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0093504 


MEMORIAL 


BIOGRAPHIES 


OF 


C        1 


THE    NEW    ENGLAND    HISTORIC 
GENEALOGICAL    SOCIETY 


TOWNE    MEMORIAL   FUND 


Volume  II 


(I 

•'r 


•>\' 


-•>     A: 


1853-1855 


BOSTON 

PUBLISHED   BY   THE   SOCIETY 

18  Somerset  Street 


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■p 


CP  THb  Ch'UfiCh'  OP  jgsus  CHRIST 
O-  UTTSR-DAY  SAiNTS 
1^    . 


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Copyright,  1882, 
By  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society. 


University  Press: 
John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge. 


>< 


/ 


MEMORIALS  AND   AUTHORS 


I  PAOB 

(  INTRODUCTION.     By  Mr.  Daniel  T.  V.  Huntoon,  of  Canton         7 

j  Hon.  HARRISON  GRAY  OTIS  COLBY,  A.M.    By  Arthur 

{  M.  Alger,  LL.B.,  of  Taunton  9 

'  Hon.  CHARLES    KILBORN  WILLIAMS,  LL.D.     By  the 

*        Hon.  Samuel  Williams,  A.M.,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.  17 

I  Mr.  DANIEL  GREENLEAF.     By  Mr.  Richard  C.  Green- 

\  LEAF,  of  Boston  34 

Hon.  ROBERT  GOULD  SHAW.    By  Mr.  Francis  George 

Shaw,  of  West  New  Brighton,  N.  Y.  38 

Mr.  SAIVIUEL  APPLETON.    By  Mr.  William  C.  Bates,  of 

Newton  -62 

Hon.  NAHUM  MITCHELL,  A.M.'     By  Arthur  M.  Alger, 

LL.B.,  of  Taunton  69 

Mr.  JACOB  BAILEY  MOORE.    By  the  Hon.  Nathan  Crosby, 

LL.D.,  of  Lowell  75 

i  NATHANIEL  SAWYER,  A.M.     By  the  Hon.  Patrick  Mal- 

I  lon,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio  84 

j  Hon.  JAMES  GUSHING  MERRILL,  A.M.     By  James  W. 

I  Preston,  A.M.,  of  Boston  88 

Hon.  MAHLON  DICKERSON,  A.M.     By  Edmund  D.  Hal- 
set,  A.M.,  of  Morristown,  N.  J.  95 

Prof.   SIMON   GREENLEAF,   LL.D.      By  Simon  Green- 
leaf  Croswell,  LL.B.  106 

Mr.  CHARLES  EWER.     By  the  Rev.  Samuel  H.  Riddel, 

A.M.,  of  Tam worth,  N.  H.  113 


,1 


IV  MEMORIALS   ANB   AUTHORS 

PAGE 

Hon.    JOSIAH    ADAMS,    A.M.      By  the    Rev.  Josiah    H. 

Temple,  of  Framingham  156 

GEORGE  CHEYNE  SHATTUCK,  M.D.,  LL.D.    By  George 

C.  Shattuck,  M.D.,  of  Boston  164 

Hon.  JOHN  DAVIS,  LL.D.     By  Samuel  F.  Haven,  LL.D., 

of  Worcester  172 

Rev.  SHUBAEL  BARTLETT,  A.M.      By  David  E.  Bart- 

LETT,  A.M,  of  Hartford,  Conn.  186 

Mr.  ALFRED  HAWKINS.    By  the  Rev.  Increase  N.  Tar- 
box,  D.D.,  of  West  Newton  «  197 

Mr.    JAMES    ATHEARN    JONES.      By  Mr.   Richard  L. 

Pease,  of  Edgartown  204 

Hon.  LEONARD  MOODY  PARKER,  A.M.   By  the  Rev. 

Seth  Chandler,  of  Shirley  223  j 

Hon.  STEPHEN  FALES,  A.M.     By  Albert  H.  Hott,  A.M., 

of  Cincinnati,  Ohio  234 

Hon.  SAMUEL  CHURCH,  LL.D.    By  the  Hon.  Gideon  H. 

Hollister,  A.M.,  of  Litchfield,  Conn.  240 

Hon.  WILLIAM   PLUMER,  A.M      By  Prof.   Andrew  P. 

Peabodt,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  of  Cambridge  246 

Mr.  MOSES  PLIMPTON.    By  Charles  S.  Lincoln,  A.B.,  of 
Somerville  257 

CALEB    BUTLER,  A.M.      By   Mrs.   Frances   Brooks,   of 
Boston  266 

FREDERICK  HOBBS,  A.M.    By  the  Hon.  Joseph  Granger, 
^         of  Calais,  Me.  .  280 

Mr.  ARTEMAS  SIMONDS.     By  the  Hon.  Alvan  Simonds, 

of  Boston  288 

WILLIAM  THADDEUS   HARRIS,  A.M.,  LL.B.      By  Mr. 

Edward  Doubled  at  Harris,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  294 

JOHN  ROWLAND,  A.M.    By  the  Rev.  Edwin  M.  Stone,  of 

Providence,  R.I.  305 

Rev.    JAMES    DELAP    FARNSWORTH,    A.M.       By   Mr. 

Claudius  B.  Farnsworth,  of  Pawtucket,  R.  I.  312 

Mr.  PETER  FOLGER  EWER.     By  the  Rev.  Ferdinand  C. 
Ewer,  S.T.D.  319 

Mr.  ISAAC    P.  DAVIS.     By  John  Ward  Dean,  A.M.,  of 

Boston  327 


MEMORIALS   AND   AUTHORS  V 

PAGB 

Hon.  THOMAS  DAY,  LL.D.     By  Thomas  M.  Day,  A.M.,  of 

Hartford,  Conn.  <         335 

Rev.  FREDERICK  TURELL  GRAY,  A.M.     By  Mr.  Lewis 

G.  Pkat,  of  Boston  340 

Hon.  ELISHA  FULLER,  A.M.     By  Nathaniel  Paine,  A.M., 

of  "Worcester  353 

Hon.  NATHANIEL   GOODWIN.     By  the  Hon.  Henry  Bar- 
nard, LL.D.,  of  Hartford,  Conn.  ,  358 

Hon.  SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE,  LL.D.     By  J.  Gardner 
•  White,  A.M.,  of  Cambridge  ,  368 

STEPHEN  WEST  WILLIAMS,  A.M.,  M.D.    By  Mrs.  Helen 
M.  Huntington,  of  Charles  City,  Iowa  389 

Mr.  ROBERT  ADAMS.     By  the  Hon.  Edward  S.  Moseley, 

A.M.,  of  Newburyport  398  . 

Hon.    ABBOTT   LAWRENCE,  LL.D.      By   Hamilton   An- 
drews Hill,  A.M.,  of  Boston  401 

Hon.  WILLIAM  CRANCH,  LL.D.     By  Christopher  Pearse 

Cranch,  A.B.,  of  Cambridge  446 

GORHAM  BROOKS,  A.M.     By  the  Rev.  Octavius  B.  Froth- 
ingham,  A.M.  470 

Hon.  mark  DOOLITTLE,  A.M.     By  the  Rev.  George  A. 

OviATT,  A.M.,  of  South  Sudbury,  Mass.  473 

Mr.    CHARLES   WARNER    CADY.      By  Col.  Albemarle 

Cady,  Bvt.  Brig.  Gen.  U-  8.  A.,  of  New  Haven,  Conn.  478 

Mr.  DAVID   HAMBLEN.      By  Mr.  William  B.  Trask,  of 

Boston  480 

Mr.  NICHOLAS  DEAN.     By  the  Rev.  Henry  W.  Bellows, 
D.D.,  of  New  York,  N.  Y.  484 


INDEX  497 


INTEODUCTION 


Another  year  draws  to  its  close,  and  the  second 
volume  of  the  Memorial  Biographies  is  completed.  The 
reception  which  attended  the  publication  of  the  first  vol- 
ume was  a  matter  of  congratulation  to  the  members  of 
the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  and  of 
encouragement  to  the  Committee. 

The  munificence  of  Mr.  William  Blanchard  Towne  has 
enabled  the  Society  to  place  upon  perpetual  record  the 
biographies  of  its  members  who  were  interested  in  the 
preservation  of  the  historic  memorials  of  our  ancestors, 
and  who  during  the  years  1853,  1854,  and  1855,  ceased 
from  their  labors.  The  record  of  their  lives  here  pre- 
sented will  be  interesting  to  those  who  were  their  asso- 
ciates and  contemporaries,  and  will  serve  as  an  example 
and  incentive  to  those  who  fill  their  places  in  the  ranks  of 
this  Society. 

Aside  from  the  recital  of  personal  annals,  much  relating 
to  the  manners  and  customs  of  past  times  as  well  as  to 
general  history  will  be  found  in  this  volume.  Facts  of  a 
genealogical  nature,  not  otherwise  obtainable,  are  also  here 
perpetuated. 

It  is  hoped  that,  as  the  years  go  by,  the  historian  of 
the  future  will  turn  to  the  pages  of  these  memorial  vol- 


Vlll  INTEODUCTION 


umes  as  accurate  authority  for  information  in  regard  to 
the  lives  of  some  of  the  best  men  in  the  history  of  New 
England,  who  lived  during  the  period  embraced  within 
the  years  which  they  include.  It  will  be  the  aim  of  the 
Committee  to  make  this' series  of  memoirs  a  valuable  con- 
tribution to  biographical   literature. 

The  Committee  are  convinced  that  this  work  was  begun 
none  too  soon.  The  authors  of  seven  of  the  memoirs 
in  this  volume  have  died  since  their  articles  were  written ;  | 

and  in  regard  to  some  of  them  it  would  now  be  difficult 
to  find  those  who  possess  the  information  which  would 
enable  them  to  write  equally  satisfactory  memoirs. 

The  work  of  the  Committee  during  the  past  year  has 
been  divided  as  in  1880.  Mr.  White,  the  Secretary,  has 
conducted  the  correspondence  and  prepared  the  memoirs 
for  the  press;  Mr.  Huntoon  has  superintended  the  printing 
and  correction  of  the  proofs;  and  Mr.  Dean,  the  Chairman,  |,{ 

has  assisted  both  these  gentlemen.  The  other  members 
of  the  Committee  have  aided  in  various  ways. 

The   Index   has   been   prepai»ed    by  Mr.   Oliver  Bliss     • 
Stebbins,  the  same  gentleman  who  prepared  the  Index 
for  the  first  volume. 

JOHN  WARD  DEAN. 
HENRY  A.  HAZEN. 
J.  GARDNER  WHITE. 
WILLIAM  B.  TRASK. 
DANIEL  T.  V.  HUNTOON.  U( 

ARTHUR  M.  ALGER.  f 

i 


HAERISON   GRAY  OTIS   COLBY 


The  life  led  by  a  lawyer  in  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion, and  especially  by  a  lawyer  outside  the  large  cities,  is 
generally  one  devoid  of  stirring  incidents.  It  is  with  the 
ordinary  business  of  every  day  that  he  has  to  deal ;  and, 
when  he  does  not  venture  into  the  noisier  arena  of  politics 
or  win  reputation  in  literary  pursuits,  the  impression  he 
may  have  made  by  his  forensic  efforts  is  usually  short- 
lived, and  his  memory,  within  a  generation  or  two,  falls 
into  oblivion.  The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  one  of  the 
leading  lawyers  of  the  Bristol  bar  at  a  time  when  it  in- 
cluded men  of  marked  ability ;  yet  to-day  there  are  few 
who  have  any  remembrance  of  the  man  that  is  not  very 
vague,  or  who  know  anything  of  his  history. 
'  Harrison  Gray  Otis  Colby,  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Philip 
and  Harriet  (Sewall)  Cplby,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Hal- 
lowell,  Maine,  April  19,  1808. 

His  father  was  born  at  Sanbornton,  New  Hampshire, 
July  30,  1779.  He  was  one  of  nine  children  of  Isaac  and 
Phebe  (Hunt)  Colby,  of  that  place.  After  attaining  his 
majority  he  engaged  in  business  in  Hallowell,  continuing 
there  until  the  death  of  his  wife  in  1811,  when  he  deter- 
mined to  fit  himself  for  the  ministry,  and  accordingly 
closed  his  business,  and  went  with  his  boy  to  Salem,  Mas- 
sachusetts, for  the  purpose  of  pursuing  the  necessary  theo- 
logical studies.     His  first  and  only  settlement  was  over  the 

2 


10  HAItRISON   GRAY   OTIS    COLBY 

Congregational  Church  of  North  Middleborough,  Massachu- 
setts. Here  he  was  ordained  in  1817,  and  here  he  re- 
mained until  his  death  in  1851,  for  a  period  of  thirty-four 
years,  performing  faithfully,  cheerfully,  and  acceptably 
the  pastoral  duties  incumbent  on  him.  As  a  preacher  he 
was  interesting  and  edifying ;  as  a  scholar  his  attain- 
ments were  such  that  Brown  University,  the  year  he  was 
ordained,  conferred  on  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Mas- 
ter of  Arts  ;  as  a  man  "  he  was  affable  and  kind,  —  cker- 
ishing  self-respect  without  ostentation  or  moroseness, 
combining  dignity  with  simplicity  of  character,  firmness 
with  lu-banity."  Such  was  the  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch.  His  mother  —  a  member  of  that  SewaU 
family  which  has  given  so  many  men  of  note  to  ^ew 
England  —  is  said  to  have  been  a  woman  of  most  lovely 
character. 

.  Born  of  such  parentage,  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  son 
had  those  qualities  which  generally  bring  their  possessor 
success  in  life.  Of  his  early  youth  nothing  is  remem- 
bered, save  that  he  was  a  bright,  studious,  and  amiable 
boy.  His  preparatory  education  was  obtained  from  his 
father,  who  for  some,  years  took  pupils  at  the  academic 
School  in  North  Middleborough,  and  at  "Washington,  ^ 
where  he  went  to  live  vnth  his  uncle,  Dr.  SewaU,  who 
had  offered  him  such  assistance  as  he  might  need  in  , 
obtaining  an  education.  His  father,  with  a  salary  of  only 
five  hundred  dollars  a  year  with  which  to  support  a  fam- 
ily, was  hardly  in  condition  to  render  him  much  pecu- 
niary aid. 

In  1823  he  entered  Brown  University.  His  time  was 
diligently  improved  during  the  four  years'  course ;  and  at 
the  age  of  nineteen  he  was  graduated  with  high  honors,  in 
the  class  of  1827,  with  such  eminent  men  as  Governor  '| 

John  H.  Clifford ;  Peter  C.  Bacon,  LL.D.,  of  "Worcester ; 
the  Rev.  Elam  Smalley,  D.D.,  of  Troy,  New  York ;  Wil- 
liam Mason  Cornell,  LL.D.,  and  others.     His  part  at  the 


HAERISON  GRAY  OTIS  COLBY  11 

Commencement  exercises  was  an  oration  on  "  Advantages 
of  America  for  Awakening  Poetic  Genius." 

He  was  not  long,  with  the  world  before  him,  in  making 
up  his  mind  as  to  what  calling  in  life  he  should  adopt. 
His  tastes  pointed  him  to  the  profession  of  law ;  and  he 
at  once  entered  the  office  of  Timothy  G.  Coffin,  of  New 
Bedford,  as  a  student.  Near  the  close  of  his  term  of 
study,  he  entered  the  office  of  Rufus  Choate,  passing  a 
few  months  under  the  guidance  of  the  great  advocate. 
In  1830  he  applied  for  admission  to  the  bar,  and,  having 
been  found  qualified  on  examination,  was  admitted  as  an 
attorney  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  held  at  Taunton 
for  the  September  term  of  that  year.  He  located  for 
practice  in  Taunton,  opening  an  office  in  a  wooden  build- 
ing on  the  east  side  of  the  "  Green,"  which  is  still  stand- 
ing, and  is  now  occupied  as  a  shoemaker's  shop.  He 
obtained  a  fair  amount  of  practice,  —  as  much,  in  fact,  as 
any  young  man  at  the  bar.  During  this  period  he  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  the  Hon.  John  Avery  Parker,  of  New 
Bedford,  who  with  several  children  survives  him.  After  a 
residence  of  about  eight  years  in  Taunton,  he  went  to  New 
Bedford  to  form  a  partnership  connection  with  his  class- 
mate, John  H.  Clifford.  As  he  advanced  in  years  and 
experience,  his  business  increased  to  a  large  extent,  and 
high  rank  was  conceded  to  him  in  the  profession.  His 
knowledge  of  legal  principles  and  rules  was  comprehen- 
sive ;  and  as  a  speaker  he  was  easy,  very  ready  in  extem- 
poraneous efforts,  never  at  a  loss  for  the  right  word,  and 
in  the  heat  of  argument  animated  and  forcible.  He  was 
especially  thorough  and  painstaking  in  preparing  his 
cases.  In  the  trial  of  causes  he  was  always  courteous  to 
his  opponents,  and  never  guilty  of  bullying  or  abusing 
witnesses.  Among  his  contemporaries  at  the  Bristol  bar, 
with  whom  he  contested  many  cases  in  the  course  of  his 
career,  were  such  men  as  Timothy  G.  Coffin,  Thomas  D. 
EUot,  Horatio  Pratt,  Nathaniel  Morton,  and  Charles  H. 


12  HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS    COLBY 

Warren.  As  a  nisiprius  lawyer,  Mr.  Coffin  had  few  equals. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  resources,  —  witty,  quick  at  re-  ^ 
partee,  and  a  persistent  fighter.  Many  anecdotes  of  him 
illustrating  these  qualities  are  still  current.  Eliot  was  for 
a  number  of  years  a  member  of  Congress,  and  a  success- 
ful practitioner.  Horatio  Pratt  was  district-attorney  for  a 
period.  His  knowledge  of  law  was  extensive,  and  he  was 
ready  and  apt  in  applying  it.  Nathaniel  Morton  —  a  son 
of  Governor  Marcus  Morton  —  died  when  a  young  man, 
before  he  had  attained  his  full  powers;  but  even  as  a 
young  man  he  acquired  a  great  reputation.  He  had,  in 
its  strictest  sense,  the  legal  mind.  He  grasped  the  essen- 
tial points  of  a  case  instinctively,  and  presented  them 
with  an  indefinable  charm  of  manner  and  logical  force. 
Judge  Warren  was  regarded  as  a  brilliant  advocate  and 
good  lawyer.  He  held  a  seat  on  the  bench  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas,  and  was  president  of  the  Boston  and 
Providence  Railroad. 

In  1845  Mr.  Colby  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas.  He  was  a  fair-minded,  even-tempered 
judge,  and  gave  general  satisfaction  to  the  profession ; 
but  the  duties  of  the  bench  were  evidently  not  congenial 
to  him,  and  in  June,  1847,  he  resigned  his  office  to  return 
to  practice.  In  1849  he  was  appointed  District- Attorney 
for  the  Southern  District,  holding  the  office  till  1851,. 
when  he  was  removed  on  the  occasion  of  a  change  in  the 
State   administration.      In   politics   he   took    an    active,  ?;j 

though  not  a  leading,  part  on  the  Whig  side.  In  1838  he 
represented  Taunton  in  the  Legislature,  and  New  Bedford 
in  1841  and  1843,  serving  as  chairman  of  various  im- 
portant committees,  including  that  on  the  judiciary. 
He  was  interested  in  miUtary  matters,  and  from  1840  to 
1845  commanded  the  New  Bedford  Guards.  When  the 
Rhode  Island  boundary  question  was  being  settled,  he  was 
employed  by  the  legislature  in  taking  testimony  relating 
thereto. 


4 


HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS    COLBY  13 

Judge  Colby  held  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer,  and  in  his 
day  gained  considerable  literary  reputation.  In  1841  he 
delivered  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  oration  at  Brown  Univer- 
sity, and  in  1842  the  address  before  the  American  Institute 
in  New  York ;  he  also  delivered  various  other  addresses 
\  before  public  bodies,  and  on  public  occasions.     He  was  a 

^  frequent  contributor  to  the  law  periodicals,  and  among 

J  other  articles  translated,  condensed,  and  illustrated   the 

{  causes  celebres  for  the  "  American  Law  Review."    In  1848 

I  he  published  a  work  entitled  "  The  Practice  in  Civil  Ac- 

/  tions   and  Proceedings   at  Law  in  Massachusetts ;   with 

copious  References  to  Decisions  in  New  Hampshire,  Maine, 
&c. ;  with  the  Rules  of  the  State  and  United  States  Courts, 
and  an  Appendix  of  Forms."  As  a  scholar  he  was  untiring 
and  accurate.  The  best  Latin  and  Greek  authors  were  his 
favorite  companions.  He  was  a  man  of  quick  perception, 
of  industrious  habits,  and  one  who  made  the  most  of  his 
J  opportunities.   He  did  not  possess  genius,  but  certainly  had 

i  talent  of  a  high  order.'    His  disposition  was  kindly ;  and 

.  in  his  intercourse  with  men  his  conduct  was  always  that  of 
a  gentleman.  He  became  a  resident  member  of  the  New 
England  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  July  9, 1847.  He 
died  of  consumption,  on  the  21st  day  of  February,  1853, 
in  the  forty- fifth  year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried  in 
New  Bedford. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Bristol  bar,  organized  after  the 

opening  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  the  month  of 

March  following,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  report  suit- 

i  able  resolutions  on  his  death  ;  and  subsequently  the  com- 

.■  mittee  reported  to  the  meeting  the  following  preamble 

■  and  resolutions,  which  were  unanimously  adopted  :  — 
I 

"  Since  the  last  term  of  this  court,  the  members  of  the  bar  of 

i';,'  Bristol  County  have  been  called  upon  to  mourn  the  decease  of 

•  "^^  another  of  their  brethren. 

-  „  "  Harrison  G.  O.  Colby,  our  friend  and  professional  associate, 

p^  has  been  removed  from  among  us  by  death  ;  and  now  that,  for 


14  HARRISON   GRAY   OTIS   COLBY 

the  first  time  after  his  decease,  we  have  assembled  where  for 

many  years  we  have  been  accustomed  to  his  presence  and  to  his 

companionship,  members  of  the  bar  have  felt  that  their  sense  of 

the  loss  they  have  sustained,  and  their  respect  for  the  memory  i 

of  their  brother,  should  find  appropriate  expression.  i 

"  Resolved,  That,  in  the  decease  of  Harrison  G.  O.  Colby,  our 
departed  associate  and  brother,  we  are  called  upon  to  deplore  the 
loss  of  a  friend  in  social  hfe,  of  an  honorable  and  esteemed  com- 
panion in  professional  labor,  and  in  common  with  our  fellow- 
citizens  the  loss  of  talents  and  of  learning  which  for  many  years 
adorned  alike  the  bench  and  the  bar. 

*'  Resolved,  That  Judge  Colby  was  distinguished  among  his 
brethren  for  legal  talents  and  early  professional  success.  His 
first  labors  at  the  bar  and  in  legal  life  indicated  an  ability  and 
extent  of  attainment  which  promised  and  secured  his  advance- 
ment. He  was  noted  for  industry  in  the  preparation  of  causes 
for  trial,  and  will  be  remembered  as  a  successful  and  eloquent 
advocate  before  the  jury.  He  was  manly  and  independent  in 
his  deportment,  frank  and  open  with  his  equals,  and  uniformly 
considerate  and  courteous  in  his  intercourse  with  the  younger 
members  of  the  profession.  His  labors  at  the  bar  entitled  him  to 
a  place  upon  the  bench ;  and,  during  the  time  that  he  presided  over 
this  court  as  one  of  its  associate  judges,  he  earned  for  himself  i 
the  high  consideration  of  his  professional  brethren. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  the  family  of 
our  deceased  brother,  and  that  we  respectfully  offer  to  them  our 
sincerest  condolence  in  this  hour  of  their  bereavement. 

"  Resolved,  That  Mr.  Eliot  be  requested  to  offer  these  resolu-      - 
tions  to  the  honorable  court,  and  ask,  in  behalf  of  the  bar,  that 
they  may  be  placed  upon  record ;  and  that  the  president  and 
secretary  of  this  meeting  be  desired  to  present  a  copy  thereof  to 
the  family  of  the  deceased." 

The  Hon.  Thomas  D.  Eliot,  in  offering  these  resolu- 
tions, spoke  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  have  been  desired,  may  it  please  your  Honor,  by  my 
brethren  of  the  bar  to  lay  these  resolutions,  which  they  have 
prepared,  before  the  court. 

"  That  duty  I  have  discharged  ;  but  I  cannot  be  unmindful 
of  the  fact  that  this  duty  has  most  naturally  and  rightly  fallen 


ni«a«||MIHHMHnMHMMMaa«M«M»OTMmM«««P 


i 


■I 


HAREISON    GRAY    OTIS    COLBY  15 

upon  me.  In  the  Providence  of  God,  one  and  another  of  our 
circle  have  been  called  awaj  ;  and,  as  I  look  around  me  here 
to-day,  I  see  very  few  who  were  of  us  when  Judge  Colby 
commenced  his  professional  life.  Some  have  left  us  for  other 
homes  ;  some  have  been  gathered  to  their  last  resting-place  on 
earth.  We  are  fast  following  on ;  and  I  know  not  what  manner 
of  men  we  are  if  the  finger  of  death  can  touch  a  brother's 
brow  and  not  constrain  us  at  the  same  time  to  pause  and  take 
heed  to  our  ways. 

"  But  it  was  before  the  cares  and  striving  of  professional  ri- 
valry began  that  at  this  time  I  recall  my  earliest  companionship 
with  our  brother  who  has  passed  on  before  us.  Nearly  thirty 
years  have  elapsed  since  I  first  knew  Mr.  Colby.  He  was  then 
preparing  himself  for  college,  and  was  living  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, in  the  family  of  a  distinguished  physician, — his  friend 
and  relative,  Dr.  Thomas  Sewall.  The  earnest  and  untiring 
studiousness  of  his  whole  life  then  is  fresh  in  my  memory. 
I  None  more  ardently  or  with  keener  or  more  continuous  effort 

pursued  the  path  prescribed  for  him.  He  went  from  school  to 
Brown  University  ;  and  my  next  knowledge  of  him  was  when 
he  was  commencing  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  this  town. 
Since  then  he  has  been  before  us  all.  No  one  has  been  more 
ready  than  I  have  been  at  all  times  to  congratulate  him  upon  his 
successes,  or  to  acknowledge  the  merit  which  was  known  to 
underlie  them.  Since  his  return  to  practice,  after  the  brief  period 
•"  when  he  occupied  the  bench,  we  have  watched  with  pain  the 

/■  slow  progress  of  disease  which  undermined  his  strength,  and 

i'.  took  from  him,  in  the  fulness  of  his  life,  the  energy  of  mature 

J  manhood. 

'^  "  And  now,  sir,  we  were  called  upon  the  other  day  to  bear 

•  him  to  the  grave ;  and,  as  I  listened  to  the  impressive  words  of 

^j  Holy  Writ,  —  to  which  those  sad  funeral  services  gave  point  and 

)  1  more  intense  impressiveness,  —  I  could  but  feel,  as  we  are  all 

'  now  feeling,  how  very  brief  is  our  opportunity  here,  and  how 

mindful  we  should  be  of  that  hour  when  the  Master  cometh." 

Nathaniel   Morton,  Esq.,  seconded  the  motion  of  Mr. 
Eliot,  and  addressed  the  court  as  follows  :  — 


"  May  it  please  your  Honor :  As  one  of  the  committee  desig 
nated  by  the  members  of  the  bar,  I  have  the  honor  +«  — 
motion  of  the  chairman  of  our  comn   "^ 


o 
1-1.  _ 


16 


HAEEISON   GRA.Y   OTIS   COLBY 


I 


"  The  painful  emotions  caused  bj  the  decease  of  our  brother 
fall  far  short  of  being  overbalanced  by  the  pleasure  of  doin<y 
honor  to  his  memory.  We  have  all  felt  that  the  last  year  has 
been  a  year  of  harvest  for  death.  We  can  feel  "with  less  emo- 
tion the  shaft  of  death  when  it  is  aimed  at  three  score  years  and 
ten  ;  but  it  is  keener  felt  when  it  falls  upon  a  brother  in  the 
prime  of  life  and  in  the  fuE  possession  of  able,  well-culti- 
vated, and  manly  talents.  Such  was  the  fate  of  our  brother, 
now  deceased.  We  knew  him  long  as  an  attorney  and  ad- 
vocate. These  walls  have  long  echoed  to  the  voice  of  his  elo- 
quence. I  find,  may  it  please  your  Honor,  among  my  earliest 
recollections  of  legal  practice,  that  our  departed  friend  occupied 
a  seat  upon  your  bench.  Though  I  was  not  at  the  bedside  of 
our  dying  brother,  I  have  it  from  those  near  and  dear  to  him,  by 
relationship  and  brotherly  kindness,  that  his  death  was  calm  and 
peaceful,  —  a  striking  contrast  to  the  active  and  turbulent  life 
of  a  successful  practitioner  in  our  courts. 

"  When  I  heard,  may  it  please  your  Honor,  of  the  childlike 
sinking  to  the  '  last  long  sleep '  of  our  friend  and  brother,  there 
was  forcibly  brought  to  mind  and  heart  the  touching  lines  of  the 
Eastern  poet,  contrasting  in  vivid  colors  the  birth  and  exit  of 
man  from  this  world  :  — 

'  On  parent  knees  a  naked,  new-bom  child, 
Weeping  thou  sat'st  -while  all  around  thee  smiled  ; 
So  live  that,  sinking  to  the  last  long  sleep, 
Thou  then  may'st  smile  while  all  around  thee  weep.' 

"  Such,  may  it  please  your  Honor,  was  the  death  of  our  friend 
and  brother.  May  we  all  lead  a  life  as  useful  and  find  a  death 
as  peaceful." 

Judge  Perkins  responded  in  eloquent  and  appropriate 
words,  and  ordered  that  the  resolutions  be  placed  upon 
the  records  of  the  court,  and  that  as  a  further  mark  of 
respect  the  court  should  adjourn. 


>- 


CHARLES   KILBORIT   WILLIAMS 


The  inquiry  is  often  suggested,  when  we  read  the  elab- 
orate biographies  which  now  and  then  appear,  filled  with 
extracts  from  letters  and  diary,  and  but  little  else.  Why 
do  we  hear  so  much  of  the  sayings,  and  so  little  of  the 
doings,  of  the  subjects^  of  such  memoirs  ? 

Time,  opportunity,  and  circumstance  contribute  much  to 
the  reputation  of  every  prominent  man  ;  and  while  these  all 
help  develop  his  character  and  ability,  and  by  their  aid  he 
may  become  famous,  were  his  lot  cast  in  other  times,  were 
the  occasion  which  called  into  exercise  his  talents  want- 
ing, his  opportunity  would  have  passed  and  his  real  worth 
been  unknown.  Especially  is  this  applicable  to  men  of 
talent.     Genius  compels  notice,  talent  retains  it. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  considered  by  many  a  second- 
rate  lawyer ;  but  the  providence  which  made  him  Presi- 
dent gave  the  opportunity,  and  the  Rebellion  furnished  the 
time  and  occasion,  which  brought  out  the  inherent  talents 
which  he  possessed,  and  justly  placed  him  in  the  foremost 
ranks  of  our  ablest  statesmen  and  patriots.  He  might 
have  been  known  only  by  a  few  intimate  friends,  and  bold 
and  daring  would  he  be  who  presumed  to  paint  him  in 
other  than  the  most  subdued  and  neutral  tints. 

The  subject  of  our  sketch  was  not  a  man  of  genius  nor 
of  extraordinary  talents,  and,  owing  to  his  native  modesty 
and  retiring  habits,  would  never  have  forced  himself  upon 
the  notice  of  the  world  at  large ;  as  a  jurist  he  was  the 

3 


18  CHARLES    KILBORN    WILLIAMS 

equal  of  any  who  have  held  judicial  station.  His  sphere 
was  in  a  small  State,  where  the  difficult  questions  which 
make  leading  cases  rarely  arise,  and  his  decisions  have 
always  been  highly  esteemed  by  the  profession.  His  life 
was  an  active  one.  In  a  State  the  population  of  which 
was  exceeded  by  many  cities,  he  was  called  to  exercise 
such  ability  as  God  gave  him,  and  the  talents  entrusted 
to  him  were  not  buried.  Upon  no  occasion  did  he  fall 
below  the  demand  made  upon  him,  but  always  performed 
his  duty  faithfully  and  well,  and  was  entitled  to  the  re- 
ward promised  to  those  who  are  faithful  to  their  trust. 

His  abilities  were  almost  entirely  devoted  to  the  service 
of  his  adopted  State.  On  two  occasions,  when  his  friends 
desired  that  his  talents  should  be  given  to  the  nation,  the 
cry  of  "anti-masonry"  in  the  one  case,  and  the  opposi-- 
tion  of  "  his  own  familiar  friend,''  in  the  other,  proved  too 
potent.  He  would  have  been  elected  United  States  sen- 
ator, a  position  for  which  his  talents  eminently  fitted  him, 
had  not  the  powerful  and  subtle  influence  of  one  whom 
he  supposed  to  be  his  warm  personal  and  political  friend 
prevailed.  The  secret  reason  of  this  opposition  was  a 
mystery  at  the  time.  It  was  not  revealed  until  years 
afterwards,  and  to  this  day  is  known  by  a  few  only.  Suf- 
fice it  to  say,  it  was  such  a  reason  as  added  another  trib- 
ute to  his  incorruptible  integrity,  which  it  was  known  no 
personal  friendship  could  swerve.  Kespect  for  the  living 
prevents  more  than  this  casual  allusion  to  circumstances 
which  deprived  the  State  of  the  services  of  one  who  would 
have  done  her  honor  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  and 
which  in  a  measure  prevented  more  than  a  provincial 
reputation  to  one  who  would  have  earned  and  obtained  a 
national  fame. 

Charles  Kilborn  "WiUiaras,  the  youngest  son  of  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Williams,  LL.D.,  and  Jane  Kilborn,  his  wife,  was 
born  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  January  24,  1782.  His 
grandfather,  the  Rev.  Warham  "Williams  (born  September 


CHARLES    KILBORN"   WILLIAMS  19 

16,  1699,  was  graduated  from  Harvard  College  1719, 
died  June  22,  1751),  was  a  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Wil- 
liams and  Eunice,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Eleazer  Mather, 
and  granddaughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Warham  and  the 
Rev.  Richard  Mather.  The  Rev.  John  Williams  was  born 
at  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  December  10,  1644,  was 
graduated  from  Harvard  College,  1683,  and  died  June 
12,  1729.  He,  with  nearly  all  of  his  family,  was  cap- 
tured by  the  Indians  at  Deerfield,  his  wife  and  two  chil- 
dren murdered  by  them,  and  the  rest  carried  captives  to 
Canada.  He  is  widely  known  as  the  "Redeemed  Cap- 
tive," from  the  title  of  his  book  giving  an  account  of' 
his  captivity,  which  has  passed  through  several  editions. 

A  brief  sketch  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Williams,  the  father  of 
the  subject  of  our  memoir,  will  not  be  unacceptable.  He 
was  born  at  Waltham,  Massachusetts,  April  23,  1743,  was 
graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1761,  and  while  there 
evinced  a  decidedly  intellectual  taste,  especially  in  histor- 
ical, scientific,  and  philosophical  subjects.  He  was  selected 
by  Professor  Winthrop  to*  accompany  him  to  Newfound- 
land, to  observe  the  transit  of  Venus.  He  was  ordained 
at  Bradford,  November  20,  1765,  and  was  installed,  in 
1780,  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Philosophy 
at  Harvard  College,  and  occupied  that  position  until  he 
resigned  in  1788.  The  degree  of  LL.D.  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  the  University  of  Edinburgh  in  1785,  and 
in  1786  by  Yale  College.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Meteorological  Society  of  Manheim,  Germany,  of  the 
Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  American 
Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  in  Massachusetts,  to  the 
latter  of  which  he  contributed  several  papers,  which  were 
printed  in  the  first  volume  of  its  memoirs.  He  after- 
wards removed  to  Vermont,  and  preached  a  number  of 
years  at  Rutland  and  Burlington.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  and  the  first  editor  of  the  "  Rutland  Herald," 
the  first  number  of  which  was  issued  December  8, 1794,  and 


20  CHARLES    KILBORN   WILLIAMS 

which  is  still  published.  In  1795  and  1796  he  published 
and  edited  "  The  Eural  Magazine,"  a  monthly  magazine 
devoted  to  literary  and  historical  subjects.  In  1794  he 
published  his  "  History  of  Vermont,"  in  one  volume,  a 
second  edition  of  which,  in  two  volumes,  was  published 
in  1809.  This  work  was  highly  commended  as  a  work 
evincing  great  labor  and  research,  and  creditable  to  his 
talents,  and  has  not  ceased  to  be  regarded  as  excellent 
authority.  He  died  at  Rutland,  Vermont,  January  2, 
1817. 

These  notices  show  that  Charles  Kilborn  "Williams  came 
from  an  ancestry  of  men  of  culture  and  ability,  and  it  was 
the  design  of  his  father  to  prepare  him  for  his  future  work 
by  giving  him  all  he  could  (for  silver  and  gold  be  had 
none),  viz.,  a  good,  thorough  moral  and  religious  training, 
'and  a  liberal  education. 

He  entered  Williams  College  in  1796,  and  was  graduated 
%  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  in  1800,  and  immediately  entered 
upon  the  study  of  law,  in  the  office  of  Cephas  Smith,  Jr., 
at  Rutland.  Two  years  after  kis  graduation  he  was  ap- 
pointed tutor,  but  declined  the  appointment,  preferring  to 
pursue  his  chosen  profession.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
at  the  March  term  of  the  Rutland  County  Court,  1803,  and 
was  engaged  in  an  extensive  practice  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  until  his  election  as  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
He  was  State's  Attorney  for  the  County  of  Rutland  in  1814 
and  1815.  In  those  days,  prosecuting  officers  were  se- 
lected from  those  members  of  the  bar  who  had  the  ability 
to  conduct  successfully  important  criminal  cases  without 
assistance,  and  were  liable  to  find  opposed  to  them  the 
ablest  and  most  expert  criminal  lawyers.  During  his 
terra  of  office,  James  Anthony  was  tried  and  convicted  of 
murder ;  and  it  was  among  the  first  trials  for  capital  crime 
in  the  State. 

While  at  the  bar,  he  sustained  a  high  character  as  a 
sound  lawyer  and  successful  advocate.     He  was  never  sus- 


CHARLES    KILBOKN    WILLIAMS  21 

pected  of  trying  to  gain  his  cases  by  mere  management  or 
chicanery.  He  was  just  as  scrupulous  and  conscientious 
in  the  practice  of  the  law  as  he  would  be  on  the  bench. 
When  he  had  done  for  his  cHent  all  that  truth  and  justice 
would  warrant,  he  felt  that  his  duties  were  done,  and  he 
left  the  issue  to  God  and  human  judgment. 

He  was  elected  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Ver- 
mont, November  1,  1822,  in  place  of  the  Hon.  Samuel 
Prentiss,  resigned,  and  was  re-elected  in  1823  and  1824. 
He  resigned  the  office  the  latter  year,  to  accept  the  office 
of  Collector  of  Customs  for  the  District  of  Vermont,  to 
which  he  had  been  appointed  by  President  Adams,  which 
office  he  held,  and  performed  its  duties  faithfully  and  sat- 
isfactorily, until  October,  1829,  when  he  was  again  re- 
elected judge,  and  continued  on  the  bench,  by  annucd 
re-election,  until  his  resignation  in  1846.  The  last  thir- 
teen years  he  was  chief  justice,  —  a  longer  period  than 
any  one  before  had  held  the  office.  His  promotion  as 
chief  justice,  in  1833,  was  without  his  previous  expecta- 
tion or  assent,  over  a  previous  incumbent  of  opposite 
political  principles,  and  by  a  legislature  the  majority  of 
whom  belonged  to  the  same  political  party  as  his  com- 
petitor. 

In  1834  he  received  from  Middlebury  College  the  hon- 
orary degree  of  LL.D. 

As  a  judge,  he  was  noted  for  his  impartiality,  his  strong 
sense  of  justice,  his  extensive  research  and  legal  lore,  and 
the  acuteness  and  accuracy  of  his  mental  vision.  With 
hiflexible  integrity  he  united  amenity  of  manner.  "  At 
times  his  impassiveness  as  a  judge,"  says  an  eminent  mem- 
ber of  the  bar,  "  would  warm  into  something  of  the  ancient 
prophets'  fire,  —  whenever  the  strong  appeared  in  court 
striving  to  oppress  the  weak,  or  craft  was  found  seeking 
to  entangle  simplicity  in  the  meshes  of  the  law.  In  such 
a  case,  a  law  trial  before  Judge  Williams  was  an  illus- 
trated moral  lecture,  —  a  glorious  thing  to  listen  to  and 
look  upon." 


22  CHARLES   KILBORN  WILLIAMS 

He  used  every  effort  to  have  all  cases  in  the  Supreme 
Court  fully  understood  and  correctly  decided  ;  not  to  carry 
out  his  own  opinions,  but  to  make  the  body  of  the  judicial 
decisions  as  symmetrical  as  possible-  He  had  more  the 
love  of  truth  and  less  the  love  of  mastery  than  is  common 
in  eminent  men. 

The  late  Chief  Justice  Redfield,  an  intimate  friend  and 
associate,  prepared  a  biographical  sketch  in  1852,  from 
which  we  condense  what  follows  as  to  his  character  as  a 
judge,  and  a  notice  of  some  of  his  decisions. 

His  fame  will  no  doubt  rest  mainly  upon  his  published 
opinions,  which  were  numerous  and  embrace  a  very 
wide  range  of  topics,  and  will  be  found  in  D.  Chipman's 
Reports  and  the  series  of  Vermont  Reports,  from- the  sec- 
ond to  the  eighteenth  volume  inclusive.  During  the 
period  that  he  remained  upon  the  bench  many  very  im- 
portant principles  were  established  in  our  law,  and  for 
many  of  the  most  important  and  salutary  of  those  deter- 
minations we  are  largely  indebted  to  him.  Most  of  his 
earlier  and  many  of  his  later  opinions  are  very  thorough 
and  elaborate,  and  it  cannot  justly  be  said  that  any  of  his 
opinions  contain  a  single  paragraph  which  was  not  appar- 
ently forced  upon  him  by  the  exigencies  of  the  case,  and 
which  is  not  indispensable  to  a  fair  and  full  discussion  of 
the  subject-matter. 

One  prominent  pecuharity  of  his  judicial  mind  was  a 
marked  regard  to  justice  in  the  individual  case  in  hand, 
as  opposed  to  a  blind  devotion  to  mere  precedent  at  the 
expense  of  moral  equity  and  right  reason.  He  was  influ- 
enced in  his  opinions  upon  all  subjects  by  a  regard  for 
the  great  and  controlling  principles  of  absolute  and  eternal 
justice  rather  than  by  the  conventionalism  of  human 
enactments. 

One  of  the  leading  opinions  of  Chief  Justice  WiUiams, 
which  at  the  time  seemed  likely  to  incur  some  degree  of 
popular   criticism,   proved   eminently  acceptable   to   the 


! 


CHARLES   KILBORN   WILLIAMS       \         /        23 

public  mind  in  the  State,  and  has  been  generally  followed 
in  the  other  States.  It  is  the  case  of  Lyon  yj  Strong,  6 
Vt.  219,  where  contracts  made  on  Sunday  are  declared 
not  to  form  the  proper  ground  of  an  action  in  the  courts. 
The  entire  subject  of  illegal  contracts  is  there  very  thor- 
oughly and  learnedly  reviewed,  and  the  controlling  doc- 
trine of  the  case  very  forcibly  and  satisfactorily  declared. 

His  opinion  in  the  case  of  Burr  v.  Smith  et  at.,  7 
Vt.  241,  embracing  the  entire  subject  of  charitable  uses, 
cocupying  a  space  of 'more  than  thirty-five  pages  in  the 
Reports,  was  a  most  masterly  discussion  of  one  of  the 
most  important  subjects  which  has  come  before  the  courts 
in  this  country.  At  that  time  the  subject  had  attracted 
but  little  attention  in  this  country.  The  views  of  the 
chief  justice,  although  the  opinion  then  pronounced  was 
that  of  a  divided  court,  have  since  then  been  very  exten- 
sively adopted  in  the  other  States. 

His  opinion  in  the  case  of  Smith  v.  Nelson,  18  Vt.  611, 
has  perhaps  attracted  more  attention  than  any  other,  and 
is  a  very  able  and  ingenious  and  persuasive  argument  to 
establish  the  point  of  the  subordination  of  all  ecclesiastical 
authority  in  this  country  to  the  final  revision  of  the  judi- 
cial tribunals  of  the  civil  government.  It  has  been  re- 
ceived with  marked  approbation  by  many  of  the  law 
journals,  and  by  some  law  writers  of  distinguished  ability 
and  established  reputation.  The  distinguished  editor  of 
an  edition  of  the  "  Commentaries  upon  American  Law," 
the  Hon.  William  Kent,  says,  in  a  note  upon  this  case, 
"  The  relation  of  the  ecclesiastical  to  the  civil  power  is 
discussed  much  at  large,  and  the  opinion  of  Chief  Justice 
Williams  is  marked  by  extraordinary  perspicuity,  preci- 
sion, and  strength." 

There  are  many  other  of  his  judicial  opinions  which 
have  received  distinguished  commendation  out  of  the 
State. 

In  1846,  at  the  request  of  the  Rutland  County  Bar,  a 


24  CHARLES   KILBORN   WILLIAMS 

full-length  portrait  of  him  was  painted  by  Mr.  B.  F. 
Mason,  and  was  placed  in  the  court-house  in  Rutland, 
where  it  remained  a  short  time,  when,  at  the  earnest  so- 
licitation of  his  many  friends  throughout  the  State,  the 
bar  presented  it  to  the  State,  to  be  placed  in  the  State 
capitol.  This  portrait,  which  is  considered  an  excellent 
likeness,  is  now  in  the  executive  chamber  of  the  State 
capitol  at  Montpelier. 

He  was  elected  a  representative  of  the  town  of  Rutland 
in  the  General  Assembly  for  the  years  1809,  1811,  1814, 
1815,  1820, 1821,  and  again  in  1849,  when  he  was  elected 
by  the  general  concurrence  of  the  three  political  parties 
at  that  time  existing,  there  being  but  few  scattering  votes 
cast  against  him. 

He  became  a  corresponding  member  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Historic  Genealogical  Society  November  28,  1845. 

He  at  all  times  took  great  interest  in  the  organization 
and  maintenance  of  the  militia,  and  rose  from  the  ranks 
to  the  position  of  brigadier-general. 

In  1808  he  was  called  by  Governor  Smith  to  take  com- 
mand, as  major,  of  a  detachment  of  the  militia  to  enforce 
the  "  Embargo  Act,"  so  called,  which  was  so  obnoxious  to 
the  people  on  the  frontier  that  it  could  not  be  enforced 
by  the  civil  power.  Belonging  as  he  did  to  the  party 
opposed  to  the  passage  of  the  act,  and  at  a  time  when 
political  feelings  were  very  bitter,  his  appointment  to  such 
a  position  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  without  previous  mili- 
tary experience,  by  a  governor  opposed  to  him  politically, 
was  at  the  time  justly  regarded  a  more  than  ordinary 
tribute  to  and  acknowledgment  of  his  ability,  integrity, 
and  patriotism.  The  duties  of  his  command  were  satis- 
factorily and  successfully  discharged.  During  the  war  of 
1812  he  again  served  during  one  campaign  on  the  same 
frontier. 

In  1848  he  was  unanimously  elected  a  member  of  the 
Council  of    Censors.      His  unanimous   election   was   the 


CHARLES   KILBOEN  WILLIAMS  25 

more  remarkable,  as  it  was  during  the  year  of  a  presiden- 
tial election,  and  each  of  the  three  parties  placed  his  name 
at  the  head  of  their  respective  tickets,  which  were  entirely 
distinct,  no  other  name  being  on  more  than  one  ticket, 
and  none  of  the  other  members  received  even  a  majority 
vote.  Upon  the  assembling  of  the  council,  he  was  unani- 
mously elected  president. 

In  1850  he  was  nominated  by  the  Whig  party  as  their 
candidate  for  governor,  and  was  elected  by  the  people  (a 
majority  over  all  being  required),  and  re-elected  in  1851, 
—  an  election  by  the  people  not  having  occurred  for  sev- 
eral years  previous,  nor  again  until  the  formation  of  the 
Republican  party.  During  his  administration,  the  Legis- 
lature passed  and  he  approved  the  celebrated  Habeas  Cor- 
pus Act  which  was  at  the*  time  so  severely  denounced.  It 
still  remains  on  the  statute-book  as  an  historical  memento 
of  the  beginning  of  the  last  and  fatal  struggle  of  slavery 
for  supremacy,  and  of  the  spirit  of  the  people  who  opposed 
its  pretensions.  Governor  Williams  made  this  law  the 
subject  of  an  elaborate  vindication  in  his  second  message. 

With  his  retirement  from  the  office  of  governor  he 
closed  his  public  life  of  more  than  forty  years  devoted  to 
the  service  of  his  State,  in  executive,  legislative,  and  judi- 
cial positions. 

In  his  earlier  life  he  was  a  prominent  member  of  the 
order  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  holding  many  offices 
in  the  lodge  and  chapter,  and  was  for  two  years  Grand 
High  Priest  of  the  Grand  Chapter  in  Vermont. 

On  this  account,  in  later  years,  when  the  storm  of 
anti-masonry  swept  over  portions  of  the  country,  and 
especially  Vermont,  he  was  defeated  as  a  candidate  for 
Congress  by  the  anti-masonic  candidate,  he  refusing  to 
bow  the  knee  to  the  popular  clamor. 

He  was,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  no  politi- 
cian. His  motto  was,  "Vera  pro  gratis,"  and  he  always 
preferred  the  right  to  the  expedient.     He  would  never 


4 


26  CHAELES   KILBORN  WILLIAMS 


conceal  or  cloak  his  opinions  to  gain  favor,  or  aid  him  in 
official  preferment.  He  was  early  a  strong  anti-slavery 
man,  and  gave  great  offence  to  his  party  friends  by  suffer- 
ing his  name  to  be  used  by  the  "  Birney  Abolitionists,"  as 
they  were  called,  as  a  candidate  for  governor  in  1842  and 
1843,  when  they  were  in  a  very  small  and  hopeless  mi- 
nority. To  punish  him  for  this,  the  "VVhigs  held  a  legisla- 
tive caucus,  and  nominated  another  person  as  his  successor 
as  chief  justice  ;  but  right  and  justice  prevailed  over  par- 
tisan feeling  and  the  dictates  of  the  caucus,  and  those  who 
would  have  degraded  him  in  1842  were  glad  of  his  record 
as  a  consistent  anti-slavery  man,  to  give  them  a  popular 
triumph  at  the  polls  a  few  years  later. 

He  was  married  April  24,  1817,  at  Castleton,  Vermont, 
to  Lucy  Green  Langdon,  daughter  of  Hon.  Chauncy  Lang-  .j 

don,  who  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  and  talented  men  [J 

of  the  State.  He  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the 
Legislative  Council  of  the  State,  a  member  of  Congress, 
and  held  many  other  subordinate  offices.  She  was  born 
at  Windsor,  Vermont,  February  16, 1793.  By  her  he  had 
the  following  children  :  — 

Lucy  Jane,  born  July  2,  1818 ;  married  John  Strong,  Octo- 
ber 2,  1837,  and  now  residing  at  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia. 

Charles  Langdon,  born  March  11,  1821 ;  graduated  at  Wil- 
liams College,  1889 ;  married  Louise  I.  Bedell,  of  Brooklyn, 
Long  Island,  April  24,  1855,  and  died  at  Rutland,  Vermont, 
March  10,  1861. 

Caroline  Maria,  born  April  5,  1824  ;  died  at  Rutland,  Ver- 
mont, February,  8,  1875. 

Charlotte  Eloisa,  born  May  8,  1825 ;  died  at  Rutland,  Ver- 
mont, October  7, 1858. 

John  Warham,  born  September  21, 1827  ;  died  September  16, 
1828. 

Laura  Lothrop  Langdon,  born  October  7,  1828  ;  died  October 
22,  1847. 

Mary  Augusta,  born  June  15, 1831 ;  married  Horatio  E.  Mann, 
September  6,  1854,  and  now  residing  at  St.  Paul,  Minnesota. 


CHARLES   KILBORN"   WILLIAMS  27 

Chauncy  Kilbom,  born  December  20,  1832;  graduated  at 
Williams  College,  1852 ;  married  Alexine  V.  Bedell,  of  Brook- 
lyn, Long  Island,  April  2-4,  1858 ;  died  at  Rutland,  Vermont, 
January  6,  1879. 

Samuel,  born  January  8,  1887  ;  graduated  at  Williams  Col- 
lege, 1856 ;  married  Lucy  E.  Crampton,  of  Rutland,  Vermont, 
November  25,  1863,  and  now  residing  in  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

A  grandson,  Charles  Kilbom  Williams,  —  a  namesake 
of  the  governor,  —  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  1878, 
is  the  only  descendant  of  Governor  Williams  now  resid- 
ing in  Rutland. 

Governor  Williams  died  suddenly  at  his  residence, 
March  9,  1853.  He  had  been  for  several  days  indisposed, 
but  not  so  as  to  alarm  his  family.  On  this  evening  he 
had  evening  prayer  as  usual,  and  immediately  retired  to 
bed,  where,  a  short  time  after,  he  was  found  dead  by  his 
wife.  It  is  believed  he  ceased  to  breath  immediately  after 
retiring.  His  funeral  was  attended  at  his  house,  on  Sat- 
urday, the  12th  of  March,  and  was  attended  by  the 
Rutland  County  Bar  and  representatives  from  the  profes- 
sion, and  friends  from  the  State.  Upon  receipt  of  the 
news  of  his  death,  meetings  of  the  different  bars  where 
the  courts  were  in  session  were  held,  and  suitable  reso- 
lutions passed  and  eulogies  pronounced  by  Senator  Col- 
lamer,  Chief  Justice  Redfield,  ex-Governor  Coolidge,  and 
others. 

His  "widow  survived  him  many  years,  and  died  at  the 
old  homestead,  October  18,  1876,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three  years,  eight  months,  and  two  days. 

It  now  remains  only  to  give  an  estimate  of  his  charac- 
ter as  a  private  citizen,  as  a  Christian  and  Churchman ; 
and  in  this,  as  in  his  public  character,  I  have  simply  com- 
piled the  views  of  others  more  impartial,  and  of  those 
whose  opportunities  for  judging  him  were  better  than  my 
own,  for  I  was  only  a  boy  when  called  upon  to  mourn 
the  loss  of  a  father. 


28  CHARLES   OLBORN  WILLIAMS 

In  his  private  character,  he  was  a  man  of  integrity  and 
purity  of  life.  No  scandal  of  a  public  or  private  nature 
ever  cast  a  shadow  upon  him.  The  late  Chief  Justice 
Redfield  said  of  him :  "  I  never  knew  any  one  whose 
every  act  and  word  seemed  to  be  done  more  with  a  sin- 
gle, present,  and  abiding  reference  to  an  ultimate  ac- 
countability than  were  his."  And  an  eminent  attorney,  in 
the  appendix  to  the  twenty-fourth  volume  of  Vermont 
Reports,  sums  up  his  character  as  follows  :  — 

"  His  sense  of  justice  ;  his  incorruptible  integrity  and  impar- 
tiality ;  his  willingness  to  suffer  and  be  sacrificed,  if  need  be,  in 
defence  of  truth  and  innocence,  or  in  bringing  falsehood  and 
fraud  to  its  merited  reward  ;  his  purity,  his  dignity,  his  urban- 
ity ;  his  simplicity  and  singleness  of  heart  in  all  the  relations  of 
life,  — present  his  character  as  at  once  the  brightest  for  admira- 
tion and  the  safest  for  imitation." 

The  feeling  of  respect  and  veneration  with  which  he 
was  regarded  by  all  classes  of  the  people  was  remarkable ; 
and  probably  no  man  in  the  State  carried  to  his  grave  a 
more  enviable  testimony  in  this  respect  from  not  only  his 
townsmen,  but  from  the  citizens  of  the  State  generally. 
A  few  years  after  his  death,  his  widow  visited  Montpelier 
during  the  session  of  the  legislature.  Upon  entering  the 
hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  she  was  recognized 
by  several  of  the  members ;  and  the  entire  body  rose  and 
remained  standing  until  she  was  escorted  to  a  seat,  as  a 
heartfelt  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  her  dis- 
tinguished husband. 

Religiously  he  was  educated  in  the  faith  of  his  fathers ; 
and  there  was  probably  no  man  of  his  time  better  ac- 
quainted with  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  New  England. 
His  extensive  reading  brought  him  to  understand  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church ;  and  his  inquiring  and  judicial  mind 
led  him  to  investigate  its  claims,  and  finally  firmly  to  ac- 
cept and  embrace  its  doctrines.   In  1831,  when  it  was  pro- 


CHARLES   KILBORN   WILLIAMS  29 

posed  to  establish  an  Episcopal  Church  in  Rutland,  he  was 
one  of  its  strongest  advocates  and  most  liberal  support- 
ers. From  that  time  he  was  a  regular  and  devout  attend- 
ant upon  its  services,  and  in  1842  was  confirmed  by 
Bishop  Hopkins.  He  was  one  of  the  delegates  to  the 
General  Convention  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1844,  and  a 
member  of  the  Committee  'on  Canons.  His  constant  at- 
tendance upon  the  services  of  the  Church  on  Sunday  and 
^ other  holy-days  was  remarkable.  He  was  always  present 
in  his  place,  unless  absent  from  home  or  detained  by  sick- 
ness, and  continued,  not  as  a  spectator,  but  as  a  worship- 
per ;  and  the  example  he  set  he  expected  to  be  followed 
by  his  family. 

In  his  family  he  always  had  daily  morning  and  evening 
prayer,  together  with  reading  of  a  chapter  of  the  Bible, 
—  the  Old  Testament  in  the  morning,  and  the  New  Tes- 
tament in  the  evening. 

Descended,  as  he  was,  from  a  long  line  of  Puritan  an- 
cestors and  ministers,  —  the  Mathers,  Warhams,  and 
others,  —  he  became  a  Churchman  from  conviction  ;  and, 
while  sympathizing  with  and  to  a  certain  extent  em- 
bracing the  tenets  of  the  Oxford  school  of  thought,  — 
reverencing  and  esteeming  Pusey,  Keble,  and  Newman, 
both  for  their  lives  and  doctrines,  —  he  still  retained  many 
of  the  customs  and  thoughts  of  his  Puritan  ancestors. 

No  secular  paper  was  read  on  Sunday,  which  with  him 
commenced  at  the  going-down  of  the  sun  on  Saturday. 
On  that  day  no  pleasure  or  innocent  recreation  was  al- 
lowed. The  children  attended  both  morning  and  after- 
noon services  at  the  church  and  Sunday  school,  and  in 
the  afternoon,  at  five  o'clock,  were  duly  catechized,  as 
the  Church  directs.  So  strict  was  he  in  his  Sabbatarian 
notions  that  Sunday  was  looked  forward  to  by  his  children 
with  a  feeling  of  dread  rather  than  of  pleasure. 

The  Puritan  Fast  and  Thanksgiving  were  as  strictly 
observed    as   the  Catholic  Good  Friday,  Christmas,  and 


- 


30  CHARLES   KILBORN  WILLIAMS  f 

Easter.  Fast-days  with  him  were  strictly  days  of  absti- 
nence, fasting,  and  prayer.  When  objection  was  made  j 
to  the  civil  fast,  he  was  woui  to  say,  "  The  catechism 
teaches  us  to  '  honor  and  obey  the  civil  authority ' ;  and, 
as  the  civil  authority  has  appointed  these  days,  it  is  our 
duty  as  Churchmen  to  obey  them." 

We  close  this  sketch  by  inserting,  just  as  it  was  re- 
ceived, a  sketch  of  his  home-life,  written  by  a  near  and 
dear  relative  of  his  wife,  —  one  who  was  an  intimate  and 
beloved  visitor  to  his  household,  and  who  now,  though  she 
has  more  than  attained  the  allotted  term  of  life,  is  still 
strong  and  vigorous,  and  the  steadfast  friend  and  counsel- 
lor of  all  his  descendants,  who  "  know  her  but  to  love  her, 
and  name  her  but  to  praise  "  :  — 

My  dear  Nephew  :  —  I  have  been  requested  to  give  a 
sketch  of  your  father's  home-life,  but  I  feel  that  it  is  entering 
on  sacred  ground ;  for  when  the  family  circle,  with  its  varied 
phases,  is  exposed  to  the  gaze  of  those  not  immediately  con- 
nected, it  is  like  lifting  the  veil  of  the  inner  sanctuary  to  the 
inspection  and  criticism  of  the  forbidden,  and  almost  a  breach  of 
confidence  in  one  who  has  been  admitted  to  its  privileges.  In 
reading  the  biography  of  such  a  profound  thinker  and  scholar 
as  Governor  Williams,  we  are  not  apt  to  associate  the  idea  of 
charming  domestic  traits  as  essential  to  true  greatness;  for 
they  are  so  often  lacking  in  those  who  have  attained  celeb- 
rity in  their  ambitious  pursuits  for  fame,  we  have  been  led  to 
think  that  one  was  divorced  from  the  other,  and  that  public  men 
have  not  much  private  character  worth  recording. 

Governor  Williams  was  a  striking  exception.  There  was  a 
sunny  side  which  shone  brightest  at  his  own  home,  and  shed  its 
most  brilliant  rays  on  those  in  his  famUy  circle  who  surrounded 
him.  His  presence  was  remarkably  inspiring,  giving  the  as- 
surance that  he  was  "  to  the  manor  born,"  like  the  fine  old 
English  gentleman  of  the  olden  time. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  be  a  guest  at  the  house  of  Governor     . 
Williams  in  1826,  when  he  was  in  the  prime  of  life ;  and  I  had 
a  shrinking  from  approaching  him,  becoming  in  a  young  lady  in 
those  days.     But  his  kind  manner  soon  dispelled  all  those  feel- 


CHARLES    KILBORN   WILLIAMS  31 

ings ;  and  I  felt  that  I  had  a  friend  who  would  "  pass  all  imper- 
fections hy  "  at  once. 

Among  my  early  reminiscences  was  his  habit  of  studying  the 
Bible.  When  I  came  down  to  breakfast,  which  was  at  an  early 
■  hour,  he  would  always  seem  deeply  interested  in  its  perusal, 
which  impressed  me  as  remarkable  in  one  whose  life  was  so 
crowded  with  professional  business,  and  whose  mental  powers 
were  taxed  so  severely.  This  was  several  years  before  there  was 
any  Episcopal  Church  in  Rutland,  of  whose  communion  he 
was  afterwards  such  a  devout,  consistent,  and  faithful  member. 
His  affability  was  only  equalled  by  his  unbounded  hospitality. 
His  idolized,  respected,  and  devoted  wife  anticipated  his  every 
want ;  and  while  she  relieved  him  from  all  care  connected  with 
"  household  good,"  he  appreciated  her  efforts  in  that  direction  as 
untold  evidence  of  her  worth  to  him.  His  children  were  as  dear 
to  him  as  his  heart's  blood.  He  gave  them  lavishly  every  ex- 
pression of  attachment,  listened  with  the  deepest  interest  to  all 
their  joys  and  sorrows,  —  even  the  youngest,  —  and  so  heartfelt 
that,  had  he  been  deciding  the  most  intricate  legal  point  on  the 
bench,  his  feelings  could  not  apparently  have  been  more  inter- 
ested, his  patience  more  manifest  to  have  justice  done  to  all. 
It  was  his  pride  in  after  years,  and  happiness  also,  to  have  his 
large  family,  especially  his  daughters,  say  "  they  were  always 
glad  to  get  home  :  they  were  happiest  there." 

Governor  Williams's  colloquial  powers  were  rare  ;  and,  had 
Talleyrand  been  in  his  society,  he  would  never  have  said  that 
conversation  was  a  "  lost  art."  His  reading  was  so  extensive,  his 
memory  so  correct,  one  hardly  felt  like  troubling  himself  to  search 
for  the  meaning  or  origin  of  any  quotation,  —  feeling  sure,  when 
he  met  Governor  Williams,  that  he  would  extricate  him  from  his 
difficulty.  And  I  can  see  him,  in  my  mind's  eye,  before  reply- 
ing to  any  question,  walk  into  his  library,  select  his  proof  from 
his  well-stored  shelves,  —  as  he  would  if  deciding  a  legal  case,  — 
produce  his  authority,  and  put  your  mind  at  perfect  ease. 
It  was  a  school  for  improvement  to  be  under  his  influence,  such 
as  is  rarely  enjoyed,  and  to  be  heir  to  such  an  inheritance  to  be 
coveted.  His  manner  was  often  playful,  —  never  compromising 
his  dignity  for  one  moment.  Well  do  I  recollect  being  equipped 
for  a  dancing  party,  in  full  costume,  and  unfortunately  a  sudden 
shower  threatened  to  disappoint  the  anticipated  pleasure.     Be- 


32  .  CHARLES   KELBORN  WILLIAMS 


I 


ing  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  before  I  was  aware  of  it  Governor 
"Williams  jumped  into  a  carriage  at  the  door,  without  hat,  and 
landed  me  safely,  not  allowing  me  to  feel  unpleasantly  at  being 
deprived  of  the  promised  pleasure. 

The  youngest  child  who  visited  at  his  house  was  cared  for 
with  all  the  affection  of  a  heart  full  of  love  ;  and  his  winning  1 

ways  always  secured  good  behavior. 

His  interest  in  young  people  was  very  marked.  When  social 
entertainments  were  given  at  his  house,  of  which  he  was  very 
fond,  he  often  requested  that  young  ladies  and  gentlemen  might 
be  included  in  the  invitation  who  were  diffident,  giving  them  the 
privilege  of  mingling  in  society  for  which  they  had  a  taste,  but 
no  opportunity  of  indulgence  ;  and  he  woulcl  single  them  out, 
and  draw  out  their  peculiar  gifts  with  such  adroitness  that  they 
would  never  detect  his  object.  The  good  he  did  in  encouraging 
the  young  is  untold. 

Governor  Williams's  devoted  and  deferential  manner  to  his 
children  was  very  impressive.      At  table,  serving  them  with  4 

reference  to  their  choice,  according  to  their  ages,  and,  fond  of  -J 

good  cheer  himself,  he  would  say,  "  Your  mother  is  a  notable 
housekeeper." 

I  was^ accidentally  a  guest  in  the  house  the  night  he  passed 
away.  Governor  Williams  had  not  been  well  for  some  days ; 
but  he  was  cheerful,  and  there  was  nothing  alarming  in  his 
symptoms,  though  he  remarked  that  day,  "  The  doctors  may  say 
what  they  choose  :  my  heart  is  diseased."  There  was  a  debating 
society  convened  that  evening.  His  son  C.  had  a  prominent  part. 
It  was  one  of  his  first  efforts  in  public,  and  Governor  Williams  . 
waited  for  us  to  return  ;  and,  while  we  were  all  excited,  giving 
our  opinions  of  the  entertainments,  he  turned  and  inquired, 
"  How  did  C.  come  out  ? "  with  a  father's  anxiety  for  the 
maiden  effort  of  his  son.  "When  satisfied  on  this  point,  he  had 
family  worship.  The  scene  which  followed  will  never  be  effaced 
from  my  mind.  He  bade  us  all  good  night,  and  passed  into  his 
room.  In  less  than  an  hour,  we  were  summoned  to  see  his 
face,  placid  in  death,  —  probably  breathing  his  last  when  he  took 
his  position.  I  will  not  lift  the  veil  from  the  scene  which  fol- 
lowed. That  spirit,  passing  into  the  presence  of  its  Maker,  was 
the  most  awe-inspiring  and  beautiful  that  I  have  ever  witnessed  ; 
and  the  impression  of  that  prayer  uttered  that  night  wUl  never 


CHARLES    KILBORN   WILLIAMS  33 

be  effaced :  "  Make  us  ever  mindful  of  the  time  when  we  shall 
lie  down  in  the  dust,  and  grant  us  grace  always  to  live  in  such  a 
state  that  we  may  never  be  afraid  to  die  [here  Mr.  Williams 
always  paused  a  moment  in  his  devotions]  ;  so  that,  living  and 
dying,  we  may  be  thine  through  the  merits  and  satisfaction  of 
thy  Son  Christ  Jesus,  in  whose  name  we  offer  up  these  our 
imperfect  prayers." 

5 


DANIEL    GKEENLEAF 


Daniel  Gkeenleap,  son  of  William  and  Mary  (Brown) 
Greenleaf,  bom  in  Boston,  September  29,  1762,  and  died 
at  Quincj,  Massachusetts,  March  25,  1853,  aged  ninety 
years.  He  married  his  cousin  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Dr. 
John  Greenleaf,  May  25,  1786.  She  was  born  in  Bos- 
ton, November  15,  1765,  and  died  in  Quincy,  March  25, 
1839,  aged  seventy-four  years.     They  left  no  children. 

When  quite  young,  Mr.  Greenleaf  was  taken  into  the 
family  of  his  uncle,  Dr.  John  Greenleaf,  and  soon  placed 
in  his  store  as  an  apprentice  to  the  drug  business,  in  which 
his  uncle  was  largely  engaged.  His  store  then  was  in 
Cornhill.  Here  he  continued  until  the  death  of  his  uncle, 
in  1778.  The  business  was  continued  by  the  widow  of 
Dr.  John,  she  associating  with  herself  in  the  business 
John  Scollay,  her  brother-in-law.  Daniel  continued  with 
them  until  the  death  of  Mrs.  John  Greenleaf,  who  was  the 
third  wife  of  Dr.  John  and  mother  of  his  own  wife. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  before  the  death  of  Mrs. 
John  Greenleaf,  she  being  desirous  of  seeing  her  daughter 
Ehzabeth  married  to  her  nephew  Daniel,  to  whom  Eliza- 
beth had  been  for  some  time  engaged,  and  knowing,  from 
the  nature  of  her  sickness,  that  she  could  not  live  to  see 
another  day,  requested  the  attendance  of  her  minister, 
and  the  marriage  service  was  performed  in  her  presence. 
This  was  done  without  the  then  necessary  legal  form  of 
publication,  the  officiating  clergyman  being  liable  to  pros- 
ecution and   fine  for  this  violation  of  the  law.     Daniel 


DANIEL    GREENLEAP  35 

Greenleaf  signed  a  bond,  engaging  to  answer  all  action,  if 
any  was  brought  against  the  minister,  for  performing  this 
service.  Mr.  Greenleaf  frequently  alluded  to  this  inci- 
dent in  a  playful  manner,  telling  his  wife  "  that  they  were 
never  legally  united  in  the  bonds  of  wedlock." 

After  the  death  of  Mrs.  John  Greenleaf,  Thomas,  her 
only  son,  took  charge  of  the  business  in  Cornhill,  with 
Mr.  Scollay.  Daniel  Greenleaf  removed  to  the  building 
in  Dock  Square,  which  was  erected  in  the  year  1680,  and 
which  came  into  his  wife's  possession  upon  the  death  of 
her  mother.  This  old  building,  of  which  a  view  is  given 
in  Drake's  "  Landmarks  of  Boston,"  p.  133,  was  a  wooden 
structure,  the  lumber  used  being  cut  from  the  land  now 
known  as  Brattle  Square.  It  was  taken  down  in  1860, 
and  the  one  now  standing  in  its  place  was  erected.  Mr. 
Greenleaf  occupied  the  old  store  until  his  retirement  from 
business  and  removal  to  Quincy  in  the  year  1797.  This 
estate  is  still  owned  by  the  heirs  of  Dr.  John  Greenleaf. 

Daniel  Greenleaf  and  wife  resided  in  the  old  mansion 
on  Brattle  Street.  He  took  great  interest  in  the  study  of 
medicine.  In  those  by-gone  days  it  was  customary  for 
apothecaries  to  administer  advice  as  well  as  dispense  their 
drugs.  After  his  removal  to  Quincy  he  was  greatly  valued 
as  a  physician.  There  he  was  called  upon  night  and  day 
tor  medical  advice  by  a  large  number  of  families.  He 
always  kept  in  his  house  a  full  supply  of  drugs,  which, 
with  his  advice,  he  gave  freely,  never  charging  any  one, 
rich  or  poor,  for  his  kindly  visits,  nor  for  the  medicine 
administered.  He  was  called  the  "  Good  Samaritan  "  by 
the  many  he  thus  kindly  aided  in  their  hours  of  sickness. 

Mr.  Greenleaf,  or,  as  he  was  always  called,  Dr.  Green- 
leaf, lived  for  many  years  in  a  delightfully  situated  cot- 
tage near  the  centre  of  the  old  town.  He  afterwards 
purchased  a  large  estate  formerly  owned  by  the  Quincy 
family,  on  the  Neponset  road,  about  a  mile  north  of  his 
former  residence,  where  he  resided  until  his  death. 


36  DANIEL   GREENLEAF 

The  front  portion  of  the  dwelling  on  this  estate  was  built, 
according  to  tradition,  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, by  Judge  Edmund  Quincy,  son  of  the  second  Ed- 
mund Quincy.  He  made  the  wide  gravel-walk  before  the 
house,  widened  the  brook,  a  stream  that  flows  from  the 
west  part  of  the  town,  running  through  the  land  of  Presi- 
dent John  Adams,  crossing  the  old  Neponset  road,  then 
through  this  estate  to  Quincy  Bay.  Several  mulberry  trees^ 
still  bearing  fruit,  and  a  hedge  of  box  were  set  out  near 
the  house  by  Judge  Quincy.  He  also  built  on  the  north 
end  of  the  house  a  suite  of  rooms  —  a  study  below,  and 
sleeping-rooms  above  —  for  the  use  of  his  eccentric  brother- 
in-law,  Henry  Flynt,  for  fifty  years  a  tutor  in  Harvard 
College,  and  which  were  always  called  the  "  Flynt  rooms." 
Tutor  Flynt  used  to  walk  from  Cambridge  of  a  Saturday, 
let  himself  in  by  a  private  door,  and  occupy  the  apartr 
ments  until  his  duties  called  him  back  to  the  college. 
The  lower  room  was  used  by  Mr.  Greenleaf  as  a  library 
and  reading-room.  This  history  of  the  old  mansion  is 
taken  from  a  sermon  delivered  in  Quincy,  January  8, 1854, 
by  Rev.  William  P.  Lunt,  on  the  death  of  Thomas  Green- 
leaf,  although  the  story  of  the  building  was  often  heard 
by  the  writer  from  Daniel  Greenleaf  himself.  He  was 
admitted  an  honorary  member  of  the  New  England  His- 
toric Genealogical  Society  August  26,  1845.  He  was  a 
great  reader  and  student  in  science,  literature,  and  his- 
tory, as  well  as  in  his  particular  profession  ;  and  was  also 
remarkable  for  his  bright  and  lively  manners,  taking 
great  delight  in  the  society  of  the  young.  The  writer 
has  no  knowledge  of  any  writings  left  by.  him ;  his  talent 
was  for  business,  and  for  this  he  was  highly  valued  by  all 
who  knew  him.  His  advice  and  service  in  matters  sub- 
mitted to  him,  whether  for  the  interest  of  the  town  in 
which  he  lived,  or  to  aid  his  large  circle  of  private  friends, 
were  always  given  in  the  same  liberal  spirit  that  ac- 
tuated him  in  his  profession. 


DANIEL    GREENLEAF  37 

Mr.  Greenleaf  was  most  devoutly  attached  to  his  wife. 
In  the  decline  of  life  his  loving  and  tender  affections  to 
her  were  as  marked  as  in  their  younger  days.  The  writer 
can  bear  personal  witness  to  this  beautiful  trait  in  Mr. 
Greenleaf's  character,  having  from  early  childhood  been  a 
frequent  visitor  at  their  hospitable  mansion  in.  Quincy. 

Mr.  Greenleaf  had  a  peculiar  antipathy  to  travelling ; 
the  thought  of  passing  even  a  night  away  from  his  own 
home  was  unpleasant  to  him.  One  time,  being  persuaded 
by  his  wife,  they  started  off  in  their  own  carriage  to  visit 
his  sisters,  who  were  then  living  in  New  Bedford,  a  jour- 
ney that  would  occupy  two  full  days.  Meeting  a  man  on 
the  road,  walking  very  fast,  and  evidently  much  pleased, 
as  he  was  laughing  to  himself,  Mrs.  Greenleaf  said  to  her 
husband,  "What  do  you  imagine  that  man  is  so  much 
pleased  about?  "  "  Why,  my  dear,"  he  answered,  "  he  is 
without  doubt  on  his  way  home." 

Mr.  Greenleaf  retained  his  physical  and  mental  powers 
in  a  wonderful  degree  ;  his  mind  was  unclouded  to  the  last 
moment  of  his  life,  and  until  about  one  week  before  his 
death  he  was  attending  to  his  private  business,  looking 
after  the  management  of  his  large  farm,  in  which  he  took 
great  interest,  and  receiving  the  visits  of  his  friends.  His 
hearing  was  greatly  impaired  for  many  years,  but  this 
had  no  seeming  effect  on  his  spirits  or  his  usefulness. 
He  passed  away  without  any  apparent  disease.  An  acci- 
dent he  met  with  a  few  weeks  before  his  death  no  doubt 
weakened  him,  in  some  degree.  It  was  old  age,  the 
dying  out  of  the  lamp  that  had  burned  so  clearly  for 
ninety  years,  that  gave  him  his  passport  through  the 
shadowy  gate,  and  the  rest  from  life's  work  he  had  so 
well  accomplished. 


■] 


ROBERT    GOULD    SHAW 


Robert  Gould  Shaw,  mercliant,  of  Boston,  was  born  at 
Gouldsborongh,  in  the  county  of  Hancock,  State  of  Maine. 
He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Francis  and  Hannah  (Nickels) 
Shaw,  both  natives  of  Boston ;  and  this  Francis  was  the  eld- 
est son  of  Francis  and  Sarah  (Burt)  Shaw,  also  of  Boston. 
The  record  goes  no  further  back.  Owing  to  the  absence 
of  all  documents,  and  to  the  death  of  both  his  father  and 
grandfather  while  he  was  quite  young,  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  had  no  reliable  information  respecting  his  earlier 
ancestry.  It  is  said,  however,  that  the  father  of  the  elder 
Francis  came  from  Scotland  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the 
Second,  and  that  his  name  was  Thomas.  He  may  have 
come  from  Scotland  or  Ireland,  for  the  Shaws  were  a 
broken  Scottish  clan,  who  found  safety  in  dispersion  at  an 
early  date ;  and  the  name  is  quite  common  on  both  sides 
of  the  Irish  Channel,  while  the  resemblance  to  each  other 
of  many  of  those  who  bear  it,  whether  they  have  re- 
mained in  the  old  country  or  come  to  this,  and  whether 
they  be  Catholic  or  Protestant,  sufficiently  attests  their 
kinship. 

The  first  Francis  was  born  in  Boston,  on  the  29th  of 
March,  1721.  In  1745  he  married  Lydia  Dickman,  who 
died  on  the  26th  of  December,  1746,  and  on  the  14th  of 
September,  1747,  their  only  son,  Thomas,  died.  On  the 
22d  of  September  of  the  same  year  (1747) 'Francis  mar- 
ried his  second  wife,  Sarah,  daughter  of  Benjamin  Burt, 


EGBERT   GOULD   SHAW  39 

the  silversmith,  of  whose  skill  in  his  trade  many  specimens 
still  exist. 

In  February,  1754,  as  appears  by  the  Book  of  Records, 
he  bought  a  house  and  land  in  the  town  of  Boston,  on  the 
street  or  highway  leading  from  Fish  Street  to  the  old  North 
Meeting-house,  and  bounded  by  lands  of  the  New  Brick 
Meeting-house,  of  John  Tudor  and  of  Paul  Revere.  Other 
conveyances,  of  which  there  are  several  on  record,  show 
that  he  gradually  increased  his  investments  in  real  estate  ; 
and  he  is  elsewhere  mentioned  as  a  "merchant,  enorasred 
in  extensive  business,  and  distinguished  for  intelhgence 
and  enterprise." 

The  house  above-mentioned  became  his  residence,  and 
was  probably  that  of  his  widow  —  she  retaining  her  right 
of  dower  —  until  her  death,  when  it  was  sold  by  the  heirs,  * 
and  described  as  "  late  the  mansion  of  Francis  Shaw, 
Esquire,  deceased."  It  was  here  that  took  place  the 
quarrel  between  Samuel,  the  third  son  of  Francis,  and 
Lieutenant  Wragg,  of  the  British  army,  an  account  of 
which  is  given  by  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy,  in  his  memoir  of 
his  friend.  Major  Samuel  Shaw  :  Major  Pitcairn  and  Lieu- 
tenant Wragg  had  been  billeted  on  his  father ;  and  the 
lieutenant,  having  spoken  contemptuously  of  the  Amer- 
icans at  table,  was  challenged  by  young  Sam.  or,  as 
another  account  says,  received  from  him  the  contents  of 
a  glass  of  wine  full  in  the  face  ;  but  a  duel  was  pre- 
vented by  the  intervention  of  Major  Pitcairn.  This 
incident  shows  the  principles  of  the  family,  and  that  of 
most  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  North  End,  where  they 
resided,  and  which  was  also,  as  Quincy  says,  "  the  abode 
of  some  of  the  most  active  and  ardent  spirits  who  gave 
character  and  impulse  to  the  American  Revolution." 

Like  many  other  patriots,  the  family  left  Boston  while 
egress  was  still  permitted,  —  or,  perhaps,  were  com- 
pelled to  leave,  —  and  found  refuge  at  Newburyport 
with   Mrs.   Burt,   probably   the    widow   of   Mrs.    Shaw's 


40  .      EGBERT   GOULD   SHAW 

brother,  "  the  goldsmith's  son,"  who  is  mentioned  as  hav- 
ing preached  a  sermon  at  Maiden,  on  the  12th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1738,  possibly  as  a  candidate  for  the  ministry.  In 
1776,  after  the  British  had  evacuated  Boston,  they  re- 
turned to  their  home  ;  and  in  1779  we  find  that  Francis 
Shaw  was  collector  of  taxes  for  the  town,  —  an  office 
which  he  was  doubtless  glad  to  get,  as  he  had  previously 
engaged  in  an  enterprise  which  had  made  a  constant 
drain  on  his  resources,  and  which  terminated  most  disas- 
trously. It  was  this:  About  the  year  1770  Francis  Shaw 
and  Robert  Gould,  of  Boston,  and  Lane,  Son,  Frazier,  & 
Co. 3  eminent  merchants  and  bankers  of  London,  obtained 
from  the  crown  a  grant  of  a  township  of  land  in  the  then 
province  of  Maine  ;  and,  after  a  careful  reconnoissance  of 
the  whole  coast  by  Shaw,  Gould,  and  Lane  in  person, 
fixed  upon  a  location  which  they  named  Gouldsborough. 
The  harbor  was  a  very  fine  one,  and  the  surrounding 
country  very  beautiful ;  two  large  rivers,  furnishing  many 
excellent  mill-sites,  emptied  into  the  harbor,  and  there  was 
an  abundance  of  valuable  timber ;  but  the  preliminary 
exploration  having  been  made  by  sea,  the  character  of 
the  soil  was  not  ascertained,  and  this,  most  unfortunately, 
proved  to  be  very  poor.  In  compliance  Avith  the  terms 
of  the  grant,  settlers  were  brought  in,  horses,  cattle, 
gheep,  s^vine,  and  the  necessary  supplies,  were  purchased 
and  transported  to  the  spot  at  heavy  cost.  Francis,  Jr., 
who  had  been  educated  by  Mr.  Gould,  was  sent  down  as 
his  father's  and  Mr.  Gould's  agent,  and  Captain  William 
Nickels  as  the  agent  of  Lane,  Son,  Frazier,  &  Co.  A  great 
deal  of  money  had  to  be  expended  before  any  returns 
could  be  expected.  Houses  were  built,  farms  cleared, 
mills  erected,  and  large  lumbering  operations  undertaken  ; 
vessels  were  put  upon  the  stocks,  and  everything  was  full 
of  promise. 

Everything  was  full  of  promise  ;  but  then  came  the  war 
of  the  Revolution,  and  an  immediate  stop  was  put  to  all 


i 


ROBERT    GOULD    SHAW  41 

business :  vessels  on  the  stocks  were  of  no  value,  there 
was  no  exit  for  lumber,  and  no  return  for  the  industry 
that  had  been  directed  to  these  two  objects,  which  had 
given  life  to  the  place.  The  settlers  had  no  other  re- 
sources, and  were  consequently  destitute;  as  many  as 
could  do  so  removed  to  more  fertile  regions,  and  the 
population  was  much  reduced ;  but  those  who  remained 
had  to  be  supported  by  the  proprietors,  who  met  the 
emergency  at  a  great  sacrifice.  Mr.  Gould,  who  had  been 
laro-ely  engaged  in  commerce,  was  ruined,  and  his  share 
of  the  responsibility,  as  well  as  of  the  property,  fell  to 
Francis  Shaw,  who  likewise  made  advances  for  Lane  & 
Frazier,  and  expended  nearly  the  whole  of  his  estate  in 
the  purchase  and  transportation  of  supplies. 

There  was  no  relief  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  a 
renewal  of  business  operations  was  attempted  by  Francis 
Shaw  and  his  son.  A  beginning  was  made  :  houses,  mills, 
and  vessels  were  repaired,  and  lumbering  operations  again 
undertaken  ;  but  this  did  not  last  long.  Francis,  Sr.,  died 
in  Boston  on  the  18th  of  October,  1784,  and  Francis,  Jr., 
died  at  Gouldsborough  on  the  17th  of  April,  1785. 

Some  time  after  their  deaths  their  interests  in  Goulds- 
borough,  which  included  the  share  originally  belonging  to 
Mr.  Gould,  were  sold  at  auction  by  the  administrators,  un- 
der authority  of  the  Probate  Court,  and  bought  by  William 
Shaw,  the  fourth  son  of  Francis,  who  likewise  became 
possessed 'of  the  rights  of  Lane,  Son,  Frazier,  &  Co.  He  was 
more  successful  than  his  father  and  brother  had  been,  and 
made  a  handsome  fortune  by  his  operations.  Then  came 
one  of  those  periods  of  speculation  in  wild  lands,  which 
have  made  a  few  rich  and  ruined  many.  Messrs.  Baring 
of  London  and  William  Bingham  of  Philadelphia  had  ac- 
quired a  large  territory  in  Maine,  known  as  "  the  Bing- 
ham purchase,"  and  wanted  an  outlet  to  the  sea.  They 
selected  Gouldsborough  for  the  same  reasons  that  had  ac- 
tuated Shaw,  Gould,  and  Lane  ;  and  William  Shaw  sold  his 

6 


42  EGBERT   GOULD   SHAW 

rights  to  them  at  a  small  advance  on  the  first  cost  to  him. 
The  new  proprietors,  like  the  old,  sent  their  agents  to 
reside  there,  one  of  them  occupying  the  house  built  by 
Francis  Shaw,  Jr.,  for  himself,  and  in  which  his  son  Robert 
was  born.  They,  too,  rebuilt  and  repaired,  purchased  the 
farms  of  the  old  settlers,  and  introduced  a  fresh  and,  as 
they  hoped,  a  more  enterprising  population.  It  was  all  in 
vain,  however :  the  new  settlers  soon  left,  and  what  was 
once  a  pleasant  and  apparently  thriving  village  is  now 
entirely  deserted ;  the  houses  have  fallen  down,  •  the 
wharves  and  warehouses  have  disappeared,  and  little  re- 
mains to  show  where  the  village  once  stood.  The  "  forest 
primeval "  has  been  replaced  by  stunted  red  cedars,  known 
in  that  region  as  the  "  curses  of  Gouldsborough."  The 
fine  harbor  is  still  there  ;  but  that  is  all.  This  is  the  same 
Gouldsborough  to  which  fresh  importance  has  been  given 
by  recent  discoveries  of  mineral  wealth. 

The  above  account  of  the  settlement  and  desertion  of 
Gouldsborough  is  necessary  in  order  that  we  may  have  a 
clear  understanding  of  the  varying  fortunes  of  the  family, 
and  of  the  influences  and  surroundings  under  and  among 
which  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born,  and  in  which 
he  passed  the  earher  years  of  his  life.  The  deaths  of 
both  his  grandfather  and  father  were  probably  hastened 
by  the  trials  and  troubles  they  had  undergone.  The  will 
of  Francis,  Sr.,  in  which  his  wife  Sarah  is  named  executrix, 
bears  the  date  of  5th  December,  1783,  and  was  admitted 
to  probate  on  26th  October,  1784,  he  having  died  on  the 
18th  of  that  month,  as  before  mentioned.  His  widow  sur- 
vived him  fifteen  years,  and  as  "  Madam  Shaw  "  was  the 
object  of  much  love  and  reverence  on  the  part  of  the 
younger  generations. 

•  The  second  Francis,  the  principal  story  of  whose  life 
may  be  gathered  from  what  has  gone  before,  was  born  on 
the  28th  July,  1748.  He  was  about  twenty-one  years  of 
age  when  his  father  first  embarked  upon  the   enterprise 


ROBERT    GOULD    SHAW  43 

which  was  to  shape  his  fortunes  also,  and  so  disastrously. 
Living  at  Gouldsborough  he  there  married  Hannah  Nickels, 
who  was  born^in  Boston  on  the  20th  October,  1754,  and 
was  the  daughter  of  William  and  Margaret  (Breck) 
Nickels.  Captain  Nickels  was  associated  with  Francis,  Jr., 
in  the  agency.  He  had  come  to  Boston  from  London- 
derry in  New  Hampshire,  of  which  town  he,  with  his 
father  and  brother,  was  among  the  first  proprietors.  His 
wife  Margaret  was  one  of  the  numerous  family  of  Brecks, 
descendants  of  the  first  Edward,  who  came  to  Dorchester 
in  1630.  Another  of  the  sisters,  Hannah,  was  the  second 
wife  of  Rev.  Ebenezer  Parkman,  father  of  Samuel  Park- 
man,  whose  first  wife  was  Sarah  Shaw,  daughter  of  Fran- 
cis, Sr.,  and  who  became  the  father-in-law  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  In  the  forced  suspension  of  business  dur- 
ing the  war  of  the  Eevolution  Francis,  Jr.  was  not  in- 
active, but  took  part  in  the  struggle  for  independence. 
The  service  he  actually  performed  is  not  known,  but  we 
find  him  on  the  frontier  of  Maine  under  the  titles  of 
major  and  colonel,  and  know  that,  at  one  time,  he  under- 
took to  raise  a  force  of  Indians.  He  did  not  survive  the 
advent  of  peace  long  enough  to  retrieve  his  fortunes,  but 
died  at  the  early  age  of  thirty-seven,  six  months  after  his 
father,  and  must  have  left  his  family  in  very  destitute  cir- 
cumstances. 

His  widow  survived  him  more  than  fifty  years,  marry- 
ing again.  Her  second  husband  was  Jacob  Townsley,- 
whose  first  wife  was  her  sister,  and  who  was  a  most 
worthy  and  estimable  man,  much  beloved  by  his  step- 
sons. She  lived  at  Steuben,  the  town  adjoining  Goulds- 
borough,  till  her  death  at  an  advanced  age,  and  possessed 
one  of  those  remarkable  constitutions  which  seem  to  pro- 
test against  the  decay  usually  .  accompanying  length  of 
days,  having  had  a  full,  fresh  head  of  hair  after  she  was 
seventy  years  old. 

Robert  Gould,  their  first  son  who  grew  to  manhood, 


44  EGBERT   GOULD   SHAW 

was  born  on  the  fourth  day  of  June,  1776.  His  early  life, 
in  the  midst  of  the  privations  suffered  by  the  unfortunate 
inhabitants  of  Gouldsborough  during  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution, and  by  his  own  family  then  and  afterwards,  must 
have  been  a  comparatively  hard  one ;  but  those  priva- 
tions, as  he  did  not  sink  under  them,  doubtless,  contributed 
to  strengthen  those  powers  of  endurance  and  perseverance 
which  he  inherited  from  his  ancestry  on  both  sides,  and 
for  which  he  was  remarkable.  He  had  none  of  what  are 
called  the  advantages  of  education,  and  the  little  school- 
ing he  received  could  be  reckoned  by  months.  He  was  a 
boy  of  great  enterprise  and  spirit,  and  consequently  very 
mischievous,  —  a  quality  which  is  more  frequently  recalled 
with  pleasure  at  a  later  date  than  endured  with  patience 
at  the  time  by  those  upon  whom  it  is  exercised.  In  those 
days  conscientious  people  performed  "  duties,"  and  fully 
believed  that  "  he  that  spareth  the  rod  hateth  his  son ; 
but  he  that  loveth  him  chasteneth  him  betimes."  Master 
Robert,  accordingly,  was  often  chastened,  being  fre- 
quently called  upon  to  pay  for  his  pranks  with  his  person, 
—  a  result  which  he  accepted  as  a  natural  consequence 
whenever  he  was  ''  found  out,"  and  which  did  not  deter 
him  from  seizing  the  very  next  opportunity  that  presented 
itself. 

When  about  thirteen  years  old  he  was  sent  to  Boston 
with  his  younger  brother  George,  at  the  request  of  his 
uncle.  Major  Samuel,  who  had  asked  his  widowed  sister- 
in-law  to  let  him  take  the  boys,  that  he  might  be  "  as  a 
father  to  them."  Their  uncle  WiUiam  took  both  boys 
with  him  to  Boston,  but  poor  little  George,  unable  to  re- 
cover from  his  homesickness,  soon  left  again  for  Goulds- 
borough  under  charge  of  his  grandfather  Nickels.  They 
did  not  reach  their  destination,  but  were  wrecked  on  the 
then  desolate  shore  of  the  island  of  Grand  Menan,  where 
they  were  both  frozen  to  death  in  December,  1789.  Their 
bodies  were  found  under  the  lee  of  a  cliff,  below  ^vhich 


ROBERT    GOULD    SHAW  45 

they  had  sought  shelter,  wrapped  in  one  great-coat.  The 
old  man  had  been  trying  to  put  a  raisin  into  the  boy's 
mouth,  and  had  gone  to  sleep  in  the  attempt.  Robert 
felt  his  little  brother's  death  very  keenly,  and  always 
spoke  oE  him  with  great  tenderness.  He  named  his  own 
eldest  son  for  his  father  and  this  dear  brother,  whose 
memory  he  wished  to  perpetuate,  and  whose  story  he 
engraved  on  the  monument  which  he  erected  at  Eastport, 
in  1845,  over  the  remains  of  his  grandmother  Nickels. 
Robert,  being  made  of  sterner  stuff,  was  kept  by  his  uncle 
William  for  an  apprentice,  instead  of  "sailing  as  midship- 
man in  the  "  Massachusetts,"  for  Canton,  with  the  major, 
as  the  latter  had  originally  intended.  This  ship,  the 
largest  merchantman  till  then  launched  in  the  United 
States,  had  been  built  at  Quincy  in  1789,  by  order  of 
Major  Shaw,  for  his  China  trade.  She  was  fitted  out  as  a 
man-of-war,  and  was  sold  to  the  agents  of  the  Portuguese 
government  shortly  after  her  arrival  at  Canton.  This 
change  of  occupation  was  probably  in  accordance  with 
the  boy's  own  wishes,  so  far  as  they  may  have  been  con- 
sulted, as,  judging  from  all  his  experiences  in  after-life, 
he  must  have  been  seasick  during  the  whole  of  his  recent 
passage  from  Gouldsborough,  and  have  become  disgusted 
with  the  sea. 

In  those  days  indentured  apprentices  were  almost  as 
absolutely  under  the  control  of  their  masters  as  were  the 
servants  who  had  been  bought  with  a  price.  They  made 
part  of  the  family,  it  is  true,  and  took  their  meals  with 
them ;  but  they  had  their  beds  in  the  house  or  store,  as 
might  be  convenient,  and  were  expected  and  compelled  to 
render,  in  house,  store,  and  stable,  services  which  are  now 
considered  menial.  "  Uncle  William  "  was  a  strict  mas- 
ter, and  probably  rather  a  hard  one.  With  him  it  was 
"  a  word  and  a  blow,"  and  often  the  blow  came  first;  but 
boys  then  expected  this  kind  of  treatment,  and  it  certainly 
helped  to  harden,  when  not  cowed  by  it,  as  was  seldom 
the  case. 


46  EGBERT    GOULD   SHAW 

StUl  young  Robert  cannot  have  had  a  very  hard  or  a 
very  dull  time  in  Boston.  Many  good  houses,  besides  his 
uncle's  and  grandmother's,  were  open  to  him ;  his  cou- 
sins, the  Parkmans,  were  about  of  his  own  age,  and  the 
Burts  and  Brecks,  with  their  numerous  connections,  took 
an  interest  in  their  young  relative.  Boston,  too,  though 
a  Puritan  town,  was  not  a  very  quiet  or  a  very  dull  one, 
for.  boys.  The  greater  the  repression,  the  greater  the 
necessity  of  expansion  for  the  young ;  and  frequent 
fights  between  the  boys  of  different  parts  of  the  town,  — 
the  Northenders  and  Southenders,  —  and  between  those 
of  Boston  and  Charlestown,  gave  ample  scope  and  plea- 
surable excitement;  while  the  narrow  wharves  which 
fringed  all  the  North  End  were  grand  places  for  rough 
play,  with  the  additional  zest  of  occasional  danger,  which 
it  required  skill  and  courage  to  surmount.  He  had  other 
and  quieter  amusements,  likewise,  and  gave  evidence  of 
his  patience  and  perseverance  by  so  training  a  dog,  his 
ownership  of  which  he  had  concealed  from  his  uncle,  that 
it  would  take  food  from  no  other  hand  than  his.  His 
uncle  would  not  believe  this  possible ;  but  was  compelled 
to  acknowledge  himself  in  the  wrong,  and  treated  his 
apprentice  with  more  consideration  ever  after.  To  those 
days  and  to  the  general  example  of  his  elders  may  be 
attributed  the  origin  of  the  habit  of  using  strong  exple- 
tives, which  the  subject  of  this  sketch  retained  to  the  very 
last,  employing  them  without  scruple  whenever  he  had 
occasion. 

His  uncle  William,  who  had  resided  much  at  Goulds- 
borough  during  Robert's  childhood,  had  seen  in  him  capa- 
bilities which  might  render  him  a  valuable  assistant,  and 
which  had  induced  him  to  retain  him  in  Boston,  and  he 
now  showed  his  appreciation  of  the  qualities  that  had 
been  developed  in  his  nephew  by  sending  him,  when  only 
seventeen  years  old,  to  take  charge  of  his  property  and 
to  manage  his  business  at  Gouldsborough.      Robert  re- 


ROBEET   GOULD   SHAW  47 

mained  there  during  the  summers  of  three  years,  and, 
after  the  property  was  finally  disposed  of  and  the  busi- 
ness wound  up,  had  the  satisfaction  to  hear  his  uncle  say 
that  he  could  not  have  done  it  better  himself.  A  still 
further  and  greater  proof  of  the  estimation  in  which 
William  Shaw  held  his  nephew  was  given  in  leaving  his 
own  children,  by  his  Will,  under  the  guardianship  of  his 
former  apprentice,  though  still  a  young  man. 

When  of  age,  and  freed  from  the  obligations  imposed 
upon  him  during  his  minority,  Mr.  Shaw  entered  into 
business  on  his  own  account,  probably  succeeding  to  that 
of  his  uncle  on  the  retirement  of  the  latter.  A  letter  to 
his  mother,  copied  below,  depicts  the  character  of  .the 
young  man  at  this  time,  and  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  de- 
lineation of  qualities  which  he  retained  throughout  his 
life. 

Boston,  JUI72I,  1798. 
Dear  Mother,  —  I  received  your  affectionate  epistle  by  Cap- 
tain Godfrey,  which  gave  me  great  pleasure.     I  wrote  by  Cap- 
tain Dyer,  which  I  suppose  you  have  received.     You  mention 
my  saying  in  a  former  letter  that  "  I  made  the  laws  of  God  my 
guide."     When  I  consider  the  impression  that  sentence  carries 
with  it,  I  must  retract,  as  I  consider  the  declaration  too  posi- 
tive, and  add  that  I  endeavor  and  do,  as  far  as  my  ability  will 
permit,  live  by  his  laws  and  keep  his  commandments.     All  this 
I  do  without  pretending  to  any  religion.     I  mention  this  that 
you  may  not  be  disappointed,  and  expect  from  my  having  so 
written  to  find  me  much  better  than  I  am  ;  for  although  I  en- 
deavor to  live  a  good  and  moral  life,  yet  I  am  far  from  what  our 
Eastern  friends  .call  a  Christian.     Yet,  my  dear  mother,  I  agree 
with  you  that  "  religion  is  beautiful  in  every  age  and  sex  "  ;  but 
'tis  not  those  who  crave  most  after  that  inexhaustible  blessincr 
that  are  the  first  to  gain  it,  though  't  is  laudable  in  every  one  to 
try,  and  he  may  be  sure  that  by  persevering  he  will  finally  ar- 
rive at  the  wished-for  mark,  and  that  this  may  be  the  happy  lot 
of  all  is  the  sincere  wish  of  the  writer.     I  don't  know  that  I 
mentioned  in  any  of  my  former  letters  the  arrival  of  Dr.  C.'s 
three  sons,  who,  poor  boys,  came  almost  naked.     They  are  now 


48  ROBERT   GOULD   SHAW 

with  uncle  Shaw,  at  Milton,  where  they  met  with  a  kind  recep- 
tion, and  appear  to  enjoy  themselves  perfectly.  What  can  he 
thought  of  a  man  who  would  send  his  children  such  a  distance 
as  from  North  Carolina  to  Boston,  destitute  of  everything,  not 
even  known  to  the  captain,  nor  their  passage  paid,  or  a  farthing 
of  money  to  help  themselves  with?  Such  has  been  the  conduct 
of  Dr.  C,  and  such  a  man  is  not  worthy  the  title  of  man  ;  for,  in 
my  opinion,  he  is  far  below  the  brute  creation,  and  his  name 
ought  to  sink  into  oblivion.  I  am  happy  that  Bill  did  not  come 
up,  as  perhaps  he  might  have  been  some  obstruction  to  the  little 
C.'s  reception.  To-morrow  evening  Sally  Parkman  is  ^o  be 
married  to  Mr.  Blake.  I  wish  they  may  enjoy  every  happiness 
this  world  can  afford,  for  Sally  is  really  an  amiable  girl.  Please 
to  remember  me  to  all  friends,  and  believe  me  to  be 

Your  affectionate  son, 

R.  G.  Shaw. 

Throughout  his  whole  life  he  was  chary  of  professions, 
and  often  disclaimed  the  praise  which  a  less  conscientious 
man  might  have  thought  well  deserved.  He  was  always 
prompt  to  feel  and  express  indignation  at  meanness  and 
niggardliness,  and  equally  ready  with  tender  love  and 
sympathy  towards  those  who  were  their  proper  objects. 

In  his  business  life  he  early  established  the  good  credit 
which  he  maintained  till  the  end,  and  which  was  an  im- 
portant factor  in  his  success.  He  was  always  careful  not 
to  enter  into  operations  which  might  carry  him  beyond 
his  depth,  and  to  meet  all  just  demands  upon  him  as 
promptly  as  possible.  He  even  went  so  far,  before  his 
standing  was  firmly  established,  as  to  pay  his  notes  at 
bank  some  days  before  they  fell  due.  He  thus  became 
known  to  men  of  capital  as  one  who  could  be  relied  upon, 
and  thenceforth  commanded  all  the  credit  he  desired. 
Exact  and  upright  himself,  he  more  than  once,  even  to 
the  apparent  injury  of  his  business,  refused  to  have  deal- 
ings with  persons  who  he  was  satisfied  were  not  so,  and, 
when  he  felt  any  suspicion,  did  not  fail  to  put  the  parties 
to  the  test ;  while,  as  he  had  great  capacity  for  indigna- 


EGBERT    GOULD    SHAW  49 

tion,  he  was  sure  to  express  his  opinion  on  such  occasions 
in  the  strono;est  terms  the  lano;uas:e  would  admit. 

On  the  9th  of  February,  1799,  he  informed  his  friends 
and  the  public  by  advertisement  that  he  had  taken  store 
No.  7  State  Street,  opposite  the  new  Branch  Bank,  and 
intended  to  conduct  an  auction  and  commission  busi- 
ness. In  this  he  soon  associated  with  himself  Mr.  Chris- 
topher Barker,  said  to  have  been  a  Yorkshireman  who 
controlled  large  importations  from  England ;  and  on 
the  15th  January,  1803,  he  formed  the  house  of  Shaw, 
Barker,  &  Bridge,  admitting  as  a  partner  Mr.  Samuel 
Bridge,  who  was  a  skilful  salesman,  and  had  for  some 
years  been  employed  by  him  as  such.  This  firm,  which 
opened  at  No.  65  State  Street,  was  very  popular,  and  did 
a  large  auction  and  commission  business,  having  regular 
sales  of  dry  goods  every  week,  and  out-of-door  sales  almost 
every  day.  In  1805  he  retired  from  this  firm,  and  united 
with  Messrs.  Edward  Tuckerman,  Jr.,  and  Samuel  Rogers, 
both  of  them  connected  with  him  by  marriage,  in  forming 
that  of  Tuckerman,  Shaw,  &  Rogers,  whose  store  was  on 
Cornhill. 

In  the  latter  part  of  September  in  the  same  year  Mr. 
Shaw  sailed  for  England  in  the  "  John  Adams,"  and  had  a 
very  rough  passage, —  so  rough  that  he  did  not  leave  his 
berth  during  the  whole  of  it,  and  all  the  crockery  on  ' 
board  was  broken,  the  only  drinking-vessel  left  in  the 
cabin  being  a  silver  cup  belonging  to  him,  the  manufac- 
ture of  his  grandfather  Burt.  He  remained  in  England 
till  May,  1807,  and  besides  attending  to  the  business  of  his 
firm,  by  purchasing  and  shipping  merchandise,  entered 
upon  and  brought  to  a  successful  conclusion  an  important 
negotiation,  which  was  indeed  the  principal  motive  of  his 
voyage  and  his  stay. 

There  must  be  some  fascination  to  draw  men  so  fre- 
quently into  the  oft-recurring  speculations  in  wild  lands ; 
and  Mr.  Shaw,  prudent  as  he  always  was,  and  with  the 

7 


50  ROBERT   GOULD   SHAW 

sad  experience  of  his  father  and  grandfather  before  him, 
must  have  reposed  great  confidence  in  the  good  judgment 
of  his  associates,  as  he  could  not,  of  himself,  have  had 
much  personal  knowledge  in  the  matter,  the  purpose  of 
this  negotiation  being  the  purchase  of  large  tracts  of  land 
in  Maine  on  joint  account  with  Messrs.  James  Bridge  and 
Reuel  Williams,  of  Augusta,  in  that  State. 

Those  tracts  were  the  remnants  of  one  of  the  parcels 
into  which  the  original  grant  made  by  James  the  First  to 
the  Plymouth  Company  had  been  divided,  and  which  cov- 
ered a  very  large  territory  in  the  valley  of  the  Kennebec. 
Most  of  the  lands  had  been  sold,  and  thriving  towns  had 
grown  up  within  the  original  boundaries,  but  the  title  to 
an  important  portion  was  vested  in  Mr.  William  Baker,  of 
London,  to  whom  his  rights  had  come  by  inheritance  from 
his  father,  Sir  William  Baker,  he  having  received  them 
under  execution  in  satisfaction  of  a  judgment.  Mr.  Baker 
hardly  knew  that  he  possessed  any  lands  in  America,  and 
attached  little  value  to  them  until  Mr.  Shaw  appeared 
with  money  in  hand,  and  a  proposal  to  purchase  at  what 
seemed  to  be  a  very  high  price.  After  taking  time  for 
consideration  and  investigation,  Mr.  Baker  actually  pro- 
posed to  accept  a  smaller  amount  than  was  offered,  but 
Mr.  Shaw  insisted  on  paying  what  he  had  fixed  upon  as 
fair,  and  finally  closed  the  transaction  on  his  own  terms. 
The  "  indenture  "  made  by  Mr.  Baker,  which  is  on  vellum, 
and  justifies  its  name  by  having  a  curved  or  "  indented  " 
edge,  is  now  in  the  old  Plymouth  Company's  chest,  which 
contains  the  records  of  their  transactions,  etc.,  and  which 
was  deposited  in  the  Archives  of  the  Maine  Historical 
Society  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Williams,  and  in  compliance 
with  his  directions.  It  bears  date,  in  London,  28th  March, 
1807,  and  conveys  to  Mr.  Shaw  over  thirty  thousand  acres 
of  land,  in  sundry  parcels,  by  metes  and  bounds,  and  one 
twenty-fourth  part  of  the  common  and  undivided  lands  of 
the  "  Proprietors  of  the  Kennebec  purchase  from  the  late 


KOBERT    GOULD    SHAW  51 

colony  of  New  Pl3niioiith,"  with  a  fastidious  precision 
which  is  not  a  httle  curious  when  apphed  to  territory  in 
the  wilds  of  Maine  more  than  seventy  years  ago.  For 
these  particulars  the  writer  is  indebted  to  Hon.  Joseph  H. 
Williams,  of  Augusta,  son  of  Mr.  Shaw's  friend. 

Shortly  after  his  return  from  England  Mr.  Shaw  con- 
veyed to  Messrs.  Bridge  and  Williams  one  half  of  every 
right  covered  by  the  indenture,  and  Mr.  Williams  man- 
aged Mr.  Shaw's  remaining  interest  imtil  the  land  was  all 
sold  and  the  business  closed.  The  "  Baker  right "  had 
been  so  long  in  abeyance,  and  the  lands  so  long  aban- 
doned, that  large  tracts  had  been  taken  possession  of 
by  squatters  ;  and  when  it  was  known  that  the  new  pro- 
prietors intended  to  enforce  their  claims,  there  was  great 
excitement  throughout  the  whole  region,  and  some  vio- 
lence. Ultimately  the  difficulties  were  amicably  settled, 
the  courts  confirming  the  title  of  the  proprietors,  and  the 
legislature  passing  a  Betterment-act,  whereby  the  im- 
provements made  by  the  squatters  were  secured  to  them. 
The  operation  proved  to  be  pecuniarily  profitable  to  the 
parties  interested,  but  their  success  was  purchased  at  the 
cost  of  much  labor  and  anxiety. 

While  in  England  Mr.  Shaw  lived  principally  in  Lon- 
don, having  his  lodgings  in  the  Strand,  and  his  headquar- 
ters at  the  London  Coffee  House,  but  making  frequent 
excursions,  both  for  business  and  pleasure,  to  different 
parts  of  the  island.  When  not  posting,  he  travelled  on 
horseback,  being  a  good  rider,  and  he  spent  much  of  his 
leisure  in  the  saddle.  Sensible  of  the  deficiencies  of  his 
preliminary  education,  he  often,  after  having  been  busy 
all  day,  passed  the  long  evening  in  study  and  reading, 
and  at  last  he  thereby  so  weakened  his  eyes  that  he  was 
never  afterwards  able  to  use  them  freely.  He  did  not 
visit  the  continent,  or  cross  the  Irish  Channel,  probably 
because  his  experiences  with  the  sea  had  been  so  distaste- 
ful.    As  sooG-as;;po.saib{e)4l^e?,A^e  trai)&f€f--o^  .the  "  Baker 

CP  THe  CWURCN  OF  JESUS  rRRIsr 
0093504  ^'  LATTSR-DAv  SAINTS 


62  ,  ROBERT    GOULD   SHAW 

right "  had  been  completed,  and  Mr.  Shaw  had  received 
the  "  indenture  "  and  other  necessary  papers,  he  sailed  in 
the  ship  "  Yorkshire,"  from  Liverpool  for  New  York  ;  and 
it  is  related  that,  on  his  first  visits  to  his  relatives  and 
friends,  after  his  arrival  in  Boston,  he  wore  the  same  suit 
of  clothes  in  which  he  had  taken  leave  of  them  at  his 
departure,  thereby  testifying  the  dislike  he  always  felt 
for  foreign  fashions  and  finery,  and  showing  them  that, 
outwardly  at  least,  he  had  not  been  changed  by  his  long 
residence  abroad. 

In  1810  the  copartnership  of  Shaw,  Tuckerman,  & 
Rogers  was  dissolved,  and  Mr.  Shaw  entered  upon  a  more 
general  business  on  his  own  account.  This  he  continued 
during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  first  on  Kilby  Street, 
then  on  Central  Wharf,  and  lastly  on  Commercial  Wharf, 
associating  with  himself  Mr.  William  Perkins,  who  had 
been  brought  up  in  his  counting-house,  and  four  of  his 
own  sons  successively.  As  his  means  increased,  he  in- 
creased his  operations,  which  ultimately  extended  to  all 
parts  of  the  world.  He  owned  many  vessels,  and  loaded 
them  with  cargoes  on  his  own  account,  thus  employing  a 
large  capital.  He  paid  very  minute  attention  to  details, 
making  most  of  his  purchases  and  sales  himself,  without 
the  intervention  of  brokers  ;  conducting  the  principal  part 
of  his  correspondence  with  his  own  hand,  and  writing  out  ^ 
the  instructions  to  his  captains,  notwithstanding  the  weak- 
ness of  his  eyes.  He  acted  on  the  conviction  that,  "if 
you  want  a  thing  done,  you  must  do  it  yourself  "  ;  and 
did  not  willingly  leave  to  another  anything  that  he  could 
attend  to  himself.  The  officers  and  seamen  of  his  vessels 
were  shipped  in  his  counting-house,  and  came  there  to  be 
paid  off  and  discharged.  He  knew  more  about  vessels  than 
most  men  who  have  not  made  them  a  specialty.  He  used 
to  go  under  their  bottoms  when  on  the  ways  for  repairs, 
and  into  their  holds  when  loading.  The  following  trivial 
incident  furnishes  a  further  illustration  of  his  character 


ROBEKT    GOULD    SHAW  53 

and  of  his  sense  of  justice :  One  day  he  came  up  from  the 
hold  of  a  vessel  taking  in  cargo,  exclaiming  in  a  great 
passion  :  "  The  d— d  fool !  "  "  Why,  father,  what's  the 
matter  ?  "  asked  one  of  his  sons,  who  was  waiting  for  him 

on  deck.    " is  such  a  d — d  fool !  "    Then,  restraining 

himself,  he  almost  immediately  added :  '•  No,  it  is  I  who 
am  the  d — d  fool !  If  he  knew  as  much  as  I  do,  he  might 
be  in  my  place  and  I  in  his."  He  was  a  real  merchant, 
loving  business  for  its  own  sake.  He  would  sometimes 
"  make  business,"  even  when  he  knew  that  it  would  not 
pay  for  the  time  and  trouble  required.  He  liked  to  have 
his  operations  turn  out  successfully,  as  proving  the  cor- 
rectness of  his  judgment,  but  he  did  not  care  for  the 
accumulation  of  money.  He  continued  actively  engaged 
in  commerce  to  the  last,  feeling  that  this  was  his  sphere, 
and  when  asked  why  he  did  not  retire  from  business,  and 
take  the  repose  his  years  demanded,  replied :.  "  What  else 
can  I  do  ?  " 

From  time  to  time  he  made  investments  in  real  estate 
in  different  parts  of  Boston,  and  especially  on  the  water- 
front of  the  North  End.  He  was  consequently  largely  in- 
terested in  the  improvements  which  resulted  in  the  forma- 
tion of  Commercial  and  the  parallel  streets,  of  Mercantile, 
Commercial,  and  Lewis's  wharves.  In  these  matters  he 
relied  much  upon  the  advice  and  judgment  of  Mr.  Samuel 
Shaw  Lewis,  than  whom  Boston  never  possessed  a  citizen 
of  more  comprehensive  views,  or  of  greater  energy  in 
confronting  and  overcoming  the  obstacles  which  ob- 
structed their  realization.  With  him  and  General  WilHam 
H.  Sumner  he  also  took  large  part  in  the  development 
of  Noddle's  Island,  now  East  Boston,  and  furthered  the 
establishment  there  of  the  terminus  of  the  Cunard  Line  of 
steamers,  the  pioneer  of  the  numerous  fleets  which  now 
make  the  passage  between  the  United  States  and  Europe. 
He  was  always  ready  to  listen  with  favor  to  projects  for 
the  development  of  the  trade  of  Boston,  and  never  with- 


54  ROBERT   GOULD   SHAW 

held  his  aid  when  such  projects  seemed  to  him  feasible, 
subscribing  largely  to  the  stock  of  railroad  and  manufac- 
turing companies,  from  which  no  immediate  direct  return 
could  be  expected.  He  promoted  the  building  of  the 
Boston  Exchange,  and  of  this,  as  of  most  of  the  above- 
mentioned  enterprises  and  others  in  which  he  engaged,  he 
was  the  president  and  financial  director.  He  was  for 
many  years  treasurer,  and  afterwards  president  of  the 
Massachusetts  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  and  a  large  con- 
tributor to  the  funds  of  many  of  the  benevolent  and  re- 
medial institutions  of  the  city  which  he  loved.  He  was 
chosen  a  director  of  the  Boston  Bank  in  1813,  and  at 
every  succeeding  election  till  his  death,  and  was  president 
from  1836  to  1841,  when  he  declined  to  serve  as  such  any 
longer.  He  became  a  Mason  early  in  life,  and  in  1835 
during  the  anti-masonic  troubles,  when  the  Grand  Lodge  of 
Massachusetts  surrendered  its  charter  as  a  corporate  body, 
and  could  no  longer  hold  real  estate,  he  became  the  pur- 
chaser of  the  Masonic  Temple  in  Boston ;  this,  in  more 
auspicious  times,  he  sold  back  to  the  Lodge  at  the  price  he 
had  paid  for  it,  "  not  only,"  as  expressed  in  their  resolu- 
tion of  thanks, "  unembarrassed  by  any  charge  for  the  care 
and  trouble  incurred,  but,  of  his  own  mere  gratuity,  ac- 
tually some  thousand  or  two  dollars  better  to  us  than  when 
sold."  He  was  admitted  an  honorary  member  of  the 
New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  November  20, 
1846. 

He  never  sought  office,  nor  cared  for  it ;  but  was  al- 
ways ready  to  do  his  duty  as  a  citizen.  He  was  chosen 
representative  from  Boston  to  the  General  Court  in 
1829-1830,  and  again  in  1835,  and  a  presidential  elector 
in  1852.  Growing  to  manhood,  as  he  did,  in  the  very  bit- 
terest of  the  strife  between  the  Federalists  and  the  Demo- 
crats, he  continued,  in  words  at  least,  to  be  a  strono*  Whio- 
throughout ;  but  his  sense  of  fairness  and  of  justice  caused 
him  more  than  once   to  repudiate  the  measures  of  his 


ROBERT   GOULD   SHAW  65 

party,  and  to  act  with  their  opponents.  He  had  the  con- 
fidence of  all  alike,  and  in  1836,  under  a  Democratic 
administration,  the  position  of  United  States  commis- 
sioner and  disbursing  agent  for  the  erection  of  the  new 
Custom  House  in  Boston  was  tendered  to  and  accepted  by 
him.  All  the  moneys  expended  passed  through  his  hands  ; 
and  when  his  accounts  were  finally  settled  in  1850,  the 
acknowledgment  was  accompanied  with  the  testimony 
from  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States,  that  "every- 
thing from  Mr.  Shaw  comes  in  the  right  shape." 

On  the  2d  of  February,  1809,  Mr.  Shaw  married  Eliza- 
beth Willard  Parkman,  who  was  born  on  the  31st  March, 
1785,  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Parkman  of  Boston  and  his 
second  wife,  Sarah  Rogers,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Daniel 
Rogers,  of  Littleton,  by  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  Samuel  Ruggles,  of  Billerica,  and  widow  of 
Samuel  Dummer.  Miss  Eliza  Parkman  was  a  very  beauti- 
ful and  highly  accomplished  young  lady,  quite  gay,  and 
fond  of  society,  but  her  favored  suitor  proved  at  last 
to  be  plain  "  Cousin  Robert,"  with  all  his  quaintness 
and  his  old-fashioned  clothes  and  manners.  They  had 
been  well  and  intimately  acquainted  from  their  early 
youth,  her  half  brothers  and  sisters  being  his  cousins,  and 
the  acquaintance  had  ripened  into  mutual  esteem  and 
love.  The  marriage  was  a  happy  one  :  he  was  always 
loving  and  considerate,  and  she,  always  a  loving  and  de- 
voted daughter,  was  as  loving  and  devoted  a  wife  and 
mother.  She  was  a  good  manager,  an  excellent  house- . 
keeper,  and  in  every  way  a  helpmate  to  her  husband. 
'•  They  were  united  in  their  lives,  and  in  their  deaths 
they  were  not  (long)  divided." 

The  house  they  first  occupied  was  at  the  corner  of  Milk 
and  Federal  streets  ;  then,  to  be  nearer  to  Mrs.  Shaw's 
parents,  they  removed  to  one  on  Cambridge  Street,  oppo- 
site the  foot  of  Middlecut,  now  Bowdoin,  Street,  and  again 
to  the  stone  house  on  the  corner  of  Green  Street,  front- 


66  ROBERT   GOULD   SHAW 

ing  on  Bowdoin  Square.  They  never  owned  a  house  in  the 
country,  but  every  summer  went  to  board  somewhere  in 
the  near  neighborhood  of  Boston,  so  that  Mrs.  Shaw  could 
be  relieved  for  a  time  from  the  cares  of  housekeeping, 
while  Mr.  Shaw  would  still  be  within  reach  of  his  count- 
ing-house ;  and  he  always  took  a  short  vacation,  which  he 
passed  in  travelling,  —  sometimes  on  horseback,  —  or  at 
one  of  the  medicinal  springs.  Finally,  after  the  death  of 
Mrs.  Shaw's  parents,  they  removed  to  the  house  on  the 
westerly  corner  of  Beacon  Street  and  Joy  Place,  where 
they  both  died,  within  a  few  days  of  each  other. 

They  were  constant  and  punctual  attendants  upon  pub- 
lic worship,  first  at  the  church  on  Federal  Street,  under 
the  ministry  of  Rev.  William  EUery  Channing,  then  at  the 
New  North  on  Hanover  Street,  under  that  of  Mrs.  Shaw's 
brother.  Rev.  Francis  Parkman,  and  later  in  life  at  the 
Stone-chapel,  corner  of  Tremont  and  School  streets.  Mr. 
Shaw  never  made  any  professions  of  religion,  but  he  was 
a  very  conscientious  and  deeply  religious  man,  and  had 
an  abiding  faith  in  the  goodness  and  love  of  the  Heavenly 
Father,  while  his  belief  in  an  overruling  Providence,  and  in 
the  certainty  of  the  retribution  attendant  upon  all  good  and 
evil  affections  and  actions,  amounted  to  an  absolute  con- 
viction. He  was  completely  independent  of  creeds  and 
churches,  maintaining  his  own  convictions,  and  acknowledg- 
ing in  all  the  same  right  of  private  judgment  which  he 
claimed  for  himself ;  but  he  had  a  horror  of  the  doctrine 
which  teaches  that  God  is  less  merciful  than  man,  and  that 
he  creates  human  beings  solely  for  the  purpose  of  plunging 
them  into  endless  torments.  He  always  asserted  that  he 
had  the  faculty  of  seeing  visions,  and  that  they  were 
pleasant  and  delightful,  or  the  contrary,  according  as  he 
was  in  a  spiritual  or  worldly  state  of  mind  at  the  time. 
In  his  later  years,  he  became  an  enthusiastic  believer  in 
modern  Spiritualism,  and  gave  full  credence  to  the  won- 
derful narrations  of  some  of  the  prominent  mediums ;  but 


ROBERT    GOULD   SHAW  67 

he  needed  no  help  from  them  to  strengthen  his  beUef  in 
immortality,  which  was  never  shaken. 

In  his  household  Mr.  Shaw  was  a  strict  disciplinarian, 
but  a  tender  and  loving  husband  and  father.  He  still  had 
faith  in  the  proverb  before  quoted  as  applied  to  himself  ; 
and  his  children,  while  they  remained  at  home,  were 
always  children,  and  were  obliged  to  obey  the  behests  of 
their  father  and  mother.  As  they  grew  to  years  of  dis- 
cretion, however,  he  manifested  more  and  more  confidence 
in  them,  and  did  not  attempt  to  influence  their  religious 
beliefs,  or  to  interfere  with  their  convictions.  He  was 
glad  to  give  to  his  sons  all  those  advantages  of  education 
of  which  he  had  himself  felt  the  want,  and  permitted 
them  to  devote  themselves  to  such  pursuits  as  were  most 
congenial  to  them.  He  felt  very  deeply  the  deaths  of 
those  of  his  children  who  went  before  him. 

Mrs.  Shaw  died  on  the  14th  of  April,  1853.  Mr.  Shaw 
was  so  ill  and  so  much  affected  by  her  death  that,  under 
the  advice  of  the  family,  he  refrained  from  accompanying 
the  remains  of  his  beloved  wife  to  Mount  Auburn,  but 
shortly  took  to  his  bed,  which  he  did  not  again  leave  in 
Hfe.  Thenceforth  he  refused  all  nourishment,  and  only 
occasionally  drank  a  little  cold  water.  He  lay  on  his  back, 
with  his  eyes  closed,  and  thus  lingered  till  the  3d  of 
May,  his  body  gradually  failing,  but  his  mind  remaining 
perfectly  clear,  —  receiving  and  bidding  farewell  to  many 
of  his  friends,  and  proffering  advice  to  some  with  the 
same  truthful  frankness  which  had  always  characterized 
him.  Sometimes,  when  waking  from  sleep,  he  would  ex- 
claim :  "  What !  Still  here  ?  "  As  he  lay  there,  his  re- 
marks upon  persons  and  things  were  often  so  humorous 
that  he  and  those  who  loved  him  dearly,  and  were  gath- 
ered about  what  all  knew  to  be  his  dying-bed,  enjoyed  a 
hearty  laugh  together.  An  involuntary  smile  must  have 
passed  round  the  circle  when  a  young  and  enthusiastic 

clergyman  whom  he  had  not  known,  and  who  had  per- 

8 


68  ROBERT   GOULD    SHAW 

sisted  in  talking  religion  to  him  as  he  lay  there,  with  his 
eyes  shut,  asked  him  what  he  thought  about  it,  and  re- 
ceived for  answer  :  "  I  think  that  you  talk  like  a  fool." 
It  is  but  fair  to  add  that  the  young  man  accepted  this  re- 
buff in  a  truly  Christian  spirit,  and  that  afterward  they 
had  very  pleasant  converse  together.  To  another  clergy- 
man, an  old  friend,  whom  he  esteemed  highly,  and  who 
proposed  to  pray  for  him,  he  replied :  "  I  thank  you ;  but  I 
always  do  my  own  praying."  Indeed,  to  him,  his  was  not 
a  "  dying  "  bed,  but  his  departure  was  simply  a  continued 
living,  and  that  he  felt  this  most  strongly  he  showed  when, 
on  a  friend's  speaking  to  him  of  "  dying  in  Christ,"  a  look 
of  amazement  came  over .  his  face,  and  he  said :  "  We  live 
in  Christ."  The  following,  from  the  pen  of  a  young  con- 
nection of  his,  gives  a  graphic  description  of  the  incident 
to  which  it  refers.     He  writes :  — 

"  I  recollect  the  scene  perfectly.  He  lay  on  his  back,  with 
his  eyes  always  shut.  His  voice  was  loud  and  strong,  and  its 
tone  natural,  so  that  there  was  no  outward  sign  of  failing 
strength.  When  told  who  I  was,  he  took  me  by  the  hand,  and 
said  in  a  pleasant  tone  :  '  I  remember  your  grandfather  so  well. 
I  can  see  him  at  this  moment  standing  with  his  back  toward  me. 
He  was  very  kind  to  me  when  I  was  beginning  business.  Why  ? 
Why  was  he  so  kind  to  me  ? '  Then  he  pushed  my  sleeve  high 
above  the  elbow,  and  began  to  feel  my  arm,  beginning  at  the 
wrist  and  going  upwards.  I  was  struck  with  the  strength  and 
evenness  of  his  grasp.  Then  he  said  :  '  It  feels  like  a  good  arm  ' ; 
and  after  a  pause  he  added,  in  a  clear,  emphatic  voice  :  '  See 
that  you  use  it  on  the  right  side,'  —  advice  which  I  have  not 
forgotten." 

He  died  as  he  had  Uved,  at  peace  with  God  and  man. 

By  his  will,  Mr.  Shaw  bequeathed  a  large  sum  of  money, 
to  be  employed,  after  it  had  accumulated  to  a  certain 
amount,  for  the  relief  of  destitute  children  of  seamen. 
The  condition  imposed  having  been  fulfilled,  that  bequest 
has  now  taken  the  form  of  "  The  Shaw  Asylum  for  Mar- 
iners' Children,"  from  the  income  of  which,  after  provid- 


ROBERT    GOULD   SHAW  59 

ing  for  the  support  of  such  as  must  necessarily  be  inmates 
of  the  asylum  itself,  assistance  is  given  to  others  who  are 
also  its  proper  objects,  without  removing  them  from  the 
care  of  their  relatives,  or  from  the  life  and  circumstances 
into  which  they  were  born.  In  this  manner  it  is  hoped 
that  the  benevolent  intentions  of  the  testator  can  best  be 
carried  into  effect,  and  the  least  possible  harm  done  to  the 
recipients. 

This  brief  and  inadequate  sketch  of  a  comparatively 
uneventful  but  eminently  useful  life  cannot  be  more  sat- 
isfactorily brought  to  a  close  than  by  inserting  the  follow- 
ing extracts  from  two  letters,  —  the  first  written  by  one  of 
his  daughters,  the  second  by  one  who  was  also  very  near 
and  dear  to  him:. — 

"  Some  one  has  said  that  men  of  genius  never  grow  old.  I 
do  not  say  that  father  was  a  man  of  genius  ;  but  he  certainly 
possessed  rare  and  remarkable  qualities,  and  with  them  he 
seemed  to  have  an  ever-springing  fountain  of  life  and  youth. 

....  He  retained  his  youthful  enthusiasm  to  the  last 

This  reminds  me  of  his  Spartan  simplicity.  He  protested  al- 
ways, and  not  only  by  words,  but  by  his  daily  life,  against  self- 
indulgence  and  luxury  of  all  kinds.  He  was  a  true  patriot,  in 
the  best  sense  of  the  word.  He  knew  that  wealth  brings  lux- 
ury, and  luxury  brings  vice,  and  vice  brings  ruin,  not  only  to 
the  individual,  but  to  the  nation.  Of  his  business  qualities,  his 
energy,  sagacity,  integiity,  and  straightforward  dealing,  I  need 
say  nothing,  —  others  can  speak  of  them  better  than  I ;  but  father 
possessed  a  quality"  which  I  find  rarely  in  man  or  woman  ;  I 
mean  pity  :  he  was  very  tender-hearted  to  man  and  beast,  rich 
and  poor,  old  and  young,  gentle  or  simple,  wicked  or  virtuous." 

"  I  wish  much  to  add  my  tribute  of  love  and  admiration.  For 
many  years  almost  a  member  of  his  family,  I  early  recognized 
the  remarkable  variety  and  combination  of  qualities  that  made 
him  so  delightful  a  companion.  The  good-natured  tyranny  he 
exercised  over  his  household  was  more  amusing  than  irritating  ; 
and  when  he  called  in  a  somewhat  peremptory  tone  for  one  of 
us  to  read  to  him  or  to  walk  with  him,  he  was  obeyed  not  only 


60  ROBERT    GOULD   SHAW 

with  alacrity  but  with  pleasure.  His  love  of  nature  was  almost 
childlike,  and  when  walking  or  driving  with  him  in  the  country- 
no  one  would  have  imagined  him  to  be  an  eminent  city  mer- 
chant. Prosperity  never  injured  him,  and  he  retained  to  the 
end  of  his  life  a  singularly  unworldly  and  youthful  spirit.  He 
had  great  pity  for,  and  always  helped,  the  unfortunate  ;  but  he 
had  no  patience  with  anything  like  cant  or  pretension.  His 
perception  of  what  was  false  and  hypocritical  was  unerring,  and 
expressed  itself  in  strong  language,  while  he  was  always  slow  to 
listen  to  common  gossip  or  scandal.  He  had  the  tender  heart  of 
a  woman ;  but  when  sorrow  and  affliction  came,  they  were  met 
with  manly  courage,  and  only  the  anxious,  careworn  face  showed 
the  suffering  within.  It  was  my  misfortune  to  be  far  away  when 
he  died,  and  I  always  regret  losing  the  last  pleasant  days  in  his 
sick-room.  I  have  not  said  half  of  what  I  feel  about  him.  To 
sum  up  his  character,  one  may  quote  from  Sir  Henry  Wotton's 
hymn :  — 

*'  *  How  happy  is  he  born  and  taught,     , 
Who  serveth  not  another's  will, 
Whose  armor  is  his  honest  thought,  " 

And  simple  truth  his  highest  skill. 

"  *  Whose  passions  not  his  masters  are, 

Whose  soul  is  stiU  prepared  for  death,  , 

Not  tied  unto  the  world  with  care, 
Of  public  fame  or  private  breath.'  "  . 


CHILDREN  OF  ROBERT  GOULD  AND  ELIZABETH  WILLARD 

(PARKMAN)  SHAW. 

Francis  George,  born  October  23, 1809  ;  married  Sarah  Blake 
Sturgis. 

Sarah  Parkman,  born  March  3,  1811 ;  married  George  Robert 
Russell,  who  died  August  6,  1866. 

Samuel  Parkman,  born  November  19, 1813  ;  died  December  7, 
1869  ;  married  Hannah  Buck. 

Robert  Gould,  born  September  17,  1815 ;  died  December  2, 
1853  ;  married  Mary  Louisa  Sturgis,  who  died  August  9,  1870. 

Anna  Blake,  born  August  6,  1817  ;  married  William  Batch- 
elder  Greene,  who  died  May  30,  1878. 


s 

t 


ROBERT    GOULD    SHAW  61 

Gardner  Rowland,  born  June  10,  1819 ;  died  May  1,  1867  ; 
married  Cora  Lyman. 

Joseph  Coolidge,  born  January  22,  1821 ;  died  March  10, 
1851.     (A  Catholic  priest.) 

Elizabeth  Willard,  born  February  3,  1823  ;  died  February  14, 
1850  ;  married  Daniel  Augustus  Oliver,  who  died  at  sea  in  1850. 

Quincy  Adams,  born  February  8,  1825 ;  married  Pauline 
Agassiz. 

William  Henry,  born  July  9,  1827 ;  died  February  24,  1828. 

Marian,  born  December  21,  1828  ;  died  March  9,  1855  ;  mar- 
ried Frederick  Richard  Sears. 


SAMUEL    APPLETON 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  for  many  years  a  well 
known  merchant  of  Boston,  and  with  his  brother  Nathan 
and  his  cousin  William  Appleton  did  much  to  render  the 
name  of  a  Boston  merchant  synonymous  with  energy, 
enterprise,  and  sterling  integrity.  Mr.  Appleton  was  one 
of  the  old-school  merchants,  having  come  to  Boston  in 
1794  to  engage  in  the  business  of  importing  and  selhng 
at  wholesale  English  dry  goods.  "When  he  came  to  Bos- 
ton at  the  age  of  twenty-eight,  he  was  an  excellent  illus- 
tration of  how  much  the  metropolis  owes  of  vigor  and 
purity  to  the  ever-freshening  streams  pouring  into  it  from 
the  country  farms  and  villages.  An  open  horizon  seems 
to  impart  a  healthful  vigor  of  morals  and  physique,  hkely 
to  stand  the  shrivelling  influences  of  the  city  for  one 
generation,  and  sometimes  more,  and  it  is  certain  the 
life  of  cities  needs  to  be  constantly  revivified  by  fresh 
country  blood. 

The  old  merchants  of  Boston  had  the  advantage  of  the 
present  generation,  too,  in  being  so  much  nearer  the  hardy 
pioneer  life,  which  taught  self-reliance,  endurance,  and 
economy,  and  indifference  to  artificial  wants ;  they  had 
no  dangers  from  savage  neighbors,  as  the  early  fathers 
had,  but  coming  as  they  often  did  from  remote  towns, 
sparsely  settled  and  barren  of  luxury,  they  had  been  nur- 
tured on  self-denial  and  economy. 


SAMUEL    APPLETOX  63 

Samuel  Appleton  was  the  son  of  Deacon  Isaac  and 
Mary  (Adams)  Appleton,  of  New  Ipswich,  New  Hamp- 
shire ;  he  was  descended  from  Samuel  Appleton,  born  at 
Little  Waldingfield,  England,  1586,  who  came  to  New 
England  in  1635,  and  settled  at  Ipswich,  Massachusetts ; 
he  had  married  Judith  Everard,  1616,  and  had  Samuel, 
1625-1696,  who  was  a  major  in  King  Philip's  War,  and 
was  active  in  resistance  to  the  claims  of  Andros,  and  who 
married,  1651,  Hannah  Paine  of  Ipswich  ;  their  son  Isaac, 
born  1664,  married  Priscilla  Baker  of  Topsfield,  to  whom 
was  born  Isaac  1704  ;  he  married  Elizabeth  Sawyer,  of 
Wells,  Maine  ;  and  their  son  Isaac,  born  1731,  who  mar- 
ried Mary  Adams  of  Concord,  Massachusetts,  1760,  was 
the  father  of  Samuel,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  was 
born  at  New  Ipswich,  New  Hampshire,  June  22,  1766  ; 
married  November,  1819,  and  died  July  12,  1853. 

Deacon  Isaac  Appleton  seems  to  have  been  an  exem- 
plary man,  industrious,  prudent,  patriotic ;  a  man  of  in- 
fluence among  his  neighbors,  and  an  example  by  his 
piety  to  the  church.  He  had  removed  to  New  Ipswich 
from  Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  w^hen  nineteen  years  old,  his 
father  being  one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the  town. 
At  the  opening  of  the  revolutionary  war  Deacon  Isaac 
marched  with  his  neighbors  to  repel  the  British,  and  was 
engaged  for  a  considerable  time  with  the  patriot  forces ; 
he  was  one  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  and  was  a  public- 
spirited  man  throughout  his  life.  Family  traditions  indi- 
cate many  instances  of  his  helpfulness  to  deserving  local 
enterprises,  and  to  struggling  young  men. 

The  boyhood  of  Samuel  Appleton  was  fortunate  in  the 
fact  of  his  happy  home  life,  and  in  its  occurrence  at  the 
period  of  the  war  for  independence.  The  stirring  events 
occurring  throughout  the  colonies  must  have  educated 
the  coming  man  as  much  as  did  the  few  months'  teaching 
each  year  in  the  common  school.  In  addition  to  the  com- 
mon or  grammar  school  which  alternated  with  work  on 


64  SAMUEL   APPLETON" 

the  farm  for  several  months  of  each  year,  there  were  a 
few  terms  at  the  new  academy  for  the  future  "  merchant 
prince/'  and  he  was  counted  worthy  to  be  a  teacher  of 
reading,  writing,  and  spelling,  grammar,  and  arithmetic. 
He  accordingly  taught  school  several  winters.  Young 
Appleton  had  a  more  practical  experience  of  pioneer  life 
than  was  afforded  by  his  home.  He  went  to  Maine  in 
1790,  or  thereabouts,  partly  on  his  own  account,  and  also 
in  the  employ  of  an  enterprising  neighbor  interested  in 
the  Maine  lands.  Of  this  period  Mr.  Appleton  wrote : 
"  I  took  for  myself  a  lot  of  land,  more  than  ten  miles 
from  any  settlement,  and  for  some  time  carried  my  pro- 
visions on  my  back,  going  through  the  woods  by  marked 
trees  to  my  log  house  and  home  at  that  time."  This  fron- 
tier life  not  opening  the  desired  prospect  of  success,  Mr. 
Appleton  returned,  and  opened  a  store  in  New  Ipswich, 
in  connection  with  Mr.  Charles  Barrett,  a  friend  and 
neighbor. 

These,  then,  were  the  influences  which  had  gone  to 
make  up  the  character  of  the  country  boy,  —  a  Christian 
home,  the  common  school,  farm  work,  a  country  store. 
Who  that  is  familiar  with  New  England  country  life  can 
doubt  that  these  influences  united  to  make  the  patient, 
industrious,  frugal,  calm,  just  man,  who  was  to  dignify  by 
his  life  and  character  the  name  and  position  of  Boston 
merchant  ? 

A  letter  of  Mr.  Appleton  to  citizens  of  Peterborough 
gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the  boy's  education  (in  affairs)  in 
the  following  incident.     He  writes  in  1839  : — . 

"  Fifty-nine  years  ago  last  April  a  man  with  a  drove  of  cattle 
passed  my  father's  house  in  New  Ipswich,  on  his  way  to  a  pas- 
ture for  his  cattle,  in  the  town  of  Hancock.  Being  in  want  of 
assistance  to  drive  his  cattle,  and  seeing  a  flaxen-haired  boy  at 
the  door,  he  bargained  with  my  father  that  I  should  assist  him 
on  his  way  as  far  as  the  mills  in  Peterborough,  distance  ten 
miles  ;  for  this  service  to  be  performed  by  me  my  father  received 


SAMUEL   APPLETON  65 

ninepence,  lawful  money.  We  arrived  at  the  mills  —  a  rickety 
saw  and  grist  mill  —  about  four  o'clock  ;  the  man  of  cattle  then 
offered  me  half  as  much  as  he  had  paid  my  father,  and  a  night's 
lodging,  if  1  would  go  on  with  him  through  the  woods,  three 
miles,  to  Taylor's  Tavern.  I  readily  consented,  and  pocketed 
the  cash." 

This  fourpence  ha'penny  may  be  fairly  considered  the 
humble  beginning  of  the  princely  fortune  this  boy  was  to 
acquire,  and  it  finally  grew  to  be  over  a  million  dollars. 

In  1799  Mr.  Appleton,  who  had  been  in  business  five 
years  in  Boston,  was  joined  by  his  brother  Nathan,  forming 
the  firm  of  S.  &  N.  Appleton,  which  continued  for  many 
years  in  the  same  business  of  importing  and  selling  dry 
goods  at  wholesale. 

The  Appletons  were  among  the  first  to  develop  in 
this  country  the  new  industries  of  weaving  cotton  and 
woollen  fabrics,  and  their  names  are  associated  with  Law- 
rence, Lowell,  Cabot,  to  whom  so  much  of  New  England 
prosperity  is  to  be  ascribed.  To  the  enterprise  of  these 
men  it  is  largely  due  that  we  have  such  flourishing  indus- 
tries as  are  found  at  Waltham,  Lewiston,  Manchester, 
Lowell,  and  Lawrence,  and  in  many  other  manufacturing 
towns.  The  Appleton  brand  of  cottons  still  retain  their 
excellent  reputation  in  all  markets  to  which  American 
manufactures  have  penetrated. 

Mr.  Appleton  seems  to  have  been  uniformly  prosperous 
in  his  business,  and  to  have  spent  considerable  time  in 
England  during  some  twenty  years,  purchasing  goods  for 
his  firm.  It  is  said  he  was  the  first  American  merchant 
to  go  to  Manchester,  England,  to  purchase  goods,  about 
1825.  He  retired  from  active  business,  having  acquired 
a  competency,  and  having  an  assured  income  from  for- 
tunate investments  in  stocks  of  several  manufacturing; 
companies.  Thenceforth  life  flowed  smoothly  and  calmly 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Free  from  anxiety,  he  en- 
joyed the  evening  of  his  days  in  deeds  of  charity  and 

9 


66  SAMUEL   APPLETON 

benevolence.  For  some  years  before  his  death  he  made 
it  a  rule  to  disburse  his  entire  income  each  year ;  as  a 
consequence,  the  list  of  his  benefactions  is  a  long  one. 
Few  benevolent  associations  but  at  some  time  appealed  to 
him,  and  seldom  in  vain.  In  many  instances  contributions 
unsought  surprised  trustees  by  their  opportune  liberality. 
Such  were  the  gifts  of  $1,000  to  the  Boston  Female 
Asylum  in  1844,  and  again  in  1845  ;  of  $10,000  to  Dart- 
mouth College  in  1845,  and  of  $5,000  to  the  New  Ips- 
wich Academy  in  1850. 

While  Mr.  Appleton  waited  not  for  his  death  to  benefit 
others,  he  was  still  able  in  his  will  to  devise  a  princely 

~  sum  ($200,000)  for  distribution  by  his  executors  for 
"  scientific,  literary,  religious,  and  charitable  purposes." 
Among  the  objects  to  which  portions  of  this  sum  were 
applied  by  the  trustees  were  the  following :  To  Harvard 
College,  $50,000 ;  Sailors'  Snug  Harbor,  $20,000  ;  New 
Ipswich  (Appleton)  Academy,  $20,000  ;  Dartmouth  Col- 

^  lege,  $15,000  ;  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  $10,000  ; 
Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  $10,000  ;  American  Acad- 

.  emy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  $10,000  ;  Amherst  College, 
$10,000.  The  donation  to  Harvard  College  was  applied 
to  building  the  beautiful  Appleton  Chapel. 

Mr.  Appleton  had  no  children.  He  married  November, 
1819,  Mrs.  Mary  (Lecain)  Gore,  and  his  married  life  seems 
to  have  been  exceptionally  happy.  His  wife  survived 
him  many  years,  and  deceased  May  19,  1870.  Calm  and 
serene,  conscious  of  a  well-spent  life,  his  home  was  a  cen- 
tre from  which  radiated  cheer  and  sympathy  for  all  good 
objects,  and  helpfulness  to  a  large  circle.  For  a  few 
years  previous  to  his  death  Mr.  Appleton  was  confined 
to  his  room,  but  he  retained  to  the  last  a  lively  interest 
in  aU  around  him,  both  in  the  family  circle  and  in  the 
wider  field  of  public  events. 

Mr.  Appleton  was  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature  from  1828-1831,  four  years,  and  was  chosen 


SAMUEL    APPLETON  67 

elector  at  large  in  the  presidential  election  of  1836.  With 
these  exceptions  he  never  hold  public  office :  his  work 
seems  to  have  been  to  make  it  possible  for  many  to  ac- 
complish more  than  one  brain  or  one  pair  of  hands  could 
hope  to  do.  He  was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the 
New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  August  18, 
1845. 

Well-used  wealth  is  Briareus-handed,  and  reaches  far. 
The  Appleton  fund  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  So- 
ciety secures  the  publication  of  rare  manuscripts  for  all 
time  to  come  ;  and  who  can  estimate  the  beneficent  in- 
fluence of  the  Dartmouth  Colleo;e  donation,  —  through 
generation  after  generation  of  crowding  scholarship  ? 

Mr.  Appleton  was  of  fine,  commanding  presence,  being 
about  six  feet  in  height,  with  a  full  face  and  a  fresh  com- 
plexion. A  portrait  of  him  was  executed  by  Healy,  and 
a  copy  by  the  same  artist  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society ;  the  original  is  owned  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Gold  Appleton,  of  Boston.  A  fine  engraving  of 
this  portrait  was  executed  by  Schoif,  a  German  engraver, 
resident  in  Boston,  for  the  History  of  New  Ipswich,  New 
Hampshire,  compiled  by  Mr.  Frederic  Kidder,  impressions 
of  which  are  also  to  be  found  in  the  New  England  His- 
torical and  Genealogical  Register,  Vol.  VIII. ,  in  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Historical  Society  Proceedings,  Vol.  HI.,  and  in 
Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine.  Brief  memoirs  of  Mr.  Ap- 
pleton, written  by  Rev.  Ephraim  Peabody,  D.D.,  are  also 
to  be  found  in  the  above  publications,  from  which  the 
present  writer  has  derived  much  of  the  material  for  this 
sketch.  The  writer  would  also  Acknowledge  his  indebted- 
ness for  information  found  in  the  Appleton  Genealogy 
by  William  Sumner  Appleton,  and  the  Appleton  Memo- 
rial by  Isaac  Appleton  Jewett. 

Mr.  Appleton's  residence  was  for  many  years  at  37 
Beacon  Street,  where  he  died.  Some  years  previous  to 
his  death  he  brought  from  Italy  a  massive  mausoleum  in 


68  SAMUEL   APPLETON 

marble,  in  the  form  of  a  Greek  temple,  which  was  erected 
at  Mount  Auburn,  where  it  has  remained  one  of  the  most 
ornate  embellishments  of  that  richly  decorated  city  of  the 
dead. 

One  of  the  few  mural  tablets  to  be  found  in  the 
churches  of  Boston  is  one  in  King's  Chapel  (where  Mr. 
Appleton  worshipped),  recalUng  in  eloquent  simpUcity  his 
characteristics  by  this  inscription  :  — 

"  SACRED    TO    THE    MEMORY    OF 

SAISIUEL  APPLETON, 

A    BOSTON   MERCHANT, 

HONORED    FOR   HIS    UPRIGHTNESS,   EMINENT    FOR   HIS    LIBERALITY. 

AN    INTEGRITY    WITHOUT    GUILE, 

A    CHILD-LIKE    FAITH   IN    GOD, 

A   NEVER-FAILING   BENEVOLENCE   TOWARD    HIS    NEIGHBOR       ' 

MARKED    HIS    "WHOLE    CHARACTER   AND    CAREER. 

HIS    CHARITY   EXPANDED    AS    HIS    MEANS    INCREASED  ; 

AND    WEALTH   ACQUIRED    IN   HONORABLE    LABORS 

WAS    HELD    AS    IF    IN    TRUST, 

FOR   THE    GOOD    OF   HIS    FELLOW-MEN. 

A   FRIEND    TO    THE    POOR,   A   HELPER    OF   THE    HUMBLE, 

HIS    HAND    AND    HEART    WERE    OPEN   TO    EVERY   RIGHTEOUS    CAUSE. 

DYING   IN   THE   FULLNESS    OF   YEARS, 

A   PRIVATE    CITIZEN, 

HE   WAS    LAMENTED    AS    A    PUBLIC    BENEFACTOR. 

HIS   NAME    WILL    BE    PRESERVED    TO    COMING    TIMES 

BY   THE    NUMEROUS    INSTITUTIONS 

OF    LEARNING,    PHILANTHROPY,    AND    RELIGION, 

WHICH    WERE    ESTABLISHED,    SUSTAINED,    OR    AIDED 

BY   HIS    MUNIFICENCE,   ALIKE   IN    LIFE   AND    DEATH. 

HE    DIED   JULY    12,    1853,    AGED    87    YEARS." 


ISTAHUM   MITCHELL 


The  first  ancestor,  in  this  country,  of  the  subject  of 
this  memoir  was  Experience  Mitchell.  He  was  with  the 
little  colony  of  Pilgrims  at  Leyden,  and,  in  1623,  crossing 
the  ocean  in  the  "  Ann,"  the  third  of  the  ships  which  bore 
the  forefathers  to  the  shores  of  the  New  World,  landed  at 
Plymouth.  After  living  there  some  years,  he  went  to 
Duxbury,  and  later  in  life  to  Bridgewater,  where  he  died 
in  1689.  aged  eighty  years.  Among  his  children  was 
Ensign  Edward  Mitchell,  who  married  for  a  second  wife 
Alice  Bradford,  granddaughter  of  Governor  William 
Bradford,  and  when  he  was  nearly  seventy  years  old  had 
a  son,  named  Edward.  This  Edward  was  a  man  of  note 
in  the  town  of  Bridgewater.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  in  1774  and  1775,  and  did  service 
as  colonel  of  a  regiment,  during  the  revolutionary  war. 
His  son  Gushing  Mitchell,  the  second  of  a  family  of  twelve 
children,  married  Janet,  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Hugh  Grr, 
■  a  Scotchman,  who  located  in  Bridgewater,  and  manufac- 
tured there  the  first  small  arrn^s,  and  the  first  cannon  cast 
and  bored,  that  were  made  in  this  country. 

Nahum  Mitchell,  the  second  child  of  Gushing  and  Janet 
Mitchell,  was  born  in  the  East  Parish  of  Bridgewater, 
February  12,  1769.  As  a  boy,  he  is  said  to  have  been 
active  and  fond  of  athletic  sports,  but  at  the  same  time  he 
was  a  diligent  student,  and  under  the  tuition  of  the  Hon. 
Beza  Hayward,  of  Bridgewater,  went  through  the  usual 
studies  preparatory  to  a  collegiate  course.   He  entered  Har- 


70  NAHTJM   MITCHELL 

vard  University  in  1785,  in  the  class  with  John  Thornton 
Kirkland,  afterwards  President  of  the  University ;  Charles 
Cutts,  United  States  Senator,  and  others  ;  and  was  gradu- 
ated in  1789,  his  part  at  Commencement  being  a  syllogistic 
disputation,  with  Asaph  Churchill,  on  the  thesis,  "  Gravi- 
ias  non  est  essentialis  materice  proprietas."  While  an  un- 
dergraduate he  kept  school  at  Weston,  and  after  leaving 
college  taught  for  a  period  at  Bridgewater  and  Plymouth. 
His  inclination,  however,  was  toward  the  legal  profession, 
and  in  the  latter  place  he  entered  as  a  law  student  the 
office  of  the  Hon.  John  Davis,  afterwards  Judge  of  the 
United  States  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Having  completed  his  legal  studies  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  November  24,  1792.  He  at  once 
opened  an  office  in  his  native  place.  East  Bridgewater. 
Here  his  industry  and  learning  soon  brought  him  into 
notice,  and  secured  him  a  lucrative  practice.  The  marked 
characteristics  displayed  by  him  as  a  lawyer  were  thor- 
oughness, precision,  and  caution.  In  all  his  dealings  with 
clients  and  those  who  were  opposed  to  him,  he  was  honor- 
able and  fair.  Chief  Justice  Parsons  once  spoke  of  him 
as  "  among  the  very  best  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  Old 
Colony  Bar,"  saying  that  "  no  one  was  more  accurate  and 
discriminating,"  and  that  he  had  "  been  in  the  way  of 
witnessing  his  accuracy  and  discernment,  having  been 
frequently  associated  with  him  in  the  same  cause." 
Judge  Aaron  Hobart,  of  East  Bridgewater,  who  was  a- 
law  student  in  his  office,  said  of  him :  "  His  habits  of  in- 
quiry were  so  remarkable  that  he  was  never  satisfied  with 
investigation,  nor  desisted  from  it  so  long  as  he  had  less 
than  all  the  light  he  could  obtain  on  the  subject.  He 
was  a  man  that  did,  and  did  well,  whatever  he  under- 
took." 

The  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  townsmen  was 
early  shown  by  his  being  chosen  in  1798  a  representative 
from  Bridgewater  to  the  General  Court.     The  same  posi- 


/ 


NAHTJM   MITCHELL  71 

tion  was  held  by  him  in  the  years  1799,  1800, 1801, 1802, 
and  1812.  When  he  was  a  resident  of  Boston  in  1839 
and  1840,  he  hkewise  represented  that  city  in  the  Legis- 
lature. In  1803  he  was  elected  a  Representative  in 
Congress  from  the  Plymouth  District,  serving  one  term 
until  1805.  He  did  not  take  an  active  part,  if  any,  in 
debates,  but,  nevertheless,  followed  the  business  of  the 
House  closely. 

"  After  attending  to  all  his  oflBcial  duties  and  correspondence," 
wrote  one  who  knew  him  well,  "  he  found  himself  with  many 
leisure  hours  on  hand.  These  he  employed  in  reading  classic 
authors,  among  them  Ovid's  '  Epistolse  Herodium,'  in  the  origi- 
nal, —  an  interesting  book,  which  he  '  found  in  a  bookstore  in 
Georgetown,  stowed  away  among  a  heap  of  second-hand  vol- 
umes '  ;  in  translating  the  works  of  Horace  into  English  verse  ; 
and  writing  an  interesting  and  amusing  poem,  in  one  canto, 
called  the  '  Indian  Pudding.'  He  rarely  engaged  in  any  amuse- 
ment, except  an  evening  game  of  chess  with  Samuel  "W.  Dana, 
a  member  of  Congress  from  Connecticut,  '  in  which,'  he  said,  in 
a  letter  to  a  relative,  '  I  am  generally  conqueror,  and  have  there- 
fore become  more  skilful  than  my  teacher.'  " 

In  1811  he  was  appointed  a  justice  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  for  the  Southern  Circuit,  which  comprised 
the  counties  of  Plymouth,  Bristol,  and  Barnstable.  This 
appointment  was  a  marked  tribute  to  his  merits,  and  in- 
dicative of  the  general  esteem  in  which  he  was  held,  as  he 
was  not  of  the  same  political  party  wdth  the  appointing 
power.  After  serving  eight  years  in  this  capacity,  he 
was  appointed  chief  justice  of  the  court,  to  succeed 
Thomas  B.  Adams,  who  had  resigned.  At  the  end  of  two 
years  he  left  the  bench,  having  been  elected  Treasurer  of 
the  Commonwealth.  To  this  office  he  was  re-elected  five 
consecutive  times.  Various  other  offices  of  responsibility 
and  honor  were  from  time  to  time  filled  by  him.  He  was 
president  of  the  first  temperance  society  formed  in  East 
Bridgewater,  for  some  years  president  of  the  Plymouth 


72  NAHUM   MITCHELL 

County  Bible  Society,  and  for  the  period  of  fifty-four 
years  one  of  the  trustees  of  Plymouth  County  Academy. 
In  1801  he  was  appointed,  with  Edward  H.  Robbins,  of 
Milton,  and  Nicholas  Tillinghast,  of  Taunton,  to  settle  a 
disputed  boundary  line  between  Massachusetts  and  Rhode 
Island  ;  and  in  1823,  with  Mr.  Robbins  and  George  Bliss, 
of  Springfield,  to  settle  the  line  between  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut.  In  1813  and  1814  he  was  a  senator 
from  Plymouth  County ;  and  from  1814  to  1820  inclusive, 
a  member  of  the  Governor's  Council.  His  last  appoint- 
ment was  chairman  of  the  first  commission  for  exploring 
and  surveying  for  a  railroad  route  the  country  from  Bos- 
ton to  Albany. 

