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MUNICIPAL HISTORY 

OF 

ESSEX COUNTY 

IN 

MASSACHUSETTS 



TERCENTENARY EDITION 



A classified work, devoted to the County's remarkable 

growth in all lines of human endeavor; 

more especially to within a 

period of fifty years 



BENJ. F. ARRINGTON 
Editor-in-Chief 



VOLUME I. 



1922 

LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY 

NEW YORK 



f(\.V^ 



THE l^£Vv ■:■./ 
PUBLIC LIBF. 

A8TOn LHNOX AND 

JILBMH FOQMDATIONrr 

R 192« L 



COPYRIGHT 

LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING CO. 

1922 



FOREWORD 



More than three decades have elapsed since a history of Essex County 
was presented to the public. The animating purpose in the present work 
has been two-fold : First, that while provision be made for preservation 
of the essentials of a recorded past, sundry classifications (second) should 
also distinguish the activities that attend community growth as well as 
industrial and commercial expansion. To this end, various subjects have 
been taken up for individual treatment by writers qualified alike by local 
association and familiarity with fundamentals to deal befittingly with the 
matters thus assigned. And this leads to the observation, pertinent both 
to the moment and mention, that the list of these contributors does not, 
in all cases, correspond to the enumeration set forth in local preliminary 
prospectuses. By reason of illness, unexpected pressure of business, or 
other causes that need not be expressed, some of the listed contributors 
felt compelled to reth*e. In a few instances, such were the respective 
competencies of these gentlemen that the original engagements were held 
open, at embarrassment from the publishers' standpoint, until the printers 
were set at work. Then, when the fact became apparent that extension 
of time could not be rewarded with the promised papers, the common 
procedure followed, whereby experienced staff writers supplied the need. 

While it would have been highly desirable to deal at length with the 
roster of men from Essex County communities who served in the late 
World War, in whatever capacity, the fact became manifest at an early 
stage that anything like adequate enrollment was entirely out of question. 
County, State and Federal records are yet in an incomplete form. Time, 
care and patience are among the essentials of such a record as shall com- 
mand full confidence. If any evidence were needed to demonstrate the 
imperativeness of awaiting more propitious conditions for the publication 
of such a record as is here indicated, that evidence could surely be found 
in Federal government listing of so-called "slackers," in which have 
appeared, unfortunate to add, the names of service men who either paid 
the supreme sacrifice on European battle fields, or else died from wounds 
or from disease contracted in the service. Here and there, to be sure, 
certain private local collections are reputed to be approximately complete. 
Even were these deemed competent for insertion in a history framed on 
lines which mark the present work, they are not available in every in- 
stance, primarily because of the intention on the part of their compilers to 
utilize them in a personal publication, later on. Without appearing, 
much less attempting, to derogate, it may be said, with perfect candor, 
that historical works should have for basis in the exploitation of so 
important a subject as the roster of men who entered the service of the 
United States in the World War that accuracy which is commonly associ- 
ated with government supervision, in conjunction with the larger re- 



iv ESSEX COUNTY 

sources of government. Hence the exclusion of even partial lists in this 
quarter from the special military section of the History. There has been 
an endeavor, however, carefully to compile the names of those heroes 
who sacrificed their lives in the late Titanic conflict. In all such listings, 
dependence has been placed upon local tabulations, under the auspices of 
town or city authority. 

In the compilation of this work, due heed has been paid to the neces- 
sities of the constituency sought to be served, in order that individual 
interest in Massachusetts history, as it is concerned with the proud dis- 
tinction achieved by Essex County, might be both stimulated and satis- 
fied. This being the case, and that desire having formed the rule and 
guide to action, the History is presented to the public with the hope that 
it may prove no less welcome than acceptable. 



As to the special contributors : Mr. Philip Emerson, principal of the 
Central Junior High School, Lynn, answered the call to write the 
"Geology and Geography" paper vrith which this work is prefaced. How 
well he has contributed to a wider understanding of an ever-interesting 
subject is attested by the article in question. Frank A. Gardner, M.D., of 
Salem, prepared "The Story of the Planters." As president of the Old 
Planters' Society, author of "The Founders of the Massachusetts Bay 
Colony," "John Endicott and the Men Who Came to Salem in the Abigail 
in 1626," "The Higginson-Skelton Migration to Salem in 1629," and other 
publications, he is fully equipped to deal with facts. "Bench and Bar," 
by Archie N. Frost, Esq., of Lawrence, clerk of courts of Essex county, 
is the contribution of a writer able to invest his recital with interest to 
lay readers. Mr. Francis Haseltine, of Lynn, (principal of the Western 
Junior High School, with a service of thirty-eight years in his profes- 
sion) , deals entertainingly with the public schools of that city ; his refer- 
ences to the stimulation of patriotic impulses among the growing youth, 
as the resultant of juvenile identification with war work at home, are 
not without significance. "Witchcraft," by Mr. Winfield S. Nevins, of 
Salem, (whose decease followed not long after the submission of his 
article) , is a resume of merit. A ready writer on historical subjects, he 
was able, by reason of previous authorship and study of the witchcraft 
delusion in Essex county, to speak understandingly. Hon. Albert L. 
Bartlett, of Haverhill, a prominent figure in the political and commercial 
life of that city, (Mayor, 1915-1916, and present Commissioner of Pub- 
lic Safety), has portrayed the progress of Haverhill from its early be- 
ginnings to the present ; the reader will note that the material concerns 
are treated in the division germane to the city's industrial development. 
Miss Annie Stevens Perkins, of Lynnfield Centre, who has contributed to 
the "Youth's Companion" and other publications, tells the story of the 
growth of Lynnfield. The history of Georgetown is divided between 



FOREWORD V 

Miss Ellen W. Spofford and Mr. Harold F. Blake, a member of the news- 
paper fraternity. The fonner deals specifically with various features in- 
timately connected with purely historical aspects, while Mr. Blake ad- 
dresses himself to the general history. Mr. George W. Noyes is the 
author of the paper on Georgetown's educational interests. Dr. Charles 
H. Bangs, of Swampscott, vice-president of the Massachusetts Society 
Sons of the American Revolution, president of the University of Massa- 
chusetts, Inc., and secretary of the Edward Bangs Descendants, Inc., 
wi-ote the municipal history of Lynn and also the histoiy of Swampscott. 
It was largely through his efforts that the chart of Massachusetts Bay, 
appropriately discussed in the Swampscott chapter, was brought to light, 
after persistent search. Mr. John D. Woodbury, a veteran reporter on 
Gloucester newspapers, weekly and daily, is the author of several articles, 
namely: The Postoflfice, Lighthouses, Custom House and Newspapers 
of Gloucester. Yet another newspaper worker, Mr. William C. Morgan, 
city editor of the Beverly "Times," visualizes shoemaking in that city, 
and also sketches its newspaper history ; while Mr. George A. Mellen, of 
Lawi'ence, of the "Eagle-Tribune", perfomis a similar service in the case 
of his own city. For the medical chapters, both city and town, the fol- 
lowing classification will establish authorship: Lynn, Dr. Carolus M. 
Cobb; Ipswich, Dr. George A. MacArthur; Peabody, Dr. Horace K. Fos- 
ter; Lawrence, Dr. V. A. Reed; Amesbury, Dr. John W. Rand. The 
Catholic churches specially portrayed are those of Lynn, by Right Rev. 
Arthur J. Teeling; Salem, Rev. John P. Sullivan; Amesbury, Rev. D. F. 
Lee. The Protestant churches have enlisted the following contributors: 
Gloucester, Miss Susan Babson; Beverly, Rev. E. J. V. Huiginn; Ames- 
bury, Rev. Robert LeBlanc Lynch; Salem, Rev. Alfred Manchester; 
Danvers, Rev. A. V. House ; Georgetown, Rev. Bartlett H. Weston. The 
United Shoe Machinery Company, Beverly, supplied through its publicity 
department, at the hands of Mr. Charles T. Cahill, the interesting account 
of the striking growth of this great enterprise. Mr. Dana W. Scott, for 
forty years secretary to Agent Walter E. Parker, of the Pacific Mills, 
Lawrence, has written the stoiy of that corporation. Mr. Arthur B. 
Sutherland contributes the chapter on the merchants of Lawrence. To 
Mr. Freeman Putney, of Gloucester, is to be given the credit for review 
of the educational concerns of that city, while a like distinction belongs 
to Prof. L. Thomas Hopkins for corresponding exposition of the public 
schools of Amesbury. The review of the Chamber of Commerce of the 
last-named town is from the pen of Mr. Frank T. Peny, a member of the 
staff of the Amesbury "Daily News." Mr. Fred W. Bushby, for twenty- 
four years a member of the Board of Trustees, supplies the satisfactory 
account of the Peabody Institute and Library. 

* * * 

Of the staff writers in the service of the publishers, it fell to the lot 
of Mr. Will L. Clark, of Woodbine, Iowa, to act as compiler of the Muni- 



vi ESSEX COUNTY 

cipal Histoiy of Essex County. A former newspaper man, both as editor 
and publisher, he abandoned the profession, upwards of a quarter of a 
century ago, to specialize in historical work. During that period, his 
pen has actively been employed in County and State historical publica- 
tions, as well on the sundown side of the Mississippi as in the teeming 
fields east of the "Father of Waters." In entering upon his responsible 
duties as compiler of the accompanying volumes, he brought to the task 
those qualities justly to be cited as the fruits of ripened experience. His 
fidelity to engagements, the assiduity with which he pursued his labors 
(not infrequently in the face of embarrassments of no slight volume), 
and the zeal with which he sought to accommodate his compilations, alike 
in the interest of the History and of the reader — all these call for a meas- 
ure of recognition. It is in tribute, brief and modest, to the record thus 
achieved by Mr. Clark that his associate would dedicate these few lines, 
as indicative of a meed of appreciation richly won. 

BENJ. F. ARRINGTON. 
Lynn, 1922. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT 



The Publishers would fail in justice and propriety, did they not ex- 
press their appreciation of the valuable sei*vice rendered by Mr. Ben- 
jamin F. Arrington during the preparation of this "History of Essex 
County." To fine literary tastes end ability he has added a hearty en- 
thusiasm and spirit of local loyalty, while his fund of knowledge has been 
of immeasurable aid to our writers and compilers. 

F. Y. HEDLEY, 

Editor. 
New York, 1922. 



CONTENTS 

Page 
Chapter I — Geography and Geology of Essex County — Relics of the 
Glacial Period — The Foundation Rocks — The Tombolos — For- 
mation of Islands — Earth Resources _ __ 1 

Chapter II — The Story of the Planters — Captain Bartholomew Gos- 
nold — First White Intercourse with the Indians — Charter from 
the English Crown — The Dorchester Company — New Plymouth 
— Roger Conant at Cape Ann _ _. 10 

Chapter III— Salem, "The City of Peace"— First Settlers under 
Roger Conant — Account by William Wood in his "New Eng- 
land's Prospect" — John Endicott's Company — The First Council 
— Third Migration to Salem — Record of Voyage and List of 
Those Who Came - _ 20 

Chapter IV — Organization of Essex County — First Incorporated 
Towns — Courts Established — The New Charter — Public Build- 
ings Erected — State Institutions in the County — Statistics-..- 40 

Chapter V — Town of Saugus — Settlement — First Town Meeting — 

Iron Industries — Other Manufactures — Churches 53 

Chapter VI — Town of Ipswich — Territory known as Agawam — 
First White Settlement — Churches — Industries — Manufac- 
turing - _ - — - 64 

Chapter VII — Town of Newbury — Settlement — Churches — Present 
Conditions — - - - 86 

Chapter VIII — Town of Rowley — Early Settlers — Development of 

Community _._ - _ 92 

Chapter IX — Town of Marblehead — Settlement — Local Government 
Instituted — Industries — Sea Commerce — Early Disasters — 
Churches — Present Conditions _ _ 98 

Chapter X — Town of Salisbury — Settlement and History _ _ 114 

Chapter XI — Town of Wenham — First Settlers — Incorporation — In- 
dustries — Distinguished Citizens — Churches _ - - 120 

Chapter XII — Town of Manchester — Land Acquired from Indians — 
First Settlers — Shipbuilding — Churches — History to Present 
Time - _...._ -._ - 129 

Chapter XIII — Town of Andover — Settlement — Indian Troubles — 
Manufacturing Development — Libraries — Theological Seminary 
. — Religion _ „....„ „ , _ - _ 1 47 



viii ESSEX COUNTY 

Page 
Chapter XIV — Town of Topsfield — Settlement — Anniversary of 

Founding of Town — Picturesque Region.. — _ 161 

Chapter XV — Town of Amesbury — First Comers — Early Industries 
— Commercial and Financial Interests — Important Manufac- 
tures — Library — Home of Whittier — Church History _...- 168 

Chapter XVI — Town of Boxford — First Settlers — Industries — 

Churches _ — _ - — - — 186 

Chapter XVII— Town of Middleton— David Stiles Quoted— Early 

Records — Industries - _ _ - — - 190 

Chapter XVIII — Town of Danvers — Incorporation Act — Church 

History — Danversport _ — — — — 194 

Chapter XIX — Town of Lynnfield — An Outpost of Lynn — First 
Settlers — , Churches — Ancient Families — Old Landmarks — Na- 
tional Celebrities — Military Record _ - - - 209 

Chapter XX — Town of Hamilton — Early Land Grants — Develop- 
ment of Community _ - — — — 224 

Chapter XXI — Town of West Newbury — Establishment of Town — 

Present Conditions _ _ — - — -- 228 

Chapter XXII — Town of Essex — The Home of Many Prominent 
Men — Early Settlers — Grant of Land by Sagamore of Aga — 
wam — Shipbuilding — Church History 232 

Chapter XXIII — Town of Georgetown — Historical Narrative — In- 
dustrially, Commercially, Officially 241 

Chapter XXIV — Town of Rockport— Settlement — Present-day Con- 
ditions — Industries — Churches — - - _ - - - -— 270 

Chapter XXV — Town of Bradford — Incorporation — Manufactures 

— Churches — Government _ — 279 

Chapter XXVI— Town of Groveland — Settlement — Industries 

— Churches — Government _ _ — - 283 

Chapter XXVII— Town of Swampscott — Early Annals — Noted 
Characters — The Humphrey Home — Henry S. Baldwin Quoted 
— Statistical — Town Officers - - 286 

Chapter XXVIII— Town of Nahant— Early History— Development 

—Library— Henry Cabot Lodge— Fort Gardner— Churches- 298 

Chapter XXIX— Town of North Andover — Settlement — Early 

Manufacturing— Incorporation — Local Officiary — Churches. 307 

Chapter XXX— Town of Merrimac — Early Settlers — Municipal 
Affairs — Industries — Churches — Fraternal Orders 313 



CONTENTS ix 

Page 
Chapter XXXI— Town of Methuen— Early Settlers— Local Officials 

— Churches _ _ 32g 

Chapter XXXII— The City of Salem— Settlement— Organization- 
Municipal History — Essex Institute — Peabody Museum For- 
eign Trade Reminiscences — Industrial History — Disasters Sa- 
lem Hospital — Parks and Environments — Churches. , 325 

Chapter XXXIII— City of Beverly — Settlement— Incorporation- 
Present-day Industries— Shoemaking— Church History— Pres- 
ent Conditions _ _._ ._ _ _ __ 357 

Chapter XXXIV— City of Lynn— Conditions at Coming of First 
Settlers— Early Residents — "The Town Saugust" — Ancient 
Map— Lynn in the Revolution— Early Iron Works— First Mills 
—Timothy Dwight Quoted— City Organization— Swampscott^ 
Distinguished Names — Industrial Exhibit — Parks and Play- 
grounds—Chamber of Commerce— The Shoe Industry— General 
Electric Company— Great Disasters— Religious History- 375 

Chapter XXXV— Haverhill— The Ancient Settlements— The Dustin 
Tragedy— Indian Troubles— The Town Laid Out— Early Indus- 
tries— AntirSlaveiy Society— The Civil War— The City Charter 
—Bradford Academy— Historical Society— Anniversary Cele- 
brations—Distinguished Citizens— The World War— Growth of 
City— The Shoe Industry— Public Library— Churches 451 

Chapter XXXVI— City of Lawrence— Pioneer Families— Incorpora- 
tion as a Town— Present Municipal Governments-Benevolent 
Institutions— The Andover Bridge— The Central Bridge— The 
Essex Company— Distinguished Visitors— Fall of Pemberton 
Mills — Parks and Playgrounds — Great Textile Strike— The 
Great Cotton Industry — American Woolen Company — Other 
Important Cotton Manufactories — Mercantile Interests— Re- 
ligious History ; _ 492 

Chapter XXXVII— City of Newburyport— Settlement and Incor- 
poration as a Town— Early Shipbuilding and Foreign Trade- 
Privateers Fitted Out— City Charter— City Officiary— Public 
Library — Churches ^ _ 539 

Chapter XXXVIII— City of Peabody— Early Settlement— Pioneer 
Families— Early Churches— George Peabody— Industrial De- 
velopment— Peabody Institute and Library— Present-day Con- 
ditions _ 553 

Chapter XXXIX— City of Gloucester— First Settlement— Pioneer 
Settlers— Municipal History— Sav/yer Free Public Library— 
The Fishing Industry— A Famous Custom House— Post Office 



X ESSEX COUNTY 

Page 
History — Light Houses — Remarkable Instances of Longevity — 
Points of Interest — Church History _._ _ 567 

Chapter XL — Banks and Banking — Early and Present Banking In- 
stitutions — In Salem — Lynn — Danvers — Ipswich — Andover — 
Marblehead — Gloucester — Saugus — Beverly — Amesbury — New- 
buryport — Lawrence — Peabody — Groveland — Rockport — Man- 
chester — Merrimac — Georgetown — Haverhill _ 595 

Chapter XLI — Railroads and Transpoi'tation — Early Vehicles — 
First Public Conveyance — First Railroad Charter in Massachu- 
setts — Railway to Quincy Stone Quarries — First Railroads to 
Reach Salem, Saugus, Danvers, and Other Towns — Street Rail- 
ways - -._ _ 625 

Chapter XLII — Educational Interests — Early School at Salem — 
Lynn Schools — Early School Usages — Ancient Records — Pres- 
ent Schools in Lynn — In Danvers — Lawrence — Essex — Ames- 
bury — Salisbury — Andover — Hamilton — Boxford — Groveland — 
Haverhill — Ipswich — Middleton — Saugus — J»Iethuen — Beverly — 
Newbury — Nahant — Bradford — Merrimac — Gloucester — Phil- 
lips Academy — Andover School for Girls and Young Women — 
Andover Theological Seminary — Beverly Academy — Baker 
Free School — Merrimac Academy — Manning School — Marble- 
head Academy — Franklin Academy — Salem Normal School — 
Saugus Female Seminary — Topsfield Academy 631 

Chapter XLIII — Physicians of the County — Medical Practice in Dan- 
vers — Medical History of Lynn — Essex — Rockport — Topsfield — 
Wenham — Georgetown! — Beverly — Andover — Nahant — Rowley 
— Boxford — West Newbuiy — Haverhill — Gloucester — Groveland 
— Manchester — South Hamilton — Salisbury — Newburyport — 
Marblehead — Merrimac — Saugus — Middleton — Lynnfield Cen- 
ter — Salem — Ipswich — Methuen — Amesbuiy — Lawrence — Pea- 
body _ _ 693 

4 

Chapter XLIV — Newspapers of the County — The Essex Gazette — 
Newspapers in Salem — Scientific Periodicals — Newspapers in 
Lynn — Saugus — Haverhill — Newburyport — Amesbury — Pea- 
body — Gloucester — Lawrence — Beverly — Ipswich — Marblehead 731 

Chapter XLV — Military History — Indian Wars — Military Annals 
of Danvers — Salem — Lynn — Gloucester — Newburyport — Ha- 
verhill — Nahant — Boxford — Ipswich — Amesbury — Marble- 
head — Georgetown — MeiTimac — Swampscott — Rockport — Row- 
ley — Topsfield — Wenham — Groveland — Andover — Hamilton — 
North Andover — Saugus — Beverly — Peabody — Manchester — 
Lawrence — Salisbuiy _ _.. 763 



CONTENTS xi 

Page 
Chapter XLVI — Bench and Bar — First Establishment in Essex 
County — First General Court — The Various Courts — The 
Witchcraft Trials — Changes in Judicial System — Early Judicial 
Officiary — Attorneys General and District Attorneys — Pro- 
visions for Admission to the Bar — Bar Association — Names in 
Bar Book — Judicial Procedure 825 

Chapter XLVII — Agriculture and Horticulture — Early Farm Indus- 
tries — Early Agricultural Society _ _ _ 867 

Chapter XLVIII — Lodges in Essex County — Masonic — Odd Fellows 

— Knights of Pythias — Other Orders „ 871 

Chapter XLIX — Witchcraft in Essex County — Early Cases — First 

Execution — List of Executions — Judges Presiding at Trials. 881 

Chapter L — United Shoe Machinery Company 891 

Chapter LI — Miscellaneous — Essex County Congressmen — Presiden- 
tial Votes — New England Laboratory Company _ .._ 901 



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CHAPTER I. 

GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY OF ESSEIX COUNTY, 

Relics of the Glacial Period — The Foundation Rocks — The Tombolos — 
Formation of Islands — Earth Resources. 

The geology and geography of Essex County is most complicated 
and difficult. Its rocks are ancient, the roots of old mountains, greatly 
changed by the heat and pressure accompanying earth movements and 
the intrusion of molten rock. Its soils have been formed and distri- 
buted during successive glacial periods, by the ice, by fresh waters as 
the ice receded, by sea waves and the winds, as the county was emerg- 
ing after being covered by the ocean. It is a subject for a scientist. 
One who would know the detail for his home town may find full treat- 
ment in the monograph on the "Physical Geography of Essex County" 
by John H. Sears, published in 1905 by the Essex Institute. 

The geography of the county, however, affects the life of its 
residents intimately, A farmer must know the origin and nature of 
its soils, to develop his lands with intelligent wisdom and highest 
profits. The Chamber of Commerce of a city will plan its development 
to best advantage when its members know the nature as well as the 
appearance of their civic environment. The thousands who traverse 
the highways of the county in automobiles will find keener pleasure 
at every hill and plain, beside lake or river, if they know something 
of the origin and significance of these features of our varied scenery. 
Though details be left to scientists, anyone may know the main truths 
of our geography, and a simple statement about our lands and waters 
should be of appealing interest. 

Following the Newburyport turnpike up hill and down dale, or any 
county road, the land seems a confusion of hills, swamps and plains. 
But view it from a distance — from the railway, or the ocean, toward 
the hill crests that extend from far west of Saugus eastward to Marble- 
head, and to Cape Ann. A fairly even, gradually-descending upland 
line is evident. Nevertheless, even a scientist would have failed to sur- 
mise that all the land once rose to this level, and that resistant 
rock hills are remnants of an ancient upland, were it not that as one 
travels westward the valleys occupy less and less area, the hilltops 
broaden and coalesce until they foi-m the Berkshire plateau, trenched 
by the valley of the Deerfield and overtopped by summits like Monad- 
nock that slow erosion never reduced to the common level. 

The rock structure shows that long before the rolling upland was 
formed, Essex county, like all New England, was mountainous. 

Essex — 1 



2 ESSEX COUNTY 

Mountains are the result of folding or breaking of the earth's crust, 
uplifting great domes or blocks of land, which are then carved into 
peaks and slowly worn down by weather, water, and wind. Our Essex 
rocks are the remnants of tilted strata, and of dikes and masses of 
other kinds of rock that were forced upward in a molten state into 
all cracks in the folded and fractured strata, or were crowded between 
rock layers as great masses, such as the granites in and near Peabody 
and on Cape Ann. It is estimated that the broad upfold or anticline 
that extended from Cape Ann far to the southwest, and included at 
least all the southern half of the county, has lost by erosion a depth 
of two miles or more of strata. 

Only tough roots of the mountains are left, only hill remnants 
of the plateau. The mountains were slowly eroded during ages when 
the earth's crust here was fairly stable. At last the rivers swung 
lazily in broad valleys, little lower than the divides between them, on 
the gently-rolling lowland they had formed. Then came uplift. The 
rivers flowed swiftly down the steepening slope and cut valleys in the 
almost plain, or peneplain, that had become an upland. Far inland 
on hard rocks these valleys are deep and narrow still. Near the ocean 
they are of course shallow, and they have broadened and branched 
until they occupy more space than the hills that reach the old upland 
level. 

Indeed, Nahant lies within a broad lowland — the Boston Basin, 
that extends from the hills of Lynn and Saugus to the Blue Hills of 
Milton. Between the Essex county anticline and another south from 
the Blue Hills is a deep suncline. During long geologic time this was 
a bay, where sediments accumulated to a great depth, as it slowly 
folded downward. Earth movements followed, the basin rocks were 
folded and fractured between the old land masses to north and south. 
A long line of fracturing fomied along the southern flank of the Essex 
anticline, a similar fracture line just north of the Blue Hills. Between 
them the Boston Basin was lowered. When the region was slowly 
reduced to a peneplain the new rocks north of the line of fracture 
were worn away. When the peneplain was upraised, the weaker rocks 
within the basin were more quickly removed, and the resistant rim 
stands today as the long broken line of rugged hills, on which lie the 
Middlesex Fells, Lynn Woods and the Salem Pastures. 

All this is vital; it determines life. The Boston Basin, into which 
Essex county extends, contains a fourth the population of all New 
England. Yet the uplands of its rim are as typically deserted as our 
remoter uplands. Blueberry pickers on Salem pastures find forgotten 
roads, old pear trees and wild apples, traces of long-past occupation; 
but until recently there were only two homes in the three miles between 
the thick-set houses of Lynn and Salem, only two town ways that cross 
these wastes of ledges, cedars, and barberry bushes. Lynn Woods and 



GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY 3 

the Fells are mgged and picturesque for parks, but unsuitable for 
culture, inhospitable for home sites. In fact, the entire upland area 
of the county north of the Boston Basin and back from the harbors 
of the coast and the industrial cities of the Merrimac has been a 
region of decreasing population, of abandoned farms, like all the New 
England uplands. And the same characteristics that have discouraged 
agriculture have attracted summer boarders, cottagers, campers — the 
main industry for much of rural New England. To understand the 
growth of our factory industries, the decline of agriculture, and the 
consequent shifting of population in the county, however, other 
features of our geography must be studied. 

The old land of Essex County, with its broad valleys, should have 
correspondingly mature drainage, with rivers that have worn down to 
an even slope all waterfalls, and have filled with sediment or drained 
and worn away every lake. Yet even the Merrimac has rapids at 
Mitchell's Falls above Haverhill and at Lawrence, and there are falls 
and natural mill sites on every smaller stream. There are lakes, ponds 
and swamps in every town of the county and in such numbers that 
no one has ever counted the multitude of lakelets and pond holes that 
gather the rain waters every spring. Follow our upland south to coun- 
ties of Virginia and the CaroJinas, and lakes are lacking, falls are few. 
For our water powers and beautiful lakes we are indebted to the great 
glacier that overspread half of North America and moved out over 
Essex County southeastward to Cape Cod and the islands and shoals 
beyond, which were formed by the glacial deposits of land waste. 

Years ago geologists gave no satisfactory account of our rounded 
ledges, the great boulders that rest on unlike rock, the plains and 
hillocks of gravel and sand that floor our valleys, the lakes and water- 
falls of our streams. When the same forms were found at the front 
of Greenland and Alaskan glaciers in process of formation, their origin 
was clear. Ages ago New England was elevated, Essex County was 
inland, the rivers wore valleys deep that are now half filled with sands, 
the shore was far east of Marblehead and Rockport. The climate was 
colder on the high interior; snow accumulated, glaciers formed, that 
covered our highest eastern mountains and moved sluggishly south- 
ward and outward to the ocean. They scoured away the soil and 
rotten rock on the surface of hills and valleys, then used the harder 
fragments held in the glacier, with all the force of the mountain of 
moving ice above them, to rasp and plane the ledges below. The hills 
were rounded on their northern shoulders; they broke away on south- 
em slopes, forming cliffs. This is still their usual form, for probably 
less than 10,000 years have passed since the glacier disappeared. 
The glacier moved vigorously through north-south valleys, deep- 
ening them. Such are the valleys entering the Boston Basin from the 
north, that from Essex to Manchester, and the one which separates 



4 ESSEX COUNTY 

Gloucester from the mainland of Cape Ann along the line of the harbor 
and Squam river. 

When the glacier retreated, all the land waste in its dirty ice was 
dropped in confusion across the county. At times the glacier was 
moving* forward, yet melting as fast as it advanced. Boulders, sand 
and clay were dropped together at its stationary front, a frontal mor- 
aine. The finer materials were washed away. The boulders remain 
as the long belts or low ridges of rough ledge fragments that cross 
Cape Ann over Dogtov/n Commons, and those found extending from 
east to west in Lynn Woods and through the wild lands of South 
Peabody. Another boulder moraine extends from Newbury Old Town 
to Byfield, then south to Long Hill in Georgetown. More frequently 
the ice was stagnant near the front, but so covered with dirt that it 
melted very slowly. Streams from the melting ice farther north 
gushed foi'th at the ice front, full of sands and rock flour. At this 
time the land had sunk, perhaps under the glacier's weight, so the 
streams issued into the sea and their waters were checked and dropped 
their gravels and sands to form deltas in front of the glacier, like 
those on glacial rivers in Alaska today. The clays were carried for- 
ward into sheltered coves of deeper water and deposited there. We 
know this, because some of the gravels have the rounded pebbles and 
other characteristics of our present sea beaches, and the clays contain 
fossils of the same marine shells that are found in waters off Arcti<; 
shores today. Hence the soils of the valleys and lowlands of the county 
are largely sands and gravels, with occasional clay beds. 

There were several main lines of drainage to the ice front across 
Essex County, by streams that probably flowed mainly beneath the 
glacier in ice tunnels they had formed. These tunnels often became 
choked with small boulders and gravels, so that when the ice melted, 
they were left as steep ridges that wind about just as the sub-glacial 
streams wound beneath the glacier. These narrow winding gravel ridges 
are called eskers. They lead south to gravel and sand plains that 
formed at the glacier front, and toward clay beds. One line of drainage 
was through Amesbury, where the esker ridge is seen crossing the high- 
way to Merrimac, a little west of the town. Southward it broadens 
to form the sand ridge on which Newburyport is built, and is followed 
by High street nearly to Newbury Old Town. Another esker line passes 
over Red Oak Hill in Merrimac, then just east of the Whittier home- 
stead in Haverhill, and into Groveland, where it is joined by a tributary 
line of eskers and sands from West Haverhill. It then passes south 
through the Boxford plains, past Topsfield and along the east side of 
Wenham Swamp and Wenham Lake, thence across Beverly to the harbor 
and the sea. A third train of sands enters from New Hampshire, crosses 
Methuen, Lawrence and Andover, and includes the well-known Indian 
Ridge there, then passes into Middlesex County. There are other 



GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY 5 

shorter series of eskers and sands, for example, that along South Salem 
froa'n the Normal School on to the sand plains that reach from south 
of Forest river to the ocean front at Beach Bluff. 

The northern border of this plain is typically steep and irregular, 
with many gravel hillocks and short ridges, called kames, and many 
little enclosed valleys among them, that are called dungeons in Marble- 
head. The stagnant edge of the glacial ice had many crevasses and 
detached ice blocks. Outflowing streams filled in gravels between and 
upon the ice masses. After the main glacier had disappeared, these 
covered and protected ice blocks also melted. The gravels and sands 
slumped down, with slopes steep and confused in proportion to the 
depth and complexity of the fonner ice margin. 

Forest river flows eastward along the line of the vanished glacier 
front. If Salem Harbor had not been occupied by ice, but had been 
filled high with sands. Forest river valley would have been a lake. In 
just this way Wenham Lake and Wenham Swamp occupy the lowlands, 
filled by great ice blocks when the sand plains of Beverly were built 
in front of them. . Much of the southern and eastern shores rise steeply 
to the plain level, marking the ice contact line when the sands were 
deposited. While a few of the Essex County lakes occupy rock basins 
that were not filled with glacial deposits, like Forest Pond, Middleton, 
nearly all our lakes and ponds and many swamps lie within or beside 
sandy plains and slopes and occupy the holes left by the melting of 
ice blocks. Many have steep shoi'es rising to sand plains, usually on 
the southern sides, to mark the old ice contacts. There were many 
smaller ice blocks buried in the sand, whose site is marked by shallow 
depressions in the plains, called kettle holes. They are usually dry, 
as the pondlets of spring time soon drain away. 

These plains are usually too gravelly and sandy to be fertile. They 
make better roadways and building sites than rough hill slopes, but 
they are less favored for farms and pastures than the gentle slopes 
of glacial till, where the soil contains much clay and retains moisture. 
The early settlers often placed their town centers and buildings upon 
these plains ; they are well adapted for use for fair grounds, race tracks, 
training fields for the militia, aviation fields, baseball fields. In some 
places, as at Danvers, South Peabody, Marblehead, the soils of the 
plain are finer, and being free from boulders are well adapted for use 
by market gardeners, who can afford to provide fertilizers as may be 
needed. The well-known milk farms of the Hood Milk Company 
in Beverly and Topsfield are not on the sand plains, however, but on 
Cherry Hill and one of the broad, smooth hills crossed by the Newbury- 
port Turnpike ; for the soil of many hills and slopes was formed beneath 
and within the glacier, where rock fragments and rock flour are inter- 
mingled. They are therefore moister and more fertile than the gravel 
and sand plains from which clays were swept by the glacial streams. 



6 ESSEX COUNTY 

The scores of gently-curving, lens-shaped hills of glacial till, called 
drumlins, that are found from West Peabody to Ipswich and northward 
into New Hampshire are as marked a feature of Essex geography as 
our lakes. They are most abundant along the Merrimac, where 
Whittier sings, "The hills roll wavelike inland." They occur in groups 
and pairs, or singly, like Pigeooi Hill in Rockport. There are many 
in the Boston Basin, but none on the rough highlands back of its rim, 
and none on Cape Ann except Pigeon Hill. They are composed of till, 
clay which includes stones and boulders, just as dropped and overridden 
by the ice, compressing and shaping them. We know how sand plains 
and their depressions were formed; geologists do not know just how 
drumlins formed. Perhaps they gathered beneath the glacier as sand 
bars form in rivers. They are smooth, fertile, beautiful features of 
our landscape, rising to summits higher than the low monadnocks of 
the uplands near the Boston Basin. The rock hills of Lynn Woods and 
Saugus are less than 300 feet above tides, the drumlins of North 
Andover rise to nearly 400 feet above sea level. They afford 
fine outlooks; the Danvers Asylum has a commanding position 
upon a drumlin. But any one of them might well have been called 
Bare Hill, like that east of North Andover center, for their steep side 
slopes turn the country roads away. There are nearly 200 drumlins 
in the county, most of them so conspicuous as to be well-known by 
local names. They are represented in every town and city except 
Gloucester and Manchester on Cape Ann, Salem and the five communities 
on the rough southern border of the county. 

Our most recent geographical features, still in process of marked 
change from year to year, are along the coast, where waves, tides 
and currents are at work. There were doubtless drumlins and gravel 
deposits east of our present shores. The outer drumlin islands of 
Boston harbor show clay seacliffs and different stages of destruction, 
while reefs of boulders off Hull and Nantasket mark the site of drumlins 
that have been entirely washed away. The undertow has carried finer 
wastes into deep water offshore or to the quiet waters of bays. Storm 
waves breaking far out in shallow water built bars of sand ; alongshore 
currents brought land waste to them, swept from the cliffs of bolder 
coasts nearby. Master storms raised the bars above low tide level, the 
wind heaped the finer sands into hillocks, the bar broadened and sand 
dunes rose well above the highest tides. 

Some of these bars curve gently from the shore to an island, and 
are called tombolos. In this wise the three islands of Nahant, Bass 
Point and Little Nahant were tied together and to the mainland as a 
peninsula. Similarly, Marblehead Neck is tied to the shore at its south- 
em end, and the island of Gloucester is reached by a highway from 
Cape Ann mainland along a barrier beach, although the old seaway to 
Squam river has been re-opened as a canal. Other wave-built bars 



GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY 7 

separate a marsh from the ocean, as at Phillips Beach, Swampscott, 
where the fresh waters seep through the beach in springs at low tide. 
Our greatest barrier beach is Plum Island. At its southern end, off 
the Ipswich shore, it starts from the remnants of drumlins; its dunes, 
outer beach and inner marshes extend thence northward to where the 
outflow of the Merrimac prevents waves and currents from making the 
bar continuous with Salisbury Beach. 

Behind every bar is a lagoon. The smaller enclosures are shut 
from the ocean, as at Swampscott beaches. Larger ones are swept by 
the tides. The eel grass in the deeper waters of a lagoon catches the 
waste that sinks into the grasp of its tangle of blades at every turn 
of the tides, and the lagoon becomes shallower. The mudflats, bare 
of grasses, exposed twice daily, are upraised very slowly. Marsh 
grasses build outwards from the shore at high tide level, catching waste 
floated by streams from the land and by currents irom along shore. 
Thus the lagoons are now occupied by broad marshes, intersected by 
winding tidal creeks, whose currents undercut and wear back the out- 
growing marsh sod, maintaining one of the interesting balances between 
opposing natural forces. Broad marshes boi'der Squam river in 
Gloucester and lie behind the bars of Coffin's Beach, Castle Neck in 
Ipswich, Plum Island and Salisbury beaches to the north. Creeks and 
canals give a waterway behind the bars. Years ago the marsh hay 
was highly valued, and farmers from miles inland went "mashin" every 
August at the right run of tides. Years hence the tides may be shut 
out by dikes, as is true of the polders of Holland, and these marsh 
soils may become very valuable farm lands. Meanwhile, their mudflats 
give us a harvest of clams yearly. The Saugus marshes are more 
likely to be filled in and used as factory sites; for they are underlaid 
by firm clays well able to support factory buildings, and are convenient 
for rail and ocean transportation of supplies and products. 

A sand bar coast repels life, for it offers scant refuge from storms 
for either merchant vessels or pleasure yachts. Hence Plum Island 
was long almost a desert, save for its lighthouse, life-saving station, 
and one farm on the drumlin soils off Ipswich. Because sea front 
lands are all pre-empted along our rock shores, there are many summer 
cottages today at the northern end of Plum Island, easily reached by 
automobile over the causevv^ay from Newburyport. But there are no 
large and gi'owing cities between Portland and Gloucester, although 
there are many summer colonies dotted along the sand bar beaches 
from Essex County northward. From Cape Ann to Lynn, however, 
the North Shore of Massachusetts Bay is bold, rocky, irregular, with 
good harbors. A group of cities is growing about Salem harbor, once 
a leading port for commerce with far-eastern lands, now a center for 
the busy industries of Salem, Peabody, Beverly and Danvers. The 
harbor of Gloucester, set far out toward the fishing grounds, remains 



8 ESSEX COUNTY 

the leading port for trawlers and for salt and smoked fish. All the 
adjacent bold shore lands and the hills inland are occupied by costly 
summer cottages that are often mansions. Nahant was famous 
generations ago. Lynn shore drive, leading to the great hotel at 
Swampscott, is famous fai* beauty today. Marblehead Neck and harbor 
are renowTied as a yachting center. Society extends its sway back 
from the estates of millionaires at Beverly and Manchester-by-the-Sea 
to the golf and polo fields of Hamilton. The life of this bold North 
Shore, v/ith its rocky islets, frequent fine harbors, its alternating cliffs 
and pocket beaches, is vastly unlike the deserted dunes and long straight 
beach of Plum Island. 

The rocks of the picturesque coast are so resistant that storms 
have made small progress in cutting the ledges back. Where the dikes 
that cross the ledges and cliffs are relatively weaker, they have been 
cut out by the waves, forming chasms, purgatories, spouting horns, 
v/here the water dashes in and is throv/n up with great force at the 
narrowing and abrupt inner end. There is endless variety in shore 
forms both in details and in combination of harbors and patches of 
marsh, outlying reefs and islands, sloping ledges and shai-p cliffs, pocket 
beaches of cobbles, pebbles, or singing sands, whose minute crystals 
give a musical sound beneath passing footsteps. No wonder Whittier 
or Longfellow loved these home shores, praised their beauties and retold 
their legends in verse. 

Essex County is lower than when its valleys were formed, hence 
their outlets seaward are now filled by salt waters as safe harbors — 
drowned valleys. The sand plains are higher than when many of them 
were formed; the plain on which the center of Lynn is built is contin- 
uous with the harbor mudflats; it is an upraised sea bottom, a coastal 
plain. Nevertheless, the coast has in recent centuries slov/ly sunk again. 
There are trunks and stumps of pines, oaks and other large trees to be 
seen at very low tides on several beaches and marshes along our shore, 
and it is clear that they once grew where they are still rooted, proving 
that the soil was formerly above high tide level. The depth of ledges 
below low tide level as recorded a century ago was two feet less than 
their present depth. But the change takes place so slowly that it has 
only partially offset the shoaling of harbors. 

During the centuries since glacial time, and the periods between 
successive continental glaciers, there have been more marked invasions 
of the land by the sea. Remnants of old bars, with their dunes, now 
grass grown, and clay beds in the former lagoons, are found at the east- 
em angle of Georgetown, and in Topsfield along the road east of Fish 
Brook. Seaworn cobbles are found beneath later glacial deposits. Sea 
sands laid in horizontal beds, without the cross bedding characteristic 
of the frontal deposits on glacial deltas, cover extensive areas in Andover 
and southward into Middlesex County, also in Georgetown. While the 



GEOGRAPHY AND GEOLOGY 9 

glacial ice actively rasped away solid rock on exposed ledges and through 
valleys where the ice flow was concentrated, at other places it overrode 
loose deposits of previous glacial invasions. All these intermingled forms 
of earlier and later deposits make details of our geography as uncertain 
as they are interesting. The main facts, however, are simple and clear. 

The geographic resources of the county are not remarkably rich. As 
in most lands of folded rock strata, percolating heated waters have 
dissolved scattered minerals and deposited them in veins and lodes. 
Lead, copper, silver ores are found in the county, even gold. They 
have been mined. But the deposits are neither rich nor extensive. 
More silver has been sunk in the mine at Newburyport than has been 
taken from it. There are deposits of bog iron ore in our lakes, streams 
and swamps, from water leaching through glacial sands, which were 
a source of supply for the colonists at the early Saugus iron works, 
although no longer used. There is more profit now in spring waters 
of the county, some pure, some desirably impregnated with miner- 
als, when bottled and sold for table use, than in mineral deposits from 
the underground waters of past ages. 

But the county has some valuable earth resources. There are 
many quarries, active or abandoned, in the granite districts north 
of Lynn, while those of Gloucester and Rockport, next the shore, and 
able to ship building stone and paving blocks cheaply to coast cities 
and to sell their waste as a by-product for building breakwaters, are 
of large commercial importance. The tough rhyolite rock that borders 
the Boston Basin, as at Lynn, does not break along joint planes into 
rectangular blocks like granite, yet it has been used for buildings and 
is now actively quarried at several hills and cliflfs for road material. 
And the brick clays of Lynn, Peabody, Danvers and other towns have 
been valuable for local supplies and should continue in use, even though 
better clays for pottery are found west of New England, and despite 
the use of cement and re-enforced concrete, where brick or granite 
were employed aforetime. 

There are a thousand details of fascinating local geography worth 
setting forth: account of great glacial erratics, like Agassiz Rock in 
South Essex ; of glacial markings on smoothed ledges, notably the deep 
rock groove in the park at Salem; mention of details of river action, 
like^the abandoned channel of the Merrimac in West Newbury that 
undercut the clays of Long Hill drumlin; description of mill sites and 
water supply sources — but these best remain for studies of local 
geography. Viewing our geography in the large, its trends are those of 
the early rock folds, from southwest to northeast. The main rivers still 
follow the line of the strike of the rocks, and the Merrimac river and 
the North Shore are fairly parallel, with the Ipswich river winding 
between. Likewise, there is a line of busy industrial communities 
at the north from the waterpower sites of Lowell and Lawrence to the 



10 ESSEX COUNTY 

waterway from Haverhill to Newburyport; and a parallel line of har- 
bors and factory chimneys at the south from west of Lynn past Salem 
to Gloucester. Between are the scattered farms and villages, summer 
settlements and estates of the mid-county, less populous than years ago. 
Viewing details, they are mainly governed by glacial deposits, for sand- 
plains and drumlins determine the windings of the rivers, the location 
of lakes and swamps, of roads and hamlets, homesteads and fields. This 
returns us to the truth maintained at the outset, that our geology and 
geography repay study, since they constitute our environment and 
vitally affect our life. This chapter merely introduces the subject, 
even as it does this county history. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE STORY OF THE PLANTERS. 

The Early Explorers — Sebastian Cabot — Captain Bartholomew Gosnold 
— First White Intercourse with Indians — Charter from the English 
Crown — The Dorchester Company — New Plymouth — Roger Conant 
at Cape Ann. 

The aim and scope of this special article, Which might not inaptly be con- 
sidered as the Genesis of the present History, are sufficiently indicated by the fore- 
going caption. It concerns itself mainly with events as well in Essex County as in 
Salem prior to the year 1630. The second division brings fully into relief the devel- 
opments in Salem of that colonization, humble in conception and glorious in fruition, 
wthich for so long a period has commanded the interest of historical students and 
writers. In order that no overlapping migiht follow, Salem's municipal history, 
chronologically listed elsewhere, avoids all treatment of the subject here specifi- 
cally presented. It is not necessary to point to some of the more important fea- 
tures of the recital. These may well be left to the appreciation of intelligent read- 
ers, more especially of that element whose members are more or less conversant 
with the general aspects of the plantation era in the settlement of New England. 
Both in detail and in fullness, the story thus introduced to the attention of readers 
must hold a measure of lively concern proportioned to individual appreciation of the 
labors which its compilation has involved. 

It is to Dr. Frank A. Gardner, M. D., of Salem, further mention of whom is 
made in "The Special Contributors" in our Foreword, that credit is due for this 
narrative, as well as that following, "Salem Before 1630." [Editor]. 

The history of Essex County in this period of formation is, in 
reality, the history of the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 
Tlie successive governmental steps taken within this small section in 
the northeastern comer of the old Bay State resulted in the formation 
of a well-organized government, which was delivered by Governor 
John Endicott to Governor John Winthrop in 1630. The area of gov- 
ernment had rapidly expanded within seven years from an insignificant 
and unsuccessful fishing station at Cape Ann to a territory covering 
the whole of the present Essex County and Suffolk County and a 



"" TOE lEW YORK 
PUBLIC UB^^^^ 




STATUE OF ROGER CONANT, FOUNDER OF SALEM 



THE STORY OF THE PLANTERS 11 

generous section of what is now included in Norfolk County. The 
description of the boundaries of the territory purchased by the "Com- 
pany of the Massachusetts Bay in New England" defines its extent as 
follows: "That part of New England three miles north of the Merri- 
mack and three miles south of the Charles River, in the bottom of 
Massachusetts Bay." 

The promontories and indentations of the Essex County coast 
were visited and described by the very earliest explorers. The first 
white men to visit these shores were the Norsemen, who came about 
the year 1000. Sebastian Cabot visited the coast in 1498, exploring 
from Labrador to the region of Delaware Bay. He claimed possession 
for England. The fact that England's claim was based upon Cabot's 
discovery was recognized in the charter which Queen Elizabeth bestow- 
ed on Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583, and in accordance with which he 
took possession of Newfoundland. Many English vessels visited the 
coast for fish during the last half of the sixteenth century. 

Captain Bartholomew Gosnold in 1602, in a "bark of Dartmouth, 
called the Concord," reached the coast and discovered among other 
places "an out point of woodie ground, the trees whereof were very 
high and straight." It is supposed that Cape Ann is referred to. 
He wrote that the natives "in bark shallops came boldly abourd them, 
apparrelled in wastcoats and breeches, some of black serdge, some of 
blue cloth, made after the sea fashion, with hose and shooes on their 
feet ; a people tall of stature, broad and grym visaged ; their eye browes 
paynted white and yt seemed by some words and signs which they 
made, that some barks of St. John de Luz, had fished and traded 
in this place." He named Cape Cod on this same voyage. Captain 
Martin Pring, in 1603, sailed along the coast from Casco Bay to Cape 
Cod Bay, and obtained a cargo of furs, sassafras, etc. He described 
the tall forests, excellent anchorage and fine fishing. Two years later, 
George Weymouth reached Cape Cod and sailed northward along the 
coast to the Kennebec. Champlain and Sieur de Mont, in this same 
year (1605), explored the coast of Maine and sailed south around Cape 
Cod to Martha's Vineyard. Champlain described the bay at the mouth 
of the Merrimack as "large," with "three or four rather large islands" 
(the Isles of Shoals). Cape Ann and Thatcher's Island he noted as a 
cape, with "three islands near the mainland full of wood of different 
kinds, as at Chonacoot and all along the coast, and still another flat 
one, where there are breakers and which extend a little further out 
to sea than the others, on which there is no wood at all." He named 
the place Island Cape, near which he saw a canoe containing five or six 
savages, who "came out near our barque, and then went back and 
danced on the beach. Sieur de Mont sent me on shore to observe 
them and to give each one of them a knife, and some biscuit, which 
caused them to dance again, better than before." When he had drawn 



12 ESSEX COUNTY 

with his crayon a diagram of the bay in which they were, the Indians 
took the crayon "and drew the outhne of another bay, which they 
represented as very large" (Massachusetts Bay). They also sketched 
in the Merrimack River. They failed to find a place of settlement that 
suited them and returned to the Maine coast. These men had come 
with a charter from the King of France, which conveyed "trading and 
seignoral rights in ... . territory between the fortieth and forty-sixth 
parallels of latitude" (from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Philadelphia) . 
Captain John Smith explored the coast in 1614 and in his "Description 
of New England," based on voyages made in that year, and the follow- 
ing, wrote: "The Coast of the Massachusetts is so indifferently mixed 
with high clayie or sandy cliffes in one place, and then tracts of large 
long ledges of divers sorts, and quarries of stones in other places so 
strangely divided with tinctured veines of divers colours ; as, Freestone 
for building. Slate for tiling, smooth stone to make Fomaces and 
Forges for glasse or iron, and iron ore sufficient, conveniently to melt 
in them; but the most part so resembleth the Coast of Devonshire, I 
think most of the cliffes would make such limestone." He described 
the shores about Ipswich as follows: "Angoam is the next; This 
place might content a right curious judgement; but there are many 
sands at the entrance of the harbor : and the worst is, it is imbayed too 
farre from the deepe Sea. Heere are many rising hilles and on their 
tops and descents many corne fields, and delightful groves. On the 
East, is an Isle* of two or three leagues in length ; the one halfe, plaine 
morish grasse fit for pasture, with many faire high groves of mul- 
berrie trees gardens: and there is also Okes, Pines and other woods to 
make this place an excellent habitation, beeing a good safe harbor. 
Naimkeck though it be more rockie ground (for Angoam is sandie) not 
much inferior; neither for the harbor, nor any thing I could per- 
ceove, but the multitude of people. From hence doth stretch into the 
Sea the faire headland Tragabigganda fronted with three Isles called 
the Turks heads: to the North of this, doth enter a great Bay, where 
wee found some habitations and corne fields ; they report a great Riuer, 
and at least thirtie habitations, doo possesse this Countrie. But 
because the French had got their Trade I had no leasure to discover it." 
On the map he gives Cape Anna, "Smith's lies" (Isles of Shoals), and 
shows Plum Island and the islands at the entrance of Salem harbor. 
He mentions "particular countries," and names "Aggawom" and 
"Naemkeck." The names on the map do not coincide with the descrip- 
tive text, and he explains this by stating that "the Prince his Highnesse 
had altered the names." He then gives a "schedule," with explana- 
tions, as follows: "Naumkeag — Bastable; Cape Trabigznda — Cape 
Anne ; Aggawam — Southampton." 



*Plum Island. 



THE STORY OF THE PLANTERS 13 

Captain Thomas Dermer sailed along- the coast of the county in 
1619, in a ship belonging to Sir Ferdinando Gorges. He was wounded 
later by Indians at Martha's Vineyard, and died in Virginia from the 
effects of these wounds. 

In 1622 there was published in England "A Brief Relation of the 
Discovery and Plantation of New England." This was dedicated to 
Prince Charles, and under the heading, "The platform of the govern- 
ment, and divisions of the territories in general," it was stated that "As 
there is no commonwealth that can stand without government, so 
the best governments have ever had their beginnings from one supreme 
head, who hath disposed of the administration of justice, and execution 
of public affairs, either according to laws established, or by the advice, 
or consent of the most eminent, discreetest, and best able in that kind! 
And upon this general ground, the kings of these realms did first lay 
the foundations of their monarchies; resei^ving unto themselves the 
sovereign power of all (as fit it was) and dividing their kingdoms into 
counties, baronies, hundreds and the like; instituted their lieutenants, 
or officers, meet to govern these subdivisions. This foundation being 
so certain, there is no reason for us to vary from it, and therefore we 
have resolved to build our edifices upon it. So as we purpose to commit 
the management of our whole affairs there in general, unto a governor, 
to be assisted by the advice and counsel of so many of the patentees 
as shall be there resident, together with the officers of state. By 
this head, and these members, united together, the great affairs of the 
whole state is to be managed, according to their several authorities, 
given them from their superiours, the president and council established 
as aforesaid." 

"And for that all men by nature are best pleased to be their own 
carvers, or orders whereof themselves are authors; it is therefore 
resolved, that the general laws whereby that state is to be governed, 
shall be first framed and agreed upon by the general assembly of the 
states of those parts, both spiritual and temporal." This whole terri- 
tory was to be divided into "counties, baronies, hundreds and the like 
from all which deputies from every county, and barony, are to be sent 
m name and behalf of the subjects, under them to consult and agree 
upon the laws so to be framed, as also to reform any notable abuses 
committed m former proceedings." Counties were to be governed by a 
chief head, deputy and other officers. Further subdivisions into lord- 
ships, with courts, etc., were made. 

A further statement is made, that "There is no less care to be 
taken for the trade and public commerce of merchants, whose govern- 
ments ought to be within themselves, in respect of the several occa- 
sicm^ arising between them, the tradesmen, and other the mechanicks 
with whom they have most to do." "By this you see our main drift is 
but to take care for the well ordering of the business, seeking by all 



14 ESSEX COUNTY 

means to avoid (what we may) the intermeddling with any man's 
monies or disposing of any men's fortunes, save only our own, leaving 
to every particular undertaker the employment of their profits, out of 
their proper limits, and possessions, as shall seem best to themselves, 
or their officers, or ministers, whom they employ, and whom they may 
be bold to question, or displace, as to themselves shall seem most 
fitting." This scheme met with the king's approval, and Captain John 
Smith, in his "General History," published in 1624, shows a map with 
New England divided among "twenty patentees, that divided my map 
into twenty parts and cast lots for their share." 

Thornton wrote: "The council's transaction being thus ratified by 
the crown, the several patentees of the territory of New England 
became each a lord protector of his portion, with an absolute title 
thereto, clothed with all the powers of government, originally in the 
king, and by him vested in them. Thus was derived the title and 
authority of Lord Sheffield, in the exercise of which he issued the 
charter foir Cape Anne, under which the colony was founded in 1624, 
which is now expanded into the Commonwealth of Massachusetts." 

In 1623, Edward Winslow was sent by the Pilgrims at Plymouth to 
England, to report about the colony and procure supplies. In London, 
he conferred with Mr. Robert Cushman, who had been at Plymouth, 
and whom Gov. Bradford called the "right hand with their friends, the 
adventurers, and for diverce years had done & agitated all their 
business with them to their great advantage." Interest in the affairs 
of New England was aroused by these men, and among those who 
were particularly attracted were the Rev. John White of Dorchester, 
England, father of the Cape Ann Colony, and Lord Sheffield, already 
mentioned, a prominent member of the Council for New England. 

The charter, which the latter granted, was made on the "First day 
of January, Anno Dui 1623," by indenture "Betweene the right honor- 
able Edmond Lord Sheffield, Knight of the Most Noble Order of the 
Garter on thone part. And Robert Cushman and Edward Winslowe for 
themselves, and their Associates and Planters at Plymouth in New 
England in America on thother part." 

"Wytnesseth that the said Lord Sheffield **** Hath Gyven **** 
for the said Robert and Edward and their associates **** a certaine 
Tract of Ground in New England **** in a knowne place there com- 
monly called Cape Anne, Together with the free use" of "the Bay of 
Cape Anne" *** "and free liberty to ffish, fowle, etc." and trade in the 
lands thereabout, and in all other places in New England aforesaid 
"whereof the said Lord Sheffield is or hath byn possessed." *** "To- 
gether also with ffive hundred Acres of free Land adiojoiing to the said 
Bay" **** "for the building of a Towne, Scholes, Churches, Hospi- 
talls" etc. also "Thirty acres of Land and besides" **** "To be allotted'* 
**** "for every particular person" **** "that shall come and dwell at 



THE STORY OF THE PLANTERS 15 

the aforesaid Cape Anne within Seaven years next after the Date here- 
of." After seven years they were to pay a rental of 12 pence for every 
"Thirty acres soe to be obteynyd."* Edward Winslow in a pamphlet 
issued in 1624, asks: "What may the planters expect when once they 
are seated, and make the most of their salt there, and employ them- 
selves at least eight months in fishing"? He sailed back to England in 

1623, and conferred in London with Robert Cushman. Supplies were 
furnished and preparatiojis made to extend the fisheries and transport 
more persons "further to plant at Plymouth and in other parts of New 
England" especially "on a known place they commonly called Cape 
Anne." 

This presentation of the advantages of such a settlement resulted 
in the foi'ming of the Dorchester Company, with a capital of £3000 
largely through the eiforts of Rev. John White. He did not find it a 
difficult matter to convince the merchants of that section of the value 
of such a settlement. They had felt the need of it sorely in their 
previous fishing ventures, as the slow-going vessels had been late in 
arriving on the grounds in the spring, and had reached the markets of 
England and Spain too late in the season on their return to sell 
their fish to advantage. Consequently the idea of a colony, where the 
fisherman might winter and get the early spring catch, appealed to 
them. The company sent over a band of men in the winter of 1623- 

1624, or the early spring of the latter year, who established a settle- 
ment at Stage Point, in what is now Gloucester. Capt. John Smith in 
his "General Historye," written in 1624, states, "There hath beene 
afishing this yeere upon the Coast, about 50 English ships: and by 
Cape Anne, there is a Plantation by the Dorchester men, which they 
hold of those of New Plimouth, who also by themselves have set vp 
a fishing worke." 

We thus have undoubted evidence that the Cape Ann planters 
settled there by right of the charter granted by Lord Sheffield to 
Winslow and Cushman. They immediately organized, with Mr. Thomas 
Gardner overseer of the plantation, who thus was the first man in 
authority on the territory, which later became the colony of 
Massachusetts Bay. Mr. John Tilley had charge of the fisheries. 

The primary object of these Cape Ann planters was undoubtedly 
commercial, but we have many evidences that the desire to worship 
God in Puritan simplicity, unhampered by the leaders of the establish- 
ed church, strongly influenced them in coming. They were not 
separatists, like the Pilgrims of Plymouth. They hoped rather for re- 
forms and modifications in the church than separation. We know that 
many of them were God-fearing men, who displayed their religious 
fervor a few years later in the active part which they took in the 
formation and maintenance of the churches at Salem and Beverly. 
Mather, in his Magnalia, contrasted them favorably with the English- 



16 ESSEX COUNTY 

men who attempted various settlements on the coast of Maine : "There 
were more than a few attempts of the English to people and improve 
the parts of New England which were to the northward of New Pli- 
mouth. But the designs of these attempts being aimed no higher 
than the advancement of some worldly interest, a constant series of 
disasters has confounded them, until there was a plantation erected 
upon the nobler designs of Christianity; and that plantation, though 
it has had more adversaries than perhaps any one on earth, yet, hav- 
ing obtained help from God, it continues to this day. There have been 
very fine settlements in the northeast regions; but what has become 
of them? I have heard that one of our ministers once preaching to a 
congregation there, urged them to approve themselves a religious 
people from this consideration, that otherwise they would contradict 
the main end of planting this wilderness. Whereupon a well-known 
person then in the assembly, cried out, 'Sir, you are mistaken, you think 
you are preaching to the people at the Bay ; our main end was to catch 
fish.'" The quotation from Reverend William Hubbard given in this 
work on the opening page of the chapter on "Salem Before 1630," shows 
the strong spiritual influence directing these men. Bradford, in his 
"History of the Plymouth Plantatioai," gives interesting references to 
the Cape Ann plantation. 

The planters and fishermen of the Dorchester Company were not 
alone at Cape Ann. The Plymouth men attempted to conduct a fishing 
venture there and erected a fishing stage, house and salt works. In 
a letter written by Robert Cushman, January 24, 1623, we find: "We 
have tooke a patent for Cap-Anne." We read in the same histoiy, 
under date of 1624: "The ship . . . was speedily discharged, and with 
her mr. & company sente to Cap-Anne (of which place they had gott 
a patente, as before is shewed) on fishing, and because ye season was 
so farr spente some of ye planters were sent to help to build their 
stage, to their owne hinderance. But partly by ye lateness of ye year, 
and more espetialy by ye basnes of ye mr., one Baker, they made a 
poore viage of it. He proved a very drunken beast . . . The ship- 
carpenter that was sent them, was an honest and very industrious 
man, and followed his labour dilligently, and made all that were imploy- 
ed with him doe ye like; he quickly builte them 2 very good & strong 
shalops (which after did them greate service), and a great and strong 
lighter, and had hewne timber for 2 catches ; but that was lost, for he 
fell into a feaver in ye hote season of ye year, and though he had the 
best means ye place could aforde, yet he dyed; of whom they had a 
very great loss, and were very sorie for his death. But he whom they 
sent to make salte was an ignorante, foolish, self-willd fellow; he 
bore them in hand he could doe great matters in making salt-works, so 
he was sente to seeke out fitte ground for his purpose; and after some 
serch he tould ye Govt that he had found a sufficiente place, with a 



THE STORY OF THE PLANTERS 17 

good botome to hold water, and otherwise very conveniente, which he 
doubted not but in a short time to bring to good perfection, and to 
yeeld them gi'eat profite; but he must have 8, or ten men to be con- 
stantly imployed. He was wisht to be sure tliat ye ground was good, 
and other things answerable, and yt he could bring it to perfection; 
othei'wise he would bring upon them a gTeat change by imploying him 
selfe and so many men. But he was after some triall, so confidente, 
as he caused them to send cai-penters to rear a great frame for a large 
house, to receive ye salte & such other uses. But in ye end ail 
proved vaine. Then he layed faulte of ye ground, in which he was 
deceived; but if he might have the lighter to caiy clay, he was sure 

then he could doe it as he by his bould confidence & large 

promises deceived them in England that sente him, so he had wound 
him selfe in to these mens high esteeme hear, so as they were faine 
to let him goe on till all men saw his vanity. For he could not doe any 
thing but boyle salt in pans, & yet would make them yt were joyned 
with him beleeve ther was so grat a misterie in it as was not easie 
to be attained, and made them doe many unnecessary things to blind 
their eye, till they discerned his sutlie. The next yere he was sente to 
Cap- Anne, and ye pans were set up ther wher the fishing was; but 
before somer was out, he burte the house, and the fire was so vehe- 
mente as it spoyld the pans, at least some of them, and this was the 
end of that chargeable bussines." Bradford severely arraigns the 
minister, Lyford, and his colleague, Oldham. They had both been at 
Plymouth, where they were evidently not welcome, and after going 
to Nantasket had removed to Cape Ann. Bradford's story of their 
misdemeanors is a long one and covers many pages of his histoiy. He 
refers to these two men again in connection with Cape Ann and writes 
that "some of Lyfords and Oldoms freinds, and theii* adherents, set 
out a shipe on fishing, on their own accounte, and getting yet starte of 
ye ships that came to the plantation, they tooke away their stage, & 
other necessary provisions that they had made for fishing at Cap- 
Anne ye year before, at their great charge, and would not restore ye 
same, except they would fight for it. But ye Govr sent some of ye 
plantei"s to help ye fishermen to build a new one, and so let them 
keepe it. This shipe also brought them some small supply, of little 
value; but they made so pore a bussines of their fishing, (neither could 
these men make them any retume for ye supply sente), so as, after 
this year, they never looked after them." We thus see that two fishing 
plants were set up at Cape Ann about the same time: One by the 
Dprchester Company and the other sent from the Pilgrim Colony at 
Plymouth. The existence of these two ventures is confirmed by 
Christopher Leavitt, Admiral of New England, in 1624. He wrote: 
"Neither was I at New Plymouth, but I fear that place is not so good 
as many others; for if it were, in my conceit, they would content them- 



Easez— 2 



18 ESSEX COUNTY 

selves with it and not seek any other, having ten times so much 
ground as would serve ten times so many people, as they have now 
amongst them. But it seems they have no fish to make benefit of, 
for this year they had one ship fish at Pemaquid and another at Cape 
Ann, where they have begun a new plantation, but how long it will 

continue I know not I fear there hath been too fair a gloss set on 

Cape Ann. I am told there is a good harbor which makes a fair 
invitation, but when they are in, their entertainment is not answerable, 
for there is little good ground, and the ships which fished there this 
year, their boats went twenty miles to take their fish, and yet they 
were in great fear of (not) making their voyages, as one of the 
masters confessed unto me who was at my house." 

Captain John Smith in his "General History," wi'itten in 1626, 
stated: "There hath beene a fishing this yeere upon the Coast about 
50 English ships : and by Cape Anne there is a Plantation or beginning 
by Dorchester men, which they hold of those of New Plimouth, who 
also have set up a fishing works." Hubbard wrote : "In one of the fish- 
ing voyages about the year 1625 under the charge and command of 
one Mr. Hewes, employed by some of the west country merchants, 
there arose a sharp contest between the said Hewes and the people of 
New Plymouth, about a fishing stage built the year before about Cape 
Anne by Plymouth men, but was now in the absence of the builders 
made use of by Mr. Hewes' company, which the other, under the con- 
duct of Captain Standish, very eagerly and peremptorily demanded; 
for the company of New Plymouth, having themselves obtained a use- 
less (owing to unfitness of territory) patent for Cape Anne, about the 
year 1623, sent some of the ships, which their adventurers employed to 
transport passengers over to them, to make fish there; for which end 
they had built a stag there, in the year 1624. The dispute grew to be 
very hot, and high words passed between them which might have 
ended in blows, if not in blood and slaughter, had not the kindness and 
moderation of Roger Conant, at that time there present, and Mr. 
Peirses interposition, that lay just by with his ship, timely prevented. 
For Mr. Hewes had barricadoed his company with hogsheads on the 
stage head, while the demandants stood upon land, and might easily 
have been cut off; but the ships crew, by advice, promising to help 
build another, the difference was thereby ended. Captain Standish had 
been bred a soldier in the Low Countries, and never entered the 
school of our Saviour Christ, or of John Baptist, his harbinger, if he 
was ever there, had forgot his first lessons, to offer violence to no man, 
and to part with the cloak rather than needlessly contend for the 
coat, though taken away without order. A little chimney is soon fired ; 
so was the Plymouth captain, a man of very little stature, yet of a 
very hot and angry temper. The fire of his passion soon kindled, and 
blown into a flame by hot words, might easily have consumed all, had 



THE STORY OF THE PLANTERS 19 

it not been seasonably quenched." Thornton in his "Landing at Cape 
Ann" wrote: "As the Plymouth Colonists and the Dorchester Adven- 
turers had under patent, a unity of interests, touching all intruders, 
and Mr. Peirse was their true friend. Captain Standish could with 
propriety listen to their advice. He demanded the possession of the 
property of his government, withheld without right, or the pretence 
of right, and wrested from them, doubtless, by the machinations 
of Lyford. These circumstances, and the character of the actors, 
might well disturb milder tempers than that of Standish, and he 
deserved praise rather than Hubbard's censure, for his Christian 
endurance, forbearing even a blow under such an outrage. He had 
the approval of Bradford, who says they 'refused to restore it without 
fighting, upon which we let them keep it, and our Governor sends 
some planters to help the fishermen build another.' " 

The attempt of the Plymouth men to conduct a fishing enter- 
prise at Cape Ann came to an end as above narrated, and the Dor- 
chester men had a hard time with their plantation, owing largely to 
the lack of fertility of the soil at the point chosen and the conse- 
quent inability o£ the men to raise the necessary food for the com- 
pany. The authorities of the company in England, hearing of Roger 
Conant, who was at Nantasket, having left Plymouth, invited him 
to accept office "for the management and government of all their 
affairs at Cape Ann." He was engaged by the officers of the company 
and informed "that they had chosen him to be their governor in that 
place." The validity of this title need not be discussed. The fact 
that it was used by the officers of the company proves how he was 
regarded by them. It will also be recalled that in the "Platform of 
the government," approved by the king, which was quoted in full, 
which constituted the rules for government, the management of the 
whole affair on this side of the water, was to be committed to a 
"governor." 

Roger Conant soon found out the cause of the failure of the 
first year's work. Hubbard states that he "disliked the place as 
much as the adventurers disliked the business; and therefore in the 
meanwhile had made some inquiry into a more commodious place 
near adjoining, on the other side of a creek, called Naumkeag, a little 
to the westward, where was much better encouragement as to the 
design of a plantation, than that which they had attempted upon 
before, at Cape Anne." Mr. White wrote to Conant that if he would 
induce John Woodbury, John Balch and Peter Palfrey to stay with 
him, that he would procure a charter for him and send whatever he 
needed, "either men or provisions or goods wherewith to trade with 
the Indians." 

The removal of Roger Conant and his associates to Naumkeag 
(Salem) left Cape Ann deserted, as we have no evidence that any 



20 ESSEX COUNTY 

remained there. Those who did not follow their leader went either 
to Virginia or returned to England, and the house which they occu- 
pied at Cape Ann was removed in 1628 to Salem to accommodate 
Governor Endicott. The new location was well chosen, and the 
planters by their courage and industry, enduring many privations 
and hardships, were able to overcome all difficulties and prove the 
possibility of a succesful settlement. The coming of Endicott and 
his company two years later (1628) made sure the founding of the 
good old Puritan city of Salem, as narrated in the chapter on that 
municipality. F. A. G. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE STORY OF THE PLANTERS— PART II. 

SALEM BEFORE 1630 

Salem, the "City of Peace" — -The First Settlers under Roger Conant — 
Account by William Wood in his "New England's Prospect" — John 
Endicott's Company — The First Council — Third Migration to Salem 
in 1629 — Record of the Voyage and List of Those Who Came. 

Salem, the "City of Peace," embodies in the name the spirit of 
Roger Conant, the founder of this historic Puritan community. The 
plantation at Cape Ann had proved a failure, owing in great degree 
to the lack of fertility of the soil at the point chosen. Conant, as 
Hubbard states, "disliked the place as much as the adventurers dis- 
liked the business; and therefore in the meanwhile had made some 
inquiry into a more commodious place near adjoining, on the other 
side of a creek, called Naumkeag, a little to the westward, where 
was much better encouragement as to the design of a plantation, than 
that which they had attempted upon before at Cape Anne." Hub- 
bard further says of Conant: "Secretly conceiving in his mind, that 
in th^ following times (as since is fallen out) it might prove a recep- 
tacle for such, as upon the account of religion, would be willing to 
begin a foreign plantation in this part of the world, of which he gave 
some intimation to his friends in England. Whereupon that reverend 
person Mr. White (under God one of the chief founders of the Massa- 
chusetts Colony in New England) being grieved in his spirit that so 
good a work should be suffered to fall to the ground by the adven- 
turers thus abruptly breaking off, did write to Mr. Conant not to 
desert his business; faithfully promising, that if himself with three 
others (whom he knew to be honest and prudent men) viz: John 




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SALEM BEFORE 1630 21 

Woodberry, John Balch, and Peter Palfreys,* employed by the adven- 
turers, would stay at Naumkeag, and give timely notice thereof, he 
would provide a patent for them, and likewise send them whatever 
they should write for, either men or provisions, or goods wherewith 
to trade with the Indians. Answer was returned that they would 
all stay on those terms, entreating that they might be encouraged 
accordingly; yet it seems, before they received any return according 
to their desires, the last three mentioned began to recoil, and repenting 
of their engagement to stay at Naumkeag, for fear of the Indians, 
and the other inconveniences, resolved rather to go to Virginia, especi- 
ally because Mr. Lyford, their minister, upon a loving invitation, was 
thither bound. But Mr. Conant, as one inspired by some superior 
instinct, though never so earnestly pressed upon to go along with 
them, peremptorily declared his mind to wait the providence of God 
in that place, where now they were, yea, though all the rest forsook 
him; not doubting, as he said, but if they departed he should soon 
have more company. The other three, observing his confident resolu- 
tion, at last concun-ed v/ith him, and soon after sent back John 
Woodbury to England, to procure necessaries for a plantation. But 
that God, v/ho is ready to answer His people before they call, as He 
had filled the heart of that good man Mr. Conant, in New England, 
with courage and resolution to abide fixed in his purpose, notwith- 
standing all opposition and persuasion he met with to the contrary, 
had also inclined the hearts of several others in England about the 
same design." Roger Conant tells us, in his own words, how near 
this settlement came to being abandoned. In a petition to the General 
Couii;, he wrote: "Being one of the first, if not the very first, that 
resolved and made good any settlement, under God, in matter of 
plantation, with my family, in this Colony of Massachusetts Bay, and 
have been instrumental both for the founding and carrying on of the 
same. When in the infancy thereof, it was in great hassard of being 
deserted. I was the means, through grace assisting me, to stop the 
flight of those few that then were heere with me, and that, by my 
utter denial, to goe away with them who would haue gone either 
for England, or mostly for Virginia, but thereupon staid to the hassard 
of our lives." Conant's heroic determination to "hold on" is typified 
in his bronze statue in Washington Square, Salem; he firmly grasps 
the sturdy oak and stands in the face of the strong winds of 
adversity. 



*Richard Brackenbury, in a deposition, mentioned the names of others who 
came to Salem with the above-named early planters: "old Goodman Norman, and 
son, William Allen, Walter Knight and others." 

Thomas Gardner was in all probability one of these "others." He had been, as 
shown above, the first overseer at Cape Ann, and his name appears in the very 
earliest records of Salem. At a meeting of the London Company, held July 28, 
1629, Mr. Webb mentioned "one Mr. Gardner, an able & expert man in divers 
faccultyes." 



22 ESSEX COUNTY 

Hubbard, who was an intimate friend of Roger Conant, and who 
undoubtedly obtained his information from him, states that the 
settlement was made "oji the other side of a creek called Naumkeag." 
The choice of the western side of the creek (which is now spanned 
by the Salem-Beverly bridge) was in all probability made by Conant, 
in order to avoid any complications on account of the Mason claims, 
which named the tenitory between the river and the Merrimack. He 
likewise took care to avoid any conflict with the natives, as Humphrey 
Woodbury shows in a deposition as follows: "The Indians were glad 
of the colojiists company, planted by them, and came to them for pro- 
tection against their Indian enemy up country, and we did shelter 
them when they fled, and we did have their free leave to build and 
plant, where we had taken up their lands." William Dixey, in a de- 
position, gave similar testimony concerning the harmony existing 
between the early planters and the Indians. The exact point of 
settlement of the planters when they came to Naumkeag is not 
definitely known, but there is excellent reason for believing that the 
first houses were erected on the southern side of the North river 
on the shore of the cove at the foot of what is now appropriately 
named Conant street and to the west of the present March street. 
Mr. Sidney Perley, in his papers on "Salem Before 1700," showed that 
many houses stood here early in the 17th century, and that an old 
road ran along on the shore of the North river in that locality. The 
old "Planter's Marsh" was between this site and the nearby Collins 
Cove. The present Planters street runs through this last-named 
section. The description of the little settlement, given by William 
Wood in his "New England's Prospect," published in 1634, tends 
strongly to confirm belief in the above location as the true one: 

Four miles northeaft from Saugus lieth Salem, which ftands on the middle 
of a neck of land very pleafantly, having a fouth river on the one fide, and a 
north river on the other fide; upon this neck where moft of the houfes ftand is 
very bad and fandy ground, yet for feven years together it hath brought forth ex- 
ceeding good com, with being fifhed but every third year; in fome places is 
very good ground, and good timber, and divers fprings hard by the fea fide. 
Here likewise is ftore of fifh, as Baffes, Eels, Lobsters, Clams, etc. 

Although their land is none of the beft, yet beyond thefe rivers is a very 
good foil, where they have taken farms, and get their hay, and plant their 
com; there they crofs thefe rivers with fmall canoes, which are made of whole 
pine trees, being about two feet and an half over, and twenty feet long; in thefe 
they likewife go a fowling, fometimes two leagues to fea; there be more canoes in 
this town, than in all the whole patent; every houfehold having a water horfe or 
two. 

This town wants an Alewife river, which is a great inconvenience; it hath 
two good harbours, the one being winter, the other fummer harbours, which 
lyeth within Derbin's fort, which place if it were well fortified, might keep fhips 
from landing of forces in any of thofe two places. (The author of the above, 
probably left New England in 1633.) 



SALEM BEFORE 1630 23 

The first houses were undoubtedly built close to the shore for 
greater safety in case of Indian attack, and the canoes were their 
most common means of intercourse. The members of the little colony 
of planters were building, planting and fishing, in their endeavor to 
establish themselves, and in the meantime important events were 
transpiring in England. The Council, which had been established at 
Plymouth, England, and incorporated November 3, 1620, "for the 
planting, ruling, ordering and governing of New England," sold in 
March, 1627, the following territory: "That part of New England 
three miles north of the Merrimack and three miles south of the 
Charles River in the bottom of the Massachusetts Bay." The pur- 
chasers were "some knights and gentlemen about Dorchester, viz., 
Sir Henry Roswell, Sir John Young, Knights, Thomas Southcoat, 
John Humphrey, John Endicott and Simon Whitcome, Gent." Rev- 
erend John White, the patriarch of Dorchester, England, tells us in 
his own quaint diction, the way in which the interest of these gentle- 
men was enlisted in this enterprise. I quote from his "Brief Rela- 
tion," printed in 1630. 

Some then of the adventurers that still continued their desire to set 
forward the plantation of a Colony there, conceiving that if more cattle were 
sent over to those few men left behind, they might not only be a means of the 
comfortable subsisting of such as were already lai the country, but of inviting 
some other of their friends and acquaintance to come over to them, adventured 
to send over twelve kine and bulls more; and conferring casually with some 
gentlemen in London, moved them to add unto them as many more. By 
which occasion, the business came to agitation afresh in London, and being 
at first approved by some and disliked by others, by argument and disputa- 
tion it grew to be more vulgar; insomuch that some men showing some good 
affection to the work, and offering the help of their purses if fit men might 
bo procured to go over, inquiry was made whether any would be willing to 
engage their persons in the voyage. By this inquiry it fell out that among 
others they lighted at last on Master Endicott, a man well known to idavers 
persons of good note, who manifested much willingness to accept this oifer as 
soon as it was tendered; which gave great encouragement to such as were 
upon the point of resolution to set on this work of erecting a new Colony upon 
the old foundation. Hereupon divers persons having subscribed for the raising 
of a reasonable sum of money, a patent was granted with large encourage- 
ments every way by his most excellent Majesty. 

This company under the direction of John Endicott, sailed from 
Weymouth, England, June 20, 1628, in the ship "Abigail," commanded 
by Captain Henry Gauden, or Godden, and arrived at Naumkeag on 
the 6th of September. We have abundant contemporary evidence of 
the date of the arrival. Rev. John White, in the "Planter's Plea," 
above quoted, stated that Endicott arrived "in September, 1628, and 
uniting his own men with those which were formerly planted in the 
country into one body, they made up in all not much above fifty or 
sixty persons." Governor Dudley, in a letter written to the Countess 



24 ESSEX COUNTY 

of Lincoln, March 12, 1630, in referring to the year 1628, wrote: "And 
the fame year we fent Mr. John Endicott and some with him, to 
begin a plantation; and to ftrengthen fuch as he fhould find there, 
which we fent thiether from Dorchester, fome places adjoyning; from 
whom the fame year receiving hopeful news." Governor Bradford, 
in his "letter book," after referring to some people who were sent 
to Plymouth from Leyden in 1629, wrote: "as the Lord fent thefe 
unto us, both to their and our comfort, fo at the fame time he fent 
many other godly perfons into the land, as the beginning of a plentiful 
harveft, as will appear more fully hereafter; So as the delay of our 
friends was now recompenfed with a large increafe, to the honour of 
God and joy of all good men; thefe began to pitch at Nahumkeak, 
fince called Salem, to which place v/as come in the latter end of 
lummer before, a worthy gentlemen, Mr. John Endicott by name, and 
fome others with him, to make fome preparation for the reft." 
Governor Bi^dford again mentions the historical position of this 
settlement in his "Verse on New England," reprinted in the publi- 
cations of the Massachusetts Historical Society : 

Almost ten years we lived here alone 
In other places there were few or none 
For Salem was the next of any fame, 
That began to augment New England's name. 

Another very interesting bit of evidence regarding the coming 
of the Endicott party is the following extract from the records of 
the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New 
England: "This day dd a warrant to Mr. George Harwood, Threr, 
to pay Mr. Barnard Mitchell one hundred pounds, in pte of the 

ftreight of the Hemy Gawden, Mr., from Waimouth to 

Naumkeke, the goods shipt of lading dated 20 June last, beeing 

p bill of lading 46 1-2 tuns of , besyds ye chardge of Capten 

John Endicott, his wiffe and psons his company, theire passage 

& dyett." 

"Unfortunately the space resen-^ed for the number of persons in 
the above document was not filled out, and so we are in doubt in 
regard to the exact numerical strength of the company, which was 
evidently a small one. Deputy Governor Dudley stated that there 
came "Mr, John Endecott and some with him." The Reverend John 

White wrote: '*Master Endicott _ - assisted with a few men." 

He later stated that "uniting his own men with those which were 
formerly planted in the country into one body, they made up in all 
not much above fifty or sixty persons." Hubbard probably received 
his knowledge of this early period from Roger Conant, and his allu- 
sion to the Endicott Company is therefore especially interesting. He 
wrote in his "Narrative": "With Mr. Endicot in the year 1628, came 



SALEM BEFORE 1630 25 

Mr. Gotte, Mr. Brackenbury, Mr. Davenport and others, who being 
added to Capt. Trask and John Woodberry (that was before this 
time returned with a comfortable answer to them that sent him over) 
v/ent on comfortably together to make preparation for the new 
Colony." ^ 

We learn from Hubbard in the last quotation that Messrs. Gott, 
Brackenbury and Davenpoii; came with Endicott and "some others." 
The Spragues (Ralph, Richard and William) have been placed by Felt 
and others as members of this company, and the omission of their 
names in the above list of Hubbard's caused Alexander Young in his 
''Chronicles" to assert that the claim was therefore invalidated. In 
the opinion of the writer, this does not necessarily follow. The 
Spragues may have been included in "the others" referred to, but not 
named. We know from a statement in the Charlestown records that 
the three Sprague brothers "arrived at Salem at their own charge." 
They might easily have paid their passage on the "Abigail," been 
included in the "others" referred to, and had their names omitted, as 
they were neither the employees of the company nor passengers at 
the company's expense. 

John Woodbuiy, as we have stated in the "Founders of the Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony," was one of the Cape Ann Planters who was 
sent back to England to procure supplies, returning to Naumkeag in 
1628, before Endicott arrived. The manner in which Hubbard has 
coupled Captain Trask's name with Woodbury's leads us to think that 
in all probability Captain Trask came over with Woodbury when he 
returned hither. We believe that Trask came before Endicott. 

The old planters who had come to Naumkeag two years before 
and had enjoyed their freedom under the mild domination of their 
peace-loving leader, Roger Oonant, naturally chafed under the sterner 
rule of John Endicott. The chief bone of contention was the question 
of raising tobacco. Captain Endicott having been instructed not to 
allow any one to cultivate it, while the old planters had raised it for 
two years. This controversy resulted in the giving of special con- 
cessions to the earlier settlers, as Endicott received instructions from 
England to allow the Old Planters to cultivate it, and this privilege 
was renewed later. Hubbard tells us that the disagreement was "by 

the prudent moderation of Mr. Conant, quietly composed," and 

Rev. John White wrote that when the name was changed from Naum- 
keag to Salem, it was done "upon a fair ground, in remembrance of a 
peace settled upon a conference at a general meeting between them 
and their neighbors, after expectance of some dangerous jar." 

The care exercised by the authorities of the company in England 
to guard the interests of the Old Planters was marked and was a 
substantial recognition of the value of these men. In the first letter 
of general instruction to Endicott, he was informed that they were 



26 ESSEX COUNTY 

"content they shall be partakers of such privileges as we, from his 
Majesty's especial grace, with great cost, favor of personages of note, 
and much labor, have obtained; and that they shall be incorporated 
into this Society, and enjoy not only these lands which formerly they 
have manured, but such further proportion as by the advice and 
judgment" of Endicott and the rest of the Council, should be thought 
fit. They told him further that it was their purpose that the Planters 

"should have some benefit by the common stock,._ _ if it be held 

too much to take thirty per cent, and the freight of the goods for 
and in consideration of our adventure and disbursement of our moneys, 
to be paid in beaver at six shillings per pound, that you moderate the 
said rate, as you with the rest of the Council shall think to be agree- 
able to equity and good conscience." They wrote that they would 
"unwillingly do any act in debarring such as were inhabitants before 
us of that trade, as in conscience they ought to enjoy." They also 
provided for the participation of the Old Planters in the government 
by voting that "such of the said former planters as are willing to live 
within the limits of our Plantation, shall be enabled and are hereby 
authorized, to make choice of two, such as they shall think fit, to 
supply and make up the number of twelve of the said Council." 

The necessity of peaceful co-operation for the common good 
evidently had much to do with the rapid disappearance of animosities. 
The fear of the Indians was evidently one factor, as the following 
quotation from a letter written by Rev. Thomas Cobbett to Increase 
Mather will show: 

About ye yeare 1628 when those few yt came out with Colonel Indecot and 
began to settle at Nahumkeick, now called Salem, and in a manner all so seek 
of ye journey, that though they had both small and great guns, and powder and 
bullets for ym, yet had not strength to manage ym if suddenly put upon It, 
and tidings being certainly brought ym on a Lord's day morning yt a thous- 
and Indians from Sugust were coming against ym to cut ym off, they had much 
adoe amongst ym all to charge two or three of ye great iguns and trail ym to a 
place of advantage where ye Indians must pass to ym aJid there to shoot ym off, 
when they heard their noise they made in ye woods, yt ye Indians drew near, 
ye noise of which great artillery to which ye Indians were never wonted be- 
fore, did occasionally (by ye good hand of God) strike such dread into ym yt 
by some lads, which lay as scouts in ye woods, they were heard to reiterate 
that outcrie (O Obbomock) and then fled confused back with all speed when 
none pursued. 

Sickness from scurvy and other disorders weakened the strength of 
the company and made it still more necessary that they should live on 
as good terms with each other as possible. Endicott perfoiTned excel- 
lent service for the little band and when upon learning that they had at 
Plymouth in the person of Doctor Samuel Fuller, a very skilful man, 
sent to the governor there and asked that he be sent to Salem. The 
request was granted, to the great relief of the settlei's, and later 



SALEM BEFORE 1630 27 

Endicott in a letter to Bradford wrote, "I acknowledge myself much 
bound to you for your kind love and care in sending Mr. Fuller 
amongst us." 

Morton and his people at Merry Mount added still further to 
Endicott's troubles and he administered summary justice. Endicott had 
a double right to interfere with these men in their illicit traffic with 
the Indians and their questionable festivities about the May-pole. Not 
only was the ground on which Morton's men lived within the ten-itory 
covered by his patent, but he was instructed in the first letter that if 
"necessity require a more severe course, when fair means will not pre- 
vail," to deal with such people as his discretion should think "fittest 
for the general good and safety of the Plantation." 

In order that the power oif the company might be strengthened in 
the territory about Boston Bay, Endicott was instructed to send forty 
or fifty persons to inhabit about there as soon as they should arrive 
on the ships which were being fitted out. All men who desired to 
"settle themselves there, or to send sei-vants thither," were to be given 
"all accommodation and encouragement." Endicott was instructed 
however, in the case of Englishmen whom he found planted there, 
and who were willing to live under the govei-nment, "to endeavour to 
give them all fitting and due accommodation as to any of ourselves; 
yea, if you see cause for it, though it be with more than ordinary 
privileges in point of trade." Thus we see again the great care which 
they exercised in their endeavors to avoid conflicts. This was also 
shown in the instructions concerning their dealing with the Indians. 
The same letter contained the following: "If any of the salvages pre- 
tend right of inheritance to all or any part of the lands granted in our 
patent, we pray you endeavour to purchase their title, that we may 
avoid the least scruple of intrusion." Young states that these instruc- 
tions were literally observed, and quotes a letter from the provincial 
authorities to the home government in 1767, as follows : "We are satis- 
fied there are no complaints against this Province by his Majesty's 
agents for Indian affairs; and that no settlements have been made 
or attempted by us without proper authority. It is with much pleasure 
we remind your Excellency, and infonn the world, that greater care 
was taken of the Indians by our pious ancestors during the old char- 
ter, and by this government under the new, even to this day, than was 
ev«r required of us by the British government." Endicott was ordered 
"if it might be conveniently done, to compound and conclude with them 
all, (the Indians) or as many as you can, at one time, not doubting 
by your discreet ordering of this business, the natives will be willing 
to treat and compound with you on very easy conditions." 

The powers vested in Endicott by the company were paternal as 
well as governmental, and thus his duties were greatly augmented. 
Every man was required to have some definite occupation, and it was 



28 ESSEX COUNTY 

the business of the local authorities to see that he employed himself 
diligently in it. No drones were to be permitted to live in the precincts. 
Paternalism did not stop even here, and it is a matter of sincere regret 
to all students of this early period that the following instmction was not 
candied out to the letter: "The course we have prescribed for 
keeping a daily register in each family, of what is done by all and 
every person in the family, will be a great help and remembrance to 
you, and to future posterity for the upholding and continuance of 
this good act, if once well begun and settled; which we heartily wish 
and desire, as aforesaid." In the matter of indulgence in alcoholics, 
this same fatherly oversight was to be exercised, and Endicott was 
directed that if any should "exceed in that inordinate kind of drinking 
as to become drunk," he should "take care his punishment be made 
exemplary for all others." 

Great care was taken that these rules should be generally known, 
and Endicott was told to "Let the laws be first published to forbid 
these disorders, and all others you fear may grow up; whereby they 
may not pretend ignorance of the one nor privilege to offend ; and then 
fear not to put good laws, made upon good ground and warrant in due 
execution." 

At a meeting of the company in England, held April 30, 1629, 
John Endicott was chosen Governor, with Messrs. Higginson, Skelton, 
Bright, John and Samuel Brown, Thomas Graves and Samuel Shaii) 
as members of the Council. The Governor and Council were to choose 
three more and the Planters two in addition. The official name of this 
governing body of thirteen men was the "Governor and Council of 
London's Plantation in the Massachusetts Bay in New England." His 
election as Governor was announced to him in a letter from the com- 
pany, dated May 28, 1629, which read as follows: "Wee have sithence 
our last and according as we then advised, at a full and ample Court 
assembled, elected and established you. Captain Endecott, to the place 
of the present Govemour of our Plantation there, and as also some 
others to be of the Council with you, as more particularly you will 
perceive by an Act of Court herewith sent, confirmed by us at a 
General Court, and sealed with our common seal." The oath adminis- 
tered to Governor Endicott was as follows: 

You shall be faithful and loyal unto your Sovereign Lord, the King's 
Majesty, and to his heirs and successors. You shall support and maintain, to 
your power, the government and company of the Mattachusetts Bay, in New 
England, in America,, and the privileges of the same, having no singular regard 
to yourself in derogation or hindrance of the common wealth of this Company; 
and to every person under your authority you shall administer indifferent and 
equal justice. Statutes and ordinancys shall you none make without the 
advice and consent of the Council for the government of the Mattachusetts 
Bay in New-England. You shall admit none into the freedom of this Company 
but such as may claim the same by virtue of the privileges thereof. You shall 



SALEM BEFORE 1630 29 

not bind yourself to enter into any business or process for or in the name of 
this Company, without the consent and agreement of the Council aforesaid, 
but shall endeavour faithfully and carefully to carry yourself in this place and 
office of Governor, as long as you shall continue in it. And likewise you shall 
do your best endeavour to draw the natives of this country, called New Eng- 
land, to the knowledge of the True God, and to conserve the planters and others 
coming hither, in the same knowledge and fear of God. And you shall en- 
deavour, by all good means, to advance the good of the Plantations of this 
Company, and you shall endeavour the raising of such commodities for the 
benefit and encouragement of the adventurers and planters as, through God's 
blessing on your endeavours, may be produced for the good and service of the 
kingdom of England, this Company and their Plantations. All these premises 
you shall hold and keep to the uttermost of your power and skill, so long as 
you shall continue in the place of Governor of this fellowship. So help you 
God! 

The oath administered to the members of the Council was similar 
but shorter. Richard Brackenbury, one of the men who came with 
Endicott, deposed: "that Mr. Endicott, when he arrived hither, took 
possession of Cape Ann, and in the course of the year, had the house 
built there, pulled down for his own use and also took possession of 
Cape Ann side, and soon after laid out lots for tillage there" (the 
present Beverly) . 

We have seen above that the second migration to Salem under 
Endicott was a marked advance in matter of equipment and financial sup- 
port over the little band of planters who came to Salem from Cape Ann in 
1626 under Roger Conant, and the third company under the Revs. Higgin- 
son and Skelton in 1629 was a vast deal better supplied than either of the 
others had been. The fact that the shrewd men of means in England 
were willing to invest large sums for the equipment of this third com- 
pany was a most eloquent tribute to the industry and fortitude of the 
hardy men who had preceded them to the wilderness and had demon- 
strated that New England was a region of great possibilities. White, 
in his "Brief Relation," written in 1630, proves this connection when 
he writes that "His (Endicott's) prosperous journey, and safe arrival 
of himself and all his company, and good report which he sent back 
of the countiy, gave such encouragement to the work, that more ad- 
venturers joining with the first undertakers, and all engaging them- 
selves more deeply for the prosecution of the design, they sent over the 
next year about three hundred persons more. ... By this time the 
often agitation of this affair in sundry parts of the kingdom, the good 
report of Captain Endicott's government, and the increase of the 
Colony, began to awaken the spirits of some persons of competent 
estates, not formerly engaged." 

Governor Endicott, in his first letter to the officers of the com- 
pany in England, dated September 13, 1628, and received by them 
February 13, 1628-9, requested that more men and supplies and stock 
be sent over, for Governor Craddock in his reply, dated February 16, 



30 ESSEX COUNTY 

1628-9, wrote: "to give you hearty thanks for your large advice con- 
tained in this your letter, which I have fully imparted unto them, and 
further to certify to you that they intend not to be wanting by all 
good means to further the plantation. To which purpose (God willing), 
you shall hear more at large (from) them, and that speedily; there 
being one ship bought for the Company, of 100 tons, and two others 
hired, of about 200 tons each of them, one of 19, and the other 20 pieces 
of ordnance ; besides, not unlike, but one other vessel shall come in com- 
pany with these; in all which ships, for the general stock and for 
particular adventures, there is likely to be sent thither 'twixt 2 and 300 
persons (we hope to reside there), and about 100 head of cattle." 
He mentioned the fact that he had forwarded to Governor Endicott in 
November, 1628, by Mr. Allerton, a letter, in which he stated that 
the company desired Endicott to provide "convenient housing fit to 
lodge as many as you can against they do come; and withal what 
beaver, or other commondities, or fish, (if you have the means to pre- 
serve it) can be gotten ready to return in the aforesaid ships; like- 
wise wood, if no better lading be to be had; . . . whereby our ships, 
whereof two are to return back directly hither, may not come wholly 
empty." In closing, he wrote: "And so till my next, which shall be, 
(God willing) by our ships, who I make account will be ready to set 
sail from here about the 20th of this next month of March." As a 
matter of record, however, they did not sail until the middle of April. 
In the above-mentioned letter Governor Craddock states that "It is 
fully resolved, by God's assistance, to send over two ministers, at the 
least, with the ships now intended to be sent thither." He mentioned 
Mr. Peters, but stated that "he is now in Holland, from whence his 
return hither I hold to be uncertain. Those we send you, shall be by 
the approbation of Mr. White, of Dorchester, and Mr. Davenport." 

The records of the company show that at a meeting held March 23, 
1628, "intimation was given by Mr. Nowell, by letters from Mr. Isaac 
Johnson, that Mr. Higgeson, of Leicester, an able minister, proffers to 
go to our plantation; who being approved for a reverend, grave minis- 
ter, fit for our present occasions, it was thought by those present to 
entreat Mr. John Humf ry to ride to Leicester, and if Mr. Higgeson may 
conveniently be had to go this present voyage, that he should deal with 
him ; first, if his remove from hence be without scandal to that people, 
and approved by consent of some of the best affected among them, with 
the approbation of Mr. Hildersham, of Ashby-de-la-Zouch." This Mr. 
Hildersham referred to, has been called "a great and shining light of the 
Puritan party, and justly celebrated for his singular learning and 
piety." Mr. Higginson was found to be satisfactory to all concerned. 
In the letter of instructions to Governor Endicott, he was described as 
a "grave man, and of worthy commendations." Concerning the other 
leader of this company, we read in the same letter: "One of them 



SALEM BEFORE 1630 31 

is well known to yourself, viz., Mr. Skelton, whom we have rather 
desired to bear a part in this work, for that we are informed yourself 
have formerly received much good by his ministry." A third minister 
was sent in the employ of the company, "Mr. Bright, some times train- 
ed up under Mr. Davenport." 

Other prominent men selected to go were : Mr. Samuel Sharp, "by 
us entertained to be master-gunner of our ordnance;" Mr. Thomas 
Graves, the engineer, "a man commended to us as well for his honesty, 
as skill in many things very useful ;" and Lambert Wilson, chirurgeon, 
"to remain with you in the sei-vice of the Plantation." The large 
majority .of the men selected to come were artisans, such as caii)enters, 
shipwrights, wheelwrights, shoemakers, hunters, and others whose 
labors would be of especial value in the establishment of a permanent 
settlement. The company was said (in a quotation which Prince gives) 
to number "Sixty women and maids, 26 children, and 300 men, with 
victuals, arms, apparel, tools, 140 head of cattle, &c., in the Lord 
Treasurer's warrant." The early spring days of 1629 must have been 
exceedingly busy ones for the promoters of this enterprise, who were 
purchasing and loading supplies of all kinds. Space forbids us to 
give more than brief mention of the many articles which appear in the 
lists made out by Mr. Washburne, the secretary. Great skill and fore- 
sight was displayed in the make-up of the cargoes. The ships were 
ballasted with "2 loads of chalk, 10 thousand of bricks, 5 chaldrons of 
sea-coals, nails, one ton of iron, 2 fagots of steel, 1 fodder (about 
1600 to 2000 pounds) of lead, 1 barrel of red lead, with salt, sail-cloth 
and copper." 

Articles o£ wearing apparel for 100 men were purchased, which in- 
cluded 400 pairs of shoes, 300 pairs of stockings, 200 suits of doublets 
and hose of leather, lined with oilskin leather, 100 waistcoats of green 
cotton bound with red tape, 500 red knit caps and many other things in 
proportion. The soldiers were to wear the following uniforms, of which 
one hundred were sent: 100 mandalions lined with white cotton, 
breeches and waist coats, and leather doublets and hose. For the 
military equipment of these hundred fighting men, they provided 3 
drums, 2 ensigns, 2 partisans for captain and lieutenant, 3 halberds for 
three sergeants, 90 muskets of various kinds specified, 10 fowling 
pieces, 90 bandoliers for the muskets each with a bullet bag, 10 horn 
flasks for the long fowling-pieces, 100 swords and belts, 60 corslets, 
60 pikes, twenty half pikes, 8 pieces of land ordnance fai- the fort,' 
12 barrels of powder, 900 pounds of shot, and great shot in proportion 
to the ordnance. The list of provisions included 45 tuns of beer, 22 
hogsheads of beef, 40 bushels of pease, 10 firkins of butter and many 
other articles too numerous to mention. 

Francis Higginson put us under deep obligation to him, when he 
wrote the account of this voyage, which proved to be so important to 



32 ESSEX COUNTY 

the welfare and preservation of New England. The beginning of this 
record contains so much of interest that I will quote from it as follows : 

A True Relacon of ye last voyage to New England made ye last Sumer, 
begun ye 25th of April being Saturday, Anno Doi 1629. 

The company of New England consisting of many worthy gentlemen 
in ye citty of London, Dorchester & other places, ayming at ye glory of God, 
ye propagacon of ye gospell of Christ, ye conversion of ye Indians, & ye en- 
largemt of ye Kings maties dominions in America, & being authorised by his 
royall letters patent for yt end, at their very great costs & chardgs furnished 
5 Ships to go to new England, for ye further setling of ye English plantacon yt 
had already begun there. 

