  known 
of  his  life. 

Elisha  Eldridge  was  from  Monomoy.  He  sold  his  right  to  land  he 
bought  of  Crook,  with  Severance    and    Ellis,  to,  Isaac   Atkins,  and 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  837 

removed  from  town.     He  resided  in  the  south  part  of  the  town  in 
what  is  sometimes  denominated  the  Doane  neighborhood. 

Samuel  Nickerson,  son  or  grandson  of  William  Nickerson,  the 
early  settler  of  Monomoy,  removed  to  Harwich  after  1696.  He  settled 
upon  the  tract  he  had  of  William  Cahoon,  which  had  been  Abraham 
Chase's  farm.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Bell,  and  had 
children.  His  son  Samuel  came  into  possession  of  most  of  his  estate. 
His  house  stood  near  the  house  of  the  late  Cyrus  Allen. 

Joseph  Nickerson,  son  of  William  Nickerson,  removed  to  Harwich 
and  settled  on  the  west  side  of  Muddy  cove,  near  the  house  of  Hiram 
Nickerson,  one  of  his  descendants,  in  or  about  1697,  where  he  had 
purchased  fifty  acres  of  upland  and  marsh  of  Barnabas  Lothrop  of 
Barnstable.  He  died  before  1731.  His  widow,  Ruamah,  was  living 
at  that  date  very  aged.  He  left  children.  He  has  many  descendants 
yet  living  in  town.  The  site  of  his  house  in  Nickerson  neck,  Chatham, 
before  his  removal,  is  yet  pointed  out. 

Samuel  Berry  came  from  Yarmouth,  and  was  the  son  of  Richard 
Berry  of  that  place.  He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Bell, 
and  settled  on  the  north  side  of  the  Herring  river  at  North  Harwich, 
near  or  upon  the  spot  where  the  house  of  the  late  Ebenezer  Kelly 
stood.  He  died  in  1704,  leaving  a  family,  among  whom  were  sons, 
John  and  Samuel.  He  has  descendants  in  the  male  line  in  the  state 
of  New  York. 

John  Smith  settled  upon  the  tract  he  had  of  William  Cahoon, 
adjoining  Samuel  Nickerson's  land,  about  1697.  His  land  on  the  west 
adjoined  Coy's  brook.  His  house  stood  about  southwest  from  the 
house  formerly  occupied  by  Isaac  Smith.  He  died  in  1748.  He  had 
six  children.  He  opposed  the  division  of  the  town  into  parishes  in 
1746. 

After  the  above  came,  others  soon  followed,  and  before  1760  the 
following  persons  had  taken  up  their  residence  within  the  limits  of 
the  present  town:  Benjamin  Philips,  William  Eldridge,  Isaac  Eld- 
ridge,  Prince  Young,  Zachariah  Smalley,  John  Streight,  Ebenezar 
Paine,  Patrick  Butler,  Benjamin  Small,  Eleazar  Robbins,  Ebenezar 
Ellis,  Thomas  Hinckley  and  William  Cahoon  in  the  north  part  of  the 
town;  William  Long,  Thomas  Kendrick,  Solomon  Kendrick,  Thomas 
Freeman  and  Benjamin  Macor  in  the  eastern  part;  Andrew  Clarke, 
Ammiel  Weekes,  Jonathan  Smalley,  Ephraim  Covil,  William  Covil, 
Edward  Nickerson,  Thomas  Burgess,  Samuel  Burgess,  Josiah  Swift, 
John  Allen,  William  Gray,  Elijah  Doane,  Daniel  Doane,  Elisha  Doane, 
Beriah  Broadbrooks,  Isaac  Atkins,  William  Penny  and  Moses  Davis 
in  the  southerly  part;  and  William  Chase,  Samuel  Smith,  Matthew 
Gage,  Samuel  Downes,  Patrick  Killeyand  Ebenezar  Chase  in  the  west- 
ern part. 


838  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Of  the  above  number,  Isaac  Eldridge,  John  Streight,  William 
Long,  Solomon  Kendrick,  William  Covil,  William  Gray  and  William 
Penny,  after  a  few  years'  residence,  removed  from  town.  Isaac  Eld- 
ridge returned  to  Chatham,  his  native  town,  after  the  burning  of  his 
house  and  wife.  John  Streight  returned  to  Rhode  Island,  whence  he 
came;  William  Long  went  to  Yarmouth,  having  married  there  Fear 
Sturgis,  and  died;  Solomon  Kendrick  went  to  Barrington,  N.  S.;  Wil- 
liam Covil  went  to  Billingsgate;  while  William  Gray  and  William 
Penny  struck  out  for  the  west,  settling  in  what  is  now  Putnam 
county,  N.  Y. 

Industries. — The  principal  business  of  the  town  has  been  the  fish- 
eries. The  branch  first  engaged  in  was  the  whale  fishery.  At  first, 
when  whales  were  plenty  in  and  about  Cape  Cod  bay,  boats  were  em- 
ployed in  pursuing  them,  manned  by  crews  of  experienced  men,  who 
were  dexterous  in  the  use  of  the  "harping  iron."  But  when  whales 
began  to  leave  the  coast  for  undisturbed  feeding  ground,  sloops  of 
various  sizes  were  employed;  and  when  schooners  were  built,  they 
also  were  sent  forth  in  the  business.  The  sloops  engaged  did  not 
venture  at  first  far  from  the  coast.  They  cruised  oflF  the  head  of  the 
Cape,  ofif  Nantucket,  and  sometimes  ventured  south  as  far  as  latitude  36, 
making  short  trips.  In  subsequent  years,  when  the  business  became 
more  remunerative,  larger  vessels  were  employed,  and  the  trips  were 
more  extended,  both  as  to  time  and  distance.  The  revolutionary  war 
greatly  disturbed  this  branch  of  industry;  and  from  the  effects  of  the 
conflict  it  never  recovered. 

The  business  was  the  most  extensively  carried  on  in  the  North 
precinct,  now  Brewster.  The  leading  man  there  in  the  business  the 
middle  part  of  the  last  century  was  Benjamin  Bangs,  an  enterprising 
merchant.  Some  of  the  vessels  in  his  employ  for  several  years  were 
very  successful.  In  1760,  more  than  forty  men  from  Harwich  went 
to  Nantucket  to  engage  in  the  business.  At  this  date  vessels  were 
sent  to  River  St.  Lawrence,  then  "Canada  river,"  the  banks  of  New- 
foundland and  to  southern  waters  for  whales.  The  business  was 
attended  with  danger,  and  the  loss  of  vessels  and  lives  was  not  infre- 
quent.' 

After  the  decline  of  the  whale  fishery  upon  the  close  of  the  war, 
attention  was  turned  more  particularly  to  the  cod  fishery  by  the  peo- 
ple of  the  South  precinct.  In  1802,  between  fifteen  and  twenty  ves- 
sels, averaging  forty  tons  each,  and  about  half  of  them  owned  here, 
were  employed  in  shoal  fishing,  and  four,  of  about  one  hundred  tons 
each,  in  fishing  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  and  in  the  straits  of 
Belle  Isle.  It  was  estimated  that  over  two  hundred  persons,  includ- 
ing men  and  boys,  were  engaged  at  this  time  in  the  cod  fishing  from 
this  place.     After  this  time  vessels  began  to  be  built  in  town,  and 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  839 

coasting  business,  as  well  as  the  mackerel  fishery,  was  engaged  in, 
to  considerable  extent.  The  last  war  with  England  interfered  much 
with  the  seafaring  business  of  the  Cape,  especially  of  this  town. 

In  1837,  the  fishing  business  was  no  way  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
Only  twenty-two  sail  of  vessels  were  engaged  in  the  fisheries,  and 
about  two  hundred  persons  employed.  Most  of  these  vessels  were 
engaged  in  the  cod  fishery  the  first  part  of  the  season. 

After  this  time  the  Harwich  fleet  again  increased,  and  in  1841,  the 
year  of  the  memorable  gale,  when  fourteen  persons  belonging  to  this 
town  were  lost,  twelve  vessels  sailed  from  "  Marsh  Bank  "  besides  the 
fleet  from  Deep  Hole  and  Herring  river.  In  1850  the  mackerel  fleet 
was  much  increased,  owing  to  the  good  success  attending  the  fishery 
the  preceding  years.  In  1861  the  scarcity  of  mackerel  on  this  coast 
induced  many  of  the  fleet  to  visit  Bay  Chaleur.  While  there  in  the 
autumn,  came  on  the  memorable  gale  in  which  so  many  vessels  and 
lives  were  lost,  and  from  which  all  of  the  Harwich  vessels  escaped 
destruction,  excepting  the  schooner  Commerce,  John  Allen,  master,  and 
the  schooner  Ogunquit,  commanded  by  Stephen  D.  Ellis,  which  were 
lost.  The  former  went  ashore  and  the  crew  were  saved,  while  the 
latter  was  never  heard  from  after  the  gale.  Since  the  late  war,  the 
fleet  engaged  in  the  cod  and  mackerel  fishery  has  gradually  decreased, 
owing  to  small  returns  for  great  outlays.  The  number  of  vessels  now 
engaged  in  the  fishery  is  reduced  to  two. 

The  manufacture  of  marine  salt  by  solar  heat,  by  improved  works, 
commenced  here  about  the  first  of  the  present  century,  and  for  a  time 
was  an  important  branch  of  industry.  But  the  decline  in  the  price 
of  salt,  and  the  great  increase  in  the  cost  of  the  construction  of  the 
works,  led  to  the  abandonment  of  the  business.  It  has  been  many 
years  since  a  foot  of  the  works  has  been  seen  standing  here,  or  the 
arms  of  one  of  the  pump  mills  seen  revolving  in  the  wind. 

During  the  revolutionary  war,  when  salt  was  scarce  and  dear,  many 
here  produced  it  for  home  consumption  by  boiling  sea  water.  The 
work  of  producing  salt  in  this  manner  was  laborious,  and,  the  salt 
being  impure,  it  was  given  up  when  other  means  of  getting  pure  salt 
became  general. 

Religious  Societies.— There  has  never  been  any  lack  of  interest 
in  religious  matters  here.  No  less  than  fifteen  religious  societies  have 
been  organized  within  the  limits  of  the  present  town.  Of  these  socie- 
ties, the  Separatist  or  New  Light,  Free  Will  Baptist,  Reformed  Metho- 
dist and  Wesleyan  Methodist  have  become  extinct. 

The  oldest  organization  is  the  Congregational  church.  It  was  con- 
stituted November  12,  1747.  The  first  minister  was  Rev.  Edward 
Pell,  who  was  ordained  the  same  day.  Mr.  Pell  was  a  native  of  Bos- 
ton, born  in  1711.     He  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  1730. 


840  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

He  died  in  Harwich,  after  a  short  sickness,  November  24, 1753.  He 
■was  succeeded,  in  1753,  by  Mr.  Benjamin  Crocker,  who  preached  until 
after  April,  1755.  Mr.  Crocker  was  a  native  of  Barnstable,  and  was  a 
grandson  of  Governor  Hinckley  and  nephew  of  Rev.  Mr.  Stone's  wife. 
He  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  1713,  and  seems  to  have 
spent  much  of  his  life  in  school  teaching. 

Rev.  John  Dennis  succeeded  Mr.  Crocker  in  1756.  He  was  a  na- 
tive of  Ipswich,  and  was  born  November  3,  1708.  He  was  a  graduate 
of  Harvard  College  in  1730.  He  preached  in  Harwich  until  the  spring 
of  1761.  He  died  in  Ipswich  in  1773.  At  the  close  of  Mr.  Dennis' min- 
istry, Mr.  Crocker  was  again  invited  to  supply  the  pulpit.  Accepting 
the  call,  he  came  in  the  fall  of  1761,  and  remained  until  about  the 
middle  of  the  year  1765,  when  his  labors  terminated.  He  returned  to 
Ipswich,  where  he  died  in  1766. 

Mr.  Crocker  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Jonathan  Mills,  a  native  of 
Braintree,  and  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  1723.  He  was  in- 
stalled pastor  in  the  spring  of  1706,  and  continued  in  the  ministry 
here  till  death  terminated  his  labors,  May  21, 1773. 

The  religious  dissensions  which  were  commenced  in  the  parish 
at  its  incipiency  did  not  cease  during  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Mills.  Re- 
sistance to  the  paying  of  the  precinct  tax  levied  for  the  support  of  the 
minister  of  the  standing  order,  though  not  so  strong  as  formerly,  was 
yet  shown  by  a  considerable  number  of  the  parishioners,  who  sup- 
ported ministers  of  other  denominations,  and  efforts  to  supply  the 
pulpit  with  preachers  of  the  denomination  was  unsuccessful  after 
Rev.  Joseph  Litchfield's  short  pastorate  in  1777,  until  1792,  when  Mr. 
Nathan  Underwood  was  called  and  ordained,  a  period  of  about  twenty 
years.  Mr.  Underwood  continued  in  the  ministry  here  in  active  ser- 
vice till  1819,  but  his  connection  with  the  church  was  not  formally 
dissolved  until  April  8, 1828.  Mr.  Underwood  was  the  last  settled 
minister  in  town.  He  died  May  1,  1841,  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight. 
During  his  pastorate  forty-two  persons  were  admitted  to  the  church, 
and  135  were  baptized.  Between  the  time  of  his  ordination  and  the 
time  of  his  death,  he  solemnized  444  marriages.  The  following  min- 
isters supplied  the  pulpit  since  his  pastorate  to  the  installation  of  Rev. 
William  Marchant,  in  1839:  Rev.  John  Sanford  supplied  the  pulpit  a 
portion  of  the  time  between  1821  and  1825;  Rev.  Nathaniel  Cobb,  in 
1825-6;  Isaac  B.  Wheelwright,  1826-7;  Rev.  W.  M.  Cornell,  1828-9; 
Rev.  Lucius  Field,  1829-30;  Rev.  Mr.  Powers  in  1830-31;  Rev.  Caleb 
Kimball,  1832-34,  and  the  latter  part  of  year  1839;  Rev.  William 
Withington,  three  months  latter  part  of  the  year  1834;  Rev.  Charles 
S.  Adams,  1835-38;  Rev.  J.  H.  Avory,  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1838 
and  beginning  the  year  1839.  Rev.  William  Marchant  became  pas- 
tor August  1, 1839,  and  closed  February  14, 1841.    Rev.  William  H. 


TOWN  OF   HARWICH. 


841 


Adams  was  pastor  from  August,  1841,  to  April,  1844.  Rev.  Cyrus 
Stone  was  pastor  from  September  1,  1844,  to  October  1,  1848.  Rev. 
T.  P.  Sawin  was  pastor  from  December,  1848,  to  March  11, 1851.  Rev. 
Moses  H.  Wilder  became  pastor  in  October,  1851,  and  was  dismissed 
March  1,  1858.  Rev.  Joseph  R.  Munsell  was  pastor  from  November 
7,  1858,  to  May  3,  1868.  Rev.  William  Beard  came  in  November, 
1869,  and  closed  his  labors  December  25,  1870.  Mr.  Charles  S.  Whit- 
ney, a  licentiate,  supplied  the  pulpit  from  May  7,  1871,  to  October 
6,  1872.  While  supplying  the  pulpit  he  was  ordained  a  Congregation- 
alist  minister.  Rev.  Bradish  C.  Ward  supplied  the  pulpit  from  Octo- 
ber, 1872,  to  January;  1876.  The  pulpit  was  supplied  m  1877  by  Rev. 
Joseph  Hammond;  in  1878  by  Rev.  Smith  Norton;  1879 by  Rev.  S.  W. 
Powell.  Since  1880  the  pastors  have  been:  Rev.  R.  S.  Tobey,  Rev.  C. 
M.  Westlake,  and  Rev.  H.  P.  Cutting.  Rev.  Mr.  Cutting  closed  his 
labors  in  1888. 

The  first  meeting  house  erected  by  the  parish  or  society,  a  rude 
structure,  stood  a  little  westward  of  the  chapel.  It  was  taken  down 
in  1792,  and  another,  more  commodious,  was  erected  a  little  to  the 
eastward,  about  where  the  chapel  stands.  After  standing  forty  years 
this  became  dilapidated  and  unfit  for  public  service,  and  was  taken 
down  and  sold.  The  present  structure  was  built  in  1832,  and  enlarged 
and  renovated  in  1854,  at  an  expense  of  about  six  thousand  dollars. 

The  second  church  constituted  was  the  Separate  or  New  Light 
church.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Joshua  Nickerson.  He  was  or- 
dained on  "a  stage  in  open  air,"  February  23,  1749.  The  officiating 
ministers  were:  Rev.  Isaac  Backus,  of  Middleboro,  Rev.  John  Paine, 
of  Rehobath,  and  Rev.  Nathaniel  Sheperd,  of  Attleboro.  The  ordi- 
nation sermon  was  preached  by  Mr.  Backus.  The  first  deacons  were 
William  Nickerson  and  Richard  Chase,  both  ordained  the  day  after 
the  pastor's  ordination.  As  this  was  the  first  church  of  the  denomin- 
ation in  Barnstable  county  it  caused  considerable  excitement  and  "  a 
deal  of  discourse."  Mr.  Dunster,  the  pastor  of  the  First  church,  the 
Sunday  following  "  preached  a  sermon  against  the  Newlight's  pro- 
ceedings." The  meeting  house  of  this  society,  tradition  has  it,  stood 
near  the  burying  ground  west  of  the  house  now  occupied  by  Watson 
B.  Baker.  This  burying  ground  is  now  unfenced,  and  all  the  head 
stones  have  been  removed  to  the  Island  Pond  cemetery.  It  was  a 
small  structure.  Mr.  Nickerson,  the  pastor,  removed  to  Jam  worth, 
N.  H.     But  little  is  further  known  of  this  church. 

The  third  church  organized  was  of  the  Separate  or  New  Light  de- 
nomination. The  first  pastor  was  Richard  Chase.  He  was  ordained 
December  11,  1751,  Mr.  Backus  of  Middleboro  delivering  the  sermon 
for  the  occasion.  Other  ministers  officiating  were  Elder  Carpenter. 
Elder  Ewer  and  Elder  Nickerson  of  the  first  Separate  church.     At 


842  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

the  ordination  were  Mr.  Lewis  of  Billingsgate,  and  Mr.  Dunster  of  the 
First  church,  who  interrupted  the  meeting.  Mr.  Dunster  protested 
against  the  proceedings,  and  declared  some  of  the  members  had. 
"  separated  from  his  church."  This  church  worshiped  in  a  meeting 
house  in  the  west  part  of  the  town.  At  first,  this  church, like  the  first 
of  which  Mr.  Nickerson  was  pastor,  admittted  to  communion  all 
Christians,  whether  they  had  been  sprinkled  in  infancy  or  baptized 
by  immersion.  It  also  held  to  the  baptism  of  infants  of  believers. 
But  at  length  the  pastor,  and  a  portion  of  the  church,  became  adverse 
to  pedo-baptism,  and  the  administration  of  the  rite  was  neglected. 
This  led  to  the  convening  of  a  council  by  the  aggrieved  brethren, 
December  20,  1752,  which  censured  the  pastor  and  that  portion  of  the 
church  that  held  with  him.  The  censure,  however,  was  revoked  by 
another  council,  composed  of  Elders  William  Carpenter,  Isaac  Backus,. 
Joshua  Nickerson,  and  Dea.  Eleazer  Robbins,  August  23,  1753,  and 
fellowship  with  the  church  and  Elder  Chase  was  publicly  declared. 
The  next  day  Elder  Chase,  becoming  satisfied  it  was  his  duty  to  go 
"  into  the  water  in  baptism  *  *  *  went  down  to  the  Water  "  with 
Elder  Backus,  who  now  was  an  Anabaptist,  and  the  rite  was  adminis- 
tered. 

In  1757  the  Anabaptistical  wing  of  the  church  having  organized  a 
church  of  the  Baptist  order,  gave  Mr.  Chase  invitation  to  become  the 
pastor.  He  accepted  and  was  ordained  September  29th.  The  sermon 
was  preached  by  elder  Backus.  Elder  Chase  was  pastor  of  the  church 
until  March  31,  1777,  when  he  was  deposed  from  the  pastoral  office 
for  disorderly  conduct  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  Mr.  Samuel  Nick- 
erson, a  Free  Will  Baptist,  preached  to  the  Baptists  in  their  meeting 
house,  which  stood  on  the  old  burying  ground  at  North  Harwich,  a 
portion  of  the  time  between  1778  and  1781.  Mr.  Jonathan  Jeffers  sup- 
plied the  pulpit  from  1781  till  June,  1785.  Mr.  Enoch  Eldridge  became 
pastor  in  1788,  and  continued  till  1794,  when  Rev.  Abner  Lewis  suc- 
ceeded him.  Mr.  Lewis  continued  the  pastor  until  1809.  After  him 
came  Mr.  Eli  Ball,  who  supplied  the  pulpit  a  short  period.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Mr.  James  Barnaby,  a  licentiate  of  the  First  Baptist 
church  in  Providence,  who  was  ordained  August  7,  1811.  Mr.  J.  Bar- 
naby was  pastor  till  June,  1819.  Rev.  David  Curtis  became  paster  in 
August,  1822,  and  continued  till  December  11,  1824.  Rev.  Stephen 
Coombs  became  pastor  in  September,  1826,  and  continued  until  J 629. 
Rev.  William  Bowen  became  pastor  in  1829,  and  continued  until  March 
20,  1831,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Davis  Lothrop,  who  contin- 
ued until  1834.  Rev.  Seth  Ewer  was  the  next  pastor.  He  left  the 
society  in  June,  1837,  after  two  years'  service.  Rev.  James  Barnaby 
became  pastor  the  second  time  in  November,  1837,  and  continued 
here  until  March,  1844,  when  Mr.  Lothrop  became  pastor  the  second 


TOWN   OF   HARWICH.  843 

time.  He  continued  until  March,  1846.  Rev.  George  Matthews  be- 
came pastor  in  July,  1846,  and  continued  until  March,  1848.  Rev.  Mr. 
Huntley  supplied  a  short  time,  when  Rev.  Mr.  Barnaby  became  pastor 
for  the  third  time.  He  resigned  his  pastorate  May  26,  1855.  Mr. 
George  F.  Warren  was  ordained  and  installed  January  8,  1856,  and 
continued  until  September,  1857.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  W.  W. 
Ashley,  who  remained  until  November,  1857.  After  services  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Clark  and  Rev.  S.  J.  Bronson,  Mr.  Barnaby  for  the  fourth  time 
became  pastor,  in  April,  1862,  and  continued  until  1877,  the  year  of 
his  death.  His  successor  was  Rev.  A.  T.  Dunn,  who  was  followed  by 
Rev.  H.  C.  Hickok.  Rev.  J.  W.  Holman  was  pastor  from  1883  to  1886. 
The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  Charles  A.  Snow,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Hol- 
man in  1886. 

The  second  meeting  house  of  the  Baptists  was  built  in  1804,  some 
rods  southerly  from  the  old  cemetery  at  North  Harwich.  It  was 
removed  to  West  Harwich  in  1828,  to  site  of  the  present  church  edifice. 
It  was  taken  down  in  1841,  and  the  present  church  erected.  The 
dedicatory  services  took  place  November  17,  1841.  This  church  is 
the  eldest  of  the  denomination  in  the  county. 

The  Arminian,  or  Free  Will  Baptist  church,  was  constituted  in  this 
town  August  10,  1779.  The  first  pastor  was  Mr.  Samuel  Nickerson. 
The  church  was  composed  mostly  of  those  who  had  been  members  of 
the  Separate  churches.  Mr.  Nickerson  left  the  church  and  returned 
to  his  native  state,  and  the  church  was  dissolved,  October  20, 1789. 
Mr.  Nickerson  held  meetings  in  the  parish  meeting  house,  and  also- 
in  the  Baptist  meeting  house  at  North  Harwich. 

The  East  Harwich  Methodist  Episcopal  society  was  organized  in 
1797.  The  preacher  at  this  date  was  Rev.  John  Broadhead.  The 
first  meeting  house,  a  very  small  structure  without  plaster  or  paint, 
was  built  in  1799,  in  the  east  end  of  the  old  cemetery,  near  the  site  of 
the  house  of  the  late  Washington  Eldridge,  and  westward,  a  short 
distance  from  the  house  of  Seth  Eldridge.  The  house  was  occupied 
by  the  Methodists  until  1811,  when  the  present  one  at  East  Harwich 
was  built,  then  it  was  vacated  and  sold.  The  society  was  incorporated 
March  1,  1809,  by  the  Massachusetts  legislature  as  the  "First  Metho- 
dist Society  in  Harwich,"  with  "  all  the  powers  and  privileges  which 
are  enjoyed  by  other  religious  societies,"  in  the  Commonwealth. 
Among  the  preachers  after  Mr.  Broadhead,  and  before  1802,  were 
Rev.  John  B.  Gibson  and  Rev.  John  Merrick.  Mr.  Gibson  was  the 
preacher  here  when  the  meeting  house  was  built  in  1799.  The  first 
Methodist  preacher  here  before  1797  was  Mr.  John  Kenney,  a  native 
of  Chatham,  but  a  resident  of  Pi^pvincetown. 

The   first  worshippers    in    the   church  at   North   Harwich  were 
Reformed  Methodists.     Those  who  are  now  sustaining  meetings  in, 


-844  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

the  church  are  the  Episcopal  Methodists.     Rev.  Benjamin  Swift  was 
the  first  minister  of  the  Reformed  Methodists  here. 

The  meeting  house  at  South  Harwich  was  built  for  the  Reformed 
Methodists  in  1836.  The  master  builder  was  Almond  Hinckley  of 
Dennis.  The  first  minister  was  Rev.  Benjamin  Swift,  whose  remains 
lie  buried  at  the  north  end  of  the  church.  The  society  subsequently 
became  Wesleyan  Methodist,  and  a  church  was  organized  January  1, 
1845,  of  this  denomination,  with  Rev.  James  Wright,  pastor.  In  1853, 
August  31st,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  was  organized  with  Rev. 
.Mr.  Spilstead,  pastor. 

A  few  years  after  this  change  many  who  had  attended  meeting 
here  withdrew,  formed  a  society,  built  the  "Bethel,"  near  the  town 
line,  and  for  many  years  employed  Rev.  Davis  Lothrop  of  West  Har- 
wich, as  the  pastor.  Upon  his  retirement,  the  pulpit  was  supplied, 
but  not  regularly.     At  present  the  society  is  sustaining  preaching. 

Pilgrim  church  (Congregationalist),  Harwich  Port,  was  organized 
April  24,  1855,  with  Rev.  W.  A.  McCollom  as  pastor.  Mr.  McCollom 
retired  from  service  here  on  account  of  failing  health  near  the  close 
of  the  year,  and  Rev.  Charles  Morgridge  succeeded  him,  commencing 
his  labors  February  18,  1856,  and  closing  them  February  18,  1858. 
Rev.  Frederick  Hebard  was  the  next  pastor.  He  came  August  18, 
1858,  and  retired  February  18,  1864.  Rev.  Alvin  J.  Bates  succeeded 
him  February  26, 1865.  Rev.  Walter  Ela  followed  in  1868.  In  1869 
Rev.  Isaac  Pierson  preached  eight  months,  and  went  a  missionary  to 
China.  In  1870,  Rev.  Henry  C.  Fay  was  installed  pastor.  In  1872, 
Rev.  Davis  Lothrop  supplied  the  pulpit;  leaving  in  February,  1873, 
Rev.  Isaac  Dunham  succeeded  him,  supplying  the  pulpit  until  Novem- 
•ber,  1873.  Rev.  Edson  J.  Moore  was  pastor  for  some  time,  closing  his 
labors  April,  1878.  Rev.  John  H.  Vincent  was  pastor  from  February, 
1879,  to  February,  1881.  Rev.  Minot  S.  Hartwell  supplied  the  pulpit 
from  1882  to  1884.  From  April,  1884,  to  January,  1885,  Rev.  C.  M. 
Westlake  supplied  the  pulpit.  Rev.  H.  P.  Cutting,  pastor  of  the  Centre 
church,  supplied  the  pulpit  during  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1886, 
and  the  beginning  of  the  year  1887,  when  Rev.  Warren  Applebee  suc- 
ceeded him.  Mr.  Applebee  closed  his  two  years'  pastorate  in  May, 
1889.  Rev.  W.  W.  Parker  commenced  his  labors  in  July,  1889. 
Nathaniel  Doane  is  the  senior  deacon  of  the  church,  having  held  the 
•office  since  the  organization  of  the  church  in  1855.  Freeman  Snow 
who  died  in  1884,  had  been  deacon  since  1855.  His  successor  is  Henry 
Kelley.  The  present  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  society  is  Dea.  Nath- 
aniel Doane,  who  has  held  the  office  eighteen  years.  The  church 
edifice  was  erected  in  1854,  and  dedicated  February  1,  1855.  Rev.  M. 
H.  Wilder,  Rev.  James  Barnaby,  Rev.  Mr.  Thacher,  Rev.  Mr.  Mc- 
Collom and  Rev.  Enoch  Pratt  taking  part  in  the  services. 


TOWN   OF   HARWICH.  845^ 

The  members  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  commenced  the  erec- 
tion of  their  house  of  worship  at  the  Centre  upon  land  purchased  of 
Chester  Snow,  in  October,  1865.  The  edifice  was  finished  in  May,. 
1866.  The  builder  was  George  F.  Swift  of  Sandwich.  Services  com- 
menced in  it  in  July,  1866.  The  locating  of  the  church  at  this  point, 
and  the  success  of  the  movement  to  erect  and  pay  for  it,  was  largely 
due  to  the  eflforts  of  Patrick  Drum,  since  deceased. 

Official  History.*— The  following  is  the  list  of  selectmen  of  the 
town  from  1701  to  the  present  time,  with  "the  first  year  of  their  elec- 
tion and  the  number  of  years  they  served:  1701,  Joseph  Paine,  12 
years;  Thomas  Freeman,  3;  William  Myrick,  6;  1704,  Thomas  Clark,  4;, 
1710,  Chilliugsworth  Foster,  7;  Gershom  Hall,  3;  1713,  Nathaniel 
Myrick,  19;  Edward  Snow,  2;  Kenelm  Winslow,  jr.,  3;  1716,  John 
Freeman,  3;  1718,  Dea.  Thomas  Lincoln,  8;  Ens.  Prence  Freeman,  13; 
1725,  Lieut.  Joseph  Freeman,  9;  1726,  Capt.  Edmund  Freeman,  7; 
1732,  Nathaniel  Hopkins,  1;  1733,  Kenelm  Winslow,  3;  Chillingsworth 
Foster,  4;  Joseph  Mayo,  11;  1739,  Jabez  Snow,  29;  1742,  William 
Freeman,  3;  1743,  John  Snow,  7;  1745,  Thomas  Winslow,  1;  1748,  Ju- 
dah  Sears,  1;  Nathaniel  Doane,  1;  1749,  Edward  Hall,  24;  1750,  Elisha 
Doane,  7;  1753,  Barnabas  Freeman,  5;  1764,  Thomas  Kendrick,  1;. 
1758,  Edmund  Freeman,  6;  1763,  Heman  Stone,  3;  1770,  Benjamin 
Freeman,  3;  James  Paine,  16;  1773,  Joseph  Nye,  7;  1779,  Joseph 
Snow,  7;  Solomon  Freeman,  1;  1780,  Nathaniel  Downes,  2;  Benjamin 
Berry,  4;  1782,  Ammiel  Weekes,  1;  1783,  John  Dillingham,  22;  1785, 
Ebenezer  Broadbrooks,  jr.,  20;  1789,  Ebenezer  Snow,  3;  1791,  Jona- 
than Snow,  8;  1792,  Dea.  Reuben  Snow,  2;  1801,  John  Gould,  1;  1802,. 
Scotto  Berry,  3;  1805,  William  Eldridge,  7;  Isaiah  Chase,  6;  1809,  John 
D.  Bangs,  4;  1811,  Job  Chase,  jr.,  4;  1813,  Stephen  Burgess,  2;  Nathan 
Nickerson,  2;  1814,  Ebenezer  Kelley,  1;  1815,  Daniel  Hall,  1;  James- 
Long,  16;  1816,  Nathaniel  Doane,  12;  1817,  Elijah  Chase,  15;  1818, 
Reuben  Cahoon,  4;  1825,  Nathan  Underwood,  jr.,  25;  1830,  Anthony 
Kelley,  3;  1831,  Samuel  Eldridge,  2d,  6;  1832,  Isaiah  Baker,  1;  1835, 
Amasa  Nipkerson,  4;  1836,  Elkanah  Nickerson,  1;  1837,  Isaac  Kelley,. 
9;  1839,  Nathaniel  Chase,  4;  1841,  Isaiah  Doane,  5;  1843,  Freeman 
Snow,  2;  1844,  Jacob  Crowell,  3;  1845,  Cyrus  Weekes,  8;  1848,  Darius 
Weekes,  1;  1850,  Danforth  S.  Steel.  14;  1853,  James  Chase,  2;  John 
Kenny,  2;  1853,  Benjamin  F.  Bee,  1;  1857,  Shubael  B.  Kelley.  6;  1858, 
Isaiah  C.  Kelley,  5;  1860,  Thomas  Kendrick,  9;  1862,  Benjamin  W. 
Eldridge,  1;  Sheldon  Crowell,  2;  1864,  Joseph  C.  Berry,  3;  1866,  Zep- 
haniah  Nickerson,  jr.,  15;  Isaiah  Chase,  14;  1873,  Watson  B.  Kelley, 
18;  1879,  Thomas  Ellis,  2;  1881,  Mark  F.  Nickerson,  2;  1884,  David 
Killey,  4;  1885,  Edward  Kendrick,  4;  1888,  Uriel  Doane,  2;  1889,  Jo- 
siah  Paine,  2;  1890,  Ambrose  N.  Doane,  1  year. 

•  In  consequence  of  the  loss  of  the  first  pages  of  the  first  volume  of  the  town  rec- 
ords, the  names  of  the  first  oflScers  of  the  town  cannot  be  given. 


:846  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

List  of  town  clerks  from  1701  to  1890,  with  first  year  they  served. 
The  town  clerks  were  chosen  treasures  after  1717:  1701,  Thomas  Free- 
man; 1707,  Joseph  Paine;  1713,  *Chillingsworth  Foster;  1742,  Na- 
thaniel Stone,  jr.;  1777,  James  Paine;  1785,  Joseph  Snow;  1789,  Ben- 
jamin Bangs;  1793,  Dean  Bangs;  1795,  Reuben  Snow;  1796,  Anthony 
Gray;  1800,  John  D.  Bangs;  1809,  Obed  Brooks;  1810,  Ebenezer 
Weekes;  1814,  Obed  Brooks;  1839,  John  Allen;  1846,  Ephraim  Doane; 

1848,  Benjamin  W.  Eldridge;  1852,  Obed  Brooks,  jr.;  1853,  Ephraim 
Doane;  1859,  William  H.  Underwood;  1868,  Braddock  P.  Philips;  1870, 
Freeman  Snow;  1881,  Joshua  H.  Paine. 

Representatives  from  1811,  with  the  first  year  in  office  and  num- 
'ber  of  years  in  service:  1711,  John  Mayo,  3  years;  1712,  Gershom 
Hall,  2;  1713,  Thomas  Clarke,  8;  1717,  Chillingsworth  Foster,  5;  1719, 
William  Myrick.  1;  1720,  Kenelm  Winslow,  1;  1720,  John  Gray,  1; 
1725,  Edmund  Freeman,  13;  1741,  Joseph  Freeman,  4;  1749,  Edward 
Bangs,  2;  1755,  Nathaniel  Stone,  jr.,  6;  1761,  Chillingsworth  Foster,  9; 
1770,  Benjamin  Freeman,  4;  1775,  Joseph  Nye,  3;  1777,  Solomon  Free- 
man, 5;  1783,  Kimbal  Clarke,  3;  1791,  John  Dillingham,  11;  1800,  Eb- 
enezer Broadbrooks,  jr.,  5;  1801,  Benjamin  Bangs,  4;  1806,  Ebenezer 
Weekes,  3;  1812,  Eli  Small,  1;  1813,  Nathan  Nickerson,  1;  1823,  Rev. 
Nathan  Underwood,  2;  1827,  James  Long,  10;  1827,  Dr.  Greenleaf  J. 
Pratt,  1;  1828,  Isaiah  Chase,  3;  1832,  Sidney  Underwood,  1;  1834,  Job 
Chase,  2;  1834,  Zebina  H.  Small,  2;  1835,  Samuel  Eldridge,  2d,  4;  1839, 
•Cyrus  Weekes,  5;  1839,  Richard  Baker,  jr.,  2;  1842,  Loring  Moody,  2; 

1849,  Darius  Weekes,  1;  1850,  Obed  Nickerson,  1;  1851,  Nathaniel 
Doane,  jr.,  5;  1854,  Anthony  K.  Chase.  2;  1856,  Elkanah  Nickerson,  2. 

Schools. — At  the  time  Harwich  was  incorporated  it  was  enjoined 
by  law  upon  every  town  in  the  province  "  having  the  number  of  fifty 
householders  or  upwards,"  to  have"  a  school  master  to  teach  children 
and  youth  to  read  and  write;  "  and  having  "  the  number  of  one  hun- 
dred families  or  householders  to  have  a  grammar  school  set  up  "  and 
taught  by  "  some  discreet  person  of  good  conversation,  well  instruc- 
ted in  the  tongues,"  and  "  to  take  effectual  care  and  make  due  pro- 
visions for  the  settlement  and  maintenance  of  such  school  master  or 
-masters,"  the  selectmen  and  inhabitants  of  such  towns  respectively 
were  imperatively  commanded.  But  this  town,  at  the  time  of  incor- 
poration, not  having  families  enough,  as  the  law  required,  to  establish 
a  school  in  which  both  reading  and  writing  could  be  taught,  early 
had  "  a  school  for  to  teach  children  to  read."  In  1708,  however, 
■*'  families  eneough "  were  found,  and  the  matter  of  establishing  a 
school  and  providing  for  the  settlement  of  a  schoolmaster  was  brought 
up  at  a  meeting  of  the  town  June  ninth  for  consideration.      The 

*  Died  in  office,  and  Kenelm  Winslow,  jr.,  was  chosen  to  fill  unexpired  term  Octo- 
fcer  12,  1702. 


TOWN   OF   HARWICH.  847 

town  voted  to  leave  the  management  of  the  school  with  the  select- 
men, but  for  some  reason  not  apparent  they  did  not  comply  with  the 
provisions  of  the  law,  and  at  the  July  session  of  the  court  the  town 
was  presented,  and  Edward  Bangs  was  chosen  to  appear,  as  an  agent, 
and  give  reasons  for  the  neglect.  After  this  date  the  town  seems  not 
to  have  neglected  to  maintain  a  lawful  school.  In  March,  1709,  but 
-a  few  months  after  the  presentment,  in  town  meeting  it  was  voted 
to  raise  such  a  sum  "  as  the  law  makes  provisions  in  making  town 
rates,  to  pay  the  schoolmasters  and  his  board."  It  was  also  decided 
that  the  schools  should  commence  by  "  removes "  that  had  been 
determined  upon.  After  this  time  up  to  the  settlement  of  Mr. 
Asbon  as  the  town  schoolmaster  in  1713,  the  town,  it  is  evident  from 
the  records,  became  interested  in  schools  and  made  provisions  fcr 
their  support. 

At  the  time  Mr.  Asbon  was  settled  as  the  schoolmaster  no 
school  houses  had  been  built,  and  as  an  inducement  to  some  one 
to  open  his  house  for  the  school  the  town  oflfered  the  sum  of  "  nine 
pence  a  week  for  a  convenient  house  to  keep  school  in."  Mr.  As- 
bon's  engagement  was  for  seven  months  in  1713.  Whether  he  was 
engaged  for  1714  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining.  At  the  time 
of  his  teaching  the  town  was  districted,  and  the  schoolmaster  made 
the  circuit  of  the  town  in  seven  months.  This  manner  of  estab- 
lishing the  school  gave  each  section  of  the  town  the  benefit  of  the 
school,  although  it  necessitated  long  vacations  and  gave  the  master 
continuous  service.  Doubtless  it  was  the  best  plan  that  could  be 
adopted  for  the  time  when  the  inhabitants  were  scattered,  and  but 
one  teacher  supported  by  the  town. 

In  1715  Mr.  Philip  Selew  was  engaged  as  the  town  schoolmaster, 
with  a  salary  of  forty-eight  pounds.  The  town  was,  indeed,  fortunate 
in  securing  a  teacher  of  such  qualifications.  Before  his  term  expired 
the  town  authorized  the  selectmen  to  again  secure  his  services,  and 
give  him  the  same  salary. 

Mr.  Selew  came  to  this  country,  his  descendants  claim,  from  Bor- 
deaux, and  had  been  educated  for  the  ministry,  but  choosing  the  vo- 
cation of  a  teacher,  was  never  settled  in  the  ministry.  He  was  the 
schoolmaster  of  the  town  for  over  fifty  years.  He  died  May  15,  1772, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-four,  and  lies  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at 
Harwich,  where  a  slate  stone,  with  inscription,  marks  the  place  of  his 
sepulture.  Mr.  Selew  was  three  times  married,  and  has  descendants, 
but  none  residing  in  Harwich. 

In  1753  the  South  parish,  now  the  present  town  of  Harwich,  took 
action  in  matters  relating  to  schools,  and  "  choose  Lieut.  Zachariah 
Smalley,  John  Gage  and  Gershom  Hall,  to  hire  school  masters  or 
school  mistress',"  but  whether  they  carried  out  the  vote  of  the  parish 


848  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

does  not  appear.  It  was  doubtless  the  first  attempt  of  the  "  Scuth 
side  "  people  to  support  a  teacher.  Whether  they  continued  yearly 
to  support  a  teacher  while  the  regular  town's  schoolmaster  was  on 

the  circuit  the  records  do  not  show. In  1766,  however,  a  committee 

of  the  precinct  was  chosen  to  "settle  the  school"  and  Benjamin 
Nickerson  was  allowed  "  four  shillings  and  ten  pence  lawful  money 
for  school  house  room,"  indicating  that  no  school  house  had  then 
been  erected  in  the  precinct  or  parish  up  to  this  time.  In  1768  the 
general  court  authorized  precincts  to  raise  money  for  the  schools  and 
building  school  houses,  and  the  South  precinct  choose  "Samuel  Nick- 
erson, James  Gage  and  Reuben  Eldridge  to  settle  the  schools  in  the 
precinct."  In  1775  the  South  precinct  took  action  in  relation  to  sus- 
taining schools.  "Reuben  Eldridge,  Prince  Young,  John  Smith, 
Samuel  Nickerson,  Nathaniel  Downes  and  Ebenezer  Chase  were 
chosen  to  settle  the  school." 

During  the  revolutionary  period  the  schools  of  the  town  were  not 
well  sustained,  owing  to  limited  means  at  the  town's  command.  For 
not  providing  a  schoolmaster  according  to  law,  in  1779,  the  town  was 
"  presented."  After  the  close  of  the  war  efforts  were  made  to  keep 
up  the  schools  to  the  requirements  of  the  state;  and  Joseph  Smith  was 
employed  as  the  town's  schoolmaster.  He  was  from  Barre.  He  made 
the  North  parish  his  place  of  residence.  He  was  generally  known  as 
"Schoolmaster  Smith."  The  legislation  of  1789,  supplemented  by 
that  of  1800,  1817  and  1827,  laid  the  foundation  of  a  district  school 
system  which  prevailed  in  this  town  up  to  the  time  of  adopting  the 
present  system. 

At  the  present  time  (1890)  the  town  sustains  sixteen  schools 
under  the  graded  system,  and  has  nine  school  houses.  The  high 
school  was  established  at  the  Centre  in  1881,  with  A.  L.  Wood  as 
principal.  He  was  succeeded  by  L.  T.  McKenney  in  1887.  The 
present  teacher  is  S.  A.  Hayward,  who  succeeded  Mr.  McKenney  in 
1889.  The  late  Colonel  H.  C.  Brooks  caused  one  thousand  dollars  to 
be  placed  in  the  Cape  Cod  Five  Cents  Savings  Bank,  the  interest  on 
which  to  be  annually  expended  for  a  suitable  medal  for  every  school 
in  town,  to  be  donated  once  every  year  to  the  pupil  in  each  school 
who  is  most  proficient  in  composition  and  letter  writing  and  most  ex- 
cellent in  behavior,  to  be  determined  by  the  teacher  of  each  school. 

The  leading  institution  of  learning  in  this  section  for  twenty  years 
was  the  Pine  Grove  Seminary,  established  in  this  town  by  Sidney 
Brooks  in  1844.  Mr.  Brooks  was  the  principal  from  the  beginning. 
He  gave  up  the  charge  of  the  school  in  1866  to  engage  in  teaching  on 
the  state  school  ship.  The  building  he  sold  to  the  town  in  1869,  and 
it  is  now  used  for  school  purposes.  Mr.  Brooks  was  born  in  Harwich 
and  graduated  at  Amherst  College  in  1841.  He  died  in  Boston,  where 
he  had  resided  mostly  since  he  closed  his  school  in  Harwich. 


TOWN   OF   HARWICH.  849 

ViLLAGES.^The  villages  in  town  and  localities  in  -which  post  offices 
have  been  established,  are  Harwich,  East  Harwich,  South  Harwich, 
Harwich  Port,  West  Harwich,  North  Harwich  and  Pleasant  Lake. 

Harwich  is  the  central  village  and  the  oldest  in  the  town.  It  is  sit- 
uated upon  high  land,  many  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  above 
the  chain  of  ponds  that  border  the  northerly  line  of  the  town.  Where 
the  Exchange  building  stands,  the  land  is  twenty-nine  feet  above  the 
level  of  Long  pond.  On  what  is  now  Main  street,  sixty  years  ago, 
from  the  house  of  the  late  E.  E.  Hardings  to  the  house  occupied  by 
the  late  Isaac  Smith,  there  were  only  ten  dwelling  houses,  and  of  these 
eight  are  yet  standing,  together  with  the  old  school  house,  in  which 
many  of  the  old  residents  of  the  village  and  neighborhood  received 
the  rudiments  of  their  education. 

The  first  to  open  a  store  in  this  place  was  Ebenezer  Brooks,  Esq., 
which  was  before  1789.     In  1802  his  son,  Obed  Brooks,  became  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  trade,  and  they  erected  in  1807  the  store  which 
was  removed  in  1880  from  the  old  corner  across  the  street,  and  is  now 
occupied  as  a  dwelling  house.     After  the  death  of  the  father,  Mr. 
Brooks  continued  in  trade  until  about  1833,  when  he  became  associ- 
ated with  his  son,  Obed  Brooks,  jr.,  who  had  been  in  business  in  Bos- 
ton under  the  firm  of  Rand  &  Brooks.  Mr.  Brooks  at  this  date  enlarged 
the  store,  and  put  in  a  good  stock  of  goods,  such  as  was  usually  kept 
in  a  country  store,  making  it  the  store  of  the  town.      Mr.  Brooks,  in 
1856,  becoming  cashier  of  the  bank  just  established  in  the  village, 
gave  up  the  business,  and  Mr.  Obed  Nickerson  of  South  Harwich,  who 
had  for  some  time  been  engaged  in  the  store,  took  charge  and  carried 
on  the  business  for  several  years,  when  in  1876  Mr.  Cyrenus  S.  Hunt, 
a  young  man,  who  had  received  his  business  training  under  Mr.  Nick- 
erson, took  charge  of  the  old  stand,  and  remained  in  business  there 
until  the  erection  of  Brooks'  block,  in  1879,  when  he  removed  his 
stock  into  the  room  he  now  occupies.     Mr.  Hunt  has,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  short  period  at  his  place  of  residence  in  trade,  occupied  this 
store. 

In  1854,  through  the  efforts  of  Chester  Snow,  the  Exchange 
building,  as  it  was  called,  was  erected;  the  lower  story  was  fitted  up 
for  stores,  and  the  upper  story  as  a  hall,  which  at  the  time  was  the 
most  commodious  in  the  county.  William  H.  Underwood  and  Andrew 
Snow,  under  the  firm  of  Snow  &  Underwood,  in  1855  opened  a  dry  goods 
store  in  the  building.  They  both  retiring  from  the  business  in  a  few 
years,  a  new  firm,  Brett,  Smith  &  Co.,  commenced  business  in  the  store. 
This  firm  was  succeeded  in  1864  by  Charles  E.Brett,  a  native  of  Brock- 
ton ,  who  had  been  a  clerk  for  the  firm.  Mr.Brett  was  a  dealer  in  dry  goods 
and  clothing.  He  remained  in  the  store  until  1874,  when  he  removed 
into  his  new  store  built  a  few  steps  east  of  the  Exchange  building, 
54 


850  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

where  he  carried  on  business  until  1876,  when  fire  destroyed  the  store 
and  the  famous  Exchange  building,  together  with  the  dwelling  house 
of  Mrs.  Turpie,  and  outbuildings  connected  with  the  store.  It  should 
have  been  stated  that  upon  retiring  from  the  dry  goods  business,  Mr. 
Underwood  went  into  the  grocery  business  in  another  room  of  the 
old  Exchange  building,  and  engaged  in  other  branches  of  trade,  hold- 
ing at  the  time  the  oflSce  of  postmaster  and  town  clerk  and  treasurer 
in  his  store.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Joseph  Underwood,  and 
Henry  Holmes  in  the  grocery  business  in  1872.  The  store  vacated 
by  Mr.  Brett  in  1874  was  soon  occupied  by  C.  F.  Parker  of  Yarmouth 
in  the  dry  goods  business.  He  was  in  trade  here  when  the  store  was 
burned.  Mr.  Parker  for  a  short  time  opened  a  store  in  Mr.  Buck's 
building,  now  occupied  by  Paddock  Small,  and  removed  toOsterville. 
Mr.  Brett's  present  store  was  built  in  1876.  The  west  room  is  occu- 
pied by  J.  F.  Tobey,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Brett  in  the  grocery  business. 

Nathan  Ellis  opened  a  store  in  his  old  house  on  the  north  road  in 
1855,  and  subsequently  opened  opposite  his  house  on  the  east  side  of 
the  road  a  store,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  about  1880.  In  1881  he 
opened,  near  the  railroad  station,  a  store,  which  he  sold  to  Thomas 
Harriman  in  1884,  who  carried  on  the  grocery  business  until  1886, 
when  the  store  was  burned.  In  1881  Mr.  Ellis  built  the  store  now 
owned  and  occupied  by  his  son,  Samuel  A.  Ellis. 

Others  who  have  stores  here  at  present  are:  Rufus  F.  Crowell, 
Paddock  Small,  Samuel  Moody,  jr.,  J.  G.  Ryder,  2d,  Sheldon  K.  Crow- 
ell and  Patrick  Kelly,  jr. 

T.  D.  Eldridge  and  S.  W.  Rogers,  pharmacists,  have  each  a  drug 
store. 

In  1856,  the  manufacture  of  soap  was  commenced  in  a  building 
standing  upon  the  site  of  the  house  of  F.  D.  Weekes,  by  Solomon 
Thacher.  The  business  was  not  successful,  and  Mr.  Thacher  sold  out 
to  T.  P.  Parker, — who  had  been  in  his  employ — an  experienced 
soap  maker.  After  some  years  in  the  business,  he  removed  from  the 
town.  The  shop  was  made  a  dwelling  house,  and  some  years  since 
was  destroyed  by  fire. 

In  1865,  Jonathan  Buck  moved  into  the  new  building  which  h^d 
just  been  completed  for  him,  standing  upon  the  site  of  the  old  school 
house,  and  commenced  the  manufacture  of  fishermen's  boots  and  slip- 
pers. He  continued  in  the  business  until  1868,  when  a  company  was 
formed,  with  a  capital  stock  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  to  carry  on  the 
same  business,  in  addition  to  making  women's  shoes,  and  he  became 
superintendent.  In  1870,  the  capital  was  increased.  In  1873  the  com- 
pany closed  up  business,  and  Mr.  Buck  resumed  the  old  business.  He 
retired  in  1883.     Paddock  Small  Aow  occupies  the  place. 

The  building  erected  for  the  company  is  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  Henry  T.  Crosby,  the  marble  worker,  who  came  here  in  1873. 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  851 

Harness  making  was  first  commenced  here  by  Henry  Nickerson. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Frank  Smith.  Alliston  S.  Doane  now  occupies 
Mr.  Smith's  stand,  having  commenced  business  in  1881. 

The  manufacture  of  barrels  has  been  carried  on  here  for  years. 
Among  the  manufacturers  are  J.  B.  Tuttle,  John  Larkin  and  Edwin 
L.  Eldridge.  The  barrels  manufactured  are  used  for  packing  cran- 
berries, and  are  uniform  as  to  size. 

The  printing  business  was  commenced  here  in  1662,  in  a  building 
a  few  yards  east  of  Mrs.  C.  D.  Brooks'  house,  by  John  W.  Emery,  who, 
in  the  same  year,  started  the  Cape  Cod  Republican.  The  paper  and  job 
printing  were  discontinued  in  1864.  In  1868  Mr.  Emery  again  opened 
his  office,  and  started  the  Harwich  Press  and  job  printing;  but  removed 
to  Farmington,  Minn.,  in  1869.  In  1872,  Goss  &  Richards  commenced 
job  printing  in  the  room  now  occupied  as  a  lawyer's  office,  under  the 
control  of  George  B.  Wilcox;  afterward  in  old  exchange  building,  and 
then  in  their  new  building,  and  at  the  same  date,  started  the  Harwich 
Independent,  which  was  printed  in  Barnstable.  In  1881  A.  P.  Goss  suc- 
ceeded them,  he  having  been  connected  with  the  office  here  since 
1873.  In  1886,  Benjamin  F.  Bee,  jr.,  commenced  job  printing  in  the 
south  part  of  the  village.     In  1888  he  built  the  building  he  occupies. 

In  1866,  Benjamin  F.  Bee,  machinist,  opened  a  shop  on  Bank 
street  for  mechanical  purposes.  Mr.  Bee  is  an  inventor  of  some  note. 
The  relieved  tap,  safety  sectional  boiler,  regulating  water  guage, 
Bee's  gimlet,  button  fastener,  and  cranberry  picker  are  among  the 
most  important  of  his  inventions.  He  is  now  perfecting  a  machine 
for  marine  propulsion. 

The  Cape  Cod  Five  Cent  Savings  Bank  went  into  operation  in 
1856,  with  Obed  Brooks,  jr.,  as  treasurer.  This  institution  was  incor- 
porated March  16,  1856.  Before  the  erection  of  the  present  bank 
building  in  1875,  the  business  was  done  in  the  office  of  the  Bank  of 
Cape  Cod.  The  successor  of  Mr.  Brooks,  who  retired  in  1870,  was  M. 
S.  Underwood,  of  Dennis.  He  was  succeeded  by  A.  C.  Snow,  2d,  in 
1882,  who  is  now  the  treasurer.  The  assistant  treasurer  is  A.  L. 
Weekes. 

The  Bank  of  Cape  Cod  was  chartered  May  21,  1856.  It  went  into 
operation  in  February,  1856,  with  Christopher  Hall,  of  Dennis,  as 
president,  and  Obed  Brooks  as  cashier,  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$100,000.  In  January,  1865,  it  became  the  Cape  Cod  National  Bank, 
of  Harwich.  The  present  capital  stock  is  $300,000.  George  H.  Snow, 
the  present  cashier,  succeeded  Mr.  Brooks  in  October,  1865.  The 
president  is  E.  E.  Crowell,  of  Dennis,  who  has  been  officially  con- 
nected with  the  bank  since  its  organization.  The  presidents,  beside 
the  above  named,  have  been  Prince  S.  Crowell,  of  Dennis;  Joseph  K. 
Baker,  of  Dennis,  and  Isaac  H.  Loveland,  of  Chatham.    The  banking 


852  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

house  was  erected  in  1866.    The  master  builder  was  James  Moody. 
The  assistant  cashier  is  A.  C.  Snow,  2d. 

The  Broadbrooks  Free  Library,  the  gift  of  the  late  Major  Henry 
<2.  Brooks,  of  Boston,  but  a  native  of  the  village,  containing  about  four 
thousand  volumes,  was  formally  opened  January  1,  1881.  It  is  in  the 
west  chamber  of  the  spacious  building  erected  by  him  in  1879,  known 
now  as  Brooks  block.  It  is  opened  every  Saturday,  and  any  person 
of  the  town,  over  fourteen  years  of  age,  is  entitled  to  its  privileges,  if 
complying  with  the  rules.  Connected  with  the  library  is  an  art  room, 
in  which  are  the  Rogers'  group  of  statuary,  presented  to  the  town  in 
1881  by  Pliny  Nickerson,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  also  a  native  of  the  town. 

The  largest  structure  in  the  town — the  Exchange  building  in  this 
village — was  commenced  in  the  summer  of  1884  and  completed  in 
1885.  It  stands  upon  the  site  of  the  Exchange  building  burned  in 
1876.  The  second  story  of  the  building  contains  the  spacious  and 
well  fitted  hall.  It  was  erected  for  the  proprietor,  Chester  Snow,  Esq., 
by  Richardson  &  Young,  contractors,  and  cost  about  $43,000. 

The  post  ofl5ce  in  this  village  was  established  in  1798.  Silvanus 
S.  Stone  was  appointed  first  postmaster  April  first  of  that  year.  He  was 
succeeded  May  11,  1804,  by  Ebenezer  Brooks.  At  this  time  the  oflSce 
was  kept  in  Mr.  Brooks'  store,  upon  his  premise^,  on  the  north  side 
of  the  road,  near  his  house,  the  site  of  which  is  seen  in  the  grove 
where  the  temperance  picnics  are  held.  The  mail  matter  was  then 
brought  on  the  mail  carriers'  shoulders  in  a  bag  once  in  a  fortnight, 
and  we  opine  the  letters  and  papers  were  few  in  niimber  at  that  date. 
Later  on  it  was  brought  from  Boston  once  a  week  on  horseback  by 
John  Thacher,  of  Barnstable;  and  still  later  by  Freeman  Winslow,  of 
Brewster,  who  took  the  mail  in  saddlebags  from  Sandwich,  the  termi- 
nus of  the  stage  route,  once  a  week  from  Boston. 

•  Mr.  Brooks  was  succeeded  as  postmaster  by  Obed  Brooks,  the  son, 
December  29,  1822,  who  in  turn  was  succeeded  Augfust  13, 1856,  by 
Obed  Brooks,  jr.  The  latter  resigned  in  1858,  when  W.  H.  Under- 
wood was  appointed.  Mr.  Underwood  resigned  in  1873,  when  Charles 
E.  Brett  was  appointed.  Mr.  Brett  resigned  in  1885.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  1885,  by  John  H.  Drum.  Samuel  Moody,  jr.,  succeeded  Mr. 
Drum  in  1889,  and  is  the  present  postmaster.  While  the  office  was 
held  by  Obed  Brooks,  it  was  in  the  old  store ;  and  when  Obed 
Brooks,  jr.,  was  postmaster  it  was  held  in  the  same  building. 

East  Harwich  is  the  post  office  designation  of  the  eastern  part  of 
the  town,  and  covers  a  large  territory.  The  principal  settlement  is 
on  the  road  from  the  meeting  house  toward  Orleans.  The  church 
here  of  the  Methodist  denomination  was  erected  in  1811,  and  is  the 
oldest  in  the  county.  There  are  two  cemeteries  here,  one  adjoining 
the  church  yard,  and  the  other  in  a  northwesterly  direction  on  high 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  853 

ground.  The  latter  was  laid  out  in  1858.  It  contains  four  acres,  and 
is  certainly  the  best  laid  out  cemetery  in  town.  At  first  it  contained 
two  acres,  but  in  1875,  it  was  enlarged  and  incorporated.  Prominent 
among  the  traders  are  Mulford  Young,  A.  J.  Chase,  Hiram  E.  Nicker- 
son  and  Sears  L.  Moores.  Mr.  Young  is  a  dealer  in  furniture,  groceries 
and  dry  goods.  He  first  commenced  trade  in  1851.  Many  years  ago 
a  public  house  was  kept  here  by  David  Kendrick,  where  the  late 
Isaac  B.  Kendrick  resided.  Here  the  probate  courts  were  held  while 
Hon.  Nymphas  Marston  was  the  judge.  Many  from  this  locality  go 
boat  fishing  out  of  Pleasant  bay,  to  fishing  grounds  oflf  Chatham,  and 
are  quite  successful. 

The  post  office  was  established  here  in  1830.  The  first  postmaster 
was  Rufus  L.  Thacher,  appointed  December  24,  1830  David  Snow, 
jr.,  was  appointed  October  24, 1832.  David  Snow  was  m  business  "  on 
the  corner "  at  the  time.  He  was  succeeded  by  David  Kendrick 
January  18,  1836,  who  was  succeeded  April  8,  1839,  by  Benjamin  F. 
Eldridge.  Mr.  Eldridge  was  succeeded  Augt^st  26,  1841,  by  James 
G.  Smith,  who  in  March,  1843,  was  succeeded  by  Benjamin  F.  Eldridge. 
He  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  April  14,  1856,  by  Danforth  S.  Steel. 
Mr.  Steel  resigned  in  1862,  and  was  succeeded  by  George  W.  Nicker- 
son,  after  whom  came  Samuel  Bassett.  He  was  succeeded  by  J.  H. 
Chase,  who  was  succeeded  by  Hiram  E.  Nickerson.  Sears  L.  Moores 
is  the  present  postmaster,  having  been  appointed  in  1887.  Until  the 
appointment  of  Mr.  Steel,  the  post  office  was  at  the  corner  near  the 
meeting  house.  Since  then  it  has  been  kept  in  the  north  neighbor- 
hood where  it  is  now.  The  mail  is  taken  directly  to  the  office  from 
Harwich  once  a  day. 

Salt  making  at  the  cove  was  carried  on  early.  Samuel  Eldridge, 
Esq.,  had  works  on  the  west  side  of  the  cove  near  his  house.  His 
works  were  the  last  seen  in  that  part  of  the  town. 

The  old  wind  mill,  which  ground  the  grists  of  the  good  people  of 
the  neighborhood,  familarly  known  as  "Uncle  Elnathans'  mill," 
graced  the  high  lands  of  "  Weguasset," — the  territory  so  called  by 
the  Indians  north  of  Short  cove,  overlooking  Pleasant  bay. 

South  Harwich  is  the  post  office  designation  of  the  southeastern 
part  of  the  town.  The  settlement  is  principally  on  the  main  road 
from  Chatham  to  Harwich  Centre.  This  neighborhood,  though 
thinly  settled,  has  been  an  active  part  of  the  town.  The  activity  here 
was  mainly  due  to  the  late  Amasa  Nickerson,  who  successfully  carried 
on  the  fisheries  at  the  Deep  Hole  for  many  years  before  his  death. 
Among  others  who  were  engaged  in  the  same  business,  were  Cyrus 
Weekes  and  Caleb  Small,  under  the  style  of  Weekes  &  Small,  and  Caleb 
Small  after  the  dissolution  of  the  firm  in  1868;  Zephaniah,  Stephen 
and  Alden  Nickerson;  Tuttle  &  Godfrey,  Nickerson  &  Small;  Darius  F. 


854  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Weekes  &  Co.,  and  Levi  Eldridge.  The  only  firm  engaged  now  in  the 
fishing  is  Kendrick  &  Bearse,  who  have  only  two  vessels  engaged. 
This  firm  has  two  stores,  one  at  the  wharf  and  the  other  at  South  Har- 
wich station.  The  wharf  here  has  suffered  destruction  by  the  ice 
several  times,  and  has  as  many  times  been  rebuilt  in  consequence. 
Most  of  the  above  named  had  fitting  out  stores.  At  the  west  of  the 
Deep  Hole,  salt  making  was  engaged  in  early.  There  are  many  now 
living  who  remember  the  salt  works  that  stood  near  George  W. 
Nickerson's  house,  owned  by  the  late  Nathan  Nickerson.  The  prin- 
cipal stores  on  Main  street  forty  years  ago  were  Joseph  P.  Nickerson 
&  Co.  and  Abner  Nickerson.  Boat  building  was  carried  on  here 
many  years  ago  by  Zebina  H.  Godfrey. 

The  post  office  was  established  here  in  1831,  with  Joseph  P.  Nick- 
erson, postmaster.  He  continued  in  the  office  till  his  death  in  1859, 
when  his  daughter.  Loretta  Nickerson,  succeeded  him.  She  was  fol- 
lowed by  William  M.  Eldridge  in  1864,  and  the  office  removed  to  its 
present  location. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  church  is  situated  here.  The  only  ceme- 
tery  in  this  section  is  near  by.  Cyrus  Eldridge,  the  portrait  painter, 
one-half  a  century  ago,  was  a  native  of  this  village.  The  traders  of 
to-day  are  Sears  Brothers,  H.  L.  Crowell,  W.  M.  Eldridge,  Kendrick  & 
Bearse,  David  Ellis  and  L.  Clarke. 

The  oldest  house  in  town,  so  far  as  is  known,  is  yet  standing  in  the 
village,  and  now  owned  by  N.  T.  Gorham.  The  first  occupant  was 
John  Long,  and  the  second  his  youngest  son,  James  Long,  who 
was  a  leading  man  in  town  fifty  years  ago.  The  earliest  residents 
were  Jonathan  Smalley,  Joseph  Severance,  Joseph  Ellis,  Ammiel 
Weekes,  Acus  Tripp,  John  Long  and  John  Paine.  Will  Tobey,  the 
slave  of  Mr.  Zachariah  Smalley,  also  lived  in  this  section  near  or  on 
the  spot  where  Mr.  E.  P.  Nickerson's  house  stands.  For  the  faithful 
service  he  rendered  his  master,  the  heirs  of  Mr.  Smalley  in  1779  pro- 
vided for  his  support  during  his  natural  life.  An  oak  tree  now  stand- 
ing on  the  farm  of  James  S.  Paine  yet  bears  the  mark  of  his  axe 
made  more  than  140  years  ago,  when  the  tree  was  young  and  standing 
by  the  road,  while  he  was  assisting  the  owner,  Ebenezer  Paine,  in 
making  fence. 

The  overall  business  was  started  here  by  Mrs.  Hannah  C.  Stokes 
in  1865.  In  1872  E.  L.  Stokes  &  Co.  started  the  same  business  and 
soon  commenced  the  manufacture  of  shirts.  They  run  thirty  ma- 
chines by  steam,  and  keep  fifty  hands  at  work  at  the  shop,  besides 
employing  250  persons  outside,  in  this  and  adjoining  towns. 

The  watch  business  was  started  in  this  place  by  Warren  Free- 
man in  1835.  He  continues  repairing  and  dealing  in  watches,  clocks, 
jewelry,  etc. 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  856 

Pilgrim  Lodge,  F.  &  A.  M.,  received  its  charter  March  14,  1860. 
The  charter  members  were  Frederick  Hebard,  Warren  Freeman,  Z. 
H.  Godfrey,  Charles  Jenkins,  Zenas  D.  Eldridge,  Stephen  Nicker- 
son,  B.  G.  Philips,  Timothy  Baker  and  Caleb  Nickerson.  It  held 
its  meetings  in  Freeman's  Hall  until  1880,  when  a  lodge  room  was 
fitted  up  in  Brooks'  block,  in  which  the  lodge  has  held  its  meetings 
since  that  time. 

Harwich  Port  lies  on  the  south  side  of  the  town.  It  owes  much 
of  its  growth  to  the  fisheries  and  the  coasting  trade.  There  are 
many  yet  living  who  remember  when  the  houses  were  few  in  num- 
ber and  far  apart.  Records  show  that  for  many  years  before  1753 
the  territory  upon  which  the  village  stands  was  held  by  Ephraim 
Covel,  who  lived  near  Grass  pond;  but  at  which  date,  he  being 
dead,  it  was  in  possession  of  his  daughters,  viz.:  Thankful,  wife  of 
Edward  Nickerson;  Sarah,  wife  of  Benjamin  Nickerson;  Mercy,  wife 
of  Samuel  Burgess;  and  Mary,  wife  of  Thomas  Burgess.  Three  of 
the  above — Thankful,  Mercy  and  Mary — were  at  that  time  living 
upon  the  tract,  though  not  in  what  is  now  the  village.  The  Burgess' 
possession  was  the  western  part  of  the  tract  which  extended  westerly 
from  the  Salt  Water  pond  between  the  shore  and  lower  end  of  Grass 
pond,  while  the  Nickerson's  was  the  eastern  portion  bordering  Cold 
brook  and  Andrew's  river  on  the  east  and  Grass  pond  on  the  west. 
Up  to  1804  there  were  no  public  roads  leading  to  or  through  "inland," 
as  it  was  then  known.  The  way  from  the  Centre  by  the  east  end  of 
Grass  pond  was  crooked  and  through  bars  most  of  the  distance.  This 
way  was  made  a  town  road  in  1831,  with  some  alterations  in  its  loca- 
tion at  the  Port.  The  way  through  the  village,  now  Main  street,  was 
laid  out  in  1827  as  a  county  road  by  the  county  commissions.  Mo.st 
of  the  old  ways  at  the  Port  years  ago,  and  remembered  by  the  aged 
of  to-day,  were  made  by  Ephraim  Covel  for  his  convenience,  and 
the  Burgess  who  succeeded  to  his  estate  in  the  "  inland." 

Vessel  building  upon  the  shore  commenced  here  before  1800.  In 
1792  the  schooner  Industry  was  built,  in  1793  the  schooner  Delight, 
in  1800  the  schooner  Polly,  and  in  1804  the  schooner  Combme.  After 
1830  several  were  built  on  the  shore.  Among  them  the  schooneis 
Eliza,  Ostrich  and  Emulous.  The  Eliza  was  built  near  the  marsh 
bank,  and  was  commanded  by  Laban  Snow,  jr.  The  Ostrich  and 
Emulous  were  built  west  of  Allen's  harbor,  at  the  place  called  "  No- 
horns,  by  Anthony  Thacher.  The  Etnulous  was  for  awhile  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Z.  H.  Small. 

The  water  mill,  where  afterward  stood  the  sash  and  blind  fac- 
tory, was  built  for  Thomas  Burgess  in  1763.  The  mill  was  erected 
by  Captain  Pepper,  the  famous  millwright  of  Eastham.  It  appears 
the  mill  was  in  full  operation  in  December  of  that  year.     It  was  sold 


856  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

to  Benjamin  Lovell  of  Barnstable,  who  removed  here  and  settled  on 
the  west  side  of  the  brook  after  the  revolutionary  war.  Mr.  Lovell 
did  not  long  continue  in  charge  of  the  mill.  Benjamin  Small,  jr.,  his 
son-in-law,  was  in  possession  of  the  mill  and  other  real  estate  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river  in  1798,  when  the  same  was  conveyed  to  his  father. 
Some  time  after  1820  a  "carding  machine"  from  North  Harwich  was 
put  in  for  carding  wool.  The  water  privilege  was  some  years  since 
purchased  by  Ephraim  Doane,  who,  with  Elkanah  Hopkins,  com- 
menced the  manufacture  of  doors,  sashes  and  blinds.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  G.  H.  Tripp,  who,  about  1857,  gave  up  the  business. 

The  tanning  business  was  started  here  by  Elkanah  Nickerson  and 
Lorenzo  D.  Nickerson.  Their  tannery  was  south  of  the  house  of 
Captain  T.  A.  Nickerson.     It  has  long  since  disappeared.' 

Sail  making  was  commenced  in  the  village  after  the  fishing  busi- 
ness revived.  Timothy  Baker  had  a  sail  loft  on  the  west  side  of  the 
road  near  his  house.  In  1850  Kelley  &  Doane  established  the  busi- 
ness in  a  loft  overlooking  the  shore,  where  it  is  now  carried  on  by  S. 
B.  Kelley,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Doane  in  1858.  Abner  L.  Small  was 
long  engaged  in  the  business  in  a  loft  near  his  house.  Gilbert  Smith 
also  was  engaged  in  the  business  at  the  Port. 

Boat  building  has  been  carried  on  in  this  village  by  Charles  Jenk- 
ins for  thirty  years.  Mr.  Jenkins  succeeded  David  Godfrey  &  Son  in 
the  business  they  established  in  1847. 

Henry  Kelley  opened  a  lumber  yard  here  about  1860.  In  1853  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother,  Watson  B.  Kelley,  under  the 
firm  of  H.  Kelley  &  Co.,  and  have  since  carried  on  the  lumber,  coal 
and  hardware  business,  occupying  the  same  stand  as  from  the  start. 

Among  the  early  traders  here  were:  Jeremiah  Walker,  Valentine 
Doane,  Laban  Snow,  jr.,  Benjamin  W.  Eldridge,  Ephraim  Doane, 
Elbridge  G.  Doane,  Emulous  Small  and  L.  S.  Burgess.  Jeremiah 
Walker  kept  a  variety  store  near  his  house.  Valentine  Doane  at  first 
opened  a  store  near  his  house,  which  he  occupied  until  its  removal  to 
the  shore,  near  the  present  house  of  Theophilus  Burgess.  He  was  a 
dealer  in  flour,  corn,  groceries,  etc.  Laban  Snow,  jr.,  started  a  store 
on  the  corner  where  the  house  of  Charles  Jenkins  stands,  having  for 
his  partner,  until  1848,  B.  W.  Eldridge.  Some  time  after  Mr.  Eldridge 
retired  Lindsey  Nickerson,  jr.,  became  Mr.  Snow's  partner.  B.  W. 
Eldridge,  soon  after  leaving  Mr.  Snow,  opened  a  store  westward,  on 
the  north  side  of  the  road,  where  he  carried  on  business  until  his 
death  in  1862.  In  1849  Ephraim  Doane,  who  had  been  a  clerk  in 
Valentine  Doane's  store,  opened  a  store  on  the  corner  where  Shubael 
B.  Kelley's  store  now  stands.  He  gave  up  the  business  after  some 
years,  and  Mr.  Kelley  succeeded  him.  The  store  was  burned  in  1887. 
It  was  rebuilt  the  same  year,  and  is  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Kelley. 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  857 

Emulous  Small  engaged  in  business  in  the  store  under  Union  Hall 
after  the  closing  of  the  "  Union  store,"  which  had  been  opened  in 
1850,  and  in  company  with  his  father,  under  the  firm  of  E.  Small  & 
Co.,  remained  about  three  years  in  business,  when  his  father  retired. 
He  then  carried  on  the  business  until  1876,  when  he  sold  out  his  store 
to  Joseph  K.  Robbins.  Mr.  Robbins  continued  the  business  until 
April,  1889,  when  he  sold  out  to  Samuel  J.  Miles. 

Lovell  S.  Burgess  started  in  the  clothing  business  here  in  the  vil- 
lage in  1864,  Freeman  E.  Burgess  being  connected  with  the  custom 
department.  In  1877  Simeon  K.  Sears  purchased  the  store,  and  now 
keeps  a  dry  goods  store.  In  1879  Mr.  Burgess  became  a  partner  with 
F.  E.  Burgess,  who  had  started  the  clothing  business,  but  after  a  year 
here  went  to  Dennis  Port  and  opened  a  dry  goods  store,  leaving  his 
partner,  who  continues  at  the  old  stand. 

Among  other  prominent  traders  of  to-day  here,  are  C.  F.  Nicker- 
son,  P.  N.  Small,  George  D.  Smalley,  W.  R.  Burgess  and  Elisha  Mayo, 
Mr.  Mayo  opened  his  boot  and  shoe  store  in  1887. 

The  village  blacksmiths  are  William  H.  Cole  and  Thomas  Free- 
man.  Mr.  Cole  succeeded  Josiah  B.  Hallett  in  1870.  In  connection 
with  his  blacksmith  work  he  carries  on  carriage  work. 

Social  Hall,  located  a  little  north  of  Main  street,  was  erected  in 
1869.  It  is  owned  by  a  stock  company,  which  holds  97-J  shares.  The 
meetings  of  the  town  have  been  held  in  it  the  past  twelve  years. 

Satucket  House,  built  in  1886,  is  occupied  as  a  reading  room  and 
library.  It  is  managed  by  a  board  of  trustees  annually  chosen. 
"Watson  B.  Kelley  is  the  president  and  S.  K.  Sears  secretary. 

The  Sea  View  Circle,  composed  of  ladies,  contributed  to  its  erec- 
tion. Their  library  of  nearly  six  hundred  volumes,  called  also  Sea 
View  Library,  is  in  it,  and  is  open  on  Saturdays.  T.  R.  Eldridge 
is  librarian  and  Miss  Sabra  F.  Smith  assistant  librarian. 

The  hotel  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  village,  known  as  the  Sea 
View  House,  is  kept  by  Rinaldo  Eldridge.  Just  south  of  this  hotel, 
on  the  west  side  of  the  road,  were  the  salt  works  of  Captain  The- 
ophilus  Burgess,  an  energetic  ship  captain,  who  was  lost  on  a  voyage 
to  Russia  in  1832. 

Marsh  Bank  wharf  was  built  in  1841.  It  was  the  first  built  on  the 
shore  east  of  the  Herring  river.  The  second  was  Union  wharf,  east 
of  Marsh  Bank  wharf,  built  in  1849.  The  third  was  Long  wharf,  east 
of  Union  wharf,  and  West  of  Salt  Water  pond.  These  wharves  have 
all  been  destroyed  by  ice.  The  only  wharf  now  upon  the  shore  is  at 
the  foot  of  Sea  street,  and  is  owned  by  Henry  Kelley  &  Co.  and  T.  B. 
Baker.  This  wharf  has  been  rebuilt  several  times  in  consequence  of 
ice.     It  stands  upon  the  site  of  the  old  "  Marsh  Bank  wharf." 