Amid  the  cares  and  labors  incident  to  the  life  of  a  pro- 
fessional man,  and  a  man  in  public  office,  he  found  time  to 
devote  to  literature  and  to  the  science  of  music,  of  which 
he  was  extremely  fond.  In  an  old  diary,  kept  by  a  resi- 
dent of  East  Bridgewater,  was  found  this  record,  bearing 
date  December  8,  1794  :  "The  people  met  and  opened  a 
subscription  to  promote  singing  :  agreed  with  Mr.  Nahum 
Mitchell  to  keep  a  singing-school  at  his  house  two  months 
for  seven  pounds."  Again:  "January  25,  1795,  Mr. 
Mitchell's  school  first  sang  at  meeting.  Very  good  sing- 
ing this  day."  With  the  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Buckminster,  he 
published  about  1810  a  volume  of  music  entitled  the 
"Brattle  Street  Collections."  In  1812,  in  connection 
with  his  brother-in-law  Bartholomew  Brown,  a  graduate 
of  Harvard  College  in  the  class  of  1799,  and  a  man  of 
musical  talent,  he  pubHshed  the  "  Bridgewater  Collection 
of  Sacred  Music,"  a  work  which  wrought  a  needed  reform 
in  church  music,  and  passed  through  more  than  thirty 
editions.  His  anthem  called  "  Lord's  Day,"  a  piece  be- 
ginning with  the  words,  "  Jesus  shall  reign,"  and  other 
pieces  of  his  composition  became  very  popular.  The 
familiar  tune  "  Brattle  Street "  was  harmonized  by  him. 
In  addition  to  these  works,  he  contributed  a  series  of  arti- 


NAHUM   MITCHELL  73 

cles  to  the  "  Boston  Musical  Gazette,"  on  the  history  of 
music,  and  wrote  a  treatise  on  harmony,  which  was  not 
published. 

He  had  a  great  taste  and  aptitude  for  antiquarian  re- 
search, and  devoted  many  years  to  collecting  materials 
for  a  history  of  Bridgewater.  The  work  was  published 
in  1840,  with  the  title,  "  History  of  the  Early  Settlement 
of  Bridgewater,  in  Plymouth  County,  in  Massachusetts, 
including  an  extensive  Family  Register."  The  author 
had  previously  written  a  short  account  of  the  origin  and 
first  settlement  of  Bridgewater,  which  was  printed  in  the 
seventh  volume  of  the  second  series  of  the  Collections  of 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society.  The  genealogical 
part  of  the  work  is  unusually  full  and  accurate.  It  is  in- 
valuable to  the  genealogist,  and,  in  this  respect,  must 
always  be  regarded  as  a  model  work.  Judge  Mitchell 
was  at  different  times  librarian  and  treasurer  of  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society ;  and  on  May  7,  1845, 
he  became  a  member  of  the  New  Ens-land  Historic  Genea- 
logical  Society,  displaying  much  interest  in  its  welfare. 
He  died  August  1,  1853,  in  the  eighty-fifth  year  of  his 


age. 


The  following  account  of  the  cause  of  his  death  is  given 
by  Mr.  William  Allen  in  the  New  England  Historical  and 
Genealogical  Register,  Vol.  XVHI.  p.  224. 

"  On  the  first  of  August,  1853,  Judge  Mitchell  left  home, 
apparently  in  good  health,  to  attend  the  celebration  in  Ply- 
mouth of  the  two  hundred  and  thirty-third  anniversary  of  the 
embarkation  of  the  Pilgrims  at  Delftshaven.  Arriving  at  the 
railroad  station  in  Phinouth,  he  was  met  with  the  congratula- 
tions of  his  many  friends,  and  had  the  prospect  of  enjoying  a 
cheerful  day  in  the  commemoration  of  those  good  men  to  whom 
principle  was  dearer  than  life,  and  whose  memory  he  had  ma- 
terially assisted  to  embalm.  He  passed  from  the  depot  towards 
the  place  of  meeting,  when  putting  his  hand  to  his  pocket  he 
discovered  that  his  pocket-book  containing  one  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars,  and  several  valuable  private  papers,  had  been  stolen. 

10 


74  NAHUM  MITCHELL 

The  sudden  shock  to  his  feelings  was  too  great  at  his  advanced 
age  for  nature  to  sustain.  He  fainted,  fell,  and  was  carried  into 
the  house  of  the  late  William  Davis,  Esq.,  his  grandson,  but 
human  aid  was  of  no  avail,  and  in  a  few  moments  his  spirit 
passed  away." 

In  his  private  character  Judge  Mitchell  is  said  to  have 
been  a  model  for  imitation.  Judge  Hobart  wrote  of 
him  in  a  note  read  at  the  celebration  of  the  two  hundredth 
anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  Bridgewater  :  — 

"  He  was  affable  and  familiar  ;  his  manners  were  simple  and 
easy  ;  his  temper  gentle,  even,  and  cheerful ;  and  his  whole  de- 
portment such  as  to  inspire  confidence  and  respect.  Hospital- 
ity reigned  in  his  house  ;  and  cheerfulness  beamed  from  his 
countenance  on  his  happy  family,  and  was  reflected  back  by 
them.  He  was  eminently  a  man  of  peace,  and,  all  his  life  long, 
exerted  a  peculiarly  happy  faculty  he  had  to  promote  it  in  his 
own  neighborhood,  and  elsewhere  within  the  sphere  of  his  in- 
fluence. He  had  faults,  —  and  who  has  not  ?  —  but  none  which 
should  enter  into  a  candid  estimation  of  his  character.  It  has 
been  said  to  be  as  difficult  to  compare  great  men  as  great  rivers- 
Some  we  admire  for  one  thing,  and  some  for  another ;  and  we 
cannot  bring  them  together  to  measure  their  exact  difference. 
But  taking  into  account,  as  well  as  we  may,  all  the  various 
talents  and  acquirements  that  combine  to  make  up  the  whole 
man,  I  think  it  may  be  justly  said,  without  being  invidious,  that 
the  old  town  of  Bridgewater,  though  numbering  among  her 
sons  many  eminent  men,  has  never  produced  his  superior." 

Judge  Mitchell  married,  in  1794,  Nabby,  daughter  of 
General  Silvan  us  Lazell,  of  Bridgewater,  and  had  the  fol- 
lowing children  :  — 

Harriet,  born  1796,  married  Hon.  Nathaniel  Morton  Davis,  of 
Plymouth,  1817. 

Silvanus  Lazell,  born  1798  ;  graduated  at  Harvard  Univer- 
sity 1817  ;  married  Lucia  Whitman,  1820. 

Mary  Orr,  born  1801 ;  married  David  Ames,  Jr.,  Esq.,  of 
Springfield,  1827. 

Elizabeth  Gushing,  bom  1807 ;  married  Nathan  Dresser 
Hyde,  1833. 

James  Henry,  born  1812  ;  married  Lavinia  Angier,  1833. 


JACOB    BAILEY    MOORE 


Mr.  Moore  was  one  of  the  New  Hampshire  self-made 
men,  that  is,  one  of  those  men  who,  with  limited  educa- 
tion and  without  money  or  friends  to  give  especial  aid, 
was  eminently  useful  and  reached  great  honors.  The  old 
Granite  State  is  somewhat  famous  for  such  men.  Horace 
Greeley,  Henry  Wilson,  Samuel  G.  Drake,  Marshall  P. 
Wilder,  who  were  born  in  it ;  with  Isaac  Hill  and  Amos 
Kendall,  who  lived  there  in '  early  manhood,  all  acquain- 
tances of  Mr.  Moore,  were  of  the  same  stamp,  and  were  all 
born  just  in  time  to  meet  the  great  crisis  in  our  history, 
when  active  men  of  affairs,  inventive  and  demonstrative 
men,  were  called  for  to  press  forward  every  enterprise  and 
inaugurate  every  suggested  improvement  in  the  business 
of  the  country,  and  to  encourage  progress  in  education, 
agriculture,  benevolence,  and  the  mechanical  arts.  These 
men  came  upon  the  stage  of  action  a  few  years  after  the 
war  of  1812,  when  the  desolations  and  discouragements 
of  that  period  had  been  overcome,  and  the  great  ques- 
tion at  home  and  abroad  was  settled,  —  that  we  were  a 
nation.  There  was  an  enlarged  conception  of  our  fu- 
ture, a  mighty  uprising  of  thoughtful  men  from  1820  to 
1835  to  build,  then,  upon  our  established  foundations,  all 
real  and  fancied  institutions  of  peace,  prosperity,  and 
freedom,  according  to  the  diverse  taste,  skill,  and  force  of 
the  people.  In  education,  it  was  the  fresh  impulse  given 
to  making  school-books,  opening  high  schools,  lyceums, 


76  JACOB   BAILEY   MOORE 

and  societies  for  the  "promotion  of  useful  knowledge." 
Then  the  printing  of  newspapers,  periodicals,  and  books 
became  a  power;  then  canals  and  turnpikes  were  sup- 
planted by  steamboats  and  railroads  ;  then  missions  were 
established,  the  temperance  reform,  anti-slavery  move- 
ments, and  benevolent  societies  were  inaugurated ;  then 
music,  poetry,  the  fine  arts,  literature  and  science,  began 
to  find  favor  in  every  family,  arousing  every  element  of 
ambition  and  raising  the  standard  of  social  life  and  public 
progress. 

We  are  not  surprised  at  our  self-made  men,  and  should 
not  withhold  a  proper  meed  of  praise  and  honor  for  their 
achievements.  It  is  not  surprising  that  a  self-made  nation 
should  produce  self-made  men.  At  every  great  crisis  or 
demand  in  our  history,  self-made  men  have  always  stood 
in  the  very  front  and  borne  the  responsibilities  of  the 
occasion.  Samuel  Adams,  the  great  instigator  of  public 
sentiment  which  produced  our  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence; Washington,  who  led  our  armies  and  became  the 
Father  of  his  Country;  Franklin,  who  represented  the 
country  abroad ;  Patrick  Henry,  the  great  orator  in  the 
Philadelphia  Congresses ;  Josiah  Bartlett,  the  New  Hamp- 
shire delegate  in  Congress,  who  signed  next  to  John  Han- 
cock ;  Marshall,  the  second  and  great  Chief  Justice  of 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court ;  Bowditch,  the  great 
mathematician ;  Stark  and  Poor,  New  Hampshire  revolu- 
tionary generals, —  were  all  distinguished,  self-made  m^n. 

Mr.  Moore  was  son  of  Dr.  Jacob  Bailey  and  Mary 
(Eaton)  Moore,  and  was  born  in  Andover,  New  Hampshire, 
October  31, 1797.  His  father  was  quite  remarkable  in  his 
day  as  a  lover  of  music,  and  somewhat  of  a  poet  and  news- 
paper writer.  He  was  born  in  Georgetown,  now  Bath, 
Maine,  September  5,  1772,  settled  in  Andover  in  1795, 
and  earned  a  good  reputation  as  a  physician  and  citizen. 
He  was  a  surgeon  in  the  war  of  1812,  but  returned  from 
the  field  with   impaired   health,   and    died  January   10, 


JACOB    BAILEY    MOORE  77 

1813.  Dr.  Moore's  father,  Dr.  Coffin  Moore,  who  was  of 
Scotch  descent,  was  born  in  Stratham,  New  Hampshire, 
February  25,  1739,  and  died  at  Candia,  New  Hampshire, 
1798.  He  was  a  surgeon  in  the  navy  in  the  Revolution, 
and  had  four  sons  and  three  daughters. 

We  find  young  Moore,  therefore,  of  respectable  par- 
entage, the  son  and  grandson  of  men  of  very  considerable 
learning  and  distinction,  self-taught  and  made,  with  mental 
power,  refined  tastes,  and  patriotism,  from  whom  he  right- 
fully inherited  capabilities  which  energized  all  the  labors 
of  his  life.  The  family  characteristics,  which  are  seen  in 
his  brothers  as  well  as  in  himself  and  his  own  children,  are 
in  such  harmony  and  force  that  they  must  have  origin- 
ated and  matured  far  back  among  their  ancestors.  They 
were  printers,  editors,  musicians,  librarians,  writers  and 
publishers  of  musical  and  historical  books,  and  pursued 
their  tastes  to  great  distinction. 

The  father  had  a  good  library  for  his  day  and  opportu- 
nity, and  cherished  in  his  eldest  son  every  budding  taste 
for  knowledge  and  inclination  for  instruction  under  par- 
ental teaching  as  well  as  in  the  common  schools  of  the  town. 
The  Salisbury  Academical  Association  School  was  within  a 
few  miles  of  Dr.  Moore's  residence.  The  youthful  Moore 
was  noted  among  the  people  of  his  native  town  for  me- 
chanical ingenuity,  love  of  study,  and  persistent  historical 
reading.  Up  to  the  death  of  his  father  we  may  be  assured 
he  received  earnest  parental  culture,  and  was  much  bene- 
fited by  a  remarkable  literary  atmosphere,  and  by  eminent 
examples  fitted  to  create  in  him  great  ambitions  and  high 
hopes.  The  father  lived  near  Colonel  Webster,  father  of 
Ezekiel  and  Daniel,  and  also  near  Dr.  Bartlett,  whose  sons, 
Ichabod  and  James,  had  followed  Mr.  Webster  in  college. 
They  and  thirteen  other  young  men,  all  of  Salisbury,  a 
town  adjoining  Andover,  had  graduated  at  Dartmouth 
before  young  Moore  entered  upon  his  apprenticeship  at 
the  age  of    sixteen  years.      The  rare  distinction  of  the 


78  '  JACOB   BAILEY  MOORE 

Websters  and  Bartletts,  the  influence  of  these  and  other 
graduates,  the  encouragement  of  half  a  dozen  clergymen 
and  physicians,  among  them  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wood,  teacher 
of  the  Websters,  and  the  example  of  a  hundred  other 
boys  preparing  for  college,  must  have  stirred  within  him 
every  aspiration  for  success  in  life,  which  could  not  be 
satisfied  with  common  labor,  a  trade,  or  a  clerkship. 

Whatever  may  have  been  his  desire  for  a  public  education, 
the  death  of  his  father  left  him  under  an  immediate  neces- 
sity of  taking  care  of  himself,  and  we  find  him  at  once 
treating  with  Isaac  Hill,  editor  of  the  "  New  Hampshire 
Patriot,"  in  Concord,  for  a  place  as  an  apprentice,  —  a 
place  and  business  eminently  fitted  for  him,  and  he  for 
them.  He  was  indentured  to  Mr.  Hill  during  his  min- 
ority, a  period  of  five  years.  Whether  his  service  was 
severe  or  lenient,  it  proved  a  good  school  for  him,  for  at 
the  close  of  his  apprenticeship  he  received  a  partnership 
with  his  master  in  all  the  business  arrangements  of  the 
"  Patriot "  and  book-store,  in  all  the  editorial  responsibili- 
ties, all  political  influences  and  literary  culture  of  the 
leading  press  in  New  Hampshire.  Mr.  Hill  was  an  ex- 
traordinary man.  He  was  eight  years  older  than  Mr. 
Moore,  of  like  early  necessities,  and  early  apprenticeship 
in  the  business,  but  he  possessed  such  marvellous  power 
to  plan  and  execute,  such  enthusiasm  of  manner  and  dicta- 
torial  expression  of  opinion,  that  the  apprentice  undoubt- 
edly idolized  the  master,  and  entered  upon  the  partnership 
in  high  confidences  and  expectations;  but  his  indepen- 
dence of  opinion,  broader  personal  researches,  and  higher 
mental  culture  and  acquisition,  soon  brought  him  into 
personal  collision  and  discomfort  which  terminated  the 
copartnership.  The  whys  and  wherefores  of  this  estrange- 
ment need  not  be  inquired  into,  as  we  can  draw  a  double 
credit  to  Mr.  Moore  from  his  connection  with  Mr.  Hill,  — 
that  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as  an  apprentice  he 
so  won  Mr.  Hill's  confidence  and  respect  as  to  receive  a 


JACOB    BAILEY    MOORE  79 

partnership,  and  that  he  was  too  independent  in  opinion 
and  action  to  sacrifice  his  well-grounded  convictions  upon 
the  altar  of  pecuniary  advantage  or  political  elevation. 

In  1821,  just  before  Mr.  Moore  left  the  partnership, 
Mr.  John  Farmer,  who  had  been  a  teacher  in  Amherst, 
came  to  Concord  and  opened  an  apothecary  store,  ob- 
taining therefrom  the  title  of  Doctor,  not  having  ever  prac- 
tised medicine.  Moore  and  Farmer  are  at  once  found 
associated  in  collecting  and  publishing  historical  material, 
as  "  Farmer  &  Moore,"  not  as  partners,  but  co-editors. 
Farmer  had  already  published  his  histories  of  Billerica,  and 
Amherst,  N.  H. ;  and  Moore  had  probably  collected  mate- 
rials for  his  "  Topographical  and  Historical  Sketch  of  An- 
dover,"  his  native  town,  which  appeared  the  next  year. 
The  preface  to  their  first  volume  of  Historical  Collections 
bears  date  January,  1822,  and  is  signed  "Farmer  &  Moore," 
but  is  printed  by  "  Hill  &  Moore."  Farmer  was  eight  years 
older  than  Moore,  arid  therefore  his  name  may  have  been 
first  mentioned,  not  to  express  any  priority  of  taste  or 
study  in  historical  matters.  Hand  in  hand  they  planned 
and  executed  the  important  work  of  gathering  and  pre- 
serving historical  data  of  New  Hampshire,  history  of  men, 
events,  and  of  written  material,  scattered  and  liable  to  be 
lost,  that  historians  in  the  then  far  future  might  speak 
advisedly  and  truly  of  early  days.  The  undertaking  to 
publish  a  periodical  of  the  character  proposed  in  their 
prospectus  was  a  new  enterprise  in  the  country,  and  was 
so  successfully  pressed  by  them  upon  the  public  mind  that 
the  New  Hampshire  Historical  Society  followed  their 
efforts  in  1823,  and  their  three  volumes  were  virtually 
adopted  by  the  society,  —  Farmer  being  placed  upon  the 
publishing  committee,  and  Moore  made  librarian.  Many 
of  the  papers  in  the  volumes  were  prepared  by  them ; 
the  "New  Hampshire  Gazetteer"  of  1823,  a  remarkable 
work  for  the  time,  which  has  preserved  a  vast  amount  of 
historical    data  w^hich  would  otherwise    have   been  lost. 


80  JACOB   BAILEY   MOORE 

was  written  by  them.  In  1824  Mr.  Moore  published  his 
"  Annals  of  Concord  from  its  First  Settlement,  1726,  to 
1823,"  which  was  the  substantial  foundation  of  its  written 
history.  To  some  extent  Moore  assisted  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  Farmer's  "  Genealogical  Register,"  which  ap- 
peared in  1829.  These  men  are  entitled  to  great  consid- 
eration, their  efforts  and  works  having  placed  them  in 
honorable  rank  among  the  antiquaries  of  the  country. 

Mr.  Moore,  at  the  close  of  the  partnership  with  Mr.  Hill, 
opened  a  printing  and  book-selling  establishment  in  Con- 
cord, pursuing  his  historical  labors  as  a  matter  of  love, 
rather  than  of  business.  He  soon  established  a  po- 
litical paper,  the  "  New  Hampshire  Journal,"  devoted  to 
sustaining  the  administration  of  Mr.  Adams ;  became  a 
member  of  the  legislature,  and  was  for  five  years  high 
sheriff  of  the  county  of  Merrimac.  He  edited  for  a  while 
the  "  New  Hampshire  Statesman,"  but  his  antagonism  to 
the  "  Patriot"  involved  him  in  great  personal  embarrass- 
ment with  Mr.  Hill,  whose  sister  he  had  married.  In 
politics  he  was  full  of  mettle,  incisive,  never  crying 
*'  Enough  ! "  and  when  obliged  to  haul  down  his  colors 
in  New  Hampshire  it  was  only  to  plant  them  in  the  city 
of  New  York, — a  larger  battle-field,  without  loss  of  fealty 
to  party  or  party  support.  Such  purity  of  faith,  such  in- 
tegrity of  utterance,  such  creditable  yet  pungent  editorials 
upon  men  and  the  times,  might  be  imitated  after  the 
lapse  of  thirteen  administrations  to  great  advantage. 

Mr.  Moore  removed  to  New  York  in  1839,  and  edited 
the  "  Daily  Whig,"  in  the  Harrison  campaign.  In  1840 
he  published  "The  Laws  of  Trade  in  the' United  States," 
a  correct  manual  on  the  subject.  Under  the  Harrison 
administration  he  held  an  important  clerkship  in  the  Post 
Office  Department  in  Washington.  During  the  following 
administration  he  was  librarian  of  the  New  York  Historical 
Society,  reviving  his  early  love  of  historical  matters.  It 
was  at  this  period  of  his  life  (1846)  that,  deeply  realizing  the 


JACOB   BAILEY   MOORE  81 

meagreness  of  the  best  biographical  dictionaries  in  regard 
to  the  governors  in  the  several  colonies,  he  brought  out 
the  first  volume  of  his  "Memoirs  of  the  Governors  of 
New  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  Bay,"  a  book  of  four 
hundred  and  thirty-nine  pages.  It  was  his  intention  to 
continue  the  series  down  to  Revolutionary  times,  and 
much  material  had  been  collected  and  prepared,  which, 
we  trust,  will  .eventually  be  printed.  Upon  the  return  of 
his  party  to  power,  he  was  appointed  postmaster  at  San 
Francisco,  and  was  charged  with  various  public  matters 
and  interests  of  the  government  in  California,  that  new 
and  unexplored  country,  just  annexed  to  the  States. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  "  of  great  service  to  the  country 
by  his  indefatigable  labors  in  systematizing  the  business 
of  the  department  under  circumstances  of  unusual  diffi- 
culty." His  health  failed  him  alarmingly  while  in  Califor- 
nia, and  upon  another  change  of  administration  at  Wash- 
ington he  returned  eastward,  and  died,  September  1, 1853, 
at  Bellows  Falls,  Vermont. 

The  writer  knew  Mr.  Moore  as  a  business  man  rather 
than  as  a  social  acquaintance,  between  the  years  of  1820 
and  1830,  when  the  flush  and  elasticity  of  youth  were  upon 
him.  About  medium  in  height,  symmetrical  in  form, 
graceful  in  manners,  prompt  in  action,  and  very  handsome, 
he  won  friendships  readily  and  kept  them  easily.  He 
formed  his  opinions  logically,  and  held  them  enthusiasti- 
cally. He  would  not  yield  them  but  upon  conviction,  nor 
would  he  defend  them  but  with  well-established  facts  and 
decisive  reasoning.  The  antagonism  of  Mr.  Hill  was  so 
aggressive  and  autocratic  that  Mr.  Moore  astonished  his 
friends  and  party  by  his  courage  as  well  as  skill  in  the  con- 
troversy. This  gave  him  prominency  in  the  party.  He 
would  give  blows  when  called  for,  but  in  social  life  was 
genial,  affable,  affectionate,  a  good  citizen,  one  of  the  live 
men  of  Concord,  and  ready  for  every  good  work  in  public 

and  local  affairs. 

11 


82  JACOB   BAILEY   MOORE 

He  married,  August  17,  1820,  Mary  Adams  Hill, 
daughter  of  Isaac  and  Hannah  (Kussell)  Hill,  of  Ashburn- 
ham,  Massachusetts.  The  widow,  one  daughter,  and  four 
sons  still  live.  .  One  of  the  sons,  George  Henry  Moore, 
LL.D.  (N.  Y.  U.),  who  has  been  librarian  of  the  New  York 
Historical  Society,  and  a  professor  of  the  Law  Department 
of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  is  now 
superintendent  of  the  Lenox  Library,  is  a  man  of  great 
historical  and  literary  attainments,  and  author  of  various 
works  of  merit,  among  them  "  Notes  on  the  Employment 
of  Negroes  in  the  American  Army  of  the  Revolution," 
"Notes  on  the  History  of  Slavery  in  Massachusetts,"  and 
"The  Treason  of  Major-General  Charles  Lee."  Charles 
C.  Moore  is  in  California,  engaged  in  real  estate  matters ; 
Frank  Moore  was  assistant  secretary  of  legation  at  Paris 
some  years  ;  has  published  many  works,  among  them  "  Cy- 
clopaedia of  American  Eloquence,"  "  The  Rebellion  Record  " 
in  eleven  volumes,  also  various  lyrical  compilations,  and  is 
now  an  editor.  Jacob  Bailey  Moore,  at  one  time  a  member 
of  the  city  council  of  San  Francisco,  afterwards  a  represen- 
tative of  that  city  in  the  State  Legislature,  is  librarian  of 
the  New  York  Historical  Society,  exhibiting  family  tastes 
and  erudition. 

Mr.  Moore  gave  his  sons  a  good  education,  and,  by 
their  ability  and  success  in  literary  labors,  as  librarians, 
as  editors,  as  authors,  and  in  the  purity  and  usefiilness 
of  their  lives,  they  have  honored  their  parentage. 

Mr.  Moore,  in  early  life,  took  by  the  hand  his  two 
brothers,  and,  under  apprenticeship,  made  them  printers, 
editors,  and  publishers,  one  of  whom,  John  Weeks  Moore, 
still  lives,  in  Manchester,  New  Hampshire.  He  has  been 
connected  with  several  journals,  among  them  the  "  Bel- 
lows Falls  Gazette,"  for  several  years,  and  is  author  of 
the  "  Encyclopaedia  of  Music."  Henry  Eaton  Moore,  the 
other  brother,  who  died  in  East  Cambridge,  Massachu- 
setts, October  23,  1841,  was  a  composer  of  music,  teacher 


JACOB    BAILEY    MOORE  83 

and  a  thorough  proficient  in  musical  science,  and  author  of 
various  musical  books,  —  "  Musical  Catechism,"  "  New 
Hampshire  Collection  of  Church  Music,"  etc.,  etc. 

Mr.  Moore  was  admitted  a  corresponding  member  of 
the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  January 
10,  1846,  he  being  then  a  resident  of  Washington,  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia. 

The  Moore  family,  from  Dr.  Coffin  Moore,  the  surgeon 
in  the  navy,  through  Dr.  Jacob  B.  Moore,  the  surgeon  in 
the  army,  and  through  his  sons,  and  the  sons  of  Jacob  B. 
Moore,  all  distinguished  in  their  professions,  as  physicians, 
printers,  publishers,  editors,  authors,  musicians,  and  histo- 
rians, have  ranked  themselves,  in  merit  and  distinction, 
among  the  prominent  families  of  the  State  of  New  Hamp- 
shire,—  a  State  of  which  it  has  long  been  said,  "a  good 
one  to  emigrate  from,"  but  nevertheless  quite  unfortunate 
in  having  so  many  of  her  boys  "  hire  out  "  in  other  States, 
where  bounties,  rewards,  and  honors  were  more  tempting, 
and  often  successfully  obtained. 


IS^ATHAN^IEL     SAWYER 


^  Nathaniel  Sawyer,  the  fourth  and  youngest  son  of 
Deacon  Moses  and  Ann  (Fitz)  Sawyer,  was  born  in  Salis- 
bury, New  Hampshire,  April  10, 1784.  His  oldest  brother 
was  graduated  from  Dartmouth  College  in  1799  ;  was  or- 
dained to  the  ministry  of  the  Congregational  Church,  and 
settled  for  a  season  in  Henniker,  New  Hampshire,  and 
subsequently  became  a  farmer  in  his  native  town.  One 
of  his  sisters,  as  I  am  informed,  married  Nathaniel  Web- 
ster, a  cousin  of  Daniel ;  ■  and  another  sister  was  the  wife 
of  the  Hon.  Joseph  Walker,  of  Concord,  New  Hampshire." 
Nathaniel  Sawyer  was  graduated  from  the  same  college 
in  1805.  One  of  his  classmates  was  the  Rev.  Francis 
Brown,  D.D.,  who  succeeded  the  younger  Wheelock  in 
the  presidency  of  Dartmouth  College  at  a  critical  period 
of  its  history. 

Mr.  Sawyer  studied  law  for  about  two  years  in  the 
office  of  Judge  Samuel  Green,  at  Concord,  and  completed 
his  course  in  the  office  of  the  Hon.  Joseph  Story  at  Salem, 
Massachusetts.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  Su- 
preme Judicial  Court  of  Massachusetts,  March  11,  1811, 
and  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States,  October  15, 
1812.  He  began  practice  in  Newburyport ;  but  after  a 
short  residence  in  that  town,  he  removed  to  Boston.  He 
was  a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  and,  during  a  portion  of  the 
time  he  lived  in  Boston,  was  Secretary  of  Columbia 
Lodge. 

In  1813  Mr.  Sawyer  removed  to  Lexington,  Kentucky, 
and  pursued  his  profession  in  that  State  for  a  few  years. 


NATHANIEL    SAWYER  85 

In  September,  1821,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Pamelia 
(Anderson)  Bacon  of  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  widow  of 
Colonel  Edmund  Bacon,  an  officer  in  the  war  of  1812. 
In  the  year  following  that  of  his  marriage  he  removed  to 
Chillicothe,  Ohio.  He  practised  law  there  until  the  spring 
of  1839,  when  he  settled  finally  in  Cincinnati.  Here  he 
continued  his  professional  practice  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  October  3,  1853. 

While  a  resident  of  Kentucky  his  practice  was  largely 
in  land  suits  and  claims.  He  was  often  employed  by  sol- 
diers to  obtain  land  patents  and  warrants  from  the  Gov- 
ernment. It  was  the  custom  in  those  days,  in  land-claims, 
for  the  lawyers  to  receive  portions  of  the  lands  for  fees 
upon  the  settlement  of  the  claims,  or  location  and  survey 
of  the  lands.  In  his  practice,  Mr.  Sawyer  thus  became 
the  owner  of  large  tracts  of  land  in  Central  Ohio,  and  in 
the  Virginia  Military  District  of  Southern  Ohio.  The 
central  Ohio  lands  ("oak  openings")  were  suitable  for 
agricultural  purposes,  and  also  well  adapted  to  grazing. 
Mr.  Sawyer  was  not  a  practical  farmer ;  and  in  those  days 
grazing  was  more  profitable  than  farming  for  the  non- 
resident owner.  For  this  reason,  he  engaged  in  sheep- 
raising,  and  at  one  time  had  a  flock  of  ten  thousand. 
These  being  subject  to  many  ailments,  and  the  price  of 
wool  often  being  very  unsatisfactory,  he  gradually  changed 
his  stock  to  mules.  The  market  was  the  West  Indies, 
and  for  some  time  the  business  was  profitable.  Gradually, 
however,  as  central  Ohio  was  settled,  these  lands  came 
more  and  more  into  demand  for  farming  purposes,  and  he 
let  his  lands  in  the  manner  usual  in  Ohio  in  that  dav. 
The  lands  in  southern  Ohio  were  sold  from  time  to  time, 
as  they  were  wanted  by  settlers. 

In  the  early  part  of  this  century  sales  of  land  were 
made  on  credit.  The  purchaser  took  a  title-bond,  paying 
down  a  small  sum,  and  agreeing  to  pay  a  further  moderate 
sum  annually  until  all  was  paid,  when  a  deed  would  be 


86  NATHANIEL    SAWYER 

executed.  These  contracts  often  ran  through  many  years. 
By  sickness  or  by  failure  of  crops,  not  infrequently  the 
settler  found  at  the  end  of  the  year  that  he  had  no  money 
to  pay  on  his  purchase ;  but  the  owner  was  indulgent  and 
waited.  The  land  was  being  improved,  and  the  land- 
owner was  safe  in  the  then  growing  "West. 

Of  Daniel  AVebster,  his  playmate  in  boyhood,  and  his 
early  school-fellow,  Mr.  Sawyer  was  a  warm  friend  and 
supporter.  They  kept  up  their  acquaintance  by  personal 
intercourse  and  correspondence.  With  Ezekiel  Webster, 
an  elder  brother  of  Daniel,  Mr.  Sawyer  also  frequently 
corresponded.  Much  of  this  correspondence  is  preserved 
and  highly  cherished  by  his  descendants.  With  other 
friends  of  Daniel  Webster,  Mr.  Sawyer  took  an  active 
part  in  getting  up  a  public  meeting  on  the  occasion  of 
the  decease  of  that  statesman,  when  an  oration  was  pro- 
nounced by  the  Hon.  Alphonso  Taft.  Of  Mr.  Webster's 
great  abilities  and  public  services,  Mr.  Sawyer  was  never 
weary  of  speaking.  He  dwelt  with  admiration  on  his 
most  noted  orations,  at  Bunker  Hill,  Faneuil  Hall,  and 
Plymouth  Rock,  and  his  efforts  at  the  Bar  and  in  the 
Senate.  At  such  times  one  could  see  how  dear  to  his 
heart  was  New  England,  —  her  people  and  her  traditions. 

He  never  lost  his  love  for  his  early  home,  which  he  fre- 
quently revisited.  He  ever  held  in  reverent  respect  the 
principles  and  teachings  of  the  Puritans.  Often  has  the 
writer  heard  him  rehearse  the  story  of  the  Mayflower, 
and  the  chief  events  connected  with  the  names  of  Myles 
Standish,  Massasoit,  and  other  conspicuous  characters  in 
early  New  England  history. 

Mr.  Sawyer  was  a  consistent  and  zealous  member  of 
the  Congregational  Church,  though  in  his  later  years  he 
became  connected  with  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
in  which  he  remained  till  his  death. 

In  politics  he  was  a  Whig,  and  an  ardent  "  Free-Soiler  "  ; 
but  he  was  always  temperate  and  considerate  of  the  opin- 
ions of  others. 


NATHANIEL    SAWYER  87 

There  was  for  many  years  in  Cincinnati  a  "  New  Eng- 
land Society."  It  held  its  meetings  on  the  anniversary  of 
the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  on  Plymouth  Rock.  On  these 
occasions  Mr.  Sawyer  took  special  delight  in  conversing 
about  the  "  fathers  "  ;  and  his  heart  glowed  with  love  and 
pride  as  he  described  with  admiration  their  sterling  worth, 
their  heroic  constancy  of  purpose,  and  their  sturdy  devo- 
tion to  their  principles.  In  his  view  they,  by  their  insti- 
tutions of  education  and  religion,  laid  the  basis  of  our 
liberties,  the  corner-stone  of  our  beneficent  system  of 
government. 

Mr.  Sawyer  was  noted  for  his  adherence  to  his  friends 
and  to  his  principles.  He  was  active  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Church  and  the  State ;  and  was  ever  found  on  the  side  of 
law  and  order,  —  a  zealous  supporter  of  every  work  tend- 
ing to  promote  the  welfare  of  society.  He  had  the  re- 
spect and  esteem  of  all.  His  manner  was  kind  and  gentle. 
A  shrewd,  cautious,  laborious  man,  with  an  aptitude  for 
business,  he  was  exact,  but  fair  and  honorable  in  all  his 
dealings.  His  word  was  good.  He  was  a  slow  man  con- 
stitutionally ;  and,  while  a  good  lawyer,  he  had  no  taste 
for  the  nisi  prhts  practice  of  the  courts,  and  preferred 
the  quieter  walks  of  the  profession,  in  which  by  dili- 
gence and  economy  he  became  wealthy. 

He  became  a  corresponding  member  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Historic  Genealogical  Society,  May  14,  1852. 

His  family  consisted  of  two  sons  and  two  daughters, 
namely,  Mrs.  H.  0.  Hotchkiss,  of  New  Haven  ;  D.  W.  C. 
Sawyer,  of  Columbus,  Ohio  ;  Mrs.  L.  C.  Chapin,  of  Kala- 
mazoo, Michigan ;  N.  I.  Sawyer,  M.  D.,  of  Frankfort, 
Kentucky,  —  all  still  living.  Mrs.  Sawyer,  his  widow,  yet 
survives,  and  is  a  resident  of  Cincinnati.  Though  in  her 
ninetieth  year,  she  is  in  good  health,  and  possesses  all  her 
faculties  unimpaired. 


JAMES   CUSHIITG   MEEEILL 


The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  the  North  Parish 
of  Haverhill,  in  the  county  of  Essex,  Massachusetts,  on 
the  27th  September,  1784.  He  was  a  son  of  the  Rev. 
Gyles  Merrill,  who  was  called  indiscriminately  the  minis- 
ter of  the  North  Parish  of  Haverhill,  and  of  Plaistow,  New 
Hampshire,  from  the  fact  that  when  the  boundary  line 
between  the  two  States,  which  had  been  in  dispute,  was 
finally  run,  it  separated  the  parsonage  from  the  meeting- 
house,—  the  former  remaining  in  Massachusetts,  while 
the  latter  was  transferred  to  the  jurisdiction  of  New 
Hampshire. 

The  Rev.  Gyles  Merrill  was  a  native  of  Salisbury,  Mas- 
sachusetts, where  he  was  born  March  23,  1739  (N.  S.). 
He  was  the  son  of  Moses  and  Sarah  Merrill,  who  were 
married  December  11,  1729,  by  the  Rev.  Caleb  Gushing 
of  that  town.  Moses  was  the  great-grandson  of  Nathaniel 
Merrill,  who  with  liis  brother  John,  were  among  the  ear- 
liest settlers  of  Newbury,  Massachusetts.  Nathaniel  died 
in  1655. 

The  Rev.  Gyles  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in 
the  year  1759,  in  the  class  of  which  Jonathan  Trumbull, 
Jr.,  Joseph  "Warren,  and  other  patriots  of  the  Revolution, 
were  members.  He  was  ordained  minister  of  the  North 
Parish  of  Haverhill,  March  6,  1765,  the  year  after  the 
death  of  his  predecessor,  the  Rev.  James  Cushing,  whose 
daughter,  Lucy,  became  his  wife. 

Rev.  James  Cushing,  the  maternal  grandfather  of  our 
subject,  and  from  whom  he  took  his  name,  was  also  a 


JAMES    GUSHING   MERRILL  89 

native  of  Salisbury,  where  he  was  born  November  25, 
1705.  He  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1725, 
and  ordained  minister  of  the  above-named  parish  Decem- 
ber 2,  1730,  in  which  sacred  relation  he  continued  until 
his  death.  May  13,  1764.  He  was  the  son  of  the  Eev. 
Caleb  Gushing  of  Salisbury,  who  was  born  in  1672,  and 
died  in  1752.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  the 
Rev.  Seaborn  Cotton,  of  Hampton.  He  was  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  the  class  of  1692.  The  Rev.  Caleb 
was  the  son  of  John,  who  came  over  in  1638  from 
Hingham,  Norfolk  County,  England,  in  company  with 
his  father,  Matthew,  from  whom  most  of  the  Cushings 
of  New  England  have  sprung,  and  who  was  born  in 
1588. 

The  Rev.  Gyles  Merrill  was  a  ripe  classical  scholar,  and 
is  spoken  of  as  a  man  of  marked  ability,  and  of  singular 
simplicity,  purity,  strength,  and  firmness  of  character. 
He  was  also  an  ardent  patriot,  and  a  man  of  great  public 
spirit.  Like  many  others  of  the  scholarly  ministers  of  that 
day,  he  was  resorted  to  by  young  men  preparing  for  col- 
lege. Among  them  may  be  mentioned  the  Rev.  Dr.  Asa 
Eaton,  of  Christ's  Church,  Boston.  Under  his  tuition, 
also,  his  sons,  James  Gushing  and  Samuel,  began  tHeir 
studies ;  and  it  may  be  presumed  that  they  imbibed  in  their 
earliest  years,  from  their  gifted  instructor,  that  love  for 
classical  learning  which  distinguished  them  both  during 
the  whole  of  their  subsequent  lives. 

Their  father  died  April  27,  1801,  and  the  two  young 
Merrills,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  and  fourteen  respectively, 
were  transferred  the  same  year  to  Phillips  Academy,  at 
Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  then,  and  for  many  years  before 
and  after,  under  the  charge  of  Benjamin  Abbot,  LL.D. 
Joseph  G.  Cogswell  and  Lucius  Manlius  Sargent  were 
members  of  the  same  class. 

From  the  academy  the  brothers  passed  directly  to  Har- 
vard College,  where  they  both  were  graduated  with  dis- 

12 


90  JAMES    GUSHING   MERRILL 

tiDguished  honor  in  the  class  of  1807.  James  Gushing 
Merrill  was  confessedly  the  best  Greek  scholar  in  his 
class,  and  his  brother  Samuel  enjoyed  a  similar  reputation 
as  a  Latin  scholar.  Forty-three  years  afterwards  James 
presented  to  the  library  of  Harvard  University  a  broad- 
side programme  of  the  exercises  of  his  graduation  day, 
from  which  it  appears  that  his  Commencement  exercise 
was  a  "  Forensic  Disputation "  with  Winthrop  Bailey, 
who  was  afterwards  a  minister,  and  a  tutor  at  Bowdoin 
College,  and  who  died  in  1835.  The  subject  discussed 
by  the  youthful  disputants  was,  "  Whether  a  state  of 
universal  and  perpetual  peace  would  be  beneficial  to 
the  world."  Copies  of  the  theses  were  also  deposited 
in  the  library. 

Yery  soon  after  his  graduation,  Mr.  Merrill  began  his 
legal  studies  in  the  office  of  the  Hon.  John  Yarnum,  of 
Haverhill,  where  he  spent  the  period  then  usually  allotted 
to  preparatory  reading,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
Essex  County,  at  the  September  term  of  the  Common 
Pleas,  in  1812  ;  and  shortly  after  opened  an  office  in  the 
city  of  Boston,  which,  from  that  time  to  the  end  of  his 
life,  was  the  scene  of  his  labors  and  his  successes. 

As  a  lawyer,  Mr.  Merrill  was  distinguished  for- fidelity 
to  his  clients,  and  for  honorable  and  fair  dealing  towards 
all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact  or  in  conflict.  His 
estimate  of  the  dignity  of  his  profession  was  high,  and  he 
believed  that  that  dignity  was  better  sustained  by  strict 
integrity  and  a  faithful  discharge  of  professional  duty 
than  by  those  artifices  which  are  the  resort  of  ignoble 
minds.  He  is  still  remembered  by  the  older  members  of 
the  Suffolk  bar  as  an  industrious,  careful,  and  conscien- 
tious lawyer,  whose  cases  were  always  well  studied  and 
thoroughly  prepared,  and  whose  bearing  in  court  was 
characterized  by  great  courtesy  and  fairness.  An  air  of 
scholarly  refinement  pervaded  him,  even  in  the  discharge 
of  the  routine  work  of  his  profession. 


JAMES    GUSHING   MERRILL  91 

His  fellow-citizens  of  Boston  testified  their  appreciation 
of  his  character  and  abilities  on  several  occasions.  In 
1827  he  was  elected  as  their  representative  in  the  General 
Court,  an  honor  which  was  repeated  in  1828  and  again  in 
1829.  In  1831,  1832,  and  1833  he  was  a  member  of  the 
State  Senate,  from  Suffolk  County.  In  both  of  these 
positions  he  won  the  respect  of  his  associates  by  his  steadi- 
ness and  devotion  to  business. 

In  1835  Mr.  Merrill  was  appointed  by  Governor  John 
Davis  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Police  Court  of  the  city  of 
Boston,  an  office  which  he  filled  to  the  entire  acceptance 
of  all  who  had  business  in  that  very  important  tribunal, 
and  with  great  credit  to  himself  during  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  remainder  of  his  life.  In  1852  declining  health  com- 
pelled him  to  resign  the  office  and  retire  to  private  life. 

Honored  and  respected  as  Judge  Merrill  was  in  the 
walks  of  his  profession  and  in  political  life,  it  was  as  a 
scholar  that  he  was  most  admired  by  those  who  knew 
him  best,  and  is  still  best  remembered.  The  ancient 
classics  were  his  chief  delight.  As  a  Greek  scholar  he 
had  few  equals  in  this  country.  He  read  with  avidity 
every  Greek  author  that  fell  in  his  way,  and  it  is  said  that 
the  library  of  Harvard  University  contained  few  Greek 
books  which  he  had  not  read.  When  wearied  with  office 
work,  or  perplexed  with  professional  or  official  cares,  he 
resorted  to  his  favorite  authors  for  relaxation  and  refresh- 
ment. He  was  also  a  devout  student  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, which  he  read  and  studied  daily,  and  from  which  he 
drew  both  pleasure  and  consolation. 

There  were  two  objects  which  were  especially  near  his 
heart,  upon  which  he  was  always  ready  to  bestow  his  time 
and  his  services,  and  to  which  he  clung  with  increasing 
fondness  to  the  end  of  his  life,  —  Harvard  College,  and 
St.  Paul's  Church,  Boston.  Of  the  latter  he  was  one  of 
the  original  members,  generally  an  officer,  and  one  of  its 
most  devoted  servants  and  supporters. 


92  JAMES    GUSHING   MERRILL 

In  1832  the  Corporation  of  Harvard  University  ap- 
pointed him  one  of  the  judges  of  the  dissertations  offered 
by  the  members  of  the  Senior  class  for  the  Bowdoin  prize. 
WiUiam  Minot,  Esq.,  and  Rev.  George  Ripley  were  his 
associates.  He  was  for  more  than  thirty  years  a  member 
of  the  examining  committee  in  Greek,  associated  with  such 
men  as  John  P.  Robinson,  Charles  F.  Adams,  Bela  B. 
Edwards,  Silas  Aiken,  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  George  S. 
Hillard,  and  others  eminent  for  character  and  scholar- 
ship. He  represented  the  Class  of  1807  on  the  commit- 
tee of  the  Alumni  of  Harvard  University,  on  the  occasion 
of  the  celebration  of  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of 
that  institution. 

Neither  did  he  forget  nor  was  he  forgotten  by  the 
humbler,  but  scarcely  less  honored  and  useful  school  at 
Exeter.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Alumni  of  the  academy, 
held  at  the  house  of  his  "Excellency  Governor  Everett, 
November  7,  1837,  to  consider  the  propriety  of  offering 
some  token  of  respect  to  Dr.  Abbot,  on  the  occasion  of 
his  intended  retirement  from  the  place  of  preceptor  of  the 
academy,  after  a  service  of  fifty  years,  Judge  Merrill  was 
one  of  the  committee  of  twelve  to  make  arrangements, 
and  report  to  a  subsequent  meeting.  The  other  members 
of  the  committee  were  William  Plumer,  George  Bancroft, 
Sidney  Brooks,  Jonathan  Chapman,  John  P.  Gushing, 
James  H.  Duncan,  Charles  Folsom,  Theodore  Lyman,  Jr., 
WilUam  B.  0.  Peabody,  John  P.  Robinson,  and  Leverett 
Saltonstall.  At  a  subsequent  meeting  the  name  of  George 
Lunt  was  substituted  for  that  of  John  P.  Gushing.  At  the 
adjourned  meeting,  held  May  22,  1838,  measures  were 
taken  for  procuring  a  portrait  of  Dr.  Abbot,  to  be  placed 
in  the  hall  of  the  academy,  and  it  was  voted  that  the 
Alumni  be  requested  to  assemble  in  Exeter  on  Thursday, 
23d  August,  in  order  to  testify  their  personal  respect  for 
Dr.  Abbot  on  his  retirement,  and  that  an  alumni  dinner 
be  provided  in  Exeter,  etc. 


JAMES    GUSHING   MERRILL     ■  93 

Mr.  Merrill  was  elected  a  member  of  the  American  An- 
tiquarian Society  (Worcester),  October  23,  1815,  and  in 
1821  he  was  appointed  "receiving  officer,"  and  was 
subsequently  elected  a  member  of  the  council  of  that 
society.  In  this  connection,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  he 
was  invited,  in  1837,  to  become  a  corresponding  mem- 
ber of  the  "  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquaries  at 
Copenhagen."  In  1820  he  was  chosen  at  the  anniversary 
meeting  of  4>.  B.  K.  one  of  the  committee  of  appointment 
to  select  the  orator,  poet,  and  chaplain  for  the  ensuing 
year,  and  in  the  same  month  and  year  (April,  1820)  he 
was  elected  a  resident  member  of  the  Massachusetts  His- 
torical Society.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Bunker 
Hill  Monument  Association,  and  on  May  18,  1847,  he 
was  admitted  a  member  of  the  New  England  Historic 
Genealogical  Society. 

In  1849  Judge  Merrill  was  invited  by  the  late  Judge 
Benjamin  R.  Curtis,  chairman,  to  aid  with  his  advice  the 
commissioners  appointed  by  the  governor  to  take  into 
consideration  whether  any  reform  could  be  usefully  made 
in  the  practice  and  pleadings  of  the  courts. 

These  memberships  and  appointments  show  the  respect 
and  esteem  in  which  Judge  Merrill  was  held  by  the  schol- 
ars and  professional  men  of  his  day,  and  afford  a  good  in- 
dex of  his  acquirements  and  the  tendencies  of  his  mind. 

On  the  28th  November,  1820,  Mr.  Merrill  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Anna,  daughter  of  Dr.  Nathaniel  Saltonstall, 
of  Haverhill,  Massachusetts.  She  was  born  November  3, 
1787,  and  died  October  17,  1865.  The  offspring  of  this 
union  were  four  in  number,  viz.,  James  Cushing,  Samuel 
Gyles,  Anna  Saltonstall,  and  Matilda  Elizabeth.  Oi  these 
James  Cushing  died  March  7,  1869,  aged  forty-six  years, 
leaving  one  son. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  bench  in  1852  Judge 
Merrill  devoted  his  leisure  time  for  the  remainder  of  his 
life  to  his  favorite  literary  and  classical  pursuits.     But  the 


94  JAMES    GUSHING   MERRILL 

time  was  not  long  —  if  not  too  short  for  him,  too  brief 
for  his  family  and  friends.  He  died  from  paralysis  on'the 
4th  October,  1853,  soon  after  having  completed  the  sixty- 
ninth  year  of  his  age.  His  funeral  was  announced  in  the 
"  Daily  Advertiser  "  of  the  6th  October,  to  take  place  the 
following  day  at  twelve  o'clock  from  Trinity  Church. 
The  remains  were  buried,  at  his  request,  in  his  native 
town  of  Haverhill,  Massachusetts.  The  "  Advertiser  " 
also,  of  October  22,  contains  a  short  obituary  notice,  taken 
from  the  Haverhill  "  Gazette." 

In  all  the  relations  of  life,  Mr.  Merrill  was  singularly 
happy,  fulfilling  the  duties  growing  out  of  them  faithfully 
and  acceptably.  As  a  professional  man  he  was  fair  and 
honorable  ;  as  a  magistrate,  impartial  and  just ;  as  a  citi- 
zen, public-spirited,  and  willing  to  bear  the  burdens  which 
citizenship  imposes ;  in  private  life,  as  a  husband  and 
father,  gentle,  affectionate,  and  loving ;  as  a  churchman, 
active,  jealous  of  the  honor  and  purity  of  the  body  of 
Christ,  devoted  to  the  church  of  his  choice,  and  yet  char- 
itable towards  all  who  profess  and  call  themselves  Chris- 
tians, —  sincere,  humble,  and  devout. 

To  perpetuate  the  memory  of  such  a  man  is  to  confer 
a  favor  upon  posterity. 


MAHLON     DICKERSOJSr 


Governor  Mahlon  Dickerson,  of  whose  name  it  has 
been  well  said  none  has  been  more  respected,  honored, 
and  distinguished  in  New  Jersey,  was  descended  from  the 
Puritan,  Philemon  Dickerson,  who  emiorrated  from  Eno-- 
land  early  in  the  history  of  the  Massachusetts  Colony, 
and  who  was  among  the  freemen  of  Salem  in  1638.  In 
1643  he  purchased  from  the  Indians  a  large  tract  of  land 
on  the  north  shore  of  Long  Island,  and  took  up  his  resi- 
dence at  Southold.  Here  he  died  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
four,  leaving  two  sons,  Thomas  and  Peter. 

Peter  Dickerson,  son  of  Thomas,  and  grandson  of  Phil- 
emon, came  to  Morris  County,  New  Jersey,  in  1741,  and 
October  20,  1745,  married  his  first  wife,  Euth  Coe, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Coe.  He  was  an  ardent  patriot,  and 
his  house  in  Morristown  was  from  the  beginning  of  the 
difficulties  with  Great  Britain,  a  gathering-place  for  those 
of  kindred  mind.  He  took  an  active  part  in  awakening 
and  organizing  the  opposition  to  the  acts  of  the  British 
Crown,  and  on  the  ninth  day  of  January,  1775,  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  "  Committee  of  Observation  "  for  Mor- 
ris County.  On  the  first  day  of  May  following  he  was 
elected  a  delegate  to  the  Provincial  Congress  which  met 
at  Trenton  the  same  month.  February  7,  1776,  he  was 
commissioned  captain  of  a  company  in  the  third  battalion 
of  the  First. Establishment,  and  on  the  29th  of  November 
following,  captain  of  a  company  in  the  third  battalion  of 


96  MAHLON  DICKEESON 

the  Second  Establishment.  Both  the  companies  he  com- 
manded were  equipped  at  his  private  expense,  and  the 
money  he  so  advanced  stands  to  his  credit  this  day  at 
Washington,  unpaid'.  He  died  May  10, 1780,  in  the  fifty- 
sixth  year  of  his  age.  He  had  eight  children  by  his  first 
wife,  one  of  whom,  Esther,  married  Colonel  Jacob  Drake, 
who  was  also  a  delegate  from  Morris  County  to  the  Pro- 
vincial Congress  of  1775,  and  who  was  colonel  of  the  west- 
ern regiment  of  New  Jersey  militia  until  he  resigned  to 
become  a  member  of  the  First  Assembly  of  New  Jersey. 

Jonathan  Dickerson,  the  second  child  and  oldest  son  of 
Peter,  was  bom  September  20,  1747  (0.  S.),  and  on  the 
12th  of  October,  1768,  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mary 
Coe,  daughter  of  Thomas  Coe,  by  Rev.  Dr.  Timothy 
Johnes.  Like  his  father,  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  the 
politics  of  his  county.  He  also  displayed  the  talent  for 
invention,  for  which  many  of  his  descendants  have  been 
distinguished.  The  eleventh  patent  issued  by  our  govern- 
ment, and  bearing  the  signature  of  Washington,  was 
granted  to  him  for  an  improved  water-wheel.  In  1783 
he  was  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  from  Morris 
County.  The  iron  mines  with  which  his  region  of  coun- 
try abounded,  and  which  have  added  so  much  to  its  wealth, 
were  then  little  regarded.  The  rich  ore-bed  now  known 
as  the  Dickerson  mine  was  originally  returned  by  the  pro- 
prietors of  West  Jersey  in  1715  to  John  Reading,  who  a 
year  or  two  afterwards  sold  it  to  Joseph  Kirkbride  for  a 
mere  trifle,  though  the  presence  of  the  mineral  was  so  well 
known  even  to  the  Indians  that  they  called  the  neigh- 
borhood "  Socosonna,"  which  meant  in  their  language 
"  heavy  stone,"  and  which  usage  has  changed  to  Succa- 
sunna.  Jonathan  Dickerson  seems  to  have  recognized  its 
value,  and  in  1779  we  find  deeds  to  him  from  some  of  the 
Kirkbride  heirs,  and  in  partnership  with  one  Minard  La 
Fevre  he  purchased  the  whole.  He  was  not,  however, 
successful  in  making  a  fortune  from  his  speculation,  and 


MAHLON   DICKERSON  97 

it  remained  for  his  son  Mahlon,  who  bought  the  property 
in  1807  from  the  heirs  of  his  father  and  La  Fevre,  to  de- 
velop its  wealth,  and  in  his  hands  it  yielded  a  handsome 
income,  which  made  its  owner  independent. 

Jonathan  Dickerson  died  November  7,  1805,  leaving 
six  children,  who  survived  him.  Mahlon,  the  oldest,  and 
the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Silas,  Mary  (afterwards  wife 
of  David  S.  Canfield),  Aaron,  John  B.,  and  Philemon. 
His  widow  survived  him  many  years,  and  died  March  1, 
1827.     She  was  buried  with  her  husband  at  Succasunna. 

Mahlon  Dickerson  was  born  at  a  place  called  Hanover 
Neck  in  Morris  County,  April  17,  1770.  He  probably 
fitted  for  college  at  Morristown,  which  at  that  time  pos- 
sessed a  classical  school.  In  the  manuscript  diary  of 
Joseph  Lewis,  a  wealthy  gentleman  of  Morristown,  and 
clerk  of  the  county,  is  this  entry :  "  1786,  Monday,  27th 
November,  Jonathan  Dickerson's  son  (Mahlon)  began  to 
board  at  7/-  per  week." 

In  1789  Mahlon  entered  the  American  Whig  Society  at 
Princeton,  and  graduated  the  same  year  from  the  College 
of  New  Jersey,  in  the  class  with  Dr.  David  Hosack.  He 
returned  to  Morristown,  and  engaged  in  the  study  of  the 
law,  and  November,  1793,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
New  Jersey.  In  the  following  year  he  accompanied  Cap- 
tain Kinney's  cavalry  company  in  the  expedition  sent  to 
Western  Pennsylvania  to  suppress  the  whiskey  rebellion, 
probably  as  an  unattached  volunteer,  as  his  name  does 
not  appear  in  the  list  of  that  command.  He  was  one  of 
Governor  Mifflin's  aids  during  the  expedition. 

During  the  years  1795  and  1796  he  was  in  active  prac- 
tice in  his  native  county,  his  name  frequently  appear- 
ing in  the  minutes  of  the  court.  In  the  record  of  a 
case  in  the  Common  Pleas,  July  term,  1797,  is  the 
quaint  entry  that  "  Mr.  Mahlon  Dickerson,  the  attorney 
for  the  above  plaintiff,  having  removed  to  foreign  parts, 
and  having  agreed  that  Alexander  C.  McWhorter  be  sub- 

13 


98  MARLON   DICKERSON 

stituted,  etc.,  the  court  ordered  the  substitution  to  be 
made."  "  The  foreign  parts  "  were  in  the  city  of  Philadel- 
phia, where  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Pennsylvania 
the  same  year,  and  where  he  entered  the  law  office  of  John 
Milnor,  afterwards  a  distinguished  clergyman  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church.  He  was  shortly  after  elected  one  of  the 
common  councilmen  of  Philadelphia,  and  in  1802  he  was 
appointed  by  President  Jefferson,  of  whom  he  was  a  de- 
voted admirer,  commissioner  of  bankruptcy.  January  1, 
1805,  Mr.  Dickerson  was  appointed  by  Governor  McKean 
adjutant-general  of  Pennsylvania.  His  name  also  ap- 
pears in  the  record  as  quartermaster-general.  The  title 
of  "  General "  adhered  to  him  through  life ;  and  even 
after  his  appointment  as  governor  it  was  the  one  most 
generally  given  to  him.  His  resignation  of  the  position 
of  adjutant-general  was  accepted  July  22,  1805,  and  he 
was  the  same  day  appointed  recorder  of  the  city  of  Phila- 
delphia. The  latter  office,  he  used  to  say,  was  more  con- 
genial to  his  tastes  than  any  of  the  higher  posts  he  was 
afterwards  called  to  fill.  He  resigned  it,  however,  Octo- 
ber 2,  1810,  to  return  to  Succasunna  to  develop  the  min- 
eral property  of  which  he  had  become  possessed. 

A  very  earnest  and  active  member  of  the  Republican 
party  then  in  the  ascendancy,  of  popular  manners  and 
sound  legal  attainments,  his  career  in  Philadelphia  was  a 
very  successful  one.  He  shared  his  prosperity  with  the 
other  members  of  his  family,  and  assisted  largely  in  the 
education  of  his  younger  brothers.  His  brother  Aaron  he 
enabled  to  graduate  at  Princeton  in  1804,  and  assisted 
him  in  establishing  himself  in  a  fair  practice  in  Philadel- 
phia as  a  physician.  The  daughter  of  Dr.  Aaron  Dicker- 
son  is  the  widow  of  the  late  Attorney-General  Vanatta  of 
New  Jersey.  His  brother  Silas  was  instantly  killed  Jan- 
uary 7,  1807,  at  Stanhope,  New  Jersey,  his  greatcoat 
catching  a  screw  in  a  rapidly  revolving  axle,  and  drawing 
him  into  some  machinery  for  making  nails  which  he  was 


MAHLON   DICKERSON  99 

having  erected.  Philemon,  the  youngest  brother,  after 
his  graduation,  studied  law  with  the  general  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  succeeded  him  as  judge  of  the  United  States 
District  Court  of  New  Jersey.  He  was  also  governor  of 
New  Jersey,  and  one  of  its  Congressmen.  His  son,  Ed- 
ward N.  Dickerson,  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  patent 
lawyers  of  New  York  City. 

Returning  to  New  Jersey,  General  Dickerson  was  not 
permitted  to  remain  in  private  life,  but  in  the  three  fol- 
lowing years,  1811, 1812,  and  1813,  he  was  as  many  times 
successively  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Assembly  from 
Morris  County.  The  legislature  of  1813  met  October 
26,  and  four  days  after  Hon.  William  S.  Pennington  re- 
signed his  position  as  third  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
and  Mr.  Dickerson  was  the  same  day  appointed  to  fill  the 
vacancy,  and  was  also  appointed  reporter  of  the  court. 
He  declined  the  latter  office,  however,  on  the  9th  of  Feb- 
ruary following.  At  a  joint  meeting  of  the  legislature  to 
elect  a  United  States  senator,  November  3,  1814,  his 
name  was  mentioned,  and  he  received  a  flattering  vote. 
No  choice  was  made  at  this  meeting,  and  at  the  next,  held 
in  February,  Mr.  Dickerson's  name  w^as  withdrawn,  and 
Hon.  James  J.  Wilson  w\as  elected.  At  the  joint  meeting 
held  October  26, 1815,  he  was  unanimously  elected  gover- 
nor of  New  Jersey,-  and  was  re-elected  to  that  high  office 
without  opposition  October  28,  1816. 

He  resigned  the  gubernatorial  chair  February  1,  1817, 
having  been  elected  on  the  23d*  of  the  previous  month 
United  States  senator  for  the  six  years  beginning  March 
4,  1817.  So  satisfactory  was  his  course  in  the  Senate  to 
the  people  of  his  State  that,  November  1,  1822,  he  was 
elected  his  own  successor  for  another  six  years  without 
opposition. 

His  term  of  office  expired  March  6, 1829.  His  previous 
election  had.  been  during  the  "era  of  good  feeling,"  but 
before  the  last  term  expired,  the  strife  between  Jackson, 


100  MAHLON  DICKERSON 

Clay,  Adams,  and  Crawford  had  begun.  He  had  allied 
himself  closely  to  the  cause  of  Old  Hickory,  and  the  legis- 
lature to  choose  his  successor  was  strongly  Whig.  At  the 
joint  meeting  which  assembled  January  30,  1829,  the  res- 
ignation of  Ephraim  Bateman,  the  other  senator  from 
New  Jersey,  was  sent  in  by  the  governor,  and  was  ac- 
cepted by  a  vote  of  only  twenty-nine  to  twenty-seven, 
those  voting  in  the  negative  being  mostly  Whigs.  The 
meeting  then  proceeded  first  to  elect  a  senator  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  this  resignation.  The  names  of  Theo- 
dore Frelinghuysen  and  Joseph  W.  Scott  were  brought 
forward,  but  withdrawn  with  the  understanding  that  they 
were  to  be  candidates  for  the  long  term. 

The  names  of  Samuel  L.  Southard,  William  B.  Ewing, 
William  N.  Jeffers,  Mahlon  Dickerson,  and  Garret  D. 
Wall,  were  mentioned  for  the  short  term.  The  Whigs, 
though  having  a  majority  of  the  meeting,  were  divided 
between  Southard,  the  popular  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
under  Adams,  and  Ewing,  the  chairman  of  the  meeting. 
Ten  calls  of  the  meeting  were  had  without  result.  Mr. 
Southard's  vote  varied  from  twenty  to  twenty-five,  and 
Mr.  Ewing's  from  eight  to  thirteen,  the  Democrats  voting 
for  Dickerson  and  Wall,  or  for  Dickerson  alone.  After 
the  tenth  ballot  Hon.  Stacy  G.  Potts  offered  the  following 
resolution  :  — 

^^  Resolved,  —  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  joint  meeting  the 
Honorable  Samuel  L.  Southard  is  not  an  inhabitant  of  the  State 
of  New  Jersey,  and  therefore  not  eligible  to  the  office  of  senator 
in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  under  the  third  article  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  that  his  name  be 
withdrawn  from  the  hst  of  nominations." 

For  this  resolution  all  the  Democrats  and  six  of  the 
Ewing  men  voted,  and  it  was  carried  by  a  vote  of  twenty- 
nine  to  twenty-six.  This  made  the  friends  of  Mr.  South- 
ard so  indignant  that  eight  of  them  cast  their  votes  for 
Mr.  Dickerson,  who  was  elected  on  the  next  ballot  but 


MAHLON   DICKERSON  101 

one,  by  a  vote  of  twenty-eight  for  him,  twenty-three  for 
Ewing,  and  two  for  Wall.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  chosen 
immediately  after  for  the  long  term  by  a  vote  of  thirty- 
five,  against  twenty-one  for  Mr.  Scott. 

In  the  organization  of  the  Senate  in  the  following  De- 
cember, Governor  Dickerson  was  made  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Manufactures,  a  position  he  was  eminently 
qualified  to  fill.  He  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  tariff, 
and  agreed  perfectly  with  the  President  in  protecting 
American  industry,  so  far  as  legislation  could  do  it.  Ex- 
amining the  proceedings  of  the  Senate  during  the  time 
he  was  a  member,  it  will  be  seen  that  that  subject  seldom 
failed  to  bring  him  to  his  feet.  All  or  nearly  all  his  pub- 
lished speeches  were  on  this  subject.  Though  not  as  bril- 
liant nor  as  eloquent  as  many  of  his  associates,  he  was 
scarcely  less  influential  in  legislation  through  the  familiar- 
ity with  his  subject  which  close  study  and  earnest  appli- 
cation gave  him. 

The  affection  of  his  constituency  in  New  Jersey  never 
wavered.  At  a  meetingr  of  the  Jackson  members  of  the 
legislature  in  April,  1832,  the  resolution  was  adopted, 
"  that  we  recommend  our  fellow-citizen  Mahlon  Dickerson 
as  a  suitable  candidate  to  be  supported  by  the  delegation 
of  New  Jersey  (for  Vice-President)  in  convention,  and 
that  they  be  requested  to  present  his  name  as  the  first 
choice  of  New  Jersey."  Nor  was  his  name  mentioned  by 
those  of  his  own  State  only.  The  Jackson  men  throughout 
the  country  favored  his  nomination  as  a  fit  successor  to 
Calhoun,  who  had  become  alienated  from  them.  At  this 
juncture  Mr.  Van  Buren's  rejection  as  minister  to  Eng- 
land by  the  Senate  made  his  vindication  seem  necessary 
to  his  party,  and  they  resolved  to  make  him  Vice-Presi- 
dent. Mr.  Dickerson  warmly  seconded  this  resolution, 
and  withdrew  his  own  name  from  the  canvass.  In  all  the 
political  struggles  of  the  day,  and  the  various  combinations 
of  parties  and  cliques  which  characterized  that  period,  he 


102  MAHLON   DICKERSON 

adhered  most  strenuously  to  the  principles  and  policy  of 
Jackson,  and  possessed  his  constant  friendship. 

His  term  as  United  States  senator  expired  in  March, 
1833,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  he  was  elected  by  the 
people  of  his  county  to  represent  them  in  the  legislative 
council  of  the  State. 

On  the  20th  of  May,  1834,  he  was  nominated  by  the 
President  as  minister  to  Russia,  and  the  appointment  was 
confirmed  by  the  Senate  on  the  26th.  It  is  said  he  was 
persuaded  by  Mr.  Van  Buren  to  decline  this  position  and 
remain  in  the  country  to  further  his  (Mr.  Van  Buren's) 
plans  for  the  presidency.  Let  this  be  as  it  may,  the  posi- 
tion was  declined,  and  the  President  shortly  after  sent  his 
name  to  the  Senate  as  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  succeed 
Mr.  "Woodbmry,  and  the  appointment  was  confirmed  by 
the  Senate  on  the  30th  of  June.  He  continued  to  occupy 
this  place  in  the  Cabinet  during  the  remaining  years  of 
Jackson's  term,  and  during  the  first  two  years  of  Mr. 
Van  Buren's.  He  resigned  his  seat  in  1838,  and  again 
retired  to  private  life. 

Shortly  after  his  appointment  occurred  the  difficulty 
in  Boston  harbor  in  regard  to  the  figure-head  of  Jackson 
upon  the  ship  Constitution.  The  wooden  effigy,  half 
sawn  in  two,  and  the  correspondence  in  relation  to  it,  are 
still  in  possession  of  the  governor's  family.  On  the  30th 
of  January,  1835,  when  crazy  Lawrence  attempted  to 
assassinate  Jackson  in  the  Capitol,  Dickerson  was  walk- 
ing with  him  in  the  procession  and  shared  his  danger. 
He  was  one  of  the  principal  witnesses  in  the  trial  which 
followed. 

In  September,  1840,  he  was  appointed  by  Mr.  Van 
Buren  judge  of  the  United  States  District  Court  for  the 
State  of  New  Jersey,  to  succeed  Judge  Rossel.  He  held 
the  office  but  about  six  months,  when  he  resigned  (in 
1841)  and  was  succeeded  by  his  younger  brother,  Phil- 
emon, who  held  the  position  many  years. 


MAHLON  DICKERSON  103 

In  1844,  when  the  Constitution  of  his  State,  framed 
amid  the  confusion  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  in  great 
haste,  had  proved  itself  ill  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the 
State,  Mr.  Dickerson  was  selected  by  the  citizens  of  Mor- 
ris County  to  represent  them  in  the  convention,  where 
his  judicial  training  and  practical  good  sense  made  him  a 
valuable  member. 

In  1846  and  1847  General  Dickerson  was  President  of 
the  American  Institute,  and  in  the  minutes  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  that  body,  October  5,  1846,  and  October  5, 
1847,  may  be  found  two  addresses  dehvered  bv  him  which 
are  characteristic.  The  reader  is  not  left  in  doubt  as  to 
what  the  speaker  thought  of  protection,  and  in  the  clos- 
ing sentence  of  one  he  speaks  of  free  trade  as  "  a  system 
as  visionary  and  impracticable  as  the  everlasting  and  uni- 
versal pacification  of  the  world." 

He  was  admitted  an  honorary  member  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Historic  Genealogical  Society  March  7,  1848. 

After  his  retirement  from  public  life  the  General  spent 
the  remainder  of  his  days  at  the  handsome  residence 
which  he  erected  about  1844,  near  his  mine,  amono-  the 
mountains  of  Randolph.  His  windows  commanded  a  view 
of  one  of  the  finest  sections  of  his  State,  and  his  large  pri- 
vate library  afforded  him  constant  recreation  when  his 
business  gave  him  leisure.  On  his  garden  and  grounds 
about  his  house  he  lavished  much  time  and  money, 
planting  trees  and  shrubs  in  every  variety  attainable. 
He  was  never  married,  but  made  his  home  with  his 
nephew,  Mr.  Frederick  Canfield,  whose  tastes  for  the 
natural  sciences  were  akin  to  his  own,  and  whose  inter- 
esting family  made  his  last  years  comfortable  and  happy. 

He  died  at  his  home  October  5,  1853  ;  the  immediate 
cause  of  his  death  being  a  heavy  cold.  It  was  really  the 
general  breaking  up  of  the  system  by  reason  of  old  age, 
hastened  perhaps  by  a  stroke  of  paralysis,  which  came 
upon  him  the  year  before.     He  was  buried  in  the  church- 


104  MAHLON  DICKERSON 

yard  on  Succasunna  Plains,  where  a  plain  monument  marks 
his  grave,  bearing  this  inscription  :  — 

MAHLON  DICKERSON 

SON   OP 

JONATHAN    AND    MART   DICKERSON, 

BORN   APRIL    17,    1770. 

DIED    OCTOBER    5,    1853. 

HIS     BIOGRAPHY   IS    WRITTEN   IN    THE     LEGISLATIVE,    EXECUTIVE,    AND 

JUDICIAL    RECORDS    OF    HIS    COUNTRY. 

"'MARK    THE     PERFECT    MAN    AND    BEHOLD     THE     UPRIGHT :     FOR     THE 

END    OF   THAT   MAN   IS    PEACE." 

General  Dickerson  was  of  fine  personal  appearance, 
standing  six  feet  two  inches  high,  and  showing  the  posses- 
sion of  a  sound,  rugged  constitution.  He  was  a  hard  stu- 
dent, devoting  himself  assiduously  to  the  mastery  of  every 
subject  he  had  to  deal  with.  Notwithstanding  the  time 
taken  by  his  business,  public  and  private,  he  found  oppor- 
tunity to  master  several  languages,  and  attain  distinction 
as  a  botanist.  He  was  eccentric  in  some  respects,  and 
regardless  of  his  personal  appearance.  A  little  incident 
illustrative  of  this  trait,  as  well  as  of  his  care  for  others,  is 
worth  relating.  While  living  in  Philadelphia  a  tailor 
brought  to  him  a  pair  of  pantaloons,  which,  by  a  mistake 
in  the  measure,  proved  entirely  too  short.  He  was  unwill- 
ing to  throw  them  on  the  hands  of  the  luckless  tradesman, 
but  had  them  pieced  out  at  the  bottom,  and  wore  them  so. 

He  was  a  man  of  the  highest  integrity,  having  the  very 
spirit  of  honesty.  At  one  time  he  paid  his  men  in  the 
bills  of  a  bank  which  shortly  after  suspended,  and  before 
the  men  had  used  their  money.  He  at  once  called  in  the 
worthless  currency,  redeemed  it  with  good,  and  stood  the 
loss  himself.  At  another  time  he  paid  a  workman  a  trifle 
less  than  was  due  him,  but  the  man,  supposing  he  had 
been  overpaid,  quietly  left  the  neighborhood  with  what  he 
supposed  his  employer's  money.  The  General,  discover- 
ing his  own  mistake,  pursued  the  man  on  horseback  for 


MAHLON   DICKERSON  105 

several  miles,  and  until  he  overtook  him.  Here  he  lec- 
tured him  on  his  dishonest  purpose,  and  then  paid  him  the 
trifle  still  due  him.  He  was  not  a  professor  of  religion, 
but  respected  those  whose  piety  he  believed  to  be  sincere. 
It  is  said  on  one  occasion,  when  some  persons  at  his  table 
were  speaking  slightingly  of  religion,  and  lightly  of  the 
inconsistencies  of  religious  people,  he  called  their  atten- 
tion to  an  excellent  lady  known  to  them  all,  the  widow  of 
his  "brother  Silas,  with  the  remark  that  there  was  one 
person  at  least  whose  piety  was  unquestioned.  The  re- 
mark was  so  just  that  it  concluded  the  talk  on  that 
subject. 

None  of  the  decisions  rendered  by  him  while  on  the 
Supreme  Court  bench  of  New  Jersey  are  found  in  the 
reports,  there  being  very  few  cases  of  any  kind  reported 
at  that  time.  He  no  doubt  contributed  to  the  newspapers 
of  the  day ;  but  besides  these  and  his  reported  speeches 
while  in  the  Senate,  he  left  no  published  work  behind 
him. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  obituary  notices  were  pub- 
lished in  many  of  the  State  papers,  perhaps  the  best  in  the 
Trenton  "  True  American  "  and  the  Newark  "  Daily  Adver- 
tiser." Short  sketches  of  his  life  may  be  found  in  "  The 
Biographical  Encyclopedia  of  New  Jersey,"  in  Drake's 
Biographical  Dictionary,  and  in  several  other  compen- 
diums  of  biography.  Several  excellent  portraits  have 
been  preserved  of  him  in  the  Dickerson  family,  and  a 
small  engraving  has  been  taken  from  one  of  them. 

Sincere  in  his  professions  and  unyielding  in  his  convic- 
tions of  right,  generous  and  faithful  in  his  friendships,  and 
consistent  in  his  political  faith,  his  unbroken  popularity 
for  so  many  years  with  the  people  he  represented  can 
easily  be  accounted  for.  Few  lives  present  so  constant  a 
succession  of  political  services,  and  seldom  have  pohtical 

honors  been  more  worthily  bestowed. 

14 


SIMOIT    GEEENLEAE 


The  Greenleaf  family  traces  its  origin  to  Edmund 
Greenleaf,  who  removed  with  his  family  from  Brixham, 
Devonshire  County,  England,  to  Newbury,  Massachusetts, 
about  the  year  1635. 

Simon  Greenleaf,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in 
Newburyport,  December  5,  1783,  of  Captain  Moses  and 
Lydia  (Parsons)  Greenleaf.  His  grandfather,  the  Honorable 
Jonathan  Greenleaf,  was  a  prominent  actor  in  the  stirring 
scenes  of  that  period,  and  was  for  successive  years  member 
of  the  Provincial  Congress  and  the  Provincial  Legislature, 
and  also  of  the  Governor's  Council. 

Moses,  father  of  Simon,  entering  the  army  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one,  as  lieutenant  in  the  first  company  raised  at 
Newburyport,  and  being  afterwards  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  captain,  remained  in  the  service  nearly  to  the  end  of 
the  war,  and  afterwards  removed  with  his  family  to  the 
town  of  New  Gloucester,  Maine,  where  the  remainder  of 
his  life  was  spent  in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  married, 
September  16,  1776,  Lydia,  the  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Jon- 
athan Parsons,  the  pastor,  for  many  years,  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Newburyport. 

Simon  having  determined  upon  the  study  of  the 
law,  entered  the  office  of  the  Honorable  Ezekiel  Whit- 
man, of  New  Gloucester,  afterwards  Chief  Justice  of 
Maine.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Cumberland 
County  in  the  year  1806.     The  same  year  he  was  married 


SIMON    GREENLEAF  107 

to  Hannah,  daughter  of  Captain  Ezra  Kingman,  of  Bridge- 
water,  Massachusetts.  He  commenced  the  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Standish,  Maine,  but  after  a  year's  residence 
at  that  place,  established  himself  in  Gray.  This  was  his 
home  until  the  year  1818,  when,  his  business  having  be- 
come widely  extended,  he  removed  to  Portland,  where,  to 
quote  the  language  of  the  Honorable  William  Willis,  in 
his  history  of  the  Courts  and  Lawyers  of  Maine,  "  he 
took  rank  among  the  foremost  at  the  bar,  and  by  his  win- 
ning manners  and  persuasive  style  of  speaking  and 
address,  accompanied  by  the  skill  and  ingenuity  of  his 
arguments,  established  his  reputation  on  a  firm  basis." 

In  the  act  of  the  new  State  of  Maine,  establishing  the 
Supreme  Judicial  Court,  passed  June  24,  1820,  the  Gov- 
ernor and  Council  are  required  "  to  appoint  some  person 
learned  in  the  law  to  be  a  reporter  of  the  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court."  Mr.  Greenleaf  was  appointed  to  this 
office,  and  continued  in  it  for  twelve  years.  His  reports, 
which  extend  from  the  August  term  of  the  year  1820, 
through  the  July  term  of  1832,  are  deservedly  con- 
sidered among  the  most  valuable  of  American  Eeports, 
and  are  received  as  standards  of  authority  throughout 
the  Union. 

The  next  year  he  was  appointed  Royall  Professor  of 
Law  in  the  Law  School  of  Harvard  Universitv,  becom- 
ing  in  this  office  the  colleague  of  Judge  Story.  Professor 
Parsons,  in  a  eulogy  delivered  soon  after  Professor  Green- 
leaf's  death,  thus  speaks  of  the  two  men  :  "  Judge  Story 
and  Professor  Greenleaf  worked  together  harmoniously 
and  successfully,  and  perhaps  the  more  harmoniously  be- 
cause they  were  so  entirely  different.  With  much  in 
common,  for  they  were  both  able,  learned,  and  of  the  most 
devoted  industry,  there  were  other  traits  that  belonged  to 
one  or  the  other  of  them  exclusivelv.  Greenleaf  was  sin- 
gularly  calm,  finding  strength  in  his  very  stillness  ;  always 
cautious,  and  therefore  always  exact.  Story  was  as  vivid  and 


108  SIMON    GREENLEAF 

impulsive  as  man  could  be.  His  words  flowed  like  a  flood, 
but  it  was  because  his  emotions  and  his  thoughts  demanded 
a  flood  as  their  exponent.  And  Story's  manner  was  most 
peculiar.  Everybody  listened  when  he  spoke,  for  he  car- 
ried one  away  with  the  irresistible  attraction  of  his  own 
swift  motion ;  and  Greenleaf,  somewhat  slow  and  measured 
in  his  enunciation,  by  the  charm  of  his  silver  voice,  the 
singular  felicity  of  his  expressions,  and  the  smooth  flow  of 
his  untroubled  stream  of  thought,  caught  and  held  the 
attention  of  every  listener  as  few  men  can."  The  testi- 
mony was  strong  and  uniform  to  the  very  able  and  satis- 
factory manner  in  which  he  discharged  his  duties  in  the 
professorship.  The  growth  of  the  school,  its  widespread 
reputation,  and  the  voices  of  numerous  pupils  from  all  parts 
of  the  country,  who  came  under  his  guidance  and  instruc- 
tion, all  bear  unanimous  witness  to  his  successful  work.  In 
1846,  by  the  death  of  Judge  Story,  the  whole  responsibility 
of  the  management  of  the  school,  as  well  as  the  duties  of 
an  additional  professorship,  were  devolved  upon  Professor 
Greenleaf,  and  were  cheerfully  fulfilled  for  two  years ;  but  in 
1848,  his  failing  health  becoming  unequal  to  the  excessive 
labor,  he  resigned  his  position. 

During  his  connection  with  the  Law  School,  Professor 
Greenleaf  published  his  celebrated  treatise  on  "  The  Law 
of  Evidence,"  "  in  which,"  as  Professor  Parsons  observes,  ] 

"we  find  the  best  proof  of  his  industry,  his  learning, 
and  his  sagacity."  Adopted  at  once  on  its  appearance 
by  the  profession  as  a  standard  authority,  it  has  con- 
tinued to  grow  in  public  favor,  raising  its  author  to  the 
rank  of  Kent  and  Story  and  the  most  eminent  jurists  and 
juridical  writers. 

The  year  following  his  retirement  from  the  Law  School, 
Mr.  Greenleaf  was  appointed  one  of  the  Judges  of  the 
Supreme  Judicial  Court  of  Massachusetts,  but  declined 
the  appointment.  He  continued,  however,  actively  en- 
gaged   in   professional    practice,    especially   the   literary 


SIMON   GREENLEAF  109 

labors  connected  with  his  works,  until  his  sudden  death, 
October  6,  1853,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years,  lacking  a 
few  weeks. 

The  honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  was  conferred 
upon  him  by  Bowdoin  College,  in  1817,  and  that  of  Doctor 
of  Laws  by  Harvard  University  in  1834,  and  the  title  of 
Emeritus  Professor  in  1852.  He  received  also  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Amherst  College  in  1845,  and  the 
same  from  the  College  of  Alabama  in  1852. 

Mrs.  Greenleaf  died  on  the  13th  of  January,  1857.  Of 
their  children  who  lived  beyond  childhood,  Patrick  H.  was 
born  July  11,  1807,  died  June  21,  1869;  Charlotte  King- 
man was  born  December  25,  1809,  and  is  still  living; 
James  was  born  June  15,  1814,  died  August  22,  1865; 
Caroline  Augusta  was  born  September  16,  1826,  died 
November  8,  1878. 

Other  works  of  Mr.  Greenleaf,  besides  three  volumes  of 
the  "  Law  of  Evidence, "  which  were  published  successively 
in  1842,  1846,  and  1852,  are  the  edition  of  Cruise's 
"  Digest  of  the  Law  of  Real  Property,  with  Notes,  "  1850 ; 
"  The  Examination  of  the  Testimony  of  the  Four  Evange- 
lists by  the  Rules  of  Evidence  as  administered  in  Courts  of 
Justice, "  1846 ;  and  a  "Collection  of  Cases  Overruled, 
Doubted,  or  Denied." 

He  was  for  several  years  the  President  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Bible  Society,  and  was  largely  interested,  as  were 
others  of  that  day,  in  the  establishment  of  African  coloni- 
zation, and  at  the  request  of  its  friends,  he  prepared  the 
original  constitution  adopted  by  the  infant  colony  of 
Liberia.  In  1830,  while  residing  in  Portland,  Maine,  he 
was  elected  a  resident  member  of  the  Maine  Historical 
Society;  and  on  the  23rd  of  Novem-ber,  1837,  after  his 
removal  to  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  he  was  chosen  a 
resident  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 
He  became  a  resident  member  of  the  New  England  His- 
toric Genealogical  Society,  December  1,  1847. 


110  SIMON   GKEENLEAP 

In  a  communication  to  the  Cambridge  paper  at  the  time 
of  Mr.  Greenleaf's  decease,  some  of  his  personal  traits  are 
thus  described :  "  As  a  man,  he  possessed  a  weight  of 
character  which  insured  for  him  the  esteem  of  all  who  en- 
joyed his  society  or  came  within  the  circle  of  his  influence. 
Affable,  poUte,  courteous,  frank,  liberal-minded,  he  secured 
the  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens  and  neighbors,  who 
will  sincerely  mourn  his  loss,  as  that  of  a  good  man.  Com- 
bined with  varied  and  -learned  attainments,  he  possessed 
great  simplicity  of  character,  which  seemed  to  set  off,  as  if 
in  bold  rehef,  those  characteristics  for  which  he  was  so 
truly' distinguished.  To  all  other  attainments  were  added 
those  of  a  mind  eminently  benevolent  and  devout ;  and 
while  scrupulously  exact  in  all  his  relations  with  his  fellow- 
men,  he  was  not  unmindful  of  his  relations  to  God.  His 
benevolence  was  of  an  active  kind,  and  he  took  a  lively 
interest  in  many  of  the  b-enevolent  institutions  and  asso- 
ciations of  the  day.  Devoted  as  he  was  to  the  duties  of 
his  profession,  he  felt  he  had  deeper  interests  in  the  moral 
wants  of  humanity,  and  his  name  will  long  be  identified 
with  many  noble  plans  for  the  benefit  and  improvement  of 
the  race." 

This  brief  sketch  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Greenleaf  may  be 
most  appropriately  closed  by  the  following  testimonial  from 
his  associates  and  friends  of  the  bar  of  Suffolk  County :  — 

"  The  members  of  the  Suffolk  Bar  held  a  meeting  in  the  Law 
Library  room,  Saturday,  to  manifest  proper  respect  for  the 
memory  of  Simon  Greenleaf,  LL.  D.  The  venerable  ex- Judge 
Wilde,  late  of  the  Supreme  Court,  presided,  and  George  Bemis, 
Esquire,  was  appointed  Secretary. 

"  Judge  Wilde  pronounced  a  glowing  eulogy  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  deceased,  his  learning  and  hi-s  virtues.  Eloquent 
addresses  were  further  made  by  Charles  G.  Loring,  Esquire, 
George  T.  Curtis,  Esquire,  and  Sidney  Bartlett,  Esquire.  Mr. 
Loring  offered  the  following  resolutions. 

"  Resolved,  That  while,  in  the  death  of  Professor  Greenleaf,  we 
lament  the  loss  of  a  professional  brother,  we  are  aware  that,  as 


SIMON    GREEXLEAF  111 

members  of  the  bar  of  this  city,  we  have  but  a  small  part  in  so 
great  a  name  as  his.  But  we  shall  remember  with  pride  that  his 
name  is  upon  our  roll,  and  that  he  was  our  venerated  associate 
and  friend. 

^'■Resolved,  That  as  Americans  we  owe  to  him  a  debt  of  grati- 
tu'de ;  for  he  has,  by  his  science  and  erudition,  illustrated  the 
judicial  literature  of  his  country  at  home  and  abroad,  and  added 
another  American  name,  with  those  of  Story,  Kent,  and  Wheaton, 
to  the  great  legal  authors  of  Christendom. 

'''-Resolved,  That  by  his  laborious,  genial,  and  successful  services 
as  teacher  of  the  law  in  the  School  at  Cambridge,  he  has  de- 
served the  gratitude  of  his  country ;  for  there  he  has,  through 
many  years,  assisted  in  the  training  up  of  the  youth  of  America, 
drawn  thither  from  every  State  by  his  fame  and  that  of  his  as- 
sociates, in  the  principles  of  jurisprudence,  in  elevated  views  of 
professional  conduct,  to  exemplify  and  diffuse  them  in  all  parts 
of  our  land. 

"  Resolved,  That  while  we  remember  with  a  melancholy  pleasure 
the  peculiar  grace  and  dignity  of  voice,  person,  and  manner  that 
marked  our  deceased  brother,  we  reflect  with  unmixed  satisfac- 
tion upon  the  knowledge  that  these  were  but  the  signs  of  a 
purity  and  grace  within,  of  a  religious  discipline  of  many  years, 
and  of  no  common  vigor,  which  made  his  sudden  death  one  from 
which  he  needed  no  prayer  for  deliverance. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the. 
family  of  the  deceased,  as  an  a.ssurance  of  the  sympathy  in  their 
bereavement. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Honorable  Richard  Fletcher  be  requested 
to  present  these  resolutions  to  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  now 
in  session  in  this  county,  and  request  that  the  same  be  entered 
on  its  records. 

"  The  meeting  then  adjourned  to  the  Supreme  Court,  where  Mr. 
Fletcher  delivered  a  most  eloquent  and  feeling  eulogy  upon  the 
life  and  character  of  Professor  Greenleaf,  having  occupied  up- 
wards of  an  hour  in  the  same.  After  a  glancing  biography, 
the  speaker  alluded  particularly  to  the  fact  that  he  had  attained 
his  high  position  by  his  own  efforts,  unaided  by  collegiate  edu- 
cation, —  an  exemplification  of  the  fact  that  to  a  young  man  of 
noble  aspirations  poverty  is  the  best  inheritance,  —  to  his  pro- 
fessional urbanity  and  courtesy,  to  his  legal  publications,  which 


112  SIMON   GREENLEAP 

have  given  him  a  European  reputation,  and  lastly  to  his  ardent 
participation  in  many  of  the  benevolent  works  of  his  age,  aU  of 
which,  he  said  in  closing,  were  reasons  why  they  should  cherish 
his  memory  and  profit  by  his  example. 

"  Judge  Bigelow  responded  in  a  feeling  and  eloquent  manner, 
and  concluded  by  ordering  the  resolutions  to  be  placed  on 
file,  and  adjourned  the  Court." 


H 


CHARLES     EWER 


The  design  of  this  series  of  volumes  being  to  preserve, 
and  perpetuate  to  coming  generations  memorials  of  the 
members  of  the  New  Eno-land  Historic  Genealog-ical 
Society,  who  have  fulfilled  their  part  and  passed  from 
the  stage  of  action,  it  is  eminently  fitting  that  more 
space  than  usual  should  be  given,  in  this  work,  to  one 
whose  name  stands  at  the  head  of  its  list  of  members ; 
one  to  whom,  more  than  any  other,  belongs  the  credit 
of  having  originated  the  Society ;  and  who  received  this 
honorable  testimony  from  his  associates  in  the  work,  being 
honored  with  its  first  Presidency,  and  continued  in  that 
office  during  the  first  five  years  of  its  vigorous  but  strug- 
gling infancy.  The  various  and  laborious  services  which 
Mr.  Ewer  performed  in  bringing  this  organization  into 
being,  the  faith  and  foresight  of  its  utility  and  success  — 
so  characteristic  of  all  his  undertakings  —  which  ani- 
mated him  in  the  endeavor,  the  pecuniary  responsibilities 
which  he  assumed,  and  the  influence  he  exerted  to  this 
end,  justly  entitle  him  to  the  honor  of  being  its  principal 
founder,  accorded  to  him  by  his  few  associates  in  the 
design  who  have  survived  him  to  witness  the  full  devel- 
opment, maturity,  and  enlargement  of  the  institution,  in 
each  of  the  several  'departments  of  usefulness  compre- 
hended in  the  original  plan. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Ewer,  amid  the  manifold 
and  engrossing  occupations  of  his  life,  ever  more  mindful 

15 


114  CHARLES   EWER 

of  others  than  of  himself,  had  not  taken  pains  to  commit 
to  paper  full  genealogical  and  biographical  data,  from 
which  a  complete  and  connected  memoir  of  his  life  could 
be  written.  To  supply  this  deficiency  in  some  measure, 
one  of  his  two  sisters,  with  whom  he  had  lived  unmarried 
until  his  death,  and  who  themselves  have  both  more  re- 
cently deceased,  compiled  from  such  memoranda  and 
recollections  as  they  could  bring  to  the  grateful  duty  a 
succinct  account  of  their  departed  brother,  and  placed  the 
same  on  deposit  among  the  archives  of  this  Society.  It 
is  meet  that  this  spontaneous  yet  modest  tribute  of  affec- 
tion, more  accurate  and  authentic  than  anything  in  the 
same  compass  which  could  now  be  produced  from  other 
sources,  should  be  presented  here  entire,  and  should  con- 
stitute the  nucleus,  as  it  necessarily  must,  of  whatever 
memorials  of  its  honored  subject  may  be  added  to  it. 

Biographical  Sketch,  by  Miss   Charlotte  Ewer. 

Charles  Ewer,  the  third  son  of  Captain  Silas  and  Anna  A. 
Ewer,  was  born  in  Boston,  September  4,  1790.  His  parents 
originated  from  very  respectable  and  pious  ancestors.  His  father 
followed  the  sea  and  was  regularly  brought  up  to  that  profession, 
and  commenced  as  a  cabin  boy  till  he  rose  to  be  captain.  He 
sailed  out  of  Boston  many  years  in  the  employ  of  some  of  the 
first  merchants.  John  Coffin  Jones  and  William  Smith  were 
two  of  them.  In  1790  he  and  David  Hinckley  bought  a  ship 
together  called  the  Fair  Lady.  By  this  purchase  he  lost  his 
property. 

The  care  of  Charles's  education  during  his  childhood  devolved 
chiefly  upon  his  mother,  as  his  father's  occupation  permitted 
him  to  be  at  home  but  seldom.  He  was  brought  up  very  ten- 
derly by  her,  as  he  was  very  delicate  and  could  not  bear  expos- 
ure to  bad  weather,  a  trial  which  he  always  felt  during  his 
life.  He  was  intellectually  a  very  superior  child,  but  his  physi- 
cal powers  were  not  equal  to  his  mental.  It  was  thought  by  his 
friends  that  he  was  sanctified  from  his  birth,  as  he  was  always 
fond  of  serious  books,  and,  I  believe,  few  were  better  read  in,  or 


CHARLES   EWER  115 

understood  the  Bible  than  he.  He  was  brought  up  at  the  Old 
South  Church,  but  he  did  not  believe  in  the  Calvinistic  doc- 
trine taught  there.  He  never  joined,  any  church ;  but  he 
thought  the  Unitarian  belief  the  most  rational,  and  therefore 
for  many  years  attended  their  meetings.  He  liked  to  hear  all 
denominations,  and  -when  a  boy  spent  his  evenings  at  different 
lectures,  and  could  repeat  from  memory  a  great  part  of  what 
he  had  heard.  He  could  imitate  the  voices  and  manner  of  most 
of  the  ministers  in  Boston,  viz. :  Eckley,  Stillman,  Baldwin, 
Cooper,  Buckrainster,  Channing,  Murray,  etc.  He  was  very 
witty,  but  thought  it  best  to  suppress  his  wit,  as  he  might 
wound  some  one's  feelings  when  he  had  no  intention  of  doing 
so.  He  was  a  true  republican,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
religious  and  political  subjects,  and  could,  when  quite  young, 
converse  with  gentlemen  who  visited  at  the  house,  to  the  con- 
founding of  those  who  opposed  him.  From  the  age  of  seven 
to  fourteen  he  attended  the  public  schools  in  Boston,  and  at  the 
age  of  fourteen,  which  closed  the  term  that  was  allowed  for 
education  there,  he  received  the  Franklin  Medal  for  writing  at 
the  Hawkins  Street  school.  He  not  only  excelled  in  writing 
but  also  in  arithmetic. 

He  left  school  and  was  apprenticed  to  Trott  &  Bumstead, 
retail  dealers  in  English  dry  goods,  on  Comhill,  now  Wash- 
ington Street.  He  stayed  with  them  but  a  short  time,  as  an 
opportunity  occurred  to  enter  the  wholesale  store  of  Pratt 
&  Andrews,  which  suited  him  better.  Here  he  remained  till 
he  was  twenty-one.  The  war  commencing  in  1812,  and  there 
being  no  prospect  of  doing  anything  in  the  English-goods 
line,  he  was  induced  to  accept  of  an  offer  from  Mr.  Benjamin 
Andrews,  brother  to  his  master,  to  superintend  a  wire  manu- 
factory at  Newton  Lower  Falls,  where  he  remained  two  years, 
and  then  returned  to  Boston.  Peace  being  proclaimed  shortly 
after,  Mr.  Isaiah  Thomas,  Jr.,  having  a  bookstore  at  New- 
buryport,  was  desirous  that  he  should  go  there  and  sell  the 
books  for  him,  or  take  the  store  on  his  own  account,  as 
he  did.  But  business  being  in  a  depressed  state,  he  removed 
to  Portsmouth,  where  he  continued  for  a  short  time.  His 
mother  dying  in  1816,  determined  him  to  return  to  Boston, 
where  he  had  two  sisters  who  needed  his  assistance.  Here 
he  opened    a   bookstore  at  No.  51,  Comhill,  now  Washington 


* 


1 


116  CHARLES    EWER 

Street,  where  he  did  business  a  number  of  years,  and  published 
many  books ;  Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans  was  the  first  one. 
He  was  pretty  successful  in  the  book  business,  and  accumulated 
from  ten  to  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  In  1820,  in  connection 
with  Mr.  Timothy  Bedlington,  he  purchased  the  stock  of  books 
belonging  to  the  firm  of  Thomas  &  Andrews  amounting  to  seven- 
teen thousand  dollars ;  but  in  disposing  of  them  he  was  not  so 
successful  as  he  expected  to  be,  and  became  involved  in  debt 
from  which  he  was  desirous  to  free  himself ;  and,  as  he  had 
purchased  a  house  on  Washington  Street,  of  Peter  C.  Brooks, 
he  thought  it  would  be  a  great  improvement  to  the  city  to 
remove  that  and  all  the  old  buildings  surrounding  it,  and  to 
put  up  new,  which  he  did,  —  eight  stone  stores  and  houses 
on  Washington  Street,  and  fourteen  on  Avon  Place.  But  his 
labor  proved  unprofitable,  for  instead  of  getting  any  remunera- 
tion for  his  trouble,  this  undertaking  left  him  more  in  debt, 
and  finally  caused  his  failure  in  1829.  He  was  an  upright  and 
conscientious  man,  and  considered  his  word  as  his  bond ;  and 
if  those  he  had  dealings  with  had  been  like  him,  instead  of 
losing  he  would  have  had  enough  to  pay  his  debts,  and  had 
something  left. 

He  was  liberal  in  all  his  views,  political  and  social,  and  always 
acted  for  the  good  of  his  country  and  society.  Few  men  with 
his  small  means,  supporting  others  besides  himself,  did  more 
for  the  city  of  Boston  than  he,  not  thinking  of  himself,  but  the 
good  of  others.  He  labored  and  spent  his  money  to  reform 
many  abuses  of  a  political  nature.  He  was  one  of  those  who  got 
up  the  Middling  Interest  Society ;  and  twice  by  his  exertions 
he  assisted  the  elections  of  Republicans  as  Governors  of  Massa- 
chusetts, viz. :  Eustis  and  Morton.  Governor  Morton  conferred 
on  him  the  commissions  of  Notary  Public  and  Justice  of  the 
Peace,  but  his  employments  were  so  numerous  that  he  never 
made  use  of  them.  He  endeavored  to  improve  his  native  city, 
and  when  the  free  bridge  was  proposed  to  South  Boston,  he  con- 
.  tributed.  He  projected  the  filling  up  of  the  South  Cove,  upon 
which  he  spent  two  years,  unaided  by  any  one,  and  even  ridi- 
culed for  the  thought  of  its  being  possible.  He  was  also  an 
institutor  of  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society  of 
Boston,  and  spent  much  of  his  time  to  procure  all  the  old  docu- 
ments in  the  near  towns,  to  the  injury  of  his  health.     His  per- 


CHARLES    EWER  117 

severance  in  all  his  undertakings  is  sufficient  proof  of  his  great 
capacity  and  strength  of  mind,  which  no  discouragement  could 
lessen  or  abate.  Few,  if  any,  ever  passed  through  this  life 
purer  or  less  contaminated  by  the  allurements  of  wealth  or 
pleasure  than  he  did.  He  was  one  of  nature's  noblemen,  free 
from  all  deception,  open  and  sincere.  He  was  beloved  and 
idolized  by  those  who  were  nearly  related  to  him,  for  his  piety 
and  good  principles,  which  he  practised  through  life.  There 
was  nothing  superjficial  about  him.  Whatever  subject  he  con- 
versed upon,  of  theology,  law,  or  physics,  he  was  well  ac- 
quainted with.  When  one  of  his  friends  observed  to  him 
that  he  must  be  a  great  reader,  he  replied,  "  I  am  not  a  great 
reader,  but  a  great  thinker  ! "  It  was  said  of  him  by  Fowler, 
the  phrenologist,  that  he  could  see  fifty  years  in  advance  of 
other  men,  and  that  but  few  could  understand  him. 

In  1851  he  removed  with  his  two  sisters  from  Boston  to 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,  where  he  resided  eighteen  months.  His  last 
illness  was  short.  A  fortnight  before  his  death  he  visited  Bos- 
ton, where  he  stayed  a  week,  and  attended  the  marriage  of  one 
of  his  relatives.  His  friends  said  that  they  never  had  seen  him 
in  better  spirits.  A  few  days  afterwards  he  went  to  New  York 
upon  business.  Here  he  made  many  calls  on  friends,  visited  the 
Crystal  Palace,  ascended  the  tower  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  and 
walked  much  on  Broadway.  All  this  was  done  in  one  day ;  but 
it  was  too  much  for  him,  and  he  was  taken  with  a  violent  pain 
in  his  side  which  lasted  three  days,  so  that  he  could  neither  eat 
nor  sleep.  He  returned  home  quite  exhausted,  and  lived  but 
one  week  after  he  reached  Portsmouth.  He  had  no  return  of 
pain,  though  he  was  still  unable  to  sleep.  From  the  time  he 
came  home  till  the  night  before  his  death  he  protested  against 
having  a  physician,  as  he  was  urged  by  his  sisters  to  do,  saying 
he  would  rather  pay  a  doctor's  fee  than  have  one  called.  Dur- 
ing his  illness  he  said  that  he  never  felt  so  happy  in  his  life. 
He  was  perfectly  calm  and  composed,  and  seemed  so  bright  an'd 
cheerful  that  his  sisters  had  no  idea  that  they  were  going  to  lose 
him.  He  died  without  a  struggle,  November  12,  1853,  at  his 
residence  in  Portsmouth,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three.  His  disease 
was  paralysis. 

The  foregoing  paper  embraces  the  substance  of  what 
can  now   be   recorded   of   this  remarkable  man.     While 


118  CHARLES   EWER 

it  is  evidently  the  tribute  of  strong  sisterly  affection, 
yet  it  is  believed  there  is  no  one  who  knew  Mr.  Ewer, 
in  the  intercourse  of  business  or  of  private  life,  who 
would  find  anything  which  ought  to  be  abated  from  the 
truth  or  fulness  of  the  encomium  bestowed.  Certainly 
there  are  many  yet  surviving,  who  will  pronounce  it 
eminently  modest,  discriminating,  and  just,  doing  high 
credit  to  its  affectionate  writer,  as  well  as  to  its  honored 
subject. 

.  It  remains  only  to  supplement  this  brief  biographical 
record  with  such  additional  and  fuller  details  as  are  at 
hand,  for  confirming  and  more  fully  elucidating  some  of 
its  more  general  statements ;  while  they  will  illustrate  the 
character  of  Mr.  Ewer,  especially  as  seen  in  his  spirit  of 
far-seeing  and  self-sacrificing  zeal  for  the  improvement  of 
his  native  city. 

It  is  proper  to  add  to  what  his  sister  has  stated,  in 
regard  to  his  ancestry  and  family  connections,  that  his 
mother  was  a  sister  of  the  father  of  the  late  Hon.  Samuel 
Turell  Armstrong,  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  for  a  time 
acting  Governor,  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts, 
and  afterwards  Mayor  of  Boston.  This  connection  brought 
him  into  life-lono^  and  intimate  relations  with  this  hiorh- 
minded  Christian  gentleman,  which  doubtless  was  of 
advantage  to  him  in  many  ways.  Mr.  Armstrong  appears 
to  have  early  appreciated  the  peculiar  promise  of  his  near 
relative,  and  was  doubtless  instrumental  in  introducing 
him  into  the  bookselling  and  publishing  business,  in 
which  he  was  himself  acquiring  wealth  and  honorable  dis- 
tinction. This  may  also,  probably  enough,  explain  the 
confidence  extended  to  him,  as  a  young  man,  by  such 
shrewd  and  successful  merchants  as  Isaiah  Thomas,  Jr., 
and  the  firm  of  Thomas  &  Andrews. 

As  evincing  the  high  moral  tone  and  healthful  influence 
of  his  labors  in  the  bookselling  and  publishing  department, 
during  the  years  when  he  carried  on  the  business  for  him- 


CHARLES    EWER  119 

self  in  Cornhill,  it  may  be  stated,  that  the  books  he 
brought  out,  it  is  believed,  were  uniformly  of  an  unexcep- 
tionable character ;  many  of  them  were  of  standard  ex- 
cellence as  text-books  in  education,  and  works  of  authority 
in  literature  and  science  ;  and  not  a  few  were  religious 
works  of  the  highest  value.  NeaFs  History  of  the  Pu- 
ritans is  mentioned  by  his  sister  as  the  first  of  his  issues 
from  the  press.  This  was  in  five  octavo  volumes.  An- 
other authority  states  that  this  work  was  published  by 
subscription,  as  was  also  Mitford's  History  of  Greece,  in 
eight  volumes,  "  one  of  the  best-executed  works  of  that 
day."  It  is  further  stated  that  the  subscriptions  for  these 
books  were  largely  obtained  by  his  own  exertions.  Law's 
Serious  Call,  since  comprised  in  the  larger  volume  series 
of  the  American  Tract  Society,  was  one  of  the  religious 
books  which  bore  his  imprint.  Among  his  papers  is  a 
carefully  prepared  estimate  of  the  probable  cost  of  publish- 
ing Calmet's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  to  be  comprised  in 
four  volumes  octavo,  with  expense  of  copper-plates,  etc., 
etc. ;  from  which  it  would  appear  that  he  may  have  con- 
templated the  publication  of  that  valuable  work,  at  the 
date  of  its  introduction  in  this  country.  Of  books  of  anti- 
quarian interest  published  by  Mr.  Ewer,  the  celebrated 
sermon  of  Robert  Cusliman,  the  Pils-rim  Father  ;  Wio-o-les- 
worth's  Day  of  Doom,  and  the  Stoddard  Genealogy,  are 
called  to  mind. 

After  several  years  of  successful  business  by  himself, 
in  Cornhill,  it  appears  that  he  entered  into  a  partner- 
ship with  Mr.  Timothy  Bedlington,  buying  out  the  heavy 
stock  of  Thomas  &  Andrews,  with  the  purpose  of  enlarg- 
ing his  sphere  of  enterprise  in  this  direction.  In  this 
adventure,  however,  the  new  firm  were  not  as  successful 
as  they  had  hoped  to  be ;  and  Mr.  Ewer,  in  consequence, 
was  involved  in  pecuniary  embarrassments,  from  which 
he  struggled  manfully  through  subsequent  years  to  free 
himself. 


120  CHARLES    EWER 

It  is  here  in  place,  in  passing,  to  make  mention  of  the 
private  library  of  Mr.  Ewer ;  which,  with  the  exception 
of  such  books  as  he  had  bequeathed  to  his  friends  in  his 
will,  was  sold  at  auction  after  his  decease.  The  catalogue, 
which  was  printed  for  the  sale,  making  a  pamphlet  of 
twenty-two  octavo  pages,  is  preserved  in  the  Society's 
Library.  Besides  magazines  and  pamphlets,  —  many  of 
which  were  rare  and  valuable,  assorted  and  bound,  or  put 
in  covers,  —  the  titles  of  over  fifte.en  hundred  volumes  are 
given  ;  among  which  are  included  scarcely  any  of  a  light 
or  ephemeral  character  ;  and  showing  conclusively  that,  if 
not  "  a  great  reader,"  as  alleged  by  his  friends,  he  kept  at 
hand  the  materials  and  aids  of  a  "  thinker,"  as,  jestingly, 
he  replied  to  their  pleasant  impeachment. 

After  leaving  the  book  trade,  Mr.  Ewer,  as  briefly 
stated  in  the  memoir  by  his  sister,  gave  the  ever  active 
energies  of  his  mind  to  schemes  for  the  improvement  of 
his  native  city.  In  the  different  projects  of  this  kind 
which  he  took  up,  while  he  had  it  in  view  to  "  retrieve  his 
own  shattered  fortunes,"  it  was  his  ambition,  at  the  same 
time,  to  advance  the  prosperity  of  the  city.  It  should  be 
borne  in  mind,  that  this  was  at  a  time  anterior  to  the  date 
of  those  great  internal  improvements  which  have  since  so 
changed  the  prospects  of  Boston  for  the  better ;  and 
when,  in  the  view  of  most  men,  the  metropolis  of  New 
England,  by  the  conditions  of  its  peninsular  position,  had 
nearly  reached  the  limits  of  its  possible  extension.  Mr. 
Ewer,  with  a  mind  well  stored  with  its  personal  and  local 
antiquities,  possessed,  for  the  period  in  which  he  lived,  an 
almost  marvellous  sagacity  as  to  what  was  to  be  the  future 
of  Boston  in  this  respect.  There  is  no  man  whose  name 
is  more  worthy  to  be  connected  with  the  origin  and  de- 
velopment of  several  of  the  great  improvements  of  his 
time,  by  the  accomplishment  of  which  this  city  was  set 
forward  in  its  subsequent  career  of  extraordinary  ad- 
vancement. 


CHARLES    EWER  121 

His  first  undertaking  in  this  line  was  the  laying  out 
and  building  of  Avon  Place,  which  has  since  become 
Avon  Street,  runninsr  through  from  Washington  Street 
to  Chauncy  Street,  upon  ground  which  was  then  quite 
remote  from  the  centre  of  population,  and  even  more 
so  from  the  chief  centres  of  business.  The  circumstance 
of  his  possessing  a  house  on  "Washington  Street,  which  he 
had  purchased  of  Peter  C.  Brooks,  at  that  time  one  of  the 
"  solid  men  "  of  Boston,  is  mentioned  by  his  sister  as  hav- 
ing suggested  to  him  the  feasibility  of  this  undertaking ; 
and  this  doubtless  disposed  the  mind  of  Mr.  Brooks  to 
look  more  favorably  upon  it  than  many  others  from  whom 
the  needed  pecuniary  assistance  must  be  sought.  It  was 
with  much  difficulty  that  the  capitalists  of  that  day  could 
be  led  to  see  that  this  enterprise  might  be  a  safe  invest- 
ment of  their  surplus  means.  Mr.  Brooks,  however,  at 
length  fell  in  with  the  views  of  Mr.  Ewer,  and  afforded 
him  substantial  encouragement  to  proceed. 

It  was  about  the  year  1823  or  1824  that  this  work 
was  commenced.  It  involved  the  removal  of  the  house 
owned  by  Mr.  Ewer,  and  other  old  buildings  surrounding 
it,  and  the  erection,  in  the  language  of  the  memoir,  of 
"  eight  stone  stores  and  houses  on  Washington  Street,  and 
fourteen  on  Avon  Place."  The  buildings  on  Washington 
Street  were  faced  with  finely  hammered  granite  fronts, 
and  were  four  stories  high ;  the  lower  stories  being 
constructed  for  stores  and  those  above  for  dwellings. 
They  were  in  two  blocks,  on  each  side  of  the  Place, 
which  opened  between  them,  thus  affording  two  eligi- 
ble situations  upon  the  corners.  Most  of  them  remain 
unchanged  in  their  exterior  to  this  day,  while  some 
of  the  more  modern  structures  have  towered  above  them 
on  the  right  and  left.  The  buildings  on  Avon  Place, 
seven  upon  each  side,  were  of  three  stories,  and  all 
dwelling-houses  of  respectable  style  and  convenience  for 
that  day.     A  few  of  these  remain  in  their  original  shape, 

16 


122  CHARLES    EWER 

but  others  have  been  obliterated  by  the  changes  conse- 
quent upon  transforming  the  court  into  a  great  thorough- 
fare of  merchandise  and  traffic.  All,  and  more  than  all, 
of  what  Mr.  Ewer  so  confidently  predicted  concerning  the 
future  demands  of  business  upon  this  now  central  locality, 
though  seeming  so  far  in  advance  of  human  probability 
in  the  view  of  most  of  his  contemporaries,  has  long  since 
come  to  pass. 

The  master-builder  employed  by  Mr.  Ewer  in  carrying 
out  this  enterprise,  was  Mr.  Charles  Wells,  afterwards  for 
two  years  mayor  of  the  city.  The  cost  of  this  heavy 
undertaking,  as  is  so  apt  to  be  the  case  in  the  experience 
of  contractors,  considerably  exceeded  the  estimates ;  and 
Mr.  Brooks  being  unwilling  to  go  beyond  what  he  had 
agreed  to  advance  upon  it,  Mr.  Ewer  was  obliged  to  make 
an  early  disposal  of  the  property  which  he  had  created,  at 
a  material  reduction  from  its  prospective  value,  without 
reaUzing  pecuniarily  the  fruit  of  his  own  well-directed 
exertions.  Could  he  have  retained  his  interest  in  the 
buildings  until  he  could  have  turned  himself  to  advantage 
he  would  have  made  a  handsome  fortune  as  the  result  of 
the  operation.  His  cousin,  Mr.  Armstrong,  took  three  of 
the  stores  on  Washington  Street  off  his  hands,  at  thirteen 
thousand  dollars  each,  —  a  fair  price,  probably,  at  the  time 
of  the  purchase.  These  three  stores  still  belong  to  the 
estate  of  Mr.  Armstrong ;  and  this  property,  for  which  he 
paid  the  total  of  thirty-nine  thousand  dollars,  is  deemed 
by  persons  who  are  qualified  to  judge  of  its  present  value 
to  be  worth  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  to  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  One  of  the  stores,  which  is 
on  a  corner,  is  paying  an  annual  rent  of  seven  thousand 
and  five  hundred  dollars.* 

•  This  memoir  was  written  in  1875,  six  years  ago.  The  author,  the  Rev. 
Samuel  H.  Riddel,  A.  M.,  died  the  next  year,  June  1,  1876,  at  Des  Moines,  Iowa, 
aged  seventy-six.  He  was  the  recording  secretary  of  the  New  England  Historic 
Genealogical  Society  during  nearly  the  whole  of  the  presidency  of  Mr.  Ewer;  and 
before  writing  this  article  he  spent  much  time  in  collecting  materials,  thoroughly 


.1 

4 
t 

>. 
» 


CHARLES    EWER  123 

Mr.  Ewer  was  distinguished  as  the  projector  of  impor- 
tant undertakings,  which,  according  to  his  remarkable  fore- 
sight, proved  eminently  successful,  and  of  great  value  to 
the  public  in  their  final  result ;  but  he  had  not  the  means, 
financially,  of  carrying  them  into  execution,  so  far  inde- 
pendently of  others  as  to  secure  to  himself  the  due  re- 
ward of  his  own  extraordinary  enterprise.  In  reference 
to  some  of  the  most  material  interests  of  the  city  it  may 
be  said  of  him  that  he  labored,  and  others  have  entered 
into  his  labors.  No  adequate  consideration  was  accorded 
him  for  the  important  part  which  he  performed. 

This  will  be  made  more  clearly  evident  as  we  pass  to 
consider  another  and  still  greater  achievement  of  his  con- 
structive energy,  viz.,  the  project  for  filling  up  the  flats 
in  the  '^  South  Cove,"  as  it  was  called  at  that  day,  lying 
on  the  southeastern  margin  of  the  peninsula,  between 
South  Boston  and  the  city  proper,  which  was  carried  into 
effect  by  a  chartered  company,  which  Mr.  Ewer  was 
chiefly  instrumental  in  getting  up,  known  as  the  '•  South 
Cove  Corporation." 

Some  approximate  conception  of  the  magnitude  and 
value  of  this  great  improvement  may  be  formed  when  it 
is  stated  that  the  land  thus  added  to  the  area  of  the  city 
comprises  all  that  district  lying  east  of  Harrison  Avenue 
(then  called  Front  Street)  bounding  northward  on  Essex, 
East,  and  Federal  Streets  (the  latter  being  then  known  as 
Sea  Street),  and  extending  southward  along  the  channel 
to  the  South  Boston  South  Bridge,  including,  as  originally 
embraced  in  the  plans  of  Mr.  Ewer,  and  as  ultimately 
comprehended  in  the  entire  purchase  of  the  corporation, 

examining  the  records  of  the  society  and  the  papers  left  by  'Mr.  Ewer,  besides  con- 
sulting early  members  of  the  society  and  intimate  friends  of  Mr.  Ewer. 

The  "march  of  improvement"  has  made  new  changes  in  the  buildings  erected 
by  Mr.  Ewer.  Only  one  now  remains  in  its  original  shape.  The  property  pur- 
chased by  Mr.  Armstrong  still  belongs  to  his  estate,  and  is  now  estimated  to  be 
worth  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  to  three  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  land  is  leased  for  a  term  of  years  at  a  rental  of  seventeen  thousand  dollars  a 
year,  the  lessee  erecting  his  own  building  and  paying  all  taxes  and  assessments. 


]24  CHARLES   EWER 

an  area  of  nearly  eighty  acres,  upon  which  now  stands 
that  populous  and  busy  section  of  the  city  covered  by  six 
or  seven  new  streets  running  parallel  with  Harrison  Ave- 
nue, and  ten  or  more  extending  east  from  the  same,' 
including  Beach  Street,  with  which  these  are  parallel,  and 
furnishing  the  sites  of  the  United  States  Hotel,  and  the 
Boston  and  Albany,  and  Old  Colony  and  Newport  Rail- 
road Freight  and  Passenger  Depots. 

The  reports  of  the  South  Cove  Corporation,  a  complete 
series  of  which  has  been  furnished  to  the  library  of  the 
Historic  Genealogical  Society  by  the  agent  of  the  com- 
pany, Francis  Jackson,  Esq.,  commence  with  the  history 
of  their  proceedings  under  the  charter,  which  was 
accepted  by  the  stockholders,  February  7,  1833.  The 
preliminary  stages  of  the  enterprise,  which  led  the  way 
to  the  organization  of  the  company,  and  the  application 
for  a  charter,  are  only  thus  briefly  alluded  to  in  their 
first  report :  — 

"By  referring  to  the  printed  circular,  with  the  estimates 
annexed,  which  was  issued  by  the  projectors  of-  the  present 
enterprise  to  the  original  subscribers,  it  will  be  seen  that  it 
was  then  proposed  to  purchase  the  wharves  and  flats  in  the 
South  Cove,  from  Front  and  Essex  Streets  to  the  channel, 
and  from  Sea  Street  nearly  to  the  South  Bridge,  containing 
3,345,000  feet  (about  77  acres),  and  contracts  of  refusal  were 
obtained  for  nearly  all  the  estates,  amounting  to  $520,000.  The 
sum  of  $600,000  was  proposed  as  the  capital  stock  of  the  com- 
pany, and  the  whole  cove  was  to  be  converted  into  solid  land. 
The  estimated  cost  of  completing  the  project  was  $1,073,349, 
'subject,  however,  to  such  modifications  as  niiglit  be  found 
expedient.'" 

* 

While  no  mention  is  here  made  of  the  name  or  agency 

of  Mr.  Ewer,  yet  this  paragraph  covers  a  period  of  about 

three  years,  during  which  time  he  was  earnestly  engaged  — 

and  for  the  first  year  and  a  half  almost  alone  —  in  devising, 

advocating,  and   maturing   the   project,  and  elaborating 


CHARLES    EWER  125 

the  measures,  which  are  here  so  summarily  recounted,  for 
bringing  the  enterprise  into  working  shape.  If,  at  any 
time,  there  were  one  or  two  others  who  co-operated  with 
him  in  these  efforts,  they  were  persons  whom,  with  infinite 
labor,  he  had  informed  and  convinced  of  the  feasibility 
of  the  plan.  He  was  the  soul  of  the  movement ;  and  to 
him  its  origination,  development,  and  progress,  through 
all  the  more  difficult  stages  of  its  advancement,  until  it 
became  an  organized  and  grand  success,  is  to  be  pre- 
eminently ascribed. 

The  papers  which  Mr.  Ewer  left  behind  him  abun- 
dantly illustrate  and  support  this  statement.  The  follow- 
ing citations,  in  which  he  gives  an  account  of  his  labors 
in  this  enterprise,  present  the  subject  with  that  graphic 
and  truthful  simplicity  so  characteristic  of  the  man :  — 

"  In  the  spring  of  1831 1  directed  my  attention  to  the  filling  up 
of  the  large  body  of  flats,  lying  between  Front  and  Sea  Streets, 
called  the  South  Cove.  This  spot  appeared  to  me,  after  having 
reconnoitered  the  city,  as  the  most  eligible  place  for  the  location 
of  the  depots  of  the  Worcester  Railroad.  The  amplitude  of  the 
accommodation  it  was  capable  of  furnishing  for  the  depots,  and 
the  business  to  be  done  by  the  railroad  generally,  the  cheapness 
of  the  land,  its  nearness  to  the  deep  waters  of  the  harbor,  etc., 
were  among  its  prominent  advantages.  I  believed  that  the  pur- 
chasing and  filling  of  those  flats  would  be  a  great  local  improve- 
ment, and  that  a  company  might  be  formed  that  would  be  able, 
by  securing  the  termination  of  the  Boston  and  Worcester  Rail- 
road on  the  land,  to  make  the  undertaking  highly  profitable. 
Believing  the  formation  of  such  a  company  practicable,  and  that 
the  accomplishment  of  the  object  in  view  would  be  productive 
of  great  advantage  to  the  south  and  southeastern  sections  of  the 
city,  as  well  as  the  public,  I  hoped  m3'self,  also,  to  share  liber- 
ally, as  I  judged  I  should  be  entitled  to,  in  the  profits  of  the 
enterprise,  should  it  succeed. 

"  In  June,  1831,  therefore,  I  set  about  carrying  the  plan  into 
effect.  The  South  Cove  Company  was  not,  however,  formed 
till  toward  the  close  of  1832.  During  the  eighteen  months  that 
intervened  1  devoted  myself  assiduously,  by  day  and  by  night, 


126  CHARLES  EWER 

to  forming  the  company  and  securing  the  location  of  the  depots 
of  the  Boston  and  "Worcester  Railroad  on  the  Cove.  Some  time 
in  January,  1833,  the  South  Cove  Company  obtained  an  Act  of 
Incorporation,  and  commenced  filling  up  the  flats  the  following 
spring." 

In  another  paper  he  sets  forth  a  more  full  and  detailed 
account  of  the  motives,  which  mainly  induced  him  to 
embark  in  this  great  undertaking;  and  speaks  of  some 
of  the  difficulties  and  discouragements  which  he  had  to 
encounter  in  the  commencement.  This  paper,  possessing 
also  much  intrinsic  interest  as  a  leaf  from  the  unwritten 
history  of  the  times,  strikingly  illustrates  the  exceeding 
activity  and  fruitfulness  of  the  mind  of  Mr.  Ewer,  in 
schemes  and  projects  for  the  improvement  of  the  city, 
and  his  indefatigable  earnestness  and  persistency  in  press- 
ing forward,  against  incredulousness  and  hesitation  in 
others,  to  the  practical  results  at  which  he  aimed.  He 
says :  — 

"  I  became  possessed  of  the  parcel  of  flats  marked  with  my 
name  in  1824.  This  was  about  the  period  when  a  new  set  of 
adventurers  revived  the  project  of  a  free  bridge  from  South 
Street  to  South  Boston.  The  enterprise,  as  is  well  known,  had 
to  encounter  a  formidable,  and  all  but  unconquerable  oppo- 
sition. Nearly  three  years,  were  spent,  during  which  the  most 
strenuous  and  unceasing  efforts  were  made  in  obtaining  a  grant 
from  the  Legislature  for  building  it.  During  the  whole  of  this 
period  I  took  an  active  part,  and  shared  with  Messrs.  Henshaw, 
Williams,  Rice,  Wright,  and  others,  in  the  labors  and  expenses, 
and  subject  to  the  obloquy  attendant  upon  the  undertaking. 
After  the  charter  was  procured,  and  arrangements  made  for 
building  the  bridge,  I  was  placed  on  the  finance  committee,  on 
which  I  acted  till  the  bridge  was  completed.  I  contributed, 
likewise,  about  four  hundred  dollars  towards  the  expense  of 
building  it.  The  time  occupied  in  its  construction  was  about  a 
year.  It  was  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1827,  I  think,  and 
finished  in  the  summer  of  1828. 

"Subsequent  to  the  obtaining  the  grant,  and  prior  to  the 
completion  of  the  bridge,  the  lands  in  South  Boston  had  won- 


CHARLES    EWER  127 

derfully-  increased  in  price.  It  was  generally  thought  by  those 
who  had  become  interested  in  thera  that  the  construction  in  a 
direct  and  shorter  route  of  a  bridge,  toll  free,  together  with  the  ■ 
other  important  natural  advantages  which  the  peninsula  pos- 
sessed as  a  place  of  residence,  would  insure  a  rapid  increase  of 
population.  On  this  ground  it  was  expected  —  and  very  natur- 
ally and  justly  —  that  the  advanced  prices  would  be  sustained, 
and  that  a  still  farther  advance  would  be  realized.  This  expec- 
tation, however  apparently  warranted,  proved  fallacious;  and 
property  in  South  Boston,  a  year  after  the  completion  of  the 
bridge,  was  considerably  lower  than  it  was  a  year  prior  to  its 
being  built.  During  the  years  1828,  1829,  and  1830,  par- 
ticularly the  two  last,  the  prospects  of  the  peninsula  were  dis- 
couraging and  gloomy  in  the  extreme.  The  increase  of  its 
population  and  business  was  materially,  checked,  and  a  very 
great  reduction  took  place  in  the  estimated  value  of  the  lands. 
It  was  very  difficult  to  effect  sales  during  this  period,  and 
very  few,  I  believe,  were  made. 

"  In  the  view,  therefore,  of  those  who  had  become  interested 
in  property  at  South  Boston,  a  dark  cloud  hung  over  this  land 
of  promise,  and  obscured,  for  a  time,  the  bright  prospects  with 
which  the  new  proprietors  had  indulged  their  imaginations  and 
fed  their  hopes.  I  was  one  of  this  number.  My  confidence, 
however,  notwithstanding,  was  unabated  in  the  ultimate  appre- 
ciation or  enhancement  of  the  property. 

"  Having  closed  up  my  business  in  the  latter  end  of  1829, 
feeling  a  deep  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  South  Boston,  I 
directed  my  attention  to  the  consideration  of  the  means  by 
which  the  cloud  that  hung  over  its  prospects  might  be  removed, 
and  the  depression  it  was  suffering  under  relieved.  I  taxed  my 
mind  to  discover  improvements  and  devise  plans,  by  which  the 
attention  of  the  public  might  be  attracted  to  the  peninsula,  and 
its  business  and  population  increased. 

"Among  other  suggestions  that  I  made,  to  this  end,  were  the 
following :  — The  erection  on  Telegraph  or  Bird's  Hill,  now 
called  Mount  Washington,  of  a  hotel  on  a  plan  similar  to  the 
Norfolk  House,  but  on  a  more  extensive  and  splendid  scale ;  the 
establishment  of  omnibuses,  to  be  run  at  about  half  the  price  of 
the  Roxbury  hourlies,  and  the  construction  of  a  marginal  road 
round  the  peninsula,  etc.     I  also  recommended  to  the  late  Mr. 


128  OHAKLES   EWER 

John  H.  Bird,  who  owned,  I  think,  about  thirty  acres  of  land, 
including  Bird's  Hill,  to  have  it  surveyed,  lotted  out,  and  a  plan 
made  of  it  by  Fuller  or  "Wadsworth,  and  to  sell  at  low  rates,  at 
private  sale,  or  by  auction,  a  quarter  or  a  third  part  of  the  lots, 
conditioned  that  buildings  of  a  certain  class  should  be  erected 
upon  them  within  a  year. 

"  In  forming  the  project  of  filling  up  the  flats  between  Front 
Street  and  Sea  Street,  to  furnish  accommodations  for  the  Wor- 
cester Railroad,  and  in  the  efforts  I  made  to  secure  the  location 
of  its  depots  on  that  spot,  I  had  the  interests  of  South  Boston 
distinctly  in  my  eye.  For  it  was  perfectly  clear  to  my  mind,  if 
those  flats  were  made  into  land,  and  the  business  of  the  South 
End,  then  transacting  on  Front  Street,  transferred  to  the  mar- 
gin of  the  channel,  that  this,  together  with  the  transportation 
and  other  business  of  the  railroad,  etc.,  would  make  the  spot 
opposite  to  the  flats,  on  the  eastern  side  of  Turnpike  Street,  a 
sort  of  centre  of  business,  the  result  of  which  would  be  a  very 
material  enhancement  in  the  value  of  the  property  at  South 
Boston,  in  its  immediate  neighborhood,  and  that  the  improve- 
ment would  be  highly  advantageous  to  its  interests  generally. 
I  labored  most  assiduously,  for  nearly  a  year  and  a  half,  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  project,  which  was  finally  crowned  with 
success  toward  the  close  of  the  year  1882.  In  January,  1833, 
the  company  formed  for  carrying  it  into  effect,  called  the  South 
Cove  Company,  applied  for,  and  obtained  from  the  Legislature, 
an  Act  of  Incorporation,  and  are  prosecuting,  under  favorable 
auspices,  as  the  South  Cove  Corporation,  the  enterprise  which  I 
started  in  1831." 

Mr.  Ewer  then  sets  down  several  "  considerations  of 
a  public  nature,"  affecting  more  generally  the  welfare, 
not  of  South  Boston  only,  but  of  the  city  proper  as  well, 
which  had  weight  with  him  in  favor  of  the  project. 
These  amount  to  seven  in  number,  distinctly  enumerated 
and  defined,  every  one  of  which  has  been  more  than 
realized  in  the  accomplishment.  The  last  named,  but  not 
the  least  in  importance,  was  "  the  salutary  effect  it  would 
have  upon  the  health  of  the  city,  by  filling  up  the  many 
small  docks  in  the  neighborhood  of  several  respectable 


u 


CHARLES    EWER  129 

streets,  —  as  Essex  Street,  Summer  Street,  Lincoln  Street, 
South  Street,  High  Street,  etc."' 

Next  we  adduce  a  record  of  his  first  communication  of 
the  plan  to  the  owners  of  estates  upon  the  Cove,  who 
must  necessarily  be  interested,  and  whom  he  wished  to 
enlist  in  the  undertaking  by  putting  their  several  proper- 
ties there  situated  into  a  joint  stock  to  form  the  nucleus 
of  a  corporation.  As  a  part  of  the  personal  history  of 
Mr.  Ewer,  as  well  as  of  his  connection  with  this  great 
public  improvement,  this  record  will  be  found  interesting. 
He  says :  — 

"In  April,  1831,  I  hired  the  house  of  John  Pierce,  in  South 
Street,  which  I  now  occupy,  and  one  of  the  considerations  that 
induced  me  to  prefer  it  to  several  others  that  I  might  have  had 
was  its  proximity  to  the  Cove,  and  the  advantages  it  afforded  of 
convenient  access  and  neighborly  intercourse  with  the  owners 
of  the  estates  lying  on  or  near  it.  I  was  not  disappointed  in  this 
calculation ;  for  while  it  gave  me  no  small  influence  with  the 
owners  of  the  estates,  it  placed  me  in  a  situation  to  acquire 
infarmation  relative  to  the  property  which  could  not  easily,  if 
at  all,  have  been  obtained  by  an  individual  living  at  a  distance 
from  them.  I  spent  part  of  the  spring  and  nearlj^  the  whole  of 
the  summer  of  1831  in  endeavoring  to  bring  the  owners  into  the 
plan  of  filling  up  the  Cove,  pointing  out  the  general  advantages 
that  would  result  to  them  and  the  south  section  of  the  city  from 
the  accomplishment  of  the  project,  and  urging  upon  them  par- 
ticularly the  seasonableness  and  importance  of  commencing  the 
undertaking  without  delay,  that  they  might,  by  being  able  to 
furnish  the  requisite  accommodations  for  the  depots  of  the  Pro- 
vidence and  Worcester  Railroads,  secure  to  themselves,  and  to 
the  whole  of  the  South  End,  the  immense  advantages  that 
would  arise  from  their  terminating  on  the  Cove.  The  owners 
of  the  estates  listened  with  attention  to  what  I  had  to  say  on 
the  subject,  and,  in  general,  approved  of  the  project.  Others 
thought  it  would  be  worse  than  useless  to  make  more  land  when 
they  had  so  much  on  hand.  Some  thought  the  scheme  chimer- 
ical in  the  extreme.  Joshua  Davis,  Esq.,  to  whom,  among  the 
rest  of  the  owners,  I  had  communicated  my  plan,  and  solicited 

17 


130  CHAELES    EWER 

to  join  in  the  accomplishment  of  it,  pronounced  it  visionary,  or 
at  least  fifty  or  one  hundred  years  in  anticipation  of  what  was 
required,  or  could  be  sustained,  b}^  the  increase  in  the  business 
or  population  of  the  city.  Even  Mr.  Cyrus  Alger,  as  enlarged 
as  his  views  are  on  such  subjects,  was  startled  when  I  first  men- 
tioned it  to  him,  and  exclaimed :  '  What !  make  twenty  or 
thirty  acres  of  land  before  we  sell  what  we  have  got  for  sale  so 
near  it ! '  I  made  use  of  several  arguments  to  convince  him 
that  it  would  have  a  beneficial  influence  upon  his  own  property 
as  well  as  that  of  his  neighbors,  but  with  little  effect.  He, 
however,  said  finally,  that  though  he  could  not  perceive  the 
advantages  of  the  plan  he  should  not  oppose  it,  as  he  was  in 
favor  of  every  public  improvement  whether  it  benefited  him  or 
not.  This  interview  with  Mr,  Alger  occurred  during  the  month 
of  May,  1831. 

"  Previously  —  that  is,  in  the  early  part  of  the  month  —  I 
communicated  my  plan  to  Mr.  William  Wright,  who  then 
informed  me  that  he  had  in  contemplation  a  plan  of  running  a 
street  across  from  Front  Street  to  Sea  Street.  He  spoke  of  the 
advantages  of  his  plan,  and  represented  that  such  a  street  would 
save  the  city  the  expense  of  buying  and  repairing  the  South 
Bridge,  that  it  would  accommodate  the  public  and  the  people  of 
the  South  End  much  better  than  the  old  bridge.  I  observed  to 
him  that  it  would  so  extensively  interfere  with  private  rights  as 
to  make  it  impracticable  to  accomplish  it.  He  thought  that  the 
city  was  competent  to  lay  out  such  a  street,  or,  if  it  was  not, 
that  a  grant  of  power  could  be  easily  obtained  from  the  Legisla- 
ture for  the  purpose.  I  replied  that  I  doubted  it,  but  if  it  were 
so  that  it  would  be  much  better  to  fill  up  the  Cove  as  far  as  his 
proposed  street,  and  that  I  thought  my  plan  the  best.  Mr. 
Wright's  idea  of  the  Worcester  Railroad  at  this  time  was  that  it 
would  pass  over  his  proposed  street,  which  was  to  terminate 
with  Sea  Street,  near  his  store,  and  the  railroad  was  to  continue 
through  Sea  Street,  and  by  the  contemplated  Marginal  Street, 
from  Sea  Street  to  India  Street,  etc.  Nothing  was  said  by  Mr. 
Wright  in  relation  to  fixing  the  depot  on  his  proposed  street,  or 
any  part  of  the  Cove.  The  benefit  he  seemed  to  anticipate 
from  the  railroad's  entering  at  the  south  part  of  the  city,  and 
crossing  over  the  Cove,  was  from  its  passing  by  his  store 
through  Sea  Street. 


CHARLES    EWER  131 

"  Some  weeks  after  ray  communicating  my  plan  to  Mr. 
Wright,  being  at  his  store  towards  evening,  he  informed  me 
that  he  had  mentioned  my  project  to  some  gentlemen  —  men  of 
capital  —  who  thought  favorably  of  it,  and  were  disposed  to 
engage  in  it  if  the  estates  bordering  on  the  Cove  could  be  pur- 
chased at  fair  prices.  That  he  (Mr.  Wright)  had  felt  himself 
bound  to  communicate  to  me,  as  it  was  my  plan.  It  was  under- 
stood that  they  wanted  information,  and  would  employ  an 
agent.  I  stated  to  Mr.  Wright  that  I  should  like  to  act  for 
them  in  that  capacity,  and  requested  him  to  inform  me  who  the 
persons  were.  He  named  Mr.  William  Foster.  I  waited  upon 
Mr.  Foster  the  same  evening,  and  conversed  with  him  for  about 
an  hour  upon  the  plan  of  filling  up  the  Cove.  He  was  in  favor 
of  filling  up  as  far  as  the  South  Bridge.  The  association  turned 
out  to  be  composed  of  Mr.  Foster.  If  there  were  any  others 
connected  with  him  I  could  never  discover  them." 

At  a  time  not  long  subsequent  to  this  we  find  the 
record  of  Mr.  Ewer's  engagement,  by  Mr.  Binney  and 
Mr.  Wright,  on  behalf  of  the  Boston  and  Worcester  Rail- 
road Company,  to  collect  definite  information  from  the 
persons  interested  as  to  what  their  property  in  the  flats, 
docks,  and  wharves,  etc.,  could  be  purchased  for,  Mr. 
Wright  telling  him  confidentially  that  his  "  plan  had  been 
made  known  to  some  gentlemen  of  large  capital,  who 
thought  so  favorably  of  it  that  they  were  willing  to 
engage  in  the  undertaking,  but  wished  to  be  first  satis- 
fied that  the  estates  could  be  purchased  as  represented." 
These  representations  had  all  been  received,  directly  or 
indirectly,  through  Mr.  Ewer ;  and  now,  as  it  seemed 
important  to  test  the  feasibility  of  the  project,  it  was 
necessary,  as  a  basis  of  confidence,  to  reduce  them  to  a 
negotiable  form.  In  pursuance  of  this  engagement,  Mr. 
Ewer,  with  such  assistance  as  Mr.  Wright  could  render, 
who,  for  certain  reasons,  kept  himself  in  the  background, 
wishing  that  his  agency  might  not  be  prominent  in  the 
matter,  succeeded  in  obtaining  written  obligations  of 
refusal  upon  their  several  rights  from  all  the  property 


132  CHARLES    EWER 

owners,  with  the  single  exception  of  one,  who  chose  not 
to  relinquish  his  individual  title,  but  would  not  stand  in 
the  way  of  the  undertaking  if  carried  out.  The  rights 
thus  pledged  were  all  to  be  surveyed  and  appraised,  and 
thrown  into  joint  stock,  agreeably  to  proposals  which  had 
been  previously  submitted  to  the  proprietors  by  Mr.  Ewer, 
as  a  part  of  the  plan  in  emhryo.  The  practical  soundness 
and  safety  with  which  this  essential  preliminary  was 
effected  will  appear  from  the  following  statement  of  the 
agent  of  the  South  Cove  Corporation,  in  the  first  annual 
report  of  the  directors :  — "  Many  of  the  contracts  of 
refusal,"  he  states,  "  had  expired  before  the  estates  were 
purchased  ;  yet  in  no  instance  was  there  any  advance 
paid  upon  the  contract  prices.  On  the  contrary,  a  reduc- 
tion of  $6,000  from  those  prices  has  been  effected." 

It  will  have  been  noticed  that  all  along  Mr.  Ewer  had 
in  view,  as  an  important  accessory  of  the  scheme,  the 
securing  of  the  terminus  of  the  Boston  and  Worcester 
Railroad  on  the  lands  to  be  made  from  the  South  Cove. 
As  the  enterprise  advanced,  and  the  time  came  near  when 
the  railroad  would  be  brought  to  the  city,  other  parties, 
with  separate  interests  of  their  own,  were  operating  to 
induce  the  directors  to  adopt  a  different  locality.  No 
small  effort  was  now  required  to  influence  that  corpora- 
tion to  choose  the  course  desired  by  the  South  End  people. 
In  this  effort  Mr.  Ewer,  by  the  promptness,  energy,  and 
perseverance  of  his  action,  against  powerful  rival  influ- 
ences, led  the  way  to  the  result  which  was  finally  adopted. 
The  moinent  was  critical.  Mr.  Ewer  and  another  gentle- 
man had  been  employed  by  the  president  of  the  railroad 
to  make  inquiries  to  ascertain  what  inducements  would 
be  offered  for  locatino;  on  the  South  Cove.  Becoming- 
apprised  of  the  fact,  at  this  juncture,  that  a  negotiation 
was  being  covertly  carried  on  with  an  individual  of 
wealth  and. influence,  who  had  made  an  offer  of  $100,000 
in  favor  of  another  location,  and  being  assured  that  the 


I 


I 


CHARLES    EWER  133 

directors  were  about  to  meet  to  consider  the  proposal, 
when,  as  it  was  affirmed,  "  there  was  no  doubt  the  offer 
would  be  accepted,"  the  utmost  activity  was  used  to 
"  urge  upon  the  South  End  people,"  particularly  "  the 
owners  of  estates  on  Front  Street,  the  vast  importance  of 
securing  the  railroad  depots,  and  the  necessity  for  prompt 
attention  in  securing  the  object."  Fortunately  no  deci- 
sion was  made  on  the  aforesaid  proposal  at  this  meeting 
of  the  directors,  and  "  at  the  next "  the  record  of  Mr. 
Ewer  proceeds :  ''  We  handed  in  a  letter  which  we  had 
procured  to  be  signed  by  Mr.  J.  Knapp,  Mr.  Baxter,  and 
others,  inquiring,  if  the  people  would  construct  the  road 
from  Brookline  to  Washington  Street  at  their  own  ex- 
pense whether  they  would  agree  to  locate  their  depots  on 
the  South  Cove  ?  "  At  the  same  time,  he  states  further : 
"I  got  a  memorial  drawn  up,  addressed  to  the  directors, 
on  the  subject,  and  personally  procured  the  signatures  of 
all  the  stockholders  of  the  Boston  and  Worcester  Ptailroad 
favorable  to  a  southern  location.  I  got  Mr.  John  D.  Wil- 
liams to  speak  to  the  directors,  and  urge  on  them  the 
indispensable  importance  of  locating  the  depot  at  the 
South  End.  These  efforts  turned  the  tide  in  our  favor, 
that  is,  in  favor  of  the  South  End  interests.  A  correspon- 
dence was  now  opened  between  the  South  End  people 
and  the  directors,  which  resulted  in  the  arrangement 
which  was  ultimately  made  with  the  South  Cove  Com- 
pany. This  correspondence  was  quite  extended,  and 
occupied  nearly  three  months.  I  was  on  the  Committee 
of  Correspondence.  I  was  also  on  the  Committee  for 
obtaining  Subscriptions.  I  labored  incessantly  by  night 
and  by  day ;  sometimes  I  was  employed  till  ten  o'clock 
at  nis^ht." 

A  draft  of  the  Memorial  referred  to  in  the  above 
extract  —  probably  the  original,  or  first  draft,  with  verbal 
corrections  —  is  preserved  among  the  papers  of  Mr.  Ewer. 
It  may  be  of  interest,  also,  to  state  that,  as  the  result  of 


134  CHARLES   EWER 

the  correspondence  referred  to,  the  arrangement  ulti- 
mately concluded  with  the  railroad  company  for  fixing 
the  terminus  of  the  road  on  the  South  Cove,  ''  and 
there,"  in  the  words  of  the  contract,  "  to  maintain  the 
same  forever,"  was  in  consideration  of  a  bonus  being 
given  them  in  money  and  in  land,  for  the  purposes  of 
the  road,  estimated  at  the  cost  price  of  something  over 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  wisdom  of  this  con- 
clusion of  the  matter  will  be  disputed  by  no  one  at 
this  day. 

The  Boston  and  Providence  Railroad,  which,  it  will 
have  been  noticed,  was  thought  likely  by  Mr.  Ewer  to 
come  in  at  the  same  quarter,  found  it  expedient  to  stop 
short  of  the  South  Cove.  But  the  terminus  of  the  Old 
Colony  and  Newport  Railroad,  and  that  of  the  Boston, 
Hartford,  and  Erie,  which  is  virtually  within  the  same 
limits,  have  more  than  fulfilled  his  expectations  in  this 
regard. 

We  find  Mr.  Ewer  ens-ao-ed  at  nearlv  the  same  time  in 
other  projects  of  no  small  magnitude,  tributary  to  that  of 
the  South  Cove,  or  nearly  connected  with  it,  which  bear 
witness  to  the  same  attributes  of  a  sagacious  and  ever 
active  mind.  One  of  a  similar  character  —  though  it  was 
finally  superseded  in  the  execution  by  other  parties  —  is 
thus  noticed  in  his  careful  record.     He  says :  — 

"A  short  time  after  a  charter  had  been  obtained  by  this  com- 
pany (the  South  Cove  Company),  aware  that  an  opportunity 
would  occur  as  soon  as  their  labors  should  have  arrived  to  some 
degree  of  maturity  for  forming  a  company  in  the  same  manner 
that  that  had  been  formed  for  filling  up  and  improving  the  flats 
lying  in  front  of  First  Street,  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  Free 
Bridge,  I  therefore  applied  to  the  Legislature  for  the  charter, 
which  Cyrus  Alger  and  others  now  wish  to  wrest  from  me." 

A  copy  of  this  petition  to  the  General  Court,  bear- 
ing date  February  22,  1833,  and  likewise  of  the  act  to 
incorporate  the  company,  consisting  of  "  William  Ingalls, 


I 


CnARLES    EWER  135 

Charles  Ewer,  and  Nahum  Capen,  and  their  associates," 
under  the  name  of  the  "  South  Boston  Wharf  and  Dock 
Company,"  which  was  passed  in  both  Houses,  March  25, 
1833,  and  approved  by  Governor  Lincoln  on  the  26th,  are 
preserved  among  the  papers  of  Mr.  Ewer. 

By  this  time,  however,  certain  other  parties,  named  by 
Mr.  Ewer,  as  above,  had  become  sensible  of  the  great 
value  of  such  a  franchise,  and  of  the  importance  of  the 
improvements  contemplated  by  the  new  company  thus 
created ;  and  by  the  wealth  and  influence  they  were  able 
to  command  anticipated  their  action  under  the  charter 
they  had  obtained,  succeeded  in  "  purchasing  out  of  their 
hands  a  considerable  portion  of  the  property  over  which 
their  corporate  powers  extended,"  and  had  the  address,  at 
the  next  session  of  the  Legislature,  to  obtain  an  act  of 
incorporation  under  the  name  and  title  of  the  "  Boston 
Wharf  Company,"  to  do  the  same  thing,  for  substance, 
on  the  selfsame  premises,  with  the  aforesaid  "  South 
Boston  Wharf  and  Dock  Company."  It  would  seem  from 
this  that  the  art  and  mystery  of  special  legislation  is  not 
wholly  an  invention  of  the  present  palmy  days  of  the 
republic.  By  means  of  this  proceeding  the  "  South 
Boston  Wharf  and  Dock  Company  "  was  effectually  sup- 
planted, and  did  nothing  further  in  pursuance  of  its 
desiorn.     But  the  foresio-ht  and  financial  wisdom  of  that 

Cr  O 

design  has  been  fully  shown  by  the  large  success  of  the 
corporation  which  came  into  its  place. 

The  "  remonstrance "  of  the  former  company  to  the 
Legislature  against  this  method  of  vacating  their  powers 
while  the  question  of  granting  the  abovenamed  second 
charter  was  pending,  and  likewise  an  able  letter  by  Mr. 
Ewer  to  the  Hon.  John  C.  Gray,  a  member  of  the  Senate, 
from  Boston,  to  the  same  effect,  which  are  both  on  file 
among  his  papers,  are  forcible,  and  it  would  seem  quite 
unanswerable  documents.  The  remonstrance  concludes 
with  the  following  sentence :  — 


136  CHARLES    EWER 

"  The  labor  and  expense  of  devising  and  showing  the  feasi- 
bility of  projected  improvements  has  always  been  allowed  to  be 
a  reasonable  ground  on  which  to  grant  corporate  powers  for 
making  the  improvements,  and  has  always  been  deemed  to  con- 
stitute an  exclusive  right  to  those  powers  in  the  first  devisees 
and  projectors  who,  by  their  labor,  time,  and  expense,  have 
brought  such  improvements  forward  to  the  public  view." 

What  is  here  so  justly  contended  for,  in  application  to 
this  comparatively  subordinate  interest,  might  well  have 
been  urged  as  grounding  a  claim  in  equity,  in  favor  of 
Mr.  Ewer,  to  a  very  liberal  reward  from  the  South  Cove 
Corporation  for  his  agency  in  devising  and  bringing  for- 
ward to  the  public  view  that  great  improvement  which 
has  put  many  thousands  of  dollars  into  the  pockets  of 
those  who  had  capital  to  invest  in  the  enterprise.  Ac- 
cording to  his  own  proposals,  in  the  plan  which  he 
devised  for  organizing  the  company,  it  was  to  be  com- 
posed of  the  proprietors  of  the  Flats,  and  of  others  who 
might  furnish  capital  to  carry  on  the  undertaking.  By 
these  limitations  he,  with  characteristic  disinterestedness, 
had  made  no  place  for  himself,  and  his  name  nowhere 
appears  in  the  reports  of  the  corporation.  He  was  the 
"  wise  man  "  by  whom  the  city  was  builded,  but  he  was 
poor ;  and  no  man  remembered  —  certainly  not  as  he 
deserved  to  be  remembered  — "  that  same  poor  man." 
He  should,  if  nothing  more,  have  been  made  an  honorary 
member  of  the  company,  with  pecuniary  interest  attached, 
in  some  degree  proportioned  to  the  great  service  he  had 
rendered. 

That  the  justice  of  such  moral  claim  was  felt  by  some 
who  were  members  of  the  corporation,  and  an  essay  made 
toward  according  it  to  him,  is  indeed  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing paper,  the  use  and  effect  of  which,  however,  does 
not  definitely  appear:  — 

"Whereas,  Charles  Ewer,  of  Boston,  gentleman,  has  hereto- 
fore expended  much  time  and  labor  in  examining  the  estates 


CHARLES    EWER  137 

and  procuring  contracts  from  the  owners  of  lands  and  wharves 
around  the  South  Cove,  between  Front  and  Sea  Streets,  in 
Boston,  and  has  done  much  service  in  procuring  such  contracts ; 
and,  whereas,  said  Ewer  has  assigned  over  to  the  committee 
chosen  by  persons  selected  by  those  interested  in  procuring  the 
Boston  and  Worcester  Railroad  Corporation  to  locate  a  deposi- 
tory of  said  railroad  within  said  cove,  all  the  contracts  by  him 
obtained  for  so  conveying  the  lands  upon  said  cove ;  — 

"Now,  therefore,  we,  a  sub-committee,  chosen  by  those  so 
interested,  do  agree  that  said  Ewer  reasonably  deserves  to  have 
for  his  labor  and  services,  rendered  as  above  described,  the  sum 
of  one  thousand  dollars  and  we  will  use  all  proper  efforts  and 
exertions  to  procure  for  said  Ewer  the  above  sum  from  any 
company  or  corporation  to  whom  the  lands  aforesaid  may  or 
shall  be  conveyed,  in  satisfaction  and  payment  to  said  Ewer  for 
his  services  so  rendered  :  —  It  being  understood  that  said  Ewer 
is  not  bound  to  waive  his  claims  upon  other  grounds  for  the 
sum  above  specified. 

[Signed]         Henry  H.  Fuller, 

Ellis  Gray  Loeing, 

Joseph  Dall, 

E.  Hasket  Derby." 

This  paper  is  without  date  upon  the  face  of  it,  but 
from  its  tenor,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  committee 
describe  themselves,  it  is  obvious  that  it  was  made  pre- 
vious to  the  Act  of  Incorporation,  January  31,  1833.  It 
was  probably  done  soon  after  the  company  was  formed, 
and  when  the  contracts  for  conveyance  of  the  lands  in 
the  Cove,  which  had  stood  in  Mr.  Ewer's  name  hitherto, 
were  made  over  to  them  by  assignment  preparatory  to 
the  application  for  a  charter. 

April  23,  1833,  a  correspondence  Avas  opened  by  the 

president  of  the  corporation,  Mr.  Edward  H.  Bobbins,  with 

Mr.  Ewer,  looking  to  the  matter  of  compensation  for  his 

services,  which  resulted  in  an  offer  on  the  part  of  the 

directors  of  "  two  shares  of  the  company's  stock,  and  five 

hundred  dollars  in  cash."     The  original  par  value  of  the 

shares   being    $500,    this    offer    amounted    nominally   to 

18 


138  CHAELES    EWER 

§1,500,  and  we  are  bound  to  suppose  that  the  directors 
tendered  this  inconsiderable  bonus  as,  in  their  view,  a 
sufficient  reward  for  the  skill  and  exertions  of  Mr.  Ewer 
through  three  years  of  indefatigable  labor  in  bringing 
into  existence  and  successful  operation  the  grand  and 
prospectively  lucrative  enterprise,  of  which  they  had  now 
the  benefit  and  control.  It  was  otherwise  regarded, 
however,  by  JVIr.  Ewer.  He  expressly  declined  to 
accept  it  as  an  adequate  compensation,  stating  to  the 
president  that  he  did  not  consider  it  as  one  half  the 
amount  he  was  entitled  to,  and  that  he  "  received  it  as  a 
donation,  and  not  as  a  complete  remuneration."  This  he 
was  induced  to  do,  as  he  further  states  in  his  letter  to  the 
president,  "  to  avoid  being  placed  in  the  unpleasant  pre- 
dicament of  attempting  to  obstruct  a  project  I  originated, 
and  had  commended  on  the  ground  of  general  and  local 
utility,  to  the  patronage  of  others,  and  to  accomplish 
which  I  had  labored  so  long.  Rather  than  fall  under  the 
imputation  of  throwing  the  least  impediment  in  the  way 
of  the  corporation,  or  of  being  disposed  to  take  a  single 
cent  from  it  by  coercion,  I  waived  my  claims  and  cast 
myself  on  its  equitable  consideration.  This,  I  trust,  was 
honorably  if  not  prudently  done." 

Mr.  Ewer  was  moved  to  the  writing  of  this  letter  by 
statements  which  he  had  met  with,  as  coming  from  some 
member  or  members  of  the  corporation,  that  he  had  been 
fully,  and  even  liberally,  paid  for  his  services.  He  was 
not  accustomed  in  the  later  years  of  his  life  to  speak 
often  of  these  matters.  Nevertheless,  he  seems  to  have 
regarded  it  as  due  to  his  memory,  when  he  should  have 
passed  from  the  stage  of  action,  that  full  and  unequivocal 
evidence  should  be  found  on  record  of  his  agency  in 
originating  and  promoting  an  enterprise  which  he  lived 
to  see  so  completely  fulfilling  his  expectations,  and  so 
largely  contributing  to  the  prosperity  and  greatness  of  his 
native  city. 