The names of ye 5 Shipps were as followeth. The first is called ye Talbot, 
a good & strong shipp of 300 tunnes, & 19 pieces of ordinance & served with 
80 mariners. This ship carried about an 100 planters, 6 goates, 5 great pieces 
of ordinance, with meale, oatmeale, pease, & all manner of munitio and provisio 
for ye platacon for a twelve month. The second ye George, another strong 
ship also, about 300 tunnes, 20 pieces of ordinance, sei-ved with about 30 
mariners; her chiefe carnage were cattell, 12 mares, 30 kyne, & some goates: 
also ther gad in her 52 planters & other provision. The 3d is called ye Lyons 
whelpe, a neat & nimble ship of 120 tunnes, 8 pieces of ordinance, carrying 
in her many mariners and about 40 planters, specially from dorchester & other 
places thereabouts, wth provision, and 4 goates. The 4th is called ye 4 sisters, 
as I heare of about 300 tuns, wch fayi-e ship carried many cattell wth pas- 
sengera & provision. The 5th is called ye Mayflower, carrying passengers and 
provision. 

Now amongst these 5 ships, ye George hauing the special & urgent cause of 
hastening her passage sett sayle before ye rest about ye midst of April. And ye 
4 Sisters & ye Mayflower being not thoroughly furnished, intended as we heard to 
sett forth about 3 weeks after us: But we yt were in ye Talbot & ye Lions 
whelpe being ready for voyage by ye good hand of God's providence hoysed or 
sayle fro Graues end on Saturday ye 25th of April about 7 o'clock in ye morning. 
Having but a faynt wynd we could not go farre yt day, but at night wee ancred 
against Lie wch is 12 miles fro graues end & there we rested yt night & kept 
Sabbath ye next day. 

They slowly worked their way along the coast and May 5th Mr. 
Higginson and his wife and daughter Mary and others went on shore 
near Yarmouth, remaining there while tiie ship added provisions until 
Saturday the 9th, when they returned to the ship. The final start was 
made on the 11th. The daily journal of the voyage which Mr. Higginson 
kept is exceedingly interesting, but space forbids our quoting further 
from it, excepting the record of the last day of the voyage, which reads 
as follows: 

Monday (June 29) we came from Capan, to go to Naimkecke, the wind 
northerly. I should have told you before that the planters spying our English 
colours the Govemour sent a shalop with 2 men on Saturday to pilot us. These 
rested the Sabbath with us at Capan; and this day, by God's blessing and their 
directions, we passed the curious and difficult entrance into the large spacious 
harbour of Naimkecke. And as we passed along it was wonderful to behould 
so many islands replenished with thicke wood and high trees, and many faire 



SALEM BEFORE 1630 33 

green pastures. And being come into the harbour we saw the George to our 
great comfort the.n being come on Tuesday which was 7 daies before us. We 
rested that night with glad and thankful hearts that God had put an end to our 
long and tedious journey through the greatest sea in the world. 

June 30. The next morning the governor came aboard to our ship, and 
bade us kindly welcome, and invited me and my wiffe to come on shoare, and 
take our lodging in his house which we did accordingly. 

Visitors to Salem will attest that first impressions of the place are 
eagerly sought by the inhabitants, and we are pleased to record what 
some of the members of this company thought of the place. Francis 
Higginson, after narrating the beauties and advantages of Naumkeag, 
wrote : "Thus we see both Land and Sea abound with stores of blessings 
for the comfortable sustenance of Man's life"; and Thomas Graves, in 
a letter to England, wrote: "Thus much I can affirme in generall, that I 
neuer came in a more goodly Country in all my life, all things con- 
sidered: I never saw except in Hungaria, unto which I always 

paralell this countrie, in all or most respects, for everything that is heere 

eyther sowne or planted prospereth far better than in old England 

The healthfulness of the countrie far exceedeth all parts that ever I have 
been in." Mr. Higginson closed his "Relation of New England" with the 
following account : 

When we came first to Nehum-kek, we found about half a score houses, 
and a fair house newly built for the Governor, We found also abundance of 
corn planted by them, very good and well liking. Ajid we brought with us 
about two hundred passengers and planters more, which, by common consent 
of the old planters, were all combined together into one body politic, under 
the same Governor. There are in all of us, both old and Dew planters, about 
three hundred, whereof two hundred of them are settled at Nehum-kek- now 
called Salem, and the rest have planted themselves at Massathulets Bay, 
beginning to build a town there, which we do call Cherton or Charlestown. 
We that are settled at Salem make what haste we can to build houses, so that 
within a short time we shall have a fair town. We have great ordnance, 
wherewith we doubt not but we shall fortify ourselves in a short time to 
keep out a potent adversary. But that which is our greatest comfort and 
means of defence above all others, is that we have here the true religion and 
holy ordinances of Almighty God taught amongst us. 

We have the following account of the settlers who came with this 
third company to Salem : 

John Baker went to Charlestown in 1629. It is probable that he was 
in some way connected with the large island in Salem harbor bearing that 
name, for John Winthrop, in his journal, under date of June 12, 1630, 
wrote: "As we stood toward the harbour, we saw another shallop 
coming to us ; so we stood in to meet her, and passed through the narrow 
strait between Baker's Isle and Little Isle, and came to an anchor a little 
within the islands." Probably the name was given to Winthrop by the 
pilot who came out to take his vessel in. Baker may have erected a 
fishing shack or some similar structure on the island. 



Essex — 3 



84 ESSEX COUNTY 

Thomas Beard, aged 30 in 1629, unmarried, shoemaker, was rec- 
ommended to have 50 acres of land, "as one that transports himself at 
his own charge." He brought with him in the "Mayflower," "divers 
hides, both for soles and upper leathers, which he intends to make up 
in boots and shoes there in the countrj^" 

Alice Beckly or Beggerly, wife of John Beggerly, who did not come 
over, and from whom she was seeking a divorce. 

Goodman Black. A child of his "which had a consumpcon before it 
came to shipp, dyed," on the passage. We can find no further record of 
him. 

William Brackenbury was at Charlestown in 1629, and probably came 
v/ith this company. He was a brother of Richard who came in 1628 with 
John Endicott. He was a baker. 

Thomas Brude or Brand was a cleaver of timber, "entertained by us 
in halves with Mr. Craddock, our Governor." 

Reverend Francis Bright came in the "Lion's Whelp," and went 
with the party to Charlestown. 

John Browne, gentleman, and Mr. Samuel Browne, his brother, of 
Roxwell, England, came at their own charge. They were conformists to 
the Church of England, and for attem.pting to form a church party in 
Salem v/ere sent back to England by Governor Endicott. A full account 
of the controversy has been given in "John Endicott and the Men Who 
Came to Salem in the Abigail in 1628." 

Barnaby Claydon, aged twentj^-three, came from Sutton, Bedford- 
shire. He was a wheelwright by trade. In the company's second 
general letter he was directed to work for Mr. Sharpe. 

Richard Claydon, aged thirty-four, brought his wife, daughter, sis- 
ter, and the above-named brother with him. He was a carpenter and 
wheelwright by trade and came under contract to work, said document 
bearing date of March 12, 1628. He was to instruct the company's 
sei-vants in the trade of a ploughwright. 

Edward Converse, evidently came with this company, for he was in 
CharlestoViOi in 1629. 

William Dady, a butcher by trade, was in Charlestown in 1630, and 
Wyman thinks that he may have come with the Higginson Company in 
1629. 

Captain William Dixey became one of the most prominent men in 
Beverly, holding many offices of honor and trust during his long life. 

William Dodge was the son of John and Margery Dodge of Somerset- 
shire. In the second letter of instruction to Goveraor Endicott, dated 
London, May 28, 1629, the secretary stated that Mr. White wished to 
have the following direction inserted : "That you would show all lawful 
favor and respect unto the planters that come in the Lion's Whelp, out 
of the Counties of Dorset and Somerset, that you would appoint unto 



SALEM BEFORE 1630 35 

William Dodge, a skilful and painful husbandman, the charge of a team of 
horses." 

William Eedes came as a servant to Sir Richard Saltonstall. He was 
a carpenter or wheelwright. 

Richard Ewstead, a v/heelwright, came commended by Mr. Daven- 
port to work on shares for the companj^ and Governor Craddock. In the 
company's letter he is described as "a very able man, though not without 
his imperfections. We pray you take notice of him and regard him as he 
shall well deserve." 

George Farr was a shipwright, sent over under contract. 

Hugh Garrett became an inhabitant of Charlestown in 1629 and was 
the tenth on the list of the first thirteen. He was a shoemaker, and 
perished in a storm, January 28, 1630-1. His daughter Hannah died "a 
fatherless child" 12 month, 1632. 

Mr. Goffe is mentioned (probably Deputy Governor Thomas Goffe). 
He never came over, but his dog evidently started, for in the journal of 
the voyage we read that on May 26th "Mr. Goffes great dogg fell over 
board & could not be recouered." 

Mr. Thomas Graves, the engineer, was one of the most valuable and 
useful men of this migration. He was to "have his charges borne, out 
and home; being a man of experience in iron works, in salt works, in 
measuring and surveying of lands, and in fortifications, &c., in lead, cop- 
per and alum mines." He was chosen a member of Governor Endicott's 
Council, April 30, 1629. 

Thomas Hanscombe was brother-in-law of Richard Claydon, and was 
mentioned as one of a number to come with him. We find no further 
record of him and do not know that he actually came. 

Richard Haward, from Bedfordshire, was mentioned as a man who 
would "well and orderly demean" himself. He was sent over with his 
family to Salem in 1629, by the Massachusetts Bay Company. 

Henry Haughton was the first Ruling Elder of the church at Salem. 
According to the instruction of the company, he was to take Mr. Samuel 
Sharpe's place in various ways if the latter should be sick or absent. He 
died in the first winter, leaving one child. 

Reverend Francis Higginson, the leader of this migration, was the 
son of Reverend John Higginson, Vicar of Claybrooke, Leistershire, and 
was baptized at that place August 6, 1586. He was educated at Jesus 
College, taking his B. A. degree in 1609, and his M. A. in 1613. He was 
ordained deacon September 25, 1614, and priest on the 8th of the follow- 
ing December. He was installed to the rectory of Barton-in-Fabis, Not- 
tingham County, and deanery of Brigham, which he resigned August 4, 
1616. Mr. E. C. Felton stated that it is certain that Francis Higginson, 
although he had the rectory of Barton-in-Fabis conferred upon him, was 
never inducted, and therefore never received any of the fruits of the 
benefice nor, we may take it, discharged any of the duties. His successor 



86 ESSEX COUNTY 

was instituted, on his resignation, just a year afterwards, April 4, 1616. 
He further goes on to state that "The record of Higginson's institution 
states, in the accustomed form, that a mandate was sent to the Arch- 
bishop to induct him, so that failure to act upon it can only have arisen 
because Higginson himself did not seek induction." Later he was con- 
nected with the parish of St. Nicholas. Colonel Thomas Wentworth Hig- 
ginson, in his "Descendants of the Reverend Francis Higginson," states: 
"It is clear that he became more and more dissatisfied with the Estab- 
lished Church as it then was, until finally he became 'a conscientious non- 
conformist.' " He founded at Salem, the first church in the Massachu- 
setts Bay Colony, and did us an invaluable service in his writings. He 
contracted consumption, probably on board the ship, from other cases 
which he mentions as occurring among the passengers, and died, deeply 
lamented, August 6, 1630. His son. Reverend John, later distinguished 
himself in his father's pulpit. 

Simon Hoyte evidently came with this company, as his name appears 
in the list of the original thirteen in Charlestown. 

Richard Ingersol came from Bedfordshire and was commended in the 
company's letter. 

Lawrence Leech. Reference was made to him in the Company's let- 
ter as follows: "We desire you to take notice of one Lawrence Leech, 
whom we have found a careful and painful man, and we doubt not but 
he will continue his diligence ; let him have deserving respect." 

John Meech was in Charlestown in 1629, and probably came in this 
company. We know nothing further about him. 

(Sydrach Miller, "a cooper and cleaver; who, demanding £45 for him 
and his man the first year, £50 a year the second and third year," was 
"held too dear for the Company to be at charges withal." This reference 
occurs in the records of the meeting of the Company held March 2, 1628, 
(-9). He is not referred to again, and we do not know that he came. 
The writer believes that he did not.) 

Robert Moulton was the "chief" of the six ship-wrights sent by the 
Company. Soon after that, he removed to Charlestown and is believed 
to have resided on "Moulton's Point," the present site of the Navy Yard. 

(George) Norton. In the Company's letter to Governor Endicott we 
read "there is one Norton, a carpenter, whom we pray you respect as he 
shall deseve." Pope believed that this was "George" Norton, who was 
made a freeman in Salem, May 14, 1634. 

Abraham Palmer was a merchant and a member of the Company in 
England. He adventured £50 in the joint stock and was one of the four- 
teen to sign the instructions to John Endicott, May 30, 1628. He came 
to New England (in all probability with Higginson) and went to Charles- 
town, where he became prominent. 

Walter Palmer was with Abraham among the thirteen first settlers 
of Charlestown. 



SALEM BEFORE 1630 37 

Mr. Richard Palsgrave was a physician. His name appears third on 
the list of the first thirteen inhabitants of Charlestown, in 1629. He 
came from Stepney, Middlesex, England. 

John Pratt, surgeon. From the records of the Court of Assistants, 
held in London, March 5, 1629, we learn that an attempt was made to in- 
duce a surgeon to sail for Salem : "A proposicon beeing made to inter- 
tayne a surgeon for the plantacon, Mr. (John) Pratt was propounded as 
an abell man vppon theis condicons, namely. That 40 pounds should bee 
allowed him, viz — for his chist 25 pounds, the rest for his own sallery for 
the first yeere, prouided he continues 3 yeeres, the Companie to bee at 
charge of transporting his wiffe and (servant), haue 20 pounds a yeere 
for the other 2 yeeres, and to build him a howse at the Companie's 
chardge and to allott him 100 acres of ground. But if he stay but one 
yeere, then the Ck)mpanie to bee at charge of his bringing back for 
England and he to leave his servant and chist for the Companie's 
saruice." 

Isaac Rickman was recommended by Mr. Simon Whetcombe to re- 
ceive "diet and house-room at the charge of the Company." That body 
agreed, however, that they would pay £10 per annum for diet and lodging. 
He probably returned to England soon, as no more is heard of him. 

William Ryall (Rial or Royal) was a cooper and cleaver of timber 
who was employed by the Company and (Governor Craddock in equal 
shares. The district in Beverly lying to the eastward of Danvers river 
and north of Bass river is named for him — Rial Side. In 1636 he re- 
moved to what is now Yarmouth, Maine, and the river which flowed by 
his house has ever since borne the name of Royal's river. 

John Sales or Sale was one of the original thirteen at Charlestown. 

Mr. Samuel Sharpe was a valuable man in the little colony, having 
charge of the artillery. We first learn of him in the records of the Com- 
pany in London, February 26, 1628 (-9), as follows: "For our five pieces 
of ordnance, long since bought and paid for, Mr. John Humphrey is en- 
treated and doth promise forthwith to cause them to be delivered to 
Samuel Sharpe, who is to take care for having fit carriages made for 
them." March 3, we read: "Mr. Samuel Sharpe, with whom there hath 
been an agreement made in the behalf of the Company to give him £10 
per year for three years, to have the oversight of the ordnance to be 
planted in the fort to be built upon the Plantation, and what else may 
concern artillery business to give his advice in ; but for all other employ- 
ments was left to be entertained (i. e. employed) by any other particular 
brethren of the Company, who for other occasions had entertained him 
already, and held not fit (proper) to be at further charge in that kind. 
The said Sharpe is also entertained to oversee the (servants) and employ- 
ments of certain particular men of the Company. But for the general 
(CJompany's concern) presented a bill for three drums and other par- 



38 ESSEX COUNTY 

ticulars, amounting to five pounds, nineteen shillings; which the treas- 
urer hath order to pay." 

A few days later Mr. Sharpe requested of the Company that "all or 
the better part of his salary might be paid him now, to provide him 
apparel withal ; and if he should happen to die before he had deserved it, 
his said apparel should satisfy it. Upon debate whereof, it was thought 
fit that twenty pounds should be paid him ; and this to be the Treasurer's 
warrant for payment thereof, upon his salary of £10 a year, for three 
years." At a meeting held April 30, 1629, he was elected a member of 
Governor Endicott's Council. He was elected an assistant of the Com- 
pany in England, but being out of the country was not able to serve, as 
he could not take the oath, and Roger Ludlow was elected in his place, 
February 10, 1630. The Company intrusted to him the duplicate char- 
ter to be delivered to Governor Endicott and he also had charge of the 
Company's seal. Further evidence of the great confidence reposed in 
him was shown by the following instruction: "If, at the arrival of this 
ship, Mr. Endicott should be departed this life (which God forbid,) or 
should die before the other ships arrive, we authorize you, Mr. Skelton, 
and Mr. Samuel Sharpe, to take care of our affairs, and to govern the 
I)eople according to order, until further order." 

Mr. Sharpe was to employ as much of his time as was necessary in 
the office of master-gunner and "the rest he is to follow other employ- 
ments of our Governor's (i. e., Governor Craddock, whose agent he was) 
and others, for whose employment he is particularly sent out." If any 
provisions were left "that was provided for the passengers accommoda- 
tion." Mr. Sharpe was to have half for the use of Mr. Craddock and 
partners. The fort in which Mr. Sharpe set up the ordnance above men- 
tioned was near what is now Sewall Street. 

Reverend Samuel Skelton was baptized in 1592-3. He matriculated 
at Clare Hall, Cambridge University, as a sizer, July 7, 1608. He took 
his degree of B. A. in 1611, and M. A. in 1615. Mr. E. C. Felton, who has 
made an exhaustive study of the Skeltons in England, states that "It 
was not religious persecution which compelled Skelton to leave England. 
He was a Puritan of the Puritans, but there is no evidence that he was 
ever brought in collision with the ecclesiastical authorities." Mr. 
Felton thought it probable that Mr. Skelton while at Tattersholl was 
private chaplain to the Earl of Lincoln. Simon Bradstreet the younger, 
who became so important a figure in New England history, was, it is 
said, as a youth, in the household of the Earl. In the letter to Governor 
Endicott the following is found: "One of them (the ministers) is well 
known to you, viz. Mr. Skelton, who we have the rather desired to bear 
a part in this work, for that we are informed yourself have formerly re- 
ceived much good by his ministry." No one has as yet been able to find 
where or when the Governor had come under the influence of Mr. Skel- 
ton. 



SALEM BEFORE 1630 39 

Mr. Skelton came in the ship "George Bonaventure" and arrived here 
on the 24th of June, and was chosen and ordained pastor on the 20th of 
July, 1629. In 1630 he was granted all of the land east of what is now 
Summer street in Salem from the mill pond probably as far north as what 
is now Creek oi' NoiTnan streets. His home was probably by the water 
near the present Mill street. Edward Johnson described him as "a man 
of a gracious speech, full of faith, and furnished by the Lord with gifts 
from above to begin this great work of His, that makes the whoJe earth 
to ring again at the present day." In the County Court papers in Salem, 
the writer found the following: "The ould houfe in Salem which once 
was Mr. Skelton's being in eminent danger of present falling to the en- 
dangering of the lives of Children & Cattell and others, ordered yt within 
Ten Days should, house fail to be taken downe the penal tie of ffyfe 
pounds, etc., etc." (27th, 6th mo., 1644.) 

Reverend Ralph Smith. Allusion is made to him in the first general 
letter of the Company to Governor Endicott, as follows: "Mr. Ralph 
Smith, a minister, hath desired passage in our ships ; which was granted 
him before we understood of his difference in judgment in some things 
about our ministers. But his provisions for his voyage being shipped 
before notice was taken thereof, through many occasions wherewith 
those entrusted with this business have been employed, and for as much 
as from hence it is feared there may grow some distraction amongst you 
if there should be any siding, although we have a very good opinion of 
his honesty, yet we shall not, (we) hope, offend in charity to fear the 
worst that may grow from their different judgments. We have there- 
fore thought fit to give this order, that unless he Vk^ill be comfortable to 
our government you suffer him not to remain within the limits of our 
grant." He came in the ship with Mr. Higginson, who refers to him as 
follows, under date of May 21, 1629: "Thursday, there being two min- 
isters in the ship, Mr. Smith & my selfe, we endeavoured together with 
others to consecrate the day as a solemne fasting & humiliacon to al- 
mighty God, as a furtherance of or present worke." 

Nicholas Stov/ers and John Strickland, Stickland or Stickling, were 
both included in the original list of the inhabitants of Charlestown in 
1629 and probably came with this company. 

Hugh Tilly came in the "Lion's Whelp" as a servant to Sir Richard 
Saltonstall. Shortly after his arrival, he was appointed to help in setting 
up a saw mill. 

Richard Waterman was a hunter. In the Company's letter we read 
the follovving, directly after the words of commendation concerning 
Lawrence Leech which we have quoted: "The like we say of Richard 
Waterman, whose chief employment will be to get you good venison." 

(John Whitcomb) who was in Dorchester as a proprietor in 1636-9, 
and later went to Scituate, may have been the "Mr. Whitcomb" who was 
to see the leather discharged at Salem in 1629. See Suffolk Deeds, I.,xix. 



40 ESSEX COUNTY 

Mr. Lambert Wilson, surgeon, was mentioned in the Company's let- 
ter as follows: "We have entertained Lambert Wilson, chirurgeon, to 
remain with you in the service of the Plantation; with whom we are 
agreed that he shall serve this Company and the other planters that live 
in the Plantation, for three years, and in that time apply himself to cure 
not only such as come from hence for the general and particular accounts, 
but also for the Indians, as from time to time he shall be directed by 
yourself or your successor and the rest of the Council. And moreover he 
is to educate and instruct in his art one or more youths, such as you and 
the Council shall appoint, that may be helpful to him and, if occasion 
serve, succeed him in the Plantation; which youth or youths, fit to 
learn that profession, let be placed with him; of which Mr. Hug- 
gesson's son, if his father approve thereof, may be one, the rather be- 
cause he hath been trained up to literature ; but if not he then such other 
as you shall judge most fittest." Winthrop states that Mr. Wilson, "our 
chief surgeon," was in the war with the Pequots in 1637. 

The size of this company, composed as it was of a large number of 
men, skilled in divers occupations, and the great value of the large car- 
goes of much needed and very useful supplies, greatly strengthened the 
settlement. Many of the men who came became prominent in the affairs 
of the town and colony, and their descendants, leaders in many walks in 
life, are scattered all over this glorious land, which they themselves ably 
assisted in founding. F. A. G. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ORGANIZATION OF ESSEX COUNTY. 

First Incorporated Towns — Courts Established — The New Charter — 
Public Buildings Erected — State Institutions in the County — Sta- 
tistics. 

The object of this chapter is to begin with the judicial power vested 
in the Court of Assistants in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1639, and 
trace the various changes in sub-divisions and the government of such 
parts of the territory as were from time to time organized to operate in a 
sense, separate from and independent of the general colony. 

September 9, 1639, it was enacted that "for as much as the business 
of the ordinary Court of Assistants are so much increased as they can- 
not be dispatched in such season as were fit, it is therefore ordered that 
such of the magistrates as shall reside in or near to Boston, or any five, 
four or three of them, the Governor or Deputy to be one, shall have power 
to assemble together upon the last fifth day of the eighth, eleventh, sec- 
ond and fifth months every year, and then and there to hear and de- 
termine all civil causes, whereof the debt or trespass and damages shall 



ORGANIZATION OF ESSEX COUNTY 41 

not exceed twenty pounds, and all criminal causes, not extending to life or 
member ox banishment, according to the cause of the Court of Assistants, 
and to summon juries out of the neighbor towns, and the Marshal or 
necessary officers are to give their attendance as at other courts." 

March 3, 1635, it was enacted that "there shall be four courts kept 
every quarter, one at Ipswich, to which Newbury shall belong; two at 
Salem, to which Saugus shall belong ; two at Newtown, to which Charles- 
town, Concord, Medf ord and Watertown shall belong ; four at Boston, to 
which Roxbury, Dorchester, Weymouth and Hingham shall belong." 

There were also to be four great Quarter Courts kept yearly in Bos- 
ton by the Governor and the rest of the magistrates ; "the first, the first 
Tuesday in the fourth month, called June ; the second, the first Tuesday 
in September ; the third, the first Tuesday in December ; the fourth, the 
first Tuesday in the first month, called March." This was when the old 
calendar was in use. 

June 2, 1641, it was enacted that "whereas it is desired by this Court 
to ease the country of all unnecessary travels and charges, it is ordered 
that there shall be four Quarter Courts kept yearly by the magistrates 
of Ipswich and Salem, with such others to be joined in commission with 
them as this Court shall appoint, not hindering any other magistrates 
that will help them ; this order to take effect after the next Quarter Court 
shall be ended at Salem and Ipswich, two of these Quarter Courts to be 
kept in Salem and the other two at Ipswich; the first Court to be kept 
the last third day of the seventh month at Ipswich (and the next at the 
same time the former courts were) and the next at Salem, the third quar- 
ter at Ipswich, the fourth at Salem, and the magistrates of Ipswich and 
Salem to attend every of these courts, but no jurymen to be warned from 
Ipswich to Salem, nor from Salem to Ipswich ; to each of these a grand 
jury shall be warned once a year, and these courts to have the same 
power both in criminal causes the Court of Assistants hath at Boston 
Court; provided it shall be lawful to appeal from any of these courts to 
Boston ; the fines of these Courts to defray the charges of the same, and 
the overplus to be returned to the treasurer for the public. And Salis- 
bury and Hampton are joined to this jurisdiction of Ipswich, and each of 
them to send a grand juryman once a year to Ipswich." 

These enactments show the arrangement and distribution of judicial 
I)owers at the time of the division of the Massachusetts Bay Colony into 
counties, in 1643. May 10th that year it was enacted "that the whole 
plantation within this jurisdiction is divided into four shires, to wit: 

Essex Shire — Salem, Lynn, Enon, Ipswich, Rowley, Newbury, 
Gloucester and Chochicawick. 

Middlesex — Charlestown, Cambridge, Watertown, Sudbuiy, Con- 
cord, WobuiTi, Medf ord, Lynn Village. 

Suffolk — Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, Dedham, Braintree, Wey- 
mouth, Hingham, Nantasket. 



42 ESSEX COUNTY 

Norfolk — Salisbury, Hampton, Haverhill, Exeter, Dover, Strawberri* 
Bank. 

These were all of the incorporated towns in the Massachusetts Colony, 
In the shire of Essex, Salem was incorporated June 24th, 1629, as a 
town, and March 23, 1836, as a city ; Lynn, in November, 1637, as a town, 
and in April, 1850, as a city ; Enon (later known as Wenham) was incor- 
porated May 10, 1643; Ipswich, August 5, 1634; Rowley, September 4, 
1639, as a town; Newbury, May 6, 1635; Gloucester, May 22, 1639, as a 
town, and May 26, 1871, as a city; and Chochicawick (later Andover), 
May 6, 1646, after the incoi-poration of Essex county. 

In Middlesex, Charlestown was incorporated June 24, 1629; Cam- 
bridge, September 8, 1633 ; Watertown, September 7, 1630; Sudbury, Sep- 
tember 4, 1639 ; Concord, September 2, 1635 ; Wobum, May 18, 1642 ; 
Medf ord, September 28, 1630 ; Linn Village (after incorporated as Read- 
ing), May 29, 1644. 

In Norfolk, Salisbury was incorporated October 7, 1640; Hampton, 
September 4, 1639 ; Haverhill, in 1645, as a town, and March 10, 1869, as 
a city ; Exeter, and Dover and Strawberry Bank (now Portsmouth) be- 
came afterwards a part of New Hampshire. 

In addition to the towns above named as a part of Essex County; 
Amesbury was incorporated April 29, 1668; Boxford, August 12, 1685; 
Beverly, October 14, 1668 ; Bradford, in 1675 (now a part of Haverhill) ; 
Danvers, 1757; Essex, 1819; GeorgetowTi, 1838; Groveland, 1850; Hamil- 
ton, 1792 ; Lawrence, incorporated as a town April 17, 1847, and as a city 
March 21, 1853; Lynnfield, July 3, 1782; Manchester, May 14, 1645; 
Marblehead, May 2, 1649; Merrimac, April 11, 1876; Methuen, December 
8, 1825; Middleton, June 20, 1728; Nahant, March 29, 1853; Newbury- 
port, January 28, 1764, as a town, and May 24, 1852, as a city; North 
Andover, April 7, 1855 ; West Newbury, as Parsons, February 18, 1819, 
and under its present name June 14, 1820 ; Peabody, March 18, 1855, as 
South Danvers, and its present name given April 13, 1868; Rockport, 
February 27, 1840 ; Saugus, February 17, 1815 ; South Danvers, May 18, 
1855 ; Swampscatt, May 21, 1852 ; Topsfield, October 18, 1650 ; West New- 
bury, June 14, 1820. 

The account given in all previous histories shows that as the towns 
of Amesbury, Haverhill and Salisbury were the only towns in Norfolk 
county outside of the territoiy of New Hampshire, vvhich became a Royal 
province in 1679, the following act was passed by the General Court on 
February 4, 1679 : 

This Court being sensible of the great inconvenience and charge that it will be 
to Salisbury, Haverhill and Amesbury to continue their County Court, now some of 
the to-wns of Norfolk are taken off, and considering that these towns did formerly 
belong to Essex county, and attended at Essex courts, do order that these towns that 
are left be again joined to Essex and attend public business at Essex courts, there to 
implead and be impleaded, as occasion shall be; their records of lands being still kept 



ORGANIZATION OF ESSEX COUNTY 43 

in some one of their own towns on the north of Merrimack, and all persons according 
to course of law are to attend in Essex county. 

By this act Norfolk County, as incorporated in 1643, was extin- 
guished, to be revived in another section of the State by an act of incor- 
poration dated March 26, 1793. The act above mentioned alludes to a 
former union of Amesbury, Haverhill and Salisbury with Essex, which 
never actually existed. The allusion is probably to old court connections 
which existed before the incorporation of the county, in 1643. Ames- 
bury was a part of the old town of Salisbury; Boxford of the old town of 
Rowley; Beverly a part of Salem, and afterwards of Danvers; Bradford, 
a part of Rowley; Danvers, a part of Salem; Essex, a part of Ipswich; 
Georgetown, a part of Rowley; Groveland, a part of Bradford and Box- 
ford; Hamilton, a part of Ipswich; Lawrence, a part of Andaver, North 
Andover and Methuen; Lynnfield, a part of Lynn; Manchester, a part of 
Salem; Marblehead, a part of Salem; Merrimack, a part of Amesbury; 
Methuen, a part of Haverhill; Middleton, a part of Salem, Topsfield, Box- 
ford and Andover; Nahant, a part of Lynn ; Newburyport, a part of New- 
bury; North Andover, a part of Andover; Peabody (formerly South 
Danvers and a part of Danvers) ; Rockport, a part of Gloucester; Saugus, 
a part of Lynn and Chelsea; Swampscott, a part of Lynn and Salem; 
Topsfield was New Meadows; Wenham was Enon, mentioned in the act 
incorporating the county; and West Newbury was a part of Newbury, in- 
corporated as Parsons, and changed to its present name June 14, 1820. 

Since the addition of the towns of Amesbury, Salisbury and Haver- 
hill in 1679, the only change in the boundaries of the county of Essex is 
that already referred to, caused by the annexation of a part of Chelsea, 
in Suffolk County, to Saugus. 

The State historians mention Essex County as follows: "Essex 
county, of which Salem, Lawrence and Newburyport are the shire towns, 
is situated in the northeast comer of Massachusetts, and is bounded on 
the northeast by the Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by Massachusetts 
Bay, on the southwest by Suffolk and Middlesex counties, and on the 
northwest by New Hampshire." It contains about five hundred square 
miles, traversed by the Merrimac river, which flows into the ocean at 
Newburyport; the Shawsheen, which enters the Merrimac at Lawrence; 
the Parker river; Bass river, and the Ipsv/ich river. 

After the formation, in 1643, of the counties, the above courts con- 
tinued, though the Strangers' Courts were modified, and the Quarter 
Courts, in their respective counties, were called County or Inferior Quar- 
ter Courts. It had also been provided by an act passed September 9, 
1639, "that records be kept of all wills, administrations, inventories, of 
every marriage, birth and death, and of all men's houses and lands." It 
had before the above date been provided by a law passed April 1, 1634 : 

That the constable and four or more of the chief inhabitants of every town (to 
be chosen by all the fj:eemen there at some meeting there) with the advice of some 



44 ESSEX COUNTY 

one or more of the next assistants, shall make a surveying of the houses, back side, 
com fields, mowing grounds and other lands improved or enclosed on, granted by 
special orders of the court, of every free inhabitant there, and shall enter the same 
in a book (fairly writteai in words at length and not in figures), with the several 
bounds and quantities by the nearest estimation, and shall deliver a transcript thereof 
into the court, where in six months next now ensuing; and the same so entered and 
recorded shall be a sufficient assurance to every such free inhabitant, his and their 
heirs and assigns of such estate of inheritance or as they shall have in any such 
houses, lands or frank tenements. The like course shall be taken for assurance 
of all houses and town lots of all such as shall be hereafter enfranchised, and every 
sale or grant of such houses or lots as ishall be, from time to time, entered into the 
said book by the said constable, and four inhiabitants or their successors (who shall 
be still supplied upon death or removal), for which entry the purchasers shall pay 
six pence and the like sum for a copy thereof under the hands of the said surveyors 
or three of them. 

The recorder was the clerk of the court. In 1641 it was provided 
that in every town "a clerk of the writs" should be appointed, and a part 
of his duty was to record all births and deaths, and yearly deliver to the 
recorder of the court a transcript thereof. It was also provided that 
every married man bring a certificate, under the hand of the magistrate 
who married him, to the clerk of the writs, to be recorded and returned 
by him to the recorder. Thus it will be seen how extensive the jurisdic- 
tion of the county court was made. Aside from its ordinary judicial 
powers, it had charge of the records of deeds of probate matters and the 
laying out of highways, and included the departments now held by the 
judge and register of probate, the register of deeds, the clerk of the 
courts, and county commissioners. 

With regard to the treasurers, their duties up to 1654 were per- 
formed by the treasurer of the whole Colony or of the county. In that 
year it was provided "that henceforth there shall be treasurers annually 
chosen in every county, provided that no clerk or recorder of any county 
court shall be treasurer of the county." The officer now called sheriff 
was in the days of the Colony called marshal. There was a marshal of 
the General Court alone, up to the formation of the counties, in 1643, 
and after that date each court apparently appointed its own marshal, 
though it is possible that even before that time every Quarter Court had 
its own officer bearing that name. So far as Essex County is concerned, 
it is proper to state that the present registry of deeds contains the en- 
tire records from 1638, and that the original probate records prior ta 
1671 are to be found in the office of the clerk of the courts, where they 
were originally kept. The registry of probate was located in Ipswich 
until 1851, when, under general powers conferred by law, the county 
commissioners removed it to Salem. 

Another court may be mentioned, to complete the Colonial judicial 
system so far as it concerned the county. On September 6, 1638, it was 
ordered "that for avoiding of the countries charge by bringing small 
charges to the Court of Assistants, that any magistrate in the town 



ORGAT^IZATION OF ESSEX COUNTY 45 

where he may hear and determine by his discretion all causes wherein 
the debt, or trespass, or danger, etc., doth not exceed twenty shillings, 
and in such town where no magistrate dwells, the General Court shall,' 
from time to time, nominate three men ; two thereof shall have like power 
to hear and determine all such actions under twenty shillings ; and if any 
of the parties shall find themselves grieved with any such end or sentence, 
they may appeal to the next Quarter Court, or Court of Assistants. And 
if any person shall bring any such action to the Court of Assistants 
before he hath endeavored to have it ended at home (as in this order is 
appointed), he shall lose his action and pay the defendant's costs." 

In 1691 a new charter was issued, embracing Massachusetts, Ply- 
mouth, Maine, Nova Scotia, and the intervening territory, in one govern- 
ment under the name of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New 
England. This charter reached Boston May 14, 1692, and under its pro- 
visions the government consisted of a governor, deputy-governor and 
secretary appointed by the King, and assistants or councilors chosen by 
the General Court, and a House of Representatives chosen annually by 
the people. The governor had the power of veto, and all acts and elec- 
tions by the General Court must be transmitted to England and approved 
or disallowed by the King. 

The first court established under the charter was a special court of 
Oyer and Tei-miner, organized by Governor William Phipps, the first gov- 
ernor of the Province, before any law had been passed authorizing it, for 
the purpose of trying, chiefly in Essex County, persons charged with 
witchcraft. June 2, 1692, the governor issued his commission appointing 
William Stoughton chief justice, and Nathaniel Saltonstall (who declined 
and was succeeded by Jonathan Curwin), John Richards, Bartholomew 
Gedney, Wait Winthrop, Samuel Sewall and Peter Sargeant, associate 
justices; Stephen Sewall, clerk; Thomas Newton, attorney-general* 
George Corwin, sheriff. The first meeting of this court was held at 
Salem on June 2, 1692, and its last meeting September 17, following 
which the court was dissolved. During this time the expense of the 
court for Essex county was £130, and nineteen persons were tried, con- 
demned and hanged, and one was pressed to death. 

November, 1692, a law was passed establishing Courts of Justices 
of the Peace, four courts of Quarter Sessions of the Peace for each 
county, an Inferior Court of Common Pleas for each county, a Superior 
Court of Judicature for the whole province, and a High Court of Chan- 
cery for the province. This act, however, was soon dissolved. June, 
1697, another was passed, establishing County Courts, which was also 
disallowed. It appears that the chief business in those days was to 
plan for the change in the court systems. The Inferior Court of Common 
Pleas continued until 1782, when the Court of Common Pleas was estab- 
lished, to be held within each county at specified times and places, with 
four judges appointed by the Govenior from within the county. This 



46 ESSEX COUNTY 

Lawrence; Southern district. Moody Kimball, Newburyport; County 
court continued until June, 1811, when an act was passed providing that 
the commonwealth, except Dukes county and the county of Nantucket, 
should be divided into six circuits. 

The ofRce of county commissioner was first established March 4, 
1826. These were to be appointed by the governor, by and with the con- 
sent of the Council, four persons in each of the counties of Essex, Wor- 
cester, Middlesex, Suffolk, NorfoJk and Nantucket. There were also two 
persons appointed to act as special county commissioners. 

In 1835 it was provided by law that in every county except Suffolk 
and Nantucket the judge of probate, register of probate, and clerk of the 
Court of Common Pleas, should be a Board of Examiners. The people 
were to elect the three county commissioaiers and two special commis- 
sioners for a term of three years. This law remained until 1854, when 
it was provided that commissioners should be elected alternately. The 
subjoined is a list of the county commissioners serving since the first 
boai'd in 1828: 1828-33— Asa W. Wildes, of Newburyport; Joseph Winn, 
of Salem; Stephens Baker, of Ipswich; William B. Breed of Lynn. 
1834 — John W. Proctor, of South Danvers, in place of William Breed. 
1835-37 — Moses Newell, of West Newbury, in place of Asa W. Wildes. 
1838-40— Asa T. Newhall, of Lynn. 1841-43— Charles Kimball, of Ips- 
wich; Robert Patten, of Amesbury; William Whipple, of Rockport. 
1844-46 — Asa W. Wildes, of Newburyport, and Benj. F. Newhall, of 
Saugus. 1847-49 — John I. Baker, of Beverly. 1850-54 — Benjamin 
Mudge of Lynn. 

In 1854 the law was so changed that the county commissioners were 
elected in such manner as to have one member go off the board each 
year and another chosen by the people for a term of three years. John 
I. Baker, by lot, drew the first class, Benjamin Mudge the second class, 
and Asa W. Wildes the third class. At the 1854 election and at sub- 
sequent elections, the following were chosen as commissioners: 1854, 
Stephens Baker, of Beverly ; 1855, Eben B. Currier, of Lawrence ; 1856, 
George Haskell, of Ipswich; 1857, Stephens Baker; 1858, Eben B. Cur- 
rier ; 1859, Abram D. Wait, of Ipswich ; 1860, James Kimball, of Salem ; 
1861, Jackson B. Swett; 1862, Abram D. Wait; 1863, James Kimball; 
1864, Jackson B. Swett; 1865, Abram D. Wait; 1866, James Kimball; 
1867, Jackson B. Swett; 1868, Charles P. Preston, of Danvers; 1869, 
James Kimball; 1870, Jackson B. Swett; 1871, Charles P. Preston; 1872, 
James Kimball; 1873, Zachariah Graves, of Lynn; 1874, Joseph 0. Proc- 
tor, of Gloucester ; 1875, James Kimball ; 1876, Zachariah Graves ; 1877, 
Joseph O. Proctor; 1881, John W. Raymond, of Beverly; 1882, Edward 
B. Bishop, of Haverhill; 1883, George J. L. Colby; 1884, John W. Ray- 
mond; 1885, Edward B. Bishop; 1886, David W. Low, of Gloucester, in 
place of George J. L. Colby ; 1886, John W. Raymond ; 1887, George J. L. 
Colby; 1887, David W. Low; 1888, John W. Raymond; 1889, Ed B.. 



ORGANIZATION OF ESSEX COUNTY 4i 

Bishop; 1890, David W. Low; 1891, Horace F. Longfellow; 1892, Ed B. 
Bishop ; 1893, John M. Danforth ; 1894, Samuel D. Smith ; 1895, Ed B. 
Bishop ; 1896, John M. Danforth ; 1897, Samuel D. Smith ; 1899, Wallace 
Bates; 1900, E. E. Sawyer; 1901, E. B. Bishop; 1902, Wallace Bates; 
1903, E. B. Sawyer; 1904, Ed. B. Bishop; 1905, Wallace Bates; 1906, 
Moody Kimball; 1907, James C. Poor; 1908, John M. Grosvenor, Jr.; 
1909, Moody Kimball; 1910, James C. Poor; 1911, John M. Grosvenor, 
Jr.; 1912, James C. Poor; 1913, James C. Poor; 1914, John M. Gros- 
venor, Jr.; 1915, Moody Kimball; 1916, J. C. Poor; 1917, John M. Gros- 
venor, Jr.; 1918, Moody Kimball; 1919, James C. Poor; 1920, John M. 
Grosvenor, Jr. ; 1921, Benjamin B. Oilman. 

The State Constitution was so amended in 1855 that every fifth year 
thereafter, the register should be chosen by the people for a term of five 
years. In 1856 a Court of Insolvency was established for each county. 
This court had a judge and register of probate, hence the offices o£ judge 
and register were created. In 1862 the Probate Court was made a court 
of record. The executive officers of the court in Colonial days up to 1685 
were called marshals, except in the very earliest years, when they were 
styled beadles. The records show that as early as 1634, James Penn was 
chosen marshal. Under President Dudley he was called provost- 
marshal; under Andros he was called sheriff; and after Andros, until 
the province was established, in 1692, he was again called marshal. As 
nearly as present records show, the marshals of Essex county were: 
1663, Samuel Archard; 1670, Henry Sherry; 1685, Robert Lord; 1686, 
Jeremiah Neals ; 1691, John Rogers ; 1692, John Harris. 

The sheriff's of the county have been from 1692 to 1886 as follows: 
1692, George Corwin; 1696, William Gedney; 1702, WilHam Waimvright, 
William Gedney ; 1708, Daniel Denison ; 1710, William Gedney ; 1715, John 
Denison; 1722, Benjamin Marston; 1746, Robert Hale; 1766, Richard 
Saltonstall; 1779, Michael Farley; 1792, Bailey Bartlett; 1831, Joseph E. 
Sprague ; 1852, Frederick Robinson ; 1854, Thomas E. Pason ; 1856, James 
Carey ; 1867, Horatio G. Herrick continued until 1893, when came Samuel 
A. Johnson to 1921, when the present sheriff, Arthur G. Wells, was 
elected. 

The clerks of the courts were appointed by the courts during the 
Colonial period. During the provincial time, the clerks of the County 
Courts and those of the Superior Court of Judicature, and afterwards of 
the Supreme Judicial Court, were distinct until 1797, and the clerk of 
the two courts had his office in Boston. The appointments lay with the 
courts until 1811, when the Governor and Council were made the appoint- 
ing power. In 1814 the appointment was given to the Supreme Judicial 
Court. It remained there until 1856, v/hen the law provided that that 
year and every fifth year thereafter, clerks should be chosen by the 
people in the several counties. The following is probably a list of the 
various clerks of the courts in Essex from first to the present time: 



48 ESSEX COUNTY 

1637, Ralph Fogg; 1647, Henry Bartholomew, Robert Lord; 1653, Elias 
Stileman; 1658, Hilliard Veren; 1683, Benjamin Gerrish; 1692, Stephen 
SewaJl; 1750, Joseph Bowdich; 1771, William Jeffry; 1774, Joseph 
Blaney; 1779, Samuel Osgood; 1783, Isaac Osgood; 1795, Thomas Ban- 
croft; 1797, Samuel Holton; 1798, Thomas Bancroft; 1804, Ichabod 
Tucker; 1812, Joseph E. Sprague; 1813, Ichabod Tucker; 1828, John 
Prince, Jr.; 1842, Ebenezer Shillaber; 1852, Asahel Huntington; 1872, 
Alfred A. Abbott; 1885, Dean Peabody to 1897, when came Edward B. 
George, serving until 1918, when the present clerk, Archie N. Frost, was 
elected. The register and clerk's offices were one and the same, until 
1715, since which time the offices have been separate. 

Up to 1869 the registry of deeds for the whole county was kept at 
Salem. June 22 that year an act was passed providing that the city of 
Lawrence and the towns of Andover, North Andover and Methuen should 
constitute a district for the registry of deeds, under the name of the 
Northern District of Essex, and that the other towns in the county 
should constitute the Southern District. 

In 1654 the law provided that each county should annually elect a 
treasurer. With a few changes this office continued the same until 
1855, when it was provided that a county treasurer should be chosen 
that year and every third year thereafter, for the term of three years. 
Up to 1654, when the treasurers were elected, the treasurer chosen by 
the General Court was the treasurer of the whole colony. These were 
as fallows: May 13, 1629, George Harwood, chosen in England; December 
1, 1629, Samuel Aldsey; 1632, William Pynchon; 1634, William Codding- 
ton; 1636, Richard Dummer; 1637, Richard Bellingham; 1640, William 
Tyng; 1644-54, Richard Russell. The records are silent as to who the 
treasurers were until 1774, after those above mentioned, but from 1774 
to the present the treasurers of Essex County have been as follows : 1774, 
Michael Farley; 1792, Stephen Choate; 1813, Bailey Bartlett; 1814, 
Nathaniel Wade; 1852, Daniel Weed; 1853, Allen W. Dodge; 1878, Ed- 
ward K. Jenkins to 1904, when the present county treasurer, David I. 
Robinson, was elected. 

Prior to 1652 there was but one prison in the colony. May 22 that 
year, the court ordered one to be built at Ipswich. In September the 
"Seven men" contracted with Henry Pinder and Thomas Rowell to con- 
struct such a building. It was to stand near the old watch-house, a site 
near the First Church, and was to be of the "same hight and W3mdes." 
"There were to be three floors of joist, set thick and well bounded with 
partition above and below, and sides and ends, stud and stud spaces, 
and to clapboard the house round and shingle it and to daub its whole 
wall, all but the gable-ends, and to underpin the house and make doors 
and hinges, and hang the doors and fit the locks, which said house shall 
be finished, with all the drawings, iron work for the doors and nails by 
the 15th of May next." The contract price was fixed at forty pounds. 



ORGANIZATION OF ESSEX COUNTY 49 

The first keeper was Theophiliis Wilson, in 1656, when he received as 
compensation three pounds five shillings per year for each prisoner, and 
prisoners were to pay their board if able; and if not able, to be kept 
alive on bread and water. The prisoners were required to work, and the 
"seven-men" were required to keep (xn hand hemp and flax for that pur- 
pose, that they might always have plenty to do. Another prison, or 
house of correction, was provided in 1684. This was ordered by the 
Quarterly Court, and the expense was to be paid by the towns that sent 
juries to Ipswich. 

In 1751 the town voted to petition the General Court Sessions "that 
the late prison be effectually repaired and established as heretofore as a 
prison and a house of correction." As a result, in 1771 (but not before 
then) was the prayer answered in the construction of a new jail built on 
the site of the odd one. 

In 1809-10 a stone jail was built in Ipswich by the county. Its cost 
was $27,000 ; it stood where later was the "County House." In 1866 it 
was sold to the Eastern Railroad Company, who used it to arch a road- 
way. 

A prison (or, as we say today jail) in Essex County was built in 
Salem in 1668, near the southwesterly end of the meeting-house, which 
gives color to the statement that the church was sometimes used for 
courthouse purposes. The second jail was built in Salem in 1684, near 
the comer of Federal and St. Peter's streets, and the next jail or prison 
was built in 1813. 

The jail or House of Correction at Lawrence was built in 1853, and 
with considerable improvements and additions it still serves its purpose. 
The original cost was $100,000. It is a stone structure, located on 
Auburn street. It has 116 cells, and can easily care for 180 prisoners. 
The site cost $3,200. 

From all that can now be discovered, the first courts were held and 
county business in Essex County was transacted in the church, and this 
continued many years. A courthouse was built in Salem in 1719, which 
also served and was partly paid for by the incorporation of Salem. It 
stood on Washington street, near the southern end of the railway tunnel. 
In this building the General Court met, October 31, 1728; also April 2, 
and June 25, 1729, by order of Governor Burnet, because he believed that 
undue influence was exerted in Boston against a grant for his salary. 

May 25, 1774, the General Court was adjourned by Governor Gage, 
to meet at Salem on the 7th of June; and again the Salem town house 
became historic. The sessions lasted eleven days, during which the 
court protested against its removal from Boston, and the 17th passed a 
resolve appointing James Bowdoin, Thomas Gushing, Samuel Adams, 
John Adams and Robert Treat Paine delegates to the Congress at Phila- 
delphia, "to consult upon measures for the restoration of harmony be- 
tween Great Britain and the Colonies." Upon this action, Governor 

Essex — 4 



50 ESSEX COUNTY 

Gage at once, on the same day, dissolved the court ; and so ended, in the 
old town-house in Salem, which aught to be standing today, the last Gen- 
eral Court in Massachusetts under a provincial governor. 

On Thursday, the 1st of September, writs were issued by the gover- 
nor for a new court, to cooivene at Salem on October 5, but were recalled 
by proclamation. The Assembly met, notwithstanding, and organized 
with John Hancock, chairman, and Benjamin Lincoln, clerk; and October 
7 voted "that the members of foresaid do now resolve themselves into a 
Provincial Congress, to be joined by such other persons as have been or 
shall be chosen for that purpose, to take into consideration the dangerous 
and alarming situation of public affairs in this Province, and to consult 
and determine on such measures as they shall judge will tend to promote 
the true interest of His Majesty and the peace, welfare and prosperity 
of the province." After this action, the Congress adjourned to Concord, 
where it was more formally organized by the election ofiMr. Hancock, 
president, and Mr. Lincoln secretary ; and after sessions in Concord and 
Cambridge finally dissolved. Thus the old town-house again became 
memorable, and was not only the scene of the last act under the old dis- 
pensation, but the scene also of the first act under the new. 

In 1785, another building was erected for the joint use of the town 
and county, in the middle of Washington street, nearly opposite the 
Tabernacle Church, and town meetings were there held until the erection 
in 1816 of the town-house in Derby Square, which was used until the in- 
corporation of the city in 1836. In 1841 the present stone courthouse 
was completed, and in 1861 the handsome brick structure was added; 
the two buildings now connected, one with the other, still serve the needs 
of the county. 

The second court house in Ipswich was completed in the spring of 
1795. Its cost was $7,000, of which the town paid one-half. This served 
until 1855, when upon the removal of the courts from Ipswich, it was 
sold to the Methodist society and converted into a chapel. Later it was 
moved to Depot Square and converted into a business house. 

Concerning the courthouse at Lawrence, it may be stated that at 
first the people of Lawrence were compelled to travel to Salem or New- 
buryport to attend court and to transact other county business. After 
the town-house or city hall was built in Lawrence, quarters were provided 
for the court, then known as the Court of Common Pleas, in the audience 
hall of such building. Later, sessions were held in Music Hall, but in 
1859 the county completed a courthouse there. The Essex Company 
donated the land, the city provided the foundation, and the Essex county 
commissioners erected the building. In the great fire of 1859, which 
burned the United States Hotel, this courthouse was almost ruined, but 
in 1860 was rebuilt. This served Lawrence until 1900, when through the 
members of the Essex county bar and the State Legislature, the present 
building was provided at a cost of $250,000, all told, from beginning to 



ORGANIZATION OF ESSEX COUNTY . 51 

completion. Here are ample rooms for all departments of the county's 
business, including the superior criminal, a superior civil and a probate 
court, a registry of deeds, a law library, besides numerous offices. The 
law library is claimed to be one of the best in all New England, with its 
13,000 voJumes. The structure is fireproof, built of brick with free-stone 
trinmiings. 

What is usually known as the Essex County Industrial Farm is one 
of the most unique experiments ever tried out with a good degree of 
success in this country. This enterprise was started in the dark days 
of the late World War, when every available foot of land was being 
required by the government, in order that enough provisions might be 
obtained successfully to carry on our part of the conflict — feed our 
home people and send abroad what we could possitjly spare. It was 
then that the county commissioners of Essex county bethought them- 
selves to set the some forty or more convicts at work clearing a' tract 
of land near Danvers and making it fit for cultivation. This was ac- 
complished, and in 1918 there was produced a crop of 450 bushels of 
potatoes, all the fresh vegetables that could be consumed in the prison 
camp and an excess for the county jail, a large supply of winter vege- 
tables including turnips, beets, beans, and buckwheat, and some 3,000 
head of cabbage, more than could be used in the camp and in the 
Salem House of Correction. This crop was secured from land that a 
few months before was under a heavy underbrush and covered with 
thousands upon thousands of stones, which these forty county prison- 
ers had to remove before plowing and planting could proceed. 

No inmate is required to go against his will, but once he decides to 
join the colony, he is expected to "brace up" and make a man of him- 
self; to conform to the few simple rules as laid down by the county 
commissioners; and not to leave the immediate vicinity of the camp 
without permission. These prisoners are chiefly victims of the liquor 
habit, who have been sentenced to the county jail. Here they are well 
fed, have excellent beds, and work sufficient to keep them healthy in 
both body and mind. They also were set at work clearing off grounds, 
near by the camp, where now stands the great tubercular hospital. 
This preliminary work was all accomplished by these trusty prisoners, 
who work without any guard. In the life of the institution, only one 
man has made his escape. It is good for the men and also good for 
the county. 

Essex County was incorporated in 1643, and has three shire towns 
— Salem, Lawrence and Newburjrport. Its officers at this time include: 
Judges of Probate and Insolvency, Harry R. Dow, North Andover, and 
Alden P. White, Salem. Register of Probate and Insolvency, Horace H. 
Atherton, Jr., Lynn ; Sheriff, Arthur G. Wells, Lynn ; Clerk of the Courts, 
Archie N. Frost, Lawrence; County Treasurer, David I. Robinson, 
Gloucester; Registers of Deeds, Northern district, Moses Marshall, 



52 



ESSEX COUNTY 



Commissioners: John M. Grosvenor, Jr., Swampscott; James C. Poor, 
North Andover; Benjamin B. Oilman, Haverhill. Trial Justices: Albion 
G. Peirce, Methuen; Culver J. Stone, Andover; Newton P. Fry, North 
Andover; Moses S. Case, Marblehead; William E. Ludden, Saugus; 
Walter H. Southwick, Nahant. 

Essex County has the following institutions belonging to various 
State Departments: The Essex County Agricultural School, located 
at Danvers (Hawthorne postoffice), Fred A. Smith, present director; 
Trustees — George C. Thurlow, George W. Cressy, Ralph S. Bauer, Justin 
E. Vamey, and the county commissioners. 

The State Normal School at Salem was opened in 1854. The pres- 
ent principal (1921) is J. Asbury Pitman. 

The Danvers State Hospital for the Insane has for trustees at this 
time (1921): Francis S. Caskins, Jr., Danvers, term expires 1921; 
Mary Ward Nichols, Danvers, 1922; S. Herbert Wilkins (chairman), 
Salem, 1923; James F. Ingraham, Jr., Peabody, 1924; Arthur C. Nason, 
Newburyport, 1925; Katherine Abbott, Manchester, 1926; Samuel Cole 
(secretary) , Beverly, 1927. John B. Macdonald, M. D. is superintendent. 

The following shows the valuation of property in Essex County in 
1921: 



Polls Property 

Amesbui-y 2,723 $ 9,011,893 

Andover 2,025 9,658,714 

Beverly 5,961 38,539,605 

Boxford 166 896,193 

Danvers 2,713 9,155,522 

Essex 470 1,391,653 

Georgetown 515 1,360,651 

Gloucester 7,084 29,462,107 

Groveland 631 1,506,326 

Hamilton 467 4,163,397 

Haverhill 15,019 53,770,544 

Ipswich 1,480 6,785,382 

Lawrence 20,053 101,226,232 

Lynn 26,553 106,443,504 

Lynnfield 414 1,649,932 

Manchester 760 12,802,237 

Marblehead 2,079 11,839,237 

Merrimac 585 1,749,300 



Polls 

Methuen 4,095 

Middleton 305 

Nahant 495 

Newbury 480 

Newburyport 4,025 

North Andover .... 1,718 

Peabody 6,358 

Rockpoii; 1,172 

Rowley 359 

Salem 11,033 

Salisbury 499 

Saugus 2,646 

Swampscott 1,991 

Topsiield 280 

Wenham 278 

West Newbury .... 419 



Property 

14,639,117 
1,070,551 
4,597,237 
2,115,755 

13,177,349 
9,174,392 

26,501,199 
4,467,604 
1,110,884 

46,304,119 
1,999,570 
7,983,680 

14,797,505 
2,476,756 
2,346,339 
1,045,305 



Totals 



125,851 $555,219,791 



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OLD NEW ENGLAND GARDEN 



CHAPTER V. 
TOWN OF SAUGUS. 

Saugus is in the extreme southern corner of Essex county, Massa- 
chusetts. It is almost six miles in length by two and four-tenths mila'. 
in width. It is bounded on the north by Lynnfield and Wakefield, easter- 
ly by Lynn city, southerly by Revere, and westerly by Revere, Melrose 
and Wakefield. It has an area of near thirteen and one-half square miles. 
Over two miles square are included in the salt marsh at the south end of 
the township, being separated from Massachusetts Bay only by a narrow 
strip of land known as Revere Beach. From Boston it is only nine miles. 
The name Saugus is Indian, meaning "extended," suggested by its broad 
salt marshes. The Indians called all the territory between Boston on the 
south and Salem on the north Saugus. What is now called Saugus river 
was known by the Indians as "Abousett," a much prettier name than 
Saugus. 

The first political status of Saugus is found October 19, 1630, when 
John Taylor was admitted as a freeman to the General Court. In 1634 
Nathaniel Turner, Edward Tomlins and Thomas Wilhs were representa- 
tives from Saugus to the first legislature. Not over seven "prudential 
men" were allowed to be chosen in 1636. 

The city of Lynn, as now known, and the towns of Swampscott, 
Lynnfield, Reading, Wakefield and Nahant, in 1636 were all included 
within Saugus township. Not liking the Indian name Saugus, and wish- 
ing a legal change of the name, and thinking of the city of Lynn, Eng- 
land, they asked the legislature to change the name to Lynn. The peti- 
tion was granted November 15, 1637, when the shortest bill ever passed, 
possibly, was made a record — "Saugust is called Lin." The name so re- 
mained until November 15, 1815, when by a legislative act the present 
territory was set off from Lynn and received its original name — Saugus. 
For many years before this, however, it was styled ecclesiastically, "West 
Parish." 

In 1815 the town had a population of nearly 700 persons. The first 
census taken by the United States government was in 1820, when it was 
748. In 1885 the State census figures gave Saugus 2,855. The last three 
Federal census periods show the population to have been : In 1900, 5,084 , 
1910, 8,047; 1920 census, 10,874. 

As settlement increased and on account of the topography of this 
tovm, it was decided best to divide into lesser villages. Almost in the 
center of the town is Saugus Centre. Few villages have a more chann- 
ing view of landscape scenery than this. Looking easterly from Round 
Hill the scene toward the ocean is beautiful. Cliftondale, directly to the 
south of Centre, was formerly known as Sweetser's Comer; in the eigh- 
ties this portion of the town grew rapidly. East Saugus is situated in 



54 ESSEX COUNTY 

the river valley, reached only by Winter street, at the southerly side of 
the valley. About two miles from the Centre, in the extreme northerly 
end of the town is North Saugus, once a most fertile farming section. 
The Saugus river flows beside this village, while two branches — Penny 
and Hawkes Brooks — flow directly through the place. Oaklandale is a 
mile and a half from the Centre, northwesterly, and its domain is coursed 
by the waters of Strawberry Brook, which finds its way into Saugus 
river below North Saugus. 

During the year 1630 many immigrants found their way to our 
shores, and from among this number a considerable proportion came by 
boat and overland travel to what is now Saugus. Centuries before, 
doubtless, the Indian tribes had here fished, hunted, built their wigwams 
and raised com and sweet pumpkins. In East Saugus have been found 
many Indian relics including shell-heaps, pestles, stone hatchets, bones, 
and neatly fashioned arrow-heads. 

Among the earliest to invade this town for actual settlement was 
William Ballard, who received sixty acres in the allotment of 1638. He 
was admitted as a freeman in 1638. His farm comprised what is now 
known as the village of East Saugus. Edward Baker received an allot- 
ment of forty acres on the road to North Saugus. Samuel Bennet, a car- 
penter, and member of the Ancient Artillery Company in 1639, received 
an allotment of twenty acres. Thomas Dexter, farmer, was admitted as 
a freeman in 1631, and given an allotment of 350 acres. He lived in the 
center of Saugus, near the old iron works; he was commonly styled 
"Farmer Dexter." He built a corn grindingmill on the Saugus river; 
also had a fish-way from which he took one hundred and fifty barrels of 
fish and cured them in the first years of his operations. Thomas Hudson 
lived in the western part of the town, near the river and at the iron- 
works, where he held a tract of sixty acres of land. Captain Richard 
Walker, a farmer, located on the west side of the river and had allotted 
to him 200 acres of land. He was bom in 1593, and died at the age of 
ninety-five years. Adam Hawkes settled in North Saugus in 1634, hav- 
ing landed with the Endicott company in 1630. In 1672 he owned 55' > 
acres of land in this township. 

The first postoffice was established in the village of East Saugus in 
1832, and it remained the only postoffice within the town until 1858, 
when two more offices were established — one in Cliftondale and another 
in Saugus Center. Among the early postmasters are now recalled: In 
East Saugus, 1832, Henry Slade, George Newhall ; 1856, Herbert B. New- 
hall; 1863, Charlotte M. Hawkes; 1873, Charles Mills; 1885, Henry J. 
Mills. At Saugus Center, 1858, Julian D. Lawrence; 1870, John E. 
Stocker. At Cliftondale, 1858, William Williams; 1860, George H. Sweet- 
ser, A. H. Sweetser; 1877, M. A. Putnam; 1883, M. S. Fisk. At this 
time (1921) there are three station postofl^ices in this town — SaugU3 
Centre Station, William H. Merritt, superintendent; Cliftondale Station, 



TOWN OF SAUGUS 55 

Ernest C. Brown, superintendent; and East Saugus, Arthur Famham, 
superintendent. 

The first town meeting was held in the parish church, March 13, 
1815, and later ones continued to be held there until 1818, after which 
time the schoolhouse was used — usually the Rock school house. In 1837 
a town house was erected, the structure so planned and built that the 
lower portion was to be used as a school house, while the upper story was 
for town hall purposes. It was still used in the eighties for school pur- 
poses, but the present town hall was erected in 1875. When the first hall 
was erected, some two thousand dollars had fallen to Saugus as a revenue 
from the United States government as the surplus distributed by Presi- 
dent Jackson. There arose quite a struggle to determine who should 
have this money. Several votes were taken on the subject. At first it 
was decided to distribute the amount to individuals throughout the town, 
but later this was rescinded and other elections followed, when finally it 
was decided that $2,000 of the sum should go toward erecting a town- 
house, the vote standing 90 to 74. In March, 1838, the town appro- 
priated $600 more with which to complete the building. This was in 
use until the present town hall was built in 1875. The town purchased 
a low, wet piece of land of Samuel A. Parker, and had it filled in at great 
expense. The result of building this large town building was the incur- 
ring of a $50,000 debt by the town. The first story was from the first 
used for town offices, high school and public library; and the second 
story for an assembly room. 

With the coming and going of the years, there were many improve- 
ments made within Saugus in way of building and highways. Usually 
excellent men were chosen for selectmen, and the affairs of the town 
were well administered. The present (1920-21) town officials include the 
following: Town Clerk, Henry A. Parker; Selectmen: Walter Sprague, 
chairman; Francis M. Hill, John G. Holmes; Assessors: Lewis J. Austin, 
chairman; Daniel B. Willis, Edwin K. Hayden; Treasurer, H. Dwight 
Bisbee ; Constable, W. Charles Sellick ; Tax Collector, Henry A. Parker ; 
Chairman of Library Trustees, Vernon W. Evans; Chairman of Board of 
Health, Charles E. Light; Chairman of School Committee, Ernest W. 
Homan; Chairman of Cemetery Commissioners, Benjamin F. Fullerton; 
Tree Warden, Thomas E. Berrett; Town Accountant, Granville A. Clark; 
Chairman of Finance Committee, Harry T. Turner; Town Counsel, Will- 
iam E. Ludden. 

While today Saugus is not known for its great factory and milling 
industries, it should not be forgotten that here were many of the original 
industries of New England worked out successfully, and a brief account 
of them cannot be without interest in this connection. Without going 
into detail, it may be stated that in Saugus was the first attempt at es- 
tablishing successful iron works in New England. In 1632 mention was 



56 ESSEX COUNTY 

in Noveiiiber, 1637, the General Court of Massachusetts granted Abra- 
ham Shaw one-half of the benefit of any "coles or yron which shall be 
found in any ground v.hich is in the countryes disposeing." Iron had 
been found in small ponds on the western bank of Saugus river soon 
after its settlement in 1629, and in 1642 specimens of it were taken to 
London by Robert Bridges, in hopes a company might be formed for the 
manufacture of iron. As a result a conipany knowTi as "The Company 
of Undertakers for the Iron Works" \vas formed of English capitalists 
and Thomas Dexter and Robert Bridges, both of Lynn. Workmen were 
brought from England in 1643, and the foundry was erected on the 
svestem bank of Saugus river, just at the head of tidewater, in what 
later became known as Saugus Centre. The village at the foundry was 
named Hammersmith, after an English village. In 1644 the General 
Court granted this company three miles square in each of six places it 
might occupy in the prosecution of its business. On August 4, 1648, 
Governor Winthrop wrote from Boston to his son in Connecticut, that 
"the iron work goeth on vdth more hope. It yields now about seven 
tons a week." Later he said, "the furnace runs eight tons a week, and 
their bar iron is as good as Spanish." 

Concerning the Saugus iron industry, it should be stated that the 
General Court granted many privileges to this industry. All men en- 
gaged in the iron works were exempt from taxes for ten years, and did 
not have to sei-ve in the military companies. Liberty was given to cut 
timber for charcoal puiposes, to make highways, and construct dams 
and ponds. It is certain that this furnace was in operation in Septem- 
ber, 1648, and had been running for at least three years before that 
date. It will be understood that this iron was simply "bog-iron," and 
found only in limited quantities. For this reason, when iron was dis- 
covered farther west in America, work here naturally was abandoned. 

How many today know that Saugus became quite noted for its large 
snuff industry that existed from 1798 to about 1846? An old flour mill 
on Saugus river vv'as purchased by George MaJvepeace of Boston in 1792. 
He tore the old mill down and erected a new one, in which he had two 
run of millstones for grinding meal and flour; also in one end of the 
building he had two miortars for grinding snuff. These mortars v/ere 
fashioned from large buttonwood logs in their mde state, the rough 
bark being left on. The business later fell into the hands of Jonathan 
Makepeace, a nephew of the founder. He gave personal attention to the 
snuiT business. He used only the finest grade of tobacco leaf, cured in 
the best known manner. Tlie tobacco was ground, scented nicely, and 
put up in wooden kegs, each bearing his own autograph. This snuff 
had a remarkable sale and enriched the maker, who was known as Major 
Makepeace. 

The first place of which there is any account of making chocolate in 
America was in Saugus, commencing about 1796, in the addition made 



TOWN OF SAUGUS 57 

to the Makepeace flouring and snuff mills above mentioned. In order to 
do this a new water-wheel was installed and more wareroom provided. 
Of this plant Benjamin F. Newhall furaished the following for the "Lynn 
Reporter," among other interesting sketches of early days in Saugus: 

In 1S12 the last war with England commenced, wliich gave a new impetus to 
the diocolate business. The mill was overwhelmed with work, so rbhat it was car 
ned on m summer, and tlie cooUng was done in cellars. Mr. Childs, with others en- 
tered quite largely into the manufacture, which yielded, in the beginning of the war 
a iaiige profit. Vea-y soon, with the large demand, cocoa began to adK^ance in price' 
and continued to do so until it rose from eight cents per pound to tliirty-three cents 
a nse 01 oyer three hundred per cent. After this extreme it soon receded, and final- 
ly settled mto a healthy trade. 

One of the most amusing things connected with this old chocolate manufacture was 
the pretenoed art and skill indispensable to a successful issue. This art and skill 
was believed to be a secret possessed by only liere and there an intUvidual. Even 
the persons v/ho carried on the manufacture did not pretend to any knowledge of the 
ai-t It seemed to be a general concession of the public that the science of the manu- 
facture was unknowTi except to a very few who had obtained it, by great labor and 
expense from Spam or South America. This acknowledgement gave the pretenders 
a supenonty, and placed them in a position jiot only to be honored, but to be weU 
pai-cL ihe man who load brass enough to carry the pretense through suoces^fullv 
managed ever^-thmg about to his own mind. - ^' 

In my early boyhood I used to work in this chocolate mill, as considei^able of 
the work could be done by boys better than by men. The gi^and magician of that day 
was Josaah Rhodes lucknamed "Slim Caesar." He exerx:ised tlie most unlimited 
of "^^^'^^l-^^.0't°^^ establishment. So arbitrary was he in the exercise of -Ms 
pietended skill that scarcely anyone dared to look at the chocolate in process of 
manufacture. The roaster and stirring kettle were objects forbidden by him to be 
examined by , the ignoraait ^wrld. I well remember with what veneration I used to 
look upon thas aged cadaverous veteran. The smoke of the ,roaster could be seen 
forbidd^^od^'' ''''''^ ^^^ ^^ courage in his presence to smell of tlie 

OccasionaUy a small mysterious white powder from a piece of clean white 
paper would be ca-st into the roaster or kettle, in a mysterious and magical^aSTer 
completely bbnding the eyes of the uninitiated. Such was the dignity and haS^ 
ness attendant upon the exercise of his skiU, that he rarely ever smikd or Se 
when engaged. Even his employers hardly ever dared to ask a questTon Men wh^ 
^bored years under him never dared to raise a pretense of knowing anytkng SuS 
were the pretended mysteries of the trade in olden times. lywuiig. bucn 

Subsequently, about 1800, Mr. Makepeace added a nail factory with 
machinery to cut nails by hand, which industry lasted six years. A saw 
mill was also built and cut its hundreds of thousands of feet of lumber. 
The founder of these mills. Major Makepeace, retired to Charlesto^vIl, 
where he died m 1820, aged eighty years. Amariah Childs succeeded to 
the business, and added a spice mill, supplying the Boston spice trade. 
Charles Sweetser purchased the property and continued until overtaken 
by death in 1865. Charles A. Sweetser fell to the ownership, and in 
1883 removed all snuff-making machinery and worked extensively at 
grinding various herbs. July 8, 1887, the mills caught fire and were to- 
tally consumed, never to be rebuilt. H. B. Newhall was the man inter- 
ested in the latter operations of this milling industry. 

About 1822, William Gray and other Boston men engaged in the 
making of duck-cloth, the factory having been in operation at Stone- 
nam before that date. This grade of ducking was made from flax and 
hemp material. The works were in a part of the old mill and chocolate 



58 ESSEX COUNTY 

works already mentioned. But misfortunes befell the property, and 
after less than two years it was closed. In 1826 the property passed to 
the hands of True & Broadhead, who raised the mill-dam, which caused 
endless litigation in the valley. In 1829 flannel was being manufactured 
here, and this was the beginning of a great industry for Saugus, In 
1846 another and much larger building was built, of brick. Both build- 
ings were equipped with six sets of cards, thirteen jacks and forty looms. 
Each jack carried one hundred and eighty spindles. Other buildings 
were demanded and erected for the wool-pulling and sheep-skin tanning 
departments. Edward Franker, the owner died in 1865. In 1879 six 
grandchildren of Edward Franker associated themselves under the name 
of the Franker Manufacturing Company, and carried on a large woolen 
manufacturing business many years. In 1888 they employed more than 
one hundred operatives and made goods amounting at factory prices to 
$300,000. A half million pounds of clean wool had to be used in a single 
year's work. All-wool shirtings, ladies' dress goods, sackings of all 
colors, as well as plain and twilled flannels, were here produced. The 
1866 fire greatly injured the plant, but all was replaced, and in 1884 a 
round smokestack ten feet in diameter at the base was built to the 
height of one hundred feet. 

In 1887 the mills of A. A. Scott were manufacturing linen duck and 
all-wool flannels. Of both fine and coarse grades, he made eight hun- 
dred thousand yards annually. Fifty workmen and women, aided by im- 
proved machinery, brought out this annual output. 

That portion of Saugus known as Cliftondale, formerly styled 
Sweetser's Corners, traces its origin and real prosperity to the manu- 
facture of tobacco in various foiTns — snuff, chewing and smoking tobacco, 
and cigars. This line was established about 1798, William Sweetser be- 
ing the founder. 

After the close of the War of 1812-14, crockery was hard to obtain 
from other countries, and hence the fine quality of potter's clay found 
in the land known as Jackson's Meadows was utilized by William Jack- 
son, an Englishman, in the production of a good grade of earthenware. 
Time proved that only a cheaper, coarser grade of crockery could be 
made from this material. After many years, even this business was 
abandoned. 

To be somewhat engaged in the shoe manufacturing business was 
of course needful even in Saugus, for it was hard-by and at that time 
a part of the city of Lynn, and Lynn has ever been in the lead as a 
"shoe town." It was in 1802 when Ebenezer Oakman commenced the 
manufacture of shoes in East Saugus. Within a few years he erected 
numerous factories. His goods found ready sale among the wholesalers 
of Fhiladelphia, who finally shipped abroad by sailing vessels from 
Boston. Fine calf boots were also made to considerable extent in thes€ 
shops. It was during the war of 1812-14 that it became unsafe to 



TOWN OF SAUGUS 59 

ship the products of these factories by packet, as they had been before, 
so the owner established a line of large baggage-waggons, drawn by 
six horses, with two skillful drivers, making the trip to Philadelphia 
and back in about six weeks. Among the drivers of such "shoe-express" 
lines were Captain Jacob Newhall, Jesse Rice and Captain Jacob Baird. 
These shoes were all hand-made, and were made in private houses and 
small near-by shops. Men would put the soles on, while the women 
would bind the uppers. The uppers, binding, thread and all needful 
to make the shoes were doled out at the main office, tucked away in 
a sack, and the shoemaker would take the stock home and work it up, 
then return with the shoes ready for inspection and to take home 
another supply of material. But in the fifties the business was much 
improved and machinery was introduced, thus throwing many shoe- 
makers out of work. In the history published in 1888, that portion 
mentioning the shoe factory business, says: "One by one, our shoe 
manufacturers went to Lynn, where they could work to better advan- 
tage. Many men and women would go down to Lynn by horse or steam 
cars in the morning and return at night." 

From 1841 on for more than twenty years, there were great activi- 
ties in Saugus among those engaged in making building brick. Among 
the pioneers in this line are recalled such men as Frederick Stocker, 
who made from one half to one million brick annually. After he re- 
tired his son Frederick carried on the business, in which he for several 
years kept account of the amount of wood consumed in the burning of 
his brick, and found it amounted to about four hundred cords per 
season. He employed from ten to twenty workmen. 

As eariy as 1812, bricks were made at the yards on the north side 
of the river, by Thomas Raddin. In the same place there was a brick 
plant in 1859 operated by A. Hatch, and from 1850 to 1860 William M 
Newhall was engaged in like industry. He made a million brick annu- 
ally, until the clay was practically exhausted. 

For a number of years from 1848 on, the preparation of plastering 
hair was conducted successfully in Saugus and Cliftondale, where the 
firm of Kent & Mamn operated and carried forward a business amount- 
ing to over $50,000 per year. In the eighties, these works were still 
being conducted, and by then had added hair prepared for spinners and 
saddlery work, as well as for upholstering. 

Without entering into details concerning the manufacturing inter- 
ests in Saugus and connecting villages, let it be stated that the interests 
include the following enterprises : The Cliftondale Wood-Working Com- 
pany; the United States Worsted Goods Manufactory; Wire Brac^ fac 
tory, by Henry B. Robinson; Nelson Brothers, manufacturers of motors- 
the Novelty Manufacturing Company, by Arthur B. Coates- Rand & 
Byam Rendering Company; the United States Woolen Mills- the New 
England Lace and Braid Company; a Sausage factory recently estab- 
lished on an extensive scale. 



60 ESSEX COUNTY 

The to\vn clerk's report for 1920 shows the following vital statis- 
tics for the to\\Ti of Saugus : Births registered in 1920, 239 ; American 
parentage, 113; foreign parentage, 70; mixed parentage, 56. Marriages 
registered, 132; Ai^ierican bom, 193; foreign born, 71; average age of 
groom, 29 years; average age of bride, 26; oldest person, 62; youngest 
person, 15. Number of deaths in 1920, 139; males, 64; females 75; 
under five years, 40; from eighty to ninety, fifteen. 

The assessor's report shows: Number of polls assessed, 2,691 
persons paying on property tax, 5,110; persons paying poll tax, 1,291 
persons liable to military duty, 2,018; population as found by assessor 
11,488; number of dwelling houses, 2,615; number acres of land, 6,640 
number of horses, 181; cows, 549; swne, 519; sheep, 2; fowl, 7,021 
registered dogs (females), 127; males, 390; total number of dogs, 517 

Total Amount Property Assessed — Resident real estate, $5,886,502 
non-resident real estate, $1,704,125; resident personal estate, $577,290 
non-resident personal estate, $294,271. Total, $8,462,188. 

The report of the Charities Department shows that in 1920 the 
appropriation for the use of the unfortunate poor was $9,869, all of 
which was spent but about seventy dollars. The pay-roil for m.cthers 
with dependent children amounted to $150 per week. The Saugus Home 
leceived from all sources the sum of $13,583, of which $12,485 was 
spent. It was recommended that another year the appropriation should 
be $14,000. 

Mrs. Laura Taylor, librarian of the Public Library, in her annual 
report for 1920, gave out the following : Circulation for the last year — 
Main library, 18,478 volumes; at Cliftondale, 8,866; at East Saugus, 
6,029 ; at Lynnhurst, 935 ; at North Saugus, 295. The Library was es- 
tablished through the aid of Andrew Carnegie. 

The subjoined shows the tax-rate and assessed valuations in the 
town of Saugus since 1860 — sixty year period: 

Tax- 
raite 

3 860 — Valuation of all property, as per assessment $1,179,592 — $ 6.80 

1870 — Valuation, as per assessment 1,462,830 — 13.33 

1880 — Valuation, as per assessment 1,465,876 — 16.50 

1890— Valuation, as per assessment 2,493,000 — 18.00 

]900 — Valua.tion, as per assessment 3,679,760— 19.80 

1910— Valuation, as per assessment 5,599,786— 22.00 

1920— Valuation, as per assessment 8.462,188— 35.95 

The First Parish and Society was organized in 1737, and is now 
situated in the town of Saugus, Essex county. Its present total mem- 
bership is eighty persons. The Sunday school in connection, has an 
average of seventy-nine pupils and teachers; Arthur Edmands is the 
present superintendent. This church was the first founded in Saugus, 
and was famous in the Colony during Revolutionary war times. Among 
its pastors are recalled Revs. Edward Cheever, Joseph Roby (who was 
pastor fifty years), followed by a long list of successors. Some of the 



TOWN OF SAUGUS 61 

more recent pastors were Revs. C. A. Skinner, T. W. liiman and G. W. 
Whitmer. The present pastor is Rev. F. S. Rice. The first building 
was a wooden structure built by volunteer labor. The second edifice 
was built in 1861 and is valued at $20,000. Concerning this pioneer 
church, Wilbur F. Newhall wrote many years ago : 

The first step was ifche union of all the pinncipal men to build a meetingihouse. 
The union was named the "Proprietors of the Meetingihouse." In 1736 the work 
was commenced, and the best of oak timber was cut for the frame. The work made 
much progress during the year, laltbough it was not probably finished till 1737. 
The finishing only extended so far as to build a pulpit and cover the floor with 
plain seats, one side called the "men's seats" andl the other the "women's seats." 
At tills state of alfairs the parish records commence. The first book lof records was 
a present to the paaiish from Thomas Cheever. It is a remarkable vellum-covered 
book, and served tlie parish ninety years. On the first page of the book is written: 
"This book is a gift to the society of Proprietors of the New Meetinghouse, in the 
westerly end of the town of Lynn, by Thomas Oheever." 

We camiot suflSiciently admire the zeal of our ancestors — ^then few in number 
and widely scattered — to undertake a work of such magnitude as the building lof 
a church. It was forty-four feet long by thirty-six wide, with about twenty foot 
poists. It had upper and lower windows, all Tound, of common-sized glass. On 
its front, lor south side, was tlie front door, with a large tporah or vestibule, wHch 
was entered by three doors. It had, besides, a door on each end opening into ithe 
church. No xloubt the model of this was found in the "Old Tunnel," so called, on 
Lynn Common. Let us igo into tlie church. The pulpit is on the north side of the 
house, in the center, raised high, with a seat lin the front for the deacons. A gallery 
runs around the front and two ends, the front gallery iseats being appropriated for 
the singers. The floor of the church is seated with plain plank seats, divided into 
two sections. What a pattern of plain Puritan simplicity must this church have 
presented, with its "men's seats" on one side and its *womens seats" on the other; 
and then the worsiiippers with their antique dresses! 

At a meeting of the committee held December 8, 1740, was rep'orted as follows: 
"We are of opinion, there being room enough to erect twenty-nine pews in said 
meetinghouse, nineteen wall pews and ten pews on the floor. All peisons that 
make choice of a wall pev/, they niaintainiing the glass against their owai pews. 
The Proprietors of the house to have the choice of the pews. That each person 
having a pew shall pay for the erection of his own pew. That the pew shall be 
taxed forty shillings per week as appoitioned." This committee, finding that mjore 
pews were needed, made a plan to lincrease the nujnber to thirty-four, by making 
five more. 

The committee report reads thus: "By taking two seats of the men's, and two 
hindei-mcst iseats of the women's with five feet of the women's fore-seats and isecond 
seat, will make room for five pews more, making thiity-four in all." It was voted 
that every pew occupier should supply a half cord of wood yearly, and more or less 
as the tax might be. The couirse adopted by the West Pai'ish aboiit the consti-uction 
of pews was an improvement on the "Old Tunnel" method. In that house every 
one made his pew to his own taste, but here the society built the pews unifomiily 
and the pew-owner paid tlie cost. 

St. John's Episcopal Church is situated on Central street, in the 
village of Saugus. It was organized in 1883 as a Sunday school for the 
Episcopal children of the community. It was started by Thomas Ash- 
worth in a building opposite the present church edifice. Occasional 
services were held by Rev. John Beers. In 1885 the Mission was placed 
in charge of Rev. Thomas L. Fisher, of Linden. May 8, 1888, the pres- 
ent church building was consecrated by Bishop Paddock and dedicated 
to St. John. From that date to 1902, no church records can be found. 
At that time the Mission was placed in charge of Francis L. Beal, a lay 
reader, who reported thus: "The conditions were depressing; congre- 



62 ESSEX COUNTY 

gation less than a score; Sunday school almost the same number; the 
Mission had little hold on the community. We found no register; the 
edifice was in need of repairs and all conveniences for worship lacking." 
Out of such conditions Mr. Beal built up a prosperous church. The total 
membership at Saugus church is 129 families. The Sunday school has 
a membership of 80. The church edifice is built of wood, as is also the 
neat Rectory house. 

Of the work at Cliftondale let it be said that this Mission, begun 
in 1906, passed into the care of St. Stephen's at Lynn, until 1914, when 
it became a separate parish, under the rectorship of Rev. Charles W. G. 
Lyon, and the growth has been steady ever since. A Rectory house 
was bought on Pleasant street in 1919. 

The list of rectors at the Saugus church (St. John's) is as follows: 
Revs. John Beers, 1883-85; Thomas L. Fisher, 1885-87; L. H. Merrill, 
1887-89; Dr. C. H. Sycmour, 1890-91; Joseph Carden (layman), 1892-94; 
E. A. Danks, 1895-98 ; C. W. G. Lyon, 1900-10, commenced as a layman ; 
A. H. Ross, Charles W. G. Lyon, Musgrave F. Hilton (1917-19) ; and 
C. H. Heigham (1919-20). The present Rector, Dr. Musgrave F. Hilton, 
has served to date. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church at Cliftondale was organized in 
1855. Among the charter members were Sebastian S. Dunn, Mrs. Au- 
gusta Raddin, Mrs. Emeline Proctor, Charles Raddin, (Jeorge H. Sweet- 
ser, Charles Sweetser and Stephen Coates. The present total member- 
ship is 450; present in Sunday school, 675. The superintendent is 
Ernest A. Hodgdon. 

The pastors that have served are as follows: Revs. James Blod- 
gett, 1857 ; George F. Pool, 1857-59 ; Solomon Chapin, 1859-61 ; J. S. Day, 
1861-63; Daniel Waitt, 1863-66; F. G. Morris, 1866-68; J. F. Bassett, 
1869-69 ; J. E. Richards, 1869-70 ; George E. Reed, 1870-71 ; Joshua Gill, 
1871-72; R. W. Allen, 1872-75; G. W. Wilder, 1875-77; A. 0. Hamilton, 
1877-78; G. M. Melden, 1878-80; W. P. O'Dell, 1880-83; G. A. Phiney, 
1883-86; C. A. Littlefield, 1886-89; Edward Higgins, 1889-90; C. H. Wal- 
ters, 1890-93; George S. Painter, 1893-94; A. R. Sweetser, 1894-95; 
L. C. Clark, 1895-96 ; R. L. McKensie, 1896-99 ; F. O. Beck, 1899-1901 ; 
J. S. Dancey, 1901-02 ; Donald H. Gerrish, 1902-08 ; William M. Gilbert, 
1908-13; A. F. Reimer, 1913-16; James C. Cairns, 1916-21; Shirley D. 
Coffin, appointed 1921. 

A chapel was built in 1857, and remodeled in 1881. June 19, 
1914, it was burned to the ground, and the following year a new church 
was erected on a lot in Cliftondale Square. The present building was 
dedicated March 5, 1916. The value of the latter edifice is about $90,- 
000. In 1921 there was a pipe organ installed, the value of which is 
$5,000. This was the gift of the women of the parish. 

The Church of the Nazarene organized in Cliftondale, March 22, 
1897, charter members including the following persons: Sarah Bond, 



TOWN OF SAUGUS 63 

Alexander Mumo, Lrottie G. Mumo, Angle Merrithen, John F. Newton, 
Sarah Newton, Charles Phillmore, Mary Phillmore, Frank L. Sprague, 
Athella E. Sprague, Whitman J. Webber, Mary L. Webber, Agnes M. 
Wilson. The present membership is forty six, with a Sunday school 
attendance of about sixty-eight pupils ; W. L. Weddleton is the superin- 
tendent. At first this society worshipped in a hall in Clifton Square, 
and later in a building now used as a depot. The church was dedicated 
April 19, 1899. The supposed value of this property is $4,000. The 
society was "burned out of home" while occupying the Odd Fellows' 
Hall, February 25, 1899. The various pastors have been in order as 
follows: Revs. Charles H. Davis, A. B. Riggs, F. E. Talbee, H. B. Hor- 
ley, Martha E. Curry, J. C. Bearse, Edward E. Martin, C. H. Strong. 
Tom M. Brown, Robert J. Dixon, C. P. Lanpher, J. Glenn Gould, pres- 
ent pastor. 

Saugus Center Methodist Episcopal Church was organized July 23, 
1877, and a church edifice was dedicated April 24, 1878. It was a 
wooden structure, and is still standing. It was built largely by mem- 
bers of the church. The present membership of the church is fifty, 
and that of the Sunday school is about fifty-eight pupils. The super- 
intendent is Ellery Metcalf. 

The first members of this organization were as follows: William 
W. L. Cripps, James Kettelle, Mrs. Mary Oliver Kettelle, Mrs. Margaret 
Whitley, Mrs. Mary Jones, Mrs. Angeline Spinney. These were received 
on confession of their faith by Presiding Elder Rev. Daniel Dorchester, 

D. D. The following were received by church letters : James W. Dear- 
bom, Henry Inarmby, Mrs. Elizabeth Inarmby, George F. Spinney, 
Helen Mann, Mrs. Susan W. Warhurst, Miss Charlotte M. Townsend, 
Mrs. Martha J. Hall, Benj. Homan, Mrs. Sarah Homan, Ralph Homan, 
Ida C. Homan, John L. Andrews, Hattie Andrews, Vina Andrews, Mrs. 
Clara A. Andrews, Wilbur J. Bryant, Mrs. Sara W. Bryant, James T. 
Vanstone, Mrs. Nancy Vanstone, James Amery, William Penney, Sarah 
Elizabeth Penney, Lizzie Cripps, Mrs. Judith Ingalls, Lucy Ingalls, Laura 
Ingalls, Mary Cook, Mary Whiteley, Nellie Wilson, Sarah Wilson, A. 
Libby, Emmeline Libby. 

The following have served as pastors: Revs. Emerson H. McKen- 
ney, Samuel Plantz, Arthur W. Terreill, Webster Millar, Daniel Richards, 
C. I. Mills, George W. Mansfield, Frank K. Stratton, F. H. Taylor, Thom- 
as L. McConnell, Harry Compton, James A. Ross, W. L. Clapp, Dele C. 
Grover, Lonis I. Holway, E. W. Strecker, E. L. Benedict, Richard Evans, 

E. W. Dunlavy, Thomas Walker, A. B. Gilbert, C. Howard Fisher, Wil- 
liam Full, George H. Sutherland, J. W. Higgins, Henry E. Leech, W. F. 
Koonsen, James C. Watson, S. T. Lippincott, G. Albert Higgins, Victor 
B. Chiconine. 



CHAPTER VI. 
TOWN OF IPSWICH. 

While it has been fairly well decided that this section of the country 
had been settled, after a manner, hundreds of years prior to the landing 
of the "Mayflower," it is not the province of this work to enter into this 
pre-historic record in this connection, although it will be touched upon 
elsewhere in this work. To begin this sketch of Ipswich, it is well to 
give something concerning the Indians the first white men, as now known 
to have landed here, found upon their arrival. 

This territory known as Agawam, meaning "resort for fish of pas- 
sage," consisted of about 118,500 acres. In the summer, schools of 
mackerel darkened the waters of the bay as they migrated to their 
southern home. The name of the Sagamore of this domain was Mas- 
connomet, meaning "John" with us. His relation to other Indian tribes 
is unknown to this day. Possibly his was a sub-tribe of the Massachu- 
setts, or the Algonquins, whose power is said to have extended from 
Charles river to the Merrimac. His subjects are always represented to 
have been kind and easily managed. It was Captain Hardie and Nich- 
olas Hobson, exploring the coast in 1611, who testified that these Indians 
were kinderhearted than any tribes they met. Masconnomet was con- 
verted under the teachings of Governor Winthrop's company, and it 
should be recalled that the good Governor came to New England origi- 
nally for the pui-pose of Christianizing the Indians. It was on March 8, 
1644, that the old chief in question put himself, his subjects and all his 
possessions, under the government protection of the Massachusetts Bay 
Company, and agreed to be instructed in the Christian religion. The 
subjoined is an account of the examination given the chief by the 
Whites: 

1 — Will yoiu worsihip the only tiTie God and not blaspheme? Answer — We do 
desire to reverence the God of the English, and to speak well of him, be- 
cause we see he doth better to the English than other gods do to the others- 

2 — Wdll you cease from swearing falsley? Answer — We know not what swear- 
ing is. 

3 — Will you refrain from woa'king on the Sabbath, especially in Christian towns ? 
Answer — It is easy for us — we have little to do any day, and can v/ell rest 
on that day. 

4 — ^Will you honor your parents and all of your superioi's ? Answer — It is our 
custom to do so. 

5 — Wiill you refrain from killing any man without cause or authority ? Answer — 
It is good, and we desire it. 

6 — Will you put away fornication, adultery, incest, rape and sodomy? Ansaver — 
Though some of our people do some of these things, we count them naught, 
and do not allow them. 

7 — Will you put away stealing? Answer — We answer this as the sixth question. 

S — Will you allow your children to read the word of God, so they may know Him 
aright, and worship Him in their own way ? Answer — We will allow this as 
opportunity may pennit, and as the English live among us, we desire to 
do so. 

About 1617 a fearful pestilence prevailed among these Indians and 
depleted them to a large extent. Perley, a local writer, thus describes 




ABOVE, MANNING HIGH SCHOOL, IPSWICH; BELOW, ROSS TAVERN 
IPSWICH, BUILT 1734, STAGE COACH STATION ON BOSTON ROAD ' 



TOWN OF IPSWICH ' 65 

the death of the friendly old Indian chief: "Masconnomet saw his tribe 
fade away, as a summer cloud ; his rich domain become the abode of the 
pale face ; his scepter broken, fall from his nerveless grasp. In 1655 the 
selectmen granted him a life interest in six acres of planting ground. He 
died March 6, 1658. The 18th of the following June his widow was 
granted the same ground during her widowhood. Both were buried on 
Sagamore Hill in Hamilton. With him were buried his gun, tomahawk, 
and other implements of the chase. The tribe lived in scattered wig- 
wams, much at the town charge, tDl it was practically extinct about 
1730." 

The landscape of this section of Essex county affords a variety of 
beautiful natural scenery — the hills, the dale, the meadow and the marsh 
lands, with streams here and there to make glad the scene. In summer 
time the verdure of the flowers, the cattle and sheep feeding leisurely, 
the first setting of the waving grain, the ripening fruit, including the 
purple plums, and the golden and amber autumn leaf, one and all are ob- 
jects of untold beauty. While the general topography is the same to- 
day as it was years ago, of course drainage and time's hand has made 
various changes. In the year 1885 the following was written concemii g 
this portion of the county : 

The Linebrook District has a beautiful sheet of water called Baker's, Pritchard^s, 
Great and Hood's Pond, by which last name it is now known. Its surface is eighty 
feet above Town Hill, or one himdrod and ndnety-twio feet above sea-level. It mighit 
be made an excellent reservoir for fire or other purpose, for the village of Topsifield, 
or Ipswich, or peirhapis both. Rev. Jacob Hood, of Lynnfield, who died in 1885, at 
the age of ninety-four years, surveyed it in his youth and computed the area at 
nearly eighty acres. In the winter of 1861-62, M. V. B. Parley surveyed this pond 
and made by traverse table sixty-five and nine-tenths acres. A third of the pondi is 
in Topsfield, and in 1874 the town stocked it with perch and black bass, thus availing 
itself of ithe State law which, for /that purpose gave that town exclusive control lof 
the waters for fifteen years. On its bosom blooms the fragrant white petaled lily; 
and boats for rowing and sailing invite to healthful recreation; and it lends a charm 
to the surrounding hills. On the west, rising seventy feet above its surface, is a 
broad grazing field where General Israel Putnam in his boyhood, when in the tutelage 
of his stepfather, went to find and "fetch" the cows; and on the east is Bumham's 
Hill, named from James Bumham, wtho in 1717 owned the land. 

The chief streams of this town are Winthrop's, Norton's, Howlet's, 
Mile and Bull brooks, which used to be good fishing for pickerel and trout. 
Other streams are the North or Egypt river, Muddy and Ipswich rivers. 
The last named stream rises in Maple Meadow brook, in the town of Bur- 
lington, and meanders through Wilmington, North Reading, Middleton 
and Topsfield, entering Ipswich upon the southwest border. On its banks 
have been from an early time sawmills, gristmills, papermills, tanneries, 
cotton and woolen mills, while today its chief industry is the immense 
hosiery mills, among the largest in the world. 

Old deeds speak of ponds in the vicinity of the West Meadow, but 
which are unknown to this generation; yet there are swamps which 
answer to the location and size. 

Numerous hills make charming the landscape of this town. They 

Essex — 5 



66 ESSEX COUNTY 

include the following: Heartbreak Hill, 196 feet high, from which it is 
related an ancient hunter's daughter watched in vain for the return of 
her lover (a sailor boy) , and there died of a broken heart. Turner's Hill, 
250 feet high, which years ago became a well improved and frequently 
sought summer resort; it has long since been styled "Mount Turner." 
Bartholomew's Hill, 204 feet high, stands just above the William Bar- 
tholomew farm, whose owner was an early benefactor of this neighbor- 
hood. Turkey Hill, 240 feet; Jewett's Hill, 212 feet high; Little Turner, 
197 feet high; Bush Hill, 193 feet high; Scott's Hill, 180 feet high; Saga- 
more Hill, 172 feet high; Prospect Hill, 262 feet above sea-level, shows 
us White Mountains, and Old Monadnock in all its beauty. Cemetery 
Hill, or Town Hill, is 184 feet high, showing the city and surrounding 
farming community, as well as the spires of numerous churches in Ames- 
bury and Newburyport. Castle Hill, located on the famous Ipswich 
Beach, at the mouth of Ipswich and Plum Island rivers, rises a distance 
of 165 feet above the railway track in Ipswich. 

Not far from a dozen years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, 
four and a half years after Captain Endicott colonized at Salem, and 
three years after Governor John Winthrop formed a colony known in 
history as the Massachusetts Bay, it was learned in Boston that a 
movement was being made to settle a colony of Jesuits in way of a mis- 
sion. So in order to prevent this religious sect from getting a foothold, 
Winthrop sent a colony of thirteen men, with his son John Winthrop, Jr., 
as leader, to forestall the talked of enterprise. The record of events 
connected with this affair show that the company was made up of John 
Winthrop, Jr., John Thomdyke, WilHam Clark, John Biggs, Robert Cole, 
John Gage, Thomas Hardy, Thomas Howlett, William Perkins, William 
Sergeant, and three others, who in March 1633 took actual possession 
of the soil of Agawam. 

The record shows "A Court holden att Newe Towne — Cambridge — 
August 5th, 1634, ordered that Agawam shall be called Ipswitch," where- 
fore August 16, 1634, begins the corporate history of this town. It was 
named in honor of Ipswich, England, from whence the colony mostly 
sailed, and where they were well treated before departure from the 
Mother Country. The records show that Masconnomet sold his fee in 
Ipswich to John Winthrop, Jr., March 13, 1638, and that he expressed 
himself satisfied with such deal, March 5, 1639. The following is the 
deed — one of no little interest, even after these two hundred and eighty- 
three years : 

I Masconnomet Sagamore of Agawiam do by tthese presents acknowledge to Ihave 
received of Mr. John Wdnthrop the i&wca of £20, in full satisfaction of all the right, 
property, and claim I have or ought to have, unto all the land, lying and being in ffche 
Bay of Agawam, alias Ipswich, being so called by the English, as well as such land, 
belonging to me in ithese parts, Mr. Dummer's farm excepted only; and I hereby 
relinquish all the right and interest I have unto all the havens, rivers, creeks, is- 
lands, huntings and fisihings, with all the woods, swamps, timber and whatever else 



TOWN OF IPSWICH 67 

is or may be, in or upon the said ground to me belonging; and I do hereby acknowl- 
edge td have received full satisfaction from the said John Winthrop for all former 
agreements, touching the premises anid parts of them; and I do hereby bind mysedf 
to make good the aforesaid bargain and sale unto the said John Winthrop, his heirs 
and assigns forever, and to secure him against the title and claim of all other Indians 
and natives whatsoever. 

Witness my hand, 28th of June, 1638. 

Witness hereunto: -JOHN JOYLIFF, JAMES DOWNING. THOMAS 
COYTMORE. ROBERT HARDING. 

MASGONNOMET 
his X mark. 

The Court ordered that Ipswich refund to John Winthrop, Jr., the 
iwenty pounds named in the above deed, November 5, 1639. February 
22. 1705, the record says : "The Court orders that Samuel Appleton, and 
our two Representatives, Nehemiah Jewett and Nathaniel Knowlton, 
treat with Hon. Wait Winthrop about Masconnomet's deed of Ag-awam,' 
made to his father, deceased." 