It  was  at  the  old  Marsh  Bank  wharf,  in  1847,  that  Valentine  Doane 


858  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

started  the  fishing  business.  He  continued  in  business  on  this  wharf, 
assisted  by  his  sons,  Valentine,  jr.,  and  Ambrose  N.  Doane,  until  1867, 
when  Valentine,  jr.,  removed  to  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and  started  the 
same  business,  Ambrose  N.  continuing  with  his  father.  Mr.  Doane 
removed  his  business  from  this  wharf  to  Long  wharf,  and  after  its  de- 
struction by  ice  carried  his  business  on  at  "  Job  Chase's  wharf,"  west 
of  Herring  river.  At  this  place  he  continued  from  1882  to  1884,  when 
he  quitted  business. 

At  Marsh  Bank  wharf,  Laban  Snow,  jr.,  carried  on  the  fishing 
business  until  Union  wharf  was  built,  which  was  in  1849.  At  Union 
wharf,  under  the  firm  of  Snow  &  Nickerson,  he  continued  business. 
At  this  wharf  B.  G.  Philips  &  Co.  carried  on  the  business,  succeeding 
Snow  &  Nickerson.  The  successors  of  B.  G.  Philips  &  Co.  were  Lind- 
say Nickerson  and  Theophilus  B.  Baker,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Nickerson  &  Baker.  In  1869  Mr.  Nickerson  retired,  and  Mr.  Baker 
continued  in  the  business  until  1889,  when  he  disposed  of  his  remain- 
ing vessels  and  gave  up  the  fishing  business.  The  last  two  firms  had 
-fitting  out  stores  at  the  shore. 

The  firm  that  carried  on  business  first  at  the  Long  wharf  had  also 
a  store  at  the  wharf.    This  firm  was  not  long  in  business. 

The  first  inspector  of  mackerel  at  the  port  was  Caleb  Snow.  He 
first  had  a  stage  near  the  Marsh  Bank  for  packing. 

The  post  office  was  established  here  in  1851,  Ephraim  Doane  being 
the  first  postmaster.  Benjamin  W.  Eldridge  succeeded  him  January 
20, 1854.  Mr.  Eldridge  was  succeeded  in  1861  by  Shubael  B.  Kelley, 
who  held  the  office  until  1885,  when  W.  R.  Burgess  was  appointed. 
The  present  postmaster  is  Benjamin  C.  Kelley. 

The  Satucket  Lodge  of  Good  Templars,  organized  in  June,  1888, 
meet  in  Florence  Hall,  over  C.  F.  Nickerson 's  store.  The  present 
membership  is  sixty-nine.  The  worthy  chief  templars  have  been 
Willie  L.  Killey,  Ebenezar  Weekes,  2d,  and  Albertus  Small. 

West  Harwich  is  situated  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  town,  and 
lies  on  both  sides  of  the  Herring  river.  The  west  part  of  the  village 
is  the  most  thickly  settled.  The  people  -here  were  early  engaged  in 
the  fishery,  and  most  of  the  men  are  yet  engaged  in  seafaring  pur- 
suits. This  part  of  the  tawn  was  not  very  early  settled,  on  account 
of  its  remoteness,  and  the  difficulty  of  getting  to  the  neighborhood. 
The  first  to  settle  within  the  town  line,  west  of  the  river,  so  far  as  is 
now  known,  was  William  Chase,  son  of  John  Chase.  He  settled  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river.  He  was  soon  followed  by  Samuel  Smith,  who 
erected  a  house  near  where  Amos  Smith's  house  stands.  For  some 
years  these  two  settlers  were  the  only  residents  the  west  side  of  the 
river.  The  early  settlers  on  the  east  side  were  located  in  the  Snow 
neighborhood.    They  were  Benjamin  Hall,  who  went  to  Connecticut; 


GINN'S    BAZAAR, 
Dennis  Port,  Mass. 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  859 

William  Gray,  who  went  to  New  York  State  about  1746,  and  Dea.  Na- 
thaniel Doane,  who  settled  upon  Gray's  farm,  and  his  only  son,  Eli- 
jah Doane. 

The  building  of  the  bridge  over  the  river,  near  Job  Chase's  house, 
in  1804,  and  the  throwing  open  a  public  way  from  the  Dennis  line 
to  the  bridge,  in  1808,  by  Job  Chase,  sr.,  through  his  lands,  aided 
much  the  growth  of  the  place,  especially  on  the  west  side. 

Vessel  building  on  the  river  and  near  its  mouth  commenced  early 
after  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  and  was  continued  at 
times  until  1848.  Among  the  number  built,  of  which  mention  has 
been  made,  were  the  Hope  arid  Polly,  built  for  Job  Chase,  sr.,  in  1805; 
the  Dorcas,  built  on  the  east  side  of  Herring  river,  by  Patrick  Kelley, 
in  1817;  the  Superb  Hope,  for  Job  Chase,  jr.,  and  Sears  Chase,  in  1824; 
the  Experiment,  for  Isaac  Bee,  in  1830,  near  his  house,  and  also  the 
schooner  Trimnph,  and  the  Job  Chase,  in  1848.  The  latter  was  a 
schooner  of  about  seventy  tons.  It  was  built  by  Anthony  Thacher 
for  Job  Chase,  at  a  place  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  south  of  Erastus 
Chase's  house,  called  the  "  Snake  Hole."  This  was  the  last  vessel 
built  in  Harwich.  Mr.  Chase  was  actively  engaged  in  the  fishery  dur- 
ing most  of  his  life,  as  was  his  father,  bearing  the  same  name.  He 
had  a  store  for  many  years,  near  the  river,  a  little  to  the  eastward  of 
Erastus  Chase's  store. 

The  post  ofBce  here  was  established  in  1827.  The  first  postmaster 
was  Elijah  Chase,  appointed  January  6th,  of  that  year.  His  successor 
was  Samuel  P.  Bourne,  appointed  May  20, 1841.  Mr.  Bourne  resigned 
in  1843,  having  been  appointed  cashier  of  the  Falmouth  Bank,  and 
Anthony  Kelley  was  appointed  November  17.  Mr.  Kelley  resigned 
in  1848,  and  was  succeeded  by  David  H.  Small,  appointed  July  20. 
Anthony  K.  Chase,  appointed  December  23, 1856,  .succeeded  Mr.  Small, 
and  was  followed  by  Erastus  Chase  in  1861.  Charles  H.  Kelley  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Chase  in  1885,  and  Henry  C.  Berry  succeeded  Mr.  Kelley 
in  1889. 

The  only  public  house  here  for  many  years,  was  kept  by  Isaiah 
Baker.  The  site  is  marked  by  the  house  of  James  W.  Eldridge,  afew 
rods  west  of  the  Baptist  meeting  house.  In  1881  Ozias  C.  Baker 
opened  the  Central  House,  which  is  now  kept  by  him.  In  1883, 
William  P.  Baker,  his  son,  started  a  livery  stable  in  connection  with 
the  hotel;  and  it  is  the  terminus  of  his  express  and  stage  route  from 
North  Harwich  railroad  station  through  Dennis  Port  to  this  village. 

Among  those  who  have  stores  in  the  village,  are:  Erastus  Chase, 
dealer  in  clothes  and  groceries;  Henry  C.  Robbins,  Davis  Lxjthrop, 
jr.,  and  C.  H.  Kelley. 

The  largest  building  in  the  village  is  Ocean  Hall,  near  the  Dennis 
line.    This  hall  was  erected  in  1865,  costing  about  seven  thousand 


860  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

dollars.  Bartlett  White,  of  Yarmouth,  was  the  builder.  The  first 
story  contains  the  public  hall,  the  second  story  is  occupied  by  Mount 
Horeb  Lodge,  of  Freemasons,  and  the  Sylvester  Baxter  Chapter,  and 
the  third  story  is  used  for  a  dining  room.  The  lodge  room  was  fur- 
nished at  an  expense  of  about  fifteen  hundred  dollars,  and  dedicated 
December  25,  1865.  Rev.  Dr.  Quint,  of  New  Bedford,  delivered  the 
dedicatory  address. 

Mount  Horeb  Lodge  of  Freemasons  was  constituted,  December 26, 
1855.  The  following  officers,  representing  the  Grand  Lodge,  were  in 
attendance:  Sylvester  Baxter^M.  W.  G.  M.;  Rufus  S.  Pope,  D.  G.  M.; 

A.  C.  Nickerson,  G.  S.  W.;  H.  W.  Rugg,  J.  G.  W.  The  marshal  for  the 
occasion  was  Anthony  Kelley.  The  officers  for  the  year  ending 
December,  1856,  installed  were:  Nehemiah  D.  Kelley,  W.  M.;  Joseph 
K.  Baker,  S.  W.;  William  E.  Ansel,  J.  W.;  Anthony  Kelley,  jr.,  secy.; 
Remark  Chase,  treas.;  Samuel  D.Chase,  S.  D.;  Benjamin  W.  Eldridge, 
J.  D.;  and  Anthony  Kelley,  marshal.  The  masters  of  the  lodge  have 
been:  N.  D.  Kelley,  Joseph  K.  Baker,  Anthony  K.  Chase,  Veranus 
Nickerson,  Ozias  C.  Baker,  Benjamin  P.  Sears,  Abner  L.  Ellis,  Luther 
Fisk,  David  Fisk,  Erastus  Chase,  Sylvester  Baker,  Sylvester  F.  Baker, 
and  Henry  H.  Fisk.     The  secretary  of  the  lodge  in  1889  was  James 

B.  Hopkins. 

The  Sylvester  Baxter  Chapter  meets  in  Mount  Horeb  Lodge  room. 
The  charter  bears  date  December  7,  1870.  The  principal  officers  the 
first  year  were:  N.  D.  Kelley,  H.  P.;  Joseph  K.  Baker,  K.;  Watson  B. 
Kelley,  sec.  The  principal  officers  of  1889  were:  John  E.  Hamer,  H. 
P.;  Henry  H.  Fisk,  K.;  and  Erastus  Chase,  S.  Charles  H.  Kelley  has 
been  secretary  during  eleven  years  of  the  existence  of  the  chapter. 
Besides  the  above,  who  acted  as  H.  P.  since  the  chapter  was  instituted, 
was  Abiathar  Doane.  The  members  are  scattered  over  the  adjoining 
towns. 

North  Harwich  is  the  post  office  designation  of  the  village  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  town.  This  part  of  the  town  was  early 
known,  as  here  was  built  the  first  grist  mill  in  the  south  part  of  the 
old  town.  It  stood  upon  the  Herring  river,  and  was  known  as  Hall's 
mill.  The  site  is  now  marked  by  the  Ryder's  mill.  It  was  owned  by 
Samuel  Hall,  the  first  resident  here,  sometime  before  1700.  A  short 
distance  north  of  this  mill,  on  the  river,  stood  the  cotton  and  woolen 
factory,  removed  from  South  Harwich  in  1825,  and  again  removed  in 
1851;  and  also  the  grist  mill  and  mill  for  carding  wool.  The  site  of 
these  mills  is  marked  by  Rogers'  mill.  Below  Hall's  mill,  or  "  Mid- 
dle mill,"  as  it  was  sometimes  called,  was  Kelley's  mill.  Near  the  site 
of  this  grist  mill,  in  1867,  was  erected  the  tap  and  die  factory,  which 
was  burned  in  December,  1868.  Near  by  was  shortly  after  erected 
the  building  for  making  safety  sectional  boilers,  under  the  superin- 


TOWN   OF   HARWICH.  861 

tendence  of  B.  F.  Bee,  the  inventor,  who  also  was  superintendent  of 
the  tap  and  die  factory.  The  village  now  contains  two  houses  of 
worship  and  one  school  house.  The  railroad  station  for  accommoda- 
tion of  Dennis  Port  and  West  Harwich,  is  situated  in  the  western  part 
of  the  village. 

Stores  here  were  formerly  kept  by  Ebenezar  Kelley,  Nathan  Fos- 
ter, Sheldon  Crowell  and  Elijah  B.  Sears.  The  present  stores  are  kept 
by  Richard  Baker  and  J.  C.  Baker. 

The  first  public  house  in  this  section  of  the  town,  so  far  as  is  now 
known,  was  opened  here.  It  was  first  known  as  Downe's  tavern,  and 
afterward  as  Howes'  tavern.  The  site  is  now  marked  by  John  E.  Ry- 
der's house. 

The  Baptist  meeting  house  stood  in  this  place  up  to  1828,  when  it 
was  removed  to  West  Harwich.  The  old  cemetery  of  this  society  is 
near  the  site  of  the  meeting  house.  It  has  been  enlarged,  and  is  now 
occupied  as  the  cemetery  of  the  village. 

The  post  office  was  established  here  in  1862,  with  Sheldon  Crowell 
as  postmaster.  He  was  succeeded  in  1867  by  Elijah  B.  Sears,  who  was 
followed  by  Mrs.  E.  B.  Sears.  Mrs.  Sears  was  succeeded  by  Jonathan 
Burgess.  Joseph  Raymond  succeeded  Mr.  Burgess,  and  James  C. 
Baker  followed  Mr.  Raymond. 

Pleasant  Lake  is  the  post  office  designation  of  the  settlement  at, 
and  near  the  west  end  of  Long  pond,  and  at  Hinckley's  pond.  The 
first  postmaster  was  Patrick  F.  Gaboon.  He  died  a  few  years  after 
his  appointment,  and  Alvin  H.  Bassett,  the  present  postmaster,  was 
appointed.  The  Old  Colony  railroad  passes  through  this  place,  and 
has  a  flag  station  near  the  post  office.  The  people  of  this  vicinity  have 
a  small  house  of  worship,  called  the  "  Free  Methodist  Chapel,"  situ- 
ated on  Queen  Anne's  road,  so  called,  built  in  1880,  and  a  school  house 
near  by.  Cranberry  culture  is  the  business  the  people  are  mostly  en- 
gaged in.  Here  resides  Alvin  Cahoon,  the  first  to  experiment  in  cran- 
berry culture.  It  is  also  the  residence  of  Cyrus  Cahoon,  a  prom- 
inent cranberry  grower,  who  early  engaged  in  the  business.  This 
place  was  early  settled.  Among  the  first  residents  were  Thomas 
Hinckley,  Micah  Philips,  Reuben  Philips,  James  Severance  and  James 
Cahoon.* 

BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 

Edward  B.  Allen,  born  in  1823,  is  the  second  son  of  James,  grand- 
son of  Seth,  and  great-grandson  of  John  Allen.  His  mother  was  Bet- 
tie  Baker.  Mr.  Allen  followed  the  sea  from  1837  to  1880,  as  master 
thirty-four  years.  He  was  married  in  1846,  to  Mehitabel  Doane.  She 
died  in  1878.     They  had  four  children:    Susan  D.,  Ldra  F.,  Ella  and 

*  Mr.  Paine  is  not  responsible  for  the  remaining  portion  of  this  chapter. — Ed. 


862  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

James  E.,  who  was  lost  at  sea.  Mr.  Allen  was  married  again  in  1882, 
to  Mary  E.  Phillips.  Mr.  Allen's  grandfather,  Seth  Allen,  was  a  rev- 
olutionary soldier.  He  was  discharged  in  New  York  at  the  close'  of 
the  war  and  walked  home,  with  the  other  privates,  arriving  before 
the  officers,  who  rode  their  horses.  Mr.  Allen  has  the  wills  of  his 
father,  grandfather  and  great-grandfather.  John  Allen  gave  five 
acres  each,  under  and  around  their  several  dwelling  houses,  to  his 
four  sons:   William,  Seth,  Paine  and  Elisha. 

Mark  Allen,  the  carpenter,  born  in  1846,  is  a  son  of  William  and 
Marana  (Small)  Allen,  and  grandson  of  William  andTabitha(Kelley) 
Allen.  Since  October,  1886,  he  has  had  charge  of  the  Harwich  town 
farm.     He  was  married  in  1876,  to  Lizzie,  daughter  of  James  Scott. 

Joseph  N.  Atkins,  son  of  Prince  and  Betsey  (Nickerson)  Atkins, 
and  grandson  of  Thomas  and  Tabitha  Atkins,  was  born  in  1844.  He 
fellowed  the  sea  from  1855  to  1879,  and  since  that  time  has  been  en- 
gaged in  cranberry  culture.  He  was  married  in  1869,  to  Clara,  daugh- 
ter of  Alvin  and  Clarissa  (Young)  Cahoon.  They  have  two  children: 
J.  Berlie  and  Alice  May. 

James  C.  Baker,  born  in  1860,  is  a  son  of  James,  grandson  of  James 
and  great-grandson  of  Anthony  Baker.  Mr.  Baker  is  a  machinist  by 
trade.  He  opened  a  grocery  store  at  North  Harwich  in  1886,  and  since 
1888  he  has  been  the  postmaster  there.  He  was  married  in  1886,  to 
Annie  L.  Taylor.     Their  son,  Benjamin,  was  born  in  1887. 

Joseph  G.  Baker,  born  May  23,  1842,  is  a  son  of  Joseph  O.  and  a 
grandson  of  Joseph,  whose  father  was  Anthony  Baker.  Mr.  Baker 
has  been  a  mariner  since  1856,  and  since  1863  has  been  master.  He 
was  married  in  1869,  to  Abbie  F.  Nickerson.  They  have  five  children: 
Orlando  N.,  Abbie  S.,  Josephine  R.,  Phineas  O.  and  Walter  N. 

Ozias  C.  Baker  was  a  son  of  Isaiah  and  grandson  of  Isaiah  Baker. 
He  was  married  to  Data  K.,  daughter  of  Elijah  Chase.  She  died  in 
1886,  leaving  one  son,  William  P.,  born  June  13,  1866,  married  in  1886, 
to  Lura  B.  Bisbee,  and  has  one  son,  Ozias  C,  jr. 

Theophilus  B.  Baker,  born  in  1830,  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Cather- 
ine (Ellis)  Baker,  and  grandson  of  Anthony  Baker.  He  was  a  mariner 
from  the  age  of  eleven  to  thirty-six  years.  He  was  married  in  1852, 
to  Camelia  H.  Allen.  They  have  two  children:  Theophilus  B.,  jr., 
and  K.  Florence. 

Alvin  N.  Bassett,  son  of  Ephraim  and  Reliance  (Nickerson)  Bas- 
sett,  and  grandson  of  Daniel  and  Joanna  Bassett,  was  bom  in  1836. 
He  followed  the  sea  until  1878,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  cran- 
berry culture.  He  was  married  in  1858,  to  Emily,  daughter  of  Pat- 
rick F.  Cahoon.  They  have  one  son,  Alvin  H.,  who  has  been  post- 
master, station  agent  and  merchant  at  Pleasant  Lake  since  1883. 

John  F.  Bassett,  son  of  John  A.  and  grandson  of  Josiah  Bassett, 


TOWN  OF   HARWICH.  863 

was  born  in  1856.  He  has  been  carpenter  for  the  Old  Colony  Rail- 
road Company  for  two  years.  He  was  married  in  1878,  to  Deborah, 
daughter  of  Carmi  H.  and  Deborah  Ann  (Bassett)  Nichols,  who  died 
in  1862.  They  have  one  daughter,  Sarah  J.  Mr.  Nichols  married  for 
his  second  wife  Susan  S.,  daughter  of  Josiah  Bassett,  jr.  Mr.  Nichols 
went  to  sea  until  1872.  Since  1873  he  has  been  carpenter  for  the  Old 
Colony  Railroad  Company. 

Benjamin  F.  Bee,  son  of  Isaac  and  Mercy  (Nickerson)  Bee,  and 
grandson  of  Isaac  Bee,  was  born  in  1825,  and  is  a  machinist  by  trade. 
In  1866  he  built  a  shop  near  his  residence.  He  has  made  several  im- 
portant inventions,  such  as  the  safety  section  boiler,  the  relief  tap, 
universal  button  fastener,  a  cranberry  picker,  and  others.  He  was 
engineer  in  the  Union  navy  from  1862  to  1865.  He  was  married  in 
December,  1848,  to  Amelia  S.,  daughter  of  Zebina  H.  Small.  They 
have  had  three  children:  Isaac  N.  (deceased),  Benjamin  F.,  jr.,  and 
Amelia  S. 

Henry  C.  Berry,  born  in  1833,  is  a  son  of  James  and  Basheba 
(Nickerson)  Berry,  and  grandson  of  Judah  Berry.  He  began  going 
to  sea  in  1842,  continuing  until  1885,  and  was  master  twenty-six  years. 
He  was  married  in  1884,  to  Mrs.  Marinda  N.  Berry,  daughter  of  Free- 
man Smith. 

Obed  Brooks,  jr. — Beriah  Broadbrooks,the  ancestor  of  the  Broad- 
brooks  and  Brooks  family,  was  a  settler  after  1700.  He  was  twice 
married.  His  first  wife  was  Abigail  Severance,  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Martha  Severance,  to  whom  he  was  married  November  17,  1700. 
She  died  about  1742.  He  died  after  1762.  He  had,  it  is  certain,  nine 
children,  viz.:  John,  Martha,  Joseph,  Beriah,  Maria,  Ebenezar,  Wil- 
liam, Desire  and  Mary. 

Ebenezar  Broadbrooks,  the  son,  born  in  1717,  married  Lydia 
Smalley,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Damaris  Smalley,  in  1747,  and 
settled  upon  the  spot  where  the  house  of  the  late  Ezekiel  Wentworth 
stands,  where  his  father  Beriah  had  resided.  He  removed  in  the 
latter  years  of  his  life  to  the  house  of  his  son,  Ebenezar,  standing  a 
few  rods  eastward  of  the  Brooks'  mansion,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
road,  where  he  died  in  the  eighty-sixth  year  of  his  age,  April  20, 1802. 
His  wife,  Lydia,  died  March  3,  1802,  in  her  seventy-eighth  year.  They 
were  both  members  of  the  Congregational  church,  he  uniting  in  1766, 
the  first  year  of  Mr.  Mill's  pastorate.  He  had  six  children;  Hannah, 
who  married  Daniel  Chase;  Ebenezar,  born  December  19,  1750; 
Eleanor,  who  married  Benjamin  Hall;  Lydia,  who  married  Nathaniel 
Robbins;  Nathan;  and  Sylvia,  who  married  first  Nehemiah  Nickerson, 
and  2d  Benjamin  Nickerson. 

Ebenezar  Broadbrooks,  the  son  of  Ebenezar  and  Lydia  Broad- 
brooks,  born  in  1750,  was  a  man  of  prominence.     He  was  selectman 


864  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

of  the  town  twenty  years,  representative  six  years,  justice  of  peace 
twenty-five  years,  postmaster  sixteen  years,  and  parish  clerk  and 
treasurer  many  years.  He  married  Tamesin  Hall,  daughter  of  Seth 
and  Elizabeth  Hall,  February  2,  1775.  He  first  resided  on  the  south 
side  of  the  road  where  his  father  died;  but  building  a  house  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  road,  upon  the  farm  he  purchased  of  Samuel  Ellis 
in  1798,  he  there  resided  until  his  death,  which  took  place  February 
4,  1828.  His  wife,  Tamesin,  died  January  1,  1828.  Mr.  Broadbrooks 
and  family  took  the  name  of  Brooks  by  legislative  enactment  in  1806. 
He  was  the  principal  merchant  in  town  for  many  years  before  1800. 
His  children  by  wife,  Tamesin,  were:  Naomi,  who  married  Calvin 
Gifford;  Ruth,  who  married  John  Hall;  Obed;  Roxana,  who  married 
Ebenezar  Weekes,  jr.;  Asenath,  who  married  Levi  Snow;  Tamesin,  who 
died  unmarried  in  1807;  Lucy,  who  married  Enoch  E.  Harding; 
Ebenezar;  Seth;  and  Sabra,  who  married  Benjamin  K.  Hall. 

Obed  Brooks,  son  of  Ebenezar  and  Tamesin  Brooks,  was  bom  Jan- 
uary 27,  1781,  and  married  for  his  first  wife,  Sally,  daughter  of  Eben- 
ezar and  Barbara  Weekes  in  1807.  She  died  December  21,  1836.  He 
married  for  his  second  wife,  Asenath,  widow  of  Captain  Theophilus 
Burgess,  June  23,  1839.  He  died  August  4,  1856.  His  children  by 
wife  Sally  were:  Sidney,  born  November  14,  1807,  died  July  11,  1809r 
Obed,  born  August  21,  1809;  Roxana,  born  March  5, 1811,  married 
Stephen  G.  Davis;  Sidney,  born  April  5,  1813,  who  married  Susan  S. 
Whittaker,  and  died  in  Boston,  March  26,  1887;  a  daughter  January 
10,  1816,  died  January  24,  1816;  Harriet  N.,  bom  May  10,  1817,  died 
April  3,  1876;  Tamesin;  and  a  son,  Gem,  born  February  3,  1821,  the 
latter  of  whom  died  soon;  Henry  Cobb,  bom  May  16,  1824,  died  in 
Boston,  May  28,  1886,  a  well  known  merchant;  Sarah  Godfrey,  bom 
January  27,  1827;  and  a  daughter  born  November,  1832,  who  died  soon 
after.  By  his  second  wife,  Asenath,  he  had  one  son,  Horace,  who  was 
lost  at  sea  while  master  of  the  bark  Aurelia,  in  1874,  leaving  a  wife 
and  children.  Of  the  members  of  Mr.  Brooks'  large  family  only  Miss 
Tamesin  and  Sarah  G.  Brooks  survive.  Like  his  father,  Mr.  Brooks 
was  a  man  of  prominence.  He  held  many  oflBcial  positions  in  the 
town  and  county.  He  was  town  clerk  and  treasurer  twenty-six  years, 
postmaster  from  1821  to  1856,  justice  of  the  peace  thirty-five  years, 
and  many  years  inspector  of  the  port  of  Harwich.  He  was  county 
commissioner  from  the  establishment  of  the  office  in  1828  to  1837. 
Mr.  Brooks  and  wife,  Sally,  were  both  members  of  the  Congregational 
church.  In  politics  he  was  of  the  JefiFersonian  school,  as  was  his 
father. 

Obed  Brooks,  son  of  Obed  and  Sally  Brooks,  whose  engraved  like- 
ness appears  on  the  opposite  page,  was  born  in  Harwich,  August  21, 
1809.     Deciding  upon  entering  the  mercantile  business,  he  went  to- 


TOWN   OF  HARWICH.  865 

Boston  in  April,  1826,  and  entered  as  a  clerk,  the  store  of  Thompson 
&  Willey,  No.  57  Long  wharf.  With  them  he  remained  until  1830, 
when  he  became  a  deputy  wharfinger,  on  Long  wharf,  under  Elijah 
Loring.  Here  he  remained  until  1831,  when  he  entered  business  at 
No.  57  Long  wharf,  with  Thomas  Rand,  under  the  firm  of  Rand  & 
Brooks.  They  dissolved  partnerships  in  1833,  when  Mr.  Brooks 
returned  to  his  native  village,  and  entered  his  father's  store,  and  com- 
menced business  under  the  firm  of  Obed  Brooks  &  Co.  He  relin- 
quished the  business  in  1856,  to  become  the  cashier  of  the  Bank  of 
Cape  Cod,  just  established,  and  also  treasurer  of  the  Cape  Cod  Five 
Cents  Savings  Bank  then  going  into  operation.  Mr.  Brooks  retired 
from  his  position  in  the  former,  which  had  now  become  the  Cape  Cod 
National  Bank,  in  1865,  and  from  his  position  in  the  latter  in  1880. 
He  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  to  examine  Cape  Cod 
harbor  in  1852,  and  the  same  year  by  Governor  Boutwell,  was  appointed 
commissioner  of  the  Mashpee  Indians. 

He  was  elected  in  1852  town  clerk  and  treasurer,  but  held  the 
offices  only  one  term.  He  was  postmaster  four  years,  succeeding  his 
father  in  1854.  He  held  the  offices  of  justice  of  the  peace  and  notary 
public  many  years.  He  was  the  efficient  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the 
Congregational  society  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  In  all  the 
movements  for  public  improvements  in  the  town  he  took  an  active 
part.  The  erection  of  the  church  edifice  in  the  village,  in  1832,  and 
its  renovation  in  1854,  the  establishment  of  the  two  banks  in  1856, 
and  the  extension  of  the  railroad  from  Yarmouth  were  largely  due  to 
his  influence,  and  determined  and  persistent  effort. 

He  married  for  his  first  wife  Miss  Clementine  Guigon,  daughter  of 
Peter  Guigon  at  Boston,  January  22,  1836.  She  was  a  native  of 
Montauban,  France.  She  died  at  Harwich,  June  14,  1847.  For  his 
second  wife,  he  married  Susan  Dodge  of  Harwich,  daughter  of  Dr. 
Franklin  Dodge.  His  daughter,  Mary  Frances,  born  September  13, 
1837,  married  Rev.  James  McLean  in  1864,  and  died  in  the  same  house 
in  which  she  was  bom,  October  9,  1887,  leaving  five  children:  Helen 
C,  James  Walter,  Henry  B.,  Lewis  G.  and  Ralph  D.  Mr.  Brooks  died 
November  18,  1882. 

Freeman  E.  Burgess,  son  of  Freeman  E.  and  Theresa  (Small) 
Burgess  and  grandson  of  Michael  Burgess,  was  born  in  1836,  and  be- 
gan going  to  sea  at  the  age  of  seven  years.  From  1857  to  1879  he 
was  master  mariner.  He  was  married  in  1857  to  Laura  F.,  daughter 
of  Joseph  C.  and  Betsey  Berry  of  Harwich. 

Rufus  P.  Butler'  was  born  in  1843.     He  is  the  eldest  son  of  Lor- 
enzo' and   Mary   Ann   (Pease)   Butler   and    grandson  of    Freeman' 
(Daniel',   Gamaliel*,   John',  Captain   John',  Nicholas   Butler').      Mr. 
Butler  followed  the  sea  from  1867  to  1887  in  the  fishing  and  merchant 
55 


866  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

service,  excepting  three  years  (1864-5-6),  when  he  was  in  the  United 
States  navy.  Since  1887  he  has  been  a  fruit  grower  and  farmer.  He 
was  married  in  1873  to  Huldah  P.,  daughter  of  Isaac  G.  and  Huldah 
Eldridge.     Their  daughter  is  Sarah  E.  S. 

Cyrus  Cahoon,  Esq.,  whose  engraved  likeness  is  presented  on 
the  opposite  page,  was  born  in  the  eastern  part  of  Harwich  Januarv 
21,  1810.  His  business  career  was  commenced  on  the  seas  at  the  age 
of  eleven  years.  By  activity  and  perseverance  he  soon  rose  to  the 
command  of  a  vessel,  but  after  many  years  in  seafaring  business  he 
retired  and  engaged  in  business  at  home,  in  which  he  has  been  very 
successful.  The  cranberry  culture  has  engaged  his  attention  since 
1847,  the  year  in  which  he  began  to  set  vines,  and  by  close  attention 
he  has  become  one  of  the  most  successful  cranberry  growers  in  the 
county.  Besides  attending  to  his  cranberry  land  he  has  found  time 
to  devote  his  attention  to  other  affairs.  He  was  for  many  years  in 
the  wood  business,  a  number  of  years  an  auctioneer,  real  estate  agent 
and  justice  of  the  peace,  and  was  for  twenty-one  years  officially  con- 
nected with  the  Cape  Cod  Five  Cents  Savings  Bank.  He  was  one  of 
the  commissioners  appointed  in  1871  to  examine  and  define  the 
boundaries  of  all  lands  rightfully  held  by  individual  owners  in  the 
town  of  Mashpee,  and  properly  describe  and  set  forth  the  same  in 
writing,  with  authority  to  divide  and  sell  at  public  auction  the  com- 
mon lands,  excepting  meadow  and  hay  land;  also  one  of  the  commis- 
sioners appointed  in  1878  to  divide  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  public 
lands  of  said  town  among  those  entitled  to  the  same,  and  also  one  of 
the  commissioners  appointed  in  1882  to  divide  the  meadow  and  hay 
ground  among  those  desiring  portions,  and  sell  the  remaining  portion 
at  public  auction,  and  divided  the  proceeds  among  those  entitled  to 
receive  the  same.  He  has  now  retired  from  business  life,  in  which 
he  has  been  so  long  actively  and  successfully  engaged. 

Mr.  Cahoon  married  Lettice  Cahoon,  daughter  of  James  and  Let- 
tice  (Bassett)  Cahoon,  July  20,  1830.  To  them  have  been  born  nine 
children,  viz.:  Cyrus,  who  died  in  infancy;  Lettice  M.,  born  July  26, 
1833,  who  married  Joshua  Maker;  Cyrus  C,  born  October  24,  1836, 
who  married  Mary  Walker  of  Brewster  November  28,  1856;  Cyrenius 
B.,  born  November  30,  1837,  who  married  Lucy  F.  Snow  of  Brewster, 
and  died  January  1,  1860;  Clement  A.,  born  May  25,  1839,  who  mar- 
ried Emma  L.  Rodman,  July  31,  1865;  Chester  F.,  born  January  29, 
1841,  who  was  lost  overboard  from  the  ship  Amos  Lawrence  off  Cape 
Horn,  October  18,  1860;  Letitia  P.,  born  March  21,  1845,  and  Lucretia 
D.,  born  June  19,  1848,  who  married  Paddock  Small,  April  7, 1880,  and 
died  June  29,  1889.  Mrs.  Cahoon,  the  mother,  born  January  9, 
1808,  and  the  only  living  member  of  her  father's  large  family,  yet 
survives  in  feeble  health. 


TOWN  OF   HARWICH.  867 

Mr.  Cahoon  is  descended  from  William  Cahoon,  an  early  settler  of 
the  town,  who  resided  near  or  on  the  spot  where  the  house  of  the  late 
Allen  Kenney  stood,  and  who  died  in  1768,  leaving  his  wife  Sarah 
and  five  sons  and  four  daughters.  His  youngest  son,  Reuben,  born 
about  1737,  had  two  sons,  Jesse  and  John.  Jesse  Cahoon,  his  son, 
born  March  10,  1763,  married  Thankful  Bassett  of  Chatham  in  1781, 
by  whom  he  had  seven  children.  After  her  death  he  married  the 
widow  of  his  brother  John,  and  resided  in  South  Barnstable,  where 
he  died  in  June,  1830.  His  second  son,  Simeon,  bom  January  14, 
1785,  married  Priscilla  Linnell,  daughter  of  Thomas  of  Orleans.  Janu- 
ary 21,  1802,  and  had  seven  children.  Their  third  child  and  second 
son  is  the  Cyrus  Cahoon  of  this  sketch. 

Emulous  A.  Cahoon,  born  in  1848,  is  a  son  of  Alvan  and  grandson 
of  James  and  Lettice  Cahoon.  He  has  three  brothers  and  one  sister: 
Samuel  S.,  Benjamin  G.,  James  F.  and  Clara.  Mr.  Cahoon'  followed 
the  fishing  business  until  1876,  and  since  then  has  been  engaged 
in  cranberry  culture.  He  was  married  in  1876,  to  Lucy  F.,  daugh- 
ter of  Eben  Eldridge,  jr.  They  have  two  children:  Eva  A.  and 
Herbert  R. 

Patrick  H.  Cahoon,  born  in  1843,  is  a  son  of  Patrick  F.  and  Anna 
(Small)  Cahoon,  and  grandson  of  James  Cahoon.  Mr.  Cahoon  is  en- 
gaged in  cranberry  culture  and  land  surveying.  He  married  Eliza 
K.  Paine,  who  died  leaving  two  children:  Clenric  H.  and  Oscar  J. 
His  second  marriage  was  to  Carie  A.  Woodward.  They  have  two 
children:  Harry  S.  and  Eliza  E. 

Job  Chase.— This  family  name,  originating  in  this  country  with 
William  Chase  of  Yarmouth,  in  1640,  has  been  prominent  in  every 
industr)'  of  the  Cape.  We  find  one  Job  Chase  a  settler  in  the  south- 
west part  of  Harwich  soon  after  the  middle  of  the  last  century, 
owning  the  entire  tract  of  land  from  the  river  near  the  present 
Erastus  Chase's  store,  westward  to  the  Dennis  line.  Here  he  reared 
a  large  family  and  here  he  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  ninety- 
seven  years.  He  was  actively  engaged  in  fishing  and  agriculture, 
leaving  to  his  posterity  an  ample  inheritance  and  those  peculiar 
business  traits  that  have  been  so  marked  in  the  lives  of  his  de- 
scendants. 

Job  Chase,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  one  of  his  sons.  He 
was  born  August  8,  1776,  at  the  ancestral  home,  near  which,  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  river,  he  subsequently  reared  a  home,  where  he 
died  January  12,  1865.  The  limited  means  for  obtaining  an  edu- 
cation in  his  boyhood  were  scarcely  improved  when  he  embarked 
upon  his  business  career,  in  which  he  must  rely  upon  a  retentive 
memory  and  a  keen  perception  for  his  measure  of  success.  He  en- 
gaged in  a  fishing  and  mercantile  business  in  which  he  attained  a 


868  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

high  point  among  those  of  the  south  shore,  owning  the  controlling 
interest  in  as  many  as  fifteen  vessels  at  a  time.  In  1831  he  erected, 
on  the  river,  a  store  which  was  used  by  him  and  his  sons  until  a 
few  years  ago,  and  in  this  he  kept  the  first  post  office  of  West  Har- 
wich. In  1842  he  built  the  wharf  which  is  still  in  use,  and  also 
built  the  schooner  Job  Chase,  of  eighty-five  tons,  from  timber  cut  upon 
his  own  lands,  lands  now  robbed  of  their  trees,  but  where,  before  his 
time,  his  father.  Job,  had  also  cut  the  timber  for  vessels  which  he 
built  there.  Other  vessels  were  built  for  his  use  at  Hamden,  Me., 
and  at  Dartmouth.     In  his  fishing  business  he  fitted  out  a  large  fleet. 

He  was  largely  interested  in  public  affairs,  also  in  affairs  of  the 
church,  and  in  both  was  an  important  factor.  He  served  his  town  as 
a  selectman,  and  was  a  representative  from  Harwich  in  the  legisla- 
ture. In  the  erection  of  the  West  Harwich  Baptist  church  he  was  a 
large  contributor,  continuing  substantial  material  and  spiritual  aid 
during  his  life.  He  was  one  of  the  original  stockholders  in  the  old 
Yarmouth  bank,  and  was  among  the  foremost  in  all  the  public  enter- 
prises of  his  day,  giving  employment  to  a  large  number  of  men  in 
building  up  the  interests  of  West  Harwich.  In  his  death  the  town 
sustained  a  severe  check  to  its  growing  bu-siness  and  a  great  loss  in 
its  social  and  religious  circles. 

He  was  first  married  to  Polly  Eldridge,  who  died  May  26,  1816, 
leaving  nine  children: 

Hope,  born  May  4,  1797,  married  Isaiah  Baker  of  Dennis,  and  had 
nine  children:  Isaiah,  David,  James,  Ozias,  George,  Mary,  Maria,  Sarah 
and  Daniel  W.     Of  these  Isaiah,  James  and  Sarah  are  dead. 

Job,  the  eldest  son,  born  January  12,  1799,  married  Hannah  Nick- 
erson,  and  as  a  shipmaster  was  lost  at  sea,  leaving  two  children:  Job 
and  Ellen,  the  latter  only  surviving. 

Jonathan,  born  October  14,  1800,  married  Hannah  Burgess,  and 
while  acting  as  master  was  lost  at  sea,  leaving  four  children:  Jona- 
than, Rebecca,  Phoebe  and  Mary,  the  last  two  surviving. 

Sears,  who  was  bom  August  2,  1802,  married  Ann  Knowles,  and 
as  master  was  lost  at  sea,  leaving  a  daughter,  Ann,  who,  with  her 
mother,  long  ago  departed  this  life. 

Ozias,  the  fifth  child,  bom  January  22,  1804,  was  lost  at  sea  while 
in  command  of  a  vessel. 

Whitman,  born  August  20,  1806,  was  also  lost  at  sea. 

Darius,  born  November  11,  1808,  married  Annie  Meriman.  He 
and  his  wife,  with  their  children,  Darius  and  Lilla,  now  reside  at 
West  Harwich.     He  is  by  occupation  a  restorer  of  oil  paintings. 

Ziba,  born  May  12,  1811,  became  a  mariner,  and  was  lost  at  sea. 

Judah  E.  was  bom  March  6,  1813.  He  married  Emily  Fish,  and  is 
a  retired  merchant  of  Harwich.     Their  only  child  is  Frederick  W. 


SIEffKTAOr       •>. 


TOWN  OF   HARWICH.  869 

For  his  second  wife  Mr.  Chase  married  Phebe  Winslow,  who  died 
August  25,  1839.  There  children  were:  Joseph  W.,  Alfred,  Mary  E., 
Joshua  S.,  Erastus,  Joshua  S.,  Caleb,  and  a  daughter  who  died  in 
infancy.  Mr.  Chase  was  again  married,  his  wife  being  Eunice  Drurey, 
who  died  in  1863.  The  succeeding  seven  paragraphs  include  brief 
histories  of  the  children  of  the  second  marriage. 

Joseph  W.,  born  May  5,  1817,  married  Rose  Kelley,  and  resides  at 
West  Harwnch.  He  chose  the  occupation  of  a  farmer,  in  which  he  is 
prominent.     His  only  child  is  Phebe  W. 

Alfred  was  born  March  28,  1819,  and  married  Azubah  Taylor.  Of 
their  five  children,  Cora,  Helena  and  Emma  survive;  the  deceased  are 
Eunice  the  eldest,  and  Alfred  the  youngest. 

Mary  E.,  born  April  27,  1822,  married  Captain  George  Nickerson, 
now  a  retired  sea  captain,  of  South  Dennis.  Their  children  are: 
Erastus,  Phebe  W.,  George  and  Arthur,  their  daughter  Nellie  having 
died  young. 

Joshua  S.  was  born  June  23,  1724,  and  died  in  boyhood,  the  parents 
perpetuating  the  name  by  conferring  it  upon  a  later  born  son. 

Erastus,  born  May  29,  1826,  married  Sarah  Abbie  Trevette,  and  of 
their  four  children  Frank  E.  and  Herbert  T.  survive,  and  reside  at 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich.  The  second  son.  Job,  died  in  infancy,  and  the 
third  son,  also  named  Job,  died  quite  young.  Erastus  Chase  is  in 
mercantile  business  at  West  Harwich  near  Herring  river — a  continu- 
ation in  part  of  his  father's  business — having  kept  the  post  office 
twenty-four  years  and  acted  as  deputy  collector  of  internal  revenue  a 
period  of  four  years. 

Joshua  S.,  born  February  24,  1830,  married  Abbie  E.  Fish,  and  has 
had  two  children — Lizzie  and  Willis,  the  latter  now  deceased. 
Joshua  S.  Chase  originated  the  manufacturing  firm  known  as  the 
Union  Paste  Company  of  Boston,  which  is  continued  by  his  son-in-law, 
Anthony  Kelley.  The  wonderful  fish  product  called  Chase's  Liquid 
Glue  has  become  celebrated. 

Caleb  Chase,  the  youngest  survivor  of  the  seventeen  children  of 
Job  Chase,  whose  portrait  appears  here,  was  bom  December  11,  1831. 
He  married  Salome  Boyles,  and  not  content  with  the  opportunities 
offered  in  the  business  of  his  ancestors,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three 
went  to  Boston,  where  he  entered  the  employ  of  Anderson,  Sargent 
&  Co.,  a  leading  wholesale  dry-goods  house.  He  traveled  in  the 
interests  of  this  house  on  the  Cape  and  in  the  West  until  September, 
1859,  when  he  connected  himself  with  the  grocery  house  of  Claflin, 
Allison  &  Co.,  which  connection  was  severed  January  1,  1864,  and 
soon  after  the  firm  of  Carr,  Chase  &  Raymond  was  formed.  It  1871 
the  firm  of  Chase,  Raymond  &  Ayer  was  organized,  which  existed 
until  1878,  when  the  present  firm  of  Chase  &  Sanborn  commenced 


870  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

business.  Mr.  Chase  is  now  the  head  of  this  house,  than  which  save 
one  other,  there  is  no  larger  concern  in  the  coffee  trade  in  America. 
They  have  branch  houses  in  Montreal  and  Chicago.  He  owns  the 
homestead  at  West  Harwich  where  his  summer  vacations  are  spent. 

Wilson  W.  Cole,  son  of  Daniel  and  Mercy  (Higgins)  Cole,  was  bom 
in  1844  in  Eastham,  and  is  a  blacksmith  by  trade.  He  has  owned  and 
run  a  blacksmith  shop  at  Harwich  Port  since  1870.  He  was  married 
in  1869,  to  Hannah  M.  Flinn.  They  have  two  children:  Ernest  L. 
and  Alton  S. 

William  F.  Crapo,  born  June  28,  1848,  in  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  is  a 
son  of  Squire  G.  and  Hannah  (Devoll)  Crapo,  and  grandson  of  John 
Crapo,  of  Fall  River,  Mass.  Mr.  Crapo  came  to  Harwich,  July  8, 1865, 
where  he  has  since  dealt  in  old  iron  and  paper  stock.  He  was  mar- 
ried January  28,  1868,  to  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Crowell,  daughter  of  Seth  Ca- 
hoon,  who  was  a  son  of  Seth  and  grandson  of  Seth  Cahoon.  They 
had  one  son,  William  F.,  jr.,  who  died. 

Henry  T.  Crosby,  born  in  1846,  in  Orleans,  is  a  son  of  Joshua  and 
grandson  of  Joshua,  who  was  a  naval  oflBcer  in  the  war  of  1812,  and 
was  with  Commodore  Perry  at  Lake  Erie.  He  was  with  Commodore 
Hull  when  he  took  the  Guerriere,  and  also  with  him  when  chased  by 
the  British  fleet  off  the  coast  of  New  Jersey.  Mr.  Crosby's  mother 
was  Thankful,  daughter  of  Abijah  and  Thankful  Baker,  of  Orleans. 
Mr.  Crosby  opened  marble  and  granite  works  at  Harwich  in  1873, 
having  been  a  marble  and  granite  worker  for  seven  years  prior  to 
that  time.  He  was  married  in  1870,  to  Eliza  D.  Snow.  They  have 
three  boys:  Wilfred  H.,  Bertram  D.  and  Orwell  S. 

Anthony  S.  Crowell',  born  in  1837,  is  a  son  of  Gross'  (Solomon*, 
Gross',  Jabez',  John  Crowell").  Mr.  Crowell  followed  the  sea  as  a 
fisherman  for  twenty-five  years  prior  to  1874.  He  is  now  engaged  in 
cranberry  culture.  He  was  married  in  1858,  to  Senora,  daughter  of 
Bangs  Nickerson.  They  have  three  children:  Anthony  E..  Senora 
E.  and  Everett  L.     They  lost  one. 

Sheldon  K.  Crowell,  born  in  1837,  is  the  only  surviving  child  of 
Sheldon,  and  grandson  of  Shubael  Crowell.  His  mother  was  Cordelia 
Kelley.  He  has  been  engaged  in  the  mercantile  trade  since  1862. 
Prior  to  that  he  followed  the  sea.  He  was  married  in  1868,  to  Thank- 
ful B.  Allen.     Their  children  are:  Joseph  A.,  Ella  K.  and  Ada  S. 

Nathaniel  Doane,  Esquire.— This  is  a  family  name  which  for 
more  than  two  hundred  years  has  frequently  recurred  in  the  civil, 
business,  political  and  ecclesiastical  history  of  southeastern  Massa- 
chusetts. In  the  old  town  of  Eastham  lived  Dea.  John  Doane,  and 
there  he  died  in  1686,  at  the  age  of  ninety-six  years.  Branches  of  this 
family  are  found  in  the  early  history  of  the  towns  from  Truro  to  Fal- 
mouth, and  the  name  at  least  is  still  more  widely  represented  in  other 
parts  of  New  England. 


PR  INT. 
E.     BIERSTAOT, 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  871 

The  children  of  Dea.  John  Doane,  so  far  as  is  known,  were:  John, 
Daniel,  Lydia,  Abigail  and  Ephraim.  The  second  of  these,  Daniel 
Doane,  was  born  in  1636,  and  until  his  death,  December  20, 1721,  re- 
sided in  that  part  of  Eastham  which  is  now  Orleans.  ■  He  was  twice 
married,  and  reared  sons  and  daughters.  He  bore,  as  his  father  had, 
the  title  of  deacon,  and  after  him  his  son  Joseph,  who  was  born  in 
1668,  received  the  same  insignia  of  ecclesiastical  prominence.  This 
Deacon  Joseph  married  Mary  Godfrey,  January  8,  1690,  and  for  his 
second  wife  Desire  Berry,  in  1727.  He  settled  in  what  is  now  Or- 
leans, where  he  was  a  distinguished  man  in  the  affairs  of  town  and 
county,  and  where  he  died  July  27,  1767.  To  trace  all  his  descend- 
ants through  his  twelve  children  would  be  foreign  to  our  present  pur- 
pose, but  to  that  line  which  is  now  known  in  Harwich,  where  the  fam- 
ily name  is  represented,  more  than  a  passing  mention  should  be  given. 
His  son  Elisha,  born  February  3,  1705-6,  married  Elizabeth  Sparrow, 
March  14,  1732-3,  and  removed  to  Harwich  about  1746.  He  resided 
southeasterly  from  the  dwelling  house  of  Captain  Nathaniel  Doane, 
near  the  west  side  of  the  lowland.  He  occupied  public  positions  in 
Harwich,  was  selectman  and  parish  assessor  a  number  of  years,  and 
died,  "much  lamented,"  of  a  fever,  August  1,  1765,  aged  sixty  years. 
He  had  six  children. 

Elisha  Doane,  his  only  son,  born  in  Eastham  September  9,  1744, 
married  Mehitable  Nickerson,  October  18,  1764,  and  died  December 
26,  1805.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  the  three  Doane  brothers,  Val- 
entine, Nathaniel  and  Abiathar,  who  represent  the  oldest  surviving 
generation  in  the  town  of  Harwich.  Their  father,  one  of  the  seven 
children  of  Elisha  Doane,  was  Nathaniel  Doane,  who  was  bom  Au- 
gust 13,  1781,  and  married  Mary  Paine,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and 
Sally  Paine,  December  25,  1803.  He  was  a  master  mariner  in  early 
life,  and  held  the  ofiBces  of  selectman  and  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
died  July  24,  1866.  His  wife  died  October  17, 1871,  aged  eighty-eight. 
Their  children  are:  Valentine,  bom  July  20, 1804,  married  Lydia  Nick- 
erson; Mehitable,  born  September  21 ,  1806,  married  Cyms  Weekes,  Sep- 
tember 25,  1826,  and  died  August  31,  1877;  Sally  Young,  born  Novem- 
ber 17,  1808,  married  Isaiah  C.  Kelley,  January  24,  1833;  Mary,  bora 
March  3,  1813,  married  Nehemiah  D.  Kelley,  October  8, 1832;  Elbridge 
G.,  born  September  20,  1813,  married  Temperance  Kelley,  October  8, 
1835;  Nathaniel,  born  February  1,  1816;  Priscilla,  born  May  14,  1818, 
married  Anthony  Kelley,  jr.;  Abiathar,  born  August  16,  1820;  Eglan- 
tine, born  November  1,  1822,  married  Benjamin  F.  Chase,  April  30, 
1843. 

The  family  name  has  been  thus  perpetuated  through  generations 
which  have  each  in  turn  maintained  it  as  it  came  to  them,  and  these 
of  to-day  are  transmitting  it  to  their  children,  all  descendants  of  Dea. 
John  Doane,  of  Eastham. 


872  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Nathaniel  Doane,  born  February  1,  1816,  whose  likeness  and  auto- 
graph appear  on  the  opposite  page,  is  a  well  known  and  respected  citi- 
zen of  Harwich.  He  received  his  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
his  neighborhood,  and  went  to  sea  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years.  He 
soon  rose  to  the  command  of  a  vessel,  and  continuing  in  the  coasting 
trade,  winters  excepted,  until  1860,  he  retired  from  sea  life  altogether, 
and  commenced  the  culture  of  cranberries,  in  which  he  is  now  quite 
actively  engaged.  During  his  business  career  on  the  sea,  he  found 
time,  besides  teaching  winter  schools,  which  he  did  for  twelve  win- 
ters, to  serve  his  townsmen  in  the  legislature  and  on  the  school  board. 
In  1850,  while  at  sea,  his  political  friends  of  the  whig  party,  well  as- 
sured of  his  ability  to  represent  his  town  in  the  legislature,  elected 
him  a  representative,  and  he  took  his  seat  in  the  house  of  185!,  which 
was  distinguished  for  its  able  members,  and  memorable  on  account 
of  the  part  it  took  in  the  election  of  Hon.  Charles  Sumner,  the  coali- 
tion candidate  for  United  States  senator,  after  a  long  contest  in  the 
face  of  determined  opposition.  He  was  elected  to  the  house  of  1852, 
and  again  to  the  house  of  1853,  thus  serving  three  consecutive  terms. 
In  1858  he  was  again  brought  forward  for  legislative  honors  by  the 
republicans,  and  elected  representative  from  his  district,  which  em- 
braced the  towns  of  Yarmouth,  Dennis,  Harwich  and  Chatham,  and 
took  his  seat  in  the  legislature  of  1859.  He  has  held  the  oflSce  of  com- 
missioner to  qualify  civil  oflBcers,  and  has  been  a  justice  of  the  peace 
for  more  than  forty  years.  In  ecclesiastical  matters  he  has  taken  a 
deep  interest.  He  has  been  clerk  and  treasurer  of  his  parish  six- 
teen years.  He  is  a  member  of  Pilgrim  church,  Harwich  Port,  and 
has  been  one  of  its  deacons  since  its  organization  in  1855. 

Mr.  Doane  married  Mrs.  Zilpha  Harding,  of  Maine,  widow  of 
Joshua  Harding,  and  daughter  of  Nathan  and  Mary  Doane,  and 
granddaughter  of  Bangs  Doane,  in  1862,  and  has  three  children: 
Mary  L.,  born  September  10,  1863;  Nathaniel,  born  September  25, 
1865;  and  Jennie  B.,  bom  October  18,  1869.  The  son,  Nathaniel,  was 
married  June  26,  1889,  to  Ella  F.  Brigham,  of  Manchester,  N.  H., 
where  they  now  reside.  Mrs.  Doane,  by  her  former  husband,  has  one 
son,  Joshua  Orlo  Harding,  born  November  7,  1850,  married  Emma 
L.  Hall,  and  resides  in  Boston. 

Valentine  Doane,  of  Harwich  Port,  is  the  brother  of  Dea.  Na- 
thaniel Doane,  to  whose  biography  the  reader  is  referred  for  the  an- 
cestry of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  He  was  born  July  20,  1804.  At 
the  age  of  fourteen  he  commenced  life  on  the  sea  and  at  his  majority 
was  in  command,  which  position  he  continued  very  successfully,  in 
various  vessels,  for  the  ensuing  twenty  years. 

He  was  married  January  25,  1827,  to  Lydia  Nickerson,  who  died 
March  22,  1880,  aged  seventy-one  years,  eight  months  and  ten  days. 


TOWN   OF   HARWICH.  878 

Their  children  were:  Lydia  N.,  Valentine,  jr.,  Julia  F.,  Irene  T.,  Am- 
brose N.,  Eglentine,  Enos  N.,  Celia  F.  and  Harrison  N. 

Lydia  N.,  born  October  20,  1829,  married  Edwin  R.  Chase,  Decem- 
ber 11,  1849,  who  died  leaving  two  daughters,  one  of  whom  is  still 
living,  and  is  the  wife  of  Willis  G.  Myers,  and  has  two  children.  Mrs. 
Chase  subsequently  married  Dr.  C.  M.  Hulbert,  of  South  Dennis,  and 
died  in  1885. 

Valentine  Doane,  jr.,  born  April  17, 1833,  spent  a  few  years  in  early 
life  on  the  sea,  and  at  seventeen  entered  the  store  of  his  father,  where 
he  continued  seventeen  years.  He  served  as  justice  of  the  peace  twelve 
years  of  this  time,  and  declines  further  office.  He  is  now  engaged  in 
cranberry  culture,  and  is  general  agent  of  the  Acme  Heel  Trimmer 
Company.  He  was  married  June  19,  1856,  to  Susan  M.,  a  daughter  of 
Shubael  and  Sarah  (Kent)  Kelley,  born  at  Eaton,  Madison  county, 
N.  y.,  April  25,  1805,  and  was  a  descendant  of  that  illustrious  family. 
She  was  born  July  7, 1836.  Their  children  are:  Victoria  A.  and  Freder- 
ick V.  Victoria,  born  March  16,  1858,  married  December  7,  1880,  Ed- 
ward C.  Matthews,  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  and  has  four  children. 

Mr.  Doane's  third  child,  Julia  F.,  was  born  May  22,  1835,  and  died 
May  7,  1839. 

Irene  T.,  born  July  23, 1837,  married  Emulous  Small,  November  12, 
1856,  and  resides  in  the  same  village  with  her  father  and  brother. 

Ambrose  N.  was  born  November  22,  1839,  and  married  Martha  S. 
Foster,  November  24, 1860. 

Eglentine,  born  April  24,  1842,  was  married  January  8,  1863,  to 
Thomas  A.  Nickerson,  and  their  children  are:  Adison  D.,  Thomas  H., 
Ambrose  N.  and  Eglantine. 

Enos  N.,  bom  January  5,  1846,  died  September  14,  1847. 
Celia  F.,  born  May  17,  1848,  was  married  December  16,  1880,  to 
Frank  T.  Spencer. 

Harrison  N.,  born  May  19, 1851,  died  March  6.  1853. 
On  the  26th  of  January,  1881,  Valentine  Doane,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  married  Mrs.  Charlotte  E.  Long,  daughter  of  Rev.  J.  R.  Mun- 
sell,  and  is  spending  the  evening  of  his  active  life  in  his  pleasant  home 
in  Harwich  Port.  But  few  have  been  more  conspicuous  in  business 
affairs  and  the  building  up  of  his  community.  As  early  as  1828,  under 
Governor  Lincoln,  he  was  appointed  captain  of  state  militia,  was  for 
fifteen  years  director  of  the  Harwich  and  Dennis  Marine  Insurance 
Company,  and  was  president  of  the  Harwich  Marine  Insurance  Com- 
pany during  its  existence.  He  was  a  director  in  the  County  Insurance 
Company  for  thirty  years,  and  during  the  twenty-five  years  he  was  a 
director  of  the  National  Bank  of  Yarmouth  he  was  seldom  absent  from 
the  weekly  meetings.     In  1845  he  commenced  the  fishing  business 


874  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

as  owner  and  outfitter,  which  he  continued  many  years,  and  has  thus 
been  identified  in  the  welfare  of  the  village  in  its  every  relation. 

Captain  Abiathar  Doane. — The  careful  reader  of  the  two  preced- 
ing articles  already  knows  how  the  Doane  family  of  Harwich  have 
descended  from  the  sturdy  deacon  who,  in  1644,  planted  the  family 
tree  in  old  Eastham,  and  at  page  871  the  name  Abiathar  appears  as 
the  youngest  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Mary  (Paine)  Doane,  born  August 
16,  1820.  His  birthplace  is  the  old  homestead  near  which  he  now  re- 
sides, and  from  which  he  went  out  to  get,  at  .school  and  at  sea,  his 
education.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  commenced  coasting,  and  the 
year  that  he  attained  his  majority  he  had  the  command  of  a  vessel 
destined  for  Chagres,  South  America,  from  whence  he  carried  a  load 
of  passengers  to  Kingston,  Jamaica.  After  the  first  voyage  as  master 
he  owned  more  or  less  interest  in  the  vessels  he  commanded,  and  for 
twenty-five  years  he  continued  in  foreign  voyages,  without  accident, 
never  during  the  time  calling  upon  the  underwriters  for  a  dollar's 
damage.  He  was  at  Galveston,  Texas,  when  the  confederates  hauled 
down  the  stars  and  stripes,  and  those  on  board  his  vessel  heard  his 
loyal  prophecy:  "That  flag  will  have  its  resurrection."  He  assisted  in 
the  war  of  the  rebellion,  and  among  other  important  commissions  en- 
trusted to  him  was  the  transportation  of  the  gun  known  as  The 
Swamp  Angel,  which,  with  a  load  of  stores  for  the  government  forces, 
was  carried  from  New  York  to  South  Carolina.  In  1866  he  left  the 
sea,  but  kept  an  interest  in  coasting  and  fishing  vessels  until  a  few 
years  ago. 

Captain  Doane  was  married  May  23,  1845,  to  Abigail,  daughter  of 
Edward  and  Abigail  Sears.  Their  children  are:  Abiathar  Doane,  jr., 
of  Chelsea,  who  married  M.  Louisa  Robinson,  and  has  one  son,  Carl- 
ton; a  daughter,  Abigail  B.,  who,  after  completing  her  school  educa- 
tion, became  proficient  in  music,  and  began  teaching  with  great  suc- 
cess in  Harwich  and  adjoining  towns,  continuing  the  study  of  music 
and  harmony  and  acting  as  organist  in  the  Catholic  church  at  Wocds 
Holl,  still  living  at  home  with  her  parents;  and  another  daughter, 
Priscilla  S.,  who  married  George  R.  Fogg  of  Boston,  and  whose  chil- 
dren are  Catherine  and  Preston  Fogg.  Mrs.  Doane  died  July  20, 1865, 
and  May  third  of  the  following  year  the  captain  married  Mercy  C. 
Rogers,  daughter  of  David  Eldridge  of  Chatham.  She  lived  until 
October  10, 1862,  when  she  died  in  New  York.  Their  children,  Mercy 
Louisa  and  Arthur  F.,  died  in  infancy.  The  present  Mrs.  Doane — 
married  April  10,  1863— is  Josephine,  daughter  of  Paul  Higgins  of 
Orleans,  and  their  four  children  were:  Paul  Doane,  now  at  Milford  in 
the  employ  of  Swift  Brothers;  Ralph  W.,  with  the  electric  light  com- 
pany, Boston;  Lillian  Josephine,  with  her  parents  at  home,  and  Irene 
Thacher,  who  died  September  9,  1884,  aged  nine  years. 


MINT. 
E.    BIERSTAOT. 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  875 

In  1847  Captain  Doane  purchased  the  acres  of  his  present  home- 
stead, erecting  the  residence,  which  he  has  at  times  added  to  and  re- 
modeled into  its  present  form  of  convenience  and  beauty.  Before  he 
left  the  sea  he  began  the  culture  of  cranberries,  and  now,  with  nine 
acres  under  the  best  of  cultivation,  he  is  ranked  among  the  successful 
growers.  When  he  had  his  first  plants  set  he  departed  widely  from 
the  custom  of  the  day,  and  was  laughed  at  for  his  pains,  but  his  plan 
has  been  followed  by  all  successful  growers.  The  idea  of  setting  out 
large  hills,  eighteen  inches  apart,  he  condemned,  and  was  the  first  to 
set  only  two  or  three  sprigs  in  a  hill,  placing  the  hills  much  closer  to- 
gether. He  was  the  first  to  make  a  specialty  of  the  cultivation  of 
early  black,  and  has  no  other.  He  has  largely  sold  and  introduced 
this  vine. 

His  life  long  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  town  and  the  Common- 
wealth, has  never  degenerated  into  a  selfish  thirst  for  ofl5cial  honors, 
nor  diverted  his  attention  from  his  own  legitimate  vocations.  He 
has  served  in  arbitrations  and  was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  1866, 
which  term  he  filled  so  acceptably  that  he  was  reelected  for  1867 
without  opposition.  He  attends  the  Congregational  church  and  ren- 
ders aid  to  its  support.  His  energy  and  caution,  that  made  him  suc- 
cessful on  the  sea,  are  his  leading  traits,  through  which  in  affairs  on 
land  his  success  is  also  assured.  He  has  through  life  carried  just  sail 
enough  to  produce  the  most  satisfactory  results,  while  in  his  private 
life,  where  beauty  or  deformity  of  real  character  become  most  con- 
spicuous, Captain  Doane  of  Harwich  is  not  found  wanting. 

Alliston  S.  Doane,  son  of  Freeman  and  Azubah  (Cole)  Doane,  and 
grandson  of  Lewis  Doane,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Orleans  in  1868,. 
and  has  been  a  harness  maker  at  Harwich  since  1881.  He  was  mar- 
ried'in  1882  to  Lelia  Maker.    They  have  one  son,  Arthur  P. 

Anthony  P.  Doane,  born  in  1839,  is  a  son  of  Calvin*  (Elisha*, 
Elisha',  Elisha',  Joseph',  Daniel  Doane').  His  mother  was  Bethany 
(Phillips)  Doane.  He  has  been  master  mariner  since  1868,  and  since 
1879  master  of  a  steamer.  He  was  married  in  1867  to  Rosealtha, 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Betsey  Snow.  Their  only  daughter  is  Alice 
(Mrs.  W.  E.  Keach). 

Daniel  Doane,  son  of  Josiah,  and  grandson  of  Daniel  Doane,  was 
bom  in  1821,  and  went  to  sea  from*1831  to  1876.     He  was  master  from 

1846  until  he  retired  on  account  of  his  health.     He  was  married  in 

1847  to  Hannah  P.,  daughter  of  Isaac  Kelley.    They  have  one  son 
living,  David  K.,  and  have  lost  five  children. 

Joshua  Doane,  son  of  Josiah  and  Amy  (Wixon)  Doane,  was  bom 
in  1824.  He  was  a  mariner  from  1834  until  1888,  and  became  master 
of  a  vessel  at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  He  was  married  in  1846  to  Eliza 
A.  Baker,  by  whom  he  had  two  children;  Mary  E.  and  Eliza  A.,  whO' 


•876  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

•died.  Hissecond  wife,  was  Lizzie  A.  Their  children  were:  LinwoodF., 
Joshua  F.,  Allen  C.  (deceased),  Robert  M.,  Lizzie  M.,  Charles  H.  and 
•Chester. 

Lewis  B.  Doane,  son  of  Uriel  and  Susan  (Berry)  Doane,  and  grand- 
son of  Joseph  Doane,  was  bom  in  1838.  He  began  going  to  sea  at 
twelve  years  of  age,  and  has  been  master  mariner  since  1861.  He  was 
married  in  1862  to  Araminta  D.,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Mercy  (Nick- 
•erson)  Bee.  They  have  children:  Mercy  B.,  Lillian  and  Lewis  B.,  jr. 
Uriel  Doane;  bom  in  1866,  is  a  son  of  Uriel,  grandson  of  Joseph, 
-  and  great-grandson  of  Elisha  and  Mehitabel  (Nickerson)  Doane.  Mr. 
Doane  went  to  sea  from  1862  until  1882,  as  master  twenty-three  years. 
He  was  married  in  1860  to  Didama,  daughter  of  Isaiah  Kelley. 

John  H.  Drum,  son  of  Patrick  and  Ann  (Clarking)  Drum,  was  bom 
in  1856.  He  has  devoted  considerable  time  to  agriculture,  and  has 
•kept  a  livery  stable  at  Harwich  since  1874.  With  his  sister,  Adelia 
M.,  he  occupies  the  homestead  of  their  father. 

Joseph  N.  Eldridge,  bom  in  1838,  is  the  youngest  son  of  Isaiah 
and  Rebecca  (Davis)  Eldridge,  grandson  of  Isaiah  and  Tamsen 
(Gaboon)  Eldridge,  and  great-grandson  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Gage) 
Eldridge.  Mr.  Eldridge  followed  the  sea  from  1847  to  1883,  and  has 
•been  engaged  in  the  butter,  cheese  and  lard  business  for  three  years. 
He  was  married  in  1866  to  Martha  W.,  daughter  of  Nathan  and  Esther 
-(Eldridge)  Nickerson. 

Rinaldo  Eldridge,  born  August  23,  1838,  is  a  son  of  Isaac  G.,  grand- 
son of  Samuel  and  great-grandson  of  Bangs  Eldridge.  Mr.  Eldridge 
worked  as  a  carpenter  in  early  youth,  then  kept  a  stable  in  Boston, 
•later  kept  store  at  Harwich,  and  in  1880  he  opened  the  Sea  View 
House  at  Harwich  Port,  which  he  has  since  conducted.  He  has  been 
twice  married.  By  his  first  wife  he  had  a  son  who  died  in  infancy. 
By  his  present  wife  he  has  two  daughters:  Bertha  Rinal  and  Hilda 
Ophelia. 

Thomas  R.  Eldridge,  bom  in  1863,  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  W.,  and 
■grandson  of  Elijah  Eldridge.  His  mother  was  Caroline,  daughter  of 
Laban  Snow.  In  1876  Mr.  Eldridge  engaged  in  the  wholesale  hay 
and  grain  business  in  Harwich  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Bakers  & 
Eldridge.  In  1880  Mr.  Eldridge  b9ught  out  the  two  Mr.  Bakers,  and 
since  that  time  has  continued  the  business  alone.  He  was  married  in 
1887  to  Emma  W.,  daughter  of  Watson  B.  Kelley. 

William  M.  Eldridge,  bom  in  1829,  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Lydia 
(Tripp)  Eldridge,  and  grandson  of  Isaac  Eldridge.  Mr.  Eldridge  is  a 
painter  by  trade.  He  was  married  in  1861  to  Hannah  A.,  daughter 
of  Jacob  Crowell.  Their  two  sons  are:  William  A.  and  Jerry  A.,  who 
keeps  an  apothecary  store  at  South  Harwich,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
•class  of  April,  1890,  in  the  Boston  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons. 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  87T 

Zenas  D.  Eldridge,  born  in  1814,  is  a  son  of  Zenas  and  grandson  of 
Nathaniel,  who  was  taken  prisoner  by  an  English  man-of-war  in  the 
revolution,  and  was  detained  two  years.  His  father  was  Jehosaphat 
Eldridge.  Mr.  Eldridge  went  to  sea  from  1828  to  1862,  after  which 
he  kept  a  store  at  Harwich  Port  for  a  few  years.  He  is  now  engaged 
in  cranberry  culture.  He  was  married  in  1838  to  Elizabeth  N.,. 
daughter  of  Stephen  and  Olive  (Covil)  Burgess,  and  granddaughter 
or  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (Nickerson)  Burgess.  Their  children  are: 
Erastus  B.,  Elizabeth  A.,  Susan  W.,  Olive  B.,  Stephen  B.  and  Jonathan 
A.  Mrs.  Eldridge's  father,  Captain  Stephen  Burgess,  was  a  promi- 
nent citizens.  He  was  second  lieutenant  of  county  militia,  was  en- 
gaged in  an  encounter  at  Barnstable  and  was  suscessful  in  preventing 
the  English  from  landing.  He  was  selectman  several  years  and  did 
much  public  business.     He  was  a  shipmaster  in  foreign  trade. 

David  Ellis,  born  in  1812,  is  a  son  of  Nathan  and  Delana  (Saund- 
ers) Ellis,  and  grandson  of  Nathan  Ellis.  He  went  to  sea  from  1624 
to  1873,  and  was  captain  forty  years.  He  was  married  in  1834  to  Sally 
Smalley,  who  died  leaving  four  children:  Alverado,  James,  Aiuna 
and  Ruth,  who  has  since  died.  He  was  married  again  in  1867  to  Mrs. 
li  a  Weekes,  daughter  cf  Simuel  Eldridge.    Their  son  is  Adelbert 

Nathan  Ellis,  son  of  Elisha  and  grandson  of  Nathan  Ellis,  was 
born  in  1830,  and  followed  the  sea  from  1837  to  1866.  From  that  time 
until  1888  he  was  a  merchant  at  Harwich.  He  was  married  in  1855, 
to  Joan  Eldridge.  They  have  one  son,  Samuel  A.,  who  is  a  merchant 
at  Harwich.  He  was  married  in  1873,  to  Lucy  Robbins.  She  died  in 
1883,  leaving  two  sons:  Nathan  A.  and  Edward  A.  He  was  married 
again  in  1884,  to  Georgian  B.  Snow. 

Warren  Freeman'  was  born  in  1814.  He  is  descended  from 
Thomas',  John',  Jonathan',  Edmund',  Edmund',  Major  John',  Ed- 
mund Freeman',  who  came  to  this  country  in  1635.  Mr.  Freeman  was 
married  in  1837,  to  Priscilla  Long.  She  died  leaving  two  children: 
Thomas  and  one  who  since  died.  He  was  married  in  1848,  to  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Isaac  and  Elizabeth  (Allen)  Weekes.  They  have 
three  children:  Rose  L,  Ambrose  E.  and  Susan  F.     They  lost  two. 

Nathaniel  T.  Gorham  was  born  in  1823.  He  is  a  son  of  Joseph 
and  Sally  (Tripp)  Gorham.  His  grandfather  served  in  the  revolution 
under  General  Washington.  His  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Reuben 
and  granddaughter  of  Acus  Tripp.  Mr.  Gorham  has  been  a  house 
and  ship  painter  in  East  Boston  since  1844.  He  was  married  in  1850, 
to  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of  Isaiah  Eldridge.  They  have  two  children 
living:  Mary  P.  and  Nathaniel  T.,  jr.;  they  have  lost  five  children. 
The  last  ten  years  Mr.  Gorham  has  spent  at  his  summer  residence 
in  South  Harwich. 

Alton  P.  Goss,  son  of  F.  B.  Goss,  was  bom  in  1855  in  Barnstable. 


878  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

He  has  been  engaged  in  the  printing  business  since  1868.  In  1873  he 
took  charge  of  the  Harwich  Independetit  office,  and  since  1880  has  owned 
and  edited  the  paper.  He  is  a  member  of  the  republican  town  com- 
mittee. He  was  married  in  1876,  to  Emma  F.  Taylor.  They  have 
one  son,  Edwin  P. 

Roger  S.  Hawes,  born  in  1848  in  Chatham,  is  the  youngest  son  of 
Samuel,  grandson  of  Samuel  Hawes  and  great-grandson  of  John 
Hawes.  His  mother  was  Betsey  Harding.  Mr.  Hawes  began  going 
to  sea  at  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  since  1872  has  been  master  of  a 
vessel.  He  was  married  in  1871,  to  Gertrude,  daughter  of  Job  Kelley. 
They  have  two  children:  Edith  S.,  born  in  October,  1872;  and  Mollie 
E.,  born  in  August,  1883. 

Benjamin  F.  Hall,  born  in  1822,  is  a  son  of  Freeman  and  grandson 
of  Benjamin  Hall.  He  went  to  sea  from  1831  to  1874.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1842,  to  Hepsibeth,  daughter  of  William  and  granddaughter 
of  William  Ryder.  They  have  three  children:  Benjamin  F.,  jr..  Prince 
E.  and  Sarah  F.  The  latter  married  Anthony  H.  Ryder,  who  was 
born  in  1844,  and  is  a  son  of  Anthony  K.  and  Mehitabel  T.  Ryder. 
They  have  one  son,  Herbert  A.  Mr.  Ryder  has  been  a  wheelwright 
and  blacksmith  at  North  Harwich  since  1876. 

Belle  K.  Hoyt  is  a  daughter  of  Ensign  and  a  granddaughter  of 
Jonathan  and  Mehitabel  (Chase)  Burgess.  Her  mother,  Elizabeth, 
was  the  daughter  of  James  and  Betsey  (Kendrick)  Clark,  and  was  be- 
loved by  all  who  knew  her.  Mrs.  Hoyt  was  married  in  1852,  to  Curtis 
Hoyt,  who  died  at  sea.  He  was  first  mate  of  the  ship  Oscar,  of  New 
Bedford,  engaged  in  whale  fishing.  They  have  one  daughter,  Susan, 
who  married  Henry  Young.  Her  daughters  are  Belle  B.  and  Grace 
D.  Young. 

Cyrenus  S.  Hunt,  born  in  1860,  is  a  son  of  Alfred  and  grandson  of 
Ziba  Hunt,  whose  father,  Lemuel,  was  a  son  of  Lemuel,  who  came 
from  Shaftsbury,  England,  to  Chatham.  His  mother  was  Asenith 
Ellis.  He  was  married  in  1883,  to  Cordia  Megathlin,  who  died  in 
1886.  In  1889  he  was  married  to  Margaret  Watson,  of  Aberdeenshire, 
Scotland.  Mr.  Hunt  is  a  member  of  the  South  Harwich  Methodist 
Episcopal  church,  and  was  Sunday  school  superintendent  five  years. 

Charles  Jenkins,  son  of  Wilson  R.  and  Betsey  (Small)  Jenkins,  was 
born  in  1827  in  Falmouth.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  began  to  learn 
the  trade  of  boat-building,  and  since  1848  has  been  engaged  in*  that 
business  at  Harwich.  He  was  married  in  1850,  to  Amanda,  daughter 
of  Freeman  and  granddaughter  of  Christian  Nickerson.  Her  mother 
was  Cynthia,  daughter  of  James,  granddaughter  of  James  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  Zebina  Small.  They  have  daughters:  Amanda 
W.  (Mrs.  Edgar  D.  Kelley),  Dora  C.  (Mrs.  Charles  A.  Kelley)  and 
Meta  G. 


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TOWN   OF   HARWICH.  879 

Ensign  L.  Jerauld,  born  in  1834,  is  a  son  of  James  and  Olive  (Eld- 
ridge)  Jerauld,  and  grandson  of  James  and  Hannah  (Cash)  Jerauld. 
Mr.  Jerauld  has  been  engaged  in  fishing  since  1845,  and  since  1857  he 
has  been  captain  of  a  fisherman.  He  was  married  in  1857,  to  Keziah 
N.,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Bethia  (Nickerson)  Bearse.  They  have  six 
children:  Wilbert  H.,  Myra  E.,  E.  Curtis,  Ellen  K.,  Oliver  D.  and  Er- 
mond  G. 

Asa  L.  Jones,  son  of  Joseph  B.  and  grand.son  of  Asa  Jones,  was  born 
in  1840.  His  mother  was  Love  C.  Robbins.  Mr.  Jones  enlisted  in  the 
war  of  the  rebellion  in  1862,  in  Company  A,  Thirty-ninth  Massachu- 
setts Volunteers.  In  March,  1863,  he  was  made  sergeant,  and  in  the 
fall  of  the  same  year  he  was  commissioned  second  lieutenant  in  the 
Sixth  Regiment  U.  S.  Colored  troops.  He  was  discharged  in  Septem- 
ber, 1864,  on  account  of  wounds.  He  was  keeper  in  the  government 
lightship  and  lighthouse  service  from  1870  to  1886.  Since  February, 
1889,  he  has  kept  an  undertaking  store  at  Harwich.  He  was  married 
in  1874,  to  Clara  F.  Paine.    They  have  one  son,  Maro  B. 