CHARLES    EWER  139 

The  work  was  not  conceived  a  moment  too  soon.  Not 
"  a  hundred  years,"  nor  yet  "  fifty,"  as  was  incredulously 
predicted  by  some,  have  been  required  to  fulfil  the 
most  sanguine  hopes  of  its  projector.  We  hear  of  men  — 
landscape  gardeners  and  others  —  who  possess  what  is 
called  "  the  prophetic  eye  of  taste,"  who  can  look  upon  a 
plat  of  ground  in  its  natural  rude  exterior,  and  discern 
at  a  glance  its  artistic  capabilities,  filling  out,  in  the 
mind's  eye,  the  new  creations  of  beauty  which  their 
magic  skill  will  conjm-e  out  of  it.  Mr.  Ewer  was  not  less 
a  ge'nius  in  his  way,  foreseeing  with  prophetic  eye  large 
capabilities  of  commercial  and  industrial  development, 
from  which  the  eyes  of  other  men  were  holden. 

The  end  is  not  yet.  A  stimulus  has  been  imparted  to 
other  minds,  which,  upon  a  similar  and  even  more  gigan- 
tic scale,  requiring  the  powerful  arm  of  the  common- 
wealth to  wield  its  forces,  is  lifting  to-day  another  broad 
and  most  magnificent  section  of  the  city  from  the  sea. 
As  we  write,  we  learn  that  it  is  contemplated  by  "  mer- 
chants of  Boston,  and  others  interested,"  to  ask  of  the 
present  Legislature  "  that  efibrts  be  made  to  see  in  what 
manner  the  several  lines  of  railroads  leading  to  the  west 
and  northwest,  including  those  which  will  communicate 
with  the  Hoosac  Tunnel,  may  he  concentrated  upon  termi- 
nal ground  at  South  Boston!' 

After  the  South  Cove  enterprise  had  been  carried  into 
execution,  having  passed  entu-ely  into  the  hands  of  the 
corporation,  Mr.  Ewer  was  less  intensely  engrossed  with 
a  multiplicity  of  business  concerns,  and  found  leisure  to 
prosecute,  more  or  less,  those  researches  into  the  antiqui- 
ties of  the  city  and  its  people  for  which  he  had  always  a 
strong  predilection ;  for  in  him  was  illustrated  the  Hues 
of  the  great  poet  of  human  nature,  which  characterize 
man  as  a  being  of  — 

"  large  discourse, 
Looking  before  and  after." 


140  ,  CHARLES    EWER 

His  knowledge  of  the  distinguished  men  of  his  time,  who 
had  passed  from  the  stage  in  the  days  of  his  earher  recol- 
lection, especially  of  professional  and  public  men  in  his 
native  city,  was  extensive  and  well  preserved.  He  pos- 
sessed a  fund  of  information  and  anecdotes  in  regard  to 
such,  with  which  he  was  wont  to  enliven  the  hours  of 
social  intercourse  among  those  whose  knowledge  of  the 
city  was  of  a  more  recent  date.  Its  ancient  landmarks 
and  prominent  localities,  honored  and  consecrated  by  the 
names  and  deeds  of  the  celebrities  and  "solid  men"  of 
the  olden  time,  had  been  carefully  identified  and  mapped 
out  in  the  survey  of  his  mind.  His  veneration  for  the 
Fathers  of  New  England  —  which  was  no  mere  morbid 
or  vague  sentimentalism,  but  a  well-informed  and  dis- 
criminating judgment  —  led  him  to  attach  a  peculiar 
value  to  every  accessible  relic  which  carries  with  it  the 
blessed  savor  of  their  memory.  An  instance  of  this, 
among  many  which  might  be  named,  was  seen  in  the 
pains  which  he  took  to  secure  the  butt  log  of  the  tree 
under  which  Eliot  preached  to  the  Indians  at  Natick, 
when  he  had  learned  that  the  modern  march  of  improve- 
ment in  that  thriving  town  had  demanded  its  ruthless 
immolation.  Mr.  Ewer,  with  another  gentleman  whose 
assistance  he  obtained,  went  out  and  rescued  it  from  the 
road-side,  where  it  lay  neglected,  brought  it  to  the  city, 
and  had  it  sawed  into  light  boards  and  veneers,  suit- 
able for  making  boxes  or  other  keepsakes  for  the  anti- 
quary. In  like  manner,  when  the  ancient  edifice  in  this 
city,  traditionally  reputed  to  have  been  the  dwelling- 
house  of  the  Rev.  John  Cotton,  was  taken  down,  he  was 
careful  to  secure  a  generous  piece  of  one  of  the  timbers 
as  a  relic  of  the  venerated  mansion.  As  his  sister  has 
stated,  he  spent  much  time,  even  to  the  injury  of  his 
health,  in  obtaining  ancient  records  and  documents  illus- 
trative of  the  history  of  the  towns  in  the  vicinity  of  Bos- 
ton.     His  tastes  ran  more  decidedly  in  this  direction, 


CHARLES    EWER  141 

perhaps,  than  in  that  of  strict  genealogical  inquiry, 
though  his  publication  of  the  Stoddard  Genealogy  would 
indi-cate  that  the  bent  of  his  mind  was  very  early  in  that 
direction  also.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  he  had 
never  committed  to  paper,  in  a  form  to  be  displayed  on 
the  pages  of  this  memorial,  his  own  family  pedigree. 
That  he  should  have  omitted  to  do  this,  especially  in  his 
later  years,  after  he  became  more  deeply  interested  in 
genealogical  matters,  is  but  another  proof,  added  to  many 
furnished  through  his  whole  life,  of  his  forge tfulness  of 
himself,  in  the  earnest  prosecution  of  efforts  for  the  pro- 
motion of  any  great  public  interest. 

The  crowning  honor  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir 
remains  to  be  awarded  him ;  for  such,  in  the  impartial 
estimate  of  historic  truth,  after  thirty  years  of  rapid  and 
mature  development,  will  his  agency  be  regarded  in 
founding,  and  for  a  series  of  its  first  years  admin- 
istering the  affairs  of  the  New  England  Historic 
Genealogical  Society.  This  achievement,  both  as 
respects  its  conception  and  its  final  aim,  rises  into  a 
higher  plane  of  honorable  endeavor  than  any,  however 
extensive  and  lucrative  in  its  results,  which  must  termi- 
nate in  mere  material  and  temporal  advantage.  Like  the 
other  achievements  which  have  been  dwelt  upon,  this  also 
is  largely  to  be  ascribed  to  Mr.  Ewer's  inventive  and 
constructive  faculty.  The  history  of  this  society,  in  its 
origin  and  growth,  has  been  elaborately  written  and 
given  to  the  world  by  more  than  one  of  its  learned  and 
respected  officers,  whose  diligent  research  and  discrimi- 
nating fidelity  have  left  little  which  could  be  added  to 
the  record.  The  Rev.  Edmund  F.  Slafter,  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  society  since  1867,  in  his  eloquent  dis- 
course on  the  occasion  of  the  Quarter  Centennial  Anniver- 
sary, thus  speaks  of  its  origin  :  — 

"  In  the  autumn  of  1844  there  were  several  gentlemen  resid- 
ing in  the  city  of  Boston  who  added  to  a  long-cherisbed  taste 


142  CHARLES    EWER 

for  antiquarian  subjects  in  general  a  deep  interest  in  historical 
and  genealogical  studies,  and  had  already  made  wide  explora- 
tions in  this  hitherto  unrecognized  but  important  field  of  inves- 
tigation: After  casual  consultations  with  each  other,  reaching 
through  some  months  anterior  to  this,  they  met  at  the  residence 
of  one  of  their  number,  where  they  entered  into  a  full  and  free 
discussion  of  the  expediency  of  associated  effort  in  behalf  of 
their  favorite  study.  At  a  second  meeting,  held  on  the  first  of 
November  of  the  same  year,  they  advanced  so  far  as  to  appoint 
a  chairman  and  secretary ;  to  determine  upon  the  establishment 
of  a  society ;  to  discuss  the  name  that  should  be  given  to  it,  and 
to  provide  for  its  proper  organization.  Successive  meetings 
continued  to  be  held  at  frequent  intervals  during  the  next  three 
months,  at  which  we  find  that  the  society  had  been  organized, 
a  full  corps  of  officers  elected,  a  compact  but  comprehensive 
constitution  elaborated  and  adopted,  and  an  application  made 
to  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  for  an  Act  of  Incor- 
poration." 

A  survivor  of  the  gentlemen  who  organized  the  New 
England  Historic  Genealogical  Society  is  fortunately 
able,  from  his  own  very  perfect  recollection,  to  carry  us 
back  into  the  penumbral  period  of  the  society's  forth- 
coming to  the  light,  and  to  identify  the  time  and  cir- 
cumstances in  which  the  vision  of  it  took  a  distinct  form 
in  the  thought  of  its  projectors.  This  gentleman  is  the 
venerable  William  H.  Montague,  Esq.,  who  lives  among 
us  in  a  green  old  age,  though  suffering  from  entire  decay 
of  his  natural  sight;  himself  also  a  resident  of  the  city 
from  his  youth,  the  intricate  labyrinth  of  whose  streets  he 
is  able  still  to  walk  without  a  guide ;  who  frequents  the 
society's  rooms  with  the  habit  of  his  earlier  days,  and  is  a 
constant  attendant  at  its  monthly  meetings.  Mr.  Mon- 
tague states  that  a  coterie  of  gentlemen  were  in  the 
habit  of  holding  informal  meetings  for  the  consideration 
of  "  antiquarian,  historical,  and  genealogical  subjects  in 
general,"  and  that  it  was  at  those  meetings  he  first 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Ewer,  who,  he  says,  was 


CHARLES   EWER  143 

the  youngest  member  of  the  circle  excepting  himself. 
Several  of  the  other  names  were  such  as  these :  Theo- 
dore Lyman,  William  Pitt  Greenwood,  William  Ingalls, 
senior,  M.D.,  General  William  Hull,  Colonel  Joseph  H. 
Adams,  John  Roberts,  General  John  P.  Boyd,  Colonel 
Henry  Orne,  William  Little,  and  Samuel  H.  Jenks.  This 
list  of  respectable  names  is  pertinent  and  instructive  as  to 
the  purpose  of  this  sketch,  as  showing  the  high  character 
of  Mr.  Ewer's  associates^on  these  general  subjects  before 
the  plan  of  this  society  had  entered  his  mind. 

Mr.  Ewer  and  Mr.  Montague,  being  the  two  youngest 
members,  were  frequently  in  conference  on  these  general 
subjects  at  each  other's  houses  or  places  of  business,  and 
it  was  between   these  two  gentlemen,  on  one   of  these 
occasions,  at  the  house  of  the  latter,  No.  5  Orange  Street, 
that  the  idea  first  sprung  into  being  of  having  a  society 
for  the  collection  and  preservation  of  materials  illustrat- 
ing the  history,  biography,  and  genealogy  of  New  Eng- 
land.    Mr.  Montague's  recollection,  after   the   lapse    of 
thirty  years,  is  very  distinct,  to  the  following  effect :  — 
That,  after  conversing  for  some  time  with  Uvely  interest 
upon  these  subjects  he  (Mr.  Montague)  chanced  to  let  fall 
the  suggestion   or   inquiry,  "Why    can   we   not  have  a 
society  to   bring    together   and   preserve    these   facts  ? " 
•upon  which   Mr.   Ewer,  with   characteristic   enthusiasm, 
springing  out  of  his  chair,  exclaimed,  "  So  we  can  !  What 
is  there  to  hinder  ?  "    As  if  at  the  colhsion  of  the  flint  and 
steel,  the  spark  here  fell  upon  tinder  in  the  breast  of  Mr. 
Ewer,  which  instantly  inflamed,  and  set  on  fire  the  whole 
course  of   his  enthusiastic  nature.     "He   went  to   work 
upon  the  spot,"  says  Mr.  Montague,  "  making  out  a  list  of 
persons "  who  he  believed  would  take  an  interest  in  the 
object,  and  saying,  by  the  way,  "TFe'ZZ  have  a  magazine 
to  commimicate  with  the  public  ! '' 

By  such   a   sudden,  joyous,  and  complete  deliverance 
the   New   England    Historic    Genealogical    Society,   the 


144  CHARLES    EWER 

first  of  its  race,  was  born  into  the  world ;  and  from  this 
auspicious  moment  the  active  spirit  of  its  progenitor 
never  rested,  and  his  zeal  never  faltered,  till  he  saw  the 
society  fully  organized,  incorporated,  and  established  in 
the  confidence  of  the  public  as  a  respectable  and  useful 
institution.  Mr.  Ewer  saw  occasion,  at  the  time  referred 
to,  or  upon  further  consultations,  to  set  down  other 
names  besides  those  above  enumerated,  as  of  persons 
likely  to  take  a  special  interest  in  the  design;  since, 
among  the  original  founders  of  the  society,  the  names 
of  Lemuel  Shattuck,  Samuel  G.  Drake,  and  J.  Wingate 
Thornton,  appear  in  prominent  relations. 

After  one  or  two  preliminary  meetings  the  society  was 
organized  by  the  adoption  of  a  constitution  and  the  choice 
of  officers,  when  Mr.  Ewer  was  elected  president.  In  this 
then  laborious  and  comparatively  thankless  office  he  was 
continued  by  successive  elections  for  the  first  five  years, 
until  January,  1850.  No  presidential  term  has  exceeded 
this  in  length  excepting  that  of  the  Hon.  Marshall  P. 
Wilder,  the  present  incumbent.  During  all  these  years 
the  society  —  being  in  its  infancy,  being  the  first  of  its 
kind  ever  instituted,  and  rather  naturally,  perhaps,  among 
a  people  where  the  laws  of  primogeniture  and  the  proud 
pretensions  of  a  titled  aristocracy  are  discarded,  incurring 
to  some  extent  the  imputation  of  personal  vanity,  in 
attempting  to  found  honorable  distinction  upon  shadowy 
ancestral  honors  —  encountered  no  small  difficulty  in 
making  its  way  into  favor  with  the  public,  and  establish- 
ing its  claim  to  take  rank  among  the  popular  institutions 
of  the  country.  For  carrying  it  through  such  an  ordeal, 
Mr.  Ewer,  by  nature  and  by  habit,  was  admirably  fitted. 
Whatever  undertaking  he  took  hold  of  he  was  totus  iri 
illis.  His  enthusiasm  was  not  chilled  by  the  lack  of  gen- 
eral sympathy  and  immediate  co-operation.  He  could  see 
beyond  the  day  of  small  things,  and  discern  the  latent 
grounds  of   ultimate  success.      With   these  elements  of 


CHARLES    EWER  145 

character  his  persistency  and  perseverance  were  indomit- 
able. The  society,  under  his  administration,  feeble  as  it 
was  at  first,  struck  out  boldly  into  the  field  of  its 
new  adventure.  At  the  very  first  addition  made  to 
the  number  of  its  original  members  it  elected  ex- 
President  John  Quincy  Adams  an  honorary  member,  an 
"honor"  which,  in  due  time,  was  gracefully  accepted  by 
Mr.  Adams  in  a  letter  from  under  his  trembling  hand, 
which  constitutes  one  of  its  most  treasured  autographs. 
During  the  first  year  eighty-nine  resident  members,  and 
many  honorary  and  corresponding  members,  were  elected, 
the  most  of  whom  ultimately  accepted.  Mr.  Ewer  kept 
himself  continually  in  communication  with  gentlemen  of 
his  acquaintance,  whom  he  knew  or  believed  to  be  per- 
sons of  cono-enial  tastes,  in  this  direction  makino;  a  list  of 
such  as  he  found  favorably  disposed  toward  the  society 
for  nomination  to  membership.  The  society,  '^  endowed 
with  nothing,"  in  the  words  of  its  directors,  "but  the 
importance  of  its  objects  and  the  energy  of  its  members," 
conceived  at  once,  and  entered  upon  the  execution  of 
nearly  all  the  plans  of  operation  and  enlargement  which 
are  being  carried  into  effective  application  in  its  present 
bright  and  palmy  days. 

The  impromptu  utterance  of  Mr.  Ewer,  coincident  with 
his  first  glimpse  of  the  society,  m  futiiro,  has  been  cited, 
'•'  We  'II  have  a  magazine  to  communicate  with  the  public  !  " 
How  soon  and  how  successfully  this  pregnant  purpose 
was  developed  into  being,  and  how  valuable  and  respect- 
able the  society's  periodical  has  become,  is  evidenced  by 
the  number  of  volumes  it  has  reached,  being  equal,  within 
two  only,  to  the  years  of  the  society's  existence.  Mr. 
Ewer,  making  no  literary  pretensions  for  himself,  aspired 
never  to  the  editorship  or  management  of  the  magazine 
which  his  prophetic  thought  had  thus  originated.  But 
those  of  his  associates  in  the  board  of  direction  to  whom 
it   fell   by '  appointment   to    fulfil   these    functions   have 

19 


146  CHARLES   EWER 

cheerfully  affirmed  that  in  many  ways  the  undertaking, 
in  its  commencement,  was  much  aided  by  the  stimulus 
which  he  gave,  and  the  rich  and  varied  sources  of  appro- 
priate material  to  which  he  directed  attention.  When  an 
editor  was  obtained  to  take  charge  of  the  work,  to  whom 
an  annual  compensation  of  $1,000  was  pledged,  he  with 
two  other  members,  Mr.  Montague  and  Mr.  David  Hamb- 
len, became  responsible  for  the  amount,  one  moiety  of 
which  was  by  Mr.  Ewer.  The  payment  of  this  guaranty, 
however,  was  never  required ;  the  arrangement,  after  the 
first  year,  having  been  given  up,  and  the  Register  thence- 
forward being  conducted  in  a  great  measure  by  gratui- 
tous services  from  members  of  the  Society. 

The  labors  of  Mr.  Ewer  looking  to  the  establishment 
of  the  society's  library  deserve  also  special  recognition. 
The  persistency  and  success  of  his  endeavors,  even  in  the 
face  of  discouragement  and  almost  of  rebuff,  from  some  dis- 
tinguished personages  whose  assistance  it  seemed  advis- 
able to  secure  in  order  to  obtain  for  the  library  some  of 
the  most  valuable  foreign  contributions  which  are  now  I 

upon  its  shelves,  are  gratefully  remembered.     In  regard  j 

to  the  efficiency  and  fruitfulness  of  the  incipient  mea-  ) 

sures  adopted  for  the  gathering  of  a  library,  and  of  their  \ 

"instant  execution,"  the  historian  of  the  society,  whom  ■' 

we  have  already  quoted,  thus  speaks :  — 

*'  Schedules  of  what  was  wanted  under  five  distinct  heads,  '\^ 

embracing   printed    volumes,   manuscript    documents,    original  I 

records,  newspapers,  and  magazines,  were  sent  to  all  our  mem- 
bers,  and  they  were  requested  to  procure  the  donation  to  the 
society  of  this  sort  of  material,  classified  and  described  by 
them  more  definitely  than  is  necessary  for  my  present  purpose. 
These  schedules  were  issued  annually  for  the  first  three  years 
of  the  society's  existence.  The  third,  in  June,  1847,  reached 
our  members,  more  than  three  hundred  in  number,  including 
resident,  corresponding,  and  honorary,  and  scattered  not  only 
over  the  six  New  England  States,  but  also  to  be  found  in  New 


CHARLES    EWER  147 

York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Kentucky,  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  at  the  seat  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, at  Washington,  and  in  the  city  of  London,  in  Eng- 
land. "  These  bulletins  "  he  adds,  "  went  forth  like  a  bugle 
call,  and  the  response  came  back  warm,  earnest,  prompt,  and 
generous."  "  It  is  to  be  observed,"  he  continues,  "  that  the  con- 
tributions which  came  to  us,  as  was  intended,  were,  at  this  early 
period,  almost  exclusively  from  members  of  the  society.  The 
collections  of  our  associates  yielded  large  material,  gathered 
under  the  influence  of  their  prevailing  tastes,  which  they  were 
ready  and  rejoiced  to  make  the  foundation  of  a  library  which 
had  a  great  historical  purpose.  The  impulse  thus  given,  kept 
alive  by  the  growing  fame  of  our  generous  design,  and  the 
broadly  diffused  personal  influence  of  our  members,  has  main- 
tained a  constant  flow  of  historical  material  to  the  archives 
of  this  society.  The  current  has  varied  but  little  either  in 
strength  or  fulness  from  the  beginning  down  to  the  present 
moment." 

The  result  is  that  in  the  progress  of  thirty  years  to  the 
time  of  the  present  writing  the  society  has  accumulated  a 
library  very  select  and  appropriate  in  its  character,  of 
twelve  thousand  volumes,  and  forty  thousands  of  pam- 
phlets, besides  numerous  manuscripts  and  other  documents. 

Speaking  of  the  energy  and  productiveness  of  these 
early  plans  and  labors  of  the  pioneers  of  this  society  while 
Mr.  Ewer  was  their  official  leader,  Mr.  Slafter  forcibly 
remarks :  — 

"With  such  a  broad  field  as  this,  covered  over  with  the 
ungathered  harvest  of  rich  historical  material,  the  early  mem- 
bers of  our  society  entered  with  youthful  zeal  and  manly 
energy  upon  their  career  of  work.  Plans  were  laid,  and  steps 
immediately  taken,  under  numerous  commissions,  to  bring  within 
their  reach  the  sources  of  information  which  are  indispensable 
and  fundamental  in  all  historic  genealogical  investigations. 
These  plans  were  broad,  comprehensive,  and  characterized  by 
a  far-sighted  practical  wisdom.  Many  of  them  were  speedily 
carried  forward  to  completion,  while  others  were  so  vast  in 
their  design,   and   so    complicated   in   their  nature,   that  they 


148 


CHARLES    EWER 


remain  unexecuted  down  to  the  present  moment.  But  all  these 
early  movements,  whether  taken  separately  or  together,  were 
at  once  a  pledge  of  present  fidelity  and  a  prophecy  of  future 
growth." 

In  a  note,  after  stating  that  "  a  great  number  of  sub- 
jects were  discussed,  and  committees  were  appointed  to 
obtain  information  for  the  use  of  the  society,"  a  number  ^ 
of  which  he  specifies,  Mr.  Slafter  particularly  notices  the 
following,  which  is  worthy  of  mention  here,  as  the  germ 
of  an  important  measure  largely  carried  into  effect  in 
after  years  by  the  State  for  the  preservation  of  its 
colonial  records ;  a  measure  growing  legitimately  out  of, 
but  not  especially  limited  by,  the  genius  and  aim  of  this 
society :  — 

"On  the  6th  of  January,  1846,  it  was  voted  that  a  special 
committee  be  appointed  to  petition  the  Legislature  that  a  record 
commission  be  appointed  to  procure  the  printing  of  such  early 
records  as  may'  be  deemed  expedient.  This  was  the  earliest 
movement  in  this  direction  of  which  we  have  any  knowledge, 
and  was  seven  years  before  the  State  of  Massachusetts  began  to 
print  the  records  of  Massachusetts  Bay  and  Plymouth  Colonies, 
edited  by  the  Hon.  Nathaniel  B.  Shurtleff,  M.  D.,  and  David  'z 

Pulsifer,  Esq.,  both  members  of  this  society,  the  latter  editing 
four  volumes,  and  transcribing  several  others." 

"The  above,"  the  writer  then  adds,  referring  to  this 
and  other  proceedings  which  he  had  before  rehearsed, 
"indicate  the  energy,  zeal,  and  comprehensive  intelligence, 
with  which  our  early  members  entered  upon  their  work 
during  the  first  year  of  the  society's  existence." 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  signal  benefits  conferred  upon 
New  England  and  the  nation  through  the  labors  of  the 
New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  which  shed 
lustre  upon  the  administration  of  its  first  president.  No 
one  who  knew  the  man  can  doubt  that  he  was  a  leading 
spirit  in  them  all,  and  that  in  the  important  services 
which  his  associates  in   the   work  performed  they  were 


CHARLES    EWER  149 

materially    aided    and    inspirited    bj    his    practical    and 
courageous  counsels. 

With  a  noble  spirit  of  generosity  and  unselfish  devotion 
to  the  interests  of  the  cause  which  he  had  so  much  at 
heart,  Mr.  Ewer  assumed  pecuniary  responsibilities  from 
time  to  time  for  rents,  furniture,  and  other  expenses,  and 
made  advances  for  the  payment  of  such  bills,  when  the 
treasury  was  empty,  which  could  have  been  by  no  means 
convenient  for  one  of  his  limited  means,  but  without 
which  the  society,  in  the  precariousness  of  its  slender 
finances,  must  more  than  once,  in  all  probability,  have 
come  to  a  stand.  The  society  was  still  in  arrears  to  him 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  indebtedness  was  after- 
wards honorably  discharged.  The  multifarious  details  of 
the  business  coming  upon  his  hands,  which  these  bills 
and  accounts  show,  make  it  evident  that  the  office  which 
he  filled  was  no  sinecure. 

At  one  time,  by  engaging  the  interest  and  co-operation 
of  his  relative,  the  late  Governor  Armstrong,  Mr.  Ewer 
came  near  to  securing  for  the  society  an  eligible  and 
permanent  home  in  one  of  the  buildings  which  he  had 
erected  in  Avon  Place.  What  would  have  been  the  mea- 
sure of  his  pride  and  gratification  had  he  lived  to  see  the 
society  established  in  the  rest  and  dignity  of  its  present 
estate,  occupying  the  beautiful  and  commodious  edifice 
which  one  of  his  worthy  successors  in  office,  employing 
his  munificent  wealth  in  the  same  spirit  of  noble  liber- 
ality, has  succeeded,  by  his  influence,  efforts,  and  large 
personal  sacrifices,  in  placing  in  its  inalienable  posses- 
sion !  If  permitted,  amid  the  rewards  of  a  hfe  of  benef- 
icent activity  to  which  he  has  gone,  to  know  the  full 
measure  of  honor  and  success  which  this  institution, 
planted  and  nurtured  in  its  infancy  by  his  hands,  has 
already  attained,  from  whatever  else  the  memory  of  his 
lifework  may  be  lost,  it  may  justly  be  granted  him,  in 
looking  down  upon  the  legitimate  consummation  of  his 


150  CHARLES   EWER 

latest    earthly    labor,    with    an    honest    complacency    to 

say,— 

"Exegi  monumentum  sere  perennius." 

Within  the  last  few  months  of  his  death,  Mr.  Ewer, 
with  rather  slender  and  over-worked  physical  energies, 
had  retired  from  the  excitements  of  the  city  to  a  more 
quiet  residence  in  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  where, 
with  his  worthy  and  affectionate  sisters,  Rebecca  and 
Charlotte,  whose  names  it  is  due  to  their  lifelong  fidelity 
to  preserve  in  this  record  of  their  brother's  life,  he  sought 
to  pass  the  remainder  of  his  days  amidst  the  scenes  and 
friends  which  he  had  learned  to  appreciate  during  a  tem- 
porary residence  among  them  at  a  former  period.  The 
antiquated  elegance  of  this  old  provincial  town,  and  the 
staid  character  and  refinement  of  its  best  society,  furnished 
attractions  congenial  to  his  tastes.  It  is  recollected  how 
common  it  was  with  him,  in  his  pleasant  way  in  referring 
to  Portsmouth,  to  speak  of  it  by  its  earliest  name  of 
"  Strawberry  Bank." 

But  it  was  not  granted  him  long  to  enjoy  the  compara- 
tive rest  and  seclusion  of  this  quiet  home.  Nor  could  he 
find  it  in  his  nature  to  remain  inactive,  even  here,  though 
he  might  well  have  felt  that  his  day  for  earnest  work  was 
over.  The  sister  has  recorded  that  after  only  eighteen 
months  had  passed  in  his  new  home,  in  consequence  of 
over-exertion,  he  was  visited  by  a  stroke  of  paralysis. 
The  attack  would  seem  to  have  been  at  first  of  the  very 
mildest  type,  since  we  are  told  that  during  the  six  days 
of  his  fatal  illness  he  was  so  bright  and  happy  that,  by 
his  special  desire,  no  physician  was  called  until  the  night 
before  his  death,  his  sisters  themselves  having  no  appre- 
hension that  he  was  about  to  be  separated  from  them. 
He  had  lived  to  reach  the  grand  climacteric  of  man,  and, 
after  a  life  crowded  with  great  activity,  was  just  passing 
beyond  the  point  of  danger,  when,  if  he  could  have  reined 


CHARLES    EWER  151 

in  his  eager  spirit  to  a  habit  of  more  needful  caution,  he 
might  possibly  have  lived  out  his  threescore  years  and 
ten,  or  even  fourscore  years.  The  decease  of  Mr.  Ewer, 
like  that  of  many  men  of  the  most  earnest  lives,  was  sud- 
den and  somewhat  premature.  But  his  work  was  done, 
and  well  done.  In  view  of  all  which  has  passed  under 
review  in  this  imperfect  sketch,  it  will  be  granted  that  to 
few  men  in  an  ordinary  sphere  of  life,  with  no  special 
advantages  from  high  social  position,  hereditary  wealth, 
or  superior  education,  has  it  been  given  to  accomplish 
more  for  the  well-being  of  the  community  in  which  he 
lived,  or  to  leave  behind  him  more  imperishable  results  of 
an  humble  but  laborious  career,  to  bless  the  generations 
which  are  to  follow.  In  a  sense  not  merely  temporal  and 
material,  but  also,  it  is  believed,  in  the  higher  spiritual 
sense  given  to  the  words  by  the  Christian  poet,  the  line 
can  be  applied  to  him, 

"  That  life  is  long  which  answers  life's  gi-eat  end." 

In  his  domestic  and  social  relations  Mr.  Ewer  was  a 
pattern  of  fidelity,  tenderness,  and  cheerful  vivacity.  He 
was  never  married,  but  resided  with  his  sisters  in  a  like 
cehbacy,  who  depended  on  him  for  a  home  and  shared 
with  him  in  his  varied  fortunes.  They  have  themselves 
both  more  recently  deceased.  That  he  lived  a  single  life 
was  not  owing  to  anything  morbid,  cold,  or  crust}^  in  his 
disposition.  As  a  companion,  he  was  cordial,  humorous, 
and  entertaining;  as  a  friend,  frank,  confiding,  and  sin- 
cere. His  sympathies  with  the  afHicted  and  his  kind- 
nesses to  the  sick  were  not  limited  by  the  narrow  ties  of 
affinity  or  blood.  There  are  those  beyond  the  circle  of 
these  kindred  relations  who  gratefully  bear  witness  that 
in  sickness  they  were  visited  by  him  in  the  spirit  so 
beautifully  commended  by  our  divine  Master,  and  that  for 
their  healing  he  has  ministered  and  watched  patiently 
and  gently,  "  as  a  nurse  cherisheth  her  children." 


152  CHAELES   EWER 

In  his  intercourse  with  men  at  large,  of  which  he 
enjoyed  a  Hberal  share,  Mr.  Ewer  was  universally 
esteemed.  "With  a  natural  modest  diffidence  he  joined  a 
manly  self-possession  which  bore  him  with  unconstrained 
and  inoffensive  dignity  into  any  presence.  This  will  be 
well  illustrated  by  the  following  extract  from  his  journal, 
in  itself  of  such  intrinsic  interest  as  may  well  justify  its 
insertion  here :  — 

*■''  September  20th,  1851.  On  the  morning  of  this  day,  passed 
Mr.  Webster,  who  was  in  company  with  another  gentleman  at 
the  bottom  of  School  Street  as  unknowing  and  unknown.  Near 
2  o'clock,  as  I  was  going  to  dinner,  he  crossed  from  Washing- 
ton Street,  at  the  bottom  of  Court  Street,  and  came  on  the 
south  side,  just  alongside  of  me,  where  we  exchanged  salu- 
tations. His  countenance  was  much  altered  since  I  last  saw 
him,  and  indicated  a  great  change  in  his  health.  Indeed,  he 
appeared  unfit  to  be  abroad.  The  marks  of  extreme  debility 
were  conspicuous  on  his  person.  I  inquired  of  his  health.  He 
informed  me  that  he  had  been  suffering  from  his  annual  com- 
plaint, the  catarrh.  I  remarked  that  he  must  have  overtasked 
his  mind  by  his  official  labors,  and  required  rest.  He  was  sen- 
sible of  it.  I  then  observed  that  nothing  so  much  affected  the 
physical  health  as  extreme  mental  anxiety  and  labor,  and  told 
him  he  should  disburthen  himself  of  it.  He  replied  that  he 
could  not.  When  the  circumstances  of  the  country  required,  he 
must  do  what  the  exigency  demanded  ;  he  could  not  withhold 
any  service  he  could  render.  He  was  very  cordial  towards 
me.  My  sympathy  was  awakened,  I  might  say  my  compassion 
excited,  by  his  altered  appearance,  and  I  felt  kindly  towards 
him,  as  I  always  have  as  a  man,  though  I  have  always  been 
opposed  to  him  as  a  politician. 

"  As  I  might  compromit  my  sincerity,  I  said  to  him  that  I 
had  differed  widely  from  him  in  regard  to  the  policy  of  the 
Government,  but  in  relation  to  recent  measures  in  which  he 
had  taken, — when  a  gentleman  crossed  over  the  street  and  took 
him  by  the  hand,  interrupting  our  discourse.  He  begged  me  to 
excuse  him,  shook  me  cordially  by  the  hand,  saying  at  the 
same  time  very  kindly  and  forcibly :  '  We  agree,  sir,  we  agree ! ' 
and  so  we  parted." 


CHARLES    EWER  153 

This    little    bit    of    autobiography    illustrates   several 

beautiful    traits    in    the    character    of    Mr.    Ewer, his 

truthfulness  and  candor;  his  kindliness  of  feeling;  his 
undisguised  sincerity  ;  and  his  scrupulous  concern  for  his 
own^  integrity  in  every  word  and  act.  To  what  poHtical 
parties  of  his  time  he  may  have  belonged  it  would  be 
scarcely  pertinent  here  to  inquire,  since  these  are  so 
much  Hke  dissolving  views,  ever  melting  into  each  other. 
That  at  one  time  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  politics  of 
his  own  State,  and  that  his  agency  was  very  influential 
upon  the  issues  of  certain  gubernatorial  elections,  is 
plainly  stated  in  the  paper  left  us  by  his  sister. 

Precisely   what   the    drift   of   the  "Middling   Interest 
Society "  was  in  this  direction,  of  which  it  is  also  stated 
he  was  one  of  the  getters-up,  we   have  little  means  of 
knowing  at  this  day,  except  so  far  as  is  inferable  from 
the  name  it  took,  and  from  the  pohtical  status  of  the  men 
who  were  active  in  the  movement.     That  these  were  no 
mean  or  middling  sort  of  men  will  be  apparent  from  the 
mention  of  a  few  of  the  names  which  are  readily  called  to 
mind.     Such  were  James  T.  Austin,  Peter  P.  F.  Degrand, 
John  Everett,  brother  of  Edw^ard  Everett,  George  Sulli- 
van, Wilham  Foster,  —  men  with  whom  it  was  no  dis- 
paragement to  be  associated  in  getting  up  an  organization 
which  must  have  been  designed  to  favor  the  interests  of  . 
the  industrial  classes,   as   liable    to   be    affected   by   the 
course  of  legislation.     That  in  this,  as  in  all  other  thino-s, 
Mr.  Ewer  pursued  the  honest  convictions  of  his  own  mind, 
without  fearing  or  courting  the  favor  of  any  man  or  set 
of  men,  may  safely  be  affirmed. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  death  the  following  action 
was  taken  by  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical 
Society :  — 

"  Monthly  meeting,  December  7,  1853  :  — 
"J.   Wingate   Thornton,  Esq.,   called   the   attention   of  the 
society  to  the  recent  death  of  Charles  Ewer,  Esq.,  the  first 

20 


154  CHARLES    EWER 

president  of  the  New  England  Historic.  Genealogical  Society, 
who  died  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  November  12,  1853. 

"  After  appropriate  remarks  upon  the  life  and  character  of 
Mr.  Ewer,  by  Mr.  Thornton,  on  motion,  Messrs.  J.  W.  Thorn- 
ton, Andrew  Johonnot,  and  W.  R.  Deane,  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  draft  and  present  resolutions  on  the  occasion  of 
the  death  of  Mr.  Ewer,  who  reported  the  following,  which  were 
unanimously  adopted :  — 

"  Resolved^  That  we  have  heard  with  unfeigned  sorrow  of 
the  death  of  our  late  associate,  and  the  first  president  of  our 
society,  Charles  Ewer,  Esq.,  a  man  of  public  spirit,  of  generous 
impulses,  of  disinterested  friendship,  and  scrupulous  integrity. 

"  Resolved^  That  for  his  zealous  and  efficient  action  in  found- 
ing this  society ;  for  his  untiring  efforts  to  awake  attention  to 
the  importance  of  its  objects ;  the  devotion  of  his  entire  time  for 
a  long  period  to  the  accumulation  of  books  and  manuscripts 
for  its  library  and  archives,  to  which  he  added  from  his  own 
library ;  and  for  the  generous  use  of  his  means  in  its  service, 
and  in  the  establishment  and  success  of  the  society's  quarterly 
publication,  the  Register,  —  we  will  ever  cherish  his  memory 
with  gratitude  and  respect. 

^'■Resolved,  That  a  certified  copy  of  these  proceedings  be 
transmitted  to  the  family  of  the  deceased  by  the  recording  sec- 
retary of  the  society ;  and  that  the  same  be  entered  at  length 
on  the  society's  records. 

"It  was  voted  that  S.  G.  Drake,  Esq.,  be  requested  to  pre- 
pare and  publish  in  the  next  number  of  the  Register  an  obituary 

notice  of  Mr.  Ewer. 

[Signed]         Charles  Mayo, 

Recording  Secretary^'' 

The  New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register 
for  January,  1854,  contains  the  notice  prepared  by  Mr. 
Drake,  which,  though  brief,  is  comprehensive  and  appre- 
ciative. After  speaking  of  the  relatives  of  Mr.  Ewer, 
who  had  survived  to  mourn  his  loss,  the  writer  subjoins 
in  conclusion :  "  And  there  are  numerous  others  who, 
while  they  lament  his  departure,  take  sincere  pleasure  in 
bearing  testimony  to  his  firm  and  inflexible  integrity, 
and  to  his  many  virtues." 


. 


CHARLES    EWER  155 

The  features  of  Mr.  Ewer  were  regular  and  of  delicate 
mould ;  his  eye  expressive  of  lively  and  keen  intelligence  ; 
his  complexion  fair,  inclining,  in  full  health,  to  be  rather 
florid ;  his  person  slight  and  well  proportioned ;  his  stature 
erect,  and  of  medium  height;  his  bearing  spirited,  cour- 
teous, and  unaffected.  A  portrait  of  him,  when  a  young 
man,  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Historic  Genealogical 
Society. 

His  remains  were  brought  to  Boston  for  interment,  and 
rest  in  a  tomb  in  the  Granary  Burying  Ground,  adjoining 
Park  Street  Church,  in  the  heart  of  his  native  and 
beloved  city. 

"  No  farther  seek  his  merits  to  disclose, 

Nor  draw  his  frailties  from  their  dread  abode, 
There  they  alike  in  trembling  hope  repose,  — 
The  bosom  of  his  Father  and  his  God." 


JOSIAH    ADAMS 


Mr.  Adams  came  of  a  highly  respectable  ancestry. 
According  to  his  own  published  statement,  he  was  de- 
scended from  Henry  ^  Adams,  who  was  a  grantee  of 
Braintree  in  1641,  through  Henry  ^  and  wife  Elizabeth 
Paine,  of  Braintree  and  Medfield ;  Moses  ^  and  wife  Lydia 
Whitney,  of  Sherborn  ;  Moses  ^  and  wife  Deborah  Sawin, 
of  HolUston;  Moses,*  born  February  27,  1721,  and  wife 
Lois  Haven,  of  Framingham,  where  he  died  July  23, 
1756.  His  father  Moses  ^  was  born  at  Framingham,  Octo- 
ber 4,  1749;  graduated  at  Harvard  College  1771;  or- 
dained over  the  Congregational  Church  in  Acton,  June  25, 
1777;  died  October  13,  1819;  his  mother  was  Abigail, 
daughter  of  Hon.  Josiah  and  Anne  (Haven)  Stone,  of 
Framingham.  Their  fifth  child  and  second  son  is  the 
subject  of  this  memoir. 

Josiah '  Adams  was  born  at  Acton,  Massachusetts,  No- 
vember 3,  1781 ;  graduated  Harvard  College  1801 ;  mar- 
ried, February  1,  1810,  Jane  Park,  of  Windham,  New 
Hamsphire ;  died  without  issue  February  8,  1854.  He 
studied  law  with  Thomas  Heald,  Esq.  (d.c.  1794),  of  Con- 
cord ;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  June,  1807 ;  settled  as  a 
lawyer  in  Framingham,  where  he  continued  in  practice 
tiU  his  death. 

Of  his  childhood,  little  is  known,  except  that  he  was 
educated  at  home.  His  father  was  accustomed  to  fit  for 
college  the  boys  of  his  own  town.  Josiah  was  one  of 
fourteen  lads  thus  prepared.     The  direct  instructions,  and 


JOSIAH   ADAMS  157 

the  daily  life  in  his  father's  family,  in  its  spirit  and  aims, 
was  such  as  tended  to  awaken  and  foster  the  best  ele- 
ments of  a  child's  nature.  His  mother  was  well  educated 
for  the  times,  and  had  been  brought  up  amid  social  amen- 
ities and  refinements  ;  three  sisters,  older  than  himself, 
and  carefully  educated,  had  an  important  agency  in 
moulding  his  tastes  and  habits  ;  both  an  older  and 
younger  brother  were  of  the  fourteen  fitted  for  college 
by  his  father:  so  that  from  earliest  infancy  he  breathed  a 
literary  atmosphere. 

But  more  potent  than  this  was  the  religious  life  of  his 
home.  How  he  himself,  in  his  maturer  years,  estimated 
this  influence,  is  seen  from  the  following  paragraph  in  a 
brief  Family  Record,  which  he  published.  Referring  to 
his  father  he  says :  — 

"  The  reader  will  excuse  the  feeling  of  the  following  extract 
from  the  inscription  placed  over  his  grave  :  '  In  his  person,  he 
was  dignified  and  modest ;  in  his  intellect,  vigorous  and  sound  ; 
in  his  heart,  benevolent  and  devout.  The  Scriptures  were  his 
study  and  delight ;  and  while  he  exercised  the  Protestant  rio-ht 
of  expounding  them  for  himself,  his  candor  towards  the  sincere 
who  differed  from  him  was  in  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel.  The 
good  Being,  whom  he  loved  with  supreme  devotion,  was  pleased 
to  grant  him  many  years  of  prosperity  and  gladness,  and  to 
add  not  a  few  of  affliction  and  sorrow.  The  first  he  enjoyed 
with  moderation  and  gratitude;  and  in  the  last  he  exhibited 
the  power  of  religion  to  sustain  and  comfort  the  practical  Chris- 
tian. To  his  people  and  his  family  he  was  ardently  attached, 
and  spent  his  life  in  exertions  and  prayers  for  their  welfare.' " 

To  the  son,  as  he  looked  back  through  the  experi- 
ences of  sixty  years,  this  was  more  than  an  epitaph,  — 
it  was  a  record  of  truth  ;  and  it  set  forth  the  vital  forces 
which  gave  shape  to  his  own  character.  And  he  copied 
it  in  acknowledgment  of  his  debt  of  appreciative  grati- 
tude. Those  who  knew  him  most  intimately  will  at  once 
see  that  the  refined,  generous,  and  devout  feelings  which 


158  JOSIAH   ADAMS 

actuated  his  private  life  were  the  fruits  of  early  home 
influences. 

The  scope  of  this  memoir  allows  of  only  a  brief  notice 
of  the  more  prominent"^  points  of  the  life  and  character  of 
Mr.  Adams. 

The  thing  which  first  impressed  a  stranger  on  meeting 
him  was  his  personality.  In  presence  and  in  composition, 
he  was  an  original.  Neither  in  movement  nor  manners, 
nor  style  of  thought  nor  mode  of  speaking  and  acting, 
did  he  suggest  anybody  else.  And  this  uniqueness  was 
not  repulsive,  because  it  was  not  assumed  ;  it  belonged  to 
him  in  his  own  right.  Equally  marked,  though  perhaps 
not  apparent  at  first  sight,  were  the  poise  and  conscious 
self-reliance,  which  make  a  positive,  in  distinction  from  a 
negative  man.  Immediate  contact  made  this  felt ;  but  it 
cannot  be  described.  It  is  always  a  power :  it  was  a 
power  in  him  ;  but  its  direct  and  ultimate  effects  depend 
largely  on  innate  disposition  and  circumstances. 

He  was  a  man  of  strong  likes  and  dislikes,  and  made  no 
attempts  to  conceal  either  the  one  or  the  other.  That 
his  antipathies  should  sometimes  assume  the  form  of  pre- 
judices is  not  strange,  when  we  consider  his  detestation 
of  all  hypocrisy  and  wrong.  He  sometimes  misjudged 
of  men's  motives,  and  mistook  in  others  conscientious 
scruples  for  obstinacy  of  opinion.  To  conceal  this  trait 
of  his  character  would  be  to  leave  unaccounted  for  certain 
well-known  facts  of  his  political  and  professional  career. 

At  the  date  of  Mr.  Adams's  entrance  into  public  life 
pohtical  party  feeling  ran  high.  Framingham  was  strong- 
ly Democratic.  He  espoused,  with  all  his  heart  the  Fed- 
eralist side  :  consequently  he  had  no  right  to  expect 
political  promotion,  and  he  did  not  receive  it.  The 
only  important  elective  office  which  he  was  called  upon 
to  fill,  in  his  earlier  life,  was  that  of  delegate  to  the  Con- 
vention of  1820  to  revise  the  State  Constitution.  He 
was  placed  upon  the   committee  relative  to  Cambridge 


JOSIAH   ADAMS  159 

University.  Later,  when  old  lines  had  become  somewhat 
obliterated,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Governor's 
Council.  This  was  in  1840-1841.  He  also  served  as 
County  Commissioner  of  Middlesex  County  for  two  terms, 
1844  to  1850. 

Outside  of  his  profession,  the  department  where  Mr. 
Adams  made  himself  most  felt  was  that  of  education. 
A  social  library  had  been  formed  in  town,  before  his 
day.  To  its  enlargement  and  prosperity  he  gave  his 
thought  and  influence.  The  number  of  volumes  on  its 
shelves  was  increased  to  four  hundred  and  twenty-five, 
and  many  of  the  best  of  the  books  were  of  his  selection. 
He  took  pains  to  encourage  the  habit  of  reading  in  old 
and  young,  and  especially  the  habit  of  discussing  the 
principles  and  merits  of  a  book,  as  promotive  of  mental 
culture  and  independent  thought. 

He  was  a  constant  friend  and  supporter  of  the  public 
schools,  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  prosperity  of  the 
Framingham  Academy,  which  was  in  its  infancy  when 
he  settled  in  town,  and  soon  rose  to  a  leading  position 
among  the  higher  schools  of  the  county.  He  was  elected 
a  trustee  in  1820,  and  held  the  office  till  1852,  when 
the  Academy  was  merged  in  the  Town  High  School. 
The  records  show  that  he  was  uniformly  present  at  all 
meetings  of  the  Board,  and  took  a  leading  part  in  its 
deliberations. 

His  genuine  kindliness  of  heart  made  him  a  favorite 
with  children.  He  knew  by  name  every  child  in  the 
village,  and  his  visits  in  the  schools  were  always  wel- 
come. Even  if  he  said  nothing,  or  made  a  sharp  criti- 
cism, he  was  welcomed.  His  presence  was  a  benedic- 
tion. 

And  to  those  who  started  to  get  a  liberal  education, 
he  always  showed  himself  a  true  friend.  Such  as  had 
limited  means,  he  helped  most  effectually,  by  showing 
them  how  best  to  help  themselves,  and  by  inspiring  in 


160  JOSIAH    ADAMS 

them  courage  and  economy  and  self-reliance.  He  had 
strong  common  sense.  He  intuitively  took  in  the  prime 
factor  and  general  principles,  as  well  as  the  surroundings, 
of  a  man  or  event.  He  discriminated  between  the  essen- 
tial and  the  adventitious  in  circumstances  and  character; 
hence  his  suggestions  and  advice  had  a  practical  bearing 
and  a  current  value.  He  never  dealt  in  aphorisms  and 
pretty  maxims,  whose  application  is  a  matter  of  fancy  or 
predilection.  When  he  saw  a  loose  nail,  he  either  pulled 
it  out  or  drove  it  home. 

In  his  profession  Mr.  Adams  had  varied  acquirements 
and  corresponding  success.  He  was  well  versed  in  the 
rules  of  practice,  had  a  quick  and  unerring  perception 
of  the  equity  of  a  case,  and  hence  was  a  safe  counsellor. 
It  is  the  glory  of  his  professional  life  that  he  saved  his 
clients  from  fruitless  and  costly  litigation.  He  was  a  man 
of  sterling  integrity,  had  a  high  sense  of  professional 
honor,  and  could  not  be  induced,  by  either  friendship 
or  the  prospect  of  large  fees,  to  undertake  a  case  which 
necessarily  involved  sharp  practice  or  personal  wrong. 

Before  a  judge,  he  could,  with  his  good  common  sense 
and  ready  comprehension  of  the  strong  points,  so  place  a 
cause  as  to  command  attention  and  a  favorable  hearing. 
And  when  the  case  turned  on  the  equity,  he  was  success- 
ful. But  he  was  not  so  well  versed  in  the  intricate  and 
varied  applications  of  legal  principles  and  ever-changing 
statutes,  not  from  lack  of  ability,  but  because  he  did  not 
give  his  mind  to  the  study ;  and  he  did  not  take  pains  to 
read  and  digest  the  multiform  decisions  of  the  courts. 
He  was  lacking  in  power  of  language,  in  fertility  of 
resources ;  he  had  no  aptness  at  illustration,  no  readiness 
at  repartee,  no  faculty  of  covering  the  weak  points  of  a 
case,  and  hence  was  not  successful  before  a  jury.  He 
could  state  the  facts  and  merits  of  a  case  in  fewer  words 
than  most  men,  and  here  his  mind  stopped  working. 
Coloring,  and  artistic  arrangement,  and  the  gathering  of 


JOSIAH   ADAMS  161 

outside  supports  had  no  force  in  his  own  convictions  ;  and 
he  assumed  that  they  ought  to  have  no  weight  with  other 
minds.  And  he  relied  too  much  on  sarcasm,  in  which 
he  excelled,  to  offset  the  argument  of  an  opponent. 
This  weapon,  which  may  confound  the  counsel,  is  not 
apt  to  convince  the  jury. 

Mr.  Adams  prepared  little  for  publication,  —  the  slow 
process  of  composition  and  revision  for  the  press  was  irk- 
some to  him,  —  but  enough  has  been  preserved  to  show 
that  he  thought,  and  spoke,  and  wrote  in  homely  Saxon. 
His  style  was  terse  and  clear,  —  perhaps  best  described 
by  the  term  epigrammatic.  He  delivered  a  centennial 
address  at  Acton,  his  native  town,  July  21,  1835,  which 
was  published.  An  appendix  of  twenty -four  pages  was 
added,  giving  an  "  account  of  the  Concord  Fight,  April 
19,  1775,"  in  which  he  stoutly  defended  the  memory  of 
the  Acton  minute  men.  This  was  issued  as  a  separate 
pamphlet  in  1850,  and  is  a  good  specimen  of  contro- 
versial writing:. 

In  1843  he  published  a  "  Genealogy  of  the  Descend- 
ants of  Richard  Haven  of  Lynn,"  54  pages  octavo.  Mr. 
Samuel  G.  Drake  sa3^s  :  "  This  work,  at  the  time  of  its 
publication,  was  viewed  by  genealogists,  as  a  monument 
of  patience,  diligence,  and  capacity  for  such  a  task,  of 
rare  occurrence."  A  new  edition,  104  pages,  was  issued 
in  1849.  He  also  wrote  an  account  of  the  Haven  Family 
Gathering!;  at  Framins-ham  in  1844.  A  short  extract  from 
this  pamphlet  will  suffice  as  a  characteristic  specimen  of 
the  author's  style  :  — 

"  Conversations,  questions,  salutations,  and  greetings,  of  every 
variety  of  character,  were  continued  for  more  than  two  hours. 
Each  brought  forth,  from  the  treasures  of  memory,  things  new 
and  old.  Youthful  friendships,  torpid  for  half  a  century,  sprang 
into  full  life  ;  anecdotes  of  mothers  and  grandmothers,  gone, 
long  ago,  to  their  rest ;  reminiscences  of  early  days  ;  joys  which 
vanished  in  sorrow ;  disasters  which  were  followed  by  prosper- 

21 


162  JOSIAH   ADAMS 

ity, —  these,  and  the  thousand  other  scenes  and  incidents  which 
filled  up  the  measure  of  olden  times,  rushed  on  the  mind  in  the 
freshness  of  5'esterday,  and  found  utterance  through  smiles,  on 
hundreds  of  glowing  faces,  down  which  a  tear  was  sometimes 
seen  to  pass,  and  drop  its  blessing  on  the  scene." 

He  became  a  corresponding  member  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Historic  Genealogical  Society  April  1,  1845. 

Mr.  Adams  was  a  man  of  infinite  humor,  and  it  is  by 
this  characteristic  that  he  was  best  known,  and  is  best 
remembered  by  casual  acquaintances.  He  loved  to  per- 
petrate a  practical  joke  and  tell  a  funny  story.  In  this 
he  had  few  equals.  Socially,  it  was  his  strong  point ; 
personally,  it  was  his  weak  one.  It  was  a  waste  of  time, 
and  of  his  best  energies.  It  distracted  his  mind  from  the 
higher  aims  and  the  concentrated  devotion  to  abstract 
thought  which  are  the  conditions  of  truest  success  in  his 
profession.  In  the  battle  of  life,  no  man  can  afford  to 
spend  himself  in  firing  blank  cartridges. 

He  had  a  keen  sense  of  the  ludicrous,  in  words  and 
acts;  he  took  delight  in  putting  a  man — friend  and  foe 
alike  —  in  a  ridiculous  position.  And  this  propensity  was 
quite  likely  to  crop  out  unseasonably.  Once,  at  a  social 
gathering,  in  conversation  with  the  late  Chief  Justice 
Shaw,  the  subject  of  discussion  happened  to  be  agricul- 
ture, in  which  the  Judge  felt  a  special  interest.  In  his 
earnest,  appreciative  way,  Mr.  Shaw  was  narrating  the 
then  recent  discovery  of  some  kernels  of  wheat  stored  in 
a  mummy-case  in  Egypt,  that,  when  planted,  to  the  sur- 
prise of  every  scientist,  sprouted  after  three  thousand 
years  of  dormant  life,  and  produced  an  excellent  crop  — 
"of  mummies?"  interjected  Mr.  Adams.  "  No,  of  wheat!" 
growled  the  disconcerted  Judge.  This  propensity,  long 
indulged,  became  an  over-mastering  habit,  and  often 
marred  his  intercourse  'svith  men,  and  detracted  from  his 
dignity,  and  made  him  appear  boyish,  and  on  the  more 
serious  occasions  of  life,  trifling. 


JOSIAH   ADAMS  163 

But  in  spite' of  this,  he  had  a  kind  sympathetic  nature, 
true  to  the  best  impulses  of  humanity,  alive  to  the  sor- 
rows and  joys  of  friends,  and  overflowing  in  quiet  deeds 
of  charity  and  love. 

In  all  matters  of  business  and  trust  he  was  thoroughly 
honest  and  conscientious.  At  the  incorporation  of  the 
Framingham  Bank,  in  1838,  he  was  chosen  president,  and 
held  the  office  for  several  years,  —  an  office  which  then 
implied  integrity  and  trustworthiness ;  implied  that  he 
was  the  fittest  man  for  the  place ;  implied  that  he  had 
the  confidence  of  the  community. 

The  writer  has  thus  drawn  an  outline  sketch  of  his 
early  friend.  His  object  has  been,  not  to  pay  eulogy, 
but  to  set  forth  a  real  character,  as  he  and  others  saw  it 
in  daily  life. 

The  sketch  would  not  be  complete  imless  something 
was  said  of  Mr.  Adams's  religious  principles.  But  here 
we  tread  on  holy  ground.  If  he  had  been  consulted,  he 
would  have  said  of  himself,  as  he  said  of  his  father,  who 
left  a  request  that  no  sermon  should  be  preached  at 
his  funeral,  "  To  anticipate  the  silent  tear  was  more  to 
him  than  the  voice  of  praise."  Suffice  it,  then,  there 
was  an  under-current  of  devout  feeling  apparent  on  all 
proper  occasions.  He  took  delight  in  repeating  and  sing- 
ing the  devotional  hymns  of  Dr.  Watts,  wath  which  his 
memory  was  well  stored.  These  hymns  probably  best 
defined  his  true  beliefs,  and  experiences,  and  hopes.  In 
the  division  of  churches  on  doctrinal  grounds,  in  1824- 
1830,  he  took  sides  with  the  Unitarians,  though  he  did 
not  make  a  profession  till  1836.  From  this  date  forward, 
he  was  an  honored  member  of  that  communion. 


GEORGE  CHEYNE  SHATTUCK 


George  Chetne  Shattuck  was  born  in  Templeton, 
Massachusetts,  on  the  17th  of  July,  in  the  year  1783. 
He  was  the  son  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Shattuck,  a  graduate  of 
Harvard  College,  who,  worn  out  with  the  hardships  and 
exposure  of  a  large  medical  practice  in  a  newly  settled 
country,  died  at  the  age  of  fifty-one,  in  the  year  1794. 
His  mother  was  Lucy  Barron,  and  her  father,  a  captain  in 
the  English  army,  was  killed  in  the  war  with  French  and 
Indians  at  Lake  George.  "William  Shattuck,  born  in 
England  in  the  year  1621,  and  settling  and  dying  in 
Watertown,  Massachusetts,  was  the  first  ancestor  in  this 
country.  Dr.  George  Shattuck  received  a  sum  of  about 
thirteen  hundred  dollars  from  his  father's  estate;  and 
this,  with  various  amoimts  earned  by  keeping  school, 
sufficed  for  his  maintenance  and  education  during  the 
next  thirteen  years.  He  was  educated  at  Dartmouth 
College,  in  Hanover,  New  Hampshire.  The  Hon.  Daniel 
"Webster  was  in  college  with  him.  Friendly  relations, 
here  commenced,  were  interrupted  only  by  the  death  of 
Mr.  Webster.  Dr.  Shattuck  was  graduated  A.  B.  at 
Dartmouth  College  in  1803,  and  received  the  degree  of 
A.  M.  in  course.  He  studied  medicine  at  Dartmouth 
under  Prof.  Nathan  Smith,  M.  D.,  graduating  M.  B.  in 
1806  and  M.  D.  in  1812.  He  continued  his  professional 
studies  with  Dr.  Samuel  Danforth,  of  Boston. 

Dr.  Shattuck  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  in 
Boston  in  the  year  1807,  and  continued  in  it  for  forty- 


GEORGE  CHETNE  SHATTUCK  165 

seven  years,  till  within  a  few  weeks  of  his  death.  This 
was  his  life's  w^ork,  and  he  was  respected  and  beloved 
by  a  large  number  of  patients  in  all  conditions  of  life. 
He  was  remarkable  for  tact,  skill,  conscientiousness,  and 
fidelity  in  the  discharge  of  his  professional  duties,  and 
for  great  kindness  to  the  poor.  Four  medical  disser- 
tations, for  which  he  obtained  prizes,  were  published,  and 
also  a  discourse  before  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Soci- 
ety, which  he  served  as  president  for  three  years,  —  from 
1836  to  1839.  He  gave  hberally  to  his  Alma  Mater  in 
the  matter  of  an  observatory,  of  books  to  the  library, 
and  of  portraits  of  distinguished  alumni.  He  founded  a 
professorship  of  pathological  anatomy  in  the  medical  de- 
partment of  Harvard  University,  as  well  as  providing 
for  several  scholarships  in  the  academical  departm'ent. 
He  was  always  liberal  during  his  lifetime  when  called 
upon  to  contribute  to  good  objects,  and  the  poor  never 
appealed  to  him  in  vain.  By  his  will  he  gave  a  sum  of 
nearly  ten  thousand  dollars  each  to  the  medical,  agricul- 
tural, and  mechanical  societies  of  his  native  State. 

•  He  married  Eliza  Cheever  Davis,  the  daughter  of  the 
Hon.  Caleb  Davis,  the  first  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  Massachusetts,  in  October,  1811,  who 
died  on  the  15th  June,  1828,  having  borne  seven  chil- 
dren. Only  one  survived  him,  bearing  the  same  name 
and  following  the  same  profession.  His  two  grandsons 
are  now  practising  physicians  in  Boston.  In  August, 
1836,  he  was  married  a  second  time  to  Amelia  Hepsibah 
Bigelow,  the  daughter  of  Abraham  Bigelow,  Esq.,  of 
Cambridge.  He  died  of  disease  of  the  heart  on  the  18th 
of  March,  1854,  in  the  profession  of  faith  in  the  divinity 
and  atonement  of  his  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ,  into 
which  he  had  been  baptized  in  his  infancy. 

He  was  remarkable  for  quaint  sayings,  of  which  one 
may  suffice.  Conversing  with  a  young  physician  on  his 
prospects  of  professional  success,  he  remarked  that  few 


166  GEORGE  CHEYNE  SHATTUCK 

ever  attained  it  who  had  not  the  wholesome  stimulus  of 
prospective  want. 

He  received  the  honorary  degree  of  A.  M.  from  Har- 
vard College  in  1807,  and  that  of  M.  D.  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  in  1807,  and  from  Bowdoin  Col- 
lege in  1851.  Dartmouth  College  conferred  upon  him 
the'  degree  of  LL.D.  in  1853.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences ;  vice-president 
of  the  American  Statistical  Association  from  1840  to 
1846  J  and  president  from  1846  to  1852.  He  became  an 
honorary  member  of  the  New  England  Historic  Genea- 
logical Society  February  9,  1847. 

Edward  Jarvis,  M.  D.,  who  studied  his  profession  with 
Dr.  Shattuck,  and  succeeded  him  as  president  of  the 
American  Statistical  Association,  read  a  memoir  of  his 
life  and  character  before  that  society  April  12,  1854. 
From  the  printed  memoir,  containing  the  impressions  of 
one  who  knew  him  long  and  intimately,  we  make  the 
following  extracts :  — 

"  He  commenced  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  in  Bos- 
ton, in  1807.  He  immediately  gained  acquaintances,  and  these 
soon  became  friends.  He  was  early  admitted  to  the  confidence 
of  many  families,  and  was  employed  by  a  circle  of  warm  sup- 
porters. These  multiplied  year  after  year,  until,  at  an  earlier 
period  than  usually  falls  to  the  lot  of  even  the  favored,  he 
found  himself  on  the  high  tide  to  professional  success.  He 
was  then  established  in  full  employment,  and  was  among  the 
most  extensive  and  laborious  practitioners  of  medicine  in  Bos- 
ton. Being  incessantly  called  upon,  he  gave  all  his  powers  of 
body  and  mind  to  the  visitation  and  care  of  the  sick ;  and 
through  every  season,  by  day  and  by  night,  he  was  at  the 
service  of  the  world,  of  every  class  and  grade  of  society, — 
among  the  favored  of  fortune,  among  the  cultivated  and  the 
high-minded,  among  the  beloved  of  many  friends,  among  the 
poor,  the  destitute,  even  among  the  abandoned  and  dissolute, 
those  who  had  none  to  love  them,  and  whose  worst  enemies 
were  their  own  selves,  —  among  all  these  he  went  about  doing 


GEORGE  CHETNE^  SHATTUCK  167 

good,  healing  their  diseases,  administering  comfort,  and  reliev- 
ing want  where  that  existed. 

"  He  thus  gave  himself  up  to  the  laborious  duties  of  an  exten- 
sive practice,  until  within  a  few  years,  when  the  symptoms  of  a 
dangerous  but  insidious  disease  of  the  heart,  which  proved  his 
final  destroyer,  began  to  manifest  themselves,  and  warn  him, 
at  the  peril  of  his  life,  to  follow  a  course  of  diminished  action 
and  of  more  self-indulgence.  Thenceforward  he  attended  to 
the  calls  of  his  profession ;  yet  he  did  this  cautiously,  and 
reserved  to  himself  the  privilege  of  resting,  whenever  he  found 
that  labor  disturbed  the  vital  actions  of  his  own  frame. 

"  Dr.  Shattuck  was  a  very  popular  physician  in  this  city,  and 
had  an  extensive  reputation  in  the  country.  Very  many  sought 
his  advice  from  other  and  distant  towns,  and  his  success  in  the 
management  of  disease  sustained  the  good  name  which  drew 
so  many  to  him.  He  was  a  student  of  books,  when  he  had 
leisure  to  attend  to  them.  He  had  large  opportunities  of 
observing  the  phenomena  of  the  disordered  system.  He  did 
not,  however,  aim  at  the  highest  scholarship  in  the  science  of 
his  calling,  nor  at  the  most  thoroughly  disciplined  exactness  in 
his  investigations  of  morbid  symptoms  ;  but  he  had  a  rare  tact 
and  great  knowledge  of  mankind,  and  seemed  to  see  through 
difficulties  and  arrive  at  his  conclusions  by  shorter  processes 
than  most  men  are  accustomed  to  use.  Having  quick  per- 
ceptions, he  looked  at  once  to  the  end.  His  conclusions, 
therefore,  were  rather  the  results  of  a  sort  of  intuition  than  the 
cautiously  drawn  deductions  of  reason. 

"  Beside  his  professional  knowledge  and  success,  which  se- 
cured the  confidence  of  his  employers  in  his  management  of 
disease,  there  was  such  an  affectionate  kindness  of  manner,  so 
much  gravity  and  wisdom  in  his  conversation,  such  a  rare  sin- 
cerity of  speech,  and  he  manifested  so  much  interest  in  the  per- 
sons with  whom  he  had  intercourse,  that  he  won  the  strong 
attachment  of  those  who  put  themselves  under  his  care ;  and 
when  they  had  trusted  him  once,  they  desired  to  confide  in  him 
more  and  more,  and  to  lean  upon  him  again  and  again. 

"  Dr.  Shattuck  was  ever  giving,  and  giving  liberally  and  dis- 
creetly. He  was  no  mere  lavish  and  careless  giver.  He  gave 
to  do  good,  and  always,  if  possible,  a  greater  and  more  per- 


168  GEORGE  CHETNE  SHATTUCK 

manent  good  than  the  mere  temporary  supply  of  a  want.  He 
would  not  minister  to  extravagance  or  folly.  He  would  not 
encourage  idleness.  He  offered  no  bounty  to  impracticable 
objects  or  unsuitable  plans  of  life.  But  he  was  remarkable  for 
the  fitness  and  utility  of  his  gifts. 

"  He  sought  no  publicity  in  his  charities  ;  the  private  channels 
and  objects  of  generosity  were  more  agreeable  to  his  taste. 
Yet  he  did  not  hesitate,  when  objects  of  public  interest  wanted 
money.  He  gave,  as  the  case  might  require,  largely  and  freely, 
to  the  broad  and  expansive  schemes  of  usefulness,  and  to  the 
great  measures  for  the  advancement  of  science  or  for  the  diffu- 
sion of  useful  knowledge  among  men.  Yet  he  preferred  and 
gave  much  more  frequently  to  individuals  in  a  private  way, 
where  the  eyes  of  men  saw  not,  and  where  the  voice  of  grat- 
itude would  not  be  heard  abroad,  and  often  where  it  had  no 
opportunity  of  being  lifted  to  him. 

"  He  loved  most  to  aid  men  to  eke  out  their  means,  —  to  add 
a  little  more  power  to  complete  an  almost  accomplished  but 
staggering  purpose.  To  those  who  honestly  and  faithfully  put 
forth  all  their  energies  to  do  a  good  and  suitable  work,  which 
was  a  little  beyond  their  strength  or  means,  he  was  a  friend  at 
hand  just  at  the  time  when  they  began  to  need,  and  when, 
without  such  a  coadjutor  as  he  was,  they  might  have  faltered 
and  perhaps  failed. 

"  He  was  more  pleased  in  dispensing  his  means  in  this  way 
than  in  any  other.  Thus  the  aged  minister,  who  had  saved 
more  souls  than  money,  and  whose  friends  had  gone  down  to 
the  grave  before  him  —  the  scantily  sustained  but  industrious 
waiter  on  professional  success  —  the  struggling,  industrious  stu- 
dent in  college  —  the  straitened  widow,  the  poor  laborer,  the 
wood-sawyer,  whose  earnings  and  capital  would  not  enable  him 
to  replace  his  broken  or  exhausted  tools,  —  all  these,  and  such  as 
these,  everywhere  within  his  wide  range,  were  subjects  of  his 
observation  and  recipients  of  his  aid,  in  private  ways,  and 
often  times  in  ways  so  secret  as  to  elude  all  search  for  the  source 
of  the  blessings  which  had  been  received. 

"  One  anecdote  will  illustrate  the  manner  of  giving  which 
pleased  him  most.  While  I  was  a  student  in  his  office,  on  the 
1st  of  January,  Mr.  K.,  his  tailor,  called  with  his  bill.  Dr.  Shat- 
tuck  was  out,  and  I  was  alone  in  the  office.     As  I  was  well 


GEORGE    CHETNE   SHATTUCK  169 

acquainted  with  Mr.  K.,  he  showed  me  the  doctor's  bill,  which, 
he  said,  he  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to  show  to  or  speak  of  to  others. 
There  was  a  bill  against  Dr.  Shattuck  for  clothing  received 
within  a  single  year,  of  over  four  hundred  dollars !  Every 
body  knew  that  Dr.  Shattuck  always  dressed  very  economi- 
cally, even  negligently.  It  was  impossible  that  the  clothing  of 
himself  and  his  son  could  cost  more  than  a  small  fraction  of  this 
bill.  Mr.  K.  explained.  He  said  that  every  little  while  there 
came  men,  gentlemen,  laborers,  children,  into  his  store,  with  an 
order  from  Dr.  Shattuck,  almost  always  in  these  words  :  "  Please 
give  this  man  a  coat,  or  vest,  or  pair  of  pantaloons,  or  great- 
coat, cloak,  or  a  suit  of  clothes  suited  to  his  condition."  The 
last  phrase  was  the  only  condition  prescribed ;  and  Mr.  K.  gave 
such  clothing  as  the  man's  occupation,  station,  and  age  seemed  to 
require.  In  this  way  Mr.  K.  said  that  his  clothing  bill  amounted 
to  about  four  hundred  dollars  every  year,  and  had  for  a  long 
time. 

"  Man}'  invalids,  of  every  class,  were  in  the  habit  of  calling 
on  Dr.  Shattuck  for  professional  advice,  especially  in  cases  of 
chronic  disease.  Among  these  were  frequently  the  students  of 
theology,  at  Andover  and  Cambridge,  and  young  men  in  col- 
lege, men  in  apparently  straitened  circumstances,  and  poor 
women  with  their  children.  He  very  kindly  heard  all  their 
tales  of  suffering,  gave  his  advice  for  their  self-management, 
and  then  wrote  a  prescription  for  medicine,  all  the  while  sur- 
veying his  patients'  outer  man  as  carefully  as  he  had  inquired 
into  their  inner  man.  After  writing  the  prescription,  he  wrote 
a  note  and  sealed  and  directed  it  to  his  tailor,  and  then  he  very 
courteously  said :  '  Now,  sir,  will  you  be  good  enough  to  carry 
this  prescription  to  the  apothecary,  134  Washington  Street,  and 
while  they  are  putting  up  the  medicine  will  you  do  me  the 
favor  to  carry  this  note  to  Mr.  K.,  No.  5  Congress  Street?' 
There  was  no  fee  to  be  paid  for  his  professional  advice.  The 
grateful  patient,  wishing  to  make  some  return  for  the  good 
physician's  kindness,  gladly  consented  to  carry  the  note  as  he 
wished.  When  they  delivered  the  note  to  Mr.  K.,  in  Congress 
street,  they  learned  to  their  surprise  that,  instead  of  diminish- 
ing their  debt  of  gratitude,  they  increased  it  by  so  doing ;  for 
they  were  to  receive  clothing  in  addition  to  healing,  from  the 
hands  of  Dr.  Shattuck,  and  without  cost  to  themselves." 

22 


170  GEORGE  CHEYNE  SHATTUCK 

His  pastor,  the  Kev.  Cyrus  A.  Bartol,  D.  D.,  preached 
a  sermon  on  his  death  which  was  privately  printed.  We 
make  a  few  extracts :  — 

"  '  He  began  his  career,  as  perhaps  it  is  best  every  young  man 
should,  having  nothing  in  particular  to  trust  to  but  his  own 
talent  and  fidelity ;  .  .  .  and,  waiting  quietly  for  his  first  pa- 
tients, attending  slowly  to  case  after  case,  he  laid  silently,  stone 
by  stone,  the  foundation  of  his  fame.  Every  truly  noble  build- 
ing rests  on  just  such  a  basis  of  deep  and  secret  diligence  ;  and 
as  a  great  merchant  once  said  that  the  making  of  his  first  thou- 
sand dollars  cost  him  more  perplexity  than  all  the  rest  of  his 
immense  fortune,  so  is  it  with  the  first  achievement,  by  mani- 
fest, undeniable,  and  unmistakable  power,  of  all  professional 
success. 


"  Extraordinarily  distinguished  for  insight  into  the  soul  as 
well  as  body,  .  .  .  reading  character  as  he  did  health  or  dis- 
ease ;  leaping  through  obstructions  to  his  point,  with  an  electric 
spark  of  genius  that  was  in  him  ;  clothing  his  conclusions  some- 
times with  a  poetic  color,  and  sometimes  with  the  garb  of  a 
quaint  phraseology  ;  employing  now  a  pithy  proverb,  and  now 
a  cautious  and  tender  circumlocution,  to  utter  what  could 
scarce  have  been  otherwise  conveyed,  in  a  method  of  conversa- 
tion, which,  in  its  straight  lines  or  through  all  its  windings,  1 
never  found  otherwise  than  very  instructive,  —  an  intuitive 
sagacity  and  perfect  originality  marked  all  his  sayings  and 
doings.  He  could  never  be  confounded  with  any  other  man. 
Borrowing  neither  ideas  nor  expressions,  he  was  always  himself. 
Yet  there  was  nothing  cynical  or  recluse  or  egotistical  about 
him.  I  never  heard  him  boast  himself  or  despise  another.  He 
had  a  large  and  wai-m  heart,  with  room  in  it  for  many  persons 
and  all  humanity.  Though  he  was  so  peculiar,  much  of  his 
heart  was  the  common  heart,  as  the  most  marked  and  lofty 
mountains  have  in  them  most  of  the  common  earth.  While  not 
a  few  are  absorbed  in  some  single  relation,  he  observed  and 
acted  well  in  the  multitude  of  his  relations  to  his  fellow-men. 
He  was  remarkable  for  this  broad  look  and  observance  of  all  the 
interests,  material   or  moral,   mechanical   or   spiritual,  of  the 


GEORGE    CHEYNE    SHATTUCK  171 

world,  and  was  equally  at  home  in  a  question  of  finance  or  an 
enterprise  for  religion." 

Mr.  Lemuel  Shattuck,  in  a  volume  giving  an  account  of 
the  Shattuck  family,  devotes  several  pages  to  a  biography 
of  Dr.  Shattuck. 


JOHN    DAYIS 


In  a  paper  on  the  character  of  the  late  Hon.  John 
Davis,  communicated  to  the  American  Antiquarian  So- 
ciety in  1864  by  the  late  Hon.  Charles  Hudson,  the 
writer  says :  — 

"  Though  the  Hon.  John  Davis  lived  respected  and  died 
lamented,  I  feel  conscious  that  the  people  of  Massachusetts 
have  never  done  full  justice  to  his  memory.  He  was  long  in 
public  life,  and  filled,  with  distinguished  ability,  the  highest 
offices  within  the  gift  of  his  native  State ;  and  though  the 
purity  of  his  private  character  challenged  the  respect  of  the 
whole  community,  and  the  wisdom  and  moderation  of  his  public 
acts  disarmed  his  political  opponents,  the  mass  of  the  people 
never  fully  appreciated  the  worth  of  the  man,  or  the  value  of 
his  long  and  faithful  services." 

Mr.  Hudson,  his  lifelong  friend  and  political  associate, 
ascribes  this  fact  to  the  circumstances  that  Mr.  Davis's 
labors  were  chiefly  at  Washington,  removed  from  the 
observation  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  and  that, 
while  Governor  of  the  State,  his  aversion  to  display  kept 
him  in  a  great  degree  from  the  public  gaze ;  while  the 
same  aversion  to  display  attended  his  labors  at  Washing- 
ton, where  he  never  made  a  speech  unnecessarily,  and 
where  letter  writers  received  no  encouragement  from  him 
to  extol  his  wisdom  or  trumpet  his  fame. 

Although  a  failure  to  discern  fully  the  wisdom  and 
ability  of  Governor  Davis,  on  the  part  of  his  intelligent 
constituents  in  Massachusetts,  may   not   readily   be   ad- 


JOHN   DAVIS  17 


Q 


mitted,  the  above  statement  exhibits  certain  prominent 
characteristics  of  his  mind  and  temperament.  His  aver- 
sion to  display  has  sometimes  been  ascribed  to  a  dishke  of 
exertion,  but  was  really  the  result  of  repugnance  to  self- 
assertion,  as  a  matter  of  taste,  and  a  degree  of  diffidence 
that  was  natural  to  him,  and  which  the  necessary  pub- 
licity of  his  life  never  entirely  overcame. 

He  used  to  relate  that  when  he  graduated  at  college 
he  could  not  subdue  his  reluctance  to  appear  before  an 
audience  in  performance  of  the  part  assigned  him,  and 
that  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  he  never  rose  to 
address  court  or  jury  without  a  painful  effort  of  self- 
control.  Nervous  susceptibility  is  not  unusual  with  men 
of  strong  intellectual  powers  when  associated  with  deli- 
cate physical  organization,  but  it  would  hardly  have  been 
expected  in  connection  with  the  sturdy  frame  and  mascu- 
line features  of  Mr.  Davis.  If  an  infirmity  with  him,  it 
was  made  to  yield  to  the  vigorous  qualities  of  his  mind 
when  occasion  or  motive  required,  while  it  explains  his 
reluctance  to  appear  in  public  more  frequently  than  his 
official  responsibilities  demanded.  As  he  never  spoke  for 
popular  effect,  he  doubtless  failed  to  secure  the  kind  of 
public  estimation  that  is  wont  to  be  derived  from  such 
efforts. 

Mr.  Hudson  says :  "  Perhaps  no  public  man  in  the 
State  who  has  ever  served  the  people  so  long  and  so 
faithfully  has  been  less  known  by  his  constituents  than 
Mr.  Davis  "  ;  and  he  thinks  they  did  not  appreciate  his 
sound  judgment,  his  rare  sagacity,  his  knowledge  of  men, 
and  the  correctness  of  his  conclusions,  as  fully  as  did  his 
associates  in  the  Senate,  and  the  personal  friends  who 
were  more  in  contact  with  him.  The  Hon.  Charles  Hud- 
son has  deposited  with  the  American  Antiquarian  Society 
at  different  times,  in  manuscript,  memorials  of  three 
Worcester  Governors  of  Massachusetts,  John  Davis,  Levi 
Lincoln,  and  Emory  Washburn,  which  are  of  much  histori- 


174  JOHN   DAYIS 

cal  interest.  They  contain  estimates  of  their  characters 
and  services  clra\vn  from  personal  observation  by  a  familiar 
associate  in  public  and  private  life. 

John  Davis,  Governor  of  Massachusetts,  and  United 
States  Senator,  was  the  fifth  and  youngest  son  of  Deacon 
Isaac  Da\ns,  of  Northborough,  Mass.,  a  substantial  farmer, 
who  also  carried  on  the  business  of  a  tanner.  He  was 
born  in  that  place  on  the  thirteenth  day  of  January,  1787. 
His  early  experiences  were  those  common  to  boys  in  a 
country  town,  —  farm-work,  and  the  simple,  elementary 
instructions  of  the  village  school.  But  in  his  case  there 
was  another  form  of  culture,  which  may  have  had  an 
influence  upon  his  future  life.  The  young  men  of  North- 
borough  were  accustomed  to  meet  for  debate  upon  the 
public  measures  of  the  day,  and  discussed  political  ques- 
tions with  more  than  ordinary  carefulness  of  preparation. 
The  result  of  this  training,  doubtless,  was  the  delivery  by 
young  Davis,  while  a  student  in  Leicester  Academy,  of 
an  oration  on  protection  to  American  industry,  which 
exhibited  unusual  maturity  of  thought  and  knowledge  of 
the  subject,  and  foreshadowed  his  subsequent  distinction 
as  an  advocate  of  that  policy.  Johnson's  "New  Uni- 
versal Cyclopaedia  "  closes  its  succinct  notice  of  Governor 
Davis  by  saying  :  "  He  advocated  a  protective  tariff.  He 
was  often  called  Honest  John  Davis,"  as  if  these  were  the 
distinguishing  points  of  his  history. 

From  the  academy  at  Leicester  he  entered  Yale  College, 
New  Haven,  in  1808,  and  was  graduated  honorably  in 
1812.  Soon  after,  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the 
office  of  the  Hon.  Francis  Blake,  then  at  the  head  of  the 
bar  of  Worcester  County.  In  1815  he  was  admitted  to 
practice,  and  first  established  himself  at  Spencer,  in  that 
county,  but  removed  to  Worcester  in  May,  1816.  In 
1823  he  became  the  partner  of  the  Hon.  Levi  Lincoln, 
with  whom  he  was  associated  till  the  appointment  of  the 
latter  to  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  1824.      He 


JOHN   DAVIS  175 

then  connected  himself  with  the  Hon.  Charles  Allen,  and 
their  partnership  continued  till  1831.  Subsequently  he 
formed  an  association  in  practice  with  the  Hon.  Emory 
Washburn,  which  terminated  in  1834. 

As  a  lawyer  JNIr.  Davis  was  eminently  successful,  and  it 
was  admitted  by  his  legal  contemporaries  that  probably 
no  man  at  the  bar  of  Worcester  ever  exercised  a  greater 
influence  over  the  minds  of  the  jurors.  This  was  not  the 
result  of  rhetorical  effort,  but  was  due  to  the  great  clear- 
ness and  force  with  which  he  presented  the  strong  points 
of  his  case,  and  a  degree  of  candor  and  fairness  in 
the  conduct  of  his  causes,  which  won  the  confidence  and 
secured  the  respect  of  the  jury.  He  had,  remarkably, 
the  air  of  aiming  to  discover  the  truth  rather  than  to 
frame  an  ingenious  and  plausible  argument,  and  seemed 
always  to  be  addressing  the  judgment  and  plain  common 
sense  of  his  hearers.  It  was  the  natural  impulse  of  his 
mind  to  search  for  the  bottom  facts  of  a  question,  and 
present  them  vigorously  as  they  appeared  to  him,  instead 
of  attempting  effective  points  and  sophistical  deductions 
from  assumed  premises. 

Mr.  Davis  began  his  public  life  in  a  manner  not  com- 
mon to  New  England  politics.  He  was  elected  to  Con- 
gress as  representative  of  the  South  District  of  Worcester 
County,  without  ever  having  received  the  nomination  of 
any  political  convention  or  other  public  meeting.  He 
had  merely  been  proposed  as  a  candidate  anonymously  in 
the  newspapers,  in  opposition  to  his  own  wishes. 

Entering  Congress  in  1824,  without  having  been  con- 
nected in  any  way  with  the  government  of  the  State,  he 
had  not  acquired  a  national  reputation,  and  his  name  first 
became  generally  familiar,  even  to  his  fellow-citizens  in 
Massachusetts,  through  the  distinction  he  acquired  at 
Washinffton.     He  held  his  seat  there  in  the  House  of 

CD 

Eepresentatives  by  successive  re-elections  till  January, 
1834  when  he  became  Governor  of  this  Commonwealth. 


176  JOHN   DAVIS 

He  was  chosen  to  the  same  office  the  next  year,  but  in 
February  was  returned  to  Congress  as  Senator  for  the 
term  commencincr  on  the  4th  of  March  then  ensuino-. 
Before  this  term  expired  he  was  again  summoned  to 
serve  his  own  State  as  its  chief  executive  officer.  The 
change  was  not  in  accordance  with  his  private  inclina- 
tions, but  was  in  submission  to  the  requirements  of  the 
party  to  which  he  owed  allegiance.  Parties  in  Massa- 
chusetts were  nearly  balanced  in  the  autumn  of  1839. 
The  Democrats  secured  the  election  of  ,their  candidate, 
Governor  Morton,  by  two  majority.  It  became  of  vital 
importance  to  the  Whig  party,  with  a  presidential  election 
pending,  to  put  their  strongest  man  in  nomination  for  the 
year  1841.  In  that  emergency  all  eyes  were  turned 
upon  Mr.  Davis,  and  his  election,  by  a  majority  of  nearly 
twenty  thousand  votes,  showed  the  wisdom  of  the  choice. 
He  remained  in  the  office  of  governor  till  January,  1843, 
when,  having  been  defeated  in  the  gubernatorial  canvass, 
after  a  protracted  struggle  in  the  Legislature,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  prudent  neutrality  in  the  case  of  the  so-called 
Dorr  Rebellion  of  Rhode  Island,  and  partly,  perhaps,  on 
account  of  an  imprudent  act  of  one  of  his  staff,  he  retired 
for  a  short  period  to  private  life. 

His  successor  in  the  United  States  Senate,  the  Hon.  Isaac 
C.  Bates,  of  Northampton,  having  died  at  Washington  on 
the  16th  of  March,  1845,  Mr.  Davis  was  chosen  by  the 
Legislature  of  Massachusetts,  on  the  24th  of  that  month, 
to  fill  the  vacancy.  This  term  expired  March  4,  1847, 
and  he  was  re-elected  for  the  full  period  of  six  years, 
ending  in  1853.  He  then  declined  further  political  ser- 
vice, having  been  exceeding  eight  years  representative  in 
Congress,  above  three  years  governor  of  the  State,  and 
nearly  fourteen  years  a  member  of  the  United  States 
Senate. 

Mr.  Davis  was  married  March  28,  1822,  to  Miss  Eliza 
Bancroft,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Aaron  Bancroft,  of 


JOHN   DAVIS  177 

"Worcester.  She  was  sister  of  the  Hon.  George  Bancroft, 
the  historian,  and  a  lady  of  uncommon  intellectual  gifts. 
Of  their  children  (five  sons),  two  are  now  in  public  life, 
viz. :  the  Hon.  John  Chandler  Bancroft  Davis,  late  United 
States  Minister  to  Germany,  and  now  Judge  of  the  Court 
of  Claims  at  Washington,  and  the  Hon.  Horace  Davis, 
representative  in  Congress  from  California. 

At  home,  and  among  his  friends  and  fellow-citizerfs, 
Mr.  Davis  was  always  genial,  instructive,  and  simple. 
His  reading  had  been  extensive ;  he  was  a  close  observer 
of  men  and  events;  his  conversational  powers  were 
remarkable,  and  he  was  fond  of  unceremonious  social 
intercourse.  From  his  knowledge  of  history,  general 
and  special,  and  of  the  principles  and  ethics  of  political 
science,  it  has  been  said  of  him  that  "  if  he  had  occu- 
pied the  chair  of  history  or  moral  philosophy  in  a  uni- 
versity he  would  have  achieved  a  fame  as  honorable,  if 
not  as  distinguished,  as  that  which  crowned  his  political 
career."  * 

It  happened  that  the  practical  engagements  of  his 
political  life  left  little  opportunity  for  the  cultivation 
of  belles-lettres  scholarship ;  but  in  the  leisure  of  later 
years,  he  found  pleasure  in  renewing  his  acquaintance 
with  the  Latin  classics. 

His  purely  literary  public  performances  were  not 
numerous.  He  delivered  the  Fourth  of  July  oration  in 
Worcester  in  1816,  when,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  an  era 
of  good  feeling  among  all  parties  was  anticipated ;  he 
gave  an  historical  address  at  the  dedication  of  the  Wor- 
cester Town  Hall,  May  2,  1825,  and  an  address  before 
the  American  Institute,  at  New  York,  Oct.  18,  1838, 
which  was  much  admired,  and  was  reprinted  at  Spring- 
field the  following  year ;  also  one  or  two  other  addresses 
which  did  not  appear  in  print.     He  was  president  of  the 

*  Report  of  the  Council  of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  April  2G,  1854, 
by  Hon.  Thomas  Kinnicutt.  —  Eds. 

23 


178  jonx  DAVIS 

Worcester  County  Historical  Society  in  1826,  a  councillor 
of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society  from  1824  to  1831, 
vice-president  of  the  same  from  1831  to  1853,  and  in  1853 
succeeded  the  Hon.  Edward  Everett  as  president.  He 
was  admitted  an  honorary  member  of  the  New  England 
Historic  Genealogical  Society,  April  19,  1847.  He  found 
time  to  take  an  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  community 
to  which  he  belonged,  and  in  benevolent  enterprises  for 
the  improvement  of  mankind  in  civilization,  morals,  and 
religion.  He  was  the  first  president  of  the  State  Mutual 
Life  Insurance  Company  of  Worcester,  an  early  director 
of  the  Quinsigamond  Bank  (one  of  the  first  to  adopt  the 
Indian  name  of  its  location),  president,  for  a  time,  of  the 
Worcester  and  Nashua  Railroad,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  president  of  the  Worcester  County  Bible  Society. 

When  Mr.  Davis  entered  Congress  the  tariff  of  1824 
had  proved  unsatisfactory  to  the  manufacturing  interests 
of  the  country,  and  petitions  for  better  legislative  pro- 
tection were  sent  to  Washington  from  all  parts  of  the 
Middle  and  Northern  States.  It  was  his  conviction  (as 
we  have  seen  from  his  youthful  advocacy  of  the  policy 
of  protection)  that  government  should  so  arrange  the 
import  duties  necessary  for  revenue  that  the  industry  of 
the  country  should  be  expanded,  and  its  labor  made  more 
productive  and  profitable.  He  was  thoroughly  familiar 
with  the  subject;  and  the  speeches  delivered  by  him  in 
the  sessions  of  1828,  1830,  and  1832,  in  reply  to  Mr. 
McDuffie,  Mr.  Cambreling,  and  others,  were  regarded  by 
the  protectionists  as  the  best  exposition  and  maintenance 
of  their  theories.  He  was  a  consistent  opponent  of  the 
administration  of  General  Jackson,  and  was  supposed  to 
have  drafted,  wholly  or  in  part,  the  famous  protest  against 
the  "  expunging  resolutions."  He  also  opposed  the  ad- 
ministration of  Mr.  Van  Buren  ;  and  his  short  speech 
against  the  sub-treasury,  in  1840,  was  circulated  among 
voters  as  the  most  efficient  electioneering  pamphlet,   to 


JOHN    DAVIS  179 

the  extent,  it  was  computed,  of  a  million  copies,  and  is 
supposed  to  have  done  more  than  any  other  document 
to  overthrow  the  Van  Buren  administration.  In  the 
Senate  he  was  the  prominent  champion  of  protection,  as 
he  had  been  in  the  House.  He  strenuously  opposed  the 
Mexican  War,  and  was  one  of  the  two  senators  who 
voted  that  the  war  did  not  exist  by  the  act  of  Mexico. 
He  was  earnest  in  favor  of  excluding  slavery  from  the 
Territories.  He  was  the  steadfast  antasronist  of  the 
"  compromise  acts  "  in  the  administration  of  Taylor  and 
Fillmore. 

In  order  to  assign  to  Mr.  Davis  his  true  rank  and  posi- 
tion as  a  statesman  and  orator,  it  is  necessary  to  con- 
sider the  circumstances  by  which  he  was  surrounded,  and 
the  men  with  whom  he  was  associated,  at  Washington. 
Taking  his  seat  without  the  prestige  of  any  official 
station,  and  with  only  such  limited  fame  as  a  country 
lawyer  may  secure  in  the  first  ten  years  of  practice,  he 
was  brought  into  comparison  and  competition  with  the 
ablest  men  that  have  ever  appeared  in  the  national  coun- 
cils,—  Webster,  Clay,  Calhoun,  John  Quincy  Adams,  Mc- 
Duffie,  and  other  gifted  and  skilful  debaters. 

There  are  various  means  by  which  men  endeavor  to 
render  themselves  conspicuous  in  political  life  and  to  ac- 
quire the  reputation  of  leadership  in  political  assemblies. 
It  is  a  common,  and  not  a  very  exalted  course  to  seek 
notoriety  by  the  introduction  of  startling  measures,  or  by 
moving  the  appointment  of  committees  (of  investigation, 
perhaps)  on  which  they  may  make  a  figure  as  zealous 
guardians  of  the  interests  of  the  people ;  a  loftier  ambi- 
tion aspires  to  influence  derived  from  the  faculty  of 
declamation,  from  keenness  of  invective,  and  from  ad 
crqjtandum  rhetoric  ;  others,  again,  depend  upon  wit  in 
repartee,  aptness  of  quotation,  and  the  varied  appliances 
of  forensic  training.  Mr.  Davis  was,  as  much  as  possible, 
the  opposite  of  these.     None  of  their  methods  were  in 


180  '  JOHN  DAVIS 

accordance  with  his  intellectual  or  moral  tendencies. 
There  was  no  pretence  about  him,  and  his  habits  of  ac- 
tion were  remote  from  anything  like  dash.  He  made  no 
parade  of  legal  learning  at  the  bar,  or  of  specially  pro- 
found interpretations  of  the  abstract  principles  of  national 
or  international,  jurisprudence  in  his  public  speeches  ;  but 
he  had  an  accurate  perception  of  the  bearing  of  general 
principles  upon  any  subject  under  consideration,  and  a 
local  memory  of  more  than  common  exactness,  —  a  mem- 
ory of  facts  and  events,  of  places  and  of  people. 

With  such  resources,  he  was  particularly  effective  in 
the  expression  of  his  views  in  a  casual  way,  in  the  course 
of  informal  conversation  and  in  reply  to  questions,  with- 
out creating  a  suspicion  of  a  desire  to  influence  for  a  pur- 
pose. He  seemed  always  aiming  to  look  at  things  as 
they  really  were,  hather  than  as  they  might  be  made  to 
appear.  The  impression  of  sincerity  conveyed  by  his 
manner,  with  the  evidence  of  extensive  and  precise  infor- 
mation, gave  great  weight  to  his  opinions.  Men  of  all 
parties  found  pleasure  and  profit  in  his  society,  and  the 
sobriquet  "Honest  John"  came  to  be  generally  attached 
to  his  name. 

The  advantages  derived  by  Mr.  Davis  from  these  char- 
acteristics, and  the  personal  estimation  they  secured  to 
him,  were  very  great.  Mr.  Webster  would  make  a 
brilliant  argument,  on  a  "  brief  "  furnished  him  by  mer- 
chants and  manufacturers,  which,  so  far  as  lucid  state- 
ment and  logical  demonstration  could  go,  seemed  to  settle 
the  question  in  the  popular  mind,  but  which  would  have 
comparatively  little  effect  with  Congress.  Mr.  Davis, 
seated  at  the  helm  of  a  great  public  measure,  guiding  its 
progress  amid  the  shoals  and  quicksands  of  debate,  up- 
holding it  strongly  at  one  point,  and  turning  it  slightly 
from  its  course  at  another,  might  be  regarded  as  occupy- 
ing a  position  requiring  in  some  respects  more  statesman- 
ship, more  diplomatic  capacity  as  a  manager  of  men  and 


JOHN   DAVIS  181 

affairs.  Mr.  "Webster  and  Mr.  Davis  acted  and  voted 
together  in  all  matters  of  public  policy  ;  and  the  greater 
prominence  of  the  former  would  be  likely  often  to  give 
him  the  credit  of  results  which  were  due  to  their  joint 
efforts.  It  was,  however,  well  understood  at  Washington 
that  the  practical  common  sense  and  rare  sagacity  of  the 
latter,  combined  with  his  thorough  knowledge  of  details, 
entitled  him  to  at  least  an  equal  share  in  the  merits  of 
success.  It  sometimes  happened  that  his  private  and 
personal  acquaintance  with  particular  facts  gave  to  his 
statements  the  character  of  testimony,  outweighing  the 
influence  of  any  mere  logical  deduction  from  assumed 
premises. 

Mr.  Davis,  with  a  little  different  training,  would  have 
made  an  excellent  foreign  minister.  His  diplomatic  tal- 
ents, a  shrewd  and  sagacious  perception  of  character, 
shrouded  under  simple  and  quiet  manners,  and  his 
colloquial  gifts,  qualified  him  for  such  a  position.  In 
these  days,  a  knowledge  of  European  languages  is  not 
held  to  be  an  essential  prerequisite  in  the  selection  of 
national  representatives  at  foreign  courts ;  but  when 
Mr.  Davis,  on  a  visit  to  London,  was  invited  by  our 
minister,  Edward  Everett,  to  a  diplomatic  breakfast, 
where  the  guests  were  the  ambassadors  of  different  na- 
tions, and  the  only  language  which  etiquette  admitted 
was  French,  he  felt  keenly  the  linguistic  deficiencies  of 
his  education,  which  it  was  too  late  to  remedy,  and  ad- 
vised young  men  to  learn  modern  tongues,  as  of  more 
practical  importance  than  those  which  have  gone  out 
of  use. 

Mr.  Davis  was  regarded  by  his  associates  as  having  few 
equals  in  the  Senate  on  questions  of  finance,  and  his 
judgment  and  information  respecting  trade  and  com- 
merce, banking  and  currency,  were  highly  appreciated. 

His  public  career  was  marked  by  circumspection  and 
discretion,  having  at  times  the  appearance   of  excessive 


182  JOHN    DAVIS 

caution ;  yet  he  did  not  fail  of  decision  or  independence 
when  the  occasion  demanded  them,  and  stood  unmoved 
when  others  were  affected  by  the  pressure  of  circum- 
stances. In  relation  to  the  Mexican  War,  in  the  struggle 
upon  the  compromise  acts  of  Mr.  Clay,  in  the  case  of 
the  Fugitive  Slave  Bill,  —  against  all  these  measures 
he  was  manly  and  steadfast  in  his  opposition,  when 
some  of  his  party  yielded  their  convictions  to  views  of 
expediency. 

"The  tariff  of  1828,"  says  Mr.  Benton,  "is  an  era  in 
our  legislation,  being  the  event  from  which  the  doctrine 
of  nullification  takes  its  rise,  and  from  which  a  serious 
division  dates  between  the  North  and  the  South."  — 
Thirty   Years  in  the  Senate,  I.,  95. 

If  this  were  strictly  true,  a  large  share  of  responsibility 
for  these  consequences  would  rest  on  the  shoulders  of 
Mr.  Davis ;  yet  the  equanimity  and  resolution  manifested 
by  him  through  the  trying  period  of  nullification  have 
been  matters  of  comment  and  of  praise.  He  was  not 
hasty  in  committing  himself,  and  hence  was  sometimes 
charged  with  timidity ;  but  having  formed  his  opinions, 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  avow  and  maintain  them,  and  his 
colleagues  knew  where  to  find  him  in  any  emergency 
afterwards.  His  associate,  Mr.  Hudson,  gives  him  un- 
qualified credit  for  the  traits  of  consistency  and  persist- 
ency. He  also  mentions  some  particulars,  not  generally 
known,  relating  to  his  failure  to  receive  the  nomination 
for  the  vice-presidency  in  1844. 

Mr.  Davis  was  always  popular  in  the  country  at  large, 
and  after  the  tergiversation  of  John  Tyler,  when  the 
leaders  of  the  Whig  party  were  casting  about  for  a  can- 
didate for  the  vice-presidency  they  settled  with  great 
unanimity  upon  him.  By  general  consent  he  was  desig- 
nated to  run  on  the  ticket  with  Mr.  Clay  ;  but  as  the 
time  of  the  Convention  approached,  it  was  found  that 
his  course  in  regard  to  questions  connected  with  slavery 


JOHN   DAVIS  183 

would  prejudice  the  ticket  in  certain  States  where  parties 
were  closely  balanced,  and  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  sub- 
stituted as  less  prominently  committed.  Yet  it  was  be- 
lieved that  Mr.  Davis  would  carry  more  popular  votes 
than  any  other  candidate.  Mr.  Hudson  had  personal 
cognizance  of  the  fact  that  the  friends  of  Mr.  Clay  gave 
positive  assurance  that,  if  he  were  elected,  Mr.  Davis 
should  be  called  to  his  Cabinet  to  fill  the  office  of  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury  ;  and  had  the  Whig  party  prevailed, 
the  promise  would  undoubtedly  have  been  fulfilled. 

He  would  have  made  a  most  valuable  cabinet  officer. 
His  habit  of  mind  was  favorable  to  calm  and  deliberate 
action,  that  conservative  tendency  to  which  experienced 
statesmanship  always  leads,  which  is  the  only  sure  basis 
of  national  prosperity,  and  is  by  no  means  inconsistent 
with  a  vigorous  policy.  He  would  never  have  rushed 
into  theoretical  reforms,  regardless  of  consequences,  or 
sacrificed  general  principles  to  a  single  idea ;  but  when, 
after  careful  examination  of  all  points  to  be  considered, 
and  patient  reflection  upon  their  probable  influences,  he 
had  come  to  a  decision,  he  would  have  maintained  it 
quietly  but  persistently. 

He  was  a  lono-  time  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Commerce  in  the  Senate,  and  made  himself  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  principles  of  that  branch  of  national 
administration.  To  the  fisheries,  as  an  important  division 
of  commerce,  he  gave  special  and  intelligent  attention; 
and  he  made  a  study  of  the  best  methods  of  constructing 
lighthouses,  and  providing  them  with  the  most  effective 
illuminating  apparatus.  Another  of  his  services,  the  value 
of  which  has  been  widely  appreciated,  was  the  establish- 
ment of  a  code  of  regulations  for  steam  navigation,  tend- 
ing to  diminish  its  fearful  hazard. 

It  is  believed  that  the  chair  of  the  Committee  on  Com- 
merce had  never  been  filled  with  more  fidelity  or  with 
with  greater  usefulness  to  the  country. 


18^  JOHN  DAVIS 

In  Mr.  Da\^s,  wisdom  was,  perhaps,  more  prominent 
than  genius ;  yet,  besides  his  conspicuous  lucidity  of 
thought,  he  not  unfrequently  attained  to  eloquence  of 
expression.  His  sagacity  was  not  of  the  secretive  kind, 
but  in  connection  with  his  powers  of  acute  observa- 
tion, gave  attractiveness  to  his  conversation.  Without 
claims  to  grace  of  manner  or  elegance  of  dictiou,  what  he 
said  was  well  said,  and  to  the  point,  —  the  two  essential 
qualities  of  speech.  Above  everything,  no  suspicion,  at 
any  time,  for  a  moment,  rested  upon  his  patriotism,  his 
fidelity  to  all  trusts,  public  and  private,  and  the  con- 
scientious fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  a  citizen  and  a 
Christian,  not  less  than  of  those  of  a  maker  and  admin- 
istrator of  the  laws  of  a  nation. 

The  terse  fines  of  Horace,  so  often  quoted,  and  often 
unsuitably,  may  with  much  propriety  be  applied  to  him:  — 

"  Justum  et  tenacem  propositi  virum, 
Non  civium  ardor  pravajubentium, 
Non  vultus  instantis  tyranni 
Mente  quatit  solida." 

With  much  appearance  of  muscular  vigor.  Governor 
Davis  never  possessed  sound  bodily  health,  and  suffered 
from  chronic  tendencies  that  ultimately  terminated  his 
life.  He  died  quite  suddenly,  April  19,  1854,  aged  67 
years,  3  months,  and  6  days. 

The  direct  male  ancestors  of  Governor  Davis  in  this 
country  were :  — 

1.  Dolor  Davis,  who  came  to  this  country  from  Great 
Britain,  was  at  Cambridge  in  1634,  and  was  doubtless  an 
early  settler  of  Plymouth  Colony.  In  1656  he  was  a 
petitioner  for  the  grant  of  the  town  of  Groton.  In  1658 
he  was  one  of  twenty  of  Plymouth  who  had  lands  granted 
them  in  Concord,  Massachusetts.  He  died  in  Barnstable 
in  1673.  His  first  wife  was  Margery,  daughter  of  Rich- 
ard Willard,  of  Horsemonden,  Kent,  England,  and  sister 
of  Major  Simon  Willard,  of  Concord,  Massachusetts. 


JOHN   DAVIS  185 

2.  Samuel. 

3.  Simon,  born  August  9,  1683,  died  1763. 

4.  Simon,  born  1713,  died  1754. 

5.  Isaac,  born  February  27,  1749,  died  1827. 

A  sketch  of  the  hfe  of  Dolor  Davis,  with  a  record  of 
his  earlier  descendants,  has  been  recently  printed  for 
private  distribution  by  the  Hon.  Horace  Davis  of  San 
Francisco. 


24 


SHUBAEL    BARTLETT 


Rev.  Shubael  Bartlett,  for  fifty  years  pastor  of  the 
Congregational  Church  and  Ecclesiastical  Society  of  East 
Windsor  (North  Parish),  Conn.,  was  born  in  Lebanon, 
New  London  County,  Conn.,  April  2,  1778.  He  was  the 
son  of  Mr.  John  Bartlett,  a  deacon  in  the  Congregational 
church  of  Exeter  Parish,  Lebanon.  His  mother's  maiden 
name  was  Desire  Loomis. 

The  first  ancestor  of  Mr.  Bartlett  in  this  country  was 
Robert  Bartlett,  who  came  with  a  company  of  Pilgrims  to 
Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  in  1623,  in  the  ship  Ann.  On 
the  maternal  side  his  descent  was  from  the  Warrens,  the 
Brewsters,  and  other  families  of  the  Pilgrims  of  excellent 
report. 

Deacon  Bartlett  was  not  only  a  valiant  defender  of  the 
faith  in  the  church  of  God,  but  also  a  defender  of  his 
country,  having  done  good  service  in  her  behalf  at  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

Descended  from  a  lona;  line  of  God-fearinsr,  God-servin": 
ancestors,  both  male  and  female,  and  himself  for  more 
than  half  a  century  earnestly  devoted  to  the  Christian 
ministry,  and  in  his  private  life  to  the  faithful  perform- 
ance of  Christian  duty,  Mr.  Bartlett's  feelings  of  ancestral 
pride,  so  far  as  he  allowed  himself  the  indulgence  of  such 
a  feeling,  might  well  have  been  expressed  in  those  beauti- 
ful lines  of  Cowper :  — 


SHUBAEL    BARTLETT  187 

"  My  boast  is  not  that  I  deduce  my  birth 
From  loins  enthroned,  and  rulers  of  the  earth, 
But  higher  still  my  proud  pnetensions  rise, 
The  son  of  parents  passed  into  the  skies." 

Mr.  Bartlett  began  his  religious  life  early,  having  pro- 
fessed his  faith  in  Christ  and  united  with  the  church  at 
the  age  of  sixteen  years.  In  his  private  diary  we  find 
the  following  record  :  "■  If  ever  I  was  born  again,  I  have 
reason  to  hope  it  was  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1794."  It 
was  in  June  of  that  year  that  he  made  a  public  profession 
of  his  religious  faith  and  united  with  the  church.  With  the 
intention  of  becoming  prepared  for  the  Christian  ministry, 
he  engaged  in  studies  preparatory  to  entering  college 
under  the  care  of  Rev.  Dr.  Ely  of  Lebanon,  and  in  Sep- 
tember, 1796,  was  admitted  to  the  Freshman  Class  at  Yale 
College,  when  eighteen  years  of  age.  Mr.  Bartlett's 
father  was  a  man  of  moderate  pecuniary  means,  living 
on  a  small  farm,  and  engaging  to  a  moderate  extent  in  the 
manufacture  of  leather,  shoes,  etc.,  so  that  besides  sup- 
porting his  family  he  could  afford  but  little  aid  to  his  son 
in  his  college  education.  The  expenses  of  his  college 
course  were  therefore  borne  chiefly  by  himself,  partly  by 
teaching  and  partly  from  the  avails  of  some  services  ren- 
dered by  him  to  the  college.  During  the  later  years  of 
his  residence  at  the  college  he  acted  as  amanuensis  for 
President  D wight,  with  whom  he  enjoyed  a  close  and 
intimate  friendship. 

Of  Mr.  Bartlett's  character  and  personal  appearance  in 
his  youthful  days,  and  the  character  he  afterwards  sus- 
tained, the  following  interesting  testimonial  has  been  fur- 
nished us  by  one  of  his  old  friends :  — 

"  I  have  known  Mr.  Bartlett  ever  since  he  first  came  to  New- 
Haven.  He  was  quite  young,  tall,  and  prepossessing  in  his  ap- 
pearance, of  pleasant,  polite  manners,  and  remarkably  steady 
and  correct  in  all  his  deportment.  He  was  then  a  professor  of 
religion,  and  it  was  a  very  uncommon  thing  in  that  day  for  one 


188  SHUBAEL   BAETLETT 

SO  young  to  be  willing  to  be  known  as  a  follower  of  Christ ;  but 
he  maintained  a  consistent  walk,  and  had  also  the  respect  of  his 
classmates,  —  and  it  required  a  great  deal  of  prudence  and  grace 
for  one  situated  as  he  was  to  avoid  giving  unnecessary  offence 
by  too  strict  a  walk,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  yielding  so  far  to 
the  views  and  feelings  of  the  irreligious  as  to  compromise  his 
Christian  principles.  He  was  much  respected  in  college  as  well 
as  by  those  with  whom  he  associated  in  the  city.  And  he  has 
ever  been  the  same.  I  have  known  him  for  more  than-  fifty 
years,  and  esteem  his  friendship  very  highly." 

Mr.  Bartlett  was  graduated  at  Yale  in  the  Class  of  1800. 
The  period  of  his  residence  at  college  extending  through 
six  years,  as  he  remained  two  years  after  completing 
his  academic  course  a  resident  graduate,  pursuing  his  the- 
ological studies.  This  period  of  six  years  was  a  memo- 
rable period  in  the  religious  history  of  the  college.  For 
several  years  previous  to  the  year  1801  infidelity  and 
irreligion  had  prevailed  to  such  an  extent  that  there  were 
almost  no  professors  of  religion  among  the  students  in  the 
college,  and  the  open  acknowledgment  of  personal  piety 
was  an  extremely  uncommon  thing  among  the  young 
people  of  polite  society. 

Mr.  Bartlett's  private  journal  kept  at  that  time  con- 
tains some  interesting  statements  concerning  those  times 
worthy  of  attention.  From  a  sketch  of  his  life  written 
some  years  since  by  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Azel  S.  Roe,  we 
quote  the  following :  — 

"  The  close  of  the  last  century  may  well  be  termed  the  period 
when  infidelity  triumphed,  when  pure  religion  was  scoffed  at 
and  made  to  hide  her  head  and  weep  in  secret  places.  That  it 
was  a  peculiarly  trying  time  for  a  professor  of  religion  may  be 
imagined  from  the  fact  that  Mr.  Bartlett  was  the  only  member 
of  his  class  during  Freshman  year  who  professed  to  be  pious. 
There  was  not  one  professor  of  religion  in  the  Sophomore  Class, 
but  one  in  the  Junior,  and  in  the  year  1799  in  the  whole  college 
but  four  students  of  professed  piety.  On  one  occasion,  at  the 
communion  season,  Mr.  Bartlett  was  the  only  student  present. 


SHUBAEL    BARTLETT  189 

There  was  at  that  time  a  society  in  the  college  called  '  the  floral 
Society.'  The  year  Mr.  Bartlett  entered  college,  he,  with  the 
other  professors  of  religion,  were  expelled  from  the  Moral  So- 
ciety on  account  of  the  strictness  of  their  principles. 

"  In  the  college  the  sacred  ordinances  of  Christianity  were 
ridiculed,  and  on  one  occasion,  on  a  communion  Sabbath,  some 
of  the  students  in  the  dining-hall  cut  the  bread  in  pieces  to 
represent  the  sacred  emblem  of  Christ's  body,  and  impiously 
offered  it  to  a  solitary  Christian  student  who  was  dining  with 
them,  intending  thus  to  wound  the  feelings  of  their  young  fel- 
low-student just  from  the  table  of  his  Lord. 

"  Nor  was  the  state  of  things  much  better  in  the  city.  It  is 
believed  that  between  1796  and  1800  there  were  in  New  Haven, 
exclusive  of  the  college,  but  three  persons  under  the  age  of 
twenty-five  years  professors  of  the  Christian  faith.  Religion 
was  cast  aside  as  unfitted  for  the  freedom  of  youth,  and  no 
greater  breach  of  politeness  could  be  committed  thau  to  intro- 
duce the  subject  in  the  social  circle. 

"  Well  was  it  for  the  best  interests  of  the  college  and  the 
church  at  large  that  there  was  at  the  head  of  that  institution, 
in  that  dark  and  memorable  period,  a  champion  of  Christ,  dis- 
tinguished alike  as  a  scholar  and  a  man  of  devoted  piety,  —  one 
who  could  meet  the  adversary  with  weapons  of  his  own  as  well 
as  with  the  panoply  of  the  Gospel.  To  his  wise  and  careful 
management ;  to  his  prayers  and  powerful  arguments ;  to  his 
bold  attacks  upon  the  very  citadel  of  infidelity,  the  corrupted 
heart,  may  be  attributed,  under  God,  the  glorious  change  which 
took  place  in  the  year  1802,  and  which  converted  that  hot-bed 
of  Satanic  plants  into  a  nursery  for  the  church. 

"The  name  of  Dwight  must  ever  have  a  high  place  among 
those  great  and  good  men  who  in  that  day  of  the  enemy's  power 
stood  forth  mightily  for  the  truth. 

"  Through  such  a  period  for  the  trial  of  his  faith  and  con- 
stancy, Mr.  Bartlett  in  the  days  of  his  youth  was  safely  carried, 
and  in  the  revival  which  occurred  in  the  college  while  he  was 
still  there,  preparing  for  the  ministry,  he  took  a  decided  and 
active  part,  and  enjo3-ed  the  unspeakable  pleasure  of  beholding 
many  who  had  once  ridiculed  religion  coming  to  him  to  ask 
'  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved.' " 

We  have  thus  given  prominence  to  this  period  of  Mr. 


190  SHUBAEL   BARTLETT 

Bartlett's  youthful  life  during  his  connection  with  Yale 
College,  on  account  of  the  powerful  influence  which  his 
experience  in  religious  affairs  and  duties  during  the  scenes 
of  that  remarkable  time  of  religious  excitement  had  in 
preparing  him  for  his  subsequent  life  in  the  Christian 
ministry.  It  was  a  period  replete  with  scenes  that  deeply 
impressed  him,  and  to  which  he  used  often  during  his  life 
to  refer  with  deepest  interest. 

Having  finished  his  collegiate  course  in  the  year  1800, 
he  commenced  studying  for  the  ministry  under  Dr. 
Dwight,  and  in  the  course  of  the  year  1802  was  licensed 
to  preach. 

The  following  extract  from  his  diary,  on  the  occasion 
of  writing  his  first  sermon,  will  serve  to  show  how  thor- 
oughly he  appreciated  the  importance  of  the  sacred  office 
in  which  he  was  eno-as^ino; :  — 

'•^  Sept.  23,  1802.  I  am  now  writing  mj  first  discourse, 
which  (God  willing)  I  shall  preach  to  my  fellow-men.  God 
grant  that  I  may  feel  the  worth  of  precious  souls,  —  that  I  may 
feel  how  important  it  is  to  be  an  ambassador  of  Christ  to  my 
fellow-men.  In  this  exalted  calling  may  I  never  seek  after 
glory  from  men.  May  I  seriously  and  certainly  consider  that 
the  eye  of  an  all-seeing  and  infinitely  holy  God  is  upon  me,  and 
that  the  day  is  fast  approaching  when  I  shall  have  to  give  an 
account  to  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  of  the  manner  in  which  I 
have  labored  in  the  heritage  of  God.  Let  me  never  attempt  to 
proceed  one  step  in  my  own  strength.  Assist  me,  O  Lord  my 
God,  by  thy  grace,  and  direct  me  by  thine  unerring  counsel ! 
May  I  be  sensible  that  without  thee  I  can  do  nothing.  But 
may  I  firmly  trust  in  thy  grace,  with  a  confident  assurance  that  I 
can  do  all  things  which  God  may  require  of  me  through  Christ 
strengthening  me.  Let  thy  strength,  O  gracious  Redeemer,  be 
made  perfect  in  my  weakness  !  " 

The  character  of  his  preaching  and  of  his  personal  in- 
fluence, as  a  minister  and  as  a  man,  was  through  his  life, 
in  all  its  various  relations,  to  the  last,  in  perfect  keeping 
with  the  spirit  of  this  prayer. 


SnUBAEL    BARTLETT  191 

Having  completed  his  theological  studies  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  ministry,  he  visited  Hartford  in  the  winter  of 
1802  for  the  purpose  of  recreation,  and  there  for  the  first 
time  met  and  became  acquainted  with  the  one  whom  a 
kind  Providence  had  appointed  to  be  the  partner  of  his 
life,  —  Miss  Fanny  Leffingwell,  the  daughter  and  only 
child  of  Mr.  John  and  Lois  (Allen)  Leffingwell  of  Hart- 
ford. In  connection  with  this  interestins;  event,  we  find 
in  Mr.  Bartlett's  private  journal  the  following  beautiful 
and  appropriate  lines  from  his  favorite  poet  Cowper :  — 

"  It  is  the  allotment  of  the  skies, 
The  hand  of  the  supremely  Wise, 
That  guides  and  governs  our  affections, 
That  plans  and  orders  our  connections, 
The  hand  of  a  mysterious  Power 
That  brings  the  unexpected  hour 
"When  minds  that  never  met  before 
Meet,  and  unite  to  part  no  more. 

Mr.  Bartlett  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  overrulinsc  care 
of  Divine  Providence  in  all  the  affairs  of  life,  great  and 
small.  A  precept  that  he  was  accustomed  often  to  quote 
to  his  children  from  the  Book  of  God's  wisdom  was  this: 
"  In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  Him,  and  He  shall  direct 
thy  paths."  Especially  in  the  important  matter  of  choos- 
ing a  companion  for  life  in  the  marriage  relation  he  en- 
joined upon  his  children  and  young  friends  to  seek  and 
expect  the  guidance  of  their  omniscient  loving  Father  in 
Heaven. 

In  this  connection  we  feel  constrained  to  quote  from 
Mr.  Bartlett's  private  journal  the  following  expression  of 
an  idea  well  suited  to  this  delicate,  serious  subject.  After 
noticing^  with  evident  satisfaction  his  meeting:  with  her 
whom  he  fondly  hoped  would  be  his  wife,  he  remarks :  — 

"  Before  this  I  had  sought  to  choose  for  myself,  and  then 
looked  to  God  to  sanction  mv  choice,  —  now  He  brought  me  to 
desire  Him  to  choose  for  me," 


192  SHUBAEL   BAETLETT 

That  the  choice  was  of  God,  and  that  in  obtaining  such 
a  wife  as  she  proved,  and  such  a  mother  to  his  family, 
he  had  "  obtained  favor  of  the  Lord,"  a  wife  who  "  did 
him  good  all  the  days  of  his  life,"  Mr.  Bartlett  was  abun- 
dantly satisfied,  as  were  their  children  and  the  many 
friends  who  in  after  years  were  blessed  with  her  radiant, 
benign,  loving  influence. 

Their  marriage  took  place  on  the  19th  of  February, 
1803.  Mr.  Bartlett  had  been  licensed  to  preach  in  Sep- 
tember of  the  previous  year.  On  the  day  of  his  marriage 
he  received  an  invitation  from  the  church  and  people  of 
East  Windsor  to  supply  their  pulpit.  After  fulfilling  en- 
gagements previously  made  to  preach  in  other  places,  he 
preached  for  the  first  time  in  East  Windsor  in  August, 
1803.  Directly  the  people  invited  him  to  preach  for 
them  as  candidate  for  future  settlement.  His  ordination 
and  installation  took  place  on  the  loth  of  February,  1804. 

The  North  Society  of  East  Windsor,  at  the  time  Mr. 
Bartlett  commenced  his  ministry  there,  was  on  many  ac- 
counts not  an  attractive  and  desirable  place  of  residence 
for  a  young  minister.  The  country  was  to  a  considerable 
extent  uncleared  and  unsettled.  The  population  was 
sparse  and  scattered.  The  people  were  unhappily  at  va- 
riance among  themselves  in  reference  to  their  church 
building,  its  location,  and  other  matters  of  their  ecclesias- 
tical affairs.  Mr.  Bartlett  had  received  proposals  from 
other  churches  to  settle  with  them,  offering  inducements 
on  many  accounts  preferable  to  those  at  East  Windsor. 
The  question  how  it  would  affect  the  comfort  and  happi- 
ness of  his  young  wife,  who  had  been  educated  in  the  city, 
and  all  her  life  accustomed  to  the  advantages  of  a  city 
residence,  was  one  at  first  not  easy  to  decide.  Many  of 
her  young  friends,  and  some  of  the  older  ones,  were  heard 
to  express  wonder  that  she  should  forego  opportunities 
offered  her  by  wealthy  admirers,  "  marry  a  poor  country 
clergyman,  and  go  to  live  in   the   woods  at  Scantic  ! " 


SnUBAEL    BARTLETT  193 

But  God  had  taught  them  both  a  higher  purpose  of  Ufe 
than  to  live  only  to  please  themselves  and  seek  worldly 
advantao-e.  He  had  taus-ht  them  to  wish  to  be  about 
their  Heavenly  Father's  business.  Taking  counsel  of  his 
experienced  friends,  whom  be  believed  to  be  capable  of 
advising  wisely  in  such  matters,  and  especially  of  his  judi- 
cious friend  Dr.  D wight,  Mr.  Bartlett  commenced  his  min- 
istry among  the  people  of  East  Windsor,  —  a  ministry 
the  continuance  of  which  was  measured  by  a  full  half 
century,  the  beneficial  results  of  which,  in  its  influence 
upon  the  formation  of  character  among  the  successive 
generations  of  the  young  people  of  his  charge,  the  im- 
provement of  the  intellectual  and  social  condition  of  the 
people,  and  especially  its  influence  upon  the  destiny  of 
immortal  souls,  the  records  of  eternity  only  can  disclose. 

The  quiet,  moderate  character  of  the  olden  times,  three 
quarters  of  a  century  ago,  was  very  different  from  that  of 
the  rapidly  changing  times  of  the  present  day.  Pastors 
and  people  were  content  to  dwell  together  for  decades 
and  double  decades  and  semi-centuries  then.  The  pas- 
torate of  Mr.  Bartlett  and  his  predecessor.  Rev.  Thomas 
Potwine,  together  reached  through  but  two  years  less 
than  a  full  century.  The  manner  of  Mr.  Bartlett's  preach- 
ing, and  his  personal  influence  in  his  social  life,  in  his  fam- 
ily, among  his  friends  and  the  people  of  his  charge,  was 
in  keeping  with  the  quiet  character  of  the  times.  He 
was  never  a  sensational  preacher,  he  never  attempted 
the  arts  of  popular  oratory,  he  sought  not  the  praise  of 
men  in  the  performance  of  his  official  duties ;  but  in  the 
pulpit,  in  his  social  intercourse  with  his  people  in  their 
families,  at  the  bedside  of  the  sick  and  dying,  upon  cheer- 
ful "  solemn  and  joyful "  occasions  of  weddings,  and  the 
often  sad  occasions  of  the  burial  of  the  dead,  his  manner 
was  quiet,  gentle,  sympathetic,  solemn,  full  of  the  spirit 
becoming  the  man  of  God  ministering  in  sacred  things 
among;  his  sinful  fellow-men. 

25 


194  SnUBAEL   BARTLETT 

The  limits  of  this  brief  history  of  his  life  will  not  admit 
of  a  particular  account  of  his  ministry.  The  sum  of  it 
was,  he  lived  for  fifty  years,  before  and  among  his  people, 
a  kind,  cheerful,  affectionate,  benevolent,  gentle,  discreet, 
humble,  self-denying,  bible-studying,  prayerful,  consist- 
ent, contented,  happy  man,  —  husband,  father,  friend,  citi- 
zen,—  preaching  the  doctrines  and  practising  the  duties 
of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  mankind. 
•  Of  the  success  of  Mr.  Bartlett's  ministering  in  spiritual 
things  the  repeated  revivals  and  additions  to  the  church 
from  time  to  time  through  the  whole  period  of  his  pas- 
torate afford  satisfactory  evidence.  From  the  time  of  his 
settlement  he  labored  for  forty-four  years  without  a  col- 
league. In  1848  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Andrews  was  ordained 
associate  pastor,  and,  at  Mr.  Bartlett's  death,  about  six 
years  afterward,  became  his  successor. 

The  last  public  ministerial   service   that  Mr.  Bartlett 
performed  was  in  connection  with  the  consecration  of  a 
house  of  worship  at  Broad  Brook,  a  village  of  recent  rapid 
growth  in  the  town  of  East  Windsor.     In  the  growth  and 
progress  of   this   little    church    Mr.   Bartlett   had   taken 
special  interest,  and  with  several  other  of  the  neighboring 
ministers  he  was  invited  to  assist  in  the  dedication  of 
their  house   of  worship.      The   day,  one  of  December's 
coldest,  proved  uncommonly  stormy  and  uncomfortable. 
None  of  the  other  ministers  were  present,  and  the  per- 
formance of  the  whole  service  fell  to  Mr.  Bartlett.     On 
the  succeeding  Sabbath,  although  oppressed  with  a  severe 
cold,  upon  invitation  from  the   Broad  Brook  people  he 
preached  for  them  in  their  newly  dedicated  church.     It 
was  the  last  of  his  preaching.     The  result  of  these  labors 
and    exposure    to   cold   was   a   lingering   influenza,   that 
brought   him   to   his   grave  in   about  six  months.     But 
those  days  of  increasing  feebleness  were  not  days  of  sad- 
ness.    Calmly  and  confidently,  sustained  with  bright,  un- 
wavering hope  and  trust  in  that  Saviour  to  whom  he  had 


SHUBAEL    BARTLETT  195 

devoted  his  manhood,  he  awaited  his  discharge  from  ser- 
vice on  earth,  and  his  admission  to  the  better  life  above. 
The  transition  had  for  him  nothing  of  gloom  or  darkness. 
A  short  time  before  his  death  one  of  his  brethren  in  the 
ministry  in  prayer  for  him,  asked  that  God  would  sustain 
him  while  passing  "  the  dark  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death."     Mr.  Bartlett  said  to  him,  as  he  rose  from  prayer, 

"  I  think.  Brother ,  you  have  misquoted  that  passage 

of  Scripture.  It  is  '  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,' 
not  '  the  dark  valley.'  "  The  error  was  acknowledged, 
and  the  brother  replied,  "  And  you  do  not  find  it  a  dark 
valley.  Brother  Bartlett? "  "  Oh,  no,  far  from  it,  blessed 
be  God !  It  is  not  dark,  oh,  no  !  "  And  thus  he  went 
calmly,  quietly,  cheerfully,  triumphing,  through  this  val- 
ley, from  the  low  grounds  of  earth  up  to  the  bright  moun- 
tain-tops of  heavenly  life,  —  a  fitting  termination  of  such 
a  life  as  he  had  lived,  —  a  beautiful  exemplification  of 
the  truth  that  "  the  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light, 
that  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 

The  day  of  his  death  was  June  6,  1854.  His  age  was 
then  76  years,  2  months  and  4  days.  He  had  prepared 
his  fiftieth  anniversary  sermon  some  days  before  the  com- 
mencement of  his  illness,  but  the  feeble  condition  of  his 
health  prevented  his  delivering  it  on  the  appointed  Sab- 
bath, and  it  was  read  in  his  pulpit,  in  accordance  with  his 
previously  expressed  request,  the  Sabbath  after  his  death, 
by  his  son-in-law.  Rev.  Samuel  R  Brown. 

Rev.  Shubael  Bartlett  became  a  Corresponding  Member 
of  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1853. 

Mr.  Bartlett's  wife  survived  him  a  few  weeks  more 
than  ten  years,  completing  her  beautiful  life  in  a  cheerful, 
active,  useful  "  green  old  age,"  in  accordance  with  her 
often  repeated  wish  and  prayer,  that  she  might  not  out- 
live her  activity  and  usefulness.     Her  death  was  preceded 


196  SHUBAEL   BARTLETT 

by  only  a  few  days  of  confinement  to  her  room  and  bed. 
At  the  age  of  85  years,  11  months  and  22  days,  on  a  quiet 
Sabbath  morning,  the  28th  of  August,  1864,  she  passed 
from  earth. 

The  number  of  their  children  was  nine.  The  oldest,  John 
Leffingwell,  was  born  at  Hartford,  January  3,  1804. 

The  second,  David  Ely,  born  at  East  "Windsor,  September  29, 
1805.  [He  was  the  author  of  this  article.  He  graduated  at 
Yale  College  in  1828.  The  greater  portion  of  his  life  was  de- 
voted to  the  education  of  the  deaf  and  dumb.  He  married, 
July  15,  1846,  Fanny  P.,  daughter  of  Theodore  Hinsdale,  Esq., 
of  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts,  and  died  at  Hartford,  Connecticut, 
November  29,  1879.] 

The  third,  Fanny  Leffingwell,  at  East  "Windsor,  October  23, 
1807.     Married  November  12,  1828,  Azel  Stephens  Roe. 

The  fourth,  Charles  Loomis,  at  East  Windsor,  August  31 
1809.     Died  at  Petersburgh,  Virginia,  November  21,  1876. 

The  fifth,  Shubael  Fitch,  at  East  Windsor,  August  23,  1811. 
He  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1833,  received  the  degree  of 
M.D.  in  1839.  Married  Fanny,  daughter  of  Charles  and  Ellen 
(Perkins)  Griswold.  Died  at  Benicia,  California,  October  12, 
1849.  Dr.  Bartlett  died  on  his  passage  down  the  Sacramento 
River,  on  board  the  United  States  Transport  Schooner  "Invin- 
cible," and  was  buried  in  the  United  States  military  cemetery 
at  Benicia. 

The  sixth,  Elizabeth  Goodwin,  at  East  Windsor,  July  19, 
1813.     Married  Samuel  Robbins  Brown,  D.D. 

The  seventh,  William  Allen,  at  East  Windsor,  September  12, 
1815.  Married  June  27,  1843,  Louisa  B.  Stewart,  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

The  eighth,  Henry  Thomas,  at  East  Windsor,  January  23, 
1817.  Married  (1)  March  21,  1848,  Elizabeth  Sophronia  Hud- 
nell,  of  Darien,  Georgia.  (2)  November  28,  1850,  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet (Combs)  Winn.  Died  at  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  May 
2, 1872. 

The  ninth,  Daniel  Wadsworth,  at  East  Windsor,  January 
21,  1820.  Married  August,  1858,  the  widow  of  his  brother 
Shubael. 


ALFRED    HAWKINS 


This  gentleman,  who,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  was 
shipping-master  of  the  port  of  Quebec,  Canada,  was  bom 
in  Bridport,  Dorsetshire,  England.  A  letter  addressed  to 
the  rector  of  the  parish  of  Bridport  brought  the  following 
information :  — 

"  Alfred,  son  of  George  and  Elizabeth  Hawkins,  was,  as  I  find 
by  reference  to  the  Register-Book,  baptized  at  Bridport  Parish 
Church,  on  10th  October,  1792.  I  do  not  know  anything  of 
the  Hawkins  family  or  I  would  gladly  give  you  more  informa- 
tion." 

He  died  at  Quebec,  June  30,  1854,  of  Asiatic  cholera. 

The  only  child-  of  his  now  living  is  Alfred  G.  Hawkins, 
who  is  connected  with  the  custom-house  at  Quebec.  He 
regrets  that  he  is  not  able  to  throw  much  light  upon 
his  father  s  early  history.  He  states  that  a  fire,  which 
occurred  some  few  years  since,  destroyed  papers  and 
documents  which  would  doubtless  have  helped  to  reveal 
important  facts  connected  with  his  life  in  England.  From 
such  knowledge  as  the  son  has  of  his  father's  early  years, 
it  appears  that,  by  the  death  of  his  father,  he  was,  when 
quite  young,  thrown  upon  his  own  resources.  As  a  youth 
he  lived  with  an  uncle  in  England,  who  was  engaged  in 
the  wine  business,  serving  as  a  clerk  in  his  store.  He 
came  to  Quebec  in  the  year  1815,  being  then  at  the  age 
of  twenty-three.  After  reaching  his  new  home  he  was 
for  a  time  engaged,  under  the  firm  of  McQuay  &  Hawkins, 


198  ALFEED   HAWKINS 

in  the  same  business  to  which  he  had  been  trained.  We 
have  not  the  date  and  place  of  his  marriage,  but  his  wife's 
name  was  Martha  Paterson.  From  this  marriage  there 
were  five  children,  three  of  whom,  one  son  and  two 
daughters,  died  in  very  early  life.  The  only  surviving 
son,  Alfred  G.,  from  whom  we  gain  this  information,  was 
himself  married  in  1861  to  Elizabeth  Sophia  Denison  of 
Toronto,  Ontario,  but  has  no  children.  The  only  daugh- 
ter coming  to  years  of  womanhood,  Ellen  Zippy,  was 
married  in  1861  to  William  Alexander  Curry,  and  died  at 
Montreal,  October  26,  1879,  leaving  three  children,  two 
daughters,  Eveljoi  and  Ethelwin,  seventeen  and  fourteen 
years  of  age  respectively,  and  one  son,  Eoger  De  Courcey, 
aged  thirteen  years. 

Mr.  Hawkins,  who  was  admitted  as  a  corresponding 
member  of  the  New  Eno^land  Historic  Genealoo-ical  So- 
ciety  February  14,  1852,-  was  chiefly  brought  to  the  no- 
tice of  the  society  through  a  book  published  by  him 
in  1834  entitled  "Picture  of  Quebec,  with  Historical 
Recollections."  It  is  a  12mo.,  containing  477  pages,  and 
is  dedicated  "  To  the  Right  Honorable  General,  the  Earl 
of  Dalhousie."  The  book  is  marked  by  good  culture, 
literary  grace,  and  historical  research.  While  the  city  of 
Quebec  with  its  immediate  surroundings  is  naturally  kept 
in  the  foreground,  the  whole  history  of  Canada  is  outlined 
and  traced,  from  its  earliest  European  colonies  down  to 
the  present  century.  The  frequent  and  apt  quotations 
from  the  Latin  poets,  Virgil,  Horace  and  others,  would 
seem  to  imply  that  he  must  somewhere  have  received  a 
good  classical  education.  He  writes  with  a  thorough  love 
of  his  theme,  and  there  is  consequently  a  vivacity  of 
style  which  makes  his  pages  fresh  and  readable.  We 
quote  the  closing  paragraphs  of  the  book,  which  are  as 
follows :  — 

"  For  ourselves,  attachment  to  the  country,  an  admiration 
for  its  scenery,  an  ardent  curiosity  respecting  its  early  history 


.      ALFEED    HAWKINS  199 

and  ancient  vestiges,  with  a  warm  respect  for  many  of  its  inha- 
bitants, inspirited  us  to  accomplish  the  task  confided  to  our 
care ;  and  should  deficiencies  be  ascertained,  we  trust  that  we 
shall  be  allowed  to  plead  these  motives  in  mitigation  of  critical 
censure.  The  nature  of  the  work  is  so  generally  remote  from 
subjects  of  party  feeling — or,  at  least,  is  so  when  conducted 
with  an  honest  intention — that  it  may  confidently  be  submitted 
to  the  judgment  of  every  class  of  inhabitants  in  these  Provinces. 
Our  humble  efforts  will  have  been  well  employed  if  they  conduce 
to  excite  literary  and  historical  inquiry  amongst  us ;  and  more 
particularly  if  they  assist  in  rendering  Quebec  better  known  as 
to  its  local  interest,  more  frequently  visited  by  learned  and 
distinguished  men,  and  more  duly  appreciated  by  the  people  of 
that  magnificent  Empire,  of  which  this  Province  is  so  valuable 
an  appendage." 

It  is  not  hard  for  any  one  who  has  visited  Quebec  to 
understand  that  the  writer  of  a  book,  with  the  general 
aim  of  the  one  above  described,  should  become  enthusi- 
astic over  his  subject.  Standing  upon  the  heights  of  the 
city,  or  still  better  upon  the  front  ramparts  of  its  immense 
fortress,  and  from  this  commanding  elevation  glancing 
down  three  hundred  feet  and  more  upon  the  lower  city 
and  the  waters  of  the  lordly  St.  Lawrence,  sweeping  by 
with  its  powerful  current ;  then  looking  beyond  over  the 
rich  and  rolling  country,  dotted  with  farm-houses,  away 
to  the  blue  hills  in  the  distance,  one  will  travel  far  before 
he  can  look  upon  another  landscape  of  such  grand  and 
stately  proportions.  In  and  around  the  city  are  heights 
and  depths  so  difificult  to  master  that  one  born  and  bred 
upon  the  prairies,  or  on  ordinary  lowlands,  stands  aghast, 
at  the  first,  at  the  idea  of  such  stupendous  ascents  and 
descents. 

The  history  of  the  place  is  as  strange  and  remarkable 
as  are  its  configuration  and  surrounding  scenery.  The 
initial  idea  of  the  whole  is  that  of  a  military  stronghold. 
Everything  in  and  immediately  about  the  city  has  been 
subordinated  to  that  primary  idea,  and  has  taken  shape 


200 


ALFRED   HAWKINS 


accordingly.  For  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
its  story  has  been  full  of  stirring  and  romantic  episodes. 
Nowhere  else  this  side  the  Atlantic  can  one  look  upon 
walls  and  fortifications  built  up  in  such  vast  reaches,  and 
with  such  massive  strength,  as  here.  And  yet,  great  and 
strong  as  this  far-reaching  fortress  appears  to  the  ob- 
server at  the  very  first  glance,  his  wonder  increases 
beyond  measure  when  he  finds  that,  beneath  the  earth, 
buried  out  of  his  sight,  are  other  structures,  which,  meas- 
ured by  the  toil  and  expense  which  produced  them,  are 
equal  to  those  which  openly  confront  the  eye.  Around 
this  spot  the  armies  of  England  and  France  have  surged 
to  and  fro,  from  generation  to  generation,  in  their  struggle 
for  supremacy.  There  is  such  an  ever-living  interest  in 
these  varying  fortunes  of  war,  as  the  game  has  been 
played  for  two  centuries  and  a  half  between  these  two 
powerful  nations,  that  not  even  the  Irish  driver,  who 
takes  you  out  to  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  and  as  you 
ride  along  tells  you  the  story  of  the  past  in  his  rapid 
and  monotonous  sing-song,  is  able  wholly  to  destroy  its 
romance. 

A  "  Picture  of  Quebec,"  regarded  historically  as  well  as 
in  the  grandeur  of  her  position  and  the  lordliness  of  her 
outlook,  is  a  theme  in  its  very  nature  large  and  attrac- 
tive. Mr.  Hawkins  evidently  felt  drawn  by  a  powerful 
influence  toward  his  subject,  and  the  writing  of  the  book 
was,  with  him,  a  labor  of  love. 

Mr.  Hawkins  was  the  author  of  another  volume, 
entitled  "Stranger's  Guide  to  Quebec,"  which  was 
published  in  1844.  In  the  preparation  of  this  book 
he  found  it  needful  to  visit  Endand,  and  the  following 
extract  from  the  volume,  which  has  been  kindly  for- 
warded by  his  son,  will  be  read  with  interest :  — 

"  During  our  residence  in  England,  in  1841,  superintending  the 
engraving  of  the  Plan  of  the  Battle,  we  were  politely  permitted 
by  the  surviving  branch  of  the  family  to  visit  the  vault  which 


ALFRED    HAWKINS  201 

is  under  the  parish  church  of  Greenwich.  It  was  with  feelings 
■which  we  cannot  describe  that  we  placed  the  key  in  the  door 
(over  which  is  inscribed  on  a  marble  slab, '  The  Family  Vault 
of  Major  General  James  Wolfe,  1759 ')  disclosing  to  us  the 
resting  place  of  that  illustrious  hero.  We  were  accompanied  by 
a  few  friends,  and  two  old  veteran  seamen  of  Greenwich  Hos- 
pital who  solicited  permission.  Upwards  of  fourscore  years  had 
passed  away  since  the  memorable  victory  and  glorious  death. 
The  vault  exhibited  to  us  three  coffins,  —  that  of  the  father,  the 
mother,  and  the  son.  We  gently  wiped  the  dust  from  the 
coffin-plate,  and  found  the  following  unpretending  inscription 
thereon :  — 

Major  General  Jajies  "Wolfe,  Aged  32  Years. 

"  On  the  centre  coffin  is  the  following  inscription :  — 

Mrs.  Henrietta  Wolfe,  Died  26th  September,  176-4. 

"  On  the  coffin  to  the  left  is  the  following: :  — 

The  Honorable  Lieutenant  General  Edward  Wolfe  Died 
March  26th,  1759,  Aged  74  Yeahs. 

"  The  vault  was  in  perfect  order,  and  no  appearance  of  decay 
could  be  observed  on  the  coffins  save  the  ravages  of  the  moth. 
Not  a  word  was  spoken,  and  all  stood  uncovered.  Before  retir- 
ing we  placed  a  wreath  of  laurel  upon  the  coffin,  and  deposited 
in  the  vault  a  copy  of  the  Quebec  'Mercury'  of  21st  November, 
1839,  containing  a  list  of  subscribers  to  our  engraving  commem- 
orating the  glorious  victory  and  death." 

An  interesting  sequel  to  this  story  appeared  in  the 
Quebec  "  Mercury  "  of  August,  1859.  This  account  was 
also  supplied  by  the  son,  and  is  as  follows.  This  was  five 
years  after  Mr.  Hawkins's  death  :  — 

"  Wolfe's  Tomb.  —  The  following  interesting  item  we  have 
been  permitted  to  extract  from  a  private  letter  received  at 
Montreal  by  the  last  English  mail :  — 

"  '  Greenwich,  August,  1859. 
*'An  order-in-council  from  the  Queen  has  been  issued,  call- 
ing upon  the  church-wardens  to  cause  the  whole  of  the  vaults 
under  the  parish  church  to  be  filled  with  earth  and  charcoal, 
and  all  the  entrances  to  be  bricked  up,  never  more  to  be 
opened. 

26 


202  ALFRED    HAWKINS 

" '  Among  the  said  vaults  is  that  of  General  Wolfe,  the  con- 
queror of  Quebec :  on  opening  the  vault  was  found  a  Quebec 
"  Mercury  "  of  the  21st  November,  1839,  deposited  by  Mr.  Haw- 
kins, of  Quebec,  together  with  his  card  and  a  wreath  of  laurel, 
on  the  23d  May,  1841.  The  church-wardens  have  lent  me  the 
paper  to  copy  a  prospectus  it  contains,  and  among  the  sub- 
scribers are  four  persons  of  the  name  of  Macdonald,  namely : 
A.  Macdonald,  of  Three  Rivers ;  Angus  Macdonald,  of  Corn- 
wall ;  Wm.  Macdonald,  of  Gasp^  ;  and  Town  Major  Macdonald, 
of  Montreal. 

" '  If,  when  you  are  writing  to  Mr.  Lloyd,  you  would  like  to 
mention  the  above  circumstances  regarding  the  gallant  Wolfe, 
perhaps  he  may  know  Mr.  Hawkins,  and  would  feel  a  satisfac- 
tion in  informing  him  of  the  fact  of  his  iljMercury,"  card,  and 
wreath  being  found  on  the  cofiBn  as  he  left  them  after  a  lapse  of 
eighteen  years.  They  are  now  in  the  custody  of  the  church- 
wardens, one  of  whom,  Mr.  T.  Huntley,  has  promised  me  that 
they  shall  still  be  preserved  as  interesting  relics  of  the  departed 
hero.  With  the  exception  of  the  upper  fold  of  the  "  Mercury," 
the  paper  and  type  is  as  perfect  as  when  placed  on  the  coffin  by 
Mr.  Hawkins.' " 

Mr.  Hawkins  seems  to  have  been  cut  off  in  the  midst 
of  his  activities,  and  while  his  strength  was  not  yet  abated, 
by  that  scourge  of  the  East  which,  when  ever  it  has  reached 
this  western  world,  has  seemed  to  linger  for  a  time  about 
the  chief  cities  of  Canada.  It  will  be  well  remembered 
that  upon  the  first  visitation  of  cholera  upon  these  shores 
■in  1832,  we  heard  of  it  at  Montreal,  and  thence  it  went 
abroad  upon  its  destructive  march  to  various  parts  of  the 
continent. 

At  the  time  of  Mr.  Hawkins's  death  a  writer  in  the 
Quebec  "Mercury,"  July  1, 1854,  gives  the  following  pleas- 
ing estimate  of  his  character  as  a  man  and  a  citizen :  — 

"  Mr.  Hawkins,  whose  death  is  recorded  above,  was  one  of 
our  oldest  and  most  esteemed  citizens.  A  native  of  Eno-land,  he 
at  all  times  manifested  the  liveliest  sympathy  with,  and  attach- 
ment for,  Queen  and  country,  and  betrayed  a  character  for  real 
loyalty  such  as  few  inhabitants  of  Canada  now  possess.     His 


ALFRED    HAWKINS  203 

interest  in  the  land  of  his  adoption  was  not,  however,  thereby 
diminished  ;  he  has  published  a  book  containing  much  historical 
information  relative  to  the  first  settlement  of  the  country,  called 
'Hawkins'  Picture  of  Quebec,'  and  was  ever  anxious  to  enhance 
the  opinion  of  what  he  used  to  call  '  the  character  of  the  port,' 
and  to  impress  upon  those  at  a  distance  the  growing  importance 
of  this  province.  In  the  discharge  of  the  arduous  and  often- 
times unpleasant  duties  of  his  office  he  combined  energy,  cour- 
age, and  humanity,  and  by  his  conduct  he  proved  alike  the 
shipowner's  and  the  seaman's  friend.  He  possessed  a  cheerful 
disposition,  general  knowledge,  and  a  wonderful  memory,  and 
was  a  most  convivial  companion  of  the  good  old  English  school. 
Many  will  deplore  his  loss,  but  none  more  than  the  writer 
of  this  just  tribute  to  his  memory,  who  long  enjoyed  his 
friendship." 


I 


AMES    ATHEARN    JONES 


\bi 


Fames  Athearn  Jones  was  born  October  17,  1791,  in 
the  town  of  Tisbury,  on  the  island  of  Martha's  Vineyard, 
and  State  of  Massachusetts.  The  house  in  which  he  was 
born,  now  torn  down,  was  not  far  from  the  sea-shore, 
and  directly  on  the  borders  of  Tisbury  and  Edgar- 
town;  the  dividing  Unes  of  these  towns,  as  formerly 
established,  running  through  the  buildingy 

His  father  was  rfEbenezer  Jones,  son  of  /Thomas  Jones, 
and  his  mother  wasJ  Susanna  Athearn,  daughter  of  the 
Hon.  James  Athearn,  Judge  of  Probate  for  Dukes  County. 
All  these  ancestors  were  residents  of  Tisbury. 

He  married,  July  31,  1817,  his  cousin,v'Avis  Athearn, 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  George  Athearn,  who  succeeded  his 
father  as  Judge  of  Probate.  They  had  no  children  to 
cheer  their  home,  to  comfort  their  declining  years,  and 
bear  up  an  honored  name.  Upon  the  death  of  James  A. 
Jones,  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in  1854,  the  family  name  lived 
only  in  tradition.     He  was  the  last  of  his  race. 

In  personal  appearance  Mr.  Jones  attracted  attention. 
He  was  tall  and  very  slender.  There  was  a  charm  in  his 
conversation,  despite  the  drawback  of  deafness,  which 
increased  with  advancing  years.  His  knowledge  of  liter- 
ary men  and  of  books  seemed  almost  inexhaustible.  One 
of  his  island  neighbors,  who  often  met  him  after  his  re- 
turn from  Europe,  describes  him  as  a  singular  man,  pos- 
sessed of  rare  intelHgence,  ambitious,  with  a  full  share  of 


i/JAMES    ATHEARN   JONES  205 

self-esteem,  and  a  disposition  fitful  and  variable,  so  that 
social  intercourse,  charming  as  it  was  sometimes,  was  not 
uniformly  delightful.  No  picture  of  him  known  to  his 
surviving  friends  remains  to  perpetuate  his  looks.  Even 
his  papers,  and  a  completed  work  of  fiction,  somehow 
strangely  disappeared  after  his  sudden  death. 

Of  the  early  life  of  James  A.  Jones  little  is  now 
known.  His  contemporaries  are  nearly  all  dead,  and  of 
those  that  survive  few  knew  him  intimately.  Even  had 
they  thus  known  him,  the  fourscore  years  and  more  that 
have  passed  would  have  dimmed  the  recollection,  if  they 
had  not  wholly  blotted  out  the  record. 

His  home  was  a  solitary  farm-house,  not  far  from  the 
shores  of  the  Atlantic,  the  waters  of  which  were  always 
in  sight,  and  the  ceaseless  dashing  of  its  waves  was  ever 
sounding   in   the    ear.      Here    his    early    childhood   was 
passed  without  the  school-privileges,  now  the  lot  of  al- 
most every  American  child.     Being  much  alone,  he  had 
time  for  thought  and  reflection.     He  never  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  a   collegiate    course,  nor   even   of   academic 
instruction.     Schools,  such  as  he  would  have  prized  and 
profited   by,  were  not  accessible  to  him.      Books  were 
his  delight,  and  his  constant  companions  during  all  lei- 
sure hours.     Blessed  with  a  memory  of  surpassing  power, 
he   had  at  command  resources  that  never  failed  in  in- 
terest, and  his  mind  became  stored  with  a  vast  amount 
of  miscellaneous  information.     Still,  the  thorough  mental 
training  and  discipline  which  he  so  much    needed,  and 
which,    under   more    favorable    circumstances   he   would 
have   had,    did   not   briditen    his   life.      He    studied    to 
some   extent  with  the  Tiev.  Nymphas  Hatch^'  the   min- 
ister of  Tisbury,  and    subsequently  with  the  Eev.  Fred- 
eric   Baylies,   and    the    Rev.   Joseph   Tliaxter,  the    ven- 
erable and  learned  pastor  of  the  church  in  Edgartown, 
making  himself  somewhat  familiar  with  the  rather  slen- 
der resources  of  a  village  pastor's  library.     At  an  early 


i 


206  J  JAMES  ATHEARN  JONES 

age  he  was  accustomed  to  Tvrite  both  prose  and  verse. 
Most  of  this  was  burned  almost  as  soon  as  written,  but 
some  few  specimens  of  verse  remain.     - 

During  his  youth  and  early  manhood  he  is  said  to  have 
made  one  or  more  short  voyages  to  the  "West  Indies,  and 
to  have  followed  for  some  months,  in  the  harbor  of 
Holmes  Hole,  now  known  as  Vineyard  Haven,  the  hum- 
ble but  profitable  employment  of  "bum-boating,"  that  is, 
boarding  vessels  as  they  dropped  anchor  in  the  harbor, 
and  supplying  the  seamen  with  pies,  cakes,  fruit,  tobacco, 
and  other  commodities  acceptable  to  them,  receiving  in 
payment  cash,  or  a  full  equivalent  in  such  goods  as  could 
be  drawn  from  the  vessels'  stores  or  cargoes. 

During  one  of  his  voyages,  made  with  Captain  Tris- 
tram Luce,  the  vessel  was  boarded  bv  an  officer  from  a 
British  man-of-war,  in  quest  of  recruits,  —  an  annoying 
and  obnoxious  habit  in  which  the  British  persisted  for 
years,  and  until  after  the  second  war  with  the  United 
States.  Captain  Luce  was  ordered  to  muster  his  men  on 
deck.  This  he  did,  but  said  he  had  no  men  to  spare. 
"  Have  you  any  more  men  on  board  ?  "  "  Yes,"  was  the 
response.  "  Well,  call  them  up,  and  be  in  a  hurry  about 
it !  "  Jones,  a  tall,  slender  stripling,  looking  most  decid- 
edly green,  who  had  been  at  work  below  deck,  made  his 
appearance.  "  Here,"  said  Captain  Luce,  "  is  Jimmy  Jones. 
You  can  take  him."  One  glance  at  the  new-comer  was 
sufficient.  "  No,  no  !  "  said  the  British  officer,  "  we  have 
Jimmy  Joneses  enough  now."  Thus,  owing  to  the  un- 
prepossessing personal  appearance  of  young  Jones,  or  to 
the  caprice  of  the  officer,  he  was  saved  a  life  of  degrada- 
tion as  a  "  man-of-war's-man,"  saved  to  his  country  and 
to  literature. 

It  would  appear  from  the  Introduction  to  the  "Tra- 
ditions of  the  North  American  Indians,''  Vol.  I.  that 
subsequently  he  was  a  great  traveller,  having  visited 
every  State   but  one  in  the  Union  and  all  the    Terri- 


; 


(tames   ATHEAEX  JONES  207 

tories  save  two.  He  speaks  of  being  among  the  Chicka- 
saws,  Cherokees,  Creeks,  Sbawanos,  and  other  Indian 
tribes. 

The  earliest  pubhcation  by  Mr.  Jones  known  to  the 
writer  is  "  Bonaparte,  with  The  Storm  at  Sea,  Madaline, 
and  Other  Poems.  New  York :  Pubhshed  by  Haly  & 
Thomas,  No.  142  Broadway.  C.  S.  Van  Winkle,  printer. 
1820."  This  was  a  pamphlet  of  ninety-two  pages.  The 
poems,  excepting  a  few  stanzas  in  the  "  Storm  at  Sea," 
were  written  before  the  age  of  nineteen,  when  the  author 
was  entering  on  professional  legal  studies,  which  wholly 
monopolized  his  time. 

Of  this  work  John  Trumbull,  writing  from  Hartford, 
December  12,  1820,  says:  — 

"  Your  small  collection  of  poems,  with  your  polite  letter  of 
the  6th  ultimo,  was  delivered  to  me  about  three  weeks  after 
that  date.  I  have  read  the  poems  with  attention  and  pleasure, 
and  think  they  display  the  marks  of  a  genius  capable  of  arriv- 
ing at  distinguished  excellence.  Your  lines  on  Bonaparte  are 
modelled  on  the  best  style  of  blank  verse,  avoiding  the  labored 
pomp,  monotonous  cadences,  and  diffuse  verbosity  which  too 
often  disgust  us  in  that  form  of  poetry,  though  in  a  few 
instances  the  expressions  are  too  prosaic.  .  .  .  The  '  Storm  at 
Sea '  is,  on  the  whole,  a  happy  specimen  of  the  playful  and 
sportive  style  in  the  stanza  of  Spenser.  Short  poems,  songs, 
etc.,  require  an  exact  and  regular  polish.  The  most  har- 
monious measures  ought  to  be  selected.  Rough  lines  and 
broken  metre  are  not  pardonable,  except  in  a  long  work." 

As  a  favorable  specimen  of  the  smooth  versification  of 
the  young  poet,  the  following  extract  is  presented  from 
"The  Storm  at  Sea":  — 

"  I  ride  alonw  the  dark-blue  waves 
On  the  sportive  dolphin's  back ; 
And  I  sink  to  rest  in  the  fathomless  caves 
Beyond  the  sea-shark's  track. 

I  hide  my  head  in  the  pitiless  storm 

In  caverns  dark  and  deep  ; 


208  ^JAMES   ATHEARN   JONES 

My  couch  of  ooze  is  pleasant  and  warm, 

And  soft  and  sweet  my  sleep. 
I  rise  again  when  the  winds  are  still, 
And  the  waves  have  sunk  to  rest ; 
And  call,  with  my  conch-shell,  strong  and  shrill, 
My  mate  to  the  Salt  Lake's  breast." 

•  Where  and  with  whom  Mr.  Jones  studied  law  does 
not  appear,  and  whether  he  was  ever  admitted  to  the 
bar  or  not  is  not  known ;  but  it  would  seem  that,  in  1821, 
an  application  for  admission  to  the  bar  in  the  State  of 
New  York  was  denied,  as  having  been  made  out  of  due 
course.  A  letter  from  a  lawyer,  dated  June,  1822,  and 
addressed,  "James  A.  Jones,  Esq.,  Counsellor-at-Law, 
New  York,"  would  seem  to  denote  his  then  occu- 
pation. 

Two  or  three  years  later  he  wrote  a  legal  work,  sup- 
posed to  be  a  digest  of  court  decisions,  which  was  sub- 
mitted to  the  inspection  of  the  Hon.  Theron  Metcalf, 
afterwards  a  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  of 
Massachusetts.  He  returned  the  manuscript  with  favor- 
able comments.  It  was  not  published,  however,  so  far  as 
known. 