When Ipswich was settled in 1633, the boundary on the north and 
west was the boundary of the ancient Agawam; on the east the ocean; 
on the south. Cape Ann (Gloucester), Jeffrey's Creek (Manchester), 
Enon (Wenham), and Salem village (Danvers), four hamlets then 
belonging to Salem. Newbuiy, 12,300 acres, was set off in 1635 
and contributed to the territory of Newburyport 4,575 acres in 
1764, and Parsons 8,072 acres in 1819 which became West Newbury, 
June 14, 1820. In 1636 the Court established the western line of the 
town six miles in the country. The eastern and southern boundaries re- 
mamed the same. In 1639, Ipswich with Newbury contributed to Row- 
ley 10,310 acres for which the two towns received £800, and out of which 
were made the towns of Bradford, 4,564 acres, in 1675 ; of Boxford, 14,200 
acres m 1685 ; of Middleton in part, about 2,500 acres, in 1728 ; of George- 
town, 7,548 acres in 1838 ; and of Groveland, 5,230 acres in 1850. 

In 1650 Ipswich contributed the part of Topsfield north of the river, 
a part of 7,375 acres. The hamlet of Ipswich, 9,440 acres, was incorpor- 
ated as Hamilton in 1793, and the Chebacco of Ipswich, 7,839 acres be- 
came Essex in 1819. In 1774 certain families of Ipswich were set off to 
Topsfield; in 1784 others were set off to Rowley; and in 1846 still others 
to Boxford, and there now remain 25,478 acres, the heart of the town as 
known today. 

Concerning the first settlement, and from what was styled the 
"Wonder-working Providence," the following is quoted: "The peopling of 
this towne is by men of good ranke and quality, meany of them having 
the yearly revenue of large estates in England before they came to this 
mldeniesse." In Rev. Joseph Felt's history of the Town, we read- "A 
large proportion of the inhabitants possessed intelligent minds, virtuous 
hearts, useful influence and remarkable character. They well understood 
how the elements of society should be for the promotion of its welfare 
and how such elements should be formed and kept pure from ignorance 



68 



ESSEX COUNTY 



and irreligion. They were careful of their own example, and thereby 
gave force to their precepts. They attended to the concerns of society 
as persons, who felt bound to consult the benefit of posterity as well as 
their own immediate good." 

As a matter of citizenship it may be stated that no person was al- 
lowed to plant or inhabit Agawam without leave of the court. The fol- 
lowing list of names is compiled from the public records of this town, 
and are supposed to be all who settled in the first decade — between 1633 
and 1644. As many of their descendants still reside within this county, 
it is believed that such a roster will be of value, and of no little personal 
interest to many of the readers of this work : 

SETTLED IN 1633— 
Cole, Robert, 
Gage, John, 
Hardy, Thomas, 
Howlett, Thomas, 
Perkins, William, 

SETTLED IN 1634— 
Franklin, William, 
Fuller, John, 
Manning, John, 
Newman, John, 
Parker, Thomas, 



Winthrop, John Jr 
Thomdyke, John, 
Clark, William, 
Biggs, John, 
Carr, George, 

Currin, Matthias, 
Dillingham, John, 
Easton, Nicholas, 

Elliot, , 

Fawne, John, 



Sellman, Thomas, 
Sergeant, William, 
Shatswell, John. 



Perkins, John, 
Robinson, John, 
Sewell, Henry, 
Spencer, John, 
Symonds, Mark, 
Ward, Nathaniel. 



Andrews, Robert, 
Bartholomew, William, 
Bradstreet, Simon, 
Bracey, Thomas 
Bradstreet, Humphrey, 
Bradstreet, Dudley, 
Coggswell, John, 
Covington, John, 
Cross, John, 
Denison, Daniel, 
Dudley, Thomas, 
Dudley, Samuel, 
Firman, Thomas, 
Foster, Reginald, 
Fowler, Philip, 
French, Thomas, 
Fuller, William, 
Gardner, Edmund, 
Gidding, George, 
Goodhue, William, 

Bishop, Thomas, 
Clark, Daniel, 
Dorman, Thomas, 
Hall, Samuel, 
Harris, Thomas, 
Hart, Nathaniel, 

Appleton, Samuel, 
Archer, Henry, 
Averill, William, 
Bishop, Nathaniel, 
Bixby, Nathaniel, 
Boardman, Thomas, 



SETTLED IN 1635— 
Haffield, Richard, 
Hassell, John, 
Hubbard, William, 
Jackson, John, 
Jacob, Richard, 
Johnson, John, 
Jordan, Francis, 
Kent, Richard, 
Kinsman, Robert, 
Knight, Alexander, 
Lancton, Roger, 
Metcalf , Joseph, 
Moody, William, 
Mussey, John, 
Mussey, Robert, 
Osgood, Christopher, 
Perley, Allan, 
Procter, John, 
Saltonstall, Richard, 
Saunders, John, 

SETTLED IN 1636— 
Jennings, Richard, 
Lord, Robert, 
Merriall, John, 
Norton, John, 
Norton, William, 
Peabody, Francis, 

SETTLED IN 1637— 
Hayes, Robert, 
Heldred, William, 
Hovey, Daniel, 
Jordan, Stephen, 
Kimball, Richard, 
Ladd, Daniel, 



Sayward, Edmund, 
Scott, Thomas, 
Sherrat, Hugh, 
Short, Anthony, 
Short, Henry, 
Symonds, William, 
Tredwell, Edward, 
Tuttle, John, 
Varnum, George, 
Wade, Jonathan, 
Wainwright, Francis, 
Webster, John, 
Wells, Thomas, 
White, William, 
Whiteyear, John, 
Williamson, Paul, 
Woodmouse, Mr. 
Wyatte, John, 
Wythe, Humphrey, 
Younglove, Samuel. 

Rogers, Nathaniel. 
Sawyer, Edmund, 
Seaverns, John, 
Sherman, Samuel, 
Wilson, Theophilus, 



Quilter, Mark, 
Rawlinsone, Thomas, 
Reading, Joseph, 
Symonds, Joseph, 
Thornton, John, 
Turner, Capt. 



TOWN OF IPSWICH 



69 



Browning, Thomas, 
Challis, Philip, 
Clark, Thomas, 
Colby, Arthur, 
Comesone, Symond, 
Cross, Eobert, 
French, Edward, 



Baker, John, 
Brown, Edward, 
Burnham, John, 
Cochame, Henry, 
Cartwright, Michael, 
Cummings, Isaac, 
Cooley, John, 
Crame, Robert, 
Dane, John, 
Dix, Widow, 
Emerson, John, 
Emerson, Thomas, 
English, William, 

Andrews, John, 
Belcher, Jeremiah, 
Bellingham, Richard, 
Bird, Jathnell, 
Bird, Thomas, 
Boardman, Samuel, 
Bosworth, Samuel, 
Chute, Lionell, 
Davis, John, 



1640 

Bachelor, Henry, 

Hart, Thomas, 



Lawson, William, 
Lord, Widow Catherine 
Morse, Joseph, 
Northe, John, 
Perkins, Isaac, 

Pike, , 

Purrier, William, 

SETTLED IN 1638— 
Eppes, Daniel, 
Gibson, Thomas, 
Graves, Robert, 
Greenfield, Samuel, 
Hanchet, John, 
Kimball, Henry, 
Kingsbury, Henry, 
Knight, William, 
Lurnkin, Richard, 
Metcalf, Thomas 
Miller, William, 
Morse, John, 



SETTLED IN 1639— 
Famum, Ralph, 
Filbrich, Robert, 
Firman, Dr Giles, 
Gilvin, Thomas, 
Hadley, George, 
Newman, Thomas, 
Pitney, James, 
Preston, Roger, 
Smith, Thomas, 
Storey, Andrew, 

SETTLED IN 1640— 
Lee, John, 
Paine, Robert, 

SETTLED IN 1641— 
Hoyt, John, 

SETTLED IN 1642— 

Douglass, William, 
Fellews, William, 
Green, Henry, 
Howe, James, 
Knight, Oleph, 
Knowlton, William, 
Knowlton, Thomas, 
Lee, Thomas, 
Lamson, Edward, 
Lammas, Richard, 

SETTLED IN 1643^ 
Low, Thomas, 



Vincent, Humphrey, 
Warren, William, 
Wattles, Richard, 
Wedgewood, John, 
Whitred, William, 
Whitingham, John, 
Williamson, Michael. 



Newmarch, John, 
Nicholas, Richard, 
Paine, William, 
Scott, Robert, 
Sherrriun Thomas, 
Silver, Thomas, 
Stacy, Simon, 
Swindjer, William, 
Taylor, Samuel, 
Tredwell, John, 
Whipple, Matthew, 
Whitman, Robert, 
Wilkinson, Henry. 

Thompson, Simon, 
Tingby, Palmer, 
Button, Matthias, 
Cochame, Edward, 
Castell, Robert, 
Hodges, Andrew, 

Humphrey, , 

Hatley, Richard, 
Knowlton, John, 
Mohey, Robert. 



Urann, 



Safford, Thomas, 



Perry, Thomas, 
Pettis, John, 
Pinder, Henry, 
Pengry, Moses, 
Podd, Daniel, 
Redding, John, 
Scofield, Richard, 
Smith, Richard, 
Warner, Daniel. 



Adams, William, 
Annable, John, 
Beacham, Robert, 
Bitgood, Richard, 
Brown, Thomas, 
Brown, John, 
Cowley, John, 
Dane, Francis, 
Davis, Richard, 
Day, Robert, 

Andrews, Richard, 
Buckley, William, 

The population in 1650 was not far from one hundred and forty 
families, or about 700 souls. In 1680 there were 126 voters, equal to 
about 850 people. The United States census returns in 1830 gave this 
town 2,951; in 1885 it had reached 4,247; in 1887 the Manual of the 
Legislature for the Commonwealth gave the number of voters as being 
in 1920 shows the town's population to be 6,201. 
1,016. In 1900 the census shows 4,658; that of 1910 shows 5,777; that 



Windall, Thomas. 



70 ESSEX COUNTY 

The idea of religious freedom was deeply set in the hearts of our 
sturdy forefathers. When they had once a real right to forai a govern- 
ment of their own, they naturally chose the book of all books — the Bible 
— as their guide. It was to them all authority, and contained the true 
principles of all municipal, moral and religious governments. This was 
in fact the origin of our unique form of town government — a pure demo- 
cracy — which was confiraied and established by law in 1636, when the 
General Court conferred upon the towns the right to grant lots of land 
and to make and enforce most of the laws that should govern them. 
Occasionally there was an exception to this rule, as in the case when in 
1636 the General Court ordered that the next term there should be 
passed a law that Ipswich, with other towns, "shall have libertie to 
stay soe many of their ffreemen att home for the safety of their own 
towne as they judged needful, and that the saide ffreemen that are 
appointed by the towne to stay att home, shall have their libertie for 
this court to send their votes by proxy." In 1631 it was enacted that 
only church members could vote, and this was not repealed until 1644. 
In 1692 a voter for representative had to be worth at least a realty of 
forty shillings a year, and other estate of forty pounds. Aside from 
these provisions it was a government of equal rights. 

Originally, the title of the office now known as selectmen was called 
"sevenm.en" — doubtless from the Scripture sayings like these : "Wisdom 
hath hewn out seven pillars;" "Seven men that can render a reason," 
etc. They began their duties when the town was organized. In 1638 
they numbered eleven ; from 1723 the number was reduced to five. After 
1740 the "seven" seems to have lost its power. In 1794 one man was 
selected from the north side of the river, one from the south side, and 
one from Chebacco. In 1798 it was voted to have five selectmen, at a 
salary of $19. Fifteen men were chosen and all declined the office. The 
salary was then raised to $38, when it was possible to secure five select- 
men. In 1797 the meetings were held in the school-house chamber. The 
town ofncers included a clerk, constables, tithingmen, treasurer, sur- 
veyors, commissioner of taxes, fireman, hog-reeves and hog-ringers, hay- 
wards, fence-viewers, town-crier, clerk of the market, etc. 

The first roads for general travel were laid out a rod and one-half 
wide. But they seldom v/ere worked that width, for a mere path or trail 
was sufficient, as travel was mostly by horseback or by footmen. A 
pathway was first opened up between Boston and Newburyport in 1635. 
In 1641 the road to Salem v/as determined; another to Andover in 1652. 
The highway to Essex was laid out in 1654, and from Newburyport to 
Topsfield in 1717, via Linebrook. Records shov/ that as late as 1832 
there were only wagon roads in the town amounting to seventy-two miles. 
Other chapters will treat on the various railways of Essex county, in- 
cluding the lines in this town. A former history of this portion of the 
State has the following on an early canal : 



TOWN OF IPSWICH 71 

In 1652, 22:12, Thomas Clark and Reginal Foster, were "to ihiave ten pounds for 
cutting a passage from this river to Chebacco river of ten foo't wide and soe deepc 
as a lighter laden may pass, and making a f orde and f oote bridge over." In 1669 the 
selectmen "are to take care that the bargain concerning the cutting of the creek 
at Oastle Hill be forwarded." In 1681, February 7, any townsman has libeilie to 
perfect the cutting the Cut that comes up to Mr. Eppes his bridge. In 1694, whoso- 
ever will cut the Cut through the marsh at Mr. Eppes' shall have liberty, who pays 
five shillings toward it "shall have liberty to pass as they may have occasion for- 
ever. Others must pay three pence a cord or a ton, in money." The proprietors of 
the Essex Canal were incorporated June 15, 1820. The corporators' names were 
William Andrews, Jr., Adam Boyd, Tristram Brown, Robert Crowell, John Dexter, 
Moses Marshall, Parker, Jonathan, Benjamin, Samuel, Francis, Jacob, Jr., Ebenezer, 
Jr. and Nathan Bumham; Dudley, George and Joseph Ctboate; Enoch, Winthrop, and 
Joshua Low; Jonathan (4th), Jacob, Jonathan, Abel, Daniel and Eps Story. This 
canal was opened in 1821, was a half mile long and cost one thousand one hundred 
dollars. The stock was twenty-seven shares at forty dollars each, and paid nearly 
six per cent, per annumn. It connected the Merrimack river with Chebacco river, 
and (SO let in ship timber at reduced rates. Later years it has been of little or no 
use, and early in the eighties its walls were falling in. 

May 11, 1704, the town voted to build "forthwith, if the county could 
pay half, as it did for the to^^^l-house in Salem." Thus they sought to 
save by having one building serve as school, town-house and court-house. 
This plan went through, and a building twenty-eight by thirty-five feet 
in size was built. It had a steeple surmounting its roof. This served the 
town until 1795, when another town-house was erected. This was also 
used as a courthouse, the county paying half of the cost. As a town- 
house, it was discontinued in 1841, the town selling its share to the 
county for $1,250. In 1843 the town bought the old unused Unitarian 
church building which served from that date on. 

Agriculture, stock-raising and fishing constituted the early re- 
sources of Ipswich. Farming was the chief industry upon which the 
people most depended for a good many years after settlement was 
effected. The early publication, styled the "Wonder-working Provi- 
dence," remarked away back in the very early decades of the history of 
the town : "They have very good land for husbandry, where rocks hinder 
not the course of the plow." This land was used for the growth of cer- 
eals, such as com, oats, barley, rye, wheat and flax. As late as 1733 — a 
century after settlement — it was said of the potatoe that it was but a 
delicacy to accompany roast-beef dinner and unujsnal occasions ; the tur- 
nip, then raised in abundance, took the place of potatoes on all common 
occasions. Com and rye were the principal breadstuffs of our fore- 
fathers. Pastures were excellent, and all branches of farming then 
known in New England succeeded here in Ipswich. Without smiling at 
the orthography of an item in the above named publication, we ask that 
the following be read : "the Lord hath been pleased to increase them in 
Come and Cattell of late [1650 ;] insomuch that they have many hun- 
dred quarters to spare yearly, and feed, at the latter end of the summer, 
the Town of Boston with good beefe." 



72 ESSEX COUNTY 

Next in importance to farming and stock-raising came the fishing 
business in Ipswich. This industry had been evidently followed to quite 
an extent prior to 1633. It was an excellent place for fishing. The Neck 
iumished the wharfage, while Ii)swich and Plum Island rivers, with Plum 
Island as a breakwater, the harbor. Ck)d and sturgeon and bass then 
belonged to these shores and streams. It was made profitable for those 
who desired to follow such business, for any person so disposed might 
after 1641 enclose his fishing stages, and each crew could plant an acre 
of ground. In 1670 they could take wood from the common for needed 
buildings and for fuel, and each crew could feed a cow on the common. 
By 1696 there were between seven and eight hundred persons doing a 
fishing business, together with other lines that naturally followed such 
an enterprise. History states that in 1758 there were six fishing schoon- 
ers belonging at Ipswich, but another entry is made that by 1797 "only 
a few vessels were employed in the fishery." 

The Ipswich river was noted from an early date for its fine fresh 
water fish, including shad, bass and alewives. As late as 1830 several 
barrels of alewives were being taken yearly out of some of the small 
tributaries of this stream. But with the settlement of the country, the 
change in water courses, the establishing of mill-dams and allowing im- 
purities to enter the streams from factories and mills, these fish have 
mostly disappeared. Clams have been gathered here for all time since 
white men knew these wave-washed shores. In 1789 a thousand barrels 
of clams were dug, and they brought from five to seven dollars a barrel. 
The Ipswich clam ranks well up with the famous varieties of the Provi- 
dence river or the Norfolk oyster. Coming down to 1885, the business 
here in this line amounted to $21,829, on a capital invested amounting to 
only $2,200. 

Ipswich district was made a port of entry in May, 1796, by act of 
Congress. The first collector of customs was Asa Andrews. 

Richard Saltonstall was the first man to employ power for grinding 
grain in this town; he commenced to grind in 1635, on the site of what 
was later styled the Farley Stone Mill. Jonathan Wade constructed, 
from timbers granted to him, a wind-mill on the hill that still bears that 
Tiume, but it was not used many seasons, for the superiority of water- 
power was soon demonstrated to mill men. Saw mills were not in evi- 
dence very early here. Chebacco had several. In 1656 it was ordered 
that sawyers might fell trees in the woods three and a half miles from 
the meeting-house. It was provided, however, that one-fifteenth of the 
lumber thus obtained should go to the town. 

1675 saw the first fulling-mill constructed in Ipswich; it was on the 
banks of Egypt river, but was not fully completed by the time allotted 
by the permit, hence later the mill-dam was removed from the river. 
Joseph Caleffe erected a fulling-mill, as will be observed from this town 
entry: "Joseph Caleffe might erect one where it will not prejudice 



TOWN OF IPSWICH 73 

others, if he will full for the town's people sooner than for other town's 
men for money." This was in 1692. Caleffe, and two others named 
Potter, started a larger fulling-mill in 1693. Here homemade cloth was 
received and cleansed, scoured and pressed. When finally finished, such 
goods made a fine, compact, firm and very strong material, with a soft, 
glossy nap. Local historian Perley, of Ipswich, many years ago left this 
picture in words descriptive of early cloth-making in this section of the 
country: 

In 1641 children and servants were to be taught the manufacture of cloth from 
wild hemp, with which the country abounded. In 1645 wool was scarce, and in 
1654 no sheep might be transported, and none killed under two years of age. In 1656 
the town was divided into classes of five, six and ten, and taught the art of spin- 
ning. One person should spin three pounds of linen, cotton, wool, monthly, for thirty 
weeks each year, or forfeit twelve pence per month for each pound short. Half and 
quarter spinners were required to do the same proportionately. Samuel Stacy was 
clothier in 1727. Those were the days of the "independent farmer." All his needs 
were supplied by his skill or care. Even his clothes were grown on his own field, 
in the azure-hued flax or the silvery fleece of his sheep. His family converted these 
into fine cool thread or soft warm yarn, and these latter they wove into cloth from 
which they made his and his family's garments. Our children's lips delighted to 
chord with the hum of the spinning-wheel. We have a vivid remembrance of the 
little wheel for linen and the big wheel for wool, but the clatter of the loom, that 
so deftly arranged the warp and woof, was a home-thrumming hardly so late as 
our day. The weaver's thrumms are now supplanted by a noisy profitless thrum- 
ming of the piano. 

The late Thomas Franklin Waters of Ipswich, in his two volume 
work (1917) entitled "Ipswich in The Massachusetts Bay Colony," has 
given a fine description of the great textile industry of Ipswich, and from 
Vol. No. 2 of this work, we are permitted to make liberal extracts. While 
the following is not a copy of his writings, it is an article based largely 
on his writings on this topic, and for this we are thankful, for with such 
good authority, the reader will have no doubt as to the correctness of 
the statements herein made. 

Prior to 1785, no power looms had even been known in the world, so 
far as our civilization knows. England wanted to keep her industry at 
home, and hence prohibited the shipment of machinery for making any 
kind of fabrics to America. American merchants were equally interested 
in having such industry started here, and were, as will be seen, equal 
to the emergency. They had to resort to every possible expedient to gain 
the needful information that was to make this country a manufacturing 
section. Men went to England and had models of cloth-making machines 
packed and sent to France, where they were repacked and reshipped to 
America by the American Minister to France. But these were finally 
seized in transit. However, later an Englishman acquainted with the 
business was induced to emigrate to America. He smuggled himself 
aboard the ship, but the owner of the vessel stopped and searched, and 
he was found and sent back and placed under bonds not to leave that 



74 ESSEX COUNTY 

country again. But Yankee ingenuity prevailed in the end, and various 
portions of the machine found their way across the ocean and were 
here reassembled. 

John Cabot of Beverly petitioned the legislature for the incorpor- 
tion of a company to engage in the manufacture of cotton cloth in 1788. 
In the spring of 1789 the first cotton mill in New England, or in America, 
for that matter, was in successful operation. With it was one carding 
machine, nine spinning jennies, one warp mill and sixteen looms. The 
power was that furnished by two strong horses that worked in the base- 
ment of the factory. General George Washington visited this factory 
when passing through Beverly in the autumn time, and was greatly in- 
terested in the weaving of cotton cloth, denims, thicksett, corduroy, vel- 
veset, etc. This Beverly cotton mill furnished good goods, and found 
ready market, but financially it was a failure. 

The first woolen factory in America was the one started at Hartford, 
Connecticut, in 1788. Dr. John Manning, the most progressive citizen of 
Ipswich, and who introduced inoculation as a preventive of small-pox, 
at the cost of much unpopularity, was now to play a part in a new role 
in the woolen mill industry. In 1792 he secured a grant from the town, 
and later purchased a lot now occupied by the Caldwell Block, and there 
he erected a two story building 32 by 105 feet. The Massachusetts 
Woolen Company was organized and the manufacture of broadcloth, 
blankets, flannels and kindred fabrics was begun. Finally, this plant 
went down, as did also the one at Beverly. It was closed down about 
1800. Ipswich had relapsed into the same old routine of "age of home- 
spuns." The yarn was spun on the great spinning wheel, stockings were 
Imit, the long webs were woven on the family loom, flax was again spun 
and woven into fine and beautiful linen, lace of delicate and intricate 
patterns was wrought on the lace pillows, which found place in every 
Ipswich home. 

One day two Englishmen from Nottingham — Benjamin Fewkes and 
George Warner — strolled into town, and their coming marked a new 
era and a gigantic industry was destined for the place. These men were 
real stocking-makers. Stocking-making as an industry was established 
m^iiy years before this in Nottingham, England, as well as in Derby and 
Leicester. A warp machine was added in 1782, and soon prices fell for 
all lace goods. Labor riots prevailed. The factories where the "frames" 
were in use were attacked and the machines destroyed. Upward of one 
thousand stocking frames were broken up, and a large number of lace- 
making machines. This destruction was brought about by the stocking 
knitters and lace making people in Nottingham, who could not be con- 
tent with the introduction of machinery. Many of the persons thus 
thrown out of work in England emigrated to America, where they re- 
solved to engage in their calling in a free country. Then it was that the 
English government placed a prohibitive duty on such machines as would 



TOWN OF IPSWICH 75 

do this class of work. They placed every known obstacle in the way of 
these emigrants to their provinces in America. There was a penalty of 
£40 for the exporting of stocking-making machines to this country. This 
existed in 1788. In 1818 it amounted to £500. The agitators of the 
labor question furnished a pretext for extremely stringent laws in this 
respect. It was boldly stated that the bobbins, points, guides and 
needles of lace stocking machines came into Boston in 1818 to 1822, se- 
creted in pots of good Yorkshire butter. 

It was in 1818 that the first stocking machine arrived here in 
America. It finally reached Ipswich in 1822, being brought here by Ben- 
jamin Fewkes and George Warner. The first pair of stockings woven 
upon this machine in Ipswich was made by Benjamin Fewkes Sr., in the 
kitchen of a house then standing on the site of the present South Con- 
gregational Church building. 

In February, 1824, the Boston and Ipswich Lace Company was form- 
ed, and consisted of Joseph Farley, William H. Sumner, Augustine Heard 
and George W. Heard, with a capital of $15,000. This company became 
insolvent, and the dwelling and factory were sold at auction, November 
9, 1827, to Theodore Andrews, styled "Lace Manufacturer." 

The New England Lace Company was formed January 1827, with a 
capital of $50,000. The names of the persons employed by the lace enter- 
prise in Ipswich included: Superintendent, John Clark; machinists, 
James and Joseph Peatfield; lace weavers, Benjamin Fewkes, Samuel 
Gadd, George Gadd, James Clark, John Trueman, Mr. Watts, George 
Warner, Samuel Hunt, Sr., and a Mr. Harrison, Many girls were em- 
ployed to mend the embroidery and wash laces. 

As soon as England found that we were producing such goods in 
America, they at once placed a very high duty on thread, which then had 
to be imported from Great Britain. This for a time ruined the Ameri- 
can industry, causing many investors to lose their money. After the 
lace-making failed here, the owners of mills turned their attention to 
making hosiery. In 1841 a round knitting machine was invented, and 
this changed conditions. But before passing to that, it should be 
stated that in 1829 there were only four well-started hosiery manufac- 
tories in this country and they were in Ipswich. In 1831 the United 
States census reports tell us that the only stocking factory in this coun- 
try was the one at Newburyport. 

The Ipswich Manufacturing Company was organized in 1828, on a 
capital of $50,000 and real estate amounting to $100,000. A new dam 
was constructed and a large stone mill was erected. Cotton machinery 
was installed and operations commenced in 1830. The day's work then 
consisted of fourteen hours. In 1832 the mill had three thousand spin- 
dles. There were 260 looms, and 80,000 pounds of cotton was made up 
into 450,000 yards of cloth annually; it was worth about ten cents a 
yard. The number of men employed was eighteen, and the number of 



76 ESSEX COUNTY 

women employed was sixty-three. Meanwhile the manufacture of ho- 
siery progressed rapidly. A large plant was finished in 1834. In a build- 
ing erected by the Heads at the lower mills, and James and Joseph Peat- 
field, brothers, were engaged in knitting shirts and drawers upon a warp 
machine invented by James Peatfield in 1834. Encouraged by their suc- 
-cess, these two brothers bought land in 1840 and proceeded to build the 
brick factory now known as the "Hayes Tavern." It was fully equipped 
with machinery invented by James Peatfield and there underwear was 
produced in large quantities. At what was called the Manning Mills, 
during the Civil War, there were made in 1864 over 55,000 pairs of socks 
for army use, and woolen goods additional to the amount of $135,000. 

Hosiery then gave way to the making of blankets, by the Willow- 
dale Manufacturing Company. This mill was destroyed by fire January 
12, 1884, and it was never rebuilt. The decade of 1860 to 1870 was the 
period of another great advance in the textile industry of the town. 

In 1863 a $40,000 stock company was organized with N. W. Pierce 
and George G. Colman of Boston, Joseph Ross, Captain Thomas Dodge 
and Henry L. Ordway, of Ipswich, as directors of the firm of Pierce, 
Hardy & Company, as selling agents. After five years the company de- 
cided to use its own yam. The capital was increased to $50,000; knit- 
ting machinery was introduced, and the manufacture of hosiery was 
begun. The capital was then increased to $75,000, a new building pro- 
vided, and improved machinery installed. All went well and a ten per 
cent, dividend was being declared, until the great Boston fire of 1873, 
when large warehouses filled with their products and other valuable 
property were destroyed, causing a financial calamity. Insurance com- 
panies failed, and only thirty-eight per cent, of the insurance was re- 
alized. This hosiery company struggled on until July, 1885, when it sus- 
pended operations. 

The making of cotton cloth was carried on in Ipswich until 1868, 
when Amos A. Lawrence, of Boston, bought for $10,000 the mill and 
other property owned by the company. The cotton looms were removed 
and hosiery making was introduced as before related. Mr. Lawrence 
wrote in January, 1868: "I am starting up my mill at Ipswich again, 
which has been stopped for a few weeks. This attempt to manufacture 
cotton stockings by machinery so that they can be sold at $1.50 per 
dozen, has caused me to lose not less than one hundred dollars a day, 
for eight hundred days, or equal to $80,000. Yet I am not discouraged, 
though I feel the loss very much." Year after year the plant grew in 
popularity and favor with customers of these excellent goods. The old 
stone mill in which hosiery had first been made, was replaced by a new, 
large brick set of buildings, all in a modem style. Branch establish- 
ments have been set in operation in South Boston, Lowell, Belmont, New 
Hampshire and a large mill at Gloucester, the whole system constituting 
one of the world's largest plants in this line of goods. 



TOWN OF IPSWICH 77 

At Ipswich alone, 1,500 operators usually find employment ; seventy- 
five per cent, are females; 55,000 dozens of pairs of hose are produced 
each week, and an annual output of nearly three million dozen pairs. 
The total amount produced in the whole plant of the Ipswich Mills, is, 
four million dozen pairs, valued at $5,000,000. Originally, the whole 
product of these mills was cotton goods, but now fully one-fourth are of 
silk derived from wood fibre. The administration of this extensive fac- 
tory system is at Ipswich, and here the dyeing in various colors and 
shades is produced. The paper cartons and wooden packing cases are 
all made at Ipswich. From these mills go forth the hosiery for men, 
women and children, to all parts of the earth, including England (where 
they once laughed at our ability), France, Russia, Spain, Greece, and 
the South American States. During and after the World War, this fac- 
tory was never so busy at producing such grades of hosiery as waa 
wanted by army, navy and for domestic use. Now and then a little trou- 
ble is experienced here, as well as in most factory centers, relative to 
wages to workmen, but the liberal plan here pursued has usually kept 
the hundreds of persons employed about satisfied. 

Ipswich has also smaller industries — the shoe heel factory of F. L. 
Burke & Son, one of the largest single plants of its kind in New England ,* 
and the Ipswich Tallow Company, makers of soap on an extensive scale. 
These are about the main industries, and they employ many persons 
and keep a steady pay-roll active, hence Ipswich never sees very hard 
times. 

April 14, 1890, over thirty years ago, Rev. Augustine Caldwell, 
Charles A. Sayward, J. Increase Horton, John H. Cogswell and John W. 
Nourse met at the house of Rev. Thomas Franklin Waters to consider the 
organization of an Historical Society. Arthur W. Dow was detained, 
henee not present. It was talked over informally, and then finally voted 
then and there to organize a society to be known as the Ipswich His- 
torical Society, and also there elected its first officers: Rev. Thomaa 
Franklin Waters, president; John H. Cogswell, secretary; Charles A. 
Sayward, J. Increase Horton and John H. Cogswell, executive commit- 
tee. Various places were used in which to meet as a society, including 
the South Church. The worthy president read a series of papers on the 
original locations of the early settlers, and some studies on the old 
houses. Mr. Sayward contributed an interesting paper on the probable 
visits of voyagers to the spot now occupied by the town before Win- 
throp's coming. And upon one occasion the society was interested in 
listening to a lecture by Winfield S. Nevins on "The Homes and Haunts 
of Hawthorne in Old Salem." 

But with all the interest manifested upon the part of the member- 
ship, all felt that they would not succeed well until they owned a home 
of their own as a society. In the autumn of 1895, the postoffice having 
moved from the Odd Fellows building, this society seized the oppor- 



78 ESSEX COUNTY 

tunity and was soon "at home" in leased quarters in this building. Sub- 
scriptions were coming in freely, and tables, desks, chairs, etc., with a 
goodly number of valuable books, documents, etc., were added to the 
effects of the new-born society. 

Among the first results of this society was the influence which 
finally resulted in the procuring the splendid memorial monument and 
tablet, marking the spot near the First Church which perpetuates the 
great associations clustering about these spots. This memorial was the 
liberal, thoughtful gift of Francis R. Appleton. It was unveiled and 
dedicated with interesting exercises Wednesday, July 29, 1896. Since 
that good beginning there have been numerous "markers" placed at his- 
toric spots within Ipswich. 

In May, 1898, at a cost of about $1,650, their present home, the 
ancient Whipple house, was purchased by the society. After much work 
and no little expense, this old frame house was restored and made suit- 
able for the home of such a society. Old-fashioned furniture was col- 
lected, an old dwelling, unsightly in appearance, was bought and re- 
moved from a near-by lot, a stone fence was placed around a part of the 
lot, and many improvements were made. Ever since then, desks, tables 
and appropriate pictures have kept coming into the hands of the society. 
It is the aim of the members, as soon as possible to build a fire-proof 
building in which to keep in sacred trust and safety their large collection 
of beautiful and ancient pieces, documents and books, and it is believed 
it will soon be accomplished. Another feature mentioned is that of 
utilizing a part of the room in this new building for a Hall of Fame, 
where could be preserved enduring tablets of bronze, oil paintings and 
rare publications, with many articles which might form a very inter- 
esting museum. Already there are many articles of Puritan make, 
which could be transferred from the Whipple House (which of course 
will never be removed or allowed to decay, if possible) . This old Whip- 
ple House, a story and a half frame residence, is now at least two hun- 
dred and eighty-six years old, having been built in 1635. It is no doubt 
among the most ancient places in the county of Essex. A history of its 
building, a genealogy and biography of all who have lived within its 
walls, would indeed make a work of many good sized volumes. It is 
situated within a few rods of the Boston & Maine railway station, in the 
town of Ipswich, and is open to the public every week day— a place well 
worth visiting. 

It goes without saying that the people of Ipswich have long been a 
reading people and highly appreciate their splendid Public Library. As 
early as 1833 there were two libraries in the town. They were the social 
and the religious libraries, each containing about three hundred books. 
These libraries have long since been out of commission and forgotten by 
the younger part of the community. One was kept in the Town House. 
The unpaid fines, it is said, caused the books to fall into the hands of two 
or three persons, who had always kept their dues up. 



TOWN OF IPSWICH 79 

The present Free Library was founded in 1868, by the liberality of 
Captain Augustine Heard. It was opened for public use March 1, 1869 
Captain Heard donated the building, three thousand volumes, and an 
endowment fund of $10,000, making a total of $40,000. Professor Daniel 
Treadwell, of Harvard College, donated his fine private library, valuable 
paintings and a fund of $20,000. With the passing years, this library 
has been keeping pace with the times and adding to the volumes on its 
"stacks." In 1885 it had in excess of 10,000 volumes of books catar 
logued. 

The original librarian served from 1869, for about a quarter of a 
century, without any changes, showing ability and popularity, in the 
person of Miss Lydia Caldwell. 

In 1920-21 the town reports show a bonded indebtedness of $296,- 
050; a water department sinking fund of $132,762, making a net bonded 
indebtedness of $163,287. In 1920 the town clerk's report showed there 
were 204 births recorded in this town during that year; parents residing 
in Ipswich, 185 ; residing in Essex, 5 ; residing in Gloucester, 1 : residing 
in Hamilton, 7; residing in Rowley, 4; residing in Taunton, 1; residing 
in Wenham, 1 ; total 204. 

"The poor ye have always with you," was spoken by the Master 
twenty centuries ago, and is still true. In ordinary years the Town Farm 
supports the unfortunate poor of Ipswich town, but when the late World 
War was on and when there were many idle men and women because of 
shut-downs in the mills, etc., an extra burden was placed on the over- 
seers of the poor. That the readers of this work, now and in years to 
come, when conditions may change for the better (possibly for the 
worse) may understand how matters were handled at this date, a por- 
tion of the annual statement made by the overseers in 1920 will here be 
inserted: 

^ Before aid has been granted, the Overseers of the Poor have endeavored to 
satisfy themselves in each instance as to whether the need could be met in some 
other way than from the town treasurer. It is not well to pauperize the applicant 
if it can be avoided. If he is able but is unwilling to help himself, he must be per- 
suaded or compelled so to do. If unable to help himself and the distress is but 
temporary, perhaps friends or relatives, or the Associated Charities or the Red 
Cross, or some of the churches or fraternal orders, can help him and thus make 
drafts upon the public funds unnecessary. All these agencies have been summoned to 
the aid of the Out Poor Department during the past year and the response has been 
gratifying. Much closer co-operation has been effected between these agencies and 
the Poor Department, so that imposition in the duplication of supplies has been re- 
duced to a negligible quantity. 

The unusual problems with which the Overseers have been compelled to deal 
—problems arising from business depression, resulting in general unemployment- 
have been numerous, sometimes pathetic, and in other instances vexatious to say 
the least. Let it be understood that when a person applies for aid and declares him- 
self to be in dire need, the responsibility of proving otherwise, falls squarely upon 
the shoulders of the Overseers. Their first duty is to make investigation of home 
conditions by examining the cupboard, the coal-bin, sleeping quarters, the ward- 



80 ESSEX COUNTY 

robe, and by taking a general survey of the premises. If need be apparent, perhaps 
the shop-keeper will extend credit, or others may come to his assistance to prevent 
pauperization. If these sources fail, the bank is visited to ascertain as to v^rhether 
there is any deposit to the credit of the applicant. In several cases we have found 
such deposits and have refused aid. In other cases we have learned of money secreted 
in the applicant's home, or snugly tucked away in a foreign bank where it has a 
largely enhanced value. A widow who pleaded poverty was found to have bought cor- 
poration stock at a recent date; not much, to be sure, but enough to show that she 
was not in need of assistance from this department. Another applicant was found 
to have $1,700 equity in real estate. Still another invested part of his first allow- 
ance in liquid moonshine, while his children cried for bread. Answers to questions 
regarding conditions have at times been anything but frank and ingenuous. Incor- 
rect statements have occasionally been made, when the absolute truth would have 
helped the applicant's case immeasurably. 

The foregoing is the vexatious side of the question, but there is also 
the pathetic side which has appealed to the sympathies in powerful man- 
ner: 

How many American men, after the decease of their wives, would perform daily 
work in the mill, and again in the evening and on Saturday afternoon and Sundays, 
devote their time to the care of four children whose ages might range from four to 
eleven years, one child being a cripple and needing more than usual attention ? Yet a 
man of foreign birth was found to have done this very thing, unaided, for more than 
eighteen months, not appealing for assistance during the first six weeks of his en- 
forced idleness. He received help because he richly deserved it. Another man, whose 
wife had gone away one evening and had neglected to return, was found to have 
taken care of two children, keeping them fed, clothed, and in school, for upwards of 
two years. This fact was disclosed when he was taken with typhoid and sent to the 
hospital by the Board of Health, the care of the children devolving upon the Over- 
seers. "While instances such as these are more or less common with mothers, they 
are so exceedingly rare with fathers as to excite comment. 

The tale of want and wretchedness, of privation and suffering might be pro- 
longed to a considerable extent. The Red Cross, Associated Charities, District Nurses 
and Church Workers, witness scenes right in our midst which the average citizen 
does not think exists. These organizations render invaluable aid to the Overseer's 
Department, and are to be encouraged and supplied with funds from the private 
purse, in order that they may continue their much needed work of benevolence. 

But, notwithstanding the foregoing, the conditions in our town have evidently 
not been so bad during the period of unemployment as in many other industrial cen- 
ters, where bread lines have been formed and soup-kitchens opened to feed the hun- 
gry; nor has the comparatively moderate increase in cost of the care of our poor 
been such as to create alarm. The Overseers Department has been well organized, 
has worked harmoniously and industriously for the public good, with the general re- 
sult that the poor have not suffered nor the taxpayers' dollars been allowed to slip 
carelessly through their fingers. 

The statement that forty cents out of every dollar of State tax is applied to the 
taking care of those who cannot care for themselves will be an eye-opener to most 
people. It will serve to show what is the state of society at large, how crippled is its 
condition. The cost to Ipswich is far below that of the average of the Common- 
wealth. A recent report of Mayor Peters shows that there has been during the period 
of unemployment an increase of ninety per cent, in the poor cases of the city of 
Boston. There has not been an increase of over twenty per cent, in Ipswich. 

While it is not practical, nor of great interest to the average reader 



TOWN OF IPSWICH 81 

of the local annals of a county, to have published a list of the officers 
that have served with the passing decades, we may in this instance be 
allowed to insert the names of the men who had charge of the inter- 
ests of this town in 1920-21. The list includes the following: Select- 
men: Eben B. Moulton, chainnan, John A. Brown, John H. Cameron- 
Assessors: John W. Nourse, chairman, George Fall, Richard R. Glazier' 
Overseers of the Poor: Frank T. Goodhue, chairman, Charles G Hull' 
Agent, John G. Sperling; Town Clerk, Charles W. Bamford; Treasurer 
and Collector, William J. Riley; Town Accountant, Frederick S. Witham- 
Board of Health, Dr. George E. McArthur, chairman, Aaron Lord,' 
George W. Smith; Cemetery Commissioners: Philip E. Clark, chairman' 
Ralph K. Whittier, Howard Blake; Town Counsel, Frank E. Raymond; 
Chief of Police, Edward Leavitt; Engineers of Fire Department, Arthur 
H. V/alton; chief, Edward H. Smith; clerk, Edward M. Poole; Superin- 
tendent of Streets, Joseph A. Huckins; Town Auditor, Frederick S. 
Witham; Moderator, Charles E. Goodhue; Finance Committee: M. 
Charles Arthur, chairman, George A. Scofield, secretary, Jesse H Wade 
Thomas R. Lord, Fred A. Kimball, George E. Hodgkins, George h! 
Curtis, Sidney H. Perley. 

A postoffice has been in existence in Ipswich since 1775, and the 
followmg is a list of the postmasters who have served in the order 
given: James Foster, Daniel Noyes, Joseph Lord, Isaac Smith, Nathan 
Jacques, Ammi Smith, J. H. Kendall, Stephen Cobum, John V. Varrell, 
Joseph L. Ackennan, John H. Cogswell, Luther Wait, George A Sco^ 
field, George P. Smith, Olive Smith, Luther Wait, James H. Lakeman, 
This IS a second class postoffice with three rural routes extending 
to the outlying country. The postoffice has been in its present quarters 
for the last sixteen years, having removed thither from June's Block, 
Central Square. The office became a free delivery office December 15^ 
1908. The present office employes include these: John L. Russell, as- 
sistant postmaster; William A. Howe, sub-clerk; Harry M. Purinton, 
Arthur K. Ross, Edward L. Darling, clerks; William J. Barton, Francis 
N. Bourque, Hany M. Dolan, carriers. 

In the early days in New England the Church seemed the object 
and end of government; the organization of the government and the 
church were about one and the same thing. Governor Winthix)p wrote 
in his journal, November 26, 1633, that "Mr. Wilson (by leave of the 
congregation of Boston, whereof he is a pastor), went to Agawam to 
teach the people of that plantation, because they have no minister." 
Again he wrote of himself, April 3, 1634: "Went on foot to Agawam, 
and because the people wanted a minister, spent the Sabbath with them, 
and exercised by way of prophecy and returned home on the tenth." 
No church was then organized here from the reading of these journal 
entries. According to James Cudsworth, 1634, "A plantation was made 
up this year, Mr. Ward (pastor) and Mr. Parker (teacher)." This 



Essex — 6 



82 ESSEX COUNTY 

was the ninth church in the Colony, and the third in Essex county. 
The rehgious service programme ran thus: The pastor began it with 
prayer; the teacher then read and expounded a chapter; the ruling 
elders announced a Psalm, which was sung; the pastor read a sermon, 
and sometimes followed with an extemporaneous address, frequently 
consuming a full hour or more ; singing followed, then a prayer and the 
benediction. A similar seiTice was held in the afternoon and especially 
was the singing very odd. One of the ruling elders would read a 
single line of the Psalm, then such of the congregation as could sing, 
rose in different parts of the house and sang it; then other lines were 
successively read and sung until conclusion of the Psalm. In case the 
elders were absent the deacons had to perform this duty, hence the 
expression "deaconing the hymn." Not until about 1790 was the whole 
stanza read at once, and about three years later the entire hymn was 
read by the pastor. Singing choirs became common as early as 1663, 
but this choir had no elevated seats and a gallery until 1781. The rule 
was a contribution each Sabbath. The magistrates and chief men first 
walked to the deacon's seat, then the elders and then the congregation. 
There was also weekly service, usually on Thursday and lasted nearly 
all day. This was called the "Lecture Day." 

The first to come among this people as teacher and pastor was 
Rev. Thomas Parker. He came in May, 1634, with a colony of about 
one hundred, who subsequently settled in Newbury. 

In 1698 was built the second church of this organization ; the build- 
er was Abraham Perkins. It was to be "26 feet stud, 66 feet long and 
60 feet wide, with two-thirds gables on every side, with one Teer of 
gallery round said house; as far as necessary, having five seats in the 
gallery on every side thereof, with as many windows or lights as the 
committee or said Perkins can agree for." This house stood on the 
site of the First Church edifice. These churches all had bells, and in 
1702, a clock was purchased for the church. 

It is not in keeping with the scope of this chapter to add the long 
list of pastors who have sei-ved these various Ipswich churches. It 
may be well, however, to give those since older histories have been 
published, and which are accessible in any library in the county. Since 
1885 the pastors of the First Church have been Revs. George H. Scott, 
1885-91; Edward Constant, 1892-1910; Frank H. Baker, 1910-13; Paul 
G. Macy, 1914. 

During the pastorate of Rev. Nathaniel Rogers the South Church 
came from out the First Church. The legislative act which legalized 
this change was dated May 27, 1747. The new corporation was effected 
and contained such conditions as follows: The parish was to remain 
intact, if it took "effectual care for building a new meeting house" 
on the south side of the river before July 20th, and settled another 
minister and supported the two churches out of the common fund, as 



TOWN OF IPSWICH 83 

a joint-stock company — which it did not do, so the new parish was 
established. The church was formed in July, 1747, by twenty-two mem- 
bers from, the First Church. Their first pastor was Rev. John Walley, 
a graduate of Harvard College. Their meeting house, finished in 1748, 
was a two-story building forty by sixty feet. In 1819 two stoves were 
added to the furniture and fixtures of the church. The pastors of this 
old church have, for the most part, been able men who preached as 
they believed, though some of the doctrines they taught had to be 
amended at times with the advance of the years. The sixth pastor was 
the late Rev. Thomas Franklin Waters, from 1879 to 1909; the next 
pastor was Rev. Edgar Fletcher Allen, 1912-14, after whom came Rev. 
Harry Cartledge. 

Of Linebrook Parish and Church, the articles of incorporation show 
that "this parish is centrally located with reference to Topsfield, Box- 
ford, Georgetown, Rowley and Ipswich, and is distant from them res- 
pectively, from church to church, from three to four miles. It was 
originally constituted of the last towns." Much inconvenience was 
experienced as early as 1738 in attending church at the above places, 
and thirteen of the freeholders of Ipswich, December 20, 1739, peti- 
tioned the First Church to be set off to Topsfield. This petition was 
denied them, but they were "discharged from all parish rates for the 
future." They soon began to employ a religious teacher. Again, in 
1742, they tried to be set off as a separate parish, but it was also denied 
them. In 1743 they and the freeholders of Rowley erected a meeting- 
house, and April, 1744, they all voted to be set off as a district parish. 
Fifteen Rowley men opposed this move before the General Court, but 
the plan succeeded, and an act was passed for incorporation of a new 
parish, dated June 4, 1746. The precinct was bounded on the south by 
Howlett's Brook and Ipswich river, on the east by Gravelly, Bull and 
Bachelder's brooks, and on the west by Strait Brook and it was there- 
fore named Linebrook Parish by vote January 27, 1746. 

Their first church building was erected in 1747, and the second 
was built in 1828; the third house of worship was erected in 1848. It 
was paid for by a stock company of eighty shareholders paying twenty- 
five dollars per share. At the death of one of the members, John Per- 
ley, Esq., who died in 1860, the church was remembered in a will to the 
amount of $7,000, which was to become a perpetual fund, "the income 
of which was to be paid to the Orthodox Congregational Society, Line- 
brook Parish, to the towns of Ipswich and Rowley, for the support of 
preaching and Sabbath School in said society, annually, while said soci- 
ety has a settled minister." 

What was originally the First Baptist Church of Ipswich was 
formed in February, 1806. The first preacher was Rev. H. Potle. 
They occupied the former woolen factory which was converted into a 
house of worship. In 1813 there were sixty-eight communicants. In 



84 ESSEX COUNTY 

1816 a secession took place on account of poor discipline, and the seced- 
ers formed themselves into a new church and were incorporated as 
"The First Baptist Church in Ipswich," June 16, 1817. This church 
survived only until 1823 and a year or so later the original Baptist 
church also went down. 

The present (1922) Baptist church in Ipswich was reorganized 
December 7, 1892. The first pastor was Rev. D. B. Gum ; he continued 
until 1895, when came Rev. Edgar Harris, who resigned in 1896, and 
Rev, W. J. Thompson succeeded. The name Immanuel Baptist Church 
was given to it. A fine new edifice was provided, the same being dedi- 
cated April 3, 1898. The next pastor was Rev. Arthur K. Gordon, who 
remained until July, 1901, and was succeeded by Rev. William C. Cook, 
who became ill and resigned in 1902. Rev. W. H. Rogers came next in 
September, 1902, and remained till October, 1904. Then came Rev. 
Ilsley Boone, remaining from October to August, 1907; Rev. Rejmalds, 
1908; Howard B. Smith, 1909 to 1911; then W. C. Sampson, Robert M. 
De Vault, E. R. Corum, James Watson and Harry Chamberlain. 

The Protestant Episcopal Church was organized in 1867, but ser- 
vices had been regularly held since 1861. Rev. Hem-y Wall was the 
first rector, and he was succeeded by Rev. Benjamin Rowley Gifford. 
Since Rev. Atwood's resignation in 1887, the rectors have been as fol- 
lows: Rev. Robert B. Parker, to June 1, 1892; Rev. Milo Gates to 
June, 1899, and he was followed by Rev. Reginald Peai'ce to 1911, who 
was succeeded by Rev. Robert B. Parker. This church has always 
accomplished its share in carrying forward religious work in Ipswich 
and surrounding community. It is known as the Ascension Memorial 
Protestant Episcopal Church. One of the founders of this church in 
Ipswich, was Dr. Joseph Edward Bomer, a native of Beverly, bom 1819. 

A Unitarian Society was formed here in 1830, the several churches 
contributing to the membership. Services were held in the court house 
till, at the cost of $3,000, they built a church edifice, which was dedicated 
October 23, 1833. After about seven years, services were discontinued 
and the society was formally dissolved. In 1843 the house was sold to 
the town for a town-house for about two thousand dollars. The pews 
from this church went into use in the Linebrook church. 

It has been well said that the Methodist Episcopal "denomination 
of Christians arose in England in 1729 and derived their name from the 
exact regularity of their lives, a very pleasing commentary on their lives 
and character." In 1741 they divided into two parts, under George 
Whitefield and John Wesley, the former adopting the viev/ of John Cal- 
vin; the latter of Arminius. The followers of Arminius compose the 
greater body of Methodists in this country and Great Britain. In 1830 
the seceders from the Wesley an Methodists established a government 
and discipline of their own, and styled themselves the Methodist Protes- 
tant Church. This church differs from its parent church only in certain 



TOWN OF IPSWICH 85 

matters of discipline,, particularly those relating to episcopacy and the 
manner of constituting the General Conference. 

Methodism first came into this country with Rev. George Whitefield 
in 1739, and was an important factor in the deep and extensive revivals 
that soon after followed. Its power was first felt in Ipswich when that 
eloquent divine electrified the people from the "Whitefield Pulpit," a 
rock near the First Church, and "Pulpit Rock" in Linebrook. Methodism 
as now taught, "was first introduced into New England, in 1789," says 
Miss Archer, in her excellent sketch of this church, and "in Ipswich in 
the year 1790, by Rev. Jesse Lee, who was sent by the venerable Bishop 
Francis Asbury." The sketch relates that the first convert by the 
preaching of Mr. Lee was the mother of General James Appleton. She 
fixed the date August 12, 1791, and ever remembered the day with ador- 
ing gratitude. No other Methodist minister labored in Ipswich until 
October, 1821, when Rev. Aaron Wait (1821-26) came. His coming was 
after this manner: He was passing through the town on Saturday on a 
business trip and stopped at the "Treadwell Tavern." He was invited 
to preach the next day and had an audience of highly interested people 
in the "old woolen factory," the record remarks. Not only one service, 
but he preached three times that Sunday. He came again in November 
the same autumn and preached again to large audiences. Soon after he 
moved his family to Ipswich, but like Paul "coveted no man's silver," 
for he worked at the shoemaker's trade. Charles Dodge was Mr. Wait's 
first convert. In the spring of 1822 a class was formed and met at the 
residence of Aaron Wallace. The class had twenty-two members, eight 
of whom were from the Baptist church. The first love-feast was held 
with Captain Wilham Gould, in the Robins house, on High street. In 
the summer of 1824 a Sunday school was organized, with Charles Dodge 
as superintendent. The first meeting house was begun in September, 
1824, and dedicated the Christmas following. This building was forty 
by fifty feet in size, with galleries. Its cost was a little less than two 
thousand dollars. It stood where later stood the residence of Robert 
Jordan. Within the memory of many now living in Ipswich, the follow- 
ing have served as pastors of the Methodist Episcopal church: Revs. 
Herrick, 1888-89; James Fallen, 1890-92; George M. Smiley, 1893-95; 
George F. Durgin, 1896-98; Francis J. McConnell, 1899-1901; Arthur 
Bonner, 1902-04; Frederick Woods, 1905-07; Alliston B. Gifford, 1908- 
11 ; Arthur D. Straud, 1912-15 ; William J. Kelley, 1916. 

The Ipswich church is in a flourishing condition, with excellent Sun- 
day school, modem buildings, and is in earnest in all that is good in re- 
ligious work. 

Without boasting concerning the influence of church workers in 
Ipswich at the present date, it certainly will be interesting to read what 
was said of the work of the faithful pastors and church workers there 
a third of a century ago, by a person well qualified to weigh and record 
the influence of church life in Ipswich at that time : 



86 ESSEX COUNTY 

The several pastors and assistants have been, almost to a man, liberally edu- 
cated. They have brought an apparent zeal to their work, and a good conception of 
their duty therein. They have been watchful, diligent, laborious, prayerful. A good 
proportion of them have been dignified, trusty, efficient leaders. They have been 
able to read the signs of the times, to understand the needs of their people, and to 
utilise circumstances, as well as actual means. They have watched the ripening 
grain in their respective fields of labor, and gathered their gracious harvests; their 
doctrines have been a leaven that has permeated the whole mass of the populace; 
that has endowed the legislator, the justice, the mariner, the mechanic, the manu- 
facturer, the farmer; that has impeded the crime and corrected the erring; that has 
superinduced a nobler, truer, more earnest and more effective manhood; and has 
first, last and midst, been our people's enlightenment and guide. Such is our hope 
of the future. 



CHAPTER VII. 
NEWBURY. 

The town of Nev/bury is situated in the extreme northeastern part 
of Essex county, as well as that of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 
It touches the sea coast and is noted for its early and later ship-build- 
ing operations. In the same part of the county is found both West New- 
bury and the city of Newburyport. It was named from an English 
town derived from Burgus or borough, later reduced to "New Bourg" or 
"New Town" and finally to Newburg; but when it came to be written 
and rewritten in records, it commenced to be spelled Newbury, possibly 
from the fact that the letters "y" and "g", v/hen written, are similar in 
appearance. 

Prior to 1634 there resided a Rev. Thomas Parker, who taught a free 
school in England at New Bourg; he was the only son of a Rev. Robert 
Parker, of whom it was said by Cotton Mather that "he was one of the 
greatest scholars in England." Rev. Thomas Parker, the son, came to 
the shores of New England in the month of May, 1634, with a company 
numbering about one hundred persons, who first went to Ipswich, then 
styled Agawam, to locate. After passing the winter in Ipswich, it was 
discovered that there were so many people there that the company 
swarmed out to other parts to the eastward. Thus it came about that 
Rev. Parker and many of his English friends settled at what is now 
Newbury. For all practical purposes, the date of this settlement may 
well be fixed as in May, 1635, a year after the party of emigrants arrived 
from England. They v/ent by water through Plum Island Sound and 
thence up the river, to which they gave the name of their honored leader. 
Their landing place was not far from the bridge later constructed, and 
on the north side of the river. About forty persons made up this colony 
that first braved the "Wild New England Shore." The list is as follows : 
Thomas Parker, James Noyes and wife, John Woodbridge, Henry Sewall 
and servants, James Browne and wife, Francis Plumer and wife, Nich- 



TOWN OF NEWBURY 87 

olas Easton and wife, John Easton, William Moody and wife and four 
sons, Anthony Short, Henry Short and wife, John Spencer, Richard 
Kent, Sr. and wife, Richard Kent, Jr., Stephen Kent and wife, James 
Kent, Nicholas Noyes, Thomas Browne, Richard Browne, George Brown, 
Thomas Coleman, Joseph Plumer and Samuel Plumer. Others soon joined 
this band, including Richard Dummer and John and Richard Pike, also 
John Emery, and soon after they had settled (probably in June or July, 
1635), the first church was organized. Mr. Parker preached his first 
sermon in the open air, under the shade of a huge oak tree 'more than a 
century old, that stood a hundred yards below the Rowley bridge of later 
days. 

The first houses clustered about the meeting-house, as was the 
order of the court in those times, which was a means of family safety. 
An order read as follows : "No dwelling house shall be built over a half 
mile from the meeting-house on any new plantation without leave from 
the court, except mills and farm-houses of such as have their dwellings 
in town." 

The court ordered an election in 1636, at which the following men 
were chosen as town oflScers, as they were later styled, but no such 
system had yet come into general use in New England, yet this was the 
prime germ from which the present selectmen system originated. The 
first officers as above referred to were: Edward Woodman, John Wood- 
bridge, Henry Short, Christopher Hussey, Richard Kent, Richard Brown, 
and Richard Knight. In 1637 occurred the Pequot War, and Newbury 
furnished eighty men. 

The last-named year, Richard Dummer, John Spencer and Nicholas 
Easton were disarmed by the General Court for holding erroneous 
theological opinions. Spencer returned to England, Easton removed to 
Rhode Island, but Richard Dummer remained in Newbury. After 
Spencer had departed, a mill which he and Dummer had erected was car- 
ried on by Dummer, as is shown by the (now) odd worded instrument of 
agreement: 

August 6, 1688. Whereas it is agreed with Mr. Eichard Dummer of Newbury, 
by the persons whose names are underwritten, hereunto subscribed, that in case Mr. 
Dummer doe make his mill fitt to grynd come and doe maintaine the same as also 
doe keep a man to attend grynding of come, then they, for their part, will send all 
the come that they shall have ground, and doe likewise promise that all the rest 
of the towne (if it lye in their power to promise the same) shall also bring their 
corne, from tyme to tyme, to be ground at the same mill period. And it is further 
agreed that (the afore mentioned conditions being observed by Mr. Dummer) there 
shall not be any other mill erected within the sayd towne.) 

EDWARD WOODMAN, EDWARD RAWSON 

JOHN KNIGHT, RICHARD BROWN, 

HENRY SHORT. 

As far back as when our foi-efathers lived in New England for the 
first time, nearly three hundred years ago, the matter of church site and 



88 ESSEX COUNTY 

village site had much of interest in any new community. In 1640 the 
town of Salisbury was incorporated, and shortly after the town granted 
to George Carr the island which still bears his name. Carr was appoint- 
ed ferryman by the court, and thus Newbury, which had been the border 
town on the east, became connected with the new town, which now en- 
joyed that distinction. This naturally drew Newbury people away from 
their first settlement place on the banks of the Parker river, and at- 
tracted them nearer to Merrimac. This resulted in the platting of the 
new town farther to the north, and the removal of the meeting-house 
to a new site. This new town site was set off January, 1644. 

The new century opened with an increasing, though widely scat- 
tered, population. The people residing on the borders of Newbury and 
Rowley erected a meeting-house in 1701-2, and combined the names of 
the two towns, at first called the parish of "Rowlbury." In 1704 the 
parish was incorporated as "Byefield Parish." The Dummer and Sewall 
families did not live in harmony, as had their forefathers, and when 
they were about to find a name for the new parish, each family wanted 
its own name. The matter was taken to court, and finally someone 
asked to have the parish named after his Honor, Judge By field. This 
was readily agreed to, and the good judge generously donated the 
church a silver communion set, also a bell. The silver tankards were 
subsequently burned with the church building. 

During the Indian and Revolutionary Wars, as well as later strug- 
gles, the Military chapter of this part of Massachusetts will show that 
the Newbury citizens were loyal to their adopted country, the same 
being true ever since in the descendants to our own day, — to the close of 
the terrible World War of 1918. 

Saw-mills, fulling-mills and flour-mills made up the list of early 
industries in Newbury; next came the period of tan-yards and rope- 
walks. After the incorporation of Newburyport and West Newbury, 
the old industries mostly died out, with a few exceptions ; for instance, 
the ship-building industry, which was transferred to the newly-formed 
municipalities. In 1794 the first incorporated woolen mill in the State 
was the factory of Guppy & Armstrong, of Newburyport. Besides 
the large woolen mills on the river, there were two snuff-mills; near 
the railroad station was a shoe factory at Byfield, carried on by J. 0. 
Rogers, with a product of a thousand cases per year. 

The business connected with ship-building at Newbury was at first 
carried on at the Parker river. The boats there constructed were 
doubtless small sloops of a light draught. As early as 1652 mention is 
made in a pamphlet of "an old building-yard" on Carr's Island, and it 
shows the launching of numerous boats from here at about that date. 
Under authority of the government, a report gives the name and ton- 
nage of one hundred and six boats between 1698 to 1851, enrolled at 
the Newburyport Custom-House, as being one hundred and twenty- 



TOWN OF NEWBURY 89 

eight. Between 1793 and 1852, the number of boats registered at the 
Newburyport Custom-House was three hundred and twenty, making a 
total of various types of vessels constructed in and near Newbury, 
six hundred and fifty-four. After 1851, when the territory on the river 
between Newburyport and West Newbury was annexed to Newbury- 
port, the Newbury ship-yards were within the city limits, and ship- 
building in Newbury ceased. 

The annals of this town should not fail to give a brief account of 
at least one individual whose inventive genius has in his career revolu- 
tionized many an industry. We refer to Paul Pillsbury, who resided at 
the old Pillsbury estate at Byfield. Among other articles invented by 
this gentleman may be named the universally used shoe-peg, which 
revolutionized the shoe-maker's trade, for prior to that date all work 
about shoe soles had been accomplished by sewing. He also invented 
and placed on the market a machine to manufacture shoe-pegs, instead 
of making by hand as at first. He also made shuttles for the cotton 
factories. His first invention was a corn-sheller, for which he received 
a Letters Patent in 1803, this being the first attempt at shelling corn 
in any other manner than by hand-work. In 1808 he obtained a patent 
on a bark-mill, the foundation of all types of small mills such as paint- 
mills, coffee-mills, spice-mills, etc., now in use the world over. The 
old way of treating bark for tanning vats had hitherto been accom- 
pUshed by rolling it with a grindstone of huge proportions, the same 
usually being run by a horse. Other inventions of Mr. Pillsbury in- 
cluded a rotary fire-engine, a seed-sower, churn, a gold-washer and 
sifter, coffee roaster, coffee-mill, window fastener, bee-hive and other 
useful articles. It is believed that this inventive genius was from the 
same family of Pillsbury stock from which descended the Minneapohs 
Pillsbury family— the great flour-making men and politicians of thp 
West. 

It would take a volume to give a detailed account of the various 
rehgious societies within this town since its first settlement. Ail that 
will be attempted in this connection will be to give some of the more 
important facts concerning the church life of the town. Coffin's his- 
tory of Newbury says: "The people having built a ministry-house, a 
meetmg-house which was soon used as a schoolhouse, had a ferry es- 
tablished at Carr's Island, and became an orderly community, and be- 
gan not only to lay out roads, but as they were rapidly extending their 
settlement farther north, to take special care of the town's timber." 

In 1660 the second meeting-house was built. It was in this build- 
ing that was enacted an extraordinary exhibition by a former member 
Lydia Wardwell, of her naked person during divine service. For this 
offense she was taken to Salem and sentenced to be whipped and pay 
court costs. This poor misguided woman, whose maiden name was 
Perkins, was the wife of Eliakin Wardwell, of Hampton. The strange 



90 ESSEX COUNTY 

act was in a way justified by George Bishop in his publication entitled 
"New England Judged" as follows: 

His wife Lydia, being a young woman and tender and chaste woman, seeing 
the wickedness of your priests and rulers to her husband, was not at all offended 
at the truth, but as your wickedness abounded, so she withdrew and separated 
from your church at Newbury, of which she was sometimes a member, and being 
given up to the leading of the Lord, after she had been often sent for to come 
thither, to give a reason for such a separation, it being at length on her, in the 
consideration of their miserable condition, who were thus blinded with ignorance 
and persecution, to go to them, and as a sign of them she went (though it was 
exceeding hard to her modest and shame-faced disposition) naked amongst them, 
which put them into such a rage, instead of consideration, they soon laid hands 
on her, and to the court at Ipswich led her, where without law, they condemned 
her to be tyed to the fence post of the tavern, where they sat, and there sorely 
lashed her with twenty or thirty cruel stripes. And this is the discipline of th« 
church of Newbury, in New England, and this is their religion and their usage 
of the handmaid of the Lord, who, in a great cross to her natural temper, came 
thus among them, a sign, indeed, significatory enough to them, and suitable to 
their state, who under the vision of religion were thus blended into cruel persecution. 

This singular incident is given today, only to show a wide reform 
since those far away years in the first century of New England's 
settlement and today. 

Just before 1686 were the famous trials of Caleb Powell and Ehz- 
abeth Morse for witchcraft, the two cases being the only ones connected 
with that strange condition of affairs in New England from Newbury. 
William Morse, the husband of Elizabeth Morse, was the supposed vic- 
tim. Powell was acquitted, and Mrs. Morse, after condemnation to 
death, was finally reprieved. 

The Baptist church was formed at Newbury in 1682, with members 
including these : George Little, Philip Squire, Nathaniel Cheney, William 
Sayer, Benjamin Morse, Edward Woodman, John Sayer, and Abel 
Merrill. 

To those interested in the church history of this town and its en- 
vironments, it may be stated that among the various ministers who 
held a prominent paii; in the settlement and eventual development of 
the country, these were included: Rev. Richard Brown, First Parish; 
Rev. Moses Hale of the Byfield Parish ; Rev. Toppan ; Rev. Oliver Noble 
of the Fifth Parish; Rev. Isaac Smith, of Boston; Rev. Elijah Parish 
and Rev. Moses Parsons, and others whose names have been missed 
with the flight of time. 

The Methodist Episcopal church was formed in Byfield in 1827, 
by Rev. William French. The first class consisted of these: David Clif- 
ford (leader), Simon Pillsbury, James Burrel, Jerusha Burrel, Alice 
Pillsbury, Eleanor Perry, Amos Pillsbury, Sally Clifford, Hannah Eng- 
land, William W. Perry, Abner Rogers, Betsey Poor. The same year 
a neat chapel was built near the Great Rock. This was so small, how- 
ever, and without seats, that the women stood within the building. 



TOWN OF NEWBURY 91 

some seated on stones which they had brought in from outside, and the 
men standing on the outside looking in through the open windows. 
In 1831 a church proper was formed and was a part of the New Eng- 
land Conference. It was styled "The First Parish of The Methodist 
Episcopal Church for the towns of West Newbury and Newbury." To 
give a list of the many ministers who served this church so many 
years is not considered in keeping with this brief church history. Suf- 
fice it to say, this church grew and prospered, and has usually been 
supplied with an average talented minister, down through all the years 
to the present time. 

A society of the Plymouth Brethren was formed here in 1877, as 
seceders from the Methodist church. It was an English denomination, 
and never attained any great strength in America. 

The present officers in Newbury are inclusive of the following: 
Selectmen — Richard T. Noyes, chairman; Benjamin Arthur Rogers, 
Stewart L. Little; Town Clerk, John C. Rolfe; Assessors — Richard T. 
Noyes, chairman, Benj. Arthur Rogers, Stewart L. Little; Treasurer and 
Collector, Arthur W. Moody; Auditor, Paul Henry Ilsley; Overseers of 
the Poor — George Roy Tarbox, John C. Rolfe, Charles S. Rogers ; School 
Committee — Harold W. Pritchard, chairman, Charles S. Holton, John T. 
Litch, Edward L. Urie; Truant Officer, William N. Sanborn; Constables, 
William Dole, William N. Sanborn, Edmund S. Rogers, Albert H. Smith ; 
Burial Officer, Benj. P. Rogers; Fence Viewers — Asa Pingree, Elbridge 
Noyes. 

During the last fiscal year the town's reports show the following 
figures : 

Appropriated. Expended. 

$ 4,500.00 State Tax $6,010.60 

800.00 State Highway Tax 846.20 

3,500.00 County Tax 3,389.03 

7,500.00 Highways 7,289.59 

18,000.00 Schools 19,123.29 

1,800.00 Town Officers 1,188.55 

3,500.00 Snow Paths 3,712.65 

150.00 Soldier's Relief . 279.75 

150.00 Military Aid 90.00 

2,100.00 State Aid 1,704.00 

200.00 Public Library 400.00 

1,200.00 Poor 1,857.06 

300.00 Mother's Aid 460.00 

200.00 Interest 470.83 

500.00 Hospitals 650.00 

2,000.00 Incidentals 2,309.33 

100.00 Forest Fires 44.55 

500.00 Board of Health 546.41 

650.00 Moth Work 3,512.86 

300.00 Abatements 373.75 

75.00 Memorial Day 75.00 

$48,025.00 Totals $55,033.45 



92 ESSEX COUNTY 

Total number of male polls assessed, 393; Total number of registered voters, 
201; Total number of females registered, 139; Total number of male voters, 20b; 
Total number of female voters, 118; Total number of persons assessed on property, 
405; Value of assessed personal estate, $325,573.00; Value of assessed real estate, 
buildings, $732,800.00; Value of assessed real estate, lands, $565,408.00; Total 
assessed valuation, $1,298,208.00. 

The United States Census reports gave the population of this town 
in 1900 as 1,601 ; in 1910 it was 1,483 ; and the 1920 enumeration shows 
only 1,303. Many of the younger persons have removed, and a goodly 
number of farmers within the town have for a decade and more been 
retired citizens in Newburyport, hence the decrease. 

Byfield Village is within Newbury, and according to recent statis- 
tics it has the following business interests, etc. : Dummer Academy, in 
South Byfield; BilHard and pool rooms — Orrin B. Tarbox, Central By- 
field; Hariy L. Leeming, blacksmith; the Byfield Felt Manufactory; 
grocers, Charles J. Cheney, William P. Pearson; ice dealer, William N. 
Sanborn ; physician, Dr. Gorham D. Rogers ; provisions, Rodney M. Hills, 
Albert H. Woodman ; snuff makers, the Byfield Snuff Company ; blanket 
makers, (woolen) , the Byfield Felt Company. 



CHAPTER VIII. 
TOWN OF ROV7LEY. 



Rowley, a town of Essex county, Massachusetts, was founded in 
1639 — two hundred and eighty-two years ago. As originally bounded, 
this town was from Ipswich on the south to Newbury on the north, and 
from the ocean on the east to the Merrimac river on the west. 

Its worthy founders were Rev. Ezekiel Rogers and his company from 
England. More than thirty years ago, George B. Blodgette, M. A., of 
this county, wrote concerning Rev. Rogers, in these words : 

Ezekiel Rogers was the son of Rev. Richard Rogers, a distinguished Puritan, of 
Wetherfield, Essex county, England, was bred at Cambridge, where, in 1604, he 
was a Corpus Christi man when he was graduated as a Bachelor of Arts and of 
Christ's College in 1608, when graduated as Master of Arts. After leaving the 
university, he became chaplain in the family of Sir Francis Harrington, of Essex, 
exercising himself in ministerial duties for about a dozen years. He then was called 
to a public charge, at Rowley, in Yorkshire, where he continued in great favor for 
seventeen years, when he was compelled to relinquish his charge — as he tells the 
story in his will, "For refusing to read that accursed book that allowed sports on 
God's holy Sabbath, or Lord's Day, I was suspended, and, by it and other sad signs 
of the times, driven, with many of my hearers, into New England." 

The landing was effected at Salem, Massachusetts, in the autumn of 

1638, and the new town founded in April, 1639, the Act of Incorporation 
reading as follows: "The 4th day of the seventh month (September) 

1639, Mr. Ezekiel Rogers' plantation shall bee called Rowley." 



TOWN OF ROWLEY 93: 

Mr. Rogers was a man of great note in England for his piety and 
his ability ; while the members of the company he brought with him to 
Rowley, were called by Governor Winthrop, "Godly men and most of 
them of good estate." 

In the tract set off to Rogers' company several farms had been laid 
out; these were purchased by the company for £800. The purchase 
money was contributed by such as were able to pay, and in the platting 
of house lots all who paid nothing were given one acre and one-half, 
while those who paid were given lots in proportion to the amount con- 
tributed. The distinction became more apparent when the rule of the 
assignment of rights (called "Gates") in the commons is known. 

As a means of reference to those interested today, or in the years 
to come, in those who first settled the town of Rowley, this list of sixty- 
nine names constitutes a complete list of the original house-lot owners 
with acres of land : 

George Abbott, 2; William Acy, 2; Thomas Barter, 4; James Barker, 1^; Will- 
iam Bellingham, 4; Matthew Boyes, 2; William Boynton, 1^; John Boynton, 1^; 
Edmund Bridges, IVz; Sebastian Brigham, 4; Widow Jane Brocklebank, 2; John 
Burbank, li/i; Edgar Carlton, 3; Hugh Chaplin, 1%; Peter Cooper, 1^; Widow 
Constance Crosby, l^^; Thomas Dickinson, 1%; John Dresser, 1%; Thomas Elithorp, 
1%; Widow Jane Grant, 11/2; John Harris, 2; Thomas Harris, 2; William Harris, 2; 
Robert Haseltine, 2; John Hazeltine, 2; Michael Hopkinson, IV2; Robert Hunter, 2; 
William Jackson, 11/2; John Jarrat, 2; Maximillian Jewett, 2; Joseph Jewett, 2; 
George Kilboume, IVz; Francis Lambert, 2; Thomas Leaver, 11/2; Thomas Lil- 
forth, liy^; Thomas Mighill, 3; John Miller, 2; Thomas Miller, 1% ; Thomas Nelson, 6; 
John Newmarch, 2; Thomas Palmer, 1%; Francis Parrat, 2; John Remington, 2; 
Humphrey Reyner, 3; Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, 6; Henry Sandys, (Sands in record) 2; 
Edward Sawyer, 11/2; William Scales, 1%; Widow Margery Shove, 2; Hugh Smith, 
1%; John Spofford, iy2; Margaret Stanton, 1; William Stickney, iy2; Thomas Sum- 
ner, 1%; Richard Swan, 2; Thomas Tenney, 1%; Richard Thorley, (now Thurlow) 
2; John Trumble, 1^^; Richard Wicom, 1%; William Wild, 1%. 

A London (England) publication in 1654 said of these people and 
their settlement: "These people being industrious in every way, soon 
built many homes, to the number of about three-score families and were 
the first to set up making cloth in this Western World ; for which end 
they built a fulling mill, and caused their little ones to be very diligent 
in spinning cotton-wool, many of them having been clothiers in Eng- 
land." Governor Winthrop in 1643 wrote of this settlement: "Our sup- 
plies from England failing, much men began to look about them, and fell 
to a manufacture of cotton; whereof, we had a store from Barbadoes, 
and of hemp and flax; wherein Rowley, to their great commendation, 
exceeded all other towns." Other histories state that the first fulling- 
mill in this country was located by John Pearson, neai' the Nelson grist- 
mill. It was in 1640 v/hen Thomas Nelson built his saw mill, and in 1643 
added a grist-mill. 

Other chapters in this work will treat in detail on the part the 
county of Essex took in all the various wars, including the last great 



^4 ESSEX COUNTY 

World War. Let it be said in this connection, that Rowley has ever pro- 
ven itself patriotic in the times that have tested men's souls. A military 
company was formed in 1640 ; in King Philip's War, Captain Lathrop's 
company was known as the "Flower of Essex." The Revolution, War of 
1812, the Mexican, Civil War, Spanish-American and World War have 
each had men from this little New England town. 

From the start, Rowley was both noted for manufacturing as well 
as for its farming interests. Large numbers of the first to settle here 
were expert weavers from England, and naturally transplanted the trade 
to their new home in the New World. As early as 1680, ship-building 
was carried on to quite an extent at the warehouses and landings of the 
Stewarts, who preceded the Saunders, who followed this business for 
more than a century. In 1813, Captain Nathaniel Perley built a ninety- 
ton vessel on Rowley commons, a mile and a half from the river. It was 
known as the "Country's Wonder." It was drawn to the river in one 
day, by one hundred yoke of oxen. While the teamsters stopped for 
lunch. Captain Perley poured a full barrel of old Jamaica rum into the 
Saunders well, that all might drink. 

Malt-kilns were in existence in Rowley as early in 1645, and numer- 
ous tanneries were constructed soon after the first settlement. In 1800, 
the number of tanneries was nine, and in 1839 about 600 cords of bark 
for tanning purposes, were brought here by ships. 

The advent of the steam railroad in 1840, changed many features 
of the town. Many oxen were dispensed with and farming was not as 
profitable as before, but manufacturing began to be the order of the day. 
Boots and shoes were made by factory methods (as then understood) in 
1703 by Abraham Jewett, and he continued until his death twenty-two 
years later. He was succeeded by others, until in the early eighties the 
business was in the hands of such firms as the Hendersons, Fosters, 
Todds, Primes, etc., and at that date the annual output exceeded $200,000. 
Messrs. Burke, Ellsworth and Boynton were largely engaged in making 
heels and rands, while inner-soles were being made by Bernard Damon. 

One of the land-marks of Rowley is the old Glen Mills, established 
by Thomas Nelson and purchased in 1820 by N. N. Dummer, Sr., who 
also introduced carding machines. Since 1856 this plant has been ex- 
clusively engaged in making family flour. The power as described in the 
eighties was that furnished by three turbine water-wheels and a sixty- 
horse power engine. A 14,000 bushel capacity elevator is near the mill. 

From records furnished by the department at Washington and from 
local assistance, the following list of postmasters for these two post- 
offices have been carefully compiled with years of appointment. Row- 
ley—James Smith, 1806 ; Edward Smith, 1825 ; Frederick Lambert, 1829 
Benj. H. Smith, 1835; Oliver Blackinton, 1847; Richard Herbert, 1851 
Joseph Johnson, 1853; Oliver Blackinton, 1854; Ezekiel Bailey, 1854 
Thomas B. Cressey, 1861 ; J. S. Todd, 1869 ; Frank E, Jackson, 1881 ; Al- 
bert E. Bailey, 1886. 



TOWN OF ROWLEY 95 

The postmasters since 1826 have included these: Benjamin Cole- 
man, 1826; Samuel W. Stickney, 1827; Benjamin Coleman, 1828; Martin 
Root, 1847; Henry Durant, 1851; George C. Lincoln, 1852; Paul Tit- 
comb, 1853; Samuel S. Moody, 1854; Benj. Pearson, 1862; Harriet L. 
Moody, 1868; Justin 0. Rogers, 1873, 

As originally incorporated, Rowley embraced also Bradford (then 
taking in Groveland) in 1675, Boxford in 1685 and Georgetown in 1838, 
while the Bradstreet, Hammond and Harris farms were annexed from 
Ipswich in 1784. Its usual population for many years prior and including 
1885 was about 1200, and the latest United States census gives it 1,249 
in 1920. 

The first church was organized by Rev. Ezekiel Rogers shortly after 
the town was incorporated, December 3, 1639. Of this, the first minister 
and stated pastor of the parish, much has been written, but the following 
taken from the epitaph on his tombstone will suffice in this connection: 

Sacred to the memory of Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, first minister of the gospel in 
Rowley, who emigrated from Britain to this place, with his church and flock, A. D. 
1638. He finished his labors and life, January 23, 1660, in his seventieth year. 

He was a man of eminent piety, zeal and abilities. His strains of oratory were 
delightful. Regeneration and union to Jesus Christ by faith were the points upon 
which he principally insisted; he so remarkably described the feelings,, exercises, mo- ■ 
tives, and characters of his hearers, that they were ready to exclaim, "who hath told 
him all this?" With the youth he took great pains, and was a tree of knowledge, 
laden with fruit, which the children could reach. 

He bequeathed a part of his lands to the town of Rowley, for the support of the 
gospel, which generous benefaction, we (in the first parish) enjoy until the present 
day; and here gratefully commemorate, by raising this monument to his memory, 
A. D. 1805. 

The bequest just named above appears in his will as follows: 'The 
rest of my estate in lands that are not given unto my wife during her 
natural life, that is, the land at planting-hill and called Shatswell's 
ground, and all the rest, be it meadow, fresh or salt or other upland 
whatever, and one-third part of gates or commonage, I give to the church 
and town of Rowley." He also made many more liberal contributions to 
the church and town. 

The second minister here was Rev. George Phillips, a graduate of 
Harvard College, 1650, died April, 1696, the ancestor of many dis- 
tinguished of his family name in this country. The third minister was 
Rev. Samuel Shepard, graduate of Harvard 1658. He served faithfully 
and well until taken from earth, 1678. From records he compiled and 
left with his parish it appears that the "blue laws" were very blue in 
those days. It took more than a century to inject much of the broader 
element of Christianity into these parishes, as we view such matters to- 
day. The fourth minister was Rev. Edward Payson, a graduate of Har- 
vard College in 1677, who came here to preach in 1680. He married and 
had seventeen children. He served well, and the church record says "The 



96 ESSEX COUNTY 

Rev. Edward Payson died August 22, 1732, about ye rising of ye sun in 
the 76th year of his age, after about a month's languishment and after 
he had preached ye gosi>el in Rowley more than 51 years." The fifth 
minister was Jedidiah Jewett, born 1705, graduated at Harvard College 
in 1726 and ordained in 1729. The third meeting-house was built under 
his pastorate. He stated in a record that in 1744 his membership was 
208 persons. He died in 1774, and the parish voted to pay his funeral 
expenses and erect a suitable monument to his memory. The sixth min- 
ister was Ebenezer Bradford, the last regular parish minister who re- 
mained until released by death, all others having been dismissed. Rev. 
Bradford died in 1801. Following came these: Revs. Tullar, Tucker, 
Holbrook, Pike, Lyman, Blake, Joslyn, Bruce ; the last-named became pas- 
tor of the church at Rowley in 1878, and was dismissed in 1882. 

The following was a part of their "Confession of Faith," as late as 
the eighties : 

. that God created man upright, that our first parents freely smned and 
fell, and that all their posterity are born destitute of holiness, dead in trespasses and 
sins, and justly exposed to the wrath and curse of God. 

• that God in His mercy has not left all mankind to perish forever, but 
of his mere good pleasure, has, from eternity, Elected some to everlasting life; and 
has determined to deliver them out of a state of sin and misery, and to bring them 
into a state of salvation by a Eedeemer. 

. . . that without a change of heart, wrought by the special agency of the 
Holy Ghost, who is truly God, no one can be an heir of eternal life. 

That there will be general resurrection of the righteous and the wicked and a 
general judgment; at which all the righteous will be received to everlasting happi- 
ness,, and the wicked sentenced to misery without end. 

As early as 1702 the people residing in the northwestern part of the 
town of Rowley joined with the inhabitants of Newbury, living near the 
"Falls", in the erection of a meeting-house in that vicinity and in 1706 
became a separate church by themselves. In the eighties it is found 
that the meeting house was located at Georgetown. It is known as 
Byfield parish. 

In the southwestern portion of the town of Rowley was the church 
of Linebrook, whose members had united with some from Ipswich and 
formed a church in November, 1749, with George Leslie as first minister. 
After the changes of many years the churches of the town have finally 
been reduced to the one in Ipswich. 

Like many another locality in New England, the Universalist faith 
has ever been quite strong in Essex county, including in the town of 
Rowley where a parish was organized or incorporated in 1877, and a 
meeting-house erected. However, no regular pastor was called and no 
extensive efforts have been made to increase the interest of this denom- 
ination. 

The Baptist Church was formed in November 16, 1630, with twelve 
charter members. During that year a building was erected, and it was 



TOWN OF ROWLEY 97 

still doing service as late as 1890. About 1862 the membership had in- 
creased so much that the church was enlarged and beautified. The reg- 
ular pastors have included these: Rev.s Caleb Clark, 1831-34; Jeremiah 
Chaplin, 1834-36; Benjamin C. Grafton, 1839-41; Cephas Pasco, 1841- 
48; Zenas Wildes, 1848-50; Alexander W. Carr, 1851-62; James W. 
Lathrop, 1862-67; Edwin T. Lyford, 1868-70; Robert G. Farley, 1870-71; 
Andrew Dunn, 1871-74; Patrick Galeher, 1876-78; John W. Chase, 1879- 
81 ; James H, Gannett, 1881-84 ; Jonathan Tilson, 1884-91 ; James 
B. Webber, 1916—; J. J. Fowler, 1917-20; Arthur W. Swift, 1920 and 
H. Hollingsworth, 1891-93; L. E. Caster, 1894-95; David M. Lockrow, 
1895-98; W. B. Crowell, 1898-1901; Frank B. Sleeper, 1902-06; Elias C. 
Miller, 1907-08; Frederick J. Ward, 1910-13; J. C. Hayes, 1913-14; A. 
B. Webber, 1916—; J. J. Fowler, 917-20; Arthur W. Swift, 1920 and 
present pastor. The present membership is 116; attendance at Sunday 
school is 132. The present edifice is valued at $8,000. 

The present industries in Rowley are quite limited, there only being 
two concerns — a heel factory and a shoe factory, the latter employing 
about seventy-five people when ninning full capacity. The ordinary 
small town retail dealers are here found. With towns and thriving cities 
on every hand it is not strange that such towns as Rowley should not 
be any greater than they are. 

This is one of Massachusett's oldest town incorporations, it having 
been incorporated in 1639, and has just published its two hundred and 
eighty-first annual report. Here one finds the utmost care taken with 
public records. The present town elective officials are as follows: Town 
Clerk, John Marshall; Selectmen, Joseph N. Dummer, J. Harris Todd, 
Charles H. Perley; Assessors, J. Harris Todd, Joseph N. Dummer, 
Charles H, Perley; Treasurer and Collector, Wilfred P. Adams; School 
Committee, Samuel F. Knowles, Jr., Mrs. Mabel K. Gordon, William 
Dummer ; Auditor, Arthur W. Peabody ; Surveyor of Highways, A. Ben- 
nett Boynton ; Constables, John A. Savage, Frank L. Cook ; Chief of Po- 
lice, John A. Savage ; Librarian, Mrs. Charles H. Perley. 

The financial condition of Rowley is indeed most excellent. The 
assets now amount to $13,415.48, while the liabilities run $13,428.30 — 
liabilities more than assets, $12.92. When one understands that the 
place is supplied with electric lights (municipal) and has fully up-to- 
standard highways, good schools, etc., it is remarkable that the town 
has less than thirteen dollars indebtedness. 



Essex^T 



CHAPTER IX. 
TOWN OF MARBLEHEAD. 

In the southeastern part of Essex county, Massachusetts, lies the 
historic and unique peninsula known as Marblehead. It is sixteen miles 
out from Boston. This township, comprising about 3,700 acres, meas- 
ures near four miles from northeast to southwest, by from one and a 
half to two miles in width. 

Between the "Neck" and the main land is a fine sheet of water, 
forming one of the best harbors along the entire Atlantic coast. At the 
date of landing of the forefathers, the whole of the eastern Massachu- 
setts coast was in possession of a tribe of Indians called Naumkeags, 
then under rule of the Squaw sachem of Saugus, widow of the great 
Nanepashemet, who in his day had been a powerful warrior, indeed con- 
trolling all other near-by tribes. But war and disease had thinned out 
the ranks of what had been a very large Indian tribe, just before white 
men saw these shores for the first time. The great conflict had occurred 
in 1615. In 1619 the enemy had besieged them, and in this movement 
chief Nanepashement was killed. 

In 1621 a party from the Plymouth Colony, while ranging over this 
section, came across some of the old Indian forts. Winslow's account 
reads: . . 

Having gone three miles we came to a place where corn had been newly gather- 
ed, a house pulled down, and the people gone. A mile from hence Nanepashemet, 
their king, in his life time had resided. His house was not like others; but a scaf- 
fold was largely built with poles and planks, some six foot from the ground and a 
house upon that, being situated on the top of a hill. Not far from hence, in a bot- 
tom, we came to a fort built by the deceased king the manner thus: There were 
poles, some thirty or forty feet long, stuck in the ground as thick as they could be 
set one by another, and with them they enclosed a ring some thirty or forty feet 
over. A trench, breast-high, was digged on each side; one way there was to get to 
it with a bridge. In the midst of this palisade stood the frame of a house wherein, 
being dead, he lay buried. About a mile hence we came to such another, but seated 
on the top of a hill. Here Nanepashemet was killed, none dwelling in it since his 
death. 

After the death of this chief, his widow and her sons took charge of 
the affairs of their tribe. This squaw sachem lived in harmony with 
the white race, and at last really submitted to their government. Kind 
and docile in disposition, and generous to the wants of the whites, they in 
due time became the wards of the settlers. Forsaking the gods of good 
and evil, whom their fathers had taught them to worship, many were 
baptized and embraced the Christian religion. 

Relics of the villages, graveyards, shell-heaps and Indian fort have 
been found from time to time, which, were other evidences wanting, 
are sufficient to prove the fact of this country having long been held by 




SPIRIT OF '76 
ORIGINAL IN ABBOT HALL. MAKBLIUILAD 




FORT SEWELL AND HAKIJOR ENTRANCE. MARRLEHEAD 



TOWN OF MARBLEHEAD 99 

Indian tribes. Utensils made of stone have been found, ^»mong tliem 
arrow-heads, spears, etc. The largest shell-heap is near the Pine Grove, 
on the line of the railroad to Salem. By actual measurement, this con- 
tained thirty cords of shells, placed in layers of stone and ashes. 

"Small-pox Pasture" at the Harris farm and in fields on Atlantic 
avenue, excavations have been found, thought to indicate the former 
location of Indian wigwams. These cellars are always to be found near 
some reliable supply of water. They are from six to eight feet across, 
and were originally from two to four feet in depth. The Bessom pas- 
ture, near Salem harbor, was most likely the site of an Indian village. 
Excavations, supposed to have revealed the cellars of wigwams, are to 
be found every^vhere in the vicinity. An examination of this pasture 
revealed a grave in November, 1874, containing five skeletons, four being 
those of grown persons, the other that of a child. All but that of the 
child were in a remarkable state of preservation, one being very large, 
evidently that of a man. They were all buried on their backs, with their 
heads to the west, except one, which lay with its head to the east; the 
legs being drawn up so that the knees nearly touched the chin. Besides 
the skeletons, a lot of trinkets, an earthen cup, a small bell, two seashells, 
and a quantity of beads were found in the grave, proving conclusively 
that the bodies were buried after the white settlers came to America. 
As late as two hundred years ago, tradition says that Indians dwelt in 
Marblehead. In the Lower Division Pasture, the location of an Indian 
stockade is or was thirty years ago, mentioned by some of the older 
inhabitants. They received their information from aged citizens, then 
about to depart for their final rest, whose memories fondly cherished the 
traditions transmitted to them by their fathers. 

While there appears to be a dispute as to what particular part of 
England the first settlers to Marblehead migrated, all agree that they 
were from that Kingdom, and that they arrived about 1629. They were 
largely fishermen, rough and ready at any kind of hard service. They 
came only about four years after Salem was first settled. This township 
included, at one time, all the territory embraced within present Essex 
county. In Colonial Records the name Marblehead occurs for the first 
time in 1633. In September, 1631, Isaac AUerton, having had difficulty 
with associates in the Plymouth colony, set sail in the "White Angel" 
for Marblehead, where he established a fishery station. Without going 
further into details as to just who the first settlers were, where they 
located and what became of them, it will suffice to state that such settle- 
ment was effected in the years from 1629 on, and that usually they were 
from England. 

In 1636 the building of a college was talked of and really projected 
in Marblehead. At a town meeting held in Salem, in May, 1636, in an 
order for the division of Marblehead Neck, Mr. Humphreys made ap- 
pHcation for some land beyond Forest river. Six gentlemen were to 



100 ESSEX COUNTY 

take it under advisement, and "to carefully consider of the premises, 
lest it should hinder the building of a College, which would mean many 
men's losse." October following, the Court granted £400 toward the 
erection of a college. The next year a committee was formed to look to 
its erection. This consisted of Mr. Humphrey and the Rev. Hugh Peters. 
The court subsequently ordered the college to be built at Cambridge, 
then called Newtowne, and to be named "Harvard College," in honor of 
the Rev. John Harvard, who made a bequest of several hundred pounds 
towards its erection, and donated his library for the use of the students. 

The year 1636 was important to the history of Marblehead. It was 
in that year that the first ship was built there — a craft of 120 tons bur- 
den, and the third ship ever built in the colony. This vessel, known as 
the "Desire," for more than two years was used in the fishing business. 
Later, she went to the West Indies, and returning brought a cargo of 
"salt, cotton, tobacco, and negroes." These are supposed to have been 
the first slaves ever landed in the Colony. This was a fatal step, one 
later regretted by all New England times without number, when its 
result was finally observed, down as late as Lee's surrender to Grant, 
at the close of the Civil War. 

In March, 1648, the town of Salem ordered: "That Marblehead, with 
the allowance of the General Court, shall be a town, and the bounds to be 
to the utmost extent of the land which was Mr. Humphries' farme, 
and soe all the land to the sea." May 2, 1649, the General Court granted 
the petition of the inhabitants, and the town was duly incorporated, as 
follows : "Upon the petition of the inhabitants of Marblehead for them 
to be a town of themselves, Salem having granted them to be a town of 
themselves, and appointed them the bounds of their town which the 
Court doth grant." 

Shortly after the separation from Salem, a meeting of the inhabi- 
tants was held, and the following town officers were chosen, or, as the 
record expresses it, "These men were chosen for the town's business: 
Seven men or select men: Moses Maverick, Samuel Daliber, Francis 
Johnson, Nicholas Merritt, John Peach, senior; John Deverox, John 
Bartoll." 

While this is the first meeting after incorporation, the records do 
not begin really until December 22, 1648, when it was "Agreed by the 
towne that all such as are strangers fishing or employed about fish shall 
pay unto the Towne for their and flake stufe and other conveniences, 
the sum of ten shillings a year for every man." In 1660 there were only 
sixteen houses in this township. 

With the passing years many changes have been wrought in this 
town. Improvements have been made, they existed for decades, and 
then finally went to decay, as new and more modem methods obtained. 
Better street and road systems came, better architecture and different 
vocations followed. Coming down to the last annual report of the Board 



TOWN OF MARBLEHEAD 101 

of Auditors, in 1921, the following were the officers in different depart- 
ments: Selectmen: Thomas Loham, Jr., chairman; John N. Osborne, 
William J. Goldthwait, Samuel B. Graves and John G. Stevens; Town 
Clerk, William T. Litchman; Town Treasurer, Everett Paine; Collector 
of Taxes, J. Hooper Martin ; Assessors : Thomas Swasey, Herbert E. Bal- 
lard, Fred B. Litchman; Overseers of the Poor: William J. Goldthwait, 
chairman; Charles E. Stevens, James E. Gormon, Everett Chapman, 
Theodore M. Hutchinson; Fire Engineers: John T. Adams, chairman; 
William H. H. Atkins, Charles A. Goodwin, John T. High, Thomas H. 
Rhoades; Constable, Andrew M. Stone; Auditors: Fred R. Cooksey, 
chairman ; Emerson S. Clark, William R. Noyes ; Surveyor of Highways, 
E. Frank Chapman; Tree Warden, William H. Stevens; Moderator, 
Joseph W. Coates ; Fence Viewers : William Pierson, Everett C. Beesom ; 
Measurers of Wood and Bark: Walter P. Homan, George Doherty; In- 
spector of Animals, Everett C. Peach ; Sealer of Weights and Measures, 
Ambrose J. Brown; Harbor Master, Stacey H. Clark; Chief of Police, 
Fred W. Trasher ; Patrolmen : Reuben A. Paine, John H. Colly er, Thomas 
G. Sweet, Charles E. Taylor, Samuel I. Chapman, B. F. Doliber (2d), 
George P. Kelley, Fred W. Bailey, Harold L. Woodfin. 

Vital statistics in 1920 — Marriages recorded, 92 ; licenses issued, 80 ; 
married in Marblehead, 60; licenses outstanding, 5; brides bom in 
Marblehead, 26; grooms born in Marblehead, 15; both bom in Marble- 
head, 19 ; brides foreign born, 8 ; grooms, foreign bom, 5 ; both foreign 
bora, 6. The town had an indebtedness at the end of 1920 amounting 
to $241,000, but at the close of that year, the books show payments 
amounting to $203,000, as follows: Bonds on water loans, $18,000; 
schoolhouse loans, $13,000; municipal lights loan, $2,000, and road im- 
provements, $5,000. 

The present system of water-works in Marblehead was Installed in 
1886, and has been extended and improved with the passing years, until 
now it appears to be adequate to the demands of the municipality. The 
number of gallons of water pumped in 1920 was 233,000,000; average 
number of gallons per day, 636,000 ; average pound of coal per day used 
2,636; coal for the year, 965,000. Gallons pumped with one pound of 
coal, 241. 

A recent historical account says that the year 1667 proved disas- 
trous to the people of Marblehead. Owing to the inclemency of the 
weather during most of the season when fish were plentiful, they were un- 
able to venture out in their boats to any distance, and in several instances 
those who did so were lost. The court therefore, with considerate sym- 
pathy, voted to abate their proposition of the county tax for one year. 

Times change, some features grow better, while others change for 
the worse. The custom of using intoxicating liquors as a beverage, 
which prevailed in all New England until within a comparatively short 
time, was pronounced at Marblehead during its early days. No vessel 



102 ESSEX COUNTY 

sailed from its harbors for long or day trips without a good supply of 
liquors. No boat arrived with its supply of fish without supplying some- 
thing "to take" for the inner man. Even the functions of all the 
churches had to be toned up by "spirits." 

The first school of this town was opened in 1675, by Edward Humph- 
ries, who received £40 yearly for instruction. In 1674 the town had one 
hundred and fourteen houses, all well filled. 

In 1675 the war with the Indians, known as King Phihp's War, broke 
out, and lasted in all fury for three years, only ending with the death of 
King Philip. The whites were slaughtered in great numbers, and it 
appeared in 1677 as if the white race was to become extinct in the 
colony. Two Indians having been brought captives to Marbiehead, their 
fate was thus related by Increase Mather in a letter dated 23d of the 
fifth month, 1677: "Sabbath night was sennight, the women at Marble- 
head, as they came out of the meeting-house, fell upon the two Indians 
that were brought in captives, and in a tumultuous way, very barbarous- 
ly murdered them. Doubtless if the Indians hear of this, captives among 
them will be served accordingly." 

In 1747, a school for poor children was established by Robert Hooper 
Jr., who agreed to pay all expenses for salary of a teacher if the town 
would fit up and keep a suitable school room. This offer was gladly car- 
ried out, and thus it was that the poor children of the town had school 
opportunities. The place then contained about four hundred and fifty 
residences. 

During 1768 nine vessels, with crews, were lost, and the following 
year fourteen other vessels met with like fate — one hundred and twenty- 
one men and boys lost their lives. Besides these, many were washed 
overboard from boats on the homeward trips. A large number of widows 
and orphans were thus left to care for themselves, or to be kept by the 
town. These were among the darkest days ever experienced in Marble- 
head. 

Human slavery existed in Marbiehead, as well as in other New Eng- 
land towns, at a very early day. In fact, nearly all of the more wealthy 
families owned one or more negroes. Colonel Lee, that great business 
factor in colonial days, owned many slaves, whom he employed in the 
work of loading and unloading his numerous vessels, as fast as they 
arrived from foreign ports. Slavery was then believed to be the proper 
and natural condition of the black race, and was fostered and encour- 
aged. Church records disclose the fact that negroes were baptized and 
received into the church. Slave marriages are also there recorded for all 
three of the Marbiehead churches. Early newspaper files give further 
evidence of the slave conditions in Marbiehead. These notices appeared 
in the papers in 1724 and as late as 1756 : 

Ran away from his master, Capt. Richard Trevett, of Marbiehead, a Ne^o man 
named Pompey, about twenty-two years of age; a Lusty tall fellow. He had on 



TOWN OF MARBLEHEAD 103 

when he went away a striped home-spun jacket, cotton and Linen shirt, dark colored 
Kersey breeches, gray yam stockings, round-toed leather heel shoes and felt Hat. 

Note — He deserted his master's service in the Shallop Ann at Plymouth. Who- 
ever shall apprehend the said Runaway and him self safely convey to his said master 
at Marblehead or to Mr. Francis Miller in Boston, near the Green Dragon, shall 
have fifty shillings reward and all necessary charges paid. 

August 6, 1724. 