Allen  F.  Joseph,  youngest  son  of  John  and  Tamsen  (Allen)  Joseph, 
was  bom  in  1832,  and  followed  the  sea  from  1846  to  1875.  He  was 
married  in  1865,  to  Marietta  S.  Cahoon,  who  died  ten  years  later.  Their 
children  were:  Adelia  E.,  Mary  T.,  Samuel  A.  and  Albert  F.,  who  was 
born  September  25, 1862,  and  died  May  8,  1876.  He  was  married  again 
in  1869,  to  Betsey  C.  Weekes',  descended  from  Isaac',  Isaac',  Ammiel', 
Rev.  George  Weekes". 

Charles  H.  Kelley,  born  in  1838,  is  a  son  of  Nehemiah  D.  and  a 
grandson  of  Anthony  Kelley.  His  mother  was  Esther,  daughter  of 
Sears  Kelley.  Mr.  Kelley  was  postmaster  at  West  Harwich  from  Sep- 
tember, 1885,  to  July,  1889.  He  was  married  in  1862,  to  Elizabeth  J. 
Chase.  They  have  ten  children:  Anna  F.,  Esther  M.,  Lena  E.,  Kate 
W.,  Nehemiah  D.,  Hattie  L.,  Charles  H.,  jr.,  Walter  W.,  Ada  F.  and 
Amy  B.     Mr.  Kelley  is  secretary  of  Sylvester  Baxter  Chapter. 

Nehemiah  B.  Kelley  was  born  in  1848.  He  is  the  oldest  son  of 
Caleb  R.  and  Cynthia  K  (Baker)  Kelley,  and  grandson  of  Dea.  Joseph 
Kelley,  whose  father  and  grandfather  were  both  named  Joseph.  Mr. 
Kelley  began  going  to  sea  at  the  age  of  eleven  years,  and  has  been 
captain  since  1869.  He  was  married  in  1872,  to  Mary  D.,  daughter  of 
Jonathan  and  Sabra  Young.  They  have  four  children:  Sabra  D.,  Em- 
ma R.,  Harold  B.  and  Nehemiah  B.,  jr. 

Watson  B.  Kelley. — Patrick  Kelley  was  the  first  of  the  surname 
who  settled  in  Harwich.  He  came  from  Yarmouth,  where  he  was 
born  in  1723,  and  settled  on  the  east  side  of  Herring  river  near  or  on 
the  spot  where  the  house  of  the  late  Sheldon  Crowell  stands.  He 
built  the  water  mill  below  his  house  on  the  river,  known  as  the 
"  Lower  Mill,"  in  or  about  1762,  and  was  the  miller  many  years.     He 


880  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

was  twice  married.  His  last  wife  was  widow  Betsey  Nickerson,  whom 
he  married  in  1782.  By  his  first  wife,  he  had  Patrick,  Ebenezar, 
Samuel,  Oliver  and  other  children.  His  father  was  Eleazar  Kelley; 
and  his  grandfather  was  Jeremiah  Kelley,  both  of  Yarmouth,  where 
their  ancestor,  David  Kelley,  resided. 

Patrick  Kelley,  the  son,  born  in  Harwich  in  1763,  married  Dorcas 
Chase,  daughter  of  Sylvanus  and  Charity  Chase,  and  settled  upon  the 
Penney  farm,  which  he  purchased  of  Isaac  Weekes  in  1788.  The 
house  which  he  built  and  in  which  he  resided  until  his  death,  is  now 
occupied  by  Marshall  Kelley,  standing  northwesterly  from  the  Har- 
wich railroad  station,  and  is  one  of  the  oldest  houses  in  town.  He 
was  a  shipwright  by  trade.  Among  the  vessels  he  built  was  the 
schooner  Dorcas  of  this  town,  which  was  launched  in  1817.  He  died 
October  28,  1834,  aged  eighty.  His  wife  died  April  13, 1834.  He  had 
eleven  children — eight  sons  and  three  daughters. 

Henry  Ke-lley,  the  eldest  son,  born  July  8,  1777,  married  for  his 
first  wife,  Temperance  Baker,  daughter  of  Shubael  Baker,  December 
4,  1800,  by  whom  he  had  twelve  children,  six  of  whom  yet  survive, 
viz.:  Relief  Paine,  Henry  Kelley,  Temperance  Doane,  Abigail  Nick- 
erson, Shubael  B.  Kelley  and  Watson  B.  Kelley.  The  mother  died 
August  3,  1827,  and  for  his  second  wife,  Mr.  Kelley  married  Lucinda 
Swift  of  Rochester,  Mass.,  and  had  five  children,  of  whom  three  only 
survive:  George  F.,  Alfred  S.  and  Mary  E.  Allen.  Mr.  Kelley's 
second  wife,  Lucinda,  died  February  8,  1864.  He  died  January  19, 
1870,  in  his  ninety-third  year,  having  been  in  his  usual  good  health 
up  to  within  a  few  days  of  his  death. 

Watson  B.  Kelley,  Esq.,  the  youngest  of  the  twelve  children  of 
Henry  Kelley,  by  his  wife  Temperance,  was  born  in  Harwich,  Decem- 
ber 11,  1824.  At  the  early  age  of  eleven  years  he  commenced  the 
seafaring  life,  and  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years  became  master  of  a 
vessel.  After  an  active  life  upon  the  sea,  as  master,  he  retired,  in 
1853,  and  at  once  engaged  in  the  lumber  and  coal  business  at  Har- 
wich Port,  with  his  elder  brother,  Henry,  under  the  firm  of  Henry 
Kelley  &  Co.,  in  which  business  he  still  continues.  He  is  now  largely 
engaged  in  cranberry  culture,  having  in  cultivation  and  under  his 
management  many  acres.  He  has  found  time  besides  managing  his 
own  business,  to  serve  his  townsmen  in  official  positions.  In  1869  he 
became  president  of  the  Harwich  Marine  Insurance  Company,  and 
served  ten  years.  He  represented  his  district,  comprising  Harwich 
and  Chatham,  in  the  legislatiire  of  1881  and  1882.  He  is  now  a  select- 
man, assessor  and  overseer  of  the  poor  of  Harwich,  having  held  the 
offices  for  eighteen  consecutive  years;  and  also  is  holding  the  cffice 
of  justice  of  the  peace.  In  politics  Mr.  Kelley  is  an  earnest  republican. 
He  married  Rebecca  D.  Allen  of  Harwich,  February  4,  1847.     Their 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  881 

children  are:  Rebecca  E.,  born  September  14,1851,  died  May  28,1870; 
and  Emma  W.,  born  November  13, 1856,  married  Thomas  R.Eldridge, 
a  grain  and  flour  dealer. 

Mrs.  Kelly's  father  was  Captain  Joseph  Allen,  who  was  lost  at  sea 
in  September,  1837.  Her  mother  was  Thankful  Burgess,  daughter  of 
Seth  and  Mary  (Nickerson)  Burgess,  and  granndaughterof  Lieutenant 
Thomas  Burgess,  whose  maternal  grandfather  was  Ephraim  Covel,  of 
whom  mention  is  made  in  the  village  history.  Their  children  were: 
Rebecca  D.,  born  May  29,  1829;  Pamelia  H.,  born  March  8,  1833,  mar- 
ried Theophilus  B.  Baker;  and  Joseph,  born  November  6,  1836,  died 
at  St.  Thomas,  January  3,  1854. 

Alonzo  Kendrick,  born  in  1846,  is  a  son  of  Jonathan  and  Anna 
(Doane)  Kendrick,  and  grandson  of  Jonathan  Kendrick.  He  followed 
the  sea  from  1859  to  1884,  fishing  and  coasting.  Since  1884,  in  com- 
pany with  George  N.  Bearse,  he  has  carried  on  the  fish  and  store 
business  at  South  Harwich,  which  has  been  run  since  1850  by  Caleb 
Small.  Mr.  Kendrick  was  married  in  1876  to  Bethia,  daughter  of 
Caleb  and  Pamelia  (Rogers)  Small.     They  have  one  son,  Bernard  L. 

Thomas  D.  Kenney,  born  in  1836,  is  a  son  of  John,  and  grandson 
of  John  and  Zylphia  (Kendrick)  Kenney.  His  mother  was  Polly, 
daughter  of  Thomas,  and  granddaughter  of  Joseph  Doane.  Mr.  Ken- 
ney followed  the  fishing  business  until  1884,  and  has  since  been  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  was  married  in  1858  to  Emily  J., 
daughter  of  Warren  Nickerson.  Their  children  are:  Arthur  N.,  John 
A.  and  Louise  A. 

Gustavas  H.  Long,  son  of  Elkanah,  and  grandson  of  Elkanah 
Long,  was  born  in  1842.  He  followed  the  sea  until  1879.  Since  1887 
he  has  been  engaged  in  the  grocery  business  in  East  Boston.  He  was 
married  in  1863  to  Ellen,  daughter  of  Isaac  and  Ruth  (Kelley)  Small, 
granddaughter  of  Paddock,  and  great-granddaughter  of  Daniel  Small. 
They  have  one  .son,  Herbert  H. 

Charles  E.  Lothrop,  born  in  1845,  is  a  son  of  Rev.  Davis  and  Eliza- 
beth(Freeman)Lothrop,  grandson  of  Robert  and  Susan  (Allen)  Lothrop, 
and  great-grandson  of  Ebenezer  and  Elizabeth  (Davis)  Lothrop.  Mr. 
Lothrop  is  a  paper  hanger  and  house  decorator.  He  was  deputy  collector 
of  revenues  at  Dennis  Port  from  April,  1887,  to  June,  1889.  He  owns 
and  occupies  the  homestead  where  his  father  lived  for  forty-one  years, 
prior  to  his  death  in  1889.  Rev.  Davis  Lothrop  was  born  in  Barn- 
stable November  28,  1804,  and  was  a  direct  descendant  of  Rev.  John 
Lothrop,  the  first  settled  minister  of  Barnstable.  At  the  age  of 
seventeen  he  learned  the  hatter's  trade,  and  after  working  one  year, 
connected  himself  with  the  Congregational  church  and  began  pre- 
parations for  the  ministry.  He  afterward  retired  from  the  Congre- 
gational society  and  was  ordained  as  a  Baptist  preacherin  the  church 
56 


882  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

at  West  Harwich,  December  10,  1828,  and  from  that  time  until  1887, 
was  pastor  of  some  church  in  Barnstable  county. 

James  Loveland,  youngest  son  of  David  and  Reliance  (Small)  Love- 
land,  was  born  in  South  Harwich  in  1841.  He  went  to  Boston  in  1854, 
where  he  has  since  been  engaged  in  house,  ship  and  sign  painting. 
For  the  past  few  years  he  has  spent  his  summers  in  South  Harwich. 
He  was  married  in  1863  to  Loretta,  daughter  of  Joseph  P.  and  Almira 
(Eldridge)  Nickerson.  Their  children  are:  Harold,  James  W.  and 
Charles  M.  N. 

Elisha  Mayo,  born  in  1844,  is  a  son  of  Elisha  and  Reliance  (Wixon) 
Mayo,  and  grandson  of  Elkanah  and  Rosana  (Kelley^)  Mayo.  He  went 
to  sea  from  1853  to  1887,  and  was  captain  nineteen  years.  He  was 
married  in  1867  to  Georgianna,  daughter  of  Joseph  C.  Berry.  She 
died  in  1881  leaving  one  daughter,  Jessie  L.  He  was  married  in  1887 
to  Ida,  daughter  of  Edward  Smalley.    They  have  a  daughter,  Lina  A. 

Samuel  J.  Miles,  son  of  Samuel  T.  and  Jerusha  (Nickerson)  Miles, 
was  born  in  1844.  He  began  going  to  sea  at  the  age  of  eleven,  and 
was  master  at  nineteen.  From  1876  to  1887  he  was  in  New  York  in 
the  steamboat  service.  He  was  married  in  1865  to  Abalena,  daughter 
of  Jonathan  Young. 

James  M.  Moody',  born  in  1859,  is  descended  from  James',  Samuel', 
Samuel',  James',  Joshua',  Rev.  Samuel',  Caleb'  and  William  Moody', 
who  came  from  England  and  settled  in  Maine.  Mr.  Moody  is  a  car- 
penter by  trade.  Since  1884  he  has  dealt  in  lumber  and  builders'  sup- 
plies at  Harwich.  Since  1887  he  has  been  in  the  ice  business.  He 
was  married  in  1881  to  Anna  L.  Bassett.  Mr.  Moody,  with  his  brother 
Sidney  B.,  obtained  a  patent  in  1888  on  a  railroad  rail  joint  and  in 
1890  a  patent  on  a  cylindrical  latch  and  lock. 

William  P.  Nichols,  son  of  James  and  Caroline  (Chase)  Nichols, 
was  born  in  1849.  He  has  been  employed  on  the  track  of  the  Old 
Colony  railroad  since  1870.  He  was  married  in  1872  to  Sophia, 
daughter  of  Ozias  and  Deborah  Bassett.  They  have  three  children: 
Eugene  F.,  William  H.  and  Charles  F. 

Cyrus  Nickerson,  born  in  1831,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Alden,  whose 
father,  Alden,  was  a  son  of  Bassett  Nickerson.  Mr.  Nickerson  went 
to  sea  from  1845  to  1873,  and  has  since  been  engaged  in  the  lumber 
and  fishing  business.  He  was  married  in  1854  to  Dorothy  Weekes', 
(Benjamin  F.',  Ebenezer',  Ammiel',  Rev.  George*,  Ammiel',  Ammiel', 
George  Weekes').  They  have  three  children:  Benjamin  W.,  Louis 
and  Malva. 

James  M.  Nickerson,  born  in  1834,  is  a  son  of  Michael  and  Sylvia 
(Eldridge)  Nickerson  and  grandson  of  Benjamin  Nickerson.  Mr. 
Nickerson  followed  the  sea  until  1881.  He  was  married  in  1855  to 
Polly  A.,  daughter  of  Simeon  Baker.     They  have  two  sons:  James  F. 


TOWN   OF  HARWICH.  883 

and  William  H.  James  F.  was  married  in  1878  to  Tamsen  Bassett, 
and  has  four  daughters.  William  H.  was  married  in  1882  to  Ida  F. 
Nickerson,  and  has  one  son.  . 

Joseph  H.  Nickerson,  bom  in  1833,  is  a  son  of  Zenas  and  Abigail 
(Higgins)  Nickerson  and  grandson  of  Silas  Nickerson.  Mr.  Nicker- 
son followed  the  sea  in  the  merchant  service  and  fishing  until  1870, 
and  since  that  time  has  been  engaged  in  boat  fishing.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1859. to  Martha  A.  Cahoon.  She  died  in  1865,  leaving  two 
children:  Joseph  A.  and  Frank  M.  He  was  married  again  in  1866  to 
Sarah  J.  Coombs.  Their  children  are:  Ephielo  Z.,  Marguerite  K.  and 
Emmie  P.  Mr.  Nickerson  owns  and  occupies  the  homestead  of  his 
father. 

Mark  F.  Nickerson,  born  in  1821,  is  a  son  of  Zepheniah  and  Betsey 
(Gorham)  Nickerson  and  grandson  of  Bassett  Nickerson.  He  went 
to  sea  from  1836  to  1871  in  fishing  and  coasting  vessels,  as  master  the 
last  thirty  years.  He  has  been  tax  collector  in  Harwich  seven  years 
and  selectman  two  years.  He  was  married  in  1845  to  Lucy,  daughter 
of  Jonathan  Myrick.     She  died  in  March.  1889. 

Stephen  E.  Nickerson.  born  in  1840,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Stephen 
and  grandson  of  Seth  Nickerson.  His  mother  was  Charity,  daughter 
of  Nathan  Nickerson.     Mr.  Nickerson  followed  the  sea  from  1853  to 

1876,  and  since  that  time  has  been  engaged  in  the  fish  business.     In 

1877,  with  his  father  and  two  brothers — A.  R.  and  A.  E. — under  the 
firm  of  S.  Nickerson  &  Sons,  he  went  from  South  Harwich  to  Booth 
Bay,  Me.,  where  they  are  carrying  on  an  extensive  fish  business.  Mr. 
Nickerson  was  married  in  1867,  to  Emogene,  daughter  of  Edward 
Smalley.   They  have  three  children:  Rosa  H.,  C.  Dora  and  Carlton  B. 

Thomas  A.  Nickerson,  born  in  1841,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Joshua 
and  Mercy  E.  (Small)  Nickerson,  grandson  of  Elkanah,  and  great- 
grandson  of  Phineas,  who  was  a  son  of  John  Nickerson.  Mr.  Nicker- 
son has  been  master  mariner  since  1868.  He  was  married  in  1863,  to 
Eglentine,  daughter  of  Valentine  Doane.  They  have  four  children: 
Addison  D.,  T.  Hulbert,  Ambrose  N.  and  Eglantine. 

Warren  J.  Nickerson  was  born  in  1833.  He  is  a  son  of  Warren, 
whose  father.  Seth,  was  a  son  of  Stephen,  and  grandson  of  Ebenezer, 
who  was  a  descendant  from  William  Nickerson.  Mr.  Nickerson  was 
a  school  teacher  for  fifteen  winters,  and  a  member  of  the  school  board 
for  several  years.  He  was  married  in  1854,  to  Mary,  daughter  of 
Joshua  and  Rebecca  (Nickerson)  Atkins.  They  have  seven  children 
living:  Joshua  A.,  Albert  E.,  Ernest  C,  Oscar  C,  Thomas  C,  Geneva 
A.  and  Warren  S.    They  lost  five  children. 

Josiah  Paine,  mentioned  at  page  271,  was  born  in  Harwich,  Sep- 
tember 7,  1836.  He  is  a  descendant  of  Thomas  Paine,  of  Eastham,  of 
the  seventh  generation,  and  married  Phebe  A.  Long  of   Harwich, 


884  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

December  22,  1868.  Of  their  children,  Frederick  W.,  was  born  Janu- 
ary 18,  1875,  and  died  June  23,  1875;  Helen  C.  was  born  September 
28,  1876.  and  died  suddenly  December  29,  1876;  and  John  Howard 
was  born  May  30,  1883. 

Joseph  Raymond,  bom  in  1832,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Peter  Raymond, 
who  was  born  in  Portugal  in  1810,  came  to  Massachusetts  in  1823,  and 
died  in  1885.  Peter  married  Keziah,  daughter  of  John  Ellis.  She  was 
born  in  Dennis  in  1812,  and  died  in  1851.  Their  children  were:  Jo- 
seph, Peter  T.,  Ensign  R.,  Albert  F.  and  Keziah.  Joseph  was  married 
in  1851,  to  Laura,  daughter  of  Josiah  Doane.  She  died  in  1883,  leav- 
ing three  children:  Joseph  W.,  born  March  25,  1858,  married  to  Mat- 
tie  Crowell;  Clara  P.,  married  Joseph  L.  Evens,  and  died  January  12, 
1888,  and  Jessie  H.,  born  January  19,  1870.  Mr.  Raymond  was  mar- 
ried October  11,  1885,  to  Mrs.  Lowena  Wixon,  daughter  of  William 
Eldridge.  They  have  one  child,  Clara  B.,  born  February  17, 1888.  Mrs. 
Raymond  has  two  children  by  her  first  husband:  Lowena  and  Mary 
Wixon.  Mr.  Raymond  followed  the  sea  from  1841  to  1871.  He  has 
been  station  agent  at  North  Harwich  since  1877,  and  was  postmaster 
from  April,  1877,  to  October,  1888. 

Benjamin  F.  Robbins,  born  in  1823,  is  a  son  of  Freeman  and  De- 
borah (Mayo)  Robbins,  and  grandson  of  Nathaniel  Robbins.  His 
father  was  twice  married;  first  to  Polly  Nickerson,  and  second  to  De- 
borah Eldridge,  a  widow,  whose  maiden  name  was  Mayo.  Her  father, 
Paul  Mayo,  went  from  Orleans  to  Chatham  when  he  was  seven  years 
old.  He  lived  there  under  the  Great  hill,  and  worked  as  a  blacksmith. 
The  porch  of  the  old  house  where  he  lived  and  brought  up  his  family 
is  still  standing.  Mr.  Robbins  is  a  wheelwright  by  trade,  and  has  a 
shop  at  Harwich  center.  He  was  married  in  1862,  to  Emily  Frances 
Chism  (deceased),  of  Maine,  daughter  of  Theodore  Chism.  They  had 
three  children:  Charles  Burlich,  Caroline  Avesta  and  Harriet  Victoria; 
and  one  grandchild:  Emmie  F.  Robbins. 

Henry  C.  Robbins,  born  in  1820,  is  a  son  of  Henry  and  Priscilla 
(Baker)  Robbins,  and  grandson  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth  (Crowell) 
Robbins.  He  was  a  mariner  from  1831  to  1876,  and  master  thirty- 
three  years.  Since  1877  he  has  been  a  grocery  merchant  at  West 
Harwich.  He  was  married,  in  1866,  to  Sarah  K.,  daughter  of  Sylves- 
ter and  Sarah  (Kelley)  Chase,  granddaughter  of  James,  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  Job  Chase.  By  a  former  marriage  Mr.  Robbins 
had  three  sons:    Edwin  M.,  Theodore  P.  and  Cyrus  C. 

Joseph  K.  Robbins,  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Huldah  Robbins,  was 
born  in  1853.  Nathaniel  Robbins  was  a  seafaring  man  in  his  early  life, 
and  later  he  devoted  his  time  to  cranberry  culture  and  mercantile  trade. 
He  died  in  December,  1888,  aged  eighty-one  years.  Joseph  K.  now 
occupies  his  father's  homestead,  and  is  engaged  in  cranberry  culture. 


TOWN  OF   HARWICH.  885 

He  was  married  in  1876,  to  Helen  C.  Paine.  They  have  one  son, 
Stanley  C. 

Simeon  K.  Sears,  born  in  1851,  is  a  son  of  Benjamin,  and  grandson 
of  Lot  Sears.  His  mother  was  Phebe  W.,  daughter  of  Simeon  and 
Paulina  (Snow)  Kendrick.  Mr.  Sears  began  going  to  sea  at  the 
age  of  nine  years,  continuing  until  1871.  He  was  clerk  one  year  in 
a  store  at  West  Harwich,  and  five  years  in  a  dry  goods  house  in  Bos- 
ton. He  was  married  in  1874,  to  Clara  A.,  daughter  of  Thomas  and 
Elizabeth  (Doane)  Ellis.  They  have  two  children:  Benjamin  and 
Clara  P. 

Philip  N.  Small,  born  in  1813,  is  a  son  of  Lovell,  and  grandson  of 
Benjamin  Small.  His  mother  was  Tamar,  daughter  of  Philip  Nick- 
erson.  Mr.  Small  went  to  sea  from  1827  to  1846,  after  which  he  learned 
the  trade  of  a  shoemaker,  and  for  the  last  thirty  years  he  has  kept  a 
boot  and  shoe  store  at  Harwich  Port.  He  was  married  in  1835,  to 
Mary  Y.,  daughter  of  Elisha  Eldridge,  and  granddaughter  of  Daniel 
Eldridge.  Their  children  are:  James  F.,  Everett  P.,  Rhoda  T.  and 
Patience  E. 

Samuel  Small,  born  in  1835,  is  the  only  surviving  child  of  Samuel 
and  Julia  (Cahoon)  Small,  grandson  of  James,  and  great-grandson  of 
Benjamin  Small.  His  mother,  Julia,  was  a  daughter  of  James,  and 
granddaughter  of  James  Cahoon.  Her  mother  was  Lettice,  daughter 
of  Richard  Bassett.  James  Small  married  Anna,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Samuel  Nickerson,a  Baptist  preacher,  of  New  Jersey,  who  at  one  time 
filled  a  pulpit  in  the  eastern  part  of  Harwich.  Samuel  Small  was 
a  merchant  and  insurance  agent  at  South  Harwich  for  a  number  of 
years,  and  for  the  last  three  years  he  has  devoted  all  his  time  to  the 
insurance  business.  He  was  married  in  1852,  to  Mary  B.,  daughter  of 
Eldredge  Small,  who  was  a  son  of  Eli,  and  grandson  of  Benjamin 
Small.  They  have  four  children:  Samuel  N.,  John  F.,  Julia  C.  and 
Winnie  B. 

Samuel  N.  Small,  son  of  Samuel  and  Mary  B.  Small,  was  born  in 
1853,  and  is  an  architect  and  designer  of  furniture  in  Boston.  He  was 
married  in  1876,  to  Mary  O.  Nickerson.  She  died,  leaving  two  chil- 
dren:   Leon  C.  and  Susan  B. 

John  F.  Small,  the  other  son,  was  born  in  1858.  He  is  an  architect 
and  designer  of  furniture  in  Boston.  He  was  married  in  1885,  to 
Maria  L.,  daughter  of  George  W.  and  Helena  (Nickerson)  Eldridge. 
They  have  one  daughter,  Helena. 

Zebina  H.  Small,  whose  busy  and  varied  life  in  the  prosperity  of 
his  native  town  came  to  an  end  September  22,  1882,  proved  his  devo- 
tion to  duty  by  the  faithful  discharge  of  every  trust  committed  to  his 
hands.  His  father,  Benjamin,  a  son  of  Benjamin  Small,  was  born 
and  lived  in  Harwich,  rearing  five  children,  of  whom  Zebina  H.  was 


886  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

the  youngest,  born  April  2,  1798.  At  the  tender  age  of  eight  years  he 
went  to  sea,  which  business  he  followed  more  or  less  for  forty  years, 
retiring  in  1845.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  was  master  in  a  foreign 
commerce,  and  after  the  year  1833  was  engaged  mostly  along  the 
American  coast,  closing  his  seafaring  life  as  master  of  the  last  vessel 
he  had  built  for  his  own  use — the  Emulous. 

He  was  married  February  24,  1820,  to  Ruth  A.  Nickerson,  daugh- 
ter of  Ebenezer  Nickerson,  and  they  reared  seven  children,  of  whom 
sketches  are  given  in  the  succeeding  paragraphs. 

Charlotte,  born  March  27,  1822,  grew  to  womanhood,  and  in  1843 
married  Cyrus  W.  Carver,  a  son  of  Phineas  and  Phoeba  (Weeks) 
Carver.  Mr.  Carver  died  in  1849,  and  his  wife  died  April  28,  1863. 
They  had  two  daughters,  Henrietta  and  Charlotte,  of  whom  the  older, 
Henrietta,  survives;  and  being  the  only  survivor  of  this  branch  of  the 
family,  owns  and  occupies  the  home  of  her  grandfather. 

Zebina  H.  Small,  jr.,  born  May  29,  1824,  was  an  efficient  ship- 
master at  an  early  age.  He  married  Anna  S.  Colesberry,  but  was  not 
permitted  to  enjoy  a  long  period  of  married  life,  for  he  was  lost  in 
the  gulf  stream — washed  overboard  in  a  gale — January  10,  1849. 

Ruth  N.,born  May  29, 1827, married  Isaac  H.Smith, son  of  Samuel 
Smith,  in  1850.  Mr.  Smith  has  been  a  successful  mariner  most  of  his 
life.  They  have  had  two  daughters:  Ruthie  S.,  who  survives,  and 
another  who  died  in  infancy. 

Amelia  S.,  born  January  22,  1830,  married  Benjamin  F.  Bee  of 
Harwich,  and  of  their  three  children  two  survive:  Benjamin  F.,  jr., 
and  Amelia  S. 

Benjamin  F.,  born  April  6,  1832,  grew  to  manhood,  married 
Augusta  C.  Post,  and  died  June  1,  1882,  leaving,  besides  his  widow, 
three  children:  Charlotte  A.,  Benjamin  F.  and  Ruth  N. 

Harvey  C,  born  October  15,  1840,  died  when  three  months  old. 

Emulous,  born  December  20,  1834,  in  Harwich  Port,  married  No- 
vember 12,  1856,  Irene  T.,  daughter  of  Valentine  Doane.  He  was  for 
twenty  years  largely  interested  in  mercantile  business  near  his  resi- 
dence; retiring  in  1876,  he  has  since  turned  his  attention  to  cranberry 
culture.     He  is  also  a  director  of  the  Cape  Cod  National  Bank. 

Zebina  H.  Small,  deceased,  father  of  the  above  named  children, 
was  a  representative  man,  and  his  pure  executive  ability  was  often 
called  into  action  in  the  settlement  of  difficult  arbitrations.  He  was 
a  director  in  the  Cape  Cod  National  Bank  from  its  inception  to  the 
close  of  his  life,  and  the  board  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and  who 
perhaps  knew  him  best,  speak  highly  of  his  upright  business  qualifi- 
cations. His  enterprise  is  marked  by  the  fact  that  in  1845  he  sold  his 
vessel  and  commenced  preparing  a  cranberry  bog,  placing  him 
among  the  first  at  Harwich  in  this  industry.     In  his  life  journey  of 


/^^«_%^x^-^^^ 


L.     StER9TJtt>T.     H. 


TOWN  OF  HARWICH.  887 

over  four  score  years  he  left  many  footprints  on  the  sands  of  time  for 
the  benefit  of  future  generations. 

Henry  Smalley,  born  in  1842,  is  a  son  of  Edward  and  grandson  of 
Edward  Smalley.  His  mother  was  Barbara,  daughter  of  Ebenezer 
Weeks.  Mr.  Smalley  enlisted  in  the  war  of  the  rebellion,  in  1861,  in 
Company  A.,  Thirty-ninth  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  serving  until 
the  close  of  the  war.  He  has  been  cashier  of  the  freight  department 
of  the  Boston  &  Ivowell  railroad  since  1866.  He  was  married  in  1870, 
to  Ellen  A.,  daughter  of  Simon  Jones.  They  have  one  daughter — 
Nellie  E. — two  children  having  died— Henry  and  Catharine  M. 

.Freeman  Smith,  bom  in  1830,  in  Orleans,  is  a  son  of  James  and 
Abigail  (Robbins)  and  grandson  of  Isaac  Smith.  He  is  a  carpenter 
by  trade,  and  has  lived  in  Harwich  since  1852.  He  was  married  in 
1853  to  Rebecca  H.,  daughter  of  William  Allen. 

Alexander  F.  Snow,  born  in  1842,  is  a  son  of  Thomas  Snow,  who 
came  from  Fredericksburgh,  Va.,  to  Harwich.  Mr.  Snow  has  been  a 
master  mariner  since  he  was  twenty-three  years  old.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  1863  to  Mary  F.,  daughter  of  Judah  and  granddaughter  of 
Judah  Berry. 

Augustus  C.  Snow,  2d,  bom  in  1849,  is  a  son  of  Hiram,  and  grand- 
son of  Osborn  Snow.  His  mother  was  Sally  C.  Rogers.  Mr.  Snow 
entered  the  Cape  Cod  National  Bank  as  clerk  in  1864,  and  for  the  last 
twenty  years  he  has  been  assistant  cashier.  He  has  been  treasurer 
of  the  Cape  Cod  Five  Cent  Savings  Bank  since  1882.  He  was  married 
in  1872  to  Dora  M.  Sears.     They  have  one  son,  Ralph  H. 

Rev.  Charles  A.  Snow  was  bora  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  May  12, 1829, 
and  was  one  of  a  family  of  thirteen  children.  His  father  was  a  car- 
penter by  trade  and  in  too  poor  circumstances  to  g^ve  any  of  his 
children  a  liberal  education.  They  enjoyed,  however,  the  advantages 
of  the  common  schools.  Charles,  after  graduating  from  the  high 
school  in  Providence,  entered  the  commission  house  of  J.  C.  Peckham 
&  Co.,  in  that  city,  where  he  remained  nearly  a  year.  But  since  his 
conversion,  which  had  occurred  a  year  or  two  before,  he  had  felt  a 
restless  desire  for  a  liberal  education,  by  which  he  might  become 
fitted  for  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  to  which  he  believed  himself 
specially  called.  With  this  end  in  view  he  devoted  his  evening  and 
early  morning  hours  to  earnest  study.  His  employers  becoming  inter- 
ested in  his  purpose,  showed  their  substantial  sympathy,  by  releasing 
him  from  his  engagement,  and  by  the  present  of  a  small  sum  of 
money.  Aside  from  this  kindly  aid,  he  was  thereafter  thrown  almost 
wholly  upon  his  own  resources.  By  close  economy  and  the  enduring 
of  many  privations,  he  was  able  to  work  his  way  through  Brown 
University  and  Newton  Theological  Seminary,  graduating  from  the 
latter  institution  June   30,  1858.     A   call   to   become   pastor  of  the 


888  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Temple  church  in  Fall  River  had  been  previously  received,  and  he 
was  ordained  July  7th.  He  remained  in  their  service  six  and  one- 
half  years.  During  this  period,  by  leave  of  absence  from  the  church, 
he  served  as  chaplain  in  the  army  in  1862-3,  in  connection  with  the 
Third  Massachusetts  Volunteers.  Leaving  Fall  River  in  November, 
1864,  he  became  pastor  of  the  Stewart  Street  Baptist  church  in  Prov- 
idence, remaining  there  about  six  years.  Other  pastorates  have 
been  held  in  South  Abington  (now  Whitmen)  New  Bedford  (North 
church)  and  Fall  River  (Third  church).  He  came  to  West  Harwich 
in  April,  1886,  under  circumstances  which  plainly  indicated  that  the 
hand  of  Divine  Providence  had  opened  the  door  for  him  to  enter  this 
important  field. 

Elisha  Snow  was  born  in  1810.  He  is  a  son  of  Elisha  and  Betsey 
(Wing)  Snow,  and  grandson  of  Elisha  Snow.  His  father  was  bom 
in  1778,  and  lived  to  be  ninety -five  years  old.  Mr.  Snow  went  to  sea 
from  1822  to  1868,  and  was  master  mariner  thirty-four  years.  He  was 
married  in  1836  to  Didama,  daughter  of  Deacon  Joseph  Kelley.  They 
have  two  daughters:  Louise  B.,  wife  of  Amos  Crowell;  and  Annette, 
wife  of  Captain  Thomas  L.  Snow,  son  of  James  Snow  of  Dresden,  Me. 
Elijah  L.  Stokes,  bom  in  1850,  is  a  son  of  Elijah  and  Hannah  C. 
(Small)  Stokes,  the  latter  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Mercy  (Phillips) 
Small.  Mr.  Stokes  was  married  in  1874  to  Augusta,  daughter  of 
Elisha  Doane.  Their  children  are:  Arabella  H.,  Elijah  L.,  jr.,  Wilber 
E.  and  Lura  A. 

Barnabas  Taylor,  bom  in  1832,was  the  only  son  of  Barnabas  Taylor, 
who  died  in  New  Orleans  in  1832.  His  mother  was  Deborah,  daughter 
of  Barnabas  Ellis.  Mr.  Taylor  was  in  the  stage  and  express  business 
from  1866  to  his  death,  January  27,  1890,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  Barnabas.  He  was  married  in  1856  to  Jane,  daughter  of 
Gamaliel  Cahoon.  They  had  eight  children:  Wallace  B.,  Bamabas, 
jr.,  Elmer  E.,  Charles  H.,  Herbert  L.,  Ida  B.,  Ella  J.  and  Winnie  B. 

John  B.  Tuttle,  born  in  1824,  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  is  a  son  of  Jesse 
Tuttle,  who  was  bom  in  New  Hampshire,  and  a  grandson  of  Simeon 
Tuttle.  Mr.  Tuttle  came  to  South  Harwich  in  1849,  where  he  was  for 
several  years  engaged  in  the  fish  business  with  his  brother  Jesse.  In 
December,  1863,  he  enlisted  in  Company  A,  Fifty-eighth  Massachu- 
setts Volunteers,  and  served  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  kept  the 
lighthouse  at  Monomoy  point  ten  years,  and  since  that  time  has  been 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cranberry  barrels.  He  was  married 
in  1847,  to  Olive  B.  Duston,  who  died  leaving  one  son,  William  T. 
He  married,  second,  Mrs.  Love  C.  Jones,  who  died  leaving  one 
daughter,  Sarah  J.  He  married,  third,  in  1882,  Eunice,  daughter  of 
Samuel  Moody. 


TOWN   OF  HARWICH.  889 

William  H.  Underwood  was  born  in  1822.  He  is  the  eldest  son  of 
Nathan,  who  was  the  eldest  son  of  Rev.  Nathan,  who  was  seven  years 
in  the  war  of  the  revolution.  He  came  to  Harwich  in  1792.  He  was 
a  son  of  Joseph  and  Eunice  (Smith)  Underwood.  Mr.  Underwood's 
mother  was  Rebecca  Bray.  He  was  nine  years  town  clerk,  and  from 
1880  to  1886  he  was  county  treasurer.  He  has  been  for  seventeen 
years  an  officer  of  the  Cape  Cod  Five  Cents  Savings  Bank.  He  was 
married  in  1845  to  Almira  Baker.  Their  children  are:  Rebecca  B., 
Joseph,  Elizabeth,  William  H.,  jr.,  Alice,  Almira  B.,  Franklin  D.  and 
Susan  L. 

Jeremiah  Walker,  son  of  Marshal  and  Rebecca  (Burgess)  Walker, 
and  grandson  of  Jeremiah  Walker,  was  born  in  1824.  He  followed 
the  sea  from  1835  to  1867.  He  was  married  in  1848  to  Sarepta, 
daughter  of  Josiah  Nickerson.  They  have  one  daughter,  Eucelia  M., 
married  to  William  Bourne. 

Darius  F.  Weekes',  born  in  1833,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Darius 
Weekes'  (Ebenezer',  Ammiel',  Rev.  George*,  Ammiel',  Ammiel', 
George  Weekes").  His  mother  was  Priscilla,  daughter  of  James  Long, 
Mr.  Weekes  followed  the  sea  from  1846  to  1868,  after  which  he 
was  nine  years  in  the  store  and  fishing  business  at  South  Harwich. 
He  has  been  deputy  sheriflF  since  January,  1887.  He  was  married  in 
1855,  to  Rhoda  T.,  daughter  of  Phillip  N.  Small.  They  have  two 
children  living:  Sarah  P.  and  Charles  H.  Their  daughter  Lettie  L., 
died  in  1873,  aged  thirteen  years;  and  Rosetta  W.  died  in  1865,  aged 
eighteen  months. 

Ebenezer  Weekes,  2d,  born  in  1853,  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  F.' (Ebe- 
nezer', Ammiel',  Rev.  George  Weekes*).  His  mother  was  Louisa, 
daughter  of  Alexander  Nickerson.  Mr.  Weekes  was  engaged  in  the 
fishing  business  until  1880,  since  which  time  he  has  carried  on  a  but- 
ter, lard  and  cheese  business  at  Harwich  Port. 

Rev.  George  Weekes*  was  born  in  Dorchester  in  1689,  and  in  1714 
he  came  to  Harwich.  His  son  Ammiel  was  the  father  of  Ebenezer, 
whose  youngest  son,  Benjamin  F.,  was  the  father  of  Alphonso,  who 
married  Mary  C.  Burgess.  Their  only  son  is  Alphonso  L.  Weekes, 
who  was  born  October  3,  1860,  and  married  Nellie  F.  Snow  in  1882. 
They  have  one  son,  George  Leroy  Weekes. 

William  S.  Willson,  son  of  Hubbard  Willson,  was  bom  in  1850  in 
Lowell,  Mass.  He  has  been  in  a  livery  stable  at  Brockton,  Mass., 
since  1884.  He  bought  a  residence  in  Harwich  Port  in  1887,  where  he 
has  lived  since  that  time.  He  was  married  in  1878,  to  Zella  B.,  daugh- 
ter of  James  and  Marinda  (Smith)  Berry.  Their  children  are:  Minnie 
S.,  Hubbard,  William  S.,  jr.,  and  Harold. 

Mulford  Young,  born  in  1821,  is  the  only  surviving  child  of  Mul- 
ford  and  Betsey  (Young)  Young,  grandson  of  John,  whose  father, 


890  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Prince,  was  a  son  of  John  Young.  Mr.  Young  began  keeping  a  small 
store  at  East  Harwich  in  1851.  He  has  continued  to  increase  the 
business  until  he  now  has  a  general  country  store,  beside  a  large  .stock 
of  furniture  and  house  furnishing  goods.  He  was  married  in  1858,  to 
Eliza  A.,  daughter  of  Samuel  Holmes.  She  died  two  years  later.  He 
married  again  in  1865,  to  Mrs.  Emily  Baker,  daughter  of  Henry  Kel- 
ley.  Their  children  are:  Harry  M.,  Sparrow  M.,  Eglantine  F.,  Mary 
H.  and  Betsey  I. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


TOWN    OF   BREWSTER. 


By  Josiah  Padte,  Esq. 


Incorporation. — Natural  Features. — Purchase  and  Division  of  the  Land. — The  First 
Settlers  and  their  Families. — Industries. — Population. — The  Militia. — Religious  So- 
cieties.— Villages. — CivU  Lists. — Meteorological  Condition. — Biographical  Sketches. 


BREWSTER  was  set  off  from  Harwich  and  incorporated  as  a 
town  February  19, 1803.  From  1747,  when  Harwich  was  divided 
into  parishes,  until  the  division  in  1803,  it  was  known  as  the 
north  precinct  or  parish  of  Harwich.  It  is  situated  on  the  north  side 
of  the  Cape,  and  is  bounded  east  by  Orleans,  south  by  Harwich,  west 
by  Dennis,  north  by  Cape  Cod  bay,  and  covers  an  area  of  about  twenty- 
four  square  miles. 

The  surface  is  very  uneven  and  the  soil  is  of  various  kinds.  In  the 
western  and  central  part  the  soil  is  clayish;  in  the  eastern  part  light 
and  sandy.  It  is  productive,  especially  if  fertilizing  substances  is  well 
applied,  of  cereals,  the  usual  varieties  of  vegetables  and  grass.  Much 
of  the  town,  especially  of  the  southeastern  part,  is  covered  with  a 
small  growth  of  oak  and  pine.  Many  large  and  small  bowlders  are 
found.  In  the  west  part  of  the  town  they  are  profusely  scattered. 
Many  of  them,  peculiar  in  shape,  lie  upon  the  surface  and  have  the 
appearance  of  being  dropped  from  the  glacial  raft  which  stranded 
upon  the  north  side  during  the  glacial  period. 

Numerous  fresh  ponds  are  within  the  limits  of  the  town,  among 
the  largest  of  which  are  Cliff,  Flying  Place,  Winslow's,  Mill,  Pine, 
Cobb's,  Rock,  Griffith's,  Baker's,  Raph's  and  Sheep  ponds.  The  chain 
of  ponds,  lying  partly  in  this  town  and  partly  in  Harwich,  embraces 
Bangs'  or  Seymour's,  Long,  Bush  Beach  and  Grass  ponds.  A  notice 
of  this  chain  of  ponds  has  been  given  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

Cliff  pond  lies  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town.  It  derives  its  name 
from  a  remarkable  cliff  that  lifts  its  head  far  above  its  surface.  This 
pond,  known  by  no  other  name  since  the  days  of  the  red  men,  is  deep 
and  clear,  and  covers  many  acres.  Formerly  wild  fowl  in  great  num- 
bers visited  it  on  their  passage  across  the  Cape.  It  is  separated  from 
Flying  Place  pond,  by  a  narrow  sandy  neck. 


:892  HISTORY   OF  BARKSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Flying  Place,  or  Little  Cliff  pond,  is  a  clear  pond  of  considerable 
size,  lying  northeasterly  but  a  short  distance.  This  pond  was  called 
"by  the  Indians  Quanoycomauk.  Some  portions  of  the  Sipson's  land 
adjoined  it.  A  short  distance  northerly  is  a  large  bowlder  marked 
plainly  B.  M.,  for  Benjamin  Macor,  who  lived  hard  by.  Not  far  north- 
ward is  the  Rock  pond,  often  mentioned  in  the  early  deeds  of  land. 

Winslow's  pond,  in  the  west  part  of  the  town,  is  the  largest  of  the 
■ponds.  At  the  time  of  the  settlement,  and  for  many  years  after,  In- 
■dians  occupied  land  adjoining  on  the  east.  Captain  Daniel,  the  fa- 
mous Indian  warrior,  who  did  valiant  service  under  Major  Church  in 
1689,  in  Maine,  resided  near  it,  and  owned  a  large  tract  adjoining  it. 

Mill  pond,  the  source  of  Sauquatuckett  river,  is  connected  with 
Winslow's  pond  by  a  narrow  stream.  Alewives  spend  the  spawning 
•season  in  it. 

Cobb's  pond,  in  the  north  part  of  the  town,  near  the  shore,  has  an 
•outlet  into  the  bay.  It  is  mentioned  in  the  old  deeds  and  records  of 
land  as  the  pond  that  "  hath  a  run  into  the  sea  called  Auquanest." 

Griffith's  pond  lies  south  of  Cobb's  pond,  in  the  central  part  of  the 
town.  Stephen  Griffith  and  many  of  his  descendants  lived  near  it, 
hence  its  name. 

Baker's  pond  is  in  the  eastern  part,  and  the  line  that  divides  the 
town  from  Orleans  passes  through  it.  It  was  called  by  the  Indians 
Pomponeset.  James  Maker,  an  early  settler,  had  a  house  near  the 
pond.  Afterward  William  Baker  lived  near  it,  since  which  time  it 
has  been  known  by  its  present  name.  Not  far  from  it  is  Raph's,  or 
Rafe's,  pond. 

Sheep  pond,  a  large,  clear  body  of  water,  well  surrounded  by  high 
land,  lies  not  far  north  of  Long  pond.  Some  of  the  early  residents  of 
this  section  lived  near  by. 

The  streams  in  the  town  are  not  large  nor  numerous.  The  most 
important  are  Quivet  creek,  Sauquatuckett  river  and  Skaket  or  Nam- 
skaket  creek. 

Quivet  creek,  or  Bound  brook,  known  to  the  Indians  as  Shuck- 
quam,  divides  the  town  from  Dennis  in  that  section.  The  stream 
rises  in  Brewster,  and  flows  northeasterly  through  the  marsh  into 
the  bay. 

Sauquatuckett  river  rises  in  Mill  pond,  and  flows  northerly  into 
the  bay.  This  stream  has  been  known  by  several  names  besides  Sau- 
quatuckett river.  It  has  been  called  "  Stoney  Brook,"  "Satucket 
River,"  "  Mill  Brook  "  and  "Winslow's  Brook."  Sauquatuckett  is  the 
Indian  name.  Upon  this  brook  was  built  the  first  water  mill  in  this 
section  of  the  county. 

Namskaket  creek,  as  far  as  it  extends,  divides  this  town  from  Or- 
leans.    On  either  side  is  a  body  of  marsh,  which  affords  an  abun- 


TOWN  OF  BREWSTER.  893^ 

dance  of  hay  for  each  town.  A  small  stream  rises  in  the  marsh 
near  the  upland,  and  flows  into  the  creek  near  its  mouth.  In  former 
times  small  vessels  entered  this  creek  and  moored  for  the  winter;  and 
probably  small  vessels  have  been  built  here.  Flats  here,  as  they  dO' 
all  along  the  shore  to  Quivet,  extend  into  the  bay  a  very  great  dis- 
tance. Namskaket  is  the  Indian  name  of  the  locality,  as  well  as  of 
the  creek.  It  was  early  known  to  the  settlers  at  Plymouth.  It  was 
here  that  Governor  Bradford  landed  on  his  way  to  Potonumequut  in 
1626,  to  render  aid  to  the  crew  of  the  ship-wrecked  vessel  in  the  harbor 
near  that  place. 

The  territory  now  Brewster  was  a  part  of  the  tract  granted  to  the 
"Purchasers  or  Old  Comers"  in  1641,  for  a  plantation.  Attempts  to- 
extinguish  the  Indian  title  began  early  after  the  grant.  In  1663^ 
Wono,  and  Sachemas,  his  son,  sachems  of  Sauquatuckett,  and  dwell- 
ing near  the  river,  sold,  for  eighteen  pounds  sterling,  to  Thomas 
Prence,  in  behalf  of  the  "  Purchasers  or  Old  Comers,"  a  very  large 
tract,  extending  from  central  Brewster  easterly  to  Namskaket  mead- 
ows at  East  Brewster,  and  from  the  sea  shore  southerly  as  far  as  their 
land  extended  in  that  direction,  which,  it  is  understood,  was  to  the 
Long  pond.  This  tract,  it  will  be  seen,  embraced  a  large  portion  of 
what  is  now  Brewster. 

The  date  of  the  purchase  from  the  Indians  of  the  tract  at  West 
Brewster,  between  Quivet  creek  and  Sauquatuckett  river,  does  not 
appear;  but  we  find  a  record  of  the  laying  out  of  the  lots,  in  1663,  by 
Mr.  Thomas  Prence,  Nicholas  Snow,  Edward  Bangs,  Joseph  Rogers, 
Giles  Hopkins  and  Josiah  Cooke,  to  such  of  the  "  Purchasers  or  Old 
Comers"  still  retaining  their  rights,  who,  at  this  date,  were  Governor 
Bradford,  Experience  Michel,  Nicholas  Snow,  Stephen  Deane,  Thomas 
Clarke,  Thomas  Prence,  Joseph  Rogers,  Giles  Hopkins,  John  How- 
land,  William  Collier  and  Edward  Bangs.  Mr.  Michel  did  not  long 
retain  an  interest  in  the  reservation.  After  giving  his  son-in-law, 
John  Washburn,  his  lot  laid  out,  he  sold  all  his  right  to  other  land 
here,  in  1664,  to  Thomas  Clarke,  of  Plymouth,  who  yet  was  holding- 
rights  in  the  reservation  as  an  original  purchaser. 

The  land  between  the  first  purchase,  in  1663,  and  Sauquatuckett 
river,  from  the  sea  shore  to  the  line  of  the  South  precinct  southerly, 
was  subsequently  purchased  at  diflFerent  times,  of  Sachemas,  the  sa- 
chem, and  other  noted  Indians,  who  derived  from  him  their  rights  t& 
sell. 

The  tracts  purchased  were  divided,  and  each  proprietor  had  his 
proportion  assigned  him,  and  a  record  made  in  "  ye  Purchasers  Book 
of  records,"  which  is  now  lost. 

The  Sipsons'  land,  which  has  been  mentioned  in  Chapter  XXV, 
extended  within  the  limits  of  this  town  up  to  Cliff  and  Rock  pond. 


894  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

The  line  between  their  land  and  land  belonging  to  Sachemas,  which 
was  sold  to  Mr.  Prence  and  partners  in  1663,  commenced  on  the  beach 
near  the  boundary  stone  at  Bush  Beach  pond,  and  running  northeast- 
erly, terminated  near  the  pond  at  "Grassy  Nook,"  which  lies  a  short 
distance  southwest  of  Cliff  pond.  The  tract  embraces  many  acres, 
and  a  very  great  portion  of  it  is  now  covered  with  a  small  growth  of 
oak  and  pine. 

The  lots  of  upland  laid  out  on  the  easterly  side  of  Quivet  creek  in 
1653,  by  the  committee  of  the  "  Purchasers  or  Old  Comers,"  contained 
each  twenty  acres,  with  meadow  adjoining.  The  lot  laid  out  to  Ex- 
perience Michell  was  the  first  that  was  disposed  of.  After  passing  into 
the  hands  of  John  Washburn,  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Michell,  it  was  sold 
to  Governor  Bradford.  This  lot  was  next  to  Governor  Bradford,  on 
the  east.  Governor  Bradford's  lot  was  the  first  on  the  east  side  of 
Quivet  creek.  These  two  lots  were  sold  by  Mrs.  Alice  Bradford, 
widow  of  Governor  Bradford,  November  23,  1664,  together  with  the 
meadow  belonging  thereto,  to  Richard  Sears,  of  Yarmouth.  These 
two  lots  contained  forty  acres  of  upland,  and  were  held  by  Richard 
Sears  until  his  death  in  1676,  when  they  passed  into  the  possession  of 
his  eldest  son,  Paul  Sears.  Some  of  this  land  is  yet  owned  by  his  de- 
scendants. It  was  upon  one  of  these  lots  that  Samuel  Sears,  son  of 
Paul,  selected  his  farm  and  spent  his  life.  The  next  to  sell  his  lot 
was  Giles  Hopkins,  of  Eastham,  who  came  in  the  Mayflower.  His  was 
the  eighth  lot.  It  was  purchased  by  John  Wing,  November  9,  1666, 
he  giving  Mr.  Hopkins  a  "mare  colt."  Mr.  Wing  became  a  purchaser 
of  three  more  lots  of  the  "  Sasuet  land,"  as  it  was  sometimes  called  by 
the  early  settlers,  viz.:  the  ninth  lot  laid  out  to  John  Howland,  the 
tenth  lot  laid  out  to  William  Collier,  and  the  eleventh  lot  laid  ont  to 
Edward  Bangs.  The  sixth  lot  laid  out  to  Thomas  Prence  was  pur- 
chased, June  24, 1668,  by  John  Dillingham,  who  also  purchased  the 
seventh  laid  out  to  Lieutenant  Joseph  Rogers,  of  Eastham,  a  fellow- 
passenger  with  Giles  Hopkins  and  John  Howland  in  the  Mayflower. 

The  third  lot,  laid  out  to  Nicholas  Snow,  of  Eastham,  was  purchased 
in  1669  by  Peter  Warden,  who  soon  sold  it  to  his  son-in-law,  Kenelm 
Winslow,  who  also  purchased  the  fourth  lot  of  Peter  Warden,  which 
had  been  laid  out  to  Stephen  Deane,  of  Plymouth.  Mr.  Thomas 
Clarke,  to  whom  was  laid  out  the  fifth  lot,  retained  in  his  possession 
the  lot,  together  with  all  the  right  he  had  to  the  undivided  land  be- 
tween the  two  rivers,  until  1693,  when,  by  deed,  he  conveyed  it,  with 
his  other  land  on  the  east  side  of  the  Sauquatuckett  river,  to  his  sons 
and  grandsons. 

But  a  short  time  after  the  "  Purchasers  or  Old  Comers  "  sold  their 
rights  to  the  land  between  Bound  brook  and  Sauquatuckett  river,  the 
heirs  of  Napoitan,  the  Indian  sachem  of  Barnstable,  claimed  rights 


TOWN  OF  BREWSTER.  895 

to  the  land  held  by  the  proprietors.  The  proprietors  very  wisely 
agreed  to  extinguish  their  title.  Whereupon  John  Wing  and  John 
Dillingham,  in  behalf  of  themselves,  "associates  or  partners,"  and 
"their  heirs  and  assigns,"  purchased  the  rights  of  the  heirs  of  Na- 
poitan,  and,  to  have  no  further  dispute  as  to  titles,  secured  from  the 
successors  of  the  "  Purchasers  or  Old  Comers."  to  whom  the  land  had 
been  granted,  a  quit  claim  deed  of  all  the  territory  between  the  Yar- 
mouth line  on  the  west  and  the  following  described  line  on  the  east: 
"  Beginning  at  ye  sea  where  Stoney  Brooks  runs  out,  and  so  ranging 
as  ye  brook  runs,  by  ye  middle  of  ye  mill  dam  yt  now  is;  from  thence 
ranging  south  until  it  meets  with  the  Yarmouth  line."  The  Yar- 
mouth line  at  this  time  ran  from  Bound  brook  where  the  road  crosses 
in  a  southeasterly  course  to  the  "  South  Sea."  An  account  of  this  line 
is  given  in  the  history  of  Harwich.  The  point  where  the  lines  formed 
a  junction  was  within  the  limits  of  the  present  town  of  Harwich. 
This  territory,  from  the  year  1669  to  the  incorporation  of  Harwich  in 
1694,  was  within  the  "  liberties  of  Yarmouth,"  and  within  its  limits 
the  settlement  of  the  present  town  of  Brewster  began.  The  territory 
on  the  east  side  of  Sauquatuckett  river  was,  from  the  same  date  to  the 
incorporation,  within  the  " constablerick "  or  "liberties"  of  Eastham. 

Settlers. — Among  the  settlers  of  the  place  before  1700  were: 
John  Wing,  John  Dillingham,  Kenelm  Winslow,  William  Griffith, 
Andrew  Clarke,  John  Freeman,  jr.,  Samuel  Sears,  Thomas  Freeman, 
Joseph  Paine,  Thomas  Crosby,  James  Cole,  William  Parslow,  John 
Gray,  Peter  Worthen,  Stephen  Hopkins,  William  Merrick  and  Jona- 
than Bangs. 

John  Wing,  a  Quaker,  came  from  Sandwich.  He  was  the  son  of 
John  Wing,  who  came  from  England,  and  finally  settled  in  Sandwich 
in  1639.  His  mother,  it  is  said,  was  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Stephen 
Bachilor,  noticed  at  page  368.  Mr.  Wing  was  a  large  landholder,  re- 
siding between  the  two  rivers.  His  death  occurred  in  the  summer  of 
1699.  He  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife,  Elizabeth,  died  Janu- 
ary 3, 1692.  She  is  called  upon  the  Yarmouth  records  "  Goody  Wing." 
He  married  for  his  second  wife  Merriam,  daughter  of  Stephen 
Deane  of  Plymouth,  whose  widow  married  Josiah  Cooke  of  Eastham. 
Miss  Deane  was  well  in  years  when  she  married  Goodman  Wing. 
She  died  in  1702.  By  wife  Elizabeth  John  Wing  had  seven  children: 
Susannah,  Ephraim,  Joseph,  Ananias,  John,  Oseah  and  a  son  who  was 
drowned  in  the  snow  about  December  11, 1648. 

John  Dillingham,  the  neighbor  of  John  Wing,  came  from  Sand- 
wich. His  father  was  Edward  Dillingham,  a  settler  of  that  town.  He 
was  born  in  England  about  1630.  He  removed  to  the  east  side  of 
Bound  brook  not  far  from  1667.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Friends,  and  the  records  show  that  meetings  were  often  held  at 


896  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

his  house.  He  was  a  large  landholder,  and  appears  to  have  been  the 
wealthiest  of  the  Sauquatuckett  settlers.  His  tax  paid  to  Yarmouth 
in  1676  amounted  to  £6, 17s.,  9d.  His  first  wife  was  Elizabeth  Feake 
of  Sandwich,  to  whom  he  was  married  March  24, 1660.  His  second 
wife  was  Elizabeth,  who  died  aged  seventy-three,  December  16, 1720. 
He  lived  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life,  and  died  aged  eighty-five.  May  21, 
1716,  and  was  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  west  of  Sauquatuckett 
river,  where  a  stone,  with  inscription,  marks  the  spot  of  burial.  He 
had  several  children.  His  only  son,  John,  born  in  1663,  died  Septem- 
ber 11, 1746. 

Kenelm  Winslow  came  from  Marshfield,  where  he  was  bom  about 
1637.  He  was  a  son  of  Kenelm  Winslow,  who  came  from  Droitwich, 
England.  He  married  for  his  first  wife  Mercy,  daughter  of  Peter 
Warden  of  Yarmouth,  about  1666.  She  died  September  22, 1688,  in 
her  forty-eighth  year,  and  was  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  at  East 
Dennis,  which  was  reserved  for  a  burial  place  by  her  brother,  Samuel 

Warden.     Mr.  Winslow  married  for  his  second  wife  Damaris . 

He  died  November  11, 1716,  and  was  buried  beside  his  wife  in  the 
Warden  burying  ground,  where  a  stone  with  inscription  marks  the 
place  of  his  sepulture.  He  resided  in  West  Brewster,  near  the  house 
occupied  by  Edmund  Hall.  He  was  a  wealthy  man  of  his  time.  He 
seems  to  have  been  of  a  different  religious  training  than  his  neigh- 
bors, John  Wing  and  John  Dillingham.  He  had  a  large  family.  He 
was  a  "  clothier  "  and  farmer,  and  owned  a  fulling  mill  on  Sauqua- 
tuckett river,  with  some  of  his  neighbors.  His  eldest  son,  Kenelm, 
bom  in  1667,  married  Bethiah  Hall,  January  5,  1689,  and  settled  near 
him.  From  this  Kenelm  descended  the  present  Winslows  in  the 
town. 

William  Griffith  came  from  Sandwich,  where  he  is  mentioned  as 
assisting  in  the  settlement  of  the  estate  of  Edward  Dillingham  in 
1667.  He  purchased  of  Thomas  Prence  one  half  the  com  mill  on  the 
Sauquatuckett  river,  removed  thither  and  occupied  a  place  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river,  and  became  the  miller.  He  sold  out  his  place, 
together  with  his  share  of  the  mill,  to  Thomas  Clarke,  and  removed 
to  the  vicinity  of  Monomoyick,  where  he  was  residing  in  1691. 
Stephen  Griffith,  who  settled  in  the  town  after  1700,  was  doubtless 
his  son. 

Andrew  Clarke  was  the  son  of  Thomas  Clarke  of  Plymouth.  He 
removed  to  this  town  from  Boston  about  1678,  where  he  had  married. 
Mehitabel  Scottoway,  and  settled  on  the  west  side  of  Stoney  brook 
upon  his  father's  land.  He  died  about  1706,  and  his  wife  died  in  1712. 
He  had,  besides  other  children:  Thomas,  born  in  Boston  in  1672,  set- 
tled on  the  east  side  of  the  river;  Scotto,  Andrew  and  Nathaniel- 
Many  descendants  of  Thomas  Clarke  are  yet  living  in  this  town. 


TOWN  OF  BREWSTER.  897 

John  Freeman,  jr.,  born  in  1651,  was  the  son  of  Major  John  Free- 
man of  Eastham,  and  settled  on  the  east  side  of  Sauquatuckett  river 
upon  his  father's  land.  The  precise  spot  where  he  built  his  house  is 
not  pointed  out,  but  there  is  evidence  that  it  was  on  the  north  side  of 
the  lower  road,  about  north  of  the  Freeman  house,  now  occupied  by 
Anthony  F.  Brier  and  near  the  cemetery.  Mr.  Freeman  took  but 
little  interest  in  town  affairs.  He  was  a  large  landholder  and  a 
highly  respected  citizen.  He  was  twice  married,  and  had  four  sons 
and  seven  daughters.  He  was  one  of  the  eight  who  formed  the 
first  church  in  1700.  He  died  July  27,  1721.  His  first  wife,  Sarah, 
died  April  21,  1696;  his  second  wife,  Mercy,  died  September  27, 
1721,  aged  sixty-three.  But  few  of  the  descendants  of  Mr.  Free- 
man in  the  male  line  reside  in  the  town. 

Samuel  Sears,  son  of  Paul  and  grandson  of  Richard  Sears,  born  in 
1663,  settled  not  far  eastward  of  Bound  brook.  His  first  house  was 
built  upon  the  spot  where  the  house  of  Constant  Sears  stands.  His 
second  was  built  where  the  late  Samuel  Ripley  Sears'  house  stands. 
The  last  one  was  taken  down  but  a  few  years  ago.  Mr.  Sears  was  a 
large  land  holder.  He  married  Mercy,  daughter  of  Samuel  andTam- 
sin  Mayo,  and  died  January  8,  1741-2.  His  wife  died  January  20, 
1748,  in  her  eighty-fourth  year.  He  had  two  daughters;  his  sons  were: 
Samuel,  Nathaniel,  Jonathan,  Joseph,  Joshua,  Judah,  John,  Seth  and 
Benjamin.     Joshua,  Judah  and  Benjamin  removed  from  town. 

Thomas  Freeman,  son  of  Major  John  Freeman  of  Eastham,  born 
in  1653,  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Sparrow,  December 
31,  1673,  and  not  long  after  settled  upon  land  here,  which  he  had  of 
his  father.  He  was  a  very  prominent  man  in  the  settlement,  was  one 
of  the  petitioners  for  the  incorporation  of  the  town,  and  in  1700  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  first  church.  He  was  the  first  town  clerk  whose 
name  appears  upon  the  first  book  of  Harwich  records,  and  one  of  the 
first  selectmen  of  the  town.  He  died  February  9, 1715-16.  His  wife, 
Rebecca,  died  in  1740,  aged  eighty-five  years.  He  was  the  first  dea- 
con of  the  church.  He  had  ten  children.  His  sons,  Thomas,  Ed- 
mund and  Joseph,  were  prominent  men. 

Joseph  Paine,  son  of  Thomas  and  Mary  Paine,  born  in  Eastham, 
married  Patience  Sparrow,  daughter  of  Jonathan,  Esq.,  and  sister  of 
the  above  Rebecca,  who  married  Thomas  Freeman.  He  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  church  in  1700,  and  one  of  the  first  selectmen.  He 
succeeded  Thomas  Freeman  as  town  clerk  in  1706.  He  died  of  a 
fever  while  in  office,  October  1,  1712.  His  children  were:  Ebenezar, 
Hannah,  Joseph,  Richard,  Dorcas,  Phebe,  Reliance,  Thomas,  Mary, 
Jonathan  and  Experience.  But  few  of  his  descendants  yet  remain  in 
town.     Prof.  J.  K.  Paine,  of  Harvard  College,  is  a  descendant. 

Thomas  Crosby  came  from  Eastham,  where  he  had  been  a  resi- 
57 


898  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

dent  many  years,  and  settled  in  the  east  part  of  the  town.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  1653,  and  was  some  time  after  1655  in 
charge  of  the  church  at  Eastham.  He  was  a  trader  in  Eastham  as 
well  as  here.  He  died  at  Boston,  suddenly,  while  there  on  business, 
June  13,  1702.  He  was  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  first  church  in 
1700.  By  his  wife,  Sarah,  he  had  twelve  children:  Thomas,  Simon, 
Sarah,  Joseph,  John,  William,  Ebenezar,  Mercy,  Ann,  Increase  and 
Eleazar.  Mercy,  Ann  and  Increase  were  triplets.  All  the  Crosbys 
of  the  town  are  his  descendants.  It  is  understood  that  he  was  the 
son  of  Mr.  Simon  Crosby,  who  came  from  England  and  settled  in 
Cambridge. 

James  Cole  came  from  Eastham,  where  he  was  born  November  30, 
1655.  His  father  was  Daniel  Cole.  He  was  one  of  the  petitioners  for 
the  incorporation  of  the  town.     He  died  in  1717. 

William  Parslow  was  an  early  resident.  He  married  Susannah 
Wing  and  settled  in  the  north  part  of  the  town.  He  has  no  descend- 
ants here. 

John  Gray  was  a  native  of  Yarmouth.  He  married  Susannah, 
daughter  of  Andrew  Clarke,  about  1693,  and  settled  upon  a  tract  of 
land  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  at  West  Brewster.  His  house  stood 
not  far  from  the  house  of  Nathan  Kenny.  He  was  a  wealthy  and 
influential  citizen.  He  died  March  31,  1732,  aged  sixty  years.  His 
wife  died  September  10,  1731,  aged  fifty-seven  years.  He  left  sons 
and  daughters.     He  has  no  male  descendants  in  Brewster. 

Stephen  Hopkins,  son  of  Giles  Hopkins  of  Eastham,  removed 
from  that  town  about  1702,  and  settled  upon  land  which  he  received 
from  his  father.  He  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Mary, 
daughter  of  William  Merrick,  and  his  second  wife  was  Mrs.  Bethia 
Atkins.  He  died  October  10,  1718,  aged  seventy-six.  He  had  six 
sons,  who  settled  in  the  town,  and  three  daughters. 

William  Myrick  came  from  Eastham  and  settled  within  the  limits 
of  the  town  after  1670.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  William  Merrick 
and  was  born  in  1643.  He  was  a  prominent  man  in  the  settlement, 
was  one  of  the  eight  who  formed  the  first  church,  and  was  a  selectman 
of  Harwich  several  years.  He  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was 
Mary,  daughter  of  Giles  Hopkins,  and  his  second  wife  was  Elizabeth. 
He  died  October  30,  1732,  aged  eighty-nine  years.  He  had  a  large 
family.     His  son,  Nathaniel,  born  in  1673,  was  a  prominent  man. 

Jonathan  Bangs,  son  of  Edward  Bangs,  it  appears,  was  not  a  resi- 
dent until  after  1694.  He  inherited  his  father's  possessions  between 
Sauquatuckett  river  and  Namskaket,  which  belonged  to  him  as  a 
"Purchaser  or  Old  Comer."  He  married  Mary  Mayo,  July  16,  1664. 
She  died  January  26,  1711,  in  her  sixty-ninth  year.  His  second  wife, 
Sarah,  died  June,  1719,  aged  seventy-seven,  and  in  1720  he  married 


TOWN  OF  BREWSTER.  899 

Mrs.  Ruth  Young,  daughter  of  Daniel  Cole.  His  sons  were  Edward, 
Jonathan  and  Samuel.  But  a  few  of  the  descendants  bearing  the 
name  yet  reside  in  the  town. 

Among  the  settlers  between  1700  and  1750  were  Thomas  Lincoln, 
Jonathan  Lincoln,  Nicholas  Snow,  Edward  Snow,  John  Snow,  James 
Maker,  George  Weekes,  Robert  Astine,  Judah  Berry,  Jonathan  Cobb, 
Chillingsworth  Foster,  John  Mayo,  John  Tucker,  Gershom  Phinney, 
John  King,  John  Fletcher,  David  Paddock,  Ichabod  Vickerie,  Patrick 
Maraman,  Richard  Godfrey  and  Seth  Dexter. 

Industries. — The  manufacture  of  salt  by  solar  heat  began  to  be 
an  important  industry  in  the  place  while  it  was  a  part  of  Harwich, 
and  continued  for  some  years  after  it  was  a  town.  It  was  estimated 
that  in  1809  there  were  between  sixty  and  seventy  thousand  feet  of 
works  within  the  township.  The  first  to  suggest  the  use  of  the  pump 
mill  in  filling  the  vats  with  salt  safer  was  Major  Nathaniel  Freeman, 
of  this  place,  in  1785.  The  use  of  the  rolling  roof  to  cover  the  vats  in 
case  of  rain,  was  the  invention  of  Reuben  Sears  of  this  place,  a  car- 
penter, in  1793.  This  industry  was  one  of  profit  at  the  start,  and  so 
continued  until  the  last  war  with  England,  when  it  began  to  decline. 

Before  the  revolution  this  part  of  Harwich  was  largely  interested 
in  the  whale  fishery.  The  vessels  engaged  were  sloops  and  schooners. 
The  business  was  lucrative,  and  the  neighborhood  was  greatly  bene- 
fited. The  foremost  in  the  business  was  Benjamin  Bangs.  He  had 
several  vessels  which  pursued  the  business  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence. The  industry  was  greatly  disturbed  by  the  revolutionary  war, 
and  was  finally  given  up.  In  1803  only  two  fishing  vessels  were  em- 
ployed. After  this  time  some  interest  was  taken  in  the  fisheries,  but 
not  as  formerly.  In  1845,  there  were  four  vessels  employed  in  the 
cod  and  mackerel  fishery.  At  the  present  time  no  vessel  Fails  frcm 
the  town.  The  culture  of  the  cranberry  is  now  engaged  in  to  a  con- 
siderable extent. 

Population. — The  population  of  the  town  according  to  the  United 
States  census  reports  has  been:  In  1810,  1,112;  in  1820,  1,286;  in  1830, 
1,418;  in  1840,  1,522;  in  1850,  1,526;  in  I860,  1,489;  in  1870,  1,263;  in 
1880,  1,144. 

Militia. — This  town  was  noted  for  its  interest  in  military  affairs. 
In  1810  a  company  of  artillery  was  organized  here,  with  Benjamin 
Foster,  captain,  who  served  till  June  2,  1812,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Abiel  Crosby.  Jeremiah  Mayo  succeeded  Captain  Crosby  March 
11,  1819,  and  served  until  July  18,  1820,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
Freeman  Higgins.  Captain  Higgins  was  succeeded  by  William  Shiv- 
erick,  in  1822,  who.  May  20,  1823,  was  succeeded  by  Joshua  Winslow. 
With  the  company  of  artillery  organized  at  Falmouth  in  1806,  a  batallion 
of  artillery  was  formed,  which,  with  three  Barnstable  county  regiments 


900  HISTORY  OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

of  infantry,  formed  the  Third  Brigade  of  the  Fifth  Division  of  Massa- 
chusetts militia.  The  majors  of  this  battalion,  belonging  to  Brewster, 
were  Benjamin  Foster,  commissioned  May  2,  1811,  and  Jeremiah 
Mayo,  his  successor.  May  29,  1820.  The  adjutants  of  the  battalion 
residing  here  were:  Joseph  Sampson  from  1812  to  1815;  William  Free- 
man from  1815  to  1819;  and  Ezekiel  H.  Higgins  from  1819  to  1823. 
The  battalion  was  disbanded  in  1831. 

Major  Elijah  Cobb,  of  this  town,  was  promoted  to  the  office  of 
brigadier  general  of  the  Third  Brigade,  April  11,  1815,  by  election, 
and  was  duly  commissioned,  taking  the  position  made  vacant  by  the 
resignation  of  General  Lothrop,  of  Barnstable.  General  Cobb  ap- 
pointed as  his  staff  officers  from  this  town,  Joseph  Sampson,  brigade 
major,  and  Freeman  Foster,  brigade  quarter-master.  General  Cobb 
was  succeeded  in  1821  by  Major  Jonathan  Mayo,  who  had  served  as 
major  of  the  battalion.  Brigadier  General  Mayo  was  succeeded  by 
Colonel  Ebenezer  D  Winslow  in  1830,  who  held  the  position  until 
1833,  when  Colonel  Sabin  Smith  succeeded  him.  While  Brigadier 
General  Winslow  was  in  command  of  his  brigade,  he  for  a  short  period 
acted  as  major  general  of  the  Fifth  Division,  in  the  absence  of  Major 
General  Washburn. 

Before  the  revolutionary  war.  West  Brewster  was  long  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Second  regiment  of  militia.  Thomas  Winslow,  who 
resided  westward  of  the  river,  was  the  colonel  many  years.  His  son, 
Zenas  Winslow,  was  some  years  lieutenant  colonel,  after  1776,  of  the 
militia,  while  Samuel  Knowles  was  colonel.  Colonel  Thomas  Winslow 
was  a  man  of  note.  He  occupied  many  important  civil  positions,  and 
died  April  10,  1779.  The  following  is  the  inscription  upon  the  stone 
erected  at  the  head  of  his  grave  in  the  Warden  burying  ground  at 
East  Dennis: 

"  In  memory  of  the  Hon.  Thomas  Winslow,  who  departed  this  life, 
April  10, 1779,  in  the  76th  year  of  his  age." 

Religious  Societies. — The  first  church  here  was  the  Congrega- 
tional, organized  October  16,  1700.  The  members,  beside  the  pastor, 
who  that  day  put  their  names  to  the  covenant  were  Thomas  Crosby, 
William  Merrick,  John  Freeman,  Thomas  Freeman,  Edward  Bangs, 
Simon  Crosby  and  Joseph  Paine.  This  church,  after  the  division  of 
the  town  into  precinct  or  parishes  in  1747,  and  upon  the  organization 
of  the  Second  or  South  church,  that  year,  was  called  the  First  church- 

The  first  pastor.  Rev.  Nathaniel  Stone,  was  a  native  of  Watertown, 
Mass.,  bom  in  April,  1667.  He  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in 
1690,  and  came  to  Harwich  to  preach  some  time  before  the  church  was 
gathered.  A  |sermon  he  preached  here  Sunday  forenoon,  March  6, 
1697-8,  from  Lam.  3.33  is  yet  preserved.  He  continued  in  the 
ministry  here  until  his  death  February  8,  1756,  in  his  eighty-ninth. 


TOWN   OF   BREWSTER.  901 

year.  Mr.  Stone  had  as  a  colleague  in  the  ministry  after  1748,  Mr. 
Dunster.  He  was  "  a  man  of  piety,  of  talents  and  of  firmness,  much 
revered  and  beloved  by  the  people  of  his  charge."  He  left  a  record 
of  the  church  over  which  he  was  so  long  pastor,  which  is  carefully 
preserved.  He  married  Reliance,  daughter  of  Governor  Thomas 
Hinckley  of  Barnstable,  and  was  the  father  of  twelve  children.  His 
eldest  son,  Nathan,  born  in  Harwich,  February  18, 1707-8,  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1726,  and  settled  in  the  ministry  at  Southboro, 
Mass.,  in  1730,  where  he  died  in  1781.  His  son,  Nathaniel,  born 
November  29,  1713,  died  in  1777,  was  a  prominent  man  in  this  parish. 
Mrs.  Stone,  wife  of  the  minister,  died  May  24,  1752,  in  her  eighty- 
fourth  year.  Mr.  Stone's  house  stood  but  a  short  distance  northerly 
from  the  house  of  Captain  William  Freeman. 

Rev.  Isaiah  Dunster,  the  second  pastor  of  the  old  church,  was  born 
in  Cambridge,  October  21,  1720.  He  was  educated  at  Harvard,  and 
graduated  in  1741.  He  was  ordained  as  the  colleague  of  Mr.  Stone, 
November  2,  1748,  and  was  continued  in  the  ministry  here  till  his 
death,  January  18,  1791.  His  first  wife  was  Hannah,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Josiah  Dennis  of  Yarmouth.  His  second  wife  was  Mary  Smith  of 
Pembroke.  Rev.  John  Simpkins,  jr.,  his  successor,  was  born  in 
Boston,  April  18,  1768,  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1786,  and 
was  ordained  pastor,  October  19,  1791.  He  continued  in  the  ministry 
here  till  1831.  His  death  occurred  at  Boston,  February  28,1843.  His 
wife,  Olive,  died  at  the  same  place,  April  14,  1844,  in  her  eighty-first 
year.  They  were  both  interred  at  Mt.  Auburn.  He  married  Olive, 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  Stone,  Esq.,  and  had  children:  Caroline,  Nath- 
aniel S.,  John,  Samuel  G.  and  Elizabeth.  Mr.  Simpkins'  house  was 
standing  a  few  years  since.  The  site  is  now  marked  by  the  house  of 
Captain  William  Freeman. 