A  part  of  the  time  between  1820  and  1827,  Mr.  Jones 
was  engaged  in  teaching  school  and  in  writing  for  the 
press. 

Early  in  1825  a  work  in  two  volumes,  from  the  pen  of 
Mr.  Jones,  was  published  in  New  York.  The  publisher's 
name  is  not  known,  —  perhaps  it  may  have  been  0. 
Wilder,  —  and  that  of  the  author  did  not  appear.  A 
notice,  not  laudatory,  appeared  in  the  "United  States 
Literary  Gazette,"  Vol.  II.,  July,  1825,  and  several  brief 
notices  in  the  New  York  papers ;  but  the  critics  appear 
to  have  regarded  the  work  as  one  of  unequal  merit.  It 
was  entitled,  "  The  Refugee :  A  Romance.  By  Captain 
Matthew  Murgatroyd,  of  the  Ninth  Continentals  in  the 
Revolutionary  War.    In  two  volumes,  pages  325  and  328. 


/. 


JAMES    ATHEARN   JONES  209 


New  York,  1825."  The  manuscript  was  offered  to  Mr. 
Blackwood,  of  Edinburgh,  the  famous  bookseller,  who 
wrote,  saying :  — 

"  It  is  a  work  very  much  beyond  the  ordinary  run  of  novels, 
but  it  has  evidently  been  written,  and  is  mainly  intended,  for 
the  American  market ;  and  I  doubt  much  if,  with  all  its  talent, 
it  will  ever  answer  to  reprint  in  this  countr}-.  The  author,  I 
think,  possesses  very  considerable  powers  ;  and  if  he  were  to 
take  sufficient  time  and  pains,  I  have  no  doubt  he  would  pro- 
duce a  work  that  would  be  equally  popular  on  both  sides  of  the 
Atlantic." 

Some  of  the  choicest  productions  from  the  pen  of  Mr. 
Jones  appeared  in  the  "  Atlantic  Souvenir "  and  the 
"United  States  Literary  Gazette,"  prior  to  1827.  How 
these  were  received  by  the  public,  and  how  they  were 
esteemed  by  good  judges,  may  be  seen  by  some  extracts 
from  letters,  written  to  Mr.  Jones,  now  lying  before  me. 

Writing  from  Taunton,  September  9,  1824,  Theophilus 
Parsons,  editor  of  the  "  United  States  Literary  Gazette," 
says :  — 

"Your  letter  with  '  Sardanapalus'  is  just  received.  The 
'  Lines  from  a  Traveller's  Portfolio '  are  now  in  press  and  will 
appear  in  No.  13.  I  take  shame  to  myself  that  they  have  been 
so  long  delayed ;  but  must  state  in  self-justification  that  an  ac- 
cident kept  them  out  of  my  reach  for  some  time.  The  tone  of 
depression  and  melancholy  which  characterized  the  letter  that 
came  with  '  Sardanapalus  '  justified  my  saying  to  you  truths 
which  otherwise  might  look  like  flattery.  No  one  of  ray  corre- 
spondents but  yourself  and  Bryant  has  been  quoted  much  in 
the  papers,  or  spoken  of  in  any  way  with  decided  praise  ;  and  I 
have  not  been  solicited  to  obtain  further  contributions  from  any 
other.  Some  of  our  subscribers  prefer  your  lines  to  Bryant's. 
I  do  not  agree  with  them  ,  for  he  seems  to  me  to  be,  on  the 
whole,  the  better  poet.  But  I  have  no  hesitation  in  expressing 
an  opinion,  which  is  fortified  by  the  coincident  judgment  of 
others  of  unquestionable  poetic  taste,  that  you  have  sent  me 
verses  which  exhibit  as  much  poetical  talent,  and  of  as  high  an 

27 


i 


210  >trAMES   ATHEARN   JONES 

order,  as  has  ever  been  exhibited  by  an  American.  Bryant  is 
very  diligent,  and  elaborates  his  pieces  into  perfection.  You 
are  more  negligent ;  but  may  surely  look  forward  to  high  suc- 
cess, if  you  wish  it  enough  to  toil  in  the  pursuit.  I  beg  you  to 
believe  me  in  earnest  in  all  that  I  have  said,  both  of  praise  and 
blame.  I  hope  you  will  pardon  my  sincerity,  and  supply  me 
copiously  and  regularly,  if  your  more  important  engagements  • 
permit  you  to  be  so  kind  to  me."  ^ 

Hon.  James  G.  Carter,  of  Lancaster,  succeeded  Mr. 
Parsons  as  editor  of  the  "  United  States  Literary  Gazette." 
Writing  to  Mr.  Jones,  under  date  of  March  22,  1825,  he 

says :  — 

"  Mr.  Parsons  has  told  me  you  have  contributed  to  the  poeti- 
cal department  of  the  '  Literary  Gazette,'  and  has  given  me  your 
signature.  I  have  looked  over  the  numbers  of  the  work,  and 
find  several  fine  pieces  signed  '  J.'  which,  if  yours,  do  you 
credit.  The  '  Gladiator '  has  been  copied  from  our  '  Gazette ' 
into  very  many  of  the  Southern  papers.  I  shall  be  very  glad 
to  avail  myself  of  your  talents  to  support  that  part  of  our  work  ; 
and  I  am  about  to  introduce  to  our  columns  Percival,  who  is 
now  in  the  city,  and  has  engaged  to  be  a  constant  contributor 
to  our  work.  Mr.  Parsons  did  not  inform  me  whether  you  had 
been  a  prose  writer  or  not.  Should  you  feel  disposed  to  write 
essays  upon  literary,  scientific,  or  any  other  topics,  they  will 
receive  prompt  attention,  and  an  acknowledgment  of  our  obli- 
gations." 

August  13,  1825,  Mr.  Carter  writes :  — 

"  I  have  to-day  received  yours  of  the  2d  instant  enclosing  a 
piece  which  I  like  much,  and  shall  print  as  soon  as  I  have  room, 
probably  in  the  number  for  Sept.  15th,  all  before  that  time 

being  made  up  as  to  poetry Mr.  Brainard,  editor  of  the 

Connecticut  '  Mirror,'  has  promised  to  send  me  pieces  of  poetry 
occasionally.  Mr.  Mellen,  whose  poem  you  read  and  remarked 
upon  for  me,  will  also  write.  His  signature  is  'G.  M.'  A  son  of 
the  late  Judge  Dawes,  a  student-at-law  in  this  city,  answers  to 
'D.'  It  will  always  give  me  great  pleasure  to  consider  you  as 
one  of  my  contributors  ;  and,  be  assured,  your  pieces  are  highly 
valued  by  all  I  have  heard  speak  of  them,  and  by  none  more 
than  by  your  sincere  friend." 


>ffAMES   ATHEAKN   JONES  211 

Writing  from  Boston,  September  15,  1826,  Mr.  Carter 
speaks  of  the  recent  union  of  the  "  United  States  Literary 
Gazette  "  with  the  "  New  York  Review,"  and  of  the  asso- 
ciation with  him  in  the  editorial  department  of  William 
CuUen  Bryant,  who  had  become  owner  of  one  quarter  of 
the  stock,  "  having  previously  bought  the  ^  New  York 
Eeview '  for  a  song."  As  editor,  Mr.  Bryant  received  a 
salary  of  eight  hundred  dollars  a  year,  he  undertaking 
to  furnish  all  the  poetry ;  and  if  any  poetry  other  than 
his  own  was  furnished,  it  was  to  be  paid  for  out  of  his 
salary. 

Mr.  Carter  regrets,  in  retiring  from  the  editorial  post, 
the 

"  taking  leave  of  my  friends  who  have  sustained  me  in  my 
arduous  duties.  In  this  I  have  the  greatest  trial  to  my  feelings. 
I  should  do  injustice  to  those  feehngs  were  I  to  withhold  the 
expression  of  my  gratitude  for  your  assistance  and  kind  atten- 
tions ;  and,  I  must  be  permitted  to  add,  for  the  reputation  you 
have  added  to  our  work.  Mr.  Bryant  has  been  a  week  with  me 
lately,  and  in  our  free  way  of  discussing  the  merits  of  our  writ- 
ers, he  has  put  you  decidedly  at  the  head  of  our  poetical 
contributors ;  Percival  being  excepted,  more  from  courtesy  and 
deference  to  the  powers  that  be  than  for  anything  else.  .  .  . 
I  have  given  you  a  long  account  of  our  literary  operations,  recol- 
lecting how  much  interest  you  take  in  such  matters,  and  hoping 
it  may  prove  gratifying  to  you.  The  manner  in  which  you 
speak  of  your  health,  and  the  general  tone  of  your  letter,  has 
given  me  some  apprehensions  for  your  'recovery.  I  offer  my 
fervent  prayer  that  the  providence  of  God  may  be  especially 
exerted  in  your  favor,  and  that  you  may  be  yet  spared  for  many 
years  to  your  country,  to  literature,  and  to  your  friends." 

Mr.  Edward  Wigglesworth  succeeded  Mr.  Carter.  Un- 
der date  of  December  26, 1826,  he  writes  to  Mr.  Jones :  — 

"You,  I  suppose,  are  just  on  the  eve  of  falling,  pell  mell,  on 
the  present  administration,  and  boosting  up  Jackson.  You  will 
be  up  to  the  ears  in  political  disputes  before  long,  and  I  am 
afraid  will  be  too  busy  to  assist  us  as  much  as  we  could  wish. 


i 


212  JjAMES   ATHEAEN  JONES 

You  spoke  in  your  letter  about  the  Indian  traditions.  If  you 
can  find  time,  you  will  oblige  us  much  by  sending  on  one  or 

more If  your  Muse  can  raise  her  voice  amid  the  din  of 

politics,  I  hope  we  shall  be  favored  with  some  of  her  outpour- 
ings. Any  poetical  contributions  with  which  you  may  choose 
to  favor  us,  I  will  thank  you  to  send  to  Mr.  Bryant  in  New 
York." 

Again  he  writes,  under  date  of  August  28,  1827 :  — 

"  I  write  to  ask  a  favor.  In  case  you  are  not  wholly  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  vortex  of  politics,  I  wish  you  would  remember 
your  old  friends  of  the  '  United  States  Review.'  Are  all  the 
Indian  traditions  exhausted  ?  We  should  esteem  it  a  favor  if 
you  could  spare  us  another  to  grace  our  columns." 

A  selection  from  the  poems  which  appeared  in  the 
"  United  States  Literary  Gazette,"  including  some  of  the 
best  from  the  pens  of  Bryant,  Longfellow,  Percival,  Jones, 
Mellen,  and  Dawes,  was  published  in  January,  1826,  by 
Cummings,  Hilliard,  &  Company,  and  Harrison  Gray. 
It  was  a  small  volume  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-two 
pages. 

The  following  poem,  "Lines  from  a  Traveller's  Port- 
folio," from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Jones,  was  received  with 
marked  favor:  — 

"  I  stood  upon  the  lofty  Alleghany. 
It  was  a  summer  morning ;  the  bright  sun 
Shone  o'er  the  mountain  tops  on  the  fair  vales, 
Which  lay  stretched  out  beneath  his  gladdening  beam. 
Calm,  peaceful  vales,  such  as  the  aged  love 
To  rest  their  wearied  limbs  upon  when  life 
Draws  near  its  close,  —  such  as  young  lovers  seek. 
And  there  I  stood,  upon  that  mountain's  brow, 
And  looked  upon  the  morning.     Far  away 
On  either  hand,  and  where  the  Ohio  glides 
Serenely  to  the  bed  of  other  waters, 
Lay  fields  of  brightly  shining  summer  grain. 
Where  lusty  arms  plied  nimble  reaping  hooks, 
And  bright-eyed  virgins,  as  of  olden  time, 
Them  followed,  and  the  yellow  sheaf  upreared. 


/ 


JAMES   ATHEARN   JONES  213 

And  there  were  pastures  fair  beneath  mine  eye, 
And  o'er  them  grazed  innumerous  herds  and  flocks, 
The  wealth  of  the  strong  man,  who  years  ago 
Built  his  rude  cabin  by  the  beetling  brow 
Of  these  eternal  mountains,  and  sat  down. 
And  lopt  the  sycamore,  and  felled  the  oak. 
And  had  him  sons  and  daujjhters  born  amidst 
The  shouts  and  battle-son^s  of  savasre  tribes. 

"  And  still  I  stood  upon  that  mountain's  brow, 
And  still  it  was  the  morning.     O'er  me  past 
A  breath  from  out  the  deep  and  fearful  glen, 
Which  lay  beside  me,  fringed  with  meagre  pines,  — 
The  shrubbery  of  the  bleak  mountain-top. 
Within  me  was  a  voice  which  bade  me  look 
Upon  the  ages  which  had  passed  away,  — 
Upon  the  time  when  those  far-spreading  vales 
Were  peopled  by  another  race  of  men. 
The  builders  of  the  proud,  sepulchral  pile. 
And  architects  of  works  of  use  unknown. 
'T  is  thus  the  potent  finger  of  decay 
Saps  the  foundation  of  all  earthly  things ; 
And  there  will  pass  a  very  few  brief  years 
Ere  all  who  people  this  fair  land  shall  lie 
In  the  same  grave  which  holds  her  earliest  sons. 
The  oak  shall  grow  upon  the  well-ploughed  glebe. 
The  wild  vine  leap  upon  the  nectarine's  trunk, 
And  strangle  it  with  a  too  close  embrace. 
The  thistle  shall  o'errun  the  beautiful  mead, 
The  bison  feed  upon  the  cities'  site, 
The  adder  coil  him  in  the  lady's  bower 
And  hiss  iipon  the  mastodon,  as  he 
Comes  from  his  exile  of  a  thousand  years. 
And  these  shall  be,  because  such  things  have  been  ; 
For  nature  is  immutable,  and  keeps 
No  changeful  course." 

In  "  Specimens  of  American  Poetry,"  by  Samuel  Ket- 
tell,  Boston,  S.  G.  Goodrich  &  Co.,  1S29,  James  Athearn 
Jones  is  wrongly  stated  to  be  "  of  New  Bedford."  Two 
of  his  poems  are  given  in  Vol.  III.,  pages  249  to  253 : 
"  A  Moor's  Curse  on  Spain,"  a  spirited  poem,  which  first 


i 


214  >|  JAMES   ATHEARN   JONES 

apppeared  in  the  "  United  States  Literary  Gazette,"  Vol. 
I.,  1824 ;  and  "  The  Lay  of  a  Mountain  Spirit." 

"A  Letter  to  an  Enghsh  Gentleman  on  the  Libels 
and  Calumnies  on  America,  by  British  Writers  and 
Eeviewers,"  was  written  by  Mr.  Jones,  and  published  at 
Philadelphia  in  1826.  It  is  a  pamphlet  of  forty-three 
pages.  A  copy  is  to  be  found  in  the  library  of  the 
New   England   Historic   Genealogical   Society. 

In  January,  1827,  Mr.  Jones,  having  bargained  for  the 
press,  types,  fixtures,  and  good-will  of  the  "Freeman's 
Journal,"  then  recently  united  with  the  "  City  Register," 
assumed  the  editorial  charge  of  a  daily  paper  in  Phila- 
delphia, the  "  National  Palladium."  It  was  devoted  to 
the  news  of  the  day  and  to  general  literature,  but  most 
especially  to  the  one  purpose  of  making  General  Jackson 
President  of  the  United  States.  Charles  G.  Greene,  long 
the  able  editor  of  the  "  Boston  Post,"  who  still  survives, 
in  a  ripe*  old  age,  hale,  jovial,  and  hearty,  enjoying  his 
well-deserved  honors  and  the  esteem  of  the  entire  com- 
munity, was  for  a  short  time  engaged  with  Mr.  Jones  in 
conducting  the  "  Palladium."  With  able  correspondents, 
among  whom  were  Duff  Green,  S.  D.  Ingham,  David 
Henshaw,  J.  A.  Cameron,  and  others  of  well-known  fame, 
the  paper  became  an  able  and  influential  organ  of  the 
Jackson  party. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  presidential  campaign  Mr. 
Jones  retired  from  the  management  of  the  "  Palladium," 
which  became  merged  in  the  "American  Sentinel."  After 
a  short  time  spent  in  Massachusetts,  he  went  to  England, 
where  he  remained  two  years  or  more.  Here  his  time 
was  spent  in  literary  labors  and  in  the  congenial  society 
of  literary  friends.  It  is  said  that  Fortune  did  not  smile 
upon  him  while  there,  and  that  he  became  reduced,  and 
was  for  awhile  in  a  state  of  mental  aberration,  and  was 
aided  to  return  home  again. 

In  1830  the  Harpers,  at  New  York,  published  "Tales 


i 


JAMES    ATIIEARX   JOXES  215 

of  an  Indian  Camp.  By  James  A.  Jones,"  the  work  hav- 
ing previously  been  published  in  England.  After  a  pro- 
tracted search,  no  copy  of  either  this  or  the  English  edi- 
tion has  been  found.  In  April  of  the  same  year  Henry 
Colburn  and  Richard  Bentley,  London,  published  "  Tradi- 
tions of  the  North  American  Indians,  being  a  second  and 
revised  edition  of  '  Tales  of  an  Indian  Camp,'  by  James 
Athearn  Jones.  In  three  volumes."  The  work  was  ded- 
icated to  Washington  Irving,  and  was  embellished  with 
engravings   designed  and  etched  by  W.  H.  Brooke. 

The  next  work  in  order  of  publication  appears  to  have 
been  "  Haverhill."  AYe  have  in  the  "  Westminster  Re- 
view" for  1831,  Vol.  XV.,  page  218,  a  notice  of  '-Hav- 
erhill, or  Memoirs  of  an  Officer  in  the  Army  of  Wolfe. 
By  James  Athearn  Jones.  3  vols.  T.  &  M.  Boone, 
1831."     The  reviewer  says :  — 

"  '  Haverhill '  is  the  work  of  a  man  of  talent,  and  of  extensive 
experience  in  various  quarters  of  the  globe.  .  .  .  Haverhill  is 
not  only  full  of  luminous  and  copious  descriptions  of  the 
objects  which  it  professes  to  illustrate,  but  is  written  with  an 
energy  and  enthusiasm  of  spirit  which  never  fails  to  communi- 
cate itself  to  the  reader. 

"  In  '  Haverhill '  there  is  much  more  poetry  than  prose, 
thoucrh  the  writer  has  not  indulsfed  in  a  line  of  verse.  The 
whole  history  of  his  youth,  —  a  fisher-boy,  —  of  his  ambition, 
his  education,  his  aspiring  passion,  the  character  and  disposi- 
tion of  his  family,  from  whom  he  parts  in  pursuit  of  fame  and 
fortune,  which  occupy  the  first  volume,  are  not  merely  poetry, 
but  poetry  of  a  most  touching  and  beautiful  description. 

"Mr.  Jones  has  already  published  a  work  on  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  American  Indian.  We  read  it  with  great 
satisfaction.  He  appears  to  have  passed  some  of  his  life  among 
them ;  he  knows  them  well,  and  does  not  love  them  the  less  for 
his  familiarity  with  their  habits  and  'principles  of  action.  On 
several  occasions  he  introduces  the  Indian  into  '  Haverhill,' 
and  always  with  effect.  The  little  episode  of  Takota,  or  the 
Antelope,  for  instance,  is  beautiful.  The  sketches  of  domestic 
life  among  the  humbler  classes  in  the  north  of  the  American 


i. 


216  VJAilES    ATHEARN"   JONES 

settlements  are  among  the  different  portions  of  these  volumes 
which,  from  their  nature  and  truth,  have  given  us  the  most 
decided  pleasure." 

An  American  edition  of  "Haverhill"  was  published  July 
15,  1831,  in  two  volumes,  by  J.  &  J.  Harper,  82  Cliff 
Street,  New  York.  A  notice  of  the  work  appears  in  the 
"  New  England  Magazine  "  for  August,  1831.  The  writer 
says,  page  175  :  — 

" '  Haverhill,'  as  a  production  of  genius,  is  unequal  in  differ- 
ent parts.  The  author  has  a  very  respectable  talent  in  describ- 
ing familiar  scenes,  which  have  a  strong  and  agreeable  smack 
of  New  England.  Were  all  portions  of  '  Haverhill '  equal  to 
its  best  parts,  the  author  would  deserve  great  commendation. 
As  it  is,  if  he  will  subject  himself  to  severe  discipline,  —  his 
mind  we  mean,  —  he  may  well  pass,  in  this  line,  an  honorable 
distinction.' " 

The  extracts  which  follow  are  from  "  Traditions  of  the 
North  American  Indians."  From  their  intrinsic  merit 
and  the  exceeding  rarity  of  the  book  from  which  they  are 
taken,  they  are  more  copious  than  otherwise  they  would 
have  been. 

The  name  given  by  the  Indians  to  the  beautiful  island 
of  Martha's  Vineyard,  now  so  widely  known  as  the  great 
summer  resort  towards  which  the  faces  of  thousands  are 
turned  during  the  "  heated  term,"  was  Nope.  Numerous 
Indians  dwelt  there  when  the  white  men  first  settled  in 
New  England  ;  the  remnant  still  left  have  few  of  the  dis- 
tinguishing traits  of  the  red  man  of  two  centuries  ago. 
Traditions  formerly  abounded  among  these  people.  That 
of  Moshop  is,  perhaps,  most  widely  known.  Mr.  Jones 
thus  gives  the  legend.  Vol.  II.  page  261 :  — 

"  The  sound,  or  strait,  which  divides  Nope  from  the  mainland 
and  the  islands  of  Nashawn  was  not,  in  the  days  of  our  fathers, 
so  wide  as  it  is  now.  The  small  bays  which  jiow  indent  the 
northern  shore  of  Nope,  and  the  slight  promontories,  which,  at 
intervals  of  a  mile  or  two,  jut  out  along  its  coast  of  a  sun's 


L 


JAMES  ATHEARN  JONES  217 

journey,  were  then  wanting :  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  ob- 
truded on  its  round  and  exact  outline.  The  strong  current  of 
waters  from  the  boundless  bosom  of  the  Great  Lake,  sweeping 
down  between  this  island  and  the  opposite  little  islands  of 
Nashawn  and  its  sisters,  has  made  great  encroachments  upon 
the  former,  widening  to  a  journey  of  two  hours  what  was  once 
only  the  work  of  one  to  perform.  .My  brothers,  who  are  with 
me  from  the  land  of  the  Pawkunnawkuts,  know  tliat  my  words 
are  true.  They  know  that  the  air  has  also  changed  as  much  as 
the  shape  of  the  shores  of  Nope.  In  the  times  of  our  grand- 
fathers, the  waves  which  roll  between  these  islands  were  always 
frozen  over,  from  the  hunting  month  to  the  month  of  the  red 
singing-bird.  During  the  cold  months,  the  canoe  of  the  Indian 
hunter  and  fisherman  was  not  permitted  to  traverse  its  dark  and 
angry  waters  in  quest  of  finny  spoil,  or  in  chase   of  the  wild 

fowl 

"  But  the  face  of  Nope  changed,  and  with  it  the  winters  grew 
milder  and  milder.  The  hunting  month  was  no  longer  the 
month  of  early  snow ;  and  when  the  red  singing-bird  came,  he 
hopped  on  an   opening  bud,  and  listened  to   the  croaking  of 

frogs Meantime  the  waters,  no  longer  bound  up  with  a 

chain  by  the  Manitou  of  Cold,  scooped  out  bays  and  heaped  up 
headlands,  till  they  made  the  shores  of  Nope  crooked  as  the 
path  of  a  bewildered  white  man,  or  the  thread  of  a  story  which 
has  no  truth." 

Upon  this  island  there  lived,  "  at  the  end  nearest  the 
setting  sun,"  a  strange  being,  "  Moshop  —  the  big  man  of 
Nope." 

"  He  was  taller  than  the  tallest  tree  upon  Nope,  and  as  large 
around  him  as  the  spread  of  the  tops  of  a  vigorous  pine,  that 
has  seen  the  years  of  a  full-grown  warrior.  His  skin  was  very 
black,  but  his  beard,  wliich  he  had  never  plucked  nor  clipped, 
and  the  hair  of  his  head,  which  had  never  been  shaved,  were 
of  the  color  of  the  feathers  of  the  gray  gull.  His  eyes  were 
very  white  ;  and  his  teeth,  which  were  only  two  in  number, 
were  green  as  the  ooze  raked  up  by  the  winds  from  the  bottom 
of  the  sea." 

Those  who  would  learn  further  of   this  famous  early 
settler,  of  the  manner  in  which  he  caught  whales  for  his 

28 


I 


218  '^AMES   ATHEAEN   JONES 

daily  food,  bones  of  which  still  remain,  of  the  tragic  fate 
of  his  wife  and  children,  must  consult  our  author;  the 
Memoirs  of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences, 
Vol.  n.  page  133,  and  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Col- 
lections, 1st  series.  Vol.  I.  page  139. 

The   following   extract    is    from    the    first    poem    in 

Vol.  m.  :— 

THE  LAKE   OF  THE  WHITE  CANOE. 

"  The  parting  words  of  the  Roanoke, 
And  his  tale  of  a  lover  and  maiden  true, 
Who  paddled  the  Lake  in  a  White  Canoe. 

...  a  youth  and  maid, 
Who  loved  each  other  well ; 
Long  and  fondly  loved. 
Loved  from  the  childish  hour. 
When,  through  the  bosky  dell, 
Together  they  fondly  roved 
In  quest  of  the  little  flower 
That  likes  to  bloom  in  the  quiet  shade 
Of  the  tall  and  stately  oaks. 
The  pale-face  calls  it  the  violet  — 
'Tis  a  beautiful  child  when  its  leaves  are  wet 
With  the  morning  dew,  and  spread 
To  the  beams  of  the  sun,  and  its  little  head 
Sinks  low  with  the  weight  of  the  tear 
That  gems  its  pale  blue  eye, 
Causing  it  to  lie 

Like  a  maiden  whose  heart  is  broke. 
Does  my  brother  hear  ? 
He  hears  my  words.     'Tis  well. 
The  names  of  this  fond  youth  and  maid 
Tell  who  they  were. 
For  he  was  Annawan,  the  Brave, 
And  she  Pequida,  the  girl  of  the  braid, 
The  fairest  of  the  fair. 
Her  foot  was  the  foot  of  the  nimble  doe 
That  flies  from  a  cruel  carcajou, 
Deeming  speed  the  means  to  save ; 
Her  eyes  were  the  eyes  of  the  yellow  owl. 
That  builds  his  nest  by  the  River  of  Fish  ; 


I 


AMES    ATHEARN   JONES  219 

Her  hair  was  black  as  the  wings  of  the  fowl 

That  drew  this  world  from  the  great  abyss. 

Small  and  plump  was  her  hand, 

Small  and  slender  her  foot; 

And  when  she  opened  her  lips  to  sing, 

Kipe  red  lips,  soft  sweet  lips. 

Lips  like  the  flower  that  the  honey-bee  sips, 

The  birds  in  the  grove  were  mute. 

The  bittern  forgot  his  toot, 

And  the  owl  forbore  his  hoot, 

And  the  king-bird  set  his  wing, 

And  the  woodpecker  ceased  his  tap 

On  the  hollow  beech. 

And  the  son  of  the  loon  on  the  nei<rhborinfr  strand 

Gave  over  his  idle  screech, 

And  fell  to  sleep  in  his  mother's  lap." 

These  lovers  met  in  secret ;  knowing  the  bitter  enmity 
existing  between  their  parents,  they  sought  to  hide  their 
interviews. 

But  when  the  sky  was  mild, 

And  the  moon's  pale  light  was  veiled. 

And  hushed  was  every  breeze, 

In  prairie,  village,  and  wild, 

And  the  bittern  had  stayed  his  toot. 

And  the  serpent  had  ceased  his  hiss, 

And  the  wolf  forgot  his  howl. 

And  the  owl  forbore  his  hoot, 

And  the  plaintive  wekolis, 

And  his  neighbor,  the  frog,  were  mute ; 

Then  would  my  brother  have  heard 

A  plash  like  the  dip  of  the  water-fowl. 

In  the  lake  with  mist  so  white. 

And  the  smooth  wave  roll  to  the  banks, 

And  have  seen  the  current  stirred 

By  something  that  seemed  a  White  Canoe 

Gliding  past  his  troubled  view. 

And  thus  for  moons  they  met 

By  night  on  the  tranquil  lake, 

"When  darkness  veils  the  earth. 
•  •  .  . 

And  thus  each  night  they  met, 

And  thus  a  summer  passed. 


t 


220  JjAMES    ATHEARN   JONES 

Autumn  came  at  lenorth 

With  all  its  promised  joys, 

Its  host  of  glittering  stars, 

Its  fields  of  yellow  corn, 

Its  shrill  and  healthful  winds. 

Its  sports  of  field  and  flood. 

The  buck  in  the  grove  was  sleek  and  fat, 

The  corn  was  ripe  and  tall ; 

Grapes  clustered  thick  on  the  vines  ; 

And  the  healing  winds  of  the  north 

Had  left  their  cells  to  breathe 

On  the  fevered  cheeks  of  the  Roanokes. 

And  the  skies  were  lit  by  brighter  stars 

Than  lisrht  them  in  the  "time  of  summer. 


o 


Annawan,  detained  long  past  his  usual  hour,  seeks  the 
maiden  in  their  accustomed  haunts,  but  finds  her  not.- 
Filled  with  anguish,  he  loudly  calls  her  name. 

"  No  answer  meets  the  warrior's  ears  :   , 
But,  glimmering  o'er  the  lake  appears 
A  solitary,  twinkling  light,  — 
It  seems  a  fire-fly  lamp  ; 
It  moves  with  motion  quick  and  strange, 
Over  the  broad  lake's  breast. 
The  lover  sprang  to  his  light  canoe, 
And  swiftly  followed  the  meteor  spark. 
But  the  winds  were  high,  and  the  clouds  were  dark, 
He  could  not  flnd  the  maid, 
Nor  near  the  glittering  lamp." 

Among  these  Indian  Tales,  one  of  the  most  charming  is 
"■  The  Phantom  "Woman,"  a  tradition  of  the  Winnebagoes. 

Take  the  following  from  Vol.  I.,  page  175,  as  a  speci- 
men of  the  author's  style  :  — 

"  And  whither  goest  thou,  maiden  ? 
Dove  of  the  forest,  vrhither  goest  thou  ? 
Maiden,  as  bright  as  the  Hunter's  Star, 
Maiden,  whose  hair  is  the  grape-clustered  vine, 
Whose  neck  is  the  neck  of  the  swan. 
Whose  eyes  are  the  eyes  of  the  dove, 
Whose  hand  is  as  small  as  the  red-oak's  leaf. 
Whose  foot  is  the  length  of  the  lark's  spread  wing, 


I 


AMES    ATHEARN   JONES  221 

"WTiose  step  is  the  step  of  the  antelope's  child, 
Whose  voice  is  the  voice  of  a  rill  in  the  moon, 
Of  the  rill's  most  gentle  song: 
"Whither  goest  thou  ?  " 

After  his  return  from  England,  Mr.  Jones  lived  upon 
the  farm  in  Tisbury,  left  him  by  his  grandfather,  the  old 
homestead  where  he  was  born.  Here  he  succeeded  in 
raising  crops  that  were  an  astonishment  to  his  neighbors. 
Tiring  of  farm  hfe,  he  entered  into  commercial  pursuits, 
and  built  him  a  store  and  house  in  West  Tisbury,  where 
he  lived  for  a  number  of  years.  While  living  at  Tisbury, 
Mr.  Jones  wrote,  by  request  of  John  P.  Norton,  Esq.,  ex- 
ecutor, a  Biographical  Memoir  of  Ichabod  Norton,  Esq., 
of  Edgartown,  Mass.,  a  pamphlet  of  twenty-six  pages, 
"printed  for  private  distribution,"  by  Coolidge  &  Wiley, 
Boston,  1848;  also,  for  Captain  Elisha  Dexter,  of  Holmes 
Hole,  Mass.,  a  Narrative  of  the  Shipwreck,  in  1842,  of  the 
"  William  and  Joseph,"  Dexter  master.  He  was  admit- 
ted a  corresponding  member  of  the  New  England  His- 
toric Genealogical  Society,  May  27,  1845. 

From  Tisbury  he  removed  to  Buffalo,  New  York,  where 
he  became,  January  1,  1850,  the  editor-in-chief  and  part 
proprietor  of  the  "Journal  of  Commerce,"  a  daily  and 
weekly  paper  established  by  himself  and  his  partners, 
the  firm  being  known  as  Jones,  Matthews,  &  Co.  Like 
many  other  such  ventures,  the  new  paper  was  not  a  fi- 
nancial success.  It  failed  for  lack  of  patronage,  having 
been  published  about  three  months.  His  name  appears 
in  the  Directory  for  1851,  as  a  resident  of  Buffalo.  At 
the  time  of  his  decease,  and  for  many  months  previous, 
Mr.  Jones  was  a  resident  of  Brooklyn,  New  York. 

In  the  midst  of  business  pursuits,  death  came  to  him 
hurriedly.  Cholera,  that  fearfully  swift  destroyer,  at- 
tacked him ;  and,  in  a  single  day,  he  was  brought  to  the 
close  of  life.  Those  who  were  with  him  in  his  last  brief 
illness  were  all  strangers,  except  a  devoted  niece,  sud- 


222  JAMES  ATHEAEN  JONES 

denly  summoned  from  her  home  in  New  York,  who  fear- 
lessly took  her  perilous  post  by  his  bedside,  and  never 
left  it  till  life  had  departed.  He  died  at  Brooklyn,  New 
York,  July  7,  1854,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age, 
and  was  interred  at  Greenwood. 


LEONARD    MOODY    PARKER 


Leonard  Moody  Paeker  was  born  in  Shirley,  Middle- 
sex County,  Massachusetts,  January  9,  1789.  His  father, 
James  Parker,  was  a  descendant  of  Captain  James  Parker, 
one,  and  the  largest,  of  the  original  proprietors  of  the  ter- 
ritory of  Groton,  which  territory  was  afterward  divided, 
and  forms  several  distinct  townships,  of  which  Shirley  was 
the  first  that  received  an  act  of  incorporation.  This  act 
was  passed  by  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  in  the 
spring  of  1753. 

James  Parker,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  notice, 
was  an  early  settler  of  Shirley,  and  owned  a  thrifty  and 
pleasantly  situated  farm,  located  one  m'ile  south  of  the 
Central  Church,  and  lying  on  the  road  that  leads  from 
Shirley  to  Lancaster.  Here  a  family  consisting  of  ten 
children  was  born,  all  of  whom  were  reared  to  manhood 
and  womanhood,  and,  with  a  single  exception,  became  the 
heads  of  other  families  that  were  settled  in  Shirley  and 
vicinity. 

Leonard  was  the  youngest  of  the  household,  and  this 
circumstance  exposed  him  to  the  danger  of  that  undue 
partiality  with  which  parents  are  prone  to  regard  the 
child  of  their  old  age ;  yet  it  seems  he  plodded  onward 
from  childhood  to  man's  estate  without  inconvenience 
from  this  source,  and  through  his  early  habits  of  industry, 
was  enabled  to  establish  a  firm  and  consistent  manly 
character.     He  engaged  in  the  ordinary  service  of  the 


224  LEONARD    MOODY    PARKER 

farmer's  boy  with  the  same  patient  industry  that  he 
afterward  devoted  to  the  onerous  duties  of  his  pubhc 
official  career. 

After  exhausting  the  means  furnished  by  the  common 
district  school  he  was,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years, 
placed  in  the  academy  at  Groton,  then  under  the  charge 
of  Hon.  Caleb  Butler,  where  he  was  fitted  for  the  uni- 
versity. He  was  entered  a  student  of  Dartmouth  Col- 
lege, then  under  the  care  of  the  younger  president 
Wheelock,  and  was  graduated  in  1808,  with  a  full  share 
of  collegiate  honors. 

Hon.  Abijah  Bigelow,  of  Leominster,  then  in  the  full 
tide  of  his  popularity,  and  member  for  Congress  from 
Worcester  North  District,  received  the  young  student 
into  his  office,  where  he  remained  for  two  years,  and 
then  was  a  student  for  one  year  in  the  law  office  of  Hon. 
Levi  Lincoln,  of  Worcester.  Admitted  to  the  bar  in 
1811,  Mr.  Parker  commenced  his  professional  career  in 
Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  in  the  office  recently  vacated 
by  an  older  brother.  General  Daniel  Parker,  who  had 
received  an  official  appointment  under  the  United  States 
Government. 

In  1812  —  upon  the  memorable  declaration  of  war 
against  Great  Britain,  a  marked  epoch  in  the  annals  of 
our  history  —  Mr.  Parker  was  appointed  Army  Judge 
Advocate,  attached  to  Military  District  No.  1,  and  held 
that  office  until  the  reduction  of  the  army  after  the 
return  of  peace. 

In  1816  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  from  Charlestown.  In  1818,  and  for  the 
three  succeeding  years,  was  chosen  to  the  State  Senate 
from  the  County  of  Middlesex.  In  1820  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  convention  for  amending  the  constitution  of 
the  State  on  the  separation  of  Maine  from  Massachusetts. 
In  1825,  1828,  and  1829,  he  again  represented  the  town 
of  Charlestown  in  the  House,  and  in  1826  and  1827  was 


LEONARD  MOODY   PARKER  225 

a  member  of  the  Senate  from  IVIiddlesex  County.  In 
1830  he  received  from  President  Jackson  the  appoint- 
ment of  Naval  Officer  for  the  Port  of  Boston  and  Charles- 
town,  upon  the  decease  of  General  Boyd,  his  predecessor 
in  that  office,  in  which  he  continued  four  years,  when  he 
retired  to  his  native  place,  the  quiet  and  pleasant  town  of 
Shirley,  where  he  passed  the  residue  of  his  days. 

"Within  the  year  following  his  fellow-citizens  elected 
him  a  representative  to  the  Legislature ;  the  same  year 
he  was  again  chosen  a  senator  for  the  county  of  Middle- 
sex, which  required  him  to  resign  his  seat  in  the  House. 
In  1837,  and  again  in  1840,  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Senate,  and  in  that  capacity  served  as  a  member  of  the 
Valuation  Committee  convened  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year.  In  this  same  autumn  he  was  elected  chairman  of 
the  Middlesex  Board  of  County  Commissioners  for  three 
years,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  term  decUned  a 
re-election.  His  last  official  position  was  in  the  Massa- 
chusetts House  of  Representatives,  a  member  from 
Shirley,  elected  in  1850,  and  as  a  member  of  the  longest 
official  standing  in  that  body,  called  the  House  to  order 
and  presided  at  its  organization. 

While  engaged  in  the  duties  of  a  legislator,  Mr.  Parker 
was  frequently  called  to  the  performance  of  important 
trusts,  among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  appointment, 
by  a  resolve  of  the  Legislature  in  1825,  of  himself,  Theo- 
dore Sedgwick  and  James  Savage  to  "  prepare  a  system 
for  the  establishment  of  a  seminary  for  the  education  of 
the  working  classes  in  the  practical  arts  and  sciences." 
The  result  of  the  commission  was  two  elaborate  and  valu- 
able reports  accompanied  by  a  bill.  The  same  year  he 
was  one  of  the  commissioners  to  settle  the  long-contested 
boundary  line  between  the  commonwealth  and  the  State 
of  Connecticut.  A  final  and  happy  adjustment  of  this 
question  was  effected  by  this  Board,  of  which  that 
able  and  estimable  man,  Hon   Elijah  H.  Mills,  of  North- 

29 


226  LEONARD   MOODY  PAEKER 

amp  ton,  was  chairman.  The  Hon.  John  Mills,  then  of 
Southbridge,  was  the  other  member  of  the  commission, 
having  been  made  the  substitute  of  the  Hon.  Mr.  Lyman, 
of  Enfield,  who  died  soon  after  his  appointment.  In 
1830  Mr.  Parker  was  on  the  Board  of  Commissioners, 
appointed  by  the  Legislature  to  examine  into  the  con- 
dition of  the  banks  of  the  county  of  Suffolk. 

In  his  political  principles  and  party  relations  Mr. 
Parker  was,  throughout  his  public  life,  a  Republican  of 
the  old  Jefferson  school,  "  with  whom  is  no  variableness 
neither  shadow  of  turning."  In  1824  he  was  chairman 
of  the  state  committee  of  the  Republican  party  who  sup- 
ported that  eminent  citizen,  William  H.  Crawford,  for  the 
presidency,  and  in  every  successive  election  he  sustained 
the  regular  nominations  of  the  Democrats,  as  they  were 
subsequently  called. 

During  the  long  period  of  his  legislative  services  Mr. 
Parker  was  uniformly  active  and  efiicient  in  the  discharge 
of  the  duties  that  devolved  on  him.  To  pass  over  many 
of  less  moment,  a  few  of  the  more  prominent  deserve  a 
place  in  this  sketch.  In  the  year  1820  he  moved  in  the 
senate  an  inquiry  into  the  expediency  of  abolishing  the 
Circuit  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  with  four  judges,  which 
had  become  wholly  inadequate  to  the  public  service. 
As  one  of  the  •  committee  he  prepared  the  bill  for  the 
establishing  the  new  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  as  it  was 
afterwards  organized.  The  Circuit  Court  system,  which 
had  long  remained  a  favorite  measure  of  the  Republican 
party,  was  a  great  improvement  on  the  County  Court 
system,  which  it  superseded ;  but  the  organization  under 
this  bill  was  still  more  effective,  and  with  slight  varia- 
tions continued  ever  since.  A  service  not  then  appre- 
ciated, but  the  value  of  which  can  now  be  seen,  was 
rendered  the  same  year  by  the  defeat  of  the  bill  seriously 
urged  in  the  legislature,  to  sell  the  whole  interest  of 
Massachusetts  in  the  public  lands  in  Maine  for  $150,000. 


LEONARD    MOODY   PARKER  227 

Mr.  Parker  took  an  active  part  in  defeating  this  project, 
■which  would  have  given  milhons  to  private  speculation 
instead  of  reserving  it  for  the  State  and  for  common- 
Bchool  education. 

In  1826  and  1827  Mr.  Parker  was  chairman  of  the 
joint  standing  committee  on  roads  and  canals,  as  it  was 
then  designated,  before  railroads  had  a  legislative  being. 
They  were  then  just  beginning  to  be  talked  about,  and 
Mr.  Parker  took  a  lively  interest  in  the  matter.  This 
session,  he  reported  resolves  for  the  appointment  of  a 
board  of  commissioners  on  internal  improvements,  who 
were  directed  to  make  surveys  for  routes  for  railroads, 
among  which  was  one  from  Boston  to  the  Hudson  River, 
and  also  the  line  from  Boston  to  Providence.  The  next 
year  the  name  of  the  committee  was  changed  to  roads 
and  railways,  and  Mr.  Parker  again  officiated  as  chair- 
man. The  reports  and  surveys  made  under  the  resolves 
of  the  present  year  were  referred  to  this  committee, 
which  made  a  full  report,  that  foreshadowed  very  dis- 
tinctly what  has  since  resulted  in  the  Boston  and  Albany 
Railroads,  and  in  other  routes.  That  report  urged  the 
necessity  of  having  the  State  take  a  leading  interest  in 
the  work,  and  maintained  that  '•'  should  the  State  think  it 
expedient  to  assume  the  whole  of  the  great  work,  it 
would  prove  a  source  of  profit  and  not  a. burthen." 

Accompanying ,  the  report  was  a  bill  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  more  numerous  board  of  commissioners  on 
internal  improvements.  Levi  Lincoln,  David  Henshaw, 
and  Nathan  Hale  were  subsequently  appointed  on  that 
Board.  In  1828-1829  Mr.  Parker,  in  connection  with 
Theodore  Sedsf-wick  and  other  influential  members  of 
the  House,  made  an  earnest  effort  to  induce  the  State 
to  take  the  interest  and  control,  to  the  extent  of  two 
thirds,  in  the  construction  of  railroads  from  Boston  to 
Providence,  and  from  Boston  to  Worcester.  This  measure 
failed,  and  subsequently  these  roads  went  into  the  hands 


228  LEONARD    MOODY    PARKER 

of  private  corporations,  by  means  of  which  their  great 
profits  have  gone  to  individuals,  instead  of  providing,  as 
they  otherwise  would  have  done,  a  large  revenue  for  the 
commonwealth. 

In  1826  came  up  the  great  question  of  the  freedom  of 
"Warren  Bridge,  —  the  first  attempt  to  open  a  free  passage 
from  Boston  to  the  country.     The  subject  of  this  notice 
regarded  the  struggle  for  this  measure  as  the  grand  battle 
between  vested  rights  and  monopolies  which  had  stood  so 
long  in  the  way  of  progress,  and  had  compelled  the  many 
to  pay  everlasting  tribute  to  the,  few,  "by  setting  a  toll- 
gate  against  posterity."     Mr.  Parker,  as  the  records  of 
the  period   amply   show,   was   a   most   persevering  and 
effective  advocate  of  a   free   avenue,  and   perhaps  was 
relied  on  more  than  any  other  senator  in  the  lead  he  took 
in  support  of  the  bill.     It  was  carried  through,  after  a 
protracted  and  exciting  debate,  by  a  majority  of  one,  but 
it  met  the  veto  of  Governor  Lincoln,  and  failed  at  that 
time  to  become  a  law.     The  following  year  the  friends  of 
the  measure  again  carried  it  through  against  the  most 
inveterate  opposition ;  and  this  time,  so  decisive  had  been 
the    tone    of   public    sentiment,   it   escaped    a   veto    and 
became  a  law.     From  this  has  resulted  the  free  avenues 
subsequently   opened,   which    have   proved    of    priceless 
benefit  to  the   city  and   surrounding  country. 

In  1836  the  Western  Railroad  had  exhausted  its  means, 
and  applied  to  the  Legislature  for  aid.  The  doctrine  of 
the  Democratic  party,  with  which  Mr.  Parker  acted,  was 
substantially  that  the  State  should  either  assume  the  road, 
or  not  make  its  loans  to  private  corporations. 

The  subject  was  one  of  difficulty  and  delicacy.  Mr. 
Parker  advocated  the  bill  in  pursuance  of  the  policy 
recommended  in  his  report  in  1828,  and  moved  an 
important  amendment  touching  the  ultimate  power  of  the 
state  to  assume  the  road,  without  which  it  would  not 
have  passed  the  Senate,  as  it  finally  did,  increasing  the 
capital  one  million  of  stock  in  behalf  of  the  State. 


LEONARD    MOODY    PAKKER  229 

During  this  and  the  following  year  numerous  railroad 
companies,  created  prior  to  March  11,  1831,  applied  for 
extension  of  time  and  increase  of  capital,  and  Mr.  Parker 
took  care,  in  every  case,  to  move  the  conditional  clause 
subjecting  them  to  the  general  law  of  1831,  from  which 
their  prior  charters  had  exempted  them.  This  was 
earnestly  opposed  by  many  of  the  friends  of  railroads, 
as  a  grievous  infringement  of  the  favorite  doctrine  of 
vested  rights,  but  it  is  beheved  that  all  now  see  the  utility 
and  necessity  of  such  a  provision. 

In  1837  the  subject  of  slavery  had  begun  to  agitate  the 
political  circles  of  the  State,  and  had  opened  its  way  to 
her  legislative  assembhes.  On  the  18th  of  January  of 
this  year  the  United  States  House  of  Representatives 
adopted  a  resolution :  — 

"  That  all  petitions,  memorials,  resolutions,  propositions,  or 
papers,  relating  in  any  way,  and  to  any  extent  whatever,  to  the 
subject  of  slavery  or  the  abolition  of  slavery,  without  being 
either  printed  or  referred,  be  laid  on  the  table,  and  that  no 
further  action  whatever  shall  be  had  thereon." 

This  was  considered  a  serious  infrino^ement  on  the  riorh^- 
of  freemen,  and  a  memorial  was  forwarded  to  the  M  ' 
chusetts  Senate  praying  that  body  to  "protest  c 

delay,  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  this  Ccr^  th, 

against  said  resolution,  and  to  invoke  the  ^^  jpre- 

sentatives  of  the  United  States  to  imnie  .md  it." 

This  memorial  was  dated  February   lo,  and  was 

referred  to  a  committee  of  which  Mr.  Pai  .r  was  chair- 
man. On  the  22d  of  the  same  month  he  submitted  the 
following  resolutions  for  the  consideration  and  adoption  of 
the  Legislature :  — 

"  Resolved,  That  Congress  does  not  possess  the  constitutional 
power  to  interfere  with  slavery  within  the  limits  of  respective 
States. 

"  Resolved,  That  Congress  does  possess  the  constitutional 
power  to  abolish  slavery  within  the  District  of  Columbia. 


230  LEONARD  MOODY  PAEKER 

"  Resolved,  That  the  foundation  principles  of  our  political 
institutions,  the  honor  of  our  country,  and  the  peace  of  all,  do 
demand  the  solemn  consideration,  by  Congress,  of  the  "wisdom 
And  effects  of  exercising  the  power  aforesaid. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  right  of  petition,  and  free  discussion  in 
regard  to  all  matters  within  the  constitutional  power  of  Con- 
gress, ought  to  be  held  sacred,  and  any  attempt  to  impair  or 
abridge  it  should  be  met  with  devoted  firmness. 

"  Resolved,  That  His  Excellency  the  Governor  be  requested 
to  transmit  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions  to  each  of  our 
Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress." 

A  careful  perusal  of  the  above  resolutions,  as  reported 
by  Mr.  Parker,  will  show  to  all  who  are  acquainted  with 
him  that  they  evince  that  boldness  and  decision  with 
which  he  was  accustomed  to  speak  when  giving  utter- 
ance to  opinions  and  principles  which  he  believed  to  be 
right  and  was  determined  to  maintain.  He  would  think, 
speak,  and  act  in  the  cause  of  truth  and  right,  entirely 
regardless  of  consequences  to  himself ;  and  so  spoke  these 
resolutions. 

As  far  as  the  compiler  of  this  biography  has  been  able 
w  to\j=?certain,  no  resolution  or  report  in  any  form  had  ever 
^^fore  Sl^en  made  in  our  legislature,  or  in  any  other 
le^slature^Jn  the  country,  asserting  the  right  of  Congress 
to  \bolish  ^o-'very  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  a 
solem\\demand  nrade  upon  that  body  to  consider  the  wis- 
dom and^  the  effeq/ts  of  the  exercise  of  that  power. 

As  abo  -^i  strtted,  this  report  was  submitted  on  the  22d 
of  February.  —  the  day  which  gave  birth  to  that  great 
man  who  .was  "first  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and  first  in 
the  hearts  of  his  countrymen."  And  it  was  followed  by 
another,  within  five  days,  on  the  same  subject  which  took 
similar  ground  ;  in  fine,  it  opened  the  way  to  a  more  free 
and  bold  discussion  of  the  slavery  question  in  the  free 
Spates.  Mr.  Parker  must,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  one 
-    of  the  first  to  agitate  the  slavery  question  before  a  legis- 


LEONARD  MOODY  PARKER  231 

lative  body,  though  it  had  long  been  a  theme  of  much 
discussion  in  private  circles,  in  abolition  conventions,  in 
newspapers  and  magazines. 

Mr.  Parker  was  chairman  of  the  County  Commissioners 
for  Middlesex  in  1840,  when  the  stand  was  first  taken  to 
refuse  all  licenses  for  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  on 
the  ground  that  the  public  good  did  not  require  such 
traffic.  Such  a  measure  was  not  without  opposition,  but 
it  was  maintained. 

Durino;  his  last  term  in  the  Leorislature  —  that  of  1850 
—  Mr.  Parker  was  as  active  and  interested  as  he  had  ever 
been.  He  then  proposed  to  have  a  convention  to  amend 
the  constitution,  for  the  purpose  of  reducing  the  repre- 
sentation in  the  popular  branch  of  the  legislature.  He 
was  in  favor  of  the  district  system,  which  has  been 
adopted  since  his  death. 

Such  is  an  outline  of  the  official  and  public  action  of 
the  subject  of  this  notice.  In  tracing  him,  wherever  he 
has  been,  it  will  be  found  that  he  has  left  his  mark.  He 
never  sought  popularity  or  aimed  to  be  a  leader.  So  far 
as  he  had  effective  influence  upon  the  public  bodies  with 
which  he  co-operated,  it  was  attained  by  well  maturing  his 
plans,  by  a  conviction  brought  home  to  others  of  his 
entire  sincerity  and  integrity  of  purpose  and  of  their  pub- 
lic utihty,  and  further  by  his  firmness,  qualified  by  en- 
lightened conciliation,  and  enforced  by  perseverance  in 
their  accomplishment.  He  seemed,  in  his  public  action, 
to  have  steadily  looked  at  two  things, — to  do  good  and  to 
prevent  harm. 

Although  so  many  years  of  the  life  of  Mr.  Parker  were 
devoted  to  public  affairs,  he  did  not  forget  private  and 
social  duties.  As  a  life  member  of  the  Boston  Society 
of  Natural  History,  an  honorary  member  of  the  Academy 
of  Arts  and  Sciences  in  Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  and 
a  corresponding  member  of  the  New  England  Historic 
Genealogical  Society,  to  which  he  was  admitted  January 


232  LEONARD    MOODY   PARKER 

9,  1850,  he  contributed  his  share  to  scientific,  literary,  and 
other  associations ;  and  at  every  period  of  his  life,  from 
the  labors  of  the  boy  on  his  father's  farm,  he  was  inter- 
ested in  agriculture  and  co-operated  in  the  success  of  the 
State,  of  Middlesex,  and  of  Worcester  Agricultural  So- 
cieties, in  which  he  held  membership.  In  all  his  connec- 
tions his  friends  found  him  true  to  his  convictions  of 
duty,  and  his  opponents  rarely  questioned  his  integrity, 
but  generally  acknowledged  him  honorable  and  disin- 
terested. 

After  his  return  to  his  native  town  he  devoted  much 
of  his  time  and  labor  to  its  municipal  interests  and  its 
institutions.  He  gratuitously  proffered  his  services,  when 
occasion  required,  to  local  investigations,  the  preparation 
of  reports,  the  regulation  of  town  records,  and  in  all  those 
questions  of  interest  and  debate  that  required  legal  ad- 
vice he  was  "in  season  and  out  of  season,"  exhibiting: 
traits  of  mature  judgment  and  careful  discrimination. 

He  always  took  a  deep  and  conscientious  interest  in  the 
religious  wants  of  the  town.  When  in  health  his  place  in 
church  was  rarely  vacant;  and  in  the  alterations  and 
repairs  which  the  church  edifice  of  the  First  Parish  under- 
went, within  the  twenty  years  previous  to  his  death,  Mr. 
Parker  stood  at  the  helm  of  affairs,  and  guided  with  a 
steady  and  unwavering  hand  the  counsels  and  operations 
of  these  improvements.  For  the  present  beautiful  loca- 
tion, for  the  form  and  convenience,  of  their  temple  of 
worship,  the  parish  is  largely  indebted  to  his  careful  con- 
sideration and  unwearied  perseverance. 

The  schools  of  the  town  were  also  an  object  of  his  sin- 
cere concern.  For  several  years  he  was  a  member  of  the 
town  superintending  committee,  and  in  1842  wrote  a 
most  invaluable  report  on  the  condition  and  wants  of  the 
primary  school,  as  a  former  of  the  minds  and  morals  of 
the  rising  generation;  and  he  did  not  allow  himself  to 
forget   the  great   cause  of  education  at  his  death,  but 


LEONARD    MOODY   PARKER  233 

established  incipientlj  a  fund,  which  he  intended  should 
accumulate  until  it  should  be  sufficiently  large  to  give 
permanent  support  to  a  High  School,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  town.  This  will  remain  a  standing  memorial  of  his 
forecast  and  benevolence. 

In  his  last  sickness,  which  was  long  and  painful,  Mr. 
Parker  exhibited  a  becoming  resignation.  He  enter- 
tained a  good  hope  that  he  was  a  subject  of  grace,  and 
that  the  death  of  the  body  would  transfer  him  to  a  higher 
and  endurable  home  in  heaven.  He  died  August  25, 
1854,  aged  sixty-five  years.  A  funeral  service  was  ob- 
served in  the  church  where  he  had  worshipped  for  the 
last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  when  his  remains  were  con- 
veyed to  Worcester  and  interred  in  the  Rural  Cemetery 
of  that  city,  by  the  side  of  his  wife  and  his  eldest  daugh- 
ter, both  of  whom  had  preceded  him  to  the  grave. 

Mr.  Parker  married  Martha  Lincoln,  daughter  of  Levi 
Lincoln,  Sen.,  of  Worcester.  They  had  three  daughters. 
The  two  that  survived  him  are  still  residents  of  that 
city. 


30 


STEPHEN    EALES 


Mr.  Faxes  was  a  descendant  of  Timothy  Fales,  of  Bris- 
tol, Rhode  Island,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  the 
Class  of  1711,  who  was  distinctly  remembered  by  one  of 
his  own  grandsons  as  a  portly  old  gentleman,  wearing  a 
cocked  hat,  a  gold-headed  cane,  blue  velvet  coat  and 
breeches,  knee  and  shoe  buckles,  and  a  queue,  in  the 
style  of  Sir  Eoger  de  Coverley.  He  had  a  large  family. 
William,  Thomas,  Nathaniel,  Henry,  Samuel,  and  Stephen 
Fales,  all,  probably,  born  in  Bristol,  Rhode  Island,  were 
either  sons  or  grandsons.  Of  these,  one  became  a  pros- 
perous merchant  in  Cuba,  and  another  in  Brazil.  Nathan- 
iel married  Elizabeth  Bradford,  a  descendant  of  Governor^ 
Bradford  of  the  Plymouth  Colony,  and  was  an  opulent 
merchant.  Samuel,  a  son  of  this  Nathaniel,  married  Abi- 
gail Haliburton  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  acquired  wealth  in 
trade  in  Boston.  He  was  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Fales 
&  Keith,  then  widely  known,  and  also  president  of  a  bank. 
One  of  the  daughters  of  this  Samuel,  Mrs.  Dunlap,  now 
resides  in  New  York ;  and  a  son,  Samuel  B.  Fales,  lately 
deceased,  was  widely  known  as  a  prominent  and  wealthy 
merchant  of  Philadelphia.  He  generously  used  a  portion 
of  his  large  fortune  in  establishing  a  hospital,  and  in  other 
charitable  works.  His  services  and  contributions  towards 
the  maintenance  of  the  "refreshment  rooms''  for  soldiers 
passing  through  Philadelphia  during  the  late  war,  and  the 
very  liberal  aid  he  rendered  to  the  Centennial  Exhibition, 


STEPHEN   FALES  235 

in  1876,  are  matters  of  general  public  information.  Of 
the  other  sons  of  Nathaniel,  we  learn  that  George  mar- 
ried Miss  Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  and  left  one  child,  Alfred 
Baker  Fales,  of  that  city ;  and  that  Charles  married  Miss 
Potter,  of  Warren,  Rhode  Island,  and  was  a  farmer  in 
Bristol. 

Samuel  Fales,  first-named,  was  a  successful  lawyer  in 
Taunton,  Massachusetts,  and  represented  that  town  in  the 
Legislature.  For  many  years  he  was  Clerk  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  for  Bristol  County,  and  about  1806  was 
appointed  Chief  Justice  of  that  court. 

Stephen  Fales  married  Hannah  Smith,  born  about  1751, 
—  one  of  the  twelve  children  of  Job  and  Hannah  (Bar- 
ney) Smith  of  Taunton.  Job  Smith  held  a  commission  as 
captain  in  the  army,  and  rendered  service  in  the  military 
operations  against  the  French  in  Nova  Scotia  in  1758. 
In  the  Revolution  he  was  a  Loyalist.  Hannah  Barney 
was  descended  from  an  honored  ancestry.  Her  father, 
Jacob  Barney,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Sam- 
uel Danforth,  Jr.,  of  Taunton,  son  of  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Danforth  of  Roxbury.  The  latter  married  a  daughter  of 
the  Rev.  John  Wilson,  of  Boston,  whose  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  Sir  John  Mansfield.  The  father  of  the 
Rev.  John  Wilson  was  the  Rev.  Wilham  Wilson,  D.D., 
of  the  Church  of  England,  and  his  mother  was  Isabel 
Woodhal,  a  niece  of  the  Rev.  Edmund  Grindall,  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth.  Hannah 
Barney  was  in  many  respects  a  remarkable  woman,  and 
lived  to  the  great  age  of  ninety-two  or  ninety-three 
years,  in  the  full  possession  of  her  faculties. 

Hannah  Smith,  wife  of  Stephen  Fales,  had  two  broth- 
ers, Barney  and  Abiel,  merchants  of  Boston.  Abiel,  by 
his  will,  proved  in  1815,  bequeathed  to  Harvard  College 
the  sum  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  three  per  cent 
stock  of  the  United  States  as  a  fund,  the  income  of  which 
was  to  be  applied  to  the  maintenance  of  a  teacher  or  pro- 


236  STEPHEN   FALES 

f  essor  of  the  French  -  and  Spanish  languages  in  that  col- 
lege. He  also  bequeathed  to  the  selectmen  of  the  town 
of  Boston  shares  in  certain  turnpikes,  bridges,  etc.,  with 
four  thousand  dollars  in  three  per  cent  U.  S.  stock,  in 
trust,  the  net  income  to  be  devoted  to  the  support  of  a 
school  or  schools,  for  the  instruction  of  people  bi  color, 
"  meaning  Africans  and  their  descendants,  either  clear  or 
mixed,  in  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic."  The  Smith 
School-house  was  erected  on  Belknap  Street,  in  1854,  at  a 
cost  of  about  .$7,500.  The  legacy  amounted  to  about 
$5,000.  In  1840  the  legacy  to  Harvard  College  had  in- 
creased to  a  little  above  $22,000.  The  Smith  School  for 
colored  children  was  the  first  separate  public  school  for 
that  class  in  Boston,  and  it  was  the  first  endowed  school 
in  the  United  States  for  colored  children  of  which  we  have 
knowledge. 

One  daughter  of  Barney  Smith  married  the  Hon.  Jona- 
than Russell,  Consul  to  France  in  the  time  of  Napoleon 
4Bonaparte,  and  another  married  George  Alexander  Otis,  a 
gentleman  of  some  Hterary  note  in  his  day. 

Of  the  children  of  Stephen  and  Hannah  Fales,  —  Na- 
thaniel, Henry,  William  Augustus,  and  Stephen  were 
graduates  of  Harvard  College.  William  A.,  who  was 
graduated  in  1806,  had  the  English  Poem  at  Commence- 
ment, —  a  high  honor.  By  his  wife  Mary  Ann,  daughter 
of  Edward  Gray,  a  lawyer  of  Boston,  he  had  Edward 
Gray,  who  was  graduated  from  Bowdoin  College  in  1832, 
was  a  lawyer  in  Baltimore,  and  died  there  in  1842;  Mary 
Turrell ;  Jane  Minot ;  and  Caroline  Danforth,  now  living 
in  Boston.  To  the  late  Mr.  Samuel  B.  Fales  of  Phila- 
delphia, and  to  Mr.  John  Wetherbee  of  Boston,  the  writer 
of  this  sketch  is  indebted  for  nearly  all  the  foregoing 
genealogical  data. 

Stephen  Fales  (son  of  the  above-mentioned  Stephen 
and  Hannah,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch)  was  born  in 
Middle,  now  Hanover,  Street,  Boston,  3  May,  1789  or 


STEPHEN   FALES  237 

1790.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at  the  Latin  School, 
and  was  graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1810,  having 
as  his  honor  the  Latin  Salutatory  Oration.  Soon  after 
this  he  was  called  to  the  Tutorship  in  the  Classics  at  Bow- 
doin  College.  Here  he  remained  two  years.  Of  his  short 
but  highly  successful  career  there,  the  Rev.  Alpheus  S. 
Packard,  D.  D.  the  senior  professor,  writes  as  follows:  — 

"  Entering  college  in  1812,  the  year  when  Mr.  Fales  left  the 
tutorship,  I  used  to  hear  of  him  frequently  from  members  of 
the  upper  classes.  He  left  a  name  held  in  the  highest  esteem. 
A  Society  formed  in  the  classes  before  me  was  named  Philopha- 
lian,  or  something  like  that,  in  his  honor.  He  was  not  merely 
a  popular  tutor,  but  one  greatly  loved.  He  left  the  tutorship 
to  study  law  in  the  office  of  Jeremiah  Mason,  of  Portsmouth, 
New  Hampshire ;  and  through  my  connection  with  the  family  of 
President  Appleton  by  marriage  in  subsequent  years,  and  thus 
with  the  Masons,  I  used  to  hear  Tutor  Fales  often  referred  to,  and 
received  the  impression  of  his  remarkably  amiable  qualities.  A 
lady  in  this  town  [Brunswick,  Maine]  says  she  distinctly  re- 
members Mr.  Fales,  as  quite  noticeable  for  his  humor  and  other 
social  qualities,  which  attracted  all  who  knew  him,  and  his  great 
popularity  in  the  college." 

Mr.  Fales  completed  his  law  studies  in  the  office  and 
under  the  personal  supervision  of  Mr.  Mason,  and  on  his 
motion  was  admitted  to  the  Bar.  No  one  of  Mr.  Fales's 
fellow-students  survives  to  inform  us  as  to  his  life  in 
Portsmouth,  or  as  to  his  character  as  a  student  of  the  law  ; 
but  from  his  standing  and  habits  in  college,  and  from  the 
character  of  Mr.  Mason  as  an  instructor  in  the  law,  of 
which  he  was  then  in  some  respects  the  most  distinguished 
expounder,  in  New  England  at  any  rate,  we  may  draw  the 
reasonable  and  probable  conclusion  that  Mr.  Fales  did  not 
fail  to  profit  by  such  very  rare  advantages.  It  was  his 
good  fortune  also  to  be  able  to  witness  the  famous  con- 
tests that  at  this  period  called  out  the  highest  powers  and 
resources  of  Mr.  Mason,  Daniel  Webster,  George  Sullivan, 


238  STEPHEN   FALES 

Jeremiah  Smith,  and  others,  members  of  the  same  Bar, 
which  at  that  time  was  unsurpassed  in  abiUty. 

In  the  year  1819  Mr.  Fales  removed  to  Cincinnati,  and 
entered  on  the  practice  of  the  law  in  partnership  with 
Francis  A.  Blake,  an  eminent  lawyer  of  this  city,  now 
deceased.  Here,  it  appears,  he  met  with  fair  success ;  but, 
yielding  to  strong  inducements,  he  removed  in  1821  to 
Dayton,  Ohio,  where  he  was  more  prosperous.  He  made 
many  friends  there  and  in  the  vicinity,  and  for  a  time 
was  drawn  away  from  his  profession  to  engage  in  poHtics. 
He  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  and  so  filled  this 
office  as  to  justify  the  popular  verdict  that  he  was  "  an 
honorable  and  useful  representative  of  the  public  in- 
terests." 

In  1831  Mr.  Fales  returned  to  Cincinnati  to  reside,  and 
for  a  while  was  associated  in  professional  business  with 
the  Hon.  Nathaniel  G.  Pendleton,  but  from  about  the  year 
1842  until  his  death,  he  was  occupied  chiefly  in  taking 
c-are  of  the  large  estate  in  Cincinnati  owned  by  Mr.  David 
Hunt  of  Mississippi.  His  death  occurred  suddenly  on 
Sunday,  3  September,  1854,  and  his  funeral  took  place 
on  the  following  Tuesday,  from  the  residence  of  his  friend, 
A.  S.  Dandridge,  M.D.  Mr.  Dandridge  informs  me  that 
his  "  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Fales  commenced  in  the  fall 
of  1842.  He  was  then  apparently  a  prematurely  old  man, 
—  not  weighing,  probably,  one  hundred  pounds.  He  was 
strong  in  his  friendships,  and  equally  so  in  his  dislikes. 
He  had  a  few  intimate  friends,  but  never  at  that  period 
went  into  general  society.  He  utterly  detested  trickery, 
and  was  the  very  personification  of  honor  and  honesty. 
He  was  punctual  to  his  engagements,  systematic  and  ac- 
curate in  all  his  duties.  After  his  death,  his  accounts 
with  the  Hunt  estate,  running  through  many  years  and 
abounding  in  details,  were  found  correct  to  a  mill.  By 
those  who  knew  him  intimately  he  was  regarded  as  deeply 
learned  in  the  law,  and  as  a  fine  classical  scholar." 


STEPHEN   FALES  239 

By  others,  also,  who  knew  Mr.  Fales  well,  he  is  repre- 
sented as  having  "  possessed  some  of  the  best  traits  of 
humanity.  He  was  bold,  untiring,  without  guile,  un- 
changeable in  his  friendships,  of  a  noble  spirit  and  lofty 
integrity."  He  never  lost  his  love  for  the  classics,  and  it 
is  reported  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  carrying  about  in 
his  pocket  a  copy  of  some  favorite  Greek  or  Latin  author, 
or  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament  in  Greek,  and  reading 
it  as  he  had  opportunity.  He  took  a  special  interest  in 
young  men,  and  was  assiduous  in  urging  them  to  acquire 
a  critical  knowledge  of  the  classical  languages.  Finally, 
and  in  the  words  of  another  of  his  old  friends  :  — 

"  Mr.  Fales  sympathized  with  the  sorrows  and  misfortunes  of 
his  fellow-men,  and  was  the  friend  of  all,  without  regard  to 
social,  religious,  or  political  differences." 

Mr.  Fales  was  admitted  a  corresponding  member  of 
the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society  October 
6,  1845. 


SAMUEL     CHURCH 


Samuel  Church,  second  son  of  Nathaniel  Church  and 
Lois  Ensign,  was  born  in  Salisbury,  Connecticut,  on  the 
4th  day  of  February,  1785.  His  immigrant  ancestor  was 
Richard  Church,  who  removed  from  Plymouth  to  Hart- 
ford in  the  early  days  of  the  colony,  \yhen  twelve  years 
old  the  subject  of  this  narrative  began  the  study  of  Latin 
at  the  academy  in  Salisbury,  under  the  instruction  of  Mr. 
Asa  Day ;  and  in  the  winter  of  1798  he  commenced  that 
of  Greek  with  Mr.  Thomas  Fitch,  at  Canaan  Comers.  In 
April,  1799,  he  was  sent  to  Bethlehem  to  complete  his 
preparation  for  college  under  the  instruction  of  the  Rev. 
Azel  Backus,  a  distinguished  scholar  and  divine  who  was 
afterwards  president  of  Hamilton  College.  In  September 
of  that  year  Mr.  Church  was  admitted  a  Freshman  at  Yale 
College.  He  took  a  high  stand  there,  especially  in  belles- 
lettres,  and  was  graduated  with  distinction  in  1803.  In 
April,  1804,  he  began  the  study  of  law  under  the  care  of 
the  Hon.  Judson  Canfield,  of  Sharon,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained more  than  a  year,  when,  in  April,  1806,  he  became 
a  member  of  the  Law  School  at  Litchfield,  where  he  at- 
tended a  course  of  lectures  given  by  the  Hon.  Tapping 
Reeve  and  James  Gould,  Esq.,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
Bar  of  Litchfield  County  in  September. 

On  the  26th  of  November,  of  the  same  year,  he  was 
married  to  Cynthia  Newell,  daughter  of  Seth  Newell 
and  Esther  Landon,  of  Salisbury.  This  lady,  his  early 
playmate  and  friend,  the  mother  of  his  children,  and  his 


SAMUEL    CHURCH  241 

inseparable  companion  until  her  death,  which  occurred  at 
Litchfield,  on  the  27th  of  April,  1853,  was  an  example  of  a 
pure  Christian  character,  mild-mannered,  sympathetic,  and 
charitable,  whose  one  aim  in  life  appeared  to  be  to  do  as 
many  kindly  things  as  she  could,  with  the  least  possible 
demonstration. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  spent  the  summer  of  1807 
with  his  brother  in  Ohio,  with  a  view  of  remaining  there, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  Bar  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  that 
State  at  Warren,  Trumbull  County,  on  the  20th  day  of 
June,  1807.  The  delicate  state  of  his  wife's  health  caused 
him  to  give  up  this  plan,  and  in  the  spring  of  1808  he 
began  his  professional  practice  at  Salisbury  in  a  house 
formerly  occupied  by  his  father,  where  he  soon  found 
himseK  fully  occupied.  In  1810  he  was  appointed  Post- 
master in  Salisbury,  and  removed  to  Furnace  Village  (now 
Lakeville),  where  he  resided  five  years.  In  1815  he  set- 
tled in  the  centre  village  of  Salisbury,  where  he  spent 
most  of  his  professional  life.  Here  he  educated  his  half- 
brother,  Leman  Church,  and  fitted  him  for  that  distin- 
guished career  at  the  Litchfield  Bar  which  was  so  widely 
extended  into  Eastern  New  York  and  Western  Massachu- 
setts. In  1818  Samuel  Church  was  first  appointed  a  Jus- 
tice of  the  Peace,  and,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  thought 
not  of  aspiring  to  a  higher  place."  In  that  year  he  was 
appointed  a  delegate  to  the  convention  that  formed  the 
.constitution  of  Connecticut.  He  was  a  prominent  figure 
in  this  very  interesting  era  of  the  history  of  his  native 
State,  —  the  transition  period  from  the  old  rule  under  the 
charter  of  Charles  II.  to  the  more  democratic  plan  still 
existing  in  the  constitution  of  1818.  He  was  one  of  the 
principal  agents  in  bringing  about  this  change.  In  a 
paper  written  at  the  request  of  the  author  of  this  memoir, 
he  declares  the  charter  of  no  efficacy  as  a  constitution 
after  the  severance  of  the  colonies  from  Great  Britain; 
and  in  this  connection  says  :  — 

31 


242  '  SAMUEL    CHTTECH 

"  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  apparently  forgetting  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  social  compact  of  1638,  adopted 
their  charters  by  an  unauthorized  act  of  their  legislatures.  The 
adoption  of  our  charter  was  a  legislative  act  only ;  and  therefore 
might  at  any  time  have  been  modified,  altered,  or  disregarded 
by  a  subsequent  legislature.  It  is  not  believed  that  a  court 
could  have  decided  any  act  of  our  general  assembly  unconstitu- 
tional and  void  as  violating  any  charter  or  constitution  which 
was  recognized  as  of  binding  force.  Of  course  there  was  no 
security  here  for  the  rights  of  the  minority.  The  charter  gave 
powers  to  the  majority  by  authorizing  them  to  act  in  a  given 
way,  but  provided  no  barrier  over  which  they  could  not  pass.  I 
supposed  always  that  a  constitution  was  necessary  only  to  secure 
a  minority  from  the  encroachments  of  the  majority." 

In  this  convention  Mr.  Church  stood  firmly  for  the 
rights  of  the  minority,  a  permanent  judiciary,  the  free 
exercise  of  the  elective  franchise,  and  a  total  severance  of 
religious  denominationalism  from  all  the  civil  functions  of 
the  State.  In  the  years  1820,  1821,  1823,  1829,  and 
1831  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives in  the  General  Assembly,  and  in  1821  vras  ap- 
pointed Judge  of  Probate  for  the  District  of  Sharon,  which 
office  he  held  for  a  period  of  twelve  years.  In  1824  he 
was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  and  annually 
thereafter  for  three  successive  years.  This  was  at  a  time 
when  that  body  consisted  of  but  twelve  members,  elected 
by  general  ticket.  In  1823  he  was  chosen  Clerk  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  In  August,  1825,  he  was 
appointed  State's  Attorney  for  Litchfield  County,  and 
remained  in  that  place  until  1832,  when  he  was  chosen 
Associate  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  in  which  office  he 
continued  until  1847,  when  he  was  made  Chief  Judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Errors.  He  remained  in  this 
responsible  position  until  his  death,  which  took  place  on 
the  13th  of  September,  1854,  at  Newtown,  while  he  was 
on  a  visit  at  the  house  of  his  son-in-law,  the  Rev.  Benja- 
min W.  Stone.     He  was  chosen  an  honorary  member  of 


SAMTJEL   CHURCH  243 

the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  of  Yale  College  at  the  Com- 
mencement in  1842.  In  1845  he  was  constituted  a  life 
member  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  elected  a  cor- 
responding member  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society  in 
1846.  He  was  admitted  a  corresponding  member  of  the 
New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  March  7, 
1848.  In  1845  he  removed  from  Salisbury  to  Litchfield, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death.  Judge  Church  left  in 
his  journal  the  following  words  :  — 

"  I  wish  my  children  and  all  my  relatives  and  descendants  to 
know  that  the  respective  places  of  honor  and  trust  conferred 
upon  me  during  my  life  were  thus  conferred  without  any  solici- 
tation or  effort  on  my  part,  and  especially  that  the  offices  of  As- 
sociate and  Chief  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Errors  were 
conferred  by  legislatures  with  whose  political  opinions  I  did  not 
accord." 

He  held  the  office  of  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Errors  for  a  period  of  more  than  twenty-two  years,  and 
his  written  opinions,  which  begin  in  the  ninth  volume  of 
Connecticut  Reports  and  end  in  the  twenty-second,  are 
among  the  most  lucid  and  learned  of  American  law  writ- 
ings. He  brought  to  the  study  of  the  law  powers  of 
analysis  rarely  equalled.  He  had  the  true  instinct  to 
divine  what  the  law  is,  and  the  boldness  to  maintain  it 
without  regard  to  consequences.  He  had  a  ready  facility 
in  casting  his  conceptions  into  the  form  of  written  propo- 
sitions, and  a  memory  so  retentive  that  he  could  in  the 
absence  of  books  fortify  himself  by  citations  from  ele- 
mentary writers  and  reported  cases  with  an  accuracy  that 
needed  little  subsequent  verification.  He  elaborated  his 
briefs  with  such  care  that  his  forensic  efforts  exhibited 
the  finish  of  written  compositions.  From  this  practice 
must  have  resulted  that  aptness  in  the  use  of  legal  terms 
which  characterized  his  decisions  on  the  Circuit  as  well  in 
interlocutory  as  in  final  questions,  and  in  his  charges  to 
the  jury  in  civil  and  criminal  causes. 


244  SAMUEL    CHUKCH 

Judge  Church  was  fond  of  the  society  of  young  per- 
sons, and  was  glad  to  impart  information  to  such  as  desired 
it.  Fidelity  in  all  the  social  and  domestic  relations  was  a 
marked  trait  of  his  character.  He  was  a  soHcitous,  sym- 
pathizing friend,  to  whom  personal  secrets  might  be  con- 
fided with  a  certainty  that  they  would  be  kept  sacred. 
He  hated  the  oppression  of  unequal  laws,  of  denomina- 
tional and  social  barriers.  Exceptionally  he  loved  fair 
play  and  an  open  field  for  all  competitors.  He  scorned  a 
professional  trick,  and  used  to  punish  it  when  detected  in 
court  with  a  sharpness  of  rebuke  that  made  the  culprit  an 
object  of  commiseration. 

The  rehgious  element  was  very  strong  in  Judge  Church, 
and  dominated  his  whole  character.  In  the  summer  of 
1838  he  was  baptized  and  confirmed  by  the  Eight  Rev. 
Bishop  Brownell,  and  continued  till  his  death  a  consistent 
and  faithful  member  of  the  Episcopal  Church.  In  the 
words  of  the  Hon.  Origen  S.  Seymour,  lately  Chief  Judge 
of  Connecticut,  — 

"  His  Christian  character  gained  strength  and  emitted  a  still 
brighter  light  as  he  advanced  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  shades 
of  declining  years." 

Judge  Seymour  gracefully  adds  :  — 

"  The  reader  will  see  in  the  gradual  unfolding  of  his  mind 
and  character  those  evidences  of  healthy  growth  and  fibrous 
texture  that  possess,  like  our  more  hardy  forest  trees,  a  kind  of 
earthly  immortality,  —  throwing  abroad  their  venerable  arms, 
and  casting  a  benignant  shadow  over  more  than  one  generation 
of  men." 

The  funeral  of  Judge  Church  was  attended  from  the 
Episcopal  Church  which  he  had  helped  to  build  in  his 
native  town,  and  in  which  he  had  been  baptized  and  con- 
firmed. He  was  buried  in  the  old  cemetery  of  Salisbury, 
by  the  side  of  his  wife,  and  among  his  and  her  kindred. 

He  left  four  children:  Albert  Ensign  Church,  born 
December  17,  1807,  who  was   educated   at  West  Point 


SAMUEL    CHURCH  245 

Military  Academy,  and  was  for  more  than  forty  years 
actively  engaged  in  duty  there  as  one  of  its  ablest  pro- 
fessors. He  died  March  30,  1878.  Caroline  Esther,  the 
second  child,  was  born  January  6,  1810,  and  is  now  Mrs. 
G.  W.  Holly,  of  Niagara  Falls.  Lois  Ensign  was  born 
November  11,  1812,  and  is  now  the  wife  of  the  Rev. 
Benjamin  W.  Stone,  D.D.,  of  Rochester,  New  York.  The 
fourth  child,  Samuel  Porter  Church,  M.D.,  was  born 
November  14,  1821,  and  now  resides  in  Newburgh,  New 
York. 


WILLIAM    PLUMER 


Francis  Pltjmer,  from  wHom,  it  is  believed,  all  the  fami- 
lies in  the  United  States  bearing  the  name  of  Plumer,  or 
Plummer,  may  trace  their  descent,  came  to  Massachusetts 
from  the  West  of  England,  and  took  the  freeman's  oath 
at  Boston,  in  1634.  In  the  following  year  he  settled  at 
Newbury,  of  which  town  he  was  one  of  the  original  gran- 
tees. Of  the  fourth  generation  from  him  was  Samuel 
Plumer,  who  in  1768  removed  from  Newbury  to  Epping, 
New  Hampshire,  and  became  a  farmer..  He  was  a  man 
of  remarkable  physical  vigor,  which  in  his  children  was 
inherited  rather  in  tenacity  of  life  than  in  muscular 
strength  or  activity,  —  his  sons  having  attained  an  aver- 
age of  eighty-six  years  of  age. 

In  1759  Samuel's  son  William  was  born  at  Newbury, 
and  was  nine  years  of  age  when  his  father  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Epping.  He  studied  law,  was  eminent  at  the  bar, 
and  filled  successively  the  offices  of  Speaker  of  the  New 
Hampshire  House  of  Kepresentatives,  President  of  the 
Senate,  Senator  in  Congress,  and  Governor  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. In  1788  he  married  Sally,  daughter  of  Philip 
Fowler,  a  respectable  farmer  of  Newmarket.  He  took 
his  bride  to  a  partly  finished  house,  which  he  subse- 
quently finished  and  furnished  amply  and  generously,  and 
in  which  they  lived  together  for  sixty-three  years,  Mrs. 
Plumer  surviving  her  husband  fifteen  months. 

Governor  Plumer  was  a  man  of  clear  and  strong  mind, 
pure  and  high  moral  principle^  and  character,  and  exten- 
sive intellectual  culture,  especially  in  the  department  of 


WILLIAM    PLUMER  247 

history,  political  and  general.  Mrs.  Plumer  was  distin- 
guished for  all  the  domestic  virtues,  while  her  solid  good 
sense,  her  native  kindness  and  gentleness,  and  her  cordial 
hospitality,  won  the  respect  and  affection  of  the  many 
acquaintances,  visitors,  and  guests,  who  thronged  their 
house  while  her  husband  was  in  public  and  active  life, 
and  continued  to  resort  to  it  till,  with  the  infirmities  of  a 
tardy  old  age,  came  the  necessity  for  repose  and  quiet. 
Their  home  was  rich  in  choice  educational  influences, 
intellectual  and  moral,  and  while  it  was  not  unfrequented 
by  the  best  society  of  the  time,  it  was  within  easy  reach 
of  Exeter  and  Portsmouth,  which  were  then  social  centres 
of  much  greater  importance  than  in  later  years. 

The  eldest  child  of  this  marriage,  William  Plumer, 
Junior  (as  he  continued  to  be  till  within  four  years  of 
his  death),  was  born  on  the  9th  of  February,  1789.  His 
childhood  was  characterized  by  modesty,  docility,  and 
filial  reverence  and  affection.  Surrounded  by  books,  he 
grew,  with  no  othei-  stimulus  than  a  native  and  inherited 
proclivity,  into  the  habit  of  reading  and  the  love  of  study. 
At  the  age  of  thirteen  he  entered  Phillips  Exeter  Acad- 
emy, then  under  the  charge  of  the  well-remembered  Dr. 
Abbot.  Here,  for  the  first  two  years,  he  devoted  himself 
more  to  the  reading  of  history  and  English  literature  than 
to  the  regular  studies  of  his  class,  and  was  regarded  by 
those  who  stood  above  him  on  the  rank -list  as  an  infallible 
authority  in  the  whole  field  of  knowledge  outside  of  the 
class-work.  In  his  third  year  he  became  a  very  close  and 
diligent  student,  and  in  1805  he  was  among  the  foremost 
of  the  successful  candidates  for  admission  to  Harvard  Col- 
lege. In  college  he  still  spent  a  considerable  portion  of 
his  time  in  reading  the  best  books  accessible,  yet  main- 
tained his  place  among  the  highest  scholars  of  his  class. 
At  this  early  period  he  felt  the  importance  of  a  good 
English  style  to  a  man  of  liberal  education,  and  availing 
himself  of  every  means  of  instruction  and  opportunity  of 


248  WILLIAM    PLUMER 

practice,  he  acquired  an  ease,  accuracy,  and  grace,  as  a 
writer,  unusual  in  a  mere  novice. 

Immediately  after  graduating  he  commenced  the  study 
of  the  law  under  his  father's  direction,  embracing  in  his 
course  a  wide  range  of  collateral  studies.  In  his  private 
journal  of  that  period  he  speaks  of  "  an  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  history,  belles-lettres,  moral  philosophy,  and 
politics"  as  "necessary  to  the  education  of  a  lawyer," 
and  probably  no  yoimg  man  of  his  time  became  more 
thoroughly  an  adept  in  these  departments  of  culture. 
In  1812  he  took  his  second  degree,  and  delivered  the 
Master's  Oration,  then  usually  assigned  to  the  highest 
surviving  scholar  of  the  class.  Whether  he  held  that 
rank  when  he  took  his  first  degree  we  do  not  know  j  for 
in  the  intervening  years  four  of  the  thirty-two  members 
of  his  class  had  died. 

In  1812  he  first  appeared  as  a  public  speaker  on  the 
political  arena,  at  a  Republican  conv,ention  at  Kingston. 
About  the  same  time  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  For  the 
four  following  years  he  remained  at  Epping,  engaged  for 
the  most  part  in  study,  writing  often  for  the  newspapers, 
and  taking  a  prominent  part  in  political  assemblies  and 
movements.  During  this  period  he  projected  and  com- 
menced two  historical  works,  one  of  which  he  was  in- 
duced to  lay  aside  by  the  appearance  of  a  prospectus  for 
a  similar  work  by  a  citizen  of  Massachusetts,  while  the 
other  was  dropped  in  the  subsequent  pressure  of  public 
eno-ao-ements  and  duties. 

In  1816  he  received  from  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment an  appointment  as  Commissioner  of  Loans  for  New 
Hampshire,  and  removed  to  Portsmouth  to  assume  this 
charge.  After  a  service  of  seventeen  months  the  office 
was  abolished,  and  he  returned  to  Epping. 

In  1818  he  represented  his  native  town  in  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  became  at  once  a  prominent  member  in  debate, 
on  committees,  and  in  the  initiation  of  important  meas- 


WILLIAM    PLUMER  249 

iires.  During  that  session  he  was  nominated  for  Con- 
gress, was  elected  in  the  following  spring,  and  was  twice 
re-elected,  thus  serving  in  three  successive  Congresses. 
During  his  first  term  the  admission  of  Missouri  as  a 
slave  State  was  the  burning  question  of  the  hour.  He 
was  firm  and  resolute  in  the  opposition.  We  have  before 
us  several  of  the  speeches  on  that  question ;  and  among 
them  one  by  him,  covering  forty-two  closely  printed 
pages,  has  the  pre-eminence  in  calm  and  dignified  utter- 
ance, in  weight  of  argument,  in  force  of  appeal,  and  in 
clear  foresight  of  the  consequences  contingent  on  the  ulti- 
mate decision,  —  a  foresight  too  sadly  realized  in  the 
growth,  ascendency,  disruption,  and  sanguinary  overthrow 
of  the  slave  power.  The  following  passages  from  this 
speech  will  show  at  once  his  patriotic  championship  of 
the  cause  of  freedom,  his  strong  sense  of  the  importance 
of  the  crisis,  and  his  prescience  as  to  the  inevitable  issue. 

"  When  I  hear  slavery  in  the  Southern  States  lamented 
as  an  evil  which  they  cannot  immediately  remove,  I 
acquiesce  in  the  justice  of  this  defence.  But  when  gen- 
tlemen go  further,  and  not  merely  excuse  slavery,  but 
pronounce  its  eulogium ;  when  they  tell  us  that,  how- 
ever bad  it  may  be  for  the  slave,  it  is  no  injury  to  the 
master;  that  he  gains  by  it,  that  his  ease  and  con- 
venience are  promoted,  and,  therefore,  that  it  ought  not 
to  be  touched,  —  I  tremble  for  the  stability  of  our  repub- 
lican institutions.  .  .  . 

"We  find  slavery  unjust  in  itself;  adverse  to  all  the 
great  branches  of  national  industry ;  a  source  of  danger 
in  times  of  war ;  repugnant  to  the  first  principles  of  our 
republican  government ;  and  in  all  these  ways  extending 
its  injurious  effects  to  the  States  where  its  existence  is 
not  even  tolerated.  We  beUeve  that  we  possess  under 
the  Constitution  the  power  necessary  to  arrest  the  further 
progress  of  this  great  and  acknowledged  evil;  and  the 
measure  now  proposed  [the  admission  of  Missouri  as  a 

32 


250  WILLIAM    PLUaiER 

free  State]  is  the  joint  result  of  all  these  motives,  acting 
upon  this  belief,  and  guided  by  our  most  mature  judg- 
ment and  best  reflection.  As  such,  we  present  it  to  the 
people  of  Missouri,  in  the  firm  persuasion  that  we  shall  be 
found  in  the  end  to  have  consulted  their  wishes  not  less 
than  their  interests  by  this  measure.  For  what,  sir,  is 
Missouri?  Not  the  comparatively  few  inhabitants  who 
now  possess  the  country ;  but  a  State,  large  and  powerful, 
capable  of  containing,  and  destined,  I  trust,  to  contain, 
half  a  million  of  virtuous  and  intelligent  freemen.  It  is 
to  their  wishes  and  their  interests  that  I  look,  and  not  to 
the  temporary  blindness  or  the  lamentable  'delusions  of 
the  present  moment.  If  this  restriction  is  imposed,  in 
twenty  years  we  shall  have  the  people  of  Missouri  thank- 
ing us  for  the  measure,  as  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois  now 
thank  the  old  Congress  for  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  .  .  . 

"  It  is  in  our  power,  by  a  single  act,  to  determine  the 
character  and  the  policy  of  Missouri  on  this  important 
subject,  connected,  as  it  is,  with  so  many  others,  for  all 
succeeding  time ;  and  to  say  whether  the  people  whom 
we  admit  into  our  Union  shall  bring  to  it  a  system  of 
equal  rights,  extending  the  blessings  of  freedom  alike  to 
all,  or  introduce  with  them  an  odious  monopoly  of  power 
and  of  wealth,  unjust  to  its  victims,  and  injurious  to  its 
authors.  As  we  may  this  day  decide,  posterity  will  bless 
us  for  laying  broad  and  deep  the  foundations  of  an  equal 
government,  or  load  our  memories  with  the  malediction 
of  ages,  for  mistaking  or  neglecting  their  interests,  and 
forging  chains  for  them,  which  we,  the  freemen  of  Amer- 
ica, disdained  ourselves  to  wear.  It  is  not  often  that  \e^- 
islators  have  it  in  their  power  to  do  so  much  good  or 
inflict  so  much  evil  on  mankind ;  and  fortunate  indeed 
will  be  our  lot,  if  we  are  but  found  equal  to  the  glorious 
task,  —  if  we  are  but  wise,  according  to  the  measure  of 
our  duty,  and  firm  and  faithful  to  the  end,  in  the  dis- 
charge of  this  mighty  trust." 


WILLIAM   PLUMER  251 

These  were  bold  words  for  that  era  of  Northern  syco- 
phancy, subserviency,  and  compromise,  —  words  which 
undoubtedly  had  their  echo  in  the  vast  majority  of  North- 
ern homes  and  hearts,  and  which,  had  they  been  seconded 
by  the  men  who  then  misrepresented  the  communities 
that  sent  them  to  the  seat  of  government,  would  have 
strangled  slavery  in  its  cradle,  and  precluded  the  sacrifice 
of  millions  of  precious  lives  on  its  funeral  pile. 

While  in  Congress,  Mr.  Plumer  was  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  John  Quincy  Adams  and  Daniel  Webster, 
and  retained  relations  of  close  friendship  with  them  which 
were  terminated  only  by  death.  He,  like  them,  was  a 
working  member,  careful  of  all  that  concerned  the  inter- 
ests of  those  whom  he  specially  represented,  while  op- 
posed to  such  sectional  legislation  as  did  not  conduce  to 
the  general  good.  In  the  seventeenth  Congress  he  was 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  'Judiciary, 

In  1824  he  was  chosen  by  the  Senate  of  New  Hamp- 
shire to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States ;  but  in  the  lower 
House  there  was  no  choice,  and  in  the  next  Legislature 
union  was  effected  on  another  candidate. 

In  1820  Mr.  Plumer  married  Miss  Maro;aret  F.  Mead, 
who  was  possessed  of  every  excellence  which  could  ensure 
his  domestic  peace  and  happiness,  and  who  still  survives 
at  a  very  advanced  age.  Shortly  after  his  marriage  he 
built  a  house  near  his  father's,  and  this  was  thencefor- 
ward his  home. 

In  1827  and  1828  he  was  a  member  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Senate,  and  declined  re-election  for  a  third  term. 
In  the  first  of  these  years  he  received  a  commission  from 
President  Adams  as  District  Attorney  for  New  Hampshire, 
—  an  appointment  not  made  at  the  suggestion  of  any  per- 
son, as  Mr.  Adams  wrote  to  him,  "a  personal  knowledge  of 
your  qualifications  superseding  the  necessity  for  any  rec- 
ommendation." As  he  had  never  been  actively  engaged 
in    the    practice    of   his   profession,    while    declining   the 


252  WILLIAM   PLUMER 

appointment,  he  was  no  less  surprised  than  gratified  by 
this  appreciation  of  his  legal  attainments.  But  it  was 
fully  shared  by  his  professional  friends,  as  appears  from 
his  having  been  repeatedly  urged  to  accept  a  seat  on  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Hampshire. 

On  leaving  the  Senate,  he  considered  his  public  life  as 
at  an  end ;  yet  he  remained  to  the  last  an  active  member 
of  society,  attending  political  meetings,  discharging  im- 
portant trusts,  especially  for  philanthropic  purposes,  and 
always  ready  to  devote  time,  labor,  and  money  to  the  ser- 
vice of  any  worthy  cause.  On  many  accounts  he  would 
have  preferred  a  residence  where  he  could  have  enjoyed 
literary  society,  have  had  access  to  other  libraries  than 
his  own  and  his  father's,  and  have  borne  a  larger  part  in 
measures  for  the  improvement  and  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity, which  never  lacked  his  warm  sympathy  and, 
when  opportunity  sierved,  his  cordial  co-operation.  But 
his  father,  in  a  still  vigorous  old  age,  had  passed  into 
retirement,  and  depended  chiefly  on  this  son  as  a  medium 
of  intercourse  with  the  outside  world,  and  for  fellow- 
feeling  and  constant  aid  in  his  studious  and  industrious 
life.  Nor  did  ever  a  son  hold  a  father  in  more  dutiful 
reverence  and  affection.  Each  was  more  than  satisfied 
with  the  other's  society.  They  were  in  their  congenial 
tastes  and  pursuits  as  an  elder  and  a  younger  brother. 
When  the  father  became  infirm,  the  duty  of  remaining 
at  his  side  became  more  than  ever  imperative ;  and  when 
the  father  died,  the  son  was  too  far  advanced  in  years  to 
seek  new  scenes  and  associates. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Plumer's  home  was  pre-eminently 
happy.  No  cloud  passed  over  it,  except  the  death  of 
an  infant  child.  His  house  was  the  seat  of  the  most 
generous  hospitality,  tendered  equally  to  guests  on  his 
own  intellectual  level,  and  to  not  a  few  for  whom  his 
easy  affluence  afforded  a  genial  alternative  to  their 
own  solitary  estate  or   straitened  means  of  subsistence; 


WILLIAM   PLUMER  253 

while  frequent  visits  to  Exeter,  Portsmouth,  and  Boston 
brought  him  into  larger  circles  of  cultivated  society,  in 
which  he  always  found  a  hearty  welcome. 

Mr.  Plumer  had  written  some  of  his  college  themes  in 
verse  ;  but  for  many  years  his  public  avocations  had  kept 
his  early  tastes  in  abeyance.  In  his  leisure  and  retire- 
ment the  poetic  vein  crept  again  to  the  surface.  Among 
the  poems  which  were  the  fruit  of  his  riper  years  were 
three  collections  of  sonnets,  grouped  under  the  com- 
mon title  of  "Personal  Sketches,"  and  under  the  specific 
heads  of  "Youth,"  "Manhood,"  and  "Age."  The  first 
two  series  were  printed  —  not  published  —  for  distribu- 
tion among  friends,  in  1841  and  1843  respectively.  The 
sonnets  in  these  little  volumes  are  sweet  in  rhythm,  rich  in 
imagery,  and  affluent  in  sober,  elevating  thought,  —  con- 
templative and  introspective,  presenting  a  charming  pic- 
ture of  a  mind  in  perfect  peace,  and  a  heart  full  of  all 
kind  affections.  In  1845  Mr.  Plumer  published  "  Lyrica 
Sacra;  or,  War-Songs  and  Ballads  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment," and  in  1847  a  Pastoral  founded  on  the  story  of 
Ruth.  These  poems  are  pure  and  felicitous  in  diction, 
melodious  in  rhythm,  and  in  close  harmony  with  the 
spirit  of  the  sacred  archetypes  that  gave  them  mould 
and  inspiration.  From  the  very  nature  of  their  sub- 
jects they  lacked  the  originality  which  alone  could  have 
brought  their  author  fame  ;  but  their  high  poetical  merit 
would  have  fully  sustained  a  reputation  already  formed. 

Mr.  Plumer's  ordinarily  uneventful  life  was  diversified 
by  his  occasional  reappearance  in  the  larger  world.  He 
spoke  for  New  Hampshire  at  the  bi-centennial  celebration 
of  Harvard  College.  He  was  chairman  of  the  committee 
for  the  half-century  festival  in  honor  of  his  old  preceptor 
at  Exeter.  He  responded  in  behalf  of  the  invited  guests 
at  the  first  festival  of  the  Sons  of  New  Hampshire  in  Bos- 
ton. In  1850  he  revisited  Washington  for  the  first  time 
since  the  close  of  his  congressional  life,  and  was  received 


254  WILLIAM   PLUilER 

with  distinguished  honor  by  such  of  his  old  associates  as 
remained  on  the  ground,  and  by  a  large  number  of  their 
successors. 

Among  the  trusts  to  which  in  his  later  years  he 
devoted  himself  with  signal  zeal  and  with  persistent 
humanity  was  that  of  President  of  the  Trustees  of  the 
New  Hampshire  Insane  Asylum.  This  institution  was 
most  largely  indebted  to  his  watchful  care,  to  his  ad- 
ministrative abihty,  and  to  the  diligence  with  which  he 
made  himself  conversant  with  all  improved  modes  of 
construction,  organization,  and  treatment. 

In  1850  he  was  a  member,  and  in  the  general  estima- 
tion the  foremost  member,  of  the  Convention  for  revis- 
ing the  Constitution  of  New  Hampshire.  The  most 
influential  speech  of  the  session  was  one  by  him  against 
an  elective  judiciary,  and  New  Hampshire  owes  it  in 
no  small  measure  to  his  part  in  the  discussion  that  she 
remains  among  the  few  States  in  which  the  judges  are 
appointed  by  the  Executive.  During  this  session  he  was 
called  home  by  tidings  of  his  father's  severe  illness.  A 
heavy  snow-storm,  which  suspended  all  travel,  detained 
him  for  two  days  on  the  way,  and  the  scene  was  closed 
before  his  arrival. 

He  had  previously  collected  materials  for  a  Memoir  of 
his  father,  and  his  remaining  years  were  spent  chiefly  in 
the  preparation  of  that  work  for  the  press.  He  left  it  in 
entire  readiness  for  publication,  and  the  only  labor  of  the 
editor  consisted  in  such  curtailments  as  were  necessary  in 
order  to  bring  the  work  within  the  compass  of  a  large 
octavo  of  nearly  five  hundred  and  fifty  pages,  it  having 
been  deemed  expedient  not  to  exceed  a  single  volume. 
This  Memoir  in  literary  execution  is  unsurpassed  in  its 
kind,  and  we  doubt  whether  among  the  many  biographies 
of  our  statesmen  of  an  earlier  generation  there  is  one 
which  is  more  replete  with  matters  of  profound  personal 
and  historical  moment.     It  contains   Ufelike   sketches  of 


WILLIAM   TLUMER  255 

the  Governor's  contemporaries  on  the  bench  and  at  the 
bar,  at  a  period  when  the  legal  profession  in  New  Hamp- 
shire was  made  illustrious  by  such  men  as  Jeremiah 
Mason,  Daniel  Webster,  Jeremiah  Smith,  Arthur  Liver- 
more,  George  Sullivan,  and  others  whose  traditional  fame 
still  lingered  in  honored  memory  when  these  pages  were 
written.  The  narrative  of  Governor  Plumer's  senatorial 
life  at  "Washington  is  equally  full  of  interest,  presenting 
some  very  vivid  views  of  Jefferson's  person  and  adminis- 
tration, and  including  the  tragic  epoch  of  Aaron  Burr's 
career. 

Until  the  winter  of  1850-51  Mr.  Plumer  had  enjoyed 
almost  uninterrupted  health.  During  that  winter  he  was 
attacked  with  what  seemed  at  first  an  obstinate  ague,  but 
proved  to  be  a  morbid  affection  of  the  membrane  cov- 
ering the  jaw-bone.  He  suffered  severely  from  this  for 
several  months,  and  a  fatal  termination  was  for  a  time 
apprehended.  His  recovery,  though  apparently  entire, 
probably  left  him  an  easier  prey  to  the  disease  of  which  he 
died.  His  last  illness  —  an  inflammation  of  the  bowels  — 
seized  him  on  the  8th  of  September,  1854 ;  but  he  was 
not  regarded  as  in  immediate  danger  till  the  18th,  when 
he  fell  into  a  comatose  state,  and  sank  in  painless  dis- 
solution. 

In  our  sketch  of  Mr.  Plumer's  life  we  have  indicated 
the  leading  traits  of  his  character.  He  was  a  man  of 
pure  and  blameless  life,  of  high  moral  principle,  rigidly 
just,  and  conscientiously  faithful  in  every  relation  and 
duty.  He  cannot  have  had  an  enemy,  or  a  friend  who 
was  not  warmly  his  friend.  He  was  modest  and  unas- 
suming, too  much  so,  perhaps,  for  a  man  of  his  position 
and  ability.  He  never  sought  office  or  distinction,  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  kept  himself  —  it  may  be  —  too  care- 
fully out  of  their  way.  Those  who  enjoyed  his  intimacy 
could  not  but  have  been  reminded  of  the  sacred  meta- 
phor of  the  light  under  a  bushel,  especially  when  they 


256  WILLIAM    PLUMER 

saw  how  brightly  his  light  shone  whenever  he  would  suf- 
fer to  be  placed  in  a  candlestick.  He  was  a  truly  relig- 
ious man,  a  diligent  and  critical  student  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  a  Christian  in  belief,  spirit,  and  life. 

Through  the  years  that  have  intervened  since  his 
departure  his  memory  has  been  lovingly  cherished  by  not 
a  few,  and  one  of  his  friends  who  passed  many  happy  and 
profitable  hours  in  his  society  has  deemed  it  a  privilege 
and  a  pleasure  to  offer  this  sincere,  if  inadequate  tribute 
of  respect  and  affection. 

He  was  admitted  to  corresponding  membership  in  the 
New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  July  7, 
1845. 


MOSES    PLIMPTON 


Moses  Plimpton  was  born  in  Sturbridge,  in  "Worcester 
County,  Massachusetts,  October  17,  1793.  Sturbridge  at 
that  time  included  within  its  limits  the  town  of  South- 
bridge,  in  which  part  he  was  born,  the  latter  part  being 
incorporated  in  1816.  His  death,  which  occurred  Sep- 
tember 19,  1854,  was  caused  by  injuries  received  by 
being  violently  knocked  down,  while  attempting  to  cross 
Washington  Street  in  Boston.  It  was  nearly  dark,  and  in 
attempting  to  avoid  a  carriage,  it  was  supposed,  he  was 
struck  by  the  horses  attached  to  an  omnibus.  He  was  at 
once  taken  to  his  house  on  Tremont  Street,  Boston,  when 
he  soon  became  unconscious,  and  remained  in  that  state 
till  the  followino;  nisrht,  when  he  died.  He  married 
Edna  Taylor,  daughter  of  John  Taylor,  of  Sturbridge, 
November  22,  1821.  She  was  born  September  4,  1798. 
Her  father,  during  the  early  part  of  his  life,  resided  in 
Stonington,  Connecticut.  He  was  an  officer  in  the  artil- 
lery during  the  entire  Revolutionary  War.  His  father, 
John  Taylor,  was  a  Quaker,  whose  religious  scruples  would 
not  allow  him  to  enlist  in  the  great  struggle,  but  having 
been  drafted,  the  son  at  once  volunteered  to  take  his 
place,  and  continued  in  active  service  during  the  war. 
Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  he  married  Elizabeth 
Chapman,  daughter  of  Sumner  Chapman,  of  Westerly. 
Rhode  Island,  and  settled  in  Groton,  Connecticut,  where 

33 


258  MOSES   PLIMPTON 

he  resided  till  1804,  when  he  removed  with  his  family 
to  Sturbridge,  and  there  resided  till  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  1842.  The  parents  of  Moses  Plimpton  were 
Gershom  Plimpton  and  Keziah  Plimpton,  the  daughter  of 
Deacon  Daniel  Fisk,  of  Sturbridge.  The  marriage  took 
place  October  25,  1792.  Seven  children  were  born  of 
this  marriage,  five  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  of  whom 
are  now  deceased. 

The  earliest  ancestor  in  the  paternal  line,  of  whom 
any  account  is  given,  was  John  Plimpton,  who  came  to 
this  country  about  the  year  1639,  lived  in  Roxbm-y, 
Dedham,  and  Medfield;  married  Jane,  daughter  of 
Richard  Dummer,  in  1643 ;  had  by  her  thirteen  chil- 
dren, four  or  five  of  whom  were  born  in  Dedham,  and 
the  remainder  in  Medfield,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
first  proprietors,  and  an  inhabitant  about  1651 ;  he  was  a 
freeman  and  a  member  of  the  artillery  company  in  1643. 
He  removed  to  Deerfield  after  the  great  war  began, 
where  he  was  made  a  sergeant.  His  son,  Jonathan,  was 
killed  by  the  Indians  at  Bloody  Brook,  September  18, 
1675,  and  about  two  years  after  the  death  of  Jonathan, 
the  father  was  taken  by  the  Indians,  carried  towards 
Canada,  and  burnt  by  them  at  the  stake.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  family  afterwards  removed  to  their  former  settle- 
ment near  Boston,  probably  Medfield. 

Joseph,  the  son  of  John  and  Jane  above  named,  was 
born  in  Medfield,  October  7,  1653 ;  married  Mary  Morse, 
daughter  of  Daniel ;  had  by  her  four  children,  and  died 
June  20,  1702. 

Joseph,  son  of  Joseph  above  named,  was  born  in  Med- 
field, March  18,  1677;  married  Priscilla  Partridge;  had  in 
marriage  eight  children,  and  died  in  1740. 

William,  the  son  of  Joseph  last  above  named,  was  born, 
1700,  in  Medfield;  married  Keziah,  the  daughter  of  John 
Dwight,  of  Medfield  ;  had  in  marriage  eight  children,  and 
died  about  May,  1770. 


MOSES    PLIMPTON  259 

Gershom,  son  of  "William  above  named,  was  born 
January  14,  1733-1734,  in  Medfield;  went  with  his 
brothers,  Frederic  and  William,  Jr.,  to  Sturbridge  in 
1753 ;  married  Martha,  daughter  of  Colonel  Moses  Marcy, 
a  prominent  and  enterprising  citizen  of  the  town,  March 
2, 1758 ;  had  born  in  Sturbridge  eleven  children,  and  died 
January  27,  1808.  This  Moses  Marcy  here  named  was 
the  great-grandfather  of  the  Hon.  William  L.  Marcy, 
and  likewise  the  great-grandfather  of  Moses  Plimpton, 
and  the  great-great-grandfather  of  Charlotte  Cushman, 
the  celebrated  actress,  her  great-grandmother  being  Mary, 
the  daughter  of  Moses  Marcy. 

Gershom,  the  son  of  Gershom  above  named,  was  born 
February  18,  1768,  in  Sturbridge;  married  Keziah,  daugh- 
ter of  Deacon  Daniel  Fisk,  of  Sturbridge,  October  25, 
1792;  had  born  by  this  marriage  in  Sturbridge  seven 
children,  —  five  sons  and  two  daughters,  —  Moses,  Henry, 
Stillman,  Caroline,  and  Edwin  D.  Plimpton,  two  children 
dying  in  infancy,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  being  the 
eldest.  This  Gershom  is  the  one  familiarly  known  in 
his  day  as  Captain  Gershom  Plimpton.  He  was  the 
moderator  of  the  first  town-meeting  after  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  town  of  Southbridge,  held  March  16,  1816. 
He  took  an  active  interest  in  town  affairs  from  his  early 
manhood  till  his  death,  which  occurred  in  April,  1824. 
He  was  conspicuous  in  the  movement  for  the  incorpora- 
tion of  Southbridge  as  a  separate  town.  He  filled  various 
offices  in  the  town,  and  was  twice  elected  to  represent 
the  new  town  in  the  General  Court.  Frequent  mention 
is  made  of  him  by  Holmes  Ammidown  in  his  History  of 
Southbridge. 

Moses  Plimpton,  son  of  Gershom  last  named,  was  bom 
in  Sturbridge,  October  17,  1793 ;  married  Edna  Taylor, 
daughter  of  John  Taylor,  of  Sturbridge,  and  had  born  in 
Southbridge  seven  children,  as  follows :  — 


260  MOSES    PLIMPTON 

Ellen  Maria,  born  August  21, 1823  ;  married  Samuel  C.  Hart- 
well,  of  Southbridge,  an  eminent  physician  and  surgeon.  Thej 
have  living  two  children,  daughters. 

George  Fayette,  born  August  11, 1825,  and  died  unmarried  in 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  August  9,  1850. 

Jane  Elizabeth,  born  March  4,  1827  ;  married  George  A. 
Clark,  of  Somerville,  Massachusetts,  February  24,  1857.  Re- 
moved to  Dubuque,  Iowa,  and  there  resided  till  the  death  of  her 
husband,  in  October  27,  1861.  Since  the  death  of  her  husband 
she  has  resided  mainly  in  Somerville,  and  is  now  a  teacher  in 
the  public  schools.     She  has  no  children. 

Caroline  Sophia,  born  April  1, 1829  ;  unmarried.  Has  resided 
in  Somerville  since  her  father's  death  with  the  exception  of  two 
or  three  years,  and  has  been  engaged  as  a  teacher  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  city  for  many  years. 

Louise  Edna,  born  October  5, 1832 ;  married  Charles  Sprague 
Lincoln,  of  Somerville,  October  8,  1856,  an  attorney  and  coun- 
sellor-at-law  and  a  member  of  the  Suffolk  Bar.  He  has  been 
engaged  in  his  profession  in  Boston  since  January,  1855,  and  is 
still  in  active  practice.  They  have  living  five  children,  three 
sons  and  two  daughters. 

Edwin  Taylor,  born  September  28,  1835 ;  died  from  disease 
contracted  in  the  army,  in  May,  1862.  He  was  engaged  in  the 
battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing,  which  occurred  in  April,  1862, 
and  through  exposure  following  that  battle  he  contracted  a 
fever  of  which  he  died  in  a  few  days.     He  was  unmarried. 

Clara  Cornelia,  born  September  29,  1842  ;  unmarried.  For 
several  years  she  taught  in  private  schools  of  advanced  grades 
in  "Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and  in  the  Blind  Asylums  in 
Louisville  and  New  York.  She  gave  up  this  profession,  how- 
ever, for  that  of  medicine,  and  is  now  in  full  practice  as  a 
physician  in  Nashville,  Tennessee. 

The  life  of  Moses  Plimpton  was  one  of  great  activity 
and  usefulness.  In  his  early  youth  he  exhibited  great 
interest  in  his  studies  at  school,  and  was  industrious  and 
methodical  in  whatever  branches  he  pursued.  There  are 
still  in  existence  books  which  he  must  have  had  and  used 
when  a  boy,  and  which  show  the  interest  he  must  have 


MOSES    PLIMPTON  261 

taken  in  matters  of  education.  He  was  a  careful  and 
discriminating  reader.  He  was  judicious  in  the  selection 
of  books,  of  which  he  was  fond,  and  many  that  he  has  left 
in  possession  of  his  children  are  of  that  character  which 
treat  upon  the  practical  questions  of  the  times  rather 
than  upon  the  lighter  topics.  He  was  particularly  well 
read  in  political  economy,  and  was  a  strong  believer  in  a 
tariff  for  the  protection  of  our  home  industry.  He  was 
ever  ready  with  his  facts  and  arguments ;  and  it  was  very 
unsafe  for  a  person  not  versed  in  the  subject  to  attack 
him.  In  educational  matters  he  took  a  deep  and  active 
interest.  In  his  nineteenth  year  he  taught  a  district 
school  in  the  town  of  Monson,  and  in  the  winters  follow- 
ing in  Charlton  and  Sturbridge ;  and  although  young  and 
small  in  stature,  he  maintained  good  order,  commanded 
the  respect  of  parents  and  scholars,  and  was  regarded  as 
an  excellent  teacher.  A  story  is  told  of  his  first  attempt 
to  obtain  a  school  in  Monson.  He  was  examined  by  the 
appropriate  committee,  and  found  qualified  in  all  branches 
except  penmanship,  and  for  that  reason  was  rejected. 
Before  another  year,  however,  had  elapsed,  he  made  up 
the  deficiency  and  was  accepted  as  duly  qualified. 

Mr.  Plimpton  was  also  quite  active  in  the  military  ser- 
vice of  the  State.  He  was  a  member  of  a  battalion  of 
artillery,  1st  brigade,,  6th  division  ;  was  made  sergeant 
October  2,  1821 ;  commissioned  by  Governor  Eustis  lieu- 
tenant, August  26,  1823 ;  and  by  Governor  Lincoln  pro- 
moted to  the  captaincy  May  25,  1829. 

Mr.  Plimpton  always  took  an  active  interest  in  whatever 
concerned  the  welfare  of  the  community.  He  was  one  of 
the  foremost  in  promoting  the  cause  of  temperance.  He 
delivered  lectures  on  this  as  well  as  on  other  topics.  He 
made  use  of  the  pledge  as  one  of  the  effective  means  of 
preventing  intemperance,  and  made  personal  appeals  to 
those   whom   he  sousrht   thus  to  benefit.      He  aided  in 

O 

establishing  Lyceums,   as   they  were  called    in  his  day, 


262  MOSES   PLIMPTON 

and  Debating  Societies,  in  which  he  ever  performed  his 
full  part.  The  industry  and  method  which  Mr.  Plimp- 
ton displayed  in  his  studies  during  his  youth  he  carried 
through  life.  He  read  not  merely  for  diversion.  His 
reading  was  more  like  study.  He  did  not  lightly  pass 
over  a  sentence  which  he  did  not  understand.  His  rule 
was  to  master  what  he  undertook.  He  was  a  constant 
reader  of  works  on  agriculture,  and  ever  took  an  interest 
in  the  subject,  becoming  a  member  of  the  Worcester  Agri- 
cultural Society  in  1839,  while  Levi  Lincoln  was  its  presi- 
dent He  was  constantly  informing  and  educating  himself. 
Even  in  law  he  found  a  field  both  for  the  discipline  of  his 
mind  as  well  as  for  its  application  to  the  business  affairs 
of  life.  He  became  quite  an  expert  in  interpreting  instru- 
ments, and  was  much  consulted  in  an  unprofessional  way 
by  his  friends  in  their  difficulties,  and  his  opinion  and  ad- 
vice were  always  treated  with  respect,  if  indeed  they  were 
not  followed.  He  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  legal 
forms  and  was  frequently  employed  to  draft  various  kinds 
of  instruments. 

In  March,  1836,  Mr.  Plimpton  delivered  what  he  called 
"  Three  Lectures "  before  the  Southbridge  Lyceum  or 
Literary  Association.  This  is  the  address  referred  to 
in  Mr.  Ammidown's  "  Historical  Collections  "  in  Vol.  I., 
page  52,  and  again  in  the  same  volume,  page  561,  where 
the  historian  speaks  of  his  inability  to  find  the  manuscript. 
The  writer  of  this  sketch  had  in  his  possession  these  lec- 
tures, and  with  a  view  of  preserving  them,  presented  the 
original  manuscript  to  the  New  England  Historic  Genea- 
logical Society,  many  years  ago,  and  they  remained  in  the 
library  of  that  society  till  1875,  when  the  original  was 
taken  and  a  bound  copy  given  in  its  place.  The  original, 
in  the  author's  handwriting,  written  on  one  hundred  and 
forty-six  pages  of  large  letter-paper,  is  now  with  the 
family  of  the  late  Edwin  D.  Plimpton,  of  Brooklyn,  New 
York.     The  copy  was  made  by  Miss  NelHe  Hartwell,  a 


MOSES    PLIMPTON  263 

granddaughter  of  Mr.  Plimpton.  It  is,  in  short,  a  his- 
tory of  the  town  of  Southbridge  from  its  earhest  settle- 
ment, and,  so  far  as  known,  is  the  first  history  of  that 
place  ever  written.  It  is  a  work  of  much  labor,  and  its 
value  has  been  appreciated  by  many  readers. 

The  author  in  1852  appends  a  note  to  these  "  Lectures  " 
in  which  he  says :  — 

"  Having  been  taken  to  Burlington,  Vermont,  New  York, 
Albany,  and  other  places  for  perusal  by  friends  and  relations  of 
my  own,  and  other  names,  among  whom  were  George  W.  New- 
ell, Esq.,  and  Governor  Marcy,  who  kept  it  a  long  time,  it  has, 
with  its  other  deficiencies,  quite  an  antiquarian  appearance." 

It  also  contains  a  brief  genealogy  of  his  own  family  in 
the  paternal  line,  and  that  of  Moses  Marcy,  his  great- 
grandfather. This  Moses  Marcy  was  born  in  Woodstock, 
about  the  year  1700,  according  to  Mr.  Plimpton,  but  his 
birth  is  given  by  Mr.  Ammidown  as  April  18,  1702.  He 
was  great-grandfather  of  the  late  Hon.  William  L.  Marcy, 
the  celebrated  statesman,  who  was  for  many  years  on  inti- 
mate terms  with  Mr.  Plimpton,  and  had  strongly  urged 
him  to  make  law  his  profession. 

Mr.  Plimpton  became  a  resident  member  of  the  New 
England  Historic  Genealogical  Society  March  11, 1852,  and 
continued  to  take  an  active  part  in  its  work  till  his  death. 
Mr.  Ammidown  has  given  a  brief  sketch  of  his  life,  accom- 
panied by  an  excellent  engraving  (Vol.  II.,  page  560),  in 
which  he  speaks  in  terms  of  high  praise  of  his  character 
as  a  man  and  citizen.  It  was  not  his  ambition  to  obtain, 
nor  did  he  ever  fill,  any  office  of  a  political  character,  al- 
though he  always  took  a  hvely  interest  in  the  political 
questions  of  the  times.  His  habits  of  life,  and  the  general 
interest  he  felt  in  the  welfare  of  society,  and  the  esteem 
in  which  he  was  held  by  his  fellow-townsmen,  made  him 
prominent  in  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  his  native 
town  so  long  as  he  remained  there.     In  whatever  position 


264  MOSES   PLIMPTON 

he  was  called  upon  to  fill,  he  was  punctilious  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  duties.  He  was  elected  town  clerk  in  1820, 
and  held  the  office  for  several  years.  He  was  for  many- 
years  a  member  of  the  school  committee,  and  here  he  dis- 
played his  peculiar  zeal  and  exerted  a  wholesome  influ- 
ence. In  the  examination  of  schools  he  is  spoken  of  as 
particularly  rigid,  and  when  he  visited  schools  the  pupils 
knew  that  he  meant  business,  and  that  there  was  no 
escape  from  his  vigilance.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig, 
and  although  he  never  held  a  political  office,  he  was  much 
interested  in  all  the  questions  of  the  day,  and  exhibited 
great  knowledge  and  skill  in  debate.  He  was  very  strenu- 
ous in  his  views,  and  somewhat  earnest  in  his  manner. 

Mr.  Plimpton  was  engaged  for  the  greater  part  of  his 
life,  from  his  majority,  in  connection  with  the  manufacture 
of  cloth  in  his  native  town,  either  as  accountant,  clerk, 
proprietor,  or  manager.  He  was  one  of  the  proprietors 
of  the  Columbian  Cotton  Mills,  which  were  established  in 
1821,  and  destroyed  by  fire  in  1844.  This  misfortune, 
with  others  which  followed,  caused  him  ultimately  to  leave 
Southbridge,  and  thus  the  town  lost  one  of  its  most  valued 
and  public-spirited  citizens.  After  these  reverses,  how- 
ever, he  carried  on  the  "Westville  Mills,  situated  in  the 
west  part  of  the  town  ;  but  he  finally  left  Southbridge  in 
the  spring  of  1849,  residing  in  Dracut  till  November, 
when  he  removed  to  Somerville,  having  received  an  ap- 
pointment from  Philip  Greely,  Jr.  the  Collector  of  the  Port 
of  Boston,  in  July  of  that  year.  The  position,  however, 
was  not  congenial  to  his  taste,  and  he  resigned  the  situation 
upon  the  election  of  Franklin  Pierce  to  the  presidency. 
He  last  resided  on  Tremont  Street  in  Boston,  Mr.  Plimp- 
ton never  fully  recovered  from  his  reverses,  caused  in 
part  by  the  destruction  of  the  Columbian  Mills.  He  had 
acquired,  after  many  years  of  industry  and  economy,  what 
he  deemed  a  reasonable  competency  against  his  declining 
years,  and  had  won  by  his  character  and  his  usefulness  as 


MOSES    PLIMPTON  265 

a  citizen  an  honorable  name  and  position  among  his  fel- 
low-men. The  work  of  his  lifetime  had  been  swept  away 
in  a  night.  Although  the  acquisition  of  money  was  to 
him  by  no  means  the  engrossing  object  of  his  life,  yet  the 
loss  he  had  sustained  deprived  him  of  that  independence 
which  he  had  for  many  years  striven  to  maintain  and  to 
which  by  his  industry  and  care  he  seemed  to  be  justly 
entitled.  His  best  energies  had  been  expended  and  his 
capacity  for  work  had  become  impaired  and  his  career  of 
usefulness  checked.  Although  by  nature  of  a  cheerful 
and  hopeful  disposition,  his  mind  seemed  to  have  lost  its 
elasticity,  and  he  brooded  much  over  his  misfortunes. 
As  his  w^ife  remarked  to  the  writer  of  this  sketch,  "  He 
never  appeared  like  the  same  person  afterwards."  But 
the  few  years  remaining  to  him  were  by  no  means  spent  in 
idleness  and  repining.  Although  he  had  left  forever  the 
scenes  of  his  youth,  and  his  association  as  a  business  man 
and  a  citizen  had  been  suddenly  severed,  and  the  old  fields 
of  his  labor  had  been  closed  to  him,  he  yet  strove  to  find 
new  opportunities  for  his  efforts  and  new  subjects  for  the 
occupation  of  his  mind,  and  to  the  last  he  maintained  his 
manhood,  and  left  the  world  with  a  character  unsuUied 
and  a  reputation  unblemished. 


34 


CALEB  BUTLER 


Caleb  Butlek,  son  of  Caleb  and  Eebekah  Butler,  was 
born  in  Pelham,  Hillsborough  County,  New  Hampshire, 
on  the  13th  day  of  September,  a.d.  1776.  Of  his  moth- 
er's family  but  few  records  have  been  obtained.  She  was 
the  daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Miriam  (Rust)  Frost,  of 
Hudson,  New  Hampshire,  and  was  married  to  Caleb  But- 
ler in  1766.  The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  the  fifth  in 
their  numerous  family  of  eleven  children.  The  Butlers, 
of  the  sturdy.  God-fearing,  true  New  England  type,  had 
for  several  generations  cultivated  a  hillside  farm  in  the 
town  of  Pelham,  and  it  still  remains  in  the  possession  of 
their  descendants,  bearing  the  family  name. 

In  those  days  the  farmer's  life  was  one  of  toil,  and  the 
boy  was  early  trained  to  take  part  in  out-door  work 
with  his  father  and  brothers.  In-doors  he  was  faithfully 
instructed  in  the  Bible  and  the  few  other  books  they 
owned,  by  his  pious  parents  and  grandparents,  who  dwelt 
imder  the  same  roof.  He  attended  a  district  school,  at 
some  distance  from  home,  as  he  had  opportunity  during 
his  boyhood.  A  desire  to  obtain  a  college  education  was 
soon  awakened  in  him,  and  he  overcame  many  obstacles 
in  its  pursuit  which  would  have  discouraged  a  less  earnest 
character.  Owing  to  straitened  circumstances  his  father 
could  afford  him  but  little  pecuniary  assistance,  and  he 
earned  by  the  labor  of  his  hands  money  to  pay  for  his 
necessary  instruction.     In  1794  he  attended  the  academy 


CALEB   BUTLER  267 

in  Pelham,  taught  by  Daniel  Hardy,  remaining  there, 
however,  less  than  a  year,  and  went  for  a  few  weeks  to  a 
similar  institution  in  a  neighboring  town.     He  afterwards 
continued  his  studies  at  home,  reciting  in  the  Greek  and 
Latin  languages  to  Preceptor  Hardy.      Meagre   as  was 
this  preparation,  it  seems  to  have  been  sufficient  for  the 
requirements  of  the  time,  for  he  passed  a  successful  ex- 
amination for  admission  to  Dartmouth  College,  Hanover, 
New  Hampshire,  and  joined  the  Freshman  class  in  its 
second  term,  February,  1797.     During  his  college  course 
he  taught  district  schools  in  the  winter  vacations,  a  fre- 
quent  practice  of   students,   especially  those  of   limited 
means.     His  journeys  to  and  from  Hanover  were  often 
made  on  horseback,  there  being  no  regular  public  convey- 
ance on  those  unfrequented  roads.     He  joined  the  college 
society  of  "  Social  Friends,"  and  in  his  Junior  year  wrote 
a  drama  in  three  acts,  entitled  "Triumph  of  Infidelity 
over  Superstition,"  performed  by  members  of  the  society 
August  26,  1799.     The  part  of  Cardinal  was  assigned  to 
him,  while  his  chum,  James  Dean,  afterward  Professor, 
represented  the  Pope,  and  others  General  Bonaparte  and 
his  officers.     He  also  delivered  an  oration  before  the  same 
society  at  the  close  of  his  Senior  year,  August  25,  1800, 
treating  of  the  constitution  of  matter  and  its  ceaseless 
changes  of  form.     This  oration  possesses  a  curious  interest 
to-day,  in  view  of  the   recent  development  of  chemical 
and  physical  science,  and  the  prominence  that  the  modern 
theories  of  evolution  have  attained.     He  graduated  Au- 
gust 27,  A.D.  1800,  receiving  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Arts.     On  this  occasion  he  dehvered  a  salutatory  oration 
in  Latin,  that  being  the  highest  honor  conferred  by  the 
Faculty  of  Dartmouth  at  that  time. 

During  the  succeeding  year  he  remained  in  Hanover, 
teaching  Moor's  Indian  Charity  School,  connected  with 
the  college,  in  which  he  had  already  had  some  experience 
as  an  assistant.     He  was  next  employed  for  a  few  months 


268  CALEB   BUTLER 

in  the  printing  office  of  Isaiah  Thomas,  in  Worcester,  Mas- 
sachusetts, correcting  proof,  mainly  of  a  Greek  Grammar 
then  going  through  the  press. 

In  February,  1802,  he  became  preceptor  of  the  acad- 
emy in  Groton,  Massachusetts,  now  called  Lawrence  Acad- 
emy, in  honor  of  the  brothers  of  that  name  who  have  so 
liberally  endowed  it.  This  position  he  retained  till  Au- 
gust, 1810,  and  after  an  interval  of  two  years  resumed  it, 
from  1812  to  1815,  making  his  term  of  service  in  all 
nearly  twelve  years.  This  emplo^TQent  was  congenial  to 
his  tastes,  and  he  became  a  successful  teacher.  A  subse- 
quent preceptor.  Rev.  James  Means,  said  of  him,  "  that 
he  blended  discipline  and  gentleness  happily  together; 
that  he  showed  an  enthusiastic  interest  in  the  branches 
which  he  taught,  and  deserved  to  be  ranked  among  the 
first  instructors  of  his  period."  That  he  retained  the  love 
and  respect  of  his  pupils  in  an  eminent  degree,  was  fuUy 
shown  at  the  jubilee  of  the  academy  held  July  12,  1854. 
In  response  to  a  toast  given  at  the  dinner,  "  To  the  oldest 
surviving  Principal  of  the  Academy,"  Mr.  Butler  took 
occasion  to  address  those  of  his  former  pupils  whom  he 
saw  present.  They  rose  at  once,  and  remained  respect- 
fully standing  till  the  close  of  his  remarks.  Well  might 
the  gray-haired  man  be  proud  when  the  Hon.  Abbott 
Lawrence  and  Mrs.  Lawrence,  the  Rev.  James  Walker, 
then  President  of  Harvard  College,  the  Hon.  John  P. 
Bigelow,  Mayor  of  Boston,  the  Hon.  Amos  Kendall,  the 
Hon.  Joel  Parker,  and  many  others,  thus  did  him  rev- 
erence. .  Mr.  Butler  was  elected  a  trustee  of  the  academy 
while  preceptor  in  1807,  and  held  the  office  till  his  resig- 
nation in  1836,  a  period  of  twenty-nine  years. 

Though  the  salary  of  the  preceptor  was  small  when  he 
first  accepted  the  position,  it  assured  him  of  a  livehhood, 
and  he  soon  ventured  to  take  to  himself  a  wife.  On  the 
22d  of  August,  1804,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Clarissa 
Varnum,  daughter  of  Parker  and  Dorcas  (Brown)  Yar- 


CALEB    BUTLER  269 

num,  of  Dracut,  Massachusetts.  She  was  born  January 
27,  1782.  They  became  acquainted  with  each  other  a 
few  years  before,  when  he  was  teaching  a  winter  school 
in  Dracut,  her  native  town.  The  young  lady,  then  in  her 
teens,  thousrht  herself  too  old  to  attend  his  school,  but 
went  one  half  day  with  the  younger  members  of  the 
family,  merely  from  curiosity  to  see  the  "  new  master." 
Her  inspection  seems  to  have  been  satisfactory,  for  the 
acquaintance  then  begun  ripened  into  an  attachment  end- 
ing only  with  their  lives.  They  went  to  housekeeping  in 
Groton  immediately  upon  their  marriage,  and  among  the 
articles  of  the  modest  dowry  furnished  the  bride  by  her 
father,  were  a  cow  and  a  hive  of  bees !  A  glance  into 
their  family  expense-book  is  interesting.  While  the  neces- 
sary plenishing  for  the  kitchen  was  provided,  the  book- 
shelves in  the  parlor  were  not  forgotten.  Among  the 
earliest  entries  are  a  Bible,  a  dictionary,  and  "  Elegant 
Extracts  in  Prose  and  Verse."  The  frequent  charge  of 
"India  cotton"  and  sometimes  of  "tow-cloth"  remind 
one  of  the  progress  of  manufactures  in  our  country  since 
then.  "  Quality  "  and  "  ferrett "  (used  for  binding)  are 
of  frequent  occurrence  ;  but  if  these  articles  are  found  to- 
day in  a  lady's  work-basket,  they  certainly  appear  under 
other  names.  Linen  tape  for  family  use  Mrs.  Butler  was 
accustomed  to  weave  on  a  small  hand-loom  in  her  leisure 
moments.  Two  years  after  marriage  they  moved  into  a 
house  Mr.  Butler  had  built  for  himself  nearly  opposite 
the  academy. 

Groton  had  now  become  his  permanent  home,  and  his 
life  was  henceforth  closely  identified  with  the  town,  his 
influence  being  largely  felt  in  all  its  various  affairs.  For 
some  years  after  leaving  the  preceptor's  chair,  his  employ- 
ments w^ere  very  miscellaneous.  While  still  teaching,  he 
had  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of 
Luther  Lawrence,  Esq.,  then  residing  in  Groton,  and  had 
been   admitted  to  the  Bar  of  Middlesex  County  at  Con- 


270  CALEB   BUTLER 

cord,  March  18,  1814.  His  subsequent  law  practice  was 
more  in  drawing  up  papers  and  settling  estates  than  in 
attendance  at  courts.  His  charges  were  always  moderate, 
and  many  a  widow  and  orphan  had  reason  to  be  grateful 
to  him  for  services  wholly  unrequited. 

He  was  Town  Clerk  from  1815  to  1817,  and  again  from 
1823  to  1831.  While  holding  this  office  he  deciphered 
and  transcribed,  with  great  patience  and  labor,  the  early 
records  of  the  town,  known  as  the  "  Indian  Roll."  This 
manuscript  was  so  worn  as  to  be  almost  falling  to  pieces, 
and  its  chirography  was  difficult  to  be  understood  without 
much  study. 

Being  for  some  years  the  only  person  in  town  familiar 
with  land  surveying,  his  services  were  often  called  in 
requisition  in  transfers  of  real  estate.  He  not  only  wrote 
the  deeds,  but  established  the  bounds  and  drew  the  plans 
for  his  clients.  In  1825  he  was  the  principal  surveyor 
employed  by  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  Massachu- 
setts "  to  ascertain,  run,  and  mark "  the  boundary  line 
between  the  States  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire. 
In  conformity  with  a  resolve  of  the  Legislature  passed 
March  1,  1830,  he  made  maps  of  the  towns  of  Groton, 
Pepperell,  and  Shirley.  He  was  also  often  employed  in 
making  surveys  at  Lowell,  while  that  town  was  rapidly 
growing  into  importance.  In  1826  he  was  appointed  one 
of  the  Commissioners  of  Highways  for  the  County  of  Mid- 
dlesex, a  position  for  which  he  was  admirably  fitted  by 
his  previous  occupation.  The  title  of  the  Board  was  soon 
after  changed  to  the  "  County  Commissioners,"  and  he 
remained  its  chairman  for  fifteen  years. 

He  was  appointed  Postmaster  of  the  town  in  1826,  but 
had  already  performed  most  of  the  duties  of  the  office  for 
the  eight  preceding  years.  He  remained  in  office  till 
1839,  when  he  was  removed  to  make  room  for  a  person 
holding  different  political  views.  On  the  change  of  ad- 
ministration in  1841  he  was  reinstated,  and  on  the  1st  of 


CALEB    BUTLER  271 

January,  1847,  was  again  removed,  for  "  political  her- 
esy," as  he  supposed.  Habit  having  become  second  nature, 
he  seldom  failed  of  being  present  to  assist  in  distributing 
the  mail  after  his  connection  with  the  office  had  ceased. 

Mr.  Butler  belonged  to  the  conservative  party  in  poli- 
tics. In  early  life  he  was  a  Federalist,  and  later  voted 
with  the  Whig  party.  He  was,  however,  something  of 
an  independent  in  this,  as  in  other  matters.  When  he 
could  not  concur  in  the  nomination  of  his  party  he  "  held 
a  caucus  "  by  himself  and  selected  his  own  candidate.  He 
never  held  political  office,  for  though  elected  to  represent 
the  town  in  the  State  Legislature  of  1829,  he  declined  to 
serve. 

A  constant  attendant  at  church,  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  Mr.  Butler  took  an  active  part  in  all  parochial 
affairs,  and  was  especially  prominent  in  the  unhappy  dis- 
sension which  divided  the  parish  in  1825-1826.     Under 
the  law  of  the  Commonwealth  at  that  time  the  town  was  a 
parish,  and  was  charged  with  the  support  of  pubhc  wor- 
ship.    The  inhabitants  of  Groton  assembled  on  Sunday  in 
one  meeting-house,  and  were  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Chaplin,  who  was  beloved  and  respected  by  all. 
But  when  his  increasing  age  and  infirmities  made  it  neces- 
sary to  choose  his  colleague  or  successor,  it  was  found  that 
two  parties  had  been  gradually  forming.     A  majority  of 
the  parish,  that  is,  citizens,  desired  for  their  minister  a 
graduate  from   the  liberal  school  of  divinity  connected 
with  Harvard  College,  while  a  majority  of  the   church- 
members,    or    communicants,    preferred    looking    to   the 
stricter  school  of  Andover  for  their  candidate.     Mr.  But- 
ler was  chairman  of  a  committee  appointed  by  the  town 
to  supply  the  pulpit,  and  engaged  one  minister,  while  Dr. 
Chaplin,  claiming  the  right  as  pastor  of  the  church,  pro- 
vided another  of  different  theological  views  for  the  same 
Sunday.     This  fact  being  ascertained  by  the  latter,  he 
prudently  forbore  from  appearing  at  the  meeting-house, 


272  CALEB   BUTLER 

and  an  unpleasant  collision  was  thereby  avoided.  The 
strife  had  however  become  so  bitter  that  the  "  exclusive 
party,"  as  they  were  called,  soon  after  this  seceded,  and 
held  services  in  a  hall,  eventually  building  a  new  meeting- 
house for  their  own  use.  The  minority  of  the  church- 
members,  including  Mr.  Butler,  together  with  the  larger 
part  of  the  parish,  continued  to  hold  religious  services 
in  the  old  meeting-house,  and  had  the  ordinance  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  administered  at  stated  times,  as  before  the 
separation.  The  seceders,  claiming  to  be  the  church, 
chose  to  designate  this  as  a  very  "  irregular  "  proceeding. 
Mr.  Butler  was  thereupon  dealt  with,  according  to  pre- 
scribed church  rule.  He  was  first  censured  by  one  of  the 
brethren  alone ;  the  complaint  was  renewed  in  the  pres- 
ence of  witnesses;  and  finally  he  was  summoned  by  the 
church,  at  least  that  portion  of  it  convened  at  the  house 
of  Dr.  Chaplin,  to  answer  the  charge  made  against  him. 
Instead  of  appearing  personally,  he  sent  a  letter  vindi- 
cating his  course  of  action.  This  not  proving  satisfactory, 
his  excommunication  in  due  form  followed.  The  same 
harmless  sentence  was  pronounced  on  seven  others  who 
had  also  participated  in  the  Lord's  Supper  after  the  with- 
drawal of  the  seceders.  No  visible  effect  resulted.  Mr. 
Charles  Robinson  was  ordained  over  the  First  Parish,  or 
Unitarian  Society,  November  1, 1826.  Two  months  later, 
Mr.  John  Todd  was  in  like  manner  ordained  over  the 
"  Union  Church,"  which  had  been  organized  November 
21,  1826.  Mr.  Butler  was  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Min- 
isterial Fund,  which  had  been  bequeathed  to  the  town 
many  years  before,  for  the  support  of  the  minister.  The 
request  of  the  seceding  church-members  to  have  this  fund 
divided  was  not  assented  to ;  and  it  remained  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  First  Parish.  The  tranquillity  of  the  vil- 
lage, which  had  been  so  profoundly  disturbed  by  these 
events,  was  at  length  restored.  The  circumstances  lead- 
ing to  this  division  of  the  parish  into  two  societies  at- 


CALEB   BUTLER  273 

tracted  much  attention  outside  the  limits  of  the  town. 
The  mutual  rights  of  church  and  parish  were  often  under 
discussion,  and  a  writer  in  the  "  Christian  Examiner  "  of 
March,  1827,  characterizes  the  conduct  of  the  Groton 
parish  committee,  at  this  trying  time,  as  "  temperate  and 
wise."  Mr.  Butler  also  received  the  thanks  of  an  es- 
teemed correspondent  for  his  "  noble  stand  in  favor  of 
religious  freedom."  Mr.  Butler  was  the  author  of  a 
pamphlet  which  grew  out  of  this  controversy,  published 
in  1827,  entitled  "A  Collection  of  Facts  and  Documents 
Relative  to  Ecclesiastical  Affairs  in  Groton,  Mass." 

Mr.  Butler  was  enrolled  in  the  Order  of  Ancient,  Free, 
and  Accepted  Masons,  and  had  a  strong  and  enduring 
attachment  to  the  principles  and  precepts  of  the  order. 
He  held  the  position  of  Master  of  St.  Paul's  Lodge  in 
Groton,  a.l.  5807,  and  was  also  at  one  time  High  Priest 
of  St.  John's  Royal  Arch  Chapter.  He  delivered  an  ora- 
tion on  the  "  Principles  and  Design  of  Free  Masonry  " 
before  the  St.  Paul's  (Groton)  and  Pentucket  (Chelmsford) 
Lodges  on  St.  John's  Day,  June  24,  a.l.  5811,  the  manu- 
script of  which  is  preserved.  He  also  delivered  a  masonic 
address  at  Leominster,  Mass.,  on  St.  John's  Day,  1816. 
The  latter  address  was  published  at  Worcester  the  same 
year.  He  was  present  with  the  Masonic  Fraternity  at 
the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  Bunker  Hill  Monu- 
ment by  General  Lafayette  June  17,  1825.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument  Association,  and 
had  the  gratification  of  attending  the  exercises  on  the 
completion  of  the  structure,  June  17,  1843. 

A  Caleb  Butler  Lodge,  named  in  his  honor,  has  been 
formed  at  Ayer,  formerly  a  part  of  Groton. 

The  engrossing  business  pursuits  of  middle  life  did  not 
prevent  Mr.  Butler  from  indulging  his  scholarly  tastes. 
Astronomy  continued  to  be  one  of  his  favorite  studies. 
Mr.  Amos  Lawrence,  in  his  numerous  gifts  to  the  acad- 
emy, of  books  and  scientific  apparatus,  always  stipulated 

35 


274  CALEB   BUTLEE 

that  their  free  use  should  be  granted  to  his  old  friend 
Caleb  Butler.  A  fine  telescope  was  thus  placed  at  his 
disposal,  which  he  greatly  enjoyed,  retaining  it  at  his 
house  months  at  a  time.  It  was  a  frequent  occurrence 
on  a  summer's  evening  for  a  group  of  students  or  passers- 
by  to  collect  around  his  door,  while  he  never  tired  of  ex- 
hibiting to  them,  by  means  of  this  telescope,  the  uneven 
surface  of  the  moon,  Saturn's  rings,  or  Jupiter's  moons. 
During  the  last  year  of  his  life  he  made  the  calculations 
of  an  eclipse  of  the  sun.  He  sought  to  interest  a  grand- 
son, only  six  years  of  age,  in  the  coming  event  by  making 
a  diagram  of  its  expected  appearance,  with  full  explana- 
tions for  his  instruction.  He  prepared  with  great  interest 
to  watch  this  echpse,  occurring  May  26,  1854,  but  the 
day  proved  less  favorable  for  the  observation  than  was 
hoped.  He  was  a  diligent  observer  of  all  natural  phe- 
nomena, and  for  more  than  fifty  years  kept  a  record 
of  the  weather,  with  such  kindred  topics  as  the  return 
of  birds,  the  blossoming  of  fruit-trees,  and  ripening  of 
crops,  together  with  unusual  displays  of  northern  lights 
and  shooting  stars.  On  one  of  his  small  memorandum 
books,  made  of  coarse  paper,  dated  1803,  is  inscribed  by 
way  of  motto,  this  appropriate  verse  :  "  While  the  earth 
remaineth,  seed-time  and  harvest,  and  cold  and  heat,  and 
summer  and  winter,  and  day  and  night  shall  not  cease  " ; 
and  on  another,  "  Quid  mirum  et  utile  noto."  He  pre- 
pared an  account  of  the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun,  June  16, 
1806,  which  appeared  that  year  in  the  August  number 
of  the  "  Medical  and  Agricultural  Kegister,"  published 
at  Boston,  and  edited  by  his  friend  Dr.  Daniel  Adams. 
His  predictions  of  the  weather,  though  of  necessity  more 
limited  than  those  made  to  the  present  generation  by 
the  Signal  Service  Bureau,  were  as  generally  correct, 
and  farmers  were  accustomed  to  consult  him  with  im- 
plicit faith,  often  coming  some  distance  in  haying-time 
for  that  purpose.     His  observing  faculties  were  so  trained 


CALEB  BUTLER  275 

as  to  make  his  explanations  of  distant  sights  and  sounds 
wonderfully  accurate,  as  one  or  two  anecdotes  will  best 
illustrate.  One  evening  the  light  of  a  fire  was  seen  in  the 
southwest  horizon,  and  Mr.  Butler  sat  watching  it  intently. 
"  It  is  not  a  dwelling-house,"  he  remarked  :  "  the  smoke  is 
not  black  enough.  It  is  not  a  barn :  the  blaze  lasts  too 
long.  I  should  say  it  was  a  meeting-house,  —  but  there  is 
not  one  there."  In  a  few  days  the  newspapers  informed 
him  that  an  unfinished  church  in  the  neighboring  town 
of  Bolton  was  destroyed  by  fire  that  evening.  He  was 
not  aware  that  such  a  building  had  been  commenced  in 
that  locality.  At  another  time,  during  a  shower,  a  heavy 
peal  of  thunder  assured  the  hsteners  that  a  bolt  had 
fallen  in  their  vicinity.  As  soon  as  the  rain  ceased  Mr. 
Butler  asked  a  gentleman  visiting  him,  if  he  would  like  to 
go  out  and  see  where  the  lightning  had  struck.  Much  to 
the  surprise  of  his  friend,  instead  of  wasting  time  in  un- 
certain inquiries,  he  at  once  started  off  through  the  fields, 
and  did  not  change  his  course  till,  at  the  distance  of  a 
mile,  he  came  to  a  tree  with  shattered  branches  giving 
positive  evidence  of  what  had  befallen  it. 

Throughout  his  life  the  cultivation  of  a  garden  was  a 
source  of  great  pleasure  to  Mr.  Butler.  He  was  always 
an  early  riser,  and  the  morning  hours  were  given  to  this 
work.  He  watched  the  growth  of  his  vegetables  and  fruit 
with  lively  interest,  and  shared  them  liberally  with  his 
neighbors.  He  cordially  joined  in  any  enterprise  to  beau- 
tify the  village,  and  set  out  with  his  own  hands  many  of 
the  stately  trees  now  adorning  the  common.  Seldom 
absent  from  home  except  on  business,  two  journeys  which 
he  made  for  pleasure  deserve  mention.  One  was  in  Au- 
gust, 1836,  when  in  company  with  a  daughter  he  went  to 
the  White  Hills.  Travellers  were  not  then,  as  now,  whirled 
from  the  busy  city  to  the  top  of  Mount  Washington  in  one 
short  day,  to  find  on  its  summit  a  sumptuous  hotel. 
They  made  the  approach  gradually  in  stage-coaches,  with 


276  CALEB   BUTLER 

time  to  enjoy  the  increasing  beauty  of  the  scenery.  The 
ascent  of  the  mountain  was  made  on  horseback  or  on  foot, 
over  a  rugged  bridle-path,  and  no  shelter  from  wind  or 
weather  awaited  the  traveller  who  attained  the  rocky 
height.  Mr.  Butler's  experience  is  thus  recorded  briefly 
in  his  diary  :  — 

"  Wednesday,  Aug.  24.  Set  out  for  Mt.  Washington  (from 
Ethan  Allen  Crawford's)  on  horseback  about  half-past  six ; 
ground  covered  with  white  frost  like  November.  Ride  about 
six  miles,  part  of  the  way  tolerable,  another  part  bad,  another 
next  to  impossible  to  ride,  about  one  mile  a  little  worse;  pass 
the  Ammonoosuc  branches  several  times.  Leave  our  horses 
between  nine  and  ten  o'clock,  and  commence  the  ascent,  said 
to  be  two  and  a  half  miles.  Two  ladies  in  the  party ;  some  of 
the  gentlemen  reach  the  summit  about  eleven,  last  with  the 
ladies  about  twelve ;  break  the  ice  about  one  third  of  an  inch 
thick,  over  water  near  the  summit ;  as  good  a  day  as  in  the 
whole  year  for  the  ascent.  Commence  the  descent  about  one 
o'clock,  reach  Crawford's  about  five." 

A  few  years  later,  in  the  summer  of  1843,  he  went, 
accompanied  by  his  wife,  to  visit  their  eldest  daughter 
living  in  Quebec.  Niagara  and  Lake  Ontario  were  in- 
cluded in  this  tour.  Both  of  these  journeys  were  thor- 
oughly enjoyed,  and  they  long  dwelt  agreeably  in  his 
memory. 

As  the  more  active  labors  of  life  became  burdensome  to 
him,  he  found  agreeable  occupation  in  writing  the  history 
of  Groton.  Numerous  friends  urged  him  to  undertake 
this  work.  In  their  estimation  his  accurate  topographical 
knowledge  of  the  town,  and  his  familiarity  with  its  early 
records,  would  enable  him  to  treat  the  subject  as  no  other 
person  could.  The  volume  was  published  by  T.  R.  Mar- 
vin, in  Boston,  February,  1848,  and  is  entitled  "  A  History 
of  the  Town  of  Groton,  including  Pepperell  and  Shirley." 
That  part  relating  to  Pepperell  church  history  was  se- 
verely criticised  by  a  committee  appointed  for  the  pur- 


CALEB   BUTLER  277 

pose  by  the  church  which  felt  itself  aggrieved.  This 
Review  was  published  in  pamphlet  form,  and  Mr.  Butler 
replied  in  the  same  way.  His  answer,  called  "  A  Review 
Reviewed,"  was  printed  by  Benjamin  H.  Greene  in  1850. 

On  the  26th  of  February,  1846,  he  was  admitted  a 
member  of  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  So- 
ciety. He  prepared  an  "  Account  of  Deacon  John  Butler, 
of  Pelham,  New  Hampshire,  and  some  of  his  descend- 
ants," which  appeared  in  the  first  and  second  volumes 
of  the  "New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical 
Register." 

He  was  made  a  Trustee  of  the  Middlesex  Institution 
for  Savings  in  1836,  and  a  Director  in  the  Middlesex 
Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  in  1839  ;  and  he  attended 
the  meetings  of  these  companies,  both  located  in  Concord, 
Massachusetts,  with  great  regularity  till  his  death. 

From  the  above  details  it  must  be  seen  that  industry 
and  perseverance  were  marked  traits  in  Mr.  Butler's  char- 
acter. It  may  be  added  that  his  punctuality  was  pro- 
verbial, and  his  integrity  unquestioned.  There  wa«  a 
marked  simplicity  and  straightforwardness  in  all  he  did. 
'  The  directness  with  which  he  pursued  the  end  he  had  in 
view,  might  be  deemed  rude  when  judged  by  conventional 
rules  of  politeness.  Under  a  grave,  alniost  stern  exterior, 
he  possessed  warm  affections,  and  a  keen  sensibility'  to 
the  sufferings  of  others.  Wit  and  humor  he  appreciated 
in  no  small  degree.  His  early  experiences  made  him 
economical,  and  he  never  had  wealth  to  bestow ;  but  he 
gave  freely  of  such  as  he  had,  —  his  services,  whether  of 
head  or  hand.  A  life-long  friend  said  of  him,  ''  If  his 
ambition  had  equalled  his  modest}^,  he  would  have  become 
eminent."  His  name  has  been  given  to  the  public  school 
in  the  centre  of  Groton,  —  a  fitting  tribute  to  his  memory, 
which  his  fellow- citizens  desire  thus  to  perpetuate. 

An  excellent  likeness  of  Mr.  Butler,  when  he  was  nearly 
seventy  years  of  age,  was  painted  by  Mr.  T.  B.  Lawson, 


278  CALEB   BUTLER 

of  Lowell,  Massachusetts.  A  copy,  by  the  same  artist, 
now  hangs  in  the  library  of  Lawrence  Academy,  presented 
after  the  death  of  his  daughter  Clarissa,  in  accordance 
with  her  request. 

He  met  the  approach  of  old  age  cheerfully.  He  gave 
up  his  law  office  soon  after  the  post-office  was  taken  from 
him,  and  spent  much  of  his  leisure  in  reading.  History, 
biography,  travels,  and  scientific  works,  all  had  charms  for 
him,  but  modern  novels  he  rarely  opened.  The  classics 
were  not  forgotten.  During  the  last  few  years  of  his  life 
he  read  with  pleasure  the  works  of  Virgil  and  Horace  in 
the  original.  His  Greek  Testament  was  always  at  hand 
for  familiar  reading,  and  his  book-mark  was  left  in  the  last 
chapter  of  Revelation  at  his  death. 

The  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  marriage  found  him  and 
his  wife  in  the  enjoyment  of  good  health.  Their  children 
and  grandchildren,  with  other  relatives,  assembled  to 
celebrate  the  Golden  Wedding,  and  neighbors  offered 
their  congratulations  informally  but  cordially.  Their 
mt^rried  life  may  be  said  to  have  been  eminently  happy, 
notwithstanding  they  had  suffered  severe  affliction  in  the 
deaths  of  five  of  their  eight  children.  The  three  sons 
all  died  away  from  home,  having  left  in  the  pursuit  of 
business. 

Mr.  Butler's  last  illness  was  typhoid  fever,  and  he  died 
October  7,  1854.  By  request  of  his  fellow-citizens,  his 
funeral  was  attended  in  the  church  where  he  had  so  lonsr 
worshipped,  October  10.  An  appropriate  sermon  was 
preached  by  his  pastor,  the  Rev.  Crawford  Nightingale, 
from  the  text,  "  Thou  shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  a  full 
age,  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  in  his  season."  It 
was  published  October  31,  1855,  on  the  day  of  the  Bi- 
centennial Celebration  of  the  town. 

Mrs.  Butler  survived  her  husband  a  few  years,  dying  at 
Groton,  September  5,  1862,  aged  eighty. 

Their  children  are  as  follows  :  — 


CALEB    BUTLER  279 

I.  Henrietta,  born  May  28,  1805 ;  died  November  22,  1864. 
Married  Nathaniel  Littlefield,  September  1, 1823  ;  4nd  secondly, 
the  Rev.  Timothy  Atkinson,  April  28,  1841.     Sine  prole. 

II.  Charles  Varnum,  born  December  2,  1806  ;  died  unmar- 
ried, February  16,  1831. 

III.  George,  born  February  14,  1808 ;  died  unmarried,  June 
12,  1835. 

IV.  Susan,  born  September  19,  1809 ;  died  unmarried,  Sep- 
tember 24,  1826. 

V.  Rebekah,  born  May  28,  1811 ;  died  September  6,  1844. 
Married  Peter  Anderson,  a  native  of  Norway,  September  29, 
1840. 

1.  Herman  Monrad  Anderson,  born  August  24, 1844;  died 
March  31,  1848. 

VI.  William,  born  August  21, 1812  ;  died  unmarried,  October 
24,  1839. 

VII.  Clarissa,  born  July  14,  1814  ;  died  unmarried,  Decem- 
ber 22,  1875. 

VIII.  Frances,  born  October  12,  1822.  Married  Francis 
Augustus  Brooks,  September  14,  1847. 

1.  Frederick  Brooks,  born  July  17,  1848. 

2.  Clara  Varnum  Brooks,  born  July  9,  1850 ;  died  Decem- 

ber 30,  1856. 

3.  Walter  Morgan  Brooks,  born  September  22,  1851 ;  died 

November  17,  1853. 

4.  Adelaide  Brooks,  born  November  1,  1852 ;  died  Novem- 

ber 17,  1853. 