To be sold by Jacob Fowle Esq., and Mrs. Susannah Palmer, administrators of 
the estate of John Palmer, late of Marblehead, deceased, a likely Negro man, about 
twenty-five years old, and a fine Negro boy about fourteen. 

Marblehead, October 16, 1750. 

Ran away from Capt. John Diamond at Marblehead, on Tuesday, the 11th of 
September, instant, a Spanish Negro Fellow named "Cuffe" about twenty-five years 
old; speaks broken English, and can talk Spanish language. He is a tall slim fel- 
low; had on a new felt Hat, striped home-spun Jackett, breeches, New Shoes with 
square Buckles. Whoever will bring or send the said Negro to Mr. Norwood, In- 
holder at Lynn shall have two dollars reward and all necessary charges paid. All 
Masters of vessels and others are cautioned not to conceal or carry off ths said 
Negro, as they would avoid the penalty of the law. 

September 29, 1759. 

After England had imposed a tax on many articles used by her col- 
onies, including tea shipped from India by England, the people at Marble- 
head voted that "the use of tea at a time when our inveterate enemies 
are causing it to be enforced on the American colonies in the most violent 
methods, even by armed bands, is no less an injury offered to the colonies 
by all who vend or purchase it than affording assistance to those enemies 
to raise revenues to pay dragoons who are to enslave us." It was also 
voted that "this town highly disapproves the vending or use of any India 
Tea." A tea committee of eleven persons v;as appointed to warn the 
people not to sell or use India teas, and it was voted that all that re- 
fused to discontinue the sale of the article, being warned by the com- 
mittee, "should have their names posted at the Town-House and at the 
several churches, that the town may know their enemies." From that 
date on, the good citizens of Marblehead defied English authority over 
them, even ignoring the "British Regulars" stationed at the Neck to 
intimidate them into submission. 

The Revolutionary War followed, and was successfully fought to a 
finish by the American patriots. For the part borne by Marblehead and 
other Essex county towns, readers are referred to the military chapters. 

After the end of the Revolution, General Washington, having been 
elected President, made a tour through New England. He visited Marble- 
head, en route, and greatly inspired the men of the place in their task of 
rebuilding what had been ruthlessly destroyed by the British in that 
eight-year conflict on both coast and land. Poverty was in evidence on 
every hand. At the time of Washington's visit there were four hundred 
and fifty-nine widows and eight hundred and sixty-five orphans in the 
town, nearly all having to be supported by the taxpayers. With the 
severe winter of 1790, the sufferings were indeed fearful, and history 
says many perished from hunger and exposure. 



104 ESSEX COUNTY 

During 1790 the Methodist Episcopal church was organized at the 
home of Mr. Prentiss, on Mugford street. This church had only seven 
charter members, but grew rapidly in the few succeeding years. The 
Marblehead Academy had now come to be a successful educational insti- 
tution and was legally incorporated by the legislature in 1792. (See 
Educational chapter.) 

Memorial services were held in Marblehead over the death of Pres- 
ident Washington, who died at Mt. Vernon in December, 1799, aged 
sixty-seven. The day of his funeral was befittingly observed here by 
the slow tolling of church bells, the firing of minute guns, and general 
suspension of all business. In the afternoon the Masonic lodge and 
school children marched to the new meeting-house, and heard the oration 
Dy Joseph Story, then a law student. 

At the close of the second war with the Mother country, people in 
the vicinity of Marblehead set to work to retrieve their lost fortunes. 
There were only forty-eight fishing vessels, eighteen of which were less 
than fifty tons burden. March 4, 1817, James Monroe of Virginia was 
made vice-president, and in a few weeks visited this section of New 
England. He was met at the town's entrance by a military company, 
and escorted to the "Lee Mansion," and there feasted. 

A Sabbath school Y\-as orgf^nized here in the spring of 1818; this 
was a union affair, but eleven years later each church had its own separ- 
ate Sunday school, as today. 

In 1824, Marquis Lafayette, on his tour of the United States, visited 
Marblehead, accompanied by his son, George Washington Lafayette. 
They too, were received at the "Lee Mansion" above referred to. The 
well-to-do of the town helped supply silverware for the occasion. 

The Columbian Society of Marblehead was organized in 1824 and 
existed many years as an important factor in the community. 

It was also during 1824 that the streets were first named. Prior to 
that time, all had been known as "lanes" — "Ferry Lane," "Wharf 
Lane," etc. 

Certain it is that Marblehead inti'oduced the manufacture of misses' 
and children's shoes as early as 1825. Before that period, only heavy 
boots and shoes for the use of the fishermen were ever produced in 
Marblehead, with some custom-made shoes for ladies and gentlemen. 
The first to engage in the real manufacture of shoes here was Ebenezer 
Martin, who made his own shoes and sold them at retail. His workshop 
was in the "Old Reynolds" house, on Darling street. He used to carry 
his goods about in a cart, driving from one town to another, until his 
stock had been disposed of. Other very early manufacturers in shoes 
were Thomas Wooldredge, Benjamin Hawkes, Thomas Gamey, and 
Adoniram C. Ome. 

Marblehead's first local newspaper was issued March 13, 1830, as 
the "Marblehead Register," published by Henry Blaney for three years, 



TOWN OF MARBLEHEAD 105 

when it died for lack of sufficient support. Several others were launched, 
but these also went down, to rise no more. However, in 1871 the 
"Marblehead Messenger" was established, and has remained in the ranks 
of Essex county newspapers. (See Press Chapter.) 

The improvements in 1831 included the incorporation of the Grand 
Bank, with a capital of $100,000, with Joseph Green as its president. 

August 30 that year the town petitioned Congress for the erection 
of a lighthouse at Marblehead on Point Neck. It was duly built, its 
first keeper being Ezekiel Darling. The same year the Marblehead Sea- 
man's Charitable Society was formed. It was the second humane so- 
ciety ever formed in the town — the Marblehead Female Humane So- 
ciety, established in 1816, being the only one to organize prior to this. 
In 1835 the Fire Department was thoroughly organized. The town then 
owned four fire engines, and there were two privately owned engines. 

In 1836 the Universalist Society was organized, at first a private 
room serving as the worshiping place. The year following, the members 
erected a commodious church building on Pleasant and Watson streets. 

Under President Andrew Jackson's administration, when the sur- 
plus money in the United States Treasury was apportioned among the 
various States, that part belonging to Marblehead town amounted to 
over $13,000. The town voted this sum to purchase a town fann and 
erected an alms-house with the money. 

Stage coach communication between Marblehead and Boston was 
first opened in 1768 ; between Salem and Marblehead it was deferred for 
twenty-six years. The first railway opened through from Boston was 
in 1838, through to Salem, when the stage was discontinued, but stages 
ran four times daily from the depot in Salem to Marblehead. In 1839, 
however, the branch line of railroad to Marblehead finally discontinued 
the stage coach for all time. 

The year 1839 was the most propitious in the Marblehead fisheries. 
It was during that year that ninety-eight vessels, only three under fifty 
tons burden, were employed in the business. 

In 1846, September 19, another calamity took place, to fill all 
Marblehead with sorrow and grief. This was the destruction of ten 
vessels belonging to the town, off the coast of Newfoundland, when sixty 
men and boys were lost at sea. Forty-three of the unfortunate seamen 
were heads of families, and left more than one hundred and fifty chil- 
dren. Calamity succeeded calamity, and finally caused the enterprise, so 
long kept up, to go down, practically speaking. 

In these modern days of strikes and unrest, it may be of interest 
to note briefly the account of the first strike among the shoe workers in 
the town. It was at the end of the year 1859 and the beginning of 1860 
workers in the shops in Lynn and Marblehead were getting ready for an 
upheaval over low wages then being allowed them, or so contended at 
least. In the spring of 1860, nearly every man, woman and child em- 



106 ESSEX COUNTY 

ployed in the two places — Lynn and Marblehead — participated in the 
movement, and there was a general determination not to submit to re- 
duction in wages. March 2, the strikers made a grand demonstration, 
being escorted by the fire company and three military companies. Five 
days later, Lynn had a similar demonstration, when the strikers from 
Marblehead went over and paraded with the forces at Lynn. March 29, 
the women paraded about the streets of the town, one woman acting 
as drummer. After six weeks of bickering, the strikers went back to 
work, at terms dictated by the shop owners. 

In 1839, when the railroad to Salem was opened, manufacturing 
interests here began to look up. Joseph R. Bassett, then in the prime of 
his young manhood, established a shoe business. He also aided many 
other enterprises in Marblehead. For yeai's a tv/ine-factory or "rope- 
walk," had existed in the field fronting Washington street, while a short 
distance in the rear was a tan-yard and cordage factory. Bassett 
bought the field, opened up School street, and othei'wise changed the 
streets of the ancient town of Marblehead. During 1847 Bassett built a 
steam saw-mill, in which wooden shoe-boxes were made in large quan- 
tities. Other enterprising men were operating there along with Mr. 
Bassett, but he alone is cited as an illustration of what one good busi- 
ness factor may accomplish in a town when so minded and capable. 

It should be remembered that the shoes produced in Marblehead 
during the period just mentioned were all made outside of regular fac- 
tories. With the introduction of labor-saving machinery, however, the 
sewing-machine division especially, a new system was ushered in. The 
McKey sewing machine, for leather work, was introduced in 1859, and 
that was the beginning of a new era in boot and shoe industries thrcugh- 
out the countiy. 

During the year 1874, the selectmen were fonnally notified that 
Mr. Benjamin Abbot, who died in Boston, September, 1872, had be- 
queathed the residue of his property, after the payment of several other 
bequests, to the town of Marblehead. The property consisted of United 
States bonds and other securities, amounting to $103,000. The will of 
the donor ended as follows : "I have made this provision for the tov/n of 
Marblehead, because it was my birthplace. And it is my desire that a 
building shall be erected for the benefit of the inhabitants of said town, 
but I do not intend to limit the use of the legacy to that purpose or to 
impose conditions which would prevent the use of it for such other gen- 
ei'al objects as the citizens of said town may determine upon in their 
discretion. I desire that my name shall always be attached to said fund." 
The legacy was accepted by the town, and it was decided to erect a build- 
ing to be known as "Abbot Hall." In 1877 this building, a biick stric- 
ture, stone-trimmed, was completed at a cost of $75,000. It is situated 
on the Common, or Training Field Hill, one of the most elevated points in 
town, and visible for miles at sea. 



TOWN OF MARBLEHEAD 107 

The citizens of Marblehead are of that true and patriotic type who 
always remember their country's fla^ and its defenders. In the matter 
of erectmg appropriate monuments and memorial markers, there is no 
more active town in the county. In this connection, only two monuments 
will be mentioned. One is that at the junction of Pleasant and Essex 
streets, unveiled May 17, 1876, a hundred years after the capture of the 
English ship "Hope," by Commander James Mugford of the American 
vessel "Franklin." This monument is eighteen feet tall, and about five 
feet square at its base, and is a Hollowell granite shaft. The other 
monument, standing at the confluence of Mugford and Elm streets was 
unveiled July 4, 1876, in memory of the fallen hemes from the town of 
Marblehead in the Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War of 1861-65. 
This is also a fine Hollowell granite shaft, thirty-four feet high, and 
eight feet square at its base. It contains appropriate tablets. 

President Chester A. Arthur paid Marblehead a visit and was re- 
ceived at Abbot Hall in 1882, by nearly two thousand people there assem- 
bled. Appropriate memorial services were held in the town over the 
death of President James A. Garfield, in the autumn of 1881, at which 
time Vice-President Arthur was sworn in as his successor. 

Coming down to the 8th of August, 1885, memorial services were 
held m honor of Ex-President U. S. Grant, in Abbot Hall. Captain K. 
V. Martin presided, and an appropriate oration was delivered by Cap- 
tain Benjamin Pitman. Civil War veterans in the vicinity were out to 
pay their last respects to the "Silent Soldier", who had suffered so many 
weary months. 

Whatever else may be said of several memorial services over de- 
ceased Presidents, as carried out at Marblehead, perhaps none ever 
affected the people in general as did those for the loved and lamented 
Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated in April, 1865. On the day of 
Mr. Lincoln's funeral in Springfield, Illinois, many of the shoe factories 
were closed and appropriately draped in emblems of mourning. The 
church bells were tolled, and services held at the Baptist church, where 
an address was delivered by Rev. George W. Patch. 

The history of Marblehead, up to this point, has treated of its early 
settlement, its business enterprises, its people, its churches, customs of 
its people, the population and other features. As a fishing port this 
town flourished many decades, and finally went down. Factories' then 
came m, and had their turn at employing the laboring element. The 
greater portion of all these elements of business, however, have gone 
out of commission, and Marblehead has come to be more of a summer 
resort, or place for the well-to-do to retire and enjoy life by the great 
sea shore, whose eternal waves change not in their restless motion, how- 
ever men may change in thought, action and deed, with the ebb and flow 
of the ocean's tide. 

Marblehead was visited in 1877, in the month of June, by a very 



108 ESSEX COUNTY 

destructive fire, which destroyed scores of buildings, both business and 
residence property. Again in December, 1888, the fire fiend set out in all 
his fury to destroy the town, which had scarcely been rebuilt since its 
first great fire in 1877. Of the first fire a former county history has 
this to say : 

The most extensive conflagration ever known in the annals of the town took 
place on the morning of June 25, 1877. At about half past one o'clock, a bam in the 
rear of the three-story building known as the "Marblehead Hotel", situated on Pleas- 
ant street, in the midst of the largest and finest buildings of which the town could 
boast, was discovered to be on fire. Before assistance could be summoned, the fire 
had communicated to the hotel, and when the firemen arrived on the scene the build- 
ing was in flames. Every effort was made to stop the progress of the destructive 
element, but without avail. The General Glover Engine House, situated directly 
over the Brick Pond reservoir, was soon in flames, cutting off the supply of water 
from that source. The fire was now beyond the control of the firemen, and, in spite 
of their almost superhuman efforts to stop it, spread from building to building with 
lightning-like rapidity. In a few moments a large shoe manufactory, known as Pope's 
Block, was on fire, the flames spreading to a barn owned by E. V. Bartlett & Co-, from 
thence to a shoe factory owned and occupied by that firm. The fire now defied all 
efforts at control. Leaping around the corner of School street, the conflagration ex- 
tended all the way from Rechabite Building to a shoe factory owned by Nathaniel 
Glover, thence to a large block owned by Wormsted & Woodfin, and soon the shoe 
manufactory of William Stevens, a stable owned by Thomas T. Paine and fifteen 
other buildings, mostly dwelling houses, comprising every building of Sewall street, 
from the corner of School street to Spring street, were in flames. Extending along 
the north side of Pleasant street, the fire consumed a building belonging to T. T. 
Paine; a small dwelling owned by William Humphrey, the beautiful depot erected 
a few years previously, said at that time to the finest on the line of the Eastern Rail- 
road; a barn and a dwelling house owned by Benjamin G. Hathaway; a boarding house 
by Henry F. Pitman; a large shoe manufactory owned by Jonathan Brown, the 
dwelling of William C. Lefavour, and a bam belonging to the estate of the late 
Doctor H. H. F. Whittemore. On the south side of Pleasant street, every building, 
save one, was consumed, from a house belonging to the estate of Mrs. Leonora Chap- 
man, nearly opposite the place where the fire originated, to the Mugford Monument, 
at the junction of Essex and Spring streets. These included a large block owned by 
Joshua 0. Lefavour, a house owned by John H. Brown and occupied by G. W. For- 
syth as a boarding house; a large four story building called "Allerton Block"; a 
shoe factory owned by M. J. Doak, and several dwelling houses. On the southern 
end of School street, every building was destroyed, including the large building owned 
by Henry O. Symonds; the frame and material for a new engine house being con- 
structed; a stable of Enoch A. Perkins, the South Congregational Church; a dwelling 
owned by Edward Glover, and several smaller structures. On Essex street, every 
building was destroyed including a large shoe factory, belonging to the estate of 
John H. Wilkins; a small shop used by a marble worker and several dwellings. On 
Spring street two shoe factories owned by William C- Lefavour and four dwelling 
houses were destroyed; the only building left standing was the Sewall schoolhouse. 
On Bassett street, two dwellings together with a barn belonging to Henry F. Pit- 
man, were destroyed, and several other buildings were seriously damaged. 

At one time every church in town was on fire, except the Baptist and Roman 
Catholic. Then it was that strong men trembled, fearing that the town would be 
destroyed. But their desperation only nerved them to greater efforts, and at lengthy 
reinforced by assistance from Salem, Lynn, and other cities, the firemen were sue- 



TOWN OF MARBLEHEAD 109 

cessful and conquered the fire. But what a scene of devastation met the eye when 
the morning sun broke forth. Where but a few hours before had been large factories 
and comfortable homes-monuments of the enterprise and industry of the people- 
were only stone walls and tottering chimneys. The entire business portion of the 
town had disappeared in a single night. Seventy-six buildings, with all their con- 
tents, representing over a half million dollars' wori:h of property, had been con- 
sumed, only four of the large shoe manufactories were left standing in the town 
while ninety families were made homeless, and fifteen hundred men and women were 
thrown out of employment. 

This in brief is the story of the fire of 1877 in Marblehead. Then 
came the great fire of Christmastide, 1888. This was well written up in 
the local newspaper, to whose columns the writer of this chapter is in- 
debted for material facts for the following account of it: 

At the rear of the large furniture warerooms of D. B. H. Power & Company's 
plant on Pleasant street, a tongue of fire shot upwards. There was a sound of crack- 
mg flames. A terrific explosion was heard as far as Salem; also was heard at Lynn- 
a deep-mouthed, hollow subterraneous sound. In an instant, neariy everyone in 
town was on foot, and starting for the street-another explosion was heard from 
the same quarter, rocking a building from end to end. The plate glass was smashed 
to small pieces, while flames leaped half way across the street. There was a shout 
and bystanders ran for their lives. The fire steamer had hardly left the engine 
house before it was apparent to half the town that another great fire had begun. 
People looked into one another's faces, panic-stricken, and asked themselves how it 
was to end. 

Streams of water were hardly in action before the Rechabite building was 
afire; the flames crossed the street, and were already running up the front of the 
.arge shoe factory of F. W. and I. M. Munroe. At the same time, the fire reached 
the vacant buildmg of W. J. Goldthwaite by the Philip Trasher candy factory. 
Steamer -William Henry Lee" took the position on School street and worked well 
for twenty minutes, then broke down. Meantime, word was telephoned to Salem, 
Lynn and Peabody, and just then the shrill whistle rang out a warning cry The 
flames spread in all their fury. The fire went down through School street 'like a 
heated whiriwmd, taking the big brick engine house, Symonds building, Thomas 
Knowlands residence, etc. The row of buildings beyond the depot went down in 
rapid succession. Consternation was visible in every countenance, as the work of 
destruction sped on; no words can describe the scene. People were running about 
with loads of packages of household goods, laden wagons were racing to and from 
the fire some drawn by men. Furniture, wearing apparel, etc., were to be seen 
scattered all about the streets. People were anxiously enquiring about missing 
fnends, or asking what they should do to keep the wolf from their door in the 
oncoming winter days (this was Christmas). Women and children in tears were 
clinging to one another, sorrowfully and frantically. The whole town was lighted 
up with a strange, unearthly glare, while volumes of smoke and myriads of sparks 
shot upward toward the heavens. This fire lighted up the whole country around 
and was plainly seen from Boston. Horse cars, hacks and private rigs came into 
LT HJ^-T^^tt''' .^^^^'''' Swampscott. Peabody and Lynn all offered and 
Sm n u ^^'^ ^^^ P^^^ moonlight died away into the rosy hues of the 

2 nf M^^^fl"'^""'''^' ^ ^"""^^^^ 'P'"^^'^" ^"^ ^^^ ^y^« °f the unfortunate peo- 
ple of Marblehead; where but yesterday had been comfortable homes and busy 
factories was nothing but blackened embers, broken walls and melancholy ruins." 

With thousands of dollars expended in Christmas tokens, merry- 
makmg was on the minds of both old and young, but all was suddenly 



110 ESSEX COUNTY 

changed to sorrow. This fire was even more disastrous than that of 
1877. Not so many buildings, possibly, were destroyed, but a larger 
financial loss was sustained in the 1888 fire. The "Messenger" re- 
marked on that occasion: "Thank God, things are no worse. We have 
the Harris factory left, as well as Boynton's, Hooper's, Withum's, Os- 
borne's and Lyon's." These two gi-eat fires were just eleven and one 
half years apart, to a day. 

The amounts here noted were the fire losses, and no account has 
been taken or amount deducted on account of insurance that may have 
been later collected on such gross losses. The William J. Goldthwait 
building, near the Brick Pond reservoir, $2,000; gi'oups of buildings 
belonging to D. B. H. Power Co., $9,000 ; Rechabite Hall, owned by the 
Samaritan Tent of Rechabites, $10,000; this was occupied by a boot 
and shoe store belonging to Benjamin H. Blaney, the loss was $2,500; 
Miss Kate Collins, millinery, $1,000; Walter R. Arrington, painter, 
$3,500, and the American Express company; Richard W. Reed's house, 
$2,500; residence of Mrs. Daniel Braughton, $4,000; dwelling of the 
Foss estate, $2,500; Stephen C. Church residence, $3,000; factory and 
residence owned by S. C. Church, $1,000; the building owned by T. W. 
Paine, the Pame's Express, Laster's Protective Union building and the 
John Q. J. Frost dining room, $2,900; also the box factory of Cress- 
man & Metcalf, $7,500; two shoe factories by F. W. and I. M. Munroe, 
$100,000. The Lefavour's block full of tenants all met with heavy 
losses. The Rialto, owned by N. A. Lindsey, $5,000 ; Peach Bros.' shoe 
factory, $16,000 ; William Stevens, Jr., shoe factory, $10,000 ; H. O. Sy- 
monds' building, $3,500 ; W. C. Gregary building, and contents, $14,000 ; 
the brick engine house, $7,000; Thomas G. Stacey's residence, $2,500; 
shoe factory of Thomas Appleton, $3,500 ; another shoe factory by Wil- 
liam J. Goldthwait, $15,000 ; the B. E. Cole shoe factory, $75,000 ; dwel- 
ling houses of William C. Lefavour, together with contents, $40,000. 
There were many smaller buildings not here listed. It may be said 
that to this day the effects of that gi'eat fire are felt in the town of 
Marblehead. 

Today the commercial interests of Marblehead are almost entirely 
confined to the summer resort incomes. The shoe business was gi'eatly 
crippled many years ago by the great fire, and within a few years the 
shoe factories that were left have been generally closed on account of 
labor disputes, and are in that condition today, outside of a few small 
concerns. There are three excellent banking houses (see Banking). 
The usual number of secret and semi-secret orders are here found. 

The United States Custom House for the district of Massachusetts, 
is located at No. 61 Pleasant street. There are a number of places 
where antiques of almost every conceivable kind can be purchased — 
not less than seven such places are open in the summer months. Boat- 
ing, apartment houses and boarding places, are very numerous in the 
town. 



TOWN OF MARBLEHEAD 111 

The Directory of 1920 for Marblehead, gave the shoe factories as 
follows: Chadwick Shoe Company, Finch Brothers, H. Humphrey & 
Sons, Edward P. Martin, Paine Shoe Company, Parker Shoe Company, 
Rice & Hutchins, Schribman Shoe Company, John G. Stevens and 
Wright Brothers. A glue manufactory is conducted by James Sullivan 
& Son. The only newspaper in the town is the "Messenger" (see Press 
Chapter) . Boat builders in 1920 were William H. Chamberlain, James 
E. Graves arid George C. Pinkham. 

A Congregational church was organized in 1684, Rev. Cheever be- 
ing ordained its regular pastor. He had, however, been preaching here 
sixteen years. Communicants had increased to fifty-four, and they 
were in the habit of worshiping in Salem for baptisms and sacraments. 
July 16, 1684, was kept as a sacred fete, observing the blessing of God 
on the undertaking, the exercises being conducted by Rev. Mr. Hall, of 
Beverly. The ordination of Mr. Cheever took place August 13 in the 
presence of the deputy Governor, five of the assistants, twenty elders 
and a large concourse of people. 

In 1714, Rev. Cheever having become very old and quite infirm, his 
church voted to settle a younger minister with him as an assistant. 
The one chosen was John Barnard of Boston, although Edward Holyoke 
was also an applicant for the position, and lost by only a small majority 
in the town's vote. This caused trouble, and the church was split as- 
sunder, following which the town granted permission to form another 
church of the disaffected members. A charter was finally obtained of 
the General Court. The contest was a bitter one between the two fac- 
tions. April, 1716, the new meeting-house having been erected, the 
"Second Congregational Church of Marblehead" was organized, and Mr. 
Holyoke was ordained as its pastor. To show the conditions that ob- 
tained in the town when Rev. Barnard came, the writer takes the liberty 
of extracting from that minister's autobiography as follows: 

When I first came (1714) there were two companies of poor, smoke-dried, rude, 
ill-clothed men, trained to no military discipline but that of "Whipping the Snake" 
as it was called. There was not so much as one proper carpenter, nor mason, nor 
tailor, nor butcher in the town, nor any market worth naming; but they had their 
houses built by country-workmen, and their clothes made out of town, and supplied 
themselves with beef and pork from Boston, which drained the town of its money. 
And what above all, I would remark, there was not so much as one foreign trading 
vessel belonging to the town, nor for several years after I came into it. Though 
no town had greater advantages in their hands. The people contented themselves 
to be slaves that digged in the mines, and left the merchants of Boston, Salem and 
Europe, to carry away the gains, by which means the town was always dismally 
poor in circumstances, involved in debt to the merchants more than they were worth; 
nor could I find twenty families in it that upon the best examination could stand 
upon their own legs; and they were generally as rude swearing, drunken and 
fighting a crew as they were poor. 

Through the influence of Minister Barnard, the people were finally 
induced to send their own fish to market, Joseph Sweet being the first 



112 ESSEX COUNTY 

to thus engage in the enterprise. He fitted out a small schooner, which 
he sent to the Barbadoes with a cargo of fish to European markets. 
Thus it will be observed that the early ministry had more on hand in 
the line of duty than to prepare sermons and deliver the same. They 
had the good of their membership, in a material way at heart, and gave 
most excellent advice to them. 

Time went on and changes came to the town and its several 
churches. In May, 1737, Rev. Edward Holyoke, pastor of the Second 
Congregational church, was chosen by the board of overseers of Harvard 
College to fill the vacancy caused by the death of President Wadsworth. 

In 1858 a number of the communicants in the First Congregational 
Church withdrew from that body, and organized the "Third Congrega- 
tional Church." The new society erected a church building in 1860, 
known as the "South Church." It stood at the comer of Essex and 
School streets. In the sweeping conflagration of 1877, this church was 
destroyed, after which the church membership concluded to unite with 
the First Church agam. 

During 1714 an Episcopal church was organized and a house of 
worship erected. The funds were raised by thirty-three gentlemen, 
who pledged themselves in sums ranging from a few shillings to more, 
making in all one hundred and seventy-five pounds. The remainder was 
to be made up by several captains of vessels in sums varying from two 
to twelve pounds each. The frame and all articles for construction were 
brought from England. The first rector was Rev. William Shaw, who 
arrived and took charge of the parish July 20, 1715. Thus was estab- 
lished Marblehead's first Episcopal church. 

The following is an account given of the Second Congregational 
Church (Unitarian) by Roads, in his "Histoiy and Traditions of Mar- 
blehead" : 

The organization of this church was occasioned by a controversy in the First 
Congregational Church concerning the settlement of a colleague to the Rev. Samuel 
Cheever. In December, 1714, the First Church voted to call the Rev. John Barnard, 
and on the 5th of February, 1715, one hundred and twenty-four persons, who favored 
the settlement of the Rev. Edward Holyoke, withdrew from the society, and pledged 
themselves in an agreement to contribute the necessary funds for the erection of a 
"New Meeting House." The edifice was completed during the latter part of the 
year, and on the 25th of April, 1716, the Second Congregational Church was organ- 
ized, with twenty-seven members. 

Mr. Holyoke resigned inl737 to become president of Harvard College. Between 
1737 and 1811 the following were pastors: Rev. Simon Bradstreet, Rev. Isaac Story, 
Rev. Hezekiah May. The succeeding pastor was the Rev. John Bartlett, who was 
ordained May 22, 1811. The pastorate of Mr. Bartlett was probably the most event- 
ful of any in the entire history of this church. During the great religious excite- 
ment caused by the Channing movement in the Congregational churches of New 
England, Mr. Bartlett announced his belief in the doctrines of Unitarianism as 
preached by Mr. Channing and his followers. A majority of the communicants 
supported Mr. Bartlett in his teachings, and the church has ever since been Uni- 
tarian. During the year 1832, the old house of worship was torn down and a new 
church edifice was erected. 



TOWN OF MARBLEHEAD 113 

Mr, Bartlett died in 1849, and the same year the Rev. Benjamin Huntoon be- 
came pastor. He was followed by Rev. Samuel R. Calthrop, Rev. James Henry 
Wiggin, Rev. William B- Buxton, Rev. Benjamin H. Bailey, Rev. James K. Applebee, 
Rev. John B. Barnhill, Rev Henry C. McDougall, Rev. Albert Walkley, Rev. Alfred 
D. K. ShurtlefF. 

In October, 1910, the church building burned to the ground, and the next year 
the present church edifice was built. Services are being held every Sunday, with 
the pulpit occupied by a regular supply, and the Sunday school and parish activities 
are in charge of a paid parish worker. There are now ninety-six members in this 
church, and a Sunday school attendance of sixty-five; Mrs. Merrill E. Shaw is 
superintendent. 

The first church building was erected in 1715, was torn down and in 1832, an- 
other was built and that burned in 1910; the third church was erected in 1911, is of 
wooden material and is valued at $32,000, and the land connected therewith is val- 
ued at $2,600. 

The following on the Church Star-of-the-Sea is furnished by Rev. 
M. J. Sullivan: 

Though there had been Roman Catholics in Marblehead for many 
years, there was no attempt to have a celebration of the mass in town 
until the year 1851. During that year the Reverend Thomas Shehan, 
pastor of St. James Church, Salem, visited the town and celebrated mass 
in the house of Mr. Dennis Donovan, on the comer of Prospect and 
Commercial streets, now owned by John E. Martin. Father Shehan af- 
terwards came to Marblehead twice a year to administer Holy Commu- 
nion, services being held alternately at the houses of Mr. Donovan and 
that of Mr. John Mahoney on Glover Square. 

With the exceptions of these visits of Father Shehan there were 
no services of the Roman Catholic Church in Marblehead until the year 
1854, when Anderson's Hall on Pleasant street, on the site of the pres- 
ent Evans Park, was engaged and mass was celebrated there on the 
second and third Sundays of every month. In 1857 services were held 
at the town hall, and during that year about $1,000 was raised by sub- 
scription for the erection of a church edifice. A lot of land on Prospect 
street, at the junction of Prospect and Rowland streets, was bought as 
a site for the building. In 1859 a small church was built and services 
were regularly maintained under the superintendence of Father Shehan, 
who officiated himself or procured the services of other priests. 

In November, 1865, Father Shehan gave notice that he was ap- 
pointed to the church of another parish in Boston and requested the 
people to make an effort before he left them to pay any indebtedness 
which they owed on the Church building, which they did. From that 
time the parish was in charge of the Rev. Charles Rainoni, who was 
living at that time in Danvers and who celebrated a mass in Danvers 
and one at Marblehead on each Sunday thereafter, and in 1872 he took 
up his permanent residence at Marblehead and became the first regular 
resident parish priest in charge of the church. In 1872 a new church 
edifice was erected on Gregory street, where now stands the present 

Essex — 8 



114 ESSEX COUNTY 

rectory, and on the 8th day of July of the same year it was burned to 
the ground before there had been any religious ceremonies performed 
therein. The old church continued to be used and the services were 
held there as usual. A short time after the destruction of the new 
church, the present house and rectory was erected on the same site for 
the use of the pastor. 

Father Rainoni died in January, 1875, and was succeeded by the 
Rev. Daniel S. Healey. During the pastorate of Father Healey the old 
church was entirely remodelled and built to its present lines. In Jan- 
calf, who remained as pastor until the spring of 1886, when he was 
succeeded by the Rev. William Shinnick. Father Shinnick remained 
pastor up to the time of his death in 1912. During his pastorate he 
had as curates Rev. John J. Griffin, now pastor at Winthrop, Rev. 
uary, 1882, Father Healey was succeeded by the Rev. Theodore A. Met- 
Thomas McManus, Rev. John I. Lane, and Rev. Henry K Lyons, now at 
St. Augustine's, South Boston. 

Father Shinnick was succeeded by the Rev. James Gilday, who took 
charge of the parish in the early summer of 1912, and remained in charge 
up to his death on May 29, 1920. During his pastorate. Rev. John F. 
Monaghan and Rev. Ambrose D. Walter, the present curate, served as 
curates. The present pastor, the Rev. Michael J. Sullivan, was appointed 
in 1921. 

The old part of the present cemetery was acquired in 1868, and con- 
sisted of about three acres. The adjoining land, consisting of about 
seven and one-half acres, was acquired for additional cemetery purposes 
during the pastorate of Father Gilday. The present total membership, 
men, women and children, of this Catholic church is one thousand. The 
Parochial school has a membership of about two hundred and fifty. The 
value of the church edifice and property is $50,000. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE TOWN OF SALISBURY. 

Among the earliest settlements in New England, Salisbury ranks 
among the first. Eighteen years after the landing of the Pilgrim 
Fathers, in 1638, and ten years after the settlement at Salem, what was 
styled a "plantation" was established on the north side of the Merrimac. 
A strip of territory extended from the Merrimac river north a distance 
of almost ten miles, including also within its scope what is now the town 
of Seabrook, a portion of Hampton and Kingston, all three in New Hamp- 
shire, the Haverhill line on its western border and its eastern boundai-y 
the Atlantic Ocean. The first settlement was very near the ocean, where 
the original land grants were made, and later become known as the East 



; TOWN OF SALISBURY 115 

Parish. At first this collection of settlers named their community Col- 
chester, but the General CJourt in 1640 changed the name to Seabury, 
by which name it was first incorporated as a town. A goodly number 
of the immigrants in this town came from Seabury, England, among 
this number Rev. William Worcester. Historian Coffin says "The early 
settlers of this town were men fitted by education to adorn any civil 
station." 

Early in its history Salisbury was made a shire-town, and continued 
from 1643 to 1649. But it was also the court-town of another county 
than Essex — that of Norfolk, comprising the New Hampshire planta- 
tions of Exeter, Hampton, Portsmouth and Dover, then (1643) united to 
Massachusetts, and the town lost its court. A court house was erected 
in East Parish. In the jail at this point many a culprit was fastened in 
the stocks as a punishment. Much difficulty was experienced in fixing 
the State line between New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and the legis- 
latures of the two states, as well as the courts, had much to do to bring 
about the present boundary lines. South Hampton and Seabrook were 
finally given to New Hampshire, after which peace was declared. 

The original grantees of Merrimac plantation were Simeon Brad- 
street, Daniel Dennison, Christopher Batt, Samuel Windley, Samuel 
Dudley and John Sanders. In the spring of 1639, the records show that 
the grantors agreed that each settler should have two pieces of meadow 
land and a certain amount of planting land, according to wealth of the 
grantees — four acres to every one hundred pounds. This was evidently 
a movement to get wealthy men to occupy the lands, more than from 
any benevolent spirit. The grant to the Rev. William Worcester shows 
that he possessed no small amount of wealth, and he was given a large 
number of acres of meadow and upland in different localities. Some of 
these "great planting plots" were west of the Powow river. 

The first burying ground was laid out on the Beach road, and it is 
mentioned as joining the house lot of Richard Wells, a wealthy settler. 

Without entering into details of dates and localities, the names of 
some of the early comers to this place here follow : Thomas Macy, Thomas 
Bradbury, John Hodges, Willis Barnes, William Hook, George Carr. 

At a meeting held February 5, 1640, by the freemen, a large num- 
ber of grants were made and the price of labor during the summer 
months was fixed at twenty pence per day, while carpenters were to 
have two pence per day more than common laborers. (Note the change 
in sentiment in the year of Our Lord, 1921, on the labor question). The 
price of lumber was also fixed by the town, as was the price for milk at 
three and a half pence per quart for new milk, and one pence for skim- 
med milk, ale measure, while gilt-edged butter brought six pence a pound. 

Among the most active and valuable settlers of the town was Major 
Robert Pike, who not many years since was immortalized by the "Quaker 
Poet" Whittier; he was bom in Longford, in 1616, and came to Newbury 



116 ESSEX COUNTY 

with his father, John Pike, who died in 1654. He was admitted as a 
freeman in 1637, was representative in 1648, and for six years more; 
he was a heutenant and finally a major; in 1689 he became a member of 
the committee of safety, and one of the first council under William and 
Mary in 1692. He died in 1796, aged ninety-two years. To him was 
attributed the action of defending the "Quakers" who were sentenced 
to be whipped by a justice in Dover on the way to Salisbury, and declared 
that no such act would be inflicted on them in the town, hence the poem 
by J. G. Whittier just mentioned. 

In 1655 the first bridge was thrown across the Merrimac river — a 
floating bridge, or pontoon, between Carr's Island and Newbury, at the 
old ferry. It was only five feet wide, rails on either side, was two hun- 
dred and seventy feet long, and was built by George Carr, who then 
owned the island. For his services he was liberally rewarded with land 
grants within the town, mostly for footmen and small stock. 

Passing over many scores of years, let the reader now think of be- 
ing in this part of New England one, two or three generations ago. It 
is found that the ancestor of the great Daniel Webster came from here. 
His mother was bom in Salisbury, her maiden name being Abigail East- 
man, who married Colonel Ebenezer Webster, father of Daniel Webster, 
noted among the statesmen of America. The famous Gushing family 
descended from Rev. Caleb Gushing, so well known to readers of history. 
He was bom in Salisbury. Nathaniel Currier held a commission under 
King George III; but when the Revolutionary struggle commenced, he 
threw up his commission and joined the patriots; elected to "Congress 
at Watertown" in 1773, he died in 1775. 

Salisbury is another one of the towns of Essex county that has 
been content to remain a quiet, home-like place, where order and good 
manners have ever marked its history, but where no gi*eat commercial 
enterprises have ever been fostrd and developed. In 1900 the United 
States census returns gave the population as 1,558; in 1910 the same 
authority placed it at 1,658, and in 1920 at 1,701. 

Structures something after the manner of block-houses were erected 
at three points in this township — in Congress street, another near Rab- 
bit Farm, and the third in Seabrook road. This was in 1675, and they 
were built, for a protection against the Indians, who had shown signs of 
an uprising. 

In 1773 Salisbury was visited by an exceptional wind storm, equal 
in many ways to modem tornadoes or cyclones. A minister at the time 
made this entry in his journal: "This tempest was preceded by heavy 
rain and great darkness. It first appeared on the Merrimac river and 
rolled up the water on the banks, and threatened to swallow up the 
aifraighted inhabitants. From the river, inland, it covered three quar- 
ters of a mile, and extended to the sea. The tempest continued for three 
minutes, and wrecked and destroyed one hundred buildings in the town. 
Yet through the great and marvelous mercy of God, who ruleth in the 



TOWN OF SALISBURY 117 

storm, no life was lost or bone broken on the Salisbury side, where the 
most damage was done." 

March 13, 1774, the town voted that "Thanks be given to the re- 
spectable body of merchants in Boston and other towns for their truly 
generous non-importation agreement, and for their prudent and vigorous 
endeavors in this critical time to save their country. That we will not 
ourselves drink any foreign teas and endeavor (sickness excepted), that 
none shall be drinked in our houses, till the duty is taken off, and the 
Revinu acts are repealed." In 1772 the freeholders and other inhabitants 
voted and unanimously resolved : 

First — That the most essential rights of mankind are — Life, Liberty and Prop- 
erty. 

Second — That the only end and design of government is to secure these. 

Third — That gross invasions have been made upon these our rights, by the Brit- 
ish administration, till our grievances and oppressions are become intolerable. 

Fourth — That our representative be instructed to use all his influence in the 
House, that all proper measures may be taken to obtain a redress of these griev- 
ances. 

r'ifth — That if this fails of effect, this town is ready to unite with the other 
towns in this government, and with all the other British government in this Conti- 
nent, in all lawful measures which, on joint consultation, shall be judged necessary 
to save our sinking State and to obtain redress of our grievances. 

Sixth — That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted by the town clerk to the 
gentlemen of the Committee of Communication and Correspondence in Boston, 
thanking them for their prudent and timely care of the public good." 

No accurate account of the postoffice at Salisbury is now obtain- 
able. The following have served as postmasters since about 1885 : P. H. 
Moulton, eleven years in office; D. W. Bennett, three months; F. A. 
Chapin, A. B. Coffin, about ten years in office ; P. H. Moulton, three years. 
The present postmaster at Newburyport is postmaster over the Salis- 
bury station, as the postoffice in Salisbury is now known. This has ex- 
isted twelve years. D. H. Moulton is now clerk in the Salisbury station. 
There is one rural delivery out from Salisbury, the same being about 
twenty-five miles long. 

The safe of this office has been blown up three times in the last 
thirty years, but no large loss was ever sustained. In 1914 the office 
was entered at night time by unknown parties, who when observed by 
the chief of police attempted to escape, and in order to do so shot and 
killed the police officer, a Mr. Heath, who left a family. 

But little business is transacted in Salisbury, as it is too near the 
larger place of Newburyport across the river. However, there are a 
few stores, the postoffice sub-station, and a few shops, one shoe factory 
employing about thirty-five workmen, and another like factory being 
constructed. Dr. J. S. Spaulding is the practicing physician. 

In the spring of 1919 a plan was put forth (and in September the 
same year completed) for the erection of a handsome tablet attached 



118 ESSEX COUNTY 

to a huge boulder, on the town common, bearing the names of the 
seventy-eight soldiers who went from Salisbury and vicinity to serve in 
the late World War- 

The present (1921) town officers (elective) are as follows: Town 
Clerk, William H. Greenleaf (has served twenty-seven years already) ; 
Selectmen: George E. Dow (chairman), Everett R. George, Harold F. 
Congdon ; Assessors : John A. Stevens, William H. Evans, Robert B. Cur- 
rier; Park Commissioners: Arlington H. Chapin, Edmund M. Bartlett, 
Edward W. Pike. The Constable, Treasurer and Tax Collector is Samuel 
W. Weare ; Chief of Police, Fred H. Tapin ; Highway Surveyor, E. Earle 
Sawyer; School Physician, Dr. Jacob F. Spaulding; Forest Warden, 
Charles J. Penniman; Trustees (Hilton Fund) : John F. Smith and Frank 
A. Sanborn. 

December 31, 1920, the books of this town show the following ex- 
hibits: Credits — Cash in treasurer's hands, $10,866.05; Uncollectable 
taxes, year 1917, $9.30; year, 1918, $100.00; year, 1919, $976.70; year. 
1920, $33,103.56; Due from Commonwealth on Main street, $2,694.06; 
Due from County Essex, Main street, $2,694.07 ; Due from State Treas- 
urer, $744.00 ; Due from account income tax, $426.00 ; Due from account 
temporary aid, $114.84; Due from Essex county dog tax, $132.86; Total, 
$51,861.44. 

Debits — ^Twenty-seven new school building notes, $27,000.00; Four 
Central avenue loans, $8,000.00; Two Salisbury Square notes, $4,000.00; 
Anticipation notes, $35,000.00 ; Total, $74,000.00. 

The Public Library is in a flourishing condition. Last year almost 
twelve thousand books were given out to readers. The dog tax of $400 is 
used in part for library support. 

The Salisbury Parish Church was in advance of the town's incor- 
poration by a year or two, and was founded in 1639. It now has a mem- 
bership of two hundred, and a Sunday school of two hundred and thirty- 
two pupils. Mrs. F. L. Pettengill is present superintendent. 

This was the eighteenth church organized in the Commonwealth of 
Massachusetts. Its first pastor was Rev. William Worcester, who set- 
tled at the date of organization as pastor and remained till death in 1662. 
The second pastor was John Wheelwright, who died in 1679. The third 
minister was Rev. James Ailing, a native of Boston settled in 1687, died 
in 1696. The fourth pastor was Rev. Caleb Gushing, who died in 1752, 
aged eighty years. The fifth pastor was Rev. Edmund Noyes, settled in 
1751, died 1809, aged eighty-one years. More recent pastors have been 
as follows: J. F. Spalding, 1885-86; L. P. Cansey, 1887-89; J. D. Folsom, 
1890-93; William R. Webster, 1894-96; C. W. Taylor, 1897-1900; George 
A. Mcl^ucas, 1901-04 ; Irving C. Brown, 1905-07 ; W. J. Atkinson, 1908-09 ; 
Roscoe Sanderson, 1910-14; H. F. Quimby, 1915-16; Wm. O. W.Rey- 
nolds, commissioned Chaplain First Lieut. U. S. A. October, 1917; O. S. 
Steele from December 1917 to April, 1918; Roger Albright came next 



TOWN OF SALISBURY 119 

and the present pastor took charge of the church in October, 1920, and 
— Rev. Elmer F. Nev/ell. 

A wooden chapel was erected in 1885, costing about $1,600. John 
T. Brown of Newburyport gave the town a fine church clock in 1887. 
There is a neat chapel at Salisbury Beach, with Dr. J. F. Spalding as its 
pastor. The subjoined account of this old church has been furnished for 
this history by a resident of Salisbury, and it contains many interesting 
facts concerning the old organization, hence is here inserted: 

The old Parish Church was organized about 1639, and about 1796 Jesse Lee 
and others so appealed to the people they desired Methodist Episcopal pastors, but 
opposition came to the new faith as it was called. From 1798 to 1833 the Meth- 
odists had a church here as part of a Circuit. Then there were many Baptists and 
it was thought in 1833 best to unite into one Parish, and a new church was erected 
in 1834, the same building still in use is a good model of the old time New England 
church edifice. 

As long as the Methodists outnumber and outvote at the yearly meetings, 
which has been and is still the case, the ministers of course will be of the Methodist 
faith. Hence it is found that since 1833, all ministers have been sent here by the 
Methodist Conferences. They have suited the general community and hence are 
still retained. It is said to be the only Parish in the world the pastor of which is a 
Methodist minister. 

In 1833 a great revival was had in this church under Dr. Roscoe Sanderson and 
Rev. John Beradhead. The present pastor. Rev. Newell, with others, has organized 
a local Y. M. C. A., and has about a hundred men and boys enrolled. Physical in- 
struction, education, social and religious activities are being greatly appreciated in 
the community. With the exception of Hope Chapel at the beach, this is the only 
church in Salisbury of the Protestant faith; two hundred and fifty-seven families are 
in one way or another connected with this church." 

What was known as West Parish of Salisbury, or Rocky Hill church, 
was built in 1716. Rev. Joseph Parsons was the first settled minister; 
he was installed in 1718. At the age of sixty-nine years, Rev. Parsons 
died in 1739, after having served as minister in Salisbury for twenty- 
one years. Almost three hundred members were added to his church in 
his time. 

Following the last-named pastor, came Rev. Samuel Webster, who 
was ordained 1741 ; he served almost fifty-five years, and died at Salis- 
bury, in 1796, aged seventy-eight years. The third pastor was Rev. An- 
drew Beattie, ordained 1797, died 1801. His remains are resting along- 
side his fellow minister, Joseph Parsons, in Rocky Hill church-yard. 
The fourth pastor was Rev. William Balch, who had been a chaplain in 
the United States army. He was ordained in 1802 and dismissed in 1816. 
Politics then were running at fever heat, and he took sides with one 
faction in his congregation. As a result, he was finally allowed to "step 
down and out." The council that tried him preserved the following me- 
mento, the contents of which might have had somewhat to do with his 
dismissal : 

The Wesr Parish in Salisbury, to David M. Leavitt, Dr.: To brandy and rum as 
per bill, $9.20; four turkeys, $4.60; eight chickens, $2.00; five pounds loaf sugar 37c 



120 ESSEX COUNTY 

per pound, $1-85; sixteen pounds bacon, $2.00; thirty-eight pounds beef, $2.82; three 
pounds currants, 40c; six pounds brown sugar and half pound tea, $2.00; butter, 
cheese, horse-keeping, potatoes, lodgings, etc., $10.00; time attending on Council, 
$10.00; journey to Exeter and Hampton Falls, $1.50; total, $46.37. 

Various ministers supplied this pulpit between 1816 and 1835 for a 
longer or shorter period. During that time many "signed off," as it was 
termed under the Religious Freedom Act, and worshiped with other 
churches. Among others of note who filled the pulpit in Salisbury in 
those times may be recalled Rev. Thomas C. Upham, later a professor 
in Bowdoin College. Revs. Turner, Bowles, Harris and Thomas Rich 
came next in line. Rev. Benjamin Sawyer of the old Sandy Hill Ames- 
bury Church then came, serving in 1835-36 and 1837. After 1841 he 
gave his entire time to this church until his death in 1871, when he had 
reached the age of eighty-eight years. All the churches found in the 
town in the late eighties, as well perhaps at this date, consisting of five 
denominations, may be classed as having their origin in the old Rocky 
Hill Parish. 

The Christian Baptist Society was the first to separate from the old 
original church in Salisbury. This commenced about 1827, when a few 
members withdrew and held services in the loft over Oliver Osgood's 
warehouse, on the wharf, at the Point. Very soon a meeting-house had 
to be erected, as the membership increased very rapidly. Another so- 
ciety was formed in 1835, composed of people from Rocky Hill and others 
from Sandy Hill churches of Amesbury. They also built a church on the 
western e::trernity of the Point, and there formed a Congi'egational 
church Society, with the name of the Union Evangelical Society of 
Amesbury and Salisbury. This grew to become a strong church and 
society, whose influence was sent forth far and near. 

The First Baptist Church was formed as a branch of the Brentwood 
Baptist Church, in September, 1821. Ministers came now and then (no 
regular pastors) for a number of years, but they were depised by some 
and treated even with less tolerance than were the Quakers. The first 
recognized preacher was Rev. Samuel Shepard, born in East Parish. The 
first to move in the matter of organizing this church were Moses Chase, 
BaiTiard Currier and David Currier. Some of these Baptist ministers, 
as well as the laymen, were fearless in their conduct and actions toward 
other denominations. Sometimes they M^ere arrested, but they simply 
opened the Bible in the face of the constables, and that usually settled it. 



CHAPTER XI. 
TOWN OF WENHAM 



Wenham of today has a poulation of 1,090, according to the recent 
United States census returns. The first mention in record of Wenham 



TOV/N OF WENHAM 121 

was in 1637. The second mention of the place was in 1638, when it is 
shown that Hugh Peters preached a sermon ''on a small conical hill, be- 
tween the highway and the lake." He preached from the text found in 
John 3—23: "Enon, near Salim, for there was much water there " This 
settlement was then called Enon, and Peters was the minister at Salem 
a part of which town was then Wenham. The reader will observe the 
spelling, as it appears in the Scriptures. 

The Killam family have long carried the tradition that the first to 
locate in what is now Wenham were three immigrants, who were an early 
Fiske settler and Austin Killam and Richard Goldsmith. The settlement 
must have been effected about 1635. It was at first known as Salem 
Village as well as Enon. It was incorporated as a distinct town, May 
10, 1643, m recorded words as follows: "It is ordered that Enon shalbee 
called Wennam. Wennam is granted to bee a towne, & hath liberty to 
send a deputy." It is supposed that the name was taken, in part, from 
two panshes near Ipswich, England, possibly from which locality many 
of the first settlers hailed. 

Sidney Perley's history of this town says: "The people of Wenham 
obtained a deed of their territory from the Indians, bearing date De- 
cember 10, 1700. The aborigines who claimed a title to the soil were 
Samuel English, Joseph English and John Umpee, heirs of Masconnomet 
the late Sagamore of Agawam. The Indians were paid for their interest 
in the lands, four pounds and sixteen shillings. The early settlers were 
forbidden to sell arms and ammunition to the savages." 

The following is a list of the first to make settlement in Wenham 
between 1635 and 1700, as shown by records now in existence The 
years of these settlements will be omitted, as it is sufficient to know 
that certain families arrived here before 1700 : John Abby, Mr Auditor 
John Badger, John Barr, Joseph Batchelder, John Beaman, John Berry' 
John Bette, Goodman Bibber, Richard Brabrook, Edmund Bridges, John 
Browne, George Byam, John Carpenter, John Clarke, Richard Coy Rob- 
ert Cue, John Dennis, Richard Dodge, E. Dubldee, John Edward, Rice 
Edwards, James Ellis, Daniel Epps, John Fairfield, John Fiske, Phineas 
Fiske, Wm. Fiske, Samuel Foster, Joseph Fowler, James Friend Wm 
Geare, Joseph Gerrish, Richard Goldsmith, Charles Gott, Robt. Gowen 
Joseph Hacker, Henry Haggett, Robert Hawes, Jo Herrick, Robert Hib- 
bert, Thomas Hobbs, Mr. Hubbard, Wm. Hulitt, Isaac Hull, John Hun- 
kin Richard Hutton, Alice Jones, William Jones, Edward Kemp, Austin 
Killam, Richard Kimball, John Knowlton, Wm. Knowlton, Mordecai Lar- 
com, John Leach, Robert Mackcliffin, A. Maxey, James Moulton, Antipas 
Newman, Abner Ordway, Edmund Patch, John Perkins, Richard Pettin- 
gell John Poland, Samuel Porter, Esdras Reade, Nicholas Rich Theo- 
philus Rix, John Rogers, Wm. Sawyer, John Severett, John Shepley 
Samuel Smith, John Soolard, Mr. Sparrowhawk, Edward Spaulding Rob- 
ert Symonds, Peter Tompson, Francis Urselton, Edward Waldron 



122 ESSEX COUNTY 

Joshua Wallice, Jeremiah Watts, Phillip Welsh, Thomas White, Edward 
Whittington, Wm. Williams, Ezekiel Woodward, Christopher Young. 

The remains of the dead of the first few settlers were buried in the 
same cemetery grounds that have been in use so many decades down to 
the present time. The records first mention this cemetery in 1681, and 
tradition, quite well founded, states that a gravestone was discovered 
in this burial place, bearing the date of 1642. This old cemetery was 
probably a portion of the Rev. Mr. Fiske's farm. It has been several 
times enlarged. John Severett appears of record to have been the first 
grave-digger. Rev. David O. Allen in his will left $500 as a fund to 
help keep up the grounds. Another burying place was in the western 
part of the town — the Fairfield burying ground. Dodge's Row Cemetery 
in Beverly, a part of which lies within Wenham, has been in use for over 
one hundred and eighty years. 

A postoffice was established in Wenham in 1809, with Thomas 
Barnes as postmaster. He was appointed April 21, 1809. The subjoined 
is a list of all postmasters serving in the town from 1812 to 1921 : Uzziel 
Dodge, appointed in 1812; John Thorn Dodge, 1818; Ezra Lummus, 
1830; Adoniram J. Dodge, 1837; John A. Putnam, 1846; Benjamin C. 
Putnam, 1857; Nathaniel S. Gould, 1862; Ehsha P. Chapman, 1866; 
William W. Fowler, 1867; Henry Hobbs, 1870; John W. Curtis, 1878; 
Andrew D. Trowt, 1880 ; Miss Kate M. Kavanagh, 1885 ; Fred P. Stan- 
ton, 1886; Andrew D. Trowt, April, 1897; WilUam P. Porter, September 
10, 1912. 

The office has been kept in many buildings during its more than a 
century of existence. First opened in the old tavern, the former resi- 
dence of Rev. Joseph Gerrish, it remained there until 1830, when it was 
moved to the brick tavern of Postmaster Lummus; in 1837 Postmaster 
Dodge removed it to his wagon shop, where it continued until 1846, when 
John A. Putnam, postmaster, removed it to his store. When Mr. Hobbs 
took the office in 1870, for the first six months it was kept in his harness- 
shop, then moved to Union block, where it remained for many years; 
since 1912 it has been located in the Porter building. This is a fourth 
class postoffice and it transacted a business in 1920 of $1,426.52. 

The old turnpike from Boston to Ipswich ran through Wenham, and 
this necessitated several taverns, or inns, for the traveling public. In 
1833 the steam cars began to run through the center of the town over 
the Eastern railroad, as then called. It was finished as far east as Ips- 
wich that year. The Newburyport and Wakefield branch of the Boston 
& Maine railroad passes across the western end of the town, but there 
is no station point there for this road. The last-named railway was 
constructed in 1853. May 26, 1886, street cars were first run from 
Gloucester, crossing in Beverly to the Soldiers' Monument in Wenham. 
The same season the line was extended to various points, including the 
Camp Grounds at Asbury Grove. Ever since then steam and street car 



TOWN OF WENHAM 123 

thoroughfares have kept the town in touch with the busy nearby towns 
and cities. 

The records show that forty years ago Wenham had a population 
of 871 ; in the same report, it is shown that the town then had 293 ra- 
table polls, and 270 legal voters, only ten of whom were naturalized. The 
number of dwellings then was one hundred and ninety, all frame save 
one, which wa . constructed of brick. In 1900 Wenham had a population 
of only 847; in 1910 it was 1,010 and the 1920 U. S. census gave it 1,090. 

Wenham was first incorporated in 1643, about eight years after 
the pioneer settlement was effected. Various buildings were occupied 
by the town officials until 1854, when a Town Hall was erected, under 
supervision of the following persons: John Porter, C. A. Killam, A. 
Dodge, F. Hadley, J. Cook, Benjamin C. Putnam and Moses Mildram. 
Its size was thirty-five by fifty feet, two stories high, with a basement. 
Here were rooms of all descriptions— school rooms, selectmen's rooms 
and various ante-rooms, as well as accommodations for the fire depart- 
ment, which had been established about 1820. A fire company was or- 
ganized in 1835 with twenty-five members. Another company was or- 
ganized in 1849. A new engine was purchased and named "Enon, No. 
1"; this cost $900. The new fire company had about forty-five mem- 
bers, and was presented with a silken banner and a silver trumpet by 
the ladies of the town. Another company was formed in March, 1887, 
with Otis C. Brewer as foreman. From the date last named to the pres- 
ent, the town has had its modem appliances and equipments for fighting 
fire, with also its well-trained volunteer fire company. 

The present town officers, all elective, are as follows: Moderator, 
Horace E. Durgin; Town Clerk, Roscoe B. Batchelder; Selectmen. 
Charles H. McQueeny (chairman), Arthur D. Prince; Clerk, Chester S. 
Cook; Assessors, Arthur D. Prince, Ralph M. Smith and G. W. Patch; 
Town Treasurer, Horace E. Durgin; Tax Collector, James E. Kavanaugh; 
Auditor, W. Arthur Trowt; School Committee, Herbert W. Porter, Carl 
I. Aylward, Frank H. Tarr; Constables, J. L. Cole, T. J. Luxton, Frank 
A. Corning; Trustees of Public Libraiy, Benjamin H. Conant, Ruth H 
Pnnce, Adeline P. Cole, Frank H. Tarr, Harvey R. Williams and Anna 
M. Davis. 

The business interests of the town and the size of the place were 
more or less influenced by the large emigration from town in the 
eighteenth and nineteentk centuries. It will be recalled that many of 
the persons who formerly resided in Wenham left for Maine and became 
pioneers in that State. Vermont and New Hampshire also drew many 
from these parts. Again the Great West claimed its colony from Wen- 
ham and nearby vicinity. It was in 1787 that the first settlement was 
effected in Ohio, at Marietta, on the Ohio river. This colony was headed 
by Dr. Manasseh Cutler, of Hamilton, who made the entire journey to 
Ohio— then a part of the Northwest Territory— in an ark-like wagon. 



124 ESSEX COUNTY 

covered with black canvas. But Wenham had enough left to build up a 
town of some importance, even after it had aided in building up some of 
the sister States in New England and helped to populate the far, illimi- 
table and ever-changing West, at least by its Ohio colony. It is not in- 
tended in this chapter to go far into details concerning the business and 
various firms of the town, simply to outline some of the more important 
lines of industry and trade. We here draw from Sidney Perley's "His- 
tory of Wenham" for a few paragraphs in his volume : 

The history of its old style taverns, if it could be correctly written, would be 
delightful to read. From its earliest days the town had its public houses. March 
1643-44, William Fiske received authority to keep a tavern from the General Court, 
as follows: "Willi Fiske is appointed & allowed to keepe an ordinary at Wennam." 
By the same authority: "Willi Fiske, of Wennam, hath liberty to sell wine." Mr. 
Fiske died in 1654 and was succeeded by Phineas Fiske, who kept an ordinary at 
Wenham, and the record shows that he was "allowed to draw wine there for this 
yeare ensuing," It will be remembered that no one could start a hotel or inn in 
those days in New England without first getting permit from the authorities. The 
records are cumbered with such affairs. One notice reads as follows: March 18, 
1684, the General Court licensed John Fiske, "a sore wounded soldier of the late In- 
dian Vvar, to keep a public-house of entertainment-" In nearly all of these inn per- 
mits there was also a permit to sell liquor. Among the joily landlords of early years 
in Wenham must be named Ezra Lummus, postmaster, blacksmith and tavern-keeper. 
He ran a tavern about ten years from 1827 on, in the brick house he built for the 
purpose. He was a Free Mason, and his sign consisted of his name, "E. Lummus, 
1827." There was also added to the sign the picture of a square and compass. Other 
hotels included the "Green House" at the end of the Commons, by William H, Bry- 
ant, which business was wiped out by the fire of April, 1869. The Enon House was 
opened by its proprietor Stephen Currier in 1886. 

Of mills, it may be said that the water power here has never been 
but a feeble stream with slight fall, hence not sufficient to propel heavy 
machinery. However, as early as 1653 a mill was built, probably by 
Goodman Hawes, on the farm later occupied by David Pingree. In 1682, 
John Dodge had a saw mill. In 1691 there was a saw mill near Lord's 
Hill, and John Porter and James Friend had liberty to "flow the brook." 
In 1700 there was another saw mill where John Leach then resided. The 
first grist mill was that built as early as 1686. In 1713 Josiah Dodge's 
corn mill was situated near the ford. In 1699, Ensign Porter was granted 
timber for a small malt mill, to be set on the brook near his house. 

The first blacksmith was Abraham Martin, who was granted two 
acres of land within the town, providing he should set up a shop and re- 
main at least a term of seven years. Other early blacksmiths were Rob- 
ert Symonds, Josiah Bridges, Daniel Herrick, Pelatiah Brown, Ben- 
jamin Young, Ezra Lummus, John J. Senter, George A. Lummus, Uzziel 
Dodge, Jebez Richards, Daniel Bradbury, 1840 who in 1882 sold to 
Charles F. Dudley. Since then the several smiths have been well known 
to this generation and need no special mention in this connection. 

At various periods tanning has been an important industry in Wen- 



TOWN OF WENHAM 125 

ham. In 1707 the town granted to Daniel MacClaflin sixty square rods 
of common land, on condition that he engage in the tanning business. 
In 1708 he had liberty granted him to dam up the brook; and in 1721 
the land was given him free from condition. Samuel Gott carried on 
the tanning business for forty years from 1725, on land later owned by 
Michael Sullivan. Not many years ago the sink in the land marked the 
numerous tan-vats he used so long. His was the largest tanning estab- 
lishment m Essex county. A later tanner was a Mr. Flint, who oper- 
ated here during the days of the Civil War. In 1884 a kindred business 
was established by Patch & Gould, makers of morocco; they rebuilt 
larger m 1886 and added steam power. 

The ice business has long been a very extensive industry in Wen- 
ham Charles W. Lander of Salem, purchased of the town the land on 
which stands the famous hill where Hugh Peters preached his sermon, 
and leveled it off and there erected large ice houses and connected them 
by a spur with the Eastern railroad tracks. This business was started 
m 1843, and in 1850 the plant was sold to Addison Gage & Co who 
continued until 1882, and then went out of business. About 25 000 tons 
of the purest ice to be seen in the world was taken from the lake Later 
ice was cut from the Beverly shore of the same lake. 

Boots and shoes were made here by different persons and firms for 
many years. Amos Gould engaged in this business between 1834 and 
1875 the work being earned on at his house. Other manufacturers of 
this line included Edward Perkins, Abraham Patch, John P. Rust Dr 
Nathan A. Jones, Daniel J. Foster, and some others. George W Pea- 
body made heavy brogans at West Wenham from 1846 to 1862 Later 
shoe factories were operated by Samuel K. Evans, Albert R. Fiske, John 
Meldram, James H. Moulton, the last named having quarters in the ola 
Dempsey blacksmith shop, and then in Union block to 1882. 

In 1855 it is said that in Wenham 4,200 pairs of boots and 25 000 
pairs of shoes were made by forty-six males and twenty females. Grad- 
ually the shoe business drifted to Lynn, and other sections of New 
li^ngland. Today the town boasts not of the industry, but is quite con- 
tent to relate pleasing accounts of the former importance of the shoe 
business m town. The surrounding country is a most excellent farm- 
ing section, and this is now carried on after the most modem and in- 
tensive methods. Every item is made to count and yield a reasonable 
profit. 

Besides those mentioned in various sections of this work as having 
been men of celebrity in some one or more role in life's conflict the 
names of the following must not be overlooked in the annals of Essex 
county: Hon. Timothy Pickering was long a resident of Wenham • was 
very fond of agriculture, and was the first president of the Essex County 
Agricultural Society. After a life of more than four score and four 
years, having been a general in the Revolution, judge of the Court of 



126 ESSEX COUNTY 

Common Pleas, and of the Maritime Court, Postmaster General of the 
United States, Secretary of War, Secretary of State of the United States, 
Member of Congress and United States Senator, he died in Salem, 1829. 
Rev. Moses Fiske (1642-1708) graduated at Harvard College, was 
a clergyman at Quincy, Massachusetts. Hon. William Fairfield (1662- 
1742), was speaker in 1741, in the House of Representatives for Massa- 
chusetts. Rev. Phineas Fiske (1682-1749) graduated at Yale College, 
was a tutor in that college, and pastor of a church at Haddam, Connecti- 
cut. He also was an eminent physician. Dr. Tyler Porter (1735-1811) 
was a physician, and patriot in the Revolution. Dr. Josiah Fairfield 
(1735-1811) was a physician in Pepperell Borough, Maine. Hon. Daniel 
Killam 1751-1841), a graduate of Harvard College, and a member of 
both the upper and lower houses of the legislature and of the Governor's 
council; and an apothecary in Newburyport. The Rev. John Kimball 
(1761-1824), a graduate of Harvard College, later a talented clergyman 
in New Hampshire. Dr. Benjamin Jones Porter (1763-1847), a surgeon 
in the Revolutionary War; physician in Scarboro', Westbrook and Port- 
land, Maine ; fellow and Treasurer of Bowdoin College ; and a Councillor 
and State Senator. Henry Porter (1809-1851) was the inventor of Por- 
ter's burning fluid and a nurse lamp. Rev. Francis Elliott Cleaves (1816- 
1883) was a Baptist clergyman at East Sanbomton, New Hampshire, 
and other New England places. Rev. John Henry Dodge (1828-1863) 
graduated at Amherst College in 1856 and from Andover Theological 
Seminary, 1859; was a missionary to West Africa. Edward Kimball 
(1835) graduated at Amherst College, was president of the Boston 
Board of Trade, and a merchant in Boston. Rev. Isaac Francis Porter 
(1839-) graduated at Madison University, and became a Unitarian 
clergyman at Chicopee, Massachusetts. Arthur Kemble, M. D. (1838), 
gi'aduate at Boston Medical College, was assistant surgeon in the Civil 
War on the ship "Gemsbok," and later practiced in Salem. Dr. John 
Franklin Robinson (1863), graduate at the Harvard Medical school; he 
became a surgeon at Manchester, New Hampshire. 

It is generally believed that for the first few years the religious 
element in and near Wenham worshiped at Salem. Mention has been 
made of the sermon delivered on the hill at Wenham Lake by Hugh 
Peters, successor to Rev. Roger Williams, pastor of the First Church 
in Salem. It may be added that Rev. Peters returned to England about 
1642, became a famous preacher, was made a chaplain by Cromwell; 
became "mixed up," as we say today, in politics, and was supposed to 
have been guilty of assisting in the death of Charles I., and was publicly 
beheaded therefor on Tower Hill, after the Restoration. 

The church record made by Rev. John Higginson, Salem minister, 
says: "There are divers passages set down about three villages to go 
out of ye brethren of Salem church, considered of in several church 
meetings, for several years together, the first of which was 1639, Aug- 



TOWN OF WENHAM 127 

ust 24th. Mr. Downing and some others were with him for the village 
of Danvers; other brethren for a village at ye pond (Wenham) ; and 
others for one at Jeffrey's Creek (Manchester)." 

It is certain that in 1641 a small church building was erected and 
Rev John Fiske, who had assisted Hugh Peters at Salem, settled about 
that date m Wenham. In 1650 a bell was added to this church A 
t^A rT" ^""^^ o^^anized and Rev. Fiske ordained minister, October, 
1644. Thmgs went well until 1655, when the pastor and many of his 
flock removed to Chelmsford, where he became pastor. Being both 
mmister and a physician, he was greatly missed in Wenham. He was 
always referred to by early settlers and writers as a man of great char- 
acter and wonderfully good as a neighbor and citizen. Being a non- 
conformist, he had to come to America from England in disguise, bring- 
ing with him servants, husbandry and carpenter tools sufficient to sup- 
port his family for three years, including their provisions 

Succeeding Rev. Fiske in the First Church was Rev. Antipas New- 
man; a new meeting-house was built in 1663. It stood in the square 
near the present Soldiers' Monument. He remained pastor until his 
death in 1672 and was followed as minister by Rev. Joseph Gerrish. In 
1688 a new meeting-house was built on the site of the old one. Rev 
Gerrish served for forty-six years and was gathered to his fathers 
dymg of apoplexy. 

The fourth minister here was Rev. Robert Ward, of Charlestown 
who served until called by death ten years later. The fifth pastor was 
Rev John Warren, ordained 1733; a graduate of Harvard College He 

^ it.o *^! ^f""""' ''^'''''^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^'^^^' h^ di^d' ^Sed forty-four years, 
in 1749. A church building had been started before his death, to take 
the place of the older one. The records show that at this "church rais- 
ing the town authorities appointed a committee to look well to the 
apportionments made by the Town, as follows: Six gallons of rum 
eight pounds of sugar, two barrels of cider, two barrels of beer one 
hundred pounds of bread, one hundred weight of legs of pork, and forty 
pounds of cheese. The committee was instructed to see that it should 
do m the prudentist way thay can for the end aforesaid." 

The next minister was Rev. Joseph Swain, ordained October, 1750- 
a graduate of Harvard College, he served in the French and Indian war 
as chaplain and died in 1792, aged seventy years. His pastorate lasted 
torty-two years. The seventh minister was Rev. Adoniram Judson, of 
Maiden; a graduate of Yale College; resigned in 1799, leaving on ac- 
count of the smallness of his salary. He became a Baptist in religious 
laith, and it was his son who became the first Missionary to Burmah 
Kev. Kufus Anderson was the next minister; he came in 1804 and re- 
mained until 1814, when he died. The ninth pastor was Rev. John 
bmith of Salem, New Hampshire, installed 1817. He was finally made 
a Doctor of Divinity by Dartmouth. He died in 1831. Ebenezer Peck 



128 ESSEX COUNTY 

Sperry was Rev. Smith's successor. He was bom in New Haven, Con- 
necticut, 1785. He resigned as pastor here in 1819, and died in Ohio, 
where he preached many years. In his term as pastor was formed 
America's first Sunday school, it is said by church history. 

The eleventh pastor of this church was Rev. Daniel Mansfield, who 
was ordained in 1837; he was bom in Lynnfield; graduated at Amherst 
College and Andover Theological Seminary. A new church was built 
under his administration ; also a parsonage. He died, greatly lamented, 
in 1847, aged thirty-nine years. The church erected a handsome monu- 
ment over his grave. Rev. Jeremiah Taylor, D. D., succeeded Rev. 
Mansfield as pastor; in 1856 he resigned and moved to another part of 
New England. The thirteenth minister was Rev. John Smith Sewall, 
D. D., who remained eight years and in 1867 was dismissed, to take a 
position in Bowdoin College. The next pastor was Rev. William R. 
Joyslin, who only preached one year, and was followed by Rev. Will Con- 
verse Wood, who served six years. He was a writer of ability and the 
author of "Five Problems of State and Religion." Next came Rev. 
Samuel W. Clarke, who was pastor one year, and was dismissed. He 
was followed by Rev. Alexander C. Childs in 1880, and he in turn by 
Rev. John C. Mitchell in 1884, who later was asked to resign on account 
of his liberal teachings. In September, 1887, Rev. George Masters 
Woodwell was ordained pastor, and since then the pastors have been 
as follows: Revs, Arthur N. Ward appointed October 3, 1891; Morris 
H. Turk, May 1, 1898; Walter S. Eaton, July. 1904; Frederick M. Cut- 
ler, May 1, 1912 ; Timothy Currier Craig, January 1, 1918, and still (1921) 
pastor. This church now has a total membership of eighty-one and a 
Sunday school of an average of ninety-nine, under the superintendency of 
Deacon Albert A. Tracy. 

The Baptist Church of Wenham was organized in Beverly in 1801, 
and the Wenham Baptists worshiped there for twenty-five years. In 
1826 there was a great Baptist revival in Wenham. This increased the 
membership, and a meeting-house was erected, costing $2,000, while a 
bell was added to the tower. The church was organized March 23, 
1831 with twenty-five members, all coming from the Baptist church at 
Beverly. The first minister was Rev. Charles Miller, a native of Scot- 
land. He was succeeded by Rev. Henry Archibald, who continued pas- 
tor until 1837. Next came Rev. Joel Kenney, who was dismissed in 
1840. The church was without a minister for about one year, when 
Rev. George W. Patch was made pastor, but he remained only two years. 
Then came Rev. Josiah Keely, a native of England. He was pastor for 
nine years and he died during the Civil war. Rev. Isaac Woodbury was 
the next pastor, and he was followed by Rev. Thomas Wormsley, or- 
dained 1856. On the night of November 6, 1859, the church edifice was 
burned, but friends of the congregation built a new one the next year. 
Rev. Wormsley's successor was Rev. Abner D. Gorham, who commenced 



TOWN OF MANCHESTER 129 

January 1st, 1863, and was still pastor after a full quarter of a century 
in 1887. Since then the pastors have included these: Revs. F. W. 
Klein, 1892-95; J. W. Illsley, 1895-97; T. Clarkson Russell, 1897-1902; 
E. Laurens Hamilton, 1903-04; Frank Parker, 1904-19; Rial Benjamin, 
1919 to date. 

The present membership is eighty-two, and there is a Sunday school 
with about fifty pupils. The present church was erected in 1860 at a 
cost of $4,000 ; present value of the building is $10,000. 



CHAPTER XII. 
TOWN OF MANCHESTER. 



It is known that the territory now called Essex county, when the 
white race first set foot on these shores, was occupied by the Agawams, 
a tribe of the Algonquins. These people were described by Gosnold, who 
it is believed touched Cape Ann in 1602, as ''a people tall of stature, 
broad and grym visaged; their eye brows painted white." 

There is evidence that the Aborigines of this part of New England 
had been greatly diminished in numbers just before the date of the land- 
ing of the Europeans. It seems from the records there had been a 
three year plague which swept over this part of the East and took away 
a greater part of the Indian people. Just what the nature of this dis- 
ease was is not known, but certain it is that tens of thousands were 
swept from the section now known as New England. Men, also women 
and children, were taken, so it has been said by Hutchinson, in such 
vast numbers that from a fighting force of thirty thousand red men 
warriors there were only three hundred men left. The proud spirit of 
the red man was also broken by this fearful calamity. The Sagamore or 
chief here was named Masconnomet, who had for his chief camping 
grounds lands where Ipswich stands today. This Indian chief was not 
unfriendly to th6 whites, and as a result there were no bloody battles 
between the two races in this locality as thei'e were in other parts of New 
England, As has been well said by one writer in recent years: "No 
colonists were waylaid and shot in ambush; no glare of burning dwell- 
ings, no savage war-whoop, terrified the infant settlement. The new 
comers planted and builded, went to church in safety, as well as to mill." 

These lands were possessed peaceably or by the payment of a small 
sum of money given the Indians. Final payment for the lands was not 
made however until 1700, when the town paid the grandsons of old 
Masconnomet three pounds nineteen shillings for their right and title to 
the entire township. The "Memorial History of Boston" states that it 
was not until a half century after the occupation of Boston peninsula 
that the citizens troubled themselves to obtain a deed from the grand- 
son of Chickataubut. This was in 1708. 



Essex — 9 



130 ESSEX COUNTY 

Manchester is one of the lesser towns of Essex county; its length 
on the coast is about four and one-half miles, and its width about two 
and three-quarters miles, containing about five thousand acres of land. 
Its soil is rocky and its surface very uneven, especially so at the coast. 
Without any high hills, its appearance is indeed picturesque, much of 
the domain being well wooded, with fertile fields here and there inter- 
spersed. In many places the green fields and heavily wooded districts 
approach almost if not quite down to the ocean's edge. The shore line- 
is composed of rugged cliffs and boulders, Eagle Head being one of 
beauty and prominence. Several small islands such as Kettle, Crow, 
Graves, Great and Little Ram, and House, lie but a short distance from 
the shore. Among the natural curiosities may be mentioned "Singing 
Beach," and "Agassiz Rock," the latter a boulder on the east side of the 
Essex road, of gi*eat dimensions. There is also a much greater boulder 
in the valley to the north. The "Agassiz Rock" is indeed quite cele- 
brated. 

The climate here is quite changeable, but the summer and autumn 
weather is delightful. Not much farming is carried on, on account of 
the small tracts of suitable land. The people live largely on such pur- 
suits as cabinet-making and fishing, while the summer population brings 
in money and spends it freely. There are some small manufacturing 
plants in this place, but generally speaking the people depend largely on 
the summer tourists and the industries already named. 

In 1836 it was written in the "Essex Memorial," page 162: "Man- 
chester woods are celebrated for producing the magnolia ; it is a low tree, 
with deep green leaves, and is seldom found at any other place in this 
region ; the flowers are white, and possess a delicious fragrance ; the scent 
is so powerful that a small grove of them will perfume the air for miles." 

Conant's colony was established at Cape Anne in 1624, but for vari- 
ous reasons was not highly successful and was finally abandoned, save by 
a few of the more stable and resolute people of the company. This move- 
ment resulted in the settlement at Manchester. 

In the month of March, 1629, Charles I, "By the grace of God, Kinge 
of England, Scotland, Fraunce, and Ireland, Defender of the Fayth, etc.," 
granted a charter to the "Governor and Company of the Massachusetts 
Bay in Newe-England." This charter granted: 

To the Councell established at Plymouth, in the county of Devon, for the plant- 
ing, ruling, ordering and governing of Newe England in America, and to their suc- 
cessors and Assignes forever, all that parte of America, lyeing and being in Bredth 
from forty degrees of Northerly Latitude from the Equinoctiall Lyne, to Forty- 
eight Degrees of the saide Northerly Latitude inclusively, and in Length, of and 
within all the Breadth of aforesaid, throughout the Main lands from Sea to Sea, 
together also with all Firme lands, Soyles, Grounds, Havens, Portes, Rivers, Waters, 
Fishing, Mynes, and Mynerals, as well Royall Mynes of Gould and Silver, as other 
Mynes and Mynerals, Precious Stones, Quarries, and all and singular other Com- 
modities, Juris diccons, Royalties, Privileges, Franchesies, and Prehemynences, both 



TOWN OF MANCHESTER Igj 

Sl"m^' '"^' °' ^'"' ^""' *' *'^^»' -0 <-- -tW" the Islandes and 

In April three ships sailed for Massachusetts Bay with supplies and 
a number of "Planters." The "Talbott," one of the sh^s was^^baWy 
June 27 1629 "7 ^°*«'-^'' Massachusetts harbor, dropping anchor he^ 
June 27, 1629 Rev. Francis Higginson, one of the ministers sent out by 
the company to supermtend the spiritual affairs of the settlement wrote 
in his journal: "June 27, 1629_Saturday evening we had a wester^ 
wmd^ which brought us, between five and six o'clock! to a f yne and swet 
h^bor, seven miles from the head of Cape Ann (in this harto twentL 
ships may he and easily ride therein), where there was Ji tland 
m*: ""!.'"'" ^"°' ^''^ " ^^'' ^"l "ro-^ht back str^berries 
toNa^mK^ir .'''''* '"?'* ''"^''- "^"^^^^ 29th as we passed atog 
withXk vlV ^.^.ri-^^rf"' t° behold so many islands replenished 
with thick wood and high trees, and many fayere green pastures " 

fvfw f. XT ^t'»*'°S October the government and patent were 
chusette, was chosen governor. He sailed in the "Arbella " a vessel of 

tierf fSr""^ 'T' ""* ^'" "^^^ ^"'P^' -'«> three bundled et- 
tlers, for Salem. On June 11, 1630, the "Arbella" seems to have come 
to anchor nearly opposite Gales Point. 

Governor Dudley, writing about a year later than Winthrop's re- 

te tilHe^el to r""" "'}''' '='"°"'^*^ " ^l^-^ wordsr-mlriS 
to build, fewell to burn, ground to plant, sees and rivers to ffish in a 
pure ayer to breathe in, good water to drinke tiU wine or teare can be 
»ade, which together with the cowes, hogges, and goats, brought hitter 
allready may suffice for food, for a« for foule aid ventonf they are 
dmities here as well as in England." Nearly all the settlers were^ree! 

St^ "S*^ ^r" ""^ "^"^ '" *''« -^o"™"" 'a°ds- Later These were 
styled "Proprietors." About 1692 an act was passed for the "RegulaW 

PowZ"' T '''"" f ''"^'''^ '>"'^^' -" Setting forth S 

Theste rdid nnTr""' °^ '''7^' t"^'"''- '^^* *« Proprietors of Man- 
Chester did not organize under this Act until August 26, 1718 From 

The first settlers landed, it is supposed by many writers at PTpf flp 

XrrofTj:r''%^^r^^"^' •'""'^ "^^^-^^^^^^^^ 

on me estate of T. Jefferson Coohdge, Esq., by John Kettle. The earliest 
frame house was built by William Allen, no doubt. The early records 
show land descriptions as foUows-homely but plain. '^ S buXh 
piteh-pine, grate hemlock, white oke, Litle black oke trte a stuZtf 

t^' T'' r"^'" ''"^'^' ^"°* of »^<'««' ^ white pritty bHinl 
tree, and standing upon a grate high Rock which is almost to the Ad 
miration of them that doe behold it." 



132 ESSEX COUNTY 

As early as 1640, when there were but sixty-three people in all re- 
siding at "Jeffrys Creeke" the people "jointly and humbly" petitioned 
the court to grant them power to erect a village." This was granted, and 
in 1645 the name of the place was changed to Manchester, the exact date 
being June 18. 

The following list of names of places within the borders of the town 
was compiled in 1836 by Dr. Leach. Most of them date back to the 
earliest times: 

Hills — Image, Moses, Eagle, Bennett's, Millstone, Jacks, Shingle Place, Town, 
Flagstaff, Great Powder House, Waterman's Rocks's. 

Plains — Briery or Bushie Poplar. 

Meadows — Fresh Meadow, Cranberry, Beaver Dam, Cold Spring. 

Swamps — Cedar, Millett's. 

Marshes — ^Norman's, Bishop's, Cheever's, Barberry. 

Creeks — Jeffreys, Chubbs, Days. 

Coves — 'Kettle, Black, Lobster, Pebble, Pitts. 

Points — ^Pickworth, Gale's, Smith's, Goldsmith's, Masters, Glasses, Bishop's, 
Cheever's, Tuck's. 

Necks — Great or Old, Norton's. 

Brooks — Wolf Trap, Clay, Cheever's, Saw Mill, Foster's Mill. 

Beaches — Neck, Graves, Gray's, Black Cove, Lobster Cove. 

Islands — Great and Little Crow, Kettle, Egg, Ram Great and Little, Howes, 
Chubbs, Friends or Island Wharf. 

Springs — Cold, North Yarmouth, Kettle Cove, Newport, Plains, Row, Great 
Neck, Smith's Farm, Town Landing, Great Pasture, Norton's Neck, Nicholas Com- 
mons, Graves. 

Landings — Smith's, Marsters, Black Cove, Church Lane, Town Landing, Kettle 
Cove, Whitehead Landing. 

Bridges — Jabez, near Bears House, Jones below Captain Knight's, Town Bridge, 
Centre built 1828, Chubbs, built 1835. 

The records of the town show no formal Act of Incorporation. This, 
however, was not an uncommon thing in the early history of the com- 
monwealth. Before 1655 "the Governor and Company of Massachusetts 
Bay" made gi'ants to land companies and individuals for towns and plan- 
tations, usually annexing certain conditions to their grants; such as 
"that certain number of settlers or families should within a stated time 
build and settle upon the same; or that the gospel should be regularly 
preached, or a church gathered upon the granted premises". (See "His- 
tory of Groton, Mass.") 

The first book of Town Records, from 1645 to 1658, is unfortunate- 
ly lost ; this gap cannot be supplied in any manner by writers of today. 
The town meeting of February 25, 1657, is the first of which we have any 
record. The town meeting has usually been looked upon as a unit of the 
democratic form of govemmnet. Away back in the fifth century, in the 
tiny district of Sleswick, appears to have originated this custom. Here 
in New England the town meeting has been of much value as an educa- 
tional force. The annual meeting was always opened by prayer; in lat- 
er decades this custom was not in use, but in 1895, by a vote of the 



TOWN OF MANCHESTER 133 

annual meeting at the suggestion of Moderator Henry T. Bingham, the 
practice was again taken up in Manchester. These town meetings were 
the town itself acting in both legislative and executive capacity. The 
"select men" were simply the town's agents. The town meeting shares 
with the church and the common school the honor of shaping the affairs 
in civic and social life in New England. Of all the town meetings, per- 
haps the "March Meeting" has long been known as the most important 
in shaping the destinies of the town and county government. So far, 
no form of government has shown itself superior to the town govern- 
ment system now known in New England. 

In volume VII. of the "New England Genealogical Register" ap- 
peared in 1853 the following: 

We whose names are subscribed belonging to the church and the towne of Salem 
(being straitened in our accommodations, soe we are not ably comfortably to sub- 
sist, having advised and taken counsell about our present state and condition, it 
being Judged full and free liberty being granted us to remove, and noe place being 
soe convenient, for our easye remove all as Jefferyes Creeke lying soe neare us 
and most of us having some small quantity of ground allotted to us there already) 
doe therefore Jointly and Humbly request the Honbl Court to give us power to 
erect a village there, and to allow us Such Inlargement thereabouts as it is not 
granted to anyother plantation thus leaving our request to your wisdomes Con- 
sideration, With our Prayers for a blessing from heaven on your psons and pro- 
ceedings we rest. 

Your Humble Petitioners: William Walton, John Black, William Allen, Samuel 
Archard, George Norton, William Dixy, John Sibley, ames Standish, John Ffriend, 
John Pickwith, John Gaily, Ben. Parmenter, Robert Allen, Jon Norman, Edmond 
Grover, Pascoe Ffoote, William Bennett. 

1640— 14th— 3mo. 

The petition is granted and referred to Mr. John Winthrop and Mr. Symond 
Bradstreet to settle the bounds. 

The place was duly incorporated, and has run well its course until 
the present date. The elective officers of Manchester town in 1921 were : 
Selectmen and overseers of the poor: Samuel L. Wheaton, George R. 
Dean, William W. Hoare; moderator: Rajnnond C. Allen; town clerk: 
Lyinan W. Floyd ; treasurer and collector : Edwin P. Stanley ; assessors : 
Edward S. Knight, Leonard W. Carter, Frank G. Cheever; school com- 
mittee: Raymond C. Allen, Percy A. Wheaton, Robert T. Glendenning; 
tree warden, Everett O. Smithers: constables: Louis 0. Lations, Leon- 
ard Andrews and Joseph P. Leary ; pound keeper, Alfred Whalen ; chair- 
man cemetery trustees, Duncan T. Beaton; chairman of library com- 
mittee, Robert T. Glendenning; park commissioner, Jeffrey S. Reed, 
chairman. 

The Manchester Library sprang from the old Manchester Lyceum 
Association, established in 1830. It became a library of the public in 
1871, since which time it has grown rapidly and is duly appreciated by 
all good, intelligent citizens. The present beautiful Library and Grand 
Army of the Republic Post Hall was donated largely by Hon. Thomas J. 



134 ESSEX COUNTY 

Coolidge at a cost of many thousand dollars, and is still the pride of the 
town. It was dedicated October 13, 1887. 

From all that can be learned, Manchester was settled largely by 
people from the eastern shires of England, from which locality came so 
many stalwart, noble pioneers to the New World. These were largely 
from the middle walks of life — such as the Winslows, Carvers, the 
Brewsters, the Winthrops and Endicotts, and came mostly from the lib- 
erty-loving weavers of Flanders who had fled to England a century be- 
fore on account of persecutions. They were of the best stock of English 
Puritanism. It may be added in passing, that they were not like Gover- 
nor Berkley of Virginia, who thanked God "that there are no free schools, 
nor printing." They were men who prized and were willing to pay well 
for all educational institutions. 

"The Third Parliament of Charles, King of England, hardly dis- 
solved itself when 'conclusions' for the establishment of a great colony 
on the other side of the Atlantic were circulating among gentry and 
traders, and descriptions of the new country of Massachusetts were 
talked over in every Puritan home," says Historian Green. In 1637 King 
Charles sought by royal proclamation to prevent men of wealth from 
emigrating to New England, but if this had any effect at all, it was in 
fact to send or allow to come to Massachusetts a more common and far 
more desirable class of Englishmen. Naturally, at first the develop- 
ment was quite slow, but in time the heavy forests began to disappear 
and farming and shipbuilding commenced to take high rank in the New 
World, by reason of those who invaded this part of New England. 
Churches and schools kept pace with all else in this colony, hence the 
great educational and religious schools of today. 

Public morals were from the first of a high standard here. The 
slave trade was prohibited; even cruelty to animals was considered a 
civil offense. No person could be sent to prison for debt, save in cases 
of fraud. One writer who was far from being a friend of this form of 
government, declared "profane swearing, drunkenness, and beggars are 
but rare in the compass of this patent." There were rigid laws against 
lying, as well as against stealing; meeting with corinapt company; 
tippling in ordinaries; and against disobedience to parents, and the 
court even tried to regulate courtship. The law was felt and usually 
obeyed to almost the letter. These people who first settled on the "wild 
New England shores" cared little for patents of nobility or ecclesiastical 
preferment. They were simply nobles by the right of an earlier crea- 
tion and priests by the imposition of a mightier hand. They looked with 
contempt upon the claims of long descent. Perhaps there is no finer 
eulogy on the Pilgrim Fathers than was given by the Boston "Daily 
Advertiser" in its issue of December 22, 1894, which reads thus : 

They believed that the invisible things of this world are greater than the things 
that are seen. They believed that Eternity is of more consequence than Time. They 



TOWN OF MANCHESTER 135 

believed that he who should lose his own soul to gain the whole world would make 
a bad bargain. They believed that plain living is none too dear a price to pay for 
the privilege of high thinking. They believed that he to whom any precious and 
pregnant truth has been revealed must utter it, or else stand condemned of high 
treason at the judgment bar of the King of Heaven. They believed that a true 
church may be instituted by the voluntary act of a body of Christian disciples or- 
ganizing themselves into a communion, and a lawful state by the consent and co- 
operation of self-governing citizens. They believed these things practically as well 
as theoretically. They had the courage of their convictions. They dared to do. 
They feared nothing else as much as sin, and they counted no other shame so 
great as recreancy to their loftiest ideals. They said what they meant and meant 
what they said. For truth, as they saw it, for duty as it was revealed to them, they 
braved the stormy, lonely ocean, and endured poverty and exile, hunger, cold and 
death, a savage wilderness peopled by savage men. In thus believing, they set an 
unsurpassed example of faith. In thus choosing the better part, as between flesh 
and spirit, they made a like choice easier for all coming generations of the children 
of men in all the earth. 

Here as well as in the settlement of any new country, it is next to 
impossible to describe what the pioneer had to endure in order to get his 
start in a wild wilderness and forest land hard by the great Atlantic. 
The winters were severe, the soil was rock-bound, and all means of com- 
munication with the outside world were hedged up as yet by forest and 
bridgeless streams. True, the needs of the people were quite simple, and 
at times readily supplied. The woods furnished ample game. The sea 
gave forth of its stock of fine fishes, and wild fruits and berries were 
plentiful in season, as was the fine growth of vegetables produced. All 
household and farm implements were necessarily of the most crude de- 
sign. Settles stood in the fireplace, box-beds occupied one end of the 
kitchen, great logs blazed on the irons, a huge crane hung in the spaci- 
ous chimney; a noon-mark served the purpose of a time piece. Books 
were not common then; the Bible, the angel of the home, came with 
every immigrant to these shores and was studied. Learning, however, 
was little prized, many of the chief men of the town being unable to 
write their own names, yet no worse than it was in Rhode Island, where 
five out of the thirteen original settlers had to make their cross or mark 
in making the contract under which Providence was to be governed. 

One of the evidences of civilized life has always been the trail, 
and later the wagon road. Here the first road is said to have wended its 
way along the sea-beach as a sort of natural highway. Later on, cart 
roads were made by removing the stones where not too large, and going 
around them when of too great proportions. The people usually thought 
it wise to travel over a high hill rather than go around it, though the 
distance was usually about the same between given points. Toil did 
not weary these people, for they had read Bunyan, who pictured the 
way to the City Celestial as very rough and dangerous, and these people 
believed what had been written by that noted Christian philosopher ; as 
Whittier said 



136 ESSEX COUNTY 

"Heaven was so vast, and earth so small, 
And man was nothing, since God was all." 

Not until about 1690 is there any mention of a "slay"; carriages 
appeared a little earlier. "Chairs," two wheeled vehicles without a top, 
and chaises, were among the first type of carriages next to the cart and 
farm wagon. Nearly ail general travel was on horseback, by use of a pil- 
lion and saddle, until near the close of the seventeenth century ; in fact 
the roads would not permit of any other rig, save in the limits of Boston. 

John Knight erected a house about 1690 at the "Cove," and it stood 
until September, 1890, two hundred years, when it was taken down. 
This residence was eighteen by twenty-seven feet in size, and was of a 
solid frame hewed from the native oak so plentiful here then. The first 
century of settlement but little attention was paid to the heating of 
houses. The huge fireplaces consumed their forty to seventy cords of 
excellent wood annually, but for all that, ink and all liquids were hard 
to keep from freezing. It was no uncommon thing for a minister to 
have donated to him by his parish as much as "sixty cords of good 
wood" for the season round. In 1675 the number of population and size 
and number of residences were in no sense in proportion, for records 
show that the average family had a membership of nine and two-tenths 
to the household. In view of the present day theories concerning gemis 
and the hundred and one diseases in which they are supposed to daily 
be engaged in fierce battle array, it seems hardly possible that such 
small houses could successfully rear to manhood and womanhood such 
large families, but such seems to have been the case. Game and salted 
meats, with rye and Indian bread, with drinks of cider and milk, made 
up the early diet of these people, who attained a great age as a rule. 
From them came real empire builders, as history will confirm. The 
taxes imposed or voted upon themselves were frequently high. These 
were largely for land that had a certain "rate" assessed against it 
annually, then came the "support of the Gospill menestery," which was 
ever present and must be met. Fines were rigidly enforced for "Swyne 
found without the yoke"; provisions were made for the schoolmaster, 
for "seaviers of high wayes" and "fence vewers," as well as for seating 
the "meeting-house." 

While no records are extant concerning the loss of men and wealth 
in the Indian wars in which this county and town took part, yet it is 
well known that blood left its stain, and that among the "flower of 
Essex" in Captain Lothrop's company the following Manchester men 
were slain: Samuel Pickworth, John Allen, Joshua Carter, John Ben- 
nett. In the French and Indian war the Essex regiment consisted of 
thirteen companies of footmen and one of cavalry. Soldiers then re- 
ceived six shillings per week, and were allowed five shillings for "dyet." 

More than a half century had passed when the King of England an- 
nulled the charter of the colonies in 1685, and sent Sir Edmund Andros 



TOWN OF MANCHESTER 



137 



to govern both New England and New York, but he proved too arbitrary 
to suit the people and they rose in revolution in 1689 and deposed and 
sent to prison Andros, and reestablished the coloniel form of govern- 
ment. In this, Manchester took her ever loyal part and aided Boston in 
its uprising. After these changes and after the settlement of Indian 
affairs, this part of New England began to again grow and prosper. 

The first store was opened in the town in the house of John Proc- 
tor, of recent years on Sea street. The first tavern was built "for the 
entertainment of man and beast," on North street. A new church was 
built iQ 1691 and the second school house was constructed about that 
time. A tide-mill was erected as early as 1644, "upon the river near the 
meeting-house." This was a rough log structure. In 1705 a small 
mill was built upon the site of the old "Baker Mill", on Brushie plain. 
About 1700 the "Cove" had come to be the largest precinct in the town. 

LIST OF EARLY SETTLERS SHOWING DATE OF SETTLEMENT 



1626. 
"William Allen 
Richard Norman, 
John Norman, 
William Jeffrey. 

1629. 
John Black. 

1636. 
Robert Leach, 
Samuel Archer, 
Sergeant Wolf, 
John More, 
George Norton, 
John Sibley. 

1637. 
John Pickworth, 
John Gaily, 
William Bennet, 
Pasco Foote, 
Thomas Chubbs. 

1640. 
John Friend, 
William Walton. 
James Standish, 
Benjamin Parmiter, 
Robert Allen, 
Edmond Grover, 
Ralph Smith. 

1650. 
Henry Lee, 
William Everton, 

Graves, 

Joseph Pickworth, 
Nich Vincent, 
John Kettle, 
Robert Knight. 



1651. 
Robert Isabell, 
Nathaniel Marsterson, 
Richard Norman. 

1654. 
Thomas Millett. 

1660. 
Moses Maverick, 
Samuel Allen, 
John Blackleeche. 

1662. 
— — Pitts. 
John Elithope. 

1664. 
John Crowell. 

1665. 
John West. 

1666. 
Richard Glass, 
Rev, John Winborn. 

1667. 
Thomas Bishop, 
Jenkins Williams. 

1668. 
Oneciphorus Allen. 

1670. 
William Hooper, 
Nich. Woodberry. 

1674. 
Ambrose Gale, 
Commit Marston, 
Elodius Raynolds, 
John Mason, 
James Pittman. 

1680. 
John Lee, Samuel Lee, 



Isaac Whitcher, 
John Gardner, 
Robert Leach, 
John Marston, 
Thomas Tewkesbury, 
Thomas Ross, 
Samuel Allen, 
Manassa Marston, 
Walter Parmiter, 
James Rivers. 

1684. 
Wiliam Hosham, 
John Foster, 
Mark Tucker, 
John Knowlton, 
Emanuel Day, 
Elisha Reynolds, 
Jo Woodberry, 
James Pittman, 
Robert Knight, Sr. 
Eph. Jones, 
John Allen, 
Aaron Bennett, 
Felix Monroe. 

1687. 
John Norton, 
William Allen, 
Thomas Ayhairse, 
Eliab Littlefield, 
Richard Leatherer, 
John Bishop, 
Samuel Crowell, 
Rev. John Everleth, 
Rev, John Emerson, 
John Burt, 
Jonas Smith. 



138 ESSEX COUNTY 

It has been remarked that "to worship God and catch fish" was what 
brought many of the first settlers to these immediate shores. The 
catching and curing fish such as were found plentiful in the great At- 
lantic at this point, furnished the country with its greatest industry for 
many years. An excellent market was found for this product in both 
the West Indies and in the countries of Europe. The fisheries are still a 
wonderful source of wealth in Massachusetts even down to the present 
time. For a few decades this industry was not so great, but of recent 
times it has come to be very large and profitable. In the Fish Com- 
missioner's report of twenty-five years ago for the United States, the 
following was found, and a similar source would today add much to the 
magnitude of this industry: "There are nearly 200,000 directly engaged 
in the United States Fisheries, with a total tonnage of 176,783 tons and 
an investment of $58,000,000. The United States' annual harvest of 
the seas amounts to $45,000,000. We have 38,000 deep-sea fishermen, 
17,000 of whom hail from Massachusetts. Gloucester alone has a fishing 
fleet of more than 400 vessels, of 30,000 tons burden, manned by in ex- 
cess of 6,000 men." 

Again, this industry of the seas was always encouraged by the Gen- 
eral Court. In 1639 it was ordered that all vessels engaged in such busi- 
ness should not be taxed, and their men should be exempt from military 
duty. John Adams said: "Cod-fish are to us what wool was to England 
and tobacco to Virginia, the great staple with which the power of our 
wealth was based." 

As early as 1670, England became quite jealous over our New 
England fisheries, as will be seen by this: "New England is the most 
prejudicial plantation to this Kingdom of all American plantations. His 
Majesty has none so apt for the building of shipping as New England, 
nor any so qualified for the breeding of seamen, not only by reason of the 
natural industry of that people, but principally by reason of their cod 
and mackerel fisheries, and in my poor opinion there is nothing more 
prejudicial and in prospect more dangerous, than the increase of ship- 
ping in colonies and plantations." 

