See other formats

Full text of "History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1620-1637-1686-1890"

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 - 

HIGGINSON BOOK COMPANY 

148 Washington Street, Post OfBce Box 778 

Salem, Massachusetts 01970 

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



A complete catalog of thousands of genealogy and local 
history reprints is available from Higginson Books. 
Please contact us to order or for more information, 
or visit our web site at www.higginsonbooks.com. 

This facsimile reprint has been photo-reproduced on acid-free 
paper. Hardcover bindings are Class A archival quality. 



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 





I 




m 




z 




o 




CD 




(/> 


z 


O 




c 


w 


m 




(n 


s 


m 


> 


H 


V 


H 




I 




O 




c 




en 




m 






:»'■ 


.^'Jlliil.'" ■',[' ' ' '. " ■ ■ 


■':■■'" ""'Ky-ri'f" ,•• 


■Ir 


g;# 


.,==^ 


K; 




Ml 


^P^L 




'',■!■ 

v! : 
■1 


^Im. 




ifiii 






■■| 


Pnm- 




■ii"l! 


' 31 fPJflL ■ 




'i\ 


^^nt " 




'-hi 


[ W'^ '' 




'i !:(■ 








:'^ ^^1 






■|i|; 






ISr 


li.iiillj 


'i !' ji 


l\ IS 




W" 




...;:ii 



I'iij 



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 

Joseph Allen 5 12 

Edward Perry 89 18 

George Allen 25 15 

William Giflford 57 19 

WiUiam Newland ... 36 
Ralph Allen, jr 18 



£ sh. 

John Jenkins 19 10 

Henry Howland 1 10 

Ralph Allen, sen 68 

Thomas Greenfield ... 4 

Richard Kirby 57 12 

William Allen 86 17 

ThomasEwer 25 8 



£ sh. 

Daniel Wing 12 

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 



r 
> 

M 

c 
z 




"^ 
z 

r 
r 

X 






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