5.  Charles  Butler  Brooks,  born  November  12,  1853. 

6.  Morgan  Brooks,  born  March  12,  1861. 


FREDERICK    HOBBS 


/^  Frederick  Hobbs  was  born  in  "Weston,  County  of 
Middlesex,  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  on  the  28th 
of  February,  1797.  His  parents  were  descendants  of  the 
first  emigrants  from  England  who  settled  in  the  vicinity 
of  Boston.  He  was  the  third  son  of  Isaac  and  Mary 
Hobbs.  His  father  was  the  second  son  of  Isaac  Hobbs, 
who  was  the  first  son  of  Ebenezer  Hobbs,  born  in  Boston 
in  1709,  and  moved  to  Weston  ^A^ith  his  family  in  1735. 
The  mother  of  Frederick  was  Mary  Baldwin,  of  Weston, 
who  married  Isaac  Hobbs,  January  20,  1790 ;  she  was  a 
lineal  descendant  of  the  celebrated  Rev.  John  Cotton,  the 
minister  of  the  First  Church  of  Boston. 

Frederick  Hobbs  attended  the  public  schools  of  Wes- 
ton and  the  academy  in  Atkinson,  and  entered  Harvard 
College  in  1813,  graduating  with  much  promise  in  1817, 
in  a  class  with  several  who  became  highly  distinguished 
as  scholars  and  statesmen,  among  them  George  Ban- 
croft, Caleb  Cushing,  Stephen  H.  Tyng,  and  George  B. 
Emerson.  Mr.  Hobbs  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the 
office  of  Isaac  Fisk,  of  Weston,  and  completed  his  course 
of  legal  studies,  preparatory  to  his  admission  to  the  Bar, 
in  the  office  of  the  Hon.  Daniel  Webster,  in  Boston, 
whose  confidence  and  kind  regards  he  enjoyed  as  long 
as  that  distinguished  lawyer  and  statesman  lived. 

In  the  year  1815  Mr.  Hobbs's  cousin,  George  Hobbs 
(son  of  his  uncle,  Ebenezer  Hobbs,  of  Weston),  and  his 


FREDERICK   HOBBS  281 

elder  brother,  Isaac  Hobbs,  established  themselves  in 
business  at  Eastport,  in  the  then  district,  now  State,  of 
Maine,  under  the  firm  name  of  G.  &  I.  Hobbs.  At  that 
time  Eastport  was  in  the  possession  of  the  British,  and 
governed  by  martial  law.  On  the  14th  of  July.  1814, 
the  place  was  captured  by  a  British  force,  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Pilkinton  and  Captain 
Thomas  Hardy.  It  was  claimed  as  included  in  the 
oriscinal  limits  of  New  Brunswick,  and  the  British  commis- 
sioners  at  Ghent  refused  to  agree  to  the  surrender  of  the 
islands  in  Passamaquoddy  Bay,  including  Moose  Island, 
upon  which  Eastport  was  built.  The  matter  was  referred 
to  another  commissioner,  and  on  the  30th  day  of  June, 
1818,  the  place  was  surrendered  to  the  United  States. 

From  1815  to  1835  an  extensive  and  profitable  trade 
was  carried  on  at  Eastport  with  the  people  of  the  British 
Provinces  of  New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia,  and  the 
neighboring  islands,  as  well  as  with  the  West  India 
Islands,  and  the  principal  ports  of  the  southern  states. 

George  and  Isaac  Hobbs  were  among  the  leading  mer- 
chants of  Eastport  during  the  most  flourishing  period  of 
its  commercial  existence. 

In  1820  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  having  completed 
his  legal  education  preparatory  to  his  admission  to  the 
Bar,  by  the  advice  of  his  cousin  and  brother,  George  and 
Isaac  Hobbs,  concluded  to  establish  himself  at  Eastport  in 
the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession,  as  a  favorable  open- 
ing presented  itself  by  the  removal  from  Eastport  to 
Boston  of  Francis  Putnam,  Esq.,  who  had  been  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  there  for  a  brief  period.  Accord- 
ingly in  October  of  that  year,  having  made  arrangements 
with  Mr.  Putnam  for  his  business  and  good-will,  Mr. 
Hobbs  set  out  for  the  town  of  Eastport. 

On  his  way  thither  he  made  a  brief  stay  in  Portland,  in 
the  county  of  Cumberland,  and  by  the  advice  and  assist- 
ance of  his  friend,  Thomas  A.  Deblois,  Esq.,  of  the  dis- 

36 


282  FEEDERICK  HOBBS 

tinguished  law-firm  of  Fessenden  &  Deblois,  Mr.  Hobbs 
presented  himself  for  admission,  and  was  admitted,  to  the 
Bar  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  that  court  then  being 
in  session  in  Portland. 

He  then  continued  his  journey  to  Eastport,  took  pos- 
session of  the  office  lately  occupied  by  Mr.  Putnam,  and 
commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession,  to  which  he 
was  ardently  attached,  with  diligence  and  confidence,  and 
he  soon  secured  a  large  and  profitable  business. 

In  July,  1821,  he  was  admitted  as  an  attorney,  and  in 
July,  1823,  as  a  counsellor-at-law  in  the  Supreme  Judicial 
Court,  held  at  Machias,  county  of  Washington. 

At  Bangor,  on  the  10th  of  July,  1823,  Mr.  Hobbs  was 
married  tQ^^^ary  Jane  Coombs,  daughter  of  Philip  and 
^^^^lizabeth     (Harrod)::^ Coombs,    formerly    of    Newbury- 
port. 

The  Coombses  and  Harrods  were  leading  families  in  the 
old  town  of  Newburyport,  and  distinguished  for  their 
commercial  enterprise  and  probity  in  the  best  days  of 
that  once  flourishing  and  prosperous  town. 
•  In  its  most  prosperous  days  Eastport  was  celebrated 
for  the  hospitality  of  its  people.  They  had  many  visitors 
from  St.  Andrews,  St.  George,  St.  John,  Halifax,  Boston, 
Portland,  and  other  commercial  places;  and  the  United 
States  officers  at  the  garrison  at  Fort  Sullivan,  situated  on 
the  heights  of  Eastport,  added  not  a  little  to  the  gaye ties 
and  festivities  of  the  place.  Among  the  leading  families 
who  entertained  visitors  with  an  elegant  and  generous 
hospitality  were  the  families  of  the  Hobbses,  —  George, 
Isaac,  and  Frederick, — -and  none  with  more  genteel 
appointments  than  the  latter. 

During  his  residence  in  Eastport  Mr.  Hobbs  had  the 
entire  respect  and  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens,  filling 
various  municipal  offices,  and  representing  the  town  one 
year  in  the  State  Legislature.  He  was  the  candidate  of 
the  Whig  party  for  Congress  in  the  year  1834,  and  re- 


FREDERICK   HOBBS  283 

ceived  the  united  support  of  that  party ;  but  as  it  was  in 
a  minority  in  the  district,  he  failed  of  an  election.  He  had 
eminent  qualifications  for  public  service.  Learned  in  the 
law,  skilful  as  a  debater  and  advocate,  and  above  all  dis- 
tinguished for  his  sound  judgment  and  high  sense  of 
honor,  he  would  have  become  useful  and  eminent  in  the 
councils  of  the  country. 

Acting  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  mutual  friend 
of  the  parties,  Mr.  Hobbs  entered  into  partnership  with 
Mr.  Daniel  T.  Granger,  under  the  firm-name  of  Hobbs  & 
Granger,  in  July,  1832.  There  was  a  remarkable  resem- 
blance between  the  partners  in  their  habits  of  business, 
both  being  unusually  methodical  and  particular  in  all 
their  doings,  in  the  arrangement  of  their  papers,  in  con- 
ducting their  correspondence,  and  in  all  the  details  of  a 
lawyer's  office.  They  were  both  models  of  industry,  and 
both  had  unusual  powers  of  application. 

The  partnership  was  a  most  pleasant  and  harmonious 
connection,  resulting  in  a  large  and  profitable  business. 

In  the  year  1836  Mr.  Hobbs  sold  out  his  interest  in  the 
partnership  to  Mr.  Granger,  and  established  himself  in 
the  practice  of  law  at  Bangor,  in  the  county  of  Penobscot. 
Mr.  Granger  not  only  purchased  of  Mr.  Hobbs  his  busi- 
ness in  the  law  office,  but  also  his  residence,  a  neat  house 
on  Washington  Street,  in  Eastport,  where  Mr.  Granger 
resided  until  his  very  sudden  death  in  December,  1854, 
at  the  age  of  47. 

Without  any  solicitation,  indeed  without  any  previous 
knowledge,  on  his  part,  of  such  intention,  he  was 
appointed  to  the  high  position  of  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Judicial  Court  of  Maine  in  December,  1853.  But  owin^ 
to  his  failing  health,  he  felt  obliged,  much  to  the  regret 
of  the  other  members  of  the  Court,  to  decline  accepting 
the  position,  the  appointment  to  which  was  so  highly 
complimentary  and  honorable  to  him,  as  indicating  the 
estimation  of  his  fellow-citizens  best  qualified  to  judge  of 


284  FREDERICK   HOBBS 

his  character  and  acquirements  and  fitness  for  an  office  of 
so  high  a  character  and  importance. 

On  his  removal  to  Bangor  Mr.  Hobbs  successfully  con- 
tinued the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  did  a  large  busi- 
ness in  the  courts  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  in  the 
courts  of  the  State  of  Maine,  and  especially  on  the  equity 
side  of  the  courts.  Mr.  Justice  Story,  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  appointed  him  Master  in 
Chancery.  He  was  also  a  Commissioner  in  Bankruptcy. 
Notwithstanding  his  ardent  attachment  and  great  devo- 
tion to  his  profession,  he  found  time  for  other  employ- 
ments. He  took  great  interest  in  the  municipal  affairs  of 
his  adopted  city.  He  was  chosen  alderman  of  his  ward, 
and  his  services  in  the  City  Council  were  very  valuable. 
In  the  cause  of  schools,  lyceum,  and  temperance,  he  was 
an  earnest  advocate,  and  contributed  his  full  share  in 
their  general  advancement. 

He  was  for  some  time  president  of  the  Musical  Associa- 
tion in  Bangor,  which  did  very  much  to  elevate  and  refine 
the  public  taste.  He  took  much  interest  in  antiquarian 
matters,  and  was  admitted  a  corresponding  member  of 
the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  No- 
vember 15,  1847.  He  was  also  greatly  interested  in 
horticulture,  and  was  the  first  in  the  city  of  Bangor  to 
make  the  attempt  to  raise  fruit  to  any  considerable  ex- 
tent. In  this  he  was  very  successful,  his  fine  fruit  gain- 
ing high  commendation  from  the  first  horticulturists  in 
Massachusetts. 

In  person  Mr.  Hobbs  was  a  man  of  fine  presence,  above 
the  middle  height,  erect,  and  well  formed,  of  full  habit 
and  sanguine  temperament.  He  enjoyed  perfect  health 
until  he  had  reached  about  fifty  3^ears.  His  manners 
were  polished  and  cordial,  and  his  disposition  remark- 
ably cheerful.  He  was  highly  appreciated  for  his  strict 
fidelity  to  every  trust  confided  to  him,  and  for  his  pure 
and  exemplary  life.    He  was  sympathizing  and  charitable. 


FREDEKICK   HOBBS  285 

No  appeal  was  ever  made  to  him  in  any  cause  promotive 
of  the  public  good  which  did  not  meet  with  a  hearty  and 
generous  response. 

He  died  at  his  residence  in  Bangor  on  the  10th  of 
October,    1854,   aged    57. 

The  Supreme  Judicial  Court  being  in  session  at 
Bangor,  Judge  Joshua  W.  Hathaway  presiding,  at  the 
time  of  Mr.  Hobbs's  decease,  the  following  tribute  to  his 
memory  was  paid  by  the  Hon.  Elijah  L.  Hamlin :  — 

"  As  a  lawyer  he  was  much  attached  to  his  profession,  and 
discharged  its  duties  with  fidelity  and  earnestness.  No  client 
of  his  could  ever  complain  that  anything  was  left  undone  that 
ought  to  be  done  or  could  be  done.  If  in  his  intercourse  with 
the  Bar  he  was  firm,  and  perhaps  at  times  too  unyielding  in 
what  he  considered  his  just  rights,  he  was  not  slow  in  accord- 
ing a  respectful  courtesy  to  the  rights  of  others. 

"As  a  citizen  he  was  eminently  useful,  always  ready  with  an 
open  hand  and  a  willing  heart  to  aid  in  all  important  enterprises 
and  social  improvements  that  came  within  his  reach. 

"  As  a  man  he  was  entitled  to  our  highest  regards,  and  the 
place  which  he  has  left  void  cannot  easily  be  filled.  He  was 
eminently  social  and  cheerful  in  his  disposition  and  habits,  and 
we  cannot  soon  forget  the  pleasant  countenance,  the  kind  voice, 
and  the  warm  hand  with  which  he  was  wont  to  greet  us  all  in 
our  daily  meetings.  We  shall  look  upon  his  face  no  more ;  he 
has  finished  his  term  here  and  been  summoned  to  a  higher  tri- 
bunal. May  it  be  our  happy  lot,  when  we  also  are  summoned 
to  leave,  that  we  may  be  prepared  to  obey  the  call  with  the 
same  Christian  patience  and  resignation  that  our  departed 
brother  has  exhibited  through  all  his  trying  illness." 

Mr.  Hamlin  then  read  the  resolutions  adopted  by  a 
meeting  of  the  Bar,  prepared  by  a  committee  appointed 
at  a  previous  meeting,  consisting  of  Thornton  McGaw, 
Edward  Kent,  and  Elijah  L.  Hamlin,  Esquires :  — 

'■'■Resolved,  That  we  deeply  regret  the  death  of  Frederick 
Hobbs,  Esq.,  a  distinguished  member  of  this  Bar. 


286  frederice:  hobbs 

"  Resolved,  That  Mr.  Hobbs,  by  his  untiring  industry,  strict 
integrity,  extensive  reading,  and  legal  acquirements,  merited 
and  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  his  clients,  and  the  respect  of  the 
community  in  which  he  lived. 

"  Resolved,  That  Mr.  Hobbs  was  endeared  to  us  by  his  social 
qualities,  by  his  gentlemanly  deportment,  by  his  general  hospi- 
tality, by  his  pure  morals  and  liberal  acts,  and  by  his  strict 
observance  of  all  the  duties  of  a  good  citizen,  a  good  lawyer, 
and  a  good  man. 

"  Resolved,  That  as  a  token  of  our  respect  for  his  memory  we 
will  attend  his  funeral  obsequies. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions,  signed  by  the 
secretary  of  the  Bar,  be  presented  to  his  family." 

His  Honor  Judge  Hathaway  briefly  responded :  —  It 
was  gratifying  to  him  that  the  Bar,  on  the  decease  of 
their  departed  brother,  had  taken  action  equally  credit- 
able to  themselves  and  honorable  to  the  memory  of  the 
deceased.  In  the  beautiful  diction  of  the  most  eminent 
poet  of  the  Augustan  age  we  have  been  told  — 

"  Pallida  Mors  aequo  pulsat  pede  pauperum  tabernas 
Regumque  turres." 

To-day  death  was  in  the  home  of  our  friend  and  brother, 
where  he  had  found  and  taken  one  loved,  respected,  and 
honored  by  all.  To  all  the  words  of  eulogy  in  the 
address 'of  the  Bar,  and  with  the  sentiments  of  their  reso- 
lutions, he  could  accord  his  entire  and  warm  concurrence. 
He  would,  therefore,  following  the  request  of  the  Bar, 
order  the  Court  adjourned. 

The  Court  thereupon  adjourned. 

A  writer  in  the  Bangor  "  Whig  and  Courier,"  a  few 
days  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Hobbs,  says  of  him :  — 

"  He  was  a  Christian.  Many  years  ago  he  embraced  the 
Unitarian  faith,  and  through  all  his  after  life  his  thoughts 
and  actions  appear  to  have  been  regulated  from  conscientious 
motives. 


FREDERICK    HOBBS  287 

"  He  was  sincerely  attached  to  his  church,  and  sought  in  all 
proper  ways  to  advance  the  spread  of  its  doctrines.  The  rich 
present,  after  he  was  taken  sick,  of  a  silver  communion  service, 
to  the  church  where  he  worshipped  in  this  city,  shows  that  the 
effect  of  his  illness  tended  to  draw  his  affections  still  closer  to 
the  best  object  of  his  wishes. 

"  He  passed  to  his  final  account  in  the  spirit  world,  leaving 
behind  him  the  bright  example  of  a  well-spent  and  useful  life, 
with  a  conscience,  we  trust,  void  of  offence,  and  in  the  hope  of 
a  blessed  immortality." 


AETEMAS    SIMONDS 


Artemas  Simonds  was  born  in  Fitchburg,  "Worcester 
County,  Massachusetts,  November  15,  1794,  and  died  at 
Boston,  Massachusetts,  October  15,  1854,  one  month  pre- 
vious to  his  sixtieth  birthday.  He  was  the  son  of  Joseph 
Simonds,  who  was  born  in  Lunenburg,  Massachusetts, 
June  16,  1768,  and  who  died  at  Fitchburg,  Massachu- 
setts, November  9,  1839.  His  grandfather  Joseph  was 
born  in  Woburn,  Middlesex  County,  Massachusetts,  May 
21,  1745,  and  died  at  St.  Charles,  Missouri,  October  10, 
1820.  The  parents  of  Joseph,  Sen.,  cannot  be  identified, 
although  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  in  his  numerous  genea- 
logical researches,  devoted  much  time  to  this  problem.  It 
is  believed  his  first  American  ancestor  was  William  Si- 
monds, whose  name  is  found  in  Woburn  records  as  coming 
early  from  England,  and  according  to  the  town  records 
married  Judith  (Phipps)  Hay  ward,  a  widow,  January  18, 
1643-1644,  but  according  to  the  Middlesex  County  records 
March  18, 1643,  by  whom  he  had  twelve  children.  Joseph 
Simonds,  Sen.,  married  Mary  Martin,  who  was  born  in 
Lunenburg,  Massachusetts,  November  6, 1748,  and  died  in 
Hartland,  Vermont,  February  11,  1819. 

The  mother  of  Artemas  Simonds  was  SaUy  Downe,  born 
at  Fitchburg,  Massachusetts,  August  30,  1769,  and  died 
there  September  24,  1818.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph and  Martha  (Wood)  Downe.  Joseph  Downe  was 
born  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  December  23,  1742,  and 


ARTEMAS    SIMONDS  289 

died  in  Fitchburg,  February  28,  1828.  He  was  son  of 
William  and  Margaret  (Fitch)  Downe.  The  father  of 
William  Downe  was  Colonel  William  Downe,  a  prominent 
citizen  of  Boston,  holding  numerous  civil  and  military 
offices.  He  was  one  of  the  selectmen  of  Boston  in  1732, 
at  the  same  time  with  Joseph  Fitch,  the  father  of  Marga- 
ret (Fitch)  Downe,  before  named.  In  the  "  Boston  News- 
Letter,"  of  June  7,  1753,  the  death  and  funeral  of  Colonel 
William  Downe  were  announced,  with  a  flattering  his- 
tory of  his  life  and  character.  In  the  Granary  Burying- 
ground,  Boston,  are  ancient  gravestones  of  the  Downe 
family,  notably  one  of  this  Colonel  William  Downe,  who 
died  June  3,  1753. 

Martha  (Wood)  Downe,  maternal  grandmother  of  Arte- 
mas  Simonds,  was  the  daughter  of  David  Wood,  of  Lunen- 
burg, Massachusetts,  a  descendant  from  David  Wood,  an 
early  settler  of  Kowley,  Massachusetts,  who  came  from 
Rowley,  Yorkshire,  England,  in  1638. 

Artemas  Simonds,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  received 
his  education  in  the  comnaon  schools  of  his  native  town, 
and  so  well  improved  his  time  as  to  become  himself  a 
teacher  in  several  district  schools  of  that  town  and  vicin- 
ity, and  to  lay  the  foundation  of  those  correct  and  me- 
thodical habits  which  made  him  so  useful  and  successful 
in  the  various  positions  which  he  afterwards  held.  In  his 
youth  he  labored  on  his  father's  farm,  and  learned  his 
father's  trade,  that  of  a  shoemaker.  Having  a  frail 
constitution,  he  abandoned  these  more  laborious  employ- 
ments for  clerkships  in  a  country  store  and  in  several 
manufacturing  establishments.  He  removed  permanently 
to  Boston  in  1822,  becoming  book-keeper  and  clerk  in 
the  Boston  and  South  Boston  Glass  Factories,  till  1827. 
For  three  years  he  had  a  dry-goods  store  on  his  own 
account. 

Without  being  at  any  time  an  office-seeker,  his  integ- 
rity, activity,  and  desire  for  usefulness  pointed  out  to  his 

37 


290  AKTEMAS    SmONDS 

fellow-citizens  his  peculiar  fitness  for  public  office.  In 
1824  lie  was  appointed  one  of  the  fire-wards  of  the  city  of 
Boston,  serving  in  that  office  at  the  same  time  with  the 
well-known  Major  Thomas  Melville.  In  1829  he  was 
chosen  by  his  own  ward  as  one  of  the  overseers  of  the 
poor  of  Boston ;  and  in  this  capacity  his  kindness,  good 
judgment,  faithfulness,  and  ability  marked  him  as  pecu- 
liarly qualified  to  enter  upon  that  work  of  caring  for  the  ' 
poor  in  various  ways,  so  as  to  make  it  almost  his  life- 
work.  In  May,  1830,  he  was  elected  by  the  City  Council 
of  Boston  one  of  the  directors  of  the  House  of  Industry ; 
and  when  a  vacancy  occurred  in  the  responsible  office  of 
superintendent  of  that  institution,  he  was  urged  to  ac- 
cept the  position  by  the  unanimous  choice  of  his  associ- 
ates. Modestly  doubting  his  fitness  for  the  place,  he  was 
induced  to  undertake  the  duties,  commencing  April  1, 
1831.  "With  a  few  months'  respite  in  1835,  for  a  purpose 
hereafter  named,  he  retained  the  office  till  October  31, 
1836.  "With  what  kindly  sympathy,  excellent  judgment, 
firm  government,  and  economical  executive  ability  he  per- 
formed his  duties,  his  associates  and  the  city  government 
ever  bore  willing  and  unanimous  testimony.  Beloved  by 
the  inmates  generally,  his  aim  was  to  do  all  he  could  for 
the  unfortunate,  the  sick,  the  aged  ones,  while  the  chil- 
dren looked  upon  him  almost  as  a  father.  In  the  spring 
of  1835,  needing  a  change  for  his  health,  he  was  urged 
by  the  directors  and  the  city  government,  especially  by 
the  Hon.  Theodore  Lyman,  then  mayor,  to  undertake  a 
systematic  investigation  of  the  subject  of  pauperism,  and 
of  the  various  almshouses,  and  modes  of  their  administra- 
tion in  other  cities.  On  the  23d  of  April,  1835,  an  order 
was  passed  by  the  City  Council  of  Boston  for  such  a  pur- 
pose. In  City  Document  No.  15  (Common  Council)  for 
1835  appears  his  report,  covering  fifty-eight  pages, 
being  the  largest  and  most  extensive  of  his  published 
writinscs.     It  embraces  the  result  of  hi&  observations  on 


ARTEMAS    SIMONDS  291 

pauperism,  and  especially  on  almshouses,  and  on  their 
modes  of  administration  in  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Bal- 
timore, Albany,  Hartford,  Providence,  Portsmouth,  and 
Portland.  It  suggested  improvements  which  were 
adopted  and  carried  into  practice  by  him  in  part  in  the 
succeeding  year,  during  which  time  he  was  persuaded  to 
retain  the  superintendency.  The  duties  became  too  ex- 
haustive for  him,  and  he  fully  resigned  the  position  Octo- 
ber 31  j  1836.  Unwilling  to  lose  his  valuable  services,  the 
City  Council  again  elected  him  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
House  of  Industry,  which  office  he  held  till  May  31, 1849, 
being  secretary  of  the  board,  and  as  such  having  an 
office  in  City  Hall  from  August  7,  1837,  to  March  31, 
1849. 

In  June,  1849,  the  City  Council  established  the  office  of 
city  registrar.  Previous  to  this,  the  duty  of  registering 
births  and  marriages  devolved  on  the  city  clerk.  The 
office  of  superintendent  of  burials  was  at  the  same  time 
abolished,  and  all  these  duties  were  to  be  united,  and  per- 
formed by  the  city  registrar.  To  that  ofiice  Mr.  Simonds 
was  elected  July  5,  1849.  To  those  who  were  personally 
acquainted  with  him,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that 
few  men  were  better  adapted  by  nature  and  training  for 
statistical  investigation  than  himself.  Quick  of  percep- 
tion, precise  and  accurate  in  habit,  he  was  rarely  at  fault 
in  his  conclusions,  or  at  a  loss  to  perceive  the  true  rela- 
tions of  cause  and  effect.  These  qualities  assisted  him 
greatly  in  statistical  investigations,  as  well  as  in  the  per- 
formance of  his  routine  duties,  which  demanded,  in  addi- 
tion to  his  many  other  admirable  qualifications,  no  small 
amount  of  patience.  The  annual  reports  of  the  city  regis- 
trar for  the  years  1849,  1850,  1851,  1852,  and  1853  bear 
witness  to  his  ability  for  statistical  work ;  and  the  records 
of  the  ofiice,  of  which  he  may  be  considered  the  founder, 
will  show  how  well  and  carefully  his  work  was  performed. 
In  March,  1854,  having  been  compelled  by  ill  health  to 


292  ARTEMAS    SIMONDS 

decline  a  re-election  to  the  office  which  he  had  filled  for 
four  years  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  the  whole  commu- 
nity, he  was  succeeded  by  the  present  incumbent,  N.  A. 
Apollonio,  Esq.  Having  spent  a  few  months  in  the  "West, 
he  returned  to  Boston,  but  only  to  succumb  to  disease  and 
death.  With  a  delicate  nervous  organization,  never 
strong  and  robust,  and  of  peculiar  sympathetic  tendencies, 
he  was  able  to  offer  but  a  feeble  opposition  to  the  ap- 
proach of  the  great  destroyer.  On  the  15th  day  of  Octo- 
ber, 1854,  he  passed  away,  a  kind-hearted,  benevolent 
friend  and  consistent  Christian  man,  leaving  behind  him 
no  one  who  knew  him  who  could  not  say  that  the  world 
was  better  for  his  having^  lived  in  it.  His  habits  and  ten- 
dencies  never  led  him  to  seek  a  name  for  himself,  being 
retiring  and  modest,  and  yet  he  was  ever  striving  for  the 
good  of  others.  He  was  a  constant  friend  to  the  young, 
ever  seeking  to  do  something  for  their  amusement  and 
employment,  and  to  lead  them  into  paths  of  truth  and 
virtue.  Older  persons  he  encouraged  in  the  cultivation  of 
useful  knowledge,  self-support,  and  rectitude. 

Besides  the  public  offices  already  mentioned,  he  was  for 
many  years  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  Suffolk  County,  for 
several  years  a  useful  member  of  the  Primary  School  Com- 
mittee, and  represented  Boston  for  a  year  in  the  Massa- 
chusetts legislature.  He  was  admitted  a  member  of  the 
New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society  on  the  6th 
of  March,  1848.  He  was  buried  at  his  own  request  in 
his  native  town  of  Fitchburg,  by  the  side  of  his  first  wife, 
and  near  his  parents,  and  a  large  number  of  his  relatives 
and  the  associates  of  his  early  life.  Mr.  Simonds  was 
twice  married,  first  in  July,  1820,  to  Mary  Boutelle, 
eldest  daughter  of  Nathaniel  and  Polly  Boutelle,  of  Fitch- 
burg, who  was  his  faithful  and  judicious  helpmeet  at  the 
House  of  Industry,  and  who  died  November  19,  1848; 
and  second,  in  December,  1850,  to  Mary  Jones,  of  Bos- 
ton, who  survived  him.     He  had  no  children. 


ARTEMAS   SIMONDS  293 

In  addition  to  various  published  reports  written  by  him 
in  relation  to  the  care  and  needs  of  the  poor,  as  before 
alluded  to,  he  wrote  for  the  papers  of  the  day  a  consid- 
erable number  of  shorter  articles  on  interesting  topics, 
which  were  always  gladly  received.  He  left  to  his  rela- 
tives a  manuscript  book,  being  "  Genealogical  and  Other 
Notes  in  Relation  to  some  of  the  Ancestors  and  Relatives 
of  my  Nephew,  collected  from  various  sources  by  his 
Uncle,  Artemas  Simonds.     1845." 

Many  of  the  facts  used  in  this  article  have  been  ob- 
tained from  this  manuscript  volume. 


WILLIAM    THADDEUS    HARRIS 


In  the  ancient  parish  church  of  Ottery-Saint-Mary,  in 
Devonshire,  England,  was*  solemnized  in  the  month  of 
November,  1605,  the  marriage  of  John  Harris  with  Alice 
Sprague.  Of  their  ancestry  nothing  is  known.  The  same 
entry  of  the  church  register  that  records  the  marriage 
tells  us  that  he  had  come  thither  from  Alisberie.  They 
were  the  ancestors  of  William  Thaddeus  Harris,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  memoir. 

To  John  and  AUce  Harris  were  born  at  least  ten  chil- 
dren.  Thomas,  the  eldest,  was  christened,  an  infant,  in 
August,  1606,  and  married  in  April,  1630,  Marie  Farant, 
possibly  a  descendant  of  French  Huguenot  parents,  and 
died  in  his  native  place  in  January,  1645,  leaving  an  only 
child,  Thomas,  to  continue  his  hue. 

This  second  Thomas,  christened  in  the  parish  church 
July,  1637,  found  his  way,  a  widower,  to  Boston,  New 
England,  some  time  between  1670  and  1675,  accompanied 
by  his  only  surviving  child,  a  daughter  Jane,  named  for 
her  mother.  Here  he  took  to  himself  a  second  wife,  the 
widow  Kebecca  Crowkham,  joined  the  Old  South  Church, 
purchased  a  goodly  estate  on  what  is  now  Bowdoin 
Square,  and  set  himself  diligently  at  work  to  build  up 
a  fortune  and  a  second  family.  His  success  was  more 
pronounced  in  the  first  matter  than  in  the  last,  for  at  his 
death  in  January,  1697-1698,  an  only  son  remained  to 
him  to  continue  the  name  in  the  city  of  his  adoption,  and 


WILLIAM   THADDEUS   HAKRIS  295 

inherit  the  home  reared  for  him  by  his  father's  industry. 
The  widow  married  two  years  later,  and  the  fair  estate 
was  doomed  to  early  dissipation  and  loss. 

Benjamin  Harris,  the  only  surviving  son  of  Thomas 
and  Rebecca,  was  born  in  Boston  in  1694,  He  married 
at  an  early  age,  Sarah,  the  widow  of  John  Matthews,  and 
died  in  his  native  town  November,  1722,  leaving,  in  his 
turn,  an  only  son,  Gary,  born  1720-1721. 

Gary  Harris  married  in  1743  Mehitable  Growell  (a 
descendant  of  the  daughter  Jane  whom  the  emigrant 
Thomas  Harris  had  brought  with  him  from  England),  and 
died  in  Boston,  January,  1749-1750,  leaving  an  only  son 
William  to  continue  the  line. 

William   Harris  was  born  July,  1744.     It  is  possible 
that    through    the    consanguinity   existing    between   his 
parents  he  inherited  a  double  share  of   the    emigrant's 
proclivities.    He  certainly  possessed  enough  of  his  wander- 
ing spirit  to  induce  him  to  cross  the  narrow  Gharles,  and 
found  for  himself  a  home  in  Gharlestown,  within  sight, 
however,  of  the  walls  that  his  ancestor  had  reared.     He 
was  a  scholarly  man,  and  quiet,  fond  of  his  books  and 
home.     Here  he  married  Rebecca,  the  daughter  of  Thad- 
deus  Mason,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  Gollege,  and  a  man  of 
much  culture  and  eminence,  from  whom,  undoubtedly,  the 
love  for  antiquarian  studies  so  pronounced  in  succeeding 
generations  of  the  family,  was  transmitted   to  their  de- 
scendants.    Eight  years  after  this  marriage  came  the  war 
of  the  American  Revolution.     At  the  burning  of  Gharles- 
town by  the  British  fleet,  June  17,  1775,  his  beautiful 
house  was  destroyed  with  its  contents,  while  his  wife  and 
little   children  were  hurried   off   to    a   distant   place   of 
safety,  and  he,  with  his  neighbors  and  friends,  espoused 
the  popular  cause.     Three  years  later  he  went  to  the 
little  town  of  Lancaster,  where  his  wife  had  taken  refuge, 
to  die.    Once  again  the  male  line  was  confided  to  an  only 
son,  the  first-born  of  Gaptain  William  and  Rebecca  Harris, 


296  WILLIAM   THADDEUS   HAERIS 

born  July  7, 1768,  and  named  for  his  distinguished  grand- 
father Thaddeus  Mason.  In  1787  the  boy  of  nineteen 
graduated  at  Harvard  College,  and  began  his  life's  work. 
Through  the  influence  of  friends  he  received  the  appoint- 
ment of  private  secretary  to  President  Washington,  but 
on  his  journey  to  Philadelphia  to  assume  his  duties  was 
stricken  down  by  what  proved  to  be  a  long  and  severe 
illness,  compelling  the  relinquishment  of  the  office.  He 
returned  to  Boston,  resumed  the  study  of  theology,  and 
in  due  time  was  ordained  to  the  pastorate  of  the  First 
Church  at  Dorchester,  where  he  remained  nearly  half  a 
century,  and  until  within  a  few  years  of  his  death.  He 
was  early  honored  by  Harvard  College  with  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  and  became  widely  known  through 
his  published  sermons,  his  works  on  natural  history,  and 
freemasonry,  and  for  his  historical  and  antiquarian  re- 
searches. He  died  in  Boston,  the  ancient  home  of  his 
family,  April  3,  1842,  leaving,  the  first  instance  in  six 
generations,  more  than  a  single  son  to  perpetuate  the 
race.  His  widow,  Mary,  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Elijah  Dix, 
a  lady  noted  for  her  stately  beauty,  survived  him,  and 
died  ten  years  later.* 

Thaddeus  WiUiam  Harris,  the  eldest  son  of  Thaddeus 
Mason  Harris,  was  born  in  Dorchester,  November  12, 
1795,  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1815,  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  1820,  married  in  1824 
Catherine,  the  daughter  of  the  eminent  practitioner, 
Amos  Holbrook,  M.  D.,  and  commenced  the  practice  of 
his  profession  in  Milton.  Seven  years  later  he  was  sum- 
moned to  Harvard  to  become  the  successor  of  the  vener- 
able Benjamin  Peirce  as  the  librarian  of  the  institution,  a 
position  which  he  filled  until  his  death  in  January,  1856. 
He  possessed  in  a  strong  degree  the  inherited  tastes  for 
natural  history  and  antiquarian  studies  which  had  dis- 
tinguished  his   father,    and    became   the    acknowledged 

*  See  memoir  in  Mass.  Hist.  Society  Coll.,  4th  series,  II.  130. 


WILLIAM   THADDEUS    HARRIS  297 

American  authority  in  entomology,  besides  earning  for 
himself  the  reputation  of  a  scrupulously  exact  and  skil- 
ful antiquary  * 

William  Thaddeus  Harris,  the  subject  of  this  notice, 
the  oldest  son  of  Thaddeus  William  Harris,  M.  D.,  was 
born  in  Miltoii,  January  25,  1826. 

Heavily  burdened  from  his  birth  with  severe  physical 
infirmities,  his  entire  life  was  a  struggle,  increasing  with 
his  years,  and  finally  overpowering  him  at  an  age  when 
most  men  come  into  full  possession  of  their  intellectual 
powers.  Of  himself  he  writes, "  The  days  of  childhood  are 
often  compared  to  a  dream :  to  me  they  were  a  troubled 
dream.  Debarred  from  its  pleasm-es,  I  had  a  double  por- 
tion of  its  sorrows.  ...  I  was  obliged  to  have  recourse 
to  books,  which,  in  process  of  time,  became  my  meat  and 
drink,  my  only  solace,  my  only  amusement."  At  the  age 
of  five  years  he  accompanied  his  father's  family  in  their 
removal  to  the  seat  of  the  university,  and  in  1840  entered 
the  Hopkins  Classical  School  in  preparation  for  Harvard 
College,  to  which  he  was  admitted  in  1842.  During  his 
college  life  he  was  a  close  and  conscientious  student, 
achieving  a  standing  highly  respectable,  and  in  Latin  and 
philosophy  a  distinguished  position.  He  was  the  recipient 
of  a  full  share  of  college  honors,  and  was  awarded  a  Latin 
oration  at  his  graduation  in  1846.  He  evinced  at  an 
early  age  a  strong  interest  in  his  family  history,  collecting 
during  his  boyhood  from  aged  friends  and  relatives  many 
facts  concerning  the  earlier  generations  of  his  maternal 
ancestry,  as  well  as  much  matter  relating  to  other  Milton 
and  Dorchester  families. 

During  his  Junior  year  at  Harvard  he  published  his 
"  Epitaphs  from  the  Old  Burying  Ground  in  Cambridge." 
The  spot  had  been  his  haunt  from  childhood.  Here  were 
buried  Shepard,  and  Dunster,  and  Mitchel,  the  Brattles 

*  See  memoir  in  Entomological  Correspondence,  Boston  Nat.  Hist.  Society, 
Occasional  Papers. 

38 


298  WILLIAM   THADDEUS   HARRIS 

and  the  Vassalls,  Belcher  and  Remington,  and  a  score  of 
others,  famous  in  the  history  of  the  colony  and  college. 
In  addition  to  the  epitaphs  of  the  ground,  the  work  con- 
tains a  complete  hst  of  the  deaths  as  recorded  in  the 
town  records  between  1638  and  1700,  and  notices  of 
several  of  the  distinguished  men  and  families  once  resi- 
dent in  the  town.  The  work  excited  much  attention 
among  the  antiquaries  of  the  time,  and  Mr.  Harris  was 
the  recipient  of  many  notices  in  commendation  of  the 
assiduous  care  and  historical  research  exercised  in  its 
preparation.  The  biographical  notes  attest  the  happy 
faculty  which  their  author  possessed  in  being  able  to  pre- 
sent the  topics  on  which  he  wrote  in  a  form  attractive 
even  to  the  general  reader.  The  preparation  of  this 
work  for  the  press  brought  him  into  pleasant  personal 
relations  with  several  of  the  antiquaries  of  the  day,  and 
the  acquaintances  thus  formed  were  retained  in  most 
cases  until  his  death. 

About  this  time,  August  30, 1845,  he  became  a  resident 
member  of  the  Ne.w  England  Historic  Genealogical  Soci- 
ety, then  in  its  infancy,  and  also  a  corresponding  mem- 
ber of  the  Dorchester  Antiquarian  Society. 

His  last  year  in  college  was  one  of  much  intellectual 
activity.  His  diary  bears  constant  evidence  of  his  early 
and  prolonged  hours  of  study  and  research,  and,  in  fact, 
until  the  last  years  of  his  life,  when  compelled  by  ill 
health  to  desist,  he  frequently  worked  at  his  desk  with 
scarcely  a  cessation  from  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  until 
late  into  the  evening.  His  reading  at  this  time  was 
largely  on  New  England  history  and  kindred  subjects ;  it 
was  carefully  and  systematically  conducted,  important  au- 
thorities read  and  read  again,  until  the  result  was  a  mass 
of  carefully  digested  and  critically  examined  matter 
which  few  men  have  the  patience  to  acquire,  and  fewer 
yet  the  faculty  of  using  to  advantage.  At  this  time  he 
prepared  for  pubHcation  an  alphabetical  list  of  the  female 


WILLIAM    THADDEUS    HARRIS  299 

names  found  in  Farmer's  Register  with  the  possible  pur- 
pose, as  he  jocosely  remarks  in  his  diary,  of  at  some  time 
writing  a  history  of  the  "matrons  of  New  England." 
He  also  prepared  for  the  author  the  index  to  Young's 
"  Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrims." 

Upon  his  graduation  Mr.  Harris  became  a  member  of 
the  Dane  Law  School,  commencing  a  special  line  of  study 
with  the  object  of  devoting  himself  to  the  conveyance  of 
real  estate  and  the  examination  of  titles.  A  letter  writ- 
ten to  his  life-long  friend,  Mr.  Charles  W.  Folsom  (H.  C. 
1845),  under  date  of  September,  1848,  gives  a  glimpse  of 
his  occupations  at  that  time.  He  writes  that  he  rose  "  at 
four  in  the  morning,  studied  law  six  hours  a  day,  pursu- 
ing at  the  same  time  special  studies  in  Latin,  Greek, 
Spanish,  and  Anglo-Saxon,  reading  a  course  of  political 
economy  and  history,  and  preparing  three  several  works 
for  publication,  one  of  which  was  in  the  press."  This  last 
was  a  new  edition  of  Hubbard's  "  History  of  New  Eng- 
land,'' placed  in  his  hands  by  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society,  and  published  in  1848.  It  was  carefully  collated 
with  the  old  manuscript  of  Hubbard,  in  the  possession  of 
the  Society,  and  a  large  body  of  learned  notes  added  by 
him  in  the  appendix.  At  this  time,  while  enjoying  an  unu- 
sual freedom  from  pain,  and  indulging,  as  he  writes,  "  in 
lofty  aspirations  and  ambitious  projects,"  he  contracted  a 
severe  cough,  which  was  followed  by  hemorrhage  from  the 
lungs,  temporarily  prostrating  him,  and  compelling  an 
entire  cessation  from  labor.  The  urgency  of  the  pub- 
lishers, coupled  with  his  own  eagerness  to  complete  the 
work  then  in  press,  forced  him  to  a  speedy  resumption  of 
his  editorial  duties.  In  the  letter  before  quoted  from,  he 
says  :  "  For  four  days  I  wrote  incessantly,  stopping  hardly 
to  take  breath,  expecting  every  moment  that  I  should  give 
out.  On  the  fourth  day  at  midnight,  when  all  was  still 
around  me,  I  wrote  the  last  sentence  in  the  book.  Thank 
God  !  who  sustained  me  throughout." 


300  WILLIAM   THADDEUS    HARRIS 

At  the  College  Commencement  of  that  year,  1848,  he 
received  the  degrees  of  A.  M.  and  LL.  B.,  and  soon  after 
entered  the  law-office  of  Mr.  William  I.  Bowditch,  of  Bos- 
ton, at  that  time  one  of  the  leading  conveyancers  of  the 
city.  Here  he  remained  until  the  spring  of  1850,  devot- 
ing, however,  much  of  his  time  to  his  favorite  pursuits 
of  history  and  genealogy.  In  the  early  part  of  1849, 
through  the  medium  of  Mr.  Samuel  G.  Drake,  with  whom 
he  continued  on  terms  of  peculiar  intimacy  to  the  end  of 
his  life,  he  assumed  the  editorship  of  the  "  Historical  and 
Genealogical  Eegister,"  then  in  the  third  year  of  its 
existence,  and  the  organ  of  the  New  England  Historic 
Genealogical  Society.  In  the  following  year  he  wrote 
for  the  editor,  the  late  Mr.  Isaac  Smith  Homans,  an  ac- 
count of  Cambridge  and  the  University,  included  in  a 
work  published  in  1851,  under  the  title  of  "  Sketches 
of  Boston,  Past  and  Present."  The  condition  of  his 
health,  already  seriously  impaired,  forbade  a  steady  con- 
tinuance of  any  kind  of  literary  labor,  and  finally  in- 
duced him  to  renounce  the  profession  he  had  chosen, 
and  for  which  he  seemed  in  many  respects  admirably 
qualified.  At  the  College  Commencements  of  1849  he 
was  honored  with  degrees  from  Yale,  Amherst,  and  Wil- 
liams, and  in  the  same  year  was  elected  a  Corresponding 
Member  of  the  Ehode  Island  Historical  Society.  Later 
he  was  made  a  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Archaeo- 
logical Society  of  Athens,  Greece,  and  of  the  Literary 
and  Philosophical  Society  of  Preston  and  Manchester, 
England.  In  the  early  part  of  1850  he  was  chosen 
assistant  librarian  at  the  Boston  Athenaeum  ;  but  the  com- 
paratively easy  duties  of  this  position  became  at  length 
too  arduous  for  his  slowly  failing  strength,  and  after  a 
service  there  of  only  eight  months  he  was  again  com- 
pelled to  abandon  his  tasks.  From  that  time  on,  with  the 
exception  of  occasional  intervals  when  temporary  strength 
gave  him  courage  to  make  renewed  efforts,  he  ceased  to 
perform  any  continuous  or  regular  work 


WILLIAM   THADDEUS   HARRIS  301 

In  the  summer  of  1852,  tempted  thither  by  the  beauti- 
ful golden  days,  he  copied  the  more  ancient  epitaphs  in  the 
old  burial-ground  at  Watertown.  It  was  a  peculiarly  in- 
teresting spot  to  him,  for  it  was  the  resting-place  of  many 
of  his  own  ancestors,  who  had  been  among  the  earliest 
settlers  of  the  town.  Here  day  by  day  he  toiled  among 
the  old  stones,  gathering  fresh  encouragement  from  his 
friend  Mr.  Bird,  whose  ready  spade  continually  unearthed 
half-hidden  treasures  for  the  patient  student.  The  manu- 
script copy  of  these  epitaphs,  prepared  in  the  plain  round 
hand  which  was  itself  a  part  of  his  inheritance  from  long- 
gone  generations,  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  writer  of 
this  memoir  for  publication.  A  most  careful  comparison 
with  the  originals  discovered  scarcely  an  "  i "  to  be  dotted 
or  a  "  t "  to  be  crossed.  It  was  printed  in  a  limited  edi- 
tion in  1869,  and  forms  one  of  the  quaintest  additions  to 
the  epitaphic  literature  of  New  England. 

In  1853  Mr.  Harris  was  admitted  to  practise  as  an 
attorney  and  counseller  in  all  the  courts  of  the  Common- 
wealth. 

In  1854,  at  the  solicitation  of  Edward  Everett,  he  under- 
took for  the  literary  executors  of  Daniel  Webster  the  ex- 
amination and  arrangement  of  the  private  papers  of  the 
eminent  statesman,  then  recently  deceased,  but  did  not 
live  to  complete  the  task.  Towards  the  end  of  July,  after 
struggling  against  disease  and  infirmity  until  exhausted, 
he  was  compelled  to  fold  his  hands  and  await  the  end. 
!^lven  then  a  painless  release  was  not  vouchsafed  him. 
Day  after  day  his  sufferings  were,  extended,  until  the  morn- 
ing of  the  19th  of  October,  when  Providence  mercifully 
eased  him  of  his  burdens,  and  he  sank  to  rest  in  the 
twenty-ninth  year  of  his  age.  He  was  laid  in  a  tomb  in 
the  Old  Cambridge  burying-ground,  surrounded  by  the 
monuments  among  which  he  had  wandered  in  his  boy- 
hood, and  whose  inscriptions  have  been  preserved  to  pos- 
terity through  his  industry.     A  few  years  later  his  body 


302  WILLIAM   THADDEUS   HARRIS 

was  removed  to  the  family  lot  in  the  Cambridge  ceme- 
tery. 

In  the  year  1848  Mr.  Harris  received  the  degrees  in 
freemasonry  at  Amicable  Lodge  in  his  adopted  city,  and 
he  continued  a  warmly-attached  member  of  the  order  as 
long  as  he  lived.  In  the  last  years  of  his  life,  his  connec- 
tion with  the  fraternity  was  a  source  of  great  pleasure  and 
solace  to  him.  He  was  highly  esteemed  by  the  members, 
who  evinced  their  regard  by  elevating  him  to  the  office  of 
Master  of  the  Lodge,  —  a  position  which  he  held  at  the 
time  of  his  death.  During  his  last  illness,  he  was  the 
recipient  of  constant  and  imwearied  attentions  at  the 
hands  of  his  associates,  and  was  buried  with  masonic 
ceremonies. 

A  notice  of  Mr.  Harris  was  prepared  for  the  Historical 
and  Genealogical  Register  by  his  college  classmate,  Pro- 
fessor Francis  J.  Child,  and  was  published  in  the  January 
number  of  1855.  The  editor,  Mr.  Samuel  G.  Drake,  in  an 
accompanying  note,  adds  :  "  Mr.  Harris  projected  several 
historical  performances,  which,  had  he  lived  to  finish, 
would  have  been  of  great  value.  Of  one  in  particular, 
he  many  times  spoke  to  the  editor,  and  once  showed  him  a 
quantity  of  manuscript  of  it.  That  was  a  '  Continuation 
of  Prince's  Chronology.'  To  what  extent  he  went  with 
it  is  not  known ;  but  what  was  shown  was  so  well  done 
that  Mr.  Prince,  it  is  believed,  could  not  have  wished  it 
better  done  had  he  been  here  with  all  his  former  ability  to 
appreciate  such  a  work."  He  devoted  much  time  at  inter- 
vals to  the  preparation  of  an  edition  of  Mourt's  "  True 
Relation  " ;  but  this,  with  otlier  work  commenced,  and  in 
some  cases  well  in  progress,  he  died  without  completing. 

Mr.  Harris  was  an  enthusiast  in  the  collection  of  old  and 
rare  books,  and  the  library  which  he  left  is  rich  in  histori- 
cal works  of  considerable  value.  A  book  in  his  hands 
received  the  tenderest  care,  and  no  one  could  better  ap- 
preciate a  fine  edition  or  more   highly  esteem  a  bibho- 


"WILLIAM   THADDEUS   HARRIS  303 

graphic  prize  than  he.     One  who  knew  him  long  and  well 
writes :  — 

"  He  was  by  nature  very  reserved  and  reticent,  and  this  re- 
serve and  reticence  was  by  his  great  bodily  infirmities  increased 
in  a  most  marked  degree,  so  that  but  few  persons  knew  him 
intimately  or  well.  He  lived  as  one  by  himself,  and  in  himself 
alone.  We  lived  close  by  one  another ;  and  in  that  natural  way 
which  neighborhood  itself  opens,  I  knew  him,  and  gradually 
passed  beyond  the  bounds  of  mere  acquaintance,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  his  friendship,  —  was  permitted  to  know  the  man  him- 
self. He  was  one  over  whom  the  shadow  of  death  seemed  to 
hang  from  the  beginning.  He  lived  always,  and  during  the  last 
years  consciously,  under  this  shadow  ;  but  it  was  gradually  lifted 
higher  and  higher  until  it  was  lost  in  the  clear  sunlight  of  his 
faith  and  trust.  He  did  not  fear  to  speak  of  or  look  forward  to 
the  end  of  his  mortal  life.  He  did  not  dread  to  walk  through 
the  dark  valley ;  but,  as  one  weary  and  heavy-laden  with  his 
earthly  pilgrimage,  he  hoped  for  Christ's  promised  rest.  As  one 
strengthened  and  sustained  by  divine  might,  he  was  ready,  and 
ever  longed  to  depart  and  be  with  Christ  in  the  world  beyond 
the  grave." 

Another,  to  whom  he  was  bound  by  special  ties  of 
friendship  and   early  associations,  writes :  — 

"  One  letter  of  his  to  me  I  have  especially  wanted  to  find  : 
it  was  a  piteous  wail,  —  a  cry  out  of  the  depths,  as  if  his  spirit 
must  rend  the  walls  of  its  prison-house,  and  fly  where  there  was 
peace  and  rest.  It  spoke  of  his  sorrows,  of  his  hopelessness, 
of  how  solitary  he  felt  among  men  ;  but  it  also  spoke  of  his  love 
for  his  friends,  and  the  deep  yearning  he  had  to  be  loved  himself. 
This  was  the  only  time  in  which  he  ever  unbosomed  himself  to 
me,  —  indeed,  I  doubt  whether  he  ever  spoke  so  to  anybody.  I 
think  it  did  him  good  to  speak  out.  I  wrote  him  such  words  of 
comfort  and  love  as  I  could.  The  subject  was  never  revived  or 
alluded  to  again  by  either  of  us,  but  it  gave  an  additional  ten- 
derness and  sweetness  to  our  intimacy ;  and  I  have  always 
thought  that  some  of  the  serenity  and  happiness  of  his  later 
years,  when  he  was  full  of  interests  and  surrounded  by  so 
many  admiring  friends,  came  indirectly  from  this  sudden  out- 


304  WILLIAM    THADDEUS    HAERIS 

pouring  of  his  heart ;  that  he  was  led  to  look  at  things  in  a  little 
different  light,  and  to  see  that  he  too  had  his  work  to  do,  and 
must  bravely  fight  his  way,  as  he  so  bravely  did,  to  universal 
confidence  and  respect." 

Sensitive  and  retiring  to  a  painful  degree,  lie  rarely 
broke  through  his  habitual  reserve,  except  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  few  intimate  friends  who  had  learned  to 
understand  and  s_)Tnpathize  with  him ;  then  his  con- 
versation was  wont  to  be  replete  with  anecdote  and 
humor.  In  his  friendships  he  was  peculiarly  earnest  and 
constant ;  and  the  writer  well  remembers  with  what  affec- 
tionate delight  he  was  wont  to  welcome  back  a  class- 
mate or  friend  who  had  been  for  some  time  absent.  In 
all  his  habits  of  life  he  was  scrupulously  systematic,  and^ 
in  all  his  work  thoroughly  honest  and  conscientious.  His 
diary  reflects  somewhat  the  temper  of  the  man,  —  at 
times  confident,  hopeful,  and  gay,  and  then  despondent 
and  full  of  gloom.  At  times  he  indulges  in  flights  of 
fancy ;  again  is  overwhelmed  with  self-reproaches  at  his 
own  shortcomings,  and  full  of  repinings  over  his  own 
unhappy  lot.  His  life,  short  as  it  was,  is  eloquent  in  its 
teachings.  If  to  him  much  had  been  denied,  to  him  also 
much  was  given.  He  laid  down  his  life  at  its  close  with 
no  talents  wasted,  —  crushed  and  defeated  in  the  battle 
which  all  are  fighting,  -but  with  a  strong,  earnest  faith 
living  to  the  end,  and  triumphant  over  all. 

Requiescat  in  pace  ! 


JOHI^    HOWLAND 


John  Howland,  of  the  fifth  generation  from  John 
Howland  of  Plymouth,  and  son  of  Joseph  and  Sarah 
Howland,  was  born  in  Newport,  R.  I.,  October  31,  1757. 
In  the  thirteenth  year  of  his  age  he  came  to  Provi- 
dence and  entered  the  service  of  Benjamin  Gladding  as 
an  apprentice  to  the  hair-dressing  business.  His  early 
advantages  for  education  were  limited,  but  of  these  he 
made  diligent  improvement.  Occasionally  men  rise  in 
the  community  who,  by  inherent  forces  and  persistent 
will,  overcome  every  difficulty  in  the  way  of  mental 
development  and  influential  position,  and  achieve  for 
themselves  a  name  among  the  worthies  of  their  day.  Of 
this  class  was  Mr.  Howland.  His  individuality  marked 
him  a  true  Rhode  Island  man.  No  one  ever  thousrht 
more  independently  or  was  less  influenced  by  the  opinions 
of  others.  The  free  principles  advocated  by  Roger  Wil- 
liams he  incorporated  with  his  practice.  He  sought  the 
right,  and  having  found,  inflexibly  maintained  it.  His 
natural  endowments  were  uncommon,  his  intellectual  ac- 
quirements extensive,  and  his  capacity  to  use  them  to 
the  best  advantage,  singularly  complete.  With  a  deep 
penetration  and  far-reaching  judgment,  he  combined 
ready  administrative  abilities ;  and  the  constant  drafts 
upon  him  in  committees  of  associations,  as  well  as  by 
public  assemblies,  are  honorable  recognitions  of  his  intel- 
ligence. 

.39 


306  JOHN   ROWLAND 

Mr.  Howland  was  still  a  youth  when  the  War  of  the 
Revolution  broke  out.  In  the  spirit  of  patriotism  he 
enlisted  in  1776  in  Colonel  Christopher  Lippitt's  regi- 
ment, and  for  fourteen  months  was  identified  with  its 
fortunes  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey.  He  subse- 
quently was  under  General  Spencer  in  his  abortive 
attempt  to  invade  Rhode  Island,  and  assault  the  British  in 
their  intrenchments.  He  was  also  under  General  Sulli- 
van, whose  campaign  on  the  island  in  1778  would  have 
been  crowned  with  entire  success,  had  he  not  been  de- 
prived of  the  co-operation  of  the  French  fleet  under  Count 
d'Estaing,  on  which  he  rehed. 

In  Providence  Mr.  Howland's  business  brought  him  fre- 
quently into  the  presence  of  army  officers,  from  whose  con- 
versation he  derived  much  information.  During  the  time 
General  Gates  was  in  command  in  that  town,  young  How- 
land,  still  an  apprentice,  waited  upon  him  daily  for  tonsorial 
purposes;  and  on  one  occasion  heard  a  conversation  be- 
tween the  General  and  Samuel  Adams,  then  on  a  visit  to 
the  former  in  relation  to  the  removal  of  "Washington  from 
the  chief  command  of  the  continental  army,  which  greatly 
diminished  his  respect  for  them  both. 

Having  completed  his  term  of  service  with  Mr.  Gladding, 
he  commenced  business  on  his  own  account.  He  opened 
his  shop  on  North  Main  Street,  near  the  residence  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Bowen,  subsequently  known  as  the  Man- 
ufacturers' Hotel.  By  the  advice  of  several  of  the  leading 
citizens,  he  adopted  a  higher  tariff  of  prices  than  had 
hitherto  been  customary.  This  gave  to  his  shop  a  some- 
what select  character,  and  it  soon  became  the  resort  of  the 
prominent  and  influential  politicians  of  every  shade  of 
opinion,  as  well  as  of  the  professional  gentlemen  of  the 
town  and  vicinity ;  and  thus  was  opened  to  him,  on  a 
broad  and  agreeable  basis,  a  coveted  opportunity  for  in- 
creasing his  store  of  political  information,  and  for  extend- 
ing his  knowledge  of  the  characters  and  opinions  of  the 
principal  men  of  the  times. 

\ 


JOHN   HOWL  AND  307 

January  28,  1788,  Mr.  Howland  was  married  to  Mary, 
daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth  Carhle,  and  great-grand- 
daughter of  James  FrankHn,  an  elder  brother  of  Dr. 
Benjamin  Franklin.  The  issue  of  the  union  was  thirteen 
children,  Alfred,  Penelope,  Benjamin  Russell,  Janetta, 
Mary,  and  eight  who  died  under  the  age  of  three  years. 

In  1798  Mr.  Howland  took  a  leading  part  in  a  move- 
ment to  establish  public  free  schools  in  Rhode  Island. 
This  work  he  persevered  in,  against  strong  opposition, 
until  1800,  when  he  succeeded  in  securing  the  passage  of 
an  act  by  the  General  Assembly,  which  provided  for  the 
education  of  all  the  children  in  the  State  at  the  public 
cost. 

Born  in  the  same  year  with  Lafayette,  who  is  identified 
with  an  important  period  in  Rhode  Island  history,  and 
entering  the  army  of  the  Revolution  at  the  age  at  which 
that  illustrious  patriot  consecrated  himself  to  the  cause  of 
American  freedom ;  contemporary  with  Greene,  and  par- 
ticipant with  Washington  in  the  glorious  struggle  at  Tren- 
ton and  Princeton,  and  subsequently  for  half  a  century 
the  active  political  associate  and  confidant  of  the  leading 
statesmen  of  his  native  State,  there  opened  to  the  com- 
prehensive mind  of  Mr.  Howland  a  varied  and  instructive 
chapter  in  the  history  of  the  world's  progress  ;  and  as  we 
follow  him  in  his  unpretending  career,  and  observe  how 
wisely  and  faithfully  he  converted  the  lessons  of  his 
large  experience  to  the  public  good,  we  are  not  surprised 
that  he  received  so  many  tokens  of  confidence  from  his 
fellow-citizens,  or  that  Brown  University  in  1835  deemed 
him  worthy  of  her  honors. 

Mr.  Howland  was  a  steadfast  and  consistent  friend  of 
temperance.  He  was  among  the  earliest  to  discounte- 
nance the  mistaken  hospitality  of  the  sideboard,  and  when 
he  erected  his  house  on  Benefit  Street  he  stipulated  with 
the  carpenter  that  no  ardent  spirits  should  be  used  by  the 
men  while  engaged  upon  the  work.     In  the  temperance 


308  JOHN    ROWLAND 

movement  of  1827  he  took  an  active  part,  and  repeatedly 
presided  at  public  meetings  called  to  enlist  the  sympathies 
of  the  community  in  its  behalf.     The  offices  of  trust  to 
which  Mr.  Howland  was  called  were  various  and  respon- 
sible.    He  was  one  of  the  town  auditors  fourteen  years ; 
town  treasurer  fourteen  years ;  treasurer  of  the  Provi- 
dence Savings  Institution,  of  which  he  was   one  of  the 
founders,  twenty-one  years  ;  president  of  the  Peace  Soci- 
ety seventeen  years;  president  of  the  Khode  Island  His- 
torical Society  twenty-one  years ;  member  of  the  School 
Committee  twenty  years ;  and  deacon  of  the  First  Con- 
gregational Church  forty  years.     In  1818  the  Mechanics' 
Association  presented  him  with  a  silver  pitcher,  in  token 
of  their  respect  for  his  services.     Besides  the  honorary 
degree  of  A.  M.,  conferred  upon  Mr.  Howland  by  Brown 
University,  already  referred  to,  he  held  honorary  member- 
ships in  the  Old  Colony  Pilgrim  Society,  the  Essex  His- 
torical Society,  the  Georgia  Historical  Society,  and  the 
Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquaries  at  Copenhagen, 
Denmark.      Mr.  Howland  was  admitted  a  corresponding 
member  of  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Soci- 
ety September  5,  1845.    His  birth  antedates  that  of  every 
other  member  on  the  rolls  of  the  Society. 

Mr.  Howland  had  an  easy  flow  of  language,  and  his 
powers  of  description  have  rarely  been  excelled.  The 
anecdote  and  reminiscence  with  which  his  conversation 
was  interwoven  imparted  to  it  a  peculiar  attraction.  His 
close  observation  of  men  had  given  him  an  imderstanding 
of  traits  that  best  illustrate  character ;  and  as  the  writer 
recalls  the  hours  in  which  he  listened  to  him,  and  gathered 
up  facts  of  history  that  books  had  not  yet  revealed,  the 
persons  and  scenes  described  come  up  to  view  as  present 
realities.  He  was  what  some  would  call  "  a  set  man  "  ; 
but  this  trait  was  rather  the  result  of  his  ideas  of  order 
and  right  than  the  offshoot  of  a  spirit  of  domination. 
His  memory  was  a  complete  encyclopaedia  of  American 


•  JOHN   nOWLAND  309 

history  •  and  a  record  of  all  he  saw  and  knew  of  the 
leading  men  of  his  times,  and  the  transactions  in  which 
they  figured,  would  have  been  an  invaluable  contribution 
to  that  department  of  literature.  The  mental  resem- 
blance he  bore  to  his  Pilgrim  ancestor,  so  strikingly  pre- 
served ;  his  early  and  irrepressible  thirst  for  knowledge, 
and  his  triumph  over  the  obstacles  that  impeded  its  pur- 
suit ;  the  sterling  virtues  of  an  age  which  reminds  us  that 
all  progress  may  not  be  improvement,  —  are  topics  preg- 
nant with  practical  reflections.  It  would  be  in  accord- 
ance with  the  plan  of  this  sketch,  did  not  brevitj^  forbid, 
to  advert  to  the  genial  traits  of  Mr.  Rowland,  and  to  re- 
peat some  of  the  apt  anecdotes  with  which  he  pointed  a 
well-told  tale  or  enlivened  a  festive  season.  In  the  rino- 
of  his  hearty  laugh  was  revealed  the  secret  of  a  power 
that  contributed  largely  to  length  of  years. 

Mr.  Rowland  seemed,  beyond  most  men  of  his  years,  to 
have  had  a  true  appreciation  of  the  objects  of  life,  and  to 
have  pursued  those  objects  with  singleness  of  purpose. 
Probably  the  main  secret  of  his  influence  may  be  traced 
to  these  facts.  He  ever  acted,  so  far  as  judgment  can  be 
predicated  upon  external  evidence,  on  the  conviction  that 
society  had  claims  upon  him  which  he  was  bound  to  meet ; 
and  while  he  sought  his  own,  he  did  not  forget  his  neigh- 
bor's welfare.  Hence,  he  devoted  his  time  and  endow- 
ments to  human  improvement,  and  to  the  advancement  of 
the  interests  of  others,  with  as  much  earnestness  as  he 
would  have  done  had  the  results  enured  wholly  to  his 
own  benefit. 

Mr.  Howland  was  a  thorough  antiquary,  and  an  eager 
student  of  history.  What  he  acquired  by  diligent  re- 
search he  took  pleasure  in  imparting  to  others,  and  the 
tax  upon  his  time  in  answering  letters  of  inquiry  was  by 
no  means  light.  He  was  greatly  interested  in  investi- 
gating the  early  history  of  Rhode  Island  ;  and  when  Pro- 
fessor James  D.  Knowles,  D.  D,,  engaged  in  writing  his 


310  *  JOHN   HOWLAND  • 

valuable  "Life  of  Roger  Williams,"  he  received  from 
Mr.  Howland  a  large  amount  of  information.  His  stu- 
dious habits  were  kept  up  to  the  close  of  his  life.  Besides 
the  standard  works  of  history,  art,  science,  and  religion, 
which  constituted  his  more  substantial  reading,  he  kept 
himself  familiar  with  the  current  literature  of  the  day, 
and  was  never  at  a  loss  for  a  topic  of  conversation  fresh 
from  the  press. 

He  was  fond  of  children,  and  his  rare  faculty  of  inter- 
esting them  always  ensured  a  repetition  of  their  visits.  It 
pleased  him  to  listen  to  the  prattle  of  the  "  beginners  to 
talk,"  and  to  answer  the  questions  of  older  ones.  He  loved 
to  sound  the  depths  of  youthful  thought,  and  to  aid  the 
development  of  latent  ideas.  His  theory  was  that  no 
opportunity  for  sowing  the  seeds  of  virtue  and  knowledge 
should  pass  unimproved ;  and  thus  he  was  constantly  leav- 
ing impressions  of  his  own  mind  upon  the  young. 

Mr.  Rowland  was  the  last  of  the  patriot  band  who  en- 
listed under  Captain  David  Dexter  in  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution. He  was  also  the  last  of  Lippitt's  regiment,  whose 
bravery  drew  forth  the  commendation  of  the  commander- 
in-chief,  and  whose  sufferings  in  the  campaign  of  1776  he 
has  so  graphically  described.  For  sixty-five  years  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Providence  Mechanics'  Association,  and  the 
last  of  all  comprising  the  body  in  the  first  year  of  its  exist- 
ence, 1789.  How  uniform  was  his  interest  in  its  welfare, 
how  varied  his  service,  and  with  what  fidelity  for  twenty- 
four  years  he  discharged  the  duties  of  its  secretary  and 
president,  the  records  abundantly  show.  He  died  Novem- 
ber 5,  1854,  aged  ninety-seven  years,  in  the  faith  and 
peace  of  the  gospel  he  had  so  long  professed.  The  fune- 
ral was  solemnized  the  Wednesday  afternoon  following  his 
decease,  at  the  First  Congregational  Church.  The  ser- 
vices, conducted  by  Rev.  Drs.  Hall  and  Hedge,  were  ex- 
ceedingly impressive,  and  were  attended  not  only  by  the 
immediate  relatives  of  the  deceased,  but  also  by  a  large 


JOHN   HOWLAND  311 

number  of  the  young  and  old  who  had  come  up  to  show 
respect  to  the  memory  of  the  venerable  and  good  man. 
The  moral  of  such  a  life  is  emphatic,  and  by  every  young 
man  may  be  studied  with  profit.  In  the  departure  of  the 
Nestor  of  the  Mechanics'  Association,  the  last  link  that 
united  the  past  with  the  present  was  broken.  No  man 
now  living  can  tell  from  personal  knowledge  of  the  memor- 
able meeting  at  the  house  of  Elijah  Bacon,  on  the  27th 
February,  1789,  where  it  was  organized. 

Mr.  Howland  was  a  Christian,  not  simply  by  inherit- 
ance, nor  from  impulse,  but  from  calm  and  deep  convic- 
tion. Parental  instruction  and  influence  had  indeed  a 
share  in  inspiring  a  reverence  for  God,  and  respect  for  the 
institutions  of  religion.  But  his  faith  stood  on  an  inde- 
pendent foundation :  it  was  the  fruit  of  investigation. 
Eeason  and  judgment  acknowledged  the  supernatural 
authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Gathered  to  his  fathers 
in  a  good  old  age,  "  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  his 
season,"  he  still  lives  in  the  beneficent  influence  of  his 
deeds.  The  monuments  of  his  usefulness  are  with  us; 
and  while  the  Providence  Institution  for  Savings  and  the 
public  schools  of  Rhode  Island  exist,  his  memory  will  be 
held  in  honor. 

In  personal  appearance,  Mr.  Howland  was  of  medium 
height,  frame  compact  and  firmly  knit,  complexion  light, 
eyes  blue.  Four  portraits  of  him  are  extant,  —  two  by 
Bass  Otis,  then  of  Boston,  painted  in  1822,  a  third  by 
Lincoln,  of  Providence,  painted  in  1841  ;  and  a  fourth,  a 
full-length,  by  the  same  artist,  painted  in  1848.  The 
last-mentioned  was  procured  by  subscription,  and  pre- 
sented to  the  Rhode  Island  Historical  Society.  A  Life  of 
Mr.  Howland  was  published  in  1857. 


JAMES  DELAP  FAENSWORTH 


The  Eev.  James  Delap  Faenswokth  was  born  at 
Groton,  Massachusetts,  September  11,  1793..  He  was  the 
ninth  child  of  Jonas  and  Jane  (Delap)  Farns worth,  and 
was  descended  in  the  foui'th  generation  from  Matthias 
Farnsworth,  who  was  an  original  proprietor,  and  one  of 
the  earliest  settlers  of  that  town.  His  mother  was  a  na- 
tive of  Barnstable,  Massachusetts,  and  was  daughter  of 
James  and  Jane  (Kelly)  Delap,  both  natives  of  Ireland. 
Amos  Farnsworth,  father  of  Jonas,  and  also  the  father  of 
Jane  Delap,  had  been  attracted  by  the  offers  of  land 
which  were  made  by  the  British  Government  to  those  who 
would  go  to  Nova  Scotia,  then  recently  taken  from  the 
French ;  and  they  both  went  with  their  somewhat  nu- 
merous families,  and  settled  at  or  near  Granville,  in  that 
province,  about  1764.  One  of  the  results  was  that  the 
young  Jonas  married  his  new-made  neighbor.  Amos 
Farnsworth  soon  found  himself  involved  in  legal  difficul- 
ties respecting  his  land ;  and  troubles  with  the  -mother- 
country  looming  up  in  the  horizon,  he  with  his  sons 
returned  to  Groton. 

The  traditions  of  James's  family  had  brought  down 
and  reported  to  him  stories  of  Indian  warfare,  of  pioneer 
sufferino;,  and  of  the  various  wars  in  which  the  colonists 
had  been  engaged.  He  was  deeply  interested  in  them, 
and  early  began  to  collect  them.  His  grandmother 
Farnsworth  was  daughter   of   that   John    Longley,  well 


JAMES    DELAP   EARNS  WORTH  313 

known  in  the  annals  of  the  town  of  Groton,  who,  while  a 
boy  of  eleven  years,  had  se^n  his  father,  his  mother,  and 
four  or  five  of  his  brothers  and  sisters*  killed  by  the  In- 
dians, while  two  sisters,  with  himself,  were  carried  as 
prisoners  to  Canada,  and  turned  over  to  the  French.  His 
sisters,  with  their  Protestant  training,  were  placed  in  Ro- 
man Catholic  convents,  and  remained  and  died  there.  He 
was  redeemed  by  his  friends,  and  returned  to  Groton, 
after  five  years'  residence  with  his  captors.  One  of  the 
monuments  erected  by  the  citizens  of  Groton,  February 
20, 1880,  bears  this  inscription  :  "  Here  dwelt  WilHam  and 
Deliverance  Longley,  with  their  eight  children.  On  the 
2Tth  of  July,  1694,  the  Indians  killed  the  father  and 
mother  and  five  of  the  children,  and  carried  into  cap- 
tivity the  other  three."  And  the  touching  story  is  ably 
told  in  the  historical  address  of  Samuel  A.  Green,  M.  D., 
delivered  at  the  time  of  the  dedication. 

His  great-grandmothers,  the  mothers  respectively  of 
Amos  Farnsworth  and  of  his  wife,  Lydia  Longley,  were 
both  daughters  of  Jonas  Prescott,  the  founder  at  Groton 
of  the  family  that  produced  many  distinguished  men  of 
that  name  ;  and  they  were  aunts  to  Colonel  William  Pres- 
cott, who  commanded  the  American  forces  at  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill.  The  traditions  of  all  these  families  were 
full  of  stories  of  hazard,  of  suffering,  and  of  adventure, 
and  formed  a  part  of  his  early  mental  nourishment. 
His  ancestors  had  also  been  of  that  devout  Puritan  stock 
which  faithfully  adhered  both  to  the  letter  and  to  the 
spirit  and  meaning  of  the  religious  doctrines  for  which 
they  had  originally  left  England.  Of  his  father  and 
mother  he  writes,  in  his  genealogical  memoranda,  that  • 
"they  were  both  exemplary  members  of  the  church  in 
Groton,  having  been  united  with  it  November  8,  1778." 

His  father,  who  was  a  farmer,  died  suddenly  in  the  field, 
July  16,  1805,  when  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was  but 
eleven  years  old ;  and  his  subsequent  early  training  was 

i3 


314  JAMES  DELAP  FARNSWORTH 

conducted  by  his  mother,  a  woman  of  much  force  of  char- 
acter and  of  sincere  piety,  who  implanted  in  him  that 
faith  in  evangelical  Christianity  which  was  to  her  both  a 
help  and  a  consolation,  and  which  became  the  distinguish- 
ing characteristic  of  his  Ufe. 

His  early  training  was  in  that  rough  and  severe  school 
in  which  many  of  the  best  men  of  that  period  were 
brought  up.  His  portion  of  his  father's  estate  was  very 
small,  and  his  mother  could  afford  him  no  assistance.  He 
had  an  irrepressible  desire  to  serve  the  church  as  a  minis- 
ter :  he  was  accustomed  to  labor,  and  he  strained  every 
nerve  to  accomphsh  his  end.  Societies  for  educating  min- 
isters had  not  then  been  established,  or  if  they  had  been 
they  did  not  reach  him.  His  education  was  mainly  at- 
tained by  his  own  unaided  exertions.  He  taught  school, 
and  did  such  other  things  as  in  those  days  were  open  to 
students.  In  1814,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  hav- 
ing fitted  at  Groton  Academy,  he  entered  Harvard  Col- 
lege, where  he  graduated  in  1818.  Directly  after,  he 
entered  the  Divinity  School  of  the  University  ;  and  when 
he  had  completed  his  course  in  that  school,  he  was  out  of 
debt,  having  never  spent  anything  till  he  had  the  money 
for  the  expenditure. 

Mr.  Farnsworth's  entrance  on  theological  studies  at  the 
Cambridge  Divinity  School  is  not  to  be  taken  as  an  ap- 
proval by  him  of  the  tendencies  of  that  school,  or  even  of 
its  position  at  that  time.  In  his  private  journal  he  records 
his  regret  at  what  he  terms  the  "  extreme  liberality  "  of 
its  professors.  The  difference  between  the  Unitarian  and 
the  Orthodox  theology  was  clearly  enough  seen  in  1818. 
The  road  taken  by  the  leaders  of  the  new  departure  was 
plain  enough  ;  but  the  community  had  not  yet  been  com- 
pletely divided,  as  it  subsequently,  and  indeed  soon  after, 
came  to  be. 

Mr.  Farnsworth  adhered  to  the  Orthodox  side,  yet  he 
always  seemed  to  take  comparatively  little  interest  in  the 


JAMES  DELAP  FARNSWORTH  315 

theological  questions  involved  in  the  controversy,  and  he 
considered  them  of  less  importance  than  many  did.  He 
cared  much  more  for  the  devotional  and  practical  than  for 
the  scientific  side  discussed  by  the  great  leaders.  He  was 
much  more  concerned  with  the  effect  which  the  sense  of 
religious  obligation  made  on  people's  hearts  and  lives  than 
he  was  with  their  theoretical  statements  of  belief.  This 
probably  worked  to  his  disadvantage  in  the  Orthodox  body, 
to  which  he  attached  himself,  as  the  members  of  it  were 
inclined  to  think,  or  at  least  suspect,  that  he  had  never 
outgrown  the  liberality  of  his  Cambridge  training.  Reli- 
gion was  a  real  thing  with  him :  he  thought  that  it  should 
govern  men's  lives  at  all  times;  that  it  should  compel 
them  to  earnest,  sincere,  and  loving  devotion,  —  the  con- 
sequences of  which  would  be  a  pure  life  in  this  w^orld, 
the  approval  of  their  Master,  and  happiness  in  the  next. 
He  was  himself  unusuallv  affectionate  and  earnest  in  his 
nature,  and  he  attached  his  friends  to  himself  very 
strongly ;  and  these  qualities  eventually  made  him  a  most 
efficient  clergyman. 

He  finished  his  course  in  the  Divinity  School,  and  took 
the  degree  of  A.  M.  in  the  University  in  1821.  He  had 
at  that  time  much  anxiety  about  the  source  from  which 
he  should  obtain  a  license  to  preach.  The  old  machinery 
was  breaking  up.  At  length,  he  applied  to  the  Union 
Association  of  Boston  and  Vicinity,  and  received  a  li- 
cense from  them  July  31,  1821.  He  afterwards  resided 
and  studied  a  while  at  Andover,  preaching  at  various 
places.  At  length  he  went  to  Orford,  New  Hampshire, 
where  he  preached  for  some  time,  and  was  ordained  over 
the  church  in  that  place  January  21,  1823.  He  married 
Miss  Rebecca  Miller  Thayer  Fogg,  daughter  of  Dr.  Daniel 
Fogg,  of  Braintree,  Massachusetts,  November  1,  1825; 
and  his  wife,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  the  society  of 
the  neighborhood  of  Boston,  went  w^ith  him  to  assist  him 
in  ministering  to  the  inhabitants  of  a  little  town  then  on 


316  JAMES  DELAP  EARNS  WORTH 

the  borders  of  the  wilderness.  •  His  wife  was  born  Novem- 
ber 1,  1797,  and  bore  him  six  children,  four  of  whom  sur- 
vived him.  She  also  survived  him  many  years,  dying 
April  25,  1873. 

He  carried  on  his  work  at  Orford  very  quietly  but  per- 
severingly  until  April  9,  1832,  when  he  was  dismissed 
from  that  church  at  his  own  request.  He  thereupon 
removed  to  Braintree,  where  his  growing  children  could 
receive  better  opportunities  for  education  than  could  be 
obtained  in  the  distant  town  of  Orford.  There  he  lived 
nearly  three  years,  engaged  to  some  extent  in  teaching, 
but  mainly  in  preaching,  as  the  agent  of  the  American 
Education  Society. 

He  was  installed  as  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church 
in  Paxton,  Massachusetts,  April  30, 1835,  and  he  remained 
there  until  May  7,  1840,  when  he  was  again  dismissed  at 
his  own  request,  and  he  soon  took  charge  of  the  church  in 
Boxborough,  Massachusetts,  and  was  regularly  installed 
over  it  January  6,  1842.  He  closed  his  connection  with 
that  church  June  10,  1849,  by  mutual  agreement;  and 
after  supplying  vacant  churches  for  a  short  time,  he  took 
charge  of  the  Trinitarian  Church  in  North  Chelsea, 
where  he  remained  till  April  1,  1853. 

On  the  first  day  of  September,  1853,  he  was  installed 
over  the  Scotland  Church  in  Bridgewater,  where  he  re- 
mained until  his  death. 

In  the  year  1853,  during  the  time  of  his  ministry  at 
North  Chelsea,  he  was  chosen  chaplain  of  the  Senate  of 
Massachusetts. 

Very  early  in  his  life  he  became  interested  in  the 
history  of  the  families  with  which  he  was  connected 
either  by  birth  or  marriage.  He  undertook  to  collect 
for  preservation  all  that  could  be  known  respecting 
them.  At  the  time  when  he  began  his  studies  of 
genealogy  and  of  family  history,  very  little  had  been 
done  in  New  England  in  that  direction.     A  few  pioneers 


JAMES  DELAP  FARNSWORTH  317 

had  indeed  pointed  out  the  way,  but  it  was  mainly 
a  new  investigation.  He  examined  the  early  records, 
many  of  which  had  been  long  looked  upon  by  their 
custodians  as  almost  useless  lumber.  He  searched  the 
graveyards,  and  copied  the  inscriptions  on  tombstones. 
The  jibes  of  many  of  his  friends  had  no  effect  to  stop  or 
even  to  delay  him.  He  collected  everything  that  he 
thought  might  prove  useful  in  his  undertaking.  He 
hunted,  out  all  the  old  people,  and  took  down  from  their 
lips  whatever  they  could  remember.  In  that  way  he 
collected  a  large  mass  of  material,  which  he  intended 
to  use.  He  had  materials  for  the  genealogy  and  fam- 
ily history  of  the  Farnsworths,  the  Longleys,  the  Pres- 
cotts,  the  Delaps,  the  Parsonses,  the  Thayers,  the  Millers, 
the  Foggs,  the  Waleses,  the  Minots,  and  others.  He 
became  a  Corresponding  Member  of  the  New  England 
Historic  Genealogical  Society,  May  23,  1846 ;  and  the 
library  of  this  society  contains  some  of  his  collections 
concerning  the  Longleys, 

But  he  was  not  permitted  to  finish  any  of  the  matters 
which  he  had  undertaken.  He  was  suddenly  cut  off, 
when  he  had  but  prepared  himself  for  his  task,  —  a  task, 
indeed,  not  originally  contemplated  by  him,  but  which 
was  undertaken  after  his  loving  fondness  for  the  precious 
remains  of  the  past  had  for  their  own  sake  led  him  to 
make  large  collections ;  and  this  work,  into  which  he  had 
thus,  as  it  were,  accidentally  strayed,  would,  if  he  had 
been  permitted  to  complete  it,  have  made  him  better 
known  to  posterity  than  his  labors  in  his  early  chosen 
profession. 

In  the  midst  of  his  work,  while  in  apparently  as  good 
health  as  ever.  Sabbath  mt>rning,  November  12,  1854,  he 
suddenly  passed  away.  He  had  sat  down  at  his  study- 
table  to  look  over  the  sermon  which  he  proposed  to  preach 
to  his  congregation  that  forenoon,  the  text  of  which 
was,  "Follow  me,"  and  there  he  was  found  dead.     His 


318  JAMES  DELAP  FAENSWORTH 

end  was  peaceful,  as  became  one  whose  life  had  been 
simple  and  pure.  The  last  sermon  which  he  preached 
was  on  the  preceding  Sunday,  and  from  the  text,  "  It 
is  finished."  There  was  a  singular  appropriateness  in 
these  texts  to  his  closing  labors;  and  his  children  and 
his  friends,  who  knew  the  path  which  he  had  trod,  could 
have  no  better  call  than  to  follow  him  in  their  lives,  as 
he  had  his  Master,  to  so  good  an  end. 

At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  sixty-one  years  and  one 
month  old,  and  till  then  he  had  seemed  to  have  before 
him  ample  time  to  finish  his  genealogical  labors ;  but  his 
death  found  them  in  no  part  completed.  The  material 
which  he  had  collected  has  in  some  cases  helped  others  to 
do  what  he  commenced;  but  for  the  most  part  his  work 
still  remains  in  the  incomplete  state  in  which  he  left  it. 
Perhaps  more  of  it  will  hereafter  be  made  useful,  and  help 
to  perpetuate  his  memory,  as  he  most  piously  had  at- 
tempted to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  those  who  had  gone 
before  him. 


PETEH    FOLGER    EWER 


Peter  Folger  Ewer  was  bom  on  the  Island  of  Nan- 
tucket, State  of  Massacliusetts,  on  the  ]  oth  day  of  March, 
1800.  His  father's  name  was  Silvanus  Ewer,  and  his 
mother's,  Margaret,  or  Peggy  Folger. 

Silvanus  .was  born  at  the  village  of  Osterville,  in  the 
town  and  county  of  Barnstable,  Massachusetts,  October 
10,  1767.  He  learned  the  trade  of  a  ship-carpenter, 
and  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  removed  from  Osterville  to 
Nantucket,  where,  being  of  an  industrious  and  thrifty 
turn  of  mind,  he  soon  accumulated  money  enough  to 
purchase  a  part  of  a  whale-ship.  This  vessel  made  a 
successful  voyage,  and  thus  Silvanus  was  enabled  to  ex- 
tend his  interests  in  the  same  direction.  It  was  not  long, 
therefore,  before  he  abandoned  his  trade  and  became  a 
whaling  merchant  and  manufacturer  of  oil  and  candles. 
He  accumulated  a  large  property,  and  died  wealthy  in 
Nantucket  on  the  3d  day  of  March,  1836.  Peter  was  his 
only  son.  Margaret,  Peter's  mother,  was  the  second  wife 
of  Silvanus.  She  was  born  September  25,  1770,  at  Nan- 
tucket, married  on  the  9th  of  July,  1798,  and  died 
January  11,  1805. 

Silvanus's  parents  were  Seth  Ewer,  born  at  Great 
Marshes,  Barnstable  County,  March  14,  1729,  moved  to 
Osterville  in  1764,  died  April  15,  1801;  and  Lydia 
Churchill,  of  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  born  March  24, 
1735,  married  September  16,  1762,  died  May  18,  1787. 


320  PETER   FOLGER   EWER 

Seth  was  baptized  by  a  minister  of  the  Baptist  denomi- 
nation, but  be  became  subsequently  a  Quaker. 

Seth's  parents  were  Thomas  Ewer,  bom  at  Great 
Marshes,  1686,  died  July  27,  1771 ;  and  Reliance  Toby, 
of  Falmouth,  Massachusetts,  born  1695,  died  August  2, 
1756. 

It  is  at  present  uncertain  who  the  parents  of  Thomas 
were.  In  1635  there  came  from  London,  in  the  ship 
"  James,"  Thomas  Ewer,  a  tailor,  aged  forty  years  ;  Sara 
Ewer,  Thomas's  wife,  aged  twenty-eight  years ;  Elizabeth, 
aged  four  years ;  and  Thomas  Ewer,  aged  one  year  and 
six  months.  Thomas  settled  in  Charlestown,  was  admit- 
ted a  freeman  in  Massachusetts  in  1636,  and  died  in  1638. 
His  widow  removed  to  Barnstable  in  1639,  and  married 
Thomas  Lothrop.  Among  the  early  settlers  of  Sandwich 
we  find  Henry  Ewer.  Two  theories  have  been  suggested : 
one  that  the  Thomas  and  the  Henry  above  named  were 
father  and  son,  for  there  is  an  hiatus  of  fifty  years  be- 
tween 1636,  when  they  arrived,  and  1686,  when  the 
Thomas  who  was  the  father  of  Seth  was  born.  This 
hiatus  would  be  filled  if  we  suppose  that  the  above-named 
Thomas  and  Henry  were  father  and  son,  and  that  Henry 
was  the  father  of  the  Thomas  who  was  born  in  1686.  A 
second  theory  is  this,  namely,  that  Thomas,  who  was  born 
in  1595,  had  a  son  also  named  Thomas,  born  in  1633  ; 
that  the  latter  had  a  son  also  named  Thomas,  born  in 
1686 ;  and  that  the  last-named  Thomas  was  the  father 
of  Seth.  But  this  whole  matter  seems  to  be  in  confusion. 
The  early  Ewers  in  New  England,  from  the  first  Thomas 
down  to  Silvanus,  appear  to  have  been  a  thrifty  folk. 

The  parents  of  Peter  Folger  Ewer's  mother,  Peggy 
Folger,  were  Peter  Folger,  born  on  Nantucket,  October  4, 
1737,  0.  S.,  died  September  13,  1808 ;  and  Judith  Bur- 
nell,  died  January  25,  1799.  This  Peter  Folger's  parents 
were  Peter  Folger,  born  April  24,  1708,  died  December, 
1762 ;  and  Christian  Swain,  born  1712,  married  April  23, 


PETER   FOLGER    EWER  321 

1731,  died  April  22,  1790.  The  parents  of  the  last-named 
Peter  Folger  were  Nathan  Folger,  born  1678,  married 
1699,  died  1747;  and  Sarah  Church,  who  died  1744. 
Nathan's  parents  were  Eleazer  Folger,  born  1648,  died 
in  Boston,  1716 ;  and  Sarah  Gardner,  died  October  19, 
1729.  Eleazer's  parents  were  Peter  Foulger,  born  1618, 
died  1690  ;  and  Mary  Morrell,  came  from  England  to 
New  England,  1635,  died  1704.  All  the  above  Folgers 
and  their  wives,  except  Sarah  Church,  whose  place  of 
birth  is  unknown,  Peter  Foulger  and  Mary  Morrell,  were 
born  on  Nantucket. 

Peter  Foulger's  parents  were  John  Foulger,  died  at 
Martha's  Vineyard,  1660,  and  Meribah  Gibbs,  died  1666. 
John  Foulger  came  from  Norwich,  Norfolk  County,  Eng- 
land, in  1635.  In  Norfolk  County  at  that  time  the  letter 
"  h  "  in  such  words  as  "  ham  "  was  not  dropped  in  pro- 
nunciation, and,  in  general,  very  pure  English  was  spoken. 
It  was,  however,  spoken  somewhat  nasally.  It  is  observed 
by  those  who  visit  Nantucket  now  that  our  language  is 
spoken  there,  even  by  the  humbler  classes,  with  greater 
purity  of  pronunciation  and  of  syntax  than  is  usual.  It 
is  doubtless  the  case  that  this  fact  is  attributable  to  the 
influence  of  the  early  Nantucket  Folgers,  aided  by  the 
families  of  Macy,  Starbuck,  Hussey,  Coleman,  and  others. 
Peter  Foulger,  at  that  time  seventeen  years  old,  accom- 
panied his  father,  John,  from  England.  Meribah  Foulger 
was  living  in  June,  1663.  John  died  about  1660.  It  is 
said  that  Mary  Morrell  came  out  from  England  with  Hugh 
Peters  as  his  waiting-maid.  John  and  Peter  Foulger 
were  on  the  same  ship.  Peter  gave  Hugh  Peters  £20  for 
Mary's  time,  mcirried  her,  and  often  boasted  that  he  had 
made  a  capital  bargain.  .Peter  and  Mary  lived  at  first  on 
the  Island  of  Martha's  Vineyard.  In  1663  they  removed 
to  Nantucket.  Peter  had  a  "  half-share  "  of  land  offered 
to  him  by  the  owners  of  Nantucket  if  he  would  come  and 
live  among  them,  and  act  as  interpreter  for  them  to  the 

41 


322  PETER   FOLGER   EWER 

Indians.  This  was  also  on  condition  that  his  son,  Eleazer, 
would  act  as  blacksmith  and  shoemaker,  in  both  of  which 
trades  he  was  skilled.  Peter  accepted  the  offer.  He  was, 
according  to  Cotton  Mather,  "  a  pious,  godly  Englishman, 
employed  in  teaching  youth  in  reading,  writing,  and  the 
principles  of  religion  by  catechising,  being  well  learned  in 
the  Scriptures."  During  his  residence  on  Martha's  Vine- 
yard Peter  assisted  Thomas  Mayhew,  Jr.,  in  ministering 
religiously  to  the  Indians.  He  also  acted  as  surveyor 
and  layer-out  of  lands  at  the  Vineyard,  and  pursued  the 
same  employment  at  Nantucket  in  1661  and  1662.  In 
1675  and  1676  he  was  clerk  of  the  court,  and  he  acted 
also  as  a  preacher  of  the  Baptist  sect.  The  celebrated 
Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin  was  one  of  Peter  Foulger's  grand- 
sons ;  Dr.  Franklin's  mother,  who  was  born  on  Nantucket, 
having  been  Abiah,  daughter  of  Peter,  who  was  born 
August  15,  1667,  and  died  in  1752. 

There  have  lono-  been  extant  amonp^  the  residents  of 
Nantucket  some  doggerel  stanzas,  which  describe,  in  a 
quaint  way,  the  character  and  propensities  of  the  ancient 
Nantucket  families.  The  following  stanza  is  pertinent  to 
the  Folgers,  viz. :  — 

"  The  Rays  and  Russells  coopers  are, 
The  knowing  Folgers  lazy  ; 
A  lying  Coleman  very  rare, 
And  scarce  a  learned  Hussey." 

Peter  Folger  Ewer's  life  was  uneventful.  His  boyhood 
was  spent,  as  usual,  at  school ;  and  the  schools  of  Nan- 
tucket, which  subsequently  became  most  excellent,  were 
none  of  the  best  in  the  days  of  his  youth.  When  he 
arrived  at  early  manhood,  his  father  gave  him  a  compe- 
tency with  which  to  begin  mercantile  pursuits.  On  the 
2d  of  November,  1820,  he  married  Eunice  Cartwright, 
daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Cartwright,  of  Nantucket. 
The  issue  of  this,  his  first  marriage,  was  George  Alex- 


PETER   FOLGER    EWER  323 

ander  Ewer,  born  2d  July,  1821,  who  subsequently  went 
to  Valparaiso,  Chili,  where  he  married  a  Chilian  lady,  and 
where  he  still  resides.     Mrs.  Eunice  Ewer  died  in  1822. 

On  the  24th  of  May,  1825,  Peter  married  Mary  Cart- 
wright,  a  sister  of  his  first  wife.  Mary  was  born  at  Nan- 
tucket, November  6,  1797,  and  died  in  New  York,  No- 
vember 20,  1877.  The  issue  of  this  second  marriage  was 
Ferdinand  C.  Ewer,  born  in  Nantucket,  May  22, 1826,  and 
Margaret  Folger  Ewer,  born  in  Providence,  Ehode  Island, 
January  26,  1833,  both  children  now  living. 

In  1829,  August  6,  Peter  removed  from  Nantucket  to 
Providence,  where  he  formed  a  co-partnership  with  Caleb 
"VVestcott,  under  the  name  of  Peter  F.  Ewer  &  Co.,  for 
transacting  a  shipping  and  oil  commission  business.  They 
sent  vessels  to  the  West  Indies,  to  the  ports  and  islands 
of  the  Pacific,  and  elsewhere.  In  religion  Peter  was,  if 
anything,  a  Unitarian.  At  any  rate,  the  family  attended 
a  Unitarian  place  of  worship. 

About  1833  or  1834  Peter  became  interested  in  a  com- 
pany formed  to  build  and  run  a  line  of  large  steamboats 
between  New  York  and  Providence;  and  on  November  1, 
1834,  he  removed  with  his  family  to  New  York,  where  he 
entered  into  partnership  with  Elihu  Mix,  and  conducted 
an  oil  commission,  manufacturing,  and  shipping  business. 

On  the  death  of  his  father  in  1836  Peter  retired  from 
business,  broke  up  housekeeping,  and,  with  his  wife, 
spent  several  years  in  travelling.  The  winters  of  1839 
and  1840  were  spent  in  Providence.  In  1841  he  removed 
to  Nantucket  for  a  permanent  abode. 

At  that  time,  when  Nantucket  was  at  the  height  of  its 
prosperity  as  a  whaling  emporium,  and  was  a  place  of 
nearly  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  Peter  predicted  that  his 
children  would  live  to  see  the  place  descend  from  its  pros- 
perity and  wealth,  and  become  a  mere  fishing  village  of 
two  or  three  thousand  people  only,  —  a  prediction,  it  is 
hardly  necessary  to  say,  already  almost  fulfilled. 


324  PETER   FOLGER   EWER 

The  sand-bar,  two  miles  from  the  mouth  of  Nantucket 
harbor,  was  a  serious  obstruction  both  to  the  ships  starting 
with  their  supplies  for  a  long  whaling  voyage,  and  to 
incoming  ships  with  their  loads.  It  was  the  custom,  when 
a  ship  was  to  be  fitted  out  for  a  voyage,  first  to  send 
her  empty  out  over  the  bar,  anchor  her  there  in  deep 
water,  and  then  to  send  out  to  her  by  lighters  her  spars, 
sails,  and  supplies.  An  incoming  ship  was  anchored  at 
the  "  back  of  the  bar,"  and  her  load  was  lightered  into 
the  harbor  before  she  was  herself  towed  in. 

Peter  reasoned  with  the  ship-owners  on  this  primitive 
and  absurd  way  of  receiving  and  despatching  their  ships. 
He  explained  to  them  a  plan  of  building  for  the  town 
a  pair  of  ship-lifters,  otherwise  called  "  camels."     These 
consisted  of  two  enormous  wooden  tanks,  each  larger  than 
the  hulk  of  a  ship,  into  which  the  water  could  be  let  so 
that  they  should  sink,  and  out  of  which  it  could  subse- 
quently be  pumped.      They  were  first  to  be  sunk ;  the 
ship  was  then  to  be  placed  between  them ;  they  were 
then  to  be  bound  together  with  chains,  and  to  the  ship, 
and  finally  were  to  be  pumped   out,  lifting  the  ship  as 
they  rose  themselves.      But  he  met  with  all  manner  of 
opposition.     After  much  perseverance,  however,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  1842  in  organizing  a  company  with  sufiicient 
capital  to  undertake  the  work  of  construction.     But  after 
the  camels  were  built  few  dared  risk  a  ship  in  them  for 
the  first  time.    With  commendable  intelligence  and  enter- 
prise, however,  the  firm  of  Christopher  Mitchell  &  Co. 
offered   one   of   their  ships  for  the  experiment.     After 
their  ship  was  securely  bound  within  the  camels,  and  the 
camels  were  nearly  pumped  out,  the  chains  binding  them 
together  gave  way,   and  the  loaded   ship  came  tearing 
down  into  the  water  again.     Stronger  chains  were  pro- 
cured, and  the  camels  gave  the  ship  another  trial,  this  time 
with  success ;  subsequently  to  which  all  outward-bound 
ships  were  loaded  with  their  supplies  at  the  wharves  of 


PETER   FOLGER   EWER  325 

the  town,  taken  up  by  the  camels,  conveyed  over  the  bar, 
whence,  having  been  let  down  into  the  water  again,  they 
sailed  away  directly  for  sea ;  and  the  inward-bound  ships 
were  met  by  the  camels  at  the  "back  of  the  bar,"  con- 
veyed over  the  bar  by  them,  and  deposited  at  the  wharves 
of  the  town. 

But  Peter,  though  an  ingenious  and  enterprising  man. 
was  not  very  sagacious  as  a  financier,  and  he  had  the 
misfortune  between  1842  and  1845  to  lose  nearly  all  his 
property,  including  the  ample  fortune  which  had  been 
left  to  him  by  his  father.  He  struggled  with  his  adver- 
sity till  the  summer  of  1848,  when,  gathering  together 
a  few  assorted  goods,  he  sailed  as  passenger  with  his 
"  adventure "  in  one  of  the  Nantucket  whale-ships  for 
Valparaiso,  Chili,  where  he  disembarked  in  order  to  trade 
in  the  ports  of  Chili  and  Peru. 

On  the  arrival  in  Chili  of  the  news  of  the  California 
gold  discovery  he  at  once  took  ship  for  San  Francisco,  at 
which  port  he  arrived  early  in  1849.  He  went  into  the 
Sierra,  but  never  worked  in  the  mines,  devoting  himself 
instead  to  the  buying  and  selling  of  miners'  supplies. 
In  1850  he  was  for  a  brief  while  coroner  and  sheriff  of 
Sacramento  County,  and  in  1852  he  had  charge  of  a  mine 
in  Grass  Valley  as  chief  director  of  operations.  In  the 
spring  of  1853  he  resigned  his  position,  and  went  to  live 
in  San  Francisco. 

The  grades  of  the  city  streets  had  recently  been 
altered.  It  became  necessary,  therefore,  to  raise  many 
valuable  buildings  to  the  new  levels.  Peter  at  once,  with 
his  usual  enterprise,  began  to  take  means  to  procure 
hydraulic  apparatus  to  be  applied  to  the  lifting  of  such 
structures.  Had  he  succeeded,  he  would  have  become  a 
wealthy  man  again. 

But  in  the  incipiency  of  his  scheme,  he  was  suddenly 
prostrated  with  an  incurable  disease.  He  remained  in 
San  Francisco  under  the  care  of  his  son,  Ferdinand,  for 


326  PETER   FOLGER   EWER 

eight  months.  On  the  1st  of  April,  1854,  he  returned  to 
Nantucket  in  charge  of  a  nurse,  where  he  Hngered  for 
eight  months  longer,  steadily  growing  worse. 

The  eight  mile-stones  on  the  road  from  Nantucket  to 
Siasconset  were  purchased  and  set  out  by  him  when  he 
was  a  young  man,  and  one  of  his  oddities  was  to  leave  it 
as  a  tradition  in  his  family  that  his  children  and  chil- 
dren's children  to  the  final  generation  should  keep  those 
mile-stones  painted  white. 

In  person  he  was  of  medium  stature,  and  was  quick 
and  energetic  in  his  walk  and  in  all  his  movements. 
His  complexion  was  dark,  and  his  hair  and  eyes  were 
black.  He  resembled  in  a  marked  degree  the  full- 
length  portrait  of  John  Adams,  now  hanging  in  the  great 
hall  of  Harvard  University.  He  (although  one  of  "  the 
knowing  Folgers,  lazy")  rarely  read  a  book,  but  took 
interest  in  men  and  things.  At  one  time  he  was  occu- 
pied in  organizing  "  a  voyage  to  Europe,  and  thence 
around  the  world,  for  sight-seers,"  and  was  in  treaty  for 
the  purchase  of  a  ship  in  which  to  convey  the  travellers, 
somewhat  on  the  plan  which  was  subsequently  so  success- 
ful, and  which  is  suggested  by  the  well-known  phrase, 
"  Cook's  Tourists."  But  ocean  steamships  began  to  take 
the  place  of  sailing  vessels  about  that  time,  and  his 
scheme  fell  through.  He  became  a  member  of  the 
New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society  September 
6,  1847.  He  was  generous,  strongly  attached  to  the 
island  of  his  birth,  always  hopeful,  and  at  times  even 
visionary.  In  conversation  he  was  cheerful  and  enter- 
taining, and  ever  had  at  hand  a  fund  of  illustrative  anec- 
dote. He  unconsciously  endeared  himself  to  all  whom 
he  met,  and  almost  every  one  in  California  who  was 
acquainted  with  him  speedily  became  his  friend.  He 
died  on  the  7th  of  January,  1855,  aged  fifty-four  years, 
nine  months,  and  twenty-three  days.  " 


ISAAC    P.    DAVIS 


Isaac  P.  Dayis  was  a  son  of  Thomas  and  Mercy  Davis, 
of  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  and  was  born  in  that  town 
October  7,  1771.  His  paternal  grandfather,  who  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  a  native  of  England,  married  a  Miss 
Wendell,  of  Albany,  New  York.  Their  son,  Thomas  Davis, 
was  born  in  Albany,  in  1722.  He  spent  a  portion  of  his 
early  life  in  North  Carolina,  but  about  1742  settled  in 
Plymouth,  Massachusetts.  Here  in  1753  he  married  Miss 
Mercy  Hedge,  who  traced  her  ancestry  to  Elder  William 
Brewster,  Governor  Wilham  Bradford,  and  other  Pilgrims 
of  the  "  Mayflower." 

Thomas  and  Mercy  Davis  had  seven  children,  one 
daughter  and  six  sons,  of  whom  the  subject  of  this  sketch 
was  the  youngest  but  one.  The  sons  were  all  men  of 
mark ;  two  were  graduates  of  Harvard  College,  and  all, 
except  one,  "held  offices  of  trust  under  the  State  or 
United  States  government."  The  best  known  of  these 
brothers  was  the  Hon.  John  Davis,  LL.D.,  who  has  a  lit- 
erary and  historical  reputation  as  the  editor  of  Morton's 
"  New  England's  Memorial,"  and  who  held  for  forty-one 
years,  from  February,  1800,  to  July,  1841,  the  office  of 
Judge  of  the  United  States  Court  for  the  District  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. Of  the  other  brothers  Thomas  Davis  was 
Treasurer  and  Receiving  General  of  the  Commonwealth 
from  1792  to  1797;  "William  "was  extensively  engaged 
in  his  native  town  of  Plymouth  in  mercantile  pursuits, 
wa^  much  regarded  for  his  general  knowledge,  intelligence, 
and  probity,  and  was  frequently  chosen  a  representative 


328  -  ISAAC  p.   DAVIS 

in  the  State  Legislature  ; "  and  Samuel,  who  was  "  of  retir- 
ing habits  and  modest  demeanor,"  was  noted  for  his  anti- 
quarian and  genealogical  information,  .particularly  in 
relation  to  Plymouth.  The  youngest  brother,  Wendell, 
"  became  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  this  State  at  a  time 
when  political  excitement  ran  very  high.  He  was  esteemed 
a  ready  and  sharp  debater,  and  distinguished  himself  by 
his  apt  rejoinders  to  his  opponents;  he  afterwards  held 
the  of6.ce  of  Sheriff  of  the  County  of  Barnstable." 

Isaac  P.  Davis  commenced  business  as  a  rope-maker  in 
Boston  in  the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century.  His 
ropewalks  were  on  the  westerly  side  of  Charles  Street, 
on  ground  now  occupied  by  the  Public  Garden.  Here  he 
carried  on  extensively  the  manufacture  of  cables  and  cord- 
age till  1818,  when  his  ropewalks  were  destroyed  by  fire. 
In  the  Boston  Directory  of  1796  his  name  is  found  as 
Isaac  Davis,  Jun.,  to  distinguish  him  from  another  Isaac 
Davis  in  the  town,  a  merchant.  The  letter  P.  as  a  middle 
name  was  afterwards  used  for  the  purpose  of  distinction. 
In  the  early  part  of  his  business  career  he  had  large  deal- 
ings with  the  United  States  government,  through  Stephen 
Higginson,  the  Navy  Agent  at  Boston,  particularly  at  the 
time  of  the  difficulty  with  France,  when  large  quantities 
of  cordage  were  required  for  outfits  of  the  Navy.  He  fur- 
nished, also,  much  cordage  to  the  ship-owners  of  Boston, 
whose  confidence  he  won  by  his  integrity. 

He  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Boston  and  Rox- 
bury  Mill  Corporation,  which  built  the  Milldam,  or  Western 
Avenue,  to  connect  Boston  wdth  Brookline ;  and  he  is 
named  first  in  the  act  of  incorporation,  June  14,  1814. 

In  1841  he  was  appointed,  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  the  Naval  Officer  for  the  Port  of  Boston.  For  this 
office  he  was  principally  indebted  to  the  Hon.  Daniel 
Webster,  then  a  member  of  the  President's  Cabinet.  The 
friendship  of  that  eminent  statesman  for  Mr.  Davis  was 
further  shown  by  the   dedication  to  him  of  the  second 


ISAAC   P.   DAVIS  329 

volume  of  his  collected  works,  in  which  Mr.  Webster  says : 
"  A  warm  private  friendship  has  subsisted  between  us  for 
half  our  lives,  interrupted  by  no  untoward  occurrence, 
and  never  for  a  moment  coolino;  into  indifference.  Of 
•this  friendship,  the  source  of  so  much  happiness  to  me,  I 
wish  to  leave,  if  not  an  enduring  memorial,  at  leo,st  an 
affectionate  and  grateful  acknowledgment."  Mr.  Davis 
held  this  office  till  1845,  when  a  new  administration  came 
into  power. 

Mr.  Davis  was  one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Charitable  Mechanic  Association,  organized  in 
1795,  and  was  one  of  the  last  three  survivors.  On  the 
24th  of  August,  1830,  he  was  elected  a  resident  member 
of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society ;  and  in  1833  he 
was  chosen  Cabinet-keeper,  which  office  he  retained  till 
his  death.  He  was  a  trustee  of  the  Boston  Athenaeum 
from  1830  to  1845.  On  the  28th  of  April,  1847,  he  was 
admitted  an  honorary  member  of  the  New  England  His- 
toric Genealogical  Society. 

He  married,  June  12, 1807,  Miss  Susan  Jackson,  daughter 
of  Dr.  David  Jackson,  a  physician  of  Philadelphia.  Their 
children  were:  1.  Thomas  Kemper,  born  June  20,  1808; 
graduated  at  Harvard  College,  1827,  at  the  head  of  his 
class ;  and  died  October  13,  1853.  "  He  had  fine  scholar- 
ship and  brilhant  powers,  but  long  before  his  death  was 
withdrawn  by  disease  from  the  pursuits  of  active  life." 
2.  George  Cabot,  born  January  23,  1812,  and  died  June 
30,  1833. 

Mr.  Davis  died  in  Boston  January  13, 1855,  aged  eighty- 
three.  His  wife  survived  him  twelve  years,  dying  March 
30,  1867,  at  the  age  of  eighty- two. 

A  writer  in  the  "  Boston  Daily  Advertiser,"  January  18, 
1855,  a  few  days  after  Mr.  Davis's  death,  who  signs  him- 
self "  An  Old  Acquaintance,"  pays  a  tribute  to  his  mem- 
ory, from  which  the  following  extract,  with  some  verbal 

chancres,  is  taken  :  — 

°  42 


330  ISAAC   p.   DAVIS 

"  Professional  men  and  inventors  of  machinery,  together  with 
the  whole  corps  of  navy  officers,  had  frequent  recourse  to  Mr. 
Davis,  as  the  most  reliable  source  for  the  information  that  each 
one  wanted.  The  poor  man  also  had  always  at  least  some 
useful  suggestions  made  in  his  behalf.  Mr.  Davis  was  much 
engaged  in  acquiring  antiquarian  lore  ;  and  had  he  been  equally 
desirous  of  gaining  wealth,  he  might  have  been  one  of  the 
richest  men  among  us.  He  possessed  a  most  desirable  tempera- 
ment, the  gift  of  God.  A  peculiar  face,  expressive  of  kindness 
and  confidence,  added  greatly  to  the  effect  of  his  generous 
deeds.  He  had  a  most  remarkable  quickness  of  intellect  in 
acquiring  the  contents  of  a  new  book,  —  its  general  merits,  the 
pith  of  it ;  and  he  seemed  without  labor  to  arrive  at  correct  con- 
clusions. He  was  always  busy  and  curious  to  learn  the  affairs  of 
the  world,  and  was  ever  ready  to  communicate  information  ;  but 
he  never  intermeddled  in  the  private  business  of  others.  No 
thoughtless  remarks  that  would  allow  of  misapplication  to  the 
disparagement  of  others  ever  escaped  from  him.  Hence  the  pe- 
culiar charm  of  his  society.  He  was  by  solicitation  the  frequent 
guest  of  the  opulent,  at  whose  board  he  was  tempted  by  the 
choicest  of  dainties ;  yet  such  was  his  well-known  temperance, 
and  he  so  well  understood  the  proper  uses  of  things  that  gratify 
the  senses,  that  he  merely  tasted  them,  and  the  appetite  was 
not  cloyed.  He  did  not  profess  the  too  common  qualifications 
of  the  festive  board,  such  as  jokes,  wit,  waggery,  or  music  ;  his 
standard  was  above  them.  Mr.  Davis's  religious  faith  savored 
of  that  of  his  ancestors  ;  yet  he  was  not  rigid,  but  liberal  toward 
others  of  different  persuasions.  He  was  a  worthy  example  of  a 
long  life,  crowned  with  the  respect  of  the  great  and  the  good." 

A  memoir  of  Mr.  Davis  was  prepared  for  the  Massa- 
chusetts Historical  Society  by  his  nephew,  the  Hon.  George 
Thomas  Davis,  and  was  printed  in  their  Proceedings,  Vol. 
XL  pp.  94-99,  accompanied  by  a  fine  portrait.  To  this 
memoir  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Winthrop,  LL.D.,  contributed 
the  following  sketch  of  his  personal  qualities,  written  soon 
after  his  death  :  — 

"  Few  persons  will  be  more  missed  from  the  daily  walks  of 
life  than  this  esteemed  and  venerated  gentleman.  Though  he 
had  reached  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-three  years,  he  had 


ISAAC   P.   DAVIS  331 

retained  a  full  measure  of  his  characteristic  activity  of  mind  and 
body  until  a  very  recent  period,  and  but  a  few  weeks  had  elapsed 
since  he  was  to  be  found  at  his  customary  haunts  on  the  Ex- 
change. Everybody  was  glad  to  meet  him  there,  for  he  had  a 
kind  word  for  everybody.  Nor  did  he  confine  himself  to  kind 
words.  If  an  obliging  act  was  within  his  power,  he  was  always 
sure  to  do  it.  One  was  in  danger  of  forgetting  that  he  was  no 
longer  young,  so  ready  and  eager  was  he  to  anticipate  the  wishes 
of  a  friend  in  rendering  any  service  that  could  be  suggested. 
Indeed  he  knew  little  of  old  age,  except  from  the  experience  it 
had  brought  him  ;  his  heart  was  always  young,  and  his  interest 
in  the  daily  current  of  events  lost  nothing  of  its  freshness  to  the 
end  of  his  life.  He  was  eminently  a  man  of  '  cheerful  yester- 
days and  confident  to-morrows.' 

'  A  man  of  hope,  and  forward-looking  mind, 
Even  to  the  last.' 

Yet  he  did  not  forget  that  he  had  passed  the  allotted  term  of 
human  life,  and  was  not  unmindful  of  the  great  account  which 
was  soon  to  be  rendered. 

"  Mr.  Davis  entered  life  with  slight  advantages  of  fortune,  but 
it  would  be  difficult  to  name  a  man  who  had  been  happier  in 
his  social  relations.     Beyond  any  one  of  his  time  he  had  enjoyed 
the  friendship  and  intimacy  of  our  most  distinguished  men.    He 
was  on  terms  of  familiar   intercourse  successively  with  Fisher 
Ames   and   George   Cabot,   with  John   Quincy   Adams,   Josiah 
Quincy,  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  and   Daniel  Webster.     Nor  was 
his  acquaintance  limited  to    those  of    our  own   neighborhood. 
Strangers  of  distinction  were  rarely  without  a  letter  to   Mr. 
Davis,  and  were  always  sure  of  receiving  from  him  the  kindest 
attention,  and  of  being  introduced  by  him  to  the  most  agreea- 
ble hospitalities.     His   memory  was  thus  stored  with  personal 
anecdotes  and  pleasant  reminiscences  of  many  of  the  most  inter- 
esting characters  in  our  more  recent  history,  and  he  was  rarely 
without   agreeable  occasions   of  relating   them.      He   took   an 
early  and  active  interest  in  the  encouragement  of  American  art. 
He  was  the  friend  of  Stuart  and  Allston  and  Sully,  of  Green- 
ough  and  Powers  and  Clevenger ;  and  not  a  few  young  artists  of 
less   celebrity  have  owed  to    him  the  earliest  opportunities  of 
exercising  their   profession.     Though   not  wealthy  himself,  he 
knew  how  to  bring  deserving  merit  to  the  notice  of  those  that 


332  ISAAC   p.    DAVIS 

were ;  and  many  an  order  for  a  bust  or  a  portrait  -which  has 
brought  hope,  and  perhaps  bread,  to  some  discouraged  and 
destitute  artist,  has  had  its  origin  in  his  thoughtful  and  timely 
suggestions. 

"  Mr,  Davis,  like  his  venerated  brother,  the  late  Mr.  Justice 
Davis,  had  a  passion  for  everything  of  an  historical  or  antiquarian 
character.  Born  in  Plymouth,  he  was  never  tired  of  visiting  the 
Rock,  and  of  exploring  the  footsteps  of  those  who  first  trod  it. 
Indeed,  whatever  related  to  American  history.  Colonial  or  Revo- 
lutionary, he  was  eager  to  hear  and  see  and  understand ;  and 
though  neither  a  student  nor  a  writer  himself,  he  often  helped 
those  who  were  writers  or  students  to  facts  or  anecdotes  or 
papers  or  memorials  which  might  have  been  looked  for  in  vain 
anywhere  else.  His  service  to  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society,  as  one  of  their  most  attentive  members,  and  as  their 
Cabinet-keeper  for  a  long  course  of  years,  will  doubtless  secure 
for  him  the  customary  tribute  in  their  '  Proceedings,'  as  they  have 
secured  for  him  the  cordial  regard  and  esteem  of  all  his  asso- 
ciates. Mr.  Davis  was  repeatedly  one  of  the  representatives  of 
Boston  in  the  State  Legislature,  and  for  several  years  he  held 
the  post  of  Naval  Ofi&cer  in  the  Boston  Custom  House.  B.ut  he 
sought  uo  distinction  in  public  life.  His  disposition  was  for  the 
social  circle,  where  his  tastes  and  his  temper  eminently  qualified 
him  to  shine.  His  genial  good-nature,  his  benevolent  spirit,  his 
peculiar  faculty  'of  gathering  up  whatever  was  most  interesting 
or  agreeable  to  those  with  whom  he  was  associated,  his  quick 
appreciation  of  whatever  was  curious  or  novel,  his  kind,  cordial, 
cheerful  manners,  all  conspired  to  make  him  the  selected  and 
solicited  guest  of  every  company,  and  the  welcome  visitor  of 
every  household. 

"  His  long  life  was  not  unclouded  by  afflictions.  He  was 
called  to  bear  blows  which  would  have  broken  any  less  buoyant 
spirit  than  his  own.  Two  sons,  his  only  children,  who  had 
given  the  best  promise  of  success  in  their  respective  professions, 
—  one  of  them  second  to  no  one  of  his  age  in  early  scholarship,  — 
were  cut  off  before  him.  But  with  the  aid  of  an  affectionate  and 
devoted  wife,  he  bore  up  bravely  beneath  these  bitter  disap- 
pointments, and  was  soon  the  same  cheerful  old  man,  —  happy, 
at  least,  in  making  others  happy.  Sinking  at  last  under  no  very 
protracted  disease,  he  has  left  a  memory  which  will  be  cherished 


ISAAC   P.   DAVIS  333 

in  many  hearts  as  that  of  a  tried,  trusty,  affectionate  friend, 
whom  all  would  have  gladly  held  back  yet  longer  from  the 
grave  to  cheer  and  brighten  the  pathway  of  life." 

Mr.  George  L.  Brown,  the  landscape-painter,  informs 
me  that  he  owes  to  Mr.  Davis  his  first  encouragement  as 
an  artist.  They  first  met,  in  1832,  in  the  studio  of  Mr. 
George  P.  A.  Healy,  the  now  eminent  portrait-painter, 
whom  Mr.  Davis  had  early  befriended  and  on  whom  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  frequently  calling.  Mr.  Brown,  then 
a  youth  of  eighteen,  had  painted  a  small  landscape,  his 
first  picture  in  oil,  in  Mr.  Healy's  studio,  which  Mr.  Davis 
saw  there,  commended  warmly,  and  purchased.  He  en- 
couraged him  to  persevere,  and  recommended  him  to  his 
friends.  Among  these  was  Mr.  John  P.  Gushing,  who 
employed  Mr.  Brown,  and  furnished  him  with  money  for 
his  expenses  to  Europe,  besides  assisting  him  while  he 
was  there.  This  early  commendation  and  assistance 
Mr.  Brown  considers  the  foundation  of  his  success  as  an 
artist.  Other  young  artists  felt  the  influence  of  this  gen- 
tleman's friendly  offices  and  appreciation;  among  whom 
was  Mr.  George  W.  Flagg,  a  nephew  of  Allston.  Mr.  Brown 
describes  Mr.  Davis  as  under  the  medium  height,  inclined 
to  corpulency  and  a  little  lame,  with  rosy  cheeks  and 
brilliant  blue  eyes,  which  his  gold-bowed  spectacles  did 
not  entirely  conceal.     A  smile  was  ahvays  on  his  face. 

During  Mr.  Brown's  acquaintance  with  him  he  was 
generally  recognized  as  one  of  the  leading  connoisseurs  of 
works  of  art  in  Boston.  No  one  was  so  frequently  called 
upon  as  he  to  pass  judgment  on  the  merits  of  such  works. 
His  advice  was  taken  in  the  purchases  for  the  gallery  of 
the  Boston  Athenceum,  and  those  who  thought  of  forming 
private  galleries  always  consulted  with  him. 

The  late  Nathaniel  Ingersoll  Bowditch,  Esq.,  in  the  six- 
teenth number  of  his  "  Gleaner  "  articles,  lately  reprinted 
by  the  Boston  Record  Commissioners,  from  the  "Evening 
Transcript,"    speaks    of   him   as    '"'a   man   of   cultivated 


334  ISAAC   p.   DAVIS 

intellect,  courteous  manners,  and  the  most  genial  kindness 
of  heart,  .  .  .  possessing  almost  unequalled  knowledge  of 
passing  events,  and  great  vivacity  in  narrating  and  com- 
menting on  them." 

The  Hon.  George  Lunt,  who  had  an  intimate  acquaint- 
ance and  much  friendly  intercourse  with  Mr.  Davis  to- 
wards the  close  of  his  life,  wrote,  soon  after  the  death  of 
his  friend,  the  following  touching  poem  to  his  memory. 
It  was  much  admired  by  the  Hon.  Rufus  Choate,  who  pro- 
nounced it  worthy  of  Horace. 

I.  P.  D. 

Ah,  kind  and  good  old  man ! 

"Whose  life,  a  golden  chain 

Of  links,  still  brightening,  ran 

Through  more  than  fourscore  years, 

In  long-descending  train,  — 

Ripened  by  sun  and  rain, 

So  the  fuU  shock  should  garnered  be,  and  vain 

Were  our  superfluous  tears. 

Yet,  though  we  may  not  grieve     , 

For  him,  who  waited  but  the  Master's  call. 

How  oft,  at  morn,  and  noon,  and  social  eve. 

By  genial  board,  or  in  the  festal  hall, 

Shall  busy  fancy  weave 

Sweet,  sad  memorials  of  thy  decent  form, 

Who  knew  life's  sunny  hours,  and  felt  its  storm, 

Saw  human  nature's  every  side,  and  stni 

Who  thought  and  spoke  no  ill  ? 

The  cordial  grasp  of  an  unsullied  hand. 

The  cheerful  aspect,  and  the  beaming  eye  ; 

Those  silvery  locks  that  crowned  a  forehead  bland 

With  human  sympathy ; 

The  feehng  heart,  quick  thought,  and  earnest  mind  ;    , 

The  true,  soft  accents  from  thy  lips  that  fell,  — 

Where  shall  we  look  to  find 

In  soul  so  gentle  left  behind  ? 

Dear,  kind  old  man,  farewell ! 


THOMAS    DAY 


Thomas  Day  was  a  direct  descendant,  in  the  sixth 
generation,  of  that  Robert  Day  who  came  from  England 
to  America  among  the  early  settlers  of  Massachusetts,  and 
removed  from  Cambridge  (then  Newtown),  Massachusetts, 
to  Hartford,  with^the  Rev.  Thomas  Hooker,  the  first  min- 
ister of  Hartford,  in  June,  1636.  Robert  Day  married 
Editha  Stebbins,  and  died  in  1648 ;  leaving  a  son,  Thomas 
Day,  who  married,  in  1659,  Sarah  Cooper,  of  Springfield, 
Massachusetts,  and  died  there  in  1712  ;  leaving  a  son, 
Thomas  Day,  who  married,  in  1686,  Ehzabeth  Merrick,  of 
Springfield.  The  family  removed  from  Springfield  to  Col- 
chester, Connecticut;  and  Thomas, born  October  23,  1689, 
married  Mary  Welles,  of  Colchester  (who  was  born  Janu- 
ary 22,  1702),  and  had  by  her  Jeremiah,  who  was  born 
in  Colchester  (Westchester  Society),  January  25,  1737 
(0.  S.).  He  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1756,  and  be- 
came the  pastor  of  an  Orthodox  Congregational  Church 
in  New  Preston,  Connecticut,  and  was  a  man  of  note  in 
his  region.  For  a  biographical  sketch  of  him,  see  "  Con- 
necticut Evangelical  Magazine,"  Vol.  VII.  pp.  212-216. 
He  was  the  father  of  Jeremiah  Day,  for  many  years  Presi- 
dent of  Yale  College,  and  of  Thomas  Day,  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  The  Rev.  Jeremiah  Day,  of  New  Preston, 
married  Abigail  Noble,  daughter  of  Stephen  and  Sarah 
(Ferris)  Noble,  of  New  Milford,  Connecticut.  She  was 
born  November  18,  1740,  and  died  June  1,  1810,  aged 
sixty-nine. 


336  THOMAS   DAT 

The  father  of  Thomas  Day  was  a  man  of  uncommonly 
strong  natural  constitution.  He  lived  to  his  seventieth 
year,  and  then  died  from  the  results  of  sickness  brought 
on  by  being  wet  in  a  thunder-shower  while  extremely 
heated  by  pitching  grain  in  the  field.  His  eldest  son, 
Jeremiah,  lived  to  enter  his  ninety-fifth  year ;  his  second 
son,  Thomas,  died  in  his  seventy-eighth  year ;  and  his 
third  son  in  his  seventy-sixth  year.  Of  the  seven  children 
of  Thomas  Day  and  Sarah  Coit,  all  but  one  lived  to  be 
aged,  and  are  all  alive  at  this  date.  The  physical  consti- 
tution of  both  parents  was  excellent,  and  the  children  got 
the  benefit  of  it. 

Thomas  Day  was  born  in  New  Preston,  Connecticut, 
July  6,  1777.  He  graduated  at  Yale^College  in  1797; 
and  half  a  century  later,  in  1847,  he  received  the  degree 
I  of  LL.D.  from  that  institution.  There  were  thirty-seven 
members  in  his  class;  "sixteen  of  whom  made  the  law 
their  profession,  of  whom  six  became  magnates,  and  four 
attained  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D."  This  class  was 
favored  in  having  for  its  teachers  such  men  as  James 
Gould,  afterwards  of  the  famous  law  school  at  Litchfield ; 
and  Eoger  Minot  Sherman,  of  Fairfield,  whose  talents  as  a 
man  and  a  lawyer  were  famous  in  his  day  and  generation. 

Lyman  Beecher,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Harriet  Beecher 
Stowe,  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  and  the  rest  of  the  "famous 
Beecher  family,"  was  a  member  of  the  class  of  1797  at 
Yale,  and  has  left  in  his  Autobiography,  published  by  the 
Harpers,  1866,  in  Chapters  VI.  to  IX.  of  the  first  volume, 
various  items  and  anecdotes  of  the  college  life  of  those 
days. 

Thomas  Day  attended  the  law  lectures  of  Judge  Reeve 
at  Litchfield  for  one  year  from  July,  1797 ;  was  a  tutor  in 
Williams  College  from  September,  1798,  to  September. 
1799,  and  during  that  period  read  law  under  the  direction 
of  Daniel  Dewey,  Esq.,  afterwards  a  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Massachusetts.     He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 


THOMAS   DAT  337 

Hartford,  Connecticut,  in  1799,  and  settled  there  in  the 
practice  of  the  law.  He  was  appointed  by  the  General 
Assembly  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  State  in  1809,  and 
was  chosen  Secretary  by  the  people  in  1810,  and  continued 
by  the  people  in  that  office,  by  successive  annual  elections, 
until  May,  1835. 

In  May,  1815,  he  was  appointed  an  Associate  Judge  of 
the  County  Court  for  the  county  of  Hartford,  and  annually 
thereafter,  with  the  exception  of  one  year,  until  May, 
1825,  when  he  was  appointed  Chief  Judge  of  that  court, 
which  office  he  held  until  June,  1833. 

In  March,  1818,  as  one  of  the  two  senior  aldermen  of 
the  city  of  Hartford,  he  became  one  of  the  Judges  of  the 
City  Court,  and  coh tinned  such,  by  successive  annual  elec- 
tions, until  March,  1831. 

He  was  one  of  the  committee  who  prepared  the  edition 
of  the  Statutes  of  Connecticut  in  1808,  and  wrote  the 
introduction,  compiled  the  notes,  and  made  the  index ; 
was  one  of  the  committee  of  revision  in  1821 ;  and  was 
one  of  a  committee  to  prepare  and  superintend  a  new 
edition  in  1824. 

From  1802  to  1853  he  reported  the  decisions  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Errors  of  Connecticut.  During  that 
period  seven  different  chief  justices  presided  in  that  court, 
holding  office  until  disqualified  by  age.  He  also  edited 
several  English  law-books,  —  in  all  about  forty  vol- 
umes, —  in  which  he  introduced  notices  of  the  American 
decisions. 

He  was  long  a  trustee  of  the  Hartford  Grammar  School 
and  of  the  Hartford  Female  Seminary ;  one  of  the  vice- 
presidents  of  the  American  Asylum  for  the  Deaf  and 
Dumb  ;  a  trustee  of  the  Retreat  for  the  Insane  ;  president 
of  the  Connecticut  branch  of  the  American  Education 
Society ;  and  president  of  the  Goodrich  Association.  He 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Connecticut  Historical 
Society,  incorporated  in  1825,  when  he  was  chosen  re- 

43 


338  THOMAS    DAT 

cording  secretary.  On  the  reorganization  of  the  society 
in  1839,  he  was  elected  president.  He  was  admitted  a 
corresponding  member  of  the  New  England  Historic 
Genealogical  Society,  April  17,  1847. 

He  was,  as  one  well  qualified  to  judge  remarked,  "not 
only  a  good  reporter,  but  a  man  of  good  report."  As 
Judge  Welles,  when  he  moved  the  adoption  of  compli- 
mentary resolutions  in  the  Superior  Court,  said  :  "  Of 
Mr.  Day  as  a  reporter  it  has  been  truly  said  that  he  had 
no  superior  in  the  ability  to  grasp  the  precise  point 
decided,  and  to  present  that  point  clearly  and  definitely." 
Said  Judge  Welles  :  "  His  has  been  a  favored  lot.  Spared 
the  exhausting  contests  which  attend  the  active  duties  of 
his  profession,  he  stood  by,  a  calm,  intelligent  spectator 
of  the  conflict,  recording  the  results.  Enjoying  the  con- 
solations of  friendship,  and  possessing  an  easy  fortune  and 
extensive  reputation,  blessed  with  all  that  is  valuable  in 
possession  for  earth,  and  all  that  is  cheering  in  prospect 
for  heaven,  he  has  been  calmly  brought  to  the  consistent 
close  of  a  consistent  life, — ^  content  to  live,  yet  not  afraid 
to  die.'  "  To  use  the  words  of  Dr.  Joel  Hawes  at  his 
funeral,  he  was  "  one  who  passed  through  life  without  a 
cloud  upon  his  sun  or  a  spot  upon  his  character." 

As  an  accurate  and  learned  lawyer  he  had  few  superiors, 
and  his  opinions  on  legal  questions  were  regarded  by  the 
bar  as  entitled  to  great  respect. 

Thomas  Day  died  of  apoplexy  1st  March,  1855.  He 
had  a  slight  shock  some  weeks  previous  to  his  death,  and 
remarked,  in  legal  phrase :  "  I  am  now  only  a  tenant  at 
will,  subject  to  eviction  at  the  pleasure  of  the  landlord. 
I  have  been  served  with  due  warning."  He  was  fortunate 
in  his  death,  as  in  his  life ;  suffering  no  pain,  he  met 
what  the  ancients  called  the  euthanasia.  The  torch  of 
life  was  suddenly  inverted,  and  the  flame  ceased. 

In  person  he  was  six  feet  tall ;  slender,  but  not  to  the 
point  of  thinness.     His  carriage  was  erect,  and  his  manner 


THOMAS   DAY  339 

quite  impressive.  He  made  a  good  presiding  officer,  and 
was  often  called  to  act  in  that  capacity.  In  the  conduct 
of  life  he  was  severe  to  himself,  but  considerate  and  in- 
dulgent towards  others.  His  general  tone  was  gentle  and 
affable ;  but  he  was  capable  of  being  roused  to  great  stern- 
ness. There  is  a  good  portrait  of  him,  full  length,  in  the 
rooms  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  painted  when 
he  was  over  seventy,  and  differing  much  from  portraits 
painted  when  he  was  in  the  vigor  of  his  manhood. 

Thomas  Day  married,  18th  March,  1813,  Sarah  Coit, 
daughter  of  Wheeler  Coit,  a  merchant  of  that  part  of 
Preston  which  is  now  called  Griswold,  Connecticut.  His 
wife  was  born  27th  September,  1786,  and  died  21st  July, 
1865.     The  couple  had  the  following  children  :  — 

Sarah  Coit,  born  at  Hartford  23d  September,  1814 ; 
Elizabeth,  born  at  Hartford  16th  February,  1816  ;  Thomas 
Mills,  born  at  Hartford  21st  November,  1817 ;  Catharine 
Augusta,  born  at  Hartford  6th  August,  1819;  Harriette, 
born  at  Hartford  26th  November,  1821 ;  Robert,  born  at 
Hartford  28th  February,  1824  ;  Mary  Frances,  born  at 
Hartford  7th  May,  1826 ;  Ellen,  born  at  Hartford  7th 
September,  1829. 


FREDEEICK   TURELL   GRAY 


Fkederick  Turell  Gray  was  born  in  Boston,  County 
of  Suffolk,  State  of  Massachusetts,  December  5,  1804. 
He  was  the  youngest  son  of  Edward  and  Susanna  Turell 
Gray.  His  father  was  a  branch  of  a  family  long  and 
deservedly  respected  in  his  native  town,  now  city,  of 
Boston,  one  of  whose  brothers  was  the  Eev,  Thomas 
Gray,  the  venerated  minister  for  many  years  of  the  First 
Congregational  Church,  Jamaica  Plain,  Roxbury ;  and 
another  was  John  Gray,  Esq.,  a  well-known  merchant  of 
Boston.     His  father,  professionally,  was  a  lawyer. 

At  an  early  period  Frederick  became  an  orphan,  and 
was  taken  at  once  to  the  home  of  his  grandmother,  Madam 
Turell,  as  she  was  always  called,  a  lady  of  wealth.  He 
was  adopted  by  her,  and  between  them  there  sprang  up 
the  most  devoted  and  uninterrupted  affection.  No  won- 
der, as  he  was  a  most  winning  and  loving  boy,  over  whom 
the  grandmother  exercised  a  most  judicious  authority, 
a  wise  and  tender  care. 

Madam  Turell  was  an  honored  member  of  the  Brattle 
Street  Church  in  the  near  vicinity  of  her  dwelling,  Brattle 
Square.  Its  pastor  at  this  time  was  the  distinguished  and 
much  beloved  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Buckminster. 

Frederick  was  a  constant  attendant  on  his  preaching, 
and  one  of  his  most  attentive  listeners.  He  loved  him 
tenderly,  and  so  enthusiastic  was  his  admiration  that  he 
was  impelled  to  prepare  little  discourses  or  sermons,  and 


FREDERICK  TURELL  GRAY  341 

having  gathered  juvenile  auditories  from  time  to  time  at 
the  house  of  his  grandmother,  preached  to  them  in  imita- 
tion of  his  distinguished  prototype. 

At  an  early  age,  as  might  have  been  expected,  he 
made  choice  of  the  ministry  as  a  life-profession,  with 
the  full  consent  of  his  grandmother  and  other  friends. 
Accordingly  he  was  sent  to  the  best  of  preparatory  schools, 
and  at  the  required  age  to  the  Latin  School,  where  he 
was  fully  prepared  to  enter  college.  Just  at  this  time, 
however,  his  studies  and  prospects  were  arrested  by  a 
severe  inflammation  of  the  eyes,  which  threatened  the  most 
disastrous  result.  Relief  at  length  was  obtained,  but  with 
the  most  peremptory  injunction  of  his  physician  that  if 
he  would  save  his  sight  he  must  give  up  all  thought  of 
pursuing  his  studies  or  passing  through  college.  This  was 
a  sad  blow  to  a  long  cherished  desire ;  but  heavy  as  it 
was,  he  met  it  with  a  cheerful  and  submissive  spirit,  never 
relilnquishing,  however,  the  one  latent  but  dearest  hope  of 
his  heart. 

Not  far  from  this  time,  1821,  the  first  Sunday  Schools 
were  established.  One  of  these,  in  his  own  neighborhood, 
came  to  his  knowledge.  Of  this  school,  the  Hon.  Sam- 
uel T.  Armstrong  was  superintendent.  Frederick  had 
an  elder  friend,  a  teacher  in  the  school,  Deacon  Moses 
Grant,  to  whom  he  applied  to  become  a  fellow-teacher, 
and  through  whose  highly  favorable  representations  and 
praise,  though  thought  too  young,  he  was  appointed  to 
the  care  of  a  .small  class.  This  he  manaored  and  tausrht 
with  entire  success ;  and  here  it  was  that  he  received  his 
first,  his  deep,  and  ever-abiding  impressions  of  the  impor- 
tance and  value  of  religious  instruction  for  the  young. 

But  the  teachings  and  doctrines  of  this  school,  as  he 
soon  found,  were  not  in  consonance  with  the  more  liberal 
views  in  which  he  had  been  educated ;  and,  after  a  while, 
he  came  to  yearn  for  a  more  genial  and  larger  sphere  of 
duty  and  activity.    Struggling  with  these  impressions,  and 


342  •  FKEDERICK  TUEELL  GRAY 

aspiring  earnestly  for  better  means  of  religious  growth, 
he  associated  himself  at  this  time  with  a  few  others,  Moses 
Grant,  Benjamin  H.  Greene,  "William  P.  Rice,  his  com- 
panions and  friends,  who  originated  and  organized  the 
Association  of  Young  Men  for  Self-Improvement  and  for 
the  Reli2:ious  Instruction  of  the  Youno^. 

This  association  held  weekly  meetings  at  each  other's 
houses,  and  discussed  together  the  great  questions  of  phi- 
lanthropy and  religion,  always  with  a  view  to  some  practi- 
cal action.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  their  number  had 
become  greatly  enlarged,  embracing  clergy  and  some  of 
the  elder  class  of  the  laity.  A  course  of  Sunday  evening 
lectures  for  the  poor  was  early  commenced  in  Creek 
Square,  clergymen  sometimes  officiating,  but  for  the 
most  part  the  services  were  conducted  by  the  lay  mem- 
bers, Mr.  Gray  prominent  among  the  number. 

Among  the  earliest  questions  discussed  by  the  associa- 
tion was  that  of  the  Sunday  School.  After  full  consider- 
ation, the  subject  was  given  to  a  committee,  who  organized 
a  school,  obtained  from  the  citv  the  use  of  the  Hancock 
School-house,  just  then  completed,  gave  it  the  name  of  the 
Hancock  Sunday  School,  and  opened  it,  June,  1823.  Mr. 
Gray  was  most  active  in  all  these  proceedings,  was  one  of 
its  first  teachers,  and  remained  such  till  chosen  its  super- 
intendent in  1825. 

In  this  position  he  was  among  the  first  to  open  the 
Sunday  School,  or  to  close  it,  with  a  general  lesson,  a 
short  address  to  the  children  in  simple  language,  enforcing 
some  moral  or  religious  truth  or  duty,  illustrated  by  one 
or  more  familiar  incidents.  In  these  exercises  he  was 
very  happy,  both  in  matter  and  manner.  Some  of  these 
he  afterward  revised  and  printed,  under  the  title  of  "A 
Teacher's  Gift,  "  which  was  a  popular  juvenile  book  of  the 
day,  and  passed  through  a  number  of  editions. 

He  was  among  the  earliest,  also,  to  inaugurate  and 
insist  upon  regular  teachers'  meetings ;  and  for  these  pre- 


FREDERICK  TURELL  GRAY  343 

pared  and  delivered  a  series  of  addresses  on  the  duties  and 
responsibilities  of  the  Sunday  School  teacher.  A  selection 
of  these  he  also  published,  with  the  title,  "  Sunday  School 
and  Other  Addresses,  "  1852.  He  also  instituted  quar- 
terly examinations  of  the  school,  which  were  public,  and 
excited  much  interest  among  many  influential  individuals. 
Thus  it  Svas  that  one  who  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  was 
thought  too  young  for  this  responsible  situation,  and  who 
"took  charge  of  it"  as  he  himself  says  in  one  of  the  ad- 
dresses alluded  to,  *"'  with  fear  and  trembling,"  brought  to 
the  work,  as  it  proved,  not  only  an  earnest  zeal  and  per- 
sistent force,  but  with  them  also  a  shaping,  organizing 
and  practical  power,  which  few  possess  in  a  larger  degree. 
In  this  office,  with  an  interregnum  of  a  year,  he  continued 
to  labor  till  1832,  obtaining^  more  and  more  the  affec- 
tionate  regards  of  his  pupils,  never  forfeited  and  never 
forgotten,  the  ever  increasing  respect  of  all  his  co-laborers 
and  the  community. 

In  the  meantime,  1825,  he  had  engaged  in  business, 
first  as  agent  for  the  "  North  American  Eeview,"  in  the 
employ  of  the  Rev.  Jared  Sparks,  with  Mr.  Charles  ^ 
Bowen,  who  was  then  its  editor;  and  in  1829  as  a  pub- 
lisher and  bookseller,  under  the  firm  of  Gray  &  Bowen.  .i,— 
In  this  undertaking  he  was  eminently  successful.  Busi- 
ness flowed  in  upon  the  firm,  and  their  gains  were  in 
proportion.     They  were  greatly  prospered. 

But  the  latent  desire  of  his  heart  could  not  be  repressed. 
Under  the  auspices  of  the  association,  with  the  Rev. 
Henry  Ware  as  leader,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Tuckerraan  was  led 
to  engage  in  a  "  Ministry  at  Large  to  the  Poor."  Being 
in  feeble  health,  he  needed  all  the  assistance  which  the 
association  had  promised  or  could  possibly  give.  And  well, 
on  their  part,  was  this  promise  redeemed.  Mr.  Gray,  with 
others  assisting,  organized  for  him  the  Howard  Sunday 
School,  procuring  for  its  use  the  upper  chamber  of  a 
building  which  had  been  a  painter's  loft,  at  the  corner  of 


344  FREDERICK  TURELL  GRAY 

Merrimack  and  Portland  Streets,  in  which  Dr.  Tuckerman 
preached  his  first  sermon  to  the  poor.  Further,  he  vis- 
ited with  him  the  poor,  introduced  him  to  famihes  with 
whose  homes  he  was  already  familiar,  seeking  others  whom 
they  might  relieve  and  save,  —  and  in  the  procurement  of 
funds  for  the  erection  of  a  free  chapel,  which  were  at 
length  secured,  a  building  erected,  known  as  the  Friend 
Street  Chapel,  and  first  opened  for  public  services  in 
1828. 

But  Dr.  Tuckerman's  health,  always  feeble,  wholly 
failed  in  1832,  and  he  was  obliged  to  forego  preaching 
altogether.  Under  these  circumstances,  Mr.  Gray  did  not 
hesitate.  He  gave  up  his  prosperous  and  remunerative 
business,  placed  himself  under  the  instruction  of  his  friend, 
the  Rev.  Samuel  J.  May,  then  of  Brooklyn,  Connecticut, 
remained  with  him  a  year  for  study  and  preparation,  then 
offered  to  the  association  his  gratuitous  services  as  a  min- 
ister to  the  poor,  which  were  at  once  accepted,  and  on  the 
evening  of  October  5,  1834,  he  was  ordained  at  the  church 
in  Federal  Street,  Dr.  Channing  preaching  the  sermon,  as 
minister  at  large  in  the  city  of  Boston,  having  charge  of 
the  Friend  Street  Chapel.  He  immediately  entered  upon 
his  new  and  arduous  services,  with  an  earnest  purpose  and 
a  most  devoted  heart. 

Here,  again,  his  methods  and  spirit  which  had  been  so 
successful  in  the  Sunday  School,  found  in  this  ministry 
their  full  fruition.  Under  his  vigorous  and  earnest  minis- 
trations, in  all  simplicity  and  love,  the  number  of  worship- 
pers in  the  chapel  and  members  of  the  Sunday  School  were 
constantly  on  the  increase ;  so  that  in  1837  the  families 
in  connection  with  the  chapel,  which  had  been  only  sev- 
enty-five, had  more  than  doubled,  with  an  audience  of 
more  than  six  hundred ;  while  the  school  had  increased 
from  two  hundred,  or  less,  to  more  than  three  hundred ; 
and  the  common  remark  at  the  time  was  that  a  more 
attentive  and  interested  congregation  and  school  were  not 


FKEDERICK  TURELL  GRAY  345 

to  be  found  in  the  city.  His  visits  to  the  families  of  the 
poor  averaged  a  dozen  daily,  —  the  almost  incredible  ag- 
gregate of  more  than  three  thousand  yearly.  Evidently, 
''  the  right  man  was  in  the  right  place.  " 

In  1834  Mr.  Gray  entered  the  matrimonial  relation. 
He  was  married  on  the  third  of  July  in  that  year  to  Eliz- 
abeth P.  Chapman,  daughter  of  Jonathan  and  Margaret 
Chapman.  Mr.  Chapman  was  a  well-known,  wealthy,  and 
much  respected  merchant,  on  State  Street,  Boston,  whose 
son  Jonathan  w^as  the  eighth  mayor  of  Boston.  The  union 
was  a  most  happy  one,  no  cloud  overshadowing  it  from 
the  beginning  to  the  end.  They  were  the  parents  of  six 
children,  a  son  and  five  daughters.  The  son,  Frederick 
Turell,  is  living,  and  is  a  bank  officer  in  New  York.  Mar- 
garet Rogers,  one  of  the  daughters,  married  Francis  M. 
Bacon,  a  merchant  of  New  York.  She  died  October  23, 
1876.  Eleanor  Baker  married  Patrick  T.  Jackson,  Jr., 
and  lives  in  Cambridge.  The  other  three,  Elizabeth  C, 
Emily,  and  Marion  Phillips,  are  with  their  mother  in 
Boston. 

To  resume  our  narration.  So  prosperous  had  been  the 
ministry  of  Mr.  Gray  at  the  Friend  Street  Chapel  that  at 
the  close  of  its  second  year  the  building  was  found  to  be 
too  small  to  accommodate  those  who  flocked  there  as  par- 
ishioners, hearers,  and  pupils.  Measures  were  therefore 
taken,  1835,  to  secure  a  larger  and  more  appropriate  place 
of  worship.  This  was  done  by  subscription.  It  resulted 
in  obtaining  the  necessary  funds,  and  in  the  erection  of 
a  neat  and  substantial  brick  building  on  Pitts  Street,  so 
well  known  as  the  Pitts  Street  Chapel  —  "  devoted  exclu- 
sively and  forever  to  free  religious  instruction  in  the  city 
of  Boston,"  —  completed  and  so  dedicated  in  1836. 

Mr.  Gray,  with  his  large  flock,  left  the  dear  old  chapel, 
"  the  modest  mother  of  poor  men's  churches "  as  desig- 
nated by  an  eloquent  preacher,  and  entered  upon  his  work 
in  the  new  one,  November  of  the    same   year.     It   was 

44 


346  FREDERICK  TURELL  GRAY 

under  these  more  favorable  circumstances  that  Mr.  Gray 
carried  out  and  completed  his  favorite  purposes  and  plans. 
The  new  chapel  was  soon  filled ;  the  communion  service 
introduced,  —  a  new  feature  in  a  ministry  to  the  poor ; 
his  visits  largely  increased,  his  interest  in  the  school  inten- 
sified ;  conference  and  teachers'  meetings  were  added;  his 
charities  in  every  direction  enlarged,  simplicity,  earnest- 
ness, and  love  his  ever  constant  and  guiding  stars.  Suc- 
cess, in  the  highest  and  best  sense,  followed. 

It  was  under  this  prosperous  condition  of  the  ministry 
to  the  poor,  these  highly  favoring  circumstances,  that  Mr. 
Gray  received  a  call  from  the  Bulfinch  Street  Society  to 
become  a  colleague  with  their  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dean. 

At  this  time,  providentially  as  it  would  almost  seem,  a 
successor,  in  the  person  of  the  Rev.  Robert  C.  Waterston, 
who  had  specially  prepared  himself  for  such  a  work,  was 
standing  ready  to  take  his  place.  Seeing,  therefore,  that 
his  favorite  ministry  would  suffer  no  detriment  by  his 
withdrawal,  and  for  other  reasons  which  seemed  to  his 
own  mind  imperative,  Mr.  Gray  accepted  the  invitation, 
and  was  duly  installed,  November,  1839. 

Entering  upon  this  new  field  of  labor,  the  society  and 
school  in  a  feeble  condition,  he  encountered  expected  and 
unexpected  obstacles  and  opposition,  the  severest,  if  not 
the  only,  trial  of  his  life.  Among  his  publications  are  two 
sermons,  1841,  preached  to  his  people,  in  his  own  and 
their  vindication.  Controversy  ensued;  but  meeting  all 
these  difficulties  in  a  spirit  of  true  Christian  conciliation, 
wisely  and  calmly,  they  were  at  length  fully  overcome ; 
and  carrying  into  his  work  here  the  same  principles,  feel- 
ings, and  methods  as  he  had  done  elsewhere,  the  congrega- 
tion and  school  increased  rapidly,  and  became  at  last  one 
of  the  largest  and  most  prosperous  of  the  denomination. 

But  Mr.  Gray  was  not  content  to  limit  his  services  to 
any  one  sphere  of  action  exclusively.  As  early  as  the 
year  1827  he  aided,  and  was  most  active  in  the  forma- 


FREDERICK  TURELL  GRAY  347 

tion  of  the  Unitarian  Sunday  School  Society ;  was  its 
secretary  for  some  years,  one  of  its  executive  officers,  and 
subsequently,  1840,  its  travelling  agent,  addressing  in  a 
single  year  twenty-eight  different  schools,  in  as  many 
different  towns,  in  three  different  States,  travelling  for  this 
purpose  twelve  hundred  miles ;  and  this  in  addition  to  all 
his  parochial  duties.  With  Dr.  Tuckerraan  and  others, 
he  assisted  also  in  the  formation  of  the  Society  for  the 
Prevention  of  Pauperism,  and  delivered  before  it  and 
the  public  an  address,  procuring  for  it  a  large  access  to  its 
funds,  and  the  confidence  and  approval  of  the  community. 
At  his  susTijestion,  also,  was  formed  the  Youno^  Men's 
Total  Abstinence  Society,  before  which  he  delivered  a 
public  address,  1844.  All  these,  as  well  as  his  other  labors, 
were  entirely  gratuitous. 

Among  the  many  other  societies  of  which  he  had  become 
a  member  was  that  of  the  American  Unitarian  Associa- 
tion, and  a  member  of  its  executive  committee  in  1853 ; 
and  at  this  time  it  was  that  the  pulpit  of  the  Unitarian 
Society  at  San  Francisco  became  vacant  by  the  loss  of  its 
pastor.  They  applied  at  once  to  the  American  Unita- 
rian Association,  requesting  and  urging  them  to  select 
and  secure  for  them  a  suitable  successor,  or  a  temporary 
supply  for  their  pulpit.  It  was  an  important  post,  but 
one  most  difficult  to  fill.  The  sub-committee  to  whom  it 
was  referred,  of  which  Mr.  Gray  was  one,  lost  no  time,  and 
were  most  earnest  in  their  endeavors,  but  met  with  no 
success.  Finding  his  associates  disappointed  and  embar- 
rassed, Mr.  Gray,  who  had  always  admired  and  cherished 
the  missionary  spirit,  was  led  to  entertain  the  idea  of 
spending  a  year  himself  with  the  church  at  San  Francisco. 
With  all  frankness,  therefore,  and  humility,  he  proffered 
his  own  services  for  that  term  of  time,  and  the  offer  was 
at  once  gladly  and  gratefully  received. 

Obtaining  leave  of  absence  from  his  parish,  and  having 
made  all  necessary  arrangements,  he  sailed  from  New  York 


348  FREDERICK  TURELL  GRAY 

in  May,  1853,  and  arriving  there  in  safety,  was  received 
by  the  society  at  San  Francisco  in  the  most  cordial  man- 
ner, and  in  July  dedicated  for  them  their  new  and  costly 
edifice,  just  then  completed.  Into  this  new  field  of  labor 
he  entered  with  all  his  accustomed  vigor,  and,  it  needs 
scarcely  to  be  added,  with  his  usual  success.  The  same 
simplicity  and  earnestness  of  purpose  and  manner,  the 
same  ever  pleasant  word  of  greeting  and  encouragement, 
the  same  winning  smile,  and  the  same  glowing  lessons  of 
Christian  truth  and  love,  though  addressed  to  a  new  and 
more  elevated  class  of  people,  brought,  in  this  case,  the 
same  rich  harvest  as  in  all  his  other  and  varied  spheres  of 
consecrated  labor. 

At  the  close  of  the  stipulated  time,  or  nearly  so,  July, 
1854,  he  returned  to  Boston.  But  his  work  was  done. 
In  consequence  of  a  severe  illness  while  at  San  Francisco, 
together  with  the  exhausting  labors  of  the  situation,  with 
other  trials  occurring  at  this  time,  he  had  come  back  with 
a  shattered  constitution  and  depressed  spirits.  In  taking 
a  calm  survey  of  his  situation,  he  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  work  which  he  had  undertaken  for  the  society  in 
Bulfinch  Street,  after  fifteen  years  of  devoted  labor  had 
been  fully  accomplished,  and  that  the  time  had  come  when 
it  should  pass  into  fresh  and  abler  hands.  His  resignation, 
therefore,  was  now  placed  in  the  hands  of  its  standing 
committee,  by  whom,  and  equally  so  by  the  whole  society, 
it  was  reluctantly  received.  Expressions  of  affection  and 
sorrow  were  manifested  in  various  ways ;  but  Providence 
had  so  ordered,  and  it  could  not  be  otherwise. 

During  his  absence  the  Sunday  School  Society  had 
adopted  a  new  organization,  creating  a  new  office,  to 
enlarge  their  sphere  of  action,  of  secretary  and  general 
or  travelling  agent.  Finding  Mr.  Gray  now  at  leisure, 
they  offered,  and  pressed  its  acceptance  upon  him.  "Will- 
ingly he  complied  with  their  earnest  wishes,  but  was 
never  able  to  enter  upon  its  duties. 


FREDERICK  TURELL    GRAY  349 

In  the  winter  following,  1855,  he  was  stricken  down  by 
a  severe  illness,  which  at  an  early  stage  gave  manifest 
omens  of  its  fatal  termination.  It  was  the  sickness  of 
months,  the  pain  and  anguish  of  which  were  borne  by  the 
sufferer  with  unequalled  fortitude,  submission,  and  sweet- 
ness. 

An  interval  of  relief  came  at  length,  and  he  occupied  it 
in  parting  with  those  he  most  loved.  Among  others  was 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Ephraim  Peabody,  of  King's  Chapel,  his  dear 
and  most  cherished  friend,  with  whom  he  held  a  Ions;  and 
most  interesting  conversation.  He  spoke  of  his  faith,  of 
his  "  trust  in  God  through  Christ,''  of  his  life,  and  said. 
"  I  have  had  everything  to  be  grateful  for,  —  wife,  chil- 
dren, home,  and  opportunities  for  useful  labor " ;  of  his 
visit  to  California  as  "  solely  in  the  service  of  his  Mas- 
ter," and  then  added,-  as  Dr.  Peabody  says,  "  in  beau- 
tiful consistency  with  his  life,"  the  earliest  interests  of 
his  opening  manhood  lingering  in  his  latest  thoughts,  — 
*'  God  bless  the  ministry  at  large !  God  bless  the  poor ! 
God  bless  the  children  !  "  and  Dr.  Peabody  adds,  "  Many 
things  more  were  said,  but  all  in  the  same  tone,  all  with 
the  same  cheerful  trust.  It  was  a  Christian's  death-bed ; 
and  its  beauty  consists  in  the  fact  that  it  was  the  natural, 
simple  close  of  a  Christian  life."  Thus  at  peace  with  him- 
self and  the  world,  he  fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  March  9,  1855. 

At  his  funeral,  a  few  days  after,  the  demonstrations 
made  by  the  religious  societies  and  charitable  institutions 
of  the  city,  for  whom  and  with  whom  he  had  so  long 
labored,  were  most  respectful  and  profound.  The  Bul- 
finch  Street  Society  set  apart  the  Sunday  of  March  18, 
1855,  as  a  day  of  commemoration.  At  their  request,  Dr. 
Peabody  conducted  the  solemn  and  appropriate  services. 
His  sermon  had  for  its  text  2  Timothy,  iv.  7,  8,  —  "I  have 
fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have 
kept  the  faith  :  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown 
of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the   righteous  Judge, 


350  FREDERICK  TURELL  GRAY 

shall  give  me  at  that  day:  and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto 
all  them  also  that  love  his  appearing."  It  was  printed  in 
a  pamphlet,  -and  was  a  most  full  and  faithful  delineation 
and  estimate  of  Mr.  Gray's  services  and  character. 