England's restrictive policy in the Act of Parliament in 1775, for- 
bidding Americans from taking fish in Canadian waters, along with a 
few others, hastened on the Revolutionary struggle. A high authority 
on the War of 1812-14 with England says : "I regard it as strictly true 
that without fisheraien we could hardly have managed a frigate or cap- 
tured one. From the beginning of that war to its end, the fishermen 
were in almost every national or private araied ship that earned our 
flag. It is believed today by those best posted in early-day struggles 
with the Mother country that it is doubtful whether we would now be a 
nation had not Colonel Glover with his Essex county fishermen twice 
saved Washington's army." 

The fishing industry was at its best in the early part of the nine- 



TOWN OF MANCHESTER 139 

teenth century. In fact, let it be said that it never fully recovered from 
the effects of the War of 1812, which drove our shipping from the ocean 
and left it to decay and rot in creeks and coves. The assessors' books 
for 1808 show that Captain Ezekiel Leach owned the "Jane", fifty-four 
tons, and the "Active", ninety-nine tons ; Tyler Parsons owned one-third 
of the "Enterprise", ninety-nine tons; Benjamin and Samuel Foster 
owned a schooner of sixty tons; Major Henry Story owned the "Three 
Brothers", seventy-four tons. Ebenezer Tappan owned the sloop "Prim- 
rose," twenty -nine tons, and the schooner "Nancy", sixty-eight tons; 
the last named was the ship run ashore at Mingos Beach and fired by 
the British in 1813. Captain Abiel Burgess owned and commanded the 
"Alonzo," of one hundred and thirty tons ; he also owned a half-interest 
in the ship "Hannibal." 

From 1825-30 the fishing business greatly declined, and few vessels 
were built for the trade. In 1835 the fishing and coasting business of 
the town of Manchester employed about 1,200 tons. In 1836 there were 
one hundred and fifty men employed in the fisheries, with seven fish 
yards, and ten houses for storage. In 1845 there were thirteen vessels 
in the cod and mackerel fisheries, and the value of the catch was placed 
at $21,000. 

The next great industry in which the people of this town engaged 
was that of cabinet-making. Shipbuilding ceased, shipping rotted down, 
while the buzz of saws and whirl of rapidly turning wood lathes frigh- 
tened the sea-gulls from the shore line. The industry of more than two 
centuries has given way, and now but little of actual importance in the 
line of fisheries can be found on the shores of this part of Massachusetts. 

Before passing from this subject it may be of interest to read the 
following paragraphs from Lamson's "History of Manchester" (1895) : 

Among the interesting log books used in those days by fishermen may still be 
seen that of Captain Benjamin Hilton, with passages as here follows: The names 
of the vessels mentioned are "Breattany", "Lucy", "Salley", "Louisay", "Patty' 
"Corr" and "Darbey." The voyages seem to have been in general, remarkably un- 
eventful, "smoothe winds" and "Smal brezes" predominating. The log is methodical- 
ly kept, noting each hour the knots run, the course, the wind, laititude and longi- 
tude, the departure and meridian, with remarks, etc. The pages usually have a 
running head-line, as "A Log of our intended Passage, by God's assistance on the 
good schooner "Patty", or "A Journell of vige Continnered att sea." One of the 
books contains on the fly-leaf the inscriptions: "Benjamin Hilton His Book Bought 
in Salam In the Year of our Lord 1762, the Price 13 shillens old tenner." "Benjamin 
Hilton His Book the Lord gave him grace therein to Look and wen the bells Do for 
him towl the Lord have marcey one his soul. Benjamin Hilton his hand and pean 
and if the Peen had been better I Wood mended everey Latter." 

The following will give an idea of the daily "remarks": "Sunday the 2d of June 
1765 this twenty-four hours we have hed fresh brese of wind to the westward and 
southward att 3 p. m. Hour main touping lift gav way and att 6 a. m. Saw 3 toup- 
sail vessels bound for the eastward and att 10 a. m. Saw 2 more Bound to the East- 
word and we have Cloudey weather and Rain." 



140 ESSEX COUNTY 

Following the fishery industry, which held sway here for almost 
two centuries, came the cabinet-making business. During the period 
long after the settlement, the household furniture was largely brought 
from the Old World and little attempt was made to produce the needful 
articles of furniture needed in the homes of New England. It was about 
the year of our National Independence when furniture began to be made 
in this part of the country. It is believed that the first manufacturer 
was Moses Dodge, in 1775. This business was handed down from father 
to son, and at present is still in the family name. In 1895 the business 
was being carried on by his great-grandsons, John M. and Charles C. 
Dodge. While most of the early cabinet-makers have long since been 
forgotten, they made an interesting record while they existed. Among 
the very first to engage in the business was Ebenezer Tappan, in 1761, 
son of Rev. Benjamin Tappan, a soldier of the Revolution, who had 
learned his trade in Portland, then known as Falmouth. 

The production of veneers for furniture and musical instruments 
later became a large industry at Manchester. Much mahogany was 
worked up for expensive furniture facings. John Perry Allen was fore- 
most in this line for many decades. He had the first veneering saw-mill, 
in 1825, and he managed to cut from a four-inch mahogany plank sixty 
fine strips of veneers. This mill produced the larger part of all veneer- 
ing used in the piano factories of the country. As the United States 
settled up more generally, factories were established for the manufac- 
ture of furniture, and the larger centers began to monopolize the trade. 
However, as late as 1870 a copy of the Boston "Cabinet Maker" con- 
tained the following item concerning the Manchester factories: 

The class of work that is made in Manchester today, is without doubt as fine 
as any work turned out in the United States, and it is retailed in the warehouses 
of the most fashionable dealers in the country. The styles are good and the work 
thoroug'li and reliable. Were it the custom to put the maker's name on furniture, 
as it is on watches, fire arms, silver-ware, and most other goods, these modest 
manufacturers doing business in the same small routine way for the past forty or 
fifty years, would have an enviable reputation, wherever, in this country, handsome 
and serviceable furniture is appreciated. 

From statistics found among the records of the Secretary of the 
Commonwealth, in 1838 it is found that articles were manufactured in 
Manchester as follows : 

Boots, 425 pairs; shoes, 2,750 pairs; value of boots and shoes, $4,473. Males 
employed, 11; females, 4. 

Tannery, 1; hides tanned, 2,000; value of leather tanned and curried, $5,500; 
hands employed, 3; capital invested, $7,000- 

Manufactories of chairs and cabinet ware, 12; value of chairs and cabinet ware, 
$84,500; hands employed, 120. 

Palm-leaf hats manufactured, 3,000; value $300, 

Vessels built in the five preceding years, 4; tonnage of same, 190; value $4,500; 
hands employed in shipbuilding, 4. 

Vessels employed in the cod and mackerel fisheries, 14; tonnage of same, 500; 



TOWN OF MANCHESTER 141 

codfish caught, 5,400 quintals; value, $11,200; mackerel caught, 200 barrels; value, 
$1,600; salt used in the cod and mackerel fishery, 4,000 bushels; hands employed, 65; 
capital invested, $12,300. 

Ships' wheels manufactured, 25; value, $800; hands employed, 1. 

In 1865 the cabinet business gave employment to 160 men, and the 
working capital was in excess of $60,000. The amount of manufactured 
goods was $92,625. There were also four sawing mills and planing mills, 
turning out $13,000 worth of work. The number of barrels and casks 
made was 32,600, valued at $10,600. The number of hides tanned was 
5,000, of the value of $20,000. Boots and shoes were made to the value 
of $12,000. Strawberries were raised to the value of $3,300. There 
were forty horses in town, and thirty-four oxen. 

It may be said that today the cabinet-making industry is but a faint 
memory to any present resident. It has long since gone to larger and 
western city centers. A list of the chief cabinet-makers of Manchester 
includes the following persons and firms, some of whom also operated 
and owned mills as well as furniture factories: Moses Dodge, Ebenezer 
Tappan, Larkin Woodberry, Eben Tappan, Long & Danforth, Kelham 
& Fitz, Henry F. Lee, Isaac Allen, Jerry Danforth, S. 0. Boardman, 
John Perry Allen, Smith & Low, Cyrus Dodge, Luther and Henry Bing- 
ham, John C. Long & Co. (H. P. & S. P. Allen), Samuel Parsons, Allen 
& Ames, Albert E. Low, Isaac S. Day, William Hoyt, John C. Webb, Sev- 
erance & Jewett, William Johnson, C. B. Hoyt, Warren C. Vane, Felker 
& Cheever, Hanson, Morgan and Co., E. S. Vennard, William E. Whea- 
ton, Charles Lee, John C. Peabody, Isaac Ayers, Crombie & Morgan, 
Rufus Stanley, William Decker, Watson & Co., Taylor & Co., Rust & 
Marshall, John M. and Charles C. Dodge, Samuel L. Wheaton. 

After first making a suitable shelter in which to live, to plan and 
execute for the immediate living of the family, then the duty of the 
pioneer here was to see that in case of death a suitable burying place was 
provided in the neighborhood, or at times on the land of the settler. Tra- 
ditions locates the first graveyard in Manchester near the present library 
building; this was possibly a private cemetery. The next Silent City 
was located on the road from the Cove to the Magnolia railway station. 
So aged is this burying place that no record book refers to it. Yet it is 
certain that many of the first settlers here fell into that dreamless sleep 
that we call death, and that there their mortal remains have long years 
ago mingled with the earth. The first recorded cemetery was that of 
1668 (some authorities say 1653) and refers to the present cemetery at 
the corner of Washington and Summer streets; it was fenced in 1701. 

Another cemetery, a small plot of ground, is the Union Cemetery at 
the esLsi side of School street, established in 1845 as a stock association. 
In 1888 it was taken over by the town, and a monument is now to be seen 
there erected to the honor of Rev. Oliver A. Taylor, an early minister. 

Rosedale Cemetery, the most attractive of any in Manchester today, 



142 ESSEX COUNTY 

was originally owned by a private corporation, dated 1854, but in 1888 
was wisely transferred to the town and accepted with Union Cemetery as 
a sacred trust. In 1888-90 further extension had to be made in order 
to provide ample room for the departed dead. Here one finds Memorial 
Lot — a square plot set apart for the use of Grand Army of the Republic 
Post. The present generation is taking much better care of their bury- 
ing places than did their forefathers, but there may be a good reason 
for it — today we have more time and means with which to decorate the 
graves and otherwise show respect for our departed friends. 

From the best obtainable evidence the first store of Manchester 
was kept in the house of Joseph Proctor, on Sea street. A woman of 
great energy and business ability seems to have been proprietor of this 
pioneer store. This person was later known as the wife of Colonel 
Eleazar Crafts, who was a Revolutionary soldier. 

Ebenezer Tappan embarked in merchandising soon after the Revo- 
lutionary War, in the building now owTied by the heirs of the Andrew 
Brown family. Mr. Tappan continued forty years, and was doubtless 
the first merchant to refuse to handle ardent spirits in his store as a 
beverage. Other early merchants were: Captain John Knight, on the 
north of Saw Mill brook ; Mrs. Abby H. Trask, who dealt in her residence 
many years and finally died with her merchandise about her; a large 
number of young women were employed by her. About 1835, Captain 
John Hooper kept a store at the Cove, and this was a famous resort of 
the militia on their training days. Other merchants of the long-ago in- 
cluded Mrs. Hooper Allen in Summer street; Deacon D. L. Bingham, at 
his house; Israel F. Tappan, who also made clocks and "fixed" watches; 
Captain Tyler Parsons, Isaac S. West, F. B. Rust, John Little, G. W. 
Marble, S. S. Colby, Larkin W. Story, John Prince, A. W. Smith, John 
Evans and Henry Knight, Miss Mary A. Baker; these were all in busi- 
ness at Manchester previous to 1880. 

Today the retail business is carried on by people possessing modem 
ideas and who keep fully abreast with the times in the selection and 
handling of first class merchandise. It is not the aim of this work to go 
into details or give a directory of present-day business factors. 

A postoffice was established in Manchester in 1803, under Deacon 
Delucena L. Bingham, who served as postmaster until his death in 1837. 
Mail then came from Boston three times each week, by stage coach. 
Before then, mail came up occasionally by a sloop. The office receipts 
in 1803 were $7.00. In 1820 there were but two newspapers taken at 
Manchester. William Dodge was appointed postmaster in 1837, and 
served until 1845 ; he owned a tavern, and between the two occupations 
made a fair living, his wife assisting him in both. The next postmaster 
was Colonel Jefferd M. Decker, a military man, who in the early days 
of the Civil War took an active part in that struggle. The next in line 
to hold the postmastership was George F. Allen, 1849, under whose ad- 



TOWN OF MANCHESTER 143 

ministration the postage rates on first class matter was forty cents on 
letters to the Pacific coast ; five cents under one hundred miles, ten cents 
over. Postage to European countries, twenty-four cents. The next post- 
master at Manchester was John Prince, from 1853 to 1865, when Julius 
R. Rabardy, a native of France and an old Civil War veteran, was ap- 
pointed and kept the oflSce until 1885, and was succeeded by William J. 
Johnson, who in 1890 was followed by Jeflfrey T. Stanley. Charles H. 
Danforth succeeded Stanley in 1895, served until relieved by Samuel L. 
Wheaton, and he by the present postmaster, Frank A. Foster, commis- 
sioned by President Woodrow Wilson, March 2, 1915. A fire in 1906 de- 
stroyed the postoflnce building and a small amount of government sup- 
plies. 

For almost two hundred and fifty years Manchester was without 
any adequate system of water works or fire protection. Not until 1892 
di4 this place do away with the street and private cistern and well sys- 
tem, depended upon so long. That year the water works were' com- 
pleted, and since then the almost if not quite inexhaustible supply of 
excellent water has made life worth the living in Manchester. The 
original cost of this water-work system was about $160,000. In passing 
it is well to state that recent reports from the United States Census 
Bureau sent out especially for this work, show the population in the 
town of Manchester to be 2,466. 

About the only manufacturing industry of Manchester today is the 
old and well known furniture factory of the Dodge family, who have 
been in such industry a century or more. There is a limited amount of 
yacht-building here also, but nothing of great note. 

It should be remembered that in Massachusetts for a long period 
of time the parish and town were practically one. The church was the 
institution around which all else centered, and was supposed to develop 
through. Maintenance of the gospel was uppermost in the minds of 
those who first came to these shores, because of the right to worship 
God as directed by their own conscience. While it is not the province of 
this work to give a complete history of any certain church, much less 
all of those organized from time to time within Manchester, brief ac- 
counts will be given of the first organizations, the buildings and pastors 
at various times, to the present period. 

According to tradition, the first public meeting for religious pur- 
poses was held under a tree on "Gale's Point," but as to whom the 
preacher was there now appears to be no record. Dr. E. W. Leach many 
years ago had a scrap of yellow paper giving in the handwriting of Rev. 
Ames Cheever the names of the early ministers of Manchester; this 
record is dated November 20, 1726. The list is as follows: Messrs. 
Ginners, Smith, Stow, Dunnum, Millett, Hathome, Jones, Winbom, Hub- 
bard, Emerson, Goodhue, Eveleth and Webster. But little is known of 
these ministers — some it is certain served as supplies only for a short 



144 ESSEX COUNTY 

time. In those times, even as at the present, men and ministers in- 
cluded, were not all perfect, for it has been written of Ralph Smith, an 
early minister in the Manchester parish, *'the colonists were warned 
against him, and were told to not suffer him to remain 'unless he be 
comfortable to the government.' " 

Another minister who did not find life here a continual round of 
pleasure was Rev. John Winbom, who arrived in 1667 and in 1686 the 
town voted "that he forthwith provide himself and family with some 
other place." In 1689 Rev. John Everleth was invited to preach as a 
candidate, and was soon called to preach at a salary of £23 per year. 

Perhaps the earliest place in which the now almost universal cus- 
tom of raising funds by envelope collection, was in Manchester, where in 
1690 it was voted that a contribution be taken up each Sabbath for the 
minister, in addition to his salary; the gifts to be wrapped in a paper, 
with the name of the contributor upon it. Rev. Everleth continued 
until 1695 and was succeeded by Rev. John Emerson, whose pastorate 
was quite short. From 1698 to 1715 the minister at Manchester was 
Rev. Nicholas Webster. 

The Manchester church was not regularly organized until Novem- 
ber 7, 1716. Rev. Ames Cheever, a grandson of the well-known Ezekiel 
Cheever, was ordained minister here October 4, 1716. Up to 1^77 the 
members of this church had belonged at Salem, then gathered at Bev- 
erly, where they remained until they were dismissed to form a church 
of their own. The members thus withdrawing to form a new society 
were inclusive of these: John Sibley and wife, John Lee, Robert Leach, 
Samuel Stone, Samuel Lee, John Knowlton and children (John, Joseph 
and Abigail), Benjamin Allen, Joseph Allen and wife, Jabez Baker and 
wife, Josiah Littlefield, Jonathan Allen. In fact, with the coming of 
Rev. Cheever began the real history of this church. He served faith- 
fully and well until Januaiy, 1743, a period of twenty-seven years. Not 
many years since, his supposed grave was marked by a proper tomb- 
stone by his descendants. 

Rev. Benjamin Tappan became pastor in 1744, receiving the sum of 
one hundred and forty-eight ounces of silver or its equivalent per year. 
This also included his fuel delivered, though not so fully stated in the 
contract. Following Rev. Tappan came (for a brief season) Rev. Blake 
of Worcester, until September, 1791, when Rev. Ariel Parish was made 
pastor and served until his death, at an early age, in 1794. It is said of 
him: "He was cut off in the morning of life, and the tears of many 
watered his grave." 

Other ministers here were: Revs. Abraham Randall, James Thurs- 
ton, Samuel M. Emerson, of Williams College, at $450 a year and four- 
teen cords of wood "at the house"; he was installed in 1821 and served 
till his health failed and he resigned, being succeeded by Rev. Oliver A. 
Taylor, installed in 1839. After his death came his brother, Rev. Rufus 



TOWN OF MANCHESTER 145 

Taylor, who was installed in 1852. A split occurred in the church which 
was not fully united until 1869. After Rev. Taylor, came Rev. George 
E. Freeman in 1858 and was dismissed in 1862. Next came Rev. Ed- 
ward P. Tenney, continuing until 1867 ; he left the ministry and entered 
literary work. In 1869 came as minister Rev. George L. Gleason, who 
served until 1881. In more recent years the ministers have been more 
frequent in their coming and going from Manchester. In 1882 came 
Rev. D. 0. Clark; in 1886, Rev. Daniel Marvin, down to 1892. He was 
succeeded by Rev. J. P. Ashley for about six months, then came Rev. 
Samuel Reid, and next was Rev. Francis A. Fate, installed in November, 
1894. From this date on down to the present the ministers have been: 
Revs. Walter Ashley, 1898-1904; Rev. C. Arthur Lincoln, 1905-07; Rev. 
Louis H. Ruge, 1907-12; Rev. Charles A. Hatch, 1913-16; Rev. Frederic 
W. Manning, 1917 and still pastor in 1921. 

At the present (1921) the records of this church show there is a 
total membership of 171 ; and an average of 135 in the Sunday school, of 
which the present superintendent is Pastor Frederic W. Manning. The 
frame edifice built in 1809 still serves the congregation well. 

As to the church above treated upon, and now known as the 
Orthodox Congregational Church of Manchester, Massachusetts, a 
booklet put out a few years since gives the subjoined historic church 
facts: Manchester settled as Jeffrey's Creek, 1636; incorporated as 
Manchester, 1645; church organized with twenty members, 1716; Sun- 
day school organized, 1810; meeting-houses built in 1656, 1695, 1719, 
1809; parsonages built in 1685, 1699, 1745, 1803, 1811, 1853; chapel 
built in 1858 ; weekly offering system started in 1690 ; pews for negroes, 
1737 ; Methodists forbidden to worship in church, 1795 ; total abstinence 
enjoined on members, 1833; individual ownership of pews relinquished 
in 1846; separation of parish from town, 1847; parish incorporated, 
1847 ; division of church and new one formed, 1857 ; churches reunited, 
1869 ; individual communion cups first used, 1901 ; new covenant and by- 
laws adopted, 1902 ; bells provided for church, in 1695,1755, 1843 ; clocks 
installed, 1792, 1846 ; organs installed, 1847, 1889 ; first stoves used, 1821 ; 
furnace heat, 1867 ; revivals of note in this church, 1727, 1737, 1757, 1763, 
1797, 1809, 1827, 1839, 1888, 1897. 

The names of those who for many years served this church as its 
deacons should not be overlooked by the reader. They included such men 
as Benjamin Allen, Samuel Lee, Benjamin Lee, Jonathan Herrick, John 
Tewksbury, John Allen, Albert E. Low, Henry Knight, D. L. Bingham, 
Nathan Allen, Andrew Brown, Enoch Allen, John Price, John Fowler, 
Oliver Roberts, Daniel Leach, and F. A. P. Killam. 

Without going into detail concerning the church edifices occupied 
by this Manchester church, it may be said that they have had good aver- 
age houses of worship, beginning with the meeting-house erected in 
1656, enlarged in 1691, though not paid for until 1695 ; another house 

Essex — 10 



146 ESSEX COUNTY 

was provided in 1720, being used until 1809. This church was followed 
by the one built in 1809 at a cost of $8,500. With numerous improve- 
ments and modern-idea changes, this edifice, so well constructed, has 
withstood the storms of all the years to the present (1921) and bids 
fair to be in use another half century. 

It was not until 1821, that the above church was possessed of any 
artificial means of warming it. Then came the "foot-stove," says one 
writer. This proved unsatisfactory, and it was decided to try a cast-iron 
box-stove, even against great and stubborn opposition on the part of 
many churchgoers, who questioned the religious propriety of having a 
comfortable and well warmed church building. Minister Tappan has 
left on record an amusing incident connected with the use of the above 
named box-stove: "The first cold Sunday after it had been placed in 
position, the people all went to meeting fully prepared to watch the re- 
sult of the experiment. Many felt it uncomfortably warm; and two 
young women were so overcome by the 'baked air' they fainted, and 
were taken to the vestibule where the atmosphere was of a better qual- 
ity. But the next day it was learned, the wood for the stove had not 
been received, and no fire had been made; this proved a fatal blow to 
the opposition, and but little was said upon the subject afterwards." 

Various publications and church records afford the writer the data 
necessary for this history of the Baptist church. Between 1631 and 
1635 Roger Williams, "teacher,"* later "minister" of the First Baptist 
Church in Salem, en route to pi'each to the few fishermen living along 
the shores and back in the woods, arrived as the first to sow the seed 
of the Baptist doctrine in this part of the county. This reads like an 
accurate historical statement, but as a matter of fact it is simply con- 
jecture, for there is no real record to show that these statements are 
any more than tradition, yet seem quite plausable. 

While from time to time, it is likely that there were those of the 
Baptist faith residing in Manchester, yet it was not until 1842 that 
Elder Elam Bumham, of Essex, began to hold meetings in the old Pub- 
lic Library building on School street. Great stress was laid on the theory 
of the Second Advent of Christ. A number were baptized by this man 
Bumham, and on April 10, 1843, thirteen men and women were baptized 
by him and by them a church organization was effected. Fifty-seven 
others soon united, and the organization was styled the Christian Church 
instead^ of Baptist. A building was provided in 1844 by this church. 
Following the founder, Rev. Burnham, came Rev. 0. J. Waite, from 1844 
to 1848. Then came Rev. P. R. Russell, under whose pastorate the 
church became a regular Baptist church, the date being February, 1850, 
when it was recognized by the council called for that puipose. He 
wrote against materialism and universalism, and was counted a strong 
man in debate, though not especially gifted as a scholar or fine orator. 
In 1851 he was succeeded by Rev. G. W. Davis, who gave way to Rev. G. 






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loiix i-:siiii:K ART c;aller\". abi'.ot academw axdox'kr 



TOWN OF ANDOVER 147 

F. Danforth, who labored from 1853 to 1856. Indeed, this good man was 
one of the beatitudes of the community. The next pastor was Rev. C. 
W. Reading, who was followed by Revs. Hatch, Miller, Swett and Holt,* 
the last named serving until the coming of that talented man, Rev. D. 
F. Lamson, whose pastorate commenced in 1884 and continued until he 
was succeeded by Rev. Briggs, and he in a short time by Rev. George W. 
Schurman in 1903 ; next came Rev. Edward H. Brewster, 1903-08 ; Rev. 
T. L. Frost, 1911-18; Rev. H. E. Levoy, 1918, and still serving acceptably 
and well. The present membership of this church is 190, and of the 
Sunday school 181. The superintendent is Abbott Foster. The church 
building was remodeled in 1910, and today the entire church property is 
valued at $29,000. 

The brief account of the Episcopal church is found in the language 
of Dr. Lamson in his "History of Manchester" in 1895, in words as fol- 
lows: A little west of the Masconomo House, on the road to Lobster 
Cove, stands Emanuel Church. It is on land owned by Russell Sturgis, 
who was largely responsible for its being built. It is especially designed 
for the use of summer residents, and is therefore only open during the 
"season," when it receives within its walls more wealth and fashion and 
culture^ than are found often in churches of much larger size. It is 
viewed, however, rather as an exotic by some of the permanent resi- 
dents. About the same condition exists today. 

The Roman Catholics built their church here in 1873. It was a 
small, though very neat structure, sufficient for the needs of so floating 
a congregation. It was formed as a part of St. Mary Star of the Sea, 
Beverly. 

The Town Hall has been the meeting place for the few meetings 
held by the Universalist denomination at this point. The society has not 
been perfected at this writing, nor made very strong in church activities. 

The Unitarians in the summer of 1895, erected a building used for 
their services on Masconomo street. This was largely provided by some 
of the summer residents. The present finds about the same condition. 
Services are held in the summer season when members are present on ac- 
count of the summer vacation periods and at summer resorts near by. 



CHAPTER XIII. 
TOWN OF ANDOVER. 



The true date of settlement at Andover is and probably ever will be 
an uncertainty in history. There are so many conflicting theories that 
the writer of this chapter will not undertake to make a positive state- 
ment concerning it. However, it is quite safe to conclude from such 
records of church and state as are at command, that the original set- 



148 ESSEX COUNTY 

tiers came in about 1642 or 1643; for on May 10, 1643, an order was 
passed by the General Court for a division of the whole plantation into 
four shires. Cochichawicke is mentioned as one of the eight towns 
comprising the shire of Essex. Very soon after its settlement, its name 
was changed to Andover, at the request, likely, of the immigrants, who 
had came from Andover, Hants county, England. John Woodbridge, of 
Newbury, later the first minister in Andover, purchased from the In- 
dians the land included in this township. Cutshamache, the Sagamore 
of Massachusetts, was the chief with whom the bargain was made, and 
the price paid was six pounds and a coat. This purchase and preceding 
grant were confirmed by the General Court in 1646, when the town was 
incorporated with its present name. However, as late as 1648, it was 
always spelled in print and public records as "Andiver", and was original- 
ly bounded by the Merrimac, Rowley, Salem, Wobum and Cambridge. 
In 1829 Andover extended its northern border along the Merrimac river 
for nearly eleven miles. 

At what is now known as North Andover in North Parish was effect- 
ed the first settlement of this town. Many years ago, the Rev. Charles 
Smith wrote on this settlement as follows : 

The grantees, or proprietors, for convenience, mutual protection, social inter- 
course and to enjoy the better their religious worship and teaching, settled near 
each other, around their meeting house, on "home-lots", containing from four to ten 
acres each, according to wealth and importance of the occupant To the owner of a 
home lot was assigned meadow, tillage and wood-land in the remote parts of the 
town. The allotment was in proportion to the size and value of the village lot. 
These outlying farms were gradually built upon and lived upon by their owners. 
But not for many years was such occupancy common. For a long time living away 
from the village was discouraged; and on one occasion, the town went so far as 
to forbid any inhabitant's building a dwelling-house in any part of the town other 
than that which had been set apart for such houses, except by express leave of the 
town. The penalty for a disregard of this order was a fine of twenty shillings a 
month for the time the disobedient person should live in such prohibited place. But 
as the population increased, and the roads became passable, and danger from hos- 
tile Indians was largely diminished, people removed to their farms in the present 
South and West Parishes. 

The records of the earliest settlers are scant. In them is to be 
found a list of what purports to be the original proprietors, which reads 
as follows: Mr. Bradstreet, John Stevens, Edmund Faulkner, Henry 
Jacques, John Lovejoy, Andrew Allen, John Osgood, Nicholas Holt, 
Robert Barnard, John Aslett, Thomas Poor, Andrew Foster, Joseph 
Parker, Benj. Woodbridge, Daniel Poor, Richard Blake, George Abbot, 
Thomas Chandler, Richard Barker, John Frye, Nathan Parker, Wm. 
Ballard, John Russ. 

It should be remembered that the original proprietors and settlers 
took up for their personal property only a small portion of the land, 
holding in common the remainder, and in resei-ve for future settlers, 
with a liberal allotment for the church and its ministry. 



TOWN OF ANDOVER 149 

At the beginning of the eighteenth century the church building, or 
meeting-house, as then called, became too small, and not fully up to the 
times, and the membership desired better quarters. Hence it was voted, 
in 1705, "to build a new meeting-house as sufficient and convenient for 
the whole town as may be." May, 1707, it was again voted "to build a 
meeting-house for ye inhabitants of Andover of these following dimen- 
sions, viz : of sixty foot long, and forty foot wide and a twenty foot studd, 
and with a flatt roofe." When the question of a location on which to 
build came to a vote, the decision favored the South Precinct. It was 
but natural that those residing in the North Parish should rebel at their 
meeting-house being transferred to the South Parish. A long drawnout 
battle was fought at town meetings and in General Court deliberations 
over petitions and counter-petitions, but the result was that the Gen- 
eral Court decided to divide the territory into two precincts. The 
locating of a church building was then considered of much greater im- 
portance to the masses than is the location of a county seat and court 
house building in these later days. After much pulling and hauling, 
with no little bitterness, the two parishes or precincts were set off and 
legally given bounds and a provision for a meeting-house in each. 

In 1692, as appears from an old tax-list, the majority of inhabitants 
were at the North End of the town. In 1708, when the question as to 
the location of a meeting-house (new one) came up, a majority of the 
voters were found to be at the South End. For fully fifty years the 
North Parish contained the meeting-house, the minister and the prin- 
cipal citizens. The North Parish was especially distinguished as being 
the home of Simon Bradstreet, who was governor of Massachusetts Bay 
Province for thirteen years, and whose family were looked up to by the 
community. For the present, the reader will turn his att>ention to the 
history of South Parish — the Andover of today — which was then but an 
outlying section of the township. A small part of the lands had been 
allotted to the first settlers. The larger part, held in common, was used 
for pasturage and wood-land. Those who owned farms four or five miles 
out worked at a great disadvantage, on account of Indian scares, bad 
roads, etc. With the passage of years, things changed, and these out- 
lying farms were much utilized by their owners. South Parish became a 
noted agricultural section of the county, and its people were looked upon 
as a class of hardy. God-fearing settlers. 

Andover had less actual trouble with Indian raiders than many of 
the other towns in the county ; there was only one attack in which life 
was lost among the settlers. This occurred on April 18, 1676, the in- 
vaders being a band of the alhes of King Philip. The raid might have 
ended differently had not a scout, named Ephriam Stevens, discovered 
that a band of Indians were crossing the Merrimac river. He hastily 
notified the settlement, and the men working in the fields took refuge 
in the garrison-house, and thus were all saved. This house was oc- 



150 ESSEX COUNTY 

cupied by George Abbot, and was but a few rods to the south of South 
Church of a later date. Unfortunately, two sons of George Abbot did 
not get word in time to make the garrison-house. The elder, nineteen 
years of age, was killed by the Indians. His brother, only thirteen 
years of age, was taken captive, but after four months was returned 
by a friendly old squaw. A few men from the South Precinct lost their 
lives, while engaged in keeping the Indians away from the settlement, 
during tKe various wars with the whites, but not a large number suffered 
such a fate. 

As early as 1673 encouragements were given to such as would lo- 
cate in Andover in some manufacturing enterprise. The town voted to 
^'grant to Edward Whittington and Walter Wright five acres of land for 
encouragement of erecting a fulling mill, which they promised to set 
about the next spring." In 1675 "liberty was granted a tanner that he 
shall be allowed by the town to make use of what bark is needful for 
his works in town, provided he fell no trees that are fit for building or 
mill timber." In 1682 "liberty was granted to any man that the town or 
the committee shall choose to set up a saw mill, fulling mill and grist 
mill upon Shawshin river, near Rogers brook, to take up twenty acres 
of land adjoining said place and to enjoy the same forever, with the 
privilege of a townsman." 

In 1688 "it was voted that the twenty acres of land shall be im- 
proved by Joseph and John Ballard and their heirs, so long as they shall 
keep up a grist mill, fulling mill, etc. In the same year, it was voted "to 
encourage setting up iron works." The iron works mentioned were 
necessarily small affairs, but served well for the time being. Not until 
1775 did manufacturing take on goodly proportions. In the winter of 
1775-76, Mr. Phillips built a powder house on the Shawshin river. This 
was built as a pressing necessity, to make powder for the Continental 
army, but it chanced to be both good for its original object and very 
profitable to its owner. After the war had ended, the mill still con- 
tinued to operate until 1796. In October of the year just mentioned, 
an explosion took place, and two men were killed. Later, the proprietor 
of the powder mill converted it into a paper mill; when there was no 
demand for large bills of powder, then it was that he produced pai)er. 
Soon Mr. Houghton, a devout Quaker from England, who had but re- 
cently failed in the paper business in the Mother Country, settled in 
Andover, and became a partner with Mr. Phillips. The two sharea 
equally in the profits, one finding the capital, the other managing the 
affairs of the enterprise. After many years, paper-making was given up 
and the plant was sold and converted into the Marland Manufacturing 
Company, of which Abraham Marland was the sole founder. This enter- 
prise was one of the leading factors in the town for many years. 

Another great industry founded and successfully operated in An- 
dover for many years was the Smith & Dove Manufacturing Company's 



TOWN OF ANDOVER 151 

plant. This was started in the autumn of 1834, for the purpose of mak- 
ing chalk-line from cotton, by use of a patented machine invented by 
Mr. Dove. Before it was in operation, however, the plans were changed 
by taking in as his partner John Smith, who wanted to make flax- 
thread; so they went to Scotland and secured specifications for the 
necessary mills. Here they made ships cords, sewing flax-threads, shoe- 
threads, etc. The only competitors in America were the merchants from 
Europe. At first, there was a prejudice against home-made threads, 
but after eight years, the company could not begin to fill its orders and 
was compelled to increase its capacity. In 1843, the company purchased 
the Abbot woolen mills. Finally, after eventful, useful careers, the two 
founders passed from earth's shining circles, and the business passed 
on to their heirs by whom it was run for many years longer. 

Among other useful and profitable industries in Andover may be 
named the Ballard Vale Manufacturing Company, incorporated in 1836. 
John Marland was the enterprising president of the concern. Some Bos- 
ton capitalists and a number of business men from Andover made up the 
stockholders. At first flannel making was the aim and sole object of 
this mill. Had the managers "let well enough alone," all might have 
gone well ; but they reached out all over the country, and sought to raise 
silk-worms and weave silk ; also to make various fine woolen goods. With 
all these things on hand, they failed, and the stockholders were heavy 
losers. The factory ultimately fell into the creditors' hands, and the 
treasurer, J, Putnam Bradlee, took it over, reorganized it, and went 
ahead with flannel making successfully. 

The Craighead & Kintz Manufacturing Company succeeded to the 
old plant erected and operated by a Boston corporation, called the Whip- 
ple File and Steel Company. It manufactured files and fine steels. Mis- 
fortune befell its business endeavors, and it finally collapsed. Craig- 
head & Kintz started, in 1883, the manufacture of brass and bronze 
goods. In 1887 nearly three hundred men were employed in these shops. 
Over one hundred thousand dollars a year was the output in the eighties. 
With time, these factories have changed, merged with others, or gone 
out of business entirely. 

The Tyer Rubber Company was incorporated in February, 1876. 
It used the old Boston & Maine railroad shops for headquarters. This 
concern made a diagonal rubber cloth used in the making of overshoes 
and arctics. Henry George Tyer, founder, invented many rubber goods 
in his day. He was bom in England in 1812, came to America in 1840, 
and first settled in New Jersey, where he identified himself with the 
rubber trade. He came to Essex county in 1856. It was he who first 
discovered the art of producing white rubber articles. Another of his in- 
ventions was the "Campo-shoe." For his inventions he never received 
royalty in proportion to the value of his discoveries, though for some 
of them he was well paid. He died at his residence in Andover in 1882, 



152 ESSEX COUNTY 

and was buried in the cemetery of Christ Church, of which he was a 
devout member. 

The industries of Andover today are limited to about the following 
manufacturing plants, all doing a prosperous business in their line of 
production: J. W. Barnard & Son, boots and shoes; Frank H. Hardy, 
brush makers; Ballardvale Milling Company, makers of flannel goods; 
W. C. Donald & Company, manufacturers of lampblack; the American 
Woolen Mills, the Osgood Mills, the Stevens Mills and the Sutton Mills. 
There are also two saw mills, one owned by Albert P. Couch, the other 
by Louis J. Kibbee. 

Andover always having been a noted school and college town, it 
naturally comes in for its share of excellent public libraries. The pub- 
lic library sprang from the old "Social Library" in a very early day — 
about 1770. It distributed books for at least seventy years, when these 
were sold at auction, and scarcely a home in the vicinity today but has 
one or more of the books formerly in this collection. One of the rigid 
rules found in the records concerning the 1770 library, just named, reads 
thus: "For the future no person shall be admitted a member whose 
place of residence from the North Meeting-House in Andover exceeds 
ten miles. Each member shall pay not less than four dollars cash before 
becoming a member." 

The present imposing Memorial Hall Library was erected in 1872-3, 
and dedicated at a cost of $40,000. It was founded by John and Peter 
Smith, but John Dove was also a liberal contributor. The December, 
1920, report of the librarian sets forth these facts: "Our circulation dur- 
ing this last year has been the largest in the history of the library. At 
the Memorial Hall 37,542 books were issued, an increase over 1919 of 
1,937 volumes. At Ballardvale 6,445 were issued, an increase of 139 
during the year. This makes a total of 44,398 books borrowed for home 
use in 1920, which is a large circulation for a town the size of Andover. 
In 1919, 42,322 volumes were borrowed." 

Andover is now a second-class postoffice, with two free delivery rural 
routes extending into the surrounding country; the routes average 
about twenty-three miles each. There are also five city mail carriers. 
The last fiscal year's postal business amounted to $38,200. The post- 
office has been in its present location since 1918. Connected with this 
office is a station office at the village of Shawsheen. This was established 
as a branch office July 1, 1920, and is kept in a leased building. 

Since President Grover Cleveland's administration, the postmasters 
at this postoffice have been William G. Goldsmith, four years ; Abraham 
Marland, four years, under President Hamson; William G. Goldsmith 
served again four years until the election of President William McKinley 
in 1896. Arthur Bliss then became postmaster, and served sixteen years, 
being succeeded May 1, 1914, by the present postmaster, John H. Mc- 
Donald. 



TOWN OF ANDOVER I53 

In 1920-21 the following list of officers were serving the municipality 
of Andover, which was originally incorporated May 6, 1646— two hun- 
dred and seventy-five years ago: Selectmen: Walter S. Donald Charles 
Bowman, Andrew McTenien; Assessors: Walter S. Donald ' Charles 
Bowman and Andrew McTenien; Town Clerk, George A Higgins- Tax 
Collector, William B. Cheever; Town Treasurer, George A Higgins- 
Supenntendent of Schools, Henry C. Sanborn; Superintendent of Water 
Department, Frank L. Cole; Chief of Fire Department, Charles F Emer- 
son; Chief of Police, Frank M. Smith; Constables: George W Mears 
FVank M. Smith and Thomas F. Dailey ; Tree Warden, Edward H Berry- 
Moderator of Town Meetings. Alfred L. Ripley; Finance Committee:' 
Hen^ A. Bodwell, Edward V. French, Chester W. Holland, George Ab- 
bot, George B. Frost, J. Harry Campion, William B. Corliss 

tn <R7c,m Itnt^^ l^'^'^ ^'"'^"''^^ according to the last report amounts 
to $l,d01,285.78. The assessors' last report shows the following- Num- 
ber of polls assessed, 2,323; personal and real estate holdings, $10,086- 

^iQ^ noi nf ' ^^:^^V ^^"^ """ V^y^^on^^ estate, $50,043; tax on real estate, 
51)197,085.04 ; rate of taxation per $1,000, $24.50. 

Number of horses assessed, 497; cows, 903; "sheep, 107; neat cattle, 
227; swine, 229; fowls, 11,485; dwellings, 1,787; acres of land, 17 816 

By reason of the three great educational institutions located at 
Andover for so many years— the Theological Seminary, Abbot's Acad- 
emy and Phillips Academy for girls-the very atmosphere surrounding 
the place, figuratively speaking, seems charged with the elements of edu- 
cation, intelligence and refinement not known in the ordinary town of 
any section of the country. 

^ As one of the oldest towns in the United States, Andover enjoys 
universal distinction. Its name has always been coupled with famous 
histoncal events. Andover's famous school, Phillips Academy, was 
founded m 1770 by Samuel Phillips, and was the first incorporated 
academy m the country. This institution has been greatly aided in its 
growth by the generous benefactions of the Phillips family to whose 
efforts can be attributed much of its great success. The late Bishop 
Phillips Brooks was a direct descendant of this illustrious family 

Andover is justly proud of its Theological Seminary, and of such 
men as Professor Calvin E. Stowe and Professor Austin Phelps who 
were among its presidents. Thousands upon thousands of young men 
have been graduated from this Seminary to go out into the world as 
professionals, in the role of ministers, lawyers, physicians and journal- 
ists. 

Abbot Academy, the first school exclusively for girls in this section 
of the country, was opened in 1829, through the efforts and bequests of 
Madam Sarah Abbot. 

Simon Bradstreet, well known as magistrate, ambassador, and gov- 
ernor of Massachusetts, was one of the founders and residents of An- 



154 ESSEX COUNTY 

dover, and his wife Anne is famous as the first poetess in America. 
Their descendants, such men as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Wendell Phillips 
and R. H. Dana, have all earned wide renown, hence Andover can be 
justly proud of her sons. 

In the language of another, it may be said: "Among the things 
which alone would make Andover famous are the facts that here Har- 
riet Beecher Stowe, authoress of "Uncle Tom's Cabin", made her home 
for several years, and her house is still standing and known as the Stowe 
House. The house still stands, also, in which in February, 1832, Samuel 
F. Smith, then a student at Andover Theological Seminary, wrote the 
song that was destined to become our national hymn, 'America.' " 

Among the interesting objects in Andover pointed out today to the 
visitor from distant parts of the world is, first: The "Old Oak of An- 
dover," in the rear of the Seminary building. It has been estimated that 
at least four thousand students in the last century have been seated or 
have walked beneath its branches. "Then hail to the oak, the brave old 
oak, when a hundred years are gone." I 

"Phillips Inn," or the old "Stowe House", built in 1828, of solid 
stone, still adorns the lot directly opposite the stone chapel of the old 
Theological Seminary. It is a two-story structure (the original part) 
and was constructed as a carpenter shop and gymnasium for the semi- 
nary. It passed into the hands of Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1853, 
and in one of its ground floor rooms she wrote and revised her "Uncle 
Tom's Cabin" before it was published in book form, it first appearing as 
a serial. It was also in this building that this celebrated American 
authoress wrote most of the "Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin," as well as the 
interesting and thrilling work entitled "Dred, or Curse Entailed." In 
1887 this house was opened as a hotel, and was known as the Mansion 
House, and so continued until 1902, when the name was changed to "Phil- 
lips Inn." It is still conducted for the benefit of visitors, summer board- 
ers and tourists. 

Another historic object is here found in what is styled "Rabbit 
Rock," an early resort for the students who were fitting themselves for 
the missionary service in foreign lands. Here the young men used to 
assemble in a secluded spot, and converse and hold prayer service. The 
citizens and alumni of the Seminary years ago placed a fine memorial 
tablet attached to a giant granite boulder, and this is a perpetual me- 
morial to that noble band of young students possessed of the missionary 
spirit. It was here that the "Iowa Band," comprising seven young Con- 
gregational ministers, who banded themselves together, used to meet 
and lay plans for establishing Congregational churches in the West. 
Later they all settled in Iowa, and there formed the early churches of 
this faith. 

Among the illustrious dead whose mortal remains rest in a small 
burying ground plot near the Seminary should be mentioned Professor 




STOWE HOUSE, WHERE "UNCLE TOM'S CABIN" WAS WRITTEN 



TOWN OF ANDOVER 155 

Calvin Stowe and his wife, Harriet Beecher Stowe; an infant, and their 
son, who was drowned. This sacred spot is marked only by a plain 
Scotch granite tombstone with an ornamental cross at its top ; but it may 
be suggested that Harriet Beecher Stowe's greater monument was in 
her written words, and her achievements as an abolitionist worker and 
authoress. 

Near the edge of this cemetery is to be seen a modest marble tomb- 
stone marking the resting place of Samuel Harvey Taylor, bom 1807, 
died 1871, while teaching his Bible class. He was at the head of 
Phillips Academy from 1829 to 1871, during which period there were 
upwards of six thousand pupils under his faithful care. He was among 
the foremost earlier American educators in his chosen field. 

In conclusion, it may be said that here one sees the home of Dr. 
Smith, author of " America ;" the Abbot house, oldest in Andover, built 
in 1690; Elizabeth Stuart Phelps Ward's residence, the old Latin Com- 
mons of Phillips Academy, the Elm Arch, Memorial Hall and Public 
Library, Rabbit's Pond, and the Golf Club grounds. 

South Parish of Andover originally embraced the present town of 
North Andover and all of Lawrence lying south of the Merrimac river. 
A.S has been shown, the first settlement was effected at what is now the 
old center of North Andover. Here the house of worship was erected; 
here the minister resided, as well a» a majority of the voters. In an- 
other chapter, an account is traced of the bickerings between the two 
church and town factions in settling the matter of a church site, which 
at last was determined by the General Court. The meeting house was 
built and occupied for the first time in January, 1710 ; £100 were raised 
to meet the cost of the structure. **Young men and maiden had liberty 
to build seats round in the galleries on their own charge." 

The first minister called was Rev. Samuel Philips, a graduate of 
Harvard College. October 17, 1711, this church was fully organized, 
with a charter membership numbering thirty-four, as follows: George 
Abbot, Dorcas Abbot, John Abbot, Sarah Abbot, Nehemiah Abbot, Abi- 
gail Abbot, Rebecca Ballard, Hannah Ballard, Hannah Bigsby, Anne 
Blanchard, William Chandler, Sarah Chandler, Thomas Chandler, Mary 
Chandler, Francis Dane, Hannah Dane, Mary Russell, Ralph Farnham, 
Sarah Farnham, William Foster, Hannah Holt, Elizabeth Johnson, Will- 
iam Johnson, George Johnson, Mary Johnson, Wm. Love joy, Mary Love- 
joy, Mary Lovejoy, Christ. Osgood, Sam Philips, Sarah Preston, John 
Russ, Deborah Russ, Mary Russell and Phoebe Russell. 

The earliest deacons were John Abbot and William Lovejoy. The 
ministry of the beloved pastor continued for almost sixty years, ter- 
minating in his eighty-second year. The date of his death was June 5, 
1771, and his successor was Rev. Jonathan French. 

The second house of v/orship occupied by this society, subsequently 
erected in 1733-34, was to be "built after the same fashion as the old, 



156 ESSEX COUNTY 

only larger." This building was opened for public worship in May, 
1734. The seating of the house always caused much trouble in New 
England in those early times. In this case a committee was appK)inted to 
"dignify seats and pews according to their judgement, having respect 
for money and age." This plan lasted twenty-three years, after which 
it was forever abandoned. The reader will doubtless be interested in 
the following description of this church, written by Hon. Josiah Quincy 
in a letter to Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe, while he was a student in 
Phillips Academy: 

It was surrounded by horse-blocks innumerable with a disproportionate num- 
ber of sheds; for the pillion was the ladies' delight, and alone or in pairs, with their 
husbands or fathers, they seldom fail to come trooping to their devotions. The 
church itself was a shingled mass, lofty, and, I should think, containing twice the 
area of its successor. This, however, may be the exaggeration of my boyish fancy, 
but it had three lofty stories, with three galleries in the interior, always densely 
filled with apparently pious zeal and earnest listeners. In the left hand gallery sat 
the ladies, in the right the gentlemen, in the midst of whom and in front sat the 
tjrthing man, with his white pole three or four cubits in length, the emblem of his 
dignity and power, and in his right hand a short hazelrod, which, ever and anon, 
in the midst of the sermon, to the awakening and alarm of the whole congregation, 
he would, with the whole force of his arm, bring down with a ringing slap on the 
front of the gallery, shaking it, at the same time with a terrific menace at two 
or three frightened urchins, who were whispering or playing in a corner. In a 
square box in front of the pulpit sat the deacons, one of whom had pen, ink and 
paper, and was carefully taking the heads of the preacher's discourse, preparing 
documentary evidence, either that the sermon was old, or its doctrines new, or 
consonant with the orthodox platform. In the front gallery sat Precenter Ames, or 
Eames, with a pitch-pipe, the token of his authority, with which, as soon as tho 
first line of the Psalm was read, he gave the note to the choir of both sexes — 
twenty or thirty of each — following the deacon, reading line by line, in an ecstacy 
of harmony which none but the lovers of music realized. And a mighty congre- 
gation seemed to realize their felicity, for they joined the choir with a will, realizing 
or exemplifying the happiness of which they sung. Upon the whole, it was an 
exciting scene, elevating and solemnizing the mind, by the multitude that took part 
in it. 

The windows of the vast building were of diamond-shaped glass panes, of rhom- 
boid form, in length about three or four inches, in breadth about two or three. Open- 
ing like doors outward, these windows were loose and shackling. In the winter, 
when the north wind shook the vast building with unmistakable power, their rat- 
tling was a match, and sometimes an over-match, for the voice of the clergyman, 
while the pious females in the pews, sitting, for the most part, on hard benches, 
with small muffs, and their feet only comforted with small stoves, or stockings over 
shoes, or heated bricks, had much ado through their sufferings to keep their at- 
tention fixed, or the text in memory, and register the infinitesimal heads into which 
it was divided. 

Returning to the various pastors of this church, it may be stated 
that Rev. French remained as pastor until called by death in 1809, cover- 
ing a period of thirty-six years and ten months. During this time was 
fought the Revolutionary War, with all its attending sorrovv^s and 
anxiety. After Rev. French's death, the church had no pastor for about 



TOWN OF ANDOVER 157 

three years. A new church was dedicated December 7, 1788. The next 
pastor was Rev. Justin Edwards, who remained from 1812 to 1816, dur- 
ing which time the West Parish was set off, and then he became its pas- 
tor. In 1827 Milton Badger became the pastor, and he served about 
eight years, when he was dismissed and made secretary of the Ameri- 
can Home Missionaiy Society. During his administration as minister 
here, the Methodists and Baptists first held public worship in the town. 
The Methodists drew off a few church members and a much larger num- 
ber of taxpayers. The Baptist church organized in 1832, and that took 
some strength from the Congregational church. Next came Rev. Lor- 
enzo L. Longstroth, for two years, and he was succeeded by the Rev. 
John Taylor from 1839 to 1852; next was Rev. George Mooar, 1855 to 
1861; Rev. Charles Smith, 1861-77 ; James H. Laird, May, 1877-84; John 
J. Baird, 1884 to 1893 ; Rev. Frank R. Shipman, 1893 to February 25, 
1914, when Rev. E. Victor Bigelow was installed pastor. The present 
membership of the church is 578, and the Sunday school has an enroll- 
ment of 550 pupils and teachers. Eugene M. Weeks is superintendent. 

The West Parish Congregational church was organized in 1826, and 
as incorporated comprised a membership of one hundred and seventy 
X>ersons. The members were largely farmers. The charter members in- 
cluded nineteen men and thirty-four women. The present membership 
is one hundred and ninety-four, with a Sunday school of sixty enrolled ; 
Herbert Merrick is superintendent. A stone church building was con- 
structed in 1826, the same having a wooden spire. With improvements, 
the same building is in use today. The pastors have included Revs. 
Samuel Cram Jackson, 1827-50; Charles H. Pierce, 1850-55; James H. 
Merrill, 1856-79; Austin H. Burr, 1880-85; Frederick Green, 1885, suc- 
ceeded by Rev. Robert A. McFadden, George 0. Andrews, J. Edgar Park, 
Dean A. Walker and the present pastor, Rev. Newman Matthews. 

The origin of the Free Christian Church is memorable in the history 
of Andover. Its occasion was the protest of its founders against sla- 
very and intemperance. Their earnest souls rebelled against the in- 
difference and the apologetic attitude prevalent in the community toward 
these great evils of the times. They favored active efforts to oppose 
slavery and the use of intoxicating liquors and wanted greater freedom 
of utterance and action than the existing churches gave. 

Meetings held in private houses for the discussion of these sub- 
jects led to the organization of a parish on November 24, 1845, and of 
a church on May 7, 1846. The forty-four Christians who formed the 
church adopted a simple creed and covenant, and took the name of the 
Free Christian Church of Andover, — "Free", because they recognized 
the equal rights of persons of whatever race oi^ color; and "Christian" 
because of their acceptance of the fundamental teachings of Christ, 
without sectarian bias. Several of the founders came from the Meth- 
odist church, which was then disbanding. More came from the two 



158 ESSEX COUNTY 

Congregational churches, and a few took Christian vows upon themselves 
for the first time. They excluded from their fellowship "persons who 
manufacture, sell or use intoxicating drinks as a beverage, slave-holders 
and apologists for slavery, as not practically honoring Christ." It re- 
quired strong convictions. Christian courage and self-sacrifice to take a 
step involving the disapproval of the other churches and such financial 
and religious responsibilities ; but it was taken prayerfully, deliberately 
and heartily, and the results justified it. The church took on vigorous 
life at once, has ever since been a positive force for good, and has a 
present membership (May 1, 1921) of six hundred and five. 

Its first pastors all studied at Oberlin, Ohio, and felt the evangelis- 
tic influence of that institution and of Rev. Charles E. Finney. For ten 
years the church retained its independent relation to other churches, 
and then came the fellowship with the Congregational churches of the 
Andover Association, with which it is still connected. It rented an un- 
occupied Universalist meeting-house of the town until 1850, when 
through the generosity of one of its members it came into possession of 
the unused Methodist house of worship. This was removed from Main 
street to Railroad street near the station, where, beautified and enlarged, 
it was the home of the new organization for fifty-eight years. Many of 
the students of the Theological Seminary gave valuable assistance in 
the Sunday school in the last half of the nineteenth century and enjoyed 
the hospitality of the near-by parsonage, which was built in 1855. 

The increasing needs of the church having made a new location ad- 
visable, the entire property was sold to the Boston & Maine railroad 
company in 1907 and a new location on Elm street, near the town square, 
was purchased, upon which a new brick meeting-house was dedicated 
September 19, 1908, well equipped with all modem conveniences for 
church work. It is of colonial style, to suit the traditions of a town with 
Andover's history, and its architects were McKim, Mead & White, New 
York City. At the annual meeting of January 21, 1920, the church 
voted to become incorporated, and new by-laws and covenant were adopt- 
ed with the National Council creed of 1913. 

In the seventy-four years of its existence it has had eleven pastors 
with terms as follows: Elijah C. Winchester, 1846-48; Sherlock Bristol, 
1848-49 ; William B. Brown, 1850-55 ; Caleb E. Fisher, 1855-59 ; Stephen 
C. Leonard, 1859-65 ; James P. Lane, 1866-70 ; Edwin S. Williams, 1870- 
72; G. Frederick Wright, 1872-81; F. Barrows Makepeace, 1881-88; 
Frederick A. Wilson, 1882-1920 ; Arthur S. Wheelock, 1920—, pastor at 
present time. 

Not many years after the establishing of the manufacturing busi- 
ness in Ballard Vale, a desire for church privileges arose. Accordingly, 
March 18, 1850, a number of residents met and formed the Ballard Vale 
Union Society for the Support of Public Worship. It was called the 
Union Society, because its members represented several religious sects. 



TOWN OF ANDOVER 159 

The services were held in the old schoolhouse. At the first services, 
Professor Park officiated, and after that theological students from the 
Seminary conducted the services until September, 1850, when Rev. 
Henry S. Green began his work here, which continued nearly thirty 
years and ended only with his removal to his reward above, June 11, 
1880. 

December 31, 1854, a council convened at the home of Mr. Green 
and organized the Union Congregational Church. The following were 
the original members: Henry S. Green, Mary P. A. Green, Matthew 
Chandler, Dorcas Chandler, Lydia Goldsmith, Ellen Morrison, Mary 
Holmes, Mary McGinty, Zoa Mann, Mary A. Winning, and Jerusha J. 
Crane. All but two of these came from the South Church, Andover. In 
1876, on account of the inconveniences of meeting in the school house, 
the present church building was erected. Mr. Green generously do- 
nated the lot of land on which the church stands, and at his death be- 
queathed his residence on Marland street to the church as a parsonage. 
This was subsequently sold and the present convenient parsonage adjoin- 
ing Mie church was erected in 1890. The church organ was purchased 
during the pastorate of Rev. Edwin Smith, chiefly through his ener- 
getic efforts. 

The church has had ten pastors, the present pastorate being the 
longest since that of Rev. Green. Three young men have entered the 
ministry from this church, viz : Rev. Hiram H. Appleman, Rev. Sherman 
Goodwin, and Rev. Arthur M. Shattuck. Since its organization, 374 
persons have been connected with the church. The present member- 
ship is 158. The pastors have been in the following order: Revs. Henry 
S. Green, 1855-80; J. W. Savage, 1881-82; H. S. Harrison, 1883; Samuel 
Bowker, 1884-88 ; Gardner S. Butler, 1888-91 ; Emel B. Bray, 1891-92 ; 
J. C. C. Evans, 1893-96; Arthur L. Colder, 1896-98; Edwin Smith, 1899- 
1903 ; Augustus H. Fuller, 1904-1921, and still serving as pastor. 

Christ Church, Episcopal, of Andover, was organized in 1835, the 
work being started by twenty-three families which left the Congrega- 
tional church in Andover. There are now 400 members, communicants. 
The Sunday school has an attendance of 137, with W. D. Yates as its 
superintendent. The present edifice was erected in 1886, as was also the 
Parish house, the two properties being valued now at $150,000. The 
material is brick and stone, the main edifice being solid stone. The origi- 
nal church burned on the site of the present parish house. This church 
is a memorial built by John Byers of Andover, in memory of his father 
and mother, James and Mary Smith Byers. 

The following have served as pastors: Revs. Samuel Fuller, D.D., 
1837-43 ; Henry Waterman, 1845-59 ; Samuel Fuller, D.D., 1849-59 ; Ben- 
jamin B. Babbitt, 1860-68; James Thomson, 1869-74; Maholm Douglass, 
D.D., 1875-84; Leverette Bradley, 1884-88; Frederick Palmer, D.D., 
1888-1913; Charles Henry, 1914—. 



160 ESSEX COUNTY 

The Universalist Church was organized in the autumn of 1838, or 
rather a society was then formed, and a little later a church organiza- 
tion was perfected. From 1846 on, for several years, services were en- 
tirely suspended in this church. During twenty-five years there was 
regular preaching usually. The records show that the object and doc- 
trine of the church and society was "the promotion of truth and morality 
among its members, and also the world at large, and as the Gospel of 
the Lord Jesus Christ is calculated above all truth to inspire the heart 
with the emotions of benevolence and virtue, this society shall deem it 
one of its main objects to support the preaching of the Gospel accord- 
ing to the Societies ability, and to aid in spreading a knowledge of it 
among men." Regular ministers were located in this church to the num- 
ber of seven, during its entire history, and these included Rev. Vamum 
Lincoln. 

St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church of Andover was formed in 
1852 by the Augustine Fathers of Lawrence. The first pastor was Rev. 
Fr. James O'Donnell, and in succession came Revs. Edward Mullen, O. 
S.A. ; Michael F. Gallagher, O.S.A. ; Ambrose A. McMullen, O.S.A. ; and 
J. J. Ryan, who came in the fall of 1887. Since that date the congre- 
gation has been cared for by various priests. 

At present this town has churches as follows : The Congregational ; 
the South Congregational; the West Congregational; the Baptist, or- 
ganized, 1832; Christ Episcopal; Free Christian (Congregational), or- 
ganized in 1846; St. Augustine, Roman Catholic; St. Joseph, Roman 
Catholic; Union Congregational, organized in 1855, and the Methodist 
Episcopal. 

Before passing, it may be stated that for more than one hundred 
and twenty-five years there were no other church organizations in the 
South Precinct of Andover, save the South and West churches mention- 
ed in this chapter. In 1829 the Methodists commenced to hold services 
in the Bank Hall, and five years later erected a church building. In 
1840 the church was dissolved and the edifice was sold to those who 
formed the 'Tree Church." In 1851, at Ballard Vale, a Methodist meet- 
ing house was erected and a large class formed. The Baptists organized 
in 1832, and two years later erected a church, but in 1857, after fifteen 
years' hard struggle, the church society disbanded. 

Shawsheen Village is a suburb of Andover and is a recently estab- 
lished place of beauty and modem improvements, few in the country 
being so fully up-to-date in their improvements. It was the outgrowth 
of the enteiT)rise of the American Woolen Mills Company, which has for 
years erected and rented or sold to its steady employes suitable resi- 
dences. Catching the inspiration from this idea, the president of the 
company, William M. Wood, laid out a new town or village site between 
Andover and Lawrence, and named it for the stream, Shawsheen Vil- 
lage, which is the outstanding real estate development of the decade, 



TOWN OF TOPSFIELD 161 

and one of the most unique as well as most beautiful villages in the 
Commonwealth. Starting with a little cross-road town of a few houses, 
Mr. Wood has created a model community — homes, stores, postoffice, a 
model laundry ; even "ye village inn," tennis courts, and a bowling green 
have been produced. The most interesting fact is that Mr. Woods' 
vision has materialized successfully, rather than meeting the fate of so 
many Utopian dreams of community development. Shawsheen Village 
is contented and prosperous, steadily growing and achieving, providing 
an ideal location both for employees of the American Woolen Company 
and to others desiring to make this modem and model community their 
home. The street car system passes directly through the village. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
TOWN OF TOPSFIELD 



The town of Topsfield, originally a part of Ipswich and Salem, was 
called by the Indians Shenewemedy, and here lived one of the Agawam 
tribes. The first English-speaking people called it at first New Mead- 
ows, probably from its beautiful virgin tract of meadow lands. 

The first notice of Topsfield is contained in an order of the General 
Court, dated in 1639. By this order certain lands lying near the Ips- 
wich river were granted for a village to the inhabitants of Salem; and 
the Ipswich people maintained preaching there for two years before 
they had liberty to take up grants of land in the settlement. Most of 
the early settlers lived on the north side of the river. At the south the 
meadows stretched far away; some of the land was soon under cultiva- 
tion, but the greater part was covered by the famous "Salem Woods," 
when Topsfield had been settled only a few years. It was on October 
18, 1648, that the court declared that "the village of the newe meadows 
at Ipswich is named Toppsfield." It doubtless took its name from a 
small parish in Essexshire, England. The population increased, more 
houses were built until the settlement became a good sized community, 
in consequence of which the General Court granted it a town charter, as 
shown by the following: "At the third session of the general court, 
held in Boston, October 18, 1650. In answer to a request of Zacheus 
Gould and William Howard, in behalf e of Topsfield, the Court doth grant 
that Topsfield shall from hence forth be a towne & have power within 
themselves to order all civil affayres, as other townes have." 

The early records of this town were unfortunately lost, but later 
records show that in 1681 "Ensigne Howlett, Francis Paybodye and John 
Redington" were chosen selectmen. Lieutenant Francis Peabody was 
town clerk until 1682, and was followed by John Gould. 

Upon the payment of £3 in money, Samuel English, a grandson of 
the old Indian cliief, Masconnomet, gave a quit-claim deed for the land 

Essex — H 



162 ESSEX COUNTY 

on which the town stands, the date of such purchase being 1701. Al- 
though the town v/as incorporated in 1650, its true boundaries, as now 
understood, were not fixed satisfactorily until about 1726. 

As early as 1635 the English residents commenced to come into 
this part of Essex county. The very first settlers were Allan Perley, 
an emigrant from England, and the ancestor of the long line of Perleys, 
so well known here since; William Towne, an emigrant from Bristol, 
England ; Alexander Knight ; Zaccheus Gould, ancestor of all the Ameri- 
can Goulds; John Wildes, John Readington, George Bunker; Lieutenant 
Francis Peabody, an emigrant from England, and ancestor of the Ameri- 
can family of Peabody; Daniel Clark, William Howard, and others, 
whose names have been lost with the flight of almost three hundred 
years. 

Between 1660 and 1700 there came for permanent settlement to 
this town the subjoined list of persons: Thomas Averill, William Averill, 
Thomas Baker, Francis Bates, Benj. Bixby, Daniel Bourman, Michael 
Bowden, John Bradstreet, Edmund Bridges, Thomas Browning, George 
Bunker, Isaac Burton, Anthony Carroll, Daniel Clark, Isaac Cummings, 
John Curtis, John Davis, Timothy Day, John Death, Thos. Dorman, 
Michael Dwinnell, Isaac Estey, Z. Endicott, William Evans, John French, 
Z. Gould, George Hadley, Thomas Hobbs, John Hobson, John Hovey, 
John How, Wm. Howard, Samuel Hewlett, John Kenney, Alexander 
Knight, John Lane, Jonathan Look, William Nichols, Francis Peabody, 
T. Perkins, Allan Perley (1635), Wm. Pritchett, Abraham Redington, 
J. Redington, John Robinson, Walter Roper, Peter Shumway, Robt. 
Smith, Matthew Stanley, Wm. Towne, Luke Wakling, James Waters, 
Philip Welch, John Wildes, Josiah Wood and Nathaniel Wood. 

In 1683 came a demand to surrender the charter of Topsfield, from 
the edict of Charles II. Christmas Day of that year, however, the town 
voted: "We do hereby declare that we utterly decline to yield, either 
to the resignation of the charter, or to anything that shall be equivalent 
thereunto, whereby the foundation thereof shall be weakened. " King 
James sent to this country Sir Edmund Andros to act as a governor, 
but his reign was "short and sweet" ; for the colonists soon ordered him 
to go back to Europe, and forever remain there. This was in 1689. 

In 1692 appeared in Topsfield the delusion of witchcraft. In fact, 
it originated not over five miles from this town. Mrs. Nourse, who was 
executed at"Salem Village, and Mrs. Howe of Ipswich, were sisters, and 
natives of Topsfield; another sister, who married Isaac Estey, lived in 
Topsfield, and another woman, Sarah Wildes, were executed by hanging 
for the crime which they never committed. Mrs. Wildes was hanged 
July 19, and Mrs. Estey on September 22, 1692. Abigail Hobbs was 
sentenced to die, but was finally pardoned, when the court "had its eyes 
opened" to its gross injustice and folly. 

He who travels over the territory of Topsfield today can form but a 



TOWN OF TOPSFIELD 163 

faint idea of how its topography and its roads appeared in the seven- 
teenth and eighteenth centuries. Road making was the principal busi- 
ness of the town. People slowly progressed from the foot-path to the 
bridle-path, then to the cart-ways and the carriage roads of today. The 
twentieth century finds the highways suitable for the finest automobile 
and ponderous freight truck. 

The oldest cemetery in Topsfield is that near the old residence of 
Samuel Todd. The church once stood in the east corner, and the bury- 
ing ground originated from the introduction of an ancient English cus- 
tom of burying the dead around or beneath the churches. The oldest 
gravestone standing in 1895 was that of Captain Thomas Baker, who 
died in 1718, aged eighty-one years. The first gravedigger was John 
Hobson, chosen by the town March, 1676, to "dig graves for such as 
shall require him." The fee allowed him for such services was "three 
shilins sixten for ol graves abov for foot long and thre for ol under." 
About 1838 what was then styled the new part of the cemetery was first 
improved and used. This is situated in the southern part of the town. 

As a means of punishment in Topsfield, even as late as 1757, stocks 
were used. The record shows that in December, 1720, the town "allow- 
ed to John Wilds for making the Town's Stock and for finding ye Irons 
and Lock and bringing them to the meeting house and for setting up 
sd stocks one pound, four shillings." 

Until 1822, paupers were "boarded out," as was the old custom of 
caring for the unfortunate poor of a community. During that year the 
old Dodge farm was purchased by the town for $3,500 and an almshouse 
was $6.00 per thousand dollars. 

The population of the town has naturally changed with the passing 
years. In January, 1777, there were seven negro males in Topsfield 
above the age of seven years. In 1885 the town contained a population 
of 1,041 ; in 1900 there were 1,030 ; in 1910 it was 1,174 ; and the present 
United States census bureau gives the population at only 900. The 
Danvers and Newburyport branch of the Boston & Maine railroad runs 
through this town, the same having been completed in 1853. The tax- 
able property in the town in 1887 was $1,380,000. The rate of taxation 
was $6.00 per the thousand dollars worth. 

A Town Hall was built in 1873 at an expense of $13,000. The pub- 
lic library is maintained within this structure. It was looked upon at 
date of construction as among the finest buildings of its kind in all this 
region. 

The medical profession — one we most appreciate when we are ill — 
has been well represented in Topsfield as the decades have come and 
gone. Without much doubt, the earliest doctor here was Michael Dwin- 
nell, whose grandfather was a French Huguenot. He settled here in 
1668; Dr. Dwinnell was born in Topsfield, and practiced till his death 
in the middle of the eighteenth century. Richard Dexter of Maiden 



164 ESSEX COUNTY 

practiced here from 1740 on till his death in 1783. Other physicians of 
the town were Drs. Joseph Bradstreet, bom in 1727 ; Nehemiah Cleave- 
land; John Merriam; Jeremiah Stone, Joseph Cummings, Royal Augus- 
tus Merriam, bora in 1786, died in 1864 of heart trouble; Charles P. 
French; David Choate, a native of Essex, came in 1854; Justin Allen 
began his practice here in the autumn of 1857. The physicians who 
are now practicing medicine in Topsfield are Dr. John L. Jenkins and 
Dr. Byron Sanborn. 

Topsfield has always taken an interest in local libraries. In 1794, 
a proprietors' library was established here by several of the leading 
men of the town. It had two hundred volumes. It existed until 1875, 
when the Public Library was thrown open to the general public, the old 
one being merged with the new. The present library is of marked im- 
portance to those residing in and near the town. The Educational chap- 
ter will dwell upon what was known as the Topsfield Academy, estab- 
lished in 1828. 

Primarily, the wealth of this town has ever consisted of its excellent 
agricultural features, but in addition to these it has accumulated much 
wealth by its factories, mills, etc. In 1648 iron and copper mining was 
carried on to some extent, though never very profitably. Governor 
Endicott owned a large tract of land, on v/hich he discovered copper. 
Three attempts at making this mine a paying proposition have all failed. 
Bog iron was found by the first settlers, in the low and swampy portions 
of the town, and for a time it was successfully mined and used. In 
June, 1681, the town took over the right to dig this iron, and thus con- 
trolled the output. When better and richer iron deposits were dis- 
covered in the country, this product was not utilized further. 

The first (at least very early) hotel in Topsfield was erected on a 
lot which later became the site of the shoe factory of John Bailey. Prior 
to 1780 the Clark family carried on the hotel for many years. The Tops- 
field House was built in 1807, for a store and tavern. The earliest vil- 
lage blacksmith was Samuel Howlett, who set up his forge in 1658 and 
continued for many years. Lieutenant Francis Peabody built the first 
mill in 1672. In 1835 Topsfield supported three good country gro- 
ceries. 

Among the merchants once doing a thriving business for so small a 
town may be recalled Messrs. J. Bailey Poor, Samuel Adams, Frederick 
and Nathaniel Perley, William B. Kimball, Andrew Gould, Benjamin P. 
Edwards, A. B. Richardson, Thomas Leach. Today the business inter- 
ests are all that could naturally be looked for in a town of its size and 
character. 

The postal business is carried on by Postmaster B. F. Edwards, 
who also conducts the drug store of the town. He has been postmaster 
since 1885, a very long period. This is a third-class postoffice, with one 
rural free delivery extending out into the surrounding country. 



TOV/N OF TOPSFIELD 165 

The town is noted, especially of later years, for its beautiful "Com- 
mons,'' with its well-kept lawn, its well preserved town building-, and 
its unique soldiers' monument and bronze figure surmounting the sohd 
granite base. This memorial was presented to the town by the late Dr. 
Allen, who practiced medicine in Topsfield for more than forty years. 
The churches are of the Congregational and Methodist denominations, 
both of which are treated in the Church chapter. The lodges of Tops- 
field include the Odd Fellows, Ancient Order of United Workmen, and 
the Grange, (See Lodge chapter). 

Topsfield was incorporated as a town two hundred and seventy-one 
years ago. Had all the record books been preserved, what a story it 
would make in this, the twentieth century. Suffice it to say that the 
town has been cared for up to the standard of other communities with- 
in the "Kingdom of Essex." 

The 1919-20 town officers were as follows: Town Clerk, William 

A. Perkins; Town Treasurer, W. Pittman Gould; Selectmen: William 

B. Poor, Franklin Balch and Elbridge H. Gilford; Assessors: Franklin 
Balch, William B. Poor, Charles J. Peabody ; School Committee : Thomas 
L. Jenkins, Charles R. Wait, J. Duncan Phillips; Constable, John L. 
Fiske; Accountant, Arthur U. Hutchings; Collector of Taxes, John L. 
Fiske; Forest Warden, Wayland E. Bumham; Inspector of Animals, 
Charles J. Peabody; Public Weigher, William A. Long. 

On the 16th and 17th of August, 1900, the citizens of Topsfield cele- 
brated the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the founding of their 
town. Despite the torrents of rain that fell throughout the previous 
night and a part of the most interesting hours of the daytime, the pro- 
gram was carried out, and the thousand or more guests from abroad en- 
joyed the occasion immensely. The committee organized with the choice 
of George Francis Dow as chairman, with Alphonso T. Merrill as secre- 
tary, at the town meeting of March 5, 1900 (note the early date of com- 
mencing plans) and reported the following program as one suitable to 
be carried out on the dates above given : 

1 — That the celebration be held during the month of August. 

2 — That an historical sermon be delivered in the Congregational church on the 
Sunday next preceding the day of the celebration. 

3 — That bonfires be lighted on the hills at eight o'clock on the evening pre- 
ceding the day of the anniversary. 

4 — That the church and school bells be rung at sunrise. 

5 — That a military, civic and trades procession be one of the features of the 
day. 

6 — That historical and literary exercises be held on the Centre School grounds. 

7 — That dinner be served in a tent located on the Common, and short speeches 
be delivered, interspersed with music. Dinner tickets to be provided for invited 
guests, and sold to others at one dollar each. 

8 — That athletic games and sports be held on the Common, beginning at two 
o'clock p. m. 

9 — That a band concert be given on the Commons at four o'clock p. m. and at 
8 o'clock p. m. 



166 ESSEX COUNTY 

10 — That a reception or ball be given in the Town Hall in the evening. 
11 — That the town appropriate the sum of $500, and that an additional amount 
be raised by subscription. 

The report was accepted and adopted by the town, the committee 
being instructed to increase its membership to twenty-five, by nomi- 
nating fifteen others, and to report its doings at an adjourned town meet- 
ing. The sum of $600 was also appropriated to meet the expenses. 

The hard rain of that period greatly "dampened" the interest, but 
before the two days' celebration had ended, as many as five thousand 
people enjoyed the anniversary exercises. The parades and beautiful 
"floats", as well as the display of fireworks the last evening, were scenes 
long to be recalled by those present. The "Salem News", August 18, 
1900, gave a graphic account of this anniversary, the last paragraphs 
containing the following: 

The fireworks given on the Common in the evening were witnessed by nearly 
three thousand persons. They were beautiful in effect, one of the set-pieces being 
"Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of Topsfield." This was in diiferent colors 
made by the chemicals in the fireworks. There were a number of set-pieces, but 
the last one, which said "Good Night," was perhaps the finest of all. The display 
lasted over an hour, and closed the day's celebration. Taken as a whole, the two 
hundred and fiftieth anniversary celebration of New Meadows, or Topsfield, will go 
down into history as a splendid success and a great credit to all who had anything 
to do with it. 

Among those who made set addresses on this occasion were: Sen- 
ator Henry Cabot Lodge, Hon. John J. Bates, Hon. David M. Little, 
Charles J. Peabody, George A. Schofield, Hon. Robert S. Rantoul, Rev. 
Francis A. Poole, Captain John G. B. Adams, Albert A. Conant, John W. 
Perkins, Hon. Augustus P. Gardner, Hon. WilHam H. Moody, Hon. 
George Von L. Meyer, General Francis H. Appleton and Edwin 0. Fos- 
ter. The historic sermon preached in the Congregational church the 
Sabbath before the anniversary was delivered by Rev. A. W. Moore, of 
Lynn. 

Within the last few years, numerous summer residents have come 
to Topsfield, to pass the heated term, in one of the most health-giving, 
quiet villages within the Commonwealth. In 1920 the old Meredith 
place, southwest of the village, a tract containing two hundred acres, 
was purchased by a wealthy family, who spend their summer and early 
autumn on the charming hillside overlooking the valley in which Tops- 
field is situated. The owner of this place has made excellent improve- 
ments, including a model cow bam. He is interested in fancy blooded 
cattle, and is preparing for a more extensive business in this line. He 
has running water and electric lights throughout house and bams. 

T. Emerson Proctor, in the eastern part of the town, has for twenty 
odd years owned a large tract of land, and at one time made many valu- 
able improvements. There are seventeen houses on this piece of land, 



TOWN OF TOPSFIELD 167 

occupied mostly by families in his employ. The money spent by the 
two men in question has been very large. 

At the comer of High street and the Boston-Newburyport turnpike, 
to the southeast of the village proper and half way up the hill, is an old 
and well-preserved house. It stands on part of the ground formerly oc- 
cupied by the old stage station and hotel, where thousands of pioneers 
hereabouts used to stop. Here the stage-coaches, with four and six 
horses, used to roll along, and made known their coming by sounding a 
large tin horn. This property is now owned by the Rev. Gleason family, 
Mrs. Gleason's parents having conducted and owned the hotel. Rev. 
George L. Gleason, now eighty-six years of age, has been a Congrega- 
tional minister in Topsfield and Haverhill for many years. He may be 
termed "a model of contentment," as will be observed by reading one of 
his recent poems, written April 6, 1921. This poem has been extensive- 
ly copied in church and secular newspapers: 

As I review the years long passed, 

The best of all has been the last. 
Not that my childhood days were sad, 

Or any part of life was bad; 
But, like a spring among the hills — 

Creating dancing, rippling rills — 
Deepening and broadening as it goes, 

Until into the sea it flows; 
The tributes all along its course 

But clarify and give it force. 
Friendships and books have borne their part, 

Enlarged my mind, possessed my heart; 
Life's cares and toils, its hardships, too, 

All pass alike in glad review. 
Its path has brightened all the way. 

And reached at last the full-orbed day. 
Like rivers broadening as they flow, 

Deep falls and cascades soon outgrow; 
Thus down life's placid stream I float. 

My Master, Captain of the boat. 
And, as I to the haven near. 

Released from care, without a fear, 
Along the shore I see the lights, 

Hear music, foretaste of delights. 
E'er long I'll join the song of praise, 

Which I have practiced all my days. 

No sooner had the first settlement been effected than preaching be- 
gan. Certainly as early as 1641 the Rev. William Knight commenced to 
preach the Gospel to the little handful of pioneers. He was a resident 
of Ipswich, but preached in Topsfield until his death, in 1655. Follow- 
ing him came Rev. William Perkins, who in 1633 was associated with 
John Winthrop, Jr., in the settlement of Ipswich; he was among the 
most accomplished persons within the town. In 1663 the parish church 
was f oi-med and Rev. Thomas Gilbert chosen as its settled minister. He 



168 ESSEX COUNTY 

was a Scotchman ; his course here was not very tranquil, for in 1666 he 
was charged with sedition, and in 1670 with intemperance; he was 
finally ejected from the church, and died in Charlestown in 1673. Re^. 
Jeremiah Hobert was the next minister ; he came from Hingham, Massa- 
chusetts, and was ordained in 1672; he graduated at Harvard in 1650; 
he, too, was "human", and was dismissed for unbecoming conduct. 

In 1682 a pulpit was erected in the church edifice, and Rev. Joseph 
Capen began his ministry in Topsfield. His salary was fixed at £65 — 
twenty in silver and forty-five in pounds of pork and beef — per year, 
with parsonage free. What was styled a "Minister's Farm" was also 
in use by this young parish. Rev. Capen preached here forty-three 
years, and was followed by Rev. John Emerson, of Charleston, who was 
pastor until 1774. Next came Rev. Daniel Beck for four years, and he 
was succeeded by Rev. Asahel Huntington, followed by Revs. James 
Frisby McEwen, Anson McCloud, Edward P. Tenney, James Hill Fitts, 
and Charles Washington Luck, of Marion, Massachusetts, who was or- 
dained here m June, 1887. Since then the pastors have been: Revs. 
Lundon S. Crawford, 1883-86; Charles W. Luck, 1887-90; Albert 
E. Bradstreet, 1891-94 ; Francis A. Poole, 1895-99 ; Herbert J. Wyckoff , 
1900-03; William G. Poore, 1903-08; Benjamin A. Dumm, 1908-13; 
Arthur H. Gilmore, 1914-1919 ; Charles E. Reeves, 1919, and at present 
pastor. 

The total membership is now one hundred and thirty-five; Sunday 
school has a membership of fifty. The present church was erected in 
1842 at a cost of $12,000. This church is legally styled The Congre- 
gational Parish. It is thoroughly Congregational in its church policy. 

Early in the summer of 1830, Charles Dodge and Ezra Glazier held 
Methodist meetings in Ipswich, where they resided, also in Topsfield, in 
the bam of Captain John Adams. The first regular minister sent here 
for the Methodist church was Rev. William Nanseman, who came in 
September, 1830. During all these intervening years Methodism has 
flourished in a more or less degree. At first there were fifteen charter 
members ; a house in which to worship was built in the autumn of 1831 ; 
it was forty feet square and cost $600. It was removed in 1840 by 
means of fifty yoke of oxen and suitable wheels, to a lot donated by Mr. 
Phillips. A parsonage was erected in 1850, costing $700. This church 
was incorporated into a society under the laws of the State, approved by 
the Governor, in April, 1847. The church is still doing its own special 
denominational work, and is in a prosperous condition. 



CHAPTER XV. 
TOWN OF AMESBURY. 



The manner of compelling settlement in the early days in New Eng- 
land was not after present-day rules and regulations. The town or 



TOWN OF AMESBURY 169 

county or state has little to do with the organizations of such sub- 
divisions of a county as this, but it was different in the seventeenth 
century. 

Four years after the settlement at Salisbury was effected, the eye 
of the pioneers caught a vision of a new town to be, across the river, 
the beautiful Powow, which seemed to the interested ones to have been 
created expressly for a natural boundary line between two civil towns. 
Actuated by these views, they proceeded as early as 1642 to carry out 
their plans, as will be observed by the following: "Ordered yer shall 
thirty families remove to the west side of ye Powwas river." At a 
meeting held ten days later, the time in which the order should be car- 
ried into effect was fixed, "before the first of the third month in the 
yeare 1645." 

This order included nearly one-half of the families in Salisbury. 
But It was found very difficult, if not impossible, to enforce the order, 
and the removal was very much delayed and partially defeated by the 
reluctance of the people in quitting their homes to plunge still deeper 
into the unbroken forest which covered hill and valley in the western 
territory. Other orders soon followed, calculated to encourage the new 
settlement by the grant of certain privileges. January 15, 1644, it was 
"ordered, that those persons that go up to live upon the west side of 
the Powwas river shall have the sole feeding on that side for the yeare 
ensuing, and power to make order about fences." Again, in February 
the same year, this privilege was confirmed and a further inducement 
given by reducing the taxes to one-half of the rate in the old town. 
These favorable conditions finally induced a small colony to remove their 
families to the new territory. 

It is now impossible to give the reader any comprehensive idea of 
the first boundary lines of this township. It is certain, however, that it 
included all territory west of the Powow river which Salisbury then 
owned. Its limits included Newton, New Hampshire. Haverhill form- 
ed the boundary on the west. The Merrimac and Powow rivers and 
Kimball's Pond constitute the chief bodies of water in this town. The 
undulating land— the hills and little valleys— gave a most captivating 
natural landscape, as one viewed the then "green, glad solitude" of this 
country. The western portion is especially hilly, while the principal 
plams are Sandy, Martin and Buttonwood in the East Parish, and the 
Pond Plain in the western part of the town. The majestic Merrimac 
nver on the south is upwards of a half mile in width. The soil is unusual- 
ly good for this part of the country, after so many years of cultivation. 
Mill sites and excellent water-power were found in numerous parts of the 
town. 

The homesteads left by the first comers to Amesbury were sold at 
different times, commencing in 1647. Not until 1654 were there enough 
families and freeholders in this new settlement to undertake to form a 



170 ESSEX COUNTY 

new town. Only eighteen legal voters were then within the territory- 
selected. The "Articles of Agreement" of this town were signed May 
1, 1654, by the following named, which gives a good idea of who the 
first settlers of the town were: Joseph Moyce, Thomas Bradbury, Sam- 
uel Winsley, George Goldwyer, William Buswell, Edward French, Will- 
iam Allin, Samuel Felloes, Thomas Carter, John Rolfe, John Eaton, Isaac 
Buswell, William Osgood, John Stevens, Henry Browne, Roger Eastman, 
and Richard North on the part of the old town, and Anthony Colby, 
George Martin, John Hoyt, Philip Challis, Jaret Handon, Richard Cur- 
rier, John Weed, Thomas Macy, Edward Cottle, William Barnes, Thomas 
Barnard, and Valentine Rowell, on the part of the new town. 

The "Articles" above referred to as having been signed by the cit- 
izens of both the old and new town covered these general points : Article 
1 related to the boundaries and disposition of the common lands. By 
Article 7 the people of the new town were to contribute to the support 
of the ministry in the old town until they obtained a settled, minister in 
their own town. Article 8 provided that question of separation should 
be as follows : "Last of all, it is fully concluded and agreed upon by the 
inhabitants of each towne that the said townes, upon the assignment of 
the aforesaid articles of agreement, shall be absolutely dismist of them- 
selves and have no further to meddle with the affairs of each other in 
any towne matters whatsoever, forever." 

Among other interesting paragraphs found in the Town Books are 
these: Staves at that time were an important article among the colo- 
nies, and they readily sold in the West Indies for goods needed here ; the 
commoners claimed fifty of every thousand made from trees cut on the 
common lands. The old saw-mill also paid tribute to the new town for 
one-fourth of what was owned here. In 1656 it was found that a sec- 
ond saw-mill was needed, and Richard Currier and Thomas Macy were 
authorized to build one on the west side of the Powow, with the privi- 
lege of using all the timber on the common, not included in the grant to 
the old mill, "except oak and the right of the people to make canoes." 
For this privilege they were to pay the town £6 per annum for ten years, 
in boards at current prices. The prices for sawing were all regulated 
by the town. As money was then very scarce, the sawing was done 
upon shares, the mill being allowed one-half. 

All was not serene in the churches of that day either, as will be 
seen by the following from records extant: 

Joseph Peasly will not keep silent, but continues to preach, although fined and 
threatened by the authorities for doing what his conscience told him was his duty. 
And the new town people would hear him, notwithstanding his preaching "was very 
weak and unfit." A compromise was finally made, which it was hoped would satisfy 
the new town and settle the matter, which was becoming very troublesome. 

The old town consented that Mr. Worcester preach at the new town, every fourth 
Sunday, This plan was approved by the General Court, which graciously respited 
one-half of the fines till the next session. But still Peasly preached, defied the 



TOWN OF AMESBURY 171 

orders of court and the wishes of Mr. Worcester's church. The General Court 
assumed a threatening attitude, and forbade his "preaching anymore in this juris- 
diction till he give full satisfaction to this court for what have been past." This 
was ominous of his fate, if he disregarded the order, and very likely he quit preach- 
ing. The conflict soon ended by the death of Peasly in 1660. 

When this town was incorporated no name was given to it — possibly 
on account of forgetfulness, but very early that year the name was 
fixed as follows: "At the same meetin the Towen have named this 
Towen Amesbury." This name was confinned by the Court in 1668, but 
the name was slightly changed to "Emesbury." In 1675 the records 
show the business of this town to have been farming, fishing, making 
staves and building vessels. These entei-prises also called forth such 
tradesmen as blacksmiths, tailors, caiT)enters, weavers, etc. River and 
harbor fishing came next to farming in importance. The raising of 
sheep and cattle was in no wise neglected. Small grains were grown in 
abundance, and fine orchards are mentioned within ten years from the 
first settlement. Potatoes are not found in the inventories until about 
1730. 

From 1676 to 1700, possibly later, the Indian scares were too fre- 
quent to be pleasing. On several occasions persons were killed by the 
Indians, but no general Indian uprisings occurred in this settlement. 

In 1708 it is found of record that Benjamin Eastman asked permis- 
sion to build a fulling-mill just below the mill-bridge, on the Powow 
river, and also to take the water undergi'ound across the road to drive 
the mill. This request was granted, and this is the earliest fulling-mill 
of which there is any account in this vicinity. In 1706 the first rate to 
pay for schooling was made, thus placing educational matters on an up- 
ward grade. 

Other business industries of those early years included the iron 
works industry. In 1710, Colonel John March, John Barnard, Joseph 
Brown and Jarvis Ring petitioned for leave to build iron-works on the 
Powow river, without being taxed, which was readily assented to by the 
town. The works were built and kept in operation many years. This 
plant, together with the saw and grist mills, the fulling-mill and stave 
factories made Amesbury quite a bustling little hamlet. The iron ore 
was simply "bog-iron" from the bottom of ponds and lakes, which had to 
be raked to the shore and carted to the melting place. Kingston, how- 
ever, was the place from which most of the supply of iron came. Most 
of this iron (a poor grade) was worked up into ship's anchors, boat 
cranks, saw-mill cranks, spindles for turning the burrs in grist-mills, 
cart-tires, and fire-dogs. 

1810 — Ship-building was revived, and carpenters were busy in all 
the yards. There were built on the river that year twenty-one ships, 
thirteen brigs and one schooner, with seven other vessels of different 
sizes. The Nail Factory Company bought of Deacon David Tuxbury half 
an acre at the pond's mouth, to control flowage of the pond. 



172 ESSEX COUNTY 

June 13 — War was declared against Great Britain. This was the 
War of 1812-14 and was not popular in Amesbury, yet soldiers were re- 
cruited in case they were needed. 

1818 — The Iron and Nail Company was now in full operation, and 
it was believed that the company was not paying the amount of taxes 
they should, and an investigation was ordered. 

1822 — The Amesbury Flannel Manufacturing Company incorpor- 
ated; capital $200,000. 

1829 — The first steamer on the Merrimac made trial trip this year. 

1832 — This year an attempt was made to raise sunflowers and from 
the seed produce oil. Works were built and farmers induced to raise 
sunflowers, but it was a failure and the buildings were turned into a 
tannery. 

1836 — Powow River Bank was incorporated; capital $100,000. It 
was this year also in which the poet, John Greenleaf Whittier, removed 
from his native town of Haverhill to Amesbury. 

1852 — This season occurred a strike at the Salisbury Mills over 
the owners not allowing the operatives the old custom of taking a few 
moments off for a lunch in the forenoon. The town sided with the men 
and appropriated $2,000 to help provide for the operatives. However, 
the mill owners won out by importing foreigners to take the place of 
home mill operatives. 

1862 — These were Civil War days, and there was a great demand 
for woolen goods, causing the Salisbury Mills greatly to enlarge their 
works by removing the old nail factory and erecting a large factory on 
the spot. At the day of dedication there were many soldiers present, 
and no such gathering had ever assembled in the town before. 

1863 — The Amesbury Hat Company was organized this year. The 
enterprise was highly prosperous. Later this became a branch of the 
Merrimac Hat Company. A year later the Horton Hat Company was 
incorporated. A National Bank was established at West Amesbury, 
with a capital of $50,000. 

1864 — A charter was granted to build a horse railroad from New- 
buryport to Amesbury ; capital $120,000. The road was constructed and 
was of great1)enefit to the community. 

1870 — The population of the town this year (Federal census), 5,- 
581. 

Coming down to the eighties, about 1887, it has been discovered by 
the writer of this chapter that one of Amesbury's greatest business lines 
was that of manufacturing carriages. This business commenced in 1800 
in a small way, but grew to large proportions, until, in the eighties, thirty 
firms were engaged in carriage-making within the town. The largest 
number of carriages built by any one firm in 1886 was 2,500, while an- 
other firm produced almost as many. 

The first postoffice was established here in 1820, and the postmasters 



TOWN OF AMESBURY 173 

who have served faithfully and well from that date to now include the 
following: Captain Jonathan Morrill, Jacob Caiter, Philip Osgood, John 
Walsh, Daniel Blaisdell, under President Tyler; David Bagley, under 
President Pierce ; David Batchelder, under President Lincoln ; W. H. B. 
Currier, J. T. Clarkson, in 1873 and held until 1881, when J. T .Goodrich 
was appointed, serving until the election of Grover Cleveland in" 1884, 
when Hiram Foot was made postmaster; since then the following have 
sei-ved: Benjamm L. Fifield, Daniel W. Davis, James H. O'Toole, Cyrus 
W. Rowell, William A. Murphy, Timothy E. Lynes and present post- 
master — John McGrath, commissioned July 28, 1919. The last fiscal 
year's business in this postoffice was $48,242. The Amesbury post- 
office was burned on March 18, 1899 and the government erected a hand- 
some structure of its own in 1906 at an expense of $50,000. Its location 
is at the comer of Main and Aubin streets. There are now two rural 
free delivery routes extending out from this place. Aggregate length, 
twenty-seven miles. 

Among other commercial interests of Amesbury at this date may be 
named the three banking houses — the Amesbury Co-Operative Bank, the 
Powow River National Bank, and the Provident Institution. (See Bank- 
ing). The newspaper press is represented ably by the "Amesbury 
Daily News." In the industrial line are the shoe factories of A. J. 
Anderson, the Nichols Shoe Company and Henry C. Rowe; the Baker 
Foundry and Machine Company (incorporated) ; the Merrial Hat Com- 
pany, incorporated in 1856 ; the Metalite Company (incorporated) ; the 
Murphy Aluminum and Bronze Foundry Co. (incorporated). 

The greatest, far-reaching and best commercial and industrial fac- 
tors of the city are its numerous automobile body manufactories, as 
herein listed : The Amesbury Body Company ; Biddle & Smart Company ; 
Briggs Carriage Company; Currier-Cameron Company; Hinkley & Bax- 
ter ; Hollander & Morrill ; Thomas W. Lane ; Miller Brothers ; Reardon's 
Top Shop; Shield's Carriage Company; Unit Manufacturing Company; 
and the Walker- Wells Company. Recently a unique factory has been in- 
stalled, which makes large quantities of peanut butter. This is operated 
by Frank M. Hoyt. 

Amesbury was founded two hundred and fifty-two years ago. Much 
of historic interest has already been given in short paragraphs on the 
town in its infant days. At present it may be stated that few towns 
in the great Massachusetts commonwealth have better improvements 
that are kept up in any better manner. The balance sheet January 1, 
1921, shows net bonded indebtedness of $388,000.00. This debt is for 
fire, sewer, highway, school and water loans. The resources and lia- 
bilities of the town are $198,499.55. The Trust Funds account stand as 
follows: Trust funds (cash and securities), $49,287.98. The items are 
as follows: Library Funds, $32,967.34; Park funds, $2,000; Poor chil- 
dren's fund, $2,000; Fountain fund, $34.29; Cemetery funds, $12,286.35. 



174 ESSEX COUNTY 

The town officers (elective) for 1921 are as follows: Moderator^ 
George E. Hodge; Town Clerk, George C. Dearborn; Selectmen and 
Overseers of the Poor: James W. Clark, Charles R. Scott and Joseph O. 
Donnell; Assessors: George C. Dearborn, James E. Doran, Richard 
Feeley ; Collector of Taxes, J. William Gale ; Treasurer, Earl M. Nelson ; 
Board of Health: Samuel L. Porter, Daniel G. Dame, Otis P. Mudge; 
School Committee: Brainard G. Pillsbury, Gilbert N. West, Robert C. 
Patten, John A. Wilson, Jr., Ralph N. Good, Guy E. Nickerson. The 
Tree Warden and Moth Superintendent is Joseph Merrill. Park Com- 
missioners : Charles H. Tucker, Bernard J. Manning, William H. Graves ; 
Superintendent of Streets, John D. Brown; Chief of Police, William S. 
Rogers; Fish and Game Warden, George O. Barton; Meat, Milk and 
Provision Inspector, James L. Stewart; Police Matron, Nora Conway. 

The population of Amesbury in 1900 was, according to the U. S. 
census returns, 9,473 ; in 1910 it was 9,894 and by the last Federal cen- 
sus — that of 1920 — it was 10,036. Property valuations in 1^20 were: 
Personal estate, resident, $7,800,000; real estate, resident, $5,700,000; 
personal estate, non-resident, $149,000; real estate, non-resident, $447,- 
000 ; Merrimac Valley Power Company, real estate, $886,000 ; 686 shares 
of Powow River National Bank, resident, $85,750 ; Total, $10,169,000. 
Valuation of real estate, 1920, $7,793,064. Tax rate in 1920 was $26.20 
on every thousand dollars. » 

Chamber of Commerce — What was known as the Amesbury Board 
of Trade in 1913 published the subjoined article concerning the town. 
The organization at that time claimed a membership of three hundred 
from a total population of ten thousand — the largest per capita Board 
of Trade in New England: 

The town is up with most progressive towns, with the headquarters of a large 
agricultural society, who does good work of an educational kind, and whose large 
buildings are devoted to the same in the form of fall fairs and lectures. The town 
is also favored with the best municipal water plant in the State and a good gas 
plant, also electric, heat and power company, who are co-operative workers with the 
Local Board of Trade, inducing new industries to locate in Amesbury; and with this 
in view, we are able to offer power as low as the large cities. 

The present conditions of our manufacturers are prosperous and the largest 
firms have secured their business for 1914 far in excess of any previous year, manu- 
facturing fifteen hundred pairs of shoes daily. The total manufactured product 
will come near the five million dollar mark, which means the local mechanics are 
to have a dividend for their labors of approximately $1,500,000 to spend in living- 
expenses with local merchants and deposit the balance in the savings bank, which 
already has $3,000,000 of their thrift safely deposited. 

The moral end of the town is now a factor in our advance, and we have churches 
of nearly all denominations, who work unitedly for the spiritual and moral welfare 
of the town, which is today free from open saloons or places of questionable char- 
acter. In addition to these are banded together business and professional men who 
are active in the maintenance of the best conditions possible for the welfare of the 
younger and rising generation. 

Since 1913 the Chamber of Commerce has accomplished much 



/^Vmjr% 



BRAHf 






TOWN OF AMESBURY 175 

towards building up the town. It has aided in securing all needful in- 
ternal improvements and has succeeded also in securing numerous fac- 
tories and other profitable commercial enterprises. From facts furn- 
ished the writer by the present (1921) secretary of the Chamber of 
Commerce, Frank F. Perry, the present-day organization has accom- 
plished certain things herein named, viz : 

The present organization of the business men of Amesbury dates 
from the Board of Trade, which had its birth at a public meeting held 
at the town hall, November 28, 1911. At this meeting Robert Briggs 
was elected secretary, and for some years was the chief factor in the ac- 
tive work of the Board of Trade. In April, 1912, the organization was 
active, and it was voted to pay the moving expenses of McLoud & An- 
derson. That firm has proved to be a permanent and profitable industry 
for the town, and is now the oldest and largest shoe factory in opera- 
tion. In October the organization was still active in attracting new in- 
dustries to Amesbury. It was voted to pay Finnerty & Cossaboom $500 
for moving expenses. 

Notable among the new industries which were established in Ames- 
bury through the co-operation of the Board of Trade during this period 
was the G. W. J. Murphy Company. The firm was already doing a pros- 
perous business in Merrimac, when Secretary Briggs advanced a prop- 
osition to the firm to establish a modem plant in Amesbury, where the 
business could be carried on under conditions which were equal to the 
best in the state. The buildings of the Hume Carriage Company and 
those formerly occupied by the George W. Osgood carriage factory were 
acquired. Building to and remodeling these structures, with the ad- 
dition of a large new building, resulted in one of the finest brick plants 
of the kind in New England. 