The  successos  of  Mr.  Simpkins  was  Rev.  Samuel  Williams,  who 
was  ordained  April  25,  1832.  He  was  born  in  1803,  and  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1824.  He  continued  in  the  ministry  here  until 
1844.  He  married  Temperance  Mayo  of  this  town.  He  died  at  St. 
Paul,  Minn.,  October  21,  1884. 

Mr.  Williams  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  James  L.  Stone  in  1845.  He 
remained  here  several  years.  His  successor  was  Rev.  F.  R.  Newell, 
who  was  installed  November  13,  1847.  Mr.  Newell  was  pastor  to 
September,  1853.  He  married  Miss  Mary  D.  Berry  of  this  town.  He 
died  some  years  ago.  Among  those  who  supplied  the  pulpit  until 
Mr.  ChaflFe  came  were  Revs.  Bellows,  Pratt,  Damon,  Bridge  and 
Ponds. 

Rev.  Nathaniel  O.  Chaffe  supplied  the  pulpit  from  December,  1863, 
till  1855.  Revs.  Mosely  and  Orril  followed  Mr.  Chaffe  as  supplies  till 
the  meeting  house  was  closed  for  repairs.     After  being  opened.  Rev. 


902  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Moses  G.  Thomas  supplied  the  pulpit  a  while.  From  1856,  Rev. 
Thomas  W.  Brown  occupied  the  pulpit  until  1864,  when  he  closed  his 
labors  here  and  became  pastor  of  the  Sandwich  church. 

The  successor  of  Mr.  Brown  was  Rev.  Horatio  Alger,  jr.,  from 
December  8,  18G4,  until  1866,  followed  b  y  Rev.  George  Dexter,  who 
continued  pastor  until  1870.  Rev.  James  H.  Collins  succeeded  Rev. 
Mr.  Dexter,  May  7,  1870,  and  was  succeeded  in  1872  by  Rev.  Thomas 
Dawes,  who  is  yet  pastor  of  the  church. 

The  first  deacon  of  this  church  was  Thomas  Freeman.  He  was 
chosen  to  the  office  November  28,  1700.  Upon  his  death,  which  oc- 
curred in  1716,  "  Mr.  Thomas  Crosby  and  Thomas  Lincoln  were 
chosen  by  ye  Chh  with  ye  concurrence  of  their  pastor  to  succeed  in 
that  office."  Deacon  Crosby  was  succeeded  by  Chillingsworth  Foster 
and  Deacon  Lincoln  by  Joseph  Mayo,  in  1740.  At  the  death  of  Deacon 
Foster,  in  1766,  the  "  Chh  made  choice  of  Bro.  Heman  Stone  and  Bro. 
Edmund  Freeman  to  serve  in  the  deacon's  office,  the  pastor  the  same 
time  consented." 

The  first  house  of  worship  erected  in  this  place  stood  near  or  where 
the  present  Unitarian  church  stands.  In  1713,  it  having  been  found 
too  small  for  the  accommodation  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  a  vote 
was  passed  in  town  meeting,  October  14th,  "  to  build  an  addition  to 
the  back  side  or  end  eighteen  feet  in  breadth,  and  so  from  end  to  end 
of  the  meetinghouse  as  high  as  the  walls."  This  house  had  no  pews, 
excepting  one  occupied  by  the  minister's  wife.  The  enlargement  of 
the  house  caused  the  town  to  appoint  a  committee  to  have  the  seating 
"  of  parsons  or  to  place  parsons  where  they  should  sit  in  the  meeting 
house."  In  1715,  two  of  the  prominent  attendants.  Captain  Samuel 
Sears  and  Lieutenant  Thomas  Clarke,  thought  they  would  like  to  have 
pews,  so  permission  was  granted  them,  upon  condition  they  would 
"  fill  them  as  full  as  convenient;"  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
with  instructions  to  lay  them  out  in  some  vacant  place  at  each  end  of 
the  meeting  house,  and  "  not  to  straiten  the  allies "  in  doing  so. 
This  enlargement  seems  not  to  have  been  sufficient  for  Mr.  Stone's 
growing  congregation  a  few  years  later.  In  1722  a  vote  was  passed 
in  town  meeting  to  erect  a  new  meeting  house  near  the  site  of  the 
old  house  of  worship,  and  a  committee  of  five,  all  north  side  men,  was 
appointed  to  carry  on  the  work  at  the  "  town's  cost."  Their  instruc- 
tions were  to  build  it  as  they  thought  proper  as  to  "  length,  breadth 
and  height,"  and  have  it  "  built  with  good  timber,  boarded,  shingled, 
clapboarded,  plastered  and  glazed."  The  meeting  house  was  com- 
pleted and  places  for  pews  sold  in  September,  1723.  This  house  had 
galleries,  as  three  seats  in  the  men's  galleries  were  reserved  for  older 
boys  to  sit  in.  No  boy  above  twelve  years  of  age  sat  in  the  galleries, 
it  seems,  at  this  time.     The  old  edifice,  the  records  say,  was  given  to 


TOWN   OF  BREWSTER.  903 

John  Mayo,  who  had  been  "  burned  out,"  to  make  up  in  part  the  loss 
he  had  sustained. 

In  1760  the  meeting  house  underwent  repairs  at  the  expense  of  the 
precinct,  under  the  supervision  of  Benjamin  Bangs,  Colonel  Thomas 
Winslow  and  the  precinct  committee,  viz.:  Edmund  Freeman,  John 
Snow  and  Jabez  Snow.  Besides  repairing,  a  steeple  was  added,  on 
which  was  placed  a  "  ball  and  vane;"  a  small  porch  added  on  the  front 
side,  and  new  pews  made.  This  meeting  house  was  enlarged  in  1796, 
and  a  tower  and  steeple  erected  at  the  west  end  to  the  height  of  110 
feet.  In  1834  the  old  house  of  worship  was  taken  down  and  the  pres- 
ent one  erected  upon  the  site. 

The  Reformed  Methodist  Society  was  formed  in  this  town  in  1822. 
The  meeting  house  occupied  by  the  society  stood  in  West  Brewster, 
near  the  old  Methodist  cemetery.  It  was  taken  down  a  few  years 
since.  It  was  known  as  the  old  "  Red  Top."  Many  of  the  early  mem- 
bers of  the  society  had  been  members  of  the  first  Methodist  Society 
in  Harwich. 

The  Universalist  Society  was  organized  in  November,  1824.  The 
first  members  were:  Gen.  Elijah  Cobb,  Freeman  Foster,  Isaac  Lin- 
coln, Isaac  Lincoln,  jr.,  E.  D.  Winslow,  Barnabas  F.  Cobb,  Jonathan 
Thacher,  Barnabas  Thacher,  Heman  GriflBth  and  Theophilus  Berry. 
The  first  house  of  worship  was  erected  in  1828.  It  stood  on  the  south 
side  of  the  road,  nearly  opposite  the  present  town  hall.  Upon  the 
building  of  the  new  church  edifice,  in  1852,  it  was  removed  about  one 
half  of  a  mile  westward,  and  converted  into  a  dwelling  house,  which 
for  a  time  was  used  as  a  hotel,  and  known  as  the  "  Ocean  House."  The 
second  house  of  worship  was  dedicated  December  1,  1852.  The  so- 
ciety, becoming  reduced  by  deaths  and  removals,  the  house  of  wor- 
ship was  sold  to  W.  W.  Knowles.  The  surviving  members,  and 
others  in  sympathy  with  them,  erected  the  chapel  in  1879  in  which 
services  are  now  held.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev.  C.  A.  Bradley. 
Upon  the  dedication  of  the  finst  house  of  worship,  in  1828,  Rev.  Charles 
Spear,  well  known  in  after  years  as  "  the  prisoner's  friend,"  was  or- 
dained, a  church  organized.  Sabbath  school  and  an  eflBcient  benevo- 
lent organization  established.  Mr.  Spear  remained  with  the  society 
until  1832.  The  following  are  the  ministers  who  have  served  the  so- 
ciety since  1832:  Revs.  Abraham  Norwood,  1833;  N.  Gunnison,  1837; 
J.  V.  Wilson,  1839;  T.  K.  Taylor,  1840;  S.  Bennett,  1843;  N.  B.  New- 
ell, 1845;  O.  W.  Bacon,  1848;  W.  Bell,  1849;  Cyrus  A.  Bradley,  1851  to 
1857;  Luther  Walcott,  1857;  Thomas  Walton,  1858,  and  Cyrus  A. 
Bradley,  who  has  been  pastor  here  and  at  Yarmouth  Port  since  1873. 

The  Baptist  church  was  constituted  December  23,  1824.  The  first 
members  were:  Nathaniel  Hopkins,  Samuel  Berry,  Elisha  Crocker, 
John    Wing,  Barack    Eldridge,  Jonathan   Gray,   John    Bangs,  Lucy 


904  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Atwood,  Betsey  Crosby,  Elizabeth   Hopkins,  Abner  Robbins,  Sarah 
Crocker,  Betsey  Berry,  Priscilla  Snow,  Nancy  Mayo,  Sally  Winslow, 
Betsey   Doane,  Judith   Robbins,   Hannah  Wing,    Clarrisa  Winslow, 
Polly  Bangs,  Betsey  Crosby,  Sarah  Harris,  Dida  McCloud,  Hannah 
Crowell,   Lydia   Crowell,  Polly   Rogers,  Polly   Clark,    Rhoda  Sears, 
Patience  Eldridge,  Tabatha  Hopkins  and  Abigail  Dillingham.     Most 
of  these   persons  had  been  members  of  the  Baptist  church  in  Har- 
wich, and  were  dismissed  to  form  this   church.     The   first  deacons 
were  Elisha  Crocker  and  Abner  Robbins.     For  some  time  after  its 
organization,  the  church,  it  appears,  had  no   regular  pastor.     Rev. 
Otis  Wing,  a  native  of  the  place,  and  just  ordained  as  a  Baptist  min- 
ister, supplied  the  pulpit  a  period.     Rev.  Stephen  Coombs,  who  also 
had  just  entered   the  ministry,  supplied   awhile.     Rev.  Jesse  Pease 
preached   here   as  a  supply.     Rev.  John  Peak,  while   pastor  of  the 
Hyannis  church,  and  after  his  dismissal,  preached  here  occasionally. 
He  preached  here  several  Sabbaths  in  1828,  at  which  period,  of  the 
eight  Baptist  churches  in  the  county,  only  one,  the  West  Yarmouth 
Baptist  church,  had  a  pastor.     The  following  is  the  list  of  those  who 
supplied  the  pulpit  between  1833  and  1861:    Revs.  Henry  Marchant, 
Calvin  Clark,  Thomas  Conant,  David  Culver,  Joshua  L.  Whittemore, 
Stephen  Coombs,  John  Upton,  Enoch  E.  Chase,  Phineas  Bond,  Robert 
Lentell,  T.Wakefield,  Franklin  Daman,  Mr.  Conant,  N.  B.  Jones,  D.  P. 
French,  Mr.  Byrne,  Mr.  Upton,  Mr.  Demings,  Charles  G.  Hatch,  E.  E. 
Chase,  J.  M.  Mace,  Joseph   H.  Seaver,  W.  W.  Ashley,  A.  J.  Ashley, 
Mr.  Hill,  A.  J.  Ashley,  Mr.  Bronson  and  Mr.  Sherman.     In  1861,  Rev. 
Joseph  Barbour  came.    Since  1861,  beside  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  J. 
S.  Johnson,  the  ministers  have  been:    Revs.  E.  T.  Hill,  George  Car- 
penter, J.  Wassal,  Mr.  Adlam,  Joseph  B.   Reed,  William  R.  Elsdon, 
D.  C.  Easton,  O.  P.  Bessey,  William  H.  Fish,  F.  Purvis,  T.  P.  Briggs 
and  J.  C.  Lamb.    The  first  meeting  house  of  the  society  was  erected 
in  1828.     The  present  one  was  erected  in  1860,  near  the  site  of  the 
first  structure.     Elisha  Crocker,  for  a  long  time  the  church  clerk,  is 
at  present  a  deacon. 

Villages. — West  Brewster  was  once  a  village  of  importance.  It 
includes  what  was  formerly  designated  Factory  Village,  Winslow's 
Mills,  and  Brewster's  Mills.  The  Indian  name  of  the  whole  region, 
stretching  from  each  side  of  the  river,  was  Sauquatuckett,  which  for 
the  sake  of  brevity  has  long  been  called  Satucket.  It  was  on  the  east 
side  of  the  river,  in  "  Sachemas  Neck,"  that  the  Indian  sachem, 
Sachemas  had  his  planting  ground  and  probably  resided.  All  terri- 
tory bordering  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  below  the  road,  when 
the  settlers  came,  had  been  cleared,  and  was  known  as  the  "  Indian 
fields." 

The   first  grist  mill  built  on  the  river,  stood  near  on   the  spot 


TOWN   OF   BREWSTER.  906 

•where  the  present  one  stands.  It  was  built  through  the  efforts  of 
Governor  Thomas  Prence  before  1662,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Easthatn 
settlers  who  brought  their  grists  here.  Who  the  first  miller  was,  is 
not  positively  known,  but  there  is  some  evidence  that  John  Wing  was 
among  the  first.  The  records  of  Eastham  show  that  Mr.  Freeman 
was  asked  to  agree  with  John  Wing  for  the  building  of  a  chimney 
adjoining  the  mill.  This  mill  finally  passed  into  the  possession  of 
the  Clarkes,  Grays  and  Winslows. 

Very  near  the  grist  mill,  a  fulling  mill  was  erected  at  an  early 
date.  It  passed  into  the  hands  of  Kenelm  Winslow,  the  second  of 
the  name.  A  fulling  mill  belonging  to  Kenelm  Winslow,  was  burnt 
here  on  the  night  of  February  24,  1760,  consuming,  it  was  estimated, 
one  thousand  pounds  worth  of  cloth  which  had  been  left  here  by  per- 
sons living  in  various  parts  of  the  county. 

In  1814,  a  company,  consisting  of  Kenelm,  Isaac,  Nathaniel,  Abra- 
ham, Nathan,  Josiah,  Joseph  and  John  Winslow,  started  a  woolen 
factory  in  connection  with  the  fulling  mill  upon  Stoney  brook,  which 
was  in  operation  several  years;  but  not  proving  successful,  a  cotton 
factory  was  started  in  its  stead,  and  after  several  years  of  trial,  the 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods  was  given  up  and  wool  carding  and 
paper  making  were  engaged  in.  The  site  of  these  factories  is  now 
marked  by  the  grist, mill,  erected  a  few  years  since  by  Bartlett  Wins- 
low and  T.  D.  Sears,  and  now  owned  by  J.  Howard  Winslow.  The 
fulling  mill,  in  connection  with  the  woolen  factory,  was  for  awhile  in 
charge  of  Josiah  Wilder,  afterwards  of  Truro,  whilst  the  grist  mill 
was  in  charge  of  Heman  Winslow. 

The  Clarks  and  Wings  had  a  tide  mill  on  the  river  near  the  house 
of  T.  D.  Sears,  which  was  not  long  in  operation.  The  erection  of  this 
mill  was  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  Many  of  these  mills 
were  erected  about  that  period,  in  various  parts  of  the  county. 

The  traders  here  have  been:  Abraham  Winslow,  Frederick  Wins- 
low, Nathan  S.  Dillingham,  Nathan  Winslow,  Elijah  B.  Sears  and 
B.  B.  Winslow.  Abraham  Winslow's  store  stood  near  the  river. 
He  commenced  business  quite  early  in  the  century.  Mr.  Dilling- 
ham removed  to  Boston  and  carried  on  business,  and  died  a  few 
years  since.  Mr.  Sears'  store  was  west  of  the  river  on  the  road  to 
East  Dennis.  He  removed  to  North  Harwich  about  1866  and 
opened  a  store.  Bartlett  B.  Winslow  commenced  the  stove  and  tin 
plate  business  in  1854,  in  a  store  on  the  north  side  of  Main  street 
near  his  dwelling  house,  which  he  sold  in  1866.  Taking  in  Benja- 
min Freeman,  jr.,  as  partner,  he  built  the  same  year  a  much  larger 
store  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  in  which  was  carried  on 
the  stove  and  tin  plate  business,  in  connection  with  the  grocery 
trade.     In  1868  he  purchased  Mr.  Freeman's  interest,  and  continued 


906  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

the  business  until  1876,  when  he  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  stove  and 
tin  plate  department  to  Thomas  D.  Sears.  In  1884  he  sold  out  his 
other  store  business  to  Mr.  Sears,  and  is  now  engaged  in  the  cran- 
berry culture.  Mr.  Sears,  in  1887,  sold  his  interest  in  the  grocery 
business,  which  is  carried  on  in  the  store  on  the  lower  floor  of  the 
building,  to  F.  B.  Crocker,  who  still  continues  in  the  business.  Mr. 
Sears  yet  remains  in  the  tin  plate  and  stove  business. 

Isaac  Dillingham  was  engaged  here  in  1839  in  the  manufacture 
of  tin,  sheet  iron  and  copper  ware,  and  was  a  dealer  in  cooking 
stoves,  etc.  William  Winslow  carried  on  the  tanning  and  currying 
business  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  prior  to  1871. 

The  cabinetmakers  long  established  here  were  Joseph  and  John 
Winslow.  The  shoemaker  was  Freeman  Winslow.  He  was  actively 
engaged  here  about  1819.  The  hatter  was  Rev.  Davis  Lothrop,  who 
died  at  West  Harwich  in  1889. 

The  present  trader  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  is  Eben  F.  Ryder, 
who  is  the  postmaster. 

The  knitting  factory,  the  only  important  manufacturing  establish- 
ment of  the  place,  was  started  some  years  since  by  Robbins  &  Everett. 
They  first  occupied  a  small  building  near  T.  D.  Sears'  store.  After  a 
few  years  they  built  a  larger  two-story  building  on  the  north  side  of 
the  road,  westward  of  B.  B.  Winslow's  house.  Mr.  Everett  retired  in 
1889,  and  the  business  is  now  carried  on  by  Albert  Robbins,  the  senior 
partner. 

The  first  postmaster  of  the  place  was  Dean  Bangs.  He  was  ap- 
pointed April  26,  1826.  At  first  the  post  oflBce  designation  was 
"Brewster  Mills."  After  several  years  it  became  West  Brewster.  Mr. 
Bangs  was  a  school  teacher  and  wheelwright.  He  was  .succeeded  by 
Joshua  Winslow,  who  was  appointed  March  22,  1832.  The  postmas- 
ters since  then  have  been:  Frederick  Winslow,  appointed  March  23, 
1836;  Freeman  Ryder,  July  26,  1839;  Clarissa  Winslow,  May  31,  1848; 
Nathan  Winslow,  November  7,  1850;  David  Harwood,  Rodolphus 
McCloud,  Mercy  Ryder  and  Eben  F.  Ryder. 

This  part  of  the  town  is  somewhat  noted  for  its  old  houses.  The 
one  standing  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  about  forty  rods  eastward 
of  Bound  brook,  where  the  road  crosses,  and  occupied  some  years 
since  by  the  late  Miss  Vienna  Sears,  is  the  house  in  which  Captain 
Isaac  Sears,  the  distinguished  "son  of  liberty,"  who  figured  in  New 
York  as  "  King  Sears,"  first  saw  the  light.  It  was  built  in  1719  or  1720 
for  Joshua  Sears,  the  son  of  Samuel,  the  settler,  who,  in  1736,  re- 
moved with  his  large  family  to  Norwalk,Conn.  Isaac  Sears  was  bom 
here  in  1730,  and  was,  it  will  be  seen,  a  lad  when  his  father  removed. 
He  finally  settled  in  New  York,  and  was  one  of  the  foremost  there  in 
opposing  the  enforcement  of  the  stamp  act  of  1765.     But  few  men 


TOWN   OF  BREWSTER.  907 

were  better  known  in  New  York  during  the  years  preceding  the  revo- 
lutionary struggle,  or  were  more  active  in  the  cause  of  liberty.  At 
the  close  of  the  conflict  he  engaged  in  seafaring  business.  On  a 
voyage  to  Batavia  and  Canton  he  died  of  a  fever,  October  28,  1786, 
and  was  buried  on  French  island.  The  old  house  has  been  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Sears  family  since  its  erection.  A  few  years  since  it 
underwent  repairs.  Near  it,  to  the  southward,  is  the  old  Sears  bury- 
ing ground,  where  many  of  the  early  residents  by  the  name  of  Sears 
lie  buried.  Within  a  few  years  it  has  been  enclosed  with  a  durable 
fence  of  stone  and  iron.  On  the  old  road  from  the  Mill  brook  to 
Dennis,  eastward  of  the  house  of  Jeremiah  Walker  on  the  north  side 
of  the  road,  stands  the  house  built  for  Judah  Sears  about  1731.  It  is 
of  the  style  of  that  age,  two  stories  in  front  and  one  story  in  rear.  It 
is  now  much  in  need  of  repairs.  Judah  Sears  was  a  son  of  Samuel 
and  brother  of  Joshua  Sears,  and  removed  after  1752  to  Rochester, 
Ma.ss. 

The  date  of  the  erection  of  the  old  Dillingham  house  on  the  north 
side  of  the  lower  road,  not  far  eastward  of  Quivet  meadow,  is  not 
known,  but  there  is  an  impression  existing  that  it  was  built  very  early 
in  the  last  century.  It  stands  very  near,  if  not  upon  the  site  of  the 
first  house  built  by  John  Dillingham,  the  settler. 

The  house  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Julia  Winslow  and  the  one  next 
westward,  formerly  occupied  by  Joseph  Winslow,  are  considered 
quite  old.  These  houses  stand  on  the  high  ground  just  east  of  the 
river.  Mrs.  Winslow's  house  was  formerly  occupied  by  Nathan 
Winslow. 

The  Dillingham  burying  ground,  on  the  road  to  East  Dennis  west 
of  the  river,  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  is  the  oldest  in  this  part 
of  the  town.  The  oldest  stone  bearing  an  inscription  is  the  one  to 
the  memory  of  John  Dillingham,  the  settler,  who  died  "May  ye  21, 
1715." 

The  village  of  Brewster  includes  the  central  part  of  the  town,  and 
is  the  principal  one  in  the  town.  It  contains  the  Unitarian  church, 
Baptist  church,  the  town  hall,  library  building,  and  most  of  the  stores 
in  town.  This  portion  of  the  town  was  not  so  early  settled  as  the 
west  part.  Among  the  early  residents  were  Thomas  Freeman,  Jona- 
than Bangs,  Edward  Bangs,  Chillingsworth  Foster,  Joseph  Paine, 
Stephen  Griffith,  John  Mayo,  James  Cole,  Judah  Berry,  William  Mer- 
rick and  Edward  Snow. 

Prominent  among  the  traders  here  before  1800,  were  Edward 
Bangs,  Nathaniel  Stone,  Benjamin  Bangs,  Silvanus  Stone,  John  Silk 
and  Benjamin  Bangs. 

Edward  Bangs  had  a  store  and  public  house  where  the  Unitarian 
parsonage  stands.     He  was  in  business  here  in   1709,  in  which  year 


■908  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

his  barn  and  its  valuable  contents  were  consumed  by  incendiary  fire. 
He  died  in  1746. 

Nathaniel  Snow  occupied  a  store  near  his  house,  which  stood  just 
north  of  the  house  of  Captain  William  Freeman.  He  was  a  man  of 
business  in  every  respect.  He  was  succeeded  in  business  by  his  son, 
Silvanus  Stone,  who  continued  in  trade  after  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century. 

■Benjamin  Bangs,  a  grandson  of  the  innholder  and  shop  keeper, 
Edward  Bangs,  commenced  business  on  the  old  place  during  the  mid- 
-dle  of  the  last  century.  He  was  first  engaged  in  sea-faring  business. 
He  was  a  very  successful  merchant.  He  was  interested  in  the  whale 
fishery,  and  fitted  out  whale  vessels.  He  died  in  1769.  His  son, 
Benjamin  Bangs,  carried  on  the  store  business  here  before  and  after 
1800.  He  was  also  successful.  He  died  in  1814.  The  old  house  in 
which  these  three  traders  lived  was  taken  down  in  1868,  and  the 
present  house,  occupied  by  the  pastor  of  the  Unitarian  church,  was 
built. 

John  Silk,  an  enterprising  citizen,  opened  a  store  on  the  north  side 
of  the  road  opposite  E.  E.  Knowles'  house.  He  was  an  Irishman  from 
the  county  of  Kilkenny.  He  died  in  1793.  His  widow  married  Ed- 
ward O'Bryan  who  was  for  some  time  postmaster  here. 

Jeremiah  and  David  Mayo  had  stores  here  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago.  Elisha  Crocker,  jr.,  with  Mr.  Kimball,  opened  a  store  a  short 
distance  east  of  the  Unitarian  church  in  1852.  They  sold  out  their 
business  in  the  fall  of  that  year  to  W.  W.  Knowles,  who  continued 
the  business  at  this  place  until  1866,  when  he  purchased  the  Univer- 
salist  church,  fitted  it  up  for  a  store,  and  removed  his  goods  to  it,  and 
has  since  remained  here.  In  1880  he  took  in  his  son,  William  M., 
and  they  now  carry  on  the  business  under  the  firm  name  of  W.  W. 
Knowles  &  Co. 

Warren  Lincoln  opened  a  store  in  his  house  in  1853.  In  1865  he 
bought  the  building  occupied  by  Nathan  Winslow  as  a  store  in  West 
Brewster,  and  removed  it  to  the  present  site,  and  opened  a  store; 
since  which  time  he  has  continued  in  the  business. 

Freeman  Atwood,  who  opened  a  grocery  store  here  in  1877,  and 
his  son.  Freeman  D.,  have  a  fish  weir  on  the  flats,  which  was  first  put 
up  in  1857.  Near  Mr.  Atwood's  place  is  the  old  Atwood  House,  over 
a  century  old,  the  timber  of  which,  it  is  said,  was  cut  near  by. 

The  first  postmaster  at  Brewster  was  Silvanus  Stone,  appointed 
July  1,  1804.  His  successors  have  been:  William  Stone,  appointed 
October  1,  1805;  Edward  O'Bryan,  March  8,  1810;  Joseph  Sampson, 
October  1,  1816,  Jeremiah  Mayo,  February  11,  1833;  Dean  Bangs,  May 
8,  1849;  Ebenezer  H.  Knowles,  April  3,  1861,  Joseph  C.Crosby,  Martha 
B.  Huckins,  W.  W.  Knowles,  and  Frank  S.  Allen,  the  present  incum- 


TOWN   OF   BREWSTER.  90& 

bent,  who  was  appointed  in  1887.  Mr.  O'Bryan  for  a  while  kept  the 
office  upon  the  spot  where  Miss  Matilda  Cobb's  house  stands.  Mr. 
Stone  kept  the  office  in  his  store;  Doctor  Sampson  kept  it  on  the  cor- 
ner, while  General  Jeremiah  Mayo  kept  it  where  Captain  E.  E. 
Knowles  now  resides,  it  being  then  his  place  of  residence. 

The  Brewster  Ladies'  Library  Association  was  organized  by  the 
ladies  of  the  village,  December  23,  1852.  By  the  persistency,  stead- 
fastness and  zeal  of  the  members  from  very  humble  beginnings,  it 
has  now  in  its  possession  and  management  a  fine  building  and  library. 
The  building  stands  a  few  rods  west  of  the  Baptist  church  on  the 
south  side  of  the  road.  The  rear  part  of  the  present  structure  was 
the  first  erected  for  the  library  purposes  in  1868.  The  funds  for  its 
erection  were  obtained  by  the  young  ladies  through  entertainments 
given  by  them,  and  from  a  generous  contribution  by  the  late  Joseph 
Nickerson  of  Boston,  a  native  of  the  town.  The  library  has  increased 
from  210  volumes  in  1852  to  over  three  thousand  volumes  in  1889. 
The  officers  for  1889  were:  Miss  Lolie  Bangs,  president;  Miss  Hattie 
Burrell,  vice-president;  Mrs.  Zoeth  Snow,  secretary  and  treasurer; 
Misses  Lottie  Snow,  Sallie  Foster,  and  Mrs.  H.  J.  Collins,  directors; 
Mrs.  Emily  B.  Rowe,  librarian. 

East  Brewster  is  the  post  office  designation  of  the  territory  in  the 
northeast  part  of  the  town.  Among  the  early  settlers  here  were 
Stephen  Hopkins,  Mr.  Thomas  Crosby,  James  Maker,  William  Free- 
man, Richard  Godfrey,  William  Baker,  Nicholas  Snow,  David  Bur- 
gess, John  King  and  John  Snow.  The  principal  settlement  now  is 
along  the  main  road,  which  the  records  show  was  laid  out  by  the  town 
of  Eastham  is  1668. 

The  first  merchant  in  this  section  of  the  town  was  Mr.  Thomas 
Crosby,  formerly  of  Eastham.  He  went  to  Boston  on  business  in 
1702,  and  died  there  quite  suddenly.  Mr.  Crosby  was  engaged  for 
awhile  as  minister  in  Eastham,  before  Rev.  Mr.  Treat  came.  George 
W.  Higgins  of  Orleans  came  to  the  village  before  1827  and  com- 
menced business  as  a  trader.  He  sold  out  and  went  west.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Mrs.  Cynthia  Norway.  Joseph  Foster  was  her  successor 
in  1862.  He  died  in  1877.  The  store  in  1878  was  sold  to  Reuben 
Chapman,  who  in  partnership  with  his  brother,  Joseph  C,  carries  on 
business  as  Chapman  Brothers,  dealers  in  dry  goods,  groceries  and 
hardware. 

The  post  office  was  established  here  in  1826,  with  George  W. 
Higgins  as  postmaster.  He  held  the  office  for  more  than  thirty 
years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  Cynthia  Norway  in  1857.  Her 
successor  in  1862  was  Joseph  Foster;  but  he  dying  in  1877,  his 
widow,  Emiline  Foster,  succeeded  him.  She  was  succeeded  in  1886, 
by  Joseph  Chapman,  who  now  holds  the  office. 


910  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

The  fishing  business  was  carried  on  to  some  extent  at  the  shore 
some  years  since,  and  also  the  manufacture  of  salt.  The  physician 
of  the  neighborhood  for  more  than  twenty-six  years  after  1800  was 
Dr.  Nathaniel  Hopkins,  a  native  of  the  place,  father  of  Dr.  Thomas, 
who  died  here  a  few  years  since,  and  grandfather  of  Thomas  S. 
Hopkins,  a  lawyer  of  distinction  in  Washington,  D.  C. 

South  Brewster  is  the  post  ofl&ce  designation  of  all  the  territory 
south  of  the  railroad  station  to  the  ponds  between  the  town  and 
Harwich.  There  are  several  small  clusters  of  houses  within  the 
limits  of  the  territory.  The  business  quarter  is  at  the  railroad  sta- 
tion. Here  are  the  wholesale  grain  store  of  Richard  F.  Hopkins, 
established  in  1881,  and  the  wheelwright  shop  of  Henry  Hopkins. 
Among  the  traders  in  this  section  years  ago  was  Nathaniel  Myrick, 
who  was  the  postmaster  for  many  years. 

The  post  office  is  now  kept  at  the  railroad  station.  Richard  F. 
Hopkins  has  been  postmaster  since  1882,  succeeding  his  father, 
Richard  H.  Hopkins,  who  was  appointed  in  1871.  He  was  the  suc- 
cessor of  George  Hopkins,  who  held  it  at  the  station  while  he  was 
station  agent. 

The  Cape  Cod  Central  railroad  was  opened  through  this  place  in 
1865.  Among  the  station  agents,  besides  the  present  one,  R.  F.  Hop- 
kins, have  been  George  and  Richard  H.  Hopkins.  The  old  road  to 
Chatham,  laid  out  before  1682,  passes  through  this  section  of  the  town. 
The  principal  merchant  of  the  neighborhood  is  Richard  F.  Hopkins. 
He  deals  in  corn,  flour,  hay,  etc.  Not  far  southwest  from  the  station, 
on  the  road  to  Harwich,  many  years  since,  stood  the  edge  tool  manu- 
factory of  Wiliam  Burgess. 

Official  History. — From  the  organization  of  the  town  until  it 
was  united  with  Orleans  and  Eastham  in  1857,  as  stated  at  page  47, 
Brewster  was  represented  by  the  following  named  persons.  The 
first  year  of  service  is  the  year  preceding  the  man's  name,  and  the 
number  of  years  he  served,  when  more  than  one,  follows:  1803,  Isaac 
Clarke,  11  years;  1809,  Elijah  Cobb,  8;  1821,  Isaac  Foster,  2;  1827,  Ben- 
jamin Berry,  4;  1830,  Jeremiah  Mayo,  2;  1834,  Albert  P.  Clarke,  5; 
1835,  Nathaniel  Crosby,  2;  1837,  Solomon  Freeman,  2;  1838,  Josiah 
Foster,  2;  1840,  Freeman  Foster,  2;  1841,  Benjamin  Paine,  4;  1844, 
Elijah  Cobb;  1848,  Winslow  L.  Knowles;  1849,  Josiah  Seabury,  4; 
1856,  Tully  Crosby,  2. 

At  the  first  election  of  officers  for  the  new  town,  in  1803,  the  se- 
lectmen chosen  were:  Jonathan  Snow,  who  served  6  years;  Anthony 
Gray,  who  served  2  years;  and  Kenelm  Winslow,  who  served  3  years. 
In  1805  Jonathan  Berry  was  first  elected,  and  served  2  years;  in 
1806,  Joseph  Sears,  who  served  3  years;  in  1807,  Joseph  Snow,  2  years; 
1809,  David  Foster,  2  years;  Elijah  Cobb,  2;  and  Abraham  Winslow, 


TOWN   OF   BREWSTER.  911 

3;  1811,  Isaac  Clark,  8;  and  Solomon  Freeman,  4;  1812,  Thomas  Sea- 
bury:  1813,  William  Crosby,  14;  and  David  Nickerson,  3;  1816,  Benja- 
min Berry,  15;  1819,  Joseph  Smith,  9;  1825,  Joseph  Crocker,  2;  1827, 
Dean  Bangs,  5;  1828,  Isaac  Foster  and  Lewis  Howes;  1829,  Jonathan 
Freeman;  1831,  Franklin  Hopkins,  4;  1832,  Kenelm  Winslow,  3;  1833, 
Richard  Harding,  5;  1834,  Samuel  Myrick,  8;  1835,  Nathan  Sears,  4; 
1839,  Ebenezer  Higgins,  8;  and  Anthony  Smalley,  10;  1840,  Theodore 
Berry;  1844,  Jeremiah  Mayo.  11;  and  Joshua  Clarke,  7;  1848,  Dean 
Bangs,  2;  1849,  David  Mayo,  2;  1850,  Nathan  Winslow,  5;  1851,  Solo- 
mon Freeman,  8;  1854,  Jonathan  Freeman,  2;  1855,  Elisha  Crocker,  3; 
1857,  Bangs  Pepper;  1858,  Constant  Sears  and  Benjamin  Paine;  1859, 
Benjamin  Freeman;  Tully  Crosby,  3;  1860,  Rudolphus  McCloud,  2; 
1861,  Zoeth  Snow,  jr.;  1862,  William  Winslow,  2;  and  Charles  S.  Fos- 
ter, 27;  1864,  Bailey  Foster;  and  Strabo  Clark,  4;  1866,  Samuel  H.  Gould; 
1867,  Francis  Baker;  1868,  Joseph  Foster,  2;  1870,  Eben  F.  Ryder,  6; 
and  Samuel  T.  Howes.  5;  1875,  Charles  Freeman,  6;  1876,  Josiah  Fos- 
ter, 5;  1878,  Thomas  D.  Sears,  7;  1884,  Godfrey  Hopkins,  6;  1885,  John 
H.  Clark,  6;  1889,  Charles  E.  Sears,  2;  1890,  Tully  Crosby,  jr. 

The  first  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  town  was  Sylvanus  Stone, 
elected  in  1803.  His  successors  have  been  elected  as  follows:  In  1605, 
Joseph  Smith;  1818,  Benjamin  Foster;  1824,  Elijah  Cobb;  1828,  Jere- 
miah Mayo;  1831,  Benjamin  Mayo;  1832,  Freeman  Mayo;  1840,  David 
Mayo;  1848,  Dean  Bangs;  1858,  Samuel  H.  Gould;  1861,  Charles  S. 
Foster;  1889,  Freeman  M.  Snow.* 

The  following  report  of  the  meteorological  condition  of  Brewster 
during  the  year  1889,  together  with  a  summary  of  its  mortality  and 
condition  of  health,  was  contributed  by  Dr.  F.  A.  Rogers,  from  his 
own  observation  of  the  meteorological  condition  from  day  to  day  dur- 
ing the  year  1889. 

The  mean  atmospheric  pressure  for  the  whole  year  was  30.01 
inches,  which  is  very  little  above  the  true  mean  average  pressure.  In 
July  the  average  pressure  was  normal,  but  during  the  months  of  Feb- 
ruary, June,  August,  September,  October,  November  and  December 
the  pressure  was  above  the  normal,  while  January,  March,  April  and 
May  showed  considerable  departure  below  the  true  mean  pressure. 
During  the  month  of  August  there  was  the  least  variation  for  the 
year,  while  December  was  noted  for  the  greatest  range.  The  range 
for  the  year  was  1.996  inches. 

The  precipitation  for  the  year  was  an  average  of  about  four  inches 
each  month,  but  considerable  variation  existed  between  the  different 
months.  June  was  the  dryest  month,  and  August  took  the  lead  for 
the  amount  of  rainfall.  During  the  year  sixteen  inches  of  snow  fell; 
ten  inches  in  February  and  six  inches  in  December,  a  little  trace  fall- 
ing in  March. 

*  Mr.  Fame's  manuscript  ends  here. — Ed. 


912  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

As  compared  with  the  south  side  of  Cape  Cod,  Brewster  enjoys 
comparative  freedom  from  fog. 

Remarkably  high  winds  are  rare.  During  the  year  90,726  miles  of 
wind  passed  over  Brewster,  an  average  of  ten  miles  per  hour.  The 
month  of  most  wind  was  March,  9,783  miles,  while  August  had  only 
4,886  miles.  The  greatest  velocity  for  January  was  42  miles;  for  Feb- 
ruary, 37  miles;  March,  35  miles;  April,  30  miles;  May,  27  miles;  June, 
27  miles;  July,  25  miles;  August,  21  miles;  September,  34  miles;  Oc- 
tober, 29  miles;  November,  57  miles,  and  for  December,  38  miles. 

Brewster  enjoys  a  comparatively  even  temperature.  As  compared 
with  the  south  side,  it  is  cooler  in  summer.  Very  low  temperatures 
do  not  occur.  The  lowest  for  the  year  was  5°,  on  February  24  th;  at 
no  other  time  during  the  year  did  the  temperature  fall  below  10° 
above  zero.  The  mean  temperature  for  the  winter  months  was  37°, 
and  for  the  summer  months,  67.3°.  Once,  on  July  2d,  the  thermome- 
ter recorded  88°  in  the  shade,  but  as  a  whole  the  summers  are  noted 
for  being  cool  and  comfortable.  On  only  twenty-seven  other  days 
during  the  season  did  the  thermometer  reach  80°  or  more.  The  nights 
in  summer  average  16°  cooler  than  the  days,  and  during  the  whole 
year  the  mean  average  range  is  14.8°. 

This  peculiar  even  condition  of  the  atmosphere  favors  the  health- 
fulness  of  the  inhabitants.  By  not  subjecting  the  body  to  the  debili- 
tating effects  of  a  continued  high  temperature,  diarrhoeal  diseases  are 
very  infrequent.  Malaria  is  comparatively  unknown,  and  during  the 
past  seven  years  not  a  single  case  of  typhoid  fever  is  known  to  have 
originated  in  town,  but  all  the  cases  which  have  occurred  here  origi- 
nated elsewhere.  Among  the  diseases  met  with  here,  as  elsewhere 
in  the  county,  are  consumption,  acute  lung  diseases,  measles,  scarlet 
fever,  whooping  cough  and  the  like,  while  diphtheria  and  croup^ 
which  very  rarely  occur,  are  generally  of  a  very  mild  type. 

The  total  number  of  deaths  occurring  in  town  during  the  past  ten 
years  was  161,  an  average  of  sixteen  deaths  each  vear.  During  the 
year  1883  the  greatest  number  of  deaths  occurred,  and  in  1887  the 
least.  Out  of  this  number  only  twelve  were  children;  the  majority  of 
those  who  died  being  past  the  middle  period  of  life. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

Freeman  Atwood,  born  in  1827,  is  one  of  eleven  children  of  Barna- 
bas, and  grandson  of  Captain  Barnabas  Atwood.  He  married  Corde- 
lia T.,  daughter  of  Francis  Cahoon.  They  have  four  children:  Free- 
man D.,  Annie  C,  Myra  L.  and  Eunice  F. 

Elisha  Bangs,  born  in  1804,  was  a  son  of  Elkanah  and  Sally  Bangs. 
He  followed  the  sea  from  1818  until  1849,  twenty-seven  years  as  mas- 
ter mariner.     From  1849  until  his  death  in  1886  he  lived  retired  at. 


TOWN   OF  BREWSTER.  913 

his  home  in  Brewster,  where  his  widow  and  daughter  now  reside. 
Mr.  Bangs  married  Sarah  H.,  daughter  of  Freeman  and  Mehitabel 
(Low)  Foster.  They  had  five  children,  three  of  whom  are  living: 
Elisha  D.,  Herbert  H.  and  Loella  F. 

Rev.  Cyrus  A.  Bradley,  born  at  Dracut,  Mass.,  in  1822,  is  a  son  of 
Amos  and  Nancy  (Varnum)  Bradley.  He  entered  the  ministry  in 
1845.  Rev.  Bradley  married  Lucretia,  daughter  of  Freeman  and  Me- 
hitabel (Low)  Foster,  granddaughter  of  David,  who  was  a  son  of  Isaac, 
and  grandson  of  Chillingsworth  Foster,  who  built  a  residence  in 
Brewster  in  1699,  which  was  rebuilt  by  David  Foster  about  1793.  This 
homestead  was  owned  by  the  Foster  family  until  recently  purchased 
by  Rev.  Bradley.     He  has  one  son,  Asa  M. 

Anthony  F.  Brier,  son  of  John  F.  Brier,  was  born  in  1849,  at  the 
island  of  St.  George,  one  of  the  Azores,  came  to  America  in  1861,  and 
from  that  time  until  1885,  followed  the  sea.  He  was  master  of  a  fish- 
erman eight  years.  Mr.  Brier  has  kept  the  Brier  House  since  1883. 
He  married  Elizabeth  J.,  daughter  of  Emanuel  and  Elizabeth  R. 
(Ellis)  Dugan.  Their  children  are:  Annie  C,  John  E.  and  Clar- 
ence E. 

Reuben  and  Joseph  C.  Chapman  are  sons  of  Eben  and  Harriet 
(Knowles)  Chapman,  and  grandsons  of  Reuben  Chapman.  Reuben 
was  born  May  1,  1853,  and  married  Lizzie  B.,  daughter  of  Theophilus 
Harding.  They  have  three  children:  Joseph  O.,  Lucy  H.  and  Wil- 
liam. 

John  H.  Clark,  the  selectman,  born  in  1850,  is  the  only  living  child 
of  Strabo  and  Adaline  (Dunbar)  Clark,  and  grandson  of  Isaac  Clark. 
He  is  engaged  in  cranberry  culture  and  farming.  He  married  Celia 
A.,  daughter  of  Charles  H.  Parker. 

Elijah  Cobb,  born  in  1799,  in  Brewster,  was  the  oldest  son  of  Cap- 
tain Elijah  Cobb.  He  went  to  Boston  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  where 
after  a  few  years  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Cobb  &  Wins- 
low,  wholesale  grocgrs.  The  last  few  years  of  his  life  were  spent  at 
the  old  house  in  Brewster,  where  he  died  in  1861.  He  married  Caro- 
line, daughter  of  Captain  Sylvanus  Snow.  Their  two  sons— Elijah 
W.  and  Alfred  S.— are  deceased.  Five  daughters  are  living:  Caroline 
O.,  Helen.  Mary  L.,  Annette  T.  (now  the  widow  of  Freeman  Cobb) 
and  Emily  C.  Helen  married  James  A.  Dugan,  who  was  a  Harvard 
graduate  and  a  teacher  of  private  schools.  He  died  in  1860,  aged 
thirty-three  years,  leaving  four  children:  Caroline  A.,  James  W., 
Stephen  I.  and  Theodore  F.  Dugan. 

Walter  Freeman  Cobb,  born  in  1860,  is  the  only  son  of  Freeman 

and  Aunette  T.  Cobb,  grandson  of  Freeman,  and  great-grandson  of 

Captain  Elijah  Cobb.     Freeman  Cobb  was  an  active  business  man, 

and  was  engaged  in  business  in  Africa  from  1871  until  his  death  in 

58 


914  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

1878.  He  built  a  fine  residence  in  Brewster  in  1859,  where  his  widow 
and  son,  Walter  Freeman,  now  reside.  Mr.  W.  F.  Cobb  married 
Edith,  daughter  of  Edward  B.  Grant.  They  have  one  daughter, 
Edith  M.  Mr.  Cobb  has  one  sister,  Emily  (Mrs.  Henry  E.  Allen,  of 
Canada). 

Elisha  Crocker,  born  in  1814,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Elisha  and  Sarah 
(Snow)  Crocker,  and  a  grandson  of  Joseph  Crocker.  Mr.  Crocker  was 
formerly  a  boot  and  shoe  maker,  but  for  a  number  of  years  an  under- 
taker and  paper  hanger  in  Brewster.  He  is  a  deacon  of  the  Baptist 
church.  He  led  the  singing  and  was  Sunday  school  superintendent 
for  many  years.  He  was  first  married  to  Martha  Foster,  who  died, 
leaving  two  children — Martha  F.  and  Thomas  C.  His  second  mar- 
riage was  to  Mary  Elizabeth  Morse.  Their  children  are:  Elisha  W., 
Mamie,  Louis  A.,  Sadie,  Winthrop  N.  and  Grace  E.  Mr.  Crocker  has 
been  a  member  of  the  New  England  Undertaker's  Association  since 
its  organization. 

The  Crosby  Family. — The  reader  of  this  chapter  understands  that 
the  Crosby  name  became  early  a  part  of  the  history  of  Brewster,  and 
so  remarkable  has  been  the  success  of  the  later  generation  that  it 
must  be  regarded  here  as  among  the  most  prominent  families  of  the 
town. 

Among  the  descendants  of  Tully  Crosby  who  came  from  England, 
was  Josiah  Crosby,  of  Brewster,  whose  son,  Nathan,  lived  and  died  in 
the  northeastern  part  of  the  town.  His  wife  was  Anna  Pinkham, 
and  of  their  children,  three  sons  who  survived  the  latest — Nathan,  jr., 
Roland  and  Isaac — are  well  remembered  by  the  present  residents  of 
the  town. 

Nathan  Crosby,  jr.,  whose  portrait  appears,  was  born  here  Novem- 
ber 11,  1793,  and  when  a  young  man  he  went  to  Chatham  as  an 
apprentice  to  Mr.  Berry,  a  tanner,  and  in  1819,  with  his  younger 
brother,  Roland,  became  proprietor  of  the  establishment  in  which  he 
had  learned  his  trade.  Subsequently  they  built^  larger  plant  in  the 
same  locality,  between  Old  Harbor  and  the  town  hall,  between  the 
present  street  and  the  shore,  and  carried  on  a  successful  business 
until  1832,  when  Nathan  bought  a  farm  and  was  engaged  in  agricul- 
ture and  salt  making.  Three  years  later,  selling  all  his  interests  in 
Chatham,  he  returned  to  his  native  town  and  erected,  near  the  place 
of  his  birth  on  the  shore  of  Cape  Cod  bay,  the  house  in  which  the  last 
years  of  his  life  were  passed.  In  June,  1819,  he  married  at  Chatham, 
Ensign  Nickerson's  daughter,  Catherine,  who  died  in  1885.  Their 
children  were:  Ann  P.,  Albert,  Emeline,  Catherine  A.  N.  and  Nathan 
A. — the  youngest,  dying  when  a  young  man.  Mr.  Crosby,  after  his 
return  from  Chatham,  entered  largely  into  the  fishing  business,  own- 
ing many  vessels  at  different  times,  and  from  1851  to  1854  was  in 


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.    TOWN  OF  BREWSTER.  915 

business  in  Chicago  with  his  son  Albert,  and  brother,  returning  to 
Brewster  where  he  died,  November  21,  1882. 

He  lived  a  quiet  life,  and  except  one  year  in  the  legislature  as  a 
democrat,  he  held  no  public  office. 

His  oldest  son,  Albert,  went  to  Chicago  in  May,  1848,  becoming 
there  the  pioneer  of  that  large  and  ever  increasing  Cape  Cod  element 
which  has  made  indellible  marks  on  the  commercial  and  financial 
history  of  that  western  metropolis  which  now  counts  among  its  solid 
financiers  the  Nickersons,  of  Brewster  and  Chatham;  the  Lombards, 
of  Truro;  the  Swifts,  of  Bourne;  and  the  Underwoods,  of  Harwich. 

His  personal  credit  in  the  east  as  a  Crosby  and  a  Cape  Codder 
enabled  him  with  practically  no  capital  to  begin  a  business  in 
Chicago  with  $10,000  worth  of  Boston  goods,  and  establish  a 
wholesale  tea  and  liquor  business.  In  1851  he  established  there  the 
largest  manufactory  of  alcohol  in  the  west,  and  into  this  business 
came  two  uncles,  Roland  and  Isaac,  and  his  father,  Nathan,  as  above 
stated.  Albert  continued  the  business  until  the  1871  fire,  at  which 
time  he  owned  the  Crosby  Opera  House,  which  was  built  by  his 
cousin,  Uranus  H.  Crosby — another  Cape  Cod  man  and  son  of  Roland. 
His  fire  losses,  including  the  opera  house,  were  fully  one  and  a  half 
million  dollars — the  heaviest  individual  loss  sustained — but  before  the 
fires  were  out  he  was  drawing  water  from  the  river  to  cool  the  bricks, 
and  in  thirty  days  had  finished  and  resumed  business  in  a  brick  block 
two  stories  high  and  three  hundred  feet  long. 

Albert  Crosby  was  prominently  connected  with  corporate  enter- 
prises in  Chicago,  was  president  of  the  Chicago  City  Railway  Company, 
and  was  ten  years  president  of  a  large  brewing  company  there. 

Later,  after  ten  years  spent  in  travel,  he  again,  in  1884,  took  active 
management  of  his  interests  in  the  brewing  company  as  its  vice 
president  and  superintendent  until  1887,  when  he  retired  from  all 
active  business  in  Chicago.  Returning  then  to  Brewster  he  began,  in 
1888,  the  erection  of  "  Tawasentha,"  which  was  completed  according 
to  his  own  plans  in  1889,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  plate.  He 
employed  Cape  people  almost  entirely  in  the  construction,  having 
John  Hinckley  &  Son,  of  Yarmouth,  in  charge  of  the  carpentry.  It  is 
on  the  site  of  the  boyhood  home  of  Mr.  Crosby,  who,  with  filial  care, 
has  incorporated  into  a  wing  of  the  structure  a  portion  of  his  father's 
house.  The  building,  exceedingly  elegant  and  roomy,  is  of  the 
Romanesque  style  of  architecture,  with  elaborate  though  tasteful 
ornamentation,  surmounted  by  a  tower  sixty  feet  high,  commanding 
a  fine  view  of  the  bay.  Here  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Crosby  have  brought  all 
that  taste  and  wealth  can  suggest  to  adorn  the  mansion  which  is  now 
their  home.  Adjacent  to  the  house  is  a  brick,  fire-proof  art  gallery, 
seventy-five  by  fifty  feet,  in  which  they  have  deposited  a  rare  collec- 


916  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

tion  of  valuable  pictures,  statuary  and  bronzes — one  of  the  most  valu- 
able collections  of  art  treasures  in  the  state. 

Isaac,  youngest  child  of  Nathan  and  Annie  (Pinkham)  Crosby, 
was  born  May  6,  1809,  and  married  Mrs.  Eunice  Ryder  of  Chatham. 
They  had  three  children,  two  of  whona  survive.  He  received  the 
usual  New  England  district  school  education,  and  worked  while 
young  on  his  father's  farm.  Later  he  engaged  extensively  in  fishing 
and  salt  making,  displaying  the  same  faithfulness  and  energy  he 
ever  showed  in  all  his  business  affairs. 

In  1848,  his  health  failing,  he  decided  to  go  to  Chicago — then  a 
small  city  in  the  far  West — where  he  entered  into  business  with  his 
nephew,  Albert  Crosby.  Subsequently  his  two  brothers,  Nathan  and 
Roland,  joined  them,  and  for  many  years  their  interests  were  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  city. 

In  1855  he  returned  to  Brewster,  but,  finding  its  quietness  irk- 
some, he  engaged  in  business  in  Chicago  with  his  son-in-law,  S.  M. 
Nickerson,  residing  a  portion  of  the  time  in  Brewster,  and  becoming 
identified  from  its  commencement  with  The  First  National  Bank  of 
Hyannis — being  director  at  the  time  of  his  death,  May  20, 1883. 

Perhaps  no  better  tribute  can  be  paid  him  than  to  quote  a  few 
words  from  the  resolutions  passed  by  the  directors  of  the  bank  after 

his  death.     " in  the  death  of  Isaac  Crosby  we  have  lost  a  true 

friefid  and  the  bank  a  faithful  and  efiScient  oflBcer — one  of  its  earliest 
and  best  friends,  one  whose  life  was  upright  and  noble,  an  energetic 
and  successful  business  man,  who  unostentatiously  did  many  kind 
acts  in  his  daily  life." 

James  E.  Crosby,  son  of  Freeman  and  Rebecca  Crosby,  was  born 
in  1838.  He  began  to  follow  the  sea  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  and  four 
years  later  attained  to  master.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  in  foreign 
trade.  He  married  Modena  F.,  daughter  of  Rev.  Manard  Parker. 
They  have  four  children:  Freeman  M.,  Edwin  H.,  James  Harold  and 
Mabel. 

■  William  P.  Doane,  born  in  1842,  is  a  son  of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth 
(Rogers)  Doane,  grandson  of  Joseph,  and  great-grandson  of  Hezekiah 
Doane.  Mr.  Doane  followed  the  sea  from  1853  to  1879,  and  since 
that  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  cranberry  culture  and  farming.  He 
married  Helen  A.,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Thankful  (Sears)  Hall,  and 
granddaughter  of  Edmund  Hall.  They  have  two  children:  Earnest 
W.  and  Helen  S. 

Emanuel  Dugan  was  born  in  1833,  at  St.  George,  Azore  islands. 
His  father,  John  Dugan,  was  born  in  1809,  at  the  same  place.  Emanuel 
came  to  Cape  Cod  in  1848,  and  from  that  time  until  1876  was  engaged 
in  fishing.  Since  the  latter  year  he  has  been  a  farmer  and  cranberry 
grocer.     He  married  Elizabeth  R.,  daughter  of  Thaddeus  Ellis.     She 


Qy  J'  6£^-<^.i-^     -^'^.^^?-^  ,/^ 


TOWN  OF   BREWSTER.  917 

died  in  1888,  leaving  two  daughters— Elizabeth  J.  (Mrs.  A.  F.  Brier) 
and  Florence  M. 

Benjamin  F.  Fessenden,  born  in  1847,  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  and 
Clarissa  (Berry)  Fessenden,  grandson  of  Isaac  and  great-grandson  of 
Dr.  William  Fessenden.  Mr.  Fessenden  followed  the  sea  in  early 
life.  Since  1873  he  has  done  a  stage  and  express  business  in  Brews- 
ter, and  also  keeps  a  livery  stable.  He  married  Annie  Y.,  daughter 
of  Richard  and  Emily  (Eldridge)  Hopkins.    Their  son  is  Oliver  H. 

Josiah  Foster,  born  in  1823,  is  the  youngest  son  of  John  and 
Catharine  (Mayo)  Foster  and  grandson  of  John  Foster.  Mr.  Foster 
was  engaged  in  fishing  for  thirty  years,  and  since  1875  has  been  a 
farmer.  He  married  Caroline,  daughter  of  Eli  Small,  and  has  two 
children — Josiah  F.  and  Carrie  S. — one  daughter,  Emily  C,  died. 

Nathan  Foster,  born  in  1807,  is  a  son  of  Nathan  and  Polly  (Dil- 
lingham) Foster  and  grandson  of  John  Foster.  Mr.  Foster  was  for 
about  forty  years  a  resident  of  Harwich,  during  which  time  he  was  a 
merchant  there.  He  now  owns  and  occupies  the  homestead  of  his 
father  in  Brewster.  He  married  Lydia,  daughter  of  Judah  and  Sally 
(Hale)  Sears.  She  died  in  1888,  leaving  six  children:  Lydia  S., 
Martha  S.,  Polly  D.,  Nathan,  Judah  E.  and  Persis  S. 

Charles  Freeman,  born  in  1822,  is  the  second  son  of  William, 
grandson  of  Solomon  and  great-grandson  of  Solomon  Freeman.  His 
mother  was  Martha,  daughter  of  Daniel  Simonds  of  Lexington,  who 
served  under  Washington  as  private,  was  promoted  to  captain  and 
served  at  Trenton  and  Bennington.  Mr.  Freeman  followed  the  sea 
from  1832  until  1859,  sixteen  years  in  whale  fishing  and  eight  years 
as  master  of  a  whaling  ship.  He  was  six  years  in  Chicago  in  the 
pork  packing  business,  and  has  since  resided  in  Brewster.  He  mar- 
ried Mehitabel  C,  daughter  of  Zenas  Ryder  of  Chatham, Mass.  They 
have  one  adopted  daughter — Sadie  T.  Freeman. 

John  Freeman,  born  in  1835,  is  the  oldest  and  only  surviving  child 
of  John  and  Ruth  (Sears)  Freeman  and  grandson  of  John  and  Beth- 
iah  (Crowell)  Freeman.  He  began  going  to  sea  at  the  age  of  fifteen 
years,  and  from  1859  until  he  retired  in  1888  he  was  a  master  mar- 
iner. He  is  now  engaged  in  cranberry  culture.  He  married  Jane, 
daughter  of  Israel  Nickerson  of  South  Dennis.  They  have  one 
daughter,  Roberta  J.,  and  one  adopted  son,  John  H.  Freeman. 

William  Freeman,  born  in  1820,  is  the  eldest  son  of  William  and 
Martha  (Simonds)  Freeman.  He  followed  the  sea  in  the  merchant 
service  forty-three  years,  thirty-six  years  as  master.  His  first  wife, 
Phebe  H.  Hurd,  died  leaving  two  children — William  K.  and  Clara  D. 
His  present  wife  was  Hannah  R.  Gould. 

Edward  Frank  Hall,  born  in  1837,  is  the  youngest  and  only  sur- 
viving child  of  Edmund  and  Sukey  (Snow)  Hall,  and  grandson  of  Ed- 


918  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

mund  Hall.  Mr.  Hall  is  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  is  now  engaged 
in  cranberry  culture  and  the  manufacture  of  cranberry  barrels.  He 
married  Julia  W.,  daughter  of  Timothy  Jarvis.  They  have  three 
children — George  F.,  Arthur  S.  and  Emma  J. 

Samuel  S.  Hall,  son  of  Edmund  and  Sukey  (Snow)  Hall,  was  born 
in  1824  and  died  in  1878.  He  followed  the  sea  in  early  life  and  later 
was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  married  Thankful  S., 
daughter  of  Constant  and  Deborah  C.  (Hopkins)  Sears,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Elisha  Sears.  They  have  eight  children:  Helen  A., 
Thomas  S.,  Samuel  C,  Charles  E.,  Fred,  Susie  D.,  Elisha  S.  and 
James  C. 

Godfrey  Hopkins,  eldest  son  of  Godfrey  and  Reliance  (Mayo)  Hop- 
kins, grandson  of  Edmund  and  great-grandson  of  Jonathan  Hopkins, 
was  born  in  1832.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1846  until  1872,  being 
seventeen  years  master  of  vessels  in  the  foreign  trade,  and  he  is  now 
chairman  of  the  board  of  selectmen,  and  a  member  of  the  republican 
town  committee.  He  is  a  trustee  in  the  Cape  Cod  Five  Cent  Savings 
Bank.  He  married  Charlotte  A.,  daughter  of  Bangs  and  Julia  A. 
Pepper.     They  have  one  daughter — Emma  J. 

Richard  F.  Hopkins,  born  in  1852,  is  a  son  of  Richard  H.  and  Emily 
(Eldridge)  Hopkins,  grandson  of  Freeman,  and  great-grandson  of 
Nathan  Hopkins.  He  married  Celia  L.,  daughter  of  George  E> 
Thacher.     Their  children  are  Eva  M.  and  Emily. 

Elijah  E.  Knowles,  born  in  1829,  is  one  of  six  sons  of  Elijah  and 
Abigail  (Freeman)  Knowles,  and  grandson  of  Henry  Knowles,  whose 
father,  Elijah,  was  a  son  of  Edward.  Mr.  Knowles  followed  the  sea 
from  1844  until  1882,  as  master  mariner  twenty-seven  years.  He  is  a 
director  of  the  Cape  Cod  National  Bank.  He  married  Mary  F.,  daughter 
of  Nathaniel  Winslow. 

Henry  Knowles,  brother  of  Elijah  E.,  was  born  in  1834,  in  Brewster. 
Mr.  Knowles  began  going  to  sea  in  1848,  attaining  to  master  four 
years  later,  which  position  he  continued  to  fill  until  1870,  when  he 
retired  from  the  merchant  service  and  went  to  Rockford,  111.,  where 
he  was  a  successful  business  man  until  1889.  Mr.  Knowles  married 
Lizzie  D.,  daughter  of  Seth  and  Anna  (Knowles)  Collins.  Their  chil- 
dren are:  Grace  P.,  Herbert  E.,  Abbie  F.,  Royal  E.  and  Eddie  W. 
They  lost  two  children — John  C.  and  Effie  M. 

William  W.  Knowles,  born  in  1830,  in  Eastham,  is  a  son  of  William 
F.  and  Betsey  A.  (Doane)  Knowles,  and  grandson  of  William  Knowles. 
He  married  Temperance  P.  Matthews,  and  has  two  children — William 
M.  and  Hannah  H. 

Edgar  Lincoln,  youngest  son  of  Isaac  and  Desire  (Foster)  Lincoln 
and  grandson  of  Isaac  Lincoln,  was  born  in  1829.  He  has  followed 
the  sea  since  1844,  and  has  been  master  of  vessels  in  the  foreign 


TOWN  OF  BREWSTER.  919 

trade  since  1854.  He  was  first  married  to  Sarah  Lizzie  Atkins,  who 
died,  and  he  married  for  his  second  wife  Augusta  F.  Snow.  They 
have  one  daughter,  Edna  A. 

Joseph  Mayo,  born  in  1822,  is  a  son  of  Elnathan  and  Susan  (Paine) 
Mayo  and  grandson  of  Thomas  Mayo.  He  went  to  New  Hampshire 
in  1840,  where  he  was  a  carriage  maker  until  1862,  then  entered  the 
army  in  Company  D,  Fourteenth  New  Hampshire  Volunteers.  In 
November,  1864,  at  the  Battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  he  lost  his  right  arm. 
He  was  discharged  in  1865.  He  was  warden  of  the  New  Hampshire 
state  prison  from  1865  to  1870.  He  returned  to  Brewster  in  1886,  where 
he  now  lives.  He  was  married  to  Maria  L.  Huntington,  who  died,  leav- 
ing two  children:  Herbert  A.  and  Ann  Maria.  He  was  married  again 
to  Caroline,  daughter  of  William  Freeman.  He  and  his  wife  became 
members  of  the  Baptist  church  in  New  Hampshire  in  1842,  and  in 
1886  he  and  his  present  wife  joined  the  Baptist  church  in  Brewster. 

Captain  Frederic  Nickerson  was  born  at  West  Brewster,  Decem- 
ber 15,  1808,  and,  although  he  died  at  his  city  residence  in  South  Bos- 
ton, January  12,  1879,  he  claimed  his  native  town  as  his  home,  and 
there  he  had  passed  the  last  eighteen  summers  of  his  life.  He  was 
left  an  orphan  in  early  youth,  and,  with  his  brother  Thomas,  had  a 
home  with  an  uncle  at  Chatham.  He  was  young  when  he  went  to 
sea,  and  by  his  diligence  attained  to  the  command  of  a  vessel  before 
he  was  twenty  years  old.  After  a  term  of  years  as  shipmaster  he 
embarked  in  commercial  lines  of  business  in  Boston  with  his  brother 
David,  under  the  firm  name  of  David  Nickerson  &  Co.;  later,  after  his 
brother's  death,  it  was  changed  to  F.  Nickerson  &  Co. 

His  integrity  and  intelligent  management  of  business  interests 
called  him  to  fill  many  offices  of  trust  and  responsibility  in  monied 
and  social  enterprises,  and  it  has  been  said  of  him  that  wherever  he 
touched  business  it  was  dignified  and  made  better  by  his  influence. 
He  was,  for  seven  years  from  its  organization,  president  of  the  South 
Boston  Savings  Bank,  but  on  account  of  failing  health  resigned  the 
position  three  years  before  his  death,  although  continuing  in  the  re- 
lation of  trustee.  He  was  for  forty  years  a  director  in  the  Mechanics 
Bank,  which  trust  he  held  until  his  decease.  He  was  officially  con- 
nected with  the  Union  Pacific  Railway  Company,  the  Boston  Marine 
Society,  the  New  England  Insurance  Company,  and  the  Boston  Board 
of  Trade.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Commercial  Club,  and  had  large 
interests  in  several  railroad  enterprises  in  the  West.  In  his  business 
relations  Captain  Nickerson,  as  a  type  of  the  substantial,  genial,  old 
merchants  of  Boston,  won  the  esteem  of  his  associates,  who  rewarded 
him  with  honor,  while  his  life's  work  was  crowned  with  a  broad  finan- 
cial success. 

His  school  days  were  limited.     In  the  forecastle  and  the  ship's 


920  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

cabin  he  received  his  preparatory  course,  and  the  i:ounting  room  was 
his  Alma  Mater,  yet  we  find  him  making  a  place  for  himself  among 
the  business  men  of  a  great  city,  and  occupying  and  adorning  a  high 
plane  in  the  commercial  and  social  relations  of  life.  He  was  uni- 
versally beloved  for  his  excellent  traits  of  character,  and  the  business 
world  lost  a  master  by  his  decease,  the  Unitarian  church  an  important 
factor,  and  his  family  an  indulgent  and  devoted  husband  and  father. 
Captain  Nickerson  was  a  son  of  David  Nickerson  of  Brewster,  and 
a  descendant  from  William  Nickerson,  the  first  settler  of  Chatham, 
in  his  father's  line,  and  from  Governor  Hinckley  in  his  mother's. 
David  Nickerson  was  twice  married;  first  to  Priscilla  Snow,  and  their 
children  were:  David,  Joseph,  Jonathan  S.,  Frederic,  Thomas  and 
Priscilla  S.     He  married  Eunice  Freeman  for  his  second  wife. 

Captain  Frederic  Nickerson  was  the  fourth  son,  and  married  Ada- 
line  T.  Beck  of  Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  on  the  23d  of  June,  1833.  Their 
children  were:  Frederick  W.,  Alfred  A.,  Priscilla  S.,  Adaline,  and 
two  others  who  died  in  infancy.  The  mother  "survived  the  captain 
several  years,  departing  this  life  at  Brewster  in  July,  1887.  Of  the 
four  surviving  children  three  reside  in  Boston,  and  one,  Alfred  A., 
is  now  in  California.  At  the  death  of  Captain  Nickerson  the  several 
societies  of  which  he  was  an  honored  member  passed  memorials  of 
regret,  and  in  his  native  town  he  was  greatly  lamented. 

Eben  W.  Paine,  jr.,  only  son  of  Eben  W.  and  Betsey  (Snow)  Paine, 
grandson  of  Eben  and  Thankful  (White)  Paine,  and  great-grandson 
of  Ebenezer  Paine,  was  born  in  1837.  He  followed  the  sea  in  the 
merchant  service  from  1855  until  1886,  and  was  master  twenty-one 
years.  Since  1886  he  has  been  engaged  in  cranberry  culture.  His  first 
wife  was  Laura  A.  Clark,  who  died  leaving  one  daughter,  Laura  Isabel. 
His  second  wife  was  Mary  F.  Clark.  His  present  wife  is  Mary  Gorham. 
They  have  one  son,  Allen  T. 

Hiram  D.  Rowe,  son  of  Moses  and  Sarah  (Brown)  Rowe,  and  grand- 
son of  Jonathan  Rowe,  was  born  in  1828  in  New  Hampshire.  He 
studied  dentistry  in  Boston,  where  he  practiced  for  three  years,  and 
since  1856  he  has  practiced  in  Brewster.  He  married  Emily  B., 
daughter  of  Barnabas  and  Sabia  Paine,  and  granddaughter  of  Sylva- 
nus  and  Susan  Paine.  Their  children  are:  William  E.,  S.  Walter, 
Emily,  and  Grace,  who  died  in  infancy.  Sylvanus  Walter  Rowe  mar- 
ried Clara  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Edward  and  Elizabeth  Bird,  of  Fox- 
boro,  Mass.,  March  23,  1887. 

J.  Henry  Sears,  born  June  8,  1831,  is  a  son  of  Joseph  H.  and  Olive 
(Bangs)  Sears  and  grandson  of  Joseph,  who  was  a  direct  descendant 
of  Richard  Sears.  Mr.  Sears  was  married  in  1858  to  Emily,  daughter 
of  Daniel  Nickerson  of  Boston.  Their  children  are:  Alice  May, 
Emily  N.  and  Joseph  H.  Mr.  Sears,  ship  master  and  ship  owner  in 
early  life,  is  now  commission  merchant. 


TOWN  OF   BREWSTER.  921 

Thomas  D.  Sears,  son  of  Thomas  and  Elizabeth  F.  Sears,  and 
grandson  of  Reuben  Sears,  was  born  in  1845.  He  has  been  a  tinsmith 
since  1863,  and  since  1876  he  has  owned  and  operated  a  hardware 
store  at  Brewster.  He  was  married  to  Asenath,  daughter  of  Augustas 
Paine.     They  have  one  daughter,  Alice  F. 

Zoeth  Snow,  born  in  1825,  is  the  only  son  of  Zoeth  and  Sarah 
(Crosby)  Snow,  and  grandson  of  Zoeth  Snow.  He  is  a  blacksmith  and 
wheelwright.  He  served  nine  months  in  the  late  war  in  Company  E, 
Fifth  Massachusetts  Volunteers.  He  was  two  years  in  the  legisla- 
ture. His  first  wife  was  Lucretia  Crosby.  His  present  wife  was  Re- 
becca A.  Mayo.     They  have  two  children:  Irene  P.  and  Warren  F. 

Bartlett  B.  Winslow'  (Benjamin',  Deacon  Josiah",  Nathan',  Kenelm', 
Kenelm',  Kenelm',  Kenelm  Winslow',)  was  born  in  1829.  He  was 
thirty  years  engaged  in  mercantile  trade  in  Brewster,  and  since  1884 
has  been  engaged  in  cranberry  culture.  His  first  wife  was  Clarissa 
B.  Fessenden,  who  died  leaving  to  children:  George  B.  (deceased)  and 
Francis  B.  His  second  wife  was  LydiaE.  Harwood,  who  died  leaving 
one  daughter,  Lucy  H.  His  present  wife  is  Annie  M.,  daughter  of 
Dea.  Barnard  Freeman. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


TOWN  OF  TRURO. 


Exploration  by  the  Pilgrims. — Proprietors  of  the  Pamet  Lands. — Incorporation  of 
Truro. — Boundaries.— Natural  Features. — King's  Highway. — Pounds. — Industries. 
— The  Wreck  of  the  Somerset. — The  Revolution. — Gale  of  1841.— Various  Town 
Affairs. — Civil  History.— Churches. — Burying  Grounds. — Schools. — VUlages. — Bio- 
graphical Sketches. 


THE  territory  comprised  in  this  town  was  the  home  of  the  Pamets 
— a  tribe  of  the  Nauset  nation.  Its  importance  is  advanced 
when  the  reader  realizes  that  the  Mayflower  made  her  first 
anchorage  within  sight  of  its  wooded  hills,  and  that  upon  its  diver- 
sified surface  Miles  Standish  and  his  followers  made  their  first  explora- 
tions. November  15,  1620,  after  signing  the  compact  in  the  cabin  of 
the  vessel,  the  captain,  with  fifteen  men,  went  on  shore,  camping  that 
night  near  Stout's  creek,  or  perhaps  nearer  the  Wading  place  where 
the  eastern  causeway  now  stands.  The  next  morning  they  went  to 
East  harbor,  marching  around  the  Head  of  the  meadow,  and  as  their 
journal  says  "through  boughs  and  bushes  and  under  hills  and  valleys 
which  tore  our  very  armor  in  pieces."  In  this  place  they  saw  deer 
and  found  springs  of  fresh  water,  from  which  they  refreshed  them- 
selves. The  spring  now  near  the  marsh,  just  north  of  the  head  of 
the  meadow,  is  supposed  to  be  the  place  where  these  Pilgrims  slaked 
their  thirst.  From  East  harbor  they  went  to  the  valley  now  called 
North  Truro,  and  at  the  south  of  this  were  the  corn  lands,  embracing 
fifty  acres,  on  the  table  land  just  west  of  the  old  burying  ground. 
From  here  the  Pilgrims  went  to  the  shore,  thence  to  the  mouth  of 
Pamet  river,  on  the  north  side,  and  then  retraced  their  steps,  halting 
at  the  pond  in  North  Truro  for  the  night. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  they  went  easterly  to  near  where  the 
present  life  saving  station  is,  and  here  is  where  William  Bradford, 
one  of  the  company,  was  so  suddenly  caught  up  in  the  deer  trap  set 
by  the  Indians.  A  few  days  after  their  return  to  the  Mayflower,  the 
shallop  containing  in  all  thirty-four  men,  started  for  the  mouth  of 
Pamet  river,  up  which  the  shallop  went  following  the  men  who  were 
on  the  shore,  and  spending  the  night  in  an  improvised  camp  at  or 
near  where  Rev.  Noble  subsequently  lived.     The  next  day  the  expe- 


TOWN  OF  TRURO.  923 

dition,  daunted  by  the  hills  and  snow,  returned  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river  where,  on  the  north  side,  eighteen  of  the  men  encamped  and 
the   remainder   returned   to   the  vessel.      The   next  day  Longnook 
was  traversed   before   the  return  to  the   Mayflower;    and    from   the 
many  favorable  impressions  received  a  council  was  called  as  to  set- 
tling there.     Reasons  for  and  against  the  settling  of  the  colony  were 
given,  but  a  decision  to  look  further  led  the  Pilgrims  to  Plymouth. 
Thus  near  did  Tom's  hill  and  Truro  approach  toward  being  the  hal- 
lowed ground  of  New  England.    To  one  act  of  these  explorers  the 
Truro  people  can  point  with  pride,  because  of  the  plentiful  supply 
of  grain,  for  upon  these  trips  the  Pilgrims  took  from  pits  or  graves 
in  the  ground  not  only  nice  corn  for  their  present  needs,  but  their 
first  seed  com;  and  this  was  done  by  them,  intending  to  recompense 
the  poor   Indians   with    trinkets   when   they  could   make   a  better 
acquaintance.     The  territory  thus  trodden  by  the  Pilgrim  band  was 
not  settled  as  early  as  that  nearer  to  Plymouth,  and  was  really  un- 
occupied until  after  the  incorporation  of  Eastham,  and  then  formed 
the  seventh  town  of  the  county.     The  purchase   and  settlement  of 
Eastham  first  called  the    attention    of   the  pioneers  to  the  body  of 
land  beyond  the  north  bounds  of  what  was  known  to  the  Pilgrims 
as  Nauset,  and  at  the  time  the  northern  bounds  of  the  latter  were 
being  fixed  by  the  settlers  and  Indians,  the  territory  of  Pamet  was 
formally  declared  by  the  whites  as   belonging  to  them.     The  first 
settlers   of   Nauset   were   subsequent!)'   the    original   purchasers  of 
Truro.      As  early  as  1689    these   proprietors  purchased  as  much  of 
the  territory  of  Truro  as  the  Indians  would  sell,  and  from  the  first 
these   proprietors   of   Eastham   resolved   to   control   the   sale  of  its 
lands,  as  was  declared  in  a  meeting  of  these  men,  at  which  Thomas 
Paine  was  made  an  agent  to  purchase  of  the  Indians  from  time  to 
time  all  the  lands  obtainable.     In  1696,  "ordered  by  the  proprietors 
of  Pamet  lands,  that  henceforth  there  be  no  cordwood  or  timber  cut 
upon  any  of  the  common  or  undivided  land  belonging  to  Pamet,  to  be 
carried  off  from  said  land  "  under  a  penalty  of  15s.  for  every  cord  or 
proportionable  for  other  timber — and  payable  to  any  proprietor  who 
may  sue  therefor."     The  names  of  the  proprietors  who  subscribed 
to  this  were:    Jonathan  Paine,  Stephen  Snow,  Thomas  Paine,  Caleb 
Hopkins,  Ephraim  Doane,  John  Savage  and  Israel  Cole.     These  meet- 
ings were  held  at  Eastham,  where  as  yet  these  original  proprietors 
resided. 