After  so  full  a  statement  as  we  have  given  of  the  more 
prominent  incidents  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Gray,  a  more  elabo- 
rate portrayal  of  character  is  scarcely  necessary.  The 
fewest  possible  of  sentences  and  quotations  must  suffice. 
Dr.  Peabody  said  of  him,  "  The  intimate  friends  of  his  youth 
speak  of  him  not  only  as  of  an  unstained  character,  but  as 
then  devoted  with  all  the  ardor  of  an  enthusiastic  nature 
to  Christian  works."  "  The  child  was  the  father  of  the 
man."  As  in  youth,  so  through  life.  From  the  first  to 
the  last,  he  was  full  of  benevolent  feelings  and  activities ; 
and  for  more  than  thirty  years  continued  to  co-operate 
with  every  benevolent  enterprise  in  the  city  for  the  relief 
and  benefit  of  the  poor,  and  the  instruction  and  improve- 
ment of  the  young. 

Rev.  Dr.  Bellows,  in  his  tribute  to  the  Rev.  T.  Starr 
King,  with  his  usual  felicity,  took  occasion  to  remark  of 
Mr.  Gray,  "  Born  to  affluence  and  wedded  to  compe- 
tency, reared  as  a  merchant,  and  acquainted  with  the  world 
and  its  ways,  the  constitutional  and  spiritual  sympathies 
of  Mr.  Gray  carried  him  irresistibly  into  the  ministry,  and 
its  most  laborious,  and  to  many  least  attractive  field. 
He  gathered  the  children  of  the  poor  together,  and  won 
them  to  habits  of  self-control  and  paths  of  virtue  and  piety 
by  the  fascination  of  his  beaming  smile  and  the  magic  of 
his  melting  voice.  He  lighted  up  the  hovels  of  Broad 
Street  and  Ann  Street,  and  the  filthy  alleys  of  the  more 
foreign  population  of  his  native  city,  with  his  luminous 
countenance,  radiant  of  good  will,  and  inspiring  imiversal 
confidence.  Like  the  apostle  John,  he  could  say,  ^  Little 
children,  love  one  another '  in  a  way  to  do  the  work  of  a 
whole  sermon.  With  tears  in  his  eyes,  while  smiles  played 
around  his  lips,  he  pleaded  with  the  young  and  tempted, 


FREDERICK  TURELL  GRAY  351 

who  felt  the  sincerity  of  his  interest  in  them,  until  love 
for  him  changed  into  love  for  God  and  duty." 

Dr.  Bellows  gives  also  a  most  graphic  and  faithful 
description  of  Mr.  Gray's  style  of  preaching :  "  He  was 
pre-eminently  a  preacher  of  the  heart;  his  wisdom  was 
thoroughly  unbookish.  He  bathed  the  commonplaces  and 
simplicities  of  truth  in  tones  that  made  them  shine,  as  the 
pebbles  of  the  beach,  when  polished  with  the  lustre  of  the 
ocean  wave,  that  finds  them  common  stones  and  leaves 
them  jewels.  It  was  not  what  he  said,  as  how  he  said 
it,  —  the  feeling,  the  affection,  the  sensibility  that  trem- 
bled in  his  voice  and  glistened  in  his  eye,  that  gave 
him  his  singular  and  mysterious  power." 

The  religion  of  Mr.  Gray  was  a  part  of  his  nature.  He 
was  never  disturbed  by  speculation.  He  had  the  faith  of 
a  child,  and  though  earnest  and  zealous,  he  was  ever  and 
singularly  practical  and  rational  in  all  his  projects  for  the 
improvement  of  his  race.  Christianity  as  embodied  in  the 
Gospels  and  in  the  hfe  of  the  Saviour  was  the  cure-all  and 
the  end-all  with  him  for  the  enlightenment  and  the  salva- 
tion of  men ;  and,  for  the  diffusion  and  triurnph  of  this, 
he  was  willing  to  labor,  and  to  suffer,  if  need  be,  to  the 
end. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  publications  by  the  Rev.  F.  T. 
Gray :  sermon,  "  Execution  of  Russell  and  Crockett, " 
1836;  address,  "Prevention  of  Pauperism,"  1839;  ser- 
mons, Bulfinch  Street  Society,  1841 ;  tract,  "  New  Birth," 
A.  U.  A.  1841 ;  sermon,  "  Death  of  Rev.  H.  Ware,  D.  D." 
1843 ;  address,  "  Temperance,"  Y.  M.  T.  A.  S.  1844 ;  pas- 
tor's gift,  "  Biography  of  the  Young,"  1847 ;  pastor's 
gift,  "  Stories  for  the  Young, "  1848  ;  pastor's  gift,  "  Sto- 
ries and  Poetry  for  the  Young,"  1849;  "The  Teacher's 
Gift;"  New  Years'  Sermons,  Bulfinch  Street  Society, 
1847-8;  "Sunday  School  and  Other  Addresses"  1852; 
sermon,  "Death  of  Amos  Lawrence,"  1853;  sermon 
at  Jamaica  Plain,  1853.      He  became  a  member  of  the 


352  FREDERICK  TURELL  GRAY 

New  England  Historic  Genealogical   Society,  August  6, 
1845. 

In  simplicity  and  godly  sincerity,  in  the  spirit  of  humil- 
ity and  charity,  in  the  purest  love  and  the  divinest  faith, 
he  labored  through  life  for  the  good  of  his  day  and  gen- 
eration ;  and  when  his  body  was  laid  away  in  the  quiet 
purlieus  of  Mount  Auburn,  in  the  hallowed  spot  pre- 
pared for  it  by  his  own  good  taste  and  care,  and  the 
report  of  the  sad  event  reached,  one  after  another,  the 
lowly  habitations  of  the  sorrowing  and  the  suffering,  the 
young  in  their  joy,  and  the  aged  poor  in  their  lone- 
someness  and  want,  there  were  thousands  who  rose  up  to 
call  him  blessed;  and  the  Genius  of  the  place,  as  it 
dropped  its  tear  upon  his  grave,  might  in  imagination 
have  been  heard  to  say,  that  of  the  many  sainted  ones 
who  had  been  received  into  its  sanctuary,  no  one  had  been 
the  instrument,  under  a  guiding  Providence,  of  a  greater 
amount  of  good,  to  a  greater  number,  than  Frederick 
TurellGray.    . 


;ELISHA    FULLEll 


The  parents  of  the  subject  of  this  brief  memoir  were 
the  Rev.  Timothy  Fuller  (H.  U.  1760),  and  Sarah, 
daughter  of  the  Rev.  Abraham  Williams,  of  Sandwich, 
Massachusetts. 

The  Rev.  Timothy  Fuller  was  the  sixth  son  of  Jacob 
Fuller,  of  Middleton,  Massachusetts,  whose  ancestors  settled 
at  that  place  in  1638. 

He  was  the  first  settled  pastor  of  the  town  of  Princeton, 
Worcester  County,  Massachusetts,  having  been  ordained 
there  September  9,  1767,  and  retained  the  pastorate  for 
about  eight  years.  He  was  dismissed  by  an  ex-parte 
council  in  April,  1776,  owing  to  a  very  general  dissatis- 
faction in  the  town  with  his  conservative  views  upon  the 
relations  of  the  citizens  with  the  royal  officials  and  the 
home  government.  He  was  accused  of  toryism  on  ac- 
count of  his  plain  talk  in  regard  to  the  risk  run  in  acting 
in  opposition  to  the  legal  authorities.  His  place  as  minis- 
ter of  Princeton  was  not  filled  by  the  formal  settlement 
of  a  successor  till  1786.  After  his  dismissal  he  removed 
to  Martha's  Vineyard,  and  preached  for  the  society  at 
Chilmark,  until  near  the  close  of  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. He  returned  to  Princeton  about  the  year  1783, 
and  became  an  active  and  influential  citizen,  representing 
the  town  in  1788  at  the  Convention  which  adopted  the 
Federal  Constitution. 

45 


354  ELISHA   FULLER 

Early  in  his  pastorate  the  General  Court  of  Massachu- 
setts granted  him  a  tract  of  land  of  some  four  hundred 
acres,  including  Wachusett  Mountain,  in  consideration  of 
his  being  the  first  minister  of  the  town  and  receiving  a 
very  small  salary.  He  afterward  removed  to  Merrimac, 
New  Hampshire,  and  died  there  in  July,  1805. 

Elisha  Fuller  was  born  at  Princeton,  Worcester  County, 
Massachusetts,  October  28,  1794,  being  the  youngest  of 
ten  children  that  lived  to  adult  age.  He  remained  there 
for  about  two  years,  when  the  family  removed  to  Merri- 
mac, New  Hampshire.  He  prepared  for  college  at  Cam- 
bridgeport  with  his  brother  Timothy,  and  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1815.  Among  his  classmates  were 
Thaddeus  M.  Harris,  M.D.,  Jared  Sparks,  LL.D.,  and 
John  Gorham  PaKrey,  LL.D.  After  leaving  college  he 
entered  the  Harvard  Divinity  School,  remaining  there 
about  three  years,  when  he  was  licensed  to  preach,  and 
officiated  in  various  pulpits  of  the  Unitarian  denomination 
till  1821,  when  he  rehnquished  the  clerical  profession 
and  took  up  the  study  of  law. 

Young  Fuller  is  said  to  have  been  a  scholar  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability,  and  one  that  applied  himself  to  his 
studies  with  great  assiduity,  working  late  at  night  to  pre- 
pare himself  for  the  recitation  of  the  day.  It  is  related 
of  him  that  while  in  college  it  was  at  one  time  a  matter 
of  surprise  to  his  classmates  that,  without  apparently 
studying  much,  he  appeared  so  creditably  in  the  recitation- 
room.  At  night  his  room  seemed  to  be  unlighted,  and  it 
was  not  observed  that  he  studied  in  the  early  morning. 
The  mystery  was  solved  at  last  by  a  student  who  entered 
his  room  at  a  late  hour  at  night,  and  found  him  stretched 
at  full  length  under  the  bed,  with  his  lamp  on  the  floor 
and  a  book  before  him,  earnestly  engaged  in  study.  It  is 
probable  that  thereafter  he  assumed  an  easier  position 
while  preparing  for  recitation,  and  possibly  lost  some  ol 
his  reputation  for  superior  ability  as  a  scholar. 


ELISHA   FULLER  355 

Although  Mr.  Fuller  seems  to  have  strongly  entertained 
the  expectation  of  following  the  profession  of  his  father, 
it  is  probable  that  he  soon  discovered  that  it  would  not  be 
congenial  to  his  tastes,  and  that  he  early  gave  it  up  for 
the  more  remunerative  one  of  the  law.  A  story  is  still 
current  about  him,  that  not  lonsr  before  he  beo;an  the 
study  of  law,  he  w^as  present  at  a  fancy-dress  ball,  dressed 
in  small-clothes,  knee-buckles,  etc.  An  acquaintance  re- 
monstrated with  him  upon  his  unclerical  appearance, 
and  suggested  he  w\as  lowering  the  dignity  of  his  calling ; 
to  which  he  replied,  "  I  am  trying  to  throw  off  the 
shackles  of  my  divinity  through  my  shanks."  It  was 
probably  about  this  time  that  he  decided  to  give  up  the 
clerical  profession.  He  studied  law  with  Lemuel  Williams, 
of  Anson,  Maine,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Middle- 
sex County  June  17,  1824. 

Mr.  Fuller  removed  to  Concord,  Massachusetts,  in  May, 
1823,  soon  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  and  began  prac- 
tice there,  but  it  is  believed  with  but  moderate  success. 
While  here  he  was  for  a  short  time  the  acting  editor  of 
"  The  Concord  Gazette  and  Middlesex  Yeoman."  He  re- 
mained in  Concord  till  1831,  when  he  removed  to  Lowell, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  was  more  successful.  While  in 
the  last-named  place  he  was,  for  some  time  previous  to 
1835,  in  partnership  with  his  brother,  William  Williams 
Fuller,  who  afterward  removed  to  Oregon,  Illinois.  After 
1841  he  was  for  a  short  time  associated  with  Isaac  S. 
Morse,  under  the  firm  name  of  Fuller  &  Morse. 

Four  of  Mr.  Fuller's  brothers  were  successful  law- 
yers, namely,  Timothy,  father  of  Margaret,  Countess  d'Os- 
soli ;  Abraham'  Williams  ;  Henry  Hoi  ton  ;  and  William 
Williams. 

AVhile  in  Lowell  he  became  interested,  and  took  an 
active  part,  in  politics.  Cowley,  in  his  "  History  of 
Lowell,"  says :  "  It  was  largely  through  the  influence  of 
Ehsha  Fuller  that  Edward  Everett  was    elected  repre- 


356  ELISHA  FULLER 

sentative  to .  Congress  in  opposition  to  Jokn  Keyes,  of 
Concord,  Mr.  Fuller  then  being  in  practice  in  Concord, 
and  would  not  submit  to  the  domination  of  the  old  Concord 
clique,  which  so  controlled  the  politics  of  the  county." 

In  the  year  1844  Mr.  Fuller  removed  to  Worcester, 
Massachusetts,  and  resided  there  till  his  death.  Here  he 
applied  himself  more  closely  to  his  profession,  and  ob- 
tained a  reputation  at  the  bar  of  Worcester  County  for  his 
keenness  of  perception  and  sound  knowledge  of  law,  being 
quite  successful  as  a  practitioner.  After  the  incorpora- 
tion of  Worcester  as  a  city  in  1849,  he  was  appointed  one 
of  the  Associate  Judges  of  the  Worcester  Police  Court, 
which  office  he  held  till  his  death. 

Mr.  Fuller  was  of  medium  stature,  with  black  piercing 
eyes,  and  had  a  sprightliness  of  manner  that  was  especially 
noticeable.  He  was  of  a  bright,  social  disposition ;  and, 
being  of  a  cheerful  temperament,  of  ready  wit  and  a  keen 
perception  of  humor,  he  was  a  favorite  with  his  friends, 
and  always  welcome  on  festive  occasions. 

Until  his  death  he  retained  a  warm  affection  for  his 
Alma  Mater,  and  took  great  interest  in  its  welfare,  and, 
while  his  health  permitted,  never  failed  to  be  present  at 
the  Commencement  exercises. 

He  was  much  interested  in  genealogical  investigations, 
and  was  often  applied  to  by  President  Quincy  and  Libra- 
rian Sibley  for  assistance  in  preparing  the  Harvard  Tri- 
ennial Catalogues.  His  interleaved  copies  of  these 
publications  —  some  of  which  are  now  in  the  library  of 
the  American  Antiquarian  Society  —  show  important 
changes  and  additions  by  him,  which  were  made  use  of  in 
subsequent  editions.  He  was  admitted,  March  19,  1850, 
a  resident  member  of  the  New  England  Historic  Genea- 
logical Society. 

He  married,  November  25,  1830,  Susan,  daughter  of 
Captain  John  Adams,  of  Concord,  Massachusetts,  by  whom 
he  had  four  children,  one  of  whom,  Elisha,  born  April  22, 


ELISHA   FULLER  357 

1840,  died  in  infancy.     The  other  children,  all  of  whom 
are  now  living,  were  :  — 

1.  Sarah  Williams,  born  at  Lowell,  Massachusetts,  October  1, 
1831 ;  married,  April  15,  1861,  Moses  D.  Colby,  by  whom  she 
had  two  children.  He  died  several  years  ago,  and  she  is  now 
residing  with  her  son  and  daughter  at  Leominster,  Massachu- 
setts. 

2.  Susan  Adams,  born  at  Dracut,  July  18,  1834  ;  married 
at  Worcester,  October  7,  1858,  Russell  Lorenzo  Hawes,  M.  D., 
who  died  at  Nice,  February  20,  1867.  Mrs.  Hawes,  with  her 
son  and  daughter,  still  resides  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts. 

3.  Henry  Holton,  born  at  Lowell,  February  28, 1836  ;  married 
Mary  Washburn,  of  Lancaster,  Massachusetts.  He  is  now  a 
practising  physician  in  Boston. 

Mr.  Fuller  died  very  suddenly,  of  heart  disease,  at  Wor- 
cester, March  18,  1855.  After  his  death  his  wife  removed 
to  Lowell,  and  died  there  December  7,  1861. 

An  historical  notice  and  a  genealogy  of  the  Fuller 
family  may  be  found  in  the  "  New  England  Historical  and 
Genealogical  Register"  for  the  year  1859,  page  351.  This 
was  prepared  by  the  Rev.  Arthur  Buckminster  Fuller, 
chiefly  from  materials  collected  by  his  uncle,  Henry  H. 
Fuller.  A  memoir  of  Henry  Holton  Fuller,  brother  of 
Elisha,  prepared  by  Dr.  Henry  H.  Fuller,  of  Boston,  is 
published  in  the  first  volume  of  the  "  Memorial  Biog- 
raphies." 


JNATHANIEL   GOODWIN 


To  Connecticut  belongs  the  credit  of  making  the  first 
contribution  in  book  form  to  the  genealogical  literature 
of  this  country,  in  the  volume  of  Mr.  Luke  Stebbins,  of 
Kensington,  printed  at  Hartford  in  1771.  This  was  the 
only  work  of  the  kind  prepared  and  printed  here  in 
the  colonial  period  of  our  history.  It  has  lately  been 
reprinted  by  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical 
Society.  At  the  present  time  Connecticut  still  contrib- 
utes her  share  to  this  species  of  literature. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  her  sons  to  continue  this  form  of 
research,  and  connect  the  developments  of  the  family 
with  that  of  the  town,  was  Mr.  Nathaniel  Goodwin,  the 
subject  of  this  memoir.  Perhaps  neither  he  nor  any  other 
of  the  earlier  genealogists,  except  Mr.  Lemuel  Shattuck, 
appreciated  fully  the  reasons  for  the  study  in  which  they 
were  engaged ;  at  least,  we  are  led  to  think  so  from 
their  not  dwelling  upon  it  with  any  reflections  upon  its 
significance.  But  in  these  days,  when  the  science  of  he- 
redity is  becoming  recognized  as  of  prominent  importance, 
let  us  dwell  for  a  moment  upon  that  point.  It  has  long 
been  a  general  belief  that  good  parentage  is  a  great  se- 
curity for  good  children ;  that  the  character  of  the  mother 
especially  is  a  guaranty  for  the  character  of  her  children, 
exceptional  cases  notwithstanding.  Indeed,  we  are  learn- 
ing to  think  that  the  mother  can  consciously  determine 
the  bent  of  her  child's  character  by»cultivating  within 
herself  those  qualities  she  would  fain  see  in  her  offspring. 
In  the  early  days  of  our  country,  and  its  settlement  by 


NATHANIEL    GOODWIN  3 5 'J 

intelligent,  God-serving   Englishmen,  especially  if   they 
came  here  for  conscience'  sake,  the  women  of  such  fami- 
lies were  also  imbued  with  the  principles  that  distinguished 
so  many  of  the  early  settlers.     They  were  little  given  to 
the  worldly  pleasures  of  life ;  for  life  was  too  serious  a 
matter  to  them,  and  they  pondered  in  their  hearts,  as  the 
Hebrew  Mary  did,  what  manner  of  child  they  carried  in 
their  bosoms,  and  love  of  duty,  self-command,  integrity, 
were  imbibed  from  the  very  dawn  of  their  existence.     It 
has  been  truly  said  that  pride  of  ancestry  is  no  better  a 
sentiment  than  if  the  progenitors  were  mere  potatoes ; 
but  this  is  only  true  when  it  is  divorced  from  all  high 
conceptions  -of  character,  and  thinks  only  of  pedigree  as  a 
matter  of  pride.     When  the  idea  of  character  enters  into 
the  sentiment  it  is  quite  a  different  matter ;  and  the  noble 
pride  that  would  not  disgrace  a  noble  ancestry  is  one  of 
the  highest  incentives  to  good  conduct.     It  is  wonderful 
how  organization  descends  to  posterity.     It  is  not  "  blue 
blood"  that  is  precious,  but  fine  combinations  of  the  ele- 
ments of   character.      ^Ye  sometimes  see  extraordinary 
examples   of    good    people   who   have   come   from    bad 
parents ;   but  we  feel  sure  that  this  must  be  traced  to 
accidental  circumstances  of  either  prenatal  influences  or 
a  strong  bias  given  by  education.     Let  us  keep  up  our 
genealogical  records,  and  they  will  help  us  to  take  care 
of   our   organizations,   that  we   may  give   them   to   our 
posterity. 

Another  view  of  this  subject  is  worthy  of  consideration. 
The  tendency  of  Americans  is  to  rove  from  the  parent 
nest  and  spread  abroad  over  our  great  domain ;  and  that 
has  had  its  valu.e  in  diffusing  intelligence  and  the  highest 
influences,  especially  when  the  centre  has  been  New  Eng- 
land, which  we  must  never  forget  was  mainly  settled  for 
conscience'  sake.  But  this  propensity  to  wander  is  in 
danger  of  going  too  far,  and  the  love  of  family  and 
ancestry  will  tend  to  correct  it  to  the  necessary  extent. 


360  NATHANIEL   GOODWIN 

Nathaniel  Goodwin  —  whose  accurate  contributions  to 
the  genealogical  literature  of  New  England  entitle  him  to 
an  honorable  remembrance,  not  only  among  professed 
antiquaries,  but  by  all  who  desire  to  see  the  restless 
habits  of  our  people  corrected  by  a  stronger  infusion  of 
family  and  local  attachments,  which  genealogical  studies 
are  calculated  to  foster  —  was  born  in  Hartford,  Connecti- 
cut, on  the  5th  of  March,  1782  ;  the  youngest  child  of 
Nathaniel  Goodwin,  and  Anna  (Sheldon)  Goodwin,  the 
daughter  of  Deacon  Isaac  Sheldon. 

His  ancestor  on  the  father's  side  was  of  the  old  New 
England  Puritan  stock,  —  the  names  of  the  brothers, 
"William  and  Ozias  Goodwin,  being  inscribed  on  the  stone 
monument  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  early  settlers  of 
Hartford,  in  the  ancient  burying-ground  of  the  First 
Church  in  Connecticut,  where  Mr.  Thomas  Hooker,  "  the 
light  of  the  Western  Churches,"  first  ministered.  Ozias 
Goodwin,  and  his  elder  brother,  William  Goodwin,  were 
of  that  "  goodly  company  "  of  men,  women,  and  children 
who,  in  June,  1635  or  1636,  left  Newtown,  New  Cam- 
bridge, and  other  settlements  in  the  seaboard  of  Massa- 
chusetts, to  plant  a  new  colony  on  the  "  delightful  banks" 
of  the  Connecticut.  Mr.  William  Goodwin  was  a  man  of 
mark  in  his  day.  He  was  admitted  a  freeman  of  Massa- 
chusetts, at  Cambridge,  in  November,  1632,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  first  General  Court  in  that  province  at 
which  delegates  attended,  held  in  May,  1634.  Governor 
Winthrop,  in  his  Journal,  speaks  of  him  as  "  a  very  rever- 
end and  godly  man,  being  an  elder  in  the  congregation  of 
Newtown,"  in  Cambridge.  In  1636  he  was  commissioned, 
with  Mr.  Samuel  Stone,  to  negotiate  for  the  grant  of  the 
land  where  Hartford  now  stands,  from  Sunckquasson, 
Sachem  of  Suckiauge,  and  grand  proprietor  of  the  lands 
of  this  region.  He  was  one  of  the  trustees  of  Governor 
Hopkins's  will ;  and  in  the  dissensions  about  church  mem- 
bership,  baptism,   and    discipline  which    convulsed    the 


NATHANIEL    GOODWIN  361 

church  of  Hartford  and  Wethersfield  in  1659,  he  sided 
with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Russell,  of  the  church  at  the  latter 
place,  and,  with  Governor  Webster,  Mr.  Whiting,  Mr. 
Culick,  Mr.  Barnard,  and  others,  removed  to  Hadley,  and 
founded  there  a  church  of  which  he  became  ruling  elder, 
as  he  had  previously  been  in  the  church  at  Hartford. 
He  subsequently  removed  to  Farmington,  where  he  died 
in  1673,  leaving  one  daughter,  who  married  John  Crow, 
of  Hartford.  Mr.  Goodwin's  homestead,  in  the  original 
distribution  of  the  town  of  Hartford  among  the  settlers  in 
1639,  embraced  three  acres,  "  abutting  on  the  highway, 
lying  at  the  north  side  of  the  Riveret,  leading  from  the 
palisado  to  Sentinel  Hill,"  and  included  the  site  on  which 
Wadsworth  Athenoeum,  with  the  Library  of  the  Connecti- 
cut Historical  Society,  now  stands. 

Mr.  Ozias  Goodwin  did  not  sympathize  with  his  brother 
in  his  peculiar  views  as  to  church  membership  and  disci- 
pline so  far  as  to  feel  constrained  to  go  out  from  his 
brethren  in  the  church  at  Hartford,  but  continued  to 
reside  there,  where  he  became  the  progenitor  of  most  of 
the  name  now  in  this  section  of  the  State.  His  home- 
lot  was  located  on  the  west  side  of  what  is  now  Trum- 
bull Street,  and  on  both  sides  of  Church  Street  as  since 
laid  out. 

Nathaniel  Goodwin,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
memoir,  was  a  merchant  in  Hartford,  and  died  in  1782,  a 
few  weeks  before  this  son  was  born.  The  children  were 
placed  under  the  guardianship  of  Captain  Ebenezer  Bar- 
nard, at  that  time  a  resident  of  Berlin,  but  who  afterwards 
removed  to  Hartford,  where  he  died  in  1827.  The  guar- 
dian appears  to  have  aimed  to  secure  a  good  education 
for  his  wards,  both  Nathaniel  and  his  elder  brother  James 
having  been  sent  to  the  Academy  at  Plainfield,  at  that 
time  second  to  none  other  in  Connecticut.  From  a  speci- 
men copy  executed  by  young  Goodwin,  and  dated  April  30, 
1792,  we  should  judge  that  the  scholars  of  that  school 

46 


362  NATHANIEL    GOODWIN 

made  one  valuable  acqinsition,  —  that  of  a  handwriting 
which  has  the  now  rare  merit  of  legibility. 

After  leaving  school  Nathaniel  served  an  apprenticeship 
in  the  art  of  printing,  —  for  two  years  with  Mr.  Obrient, 
in  New  Haven,  and  for  three  in  the  office  of  Charles  R. 
and  George  Webster,  in  Albany.  From  a  letter  written 
by  Elisha  W.  Skinner,  Esq.,  assistant  librarian  of  the  New 
York  State  Library,  dated  Albany,  April  IT,  1856,  and 
who  was  an  apprentice  in  the  same  office  at  the  time,  it 
appears  that  Mr.  Goodwin  exhibited  early  in  youth  those 
traits  of  character  and  manners  which  distinguished  him 
in  after  life. 

"  During  his  residence  in  this  city  he  was  diligent,  exemplary, 
and  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  all  his  duties ;  kind  and  affec- 
tionate to  his  associates,  and  respectful  and  obedient  to  his  in- 
structors. His  habits  were  good,  and  seemed  based  upon  fixed 
moral  principle.  Practical  good  sense  was  predominant  in  his 
character,  assisted  and  aided  by  study  and  observation.  He 
was  plain  and  unostentatious,  and  somewhat  antiquated  in 
manner  and  habit ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  was  this  pecuHarity 
observable  as  to  give  to  him  the  appearance  of  more  mature 
age.  Yet  there  were  times  in  which  he  would  indulge  in  mirth- 
ful sports  and  playfulness  of  mind,  and  particularly  in  manly 
adventure  and  ingenious  strategy." 

On  leaving  the  Messrs.  Webster,  in  March,  1803,  they 
addressed  to  his  guardian  a  kind  letter,  from  which  the 
following  passages  are  taken  :  — 

"  Your  ward,  Nathaniel  Goodwin,  had  previously  given  us 
notice  that  his  apprenticeship  would  expire  on  the  5th  day  of 
the  present  month,  and  that  he  had  been  requested  by  Mr.  Barber 
to  enter  into  his  employment  as  foreman  or  superintendent  of 
his  printing-office  at  very  handsome  wages.  To  this  we  most 
cheerfully  give  our  approbation,  as  we  have  no  urgent  business, 
and  Mr.  Barber  is  very  much  pressed  in  getting  forward  the 
journal  of  the  legislature  and  other  public  printing. 

"  We  embrace  this  occasion,  sir,  to  acquaint  you  how  perfectly 
satisfied  we  have  been  with  the  general  good  conduct  and  de- 
meanor of  N.  Goodwin  while  with  us  ;  and  that,  in  our  opinion, 


NATHANIEL    GOODWIN  363 

this  conduct  is  indicative  of  intrinsic  goodness  of  heart,  and  evi- 
dences in  a  perspicuous  manner  how  anxious  he  has  been,  by 
a  suitable  and  becoming  behavior  toward  us,  to  render  his 
amiable  mother  happy  and  give  entire  satisfaction  to  his  re- 
spected guardian. 

"  Permit  us  to  add,  and  we  feel  a  pleasure  in  doing  it,  that 
he  leaves  us  a  master  of  the  art  of  printing,  —  acquired  by  as- 
siduous attention  to  business  during  his  apprenticeship,  —  a 
young  man  of  handsome  talent,  pleasing  manners,  and  correct 
morality.  That  his  future  life  may  be  happy  and  prosperous  is 
our  most  sincere  prayer." 

For  this  gratifying  exhibition  of  conduct  and  character 
much  is  due  to  the  watchful  interest  taken  by  his  guardian, 
Captain  Barnard,  in  the  moral  and  intellectual  improve- 
ment of  his  ward.  His  letters  addressed  to  him  while  at 
Plainfield  and  Albany  are  full  of  urgent  and  judicious 
advice  as  to  the  employment  of  his  time  and  the  formation 
of  good  habits.     The  following  is  an  extract :  — 

"  So  important  do  I  deem  a  right  improvement  of  your  time 
and  talents,  that  you  must  accept  from  me  a  frequent  repetition 
of  advice  on  these  points.  .  .  .  Let  my  years  and  experience,  as 
well  as  duty  and  incHuation,  advise  you  not  to  be  deterred  by 
rain,  nor  snow,  nor  hail,  nor  wind,  nor  frown,  nor  flattery,  nor 
false  amusements,  nor  ideal  pleasures,  for  a  day,  from  laying 
a  virtuous  foundation  in  youth  on  a  rock  which  cannot  be 
shaken.  .  .  .  Yours  is  the  seed-time  of  life  ;  if  you  sleep  now, 
you  can  have  no  harvest.  .  .  .  Practise  beneficence,  resolu- 
tion, perseverance,  and  self-denial.  Fly  from  the  vices  you 
are  inclined  to,  and  hold  fast  to  the  virtues  you  would  make 
your  own." 

Mr.  Goodwin  did  not  pursue  the  business  of  printing, 
for  which  he  had  served  an  apprenticeship,  but  devoted 
himself  to  teaching,  and  occasionally  to  commerce  in  con- 
nection with  his  brother  James.  In  1814  he  was  appointed 
deputy  collector  of  the  revenue  for  the  fourth  collection 
district  of  Connecticut,  and  in  1833  received  a  com- 
mission  from   the    Surveyor-General   of    Connecticut   as 


364  NATHANIEL   GOODWIN 

deputy  surveyor  for  Hartford  County.  He  had  been  for 
years  a  practical  land-surveyor,  which  he  had  mastered 
by  himself ;  and  had  assisted  Mr.  Daniel  St.  John  in 
making  a  survey  and  map  of  the  city  of  Hartford,  which 
was  published  in  1824. 

Mr.  Goodwin  held  many  important  public  trusts,  which 
he  discharged  with  exemplary  fidelity  and  to  the  uni- 
versal acceptance  of  his  fellow-citizens.  He  was  elected 
Treasurer  of  the  City  of  Hartford  in  March,  1818,  and 
annually  thereafter  for  thirty-five  years,  —  till  April, 
1853,  when  he  declined  a  re-election.  In  1835  he  was 
elected  Town  Treasurer,  and  held  the  office  till  he  de- 
clined a  re-nomination  in  1854  ;  and  in  1833  he  was 
appointed  County  Treasurer,  and  held  the  office  till  1854, 
when  he  resigned  the  place,  and  declined  all  further 
appointments.  From  1832  to  1833  he  held  the  office  of 
Judge  of  Probate  for  the  probate  district  of  Hartford, 
and  for  several  years  afterwards  served  as  clerk.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  regular  duties  of  the  office,  he  performed  a 
great  pubHc  service  in  arranging  and  classifying  the 
papers  of  the  office,  in  making  out  full  alphabetical 
indexes,  and  in  copying  out  partially  obliterated  pages, 
and  in  other  ways  contributing  to  the  preservation  and 
convenient  consultation  of  these  important  documents. 
In  the  mean  time,  and  from  a  very  early  period,  he  had 
been  employed  as  administrator  in  settling  intestate 
estates,  until  probably  no  individual  in  the  community 
had  had  so  much  to  do  with  the  business  of  the  probate 
office,  and  with  the  city,  town,  and  county  records.  He 
was  thus  prepared  for  the  prosecution  of  genealogical 
inquiries ;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  he  did  not  at  an 
earlier  day  determine  on  preparing  his  memoranda  of 
individual  and  family  histori.es  for  publication. 

In  1845  he  published  in  pamphlet  form  his  first  contri- 
bution to  genealogical  literature,  under  the  title  of  the 
"  Descendants  of  Thomas  Olcott,  one  of  the  First  Settlers  of 


NATHANIEL    GOODWIN  365 

Hartford,"  which  he  dedicated  to  the  Connecticut  Histori- 
cal Society.  In  1849  he  published  "  The  Foote  Family; 
or,  the  Descendants  of  Nathaniel  Foote,  one  of  the  First 
Settlers  of  Wethersfield."  From  the  date  of  the  last  pub- 
lication, he  projected  the  plan  of  a  series  of  works  of  a 
similar  character  in  connection  with  a  history  of  the 
towns  of  Hartford,  Wethersfield,  and  AVindsor,  in  the 
preparation  of  which  the  author  of  this  memoir  was  to  be 
associated,  as  he  had  previously  been  in  preparing  the 
introduction  and  notes  to  the  above-mentioned  genealo- 
gies. Warned  by  some  premonitory  symptoms  of  a 
serious  malady,  which  might  terminate  his  labors  before 
the  history  could  be  prepared,  he  determined  on  making 
a  selection  from  his  memoranda,  and  publishing  them 
under  the  title  of  "  Genealogical  Notes,  or  Contributions 
to  the  Family  History  of  some  of  the  First  Settlers  of 
Connecticut  and  Massachusetts."  He  accordingly  selected 
enough  as  he  thought  to  make  a  volume  of  four  or  five 
hundred  pages,  and  after  a  thorough  revision  commenced 
their  publication,  but  had  not  proceeded  far  when  he  was 
obliged  to  suspend  his  labors  by  an  attack  of  sickness 
from  which  he  never  recovered. 

After  lingering  for  many  months  in  his  sick-room,  with 
periods  of  great  suffering,  which  he  bore  with  exemplary 
patience,  and  with  intervals  too  of  assured  hope  that  he 
might  again  resume  his  favorite  studies,  he  died  on  the 
29th  of  May,  1855,  in  the  seventy- fourth  year  of  his  age. 
His  funeral  was  attended  by  a  large  concourse  of  his 
fellow-citizens,  who  entertained  the  highest  respect  for 
the  exemplary  diligence  and  fidelity  with  which  he  had 
discharged  important  public  trusts,  and  for  his  industrious, 
useful,  and  upright  life. 

In  an  article  published  in  the  "  Connecticut  Courant" 
on  the  day  following  his  funeral,  Mrs.  Sigourney  presents 
the  following  discriminating  estimate  of  the  character  of 
Mr.  Goodwin  :  — 


366  NATHANIEL   GOODWIN 

•'  All  his  services  for  the  public  were  discharged  with  incor- 
ruptible fidelity,  and  a  diligence  and  punctuality  seldom  equalled. 
Neither  is  it  slight  praise  that  in  the  intercourse  growing  out  of 
them  with  people  of  varying  rank  and  occupation,  he  should 
have  been  enabled  to  ever  preserve  his  self-command,  and  stead- 
fastly to  regard  the  rights  of  the  humblest,  and  to  treat  with 
respect  the  opinions  of  those  from  whom  he  differed. 

"  Antiquarian  tastes  had  the  predominance  in  his  mind,  and 
the  genealogical  works  he  has  been  induced  to  give  to  the  press 
are  models  of  persevering  research  and  accurate  arrangement. 
Even  his  chirography  might  seem  correctly  to  symbolize  his 
character,  —  plain,  neat,  upright,  perfect  in  punctuation,  re- 
jecting all  factitious  flourish,  and  as  legible  as  the  clearest 
typography. 

"  In  his  household,  as  well  as  in  the  community,  his  judgment 
was  revered ;  and  the  authority  of  his  example  invariably  up- 
held useful  employment  and  solid  comfort,  as  opposed  to  vain 
ostentation  or  the  sway  of  fickle  fashion.  His  whole  life  was 
marked  by  that  avoidance  of  display,  that  freedom  from  the 
pride  of  wealth,  that  regard  for  honest  industry,  which  ought  to 
take  high  rank  among  the  virtues  of  a  republic,  interwoven  as 
they  are  with  its  stability  and  health.  He  was  conspicuous  for 
'  a  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body,'  for  ^he  love  of  order  and  the 
spirit  of  peace. 

"  Venerable  neighbor  and  friend,  we  lay  thee  in  thy  grave  at 
this  last  vernal  sunset,  not  without  sorrow.  Thou  wert  one  of 
the  few  representatives  of  a  race  rapidly  vanishing  away,  who 
illustrated  the  virtues  and  the  manners  of  the  olden  time.  Peace 
to  thy  stainless  memory  I  "We  think  of  thee  now  as  with  that 
Saviour  to  whom  in  truth  and  humility  thou  didst  commit  thine 
everlasting  trust." 

Mr.  Goodwin  was  one  of  the  original  incorporators  of 
the  Connecticut  Historical  Society,  although  he  seldom 
met  with  its  members.  He  was  admitted  a  corresponding 
member  of  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society- 
April  21,  1846,  and  was  elected  vice-president  for  Con- 
necticut in  February,  1855,  which  office  he  held  at  his 
death.  Its  appreciation  of  the  deceased  was  expressed  in 
the  following  preamble  and  resolutions,  passed  August  1, 
1855:  — 


NATHANIEL    GOODWIN  367 

"  Whereas  we  have  heard  of  the  decease  of  the  Hon.  Nathaniel 
Goodwin,  of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents 
of  this  Society  :  Therefore,  — 

"  Resolved,  That  we  deeply  regret  the  loss  the  Society  has 
sustained  in  the  death  of  a  most  useful,  active,  and  valuable 
member,  and  we  heartily  sympathize  with  the  family  and  rela- 
tives in  their  severe  affiiction. 

*'  Resolved,  That  the  Corresponding  Secretary  request  the 
family  to  furnish,  for  the  use  of  the  Society,  or  for  publication 
in  the  '  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,'  the  leading  facts 
and  incidents  of  his  life. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  be  requested  to  forward  a 
copy  of  these  proceedings  to  the  family  of  the  departed." 

Mr.  Goodwin,  from,  his  habits  of  patient  and  persevering 
industry,  from  his  official  familiarity  with  early  records, 
and  from  his  grateful  admiration  of  the  character  and 
services  of  the  early  settlers  of  Connecticut,  was  admirably 
fitted  for  his  work.  In  the  introduction  to  his  genealogy 
of  the  "  Foote  Family,"  he  thus  expresses  himself  as  to 
the  rewards  and  ultimate  aims  of  his  labors :  — 

"  To  the  author,  the  labor  of  looking  through  the  dusty  and 
fast  perishing  records  of  the  pas't  has  carried  along  with  it  its 
own  sweet  reward.  Every  step  in  liis  investigations  has  been 
on  some  fragment  of  reverend  histor}-  which  has  exalted  his 
admiration  of  the  sufferings  and  services,  of  the  far-sighted 
policy,  the  religious  devotion  and  public  spirit,  of  the  founders 
of  our  own  little  State  ;  and  he  will  feel  amply  honored  if  his 
labors  shall  prove  in  any  measure  successful  in  chiselling  deeper 
the  inscriptions  on  their  tombstones,  in  rescuing  the  memory 
of  their  virtues  from  oblivion,  and  in  brightening  the  links 
which  connect  the  present  generation  with  the  first  generation 
of  New  England,  and  thereby  infusing  a  larger  spirit  of  patriot- 
ism into  the  life  of  to-day. 

"  Our  researches  into  the  past  will  fail  of  their  true  import 
unless  the  living  are  instructed  by  its  experience,  warned  by  its 
trials,  and  quickened  by  its  example." 


SAMUEL   SUMNER  WILDE 


If  one  were  to  note  the  qualities  which  contribute  to 
make  up  the  character  of  the  model  judge,  whether 
the  patience  and  gravity  of  hearing  which  Sir  Francis 
Bacon  says  is  an  essential  part  of  justice,  or  sound  learn- 
ing and  wisdom  and  impartiality,  it  would  be  evident 
to  the  observer  that  the  subject  of  this  memoir  was  lack- 
ing in  none  of  them ;  for,  as  those  who  had  known  and 
taken  observation  of  his  useful  life  bear  testimony,  his 
legal  learning,  stern  integrity,  and  dignity  of  life  and 
character  inspired  confidence  in  our  civil  institutions  and 
respect  for  our  courts  of  law,  the  law  itself,  and  all  those 
who  administer  it. 

In  studying  the  moral  and  mental  characteristics  of 
Judge  Wilde,  the  believer  in  the  force  of  heredity  will  be 
interested  in  seeing  how  these  were  the  natural  develop- 
ment from  those  of  his  immediate  ancestry ;  for  his  un- 
jQinching  integrity,  his  severity  toward  moral  obliquity, 
his  stern  sense  of  justice,  and  perhaps  his  want  of  im- 
ao-ination  and  sentiment,  appear  to  have  been  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  line  of  Puritan  husbandmen  from  whom 
he  descended,  while  his  fine  intellect  and  mental  endow- 
ments, his  resolute  and  firm  character,  his  courteous  and 
dignified  manner  to  all,  and  a  heart  full  of  tenderness  to 
his  children  and  those  whom  he  loved,  are  described  as 
the  marked  characteristics  of  his  mother. 

The  first  of  his  family  of  whom  we  have  information 
was  John  Wild,  a  husbandman,  of  Braintree,  now  in  Nor- 


SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE  369 

folk  County,  Massachusetts.  The  time  and  place  of  his 
birth  are  not  known.  He  married  Sarah,  the  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Hannah  (Thayer)  Hayden,  who  was  born 
March  27,  1667.  His  farm  was  on  a  hill  near  Middle 
Street,  from  whence  there  is  a  fine  prospect  of  Boston 
harbor.  The  date  of  his  wife's  death  is  not  known ; 
but  she  is  probably  the  Mrs.  Wild  whom  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Niles  says  in  his  diary  he  buried,  "  after  a  long 
sickness,"  February  21,  1724-25.  He  was  buried  Octo- 
ber 24,  1732,  according  to  the  same  journal.  His  will 
was  dated  June  28,  1727,  and  probated  with  Suffolk  rec- 
ords, November  27,  1732.  He  left  a  bequest  of  thirty 
pounds  to  his  grandson,  Daniel  Wild,  son  of  William, 
when  he  should  come  of  age,  and  mentions  in  his  will 
four  sons  and  a  daughter.     Of  these  children,  — 

WilHam  Wild  was  born  August  26,  1696.  He  was 
married  by  the  Rev.  Samuel  Niles,  December  2,  1717, 
to  Anna  White,  the  daughter  of  Samuel  and  Anna 
(Bingley)  White,  who  was  born  October  14,  1696.  She 
was  the  sister  of  the  Hon.  Samuel  White ,  who  settled 
in  Taunton,  Massachusetts,  in  1745,  and  was  speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  legislature  of 
Massachusetts  at  the  period  of  the  Stamp.  Act.  She 
was  buried  December  13,  1718,  leaving  one  child 
Through  life  William  Wild  occupied  the  farm  inherited 
from  his  father.  His  estate  was  administered  by  Daniel 
Wilde,  of  Taunton,  gentleman,  March  18,  1783. 

Daniel  Wilde,  their  son,  was  born  October  12, 1718,  and 
removed  to  Taunton  in  Bristol  County,  Massachusetts, 
about  1739.  He  was  a  good  man,  quiet,  honest  in  his 
dealings,  and  just  in  all  his  ways.  He  took  an  active  part 
in  church  matters,  and  was  the  leader  of  the  choir  in  the 
only  Congregational  church  in  that  town,  in  which  he 
subsequently  held  the  office  of  deacon.  Here,  January  14, 
1768,  he  married  Anna,  the  only  child  of  Deacon  Samuel 
Sumner,  of  Taunton,  for  whom  the  subject  of  this  me- 

47 


370  SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE 

moir,  her  son,  Samuel  Sumner  Wilde,  was  named. 
Samuel  Sumner  was  a  husbandman.  He  had  a  taste  for 
reading,  and  greatly  respected  learning  and  its  possessors. 
He  died  July  26,  1771,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his 
age,  when  his  only  grandson,  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
was  an  infant,  and  bequeathed  to  him  a  lot  of  land,  to  be 
sold  at  the  proper  time,  and  the  proceeds  expended  in 
giving  him  the  benefit  of  a  college  education.  Deacon 
Daniel  Wilde  died  August  11,  1792,  in  the  seventy- 
fourth  year  of  his  age.  Anna  Sumner  Wilde  was  con- 
spicuous for  her  piety  and  intellectual  tastes.  The 
respect  in  which  she  was  held  by  her  son  was  equalled 
only  by  his  love  for  her.  She  enjoyed  his  rapid  progress 
in  his  studies,  and  looked  forward  with  confidence  to  his 
suc<;ess  in  life,  —  an  anticipation,  however,  which  she  was 
not  to  see  fulfilled,  as  her  death  occurred  September  23, 
1794.  She  carefully  instructed  her  son  in  the  doctrines 
of  Calvin,  with  which  both  of  his  parents  were  in  sympa- 
thy, and  tried  to  direct  his  steps  in  the  ways  of  a  serious 
life.  He  never  forgot  the  hymns  which  she  taught  him  in 
his  childhood,  and  many  years  after  he  repeated  them 
with  peculiar  emphasis  and  evident  feeling. 

Samuel  Sumner  Wilde  was  born  in  Taunton,  Bristol 
County,  Massachusetts,  February  5,  1771,  in  a  house 
which  was  recently  standing  on  the  road  to  Oakland, 
nearly  opposite  the  Episcopal  glebe.  He  pursued  his 
preparatory  studies  under  the  tuition  of  the  Rev.  Ephraim 
Judson,  the  minister  of  Taunton,  a  graduate  of  Yale  Col- 
lege in  1763,  entered  the  Sophon\ore  Class  at  Dartmouth 
College  in  1786,  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  and  was 
graduated  in  1789.  After  receiving  his  degree  he  re- 
turned to  Taunton,  where  he  began  the  study  of  the  law 
in  the  office  of  David  Leonard  Barnes,  of  that  town,  after- 
ward a  judge  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States 
for  Rhode  Island.  His  temperament  was  always  com- 
panionable   and    cheerful;    and    his    character,    though 


SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE  371 

unpretentious,  was  marked  by  a  spirit  of  honorable  inde- 
pendence. In  early  life  he  was  deeply  interested  in  the 
theological  controversies  of  the  day,  —  a  taste  which  he 
retained  to  his  later  years. 

Early  in  the  year  1792  he  married  Eimice,  the  daugh- 
ter of  General  David  Cobb,  then  of  Taunton,  afterward 
of  Hancock  County,  Maine,  who  had  been  the  associate 
and  friend  of  Washington,  Knox,  and  other  distinguished 
leaders  of  the  Revolution ;  and  in  September  of  that 
year  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Bristol  County, 
Massachusetts.  He  at  once  removed  to  Maine,  under  the 
patronage  and  with  the  friendship  of  General  Henry 
Knox,  and  began  the  practice  of  the  law  in  Waldo- 
borough,  Lincoln  County.  Here  he  remained  two  years, 
and  then  removed  to  the  neighboring  town  of  Warren, 
being  the  first  lawyer  to  commence  practice  in  that  town, 
which  he  subsequently  represented  in  the  legislature  for 
two  years,  namely,  1798  and  1799. 

In  1797  he  was  invited  to  deliver  an  oration  at  Thomas- 
ton,  on  the  anniversary  of  the  Fourth  of  July.  His 
address  on  that  occasion  was  highly  appreciated  and 
subsequently  published.  A  Masonic  Oration,  delivered  in 
1799,  was  also  published. 

In  the  latter  part  of  this  year,  on  the  incorporation  of 
Kennebec  County,  he  sought  in  the  larger  field  of  Hal- 
lowell,  which  was  then  a  town  of  business  enterprise  and 
of  considerable  social  culture,  a  position  sufficiently  im- 
portant to  call  forth  his  utmost  energies,  and  one  which 
rewarded  him  with  an  extensive  practice  commensurate 
with  his  ability.  He  soon  took  a  high  rank  at  the  bar, 
and  was  unexcelled  even  by  professional  brethren  of 
longer  experience. 

The  sound  and  extensive  learning  of  these  lawyers  of 
the  old  school,  so  called,  furnished  an  excellent  training 
and  discipline  for  his  mind,  which  here  accumulated  ample 
stores  of  legal  knowledge.     By  his  studies  and  the  attri- 


372  •  SAMUEL   SITMNER   WILDE 

tion  in  his  practice  with  jurists  of  great  attainments,  he 
acquired  a  profound  knowledge  of  the  great  principles  of 
the  common  law  in  all  its  branches.  He  became  a  distin- 
guished leader  in  the  numerous  and  involved  land  cases 
which  then  continually  occupied  the  courts.  Entering  upon 
professional  life  at  a  time  when  a  knowledge  of  the  law  of 
real  property  was  of  the  greatest  practical  value,  he  de- 
voted himself  to  its  study  with  assiduity,  and  so  thoroughly 
mastered  its  principles  that  he  could  always  apply  them 
readily  and  clearly  in  the  most  involved  cases.  He  culti- 
vated a  habit  of  close  and  logical  reasoning.  He  acquired 
an  exact  and  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  intricacies 
of  special  pleading,  a  science  demanding  the  most  acute 
power  of  legal  discrimination.  He  thought  highly  of  the 
science,  as  tending  to  shorten  trials  and  enable  parties  to 
obtain  justice  promptly,  speedily,  and  completely.  He 
had  a  clear  understanding  of  the  principles  of  commer- 
cial law,  and  a  remarkable  ease  in  elucidating  the  new  and 
unexplored  science  of  equity. 

In  his  conduct  of  a  case  he  was  noted  for  his  acute  and 
accurate  apprehension  of  all  the  complicated  points. in- 
volved in  it ;  for  the  conciseness  and  force  with  which  he 
presented  it,  unembarrassed  by  any  useless  parade  of 
learning,  in  clear  and  distinct  utterance,  and  with  a  calm 
and  impressive  manner.  In  trials  by  jury  his  ready  per- 
ception of  the  main  points  on  which  a  cause  must  turn 
and  his  prompt  command  of  both  law  and  fact  were  re- 
markable. The  slightest  wresting  of  the  truth,  unfairness, 
or  artifice,  whether  in  pleading  or  in  practice,  aroused  his 
stern  indignation  and  called  forth  a  rebuke. 

It  is  said  that  Mr.  Prentiss  Mellen,  afterward  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Maine,  had  Mr.  "Wilde 
for  his  most  constant  opponent,  and  that  their  forensic 
skill  was  by  tacit  consent  employed  to  place  the  cause  on 
its  merits,  produce  all  the  facts,  and  fight  the  battle  in 
open  field  in  generous  warfare. 


SAMUEL    SUMNER   WILDE  373 

He  was  always  interested  in  the  young,  and  through  life 
his  generosity  of  nature  showed  itself  in  his  hopeful  esti- 
mate of  the  younger  members  of  his  own  profession.  In 
a  letter  written  to  a  young  man  in  whom  he  felt  a  kindly 
interest,  who  had  been  a  student  in  his  office,  he 
expresses  views  which  may  benefit  young  men  of  to- 
day.  "The  letter  is  dated  April  9,  1801.    .  ' 

"  I  am,"  he  writes,  "  happy  to  learn  that  you  are  not  dissatis- 
fied with  the  place  you  have  chosen  for  your  professional  exer- 
tions. The  man  who  is  accustomed  to  dwell  with  gloomy 
despondence  upon  the  present  scenes  and  views  of  life  will  de- 
rive but  little  satisfaction  from  the  future.  However  elevated 
his  situation,  however  splendid  his  talents,  he  will  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  eradicate  that  canker  of  the  mind  which  the  restless 
spirit  of  early  life  had  formed,  and  which  has  been  nour- 
ished by  the  habits  of  succeeding  years.  The  high  objects  of 
honorable  enterprise  are  not  obtained  by  brooding  over  the  pres- 
ent evils  of  life  with  a  morose  and  gloomy  mind,  but  b}'-  activity, 
industry,  and  energy,  which  will  not  be  exerted  when  sur- 
rounded by  the  horrors  of  disappointment  and  discontent." 

He  had  a  delightful  residence  in  Hallowell,  situated  on 
an  eminence  overlooking  the  Kennebec  River,  its  rooms 
being  more  lofty  and  spacious  than  was  common  at  that 
time.  The  society  of  Hallowell  was  unusually  good  for  a 
place  of  its  size,  Messrs.  Benjamin  and  Charles  Vaughan, 
from  England,  havuig  taken  up  their  residence  there,  in- 
heriting land  from  Mr.  Benjamin  Hallowell,  after  whom  the 
town  was  named.  Their  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Merrick,  soon 
followed  them.  These  famiUes  were  of  cultivated  tastes 
and  refined  manners,  and  gave  tone  to  the  society  of  the 
place.  Mr.  Wilde  and  his  family  were  on  intimate  terms 
with  the  Vaughans,  and  their  children  grew  up  together 
and  derived  great  advantage  and  enjoyment  from  their 
frequent  social  gatherings.  Judge  Wilde  entertained 
throughout  his  life  the  warmest  attachment  to  these  old 
friends,  and  often  referred  to  the  days  spent  in  Hallowell 


374  SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE 

as  among  the  happiest  of  his  life.  Judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Massachusetts  usually  made  his  house  their  home 
when  they  came  to  attend  court,  and  the  house  then 
overflowed  with  mirth  and  hospitable  cheer,  Mrs.  Wilde 
being  a  notable  housekeeper.  His  home  was  made  at- 
tractive by  the  amenity  and  unaffected  simplicity  of  his 
manners,  his  cheerful  spirit,  his  remarkable  colloquial 
powers,  the  kindness  and  sincerity  of  his  heart,  and  his 
warm  domestic  affections.  His  strong  religious  faith 
added  a  grace  to  his  character.  His  legal  studies  did  not 
absorb  his  mind  from  literature,  and  he  enjoyed  the  read- 
ing and  discussing  of  good  books.  He  took  pleasure  in 
the  investigation  of  important  ethical  questions ;  and  it  is 
related  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ephraim  Peabody,  that  in  the 
latter  part  of  his  life  he  read  with  great  care  the  works 
of  Plato  and  the  philosophical  and  historical  writings  of 
the  Greeks,  and  that  on  one  occasion  he  met  him  in  the 
street  carrying  home  a  volume  of  Xenophon  for  the 
purpose  of  re-examining  that  historian's  account  of 
Socrates. 

In  1800,  and  again  in  1808,  he  was  appointed  by  the 
legislature  one  of  the  electors  of  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States.  In  1814  he  was  elected 
State  Councillor ;  and  in  the  same  year  was  appointed  a 
delegate  to  the  famous  Hartford  Convention.  The  mem- 
bers of  this  convention  ranked  among  the  most  eminent 
men  of  New  England  for  ability.  He  was  the  last  sur- 
viving member  of  that  convention,  and  always  defended 
his  participation  in  it  with  spirit,  if  assailed.  He  might 
have  expected  higher  political  preferment ;  but  devotion 
to  his  professional  work  precluded  his  participation  in 
public  affairs,  although  he  was  an  ardent  Federalist,  and 
positive  in  his  political  convictions. 

The  regard  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  public  grew 
with  increasing  experience.*  He  was  conspicuous  for  the 
possession  of  faculties  which  singularly  qualified  him  for 


SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE  375 

the  high  office  of  a  minister  of  justice.  His  eminent 
abilities  and  sound  learning  seem  to  have  commended 
him  to  Governor  Strong,  who  in  the  year  1815  appointed 
him  to  a  seat  upon  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Judicial 
Court. 

In  1817  Bowdoin  College  honored  itself  and  him  by 
conferring  on  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  He 
seems  to  have  appreciated  the  importance  to  a  community 
of  the  cultivation  of  a  knowledge  of  agriculture,  that 
foundation  of  all  wealth ;  and  we  find  him  the  President 
of  the  Agricultural  Society  of  Maine  in  1819. 

On  the  separation  of  Maine  from  its  former  government 
in  1820,  he  removed  to  Newburyport,  in  Essex  County, 
Massachusetts,  to  continue  the  exercise  of  his  office  as 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court ;  a.nd  in  the  same  year  he 
was  a  member  from  that  town  of  that  remarkable  body  of 
men  to  whom  was  committed  the  revision  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  this  Commonwealth. 

In  Newburyport  he  occupied  a  large,  commodious  house, 
with  spacious  garden,  on  High  Street,  not  far  from  Lord 
Timothy  Dexter's  mansion,  famous  in  its  day :  and  here 
he  lived  until  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  which  occurred 
June  6,  1826.  She  was  the  friend  of  his  early  years, 
the  mother. of  his  children,  and  her  loss  was  a  bitter 
grief.  He  soon  after  made  his  home  in  the  household  of 
his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Caleb  Cushing,  afterward  the  distin- 
guished politician  and  jurist,  where  he  remained  until  the 
death  of  his  daughter. 

The  sorrows  of  his  life  were  many,  and  he  bore  them 
all  with  fortitude  and  patience,  not  seeking  human 
sympathy.  His  niece,  Mrs.  E.  S.  Rand,  to  whom  I  am 
indebted  for  other  information  of  his  domestic  life,  says 
in  his  family  relations  he  was  always  gentle,  loving,  and 
kind.  His  leisure  hours  were  spent  mostly  in  reading. 
He  read  rapidly,  and  made  himself  master  of  the  contents 
of  a  book  with  unusual  facility,  and  he  never  forgot  what 


376  SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE 

he  had  once  read.  His  love- for  his  children  was  deep 
and  true,  but  undemonstrative.  The  intelhgence  of  Mrs. 
Cushing's  dangerous  illness  brought  him  without  delay  to 
her  bedside,  but  he  arrived  too  late  to  comfort  her  by  his 
presence,  or  to  hear  the  loving  voice  which  always  wel- 
comed him.  He  said,  when  she  had  ceased  to  breathe, 
"  There  is  a  child  who  never  gave  me  a  moment's  pain." 
He  did  not  overestimate  the  intellectual  powers  of  his 
children,  but,  with  his  usual  penetration  and  love  of 
justice,  gave  to  each  in  his  own  mind  all  that  was  due. 
Of  his  oldest  son  William,  who  died  at  the  age  of  thirty- 
three  years,  soon  after  he  began  the  practice  of  law  in  the 
District  of  Maine,  the  Judge  used  to  say,  "His  mind  was 
of  the  highest  order."  His  love  for  everything  old  was 
remarkable,  and  was  exhibited  in  a  special  fondness  for 
things  pertaining  to  himself  and  his  surroundings;  his 
very  clothing  acquired  increased  value  as  he  became 
accustomed  to  it,  and  it  was  hard  for  him  to  cast  it  aside. 
In  the  days  of  bright  wood-fires  he  always  enjoyed  stir- 
ring with  the  tongs  the  burning  brands;  and  Mrs.  Rand 
well  remembers  the  mirth  he  used  to  excite  by  this  habit 
on  his  visits  to  her  mother,  who,  knowing  his  peculiarity, 
took  every  care  to  make  the  fire  on  the  hearth,  with  its 
bright,  genial  warmth,  attractive  in  its  perfection.  By 
praise  he  never  seemed  flattered,  though  he  might  recog- 
nize it  by  a  pleasant  smile.  His  resemblance  in  feature^ 
to  the  Duke  of  Wellington  was  remarkable.  On  one 
occasion,  when  she  called  his  attention  to  an  engraving  of 
the  Duke,  which  had  been  bought  for  its  astonishing 
resemblance,  he  carelessly  said,  "  Oh,  yes,  I  always  looked 
like  the  Duke  of  Wellington." 

He  seldom  spoke  of  the  faults  of  those  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact.  The  desire  to  shield  the  absent  from 
evil-speaking  was  perfectly  consistent  with  his  denuncia- 
tion of  wrong  and  of  the  guilty  one  when  once  the  guilt 
was  clearly  proved.     In  such  cases  his  words  conveyed  no 


SAMUEL    SUMNER  'VyiLDE  377 

uncertain  meaning,  and  were  not  easily  forgotten  by  those 
who  heard  them.  The  genial  manner  of  Judge  Wilde, 
and  the  enjoyment  he  found  in  the  society  of  his  friends, 
are  well  known.  His  conversation  was  marked  by  un- 
common frankness,  and  great  simplicity  of  utterance.  He 
is  remembered  at  this  time  as  a  man  of  fine  bearing,  a 
noble  countenance,  uncommon  conversational  power,  and 
great  geniality  and  kindness  of  manner.  He  had  many 
friends  to  whom  he  was  warmly  attached,  and  his  friend- 
ships remained  unchanged.  He  was  positive  in  his  con- 
victions, and  very  tenacious  of  his  opinions. 

The  first  impression  he  made  on  a  stranger  was  that  of 
sternness  and  severity,  but  a  better  acquaintance  was  sure 
to  discover  a  heart  full  of  tenderness  and  sensibihty.  He 
was  very  considerate  of  others,  and  possessed  a  courtesy 
of  spirit  which  never  failed.  On  the  bench  his  personal 
appearance  harmonized  with  his  office.  His  thoughtful 
and  calm  but  most  resolute  countenance  might  be  taken 
to  represent  the  idea  of  Justice,  or  of  George  Herbert's 
honest  man, 

"  Whom  neither  force  nor  fawning  can 
Unpinne,  or  wrench  from  giving  all  their  due." 

He  was  a  model  judge,  attentive,  patient,  impartial, 
accurate,  laborious,  independent,  and  firm,  caring  for  no 
one's  personal  position  or  influence,  so  far  as  concerned 
the  cause  before  him.  He  was  uninfluenced  by  the  fear 
or  favor  of  any  man,  or  by  any  motive  except  his  respect 
for  truth  and  right.  He  never  allowed  a  regard  for  mere 
forms  and  technicalities  to  control  his  judgment  and 
common  sense ;  he  never  suffered  justice  to  be  entangled 
in  a  net  of  unsubstantial  forms.  Labor  did  not  fatigue 
him ;  and  he  was  a  faithful,  reliable  associate,  of  whom 
Chief  Justice  Shaw  declared,  that  Judge  Wilde  was  one  on 
whom  he  could  rely  as  a  monitor,  guide,  and  friend  under 
all  circumstances,  and  that  he  should  ever  regard  him 
with  feelings  of  affectionate  respect. 

48 


378  SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE 

As  a  man,  he  was  eminently  one  to  whose  care  one 
would  trust  his  most  important  interests,  on  whom  one 
could  most  confidently  lean  and  feel  no  misgivings  about 
his  fidelity  to  dear  ones  whom  death  might  bereave  of 
their  natural  protector.  All  sacred  and  useful  institutions 
were  stronger  because  of  such  a  man  in  the  community. 

In  1831  he  removed  his  residence  to  Boston,  where  he 
spent  the  last  twenty-four  years  of  his  life.  He  boarded 
for  some  years  in  La  Grange  Place  ;  afterward  he  resided 
with  his  two  sons,  and  in  the  last  years  of  his  life  with  his 
son  Henry,  in  Milton  Place. 

In  the  days  of  his  childhood  he  was  trained  in  the  doc- 
trines of  Calvin,  but  with  all  his  respect  for  his  mother's 
teaching,  he  could  not,  as  youth  advanced  into  manhood, 
accept  this  faith ;  and  as  in  those  New  England  days 
there  seemed  to  be  no  middle  ground,  he  connected  him- 
self with  the  Unitarian  society  at  King's  Chapel,  of  which 
the  Rev.  F.  W.  P.  Greenwood  was  the  pastor,  at  whose 
services  he  was  a  constant  attendant,  always  being  present 
at  the  morning  service.  •  He  had  a  very  high  opinion  of 
the  talents  and  character  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Greenwood,  and 
possessed  a  portrait  of  him  which  he  much  valued,  and 
bequeathed  to  his  oldest  grandchild,  Mrs.  Benjamin  Tap- 
pan,  who  has  kindly  furnished  interesting  information  of 
her  grandfather's  home  life  for  this  memoir. 

He  was  sound  and  solid,  but  he  had  no  sentiment  or 
imagination.  On  one  occasion  he  was  discussing  with  a 
distinguished  member  of  the  bar,  who  was  equally  devoid 
of  the  pleasures  of  imagination,  the  merits  of  the  poet 
Wordsworth,  to  the  infinite  dehght  and  amusement  of 
Rufus  Choate,  who  was  occupied  near  them.  "  For  my 
part,"  said  Judge  Wilde,  "  he  seems  to  me  obscure ;  I  can- 
not understand  him."  "  I  agree  with  you,"  said  his  com- 
panion ;  "  and  then  he  is  so  long."  Mr.  Choate  looked 
up  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  and  suggested  that  they 
should  confine  themselves  to  the  poet's  sonnets. 


SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE  379 

In  1841  Harvard  University  conferred  upon  him  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  He  became  a  member  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences ;  and,  January  18, 
1847,  he  was  admitted  an  honorary  member  of  the  New 
England  Historic  Genealogical  Society.  His  alma  mater, 
Dartmouth  College,  honored  him  with  the  degree  of  Doc- 
tor of  Laws  in  1849. 

The  Hon.  R.  H.  Dana,  writing  from  Rome,  Italy,  in 
answer  to  an  inquiry,  says :  — 

"  "When  I  came  to  the  bar,  Judge  Wilde  was  already  esteemed 
an  old  man,  so  that  my  recollections  of  him  must  be  confined  to 
the  later  years  of  his  career;  yet  perhaps  the  most  distin- 
guished act  of  his  judicial  life  was  toward  its  close.  I  refer  to 
his  manly  and  finally  triumphant  dissent  from  the  opinion  of  the 
entire  bench,  including  Chief  Justice  Shaw,  in  Peter  York's 
case.  I  regret  that  I  have  no  means  of  getting  at  the  volume 
of  Reports  in  this  distant  place,  but  I  think  I  have  sufiScient 
memory  of  the  facts. 

"  York  was  a  poor,  worthless  negro  sailor,  under  indictment 
for  murder.  I  was  assigned  by  the  court  to  conduct  his  defence, 
in  connection  with  the  late  Mr.  George  W.  Phillips.  A  com- 
plete defence  was  hopeless,  for  the  deceased  was  found  to  have 
the  end  of  the  blade  of  a  knife  broken  in  his  heart,  and  the 
knife,  with  York's  name  cut  upon  it,  the  end  of  the  blade 
broken  off,  and  the  rest  covered  with  blood,  was  found  near  to 
the  place  of  the  homicide,  and  York  had  fled,  and  for  some  days 
attempted  to  conceal  himself.  We  confined  our  efforts  to  an 
attempt  to  make  out  the  case  to  be  one  of  self-defence,  or,  at 
most,  no  more  than  manslaughter,  on  the  ground  of  provocation 
^nd  hot  blood.  There  was  not  much  evidence,  but  there  was 
enough  to  make  a  provocation  possible,  if  not  probable.  The 
jury  were  out  for  some  time,  and  sent  a  written  question  to  the 
Court.  The  Court  received  this  in  their  lobby,  but  gave  no 
notice  or  hearing  to  the  counsel  for  the  defence ;  and,  the  jury 
being  called  into  court,  the  Chief  Justice  read  from  the  bench 
their  question  and  the  answer.  The  question,  which  was  drawn 
up  by  the  foreman,  the  late  Mr.  James  F.  Baldwin,  stated  with 
great  precision  a  question  of  law  which,  it  is  very  singular,  had 
not  been  directly  raised  before,  so   far  as  the  Reports   show, 


380  SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE 

either  in  the  United  States  or  Great  Britain.  The  charge, 
which  was  by  the  Chief  Justice,  had  defined  the  difference 
between  murder  and  manslaughter  and  the  state  of  facts  which 
would  warrant  a  verdict  for  the  latter  offence,  but  said  nothing 
as  to  the  burden  of  proof  in  establishing  those  facts.  The  ques- 
tion put  by  the  foreman  was  substantially  this :  Suppose  the 
jury  to  be  satisfied  beyond  reasonable  doubt  that  the  prisoner 
killed  the  deceased,  and  not  in  self-defence  ;  but  as  to  the  prov- 
ocation, are  not  satisfied  beyond  reasonable  doubt  that  there 
was  the  provocation  set  up,  but  do  entertain  reasonable  doubts  - 
whether  it  did  or  did  not  exist.  In  such  case,  what  is  their 
duty? 

"  The  Chief  Justice  read  rather  a  long  answer,  the  substance 
of  which  was,  that  if  the  evidence  showed  beyond  reasonable 
doubt  that  the  prisoner  killed  the  deceased,  not  in  self-defence, 
and  he  relied  upon  facts  which,  if  proved,  would  reduce  the 
crime  to  manslaughter,  the  burden  of  proof  was  upon  him  to 
satisfy  the  jury  of  the  existence  of  such  facts ;  and  if  they  were 
not  so  satisfied,  it  was  their  duty  to  find  a  verdict  of  murder. 
Immediately  upon  receiving  this  instruction,  the  jury  returned 
a  verdict  of  murder. 

"I  was  quite  young  at  the  bar,  and  inexperienced  in  criminal 
law,  but  the  ruling  of  the  Chief  Justice  disturbed  my  mind  ex- 
tremely. On  examining  the  authorities,  I  could  find  nothing 
but  a  dreary  repetition  of  language  from  the  judges  of  ancient 
times,  mostly  in  cases  of  special  verdicts,  to  the  effect  that  if 
the  government  proved  a  criminal  homicide  they  had  done 
enough,  and  any  facts  which  would  reduce  the  offence  to  man- 
slaughter must  be  established,  or  they  could  not  be  acted  upon 
as  facts  ;  and  other  language  of  a  like  general  character. 

"  I  went  before  the  full  bench  and  moved  for  leave  to  argue 
the  question  of  the  instruction  to  the  jury.  The  Chief  Justice 
replied  with  positiveness  that  the  Court  sat  in  banc  in  capital 
trials  for  the  express  purpose  of  deciding  all  questions  of  law 
during  the  trial;  that  no  exceptions  lay  to  a  ruling  made  in 
banc ;  and  that  in  this  case  the  Court  had  given  the  subject 
grave  consideration  and  prepared  written  instructions  which 
were  read  to  tke  jury.  He  refused  my  motion,  and  was  pro- 
ceeding to  take  up  something  else,  when  I  saw  Judge  Wilde, 
who  sat  next  him,  lean  forward  and  engage  him  in  earnest 


SAMUEL    SUMNER   WILDE.  381 

conversation.  The  effect  was  marked.  In  a  few  minutes  the 
Chief  Justice  said  that,  though  the  rule  and  practice  were 
as  he  had  stated,  yet  in  an  extreme  case,  upon  which  life  de- 
pended, if  the  doubt  seemed  a  fair  one,  the  court  would  prefer 
to  hear  it ;  and  a  day  was  assigned  for  the  argument.  It  is 
not  necessary  for  me  to  refer  to  the  argument,  as  it  may  be 
found  in  the  Report,  if  any  one  cares  to  examine  it.  The  court 
held  the  case  for  a  long  time  under  advisement,  but  at  length 
came  in,  after  the  interesting  and  instructive  custom  of  that 
day,  to  read  an  opinion  in  the  presence  of  the  bar.  The  ques- 
tion had  excited  deep  interest,  and  the  bar  was  crowded.  The 
opinion  of  the  court,. drawn  up  and  read  by  the  Chief  Justice, 
was  long  and  laborious,  and  it  would  be  superfluous  for  me  to 
say,  learned  and  able.  It  closed  with  sustaining  the  instructions 
and  the  verdict.  Judge  Wilde  then  moved  his  seat  a  little  for- 
ward, expressed  his  inability  to  agree  with  his  brethren,  and, 
entirely  unsupported,  delivered  a  masterly  opinion,  to  the  effect 
that  the  burden  of  proof  was  upon  the  government  throughout 
to  satisfy  the  jury  of  all  that  was  necessary  to  constitute  the 
crime  of  murder.  He  said  that  murder  was  a  crime  created  of 
recent  times  by  statute,  and  was  distinguished  from  manslaughter 
by  the  presence  of  that  high  degree  of  malice  known  in  law  as 
malice  aforethought,  and  in  every  indictment  for  murder  malice 
aforethought  must  be  alleged  and  proved.  It  constituted  the  ani- 
mus delicti ;  and  if  the  jury  entertained  reasonable  doubts  as  to 
the  animus  delicti,  or  motive,  it  was  as  fatal  to  the  prosecution 
as  if  the  doubts  were  on  the  corpus  delicti.  Now,  the  question 
put  by  the  foreman  assumed  that  the  jury  were  satisfied  of  the 
fact  of  killing,  and  that  it  was  a  killing  unjustifiable,  for  which 
the  prisoner  was  criminally  responsible,  but  were  not  satisfied 
that  it  was  done  of  malice  aforethought ;  in  other  words,  they 
were  not  satisfied  whether  the  killing  was  manslaughter  or 
murder.  In  such  a  case  there  was  no  presumption  of  law  or 
fact,  artificial  or  natural,  that  it  was  the  greater  offence.  He 
made  a  searching  examination  of  the  authorities,  and  traced  the 
phrases  in  the  books  relied  upon  by  the  Chief  Justice  to  a  time 
when  the  distinction  between  manslaughter  and  murder  was  not 
raised  in  the  indictment  or  instructions,  nor  submitted  to  the 
jury,  but  the  verdicts  were  special  verdicts  of  homicide  (the 
nomen  generale  for  criminal  killing),  and  the  court  created  a 


382  SAMUEL  SUMNEK  WILDE 

presumption  of  malice  on  certain  facts  specially  found.  His 
opinion  was  particularly  able  in  his  treatment  of  the  subject  of 
the  burden  of  proof,  which  he  distinguished  from  the  weight  of 
testimony,  and  from  the  necessity  a  prisoner  might  be  under  to 
establish  certain  facts  in  order  to  insure  an  acquittal.  The 
burden  of  proof  related  only  to  the  state  of  mind  the  jury  might 
be  in  after  all  the  facts  were  proved  on  either  side,  and  the  pre- 
sumptions put  in  the  scale. 

"  The  first  effect  of  this  opinion  was  that  it  saved  the  life  of 
York,  as  the  Governor,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  judges,  reduced 
the  penalty  to  one  of  imprisonment  for  life.  The  next  effect 
was  an  earnest  discussion  of  the  question  in  the  professional 
journals  throughout  the  country,  in  which  the  opinion  was 
almost  unanimously  in  favor  of  Judge  Wilde's  position.  It 
produced  so  great  an  impression  in  Massachusetts  that,  at  a 
capital  trial  in  the.  Old  Colony,  the  late  Timothy  Coffin,  who 
feared  the  face  of  no  man,  and  took  his  own  views  of  proprieties, 
argued  the  defence  to  the  jury  on  Judge  Wilde's  ground  solely, 
and,  though  the  Chief  Justice  was  present,  the  argument  was 
not  interrupted,  and  even  the  charge  did  not  directly  contra- 
dict it. 

*'  Soon  afterwards  a  trial  for  murder  took  place  in  the  United 
States  Circuit  Court,  presided  over  by  Judges  Curtis  and 
Sprague.  The  same  question  was  raised  as  in  York's  case ;  and 
the  two  judges,  not  being  bound  by  the  State  decision,  con- 
curred in  an  opinion  on  Judge  Wilde's  ground,  after  a  careful 
analysis  of  the  opinion  of  the  court.  The  judgment  of  two  such 
men,  whose  superiors  this  generation  has  not  seen,  went  far  to 
settle  the  law  with  the  profession  ;  and  changes  on  the  supreme 
bench  in  the  course  of  time  reversed  the  majority,  and  a  few 
decisions  were  given  in  cases  not  precisely  the  same,  but  sustain- 
ing the  principle  upon  which  Judge  Wilde's  opinion  rests,  and 
it  became  in  time  the  acknowledged  law  of  Massachusetts,  and 
I  believe  of  all,  or  certainly  nearly  all,  the  States  of  the  Union. 

"  The  last  time  I  saw  Judge  Wilde  was  during  his  last  sick- 
ness. He  was  in  bed,  and  it  was  well  understood  that  his 
physical  powers  could  not  support  life  much  longer ;  but  his 
mind  was  as  clear  as  ever.  The  sight  of  me  revived  the  memory 
of  York's  case,  and,  though  with  a  voice  somewhat  enfeebled, 
he  restated  its  principles  with  perfect  clearness,  and  showed  his 


SAMUEL    SUMNER   WILDE  383 

gratification  when  I  stated  to  him  the  general  acquiescence  in 
his  opinion  to  which  the  courts  and  the  profession  had  come. 

"  One  of  the  striking  traits  of  Judge  Wilde's  character  was 
the  independence  of  his  judgment.  Modest,  unassuming,  and 
free  from  all  tendency  to  paradox,  any  one  could  go  before  him 
with  the  perfect  assurance  that  no  collateral  influences  could 
divert  his  mind  in  the  slightest  degree  from  the  intrinsi-c  merit 
of  the  proposition  to  be  considered.  Mr.  Choate  once  told  me 
an  anecdote  of  Judge  Wilde  which  I  can  never  forget,  and 
which  I  think  the  lapse  of  time  removes  any  objection  to  my 
repeating.  When  Mr.  Choate  came  to  the  bar,  lawyers  were 
obliged  to  practise  three  years  in  the  lower  courts  before  being 
admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Mr.  Choate  had 
gone  through  that  novitiate  with  such  eclat  that  at  his  first  term 
in  the  Supreme  Court  in  Salem  he  was  retained  in  most  causes 
against  the  then  leader  of  the  Essex  bar,  a  man  of  high  social 
as  well  as  professional  position,  and  with  a  commanding  personal 
influence.  Those  who  remember  Mr.  Choate  can  imagine  how 
hard  he  must  have  worked  in  the  preparation  for  those  causes, 
and  how  important  to  him  seemed  his  success  at  his  first  term. 
The  judge  who  presided  at  the  trials  showed  great  deference  to 
Choate's  opponent,  and,  not  being  a  man  of  much  original 
force,  though  with  many  other  merits,  was  very  much  in- 
fluenced to  Choate's  disadvantage.  Most  of  the  rulings  which 
Choate's  opponent  demanded  were  yielded  to,  and  the  stream 
of  results  set  all  in  one  direction.  So  deeply  did  Mr.  Choate 
feel  this  that  he  told  me  he  had  serious  thoughts  of  leaving 
the  Essex  bar,  and  trying  his  fortunes  under  other  influences. 
The  next  term  was  held  b}'  Judge  Wilde.  Mr.  Choate  in  the 
first  case  was  again  pitted  against  his  former  opponent.  Early 
in  the  case  this  distinguished  advocate  rose,  and  with  that  air 
of  polite  confidence  of  which  he  was  master,  asked  for  a  rul- 
ing which  would  have  been  fatal  to  Mr.  Choate's  case.  Judge 
Wilde  looked  down  upon  him  good-naturedly,  and  said,  '  Why, 

Mr. ,  you  don't  mean  to  say  that  you  think  that 's  law  ! ' 

'  I  can  never  forget,  I  suppose  I  can  hardly  explain  to  you,' 
said  Mr.  Choate  to  me,  '  the  efi'ect  of  these  words.  The  spell 
was  broken  ;  my  fears  were  dissolved.  I  could  have  hugged 
the  old  gentleman  to  my  heart.  And  it  was  all  done  with 
such  simplicity;  he  saw  and  felt  nothing  but  the  proposition 
announced.' 


384  SAilTJEL   SITMNEK  WILDE 

"  I  will  add  another  anecdote  which  I  had  from  Judge  "Wilde 
himself.  '  I  was  coming  up,'  said  he,  '  by  stage-coach  from 
holding  a  circuit  in  Maine  (this  was  before  the  separation  of  the 
State),  and  was  obliged  to  travel  all  night.  At  one  of  the  stop- 
ping-places a  new  passenger  got  in,  and  took  his  seat  opposite 
me.  We  soon  fell  into  conversation.  The  night  was  very  dark, 
and  there  was  no  light  inside  the  coach.  I  found  that  he  was  a 
young  man,  but  highly  educated,  and  a  lawj^er.  I  was  greatly 
struck  by  his  conversation.  The  subjects  to  which  he  naturally 
turned  were  political  and  legal,  and  to  a  considerable  extent 
literary ;  but  everything  was  treated  from  a  high  point  of  view, 
with  maturity  of  thought  and  great  power  of  expression,  which 
was  increased  by  the  depth  and  richness,  I  may  almost  say 
pathos,  of  his  voice.  Occasionally  we  fell  into  anecdotes,  and 
naturally  and  modestly  he  told  some  stories  with  great  humor, 
accompanied  by  a  most  infectious  laugh.  In  fact,  I  was  de- 
lighted with  my  new  acquaintance ;  and  as  the  day  began  to 
break  I  watched  to  see  whether  his  countenance  would  be  in 
keeping  with  the  effects  he  had  produced  upon  me  by  conver- 
sation. And  here  again  he  struck  me  with  admiration.  I  do 
not  know  that  I  had  ever  seen  such  a  face.  His  figure  was  tall 
and  rather  slight,  his  forehead  large,  his  brow  dark,  his  eyes  full 
of  expression,  the  lower  part  of  his  face  massive,  and  his  smile 
delightful.  At  the  first  place  at  which  we  stopped  after  the  day 
opened,  he  was  to  get  out  and  leave  us.  I  expressed  to  him 
the  great  pleasure  I  had  derived  from  his  society,  my  desire  to 
meet  him  again  and  know  more  of  him,  and  asked  him  to  favor 
me  with  his  name.  "  Oh,"  said  he,  "  that  would  be  nothing  to 
you.  However,  my  name  is  Webster,  —  Daniel  Webster.  I 
am  of  the  Rockingham  bar."  I  assured  him  that  I  did  know 
his  name  and  reputation,  which  had  already  reached  us  in 
Boston  ;  and  I  believe  I  added  something  as  to  my  pleasure  in 
finding  all  that  we  had  heard  of  him  so  well  justified,  and  that 
we  should  look  with  confidence  to  his  future,  or  something  of 
the  kind.  I  found  he  knew  that  I  was  the  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  who  had  been  holding  a  term  in  Maine.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  an  intimacy  which  has  been  one  of  the  chief  satis- 
factions of  my  life.' 

"  Another  anecdote  occurs  to  me  illustrating  the  independence 
of  Judge  Wilde's  judgment.     Some  time  after  Mr.  Webster's 


SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE  385 

great  speeches  in  reply  to  Hayne  and  Calhoun,  when  he  was  at 
the  top  of  his  glory,  he  appeared  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massa- 
chusetts to  manage  a  jury  trial  involving  the  title  to  a  large 
quantity  of  flats.  Judge  Wilde  presided.  Mr.  B.  R.  Curtis, 
though  still  a  very  young  man,  managed  the  case  on  the  oppo- 
site side.  Mr.  Webster  raised  a  point  respecting  the  law  of 
disseisin.  He  stated  his  position  with  fulness  and  his  usual 
clearness,  and  was  proceeding  to  argue  it  when  the  court  ad- 
journed for  the  day.  The  next  morning  there  was  hardly 
standing-room  in  the  court-house.  Every  lawyer  who  could 
find  leisure  or  make  it  was  present,  and  1  doubt  not  the  whole 
law  school  from  Cambridge.  No  sooner  had  Judge  Wilde  taken 
his  seat  than  he  addressed  Mr.  Webster,  in  substance,  in  these 
words,  in  a  perfectly  calm  and  natural  manner :  '  Mr.  Webster, 
I  have  reflected  on  your  proposition  respecting  disseisin  as  appli- 
cable to  the  facts  of  this  case,  and  I  think  it  is  best  that  I  should 
overrule  it,  and  let  the  case  go  on  with  the  jury  on  the  other 
points.  If  the  verdict  should  be  against  you,  you  will  of  course 
have  your  exceptions.' 

"  This  was  a  stunning  blow  to  the  audience,  and  not  without 
effect  on  Mr.  Webster.  He  rose  slowly,  amid  profound  silence, 
with  his  utmost  majesty,  not  without  that  deference  to  the 
court  which  he  made  it  a  point  to  maintain,  and  urged  with  a 
good  deal  of  earnestness  his  desire^  I  might  almost  say  his  right, 
to  conclude  his  argument  in  full.  Judge  Wilde,  with  entire 
kindness  of  manner,  said  that  he  had  no  difficulty  in  under- 
standing Mr.  Webster's  proposition  ;  that  it  could  not  have  been 
stated  more  clearly  ;  that  it  would  give  him  great  pleasure  to 
listen  to  an  argument  at  length,  but  was  satisfied  that  he  had 
taken  the  right  course  in  overruling  the  proposition  for  the  pur- 
poses of  that  trial,  and  letting  the  case  go  forward  on  the  other 
points,  Mr.  Webster  having  the  right  to  exceptions  to  the  full 
bench  if  the  general  verdict  should  be  against  him. 

"  I  fear  that  no  reader  not  a  spectator  of  the  scene  can  do 
it  full  justice.  The  perfect  simplicity  of  Judge  Wilde's  bear- 
ing, and  the  modest  insensibility  to  what  almost  overpowered 
e\'erybody  else,  satisfied  every  one  that  while,  on  the  one  hand, 
he  yielded  nothing  to  claims,  however  majestically  presented, 
which  he  thought  unnecessary  to  the  course  of  justice,  on  the 
other  hand,  he  was  as  little  capable  of  making  an  exhibition  of 

49 


386  SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE 

that  independence  for  any  public  effect.  He  would  have  done 
the  same  in  the  privacy  of  the  lobby  that  he  did  in  the  presence 
of  that  great  and  distinguished  assembly." 

On  account  of  increasing  physical  infirmity,  though  to 
others  his  mental  powers  seemed  in  no  way  abated,  Judge 
Wilde  resigned  his  office,  November  5,  1850,  at  the  age 
of  nearly  eighty  years,  after  a  judicial  career  almost 
unexampled  for  its  length  and  purity,  having  honored 
and  adorned  the  position  for  thirty-five  years,  a  longer 
period  than  it  had  been  held  by  any  other  occupant  of 
the  same  position  in  this  Commonwealth,  except  Judge 
Sewall ;  and  the  universal  feeling  of  the  community,  of 
whose  interests  he  had  so  long  been  one  of  the  guardians, 
testified  to  the  high  value  of  his  labors.  A  writer  in  a 
Worcester  paper  at  this  time  said  Judge  Wilde  was,  for 
some  time  before  he  left  the  bench,  an  object  of  peculiar 
regard  and  affection,  as  the  last  survivor  of  those  great 
judges  who  in  the  last  century  and  the  present  built, 
upon  the  broad  and  sure  foundation  of  the  common  law, 
a  noble  system  of  jurisprudence  adapted  to  the  exigencies 
of  the  American  system.  -His  judicial  labors  contributed 
in  .an  eminent  degree  to  settle, and  enrich  the  jurispru- 
dence of  the  Commonwealth. 

He  was  at  this  time  advanced  in  age,  and  in  his  family 
frequently  turned  the  conversation  to  religious  subjects, 
apparently  interested  in  thoughts  concerning  a  future 
life.  He  spent  much  of  his  time  in  his  library,  for  he 
was  a  man  of  extraordinary  diligence  and  a  great  reader. 
When  at  home,  and  not  engaged  in  conversation  with 
callers,  he  might  always  be  seen  with  a  book  in  his  hand. 
Even  in  the  last  years  of  his  life  Judge  Wilde  preserved 
his  youthful  cheerfulness,  and  appeared  annoyed  if  any 
one,  by  proffered  help,  suggested  to  him  the  infirmities 
of  age.  His  happy  disposition  and  temperament  irradiated 
the  whole  circle  which  he  enlivened  by  his  presence. 
He  had  a  laborious  life  of  usefulness  to  look  back  upon, 


SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE  387 

and  enjoyed  the  retrospect  of  a  life  of  great  duties  well 
done.  He  still  preserved  his  habit  of  intellectual  activity, 
and  his  faculties  gave  no  sign  of  diminution  in  clearness 
or  force.  He  never  lost  his  interest  in  life,  and  nothing 
of  him  but  his  body  grew  old.  He  was  honored  for  his 
erudition,  and  beloved  for  his  goodness.  Public  gratitude 
and  affectionate  remembrance  followed  on  his  useful 
judicial  career. 

During  the  last  years  of  his  life  his  Bible  was  his  con- 
stant companion.  Often  with  no  other  book  before  him, 
he  would  sit  for  hours  with  its  open  pages,  making  it  for 
the  time  his  only  study.  After  a  life  full  of  usefulness, 
he  passed  his  tranquil  and  serene  last  years,  enjoying 

"  that  which  should  accompany  old  age, 
As  honor,  love,  obedience,  troops  of  friends," 

and  died  in  his  son  Henry's  house,  in  Milton  Place,  Boston, 
on  the  22d  of  June,  1855. 

His  wife  Eunice,  the  daughter  of  General  David  and 
Eleanor  (Bradish)  Cobb,  of  Taunton,  was  born  Novem- 
ber 18,  1775,  and  was  the  mother  of  the  following  nine 
children,  all  of  whom  attained  adult  age,  and  had  a  cer- 
tain charm  of  manner  and  conversation  peculiar  to  the 
family :  — 

William  Cobb,  born  in  Taunton,  Massachusetts,  Septem- 
ber 2,  1792  ;  died  December  23,  1825. 

Eunice,  born  in  Waldoborough,  Maine,  June  15,  1794,  mar- 
ried the  Hon.  Williams  Emmons,  of  Augusta,  Maine,  and  died 
November  19,  1821,  having  had  two  daughters ;  one  of  whom 
deceased,  and  the  other,  Delia,  married  the  Piev.  Benjamin  Tap- 
pan,  now  of  Norridgewock,  Maine. 

Samuel  Sumner,  born  in  Warren,  Maine,  September  27, 1796 ; 
died  November  3,  1815,  unmarried. 

Eleanor  Bradish,  born  in  Warren,  Maine,  August  4,  1798, 
married  John  Wendell  Mellen,  of  Cambridgeport,  Massachu- 
setts, afterward  of  Dover,  New  Hampshire,  and  had  five  chil- 
dren.    She  died  March  7,  1838. 


388  SAMUEL  SUMNER  WILDE 

George  Cobb,  born  in  Hallowell,  Maine,  December  13,  1800, 
married  Mrs.  Ann  Janette  Druce,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Brown,  of  Wrentham,  Massachusetts.  He  was  graduated  at 
Bowdoin  College,  1819,  and  lived  in  Boston,  where  he  was 
clerk  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court  of  Suffolk  County  and  of 
the  Commonwealth  for  many  years,  and  died  June  27,  1875, 
aged  seventy-five  years,  leaving  two  children  ;  of  whom  Mr. 
George  Frederic  Wilde,  engaged  for  many  years  in  the  ship- 
ping business  in  Boston,  but  now  resident  in  New  York  City, 
and  highly  esteemed  by  all  who  know  him,  now  represents  the 
famUy,  and  has  sons  to  perpetuate  the  name. 

Caroline,  born  in  Hallowell,  Maine,  April  26,  1802,  married 
the  late  Hon.  Caleb  Cushing,  of  Newburyport,  Massachusetts, 
and  was  a  woman  of  remarkable  intellectual  and  social  accom- 
plishments.    She  died,  childless,  August  30,  1832. 

Henry  Jackson,  born  in  Hallowell,  Maine,  April  6,  1804, 
was  for  many  years  connected  with  the  Boston  Custom  House. 
He  married  Ellen  Whitney,  of  Wrentham,  Massachusetts ;  had 
two  children  ;  and  died  March  30,  1873. 

Isaac  Parker,  born  in  Hallowell,  Maine,  February  27,  1808 ; 
died  November  11,  1866,  unmarried. 

Anne  Sumner,  born  in  Hallowell,  Maine,  December  31,  1809, 
married  Frederick  W.  Doane,  of  Boston ;  and  after  his  decease 
she  married  Robert  Farley,  of  the  same  city.  She  died  Septem- 
ber 6,  1874. 


stephe:^'  west  Williams 


Stephen  West  Williams,  the  son  of  William  Stoddard 
and  Mary  (Hoyt)  Williams,  was  born  at  Deerfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, March  27,  1790,  and  died  at  Laona,  Illinois,  July 
9,  1855. 

The  following  extracts  from  an  autobiography  prepared 
some  years  before  his  death  give  a  clear  and  comprehen- 
sive account  of  his  life  :  — 

"  I  was  sent  to  school  at  an  earlier  period  than  I  can  remem- 
ber, and  can  date  some  of  my  early  love  of  books  to  the  excel- 
lent elementary  instruction  of  Madam  Woodbridge,  who  taught 
our  town  school  for  a  period  of  more  than  fifteen  years. 

"My  father  was  always  fond  of  books,  and  all  his  leisure 
hours  were  devoted  to  them.  He  hardly  ever  sat  down  in  the 
house  without  a  book  in  his  hand,  and  his  example  was  con- 
stantly before  my  eyes.  I  was  kept  at  school  pretty  constantly 
from  my  earliest  youth  to  the  age  of  seventeen  or  eighteen, 
except  that  occasionally  in  the  summer  I  was  called  out  to 
assist  in  haying  or  other  kinds  of  farm  work. 

"  At  the  age  of  ten  I  was  sent  to  Deerfield  Academy,  where 
most  of  the  higher  branches  of  learning  were  taught.  Here  I 
was  almost  constantly  drilled  in  English  Grammar  for  three  or 
four  years,  and,  in  the  method  of  teaching  in  those  days,  I  con- 
sidered myself  almost  perfect  in  it.  I  never  then  saw  a  sentence 
in  the  English  language  which  I  could  not  analyze  and  parse, 
if  it  was  grammatical.  I  also  attended  to  Aritlimetic,  Geogra- 
phy, the  higher  branches  of  Mathematics,  Natural  Philosophy, 


\ 


390  STEPHEN   WEST   WILLIAMS 

Latin,  and  Greek.  During  all  this  time  I  had  access  to  some 
of  the  finest  libraries  which  were  to  be  found  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  and  I  was  never  so  happy  as  when  I  could  find  time 
to  read  and  study  them. 

*'  Deerfield  was  then  considered  the  model  town  in  point  of 
science  and  literature  in  this  section  of  the  State.  She  has 
reared  more  eminent  and  learned  men  than  any  other  town  of 
the  size  in  Massachusetts,  and  I  hope  she  still  sustains  that 
proud  elevation. 

"  Our  academy  is  one  of  the  most  respectable  in  the  State, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  ever  established  in  "Western  Massa- 
chusetts. There  was  early  connected  with  the  academy  a  lit- 
erary and  philosophical  society,  which  the  students  and  young 
men  of  Deerfield  pretty  constantly  attended.  I  united  myself 
to  it  at  an  early  age,  and  think  it  has  proved  to  me  one  of  the 
best  schools  I  ever  attended.  In  the  social  libraries  of  the  town 
were  to  be  found  some  of  the  best  books  which  were  then  extant. 
The  second  social  library,  especially,  took  unusual  pains  in  the 
selection  of  its  books,  and  annually  sent  to  Europe  for  books  not 
attainable  in  this  country.  I  had  always  free  access  to  its 
books,  as  my  father  was  a  member  of  the  society.  Availing 
myself  of  the  advantages  of  this  library,  before  I  was  fifteen 
years  old  I  read  many  of  the  books,  and  among  the  rest  Hume's 
History  of  England,  Gibbon's  Roman  Empire,  Mavor's  Voy- 
ages and  Travels,  in  twenty-four  volumes,  Campbell's  Lives  of 
the  British  Admirals. 

"  My  grandfather.  Dr.  Thomas  Williams,  and  my  father  were 
both  physicians  and  men  of  eminence  and  respectability  in  their 
profession.  My  father  educated  many  medical  students.  From 
being  constantly  in  their  company  I  early  imbibed  a  love  for 
the  medical  profession,  and  before  I  was  thirteen  years  old 
I  had  selected  that  as  the  business  of  my  future  life.  It  is  a 
profession  I  have  always  adhered  to  and  loved,  and  I  have 
never  regretted  my  choice. 

"  In  October,  1808,  I  entered  my  name  as  a  pupil  of  medicine 
in  my  father's  ofiice.  Long  before  that  period  I  had  read  with 
enthusiasm  Rush's  Inquiries  and  Observations,  and  numerous 
other  works.  Finding  this  course  of  study  too  desultory,  I 
commenced  the  regular  study  at  the  time  above  mentioned,  and 
pursued  the  course  usually  pointed  out  in  the  offices  of  our  pre- 


STEPHEN   WEST    WILLIAMS  391 

ceptors  at  that  time,  until  the  year  1812,  when  I  made  up  my 
mind  to  attend  a  course  of  lectures  in  one  of  our  Medical  Col- 
leges, either  at  Philadelphia  or  New  York.  At  the  very  com- 
mencement of  the  study  of  my  profession  I  determined  to  set 
before  me  the  example  of  one  of  the  best  physicians  of  our 
country,  and  to  imitate  his  example  as  far  as  lay  in  ray  power. 
I  selected  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush  of  Philadelphia ;  not  that  I  ever 
expected  to  equal  him  in  any  respect,  but  that  his  example 
might  stimuhate  me  to  industry  and  perseverance  in  the  study 
of  my  profession,  and  the  hope  that  I  might  become  useful  in 
it/  I  have  never  lost  sight  of  my  pioneer,  however  poorly  I 
have  imitated  him. 

"In  1812  I  wrote  to  Dr.  Rush,  inquiring  the  terms  of  tuition 
in  the  Medical  University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  answered  me 
so  promptly  and  with  so  much  urbanity  that  I  was  induced  to 
send  him  an  account  of  two  remarkable  cases  of  suicide  of  twin 
brothers,  which  occurred  in  this  section  of  the  country.  He 
returned  me  a  letter  of  thanks  immediately,  and  requested  per- 
mission to  publish  my  letter  in  the  forthcoming  edition  of  his 
work  on  Diseases  of  the  Mind.  This  was  the  first  medical  pro- 
duction of  mine  ever  published.  I  considered  the  expense  of 
attending  a  course  of  lectures  at  Philadelphia  greater  than  I 
could  well  afford,  and  decided  to  attend  those  of  Columbia  Col- 
lege, New  York,  instead.  "While  attending  these  lectures  I 
united  myself  with  the  American  ^Esculapian  Society,  established 
by  the  professors  and  students,  and  read  many  of  my  youthful 
productions  before  them. 

"  On  my  return  home  I  commenced  the  practice  of  my  pro- 
fession in  my  native  town  of  Deerfield,  in  connection  with  my 
father.     It  was  an  oversight,  for  the  business  was  too  limited. 

"  In  the  winter  of  1815  I  was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Ver- 
mont Second  Medical  Society.  On  the  6th  of  September,  1815, 
I  was  elected  a  corresponding  member  of  the  Physics  Medical 
Society  of  New  York.  Soon  after  I  forwarded  to  them  a  paper 
on  the  Climate  and  Diseases  of  Deerfield,  which  was  published 
in  their  Transactions. 

"  In  the  year  1816  I  turned  my  attention  considerably  to  the 
study  of  natural  history,  particularly  to  botany.  Ornithology 
too  engaged  my  attention,  and  it  was  almost  the  ultimatum  of 
my  wishes  to  be  able  to  procure  that  splendid  work,  Wilson's 


392  STEPHEN   WEST   WILLIAMS 

American  Ornithology.  The  acquisition  of  this  work  occupied 
many  of  my  daily  thoughts  and  nightly  dreams,  but  I  never 
expected  to  be  able  to  purchase  it.  My  most  sanguine  wishes 
have  been  gratified,  and  I  now  own  the  work. 

"  In  connection  with  Edward  Hitchcock,  now  President  of 
Amherst  College,  and  Dr.  Dennis  Cooley,  now  of  Michigan,  I 
explored  the  forests  and  valleys  of  Deerfield  in  pursuit  of 
plants,  and  we  recognized  during  that  season  nearly  a  thousand  ■ 
species  growing  here.  Some  of  them  I  preserved  in  an  herba- 
rium. Subsequently,  my  wife,  Mrs.  Harriet  T.  Williams, 
painted  many  of  them  beautifully.  In  the  winter  of  1819  I 
compiled  a  volume  of  Medical  Botany,  containing  the  medical 
history  of  the  plants  growing  here.  In  this  volume  I  bound 
the  paintings  of  my  wife,  and  they  have  been  a  source  of  much 
pleasure  and  instruction  to  me. 

"-In  the  year  1819  I  was  elected  a  Fellow  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Medical  Society.  I  have  belonged  to  it  thirty-four  years, 
have  been  a  Counsellor  thirty-three  years,  and  several  years  a 
Censor.  I  have  published  memoirs,  which  were  printed  by  this 
society,  of  my  father  and  grandfather,  and  in  1842  I  delivered 
the  annual  address  before  the  society  in  Boston,  on  the  Medical 
History  of  the  County  of  Franklin,  which  was  published  by  the 
society.  In  1851  a  branch  of  this  society  was  established  in 
Franklin  County,  and  I  was  elected  President  of  it,  which 
constitutes  me  a  Vice-President  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical 
Society.  In  1819  I  published  notes  to  the  fourth  edition  of 
Conversations  on  Chemistry. 

"In  1818  I  was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the  New 
York  Historical  Society,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  historical 
societies  in  the  Union.  I  forwarded  to  the  society  a  paper 
entitled  '  A  Traditionary  and  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Indians 
who  formerly  resided  in  the  Valley  of  the  Connecticut.'  This 
paper  has  been  published  in  the  Scientific  Tracts,  and  has  been 
forwarded  to  the  Iloj^al  Society  of  Northern  Antiquarians  at 
Copenhagen,  Denmark,  for  which  I  was  recommended  to  mem- 
bership in  that  society. 

"  In  the  year  1819  I  was  elected  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Society  of  Adelphi  in  this  town,  which  was  established  in  1804. 

"  In  1823  I  was  requested  by  the  trustees  of  the  Berkshire 
Medical  Institution   to  prepare  a  course  of  lectures  upon  the 


STEPHEIT   WEST   WILLIAMS  393 

subject  of  INIedical  Jurisprudence,  to  be  delivered  before  the 
students  in  that  college.  The  subject  was  then  almost  entirely 
new  in  any  of  our  Medical  Colleges ;  scarcely  a  work  was  to 
be  found  on  it,  and  I  had  to  examine  hundreds  of  volumes  for 
a  single  fact  upon  it.  I  prepared  eighteen  lectures  which  I 
delivered  at  that  institution,  and  continued  to  lecture  for  eight 
successive  years,  when  I  resigned.  In  1823  I  was  elected  a  Fel- 
low and  Vice-President  of  the  Lyceum  of  Natural  History  con- 
nected with  the  Berkshire  Medical  Institute,  and  read  a  paper 
on  the  History  of  the  Indians  there. 

"In  1824  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  was 
conferred  on  me  by  Williams  College,  in  connection  with  the 
Berkshire  Medical  Institute.  In  1829  I  received  the  honorary 
degree  of  Master  of  Arts  from  Williams  College. 

"  Between  the  years  1829-1834  I  published  various  medical 
papers.  In  1834  I  published  a  volume  entitled  '  A  Catechism  of 
Medical  Jurisprudence,'  for  which  I  received  in  compensation 
Wilson's  American  Ornithology  and  several  copies  of  my  work. 

"  In  1839  I  published  a  biographical  memoir  of  the  Rev.  John 
Williams,  the  first  minister  of  Deerfield,  which  contained  the 
substance  of  the  '  Redeemed  Captive,'  first  published  by  Mr. 
Williams.  This  work  passed  through  six  editions  previous  to 
the  year  1800.  I  appended  many  notes  to  my  work.  I  regret 
that  I  did  not  publish  my  work  under  the  name  of  the  '  Re- 
deemed Captive,'  as  that  is  even  now  called  for.  As  it  was, 
it  passed  through  two  editions,  one  of  which  was  published 
in  the  '  Western  Pioneer,'  a  work  devoted  to  the  cause  of  the 
Logan  Historical  Society  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  I  have  now 
prepared  another  volume  of  my  work.  In  the  winter  of  this 
year  I  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  in  the  Medical  College  of 
the  western  district  of  New  York,  at  Fairfield,  Herkimer  County, 
New  York.  I  had  previously  been  elected  an  honorary  mem- 
ber of  tlie  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society  of  that  college. 

"In  1838  I  received  the  appointment  of  Professor  of  Materia 
Medica,  Pharmacy,  and  Medical  Jurisprudence  in  the  Wil- 
loughby  University  of  Lake  Erie,  Cuyahoga  County,  Ohio.  I 
lectured  there  two  successive  years  and  resigned.  In  1838-39 
I  delivered  two  courses  of  lectures  in  Dartmouth  Medical  Col- 
lege, Hanover,  New  Hampshire.  In  1841  I  was  elected  a  Fel- 
low of  the  Logan  Historical  Society  of  Ohio. 

50 


394  STEPHEN   WEST   WILLIAMS 

"In  the  month  of  April,  1843,  I  was  elected  a  corresponding 
member  of  the  National  Institute  for  the  Promotion  of  Science, 
at  Washington.  In  1844  I  was  requested  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquarians  at  Copenhagan, 
Denmark,  to  become  a  member  of  that  institution. 

"  Toward  the  close  of  1844  I  published  a  large  octavo  volume 
on  American  Medical  Biography.-  On  the  4th  of  November, 
1845,  I  was  elected  a  corresponding  member  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Historic  Genealogical  Society.  In  February,  1849,  I  was 
chosen  delegat-e  from  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society  to 
the  National  Medical  Convention  which  was  to  assemble  at 
Philadelphia  in  May.  I  attended  the  meeting,  and  was  ap- 
pointed on  the  committee  for  investigating  the  Medical  Botany 
of  the  United  States.  I  wrote  a  paper  on  the  Indigenous 
Medical  Botany  of  Massachusetts,  which  was  published  in  the 
third  volume  of  its  Transactions.  In  October,  1849,  I  pub- 
lished a  Genealogy  and  History  of  the  Williams  family  in 
America,  a  large  volume  with  numerous  portraits." 

Dr.  Williams  was  for  many  years  a  sufferer  from  dis- 
ease of  the  heart,  and,  finding  the  duties  of  his  profes- 
sion too  arduous,  he  removed  in  1853  to  Northern 
Illinois,  where  his  son  was  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
medicine. 

How  great  a  trial  such  a  removal  was  none  but  those 
who  knew  his  strong  local  attachments  can  realize.  He 
had  been  so  closely  identified  with  all  the  interests  of  his 
native  town  that  his  departure  was  considered  a  public 
loss,  not  only  by  persons  of  his  own  age  but  by  the  chil- 
dren, to  whom  he  had  endeared  himself  by  his  kindness 
and  his  never-failing  fund  of  stories  of  the  olden  times, 
particularly  of  the  early  settlement  of  the  town. 

Many  persons  now  living  in  Deerfield  date  their  inter- 
est in  such  matters  to  facts  and  anecdotes  related  by  the 
good  doctor  while  riding  with  him. 

When  not  engaged  in  professional  duties,  it  was  his 
custom  to  spend  his  evenings  reading  aloud  to  his  family 
books  of  travel,  biography,  or  fiction,  and  it  was  no  un- 


STEPHEN   WEST   WILLIAMS  395 

common  thing  to  see  the  neighbors'  children  sharing  with 
his  own  the  privilege  of  his  reading  and  criticism. 

The  estimation  in  which  Dr.  Williams  was  held  by  his 
professional  brethren  in  Franklin  County  was  shown  by 
the  resolutions  passed  at  a  meeting  held  in  Greenfield  a 
short  time  before  he  left,  at  which  time  they  presented 
him  with  a  valuable  gold  watch. 

In  speaking  to  the  Medical  Society  of  leaving,  he  said, 
"  In  tearing  myself  away  from  my  beautiful  native  town, 
where  I  have  resided  over  sixty  years,  I  feel  that  the  hg- 
aments  of  my  heart  are  broken,  but  calls  of  duty  lu^ge 
me,  and  they  are  imperious." 

Notwithstanding!:  his  stronsi:  local  attachments  he 
adapted  himself  wonderfully  to  his  change  of  residence, 
and  spent  days  in  riding  over  the  beautiful  prairie,  looking 
for  new  specimens  of  flowers,  animals,  or  birds.  He  con- 
tinued his  habits  of  study,  and  used  to  say  he  had  never 
had  time  enough  for  reading  and  writing  until  he  came 
West. 

His  unpublished  manuscripts  bear  witness  to  his  in- 
dustry, many  of  them  being  journals  of  travels,  and  cor- 
respondence on  various  subjects. 

His  former  pastor,  the  Eev.  Mr.  Moors  of  Deerfield, 
thus  spoke  of  him  in  a  funeral  sermon :  — 

"Dr.  Williams  was  a  constant  supporter  and  stanch  friend 
of  this  [Unitarian]  religious  society.  No  man  among  us  felt  a 
deeper  solicitude  in  its  welfare.  He  was  not  what  is  termed 
technically  a  professor  of  religion  ;  that  is,  he  did  not  observe 
the  rite  of  communion.  He  had  reasons  which  seemed  to  him 
satisfactory,  which  he  conversed  freely  about.  Before  he  left 
town  he  wrote  out  and  gave  me  a  full  account  of  his  religious 
belief.  I  was  enabled  to  see  how  strong  was  the  hold  his 
religious  principles  had  on  his  mind  and  heart.  In  the  strength 
of  those  principles  he  lived,  in  their  strength  we  trust  he 
died." 

A  memoir,  prepared  by  James  Deane,  M.D.,  of  Green- 
field, Massachusetts,  was  published  in  the  Boston  Medical 


396  STEPHEN   WEST   WILLIAMS 

and  Surgical  Journal,  August  9,  1855.      The  following 
extract  will  give  an  idea  of  his  character :  —  „., 

"  As  an  author  he  produced  several  valuable  works.  The 
dominant  trait  of  his  character  was  untiring  industry,  which  im- 
pelled him  to  the  acquisition  and  compilation  of  facts.  .  .  .  His 
studies  and  writings  were  pursued  with  so  much  method  and 
industry  that  he  accumulated  a  large  number  of  folio  volumes 
of  unpubHshed  manuscripts.  From  his  first  entrance  into  public 
life  he  maintained  a  correspondence  with  men  of  eminence  and 
learning  in  this  country  and  in  Europe.  ...  In  his  habits  Dr. 
Williams  was  simple  and  unostentatious,  in  his  professional 
relations  he  was  punctilious  to  a  fault,  affable  to  his  juniors,  and 
confiding  to  his  equals.  He  was  superior  to  the  petty  jealousies 
that  are  so  often  fatal  to  honorable  competition,  and  he  regarded 
pretension  with  unquaUfied  disgust,  wherever  it  might  appear. 
The  miserable  delusions  of  the  day  found  no  response  in  his 
well-informed  mind.  It  was  the  governing  rule  of  his  life  to 
dignify  the  profession  of  medicine,  to  rescue  it  from  the  grasp 
of  impostors,  and  to  raise  it  to  the  highest  standard  of  honor  and 
usefulness.  He  labored  diligently  in  the  formation  of  the  Frank- 
lin branch  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  and  in  the 
future  advancement  of  its  interests  ;  he  was  ever  punctual  at  its 
meetings,  imparting  instruction  by  his  voice  and  dignity  by  his 
presence.  In  consideration  of  his  services  and  his  character  as 
a  gentleman  and  physician  his  colleagues  presented  him  with  a 
valuable  testimonial  on  the  occasion  of  his  dissolving  his  con- 
nection with  them  in  1853.  During  a  long  professional  life  he 
enjoyed  the  confidence  of  his  professional  brethren  and  of  the 
community,  and  his  consultation  practice  was  very  extensive. 
In  the  early  period  of  his  career  he  acquired  the  reputation  of 
a  skilful  surgeon,  but  at  a  later  day  he  declined  operative  sur- 
gery altogether.  He  was  habitually  subject  to  angina  of  the 
chest,  which  was  often  of  a  threatening  character,  and  to  a  cer- 
tain degree  disqualified  him  for  that  mental  excitement  which 
is  so  often  the  attendant  upon  the  undertaking  of  capital  opera- 
tions. He  was  an  exemplary  Christian,  the  ardent  friend  of 
education,  and  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  whether  professional 
or  social,  his  heart  ever  responded  to  the  impulses  of  truth  and 
honor  and  generous  sympathy.     As  a  speaker  he  was  not  fluent, 


STEPHEN  WEST   WILLIAMS  397 

and  his  manners  were  restrained  by  a  natural  diffidence  which 
he  never  overcame."  * 

Dr.  Williams  was  married,  October  20,  1818,  to  Miss 
Harriet  T.  Goodhue,  daughter  of  Dr.  Joseph  Goodhue, 
Post  Surgeon  in  the  United  States  Army  stationed  at 
Fort  Constitution,  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire.  Of  her 
he  says  :  — 

"  She  is  a  well-educated  lady,  and  to  her  excellent  counsel 
and  management  I  am  indebted  for  much  of  my  prosperity  and 
happiness." 

She  died  at  Charles  City,  Floyd  County,  Iowa,  June 
19,  1874. 

Their  children  were,  Helen  Maria,  born  October  4, 1819, 
married  Edward  P.  Huntinp-ton.  son  of  the  Rev.  Dan 
Huntington  of  Hadley ;  Albert,  born  June  11,  1821,  died 
June  10,  1822 ;  Edward  Jenner,  born  November  11, 
1823,  received  the  degree  of  M.  D.  from  the  Berkshire 
•Medical  Institution  1846,  died  February,  1881 ;  Caroline 
Willard,  born  September  9,  1825. 


ROBEET    ADAMS 


Robert  Adams,  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  born 
in  the  town  of  Newbury,  Essex  County,  Massachusetts, 
May  20, 1787,  and  died  in  the  same  town,  August  2, 1855. 

He  was  descended  in  the  sixth  generation  from  that 
Robert  Adams  who  traditionally  came  from  the  county  of 
Devonshire  in  Old  England,  and  located  in  Ipswich,  Mas- 
sachusetts, in  1635,  where  he  had  a  house-lot  granted  him 
by  the  river  side.  Three  years  later  we  find  him  at 
Salem.  .  In  1640  he  went  to  Newbury,  and  with  his  wife 
Eleanor  made  it  his  abiding-place.  On  the  12th  of  June, 
1677,  his  wife  died,  and  in  February  of  the  following 
year  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Sarah,  the  widow  of 
Henry  Short,  who  survived  him,  —  dying  October  24, 
1691.  Robert  made  his  will,  witnessed  by  Nicholas  Noyes 
and  John  Woodbridge,  March  7,  1680,  and  October  12, 
1682,  the  first  ancestor  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  in 
America  passed  on,  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-one 
years,  leaving  sons,  daughters,  and  grandsons,  to  the 
latter  of  whom  he  bequeaths  swords  and  guns. 

He  had  one  son  named  Abraham,  who  married  Mary 
Pettiagill,  and  had  a  son  named  Robert,  who  married 
Rebecca  Knight,  who  in  turn  perpetuated  the  family 
name  with  a  Robert,  who  was  the  grandfather  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  memoir.  Robert,  the  grandfather,  married 
Ann  Jaques,  and  they  had  a  son  named  Liphe,  married 
to  Mary  Boynton,  the  daughter  of  David  and  Mary 
(Stickney)  Boynton,  descended  from  Joshua  and  Sarah 
(Brown)  Boynton. 


EGBERT   ADAMS  399 

The  early  life  of  Robert  was  passed  in  Newbury,  and  it 
is  asserted  that  at  one  time  he  availed  himself  of  the 
opportunity  to  attend  the  celebrated  Dummer  Academy, 
which  is  situated  in  that  vicinity.  He  was  brought  up  a 
farmer,  and  spent  his  life  in  that  occupation.  The  part 
of  the  town  in  which  he  lived  is  known  as  "  The  Farms." 
It  is  situated  on  the  Newburyport  Turnpike,  which,  having 
been  commenced  in  1803  and  completed  in  1806,  was  then 
considered  a  wonderful  evidence  of  eno-ineerinoc  skill  and 
enterprise.  This  celebrated  turnpike  runs  directly  through 
the  farm  owned  by  Mr.  Adams,  and  near  it  he  erected  a 
large  square  house,  differing  from  the  neighbors',  which 
soon  obtained  for  its  owner,  in  distinction  from  others  of 
the  same  surname,  the  title  of  ''  Square-house  Adams." 
Great  was  the  conjecture  among  the  gossips  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, when  this  house  was  erected,  who  would  be 
selected  to  fill  the  position  of  its  mistress  and  assist  young 
Adams  in  the  management  of  his  large  landed  estate. 
All  doubts  were  removed  when,  on  the  12th  of  June, 
1808,  he  was  united  to  Hannah,  the  daughter  of  Amos 
and  Hannah  (Moody)  Little.  They  lived  together  hap- 
pily for  many  years.  Three  children,  Mary,  Mary,  and 
Liphe,  were  born  to  them,  but  all  died  before  the  mother, 
whose  death  occurred  March  26,  1841.  He  married  for 
his  second  wife,  August  10,  1843,  Sarah  Poor  of  George- 
town, by  w^hom  he  had  no  children. 

The  father  of  Robert  died  when  his  son  was  a  small 
boy,  and  the  influence  of  his  mother  was  not  strong 
enough  to  control  him.  He  consequently  grew  up  with- 
out interference  from  any  one,  and  followed  too  readily 
his  own  inclinations  and  desires.  In  the  latter  part  of 
his  life  he  sought  retirement,  and  scarcely  ever  went  away 
from  his  home.  He  is  remembered  by  his  neighbors  as 
apparently  an  old  man  bowed  down  with  the  weight  of 
years  and  infirmities,  when  in  fact  he  was  but  little  past 
the  prime  of  life. 


400  ROBERT   ADAMS 

At  this  period  there  were  few  persons  who  took  any 
care  in  collecting  materials  of  history,  and  it  is  greatly 
to  the  credit  of  Robert  Adams  that  he  was  very  much 
interested  in  historical  and  antiquarian  matters.  He  kept 
a  diary  in  which  were  recorded  events  that  perchance 
were  not  chronicled  anywhere  else.  He  also  collected  all 
the  ancient  documents  and  papers  of  value  that  he  found 
scattered  in  the  old  attics  of  his  native  town,  and  it  is 
said  that  these  ancient  documents  were  submitted  to  the 
inspection  of  Mr.  Joshua  Coffin,  and  materially  aided  him 
in  the  preparation  of  his  History  of  Old  Newbury.  Mr. 
Adams  recognized  that  co-operation  was  necessary  in  all 
matters  of  genealogical  pursuit,  and  he  therefore  became 
a  corresponding  member  of  the  New  England  Historic 
Genealogical  Society  on  the  22d  of  June,  1855. 

The  life  of  such  a  man  is  not  without  its  lesson.  He 
was  no  seeker  after  fame.  He  never  accepted  a  public 
office.  He  was  not  social  in  his  nature,  and  he  was  not 
a  distinguished  man  in  any  way ;  but  he  mulled  over  and 
gathered  together  the  old  musty  records  of  the  genera- 
tions that  preceded  him,  and  though  he  had  not  the  lit- 
erary ability  to  place  them  in  their  best  hght,  yet  he 
perhaps  foresaw  that  they  might  become  valuable,  and  fill 
some  blank  in  the  page  of  history.  He  therefore  saved 
the  originals  or  transcribed  them,  and  thus  has  preserved 
to  posterity  the  record  of  those  separate  events  which, 
apparently  weak  and  of  no  great  moment  at  the  time, 
may  become  in  connection  vastly  important.  As  says 
Jeffrey,  the  celebrated  critic  of  the  Edinburgh  Review, 
"  If  we  wish  to  understand  what  manner  of  men  existed 
in  a  former  generation,  we  must  have  those  minute 
details  which  were  peculiar  to  the  age,  and  which  form 
the  character  of  men  and  give  direction  to  their  lives." 


ABBOTT    LAWRENCE 


The  family  of  the  Lawrences,  which  has  become  so 
prominently  identified  with  the  county  of  Suffolk,  in 
New  England,  had  long  been  settled  in  the  county  of  the 
same  name  in  the  mother-land.  The  Puritan  ancestor, 
John  Lawrence,  emigrated  to  Massachusetts  in  1635, 
settling  first  in  Watertown,  and  removing  in  1660  to 
Groton,  where  he  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  and  at  his  death 
left  a  numerous  family  of  sons  and  daughters.  From  one 
of  the  former  of  these,  Samuel  Lawrence  was  descended, — 
a  man  of  high  character,  influential  among  his  fellow- 
townsmen,  and  a  soldier  of  the  Eevolution.  He  was  born 
April  24,  1754 ;  and  on  the  22d  of  July,  1777,  he  married 
Susanna,  daughter  of  William  Parker  of  Concord.  He 
fought  by  the  side  of  Colonel  Prescott  at  Bunker's  Hill ; 
and  the  musket  which  he  carried  in  that  battle  is  now  in 
the  possession  of  his  great-grandson,  Mr.  Prescott  Law- 
rence. At  one  time  during  the  war  he  commanded  a 
company,  the  rank  and  file  of  which  were  all  negroes,  of 
whose  courage,  military  discipline,  and  fidelity  he  always 
spoke  with  respect.  On  one  occasion,  being  out  recon- 
noitring with  this  company,  and  going  too  far  in  advance 
of  his  command^  he  found  himself  surrounded  by  the 
enemy,  and  was  on  the  point  of  being  made  a  prisoner. 
The  men,  discovering  his  peril,  rushed  to  his  rescue,  and 
fought  with  the  most  determined  bravery  until  that  rescue 
was  secured.  He  never  forgot  this  circumstance,  and 
always  took  especial  pains  to  show  kindness  and  hospitality 
to  individuals  of  the  colored  race.     He  died  November  8, 

51 


402  ABBOTT   LAWEENCE 

1827.  His  wife  was  a  woman  of  strong  sense,  clear  judg- 
ment, and  indomitable  energy.  Like  most  of  the  women 
of  that  day,  she  was  an  ardent  patriot,  espousing  the  cause 
of  the  Colonies  with  intense  devotion.  From  a  hill  in  the 
rear  of  her  father's  house  in  Concord,  she  saw  the  British 
troops  enter  that  village  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  of 
April,  1776 ;  and  she  remained  there  until  she  saw  them 
pass  out  in  the  afternoon,  a  retreating  and  bajffled  foe.* 

Abbott  Lawrence,!  the  subject  of  the  present  memoir, 
was  the  fifth  son  of  Samuel  and  Susanna  Lawrence.  He 
was  born  in  Groton,  on  the  16th  of  December,  1792 ;  and 
he  received  his  education  at  the  district  school  and  at  the 
academy  of  the  town.  His  father  had  for  many  years 
been  a  trustee  of  this  academy,  and  it  has  always  retained 
the  regard  and  interest  of  various  members  of  the  family. 
In  grateful  recognition  of  the  benefactions  received  from 
them,  it  is  now  called  the  Lawrence  Academy. 

In  1808  Abbott  was  sent  to  Boston,  and  was  placed 
as  an  apprentice  in  the  warehouse  of  his  elder  brother, 
Mr.  Amos  Lawrence,  who  was  already  well  established  in 
business.  During  the  five  or  six  succeeding  years  he 
prepared  himself  in  this  subordinate  position,  by  steady 
application  and  fidelity,  for  the  weighty  responsibilities 
which  were  soon  to  come  upon  him  as  a  principal,  and 
such  leisure  as  he  could  control  he  devoted  to  reading 
and  study.  In  1814,  just  after  his  coming  of  age,  he  was 
admitted  to  partnership,  and  the  firm  of  A.  &  A.  Lawrence 
was  founded,  which,  for  the  next   half-century,  was   to 

»  See  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lothrop's  memoir  of  William  Lawrence. 

t  Mr.  Lawrence  received  the  family  name  of  his  paternal  grandmother,  Abigail 
Abbott,  daugliter  of  iSTehemiah  Abbott  of  Lexington,  Massachusetts.  (The  Abbotts 
emigrated  from  Featherstone,  Yorkshire,  England,  where  they  had  been  settled  for 
many  generations.)  She  was  married  to  Amos  Lawrence  of  Groton  (father  of 
Samuel  Lawrence,  and  grandfather  of  Abbott  Lawrence),  in  1749.  A  hall  clock, 
given  to  her  by  her  father  on  her  marriage,  has  descended  with  the  name  to  the 
present  generation.  On  its  brass  face  is  engraved,  "  Brand,  Boston  [England]," 
and  the  four  comers  are  ornamented  with  a  crown. 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE  403 

stand  as  a  tower  of  streno-th  amons;  the  business  men  of 
Boston.  Its  place  of  business  at  the  time  was  in  Cornhill ; 
later  it  was  in  Liberty  Square  ;  and  in  1845  it  was 
removed  to  a  building  in  Milk  Street,  on  the  corner  of 
Bath  Street  as  it  then  was,  erected  by  Mr.  Lawrence  for 
the  use  of  his  firm,  and  destroyed  in  the  conflagration 
of  1872. 

When  the  new  firm  was  established,  however,  the  times 
were  by  no  means  propitious.  The  United  States  was 
in  the  midst  of  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  after 
a  few  months  the  prospect  for  the  future  seemed  so  uncer- 
tain and  unpromising  that  Abbott  proposed  to  withdraw 
from  the  business  and  to  enter  the  army.  He  had  been 
an  active  member  of  the  New  England  Guards,  one  of  the 
leading  independent  companies  of  the  day ;  and  in  the 
condition  of  affairs  at  the  time,  the  profession  of  arms 
seemed  to  him  to  offer  a  career  full  of  enterprise  and  use- 
fulness. With  the  consent  of  his  brother,  he  applied  to 
the  War  Department  for  a  commission ;  but,  happily, 
before  an  answer  could  be  received  the  news  of  peace 
arrived,  and  at  once  he  abandoned  all  thought  of  a  mili- 
tary life.  This  he  always  regarded  as  a  providential 
interposition  in  his  behalf.  A  very  different  and  a  happier 
destiny  was  awaiting  him. 

The  enterprising  brothers  were  quick  to  see  and  to 
improve  the  opportunity  which  the  return  of  peace  opened 
to  them.  Merchandise  of  every  kind  was  scarce  and  dear 
in  the  United  States.  They  were  importers,  and  their 
capital  and  credit  being  abundant,  it  was  determined  that 
Abbott  should  immediately  embark  for  Europe  to  pur- 
chase goods  for  this  market.  He  sailed  in  the  ship 
"  Milo,"  Captain  Stephen  Glover,  one  of  the  first  vessels 
which  left  Boston  for  England  after  the  proclamation  of 
peace.  "  The  passage  was  a  short  one,  but  long  enough 
for  Mr.  Lawrence  to  ingratiate  himself  not  only  with  the 
officers  but  with  the  crew,  whose  good-will  he  secured  by 


404  ABBOTT   LAWKENCE 

his  liberal  acts  no  less  than  by  the  kindness  of  his  manners. 
With  characteristic  ardor  he  was  the  first  to  leap  on  shore ; 
being  thus,  perhaps,  the  first  American  who  touched  his 
fatherland  after  the  war  was  ended.  He  met  with  a  cor- 
dial welcome  from  people  who  were  glad  to  see  their 
commercial  relations  restored  with  the  United  States. 
Hastening  to  Manchester,  Mr.  Lawrence  speedily  made 
his  purchases,  and  returned  to  Liverpool  the  evening  only 
before  the  departure  of  the  *  Milo '  on  her  homeward 
voyage."  After  some  hesitation,  the  mate  was  induced  to 
take  the  goods  on  board  the  ship,  already  laden  to  her 
full  capacity ;  and  within  ninety  days  from  Mr.  Lawrence's 
departure  from  Boston,  his  purchases  had  reached  there, 
meeting  an  active  market,  and  being  disposed  of  at  a 
handsome  advance. 

Mr.  Lawrence  remained  abroad  for  some  time  on  the 
occasion  of  this,  his  first  trip,  and  made  a  visit  to  the 
Continent,  where  he  saw  the  allied  armies  immediately 
after  the  battle  of  Waterloo.  Subsequently  he  made 
several  other  voyages  to  Europe.  His  purchases  would 
seem  always  to  have  been  well  selected,  and  to  have 
found  a  ready  market. 

On  the  28th  of  June,  1819,  Mr.  Lawrence  was  married 
to  Katharine,  eldest  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Timothy  Bige- 
low,  formerly  of  Groton,  then  of  Medford,  who  was  at  the 
time,  as  for  many  years  previously  he  had  been.  Speaker 
of  the  Massachusetts  House  of  Representatives.  Of  this 
marriage  Mr.  Prescott  says :  "  It  was  a  most  happy  union, 
continuing  for  more  than  thirty-five  years,  until  it  was 
dissolved  by  death.  In  the  partner  of  his  choice  he  found 
the  qualities  of  a  true  and  loving  wife,  ever  ready  to 
share  with  him  all  his  joys  and  sorrows,  —  for  the  lot  of 
the  most  fortunate  has  its  sorrows,  and  sharp  ones.  These 
feelings  he,  on  his  part,  returned  from  first  to  last  with 
the  warmth  and  single-hearted  devotion  which  belonged 
to  his  noble  nature." 


ABBOTT    LAWRENCE  405 

The  power-loom  was  introduced  into  the  United  States 
by  Mr.  Francis  C.  Lowell,  in  1814.  In  the  autumn  of 
that  year  it  was  put  into  successful  operation  in  the  "VVal- 
tham  Mill,  which  had  been  erected  for  the  purpose  by 
Mr.  Lowell;  Mr.  Patrick  T.  Jackson,  Mr.  Nathan  Appleton, 
and  other  gentlemen.  Under  the  influence  of  the  War  of 
1812  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods  in  New  England 
had  largely  increased,  but  the  methods  as  yet  were  very 
imperfect.  The  return  of  peace  gave  the  movement 
temporarily  a  severe  check.  It  took  a  fresh  start  in 
connection  with  the  improved  machinery  then  coming 
into  general  use,  and  made  a  prosperous  advance  under 
the  tariff  of  1816,  which  Mr.  Calhoun  and  Mr.  Lowndes 
were  so  prominent  in  framing  into  law,  and  in  connec- 
tion with  which  Mr.  Clay  first  appeared  as  the  advocate 
of  "  a  thorough  and  decided  protection  to  home  manu- 
factures by  ample  duties."  The  tariff  of  1824  still  further 
promoted  the  manufacture  of  both  cotton  and  woollen 
fabrics.  In  the  meantime  the  foundations  of  the  city  of 
Lowell  had  been  laid  by  the  enterprise  of  Mr.  Patrick 
T.  Jackson,  Mr.  Nathan  Appleton,  Mr.  Kirk  Boott,  and 
others. 

Messrs.  A.  &  A.  Lawrence  soon  engaged  largely  in  the 
sale  of  cotton  and  woollen  goods  of  domestic  manufacture, 
but  they  did  not  become  interested  in  the  mills  at  Lowell 
until  1830.  "  On  the  establishment  of  the  Suffolk,  Tre- 
mont,  and  Lawrence  Companies,  as  well  as  subsequently 
in  other  corporations,  they  became  large  proprietors. 
From  this  time  their  business  as  selling  agents  was  on  the 
most  extensive  scale,  and  their  income  from  aU  sources 
large  in  proportion." 

The  Messrs.  Lawrence  came  out  of  the  crisis  of  1837, 
and  the  hard  times  which  followed,  with  capital  and  credit 
unimpaired ;  and  as  the  country  gradually  recovered  its 
normal  condition  of  activity  and  prosperity,  their  business 
operations  increased  in  magnitude  and  importance.     They 


406  ABBOTT   LAWRENCE 

had  now  ceased  to  be  importers  of  foreign  fabrics,  and 
had  become  the  leading  house  for  the  sale  of  dry  goods  of 
domestic  production.  Associated  with  other  enterprising 
men,  they  saw  opportunities  before  them  for  the  develop- 
ment of  New  England  manufactures  upon  a  broader  and 
grander  scale  than  had  hitherto  been  attempted,  and  they 
were  prompt  to  improve  them. 

In  March,  1845,  the  Essex  Company  was  organized. 
Mr.  Lawrence  was  the  first  and  largest  subscriber,  taking 
one  thousand  shares  at  one  hundred  dollars  each.  He 
took  the  presidency  of  the  company ;  under  his  direction 
contracts  were  at  once  made ;  and  in  July  following  work 
was  commenced.  The  new  town  of  Lawrence  —  there 
could  be  no  question  as  to  what  its  name  should  be  — 
was  incorporated  April  17,  1847;  the  dam  was  completed 
September  19,  1848 ;  and  the  first  cotton  arrived  Janu- 
ary 12,  1849,  consigned  to  the  Atlantic  Cotton  Mills,  of 
which  Mr.  Lawrence  was  also  president  and  one  of  the 
large  stockholders.  The  town  became  a  city,  by  charter 
granted  March  21,  1853.  It  now  has  a  population  of 
about  forty  thousand,  and  a  taxable  valuation  of  twenty- 
five  million  dollars.  Most  justly  has  it  been  said  :  "  The 
broad  comprehension,  unwavering  faith,  and  large  capg,city 
of  Abbott  Lawrence  should  never  be  forgotten  by  dwellers 
in  the  city  that  bears  his  name." 

In  1853  the  Pacific  Mills  were  incorporated,  with  a 
capital  of  two  million  dollars,  and  with  Mr.  Lawrence  for 
president.  The  early  history  of  this  corporation  was 
marked  by  difficulties  and  embarrassments  ;  but  it  was  in 
energetic  and  untiring  hands,  whose  efforts  would  not 
cease  until  success  had  been  achieved.  In  this,  as  in  so 
many  other  instances,  Mr.  Lawrence  showed  himself  a 
born  leader  of  men,  shrinking  from  no  duty,  shirking  no 
responsibility,  asking  no  one  to  go  where  he  was  not 
ready  to  go  himself.  His  son,  Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence,  is 
now  the  president  of  this  great  corporation,  which  has  a 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE  407 

capital  of  two  and  a  half  millions,  and  twelve  mill-build- 
ings, employs  between  five  and  six  thousand  operatives, 
and  turns  out  a  product  of  eighty  million  yards  annually. 

Mr.  Lawrence  w^as  a  man  of  affairs,  but  he  was  much 
more  than  this.  He  possessed  not  only  the  commercial 
instinct  so  essential  to  permanent  success  in  business, 
but  also,  and  what  is  rarely  found  in  combination  with  it, 
an  insight  into  the  principles  which  control  the  course 
and  movement  of  trade.  He  imderstood  the  theorv  as 
well  as  the  practice*  of  his  profession.  A  letter  declining 
the  compliment  of  a  public  dinner  tendered  to  him  at  the 
close  of  his  first  period  of  congressional  service,  dated 
March  25, 1837,  indicates  his  ability  to  deal  with  the  ques- 
tion of  finance,  and  to  write  upon  it,  not  merely  as  a  saga- 
cious business  man,  but  as  a  thoughtful  and  well-instructed 
observer.  He  was  similarly  intelligent  upon  other  subjects 
bearing  upon  the  industry  and  material  prosperity  of  the 
country ;  and  on  the  tariff  question  particularly  he  held 
definite  and  positive  convictions,  which  were  the  result  of 
careful  investigation  and  reflection.  Several  years  before 
his  firm  had  become  identified  with  the  manufacturing 
system  of  New  England  by  its  investments  at  Lowell,  and 
while  his  own  interests  as  an  importer  might  seem  to  have 
pointed  in  the  opposite  direction,  he  became  a  protection- 
ist ;  not  because  he  was  opposed  to  foreign  commerce  and 
international  trade,  but  because  he  hoped,  by  encouraging 
the  broadest  practicable  diversity  in  the  industries  of  the 
country,  to  secure  a  balanced  and  stable  prosperity  for 
them  all  alike,  the  old  and  the  new. 

The  prominent  business  men  of  Boston  were  slow  to 
embrace  the  doctrines  of  protection,  which  were  "  forced 
upon  "  them,  as  we  shall  presently  see.  When  they  had 
accepted  them  as  what  was  supposed  to  be  the  fixed 
policy  of  the  nation,  and  had  been  successful  in  the  plans 
which  they  had  laid  in  conformity  with  them,  it  is  not 
strange  that  they  should  have  adhered  to  them  strenu- 


408  ABBOTT  LAWKENCE 

ously,  even  when  some  of  those  who  at  first  had  been  most 
earnest  in  advocacy  of  them  abandoned  their  position,  and 
sought  to  reverse  the  action  which  they  had  formerly  pro- 
moted. This  is  fully  explained  by  Mr.  Lawrence  in  his 
celebrated  letters  on  the  tariff  question,  addressed  to  the 
Hon.  WilHam  C.  Rives,  of  Virginia,  in  1846,  and  pubhshed 
and  widely  circulated  at  the  time. 

During  the  agitation  of  the  tariff  question  in  1827,  the 
Pennsylvania  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Manufactures 
and  the  Mechanic  Arts  issued  a  call  for  a  National  Con- 
vention, to  assemble  at  the  capitol  in  Harrisburg,  on  the 
30th  of  July  of  that  year.  A  meeting  was  held  in  Boston, 
at  which  the  Governor,  the  Hon.  Levi  Lincoln,  presided, 
and  Mr.  Lawrence,  with  six  others,  was  chosen  to  repre- 
sent Massachusetts.  Mr.  Everett  also  received  an  appoint- 
ment, but  for  some  reason  did  not  accept.  At  this  meet- 
ing a  resolution  was  passed,  referring  in  conciliatory  terms 
to  the  prevailing  sentiment  at  the  South  upon  the  ques- 
tion at  issue,  but  insisting  that  the  continued  prosperity 
of  the  country  depended  largely  upon  the  maintenance  of 
the  protective  pohcy.  Among  others  who  were  prominent 
in  the  Harrisburg  Convention  were  Messrs.  Gideon  Welles 
and  Thomas  S.  Perkins  of  Connecticut,  Hezekiah  Niles 
of  Maryland,  Francis  Granger  and  Richard  Keese  of 
New  York,  Ezekiel  Webster  of  New  Hampshire,  Thomas 
Ewing  of  Ohio,  and  Charles  J.  Ingersoll,  Matthew  Carey, 
Walter  Forward,  and  Robert  Patterson  *  of  Pennsylvania. 
Mr.  Joseph  Ritner,  of  the  last-named  State,  was  president, 
and  Mr.  Lawrence  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Printed  Cottons.     His  associates  desired  to  insist  upon  a 

*  The  record  says  Joseph  Patterson,  but  General  Eobert  Patterson  is  the  person 
intended.  This  venerable  gentleman,  who  for  many  years  was  the  sole  survivor  of 
tlie  Convention,  refers,  in  a  note  which  lies  before  us,  dated  January  20,  1880,  to 
Iklr.  Lawrence's  prominent  and  useful  participation  in  the  proceedings,  and  speaks 
of  the  friendship  with  him  then  formed,  which  lasted  until  his  death.  In  a  con- 
versation which  the  writer  had  with  him  in  Philadelphia,  in  the  winter  of  1880-81, 
a  few  months  before  his  death,  he  said,  "Abbott  Lawrence  was  incapable  of  a 
mean  action." 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE  409 

minimum  duty  of  forty  cents  a  square  yard  ;  but  he, 
always  moderate  in  his  views  and  judicious  in  his  utter- 
ances, thought  it  better  not  to  commit  the  Convention 
positively  to  particular  rates,  but  to  make  general  recom- 
mendations. He  therefore  introduced  the  following  reso- 
lution, which  was  adopted  :  — 

"  That  it  be  respectfully  submitted  to  the  consideration  of 
Congress  to  impose  adequate  duties  for  the  protection  of  printed 
and  other  cottons,  by  increasing  the  present  minimum  or  square- 
yard  duty." 

The  Convention  appointed  a.  committee  to  prepare  an 
address,  embodying  and  enforcing  the  conclusions  which 
had  been  reached  by  it.  This  address  was  written,  we 
believe,  by  Mr.  Niles,  who  had  been  one  of  the  most  active 
promoters  of  the  meeting,  and  was  the  occasion  of  earnest 
controversy,  which  extended  to  all  parts  of  the  country, 
and  was  carried  on  upon  both  sides  with  much  warmth  of 
feeling.  In  1831  a  Free  Trade  Convention  was  held  in 
Philadelphia,  over  which  Mr.  John  Austin  Stevens,  of 
New  York,  presided,  and  of  which  Mr.  Gallatin  was  one 
of  the  most  prominent  members. 

The  tariff  law  of  1828,  and  the  amendment  to  it  of 
1832,  led  to  the  Nullification  Ordinance  of  South  Carohna 
in  1833,  and  this  in  turn  to  the  Compromise  Measures  of 
Mr.  Clay  in  the  same  year.  The  sentiment  of  Massachu- 
setts was  for  the  most  part  hostile  to  these  measures,  but 
at  least  they  had  the  effect  of  taking  the  tariff  question 
out  of  politics,  and  of  diverting  the  public  mind  from  it 
for  several  years  to  come.  The  next  general  tariff  act 
was  that  of  August  30,  1842,  and  Mr.  Lawrence  partici- 
pated actively  in  the  discussions  which  preceded  and  pre- 
pared the  way  for  it.  He  made  a  speech  at  a  convention 
of  shoe  and  leather  dealers  in  the  Marlborough  Chapel, 
Boston,  on  the  2d  of  March,  1842,  in  favor  of  dis- 
criminating and  specific  duties,  which,  although  unpre- 

62 


410  ABBOTT   LAWKENCE 

meditated  and  given  oflP-hand,  was  considered  worthy  of 
publication. 

In  1846,  under  President  Polk's  administration,  the 
legislation  of  1842  was  reversed.  On  the  3d  of  December, 
1845,  Mr.  Robert  J.  "Walker,  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
sent  his  first  report  to  Congress,  in  which  he  took  strong 
ground  against  all  minimums  and  all  specific  duties,  and 
recommended  twenty  per  cent  ad  valorem  as  the  rate 
which  as  a  general  rule  would  yield  the  largest  revenue. 
On  the  appearance  of  this  report  Mr.  Lawrence  wrote 
the  letters  to  Mr.  Rives,  in  which  he  argued  calmly  and 
dispassionately  against  the  various  positions  taken  by  the 
Secretary.  He  was  strenuous  in  his  advocacy  of  specific 
as  against  ad  valorem  duties ;  and  it  should  be  said  that 
in  this  particular  Mr.  Gallatin  and  other  leading  sup- 
porters of  a  revenue  tariff  system  were  in  accord  with 
him.  "We  now  know  that  Mr.  Walker  was  prepared,  in 
the  interest  of  peace,  and  in  order  to  the  attainment,  if 
possible,  of  stability  and  permanent  security  in  the  tariff 
legislation  of  the  country,  to  meet  the  protectionist  party 
in  a  spirit  of  mutual  concession ;  but  his  advances  were 
not  reciprocated.  Perhaps,  if  he  had  had  Massachusetts 
alone  to  deal  with,  he  would  have  been  more  successful ; 
for  Mr.  Lawrence,  writing  to  Mr.  Appleton  on  the  4th  of 
August,  1846,  only  three  or  four  days  after  the  President 
attached  his  signature  to  the  tariff  bill,  said :  — 

"  The  Whigs  should  be  moderate,  and  not  commit  themselves 
to  the  tariff  of  '42  or  nothing.  We  can  afford  to  yield  something 
to  the  prejudices  of  the  people,  and  I  am  ready  for  a  new  bill 
with  discrimination  and  specific  duties  at  lower  rates  than  those 
of  '42." 

The  letters  to  Mr.  Rives,  to  which  we  have  referred, 
attracted  much  attention  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and 
especially  in  Virginia,  where  they  were  reproduced  and 
commented  upon  at  length  in  the  leading   newspapers. 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE  411 

So  deep  was  the  impression  made  in  that  State  by  them, 
and  such  a  spirit  of  enterprise  did  they  enkindle,  that  a 
large  number  of  the  leading  citizens,  including  many 
members  of  the  Legislature,  addressed  a  communication 
to  Mr.  Lawrence,  inviting  and  urging  him  to  establish  a 
manufacturing  town  at  the  Great  Falls  of  the  Potomac. 
They  said :  — 

"  We  believe  that  the  spirit  of  improvement  is  abroad  in  the 
State,  and  that  our  people  only  want  some  master-mind  to  give 
confidence,  to  draw  forth  their  strength,  energy,  and  capital  in 
this  highly  important  branch  of  home  industry.  The  commence- 
ment of  a  manufacturing  town  in  the  Old  Dominion,  and  near 
the  capital  of  the  American  Union,  would  produce  a  powerful 
impulse  in  all  the  Southern  States,  and  lead  perhaps  to  results 
of  vast  importance  to  the  whole  country.  Your  high  moral, 
intelligent,  practical,  and  business  character  eminently  befits 
you  for  such  an  undertaking.  Your  name  and  character  are 
well  known  to  us  and  the  whole  South  ;  and  should  you  lead 
off  in  this  noble  work,  it  would,  besides  being  a  monument  to 
your  fame,  also  unite  the  North  and  South  more  closely  and 
harmoniously  together  in  their  onward  progress  to  equal  rewards 
and  a  common  destiny." 

This  invitation  was  transmitted  through  the  Hon. 
William  S.  Archer,  one  of  the  United  States  Senators  from 
Virginia,  who  earnestly  pressed  it  upon  Mr.  Lawrence's 
attention  in  a  letter  from  which  the  following  is  ari 
extract :  — 

"  What  we  want  in  Virgrinia  is  the  establishment  of  one  con- 

O 

siderable  work  of  manufacture  under  auspices  which  may,  by 
diffusing  confidence,  awaken,  first,  attention,  and  then  the 
development  of  our  own  resources  of  capital,  now  held  back 
from  a  just  distrust  of  the  qualifications  of  Southern  men  to 
bring  to  use  the  vigilance  and  economical  methods  in  expendi- 
ture which  have  given  a  character,  name,  and  trust  as  regards 
your  people,  which  none  others  can  pretend  to.  Should  you 
lend  yourself  to  our  views  in  this  respect,  the  good  you  will 
have  achieved  will  not  be  confined  to  a  money  form.  This  will 
be  the  least  considerable  form  of  your  benefit.     That  to  which 


412  ABBOTT   LAWEENCE 

I  should  look  most  would  be  the  gradual  change  in  the  habits 
of  our  people,  —  the  humble  classes  more  especially,  —  by  .the 
infusion  of  the  practice  and  temper  of  your  people.  There  is 
no  form  or  sum  of  good  which  man  can  render  to  his  fellow- 
men  so  signal  as  by  winning  them  to  habits  of  regular  and  sys- 
tematic industry,  from  lethargy,  loafing,  and  dissoluteness." 

This  appeal,  on  the  part  of  a  sister  State,  for  co-opera- 
tion and  leadership  in  the  development  of  its  industry 
and  capital,  was  a  remarkable  recognition  of,  and  tribute 
to,  the  ability  and  character  of  Mr.  L^rence ;  and,  with 
the  consciousness  of  power  and  personal  resources  which 
he  must  have  possessed,  and  which  all  great  men  feel,  the 
temptation  to  accede  to  the  flattering  proposal,  so  urgently 
pressed  upon  him,  must  have  been  very  strong.     But  the 
new  undertaking  on  the  banks  of  the  Merrimac  was  still  in 
its  infancy ;  the  great  dam  had  not  yet  been  carried  across 
the  stream,  and  the  foundations  of  the  various  mill  struc- 
tures had  only  just  been  laid.      Vast  interests  were  at 
stake  nearer  home,  and  heavy  responsibilities  had  been 
incurred,  which  would  require  all  his  care.     He  could 
not  allow  himself  to  be  diverted  from  this  work  by  the 
projected  enterprise  on  the  shores  of   the  Potomac,  no 
matter  how  alluring  the  promise  of  results  both  to  himself 
and  to  others.     It  were  idle,  perhaps,  to  speculate  as  to 
what  might  have  been  the  consequences  had  the  decision 
of  Mr.  Lawrence  been  in  the  affirmative  instead  of  the 
negative.     Unquestionably,  if  New  England  energy,  in- 
dustry, and  thrift  could  then  have  taken  root  in  Virginia, 
an  example  would  have  been  set  there,  the  influence  of 
which,  upon  the  other  States  of  the  South,  would  have 
affected  directly  and  indu-ectly  the  whole  country.     Nor 
does  it  seem  unprobable  that,  with  the  development  and 
growth  of  manufactures  among  the  people  of  the  South, 
the  friendly  relations  between  the  two  sections  of  the 
country,  stimulated  and  fostered  by  mutual  interests  and 
a  common  pohcy,  might  never  have  been  broken. 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE  413 

We  can  only  mention,  in  passing,  Mr.  Lawrence's  inter- 
est in  the  work  of  railroad  construction  in  New  England. 
So  enterprising  and  sagacious  a  business  man  as  he  could 
not  fail  to  foresee,  and  in  good  measure  to  appreciate,  the 
benefits  which  the  new  facilities  for  transportation  would 
surely  bring  to  his  own  city  as  well  as  to  the  country  at 
large  ;  and  we  find,  as  we  might  expect,  that  he  was 
earnest  and  enthusiastic,  and  among  the  foremost,  in  pro- 
moting the  success  of  the  various  trunk-lines  as  they 
were  projected.  He  subscribed  liberally  to  all  of  them, 
with  reference  more  to  the  indirect  than  to  the  direct 
profits  from  his  investment  in  them,  and  he  favored  always 
the  broadest  and  most  comprehensive  plans.  He  advo- 
cated with  his  accustomed  earnestness  the  completion  of 
the  Western  Railroad,  at  the  time  when  that  enterprise 
dragged  heavily ;  and  he  did  so,  not  chiefly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  building  a  local  line  between  Worcester  and 
Albany,  but  with  a  view  ultimately  to  the  completion  of 
unbroken  railway  communication  between  the  harbor 
■of  Boston  and  the  Mississippi  Valley.  In  the  autumn  of 
1844  he  presided  at  a  meeting  called  to  promote  the 
building  of  a  railroad  between  Fitchburg  and  Brattle- 
borough,  in  the  hope  and  expectation  that  in  due  time 
the  line  would  be  extended  to  Montreal,  and  that  thus 
the  trade  of  Canada  would  be  opened  to  the  merchants  of 
Boston;  and  as  facilities  for  communication  imply  free- 
dom of  trade  intercourse,  he  was  in  favor  of  cultivating 
the  most  friendly  commercial  relations  with  British  North 
America,  and  was  in  full  accord  with  the  efforts  which  in 
1854  resulted  in  the  Eeciprocity  Treaty  of  Mr.  Marcy 
and  Lord  Elgin. 

Mr.  Lawrence's  sympathies  and  energies  were  much 
wider,  however,  in  their  scope  and  operation,  than  the 
domain  of  trade  and  commerce.  He  was  constantly  mind- 
ful of  his  responsibilities  as  a  citizen  of  Boston,  of  Massa- 
chusetts, of  the  United  States,  and  he  was  never  appealed 


414  ABBOTT   LAWRENCE 

to  in  vain  for  co-operation  in  behalf  of  measures  looking 
to  the  public  good,  whether  local  or  more  national  in 
their  relations.     He  had  all  the  necessary  qualifications 
for  leadership,  in  the  public  meeting  as  well  as  upon  the 
Exchange ;  and  here,  as  elsewhere,  he  made  good  use  of 
his  powers.     We  have  a  noteworthy  illustration  of  this  in 
the  ardor  with  which  he  threw  himself  into  the  movement 
for  supplying  the  city  of  Boston  with  an  abundance  of 
pure  water.     It  would  be  difficult  to  understand  now  how 
there  could  have  been  two  sides  to  this  question,  did  we 
not  remember  that  every  great  work  of  improvement  and 
reform  has  to  be  carried,  in  the  face  of  opposition,  by  the 
courage,  determination,  and  persistency  of  its  supporters. 
An  act  had  been  passed  by  the  Legislature,  authorizing 
the  City  to  take  water  from  Long  Pond  (now  called  Lake 
Cochituate)  or  from  Charles  Eiver.     It  was  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  a  popular  vote  for  acceptance  or  rejection,  and 
everything  possible  had  been  said  to  create  prejudice  and 
hostility  against  it.     Some  were  personally  interested  in 
private  water-companies,  either  established  or  projected, 
and  insisted  that  there  was  water  enough  and  to  spare ; 
others   protested   against  the   expense   of   the  proposed 
additional  supply,  and  argued  that  it  would  lead  to  a 
debt  which   would   be  a  perpetual   mortgage    upon  the 
real  property  of  the  citizens ;  others,  again,  urged  that  it 
would  be  anti-democratic  for  the  municipality  to  under- 
take a  work  which  could  be  carried  on  much  better  by 
private  enterprise.    Mr.  Lawrence  addressed  several  meet- 
ings called  to  consider  the  question ;  and  a  speech  which 
he  delivered  in  Faneuil  Hall  in  May,  1845,  is  given  in 
full  in  the  papers  of  the  day. 

After  many  discouragements  and  notwithstanding  the 
persistency  and  bitterness  of  the  opposition,  Mr.  Law- 
rence and  those  who  were  associated  with  him  in  this 
good  work  carried  their  point.  On  the  25th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1848,  under  the  mayoralty  of  the  younger  Quincy, 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE  415 

the  Cocbituate  water  was  brought  into  Boston,  and  Mr. 
Lawrence  lived  long  enough  to  see  all  his  predictions 
more  than  verified. 

Mr.  Lawrence  was  always  a  firm  supporter  of  the  citizen 
soldiery  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  at  a  time  when  its 
importance  was  generally  imdervalued,  and  when  the 
probability  that  it  would  ever  be  called  again  into  active 
service  was  very  remote,  he  availed  himself  of  every 
opportunity  to  urge  the  necessity  of  maintaining  it  at  a 
high  standard  of  efficiency.  As  a  young  man  he  had 
assisted  in  organizing  the  New  England  Guards,  one  of 
the  most  popular  and  best  trained  volunteer  companies  in 
the  State,  and  during  the  War  of  1812  he  had  done  duty 
in  its  ranks.  Thirty-two  years  later  there  was  a  parade, 
followed  by  a  dinner,  in  which  the  older  and  the  younger 
members  of  the  corps  participated  together,  thirty-two  of 
the  original  Guards  being  present.  The  dinner  took  place 
at  the  United  States  Hotel,  September  17,  1844.  Mr. 
George  Sullivan,  the  second  captain,  who  was  then  li\ang 
in  New  York,  presided,  and  among  the  speakers  were  Mr. 
Franklin  Dexter,  Mr.  George  Tyler  Bigelow,  afterwards 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  Mr.  Lawrence. 
A  friend  had  said  that  morning,  "  Mr.  Lawrence,  is  it  true 
that  you  are  coming  out  as  a  soldier  to-day  with  the 
Guards  ? "  "  Yes,"  was  the  reply.  "  Well,  that  is  most 
extraordinary ;  why  do  you  do  such  a  thing  ? "  Mr. 
Lawrence's  speech  was  an  answer  to  this  question. 

We  live  in  a  country,  he  said,  whose  government  is 
founded  in  public  opinion,  and  whose  defence  against 
outward  aggression  and  inward  commotion  must  be  de- 
pendent upon  citizen  soldiers.  He  had  always,  from  the 
time  of  the  formation  of  the  -Company,  of  which  he  was 
an  original  member,  been  in  favor  of  sustaining  the 
militia  system;  and  during  that  period  of  time  when 
speculations  in  morals,  religion,  and  government  pressed 
on  that  system  (he  appealed  to  many  of  his  old  friends 


416  ABBOTT   LAWKENCE 

present)  he  entertained  the  same  opinions  as  now,  upon 
upholding  this  glorious  arm  of  public  defence  established 
by  our  Pilgrim  Fathers.  He  made  no  apology  there  or 
elsewhere  for  having  borne  arms  on  that  occasion.  He 
believed  that  the  impression  produced  by  the  parade 
would  have  a  salutary  effect  upon  the  public  mind.  He 
wished,  so  far  as  lie  was  concerned,  that  the  evil-doers,  if 
there  were  such  in  our  new  community,  who  were  inclined 
to  take  the  law  into  their  own  hands,  might  understand 
that  there  was  a  body  of  men,  and  a  large  one  too,  behind 
the  regularly  organized  militia,  and  not  liable  by  law  to 
be  ordered  out,  who  were  ready  at  all  times  with  arms  in 
their  hands  to  defend  the  Constitution  and  Laws.  He 
said  that  for  one  (and  he  had  no  doubt  every  gentleman 
who  heard  him  would  make  the  same  declaration,  and  he 
was  willing  to  say  it  to  his  country)  he  would  hold  himself 
ready  at  all  times  to  aid  in  putting  down  any  and  every 
insurrectionary  movement  intended  to  subvert  the  laws. 