The Board of Trade through a holding company acquired a large 
factory on Carriage Hill, and this was afterwards sold to Henry C. Rich, 
who carried on a successful business in the manufacture of shoes for 
some years. This work concluded, the Board of Trade soon became in- 
operative because of lack of interest, and possibly also by reason of the 
overshadowing importance to the community of the prosecution of the 
World War. When business depression overtook the industrial and com- 
mercial life of the country, the merchants of Amesbury felt the need of 
community effort to revive business. In the fall of 1920, Frank F. Perry 
was therefore called upon to organize a Merchants' Sale Carnival, and 
this proved to be so successful that an organization was formed, with 
Frank F. Perry as secretary-manager, under the name of the Amesbury 
Chamber of Commerce, dating its birth from January 1, 1921. The 
new organization gave unremitting attention to the securing of work 
for the unemployed, which in the winter of 1920-21 were in the majority. 
In this they were successful, and later secured the Littlefield Heel Com- 
pany, which moved from Haverhill, also a branch factory of the E. R. 



176 ESSEX COUNTY 

Smith Company, of Boston, manufacturers of clothing, which at once 
gave employment to a large number of idle men and women. 

Monthly meetings during the winter months foimed a definite part 
of the activities of the organization. The January meeting indorsed 
the daylight saving proposition and proposed an act to enforce penalties 
against stealing fruits and vegetables from farms. While the reclama- 
tion of the salt marsh was looked upon with favor, it was thought too 
much of a proposition for the Chamber to undertake at that time. The 
February meeting was addressed by George H. Moulton on salesman- 
ship and by Principal Forrest Brown on the Commercial course at the 
High School. At the March meeting the school problem was lucidly ex- 
plained by Superintendent of Schools L. Thomas Hopkins, and the large 
number who attended testified they had not before heard the question 
explained so helpfully. The directors of the Chamber of Commerce pre- 
sented to the Fibreboard Company the advantages of Amesbury over 
Brockton for their factory, and during the summer of 1921 steps were 
taken to move this business from that city to Amesbury. 

The Amesbury Chamber of Commerce is affiliated with the Massa- 
chusetts State Chamber of Commerce and the Essex County Associated 
Boards of Trade, and in a vigorous and effective manner is working to 
the great advantage of the people of the community. The 1921 officers 
of this Chamber of Commerce are as follows: President, E. J. Graves; 
Vice-president, Colin Camerone; Treasurer, B. F. McLean; Secretary, 
Frank F. Perry. 

Industries — Among the motor-car body builders in Amesbury is the 
firm incorporated as Hollander & Morrill in the rear of No. 17 Main 
street, which was organized in 1909 by George H. Hollander and Gayden 
W. Morrill. AF present this concern employs about one hundred work- 
men. The product of the plant is chiefly sold in New York city, and it 
is annually increasing. The motive power used is electricity. About 
fifty per cent, of the workmen here are foreign-born, while the annual 
output is near the half million mark. The officers of this company are 
George H. Hollander, president and general manager, and Gayden W. 
Morrill, treasurer and salesman. 

One of the first local carriage manufacturers to take up the manu- 
facture of automobile bodies was the Shields Carriage Company, which 
began carriage making in 1887. The business was founded by John H. 
Shields. At the present time twelve workmen are employed in this 
plant, and it is said that all twelve are American born. The machinery 
needed is electric-propelled, and the shops are located on Carriage Hill. 
The superiority of the goods here made finds ready sale throughout 
Massachusetts. The present officers are George E. Collins, J. Woodbury 
Currier and Nathaniel W. Currier. 

The Biddle & Smart Company, with offices at No. 6 Chestnut street, 
with shops situated in the vicinity of Railroad avenue, has a plant estab- 



TOWN OF AMESBURY 177 

lished in 1870 as Cadieu & Biddle. From 1874 on it was known as W. 
E. Biddle & Company, and from 1880, as Biddle-Smart Company. The 
Biddle-Smart corporation was organized in 1895. The original partners 
of Biddle, Smart & Co., William E. Biddle, W. W. Smart, M. D. F. Steere, 
are all deceased at this time. The business of the company is now the 
manufacture of aluminum automobile bodies. From 750 to 1,500 men 
are employed, who are now being paid about twenty per cent, less than 
a year ago, on account of a general decline in prices in the world's mar- 
kets. In 1876 the company met with loss by a fire in its plant. The 
present production of these shops is disposed of almost entirely to the 
Hudson Motor Car Company, Detroit, Michigan. The works of this 
extensive plant are all propelled by electric power, generated by its own 
central power station and through purchase by contract from a local 
power company. The pay-roll in these shops is over $20,000 weekly; 
650 men now are employed in the various departments. The annual 
business is about $3,000,000. About seventy per cent, of the workmen 
employed are American born. With a single exception, the Biddle & 
Smart Company has the largest capacity of building and completely 
finishing highest grade bodies of any concern in the world. The produc- 
tion is of custom quality in quantity. To gain anywhere near a good 
understanding of the size of these works, one must needs visit the same. 
The floor-space is immense! The reader is reminded, if inquiry is 
made in Amesbury about this company and its earlier enterprises, that 
it was established in 1870 as a carriage factory — bodies, gears, wheels 
and all complete. Building after building was added to the plant, until 
nine were to be seen in all. In one year alone, this concern shipped four 
thousand carriages. The sales ran to three-quarters of a million dol- 
lars, and they furnished employment to almost if not quite three hundred 
men. When the automobile came into fashion, the buggy trade natural- 
ly declined ; but having changed the extensive carriage works over to a 
plant for making parts of automobiles, the business was in no wise 
injured, but rather enhanced. 

The Thomas W. Lane Carriage Factory has long been a factor in 
the business enterprises of Amesbury. It was established in 1874. 
"Sterling Quality" being his slogan or trade-mark, he has ever lived up 
to its meaning in the production of his carriages and buggies. When 
many others abandoned carriages and took up the manufacture of auto- 
mobiles, Mr. Lane remained in the original trade, and bought out sev- 
eral of the other carriage firms in his city. He patented a cross-spring, 
by which he increased his sales from three hundred to six hundred car- 
riages a year. 

The plant of the Bailey Electric Automobile, owned by the S. R. 
Bailey & Co., incorporated, is another enterprise that has turned out its 
thousands of electric propelled automobiles. Another well-patronized 
factory is the Amesbury Lamp and Plating Company. It makes electric 

Essex — 12 



178 ESSEX COUNTY 

dome lights, top lamps, step-lamps, inverted dash-lamps, etc. The 
senior member of this company is William J. Bird, who was long a 
maker of carriage lamps, before the automobile was invented. 

The birthplace of the electric-lighted and electric-started auto- 
mobile was in the shops of Gray & Davis (incoi-porated) at Amesbury 
The business increased, on account of improvements made by these 
genius light-makers, until in 1913 they had branch plants in a half 
dozen large cities in this country. A head office is kept open in Boston. 
This was the first plant erected in the world for the exclusive manu- 
facture of automobile lamps. The invention brought out in this factory, 
by which a successful "electric-starter" for automobiles was made, has 
revolutionized this part of the modern auto, the world 'round. 

As long ago as 1913 one of the largest manufacturers of closed 
bodies in the white, in New England, was that of the Walker-Wells 
Company of Amesbury, incorporated that year with officers as follows : 
Harlan P. Wells, president; George Walker, vice-president; James H. 
Walker, treasurer; Henry Miller, secretary. The company was formed 
in 1911, and succeeded the Amesbury branch of the Walker Carriage 
Company. 

The most "ancient" of all industries in Amesbury is the plant of the 
Merrimac Hat Company, still in existence. The manufacture of hats in 
Amesbury dates back to the settlement of the town, for one of the 
seventeen original proprietors of the place was a hatter. In 1767 the 
town granted a location for the first hat factory on "the Ferry road next 
to Powow river." For many years business was conducted there; in 
fact, at no time has the hatter's business gone down at that point. The 
present recent year business dates back to 1838, when Isaac Martin be- 
gan in the house basement of the residence of Albert Gale, near the 
Powow bridge. Later he moved to a building on the wharf near by, in 
1853. Abner L. Bailey became interested in the business and after con- 
tinuing it some time under the title of the Merrimac Hat Company, a 
new company was formed, called the Amesbury Hat Company. The 
town landing near Powow River bridge was bought and thereon was 
built a large hat factory. In 1864 Alfred Bailey organized the Horton 
Hat Company, which began operations, continued until July, 1866, then 
sold to the Merrimac Company. Additions were made to the Horton Hat 
Company from time to time, it ever being looked upon as one of the 
town's best industries. In recent years a better set of buildings have 
been provided, and tens of thousands of dollars have been paid to those 
employed in the hat-making business. Here are made misses', ladies' 
and children's wool hats and ladies' and children's straw hats. The 
officers of this company for many years have been Messrs. H. V. Bar- 
rett of Boston, president; George W. Emerson, treasurer; William H. 
Hastings, general manager. 

Public Library — Early in the nineteenth century, about 1827, the 



EHE NEW YORK ' 
BLiC LIBRARY 
I 



ASTOH, UE^NOX 



TOWN OF AMESBURY 179 

following named persons formed an association, secured a room over 
Mr. Allen's store on Market Square, and purchased two hundred books. 
Jonathan Williams, Edward Allen, James C, Nathaniel and Cyrus Cur- 
rier, Ezekiel Enos, Thomas and Samuel J. Brown, Seth and Thomas J. 
Clark, Hiram Collins, T. P. Morrell, Jona Barnard, Daniel Blaisdell, 
William and Nathan Swett, Daniel Long, and John Herbert. The mem- 
bership paid one dollar or more per year for the up-keep of the library, 
which was kept intact until some time in the forties, when the books 
were distributed among different families. It was not until 1856 that 
any attempt was made to organize a permanent library. A meeting 
was held, when letters were read from Joshua Aubin, of Newburyport, 
a former agent of the old Salisbury Mills Company, in which he stated 
that Gardner Brewer of Boston had placed in his hands between seven 
and eight hundred books to form the nucleus of a library for the benefit 
of the operatives employed at the village mills in Amesbury and Salis- 
bury. The citizens much interested in this matter included the follow- 
ing: John G. Whittier, the gifted "Quaker Poet"; Rev. B. P. Byram, 
Benjamin Evans, William C. Binney, Philip Osgood, John Hume, Henry 
Taylor, John Kimball, Stephen Woodman, William H. B. Currier, William 
and Edward Allen, Charles M. Leonard and Francis Brown, Dr. Thomas 
Sparhawk, James W. Briggs, Robert W. Patten, William Carruthers, 0. 
S. Bayley, and a few other citizens of the town. The books were kept 
at various places until the Salisbury Milling Company erected a build- 
ing in 1865 on Friend street, the lower part being given over to library 
purposes and the upper story to the Odd Fellows' use. 

In 1872 fhe association was incorporated under Massachusetts laws, 
with these officers: William C. Binney, president; Philip Osgood, vice- 
president; William Allen, treasurer; James H. Davis, secretary. Mr. 
Davis, who had previously served, was appointed librarian. In March, 
1889, the city of Amesbury took over the library under provisions of 
the statutes of the commonwealth. The corporation voted to give $200 
per year towards the library, the same to come out of the dog fund. 
Later, Jonathan Wadleigh left by his will $500 to the library, and Widow 
Fowler left a bequest of $5,000. A brother and sister, Isaac and Mary 
A. Barnard, natives of Amesbury, and personal friends of the poet Whit- 
tier, gave to the library, at their decease, the former in 1890 and the 
latter in 1897, funds to the amount of $30,000. Finally the old Ordway 
property on Main street was purchased at $5,500 and there the present 
spacious and well-appointed library building was erected. It was built 
at a cost of $20,650, being dedicated by the trustees in December, 1901. 
Later the town voted to appropriate $3,000 for additional book-stacks 
and other fittings. The first meeting in the new building was held by 
the board, April 23, 1902. This structure, an ornament to the city, was 
constructed of gray brick, with Indiana limestone and granite. There 
is ample stack room for forty thousand volumes. The interior is finished 



180 ESSEX COUNTY 

in quartered oak. The Whittier Home Association donated a hand- 
some clock in the reading room as a befitting memorial to the beloved 
I>oet. Ten years ago this library boasted of having nearly 18,000 vol- 
umes on its shelves. It is a thoroughly up-to-date public library, the 
same having been made possible only by the forethought and persistent 
labors of the early promoters, who gave both time and money to bring 
about the desired end. It means much to the sprightly city, and speaks 
of a high moral, intellectual standard in the community. The late re- 
ports state that there are now 19,220 books on the shelves; magazines, 
2,461 ; number of books issued in 1920 was 53,000. Many daily, weekly 
and monthly papers are here on file. The present trustees of the library 
are James H. Walker, Augustus N. Parry, J. Warren Huntington, Will- 
iam W. Hawkes, Alfred C. Webster, J. Albert Davis, Edward A. Brown, 
Albert G. Willey. The librarian is Alice C. Follansbee. 

Amesbury is noted among other things in that it was the home of 
one of America's most celebrated poets — John Greenleaf Whittier. At 
the age of twenty-eight years he purchased the cottage on Friend street 
that was his home the remainder of his life. From his infancy he 
accompanied his parents, who were devout Quakers in religious faith, 
from their home in East Haverhill, when they came to worship at the 
Friends' meeting-house in Amesbury. Three years before making his 
home in Amesbury, Mr. Whittier was engaged in anti-slavery work, 
and was an editor in New York and Philadelphia, as well as of "The Vil- 
lager" in his home town. During his residence in Amesbury he wrote 
four hundred and twenty-two of his more than five hundred poems. He 
was an ardent worker for the political party that best tended to liber- 
ate the slaves. He was a candidate for congress from this district when 
it was Free-Soil in sentiment. The landscape scenery in and around 
Amesbury gave him an inspiration by which he was enabled to pen many 
of his finest poems. He donated scores of valuable volumes to the Ames- 
bury Library, and was influential in securing the splendid legacy of the 
Bamards for this institution. This beloved "Quaker Poet" died Sei)- 
tember 7, 1892, the funeral services taking place in the garden at the 
rear of the Whittier Home. He was buried in the family plot at Union 
Cemetery. Peace to his ashes ! 

Churches — Thirty-five years ago the directors gave the following 
on the church organizations of Amesbury at that date: "There are 
eleven churches and societies in this town, viz : Baptist, Episcopal, Cath- 
olic, Friends, Free Baptists, Methodist, Universalist, Christian Baptist. 
The most ancient of these societies is the Friends', organized in a house 
built in 1705. From that date they have always had a house of worship 
on this street, which was very properly named for their order, "Friend 
street." The society at Rocky Hill was organized in 1714, as the Sec- 
ond Parish in Salisbury, and the present church built in 1785. Most 
of the other churches have been erected and the societies organized with- 
in the last century." 



TOWN OF AMESBURY , 181 

Town i^cords give such pai-agi'aphs on churches as follows: "In 
1831 a CJongregational church was organized at the Mills, Eleazer A. 
Johnson being chosen clerk. In 1836 a Universalist church was formed 
at West Amesbury and a building erected. St. James Church was con- 
secrated in 1836, and Rev. Henry M. Davis was then selected a stated 
supply for one year. April, 1845, the Universalist church was incor- 
porated. This society purchased the old Episcopal church building and 
engaged Rev. Strickland. A new church building was dedicated in 1846. 
In 1849 the Free Baptist Church on Friend street was completed. In 
1866, at the close of the Civil War, the Catholic people built at the Mills, 
the structure being dedicated August 26, 1866. In 1867 a Baptist 
church was organized at West Amesbury, April 5." 

From certain information blanks sent out to various churches by 
the compiler of this work, and from old records and histories, the sub- 
joined articles on the churches of Amesbury have been gleaned: 

St. James Episcopal Church was a church society here as early as 
1740, but the regular church as known today was formed or reorganized 
in 1833. It now has a membership of 350, with a Sunday school of sixty- 
three attendance. A rectory was built in 1887, and the present beauti- 
ful edifice was erected in 1900 at an expense of $22,000. The total prop- 
erty of the church is not far from $30,000. Since 1885 the rectors have 
been in the following order: Revs. Henry Wood, 1885-88; Edward F. Hill, 
1889-91; Frederick E. Cooper, 1891-93; George M. Griffith, 1893-95; 
Charles N. Norris, 1896-97 ; Robert LeBlanc Lynch, 1898-1908 ; Arthur L. 
Fenderson, 1909-11; Louis A. Parsons, 1912-14; Frank M. Rathborn, 
1914-18; Robert Le Blanc Lynch, 1918, and still rector. 

The Friends' Society is that to which John G. Whittier, the poet, 
belonged, and where he and his parents long worshiped. The "meeting" 
was established in 1702 and has continued through the multiplied years 
until now. Its total membership today is about seventy-three souls. 
There is no minister at present. Charles H. Jones and wife Elizabeth 
were ministers in this society for many years. There are other Friends' 
churches in Essex county, at Salem, Lawrence and Lynn. 

The Universalist church was organized in 1843, and had seven pas- 
tors before it became decadent during the days of the Civil War. It 
was reorganized by Rev. Nathan R. Wright. The first church was on 
Friend street. The society purchased Washington Hall in 1871, and 
this was used for a place in which to worship until the present brick 
building was constructed in 1904, during the pastorate of Rev. Francis 
W. Gibbs. The present total membership is eighty-six, and the Sunday 
school enrollment is about forty-five pupils, with Mr. Gilbert West as 
its superintendent. Mrs. Louise Holt was the reorganizer of the Sun- 
day school. The pastors of this church have included the following since 
1870: Revs. W. R. Wright, 1870-74; B. L. Bennett, 1874-77; Albert C. 
White, 1880-81; Anson Titus, 1884-87; Albert C. White, 1888-91; J. H. 



182 ESSEX COUNTY 

Little, 1892-94; F. W. Gibbs, 1895-1906; Rufus H. Dix, 1907-09; T. H. 
Saunders, 1910-12; R. C. Leonard, 1917-18; Barton Watson, 1918, and 
still pastor. 

Since 1885 the ministers serving the Methodist Episcopal Church at 
this point were Revs. J. C. Felt, C. W. Dockerel, James Cairus, D. E. Mil- 
ler, L. D. Bragg, H. D. Deets, M. C. Pendexter, F. K. Gamble, R. J. El- 
liott, C. F. Parsons, I. H. Reed, Mathew L. Simpson, present pastor. 
The present membership is 181 ; that of the Sunday school is about 200 
pupils; the superintendent is Edwin J. Graves. In 1887-8 a church 
building was erected ; the main building is of wood, while the vestry part 
is of brick. The historical record books show that in 1847 Rev. W. 
Huntly was appomted to Amesbuiy. In 1850 the First Methodist Church 
was built. Rev. Charles C. Burr was pastor in 1850-51. The first build- 
ing erected as a church was burned April, 1887. The second church was 
built 1887-88. This building stands on Main street, opposite the Pub- 
lic Library. 

The Congregational denomination is old at Amesbury. One society 
was formed "At the Mills" in 1831, with Jonathan A. Sargent and George 
Perkins as first deacons, the first clerk and founder being E. A. Johnson, 
who served faithfully and well for forty years. December 6, 1881, the 
Congregational church at the Mills celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. 
The first clerk and first pastor were present on this interesting historic 
occasion. The history of this church extends back a great length of 
time, and, of course, has involved many changes in its membership and 
general work. The church has come down through the years of history- 
making in the United States, and is still one of the institutions calculated 
to uplift the community in which it is supported. 

What is now styled the Main Street Congregational Church of 
Amesbury is an old church organization, but no sketch of it has been 
furnished the compiler of this work. It has a good membership, and is 
a popular church. 

The Baptist church of West Amesbury was organized April 5, 1867. 
Rev. E. M. Bartlett was installed pastor in October, 1872. The church 
is still numbered among the religious influences of the place. 

The Sacred Heart is a French Catholic church, situated on Friend 
street. It was organized in 1903, and now has a total membership of 553 
families and is made up of 1,798 souls. Rev. J. B. Bassiere served from 
1903 to 1913, and Rev. J. H. Cotei has officiated from 1913 to the present 
date. Soon after the organization of the church a rectory and parochial 
school were provided. The number of pupils in the school is 195 boys 
and 206 girls, total 401 ; number of teachers employed, 8. This church 
and auxiliary school care especially for the French-speaking people of 
Amesbury and immediate vicinity. 

Star-of-the-Sea Catholic Church is situated at Salisbury Beach, 
and was built by Rev. Father Nilan, now Bishop of Hartford. It was 
completed in 1896, the opening being July 4th of that yeau. It is es- 



TOWN OF AMESBURY 183 

pecially designed to give summer tourists and beach visitors of the 
Catholic faith an opportunity to worship. It is usually open from July 
until October of each season. The building is a frame structure, with 
a seating capacity of about 700. 

As has been well said by J. H. O'Neil, Esq., in writing on Amesbury 
Catholicity: "No earthly record discloses the identity of the first soul 
to bear the faith to the district now embraced by the Parish of Saint 
Joseph. Who that venturesome pioneer was, and when he came, are 
matters of conjecture, rather than certainty. He may have come be- 
fore the opening of the eighteenth century, for as early as 1792 there 
were Catholics in small numbers at Newburyport, which from the very 
beginning was the center of religious interest towards which the Cath- 
olics of Amesbury and Salisbury turned. It is told that Father Perron, 
a French priest, passed through this section about 1650, but he must 
have found it a barren region from a Catholic view-point." To quote 
Mr. O'Neil: 

The visit of Bishop Cheverus to Nevv^buryport in 1808 was a notable event in 
the early history of this territory. On that visit he officiated at several ceremonies 
and visited the few Catholic families of the town. It is not unlikely that Father 
Matignon also stopped there on his trips on horseback from Boston as far as Ports- 
mouth, ministering to the struggling bands of Catholics here and there. 

In 1827 Bishop Fenwick made an Episcopal visit and said mass on a spot net 
far from the present court house. If during these years there were any Catholics in 
Amesbury or Salisbury, they undoubtedly joined in the services at Newburyport, 
as did their brethren in larger numbers later. 

In the first half of the decade of 1830 to 1840, there is record of a Catholic fam- 
ily in Amesbury. There were Irish immigrants long before, as early as 1803, and 
some of them, at least, were unquestionably of the household of the faith, but the 
first clear evidence of Catholics in the town seems to come in the year 1834. In 
1840 there were several families, and in the next ten years they increased steadily. 
The new-comers were practically all from Ireland. They had come to work out their 
destiny in a new land. Of earthly possessions they had but little, but they came 
fortified with steady bodies and determined souls, and above all with a faith that 
knew no yielding. 

The first priest came to Newburyport in the early forties, and was 
followed by Father Lennon, who became pastor at Newburyport in 1848, 
and for many years was in charge of the members of this faith at Ames- 
bury as well. To the church at Newburyport the pioneers were wont to 
go on Sundays and holidays to perform their religious duties. Thus 
these devout souls trudged their way five miles and back to Newbury- 
port to attend mass. Occasionally mass was offered at the house of 
William Daley in Amesbury, one of the first settlers. It is very likely 
that the first mass within the confines of the parish was said at his 
house on Dondero's Court, and some of the older people still recall at- 
tending mass and receiving Holy Communion from the hand of the priest 
on the doorstep, the house being too small for all to enter. 

More Catholics moved into the town, and there arose an ardent be- 



184 ESSEX COUNTY 

lief that regular services should be held in some way at this point. 
This began about 1859, when the Catholics of the town petitioned Father 
Lennon for this privilege, and with their petition went a liberal offering. 
The list of names which were attached to the petition just mentioned 
numbered more than one hundred and fifty, the signers pledging them- 
selves to raise the sum of $9,250 to be used towards erecting a church 
in Amesbury. Father Lennon, of course, granted such a petition as this, 
and plans were made for services in Washington Hall on Market street. 
Easter Sunday, April 24, 1859, was observed at that place by the Cath- 
olics in such numbers that they excited the admiration of their fellow 
townsmen. An important event took place here June 22, 1862, when 
Father William Daley, the first priest to be ordained from this district, 
at whose house the faithful formerly gathered, sang his first mass. 

On the site of the present church of St. Joseph, the foundations of 
the first church were laid — modest and simple was the first edifice com- 
pared to the handsome present-day structure, yet it was the largest and 
most expensive building of its kind at that time in Amesbury. Its cost 
was $15,000. It was ninety-eight feet long and fifty feet wide, and con- 
tained one hundred and sixteen pews. It was dedicated August 26, 

1866, and so great was the throng that not nearly all could gain entrance 
to the building. It was estimated that not less than two thousand per- 
sons were present. This edifice served well its purpose until the present 
structure was erected, of which mention is made later on. In September, 

1867, property was bought on Pleasant street for a parochial residence, 
for Amesbury was no longer a mission of Newburyport, but a parish by 
itself. The first pastor was Rev. John Brady, who three years before 
had been ordained in Ireland. He was enthusiastic over the project of 
building a church edifice large enough to accommodate his growing con- 
gregation. Much of the mason work on the foundation was performed 
by his parishioners at eventide, after having ended their own daily toil. 
All worked with one end in view and succeeded well in their undertakings. 
Ground was first broken in 1872, and the completed edifice was dedicated 
May 7, 1876, by Archbishop Wihiams. It is still one of the finest church 
buildings in this section of New England. The grounds, the convent and 
school, each and all are monuments to the faithfulness and liberality 
with which this people have sacrificed to bring about these laudable 
ends. 

In 1885 the doors were first opened to the fine parochial school of 
this parish, and with the school came also the convent to furnish a home 
for the Sisters of St. Joseph. The parochial residence was the last of 
the dignified group of parish buildings to be erected. When this was 
completed, the work of building by Father Brady was about done. He 
had been assisted in his labors during a part of these years by Revs. M. 
J. McCall, 1873-76; David J. Herlihy from 1881 to 1884; by Rev. Francis 
X. Burke, from 1884 to 1893. 



TOWN OF AMESBURY 185 

The second regular pastor was Rev. John J. Nilan, then assistant 
pastor at St. James church, Boston. He began at once to improve the 
property by purchasing the old Sparhawk place, and demolished the 
old buildings thereon. New altars in the main church were provided, 
the same being of chaste Italian marble, beautifully designed and ex- 
ecuted with great skill. When free of all debts, this fine edifice was 
consecrated to God. This occurred April 28, 1901, and the honor of 
consecration fell to Bishop Brady, who had erected the building thirty 
years before. Bishop Brady after a wonderful career passed from earth's 
shining circle, January 6, 1910. His body lay in state in the Amesbury 
church, which he had built so many years before, was watched over 
throughout the night, and the following day was laid to rest in St. 
Joseph's Cemetery. 

In June, 1910, Rev. Denis F. Lee, then pastor of St. Agnes church, 
Reading, became the third pastor in Amesbury. His assistant was 
Rev. Howland J. Harkins, who succeeded the faithful assistant, Rev. 
William J. Reardon. Father Harkins died and was succeeded by Rev. 
Stephen J. O'Brien, a son of the parish. During the late World War, 
Father O'Brien volunteered as chaplain in the army in 1918, and was 
succeeded by Rev. John W. Spencer, Rev. McCool and Rev. Tuscher. 
This parish has had only three pastors in all its history, the third and 
present one being Father Denis F. Lee, under whose management the 
church buildings have been much improved, while the spiritual church 
has been made stronger in the hearts of his membership. 

In closing, it is well to note that a golden jubilee of this church was 
commemorated October 28-31, 1917— fifty years of eventful church life. 
It will long be remembered by people in and near the city of Amesbury. 
There are but few if any churches in the whole country where so 
many priests have been members of a church in a town no larger than 
Amesbury, and have received training and gone forth as priests. The 
number is seventeen; of that number ten were living in 1917. Their 
names follow: Rev. William Daley, deceased; Rev. Joseph H. Gal- 
lagher, deceased; Rev. M. F. Higgins, deceased; Rev. Timothy Whalen, 
St. Ann's Hospital, Baltimore, Md. ; Rev. P. A. Lynch, 0. S. A., Immacu- 
late Conception, Hoosick Falls; Rev. Patrick Carr, deceased; Rev. James 
H. O'Neill, LL.D., Sacred Heart, Boston; Rev. Thomas Moylan, deceased; 
Rev. Martin Cavanaugh, deceased; Rev. Thomas A. Walsh, Our Lady 
of Grace, Chelsea, Mass.; Rev. James R. Nulty, St. Mary's, Dedham, 
Mass.; Rev. James Doran, St. Michael's, Hudson, Mass.; Rev. Michael 
J. Manning, St. Anne's, Somerville, Mass. ; Rev. John M. Burke, Sacred 
Heart, Boston ; Rev. Michael J. Kenny, St. Joseph's, Avoca, Wis. ; Rev. 
Stephen J. O'Brien, St. Joseph's, Amesbury, Mass. ; Rev. John J. Mc- 
Grath, St. Mary's Cathedral, Trenton, N. J. 

Twelve members of the Amesbury parish have consecrated their 
lives to the cause of religion. The names of these devoted women can- 



186 ESSEX COUNTY 

not be given here, but the church record says "they will shine amongst 
those 'who instruct many unto justice.' " 



CHAPTER XVI. 
TOWN OF BOXFORD. 



In the beginning, what is now the town of Boxford comprised a 
large part of western Rowley. About 1750 there were several villages 
in Rowley, viz : Rowley, Rowley Village, and Rowley Village by the Mer- 
rimac ; the first of these is still Rowley ; the last is Bradford, and Rowley 
Village was given the name of Boxford. 

The first settler in the present town of Boxford was Abraham Red- 
ington, who arrived certainly as early as 1645, being an emigrant from 
England. He located near the Hotel Redington, in the East Parish Vil- 
lage. Before a score of years had passed, there was a goodly settle- 
ment here. Writers usually place the following-named as having been 
pioneer settlers at some date in the seventeenth century: Robert An- 
drews, from England, 1656; John Cummings, in 1658; Robert Stiles, of 
Yorkshire, England, 1659; Joseph Bixby, from Ipswich, 1660; Robert 
Eames, from England, in 1660; William Foster, from Ipswich, 1661; 
Robert Smith, 1661 ; Zaccheus Curtis, from Gloucester, 1661 ; John 
Peabody, from Topsfield, 1663 ; Samuel Symonds, 1663 ; Daniel Black, a 
Scotchman, about 1665; Moses Tyler, from Andover, 1666; John Kim- 
ball, from Wenham, about 1666; Joseph Peabody, from Topsfield, about 
1671; Samuel Buswell, from Salisbury, 1674; George Blake, from Glou- 
cester, about 1675 ; Daniel Wood, about 1675 ; John Perley, 1683 ; Thomas 
Perley, from Rowley, about 1684; Thomas Hazen, from Rowley, 1684; 
William Peabody, from Topsfield, 1684 ; Timothy Dorman, from Topsfield, 
1688 ; Joseph Hale, from Newbury, about 1691 ; Luke Hovey, from Tops- 
field, 1699 ; and Ebenezer Sherwin, about 1699. 

When the place was incorporated, August 12, 1685, its name was 
changed from Rowley Village to Boxford, after Boxford, England. At 
that date the settlement consisted of about forty families. The town 
then embraced a part of present towns of Groveland and Middleton. 

Boxford escaped Indian troubles such as other frontier towns en- 
dured, and its only connection with that race was when certain heirs 
of the old sachem of the Agawams, Masconomet, laid claim to this soil. 
They met at the house of Thomas Perley in January, 1701, and a 
quit-claim deed was obtained from them upon the payment of some re- 
freshments in the nature of "rum and vittels", together with the paltry 
sum of £9 in money. 

Boxford did not escape the witchcraft delusion, for in a former re- 
liable history of this part of Massachusetts the following is found : The 



TOWN OF BOXFORD 187 

witchcraft delusion visited the settlement, and one of the wives and 
mothers of the town was condemned to pay the death penalty. The 
convicted woman was Rebecca, wife of Robert Fames. She was in a 
house near Gallows' Hill in Salem, when Rev. George Burroughs was 
executed, August 19, 1692, "and the woman of the house" felt a pin stuck 
into her foot, as she said. Mrs. Fames was accused of doing it, and 
convicted of witchcraft, but was later reprieved, having lain in jail 
over seven months. She survived until May 8, 1721, when she died, 
aged eighty-two years. 

Topsfield was used as a burying place by this settlement until the 
mcorporation of the town. The oldest burying ground in Boxford is near 
the residence of Walter French, well known to settlers of these parts not 
over a third of a century ago. The oldest stone erected there bears the 
date of 1714. The next cemetery, that near the old Barnes place, and 
the oldest in West Parish, began to be used about 1800. In 1807 the 
cemetery near the First Church was platted, and the later one in West 
Parish in 1838. 

A population table compiled at various periods for this town would 
be almost a curiosity to behold, so many changes have been made in the 
territory. In 1765 it contained 851 souls; in 1860 it had a population 
of 1,020 ; the State census in 1885 gave Boxford 840, and at present it 
has a population of only 588. More than a century ago there were sev- 
eral negroes in Boxford, and one named Neptune served as a brave sol- 
dier in the War for Independence. 

'The Moral Society of Boxford and Topsfield," established in 1815, 
had a wonderfully good effect on the community as against Sabbath 
breaking, profanity and intemperance, with kindred vices. 

The Boston & Maine railroad line runs through this town, the same 
having been constructed in 1853. Thirty-five years ago the taxable 
property of the town was valued at $650,000. The first medical doctor 
to take up his practice here was Dr. David Wood, a native of the town 
bom 1677, died 1744. (See Medical chapter.) 

The history of Boxford was written and published by Sidney Perley, 
m 1880, in a beautiful four hundred page book. The bi-centennial 
anniversary services were held here in August, 1885, at the First Church. 
The first public house or tavern in the town was kept by William 
Foster from 1687 on for a number of years. Others who have presided 
over inns or hotels of later dates include Solomon Dodge, 1754 ; Lieuten- 
ant Asa Merrill, 1788; Phineas Cole, 1800; Captain Josiah Batchelder, 
1840; Elisha G. Bunker, in 1836; John Brown, in 1837; the hotel Reding- 
ton was opened by Daniel S. Gillis about 1885, and it was the only public 
house in Boxford then. 

Every town in the county has its own particular industries and re- 
tail business houses, as well as professional interests, and of course 
Boxford comes in for its share of all. While it must here be stated 



188 ESSEX COUNTY 

that this is an agricultural more than a manufacturing district, and has 
so been noted for nearly three hundred years, the fact of possessing such 
rapid i^unning mill-power streams has also made it the home of numer- 
ous factories which have hummed and whirled with the passing of the 
years. 

The Peabody saw and grist mill, constructed about 1695 by old Will- 
iam Peabody, was the first attempt to harness the waters of the town 
for milling purposes. This milling plant existed until 1845. Another 
saw mill was erected in 1710 by Thomas Hazen, Jacob Perley and Dr. 
David Wood. It went to final ruin and decay about Civil War days. 
Shoe pegs were also made in large quantities at the last named saw mill 
up to about 1863. Other mills were the Howe saw and grist mills, estab- 
lished in 1710, by Messrs. Kimball, Dorman and Samuel Fisk. About 
1795 a grist mill was built by Asa Foster. The Day mill, the Richard 
Pearl mill, 1740, was changed to a saw and box-mill, about 1848, and 
three years later was burned. Herrick's saw mills were established in 
1760 by John Hale. Captain Porter erected his mill in 1836, and added 
a grist mill to the saw mill part in 1839. 

Possibly very few present-day residents of Essex county know that 
once the iron mdustry was carried on with considerable success in 
this town, but such is the fact. The first business, aside from that of 
farming, was that of the iron works of Henry Leonard, established 1669. 
The capital was at first £1000 sterling. The site of these ancient works 
is just in the rear of the Andrews mills of a later date. These works 
were run until about 1685. 

In 1770 iron smelting works were established by Samuel Bodwell 
and Thomas Newman, and there they continued to smelt iron until 1805. 
The Diamond Match factory later utilized the site for its works. But 
long prior to its use for that industry, there were plants for making 
cotton goods, then a giist mill; there were also produced at that point 
a large number of wooden trays, bowls, etc. In 1867 the entire proi)- 
erty was sold to Byam & Carlton, makers of matches, and five years 
later the plant was taken over by the great Diamond Match Comi)any. 
Eighteen hundred tons of timber were there cut into matches annually 
for many years. 

The shoe industry has also touched Boxford to a good degree. As 
early as 1837 the estimated value of shoes made here was $52,975. 
Among the men thus engaged were Samuel Fowler, Marion Gould, John 
Hale, and Edward Howe & Son. The last mentioned were the only sur- 
vivors in this line in 1887. 

The business interests of this town, including West Boxford and 
East Boxford (at the depot) , are now limited to a few small stores and 
shops. The churches, of course, are still there, and in a flourishing 
condition for a country town. There are two small but valuable public 
libraries — one in West Boxford, the other in Boxford proper. The dog- 
tax collected annually goes into the library fund for these libraries. 



TOWN OF BOXFORD 189 

There is also a saw mill, near the depot at East Boxford. While at 
present there is not much doing in this industry, many millions of feet 
of native lumber have been cut at this mill in years gone by. A wood- 
yard is also run in connection with this mill, and here hundreds of cords 
of slabs are sold annually for fuel to the surrounding country 

There are postoffices at Boxford, East Boxford and West Boxford 
The two latter have only been established a few years, while Boxford 
proper has been serving the people of the town since an early date 
Since President Cleveland's first administration in about 1885 the office 
has been kept by Postmasters F. A. Howe, H. L. Cole and the present 
postmaster, Charles A. Bixby, whose commission dates July 3 1908 
This is a fourth-class office. 

The town officers for Boxford in 1920-21 were as follows: Town Clerk 
John W. Parkhurst, term expires in 1923; Selectmen: Harry L Cole' 
Charles Perley, and Charles F. Austin; Assessors, same as Selectmen' 
Treasurer, William K. Cole; Collector of Taxes, Charles M. Moulton- 
Town Accountant, Rev. Emery L. Bradford; Committee on School 
Funds: William K. Cole, William B. Howe and John W. Parkhurst- Con- 
stables: David Mighill, Alvard P. Lyon; Forest Warden, Clarence E 
Brown. 

December 31, 1920, the following was shown by the town assessors' 
book and town records: Real estate valuation, April 1, 1920 $376 585- 
Real estate buildings, $434,708; Personal estate, $176,514. Number of 
polls assessed, 166 ; Persons assessed on polls only, 40 ; Residents assessed 
on property, 219; Non-residents assessed on property, 189; Corporations 
and others (resident or non-resident), 22; Dwellings, 279; Acres of land, 
14,269; Horses, 153; Cows, 381; Neat cattle, 99; Sheep, 182; Swine 48- 
Fowl, 3,898 ; Value of fowl, $7,753. ' ' 

Boxford has had within its borders at least three churches and 
panshes. The First Church parish house was commenced in 1699 • it 
was thirty by thirty-four feet in size, and eighteen feet high. Rev 
Thomas Symmes was the first pastor; he preached his first sermon in 
Boxford, April 27, 1701; salary £16 in money, thirty-five cords of wood 
a parsonage, with ten acres of land. There are now 122 members, and 
a Sunday school with an attendance of about 35 pupils. The present 
edifice was erected in 1837, and is valued at $10,000. The following 
have served as pastors since 1886 : Revs. R. R. Kendall, until 1891 ; Emery 
L. Bradford, 1892 to 1902; Laird W. Snell, 1902-04; Walter B. Williams 
1904-09 ; E. A. Roys, 1909-13 ; E. L. Bradford, June, 1913, to present time 
— summer of 1921. 

The Second Congi-egational Church of Boxford was formed at West 
Boxford in 1736. The present edifice was erected in 1843, costing $5 000 
The pipe organ was installed in 1895, at a cost of $1,500; new heating 
plant placed in church in 1919, costing $1,000; and in 1875 the parson- 
age was provided at an expense of $6,000. The church has endowment 



190 ESSEX COUNTY 

funds as follov/s : Invested in bonds, $24,000 ; John Tyler Fund, $1,000 ; 
Ephraim Foster Church Fund, $1,000; Emmeline Gardner Fund, $500; 
Alonzo J. Henley Fund, $1,000; Ephraim Foster Second Fund, $2,000. 
Total, $28,500. 

The church has been served by pastors since 1885 as follows : Revs. 
Charles L. Hubbard, 1885 to 1905; F. Arthur Sanborn, 1906-11; William 
Taylor, 1912-13; Owen James, 1914-15; Edward D. Disbrow, 1916-21. 
The present membership is 70; present attendance at Sunday school, 
75. The Sunday school is under charge of Superintendent Eugene A. 
Bascom. Rev. Cushing (son of Rev. Caleb Cushing) was ordained as 
the first pastor of this church. 

The Third Parish in Boxford was an off-shoot of the old First 
Church. It was incorporated as the Third Congregational Society, April 
19, 1824. No regular church organization was ever perfected, but ser- 
vices were held for ten years. The last services were held in 1834. In 
1826 they had a membership of almost one hundred. The preaching was 
quite liberal, far from the old Congregational doctrine. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

TOWN OF MIDDLETON. 

From records and notes written up in the eighties by David Stiles, 
and from present-day interviews, the following facts have been gathered 
and carefully compiled into a sketch of the history of Middleton. Mr. 
Stiles begins his sketch with this paragraph: 

This town is about five miles long from north to south, and about three miles 
wide, bounded north by Andover and North Andover, on the west by North Read- 
ing, south by Danvers and east by Topsfield and Boxford. The larger part of the 
town is on the left bank of Ipswich river, which runs from southwest to northeast. 
Another stream is Beech Brook, named from the original beech trees along its banks. 
Its rise is in Andover, and its mouth is near the old box mill of J. B. Thomas, into 
the Ipswich river. Middleton Pond is the largest body of water in this town. The 
town has hills and valleys and there are many productive farms. In population the 
village has greatly increased in fifty years, but the country districts have gone back. 
This town was settled sixty-eight years before the act of its incorporation. 

In 1639 the town site was one unbroken wilderness, except one In- 
dian plantation near the great pond. Richard Bellingham's grant, dated 
November 5, 1639, says: "In it is a pond (Wilkins Pond) and an Indian 
planation." This grant contained seven hundred acres. At this and 
another Indian plantation have been found numerous Indian relics, such 
as stone implements for domestic and war purposes. 

William Nichols was the first settler to invade this section of 
Essex county ; the date of his coming was 1651 ; he located near the later 
William Peabody's, then New Meadows, from which came two of the first 



TOWN OF MIDDLETON 191 

church officers. Bray Wilkins, a native of Wales, came among the very 
first. He was an enterprising man, and for many years operated as a 
licensed boatman on Neponset river, and charged a penny a passenger. 
Later he engaged in the iron business at Lynn. In 1859, with his 
brother-in-law, John Gingle, he laid out Bellingham, comprising seven 
hundred acres, paying therefore £250 in money and a ton of bar iron. 
It now seems strange that in the deed for this property, its original 
owner had inserted that in case mineral was ever found on this tract, the 
heirs were to receive ten pounds more per year. 

On the Dennison tract of land was discovered iron ore, and a mill 
was erected on the site of what later was known as the knife factory. 
An iron puddling mill in the Fuller family of this town remained in that 
family in company with the Cave family for generations. The families 
of Fuller and Wilkins increased rapidly and others came in for actual 
settlement, so that in 1692 the town had about three hundred population. 

Before the incorporation of this town, which was sixty-eight years 
after Wilkins bought Bellingham's claim, several incidents happened in 
the tov/n's history which are mentioned at other places within this work. 
The lands of Wilkins and those owning under him were in 1661 annexed 
to Salem Village, which gives the long and peculiar-shaped boundaries 
of the place. It was in this neighborhood that the delusion of witchcraft 
began. The little settlement became greatly disturbed over this 
matter, and one man of no little note was selected as a victim and hanged 
on the spot still known as Gallows Hill, Salem. This refers to the un- 
fortunate John Willard, an account of whose execution will be found in 
the article on Witchcraft. 

The first church was formed here in October, 1729, with fifty-two 
members. The first settled minister was Rev. Andrew Peters. Daniel 
Towne was the first schoolmaster. Of those who formed the first church 
in Middleton, twenty-five came from Salem Village, nine from Topsfield, 
and eleven from Boxfield. 

The ordination of a minister, which was for life, was a great event 
in those days. From all the towns around, says one wi'iter, "they flock- 
ed to Middleton for a feast ; all doors were open, and tables loaded with 
the best of good things, and it was not an uncommon thing for in- 
dividuals to boast that they had called at every house on the way home, 
and took something to eat or drink at each, and in some cases they rested 
on the way till their stomachs were relieved of its unwonted burden." 
As nearly as can be ascertained, the ordination took place on November 
26, 1729. Mr. Peters was then twenty-nine years of age. He remained 
twenty-seven years. He was a devoted minister, and the church pros- 
pered under his ministry. He died October 6, 1756, aged fifty-five years. 

It is said that Mr. Peters had a negro servant who drove his master's 
cows to pasture up by the pond, and that at that time the road went 
round by the old Timothy Fuller house. Fuller was rather a lawless 



192 ESSEX COUNTY 

man, and often loved to bother people, especially those whom he could 
intimidate. The negro complained to his master of these insults, and 
forthwith Mr. Peters undertook to drive the cows, and he found the hec- 
torer of his negro and expostulated with him, but without satisfaction. 
Then Mr. Peters took off his coat and laid it upon a stump, saying, "lay 
there, divinity, while I whip a rascal," and gave him a sound thrashing. 
At another time, when looking after his cattle near Wills Hill, he entered 
the hut of Old Wills, the Indian (the last of his race in town), and his 
squaw asked him to stay to dinner with her. He first asked her what 
she had; she answered, "Skunk." Well, he thought he would not stop 
then, but would perhaps some other time. Not long after he found him- 
self under the cover of her tent or shanty, and, knowing that he loved 
eels, she had prepared a most tempting dish, which he did not decline, 
and ate heartily ; after which the old cunning squaw came to his side and 
said, "you say you no eat skunk, but you eat rattlesnake," and so he had, 
but without any harm, as all Indians know they are good eating. 

The first town clerk was Edward Putnam, son of the first deacon in 
Salem village. The first selectmen in Middleton were Thomas Fuller, 
Thomas Robinson, John Nichols, Samuel Symonds and Edward Putnam. 
Soon after the incorporation of this town it was fined for not maintaining 
a public school. 

The early records of Middleton show these singular and in places 
interesting entries: 

1749 — Ezra Putnam was given leave to cut a window in the back part of his 
pew on his own charge and cost. 

1759 — To see if the town will vote to have Mr. Nathaniel Peabody's rates abated; 
that is to say, what he was rated for his negro servant. 

1771 — Voted to give liberty to sundre persons belonging in towne to set in our 
schoolhouse on Sundays between meetings, 

1775 — ^^Captain Archealus Fuller was chosen to represent the town in the Pro- 
vincial Congress to be holden at Cambridge Feb. ye first day, 1775. 

1781 — ^Voted to raise nineteen hundred pounds in old Continental money to pro- 
cure beef now called for by the General Court. (A week's board in Continental 
money cost $105, while in gold it could have been had for $2. Such was the deple- 
tion of currency in the days of our forefathers). 

1806 — The Essex Turnpike was constructed through the town during this year; 
toll-gates were placed at each end of the town, per order of the common laws then 
in force. 

Concerning Captain Fuller, the following is vouched for by fairly 
authentic tradition : Mr. Fuller was at work on his land, near where the 
old road crosses the turn-pike at Danvers Centre, and went into an or- 
dinary (tavern), and called for a drink of cider. Mrs. Smith said, "You 
rock the cradle, while I draw the cider." When she returned. Fuller 
asked for the gift of the child; this request was granted, provided he 
would wait till she was eighteen years old. True to his promise, he 
appeared at the expiration of the time, and took her to Middleton and 
exhibited her before his forty slaves, which he then owned, little and 



TOWN OF MIDDLETON 193 

great, and in all conditions, and said, "You are mistress of them all." 
"What can I do with such a black, dirty-looking company?" The 
answer came quick as lightning, "Get one nigger to lick another." These 
slaves were domiciled in a house later owned by George Currier, which 
was built in 1710. Fuller lived in the gambrel-roofed house standing 
near the burying ground. "We have no reason to doubt this statement," 
says a local resident, "for the dates on their grave-stones show the dis- 
parity of their ages." Captain Fuller sei-ved in the Revolutionary strug- 
gle, as will be observed in reading the military chapters of this History. 

In 1817 all the poor of the town were put up at auction at the annual 
meetmg in March, and struck off to the lowest bidder, none of whom re- 
ceived over $1.50 per week. Some of the most feeble, who were nearly 
helpless, were bid in by their relatives at seventy-five cents per vv^eek, 
rather than have them go into the hands of unfeeling strangers. How- 
ever, this was the custom in all towns Vv^here there was no poor-house. 
A century ago there were a smaller number of poor people here than be- 
fore or since; also, more independent farmers according to the popula- 
tion. The lands had not begun to be exhausted; flocks and herds were 
large, and eveiywhere these families were distinguished, not only by 
their social accomplishments, but by their dress and daily deportment, 
from the poor and unfortunate. 

As Lynn became a larger trading center and took to manufacturing, 
many of the people removed from other parts of the county to that city, 
and some found their way from Middleton and Lynnfield to Lynn and 
Salem, thus reducing the rural population. 

In 1835 a shoe-making establishment was opened in Middleton by 
Francis P. Merriam. In 1887 the business was still carried on there 
by Merriam & Tyler; they usually employed a hundred workmen. A 
knife factory was also established by S. A. Cummings on the site of the 
old iron works. Major-General Daniel Dennison, of Ipswich, started this 
industry about 1665. In the seventies the box-making business was 
established by J. B. Thomas. Immediately after the close of the Civil 
War there were a half dozen or more small shoe factories in this town 
and a number of business houses. The Essex railroad v/as opened up 
for travl in 1848. Saw-mills, grist-mills, carding-mills, etc., were ali 
to be seen in operation in this tov/n at an early day in its history, some 
of which continued to operate till recent times. 

A postoffice was established in Middleton about 1834 and has con- 
tinued ever since. 

The population of Middleton in 1900 was 839 ; in 1910 it was 1,129 
and the United States Census for 1920 gives it 1,195. 

In the summer of 1921 the business interests in the village of Mid- 
dleton were inconsiderable. There is one good practicing physician — 
Dr. C. A. Pratt. There are a few small stores, a good hotel, well patron- 
ized in summer season, especially by summer tourists. The Pubhc 

Essex— 1 3 



194 ESSEX COUNTY 

Library was erected in 1891, of stone and brick; it was the bequest of a 
resident, Charles L. Flint, and is known as Flint's Library. The only 
church organization is now known as the Union Church, but formerly 
was of the Congregational denomination. The present pastor is Rev. 
H. A. G. Abbe. The two lodges represented here are the Grange, and 
Red Men of America, both of which assemble in the town hall. 

The Public Librarian's report shows volumes in library, January 
1, 1921, to be 8,355 ; added by purchase in the year, 85 ; total volumes 
added in year, 134 ; circulation of books in year 1920, 7,544. 

The 1920-21 town officers included the following: Moderator, F. W. 
Giles; Town Clerk, William Cannavan; Treasurer, Harry H. Bradstreet; 
Selectmen: Hazel K. Richardson, Maurice E. Tyler, Wayne A. Giles; 
Overseers of the Poor, B. T. McGlauflin, Maurice E. Tyler, J. Allen At- 
wood; Assessors: Maurice E. Tyler, B. Frank Phillips, Lyman Wilkins; 
School Committee : George E. Gifford, Arthur E. Curtis, Miss Ruth Has- 
tings; Highway Surveyor, Herbert J. Currier; Tax Collector, Henry A. 
Young; Tree Warden, B. T. McGlauflin; Constable, Will A. Russell; Audi- 
tor, Frank B. Tyler; Town Accountant, Harley M. Tyler; Forest Fire 
Warden, Thomas M. Robinson; Chief of Fire Department, Oscar Shel- 
don ; Superintendent of Burials, J. Allen Atwood ; Janitor of Town Hall, 
Henry A. Young; Manager Electric Light Plant, Maurice E. Tyler; 
Inspector of Animals and Slaughtering, Lyman S. Wilkins. 



CHAPTER XVni. 
THE TOWN OF DANVERS. 



From old records, and from the authentic writings of Mr. Alden P. 
White, it is learned that Governor John Endicott was the pioneer of Dan- 
vers. As he sailed from Cape Ann by the rocky hills of the North Shore 
and brought the "Abigail" to anchor off the few cabins of the old plan- 
ters, near Collin's Cove, he looked out upon a landscape where in the 
midst of dense forests he was in a few years to settle and call it his 
home. Endicott landed at Salem in September, 1628, and about four 
years later his company under their charter claimed absolute right to 
all lands therein conveyed. This charter was dated July 3, 1632. Very 
soon Governor Endicott commenced to clear up his plantation. He had a 
large number of competent men, and within one year he had seven thou- 
sand palisades cut, and ground was broken for raising Indian com. The 
grant soon took the name of "Orchard Farm." Here he raised large 
numbers of fruit trees. Fifteen years later he traded five hundred fruit 
trees for a two hundred and fifty acre tract of land to Captain Trask. 
For some years his only neighbors were the howling wolves and the 
Indians; until his men had made roads, all travel had to be made by 
boats. 




BIRTH PJ.ACE OF GEN. ISRAEL PUTNAM, DAN VERS 




REBECCA NURSE HOUSE, DANVERS 



-aO"^ 








^°>r 



TOWN OF DANVERS 195 

The river makes up from the ocean to Danversport, where it divides 
there much as one's three fingers might illustrate. These streams are 
known as Water's, Crane's and Porter's. The Orchard farm comprised 
the peninsula between Water's and Crane ; that between Crane and Por- 
ter's, where now stands the village of Danversport, was granted at the 
same time with the Orchard farm to the Rev. Samuel Skelton, a min- 
ister of Salem. 

On the old estate of Captain William Hathorne, soldier, lawyer, 
judge and legislator, stands the Dan vers Lunatic Hospital — a dozen great 
buildings in one, and whose roofs and pinnacles with central tower can 
be seen for miles around, and served many a year as a landmark for the 
tempest-tossed fishing fleets far out from the harbor. 

The three illustrious families of Putnams were of the pioneer band 
of what is now Danvers. John, the American ancestor, came from Eng- 
land when well along in years. He had three sons — Thomas, near Ha- 
thorne's Hill ; Nathaniel, near the mill-pond ; John, at Oak Knoll. 

No history of Danvers will be complete without a full account of 
the part which it took in the settlement of the Northwest Territory. 
The earliest wagon train, under command of Captain Haffield White, a 
Danvers man, started on its long journey from here. General Rufus 
Putnam, Washington's friend, a famous engineer of the Revolution, pre- 
sided in the convention at Boston, March 1, 1786, at which the Ohio Com- 
pany was formed, and April 7, 1788, he laid out at Marietta the first per- 
manent settlement in Ohio. Major Ezra Putnam, his cousin, also a 
grandson of Deacon Edward, was another of the Ohio pioneers. Nearer 
home, another descendant of Deacon Edward, Oliver Putnam, honored 
the family name by establishing at Newburyport the Putnam Free 
School. 

Danvers became a separate municipality January 25, 1752. For a 
number of years the people of this section had desired to become in- 
dependent of Salem, both as the Village and the Middle Parish. The full 
text of the Incorporation Act is as follows : 

Anno Regni Regis Georgii Secundi &c, Vicessimo Quinto. 

An act for erecting the village parish and middle Parish so called, in the town 
of Salem, into a distinct and separate district by the name of Danvers. 

Whereas, the town of Salem is very large and the inhabitants of the village and 
middle parishes so called within ye same (many of them at least) live att a great 
Distance from that part of Salem where the Public affairs of the Town are tran- 
sacted and also from the Grammar Schools which is kept in ye sd first parish. 

And whereas, most of the inhabitants of the first sd Parish are either merchants, 
traders or mechanicks and those of ye sd village and middle parishes are chiefly 
husbandmen, by means whereof many disputes & difficulties have Arrissen and May 
hereafter arise in the management of their public Affairs Together & Especially 
touching ye Apportioning, the Publick Taxes For preventing of which Inconveni- 
ences for the future. 

Be it Enacted by the Lieutenant Governor Council and House of Representatives, 
That that part of ye sd town of Salem which now constitutes the village and Middle 



196 ESSEX COUNTY 

parishes in sd Town according to their boundaries and the inhabitants therein be 
Erected into a separate and distinct District by the name of Danvers, and that said 
inhabitants shall do the duties that are Required and Enjoyned on other towns, and 
Enjoy all the powers, privileges and Immunities that Towns, in this province by Law 
enjoy, except that of chuesing and sending one or more Representatives to Represent 
them att ye Genii Assembly etc. 
Jany 25, 1752. 

A "District" then was really the same as a "Town," except that its 
citizens had no Representatives in the Legislature. 

The name Danvers is still a disputed question. It may have been so 
called for D'Anvers, an English family, of French origin, however. 
There is only one other town of this name in America — that in McLean 
county, Illinois, which was named for the Massachusetts town. 

After two years from organization, the boundary lines between this 
and adjoining towns were surveyed. This \vith other things made the 
citizens of the proposed town more anxious than ever before to become 
a real town, so February 3, 1775, they passed a vote "that in the minds 
of the inhabitants that the said District be erected into a separate Town 
Ship, & that said Daniel Epes, Junr., Esq., be and is hereby desired and 
impowered to prefer a petition to the Great and General Court and to 
use his Endeavours to get the same affected." However, the matter 
was deferred by the parent town of Salem until June 9, 1757. The 
population was then about 2,000 souls. In 1776 it had 2,284 ; in 1820 it 
was 3,646 ; in 1840 it was 5,030 ; in 1880 it was 6,600 ; while it now has 
11,108. 

In 1794 maps and corrected surveys were ordered made by the 
selectmen of the town, but nothing materialized along this line until the 
next year, when the work was so poorly done that sixteen years later 
three lawyers — Northend, Abbott and Proctor — were directed to make 
a complete survey for the correction of former plats. 

Commencing in 1816 and continuing a half century, it was the cus- 
tom in Danvers for her people to be reminded of the dinner hour and of 
bedtime by the ringing of the church bells. This cost the taxpayers 
$25 per year for each church in the town of Danvers. In 1784 there 
were only twenty-three persons able to own or "ride in chaises" in the 
town of Danvers. 

In 1815 the following resolutions were passed at the town meeting 
relative to vaccination for small-pox, etc.: 

Resolved, That this town entertains a high opinion of Vaccination and considers 
it (when skilfully conducted) a sure and certain substitute for Small Pox. 

Resolved, That this Meeting deems it the indispensable duty of a community to 
make use of the means that Divine Providence has given us to guard against every 
impending evil to which we are exposed, especially those which involve the health 
or the Lives of the Inhabitants. [This was very soon after the discovery had been 
made by Jenner, of the effectiveness of vaccination]. 

There were a few slaves owned in Danvers before slavery was abol- 
ished in Massachusetts. At the time Danvers was separated from Sa- 




lUHN G. WHITTIER 




'OAK KNOLL," DANVKRS, LAST HOAIl^: OF THI 
QUAKER POET 



TOWN OF DANVERS 197 

lem, there were twenty-five such chattels, sixteen of whom were women. 
Among interesting documents along this subject, still carefully pre- 
served, is the following: 

Danvers, April 19, 1766. 
Rec'd of Mr. Jeremiah Page Fifty-eight pounds thirteen shillings and four pence 
lawful money and a Negro woman called Dinah which is in full for a Negro girl 
called Combo and a Negro girl called Gate and a Negro child called Deliverance or 
Dill, which I now sell and Deliver to ye said Jeremiah Page. 

JOHN TAPLEY. 
Witnesses: Jona Bancroft, Ezek Marsh. 

The great anti-slavery advocate, William Lloyd Garrison, a native 
of Essex county, Massachusetts, had many followers in and near Dan-* 
vers. With the birth of the Republican party in 1856, Danvers voters 
promptly wheeled into line. Out of a total vote of 1,382 cast in 1856, 
1076 were cast for the Republican candidates. In 1860, John G. Whit- 
tier (poet) received 564 votes to 125 for S. Endicott Peabody, of Salem, 
for presidential elector. Later votes were as follows: 1868 — U. S. 
Grant, Republican, 720; Horatio Seymour, Dem., 204. 1872— U. S. 
Grant, Republican, 545 ; Horace Greeley, Dem., 195. 1876 — R. B. Hayes, 
Republican, 701 ; S. J. Tilden, Dem., 335. 1880-^Gen. James A. Garfield, 
Republican, 637; W. S. Hancock, Dem., 295. 1884 — James G. Blaine, 
Republican, 565 ; Grover Cleveland, Dem., 276. 

June 16, 1852, Danvers being one hundred years old, celebrated the 
event with much interest. A procession wended its way for a mile and 
a half. The town raised nearly a thousand dollars to entertain visiting 
guests. The greatest entertainment was showing off the fire-engines 
"Ocean" and "Eagle." Speeches and toasts were a part of the long pro-» 
gramme, and the two hundred page booklet now filed in many homes in 
Danvers, gives an account of the "Centennial." 

The town records show that there were two old offices that ore not 
now known to the taxpayers of these later generations. Under the Act 
of February 13, 1789, any town might "give liberty for swine to go at 
large during the whole or a part of the year," provided they were yoked 
throughout the spring and summer, and "constantly ringed in the nose," 
the legal yoke to be "the full depth of the swines neck, above the neck, 
and half as much below the neck, and the soal, or bottom of the yoke 
full three times as long as the breadth or thickness of the swines." 
To see that this law was properly enforced, officers known as "hogreeves" 
were regularly elected until 1827. 

In 1752, Daniel Rea was commissioned "to take care of ye lawa 
Relating to ye Preservation of Deer be observed." "Deer reeves" were 
chosen from 1765 to 1797. The last to hold such position were Eleazer 
Putnam and Timothy Fuller. 

The town officers of Danvers in 1920-21 were as follows : Moderator, 
A. Preston Chase; Town Clerk, Julius Peale; Collector, A. Preston 



198 ESSEX COUNTY 

Chase ; Town Treasurer, A. Preston Chase ; Selectmen : W. Arthur Webb, 
David S. Brown, and J. EUis Nightingale; Assessors: John T. Carroll, 
Henry G. Hathorne, Benj. S. Newhall; Town Counsel, Harry E. Jackson; 
Auditor, Frank L. Winslow ; Overseers of the Poor : James O. Perry, E. 
Beecher Williams, J. Fred Hussey ; Superintendent of Streets, Josiah B. 
Brown; Pound-keeper, Michael H. Burns; Superintendent of Schools, 
Harrie J. Phipps; Chief of Police, Timothy J. Connors; Inspector of 
Animals, Charles S. Moore, D.V.S.; Tree Warden, Thomas E. Tinsley; 
Forest Fire Warden, Michael H. Barry; Burial Agent, Isaac E. Frye; 
and numerous appointive officers and committees. 

In 1900 the population of Danvers was 8,542; in 1910 it was 9,407 
and the last Federal census gives it as 11,108. The present lodges in- 
cluded these — Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Knights of Co- 
lumbus, Ancient Order of United Workmen. The present churches, 
which are treated in a general chapter for the county of Essex, include 
these: Maple Street Congregational Church, Roman Catholic church, 
Methodist Episcopal church. Baptist church and the Episcopal. 

The present industries are confined to the Marsh Consolidated Elec- 
tric Lamp Factory and the following shoe factory plants: Clapp & 
Tapley, Ideal Baby Shoe Company, Marston & Tapley (incorporated), 
Herbert A. Miller and John P. Nangle. There are two other manufac- 
turing plants, the Massachusetts Iron & Steel Company's plant and the 
Standard Crayon Company's. 

At a very early day in the history of Danvers, there were several 
large brick-making plants, with plenty of good clay at hand to supply 
the people with brick, but for some reason few took advantage of thi3 
nature's best building material, and constructed most of their houses 
from lumber. The same is true today — nearly all the houses are frame. 

The water-works at Danvers were installed in 1876, and have been 
enlarged and extended in keeping with the growth of the town. 

The Danvers Board of Trade was organized in 1916, and has been 
doing much for the business interests of the place ever since. 

The Danvers Historical Society was organized July 29, 1889, and 
meets monthly in its home headquarters in the old Page residence. Its 
officers in 1921 were as follows: President, Charles H. Preston; Vice- 
Presidents: George B. Sears, Lester H. Couch; Secretary, Hamet S. 
Tapley; Assistant Secretary, Alice F. Hammond; Treasurer, Annie G. 
Perley; Collector, Mrs. H. Freeman Kimball; Curator, Captain Henry 
N. Comey; Assistant Curator, Mrs. George W. Towne; Librarian, 
Lawrence W. Jenkins; Historian, Andrew Nichols; Executive Commit- 
tee: Walter A. Tapley, George W. Emerson, Loring B. Goodale, Olive 
F. Flint, Annie W. Hammond; Publication Committee: Andrew Nichols, 
Harriet S. Tapley, Charles H. Preston. The membership of this society 
is upwards of five hundred, and the annual dues are one dollar. The 
Page residence, in which the headquarters of the society are kept, is 









•^a. 




PEABODY INSTITUTE, DANVERS 




ST. lOHN'S SCHOOL, ADAIINISTRATION BUILDING, DANVERS 



TOWN OF DANVERS 199 

among the very first good frame buildings erected in Danvers, and was 
constructed back in the eighteenth century. It has been occupied all 
these years by members of the Page family, and the custodian of the 
premises is a granddaughter of the original owner and builder. Herein 
are collected many ancient relics, papers, furniture, etc. 

The Danvers Home for The Aged was established here in June, 
1903. Peabody Institute was founded by that great philanthropist; 
George Peabody, and was incorporated by the Massachusetts Legisla^ 
ture in March, 1882. A public library connected with this institution 
was founded as early as 1866, and has many rare and valuable volumes. 
From a very early date Danvers has been known throughout the Union 
by its prolific growth of "Danvers Early Red" onions, making it as wide- 
ly known among gardeners as the Wethersfield section of Connecticut id 
by its wonderful growth of onions. The soil seems peculiarly adapted 
for the growth of excellent vegetables, including the onion. 

The famous Endicott pear tree at Danvers, which was set out by 
Governor John Endicott in 1631, is still bearing its annual crop of pears, 
although it is now two hundred and ninety years old. It was planted by 
Governor Endicott in a sheltered spot near the Danvers river. Once it 
was surrounded by other pear trees, but all have long since decayed. An 
Endicott, seventy-five years ago, sending fruit from this pioneer tree, 
said to a friend that this tree had outlived ten English monarchs. Since 
the statement was written, two more British Sovereigns — Queen Vic-' 
toria and King Edward VII — have reigned and died, and the old tree at 
Danvers continues to bear fruit. It receives loving care and is account- 
ed priceless by the Endicott family as well as by all who see it. In its 
vicinity camped General Gage's British army, and General Washington, 
Abraham Lincoln and Daniel Webster are among the giants of Ameri- 
can history who have visited it and eaten of its fruit. A substantial 
fence now protects it, save from the touch of the severe elements. This 
pear tree is now in possession of the ninth generation in ancestral line 
from Governor Endicott. 

Church History — The following is by the Rev. A. V. House : 
Since the comprehensive history of Essex County was issued in 
1888, events in connection with the churches of Danvers have been 
largely of a routine nature. The former history, from the hand of Judge 
Alden Perley White, gave a full account of the different ecclesiastical 
organizations down to about the time when the work appeared, relating 
the story with fine appreciation and insight. Anyone interested in the 
early church history of Danvers is referred to that source of information. 
It would be a labor of love to enter into those chapters of earlier 
history for the setting of the picture of these later times. To two of 
the churches, the First and the Baptist, and, in lesser degree, the Uni- 
versalist, there have been granted length of days and long life. Their 
history is replete with the interest and significance attaching to the be- 
ginning and gradual moulding of community life. But all this we must 
turn aside from, however reluctantly, and give ourselves in the main to 



200 ESSEX COUNTY 

a review of the brief period since the former publication. If it must be 
said that this later span has been characterized by few features of dram- 
atic interest or of unusual departure from the steady progress of institu- 
tional life, perhaps that fact of itself reveals a condition honorable and 
praiseworthy. The churches of Danvers are a well-established element 
in the life of the town. They are thriving and successful, and their 
very steadiness of effort and progress is an indication of normality and 
health. 

Approximately the territory now embraced within the limits of Dan- 
vers was originally known as Salem Village, being included within the 
confines of Salem, the mother town. What was in effect a church was 
instituted in 1672 in the section of Salem Village which later under the 
town organization came to be designated as Danvers Centre, (now 
Danvers Highlands). The people of Salem Village had their own meet- 
ing house and resident minister, though, owing to the disinclination of 
the mother church in Salem to part with so large a portion of her num- 
bers, the separate church organization was not formed till 1689. Church 
life in Danvers, however, properly dates from 1672, when the congre- 
gation was gathered and preaching begun. The church later organized 
is now incorporated as The First Church of Danvers. 

The First Church of Danvers — At the time of the former writing, 
the pastor of the First Church was Rev. Charles Baker Rice, D.D. Dr. 
Rice was settled as pastor September 2, 1863. During his administra- 
tion the church observed the two-hundredth anniversary of the begin- 
ning of preaching in Salem Village. At the time of that notable cele- 
bration, October, 1872, the church was worshiping in a beautiful meet- 
ing house of colonial type erected in 1839. This house, shortly after 
having been remodelled at considerable expense, was totally destroyed by 
fire, January 28, 1890. Steps were immediately taken to rebuild. While 
plans were in progress, after worshiping for a time in the Methodist 
Episcopal Church in Tapleyville Sunday afternoons, the use of that 
house having been graciously offered by the sister organization, a tem- 
porary building was erected on Hobart street, just east of the parsonage. 
This was called the Tabernacle, and was the scene of hearty and hope- 
ful church activity until the completion of the new permanent building. 
This building, the present meeting-house, was dedicated September 2, 
1891; the cost for building and furnishing was about $25,000. The 
house is finely appointed and affords excellent facilities for worship, Sun- 
day school and social work. 

Dr. Rice resigned in 1894 to become secretary of the Massachusetts 
Board of Pastoral Supply. His pastorate closed September 2 of that 
year, exactly thirty-one years from the date of his installation. His 
was the last of the old-time long pastorates, those preceding being the 
pastorates of Joseph Green, Peter Clark, Benjamin Wadsworth and Mil- 
ton Parker Braman. The average term of these five, consecutive from 
1698 to 1894, was thirty-seven and two-fifth years. The ministry of 
Dr. Rice was on the same high level as those of his distinguished pre- 
decessors, and his memory is cherished in the parish and throughout 
the town. 

The pastors since Dr. Rice have been: Curtis M. Geer, Jan. 31, 1895 
—April 8, 1897 ; Harry C. Adams, Sept. 22, 1897— Oct. 3, 1909 ; Charles 
S. Bodwell, March 10, 1910— Sept. 28, 1913. Albert V. House, the pres- 
ent pastor, began work October 1, 1914, and was formally installed De- 
cember 10, of the same year. 



TOWN OF DANVERS 201 

The membership reported January 1, 1921, was as follows: Church 
195; Sunday school, 181; Young Peoples' Society of Christian Endeavor 
35 ; Ladies' Benevolent Society, 80 ; Men's Club, 65. 

The Men's Club is a social organization among the men of the com- 
munity and is not organically connected with the church. It was pro- 
jected, however, as an outcome of the interest of the church in the social 
life of the neighborhood, and conducts its work in sympathy with the 
parent institution. 

The Sunday School of the First Church was one of the first to be 
organized in this country. It observed its centennial on Sunday No- 
vember 17, 1918. At the morning service of the church an historical 
address was given by Deacon George William French, and on the follow- 
ing Tuesday evening the event was further commemorated with ad- 
dresses by both present and old-time members, and the reading of let* 
ters from absent ones. 

Of recent years, the old double organization of church and society 
or parish has been abolished. The institution is now incorporated as 
the First Church of Danvers, Congregational. 

The field of the church, territorially speaking, has inevitably nar- 
rowed as time has gone by. At the beginning she had all of Salem Vil- 
i^J^fJ^ ^^*^^^ "P^^- Worshipers came from as far as Will's Hill, now 
Middleton Square, and Phelp's Mill in West Peabody. In a day when 
churchgomg was well-night universal, the house was filled from Sabbath 
to Sabbath. For over one hundred years the church stood alone in this 
wide region. With the institution of Baptist and Universalist work 
and the founding of the Middleton church, she began to suffer loss, 
though the plentitude of her strength was such as to make that loss 
almost negligible. Far down into the nineteenth century her life was 
maintained in its original dignity and impressiveness. As late as the 
day of Dr. Braman, who closed his pastorate in 1861, the meeting-house 
at the Centre" was on each recurring Sunday the mecca for thronging 
hundreds. 

But since then, the organization of other churches, needed where 
they are placed, has materially reduced the territory she serves. Mod- 
era methods of transportation have also turned to other churches many 
who m former days were of her constituency. But, in spite of all this, 
she feels that her future is ahead of her. Her people of "today cherish 
the memory of the great personages, ministers and laymen, who have 
adoraed her history and dwell lovingly upon her sacred traditions. Yet 
their look is a fonvard look. They steadfastly hope that "the best is yet 
to be. In the old days a citadel of Puritan thought and later, having a 
name as conservative, the church today, as always, "loves the light," 
and IS endeavoring to adjust herself to the demands of the new times. 
• J^^cognizmg the requirements for a broader outlook and effort than 
in the past, yet not abating her emphasis upon the things of the spirit, 
she IS striving to maintain and perpetuate her old prestige and influ- 
ence.^^ Her foi-mal confession of faith, the so-called "Kansas City Plat- 
form set forth by the Congregational National Council in 1913, is de- 
signed to afford standing ground for any true Christian, and the church 
has coupled with this confession the following minute, composed and 
suggested by the pastor, Rev. A. V. House: "While we adopt as our 
own this statement as comprehending the essentials of our faith, we do 
not regard it as a finahty in revelation or impose a creedal test for 



202 ESSEX COUNTY 

membership in the church. We welcome to our fellowship all who, as 
disciples of Jesus, strive to know and do the will of God." 

The two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of "the beginning of 
preaching in Salem Village" will occur in 1922. Committees have al- 
ready been appointed to plan for its proper observance. 

The Baptist Church — Second only in point of age to the First Church 
and boasting more than a century and a quarter of organized life, is 
the Baptist Church at Danverspoii;. As in the case of the First Church, 
a congregation was gathered and stated preaching enjoyed some years 
previous to the formal organization of the church. As far back as No- 
vember 12, 1781, a society was formed for the prosecution of Baptist 
work. The movement which led to this consummation was largely the 
result of labor by Rev. Benjamin Foster. Mr. Foster, a brother of Gen- 
eral Gideon Foster, was bom in Danvers in 1750. While a student in 
Yale he espoused Baptist views, and after graduation was ordained as 
a Baptist minister. While engaged in pastoral service elsewhere, he 
preached as occasion permitted in his home town. Gradually a com- 
pany devoted to Baptist principles was formed. When in course of time 
a measure of strength had been attained such as to warrant regularly 
organized work, a society was constituted, as before mentioned. The 
people felt the need of a settled minister and naturally turned to Ben-* 
jamin Foster, and he became their acting pastor in 1782. The first 
meeting house was occupied the year following. Mr. Foster continued 
his relation to the little company in Danvers until his call in 1788 to the 
pastorate of the First Baptist Church of New York. For a time after 
his departure there was no resident minister. Rev. Thomas Green, who 
was the next to settle in that capacity, took up the work in April, 1793, 
and on Tuesday, July 16 of that year, the formal organization of the 
church was effected, Mr. Green being chosen the first pastor. The ter- 
ritory covered by the church included Salem, Beverly, Wenham and 
Middleton, the churches of the first three named having since been set off 
from its membership. 

Mention should be made, even at the risk of delving too deeply in 
old-time matters, of Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin. He came to the pastorate 
a youth of twenty-six, in May, 1802, and prolonged his stay sixteen 
years. He was a man of great ability and scholarship, and distinguished 
his pastorate by establishing a school for the training of young men 
looking to the ministry, said to have been the first Baptist school of its 
kind in America. After the manner of the olden times, the parson was 
the whole faculty of instruction. Dr. Chaplin had at one time as many 
as fourteen students pursuing their work under him, a responsibility 
which he cheerfully carried in addition to the burden of his pastoral 
duties. He relinquished his office in 1818 to accept the presidency of 
Wateryille College, Maine, later known as Colby University. 

Within the period of our supposed purview we begin with Rev. 
Gideon Cole, who served from July 1, 1884, to September 30, 1888. Since 
his day the list of ministers is as follows: April 1, 1889 — Jan. 4, 1898, 
Charles H. Holbrook ; July 1, 1898— Oct. 1, 1903, Charles S. Nightingale; 
Nov. 1, 1903— Jan. 27, 1907, Charles H. Wheeler; May 1, 1907— Nov. 1, 
1911, Edwin A. Herring; May 1, 1912— Oct. 1, 1912, Edmund H. 
Cochrane; March 23, 1913—1917, Frederick J. Ward; Sept. 1, 1917, to 
present, Walter G. Thomas. 

From this list of names one stands out with special distinction. Rev. 
Charles H. Holbrook had been pastor for five years, 1865-1870. So 



TOWN OF DANVERS 203 

successful and beloved was he that he was recalled and began his second 
term m the pastoral office, April 1, 1889. During this second period 
the centennial of the church was observed, 1893. Mr. Holbrook was the 
historian of the occasion, and gathered up the histoiy of Baptist work 
in Danvers in an accurate and comprehensive way. His address has 
been preserved and will be cherished as a repository of trustworthy and 
valuable mfonnation. He was still wearing the robes of office when 
death took him, October 1, 1903. Under that date is the following min- 
ute in the church book : "Today news flew over the town that our beloved 
pastor, Mr. Holbrook, had passed away. A good man has gone, and one 
greatly beloved by his church and people. We need the grace of God to 
say 'Thy will be done' ." 

Recent years have seen the passing of two laymen who had wrought 
nobly and long, for the church and Kingdom. Deacon William A. Jacobs 
7ai ^ u ^^*^ ^ number of different offices over many years, died May 2?' 
• io% ^^ been deacon almost thirty-four years, and a member 
since 1868. Deacon Charles H. Whipple, his companion in labor, passed 
away December 2, 1916. He united with the church in 1850 and had 
been deacon over sixty years. "They were lovely and pleasant in their 
lives, and m their death they were not divided." 

Under the present pastor. Rev. Walter G. Thomas, great progress 
has been made. The meeting-house has been repaired and remodeled 
at heavy expense and a fine Hastings organ installed. An impressive 
feature of the service when the new organ was formally dedicated was 
the presence of Miss N. Charlotte Porter, whose father, Captain Ben- 
jamin Forter, gave the old organ, now displaced, in the year 1848. Miss 
Porter was seventeen years old at that time. She had been baptized in 
the church the year previous. She became the organist and continued 
so for many years. The old instrument having well served its day and 
generation, Miss Porter gladly and sympathetically participated in the 
consecration of the new. The pastor called attention to her presence 
and paid an appropriate tribute for her long and devoted service 

The Baptist Church has during its long history had no serious dis- 
sension withm its ranks, and now, with a membership of two hundred 
and twenty IS harmonious and hopeful. Changes of population incident 
to the establishment of modem industrial plants in the section of the 
town neighboring to the church have been great. The stream of Ameri- 
can and Protestant life flows less full than formerly, yet the church 
taces the future with consecration and courage. The difficulties serve 
only to call out m the people their reserves of faith and power and to 
stimulate in their hearts the challenging query— "Who knoweth whether 
thou art come to the Kingdom for such a time as this." 

The Universalist Church— The story of the beginning of the Uni- 
versalist Church m Danvers is the story of the liberal movement in 
Christian thought m the last of the eighteenth and the first of the nine- 
teenth ceiituries. The hand of Calvinism lay heavy upon many in the 
Churches. Men were exercising new freedom in the interpretation of 
the Gospel. Elements long neglected in Divine Revelation were claimincr 
attention and demanding to be considered in the formulation of Chris" 
tian doctrine Under the impulse of John Murray and Hosea Ballou 
a strong revolt was m progress against the prevailing idea of a limited 
atonement by Chnst. The first Universalists were Calvinists, and claim- 
ed to be the only consistent Calvinists. Accepting the historic teach- 
ing of the Puritan church that Christ died for "the elect," they asserted 



204 ESSEX COUNTY 

scriptural basis for their doctrine of universal salvation by the conten- 
tion that all are of "the elect," for, said they, "does not the New Testa- 
ment declare that 'Christ died for all?' " The arguments both pro and 
con do not possess their original force to the mind of the present day. 
Now men approach such questions on the broad ground of the necessary 
implications of divine love, without resort to proof texts, but for the 
times with which we are dealing, the ocnsiderations adduced had strong 
validity. They were times of earnestness in religious quest, and of 
quickened thought as to the real teaching and intent of Scripture. Dan- 
vers of course had her contingent of revolters against the extremes of 
Calvinistic teaching. Among them was Captain Edmund Putnam. He 
had led his company to Lexington on the morning of April 19, '75, was a 
member of the influential Putnam family, and a deacon in the First 
Church. Taking issue with the thoughts then finding utterance in this 
and the majority of churches, he resigned his deaconship in the First 
Church, which he had held for twenty-three years, and, with a few of 
his neighbors of kindred mind and spirit, gave himself to the propaga- 
tion of Universalist doctrine. The Universalist Church of Danvers is 
the outgrowth of this effort. Deacon Putnam did not live to see the 
church actually organized. He died in 1810, at the age of eighty-five 
years. 

A partial church organization was formed April 22, 1815, and that 
is regarded as the birthday of the church. A more formal organization 
was effected in 1829. The first settled minister we have record of is 
Rev. F. 0. Hudson, who was pastor 1831-1832. Since 1885 the succession 
has been as follows: W. S. Williams, 1885-86 ; C. B. Lynn, 1887-90 ; W. 
H. Trickey, 1891-97 ; Edson Reifsnider, 1898-1903; E. M. Grant, 1903-11; 
W. E. Wright, 1912-15 ; George A. Mark, 1916-17 ; Ernest M. W. Smith, 
1917-19. 

The longest pastorate in the history of the church was that of Rev. 
J. P. Putnam, 1849-1864. Mr. Putnam was a man of great talent. He 
was for many years an active and valuable member of the school board, 
and served the town two years in the General Court. Rev. G. J. Sanger, 
after a ministry of six years, 1869-1875, removed to Essex, but later 
returned and for many years made his home in the town. He was a 
man of inclusive spirit and had many friends in other communions. The 
close of a century of church life was fittingly marked April 18, 1915. In 
1919, as a result of the modern trend toward unity and co-operation, 
the church, without surrendering its identity, entered into a federation 
with the Unitarian Church of Danvers. The joint organization is known 
as the Community Church, and will be treated under that head. 

Maple Street Congregational Church — Maple Street Church is the 
direct offspring of the First Church, and willingly confesses its lineage. 
Its list of charter members records the names of forty-two persons, 
all but two of whom had been members of the First Church and were 
dismissed by that body to aid in inaugurating the new enterprise. Dis- 
tance from the mother church and the increase of population at the 
Plains, indicating the need of more immediate religious ministration, 
were the factors leading to the inception of the venture. The church has 
grown coincidently with the town, and has long held the primacy in 
wealth and numbers among Protestant religious societies in Danvers. 

Unlike the First Church, Maple Street has had no life incumbency on 
the part of any of its pastors, yet two of them extended their services 
over somewhat lengthy periods. Rev. James Fletcher covered in his 



TOWN OF DANVERS 205 

ministry the time from 1849 to 1864, fifteen years in all; and Rev. Ed- 
waxd C. Ewing gave sixteen years of loyal and effective work to the min- 
istry of this church. Mr. Ewing was the minister at Maple Street at 
the time when this article takes up the thread of her history. He was 
installed November 1, 1883, and ended his labors November 1, 1899, a 
term of exactly sixteen years, and the longest in the record of the 
church. The work of Mr. Ewing was of a strongly religious nature and 
bore remarkable fruitage in accessions to membership and the spiritual 
tone of the church life. Partly as a result of his devoted labors and 
partly due to special revival services under the guidance of a visiting 
evangelist during the year 1895, ninety-nine persons united with the 
church, seventy-six of them on confession of faith. 

A conspicuous feature in the life of the church is its interest in 
missions. It contributes generously to the support of all denominational 
missionary agencies, both home and foreign, and since 1902 has contrib- 
uted to the maintenance of Rev. E. C. Fairbank in India, as its repre- 
sentative under the American Board. 

Maple Street Church, situated as it is at the center of population, 
has always assumed its full measure of responsibility for civic condi-" 
tions. Under two of its recent pastors. Rev. Robert A. MacFadden and 
Rev. F. W. Merrick, D.D., it has been notably active in behalf of the 
larger interests of community life. 

Pastors during the period covered by this narrative have been: 
Edward C. Ewing, 1883-99 ; Chauncey J. Hawkins, 1900-02 ; Robert A. 
MacFadden, 1902-09 ; Melville A. Shafer, 1910-13 ; Frank W. Merrick, 
1915-21. During Dr. Merrick's administration November 30, 1919, the 
church observed its seventy-fifth anniversary with an elaborate program 
of addresses. Dr. Merrick resigned nearly in 1921 to become executive 
secretary of the Indiana Federation of Churches, and at this writing 
Maple Street is without a pastor. 

The membership is about 490. The Sunday School, including Home 
Department and Cradle Roll, has a list of 635 names. The Men's Club 
also is in a very flourishing condition. With a good plant and enter- 
prising people the promise for future usefulness is great. 

Annunciation Church, Roman Catholic — Danvers, as the rest of 
New England, had, from the first, citizens of Irish blood. After the fam- 
ine in Ireland in 1849 her Irish population, as also that of New England, 
was largely increased. Naturally at about that time Roman Catholic 
work would have its origin. Rev. Thomas H. Shahan, then pastor of 
the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Salem, held the first ser-* 
vice at the house of Edward McKeigue, 305 Maple street, November 1, 
1854. Shortly afterward regular services began. The first resident 
pastor was Rev. Charles Rainoni, who was appointed in 1865. From the 
first the parish has extended its bounds beyond the confines of Danvers, 
including the nearby towns of Middleton and Topsfield in its field of 
labor. Moreover, the increase of Catholic population in the town has 
been marked, the original company of Irish being supplemented by many 
hundreds of other races cherishing the Catholic faith, so that now the 
parish is the strongest numerically in Danvers. 

Rev. Thomas E. Power was appointed to the Danvers parish in 
April, 1885, and continued his labors here till 1902, a period of seven- 
teen years. He was succeeded by Rev. H. A. Sullivan, who had been 
long connected with the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. Father 
Sullivan delivered a notable patriotic sermon before his people at the 



206 ESSEX COUNTY 

time of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the town, June 15, 
1902. His appreciation of the opportunities of American freedom was 
profound and he finely set forth the meaning of Danvers history as re- 
lated to the larger principles of American life. 

Father Sullivan died in 1914, and was succeeded by Rev. Francis 
W. Maley. Father Maley labored here only two years, but in that time 
made a distinct impression upon the whole community as a man of 
broad sympathies and a practical Christian worker. He gave great care 
to the Sunday School and the welfare of his parishioners living at a 
distance from the house of worship. He went to Topsfield every Sun- 
day and celebrated mass in Grange Hall, and "had plans for a church 
there which would have been a delight to him and a comfort to the 
parishioners." As a result of the great Salem fire in 1914, a number 
of French families made their home in Danvers. These were added to 
the parish during Father Maley's stay. In November, 1915, Father Ma- 
ley was transferred to Boston, and Rev. Daniel F. Horgan succeeded 
him. Father Horgan is now pastor. A number of assistants have 
served the parish. Father Power was aided by Rev. Michael F. Crow- 
ley and Rev. Joseph O'Connor. Father O'Connor sustained the same 
office to Father Sullivan for a time, and gave way to Rev. Michael J. 
Sullivan, a brother of the pastor. Father Maley first had as assistant, 
Rev. Elphege J. Cloutier. Father Cloutier died of influenza in 1918 and 
was succeeded by Rev. George H. Chaput, who is still assisting Father 
Horgan in the work of the parish. 

Calvary Episcopal Church — The Episcopal Church in Danvers dates 
back to the decade 1840-1850. It grew out of the rehgious needs of a 
number of English families who came to Danvers about that time and 
found work in the carpet factory at Tapleyville. They had been accus- 
tomed in tlieir old home to the services of the Church of England, and 
felt the need here of similar religious privilege. Joined by a number 
from the Provinces and others "who were devoted to the doctrines and 
rites of the church," they formed a church organization April 14, 1858. 
A building was erected at the corner of Holten and Cherry streets, the 
cornerstone being laid May 11, 1859. 

Our period opens during the rectorship of Rev. George Walker. He 
became pastor in 1877, joining with his work here the rectorship of 
St, Paul's, Peabody, where he resided. A parish house was built in 
1886, during his ministry. Mr. Walker resigned in 1888 and was suc- 
ceeded by Rev. A. W. Griffin in April of that year. Mr. Griffin served 
the church until May, 1890, when his condition of health forced him to 
relinquish his duties. Mr. Griffin's successor was Rev. J. W. Hyde, who 
began his work in June, 1890. It was during Mr. Hyde's term of ser- 
vice that a large and finely appointed rectory was built. This was done 
"in anticipation, and with her consent, of a bequest by Mrs. Daniel J. 
Preston, who was one of the most active of the founders and sustainers 
of the parish. She died in October, 1894, and the rectory stands as a 
memorial of her." 

Rev. William R. Hudgell succeeded Mr. Hyde in 1899, and resigned 
in 1904. Under Mr. Hudgell a boy choir was organized, and the church 
remodeled. A chancel window, a memorial to Mr. and Mrs. Daniel J. 
Preston, was placed at this time. Rev. Marcus Carroll was rector from 
December 18, 1904, to 1908. He was followed by Rev. Henry Winkley in 
March, 1908. Mr. Winkley continued as pastor till his death in Feb- 
ruary, 1918. Mr. Winkley was a man of genial temperament and fine 



TOWN OF DANVERS 207 

scholarship, untiring in his parish labors, and interested in th^ noT,- 
cems of the town as a whole. He has left a fraS memory The 
ber'Tg'ls'" Xdlv^'r; ''- f Matthews who began his Iabo"sTn olto! 

^l^ft^^^^S^^^J^"^^ -- 'y -" '-- P>a^" 
nf rZ!!if U"^^.^"f", Church— Unitarianism had its rise in the movement 
of revolt against the severities of Calvinism which culminatTd in the 
early nineteenth century. It grounded its protest against the teaching 

nlf.f-^"''*^'' '^""'tM^^^ '° ^"^h "P«" differences of Scripturalfnter? 
pretation as upon philosophical distinctions. Its view of the fundi- 
mental nature of God and man made at the time a sha?p d^erentia 
tion between Unitarian thought and that of the older CongreStional 
churches. The liberal departure led to the f ormaLn of many S^^^^ 
churches in New England in the first quarter of the centuTynamed 
Th. J ! S^?7^^'« c^^ch was, however, a little later in its beginnins 
The first Unitarian service held in the town was in August 1865 The 
place was the Tovyn Hall and the preacher. Rev. A. P Putnam Plans 
for reguar worship were formed and carried into effect the pubi^ be- 
lly ''''^aII^? r^^%'"^ r^^^^^^i *"^ the organization of the Church fn 
1867. At that time Rev. Leonard J. Livermore began the effective min 
istry which closed with his death in 1886. The ministers of our Deriod 
have been: Rev. J. C. Mitchell, 1889; Rev. Eugene DrNormandTe 1890 
97; Rev. Kenneth C. Evans, 1897-1902; Rev. jfhn H. Ho ^6^^902^^^^^^ 
Rpv Ir^'L^T?"^" Elbei;field, Supply; Rev. William ri. Barte', 1906-08- 
Rpv'^M^ ^'T''"' ^?P?.-^l' ^^"^- E^^^^^ H. Cotton, 1911-21 ' 

Harvard D^v^nHv^.h'Ani'*'?T^^^^^^ '"P^""/ ^^^ P"^Pit while attending 
i^ SI V V?JV^? School. He IS now one of the most eminent clergvmen 

wafllv^'Sr Cotto'n' TnT'T '' ""'''' J^^ ^^'''' longetinl!^^ 
nh.tl f ^^^^^^' In his ten years he labored effectively for both 
church and community at large. It was largely through his effort and 
influence that the Community Church, a fedemtioTof th^UnTtarian 
and Umversahst churches, was brought about in 1919 Mi CotSn 
served as pastor of the joint organization for two years when he re 
signed to become associate editor of the Christian RegS 

Ihe church has been favored in having the uninterrupted service 
Nichds'^'L'igl^^fh''" its beginning to the present TyX AnS^ew 
with fL f 11 ^^ *^^ ^^'^l^*^ presented to Mr. Nichols a loving cup 
with the following inscription: "Presented to Andrew Nichols bv thp 
^h'Sw^.K Congregational Church for his efficient se^ces in he clerk 
ship of the parish from 1866 to 1917 " 

Churlhf ''^"^ ""^ *^^ '^'"''^ "^^^ ^^ ^^""^ ""^^^ th« head, Community 

iha Si,^^*?°Jl^* Episcopal Church— Previous to the organization of 
tt^r^l^'^'f ?hVrch in Tapleyville there had been fof some time 
neighborhood religious services in Lincoln Hall. These were of such a 

churcf '^' '" ^^^' ^'^ *" the question of the destrability of forming a 
church. The way was opened for servants of the Methodist denominn! 

Kev. Ehas Hodge, at the time a student in theology, became per- 



208 ESSEX COUNTY 

manent supply, taking up his duties December 24, 1871. A Sunday 
school had been organized the month before, with seventeen members. 
Mr. Hodge was made formal pastor and covered in his service the years 
1872—1875. The meeting-house was dedicated March 27, 1873. 

A natural starting point for the later history is the coming of Rev. 
William M. Ayres as pastor in 1883. Mr. Ayres served the three years 
customary in the M. E. Church at that time, and in later years has 
made his home in Danvers. During this period of residence he has been 
a faithful servant of the Tapleyville Church in the character of a layman, 
assuming the functions of a minister only when his help is specially 
needed. Mr. Ayers is universally honored in the town. His bow abides 
in strength, afid today at the age of eighty-eight years it can almost be 
said of him that "his eye is not dim nor his natural force abated." Some 
years ago the church made him pastor-emeritus 

Pastors since Mr. Ayres have been: C. Vv. Merrill, 1886-87; J. ri. 
Thompson, 1888-90; L. \V. Adams, 1891-93; \V. F. Lawford, 1894-96; 
H. C. Paine, 1837-98 ; H. B. King, 1899-1900 ; George Sanderson, 1901-03 ; 
\V. M. Cassidy, 1904-08; N. B. Fisk, 1909-10; E. J. Curnick, 1911-16; 
Jonathan Cartmill, 1917 to present. 

A good organ was installed in 1891, largely through the efforts of 
the late A. W. Home, who was chorister for a number of years. During 
the pastorate of Rev. W. F. Lawford, in 1896, there was a fitting obser- 
vance of the twenty-fifth anniversary. A parsonage was built in 1898, 
on a lot given by Mr. Gilbert Augustus Tapley. Rev. Mr. King was the 
first occupant. The present pastor. Rev. Jonathan Cartmill is a valiant 
worker and under him the church has made great strides. The member- 
ship is two hundred and seventeen. All departments are flourishing. 

The Seventh Day Adventist Church — There is nothing to add to 
the facts already set forth as regards the Adventist Church. The church 
was organized in 1877, and a chapel was built in 1878. The people are 
doing a faithful work with small numbers and equipment. The member- 
ship is around forty. There is no pastor. A Sabbath school is main- 
tained and the people are content to go on their quiet way. 

The Community Church — The institution knov/n as the Community 
Church is, as indicated in the story of the constituent bodies, a federa- 
tion of the Universalist and Unitarian Churches in Danvers. It is the 
direct outgrowth of the demand arising out of the World War for co- 
operation in church work, and registers an advance toward the unity 
all pray for. Rev. Edward H. Cotton, the Unitarian pastor, was influ- 
ential in bringing about the federation, though he found many in both 
bodies willing to respond to his leadership and help in promoting the 
object. The union is one for work and worship only, and each church 
preserves its "corporate rights and individuality." The federation was 
formed in 1919, Rev. Mr. Cotton being the first pastor. On his, resigna- 
tion in 1921, Rev. John H. Hayes became the minister. 

The experiment is regarded with great interest, and up to the pres- 
ent time has worked with success. There is an encouraging prospect 
that this, one of the pioneer endeavors in joining churches of different 
sectarian interests and associations, will prove permanently effective. 

Comment on the Community Church affords opportunity for a 
word as regards the "esprit de corps" of the churches of Danvers. Their 
spirit is one of harmony and co-operation. Ill feeling seems not to exist. 
They recognize their common office as servants of the Kingdom and 
stewards of the mysteries of God. They join forces in community 



TOWN OF DANVERS 209 

work, as witnessed by the fact of the Danvers Federation of Churches, 
while each accords to all others the freedom of Christ to do their spiri- 
tual work in their own way. If it can truly be said that "the past at 
least is secure," there is ground, in this catholicity of spirit, for the belief 
that that security extends to the future as well. 

Danversport is a village and railway station within the town of 
Danvers. Besides the previous mention made of its situation, etc., it 
should be recorded that the pioneer shipbuilder here was Timothy Ste- 
phens, of Newbury. Presently a number of young men came down 
from tlie North, worked with Stephens, learned his trade, and perma- 
nently established themselves in business at this point. 

For nearly half a century after the building of the first mill on the 
Crane river, a tide-power on the other two rivers remained unutilized. 
"About 1798 Nathan Read (says a work on the early history of Danvers) 
enters into the history of Danvers. He was a graduate of Harvard, 
1781, a tutor there of Harrison Gray Otis and John Quincy Adams, and 
afterwards studied medicine and kept an apothecary store in Salem. 
There he married, in 1790, Elizabeth Jaffrey, and built the house in 
which the historian Prescott was bom, on the present site of Plummer 
Hall. Among the achievements of his inventive mind was the first ma- 
chine for cutting nails. He purchased the water-power on the Waters 
river, and with associates erected the Salem and Danvers Iron Works. 
At the same time he bought part of Governor Endicott's old Orchard 
farm, and on a sightly eminence overlooking the river built a mansion, 
which, after the successive ov/nership of Captain Crowningshield, Cap- 
tain Benjamin Porter and the heirs of the latter, still retains much of 
its original stateliness. When the company was incorporated, March 4, 
1800, Nathan Read is described of Danvers. There were also seventeen 
others of Salem. The corporation was authorized to hold $30,000 of 
real and $300,000 of personal property, and reference is made in the 
act to the date of the original partnership. May 5, 1796." 

In the mill-pond in front of his residence. Read experimented by 
applying steam to paddles of a small boat, before Robert Fulton made 
his larger and now well-known experiments in steamboating on the 
Hudson river. Mr. Read was the first man to apply to the government 
for a patent, and himself framed the first patent law. He represented 
the district in Congress in 1800-03, as a FederaUst. 

Old newspapers show in their files (still well-preserved) certain 
arrivals of vessels at the "Port of Danvers" as late as during the sum- 
mer of 1848. From April 1 to November 30, 1848, there were 172 
arrivals, including 58 cargoes of lumber, 31 wood and bark ; 43 flour and 
grain, 17 lime, 3 molasses, 2 of salt, 4 of coal, 12 in ballast. There were 
17 vessels loaded for other ports, two cargoes being sent to the coast 
of Africa. It is said that the first cargo of coal ever landed here was 
owned by Parker Brown, but nearly as early was the shipment of J. W. 
Ropes in August, 1849. 

Kasex— 14 



210 ESSEX COUNTY 

As the years went by, ship-building and shipping interests became 
less and less, until today the place is of no considerable consequence. 
The business of present Danversport is that of any ordinary small vil- 
lage along the New England coast, the railway and a few small factories 
constituting the bulk of commerce. Like numerous other Essex county 
villages and towns, the history-making periods of the place are quite 
far remote. With the expansion of many large cities nearby, with tjje 
change in ocean shipping, etc., the general changes wrought by trans- 
portation, all tend to lessen the interest and development of the smaller 
places. 



CHAPTER XIX. 
THE TOWN OF LYNNFIELD. 



For more than a hundred and fifty years what is now known as 
Lynnfield was an outpost of Lynn. March 13, 1638, "Lynn was granted 
six miles into the country," and a survey was ordered, to "see if it bee 
fit for another plantation or no." It was long called Lynn End, and oc- 
cupied chiefly by farmers. In 1712 it was first set off as a parish. A 
church was provided in 1715 and five years later a minister was settled. 
In 1782 the parish became a separate district and in 1814 the district 
was incorporated as a town. From what can be seen in church records, 
it appears that many of the earliest settlers were from Lynn, and in- 
cluded such names as Aborn, Bancroft, Gowing, Mansfield, Newhall and 
Wellman. The natural scenery here is indeed beautiful — especially in 
spring and autumn time. 

Among the ponds or lakelets within the town is Lynnfield, or some- 
times called "Humphrey's Pond." In the eighties it was surveyed and 
the report showed it to contain two hundred and ten acres, a portion 
extending into Peabody. It was in this pond in August, 1850, that ladies 
on a picnic from Lynn (mostly) were out three hundred yards from 
shore, on a rude flat-bottomed boat, when a few women moved to the 
opposite side of the craft, which unbalanced the boat and it was sud- 
denly upset, with the sad result that thirteen of the ladies were drowned, 
there being twenty-five on the boat at the time. 

The main branch of the Ipswich river flows along the northern bor- 
der of Lynnwood, while Saugus, Hawkes and other brooks and springs 
help make up* the water-supply for the city of Lynn. 