A  record  of  several  divisions  of  upland  and  meadow  had  been 
made  several  years  previously  and  very  soon  after  its  purchase  from 
the  natives,  as  we  find  in  the  same  year  a  division  of  ten  lots:  one  to 
Ensign  Jonathan  Bangs,  on  the  southerly  side  of  Eastern  harbor; 
another  to  William  Twining,  on  the  south  of  Bangs'  lot;  the  third  to 


924  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Constant  Freeman,  and  to  be  next  south  of  Twining's;  Israel  Cole  was 
to  have  the  fourth,  and  next  south  of  Freeman's;  south  of  the  last  was 
that  of  Thomas  Paine;  south  of  this  was  the  lot  of  Thomas  Clark; 
Lieutenant  Joseph  Rogers  had  the  seventh,  next  south  of  Clark's; 
John  Snow,  the  next  lot  south;  Thomas  Paine,  the  next  one  south, 
and  Caleb  Hopkins  had  the  tenth,  and  next  south  of  the  last.  These 
lots  extended  from  the  bay  easterly,  and  they  are  the  first  recorded  of 
a  division  of  any  portion  of  the  lands  of  Truro.  Not  until  July  24, 
1697,  did  these  proprietors — still  residents  of  Eastham — hold  a  meet- 
ing to  arrange  for  a  removal  to  this  territory,  and  a  settlement  of  the 
bounds  of  their  purchases,  at  which  meeting  the  bounds  were  set 
from  Bound  brook  to  Eastern  harbor,  and  described  as  well  as  they 
could  be  in  that  day.  A  compact  was  also  made  with  the  Indians  that 
the  proprietors  should  have  one-eighth  of  all  the  drift  whales  of  both 
shores. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  purchases  were  made  of  the  Indians 
prior  to  1689,  but  it  was  by  individuals.  The  proprietors  of  Pamet 
were  tendered  a  certain  sum  in  a  purchase  made  by  Thomas  Smith 
in  1644,  which  controversy  was  satisfactorily  arranged  the  next  day 
by  a  bid  from  Mr.  Smith  of  thirty  pounds  for  the  right  to  the  land. 

June  4, 1700,  the  proprietors  made  their  first  declaration  to  remove 
to  Pamet,  the  following  being  the  record  :  "At  a  meeting  of  the  pro- 
prietors held  this  day  it  was  agreed  that  what  land  at  Pamet  might 
be  conveniently  divided  should  be  divided,  and  that  they  would  go 
thither  (God  willing)  on  the  last  Monday  of  October  next  ensuing, 
and  divide  accordingly."  That  there  were  people  on  the  territory 
previous  to  this  resolution  of  removal  by  the  proprietors,  is  shown  by 
a  further  agreement  at  the  same  meeting  which  was  to  give  "  five- 
and-twenty  shillings  "  to  any  of  the  people  of  Pamet  who  would 
"  make  a  suflBcient  fence  below  Eastern  harbor  pond  to  stop  the  sand 
and  keep  the  tide  out  of  said  pond."  The  Eastham  purchasers  were 
the  first  settlers  who  gave  to  the  territory  its  first  municipal  govern- 
ment, those  previously  there  being  fishermen  principally,  and  all  un- 
der the  jurisdiction  of  Eastham. 

No  record  of  the  removal  of  the  proprietors  was  made,  or,  if  so,  it 
was  lost ;  but  by  the  records  of  meetings  in  October,  1700,  it  seems 
that  they  were  in  Pamet  before  the  time  fixed  in  their  June  meeting ; 
and  among  the  first  acts  of  these  sterling  men  lands  for  the  support 
of  the  ministry  were  laid  off  at  Tashmuit,  and  near  Eastern  harbor;  a 
committee  was  also  appointed  to  sell  lands  in  behalf  of  the  pro- 
prietors. The  lands  for  the  support  of  a  learned  minister  were  in- 
creased for  three  successive  years,  selections  being  subsequently 
made  at  what  is  now  North  Truro,  also  at  Longnook. 

At  the  proprietors'  meeting  of  June  15,  1703,  Jedediah  Lombard, 


TOWN  OF  TRURO.  926 

jr.,  John  Snow  and  Thomas  Paine  were  appointed  to  run  bounds  be- 
tween the  great  lots  and  fix  the  bounds ;  also  to  record  the  same  in 
the  Pamet  books  of  record.  The  same  committee  laid  out  the  first 
road  of  the  town,  which  appears  on  the  records  of  1703,  the  road  run- 
ning from  the  "  head  of  the  pond  to  the  head  of  Pamet."  This  was 
called  a  "  Drift  Highway,"  and  was  laid  out  in  July  of  that  year.  The 
same  year  a  division  of  lands  near  Hog's  Back  was  made,  which  re- 
veals the  fact  that  this  knoll  had  been  previously  named  and  was  a 
well-known  landmark.  Jedediah  Lombard,  sr.,  had  his  lot  laid  out 
between  Thomas  Mulford's  two  lots,  one  of  which  was  near  Hog's 
Back  and  the  other  toward  the  pond  south  of  Pamet  great  river. 

The  shells  of  the  shellfish  being  needed  for  the  manufacture  of 
lime,  in  1705  these  proprietors  enacted  that  after  June  first  next  no 
shellfi!5h  should  be  dug  by  any  person  not  a  resident  of  Pamet.  In 
1711  the  proprietors  voted  that  no  wood  be  cut  within  the  limits  of 
the  common  lands  for  the  burning  of  lime,  except  by  the  rightful 
owners. 

October  29, 1705,  the  territory  of  Pamet  was  allowed  by  the  general 
court  the  privilege  of  choosing  its  own  oflBcers,  and  was  called 
Dangerfield — a  name  given  by  early  navigators,  but  one  which  was 
not  recognized  by  the  residents  in  any  of  the  records.  On  the  16th 
of  July,  1709,  Pamet,  as  it  had  been  previously  known,  was  incorpo- 
rated as  Truro,  with  full  powers  of  a  town  of  the  county,  but  a  strin- 
gent proviso  was  added — that  they  support  and  maintain  suitably  a 
"  learned  orthodox  minister." 

The  records  of  the  proprietors,  distinctive  from  the  records  of  East- 
ham,  commenced  in  1700,  and  in  the  meetings  as  recorded,  and  in  the 
admission  of  freemen  from  time  to  time  we  find  the  following  named 
persons  were  residents  when  the  town  was  incorporated:  Jedediah 
Lombard,  senior  and  junior,  Thomas  Lombard,  Dr.  William  Dyer, 
Benjamin  Smalley,  Thomas  Newcomb,  Isaac  Snow,  Jonathan  Collins, 
Nathaniel  Harding,  Joseph  Young,  David  Peter,  John  Snow,  Constant 
Freeman,  Thomas  Paine,  senior  and  junior,  Nathaniel  Atkins,  Francis 
Small,  Lieutenant  Jonathan  Bangs,  John  Rogers,  John  Steele,  Thomas 
Mulford,  Hezekiah  Doane,  Samuel  Treat,  jr.,  Hezekiah  Purington, 
Humphrey  Scammon,  Beriah  Smith,  Richard  Stevens,  John  Myrick, 
Moses  Paine,  Jonathan  Vickery,  Micah  Atwood,  Josiah  Cook,  Ebene- 
zer  Hurd,  Samuel  Small,  Samuel  Young,  Jonathan  Paine,  Edward 
Crowell,  Ebenezer  Smith,  Jonathan  Dyer,  John  Savage,  Israel  Cole 
and  Thomas  Smith. 

In  1711  we  find  additional  settlers,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  names 
of  the  residents  who  were  the  only  cattle  owners  in  Truro  that  yean 
Ebenezer  Doane,  William  Dyer,  sr.,  Jonathan  Collins,  Jeremy  Bick- 
ford,  Josias  Cook,  Jedediah  Lumbert  (perhaps  Lombard),  Jonathan 


926  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Vickery,  Constant  Freeman,  Samuel  Treat,  John  Snow,  Thomas  Lom- 
bard, Hezekiah  Purington,  Thomas  Rogers,  Benjamin  Smalley,  Rich- 
ard Webber,  Thomas  Smith,  Daniel  Smalley,  Christopher  Stewart, 
George  Stewart  and  William  Clark. 

May  6,  1712,  the  selectmen  of  Eastham  and  Truro  met  to  review 
the  bounds  between  the  towns  and  perfect  the  boundary  line  which 
had  been  but  partially  made;  and  in  1714  the  following  line  was  set 
between  the  province  lands  and  Truro:  "  Beginning  at  the  easterly 
end  of  a  clifif  near  the  cape  harbor,  called  Cormorant  hill  at  a  jawbone 
of  a  whale  set  in  the  ground,  thence  northwesterly  to  a  high  hill  on 
the  back  side,  and  thence  to  the  ocean."  The  province  lands  prior  to 
this  had  been  under  the  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  of  Truro,  and  these 
lands  west  of  the  line  were,  in  1717,  constituted  as  the  precinct  of 
Cape  Cod. 

The  following  year  the  people  of  Truro,  from  frequent  difficulties 
arising  out  of  the  uncertain  municipal  powers  of  the  new  precinct  of 
the  province  lands,  asked  the  general  court  by  Constant  Freeman, 
their  representative,  to  declare  the  new  precinct  either  a  part  or  not 
a  part  of  Truro,  that  the  town  could  know  how  to  proceed  in  regard 
to  some  persons;  but  not  until  1727,  when  Provincetown  was  incorpo- 
rated a  town,  was  the  difficulty  entirely  overcome.  Subsequently  the 
settlers  of  the  eastern  part  of  Provincetown  found  themselves  extend- 
ing the  long  street  of  that  town  into  Truro,  and  after  frequent  peti- 
tions to  the  general  court,  the  present  boundary  between  the  towns 
was  established,  giving  Provincetown  a  greater^xtent  of  territory. 

The  town  of  Truro  is  now  bounded  east  by  the  Atlantic,  south  by 
Wellfleet,  west  by  the  bay,  and  north  by  Provincetown  and  the  ocean. 
Its  distance  from  Boston  in  a  direct  line  is  only  fifty-seven  miles,  but 
by  railroad  it  is  112.  The  form  of  the  township  from  the  curving  of 
its  shores,  is  nearly  a  spherical  triangle,  being  about  eleven  miles  be- 
tween the  base  and  apex,  with  a  base  three  miles  wide.  The  sur- 
face is  very  uneven,  being  what  Professor  Hitchcock  calls  a  moraine, 
running  nearly  north  and  south;  but  its  elevated  ridge  has  been 
washed  into  conical  hills  two  or  three  hundred  feet  high,  giving  a 
singular  landscape.  The  township  is  free  from  rocks,  and  the  soil  is 
generally  sandy,  the  ancient  Tashmuit,  the  middle  eastern  portion, 
being  the  richest  part. 

Like  other  towns  of  the  Cape,  the  land  has  been  heavily  wooded 
and  fertile.  The  eastern  shore  is  fringed  with  salt  marshes,  and  these 
extend  far  up  on  the  sides  of  the  rivers  and  coves  that  exist  on  that 
coast  of  the  town.  The  east  shore  is  high  above  the  ocean,  and  all 
waters  run  westerly  to  the  bay.  Small  ponds  having  no  visible  out- 
lets abound.  Long  pond,  of  twenty-eight  acres;  Newcomb's,  of  thirty- 
two;  Higgins,  of  seventeen;  and  one  of  fourteen,  north  of  the  last,  are 


TOWN  OF  TRURO.  927 

the  chief  ones.  Mill  pond,  of  seventeen  'acres,  has  the  Pamet  river 
for  its  outlet.  In  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of  the  town  is  East 
harbor,  a  small,  shoal  tide-harbor,  but  by  drifting  sands  its  usefulness 
has  ceased,  and  the  extensive  salt  marshes  around  it  have  been  greatly 
diminished  from  the  same  cause.  Over  the  dyke  which  the  govern- 
ment built  along  the  beach  to  the  westward  of  the  harbor  the  present 
railroad  runs,  effectually  cutting  off  as  an  anchorage  this  body  of 
water  from  the  bay.  High  Head,  southeast  of  this  harbor,  was  a  con- 
spicuous settlement  in  the  earlj'  history  of  the  town,  but  now  contains 
only  three  residences.  East  Harbor  village,  also  a  prominent  com- 
munity a  century  ago,  was  adjacent  at  the  south,  but  not  a  residence 
remains.  From  this  litlle  village  of  twenty-three  houses  twenty-eight 
brave  men  were  killed  or  died  in  the  service  of  the  colonies  during 
the  revolutionary  war.  South  of  the  last  ancient  village  is  the  former 
Pond  village,  now  called  North  Truro.  Oile  mile  south  of  this  is 
Great  Hollow — another  small. community,  and  still  southward  is  the 
Pamet  river  and  the  community  known  as  Truro  village.  In  the  south- 
west part  is  another  little  village  known  as  South  Truro,  where  may 
be  found  the  heaviest  wood  land  in  the  town.  The  healthfulness  of 
the  town  compares  favorably  with  any  of  the  Cape,  and  with  the  ac- 
commodations and  advantages  presented  at  the  Highlands,  the  influx 
of  visitors  increases. 

In  1716  the  present  King's  highway  was  laid  out  through  Truro — 
to  connect  from  Eastham  to  and  through  the  province  lands.  It  was 
really  the  continuation  of  the  old  county  road  along  the  Cape.  It  ran 
along  the  back  side  of  the  town,  around  the  heads  of  the  rivers,  and, 
although  only  used  in  portions  at  the  present  day,  its  tortuous  course 
is  well  known  through  the  town. 

In  1718  the  town  ordered  the  erection  of  a  pound  in  a  central 
place,  and  Joseph  Young  was  appointed  its  keeper.  This  institution, 
unlike  the  stocks  and  whipping  post  erected  about  the  same  tim'e, 
has  been  kept  up  to  the  present,  there  being  at  this  'writing  three 
separate  pounds,  one  at  each  village. 

The  early  industries  of  the  settlers  were  fishing  and  agriculture. 
It  is  claimed  by  some  writers  that  Truro  was  the  first  and  most 
prominent  town  in  the  whaling  business,  but  that  after  a  few  years 
Falmouth,  Wellfleet  and  Provincetown  excelled.  The  whalemen  of 
Truro  were  distinguished  for  their  success  and  enterprise,  and  as  late 
as  the  beginning  of  the  pre.sent  century  the  town  had  nine  large 
vessels  in  the  business,  one  of  which  was  the  Lydta  and  Sophia,  built 
in  Truro,  on  the  Pamet  river,  and  her  timbers  were  cut  from  the  land 
of  the  town.  The  town  records  of  1720  speak  of  Joshua  Atwood's 
lance  "  that  he  hath  made  on  purpose  to  kill  fin-backs,"  describing 
the  pecularities  and  mark.     Captains  David  Smith  and  Gamaliel  Col- 


928  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

lins  are  recorded  as  the  first  whalemen  from  here  who  pursued  the 
whale  near  the  Falkland  islands.  The  Truro  captains  were  also 
largely  employed  in  the  merchant  service.  Fishing — the  present 
status  of  which  is  given  in  the  village  histories,  has  since  been  largely 
engaged  in.  The  bay  coast  has  been  the  scene  of  the  slaughter  of 
the  blackfish  in  considerable  schools,  the  largest  being  that  of  1874, 
when  1,405  were  driven  ashore.  They  lay  along  the  shore  for  a  mile 
between  Great  hollow  and  the  Pond  landing,  and  the  school  yielded 
twenty-seven  thousand  gallons  of  oil. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  town  of  Truro,  December  11,  1711,  it  was 
agreed  that  if  Thomas  Paine  would  set  up  a  grist  mill  within  said 
town,  he  could  take  three  quarts  in  toll  for  Indian  corn  and  two  for 
"  English  corn  "  (probably  the  other  grains),  and  the  town  would  give 
him  sixty  pounds  toward  the  construction  of  the  mill.  The  town 
subsequently  had  three  other  wind  mills  built — one  on  the  hill  where 
the  present  town  hall  stands,  owned  by  Freeman  Atkins,  Allen 
Hinckley  and  Samuel  Rider,  one  at  South  Truro  near  the  Wellfleet 
line,  and  another  at  the  Highlands.  The  latter  still  exists  as  a  con- 
necting link  between  the  past  and  present,  being  built  by  Isaac  Small 
and  owned  later  by  his  sons,  James  and  Joshua.  It  is  a  dismantled 
relic  used  as  a  lookout.  Its  creation  does  not  date  back  to  that  of  the 
ocean,  but  their  first  companionship  dates  back  of  the  memory  of 
man — the  huge  sails  of  the  mill  serving  for  a  welcome  sight  to  the 
watching  mariners  of  past  generations,  and  its  hulk  of  a  tower  now 
serving  the  present  for  an  elevated  sight  of  ocean  and  land.  Some 
of  the  old  residents  have  a  dim  tradition  of  yet  another  wind  mill 
at  East  harbor,  which  was  erected  by  Gamaliel  Smith,  and  was 
demolished  before  the  dawn  of  the  present  century.  Later  than 
these  wind  mills — in  the  later  part  of  last  century — a  water  mill,  for 
grinding,  was  erected  on  the  south  side  of  Pamet  river,  and  in  1844  a 
better  one  was  erected  upon  the  site,  which  in  its  turn  was  aban- 
doned before  1860  and  taken  down.  The  dam  is  now,  in  part,  a  prof- 
itable cranberry  bog. 

The  town  in  1764  gave  permission  to  Jonathan  Paine  to  build  the 
first  wharf  of  the  town,  on  the  shore  of  Indian  neck,  at  the  foot  of 
the  Thomas  Paine  lot.  The  wharves  erected  since  at  the  mouth  of 
Pamet  river,  have  been  ample  for  the  uses  of  the  people,  and  a  century 
ago  the  harborage  here  was  good.  In  1837  a  stock  company  built  the 
North  wharf,  which  was  in  active  use  for  many  years,  and  previous 
to  this,  in  1830,  the  Union  wharf  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  had 
been  built.  Of  the  latter  some  of  the  piers  yet  remain.  Lowerwharf 
was  subsequently  built  into  the  harbor  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and 
about  1837,  where  the  Old  Colony  railroad  bridge  now  crosses  Pamet 
harbor,  these  wharves  were  at  the  height  of  their  usefulness,  crowded. 


TOWN   OF  TRURO.  929 

■with  fishing  vessels,  fifty  of  which  have  been  seen  moored  to  the 
wharves  during  a  single  season. 

The  stores,  sheds  and  flakes  gave  this  portion  of  the  town  a  village- 
like appearance.  All  told,  the  town  had  sixty-three  vessels  in  the 
cod  and  mackerel  fishing,  which  yielded  annually  20,000  quintals  of 
cod  and  over  15,000  barrels  of  mackerel,  giving  employment  to  over 
five  hundred  men.  Here  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  fifteen  brigs 
and  schooners  were  built  between  the  years  1837  and  1851.  Henry 
Rogers  was  the  master  builder,  assisted  by  Nathaniel  Hopkins,  the 
former  a  resident  of  Boston  and  the  latter  of  Provincetown.  The 
Malvina,  built  in  1837,  was  lost  with  all  on  board  within  one  year.  The 
names  of  the  fourteen  others  were:  brigs,  Eschol,John  A.  Paine,  Odeon, 
E.  Paine,  2d,  N.  I.  Night,  David  Lombard,  Lauretta,  B.  A.  Baker,  L.  B. 
Snow,  Tremont,  E.  M.  Shaw,  Mary  Ellen,  Modena  and  Allegany.  The 
Modena,  built  in  1850,  was  framed  from  oaks  cut  within  the  town,  and 
more  or  less  of  the  timber  used  in  the  others  was  cut  there.  Standing 
now  on  the  railroad  bridge  over  the  very  site  of  the  busy  wharves, 
and  where  the  fifteen  fishing  and  coasting  vessels  were  built,  and 
seeing  the  present  sandy,  desolate  shores  and  choked  harbor,  it 
requires  a  stretch  of  imagination  to  realize  that  so  great  a  change 
could  occur  in  a  single  half  century. 

Soon  after  the  war  of  1812  the  packet  lines  to  Boston  were  thought 
to  be  a  wonderful  advance  of  improvement  in  communication;  but  in 
1858  the  Cape  Cod  Telegraph  Company  was  a  greater  step,  and  soon 
after  the  Marine  Telegraph  Company  was  organized,  which  flashed  to 
the  Boston  merchant  the  news  of  the  safe  return  of  vessels  as  soon  as 
they  were  visible  from  the  Highland. 

In  1839  the  Truro  Breakwater  Company  was  incorporated  with  an 
idea  to  benefit  the  harbor ;  but  failing  to  secure  aid  from  Congress, 
the  undertaking  was  abandoned.  The  harbor  at  Pond  village  re- 
ceived the  attention  of  the  government  and  the  Truro  people  very 
early,  and  as  late  as  1806  another  attempt  was  made  to  improve  it; 
but  the  drifting  sands  rendered  every  expenditure  useless.  The  dyke 
across  East  harbor  is  now  used  by  the  railroad,  and  the  high  embank- 
ments of  the  road  erected  in  1873  across  the  heads  of  the  remaining 
harbors  of  the  bay  shore  seriously  interfere  with  the  usefulness  of 
the  inside  anchorage.  The  government  provided  a  light  for  Pamet 
harbor  in  1849,  which  was  discontinued  in  1855  ;  and  during  the  lat- 
ter year  rebuilt  the  Highland  lights.  The  life  saving  station  near 
these  lights  was  erected  in  1872.  In  the  south  part  of  the  town  is 
another  station. 

Salt  was  manufactured  along  the  bay  side  of  Truro,  and  was  an 
extensive  industry  in  its  day.     Among  the  first  to  manufacture  was 
Dr.  Jason  Ayres,  who  erected  works   south  of  the  pond   at   north 
59 


930  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Truro,  which  were  subsequently  owned  by  Samuel  Coan.  Captain 
Elisha  Paine  had  works  next  to  Coan  on  the  south,  and  John  Smith 
erected  a  plant  next  north,  also  purchasing  that  of  John  Grozier  ad- 
joining. Next  north  were  the  works  of  Edward  Armstrong,  and  still 
further  north  Colonel  Joshua  Small  owned  a  plant  which  is  said  to 
have  been  the  first  in  town.  On  the  bay  shore  south  of  Elisha  Paine's 
were  the  works  of  Sylvanus  Nye,  and  adjoining  were  those  of  Jonah 
Stevens.  On  the  north  side  of  Little  harbor  meadows  were  located 
the  works  of  Michael  and  Thomas  Hopkins,  the  latter  works  passing 
into  the  possession  of  Doane  Rich,  who  owned  a  plant  on  the  south 
side  of  the  meadows,  and  both  of  which  were  subsequently  sold  to 
Solomon  Paine.  South  of  Paine's  were  Reuben  and  Jesse  Snow,  and 
on  the  north  of  the  Pamet  river,  near  the  present  railroad  depot,  were 
the  extensive  works  of  Michael  Snow.  Along  up  the  north  side  of 
Pamet  river  were  Lewis  Lombard,  Ephraim  D.  Rich,  John  Kenney, 
David  Lombard,  Shubael  Snow,  David  Smith,  Elisha  Paine,  Levi 
Stevens,  Hinks  Gross,  Jonathan  Whorf,  Joseph  Collins,  Freeman 
Atkins  and  Samuel  Ryder.  On  the  south  side  of  the  river,  commenc- 
ing near  the  depot,  were  Allen  Hinckley,  Michael  Collins,  Benjamin 
Hinckley  and  Leonard  P.  Baker;  and  further  up  the  river,  John 
Smith,  Ephraim  Baker  and  Solomon  Davis.  On  the  bay  between 
Pamet  river  and  South  Truro  Elisha  Newcomb  had  works,  also  Benja- 
min Hinckley;  Perez  Bangs'  works  were  about  half  way  between  the 
river  and  South  Truro,  and  Nehemiah  Rich  had  a  very  extensive 
plant  at  the  latter  place.  In  1837  Truro  had  thirty-nine  of  these 
works,  and  the  decline  of  the  business  commenced  soon  after. 

Along  the  King's  highway  were  the  usual  taverns  of  last  century, 
also  the  old-fashioned  stores  of  that  time,  where  the  few  necessaries, 
of  a  solid  and  liquid  nature,  were  kept. 

The  early  fishing  was  profitable,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
conducted  engaged  more  men  and  vessels  than  now.  The  vessels 
now  engaged  are  few  and  small.  Weir  or  trap  fishing  has  become 
more  profitable  and  along  the  bay  shore  are  twelve  large  weirs.  The 
most  northern  weir  is  at  Beach  point,  and  S.  B.  Rich  is  the  agent. 
There  are  six  very  extensive  ones  along  the  shore  to  the  south,  the 
business  of  which,  as  well  as  positions,  centers  at  North  Truro.  Of 
these  No.  1 — off  from  the  present  depot — was  built  in  1881,  and  is 
owned  by  Atkins  Hughes,  John  G.  Thompson  and  T.  L.  Mayo  &  Co. 
In  1882  No.  2  was  erected  by  the  same  parties  one  mile  north  of  the 
depot.  Ten  shareholders  in  1883  erected  No.  3,  one  mile  south  of  No. 
1;  and  the  same  year  No.  4  was  erected  one  mile  north  of  No.  2.  In 
1885  No.  6  was  erected  between  the  first  and  third,  and  is  owned  b}^ 
over  a  score  of  stockholders;  and  No.  6  was  sandwiched  between  the 
others,  forming  a  combination  of  companies  under  the  superintend- 


TOWN  OF  TRURO.  931 

ence  of  Atkins  Hughes,  who,  with  J.  G.  Thompson,  is  a  shareholder 
in  each.  These  weirs,  the  cost  of  each  of  which  was  about  six  thou- 
sand dollars,  are  each  2,500  feet  long,  extending  into  deep  water. 
The  pound  increased  the  expense  to  $8,000.  Some  wonderful  catches 
are  reported  from  these  weirs,  and  no  doubt  the  same  occasional  good 
luck  attends  others  on  the  Cape.  From  No.  5  of  these  traps,  one 
morning  in  the  season  of  1887,  forty  tons  of  pollock  were  taken,  and 
on  another  lucky  occasion  the  same  weir  furnished  in  one  day  330 
barrels  of  mackerel.  South  along  the  bay  are  four  more  weirs,  of 
which  Richard  A.  Rich,  S.  B.  Atwood,  N.  K.  Persons  and  William  F. 
Baker  are  respectively  the  captains.  At  South  Truro  is  still  another, 
of  which  D.  B.  Rich  is  agent.  These  weirs  give  employment  to  seven 
persons  each,  and  the  salting  and  packing  houses,  and  boats,  with  the 
necessary  appendages  for  the  business,  give  a  more  active  appear- 
ance to  the  shore  than  any  other  part  of  the  town;  and  it  is  well  to 
say  that  at  the  present  time  this  fishing  is  the  town's  most  important 
industry. 

The  ocean  side  of  Truro  is  probably  the  most  dangerous  shore  to 
mariners  that  the  Cape  presents,  and  into  the  history  of  Truro  many 
shipwrecks  of  home  and  foreign  vessels  could  be  interwoven.  That 
of  the  British  man-of-war,  Somerset,  in  1778,  will  not  be  forgotten  by 
the  residents,  for  the  hulk  occasionally  is  unearthed  by  the  action  of 
the  waves  upon  the  sands;  and  canes  and  other  relics  are  made  from 
the  oaken  timbers.  The  480  men  captured  from  this  unfortunate  ves- 
sel were  marched  through  Truro  on  their  way  to  Boston.  She  pre- 
viously lay  at  anchor  half  way  between  the  Pond  landing  and  Prov- 
incetown  for  nearly  two  years,  and  the  residents  had  been  distressed 
by  the  exactions  of  the  men,  so  that  when  the  vessel  was  finally  cast 
ashore  on  the  other  side  of  the  town,  the  opportunity  for  remunera- 
tion for  past  injuries  was  welcomed  by  the  Truro  people.  General 
Otis  said  it  was  the  occasion  of  riotous  work  at  the  wreck.  The  state 
took  proper  measures  and  the  sheriflF  sold  the  effects,  reserving  the 
cannon. 

Truro  was  greatly  bereaved  by  the  gale  of  October,  1841.  The 
records  say:  "  On  the  night  of  that  memorable  day,  October  3,  fifty- 
seven  of  our  brave  seamen  were  swept  from  the  shores  of  time,  their 
remains  sinking  into  one  common  watery  grave."  These  were  young 
and  middle-aged  fishermen,  mostly  engaged  at  the  time  of  the  storm 
on  the  George's  bank.  They  undertook  to  sail  to  the  Highland,  but 
were  carried  to  the  southeast  upon  the  Nantucket  shoals. 

A  breakwater  and  wharf  was  petitioned  for  in  1848,  the  first  to  be 
800  feet  long  and  550  feet  from  high  water  mark,  and  the  wharf  400 
feet  long.  This  would  have  afforded  shelter  for  boats  and  small  ves- 
sels, but  a  portion  only  of  the  work  was  constructed,  when  it  was 


932  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

found  that  the  wood  work  was  being  almost  immediately  destroyed 
by  worms,  and  the  work  was  abandoned.  Pamet  harbor  in  1853  re- 
ceived a  supposed  benefit  by  the  driving  of  spiles,  that  the  current 
might  deepen  the  channel;  but  after  an  expenditure  of  two  thousand 
dollars,  this  project  was  also  abandoned. 

After  years  of  discussion,  in  1840  cart  bridges  were  built  across 
Great  and  Little  Pamet  rivers,  and  have  since  been  kept  up  and 
greatly  improved.  These  and  other  advantages  of  access  led  to  the 
arrangement  for  a  town  hall  at  Truro  village,  the  church  having  been 
previously  used  for  public  gatherings.  Sometime  prior  to  1850  a  so- 
ciety of  Odd  Fellows  erected  a  hall  by  the  formation  of  a  stock  com- 
pany, and  this  was  purchased  by  the  town  for  town  purposes.  The  rec- 
ords yet  recognize  in  the  clerk's  minutes  the  old  name  of  Union  Hall. 
It  stands  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Pamet  river,  near  the  churches — a 
good  landmark  for  seamen  and  landsmen. 

The  poor  house  now  in  use,  erected  between  1840  and  1845,  is  also 
on  the  north  side  of  Pamet  river.  The  house  previously  used  by  the 
town  was  a  dwelling,  at  South  Truro,  which  was  sold  to  John  B.  Cooper 
after  a  larger  one  was  completed,  and  he  now  resides  in  it.  These 
town  buildings  and  the  office  of  the  clerk  and  treasurer  are  situated 
at  Truro  village,  where  the  town  business  has  centered.  When  the  fish- 
ing business  was  at  its  height,  the  enterprising  citizens  of  Truro,  in 
the  winter  of  1840-41,  instituted  the  Truro  Marine  Insurance  Com- 
pany. The  losses  in  the  gale  of  October,  1841,  seriously  crippled  the 
association,  and  after  another  year  of  unprofitable  business,  the  affairs 
were  wound  up.  The  Truro  Benevolent  Society,  established  in  1835, 
has  had  better  fortune  and  still  exists,  with  a  fund  of  several  hundred 
dollars  in  its  treasury.  It  is  similar  to  an  insurance  in  principle,  and 
by  the  payment  of  a  small  sum  annually,  the  member  has  a  certain 
amount  in  sickness,  or  at  death.  This  society,  well  administered,  has 
done  much  good. 

The  first  colonial  census,  in  1765,  gave  924  souls  in  Truro,  and  that 
of  1776  increased  the  number  to  1,227.  The  United  States  census  of 
1790  gave  1,193,  and  in  1800  the  population  had  decreased  forty-one. 
In  1810  the  salt  and  fishing  intere.sts  had  increased  the  number  to 
1,200,  and  then  the  growth  of  the  population  was  more  rapid.  In  1830 
it  was  1,547,  in  1840  it  was  1,920,  reaching  its  highest  number,  2,051, 
in  the  census  of  1850.  From  this  date  the  decline  was  as  rapid  as  the 
increase;  being  1,583  in  1860,  only  1,269  in  1870,  and  in  the  state  cen- 
sus of  1885 — the  last  general  enumeration  of  the  inhabitants — the 
number  was  972. 

The  descendants  of  the  early  proprietors  still  occupy  similar  posi- 
tions in  the  affairs  of  the  town,  and  in  part,  the  same  estates  of  those 
sterling  ancestors.     In  1800  there  were  twenty-six   families  of   the 


TOWN  OF  TRURO.  933 

name  of  Rich,  fifteen  of  Lombard,  fifteen  of  Snow,  ten  of  Paine,  and 
ten  of  Dyer.  There  are  many  old  houses  of  these  settlers  still  ex- 
tant, although  newly  covered  and  perhaps  modernized  beyond  recog- 
nition, the  oldest  being  one  on  the  northerly  side  of  Longnook,  built 
in  1710  by  Lieutenant  Jonathan  Paine,  and  now  the  John  Atkins 
place.  Here  Lieutenant  Paine  resided  when  he  sold,  in  1726,  his 
negro  boy,  Hector,  to  Benjamin  Collins,  which  was  the  last  bill  of 
sale  of  slaves  made  in  Truro.  The  present  valuation  of  the  town  is 
about  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  of  which  two-thirds  is  real  es- 
tate. The  yearly  expenses  of  the  town  are  over  f-ve  thousand  dol- 
lars. It  contains  262  dwelling  houses,  and  an  appearance  of  thrift, 
without  ostentation,  prevails.  The  financial  condition  of  the  town 
for  the  year  ending  December  31,  1889,  was  very  favorable  and  pleas- 
ing. The  close  of  the  year  1886  showed  a  town  debt  of  $1,724.74,  with 
a  tax  of  twenty  dollars  on  the  one  thousand  dollars.  In  1887  the  debt 
was  reduced  to  $286.05,  on  the  same  tax  rate.  On  the  last  day  of  De- 
cember, 1888,  the  debt  had  been  cancelled  and  the  town  had  money 
in  the  treasury,  on  a  tax  rate  of  $16.20  on  one  thousand  dollars. 
The  report  of  December,  1889,  showed  a  balance  of  $808.06  in  the 
treasury,  and  tax  rate  reduced  to  $14.60. 

Civil  History.— The  action  of  the  proprietors  prior  to  1705  can- 
not be  considered  as  the  acts  of  the  body  politic,  so  that  the  civil 
history  of  Truro  really  dates  from  1709,  when,  by  incorporation,  the 
town  commenced  its  municipal  government.  Many  acts  had  been 
voted  by  the  proprietors  prior  to  the  incorporation  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  shell  fish,  the  sedge  from  the  salt  marshes  and  the  setting  off 
of  lands  for  the  support  of  the  ministry;  but  the  order  of  the  general 
court,  that  town  ofi&cers  be  elected  on  August  first  of  that  year,  com- 
menced the  civil  history  of  the  town.  At  the  February  town  meet- 
ing,  1710, several  freemen  were  admitted,  and  Jedediah  Lombard  and 
Thomas  Paine  were  appointed  as  a  committee  "  to  buy  all  the  lands 
of  the  Indians  when,  and  so  often  as  any  of  said  Indians  shall  see 
cause  to  sell."  The  crows  and  blackbirds  were  voted  out  of  the  pale 
of  Puritan  society  because  they  pulled  up  and  destroyed  the  young 
corn,  and  in  1711  every  housekeeper  was  compelled  to  bring  eight 
blackbirds'  heads  and  two  crows'  heads  to  the  selectmen  or  pay  a  fine 
of  three  shillings,  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor;  a  premium  upon  the 
heads  of  additional  birds  was  also  voted.  The  same  year  several 
roads  were  laid  out  throughout  the  town.  In  1713  the  first  bounty  on 
a  wolf's  head  was  voted,  and  three  pounds  per  head  was  a  sum  that 
greatly  tended  to  diminish  the  number  of  these  thieves  in  the  town. 
The  first  burial  ground — mentioned  with  the  churches — was 
ordered  in  1714.  The  entry  was,  that  "  a  convenient  piece  of  ground 
on   the   north  side  of  the  meeting  house  be  cleared  for  a  burial 


934  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ground."  In  1715  Thomas  Paine  and  Thomas  Mulford  were  appointed 
by  the  town  to  meet  a  committee  fVom  Eastham  to  settle  the  bounds 
between  the  towns,  and  in  1716  voted  "  not  to  send  a  represen- 
tative to  general  court."  In  1721  the  town  meeting  voted  "  that 
the  swine  belonging  to  said  town  might  go  at  large  under  such  regu- 
lations as  the  law  has  provided."  The  receipt  of  the  bills  of  credit 
loaned  the  town  by  the  province  was  voted  upon  in  1728,  and  a  com- 
mittee of  three  was  appointed  to  receive  and  loan  it  out  again. 

In  1732  there  were  thirty-six  freemen  in  the  town,  and  it  will  be 
remembered  that  all  heads  of  families  were  not  freemen,  or  voters. 
The  bounty  on  wolf  scalps  had  been  continued,  and  this  pest  had 
been  diminished  in  number;  but  the  value  of  the  last  wolf  or  two 
was  the  foundation  of  the  vote  in  1739,  for  a  large  reward  to  any  one 
who  "shall  kill  the  wolf  that  of  late  has  been  prowling  about."  It 
seems  that  as  early  as  1745  the  boys  were  not  attentive  listeners  to 
the  long  sermons  of  the  day,  for  that  year  the  town  appointed  a  com- 
mittee, in  open  town  meeting,  "to  take  care  of  the  boys  that  they 
don't  play  in  meeting  on  the  Sabbath."  This  important  town  office 
was  continued  and  filled  by  various  personages  for  many  years,  and 
the  power  to  castigate  these  restless  young  sprouts  was  subsequently 
given  to  these  officers. 

The  use  of  the  common  lands  for  keeping  and  feeding  cattle  was 
made  a  topic  of  discussion  and  vote  in  1745,  and  the  cutting  of  trees 
at  East  harbor  within  160  rods  of  the  high  water  mark  was  pro- 
hibited. Many  of  these  town  enactments  look  quite  superfluous  to 
the  reader,  but  the  time  and  circumstances  made  them  necessary. 
Why  any  boy  under  ten  years  of  age  should  not  be  engaged  to  drive 
blackfish  or  porpoises  seems  a  strange  law,  but  the  town  ordered  it  so 
in  1763. 

Year  after  year  the  regfular  and  special  town  meetings  provided 
for  the  schools,  the  roads,  the  election  of  officers  and  the  proper  care 
of  the  meeting  house  until  1773-1774,  when  the  taxes  of  the  mother 
country  became  a  matter  of  discussion  and  vote,  and  the  town  ap- 
pointed Captain  Joshua  Atkins,  Isaiah  Atkins,  Dea.  Joshua  Freeman, 
Dr.  Samuel  Adams,  Ephraim  Harding,  Thacher  Rich,  Nathaniel 
Harding,  Benjamin  Atkins  and  Hezakiah  Harding,  a  committee  to 
prepare  a  proper  resolve  concerning  the  introduction  of  teas  subject 
to  duty.  This  committee  reported  a  long  preamble  and  resolution 
which  stand  on  the  records  as  a  lasting  memorial  of  the  loyalty  of  the 
town  during  the  dark  days  of  the  revolutionary  war.  It  is  worthy  of 
the  town  to  know  that  this  strong  resolution  was  passed  without  a 
dissenting  voice.  The  town  in  its  meetings  organized  military  com- 
panies, appointed  watches  and  guards,  provided  powder  and  other 
munitions  of  war. 


TOWN  OF  TRURO.  936 

The  seamen  of  Truro  filled  an  important  part  in  the  capture  of 
British  privateers  during  the  revolutionary  war,  and  many  Truro 
men  were  captured  and  imprisoned  by  the  enemy.  The  fleet  of  the 
enemy  constantly  menaced  the  town,  which  must  be  protected  by  its 
own  citizens.  One  incident  worthy  of  record  occurred  near  Pond 
landing.  One  day  the  enemy  were  about  to  land  a  body  of  men  to 
plunder  the  town,  when  the  exempts  and  town  militia  resorted  to 
stratagem  to  ward  off  a  blow  which  could  not  otherwise  be  averted. 
A  small  body  of  these  citizens  marched  to  the  shore,  keeping  behind 
an  elevation  of  land  until  prepared  to  carry  out  the  ruse,  which  was  to 
.  continuously  march  around  the  knoll,  giving  the  impression  to  the 
marauding  party  that  a  large  force  of  soldiers  were  congregating  to 
oppose  them.  The  apparent  assembling  of  company  after  company 
had  the  desired  effect  upon  the  British  commander,  who  judged  it 
prudent  not  to  land.  The  town  was  among  the  most  loyal  to  instruct 
its  representative  "to  fall  in  with  the  Continental  Congress." 

The  records  of  the  town  are  filled  with  the  resolves  and  proceed- 
ings of  the  town  meetings  during  the  war  of  1812,  and  the  war  of  the 
rebellion;  and  the  standing  of  the  town  in  the  scale  of  duty  during 
these  struggles  is  one  of  which  the  present  generation  may  justly  be 
proud. 

The  town  was  not  represented  in  general  court  until  five  years 
after  its  incorporation,  and  during  the  period  it  was  entitled  to  a 
representative  it  did  not  always  send  one.  The  following  list  gives 
the  names  of  the  representatives  the  first  year  of  election,  and  the 
number  of  years  each  served  if  more  than  one:  1714,  Thomas  Paine, 
6  years;  1715,  Constant  Freeman;  1717,  Thomas  Mulford,2;  1721,  John 
Snow,  3;  1723,  Jonathan  Paine,  3;  1767,  Barnabas  Paine;  1761,  Isaiah 
Atkins;  1774;  Benjamin  Atkins;  1776,  Samuel  Harding;  1776,  Reuben 
Higgins,  2;  1779,  Sylvanus  Snow,  2;  William  Thayer,  2;  1786,  Ephraim 
Harding,  3;  1791,  Anthony  Snow,  jr.,  6;  1800,  Levi  Stevens;  1810, 
Israel  Lombard,  jr.;  1824,  James  Small,  8;  1831,  John  Kenney,  2;  1833, 
Shubael  Snow,  4;  1834,  Eben  L.  Davis,  2;  1836,  Joshua  Small  2;  1836, 
Henry  Stevens,  2;  and  Solomon  Davis  2;  1837,  Jonas  Stevens,  2;  1838, 
Freeman  Atkins,  2;  1839.  Jedediah  Shedd,  3;  1840,  Michael  Snow;  1842, 
John  Kenney,  jr.;  1843,  Hugh  Hopkins;  1844,  Richard  Stevens;  1846, 
Ebenezer  Davis,  3;  1848,  Levi  Stevens;  1849.  Daniel  Paine,  2;  1852, 
James  Small;  1853,  John  Smith;  1855,  Samuel  H.  Smith,  jr.;  and  in 
1856,  Adin  H.  Newton. 

In  August,  1709,  selectmen  for  the  remainder  of  the  year  were 
first  elected  by  the  town,  and  the  following  list  contains  the  names 
of  those  who  have  since  served  in  that  capacity,  giving  the  year  of 
the  first  election  of  each  and  the  time  of  service  when  over  one  year: 
In  1709,  John  Snow  for  12  years,  Thomas  Mulford  for  9,  and  Jedediah 


936  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Lombard,  5;  1710,  Benjamin  Small,  Isaac  Snow  and  H.  Scammon; 
1711.  Eben  Doane;  1712,  Thomas  Rogers,  and  Thomas  Paine,  6;  1713, 
Nathaniel  Atkins,  and  Josiah  Cooke;  1714,  Hezekiah  Purinton;  1715, 
Constant  Freeman,  7;  1720,  Francis  Small,  10,  Andrew  Newcomb,  3, 
and  Richard  Stevens;  1723,  John  Myrick,  16;  Jonathan  Vickery  3; 
1726,  Samuel  Eldred,  and  Jonathan  Paine,  30:  1727,  Elkanah  Paine, 
10,  Ezekiel  Cushing  and  William  Sargent;  1730,  Jeremiah  Bickford; 
1731,  Thomas  Smith,  3;  1734,  Edward  Covel;  1744,  Samuel  Rich,  4; 
1748,  Thomas  Cobb,  2,  Barnabas  Paine,  7,  and  Eben  Dyer,  3:  1760, 
Zaccheus  Rich,  11;  1761,  Isaiah  Atkins,  20,  and  Jonathan  Dyer,  2;  1753, 
Joshua  Atkins,  James  Lombard,  and  John  Rich,  2;  1764,  Paul  Knowles, 
Anthony  Snow,  3;  1763,  Job  Arey,  3;  1766,  Ephraim  Lombard,  3,  Eben 
Rich,  7;  1767,  Daniel  Paine,  2  ;  1769,  Ambrose  Dyer,  7,  and  Benjamin 
Collins,  7;  1776,  Ephraim  Harding,  13,  and  Jedediah  Paine,  6;  1777, 
Barzillai  Smith;  1778,  Israel  Gross,  3;  1781,  Benjamin  Atkins.Thomas 
Paine,  2;  1782,  Timothy  Nye,  4;  1783,  Sylvanus  Snow,  6;  1785,  Benja- 
min  Hinckley,  2;  1787,  Fulk  Dyer,  Nathaniel  Atkins,  9;  and  Jesse 
Rich,  8;  1796,  David  Dyer,  3;  1796,  Caleb  Hopkins,  8,  and  Benjamin 

A.  Upham;  1797,  Ambrose  Snow,  13,  and  Levi  Stevens,  9;  1802, 
Jonathan  Rich,  John  Gross,  2,  and  Isaac  Small :  1804,  Joseph  Small, 
3;  1807,  Barnabas  Paine,  11;  1809,  Paul  Dyer,  5;  1810,  Israel  Lombard, 
4;  1811,  John  Rich,  14;  1812,  Allen  Hinckley,  2;  1814,  Sylvanus  Nye, 
3;  1816,  James  Collins,  4,  and  Eben  Atkins,  4;  1818,  Reuben  O.  Paine, 
2,  and  Benjamin  Hinckley,  jr.;  1819,  Barnabas  Paine,  4,  and  James 
Small,  10;  1822,  Joshua  Small,  5;  1823,  Asa  Sellew,  9;  1824,  John  Ken- 
ney,  24  ;  1833,  John  Smith,  4;  1835,  Freeman  Atkins,  2  ;  1836,  Jonas 
Stevens,  9;  1837,  Jedediah  Shedd,  11;  1839,  Nehemiah  Rich,  2;  1841, 
Solomon  Davis,  9;  1843,  Daniel  Paine,  4;  1846,  Solomon  Paine,  jr.; 
James  Hughes,  13;  1847,  Samuel  Dyer,  2;  1849,  Atwood  Rich,  6;  1855, 
Sears  Rich,  3;  1858,  Freeman  Cobb,  3;  1861,  William  T.  Newcomb,  2; 
1863,  Abraham  C.  Small,  and  Amasa  Paine;  1864,  John  Kenney,  5, 
James  Collins  3,  and  Nathan  K.  Whorf ;  1866,  Smith  K.  Hopkins,  7, 
and  Ephraim  Rich,  8;  1869,  Thomas  H.  Kenney,  6;  Elkanah  Paine; 
1874,  Isaac  M.  Small,  5;  1875,  Jesse  S.  Pendergast,  2;  Samuel  Dyer,  5,  and 
Obadiah  S.  Brown,  2;  1877,  Benjamin  Coan,  2,  and  Isaac  C.  Freeman, 
6;  1879,  Jeremiah  Hopkins,  2;  1880,  Josiah  F.  Rich,  11;  1881,  Joseph 
Hatch,  4;  1887,  Asa  C.  Paine;  1888,  Samuel  Dyer,  jr.,  2;  1890,  Henry 

B.  Holsbery  and  Edward  L.  Small. 

The  town  treasurers  from  first  to  last  are  given  with  the  year  of 
election,  each  serving  until  his  successor  was  elected:  1709,  Constant 
Freeman;  1710,  Thomas  Paine;  1721,  another  Thomas  Paine;  1724. 
John  Snow;  1726,  Moses  Paine;  1746,  Joshua  Atkins;  1765,  Ephraim 
Lombard,  1763;  Richard  Collins;  1767,  Job  Avery;  1770,  Israel  Gross, 
1777;  Richard  Stevens;  1779,  Benjamin  Rich;  1780.  Elisha  Dyer;  1782, 


TOWN  OF  TRURO.  937 

Joshua  Freeman;  1787,  Sylvanus  Snow;  1791,  Anthony  Snow;  1817, 
Lewis  Lombard;  1835,  Barnabas  Paine;  1848,  Samuel  C.  Paine;  1879, 
John  B.  Dyer. 

The  town  clerks  have  sometimes  filled  the  office  of  treasurer, 
but  as  it  has  not  always  been  so  the  following  list  of  clerks  is  given, 
each  serving  until  the  election  of  his  successor:  1709,  John  Snow; 
1710,  Thomas  Paine;  1721,  another  Thomas  Paine;  1746,  Moses  Paine; 
1764,  Barnabas  Paine;  1769,  Daniel  Paine;  1785,  Sylvanus  Snow;  1788, 
Benjamin  A.  Upham;  1797,  Levi  Stevens;  1799,  Anthony  Snow;  1817, 
Lewis  Lombard;  1835,  Barnabas  Paine;  1849,  Samuel  C.  Paine;  1880, 
John  B.  Dyer. 

Churches. — When  the  people  of  Truro  asked  the  general  court 
for  the  privileges  of  a  town  incorporation,  it  was  granted  upon  con- 
dition that  "  they  procure  and  settle  a  learned  and  godly  minister." 
This  condition  was  fulfilled  as  soon  as  possible,  and  the  year  of  the 
incorporation  of  the  town  Rev.  John  Avery  came,  and  was  ordained 
November  1,  1811,  at  which  time  the  Congregational  society  was 
organized  with  seven  members.  Some  historians  assert  that  the  first 
meeting  house  was  erected  at  North  Truro  (known  formerly  as  Pond 
village)  near  the  site  of  the  present  Union  church.  This  matter  we 
have  thoroughly  investigated,  and  find  that  the  graves  near  the  Union 
church,  which  are  so  well  remembered  by  old  settlers,  were  those 
made  before  a  regular  burial  place  was  laid  out,  and  from  all  the 
facts  in  the  case  we  conclude  that  the  first  meeting  house  was  at  the 
south  of  North  Truro,  on  the  hill  of  storms,  in  the  southwest  corner 
of  the  present  burying  ground.  Here  a  primitive  meeting  house  had 
been  erected,  which  was  succeeded  by  a  new  and  befter  one,  com- 
menced in  1720  and  completed  the  following  year.  In  the  new  meet- 
ing house  spaces  for  pews  were  sold  at  prices  varying  from  £5,  10s. 
to  jCl,  IBs.  In  1765  this  meeting  house  was  enlarged  and  remodeled 
and  the  pews  were  sold  at  enormous  prices.  In  1792  more  pews  were 
built  in  the  gallery,  and  here  upon  the  hill,  as  a  beacon  for  the  tem- 
pest-tossed mariner,  the  old  church  remained  until  1840,  when,  after 
several  years  of  disuse,  it  was  taken  down.  The  old  burying  ground 
with  its  first  head  stone  of  1713,  remains  to  mark  the  site  of  the  first 
meeting  house  and  first  laid-out  ground  of  Truro. 

Mr.  Avery  preached  in  the  house  until  his  death  in  1754,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Caleb  Upham,  ordained  October  29,  1755,  who  was 
pastor  forty-two  years,  departing  this  life  in  November,  1828.  Rev. 
Stephen  Bailey  supplied  about  five  years  until  the  ordination  of  Silas 
Baker,  in  March,  1832.  Mr.  Baker  was  dismissed  in  1834,  and  was 
succeeded  in  March,  1836,  by  Charles  Boyter  until  1843.. 

In  1827  a  new  church  edifice  was  erected  at  Truro  village,  south- 
west of  the  old  meeting  house,  and  in  which  the  present  distinctive 


938  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Congregational  society  worships  and  claims  to  be  a  continuation  of 
the  old.  Edward  W.  Noble  was  ordained  in  December,  1849,  and 
continued  until  1883,  succeeded  by  Joseph  Hammond  for  three  years. 
Hiram  L.  Howard  and  J.  K.  Closson  successively  supplied  each  a 
term,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1889  Rev.  T.  S.  Robie  was  settled  as 
pastor. 

A  portion  of  the  original  society  organized  themselves  into  a  new 
society,  May  22, 1842,  calling  themselves  the  Second  Congregational 
church,  but  the  society  soon  after  united  with  the  Methodists  in 
building  a  meeting  house  and  the  two  societies  were  formed  into  one, 
called  the  Christian  Union  Society,  the  pulpit  to  be  supplied  one-half 
the  time  by  a  pastor  of  each  of  the  original  societies.  This  was  done 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  union,  but  during  the  last  twenty  years 
the  pulpit  has  been  mostly  filled  by  a  Methodist  pastor.  The  pastors 
have  been:  1840,  Seth  H.  Beals;  1842,  Benjamin  M.  Southgate,  and 
Osborn  Myrick;  1845,  John  D.  King;  1847,  Arnold  Adams,  and 
Thomas  Smith;  1849,  IGeorge  W.  Rogers;  1861,  Samuel  J.  M.  Lord; 

1865,  Franklin  Sears;  1866,  Job  Cushman;  1869,  Abram  Holway;  1860, 
Malcomb  D.  Herrick;  1861,-  Joseph  C.  Barleft;  1863,  Philander  Bates; 

1866,  Charles  Stokes;  1869,  Jacob  W.  Price;  1871.  Henry  W.  S.  Packard; 
1873,  Joel  Martin;  1874,  Isaac  Sherman;  1878,  Charles  Morgan;  1882, 
Samuel  Morrison;  1884,  Benjamin  K.  Boswprth;  1887,  Frederick  C. 
Crafts;  1888,  Christopher  P.  Flanders. 

The  present  meeting  house,  owned  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Society  of  Truro,  was  erected  on  the  high  ground  on  the  north  side 
of  Pamet  river  in  1826,  by  the  society  already  organized.  In  1845  the 
house  was  remodeled,  and  again  about  fifteen  years  ago  the  galleries 
were  removed  and  the  inside  of  the  house  more  or  less  changed. 
Since  1876  this  society  and  that  of  South  Truro  have  been  served  by 
the  same  pastor.  The  names  of  the  ministers  and  the  year  they  com- 
menced are:  1827,  Warren  Wilbur;  1828,  Benjamin  Keith;  1829, 
Abraham  Holway;  1830,  William  R.  Stone;  1832,  William  Ramsdell; 
1834,  Enoch  Bradley;  1836,  Thomas  W.  Giles;  1838,  J.  R.  Barstow; 
1840,  Levi  Woods;  1841,  Reuben  Bowen;  1843,  Thomas  Patten;  1844, 
Charles  A.  Carter;  1846,  Henry  Mayo;  1847,  Samuel  Beadle;  1849,  O. 
Robbins;  1860,  T.  B.  Gumey;  1851,  Thomas  D.  Blake;  1853,  E.  B. 
Hinckley;  1864,  L.  E.  Dunham;  1865,  John  W.  Willett;  1867,  William 
E.  Sheldon;  1868,  N.  P.  Selee;  1860,  J.  B.  Washburn;  1863,  Lawton 
Cady;  1864,  A.  H.  Newton;  1866,  Joseph  Geery;  1866,  H.  S.  Smith; 
1867;  Jason  Gill;  1870,  Isaac  G.  Price;  1871,  Isaac  Sherman;  3874, 
Richard  Burn;  1876,  Virgil  W.  Mattoon;  1879,  Charles  N.  Hinckley; 
1880,  J.  S.  Fish;  1883,  Charies  T.  Hatch;  1886.  John  Q.  Adams;  1889, 
John  S.  Bell. 

The  Universalists  in   1846  had  acquired  sufficient   strength   to 


TOWN  OF  TRURO.  939 

undertake  the  erection  of  a  suitable  building  for  their  services,  but 
a  severe  storm  completely  demolished  the  newly-raised  building  and 
the  project  was  abandoned. 

Very  early  the  members  of  the  Methodist  faith  were  actively 
engaged  in  Truro,  and  after  the  days  of  circuit  preachers  one  so- 
ciety embraced  all  of  that  faith.  After  the  erection  of  the  meeting 
house  at  Truro,  the  members  of  the  society  at  South  Truro  found 
it  inconvenient  to  go  regularly  there  for  worship.  This  led  to  the 
organization  of  the  South  Truro  Methodist  Episcopal  Society  on  the 
29th  day  of  April,  1829.  A  church  edifice  was  dedicated  December 
15,  183],  by  Presiding  Elder  Benjamin  F.  Lombard.  In  1861  the 
society  had  outgrown  the  house,  and  a  new  one  erected  just  west 
of  the  first,  is  the  one  now  occupying  a  prominent  position  upon 
'  the  hill  north  of  the  little  village  of  South  Truro.  Since  1876  this 
society  and  the  First  society  at  Truro  have  been  supplied  by  the 
same  pastor. 

The  first  pastor.  Rev.  Benjamin  Keith,  was  largely  instrumental 
in  the  organization  of  Methodism  in  Truro,  and  after  many  years 
of  service  on  the  circuit  was  settled  as  the  pastor  of  this  church  in 
1831;  but  a  modest  monument  in  the  old  burial  place  of  this  society, 
and  near  by  the  site  of  the  old  house  in  which  he  had  so  faithfully 
labored,  marks  the  place  of  his  burial  in  1834.  He  was  succeeded  in 
1833  by  Joseph  B.  Brown;  in  1834  by  Thomas  Dodge  for  three  years; 
1839  by  Joel  Steele;  1841.  James  Bignall;  1842,  Henry  H.  Smith;  1845, 
Lozian  Pierce;  1846,  William  Leonard;  1848,  Adin  H.  Newton;  1850, 
Ira  M.  Bidwell;  1851,  Anthony  Palmer;  1852,  William  Keller;  1864, 
William  Leonard;  1856,  F.  A.  Loomis;  1857,  Josiah  C.  Allen;  1860,  A. 
Lathan;  1861,  S.B.Chase;  1862,  George  S.  Alexander;  1864,  E.  M. 
Anthony;  1866,  Messrs.  Bowditch  and  Ayer;  1867,  B.  L.  Sayer;  1870, 
Wetherbee,  Miller  and  Macomber;  1876,  Mr.  Butler;  the  pastors  who 
have  .since  served  are  given  in  the  list  of  the  Truro  church. 

Of  the  early  preachers  and  exhorters  in  the  rise  of  Methodism  in 
Truro  many  pleasing  things  are  recorded.  Earnestness  and,  perhaps, 
eccentricity  were  marked  in  their  labors.  The  local  exhorter  was  a 
prominent  factor  in  the  life  of  the  primitive  church,  and  with  these 
the  Truro  society  was  well  supplied.  Ephraim  Doane  Rich,  Ebenezer 
L.  Davis,  Stephen  Collins  and  others  will  not  be  forgotten  for  their 
good  works  in  the  cause  of  Methodism.  The  -logic  of  these  plain  ex- 
horters was  incontrovertible,  although  presented  in  a  rude  and  uncul- 
tivated manner. 

After  the  camp  meeting  of  1819  at  Wellfleet  the  societies  of  that 
town  and  Truro  united  in  1826  in  pitching  their  tents  in  Truro,  a 
short  distance  south  of  the  bridge,  on  the  hill  where  was  a  beautiful 
grove,  and  where  Joshua  Smith  afterward  built  a  house.    These  meet- 


940  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

ings  resulted  in  the  incorporation  of  the  Eastham  Camp  Meeting 
Association,  and  still  later  of  the  present  Yarmouth  association. 

Burying  Grounds.— The  oldest  burial  place  of  the  town  is  that 
south  of  North  Truro,  where  the  first  Congregational  meeting  house 
was  erected.  This  religious  society  later  opened  one  at  Truro,  and 
more  recently  have  opened  still  another  there.  The  Methodists  have 
one  at  Truro,  and  the  South  Truro  society  have  another  at  South 
Truro.  The  Catholics  instituted  a  burial  place  at  Truro  a  few  years 
ago,  being  the  sixth  in  the  town. 

Schools. — The  first  mention  of  any  provision  for  the  support  of 
schools  in  Truro  was  in  the  town  meeting  of  1716,  when  it  was 
voted  "that  Rev.  Mr.  Avery  and  the  selectmen  be  a  committee  to 
procure  a  suitable  person  to  keep  a  town  school."  This  order  was 
not  successful  in  its  result,  for  the  very  next  year  the  town  was  pre- 
sented for  its  delinquency  in  not  providing  a  teacher,  and  Jonathan 
Paine  was  appointed  to  appear  at  the  court  of  general  sessions  in  the 
town's  behalf.  In  1716  the  town  school  began,  the  sum  appropriated 
being  twenty  pounds  for  a  half  year.  The  teacher,  Samuel  Spear, 
was  hired  for  the  year  1717,  having  given  satisfaction  the  first  six 
months.     His  salary  was  forty  pounds  and  "  board  himself." 

To  the  credit  of  the  town,  let  it  be  recorded  that  the  citizens  pre- 
ferred a  school  for  the  young,  to  sending  a  representative  to  general 
court,  and  as  the  expense  of  both  was  thought  to  be  onerous  the 
school  went  on  and  the  representative  remained  at  home.  In  1719 
Samuel  Winter  was  hired  for  twelve  months  for  forty  pounds,  and 
the  school  was  to  be  moved  around.  The  first  three  months  it  was 
taught  in  the  house  of  William  Dyer,  jr.;  the  next  six  months  at 
Captain  Constant  Freeman's  or  in  his  neighborhood,  and  the  last 
three  months  of  the  year  at  a  suitable  place  near  East  harbor.  No 
school  houses  were  yet  erected,  and  for  many  years  the  schools  were 
kept  in  private  houses. 

In  1821  Mr.  Winter  was  engaged  for  one  year  and  three  months, 
the  term  to  commence  after  his  engagement  for  1720.  The  prosperity 
of  the  schools  and  the  increase  in  pupils  led  to  the  purchase,  in  1724, 
of  two  school  house  sites,  one  near  the  residence  of  Richard  Stevens, 
and  the  other  at  the  northerly  side  of  Longnook.  School  houses  Were 
built  on  these  lots,  and  the  last  named  site  at  Longnook  was  used  for 
school  houses  until  1855. 

From  the  26th  of  June,  1728,  Solomon  Lombard  was  the  teacher 
for  a  year,  and  after  a  term  of  years  Mr.  Gibson  was  hired,  as  we  find 
a  complimentary  vote  in  1737  in  the  town  records  which  explains 
itself:  "Voted  to  give  Mr.  Gibson  the  rate  of  ;^55  a  year  in  consideration 
of  his  support  of  the  ancient  people  with  whom  he  lived  the  "winter 
past."    In  1747  sixty  pounds  was  voted  for  the  schools. 


TOWN  OF  TRURO.  941 

•*  In  1757  Mr.  Woomley  was  employed,  and  although  the  times  were 
stringent  the  schools  progressed.  In  1765  it  was  thought  expedient 
to  ask  the  general  court  to  be  excused  from  providing  a  grammar 
school,  and  to  be  permitted  to  substitute  a  good  school  for  reading 
and  common  branches;  but  after  a  few  years  this  error  was  corrected 
by  a  vote  that  Barnabas  Paine,  Joshua  Atkins  and  Ebenezer  Dyer  be 
agents  "  to  get  a  learned  grammar  master  at  once."  In  1798  two 
hundred  dollars  was  paid  for  schools  and  forty  dollars  for  singing  to 
be  taught. 

In  1840  the  school  fund  from  the  state  gave  fresh  impulse  to 
the  school  interests  and  $750  was  appropriated  for  schools. 
From  this  a  visible  improvement  was  discernable,  the  appropriation 
in  1853  being  $1,300,  and  $1,450  in  1865.  The  next  year  $1,500  was 
set  apart  for  their  support,  suitable  rules  were  made  for  the  better 
regulation  and  attendance  of  the  seven  schools  then  kept  in  as  many 
nice  houses  throughout  the  town.  Six  of  these  houses  had  double 
rooms,  were  commodious,  and  better  provided  with  teachers  than 
when  left  to  each  district  to  build  the  houses  and  provide  the  neces- 
sary equipments.  The  interest  has  continued.  Gradation  followed, 
and  the  eleven  districts  were  reduced  to  seven,  and  from  seven  to  the 
present  system  of  four  houses  in  the  town.  North  Truro  has  one  of 
two  departments;  Truro  one  with  two  rooms;  Longnook  has  a  good 
house  and  South  Truro  another.  The  annual  appropriation  is  now 
$1,600.  The  committee  in  charge  are  efficient  school  men,  and  the 
standing  of  the  schools  is  a  worthy  result  of  the  continued  care  and 
expense  bestowed. 

Villages. — The  town  has  no  large  villages,  but  in  the  past,  as  well 
as  present,  the  several  communities  have  possessed  the  elements  of 
New  EngJand  villages.  The  East  Harbor  village  was  situated  south 
of  the  harbor  of  that  name,  and  last  century  it  was  the  important  one 
of  the  town.  From  East  harbor  southerly  to  the  Pond  this  settlement 
extended,  and  there  in  the  enjoyment  of  rural  avocations,  a  large 
community  of  peaceful,  contented  citizens  dwelt.  As  soon  as  the 
fishing  interests  clustered  at  the  Pond,  and  a  post  office  was  estab- 
lished there,  then  Pond  village  was  the  center  of  the  northern  part 
of  the  town;  and  north  of  that  there  are  but  few  residences  at  the 
present  time.  It  is  now  called  North  Truro.  The  high  banks  along 
the  bay  are  intersected  by  a  valley,  making  from  the  shore,  and  this 
dividing  into  two  parts,  forms  a  pretty  and  secluded  spot  for  a  vil- 
lage. Early  in  the  century  the  entrance  to  the  valley  afforded  a  con- 
venient landing  from  the  bay,  and  the  circuitous  bend  of  land  that 
forms  the  harbor  of  Provincetown  sheltered  this  landing  place  from 
the  winds,  making  a  chosen  spot  for  the  fishing  vessels.  At  this  point 
the  Cape  is  very  narrow,  and  across  to  the  ocean  shore  the  cheerful 


942  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

homes  of  the  villagers  extend,  so  that  the  lights  and  the  life  sav. 
ing  station  may  be  considered  as  in  the  village  of  North  Truro.  The 
situation  and  surroundings  of  this  pleasant  hamlet  excel  any  other 
of  the  town.  The  first  graveyard  of  the  town,  and  the  site  of  the  first 
chiirch  are  visible  to  the  south,  and  from  the  surrounding  hills  may 
be  seen  Provincetown  and  Plymouth. 

In  1835  a  post  oflBce  was  established  here,  the  entire  town  having 
had  but  one  office  prior  to  that,  and  which  was  in  the  center  of  the 
town.  David  Ayres,  appointed  June  18,  1836,  was  the  first  postmas- 
ter, keeping  the  office  at  his  residence.  Isaiah  M.  Atkins  was  ap- 
pointed September  26,  1836,  followed  October  25th  of  the  same 
year  by  James  Small,  who  kept  the  office  at  the  Highlands.  July  29, 
1841,  Edward  Armstrong  was  appointed,  removing  the  office  to  his 
house,  opposite  the  present  office.  He  died,  and  his  widow,  Hannah, 
was  appointed  April  24,  1846.  John  Grozier  was  appointed  June  8, 
1847,  and  kept  the  office  about  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  his  residence, 
near  the  pond.  June  23,  1873,  Captain  Edwin  P.  Worthen  was  ap- 
pointed, and  he  kept  it  several  years  in  his  house,  then  in  a  store 
building  just  west  of  his  present  home.  In  October,  1889,  Lillian  J. 
Small,  the  present  incumbent,  was  appointed,  who  removed  it  to  her 
store,  where,  with  an  addition  to  the  building  for  its  accommodation, 
the  new  case  of  boxes  and  drawers  are  neatly  kept. 

The  original  store  building  in  which  the  post  office  is  kept  was 
erected  in  1856  by  A.  C.  Small,  who  in  1857  began  trade  in  groceries, 
continuing  until  1881,  when  his  daugater,  Lillian  J.  Small,  com- 
menced in  dry  goods,  drugs  and  fancy  articles.  The  post  office  is  in 
the  front  part — all  new  except  a  standing  desk  that  has  been  in  use 
in  the  office  for  fifty  years.  Marshall  Ayers  had  an  old  store  when 
he  was  postmaster.  It  stood  near  Mr.  Thompson's  present  store,  and 
was  moved  to  where  John  Francis  lives.  Anna  Small  kept  an  old 
store  in  it  after  it  was  moved.  That  part  of  the  village  south  of  and 
near  the  present  Union  church  contained  several  stores  early  in  the 
history  of  the  village.  Johana  Mercy  had  one  in  her  house  where 
Jeremiah  Hopkins  lives,  near  the  church.  Sylvanus  Nye  had  another 
in  the  house  now  the  residence  of  Atkins  Hughes,  and  prior  to  that 
he  kept  one  where  Caleb  Eastman  lives.  Frank  Small  had  one  south 
of  the  present  village,  and  Eleazer  Collins  another  where  Charles  Col- 
lins lives. 

David  D.  Smith  began,  in  1846,  a  store  in  a  small  building  near 
John  G.  Thompson's  present  place  of  business.  In  1851  he  erected 
Thompson's  store,  where  he  continued  business  till  April,  1864,  when 
he  sold  to  Samuel  Knowles.  In  1865  Sylvanus  Hughes  purchased  the 
property,  and  began  a  store  in  June,  1866,  which  he  sold  out  to"  John 
G.  Thompson  in  September  of  the  same  year.     It  was  in  1849  that 


TOWN  OF  TRURO.  943 

Frank  Small  opened  his  store  opposite  the  church,  which  he  contin- 
ued twenty-one  years,  and  then  sold  to  J.  W.  Small,  who,  after  a  year, 
moved  the  building  across  next  to  the  church.  In  1873  John  G. 
Thompson  purchased  the  goods  and  moved  them  to  his  store.  Mr. 
Thompson  has  recently  erected  a  large  grain  and  flour  store-house 
nearly  opposite  his  store,  and  is  conducting  the  largest  trade  in  the 
north  part  of  the  town. 

Taverns  were  formerly  kept  on  the  King's  highway,  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  village,  but  the  keepers'  names  cannot  be  recalled. 
The  present  hotel,  owned  by  I.  Morton  Small,  is  more  especially  for 
summer  visitors,  and  has  been  liberally  patronized.  It  is  properly 
named  the  Highland  House,  from  its  elevated  site  on  the  clay  pounds 
near  the  lights.  Hiram  Hatch  was  engaged  as  proprietor  for  1890. 
Near  the  depot  a  summer  hotel  is  kept  by  Mrs.  Atwood,  and  just  east 
Mrs.  Green  has  opened  another. 

The  railroad  track  runs  across  the  mouth  of  the  valley  that  opens 
into  the  hills,  and  the  high  embankment  has  cut  off  the  tides  that  for- 
merly made  the  Pond  a  safe  anchorage  for  small  craft.  On  the  north 
side  of  the  valley  stands  the  neat  depot  of  the  Old  Colony  railroad,  of 
which  Isaac  Green  was  the  first  agent  until  his  death,  when  Isaac 
Smith,  his  son-in-law,  the  present  agent,  was  appointed. 

The  village  has  a  neat  and  thrifty  appearance,  and  since  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  several  fishing  weirs,  of  which  Atkins  Hughes  is 
agent,  it  has  assumed  considerable  commercial  importance. 

Truro  village,  sometimes  called  Truro  Center,  is  the  principal 
community  of  the  town.  The  town  house,  two  churches,  clerk  and 
treasurer's  office,  and  the  continuation  of  the  oldest  post  office  of  the 
town  have  centered  here,  and  give  to  the  scattering  community  the 
sobriquet  of  a  village.  The  valley  and  banks  of  the  Pamet  river,  In- 
dian neck,  and  Longnook  are  considered  within  the  limits  of  the  vil- 
lage, and  constitute  an  area  of  several  square  miles  of  hills  and  downs, 
traversed  by  sandy,  winding  roads.  The  dyke  over  which  the  public 
road  passes  has  stopped  the  influx  of  the  tide,  and  above  this  the 
marshes  along  the  river  bear  English  hay,  and  afford  better  farming 
land.  On  the  old  stage  route  around  the  head  of  the  marshes  were 
taverns,  but  none  are  extant.  Of  the  old  stores  in  which  molasses, 
rum  and  tobacco  were  the  staples,  none  are  left,  those  of  the  fore  part 
of  this  century  being  the  connecting  link  between  the  past  and 
present. 

In  1820  Daniel  Paine  started  a  store  at  Longnook  where  he  had  the 
post  office.  Captain  Samuel  Ryder  prior  to  1830  had  a  store  on  the 
bank  north-east  of  the  present  post  office,  which  he  closed  in  1861 
when  he  went  west.  In  1833  Josiah  Wilder  started  a  store  near  the 
lower  foot  bridge,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  and  years  afterward 


944  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

moved  the  building  to  where  Daniel  W.  Oliver  lives,  where  he  con- 
tinued until  1864.  John  Smith  in  1837  started  a  store  near  the  present 
depot,  and  on  the  north  bank  near  the  embankment  Snow  &  Paine 
started  another.  These  were  fitting-out  stores  in  connection  with  the 
fisheries.  Lewis  Lombard  and  Solomon  Paine,  jr.,  continued  these 
stores  until  the  decline  of  the  fishing  business.  John  M.  Gill  had  a 
tin  and  hardware  store  near  Union  wharf  in  1840,  and  Nathan  K. 
Whorf  also  kept  a  variety  store  there.  Near  this  wharf  two  sail  lofts 
and  one  rigger  shop  were  run  successfully  for  years,  for  it  was  here 
that  vessels  were  built,  and  here  were  wharves  for  vessel  and  boat 
building  other  than  has  been  mentioned  in  the  town  history  of  Truro. 
The  harbor  was  excellent  between  the  years  1830  and  1846,  but  in 
1860  the  sand  had  so  choked  it  that  the  industries  clustered  there 
were  discontinued.  Then  the  business  naturally  moved  a  mile  up 
the  river,  where  it  is  continued,  but  not  so  extensively  as  formerly. 

Samuel  C.  Paine  started  a  store  at  Longnook  in  1855,  and  in  Decem- 
ber, 1860,  moved  the  building  and  goods  to  his  present  place  at  the 
north  end  of  the  dyke,  where  in  March,  1861,  he  opened  his  present 
business  in  drugs  and  medicines. 

About  1866  Benjamin  Dyer  opened  a  grocery  store  near  the  pres- 
ent post  oflSce,  in  which  he  was  succeeded  by  Amasa   Paine  and 
Nathaniel  Dyer  as  the  firm  of  A.  Paine  &  Co.     In  1879  William  I. 
Paine,  son  of  Amasa.  took  the  business,  which  he  continued  until 
1886,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  J.  L.  Dyer,  who  continues  business. 

In  1888  Daniel  W.  Oliver  moved  the  school  house  from  the  place 
called  Castle  to  his  present  place  of  business — the  south  end  of  the 
dyke.  The  store  had  been  a  skating  rink  when  that  craze  spread 
over  the  Cape,  and  it  made  an  excellent  grocery  and  dry-good  store 
in  which  he  continues  business. 

The  last  stores  at  the  wharves,  where  the  railroad  embankment  is,, 
were  company  stores,  the  very  latest  being  run  by  Elkanah  Paine 
under  the  name  of  E.  Paine  &  Co.  He  was  succeeded  in  1856  by  a 
company  composed  of  Nathaniel  Dyer,  Amasa  Paine  and  Sears  Rich, 
as  N.  Dyer  &  Co.,  which  dissolved  after  a  short  time.  These  gentle- 
men, as  did  the  company  composed  of  Josiah  Wilder  and  Joseph 
Whorf,  moved  up  the  river,  and  in  some  individual  cases  opened  other 
places  of  business  at  the  present  center.  The  high  embankment  now 
overlooks  the  sites  of  these  busy  wharves  and  stores  of  fifty  years  ago, 
and  hardly  a  vestige  of  the  former  industries  remain.  The  railroad 
passed  through  in  1873,  when  George  S.  Hamilton  was  appointed  the 
depot  agent,  which  position  he  filled  until  1886,  when  Isaac  C.  Free- 
man was  appointed. 

The  first  postmaster  of  Truro  was  Ephraim  Harding,  appointed 
April  1,  1798.    July  1, 1803,  he  was  succeeded  by  Benjamin  Harding,. 


TOWN   OF   TRURO.  945 

who  was  followed  by  Sylvanus  Nye,  at  the  Highlands,  February  25, 
1809.  The  next  incumbent  was  Daniel  Paine,  appointed  December 
16,  1820.  He  kept  the  office  at  Longnook.  December  24, 1830,  Hincks 
Gross  was  appointed,  succeeded  March  8,  1847,  by  Josiah  Wilder,  at 
his  store.  April  9,  1859,  Edward  Winslow  was  made  postmaster,  but 
he  resigned  in  1861  to  enter  the  army,  and  Samuel  C.  Paine  was  ap- 
pointed. Mr.  Paine  kept  the  office  at  his  store  until  1888,  when  Daniel 
W.  Oliver  was  appointed,  and  he  removed  the  office  to  his  store.  In 
June,  1889,  Samuel  C.  Paine  was  re-appomted,  and  the  office  was  re- 
moved to  the  old  place. 

The  Union  Hall  Association  was  instituted  May  1,  1848,  by  the 
usual  legal  warrant  issued  by  Barnabas  Paine.  Ninty-six  of  the  one 
hundred  shares  of  stock  issued  were  taken  and  by  an  assessment  of 
$22.78  on  each  share  the  Union  Hall  was  erected.  The  lower 
floor  was  constructed  for  publicuse  and  the  upper  for  the  Odd  Fellows, 
Sons  of  Temperance,  and  Cadets,  all  of  which  societies  were  discon- 
tinued after  a  few  years.  This  building  was  sold  to  the  town  as  has 
been  stated. 