Mr.  Lawrence,  says  the  "  Atlas,"  from  whose  columns 
his  remarks  are  taken,  continued  with  great  earnestness  : 
"  You  and  I,  sir,  served  in  the  company  at  a  period  that 
tried  men's  souls.  We  commenced  with  the  war  and 
served  during  its  continuance ;  and  for  one  I  am  ready  to 
put  on  the  armor  again  for  my  country's  honor.  Look  at 
the  disgraceful  scenes  that  have  occurred  in  Philadelphia  ! 
Could  such  a  state  of  things  have  taken  place  in  Boston?" 
(Cries  of  No !  No !)  "I  say  No,  gentlemen,  and  as  long  as 
a  drop  of  Revolutionary  blood  remains  in  my  veins  I  will 
say  No,  for  I  am  ready  to  peril  my  life  in  defence  of  law 
and  order." 

The  effect  of  this  speech,  we  are  told,  was  electrical. 
Every  member,  old  and  young,  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  nine 
hearty  cheers  demonstrated  that  these  sentiments  found 
a  response  in  every  heart. 

Men  of  business  in  the  United  States,  in  our  day 
especially,  are  inclined  to  think  that  they  have  no  time  or 


ABBOTT    LAWRENCE  417 

thought  to  spare  for  public  affairs.     Some  of  them  say 
plainly  that  in  attending  exclusively  to  their  own  con- 
cerns they  can  make  more  money  than  in  devoting  them- 
selves in  any  degree  to  politics,  and  many  more  seem  to 
act  upon  some  such  idea  as  this,  although  they  do  not  put 
it  into  words.     It  is  true  that  the  spirit  of  partisanship 
has  so  degraded  our  politics,  that  the  issues  between  the 
opposing  parties  have  to  so  large  an  extent  become  mere 
struggles  for  place  and  pelf,  and  that  so  many  of  those 
who  are  influential  in  the  caucus  and  successful  in  gaining 
office  are  thoroughly  selfish  and  utterly  indifferent  to,  if 
not  ignorant  of,  all  considerations  of  political  morality 
and  of  the   permanent  welfare  and  safety  of  the  body 
politic,  —  that  men  of  honor,  integrity,  and  independence, 
men   of   the  first   rank,   whether  in  mercantile   or  pro- 
fessional life,  are  too  often  repelled  from  scenes,  associa- 
tions, and  aims  so  unworthy  and  so  unpromising ;  but  to 
•  despair  of  politics  in  this   country  is  to  despair  of  the 
country  itself,  and   to  refuse   to   participate  in  political 
controversy  and  struggle  in  the  ordinary  times  of  peace 
is  as  unpatriotic  and   may  prove   as  mischievous  as   to 
withhold  personal  service  and  sympathy  in  the  exigency 
of   war.      Mr.    Lawrence    recognized   the    claims   of   his 
country  upon  him  at  all  times,  in  peace  no  less  than  in 
war.     He  was  too  sagacious  not  to  understand  that  the 
only  true  and  lasting  prosperity  for  the  individual  citizen 
is  dependent  upon  the  general  well-being  of  the  nation, 
and   he   was   too    liberal-minded   and    public-spirited    to 
desire  to  leave  to  others  the  unshared  burden  of  political 
responsibilities    and    the   sole    performance    of    political 
duties  which,  he  knew,  belonged  in  part  to  himself.     He 
did  not  regard  office  for  its  own  sake,  nor  did  he  refuse 
to  accept  it,  when  such  acceptance  did  not  seem  to  con- 
flict with  other  claims  upon  him.     In  1831  he  served  as  a 
representative  from  Ward  Seven,  in  the  Common  Council 
of  Boston.     Mr.  Harrison  Gray  Otis  was  mayor  during 

63 


■<< 


418  ABBOTT   LAWRENCE 

that  year,  and  two  gentlemen  then  in  the  municipal  gov- 
ernment, Mr.  Samuel  T.  Armstrong  of  the  Board  of 
Aldermen,  and  Mr.  John  Prescott  Bigelow  (Mrs.  Law- 
rence's brother)  of  the  Common  Council,  were  afterwards 
elected  to  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  city. 

In  1834  Mr.  Lawrence  was  elected  to  a  seat  in  the 
House  of  Kepresentatives  at  Washington.  He  became  a 
leading  member  of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means, 
and  as  a  man  of  practical  ability,  large  experience,  and 
high  character  must  always  do,  he  exerted  a  marked 
influence  upon  the  legislation  of  Congress  during  the  two 
years  of  his  membership.  He  felt  obliged  to  dechne  a 
re-election,  although  he  was  assured  that  if  he  would 
take  the  nomination  again  the  opposite  party  would  not 
bring  forward  a  candidate  against  him,  —  a  remarkable 
compliment,  when  we  remember  the  bitterness  with  which 
both  Whigs  and  Democrats  were  in  the  habit  of  attacking 
each  other  in  those  days.  Two  years  later,  however,  he 
consented  to  accept  a  second  nomination,  and  he  again 
took  his  seat  in  the  House.  "  It  was  a  disastrous  session 
for  him,"  says  Mr.  Prescott,  "  for  shortly  after  his  arrival 
he  was  attacked  by  typhus  fever  of  so  malignant  a  type 
that,  for  some  time,  small  hopes  were  entertained  of  his 
recovery.  But  he  had  good  advice,  and  his  fine  constitu- 
tion and  the  care  of  his  devoted  wife  enabled  him,  by 
the  blessing  of  Providence,  to  get  the  better  of  his  dis- 
order. It  left  behind,  however,  the  seeds  of  another 
malady,  in  an  enlargement  of  the  liver,  which  caused  him 
much  suffering  in  after  life,  and  finally  brought  him  to 
the  grave." 

On  General  Harrison's  accession  to  the  presidency  in 
1841,  the  relations  of  the  United  States  with  Great  Britain 
had  become,  to  the  last  degree,  critical.  The  misunder- 
standings, on  both  sides,  and  the  complications  had  been 
multiplying  and  accumulating  year  by  year ;  and  but  for 
the  moderation  of  the  leading  men  in  the  two  govern- 


ABBOTT   LATVUENCE  ^  419 

ments  the  supreme  calamity  of  war  could  hardly  have 
been  averted.  So  grave  was  the  situation  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  American  Minister  in  London,  Mr.  Stevenson, 
that  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  put  himself  in  communication 
with  the  commander  of  the  American  squadron  in  the 
Mediterranean.  The  question  of  the  Northeastern  Boun- 
dary had  been  the  subject  of  negotiation  almost  ever  since 
the  Peace  of  1783;  all  the  expedients  of  diplomacy  had 
been  exhausted  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  settle  it ;  and  the 
King  of  the  Netherlands,  who  had  been  appealed  to  as 
arbitrator,  had  been  unable  to  solve  the  difficulty.  Then 
there  were  the  questions  of  impressment,  the  extradition 
of  fugitives,  and  the  suppression  of  the  slave  trade, — the 
latter  involving  the  right  of  search,  or  of  "  visitation,"  as 
Lord  Palmerston  preferred  to  call  it.  There  was  also  the 
affair  of  the  "  Caroline,"  a  dispute  arising  from  the  Cana- 
dian troubles  of  1837,  which  had  embroiled  us  with  our 
neighbors  on  the  north ;  and,  superadded  to  all  the  rest, 
came  the  matter  of  the  "  Creole  "  in  the  autumn  of  1841, 
and  the  liberation  of  its  cargo  of  human  beings  by  the 
Governor  of  the  Bahamas,  which  aroused  all  the  suscep- 
tibilities of  the  slaveholding  and  slave-trading  communities 
within  our  own  borders  in  the  South. 

It  was  well  that  at  such  a  juncture  there  should  be  a 
change  of  administration  in  both  countries,  so  that  men 
might  come  fresh  to  the  work  of  negotiation,  untram- 
melled by  anything  previously  said  or  done  by  them. 
Just  six  months  after  the  Whig  administration  came  into 
office  in  "Washington,  the  Ministry  of  Lord  Melbourne 
resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by  that  of  Sir  Robert  Peel, — 
with  Lord  Aberdeen  for  Foreign  Secretary,  Sir  James 
Graham  as  Home  Secretary,  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  Lord 
Lincoln,  and  Mr.  Sidney  Herbert  in  minor  offices.  Mr. 
Everett  (from  1836  to  1840  Governor  of  Massachusetts) 
had  succeeded  Mr.  Stevenson  in  London,  and  in  the 
month  of  December  Lord  Aberdeen  communicated  to  him 


420  ABBOTT   LAWRENCE 

the  instructions  which  had  been  given  by  his  Government 
to  the  British  cruisers  for  their  guidance  in  their  search 
for  slavers.  In  reference  to  these  instructions  President 
Tyler  afterwards  said  in  a  Message  to  Congress :  "  These 
declarations  may  well  lead  us  to  doubt  whether  the  ap- 
parent difference  between  the  two  governments  is  not 
rather  one  of  definition  than  of  principle/'  —  a  view  of  the 
question  ultimately  taken  by  Congress  also.  A  few  days 
later,  December  27,  1841,  Lord  Aberdeen  informed  Mr. 
Everett,  at  an  interview  to  which  he  had  invited  him,  that 
the  British  Government  had  determined  to  send  a  special 
mission  to  the  United  States,  and  that  Lord  Ashburton 
had  been  selected  as  plenipotentiary,  with  full  powers  to 
settle  every  question  in  controversy.  This  intelligence 
was  received  with  the  utmost  satisfaction  by  President 
Tyler  and  by  his  Secretary  of  State,  'Mr.  Webster,  who 
cordially  reciprocated  the  conciliatory  spirit  of  the  new 
British  Ministry,  and  prepared  a  cordial  welcome  for  the 
distinguished  envoy  when  he  should  arrive. 

But  the  appointment  and  expected  coming  of  Lord 
Ashburton  on  his  mission  of  peace  at  first  only  made 
more  apparent  the  difficulties  which  surrounded  the  set- 
tlement' of  the  Northeastern  Boundary  question.  Four 
parties  were  to  be  "  in  presence  in  Washington  "  in  con- 
ducting the  negotiations,  —  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain,  Massachusetts  and  Maine.  If  any  one  of  these 
should  refuse  to  concur  in  the  proposed  terms  for  a  final 
settlement,  the  whole  arrangement  would  be  a  failure. 

The  commissioners  appointed  on  the  part  of  Massa- 
chusetts were  Messrs.  Abbott  Lawrence,  John  Mills,  and 
Charles  Allen ;  on  the  part  of  Maine,  they  were  Messrs. 
Edward  Kavanagh,  Edward  Kent,  William  Pitt  Preble, 
and  John  Otis.  They  were  selected  without  reference  to 
party  views,  and  they  fairly  represented  the  public  opin- 
ion of  the  two  States. 

For  every  reason  the  choice  of  Mr.  Lawrence  as  a  nego- 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE  421 

tiator  in  behalf  of  Massachusetts  was  a  most  fortunate 
one.  Like  Lord  Ashburton,  he  was  a  man  of  great  prac- 
tical experience,  he  had  dealt  successfully  with  large 
pecuniary  interests,  he  had  learned  lessons  of  mutual  con- 
cession and  concihation  in  the  not  unworthy  rivalries  of 
the  mart  and  the  exchange,  and  he  had  become  accus- 
tomed to  look  at  all  questions  in  their  broadest  relations. 
Like  him,  also,  he  had  social  position  and  possessed  per- 
sonal qualities  which  gave  emphasis  to  his  opinions  and 
judgments.  The  two  were  peculiarly  adapted  to  meet 
each  other  on  the  opposite  sides  of  such  controversies  as 
were  now,  if  possible,  to  be  adjusted  by  their  joint  efforts; 
and  in-a  kindred  spirit,  although  each  in  his  own  way  and 
from  his  own  point  of  view,  they  diligently  sought  for, 
and  in  due  time  they  reached,  a  basis  of  settlement  equally 
equitable  and  honorable  for  all  parties  concerned.  Eefer- 
ring  to  Mr.  Lawrence's  special  qualifications  for  the  work 
of  negotiation,  Mr.  Prescott  says :  — 

"  There  was  an  ample  field  for  the  exercise  of  these  powers 
on  the  present  occasion,  when  prejudices  of  long  standing  were 
to  be  encountered,  when  pretensions  of  the  most  opposite  kind 
were  to  be  reconciled,  when  the  pertinacit}''  with  which  these 
pretensions  had  been  maintained  had  infused  something  like  a 
spirit  of  acrimony  into  the  breasts  of  the  disputants.  Yet  no 
acrimony  could  stand  long  against  the  genial  temper  of  j\Ir. 
Lawrence,  or  against  that  spirit  of  candor  and  reasonable  con- 
cession which  called  forth  a  reciprocity  of  sentiment  in  those  he 
had  to  deal  with.  The  influence  which  he  thus  exerted  over  his 
colleagues  contributed,  in  no  slight  degree,  to  a  concert  of  action 
between  them.  Indeed,  without  derogating  from  the  merits 
of  the  other  delegates,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that,  but  for 
the  influence  exerted  by  Mr.  Lawrence  on  this  occasion,  the 
tieaty,  if  it  had  been  arranged  at  all,  would  never  have  been 
brought  into  the  shape  which  it  now  wears." 

Mr.  Lawrence's  influence  was  hardly  less  valuable  with 
the  President  than  with  his  colleagues ;  for  the  former  had 
misgivings  at  different  stages  in  the  negotiations  which  it 


422  ABBOTT   LAWRENCE 

required  much  tact  and  patience  to  remove,  and  in  deal- 
ing with  which  Mr.  Webster  was  glad  to  avail  himself  of 
the  aid  of  his  eminent  friend.  At  length  all  difficulties 
were  overcome ;  the  susceptibilities  of  the  various  parties 
in  interest  had  been  met,  and  their  conflicting  claims  har- 
monized ;  the  sanction  of  the  Senate  was  given,  and  the 
proceedings  were  brought  to  a  close.  Lord  Ashburton, 
who  was  warmly  received  wherever  he  went  in  this  coun- 
try, returned  to  England  to  receive,  with  much  hostile 
criticism  from  some  parties,  the  formal  thanks  of  Parlia- 
ment. Mr.  Lawrence's  work  also  found  appreciation 
among  his  fellow-citizens  ;  and  a  few  months  later  he,  too, 
crossed  the  Atlantic  to  enjoy  a  season  of  much  needed 
rest  and  relaxation.  He  embarked  with  his  wife  on  board 
the  Cunard  steamship  "  Columbia,"  Captain  Neil  Shannon, 
July  1,  1843,  on  her  last  voyage,  when  she  went  ashore 
on  Seal  Island,  off  Nova  Scotia,  and  became  a  total  wreck, 
but  with  no  loss  of  life.  They  made  their  way  to  Hali- 
fax, and  proceeded  to  England  by  the  succeeding  vessel 
of  the  line,  the  "Hibernia,"  Captain  Judkins. 

For  several  succeeding  years  Mr.  Lawrence  held  no 
office  or  public  appointment.  He  gave  close  attention  to 
the  great  manufacturing  interests  which  depended  so 
largely  upon  him,  finding  time,  however,  as  we  have  seen, 
to  advocate  and  promote  various  measures  of  public  im- 
provement and  reform,  and  taking  a  leading  part  in  the 
politics  of  the  day.  In  1844  he  was  a  member  of  the 
National  Whig  Convention,  which  nominated  Mr.  Clay  for 
the  presidency,  and  he  was  prominent  in  the  popular  dem- 
onstration in  favor  of  the  Whig  candidate,  which  took 
place  in  Boston  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year.  In  the 
convention  of  1848,  which  nominated  General  Taylor  for 
the  presidency,  he  was  a  favorite  candidate  for  the  vice- 
presidency,  and  he  came  within  eight  votes  of  receiving 
the  nomination.  It  was  generally  conceded  beforehand 
that  he  was  to  be  nominated,  and  he  would  have  been, 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE  423 

but  for  the  dissensions  which  were  then  disturbing  the 
Whig  party  in  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  Fillmore  received  the  nomination  which  should  have 
fallen  to  Mr.  Lawrence,  and  on  the  lamented  death  of 
General  Taylor  in  1850  he  succeeded  to  the  presidency. 
Far  better  would  it  have  been  for  the  Southern  people 
if  a  man  like  Mr.  Lawrence  had  then  come  into  power, 
one  who  thoroughly  understood  the  temper  of  the  North, 
and  who,  while  supporting  the  South  in  all  its  rights 
under  the  Constitution,  would  not  have  encouraged  it  by 
fatal  compromises  to  its  ultimate  ruin. 

Mr.  Lawrence  manifested  neither  disappointment  nor 
resentment  when  he  was  thus  set  aside  at  Philadelphia. 
"  Instead  of  looking  for  pretexts,  as  many,  not  to  say  most 
men  would  have  done,  for  withdrawing  from  the  canvass, 
or  at  least  for  looking  coldly  upon  it,  he  was  among  the 
first  to  join  in  a  call  for  a  meeting  of  the  Whigs  in  Fan- 
euil  Hall,  and  to  address  them  in  the  warmest  manner  in 
support  of  the  regular  ticket.  In  the  same  magnanimous 
and  patriotic  spirit  he  visited  the  principal  towns  in  the 
State,  delivering  addresses  and  using  all  his  efforts  to 
secure  the  triumph  of  the  good  cause." 

When  President  Taylor  formed  his  cabinet  he  offered 
Mr.  Lawrence  first  the  secretaryship  of  the  Navy,  and 
then  that  of  the  Interior,  but  both  were  dechned.  Mr. 
Lawrence  would  probably  have  accepted  the  Treasury,  for 
which  he  had  a  special  fitness,  but  this  had  been  promised 
to  Mr.  Meredith  of  Pennsylvania.  The  President  soon 
after  nominated  him  to  the  highest  position  abroad  in 
the  gift  of  the  government,  the  mission  to  England. 
From  this  Mr.  Lawrence  shrank  at  first,  doubting  his 
qualification  for  the  place,  and  but  for  the  urgency  of  the 
President,  and  the  persuasion  of  his  intimate  friends,  he 
would  have  declined  it  altos-ether.  After  much  consider- 
ation  he  at  length  accepted  the  appointment,  and  on  the 
26th  of  September,  1849,  embarked  for  England  in  the 


424  ABBOTT   LAWRENCE 

steamship  "  Europa,"  Captain  Lott,  with  his  wife  and  part 
of  his  family. 

This  appointment  was  no  less  honorable  to  Mr.  Law- 
rence than  creditable  to  the  sagacity  of  the  President  and 
his  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Clayton.  It  was  not  altogether 
new  in  the  history  of  diplomacy  to  send  a  distinguished 
merchant  as  envoy  to  a  power  of  the  first  rank,  but  the 
instances  had  not  then  been  so  frequent,  nor  have  they 
since  become  so,  as  to  allow  them  to  pass  without  com- 
ment. What  Mr.  Everett  wrote  in  reference  to  Lord 
Ashburton's  mission  in  1842,  may  with  equal  appropriate- 
ness be  remarked  in  connection  with  Mr.  Lawrence's  ap- 
pointment in  1849 :  — 

"  In  the  choice  of  a  Minister,  Lord  Aberdeen  was  not  less 
fortunate  than  he  had  been  wise  in  proposing  the  measure. 
Lord  Ashburton  was  above  the  reach  of  the  motives  which 
influence  politicians  of  an  ordinary  stamp,  and  unencumbered 
by  the  habits  of  routine  which  belong  to  men  regularly 
trained  in  a  career.  He  possessed  a  weight  of  character  at 
home  which  made  him  independent  of  the  vulgar  resorts  of 
popularity." 

If  the  qualifications  necessary  for  success  in  the  diplo- 
matic service  have  not  been  generally  overe-stimated  in 
the  United  States,  they  have  at  least  been  greatly  misun- 
derstood. What  a  man  is,  is  quite  as  important  a  question 
as  what  does  he  know,  in  determining  his  fitness  for  a 
foreign  mission.  Wheaton,  in  his  "Elements  of  Inter- 
national Law,"  says :  — 

"  The  art  of  negotiation  seems,  from  its  very  natur.e,  hardly 
capable  of  being  reduced  to  a  systematic  science.  It  depends 
essentially  on  personal  character  and  qualities,  united  with  a 
knowledge  of  the  world  and  experience  in  business.  These 
talents  may  be  strengthened  by  the  study  of  history,  and  espe- 
cially the  history  of  diplomatic  negotiations  ;  but  the  want  of 
them  can  hardly  be  supplied  by  any  knowledge  derived  merely 
from  books." 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE  425 

Mr.  Lawrence's  residence  at  the  Court  of  St.  James 
was  the  most  brilhant  part  of  his  public  career.  He  met 
in  an  admirable  way  the  various  requirements  of  his  high 
and  responsible  position,  and  his  mission  was  as  success- 
ful in  all  respects  as  that  of  any  of  the  statesmen  or 
scholars  who  had  preceded  him.  His  personal  and  social 
qualities,  which  had  contributed  so  greatly  to  his  useful- 
ness in  every  sphere  of  influence  in  which  he  had  been 
placed  hitherto,  now  shone  forth  more  conspicuously  than 
ever.  He  dispensed  a  splendid  hospitality  at  Cadogan 
House,  Piccadilly,  where  he  delighted  to  bring  together 
the  prominent  men  of  his  own  country,  as  they  came  to 
London,  and  the  leading  men  in  politics  and  the  profes- 
sions of  Great  Britain.  He  was  able  to  appreciate  and 
admire  all  that  was  valuable  or  venerable  in  other  lands 
and  in  other  forms  of  government,  without  weakening  in 
the  slightest,  degree  liis  affection  for  his  own  country, 
or  his  preference  for  the  political  institutions  under  which 
.  he  had  been  born  and  nurtured.  He  was  thoroughly 
American  in  spirit  and  in  sympathies,  yet  he  was  one  of 
the  most  popular  of  men  in  English  society.  Nor  was 
his  .popularity  confined  to  society,  so  called.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  James  Hamilton  wrote  of  him  in  a  letter  to  his 
brother,  Mr.  Amos  Lawrence,  "  No  foreign  minister  is 
such  a  favorite  with  the  British  public."  He  was  always 
at  his  ease,  and  always  spoke  with  happy  effect,  whether 
on  the  platform  of  a  philanthropic  society,  or  before  a 
chamber  of  commerce,  or  at  a  public  dinner.  A  journey 
which  he  made  with  Mrs.  and  Miss  Lawrence  through  the 
south  and  west  of  Ireland  was  almost  like  a  royal  progress, 
all  classes  vying  among  themselves  to  do  him  honor. 
At  the  same  time  his  marked  ability  as  a  diplomatist  was 
recognized  and  acknowledged  by  the  men  in  public  life 
with  whom  he  came  into  close  contact.  Lord  Palmerston 
said  that  the  United  States  had  never  been  more  ably 
represented  in  England  than  by  him;  and  the  Duke  of 

54 


426  ABBOTT   LAWRENCE 

Wellington  expressed  the  opinion  that  so  long  as  it  con- 
tinued to  be  represented  by  men  such  as  he,  there  need 
be  no  fear  of  a  rupture  between  the  two  countries. 

The  first  important  question  with  which  Mr.  Lawrence 
had  to  deal  on  his  arrival  in  London  related  to  Central 
America,  and  to  the  ship-canal  across  the  Isthmus,  then 
projected.  In  obedience  to  instructions  from  Washington, 
he  brought  the  subject  to  the  notice  of  Lord  Palmerston 
in  November,  1849,  and  obtained  from  him  an  assurance 
that  Great  Britain  did  not  design  to  occupy  or  colonize 
any  part  of  Central  America,  and  that  she  was  ready  to 
enter  into  a  guarantee  with  the  United  States  for  the 
neutrality  of  the  canal.  But  Mr.  Lawrence,  says  Mr. 
Prescott,  whose  account  of  this  negotiation  we  follow,  was 
quick  to  perceive  that  these  assurances  would  fail  to  an- 
swer the  purpose,  unless  Great  Britain  would  consent  to 
abandon  her  shadowy  protectorate  over  the  "  Mosquito 
Kingdom."  He  accordingly  made  this  the  subject  of 
earnest  conversation  in  more  than  one  interview  w^th  the 
English  Minister ;  and  he  also  argued  in  favor  of  the  aban- 
donment of  the  protectorate,  on  the  strongest  grounds  of 
policy,  in  a  long  and  able  communication  to  Lord  Palmer- 
ston, under  date  of  December  14, 1849.  To  this  letter  he 
received  no  reply  ;  and  early  in  the  following  year,  it  being 
thought  that  the  negotiation  could  be  carried  on  with 
greater  facility  in  Washington  than  in  London,  it  was  re- 
moved, for  final  adjustment,  from  the  latter  to  the  former 
capital. 

Meanwhile,  Mr.  Lawrence  had  been  diligently  engaged 
in  preparing  for  his  own  Government  a  communication, 
afterwards  printed  by  order  of  the  Senate,  the  object  of 
which  was  to  trace  to  its  origin  the  British  claim  to  the 
exercise  of  a  protectorate  over  the  Mosquito  Territory. 
In  doing  this  he  travelled  over  a  vast  field  of  historical 
research,  from  the  first  occupation  of  the  territory  by  the 
Spaniards  to  its  subsequent  invasion  by  the  English,  and 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE  427 

established,  to  the  conviction  of  every  unprejudiced  mind, 
the  position  that  Great  Britain  never  possessed  any  legal 
right  to  the  qualified  dominion  which  she  claimed  as  pro- 
tector of  the  Indians ;  and  that,  if  she  had  possessed  it, 
this  would  signify  nothing,  since,  by  an  express  treaty 
with  Spain,  she  had  formally  renounced  such  right.  By 
a  singular  coincidence  this  important  state  paper  was 
dated  in  London  on  the  19th  of  April,  1850,  the  same 
day  on  which  the  Clayton-Bulwer  treaty  was  signed  in 
Washington. 

This  latter  instrument,  confining  itself  to  the  simple 
object  of  a  guarantee  for  a  canal  across  the  Isthmus, 
makes  no  provision  for  the  Mosquito  question,  though  by 
an  incidental  allusion  it  appears  to  recognize  the  exist- 
ence of  a  protectorate.  Indeed  it  seems  to  have  done 
nothing  more  than  carry  out  the  details  of  the  arrange- 
ment to  which  Lord  Palmerston  professed  his  readiness  to 
accede,  in  his  first  communication  to  Mr.  Lawrence.  But, 
as  the  latter  foresaw,  so  important  an  element  in  the  dis- 
cussion as  the  Mosquito  protectorate  then  was  could  not 
be  winked  out  of  sight;  and,  as  it  appeared  later,  the 
absence  of  this  material  link  in  the  chain  of  the  negotia- 
tions made  the  other  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  little 
worth. 

Another  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  important  despatches 
related  to  the  fisheries.  In  the  summer  of  1852,  the 
reassertion  of  the  "headland  theory"  by  the  Canadian 
Government,  and  the  seizure  of  several  American  vessels 
charged  with  fishing  within  the  three-mile  limit,  caused 
much  bitter  feeling  in  this  country.  The  British  Govern- 
ment sent  out  a  fleet  of  ships  to  the  scene  of  contention ; 
and  so  peremptory  and  menacing  were  the  orders  under 
which  it  sailed,  that  Mr.  Lawrence,  without  waiting  for 
instructions,  hastened  to  Lord  Malmesbury,  then  Secretary 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  and  represented  to  him  the  danger 
to  the  peace  of  the  two  countries  which  must  result  from 


428  ABBOTT   LAWKENCE 

such  an  attitude.  The  time  was  indeed  critical.  Lord 
Elgin,  then  Governor  General  of  Canada,  in  an  address  to 
the  merchants  of  Liverpool,  said :  — 

"A  British  admiral  and  an  American  commodore  were  sail- 
ing on  the  coast,  with  instructions  founded  on  opposite  conclu- 
sions, and  a  single  indiscreet  act  on  the  part  of  one  or  other  of 
those  naval  officers  would  have  brought  on  a  conflict  involving 
all  the  horrors  of  war." 

Mr.  Lawrence  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  modification  of 
the  British  instructions ;  and  by  negotiations,  which  the 
President  afterwards  approved  and  confirmed,  prepared 
the  way  for  the  definitive  settlement  of  the  long-standing 
dispute,  by  the  Marcy-Elgin  treaty  of  1854,  —  the  Reci- 
procity treaty  so  called,  —  which,  unfortunately,  was 
abrogated  by  the  action  of  the  American  Congress  in 
1865. 

Mr.  Lawrence  studied  carefully  and  wrote  ably  to  his 
Government  upon  questions  of  a  practical  character,  such 
as  emigration,  international  postage,  the  currency,  the 
condition  of  the  agricultural  and  manufacturing  popula- 
tion of  the  United  Kingdom,  —  and  other  topics  which 
would  be  likely  to  arrest  the  attention  and  awaken  the 
interest  of  a  merchant  of  large  experience,  representing 
one  of  the  two  great  commercial  nations  of  the  globe  at 
the  Court  of  the  other.  Several  of  these  papers  were 
printed  by  order  of  the  Senate,  but  the  Department  of 
State  does  not  seem  to  have  responded  to  them  in  a  way 
likely  to  encourage  such  investigations  and  reports.  Mr. 
Lawrence  obtained  permission  from  Washington  to  urge 
upon  the  British  Government  a  modification  of  the  Eng- 
lish light-dues  system,  under  which  American  tonnage 
was  and  continues  to  be  heavily  taxed,  while  the  coasts 
and  harbors  of  the  United  States  are  lighted  at  the  public 
expense,  for  the  free  use  of  the  shipping  of  all  nations. 
His  letters  on  this  subject  give  a  clear  and  forcible  pres- 


ABBOTT   LAWREXCE  429 

entation  of  the  case  from  the  American  point  of  view, 
and  they  elicited  from  Lord  Palmerston  the  admission  that 
the  policy  of  the  American  Government  in  this  regard 
was  a  wise  and  liberal  one,  and  that  there  was  much 
plausibility  in  the  argument  that  the  expense  of  the  coast- 
lights  ought  to  be  borne  by  the  public  instead  of  by  the 
shipping  interest. 

Durino;  Mr.  Lawrence's  residence  in  Eno-land  the  sub- 
ject  of  direct  communication  between  the  Irish  coast  and 
the  United  States  was  receiving  much  attention.  The 
Irish  emigration  movement  was  then  at  its  height,  and 
in  order  to  facilitate  it,  as  well  as  to  expedite  the  mail 
service  between  the  two  hemispheres,  various  schemes 
were  under  consideration  for  a  mail  service  between  some 
one  or  more  of  the  Irish  ports  and  the  American  conti- 
nent. It  may  have  been,  in  part  at  least,  in  reference  to 
these  that  Mr.  Lawrence  planned  his  journey  through  Ire- 
land, which  we  have  already  mentioned.  They  certainly 
received  his  attention  during  its  progress.  In  a  letter  to 
the  Mayor  of  Limerick,  written  after  his  return  to  Lon- 
don, he  said :  — 

"  When  in  Ireland,  I  visited  the  harbors  of  Dublin,  Galwaj, 
Limerick,  Bantry,  Cork,  and  Queeustown,  all  of  which  offer  rare 
and  safe  accommodations  for  ships.  Several  other  harbors,  which 
I  did  not  visit,  have  been  favorably  spoken  of  and  reported  on 
by  persons  competent  to  judge  upon  such  questions.  Since  my 
'  return  to  London  I  have  received  various  charts,  maps,  reports, 
etc.  with  reference  to  these  harbors,  all  of  which  I  have  trans- 
mitted to  the  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  city 
of  New  York." 

A  few  years  later  the  Galway  line  was  subsidized  by  the 
British  Government  to  come  to  Boston,  but  the  project 
lacked  all  the  elements  of  commercial  success  and  speedily 
failed.  The  problem  has  since  been  solved  by  the  adop- 
tion of  the  harbor  of  Queenstown  as  a  place  of  call  for 
passengers  and  mails  for  all  the  Atlantic  steamers  sailing 


430  ABBOTT   LAWEENCE 

from  and  to  Liverpool,  and  of  Longh  Foyle  as  a  similar 
place  of  call  for  the  ships  sailing  from  and  to  Glasgow. 

The  first  international  exhibition  took  place  in  London 
in  1851.  Mr.  Lawrence  evinced  the  deepest  interest  in 
everything  connected  with  it,  and  he  extended  every  pos- 
sible assistance  and  kindness  to  those  of  his  countrymen 
who  took  part  in  it,  whether  as  exhibitors  or  as  visitors. 
Before  it  was  opened  he  made  a  visit  to  Liverpool  and 
Manchester,  and  at  a  meeting  held  in  his  honor  in  the 
latter  city,  in  the  town  hall,  he  gave  his  views  in  refer- 
ence to  it  in  a  speech  which,  if  we  had  the  space,  we 
would  gladly  give  in  full. 

At  the  close  of  the  exhibition  Mr.  George  Peabody 
gave  a  dinner  (October  27,  1851)  at  the  London  Coffee 
House,  Ludgate  Hill,  to  the  American  gentlemen  who 
had  been  connected  with  it,  and  to  other  distinguished 
guests,  American  and  English.  Mr.  Lawrence,  in  replying 
to  a  toast  to  the  American  Minister  in  London,  said :  — 

"  I  have  known  something  of  the  history  of  this  exhibition. 
I  remember  the  day  it  was  opened ;  I  was  present  when  it  was 
closed.  I  watched  it  from  its  inception  to  its  completion,  from 
its  completion  to  its  dissolution  ;  and  I  must  be  permitted  to 
say  that  the  order,  the  exactness,  and  the  perfection  with  which 
every  department  was  managed  has  never  been  excelled,  and 
perhaps  rarely  equalled,  whether  in  the  marshalling  of  armies 
or  fleets,  the  construction  of  buildings,  or  the  arrangement  of 
men." 

Mr.  Bancroft  Davis,  Mr.  Lawrence's  Secretary  of  Lega- 
tion, who  spoke  later  in  the  evening,  took  occasion  to 
say :  — 

"  If  I  were  free  to  do  so,  I  should  bear  testimony  to  the  great 
labors  of  Mr.  Lawrence  in  behalf  of  the  exhibition,  with  which 
no  man  is  better  acquainted  than  myself.  Happily,  I  am  not 
restrained  from  spealiing  of  the  constant  interest  which  my 
friend  Colonel  Bigelow  Lawrence  has  felt  in  the  success  of  our 
exhibitors,  and  the  steadiness  with  which  he  has  worked  to  that 


ABBOTT   LAWEENCE  431 

end  since  he  first  landed  in  England.  He  will  be  gratefully 
remembered  by  all  Americans  who  have  visited  London  this 
year." 

Sir  Henry  Bulwer,  then  British  Minister  in  "Washington, 
was  one  of  the  English  guests  present.  Always  felicitous 
in  his  after-dinner  speeches,  he  was  never  more  happy 
than  on  this  occasion.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he 
aroused  the  enthusiasm  of  the  company  to  the  utmost  by 
a  skilful  introduction  of  dramatic  effect :  — 

"  But  well  I  know,  gentlemen,  it  is  not  merely  the  solemn 
cathedral  or  the  stately  tower,  nor  even  the  venerable  tomb  of 
the  noble  and  the  great,  which,  as  you  wander  through  this 
island,  will  stay  your  steps.  I  see  you  there,  in  the  quiet  village, 
the  country  churchyard,  pondering  over  some  half-effaced 
epitaph,  tracing  on  some  moss-covered  monument  the  names 
and  lineage  of  your  English  forefathers,  whose  dust,  commingling 
with  Old  England's  soil,  gives  me,  my  dear  sir,  [turning  to 
Mr.  Lawrence  and  taking  his  hand,]  the  right,  whilst  I  clasp 
your  hand  as  that  of  a  friend,  to  claim  it  as  that  of  a  brother." 

A  year  later,  Mr.  Lawrence  obtained  permission  from 
the  President  to  lay  down  his  mission  and  return  home. 
He  had  separated  himself  from  his  vast  business  interests 
as  long  as  he  felt  it  to  be  right  to  do  so,  (although  these 
had  been  carefully  protected  in  his  absence  by  his  eldest 
son,  Mr.  James  Lawrence,)  while  a  longer  residence  at 
the  Court  of  St.  James  offered  no  special  opportunities 
for  further  usefulness,  as  it  could  have  added  nothing 
more  to  his  reputation,  personal  or  official.  In  his  last 
despatch  to  the  State  Department,  dated  September  30, 
1852,  he  briefly  reviews  the  period  of  his  diplomatic  ser- 
vice in  the  following  words  :  — 

"  I  was  especially  charged  by  the  President,  on  leaving  the 
United  States,  to  cultivate  the  most  friendly  relations  with  the 
Government  of  the  United  Kingdom.  This  has  been  my  constant 
aim.  To  this  end  I  have  mingled  freely  with  people  of  all 
ranks,  and  I  can  say  with  truth,  in  closing  my  connection  with 


432  ABBOTT   LAWKENCE 

the  Legation,  that  the  relations  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  have  never  in  my  judgment  been  so  cordial,  or  on 
so  firm  a  basis  of  good  understanding,  as  at  the  present  moment. 
I  have  found  every  administration  of  this  Government  animated 
with  a  desire  to  preserve  this  happy  state  of  things,  and  every 
class  vying  with  every  other,  in  manifestations  of  respect  and 
good  will." 

Embarking  with  his  family  at  Liverpool  in  the  steam- 
ship "Niagara,"  Captain  Stone,  for  Boston,  he  reached 
home  on  the  28th  of  October,  1852,  just  after  the  death 
of  Mr.  Webster,  and,  immediately  on  landing,  hastened  to 
Marshfield,  to  assist  in  paying  the  last  tribute  of  respect 
to  the  departed  statesman.  His  fellow-citizens  were 
anxious  to  testify  their  appreciation  of  his  distinguished 
service  abroad  by  giving  him  a  public  dinner,  but  this 
honor  he  positively  declined  in  view  of  Mr.  Webster's 
recent  death. 

Mr.  Lawrence's  character,  in  all  respects  that  of  the 
pure  New  England  type,  was  peculiarly  so  in  the  love 
and  zeal  which  he  always  manifested  in  the  cause  of  popu- 
lar education.  At  the  jubilee  celebration  of  the  Lawrence 
Academy  in  Groton  in  1854,  he  said :  — 

"  The  men  who  had  achieved  our  independence  were  not 
unmindful  of  the  education  of  their  children.  They  were  poor 
in  purse  but  rich  in  public  spirit,  justly  believing  that  civil 
liberty  could  not  be  maintained  without  education,  religion,  and 
law.  These  veterans  set  themselves  to  work  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion of  an  academy,  which  was  accomplished  after  much  trial 
and  tribulation.  Ahd  we,  who  have  enjoyed  the  blessings 
resulting  from  the  wisdom  of  our  fathers,  are  assembled  here 
to-day  to  commemorate  the  event,  and  to  do  homage  to  those 
founders." 

Not  only  was  he  indebted  to  this  academy  for  such 
education  as  he  had  received,  but  he  had  become  so  im- 
bued with  the  spirit  of  its  founders,  as  set  forth  in  the 
words  we  have  quoted,  that  in  all  his  subsequent  course 


ABBOTT   LAWEENCE  435 

in  Europe  at  that  time,  in  its  conveniences  for  practical 
instruction,  was  erected  and  furnished;  and  in  1850  a 
building  was  constructed  for  the  temporary  accommo- 
dation of  the  departments  of  Zoology,  Geology,  and 
Engineering. 

At  his  death  Mr.  Lawrence  gave  the  institution  an- 
other fifty  thousand  dollars,  which  greatly  strengthened 
its  position  and  further  increased  its  capabilities  for 
usefulness. 

In  recognition  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  hearty  and  generous 
interest  in  the  cause  of  education,  as  well  as  of  his  valu- 
able public  services,  Williams  College,  in  1852,  and  Har- 
vard College,  in  1854,  conferred  on  him  the  honorary 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  He  was  admitted  a  resident 
member  of  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  So- 
ciety September  27,  1846.  We  may  add  in  this  connec- 
tion that  at  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  also  a  member 
of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  the 
American  Antiquarian  Society,  the  Massachusetts  Histor- 
ical Society,  and  the  Board  of  Overseers  of  Harvard 
College. 

The  keystone  in  the  symmetrical  and  well-rounded 
character  which  we  have  endeavored  to  describe  was  a 
reverent  faith  in  the  Christian  religion  as  an  unerring 
standard  for  personal  endeavor,  and  as  an  unfailing  power 
for  the  regeneration  of  society.  The  spontaneous  utter- 
ance in  one  of  the  letters  to  Mr.  Rives,  which  we  have 
already  quoted,  may  well  be  repeated,  as  being  evidently 
a  deep  conviction  of  the  heart,  which  exercised  a  constant 
and  controlling  influence  upon  the  life :  — 

"  All  intellectual  culture  should  be  founded  upon  our  Holy 
Religion.  The  pure  precepts  of  the  Gospel  are  the  only  safe 
source  from  which  we  can  freely  draw  our  morality." 

When  Mr.  Lawrence  came  to  Boston,  in  1808,  he  joined 
the  congregation  in  Brattle  Square,  then  under  the  minis- 


436  V         ABBOTT   LAWRENCE 

terial  care  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Stevens  Buckminster,  of 
which  his  brother  Amos  was  a  member ;  and  he  continued 
to  be  a  constant  worshipper  and  a  faithful  parishioner  in 
the  same  church,  under  the  successive  pastorates  of  Mr. 
Buckminster,  Mr.  Everett,  Dr.  Palfrey,  and  Dr.  Lothrop, 
until  his  death.  He  became  a  communicant  at  or  about 
the  time  of  his  marriage  in  1819.  During  his  residence 
in  London  as  American  ambassador  he  and  his  family 
attended  regularly  the  Scotch  Church  in  Crown  Court,  of 
which  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cumming  was  minister.  This  excel- 
lent and  highly  gifted  clergyman,  known  chiefly  in  the 
United  States  in  connection  with  his  millenarian  views, 
was,  for  many  years,  and  until  his  retirement  from  the 
pulpit  not  long  since,  one  of  the  most  popular  preachers  in 
the  metropolis,  and  one  of  the  most  eloquent  platform 
speakers  of  the  day.  He  inscribed  one  of  the  editions 
of  his  celebrated  "Apocalyptic  Sketches"  to  Mr.  Law- 
rence, saying  in  the  dedication :  — 

"  My  publishers  inform  me  that  they  have  been  requested  to 
issue  an  edition  of  this  volume  in  America.  I  regard  this  as  an 
opportunity  of  expressing  a  conviction,  shared  and  felt  by  the 
good  and  great  of  this  country,  how  much  they  appreciated 
your  presence  in  London  as  the  representative  of  your  magnifi- 
cent nation,  and  how  deeply  —  I  may  add  universally — they 
regretted  your  departure.  We  never  had  so  popular  and  so 
esteemed  a  Minister  from  America,  or  one  who  has  done  so  much 
to  leave  lasting  and  elevated  impressions  of  his  countrymen. 

"  I  have,  perhaps,  a  greater  ref.son  for  dedicating  this  work 
to  you.  You  were  a  stated  worshipper  within  the  walls  of  this 
church  in  which  it  is  my  privilege  to  minister  ;  and  of  all  the 
varieties  of  class  within  its  walls,  you  were  not  the  least  known, 
esteemed,  and  respected. 

"  I  state  these  facts  as  in  some  degree  an  apology  for  this 
dedication.  I  do  not  expect  that  you  will  agree  with  all  I  have 
written  in  this  volume  ;  but  you  know  so  well  that  I  am  one 
with  you  in  all  essential  truths,  that  you  will  easily  pardon  any 
difference  you  may  discover  in  subordinate  matters." 


1 


ABBOTT    LAWRENCE  437 

While  in  London,  Mr.  Lawrence  became  much  inter- 
ested in  the  work  of  the  Rev.  John  Wadding  ton,  pastor  of 
an  ancient  Pilgrim  church  in  Southwark.  It  was  claimed 
for  this  church  that  it  had  been  formed  in  1587  or  1588, 
and  fully  organized  by  the  choice  of  Johnson  as  pastor, 
and  Greenwood  as  teacher,  in  1592 ;  also  that,  its  mem- 
bership having  been  scattered  by  the  bitter  persecution 
of  the  time,  it  had  been  brought  together  and  reorganized 
in  1616,  by  Henry  Jacob,  who  had  previously  been  a 
minister  of  the  established  order.  We  believe  that  the 
original  church  was  removed  to  Amsterdam,  and  that 
only  a  small  remnant  of  it  afterwards  became  a  part  of 
the  church  organized  in  1616.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the 
Southwark  church  had  an  interesting  history,  and  when 
Mr.  Lawrence  arrived  in  England,  in  1849,  it  had  just 
lost  its  meeting-house,  by  the  lapse  of  a  long  lease,  and 
Mr.  Waddington  was  seeking  the  help  of  English  Non- 
conformists, and  of  the  descendants  of  the  Pilgrims  in  the 
New  World,  in  the  erection  of  a  new  house  of  worship. 
Mr.  Lawrence  gave  his  hearty  sympathy  to  this  object, 
and  addressed  a  letter  to  Mr.  Waddington,  dated  138 
Piccadilly,  London,  22d  April,  1851,  from  which  we  quote 
two  paragraphs :  — 

"  I  have  read  with  much  pleasure  the  papers  you  were  kind 
enough  to  send  me,  respecting  the  efforts  you  are  now  making 
to  erect  a  Congregational  church  to  the  memory  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers.  In  common  with  most  of  my  countrymen,  I  entertain 
the  most  profound  and  sincere  reverence  for  the  memory  of  the 
band  of  heroic  Christians  who  —  in  the  face,  in  the  Old  World, 
of  neglect  if  not  of  oppression,  and  in  the  New,  of  terrific 
trials,  of  countless  dangers,  of  death  from  cold,  from  starvation, 
and  from  a  treacherous  foe  —  founded  a  Christian  colony  which 
has  now  grown  into  one  of  the  great  nations  of  the  earth.  If 
that  nation  has  proved  to  the  world  that  religious  freedom  and 
religious  faith  may  flourish  together,  or  that  perfect  liberty  and 
perfect  law  are  not  incompatible,  I  attribute  it,  in  no  slight 
degree,  to  the  deep  and  permanent  influence  which  the  princi- 


438  ABJBOTT    LAWRENCE 

pies  of  Brewster  and  Robinson,  Carver  and  Bradford,  and  their 
little  Commonwealth,  have  had  upon  its  character.  ... 

"  The  influence  of  their  example  is  not  confined  to  the  land 
where  it  was  displayed.  Europe  has  begun  to  study  their  prin- 
ciples, and  I  think  I  see  their  influence  extending  in  this 
country.  I  am  proud  when  I  see  efforts  like  the  present  to 
extend  among  the  British  people  a  just  knowledge  of  these 
English  men  and  women.  You,  too,  may  well  be  proud  to  be 
the  pastor  of  a  church  where  they  preached  and  worshipped, 
and  may  appeal  without  fear  to  our  brethren,  both  in  England 
and  throughout  the  world,  to  come  forward  and  erect  a  church 
in  commemoration  of  an  event,  the  effects  of  which,  already 
deeply  felt,  are  destined  probably  to  influence  the  world  more 
than  any  other  in  modern  history." 

It  was  the  purpose  of  Mr.  Lawrence,  on  his  return  to 
the  United  States,  to  bring  this  matter  prominently  before 
the  various  historical  and  religious  societies,  but  many 
circumstances  intervened  until  his  death  to  prevent  his 
doing  all  that  he  had  wished.  .  Later,  Mr.  (afterwards 
Dr.)  Waddington,  made  a  visit  to  this  country,  and  in 
Boston  was  cordially  received  by  Mrs.  Lawrence,  Mr. 
James  Lawrence,  Dr.  Lothrop,  Dr.  Blagden,  Dr.  Kirk, 
and  other  influential  Congregationalists.  In  his  volume, 
"  The  Hidden  Church,"  in  which  the  letter  above  referred  ■ 

to  appears  in  full,  he  expresses  (p.  296)  his  sense  of  obli-  ' 

gation  to  Mrs.  Lawrence,  in  the  following  words :  — 

"  The  pen  must  be  restrained  in  reference  to  matters  of  private  I 

interest ;  but,  in  the  event  of  the  ultimate  accomplishment  of  the  '• 

object,  it  should  be  known  to  all  who  are  specially  concerned,  ) 

that,  but  for  the  magnificent  kindness  of  Mrs.  Lawrence,  the  i 
feeble  hands  into  which  the  undertaking  fell  must  have  relin-     .      I 

quished  their  grasp.     From  personal  regard  to  the  memory  of  / 

the  Pilgrims,  and  with  relative  sympathy,  kindred  with  that  of  \ 
Lady  Franklin  in  another  object,  Mrs.  Lawrence  gave  the  timely 
aid  which  preven*;ed  the  defeat  of  a  purpose  rendered  so  sacred 

in  her  estimation,  by  the  letter  just  quoted."  , 

Mr.  Lawrence  lived  less  than  three  years  after  his 
return  from  London.     He  held  no  public  position,  but  his 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE  439 

time  and  thought  were,  as  previously,  largely  given  to 
political  and  philanthropic  questions.  He  vigorously 
opposed  the  new  State  constitution  of  1853,  which  was 
rejected  by  the  people  in  the  autumn  of  that  year.  He 
foresaw  the  speedy  breaking  up  of  the  Whig  party,  and 
expressed  his  regret  that  it  had  failed  to  take  such  a 
stand,  in  opposition  to  slavery  extension,  as  the  country 
had  expected  and  required  from  it.  Had  he  lived  only 
a  few  months  longer,  he  would  have  identified  himself 
with  the  new  Republican  party,  and  would  have  taken 
his  place  among  its  leaders.  To  this  party,  very  early 
in  its  history,  those  who  inherited  his  name  heartily  at- 
tached themselves.  But  his  own  earthly  activities  were 
soon,  too  soon,  to  be  brought  to  a  close.  In  the  autumn 
of  1854  he  had  a  return  of  the  disease  which  had  so 
severely  prostrated  him  in  Washington  thirteen  or  four- 
teen years  previously ;  and,  although  his  strength  rallied 
somewhat  as  the  winter  advanced,  his  friends  felt  that 
there  was  much  occasion  for  anxiety  about  him.  In  the 
spring  of  1855,  his  physician  recommended  a  change  of 
climate,  and  early  in  June  he  engaged  passages  for  Mrs. 
Lawrence  and  himself  in  one  of  the  Liverpool  steamers ; 
but  two  days  later  his  malady  returned,  and  he  was  com- 
pelled to  take  to  his  bed,  from  which  he  never  again 
rose. 

The  summer  which  followed  was  a  long  and  wearisome 
one,  both  for  himself  and  for  those  who  b:;.d  to  witness  his 
suffering.  Mr.  Prescott  says :  "  During  the  long  period 
of  his  confinement  his  sufferings  served  only  to  show  the 
sweetness  of  his  disposition.  The  circumstances  which 
filled  those  around  him  with  wretchedness,  and  with 
apprehensions  they  could  ill  disguise,  had  no  power  to  dis- 
turb his  serenity.  He  loved  life.  No  man  had  greater 
reason  to  love  it,  for  he  had  all  that  makes  life  valuable. 
But,  as  his  hold  loosened  upon  it,  no  murmur,  no  sigh  of 
regret,  escaped  his  lips ;  while  he  bowed  in  perfect  sub- 


440  ABBOTT   LAWKENCE 

mission  to  the  will  of  that  Almighty  Father  who  had  ever 
dealt  with  him  so  kindly.  As  his  strength  of  body  dimin- 
ished, that  of  his  affections  seemed  to  increase.  He  ap- 
peared to  be  constantly  occupied  with  thoughts  of  others 
rather  than  of  himself ;  and  many  a  touching  instance  did 
he  give  of  this  thoughtfulness,  and  of  his  tender  recollec- 
tion of  those  who  were  dear  to  him.  The  desire  of  doing 
good,  on  the  broadest  scale,  clung  to  him  to  the  last.  Not 
two  weeks  before  his  death  he  was  occupied  with  arrang- 
ing the  plan  of  the  model  houses  for  the  poor,  for  which 
he  made  so  noble  a  provision  in  his  will.  .  .  .  He  was 
dying  with  everything  around  him  to  soften  the  bitterness 
of  death,  —  above  all,  with  the  sweet  consciousness  that  he  i 

had  not  lived  in  vain.  On  the  18th  of  August,  1855,  a 
few  months  before  he  had  completed  his  sixty-third  year,  '\ 

he  expired,  and  that  so  gently  that  those  around  could 
not  be  sure  of  the  precise  moment  when  his  spirit  took 
its  flight."  .       : 

The  tidings  of  Mr.  Lawrence's    death   made    a    deep    ""       <[ 
impression  upon  the  community  in  the  midst  of  which  he  / 

had  lived  ^  so  prominently  and  so  usefully  for  more  than  ••! 

forty  years.     A  meeting  of  his  fellow-citizens  was  con-  j 

vened  in  Faneuil  Hall  to  take  proper  notice  of  the  event ;  j 

and  the  crowds  of  business  men  and  others  who  were  in 
attendance  at  the  unusual  hour  of  noon,  and  their  evident  - 

sense  of  public  and  personal  loss,  testified  to  the  high  / 

position  of  respect  and  esteem  which  he  had  held  among 
them.     The  Mayor  (Dr.   Smith)   called   the  meeting   to  • 

order,  and  the  chair  was  taken  by  Mr.  William  Sturgis,  ' 

who   had   been    associated   with    Mr.   Lawrence   in   the        .  j 
pioneer  party,  ten  years  before,  which  determined  the 
site  of   the   present  city  of   Lawrence.     Speeches  were  | 

made  by  Mr.  Winthrop,  Mr.  Everett,  Mr.  Stevenson,  and  j 

others  J  and  the  writer  of  these  pages,  who  was  present,  j 

well   remembers   the    sympathetic   response  which   they  ] 

awakened  in  those  who  listened  to  them.     Mr.  Winthrop 


ABBOTT    LAWRENCE  441 

was  undoubtedly  correct  when  he  said  that  Boston  had 
then  hardly  another  life  of  equal  value  to  lose. 

On  the  day  of  the  funeral,  flags  on  the  public  buildings 
and  on  the  shipping  of  the  port  were  displayed  at  half- 
mast,  the  bells  of  many  of  the  churches  were  rung,  and 
business  was  generally  suspended  while  the  services  were 
in  progress.  These  were  held  first,  privately,  at  the  home 
in  Park  Street,  and  then  in  Brattle  Square  Church,  which 
was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity.  The  interment  took 
place  in  the  beautiful  burying-lot  of  the  Lawrences,  in  the 
cemetery  of  Mount  Auburn. 

On  the  Sunday  succeeding  Mr.  Lawrence's  funeral,  his 
minister,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lothrop,  preached  a  commemora- 
tive discourse,  in  which  he  thus  spoke  of  his  religious 
character :  — 

"  The  benevolence  of  Mr.  Lawrence,  and  all  the  virtues  of  his 
life,  had  their  strong  foundation  and  constant  nourishment  in 
religious  faith.  He  believed  in  his  heart  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  received  him  as  the  promised  Messiah  and  Saviour 
of  the  world.  He  was  truly  catholic  in  his  feelings,  loving  all 
who  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity  and  truth  ;  and  he 
extended  the  helping  hand  of  his  charities  to  the  enterprises  of 
various  Christian  denominations." 

Mr.  Lawrence  had  not  waited  until  his  death  before 
making  appropriations  of  his  money  for  the  benefit  of 
others.  He  had  been  sowing  the  seed  of  charity  for  many 
a  year,  and  he  was  gladdened  by  some  of  the  fruits  of  his 
generosity  which  came  to  maturity  while  he  was  yet  liv- 
ing to  enjoy  them. 

The  public  bequests  under  the  will  ^amounted  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  This  included  the 
second  gift  to  the  Scientific  School,  of  which  we  have 
already  spoken ;  a  donation  of  ten  thousand  dollars  to  the 
Boston  Public  Library ;  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the 
erection  of  model  lodging-houses  for  the  poor. 

56 


442  ABBOTT   LAWRENCE 

These  houses  are  situated  in  East  Canton  Street,  Bos- 
ton, and  the  present  trustees  are  Messrs.  Abbott  Lawrence 
and  J.  IngersoU  Bowditch.       , 

Mr.  Lawrence  kept  up  through  life  a  large  correspond- 
ence with  the  most  eminent  men  in  the  United  States, 
and,  after  his  return  from  England,  with  some  of  the  most 
distinguished  men  of  that  country.  Unfortunately,  the 
great  fire  in  1872  destroyed  nearly  all  his  private  papers 
and  correspondence,  a  loss  doubly  severe  since  they  were  to 
have  been  used  in  preparing  a  more  extended  biography 
'of  him  than  is  now  possible.  Of  his  many  speeches, 
addresses,  and  letters  on  the  political  and  financial  ques- 
tions of  the  day,  and  on  other  topics  of  public  concern, 
the  following  list  comprises  all  that  have  been  printed 
in  pamphlet  form:  — 

A  Letter  to  a  Committee  of  the  Citizens  of  Boston  on 
the  Subject  of  the  Currency,  etc.,  March  25,  1837. 

Remarks  on  the  Duty  of  Congress  to  continue,  by  Dis- 
criminating and  Specific  Duties,  the  Protection  of  Ameri- 
can Labor,  at  the  Convention  of  Shoe  and  Leather  Deal- 
ers held  in  Boston,  March  2,  1842. 

Letters  on  the  Tariff,  addressed  to  the  Hon.  William 
C.  Hives  of  Virginia,  1846. 

Despatch  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  on  the  Subject  of 
Cheap  Postage ;  printed  by  order  of  the  Senate,  August 
31,  1852. 

.  Letter  from  Mr.  Lawrence  to  Mr.  Clayton  [then  Secre- 
tary of  State]  in  relation  to  Central  America;  printed  by 
order  of  the  Senate,  February  7,  1853. 

Correspondence  between  the  Governments  of  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  [during  the  years  1851  and  1852] 
relating  to  the  Dues  now  collected  in  the  latter  Country 
from  Merchant  Shipping  for  the  Support  of  Lighthouses 
and  Beacons ;  printed  by  order  of  the  Senate,  April  5, 
1872. 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE  443 

The  children  of  Abbott  Lawrence  who  survived  him 
were :  — 

I.  Annie  Bigelow,  born  April  18,  1820;  married,  January  22, 
1846,  Benjamin  S.  Rotcb.  Her  children  are  :  Edith,  born  July 
30,  1847 ;  Arthur,  born  May  13,  1850 ;  Aimde,  born  June  16, 
1852,  married,  December  2,  1873,  Winthrop  Sargent;  Annie 
Lawrence,  born  February  14,  1857  ;  Abbott  Lawrence,  born 
January  6,  1861. 

II.  James,  born  December  6, 1821 ;  died  at  Tunbridge  Wells, 
England,  February  10,  1875  ;  married,  1st,  March  16,  1852, 
Elizabeth  Prescott.  This  lady  died  May  24,  1864.  His  chil- 
dren are  :  1.  James,  born  March  23, 1853  ;  married,  January  16, 
1875,  Caroline  Estelle  Mudge.  His  children  are  :  Elizabeth 
Prescott,  born  July  29,  1876  ;  James,  born  February  7,  1878 ; 
Richard,  born  September  19,  1879.  2.  Gertrude,' born  Febru- 
ary 19,  1855 ;  married,  June  15,  1878,  John  Endicott  Peabody. 
Her  children  are:  Marian  Lee,  born  July  6,  1879;  Harold, 
born  December  7,  1880.  3.  Prescott,  born  January  17,  1861. 
2dly,  December  4,  1865,  Anna  Lothrop  Motley. 

III.  Timothy  Bigelotv,  born  November  22,  1826;  married, 
March  16,  1854,  Elizabeth  Chapman.  Colonel  Lawrence  was 
attached  to  his  father's  legation.  He  was  afterwards  consul- 
general  to  Italy,  residing  in  Florence,  where  he  performed  the 
duties  of  his  office  with  great  acceptance  to  his  government  and 
to  his  travelling  fellow-citizens.  He  died  in  Washington,  while 
on  a  visit  to  the  United  States,  March  21,  1869. 

IV.  Abbott,  born  September  9,  1828;  married,  April  12,' 
1853,  Harriette  White  Paige.  His  children  are  :  1.  Abbott, 
born  January  16,  1854.  2.  Rosamond,  born  May  17,  1856 
married,  January  13,  1881,  Francis  Peabody,  Jr.  Her  child 
is  Rosamond,  born  October  7,  1881.  3.  William  Paige,  born 
August  5,  1858.  4.  John,  born  April  27,  1861.  5.  Robert 
Ashton,  born  November  4,  1865.  6.  Harriette  Storv,  born 
June  10,  1867. 

V.  Katharine  Bigelow,  born  February  21,  1832  ;  married, 
June  1,  1854,  Augustus  Lowell.  Her  children  are :  Percival, 
born  March  13,  1855 ;  Abbott  Lawrence,  born  December  13, 
1856,  married,  June  19,  1879,  Anna  Parker  Lowell;  Katharine, 
born  November  27,  1858  ;  Elizabeth,  born  February  2,  1862  ; 
Amy,  born  February  9,  1874. 


444  ABBOTT  LAWKENCE 

Mrs.  Katharine  Lawrence  survived  her  husband,  and  died 
at  the  family  residence  in  Park  Street,  August  21, 1860. 

There  are  several  portraits  of  Mr.  Lawrence.  The 
earliest  one  was  painted  in  1832,  when  he  was  forty  years 
of  age,  by  Chester  Harding.  He  is  represented  as  seated, 
and  with  a  letter  in  his  hand.  It  is  an  admirable  like- 
ness and  a  highly  finished  picture.  It  was  engraved  in 
1856  (from  a  copy  by  Moses  Wight,  now  belonging  to  Mr. 
James  Lawrence),  by  Francis  Holl  of  London.  This  pic- 
ture is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence.  In 
1843  a  full-length  portrait  was  painted  by  G.  P.  A.  Healy, 
for  the  Mechanics'  Hall  in  Lowell,  where  it  now  hangs. 
In  1844  Mr.  Lawrence  sat  to  Healy  for  two  portraits. 
One  of  them  has  been  engraved  by  Joseph  Andrews, 
and  is  the  likeness  by  which  he  is  best  remembered.  He 
himself  preferred  this  picture  to  the  two  painted  at  an 
earlier  period.  It  is  in  the  possession  of  his  eldest 
daughter,  Mrs.  B.  S.  Eotch.  The  other,  not  so  much  in 
profile,  is  also  a  good  likeness,  and  belongs  to  Mr.  Prescott 
Lawrence. 

A  bust  was  modelled  in  1836  by  Hiram  Powers,  and  is 
a  fine  work  of  art.  It  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Abbott  Lawrence.  There  is  a  head  in  cameo,  taken  in 
1834  by  C.  W.  Jamison ;  and  another,  in  1843,  by  J.  C. 
King.  There  is  also  an  excellent  daguerreotype,  taken 
in  1854. 

Such  portraits'  and  semblances,  however,  at  the  best, 
give  but  an  imperfect  and  shadowy  impression  of  the  liv- 
ing presence,  —  of  the  form,  the  movement,  the  look,  and 
the  smile  ;  and  any  such  delineation  as  has  been  attempted 
in  these  pages  fails  to  represent  adequately  the  unceasing 
activity,  the  far-reaching  enterprise,  the  inflexible  integ- 
rity of  character,  the  genial  influence,  and  the  personal 
inspiration  which,  to  Mr.  Lawrence's  contemporaries  and 
companions,  were  a  constant  occasion  for  admiration 
and  pride.      But  the  gifts  of  which  we  have  spoken  — 


ABBOTT   LAWRENCE.  445 

to  churches,  schools,  and  libraries,  the  scientific  founda- 
tion at  Cambridge,  and  the  model  lodging-houses  in 
Boston  —  will  perpetuate  the  memory  of  Abbott  Law- 
rence as  no  canvas  or  marble  or  printed  page  can  do ; 
and  they  will  amply  illustrate  to  succeeding  generations 
the  noble  record  of  his  success  as  a  merchant,  of  his 
virtue  as  a  citizen,  of  his  generosity  as  a  philanthropist, 
and  of  his  excellence  as  a  man.* 

*  In  the  preparation  of  this  memoir  the  writer  has  been  indebted  to  Mr. 
Abbott  Lawrence,  of  Commonwealth  Avenue,  for  access  to  family  papers,  and 
for  many  valuable  suggestions. 


WILLIAM     CRANCH 


The  life  of  a  Judge,  however  eminent,  and  however 
well  appreciated  and  honored  by  members  of  the  legal 
profession,  is  not  usually  one  which  makes  a  glittering 
show  to  the  public  eye.  How  little  is  known  outside  the 
courts  and  law-offices,  of  the  learning,  the  intellectual 
grasp,  the  patience,  the  industry,  the  conscience,  the 
courage,  the  clear,  calm  power  of  detecting  principles 
amid  the  tedious  detail  of  facts  and  precedents,  and  of 
thoroughly  winnowing  truth  from  error,  which  are  re- 
quired in  this  profession  !  Such  acquirements  and  quali- 
ties make  little  noise  in  the  world;  but  like  the  silent 
forces  of  nature  they  are  none  the  less  effective  and 
beneficent. 

The  Hon.  "William  Cranch,  LL.D.,  Chief  Judge  of  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
is  a  name  well  known  among  lawyers  and  jurists,  through 
his  Reports  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  of  the  cases  in 
his  own  court  for  forty  years;  and  especially  distin- 
guished in  the  district  where  for  over  fifty  years  of  his 
life  he  held  his  office,  and  resided,  and  where  he  died, 
full  of  years  and  honors.  But  apart  from  his  legal  and 
judiciary  connections,  he  lived  a  comparatively  retired 
life,  uncheckered  by  any  remarkable  events.  He  was 
one  of  that  noble  fraternity  of  quiet  thinkers  and  workers 
of  all  times  and  various  professions,  who  are  content  to 


WILLIAM    CRANCH  447 

do  their  duty  thoroughly  and  well,  careless  of  the  shining 
honors  of  fame ;  or  else  who  fail  to  achieve  those  honors, 
because  by  temperament  too  unambitious  to  grasp  them, 
or  from  love  of  their  work  and  conscientiousness  in  the 
discharge  of  it  too  devoted  to  their  daily  tasks  to  weigh 
their  labors  against  their  deserts.  To  consecrate  their 
days  to  some  useful  but  unapplauded  sphere  of  life, 

"  Mutas  agitare  inglorius  artes," 

to  find  their  reward  in  their  own  consciences,  in  the  love 
and  esteem  of  family  and  friends,  and  in  the  appreciation 
of  some  small  or  provincial  public,  is  enough  for  them. 
Yet  it  is  but  just  that  such  a  life  should  be  known  to  a 
larger  circle  and  recorded  for  a  wider  perusal. 

It  is  fitting  that  I  should  trace  something  of  the  honor- 
able genealogy  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir.  The  blood 
and  the  principles  of  Puritan  ancestors  were  in  him  by 
pure  descent.  On  the  paternAl  side  they  were  all  Eng- 
lishmen. His  great-great-grandfather,  Richard  Cranch, 
the  first  of  his  name  of  whom  anything  is  known,*  was 
said  to  have  been  a  rigid  and  uncompromising  Puritan. 
His  great-grandfather,  Andrew  Cranch,  carried  on  the 
business  of  serge-making  largeh^,  in  the  town  of  Kings- 
bridge,  Devonshire,  where  were  born  his  son  John  —  and 
John's  son  Richard,  the  father  of  William.  These  ances- 
tors were  all  men  of  worthy  character.  In  religion  they 
were  dissenters. 

Of  the  Hon.  Richard  Cranch,  my  grandfather,  a  brief 
account  must  here  be  given.  He  was  born  in  1726, 
in  Kingsbridge,  Devonshire,  came  to  America  in  1746,  at 
the  age  of  twenty,  and  settled  in  the  old  town  of  Brain- 
tree,  which  then  contained  what  is  now  divided  into  the 
three  towns    of   Braintree,  Quincy,  and   Randolph.     He 

«  It  has  been  conjectured  that  the  Cranches  may  have  been  descendants  of 
Lucas  Cranach,  the  celebrated  painter  of  Germany ;  but  the  "  missing  link  "  has 
never  been  discovered. 


448  WILLIAM   CRANCH 

was  a  watchmaker,  and  for  some  years  pursued  this  busi- 
ness in  Braintree.  He  was  also  postmaster  of  the  town, 
held  a  seat  for  a  number  of  years  as  representative  in  the 
General  Court,  and  afterwards  as  senator  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts.  He  was  also  for  some  years 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  Though 
seK-educated,  he  was  a  scholar  of  wide  attainments,  and 
was  especially  learned  in  theology.  He  was  the  intimate 
friend  of  John  Adams,  and  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mayhew,  and 
the  associate  of  several  distinguished  men  of  his  time. 
He  is  frequently  spoken  of  with  affection  and  respect  in 
John  Adams's  diary.  In  one  place  Mr.  Adams  says, 
"  Was  there  ever  a  wit  who  had  much  humanity  and  com- 
passion, much  tenderness  of  nature  ?  .  .  .  Mr.  Cranch 
has  wit,  and  is  tender  and  gentle."  In  another  place  he 
speaks  of  Mr.  Cranch's  "  mathematical,  metaphysical,  me- 
chanical, systematical  head."  And  again  he  mentions 
him  as  "  the  friend  of  my  youth  as  well  as  of  my  riper 
years,  whose  tender  heart  sympathizes  with  his  fellow-  | 

creatures  in  every  affliction  and  distress."  He  was  a  man 
of  the  most  sterling  character,  and  of  a  high  order  of 
intelligence ;    an  ardent  patriot  during  the  Revolution ;  \1 

deeply  religious,  of  the  most  exemplary  life,  the  tenderest 
of  husbands  and  fathers,  the  best  of  citizens.     In  1780  j 

he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  A.M.  from  Harvard 
College.  He  was  tall,  grave,  and  dignified;  and  in  his 
features  is  said  to  have  borne  a  remarkable  resemblance 
to  the  portraits  of  John  Locke  the  philosopher. 

In  1762  Richard  Cranch  was  married  to  Mary  Smith, 
eldest  daughter  of  the  Rev.  William  Smith  of  Weymouth, 
Massachusetts,  whose  other  daughter,  Abigail,  afterwards 
married  John  Adams,  of  whose  celebrity  there  is  no  need 
here  to  speak. 

Mrs.  Mary  Cranch  was  in  every  respect  worthy  of  her 
husband,  —  a  lady  of  superior  character,  intelligence,  and 
cultivation,  loved  and  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  her. 


<  1 


WILLIAM   CRANCH  449 

There  were  born  to  theni  three  children :  Elizabeth,  who 
married  Rev.  Jacob  Norton ;  Lucy,  who  married  Mr.  John 
Greenleaf ;  and  William,  their  only  son. 

Judge  Richard  Cranch  and  his  wife  resided  chiefly  in 
Quincy,  Massachusetts,  and  died  there  at  advanced  ages, 
within  a  day  of  each  other,  in  October,  1811.  William 
Cranch  was  born  in  Weymouth,  Massachusetts,  1769. 
His  education  seems  to  have  been  entirely  at  home  under 
his  mother's  tuition  and  superintendence,  until  he  was 
put  under  the  charge  of  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  John  Shaw, 
of  Haverhill,  Massachusetts,  to  be  fitted  by  him  for  col- 
lege. In  1784,  when  under  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  entered 
the  Freshman  class  at  Harvard,  six  months  in  advance. 
His  friend  and  cousin,  John  Quincy  Adams,  afterwards 
entered  as  his  classmate. 

A  letter  from  Mr.  Amasa  Dingley,  one  of  the  more 
advanced  college  students,  to  the  Hon.  Richard  Cranch, 
in  this  year,  bears  the  highest  testimony  to  William's  • 
conduct  and  application  to  his  studies.  His  correspond- 
ence with  his  father,  mother,  and  sisters  during  his  col- 
lege course,  shows  his  uniform  diligence  and  steadiness  as 
a  student.  His  notes  to  his  parents  are  pervaded  by  a 
tone  of  filial  love  and  respect.  In  1787  he  graduated 
with  honors;  and  the  same  year  commenced  the  study 
of  law  in  Boston,  with  the  Hon.  Thomas  Dawes,  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts. 
As  he  boarded  in  Judge  Dawes's  family,  it  was  most  prob- 
ably there  that  he  first  met  my  mother,  who  was  the 
youngest  sister  of  Mrs.  Dawes. 

During  the  last  year  of  his  law-student  Hfe  in  Boston, 
I  find  the  following  characteristic  letter  to  him  from  John 
Adams,  then  vice-president  in  Washington's  administra- 
tion. I  believe  it  has  never  before  been  published.  It 
,  seems  to  be  an  answer  to  some  communication  of  my 
flxther's  (about  meetings  of  members  of  the  bar  and  law- 
students),  of  which  I  have  no  record. 

67 


450  WILLIAM   CRANCH 

2^EW  York,  March  14,  1790. 

Dear  Sir,  —  Your  favors  of  December  15,  January  24,  and 
February  17,  are  before  me,  and  I  thank  you  for  your  attention, 
and  hope  for  a  continuance  of  it,  though  I  am  not  a  punctual 
correspondent  to  you. 

To  the  original  of  the  bar  meetings  I  was  a  witness,  as  I  was 
to  their  excellent  effects  in  the  progress  of  them.  They  intro- 
duced a  candor  and  liberality  in  the  practice  at  the  bar,  that 
were  never  before  known  in  the  Massachusetts.  Mr.  Gardner's 
master,  Mr.  Pratt,  was  so  sensible  of  their  utility  that  when  we 
took  leave  of  him  at  Dedham,  his  last  words  to  us  were,  "  Breth- 
ren^ forsake  not  the  assembling  of  yourselves  together.''^ 

My  advice  to  you,  and  all  the  young  gentlemen  coming  up, 
as  well  as  to  those  now  on  the  stage,  is,  never  to  suffer  such 
meetings  to  go  into  disuse,  let  who  will  clamor  about  them :  for 
as  I  know  the  body  of  the  law  will  never  consent  to  any  illegal 
or  dishonorable  combinations,  so  on  the  other  hand  their  deliber- 
ations together,  on  what  is  for  the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  bar 
and  for  the  public  good,  as  far  as  their  practice  is  connected 
with  it,  cannot  but  produce  benign  effects.  ( 

What  ?   is  it  unlawful  for  the  gentlemen  of  the  profession  to  | 

spend  an  evening  together  once  a  week?  to  converse  upon  law,  [ 

.and  upon  their  practice  ;  to  hear  complaints  of  unkind,  unfair,  j 

and  ungentlemanlike  practice  ;  to  compose  differences  ;  to  agree  ;.i 

that  they  will  not  introduce  ignorant,  illiterate,  or  ill-bred  or  | 

unprincipled  students  or  candidates?  that  they  will  not  practise  ) 

any  kind  of  chicanery,  or  take  unmanly  disadvantages  of  one  i 

another,  to  the  injury  of  clients,  for  accidental  or  inadvertent  i\ 

slips  in  pleading  or  otherwise?     On  what  unhappy  times  are  I 

we  fallen,  if  that  profession  without  which  the  laws  can  never  V 

be  maintained  nor  liberty  exist,  is  to  be  treated  in  this  tyranni-  j 

(ill  manner?  \. 

But  I  must  stop.  —  Ask  my  son  if  he  has  received  two  letters 

from  me.     I  am, 

With  much  esteem  and  affection,  yours, 

John  Adams. 
Jin.  William  Cranch,  at  Judge  Dawes's,  Boston. 

In  1790  William  Cranch  was  admitted  to  practise  law 
in  the  court  of  Common  Pleas,  at  the  age  of  twentj-one. 


WILLIAM    CRANCn  451 

He  began  practice  in  Braintree,  but  afterwards  removed 
to  Haverhill,  where  he  boarded  in  Mr.  Shaw'^  family,  and 
attended  the  courts  in  Essex  County,  and  at  Exeter, 
Portsmouth,  and  other  places  in  New  Hampshire.  In 
1793  he  was  admitted  to  practise  in  the  Supreme  Court. 
On  entering  his  office  at  Haverhill  he  took  charge  of  the 
unfinished  business  of  Mr.  Thaxter,  a  relative  who  had 
died.  He  had  the  use  of  Mr.  Thaxter's  law-books,  as 
long  as  they  remained  unsold,  and  also  of  Judge  Sar- 
gant's  library. 

One  little  incident  is  told  in  his  correspondence,  while 
at  Haverhill,  which  I  merely  note  in  passing,  as  illustrat- 
ing his  humane  and  disinterested  spirit.  He  writes  to  his 
mother,  April  8,  1792 :  "  I  took  a  little  cold,  I  believe, 
the  day  before  yesterday  in  overheating  myself  by  my 
exertions  in  attempting  to  save  a  little  boy  from  drown- 
ing, who  fell  into  the  river  from  a  wharf.  But  all  our 
exertions  came  too  late.  .  .  .  He  was  about  eight  years 
old.  I  was  assisting  the  physicians  for  the  first  six  hours, 
and  at  times  had  hopes  of  his  recovery;  but  the  exertions, 
though  continued  eighteen  hours,  Avere  ineffectual." 

In  April,  1794,  he  was  appointed  a  justice  of  the  peace 
for  the  county  of  Essex.  But  in  the  autumn  of  the  same 
year  he  received  an  offer  from  Mr.  James  Greenleaf,  who 
was  the  owner  of  large  estates  in  Washino-ton  and  else- 
where,  to  become  his  agent,  or  rather  the  agent  of  Morris, 
Nicholson,  and  Greenleaf,  for  the  transaction  of  all  law 
business  connected  with  their  affairs,  and  to  take  up  his 
residence  in  Washington,  with  a  salary  of  one  thousand 
dollars  per  annum,  and  a  dwelling-house  provided  for  three 
years.  This  offer  he  accepted,  and  set  out  for  Washing- 
ton at  once.  On  arriving  at  New  York  he  found  that  his 
business  was  to  be  much  more  extensive  than  was  at  first 
proposed.  "  I  am  to  take  charge,"  he  writes,  '•'  of  all  the 
immense  negotiations  of  Mr.  G.,  control  all  the  cash,  pass 
all  accounts,   oversee  the   book-keepers,  etc.  etc."     Not 


452  WILLIAM    CRANCH 

long  after  arriving  in  Washington,  he  had  the  misfortune 
to  lose  all  his.  books  and  papers,  and  all  his  clothes,  except 
what  he  had  in  his  travelling  trunk.  They  had  been  sent 
by  sea  in  a  vessel  laden  with  lime  and  lumber,  which, 
running  aground  in  Chesapeake  Bay,  was  consumed  by 
the  wetting  of  the  lime.  "My  travelling  trunk,"  he 
writes,  ''now  contains  everything  I  have  in  the  world, 
excepting  a  trunk  of  valuable  papers  I  left  with  Leonard 
White." 

In  those  days  it  was  no  slight  enterprise  to  settle 
down  in  a  place  so  remote,  so  thinly  populated  and  subject 
to  malarial  fevers,  as  Washington.  It  was  a  long  and 
fatiguing  journey  to  get  there.  There  was  no  city  to 
speak  of.  Ij;  was  composed  of  small  groups  of  houses, 
with  very  few  shops,  widely  separated  by  flat  fields  and 
marshes.  It  was  precisely  like  emigrating  to  the  far 
West  at  the  present  day.  In  a  letter  of  introduction  to 
Charles  Carrol  of  Carrolton,  dated  Philadelphia,  Decem- 
ber 10,  1794,  John  Adams  writes  thus:  — 


"  The  bearer  of  this  letter,  William  Cranch,  is  a  nephew  of  '■. 

mine,  and  to  me  very  much  like  one  of  my  sons,  and  I  should  i 

therefore  think  myself,  in  a  sort,  wanting  in  parental  affection  | 

if  I  suffered  him  to  go  to  Annapolis,  without  a  letter  of  intro-  ( 
duction  to  you.     He  is  destined  to  settle  at  least  for  some  years 
in  the  Federal  city,  to  the  prosperity  of  which  his  education, 

talents,  application,  and   virtues   may  make   him  very  useful.  \ 

Permit  me  to  solicit  your  patronage  in  his  favor  in  proportion  I 

to  his  merits."  i 

In   consequence    of    the    new   arrangement   with   Mr.  j 

Greenleaf,  by  which   the   entire   superintendence  of   his  | 
affairs  was   entrusted   to  him,  his   salary  was  raised   to 

fifteen  hundred  dollars  a  year,  his  expenses  incurred  in  \ 

travelling  on  account  of  the  business  were   to  be  paid,  j 

and  he  was  to  have  the  use,  when  necessary  for  that  pur-  j 
pose,  of  two  or  three  horses.     Mr.  Greenleaf  generously 
offered  to  pay  him  for  the  amount  of  his  loss  by  the  ves- 


WILLIAM    CRANCII  453 

sel,  and  also  to  assist  him  -with  a  loan,  to  be  repaid  when 
convenient,  without  interest. 

His  prospects  now  encouraged  him  to  make  prepara- 
tions for  domestic  life  in  Washington ;  and  on  April  6, 
1795,  he  was  married  in  Boston  to  Miss  Ann  (Nancy) 
Greenleaf,  the  youngest  daughter,  in  a  large  family,  of 
William  Greenleaf,  Esquire,  merchant  of  Boston,  and  who 
had  been,  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  high  sheriff  of 
Suffolk  County,  including  Boston.*  She  was  the  sister 
of  Mr.  James  Greenleaf,  also  of  Mrs.  Judge  Dawes,  and 
of  Mrs.  Noah  Webster.  Returning  early  in  the  summer 
to  Washington  with  my  mother,  he  commenced  house- 
keeping under  happy  auspices,  and  worked  diligently. 
The  next  year  his  first  son  was  born.  This  same  year  he 
hired  a  farm  a  few  miles  from  Washington,  across  the 
Eastern  Branch.  It  was  part  of  a  large  tract  belonging 
to  his  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Greenleaf.  This  farm  (or 
rather  plantation,  which  he  designed  improving  into  a 
farm)  he  often  visited  during  his  leisure  hours,  and  took 
great  pleasure  on  it,  sometimes  working  with  his  own 
hands,  finding  the  exercise  good  for  him. 

The  affairs  of  Morris,  Nicholson,  and  Greenleaf  turned 
out  badly.  They  had  purchased,  sold,  and  speculated  in 
lands  to  an  enormous  extent,  —  Mr.  Greenleaf  at  one 
time  owning,  it  was  said,  thirteen  million  acres  in  the 
State  of  Georgia,  besides  other  large  tracts  of  land,  which 
promised  to  make  him  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  Amer- 
ica. Through  the  failure  of  this  firm  my  father  found 
himself  somewhat  embarrassed  in  his  circumstances,  but 
hoped  to  escape  w^ithout  loss.  But  a  few  years  later  he 
found  his  situation  much  worse. 

His  connection  with  this  firm  ceasing  on  its  failure,  he 

*  They  were  the  parents  of  thirteen  children.  A  sketch,  in  1847,  gives  the 
names  of  the  following:  William  Greenleaf,  Richard,  Ann  Allen,  Mary,  Elizabetli 
Eliot,  John,  Edward  Pope,  Christopher  Pearse,  the  author  of  this  memoir,  Ahhy 
Adams,  Margaret  Dawes.  See  "New  England  Historical  and  Genealogical 
Register,"  Vol.  I.  p.  79. —  Committee. 


454  WILLIAM   CEAXCH 

was  for  a  time  (in  1797)  somewhat  undecided  as  to  his 
future  plans ;  and  especially  so  on  receiving  a  letter  from 
Mr.  Noah  Webster  (who  was  then  editor  of  a  paper  in 
New  York),  in  which  he  made  a  proposition  to  my  father 
that  they  should  together  undertake  a  daily  paper  in  Bos- 
ton, and  a  weekly  or  semi-weekly  for  the  country,  and 
that  my  father  should  be  the  editor.  In  this  proposal  he 
held  out  inducements  that  seemed  promising.  The  temp- 
tation to  return  to  Boston  and  the  vicinity  of  his  family 
and  friends  was,  for  a  little  while,  very  strong ;  but  on 
mature  consideration,  and  with  the  advice  of  competent 
persons,  he  concluded  to  abandon  the  idea,  and  deter- 
mined to  remain  in  Washington  and  pursue  the  practice 
of  the  law.     His  father,  with  whom  he  corresponded  on  ' 

all  matters  of  moment,  concurred  in  his  determination, 
though  it  would  have  been  an  inexpressible  pleasure  and 
comfort  to  have  had  his  son,  to  whom  he  was  so  tenderly 
attached,  near  him  again   in   his   declining  years.     His  \ 

aunt,  Mrs.  Adams,  also  wrote  to  him  on  the  subject,  but  ] 

without  venturing  any  decided  advice  as  to  his  course.  | 

She  however  adds  :  "  If,  upon  mature  consideration  of  the  '  j 
subject,  you  should  think  it  best  to  go  into  the  practice 
of  the  law,  .your  uncle  (Mr.  Adams)  desires  me  to  tell  you 
that  he  will  lend  you  two  hundred  dollars  to  purchase 
you  such  books  as  you  may  be  in  immediate  want  of; 
that  you  shall  take  your  own  time  to  repay  him,"  etc.  In 
the  next  three  years  that  followed,  in  spite  of  the  most 
rigid  economy  he  found  himself  seriously  embarrassed 
from  his  connection  with  Mr.  Morris  and  endorsement  of  ; 

his  notes.     In  the  year  1800  he  was  oT^liged  to  relinquish  \ 

all  his  property  and  take  the  benefit  of  the  insolvency  J 

laws.     These  troubles,  the  uncons-enial  societv  about  him  \ 

in  Washington  and  Georgetown,  and  the  frequent  cases  of  • 

illness  in  his  family,  often  produced  in  him  very  despond-  \ 

ent  moods.     But  he  steadily  applied  himseK  to  his  busi-  ! 

ness,  and  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  gaining  two  causes  ! 


WILLIAM    CRANCH  455 

in  Annapolis.  The  same  year  he  was  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent Adams  one  of  the  commissioners  of  public  buildings, 
upon  the  recommendation  of  the  largest  part  of  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  city,  with  a  salary  of  sixteen  hundred  dol- 
lars. "  But  how  long  the  office  will  continue,"  he  writes, 
"  is  uncertain."  He  adds,  "  The  only  subject  of  regret 
which  the  circumstance  suggests,  is,  that  it  will  call  forth 
the  calumnies  of  malevolence  upon  the  president.  But  it 
will  be  remembered  that  President  Washington  appointed 
Mrs.  Washington's  son-in-law  (Dr.  Stuart)  to  the  same 
office,  —  so  that  a  precedent  is  not  wanting,  without  re- 
curring to  the  authority  of  the  patriotic  McKean,  who 
appointed  his  own  son  to  the  office  of  attorney-general  of 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania." 

In  ISOl  Mr.  Crunch  was  appointed  by  the  president 
assistant  judge  of  the  newly  constituted  Circuit  Court  of 
the  District  of  Columbia;  William  Kilty  being  chief 
judge,  and  James  Marshall  (brother  of  the  celebrated 
Chief  Justice  Marshall  of  the  Supreme  Court)  the  other 
assistant  judge. 

In  1802  I  find  that  there  is  mention  of  eleven  articles 
by  Judge  Cranch,  on  the  Independence  of  the  Judiciary, 
—  a  topic  to  which  he  had  devoted  much  thought,  —  pub- 
lished in  the  Washington  Federalist,  and  signed  Lucius 
Junius  Brutus.  (It  was  the  fashion  in  those  days  to  write 
under  these  classical  signatures.)  Having  succeeded  Mr. 
Dallas  as  reporter  of  the  Supreme  Court,  he  finished  the 
first  volume  of  his  reports  of  that  bench  in  1803,  and 
published  it  the  next  year. 

In  1805,  very  much  to  his  surprise,  for  he  was  a  warm 
Federalist  in  his  politics.  Judge  Cranch  was  appointed  by 
Mr.  Jefferson  to  the  office  of  chief  judge  of  the  Circuit 
Court,  at  a  salary  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars,  his  pre- 
decessor. Judge  Kilty,  having  been  made  chancellor  of 
the  State  of  Maryland.  His  labors  in  this  office  were, 
through  the  whole  of  his  long  judicial  Hfe,  exceedingly 


456  WILLIAM   CRANCH 

arduous.  ^  On  August  15,  1806,  he  apologizes  for  not 
having  written  to  his  father,  by  stating  that  he  had  just 
finished  a  session  of  five  weeks  at  Alexandria,  and  that 
since  the  fourth  Monday  of  November  last  he  had  been 
twenty-nine  weeks  in  court. 

In  the  winter  of  1806-7  occurred  an  event  which  cre- 
ated much  popular  excitement,  and  which,  for  a  time, 
brought  Judge  Cranch  into  conflict  not  only  with  public 
opinion,  but  also  with  the  views  of  President  Jefferson. 
This  was  the  trial  of  Dr.  Bollman  and  Mr.  Swartwout, 
arrested  in  New  Orleans  and  brought  to  Washington  on  a 
charge  of  treason,  and  as  probable  accomplices  of  Aaron 
Burr  in  his  alleged  conspiracy.  The  case  was  tried  be- 
fore the  Circuit  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  The 
president  had  communicated  a  message  to  Congress  on 
the  subject,  and  had  ordered  the  arrest  and  transportation 
to  the  District,  of  Messrs.  Bollman  and  Swartwout,  on  his 
own  authority.  Judge  Cranch  took  the  ground  that 
there  was  no  evidence  of  treason ;  and  that  "  executive 
communications  not  on  oath  or  afiBrmation  could  not, 
under  the  Constitution,  be  received  as  sufficient  evidence 
in  a  court  of  justice,  to  charge  a  man  with  treason,  still 
less  to  commit  him  for  trial."  (See  fall  report  of  this 
trial  in  Cranch's  Reports  of  Circuit  Court,  Vol  I.)  In 
regard  to  this  case  Judge  Cranch  writes  thus  to  his  father, 
February  2,  1807:  — 


;' 


"  The  last  week  was  entirely  occupied  about  the  arrest  and 
commitment  of  Dr.  Bollman  and  Mr.  Swartwout  upon  the 
charge  of  treason  against  the  United  States.  Never  in  mv  life 
have   I  been  more  anxious.     You  will  see  by  the  newspapers  | 

that  I  have  dared  to  differ  from  my  brethren  on  the  bench.  I 
have  dared  to  set  the  law  and  the  Constitution  in  opposition  to 
the  arm  of  executive  power,  supported  by  the  popular  clamor.  \ 

I  have  dared  to  attempt  to  maintain  principle  at  the  expense  of  j 

popularity.     I  have  stood  alone,  determined  to  judge  for  myself,  / 

and  to  take  counsel  of  no  one.     My  own  conduct  has  been  the 


WILLIAM    CRANCn  457 

result  of  my  own  judgment  only,  unaided  by  a  single  confer- 
ence, except  with  my  brother  judges.  In  my  own  mind  I  had 
no  doubt  whatever,  that  the  Constitution  did  not  justify  a  com- 
mitment upon  such  evidence  ;  and  although  I  felt  that  the  pub- 
lic interest  might  be  benefited  l)y  committing  those  gentlemen 
for  trial,  yet  I  could  not  consent  to  sacrifice  the  most  important, 
constitutional  provision  in  favor  of  individual  liberty,  to  reasons 
of  State.  I  was  not  willing  that  the  executive  department 
should  transfer  to  us  its  own  proper  responsibility. 

"  Never  before  has  this  country,  since  the  Revolution,  wit- 
nessed so  gross  a  violation  of  personal  liberty,  as  to  seize  a  man 
without  any  warrant  or  lawful  authority  whatever,  and  send 
him  two  thousand  miles  by  water  for  his  trial,  out  of  the  district 
or  State  in  which  the  crime  was  committed  ;  —  and  then  for  the 
first  time  to  apply  for  a  warrant  to  arrest  him,  grounded  on 
written  affidavits. 

"I  regretted  that  I  could  not,  without  seeming  to  prejudge 
the  case,  give  my  reasons  for  my  opinion  at  full  length.     You 
will  shortly  see  in  the  newspapers  what  I  did  say.  .  .  .  My 
reasons  for  my  opinion  as  to  the  facts  (although  I  did  not  state 
them,  because  I  did  not  think  I  could  state  them  with  propriety 
in  that  stage  of  the  prosecution)  were  these.     Treason  against 
the  United  States  can  consist  only  in  levying  war  against  them. 
There  can  be  no  treason  without  an  overt  act  of  levying  war. 
There  can  be  no  overt  act  of  levying  war  without  an  assem- 
blage  of  men,  either  armed,   or  in  very  great  numbers,  and 
ready  to  do  some  treasonable  act.     I  sought  in  vain  through 
all  the  documents  and  testimony  submitted  to  us,  for  an  an- 
swer  to    these    questions,  —  hy   ivhom   has   such   an  overt   act 
been  committed?  — ow   luhat   day,  in  what  year,  was  it   com- 
mitted?—with   what  circumstances  was  it  committed?     The 
simple  questions  who?    when?    where?    and  how?   remaining 
unanswered,  I  could  not  say  it  was  probable,  from  the  evidence 
before  us,  that  a  treason  had  been  committed.     For  that  must 
be  a  strange  crime  which  can  be  committed  by  nobody,  at  no 
time,  in  no  place,  and  without  any  circumstances. 

"  So  anxious  was  the  president  to  have  this  prosecution  com- 
menced, or,  to  use  his  own  language,  to  deliver  them  up  to  the 
civil  authority,  that  he  came  to  the  Capitol  on  the  day  of  their 
arrival,  and  with  his  own  hand  delivered  to  the  district  attor- 

63 


458  >    WILLIAM    CRANCH 

ney,  Mr.  Jones,  the  affidavits  of  General  Wilkinson,  and  in- 
structed the  attorney  to  demand  of  the  court  a  warrant  for  the 
arrest  of  Bollman  and  Swartwout  on  the  charge  of  treason,  — 
This  was  publicly  confessed  by  Mr.  Jones  in  open  court,  upon 
he'mg  questioned  by  Judge  Fitzhugh,  by  whose  orders  he  made 
the  motion. 

"When  this  circumstance  is  considered,  —  and  the  attempt 
made  in  the  legislature  to  suspend  the  privilege  of  habeas  cor- 
pus on  the  very  day  on  which  the  motion  was  made  for  a  war- 
rant against  Bollman  and  Swartwout,  —  when  we  reflect  on  the 
extraordinary  exertions  made  by  all  under  presidential  influ- 
ence to  exaggerate  Burr's  conspiracy  into  a  horrid  rebellion,  so 
that  the  administration  may  have  the  merit  of  quelling  it  with- 
out bloodshed,  —  when  they  have  so  far  succeeded  as  to  excite 
the  public  mind  almost  to  frenzy  in  many  parts  of  the  country, 
—  you  may  form  some  idea  of  the  anxiety  which  has  attended 
my  dissent  from  the  majority  of  the  court.  —  But  having  no 
doubt  as  to  my  duty,  I  have  never  once  thought  of  shrinking 
from  my  responsibility." 

On  the  21st  of  the  same  month  he  writes :  — 

"  It  happened  from  a  singular  and  unforeseen  coincidence  of 
strange  circumstances,  that  I  should  be  the  first  to  resist  the 
hand  of  arbitrary  power,  and  to  stem  the  torrent,  which  has  at 
length  yielded,  and  is  now  turning  the  other  way.  Bollman 
and  Swartwout  have  been  this  day  absolutely  released  by  the 
Supreme  Court  from  imprisonment  on  the  charge  of  treason. 
Although  I  have  not  for  a*  moment  doubted  the  correctness  of 
my  opinion,  yet  it  is  a  great  source  of  satisfaction  to  find  it  con- 
firmed by  the  highest  judicial  tribunal  in  the  nation.  I  congrat- 
ulate my  country  upon  this  triumph  of  reason  and  law  over 
popular  passion  and  injustice,  —  upon  the  final  triumph  of  the 
civil  over  the  military  authority,  —  and  of  the  practical  princi- 
ples of  substantial  personal  liberty  over  the  theoretical  doctrines 
of  pliilosophic  civil  liberty." 

In  an  interesting  letter  to  his  father,  February  28, 
1808,  he  seems  very  anxious  on  the  subject  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  judiciary  department,  and  thinks  he  sees 
indications  on  the  part  of  the  democratic  leaders  in  Con- 


WILLIAM    CRAXCH  459 

gress  to  destroy  the  functions  of  the  judiciary,  or  to  ren- 
der it  dependent  on  a  majority  of  the  legislature. 

•  *' For  my  own  part  I  should  infinitely  prefer  to  see  it  de- 
stroyed entirely  than  to  see  it  converted  into  the  tool  of  a 
triumphant  and  exasperated  majority.  I  had  rather  see  judges 
holding  their  oflBces  at  the  will  of  the  executive  than  of  the 
legislative  department  of  our  government.  There  would  be 
less  danger  to  personal  liberty  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter 
case.  For  a  single  officer  is  liable  to  responsibility,  but  a  ma- 
jority of  the  legislature  is  irresponsible.  It  feels  its  power,  it 
knows  its  popularity,  and  is  liable  to  as  violent  passions  as  any 
individual.  Nothing  is  more  true  than  that  in  every  popular 
government  all  power  tends  to  one  centre,  and  I  fear  the  centrif- 
ugal power  of  ours  is  daily  growing  too  weak  for  the  centripe- 
tal. But  I  did  not  mean  to  enter  upon  politics.  I  have  very 
little  to  do  with  it,  especially  as  to  questions  of  mere  expedi- 
ency, where  the  great  and  fundamental  principles  of  the  Consti- 
tution are  not  in  danger." 

In  a  letter.  May  2,  of  this  year,  he  says :  "  I  have  been 
for  some  time  occupied  in  translating  Clerk's  'Praxis  Cu- 
riae Admiralitatis,'  and  so  much  of  Oughton's  '  Ordo 
Judiciorum'  as  is  referred  to  by  Clerk,  which,  as  the 
books  are  rare,  I  have  thoughts  of  publishing  some  time 
hereafter,  with  notes  and  precedents,"  etc. 

In  1809  he  purchased  a  farm  of  two  hundred  and  forty- 
seven  acres  between  Washington  and  Alexandria.  About 
this  time  he  became  infected  with  the  Merino-sheep  mania, 
and  \vent  further  into  the  purchasing  and  breeding  of  this 
expensive  breed  of  animals,  than  he  had  at  first  intended. 
On  the  whole  I  believe  the  speculation  was  not  a  very 
profitable  one.  A  postscript  to  a  letter  from  his  father  in 
1811  has  the  following  joke  of  John  Adams  on  this  sub- 
ject. •'■  Your  uncle,  the  late  president,  desired  me  to  send 
his  love  to  you,  and  hopes  that  your  attention  to  your 
sheep  will  not  take  off  your  mind  from  the  wool-sack." 
I  do  not  think  it  ever  did  divert  his  thoughts  from  his  offi- 


460  WILLIAM    CRANCH 

cial  labors.  This  taste  for .  agriculture  and  sheep-raising 
was  a  temporary  thing.  He  needed  something  of  the 
sort  as  a  relaxation  from  the  dry  and  severe  labors  of  his 
office. 

In  1811  Judge  Cranch  removed  his  residence  from 
Washington  to  Alexandria,  where  he  continued  to  live  till 
1826.  Having  sold  his  farm  near  Washington,  he  pur- 
chased another  smaller  one  near  Alexandria,  where  he 
resided  during  the  summer  months.  Meanwhile  occurred 
the  War  of  1812.  In  1814  the  British  forces,  having  in- 
vaded Washington  and  burned  the  public  buildings,  pro-  , 
ceeded  to  Alexandria,  where,  however,  they  committed 
fewer  depredations  than  had  been  expected.  Judge 
Cranch' s  losses  were  chiefly  from  the  partial  burning  of 
the  Long  Bridge  across  the  Potomac,  in  which  he  held 
stock.  During  this  period  of  his  residence  in  Alexandria, 
he  suffered  severe  losses  in  the  deaths  of  five  of  his  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  died  in  infancy,  and  three  in  adult  j 
age.  In  1826  he  returned  with  his  family  to  Washington,  j 
where  he  resided  on  Capitol  Hill  until  his  death.                          \ 

In  1827,  at  the  request  of  the  Columbian  Institute,  of  j 

which  he  was  a  member,  he  wrote  and  delivered  before  / 

that  association  a  memoir  of  seventy  pages  (afterwards  j 

published),  on  the  life,  character,  and  writings  of  John    ,      ( 
Adams.  '  ' 

In  1829  the  degree  of  LL.D.  was  conferred  upon  him 
by  Harvard  College,  —  a  long  deserved  and  too  long  de- 
ferred honor.     He  was  admitted    an  honorary  member  ; 
of  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  March       .  \ 

15,1847. 

In  1852  he  published  in  six  volumes  his  Reports  Civil 
and  Criminal  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  District  of 
Columbia,  covering  forty  years,  —  from  1801  to  1841. 
And  among  the  last  services  imposed  on  him  by  Congress, 
was  the  final  hearing  of  patent-causes,  after  an  appeal  to 
the  commissioner  of  patents. 


WILLIAM    CRANCn  461 

One  of  his  last  published  papers  was  an  opinion  written 
in  June,  1851  (at  the  age  of  eighty-two),  on  the  alleged 
grievances  of  South  Carolina,  when  that  refractory  State 
was  making  threats  of  withdrawing  from  the  Union.  In 
this  essay  he  showed  that  '•  the  only  complaint  of  South 
Carolina  against  the  United  States  could  be  that  the 
balance  of  power  had  changed,  leaving  her  in  a  minority, 
so  that  she  could  no  longer  wield  the  power  of  the  United 
States  to  the  accomplishment  of  her  particular  views,  and 
especially  on  the  subject  of  slavery."  He  maintained 
"  that  according  to  the  Constitution  she  had  no  right  to 
secede,  and  take  a  position  as  a  sovereign  and  independent 
State ;  that  she  never  had  had  that  right :  that  whatever 
her  grievance  she  was  bound  to  submit  to  the  will  of  the 
majority  constitutionally  and  lawfully  expressed  :  that  her 
only  remedy  was  either  the  ballot-box  or  revolution,  — 
but  that  the  latter,  measure  could  be  justified  only  by 
insufferable  injuries,  which  had  never  been  inflicted,  nor 
could  be  inflicted  by  the  United  States;  that  her  com- 
plaint was  what  lawyers  call  a  quia  timet.  South  Carolina 
pretends  that  she  fears  that  Congress  will  do  what  it  has 
not  the  power  to  do,  and  she  claims  to  have  security  for 
the  future."  And  so  she  rushes  into  secession,  for  which 
she  has  not  the  shadow  of  constitutional- authority :  that 
she  has  no  power  of  dissolving  the  Union,  and  if  she 
could,  it  would  be  unjust  to  do  so,  after  having  enjoyed 
the  full  benefit  of  it  for  more  than  half  a  century. 

In  September,  1843,  he  was  called  upon  to  endure  the 
loss  of  the  beloved  partner  of  his  joys  and  sorrows.  He 
bore  our  dear  mother's  death  with  that  fortitude  and  res- 
ignation and  religious  hope  of  a  union  beyond  the  grave, 
which  were  inseparable  from  his  character. 

His  own  end  he  saw  approaching  with  equal  faith  and 
trust.  Until  within  a  few  years  of  his  death  he  steadily 
and  loyally  discharged  the  duties  of  his  laborious  office. 
For  some  time  previous  to  this  he  was  confined  to  his 


462  WILLIAM   CKANCH 

room.  Old  age  and  a  life  of  hard  work  were  beginning 
to  show  their  traces.  To  the  last  his  mind  was  clear  and 
his  spirits  tranquil.  Sometimes  in  his  sick-room  he  would 
have  visions  of  wonderful  vividness.  He  would  see  pic- 
tures of  exquisite  beautj :  he  would  hear  glorious  music 
in  the  air  from  unseen  hands  and.  voices.  Watched 
and  attended  by  those  of  his  children  who  still  resided 
near  him  (for  many  of  us  were  scattered  far  and  wide, 
and  unable  to  be  with  him),  he  passed  away  peacefully  at 
the  age  of  eighty-six,  on  the  first  of  September,  1855. 

A  funeral  sermon  was  preached  in  the  Unitarian  Church 
by  the  Rev.  Moncure  D.  Conway,  full  of  the  truest  and 
tenderest  appreciation  of  his  mind,  character,  and  life ; 
and  the  following  hymn,  by  the  Rev.  S.  G.  Bulfinch,  was 


sung. 


Nature  seems  to  have  intended  William  Cranch  for  a 
judge.     His  patience  and  perseverance  were  only  matched 


"  "Weep  not  for  him  whose  lengthened  days 
Have  kept  him  from  his  well-fiarned  rest. 
Now  his  tired  head  he  gently  lays 
Upon  the  Father's  loving  breast. 

"  "Weep  not  for  him  ;  long  since  he  sighed, 
Recalled  to  life  from  opening  bliss, 
Then,  meekly  yielding  to  abide 

He  copied  that  bright  world  in  this. 

"  "Weep  not  for  him,  though  never  closed 
The  earth  on  features  more  revered, 
Though  ne'er  in  death's  calm  sleep  reposed 
One  more  to  all  the  good  endeared. 

•'"Wise,  learned,  thoughtful,  pure  and  kind. 
The  soul  of  honor,  heart  of  love. 
The  noble  form,  the  taste  refined. 
And  the  firm  faith  that  looks  above  ; 

"  Such  was  he  :  yet,  O  mourn  not  him  ! 

Thanks  that  his  light  around  us  shone  !  | 

Thanks  that  his  eye,  to  earth  gi'own  dim,  \ 

Uudazzled  views  the  sapphire  throne  !  "  \ 


WILLIAM    CRANCH  463 

by  his  love  of  clearness  and  order.  He  would  take  pleas- 
ure in  imravelling  a  snarl  of  string  and  in  untying  hard 
knots.  He  had  a  mechanical  turn,  and  liked  to  take  his 
old  family  clock  to  pieces,  to  be  oiled  and  cleaned,  and  to 
put  it  together  again.  While  in  college  he  devoted  a 
good  deal  of  time  to  mathematical  problems,  and  even 
went  so  far  as  to  calculate  an  eclipse.  These  qualities, 
combined  with  his  sensitive  musical  ear,  would  somethnes, 
on  a  day  of  leisure,  lead  him  to  spend  a  morning  in  tun- 
ing his  piano  or  parlor-organ  in  a  very  thorough  and 
methodical  way.  The  same  qualities  exerted  in  more 
serious  mental  action  made  him  a  capital  chess-player, — 
while  he  hated  backgammon  and  cards  and  all  games  of 
chance.  These  characteristic  traits  in  union  with  the 
higher  ones  of  thoroughness  and  exactness  of  knowledge, 
of  conscientious  and  discriminating  judgment  in  difficult 
cases,  of  singular  ability  to  see  the  main  facts  and  author- 
ities, and  to  detect  always  the  principle  and  spirit  of  the 
law,  made  him,  by  nature  and  by  long  training,  a  judge 
whose  decisions  have  always  held  a  deserved  reputation 
for  soundness.  The  best  proof  of  this  is,  that  during  more 
than  fifty  years'  service  on  the  bench,  it  is  well  known 
that  7iot  one  of  his  decisions  was  reversed  hy  the  Supreme 
Court.  There  were,  it  is  true,  two  decisions  of  the  Court, 
and  only  two,  I  think,  which  were  reversed.  But  in  both 
cases  Judge  Cranch's  opinion  differed  from  that  of  the 
two  other  judges.  Surely  this  is  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able facts  in  the  history  of  courts  of  law,  and  one  that 
deserves  the  applause  of  the  age  and  country. 

He  was  a  hard  and  steady  worker.  He  rose  early, 
often  being  up  before  sunrise  in  winter ;  and  when  not 
on  the  bench,  he  was  usually  engaged  at  work  in  his 
office,  frequently  till  near  midnight.  Nothing  but  sick- 
ness or  some  unavoidable  necessity  ever  kept  him  from 
the  sessions  of  the  court,  or  from  his  toil  in  the  solitude 
of  his  office.     Fortunately  his  health  and  strength  were 


464  WILLIAM   CRANCH 

generally  good.  He  enjoyed  a  sound  and  vigorous  con- 
stitution!. But  he  was  often  afflicted  by  severe  headaches ; 
and  I  remember  he  would  sometimes  come  home  at  night, 
tired,  and  after  tea  would  stretch  himself  on  the  sofa  and  ' 

call  upon  my  sister  and  myself  to  play  him  asleep  with 
the  piano  and  flute. 

Though  his  judicial  duties  engrossed  the  greater  por-  ; 

tion  of  his  time,  he  could  find  leisure  sometimes  for  gen-       "^  | 
eral  literature.     He  liked  to  read  the  best  English  classics.  ' 

Shakespeare   and   Milton    were    especial    favorites   with         \ 
him.     He  seldom  read  a  novel.     But  he  had  a  keen  relish  ( 

for  good  poetry,  old  and  new.  His  enthusiastic  love  of 
the  beautiful  in  nature  and  in  art  was  a  marked  trait.  / 

He  delighted  in  pictures,  in  sculpture,  in  flowers,  and  fine  1 

sunsets.  But  his  chief  recreation  was  music.  He  played 
on  the  organ  and  the  flute.  The  latter  instrument  he 
abandoned  in  his  old  ao-e,  and  devoted  himself  to  his 
parlor-organ,  on  which  he  played   chiefly  sacred  music,  | 

,and  in  which  he  took  the  deepest  delight.  (' 

His   temperament    was   tranquil,    grave,    and    serious.  | 

He  would  often  smile,  but  seldom  laughed  aloud.     Yet  he  j 

had  a  secret  enjoyment  of  the  humorous,  which  sometimes         / 
showed  itself,  though  never  very  playfully.     He  seldom 
joked,    but   he  relished  a  good   joke  from   others.     His         j 
demeanor  was  courteous  and  dignified.     He  was  a  gentle-         i 
man  of  the  old  school.  ' 

But  he  was  so  utterly  free  from  vanity  and  false  pride,  ,• 

that  he  scorned  a  good  many  conventional  customs.     Sur-         1 

rounded  by  Southerners,  he  kept  up  the  old  New  England         i 

prejudice  in  favor  of  working  sometimes  with  one's  own      '    • 

hands.     He  never  hesitated  to  carry  home  his  own  loaded         ,■ 

basket  from  market ;   and  sometimes  he  would  assist  some         (' 

.  .  .  \ 

poor  old  woman  on  the  road  in  carrying  hers.     He  liked         I 

to  split  his  own  wood  and  make  his  own  fire ;  and  in  sight       '  ) 

of  all  his  neighbors  he  would  mend  his  own  pump,  or  his         / 

gate,  or  his  garden  fence.     He  delighted  in  active  exer-        •; 

cise,  and  in  his  younger  days  was  a  good  walker. 


WILLIAM   CRANCH  465 

His  heart  was  as  tender  as  a  woman's.  His  domestic 
affections  were  deep.  Nothing  could  exceed  his  love  as 
an  affectionate  husband  and  father.  The  natural  kind- 
ness of  his  disposition  extended  itself  to  friends,  neigh- 
bors, relatives,  and  even  strangers,  and  would  often  take 
the  form  of  an  utterly  unprecedented  hospitality,  even 
when  his  pecuniary  circumstances  obliged  the  greatest 
domestic  economy.  His  heart  was  always  open  to  the 
sick,  the  poor,  and  the  oppressed.  But  this  almost  femi- 
nine sympathy  never  interfered  with  the  just  judgments 
to  which  his  duties  so  often  called  him.  His  sense  of 
justice  was  strong;  and  though  tempered  by  clemency, 
never  wavered  from  its  upright  attitude. 

His  character  was  genuinely  and  deeply  religious.  He 
inherited  this  trait  from  his  ancestors,  and  it  was  culti- 
vated and  strengthened  through  hfe.  It  was  his  custofh, 
as  long  as  I  can  remember,  to  hold  morning  and  evening 
prayers  in  his  family.  But  it  was  much  more  than  a 
form.  There  was  not  a  trace  of  mere  external  sanctity 
in  this  rite,  or  in  its  effects.  There  never  was  a  family 
more  spontaneously  natural,  and  less  biassed  by  any  ex- 
ternal rehgious  authorities.  He  seldom  taught  us  by 
precept,  but  always  by  example,  that 

"  Our  days  should  be 
Bound  each  to  each  by  natural  piety." 

My  brother  Edward  P.  Cranch,  of  Cincinnati,  writes  in 
a  private  letter :  — 

"  I  knew  more  than  any  other  of  the  children,  of  father's  offi- 
cial life  and  labors,  because  I  studied  law  for  three  years  in  his 
chambers  at  the  City  Hall  in  Washington.  I  don't  believe  he 
ever  spent  an  idle  hour  in  his  life.  His  hfe  was  uniform.  He 
never  dropped  out  of  line  to  go  in  search  of  events.  He  did  not 
hke  events.  ...  His  great  idea  was  duty.  His  recreations 
were  music,  chess,  study,  contemplation.  He  prayed  much 
when  alone.  He  repeated  old  poems  to  himself  in  his  walks. 
But  for  ten  hours  of  every  day  for  sixty  years  he  was  in  public, 

59 


466  WILLIAM   CRANCH 

and  -working  for  the  public.  He  was  -working  for  the  right  and 
antagonizing  the  -wrong;  and  he  kept  the  -waters  pure  about 
him." 

On  our  mother's  side  we  all  inherited  a  flo-w  of  animal 
spirits  and  mirth  and  sportiveness.  If  we  gave  way  to 
this  chiefly  in  my  father's  absence,  and  restrained  our- 
selves in  his  presence,  it  was  not  from  fear  of  him,  but 
from  a  deference  to  his  graver  and  more  dignified  charac- 
ter, which  seemed  to  carry  -with  it  an  unforced  authority. 

Judge  Cranch's  theological  creed  was  simple,  and  he 
kept  all  expression  about  it  to  himself.  He  believed  that 
a  man's  creed  was  something  purely  between  him  and  the 
infinite  Father  of-  all.  He  was  a  Unitarian  Christian  of  a 
rather  progressive  stamp.'  He  was  altogether  free  from 
dogmatism  or  sectarianism.  He  was  a  prominent  member 
of  the  small  Unitarian  Society  in  "Washington,  and  a  con- 
stant worshipper  at  its  services.  But  long  before  Unita- 
rianism  had  sprung  up  as  a  distinct  sect,  he  held  liberal 
views,  and  sought  where  he  could  for  opportunities  of  a 
public  worship  in  which  he  might  join  with  his  family, 
without  serious  jarring  against  his  private  convictions. 
As  far  back  as  the  year  1800,  while  living  in  Georgetown, 
he  writes  to  his  mother  in  answer  to  her  questions  about 
the  "  religious  opportunities  "  of  his  family :  — 

*'  We  have  no  church  here  of  our  o-wn  persuasion.  The  prin- 
cipal inhabitants  are  Roman  Catholics.  There  is  a  society  of 
Presbyterians,  whose  preacher  (Mr.  B.  .  .  .  )  is  of  the  high 
old  Orthodox  plan  of  divinity,  —  preaches  without  notes,  in  the 
enthusiastic  style,  and  relies  more  on  the  strength  of  his  lungs 
and  the  canting  tone  of  his  voice  than  upon  any  other  of  the 
arts  of  persuasion  or  conviction.  He  rings  all  the  changes  of 
the  mysterious  conception,  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  of  jus- 
tification by  faith  alone,  and  the  inefiicacy  of  good  works,  pre- 
destination and  election.  And,  in  short,  whatever  doctrine  is 
least  consistent  with  reason  pleases  hira  best.  I  attend  him 
only  with  disgust.     When  we  remove  into  the  city  I  shall  attend 


I 


1 


"WILLIAM    C RANCH  467 

the  Episcopalian  Society  under  the  instructions  of  Mr.  McCor- 
mick,  who  appears  to  be  an  amiable  man,  and  who  has  a  good 
wife.  They  will  be  our  next-door  neighbors,  —  and  although  I 
cannot  subscribe  to  all  the  thirty-nine  articles,  yet  I  like  their 
mode  of  worship  better  than  that  of  any  other  sect,  and  shall 
not  suffer  small  shades  of  difference  in  non-essentials  to  prevent 
me  from  a  frequent  attendance  on  public  worship.  As  soon  as 
I  can  find  a  church  whose  rational  principles  shall  quadrate  with 
my  own,  I  shall  certainly  have  no  objection  to  fulfil  every  arti- 
cle which  may  seem  to  be  incumbent  on  a  professor  of  our  holy 
religion.  The  objects  of  faith  must  be  left  to  every  man's  own 
conviction,  and  as  faith  has  no  connection  with,  nor  is  in  any 
degree  dependent  on  the  will,  it  is  a  subject  which  ought  to  be 
left  with  man  and  his  Creator.  It  cannot  be  regulated  by  any 
human  tribunal."  , 

Ten  years  later  he  writes :  — 

"  Creeds  and  human  articles  of  faith  have  always  proved  the 
weakest  part  of  the  battlements  which  surround  the  citadel  of 
religious  truth.  The  ground  on  which  they  are  erected  is  gen- 
erally unsound ;  it  is  easily  sapped  by  the  penetrating  weapons 
of  reason.  But  the  foundation  of  pure  and  undefiled  religion  is 
laid  upon  the  rock  of  ages.  Reason  cannot  shake  it.  Sophistry 
cannot  undermine  it.  The  heart  and  the  head  bear  testimonv 
to  its  truth." 

While  residing  in  Alexandria,  he  always  attended  the 
Episcopal  services  with  his  family.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Norris 
of  that  church  tried  hard  to  convert  him  to  Episcopacy. 
But  though  a  firm  dissenter  in  a  community  where  prob- 
ably not  a  soul  believed  as  he  did,  there  was  never  a 
voice  against  him  as  a  good  man  and  an  upright  judge. 

BQs  conscientious  conception  of  the  legitimate  functions 
of  a  judge  led  him  to  reject  all  offers  of  fees  for  any 
extraneous  and  supererogatory  work,  where  he  would 
have  been  justified  in  accepting  them.  The  consequence 
was  that  he  was  besieged  at  all  hours,  even  out  of  his 
office,  by  people  of  all  sorts,  who  came  to  have  deeds  or 
other  law  documents  acknowledged  gratis  by  him,  rather 


468  .  WILLIAM   CRANCH 

than  by  a  lawyer,  who  would  charge  them  a  fee.  And  I 
believe  he  never,  at  any  hour  of  the  day,  refused  a  single 
one  of  these  people. 

Judge  Cranch,  though  not  an  abolitionist,  was  no  apolo- 
gist for  slavery.  It  was  an  institution  abhorrent  to  his 
nature.  But  so  long  as  it  was  sanctioned  by  constitution 
and  law,  he  was  bound  not  to  interfere  with  the  existing 
order  of  things.  Whenever  he  could  befriend  a  slave 
without  violating  the  laws,  he  was  ever  ready  to  do  so. 
We  have  seen  what  his  opinion  was  about  the  right  of 
secession.  He  saw  that  a  storm  was  approaching,  but, 
fortunately  for  his  peace  of  mind,  he  was  not  fated  to  see 
how,  a  few  years  later,  it  burst  upon  the  country  in  the 
horrors  of  civil  war. 

His  habits  of  life  were  simple  and  inexpensive.  His 
dress  was  plain  but  neat,  and  becoming  his  tall,  command- 
ing figure,  expressive  features,  and  dignified  demeanor. 
Though  he  had  a  keen  relish  for  the  good  things  of  a  j 

table,  he  was  a  moderate  eater  and  drinker.  When  a 
boy,  he  could  not  be  persuaded  to  taste  meat  until  his  \ 

twelfth  year.     He  used  no  tobacco  in  any  form,  and  dis-  j 

countenanced  the  use  of  it  in  his  house.     If  any  of  his  ■; 

sons  indulged  in  a  cigar,  it  was  in  some  remote  room.  \ 

Coming  unexpectedly  one  day  upon  some  of  us,  when  the  i 

room  was  full  of  smoke,  he  made  a  face  and  retreated,  j 

saying,  "  It  smells  like  a  jail."     Though  all  his  life  one  of  ) 

the  most  temperate  of  men,  he  for  many  years  took  a  1 

little  wine  at  dinner ;  but  in  his  latter  years  he  forswore  \ 

all  alcoholic  drink  and  became  a  strict  total-abstinence 
man. 

In  the  course  of  his  judicial  functions  he  was  more  than 
once  brought  into  temporary  antagonism  with  a  disposition  i. 

on  the  part  of  the  Executive  to  encroach  on  the  domain  ( 

of  the  Judiciary.     We  have  seen  how  he  stood  firm  in  ; 

one  instance  during  Mr.  Jefferson's  administration.     Dur-  I 

ing  that  of  President  Andrew  Jackson  he  was  once  or  ( 


WILLIAM   CRANCH  469 

twice  obliged  to  assert  the  legitimate  province  of  the 
Court  in  opposition  to  the  will  of  the  Executive.  In  the 
case  of  the  United  States  v.  Amos  Kendall,  Postmaster  of 
the  United  States,  1837  (although  it  is  not  mentioned  in 
the  Reports),  I  have  heard  that  President  Jackson  barely 
escaped  accusation  of  contempt  of  court,  by  his  conduct 
when  summoned  as  a  witness.  And  in  the  case  of  the 
'United  States  v.  Tobias  Watkins,  in  1833,  I  remember 
having  heard  that  the  President  insisted  upon  having 
Watkins  confined  in  the  common  felon's  cell,  —  his 
offence  being  simply  that  of  a  small  defaulter,  —  and  that 
the  Court  felt  bound  to  resist  such  an  arbitrary  proceed- 
ing. Judge  Cranch  in  these  cases  acted  only  as  any 
upright  judge  might  be  expected  to  act.  All  his  life  long 
he  stood  up  for  the  independence  of  the  Judiciary,  on 
simple  constitutional  grounds.  In  this  faith  he  lived  and 
died.  And  I  believe  the  country  to  be  especially  indebted 
to  him  for  the  consistent  example  he  gave  of  his  wisdom 
and  firmness  in  embodying  his  convictions  in  his  life. 

His  elaborate  and  carefully  prepared  Reports  of  the 
Supreme  and  of  the  Circuit  Court  are  too  well  known  to 
members  of  the  legal  profession  to  be  more  than  men- 
tioned here.  They  form  one  of  the  most  valuable  contri- 
butions to  the  law  libraries. 

In  the  District  of  Columbia,  where  he  resided  and 
where  he  was  best  known,  the  name  of  William  Cranch 
will  long  be  remembered  as  of  one  eminent  not  only  for 
his  legal  learning,  his  just  judgments,  and  his  unwearied 
industry  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  but  as  one  whose 
character  was  in  every  respect  a  shining  illustration  of 

"  That  best  portion  of  a  good  man's  life, 
His  little,  nameless,  unremembered  acts 
Of  kindness  and  of  love." 


GORHAM    BROOKS 


GoRHAM  Brooks,  the  second  son  of  Peter  Chardon 
Brooks  and  Nancy  (Gorham)  Brooks,  was  born  in  Med- 
io rd,  Middlesex  County,  Massachusetts,  February  10, 
1795.  His  forefathers  had  lived  six  generations  in  the 
town.  Mr.  Brooks  was  a  life-long  sufferer  from  asthma. 
Even  as  a  child  he  was  afflicted  by  it,  so  much  so  that  he 
was  sent  for  his  health  to  Palermo  in  SicUy.  His  educa- 
tion was  commenced  at  Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  and 
completed  at  Harvard  College,  where  he  was  graduated 
in  the  class  of  1814.  After  leaving  college  he  studied 
law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Joseph  Lyman,  of  Northamp- 
ton, but  having  little  taste  for  the  profession,  soon  aban- 
doned it  for  mercantile  pursuits.  Before  establishing 
himself  in  business  he  made  a  voyage  to  Calcutta.  In 
1833  Mr.  Brooks  became  a  member  of  the  business  firm 
of  Brooks  and  Harrison,  in  Baltimore,  Maryland;  and 
subsequently  of  the  firm  of  WilHam  E.  Mayhew  and  Co., 
of  the  same  city.  For  several  years,  as  long  as  his  mer- 
cantile life  lasted,  Baltimore  was  his  home.  He  visited 
Europe  three  times,  once  immediately  after  his  marriage, 
in  1829.  His  first  child,  Lucy,  was  born  in  Paris,  Febru- 
ary 8,  1830,  and  died  at  Watertown  on  September  10  of 
the  same  year. 

Mr.  Brooks  married,  at  Watertown,  Massachusetts,  on 
April  20,  1829,  Ellen,  daughter  of  R.  D'.  Shepherd,  of 
Shepherdstown,  Virginia,  and  Lucy  (Gorham)  Shepherd, 


GORHAM   BROOKS  471 

of  Barnstable,  Massachusetts.  She  was  born  in  New  Or- 
leans, Louisiana,  August  22,  1809.  There  were  three 
children  by  the  marriage  :  Lucy,  mentioned  above ;  Peter 
Chardon,  born  at  Watertown  (now  Belmont),  May  8, 
1831;  and  Shepherd,  born  in  Baltimore,  July  23,  1837. 
Both  brothers  reside  at  present  in  Boston.  Mr.  Brooks 
retired  from  business  in  middle  life,  and  returned  to  Med- 
ford,  where  he  passed  the  fifteen  years  preceding  his 
death,  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  on  an  extensive 
farm  adjoining  his  father's.  The  house  in  which  he  re- 
sided was  built  by  his  great-grandfather,  Samuel  Brooks, 
in  1727.  It  was  taken  down,  soon  after  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  September  10,  1855,  of  typhoid  fever.  His 
winter  residence  was  in  Pemberton  Square,  Boston. 

Mr.  Brooks  was  admitted  a  resident  member  of  the 
New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society  May  10, 
1854. 

Mr.  Brooks  was  a  man  elegant  in  person  and  manners, 
keenly  intellectual,  a  great  reader,  extensively  informed, 
of  remarkable  powers  in  conversation,  and  sparkling  wit. 
He  was  social,  though  not  in  a  general  way,  being  by 
temperament  reserved.     A  satirical  vein  ran  through  his 
composition.      By   disposition    and    association    he    was 
averse  to  public  life,  and,  though  once  sent  as  represen- 
tative from  Medford  to  the  General  Court  of  Massachu- 
setts, he  took  no  active  part  in  pubUc  affairs.     Being  a 
democrat    and    conservative,  he  was    on   the    unpopular 
side  in  Massachusetts  politics.     His  long  residence  in  a 
slave  State,  and   his  connection  through  marriage   and 
otherwise  with  New  Orleans,  prevented   his  feeling  un- 
friendly towards  the  institution  of  slavery,  and  a  lack  of 
passion  in  his  nature  prevented  his  taking  an  active  part 
in  the   great  debate  which   was  agitating   the  country. 
His  interests  were  literary  and  practical,  not  speculative 
in  any  field.     He  was  versed  in  history ;  in  agriculture  he 
was  an  adept.     But  for  philosophy,  political,  social,  or 


472  GORHAM   BROOKS 

moral,  he  had  no  taste.  In  religion  he  was  conventional, 
taking  no  interest  in  theological  or  ecclesiastical  matters, 
and  showing  no  difference  in  his  treatment  of  men  of 
various  faiths. 

This  is  but  a  meagre  sketch  of  the  external  relations  of 
one  who  was  no  ordinary  man.  But  the  external  rela- 
tions are  all  that  concern  us  here.  As  a  psychological 
study  Mr.  Brooks  was  a  very  interesting  man,  but  the 
pursuit  of  this  branch  of  inquiry  would  carry  both  writer 
and  reader  too  far  out  of  the  way. 


MAEK   DOOLITTLE 


IVIakk  Doolittle  traced  his  descent  back,  in  unbroken 
succession,  through  six  generations.  In  his  volume,  "  His- 
torical Sketch  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Belcher- 
town,  etc.,"  published  in  1852,  is  a  compact  record  of  the 
Doolittle  family,  which  begins  thus  :  ''  Abraham  Doolittle, 
supposed  to  be  the  progenitor  of  all  by  the  name  of 
Doolittle  in  this  country,  came  from  England  and  settled 
in  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  about  the  year  1640  or 
1642." 

This  Abraham  Doolittle  was  a  man  of  prominence,  held 
positions  of  pubhc  honor  and  trust,  and  is  regarded  by  his 
descendants  of  to-day  with  high  esteem. 

The  record  of  the  Doolittle  family,  already  alluded  to, 
closes  thus : — 

"  Abraham^  Doolittle,  died  August  11,  1690,  aged  70.  Abraham' 
Doolittle,  2d,  died  November  10,  1732,  aged  S3.  John'  Doolittle, 
died  Isovember,  1746,  aged  65.  John*  Doolittle,  2d,  died  November, 
1747,  aged  35.  Titus^  Doolittle,  died  November  23,  1818.  Mark' 
Doolittle."    ' 

Titus  Doolittle,  Esq.,  the  father  of  Mark,  and  the 
youngest  son  of  John  2d,  was  born  in  Wallingford,  Con- 
necticut, June  12,  1745,  and  married  Mary  Lewis,  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Lewis,  of  WalHngford.  In  1771  he  moved  to 
Westfield,  Massachusetts,  into  that  part  of  it  that  in  1792 
was  incorporated  into  the  township  known  by  the  name 
of  Russell.     Mark  was  born  in  Westfield,  December  5, 

60 


474  MARK  DOOLITTLE 

1781,  and  died  in  Belchertown,  November  7,  1855,  in  the 
seventy-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

Mr.  Doohttle  married,  for  his  first  wife,  Betsey  Matilda 
Smith,  daughter  of  Dan  Smith,  Esq.,  of  West  Haven,  Ver- 
mont; she  died  November  13,  1814,  aged  thirty-eight 
years.  She  was  a  woman  of  rare  virtues  and  intelligence. 
She  left  two  daughters,  Lucy  Maria,  and  Betsey  Matilda, 
who  was  named  for  her  mother.  August  10,  1817,  Mr. 
Doohttle  married,  for  his  second  wife,  Sarah  T.  Eaboteau, 
daughter  of  Charles  C.  Raboteau,  Esq.,  formerly  of  New- 
buryport.  By  this  marriage  he  had  two  children,  William 
C,  who  died  in  early  childhood,  and  Sarah  Loraine,  who 
died  July  29,  1842,  aged  eighteen  years,  —  a  young  lady 
of  fine  mind  and  beautiful  character.  Mrs.  Doolittle,  a 
lady  of  ardent,  trustful  piety,  and  of  clear  mind,  survived 
her  husband  over  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  died  Feb- 
ruary 4,  1881. 

Mr.  Doolittle  fitted  for  college  principally  with  his 
brother  Joel,  in  Middleborough,  Vermont,  and  was  grad- 
uated at  Yale  College  in  1804,  a  classmate  of  the  Hon. 
John  C.  Calhoun,  the  Rev.  Abel  McEmen,  D.D.,  and 
several  other  distinguished  men  whose  names  are  historic. 
Mr.  Doohttle  studied  law,  at  first  with  the  Hon.  Eh  B. 
Ashmun,  of  Blandford,  Massachusetts,  and,  completing  his 
course  of  legal  studies  with  the  Hon.  Elijah  P.  Mills,  in 
Northampton,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1807,  when  he 
at  once  commenced  practice  as  a  lawyer  in  South  Hadley. 
In  1812  he  located  in  Belchertown,  Massachusetts,  where 
he  resided  till  his  death,  actively  engaged  in  the  labors 
of  his  profession  till  within  a  few  weeks  of  the  close  of 
his  life. 

As  a  lawyer,  Mr.  Doolittle  was  well  read,  and  always         \ 
conducted  his  cases  with  marked  ability.     His  arguments 
in   the   court-room   or   before  a  board  of  referees  were 
always  logical,  clear,  in  the  interest  of  justice,  and  never 
for  the  sake  of  merely  carrying  a  point.     As  an  advocate. 


MARK   DOOLITTLE  475 

he  was  faithful,  sound,  and  courteous,  but  not  eloquent, 
in  the  popular  sense.  His  advice  to  individuals  or  parties, 
as  given  in  his  office,  was  ever  reliable.  By  the  judges 
and  his  brethren  of  the  bar,  Mr.  Doolittle  was  greatly 
respected  for  his  ability,  his  fairness,  and  his  high-toned 
morality  and  gentlemanly  bearing. 

In  politics  Mr.  Doolittle  was  a  Whig.  He  greatly  ad- 
mired Mr.  Webster,  but  preferred,  as  leaders  in  certain 
directions,  such  men  as  Mr.  Horace  Mann  and  Charles 
Sumner,  and  others  of  the  same  stamp.  Antislavery  in 
principle,  and  leaning  toward  the  antislavery  party  as  a 
political  organization,  he  yet  was  shy  of  those  men  who, 
when  he  was  still  in  his  prime,  were  so  strenuous  for  po- 
litical action  to  effect  the  overthrow  of  slavery  at  the 
South.  Had  he  survived  till  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebel- 
lion and  through  the  war,  he  would  have  been  a  most 
decided  Republican,  and  shouted  over  President  Lincoln's 
Proclamation  of  Emancipation. 

Mr.  Doolittle  was  a  leading  advocate  of  temperance, 
pleading  the  cause  with  great  effectiveness  both  with  pen 
and  voice ;  but  he  was  afraid  of  making  temperance  the 
basis  of  a  political  party,  contending  that  should  this  be 
done,  "  many,  for  the  sake  of  the  loaves  and  fishes,  would 
seize  the  opportunity  to  talk  better  than  their  practice, 
and  so  bring  the  cause  into  contempt." 

As  a  lawyer,  a  politician,  a  reformer,  Mr.  Doolittle  de- 
spised all  trickery  and  affectation,  as  he  did  equally  in 
religrion  and  in  all  his  intercourse  -with  men. 

He  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  Puritans,  and  in  almost 
all  respects,  in  his  day,  was  as  complete  a  specimen  of 
puritanical  life  as  could  be  found  in  New  England. 

Mr.  Doolittle  was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church  in  Belchertown,  and  as  a  professing 
Christian  he  was  sincere  and  consistent.  He  was  strict  in 
the  maintenance  of  family  worship,  in  the  observance  of 
the    Sabbath,  and  in  attending  the  weekly  meetings  of 


476  MAEK   DOOLITTLE 

the  church,  while  in  these  meetings  he  was  frequently 
very  interesting  in  prayer  and  remarks.  He  was,  in 
respect  to  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order,  and  the 
support  of  the  institutions  of  religion,  as  also  in  his 
adherence  to  the  highest  standard  of  integrity  between 
man  and  man,  as  unswerving  as  the  needle  to  the  pole. 

Mr.  Doohttle  was  exceedingly  active  and  useful  in  the 
Sabbath  school,  whether  as  superintendent  or  teacher. 
He  was  eminent  as  a  student  of  the  Bible  and  books  of  a 
theological  character,  and  often  remarked  that  while  he 
liked  "  the  law  as  a  science,  his  taste  was  specially  for 
religious  works,  and  that  he  exceedingly  enjoyed  sermons 
and  sound  scriptural  treatises."  He  was  frequently  solici- 
ted to  address  Sabbath-school  conventions,  and  his  words 
on  such  occasions  were  always  weighty.  For  several 
years  he  sought  to  encourage  the  study  of  God's  "Word  in 
the  Senior  class  in  Yale  College,  by  placing  a  sum  of 
money  in  the  hands  of  the  Faculty  to  be  expended  in  the 
form  of  prizes  to  those  who  should  pass  the  best  exami- 
nation in  the  Scriptures,  near  the  close  of  their  college 
course.     . 

In  the  circle  of  his  domestic  relations  and  intimate 
friends,  Mr.  Doolittle  was  a  very  affectionate  man,  and 
attractive  and  instructive  in  conversation. 

His  last  sickness  was  very  severe.  As  his  end  ap- 
proached, he  sent  for  one  of  his  former  pastors,  to  whom 
he  unbosomed  his  feehngs  and  from  whom  he  sought  guid- 
ance ;  and  as  he  was  conscious  that  his  mind  as  well  as 
his  body  was  weak,  he  said  to  his  old  pastor,  "  Please  un- 
fold to  me  once  more,  as  to  a  child,  the  gospel  plan  of 
salvation."  At  the  close  of  the  pastor's  remarks,  to  which 
he  listened  with  intensest  interest,  he  said,  "  I  am  satis- 
fied ;  now  commit  me  to  God  in  prayer."  The  prayer 
was  brief,  and  as  the  Amen  was  spoken,  he  observed, 
"  This  is  good,  but  I  must  soon  be  gone  ;  and  so  good-by." 
He  immediately  sank  back  on  his  pillow,  and  was  scarcely 


\ 

i 

i 
I 

I 

( 
II 


MARK   DOOLITTLE  477  ' 

conscious  again.  This  interview  with  his  loved  clei'ical 
friend,  his  wife  sitting  by,  took  place  in  the  evening,  and 
at  about  midnight  most  tranquilly  the  conflict  ended,  and 
he  went  to  his  heavenly  inheritance. 

Mr.  Doolittle  represented  his  district  in  the  Senate  of 
Massachusetts  in  the  year  1821-22;  he  represented  Bel- 
chertown  in  the  lower  branch  of  the  General  Assembly 
in  1824-25  and  in  1825-26,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
Governor's  Council  in  1828-29.  He  was  admitted  a  cor- 
responding member  of  the  New  England  Historic  Genea- 
logical Society,  June  1,  1848. 

Mr.  Doolittle  wrote  a  prize  essay  on  Temperance  which 
was  published.  An  address  delivered  by  him  in  North- 
ampton, October  11,  1826,  before  the  Society  of  the 
Counties  of  Hampshire,  Franklin,  and  Hampden,  for  the 
Promotion  of  Agriculture  and  the  Mechanic  Arts,  was 
published,  by  request.  A  lecture  by  him  on  "  The  Chris- 
tian Sabbath  of  Divine  Authority,  and  obligatory  on  Men 
to  be  observed  the  First  Day  of  the  Week,"  was  published 
in  1845 ;  and  in  1852  he  published  a  volume  of  two 
hundred  and  eighty-three  pages,  "  Historical  Sketches  of 
the  Congregational  Church  in  Belchertown,  Massachu- 
setts, from  its  Organization,  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
Years,"  etc. 


CHARLES   WARNER   CADY 


Charles  Wakn^er  Cadt,  third  son  and  child  of  Albe 
and  of  Sarah  Warner  Cady,  was  born  in  Keene,  Cheshire 
County,  New  Hampshire,  June  17,  1810.  Tn  1815  his 
father  removed  to  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  and  in  that 
place  Charles  passed  the  principal  part  of  his  youth.  He 
received  in  the  schools  of  Concord  the  elements  of  a  fair 
English  education,  and  had  added  to  that,  by  reading,  a 
very  respectable  stock  of  general  information.  His  habits 
were,  however,  more  of  an  active  business  man  than  of 
a  student.  It  was,  I  presume,  from  his  acquaintance  and 
intercourse  with  the  late  John  Farmer  the  genealogist,  at 
that  time  a  resident  of  Concord,  that  he  derived  a  bent 
for  genealogical  inquiries. 

For  a  number  of  years  after  arriving  at  manhood,  he 
was  an  invalid  at  home ;    but  improved  health  allowed 
him  in  1836  to  go  to  the  "West,  and  he  finally  selected         1 
Indianapolis  for  his  residence.  } 

Soon  after  getting  into  his  new  home,  he  exerted  i 
himself  to  introduce  into  Indiana  the  system  of  Mutual  \ 
Insurance,  and,  having  obtained  a  charter,  he  became  } 
connected  with  the  company  formed  under  it  as  its  j 
Secretary,  and  as  such  remained  during  its  existence.  i 

In  1846  was  published  "  The  Indiana  State  Register  I 
and  Business  Directory,"  which  he  had  compiled.  "  There  ) 
were  some  minor  publications  by  him,  but  I  have  not  the  ] 
means  to  specify  them  accurately.     As  an  ardent  politi- 


CHARLES    WARXER    CADT  479 

cian,  he  wrote  much  for  the  papers  of  his  day,  but  noth- 
ing, so  far  as  I  can  learn,  of  more  than  current  interest. 

For  many  years  he  was  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the 
Indiana  State  Historical  Society.  He  was  admitted  a 
corresponding  member  of  the  New  England  Historic  Gen- 
ealogical Society  February  12,  1848. 

He  was  married,  November  1,  1842,  by  the  Rev.  John 
T.  Brooke,  in  Christ  Church  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  to  Miss 
Abigail  Aikman  Kiersted,  daughter  of  Hezekiah  and  Ann 
Guernsey  Kiersted,  of  that  place ;  and  their  children,  all 
born  at  Indianapolis,  are  as  follows :  1.  Eudora  Dunn, 
born  September  23,  1843;  2.  Ann  Kiersted,  born  Sep- 
tember 24,  1845  ;  3.  Albemarle  Coddington,  born  January 
25,  1848,  died  January  5,  1849;  4.  Nelson  Warner,  born 
October  3,  1850;  5.  Ella  Wilder,  born  June  8,  1853; 
6.  Jeremiah  Kiersted,  born  June  29,  1855. 

He  died,  November  19,  1855,  at  Indianapolis,  of  a  low 
fever  (noticeable  as  being  the  only  fever  he  had  during 
his  life),  complicated  with  a  recurrence  of  a  malady  he 
had  been  troubled  with  in  early  manhood.  Possibly  dis- 
appointment at  the  non-realization  of  his  hopes  had  worn 
upon  his  system  and  contributed  to  the  final  result. 


DAYID     HAMELEN 


David  Hamblen,  son  of  Joshua  and  Drusilla  (Rjder) 
Hamblen,  and  grandson  of  Cornelius,  was  born  in  Well- 
fleet,  Massachusetts,  August  22,  1820.  The  family  is  an 
ancient  one  on  Cape  Cod  ;  James  Hamblen,  the  earliest  of 
the  name  known  in  that  section  of  the  country,  having 
settled  in  Barnstable,  with  his  wife  Ann,  it  is  said,  about 
the  year  1639  or  1640.  He  died  at  Barnstable  in  the 
year  1690.  James,  the  emigrant,  brought  with  him  from 
England,  probably,  a  son  James  and  a  daughter  Hannah. 
Bartholomew,  his  second  son,  was  born  at  Barnstable  in 
1642,  and  John,  Sarah,  Eleazer,  and  Israel,  it  appears,  fol- 
lowed. Each  of  these  five  sons  left  descendants.  John 
Hamblen,  son  of  James  the  first,  was  born  June  26,  1644. 
He  married  SafaK*  Bearse  in  August,  1667.  Their  son, 
Benjamin,  born  in  Barnstable,  February  11,  1686,  was 
married  October  25,  1716,  and  had  Cornelius,  born  in 
Eastham  in  1719,  who  died  November  8,  1791.  His  son, 
Cornelius  the  second,  was  born  in  Eastham  in  1752,  and 
died  June  30,  1811.  He  was  the  father  of  Joshua,  who 
was  born  in  Wellfleet,  January  23,  1783,  and  died  in  that 
town  in  the  month  of  November,  1869.  Joshua  Hamblen 
married  Drusilla  Ryder,  who  died  in  "Wellfleet  in  the  year 
1835.  These  were  the  parents  of  David  Hamblen,  the 
subject  of  this  notice,  who  was  one  of  eleven  children. 

Joshua  Hamblen  was  for  many  years  engaged  in  the 
oyster  business  in  Boston.  Conjointly  with  Cornelius 
and  Eleazer  Hamblen,  who  were  in  the  same  business, 


'     DAVID   HAMBLEN  481 

he  owned  an  estate  near  the  Commercial  Coffee  House, 
or  the  Bunch  of  Grapes  Tavern,  on  the  east  side  of  Lib- 
erty Square.  This  property,  including  the  oyster  shop, 
was  purchased  by  them  of  William  Thurston,  of  Boston, 
attorney-at-law,  and  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  June  3,  1816. 
On  the  14th  of  May,  1825,  after  the  great  fire,  which 
burned  up  their  shop,  the  land  was  sold  by  the  Hamblens 
to  David  Hinckley,  of  Boston. 

David,  like  many  others,  had  the  limited  advantages  of 
a  common-school  education  in  his  native  town.  The  Kev. 
Loranus  Crowell,  D.D.,  now  of  Lynn,  presiding  elder  of 
the  district,  was  for  a  short  time  his  teacher.  When 
about  eighteen  years  of  age  he  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits  in  Boston,  having  previously  assisted  his  father 
in  his  business.  He  entered  the  office  of  John  Benson, 
on  City  Wharf,  as  a  clerk,  in  the  general  commission  and 
lumber  business.  About  the  year  1844,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-four  years,  he  was  admitted  as  a  partner  with  his 
employer,  under  the  firm  of  Benson  and  Hamblen.  In 
the  course  of  a  few  years  he  assumed  the  whole  business, 
but  afterwards  associated  with  himself  a  younger  brother, 
as  D.  Hamblen  &  Co.,  and  as  such  the  firm  remained 
until  his  death. 

Mr.  Hamblen  enlisted  early  in  the  study  of  history  and 
genealogy,  which  he  pursued  with  great  ardor  and  per- 
severance. He  was  always  ready  and  desirous  to  assist 
others  in  their  researches  whenever  an  opportunity  was 
offered  him.  For  ten  years  he  was  an  active  and  efficient 
member  of  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Soci- 
ety, having  joined  it  September  23,  1845,  the  year  of  its 
incorporation.  He  was  on  the  Committee  of  Publication 
for  six  years,  from  January,  1849,  to  January,  1855,  and 
on  that  of  Finance  from  January,  1852,  to  the  time  of  his 
death.  He  served  also  on  several  important  special  com- 
mittees, and  was  a  regular  attendant  at  the  meetings  of 
the  society. 

•^  61 


482  DAVID   HAMBLEN 

The  writer  of  this  sketch  can  bear  witness  to  the  fidel- 
ity and  earnestness  with  which  he  attended  to  the  duties 
connected  with  these  positions.  He  was  a  true  worker  on 
the  committees.  His  urbanity,  industry,  cheerfulness,  and 
zeal  were  strongly  manifested  traits  in  his  character. 

Besides  other  contributions  to  the  "  Register,"  he  fur- 
nished, in  1848  and  1849,  articles  on  the  "First  Settlers 
of  Barnstable,"  and  subsequently,  in  1852  and  1853,  on 
the  "  First  Settlers  of  Eastham."  Had  he  lived,  we  should 
undoubtedly  have  had  much  more  from  his  pen. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  of  the  city 
of  Boston,  from  Ward  Eleven,  in  the  year  1852,  the 
Hon.  Benjamin  Seaver  being  at  that  time  Mayor.  In 
1852  and  1853  he  was  one  of  the  Board  of  School  Commit- 
tee in  Boston.  He  took  a  deep  interest  in  what  is  now  the 
Shawmut  Congregational  Society,  situated  on  the  corner 
of  Tremont  and  Brookline  Streets,  in  Boston,  which  was 
organized  November  20,  1845,  and  he  contributed  cheer- 
fully towards  the  expenses  of  their  church  building.  He 
was  admitted  a  member  of  that  church  in  November,  1848, 
having  been  formerly  connected  with  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  and  Society  in  "Wellfleet.  The  Rev.  George 
A.  Oviatt,  now  of  South  Sudbury,  Massachusetts,  the  first 
pastor  of  the  Shawmut  Church,  writes  thus  concerning 
him:  — 

"  Mr.  David  Hamblen  became  a  member  of  what  is  now  the 
Shawmut  Church,  Boston,  when  in  its  infancy,  and  when  I  was 
its  pastor.  I  remember  Mr.  Hamblen  as  a  very  excellent  Chris- 
tian man,  active  in  all  our  meetings,  and  an  excellent  teacher  in 
our  Sabbath  school.  We  always  delighted  to  hear  him  talk  in 
our  meetings,  for  he  always  had  something  of  value  to  commu- 
nicate, was  earnest  in  his  manner,  and  had  our  confidence  as  a 
good  man.  After  leaving  the  Shawmut  Church  I  may  have  seen 
Mr.  Hamblen  two  or  three  times,  but  I  cannot  speak  of  him 
save  as  I  knew  him  as  a  member  of  my  charge,  and  all  my  rec- 
ollections of  him  during  that  period  are  very  pleasant.  He  was 
a  well-informed  man,  had  an  inquisitive  and  logical  mind,  and 
was  esteemed  as  a  person  of  unbending  integrity." 


DAVID   HAAIBLEN  483 

The  Rev.  Charles  Smith,  third  pastor  of  the  Shawm  ut 
Church,  and  now  a  resident  of  Andover,  Massachusetts, 
who  first  formed  his  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Hamblen 
when  he  was  a  sick  man,  after  he  was  stricken  down  with 
consumption,  says :  "  He  was  a  man  of  unusual  force  of 
character,  of  great  persistency,  ambitious  to  do  well  and 
to  be  thought  well  of,  enterprising  and  active  by  nature." 
As  a  religious  worker  in  the  church,  parish,  and  Sunday 
school,  Mr.  Hamblen  had  at  that  time,  through  continued 
physical  debility,  passed  the  period  of  his  activity  and 
power. 

The  maiden  name  of  his  wife  was  Harriot  Watson. 
She  was  born  in  Boston,  August  28,  1826.  Moses  "Wat- 
son, her  father,  and  Emma  (Stone)  Watson,  her  mother, 
both  died  in  Boston.  The  former  was  a  native  of  Roches- 
ter, New  Hampshire,  and  the  latter  was  born  in  Ashburn- 
ham,  Massachusetts. 

The  children  of  David  and  Harriot  (Watson)  Hamblen 
were,  Harriot,  born  in  1849,  who  died  October  5,  1850 ; 
David,  born  February  6,  1851 ;  Samuel,  born  June  9, 
1852;  Ephraim  Stone,  born  May  4,  1855,  —  all  natives 
of  Boston. 

The  health  of  Mr.  Hamblen  had  at  length  become  so 
frail  that  he  was  forced  to  seek  a  milder  climate.  He 
spent  the  winters  of  1853-54  and  1854-55  in  Florida,  in 
endeavors  to  recuperate,  but  it  was  of  no  avail.  He  lin- 
gered till  the  morning  of  Thanksgiving  day,  November 
29,  1855,  when  he  passed  away,  at  his  home  in  Boston, 
at  the  early  age  of  thirty-five.  The  disease  which  termi- 
nated thus  fatally  with  Mr.  Hamblen  had  prevailed  in  his 
family,  the  mother  and  children  dying,  successively,  of 
consumption,  leaving  only  the  father,  Joshua,  who  died 
in  1869,  at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years. 


NICHOLAS    DEAN 


Nicholas  Dean,  the  subject  of  this  brief  memoir,  was 
born  at  Beekman,  Duchess  County,  New  York,  July  23, 
1791.  His  great-grandfather,  Nicholas  Dean,  had  emi- 
grated from  Long  Island  to  Duchess  or  Westchester.  His 
grandfather's  name  was  Stephen.  His  father,  Daniel  S. 
Dean,  was  a  Quaker,  and  well  known  as  a  preacher. 
Nicholas  spent  his  boyhood  on  his  father's  farm  in  Duch- 
ess County.  His  education  was  derived  from  the  common 
schools  of  his  native  town,  excepting  what  he  got  from  a 
few  quarters  spent  at  an  academy  in  Burlington,  New 
Jersey.  While  there  he  received  letters  of  advice  from 
his  father,  which  prove  the  worth  of  his  parentage,  and 
which  the  son  showed  his  filial  reverence  by  carefully 
preserving  to  the  day  of  his  death. 

Pressing  early  into  active  life  in  his  native  county,  the 
peace  of  1815  broke  up  his  business  and  compelled  him 
to  seek  new  employment.  Writing  an  excellent  hand,  he 
came  to  New  York,  and  began  life  anew,  in  the  humble 
capacity  of  a  scrivener.  Without  money  or  influential 
friends,  by  his  energy  and  his  superior  natural  gifts,  by 
untiring  industry  and  self-denying  habits,  he  soon  placed 
himself  in  comfortable  circumstances,  and  rapidly  won 
the  attention  and  confidence  that  lead  to  advancement 
and  to  offices  of  trust  and  dignity. 

During  this  early  period  of  his  struggle  with  life  in  New 
York,  Mr.  Dean  thought  seriously,  for  a  time,  of  devoting 


NICHOLAS   DEAN  485 

himself  to  that  branch  of  the  legal  profession  known  as 
equity  practice.  He  actually  fitted  himself  for  that  call- 
ing, and  was  licensed  as  solicitor  in  chancery  by  Chan- 
cellor Kent  about  1820.  For  two  or  three  years  he  was 
employed  in  various  suits ;  but,  for  reasons  satisfactory  to 
himself,  he  abandoned  the  career  which  opened  propi- 
tiously before  him.  In  a  letter  to  his  son,  March  4,  1854, 
dissuading  him  from  encouraging  a  grandson  who  was 
inclined  to  leave  a  mercantile  clerkship  for  the  profession 
of  the  law,  Mr.  Dean  says:  "At  the  period  mentioned 
[1820],  the  fee-bill  made  equity  practice  very  remun- 
erative ;  my  success  was  much  greater  than  my  merits. 
All  the  indications  were  encouraging.  I  had  numerous 
friends,  was  personally  acquainted  with  the  entire  New 
York  bar,  and,  had  I  persisted,  do  not  even  doubt  that  all 
reasonable  expectations  would  have  been  fulfilled;  but 
circumstances  led  me  to  look  in  other  directions  for  busi- 
ness, and  I  abandoned  it.  I  have  never  regretted  that 
step."  It  is  probable  that  Mr.  Dean  would  have  made 
one  of  the  first  of  solicitors,  for  his  qualities  and  tastes  pre- 
eminently fitted  him  for  such  a  pursuit.  But,  in  truth, 
he  was  equipped  for  success  in  so  many  other  ways  that 
he  naturally  availed  himself  of  a  career  that  looked  even 
more  inviting  than  his  profession. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  he  does  not  say  just  what 
moved  him  to  change  his  purpose ;  but  we  suspect  it  was 
the  importunity  of  some  of  these  very  lawyers  whose 
large  acquaintance  he  had  made,  and  who  urged  upon  a 
man  whose  excellent  qualities  they  had  discerned,  the 
acceptance  of  the  deputy-clerkship  of  the  county.  This 
offered  a  certainty  of  support  (and  not  a  small  one  in 
those  times),  in  place  of  a  professional  uncertainty,  though 
accompanied  with  brilliant  probabilities.  Perhaps,  too, 
Mr.  Dean's  dissatisfaction  with  his  somewhat  hastily  picked 
up  preparation  for  a  branch  of  the  legal  profession  moved 
him  to  abandon  it.     But  his  experience  left  very  valuable 


486  NICHOLAS   DEAN" 

results,  and  made  him  wise  in  the  law  in  whatever  touched 
his  after  pursuits.  Possibly  he  may,  at  this  early  period, 
have  yielded  to  the  hankering  for  office,  which  is  the 
curse  and  misfortune  of  so  many  American  citizens ;  if  he 
did,  he  got  thoroughly  over  it,  though  perhaps  only  by 
satiety;  at  any  rate,  the  first  we  hear  of  him  after  his 
short  spurt  as  soUcitor  is  as  a  public  office-holder. 

His  first  office  was  that  of  deputy  county  clerk  of  New 
York,  from  which  he  was  soon  promoted  to  the  county 
clerkship.  In  1830  he  was  secretary  in  the  convention 
which  framed  the  city  charter.  His  accuracy  as  an 
accountant,  and  the  clearness  and  beauty  of  his  book- 
keeping, attracted  the  attention  of  men  of  business,  but 
not  more  than  his  punctuality,  regularity,  and  conscien- 
tiousness. He  seems  at  no  time  in  his  life  to  have  had 
any  tendency  to  carelessness  or  perfunctoriness  in  the  dis- 
charge of  any  duty.  It  is  plain  from  the  start,  that  it  was 
his  ambition  to  excel  in  whatever  he  was  called  to  do,  and 
not  inordinate  love  of  office,  that  caused  his  promotions  I 

from  one  post  to  other  and  ever  higher  positions  of  trust.  1 

Trusts  and  offices  sought  him ;  he  rarely  sought  them ;  J 

and  after  the  first  years  he  was  much  more  exercised  with  ) 

efforts  to  escape  responsibilities  and  positions  offered  to  'i 

or  thrust  upon  him,  than  to  obtain  them.  | 

Thus  he  left  the  county  clerk's  office,  after  several  years  . 
of  acceptable  and  honorable  service,  to  become  agent  of 
the  great  Lorillard  estates,  which  he  managed  with  such  / 

integrity  and   success  that  he  was  solicited  to  take  in  'i^ 

charge  the  executorship  of  the  late  John  G.  Coster's  im-  \ 

mense  fortune.     He  was  executor  of  the  Holsman  and  '■ 

other  estates,  and  it  is  said  that  his  character  for  honesty  ^ 

was  so  fully  estabhshed  that  no  bonds  were  required  of  i 

him.     He  was,  for  almost  his  whole  life  in  New  York,  the  ; 

depository  of  the  funds  of  either  living  corporations  or  \ 

deceased  persons  of  wealth ;  and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  the  implicit  confidence  with  which  he  was  again  and 


NICHOLAS   DEAN  487 

again  honored  was  never  in  the  slightest  degree  betrayed. 
"  As  honest  as  Nicholas  Dean,"  became  a  proverb. 