From various sources, including the records of the General Court, 
the following history has been secured concerning "fires in the woods". 
During her whole history Lynnfield has periodically been subjected to 
extensive forest fires. Down into the eighties such fires occurred and the 
result was great loss in the way of standing, as well as down timber and 
vast amounts of cord wood. In November, 1646, the General Court 



TOWN OF LYNNFIELD 211 

passed this order concerning "Kinlinge fires in wuds" : ''Whosoever shall 
kindle any fires in ye woods, before ye 10th day of ye first mo (March) 
or after ye last day of the weeke, or Lords Day, shall pay all damages yt 
any pson shall loose thereby, & halfe so much to ye comon treasury." 
At the same time the General Court generously allowed the use of "to- 
backo," under certain restrictions, saying, "it shall be lawful for any 
man yt is on his journey (remote from any house five miles) to take to- 
bacco so that thereby hee sets not ye woods on fire to ye damage of any 
man." During the decades just prior to and after the Civil War, many 
forests in this town were on fire and both standing and cut down timber 
was burned. 

It was David Hewes, a native of this town, who had the honor of 
driving the "golden spike" connecting the two divisions of the Union 
and Pacific railroads on May 10, 1869. He was a contractor on that 
great highway. 

Total valuation of property in this town in 1886 was $446,000. Rate 
of taxation, nine dollars per thousand. Number of farms, 55; number 
tons hay raised, 970; gallons of milk, 142,000; i)ounds of butter, 5,222; 
dozens of eggs, 18,400 ; bushels of potatoes, 4,000 ; acres Indian com, 45 ; 
total value of all products, $54,415. Lynnfield has had a population at 
various periods as follows : In 1820 it had 596 ; in 1850, 1,723 ; in 1870, 
it was 818 ; in 1900 it had 1,888 ; in 1910 it had 911 ; in 1920, according 
to U. S. returns, it was 1,165. 

In 1658, Joseph Newhall, the first of the settlers in Lynnfield, was 
born in Lynn. 1719, December 17, Northern Lights observed for first 
time ; people greatly alarmed. 1749, a hot summer, multitudes of grass- 
hoppers. 1775, April 19, Battle of Lexington ; Daniel Townsend of Lynn- 
field killed. 1804, snow fell in July. 1806, Newburyport and Boston 
turnpike completed; cost half a million dollars. 1833, in the autumn 
there was a great shower of meteors ; at one time during a certain day 
not less than two hundred and fifty thousand of these metors were vis- 
ible above the horizon in Boston. 1854, railroad opened up through 
Ljnmfield Center in October. 1861, Lynnfield furnished sixty soldiers to 
the Civil War. There was a military encampment, with drill grounds in 
South Village. 

The first church of Ij3Tinfield was formed August, 1720, though 
the people had used a meeting-house five years before. For many years 
the people went to Lynn to attend church, until they became strong 
enough to build for themselves and to support a minister. Rev. Na- 
thaniel Sparhawk was the first minister, his salary being fixed at £70 
per year. He was bom in Cambridge and graduated at Harvard Col- 
lege. 

The Orthodox Evangelical Society at Center Village, beginning in 
1833, is a Trinitarian Congregational Church, formed in 1832. The 
South Village Congregational Trinitarian was formed in 1849. The 



212 ESSEX COUNTY 

Methodist society was formed in 1816, and a house of worship erected 
in 1823. There are now two churches in the town, one at the village of 
Lynnfield, a Congregational society, with Rev. Francis George as pastor, 
and a Congregational at Lynnfield Center. The Episcopal denomination 
holds services regularly in Lynnfield Center, occupying the Congrega- 
tional church building. 

At Lynnfield there is a garage and a grocery store at present. The 
postmaster is Arthur Elliott. At Lynnfield Center the postmaster is Ed- 
ward E, Russell. The practicing physician is Dr. Franklin W. Freeman. 
Here one finds today a lively railroad station point, two general dealers, 
two notion dealers, and a number of near-by summer resorts, well pa- 
tronized during the heated term of each year. 

Lynnfield became a district in 1782, a town in 1814. It has kept 
pace with other towns in Essex county with passing years, in its im- 
provements and financial disbursements, making the funds go as far as 
possible. 

The 1920 assessments for this town were as follows: Number of 
residents assessed on property, 383; non-residents assessed, 219; polls 
assessed, 343; valuation of assessed estate, $252,785; valuation of real 
estate, $1,723,233; valuation of property assessed, $1,976,018; tax on 
personal estate, $6,446.02 ; tax on real estate, $43,942.44 ; tax on polls at 
$5.00, $1,715.00 ; tax rate per $1,000, $25.50 ; horses assessed, 101 ; cows, 
249; swine, 116; sheep, 10; neat cattle, 6; fowl, 2,407; dwelling houses, 
457 ; acres land, 6,039. 

Treasurer's Financial Report (1920) — ^Treasury warrants paid, 
$107,181; school balance, $412; interest on cemetery fund, 40c; on de- 
posit Wakefield Trust Company, $1,725.88 ; total taxes collected in years 
1917-18-19-20, $109,320.45. 

Registration, Licenses, Etc. — Number of males registered, 385; 
number females registered, 241 ; population, 1920 census, 1,165. 

The present Town Officials are: Selectmen and Overseers of the 
Poor — ^Albert P. Mansfield (chairman), Frank C. Newhall, Carl H. Rus- 
sell ; Town Clerk, Oscar E. Phillips ; Town Treasurer, Franklin W. Free- 
man ; Tax Collector, Franklin W. Freeman ; Assessors, Henry W. Hodg- 
don, E. H. Gerry, George H. Bancroft; Tinistees of Public Library, 
George E. Lambert, Jr., E. E. Gerry, Andrew Mansfield; Park Commis- 
sioners, Edward Q. Moulton, Sidney Richards and Harry B. Nesbitt; 
Cemetery Commissioners, Seth H. Russell, Willis E. Peabody, B. M. Par- 
ker ; Constables for one year : Albert G. Tedf ord, John M. Temple ; Tree 
Warden, Lyman H. Twiss; Town Counsel, Rutherford E. Smith; Town 
Accountant, Oscar E. Phillips. The Finance Committee for the past 
year was made up as follows: Harry B. Nesbitt, John Ward, Lewis F. 
Allen, William Walden and Andrew Mansfield. 

In this, my portion of the Lynnfield section of this history, I have 
tried to accentuate the high lights and awaken new interest in the truly 



TOWN OF LYNNFIELD 21H 

remarkable stoi-y of Lynnfield, formerly Lynn End. Keeping its village 
characteristics of the best type, it is yet a sharer in, and a contributor 
to, the life of the larger towns and cities which surround it. Its pupils 
have made noble records in the schools of Andover, Salem, Peabody, 
Wakefield, Lynn. The educational privileges of Boston have been eagerly 
sought by Lynnfield groups. 

Little space can be given in a work of this kind to prehistoric mat- 
ters. But it should be stated that Phillips Andover has a collection of 
Essex county Indian relics that teachers are learning to appreciate more 
and more enthusiastically. Also, in the Harrison Gray Otis House, Bos- 
ton, headquarters of the Society for the Preservation of New England 
Antiquities, William Wallace Taylor, formerly field man for the Depart- 
ment of Archaeology, under Professor Warren K. Moorehead, Andover 
College, has placed a collection. Working in Lynnfield, in the interests 
of the Preservation Society, recently, Mr. Taylor came upon interesting 
Indian village and camp sites. We can but touch upon the matter, but 
we have named the sources of fuller information. 

In the meadow at the rear of the Dr. Franklin W. Freeman estate, 
an Indian camp was located, on what is known as Partridge Island. An 
elementary beach was found. Triangular war-arrowheads showed that 
preparation for hostilities was necessary. When hunting arrow-heads 
only are found, the conjecture is a reasonable one that local tribes were 
friendly. Depredations from the north were probably the facts of the 
story. Mr. Taylor located other Indian sites in Lynnfield, and the pestles 
and other implements found are in the museum at the Harrison Gray 
Otis House, Boston. 

Mr. B. P. Verne, formerly of Lynnfield, now of Reading, exhibited 
an Indian millstone for grinding corn, which he found on his estate in 
this town, at the Antique Display in the Public Library building, given 
in connection with the town's celebration of its centennial anniversary 
in 1914. 

This celebration was planned for and given on an extensive scale. 
It was not only a celebration of the date when Lynn End became a 
separate township, but, as well, a recognition of the two hundredth an- 
niversary of the building of the old meeting-house on the green in 1714. 
This celebration, the religious part of which was held in the old church 
on June 13th and the civic portion on June 17th, was so fully reported 
in the "Daily Evening Item," Lynn, of the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th of 
June, 1914, that references to this source of information would supply 
one with almost any fact of previous or contemporary history of Lynn- 
field. Each speaker and each participant did his utmost to emphasize in 
picturesque terms the interesting history of the town. This was true of 
the floats in the parade, where, largely through the talent and work of 
Sidney B. Mansfield (a sketch of whom appears in this volume) "Town- 
send's Kitchen," old school days, old-time industries, etc., were delight- 
fully represented. 



214 ESSEX COUNTY 

During many years there was one church, the Congregational, hold- 
ing services in the old church on the green. A Unitarian flock detached 
itself and held gatherings there between the years 1816 and 1894. The 
Congregationalists dedicated the present church building in 1832, and it 
has been the one church center for a long period, in reality supplying the 
place of a community church and numbering amongst its members men 
and women who have taken their letters from Baptist, Methodist, and 
other churches, where they had been communicants in former homes. 

The church in Lynnfield, which was begun as a mission interest 
connected with the church at the Center, sharing the services of the pas- 
tor at the Center, has now its own resident pastors and an up-to-date 
church edifice. The present pastors are Rev. Francis D. George and Rev. 
H. Lincoln McKenzie. 

At the Center, the Episcopalians have formed a mission which is 
fostered by the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Wakefield, and is called St. 
Paul's Mission. The rector is Rev. William E. Love. There are about 
thirty communicants. The date of formation is March, 1918. The one 
church building suffices for all. In the recent renovation and re- 
modelling, the needs of the Episcopalians were considered. Mr. and Mrs. 
C. 0. Blood, formerly of Lynn, rendered great service in this artistically 
completed work. They, with the other members of the committee, wor- 
ship with the Congi'egational flock. John Ward and others of the Epis- 
copal mission showed great interest and gave substantial aid, so that 
the result is excellent, and all use the edifice in harmony. Both congre- 
gations, as one, welcomed Bishop Babcock at a recent confirmation. 

At Lynnfield, the Catholic mission, which has been holding services 
since August 15, 1920, when mass was said for the first time by Rev. 
F. J. Halloran of Wakefield, has a congregation of approximately one 
hundred and fifty members. Ground was broken for the new chapel 
August 15, 1921, five days after the purchase of the land. Members of 
the two religious flocks aid each other in social functions. On Septem- 
ber 13, 1920, a very successful and generally enjoyed lawn fete was held 
at Wardhurst in aid of the work. The mission was established by St. 
Joseph's Catholic Church, Wakefield. 

The story of the hero of old Lynn End, Daniel Townsend, is told fully 
in the Wellman history. It is further related that the night before the 
Battle of Lexington neighbors and friends gathered in the Townsend 
kitchen, bringing all the old pewter they could contribute, equipped with 
bullet-moulds, to run bullets for the needs of occasion. One of these 
moulds is in the possession of the Perkins family and can be seen at the 
old Perkins homestead, on Chestnut street. 

Daniel Townsend's marriage took him, with Zerviah, his bride, to 
the home near the shore of what is now Pilling's Pond. Previous to his 
marriage, it is doubtless the fact that the young man lived with his fam- 
ily, and they occupied the west end of what has always been known as 



TOWN OF LYNNFIELD 215 

the Townsend-Sweetser house, on the Wakefield road. This house is 
the most interesting one in the town, because it has been kept very 
largely as it was built. Tradition says that it had its double walls 
for Indian protection. It has a gambrel roof, and an entry and stair- 
case of oak, an ancient cupboard, and interesting fireplaces. Here died 
the sister and nephew of Charlotte Cushman, who visited these rela- 
tives as frequently as she was able to do so. To the centennial of 1876 
were sent from this house the silver shoebuckles of Samuel Adams, the 
patriot. 

The great-grandchildren of Daniel Townsend, George Townsend and 
Mary Richardson, were united in marriage, and bore two children, girls, 
of whom one died in early childhood. The other, Harriet, married Rich- 
ard Hewes and bore two children, Carrie Amelia and Frank. The daugh- 
ter, Carrie, became Mrs. Laselle. She with her family lived for many 
years in Lynn, and she died there, on Marianna street, some years ago. 
Of the thirteen children of Mr. and Mrs. Laselle, six are living, as far 
as has been learned. In the possession of members of this family are 
the table linen and the silver table spoons marked "Z. T." which be- 
longed to Zemah Townsend, wife of the hero. A chapter of the C. A. 
R. is named in honor of Daniel Townsend, and a group of the young 
people came to Lynnfield to hold exercises in the old church and to visit 
the grave of the hero, at the time of the fonnation of the chapter. 

The occupants of the other part of the old house under consideration 
were John and Betsey Sweetser. Everybody seems to have known and 
loved "Aunt Betsey." She was a very remarkable maker of dolls, and a 
most interesting specimen of her handicraft of this heart-winning 
variety can be seen in the aforementioned Harrison Gray Otis House, 
Boston. Catherine Sweetser, daughter of John and Betsey, married Cap- 
tain John Perkins, and went to live at the Perkins homestead, where her 
grandson resides. He and his wife cherish certain of the possessions of 
Betsey Sweetser and her daughter. 

Mansfield is one of the oldest and most honored names. So many of 
the old family names are disappearing, it is cause for rejoicing that we 
have promise of the continuance of this worthy stock. The present chair- 
man of the board of selectmen is Albert P. Mansfield; and his wife, 
Martha D. Mansfield, is secretary of the school committee. There has 
never been a time when there was not a Mansfield serving the town. 
The late Andrew Mansfield was sent to the legislature. This is not 
genealogy, but history, therefore we must content ourselves with the 
mention of one more Mansfield item. Everybody who came to the cen- 
tennial celebration was interested to see and call the attention of the 
children to the exhibit arranged on the wall of the library. It included, 
with other Mansfield accoutrements, the sworn worn by Major Andrew 
Mansfield at the laying of the cornerstone of the Bunker Hill Monument 
on June 17, 1825. 



216 ESSEX COUNTY 

Newhall is an old Lynnfield name. A mayor of Lynn, Hon. Asa Tar- 
bell Newhall, has been supplied from this family. General Josiah New- 
hall was one of a group interested in founding the Massachusetts Hor- 
ticultural Society, and references to this fact, with resolutions adopted 
concerning his work, may be seen in the archives of the society. This 
Josiah Newhall was the first representative from Lynnfield. He served 
in the War of 1812, and was chairman of the school board for twenty-two 
years. At the age of eighty-six he died at Lynnfield, December 26, 1879. 
Other members of the family have achieved prominence. Road construc- 
tion has been in the hands of capable members of the family for long 
periods. Frank C. Newhall is at the present time secretary of the board 
of selectmen and forest warden. 

A well-known Lynnfield name is Coney. The Coney homestead is on 
Lowell street. Two representatives of the family are living in Lynnfield 
— J. Winslow Perkins, and Miss Kate E. Coney, of Lynnfield and West 
Roxbury, a teacher in the Boston schools and an authority on ferns 
and flora. Miss Coney also gives informal travel-talks before women's 
organizations. The father of the late Jeremiah Coney served in the War 
of 1812, on "Old Ironsides." John Coney was Paul Revere's instructor in 
craftsmanship. 

Russell is another name that has figured in Lynnfield annals for 
generations. The telephone exchange is located in the home of Mrs. S. 
Russell, widow of Francis P. Russell, for many years merchant and post- 
master. The present postmaster is Edward A. Russell, who is also a 
member of the school committee, Mr. Henry C. Russell was, with his 
brother, the late William G. Russell, owner of a provision market on 
Portland street, Boston. Mr. Russell is now interested in real estate 
activities in Maiden and Lynnfield Center, The winter home of the 
family is in Maiden, but Mr. Russell is in Lynnfield Center during the 
summers, and identifies himself with many interests, especially in mat- 
ters musical. Carl H. Russell is a member of the board of selectmen 
and commander of the Legion Post, The father of Seth H. Russell, 
whose residence is at "Willow Castle", the estate on which still flourishes 
the more than century-old willow, was one of the "town fathers" for a 
number of years and served on the school board at the time of Horace 
Mann, of whom he related reminiscences. This Enoch Russell was sent 
to the Legislature for a term of years. Mrs. Seth H. Russell, Hattie F., 
has been in charge of the primary department of the Sunday school of 
the Congregational church for thirty years. Mrs. Russell was a teacher 
in the public schools of Essex county. Their daughter Marian is mak- 
ing a name for herself in educational fields, 

Bancroft is an old Lynnfield name. In 1711 a meeting held at Cap- 
tain Bancroft's resulted in the building of the old church on the green in 
1714. Members of the family have served the town and the church in 
many capacities. Mr. George H. Bancroft has been active in town af- 



TOWN OF LYNNFIELD 217 

fairs, especially as trustee of the public library. Mr. and Mrs. Bancroft 
cater to many visitors as well as residents, through "Ye Village Tea 
Room" and the provision store at Fillings Pond. J. Lawrence Bancroft, 
brother of George, is a member of the firm of Perkins & Bancroft, of 
Melrose. 

Herri ck is an old name with us, and the Deacon Herrick estate js 
a very interesting place to visit, especially as the ancient fireplaces can 
be seen in both the larger and the smaller house, the latter occupied by 
Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Herrick. Deacon Herrick was a member of the 
school board for many years. Traditions are loved and preserved and 
hospitality has always been abundant in this home. Miss Clara M. Her- 
rick, daughter of the house, is head nurse in one of Boston's best known 
institutions. Miss Herrick is a graduate of the Lynn Hospital. 

The Cox family has furnished members who have served the town 
in different capacities. Besides the old house, there are several others 
occupied by sons of the family with their families. The locality is al- 
ways known as Cox's Comer. Mrs. Clarissa Cox was a remarkable wo- 
man who lived to the age of 101 and a few months, spending three- 
fourths of her life in this locality. 

The Danforth homestead and acres of verdant farmland have de- 
lighted the eye of many comers for generations, situated, as they are, 
so near the station. John Danforth was station master during a long 
period, also serving the town as selectman for years. His son, the late 
John Morton Danforth, was known throughout Essex county, both as 
county commissioner and in connection with the County Argicultural 
Society, which he served as secretary and in other capacities. This Mr. 
J. M. Danforth was sent to the legislature from Lynnfield. 

The old Joseph Henfield place, bought and occupied by B. H. Robi- 
dou, of Lynn, with his family, as a summer residence, is said to be the 
oldest house in town. The Perkins homestead is one of the older houses. 
The original deed of the land, written on vellum, is dated 1695, and is 
signed by Governor Phipps, the "witchcraft governor" of Boston. A 
very small house which sufficed for the first couple, John and his wife, 
formerly Anna Hutchinson of Danvers, has been enlarged and altered by 
each succeeding generation of the family. A partial restoration to the 
features of other days revealed a number of interesting arrangements, 
and corroborated certain traditions. This house is still occupied by a 
Perkins family descendant. 

The Hart house on Chestnut street is one of the older homes. It 
is still occupied by members of the Hart family. An interesting feature 
of this house are the portholes in the western outer wall, where members 
of the family watched for danger in the time of Indian attacks. A 
heavily-wooded section, much of which is still the same, lay in that di- 
rection. Clapboards have been put over these apertures, but the bulge 
of the wall shows plainly their location. A garden stile and quaint gates 



218 ESSEX COUNTY 

between the house and gardens accentuate most attractively the English 
origin of this family There was a still older homestead on the "acres 
and acres" of Hart orchard and woodland beyond Lowell street. It was 
from this family that Hon. Thomas N. Hart went forth into the world 
and became a mayor of Boston. 

Possibly the one native son of Lynnfield who made the greatest 
name for himself in the outside world was David Hewes, Esq. In sev- 
eral localities in California announcement is made through the mega- 
phone of the sight-seeing automobile, that David Hewes came from the 
East to start work in California, with no money, a wheelbarrow and a 
Chinaman, and became known as the maker of San Francisco, a great 
railroad man, and a multi-millionaire. The story of this remarkable son 
of Lynnfield is fully told in the "Hewes Genealogy." It was he who gave 
the gold spike used at the ceremony at Promontory Point, Utah, 80 
miles west of Ogden and 804 miles east of San Francisco, when in the 
presence of 1,000 notable guests the railroad across the continent was 
completed, and the news flashed from the golden spike, by electricity, to 
all the great centers, where crowds awaited the moment. In 1879, Presi- 
dent and Mrs. Hayes were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. David Hewes at 
their home in Oakland, Cal. David Hewes, with the second Mrs. Hewes, 
attended the golden wedding of Mr. Gladstone. Several libraries and 
art collections were presented by Mr. Hewes to public institutions. Like 
an inspiring romance reads the story of this courageous. Christian man. 
At the time of Lynnfield's centennial, Mr. Hewes sent several telegrams 
and a check for two hundred dollars. James Hewes, father of the pres- 
ent John Hewes, was elected to the convention that revised the constitu- 
tion ; he also represented Ljmnfield in the legislature for a term of years. 

Deacon William Roundy, father of the present William and George 
— of whom further mention is made elsewhere in this history — was sent 
to the legislature in 1872 and was one of the committee sent to view 
and accept for the State the Hoosac Tunnel. Deacon Roundy was also 
the town's treasurer for fourteen years, and was a truly-beloved citizen, 
a public benefactor. 

Rutherford E. Smith is one of the town's most prominent present- 
day citizens. Mr. Smith is a Boston lawyer; he is in the city winters, 
but he returns to the fine old home on Lowell street, with his family, 
each summer. The celebrated Pocohontas spring is on the Smith es- 
tate. Mr. Smith is town counsel, and is usually elected moderator of 
town meetings. He was chairman of the general committee at the time 
of the Centennial. 

"Wardhurst" is known far and wide as the home of the O'Donnells. 
This beautiful estate has many times been placed at the disposal of the 
townspeople. Functions held there have augmented funds being col- 
lected for worthy causes. It was there the "Welcome Home" celebra- 
tion was held for the "boys," veterans of the World War. As most 



TOWN OF LYNNFIELD 219 

people know, John T. O'Donnell is the famous "Hap Ward," and his cor- 
dial wife is Lucy Daly, one of the celebrated Daly sisters. 

Elvira Leveroni is well known in Lynnfield, and she has identified 
herself with many town activities most generously. Since her sister, 
Mrs. DeMasellis, still resides here, Madame Leveroni comes, when she 
is able to do so, to the home at Lynnfield Center. Recently at the Pear- 
son home she gave to a group of friends and neighbors a rare treat, 
singing to the accompaniment of her own records. 

Mrs. Annie Laurie Heiser was a Lynnfield girl, Miss Brown. Now 
the wife of John Heiser, the composer, she is prominent in musical 
circles in Somerville and Boston. Mrs. Heiser, too, has been heard in 
Lynnfield, in benefits, on many occasions. Henry K. Oliver, composer 
of the old hyinn tune, "Federal Street," lived in Lynnfield on Chestnut 
street, at one time. George T. Angell and his family lived for many 
years in the Bryant house at the Center. The handbag and the unusual 
cane he used for years during his residence here have been placed by 
Lynnfield friends in the Harrison Gray Otis House museum, Boston. 

A tablet placed at the entrance of the old burying ground infonns 
the comer that the grave of Daniel Townsend is within the yard, also 
that of Martin Herrick, the teacher-physician living in Lynn End, at 
that time. The name of this Martin Herrick is famous, because he rode 
from this direction, as Revere from the other, to warn the people of 
the movement of the British. 

Lynnfield has sent many teachers of excellent calibre forth into the 
world. At one time, nine women of the profession travelled together on 
certain trains. At present, Lynnfield has one teacher in the English 
high school in Boston, Miss Hastings ; four teachers of manual training 
in Boston schools — Mr. Parker, Miss Coney, Miss Lyons, Harlan Pea- 
body ; one teacher in Olivet College, Michigan, Miss Nelson ; a teacher of 
Spanish and French in Wareham, Massachusetts, Miss Marian Russell ; a 
teacher in the Walden Commercial School, Miss Katherine Ross; 
a teacher of Spanish in a high school of Washington, D. C, Miss Mildred 
Hutchinson, who recently spent two years teaching in Madrid, Spain; 
Mrs. Florence Howe, teacher in Tracy School, Lynn; Edna Ramsdell, 
Lynn; Jessie Lynch, Peabody. Mr, Henry W. Pelton, whose residence 
at the south part of the town is one of the groups of fine estates on the 
main street, is part owner and principal of Burdett Business College, 
hyim. 

Mrs. George E. Lambert is a well known writer of verse, under the 
pen name Hannah Wheeler Pingree. Mrs. Muriel Russell has written 
some charming verse, published from time to time in the "Daily Even- 
ing Item," Lynn. Miss Mabel Emery has been connected with several 
New York publications ; she is the author of the Underwood and Under- 
wood travel series. Miss Gertrude Emery was for many years librarian 
in Lynn, serving in the juvenile department of the Lynn Public Library. 



220' ESSEX COUNTY 

Edwin L. Thurston, formerly a Lynnfield boy, is prominent in musical 
circles in Boston, teacher and composer. Mr. Thurston belongs to the 
Henfield familj^ whose homestead, still standing, is said to be the oldest 
house in town. Mrs. Annie P. Hutchinson is the retiring regent of the 
Faneuil Hall Chapter of the D. A. R. Annie Stevens Perkins was con- 
nected regularly with "Normal Instructor," a New York educational pub- 
lication, for many years. Benjamin Downing, at one time a musician 
in Lynnfield, made his later home in Cincinnati, Ohio, and became an or- 
ganist in that city 

Henry P. Emerson, a former Lynnfield boy, came from Buffalo, New 
York, to participate in the Lynnfield Centennial, difficult as it was to 
leave in June, with people wondering where one could possibly find their 
superintendent of schools. That his presence and his message were 
appreciated was evident. Nathan Mortimer Hawkes of Lynn, well 
known as statesman and historian, another native of Lynnfield, came 
with his truly-prized greetings to the centennial observance. Cyrus 
Wakefield, for whom the town of Wakefield was named, married Cap- 
tain Bancroft's daughter, and took her from her Lynnfield home to the 
Wakefield residence. This edifice was used as a headquarters for Red 
Cross and other war activities, recently. Rev. Jacob Hood, for years con- 
nected with musical work and festivities in Salem and Marblehead, mar- 
ried Sophia Needham, who was bom at the old Needham place on Lynn- 
field Hill. The couple came to Lynnfield to complete a beautiful life in 
a beautiful way. Their portraits have hung in the chapel of the Con- 
gregational church for years. 

Bishop Bimey, formerly Dean of Theology at Boston University, 
now Bishop of Shanghai, China, has had his summer home on Chestnut 
street for several years and has occupied the pulpit of the Lynnfield Cen- 
ter Church on a number of occasions, always welcomed with love and 
pride by those whom he said he was glad to call "neighbors." The "Bos- 
ton Traveler" announced the natal day of the Bishop, Sunday, Septem- 
ber 11. Miss Martha Sheldon, who has a home with her sister, nearly 
opposite the town hall, was a teacher in the Morton Lane School for 
Girls, Maulmain, Burmah, for many years. Dr. John Perkins of Middle 
street, Boston, now Hanover, numbered among his patients members of 
"the first families" of the city, in the period just preceding the War of 
the Revolution. He died at the old homestead on Chestnut street. His 
manuscript books are preserved. Starr Parsons, former city solicitor of 
Lynn, was an honor student at Harvard as a Lynnfield young man. Rev. 
Francis D. George, pastor at the Center Congregational Church, was sta- 
tioned near Calcutta, India, for several years. Special opportunity to 
make the acquaintance of members of diplomatic circles enabled him to 
enlarge upon the usual experiences of a missionary resident. The late 
Charles K. Bradford, a long-time dweller at Lynnfield, near the "Turn- 
pike," was an inventor of note. Shoe machinery parts and a very im- 



TOWN OF LYNNFIELD 221 

portant sewing-machine device are among his better known achieve- 
ments. This Mr. Bradford was in direct line from Governor Bradford. 
Mr. William Walden, formerly of Lynn, has brought the standard of 
musical activity in Lynnfield Center forward. Under his leadership the 
chorus at the centennial celebration did excellent work. Afield, Mr. 
Walden is known as the inventor of a patented material used in auto- 
mobile upholstering. He is the composer of an alto and tenor duet, 
sacred selection, published by the Oliver Ditson Company, and other- 
music. 

Gas has just been introduced into the town from Lynn, and house- 
keepers are rejoicing. It was interesting to watch the trench-digger, 
that would have been overseas if the war had not most mercifully ended. 
At the rate of three feet a minute, it walked through the town, and pipes 
were laid in a very short space of time. The cheery veterans of the 
World War who operated the machinery won hearts as they co-operated, 
one with one leg missing, the other minus an arm. 

Electricity has been used in both street and house lighting for a 
number of years, and most houses have running water, some families 
depending upon mills, others having installed engines. The majority 
of families own or have frequent use of automobiles. It is not at all 
uncommon to see airplanes flying above the town, as it lies beneath two 
air routes, one toward the shore, one inland, the route between Boston 
and Lowell. Each portion of the town has railroad accommodation, 
supplemented by auto-bus routes. The bus line between L>Tinfield Cen- 
ter and Wakefield is privately controlled. At Lynnfield, the citizens got 
together and outlined effective plans for a community bus, which con- 
nects that end of the town with Lynn and with Wakefield, including the 
Montrose section, also Saugus. 

School transportation is provided for. Excellent conditions prevail 
in matters educational, the teaching force being of the best, with spe<*- 
ial teachers from outside in several branches. Medical supervision was 
introduced in 1908. Dr. Franklin W. Freeman, who came to make his 
home in Lynnfield Center after retiring from a large practice in West 
Newton, is school physician. 

Telephone service is fairly adequate. There is promise of improve- 
ment, made a necessity because of an increasing list of subscribers. 
Since February 9, 1895, Lynnfield Center has had telephone communica- 
tion with the outside world, using the North Reading central, at first 
but now listed under an exchange of its own. Lynnfield subscribers at 
the south part of the town are listed under Lynn. 

A considerable length of the Atlantic Highway lies within the limits 
of the town. We are quite accustomed to the traffic policeman. We 
shall use the new name, but in our hearts we shall remember it is the 
storied old Newburyport Turnpike, after all. The town has efficient 
fire protection, a well organized chemical company in each precinct, in 
charge of up-to-date apparatus. 



222 ESSEX COUNTY 

The town has an excellent public library, which was opened July 22, 
1892. Miss Elizabeth W. Green has been librarian from the opening. 
Her assistant is Mrs. Gertrude A. Chipman, who has charge of the 
branch library at Lynnfield. Through the legacy of Mrs. Adelia Perkins 
Clough and the State Commission, a card catalogue has been established. 
The sets of pictures loaned from the Woman's Educational Association, 
the magazines at the reading room, and reference books, are used and 
appreciated by many, especially the young students. 

The Lynnfield Center League has made for advancement and 
through si)ecial committees has been able to secure gains in railroad, 
telephone, and other service from outside. It is an organization com- 
posed of both men and women ; its gatherings are held at the town hall. 
It was organized in 1908, largely through the efforts of Rev. Halah H. 
Loud, resident pastor at the time, George C. Frolich and Rutherford E. 
Smith. Civic, social and literary departments give scope for varied ac- 
tivity and interest. Entertainments of the highest order have been 
given, directed by Mrs. Nelson B. Todd, a gi^aduate of Emerson Col- 
lege, and before her marriage a teacher of dramatics in Pennsylvania. 
Mrs. George Roundy and others have given time and talent in social 
functions. Mrs. Fred W. Northrup has shown cheerful ability as or- 
ganizer of working forces in special lines. The meetings of the literary 
department have been of a high order. Albert S. Moulton has given of 
his rare talent in Shakespearian interpretations, and others who have 
helped to make these gatherings profitable and enjoyable are Mr. and 
Mrs. Nelson Todd, Mr. and Mrs. George Lambert, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest 
Clark, Mr. and Mrs, D. F. Parker, Mrs. Seth Russell, Mrs. Annie P. 
Hutchinson, Miss Bertha Butman. The present officers of the League 
are D. F. Parker, president; Rev. Francis D. George and Mrs. Charles 
E. Davis, vice-presidents; John Ward, treasurer; William F. Russell, 
secretary. 

The Men's Club at the Center is a flourishing organization, which 
includes in its membership practically every man in the village. The 
business of the club is handled by a general committee, of which Charles 
0. Blood is chairman. This club has recently purchased an athletic field 
for the use of the young people of the town. 

The old camp ground near Suntaug Lake had its stories in the War 
of 1861 to 1865. And it has had its stories during the World War. The 
Wellman history records the names of the soldiers who enlisted at the 
earlier date, many of the younger boys thrilled by the presence of the 
military headquarters in their midst. The names of the streets are 
given. "In camp at Lynnfield," so recently repeated, again brought 
the town into the limelight in the World War. A chapter could be writ- 
ten here if there were space. Moving-picture records preserved some 
of the camp events. 

A large section of the Bay State Rifle Range, known during the 



TOWN OF LYNNFIELD 223 

war, as Camp Plunkett, lies within the town boundaries. Visitors re- 
mark, "it's like a continual Fourth of July celebration." It was not 
that during war days. Lynnfield Center knew by the meets when some- 
thing of special importance was forward. There was little to be said, 
but much to be held in mind and heart. Activities at the Range were 
frequently shown in the theatres, in Pathe News reels. 

A chapter about Inn Days should some day be written. Every- 
where is the inn at Suntaug known. Other such hostelries in the town, 
notably the old Sun Tavern, have been so intimately connected with 
history ift the large that collected facts and tales would be welcomed, 
not only in Lynnfield, but also in the world outside. Lynnfield has an 
increasing summer population. This is true of each end of the town. 
At Fillings Pond, about one hundred camps are located. There is a 
canoe livery at "Shoreside," the attractive refreshment center, but many 
residents own their own craft, of different types. 

The Civil War record of Lynnfield is told in the Wellman history. 
In the northern section of the town, nearly every family sent its young 
men to the front. Only two veterans of the Civil War remain with us 
in Lynnfield — Edward Q. Moulton and Thomas Edward Brown. Lynn- 
field veterans have been affiliated with H. M. Warren Post 12, Wakefield. 

On the first page of the annual town report for 1919 is printed the 
list of those from Lynnfield who served in the Army and Navy of the 
United States during the World War, sixty-four in number. Under the 
caption "In Memoriam" are placed these names: Lieutenant Willard J. 
Freeman, Benjamin L. Mitchell, John F. Lammers. Impressive ser- 
vices, attended by a great number of loving townspeople, have been held 
over the bodies, brought from overseas. On Memorial Day, 1921, exer- 
cises were held on the green at the unveiling of a memorial tablet 
placed in a great boulder. Dr. Freeman and John Ward were the com- 
mittee in charge of the work. Rev. Francis D. George's address was 
considered by all most eloquent. A duplicate tablet will be placed in 
the new public library building at the south precinct, Lyimfield. 

Lynnfield Post 131 of the American Legion was formed in the fall 
of 1919. Carl Hazen Russell has been its commander since its forma- 
tion. 

During the war a little paper called "Lynnfield Center Town 
Topics" was gotten out, chiefly through the efforts of Dexter F. Parker. 
It was intended for "the boys," and addresses were published in order 
to encourage letter-writing. Four items gleaned will show the scope 
of this sheet and they are good history, also, date October 11, 1918: 
" Tod/ Pearson has completed the course at Princeton and was at home 
for ten days, returning to Princeton Monday. 'Puss' Cox has been 
assigned to duty on Auto Aeroplane guns. Henry Richards is to re- 
ceive a commission as Ensign, Oct. 12 ; he has already made one cruise 
to France. Lieutenant Harry B. Freeman, of the Aviation Corps, is 



224 ESSEX COUNTY 

reported missing, his plane having been seen to fall behind the German 
lines." 

The Lynnfield Center Red Cross was a live wire during the war 
period. D. F. Parker was chairman; Mrs. George E. Lambert, secre- 
tary. Treasurer Nelson B. Todd bore an active and efficient part. Miss 
Elizabeth W. Green and Miss Sarah Herrick were in charge of the gar- 
ment making. Miss Margaret McCarthy, in charge of food conserva- 
tion and the women's Liberty Loan drive, gave invaluable aid. A com- 
mittee of young women co-operated efficiently, — Miss Katherine Ross, 
Mrs. Gladys Russell, Mrs. Lou Russell, Miss Gladys Richards, Miss 
Bertha Bamjum, Miss Alice Bartlett, Miss Jane Bartlett, Miss Anna 
Blanchard. Mrs. John M. Hamden and Mrs. Richard Campbell were in 
charge of the surgical dressings department. Sale of war savings stamps 
was encouraged, the teachers aiding materially. 

Lynnfield, the south precinct of the town, was remarkably well or- 
ganized for war work. Henry W. Pelton was chairman of the Red 
Cross and Liberty Loan drives. A committee of about twenty men 
assisted, and large amounts were raised. Over the top in each Red 
Cross and each Liberty Loan drive, this precinct made a remarkable rec- 
ord in two of the Liberty Loan drives, when it oversubscribed the full 
town allotment. Another record accomplishment was that of the Sun- 
day morning when, in two hours, more than $350 was subscribed for 
sufferers in the Halifax disaster. At the time of the Lynn War Chest 
drive, an average of $10 per capita was raised, in this precinct, number- 
ing about 500 persons. One gift, which was truly an offering, will al- 
ways be remembered, and it was typical of the spirit of generosity which 
prevails. The women were organized for work under the very efficient 
leadership of Mrs. Lucy Pillsbury. Miss May Elder, Mrs. Elizabeth 
Gerry, Mrs. Mary Mansfield were in charge of the surgical dressings de- 
partment. 



CHAPTER XX. 
TOWN OF HAMILTON. 



A little over twenty miles north of Boston is found the town of 
Hamilton, near enough the ocean for a body to hear the surf roar, yet 
nowhere does its territory touch the water. The old Eastern stage road 
winds through the center of the town ; this, a part of the Old Bay Road 
was constructed in 1641. Ipswich is on the north, Essex on the east, 
Manchester and Wenham on the south, and Topsfield on the west. The 
great hills include Sagamore and Vineyard. The natural scenery here- 
abouts is indeed charming to the lover of nature. The area of the town 
is 9,440 acres. About three hundred acres are under water usually. 
Hamilton was originally in Ipswich, and was known as the Hamlet. 



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ABOVE— BATES MEMORIAL LIBRARY, HAMILTON; BELOW, HOUSE WHERE 
LAEAYETTE STOPPED, HAMILTON 



TOWN OF HAMILTON 225 

The exact date of the settlement in this town is not now known. 
It is certain that land was granted to Matthew Whipple in 1638, and 
through this tract coursed the old Eastern stage line. His house was 
sold in July, 1647, to John Annable, tailor. 

Hamilton was named for Alexander Hamilton and the date was 
1793. However, the separation was not completed until later. The 
United States census in 1900 gave this town a population' of 1,614; in 
1910 it was given as 1,749, and in 1920 (last enumeration), it was only 
1,631. It may be said, in passing, that its population in 1810 was 780. 

After the original incorporation of Hamilton, the first officers in- 
included these: Deacon Nathaniel Whipple, moderator; Lemuel Brown, 
clerk; Nathaniel Whipple, treasurer; Jonathan Lamson, Captain Daniel 
Brown and Joseph Poland, Jr., selectmen. 

From the first, the principal business of Hamilton has been farming. 
There has been some manufacturing, but quite limited. About 1834 a 
large woolen mill v/as established on the Hamilton side of the Ipswich 
river, by the Mannings, hence the name "Manning's Mills." During the 
Civil War and in the year 1864 this factory turned out 5,500 pairs of 
woolen blankets and army ribbed-socks, etc., to the value of $135,000. 
January 12, 1884, these mills were totally destroyed by fire and never 
rebuilt. In its palmy days, the factory produced large amounts of 
blankets, and quite a factory village grew up about the mills. Farther 
down the river were a number of saw mills, including the old Dodge 
mill. 

When the Essex Branch railroad was extended through in 1872, the 
Drivers' Union Ice Company opened up a large industry in ice shipping. 
The town's first railroad advantages date from the building of the East- 
ern Railroad in 1839, and this put many inns and stage stations out of 
commission. 

Before the introduction of improved shoe-making machinery, Hamil- 
ton was dotted here and there with little shoe-shops, where boots and 
shoes were made by hand. In 1837 it was estimated that the value of 
home-made boots and shoes here was $14,700. At a very early day the 
fishing business was one of some importance, especially in the eastern 
portion, but the building of fishing boats was a much greater industry; 
these boats ran from ten to twenty tons capacity each. Captain John 
Woodbury built many such boats, and had to haul the same to the Che- 
bacco river, by teams of cattle. 

The first postoffice was established in 1803 and continued many 
years. The business interests of today are simply stores and shops, 
such as are usually demanded in towns and villages of the size of Hamil- 
ton. It will be understood that the town now has three trading points — 
South Hamilton, at the railroad station, and Hamilton proper, and 
Asbury Grove, reached by a street-car line. 
Hamilton town has three postoffices — one at Hamilton, one at the 

Essex — 16 



226 ESSEX COUNTY 

depot at South Hamilton, and one at Asbury Grove. Of the one at 
Hamilton it may be said that it has had for its postmasters: Captain 
George Appleton, about 1860 ; David Hoyt, 1873 ; Frank C. Norton, Annie 
E. Medbury, Nellie Kimball, Bessie R. Brown, Kattie Warner, Andrew 
Haraden, Clara Kimball, Carrie L. Rankins, William J. Daley; the last 
Y^a& commissioned May 8, 1913. Office busmess in 1920 was about $832. 
The office is in the William J. Daley building, and was previously in the 
tcYv'n hall. 

At South Hamilton the postoffice is at the station, and was originally 
called Wenham Depot, Massachusetts, but it was changed about 1905 to 
South Hamilton. The postmasters have included John Merrill ; Charles 
A. Hills, appointed in 1887; Lester E. Libby, appointed 1894; Douglas 
H. Knowlton, appointed (commissioned) July 1, 1914. The office has 
always been located in the building it now occupies. The amount of 
business transacted during the last year was $3,722.79. 

The present (1921) officers of the town include the following: Select- 
men: George H. Gibney, chairman, Arthur C. Cummings, Jonathan 
Lamson; school committee: Harold S. Martin, chairman; Adelaide D. 
Walsh, Florence M. Lunn; treasurer, John L. Woodbury; town clerk, 
Clarence S. Knov/lton; superintendent of streets, Charles E. Whipple; 
assessors: George H. Gibney, chairman; George M. Adams, Jesse S. 
Mann ; fire engineers, George F. Pendexter, chief ; Erie G. Brewer, Lester 
M. Whipple, Rodney Adams, Frank Dane. The chief of police is Alfred 
T. Poole. 

The tovv'n hall was erected in 1900 at a cost of $20,000; the South 
School was built in 1898, cost $20,000; the East School was erected in 
1918, costing $20,500. Bonds are still out on the South School to the 
amount of $980, and on the East School for $15,000. The volunteer 
fire company has a membership of nearly fifty men. 

According to a vote of the town in 1712, a meeting-house was built, 
thirty-eight by fifty feet, with twenty foot studding. The windows were 
small diamond-shaped glass; the rafters were unplastered, and this 
caused a great number of sparrows to nest and twitter in the unfinished 
inside of the roof. This house was razed in 1762 to give place to a larger 
one, forty-four by sixty feet. It was erected by the parish, the pews 
excepted, which in this case were allowed to be built by the owners them- 
selves. The latter, however, were heavily fined in case they later seated 
themselves or any member of their family in any other seats within the 
house, this act being styled "ungodly." 

In 1764 provision was made that "any young men singers sett in 
the men's sixth seat below, during the parish pleasure." There was no 
provision for heating this church until about 1824, when box-stoves 
were introduced. Lighting was always done by candles brought by the 
membership. Hence the notices of evening gatherings came to be uni- 
versal, "at early candle light." The pulpit was high, and overhung by a 



TOWN OF HAMILTON 227 

sounding-board; in front was the deacon's seat occupied by Deacons 
Nathaniel Whipple and John Patch. Deacon Patch sat at the door, and 
Deacon Whipple at the farther end, wearing a full-bottomed wig. Dea- 
con Patch lined the hymns, while Deacon Whipple set the hymns or 
psalm. 

Of the clergy, it may be recorded that Rev. Samuel Wigglesworth 
was pastor from the date of church organization in 1714 to 1768 — fifty- 
four years; he preached until summoned to his heavenly reward. He 
was succeeded by Rev. Dr. Cutler, who was called when a young man in 
May, 1771; his Christian name was Manasseh. He was a graduate of 
Yale College. He became a wonderful man in his influence and deeds 
as a statesman, as well through Revolutionary War days as later. It 
was he who had the anti-slavery clause entered in the treaty of 1787, 
creating the great Northwest Territory, by which act Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois and other Western States were admitted only as Free States to 
the Union. Joseph B. Felt was the successor of Dr. Cutler as pastor in 
Hamilton parish. He was installed in 1824, and served faithfully and 
well until four years before his death, in 1837, aged eighty years. Fol- 
lowing him came Rev. George W. Kelly, who on account of ill health 
resigned in 1850, having served since 1834. Next came Rev. John H. 
Mordough from 1850 to 1861, and he was succeeded by Rev. Frank H. 
Johnson, who served till 1863, after which came Rev. S. F. French, who 
resigned in 1871, and was followed by Rev. Calvin G. Hill, who resigned 
fti 1876, after which no regular pastor was engaged for many years. In 
1883 it was found expedient to reorganize this church society, or rather 
to do away with the old parish rules, and they organized what was called 
the First Congregational Society, taking the place of the 1829 Parish 
above treated upon at length. This was approved by the legislature in 
March, 1884. Since then this church has been conducted on strictly 
up-to-date church methods. Further information has not been furnished 
the writer, 

A Universalist Society was formed in 1827, by Michael Knowlton 
and fifteen others. This existed only a short time. 

In 1860 the Methodist Episcopal Church established the Asbury 
Camp Meeting Association. It purchased seventy-five acres in the grove, 
and laid out and sold lots, upon which many cottages were built. It was 
successfully managed many years. Incidentally, a branch of the Eastern 
railroad was extended to these famous camp-grounds. The National 
Camp-meeting in 1870 was held on these beautiful grounds, presided over 
by Rev. Inskip, D.D. A postofRce was finally secured and it was named 
Asbury, in honor of the Methodist church's Bishop Asbury. Today the 
place is known as Asbury Grove. Such in brief is the start of this little 
hamlet within Hamilton town. 



CHAPTER XXI. 
TOWN OF WEST NEWBURY. 

As the very earliest history of the territory embraced within the 
Town of West Newbury has already been treated in chapters on the 
other towns of which this sub-division of Essex county was originally a 
part, it will not be taken up in this connection further than is necessary 
to show the causes which led to the separation from other towns. Gen- 
erally speaking, this article will treat only of the histoiy of the town 
since the date of its incorporation in February, 1819, one hundred and 
two years ago. It may be well to suggest to the reader of this volume 
that perhaps a clearer understanding of the subject may be had by 
reading the chapters on "Newbury" and "Newburyport," in connection 
with this chapter, the three sections of Essex county being so closely 
connected, one with the other. 

The many hillsides and beautiful valleys found in this part of the 
county attracted the pioneer. The landscape must have been one of 
great charm to the first settlers, and now after the flight of nearly three 
centuries, with the numerous changes and improvements added by the 
hand of man, it is almost a wonderland of beauty to the resident as 
well as to the passer-by. Pipe-Stave, Archelus, Long, Crane-Neck, 
Meeting-House and Indian hills are among the interesting places within 
the town. 

As early as 1685 these remote inhabitants of the town of Newbury 
began to feel inconveniences, and hence we find they sought to be set off 
from the territory of the original town of Newbury. A petition dated 
March 10, 1685, to the authorities of Newbury read as follows: 

The humble request of some of the inhabitants of this town desire and entreat 
you would be pleased to grant us your consent, approbation and assistance in get- 
ting some help in the ministry amongst us, by reason that we doe live soe remote 
from the means, great part of us, that we cannot worship God; neither can our 
families, with any comfort or convenience; neither can our families be brought up 
under the means of grace, as Christians ought to bee, and which is absolutely neces- 
sary unto salvation; therefore, we will humbly crave your loving compliance with 
us in this, our request. 

This was the first move toward a new parish in Newbury, but the 
records are as silent as the tomb concerning any action taken in the 
matter. The next date this subject is referred to in the church or town 
records was when the meeting-house seems to have been built in 1688 
at the Plains by the people of the West district, regardless of the wishes 
of the old parish of Newbury. This building was thirty feet square and 
was built by sixteen persons. Some have claimed that the date of the 
erection of this church was 1686, but a clause in the will of Joseph Mor- 
fng, dated November 5, 1688, shows conclusively that at that date the 



TOWN OF WEST NEWBURY 229 

house had not been erected : "I give to the new town in Newbury twenty 
pounds to help build a meeting-house, if they do build one; and if 
they do not build one, then I give twenty pounds towards building or 
repairing the meeting-house now standing in Newbury." Again, in 
1690, the people of the district asked the town to make some provisions 
for a minister among them. The committee to whom this was presented 
replied that "considering the times as troublesome and the town being 
so much behind with Mr. Richardson's salary, the farmers and neck 
men being under great disadvantages upon many accounts, do desire and 
expect, if such a thing be granted, that they should have the same privi- 
lege to provide for themselves, which we think cannot conduce to peace, 
therefore desire the new towne to rest satisfied for the present." 

This did not suit the petitioners, and they went ahead making plans 
to build and to support a minister in some way themselves. When this be- 
came known to the town authorities, it was brought up at a meeting, 
held July 14, 1691, and voted "that understanding that several (fifteen) 
of the inhabitants of the new towne are about calling Mr. Edward Thomp- 
son to be their minister, the towne do manifest their dislike against it, 
or against any other minister whom they should call, until ye town and 
church are agreed upon it, looking upon such a thing to be an intrusion 
upon ye church and towne." 

In October the same year a petition was presented to the General 
Court by the west-end people "to establish a people by themselves for 
the maintenance of the ministry among them," and in December the 
town voted against the grant of the petition, and chose a committee to 
oppose it before the General Court. Great excitement followed between 
those who should have been more like the Master in their relations with 
each other. One of the "west-enders," as then called, was indicted for 
calling the committee appointed to consider their petition, "devils in- 
carnate." Many such sessions ensued and were unrelenting and severe. 

Matters drifted along until May, 1693, when the town voted "that 
Mr. John Clarke be called to assist Mr. Richardson (the Newbury min- 
ister) in the work of the ministry at the west end of the towne, to 
preach to them one year in order to farther settlement and also to keep 
a grammar school." But matters were still troublesome until finally, 
December 31, 1694, a concession was made by the town, and a committee 
of five drew up articles and proposed to set apart the west end of the 
town as a separate parish. In December, 1695, five acres of land on the 
east side of Artichoke river and one acre of land near the west meeting- 
house were granted to the west inhabitants when they saw cause to 
move the meeting-house to the place specified by the town. Until 1824, 
this parish was called the Second Parish of Newbury, but after that 
date, by order of the General Court, it was changed to the "First Parish 
of West Newbury," as that town had in the meantime been incorporated 
an independent town of Essex county. 



230 ESSEX COUNTY 

On February 18, 1819, the General Court passed an act by whicJi 
the ancient town of Newbury was divided, the western part to be known 
as the town of Parsons. This name did not suit many, and June, 1820, 
it was legally changed to West Newbury. The first selectmen were 
Daniel Emery, Joseph Stanwood and Thomas Case. The local manage- 
ment of public affairs in this town has been fully up to the standard of 
other towns within Essex county. 

The officers of the town in 1920 were the following: Moderator, 
Parker H. Nason; Town Clerk, Elwood N. Chase; Selectmen, Robert S. 
Brown, Parker H. Nason, George C. Howard ; Superintendent of Schools, 
Heraian N. Knox; Treasurer and Tax Collector, Charles F. Brown; 
Auditor, Francis W. Noyes; Constables, Charles T. Mosley, Carroll C. 
Ordway, Willie E. Hudson; Tree Warden and Moth Superintendent, 
Frank D. Bailey ; Forest Fire Warden, Edward Johnston ; Chief of Police, 
Charles T. Mosley ; Lumber Surveyors, William J. Dunn, George Milnes, 
Sherbum T. Davis. 

Real estate valuations, $934,575; personal estate valuations, $151,- 
614; money appropriated by the town, $39,817.96; State tax, $3,080; 
State highway tax, $510.50. 

West Newbury in 1900 had a population of 1,558; in 1910 it was 
1,473; and the last (1920) United States reports gave it 1,492. 

Assessed Valuations — Number of polls assessed, 411; dwelHngs 
assessed, 425 ; horses assessed, 213 ; cows assessed, 574 ; neat cattle other 
than cows, 230; sheep assessed, 21; swine assessed, 71; fowl assessed, 
3,141; residents assessed on property, 436; non-residents assessed on 
property, 97; assessed on poll tax only, 188; acres of land assessed, 8,- 
160; taxes for State, county and town, $27,152. 

Financial Condition, December, 1920 — Assets — Uncollected taxes, 
$10,324.87 ; cash in hands of tax collector, $151.58 ; balance in treasury, 
$936.44; balance due on account excise tax, $144.81; due from State 
account State aid, $1,098.00 ; due from State account Mothers' aid, $231.- 
50 ; due from town's account. Mothers' aid, $338.00 ; due from State ac- 
count moth work, $135.00. Total— $13,360.20. 

Liabilities — Notes due National Banks, anticipation of revenue 
loan, $7,500.00; notes due State Treasurer, school-house loan, $11,000.00; 
bills unpaid estimated, $2,250.00 ; total— $20,750.00 ; excess of liabilities 
over assets, $7,389.80. 

At the time West Newbury was incorporated its business inter- 
ests in way of sundry though unimportant industries did not aggregate 
more than forty thousand dollars a year, but before the eighties the 
volume of business had greatly increased, and shoes and hair combs 
were being manufactured quite extensively. The comb business was es- 
tablished as early as 1770, at first conducted by Enoch Noyes, a farmer, 
who made hora buttons. He worked in his kitchen during the winter 
months, having as his only tools a hatchet, a saw, a bit of glass and a 



TOWN OF WEST NEWBURY 231 

woolen polishing- rag. After the battle of Bennington, he engaged a 
Hessian comb-maker, who had deserted from Burgoyne's army, who 
soon taught him the art of comb-making. The business was founded 
by Mr. Noyes and continued by his son, grandsons, and great-grandsons. 
Interviews with men who were youthful in the forties inform us that 
there were not less than twenty-five separate shops turning out buttons 
and combs in West Newbury in 1830. They took their products to Bos- 
ton, sold them to dealers, and brought back their one-horse rig full of 
horns with which to make more combs, etc. In 1887 the number of 
factories had decreased to only two, but through the use of steam and 
machinery, these two turned out as great an output as did all the others 
under the early-day methods. The two who were pioneers and who had 
remained in trade until the entire business was abandoned in the town, 
were S. C. Noyes & Co., and G. O. and T. M. Chase. The largest of 
these two firms was that of S. C. Noyes & Co., in which were some 
machines invented by Hayden Brown, by y/hich horn combs were made 
equal to ivory in beauty of finish. About twenty-five years ago these 
industries all ceased to operate. 

Carriage making was also carried on in the town at one time quite 
extensively, but later these factories were removed to Amesbury, on 
the opposite side of the river, and there helped swell the number of car- 
riage factories to above thirty operated at one time. The manufacture 
of shoes was carried on in West Newbury on a moderate scale. In the 
eighties, such a factory was still operated by James Durgin & Son. 

Today there is no manufacturing in the town. The one long, well- 
kept highway, v/ith street cars nmnin.rc nn its side, passes through the 
town, which has numerous old, but well preserved residences; farm 
houses, where still hangs the "Old Oaken Bucket", with thrifty orchards 
and smooth pastures greeting the eye on every hand. There are a few 
smiall shops or stores along this street, including Bailey's store and post- 
oflfice, kept by Mrs, Smith; Hiram R. Poore, Daniel Cooney, Charles 
Brown, C. E. Rowell, C. B. Morse, Mrs. Flora E. Clark, and the "Emer- 
gency Cupboard." 

The town has a Central School, a High School and smaller school. 
At present the churches of the town are the Episcopal, Roman Catholic, 
and two of the Congregational denomination. Three of these churches 
have regular pastors, while the Second Congregational Church is sup- 
plied from Newburyport. 



CHAPTER XXII. 
TOWN OF ESSEX. 

Although Essex is among the lesser towns within the county, it 
may well claim much of unusual interest along historical lines ; for in its 
final development of profitable industries, the education and sending 
forth to the great outside world, many a man of genius and high attain- 
ments hailed from here. Especially in its military and church activities 
has it shown wonderful strength. Of the men famous in both military 
and religious life, special chapters will treat more fully. In passing, how- 
ever, it may be stated that from this town have come numerous judges; 
eminent surgeons and physicians ; six commissioned officers in the French 
and Indian War ; seven commissioned officers in the Revolutionary strug- 
gle; thirteen clergymen, two of whom were doctors of divinity, and one 
a presiding elder ; fourteen physicians, all regular graduates in medicine 
and surgery; eight members of the legal profession; two delegates to 
the State Constitutional Convention of 1780; two to the Convention of 
1788 which ratified the Constitution of the United States; one delegate 
to the Slate Constitutional Convention of 1820; three State Senators 
and one United States Senator — these vv'ere all duly accredited to this 
small town up to the year 1885. 

No less authority than good Doctor Crowell, who many years since 
wrote concerning this town, avers that the first American settlement 
was made by the English in the persons of William White, John Cogs- 
well and Goodman Bradstreet, the date of their arrival being about 1634. 
Nothing positive can now be learned of the families of these three men. 
White's Hill of this town is supposed to have taken its name from the 
White just named above. 

An immigrant from England named Humphrey Bradstreet came 
over in the ship "Elizabeth," from Ipswich, England, with his wife Brid- 
get and four children in 1634. It is believed that he was called by an- 
other Christian name, but that he and the person named as being one of 
the first three to settle in this town were one and the same person. John 
Bradstreet, of Rowley, of whom it is mentioned in Winthrop's journal 
that he was whipped for having "familiarity with the Devil," was one of 
the sons of this Humphrey. He was accused of bewitching a dog. 

The Jolm Cogswell named as being one of the first three settlers was 
the ancestor of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oliver Wendell Holmes. At 
first, he resided in Ipswich, but that territory is now within Essex. Cogs- 
well was a native of Wilts county, England, where he had been an exten- 
sive manufacturer of broadcloth and other woolen fabrics. He inherited 
the mills from his father's estate, the same having been run in the family 
for three generations. With his wife and seven children, he came to 
America in the ship "Angel Gabriel," of two hundred and forty tons bur- 




ESSEX— ABOVE, FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH; BELOW, METHODIST 

EPISCOPAL CHURCH 



itiE NEW YORK^ 
-)B; !^ LIBRARY 



ASTOK, LET^OX 
■HLDEN FOUNDATIONS 



TOWN OF ESSEX 233 

den, carrying fourteen guns. She was strongly constructed, and was 
the vessel on which Sir Walter Raleigh sailed from England to South 
America on two voyages. Just exactly the spot where Mr. Cogswell or 
his companions located in this town is not known. He died in 1669, aged 
seventy-seven. His daughter Hannah married Cornelius Waldo, and 
from them descended Ralph Waldo Emerson. 

Besides the three family names already mentioned, in a short time 
came in many more, as there is a list found in the Ipswich records for 
1648 showing one hundred and sixty persons who contributed to a mili- 
tary fund. At least eight of this number were residents of Chebacco, 
viz: John Burnham, Thomas Bumham, William Cogswell, John Choate, 
Robert Crosse, William Goodhue, Thomas Low, William Story. More of 
the name of Burnham came to this settlement than any other one name 
in the whole settlement. 

The Sagamore of Agawam, an Indian chief named Masconomet, 
claimed the ownership of land in this township. In 1638 he sold his right 
and title to the soil of Ipswich to John Winthrop, son of Governor Win- 
throp, for £20, equal to about $100 of United States money. The peculiar 
deed of old Masconomet to the whites was as follows, when translated 
into English ; 

I, Masconomet, Sagamore of Agawam, do by these presence do acknowledge to 
have received of Mr, John Winthrop the sum of twenty pounds in full satisfaction 
of all the right, property and claim I have, or ought to have, unto all the land lying 
and being in the Bay of Agawam, alias Ipswich, being so called now by the English, 
as well as such land as I formerly reserved unto my own use at Chebacco, as also 
other land, belonging to me in these parts, Mr. Dummer's farm excepted only. And 
I hereby relinquish all the right and interest I have unto all the havens, rivers, creeks, 
islands, huntings and fisheries; with all the woods, swamps, timber, and whatever 
else is, or may be, in, or upon the same ground belonging; and I do hereby acknowl- 
edge to have received full satisfaction from the said John Winthrop for all former 
agreements, touching the premises and parts of them; and I do hereby bind myself 
to make good the aforesaid bargain and sale unto the said John Winthrop, his heirs 
and assigns forever, and to secure him against the title and claim of all other In- 
dians and natives whatsoever. Witness my hand, 28th of June, 1638. 

(Signed) MASCONOMET (his X mark.) 

Witness hereunto, John Joyliff, James Downing, Thomas Catytimore, Robert 
Harding. 

John Winthrop's journal, under date of June 13, 1630, while the ship 
"Arbella," in which he had sailed, lay near present Beverly, or "the 
land of Cape Ann," has this entry: "Lord's day 13. — In the morning, 
the Sagamore of Agawam and one of his men came aboard our ship and 
staid with us all day." This meeting may have been the means of Win- 
throp settling at the point which he did — Ipswich, and his ultimate pur- 
chase of the territory of Agawam from the Indian chief. 

Here, as elsewhere, the first occupation of settlers was of necessity 
that of farming. Next came fishing, both from the sea and the rivers. 
At first hook and line were the only means of procuring the fish, but 



234 ESSEX COUNTY 

later it was counted too slow work, and the Ipswich records shov/ this 
method put into practice: "December 24, 1634. — It is consented unto 
that John Perkins, junior, shall build a ware (fish-trap) on the river of 
Quasycung' (now Parker river, Newbury) and enjoy the profits of it, but 
in case a plantation shall settle there, then he is to submit himself unto 
such conditions as shall then be imposed." 

Just when fishing began no one can tell, but it is certain that as soon 
as boats could be built, the settlers engaged in fishing, first in the rivers, 
and later in the ocean. At one time in the history of Essex, fourteen ves- 
sels were owned in the place, employed in the cod fisheries. There is 
nothing of that kind known since the close of the Civil War. 

Digging clams for food and for bait has been another industry 
named by early v/riters in the occupations of the people. As early as 
1763, the authorities of Ipswich ordered that only so many clams should 
be taken from the marshes as would supply the fisheraien and for food 
required among the inhabitants. The amount allowed each of a crew to 
Newfoundland for one trip, was one barrel. In 1837 clams sold here at 
$2.50 per barrel, and in 1886 the net price was quoted at $4. The annual 
receipts for shell-fish, 1886-87, were $12,800 for Essex. 

Malting and brewing was carried on extensively, as beer was in 
common use in every household. Tea and coffee were little used here at 
that date. Generally, each to\Mi had one malster. The farmer took his 
barley and other grain to him, as he did other milling grains, and it was 
"tolled" by the miller, the same as wheat. Much barley was grown and 
much good beer w£is made in all its purity. The records do not speak of 
any drunkenness. 

The common trades, such as cai'penters, blacksmiths, tailors, and 
shoemakers, were numerous, and filled a role that was very useful, if 
not indeed indispensable. Ecat-building by ship carpenters and joiners 
were early enterprises in tiiis settlement, along v/ith the production of 
twine and cordage. In about 1363 this branch of industiy took on 
larger proportions. Captain Bumham and Samuel Hardy, as well as 
David, William H. and H. W. Mears, were prominent in this industry, 
and supplied all that was required by the vessels from Essex ; but before 
1890, things changed. The heavier ropes and cords were obtained else- 
where, while the smaller cordage was made at home in the well-known 
"rope-walks." 

The first saw and grist mills were constructed here in 1656, on Cheb- 
acco river ; later, two more were added at the Falls. In 1693 a grist mill 
were set in operation in the town. Another set of mills were built in 
1823, both sav/ and flouring mills. In connection, they had a wool-card- 
ing mill. In 1872 the Essex Steam Mill Company built two mills on 
Southern avenue. With the consumption of the forests, the saw mill 
industry has shrunk to meagre proportions at this date, as compared 
with earlier years. 



TOWN OF ESSEX 235 

By far the largest industry Essex has ever been favored with is 
that of building ships for the great ocean trade. This enterprise began 
in a modest way in the construction of the little Chebacco boats, boats 
without a bowsprit, having two masts and two sails only — foresail and 
mainsail— being sharp at both stem and stern. It is said that at the 
close of t'he eighteenth century there were nearly two thousand of 
these craft, of large and small tonnage, employed in the fisheries, and 
sailing from Cape Ann. The Indian name of Essex was Chebacco, hence 
the ship-builders named these boats after the Indian name. About 1825 
the building of these boats materially fell off in volume, and larger ves- 
sels, with a square stern, full-rigged as schooners, were produced in 
large numbers. In the eighties vessels of still much greater tonnage 
were built at the Essex ship-yards, including several three-masted 
schooners, and two steamers, one for General B. F. Butler and another 
for Captain Lamont G. Bumham. 

One of these vessels, built in 1853, became historic. It was con- 
structed by John James and Leonard McKenzie, and was used by Dr. 
Elisha K. Kane on his Grinnell expedition, in search of Sir John Frank- 
lin, the famous Arctic explorer. Its name at first was "Spring Hill," but 
when used by Dr. Kane, she was renamed "Advance." She had a 144 
ton burden and was complimented highly by Dr. Kane. 

As time passed on, the Essex vessels were of larger and better con- 
struction. In 1842 the "Ann Maria," of 510 tons burden, was construct- 
ed. The swiftest boatmaking up to that day was in 1837, when in the 
month of July a craft was entirely built at the Essex yards and named 
the "July." Dr. Crowell mentions all the vessels so far named. Since 
his record, still larger craft have been the rule. The "Mattie W. At- 
wood," a three-masted schooner of seven hundred and seventy tons bur- 
den, was built in 1872 by James & McKenzie. In 1880, L. G. Bumham 
built the "Vidette" of eight hundred and nineteen tons burden; she 
had two propellers. 

Coming down to 1888 and later dates, the active ship-builders were 
Arthur D. Story, James & Co., Moses Adams, Joseph, Samuel and Charles 
Oliver Story, Daniel Poland and Willard Burnham. 

As to the present of boat-building, let it be recorded that there are 
now only two firms building vessels for the sea trade. These are Arthur 
D. Story and J. F. James & Son. The last named succeeded the old firm 
of Tarr & James, and they were preceded by Leonard McKenzie. Ever- 
ett B. James is now at the head of this well known boat-building com- 
pany. In 1921 the firm built and launched the prize boat "Maj/flower," 
in the month of April, when ten thousand people were present at the 
christening. 

John Prince established the first printing office in Essex in 1843. 
Along with it was published a newspaper, known as the "Essex Cabinet" ; 
it sumved, however, only a part of the year. Later, a religious paper 



236 ESSEX COUNTY 

was issued, called the "Universalist Cabinet." Many years later the 
"Essex Enterprise" was established, but it was continued for but a short 
time. 

Among the useful trades of Essex from an early time was that of 
tanning hides and pelts into leather. It is certain that in 1743, Joseph 
Perkins and father-in-law, Thomas Choate, Jr., bought for £928 twenty- 
six acres of land, known as Old Tenor, of Francis Cogswell, tanner, and 
Hannah, his wife : "One half of this land to go to said Thomas and the 
other half to the said Joseph." Joseph was engaged at tanning sev- 
eral years on this tract of land. He was succeeded in the same line by 
his grandsons, John and James Perkins. Their tan-vats were near the 
brook, in the rear of the old burying-ground. Captain Francis Bumham 
also had a tannery at the Falls for many years, on the same site on which 
the Francis Goodhue tannery was erected. With the change of times and 
the centralization of industries in larger cities, this industry was lost to 
Essex. 

S. B. Fuller & Sons, with Frank E. Gilbert, in 1872 opened a shoe 
factory in Essex, in a building thirty-five by sixty feet, and three stories 
high; it was greatly enlarged in 1880. In 1888 there were about one 
hundred and twenty-five persons employed, the pay-roll amounting to 
fifty thousand dollars a year. Four hundred thousand pairs of shoes 
were made there annually in the eighties. For several years this indus- 
try has not existed in Essex. 

Besides those already mentioned, Essex has had business interests 
in the successful handling of ice, hay, milk, butter, fruits and vege- 
tables, all of home production. While many of the former factories have 
been closed down, other enterprises have sprung up. 

The business of the town of Essex in 1921 is chiefly confined to agri- 
culture, ship-building, clam digging and the making of fish-lines. The 
last-named business was established many years ago, when rope-walks 
and flax and hemp were used in the making of lines, cords and rope. The 
Mears Improved Line Company now makes a fishing line that is sold 
from coast to coast in large quantities. H. W. Mears is the present pro- 
prietor. There are now being taken from the sands along the coast of 
Essex no less than one hundred barrels daily of excellent merchantable 
clams. There are two saw mills in operation a part of the year, although 
timber is becoming very scarce in the vicinity of Essex. 

Chebacco was set off from Ipswich in 1819, and incoiT)orated as the 
town of Essex by an act of the legislature, February 5th that year. The 
committee of the town of Essex, in conjunction with another like 
committee from Ipswich, adjusted the settlement between the two 
places. The names of those serving from Essex were Georgee Choate, 
William Cogswell, Jr.,and Elias Andrews. The population in 1819 was 
1,170, including twenty-one paupers. The late United States census re- 
turns for 1920 gives the number of inhabitants as 1,478. Other state- 



TOWN OF ESSEX 237 

ments in other enumeration periods give the following: In 1860, it was 
1701— the largest on record; in 1830 it was 1,333; in 1840, it was 1,432; 
and 1870 the total was 1,614. The town is now bounded by Ipswich on 
the north, Hamilton on the west, Manchester on the south, and Glou- 
cester on the south and east. The area is about 9,000 acres, 7,000 of 
which are divided into tillage, upland, fresh and salt meadows, woodland 
and highways. As late as 1890 there were 2,000 acres under water. 

At the first town meeting in Essex, the moderator was George 
Choate, of the distinguished Choate family in New England and New 
York. Joseph Story, a Revolutionary War soldier, was the first town 
clerk; George Choate, Jonathan Story (4th), Elias Andrews, William 
Cogswell and William Andrews were chosen the original selectmen, 
assessors and overseers of the poor; Nathan Choate was first town treas- 
urer, and Rev. Robert Crowell and the selectmen were by vote of the 
town meeting designated as the first school committee. 

The following is a list of the town officers (elective) for the year 
1921: Moderator, George E. Mears; Town Clerk, Epes Sargent; Select- 
men: Caleb W. Cogswell (chairman), Aaron Cogswell; Secretary, Fred 
W. Andrews ; Assessors : Fred W. Andrews, Leonard A. Story, Caleb M. 
Cogswell; Treasurer, Grove N. Dodge; Auditor, Charles M. Stevens; Tax 
Collector, Joseph N. Tucker; Overseers of the Poor: 0. Perry Bumham 
William A. Lendall, John Wilson ; School Committee : Alden C. Burnham 
Marshall H. Cogswell, Assie B. Hobbs; Tree Warden, Otis 0. Story; Con 
stables: Charles R. Lane, Stewart J. Hadley; Cemetery Commissioners: 
Leighton E. Perkins, Alphonso W. Knowlton ; Highway Surveyors : Frank 
E. Watson, George H. Paynter, David Mears, Welbus L. Cogswell, Ed- 
ward H. Burnham; Fence Viewers: A. F. Haskell, Benj. F. Raymond 
Wm. A. Lendall, Enoch B. Kimball. 

In common with many other towns in Essex county, Essex has a 
good library, of which the librarian's report in 1920 gave these facts: 
Bound volumes on shelves, 6,963; circulation, 16,320; volumes added^ 
165 ; cards in circulation, 484. The investment of funds belonging to the 
hbrary was as follows : Bank deposits and Liberty War bonds, $20,664.64. 
The Burnham and Russ funds have been of great help toward carrying on 
this excellent library. The librarian making the above statement in 
1920 ,was E. B. Story. 

As a matter for future reference, it may be well to give the follow- 
ing figures from the town assessors' report in 1920 ; Value of assessed 
personal estate, $312,424.00; assessed real estate, $1,058,090.00; increase 
m 1920 over previous year, $37,807.00; tax on personal estate, $7,030.21 • 
tax on real estate (1920), $23,807.78; tax on 458 polls at $5 each, $2,- 
290.00. Concerning the last item, it may be said that three of the five 
dollars derived from the polls were paid to men who served in the War 
with Germany, as required by Chapter 283, Acts of 1919. 

Sundry items from Report: Number of horses, 130; cows, 348; 



238 ESSEX COUNTY 

neat cattle other than cows, 142 ; swine, 70 ; dwelling houses, 620 ; acres 
land, 7,852; fowl, 4,426. 

In 1819 a postofRce was established in Essex with Dudley Choate as 
postmaster. He was succeeded by the following in their order: Amos 
Bumham, 1826; Enoch Low, 1854; Charles W. Proctor, 1864; Daniel 
W .Bartlett, Sr., and Daniel W. Bartlett, Jr., 1868 to 1881 ; Leighton E. 
Perkins, 1881 to 1914, when he was succeeded by Clarence S. Perkins. 
The office has been kept in the present building since 1868. It is a third 
class office, with one rural route going from it. The last year's business 
of this office was about $1,700. 

The town began very early to agitate the question of temperance in 
the matter of drinking spirituous liquors. Its first temperance society 
was formed in 1829, and in 1842 the Washington Total Abstinence So- 
ciety was organized. With the passing years and decades, as public 
sentiment changed regarding the handling of such problems, Essex has 
ever had her full share of worthy, practical, sensible temperance ad- 
vocates, even down to these later years, when the States and the Nation 
itself have decreed the dethronement of King Alcohol. 

Essex was without a railway until 1872, the nearest railroad com- 
munication being Manchester, on the Gloucester branch road, more than 
four miles distant, with Wenham six miles away. July 1, 1872, the first 
train of steam cars was run over the tracks of the Essex Railroad, which 
extended from Wenham to Essex. The town appropriated a part of the 
necessary funds to secure this railroad, which was subsequently sold to 
the Eastern Railroad Company and is today a part of the great Boston 
& Maine system. The road was extended across the river and marshes 
to the Thompson Island community, in 1887, when a jubilee was held 
over the event. To the first promoter and president of the original rail- 
road company, Leonard McKenzie, Esq., must be awarded the credit of 
dominating service and labors in the construction of the long-wanted 
and much-needed road. 

Fully forty years after the first settlement by the English, which is 
placed at 1634, there was no preaching in what is now Essex, by any reg- 
ular ordained minister. Now and then, ministers from Ipswich would 
come over and hold a service, pray with the religiously-inclined and coun- 
sel with them. At funerals, these men of God also came to Essex, and 
after a brief service the remains of the deceased were taken upon the 
shoulders of the pallbearers to the burying-ground at Ipswich and there 
laid away to rest. Prior to 1667 there appears no record of any preach- 
ing at Essex. Early in 1668 Rev. Jeremiah Shepard, son of Rev. Thomas 
Shepard, of Cambridge, preached in private houses; he declined to act 
as a regular minister, on account of the church at Ipswich objecting 
thereto. This was no doubt due to the tax that always went with the 
organization of any new church. The first conference looking toward a 
second church was held in Ipswich, February, 1677. Two years later the 



TOWN OF ESSEX 239 

interested men and women took matters into their own hands, regard- 
less of what might be said in Ipswich. These people were tired of 
traveling five miles weekly to worship God, hence they revolted. The 
frame of a suitable dimension for a church building was provided, with- 
out the sanction of the church or the State, as one might well term it, 
the work being carefully superintended by three energetic women who 
labored in secret with their husbands in this enterprise. Not many days 
after they had raised the frame for a church, three women — Mrs. Good- 
hue, wife of William Jr., Mrs, Vamey, wife of Thomas Varney, and Mrs. 
Martin, wife of Abraham Martin, and Abraham Martin himself and his 
hired man, John Chub — were all placed under arrest, tried before a 
magistrate in Ipswich, found guilty of "contempt" in helping to raise a 
meeting-house at Chebacco, and bound over to the "Great and General 
Court" in Boston, where they made confession, and were allowed to go 
unpunished. Later they completed their meeting-house. The site of 
this structure served for the residence of Captain Joseph Choate. It 
was a very plain, well built structure, with a frame of white oak. The 
building had a cupola, and a fine toned bell hung within it. 

The first minister was Rev. John Wise, a native of Roxbury, Massa- 
chusetts, bom 1652. The father came from England in 1635 as a ser- 
vant of Dr. George Alcock. The son. Rev. Wise, graduated at Harvard 
College in 1673, then little better in educational standards than our pres- 
ent high or noiTnal schools. He was a chaplain in King Philip's War, 
and later preached at Hatfield, Massachusetts ; he was married in 1678 to 
Miss Abigail Gardner. In the spring of 1680 he went to Chebacco to 
dedicate a church, the record states. He was finally ordained and settled 
here and preached in Essex for forty-five years. He died in 1725, aged 
seventy-three years. 

It is not the intention in this chapter to dwell long on sundry points 
that might be thought interesting in a church history proper. In a gen- 
eral work of which this volume is a part, it is inexpedient to more than 
touch here and there, in an outline history. Hence the life and character 
of the numerous ministers will be very briefly mentioned. 

The second minister in Essex was Rev. Theophilus Pickering, an 
officer of the Revolutionary struggle, and also a member of President 
Washington's cabinet, as well as in the administration of the elder 
Adams. After about sixteen years. Rev. Pickering and his flock dis- 
agreed over the preaching of that wonderful preacher and revivalist. 
Rev. George Whitefield, who in 1640 first preached in Ipswich, and 
visited Chebacco. He did not agree with Whitefield's methods of pre- 
senting his views, while his church, as a rule, held Whitefield up as a 
model. A considerable number in his church declined to stand by him. 
They consequently withdrew and formed a separate church, with Rev. 
John Cleveland as settled pastor. From this line of Clevelands came the 
late President Grover Cleveland. 



240 ESSEX COUNTY 

The third minister of the original church at Essex was Rev. Ne- 
hemiah Porter, a native of Hamilton, who filled the pulpit upon the death 
of Rev. Pickering. He was a Harvard graduate; remained here seven- 
teen years, and moved to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. He left two hundred 
descendants ; the year of his death was 1820. 

The Church of the Separatists was presided over by Rev. John Cleve- 
land until his death in 1799, over a half century. He was somewhat of 
an orator, and never afraid to speak his mind. Once in his church, it 
was bitter cold, while preaching one morning, and he suffered from the 
coldness. Finally, he stopped long enough to stamp his foot violently 
on the floor, and exclaimed, "0, God, who can stand before thy cold." 
(Psalm cxlvii). He then proceeded with his two hours' sermon. His 
successor was Josiah Webster. 

All was orthodox preaching by the Congregationalists in Essex for 
over one hundred and seventy years after its original settlement. Then 
in 1809, a plain flat-roofed building, without steeple or tower, was 
erected upon the site of the Methodist church. It was thirty-five feet 
square, of pine, and instead of pews had long benches for seats. The 
Christian Baptist society occupied this plain meeting-house. The church 
had no written creed, the members styling themselves Christians, the 
same as the Campbellites after the death of Alexander Campbell. The 
society prefeiTed to be knovv^n as the Church of Christian Baptists, or 
Christians. Their most distinguished preacher was Rev. Elias Smith. 
He founded the first newspaper in this part of the country — ^probably in 
the United States. Its first issue was pulled from the press in Sep- 
tember, 1808, eight years prior to the "Boston Recorder". Styled the 
"Herald of Gospel and Liberty," it had an existence of nine years. Its 
editor. Elder Smith, was first a Calvinistic Baptist, then Free Will Bap- 
tist, then Christian; later, he became a Universalist, and at last was 
counted with the Rationalists. He became a botanical doctor in Boston 
and died in his eighty-fifth year in 1846. 

The Universalist Society was formed in 1829 by forty-three persons, 
who signed a constitution and agreed to a statement of belief. Various 
clergymen preached here, including Rev. Ezra Leonard, a Congregation- 
al preacher, who was converted to the Universalist faith. Other min- 
isters sei'ved, and in 1835 Rev. Joseph Banfield, a former Christian Bap- 
tist preacher, who now saw the faith as taught by Universalists, became 
the first regular pastor. The old Baptist church and sometimes the 
school house were occupied by this society for public v/orship. In 1836 
a meeting-house was provided, under a committee which included Messrs. 
Jacob Story, John Dexter, Sr., Parker Bumham, Oliver Low and Samuel 
Hardy. The sale of the pews brought more money than the cost of the 
land, house and furniture, by $500. Since 1885 the pastors have been 
as follows : Revs. Closson, Sanger, Charles E. Petty, George Sanger and 
Wm. F. Rider, D.D. The present membership is sixty-eight. Since 
1918 the Essex pastor has also served the church at West Gloucester. 



'^^^^o^ 






i*»vi?. 






'Ar., 




Mi:.\i()i<i.\i. iiAi.L. (;i':()R(;i<:'r()\vx 




ULDKST HOUSE IN GE0K(;ET()\VN, 1660; MODERNIZED 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 241 

February, 1874, saw the first Methodist Episcopal church formed in 
Essex. It was instituted by Rev. Daniel Sherman, presiding elder. In 
1888 these Methodist people were still flourishing and worshiping in 
the Century Chapel. Recent records of this church show that at South 
Essex it has a successful work, with a membership of eighty-one and 
of preparatoiy members, thii-ty. In 1911 the church auditorium was re- 
built and remodeled. Since 1900 the Land Court has given the Methodist 
church a clear title to its property. In the summer of 1920 the vestry 
was completed at a cost of $2,500, counting donated work, of which the 
pastor performed a hundred days' labor himself. Recent pastors have 
been: Revs. Tillon, Pitman, Thornburg, 1917-19; and present pastor, 
Rev. Louis H. Kaub, 1919—. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

TOWN OF GEORGETOWN. 



This section of the work was furnished by local writers, whose 
names appear in the introductoiy mention of contributors to the History, 
and may be relied upon as accurate. 

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE 

Georgetov/n is situated not far from the geographical centre of 
Essex County, and claims the distinction of containing within its limits 
the highest land of the county, Baldpate Hill. From the lookout which 
has been built on the top of this hill, the surrounding country within a 
radius of more than fifty miles can be seen. On the west and northwest 
are the mountains of Maine and New^ Hampshire ; Monadnock and Kear- 
sarge, with Agamenticus, farther to the north ; while looking east across 
the irregular roofs of the Baldpate Inn and the clustered houses of the 
village may be seen the white sand hills of Plum Island, and on the 
horizon's farthest verge the faint blue line of the Atlantic. An observer 
from this hilltop somewhat less than three hundred years ago might 
have seen the sunlight reflected from the v/hite sails of the pinnace 
which brought to these shores the first settlers of our town. 

In the autumn of 1638, Mr. Ezekiel Rogers, with a little company 
consisting of about sixty families, dissenters from the Church of Eng- 
land, "godly men and men of good estate," emigrated from the York- 
shire town of Rowley, England, seeking in the new world the freedom 
which was denied them in the old. "Large accommodations" had beeia 
offered by the General Court of Massachusetts to Mr. Rogers if he would 
settle here. These "accommodations" comprised an area extending 
from the Atlantic to Andover, and included the towns of Georgetown, 
Boxford, Groveland and parts of Haverhill and Middleton, as well as 

Essex — 15 



242 ESSEX COUNTY 

Rowley. It was all unbroken wilderness. Where now are broad high- 
ways, alive with motor cars, were then only narrow Indian trails, wind- 
ing in and out among the giant trees of the primeval forest. Instead 
of the shriek of the locomotive and the blare of the automobile horn was 
the scream of the eagle or the wild fowl's harsh note, while the only sign 
of human life v/as, perhaps, the curling smoke from some Indian camp 
fire. 

It required courage to clear this Vv^ilderness and transplant a home 
from an old world to a new, but this courage our sturdy forefathers 
possessed; and here, near the coast in Rowley, the band of emigrants 
cleared a little spot in the all-surrounding forest and built their fu'st 
homes. For a time all their energies were spent in the laborious work 
of clearing the land of the forest growth and tilling the soil, but prob- 
ably as early as 1645 the territory now known as Georgetown was gone 
over, the lands were examined, the lakes explored, and the brooks and 
streams, with the meadows through which they flowed, were appraised 
as of great value. The uplands were probably heavily wooded, but in 
these meadows was an abundance of grass, providing excellent pasturage 
for cattle in sum.mer, as well as hay for winter use. The settlers of 
Rowley, however, seem not to have been in haste to take possession of 
these valuable lands in the western part of their plantation, partly, no 
doubt, because of the difficulty and danger of the enterprise, and partly 
because they were so fully occupied in the original settlement. Another 
possible reason for their delay has been given by Mr. Henry Nelson, in a 
newspaper article published in 1909. He says: 

It is well known by antiquarians that Rev. Ezekiel Rogers and Oliver Crom- 
well, the Puritan leader in England, were close friends, and that there was an agree- 
ment between them that if Cromwell failed to conquer King Charles of England in 
parliamentai'v contests, he was to come to this country and join Mr. Rogers. Some- 
where in this broad area given to Mr. Rogers, extending from the River Merrimack 
to Ipswich River, was the selected spot for Oliver Cromwell It is a plaus- 
ible theory that land grants to individuals in that part of Rowley awaited the issue 
of the strife so fiercely carried on between Cromwell and Charles in the old home 
of the Rowley community. But all expectation of Cromwell becoming a citizen of 
Rowley becoming a thing of the past, the first grant of land was made out to Humph- 
rey Raynor, who a year or two before had aided in its surveJ^ 

Elder Raynor was a prominent citizen and church member in Row- 
ley, and was without doubt the first owner of land in the territory of 
Georgetown. His grant vv^as in the southern part of the town extending 
fromx Baldpate pond perhaps nearly to Pen brook. A grant to Thomas 
Mighill followed in 1652. Under this date the records of the town of 
Rowley contain the following entry, the first having reference to the 
territory now Georgetown: "Twenty-three Akers at the place called 
the pen, where young cattell were formerly kept." This grant to Thomas 
Mighill included the farm formerly owned by Mr. Humphrey Nelson, 
and now the property of Miss Eleanor Jones of Haverhill. There was 



TOWN OF GEORGETOV/N 243 

probably good pasturage here, and the place had doubtless been used 
for the pasturing of young stock for some years before the grant was 
made. 

In 1661 extensive land grants were made to Samuel Brocklebank and 
his brother John. These grants extended southerly, including the farm 
now owned by Daniel P. Bond, and westerly toward Central street, in- 
cluding the Harmony cemetery. Upon this Brocklebank grant stands 
what is undoubtedly the oldest house in town, now owned by Mr. Melvin 
Spofford. In the same year, 1661, an allotment of land near and on Pen- 
tucket pond was made to Mary, the widow of Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, and 
included the land between Pentucket and Rock ponds. It extended to 
Groveland. In 1666 or 1667 a tract of land, called the three thousand 
acres, was laid out as village land. This tract included nearly all of 
Georgetown west of Pen brook, extending from what is now the centre 
of the town to Baldpate Hill. Soon the people of Rowley began to dis- 
cuss the encouragement of a settlement there. The following action is 
recorded in the Rowley town records: "It was agreed and voted that 
there should be a small farme laide out in the three thousand Acres 
of Land that v/as exchanged for land at the necke and the rest of the 
saide farm it is agreed that it shall be forever for the use of the min- 
istry, or for the towne's use." John Pickard, John Pearson and Ezekiel 
Northend was appointed ''to make a bargon with any who should 
appeare to take the saide f erme, provided that they Let not above thirty 
Acres of meddow, or halfe of the meddow belonging to the thre Thou- 
sand Acres, provided allso that they put the town to no charges, pro- 
vided allso that they lay not out above thre score Acres of upland to 
the saide ferme." 

It was not long before a "bargon" was made with one of Rowley's 
citizens, John Spofford, one of the original company of emigrants from 
Yorkshire. His name is found in the records of the division of lands 
into homestead lots in 1643. He had a house lot on Bradford street, 
near the centre of the present town of Rowley, and also owned land in 
the "fresh meadows, the salt meadows, the village lands, the Merrimack 
lands and shares in the ox pasture, the cow pasture, and the calf pas- 
ture." 

This record is found under date of March 17, 1668: "Seventeenth 
day of March, in the year one Thousand six hundred sixty-eight, it was 
agreed and voted that John Spofforth, if he would goe to the farme that 
was granted to be laid out in the thre Thousand Akers, that he should 
have the benefit of penninge the cattell for the terme of seven years, ha 
keeping the herde of the younger cattel as carefully and as cheape, as 
any other should doe." His lease was for twenty-one years, and he was 
to pay as rent for the first five years "three hundred feet of white oak 
plank, and after that time ten pounds each year, one-half in English corn 
at price current, or Indian com, as he pleases, the other half in fat cattel 



244 ESSEX COUNTY 

or leane at price current." And so John Spofford, after living for thirty 
years in Rowley, left his home there and removed to the "Gravelle Plain, 
near the Bald Hills," now Baldpate, and thus became the first settler of 
the town of Georgetown. Why he should have left his home in Rowley 
for this wilderness is not known. It may have been that the "benefit of 
penning the cattel" was a valuable privilege. At the time of his re- 
moval he had eight children, four sons and four daughters. 

It is hard for us in these days of easy, comfortable living to picture 
the lives of the rugged pioneers who had possessed courage and hardi- 
hood sufficient not only to leave their comfortable homes in Yorkshire 
for the wilderness beyond the sea, but had now left the comparative 
shelter and comfort of the settlement at Rowley for the unbroken forest 
to the west. They had reached the elemental facts of life. They were 
engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle with the untamed forces of nature. 
Their first house must have been of the rudest and most primitive de- 
scription — probably a log cabin made from the trees felled in the pro- 
cess of clearing the land. They were beset with dangers — cold, hunger, 
wild beasts, and, most dreaded of all, the Indians. Their nearest English 
neighbor was four or five miles distant, Moses Tyler of Boxford. What 
compensations did such an existence hold for the comfort and companion- 
ship they had renounced? Doubtless it did hold compensations, for it 
was not long before other settlers came. The first of these after John 
Spofford was Capt. Samuel Brocklebank. Indeed, it is probable that 
before that first permanent settlement Capt. Brocklebank had a house 
at his farm on Pen brook, and spent the farm season there, returning to 
Rowley in the winter. The records are meagre with regard to the other 
early settlers, but among the names of those who were first to settle are 
Wheeler, Browne, Plumer, Poor, Harrim.an, Goodrich, Stickney, Mig- 
hill and Nelson. 

By 1700 about twenty families were settled within the limits of 
the territory now known as Georgetown, at least four-fifths of this num- 
ber being in the Byfield section of the town. It was in this section that 
the massacre of the Goodrich family by the Indians occurred. Mr. Good- 
rich was at prayer with his family on a Sunday evening in October, 1692, 
when the house was attacked by a small band of Indians, and he, his 
wife, and several children were killed. It is said that one of the family, 
a little girl of seven, was carried off captive, but was redeemed the next 
spring. The house was sacked, and afterward set on fire ; but whether 
it was wholly or only partially burned is not known. This house stood 
on the Newburyport road at the entrance of the street leading to Gor- 
ham D. Tenney's house. There is a tradition that this murder was the 
act of a roving band of Indians, who were returning from an unsuccessful 
raid in Newbury, the object of which was the death of a man against 
whom they had a grudge ; and that coming unexpectedly upon the Good- 
rich home, they vented their anger and disappointment upon its unfor- 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN '^•" 245 

tunate inmates. That the Indians were numerous in this vicinity is 
shown by the number of Indian relics that have been found here. Many 
have been turned up by the plough near the banks of Parker river, on 
the slopes of Baldpate, and on the shores of the ponds, which were prob- 
ably favorite fishing grounds of the Indians. 

One of the largest private collections of Indian relics in New Eng- 
land is that made by Mr. Frank Bateman, who lived on the road between 
Georgetown and Newburyport. A description of it, published some 
years ago, is as follows: 

This collection has the additional value of having been dug up on the owner's 
land or near it. In the collection there are about 900 good specimens, including 
axes, pestles, gouges, sinkers for fish lines, hammers, drills, arrow heads, and small 
effigies. Mr. Bateman has found five Indian graves in his garden. From one of 
them he took ninety specimens of stone work, including spear heads, knives, scrapers 
and drills. Nearly all were broken, but two of the drills were whole. In one grave 
he found bones. In another he found a stone ax, a drill, three arrow heads, and a 
tooth. The other three graves contained no relics. He has also exhumed on his 
property a number of Indian fireplaces with ash pits. The relics are scattered over 
an area of about an acre and a half, that must have been the site of an Indian village 
including its graveyard. ' 

Other valuable collections have been made, notably one by Mr 
Alfred Spaulding and one by Mr. Hiram Harriman. The latter is now in 
the historical room of the Peabody Library. Mr. John Perley's monu- 
ment in Harmony cemetery occupies the site of an Indian watch-tower 
built by the early settlers as a protection from the savages. In those 
days there was constant fear of the lurking enemy. Men were often 
shot by an Indian bullet or arrow while at work haying in the meadows 
The men of every household were ordered to have their muskets with 
them while m the meeting-house on the Sabbath, and there were 
colonial laws forbidding persons journeying alone and receiving Indians 
into their homes. 

The Indians were not so numerous, however, at the time of the first 
settlement of Massachusetts as they had been before. In Gage's "History 
of Rowley" is the following quotation from Johnson's "Pathway to erect 
a Plantation": "It seems God hath provided this county for our nation 
destroying the natives by the plague, it not touching one Englishman! 
tnough many traded and were conversant among them. They had three 
plagues in three years successively near two hundred miles along the 
seacoast that in some places there scarce remained five of a hundred." 

As the settlers became more numerous and the land was cleared 
roads began to be opened through the town. An article on the subject 
Old Roads was prepared by Mr. Leonard Dresser for the Historical 
Souvenir Book which was published by the Georgetown Improvement 
Association in 1909. The article is as follows: 

In 1800 the roads were in a primitive state, narrow and unwrought, but for- 
tunately, the art of roadmaking was very much improved about this time by the 



246 ESSEX COUNTY 

introduction of turnpike roads connecting the villages. The roads as first laid out 
had little regard for public travel. The lots of farms were laid out in ranges, and 
a "proprietor's way" was laid out at the head of each row of lots, which paid but 
little attention to hills or valleys, and often made acute angles by passing around 
the corner of lots. Such an angle was made at Eliot's Comer on Pentucket Square. 
The Swamp, or Library Road was not made until the Parish Church had been used 
for forty years, standing on the lot east of the Humphrey Nelson house in the 
Marlboro district. Another right angle was made in passing the road to the 
Byfield mills, just below the Baptist Church parsonage, which may still be traced 
and may be remembered by some still living. At the west end of the Hill road it 
kept its course by some line of lots, beyond the house once occupied by Parker 
Spofford, over a rocky ledge, and down Gregg Hill, and turning a right angle to the 
left by Half Moon Meadow, past the house of Joseph Spofford, then, by a right 
angle to the right, passed on by the house of Moses Spofford to Boxford and An- 
dover. The road over Spofford's Hill was early travelled to the old Spofford farm. 
It passed from Andover gate, which was near the present site of the soldier'.« 
monument, nearly as at present to the comer of the Little pasture, near the 
Bridges house, then by a circuit in the pasture to the farm gate or entrance to his 
premises. The road up the Great hills, as they were then called, was not made. It 
was a new and narrow cut between two high banks, and was a little over a carriage 
width. Elm Street is one of the oldest streets in the town, outside, of course, of 
the earlier roads through from Rowley to Bradford and Andover. Elm Street was 
opened to public travel somewhere about the year 1686. North Street came next, 
being opened in 1713, and one year later West Main, or Haverhill Street was opened 
for travel. Nelson Street was opened in 1770. Central Street was not opened until 
sometime in the early part of 1800, as in 1795 there was a fenced lane leading south 
from the corner, Pentucket Square, to the house of John Brocklebank. This lane 
was afterward opened through to the Chaplin's at South Georgetown, making the 
street now called Central Street. Many of the shorter streets, such as Nelson 
Avenue, Pond Street, Prospect, Middle, Union and School Streets are comparatively 
recent. The old road that connected the two ends of the Parish, Marlboro and 
Federal City, ran along the north side of Pentucket Pond, and is easily traced at the 
present time. Federal City was a little settlement in the western part of the 
town, and Marlboro was another settlement in the eastern section. 

By 1795 there were sixty houses in the New Rowley parish scattered 
about on farms in various parts of the town. Most of them were un- 
painted, although a few were painted red. All that remains to mark the 
sites of many of them is a clump of lilac bushes, a group of gnarled apple 
trees, or a few "tiger" lilies. The first dwelling house to be erected 
within the limits of Georgetown was the log house built by John Spofford, 
It was raised in the western end of the Old Town Field, now owned by 
Samuel P. Batchelder. Later, Mr. Spofford built a frame house, which 
was burned. Another Spofford house was situated a little to the east, 
and still farther east was the house which has been generally known as 
the old Spofford homestead. It was probably built in 1741, and was 
occupied by descendants of the Spofford family until quite recently, 
when the house and farm were bought by Mr. Batchelder, who tore down 
the old building and erected a new residence on the site. The oldest 
house still standing in town is the one already referred to as the Melvin 
Spofford house, built on the Brocklebank land grant near the Old South 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 247 

green. Nine years after having received his grant, Samuel Brockle- 
bank, in 1670, erected a dwelling on the exact spot where the present 
house stands, and it is believed that the original stinicture forms a part 
of the present house, which was built over it. It passed into the hands 
of Dudley Tyler, who owned it in 1765, and later it came into the posses- 
sion of Solomon Nelson, who left it to his son, Paul Nelson. While owned 
by Tyler and the Nelsons, it was used as a tavern, and had a sign bearing 
the picture of an English officer on horseback, supposed to be that of 
General James Wolfe, who was killed in the battle of Quebec. This 
sign is still in existence. It has in it a bullet-hole, about which there 
are a number of traditions. One says it was made by some patriot 
marching past on his way to battle for independence in 1775, who took 
this way of showing his hatred toward England and everything English. 
From Mr. Nelson the house passed into the hands of Charles Beecher, 
(brother of Rev. Henry Ward Beecher) and was used as a parsonage, 
while he was pastor of the Old South Church, as the First Congregational 
Church was then called. The house is still in good condition, its heavy 
oak timbers showing no sign of decay. 

Another Spofford house is the one now owned by Mr. Alfred Kim- 
ball. This house was built by Deacon Eleazer Spofford, grandfather of 
Ainsworth, who was for many years librarian of Congress at Washing- 
ton. Still another old house on Spofford hill is now owned by Mr. Allan 
Wilde. The date of its erection is unknown, but it was occupied as 
early as 1798. On the top of the hill is another very old dwelhng, 
known as the Boynton house. It was occupied until quite recently. It 
may have been built by Richard Boynton in 1732, and remained in pos- 
session of the Boyntons until purchased by Mr. Samuel Noyes about 
1882. It is now the property of Mr. John Seward of Boston. 

The house now known as the Baldpate Inn is one of the oldest 
houses in town. It was raised July 4, 1733. It was built by Dea. Ste- 
phen Mighill and has been in the possession of the Spoffords or Mighills 
ever since. It was finally purchased by Mr. Paul Spofford of New York, 
who was in the direct line of descent from Deacon Stephen Mighill. It 
was improved and enlarged, and under the management of Mr. William 
Bray has become one of the best known hotels in Essex county; many 
famous people have been entertained there. Another interesting old 
house is the little brown cottage which one passes on the left hand side 
of the road in riding from Georgetown to Haverhill, just before reaching 
the electric car bridge over the railroad track. In this house was born 
the mother of George Peabody, the first of America's merchant princes 
to devote the bulk of his fortune to philanthropic purposes. Its original 
site was in Bailey lane, on the further shore of Rock pond, near a small 
stream, called Dodge's brook. After several years the Dodge house was 
moved across the pond on the ice to its present site. 

The Pentucket house, still a conspicuous feature of the central 



248 ESSEX COUNTY 

portion of the town, was for more than half a century one of the most 
popular taverns between Salem and Newburyport. It was built more 
than a hundred years ago by the Little brothers — Uncle Ben and Uncle 
Joe, as they were called — and is today as staunch and firm as when 
built. 