The  social  circles  are  well  attended  and  of  these  this  village  has  its 
proportion.  The  Iron  Hall,  Branch  984,  organized  February  15,  1889, 
has  fifty  members. 

The  Truro  Library  Association,  with  a  good  collection  of  books, 
and  its  literary  entertainments  given  in  public,  is  indicative  of  the 
taste  of  the  residents.  The  societies  and  associations,  although  meet- 
ing at  the  center,  are  composed  of  members  from  the  entire  town. 

South  Truro  has  been  so  designated  only  since  the  advent  of  the 
railroad,  and  since  the  citizens  of  the  south  part  of  the  town  asked  for 
and  received  postal  facilities.  It  is  situated  in  the  southwest  corner 
of  the  town,  adjoining  Bound  brook,  and  has  some  commercial  im- 
portance in  the  affairs  of  the  town.  The  pleasant  little  depot  of  the 
Old  Colony  railroad  is  now  kept  by  S.  W.  Rich,  who  was  appointed  in 
1882.  Walter  N.  Elliott  was  the  agent  for  several  months  previous, 
and  John  Elliott  was  the  first  appointee,  serving  from  1873  to  1881. 
A  post  office  was  asked  for,  and  in  March,  1874,  the  South  Truro  office 
was  instituted  with  John  Elliott  as  postmaster,  who  kept  it  at  the 
depot  while  be  was  agent  and  then  at  his  store.  It  is  now  kept  by  him 
in  his  store  a  few  rods  from  the  depot. 

There  had  been  a  small  community  here  from  the  early  settle- 
ment of  the  town,  but  the  first  store  within  thememory  of  the  present 
residents  was  that  of  Nehemiah  Rich,  who  started  it  prior  to  1835 
and  continued  to  about  the  year  1848.  In  1849  some  thirty  citizens 
formed  a  stock  association  and  opened  the  Union  store,  which  was 
continued  until  about  1860,  when  Joseph  Whorf,  Elisha  Rich,  Epbraim 
Rich  and  Samuel  Rich  purchased  the  business.  In  1862  Samuel  Rich 
60 


946  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

bought  out  the  others  and  ran  the  store  until  1864,  then  moved  the 
building  to  Provincetown.  About  1854  the  Union  Store  Company  built 
a  wharf  on  the  bay  shore  where  a  fishing  business  was  carried  on,  but 
when  the  company  business  at  the  store  was  discontinued  the  wharf 
was  taken  up  and  reconstructed  at  Provincetown.  Three  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Union  Store  Company— Atwood,  Ephraim,  and  Elisha 
Rich — each  had  a  small  store  at  their  houses  subsequent  to  the  dis- 
solution of  the  company  business. 

In  1846  Joseph  S.  Cole  started  a  store  in  a  room  at  his  house,  and 
after  three  years  erected  a  small  store  building  where  Richard  T. 
Cobb  lives.  After  about  two  years  the  store  was  moved  across  to  his 
residence,  then  to  the  site  of  the  Union  store,  and  a  few  years  ago  he 
again  moved  the  building  to  the  present  site  near  his  house,  where 
he  continues  his  business. 

This  post  hamlet  enjoys  a  daily  mail,  and  has  the  religious  advan- 
tages of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  half  way  between  this  and 
the  center. 

BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES. 

Sylvester  B.  Atwood,  son  of  Peter  L.  and  Mary  C. (Collins)  Atwood, 
and  grandson  of  Joel  Atwood,  was  born  in  Wellfleetin  1847.  He  fol- 
lowed the  sea  from  1869  until  1885,  when  he  took  charge  of  weir  fish- 
ing. He  was  for  eight  years  master  of  coasting  and  fishing  vessels. 
He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Mercy  D.  (Snow)  Paine. 
They  have  two  sons:    Frederick  A.  and  George  F. 

Benjamin  Coan,  born  in  1824,  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Hannah 
(Avery)  Coan,  grandson  of  Samuel,  and  great-grandson  of  Abraham 
Coan,  who  came  from  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  to  Truro.  He  followed  the 
sea  from  1833  until  1874,  twenty  years  of  the  time  as  master  of  vessels. 
He  has  been  clerk  and  treasurer  of  the  Christian  Union  church  of 
North  Truro  several  years.  He  married  Sally  K.,  daughter  of  Francis 
and  Annie  Small.  Their  two  children,  Benjamin  and  Annie,  are 
both  dead. 

Elisha  Cobb,  born  in  1817,  is  the  eldest  of  six  children  of  Freeman 
and  Nancy  (Rich)  Cobb,  grandson  of  Richard,  and  great-grandson  of 
Joseph  Cobb.  He  followed  the  sea  for  fifty  years  prior  to  1876,  as 
master  of  fishing  vessels  twenty-eight  years.  He  married  Thankful 
W.,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Ruth  (Atwood)  Cobb,  granddaughter  of 
Mulford,  and  great-granddaughter  of  Joseph  Cobb.  Their  children 
are:   Joseph  A.,  Mary  E.  and  Julia  F. 

Joseph  S.  Cole,  born  in  1812  in  Wellfleet,  is  the  only  surviving 
child  of  Daniel  and  Polly  (Snow)  Cole,  and  grandson  of  Daniel  Cole. 
He  was  several  seasons  in  the  fishing  business.  In  1845  he  came  to 
South  Truro.     He  was  first  married  to  Rachel  Y.  Pierce.     After  her 


TOWN   OF  TRURO.  947 

•death  he  married  for  his  second  wife  Eliza  Rich.  She  died  and  of 
their  three  children  only  one  is  living — Mary,  Mrs.  B.  F.  Rich.  His 
third  marriage  was  with  Ruth  A.,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Ruth 
.(Atwood)  Cobb. 

Amasa  S.  Dyer,  son  of  William  and  Phebe  (Small)  Dyer,  was  born 
in  Provincetown  in  1837.  He  followed  the  sea  as  a  whale  fisherman 
from  1855  until  1882.  He  has  been  keeper  of  the  Highland  light 
since  February,  1888,  having  been  transferred  from  Duxbury  Pier 
light,  where  he  had  been  keeper  thirteen  months.  He  married  Mary 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Eli  Seavey  of  Maine. 

John  Elliott,  son  of  Phillip  and  Betsey  (Newton)  Elliott,  was  born 
in  1826.  He  followed  the  sea  from  the  age  of  fourteen  until  1876, 
since  which  time  he  has  kept  a  store  at  South  Truro.  He  married 
Eliza  A.,  daughter  of  Samuel  Rich,  who  was  a  son  of.  Samuel, 
grandson  of  James,  and  great-grandson  of  Joseph  Rich.  Their 
four  children  are:  Charles  C,  John  W.,  Mary  E.  (Mrs.  J.  F.  Rich), 
and  Walter  N. 

Caleb  U.  Grosier,  born  in  1822,  is  a  son  of  JohnGrosier,  born  May, 
1791.  His  mother  was  Mercy,  daughter  of  Constant  Hopkins.  He 
began  following  the  sea,  fishing,  at  the  age  of  fourteen.  He  wasmaster 
of  vessels  from  1857  until  1878  in  the  merchant  service.  His  first  wife 
was  Hannah  Slew,  daughter  of  Thomas  Slew,  and  his  second  wife  was 
Azubah,  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Paine. 

William  Hamson,  son  of  William  and  Hannah  Hamson,  was  born 
in  1819  in  Charlestown.  He  came  to  Truro  at  the  age  of  nine,  and 
two  years  later  he  began  going  to  sea,  continuing  until  1879.  He 
was  engaged  in  weir  fishing  for  a  few  years,  and  is  now  retired.  He 
married  Nancy  C,  daughter  of  Leonard  and  Mary  W.  (Collins)  Snow, 
and  granddaughter  of  Stephen  Snow.  Their  children  are:  Leonard 
S.  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  and  Mary  E.  (Mrs.  N.  D.  Freeman)  of  Dorches- 
ter, Mass. 

William  Holden,  born  in  1834,  is  a  son  of  William  and  Sarah  (My- 
rick)  Holden.  He  followed  the  sea  for  about  thirteen  years,  since 
which  time  he  has  been  a  farmer,  owning  his  father's  homestead  at 
High  Head.  He  married  Mary  R.,  daughter  of  Henry  Johnson. 
Their  two  children  are:  Seymour  E.  and  Julia  J. 

Atkins  Hughes,  born  August  14,  1828,  is  a  son  of  James  and  Jane 
(Avery)  Hughes,  and  grandson  of  John  and  Rachel  (Dyer)  Hughes. 
Mr.  Hughes  married  Betsey  Lewis  Paine,  March  26,  1850.  Their  liv- 
ing children  are:  Amelia  E.,  Phebe  N.,  Idella  L.,  Georgia  W.  and 
Bessie  J.  Mr.  Hughes  began  his  seafaring  life  in  1840,  and  thirty- 
two  of  the  thirty-nine  years  that  he  spent  at  sea  he  was  master  of  ves- 
sels, mostly  in  foreign  trade.  Since  1879  he  has  been  manager  and 
agent  for  fish  weirs.     He  was  representative  in  1881  and  1882. 


948  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

David  Lombard. — The  Lombard  family,  which  has  long  figured 
conspicuously  in  the  affairs  of  Truro,  is  to-day  represented  in  the 
town  by  David  Lombard,  who  was  born  October  9,  1825,  in  the  home- 
stead he  now  owns.  His  father,  a  son  of  James,  was  Captain  David 
Lombard,  who  was  born  November  9, 1796,  and  on  December  10, 1820, 
married  Anna,  daughter  of  Jaazaniah  Gross,  the  widow  of  his  older 
brother,  James  Lombard. 

Their  other  children  were:  James,  born  February  4,  1823,  died 
December,  1878,  leaving  two  children,  Florence  and  Arthur;  Lewis, 
born  November  18,  1827,  married  Mehitable  A.  Stevens;  Melvina  A., 
born  November  2,  1829,  is  now  the  widow  of  Nathaniel  L.  Harding; 
Angelia  M.,  deceased,  was  born  October  26, 1831,  and  married  Horace 
A.  Hughes,  also  deceased. 

Captain  David  Lombard,  shortly  before  1841,  became  the  first 
packer  of  mackerel  at  Truro,  and  continued  the  business  with  profit 
for  many  years.  He  was  a  liberal  supporter  of  churches,  and  although 
his  sons  are  all  republicans,  he  was  himself  a  life-long  democrat.  He 
was  interested  in  navigation,  and  at  one  time  had  a  hill  full  of  salt 
works.  Prior  to  his  death,  February  3,  1888,  he  was  the  oldest  living 
representative  of  the  name  here. 

The  present  David  Lombard,  when  eighteen  years  of  age,  obtained 
in  Boston  a  clerkship,  and  was  subsequently  interested  for  three  or 
four  years  with  his  father  in  the  mackerel  business.  He  then  was 
with  Uriah  Mayo  twenty-one  years  in  the  fish  packing  business  in 
East  Boston.  He  returned  to  Truro  in  1877,  and  after  the  death  of 
his  mother  in  October,  1879,  with  his  sister,  Mrs.  Harding,  main- 
tained a  home  for  their  father  until  his  death.  The  homestead  where 
the  parents  died  was  erected  by  Captain  Lombard  the  year  of  their 
marriage  and  for  sixty-eight  years  the  original  shingles  remained. 

The  David  Lombard  of  this  sketch  now  lives  retired  at  Truro 
amid  the  scenes  of  his  boyhood,  surrounded  by  his  books. 

Daniel  W.  Oliver,  born  in  1840,  is  a  son  of  Benjamin  and  Abigail 
C.  (Young)  Oliver.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1849  until  1887,  being 
in  command  of  vessels  in  the  West  India  trade  twenty-three  years. 
He  married  Deborah,  daughter  of  Richard  A.  Atwood.  They  have 
one  son,  Richard  S. 

Daniel  E.  Paine,  born  in  1848,  is  the  only  surviving  child  of 
Daniel"  and  Jane  A.  (Snow)  Paine  (Barnabas',  Daniel*,  Jonathan', 
Thomas',  Thomas  Paine").  He  is  a  meat  and  provision  merchant, 
having  succeeded  his  father  in  1871,  in  the  business  which  was  estab- 
lished in  1846  by  Daniel  and  Richard  Paine.  He  married  Elizabeth 
D.,  daughter  of  Thomas  Ryder.  Their  only  son  is  Daniel,  one  son, 
John  R.,  having  died.  He  is  a  deacon  of  the  Congregational  church, 
having  succeeded  his  father  at  his  death  in  1871. 


j!>„-'/:.  .1,:A..- 


M^Zi^  (9C^^^<^^^ 


TOWN   OF  TRURO.  949 

Samuel  C.  Paine',  born  in  1824,  is  a  son  of  Barnabas'  and  Hannah 
(Coan)  Paine  (Barnabas',  Daniel',  Jonathan',  Thomas',  Thomas  Paine'). 
He  was  nine  years  a  member  of  the  school  board  and  school  superin- 
tendent one  year.     He  married  Henrietta,  daughter  of  Daniel  Paine. 

Nathan  K.  Parsons,  born  in  ISS.')  in  Orleans,  is  a  son  of  James  and 
Urecta  (Kenney)  Parsons.  He  came  to  Truro  at  the  age  of  seventeen 
and  has  since  been  engaged  in  the  fishing  business.  He  was  master  of 
fishing  vessels  thirteen  years  prior  to  1880,  and  since  that  time  has 
been  weir  fishing.  He  married  Lucy,  daughter  of  James  and  Jerusha 
(Rich)  Grove.  They  have  two  children:  Jesse  K.  and  Urecta  K.,  one 
son  having  died. 

John  H.  Rich,  son  of  Isaac,  grandson  of  Isaac,  and  great-grandson 
of  Isaac  Rich,  was  born  in  1850.  He  followed  the  sea  in  the  fishing 
business  from  1862  until  he  retired  to  go  into  the  life  saving  service. 
He  was  surfman  at  the  Pamet  River  life  saving  station  from  Jan- 
uary, 1873,  until  1888,  since  which  time  he  has  been  keeper.  He  mar- 
ried Edith  E.,  daughter  of  SewellS.Mayo.  Their  children  are  Arthur 
.  B.  and  Marilla  F. 

John  L.  Rich,  son  of  Michael,  grandson  of  Obadiah,  and  great- 
grandson  of  Richard  Rich,  was.  born  in  1839.  He  followed  the  sea  for 
twenty-five  years.  He  was  on  the  Highland  life  saving  station  eight 
years,  since  which  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  weir  fishing.  He 
married  Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Jesse  Paine.  Their  children  are:  Mil- 
lard F.  and  Frederick  C,  and  two  sons  that  died  in  infancy. 

Josiah  F.  Rich,  born  in  1829,  is  the  eldest  son  of  Henry,  and  grand- 
son of  Henry  and  Rebecca  (Thomas)  Rich.  His  mother  was  Winifred, 
daughter  of  Paul  and  Mary  (Higgins)  Atkins.  He  followed  the  sea 
from  1840  to  1859,  and  since  that  time  has  kept  a  general  store  in 
Truro.  He  was  assessor  in  1877,  and  is  now  chairman  of  the  board 
of  selectmen,  having  been  a  member  of  that  body  for  ten  j'ears.  He 
married  January  1, 1852,  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Rebecca 
Paine,  and  granddaughter  of  Samuel  Paine.  Their  children  are: 
Henry  F.,  born  November  5,  1852;  Samuel  B.,  born  July  1, 1854;  Anna 
C,  born  February  18,  1857,  died  May  16, 1885;  Rebecca  P.,  born  August 
15,  1860,  died  December  11,  1864;  Rebecca  P.,  born  April  11, 1866;  and 
Sherman  G.,  born  October  15,  1868. 

Michael  A.  Rich,  born  in  1849,  is  a  son  of  Michael  A.  and  Betsey 
L.  (Snow)  Rich.  He  is  a  farmer  at  North  Truro.  He  married  Amelia 
E.,  daughter  of  Atkins  Hughes.  They  have  two  children^Nellie  A. 
and  Alton  E.     They  lost  one  daughter  in  infancy. 

Richard  A.  Rich,  son  of  Richard  and  Sally  R.  (Atwood)  Rich, 
grandson  of  Ephraim  D.,  and  great-grandson  of  Richard  Rich,  was 
born  October  19,  1844.  He  followed  the  sea  in  the  fishing  business 
through  the  .summer  months  from   1859  until  1878,  as  master  after 


950  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

1860.  Since  1878  he  has  been  engaged  in  weir  fishing.  He  has  been 
for  several  vears  a  member  of  the  school  committee,  and  has  taught 
school  during  the  winter  season  for  several  years.  He  was  elected 
in  1889  to  represent  his  district  in  the  legislature. 

I.  Morton  Small,  born  in  1846,  is  a  son  of  James  and  Jerusha 
(Hughes)  Small,  grandson  of  Isaac,  great-grandson  of  Francis,  and 
great-great-grandson  of  Samuel  Small.  He  has  been  marine  telegraph 
operator  at  the  Highland  station  since  1860.  He  has  owned  the  High- 
land House  since  1873,  having  succeeded  his  father,  who  had  kept  a 
summer  boarding  house  for  eleven  years.  He  married  Sarah  E., 
daughter  of  John  Small.  She  died  leaving  three  children:  Willard 
M.,  James  S.  and  Lillian  M. 

Thomas  F.  Small,  born  in  1813,  was  the  eldest  son  of  James  and 
Polly  (Dyer)  Small,  grandson  of  Isaac,  and  great-grandson  of  Francis,, 
whose  father  was  Samuel  Small.  Mr.  Small  was  a  farmer  at  Truro 
until  his  death,  April  8,  1890.  He  married  Elizabeth  P.,  daughter  of 
John  and  Hannah  (Paine)  Hughes,  granddaughter  of  John  and  great- 
granddaughter  of  John  Hughes.  Their  two  children:  Eliza  F.,  who* 
married  John  Horton,  and  Warren  W.,  who  married  Sally  A.  Dyer. 

Isaiah  Snow,  born  in  1842,  is  one  of  ten  children  of  Ephraim  and 
Jemima  (Knowles)  Snow,  grandson  of  Shubael  and  great-grandson  of 
Anthony  Snow.  He  was  seven  years  in  business  in  Philadelphia^ 
Since  February,  1881,  he  has  been  traveling  salesman  for  a  whole- 
sale house.  He  served  in  the  civil  war  in  Company  E,  Forty-third 
Massachusetts  Volunteers.  He  is  trustee,  treasurer  and  recording 
steward  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  also  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday  school.  He  married  Hattie  R.,  daughter  of  Edward  Hop- 
kins and  granddaughter  of  Edward  Hopkins.  They  have  lost  two 
children:  Frank  I.  and  Dean  H. 

John  G.  Thompson,  born  in  1837,  is  the  only  surviving  child  of 
Alexander  and  Bethiah  (Grozier)  Thompson.  He  followed  the  sea  from 
1855  until  1866,  and  has  since  been  a  merchant  at  North  Truro.  He 
married  Sally  C,  daughter  of  James  Hughes.  They  have  two  children 
living— Albert  H.  and  Mary  A. — and  lost  one — Emma  H. 

Edwin  P.  Worthen,  son  of  Jacob  Worthen,  was  born  in  1837  in 
Charlestown,  Mass.  He  came  to  Truro  at  the  age  of  seven  and  fol- 
lowed the  sea  from  that  time  until  1872,  seven  years  as  master.  He 
has  been  keeper  of  the  Highland  life  saving  station  since  December,. 
1872.     He  married  Julia  E.,  daughter  of  John  Francis. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


TOWN    OF   PROVINCETOWN. 


By  James  H.  Hopkins. 


Early  Explorations. — The  Pilgrims. — Location  and  Characteristics. — First  Settlement. — 
Incorporation. — Civil  History. — Resources  of  the  Town. — Banks. — Insurance  Com- 
panies.— Public  Library. — Societies. — Churches. — Schools. — Biographical  Sketches. 


WITHIN  the  harbor  of  Provincetown  was  signed  the  compact, 
"  perhaps  the  only  instance  in  human  history  of  that  posi- 
tive, original  social  compact  which  speculative  philosophers 
have  imagined  as  the  only  legitimate  source  of  government,"  which 
gives  to  Provincetown  a  just  claim  to  be  the  birthplace  of  free  and 
equal  government  in  America.  At  Provincetown  was  born  Peregrine 
White,  the  first  English  child  born  in  New  England,  and  beneath 
the  waters  of  the  harbor  rests  Dorothy  May  Bradford,  wife  of  William 
Bradford,  the  leader  of  the  Pilgrims.  The  history  of  Provincetown, 
however,  does  not  begin  with  the  arrival  of  the  Mayflorver  at  Cape  Cod, 
but  includes  the  details  of  the  memorable  discoveries  of  the  early  navi- 
gators and  explorers  who  began  to  visit  its  shores  nearly  a  hundred 
years  before  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims. 

In  1624,  John  Verrazano,  the  great  French  navigator,  visited  the 
shores  of  the  New  World,  and  in  the  famous  Verrazano  map  of  1529, 
prepared  by  James  Verrazano,  tracing  the  discoveries  of  John  Verra- 
zano, appears  for  the  first  time  upon  any  chart  of  the  New  World  an 
outline  of  the  coast  of  the  present  Cape  Cod,  sufficiently  distinct  for 
identification.  These  discoveries  gave  to  the  European  world  its  first 
knowledge  of  the  existence  across  the  sea  of  that  wonderful  land 
which  Ihe  great  navigator  named  Verrazana  Sive  Nova  Gallia.  The 
claim  of  John  Verrazano  as  the  first  discoverer  of  Cape  Cod  is  estab- 
lished by  the  Verrazano  chart,  and  fifty  years  ago  or  more  would, 
perhaps,  have  been  undisputed.  The  investigations  of  Henry  Wheaton 
and  the  lifelong  studies  of  Carl  Christian  Rafn  of  Copenhagen,  have 
gone  far,  however,  toward  fixing  New  England  as  the  legendary 
Vinland  of  the  sagas,  and  the  map  of  Vinland,  published  by  Rafn 
in  1664,  locates  upon  the  New  England  coast,  the  places   visited  by 


952  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

the  early  Norse  navigators  and  applies  to  the  extremity  of  Cape  Cod 
the  name  Kjalarness,  while  to  the  shores  of  the  Cape  at  Chatham 
is  applied  the  name  Furdustraudir. 

That  the  Norsemen  once  visited  these  shores  and  sailed  along  the 
coast  is  maintained  with  great  force  by  Carl  Christian  Rafn  and  the 
eminent  historians  who  have  accepted  his  theories.  But  a  report 
accepted  by  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  in  1887,  expresses 
the  belief  that  there  is  no  more  reason  for  regarding  as  true  the 
details  related  about  Leif  Ericson's  discoveries  than  there  is  for  accept- 
ing as  historic  truth  the  narratives  contained  in  the  Homeric  Poems. 
The  shadowy  traces  of  Norse  voyages  to  the  New  World,  as  noticed 
at  page  20,  however,  have  not  yet  deprived  Verrazana  of  the  honor 
of  being  the  first  navigator  whose  voyages  along  the  Sandy  cape  are 
authenticated  by  historic  records. 

The  transitions  in  nomenclature  that  appear  upon  the  charts  of 
the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries  aflford  an  idea  of  the  history  of 
Cape  Cod  during  the  years  that  intervened  between  the  voyage  of 
VerrazanO  and  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims.  Upon  a  chart  of  Ribero 
published  in  1529  Cape  Cod  appears  as  C.  de  Arenas  or  Sandy  cape,  a 
name  that  recurs  upon  the  map  of  Rotz  in  1542;  Mercator,  1669; 
Judeis,  1580;  and  Quadus,  1600,  indicating,  perhaps,  that  the  soil  of 
the  Cape  has  not  changed  materially  with  the  lapse  of  time.  Another- 
Rotz  chart  of  1542  gives  to  the  Cape  the  title  Arecifes,  while  a  chart 
of  Jean  Allefonsce,  who  visited  Massachusetts  in  1657,  uses  the  name 
Francescan  cape  to  designate  the  Cabo  de  los  Arenas  of  the  earlier 
maps.  Of  the  details  of  these  voyages,  the  record  of  which  the  early 
charts  alone  preserve,  nothing  is  now  known.  The  early  navigators, 
however,  uniformly  applied  the  name  Cape  to  that  portion  of  Cape 
Cod  lying  northerly  of  High  Head  in  Truro,  and  doubtless  seldom 
sailed  along  the  eastern  coast  of  the  United  States  without  passing  in 
sight  of  the  headland,  the  glittering  sands  of  which  so  early  acquired 
the  name  of  Sandy  cape. 

The  first  discovery  of  Cape  Cod  by  an  Englishman  was  made  by 
Bartholomew  Gosnold,  who,  with  Bartholomew  Gilbert,  attempted  in 
1602  a  more  exact  discovery  of  the  whole  coast  of  Virginia.  Setting 
sail  from  Dartmouth,  England,  March  26, 1602,  in  the  Co7icord,QxOsno\&. 
pursued  the  route  followed  by  Verrazano,  directly  across  the  Atlantic, 
instead  of  sailing  southward  to  the  Azores,  as  the  former  navigators 
had  usually  done,  and  "  possible  more  by  the  guidance  of  providence 
than  by  any  special  art  of  man,  on  the  14th  of  May  following,  made 
land  in  the  latitude  of  43°."  Standing  to  the  south  Gosnold,  on  the 
15th,  as  Archer  says,  found  himself  "embayed  with  a  mighty  head- 
land," like  an  island,  by  reason  of  the  large  sound  that  lay  between  it 
and  the  mainland.      To  the  sound  he  gave  the  name  Shoal  Hope. 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN.  963 

The  shore  he  described  as  "  a  low,  sandy  shore  but  without  dangers 
in  the  latitude  of  43°."  Near  the  Cape,  "  within  a  league  of  the  land, 
he  came  to  auchor  in  fifteen  fathoms,"  and  named  the  land  Cape  Cod 
from  the  quantity  of  codfish  caught  by  his  crew.  "  The  shore  was 
bold  and  the  saud  very  deep." 

Provincetown  contains  within  its  limits  the  first  spot  in  New  Eng- 
land ever  trod  by  Englishmen.  For  many  years  after  the  discoveries 
of  Gosnold  the  term  Cape  Cod  was  applied  to  that  part  which  extends 
northerly  from  the  mainland  of  the  Cape  at  Highhead,  Truro.  In 
1603  Martin  Pring,  an  adventurer  from  Bristol,,  set  sail  in  the  Speed- 
well,  and  coasting  southerly  "  bore  into  that  great  gulf  which  Captain 
Oosnold  overshot  the  year  before,"  as  his  journal  says.  Pring  found, 
however,  "  no  people  on  the  north  thereof  "  at  Provincetown.  In  1605 
De  Mont's,  with  Samuel  Champlain  as  pilot,  visited  Cape  Cod  bay. 
In  1614  the  celebrated  John  Smith  explored  the  coast  from  Maine  to 
Cape  Cod.  The  following  description,  taken  from  Smith's  "New 
England,"  is  most  interesting:  "Cape  Cod  is  the  next  presents  itself, 
which  is  only  a  headland  of  high  hills  of  sand  overgrown  with  shrubby 
pines,  hurts  and  such  trash,  but  an  excellent  harbor  for  all  weathers. 
The  Cape  is  made  by  the  main  sea  on  the  one  side  and  a  great  bay  on 
the  other,  in  form  of  a  sickle;  on  it  doth  inhabit  the  people  of  Paw- 
met;  and  in  the  bottom  of  the  Bay  the  people  of  Chawrum.  Towards 
the  south  of  this  Cape  is  found  a  long  and  dangerous  shoal  of  sands 
and  rocks.  But  so  far  as  I  encircled  it,  I  found  thirty  fathoms  of 
water  aboard  the  shore  and  a  strong  current,  which  makes  me  think 
there  is  a  channel  about  this  shoal,  where  is  the  best  and  greatest 
fish  to  be  had.  Winter  and  Summer,  in  all  that  Countrie.  But  the 
salvages  say  there  is  no  channel,  but  that  the  shoals  begin  from 
the  Main  at  Pawmet  to  the  Isle  of  Nauset,  and  so  extends  beyond 
their  knowledge  into  the  sea." 

Upon  Captain  Smith's  chart  of  New  England,  published  in  1614, 
Cape  Cod  appears  as  Cape  James  and  Cape  Cod  harbor  as  Mil- 
ford  haven,  while  Cape  Cod  bay  is  called  Stuart's  bay.  On  his  de- 
parture from  England,  Smith  left  behind  Captain  Hunt  to  get  a 
cargo  of  dry  fish  to  take  to  Spain.  In  doing  this  Captain  Hunt 
went  to  Cape  Cod  bay,  and  there  seizing  twenty-seven  of  the  natives 
for  slaves,  carried  them  away  to  Spain — an  act  still  remembered  in 
1620  when  the  Pilgrims  landed  and  found  the  natives  not  kindly  dis- 
posed to  Englishmen.  Cape  Cod  was  also  visited  by  Captain  Edward 
Brawnde  in  1616  and  by  Thomas  Dermer  in  1619.  Dermer  in  1619 
likened  the  land  of  Eastham  and  Brewster  to  the  best  tobacco  land 
of  Virginia. 

The  foregoing  narrative  of  voyages  to  Cape  Cod  does  not  include 
a  description  of  every  expedition    made   to   New   England   during 


954  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

the  fifty  years  preceding  1620,  but  contains  an  allusion  to  every 
expedition  which  tradition  or  the  early  records  prove  to  have  visited 
the  shores  of  the  Cape  in  the  neighborhood  of  Provincetown.  Note- 
worthy as  were  these  early  explorations,  they  have  received  less  atten- 
tion from  the  local  historian  because  of  the  far  more  famous  and  epoch 
making  adventure  to  Plymouth  in  1620,  the  details  of  which  must 
ever  recall  to  the  sons  of  Provincetown  the  historic  associations  that 
are  inseparably  connected  with  the  place  of  their  birth.* 

September  16,  1620  [N.  S.],  the  Mayflower  set  sail  from  Plymouth 
and  crossed  the  Atlantic  "  shrewdly  shaken  "  by  many  storms,  yet  for- 
tunately preserved  from  senous  disasters.  Upon  the  voyage  an  Eng- 
lish sailor  and  the  passenger,  William  Button,  died,  and  a  child, 
Oceanus,  was  born  to  Stephen  and  Elizabeth  Hopkins. 

The  experiences  of  the  voyagers  who  were  to  plant  at  Plymouth, 
in  New  England,  the  colony  the  eventful  history  of  which  has  so  often 
been  written,  are  related  with  a  quaintness  and  frankness  of  speech 
that  is  delightful  in  Mourt's  Relation,  a  journal  or  relation  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  plantation  settled  at  Plymouth  in  New  England,  which 
was  first  printed  at  London  in  1622,  the  authors  of  which  are  believed 
to  have  been  Robert  Cushman,  George  Morton,  John  Robinson,  Wil- 
liam Bradford  and  Edward  Winslow,  although  the  following  quota- 
tion and  the  one  at  foot  of  page  22  are  usually  ascribed  to  the  accom- 
plished pen  of  William  Bradford: 

"  Wednesday  the  6th  of  Sept.  [16th  N.  S.]  the  wind  coming  east 
northeast  a  fine  small  gale  we  loosed  from  Plymouth  having  been 
kindly  entertained  by  divers  friends  there  dwelling  and  after  many 
difiiculties  in  boistrous  storms  at  length  by  Gods  Providence  upon 
the  ninth  of  November  [19th  N.  S.]  following,  by  break  of  the 
day  we  espied  land  which  we  deemed  to  be  Cape  Cod  and  so  after- 
ward it  proved.  And  the  appearance  of  it  much  comforted  us,  espe- 
cially, seeing  so  goodly  a  land,  and  wooded  to  the  brink  of  the  sea,  it 
caused  us  to  rejoice  together,  and  praise  God  that  had  given  us  once 
again  to  see  land.  And  thus  we  made  our  course  South  South  West, 
purposing  to  go  to  a  river  ten  leagues  to  the  South  of  the  Cape,  but 
at  night  the  wind  being  contrary  we  put  round  again  for  the  Bay  of 
Cape  Cod  and  on  the  11  of  November  [21st  N.  S.]  we  came  to  anchor 
in  the  Bay,  which  is  a  good  harbor  and  pleasant  bay,  circled  around, 
except  in  the  entrance,  which  is  four  miles  over  from  land  to  land, 
compassed  about  to  the  very  sea  with  oaks,  pines,  juniper,  sassafras, 
and  other  sweet  wood.  It  is  a  harbor  wherein  one  thousand  sail  of 
ships  may  safely  ride.  There  we  relieved  ourselves  with  wood  and 
water,  and  refreshed  our  people,  while  our  shallop  was  fitted  to  coast 
the  bay  to  search  for  an  habitation.     There  was  the  greatest  store  of 

*See  Chapter  III.  for  sketch  of  the  Pilgrims'  European  adventure. 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN.  955^ 

fowl  that  ever  we  saw.    And  every  day  we  saw  whales  playing  hard 
by  us,  of  which  in  that  place  if  we  had  instruments  and  means  to  take 
them  we  might  have  made  a  very  rich  return,  which  to  our  great 
grief  we  wanted.     Our  master  (Jones)  and  his  mate,  and  others  expe- 
rienced in  fishing,  professed  we  might  have  made  three  or  four  thou- 
sand pounds  Wprth  of  oil.     They  preferred  it  before  Greenland  whale 
fishing  and  purpose  the  next  winter  to  fish  for  whale  here.     For  cod 
we  essayed  but  found  none.    There  is  good  store  no  doubt  in  their 
season.     Neither  got  we  any  fish  all  the  time  we  lay  there,  but  some 
few  little  ones  on  the  shore.     We  found  great  mussles,  and  very  fat  and 
full  of  sea  pearl,  but  we  could  not  eat  them  for  they  made  us  all  sick 
that  did  eat,  as  well  sailors  as  passengers,  they  caused  to  cast  and 
scour,  but  they  were  soon  well  again.    The  Bay  is  so  round  and  cir- 
cling that  before  we  could  come  to  anchor  we  went  around  all  the 
points  of  the  compass.     We  could  not  come  near  the  shore  by  three- 
quarters  of  an  English  mile,  because  of  shallow  water  which  was  a 
great  prejudice  to  us,  for  our  people  going  on  shore  were  forced  to 
wade  a  bow  shoot  or  two  in  going  a  land  which  caused  many  to  get  colds 
and  coughs,  for  it  was  many  times  freezing  cold  weather.   *  *  *   The 
same  day  [21st  N.  S.]  so  soon  as  we  could  we  set  ashore  fifteen  or  six- 
teen men,  well  armed,  with  some  to  fetch  wood,  for  we  had  none.  left;, 
as  also  to  see  what  the  land  was  and  what  inhabitants  they  covild 
meet  with.     They  found  it  to  be  a  small  neck  of  land;  on  this  side  the 
where  we  lay  is  the  Bay,  and  the  further  side  the  sea;  the  ground  or 
earth,  sand  hills,  much  like  the  Downes  in  Holland,  but  much  better; 
the  crust  of  the  earth  a  spits  depth,  excellent  black  earth;  all  wooded 
with  oaks,  pines,  sassafras,  juniper,  birch,  holly  vines,  some  ash,  wal- 
nut;  the  wood  for  the  most  part  open  and  without  underwood,  fit 
either  to  go  or  ride  in.     At  night  our  people  returned,  but  found  not 
any  person,  nor  habitation  and  laded  the  boat  with  juniper  (red  cedar) 
which  smelled  very  sweet  and  strong  and  of  which  we  burned  the 
most  part  of  the  time  we  lay  there." 

Monday,  the  13th  of  November  [23d  N.  S.],  the  shallop  was  landed 
for  repairs,  which  occupied  the  carpenter  for  sixteen  or  seventeen 
days.  Meantime  "  our  people  went  on  shore  to  refresh  themselves 
and  our  women  to  wash  as  they  had  great  need."  Sixteen  men^ 
"  under  the  conduct  of  Captain  Miles  Standish,  unto  whom  was  joined 
for  counsel  and  advise,  William  Bradford,  Stephen  Hopkins  and  Ed- 
ward Tilley,"  were  set  ashore  Wednesday,  November  15th  [25th  N.  S.], 
and  "when  they  had  ordered  themselves  in  the  order  of  single  file  and 
marched  about  the  space  of  a  mile,  by  the  sea  they  espied  five  or  six 
people  with  a  dog  coming  towards  them,  who  were  savages  \<rho  when 
they  saw  them  ran  into  the  wood  and  whistled  the  dog  after  them.  *  *  » 
After  they  knew  them  to  be  Indians,  they  marched  after  them  into- 


956  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

the  woods,  lest  other  of  the  Indians  should  lie  in  ambush;  but  when 
the  Indians  saw  our  men  following  them  they  ran  away  with  might 
and  main,  and  our  men  turned  out  of  the  wood  after  them,  for  it  was 
the  way  they  intended  to  go  but  they  could  not  come  near  them. 
They  followed  them  that  night  about  ten  miles  by  the  trace  of  their 
footings  and  saw  how  they  had  come  the  same  way  they  went,  and  at 
a  turning  perceived  how  they  ran  up  a  hill  to  see  whether  they 
followed  them.  At  length  night  came  upon  them,  and  they  were  con- 
strained to  take  up  their  lodging,  so  they  set  forth  three  sentinels  and 
the  rest,  some  kindled  a  fire,  and  others  fetched  wood,  and  there  held 
our  rendezvous  that  night." 

Of  the  details  of  the  first  exploration  and  of  the  second  voyage  of 
discovery  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak,  or  of  the  expedition  in  the 
shallop  to  Plymouth.  The  Mayflower  remained  at  anchor  in  Province- 
town  harbor  until  December  16th  (25th  N.  S.)  "  when  we  weighed 
anchor  to  go  to  the  place  we  had  discovered,"  at  Plymouth.  During 
the  stay  of  the  Mayflower  at  Provincetown  a  son,  Peregrine  White,  the 
first  English  child  born  in  New  England,  was  born  to  William  and 
Susanna  White.  On  the  17th  of  December  Dorothy  May  Bradford, 
wife  of  William  Bradford,  who  was  absent  on  the  exploration  expedi- 
tion, fell  overboard  from  the  Mayfloiver  or  from  a  boat  alongside  and 
was  drowned.  The  next  day  James  Chilton  died  and  was  buried  at 
Provincetown,  while  Edward  Thompson  and  Jasper  More,  who  died 
on  the  14th  and  16th  of  December,  respectively,  were  doubtless  buried 
at  Provincetown  near  the  resting  place  of  Chilton,  victims  of  exposure 
to  an  inclement  climate  and  of  the  necessary  sufiFerings  attending  a 
perilous  voyage. 

The  incidents  of  the  stay  of  the  Mayflower  at  Provincetown  are 
most  interesting,  yet  they  are  surpassed  in  historical  impoTtsnce  ty 
the  steps  taken  at  Provincetown  to  form  a  civil  organization,  which 
•converted  "  a  little  unorganized  group  of  adventurers  into  a  Common- 
.  wealth."  In  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower,  as  she  rounded  the  Cape,  and 
-was  about  to  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Provincetown,  November  11  [21 
N.  S.],  1620,  assembled  the  adult  males  of  her  company  and  signed  the 
<;ompact*  which  rendered  Provincetown,  as  Bancroft  says,  "the  birth- 
place of  popular  constitutional  liberty." 

A  diversity  of  opinion  exists  as  to  the  exact  locations  visited  by 
the  Pilgrims  during  the  stay  of  the  Mayflower  at  Provincetown.  It  is 
supposed,  however,  that  the  vessel  anchored  in  deep  water  within  a 
furlong  of  Long  point  and  that  the  exploring  party  which  set  forth 
from  her,  November  25,  1620,  landed  near  Stevens'  point  at  the  west 
•end  of  the  village  of  Provincetown,  and  marching  in  the  rear  of  Tele- 
graph hill  and  Mill  hill  had  advanced  nearly  to  the  crest  of  Town  hill 
♦  The  compact  is  printed  at  page  23. 


TOWN   OF  PROVINCETOWN.  957 

when  they  met  the  Indians.  As  the  party  turned  inland  it  is  proba- 
ble that  the  Indians  made  for  the  woods  above  Duck  pond  and  ran 
around  Great  pond  to  Negro  head  and  so  toward  Truro.  The  party 
of  Pilgrims  doubtless  encamped  for  the  night  near  Strout's  creek,  a 
stream  flowing  from  the  north  into  the  mouth  of  Eastern  harbor,  long 
since,  however,  obliterated  by  the  inroads  of  sand  from  the  beach. 
Considerable  evidence  exists  to  show  that  in  ]620  a  pond  existed  at 
the  foot  of  Town  hill  separated  from  the  sea  by  a  narrow  beach,  and 
in  this  pond  the  women  from  the  Mayflower  found  the  water  for  their 
need  of  washing.  The  inroads  of  the  sea  and  other  causes  have  ob- 
literated nearly  all  traces  of  the  pond,  yet  within  the  memory  of  aged 
people  now  living  a  narrow  creek  ran  in  by  the  Town  hill  through 
Gosnold  street,  a  remnant  perhaps  of  the  pond,  and  the  records  of 
the  building  of  an  early  meeting  house  state  that  it  was  located  near 
the  "  North  Meadow  Gut,"  a  local  designation  of  the  creek  by  the  hill. 
The  quotations  from  Mourt's  Relation  are  the  basis  of  all  the  spec- 
ulations as  to  the  localities  visited  by  the  Pilgrims  and  will  suggest 
to  the  interested  reader  the  uncertainty  which  must  always  exist  as 
to  the  exact  locations  which  in  the  lapse  of  time  may  have  been  more 
or  less  changed  through  the  natural  effects  of  the  wind  and  sea  upon 
a  sandy  shore. 

Doubtless  in  1620  the  land  was  well  wooded.  The  name  "  Wood 
End,"  still  applied  to  a  portion  of  Long  point,  preserves  the  tradition 
that  the  forest  once  extended  to  the  very  brink  of  the  sea.  The 
physical  aspect  of  Provincetown,  however,  can  not  have  changed 
materially  since  the  Mayflotver  first  anchored  in  Cape  Cod  harbor, 
except  as  the  disappearance  of  the  forest  has  rendered  the  surface  of 
the  soil  even  more  barren. 

The  geological  history  of  the  extremity  of  the  Cape  shows  con- 
clusively that  all  that  section  of  land  to  the  north  of  High  head  in 
Truro  has  arisen  from  the  sea.  Hundreds  of  years  may  have  been 
necessary  for  the  evolution  of  the  projectingpromontory  of  sand  hills 
from  the  long,  low,  projecting  spit  of  sand  which  usually  marks  the 
beginning  of  the  sea's  additions  to  the  land,  yet  the  geologists  are 
united  in  the  belief  that  the  promontory  must  have  risen  from  the 
sea  by  the  slow  processes  which  gradually  change  the  exterior  coast 
lines  of  all  sandy,  reckless  shores. 

Whatever  its  origin,  Provincetown  rises  picturesquely  from  the 
ocean  in  latitude  42°,  3'  north  and  longitude  70°,  9'  west  from  Green- 
wich, one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  Boston  by  railroad,  fifty- 
five  by  sea,  connected  with  the  mainland  of  the  Cape  by  a  long  chain 
of  sand  hills  extending  along  the  eastern  and  northern  side  of  East- 
ern harbor  in  Truro,  its  low  sandy  shores  washed  on  the  north  by  the 
Atlantic  and   on  the  south  and  west  by  the  waters  of  Cape  Cod  bay. 


-958  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

A  long  chain  of  sand  hills  extends  northerly  from  Peaked  Hill  bars 
or  Strouf  s  creek.which  for  a  hundred  years  has  been  buried  beneath 
the  sand,  to  Race  point,  its  northwesterly  extremity.  A  second  series 
of  hills  beginning  at  Mount  Ararat  and  Mount  Gilboa  by  East  harbor 
follows  the  bay  shore,  semicircular  in  form,  to  the  termination  of  the 
range  at  Stevens  point,  including  in  the  chain  Miller's  hill.  Town  hill, 
and  Telegraph  hill,  whose  summits  afford  a  beautiful  view  of  Cape 
Cod  bay  and  the  headlands  of  the  Cape  and  Plymouth  shores  for  miles 
around.  Between  the  two  lines  of  hills  lies  a  tract  of  land  a  mile  and 
more  in  width,  "  composed  of  lesser  hills,  downs  and  ponds,"  the  hills 
■covered  in  many  places  with  pines,  wild  cherry  trees,  beach  plums 
and  bayberry  bushes.  Along  the  western  shore  an  indentation  of 
the  sea  forms  the  Herring  cove,  into  which  near  the  Race  point  flows 
the  Race  run,  a  sluggish,  tidal  stream  that  creeps  from  the  sand  hills 
near  Negro  head,  a  wooded  summit  in  the  line  of  hills  extending 
along  the  Atlantic  coast. 

In  the  wide  area  between  the  hills  are  several  ponds,  shallow  but 
•occasionally  of  considerable  size,  among  them  Shankpainter,  Clapp's, 
Great,  Duck,  Pasture,  Round  and  Farm,  their  borders  affording  fertile 
soil  for  gardens  or  for  the  cultivation  of  the  cranberry.  Extending 
southerly  from  the  Herring  cove  lies  Long  point,  embracing  within 
its  sinuous  course  the  broad  harbor  which  affords  an  anchorage  for 
three  thousand  vessels,  completely  landlocked  and  safe.  Along  the 
harbor  at  the  foot  of  the  chain  of  hills  lies  the  village  of  Province- 
town,  reaching  for  three  miles  along  the  shore,  a  veritable  city  in 
the  sands,  with  church  spires  rising  high  above  the  hills.  Two 
streets.  Commercial  and  Bradford,  extend  from  one  end  of  the  village 
to  the  other,  intersected  at  intervals  by  narrower  cross  streets  reaching 
back  to  the  hills  that  form  a  shadowy  background  to  the  thickly  set- 
tled town  at  their  base.  Commercial  or  Main  street  is  the  business 
thoroughfare  of  the  town,  its  narrow  plank  sidewalk,  begun  with  the 
town's  share  of  the  revenue  distributed  by  the  state  in  Jackson's 
administration,  extending  along  the  northern  side  of  the  street  from 
one  end  of  the  town  to  the  other.  The  shore  is  lined  with  wharves, 
two  of  them,  Railroad  and  Steamboat  wharves,  extending  to  the  deep 
water  of  the  harbor,  all  instruments  in  the  prosecution  of  the  great 
fishing  industry  in  which  so  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Province- 
town  are  engaged. 

The  view  of  Provincetown  from  the  Truro  hills  is  exceedingly 
picturesque.  Lofty  church  spires,  rising  apparently  out  of  the  sea 
and  towering  above  the  sun-lit  hills,  are  outlined  against  the  deep 
blue  sky.  The  waters  of  the  placid  harbor  rest  at  their  base.  On  a 
clear  day,  with  the  wind  from  the  north,  the  land  in  the  background, 
tinged  with  the  deep  blue  of  the  sky,  rises  like  some  fleecy  cloud 


TOWN   OF  PROVINCETOWN.  959 

from  the  waters  of  the  bay.  The  moving  sand  hills  in  the  rear  of  the 
settled  part  of  the  town  are  often  driven  by  the  winds  into  strange, 
weird  forms,  fantastic  and  unique,  fit  subjects  for  the  painter,  the 
artist,  or  the  poet.  The  Desert,  as  Thoreau  calls  the  region  between 
the  two  lines  of  hills,  is  often  visited  by  artists  from  abroad  in  search 
of  the  picturesque  and  the  beautiful. 

The  drifting  of  the  eastern  sand  hills  has  gradually  changed 
portions  of  this  territory.  Strout's  creek,  which  for  many  years  af- 
forded several  acres  of  salt  meadow,  has  been  obliterated  for  a  hun- 
dred vears  by  the  inroads  of  the  sand.  The  waters  of  the  bay,  too, 
have  changed  the  shore  lines  occasionally.  In  1885  House  Point 
island,  a  little  island  in  the  western  part  of  the  harbor,  was  completely 
washed  away.  Tradition  preserves  also  the  record  of  an  island  at  the 
eastern  end  of  the  harbor,  called  Hog's  island,  which  was  large  enough 
for  the  pasturage  of  sheep,  of  which  no  trace  remains.  The  natural 
changes  have  been  accompanied  by  others  due  to  the  hand  of  man 
alone.  Sods  and  loam,  brought  from  the  woods  at  the  eastern  end  of 
the  town,  have  been  used  to  cover  the  barren  beach  sand  which  con- 
stituted originally  what  might  be  called  the  soil;  sand  and  gravel 
taken  from  vessels  discharging  superflous  ballast  at  the  wharves  have 
also  been  applied  to  the  natural  soil,  so  that  in  1890  the  residences  in 
Provincetown  are  surrounded  by  gardens  artificial  in  origin,  yet 
flourishing  and  fertile,  rose  gardens  in  a  desert,  blooming  the  more 
brilliantly  because  of  the  saltness  of  the  atmosphere,  which  gives  to 
flowers  a  brilliant  coloring  not  elsewhere  observable. 

Provincetown  stands  alone,  the  one  town  in  the  old  colony  whose 
early  history,  rich  in  historical  incidents  of  another  kind,  embraces 
few  allusions  to  the  Indians,  who  seem  to  have  had  no  established 
habitations  or  villages  within  her  limits.  The  Pamets  exercised  do- 
minion over  all  the  territory  to  the  north  of  Herring  brook  in  Well- 
fleet,  and  doubtless  visited  Provincetown  frequently  in  pursuit  of 
game.  It  is  very  probable,  too,  that  the  Meeshawms,  a  branch  of  the 
Pamets,  had  an  encampment  or  village  near  Strout's  creek,  for  evi- 
dence exists  to-day,  in  the  form  of  shells,  arrow  heads  and  other  arti- 
cles, of  a  former  Indian  occupation  of  the  locality.  At  the  east  of 
Negro  head,  too,  arrow  heads  have  been  found  within  a  few  years,  and 
a  clear  spring  still  flows  from  the  sand  hills  m  the  vicinity  of  Strout's 
creek,  additional  evidence,  perhaps,  of  a  probable  Indian  occupation. 

From  the  date  of  the  departure  of  the  Mayflower  from  Province- 
town,  or  rather  from  November  19,  1621,  the  day  that  the  Fortune 
sailed  into  Provincetown,  until  1700,  the  history  of  the  place  is  de- 
rived from  the  records  of  Plymouth  colony.  The  colonists  early  re- 
cognized the  title  of  the  Pamet  Indians  to  the  lands  at  the  Cape,  which 
were  believed  to  be  of  great  value,  and  took  steps  to  purchase  their 


960  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

title.  The  Cape  was  looked  upon  as  a  very  valuable  fishing  station, 
and  its  commodious  harbor  was  considered  the  best  upon  the  coast. 
The  practice  arose  very  early  of  leasing  the  bass  fishery  at  the  Cape 
to  such  roving  fishermen  as  applied,  and  the  income  derived  from 
the  leases  was  appropriated  to  the  support  of  schools  in  Barnstable, 
Plymouth,  Duxbury  and  other  towns  of  the  colony.  These  early  fish- 
ermen appear  to  have  been  a  jovial,  enterprising  set,  who  paid  little 
heed  to  the  strict  Puritanical  ways  of  old  Plymouth,  and  consequently 
were  frequently  before  the  court  upon  complaints  charging  them  with 
carousing  at  the  Cape. 

In  1651,  William  Bradford  was  added  to  the  other  lessees,  and  the 
lease  was  made  for  a  term  of  three  years.  In  1668,  the  lands  at  Pa- 
met,  so  far  as  the  Cape  head,  were  voted  to  be  within  the  constable- 
rick  of  Eastham.  June  5,  1671,  the  court  granted  to  the  men  of  Hull 
permission  to  fish  for  mackerel  at  the  Cape,  upon  condition  that  "  they 
make  payment  of  what  is  due  to  the  colony  from  foreigners."  In  1671, 
Thomas  Prince,  of  Eastham,  was^  made  water  bailiflf,  to  have  charge 
of  the  fisheries  at  the  Cape,  and  in  1672  he  received  the  following  in- 
structions: "  This  court  being  informed  that  few  or  none  of  ours  are 
like  to  fish  at  the  cape  by  seine,  and  that  divers  strangers  desire  lib- 
erty there  to  fish,  these  are,  therefore,  to  empower  you,  in  the  behalf 
of  the  court,  to  give  liberty  to  such  strangers  as  shall  -desire  there  to 
fish,  carrying  orderly,  and  paying  such  dues  as  by  court  order  is  pro- 
vided, and  this  shall  be  your  warrant  therein  for  this  present  season." 
In  1661,  the  price  to  be  paid  by  strangers  for  fish  caught  and  cured  at 
the  Cape  was  fixed  at  six  pence  per  quintal,  but  in  1670  "our  people  " 
were  taxed  six  pence  per  quintal,  and  strangers  were  taxed  one  shil- 
ling and  six  pence  per  barrel  for  mackerel  caught  at  the  Cape.  Upon 
the  appointment  of  a  water  bailiff  in  1672,  an  enactment  was  made 
that  fish  carried  on  board  vessels  and  not  accounted  for  to  the  water 
bailiff,  should  be  forfeited  to  the  colony. 

In  1673  the  revenue  derived  from  the  Cape  fisheries  was  first  set 
aside  for  the  support  of  schools,  a  vote  of  the  colony  in  that  year  di- 
recting that  the  income  from  the  fisheries  should  be  employed  in  the 
maintenance  of  a  free  school,  in  some  town  within  this  colony.  A 
more  specific  enactment  of  the  same  year  directed  that  "the  charge 
of  this  free  school  which  is  33;^  a  year  shall  be  defrayed  by  the  treas- 
urer out  of  the  profits  arising  by  the  fishing  of  the  Cape."  The  income 
from  the  Cape  fisheries  was  also  at  times  applied  to  other  purpof  es. 
In  1675  the  widow  of  John  Knowles,  of  Eastham,  was  authorized  to 
receive  aid  from  the  Cape  fishery  fund.  The  Plymouth  colony  rec- 
ords show,  too,  that  in  1679  William  Perry,  a  veteran  of  the  Indian 
wars,  received  relief  from  the  same  source.  In  1678  a  part  of  the  fund 
was  devoted  to  the  schools  of  Rehoboth.     By  an  order  of  the  court. 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN.  961 

passed  in  1678,  notice  was  given  to  all  the  towns  "  that  if  thay  desired 
to  fish  at  Cape  Cod  one  half  the  fishermen  there  may  be  from  the  Col- 
ony of  Massachusetts."  In  1684  the  bass  fishing  at  the  Cape  was  leased 
to  "William  Clark  of  Plymouth  for  a  term  of  seven  years  at  30£  per 
annum."  Mr.  Clark,  however,  surrendered  his  privileges  at  the  end 
of  four  years,  and  October  2,  1689,  two  or  more  magistrates  of  Barn- 
stable county  were  authorized  to  regulate  the  fishery,  and  the  old  laws 
were  revived.  June  9,  1690,  the  court  voted  to  enter  into  an  agree- 
ment to  pay  Major  William  Bradford,  who  claimed  to  own  the  "  Cape 
Head,"  fifty-five  pounds  for  a  release  of  all  his  claims  of  title  to  lands 
at  the  Cape  purchased  by  him  of  the  Indians.  Mr.  Bradford  accepted 
the  offer.  The  colony,  which  from  the  beginning  had  treated  the  Cape 
fishing  as  the  property  of  the  colony,  and  as  early  as  1661  had  voted 
that  no  stranger  or  foreigner  should  improve  the  lands  or  woods  at 
the  Cape  without  liberty  from  the  government,  thus  in  1690  reasserted 
its  dominion,  and  quieting  its  title  by  the  purchase  of  Mr.  Bradford's 
claims,  for  the  sake  of  harmony,  as  the  records  quaintly  say,  became 
the  undisputed  owner  of  all  the  land  and  fisheries  at  Cape  Cod. 

Upon  the  union  of  Plymouth  colony  with  the  colony  of  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  in  1692,  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  succeeded  to  all 
the  rights  of  Plymouth  colony  in  the  lands  at  Cape  Cod,  and  later, 
upon  the  establishment  of  the  state  government,  the  Commonwealth 
of  Massachusetts  became  the  proprietor  of  the  lands  which  since  1692 
have  been  known  as  the  "  Province  Lands."  The  Commonwealth, 
however,  has  never  exercised  any  of  the  proprietary  rights  usually 
attached  to  the  ownership  of  land,  yet  by  various  statutes,  the  last  of 
which  was  passed  m  1864,  has  continued  to  assert  its  legal  title,  sec- 
tion 8,  of  chapter  262,  of  the  acts  of  1854,  providing  that  "  The  Title 
of  the  Commonwealth  as  owner,  in  fee,  to  all  the  Province  lands 
within  the  town  of  Provincetown  is  hereby  asserted  and  declared,  and 
no  adverse  possession  or  occupation  thereof  by  any  individual,  com- 
pany, or  corporation,  for  any  period  of  time  shall  be  sufficient  to  de- 
feat or  divest  the  title  of  the  Commonwealth  thereto."  Not  until  after 
1700  does  any  evidence  exist  of  private  occupation  of  distinct  tracts 
of  land.  The  circumstances  of  the  early  settlement  of  the  town  are 
also  involved  in  considerable  obscurity  by  the  absence  of  any  recorded 
transfers  of  real  estate.  From  the  very  beginning  of  the  colony  at 
Plymouth  the  importance  of  the  fisheries  at  Cape  Cod  was  appreci- 
ated by  private  individuals  as  well  as  by  the  government  of  the  colony, 
and  the  shores  of  the  harbor  were  visited  yearly  by  fishermen  from 
the  other  towns  of  the  colony,  but  the  earliest  existing  town  records 
begin  with  the  year  1724.  Other  evidence  exists  showing  that  a 
settlement  had  been  begun  before  1700,  notably  the  record  of  births 
preserved  in  the  clerk's  office  of  the  town  of  Provincetown,  which 
61 


962  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

shows  that  Ezekiel  Gushing,  son  of  Rev.  Jeremiah  and  Hannah  Gush- 
ing, was  born  here  April  28,  1698.  Rev.  Mr.  Gushing  was  a  graduate 
of  Harvard  Gollege  in  the  class  of  1676,  and  was  the  first  resident 
preacher  at  Gape  God. 

The  first  public  act  with  reference  to  the  establishing  of  a  munici- 
pal government  at  Gape  God  was  passed  in  1714.  Previous  to  that 
year  the  "  Province  Lands  "  seem  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  part  of 
Truro  for  municipal  purposes.  The  population  of  Gape  God  at  that 
date  cannot  now  be  ascertained.  A  very  interesting  letter  published 
in  Freeman's  Cape  Cod  affords,  however,  the  data  for  a  belief  that 
in  1705  one  hundred  and  thirty  men  were  at  Gape  God,  though  very 
likely  many  of  them  were  temporary  residents,  pursuing  the  fisheries 
during  the  summer  season.  This  letter,  a  quaint  and  unique  docu- 
ment addressed  to  the  Hon.  Paul  Dudley  of  Boston,  is  not  only  valu- 
able historically,  but  is  also  extremely  ludicrous  in  itself: 

"  Gap  God,  July  13th,  1706. 
"  Squier  Dudly. 

Sir: — after  all  due  sarvis  and  Respecks  to  your  Honnor  wishing 
you  all  hapynes  boath  hear  and  hearafter  I  mack  bould  to  inform 
your  honnor  that  i  have  liveed  hear  at  the  Gap  this  4  year  and  I  have 
very  often  every  year  sien  that  her  maiesty  has  been  very  much 
wronged  of  har  dues  by  these  contry  peple  and  other  whall  men  as 
coms  hear  a  whalen  every  year  which  taks  up  drift  whals  which  was 
never  killed  by  any  man  which  fish  i  understand  belongest  to  har 
magiesty  and  had  i  power  i  could  have  seased  severl  every  year  and 
lickwies  very  often  hear  is  opportuyty  to  seasvesels  and  goods  which 
are  upon  a  smoglen  acompt.  i  believe  had  i  had  a  comishon  so  to  do 
i  could  have  seased  a  catch  this  last  weak  which  had  most  of  thar  men 
out  landish  men  i  judge  porteges.  she  lay  hear  a  week  and  a  sloop  i 
beleve  did  thar  bisnes  for  thfem:  sir  I  shall  be  very  Redy  to  sarves 
har  magisty  in  either  of  this  or  any  thing  els  thet  i  may  be  counted 
worthy  if  your  honor  see  case  to  precure  a  commishon  of  his  Excel- 
ency  for  me  with  instrocktions  I  shall  by  the  help  of  God  be  very 
faithful  in  my  ofes — one  thing  more  I  mak  bould  to  inform  your  hon- 
nor that  hear  are  a  gret  meny  men  which  goues  fishing  at  this  harbor 
and  som  times  the  french  coms  hear  and  then  every  one  vons  his  way 
becas  they  have  no  one  to  hud  them,  i  myself  have  been  a  souferor 
since  i  lived  hear,  being  cared  away  by  a  small  sloop  and  hear  was 
130  men  and  several  brave  sloops  and  no  hand,  a  capt.  about  12 
miles  distance,  but  we  may  be  all  tacken  at  the  Cap  and  be  no 
nothing  of  it.  i  levef  it  to  your  honnors  consideration  and  mack 
bold  to  subskribe  my  selef  your  hombld  and  unworthy  sarvnt 

Wm.  Glap. 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN.  963 

"  Sir  I  am  a  stranger  to  your  selef  but  if  you  plese  to  inquier 
of  Capt.  So'rthwark  ann  he  can  inform  your  honnor  whether  i  am 
capebel  of  any  such  sarvis. 

•'To  the  honnored  Mr.  Pall  Dudly,  Esquier  att  Boston." 

The  governor,  it  seems,  was  impressed  with  the  ability  of  William 
Clap  and  caused  to  issue  a  lieutenant's  commission  and  a  warrant  to 
prize  drift  whales  at  the  Cape.  The  act  of  1714  constituted  all  the 
province  lands  at  the  Cape  a  district  or  precinct  entitled  "The  Pre- 
cinct of  Cape  Cod."  The  act  is  entitled  "An  act  for  preserving  the 
harbor  at  Cape  Cod  and  regulating  the  inhabitants  and  sojourners 
there. 

"  Whereas,  the  harbor  at  Cape  Cod  being  very  useful  and  commodious 
for  fishing  and  the  safety  of  shipping,  both  inward  and  outward 
bound,  is  in  danger  of  being  damnified,  if  not  made  wholly  unservice- 
able, by  destroying  the  trees  standing  on  the  said  Cape  (if  not  timely- 
prevented)  the  trees  and  bushes  being  of  great  service  to  keep  the 
sand  from  being  driven  into  the  harbor  by  the  wind. 

"  Be  it  enacted,  *  *  *  that  no  person  or  persons  may  presume 
to  bark  or  box  any  pine  tree  or  trees,  standing  upon  any  of  the 
province  lands  on  the  said  Cape,  for  the  drawing  of  turpentine,  on 
pain  of  forfeiting  and  paying  the  sum  of  ten  shillings  for  each  tree 
so  barked  or  boxed.    *    *    * 

"  And  be  it  further  enacted  that,  by  the  authority  aforesaid  that 
whereas  a  number  of  inhabitants  are  settled  upon  the  said  Cape,  and 
many  others  resort  thither  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year  to  make 
fishing  voyages  there,  which  has  not  hitherto  been  under  the  govern- 
ment of  any  town  or  regulation  among  themselves,  that  henceforth 
all  the  province  lands  on  the  said  Cape  be  a  district  or  precinct;  and 
the  inhabitants  there  are  obliged  to  procure  and  support  a  learned 
orthodox  minister  of  good  conversation  to  dispense  the  word  of  God 
among  them  and  to  allow  him  sixty  pounds  a  year  maintenance,  and 
for  the  better  enabling  them  to  raise  and  pay  the  said  yearly  main- 
tenance. *  *  *  Enacted,  that  all  and  every  person  or  persons 
coming  to  abide  or  sojourn  there  on  fishing  or  whaling  voyages,  dur- 
ing his  and  their  continuance  and  abode  there,  shall  pay  four  pence 
a  man  per  week,  weekly,  to  be  paid  by  the  master  of  the  voyage  or 
boat  for  his  whole  company  to  Ebenezar  Dean,  who  is  hereby  ap- 
pointed and  impowered  to  be  the  first  collector  and  receiver  of  the 
said  rate  or  duty  on  behalf  and  to  the  use  of  the  minister  of  the 
precinct. 

"And  the  said  district  or  precinct  is  hereby  annexed  and  put 
under  the  constablerick  of  Truro,  until  this  court  take  further  order; 
and  the  selectmen  or  assessors  of  Truro  are  hereby  directed  and 
impowered  to  assess  and  apportion  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  said 


964  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

precinct,  from  time  to  time,  such  sum  and  so  much  as  the  duty  as 
aforesaid  laid  upon  the  fishermen  shall  fall  short  of  makfng  up  sixty 
pounds  per  annum  for  the  minister,  directed  as  aforesaid,  and  to 
make  out  a  warrant,  as  the  law  directs,  for  the  gathering  of  the  said 
assessment." 

The  boundaries  of  the  new  precinct  were  not  fixed  by  the  act  of 
incorporation.  Accordingly  May  26,  1714,  an  act  for  the  determina- 
tion of  the  boundary  between  "  Cape  Cod  "  and  Truro  was  passed  by 
the  general  court.  The  committee  appointed  by  the  general  court 
reported  September  24,  1714,  that  the  line  had  been  established  as 
follows:  "  Beginning  at  the  easterly  end  of  a  cliff  near  the  Cape 
Harbor  called  by  the  Indians  Hetsconoyet,  and  by  'the  English 
Cormorant  Hill,  at  the  jawbone  of  a  whale  set  in  the  ground  by  the 
side  of  a  red  oak  stump,  and  thence  running  by  marked  range  trees 
nearly  on  a  north  and  west  line,  about  half  point  more  westerly  to  a 
marked  pine  tree  standing  by  a  reedy  pond  called  by  the  Indians 
Wocknotchcoyissett;  and  from  thence  by  marked  range-trees  to  a 
high  hill  on  the  back  side  near  the  north  sea,  with  a  red  cedar  post 
set  m  the  said  hill;  and  thence  to  run  in  the  same  line  to  the  sea;  and 
running  back  on  the  contrary  line  to  the  harbor."  The  report  of  the 
committee  upon  the  boundary  is  signed  by  John  Otis  and  William 
Bassett  on  behalf  of  the  general  court,  and  by  Thomas  Mulford, 
Joseph  Doane,  Hezekiah  Purington.  Samuel  Knowles,  Thomas  Paine 
and  Jedediah  Lumbert.  The  line  thus  established,  determined  the 
boundaries  of  the  "  Precinct  of  Cape  Cod,"  and  has  retained  a 
peculiar  inaportance  to  this  day  as  the  dividing  line  between  the 
province  lands  to  the  west  and  the  allotted  or  private  lands  to  the 
east  of  the  line.  The  southern  portion  of  the  original  line  passed 
along  the  western  fence  of  the  present  Eastern  school  house,  touch- 
ing the  eastern  side  of  Grassy  pond  as  it  ran  across  the  Cape  to  the 
Atlantic.  ^ 

The  union  of  the  precinct  of  Cape  Cod  with  Truro  was  not  satis- 
factory to  the  inhabitants  of  Truro,  who  found  the  anomalous  muni- 
cipal charter  of  the  precinct  a  source  of  many  difficulties  in  adminis- 
tration. Accordingly  in  1715  a  petition  from  the  in  habitants  of  Truro 
was  presented  to  the  general  court  by  Constant  Freeman,  the  Repre- 
sentative, praying  "  that  Cape  Cod  be  declared  either  a  part  of  Truro, 
or  not  a  part  of  Truro,  that  the  town  may  know  how  to  act  in  regard 
to  some  persons."  Upon  the  petition  an  order  of  notice  was  issued 
summoning  the  inhabitants  of  the  precinct  "  to  show  cause  why  they 
do  not  entertain  a  learned  orthodox  minister  of  the  Gospel  to  dispense 
the  word  of  God  to  them  as  required  by  law  "  The  general  court  ap- 
pears to  have  taken  no  action  upon  the  Truro  petition  in  1715.  The 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  precinct,  however,  was  not 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN.  965 

overlooked,  for  in  1717  the  general  court  granted  ;[C150  toward  the  ex- 
pense of  a  meeting  house  at  Cape  Cod,  "  The  money  to  be  expended 
under  the  direction  of  Thomas  Paine,  Ebenezer  Doane  and  John  Snow 
of  Truro.  The  edifice  to  be  thirty -two  feet  by  twenty-eight  feet  stud, 
and  to  have  a  gallery  on  three  sides.  The  inhabitants  to  sustain  the 
balance  of  expense  and  keep  the  premises  in  repair."  The  con- 
tinued increase  in  the  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  Cape  Cod  re- 
sulted in  the  presentation  in  1727  of  a  petition  to  the  general  court 
asking  for  the  incorporation  of  the  precinct  as  a  separate  town.  The 
name  selected — Herringtown,  found  little  favor  with  the  general  court. 
The  following  act  passed  July  14,  1727,  contains  the  first  use  of  the 
word  Provincetown  in  connection  with  the  Precinct  of  Cape  Cod. 

"  Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  that  all  the  lands  on  said  Cape  (being  Province 
lands)  be  and  hereby  are  constituted  a  township  by  the  name  of 
Provincetown,  and  that  the  inhabitants  thereof  be  invested  with  the 
powers  privileges  and  immunities  that  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  any 
of  the  towns  within  the  Province  by  law,  are,  or  ought  to  be  invested 
with.  Saving  always  the  right  of  this  Province  to  said  land, 
which  is  to  be  in  no  wise  prejudiced,  and  provided  that  no  person  or 
persons  be  hindered  and  obstructed  in  building  such  wharves,  stages, 
work  houses,  and  flakes  and  other  things  as  shall  be  necessary  for 
the  salting,  keeping,  and  packing  their  fish  or  in  cutting  down  and 
taking  such  trees  and  other  materials  growing  on  said  Province 
lands  as  shall  be  needful  for  that  purpose,  or  in  any  sort  of  fishing 
whaling,  or  getting  of  bait  at  the  said  Cape;  but  that  the  same  be  held 
as  common  as  heretofore  with  all  the  privileges  and  advantages  there- 
unto in  any  wise  belonging." 

The  proprietors  of  Truro  early  divided  the  section  of  land  between 
the  Province  lands  and  Strout's  creek  into  seven  lots,  the  first  lot  be- 
ginning near  the  site  of  the  present  Eastern  school  house  in  Province- 
town.  The  limits  of  Provincetown  have  been  extended  from  time  to 
time  by  legislative  acts,  since  the  original  establishment  of  the  line 
in  1727,  to  include  within  its  jurisdiction  all  of  the  original  seven 
lots. 

Civil  History. — From  the  date  of  its  incorporation,  in  1727,  until 
the  end  of  the  revolutionary  war,  the  fortunes  of  Provincetown  were 
precarious,  rising  and  falling  with  the  fluctuating  interests  of  the  fish- 
eries. A  few  years  after  1727  the  population  began  to  remove,  and 
in  1748  only  two  or  three  families  remained.  In  1755  three  houses 
were  left  to  indicate  the  site  of  the  former  flourishing  town,  but  not  a 
family  remained.  A  few  years  later  the  tide  turned,  and  at  the  break- 
ing out  of  the  revolutionary  war,  according  to  Richs  History  of  Truro, 
there  were  twenty  houses,  thirty-six  families  and  205  residents.  At 
the  close  of  the  war,  which  had  weighed  oppressively  upon  the  for- 


966  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

tunes  of  all  the  Cape  towns,  Provincetown  was  again  without  a  popu- 
lation. The  history  of  the  town  during  the  intervening  years  must 
be  gathered  from  the  scanty  records  that  remain,  devoted  largely  to 
the  recording  of  the  births  and  to  the  registry  of  the  ecclesiastical 
aflFairs  of  the  township.  The  first  record  is  an  entry  in  the  treasurer's 
book  for  the  precinct  of  Cape  Cod,  1724,  to  wit :  "  Precinct  of  Cape 
Cod  to  John  Traill,  Dr.  April  29,  1724.  To  cash  paid  Mr.  Samuel  Spear 
for  his  salary 10s." 

The  record  of  births,  which  began  regularly  in  1731,  contains  a  rec- 
ord of  the  birth  of  Ezekiel  Doane,  son  of  Hezekiah  and  Hannah  Doane, 
April  1,  1696.  The  entry,  however,  is  not  made  in  chronological  or- 
der, and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  Hezekiah  Doane  removed  to 
Provincetown  from  Eastham.  The  early  entries  show  that  among  the 
residents  in  1730  were:  John  Atwood,  Thomas  Bacon,  Hezekiah  Bos- 
worth,  Elisha  Cobb,  John  Conant.  Robert  Davis,  Thomas  Delano, 
Elisha  Doane,  Hezekiah  Doane,  Jeremiah  Hatch,  Elisha  Higgins, 
John  Kinney,  Benjamin  Ryder,  William  Sargent,  Christopher  Strout, 
William  Sargent,  Samuel  Winter,  Solomon  Lumbert,  Isaac  Bacon, 
Josiah  Cole,  John  Gray,  Benjamin  Rotch,  Isaac  Smalley,  George 
Strout,  Ezekiel  Gushing,  Thomas  Freeman,  John  Traill,  David  Free- 
man and  John  Duncan.  It  appears  also  that  Mr.  Samuel  Winter  was 
the  first  school  teacher  engaged  in  Provincetown. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  in  1744  the  town  had  already  begun 
to  appreciate  the  danger  to  the  harbor  that  must  follow  from  the 
unrestricted  cutting  of  wood  and  from  the  turning  of  cattle  upon  the 
beaches.  The  urgency  of  some  measures  for  the  protection  of  the 
harbor  here  became  so  great  that  in  1744  James  Bowdoin  and  many 
other  citizens  of  Boston  presented  to  the  general  court  a  petition,  set- 
ting forth  the  great  importance  of  the  harbor  of  Cape  Cod  to  the  nav- 
igation of  the  province,  and  praying  that  the  general  court  would 
take  necessary  measures  to  preserve  it.  The  petition  was  referred  to 
a  committee  consisting  of  Thomas  Berry,  Colonel  Miller  and  Mr. 
Skinner,  who  were  directed  to  repair  to  Cape  Cod  before  the  tenth 
of  May,  1744.  The  report  of  the  committee  contained  a  graphic  de- 
scription of  the  impending  danger  to  the  harbor  at  Provincetown, 
and  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  appropriate  legislation  regulating  the 
turning  of  cattle  upon  the  beaches  at  Provincetown  and  Truro,  acts 
which  have  been  renewed  from  time  to  time. 

The  encroachments  of  sand  upon  the  harbor  did  not  cease  with 
the  acts  of  1744.  Again  m  1854  an  appeal  was  made  to  the  legislature 
for  the  protection  of  the  harbor  from  the  constant  inroads  of  sand 
which  were  drifting  into  the  harbor.  The  state  was  asked  to  con- 
struct a  dike  across  the  mouth  of  Eastern  Harbor  channel  as  an  ad- 
ditional defence  in  the  event  of  the  Atlantic  breaking  through  the 


TOWN   OF   PROVINCETOWN.  967 

outer  beach  as  it  did  in  March,  1854,  and  previously  in  the  year  that 
Minots  light  was  destroyed  in  1851,  and  as  a  barrier  against  the  wash- 
ing of  sand  from  Eastern  harbor.  A  committee  of  the  legislature  re- 
ported in  1854  that  within  seven  or  eight  years  the  beach  to  the  north 
of  Eastern  harbor  had  narrowed  eight  or  ten  rods  and  that  the  con- 
struction of  a  dike  at  Eastern  harbor  was  a  work  eminently  deserving 
the  attention  of  the  general  government.  In  1867,  however,  the  legis- 
lature referred  to  Messrs.  James  Gifford,  of  Provincetown,  and  Paul 
Hill,  of  Lowell,  commissioners  appointed  by  the  Governor,  the  mat 
ter  of  protecting  the  harbor  at  Provincetown,  and  later  in  1868  adopted 
their  report  recommending  the  erection  of  a  dike  by  the  state  across 
Eastern  harbor,  and  provided  for  the  construction  of  the  dike.  The 
dike  was  accordingly  begun  in  1868,  and  was  completed  in  1869  under 

■  the  supervision  of  Messrs.  James  B.  Francis,  R.  A.  Pierce  and  James 
Giflford,  commissioners.  Mr.  Pierce  did  not  live  to  see  the  completion 
of  the  work  and  was  succeeded  by  George  Marston,  of  New  Bedford. 
The  report  of  the  commissioners  of  1867  recommended  also  the  con- 
struction at  some  future  time  of  a  dike  across  the  western  end  of  the 
harbor,  from  Wood  End  to  Steven's  point,  and  in  1889  the  legislature 
passed  a  resolve  requesting  the  United  States  to  construct  a  solid 
dike  across  the  western  end  of  the  harbor  as  recommended  by  Mr. 
Whiting  in  1867.  This  brief  resume  of  the  steps  that  have  been  taken  to 
preserve  Provincetown  harbor  should  allude  also  to  the  very  valuable 
survey  of  Cape  Cod  harbor  made  by  Major  J.  D.  Graham  of  the 
United  States  Engineers'  Corps  in  1832-1835,  the  first  reliable  survey 
of  the  harbor  and  a  standard  with  which  to  compare  the  results  of  all 
later  surveys.  A  topographical  survey  of  Cape  Cod  from  Eastham 
to  Provincetown  was  also  executed  by  Henry  L.  Whiting  of  the  coast 
survey  in  1848,  and  again  in  1868  Mr.  Whiting  made  a  thorough  sur- 
vey of  the  harbor  with  special  attention  to  the  changes  of  the  harbor 
at  Long  point  and  in  East  Harbor  creek,  the  published  charts  of  which 
are  almost  invaluable  for  reference. 