In  1849  he  was  appointed  president  of  the  Croton 
Aqueduct  Department,  an  office  which  he  held  until  1853. 
Perhaps  it  was  in  this  office,  which  from  its  comparative 
newness,  great  importance,  and  ever  increasing  business, 
required  great  executive  abilities  and  drew  a  wide  public 
attention,  that  Mr.  Dean  had  the  best  opportunity  of  ren- 
dering services  to  the  city  which  were  universally  recog- 
nized. In  spite  of  his  popularity  and  success  in  the  office, 
he  peremptorily  resigned  on  a  point  of  honor ;  one  of  his 
most  valuable  directors  having  been  removed  against  his 
remonstrances,  he  resigned,  —  an  example  which  we  com- 
mend to  all  who  would  make  public  office  dignified  and 
responsible.  During  his  management  of  the  Croton 
Aqueduct  Department  the  expenditures  in  no  year  ex- 
ceeded the  appropriations ;  and  on  retiring  from  the 
office,  August  31,  1853,  he  writes:  "All  my  accounts  in 
the  Croton  Aqueduct  Department  are  closed,  and  I  leave, 
of  the  appropriations  made  for  the  service  of  1853,  the 
sum  of  $183,620.48,  nearly  one  half  of  the  whole,  though 
eight  months  of  the  year  have  passed.  Every  portion  of 
the  accounts  of  the  department  is  in  my  own  handwrit- 
ing,—  a  monument  of  industry  and  accuracy.  I  leave 
to-night  with  no  fear  that  I  shall  ever  be  called  upon  to 
explain  anything  ambiguous,  or  brush  away  a  cobweb 
shrouding  my  integrity."  The  boastfulness  of  this  letter 
is  explained  by  its  being  addressed  only  as  a  father's  letter 
to  his  son,  whom  he  no  doubt  wished  to  inspire  with  his 
own  scrupulous  fidelity  and  punctiliousness.  Boastfulness 
was  far  removed  from  Mr.  Dean's  reticent  and  modest 
character  ;  but  he  could,  like  Paul,  boast,  when  he  thought 
it  might  inspire  others  with  a  righteous  zeal. 

In  the  troubles  brought  upon  the  Harlem  Piailroad  by 
the  astounding  abuse  of  trust  of  which  its  once  honored 
president,  Mr.  Robert  Schuyler,  was  guilty,  Mr.  Dean  was 


488  NICHOLAS   DEAN 

called  upon  to  look  into  its  affairs,  and  especially  to  give 
his  opinion  upon  the  vital  question  of  the  responsibility 
of  the  company  for  the  fictitious  stock  issued  by  the  late 
president,  against  the  interest  and  expectations  of  the 
company.  Mr.  Dean,  incorruptible  in  judgment,  and  anx- 
ious only  to  be  right,  without  regard  to  being  acceptable,  • 
decided  that  the  vital  interests  of  the  company  required 
it  to  assume  the  fictitious  stock,  and  treat  it  as  real,  seeing 
it  was  created  by  the  man  who  owed  his  power  to  deceive 
the  public  to  the  trust  which  the  company  had  carelessly 
reposed  in  him.  This  was  a  very* high  tone  to  take ;  and 
it  is  very  honorable  to  the  company  that  it  took  his 
advice,  and,  moreover,  called  Mr.  Dean  to  the  presidency, 
which  he  neither  coveted  nor  even  willingly  accepted, 
but  consented  to  occupy  for  a  single  year. 

Free  from  these  cares,  Mr.  Dean  was  next  called  to  the 
presidency  of  the  Long  Island  Water- Works  Company. 
He  accepted  the  place  reluctantly,  doubting  the  success 
of   the  scheme,  and  after  a  short  period  of  service,  re-  ' 

signed,  probably  from  having  seen  his  inability  to  make 
the  company's  projects  profitable  to  the  stockholders.  In 
connection  with  this  enterprise  he  writes :   "  I  have  no  ! 

ambition  to  gratify,  except  that  of  leaving  behind  me  a  {\ 

good  name,  and  this  can  be  more  certainly  secured  in  pri-  ;] 

vate  than  in  public  life."  He  expresses  in  the  same  letter 
his  conviction  that  if  he  should  devote  to  his  private 
affairs,  for  a  single  winter,  the  energies  he  was  spending 
in  the  service  of  corporations  and  public  office,  he  could  -^ 

put  himself  in  a  situation  which  would  enable  him  to 
abandon  business  altogether,  or  at  any  rate  do  no  more  ;i 

than  would  serve  to  amuse  him.  j 

Mr.  Dean's  excellent  abilities,  his  wisdom  and  prudence  - 

in  administering  public  business,  and  his  personal  popular-  I 

ity,  opened  to  him  a  career,  had  he  chosen  to  follow  his  i 

opportunity,  in  higher  forms  of  public  life.     He  refused  ) 

the  nomination  to  a  candidacy  for  the  Congress  of  the 


NICHOLAS   DEAN  489 

United  States.  He  afterwards  declined  the  nomination  to 
the  mayoralty  of  the  city  of  New  York,  offered  him  by 
the  Reform  party,  in  1854.  When  we  reflect  that  Fer- 
nando Wood  obtained  the  office  which  Nicholas  Dean  de- 
clined to  run  for,  we  cannot  but  think  what  changes  in 
the  municipal  fortunes  of  the  city  might  have  followed 
Mr.  Dean's  acceptance  of  his  nomination ! 

He  had  a  lively  interest  in  the  politics  of  the  coun- 
try, but  was  never  an  active  partisan.  He  had  ad- 
mired General  Jackson,  and  supported  his  administration ; 
and  he  afterwards  enjoyed  the  personal  friendship  and 
correspondence  of  Henry  Clay,  whose  elevation  to  the 
presidency  he  ardently  desired,  and  grieved  over  the  dis- 
appointment of  Mr.  Clay's  hopes.  He  was  also  a  warm 
admirer  of  Daniel  Webster.  But  a  patriotism  above  all 
party  passions  and  all  personal  preferences  animated  him 
from  first  to  last.  He  was  an  American  in  every  fibre  of 
his  being,  and  felt  every  stain  upon  the  honor,  and  every 
cloud  over  the  prospects  of  his  country.  In  this  feeling 
he  was  sustained  by  his  noble  wife,  whose  father  had 
shared  the  perils  of  the  Revolution,  and  who  had  as  pro- 
found and  passionate  a  devotion  to  American  principles 
as  her  husband. 

Mr.  Dean,  having  a  Quaker  for  his  father,  held  very ' 
simple  but  very  practical  and  earnest  views  of  rehgion. 
He  early  attached  himself  to  the  First  Unitarian  Congre- 
gation in  the  city  of  New  York.  Being  a  man  of  deUcate 
taste  and  much  poetic  sensibility,  with  a  love  of  good 
books  and  a  fondness  for  expressing  his  thoughts  in  let- 
ters and  otherwise,  and  having  a  strong  admiration  for 
eloquence  and  carefully  prepared  discourse,  he  probably 
drifted  out  of  Friends'  meeting  into  the  somewhat  more 
stately  worship  of  "a  hireling  ministry,"  from  literary 
and  esthetic  attractions,  rather  than  from  any  change  of 
principles  or  opinions.  He  always  had  a  certain  Quaker 
simplicity  about   his   appearance,— preferring  a  moder- 

62 


490  NICHOLAS   DEAN 

ated  but  still  peculiar  hreadth  of  brim  in  his  hat,  and  a 
certain  cut  to  his  clothing,  which  was  usually  in  Quaker 
colors.  But  his  strong  taste  for  pictures,  of  which  he  had 
for  his  time  a  somewhat  unusual  collection,  and  for  lit- 
erature and  poetry,  indicated  some  departure  from  the  or- 
dinary tastes  of  the  Friends.  He  was  indeed  too  many- 
sided,  too  catholic,  and  too  quick  in  his  perceptions  of  the 
humorous,  too  fond  of  telling  and  hearing  a  good  story, 
to  make  a  thorough  Quaker.  He  had  too  much  interest 
in  the  practical  life  of  the  present  world  and  in  the  pros- 
pects of  his  country  and  of  humanity  to  be  a  quietist  or 
a  conspicuous  saint.  He  was  a  very  strong  man  in  his 
feelings,  his  sympathies,  his  sense  of  pubHc  duty,  and  his 
consciousness  of  capacity  to  influence  and  control  others ; 
and  this  kept  him  from  the  purely  meditative  and  expec- 
tant life  which  his  father's  faith  might  have  made  his  own, 
had  he  not  felt  the  impulse  and  the  power  to  grapple  with 
the  world  and  help  shape  it  by  his  upright  and  vigorous 
will.  He  was  not  very  prominent  in  the  congregation  of 
which  he  was  from  the  first  start  a  member,  until  the 
building  of  the  "  Church  of  All  Souls"  aroused  his  special 
interest,  perhaps  because  he  was  a  householder  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  city,  and  had  for  years  suffered  the  in- 
convenience of  some  miles'  distance  between  his  home 
and  his  place  of  pubhc  worship.  His  experience  as  a 
builder  and  his  great  energy  as  a  man  made  him  a  fit 
person  to  be  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Building  Committee 
of  a  church  edifice  which  was  at  the  time,  1853-54,  one 
of  the  most  expensive  structures  of  an  ecclesiastical  kind 
which  had  been  undertaken,  though  it  has  since  fallen 
into  the  second  rank  in  everything  but  architectural 
beauty.  Mr.  Dean  gave  a  large  part  of  the  last  year  of 
his  life  to  the  duties,  which  he  magnified  by  his  zeal  and 
his  love  of  the  enterprise,  of  chairman  of  this  Building 
Committee.  He  was  at  the  building  early  and  late,  and 
superintended  it  with  almost  the  same  interest  as  the 


NICHOLAS    DEAN  491 

architect,  the  mason,  and  the  carpenter.  When  it  became 
very  desirable  to  hurry  the  work  to  completion,  that  it 
might  be  dedicated  on  Christmas,  1855,  Mr.  Dean  stood 
over  the  workmen  with  all  the  anxiety  of  a  foreman 
pressing  a  job  taken  on  time.  I  recall  very  distinctly  his 
humorous  complaint  against  the  master-carpenter.  He 
said  he  was  such  an  even-tempered  man  he  could  do 
nothing  to  hurry  him ;  that  if  he  could  only  get  him  mad 
he  would  have  some  hope  of  overcoming  his  dilatoriness. 
The  church  was  barely  ready  (and  in  a  somewhat  incom- 
plete state)  for  dedication  on  the  day  selected,  December 
25,  1855 ;  and  nobody  can  tell  what  it  cost  Mr.  Dean,  or 
how  far  his  devotion,  in  the  winter's  cold,  to  his  labor  of 
love  in  pushing  on  the  workmen  may  have  drawn  upon 
his  vitality.  But,  alas  !  he  sickened  a  fortnight  before  the 
day  came  for  which  he  had  been  so  anxiously  preparing, 
and  after  a  somewhat  mysterious  and  unnamed  illness, 
which  was  described  only  as  old  age  (he  was  only  sixty- 
four),  he  died  three  days  before  the  dedication,  on  De- 
cember 21,  1855,  and  lay  waiting  his  burial  when  the 
consecration  was  going  on.  His  loss  was  deeply  felt  by 
the  congregation,  and  none  the  less  vividly  because  a 
Hymn  written  by  him  for  the  occasion  was  a  part  of  the 
printed  exercises.     We  make  it  a  part  of  this  record. 

"  Father  of  all,  thy  children  come, 
And  bend  the  reverent  knee, 
This  house,  from  corner-stone  to  dome, 
To  dedicate  to  thee. 

"  Accept  our  offering,  Holy  One ! 
With  humble  hope  't  is  given  ; 
Make  it  a  temple  of  thy  Son, 
A  gate  that  leads  to  heaven. 

"  Give  us  that  saving  grace  to  feel 

Christ's  suffering  mission  brought ; 
.    His  perfect  love,  his  holy  zeal, 
The  charity  he  taught. 


492  NICHOLAS   DEAN 

•'  Here  let  thy  Gospel's  purest  ray 
Pierce  through  to  every  soul, 
lUumine  our  uncertain  way, 
Our  erring  steps  control. 

"  The  Holy  Spirit  we  beseech. 
To  live  by  thy  commands, 
That  pastor,  people,  all  may  reach 
'  A  house  not  made  with  hands.' " . 

On  the  following  "Wednesday,  December  26,  the  day 
following  the  dedication,  Mr.  Dean's  body  was  brought 
to  the  church,  to  be  the  subject  of  the  first  funeral  exer- 
cises celebrated  in  the  edifice  to  whose  existence  he,  more 
than  any  other  except  the  architect,  had  contributed  his 
zeal  and  oversight.  A  great  company  of  citizens  testified 
to  the  public  respect  by  their  presence,  and  the  following 
well-known  gentlemen  acted  as  pall-bearers :  Moses  H. 
Grinnell,  W.  F.  Carey,  David  Lane,  P.  A.  Curtis,  General 
Sandford,  T.  J.  Waters,  Joseph  Curtis,  B.  F.  Wheelwright, 
Peter  Cooper,  C.  S.  Francis,  John  Leveridge,  Theodare 
De  Forest.     A  funeral  discourse  was  pronounced  by  the  > 

minister,  who  had  long  been  a  warm  personal  friend  of  i 

Mr.  Dean.     The  remains  were  then  laid  to  their  final  rest  J 

in  the  Marble  Cemetery  in  Second  Avenue,  New  York.  -j 

Mr.  Dean's  public  life  was  matched  by  his  private  career, 
which  was  distinguished  for  benevolence,  humanity,  and 
sympathy.  He  was  actively  connected  for  many  years 
with  the  Institution  for  the  BHnd,  situated  near  his  own 
residence,  and  to  which  he  gave  such  constant  personal  ( 

attention  as  to  become  known  to  almost  every  inmate  of 
the  place,  while  his  coming  was  hailed  with  delight  from 
his  gayety  of  heart  and  voice,  his  excellent  story-telling  \ 

faculty,  and  above  all  his  unfeigned  tenderness  towards  ( 

the  unfortunate  children  he  met  in  the  Asylum.     Thirty  ] 

years  before  his  death  he  was  secretary  of  the  Lombard  { 

Association,  —  a  chartered  pawnbroking  association  in 
Chatham  Street,  which  his  interest  in  the  sufferings  of  the 


NICHOLAS   DEAN  493 

poor  led  him  to  favor.  He  was  admitted  a  corresponding 
member  of  the  New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Soci- 
ety, May  18,  1847.  He  visited  Antioch  College,  which  he 
patronized  and  thought  highly  of  on  account  of  the  equal 
advantages  it  offered  girls  as  well  as  boys.  He  was  an 
enthusiastic  friend  of  all  educational  enterprises,  as  well 
as  a  consistent  and  devoted  public  servant,  without  per- 
sonal ambition,  and  without  regard  to  the  honor  it  i^ight 
bring  him.  Indeed,  a  passionate  love  of  usefulness  was 
Mr.  Dean's  most  characteristic  mark.  To  this  was  added 
a  craving  for  exactness  and  perfectness  in  whatever  he 
set  his  hand  to.  He  was  intolerant  of  all  slackness  or 
slovenliness,  of  tardiness,  irregularity,  procrastination,  or 
pretence,  of  hypocrisy  and  petty  fraud.  His  handwriting, 
his  accounts,  his  dress,  his  manners,  his  speech  and  read- 
ing, his  housekeeping  and  habits,  all  equally  marked  his 
precision  and  love  of  perfection;  and  with  this  attention 
to  minute  things  was  united  a  grasp,  a  capacity  of  dealing 
with  large  enterprises,  a  breadth  of  sympathies,  a  states- 
manlike comprehension,  seldom  seen  in  the  company  of 
so  much  precision  and  so  much  attention  to  details.  But 
it  is  one  of  the  marks  of  the  finest  natures,  that  they 
combine  quahties  commonly  found  only  separate  and 
compensatory  of  each  other. 

Mr.  Dean  needed  only  a  more  thorough  early  educa- 
tion and  an  academic  training  to  have  made  him  a  states- 
man, an  orator,  and  a  man  of  national  reputation.  He 
needed  nothing  to  make  him  one  of  the  best  and  purest 
men  in  the  city  of  New  York,  —  perhaps  more  useful  in 
his  life  than  if  he  had  been  on  a  loftier  stage.  In  up- 
rightness, a  fidelity  which  came  from  self-respect  and  rev- 
erence for  the  God  of  truth  and  duty,  he  could  not  be 
surpassed. 

Mr.  Dean  was  married,  October  21, 1812,  to  Miss  Susan 
Amerman.  She  died  April  9,  1878.  The  children  of  this 
marriage  were,  Augusta,  born  July  17,  1813  ;    George 


494  NICHOLAS    DEAN 

*  

Frederic,  a  writer  in  the  '^  American  "Whig  Review  "  and 
other  magazines,  born  January  26,  1815 ;  Edward  Elmen- 
dorf,  born  August  8,  1819 ;  Juliet  Ada,  born  March  6, 
1833. 

It  would  be  unjust  to  him  not  to  say  that  his  domestic 
life,  like  all  the  rest,  was  marked  with  extraordinary  duti- 
fulness  and  sympathy.  He  was  a  tower  of  strength  and 
prid^  to  his  kindred  and  his  children,  while  his  noble 
wife  was  patterned  after  the  same  model  as  himself.  In 
person  he  was  of  a  magnificent  height  and  breadth, 
with  a  head  bald,  its  noble  lines  showing  clear  and 
strong ;  a  face  bright  with  intelligence  and  interest,  and 
with  a  delicate  humor  playing  about  his  dark  eye  and  his 
homely  but  vigorous  mouth.  He  had  a  fine  wit,  a  keen 
irony,  and  a  large  collection  of  capital  anecdotes,  which 
made  him  excellent  company.  But  his  home  and  his 
speech,  his  love  of  art  and  of  poetry,  always  showed  that 
only  a  part  of  the  man  had  been  fully  developed,  and  that 
other  circumstances  might  have  brought  out  more  com- 
pleteness. 

He  was  from  early  life  independent  by  his  own  exer- 
tions, but  never  rich  in  spite  of  his  unrivalled  opportuni- 
ties. He  valued  honor,  duty,  goodness,  too  much  to 
sacrifice  the  least  particle  of  either  to  the  largest  sum  of 
gain.  In  his  imspotted  and  inflexible  integrity,  Nicholas 
Dean  all  his  life 

"  Stood  as  an  iron  pillar  strong, 
And  steadfast  as  a  wall  of  brass ; " 

and  his  memory,  if  it  does  not  survive  in  the  public  mind, 
will  live  in  the  recollection  of  all  who  knew  him  best,  and 
be  transmitted  to  the  few  who,  knowing  that  the 

"  World  knows  nothing  of  its  greatest  men," 


1 


will  be  ready  to  receive  the  testimony  of  disinterested  wit-  ( 

nesses  who  seek  to  embalm  their  virtues  in  the  uncrowded  •• 

but  not  wholly  deserted  shrines  of  local  history.  { 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Abbot,   Benja^un,   LL.D.,  89,  92,   Adams,  Liphe,  399 


247 ;  token  of  respect  to,  on  his 
retirement  from  Exeter  Acad- 
/  emy,  92,  253. 

'Abbott,  "AbigaU,  402. 
^"ehemiah,  402. 
Aberdeen,  George  Hamilton  Gordon, 

Earl  of,  419,  420,  424. 
Abraham,  Plains  of,  200. 
Acton,  Centennial  Address  at,  by  Hon. 

Josiah  Adams,  161. 
Adams,  Abigail  (Smith),  448,  454. 
Abigail  (Stone),  156. 
Abraham,  398. 
Ann  (Jaques),  398. 
Hon.  Charles  Francis,  92. 
Dr.  Daniel,  274. 
Deborah  Sa\A'in,  156. 
Eleanor,  398. 
Elizabeth  Payne,  156. 
Hannah  (Little),  399. 
Henry,  1.56. 
Henry,  156. 
Jane  (Park),  156. 
Hon.  John,  36,  80,  326,  448,  449, 
452,   454,   455,   459;    extracts 
from  diary  of,  448 ;  letter  of,  to 
Hon.  William  Cranch,  450;  me- 
moir of,  by  Judge  Cranch,  460. 
Hon.  John  Quincy,  21,  100,  145, 

179,  251,  331,  449. 
Capt.  John,  of  Concord,  356. 
Col.  Joseph  H.,  143. 
Hon.  Josiah,  memoir  of,  156-163. 
Liphe,  393. 


63 


Lois  Haven,  156. 

Lydia  Whitney,  156. 

Mary,  63. 

Mary,  399. 

Mary,  399. 

Mary  (Boynton),  398. 

Mary  (PettingiU),  398. 

Moses,  156. 

Moses,  156. 

Moses,  156. 

Rev.  Moses,  156,  163;  character 
of,  157. 

Rebecca  (Knight),  398. 

Robert,  398. 

Robert,  398. 

Robert,  398. 

Robert,  memoir  of,  398-400. 

Hon.  Samuel,  76,  306. 

Sarah  (Poor),  399. 

Sarah  Short,  398. 

Susan,  356. 

Hon.  Thomas  B.,  71. 
African    Colonization,    eflforts    for  the 

establishment  of,  109. 
Agassiz,  Prof.Louis  John  Rudolph,  434. 

Pauline,  61. 
Age,  a  poem  by  Hon.  William  Plumer, 

253. 
Aiken,  Silas,  92. 
Alabama,  CoUege  of,  109. 
Alger,  Arthur  M.,  LL.B.,  8;  author  of 
memoirs    of    Hon.    H.    G.    0. 
Colby  and  Hon.  Nahum  Mitch- 
eU,  3. 


498 


INDEX 


AJger,  Cyrus,  130,  134. 
Allen,  Hon.  Charles,  175,  420. 

William,  73. 
Allston,  Washington,  the  artist,  331, 

333. 
American    Academy     of     Arts    and 
Sciences,    66,    166,   379,   435 ; 
memoirs  of,  218. 
.^^sculapian  Society,  391. 
Antiquarian  Society,  93, 172,  173, 
'      177,  178,  356,  435. 
Bible  Society,  243. 
Education  Society,  316,  337. 
Institute,  103,  177. 
Law  Review,  13. 
Medical   Biography  by   Dr.   Ste- 
phen W\  Williams,  394. 
Sentinel,  214. 

Statistical  Association,  166. 
Tract  Society,  119. 
Unitarian  Association,  347. 
Whig  Review,  494. 
Whig  Society,  97. 
Americans,  roving  tendency  of,  359, 360. 
Amerman,  Susan,  489,  493,  494. 
Ames,  David,  Jr.,  74. 

Hon.  Fisher,  LL.D.,  331. 
Mary  Orr  (Mitchell),  74. 
Amherst  CoUege,  66,  109,  300,  302. 
Amherst,  N.  H.,  History  of,  by  Far- 

naer,  79. 
Ammidown,  Holmes,  259,  262,  263. 
Ammonoosuc,  the  River,  276. 
A  Moor's  Curse  on  Spain,  by  James 

A.  Jones,  213,  214. 
Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Com- 
pany, 258. 
Anderson,  Hennan  Monrad,  279. 
Peter,  279. 

Rebekah  (Butler),  279. 
Andover,  Mass.,  Theological  Seminary, 

271. 
Andover,   N.  H.,    Topographical   and 
Historical  Sketch  of,  by  Moore, 
79. 
Andrews,  Benjamin,  115. 
Joseph,  444. 
Rev.  Samuel  J.,  194. 


Andros,    Sir    Edmund,    Governor  of 

Mass.,  63. 
Anecdotes  of  Charles  K.  Williams,  31, 
32  ;  of  Daniel  Greenleaf,  37  ;  of 
Robert  G.  Shaw,  53,  5*3,  57; 
of  Samuel  Appleton,  64,  65 ; 
of  Mahlon  Dickerson,  104 ;  of 
Daniel  Webster,  152;  of  Josiah 
Adams,  162;  of  Dr.  George  C. 
Shattuck,  168,  169;  of  Shubael 
Bartlett,  195 ;  of  James  A. 
Jones,  206;  of  Caleb  Butler, 
275;  of  Elisha  Fuller,  354,  355; 
of  Samuel  S.  Wilde,  376,  378, 
383-386;  of  William  Cranch, 
451 ;  of  John  Adams,  459. 
Angier,  Lavinia,  74. 
Ann,  the  third  of  the  Pilgrim  ships, 

69,  186. 
Annawan  the  Brave,  218-220. 
Anthony,  James,  20. 
Anti-Masonic  Excitement,  the,  18,  25, 

54. 
Antioch  College,  493. 
Antislavery  party,  the,  475. 
ApoUonio,  Nicholas  A.,  292. 
Apothecaries  in  the  last  century,  cus- 
tom of,  35. 
Appleton    Academy,     New    Ipsvrich, 

N.  H.,  66. 
Appleton,  Elizabeth  (Sawyer),  63. 
Hannah  (Paine),  63. 
Isaac,  63. 
Isaac,  63. 

Deacon  Isaac,  sketch  of,  63. 
Rev.   Jesse,   D.D.,   President  of 

Bowdoin  College,  237. 
Judith  (Everard),  63. 
Mary  (Adams),  63. 
Mary  (Lecain)  Gore,  66. 
Hon.  Nathan,  62,  65,  405,  410. 
Priscilla  (Baker),  63. 
Samuel,  memoir  of,  62-68. 
Samuel,  63. 
Samuel,  63. 
Thomas  Gold,  67. 
Hon.  William,  62. 
William  Sumner,  67. 


INDEX 


499 


Apprentices  of  Boston  in  the  last  cen- 
tury, 45. 
Archer,  Hon.  William  S.,  411 ;  letter 

of,  to  Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence, 

411,  412. 
Armstrong,  Hon.  Samuel  Turell,  1 18, 

122,  123,  149,  341,  418. 
Ashburton,   Alexander  Baring,  Lord, 

420,  421,  422,  424. 
Ashmun,  Hon.  Eli  B.,  474. 
A  Teacher's  Gift,   by  Rev.  Frederick 

T.  Gray,  342. 
Atheam,  Avis,  204. 
Hon.  George,  204. 
Hon.  James,  204. 
Susanna,  204. 
Athenaeum,  Boston,  300,  329,  333. 
Athens,  Greece,  Archseological  Society 

of,  300. 
jAtkinson  Academy,  280. 
>* Atkinson,  Rev.  Timothy,  279. 
Atlantic     Cotton     Mills,     Lawrence, 

406. 
Atlantic  Souvenir,  209. 
Austin,  Hon.  James  Trecothie,  LL.D., 

153. 
Avon  Place,   Boston,   laid   out,  121, 

TOO 


Backus,    Rev.  Azel,    President  of 

Hamilton  College,  240. 
Bacon,  Col.  Edmund,  85. 

Elijah,  311. 

Sir  Francis,  368. 

Francis  M.,  345. 

Margaret  Rogers  (Gray),  345. 

Pamelia  (Anderson),  85,  87. 

Peter  C,  10. 
Bailey,  Winthrop,  90. 
Baker,  Priscilla,  63. 

Sir  William,  50. 

William,  50. 
Baldwin,  James  F.,  379. 

Rev.  Thomas,  115. 
Bancroft,  Rev.  Dr.  Aaron,  176. 

Eliza,  176. 

Hon.  George,  92,  177,  280. 


Bangor,  Me.,  282,  283,  284,  285;  Mu- 
sical Society  of,  284 ;  Whig  and 
Courier  of,  286. 
Banks     of    Suffolk     County,    Mass., 
Board  of  Commissioners  to  ex- 
amine the,  226. 
Barber,  Mr.,  362. 
Baring    Brothers    and    Co.,    London 

Financiers,  41. 
Barker,  Christopher,  49. 
Barnard,    Capt.  Ebenezer,   361,    362, 
363. 
Hon.   Henry,    LL.D.,   author  of 
memoir    of     Hon.     Nathaniel 
Goodwin,  5. 
John,  of  Hadley,  361. 
Barnes,  Hon.  David  Leonard,  370. 
Barney,  Hannah,  235. 
Jacob,  235. 
Mary  (Danforth),  235. 
Barnstable,  Mass.,  480;  First  Settlers 

of,  by  David  Hamblen,  482. 
Barrett,  Charles,  64. 
Barron,  Capt.  Jonathan,  164. 

Lucy,  164. 
Bartlett,  Charles  Loomis,  196. 
Daniel  Wadsworth,  196. 
David  Ely,  A.M.,  196;  author  of 
memoir  of  Rev.  Shubael  Bart- 
lett, A.M.,  4. 
Desire  (Loomis),  186. 
Elizabeth  Goodwin,  196. 
Elizabeth   Sophronia    (Eudnell), 

196. 
Fanny  (Griswold),  196. 
Fanny    (LeffingweU),    191,    192, 

195,  196. 
Fanny  LeffingweU,  196. 
Fanny  P.  (Hinsdale),  196. 
Henry  Thomas,  196. 
Hon.  Ichabod,  77. 
Hon.  James,  77. 
John,  186,  187. 
John  LeffingweU,  196. 
Dr.  Joseph,  77. 
Hon.  Josiah,  76. 
Louisa  B.  (Stewart),  196. 
Margaret  (Combs)  Winn.,  196. 


500 


INDEX 


Bartlett,  Eobert,  186. 

Kev.  Shubael,   memoir  of,   186- 
196;  extract  from  Life  of,  by 
Azel  S.  Roe,  188, 189 ;  extracts 
from  diary  of,  190,  191. 
Dr.  Shubael  Fitch,  196. 
Sidney,  110. 
William  AUen,  196. ' 
Bartol,  Rev.  Cyrus  A.,  D.D.,  170;  his 
estimate  of  Dr.  Geo.  C.  Shat- 
tuck,  170,  171. 
Bateman,  Hon.  Ephraim,  100. 
Bates,  Hon.  Isaac  Chapman,  176. 

William  C,  author  of  memoir  of 
Samuel  Appleton,  3. 
Baxter,  Capt.  Daniel,  133. 
Baylies,  Rev.  Frederic,  205. 
'Bearse,  Sarah,  480. 
Bedell,  Alexine  V.,  27. 

Louise  I.,  26. 
Bedlington,  Timothy,  116,  119. 
Beecher,  Rev.  Henry  Ward,  336. 

Rev.  Lyman,  336. 
Belcher  family,  293. 
BelchertowTi,  Mass.,   474,  475,  477; 
historical  sketch  of  Congrega- 
tional Church  in,  by  Hon.  Mark 
Doolittle,  473,  477. 
Bellows  Falls  Gazette,  82. 
Bellows,  Rev.  Henry  Whitney,  D.D., 
350;  his  description  of  Rev.  F. 
T.  Gray,  350-351;   author  of 
memoir  of  Nicholas  Dean,  5. 
Bemis,  George,  110. 
Benicia,  Cal.,  U.  S.  Military  Cemetery 

at,  196. 
Benson  and  Hamblen,  481. 

John,  481. 
Bentley,  Richard,  215. 
Benton,  Hon.  Thomas  Hart,  182 ;  his 
Thirty  Years   in    the    Senate, 
182. 
Berkshire  Medical  Institution,  392-393, 

397. 
Bigelow,  Hon.  Abijah,  224. 
Abraham,  165. 
Amelia  Hepsibah,  165. 
Hon.  George  Tyler,  112,  415. 


Bigelow,  Hon.  John  Prescott,  Mayor 
of  Boston,  268,  418. 
Katherine,   268,   404,   418,   424, 

425,  438,  439,  444. 
Hon.  Timothy,  404. 
Billerica,  History  of,  by  Farmer,  79. 
Binglmm  Purchase,  41. 
Bingham,  William,  41. 
Binney,  Mr.,  131. 
Biographical    Encyclopedia    of    Now 

Jersey,  105. 
Biography  of  the  Young,  by  Rev.  F. 

T.  Gray,  351. 
Bird,  John  Hawes,  127-123. 

Mr.,  301. 
Bimey  Abolitionists,  26. 
Blackwood,   William,   the   Publisher, 

209. 
Blagden,  Rev.  Dr.  George  W,,  438. 
Blake,  Edward,  Jr.,  48. 
Hon.  Francis,  174. 
Francis  Arthur,  238. 
Bliss,  Hon.  George,  72. 
Bloody  Brook,  fight  at,  253. 
Bollman,  Dr.  Eric,  trial  of,  456-^58 ; 
opinion  of  Judge  Cranch  there- 
on, 456-453. 
Bonaparte,  poem  by  James  A.  Jones, 

207. 
Boone,  T.  and  M.,  215. 
Boott,  Kirk,  405. 
Boston,  ancient  landmarks  of,  140. 
and  Albany   RaiLroad,    72,    130, 
227;    depot  of,  124,   125,  126, 
128,  129,  130,  132,  133,  1^4, 
137. 
and  Providence  Railroad,  129, 134, 

227. 
and    Roxbury  Mill   Corporation, 

328. 
description  of,  at  the  close  of  the 

last  century,  46. 
Directory  of  1796,  323. 
evacuation  of,  40. 
Exchange,  54. 

Hartford,  and  Erie  Railroad,  134. 
Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  395- 
396.   . 


INDEX 


501 


Boston  notice  of,  120,  253. 

Papers:  —  Advertiser,    94,    329; 

Atlas,   416;    Musical   Gazette, 

73;    NeM-s  Letter,  289;   Post, 

214;  Transcript,  333. 

Public  Library,  donation  of  Hon. 

Abbott  Lawrence  to  the,  441. 
Sketches  of,  Past  and  Present,  300. 
Society  of  Neural  History,  231, 

297. 
Wharf  Company,  135. 
Boundary  dispute  between  Massachu- 
setts and  Connecticut,  72,  225. 
dispute    between     Massachusetts 
and  New  Hampshire,  88,  270. 
dispute    between    Massachusetts 
and  Rhode  Island,  72. 
BouteUe,  Mary,  292.   . 
Nathaniel,  292. 
Polly,  292. 
Bowditch,  J.  IngersoU,  442. 
Nathaniel,  76. 
Nathaniel  Ingersoll,  bis  Gleaner 

articles,  333,  334. 
Wmiam  I.,  300. 
Bowdoin  CoUege,  109,  236,  237,  375, 
388. 
Square,  Boston,  294. 
Bowen,  Charles,  343. 

Hon.  Jabez,  Lieut. -Governor  of 
Rhode  Island,  306. 
Boxborough,  Mass.,  church  in,  316. 
Boyd,  Gen.  John  Parker,  143,  225. 
Boynton,  Da^-id,  398. 
Joshua,  398. 
Mary  (Stickney),  398. 
Mary,  398. 
Sarah  (Brown),  398. 
y-Bradford,  Alice,  69. 
Elizabeth,  2-34. 

William,  Governor  of  Plymouth 
Colony,  69,  234,  327,  438.-^ 
Brainard,  John  Gardiner  Calkins,  poet, 

210.. 
Braintree,  Mass.,  the  old  town  of,  447. 
Brattle  family,  297. 
Brattle   Street   Church,  Boston,   340, 
435-436. 


Brattle  Street  Collections,  72. 
Breck,  Edward,  of  Dorchester,  43. 
Hannah,  43. 
Margaret,  43. 
Brewster,  Elder  William,  327,  438. 
Bridge,  Hon.  James,  50,  51. 

Samuel,  49. 
Bridgewater,  Mass.,  the  first  cannon 
and  small  arms  made  in  this 
country  at,  69;  celebration  of 
the  200th  anniversary  of   the 
settlement  of,  74. 
Collection  of  Sacred  Music,  72. 
History  of  the  Early  Settlement 
of,  by  Judge  Mitchell,  73. 
Bridport,    Dorsetshire,   Eng.,    extract 

from  a  letter  of  rector  of,  197. 
Bristol  Bar,   resolutions    of,    on    the 

death  of  Judge  Colby,  13-14. 
British  Ministry  of  1841,  conciliatory 

spirit  of,  419,  420. 
Broad  Brook,  East  Windsor,   Conn., 

church  consecrated  at,  194. 
Brooke,  Rev.  John  T.,  479. 

W.  H.,  215. 
Brooks  and  Harrison,  Baltimore,  Md., 

470. 
Brooks,  Adelaide,  279. 
Charles  Butler,  279. 
Clara  Vamum,  279. 
Ellen  (Shepherd),  470,  471. 
Frances  (Butler),  279;  authoress 
of    memoir    of    Caleb    Butler, 
A.M.,  4. 
Francis  Augustus,  279. 
Frederick,  279. 
Gorham,  A.M.,  Memoir  of,  470- 

472. 
Lucy,  470,  471. 
Morgan,  279. 
Nancy  (Gorham),  470. 
Hon.   Peter   Chardon,    116,  121, 

122,  470. 
Peter  Chardon,  471. 
Samuel,  471. 
Shepherd,  471. 
Sidney,  92. 
Walter  Morgan,  279.  - 


502 


/ 


INDEX 


Bro\m,  Ann  Janette,  388. 
Bartholomew,  72. 
Kev.  Francis,  D.D.,  President  of 

Dartmouth  College,  84. 
George  L.,  the  artist,  333. 
Rev.  Samuel  Robbins,  195,  196. 
Brown  University,  307,  308. 
Brownell,  Right  Rev.  Thomas  Church, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  Bishop  of  Conn., 
244. 
Bryant,  William  Cullen,  209, 210,211, 

212. 
Buck,  Hannah,  60. 
Buckminster,  Rev.  Joseph  S.,  72, 115, 

340,  436. 
Bulfinch,     Rev.    Stephen    Greenleaf, 
D.D.,  hymn  of,  on  the  death  of 
Judge  Cranch,  462. 
Street  Society,  Boston,  346,  348, 
349;   sermons  by  Rev.  F.  T. 
Gray  before,  351. 
Bulwer,  Sir  Henry,  431. 
Bum-boating,  206. 
Bunch  of  Grapes  tavern,  481. 
Bunker  Hill,  oration  of  Hon.  Daniel 
Webster  at,  86,  273;  battle  of, 
186,  313,  401. 
Monument  Association,  93,  273. 
Bumell,  Judith,  320. 
Burr,  Aaron,  255 ;  conspiracy  of,  456, 
458. 
V.  Smith  et  al.,  case  of,  23. 
Burt,  Benjamin,  38,  49. 
Sarah,  38. 
Mrs.,  39. 
Butler,  Caleb,  A.M.,  224 ;  memoir  of, 
266-279. 
Caleb,  266. 
Charles  Vamum,  279. 
Clarissa  (Vamum),  268,  269,  278. 
Clarissa,  278,  279. 
Frances,  279. 
George,  279. 
Henrietta,  279. 
Deacon    John,    account    of,    by 

Caleb  Butler,  277. 
Rebckah  (Frost),  266. 
Rcbekah,  279. 


Butler,  Susan,  279- 
William,  279. 


Cabot,  Frederick,  65. 

Hon.  George,  .331. 
Cadogan   House,   Piccadilly,   London, 
the  residence  of  Minister  Law- 
rence, 425.    ' 
Cady,  Abigail  Aikman  (Kiersted),  479. 
Albe,  478. 
Col.  Albemarle,  author  of  memoir 

of  Charles  Warner  Cady,  5. 
Albemarle  Coddington,  479. 
Ann  Kiersted,  479. 
Charles  Warner,  memoir  of,  478- 

479. 
Ella  Wilder,  479. 
Eudora  Dunn,  479. 
Jeremiah  Kiersted,  479. 
Nelson  Warner,  479. 
Sixrah  Warner,  478. 
Calhoun,  Hon.  John  C,  101,  179,  385, 

405,  474. 
California,  81,  .326,  349;  gold,  discov- 
ery of,  325. 
Calmet's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  119. 
Calvin,  John,  370,  378. 
Cambreling,  Hon.  Churchill  C,  178. 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  335,  360 ;  account 
of,  by  W.  T.  Harris,  300-301. 
Law  School,  385. 
Old  Burying- Ground  at,  297-298, 

301. 
Scientific    School,   433-435;    be- 
quest of  Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence 
to,  434,  441,  445. 
Camels,  or  Shiplifters,  constructed  by 

Peter  F.  Ewer,  324-325. 
Cameron,  J.  A.,  214. 
Campaign  of  1776,  310. 
Campbell's  Lives  of  the  British  Ad- 
mirals, .390. 
Canadian  troubles  of  1837,  419. 
Canfield,  David  S.,  97. 
Frederick,  103. 
Hon.  Judson,  240. 
Capen,  Nahum,  135. 


INDEX 


503 


Carey,  Matthew,  408. 
WiUiara  F.,  492. 
Carlile,  Elizabeth,  307. 
John,  307. 
JIary,  307. 
Caroline,  affair  of  the,  419. 
Carroll   of  CarroIIton,    Hon.   Charles, 

452. 
Carter,  Hon.  James  G.,  210,  211 ;  let- 
ters of,  to  James  A.  Jones,  210-' 
211. 
Cartwright,  Eunice,  322,  323. 
John,  322. 
Mary,  322. 
Mary,  323. 
Carver,  John,  Governor  of  Plymouth 

Colony,  438. 
Centennial  Exhibition  at  Philadelphia, 

234-235. 
Chandler,  Eev.  Seth,  author  of  memoir 
of  Hon.    Leonard   M.    Parker, 
A.M.,  4.    - 
Channing,  Kev.  William  EUery,  D.D., 

56,  115,  344. 
Chapin,   Mrs.   L.  C,  of  Kalamazoo, 
Mich.,  87. 
•  Chaplin,  Rev.  Daniel,  D.D.,  271. 
Chapman,  Elizabeth,  257. 
Elizabeth,  443. 
Elizabeth  P.,  345. 
Hon.  Jonathan,  92,  345. 
Jonathan,  345. 
Margaret,  345. 
Sumner,  257. 
Character  of  the  early  settlers  of  the 

country,  358-359. 
Charles   II.,    King   of   England,    38; 

charter  of,  241. 
Charlestown,  Mass.,  320;  burning  of, 

by  the  British  in  1775,  295. 
Cheap  postage,   despatch  of  Minister 

Lawrence  on,  442. 
Child,  Prof.  Francis  J.,  302. 
Chipman,  Hon.  Daniel,  Law  Reports 

of,  22. 
Choate,  Hon.  Rufus,  11,  334,  378,  383. 
Cholera  visitation  of  1832,  202. 
Christian  Examiner,  273. 


Christian   Sabbath,    The,    lecture   by 

Hon.  Mark  Doolittle,  477. 
Church,  Prof.  Albert  Ensign,  244-245. 
Caroline  Esther,  245. 
Cynthia  (Newell),  240. 
Leman,,241. 
Lois  (Ensign),  240. 
Lois  Ensign,  245. 
Nathaniel,  240. 
Richard,  240. 
Hon.  Samuel,  LL.D.,  memoir  of, 

240-245. 
Samuel  Porter,  M.D.,  245. 
Sarah,  321. 
Church  of  All  Souls,  New  York  City, 
490-491 ;  hymn  at  the  dedica- 
tion of,  by  Nicholas  Dean,  491- 
492. 
Churchill,  Asaph,  70. 

Lydia,  319. 
Cincinnati,  Mass.  Society  of  the,  54. 
Circuit  Court  system,  226. 
City  Register,  Philadelphia,  214. 
City  Registrar,  Boston,  office  of,  estab- 
lished, 291 ;  Reports  of,  291. 
Clark,  George  A.,  260. 

Jane  Elizabeth  (Plimpton),  260. 
Clay,  Hon.  Henry,  100,  179,  182,  183, 

405,  409,  422,  489. 
Clayton-Bulwer  Treaty,  427. 
Clayton,  Hon.  John  Middleton,  424, 

442. 
Clark,  Francis,  459. 
Clerk's    Praxis    Curiae    Admiralitatis, 

459. 
Clevenger,  Shobal  L.  Vail,  the  scalp- 
tor,  331. 
Clifford,  Hon.  John  H.,  Governor  of 

Mass.,  10,  11. 
Cobb,  Gen.  David,  371,  387. 
Eleanor  (Bradish),  387. 
Eunice,  371,  374,  375,  387. 
Cochituate  Lake,  Act  of  Mass.  Legis- 
lature authorizing  City  of  Bos- 
ton to  take  water  from,  414; 
introduction   of  water   of,   into 
Boston,  414-415. 
Coe,  Joseph,  95. 


504 


INDEX 


Coo,  Mary,  96. 
Ruth,  95. 
Thomas,  96. 
Coffin,  Joshua,  400. 

Timothy  Gardner,  11,  12,  382. 
Cogswell,  Joseph  G.,  89. 
Coit,  Sarah.  ^36,  339. 

Wheeler,  339. 
Colbum,  Henry,  215. 
Colby,  Harriet  (Sewall),  9. 

Hon.  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  memoir 

of,  9-16. 
Isaac,  9. 
Moses  D.,  357. 
Phebe  (Hunt),  9. 
Key.  Philip,  sketch  of,  9-10. 
Sarah  Williams  (FuUer),  357. 
Coleman  family,  321,  322. 
Collamer,  Hon.  Jacob,  27. 
Collection  of  Cases  Overruled,  etc.,  by 

Simon  Greenleaf,  109. 
Columbia,  Circuit  Court  of  the  District 
of,  446,  455,  456. 
College,  New  York,  391. 
right  of  Congress  to  abolish  slav- 
ery  in    the    District    of,    229, 
230. 
Cunard  steamship,  422.    ■ 
Columbian    Cotton    Mills    of    South- 
bridge,  264. 
Institute,  460. 
Commentaries  on  American  Law,  by 

Chancellor  Kent,  23. 
Commerce,   U.  S.  Senate   Committee 

on,  183. 
Commercial  Coffee  House,  481. 
Committee  of  Observation,  Morris  Co., 
New  Jersey,  in  the  Revolution, 
95. 
of  Safety  of  the  Revolution,  63. 
Compromise  Acts  of  1850,  179,  182. 

Acts  of  1833,  409. 
Concord,  Mass.,  355,  356. 

Fight,  402 ;  account  of,  by  Hon. 

Josiah  Adams,  J  61. 
Gazette,  355. 

lands  granted  in,  to  a  company 
from  Plymouth,  184. 


Concord,  N.  H.,  478;  Annals  of,  from 

its   First  Settlement,   1726,  to 

1823,  80. 

Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  charters 

of,  how  adopted,  242. 

Constitutional  Convention  of  1818, 

241,  242. 
Courant,  3«j5. 

Evangelical  Magazine,  335. 
Historical  Society,  337-338,  339, 

361,  365,  366. 
Law  Reports,  243. 
Mirror,  210. 
Senate  of  1624,  242. 
Statutes  of,  337. 

the  first  genealogical  history  in 
the  country  made  in,  358. 
Constitution,  frigate,  mutilated  in  Bos- 
ton harbor,  102. 
Constitution  of  Matter,  oration  on,  by 

Caleb  Butler,  207. 
Convention  to  amend  the  Mass.  State 
Constitution  proposed  by  Hon. 
L.  M.  Parker,  231. 
Conversations  on  Chemistry,  Notes  to, 

by  Dr.  S.  W.  Williams,  392. 
Conway,  Rev.  Moncure  D.,  sermon  of, 
on  the  death  of  Judge  Cranch, 
462. 
Cook's  Tourists,  plan  of,  anticipated  by 

Peter  F.  Ewer,  326. 
Cooley,  Dr.  Dennis,  392. 
Coolidge  and  Wiley,  publishers,  221. 
Coolidge,   Hon.  Carlos,    Governor  of 

Vermont,  27. 
Coombs,  Elizabeth  (Harrod),  282. 
Mary  Jane,  262. 
Philip,  282. 
Coombs  family,  282. 
Cooper,  Peter,  492. 
Rev.  Samuel,  115. 
Sarah,  335. 
Cornell,  Rev.  William  Mason,  LL.D., 

10. 
Coster,  John  G.,  4S6. 
Cotton  and  woollen  weaving  in  Amer- 
ica, origin  of,  65. 
Cotton,  Elizabeth,  89. 


INDEX 


505 


Cotton,    Eev.   John,    280;    supposed 
dwelling-house  of,  140. 
Eev.  Seahorn,  89. 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  226,  448,  450. 
Coverley,  Sir  Roger  de,  234, 
Cowley,  Hon.  Charles,  855. 
Cowper,    William,    186;     quotations 

from,  187,  191. 
Crampton,  Lucy  E.,  27. 
Cranach,  Lucas,  447. 
Cranch,  Abby  Adams,  453. 
Andrew,  447. 
Ann  Allen,  453. 

Ann  (Greenleaf),  449,  453,  461. 
Christopher  Pearse,  A.B.,  author 
of   memoir    of   Hon.   William 
Cranch,  5,  453. 
Edward  Pope,  453,  465. 
Elizabeth,  449. 
Elizabeth  Eliot,  453. 
John,  447. 
John,  453.  '■ 
Lucy,  449. 

Margaret  Dawes,  453. 
'Mary  (Smith),  448,  449. 
Mary,  453. 
Eichard,  447. 
Hon.  Eichard,   A.M.,   454,  459; 

sketch  of,  447-449. 
Eichard,  453. 
Hon.  WiUiam,  LL.D.,  memoir  of, 

446-469. 
William  Greenleaf,  453. 
Crawford,  Ethan  AUen,  hotel  of,  276. 

Hon.  William  Harris,  100,  226. 
Creole  Affair  of  1841,  419. 
Crisis  of  1837,  405. 
Crosby,  Hon.  Nathan,  LL.D.,  author 
of    memoir    of    Jacob    Bailey 
Moore,  3. 
Croswell,    Simon    Greenleaf,    LL.B., 
author     of    memoir     of    Prof. 
Simon  Greenleaf,  3. 
Croton  Aqueduct  Department,  487. 
Crow,  John,  361. 
Crowell,  Eev.  Loranus,  D.D.,  481. 

Mehitable,  295. 
Crowkham,  Eebecca,  294,  295. 


Crystal  Palace,  New  York,  117. 
Culick,  John,  of  Hadley,  361. 
Gumming,  Eev.  John,  D.D.,  of  Scotch 
Church,  Crown  Court,  London, 
Eng.,  436;  his  tribute  to  Hon. 
Abbott  Lawrence,  436. 
Cummings,  Hilliard,  &  Co.,  publishers, 

212. 
Curry,  Ellen  Zippy  (Hawkins),  198. 
Ethelwin,  198. 
Evelyn,  198. 
Eoger  de  Courcy,  198. 
WiUiam  Alexander,  198. 
Curtis,  Hon.  Benjamin  Eobbins,  93, 
382,  385. 
George  Ticknor,  110. 
Joseph,  492. 
Paul  A.,  492. 
Gushing,  Hon.  Caleb,  230,  375,  388. 
Eev.  Caleb,  88,  89. 
Caroline  (WUde),  375,  376,  388. 
Ehzabeth  (Cotton),  89. 
Eev.  James,  83-89. 
John,  89. 

John  Perkins,  92,  333. 
Lucy,  88. 
Matthew,  89. 
Cushman,  Charlotte,  259. 

Eobert,  the  Pilgrim,  sermon  of, 
119. 
Cutts,  Hon.  Charles,  70. 
Cyclopaedia  of   American  Eloquence, 
by  Frank  Moore,  82. 


Daily  Whig,  New  York,  80. 

DaUiousie,  Gen.  George  Eamsay,  Earl 
of,  198. 

Dall,  Joseph,  137. 

Dallas,  Hon.  Alexander  James,  455. 

Dana,  Hon.  Eichard  Henry,  his  recol- 
lections of  Judge  Wilde,  379- 
386. 
Hon.  Samuel  W.,  71. 

Dandridge,  A.  S-,  M.D.,  238. 

Dane  Law  School,  299. 

Danforth,  Mary,  235. 
Dr.  Samuel,  164. 


64 


606 


INDEX 


Danfortb,  Eev.  Sarauel,-235, 

Rev.  Samuel,  Jr.,  235. 
Dartmouth  College,    66,  67,  164,  165, 

224,  267,  370,  379,  393. 
Davis,  Hon.  Caleb,  165. 

Dolor,  sketcli  of,  184,  185. 

Eliza  (Bancroft),  176. 

Eliza  (Choever),  165. 

George  Cabot,  329,  332. 

Hon.  George  Thomas,  his  memoir 

of  Isaac  P.  Davis,  330. 
Hon.  Horace,  177,  185. 
Deacon  Isaac,  174,  185. 
Isaac,  328. 
Isaac  P.,    memoir   of,   327-334 ; 

sketch  of,  by  Hon.  Robert  C. 

"Winthrop,  330-333;   poem  on 

his  death  by  Hon.  George  Lunt, 

334. 
Hon.  John,  LL.D.,  Governor  of 

Mass.,  91;  memoir  of,  172-185. 
Hon.  John,  Judge  U.  S.  District 

Court  of  Mass.,  70,  327,  332. 
Hon.  John  Chandler  Bancroft,  177, 

430. 
Joshua,  129. 
Margery  (Willard),  184. 
Mercy  (Hedge),  327. 
Hon.  Nathaniel  Morton,  74. 
Samuel,  185. 
Samuel,  323. 
Simon,  185. 
Simon,  185. 

Susan  (Jack.son),  329,  332. 
Thomas,  327. 
Hon.  Thomas,  327. 
Thomas  Kemper,  329,  332. 
Hon.  WendeU,  328. 
William,  74. 
William,  327. 
Dawe.s,   Margaret   (Greenleaf),    449, 

453. 
Rufus,  poet,  210,  212. 
Hon.  Thomas,  210,  449,  450. 
Day,  Abigail  (Noble),  335. 
Asa,  240. 

Catharine  Augusta,  339. 
Editha  (Stebbins),  335. 


Day,  Elizabeth,  a39. 

Elizabeth  (Merrick),  335. 

Ellen,  339. 

Harriette,  339. 

Rev.  Jeremiah,  335. 

Rev.    Jeremiah,    D.D.,    LL.D., 

President  of  Yale  College,  335. 
Mary  Frances,  339. 
Mary  (Welles),  335. 
Robert,  3a5. 
Robert,  339. 
Sarah  (Coit),  ^36,  339. 
Sarah  Coit,  3:39. 
Sarah  (Cooper),  335. 
Thomas,  335. 
Thomas,  335. 
Thomas,  335. 
Hon.  Thomas,  LL.D.,  memoir  of, 

a35-339. 
Thomas  Mills,  A.M.,  339;  author 

of  memoir  of  Hon.  Thomas  Day, 

LL.D.,  5. 
Dean,  Augusta,  493. 
Daniels.,  484,  489. 
Edward  Elmendorf,  494. 
George  Frederic,  493-494. 
Prof.  James,  267. 
John  Ward,  A.M.,  8;  author  of 

memoir  of  Isaac  P.  Davis,  4. 
Juliet  Ada,  494. 
Nicholas,  484. 

Nicholas,  memoir  of,  484-494. 
Rev.  Paul,  346. 
Stephen,  434. 

Susan  (Amerman),  489,  493,  494. 
Deane,  Dr.  James,  M.D.,  extract  from 

his  Memoir  of  Dr.  Stephen  W. 

WiUiams,  396-397. 
WiUiam  Reed,  154. 
Deblois,  Thomas  A.,  281. 
Declaration  of  Independence,  76. 
Deerfield,  Mass.,  3S9,  390,  391,  392, 

394, 395;  Academy  of,  339, 390; 

Climate   and    Diseases  of,    by 

Dr.  Stephen  W.  Williams,  391 ; 

Unitarian  Society  of,  395. 
DeForest,  Theodore,  492. 
Degrand,  Peter  Paul  Francis,  153. 


\ 


INDEX 


507 


Delap  genealogy,  317. 
Delap,  James,  312. 

Jane,  312,  313,  314. 

Jane  (Kelly),  312. 
Democratic  Party,  176,  226,  418. 
Denisou,  Elizabeth  Sophia,  198. 
Derby,  Elias  H;isket,  137. 
Design  of  this  series  of  Memorial  Vol- 
umes, 113. 
D'Estaing,   Admiral    Charles    Hector 

Theodat,  Count,  306. 
Dewey,  Hon.  Daniel,  3-36. 
Dexter,  Capt.  David,  310. 

Capt.  Elisha,  221. 

Franldin,  415. 

Lord  Timothy,  mansion  of,  375. 
Dickerson,  Dr.  Aaron,  97,  98. 

Edward  N.,  99. 

Esther,  96. 

John  B.,  97. 

Jonathan,  sketch  of,  96-97,  104. 

Hon.  Mahlon,  Governor  of  New 
Jersey,  memoir  of,  95-105. 

Mary,  97. 

Mary  (Coe),  96,  104. 

Peter,  95. 

Capt.  Peter,  sketch  of,  95-96. 

Philemon,  95. 

Hon.  Philemon,  Governor  of  New 
Jersey,  97,  99,  102. 

Ruth  (Coe),  95. 

SUas,  97,  98,  105. 

Thomas,  95. 
Dickerson  Mine,  96,  97,  10-3. 
Dickman,  Lydia,  38. 
Digest  of  the  Law  of  Eeal  Property,  by 
Cruise,  edited  by  Greenleaf,  109. 
Dingley,  Amasa,  449. 
Diplomatic  receptions,  language  em- 
ployed at,  forty  years  ago,  181. 
Diplomatic  Service,  qualifications  ne- 
cessary for  success  in,  424. 
Disseisin,  the  law  of,  335. 
District  system  of  representation,  231. 
Dix,  Dr.  Elijah,  296. 

Mary,  296. 
Doane,  Anne  Sumner  (Wilde),  388. 

Frederick  W.,  338. 


Doolittle,  Abraham,  473. 

Abraham,  473. 

Betsey  Matilda  (Smith),  474. 

Betsey  Matilda,  474. 

Joel,  474. 

John,  473. 

John,  473. 

Lucy  Maria,  474. 

Hon.  Mark,  A.M.,  memoir  of,  473- 
477. 

Mary  (Lewis),  473. 

Sarah  Loraine,  474. 

Sarah  T.  Raboteau,  474. 

Titus,  47.3. 

WiUiam  C,  474. 
Dorchester,  Mass.,  Antiquarian  Society 
of,  298 ;  fixmUies  of,  297 ;  First 
Church  of,  296. 
Dorr  Rebellion,  176. 
Downe,  Joseph,  288. 

Margaret  (Fitch),  289. 

Martha  (Wood),  288,  289. 

Sally,  288. 

Col.  William,  289. 

William,  289. 
Drake,  Esther,  96. 

Col.  Jacob,  96. 

Samuel   Gardner,   75,    144,    154, 
300,  302;  his  opinion  of  Adams's 
Haven  Genealogy,  161. 
Drake's  Biogi-aphical  Dictionary,  105. 

Landmarks  of  Boston,  35. 
Druce,  Ann  Janette  (Brown),  388. 
Dummer  Academy,  399. 
Dummer,  Elizabeth  (Ruggles),  55. 

Jane,  258. 

Richard,  258. 

Samuel,  55. 
Duncan,  Hon.  James  H.,  92. 
Dunlap,  Mrs.,  234. 
Dunster,  Rev.  Henry,  first  President 

of  Harvard  College,  297. 
Dwight,  John,  258. 

Keziah,  258. 

Rev.     Timothy,    D.D.,     LL.D., 
President  of  Yale  College,  187, 
189,  190,  193. 
Dyer,  Capt.,  47. 


508 


INDEX 


East  Bridge  water,  Mass.,  first  tem- 
perance society  formed  in,  71. 

Eastham,  Mass.,  480;  First  Settlers  of, 
by  David  Hamblen,  482. 

Eastport,  Me.,  282;  British  claim  to, 
231 ;  capture  of,  by  the  British 
in  1814,  281 ;  final  smTender  of, 
281;  trade  of,  281. 

East  Windsor,  Conn.,  in  1804,  192, 
193. 

Eaton,  Eev.  Dr.  Asa,  89. 

Eckley,  Eev.  Joseph,  115. 

Eclipse  of  the  sun,  1854,  274. 

Edinburgh  Eeview,  400. 

Edwards,  Bela  B.,  92. 

Elective  Judiciary,  speech  of  Hon. 
William  Plumer  against,  254. 

Elgin,  James  Bruce,  Earl  of,  413,  428. 

Eliot,  Eev.  John,  the  Apostle  to  the 
Indians,  portion  of  the  tree  un- 
der which  he  preached  secured 
by  C.  Ewer,  140. 
Hon.  Samuel  Atkins,  434. 
Hon.  Thomas  D.,  11,  12,  14. 

Elizabeth,  Queen  of  England,  235. 

Ely,  Eev.  Dr.  Zebulon,  187. 

Emancipation  Proclamation,  475. 

Embargo  Act,  24. 

Emerson,  George  Barrell,  LL.D.,  280. 

Emmons,  Delia,  378,  387. 
Eunice  (Wilde),  387. 
Hon.  AYilliams,  387. 

Encycloptedia  of  Music,  by  J.  W. 
Moore,  82. 

Episcopal  Convention  at  Philadelphia 
in  1844,  29. 

Episcopalianism,  views  of  Judge 
Cranch  on,  467. 

Epitaphs  from  the  Old  Burying-Ground, 
Cambridge,  by  WiUiam  T.  Har- 
ris, 297-298. 

Equity  practice  in  New  York  in  1820, 
485. 

Era  of  Good  Feeling,  99. 

Essex  Company,  .406. 

Essex  Historical  Society,  308i 

Europa,  the  steamship,  424. 

Eustis,  Prof.  Henry  Lawrence,  434. 


Eustis,    Hon.  William,    Governor    of 

Mass.,  116,  261. 
Euthanasia,  333. 
Everard,  Judith,  63. 
Everett,    Hon.  Edward,   Governor  of 
Mass.,    92,  153,  173,  181,  230, 
301,  355-356,   408,   419,  420, 
424,  4.33,  436,  440. 

John,  153. 
Ewer,  Anna  (Armstrong),  114,  115. 

Charles,  first  President  of  the  N. 
E.  Hist.  Gen.  Society,  memoir 
of,  113, 155;  bis  efforts  in  found- 
ing the  N.  E.  Hist.  Gen.  Society, 
141-150 ;  his  plans  for  the  im- 
provement of  Boston,  116, 120- 
139;  sketch  of,  by  his  sister 
Charlotte,  114-117. 

Charlotte,  114, 140, 150,  151,  153. 

Elizabeth,  320. 

Eunice  (Cartwright),  322,  323. 

Eev.  Ferdinand  C,  S.T.D.,  323, 
325 ;  author  of  memoir  of  Peter 
Folger  Ewer,  4. 

George  Alexander,  322,  323. 

Henry,  320. 

Lydia  (Churchill),  319. 

Margaret  (Folger),  319,  320. 

j\Lirgaret  Folger,  323. 

Mary  (Cartwright)',  323. 

Peter  Folger,  memoir  of,  319-326. 

Eebecca,  ]50,  151. 

Eeliiince  (Toby),  320. 

Sara,  320. 

Seth,  319,  320. 

Capt.  Silas,  114. 

Silvanus,  319,  320,  322,  323. 

Thomas,  320. 

Thomas,  320. 

Thomas,  320. 
Ewing,  Hon.  Thomas,  403. 

William  B.,  100,  301. 
Examination  of  the  Testimony  of  the 
Four  Evangelists,  etc.,  by  Simon 
Greenleaf,  109. 
Exeter,  N.  H.,  247,  253. 
Expunging  Eesolutions,  protest  against 
the,  173. 


INDEX 


509 


Fair  Lady,  the  ship,  114. 
Fales,  Ahigail  (Haliburton),  234. 
Alfred  Baker,  235. 
Caroline  Daoforth,  236. 
Charles,  235. 
Edward  Gray,  236. 
EUzabeth  (Bradford),  234. 
George,  235. 

Hannah  (Smith),  235,  236. 
Henry,  234. 
Henry,  236. 
Jane  Minot,  230. 
Mary  Ann  (Gray),  236. 
Mary  Turell,  236. 
Nathaniel,  234. 
Nathaniel,  236. 
Hon.  Samuel,  234,  235. 
Samuel,  234. 
Samuel  B.,  234,  236. 
Stephen,  234,  2-35,  236. 
Hon.  Stephen,  A.M.,  memoir  of, 

234-2.39. 
Thomas,  234. 
Timothy,  234. 
WilHam,  234. 
William  Augustus,  236. 
Fales  and  Keith,  234. 
FaneuU  Hall,  meeting  at,  on  the  death 
of  Hon.  Abhott  La^^Tence,  440  j 
speech   of  Hon-  Abbott  Law- 
rence at,  414  J  Wehster's  oration 
at,  86. 
Farant,  Marie,  294. 
Farley,  Anne  Sumner  (WUde)  Doane, 
388. 
Roherc,  388. 
Fanner  and  Moore's  Historical  Collec- 
tions, 79. 
Farmer,  John,  79,  80,  478  :  his  Regis- 
ter, 298-299. 
Famsworth,  Amos,  312,  313. 

Claudius  B.,  author  of  memoir  of 
Rev.  James  Delap  Famsworth, 
A.M.,  4. 
Rev.  James  Delap,  A.M.,  memoir 

of,  312-318. 
Jane  (Delap),  312,  313,  314. 
Jonas,  312,  313. 


Famsworth,  Lydia(Longley),  312,313. 

Matthias,  312. 

Rebecca  MUler  Thayer   (Fogg), 
315,  316. 
Famsworth  genealogy,  317. 
Fathers  of  New  England,  140. 
Federal  Constitution,  353. 

Street  Church,  Boston,  344. 
Female  Asylum,  Boston,  Mass.,  GO. 
Fessenden,  Hon.  Samuel,  282. 
FiUmore,  Hon.  MiUard,  179,  423,  431. 
First  Church,  Boston,  Mass.,  280. 
Fisheries,  183,  427. 
Fisk,  Deacon  Daniel,  258,  259. 

Isaac,  280. 

Keziah,  258,  259. 
Fitch,  Joseph,  289. 

Margaret,  269. 

Thomas,  240. 
Fitchburg   and   Brattleborough    Rail- 
road, 413. 
Fitzhngh,  Hon.  Nicholas,  458. 
Flagg,  George  W.,  the  artist,  333. 
Fletcher,  Hon.  Richard,  111 ;  his  eulogy 

on  Prof.  Greenleaf,  111-112. 
Flynt,  Henry,  36. 
Fogg,  Dr.  Daniel,  315. 

Rebecca  Miller  Thayer,  315,  316. 
Fogg  genealogy,  317. 
Folger,  Abiah,  322. 

Christian  (Swain),  320. 

Eleazer,  321,  322. 

John,  321. 

Judith  (Burnell),  320. 

Margaret,  319,  320. 

Mary  (MorreU),  321. 

Meribah  (Gibbs),  321. 

Nathan,  321. 

Peter,  sketch  of,  321-322. 

Peter,  320. 

Peter,  320. 

Sarah  (Church),  321. 

Sarah  (Gardner),  321. 
Folsom,  Charles,  92. 

Charles  W.,  299. 
Foote,  Nathaniel,  Descendants  of,  etc., 
by  Nathaniel  Goodwin,  365 ;  ex- 
tract from  Introduction  to,  307. 


510 


INDEX 


\ 


Forensic  Disputation  at  Harvard,  by  J. 

C.  Merrill  and  W.  Bailey,  90. 
Fort  Sullivan,  Eastport,  Me.,  282. 
Forward,  Hon.  Walter,  408. 
Foster,  William,  131,  153. 
Foulger,  321,  322.     (See  Folger.) 
Fourth  of  July  orations,  177,  371. 
Fowler,  Oi^son  Squire,  117. 
Philip,  246. 
Sally,  246,  247. 
Framingham  Academy,  159. 
Bank,  163. 
Library,  159. 
France,    difficulty    of    United    States 

with,  328. 
Francis,  Charles  S.,  492. 
Franklin,  Abiah  (Folger),  322. 
Benjamin,  76,  307,  322. 
James,  307. 
Lady  Jane,  438. 
Franklin  County,  Mass.,  395;  Medical 
History  of,  by  Dr.  Stephen  W. 
v^Williams,  392 ;  Medical  Society 
bf,  392,  395,  396. 
Freema.i's  Journal,  214. 
Free  Trade  Convention  at  Philadelphia 
in  1831,  409. 
Trade  system,  103. 
Frelinghuysen,  Hon.  Theodore,  LL.D., 

100,  101,  183. 
French  War,  the  second,  235. 
Friend  Street  Chapel,  Boston,  344,  345. 
Frontier  life  in  Maine  in  1790,  64. 
Frost,  Benjamin,  266. 
Miriam  (Rust),  266. 
Rebekah,  266. 
Frothingham,  Rev.  Octavius  B.,  A.M., 
author  of  memoir   of  Gorham 
Brooks,  A.M.,  5. 
Fugitive  Slave  BiU,  182. 
Fugitives,  extradition  of,  419. 
Fuller,  Abraham  Williams,  355. 
Rev.  Arthur  Buckminster,  357. 
Hon.   Elisha,    A.M.,  memoir  of, 

353-357. 
Elisha,  356-357. 
Henry  Holton,  137,  355,  357. 
Dr.  Henry  Holton,  357. 


Fuller,  Jacob,  353. 

Margaret,  Countess  d'Ossoli,  355. 
'Mary  (Washburn),  357. 

Sarah  (Williams),  353. 

Sarah  Williams,  357. 

Stephen  P.,  128. 

Susan  (Adams),  356. 

Susan  Adams,  357. 

Rev.  Timothy,  sketch  of,  353-354. 

Hon.  Timothy,  354,  .355. 

William  Willianos,  355. 
Fuller  Family,  Genealogy  of  the,  357. 


Gallatin,  Hon.  Albert,  409,  410. 
Galway  line  of  steamships,  429. 
Gardner,  Sarah,  321. 

Mr.,  450. 
Gates,  Gen.  Horatio,  .306. 
Genealogical  and  other  Notes,  etc,  by 
Artemas  Simonds,  293. 
Literature,  first  contribution  to,  in 
this  country,  353;  necessity  for 
encouragement  of,  359. 
Notes,  etc.,  by  Nathaniel  Good- 
win, 365. 
Register,  by  Fanner,  80. 
Georgia  Historical  Society,  308. 
Ghent,  British  Commissioners  at,  refuse 
to  surrender  Eastport  in  1814, 
■    281. 
Gibbon's.  Roman  Empire,  390. 
Gibbs,  Meribah,  321. 
Gladding,  Benjamin,  305,  306. 
Gladiator,  The,   poem  by  James  A. 

Jones,  210. 
Gladstone,  William  Ewart,  419. 
Glover,  Capt.  Stephen,  403. 
Godfrey,  Capt.,  47. 
Goodhue,  Harriet  T.,  397. 

Dr.  Joseph,  397. 
Goodrich,   Samuel   Griswold,   &  Co., 

213. 
Goodwin,  Anna  (Sheldon),  360. 
James,  361,  363. 
Nathaniel,  360,  361. 
Hon.  Nathaniel,  memoir  of,  358- 
367. 


\ 


V 


INDEX 


511 


Goodwin,  Ozias,  360,  361, 

William,  sketch  of,  360-361. 
Gould,  James,  240,  336. 

Eobert,  40,  41. 
Gouldsborough,  Me.,  43,  44,  45,  46; 
settlement  and  desertion  of,  40- 
42. 
Graham,  Sir  James,  419. 
Granary  Burying-Ground,  Boston,  289. 
Granger,  Daniel  T.,  283. 
Francis,  408. 

Hon.  Joseph,  author  of  memoir  of 
Frederick  Hobbs,  A.M.,  4. 
Grant,  Deacon  Moses,  341,  342. 
Grass  Valley,  Cal.,  mine  of,  325. 
Gray  and  Bowen,  book  publishers,  343. 
Gray,  Edward,  236,  240. 
Eleanor  Baker,'  345. 
Elizabeth  C,  345. 
Elizabeth  P.  (Chapman),  345. 
Emily,  345. 

Kev.  Frederick  Turell,  A.M.,  me- 
moir of,  340-352. 
Frederick  Turell,  345. 
Harrison,  publisher,  212. 
John,  340. 
Hon.  John  C,  135. 
Margaret  Rogers,  345. 
Marion  Phillips,  345. 
Mary  Ann,  236. 
Susanna  Turell,  340. 
Rev.  Thomas,  340.  , 

Great  Falls  of  the  Potomac,  Va.,  pro- 
posal to  establish  a  manufactur- 
ing town  at,  411,  412. 
Great  Fire  in  Boston  in  1825,  481 ;  in 

1872,  442. 
Greeley,  Hon.  Horace,  75. 
Greely,  Philip,  Jr.,  264. 
Green,  Duff,  214. 

Hon.  Samuel,  84. 
Hon.   Samuel  Abbott,  Mayor  of 
Boston,  313. 
Greene,  Benjamin  H.,  277,  342. 
Hon.  Charles  Gordon,  214. 
Gen.  Nathaniel,  307. 
William  Batchelder,  60. 
Greenleaf,  Ann,  449,  453,  461. 


Grcenleaf,  Ann  (Wroc),  34,  35. 

Caroline  Augusta,  100. 

Charlotte  Kingman,  109. 

Dr.  Daniel,  memoir  of,  34-37. 

Edmund,  106. 

Ehzabeth,  34. 

Hannah  (Kingman),  107,  109. 

James,  109. 

James,  451,  452,  453. 

John,  449. 

Dr.  John,  34,  35. 

Hon.  Jonathan,  106. 

Lucy  (Cranch),  449. 

Lydia  (Parsons),  106. 

Margaret,  449,  453. 

Mary  (Brown),  34. 

Capt.  Moses,  106. 

Patrick  Henry,  109. 

Rebecca,  453. 

Richard  C.,  author  of  memoir  of 
Dr.  Daniel  Greenleaf,  3. 

Prof.  Simon,  memoir  of,  106-112; 
his  Reports,  107;  his  Law  of 
Evidence,  108,  109. 

Thomas,  35,  36. 

WiUiam,  High  Sheriff  of  Suffolk 
County,  Mass.,  in  the  Revolu- 
tion, 34,  453. 
Greenough,  Horatio,  the  sculptor,  331. 
Greenwood,    Rev.    Frederic    William 
Pitt,  378. 

Rev.  John,  Teacher  of  Ancient 
Pilgrim  Church,  Southwark, 
Eng.,  437. 

Dr.  WUUam  Pitt,  143. 
Grindall,  Most  Rev.  Edmund,  Arch 

bishop  of  Canterbury,  235. 
Grinnell,  Moses  H.,  492. 
Griswold,  Charles,  196. 
Ellen  (Perkins),  196. 
Fanny,  196. 
Groton,  Mass.,  bi-centennial  celebration 
of,  278 ;  Butler  School  at,  277 ; 
dissensions  in  parish  of,  271- 
273 ;  division  of,  223 ;  grant  of 
the  town  of,  184;  history  o'  mi^ 
Caleb  Butler,  276;  Indian  ?  /ick 
on,  312,  313;  Lawrence  Acad- 


512 


INDEX 


Groton,  Mass.  (continued). 

emy  at,  224,  268,  269,  273,  278, 
314,  402,  432;  map  of,  by  Caleb 
Butler,  270;  mioisterial  fund  of, 
272;  pamphlet  concerning,  by 
Caleb  Butler,  273. 


Habeas  Corpus  Act  passed  by  the 

Vennont  Legislature,  25. 
Hadley,  Mass.,  First  Church  of,  361. 
iffale,  Hon.  Nathan,  227. 
Haliburton,  Abigail,  234. 
HaU,  Rev.  Edward  Brooks,  D.D.,  310. 
Hallowell,  Benjamia,  373. 
HalloweU,  Me.,  371,  373,  388. 
Halsey,  Edmund  D.,  A.M.,  author  of 
memoir  of  Hon.  Mahlon  Dick- 
erson,  3. 
Haly  and  Thomas,  publishers,  207. 
Hamblen,  Ann,  480. 

Bartholomew,  480. 

Benjamin,  480. 

Cornelius,  480. 
'        ComVJus,  480. 

Cornelius,  480. 

David,  146;  memoir  of,  480-483. 

David,  483. 

DrusiUa  (Ryder),  480,  483. 

Eleazer,  480. 

Eleazer,  480. 

Ephraim  Stone,  483. 

Hannah,  480. 

Harriot,  483. 

Harriot  (Watson),  483. 

Israel,  480. 

James,  480. 

James,  480. 

John,  480. 

Joshua,  480,  483. 

Samuel,  483. 

Sarah,  480. 

Sarah  (Bearee),  480. 
Hamilton  College,  240. 
Hamilton,  Rev.  Dr.  James,  425. 
Hamlin,  Hon.  Elijah  L.,   resolutions 

\and    tribute    of,    to    Frederick 
Hobbs,  285^286. 


Hancock,  John,  76. 

School-house,  Boston,  342. 
Hanover,  N.  H.,  Academy  of  Arts  and 

Sciences  of,  231. 
Harding,  Chester,  his  portrait  of  Hon. 

Abbott  Lawrence,  444. 
Hardy,  Daniel,  267.      ^ 

Capt.  Sir  Thomas,  281. 
Harlem  Railroad,  mismanagement  of, 

487-488. 
Harpers,  New  York  publishers,  214, 

216,  336. 
Harris,  Alice  (Sprague),  294. 
Benjamin,  294,  295. 
Cary,  295. 

Catherine  (Holbrook),  296. 
Edward    Doubleday,     author    of 
memoir  of  "William  Thaddeus 
Harris,  A.M.,  LL.B.,  4. 
Jane,  294,  295. 
John,  294. 
Marie  (Farant),  294. 
Mary  (Dix),  296. 
Mehitable  (CroweU),  295. 
Rebecca  Crowkham,  294,  295. 
Rebecca  (IMason),  295. 
Sarah  Matthews,  295. 
Rev.    Thaddeus    Mason,     D.D., 

sketch  of,  295-296. 
Dr.    Thaddeus    William,    M.D., 

sketch  of,  296-297. 
Thomas,  294. 

Thomas,  sketch  of,  294-295. 
Capt.  William,  sketch  of,  295. 
William  Thaddeus,  A.M.,  LL.B., 
memoir  of,  294-304;  notice  of, 
by  Prof.  Francis  J.  Child,  302. 
Harrison,  Hon.  William  Henry,  418. 
Harrison  Administration,  80,  270,  419. 
Harrod  family,  282. 
Hartford    and     Wethersfield    Church 

controversy,  360-361. 
Hartford,  Conn.,  335,  337,  360,  361, 
364,  365;  history  of,  365;  map 
of,  364 ;  monument  to  the  mem- 
ory of  the  early  settlers  at,  360; 
settlement  of,  360. 
Hartford  Convention,  374, 


INDEX 


513 


Hartwell,  Ellen  Maria  (Plimpton), 2G0. 
NelUe,  262. 
Dr.  Samuel  C,  2G0. 
Harvard  College,  Bowdoin  Prize  at,  92; 
Celebration  of  Bi-ccntennial  of, 
92,  253;    Corporation  of,  92; 
Divinity  School  of,   314,  315, 
354 ;  triennial  catalogues  of,  356. 
//Hatch,  Rev.  Nymphas,  205." 
Hatbaway,  Hon.  Joshua  W.,  Judge  of 
-     Maine  Supreme  Court,  285;  his 
tribute  to  Frederick  Hobbs,  286. 
Haven  family  gathering  at  Framiug- 
bam,   extract  from  account  of, 
by  Hon.  Josiah  Adams,  161-162. 
Richard,  Genealogy  of  Descend- 
ants of,  by  Hon.  Josiah  Adams, 
161. 
Samuel  F.,  LL.D.,  author  of  me- 
moir   of    Hon.    John    Davis, 
LL.D.,  4. 
Haverhill  Gazette,  94. 
Haverhill,  or  Memoirs  of  an  officer  in 
Wolfe's  Army,    by  James   A. 
Jones,  215,  216. 
Hawes,  Dr.  Joel,  338. 

Dr.  Eussell  Lorenzo,  M.D.,  357. 
Susan  Adams  (Fuller),  357. 
Hawkins,  Alfred,  memoir  of,  197-203. 
Alfred  G.,  197,  198,  200. 
Elizabeth,  197. 

Elizabeth  Sophia  (Denison),  198. 
Ellen  Zippy,  198. 
George,  197. 
Martha  (Paterson),  198. 
Hayden,  Hannah  (Thayer),  369. 
Samuel,  369. 
Sarah,  369. 
Hayne,  Hon.  Robert  Young,  Webster's 

reply  to,  385. 
Hayward,  Hon.  Beza,  69. 
Judith  (Phipps),  288. 
Hazen,  Rev.  Henry  A.,  8. 
Headland  Theory,  427. 
Heald,  Thomas,  156. 
Healy,  George  Peter  Alexander,  the 
artist,  Q7,  333;  his  portraits  of 
Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence,  444. 


Hedge,  Rev.  Frederic  Henry,  D.D.,  310. 

Mercy,  327. 
Henry,  Patrick,  76. 
Henshaw,  Hon.  David,  126,  214,  227. 
Herbert,  George,  377. 

Sidney,  419. 
Heredity,  recognition  of  the  science  of, 

358 ;  force  of,  363. 
Hibernia,  the  Cunard  Steamship,  422. 
Hidden  Church,  The,  by  Rev.  John 
Waddington,  extract  from,  438. 
Higginson,  Stephen,  328. 
Hill,  Hamilton   Andrews,  A.M.,  au- 
thor of  memoir  of  Hon.  Abbott 
Lawrence,  LL.D.,  5. 

Hannah  (Russell),  82. 

Isaac,  Senior,  82. 

Isaac,  75,  78,  79,  80,  81. 

Mary  Adams,  82. 
Hillard,  Hon.  George  Stillman,  92. 
Hinckley,  David,  114. 

David,  481. 
Hinsdale,  Fanny  P.,  196. 

Theodore,  196. 
Hitchcock,  Rev.  Edward,  D.D.,  Presi- 
dent of  Amherst  College,  392. 
Hobart,  Hon.  Aaron,  70,  74. 
Hobbs,  Ebenezer,  280. 

Ebenezer,  280. 

Frederick,  A.M.,  memoir  of,  280- 
287. 

George,  230,  231,  232. 

Isaac,  280. 

Isaac,  230. 

Isaac,  281,  282. 

Mary  (Baldwin),  280. 

Mary  Jane  (Coombs),  232. 
Holbrook,  Dr.  Amos,  M.D.,  296. 

Catherine,  296. 
Holl,  Francis,  444. 

HoUister,  Hon.  Gideon  H.,  A.M.,  au- 
thor of  memoir  of  Hon.  Samuel 
Church,  LL.D.,  4. 
Holly,  Mrs.  G.  W.,  245. 
Holsman  estate,  486. 
Homans,  Isaac  Smith,  300. 
Hooker,  Rev.  Thomas,  335,  360. 
Hoosac  Tunnel,  139. 


65 


514 


INDEX 


Hopkins  Classical  School,  297. 
Hopkins,  Hon.  Edward,  Governor  of 
Conn.,  3G0. 
Rt.  Rev.  John  Henry,  Bishop  of 
Vermont,  29. 
Horace,  184,  198,  278,  334 ;  works  of, 
translated     by     Hon.     Nahum 
Mitchell,  71. 
Horsford,  Prof.  Eben  Norton,  434. 
Hosack,  Dr.  David,  97. 
Hotchkiss,  Mrs.  H.  0.,  of  New  Haven, 

87. 
Household  articles  nsed  in  1804,  269. 
House  of  Industry,  Boston,  290,  291. 
Howard  Sunday  School,  Boston,  343- 

344. 
Rowland,  Alfred,  307. 

Benjamin  Russell,  307. 
Janetta,  307. 

John,  the  Pilgrim,  30.5,  309. 
John,  A.M.,  memoir  of,  305-311  ; 
Life    of,    published    in    1857, 
311. 
Joseph,  305. 
Mary,  307. 
Mary  (Carlile),  307. 
Penelope,  307. 
Sarah,  305. 
Hoyt,  Albert  H.,  A.M.,  author  of  me- 
moir of  Hon.   Stephen  Pales, 
A.M.,  4. 
Hubbard's  History  of  New  England, 

edited  by  W.  T.  Harris,  299. 
Hubbard,  Rev.  William,  299. 
Hudnell,  Elizabeth  Sophronia,  196. 
Hudson,  Hon.  Charles,  182,  183;  his 
notice  of  Governor  Davis,  172, 
173;    his    memorials  of   Gov- 
ernors Davis,  Lincoln,  and  E. 
Washburn,  17^-174. 
Hudson  River,  proposed  railroad  from 

Boston  to,  227. 
HuU,  Gen.  William,  143. 
Hume's  History  of  England,  300. 
Hunt,  David,  238. 
Hunt's  Merchants'  Magazine,  67. 
I'untington,  Rev.  Dan,  397. 
Edward  P.,  397. 


Huntington,  Helen  Maria  (A^illiams), 
397;  authoress  of  memoir  of 
Stephen  West  Williams,  A.M., 
M.D.,  5. 

Huntley,  T.,  202. 

Huntoon,  Daniel  T.  V.,  8  ;  author  of 
introduction  to  this  volume,  3. 

Hussey  family,  321,  322. 

Hyde,  Nathan  Dresser,  74. 


Illegal  Contracts,  Review  of,  by 
Chief  Justice  Williams,  23. 

Impressment  of  American  Seamen  by 
the  British,  206,  419. 

Independence  of  the  Judiciary,  458- 
459,  469 ;  a  series  of  articles  on 
the,  by  Hon.  William  Cranch, 
455. 

Indian  Pudding,  poem  by  Hon.  Nahum 
Mitchell,  71. 
Roll  of  Groton,  270. 

Indians,  actions  of  the,  258 ;  historical 
paper  on  the,  by  Dr.  Stephen 
W.  Williams,  393;  Traditions 
of  the  North  American,  by 
James  A.  Jones,  206-207,  215, 
216. 
of  Martha's  Vineyard,  216-217. 

Indianapolis,  Ind.,  478,  479. 

Indiana  State  Historical  Society,  479. 
State  Register  and  Business  Direc- 
tory, 478. 

Indifference  of  business  men  to  public 
affairs,  416—417. 

Influence  of  New  England  energy  on 
the  Southern  States,  412. 

Ingalls,  Dr.  WilUam,  134,  143. 

IngersoU,  Charles  J.,  408. 

Ingham,  Samuel  D.,  214. 

Internal  Improvements,  Massachusetts 
Board  of  Commissioners  for, 
227. 

International  Exhibition,  the  first,  430; 
banquet  at  close  of,  by  George 
Peabody,  430-431. 

Invincible,  U.  S.  Transport  schooner, 
196. 


INDEX 


515 


Iiisli  Coast,  mail  communication  be- 
tween the    United   States   and 
the,  429. 
Emigration  movement,  429. 

Irving,  Washington,  215. 


Jackson,  Andrew,  99, 100, 101, 102, 
178,  211,  214,  225,  463,  469, 
489 ;  attempted  assassination  of. 
Dr.  David,  329.  [102. 

Eleanor  Baker  (Gray),  345. 
Francis,  124. 
Patrick  T.,  405. 
Patrick  T.,  Jr.,  345. 
Susan,  329. 
Jacob,  Rev.  Henry,  Pastor  of  Ancient 
Pilgrim     Church,     Southwark, 
Eng.,  437. 
Jamaica  Plain,  Roxbury,  Mass.,  First 

Cong.  Church  of,  340. 
James  I.,  King  of  England,  50. 
James,  the  ship,  320. 
Jamison,  C.  W.,  444. 
Jaques,  Ann,  398. 

Jarvis,  Edward,  M.D.,  166;  extracts 
from  his  memoir  of  Dr.  George 
C.  Shattuck,  166-169. 
Jeffers,  William  N.,  100. 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  98,  255,  455,  456, 

•  457,  458,  468. 
Jeffrey,  Francis,  the  critic  of  the  Edin- 
burgh Review,  400. 
Jenlis,  Samuel  Haynes,  143. 
Jewett,  Isaac  Appleton,  67. 
John,  the  Apostle,  350. 
Johnes,  Rev.  Dr.  Timothy,  96. 
Johnson,  Rev.  Francis,  Pastor  of  An- 
cient Pilgrim   Church,    South- 
wark, Eng.,  437. 
Johnson's  Xew  Universal  CyclopiJedia, 
extract  from,  relating  to  Gov- 
ernor Davis,  174. 
Johonnot,  Andrew,  1.54. 
*^'J ones, 'Avis  (Athearu),  204. 
vEbenezer,  204. 

■James  Atheam,  memoir  of,  204- 
222. 


Jones wJohn  CofEn,  114. 
i^Iary,  292. 

j^isanna  (Atheani),  204. 
^^homas,  204. 
Walter,  Jr.,  District  Attorney  of 
District  of  Columbia,  453. 
Jones,  Matthews,  &  Co.,  221. 
Journal  of  Commerce,  Buffalo,  221. 
Judkins,  Capt.  C.  H.  E.,  422. 
Judson,  Rev.  Ephraim,  370. 


Kavanagh,  Hon.  Edward,  420. 
Keble,  Rev.  John,  29. 
Keese,  Richard,  403. 
Kelley,  William  R.,  103,  169. 
Kendall,  Hon.  Amos,  75,  2GS,  469. 
Kennebec    County,    incoi-poration    of, 
371. 

Valley,  purchase  of  lands  in  the, 
50-52. 
Kent,    Hon.    Edward,    Governor    of 
Maine,  285,  420. 

Hon.  James,  108,  111,  485. 

Hon.  William,  23. 
Kettell,  Samuel,  213. 
Keyes,  John,  356. 
Kidder,  Frederic,  67.- 
Kiersted,  Abigail  Aikman,  479. 

Ann  Guernsey,  479. 

Hezekiah,  479. 
Kilty,  Hon.  William,  455. 
King,  John  C,  444. 

Rev.  Thomas  Starr,  350. 
King's  Chapel,  Boston,  349,  378. 
Kingman,  Capt.  Ezra,  107. 

Hannah,  107. 
Kinney,  Capt.,  97. 
Kinnicut,  Hon.  Thomas,  177. 
Kirk,  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  N.,  433. 
Kirkbride,  Joseph,  96. 
Kirkland,   John  Thornton,   President 

of  Har^-ard  College,  70. 
Knapp,  Capt.  Josiah,  133. 
Knight,  Rebecca,  393. 
Knowles,    Prof.    James     D.,     D.  D., 

309. 
Knox,  Gen.  Henry,  371. 


516 


INDEX 


Lafatette,  Gilbert  Motier,  Mar- 
quis de,  273,  307. 
La  Fevre,  Minard,  96,  97. 
Lake  of  the  White  Canoe,  The,  extracts 

from,  218-220. 
Land    claims,   custom  of   lawyers  in 
cases  of,  85. 
sales  in  the  early  part  of  the  cen- 
tury, 85-86. 
Lane,  David,  492. 
Lane,  Son,  Frazier,   &  Co.,  London 

Merchants,  40,  41. 
Langdon,  Hon.  Chauucy,  26. 
Lucy  Green,  26,  27,  28. 
Latin  School,  Boston,  237,  341. 
Law    of   Evidence,    by    Prof.    Simon 
Greenleaf,  108,  109. 
School  at  Cambridge,  111. 
Law's  Serious  Call,  119. 
Laws  of  Trade  in  the  United  States, 

by  J.  B.  Moore,  80. 
Lawrence,  A.  and  A.,  firm  of,  402-403, 
405. 
Hon.  Abbott,   LL.D.,   65,   268; 

memoir  of,  401-445. 
Abbott,  406,  442,  443,  444,  445. 
Abbott,  443. 
Abigail  Abbott,  402. 
Amos,  402. 

Amos,  273,  402,  425,  436. 
Anna  Lothrop  (Motley),  443. 
Annie  Bigelow,  443,  444. 
Caroline  Estelle  (Mudge),  443. 
Elizabeth  (Chapman),  443. 
Elizabeth  (Prescott),  443. 
Elizabeth  Prescott,  443. 
Gertrude,  443. 
Harriette  Story,  443. 
Harriette  White  (Paige),  443. 
James,  431,  438,  443. 
>s.  James,  443,  444. 
James,  443. 
John,  401. 
John,  443. 
Katherine   (Bigelow),   268,  404, 

418,  424,  425,  438,  439,  444. 
Katherine  Bigelow,  443. 
Luther,  269. 


Lawrence,  Prescott,  401,  443,  444. 
Kichard,  443. 
Richard,  102. 
Robert  Ashton,  443. 
Rosamond,  443. 
Capt.  Samuel,  401,  402. 
Susanna  (Parker),  401,  402. 
Col.  Timothy  Bigelow,  430,  443. 
William,  402. 
William  Paige,  443. 
Lawrence,    Mass.,    433,    440;    First 
Church  of,  433;  Franklin  Libra- 
ry of,  433 ;  incorporation  of,  406. 
Lawrence  Academy,  Groton,  224,  268, 
269,  273,  278,  314,  402,  432. 
Company,  405. 

family,  401 ;  ancient  clock  belong- 
ing to,  402. 
Prizes  at  the  Boston  Latin  and 
High  Schools,  established  by 
Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence,  433. 
Scientific  School,  Cambridge,  433- 
4a5,  441,  445.  [277,  278. 

Lawson,  Thomas  B.,  artist,  of  Lowell, 
Lay  of  a  Mountain   Spirit,  The,  by 

James  A.  Jones,  214. 
LazeU,  Nabby,  74. 

Gen.  SUvanus,  74. 
LeflBngwell,  Fanny,  191. 
John,  191. 
Lois  (AUen),  191. 
Lenox  Library,  82.   . 
Leveridge,  John,  492. 
Lewis,  Joseph,  97. 
Mary,  473. 
Samuel  Shaw,  53. 
Dr.,  473. 
Liberia,  the  original  Constitution  of,  pre- 
pared by  Simon  Greenleaf,  109. 
Light-houses,  183;  the  system  of,  in 

England,  428-429,  442. 
Limerick,  letter  of  Minister  Lawrence 
to  Mayor  of,  on  the  Irish  Coast 
Question,  429. 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  17,  475. 

Charles  Sprague,  A.B.,  260 ;  au- 
thor of  memoir  of  Moses  Plimp- 
ton, 4. 


INDEX 


517 


Lincoln,  Henry  Pelham,  Earl  of,  419. 
James  S.,  the  artist,  311. 
Hon.  Levi,  Senior,  224,  23:3. 
Hon.    Levi,    Governor  of  Mass., 
135,   173,   174,  227,  223,  261, 
262,  403 ;  memorial  of,  by  Hon. 
Charles  Hudson,  173-174. 
Louise  Edna  (Plimpton),  260. 
Martha,  233. 
Lines  from  a  Traveller's  Portfolio,  by 
James  A.  Jones,  209,  212-213. 
Lippitt,  Col.  Christopher,  306,  310. 
Litchfield  Bar,  240,  241. 

Law  School,  240,  336. 
Little,  Amos,  399. 
Hannah,  399. 
Hannah  (Moody),  399. 
William,  143. 
Littlefield,  Nathaniel,  279. 
Livermore,  Hon.  Arthur,  255. 
Lloyd,  Mr.,  202. 
Locke,  John,  443. 

Logan  Historical  Society  of  Ohio,  393. 
Lombard  Association,  New  York  City, 

492. 
Long  Bridge,  Washington,  burning  of 
the,  by  the   British    iu    1814, 
460. 
Longfellow,  Henry  Wadsworth,  212. 
Long  Island  Water  Works  Company, 

488. 
Longley,  Deliverance,  313. 
John,  312-313. 
Lydia,  313. 
AVilliam,  313. 
Longley  genealogy,  317. 
Loomis,  Desire,  186. 
Lorillard  estates,  436. 
Loring,  Charles  Greeley,  LL.D.,  110; 
resolutions  of,  on  the  death  of 
Prof.  Greenleaf,  110-111. 
Ellis  Gray,  137. 
Lothrop,  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  K.,  402,  436, 
438,  441;  his  memoir  of  Wil- 
liam Lawrence,  402. 
Sara  Ewer,  320. 
Thomas,  320. 
Lott,  Capt.  Edward  G.,  424. 


Lough  Foyle  adopted  as  a  place  of  call 

for  Glasgow  steamers,  430. 
Lowell,  Abbott  Lawrence,  443. 
Amy,  443. 
Anna  Parker,  443. 
Augustus,  443. 
Elizabeth,  443. 
Francis  Cabot,  65,  405. 
Katherine    Bigelow   (Lawrence), 

443. 
Katherine,  443. 
Percival,  443. 
Lowell,  Mass.,    355,  357,  407,  444 ; 
extract  from  Cowley's  History 
of,  355-356;  foundation  of,  405; 
surveys  at,  by  Caleb  Butler,  270. 
Lowndes,  Hon.  William  Jones,  LL.D., 

405. 
Luce,  Capt.  Tristram,  206. 
Lunt,  Hon.  George,  92,  3^34  ;  his  poem 
on  Isaac  P.  Davis,  334. 
Rev.  WiUiam  P.,  36. 
Lyman,  Cora,  61. 

Hon.  Joseph,  470. 
Hon.  Theodore,  Jr.,  92,  143,  290. 
Hon.  EUhu,  of  Enfield,  226. 
Lyon  V.  Strong,  case  of,  23. 
Lyrica  Sacra,  or  War-Songs  and  Bal- 
lads from  the  Old  Testament, 
by  Hon.  WiUiam  Plumer,  253. 


McCoRMiCK,  Mr.,  467. 

Macdonald,  A.,  of  Three  Rivers,  202. 

Angus,  of  Cornwall,  202. 

William,  of  Gasp.?,  202. 

Town  Major,  of  Montreal,  202. 
McDuffie,  Hon.  George,  178,  179. 
McEwen,  Rev.  Abel,  474. 
McGaw,  Thornton,  285. 
McKean,  Hon.  Thomas,  Governor  of 

Pennsylvania,  98,  455. 
McQuay  and  Hawkins,  Quebec  Mer- 
chants, 197. 
McWhorter,  Alexander  C,  97. 
Macy  family,  321. 

Madaline,  poem  by  James  A.  Jones, 
207. 


518 


im)Ex 


Maine,  Agricultural,  Society  of,  375. 
BiU  to  sell  the  interest  of  Massa- 
cliusetts  in  the  public  lands  in, 
defeated,  226-227. 
District  of,  281,  375,  376,  383. 
Historical  Society,  50,  109. 
History  of  the  Courts  and  Lawyers 
of,  by  Hon.  WiUiam  Willis,  107. 
separation  of,  from  Massachusetts, 

224,  375. 
Supreme  Judicial  Court  of,  107, 
282,  283,  285,  286. 
Mallon,  Hon.  Patrick,  author  of  me- 
moir   of     Nathaniel     Sawyer, 
A.M.,  3. 
Malmesbury,  Sir  James  Howard  Harris, 

Eari  of,  427. 
Manhood,    poem    by    Hon.    WiUiam 

Plumer,  253. 
Maniton  of  Cold,  217. 
Mann,  Hon.  Horace,  475. 

Horatio  E.,  26. 
Mansfield,  Sir  John,  235. 
Manufacturers'  Hotel,  Providence,  R.I., 

306. 
Marcy,  Martha,  259. 
Mary,  259. 
Col.  Moses,  259,  263. 
Hon.  William  Leanied,  Governor 
of  New  York,  259,  263,  413, 
428. 
Marlborough  Chapel,  Boston,  Conven- 
tion at,  in  1842,  409.      . 
Marshall,  Hon.  James,  455. 

Hon.  John,  Chief  Justice  of  U.S., 
76,  455. 
Martha's    Vineyard,    321,   322,   353; 
description  of  island   of,  216- 
217. 
Martin,  Mary,  288. 

Mason,  Benjamin  Franklin,  the  artist, 
24. 
Hon.  Jeremiah,  LL.D.,  237,  255. 
Eebecca,  295. 
Thaddeus,  295. 
Masonic  Temple,  Boston,  purchased  by 
R.  Gr.  Shaw  and  resold  by  him 
to  the  Masons,  54. 


Masonry,  organizations  of,  273,  302; 
Principles  and   Design   of,   by 
Caleb  Butler,  273 ;  Works  on, 
by  Eev.  Thaddeus  M.  Harris, 
296. 
Massachusetts    Agricultural    Society, 
232. 
Bay,   Records  of  the  Colony  of, 
edited  by  Shurtleflf  and  Pulsifer, 
148. 
Bible  Society,  109.  " 
Charitable  Mechanic  Association, 

329. 
Federal  Constitutional  Convention 

of  1788,  353. 
First  General  Court  of,  360 ;  Gen- 
eral Court  of,  354,  369,  371,  448, 
471. 
General  Hospital,  66. 
Historical  Society,  66,  &7,  73,  9.3, 
109,  299,  329,  330,  332,  435; 
Collections  of,  73,  218,  296. 
man-of-war,  45. 
Medical  Society,  165,  392,  394. 
State  Constitutional  Convention  of 

1820,  158,  224,  375. 
State  Constitution  of  1853,  439. 
Supreme  Court  of,    374,  375,  38-3, 
384,  385,  388,  449,  451. 
Massasoit,  86. 
Mather,  Rev.  Cotton,  322. 
Rev.  Eleazer,  19. 
Rev.  Richard,  19. 
Matthews,  John,  295. 

Sarah,  295. 
Mavor's  Voyages  and  Travels,  390. 
May,  Rev.  Samuel  J.,  344. 
Mayflower,  86,  327. 
Mayhew,  Rev.  Dr.  Jonathan,  448. 
Rev.  Thomas,  Jr.,  322. 
William  E.,  &  Co.,  470. 
Mayo,  Charles,  154. 
Means,  Rev.  James,  268. 
Medfield,  Mass.,  258,  259. 
Medical  and  Agricultural  Register,  274. 
Botany  by  Dr.  Stephen  W.  Wil- 
liams, 392,  394. 
CoUege  of  Western  New  York,  393. 


INDEX 


519 


Medical    Jurisprudence,    lectures    and 
work  on,  by  Dr.   S.  W.  WU- 
liams,  393. 
Melbourne,  William  Lamb,  Viscount, 

419. 
Mellen,  Eleanor  Bradish  O^ilde),  387. 
Grenville,  poet,  210,  212. 
John  Wendell,  387. 
Hon.  Prentiss,    Chief  Justice  of 
Maine,  372. 
Melville,  Major  Thomas,  290.    ' 
Memoirs   of   the   Governors   of   New 
Plymouth    and     Massachusetts 
Bay,  by  Jacob  Bailey  Moore,  81. 
Memorial    Biographies    of   the    New 
England   Historic-Genealogical 
Society,  Vol.  I.,  7,  357. 
Meredith,  Hon.  William  Moms,  423. 
Merino  sheep  mania,  4.59. 
Merrick,  Elizabeth,  335. 

John,  373. 
Merrill,  Anna  (Saltonstall) ,  93. 
Anna  Saltonstall,  93. 
Eev.  Gyles,  sketch  of,  88-89. 
Hon.  James  Gushing,  memoir  of, 

88-94. 
James  Gushing,  93. 
John,  88. 

Lucy  (Gushing),  88. 
Matilda  Elizabeth,  93. 
Moses,  88. 
Nathaniel,  88. 
Samuel,  89,  90. 
Samuel  Gyles,  93. 
Sarah,  88. 
Merrimac  Dam,  412. 
Metcalf,  Hon.  Theron,  203. 
Methods  employed  by  public  men  to 

win  notoriety,  179. 
Mexican  War,  179,  182. 
Middlesex  Agricultural  Society,  232. 
Bar,  2G9,  355. 
Board  of  Gounty  Gommissioners, 

225,  231,  270. 
Gounty  Records,  288. 
Fire  Insurance  Gompany,  277. 
Institution  for  Savings,  277. 
Yeoman,  355. 


Middle  name,  a  letter  used  for  a,  328. 
Middling  Interest  Society,  IIG,  1.53. 
MifHin,   Hon.  Thomas,    Governor  of 

Pennsylvania,  97. 
Militia    of    Massachusetts,    speech   of 
Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence  in  de- 
fence of,  415-416. 
MiUdam  or  Western  Avenue,  Boston, 

construction  of  the,  328. 
Miller  genealogy,  317. 
Mills,  Hon.  Elijah  Hunt,  225,  474. 

Hon.  John,  226,  420. 
Milnor,  John,  98. 
Milo,  the  ship,  403,  404. 
Milton,  John,  4G4. 
Milton,  Mass.,  296;  families  of,  297. 
Ministry  at  large  to  the  poor,  Boston, 

343,  350,  351. 
INIiuot,  William,  92. 
Minot  genealogy,  317. 
Missouri,  extract  from  speech  of  Hon. 
William   Plumer    in    Gongress 
on  the  admission  of,  249-250. 
Mitchell,  AUce  (Bradford),  69. 
Ghristopher,  &  Go.,  324. 
Gushing,  69. 
Ensign  Edward,  69. 
Gol.  Edward,  69. 
Elizabeth  Gushing,  74. 
Experience,  69. 
Harriet,  74. 
James  Henry,  74. 
Janet  (Orr),  69. 
Eev.  Jonathan,  297. 
Lavinia  (Angier),  74. 
Lucia  (Whitman),  74. 
Mary  Oit,  74. 
Nabby  (Lazell),  74. 
Hon.  Nahum,  memoir  of,  69-74  ; 
his  History  of  Bridgewatcr,  73. 
Silvanus  (Lazell),  74. 
Mitford's  History  of  Greece,  119. 
Mix,  Elihu,  323. 

Model    lodging-houses   for   the    poor, 
efforts  of  Hon.  Abb«nt  Lawrence 
to  establish,  440,  441,  442. 
Monson,  ^lass.,  schools  of,  260. 
Montague,  William  H.,  142,  143,  146. 


620 


INDEX 


Moor,  Joshua,  Indian  Charity  School 

of,  267. 
Moore,  Charles  C,  82. 
Dr.  Coffin,  77,  83. 
Frank,  82. 

George  Henry,  LL.D.,  82. 
Henry  Eaton,  82. 
Dr.  Jacoh  Bailey,  76,  83. 
Jacob  Bailey,  memoir  of,  75-83. 
Jacob  Bailey,  82. 
John  Weeks,  82. 
Mary  Adams  (HiU),  82. 
Mary  (Eaton),  76. 
Moors,  Rev.  John  F.,  his  description 
of  Dr.  Stephen  W.  Williams, 
395. 
Moose  Island,  refusal  of  British  Com- 
missioners   to    surrender   it  in 
1814,  281. 
Moral  Society  of  Yale  College,  189. 
MorreU,  Mary,  321. 
Morris,  Mr.,  451,  453,  454. 
Morris,  Nicholson,  and  Greenleaf,  451 , 

453. 
Morse,  Daniel,  258. 
Isaac  S.,  355. 
Mary,  258. 
Morton,   Hon.   Marcus,    Governor  of 
Massachusetts,  12,  116,  176. 
Nathaniel,  11,  12,  15;  his  eulogy 
on  Judge  Colby,  15,  16. 
Morton's  New  England  Memorial,  327. 
Moseley,  Hon.  Edward  S.,  A.M.,  au- 
thor   of     memoir    of    Eobert 
Adams,  5. 
Moshop,  Legend  of,  216-218. 
Mosquito    Kingdom,    Great   Britain's 

protectorate  over,  426,  427. 
Motley,  Anna  Lothrop,  443. 
Mount  Washington,  N.H.,  275,  276. 
Mount    Washington,    South    Boston, 

127-128. 
Mourt's  True  Relation,  unfinished  edi- 
tion of,  by  William  T.  Harris, 
302. 
Mudge,  Caroline  Estelle,  443. 
Murray,  Rev.  John,  115. 
Musical  Catechism,  by  H.  E.  Moore,  83. 


Mutual  Insurance  system,  introduced 
into  Indiana  by  Charles  W. 
Cady,  478. 


Nantucket,  Mass.,  319,  320,  321, 
322,  323,  324,  326;  purity  of 
language  spoken  there,  321 ; 
schools  of,  322;  decline  of,  pre- 
dicted by  P.  F.  Ewer,  323. 

Napoleon  I.,  Emperor  of  France,  236, 
267. 

Nashawn,  islands  of,  216,  217. 

National  Convention  of  Manufacturers 
at  Harrisburg  in  1827,  408-409. 
Medical  Convention  at  Philadel- 
phia in  1849,  394. 
Palladium,  Philadelphia,  214. 

Natural  History,  works  on,  by  Rev. 
Thaddeus  M.  Harris,  296. 

Neal's  History  of  the  Puritans,  116, 
119. 

Newark  DaUy  Advertiser,  105. 

New  Brick  Meeting-house,  Boston, 
39. 

New  Brunswick,  trade  of,  with  East- 
port,  Me.,  281. 

Newburyport,  Mass.,  282,  375,  474; 
turnpike  of,  399. 

Newell,  Cynthia,  240. 

Esther  (Landon),  240. 
George  W.,  263. 
Seth,  240. 

New  England  Guards,  Boston,  403, 
415,  416. 
Historical  and  Genealogical  Reg- 
ister, 67,  73,  145,  146,  154,  300, 
302,  357,  367,  453,  482. 
Historic  Genealogical  Society, 
founded  by  Charles  Ewer  and 
others,  116;  account  of  its 
origin,  141-144;  action  of,  on 
the  death  of  Charles  Ewer,  153- 
154;  library  of,  146-148,  262, 
317 ;  organization  of,  144 ;  prog- 
ress of,  144-146;  resolutions 
of,  on  the  death  of  Nathaniel 
Goodwin,  366-367. 


INDEX 


521 


New  England  Magazine,  its  criticism 
of  Jones's  Haverhill,  216. 
Society  at  Cincinnati,  87. 
New  Hampshire  Collection  of  Church 
lilusic,  by  H.  E.  Moore,  83. 
Convention  for  Revising  Constitu- 
tion of,  254. 
first  festival  of  Sons  of,  at  Boston, 

253. 
Gazetteer,  79. 
Historical  Society,  79. 
Insane  Asylum,  254. 
Journal,  80. 
Patriot,  78,  80. 
State  of,  83. 
Statesman,  80. 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  362,  473;  morals 

of,  from  1796  to  ISOO,  189. 
New  Ipswich,  N.  H.,  History  of,  by  F. 

Kidder,  67. 
New  Jersey,  College  of,  97 ;  Constitu- 
tion of,  103 ;  First  Assembly  of, 
96. 
Newman,  Rev.  John  Henry,  29. 
Newtown  (Cambridge,  Mass.),  360. 
New  York,    City    Charter    of    1830, 
486. 
First  Unitarian  Congregation  of 

City  of,  489. 
Historical   Society,   80,  82,  243, 

392. 
Institution  for  the  Blind,  492. 
Physics  Medical  Society  of,  391. 
Re^'iew,  211. 
State  Library,  362. 
University,  82. 
Niagara  Falls,  276. 
Niagara,  the  steamship,  432. 
Nickels,  Hannah,  43. 

Margaret  (Breck),  43,  45. 
Capt.  William,  40,  43,  44;  death 
of,  44-45. 
Nightingale,  Rev.  Crawford,  278. 
NUes,  Hezekiah,  408,  409. 

Rev.  Samuel,  369. 
Noble,  Abigail,  335. 

Sarah  (Ferris),  335. 
Stephen,  335. 


Noddle's  Island  (East  Boston),  Cunard 
steamer  terminus  established  at, 
53 ;  development  of,  53. 

Nope,  Indian  name  of  Martha's  Vine- 
yard, 216,  217. 

Norfolk   County,    England,    language 
spoken  there  in  the  17th  cen- 
tury, 321. 
House,  Roxbury,  127. 

Nonis,  Rev.  Mr.,  467. 

North  American  Review,  343. 

North  and  the  South,  first  serious  di- 
vision between,  182. 

North  Chelsea,  Mass.,  Trinitarian 
Church  in,  316. 

NortheasteiTi  Boundary  Question,  419, 
420-422. 

North  End,  Boston,  improvements  at, 
53;  patriotism  of  pe<jple  of,  in 
the  Revolution,  39. 

Norton,  Elizabeth  (Cranch),  449. 

Ichabod,  memoir  of,  by  James  A. 

Jones,  221. 
Rev.  Jacob,  449. 
John  P.,  221. 

Notes  on  the  Employment  of  Negroes 
in  the  American  Army  of  the 
Revolution,  by  G.  H.  Moore,  82. 
on  the  History  of  Slavery  in  Massa- 
chusetts, by  G.  H.  Moore,  82. 

Nova  Scotia,  trade  of,  with  Eastport, 
Me.,  281. 

Noyes,  Nicholas,  398. 

Nullification,  origin  of  the  doctrine, 
182;  Ordinance  of,  409. 


Oak-openixgs  of  Central  Ohio,  85. 

Obrient,  Mr.,  of  New  Haven,  362. 

Ocean  steamships,  326. 

Olcott,  Thomas,  Descendants  of,  etc., 
by  Nathaniel  Goodwin,  364, 365. 

Old  Colony  and  Ne^vport  Railroad  de- 
pots, 124,  134. 

Old  Colony  PUgrim  Society,  308. 

Old  House  in  Dock  Square,  Boston, 
built  in  1680  from  wood  cut  in 
Brattle  Square,  35. 


66 


622 


INDEX 


Old  North  Meeting-house,  Boston,  39. 
Old  South  Church,  Boston,  115,  294. 
Oliver,  Daniel  Augustus,  61. 
Ontario,  Lake,  276. 
Ordinance  of  1787,  250. 
Orford,  N.  H.,  315,  316. 
Orne,  Henry,  143. 
Orr,  Hon.  Hugh,  69. 

Janet,  69. 
Otis,  Bass,  the  artist,  311. 

George  Alexander,  236. 

Hon.  Harrison  Gray,  331,  417. 

John,  420. 
Ottery  Saint  Mary,  Devonshire,  Eng., 

ancient  church  of,  294. 
Oughton,   Thomas,  his   Ordo   Judici- 

orutn,  459. 
Oviatt,  Rev.  George  A.,  A.M.,  482; 
author  of  memoir  of  Hon.  Mark 
Doolittle,  A.M.,  5. 
Ovid's  EpistolsB  Herodium,  71. 


Pacific  Mills,  Lawrence,  Mass.,  406- 

407. 
Packard,  Rev.  Alpheus  S.,  D.D.,  237. 
Paine,  Hannah,  63. 

Nathaniel,  A.M.,  author  of  me- 
moir   of   Hon.   Elisha  Fuller, 
A.M.,  5. 
Palfrey,  Hon.  John  Gorham,  LL.D., 

.354,  436. 
Palmerston,  Henry  John  Temple,  Vis- 
count, 419,  425,  426,  427,  429. 
Panama  Ship  Canal,  426,  427. 
Park,  Jane,  156. 
Parker,  Gen.  Daniel,  224. 
Capt.  James,  223. 
James,  223.  _ 
Hon.  Joel,  268. 
Hon.  John  Avery,  11. 
Hon.  Leonard  Moody,  A.M.,  me- 
moir of,  223-233. 
Martha  (Lincoln),  233. 
Susanna,  401. 
William,  401. 
Parkman,  Rev.  Ebenezer,  4-3. 

Elizabeth  Willard,  55,  56,  57,  60. 


Parkman,  Rev.  Francis,  56. 
Hannah  (Breck),  43. 
Samuel,  43,  55. 
Sarah,  48. 
Sarah  (Rogers),  55. 
Sarah  (Shaw),  43. 
Parsons  family,  history  of  the,  317. 
Parsons,  Rev.  Jonathan,  106. 
Lydia,  106.     . 
Hon.   Theophilus,    Chief  Justice 

Mass.  Supreme  Court,  70. 
Prof.  Theophilus,  107,  108,  209, 
210 ;  his  criticism  of  James  A. 
Jones,  209,  210 ;  his  description 
of  Profs.  Greenleaf  and  Story, 
107,  108. 
Partridge,  Priscilla,  258. 
Pdssamaquoddy  Bay,  action  of  British 
Commissioners  in  regard  to  isl- 
ands of,  in  1814,  281. 
Pastoral  on  the  story  of  Ruth,  by  Hon. 

WUliam  Pluraer,  253. 
Paterson,  Martha,  198. 
Patterson,  Joseph,  408. 
Gen.  Robert,  408. 
Paul,  the  Apostle,  487. 
Pauperism,  report  and  suggestions  of 
Artemas  Simonds  on,  290,  291, 
292. 
Pawkunnawkuts,  217. 
Paxton,  Mass.,  Congregational  Church 

of,  316. 
Peabody,    Prof.    Andrew    P.,    D.D., 
LL.D.,   author   of  memoir  of 
Hon.  William  Plumer,  A.M.,  4. 
Rev.  Ephraim,  D.D.,  67,  349,  374 ; 
liis  sermon  on  the  death  of  Rev. 
Frederick  T.  Gray,  ^49-350. 
Francis,  Jr.,  443. 
George,  430. 

Gertrude  (Lawrence),  443. 
Harold,  443. 
John  Endicott,  443. 
Marian  Lee,  443. 
Rosamond,  443. 
Rosamond  (Lawrence),  443. 
Rev.  WUliam,  B.  0.,  92. 
Peace  of  1783,  419. 


INDEX 


523 


Peace  of  1815,  484. 
Society,  308. 

Pease,  Eichard  L.,  author  of  memoir 
of  James  Atheam  Jones,  4. 

Peel,  Sir  Eobert,  419. 

Peirce,  Benjamin,  296. 

Pelham,  N.  H.,  town  and  Academy  of, 
266,  267. 

Pendleton,  Hon.  NatLaniel  Greene,  238. 

Pennington,  Hon.  William  S.,  99. 

Pennsylvania,  Medical  University  of, 
391. 
Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Man- 
ufactures, etc.,  408. 

Pepperell,  Mass.,  History  of,  hy  Caleh 
Butler,  276,  277 ;  map  of,  hy 
Caleh  Butler,  270. 

Pequida,  the  girl  of  the  hraid,  218- 
220. 

Percival,  James  Gates,  M.D.,  210, 211, 
212. 

Perkins,  Hon.  Jonathan  Cogswell,  16. 
Thomas  S.,  408. 
William,  52. 

Personal  Sketches,  hy  Hon.  William 
Plumer,  253. 

Peters,  Rev.  Hugh,  321. 

Pettiugill,  Mary,  398. 

Phantom  Woman,  The,  hy  James  A. 
Jones,  220. 

Philadelphia,  capital  of  the  United 
States,  296. 

PhiHp's  War,  63,  258. 

Phillips  Academy,  Andover,  Mass.,  470. 
Academy,  Exeter,  N.  H.,  89,  92, 
247. 

Phillips,'George  W.,  379. 

Philophalian  Society  of  Bowdoin  Col- 
lege, 237. 

Pierce,  Hon.  Franklin,  264. 
John,  129. 

Pilgrim  Church,  Southwark,  Eng., 
sketch  of,  437. 

Pilgrims,  327,  416;  character  of,  87, 
186,  437,  438. 
at  Delftshaven,  celebration  of  an- 
niversary of  emharkation  of,  73. 
at  Leyden,  69. 


Pilkinton,  Lieut.-Col.  Thomas,  281. 
Pitcairn,  Major  John,  39. 
Pittsburg  Landing,  battle  of,  260. 
Pitts    Street    Chapel,    Boston,    345, 

346. 
Plainfield  Academy,  361-362. 
Plato,  the  Works  of,  374. 
Plimpton,  Caroline,  259. 

Caroline  Sophia,  260. 

Clara  Cornelia,  260. 

Edna  (Taylor),  257,  259. 

Edwin  D.,  259,  262. 

Edwin  Taylor,  260. 

EUen  Maria,  260. 

Frederic,  259. 

George  Fayette,  260. 

Gershom,  259. 

Capt.  Gershom,  258,  259. 

Henry,  259. 

Jane  (Dummer),  258. 

Jane  EUzabeth,  260. 

Sergt.  John,  sketch  of,  258. 

Jonathan,  258; 

Joseph,  258. 

Joseph,  258. 

Keziah  (D\nght),  258. 

Keziah  (Fisk),  258,  259- 

Louise  Edna,  260. 

Martha  (Marcy),  259. 

Mary  (Morse),  258. 

Capt.  Moses,  memoir  of,  257-265 ; 
his  genealogy  of  his  family,  263 ; 
his  manuscript  history  of  South- 
bridge,  262-263. 

Priscilla  (Partridge),  258. 

Stillman,  259. 

William,  258,  259. 

William,  259. 
Plumer,  Francis,  246. 

Margaret  F.  (Mead),  251. 

Sally  (Fowler),  246,  247. 

Samuel,  246. 

Hon.  William,  Sr.,  Governor  of 
New  Hampshh-e,  252,  254,  255 ; 
sketch  of,  246-247 ;  memoir  of, 
by  his  son,  254-255. 

Hon.  William,  A.M.,  92;  memoir 
of,  246-256. 


524 


INDEX 


Plymouth   Colony,   184;   Records  of, 
edited  by  Shurtleff  and  Pulsifer, 
148. 
Company,  grant   of  land  to,  by 

James  I.,  50. 
County  Academy,  72. 
County  Bible  Society,  71-72, 
Kock,  3^32;  anniversary  of  landing 
at,  87;   "Webster's  oration   at, 
86. 
town  of,  327,  328,  332. 
Political  parties  of  Massachusetts  in 

1839,  176. 
Polk,  Hon.  James  Knox,  administra- 
tion of,  410. 
Poor,  Gen.  Enoch,  76. 

Sarah,  399. 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.,    150,    247,    253, 

451. 
Potter,  Miss,  235. 
Potts,  Hon.  Stacy  G.,  100. 
Potwine,  Rev.  Thomas,  193. 
Power  loom,  first  introduction  of,  into 

the  United  States,  405. 
Powers,  Hiram,  the  sculptor,  331 ;  his 
bust  of  Hon.  Abbott  Lawrence, 
444. 
Practice  in  Civil  Actions  and  Proceed- 
ings at  Law  in  Massachusetts, 
by  H.  G.  0.  Colby,  13. 
Pratt  and  Andrews,  115. 
Pratt,  Hon.  Benjamin,  450. 

Horatio,  11,  12. 
Pray,  Lewis  G.,  author  of  memoir  of 
Rev.  Frederick  T.  Gray,  A.M.,  5. 
Preble,  Hon.  William  Pitt,  420. 
Prentiss,  Hon.  Samuel,  21. 
Prescott,  Elizabeth,  443. 
Jonas,  313. 

Col.  William,  313,  401. 
William  HickHng,  404,  418,  421, 
426,  439;   his  account  of  the 
death  of  Abbott  Lawrence,  439- 
440. 
Prescott  family  history,  317. 
Preston  and  Manchester,  Eng.,  Liter- 
ary  and  Philosophical  Society 
of,  300. 


Preston,  James  W.,  A.M.,  author  of 
memoir  of  Hon.  James  Cushing 
MerriU,  3. 

Prevention  of  Paupeiism,  Society  for, 
Boston,  347. 

Pride  of  ancestry,  how  properly  to  he 
encouraged,  359. 

Prince,  Rev.  Thomas,  302. 

Prince's  Chronology,  proposed  contin- 
uation of,  by  W.  T.  Harris,  302. 

Princeton,  battle  of,  307. 

Princeton,  Mass.,  353,  354. 

Providence,  R.  I.,  305,  306,  323;  First 
Congregational  Church  of,  308, 
310 ;  Mechanics'  Association  of, 
308,  310,  311 ;  Savings  Institu- 
tion of,  308,  311 ;  School  Com- 
mittee of,  308 ;  Steamboat  Line 
to  New  York,  323. 

Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts, 
69,  106. 
Congress  of  New  Jersey,  95,  96. 

PubUc  Garden,  Boston,  328. 

Pulsifer,  David,  148. 

Puritans,  86,  313,  368,  475. 

Pusey,  Rev.  Edward  Bouverie,  D.D., 

29. 
Putnam,  Francis,  281,  282. 


Quebec,  city  of,  198,  199,  200,  203, 
276. 
Mercury,  extracts  from,  201,  202, 

203. 
Picture  of,  with  Historical  Recol- 
lections,   by   Alfred    Hawkins, 
198,  203;    extract  from,  198- 
199. 
Strangers'   Guide    to,    hy  Alfred 
Hawkins,    extract    from,    200- 
20J. 
Queensto\vn,    Ireland,    adopted    as   a 
place     of     call      for     Atlantic 
steamers,  429-430. 
Quincy,  Judge  Edmund,  36. 
Edmund,  36. 

Hon.  Josiah,  39,  331,  356. 
Hon.  Josiah,  Jr.,  414. 


•\ 


IKDEX 


525 


Quincy  Estate  at  Quincy,  description 

of,  35-36. 
Quinsigamond  Bank,  178. 


Raboteau,  Charles  C,  474. 
Sarah  T.,  474. 

Railroads  subject  to  the  law  of  1831 
in  Massachusetts,  229. 

Railways  and  Roads,  Report  of  Massa- 
chusetts Committee  on,  227, 228. 

Rand,  Mrs.  Edward  Sprague,  375, 
376. 

Ray  family,  322. 

Reading,  John,  96. 

Rebellion,  Southern,  475. 

Rebellion  Record,  The,  by  Frank 
Moore,  82. 

Reciprocity  Treaty,  413,  428. 

Record  Commission,  petition  for  the 
appointment  of,  by  Massachu- 
setts Legislature,  148. 
Commissioners,  Boston,  333. 

Redeemed  Captive,  The,  by  Rev.  John 
Williams,  19,  393. 

Redfield,  Hon.  Isaac  Fletcher,  22,  27, 
28. 

Reeve,  Hon.  Tapping,  LL.D.,  240, 
336. 

Reform  Party,  New  York  City,  in  1854, 
489. 

Refugee,  The,  a  romance  by  James  A. 
Jones,  208 ;  notice  of,  by  Black- 
wood, 209. 

Remington,  298. 

Republican  party,  98,  226,  439,  475. 

Reputation  of  prominent  men,  how 
sometimes  developed,  17. 

Revere,  Col.  Paul,  39. 

Review  of  Pepperell  Church  History, 
answered  by  Caleb  Butler,  277. 

Revolutionary    Army,    establishments 
of  the,  95,  96. 
War,  63,  77, 95,  96,  103, 103,  306, 
353,  401,  448,  453,  457. 

Rhode  Island,  Act  of  the  General  As- 
sembly establishing  Free  Schools 
in,  307,  311. 


Rhode  Island,  attempted  invasion  of, 
by  Gen.  Spencer,  in  1777,  306. 
Boundary  Question,  12. 
Gen.  Sullivan's  campaign  on,  in 

1778,  306. 
Historical  Society,  300,  308,  311. 
Rice,  William  P.,  a42. 

Mr.,  126. 
Riddel,  Rev.  Samuel  H.,  A.M.,  author 
of  memoir  of  Charles  Ewer,  3, 
122. 
Right  of  Search  Claim,  419. 
Ripley,  Rev.  George,  92, 
Ritner,  Joseph,  40S. 
Rives,  Hon.  WilUara  C,  408,  410,  4*3, 
435,  442 ;  letters  of  Hon.  Ab- 
bott Lawrence  to,  410,  411,  442. 
Robbins,  Edward  H.,  72,  137. 
Roberts,  John,  143. 
Robinson,  Rev.  Charles,  272. 

Rev.  John,   the  Pilgrim  Pastor, 

438. 
Hon.  John  P.,  92. 
Rockingham  Bar,  384. 
Roe,  Azel  Stephens,  188,  196. 
Rogers,  Rev.  Daniel,  55. 

Elizabeth  (Ruggles)  Dummer,  55. 
Samuel,  49,  52. 
Sarah,  55. 
Rossel,  Hon.  William,  102. 
Rotch,  Abbott  Lawrence,  443. 
Aim6e,  443. 
Annie  Bigelow  (Lawrence),  443, 

444. 
Annie  Lawrence,  443. 
Arthur,  443. 
Benjamin  S.,  443. 
Edith,  443. 
Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquaries, 
Copenhagen,  93,  303,  392,  394. 
Ruggles,  Elizabeth,  55. 

Rev.  Samuel,  55. 
Rumford    Professorship,     Cambridge, 

4.34. 
Rural  Magazine,  20. 
Rush,   Dr.  Benjamin,  391 ;  his  work 
on  Diseases  of  the  Mind,  391.  • 
Miss,  235. 


526 


INDEX 


Rush's  Inquiries  and  Observations,  390. 
Russell  and  Crockett,  sermon  on  the 
execution  of,   hy  Rev.   F.   T. 
Gray,  351. 
Russell  family,  322. 
Russell,  George  Robert,  60. 

Rev.  John,  of  Wethersfield,  361. 

Hon.  Jonathan,  236. 
Russell,  Mass.,  incorporation  of,  473. 
Rutland  Herald,  19,  20. 
Ryder,  Drusilla,  480. 


Sad^ors'  Snug  Harbor,  66. 

St.  John,  Daniel,  364. 

St.  John's  Day,  Masonic  celebrations 

of,  273- 
St.  Paul's  Church,  Boston,  91. 
St.  Paul's  Church,  New  York,  117. 
Saltonstall,  Anna,  93. 

Hon.  Leverett,  92. 

Dr.  Nathaniel,  93. 
Sandford,  Gen.,  492. 
San   Francisco,   Cal.,   82,   325,   348; 

Unitarian  Society  of,  347,  348. 
Sardanapalus,    poem    by    James    A. 

Jones,  209. 
Sargent,  Aun^e  (Eotch),  443. 

Lucius  Maulius,  89. 

Hon.  Nathaniel  Peaslee,  451. 

Winthrop,  443. 
Savage,  Hon.  James,  LL.D.,  225. 
Sawyer,  Ann  (Fitz),  84. 

D.  W.  C,  87. 

Elizabeth,  63. 

Deacon  Moses,  84. 

Rev.  Moses,  A.M.,  84. 

Nathaniel,  memoir  of,  84-87. 

N.  I.,  M.D.,  of  Frankfort,  Ky., 
87. 

Paraelia   (Anderson)   Bacon,  85, 
87. 
Schoff,  Stephen  A.,  the  engraver,  67. 
Schuyler,  Robert,  487. 
Scollay,  John,  34,  35. 
Scott,  Joseph  Warren,  100,  101. 
Sears,  Frederick  Richard,  61. 
Seaver,  Hon.  Benjamin,  482. 


Secession,  right  of,  denied  by  Judge 

Cranch,  461. 
Sedgwick,  Hon.  Theodore,  225,  227. 
Seminary    for    education    of   working 
classes    in    practical    arts    and 
sciences,     proposed     establish- 
ment of,  225. 
Sentinel  Hill,  Hartford,  Conn.,  361. 
Sewall  family,  10. 

Hon.    Samuel,    Chief   Justice    of 

Massachusetts,  386. 
Dr.  Thomas,  10,  15. 
Seymour,  Hon.  Origen  S.,  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  Connecticut,  244. 
Shakespeare,  William,  464. 
Shannon,  Capt.  Neil,  422. 
Shattuck,  Amelia  Hepsibah  (Bigelow), 
165. 
Dr.  Benjamin,  164. 
Eliza  Cheever  (Davis),  165. 
Dr.  George  Cheyne,  M.D.,  LL.D., 

memoir  of,  164-171. 
George  C,  M.D.,  author  of  me- 
moir   of   Dr.    George    Cheyne 
Shattuck,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  4. 
Lemuel,  144,  171,  358;   his  ac- 
count of  Shattuck  family,  171. 
Lucy  (Barron),  164. 
William,  164. 
Shaw,  Anna  Blake,  60. 
Elizabeth  Willard,  61. 
Elizabeth  Willard  (Parkman),  55, 

56,  57,  60. 
Francis,  43;  sketch  of,  38-42. 
Francis,   38,  40,  41,  42;   sketch 

of,  42-43. 
Francis    George,   60;    author   of 

memoir  of  Robert  G.  Shaw,  3. 
Gardner  Howland,  61. 
George,  44. 

Hannah  (Nickels),  38,  43. 
Rev.  John,  449,  451. 
Joseph  Coolidge,  61. 
Hon.   Lemuel,    Chief   Justice    of 
Massachusetts,    162,  379,  380, 
381,  382 ;  his  opinion  of  Judge 
Wilde,  377. 
Marian,  61. 


INDEX 


527 


Shaw,  Quincy  Adams,  61. 

Eobcrt  Gould,  memoir  of,  3S-G1. 
Robert  Gould,  60. 
Major  Samuel,    39,    44,   45 ;   his 
quarrel  with  Lieut.  "Wragg,  39. 
Samuel  Parkman,  60. 
Sarah,  43. 

Sarah  (Burt),  33,  39,  42. 
Sarah  Parkman,  60. 
Thomas,  38. 
Thomas,  38. 

William,  41,  44,  45,  46,  47. 
William  Henry,  61. 
Shaw  Asylum  for  Mariners'  Children, 

58-59. 
Shawmut  Congregational  Society,  482, 

483. 
Sheldon,  Anna,  360. 

Deacon  Isaac,  360. 
Shepard,  Rev.  Thomas,  297. 
Shepherd,  Ellen,  470,  471. 
Lucy  (Gorham),  470. 
Eesin  D.,  470. 
Sherman,  Hon.  Roger  IMiuot,  330. 
Shirley,  Mass.,  Central  Church  of,  223 
First  Parish   Church    of,  2.32 
History   of,   by   Caleb    Butler 
276;     incorporation     of,    223 
map  of,  by  Caleb  Butler,  270 
schools  of,  232-233. 
Short,  Henry,  393. 

Sarah,  398. 
Shurtleff,  Nathaniel  Bradstreet,  M.D., 

148. 
Sibley,  John  Langdon,  Librarian   at 

Harvard  College,  356. 
Signal  Service  Bureau,  274. 
Sigourney,  Lydia  Huntley,  365 ;   her 
tribute  to  the  character  of  Na- 
thaniel Goodwin,  366. 
Simonds,  Hon.  Alvan,  author  of  me- 
moir of  Artemas  Simonds,  4. 
Artemas,  memoir  of,  238-293. 
Joseph,  288. 
Joseph,  288. 

Judith  (Phipps)  Hayward,  288. 
Mary  (Boutelle),  292. 
Mary  (Jones),  292. 


Simonds,  Mary  CMartin),  288. 
Sally  (Downe),  288. 
William,  288. 
Skinner,  EUsha  W.,  362. 
Slafter,  Rev.  Edmund  F.,  extracts  from 
discourse   of,    on    the    quarter- 
centennial  of  the  New  England 
Historic   Genealogical    Society, 
141-142,  146,  147,  148. 
Slavery,  229,  230,  249,  250,  251,  461, 
463,  475. 
in  U.  S.  Territories,  179. 
Resolutions  of  Massachusetts  Leg- 
islature in  regard  to,  229-230. 
Slave-trade,  suppression  of,  419,  420. 
Smalley,  Rev.  Elam,  D.D.,  10. 
Smith,  Abiel,  235. 

Abigail,  448,  454. 

Barney,  235,  236. 

Betsey  Matilda,  474. 

Cephas,  Jr.,  20. 

Rev.  Charles,  483. 

Dan,  474. 

Hannah,  235. 

Hannah  (Barney),  235. 

Hon.  Israel,  Governor  of  Vermont, 

24. 
Hon.  Jeremiah,  LL.D.,  Governor 

of  New  Hampshire,  238,  255. 
Hon.  Jerome  Van  Crowninshield, 

440. 
Capt.  Job,  2.35. 
Mary,  448,  449. 
Prof.  Nathan,  M.D.,  164. 
Rev.  William,  448. 
William,  114. 
Smith  School,  Boston,  236. 
Smith  V.  Nelson,  case  of,  23. 
Social     Friends    Society,    Dartmouth 

College,  267. 
Society  of  Hampshire,    Franklin   and 
Hampden  Counties,  Mass.,  ad- 
dress of  Hon.  Mark  Doolittle 
before,  477. 
Socrates,  374. 

Soldiers'  refreshment  rooms,  Phila- 
delphia, during  the  Rebellion, 
234. 


528 


IXDEX 


Southard,  Hon.  Samuel  Lewis,  100. 

South  Boston,  Mass.,  fluctuation  in 
value  of  land  in,  126-127,  128  ; 
project  of  line  of  omnibuses  to, 
127;  proposed  construction  of 
marginal  road  in,  127 ;  pro- 
_  posed  terminus  of  Western  rail- 
roads at,  139. 
Free  Bridge,  116,  126,  127,  134, 

-v^   Glass  Works,  289. 

Wharf  and  Dock  Company,  134- 
135 ;  remonstrance  of,  135-136. 

South  Bridge  (Boston),  123,  130,  131. 

Southhridge,  Mass.,  History  of,  hy 
H.  Ammidown,  259,  262 ;  His- 
tory of,  by  Moses  Plimpton, 
262-263 ;  incorporation  of,  257, 
259  ;  Lyceum  of,  262. 

South  Carolina,  grievances  of,  in  1851, 
461. 

South  Cove,  Boston,  improvements  in, 
116,  123-126,  128-134,  137- 
139;  company  formed  for,  126, 
128,  132-134,  136,  137-139. 

Sparks,  Eev.  Jared,  LL.D.,  343,  354. 

Specimens  of  American  Poetry,  by 
Samuel  Kettell,  213. 

Spencer,  Gen.  Joseph,  306. 

Spenser,  Edmund,  207.  - 

Spiritualism,  modem,  56-57. 

Sprague,  Alice,  294. 
Hon.  Peleg,  382. 

Stamp  Act,  369. 

Standish,  Capt.  Myles,  86. 

Starbuck  family,  321. 

Stark,  Gen.  John,  76. 

Steam  Navigation,  establishment  of 
code  of  regulations  for,  by 
Senator  Davis,  183. 

Stebbins,  Edith  a,  335. 
Luke,  358. 
OUver  Bliss,  8. 

Stebbins  Genealogy,  printed  in  1771, 
358;  reprint  of,  by  Tsew  Eng- 
land Hist.  Gen.  Society,  358. 

Stevens,  John  Austin,  409. 

Stevenson,  Hon.  Andrew,  419. 
J.  Thomas,  440. 


Stewart,  Louisa  B.,  196. 
StiLlman,  Rev.  Samuel,  115. 
Stoddard  Genealogy,  119,  141. 
Stone,  Abigail,  156. 

Anne  (Haven),  156. 

Eev.   Benjamin  W.,  D.D.,  242, 

245. 
Eev.  Edwin  M.,  author  of  memoir 

of  John  Howland,  A.M.,  4. 
Capt.  James,  432. 
Hon.  Josiah,  156. 
Samuel,  360. 
Stories  and  Poetry  for  the  Young,  by 

Eev.  F.  T.  Gray,  351. 
Storm    at    Sea,  poem    by   James  A. 

Jones,  extract  from,  207-208. 
Story,  Hon.  Joseph,  84,  107,  108,  111, 

284. 
Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher,  336, 
Strawberry  Bank  (Portsmouth,  X.  H.), 

150. 
Strong,     Hon.     Caleb,     Governor    of 
""Massachusetts,  375. 
John,  26. 
Stuart,  Gilbert  Charles,  the  portrait- 
painter,  331. 
Dr,,  455. 
Sturbridge,  Mass.,  257,  258,  259,  260, 
Sturgis,  Mary  Louisa,  60. 
Sarah  Blake,  60. 
William,  440. 
Subordination  of  ecclesiastical  to  ju- 
dicial authority,  23. 
Sub-Treasury,  speech  of  Senator  Davis 

against,  178-179. 
Succasunny,  96,  97,  98,  104. 
Suffolk  Bar,  meeting  of,  110. 

Company,  405. 
Suicide  of  twin  brothers  in  Western 

Massachusetts,  391. 
SuUivan,  Hon.  George,  153,  237,  255, 
415. 
Gen.  John,  306. 
Sully,   Thomas,   the   portrait-painter, 

331. 
Sumner,  Anna,  369,  370. 
Hon.  Charies,  475. 
Deacon  Samuel,  369,  370. 


INDEX 


529 


Sumner,  Geu.  TTilliara  H.,  53. 

Sunckquasson,  Sachem  of  Suckiange, 
360. 

Sunday  schools,  first  establishment  of, 
in  Boston,  34],  342,  343,  344. 

Superintendent  of  Burials,  Boston,  of- 
fice of,  abolished,  291. 

Swain,  Christian,  320-321. 

Swartwout,  Samuel,  trial  of,  456-458; 
opinion  of  Judge  Cranch  there- 
on, 456-458. 


Taft,  Hon.  Alpiioxso,  86. 
Takota,  an  episode  of  Jones's  Haver- 
hill, 215. 
Tales  of  an  Indian  Camj),  by  James 

A.  Jones,  214,  215. 
TallejTand-Perigord,  Charies  Maurice, 

Prince  de  Benevent,  31. 
Tappan,  Eev.  Benjamin,  387. 

Delia  (Emmons),  378,  387. 
Tarbox,  Rev.  Increase  N.,  D.D.,  au- 
thor of  memoir  of  Alfred  Haw- 
kins, 4. 
Tarifi-,  101,  261,  407,  408,  400,  410, 
of  1816,  405.  [442. 

of  1824,  178,  405. 
of  1828,   182,   409;   amended  in 

1832,  409. 
of  1842,  409,  410;  revised  in  1846, 
410. 
Taunton,  Mass.,  369,  370,  387 ;   Con- 
gregational Church  of,  369. 
Taylor,  Edna,  257,  259. 

Elizabeth  (Chapman),  257, 
John,  2.57. 
John,  257,  2.59. 

Hon.  Zachary,  179,  422,  423,  424, 
431. 
Telegraph,  or  Bird's  Hill,  South  Bos- 
ton, 127-123. 
Temperance,  261,  307,  475,  477;  ad- 
dress on,  by  Rev.  F.  T.  Gray, 
351  ;  essay  on,  by  Mark  Doo- 
little,  477 ;  first  measure  in 
Mass.  in  favor  of,  231  ;  move- 
ment of  1827  in  favor  of,  308. 

G7 


Temple,   Rev.   Josiah    H.,   author  of 
memoir  of  Hon.  Josiah  Adams, 
A.M.,  4. 
Thaxter,  John,  451. 

Rev.  Joseph,  205. 
Thayer  genealogy,  317. 
Thomas  and  Andrews,  116,  118,  119. 
Thomas,  Isaiah,  Sr.,  263. 
Isaiah,  Jr.,  115,  118. 
Thornton,    John   Wingate,   144,   153, 

154. 
Thurston,  Elizabeth,  481. 

William,  431.  y 

Tillinghast,  Nicholas,  72.  ^ 

Toby,  Reliance,  320. 
Todd,  Rev.  John,  272. 
Total  eclipse  of  the  sun  in  1806,  274. 
Towne,  "William  Blanchard,  7. 
Townsley,  Jacob,  4-3. 
Traditionary  and  Historical  Sketch  of 
the  Connecticut  Valley  Indians, 
by  Dr.  Stephen  West  AVilliams, 
392. 
Traditions  of  the  North  American  In- 
dians, by  James  A.  Jones,  206, 
207,  215,  216;   extracts  from, 
216-221. 
Transit  of  Venus  in  1761,  19. 
Trask,  William  B.,  8;  author  of  me- 
moir of  David  Hamblen,  5. 
Treason  against  tlie  United  States  de- 
fined by  Judge  Cranch,  457. 
of   Major-General    Charles    Lee, 
by  George  H.  Moore,  82. 
Treinont  Company,  405. 
Trenton,  battle  of,  307. 

True  American,  105. 
Trinity,  doctrine  of  the,  466. 
Triumph  of  Infidelity  over  Superstition. 

drama  by  Caleb  Butler,  267. 
Trott  &  Bumstead,  115. 
Trumbull,  John,  his  criticism  of  James 
A.  Jones's  earlier  poems,  207. 
Hon.  Jonathan,  Jr.,  Governor  of 
Connecticut,  83. 
Tuckerman,  Edward,  Jr.,  49,  52. 

Rev.  Joseph,  D.D.,  34-3,  344,  347. 
Tudor,  John,  39. 


530 


INDEX 


Turell,  Madam  Mary  (Morey),  340. 
Tyler,  Hon.  John,  182,  420,  421. 
Tyng,  Eev.  Stephen  Higginson,  D.D., 
280, 


Union  Association,  Boston,  315. 
Unitarian  and  Orthodox  Theology,  dif- 
ference between,  314-315,  466- 

467. 
Sunday  School  Society,  346-347, 

348. 
United  States  Circuit  Court,  District 

of    Columbia,    446,    455,    456; 

Eeports  of,  by  Judge  Cranch, 

456,  460,  469. 
Constitution,  353,  456,  457,  459, 

461. 
Hotel,  Boston,  124,  415.     • 
House  of  Rejiresentatives,  passage 

of  a  Resolution  of,  relating  to 

slavery,  229. 
Literary  Gazette,  208,  209,  210, 

211,  212,  214. 
.  Military  District  No.  1,  224. 
Review,  212. 
Supreme   Court,    284,   455,    458, 

463;     Reports    of,    by    Judge 

Cranch,  446,  455,  469. 
V.  Amos  Kendall,  law  case  of,  469. 
r.  Tobias  Watkins,  law  case  of, 

469. 


Valuation  CoMinTTEE  of  Massachu- 
setts Senate,  225. 
Vanatta,    Attorney-General    of    New 

Jersey,  98. 
Van  Buren,   Hon.  Martin,   101,   102, 

178,  179. 
Van  Winkle,  C  S.,  207. 
Varnum,  Clarissa,  268,  269. 
Dorcas  (Brown),  268. 
Hon.  John,  90. 
Parker,  268. 
Vassalls,  the,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  298. 
Vaughan,  Benjamin,  373. 
Charies,  373. 


Vermont,  History  of,  by  Eev.  Samuel 
"Williams,  20. 

Reports,  22. 

Second  Medical  Society,  391. 
Virgil,  198,  278. 


Wachusett  ^Mountain,  grant  of, 
to  Rev,  Timothy  Fuller,  by 
Massachusetts  General  Court, 
354. 

Waddington,  Rev.  John,  Pastor  of 
Pilgrim  Church,  Southwark, 
Eng.,  loses  his  church,  437; 
assisted  by  Mrs.  Lawrence,  438 ; 
letter  of  Minister  La\vrence  to, 
437-438  ;  visit  of,  to  this  coun- 
try, 438, 

Wadsworth,  Alexander,  J.28. 

Wads  worth  Athenaeum,  Hartford, 
Conn.,  361. 

Wales  genealogy,  317. 

Walker,    Rev,    James,    President    of 
Harvard  College,  268. 
Hon.  Joseph,  84. 
Hon.  Robert  J.,  first  Report  of,  as 
Secretary  of  Treasury,  410. 

Wall,  Hon.  Gan-et  Dorset,  100,  101. 

Ware,  Rev.  Henry,  D.D.,  343;  ser- 
mon on  the  death  of,  by  Rev. 
F.  T.  Gray,  351, 

Warham,  Rev.  John,  19. 

War  of  1812,  24,  75,  76,  85,  115,  224, 
403,  405,  415,  416,  460, 

Warren  Bridge,  Boston,  freedom  of, 
228. 

Warren,  Hon.  Charles  H.,  11,  12. 
Gen.  Joseph,  88.      

Washburn,  Hon.  Emory,  Governor  of 
Massachusetts,   175;    memorial 
of,   by  Hon.  Charles  Hudson, 
173-174. 
Mary,  357. 

Washington,  city  of,  in  1794,  452; 
attack  on,  by  the  British  in 
1814,  460;  National  Institute 
of,  394. 

I  Federalist,  455. 


INDEX 


631 


Washiugton,  George,  76,  06,  230,  296, 
306,  307,  310,  371,  455;   ad- 
miuistration  of,  449. 
Martha  (Damlridge)  Custis,  455. 
Waters,  Talman  J.,  492. 
VVaterston,  Eev.  Kobert  C,  346. 
Watertown,    Mass.,    epitaphs    copied 
from  Old  Burial- Grouud  at,  by 
W.  T.  Harris,  301. 
WatkiDs,  Tobias,  469. 
Watson,  Emma  (Stone),  483. 
Han-iot,  433. 
Moses,  433. 
Watts,  Dr.  Isaac,  163. 
Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  Con- 
gress, 418. 
Webster,  Charles  K.,  362. 

Hon.  Daniel,  77,  84,  86,  152,  164, 
179,  180,   181,  237,  251,  255, 
280,  301,  328,  329,  331,  334, 
-      335,  420,  422,  432,  475,  489. 
Col.  Ebenezer,  77. 
Ezekiel,  77,  86,  408. 
George,  362. 

Hon.  John,  Governor  of  Connecti- 
cut, 361. 
Nathaniel,  84. 

Noah,  454;    his  plan  to   start   a 
^/        daily  paper  in  Boston,  454. 

Kebecca  (Greenleaf),  453. 
WeUes,  Hon.  Gideon,  408. 
Mary,  335. 
Judge,  333. 
Welllleet,     Mass.,      480;      Methodist 

Episcopal  Church  of,  482. 
Wellington,  Arthur  Wellesley,  Duke 

of,  376,  425-426. 
Wells,  Hon.  Charles,  122. 
Wendell,  Miss,  327. 
Westcott,  Caleb,  323.  ' 
Western  Pioneer,  393. 

Eaikoad,  413;  application  of,  for 
relief,  to  Massachusetts  Legis- 
lature, 228. 
Westfield,  Mass.,  473. 
West  India  Islands,  trade  of,  with 
Eastport,  Me.,  281 ;  with  Prov- 
idence, Pt.  I.,  323. 


Westminster  Review,  215 ;   its  notice 

of  Jones's  Haverhill,  215-216. 
West  Point,  U.  S.  Military  Academy 

at,  244-245. 
Wcstville   Mills,    Soutbbridge,  Mass., 

264. 
Wctherbee,  John,  236. 
Wethcrsfield,  Conn.,  361 ;  History  of, 
projected   by   Nathaniel   Good- 
win, 365. 
Wheat  on,  Hon.  Henry,  LL.D.,  Ill, 

424. 
Wheelock,  John,  A.M.,  LL.D.,  Presi- 
dent of  Dartmouth  College,  84, 
224. 
Wheelwright,  Benjamin  F.,  492. 
Whig  Conventions  of  1344  and  1848, 
422. 
Party,  176,   182,   183,  271,  282, 
283,  410,  418,  422,  423,  439. 
Whiskey  Eebellion  in   Pennsylvania, 

97. 
White,  Anna,  369. 

Anna  (Biugley),  369. 
John  Gardner,  A.M.,  8;  author  of 
memoir    of    Hon.    Samuel    S. 
Wilde,  LL.D.,  5. 
Leonard,  452. 
Hon.  Samuel,  369. 
Samuel,  369. 
Whiting,  William,  of  Hadley,  361. 
Whitman,  Hon.  Ezekiel,  106. 

Lucia,  74. 
Whitney,  Ellen,  338. 
Wigglesworth,  Edward,  211;  his  let- 
ters to  James  A.  Jones,  211- 

Wigglesworth's  Day  of  Doom,  119. 
Wight,  Moses,  444. 
Wihl,  John,  368-369. 

Sarah  (Hayden),  369. 

William,  369. 
Wilde,  Anna  (Sumner),  369,  370. 

Anna  (White),  369. 

Anne  Sumner,  388. 

Ann  Janette  (Brown)  Druce,  338. 

Caroline,  375,  376,  333. 

Deacon  Daniel,  369,  370. 


532 


IKDEX 


Wilde,  Eleanor  Bradish,  387. 
Ellen  (Whitney),  388.' 
Eunice   (CoLb),   371,   374,    375, 

387. 
Eunice,  387. 
George  Cobb,  388. 
George  Frederic,  388. 
Henry  Jackson,  378,  387,  388. 
Isaac  Parker,  388. 
Hon.    Samuel    Sumner,    LL.D., 
110;  memoir  of,  368-388:   eu- 
logy of,  on  Prof.  Greenleaf,  110; 
opinion  of,  in  York  Case,  381- 
383. 
Samuel  Sumner,  387. 
William  Cobb,  376,  387. 
WUder,  Hon.  Marshall  Pinckney,  75, 
144 ;  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the 
New  England  Historic  Genea- 
logical Society,  149. 
0.,  New  York  publisher,  208. 
Wilkinson,  Gen.  James,  458. 
Willard,  Margery,  184. 
Richard,  184. 
Major  Simon,  184. 
William  and  Joseph,  Narrative  of  the 
Shipwi-eck  of  the,  by  James  A. 
Jones,  221. 
William  I.,  King  of  the  Netherlands, 

419. 
WUliams,  Rev.  Abraham,  353. 
Albert,  397. 
Caroline  Maria,  26. 
Caroline  WiUard,  397. 
Hon.  Charles   Kilbom,  Governor 

of  Vermont,  memoir  of,  17-33. 
Charles  Kilbom,  27. 
Charles  Langdon,  26. 
Charlotte  Eloisa,  26. 
Chauncy  KUbom,  27. 
Edward  Jenner,  397. 
Eunice  (Mather),  19. 
Harriet  T.  (Goodhue),  392,  397. 
Helen  Maria,  397. 
Jane  (l\ilbom),  18. 
Rev.  John,  of  Deerfield,  sketch  of, 
19  ;  memoir  of,  by  Dr.  Stephen 
W.  Williams,  393. 


Williams,  John  D.,  133. 
John  Warham,  26. 
Hon.  Joseph  H.,  51. 
Laura  Lothrop  Langdon,  26. 
Lemuel,  355. 
Lucy  Jane,  26. 
Mary  Augusta,  26.    ■ 
Mary  (Hoyt),  389. 
Hon.  Reuel,  50,  51. 
Rev.  Roger,  305 ;  Life  of,  by  Prof. 

J.  D.  Knowles,  310. 
Rev.  Samuel,  LL.D.,  18;  sketch 

of,  19-20. 
Hon.  Samuel,  27;  author  of  me- 
moir of  Hon.  Charles  K.  Wil- 
liams, 3. 
Sarah,  353. 

Dr.  Stephen  West,  A.M.,  M.D., 
memoir    of,    389-397;    extract 
from    Autt)biography   of,    389- 
394. 
Dr.  Thomas,  390. 
Rev.  Warham,  18,  19. 
Dr.  William  Stoddart,  389,  390. 
Mr.,  126. 
WilUams  College,  300,  336,  393,  435. 
WiUiams  Family,  Genealogy  and  His- 
tory  of,    by   Dr.    Stephen    W. 
Williams,  394. 
Willis,  Hon.  WUliam,  107. 
WUloughby  University,  Ohio,  393.    . 
Wilson,  Hon.  Henry,  75. 
Isabel  (Woodhal),  235. 
Hon.  James  J.,  99. 
Rev.  John,  first  minister  of  Bos- 
ton, 235. 
Rev.  William,  235. 
Wilson's  American  Ornithology,  391- 

392,  393. 
Windsor,  Conn.,  History  of,  365. 
Winn,  Margaret  (Combs),  196. 
Winnebagoes,  tradition  of,  220. 
Winthrop,    Hon.    John,    Governor    of 
Massachusetts,  Journal  of,  360. 
Prof.  John,  LL.D.,  19. 
Hon.   Robert    C,   92,    440;    his 
sketch  of  Isaac  P.  Davis,  330- 
333. 


INDEX 


533 


Wolfe,  Lieut. -Gen.  Edward,  201. 

Henrietta,  201. 

Major-Gen.  James,  201,  202,  215; 

tomb  of,  201,  202. 

Wood,  David,  289. 

David,  269. 

Hon.  Fernando,  489. 

Martha,  2S8,  289. 

Rev.  Di".  Samuel,  73. 

Woodbridge,  John,  393. 

Madam,     teacher     at     Dcerfield, 

Mass.,  389. 

Woodbury,  Hon.  Levi,  102. 

Woodhal,  Isabel,  23.5. 

Worcester,  Mass.,  356,    357;    address 

at  dedication  of  Town  Hall  of, 

177 ;  Hon.  John  Davis's  Fourth 

of  July  oration  at,  177 ;  Police 

Court  of,  356. 
Agricultural  Society,  232,  262. 

Bar,  356. 

County  Bible  Society,  178. 
County  Historical  Society,  178. 


Wordsworth,  William,  378. 
Wotton,  Sir  Henry,  hymn  of,  60. 
Wragg,  Lieut,  39. 
Wright,  William,  126,  130,  131 ;  his 

plan   for   street  from   Front   to 

Sea  St.,  Boston,  130. 


Xenophon,  374. 


Yale  College,  condition  of,  at  close 
of  last  century,  188-190;  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  Society  of,  243. 

York,  Peter,  case  of,  379-383. 

Young  Men's  Self-Improvement  Asso- 
ciation, Boston,  342. 

Young  Men's  Total  Abstinence  Soci- 
ety, Boston,  347. 

Young's  Chronicles  of  the  Pilgrims, 
"  Index  to,  by  W.  T.  Harris,  299. 

Youth,  poem  by  Hon.  William  Plumer, 
253. 


UniTereity  Press  :   John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambrid;;e.