Military. — As  the  population  removed  at  the  opening  of  the  war 
the  town  has  no  revolutionary  history  except  the  fact  that  it  was  a  ren- 
dezvous for  British  men-of-war.  It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that  in 
1782  the  town  was  again  inhabited,  for  a  vote  still  remains  upon  the 
records  of  the  annual  meeting  of  that  year,  appointing  Seth  Nickerson, 
jr.,  Elijah  N.  Cook  and  Edward  Cook  a  committee  "  to  petition  the 
general  court  for  liberty  to  obtain  a  protection  from  the  British  gov- 
ernment for  occupying  the  business  of  fishing  and  bringing  the  effects 
into  the  adjacent  states." 

The  war  of  1812,  preceeded  by  the  embargo  of  1808,  was  also  a 
time  of  disaster  and  great  depression  in  the  fisheries.  The  embargo 
necessarily  occasioned  the  destruction  of  the  commercial  industries  of 


968  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

the  maritime  towns.  Provincetown  suffered  with  the  others,  and  in 
1809  appointed  Barnabas  Holway  "  an  agent  of  the  town  to  go  to 
Sandwich  to  receive  any  gift  that  any  person  or  persons  may  feel 
willing  to  bestow  on  the  distressed  of  this  town."  The  town  had 
previously  in  1808  petitioned  the  president  of  the  United  States,  repre- 
senting "  that  they  have  suffered  severely  from  the  operation  of  the 
laws  laying  and  enforcing  an  embargo  on  all  ships  and  vessels  in  the 
ports  and  harbors  of  the  United  States  not  only  in  common  with  their 
fellow  citizens  throughout  the  Union  but  particularly  from  their  local 
and  peculiar  situation,  their  interest  being  almost  totally  in  fishing 
vessels.  The  perishable  nature  of  the  fish  and  the  sale  of  it  depending 
solely  on  a  foreign  market,  together  with  the  barreness  of  the  soil 
not  admitting  of  cultivation  leave  them  no  resource  but  the  fisher- 
ies," and  concluding  their  petition  with  a  request  that  the  embargo  be 
suspended  in  whole  or  in  part.  A  similar  petition  was  presented  to 
the  general  court  in  1809  asking  for  relief  "for  their  peculiarly  suffer- 
ing condition  in  any  way  that  might  be  deemed  expedient,"  and 
representing  "  that  from  the  barreness  of  the  soil  and  almost  insul- 
ated position  the  inhabitants  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  collectors  for 
every  article  of  subsistence  whatever."  The  war  of  1812  following 
upon  the  embargo,  completed  what  the  embargo  had  failed  to  accom- 
plish. In  1813  Messrs.  Jonathan  Cook,  John  Whorf  and  Joseph  At- 
kins were  chosen  a  committee  of  safety  "  to  devise  means  for  the 
enemy's  demands  in  future  if  the  town  be  oblidged  to  comply  with 
them." 

The  close  of  the  war  of  1812  marks  the  beginning  of  a  period  of 
prosperity  which,  heightened  rather  than  lessened  by  the  peculiar 
conditions  attending  the  civil  war  of  1861-1866,  has  continued  with 
slight  interruptions  to  the  present  time.  To  the  suppression  of  this 
civil  war  Provincetown  contributed  most  liberally,  as  stated  in  Chap- 
ter VII.  The  first  town  meeting  to  take  into  consideration  affairs 
relating  to  the  war  was  held  May  2,  1861,  and  voted  to  pay  to  every 
volunteer  from  Provincetown  in  the  army  or  navy  twenty  dollars, 
together  with  "  ten  dollars  a  month  for  single  men,  and  men  having 
wives  only  and  fifteen  dollars  a  month  to  men  having  families  while 
in  the  service."  The  United  States  erected  a  battery  upon  Long  Point 
during  the  war  and  for  a  time  maintained  there  a  garrison  of  volun- 
teers. Fortunately  the  town  was  spared  the  suffering  that  the  inva- 
sions of  the  enemy  had  caused  in  previous  wars,  and  but  for  the  loss 
of  life  and  the  loss  of  several  vessels  by  the  Sumter,  Alabama  and 
other  confederate  cruisers,  experienced  an  uninterrupted  business 
prosperity  during  the  years  of  strife. 

The  efforts  of  the  town  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  state  and 
nation  have  not  been  confined  wholly  to  times  of  war.      In  1805  the 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN.  969 

town  petitioned  for  a  lighthouse  upon  Race  point,  a  request  that  was 
not  granted  until  1816,  when  the  United  States  established  a  light- 
house at  that  important  maritime  station.  June  20,  1826.  the  state 
consented  to  the  purchase  by  the  United  States  of  not  more  than  four 
acres  of  land  at  Long  point  for  the  erection  of  a  lighthouse,  reserving, 
however,  to  the  state  and  to  the  town  of  Provincetown  jurisdiction 
over  the  land  for  all  civil  and  criminal  processes.  The  lighthouse 
was  built  there  the  same  year.  The  United  States  also  acquired  in 
1864  jurisdiction  over  all  that  portion  of  Long  point  extending  from 
the  extremity  to  a  line  drawn  true  west  through  the  northern  point 
of  House  Point  island,  subject,  however,  to  the  civil  and  criminal 
processes  of  the  judicial  tribunals  of  the  Commonwealth.  In  1872 
the  United  States  erected  a  lighthouse  at  Wood  End.  The  light- 
houses thus  generously  furnished  by  the  United  States  render  the 
harbor  at  Provincetown  easily  accessible  in  all  weathers. 

The  manifest  advantages  of  Provincetown  as  a  sea-port,  and  the 
need  of  accommodations  for  the  rapidly  increasing  fishing  fleet,  early 
created  a  need  for  wharves.  Thomas  Lothrop  constructed  the  first 
wharf  in  town,  in  the  vicinity  of  Masonic  Hall,  against  the  advice  of 
his  neighbors,  who  believed  that  the  sea  would  soon  cut  away  the 
sand  from  the  piles  and  destroy  the  wharf.  -His  successful  experi- 
ment was  followed  by  the  erection  of  other  wharves.  In  1631  the 
Union  wharf  was  built  upon  the  site  of  the  present  wharf  of  that 
name,  although  Jonathan  Nickerson,  Thomas  Nickerson,  Stephen 
Nickerson  and  Samuel  Soper  were  not  incorporated  as  the  Union 
Wharf  Company  until  1833.  The  Central  wharf  was  built  in  1839. 
Between  1838  and  1848  numerous  grants  for  wharves  at  Province- 
town  are  recorded,  among  which  are  grants  to  Freeman  and  Joseph 
Atkins  in  1846,  to  extend  their  wharf;  John  Atwood,  jr.,  in  1848; 
Solomon  Bangs,  in  1848;  James  Chandler,  in  1848;  Simeon  Conant, 
in  1847;  Joshua  Dyer,  in  1848;  Samuel  Cook,  in  1846;  Jesse  Cook,  to 
extend,  in  1848;  Parker  Cook,  to  extend,  in  1847;  K.  W.  Freeman, 
in  1847;  Isaiah  Gifford,  in  1847;  Jonathan  Hill  and  Joseph  P.  John- 
son, in  1847;  Stephen  Hilliard,  to  extend,  in  1846;  Timothy  P.  John- 
son, to  extend,  in  1846;  Thomas  Lothrop,  to  extend,  in  1844;  John 
Nickerson,  to  extend,  in  1846;  Seth  Nickerson,  to  build,  in  1848;  God- 
frey Rider,  in  1845;  Daniel  Small,  in  1848;  Elisha  Young,  in  1848. 

The  shipping  required,  however,  still  further  accommodations.  In 
1848,  accordingly,  Freeman  Atkins,  Eben  S.  Smith,  William  A.  Atkins 
and  others  were  incorporated  as  the  Provincetoiyn  Marine  Railway, 
with  power  to  construct  a  railway  easterly  of  Central  wharf.  In  1862 
Charles  A.  Hannum,  Stephen  Nickerson,  Alfred  Nickerson  and  others 
were  incorporated  as  the  Union  Marine  Railway,  with  power  to 
"build  a  railway  at  Union  wharf.     In  1864  Epaphras  K.  Cook,  Ephraim 


970  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Cook,  Ebenezer  Cook  and  others  were  .incorporated  as  the  Eastern- 
Marine  Railway,  to  construct  a  railway  from  the  wharf  of  E.  and  E> 
K.  Cook.  The  Eastern  Marine  Railway  was  .discontinued  in  the 
winter  of  1874-75. 

As  the  population  increased  and  the  business  interests  of  the  town 
developed,  a  need  arose  for  more  rapid  means  of  communication  than 
were  afforded  by  the  old  time  packet  and  the  lumbering  stage  coach. 
In  1842  and  1843  the  steamer  Express  ran  between  Boston  and  Pro- 
vincetown  by  way  of  Plymouth.  In  1849,1860  and  1851  the  Navshcn, 
commanded  in  turn  by  Captain  Upham  Grozier,  Henry  Paine  and 
Nathan  Nicholson  of  Wellfleet,  made  trips  to  Provincetown,  Well- 
fleet,  and  in  summer  to  Dennis.  From  1857  to  1861  the  Acorn,  Captain 
Gibbs  of  Hyannis,  and  afterward  Captain  Richard  Stevens  of  Pro- 
vincetown, made  regular  trips  between  Boston  and  Provincetown. 
The  Acorti  was  followed  by  the  George  Shattuck,  built  in  1862-3,  com- 
manded by  Captain  Gamaliel  B.  Smith,  S.  T.  Kilbourne,  mate,  and  N. 
Porter  Holmes,  clerk.  The  Shattuck  ran  on  the  route  until  1874,  when 
the  United  States  ran  for  one  season,  and  was  succeeded  by  the 
Acushnet  in  1876  for  two  seasons.  In  1883,  the  Longfellow,  Captain  John 
Smith,  was  built  expressly  for  the  route,  and  still  remains  in  service,, 
affording  a  fast,  safe  and  convenient  means  of  communication  be- 
tween Provincetown  and  Boston.  In  1863  Bowly's  wharf,  erected  in 
1849,  was  extended  to  the  deep  waters  of  the  harbor  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  Shattuck  and  became  the  steamboat  wharf  of  the 
town. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  of  Truro  April  26,  1716,  a  vote 
was  passed  to  apply  to  the  court  of  quarter  sessions  for  the  County  of 
Barnstable  for  a  highway  to  be  laid  out  from  Eastham  to  Truro  and 
through  Truro  down  to  and  through  the  province  lands  upon  Cape 
Cod.  It  is  not  probable,  however,  that  at  this  early  date  any  attempt 
was  made  to  lay  out  a  definite  highway  across  the  sand  banks  to  the 
north  of  Eastern  Harbor  meadows  from  Truro  to  Provincetown,  along 
which  for  many  years  travelers  between  the  two  towns  were  forced 
to  pass,  in  winter,  a  bleak,  dreary  way;  in  summer  hot  and  dusty. 
As  late  as  1798  the  town  voted  "  to  petition  to  have  a  post  to  come 
down  to  the  Cape,"  an  indication,  perhaps,  that  the  roads  were  at  that 
time  but  little  used  for  public  travel.  In  1836  a  county  road  from 
George  Lewis'  residence  to  Lancy's  corner  was  laid  out  twenty-two 
feet  in  width,  at  a  cost  of  $1,273.04  for  land  damages.  Before  the  es- 
tablishing of  the  county  road  the  shore  had  been  for  many  years  a 
frequently  used  way,  and  in  many  places  the  only  means  of  com- 
munication. April  12,  1864,  an  act  of  the  legislature  authorized  the 
commissioners  of  Barnstable  county  to  construct  a  bridge  over  East 
harbor  at  Beach  point,  and  a  bridge  costing  nine  thousand  dollars. 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN.  97? 

of  which  the  county  contributed  two  thou  sand, was  constructed.  The 
bridge,  however,  was  destroyed  by  ice  in  1856  and  was  rebuilt  in  1857.. 
Twenty  years  afterward  the  bridge  was  discontinued  and  a  solid  road- 
bed was  constructed  across  the  channel. 

In  the  meantime  the  railroad  displaced  the  stage,  for  in  1S73  the 
extension  of  the  Cape  Cod  railroad  from  Wellfleet  afforded  Province- 
town  the  long  coveted  rapid  transit  by  land.  The  town  contributed 
largely  to  the  attainment  of  the  railway  by  subscribing  $98,300  toward 
the  stock  issued  for  the  extension,  aud  received  in  return  727  shares 
of  the  capital  stock  of  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  Company,  which  were 
sold  from  time  to  time  for  $72,696.25.  The  railroad  was  opened  for 
traffic  July  22,  1873,  and  has  proved,  as  had  been  anticipated,  an  im- 
portant factor  in  contributing  to  the  prosperity  of  the  town.  Very 
soon  after  the  opening  of  the  railroad  President  Grant,  August  28, 
1874,  visited  Provincetown,  receiving  an  enthusiastic  welcome  from 
the  people.  With  the  exception  of  a  brief  visit  from  ex-President 
Cleveland  in  1889,  Provincetown  has  not  been  honored  by  the  pres- 
ence within  her  borders  of  other  presidents  of  the  United  States. 

In  1873  Bradford  street  was  completed  and  opened  to  public  travel, 
a  great  public  improvement,  rendered  necessary  by  the  continued 
growth  of  the  town,  its  execution  hastened  by  the  opening  of  the 
railroad.  The  town  had  taken  steps  toward  the  survey  early  in  1869,. 
and  expended,  before  1873^  for  land  damages  and  for  the  construction 
of  the  road  bed  nearly  twenty-nine  thousand  dollars. 

Town  Officers. — The  representatives  from  Provincetown  prior 
to  1857,  with  date  of  first  election  and  number  of  years'  service 
(when  more  than  one),  were:  1810,  Joseph  Atkins,  2  years;  1811,  Sam- 
uel Cook;  1812,  Simeon  Conant;  1813,  Daniel  Pease,  2;  1826,  Thomas 
Ryder;  1827,  David  Ryder;  1828,  Isaac  Small,  6;  1833,  Elisha  Young; 
1834,  John  Atkins,  7,  and  Enos  Nickerson,  3;  1835,  William  Gallica-,. 
1836,  Godfrey  Ryder  and  Joshua  Cook;  1837,  David  Ryder,  jr.,  2;  1839, 
David  Cook,  2d;  1841,  Stephen  A.  Paine,  2;  1843,  Thomas  Lothrop; 
1844,  John  Dunlap;  1845,  James  Gifford,  2;  1846,  Stephen  Hilliard,  2;. 
1850,  Joseph  P.  Johnson,  5;  1852,  Henry  Paine;  1853,  Elisha  Tilson; 
1856,  Nathaniel  E.  Atwood. 

The  selectmen  have  been:  1747,  John  Conant,  6  years,  and  Thomas 
Newcomb;  1748,  Elisha  Mayo,  2,  and  Caleb  Conant,  6;  1749,  Jonathan 
Nickerson,  2;  1751,  Solomon  Cook,  2;  1753,  Thomas  Kilburn,  12;  1756, 
Ebenezer  Nickerson,  3;  1757,  Samuel  Smith,  7;  1758,  Joshua  Alwccd, 
2;  1760,  Gershom  Ryder;  1762,  Benjamin  Ellis;  1763,  Seth  Nickerson, 

3,  and  Samuel  Cook,  11;  1767,  Solomon  Cook,  15;  1768,  Thomas  Ryder, 

4,  and  Samuel  Atwood,  5;  1769,  Phineas  Nickerson,  2;  1770,  Nehemiah 
Nickerson,  7;  1772,  Stephen  Atwood,  8;  1775,  Seth  Nicker.-on,  jr.,  7;. 
1782,  Stephen  Nickerson,  3,  and  Edward  Cook,  2;  1784,  Reuben  Orcutt,. 


972  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

2;  1786,  Joshua  A.  Mayo,  7;  1787,  Elijah  Nickerson,  2;  1789,  Samuel 
Ryder,  4;  1790,  Richard  Perry,  4;  1791,  Charles  Atkins;  1797,  David 
Ryder,  and  Josiah  Nickerson,  3;  1799,  Ebenezer  Nickerson,  3,  Thomas 
Ryder,  8,  and  Silas  Atkins,  2;  1801,  Stephen  Nickerson,  4;  1804,  Joseph 
Nickerson;  1806,  Daniel  Pease,  4;  1807,  Benjamin  E.  Atkins,  2;  1808, 
Joseph  Atkins,  2,  and  Orsemus  Thomas,  6;  1809,  John  Whorf;  1811, 
Paran  C.  Cook,  2,  and  Simeon  Conant,  7;  1813,  Nathaniel  Nickerson, 
3;  1816,  Elisha  Young,  11,  Abraham  Smalley,  and  Ephraim  Cook,  6; 
1818,  Isaac  Smalley,  12;  1820,  John  Cook,  jr.,  3;  1822,  Asa  S.  Bowley,  5: 
1828,  David  Brown,  and  Thomas  Nickerson,  6;  1829,  Elisha  Holmes, 
and  Charles  A.  Brown,  3;  1830,  Samuel  Cook,  and  Samuel  Soper,  4; 
1831,  Enos  Nickerson,  2;  1832,  Seth  Nickerson,  jr.,  3;  1833,  John  At- 
kins, 4,  and  Gamaliel  Collins,  4;  1834,  Elisha  Dyer;  1836,  Nathan  Free- 
man, 2d,  4;  1837,  Ebenezer  Atkins;  1838,  Lot  Paine,  2,  Benjamin  Ry-. 
der,  2,  and  John  Dunlap,  2;  1840,  Parker  Cook;  1842,  Daniel  Small,  2; 
1844,  Stephen  Milliard,  4;  1845,  Joseph  P.  Johnson,  6;  1847,  Ebenezer 
S.  Smith,  2;  1848,  Lemuel  Cook,  3;  1849,  Timothy  P.  Johnson,  2;  1851, 
John  Adams,  2,  and  Joshua  Paine,  5;  1853,  Joshua  E.  Bowley,  2,  and 
Nathaniel  Holmes,  2;  1856,  Joshua  Lewis,  and  Benjamin  Allstrum,  2; 
1856,  Artemas  Paine,  5,  and  Jesse  Small,  5;  1857,  Ebenezer  Cook,  2; 
1859,  E.  Kibbe  Cook,  2;  1861,  Joseph  P.  Johnson,  Simeon  S.  Gifford,  6, 
Robert  Soper,  3,  and  Abraham  Chapman,  3;  1864,  Silas  S.  Young,  11, 
Lysander  N.  Paine,  and  Alexander  Manuel,  4;  1867,  Joseph  P.  John- 
son; 1868,  Luther  Nickerson;  1869,  John  Swift,  6,  and  Artemas  Paine, 
8;  1875,  Benjamin  Dyer,  5,  and  Daniel  C.  Cook,  4;  1876,  Henry  W. 
Cowing,  4;  1879,  Bartholomew  O.  Gross,  8;  1880,  C.  H.  Dyer,  9,  and 
Marshall  L.  Adams,  10;  1887,  James  A.  Small,  4;  1889,  Thomas 
Lewis,  3. 

The  following  have  served  as  town  treasurers,  the  number  of 
years  indicated  after  their  respective  names:  1728,  Ezekiel  Cushing, 
12  years;  1749,  Thomas  Kilbum,  18;  1751,  John  Conant;  1761,  Eben- 
ezer Nickerson;  1763,  Joshua  Atwood,  7;  1782.  Samuel  Atwood,  6: 
1787,  Joshua  A.  Mayo,  6;  1793,  Stephen  Nickerson,  3;  1796,  William 
Miller,  17;  1811,  Seth  Nickerson,  2;  1815,  Nathaniel  Nickerson,  9; 
1823,  Thomas  Ryder;  1824,  Rufus  Conant,  6;  1829,  Asa  S.  Bowley,  5; 
1834,  Charles  Nickerson;  1835,  Elisha  Dyer,  81;  1866,  Paran  C.  Young, 
7;  1873,  Seth  Smith,  17. 

The  town  clerks  with  date  of  first  election  and  number  of  years 
service  have  been:  1747,  Samuel  Smith,  26  years;  1773,  Samuel 
Atwood,  23;  1796.  David  Abbott,  3;  1798,  Josiah  Nickerson,  8;  1806,. 
Orsemus  Thomas,  8;  1811,  Samuel  Cook,  2;  1816,  Asa  S.  Bowley,  18; 
1834,  Charles  Nickerson;  since  which  date  the  respective  treasurers 
have  been  also  the  town's  clerk. 

The  first  steps  toward  the  organization  of  a  fire  department  were 


TOWN   OF   PROVINCETOWN.  973 

taken  at  the  March  meeting  in  1836,  when  a  vote  was  passed  "  tobuy 
one  hand  fire  engine  and  thirty  second-hand  buckets,  one  hundred 
feet  of  leading  hose,  and  all  other  necessary  fixtures."     The  engine 
then  bought  was  known  as  the  Washington.     In  1850  the  Frmiklin  was 
purchased.     In  1859  a  board  of  engineers,  with  E.  G.  Loring  as  chief, 
was  established.     Mr.  Loring  was  succeeded  by  Ebenezer  S.  Smith. 
The  present  chief  engineer,  John  D.  Hilliard,  joined  the  department 
in  1866,  and  succeeded  Mr.  Smith  as  chief  engineer  in  April,  1871. 
October  12,  1868,  two  second-hand  engines,  built  by  Hunneman  & 
Bros.,  in  1850,  were  added  to  the  fire  department  and  are  designated 
respectively  as'  the  Mazeppa,  No.  3,  and  Excelsior,  No.  4.     In  1869  the 
Ulysses  No.  1,  and  in  1871   the  new  Franklin  No.  2  were  added.     The 
hook   and  ladder  truck  was   put   in  service  in  1853.    The   assistant 
engineers,  Lysander  N.  Paine,  George  O.  Knowles,  John  G.  Whit- 
comb  and  George  H.  Holmes,  have  aided  Chief  Hilliard  in  bringing 
the  department  to  a  high  standard.     The  eflBciencyof  itsfire  service 
has  doubtless  saved  the  town  from  any  serious  conflagration.    The 
town,  however,  has  not  been  wholly  free  from  fires,  several  of  them 
causing  considerable  loss  of  property.     In  1858-69  at  the  Bowen  fire, 
six  buildings  on  Commercial  street  between  the  land  of  Josiah  F. 
Small  and  the  land  belonging  to  the  estate  of  Jesse  Cook,  were  totally 
destroyed.     In  1875  Adams  Hall,  a  large  building  at  the  corner  of 
Winthrop  and  Commercial  streets,  was  burned,  the  fire  breaking  cut 
during  the  evening  of  March  fourth,  at  a  time  when  the  streets  were 
almost  impassable  from  snow,  and  threatening  the  destruction  of  the 
neighboring  buildings,  which  were  saved  only  after  long  continued 
efforts  on  the  part  of  the  firemen.     February  16,1877,  at  8.25  p.  m.  the 
town  house  upon  High  hill  was  destroyed  by  fire,  the  efforts  of  the 
firemen  to  check  the  flames  being  ineffective.     January  17,  1886,  the 
Puritan  shirt  factory,  owned  by  E.  A.  Buffinton  of  Leominster,  was 
totally  destroyed. 

There  is  but  one  post  oflBce  in  the  town  and  this  was  established 
about  the  beginning  of  the  present  century.  Daniel  Pease,  the  first 
postmaster,  was  appointed  January  1, 1801.  He  was  succeeded  March 
10,  1810,  by  Joseph  Atkins,  who  held  the  office  until  May  29,  1816, 
when  Orsamus  Thomas  was  appointed.  After  Mr.  Thomas  the  suc- 
cessive incumbents  to  1860  were:  Josiah  Batchelder,  appointed  Decem- 
ber 20,  1822;  RufusConant,  December  6, 1824;  Ezra  C.  Scott,  December 
29, 1828:  Thomas  Lathrop,  March  10,  1832;  John  L.  Lathrop,  April  16, 
1839;  Godfrey  Rider,  September  17,  1847;  Philip  Cook,  July  14,  1849: 
Godfrey  Rider,  May  26,  1853;  Joshua  E.  Bowley,  1861;  B.  F.  Hutchin- 
son,  1865;  Paron  C.  Young,  May  3,  1869. 

The  union  of  parish  and  town  made  unnecessary  the  erection  of 
public  buildings  for  the  use  of  the  town  until  long  after  1800,  the  sev- 


'974  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

eral  church  edifices  affording  the  necessary  accommodations  for  the 
town  meetings  and  the  town  officers.  In  1806  the  records  first  allude 
to  a  building  for  town  purposes.  During  an  epidemic  of  small  pox  in 
1801  a  private  dwelling  surrounded  by  a  high  board  fence  had  been 
set  apart  for  a  hospital.  In  1806  the  building  thus  erected  was  by 
vote  of  the  town  converted  into  a  poorhouse  and  continued  to  be 
used  for  that  purpose  until  the  erection  of  an  almshouse  on  Alden 
street  in  1833,  at  an  expense  of  $867.  The  Alden  street  house  was 
sold  in  1875  for  $650,  the  new  almshouse  erected  in  1870  affording  the 
necessary  accommodations  for  the  town's  poor.  The  present  alms- 
house was  constructed  in  1870  at  a  cost  of  $6,526,  affording  a  comfort- 
.able  and  commodious  home  for  the  unfortunate  dependents  upon  the 
down's  charity. 

In  1845  the  town  voted  to  petition  the  legislature  to  authorize  the 
county  commissioners  to  erect  a  jail  at  Provincetown.  The  jail  was 
accordingly  built  upon  Central  street  near  Bradford  in  1845,  and  con- 
tinued in  use  as  the  town  "lockup"  until  1886. 

In  1851  the  town  voted  to  erect  a  town  house  upon  High  hill.   The 

elevated  position  of  the  site,  affording  a  view  of  the  sea  for  many 

miles,  rendered  the  hall  the  most  conspicuous  building  of  the  town. 

It  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $14,300,  and  was  still  used  for  town  and  school 

purposes  in  1877,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire.      In  1885  the  town 

■caused  to  be  erected  the  present  beautiful  hall  at  the  corner  of  Ryder 

.  and  Commercial  streets  at  a  cost  of  $52,141.  This  was  dedicated  August 

25,  1886,  the  governor  of  the  Commonwealth  and  other  distinguished 

guests  attending  the  exercises.     The  address  of  the  Hon.  James  Gif- 

ford,  the  historian  of  the  occasion,  containing  a  graphic  description 

•of  the  hall  and  a  summary  of  the  olden  time  customs  of  the  town,  was 

published  at  the  time.     Mr.  Gifford  said: 

Although  it  is  169  years  since  Provincetown  was  incorporated,  it 
has  prior  to  this,  built  but  one  hall  for  the  transaction  of  the  town's 
business.  The  reason  may  be  found  in  the  circumstance  that  until 
within  the  recollection  of  persons  now  living,  the  town  and  parish 
were  in  their  functions  and  administration  nearly  identical,  so  that 
the  meeting  house  furnished  pulpit  and  forum.  The  town  govern- 
ment, in  its  earlier  days  was  therefore  essentially  a  theocracy.  A 
majority  of  its  voters  and  of  its  officials,  were  members  of  the  church 
of  the  old  standing  order,  the  same  persons  being  generally  appointed 
or  elected  to  serve  both  town  and  parish.  That  they  governed  fairly 
and  well  there  is  little  dispute.  Indeed  the  moral  discipline  and 
homogeneous  character  of  the  early  settlers,  chiefly  descendants  of 
the  Pilgrims  and  of  their  immediate  successors,  supplying  the  place 
of  law,  they  required  little  interference,  restraint  or  direction  from 
-the  local  authorities. 


TOWN   OF   PROVINCETOWN.  975 

As  evidence  that  th'ese  traits  have  not  become  altogether  extinct  in 
their  posterity  here,  the  fact  may  be  cited  that  not  a  murder  has  ever 
been  committed  in  this  town,  nor  has  there  ever  been  a  native  in- 
habitant of  the  place  sentenced  to  state's  prison. 

Beside  exemption  from  the  cost  of  town  halls,  our  predecessors 
also  enjoyed  immunity  from  the  construction  and  support  of  public 
roads.  Dwellings  and  buildings  here  were  for  the  most  part  built 
upon  the  shore,  close  to  the  water's  edge,  and  the  tide,  then  un- 
obstructed by  wharf  or  encumbrance  from  one  end  of  the  port  to  the 
other,  was  the  common  highway  upon  which,  until  within  fifty-five 
years,  the  transportation  of  the  town  was  done.  Not  alone  did  the 
water  serve  as  a  highway  for  the  conveyance  of  goods  and  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  fisheries.  Did  the  family,  or  any  of  its  members,  desire 
to  visit  at  "a  distant  part  of  the  village,  the  boat  was  called  into 
requisition  as  carriage,  or  coach.  Brought  to  the  door  and  having 
taken  aboard  its  precious  freight,  it-was  pushed  off  the  beach  in  charge 
of  father,  brother  or  friend,  who  were  unexcelled  in  handling  or  sail- 
ing their  craft.  Over  this  placid  highway,  broader,  grander  than 
Appian  Way,  visits  were  made  and  returned,  and  the  social  life  of 
the  place  enhanced.  Nor  is  there  record  or  tradition  of  the  occur- 
rence of  any  serious  accident  during  the  century  and  more  this 
mode  of  travel  was  in  use. 

We  cap  well  believe,  however,  that  the  lady  passengers  in  these 
small  boats  did  not  always  escape  tasting  salt  water.  Yet  were  they 
not  appalled  by  it.  They  didn't  mind  a  little  spray  from  the  weather 
130 w,  but  were  exhilarated  rather  by  the  dash  of  the  sea,  when,  as 
the  sheets  were  hauled  aft  and  the  boat,  responding  to  the  impulse 
of  the  freshening  breeze,  went  flying  on  her  course.  Clad  in  attire 
suited  to  their  needs,  fear  of  dampening  crimps  or  soiling  indescrib- 
able bonnets  did  not  banish  enjoyment  of  the  sail.  The  entire 
absence  of  horses  from  the  place  at  the  period  cited,  was  thus  made 
good  by  boats.  No  favorite  of  the  race  course  was  more  doated  on 
than  was  the  fastest  sailer  and  best  sea  boat.  A  little  incident  illus- 
trates the  attachment  of  the  boatman  to  his  boat.  When  the  skipper 
of  a  somewhat  larger  craft  who  was  in  the  practice  of  crossing  Barn- 
stable bay,  a  distance  of  some  thirty  miles,  alone,  was  remonstrated 
with  for  not  taking  along  another  man  or  boy  to  pick  him  up  in  case 
he  should  fall  overboard,  the  skipper  replied:  "  I  know  its  a  little 
risky.  I've  thought  of  it.  I've  thought  if  I  should  get  knocked  over- 
board by  the  main  boom  out  in  the  bay,  alone,  I  didn't  know  what 
would  become  of  the  sloop." 

As  I  have  stated,  the  town  possessed,  prior  to  this,  but  one  hall. 
That  was  erected  in  1854,  upon  the  top  of  the  hill  in  the  rear  of 
this  building.     It  had  two  strong  recommendations;  it  occupied  the 


976  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

mostconspicuoussite  the  town  could  boast.  Admirably  cBrnpleting  the 
central  outline  and  background  to  the  village,  it  served  as  an  excel- 
lent beacon  to  storm-imperilled  sailors  approaching  our  coast  from 
sea.  But  for  the  transaction  of  the  town's  business,  except,  perhaps, 
during  the  pendency  of  some  exciting  election  or  question,  and  for 
all  social  uses,  it  might  as  well  have  been  moored  upon  Stellwagner's 
bank,  in  Massachusetts  bay.  True  the  high  school  was  kept  there, 
and  its  dullest  pupils  were  made  to  understand  that  ascending  the 
hill  of  science  was  not  merely  a  figure  of  speech.  If  in  fine  weather 
the  view  from  the  hill  was  pleasing,  during  the  terrific  storms  not  in- 
frequent here,  the  girl  approaching  or  leaving  the  school  who  avoided 
the  perils  of  the  slate  flying  at  her  from  the  roof  at  the  rate  of  seventy- 
five  knots,  or  escaped  impalement  upon  the  iron  pickets  of  the  fence 
surrounding  it,  had  good  reason  for  uttering  a  prayer  of  thanks- 
giving. 

That  this  is  not  a  fancy  sketch  rnay  be  inferred  from  the  incident 
that  one  young  lady  pupil  still  survives,  who,  on  leaving  the  house 
upon  one  occasion,  was  lifted  from  the  ground  by  the  gale,  and  after 
being  helplessly  hurled  about  the  premises,  was  finally  suspended 
upon  this  fence,  with  a  picket  through  her  cheek.  Hence,  when  on 
the  night  of  February  16,  1879,  some  accidental  or  providential  hand 
applied  the  torch,  and  the  town  and  high  school  house  vanished  in  a 
glowing  chariot  of  flame,  with  all  the  town  as  spectators,  there  was 
felt  little  genuine  regret. 

The  central  part  of  this  site,  including  most  of  that  covered  by  the 
building,  had  been  the  homestead  of  a  much  respected  and  one  of  the 
oldest  families  in  town,  that  of  the  late  Godfrey  Ryder,  sr.  It  had 
recently  become  the  patrimony  of  a  distinguished  member  of  that 
family,  who  was  born  upon  this  spot,  and  now  the  honored  resident  of 
a  distant  western  city.*  Th6  question  was  anxiously  debated  in  com- 
mittee, whether  or  not  he  would  be  willing  to  part  with  this  estate  for 
an  adequate  consideration,  and  for  the  purposes  indicated.  Half  ap- 
prehensive of  a  refusal,  you  can  judge  of  the  committee's  gratification 
when  the  response  to  their  application  came,  in  substance,  that  the 
possessor  would  not  onl)'^  part  with  it  for  a  site  for  a  town  hall,  but  in 
token  of  the  attachment  he  still  cherished  towards  the  place  of  his 
birth,  its  conveyance  would  be  a  gift  to  the  town.  Subsequently,  when  - 
the  necessity  for  enlargement  of  the  site  became  apparent,  and  steps 
were  taken  for  the  purchase  of  three  other  adjoining  estates,  he 
claimed  the  privilege  of  paying  for  these  also.  The  entire  site  thus 
bestowed,  and  bordering  upon  three  streets,  comprises  an  area  of 
twenty-two  thousand  five  hundred  feet  of  land,  of  a  value  of  not  less 
than  four  thousand  dollars. 

*  Rev.  Doctor  Ryder,  of  Chicago. 


TOWN   OF   PROVINCETOWN.  977 

By  a  younger  scion  of  another  old  and  estimable  family,  who  is 
also  a  citizen  of  another  city,  Mr.  John  F.  Nickerson,  of  Somerville,  is 
donated  the  valued  gift  of  the  fine  toned  bell  suspended  in  the  tower 
of  this  building. 

Nor  is  the  list  of  Provincetown's  benefactors  yet  exhausted.  We 
have  yet  another  to  thank.  Not  indeed  a  native,  but  with  good  i  ight, 
an  adopted  son  of  the  old  town.  When,  in  1826,  Connecticut,  enter- 
taining a  profound  aversion  to  mischievous  boys,  sent  here  an  impul- 
sive, green, bright,  jolly,  saucy  lad*  of  thirteen,  to  hoe  his  way,  and  to 
try  his  muscle  with  the  resident  young  tarpaulins  and  blue-jackets  of 
the  day,  she  knew  as  little  what  she  had  lost,  as  did  Provincetown 
what  she  had  gained.  It  didn't  take  long  for  the  boys  and  people  to 
find  out.  Both  have  long  since  known  that  when  the  interest  of  the 
community  required  personal  sacrifice,  when  public  spirit  was  to  be 
evoked,  enterprise  promoted,  or  charity  solicited,  the  exile  from  Con- 
necticut could  always  be  relied  upon  to  lend  a  hand  or  to  lead  the 
way.  Indeed  his  inability  to  say  no,  especially  when  the  hat  went 
round,  has  long  since  become  the  village  proverb.  Hence  when  the 
erection  of  this  hall  became  an  established  fact,  our  presiding  oflBcer 
could  no  more  help  contributing  to  this  enterprise  in  some  way  than 
he  could  help  having  been  born  in  Connecticut.  And  what  gift  more 
striking,  or  timely  than  the  clock !  And  while  none  will  desire  to 
hasten,  by  a  single  span,  his  final  departure  hence,  we  are  neverthe- 
less admonished  by  his  venerable  locks  and  shining  crown,  that  he 
can  not  always  remain  with  us,  nor  always  preside  over  our  town  meet- 
ings. Then  what  more  useful  and  constant  pledge  of  interest  in  his 
adopted  home  could  he  leave?  Each  stroke  of  this  clock  will  suggest 
to  the  present  and  future  inhabitants  of  the  town,  the  engagements, 
the  duties  and  obligations  of  the  passing  hour.  Thus  will  it  serve 
as  a  perpetual  monitor,  as  well  as  a  perpetual  memorial  of  merits  uni- 
versally acknowledged  and  as  widely  esteemed. 

Recognizing  the  fact,  that  the  title  to  the  Province  lands  in  Pro- 
vincetown, upon  which  two-thirds  of  the  village  stands,  including  this 
building,  is  still  in  the  Commonwalth,  it  is  especially  fitting  that  His 
Excellency  should  appear  here  to-day  and  ascertain  for  himself 
whether  or  not  the  people  in  this  place  have  violated  their  ancient 
tenure  of  squatter  sovereignty  in  the  erection  of  this  and  other  build- 
ings upon  these  lands.  Conversant  as  the  governor  doubtless  is  with 
the  circumstance,  that  whatever  of  value,  of  improvements  and  better- 
ments he  may  discover  upon  this  territory,they  are  the  ultimate  product 
of  the  sea,  reclaimed  through  much  exposure,  labor  and  peril,  we  have 
the  utmost  confidence  he  will  not,  upon  full  view,  and  after  his  return 
to  the  state  house,  order  notice  to  be  served  upon  us  to  move  out." 

•Joseph  P.  Johnson. 
62 


978  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Resources  of  the  Town. — The  location  of  the  town  has  naturally 
determined  the  character  of  its  business  enterprises.  From  the  be- 
ginning of  the  settlement  the  fisheries  were  the  dependence  of  the 
people.  As  early  as  1690  the  people  of  the  Cape  had  become  profi- 
cient in  the  shore  whale  fisheries.  In  1791  a  committee  was  chosen 
to  petition  the  general  government  for  the  removal  of  the  duties  on 
salt,  which  was  largely  consumed  in  the  cod  fisheries  that  employed 
from  twenty  to  thirty  vessels  at  that  date,  taking  in  1790  eleven  thou- 
sand quintals  of  cod  fish  on  the  Grand  Banks.  In  1803  forty-four  sail- 
ing vessels  belonging  in  Provincetown  were  at  sea,  chiefly  fishing  at 
the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle.  The  cargoes  brought  home  amounted  to 
fifty  thousand  quintals  of  fish.  In  1834  besides  four  hundred  tons  of 
coasting  vessels,  six  thousand  tons  of  vessels  were  engaged  in  the 
cod  and  mackerel  fishery,  returning  45,000  quintals  of  codfish  and 
17,000  barrels  of  mackerel,  and  employing  one  thousand  men.  In 
1837  ninety-eight  vessels  were  engaged  in  the  fisheries  from  Prov- 
incetown, employing  1,113  men,  securing  51,000  quintals  of  codfish 
and  18,000  barrels  of  mackerel.  In  1857  one  hundred  vessels,  aver- 
aging ninety  tons  each,  fitted  out  at  Provincetown  for  the  cod  fishery 
alone,  taking  during  the  season  80,000  quintals  of  codfish  and  oil  val- 
ued at  $22,000,  a  total  value,  including  $28,000  bounty,  of  $300,000. 

The  cod  fishery  has  been  the  chief  fisherj'  of  the  town,  though  at 
times  the  mackerel  fishery  has  proved  profitable.  In  1860  nineteen 
thousand  barrels  of  mackerel  were  inspected  at  Provincetown,  though 
doubtless  many  barrels  caught  by  Provincetown  vessels  in  the  same 
year  were  inspected  at  Boston.  In  1862  Provincetown  returned 
seventy-four  vessels  employed  in  the  cod  fishery,  the  catch  for  the 
year  amounting  to  sixty-two  thousand  quintals  of  cod  fish.  The  shore 
fisheries,  supplemented  during  the  ten  years  since  1880  by  fish  weirs, 
have  always  proved  a  source  of  irregular  yet  often  bountiful  income 
to  the  fishermen  of  Provincetown. 

The  capital  invested  in  the  Provincetown  fishing  business 
amounted  in  1885  to  $964,573.* 

Apart  from  the  fisheries,  the  making  of  salt  for  man}-^  years  em- 
ployed a  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  thfe  town,  many  of  whom 
were  able  to  prosecute  at  the  same  time  the  shore  fisheries  with  suc- 
cess. The  manufacture  of  salt  began  in  Provincetown  in  1800  and 
continued  for  many  years  a  profitable  industry.  Salt  mills  and  salt 
works  extended  along  the  shore  from  one  end  of  the  town  to  another, 
giving  to  the  town  a  picturesque  appearance,  which  is  not  wholly  lost 
in  the  early  wood  cuts  of  the  town  that  are  still  preserved  in  rare 
copies  of  the  gazetteers  of  Massachusetts.  In  1835  the  business  was 
still  at  its  height,  but  the  reduction  of  the  bounty  and  the  high  price 

*At  pages  132-139  are  further  statistics  in  detail  on  whaling  and  the  fisheries. — Ed. 


TOWN   OF  PROVINCETOWN.  979 

of  lumber  soon  after  caused  a  diminution  in  the  annual  product,  so 
that  in  1854  the  business  had  ceased.  Several  attempts  to  establish 
manufactories  have  been  fruitless,  so  that  in  1890  a  shirt  factory,  em- 
ploying from  one  to  two  hundred  young  women,  is  the  principal  and 
only  manufacturing  industry  of  Provmcetown  not  directly  dependent 
upon  the  fisheries. 

The  population  of  Provincetown  has  varied  from  time  to  time,  and 
yet  has  since  1800  increased  steadily,  though  slowly.  In  1748  there 
were  but  two  or  three  families  at  Provincetown;  in  1755,  ten  or  fifteen 
families ;  in  1776  there  were  thirty-six  families.  In  1756  only  three 
houses  remained;  in  1775  twenty  houses  were  standing;  in  1800  the 
number  of  dwellings  had  reached  144.  In  1798,  101  houses  in  Prov- 
incetown were  valued  at  $15,375,  of  which  several  were  valued  over 
$200,  among  them  being  the  houses  belonging  to  Joseph  Nickerson, 
Ebenezer  Nickerson,  Seth  Nickerson,  Thomas  Small  and  Samuel 
Rider.  In  1791  there  were  owned  in  town  but  two  horses,  two  yoke 
of  oxen,  and  fifty  cows.  In  1870  the  number  of  dwelling  houses  had 
increased  to  794.     In  1890  there  were  970  dwelling  houses. 

The  population  of  Provincetown  in  1766  was  205  ;  in  1776,  206  ; 
1790,  454  ;  1800,  812 ;  1810,  936  ;  1820,  1,252  ;  1830,  1,710  ;  1840,  2,122  ; 
1850,  3,157 ;  1855,  3,096  ;  1860,  3,206  ;  1865,  3,472 ;  1870,  3,865  ;  1875, 
4,357;  1880,4,346;  1885,4,480;  1890  (estimated),  6,000. 

The  population  of  Provincetown  consists  of  three  distinct  classes: 
the  descendants  of  the  early  settlers,  the  emigrants  from  the  Prov- 
inces, and  the  Portuguese  from  the  Western  Islands.  The  fisheries 
have  for  many  years  attracted  to  Provincetown  seamen  of  all  nationali- 
ties, so  that  in  1890  the  population  of  Provincetown  resembles  in  the 
number  of  nationalities  some  foreign  city,  as  the  following  table  of 
the  parent  nativity  will  show:  Of  a  total  population  of  4,480  in  1885 
there  were:  Native  born,  3,332;  foreign  born,  1,148;  both  parents 
native,  1,813;  both  parents  foreign,  2,136;  one  parent  foreign,  431. 
Of  the  population  of  foreign  birth,  698  were  of  Portuguese  nativity,  251 
of  Nova  Scotia  or  Provincial  birth,  and  199  were  born  in  other  foreign 
countries. 

The  first  banking  institution  at  Provincetown  was  a  branch  of  the 
Freeman's  National  Bank  of  Boston,  established  in  1846  at  the  Union 
Wharf  Company  store,  with  which  David  Fairbanks  and  Richard  E. 
Nickerson  were  connected.  This  branch  bank  continued  to  do  busi- 
ness until  the  establishment  of  the  Provincetown  Bank,  which 
used  the  Freeman's  National  Bank  of  Boston  as  its  first  place  of  de- 
posit in  Boston. 

James  M.  Holmes,  Elijah  Smith,  Elisha  Tillson  and  others  were 
incorporated  as  the  Provincetown  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  $100,000 
March  28,  1854.     The  bank  was  opened  for  business  in  December, 


980  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

1854.  The  first  board  of  directors  included  Nathan  Freeman,  2d, 
Daniel  Small,  Isaiah  Giflford,  Joseph  P.  Johnson,  Henry  Cook,  Enos 
Nickerson,  Joshua  E.  Bowley  and  Eben  S.  Smith.  In  February,  1866, 
the  bank  became  the  First  National  Bank,  with  a  capital  of  $200,000. 
The  presidents  of  the  bank  since  1854  have  been:  Nathan  Freeman, 
to  1877;  Stephen  Cook,  to  September,  1888:  and  Moses  N.  Gifford,  to 
the  present  time.  The  cashiers  have  been:  Elijah  Smith,  to  1866; 
Moses  N.  Giflford,  to  September,  1888;  Reuben  W.Swift,  to  December, 
1889,  and  Joseph  H.  Dyer,  since.  The  board  of  directors  for  1890  in- 
cludes: Henry  Cook,  who  has  served  continuously  since  1854,  Wil- 
liam A.  Atkins,  Joshua  Paine,  Joseph  P.  Johnson,  who  has  served  con- 
tinuously since  1854,  N.  P.  Holmes,  John  D.  Hilliard,  George  O. 
Knowles,  Joseph  A.  West  and  Moses  N.  Giflford. 

April  14,  1851,  The  Seamen's  Savings  Bank  was  incorporated — 
David  Fairbanks,  Joseph  B.  Hersey,  and  Thomas  Nickerson  being 
among  the  incorporators — and  began  business  April  28, 1852.  The  first 
board  of  trustees  included:  Jonathan  Nickerson,  Stephen  Nickerson, 
Nathan  Freeman,  2d,  Stephen  Hilliard,  J.  B.  Hughes,  Isaiah  Giflford, 
Joshua  E.  Bowley,  Ephraim  Cook,  Eben  S.  Smith  and  Joshua  Paine. 
The  presidents  have  been:  John  Adams,  March,  1852,  to  January, 
1856;  David  Fairbanks,  to  February,  1874,  and  Lysander  N.  Paine,  to 
the  present.  The  secretaries  and  treasurers  have  been:  David  Fair- 
banks, March,  1852,  to  January,  18.56;  Richard  E.  Nickerson,  to  Jan- 
uary, 1858;  Enos  Nickerson,  to  January,  1867;  John  Young,  jr.,  to 
June,  1872;  Joseph  H.  Dyer,  to  January,  1890,  and  Lewis  Nickerson 
since.  The  board  of  directors  for  1890  includes:  Richard  E.  Nicker- 
son, Nathan  Young,  Joseph  Manta,  James  A.  Small,  A.  L.  Putnam, 
Joshua  Cook,  Atkins  Nickerson,  Lawrence  Young,  Thomas  Lewis, 
Nathaniel  Hopkins,  James  Giflford  and  Abner  B.  Rich. 

A  maritime  town,  with  large  commercial  interests,  Provincetown 
has  furnished  suflficient  insurance  risks  to  cause  the  organization  of 
several  insurance  companies,  only  one  of  which  continues  to  do  busi- 
ness in  Provincetown.  The  first  insurance  company  of  which  a 
record  has  been  preserved — The  Provincetown  Fire  and  Marine  In- 
surance Company — was  incorporated  in  1829,  Simeon  Conant,  Jona- 
than Nickerson,  Silas  Atkins,  Josiah  Snow,  Ephraim  Cook,  Jonathan 
Cook,  jr.,  Elisha  Young,  Charles  A.  Brown,  Thomas  Nickerson,  John 
Adams  and  Godfrey  Ryder  being  the  incorporators.  In  1832  Simeon 
Conant,  Henry  Willard,  Samuel  Soper,  Thomas  Nickerson,  Jonathan 
Cook,  jr.,  Elisha  Young,  Ephraim  Cook,  Charles  Parker  and  Sokmon 
Cook  were  incorporated  as  the  Fishing  Insurance  Company.  In  1839 
Simeon  Conant,  Jonathan  Nickerson  and  John  Adams  were  incorpor- 
ated as  the  Union  Insurance  Company.  In  1845  Daniel  Small,  Caleb 
U.  Grozier  and  David  Small  were  incorporated  as  the  Equitable  In- 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN.  981 

surance  Company.  In  1854  Jonathan  Nickerson,  Samuel  Soper  and 
John  Adams  were  incorporated  as  the  Atlantic  Mutual  Fire  and 
Marine  Insurance  Company. 

A  detailed  history  of  the  business  activity  of  the  insurance  com- 
panies would  be  without  interest.  It  is  interesting,  however,  to  note 
that  John  Adams  and  David  Fairbanks  were  respectively  president 
and  secretary  of  the  Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  Company  in  1829; 
that  Thomas  Nickerson  was  first  president  of  the  Fishing  Insurance 
Company,  which  in  1840  carried  marine  risks  of  $26,000;  and  that 
John  Adams  and  David  Fairbanks  were  president  and  secretary, 
respectively,  of  the  Union  Insurance  Company  of  1839,  which  in  1840 
carried  maritime  risks  of  $22,000.  In  1861  Ephraim  Cook  and  John 
D.  Hilliard  became  president  and  secretary  of  The  Provincetown 
Marine,  instituted  in  that  year  for  the  insurance  of  war  risks.  The 
Atlantic  Insurance  Company,  instituted  in  1855,  was  united  with  the 
Equitable  in  1887.  The  presidents  of  the  Atlantic  were:  David  Fair- 
banks, Samuel  Soper  and  Joshua  Paine,  who  in  1881  became  president 
of  the  new  Equitable.  The  successive  secretaries  of  the  Atlantic 
were:  Richard  E.  Nickerson,  Enos  Nickerson,  John  Young,  jr.,  and 
Lewis  Nickerson.  The  Equitable,  reorganized  in  1881,  is  still,  in 
1890.  a  prosperous  corporation,  with  a  capital  of  $50,000,  insuring  in 
1889  property  to  the  value  of  $822,611.  Joshua  Paine  and  Lewis  Nick- 
erson have  been  president  and  secretary  since  1887.  The  directors 
for  1889  were:  Joshua  Paine,  William  A.  Atkins,  Henry  Cook,  Na- 
thaniel Hopkins,  Atkins  Nickerson,  William  Matheson,  Charles  A. 
Cook,  L.  N.  Paine  and  Adam  Macool. 

The  first  step  toward  the  institution  of  a  free  public  library  in 
Provincetown  was  a  vote  passed  at  the  last  meeting  of  Mayflower 
Division  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  of  Provincetown  in  1863,  direct- 
ing the  treasurer  of  that  organization  to  deposit  in  the  Seaman's  Sav- 
ings Bank  the  funds  in  the  treasury,  amounting  to  nearly  three  hun- 
dred dollars,  to  be  expended  in  the  purchase  of  books  for  any  free 
public  librarj'  that  might  thereafter  be  established  in  Provincetown. 
That  fund  remained  on  deposit  until  1874,  when  it  amounted  to 
$522.22,  and  was  then  paid  over  to  the  trustees  of  the  Provincetown 
Public  Library.  The  first  official  action  of  the  town,  in  its  corporate 
capacity,  toward  establishing  a  public  library  was  taken  at  the  annual 
meeting  in  February,  1872.  Twenty-five  dollars  were  then  appropri- 
ated "  for  the  establishment  of  a  free  Public  Library."  The  town 
clerk  was  directed  to  expend  the  money  "  in  the  purchase  and  bind- 
ing of  a  copy  of  the  Boston  Daily  Advertiser  for  one  year  to  be  kept  in 
the  town  clerk's  office  for  the  use  of  the  public."  The  sum  of  $250.03, 
the  proceeds  of  the  dog  tax  refunded  to  the  town  by  the  county  in 
1869,  1870,  1871  and  1872,  was  also  appropriated  "for  the  purchase  of 


982  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

books  for  a  town  library,  the  money  to  be  loaned  to  the  town  treas- 
ury until  the  town  should  otherwise  order  and  draw  interest  at  the 
rate  of  seven  per  cent  per  annum." 

December  1, 1873,  Hon.  Nathan  Freeman  conveyed  to  trustees  by 
a  deed,  a  copy  of  which  is  filed  in  the  town  clerk's  ofiGce,  the  land  and 
building  erected  thereon,  known  as  the  Freeman  Building,  upon  the 
condition  that  the  lower  floor,  excepting  the  entrance  hall,  should  be 
occupied  solely  for  the  purposes  of  a  public  library.  The  trustees 
were  also, directed  to  pay  over  to  the  proper  officers  of  the  library, 
annually,  such  portion  of  the  income  from  the  rental  of  the  upper 
story  of  the  Freeman  Building  as  should  seem  just  and  reasonable. 
At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  town  in  February,  1874,  seven  trustees 
of  the  public  library  were  chosen,  and  the  funds  that  had  accumu- 
lated in  the  treasury  were  transferred  to  the  trustees  of  the  public 
library  then  chosen.  The  town  also  voted  to  appropriate  two  thou- 
sand dollars  for  the  purchase  of  books  and  for  such  furniture  as  might 
be  necessary,  provided  that  one  thousand  dollars,  including  donations 
and  appropriations  already  made,  should  be  obtained  from  other 
sources.  Through  the  eJQforts  of  James  Gifford  sufficient  money  was 
subscribed  by  sons  of  Provincetown,  at  home  and  abroad,  to  ren- 
der available  the  town's  liberal  appropriation.  In  the  spring  of  1874 
the  trustees  of  the  public  library  received  $3,466.12,  and  books  for  the 
library  were  at  once  selected  by  Augustus  Mitchell,  who  also  super- 
vised the  preparation  of  the  first  printed  catalogue  issued  in  1874. 
The  library  was  opened  for  the  delivery  of  books  to  the  public  Satur- 
day, June  13,  1874. 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  1889  the  town  voted  to  accept  the  acts  of 
the  legislature  of  1888,  directing  the  choice  of  trustees  for  terms  of 
three  years  and  to  fix  the  number  of  trustees  at  nine.  The  provisions 
of  the  act  of  1888  permit  the  trustees  of  the  library  to  hold  property 
of  any  kind  in  trust  for  the  purposes  of  the  library  and  vest  the  trus- 
tees with  exclusive  custody  of  the  library  funds  from  whatever  source 
derived.  In  1889  Benjamin  Small  conveyed  to  the  trustee  five  thou- 
sand dollars,  the  annual  income  of  which  should  be  expended  in 
the  purchase  of  books  for  the  library.  In  December,  1889,  a  card 
catalogue  was  prepared  under  the  supervision  of  James  H.  Hopkins, 
who  also  prepared  the  printed  catalogue  issued  in  January,  1890.  At 
the  same  time  the  library  was  furnished  with  ash  book  cases  of  an 
improved  pattern  under  the  direction  of  Moses  N.  Gifford,  A.  P.  Han- 
num  and  E.  N.  Paine.  The  library  contained  December  31,  1874, 
2,202  bound  volumes,  including  public  documents.  January  1,  1890, 
the  number  of  bound  volumes,  exclusive  of  public  documents,  in  the 
library  was  4,039. 

The  trustees  in  1889  were:   For  term  ending  February,  1892— An- 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN.  983 

drew  T.  Williams,  George  H.  Holmes,  William  R.  Mitchell;  for  term 
ending  February,  1891— Moses  N.  Gifford,  James  H.  Hopkins,  Arte- 
mas  P.  Hannum;  for  term  ending  February,  1890 — Edwin  N.  Paine, 
Reuben  W.  Swift,  Samuel  S.  Swift.  The  librarians  have  been:  Miss 
Salome  A.  Gifford,  1874-81;  William  R.  Mitchell,  1881-88;  Miss  Mattie 
W.  Bangs,  the  present  incumbent,  who  has  served  since  1888. 

The  Seamen's  Relief  Society  was  organized  April  13,  1882,  for  the 
temporary  relief  of  seamen  shipwrecked  at  Provincetown.  Nathan 
Young,  the  first  president  of  the  society,  continues  to  serve.  The 
officers  for  1890  are  :  Nathan  Young,  pres.;  Harvey  S.  Cook,  Thomas 
Lewis,  vice-pres. ;  A.  P.  Hannum,  sec;  M.  N.  Gifford,  treas.;  A.  T. 
Williams,  M.  L.  Adams,  Mrs.  Paron  C.  Young,  Mrs.  Xenophon  Rich, 
David  A.  Small,  Mrs.  Priscilla  Young,  Mrs.  Thomas  N.  Paine,  Mrs. 
Geo.  Hallett,  S.  Knowles,  J.  A.  West,  Joseph  Whitcomb.  directors. 

The  Provincetown  Mutual  Benefit  Society  was  organized  in  1889. 
The  membership  is  limited  to  sixty,  and  a  benefit  of  fifteen  dollars 
per  week  is  paid  to  members  who  are  sick.  The  oflBcers  are:  F.  E. 
Williams,  sec;  A.  L.  Putnam,  treas. 

Marine  Lodge,  L  O.  O.  F.,  was  instituted  November  21,  1846.  The 
Past  Grands  have  been :  Leander  Crosby,  installed  November  21 
1845 ;  Josiah  Sturgis,  Emmons  Patridge,  Eben  S.  Smith  and  J.  P, 
Johnson,  installed  in  1846  ;  Sabin  M.  Smith  and  Thomas  Lothrop 
1847  ;  Joshua  Small,  jr.,  and  Josiah  S.  Fuller,  1848  :  Godfrey  Ryder 
Joseph  P.  Knowles  and  Lewis  L.  Sellew,  1849  ;  David  Smith,  3d,  and 
Peter  E.  Deliver,  1860;  Lemuel  Cook  and  Benj.  Allstrum.  1851 
Joshua  E.  Bowley  and  Elijah  Smith,  1862;  Enoch  Nickerson  and 
Stephen  Ryder,  1853;  Isaac  B.  Alexander  and  Warren  Smith,  1854 
Edward  G.  Loring  and  Stephen  A.  Paine,  1865 ;  Osbom  Myrick  and 
Curtis  Doane,  1856  ;  Joseph  P.  Johnson  and  F.  B.  Tuck,  1867  ;  Lewis 
Morris  and  Jonathan  Kilburn,  1868;  John  Atwood  and  S.  T.  Kilbum, 
1869;  Ebenezer  W.  Holway  and  William  W.  Smith,  1860;  Pineas 
Freeman  and  Isaiah  A.  Small,  1861 ;  James  Fuller  and  P.  N.  Free- 
man, 1862;  Gamiel  B.  Smith  and  James  Gifford,  1863  ;  S.  T.  Soperand 
Charles  A.  Hannum,  1864;  Ebenezer  Lothrop  and  Isaiah  A.  Small, 
1866;  Joseph  P.  Johnson  and  William  Bush,  1866;  David  Smith  and 
R.  C.  Hartford,  1867;  Joseph  Cross  and  Charles  A.  Hannum,  1868; 
E.  H.  Rich  and  Edward  J.  Kilbum,  1869;  H.  G.  Newton,  1870;  George 
H.  Lewis  and  Samuel  H.  Ghen,  1871;  William  H.  Collins  aud  Isaac  S. 
Warner,  1872;  Solomon  D.  Nickerson  and  James  A.  Small,  1873;  Solo- 
mon D.  Nickerson  and  George  Allen,  1874;  Seth  Nickerson  and  Lem- 
uel Cook.  2d,  1876;  Lemuel  Cook,  2d,  and  Heman  S.  Cook,  1876;  An- 
drew T.  Williams,  1877;  A.  Frank  Hopkins,  1878;  Newton  P.  West, 
1879;  James  A.  Small,  1880;  George  W.  Tuttle,  1881;  Joseph  Whitcomb, 
and  Stephen  H.  Smith,  1882;  Willis  W.  Gleason,  1883;  Reuben  F. 


984  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

Brown  and  Frederick  A.  H.  GiflFord,  1884;  Thomas  W.  Sparks  and 
Francis  S.  Miller,  1885;  Nathaniel  T.  Freeman  and  Jeremiah  A.  Rich, 
1886;  George  F.  Miller  and  Nathaniel  H.  Small,  1887;  Simeon  S.  Smith 
and  Willard  T.  Burkett,  1888;  Jerome  S.  Smith  and  Frederick  E.  Wil- 
liams, 1889;  Otis  M.  Knowles,  installed  January  8, 1890. 

Provincetown  Lodge,  Knights  of  Honor,  was  established  February 
10,  1880.  The  successive  past  dictators  have  been:  Joshua  F.  Tobey, 
E.  P.  McElroy,  George  H.  Nickerson,  Caleb  K.  Sullivan,  Joseph  A. 
West,  and  Joseph  Whitcomb,  since  1885. 

The  Ladies'  Relief  Corps  meets  twice  a  month  in  G.  A.  R.  Hall. 
The  president  is  Mrs.  H.  Louise  Lyford;  the  secretary  is  Mrs.  Mary 
C.  Smith;  and  Mrs.  Emily  A.  Smith  is  the  treasurer. 

Charity  Degree  Lodge,  Daughters  of  Rebecca,  meets  in  Odd  Fel- 
lows' Hall,  Friday  evenings.  The  present  officers  are:  Mrs.  Annie 
Y.  Cook,  N.  G.;  Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Cornell,  V.  G.;  Mrs.  Eliza  S.  Small,  sec; 
Mrs.  L.  C.  Whitcomb,  treas.;  Mrs.  Sophronia  D.  Sumner,  P.  S. 

J.  C.  Freeman  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  was  instituted  September  23,  1 884, 
with  nineteen  charter  members.  The  Commanders  have  been:  Geo. 
H.  Nickerson,  George  Allen  and  Joshua  Cook.  The  officers  for  1890 
are:  Joshua  Cook,  C;  J.  H.  Dearborn,  S.  V.  C;  F.  A.  Smith,  J.  V.  C; 
George  W.  Holbrook,  adjt.;  C.  W.  Burkett,  O.  D.;  Thomas  Lowe.  O. 
G.;  Byley  Lyford,  chap.;  Samuel  Knowles,  surg.;  Seth  Smith,  Q.  M.; 
P.  C.  Young,  Q.  M.  S.;  David  Cook,  S.  M. 

Firemen's  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Association  was  organized  in 
1873.  Sixty-four  members  have  died  during  its  existence  and  their 
representatives  have  received  benefits  amounting  to  $9,802.  The 
present  officers  are:  Pres.,  L.  N.  Paine;  vice-pres.,  George  H.  Holmes; 
sec,  and  treas.,  J.  D.  Hilliard;  trustees,  Charles  A.  Cook,  Andrew  T. 
Williams,  John  G.  Whitcomb. 

King  Hiram  Lodge,  A.  F.  &  A.  M.,  was  instituted  March  25,  1796, 
at  which  time  Paul  Revere,  Grand  Master  of  the  State,  signed  the 
charter.  The  worshipful  masters  since  the  organization  of  the  Lodge 
have  been  :  John  Young,  1796-8;  Jonathan  Cook,  1799,  1801,  1806-6; 
Allen  Hinckley,  1802-3;  Henry  Paine,  1804;  Orsamus  Thomas,  1807-9, 
1817-20;  Ephraim  Blanchard,  1810-11;  Daniel  Pease,  1812-13;  Simeon 
Conant,  1814-16;  Joseph  Sawtelle.  1821-27;  Henry  Willard,  1828; 
Jonathan  Cook,  jr.,  1829-30;  Barzillai  Higgins,  1831-33,  1847;  Water- 
man Crocker,  1634^6 ;  Godfrey  Rider,  ie48-49;  Joseph  P.  Johnson, 
1850-63,  1858-63;  Peter  E.  Dolliver,  1864;  Lewis  L.  Sellew,  1856; 
Reuben  F.  Cook,  1856-57  ;  Elijah  Smith,  1864-65 ;  John  W.  Atwood, 
1866-69;  Joseph  S.  Atwood,  1870-71;  E.  Parker  Cook.  1872-73 :  John 
M.  Crocker,  1874-75;  Artemus  P.  Hannum,  1876-77;  Moses  N.  Gif- 
ford,  1878-79  ;  Frederick  A.  H.  Gifford,  1880  ;  Joseph  H.  Dyer,  1881  ; 
Harvey  O.  Sparrow,  1882;  Thomas  Lowe,  1883;  HezekiahP.  Hughes, 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN. 


985 


1884;    Lewis  H.  Baker,  1886;  James  A.  Small,  1886-87;  Andrew  T. 
Williams,  1888,  and  Jerome  S.  Smith  since  1889. 

Joseph  Warren  Royal  Arch  Chapter  was  organized  June  8, 1869, 
and  chartered  June  15,  1870.  The  successive  high  priests,  installed 
in  November  of  each  year,  have  been:  Jeremiah  Stone,  June,  1869,  to 
November,  1870;  Joseph  P.  Johnson,  November,  1870;  Lauren  Young, 
1873;  John  W.  Atwood,  1874;  John  M.  Crocker,  1876;  Lauren  Young, 
1877;  Horace  A.  Freeman,  1878;  Harvey  O.  Sparrow,  1879;  Artemas  P. 
Hannum,  1880;  Frederick  A.  H.  Gifford,  1881;  Joseph  H.  Dyer,  1882; 
Frederick  A.  H.  GifiFord,  1883;  Harvey  O.  Sparrow,  1884;  James  E. 
Rich,  1887;  Frederick  A.  H.  Giflford,  1888.  The  regular  convocations 
are  held  the  first  Friday  evening  in  each  month,  and  the  annual  con- 
vocation the  first  Friday  evening  in  November. 

A  Local  Branch,  No.  1006,  of  the  Order  of  the  Iron  Hall,  was  es- 
tablished here  in  1889. 

Royal  Arcanum,  Mayflower  Council,  was  established  December, 
1886.  Marshall  L.  Adams  was  chosen  first  regent,  and  has  continued 
to  occupy  that  office. 

Royal  Society  of  Good  Fellows,  Miles  Standish  Assembly,  was  in- 
stituted  in  1888.     S.  H.  Baker,  the  first  R.,  was  succeeded  by  Myrick 

C.  Atwood. 

The  Children's  Loyal  Legion,  Company  J,  Barnstable  Division; 
the  Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  Mrs.  Alice  A.  H.  Young, 
president;  and  the  King's  Daughters,  have  contributed  largely  toward 
sustaining  a  high  moral  sentiment  in  the  community  upon  the  tem- 
perance and  other  kindred  questions,  rendering  a  welcome  assistance 
to  the  various  church  organizations.  Though  recently  established, 
their  officers  have  already  rendered  services  of  the  highest  worth. 

Churches.* — The  meeting  house  provided  for  in  1717,  as  men- 
tioned at  page  965  was  built  in  1717-18,  and  was  the  first  place  of  wor- 
ship erected  at  Provincetown.  There  is  no  record  establishing  its 
exact  location.  Tradition,  however,  points  to  the  site  in  the  south- 
east corner  of  the  pasture  or  meadow  of  the  heirs  of  the  late  Joseph 
Atkins,  sr.,  about  one  hundred  yards  northwesterly  from  Bradford 
street,  and  a  few  feet  south  westerly  from  the  partition  fence  between 
the  western  portion  of  this  meadow  and  that  part  of  it  now  the  prop- 
erty of  William  Matheson.  William  A.  Atkins,  a  native  of  the  town, 
and  son  of  Joseph  Atkins,  the  former  owner  of  the  premises,  remem- 
bers distinctly  that  in  his  youth  his  father  pointed  out  this  spot  to 
him  as  the  one  on  which  the  old  meetinghouse  stood.  Joseph  Atkins 
was  born  in  1766,  and  must  have  attended  meeting  with  his  parents 
in  the  first  and  second  meeting  houses,  the  latter  built  in  1773  upon 
the  same  site.     Joseph  Atkins  was  twenty-six   years  old  when  the 

•  By  James  Gifford,  Esq.,  of  Provincetown. 


986  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

third  church  was  built  and  helped  cut  the  timber  for  it  in  Province- 
town  woods. 

It  was  the  presence  of  the  meeting  house  here,  on  the  south  bor- 
der of  the  meadow,  or  the  large,  level  valley,  once  connected  with 
Shankpainter  pond,  that  gave  to  this  tract  the  name  of  Meeting 
House  Plain,  which  is  still  applied  to  it.  The  proximity  of  the  old 
burying  ground  on  the  northeast  side  of  the  plain,  corresponding 
with  the  prevailing  practice  of  early  days  of  locating  the  burial 
place,  near  the  church,  goes  to  confirm  the  tradition. 

The  second  meeting  house,  probably  a  rebuilding  and  enlargement 
of  the  first,  was  erected  entirely  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  in 
1773,  fifty-six  years  after  the  building  of  the  first  church.  January 
26, 1774,  the  first  sale  of  its  pews  was  made  by  authority  of  a  vote  of 
the  town  and  parish  "to  sell  the  pews  in  the  meeting  house  and  to  sell 
them  allowing  purchasers  to  pay  the  money  by  the  first  day  of  De- 
cember, 1774."  Twelve  pews  were  sold  at  this  first  sale  at  prices 
varying  from  ;^30  for  those  on  the  ground  floor  to  £3, 10s.,  for  those, 
in  the  "  woman's  gallery." 

The  third  meeting  house  was  long  known  as  the  "  Old  White 
Oak."  At  a  meeting  of  the  town  November  15,  1792,  it  was  voted  to 
build  a  meeting  house,  and  "  to  set  it  near  north  meadow  gut."  This 
proposed  location  was  on  the  margin  of  a  creek  running  through  the 
beach  at  the  foot  of  Gosnold  street.  Following  nearly  the  line  of  this 
street  to  its  junction  with  Bradford  street,  it  flowed  easterly  and 
northerly,  washing  the  base  of  High  Pole  hill  and  adjacent  territory 
south — extending  as  far  as  the  rise  of  ground  north  of  the  Center 
school  house  and  beyond  the  railroad  station.  Persons  living  have 
heard  aged  residents  relate  incidents  of  their  crossing  this  creek  in- 
boats  whose  use  was  indispensable  while  the  tide  was  in.  It  was- 
the  practice  to  float  scows  and  boats  laden  with  salt  grass  from  the 
meadows  through  this  "  gut"  and  to  make  it  into  hay  on  its  borders, 
called  "  the  north  meadow." 

It  was  also  voted  that  the  meeting  houses  should  "  be  sold  in  forty 
shares,  that  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  should  have  the  lib- 
erty to  subscribe  for  building  said  house  and  that  the  pews  in  the  new 
meeting  house  should  go  to  the  highest  bidder  at  a  public  vandue." 
Public  notice  announced  that  subscribers  would  be  called  upon  to  pay 
down  twenty-five  dollars  per  share.  January  30,  1798,  it  was  agreed 
by  vote  "  that  the  subscribers  who  built  the  meeting  house  should  set 
it  near  Rev.  Samuel  Parker's  residence."  Mr.  Parker's  residence 
was  on  the  lot  now  covered  by  St.  Peter's  Catholic  church,  and  the 
meeting  house  was  erected  east  of  Mr.  Parker's  dwelling,  and  on  the 
premises  now  occupied  by  the  Catholic  parsonage.  A  full  share  of 
stock  in  the  new  meeting  house  cost  £7,  10s.,  and  a  half  share  £3, 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN.  987 

15s.  Thirty-four  full  shares  and  twenty  half  shares  were  readily 
sold,  amounting  to  ;f300,  and  a  subscription  by  the  town,  increased 
the  total  to  ;^400.  The  highest  price  was  $186,  paid  by  Elijah  Nick- 
erson,  for  No.  20  pew. 

The  frame  of  this  church  was  hewn  from  white  oak  trees  cut  in 
Provincetown  woods,  and  hence  the  name,  "  White  Oak  Meeting 
House."  A  portion  of  this  frame,  still  sound  and  bright,  was  used 
in  the  construction  of  the  present  Congregational  church  in  1843. 

In  1807  the  interior  of  the  White  Oak  church  was  remodeled  at 
considerable  expense  to  the  town  and  four  new  pews  added  to  those 
in  the  body  of  the  house.  These  were  sold  to  the  highest  bidders  at 
the  following  prices:  No.  37  for  $190  to  Samuel  Cook;  No.  88  for  $350 
to  Jonathan  Cook;  No,  39  for  $342  to  Solomon  Cook;  and  No.  40  for 
$176  to  Stephen  Nickerson;  the  highest  not  since  equaled  at  any  sale  of 
pews  in  Provincetown.  It  was  the  most  costly  structure,  public  or 
_  private,  that  had  been  reared  in  town,  its  architecture  and  adornment 
indicating  a  desire  to  impress  and  please  the  beholder. 

As  the  meeting  house  was  still  the  only  place  of  assembly  pro- 
vided, not  only  for  public  worship  and  for  religious  instruction,  but 
was  also  the  only  forum  for  the  discussion  and  disposition  of  all 
social,  municipal,  civil  and  political  affairs,  its  maintenance  was 
esteemed  a  matter  of  first  importance  in  the  welfare  of  the  whole 
community.  About  this  historic  .church,  therefore,  were  centered 
the  dearest  hopes,  the  social  and  religious  sentiments  and  associa- 
tions in  its  life.  It  was  here  infants  were  baptized,  the  last  rites 
over  the  dead  pronounced,  and  here,  too,  the  intention  of  marriage, 
conspicuously  announced,  was  consummated  by  celebration  of  the 
marriage  ceremony. 

The  Old  White  Oak  church  is  still  remembered  by  the  elder 
natives  of  the  town  with  sentiments  of  veneration,  connecting  by 
association  their  own  lives  with  those  of  former  generations  who  once 
joined  them  in  worship  beneath  its  roof.  It  is  remembered,  too,  that 
the  seats  of  the  large  square  pews,  hung  upon  hinges,  were  turned  up 
during  prayer  and  turned  down  at  its  close;  that  it  was  the  delight  of 
the  boys  in  the  galleries,  despite  the  menace  of  tything  men  armed 
with  long  poles,  to  throw  the  seats  down  with  a  bang  that  startled  the 
congregation;  an  annoyance  finally  ended  by  enforcing  the  vote  of 
the  town  to  nail  down  the  seats. 

Rev.  Jeremiah  Cushing,  mentioned  at  page  962  as  the  first  resi- 
dent preacher  here,  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Samuel  Spear.  Rev. 
Spear  was  born  July  6,  1696,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  1715, 
and  began  his  pastorate  about  1719,  and  continued  until  1741,  when 
large  numbers  of  his  parishioners  removing  to  other  localities  he 
also  went  away.    Among  those  who  supplied  the  pulpit  for  limited 


988  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

terms  during  the  next  thirty-two  years  were  Rev.  Solomon  Lumbert, 
Mr.  Mills,  Martin  Alden  and  Mr.  Green. 

Their  successor,  Rev.  Samuel  Parker,  was  born  in  Barnstable  in 
1741,  graduated  from  Harvard  1768,  and  came  to  Provincetown  in 
1773.  The  town  and  parish  meeting  on  December  7,  1773,  "  agreed 
by  vote  to  give  unto  Mr.  Samuel  Parker  for  his  regular  salary  £6Q, 
13s.  4d.,  lawful  money  to  settle  in  this  town  and  preach  the  Gospel  to 
the  inhabitants,  also  to  give  unto  him  the  frame  of  his  house  and  to 
build  one-half  of  it  purposed  to  be  thirty  feet  in  length,  twenty-seven 
feet  wide,  eight  feet  in  the  walls,  likewise  his  fire  wood  and  to  give 
him  meadow  for  two  cows."  In  addition  to  the  salary  thus  stipulated 
the  general  court  contributed  forty-five  pounds  annually  for  twelve 
years  from  May  1, 1772.  Mr.  Parker  was  installed  January  20,  1774. 
Entering  upon  his  charge  at  the  age  of  thirty-two  years  his  attain- 
ments, his  assiduity  and  cheerfulness  in  discharge  of  his  religious 
and  secular  duties,  and  the  exercise  of  a  tolerant  and  kindly  spirit, 
acquired  for  him  the  confidence  and  attachment  of  the  town.  His 
■death,  April  11,  1811,  was  therefore  felt  as  both  a  personal  and  public 
loss. 

The  advent  of  Methodism  into  the  parish  in  the  latter  part  of 
Mr.  Parker's  ministry  was  undoubtedly  to  him  a  source  of  grief  and 
agitation,  embittering  his  last  days.  After  the  first  furious  storm  of 
opposition  and  persecution,  raised  by  a  portion  of  his  own  parish, 
against  the  new  and  aggfressive  sect,  had  subsided,  he  saw  his  flock 
divided  and  large  numbers  deserting  to  the  new  fold.  So  great 
was  the  defection  that  the  Methodists  in  1810,  carried  a  vote  in  town 
meeting  placing  Alexander  McLain,  a  Methodist  minister,  "in  con- 
trol of  Mr.  Parker's  pulpit  "  unless  he  was  able  to  oflBciate.  This 
action  was  later  requited  by  the  persistent  refusal  of  a  Methodist 
selectman  and  "  keeper  of  the  meeting  house  key  "  to  open  its  doors 
to  a  regularly  warned  town  meeting,  which,  after  being  called  to 
order  upon  the  platform  in  front  of  the  church,  was  adjourned  to 
Thomas  Rider's  store,  where  the  town's  business  was  transacted.  The 
possession  of  the  meeting  house  was  restored  to  the  town  only  through 
re.sort  to  threats  of  legal  process.  The  strife,  long  continued,  shows 
that  the  spirit  of  retaliation  and  intolerance  was  not  confined  to  the 
^adherents  of  either  side  to  the  religious  controversy. 

Rev.  Nathaniel  Stone,  born  in  Dennis,  graduated  at  Harvard  in 
1795,  began  his  ministry  to  the  old  society  March  17,  1813.  His 
installation  took  place  October  16, 1817. 

Mr.  Stone's  reputation,  and  discourses  that  survive,  indicate  men- 
ial ability  and  respectable  professional  acquirements.  But  dcgmatic 
and  narrow  in  his  views,  he  was  from  natural  bent  a  strict  believer 
in  the  doctrines  of  Calvin,  and  conscientiously  accepted  their  logical 


TOWN   OF   PROVINCETOWN.  •  989 

sequence.  His  obstinacy  and  irascibility  of  temper,  nevertheless, 
proved  as  disastrous  to  the  society  as  they  were  destructive  of  his  own 
peace  and  welfare.  A  preacher  of  a  different  mould  would,  indeed, 
at  this  crisis,  have  encountered  serious  difiSculty  in  allaying  discon- 
tent and  in  arresting  the  exodus  from  the  old  church.  National  inde- 
pendence had  awakened  throughout  the  country  enlarged  views  of 
church  polity  and  creed.  It  was  held  that  taxation  without  consent 
of  the  taxed  was  not  longer  to  be  tolerated  in  church  or  state.  Hence 
hatred  of  compulsory  assessment  exacted  for  the  support  of  thi.s  tcci- 
ety,  and  the  allurements  of  a  freer  faith  were  elements  Mr.  Stone  was 
singularly  ill  qualified  to  overcome.  The  excitement  produced  by 
frequent  desertions  of  his  parishioners  to  the  Methodists  induced  him 
to  frequently  preach  about  it,  when  he  was  wont  to  turn  over  the  leaves 
of  his  sermon  with  his  nose.  When  defections  and  refusal  to  longer 
attend  his  Sunday  service  had  suggested  to  his  friendly  supporters 
the  wisdom  of  terminating  his  pastorship,  he  refused  point  blank  to 
listen  to  any  proposal  for  resignation,  or  for  accommodation  of  the 
terms  of  his  settlement.  Failing  at  last,  in  1830,  to  obtain  hearers,  the 
old  White  Oak  meeting  house  closed  its  doors,  and  its  society,  with 
which  the  history  of  the  town  was  from  its  birth  identified,  became 
extinct.  Mr.  Stone  remained  in  town  until  1837,  when  he  removed  to 
Maine,  where  he  died. 

In  1841  another  Congregational  society  was  organized,  and  in  1842 
measures  were  begun  for  building  the  church  in  which  this  society 
now  worships.  Rev.  Calvin  White  officiated  during  this  period.  Rev. 
Mr.  Eastman  followed,  and  was  settled  in  1843.  The  church  having 
been  completed,  he  preached  in  it  the  first  sermon  September  13th  of 
that  year.  Rev.  Osborn  Myrick,  while  in  charge  of  a  society  in  North 
Truro,  was,  by  unanimous  vote,  invited  to  become  pastor  of  the  Con- 
gregational church  in  Provincetown  November  24,  1845.  Accepting 
the  invitation,  then  a  young  man,  a  good  scholar,  an  excellent  teacher 
and  of  gentle  bearing,  he  earnestly  devoted  himself  to  the  work  of 
his  new  pastorate.  Identifying  himself  with  all  the  legitimate  inter- 
ests of  the  community,  whose  improvement  in  secular  as  well  as  re- 
ligious affairs  he  was  ever  ready  to  advance,  he  won  its  entire  confi- 
dence and  esteem,  which  he  retained  unabated,  when,  February  27, 
1866,  after  a  pastorate  of  twenty-one  years,  he  tendered  his  resigna- 
tion, and  removed  to  Middletown  Springs,  Vermont,  where  he  still 
resides. 

His  successors  have  been:  Reverends  C.  J.  Switzer  in  1867;  Mr. 
Lonsbury  in  1868;  S.  D.  Clark  in  1868;  L.  N.  Pierce,  1871;  Mr  Blanch- 
ard,  1874;  Mr.  Westgate,  1875;  Granville  Yager,  1876;  E.  P.  McElroy, 
1879;  George  W.  Osgood,  1886;  Isaac  R.  Prior,  since  1887. 

The  fourth  church,  erected  in  this  place  in  1795,  was  for  the  Metho- 


-990  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

dist  Episcopal  society.  It  encountered  furious  opposition  and  perse- 
cution. The  town  had  that  year  voted  that  a  Methodist  meeting 
house  should  not  be  built  in  Provincetown.  Timber  and  lumber  de- 
signed for  a  meeting  house  had  been  unladen  from  a  vessel  upon  the 
beach.  The  night  following  the  landing  an  enraged  mob,  after  cut- 
ting the  timber  in  pieces  and  transporting  it  upon  their  shoulders  to 
the  rear  of  High  Pole  hill,  set  fire  to  it  and  crowned  the  blazing  pile 
with  the  effigy  of  the  Methodist  minister,  Jesse  Lee.  A  short  time 
after,  however,  John  Kenney,  Samuel  Atwood  and  twenty-eight  other 
respectable  and  prominent  citizens,  adopted  without  opposition,  in 
•open  town  meeting,  the  following:  "  This  is  to  certify  that  John  Ken- 
ney and  (others  named  to  the  number  of  28)  attend  the  public  worship 
of  God  with  the  Methodists  and  contribute  for  their  support." 

Enraged  by  the  assault  upon  their  rights  and  convictions,  and  by 
the  wanton  destruction  of  their  property,  the  Methodists  lost  no  time 
in  procuring  another  frame  and  more  lumber,  and  the  house  was  built 
without  further  demonstrations  of  violence.  It  was  a  one-story  build- 
ing about  forty  by  thirty  feet,  constructed  and  finished  in  the  primi- 
tive Methodi.st  style,  without  plaster  or  paint  on  the  interior. 

The  fifth  church  was  built  by  the  Methodist  society  in  1817  and 
enlarged  the  same  year.  It  occupied  the  site  on  which  stands  the 
homestead  of  Dr.  Henry  Shortle,  at  the  corner  of  Bradford  and 
Ryder  streets.  This  was  a  large  building,  having  the  first  spire 
and  first  church  bell  in  this  place.  It  was  superseded  in  1847  by 
the  erection  of  another  house  of  worship,  in  front  of  High  hill, 
on  lots  now  covered,  in  part,  by  the  skating  rink  and  the  building 
of  Joshua  T.  Small,  fronting  Ryder  street.  This  church  contained 
136  pews  on  the  floor,  with  seating  for  1,200  persons.  It  was  oc- 
cupied until  1860,  when  the  present  Center  Methodist  church  was 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $23,000. 

Distinguished  among  the  early  settled  preachers  in  the  long 
succession  of  clergymen  who  have  ministered  to  this  society  was 
Alexander  McLain.  He  was  here  in  1807  and  later.  There  are  living 
a  few  of  those  who  were  of  his  congregation,  and  who  yet  distinctly 
remember  his  person  and  his  preaching.  They  represent  him  as  of 
a  noble  figure  and  presence  and  as  endowed  with  a  dramatic  power 
and  a  pathos  that  were  irresistible.  Of  the  preachers  of  later  date 
there  are  many  who  became  noted  in  their  denomination  and  whose 
memory  is  revered  by  the  members  of  this  society. 

The  list  of  preachers  and  date  of  coming  is  as  follows:  George 
Cannon,  1795;  Robert  Yallalee,  1796;  Jacob  Ricklow,  1797;  Smith 
Weeks,  179S;  William  Beaucamp,  1799;  John  Merrick,  1800;  Solomon 
Langdon,  1801;  Edward  Whittle,  1802;  Allen  H.  Cobb,  1803;  Alfred 
Metcalf,  1804;  Philip  Munger,  1805;  Elijah  Williard,  1806;    Alexander 


TOWN   OF   PROVINCETOWN.  991 

McLain,  1810;    Epaphras  Kibby,  1812-24;   Shipley  W.  Wilson,  1824 
Leonard  Bennett,  1826;  Epaphras  Kibby,  1828;  Ebenezer  Blake,  1830 
Ephraim  Wiley,  1832;  John  E.  Risley,  1834;  Frederick  Upham,  1835-6 
Ira  M.  Bidwell,  1835;    E.  W.  Stickney,  1839;    Aaron  D.  Sargent,  1840 
Samuel  W.Cogswell,  1841;  Paul  Townsend,  1842;  John  Lovejoy,  1844 
William  T.  Harlow,  1846;   E.  B.  Bradford,  1848;    Pardon  T.  Kenney, 
1850;  William  Livsey,  1852;    Robert  McGonegal,  1854;   M.  P.  Alder- 
man, 1856;  Asa  N.  Bodfish,  1858;  Ed.  H.  Hatfield,  1860;   J.  T.  Benton, 
1862;    George  W.  Bridge,  1863;    A.  P.  Aiken,  1865;   C.  S.  Mcreading, 
1867;    Charles  Young,  1869;    J.  H.  James,  1872;    Edgar  F.  Clark,  1874; 
Angelo  Canoll,  1877;    H.  H.  Martin,  1880;   A.  William  Seavey,  1882; 
W.  W.  Colburn,  1884;  Porter  M.  Vinton,  1887. 

The  First  Unitarian  society  was  organized  in  1829,  in  "  Enos  Nick- 
arson's  School  House."  This  society,  the  year  it  was  organized, 
changed  its  name  to  "First  Christian  Union  Society,"  which  it  re- 
tained upon  its  records  until  1847,  when  by  vote  it  was  called,  what 
in  fact  it  had  been  since  1835,  the  First  Universalist  society.  The 
first  settled  pastor,  1830,  was  Asahel  Davis,  Unitarian,  who  removed 
from  Portsmouth,  N.  H. 

A  church  for  this  society  was  built  by  Joseph  Fuller  and  Thomas 
Lothrop,  contractors,  for  $3,105,  land  and  other  items  increasing  the 
cost  to  $4,825,  and  was  dedicated  November  3, 1830,  upon  the  premises 
where  the  dwelling  of  Abner  B.  Rich  now  stands.  The  second  Uni- 
versalist church,  now  standing,  was  erected  in  1847. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  settled  pastors  and  the  years  of  their 
coming:  Asahel  Davis,  1830;  George  C.  Leach,  1834;  Mr.  Clemsby, 
1834;  John  B.  Dods,  1836;  Hiram  Beckwith,  1842:  Mr.  Stevens,  1843: 
Theodore  R.  Taylor,  1844;  Emmons  Partridge,  1845;  Mr.  Cronens, 
1852;  Mr.  Gardner,  1853;  Mr.  Sanborn,  1854;  Mr.  Bartlett,  1855;  Mr. 
Hooper,  1858;  A.  W.  Bruce.  1860;  B.  H.  Davis,  1869;  Mr.  Perry,  1871; 
S.  M.  Beal,  1874;  D.  S.  Libby,  1877;  George  F.  Babbit,  1880;  Alfred  J. 
Aubry,  1884;  R.  T.  Sawyer,  1885;  H.  E.  Gilcrhist,  1887. 

Of  these  clergymen  several,  especially  John  B.  Dods.  exhibited 
good  preaching  ability,  were  impressive  speakers  and  devoted  to  their 
calling.  Replying  to  an  invitation  received  at  the  end  of  his  first 
year's  engagement.  Rev.  Dods  informs  the  society  he  will  remain 
another  year  for  $600,  the  sum  received  for  the  first  year's  service, 
and  then  states  to  the  parish  committee:  "You  mention  to  me  that 
'  $800  would  not  separate  us.'  But  that  is  a  sum  I  have  not  the  conscience 
to  ask,  nor  would  I  accept  it  if  it  were  freely  offered,  as  I  have  no  use 
for  so  much  money  annually.  I  was  fearful  that  even  $600  was  more 
than  the  society  could  conveniently  pay,  and  had  therefore  made  up 
my  mind  to  leave  here  the  end  of  June."  Mr.  Dods'  family  at  that 
time  consisted  of  a  wife  and  five  children. 


992  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

The  second  Methodist  church,  known  as  the  Wesleyan  chapel,  was 
the  house  originally  erected  by  the  Christian  Union  Society,  already 
noticed.  It  was  purchased  in  1848,  by  Freeman  Atkins,  Samuel  Soper 
and  Rufus  L.  Thatcher,  a  committee  representing  Methodists  living 
in  the  west  part  of  the  town,  who  desired  a  place  of  worship  nearer 
their  residences.  The  church  was  remodeled  and  refurnished  soon 
after  its  purchase,  when  ninety-five  members  withdrawing  from  the 
Centre  church,  joined  the  new  society  and  worshiped  in  this  church. 
Centenary  church  was  erected  and  completed  in  1866,  under  the  pas- 
torate of  Rev.  George  W.  Bridge. 

The  list  of  pastors  of  Centenary  church,  with  year  of  their  coming, 
is  as  follows:  Samuel  Fox,  1848;  Azariah  B.  Wheeler,  1849;  John  Live- 
say,  jr.,  1851;  Josiah  Higgins,  1853;  N.  P.  Philbrook,  1855;  B.  K.  Bos- 
worth,  1857;  J.  T.  Wright,  1859;  Mr.  Cooper,  1861;  J.  F.  Sheffield,  1863; 
George  W.  Bridge,  1865;  George  M.  Hamlen,  1867;  Shadrach  Leader, 
1868;  Andrew  J.  Kenyon,  1870;  John  Livesay,  1872;  William  McK. 
Bray,  1872;  George  A.  Morse,  1874;  George  H.  Bates,  1877;  George  W. 
Hunt,  1880;  John  H.  Allen,  1882;  Warren  Applebee,  1884;  George  C. 
King,  1885;  Thomas  J.  Everett,  1887;  Samuel  McBurney,  from  April. 
1889.  This  list  embraces  men  of  acknowledged  ability  and  worth,  and 
who  were  devoted  to  the  care  of  their  charge. 

The  Catholic  society  was  organized  by  Rev.  Joseph  M.  Finotti  in 
1851.  The  first  service  was  held  in  the  dwelling  of  Thomas  Welch, 
on  Franklia  street,  previously  known  as  the  Freeman  House.  A  Sun- 
day school  was  early  begun  by  Jeremiah  Quean  with  three  pupils, 
and  now  numbers  over  five  hundred.  In  1853  Mr.  Finotti  bought  the 
building  on  Bradford  street,  formerly  called  the  Wesleyan  Academy, 
and  subsequently  occupied  by  the  town  high  school,  for  a  place  of 
worship  and  pastoral  residence.  Public  services  were  held  in  this 
building  until  the  purchase,  in  1872,  of  Adams  Hall,  by  Father  O'Con- 
ner,  for  the  sum  of  $4,500.  The  society  worshiped  here  for  nearly 
two  years  when,  March  4,  1875,  it  was  destroyed  by  fire  during  a  ter- 
rific northeast  snow  storm,  in  which  the  Italian  bark  Giovanni  was 
stranded  on  the  outer  bar  off  Peaked  hills,  and  all  the  crew  save  one 
perished.  The  present  house  of  worship — St.  Peters  church — located 
on  the  north  side  of  Prince  street,  was  consecrated  October  12,  1874. 
A  fine  parsonage  was  added  to  the  church  estate  in  1886. 

This  society  when  established  was  principally  composed  of  natives 
of  Ireland  and  their  children.  A  very  large  majority  of  those  now 
comprising  its  membership  are  of  Portugese  birth  and  descent.  There 
is  a  larger  regular  attendance  at  this  church  than  is  present  at  any 
other  place  of  worship  in  town.  The  following  priests  have  officiated 
as  pastors:  Father  Joseph  M.  Finotti,  1851;  Father  Haly,  Father  Cor- 
nelius O'Conner,  1860;  Father  McGough,  1873;  Father  McGuire,  1874; 


TOWN   OF  PROVINCETOWN.  993 

Father  Toait,  1882;  Father  Elliott,  1886;  Father  B.  F.  McCahill  is  the 
present  incumbent. 

Schools.— Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  the  application  of 
the  revenue  from  the  Cape  fisheries  to  the  support  of  schools.  The 
first  reference  in  the  early  records  to  schools  at  Provincetown  is  the 
entry  in  1728  upon  the  town  records;  "Mr.  Samuel  Winter's  account 
for  keeping  school  one  half  year,  £'22.  10."  His  compensation  for  the 
remaining  half  year  appears  to  have  been  £22,  13.  The  first  record, 
however,  is  almost  the  only  reference  to  schools  that  appears  upon 
the  town  books  for  a  hundred  years.  A  town  school  was  certainly 
kept  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  settlement.  In  1801,  during  an 
epidemic  of  smallpox,  the  schools  were  closed  by  vote  of  the  town. 
In  1807  it  is  certain  that  the  town  school  occupied  a  portion  of  a 
building  jointly  with  a  Masonic  lodge.  In  1886  six  hundred  dollars 
were  appropriated  for  common  schools;  in  1837  the  amount  was  in- 
creased to  seven  hundred  dollars,  and  in  1840,  to  one  thousand  dol- 
lars. In  1844  the  town  erected,  at  a  cost  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  the 
three  school  houses  which  are  still  known  as  the  Western,  Eastern 
and  Center  school  buildings.  In  1853  thirty-one  hundred  dollars 
were  appropriated  for  schools,  six  hundred  dollars  of  which  was  for 
the  support  of  a  high  school.  The  upper  story  of  the  town  hall  was 
used  by  the  high  school  for  many  5'ears  until  1877.  In  1879  and  1880 
the  present  grammar  and  high  school  building  was  erected,  at  an 
expense  of  over  ten  thousand  dollars. 

In  1840  the  number  of  school  children  between  five  and  sixteen 
was  562;  in  1890  the  school  children  attending  the  public  schools 
numbered  950,  enrolled  in  seventeen  schools,  under  the  stipervision 
of  twenty  teachers.  The  amount  of  the  annual  appropriation  for  the 
public  schools  during  the  twenty  years  ending  in  1890,  though  vary- 
ing in  amount  from  year  to  year,  has  averaged  nearly  ten  thousand 
dollars  yearly.  The  desire  for  good  schools  is  universal,  and  every 
effort  has  been  made  by  the  citizens  to  supply  the  school  officers  with 
the  necessary  facilities.  Since  the  abolition  of  the  district  system  in 
1870,  the  schools  have  been  supervised  by  a  committee,  generally 
three  in  number,  who  have  usually  chosen  a  superintendent,  who  has 
the  immediate  care  and  responsibility  of  all  the  schools.* 

biographical  sketches. 

The  history  of  the  town  is  incomplete  without  a  brief  notice  of 
the  men  whose  prudence,  economy  and  foresight  have  contributed  to 
its  material  wealth.  To  the  energy  and  public  spirit  of  her  business 
men  Provincetown  owes  much  of  the  continued  prosperity  that  has 
attended  the  town  during  many  years.     It  is  to  be  regretted  that  an 

*Mr.  Hopkins'  manuscript  ends  here. — Ed. 
.     63 


994  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

even  more  extended  sketch  than  that  which  follows  cannot  be  devoted 
to  an  enumeration  of  the  prominent  business  men  of  Provincetown, 
with  the  interesting  facts  relating  to  their  early  lives  which  might  be 
gathered. 

John  D.  Adams,  son  of  William  and  Ellen  (Darrow)  Adams,  was 
born  in  1860.  He  has  been  in  the  drug  business  since  1876.  In  1885 
he  succeeded  Dr.  J.  M.  Crocker.  He  remodeled  his  store  in  1889. 
He  married  Jennie,  daughter  of  James  M.  Holmes.  They  have  three 
children:   Charles  W.,  Jennie  W.  and  James  H. 

Marshal  L.  Adams,  son  of  John  and  Abbie  (Sampson)  Adams, 
was  born  in  1842.  He  was  a  merchant  for  thirteen  years  prior  to 
1878.  He  was  county  treasurer  one  term— 1886  to  1888.  He  was 
chairman  of  the  building  committee- of  the  new  town  hall.  He 
married  Mary  A.  Moor,  and  has  one  son,  John. 

Mrs.  Mary  N.  Adams  is  a  daughter  of  Samuel  andTamesin  (Brown) 
Cook,  and  granddaughter  of  Samuel,  who  was  a  son  of  Solomon  and 
grandson  of  Solomon  Cook.  Her  first  marriage  was  with  John  Adams, 
who  died  in  1860,  aged  forty-five  years.  Her  present  husband  is 
Solomon  N.,  son  of  George  M.  Adams. 

William  A.  Atkins,  son  of  Joseph  and  Ruth  (Nickerson)  Atkins,  was 
born  in  1818.  His  first  marriage  was  with  Abigail  N. Freeman,  deceased, 
and  his  second  wife  was  Jane  F.  Grozier,  also  deceased.  Mr.  Atkins 
was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Central  Wharf  Company.  The 
Central  wharf  and  store  were  built  in  1839  by  Joseph  Atkins,  who 
with  David  Fairbanks  conducted  a  general  store  for  several  years. 
His  son,  William  A.  Atkins,  and  Eben  S.  Smith,  were  then  admitted 
to  the  firm.  In  1851,  upon  the  death  of  Joseph  Atkins,  William  A. 
Atkins  and  Eben  S.  Smith  who,  after  a  brief  absence  (during  which 
his  place  was  filled  by  Thomas  G.  Atkins),  had  returned,  continued 
together  until  1858,  when  John  Atwood  purchased  the  business.  In 
1863  William  A.  Atkins  again  purchased  an  interest  in  the  firm  and 
with  Eben  S.  Smith  continued  until  1864,  when  Nathan  Young  bought 
out  William  A.  Atkins.  Atkins  Nickerson  soon  afterward  acquired 
an  interest.  In  1867  Abner  B.  Rich  succeeded  Eben  S.  Smith;  in 
1875  James  A.  Small  joined  the  firm,  which  has  since  carried  on  an 
extensive  general  store  under  the  direction  of  Messrs.  Young,  Rich 
and  Small,  the  present  partners.  For  many  years  the  Central  and  the 
Union  wharf  companies  were  the  chief  mercantile  firms  of  the  town, 
each  owning  many  vessels  employed  in  the  various  branches  of  the 
fisheries.  With  each  wharf  were  connected  blacksmith's  shops, 
marine  railways,  ship  carpenter's  shops,  and  other  facilities  for  the 
fitting  and  repairing  of  vessels.  In  recent  years,  however,  the  two 
wharf  companies  have  lost  much  of  their  former  prominence  in  the 


cA^    Y     c:^^'fu^(:'':'cL 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN.  995 

mercantile  afiFairs  of  the  town,  though  the  two  wharves  are  still  the 
headquarters  for  very  many  of  the  fishing  vessels  sailing  frcm 
Provincetown. 

Nathaniel  E.  AtwooD.*— This  highly  esteemed  and  distinguished 
citizen  of  Provincetown  was  born  September  13,  1807,  and  died  at  his 
residence,  November  7,  1886.  He  was  the  son  of  John  Atwood,  a  fish- 
erman, who,  like  most  of  his  contemporaries,  was  poor,  and  deprived 
of  many  of  what  are  now  esteemed  the  necessities,  as  well  as  of  the 
conveniences  of  the  household.  As  he  could  not  afford  a  clock  to  tell 
the  hour  of  the  night  when  it  was  time  to  go  fishing,  it  was  his  prac- 
tice to  repair  to  the  shore  and  mark  the  position  of  the  ebb  or  flood 
tide  upon  the  beach,  and  thus  determine  the  starting  time.  Not  in- 
cluding provision  for  his  schooling,  the  bare  necessaries  of  life  were 
all  that  could  be  furnished  the  son.  Few  more  interesting  or  pathetic 
struggles  for  the  rudiments  of  knowledge  have  been  told  of  New 
England  men  than  those  he  used  to  relate  of  his  own  experience.  In 
1816,  to  be  nearer  the  fishing  grounds,  his  father  and  family  removed 
to  Lx)ng  point,  taking  the  son  with  them — the  first  resident  fisherman. 
Here,  at  the  age  of  nine.  Nathaniel  E.  began  his  calling,  the  father 
often  taking  the  boy  from  his  bed,  at  three  or  four  in  the  morning, 
for  a  place  in  his  fishing  boat  for  the  day,  returning  to  do  other  requi- 
site work  at  night. 

Though  possessing  a  natural  bias  for  learning,  no  leisure,  books  or 
schooling  could  be  afforded  him.  Occasionally,  in  short  intervals  of 
rest,  upon  returning  to  the  shore  the  father,  who  could  not  read,  but 
could  cipher,  drawing  sums  upon  the  smooth  sand  of  the  beach 
with  a  stick,  gave  the  son  the  only  lessons  in  arithmetic  he  ever  re- 
ceived from  a  teacher.  Despite,  however,  the  absence  of  opportunity, 
he,  by  force  of  native  ability  and  desire  for  improvement,  acquired, 
not  great  scholarship,  it  is  true,  but  an  amount  of  learning  and  a 
knowledge  of  natural  history  that  assured  him  a  creditable  position. 
As  a  practical  ichthyologist,  he  not  only  long  enjoyed  a  national  rep- 
utation in  his  own  country,  but  his  name,  in  connection  with  this 
branch,  has  for  many  years  been  known  by  scientific  men  in  Europe. 
At  the  age  of  thirteen,  graduating  from  the  fish  boat,  his  father 
shipped  him  as  cook  on  a  fishing  vessel  for  the  coast  of  Labrador. 
Continuing  those  voyages,  three  years  later  he  was  trusted  to  ship 
himself  in  a  vessel  bound  to  the  Grand  Banks.  Desirous  of  a  change 
of  occupation,  he  went  several  voyages  as  seaman,  and  subsequently 
as  master  in  the  coasting  and  foreign  fishing  trade.  A  superior  navi- 
gator, a  kind  master,  a  careful,  honest  agent,  he  filled  these  positions 
■with  efficiency  and  secured  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his  men  and 
•By  James  Gifford,  Esq. 


996  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

employers.  Returning  to  fishing,  he  continued  in  this  calling  till  the 
age  of  sixty,  twice  encountering  shipwreck  during  this  period.  En- 
dowed with  rare  powers  of  observation,  with  a  retentive  memory  and 
a  temper  favorable  to  study  and  investigation,  he  began  in  early  man- 
hood to  acquire  knowledge  of  the  characteristics  of  the  sea  fishes. 

In  1843,  when  Dr.  D.  Humphries  Storer  was  pieparing  his  FisAes  of 
Massachusetts,  making  inquiry  for  a  fisherman  who  knew  most  about 
fishes  on  the  coast,  all  concurred  in  referring  him  to  Mr.  Atwood. 
That  this  reference  was  fully  justified,  appears  from  the  following 
extracts  from  the  work  cited:  "  During  the  last  six  or  eight  years  no 
individual  has  rendered  me  such  essential  assistance  as  Captain  N.  E. 
Atwood,  of  Provincetown.  *  *  *  For  much  acceptable  informa- 
tion respecting  our  marketable  species  I  am  indebted  to  him,  the 
best  practical  ichthyologist  in  our  state."  In  a  subsequent  report  to 
the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  he  said:  "  Let  his  name,  who 
has  done  so  much  to  enable  me  to  present  this  final  report,  be  indel- 
ibly associated  with  the  science  to  which  he  is  an  honor." 

In  1852  Louis  Agassiz,  impressed  with  the  value  of  Mr.  Atwood's 
contributions  to  ichthyology,  visited  him  in  his  home  upon  Long 
point,  and  there  began  an  acquaintance  that  shortly  ripened  into  an 
intimacy  and  life-long  friendship.  Their  constant  correspondence 
respecting  fishes  was  continued  through  the  professor's  life.  It  was 
at  his  suggestion  that  Mr.  Atwood  was  employed  in  the  winter  of 
1868-9  to  deliver  a  popular  course  of  twelve  lectures  upon  food  fishes 
before  the  Lowell  Institute  of  Boston. 

In  1847  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural 
History.  In  1866  he  was  appointed  member  of  a  committee  to  in- 
vestigate the  feasibility  of  the  artificial  propagation  of  inland  fishes, 
and  the  same  year  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Essex  Institute  of 
Salem.  He  was  subsequently  chosen  a  member  of  the  Institute  of 
Technology  in  Boston,  and  of  the  American  -Academy  of  Arts  and 
Science. 

In  1867, 1868,  he  was  a  representative  to  the  legislature,  and  in 
1869-1871  a  member  of  the  state  senate,  serving  as  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  fisheries.  His  opinions  on  matters  pertaining  to  sea 
fisheries  and  requiring  legislation  were  received  as  authority.  He 
was  therefore  summoned  before  legislative  committees  in  several 
states  to  give  his  views  on  pending  measures.  Candid  and  thor- 
oughly informed,  his  judgment  was  generally  accorded  decisive 
weight.  He  was  twice  sent  to  Washington  by  his  fellow-townsmen 
once  to  urge  upon  the  war  department  the  necessity  of  fortifying 
Provincetown  harbor,  and  later  to  present  the  interests  of  the  fish- 
eries to  the  congressional  committee  on  ways  and  means.     For  fifteen. 


TOWN   OF   PROVINCETOWN.  997 

years  prior  to  1882  he  was  a  faithful,  diligent  officer  of  the  revenue 
in  Provincetown.  He  was  also  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Seamen's 
Savings  Bank  in  Provincetown,  and  was  three  years  member  of  the 
school  committee.  He  was  for  many  years  associated  with  the  United 
States  fish  commission,  and  rendered  important  services  that  were 
fully  appreciated  by  that  board.  Of  a  serene,  cheerful  temper,  unas- 
suming in  manner,  charitable  to  faults,  public  spirited  and  benevo- 
lent, his  whole  career  was  characterized  by  unselfishness,  gentleness 
and  integrity  that  was  unswerving.  The  death  of  no  man  in  Prov- 
incetown, in  this  generation  at  least,  produced  more  general  or  sin- 
cere regret.  His  character  and  memory  are  a  legacy  to  the  people  of 
this  town. 

His  first  marriage  was  with  Maria  Smith  of  Sag  Harbor,  L.  I.  He 
settled  in  Provincetown,  where  Mrs.  Atwood  died  in  1849.  Their 
family  of  three  sons  and  two  daughters  were:  John  E.,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  twelve  years;  Nathaniel,  now  a  resident  of  Medford,  Mass.; 
Lydia  F.  (Mrs.  William  A.  Doyle  of  Truro);  Mary  M.,  who  married 
John  Kiley,  jr.,  of  Truro  and  died  leaving  three  children;  and  Daniel 
W.  Captain  Atwood  married  a  second  time  Mrs.  Blake  of  Boston,  the 
mother  of  Prof.  J.  Henry  Blake.  By  this  marriage  he  had  three  child- 
ren who  reached  maturity:  Myrick  C,  of  Provincetown,  now  collector 
of  customs  at  that  port;  Maria  L.,  w.idow  of  Arthur  K.  Crowell,  and 
Priscilla  S.,  now  Mrs.  Fish  of  Brockton. 

Nathaniel,  the  oldest  survivor,  was  born  in  1839,  and  married  Olive 
J.,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Hopkins  of  Truro.  He  was  captain  of  a 
whaler  eleven  years,  and  for  ten  years  in  merchant  service.  Since 
1882  he  has  been  superintendent  for  Lyon,  Dupuy  &  Co.  of  Boston, 
exporters  to  Hayti.  Prior  to  1882  he  lived  in  Provincetown.  He  has 
one  daughter  and  one  son,  Edward  H.  Atwood,  the  only  male  repre- 
sentative of  the  name  in  this  generation. 

Solomon  Bangs,  only  living  child  of  Solomon  and  Betsey  (Rich) 
Bangs,  and  grandson  of  Perez  Bangs,  was  born  in  1821.  He  followed 
the  business  of  sailmaking  until  1882,  and  since  that  time  has  been 
weir  fishing.  He  married  Rosilla,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Thankful 
(Bangs)  Rich.     They  have  one  son,  Perez. 

John  Bell,  son  of  Henry  F.  Bell,  was  born  in  Liverpool,  England, 
in  1838.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1851  until  1884,  the  last  sixteen 
years  as  captain  of  a  whaling  vessel.  He  has  lived  in  Provincetown 
since  1858.  He  married  Zilpha,  daughter  of  John  and  Zeruiah  (At- 
kins) Knowles.     They  have  one  daughter.  Angle. 

Stephen  Bennett,  born  in  1824,  is  a  son  of  Robert  Bennett.  He 
came  to  Provincetown  in  1842,  where  he  was  a  rigger  for  several 
years.     Since   1871   he  has  been  engaged  in  the  ice  business.     He 


998  HISTORY  OF  BARNSTABLE  COUNTY. 

handles  about  five  thousand  tons  per  year.  He  married  Sarah  M., 
daughter  of  Levi  and  Jerusha  (Kilburn)  Smith  and  granddaughter  of 
Daniel  Smith.  They  have  two  children — Samuel  A.  and  Jerusha  K. 
(Mrs.  M.  W.  Bradshaw).     One  daughter,  Melissa  F.,  died. 

John  M.  Carnes,  born  in  Boston  in  1816,  is  a  son  of  David  and 
Betsey  (Rich)  Carnes.  He  came  to  Provincetown  in  1824  and  followed  . 
the  sea  until  1849,  when  he  went  to  California,  returning  in  1862,  since 
which  time  he  has  been  a  farmer.  He  married  Eunice  C,  daughter 
of  Josiah  and  Sally  (Smith)  Doane,  and  granddaughter  of  Joshua 
Doane. 

Josiah  Chase,  son  of  Josiah  and  Lucy  (Wheldon)  Chase,  and  grand- 
son of  Josiah  Chase,  was  born  at  Harwich  in  1849.  He  has  followed 
the  sea  since  he  was  nine  years  old,  as  master  since  1867,  fishing  and 
coasting.  October  8,  1889,  with  a  crew  of  seven  men,  he  started  for 
Cape  Town,  Africa,  with  the  hope  of  finding  new  fishing  grounds. 
Captain  Chase  is  still  at  Cape  Town.  He  has  found  mackerel  there 
andhis  voyage  will  be  fairly  successful.  He  married  Amelia,  daughter 
of  William  Doyle.  Their  three  children  are:  Bessie  A.,  Anna  G.  and 
Josiah  I. 

Henry  T.  Chipman,  son  of  Thomas  and  Permelia  (Horton)  Chip- 
man,  was  born  in  1850.  He  began  going  to  sea  at  the  age  of  ten  years, 
and  has  been  ten  years  master  of  vessels  in  menhaden  fishing. 

Isaac  Collins,  born  in  1823  in  Truro,  was  a  son  of  Michael  and 
Tamesin  (Snow)  Collins  and  grandson  of  Benjamin  Collins.  He  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Matilda  H.'  Nickerson,  daughter  of  Levi,'  and  Mehitabel 
(Lombard)  Stephens,  granddaughter  of  Levi,'  (Richard,"  Richard 
Stephens').  They  have  one  son,  Isaac  S.  Mr.  Collins,  as  shipwright 
and  spar  maker,  began  business  in  Truro  in  1867.  In  1864  he  removed 
to  Provincetown,  establishing  himself  at  Central  wharf.  Upon  his 
death  in  1889,  Ezra  D.  Ewen  succeeded  to  the  business. 

David  Conwell,  son  of  David  and  Eleanor  (Perry)  Conwell,  and 
grandson  of  Robert  Conwell,  was  born  in  1818.  He  was  a  house  car- 
penter by  trade,  but  has  been  in  mercantile  and  wholesale  fish  busi- 
ness since  1848.  He  represented  this  district  in  the  legislature  in 
1888  and  1889.  He  married  Elmina,  daughter  of  Amasa  Taylor.  She 
died,  leaving  four  children:  Eleanor  B.,  Walter  L.,  Robert  E.  and 
Amasa  F. 

Robert  E.  Conwell,  son  of  David  and  Elmina  Conwell,  was  born  in 
1853,  and  has  been  in  business  with  his  father  since  1874.  He  married 
Ruth  S.,  daughter  of  William  Hedge. 

Alfred  Cook,  born  in  1816,  is  a  son  of  Samuel  and  Tamesin  (Brown) 
Cook,  grandson  of  Samuel,  great-grandson  of  Solomon,  and  great- 
great-grandson  of  Solomon  Cook.      He   followed  the  sea  from  1824 


TOWN  OF  PROVINCETOWN.  999 

i 
until  1869,  as  master  after  1838.  For  twenty-five  years  he  was  in 
whaling  business.  Since  1869  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  whaling 
and  fishing  business.  He  married  Rebecca  M.  Bowley.  She  died 
and  his  second  marriage  was  with  Caroline  Howard.  His  present 
wife  was  Mrs.  Emily  E.  Chapel,  daughter  of  William  Law. 

Charles  A.  Cook,  born  in  1822,  is  one  of  the  children  of  Jonathan 
and  Sabra  (Brown)  Cook,  and  grandson  of  Jonathan  Cook.  His  first 
marriage  was  with  Sarah  Dunham,who  died  leaving  one  son,  Jonathan 
Y.  His  second  wife  was  Olive  Atkins.  They  have  five  children: 
Charles  A.,  jr.,  George  P.,  Sarah  (Mrs.  H.  P.  Higgins),  Angie  (Mrs.  J. 
W.  Fuller)  and  Louise  (Mrs.  W.  Williams).  Mr.  Cook  began  business 
in  1855,  purchasing  the  wharf  built  by  Jonathan  H.  Young,  which  he 
still  owns.  In  early  life  Captain  Cook  commanded  several  packets 
that  ran  between  Bo.ston  and  Provincetown.  He  was  also  largely  in- 
terested in  fishing  vessels.  In  1855  he  established  a  grocery  and  out- 
fitting store  at  240  Commercial  street,  which  he  still  continues  with 
the  assistance  of  his  son,  Jonathan,  acting  also  as  the  agent  of  the 
schooners  General  Scott,  Vandalia  and  John  Simmons. 

Emerson  D.  Cook,  son  of  Lemuel  and  Mary  J.  (Weeks)  Cook,  grand- 
son of  David  and  great-grandson  of  Jonathan  Cook,  was  born  in  1860. 
He  followed  the  sea  from  1863  until  1884.  He  is  now  a  blockmaker. 
He  married  Kathleen  O.  Lynch.  The  have  one  son  living,  Benjamin 
L.,  and  one  son  that  died. 

Henry  Cook,  born  in  1813,  is  one  of  twelve  children  of  Samuel  and 
Tamesin  (Brown)  Cook.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1823  until  1850, 
as  master  sixteen  years.  Since  1850  he  has  been  a  merchant.  He 
has  been  a  director  of  the  Provincetown  National  Bank  since  its 
establishment.  He  married  Abigail,  daughter  of  Elijah  Dyer.  They 
have  one  daughter,  Adelaide  O.,  the  wife  of  A.  Lewis  Putnam. 

James  D.  Cook  was  born  in  1845  in  North  Scituate,  Mass.  His 
father  and  grandfather  were  both  natives  of  North  Scituate,  Mass.  He 
is  engaged  in  prepairing  and  packing  cod  fish.  He  married  Mary  S., 
daughter  of  Joseph  Thomas.  Their  children  are:  Chester  A.,  Ebed 
E.,  Henry  P.,  May  W.,  Walter  T.  and  James  W.  They  lost  three: 
Nellie  M.,  John  B.  and  Charles. 

John  J.  Cook,  youngest  son  of  John  and  Martha  (Bush)  Cook,  and 
grandson  of  John  Cook,  was  bom  in  1817.  He  followed  the  sea  from 
1826  until  1883,  as  master  of  whaling  vessels  after  1845.  He  is  now 
engaged  in  the  fish  business  with  his  son.  He  married  Elizabeth  S., 
daughter  of  William  and  Eliza  S.  (Kent)  Taylor.  Their  children  are: 
Emmie  (Mrs.  C.  H.  Holbrook),  Lizzie  K.,  Richard  W.  and  Fred.  They 
lost  two:  Martha  E.  and  John  J. 

Frederick  T.  Daggett,  son  of  Lathrop  and  grandson  of  Ichabod 


1000  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Daggett,  was  born  in  ]828  in  Nova  Scotia.  He  followed  the  sea  for 
thirty  five  years,  twenty-five  of  which  he  was  in  command  of  vessels. 
Since  18S5  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  fish  business.  He  married 
Helen,  daughter  of  John  and  Sally  (Lancy)  Snow.  Their  children  are: 
Fred  W.,  Allton  L.,  Sarah  S.  and  Cora  N.     One  son,  John  L.,  died. 

James  Daggett,  born  in  1832,  in  Liverpool,  Nova  Scotia,  is  a  son  of 
Lathrop,  and  grandson  of  Ichabod  Daggett,  who  was  a  native  of 
Scituate,  Mass.,  and  removed  to  Nova  Scotia.  Mr.  Daggett  came  to 
Provincetown  in  early  life,  where  for  forty  years  he  has  been  engaged 
in  fishing.  He  married  Mary  S.,  daughter  of  Atwood  Snow.  Their 
children  are:  Joseph  A.  and  Frank  E. 

James  Engles,  born  in  1827,  was  a  son  of  James  Engles.  He  was 
a  tinsmith  by  trade,  and  kept  a  hardware  store  here  until  his  death  in 
1887.  Since  that  time  his  son,  Herbert,  has  continued  the  business. 
His  wife,  Susan,  died  leaving  four  children:  Francenia,  Adella, Carrie 
and  Herbert. 

Silas  D.  Fish,  born  in  Franklin,  Conn.,  in  1823,  is  a  son  of  Cook 
and  Mary  (Cook)  Fish.  He  began  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  as  brake- 
man  on  the  railroad,  and  six  years  later  he  began  to  run  a  locomotive, 
and  continued  until  1886,  since  which  time  he  has  been  in  the  Old 
Colony  railroad  shop.  He  has  lived  in  Provincetown  since  1873.  He 
married  Mary  J.,  daughter  of  Job  Courier.  They  have  three 
daughters:  Emma  F.,  Viola  D.  and  Estella  F.  They  lost  two 
daughters. 

Jame^  Gifford,  born  here  in  June,  1821,  is  the  youngest  of  the  four 
children — who  reached  maturity — of  Benjamin  Gififord,  a  Quaker,who, 
about  1807,  came  to  Provincetown  from  Rochester,  Mass.  James  Gif- 
ford was  whaling  one  voyage  while  a  lad,  but  has  during  his  whole 
life  been  closely  identified  with  the  business  and  public  interests  of 
this  town.  He  has  been  two  terms  county  commissioner  and  five 
years  in  the  state  legislature,  and  twenty-four  years  deputy  collector 
of  customs  at  Provincetown.  He  rebuilt  "The  Gifford  House"  in 
1869. 

Moses  N.  Gifford,  son  of  James  Gifford,  was  born  June  11,  1848. 
He  was  married  December  12, 1870,  to  Harriet  P.  Lovering  of  George- 
town, Mass.  Their  daughter  is  Fannie  C.  He  is  treasurer  of  Sea- 
man's Relief  Society  and  Provincetown  Building  Association. 

Joseph  S.  Hatch,  son  of  Joseph  and  Polly  (Small)  Hatch,  was  born 
in  Truro  in  1841.  He  is  a  sea  captain  in  the  fishing  and  coasting 
business.  He  married  Josephine  S.,  daughter  of  William  and  Sarah 
(Myrick)  Holden,  and  granddaughter  of  William  Holden.  They  have 
two  daughters:  Sarah  M.  and  Annie  W.  Mrs.  Hatch  has  kept  a  dry 
goods  store  since  1877. 


TOWN   OF  PROVINCETOWN.  1001 

John  D.  Hilliard,  born  in  1836,  is  a  son  of  Jairus  and  Emily  (Cook) 
Hilliard,  and  grandson  of  Thomas  Hilliard.  He  married  Rebecca  H. 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Hill.  She  died  leaving  three  children:  Nellie 
B.,  Alice  S.  and  John  D.,  jr.  His  second  marriage  was  with  Lizzie  H., 
daughter  of  Phineas  Paine.  They  have  one  daughter,  Helen  J.  John 
W.  Hilliard  succeeded  in  1880  to  the  wholesale  fish  business,  begun 
in  1836  by  Stephen  Hilliard,  who  in  that  year  opened  a  store  for  the 
sale  of  general  merchandise.  In  1840  Hilliard's  wharf  was  erected. 
Stephen  Hilliard  afterward  sold  to  Hilliard,  Johnson  &  Co.,  who  were 
succeeded  by  T.  &  J.  H.  Hilliard  &  Co.  In  1859  Thomas  Hilliard 
retired.  The  firm  of  Freeman  &  Hilliard  succeeded  and  continued 
until  1880,  when  Nathan  D.  Freeman  retired  and  John  D.  Hilliard 
continued  the  business. 

Hiram  C.  Holmes,  born  in  1861,  is  a  son  of  Hiram  and  Nancy 
(Avery)  Holmes.  Hiram  Holmes  came  to  Provincetown  at  the  age  of 
nineteen  and  followed  the  sea  in  fishing^ and  whaling.  He  was 
twenty-five  years  captain  of  a  whaleman.  He  kept  a  hardware  store 
from  1865  until  his  death  in  1888.  Hiram  C.  continued  the  business 
until  January,  1890,  when  he  sold  out  to  William  C.  Bangs  and  en- 
tered the  firm  of  Wilcox,  Crittenden  &  Co.,  manufacturers  of  marine 
and  awning  hardware  at  Middletown,  Conn.  Mr.  Holmes  is  traveling 
for  the  firm.  He  was  married  January  16,  1890,  to  Mary  E.  Dyer  of 
Provincetown.  His  two  sisters,  Susie  P.  and  Hattie  F.  L.,  reside  with 
their  mother  at  Provincetown. 

James  P.  Holmes,  son  of  James  M.  and  Salome  C.  (Soper)  Holmes, 
and  grandson  of  Nathaniel  Holmes,  was  born  in  1852.  He  was  for 
about  eight  years  on  the  steamer  George  Shattvck,  then  four  years  in 
Boston,  and  since  1880  he  has  kept  a  fruit  and  confectionery  store  at 
Provincetown.  He  married  Sadie  C,  daughter  of  Thomas  Lewis. 
They  have  one  daughter  living.  Flora  M. — and  one  died  in  infancy. 

Nathaniel  Hopkins,  son  of  Isaac  and  Hannah  (Rich)  Hopkins,  and 
grandson  of  Isaac  Hopkins,  was  born  in  Truro  in  1815.  He  followed 
the  sea  from  1823  until  1847,  eleven  years  of  the  time  as  master. 
Since  1847  he  has  been  a  ship  carpenter.  He  owns  a  controlling  in- 
terest in  the  Union  Marine  Railway  Company.  He  married  Aphiah 
Snow,  who  died  leaving  four  children,  three  of  whom  are  now  living: 
Olive  J.,  Aphiah  L.  and  Addie.  His  second  marriage  was  with  Mrs. 
Delia  P.  Paine,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Hinckley.  She  died  and  he 
afterward  married  Mrs.  Margaretta  E.  Smith. 

Philip  R.  Howes,  born  in  Barnstable  in  1852,  is  a  son  of  Philip  and 
Temperance  B.  (Ames)  Howes,  and  grandson  of  Richard  Howes.  He 
has  lived  in  Provincetown  since  1873.  He  was  express  messenger  on 
the  railroad  until  1888,  and  since  that  time  he  has  been  express  agent 


1002  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

here.  He  lias  also  kept  a  variety  store  since  1882.  He  married  Emma 
F.  Fish. 

Hezekiah  P.  Hughes,  born  in  1839  at  North  Truro,  is  a  son  of  John 
and  Hannah  (Paine)  Hughes,  and  grandson  of  John  Hughes.  He  was 
in  the  war  of  the  rebellion  from  August,  1862,  until  June,  1F65,  in  the 
Third  Massachusetts  Cavalry.  He  was  promoted  to  second  lieutenant 
in  September,  1864.  He  was  keeper  of  Highland  light  for  3^  years. 
He  was  nine  years  bookkeeper  for  the  Central  Wharf  Company,  and 
since  1883  he  has  been  a  dry  goods  merchant  in  the  Masonic  Build- 
ing. He  married  Orianna  F.,  daughter  of  Edward  Armstrong.  Their 
only  daughter  is  Anna  M. 

Sylvanus  N.  Hughes,  born  in  1820  in  Truro,  is  the  eldest  son  of 
James  and  Jane  (Avery)  Hughes,  and  grandson  of  John  Hughes.  He 
followed  the  sea  from  1830  until  1886,  after  1842  as  master.  He  has 
lived  in  Provincetown  since  1866.  He  married  Mary  S.  Collins,  who 
died,  leaving  one  son,  Cullen  A.  His  second  marriage  was  with  Mrs. 
Hannah  Sparrow. 

Joseph  P.  Johnson,  born  in  1813  at  Essex,  Conn.,  was  a  son  of  John 
W.  and  Jerusha(Cary)  Johnson.  He  came  to  Provincetown  at  the  age 
of  thirteen,  and  learned  the  trade  of  a  sailmaker,  at  which  he  wrought 
for  some  time.  He  has  been  engaged  in  several  other  branches  of 
business  here.  He  served  as  moderator  of  town  meetings  twenty- 
eight  years,  selectman  several  years,  seven  years  as  representative  in 
the  legislature,  and  two  terms  state  senator.  He  was  agent  for  the 
Massachusetts  Humane  Society  for  about  twenty-five  years,  several 
years  agent  for  the  Boston  Board  of  Underwriters,  and  is  now  a  di- 
rector in  the  Provincetown  National  Bank.  His  first  wife,  Polly  Cook, 
died  leaving  no  children.  His  second  wife,  Susan  Fitch,  died  leaving 
two  children:  Mary  C.  and  Susan  E.  His  third  wife,  Mary  Whorf, 
left  three  children:  Josephine  P.,  George  F.  and  William  W. 

Samuel  Knowles,  a  carpenter,  born  in  Truro  in  1831,  is  a  son  of 
John  and  Zeruiah  (Atkins)  Knowles,  grandson  of  Samuel,  great-grand- 
son of  John  and  great-great-grandson  of  Willard  Knowles,  born  in 
1712.  He  was  in  the  war  from  July,  1862,  until  May,  1863,  in  Com- 
pany A,  Thirty-third  Massachusetts  Volunteers.  He  purchased  in 
1865  of  JamesChandler  the  mail  and  stage  route  between  Orleans  and 
Provincetown.  In  1873  he  established  a  livery  stable  and  grain  store. 
Until  1888  he  also  acted  as  agent  of  the  Cape  Cod  and  New  York  and 
Boston  Express  Companies.  He  married  Hannah  E.,  daughter  of  Ed- 
ward Larkin.  Their  children  are:  Emma  B.  and  Carrie  E.,  and  one 
daughter,  Virginia  (Mrs.  Joshua  Atkins),  who  died  leaving  three 
children. 

Daniel  F.  Lewis,  born  in  1834,  is  the  youngest  son  of  George  and 


TOWN   OF   PROVINCETOWN.  1003 

Mary  (Snow)  Lewis,  grandson  of  Eleazer  Lewis  and  great-grandson 
of  George  Lewis.  He  is  a  ship  carpenter  by  trade,  but  for  the  last  six 
years  he  has  been  engaged  in  driving  artesian  wells.  He  married 
Mehitabel  F.  Avery  for  his  first  wife.  His  second  wife  was  Mrs.  Mercy 
M.  Hopkins,  and  his  present  wife  was  Mrs.  Mary  N.  Hallett,  daughter 
of  Reuben  Brown. 

Isaac  B.  Lewis,  born  in  1831,  is  one  of  eleven  children  of  Nathaniel, 
grandson  of  Eleazer,  and  great-grandson  of  George,  who  was  a 
descendant  of  George  Lewis.  Isaac  B.  married  Olive  A.  Baker,  whc 
died  leaving  one  son,  Isaac  W.,  who  married  Laura  M.  Freeman  and 
has  four  children:  Olsen  E.,  Olive  A.,  Nathaniel  E.  and  an  infant. 
Mr.  Lewis  married  for  his  second  wife  Elizabeth  A.  Boothby.  He 
has  an  adopted  son,  Ira  A.  Lewis.  Mr.  Lewis  is  engaged  in  weir 
fishing. 

Thomas  Lewis,  son  of  Nathaniel  and  Azubah  (Snow)  Lewis,  was 
born  in  1834.  He  began  going  to  sea  in  1844,  attained  to  master  m 
18.'54,  and  continued  coasting  and  fishing  until  1888.  He  married 
Flora  A.,  daughter  of  John  Coan.  Their  children  are:  John  A.,. 
Thomas  J.  and  Sadie  C. 

Adam  Macool,  born  in  Ireland  in  1823,  is  a  son  of  Robert  and 
grandson  of  Adam  H.  Macool,  both  natives  of  Scotland.  He  came  to 
this  country  in  1827,  and  in  1851  he  came  from  Providence,  R.  I.,  to 
Provincetown,  where  he  has  since  been  a  ganger  and  cooper.  He  is 
now  agent  for  three  whaling  vessels.  He  began  the  manufacture 
of  oil  casks  in  1868  near  Atwood's  wharf,  where  he  has  since  carried 
on  a  flourishing  business.  He  married  Sarah  Ross.  They  have  had 
four  children,  all  of  whom  died  in  infancy. 

Joseph  Manta,  born  in  Portugal  in  1843,  is  a  son  of  Francis  S.  and 
grandson  of  Joseph  S.  Manta.  He  left  home  in  1854  and  followed  the 
sea  from  that  time  until  1876,  when  he  started  a  grocery  .store  nearly 
west  of  the  present  wharf  which  he  purchased  six  years  later.  He 
has  since  become  extensively  engaged  in  the  wholesale  fish  businefs, 
acting  as  agent  for  several  large  schooners  engaged  in  the  fresh  fish 
business.  He  married  Phelomina  Perry.  They  have  had  five  chil- 
dren: Joseph,  John  and  Philip,  living;  and  Francis  and  Phelomina, 
deceased. 

Duncan  A.  Matheson,  born  in  Richmond  county.  Cape  Breton,  N. 
S.,  February  8,  1848,  is  a  son  of  Donald  and  Flora  Matheson.  Donald 
Matheson  was  the  son  of  Murdock  and  Anne  Matheson,  of  Loch  Alsh, 
Rosshire,  Scotland.  Flora  Matheson  was  the  daughter  of  John  and 
Katherine  Matheson,  also  of  Loch  Alsh,  Rosshire,  Scotland.  Duncan 
A.  came  to  Provincetown  in  September,  1872,  and  opened  a  shoe 
store.     In  1881  he  added  a  clothing  department,  and  in  October,  1884,. 


1004  HISTORY   OF   BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

opened  a  branch  store  at  Wellfleet.  In  August,  1884,  he  married 
Irene  P.,  daughter  of  William  and  Rebecca  Bush,  of  Provincetown. 
They  have  one  daughter,  Rebecca  Florence  Matheson. 

William  Matheson,  born  in  1828,  in  Nova  Scotia,  is  a  son  of  Alex- 
ander Matheson.  He  came  to  Provincetown  in  1848,  and  followed  the 
sea  from  that  time  until  1879,  fishing  and  coasting.  He  was  master 
from  1853.  He  purchased  in  1882  "Steamboat  Wharf"  where  he 
conducts  the  wholesale  fishing  business,  owning  largely  in  fishing 
vessels,  and  affording  employment  to  many  men.  His  daughters, 
Mary  S.  and  Jesse  T.  Matheson,  occupy  the  building  at  the  head  of 
the  wharf  as  a  millinery  store.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  John 
Matheson.  Their  children  are:  Lottie  B.  (Mrs.  Angus  McKay), 
Georgia  D.  (Mrs.  Orrin  Paine),  Mary  S.,  Jessie  T.,  John  A.  and  Lizzie 
W.     They  lost  one  infant  son. 

Edwin  C.  Mayo,  born  in  1835,  was  a  son  of  Stephen  and  Jerusha 
(Sawtell)  Mayo,  grandson  of  Joshua  and  great-grandson  of  Thomas 
Mayo.  He  began  going  to  sea  in  1848,  and  from  1856  until  1887  he 
was  master  of  vessels.  From  1887  until  his  death  in  November, 
1889,  he  was  engaged  in  the  wholesale  fish  business.  He  married 
Alexandrina  Kemp,  by  whom  he  had  three  daughters:  Ella  M.,  Carrie 
E.  and  Almira  C. 

Roderick  Mcintosh,  born  in  1845,  at  Cape  Breton,  Nova  Scotia,  is 
the  seventh  son  of  Roderick  Mcintosh.  He  has  lived  in  Province- 
town  since  1862,  and  since  1866  he  has  been  master  of  vessels.  He 
married  Sarah,  daughter  of  John  Matheson.  She  died  in  1885,  leav- 
ing two  sons:  John  A.  and  Daniel  M. 

Angus  McKay,  born  in  1843,  at  Cape  Breton,  is  a  son  of  Alexander 
McKay.  He  came  to  Provincetown  in  1875.  He  has  followed  the  sea 
in  the  fishing  business  since  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  has  been  mas- 
ter since  twenty-one  years  old.  He  married  Lottie  B.  Matheson. 
They  have  three  children:  William  A..  Cora  S.  and  Osborn  E. 

Norman  McKenzie,  son  of  Donald  McKenzie,  was  born  at  Cape 
Breton,  Nova  Scotia,  in  1845,  and  came  to  Provincetown  in  1867. 
Since  1871  he  has  been  master  of  coasting  and  fishing  vessels.  He 
married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Hector  McKinon.  Their  children  are: 
Sadie  M.,  Lorance  N.  and  Maggie  A.  (deceased.) 

Stephen  Mott,  son  of  Stephen  Mott,was  born  in  1807  in  Nantasket, 
Mass.  He  is  a  shipwright  and  caulker  by  trade.  He  came  to  Prov- 
incetown in  1843.  He  married  Eveline  Litchfield,  who  died  in  1883, 
leaving  two  sons^ — Silas  C.  and  Atwood. 

Charles  Nickerson,  born  1807,  died  1887,  was  a  son  of  Enos  and 
grandson  of  Seth  Nickerson.  He  was  a  tailor  by  trade.  In  1830  he 
began  to  engage  in  the  "  fishing  business,"  a  term  which  is  frequently 


TOWN   OF   PROVINCETOWN.  '  1005 

used  to  designate  the  various  occupations  connected  with  the  prcse- 
cution  of  the  bank  fisheries.  He  continued  in  active  business  until 
his  death.  He  married  Eleanor,  daughter  of  Jesse  and  Thankful  H. 
(Smith)  Cook,  and  granddaughter  of  Samuel  Cook.  Their  children 
were:  Lucy  M.  and  Ellen  C,  who  died,  and  Emmie  C,  who  now  lives 
at  the  homestead  with  her  mother. 

Eldridge  Nickerson,  born  in  1797,  was  a  son  of  Seth,  and  grandson 
of  Seth  Nickerson.  He  was  engaged  iij  fishing,  and  kept  a  small 
store  on  Long  Point  until  184B,  when  he  came  to  the  village  where 
his  daughters  now  live,  and  kept  a  store  until  his  death  in  1865.  Since 
that  time  E.  and  M.  Nickerson  have  continued  to  keep  the  store.  He 
married  Eunice  Snow.  Their  children  were:  Eunice  S.  and  Marinda 
J.,  and  one  son,  who  died  in  infancy. 

Luther  Nickerson,  born  in  1829,  is  a  son  of  Stephen  and  Rebecca 
R.  (Dyer)  Nickerson,  grandson  of  Stephen,  and  great-grandson  of  Seth 
Nickerson.  He  married  Elizabeth  Stickney,  of  New  Hampshire. 
She  died,  leaving  two  children,  Rebecca  D.  (Mrs.  Jacob  Rood)  and 
Luther  B. 

Stephen  T.  Nickerson,  oldest  son  of  Stephen  and  Rebecca  R.  Nick- 
erson, was  born  in  1824.  He  married  Ruth  S.,  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
and  Ruth  (Dyer)  Covill.  Luther  and  Stephen  T.  Nickerson  succeeded 
to  the  business  established  by  their  father,  Stephen  Nickerson,  and 
since  1854  have  been  engaged  in  the  fisheries,  owning  extensive  flake 
yards  and  valuable  shore  privileges. 

Artemas  Paine,  born  in  1815  and  died  in  1883,  was  a  son  of  Lot 
and  Olive  (Nickerson)  Paine.  He  kept  a  grocery  and  ship  chandlery 
store  for  several  years.  He  was  selectman  several  years,  and  also 
president  of  a  marine  insurance  company.  He  married  Lucy  J., 
daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Temperance  (Lewis)  Lothrop,  and  grand- 
daughter  of  Brigadier-General  Ebenezer  Lothrop. 

James  C.  N.  Paine,  son  of  Lot  and  Olive  (Nickerson)  Paine,  was 
born  in  1818.  He  followed  the  sea  from  1829  until  1867,  several  years 
as  master  of  vessels.  He  married  Lucy,  daughter  of  David  Ryder. 
She  died,  leaving  one  daughter,  Lucy  A.  His  second  marriage  was 
with  Phoebe  A.,  daughter  of  James  T.  and  Louisa  (Sparks)  Cook. 
They  have  one  daughter  living,  Louisa  C,  and  one  that  died, 
Clara  H. 

Lysander  N.  Paine,  the  president  of  the  Savings  Bank,  and  a  pros 
perous  business  man,  is  the  junior  partner  of  the  firm  of  J.  &  L.  N. 
Paine,  established  in  1865,  which  owns  largely  in  fishing  vessels  and 
conducts  a  general  outfitting  store.  The  business  was  begun  first  by 
R.  E.  Nickerson,  Joshua  Paine  and  James  Emery  in  1853,  at  which 
time  another  wharf  was  erected.     In  1861  the  firm  became  Paine  & 


"1006  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Emery.     Mr.  Emery  retired  in  1865,  and  is  now  a  resident  of  Ar- 
lington. 

Thomas  K.  Paine,  son  of  Jesse  and  Betsey  (Hopkins)  Paine,  was 
born  in  1846.  He  has  been  in  the  fishing  business  since  1860,  and 
since  1882  in  weir  fishing.  He  has  lived  in  Provincetown  since  1868. 
He  married  Lizzie,  daughter  of  Christopher  Hussey  of  Maine.  Their 
children  are:  George  L.,  May  E.,  and  one  that  died  in  infancy. 

George  W.  Pettes,  son  of  George  W.  and  Ruth  (Nickerson)  Pettes 
.  and  grandson  of  Timothy  Nickerson,  was  born  in  1831.    He  has  been 
a  sail  maker  since  1846.     He  married  Elsiaida  B.  Turner. 

A.  Louis  Putnam  united  with  Enos  N.  Atkins  in  1862  in  the 
purchase  of  the  jewelry  and  fancy  goods  store  established  by  A.  S. 
Dudley  in  1855.  In  1864  Atkins  retired.  In  1870  Augustus  Mitchell 
became  a  partner,  and  the  firm  of  A.  L.  Putnam  &  Co.  continued  un- 
til 1888.  Upon  Mr.  Mitchell's  death  the  business  again  passed  to  A. 
L.  Putnam. 

James  A.  Reed,  born  in  1848,  is  a  son  of  Allen  and  Eliza  A. 
(Edson)  Reed.  He  came  to  Provincetown  in  1863  with  his  father, 
who  kept  the  Pilgrim  House  five  years,  and  then  purchased  Ocean 
Hall  and  converted  it  into  a  hotel  known  as  the  Central  House. 
Since  his  death  in  1881,  James  A.  has  been  the  manager.  He  was 
assistant  deputy  inspector  and  collector  of  customs  from  January, 
1887,  to  December,  1887,  and  from  February,  1888,  until  December  1, 
1889,  he  was  deputy  collector  and  inspector  of  customs.  He  married 
Ada  E.,  daughter  of  Frank  A.  Paine.  Their  children  are:  Ethel  A., 
Lula  A.  and  Earl  E. 

John  Rosenthal,  born  in  1833  in  France,  is  a  son  of  Jaques  Rosen- 
thal. He  came  to  this  country  at  the  age  of  twenty,  and  at  Baltimore, 
October  26,  1854,  he  enlisted  in  the  Fifth  United  States  Infantry  as  a 
private.  He  was  promoted  corporal  March  4,  1858;  sergeant  Novem- 
ber 1,  1858;  sergeant  major  December  11,  1863;  ordinance  sergeant 
April  30,  1864.  He  resigned  and  was  discharged  September  25,  1885. 
He  was  in  several  important  expeditions,  and  was  in  the  battle  of 
Appache  Canon  against  the  Texans  March  28,  1862.  He  married 
Mary  E.,  daughter  of  Prince  Freeman.  They  have  two  children  : 
Mabel  F.  (Mrs.  A.  G.  Lester)  and  Irving  L. 

Benjamin  Small,  born  in  1802,  is  the  son  of  Taylor  and  Mary 
(Lombard)  Small.  He  followed  the  sea  in  the  fishing  business  until 
1860.  He  gave  five  thousand  dollars  to  the  Provincetown  public 
library  in  1889. 

James  A  Small',  born  in  1840  in  Truro,  is  a  son  of  Joshua'  and 
Ruth  Kenney  (Isaac',  Francis',  Samuel  Small').  He  was  in  the  war  of 
the  rebellion  from  July,  1862,  until  1865,  in  the  Third  Massachusetts 


TOWN   OF   PROVINCETOWN.  1007 

Cavalry,  and  was  discharged  with  the  rank  of  sergeant  major.  Since 
186!>  he  has  been  a  member  of  Central  Wharf  Company.  He  married 
Rebecca  G.,  daughter  of  John  and  Hannah  (Paine)  Hughes.  Their 
only  daughter  is  Lydia  H. 

Joshua  T.  Small",  is  the  eldest  son  of  Thomas  K'.  and  Maria  Jerusha 
(Baldwin)  Small,  (Joshua',  Isaac',  Francis',  Samuel  Small').  He  suc- 
ceeded N.  H.  Drie,  baker,  in  1878.  In  1882  he  purchased  the  bakery 
of  Jacob  Gross  and  has  continued  since  that  date  a  successful  busi- 
ness at  the  corner  of  Commercial  and  Gosnold  streets.  He  married 
D.  Ellen,  daughter  of  James  Livermore. 

David  Smith,  son  of  Seth  and  Ruth  Smith,  and  grandson  of  Seth 
Smith,  was  born  in  1814.  He  followed  the  sea  until  1867,  and  from 
that  time  until  his  death  in  1888,  he  was  in  a  grocery  and  provision 
store  in  Provincetown.  He  married  Lucy  Lewis,  who  died,  leaving 
iive  children:  Lucinda  S.,  Lucy  C,  David  L.,  Azubah  S.  and  Richard 
C.  His  second  marriage  was  with  Mrs.  Jurusha  A.  Lewis,  daughter 
of  Nehemiah  and  Hope  (Cobb)  Rich.  They  have  two  children  living: 
Charles  B.  and  Fred.  W.,  and  they  lost  two.  Mrs.  Smith  had  one  son 
by  her  former  marriage,  Joseph  H.  Lewis. 

Francis  P.  Smith  was  born  in  1835  in  the  Azore  islands.  He  came 
to  Provincetown  in  1851,  and  followed  the  sea  from  that  time  until 
1871,  as  a  steward,  since  that  time  he  has  kept  the  Atlantic  House, 
which  was  formerly  known  as  the  Union  House.  He  married  Fidelia 
P.,  daughter  of  Nathan  Dunham.  Their  children  are:  Nellie  B., 
Belle  G.,  Selena  F.,  Garfield  P.,  Frank  P.  and  Priscilla  M. 

H.  Merrill  Smith,  born  in  1826,  in  Chatham,  is  a  son  of  Heman  and 
Rebecca  (Jackson)  Smith,  grand.son  of  Nathaniel  and  great-grandson 
of  Ralph  Smith.  Mr.  Smith  followed  the  sea  seventeen  years.  With 
Thomas  W.  Dyer  he  started  business  in  paints,  oils  and  hardware  in 
1869.  Under  the  name  of  T.  W.  Dyer  &  Co.  the  business  was  con- 
tinued until  1886,  when  Mr.  Smith  purchased  the  business.  He  mar- 
ried Catharine  S.,  daughter  of  David  Eldridge.  Their  children  are: 
Heman  Francis,  Franklin  N.,  and  two  daughters  that  died — one  in 
infancy,  and  one,  Eva  M.,  December  9,  1883,  aged  twenty-one  years. 

John  Smith,  born  at  Cape  Breton,  Nova  Scotia,  in  1829,  is  a  son 
of  Donald  Smith.  He  came  to  Provincetown  at  the  age  of  twelve 
and  has  followed  the  sea  since  that  time.  He  has  been  master  since 
1848.  He  was  coasting,  fishing,  and  on  foreign  voyages  until  1883; 
since  that  time  he  has  run  the  steamer  Longfellow  between  Province- 
town  and  Boston.  He  married  Mary  E.  Lavender  and  has  one  son, 
Donald  B. 

William  M.  Smith,  born  in  1857,  is  a  son  of  William  W.  and  Mary 
C.  (Johnson)  Smith.     He    married  Nancy    W.,  daughter  of   Joshua 


1008  HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 

Paine,  and  has  one  son,  William  P.  Mr.  Smith  is  a  photographer. 
He  was  a  partner  with  George  H.  Nickerson  from  1880  to  1883,  when 
he  opened  rooms  at  the  store  of  Amasa  Smith.  In  1889 he  purchased 
the  premises  formerly  owned  by  George  Chamberlain. 

Jonathan  F.  Snow,  born  in  1846,  is  a  son  of  Jonathan  and  Susan 
(Young)  Snow,  and  grandson  of  Jonathan  Snow.  He  followed  the 
sea  from  1863  until  1875,  was  then  in  mercantile  business  until  1883, 
since  which  time  he  has  been  clerk  of  the  steamer  Longfellow.  He 
married  Emeline,  daughter  of  Waters  Taylor.  Their  only  son  is 
Fred. R. 

Obadiah  Snow,  born  in  1825,  is  a  son  of  Josiah  and  Ruth  (Dyer) 
Snow.  He  was  a  boat  builder  in  early  life  and  followed  the  trade 
twenty-one  years.  He  married  Sarah  M.  Dyer,  who  died,  leaving 
one  son,  Elijah  O.,  who  is  married  and  has  one  son.  Mr.  Snow 
began  business  as  a  music  dealer  many  years  ago,  upon  the  site  of 
the  present  town  hall.  In  1875  he  refitted  his  present  store,  and  con- 
tinued a  dealer  in  music,  fancy  goods,  carpets  and  other  goods,  as- 
sisted by  his  son. 

Reuben  S.  Snow,  born  in  1831,  is  a  son  of  John  and  Sally  (Lancy) 
Snow,  and  grandson  of  Josiah  Snow.  He  has  been  a  house  carpenter 
since  1847.  He  married  Hannah  D.,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Sally 
Paine,  and  granddaughter  of  Elisha  Paine. 

Richard  G.  Tarrent  was  born  in  1830  in  Cork,  Ireland.  He  came 
to  Provincetown  with  his  father,  James  Tarrent,  at  the  age  of  sixteen. 
He  was  six  years  in  the  whaling  business,  and  after  spending  four 
years  in  California,  he  was  boat  fishing  until  1870,  and  since  that  time 
he  has  run  a  seine  loft.  He  married  Ann  McGregor,  who  died,  leav- 
ing no  children,  and  he  was  afterward  married  to  Ruth  A.  Seavy,  who 
died,  leaving  two  children:  Lizzie  A.  (Mrs.  E.  E.  Cramer)  and  Char- 
lotte A.  (Mrs.  Charles  Hopkins).  His  third  marriage  was  with  Susan 
A.  Cofl&n.     Their  only  daughter  is  Lillie. 

Amasa  Taylor,  son  of  Amasa  and  Polly  (Gould)  Taylor,  grandson 
of  David  and  Susan  Taylor,  and  great-grandson  of  John  an  '  Susanna 
Taylor,  was  born  in  1824.  He  has  been  a  blacksmith  at  Provincetown 
since  1858.  He  married  Rebecca  Crosby,  who  died,  leaving  two  chil- 
dren:  Abiel  C.  and  Mary  A.  (Mrs.  E.  Wheeler).  His  second  marriage 
was  with  Hannah  Bush,  widow  of  James  Bush.  They  have  three  chil- 
dren:   Rebecca  A.,  Minnie  C.  and  Lucinda  C. 

Thomas  S.  Taylor,  born  in  Yarmouth  in  1840,  is  a  son  of  Charles 
and  Hannah  (Ellis)  Taylor,  grandson  of  Elijah,  and  great-grandson  of 
Elijah  Taylor.  He  came  to  Provincetown  in  1853,  and  followed  the 
sea  from  that  time  "until  1886,  the  last  thirty  years  in  whaling  vessels. 
He  was  master  of  vessels  after  1862.     He  married  Josephine  E.,  daugh- 


TOWN  OF   PROVINCETOWN.  1009 

ter  of  Elisha  West,  and  granddaughter  of  Ebenezer  West,  who  was  a 
native  of  Plymouth,  and  removed  to  Nova  Scotia.  They  have  four 
children:    Charles  N.,  E.  Thomas,  William  W.  and  Hersey  D. 

Joseph  A.  West,  son  of  Elisha  and  Barbara  Ann  (Lavender)  West, 
was  born  in  Nova  Scotia  in  1846,  and  came  to  Provincetown  in  1848. 
He  married  Josephine  Hatton.  Their  children  are:  Josie  H.  and 
Louis  J.  Joseph  A.  West  and  Josiah  F.  Brown,  in  1868,  succeeded 
to  the  business  of  C.  P.  Dyer.  During  the  same  year  Mr.  West 
became  sole  proprietor,  and  continues  to  keep  a  large  stock  of  furni- 
ture, fancy  goods  and  builder's  and  hardware  goods. 

John  G.  Whitcomb,  born  in  Yarmouth,  Maine,  in  1834,  is  a  son  of 
Levi  Whitcomb.  He  married  Mary  J.  Fountain  and  has  one  son, 
Charles  T.  C.  Mr.  Whitcomb  began,  in  December,  1865,  to  build  ves- 
sels upon  the  shore  nearly  opposite  his  present  residence.  The 
whaling  schooner  Alcyone,  of  137  tons,  the  first  vessel  built  by  Mr. 
Whitcomb,  was  launched  in  1866.  In  1867  the  Cora  Morrison,  of  129 
tons,  was  launched  from  his  yard.  In  1867  the  schooner  Freddie  W. 
Alton,  of  129  tons,  was  launched.  November,  1868,  the  brig  D.  A. 
Small,  of  166  tons,  was  completed.  The  schooner  Lottie  Bell,  of  131 
tons,  in  1869,  and  the  schooner  Willie  Swift,  of  137  tons,  in  1875,  were 
also  built  by  Mr.  Whitcomb  at  his  yard.  In  1867,  while  hastening 
work  upon  the  Alton,  Mr.  Whitcomb  cut  and  carted  to  his  yard  from 
Truro  woods  good  white  oak  timber,  which  he  used  in  the  frame  of 
the  Alton.  Mr.  Whitcomb  still  repairs  a  great  many  vessels,  but  has 
since  1875  built  no  new  vessels. 

Joseph  Whitcomb,  born  in  1841  in  Yarmouth,  Maine,  is  a  son  of 
Levi  Whitcomb.  He  came  to  Provincetown  in  1865.  He  was  deputy 
sheriflF  from  1876  until  1889,  when  he  was  elected  high  sheriff.  Mr. 
Whitcomb  assisted  for  many  years  Robert  Knowles,  undertaker,  and 
in  1880,  upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Knowles,  established  himself  in  busi- 
ness as  his  successor.  He  married  Susan  E.  Knowles,  who  died  leav- 
ing two  children:  Flossie  M.  and  Susie  E.  His  second  marriage  was 
with  Levinia  C.  Mullen.    They  have  one  son,  Joseph  W. 

Andrew  T.  Williams,  born  in  1832,  is  a  son  of  Jacob  C.  and  Mary 
(Rich)  Williams,  and  grandson  of  Andrew  N.Williams.  Mr. Williams 
conducts  the  general  store  formerly  owned  by  the  Union  Wharf  Com- 
pany, which  was  established  in  1831  by  Thomas  Nickerson,  Jonathan 
Nickerson,  Samuel  Soper  and  Stephen  Nickerson.  Several  changes 
in  the  partners  followed,  but  the  firm  continued  until  its  dissolution 
in  1879  to  do  a  large  fishing  business,  which  Mr.  Williams  has  con- 
tinued. He  married  Eveline,  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Eveline  Soper. 
They  have  three  children:  Fred.  E.,  Mary  E.  and  Nina  S. 

Nathan  Young,  son  of  Nehemiah  and  Phebe  (Higgins)  Young,  and 


1010 


HISTORY   OF  BARNSTABLE   COUNTY. 


grandson  of  Eleazer  Young,  was  born  in  1823.  He  followed  the  sea 
from  1833  until  1863,  as  master  after  1849.  Since  1864  he  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Central  Wharf  Company.  He  married  Abbie,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Freeman.     Their  only  daughter  is  Millie  W. 

Paron  C.  Young,  born  in  1838,  is  a  son  of  Elisha  and  Betsey 
(Sparks)  Young,  and  grandson  of  Elisha  Young.  He  entered  the  war 
in  January,  1864,  in  Third  Massachusetts  Cavalry,  Company  I.  He 
received  a  wound  at  Cedar  creek  in  October,  1864,  which  closed  his 
active  service.  He  married  Susan  E.,  daughter  of  Joseph  P.Johnson. 
They  have  two  children:  William  H.  and  Nettie  M. 


CM 


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BOSTON  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 


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