In the Marlboro district is the Humphrey Nelson house, now the 
property of Miss Eleanor Jones. It has recently been remodelled and 
fitted with antique furnishings. In Marlboro also is the Job Brocklebank 
house, owned by Ebenezer Boynton in 1726. It passed through many 
different hands until 1799, when it again came into the possession of 
the Brocklebanks ; a portion of it is still owned by Mr. Wendell Brockle- 
bank. In the southem part of the town is the Adams house, now owned 
and occupied by Mrs. Samuel K. Herrick. It was built by Abraham 
Adams, about 1754, and is said to have been the first house in George- 
town to have a carpet spread upon its floor. So choice was the mistress 
of the home of this possession that she removed her shoes upon entering 
the room. 

One of the most interesting houses in town is the Hazen house in 
the Marlboro district, now the property of Mrs. William 0. Kimball, who 
uses it as a summer home. The exact date of its erection is unknown, 
although the timbers show it to have been built sometime in the latter 
part of the 17th century. Its distinguishing characteristic is its Dutch 
lean-to roof. Another interesting feature is a secret room, entered 
though a closet in the front hall. One of the rooms facing on the street 
had a forge in it at the time of the Revolution, where muskets and bul- 
lets were made for use in the war. Other old houses are the Nathaniel 
Nelson house on Elm street, built in 1797* ; the Dow house, formerly 
known as the William Dole home, on West Main street, near the railroad 
crossing, built as early as 1793; the Clark house on West Main street, 
owned by Capt. Benjamin Adams, a captain of infantry in several cam- 
paigns in the Revolution; and the Colonial Tea House, on Elm street, 
formerly known as the Winter house. This house is full of valuable 
and interesting heirlooms of the Winter family, whose descendants still 
occupy it.* 

The period between 1800 and 1830 was one of rapid growth for 
Georgetown, and many new houses were built. A map in Gage's History 
of Rowley shows the growth of that section of the town which lies be- 



[*Note — In the cellar of this house may he seen a recess in one of the great 
chimneys where, tradition says, papers and gold belonging to the city of Newbury- 
port were stored for safe keeping during the War of 1812, when much fear of a 
British invasion was felt in the New England coast towns. Mr. Nelson brought 
the valuables from Newburyport in an ox team by night, and in telling the story 
years afterward to his daughter, Mrs. J. P. Jones, said at its conclusion: "And only 
think, daughter, they never asked me to give any security for all that gold." Such 
was the reputation for probity of one of the early fathers of our town.] 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 249 

tween Pentucket Square and Lovering's Comer, between 1810 and 1840. 
In 1810 there were ten buildings, in 1840 the number had increased to 
sixty. At the present time (1921) there are sixty-three. 

In 1824 the town was gi^anted a postoffice. It was a box 30 inches 
long, 12 inches wide, and 12 inches deep, inscribed on one side, "New 
Rowley and Georgetown post-office, established March 17, 1824. Ben- 
jamin Little, postmaster." This box is now in the Essex Institute at 
Salem. 

The matter of separation from the town of Rowley now began to 
be discussed. The younger business men, who felt none of the senti- 
mental attachment to Rowley to which the older settlers were respon- 
sive, and whose business was disturbed by the distance between the two 
parishes, clamored for a separation. Letters intended for New Row- 
ley were often addressed to Rowley, and their delivery was delayed. In 
1837 a meeting was called to arrange for a division. A succession of 
meetings followed, and after much-heated discussion about boundaries, 
the lines were established and the name Georgetown was decided upon. 
This was in 1838. 

The Woman's Club was organized in the fall of 1895, with a mem- 
bership of 39. The first meeting was at the home of the president, Mrs. 
Edward M. Hoyt, Oct. 24, 1895, and the meetings for the first year 
were devoted to Italian studies, under the direction of Mrs. May Alden 
Ward. At the close of the course, a public lecture by Mrs. Julia Ward 
Howe was given. For many years the club held to its original plan and 
had a course of study for at least half of the season. Of late years 
the program has been miscellaneous in character, and more emphasis 
has been placed upon the social side of the work. The club has con- 
tributed to many worthy causes, both within town and outside, and was 
active in many ways during the World War, giving generously to the 
various war organizations, besides doing a large amount of work. In 
1914 the club was admitted to the Massachusetts State Federation of 
Woman's Clubs. There were at the close of last year, (June, 1921) 108 
members. Mrs. Louise T. Perkins is at present president of the club. 

The Georgetown Improvement Association was organized March 
5, 1910. The first president was Rev. Bartlett H. Weston. The associa- 
tion raises its money by dues and an annual carnival, and is interested 
in all civic work for the town. It has at present a membership of 162, 
and the president is Mrs. Elizabeth McKay Daniels. 

GEORGETOWN— INDUSTRIALLY, COMMERCIALLY, OFFICIALLY. 

Beginning in 1638-9 : The first vessel to reach our shores brought 
not only the minister and the tillers of the soil, but also the millwright, 
sawyer and builder, the miller, cooper and maltster; the spinner, weaver 



250 ESSEX COUNTY 

and dyer ; the tailor, the shoemaker, the blacksmith, the tanner and the 
surveyor. For two hundred years — from 1638 to 1838 — the present area 
of Georgetown was a part of Rowley. We are told that the surnames of 
the earliest settlers were Rogers, Nelson, Spofford, Mighill, Brocklebank, 
Dummer, Jewett, Perley, Pearson, Lambert; and that within the first 
fifty years there came into the record the names of Chaplin, Noyes, 
Shute, Dole, Men-ill, Boynton, Bridges, Searles, Burpee, Woodbury, Ten- 
ney, Harriman, Stickney, Plumer, Poor, Tyler, Weston, Perkins, Dodge; 
also, in very early times Hilliard, Little, Palmer, Hardy, Moulton, Lover- 
ing, Giles, Cheney, Hale, Tidds, Dresser, Winter, Coker, Pingree, 
Adams, Bateman, Savory, Killam, Jones, Baker; in comparatively early 
times there appear the names of Brewster, Carlton, Osgood, Bailey, 
Daniels, Carter, Dorman, Atwood and Wilson. The men bearing the 
foregoing names were at one time or another identified with the mdus- 
trial, commercial or professional life of the old and the new town. It is 
only with these phases of our history that the present writer deals. 

Briefly and Chronologically: The making and manufacturing and 
compounding of articles of trade and commerce within the area of our 
present town limits began with the opening days of the settlement. The 
first manufacturers v/ere the itinerant shoemakers, tailors and dress- 
makers. Among the very first to set up a permanent business was the 
malster. At first cloth and leather were brought from the "old coun- 
try"; but in less than three years the millwrights had built a water- 
power sawmill, and sawyers were "getting out" lumber for the settlers' 
houses. Within the same period the millwrights had built for Thomas 
Nelson the first grist-mill in the settlement, wherein were ground corn, 
wheat, rye, oats and barley into meal and flour, both for home consump- 
tion and for shipment to Salem and other parts, in barrels made by the 
village cooper. From the "old country" the millwright brought his 
tools; the miller his "burr-stones"; the sawyer his saws; the spinners 
and weavers brought the heckle, the card, the small (flax) and the big 
(wool) spinning wheels, the harness and the several delicate parts used 
in the building of the great hand-looms, upon which homespun cloth — 
both linen and wool — were woven by the womenfolk. Before 1643 the 
millwrights had erected water-power fulling mills (small they were, no 
doubt), where the home woven cloth was fulled and made ready for 
use. Even during that early period the weavers of our settlement had 
"attained to a wide celebrity as the makers of fine cloth." As before 
stated, for the present purpose, we deal only with the doings of men with- 
in the boundary limits of what is now Georgetown. 

The first business started here was done by Jonathan Harriman, 
when, in 1699-70, he located and built on Rock Brook the first mill, a 
sawmill and grist-mill combined. In this mill, lumber was sawn and 
grist was ground for exactly one hundred years. Later, but in the same 
year (1670), Jeremiah Nelson opened and "ran" the first grocery store; 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 251 

and also in the same year, Joachim Rayner established a tanneiy busi- 
ness, which was kept in constant operation by himself and successors for 
eighty years. In 1715-18 Joachim Plumer established and conducted 
for many years a large clothing manufacturing business. This kind of 
business, later, became an important industry in the town. 

In 1722 iron-works were built by Samuel Barret at the upper end of 
Rock Pond, where an excellent quality of iron was made from ore found 
near the shores of the pond, in the peat bogs near by. These iron-works 
were successfully operated for nearly twenty years. In 1732 Deacon 
Abner Spofford built and "run for forty years" a very large sawmill 
"on the stream which finds its outlet at Parker River above Scragg 
Pond." Forty-five years later, in 1778, on the same site, Colonel Daniel 
Spofford operated the largest grist-mill in the town's history. In this 
mill, he and his sons "ground three thousand bushels of grain (grown 
by the farmers of the town) in a single year." In connection with this 
mill the Spofford's "ran" a very large sawmill. (It is worthy of note 
that as early as 1725 there were eighteen grist mills in operation in this 
territory at one time.) There is no doubt but that the itinerant shoe- 
maker came here v/ith the first settlers, but the first one, whose name we 
know, was John Bridges. He went over his route with his "bag or kit" 
and made shoes for his patrons for forty years, from 1735 to 1775. 

Daniel Pierce, in 1770, commenced the digging of the canal below 
Pentucket Pond. Later a dam was built just below Mill street, where 
a grist-mill was built (by parties now unknown) and "operated for seven 
months in the year." In 1770 Major Asa Nelson opened on Nelson street 
the second grocery store to be lun in town. As early as 1782 Benjamin 
Wallingford, and his son "Ben," doing business "at the comer", had 
won an enviable reputation as "chaise makers." Their fame extending 
to wide fields, they did a large and profitable business. 

The year 1775 was prolific in the development of new industries 
among t"he people of the parish: Eleazar Spofford established the busi- 
ness of "wire pulling," which proved very successful. Jonathan Chaplin 
built and operated a rope-walk; and Deacon Stephen MighiU, like his 
English ancestors, manufactured malt in ever-increasing quantities. As 
all of the early settlers were Englishmen, so they all drank home brewed 
ale, hence the importance of dealing with a maltster who was trained to 
the business as Deacon Stephen had been, for his ancestors for many 
generations had been "licensed maltsters under the Crown." The same 
year the Burpee family "dammed a swift running stream," built a mill 
and carried on the business of "breaking flax by water-power" for the 
people, which could be done much quicker and cheaper than by hand. 
The same year, too, Jeremiah Spofford built and operated a snuff-mill, 
and that year he commenced the manufacture of molasses from corn- 
stalks and watermelons. The business was carried on successfully dur- 
ing the period of the Revolutionary War, a period when it was impossible 



252 ESSEX COUNTY 

to bring molasses here from Jamaica and Cuba. After the war, molasses, 
made from sugar-cane, could be had that was better and cheaper. Be- 
sides the above-named new industries. Deacon Thomas Merrill and his 
two oldest sons manufactured nails "with forge, hammer and anvil" 
in "a smithy" located in the ell of his house. 

We find also that as early as 1780 Westen & Phineas Hardy had built 
and were operating a tanyard, which was located near the site of the old 
Harriman mill on Rock Brook (Parker River), Mill street. It was dur- 
ing this year that Samuel Norris began the manufacture of clothing, 
the second to engage in this business in town. It was in this year that 
Captain Benjamin Adams began the tanning and currying of leather, 
his tanyard being on Salem Road (now Central street). As early as 
1782 Captain William Perley had built and equipped a bark-mill, and was 
grinding bark by water-power. This he sold to the "nine tanneries" 
cheaper than the tanners could grind the bark by horse-power, and 
therefore did a large and lucrative business for many years. 

The historian tells us that in 1785 Solomon Nelson and his sons 
built fishing-vessels of 18 to 25 tons burden, which, when completed, were 
hauled by oxen over the road to tide-water at Rowley, six miles distant. 
It must have been a grand sight to see the 40-odd yoke of oxen — big, 
sturdy and willing — slowly and carefully pulling such a great load over 
the road to the sea. Never again, in the history of man will such a 
beautiful sight (to the country-bred boy) be seen. 

The year 1800 and the years immediately following were very 
significant years in the town's industrial history, for we are told that in 
that year Benjamin Wallingford, Jr., began and carried on successfully 
for "many years" the manufpxture of "horse-collars, harness and 
saddle-bags." At that time, and for forty years afterwards, Deacon 
Solomon Nelson "ran" a large tannery on Nelson street. It was also in 
this year that Daniel Clark, one of the three or four largest tanners in 
the parish, built and "ran" a tannery on North street. Three years 
later, however, his tanneiy, lands and buildings were purchased, and the 
tan-yard was operated by Henry Hilliard, the first of that name to ap- 
pear in the industrial affairs of the town. This Henry was a very active 
and pushing tanner and farmer during his long and successful life. At 
his death, his son Henry took up and carried on the business profitably 
to himself and his heirs for many years. Upon his death, his nephew, 
the third Henry (who is today an honored citizen of the town, and its 
tax collector for twenty-five years) came into possession of the property, 
and tanned and curried hides and skins up to 1903, when he closed the 
tan-pits forever and a day. Thus it was that the three Henry Hilliards 
carried on the business of tanning in the same tan-yard for exactly one 
hundred years. 

During the early years of that century charcoal burning was carried 
on extensively here in a commercial way. As early as 1800 John Wood 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 253 

acquired the great gi'ist-mill, first owned by Daniel Pierce, and which 
had then been run for one hundred years, and added a sawmill to the 
plant. Within a few years the property came into the hands of Paul 
Stickney. 

Beginning some thirty years before 1810 shoe manufacturing was 
"carried on" by the tanners in conjunction with their tanning business. 
The leather (both upper and under stock) was "given out" in the sides. 
This was "worked up" into boots and shoes by the farmers, and others, 
when the weather and other conditions were such that they could do 
nothing else; but with the opening of the year 1810 there began a new 
era in the history of our people, for in that year the two brothers Ben- 
jamin and Joseph Little came here and began the manufacture of boots 
and shoes on a large scale in a building located near the ancient parish 
church on the old South Green, on Elm street. Besides "carrying on the 
shoe business," the Litfles "ran" a very large "West India and Dry 
Goods Store," where could be purchased a cambric needle or an ox-yoke, 
a quintal of salt mackerel, a gallon or a barrel of rum. Much of their 
merchandise they bartered for boots and shoes that the farmers made 
during their off hours, rainy days and during the winter months. Rich- 
ard and his son, Amos J. Tenney, began manufacturing the regular 
Georgetown heavy boot and brogan in 1811, — which business was con- 
tinued many years successfully. Beginning at this time (1811) and for 
the thirty years following, "Deacon Sol" and Nathaniel Nelson did a 
very large and prosperous business both as tanners and as shoe manu- 
Ifacturers. 

In 1815 Paul Pillsbury (by some kind of a crude mechanical device 
<of his own invention) produced the first shoe-pegs ever made or used in 
this field, and, so far as the writer knows, the first ever made except by 
Ihand with a knife. It was during this period that Deacon Asa Nelson 
owned and operated a large tannery on Elm street. Benjamin Winter 
wa^ another one of the early old-time and successful shoe manufacturers; 
he began in 1818 and he made a specialty of boys' brogans, the first ever 
](nade in a commercial way in the parish. The records tell us that Ste- 
phen Little commenced the manufacture of "pegged shoes," the first 
ever made in the county for the general trade. Before that period, be 
lit remembered, all kinds of boots and shoes were made "stitch-downs," 
"fudge-welt" or "fair-stitch." 

It is worthy of note that some of the high-class journeyman tan- 
ners, men like Amos Nelson and Benjamin Low, and others in their 
class, "with the money they had saved, carried on an independent tan- 
ning business by renting and using the 'pits' of the large tanners." 
These two men especially became "well-off" as contracting tanners. 
Still another Nelson — ^Major Jeremiah — operated a very large tannery 
on Elm street, near the old meeting-house, from 1824 to 1845. But the 
greatest stride forward in the tanning business came with the year 1825, 



254 ESSEX COUNTY 

when Colonel John Kimball (who at that period owned the Captain Benj. 
Adams tan-yard on the Salem Road, now Central street) tanned and cur- 
ried in that year over four thousand South American horse-hides. 

Beginning about 1829 Amos J. Tenney and his son, George J. Tenney, 
began the manufacture of heavy boots and shoes on a large scale, and 
in a few years their type of goods were reckoned as "standard" through- 
out the entire country. The son, George J., and his son, Milton G. Ten- 
ney, continued the business for upwards of fifty years. D. M. Winter, 
in 1830, was another member of the old families to enter the shoe busi- 
ness, and he also was successful. 

Incidentally, it may be stated that by this time (1830) there was 
scarcely a farmhouse (or any other house) but that had in its back-yard 
a 12x12 foot shoe-shop. It was in these small shops that the country- 
wide known Georgetown boots and shoes were made until recent years, 
when they were manufactured in factories. 

We are told that "Tailor" Thurlow (the last-known itinerant cloth- 
ing maker, and the second one that we know by name) was at the height 
of his business career in 1830. It was in 1831 that Samuel Little, an- 
other man famous in the annals of Georgetown's history, began to manu- 
facture shoes; but two years later (1832) he took Hiram N. Noyes (the 
father of George W., H. Howard and Miss Elizabeth M. Noyes) in as a 
partner, and, under the firm name of Little & Noyes, the business was 
carried on successfully for several years, when the partnership was dis- 
solved and the business continued for twenty-five years by Little & 
Moulton, the leading manufacturing concern in the town. 

The second manufacturing tailor (the first being Benjamin Plumer, 
in 1718, as we remember) to do business here was Samuel Plumer (the 
first of the remarkable trio of manufacturing tailors who made George- 
town widely known and justly famous as the center of production of 
high-grade clothing for men). Samuel Plumer commenced business in 
1838, and continued it up to the time of his death in 1890, a period of 
52 years. 

The years between 1827 and 1840 witnessed Georgetown's greatest 
growth in population, manufacture and commerce. More than fifty 
buildings, including shops, were erected in one year, 1839. At that time 
there were 27 factories engaged in the manufacture of shoes. The cap- 
ital invested was $99,000; the annual product was $221,000. At that 
time there were nine tanneries being operated, with a total capital of 
$11,000 and an annual output of $66,000. Carriages were manufactured 
here at the time to the value of $2,500. It is said that in the three or 
four years preceding 1835 and the years immediately following, George- 
town had the largest ratio of people engaged in the shoe industry of any 
town in the country; at this period, also, Georgetown was the largest 
producer of men's and boys' heavy boots and shoes in the United States, 
made almost wholly for the farmer, the fisherman and the miner; and 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 255 

even to this day, though but very few of such goods are made anywhere, 
the Georgetown boot, shoe and brogan of this type is still supreme. 

The next man to own the gi'eat Pierce- Wood-Stickney mill prop- 
erty on Mill street was Major Paul Dole, a notable man in the business 
life of the town for many years. He purchased the property in 1840, 
and within a few years increased its value five-fold by acquiring the 
"flowage rights" that naturally belonged to the water-shed that gathers 
the waters for the two large oval-shaped basins, Rock and Pentucket 
Ponds. 

By thus securing these "flowage rights", and by raising the dam, he 
could "keep back" the "flood waters of spring," and thus was enabled to 
"run" his mill practically the year round. Major Paul had a brother, 
Edmund, vv^ho was reputed to be a "little queer." In 1841 he invented a 
machine that made shoe-pegs, but being "queer"} he never would let 
anyone see it; and as it was never patented, nothing came of his inven- 
tion. Up to about 1841 our manufactured products were transported 
by large two and four-horse teams into Boston, which returned with 
loads of merchandise for merchants and manufacturers. After the 
"Eastern" Railroad Vv^as built, these teams hauled goods back and forth 
to Rowley, which became our shipping point. This arrangement con- 
tinued up to 1849, when the steam railroad was opened between Haver- 
hill and Newburyport, via Georgetown, and in 1854 between Georgetown 
and Boston, via Danvers Junction. 

Beginning in 1835 and bringing the record up to the present time 
(1921), we shall deal with men, things and events as chronologically and 
as briefly as possible, and make the story reasonably clear to the reader. 

George W. Chaplin, one of the town's most able men, began the 
manufacture of boots and shoes in 1835. From the beginning to the 
end of his business activities in 1872 — 37 years — he was successful in 
business, active in public affairs, a staunch supporter of his church, and 
an honored citizen throughout a long life. Another man, in early life a 
noted teacher, widely read in ancient, modern and current history, wise 
in the council of town affairs, and famous in the business life of the 
town, was Mr. H. Prescott Chaplin. He entered the shoe business the 
same year that his brother George W. began, and he was actively inter- 
ested in the business for fifty-five years, until his death, in 1890. 

In 1837 Lewis H. Bateman (one of the town's most enterprising 
and all-around successful business men) formed a partnership with 
Charles S. Tenney, and they opened one of the largest (at that time) 
department stores in the county. This was possible, because George- 
town then, as now, was the "hub" of a large purchasing population. 
The firm "carried" a varied stock : dry-goods, groceries, boots and shoes ; 
it did dressmaking, and upstairs ran millinery parlors. At the same 
time the firm was associated with a brother of Mr. Tenney in the con- 
duct of a meat market. 



256 . ESSEX COUNTY 

In 1841-2 a man by the name of Blodgett came here, and established 
and carried on for a few years an extensive business in the manufac- 
tlire of men's clothing, employing as many as "forty hands."' He was 
also an inventor of ability. Being a poor mechanic (but a clever business 
man), he employed skilled mechanics in Boston, and they, under his 
direction, produced in 1846-8 (during the very same years that Howe, 
Singer, Wilson and Baker produced their sewing machines) a practical, 
good, workable sewing machine. When finished, he quickly applied for 
and was granted patents on his machine by both the United States and 
Great Britain. Being a wise and far-sighted man, he sold, for a very 
large sum, both his American and foreign patents. With his large 
wealth (for those times) he moved to Philadelphia, where he died. 

John P. Coker began the manufacture of shoes in 1838, and with his 
son, Robert A., continued the business for fifty years. This concern was 
the first in this town to use a sewing machine in the manufacture of 
boots and shoes. It was a waxed-thread machine. Concerning this par- 
ticular machine, a long and historically interesting story might be told ; 
but, briefly, the Coker business was mostly the making of long-legged 
boots. Mr. David Haskell was the first man to operate the machine. 
Being an ingenius mechanic, he soon discovered that as the machine was 
of a "flat bed" type (up to that time all makes of machines — the Howe, 
Singer, Wilson and Baker — were all made "flat-bed") he could not "side- 
up" the legs of the boot tops. The only real and practical work that he 
could do on the machine was to "sew on the counters." After a few 
months of theoretical and practical experimenting, he devised, developed 
and patented in 1852-3 the first "post" sewing machine ever made. With 
his improved machine, he could "side-up" the "tops" of boots thirty 
times quicker than the same work could be done by hand, with "awl, 
waxed-end and clamps." Today, there are more of the Haskell idea of 
"post" machines used in shoe factories than all other machines put to- 
gether. 

Moses Atwood, in 1841, began the manufacture of "Atwood's Bit- 
ters," a patent medicine that attained to nation-wide popularity. Med- 
icinally and financially the "bitters" v/ere a great success. Lewis H. 
Bateman and Moses Carter had a hand in compounding the herbs, and 
aided Atwood in the early stages of the development of the business; 
but not feeling satisfied with Atwood's "cutting loose" from them when 
the business showed prospects of large profits, they both entered and 
carried on the business of making and selling "Atwood's Bitters" for 
several years. As they found iron ore in the "peat bogs" near the shores 
of Rock Pond in 1722, from which they smelted an excellent quality of 
pig-iron, so this same Moses Atwood, in 1844, discovered, at the base of 
Atwood's Hill (Scribner's), a deposit (not very large, as it proved) of 
ochreous earth, from which he manufactured and sold large quantities 
of "a mighty good" paint. The "bitters" and "paint" business making 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 257 

him a rich man, he 'Vent West" in 1853 or 1854. It is a notable fact 
that Atwood, Bateman and Carter, all three, manufactured and sold 
"Atwood's Bitters" for several years; and aftei-wards it was manufac- 
tured by a New York concern, and sold by them as one of the standard 
patent medicines of the country for fifty years. 

The business of "manufacturing chemists" was begun by Moses 
Carter in 1841-2 and continued by him and his son, Luther F. Carter, up 
to the time of the latter's death in 1815. The third of this trio of "manu- 
facturing chemists," Mr. Bateman, became, in 1858, the largest cigar 
manufacturer in Essex county, carrying on the business up to 1865, 
when he, disposing of the business, opened and conducted an old- 
fashioned apothecary-shop up to his death in 1871, the business begun by 
him being then taken over and continued up to this time by his son. Dr. 
Lewis H. Bateman. 

The third and the most widely known and active of the "trio" of 
men's clothing manufacturers was Stephen Osgood. He "learned his 
trade" and later became a partner of Samuel Plumer (the first of his 
apprentices to do so) ; in 1848 he began business for himself, and he 
remained interested in the business up to the time of his death in 1911, 
sixty-three years. 

In 1863 Major Moses Tenney purchased the Major Paul Dole mill, 
with its "flowage rights," enlarged the mill, and installed a full line of 
modern machinery for making woolen cloth, but the Civil War hurt 
rather than helped the enterprise, and so the business proved a great 
financial loss to the company promoters. 

George W. Noyes, son of Hiram N. Noyes, became interested in 
the shoe industry in 1865, and he was prominently identified with the 
business for a period of forty-five years. 

Edwin L. Daniels began his long life in the handling of leather in 
die making, manufacturing and selling of shoes in 1866, when he went to 
work for George J. Tenney. Today he runs the only retail shoe store 
in town, and so he has handled leather, in one way and another, in our 
town for fifty-six years. 

As early as, or it maybe earlier than 1856, George H. Carlton 
associated himself with H. Prescott Chaplin in the shoe pattern making 
business. Later with Mr. Chaplin, as a silent partner, he manufactured 
shoes several years, up to 1870, when he joined A. B. Noyes, and under 
the firm name of Noyes & Chaplin continued in this business up to 1875, 
when he retired from the business altogether, and became the first 
cashier of the Georgetown National Bank. 

The name of H. Howard Noyes will always stand high on the list of 
the town's great and successful shoe manufacturers. He entered the 
employ of his uncle, Mr. George W. Chaplin, in 1872, and managed the 
business until 1896. Edward K. Titus, a grandson of George W. Chap- 
lin, was a partner in the business from 1887 to 1899. Mr. Noyes took 

Essex — 17 



258 ESSEX COUNTY 

over the entire business in 1900, and he continued a steadily-increasing 
business up to 1918 (46 years), when he retired from the shoe business 
to give his whole time to banking and other financial interests. 

In 1875 out-of-town capitalists purchased the old Harriman — ^Major 
Dole — Major Tenney mill property. They enlarged the buildings, and 
for a few years did a very large business in the weaving of fabrics ; but 
the business being unprofitable, after a few years, it was discontinued 
altogether. Later the whole property was destroyed by fire ; today only 
ruins remain on the site of its ancient glories. 

Walter M. Brewster, also one of the town's big shoe manufacturers, 
having been a partner of H. Prescott Chaplin for a number of years, 
"came to the comer" in 1877 and "set up" for himself, continuing a 
successful business up to 1896-7, when he retired, a very wealthy man. 

J. K. Nute manufactured shoes here from 1877 to 1881. The Little 
Corporation was organized in 1881, with Charles P. Tyler as president, 
Charles E. Jewett as treasurer, and Edwin L. Daniels as general superin- 
tendent. Not proving financially successful, the company was dis- 
solved in 1888. John A. Gale, of Haverhill, manufactured women's "calf, 
buff and split" pegged and standard screw shoes for the Southern trade 
from 1878 to 1882, when he moved back to Haverhill. Cloutman & 
Dunham, from Farmington, N. H., in the same building (the "brick 
block") manufactured a medium-priced McKay sewed and standard screw 
line of boots for women for the Western and Southern trade. The firm 
remained here from 1882 to 1884. Horace E. Harriman, succeeding his 
father, continued a successful business, the making of men's high grade 
heavy boots and shoes, and retired from the business in 1896. Prebble 
& Worth in 1896 fitted up the old "Osgood carriage factory" and manu- 
factured a cheap grade of women's felt, cloth and kid shoes, but the 
business was discontinued in 1898. 

Major Hamilton L. Perkins, the third of the remarkable "trio" of 
Georgetown's great manufacturing tailors, having learned his trade of 
Samuel Plumer, became his partner in 1870, and he remained a partner 
until 1883, when he started up for himself, doing business here for 
several years, and then went to Haverhill, where he continued in the 
same business for nearly thirty years. 

In 1885 Mr. George W. Noyes, Edward A. Chaplin and George H. 
Wilson incorporated the Georgetown Boot & Shoe Corporation. The A. 
B. Noyes Company was made into a corporation in 1888, with A. B. 
Noyes, president; Joseph E. Bailey, treasurer; and Edwin L. Daniels, 
superintendent. In 1896 Mr. Noyes retired from the company and 
went West ; the business, however, was continued for twenty-five years, 
up to 1913, when the corporation was dissolved. 

Cornelius G. Baker, who had done a successful business for more 
than two-score years, took in his son Fred W., as a partner in 1890, the 
partnership continuing for ten years to 1900. 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 259 

Lawrence L. Chaplin, son of H. Prescott Chaplin, was in partnership 
with his father in the manufacture of boots and shoes for a number of 
years, up to 1900, when the business was discontinued. Aftei'wards he 
was with the George W. Chaplin company for three years. In 1903 he 
became the cashier of the Georgetown National Bank, which position he 
now holds. 

At the end of the ten years' partnership with his father, Fred W. 
Baker, in 1900, began manufacturing "on his own hook" the famous 
"Little Ripper" shoes for boys and youths. From the start the busi- 
ness was very successful. The entire plant, however — building, machin- 
ery and stock — was destroyed by fire in 1917. 

In 1895 Justin F. White (with Henry K. Palmer, as a partner) 
opened a retail shoe store and men's furnishings. At the end of the 
third year, Mr. Palmer retired from the business, and Mr. White con- 
tinued the business up to two years ago. During the past few years 
Mr. White has added and built up a very large insurance agency busi- 
ness. 

The story of the Pentucket Shoe Company, incorporated in 1896, if 
told in detail would (psychologically) disclose one of the most curious 
(certainly one of the most regrettable) chapters in the history of the 
town's business life. Never was there a business undertaking in our 
history where so many high-class men, clean cut, and financially respon- 
sible men, were interested as in this enterprise. Its incorporators in the 
order of the amount of their subscriptions were Walter M. Brewster, 
Harold F. Blake, Fred S. Hardy, Sherman Nelson, Dr. R. B. Root, Ed- 
ward S. Ficket, Lewis H. Bateman, Dr. Edward M. Hoyt, Dr. Thomas 
Whittle, Theodore A. McDonald, W. W. Smith and George W. Noyes. 
Mr. Brewster was made president, Mr. Blake was made vice-president, 
and Mr. Hardy was treasurer and manager. The manager having had 
years of experience in managing the business that our company took 
over, success seemed assured; but at the end of the third year, solely 
under his management, the company failed, practically without assets. 
This manager afterwards identified himself with an electrical business 
(of which he had had no previous knowledge) and in a few years be- 
came a veiy wealthy man. The moral of the story is that "Every 
man may succeed in life if he but finds his business affinity." 

Martineau & Burke in 1908 began the manufacture of leather 
skivings into "pancake" for heels and innersoles, and the firm did an ex- 
tensive business here until 1919-20, when the entire business was re- 
moved to Ipswich. 

In 1910 George W. Noyes and Edward A. Chaplin retiring from 
the business, the Georgetown Boot & Shoe Co. surrendered its char- 
ter ; George H. Wilson, as an individual, continuing the business under its 
corporate name down to the present time. 

Mr, Fred W. Baker in 1918 associated himself with men con- 



260 ESSEX COUNTY 

nected with the firm of Cass & Daly, shoe manufacturers of Salem, Mass., 
and they incorporated the F. W. Baker Shoe Company, Inc. The com- 
pany at once purchased and greatly enlarged the H. Prescott Chaplin 
shoe factory building and installed a full line of modem machinery. 
With plenty of capital at its disposal, the company will, under normal 
business conditions, do upwards of half a million dollar business annually. 

Henry P. Chaplin, in 1917-18, took over the George W. Chaplin 
Company business from his uncle, H. H. Noyes, but the great war com- 
ing on soon after, he closed his factory doors, to help "Uncle Sam" fight 
the Germans. 

The Community Shoe Shop (company) was incorporated in 1918 by 
Haverhill men; but as none of them were practical shoe men, the com- 
pany was not a success, notwithstanding that local men, with their time 
and money, tried to make it successful. 

The Georgetown Standard Shoe Company was incorporated by Theo- 
dore McDonald, John J. Molloy and Henry J. Minchin in 1920, and the 
company makes men's and boys' medium priced standard screw and 
loose-nailed goods. As a specialty the firm makes wood-soled brogans 
for use in foundries, woolen and felt mills, hat-shops, tanneries and by 
the miners. With the return of general business, the firm will un- 
doubtedly be of great benefit to the town as a whole. 

During the same year (1920) Thomas M. Cook & Son purchased 
the "old carriage factory" on Clark street, and removed their sole 
leather business from Haverhill to Georgetown. This business, which 
runs pretty steadily all the year round, will give employment to many 
men who formerly worked in Haverhill. George S. Rollins, for several 
years a growing shoe manufacturer in Haverhill, in 1920 purchased the 
Molloy factory and other buildings adjoining, remodeled them into a 
modem factory and moved his entire business here. While his line of 
work is entirely foreign to the old-time type of Georgetown footwear, 
he has, with modem machinery methods, maintained the quality of his 
former output, and has from the beginning done a capacity business 
since locating here. Being a large employer of men and women, his 
business is of great benefit to the town as a whole. 

Fred H. and W. A. Harriman, sons of H. E. Harriman, in 1919-20, 
under the firm name of Harriman Brothers, began and are today manu- 
facturing a popular priced shoe for children. 

And lastly, in the matter of manufacturing, the Georgetown Wood 
Heel Company began the making of wood heels in the old Doctor Carter 
building, on East Main street. As this business permits of the payment 
of large wages, the business adds greatly to the general welfare of the 
town. 

Cigar making was discontinued by Lewis H. Bateman in 1865 ; but 
it was taken up by Thomas B. Masury in the same year, and continued 
in a large way up to 1890, since which time no cigar making has been 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 261 

done here. A large apple-evaporating business was conducted on Main 
street from 1870 to 1880. The first to "take pictures" in town was W. 
H. Harriman ("Uncle Has"), who opened his "saloon" in 1859, and "took" 
ambrotypes, tintypes and photographs up to 1872, when he sold his 
"saloon" to Selwin Reed, of Newburyport, who "ran" the business up to 
1884. Since that time no picture studio has been opened in town. 
The first known wheelwright, carriage builder and repairer was Joseph 
Currier, who begun business here in 1840. He was followed by Robert 
Boyce ; he by James Messenger, who did this work up to 1917. Today 
what little of this work is done is performed by E. S. Sherburne and 
Phillip Nolin. 

The only local junk dealers in the history of the town have been Paul 
Pickering and his grandson, Charles S. Pickering, from 1869 to 1921. 

Livery stables were maintained here for more than one hundred 
years. In the early days, three large stables could scarcely take care 
of the patronage. The business was carried on by such men as Savory, 
Boynton, Nelson, Adams, Rogers, Hood and Pingree, Charles A. Pin- 
gree being the last one to "hitch-up" a "livery team", in 1917. 

Our first public soap maker was Elisha Hood; then came Charles 
Smith, and later his son, James R., 1887-1895; John T. Hilliard, 1886- 
1892 ; and the last was Clark Wilkins, who closed up soap making in our 
town in 1894. 

Historically our harness makers have been Benjamin Wallingford, 
1780; next one Delaney; Edward Domey, 1842; followed by Robert 
Savory, Thomas F. Hill, Isaac McLain and Jacob Hardy, the last to 
retire from the business in 1919. The cold garage has taken the place 
of the warm and cozy harness shop. In the town's early history, and 
for several generations, the Spoffords and Hazens were the leading 
carpenters and builders of the town. 

The making of wooden shoe-boxes was begun here first by Joseph 
P. Folsom in 1860, and the same business was carried on successively by 
William Sawyer, Bansfield Brothers, George B. James, M. Frank Carter 
and for the past thirty years by Williard C. Hardy. 

Heel making, as a separate and distinct business, was first done 
here by John P. Coker & Son (Robert A.) and was carried on with a 
fair degree of success for several years. From 1910 to 1913 Charles E. 
Cartwright and Horace E. Harriman manufactured heels by a process 
invented by Mr. Cartwright. The heel met with instant success, being 
ordered in large quantities, but its very success killed the business local- 
ly, because great monied interests, seeing huge possibilities in the mar- 
keting of the Cartwright process of making heels, placed the same pro- 
cess made heel on the market at a cheaper price. 

The cutting of ice, commercially, was begun here by Little & Ten- 
ney in 1853 ; by M. L. & C. N. Hoyt, 1880-1893 ; by Abbott Brothers in 
1882, and the business was continued by Andrew M. Abbott up to 1919, 



262 ESSEX COUNTY 

when he sold out to Pope & Butler; in 1893 the Middlesex Ice Company 
took over the Hoyt Brothers business. 

For a number of years the Middlesex Company and the Porter-Mil- 
ton Company, continually enlarging their house, did an enormous busi- 
ness up to 1918 and 1920, when all of the houses belonging to these com- 
panies were destroyed by fire. At this time no ice is being cut except 
for local trade by Adams & Bailey. 

Concerning the professions: The lawyers of the past were Jere- 
miah P. Jones, Jeremiah P. Russell, William A. Butler. Those now living 
here, all native born, are Robert F. Metcalf, Harry E. Perkins, C. Ather- 
ton Holmes and Dennis F. Buckley. Of the other Georgetown "boys 
and girls" who have attained to pre-eminence in the professions in other 
fields we shall mention Lyman K. Eliot, who became a leader at the bar 
in California ; Boyd B. Jones, today one of the great leaders of the bar in 
New England; Dr. Francis D. Donohue is today recognized as one of 
the greatest surgeons and cancer specialists known to the medical world ; 
Charles M. Spofford is a noted authority on civil engineering, has been 
since 1909 Hayward Professor of Civil Engineering and head of the de- 
partment of Civil and Sanitary Engineering at the Massachusetts Insti- 
tute of Technology, also a member of the finn of Fay, Spofford & Thorn- 
dike, civil engineers of Boston; Miss Marion D. Weston, Ph.D., is a 
noted botanist. For eleven years identified with the Rhode Island Col- 
lege of Education, she is today a professor of botany in that celebrated 
institution of learning. Forrest P. Hull is a noted writer, for several 
years on the editorial staff of the "Boston Transcript", is a gi-aceful 
writer of special articles. 

To the foregoing we may add the names of Moody Spofford, the 
greatest American civil engineer of his time. It was this Mr. Spofford 
who built the first bridge across the Merrimac River, built in Haver- 
hill in 1794. Paul Spofford, the "merchant prince," was born here in 
1792. Going to New York City early in life, he amassed in a few years 
a great fortune as the head of the firm of Spofford & Tileson, who were 
the largest jobbers of boots and shoes in the country at that period. 
Two years after the birth of Paul Spofford, another boy was bom here 
— Nathaniel Savory; and while, perhaps, his story may not add any 
great lustre to the town's annals, it does give variety and scope to the 
doings of its sons. Early in life this young man Savory became a sailor 
and in due tim.e qualified as a noted navigator. In 1841, on his becom- 
ing marooned on Peel Island, one of the Sandwich Islands (now the Ha- 
waiian Islands), he fell in love with a native, a princess, the daughter 
of the king. When the old king died, Savory (our "Nat"), by right of 
his wife, became the king, or, we will say, the governor. 

As matter of history: A member of Commodore Perry's staff rec- 
ords that when on their voyage to "open up Japan's 'closed gates,' in 
1853, they 'called' at Peel Island, and there saw our Yankee 'King' — 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 263 

living in ease and comfort, raising with but little labor abundant har- 
vests of sweet potatoes, corn, onions, pineapples, bananas and water- 
melons." So far as we know, neither "King Nat" nor any of his descen- 
dants ever visited the land of his ancestors. He died in 1878. An- 
other of our noted men was the Hon. Moses Tenney, State Treasurer 
from 1856 to 1860, the full legal term. Another was Charles S. Tenney, 
the first superintendent of the old Haverhill-Georgetown-Newburyport 
and Danvers railroad, vv^hich office he held until the line became a part 
of the great Boston and Maine railroad system. 

As to taverns: The first building used as a public house in our 
"parish" was built by Captain Samuel Brocklebank in 1670. It was 
occupied by him as a dwelling up to the time of his death in 1676, when 
he was killed by the Indians on April 21, at Sudbury, Mass. This 
dwelling, then as now, faced "Old South Green," and soon after the Cap- 
tain's death became a tavern. Who the first landlords were the records 
at hand do not show, but for a good many years previous to 1775 it was 
known as "Wolf's Tavern," and as early as 1750 it was "run" by Dudley 
Tyler. For the five years previous, and up to 1775, the landlord was 
Solomon Nelson, Jr. The second public house was known as Pillsbury's 
Tavern, and though, no doubt, many and many a glass of "hot rum 
toddy" was quaffed under its roof in its time, its general story needs 
no telling here. The third public house was Savory's Tavern, built by 
Col. J. B. Savory in 1825. Savory was an ideal landlord of the old 
fashioned type. He possessed in a high degree the art of "welcoming 
the coming, and speeding the parting guests," and so was a popular inn- 
keeper for a great many years. 

After Savory's death, his house was renamed the Pentucket House, 
and was so called under various landlords up to 1895-6. In 1840, James 
T. Dunbar opened "Dunbar's Hotel" in what is now the residence of 
George H. Wilson, and it was used as a hotel until about 1860, when it 
became a private residence. But in the long history of the town, of all 
the taverns, inns, houses and hotels that have given food, shelter and 
entertainment to the friend and stranger alike, the present famous house, 
standing on the heights of "Old Baldpate," and known for its splendid 
hospitality from one end of the country to the other, is the Baldpate 
Inn. This ancient and historical property was taken over by William 
Bray in 1895. The old dwelling place of the pioneer Mighills and Spof- 
fords has been enlarged by him several times, and as each succeeding 
year comes and goes, more, and still more guests find good cheer under 
its roof. 

Farming among us as compared with early times is insignificant. 
Where once could be seen several score pairs of oxen on the farms of the 
town, today not one pair can be seen here. Mr. Flint Weston, more than 
twenty years ago, owned and "worked" the last pair to be seen in yoke 
or in barn. To many (and the writer is one) it is the belief that the 



264 ESSEX COUNTY 

glory of New England farming departed when oxen were no longer 
"raised" and kept on her farms. Cows only are kept today, kept for 
"making milk" for village and city consumption. Our farmers here, as 
elsewhere in the East, are even buying for their own tables butter, 
cheese, pork and lard; whereas the old-time farmer, from the milk he 
produced, made (1) butter and cheese, and (2) with the buttermilk and 
whey so made, he, in £>, large measure, raised pigs and hogs lor fresh 
pork, bacon, ham, lard and for salt pork. From his large fields of com 
he fattened his oxen, sheep and lambs for the market. These creatures 
being "raised and kept" on the farm, they made the kind of fertilizer 
that enriched its soil — incomparably so, as compared with the chemical 
fertilizers used by the farmers today. Now, except milk, eggs, potatoes 
and a few vegetables, the average farmer raises nothing; hence, as no 
general farming is being done in New England, so there is no money 
made in farming in our part of the country. 

The Carlton Home is a home-like institution. It was established in 
1901 and it was made possible through the munificence of the late 
George H. Carlton, who, by his will, left $20,000 to provide, and per- 
petually maintain, as he said: "A home for respectable people of both 
sexes who shall have reached the age of seventy years, and unable to 
support themselves in comfort." The management of the "home" is in 
the hands of a board of nine trustees — five of whom, under the terms of 
the will, shall be women. The funds of the institution have, from the 
beginning, been in the hands of trained financiers, with the result that 
today the treasurer has in his hands nearly double the amount of funds 
originally donated by Mr. Carlton. 

Express forwarding business between here and Boston, and other 
points, was established here first in 1840 by George Spofford. In 1848- 
49 the business was taken over by Rutherford Martin and "run" by him 
up to 1873, when it was purchased by Charles W. Tenney. In 1896 he 
sold the business to his son-in-law, Henry L. Adams, who continued the 
business until 1918, when he sold it to Frank T. Maguire, Jr., who now 
carries on the business in conjunction with local business of the Ameri- 
can Railway Express Company. 

In 1849 George Spofford was appointed the first Boston & Maine 
railroad station agent here. The most celebrated was William E. Hor- 
ner, a natural wit and philosopher, who held the position for thirty years. 
The present agent is Mr. Herbert C. Reed. 

The Haverhill, Georgetown & Danvers street railway was opened 
as far as Georgetown on October 25, 1896. Instead of building the road 
to Danvers, as planned, its promoters, two years later, built and opened 
the line to Dummer Academy, and there connected it with the Ipswich 
& Newburyport line. This change of route gave great joy to our people, 
especially to those living in the lower part of the town, and in the Byfield 
district; and therefore, when the company two years ago ceased to 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 265 

operate cars below Georgetown Square, dismantling its power-house and 
car-barns in Byfield, it brought great hardship and universal regret to 
the inhabitants living in the district through which the cars formerly 
ran. 

The Bell Telephone Company opened its lines here in 1898, with 
eleven subscribers. Today it has 265 subscribers. Electricity for heat, 
light and power was brought into town from the Haverhill Electric 
Company's plant in 1912. Street lighting was installed in that year. To- 
day there are 375 families and plants using electric lights, and 25 plants 
using electric motors for manufacturing purposes. 

Our fire department, as early as 1838, was noted for its efficiency. 
In the old days of the fireman's muster, our "boys" with the old hand- 
tubs — the "Pentucket" and the "Watchman" — won many a first or 
near "first prize." But when it came to "dinners" and the "fireman's 
ball" in the evening, Georgetown always won first honors. The old Hook 
& Ladder Company was organized in 1872 ; the Steamer No. 1 Company 
in 1875. These two companies were, by a vote of the town in 1920, 
merged into one company, the Combination Chemical & Hose Company. 

Our fine old town hall, built in 1854-5, was destroyed by fire Dec. 14, 
1898. For several years, up to 1916-7, the public meetings of the town 
have been held in various halls and church vestries, but in that year the 
town came into the possession of the old Memorial Church, and converted 
it into (or rather made use of it) as a town hall. This noble building, 
having also been destroyed by fire (in 1920) , the town is again without 
adequate-sized rooms for public meetings. The concensus of opinion 
seems to be that the town will in the very near future erect a public 
building, with a large auditorium, and with offices suitable to the needs 
of the town. 

Our first post-office was established in 1824, and our first post- 
master was Benjamin Little, who served twenty-seven years up to his 
death in 1851. His successors in the order of their service were: 
Joseph P. Stickney, Samuel Wilson, Joseph Hervey, Jeremiah P. Jones, 
Richard Tenney, Charles E. Jewett, Rev. 0. S. Butler, Sylvester A. 
Donoghue, 1878-86 ; Jos. V. Noyes, 1890-94 ; Albert B. Comins, 1894-98 ; 
Stephen Osgood, 1901-05 ; Thomas F. Hill, 1904-08; T. Allan Hill, 1908-13. 
Tn 1913 our post-office became a branch of the Haverhill office, with T. 
Allan Hill as superintendent. 

The first town meeting in Georgetown was held on April 28th, 
1838. At this meeting Robert Savory was chosen moderator; George 
Foot, town clerk ; John A. Lovering, Sewell Spoff ord and G. D. Tenney, 
selectmen and assessors; James Peabody, Moses Thurlow and Jeremiah 
Clark, overseers of the poor; Benjamin Winter, collector and treasurer; 
Moody Cheney, Charles Boynton and Robert Savory, constables. 

The officials of the town at this time (1921) are as follows: Moder- 
ator, Eugene L. Parker; town clerk, Justin F. White; selectmen, Jacob 



266 ESSEX COUNTY 

Hazen (chairman), William Bray, Martin E. Murphy; assessors, J. Wini- 
fred Yeaton (chairman), Henry P. Poor and Leonard M. Dresser; over- 
seers of the poor, Leon S. Gilford (chairman) , William Bray, Jacob Ha- 
zen; treasurer, Justin F. White; collector of taxes, Henry Hilliard; 
auditor, Herbert C. Reed ; school committee, Albert C. Reed (chainnan) 
Cornelia B. Adams, Frederick W. Perkins ; constables, Thomas F. Welch 
(chief), (Jeorge N. Moffitt, H. Shei-wood Hardy; tree warden, Harry 
K. Kinson; trustees of the Peabody Library, John F. Jackson (chair- 
man), Louis K. Osgood (secretary), George W. Noyes, John W. Perkins 
and Allan H. Wilde. 

In 1921 this town had real estate valuation of $1,255,000 ; personal 
property valued at $274,087. The United States Census of 1920 gave 
Georgetown a population of 2,004. 

THE CHURCHES OF GEORGETOWN. 

A history of the religious life of Georgetown is interwoven with 
that of the Mother Church of Rowley (formed in 1639), to which be- 
longed the first settlers. The Spoffords, who were the earliest settlers 
in what is now Georgetown, transferred their membership in 1692 to 
the church in Bradford, organized ten years earlier. In 1702 the inhabi- 
tants near the Mills on Parker river, including a part of Rowley, and a 
part of Newbury, formed a parish called at first Rowlbury, afterwards 
Byfield. This parish included all the people living northwest of a line 
drawn over Long Hill to the road which now goes to Haverhill, by way 
of East and West Main streets to the Great Rock boundary on the pres- 
ent Groveland line. 

The church building was erected on the spot now occupied by the 
Byfield church, on the line between Georgetown and Newbury. The first 
pastor was Rev. Moses Hale, a worthy, devoted and successful minister. 
He was bom in Newbury, in 1678, graduated from Hai'vard in 1699, and 
was ordained in 1706; he died in 1743. His successor was Rev. Moses 
Parsons (father of Hon. Theophilus Parsons, the eminent jurist). He 
was bom in Gloucester in 1716, graduated at Harvard in 1736, and was 
ordained in 1744. He died in 1789, at the age of 73. The present pas- 
tor of this church is Rev. Cyrus L. D. Younkin, and the present member- 
ship is 70. 

The Second Parish in Rowley, long known as New Rowley (since 
1838 as Georgetown) , was incorporated October 5, 1731. In this parish 
the first Congregational church was organized, October 4, 1732. On 
that day eighteen men stood together, while Rev. Moses Hale of Byfield 
read the simple covenant (still in use), to which they assented by rais- 
ing the right hand. Mr. Hale then declared them to be a Church of 
Christ, regularly constituted. 

Rev. James Chandler, of Andover, bom in 1706, graduated at Har- 
vard in 1726, was called to be their pastor. He was ordained October 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 267 

31, 1732, on a settlement of £300 and an annual salary of £110 (about 
$500), and twenty cords of wood. He married Mary Hale, daughter of 
Rev. Moses Hale, of Byfield. Mr. Chandler was an able and devoted 
minister. He died in 1787, at the age of eighty-three, after a faithful 
service of fifty-eight years. 

The church building stood on the site of the home of the late David 
Brocklebank, with the parsonage nearby, on the spot where now stands 
the residence of the late Humphrey Nelson. This structure remained 
in the same place until 1768, when it was sold to the Baptist Church for a 
trifle, taken down, and rebuilt at Hale's Comer, Bradford. Later it was 
removed to New Rowley, near Dole's Mills. 

The Old South Meeting House was built on the comer of Main and 
Elm streets, where it remained standing for over a century. This was 
a much more pretentious building than its predecessor, being 45 by 55 
feet, surmounted by a tower and tall steeple, and topped by a weather 
cock 105 feet from the ground. This frame was raised in one day, July 
25, 1769, and from its timbers the celebrated George Whitefield preached 
one of his powerful sermons. The building was sold and taken down in 
1875, a new one having been erected in 1874, at the comer of Clark and 
Andover streets — the present First Congregational Church, 

Owing to the bitter controversies between those of the Calvinistic 
and Arminian faiths, a successor to Mr. Chandler was not easily found. 
In the interval of eight years there were in all sixty-four candidates. 
Rev. Isaac Braman was finally chosen. He was bom at Norton, 1770; 
graduated at Harvard ; and ordained in 1797, on a settlement of £200 and 
an annual salary of £80 (and ten cords of wood) , with an addition of £10 
when com was more than four shillings a bushel. He continued sole 
pastor until 1842, when Rev. Enoch Pond, Jr., of Bangor, Maine, was 
appointed colleague. Mr. Pond served very acceptably in this capacity 
for some four years, and died, much lamented, in 1846. His successor 
as associate-pastor to Mr. Braman was Rev. John M. Prince, ordained in 
1846. Mr. Prince resigned in 1857 because of ill health. 

The Rev. Charles Beecher, son of Lyman Beecher, was installed as 
third colleague in 1857. Upon the death of Mr. Braman in 1858, he be- 
came sole pastor, and so continued till 1873, when a colleague for him 
was chosen. Rev. Thomas Beeber. 

In 1863, eighty-five members of the First Congregational Church 
withdrew from its membership and formed the Orthodox Church. At 
this time George Peabody, the London banker, presented the church or- 
ganization with a beautiful brick building (erected near the centre of 
the town at a cost of about $100,000) in memory of his mother, Mrs. 
Judith Peabody, a native of this parish. From now on the church was 
known as The Orthodox Memorial Church. The first pastor was Rev. 
David Dana Marsh, who was ordained in 1868. Mr. Marsh served accept- 
ably for twenty years, and was succeeded by a series of pastors until 



268 ESSEX COUNTY 

the year 1908, when after forty-five years of faithful and fruitful ser- 
vice the members deemed it wise to disband and reunite Vv^ith the Mother 
Church — the First Congregational Church. The present pastor of this 
united church is Rev. Hugh Penney, and the present membership is 180. 

What is now the Baptist Church in Georgetown dates its origin from 
about 1754, the time of the withdrawal of a number of the members of 
the Congregational Church. These people styled themselves Separatists, 
and were soon joined by others of similar faith. In 1781 they became a 
branch of the Baptist Church of Haverhill, with Elder Samuel Harriman 
as leader. But in 1784 they were set off as a distinct church of the Bap- 
tist faith. Their house of worship was removed to the Mills in New 
Rowley, near the old Baptist parsonage. In 1829 a new church was 
built on the parsonage grounds ; this was removed in 1837 to its present 
location, corner of North and Pleasant streets. It has since been en- 
larged and remodelled. The first pastor of this church was Elder Will- 
iam Ewing, of Shutesbury. Elder Shubal Lovell became pastor in 1797, 
and continued so for thirteen years. The present pastor is Rev. Freder- 
ick L. Brooks, and the present membership is 132. 

The Universalist Society was organized in 1829 with 59 charter 
members. The church was built on the site of the present Central 
School, at a cost of over $2,000. Meetings were held with many emi- 
nent preachers. Rev. Joseph Morse was the first minister. The build- 
ing was sold to the town in 1855. That the Town Hall might be erected 
on its site, the church was at this time removed to the opposite comer 
and changed into a dwelling house. 

The first Roman Catholic service in Georgetown was held in 1849, 
In the apartment of James McLain in the house of Nathaniel Nelson, 
corner of Andover street and Nelson avenue. Services were afterward 
held m various places up to 1870, when the Congi-egational Chapel, cor- 
ner of Main and Elm streets, was purchased. St. Mary's Church on Cen- 
tral street was dedicated in 1907. Among the early priests were Rev. 
Richard Cummings and Rev. John Cummings of Newburyport. The 
present pastor is Rev. John J. McGrath, and the present membership 
is 250. 

All Saints' Church (Episcopal) was estabhshed in 1916, on the cor- 
ner of West Main and School streets, by Rev. Glenn Tilley Morse, the 
present rector. The present membership of this church is 60. 

In a town of independent thinkers, like Georgetown, it was inevitable 
that a number of organizations should be formed, of longer or shorter 
existence. Soon after the establishment of the Baptist church, a Free 
Will Church was started, but was of short duration. About 1840 a 
Union Church divided for a year or two the religious forces of the town, 
but this was neither the time nor the place for church union. 

The Oberlin Perfection Movement disturbed the haraiony of the 
religious sphere for a season. But the rising sentiment in favor of re- 



TOWN OF GEORGETOWN 269 

foiTn in the question of temperance and the abolition of slavery caused 
a more serious and lasting disturbance. The Liberty Party here was 
made up of strong men and women, and although not exactly a church, 
the Come-Outer Element was very much in earnest. 

It is said that a branch of the Mormon Church existed here for a 
season. The leader in Georgetown v/as Elder Nathaniel Holmes. This 
church had a much larger following over the line in East Bradford, from 
which neighborhood there was quite an emigration to Utah. It should 
be said in justice to Elder Holmes and some others of that faith that 
they were strongly opposed to polygamy. 

The limitations of space prevent an adequate mention and apprecia- 
tion of the many devoted ministers who have served the different 
churches in the town. But fuller tribute should be paid to those three 
men who in unbroken succession for a century and a half (from 1731 to 
1881) were sei-vants of the old First Congregational Church. Alike 
were these men in their ever-zealous devotion to their beloved Christian 
faith ; in their genial, kindly dispositions ; in their courteous and gentle- 
manly ways; and in their keen, trained intellects. Each of the three 
worthy divines was up to his generation or beyond in his religious faith 
and practice. Of Mr. Beecher this was pre-eminently true, and no proof 
is needed. 

Concerning Mr. Chandler, it is related that he advised one of his 
deacons to hear Mr. Whitefield preach. Receiving the answer, "Why, 
your preaching is good enough." Mr. Chandler said: "But Mr. White- 
field doesn't preach as I do ; he preaches with power," and this at a time 
when Whitefield was debarred from many a New England pulpit. Mr. 
Braman took great delight in telling this story of himself. At a period 
of strong religious dissensions he made a pastoral call upon a household 
divided within itself. No reference was made to creed or belief, but, 
during the call, the good lady of the house drew Father Braman aside 
and guardedly whispered : "I like your preaching very much, your doc- 
trines have the right ring, I wish you will be enabled to settle, but don't 
tell John this!" Not many minutes later, John took the prospective 
pastor aside, and said almost the same words, adding cautiously at the 
end, "but don't tell my wife!" 

In fulfillment of the divine promise to the godly man, "With long 
life will I satisfy him and shew him my salvation," we note that each of 
the three noted preachers lived to attain the four-score mark and be- 
yond. Father Braman reached the advanced age of eighty-seven years, 
while the average age of all was eighty-five years. Long lives were also 
granted to ministers' wives in those days, it would seem, as Huldah 
Nelson Harriman, widow of Elder Harriman (first Baptist minister) 
died in her 101st year, and the widow of Mr. Braman (Sarah Balch 
Braman) lived to be 103. It is interesting to note that from the birth of 
Mr. Chandler (the first of the three ministers) in 1706, to the death of 



270 ESSEX COUNTY 

Mr. Beecher (the last of the three ministers) in 1900, a period of 194 
years had passed. Proud indeed may Georgetown well be that these 
three venerable ministers of the Lord, who gave to us so much of their 
precious lives, lie buried in our town. 

Summary : Byfield Church — Fonned in 1702 ; present pastor, Rev. 
Cyrus L. D. Younkin, membership, 70. First Congregational Church — 
Formed in 1732; present pastor, Rev. Hugh Penney; membership, 180. 
First Baptist Church — Formed in 1781 ; present pastor. Rev. Frederick 
L. Brooks ; membership, 132. Catholic Church — Formed in 1871 ; pres- 
ent pastor. Rev. John J. McGrath ; membership, 250. Episcopal Church 
— Formed in 1916 ; present pastor. Rev. Glenn Tilley Morse ; membership, 
60. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 
TOWN OF ROCKPORT. 



The town of Rockport, with a present population of 3,700, came 
into existence, as an historic fact, by Sandy Bay, the fifth parish of the 
town of Gloucester, and Pigeon Cove, a part of the Third Parish, being 
set off from Gloucester and incorporated as the Town of Rockport, Feb- 
ruary 27, 1840. It is situated on the most easterly part of Cape Ann, 
and bounded northwesterly by Ipswich Bay, on the east by the Atlantic 
Ocean, on the south by Massachusetts Bay and on the west by the city 
of Gloucester. It has a water front of about six miles. The greater 
part of the coastline is rugged and rock-bound, though here one finds a 
few sandy beaches, including Long Beach, a mile in extent. Fine drive- 
ways are thus afforded, along with good bathing facilities. Pebble Stone, 
Cape Hedge, is composed of an immense pebble-stone reef. Schoolhouse 
Beach is found here. There are also a number of other pleasant beaches. 
The Cape, or Fresh Pond, a beautiful sheet of water, covers seventy or 
more acres. Pigeon Cove has for many years been a popular summer 
resort. 

Early in 1839, after an agitation of the proposition for several years, 
the vote of the town was finally taken. It stood 319 "yea" against fifty- 
four "no" on the question of incorporation as a separate place. A meet- 
ing was called, and five persons were chosen on the part of Sandy Bay 
to confer with a committee to be chosen by the present town, viz: 
George D. Hale, James Haskell, John W. Marshall, Nehemiah Knowlton, 
Reuben Dade. Very soon the new town of Rockport, including Sandy 
Bay and Pigeon Cove, was incorporated, the date being February 27, 
1840. This act was approved by Governor Marcus Morton on the same 
day. The warrant for the first town meeting called upon voters to meet 
in the vestry of the Congregational Society, March, 1840. The first 



TOWN OF ROCKPORT 271 

moderator was Captain John Davis, and Colonel William Pool, town! 
clerk ; he and his son, Calvin W., were clerks for many years. 

The present (1921) town officers are: Selectmen and Overseers of 
the Poor: John H. Dennis, Eli L. Morgan, Frank C. Todd; Town Clerk, 
Byron G. Russell ; Treasurer, Mrs. Lois F. Sherburne ; Constables : John 
E. Sullivan, John V. Spates; Surveyor, Fred E. Smith; Auditors: W. 
Elmer Smith, Winfred A. Mason, A. Carl Butman; Town Attorney, J. 
M. Marshall; Harbor Master, C. W. Gott. 

Rockport in 1880 had a population of 3,912 ; in 1885 it was reported 
as 3,888; in 1900, it was 4,592; in 1910 it had fallen to 4,211; and the 
United States Census for 1920 gave the total as 3,878. 

Richard Tarr was doubtless the first man to effect a permanent 
settlement in this town, in Sandy Bay. He here erected a log cabin 
about 1690. He was bom in the west of England about 1660, and died 
in 1732, leaving an estate of approximately £400, and a large family of 
children. The next to enter the town was John Pool, who according 
to family traditions and records was bom in Taunton, England, in 1670. 
He was by trade a carpenter, and worked at his trade in Beverly for sev- 
eral years, with Richard Woodbury. It was he who furnished the 
builders of Long Wharf in Boston with a greater part of the lumber re- 
quired for that extensive work. In the early eighties, there were forty- 
four persons bearing the name of Pool in the town of Rockport. 

In 1688 it appears that prior to that date no general division of 
grant for any part of this territory of Gloucester had been made. On 
the 27th of February of that year, however, the town voted that every 
householder and young man upwards of twenty-one years of age who 
was bom in the town and was then living therein, should have six acres 
of land. Among the conditions annexed were these: that the inhabi- 
tants should be permitted to cut wood upon these lots for their own use ; 
and, second, that the people should have a free passage through them 
for certain purposes to the water-side. In accordance with this plan 
and town vote, eighty-two lots, all numbered, beginning at Flat-Stone 
Cove, and terminating at Black Beach, Sandy Bay, were laid out to 
persons living on the east side of the cut. In 1725 the town was provided 
with a schoolhouse, "to keep a good school in for godly instruction of 
children, and teaching of them to read and write good English." In 1734 
the whole number of taxpayers in Sandy Bay was thirty-seven, more than 
one-half of whom made their livelihood by fishing. 

Rockport has no natural harbor to receive large shipping interests.. 
But millions of dollars, from the first settlement down, have been ex- 
pended for hai-bor improvements, until at present a safe, fairly good 
harbor exists. Thus what nature failed to accomplish, man in his 
wisdom and energy has brought about. In 1829 the federal government 
caused a survey to be made of this harbor, with a view to the construc- 
tion of a breakwater. A few years later Congress made an appropria- 



272 ESSEX COUNTY 

tion of $50,000 for the improvement of a harbor. Work was begun in 
1885 on plans by which the government was to enclose, by a break- 
water of great strength, sufficient space to surround a harbor of 1,370 
acres with water twenty-four feet deep at low tide stage. 

One of the greatest drought seasons ever known in this county was 
that of 1779, as a result of which the settlers endured great hardships, 
in addition to the burdens laid upon them by reason of the war. Most 
of the agricultural resources were cut off for that year. Moreover, the 
winter of 1779-80 was one of unusual severity, one record declaring that 
"snow fell for twenty-seven days in succession." 

Ever since 1807 Rockport has been protected by a fire company and 
such engines and other equipment as the times afforded. A company 
was organized during the year just mentioned, consisting of twenty 
members. Each man was to provide himself with two leather water 
buckets and a leather sack, or bag, on which was inscribed his Christian 
name. This equipment was to stand in the hall, or front room, of his 
place of residence. A fine of one dollar and fifty cents was imposed on 
all who failed to meet these requirements. Later, forty-seven members 
belonged to this company. The first engine purchased in 1827 cost $315 
and was named "Enterprise." The next engine was purchased by 
Gloucester, and the company had twenty-five members. In 1848 the 
"Votary" was bought by Rockport, costing $1,000; this served until a 
steamer was purchased in 1885. The fourth engine was "Pigeon Cove" 
(suction), bought in 1860 for $1,100; this required a company of forty 
men to render the best sei-vice. In 1866 "Silver Grey" was bought for 
$898, and required fifty men. In 1876 the town bought a hose-carriage, 
"C. H. Parsons," at a cost of $710, and a hook and ladder truck costing 
$775. In 1885 the steamer "Sandy Bay," a third-size Silsby, which, in- 
cluding wagon, cost $3,970. This required only fifteen men to perform 
excellent work at fires. As the years have slipped by, and other im- 
provements have been made in fire-fighting apparatus, the town has in- 
vested, so that today it is abreast of the other towns in Essex county, 
believing that in "all that is good, Rockport can afford the best." Yet 
with all the precautions, fire has caused the total destruction of quite a 
number of buildings in the town, including several struck by lightning. 
The Methodist church was burned in May, 1875. The Annisquam Mill 
took fire in December, 1883, when the main structure and contents were 
destroyed, throwing nearly three hundred persons out of employment. 

Long before the days of organizing the Woman's Christian Temper- 
ance Union,, the forming of State and National Prohibition platforms in 
this country, or before the Women Crusaders, or Francis Murphy, with 
his blue-ribbon pledge lectures and campaign against the liquor traffic, 
Rockport was highly interested in the subject of doing away with 
liquors as a beverage. Back in 1856, sixty-six years ago, Rockport 
had her "Carrie Nations," as did Kansas in the later years. July 8, 



TOWN OF ROCKPORT 273 

1856, occuiTed a women's raid. The body corxsisted of about two hun- 
dred women. Armed with hatchets, and led by a man bearing an Ameri- 
can flag, they marched through the main streets of the town for the 
purpose of making a demonstration against the grog shops of Rockport. 
They were hasty, in that they did not stop to consider the legal rights 
they had or did not possess. They visited thirteen saloons and seized 
bottles, jugs, casks, etc., destroying with their hatchets the vessels and 
their contents. The raiders had completed their work by three o'clock 
in the afteraoon, and then repaired to Dock Square, where a love-feast 
was held, with congratulations to one another on the work accom- 
plished. They were subsequently arrested, and after a long legal battle 
were released. A number of legal questions were at issue in this quite 
celebrated case. 

At Sandy Bay a postofRce was established in 1825, having a semi- 
weekly mail service. The next year a tri-weekly sei^ice followed. In 
1828 a daily stage coach sei-vice was established. The first postmaster 
was Winthrop Pool, who continued until 1838, when he died. His suc- 
cessors in office have been : Henry Clark, George Lane, Francis Tarr, Jr., 
Addison Gott, William W. Marshall, William Wingood, Walter G. Peck- 
ham, James S. Wallace, and William Parsons, sixteen years tenn. 
Eugene Meagher, the present postmaster, was commissioned under Presi- 
dent Woodrow Wilson in July, 1914. This has long been a second-class 
postoffice, and now transacts a business of somewhat in excess of $10,000 
annually. The town caniers are: John S. Higgins, Arthur Wilson, P^alph 
Wilson. There are two rural free deliveries, one about tv/elve miles, the 
other twenty-four miles in length. The carriers of these routes are re- 
spectively John Denn and Richard Dodge. This postoffice has occupied 
the L. E. Smith store-building for nearly a quarter of a century. 

Meanwhile the change in matters of transportation and mail-service 
since those early years of the last century has indeed been marked. In 
the eighties, instead of the one-horse, two-wheeled chaise to Gloucester 
Harbor, as in 1825, there had come to be eight trains of well-appointed 
case running to and from Boston daily. 

As its name would indicate, Rockport's natural resource is stone. 
The first stone known to have been shipped from Rockport or Cape Ann 
was quarried about 1800, near Lobster Cove. It was moved on simple 
skids to the shore, where it was loaded on a small fishing-boat and taken 
to Newburyport, to be used as a mill-stone. 

The first derrick set up here was in 1838. The earliest steam en- 
gine employed in these quarries was in 1853-54. Prior to that period, 
water was pumped by hand, while hoisting was either by hand or by use 
of oxen. Nearly every section of the United States has at some time or 
other bought stone from these quarries. An account of these immense 
quarries given in 1885 states that at that date there were then engaged 
about five hundred men. Fifteen boats were constantly in use in trans- 
Esses— is 



274 ESSEX COUNTY 

porting the output from the quarry companies of the Rockport Granite 
Company, Pigeon Hill Granite Company, Charles Guidot, Edwin Can- 
ney, Ballou & Mason, Herbert A. Story, E. L. Waite, Charles Dormon & 
Son, and Bryant, Liirvey & Company. Stone from these quarries has 
gone into the foundations of San Francisco (California) buildings, back 
in the fifties ; into paving the streets of New Orleans, Boston, New York 
and scores of lesser cities. The rock is of excellent quality and seems 
inexhaustable in quantity. 

It is indeed fortunate that factories and stone quarries have been 
successfully operated in a place with so little of the real soil culture. As 
the stone industry has already been touched on sufficiently for this work, 
a few paragraphs concerning the various factories of the past and indus- 
tries of today are now in order: 

In 1822 William Hall of Boston first made isinglass in Rockport 
from hake sounds. He paid from three to five cents per pound for the 
sounds in a raw state. Before he commenced to buy them, they went 
to waste, with all other fish offal. He cleaned and dried this part of 
the fish, running it through rollers turned by hand, paying fifty cents 
a day for the man power thus obtainable. He secured letters patent on 
his process, and after a few years sold out to Jabez Row, William Nor- 
wood and others, a change which finally resulted in the formation of 
the corporation known as the Rockport Isinglass Company. They put 
in iron inst'ead of wooden machinery and used horse power instead of 
man-turned mills. In the eighties, two concerns were producing isin- 
glass from hake sounds — the Cape Ann employing forty-five men for 
five months a year, and Haskins Brothers, who employed almost as many 
men. At present the demand for the isinglass product is not so great 
as when lager beer was permitted to be made, hence the plant is run- 
ning on short time. 

In 1847 a cotton mill was incorporated here for the making of duck 
and fishing lines. For a number of years the enterprise prospered, but 
presently there sprung up in many other New England and New York 
towns similar mills, which finally caused an over-production. The Rock- 
ville plant thus declined in importance. After a lapse of about twenty 
years, the plant changed its machinery somewhat, and produced other 
cotton goods. The capacity was doubled, and new and larger buildings 
were erected. Some years later the company failed, and the machinery 
was sold for $140,000 to satisfy the creditors. As the original cost was 
$500,000, stockholders lost heavily. The name of the corporation was 
changed to the Annisquam Mill ; the machinery was renewed and a good 
business was being carried on there, when in December, 1883, the prop- 
erty was destroyed. It included a fine large stone building, and em- 
ployed two hundred and forty men. Its destruction was a severe loss 
to Rockport. 

In 1887 the Cape Ann Oil Cloth Company originated with Albert 



TOWN OF ROCKPORT 275 

W. Lane and N. S. York, who carried on a good business, and went from 
small to larger quarters on several occasions, as the business increased. 
In the eighties they were making, under United States patents dated 
1883, rubber oil goods, coats, hats, horse covers, buggy-aprons, etc., in 
connection with standard oil clothing. Both the above concerns have 
gone out of business. 

Of the present industries of Rockport it may be stated briefly that 
the isinglass factory, the cold storage plant and Waddell's boat-building 
plant are about all in the line of industries. The stone quarries have 
ceased to operate much on account of the introduction of cement and 
concrete work. The Inter-State Fishing Commission had a large cold 
storage plant. 

In the month of May, 1884, the shore-end of the Bennett & Mackav 
submarine cable was landed at Rockport, the event being greeted with 
a great celebration. The Old and New World had again been united by 
an electric ocean cable. James Gordon Bennett, the famous New York 
journalist, President Chester A. Arthur and many other noted men 
were present, and all responded to toasts. This cable was the largest in 
diameter of any thus far laid beneath the ocean's waves. 

The Fifth Parish of Sandy Bay was incorporated and approved by 
the governor, January 1, 1754. A meeting-house was erected about 
the same date. It stood near the head of Long Cove; it was thirty-six 
feet square and two stories high. It was taken down in May, 1805, just 
before the death of the venerable pastor, Ebenezer Cleaveland. John W. 
Marshall's history of Rockport's churches gives the following on the 
societies existing as late as 1886: 

In the year 1753 the citizens of Sandy Bay commenced to build a meetins^-house 
near where the Mt. Pleasant House now stands. The timber was hauled to the spot 
and was framed and ready to raise, when, on account of dissatisfaction on the part 
of a considerable number of persons, the frame was removed in the night time 
(tradition says by women) to the southern part of what is now Baptist Square, 
and there it was erected. It was thirty-six feet square, two stories high; it had 
no tower or belfry. It fronted the south; on the front was a porch, through which 
was the entrance to the audience room and the galleries, which were upon three 
sides; the front gallery was used by the singers. Over the pulpit was a sounding- 
board; the pulpit was also furnished with an hour-glass, by which the minister timed 
the service. The lower floor was furnished with eighteen pews, and on each side 
of the middle aisle were three long seats for the aged men and women; there was a 
seat for the colored people (slaves) of whom there were several before the Revo- 
lutionary War; there was also a seat under or near the front of the pulpit for the 
deacons; here they deaconed off the hymn, one line at a time. Captain Young and 
Thomas Dresser led the singing; they had no music book or tuning-fork; they were 
guided wholly by the ear. The horse-block stood near the eastern comer of the 
meeting-house, by which they were accommodated in mounting their horses. Man 
and wife rode the same horse; there was at that time hardly a carriage in the vil- 
lage. Previous to the building of the meeting-house, in fact ,until January, 1754, 
when Sandy Bay was incorporated as the Fifth Parish of Gloucester, they were 
obliged to pay their tax to support preaching in the First Parish of Gloucester, of 
which it was a part; but for several years previous to 1754 the First Parish re- 



276 ESSEX COUNTY 

linquished one-third part of the yearly tax of Sandy Bay on condition that they 
support preaching by themselves four months of each year, which for several years 
they did. Rev. Moses Parsons officiated one winter; there is the name of no other 
clergyman handed down except that Mr. Ebenezer Cleaveland came to Sandy Bay 
in 1752 and preached in the log schoolhouse, which was set in the yard front of 
the present Congregational meeting-house, a part of the time. 

Ebenezer Cleaveland was appointed a chaplain in the Revolutionary 
War, and upon his return, found his parish in a distressed condition; 
some had died in prisons and some were drowned at sea, while others 
had fallen in actual battle ; nearly all of the old able-bodied members had 
gone, and what was owing him on back salary could not well be paid, so 
they gave their obligations to him in ninety quintals of hake-fish per 
annum. 

The successor of Rev. Cleaveland (though he did not come for 
over twenty years, the parish being without regular pastor) was Rev. 
David Jewett, a man thirty years of age at that time. He died at Wal- 
tham, in 1841. His parish erected a beautiful granite monument to his 
memory. It stands fifteen feet high, and has an elaborate tablet on one 
side of its base-stones. 

The next pastor was Rev. Wakefield Gale, who was installed in 1836 
and dismissed in 1864, after a successful ministry. Then came Revs. 
William H. Dunning, who died in 1869; James W. Cooper, resigned in 
1870; Charles C. Mclntire, installed in 1871, dismissed in 1880; R. B. 
Howard, seventh pastor, installed in 1880 and who seived until 1884, 
when he was followed by Albert F. Norcross, 1885-91 ; Israel Ainsworth, 
1891-1908 ; Walter W. Campbell, 1908 to the present time. 

Of the Second Congregational Church it may be stated that it was 
organized in March, 1855 by sixteen members, who were dismissed from 
the First Congregational Church for that express purpose. The First 
Church was getting too small for the increasing membership. The pews 
were largely sold, and held for life, by certain members, who would not 
dispose of any part of them to new comers, hence the new organization 
was a necessity. Rev. David Bremer, who had been assistant pastor in 
the First Church, was chosen pastor of this newly-formed society. He 
resigned in 1863, after increasing a church with sixteen members to one 
of more than eighty. Next came Rev. L. H. Angier, his salary being 
fixed at $1,000. After the close of the Civil War, the society could no 
longer support itself and pastor. Letters were therefore granted to 
such as wanted to reunite with the First Church. Many did so, while 
others went into the Methodist Episcopal church. The church building 
or chapel, costing $4,000 in 1855, was sold to the Y. M. C. A., and that 
body in turn sold to the Odd Fellows. 

Pigeon Grove Chapel (Congregationalist) originated in a Sunday 
school in May, 1857. There were nearly forty members in the Sunday 
school. A neat chapel was erected in 1868, costing, with furnishings, 
$3,696. 



TOVn^N of ROCKPORT 277 

The First Church of Christ at Pigeon Cove was organized in March, 
1874, with a membership of nineteen. Land was bought and a small 
chapel was built by the society. John W. Marshall was superintendent 
of this Sabbath school for twenty-four years. In 1886 three semces 
were held each Sabbath in this chapel — one by the EngHsh, one by the 
Flanders, and another by the Swedes, each congregation having a min- 
ister of its own. 

The Methodist Episcopal church of Rockport had a class formed by 
Rev. Aaron Lummus, preacher at Gloucester Harbor church, in 1831. In 
1838 it was set off as a circuit with town parish, under charge of Rev. 
L. B. Griffin. The same year a church edifice was built. It soon became 
a separate charge, with Rev. Washburn as pastor. He was succeeded 
by Revs. Brown, Bradley and Richards. Without attempting to give 
the names of all later pastors, it should be stated that the society has 
flourished with the passing years. A fine church was built and dedi- 
cated April 14, 1869, at a cost of $16,000, and burned May 2, 1875, from 
an unknown cause. Another church was erected, costing $9,000. 

The Baptist church at Sandy Bay, Gloucester, was constituted in 
1807. Rev. Elisha Scott Williams was the first minister. He belonged 
in Beverly, but supplied this pulpit for a time. The society was legally 
incorporated in 1811 by the name of the First Baptist Society of 
Gloucester; there was no settled pastor until 1819-20. The first person 
to be baptized here was James Woodbury, March, 1805, the same being 
baptized by immersion. The Rev. James A. Boswell was the first set- 
tled pastor here. A meeting-house was built in 1822. The cost of land 
and building was $2,200. In 1866-67, the church was rebuilt, the im- 
provements costing $6,000. 

Not until after 1850 were there many foreigners in this town, 
hence no field for a Roman Catholic church. Rev. Father John McCabe 
of Salem celebrated the first mass in the place in 1850. In 1855 a chapel 
was built and first used in 1856, Rev. Thomas Shehan being deeply in- 
terested in this work. The house of worship erected cost $3,000. 

The first attempt at establishing a society of the Protestant Epis- 
copal denomination was in 1872. That year services were held in the Y. 
M. C. A. rooms by Rev. D. Reid, rector of St. John's Church, Gloucester. 
Only occasional services were held until May, 1886, when St. Mary's Mis- 
sion was formed. Its charter members were as follows : Otis E. Smith, 
Frank Wilson, Charles Trenson, Mrs. Rosa Ann Morse, Reginald R. Col- 
ley, T. T. H. Harwood, Mrs. Abbie Tibbets, Fanny U. C. Sanborn, Delia 
F. Smith, Eliza T. Lane, Mary L. Tibbets, Fanny C. Tupper, John Moore, 
Frank H. Perkins, Luther C. Tibbetts, James Moore, Jr., 0. S. S. O'Brien, 
M.D., Chas. F. Mills, Cora A. Pickering. 

The Universalist Society in Sandy Bay was organized February 27, 
1821, by the name of the Universalist Benevolent Society of Gloucester. 
For a time this society held services in the Congregational church 



278 ESSEX COUNTY 

building, but soon got into trouble with the Congregational society, 
which denied them the right to use the church. After a law-suit, it 
was decided in favor of the Congregational society. As it was no longer 
any use to claim a meeting-place there, the members used the school- 
house. Among the ministers who preached for this Universalist so- 
ciety are recalled such men as Revs. J. H. Bugbee, J. Oilman, J. P. Atkin- 
son, Hosea Ballou and Lafayette Mace. A meeting-house was built in 
1829, costing $3,000. The society was incoi-porated in 1839 by the name 
of the Second Universalist Society of Oloucester, but in 1845 it was 
changed to the First Universalist Society of Rockport. 

The Second Universalist Society was organized in the Engine Room, 
in August, 1861, with twenty persons present. This first society was 
only a Sunday school. March 31, 1869, a religious society was formed 
in connection with the Sunday school. In 1878 this was renamed Sec- 
ond Universalist Society of Rockport. In 1873 the society built a neat 
edifice costing $10,500. While many noted ministers have preached, but 
few regular pastors have ever been called here. 

The churches of Rockport today include the Baptist, Methodist 
Episcopal, Universalist, Episcopal, Catholic and Congregational. 

The First Baptist Church was organized March 29, 1808, and it 
appropriately observed its centenary in 1908. The society now has one 
hundred and seventy-three members; its Sunday school has an attend- 
ance of eighty-five. The superintendent is Herman S. Sherburne. The 
society was incorporated in 1811, by the name of the First Baptist 
Society of Oloucester; no settled pastor until 1819. The first person 
baptized by immersion in Sandy Bay was James Woodbury, March 10, 
1805, by Rev. Elisha Scott Williams, of Beverly. A meeting-house was 
built in 1822 at a cost of about $2,400. The present church is valued at 
about $4,000. The subjoined is a list of pastors who have here served* 
Revs. James A. Boswell, Reuben Curtis, Bartlett Pease, Otis Wing, 
Levi B. Hathaway, B. N. Harris, S. C. Oilbert, Thomas Driver, Oeorga 
Lyle, Thomas Driver, A. E. Bartelle, J. M. Driver, Samuel Cheever, Benj. 
I. Lane, Lewis Holmes, A. J. Lyon, E. D. Bowers, Oeorge A. Cleveland, 
N. B. Wilson, Wm. B. Smith, Jesse Coker, Charlton B. Bolles, William 
Clements, Daniel C. Easton, Charles W. Allen, Walter R. Bartlett, John 
C. Stoddard. 

Up to about 1830 there were few Catholic people living in Rockport, 
but before 1850 quite a goodly number had come in and made permanent 
homes, therefore the necessity of forming Catholic societies as soon as 
possible. The first mass was celebrated in Eureka Hall, in 1850, Rev. 
Father John McCabe, of Salem, officiating. A Catholic church was 
formed and a building erected in 1856. This building stood on Broad- 
way, and was the result of untiring efforts on the part of Rev. Thomas 
Shehan, of Salem. The first ministering priest was Rev. Luigi Acquar- 
one, and his parish encircled the Cape. The congregation grew rapidly. 



TOWN OF BRADFORD 279 

Rev. Thomas Barry was appointed to take charge of the parish and he 
remained till his death in 1883. Rev. D. S. Healey immediately suo 
ceeded him as priest of the parish. From that day until the present 
time the Catholic church has flourished and is today in a good condition, 
although the writer has been unable to secure data relative to the congre- 
gation at this time. 

The First Methodist Episcopal Church has occupied the field about 
Rockport many years, though much less than other churches. The pres- 
ent church edifice was erected in 1876, costing $15,000. The total mem- 
bership is now 110, and that in the Sunday school is about 225. James 
B. Silva is present superintendent. The pastors serving here succeeded 
one another in the following order: Revs. J. H. Mansfield, J. H. Humph- 
frey, E. E. Small, Joseph Chandlin, Wesley Wiggin, L. P. Causey E D 
Lane, E. E. Holmes, E. E. Abercrombie, W. T. Hale, H. P. Rankin,' Adam 
Bird, E. B. Frye, and the present pastor, Newton S. Sweezey. 



CHAPTER XXV. 
TOWN OF BRADFORD. 

The East Parish of Bradford was incorporated as a town, named 
Groveland, March 8, 1850. A portion of Boxford, including over three- 
fourths of Johnson's Pond, was annexed to Groveland, March 21, 1856. 
Bradford is one of the most northern towns in Essex county. Originally 
the Indians held this territory, and the name of the particular tribe 
was the Pawtucket. It is supposed that about 1638 Masconomet, the 
chief, was fully satisfied with the disposition made of his lands to the 
white settlers, but in the early years of the eighteenth century, Samuel 
English and Joseph English, his grandchildren, and John Umpee, his 
nephew, claiming to be his heirs, made a new demand, and an elaborate 
deed was executed by them in 1701 to John Tenney, Phillip Atwood and 
John Bointon, for themselves and other freeholders and proprietors of 
Bradford. The consideration was 16 pounds and 12 shillings. The 
deed was attested by Nathaniel Saltonstall and Dudley Bradstreet, 
magistrates of Haverhill and Andover, respectively. This deed was at 
once recorded. 

Bradford was well protected from invasions by the Indians by 
Haverhill on the north and by the river. Still, there was ever alann and 
anxiety among the settlers, and Bradford soldiers had to march else- 
where. Sentinels were stationed and they patroled constantly dur- 
ing the Indian scare-days. Three garrison houses were constructed, 
one of brick at the west end of the town ; one where the parsonage later 
stood ; and the third was where Widow Rebecca Foster's house stood in 
1820. This was palisaded, when grave danger was felt. There was also 



280 ESSEX COUNTY 

a block-house on the neck near the falls. The Indians sometimes crossed 
the river near that point, when on their forays. 

One of the original settlers, Thomas Kimball, was killed by the In- 
dians in King Philip's War, the Indians being the notorious Praying 
Indians, Symon, Andrew and Peter. Kimball resided on the road from 
what is now South Groveland to Boxford, The story runs that the In- 
dians were on their way to kill somebody at Rowley, who they imagined 
had injured them; but finding it was too late in the night, they turned 
in and made another deadly sacrifice instead. Kimball's wife and five 
children were carried away captive by Symon and his band, but later 
were set at liberty, it was thought through the influence of a friendly 
chief, Wannalancet. 

The Bradford lands originally laid out to the Haseltines and Wilde 
include the west half of the village. Their meadow land is known even 
today as the Haseltine Meadow. In 1658 Joseph Jewett had laid out 
to him the whole of Bradford Neck. In 1671, the following lot owners 
appear of record "below the Glover Farm:" Joseph Chaplin, 35 acres; 
John Simmonds, 42 acres; Abraham Foster, 37 acres; John Simmonds, 
36 acres; John Simmonds, 66 acres; Hugh Smith, 38 acres; Jonathan 
Hopkinson, 32 acres; Samuel Boswell, 53 acres; James Dickinson, 57 
acres ; Deacon Jewett, 95 acres ; Mrs. Kimball, Boston, 102 acres ; James 
Barker, 111 acres; John Boynton, 93 acres. 

Bradford was known originally as Rowley Village. That part now 
called Bradford was at first "the Merrimac Lands." Sometimes it was 
styled Rowley Village-by-the-Merrimac. Georgetown used to be called 
New Rowley. Probably there is not another American village so little 
changed with the passing centuries as that of Rowley. There one finds 
the two or three main streets upon which the exiles settled themselves — 
Wethersfield, in memory of the pastor's birthplace, and Bradford, to 
preserve the name of the substantial town in Yorkshire, England, from 
which others had emigrated to our shores. This band was made up of 
industrious weavers, farmers and smiths, who soon introduced their 
own special trades and callings here. They had a great storehouse for 
hemp and flax, built their fulling-mill and made serviceable clothes. 

Rowley was incorporated September 4, 1639, when it was ordered by 
the General Court that "Mr. Ezekiel Rogers' plantation be called Row- 
ley." May, 1640, it was declared by the same court "that Rowley bounds 
is to be eight miles from their meeting-house in a straight line (wester- 
ly) ; then a cross line diameter from Ipswich Ryver to Merrimack Ryver 
when it doth not prejudice any former grant." October of the same 
year, "the neck of land on Merrimack, near Corchitawick, is ordered 
added to Rowley." 

The first meeting-house in Bradford was built in 1670, probably a 
rough log building, although it must have been quite high, for it is seen 
by record that in 1690 a gallery was constructed. John Haseltine gave 



TOWN OF BRADFORD 281 

the meeting--house lot and churchyard, which was the old burying place 
on the road to present Groveland, The meeting-house stood in the west 
comer of the lot and the departed dead were laid to rest in the rear. 
The first house erected in the town was not far from the last named spot. 
The first schoolhouse was built on about the same site, the same being 
eighteen by twenty-two feet, with seven-foot posts. 

Prior to the Revolutionary War there had not been much trading 
in the town of Bradford. Possibly a store or two near each church was 
to be seen and patronized for the necessities of the household. Moses 
Parker opened the first store of much note, and that was located in East 
Parish. Upper Parish (Bradford) usually traded at Haverhill. Ship- 
building was carried on to some extent in 1720, but has long since been 
a lost art, so to speak. 

The water power furnished by Johnson's creek has always been of 
untold value to this part of Essex county. The noted Dr. Perry once 
said: "Indeed, it would be easy to show how enterprising individuals 
might gain wealth, and the community better served, by enlisting in 
their service the force of this water, which God, in his goodness, causes 
to flow down this stream for the use of men." This was said long years 
before the great factories had been built and the busy hum of machinery 
had been heard for the first time up and down this wonderful valley. 

In 1760 Daniel Hardy commenced making shoes here. They were 
sent to Portsmouth ; many were also sent to the Southern States and as 
far as the West Indies. At the time of the French Revolution it was 
said that "the shoe business is one of the most important lines of busi- 
ness in the tov^Ti." Dr. Periy's diary speaks of 1820 industries in this 
place as follows: "Large quantities of shoes are manufactured here, 
and sent to the Southern States and West Indies. One hundred and 
fifty men are constantly employed, besides many who employ the winter 
in it, who, it is supposed, make fifty thousand pairs of shoes and boots 
yearly." 

In 1792, Samuel Tenney, Uriah Gage, Timothy Phillips, and William 
Tenney engaged in the manufacture of shoes in Bradford. Their market 
was Boston, Salem, Newburyport and Portland. At first these goods 
were carried to market on horseback. Shoes went largely to Salem, 
and thence on to the West Indies and our Southern States. Between the 
years 1815 and 1837 the shoe business in Bradford was immense for 
those days. But as soon as Haverhill obtained its railroad, business men 
in Bradford commenced to remove their factories to that place, on ac- 
count of shipping facilities. In the early eighties, it was stated that the 
following men and firms were then or had been recently engaged in the 
manufacture of shoes in Bradford : Montgomery, Hoyt, Johnson, Ordway, 
Webster, Sawyer, Farrar, Kimball, Day, Waldo, Merrill, Ford, Carleton, 
Durgin, Pearl, Toun and Hopkinson. 

With the passing of years and the annexing of Bradford to the city 



282 ESSEX COUNTY 

of Haverhill, conditions have materially changed. Bradford is now one 
of the numerous resident districts of the thriving city, while its busi- 
ness enterprises are confined to a few small concerns. 

At the annual election in 1896 it was determined to annex Brad- 
ford to the city of Haverhill, and this went into effect January 4, 1897. 
This included all the territory of Bradford village and country districts. 
So, since the date last named, the history as an incorporated territory 
of Bradford has been one and the same as Haverhill. 

Without going back into the dim and misty past, to speak of census 
enumerations, it may be stated in this connection that in 1900 the United 
States census reports gave Bradford (in with Groveland) 2,376; in 
1910 it was 2,253 and in 1920 it was placed at 2,650. 

The first meeting-house in Bradford was erected in 1670, and 
twenty years later a gallery was provided, hence it will be seen the 
building was one of good proportions, othei"wise it would have been too 
small for such an improvement. The minutes of the church state that 
January 29, 1671, "at a general town meeting," an agreement was made 
with Samuel Haseltine "to sweep the meeting-house one whole yeare, 
and for his pains he should have of every householder and voter one peck 
of Indian com, which is to be brought to his house." (This shows that 
money did not go as a medium very much in those early times, but com- 
modities served as "coin of the realm.") The first year. Rev. Symmes, 
pastor, received forty pounds and the next year fifty pounds sterling 
as a salary. It was payable in wheat, pork, butter, cheese, malt, Indian 
meal or rye. It has been questioned by one of a later date than colonial 
days what the minister could have needed so much malt for? In reply, 
it should be stated that malt was in every house. Beer was drunk by old 
and young, and was counted a staple article of diet. Even the Harvard 
College accounts were partly payable in malt. Butter and cheese being 
used so much in settlement of accounts leads us to believe that dairying 
was a very early and profitable branch of farm life here. 

The common hour for Sunday forenoon services was from eight to 
nine o'clock, and members were fined for being tardy. No manuscripts 
were read by the minister for a sermon, but the good man of God placed 
his hour-glass before him and when it had emptied itself of its sands, 
if he proposed to preach longer, he turned the hour-glass over again. 
The elders gave out the psalms, line by line, to be sung. 

One odd feature of the first church organization in Bradford was 
the fact that no permanent church organization was had from the year 
1668 to 1682, notwithstanding Rev. Symmes was minister all those 
years, and had not yet been ordained. Finally this was brought about, 
and Rev. Symmes remained pastor until he was so aged that an assistant 
pastor had to be provided for him. About 1705 Rev. Symmes passed to 
the other shores, and in a short time was succeeded as pastor by his tal- 
ented son. Rev. Zachariah Symmes, a graduate of Harvard, and a man 



TOWN OF GROVELAND 283 

about thirty years of age at the time he came to the Bradford church to 
take his venerable father's place as minister. He died after a checkered 
ministry, in October, 1725. The next minister was Rev. Joseph Parsons, 
who with others did not endorse the preaching of Whitefield and opposed 
his being admitted to the pulpit. 

The East Precinct was incoiporated in 1726, and the church or- 
ganized one years later. Rev. William Balch was the first pastor for the 
new parish. He was ordained in 1728 and died in 1792, aged eighty- 
eight years. The East Parish built its first meeting-house in 1726 and 
its second one in 1790. The two parishes were separated after two 
hundred years of municipal life. Groveland was incorporated March 8, 
1850. 

The fourth pastor of the First Parish was Rev. Samuel Williams, 
a graduate of Harvard College, a noted astronomer and mathematical 
scholar. He was ordained in his twenty-second year, hence was not 
well liked by the older set of ministers. In 1780 he was dismissed at his 
own request, to take a chair at Harvard College. His successor was Rev. 
Jonathan Allen, aged thirty-two years, and also a Harvard graduate. 
He died in Bradford, in 1827. Following this minister was Rev. Ira 
Ingraham, who did not long remain pastor on account of his bitter op- 
position to the stand his church took in not wanting to further the cause 
of total abstinence. From that day on to 1866, the pastors of this 
church were, mclusive of these : Revs. Hoadly, ordained 1830, dismissed 
1833; M. C. Searle, dismissed 1834; Nathan Munroe, dismissed 1854; 
James T. McCollom, dismissed 1865 ; John D. Kingsbury, installed 1886. 
The present church history is wrapped up with that of Haverhill. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 
TOWN OF GROVELAND. 



Groveland originally was included in territory now occupied by 
Georgetown, Boxford, Rowley and Bradford, Rowley having been first 
settled in September, 1639, by Rev. Ezekiel Rogers and about sixty 
families, and was then styled Roger's Plantation. It was named Rowley 
on account of the immigrants coming from Rowley, England. Among 
the companions of Rev. Rogers were John and Robert Hazeltine and 
William Wilde. In 1649 these men desiring to obtain more land sought 
the rich meadows and fields in the handsome, rich Merrimac Valley, in 
the then Indian territory of the Pentucket, for a permanent abiding 
place. As the settlement increased, the name was changed to Merri- 
mac, and finally to "Bradford," so called after Bradford, England. The 
earliest mention of Bradford in Massachusetts records is in October, 
1675, in a list of expenses occasioned by King Philip's War. The Gen- 



284 ESSEX COUNTY 

eral Court order establishing the incorporation of Rowley, and dated 
May 27, 1668, read as follows: 

In answer to the petition of the inhabitants of Rowley, living over against 
Haverhill, the court, having considered the petition, perused the town of Rowley's 
grant to the petitioners, heard Rowley's Deputy and also considering a writing sent 
from Rowley with what else hath been presented in the case, doe find there is liberty 
granted to the petitioners by the town of Rowley to provide themselves with a min- 
ister and also an intent to release them from the township when they are accordingly 
provided, and therefore see not, but this court may grant the petitioners to be a 
township provided they doe gett and setle an able and orthodox minister and con- 
tinue to maynteigne him or else to remain to Rowley as formerly. 

At the village of Groveland in the summer of 1921 the business was 
in the hands of the following persons : Hardware store, by Cobban Bros. ; 
Groceries, by Messrs. C. P. Boynton, W. T. Pike, A. E. Brock, "the Dis- 
tributing Store"; a bakery by F. E. Packard; tobacco and cigar store, 
Fred Wood ; Groveland Garage, by H. L. Macdonald, also another garage 
by Harvey Hatch; Banking by the Groveland Co-operative Bank; The 
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, W. T. Pike president. The place has 
street car connections by the Newburyport and Haverhill line, every 
fifteen minutes during the day. 

The records show a town meeting was held, at which, on February 
20, 1668, officers were elected as follows: Thomas Kimball, constable; 
John Gage, Robert Haseltine, Joseph Pike, John Griffing and John Ten- 
ney, selectmen; Joseph Pike, clerk of writs; Samuel Worcester, Ben- 
jamin Gage, Benjamin Kimball and David Haseltine, overseers. 

The major part of Groveland was at first platted into lots running 
south from the river, which were granted in the following order, be- 
ginning down the river at the easterly end, to Joseph Richardson, Jonas 
Platts, John Hopkinson, Joseph Bailey, Edward Wood, Benjamin Savory, 
William Hutchens, Ezra Rolf, Samuel Tenney, Francis Jewett, Samuel 
Worster, Samuel Stickney, John Hardy, William Hardy, Abraham Par- 
ker, and Daniel Parker, and adjoining the Carleton Patent. A large 
part of Johnson's Pond was within this town, and from it flowed John- 
son's creek, having a fall of seventy-five feet to the river. The name 
Groveland has no special significance, other than that it was suggested 
by the existing beautiful groves in and surrounding its territory. 

The industries of this town, save those in South Groveland, had in 
the early eighties of the last century become about extinct, though in 
an early period were well sustained and quite numerous. The falling 
waters of the stream called Johnson's creek were harnessed up as early 
as 1670 and made to do service in propelling a grist-mill on that stream. 
Corn mills were opened along the stream in 1684. A fulling-mill was 
built in 1660 and a flouring mill on the same stream in 1690. It has been 
stated by an old historical writer that up to 1820 there had been on 
this creek four saw-mills, five grist-mills, three fulling-mills, and two 



TOWN OF GROVELAND 285 

tan-bark mills. During the year 1820, it is certain that there were five 
tan-yards in operation. On account of the production of leather here, 
there grew up quite a manufacture of coarse boots and shoes. Other 
factories included a chocolate works, brass and pewter buckles, cooper- 
shops, tobacco factories, together with brick-making and the straw hat 
industry. By about 1837 many of these industries had disappeared. 

The population of Bradford in 1850, after it had seen Groveland in- 
coi-porated, was 1,328; the town of Groveland having 1,286. In 1885 
Bradford had 3,106 and Groveland 2,272. The United States census re- 
turns for 1900 gave Groveland 2,376; in 1910 it was 2,253, and in 1920 
it was 2,650. 

Of course, being a well regulated New England town, Groveland 
has had its full share of various religious sects and societies. In 1667 
Rev. Zachariah Symmes was engaged as pastor, at a salary of £40, one- 
half to be paid in wheat, pork, butter and cheese, and the other half in 
cattle and com. At the town meeting in April, 1670, it was voted by 
the townsmen that "Sargeant Gage, Robert Haseltine, Benjamin Kim- 
ball, Thomas Kimball, John Simmonds, Nicholas Walington and John 
Griffing be chosen for the ordering, setting up and furnishing of a 
Meighting House according to their best discretion for the good of the 
town." 

The Church in the East Parish of Bradford was incorporated in 
1726; organized in June, 1627, with Rev. William Balch as pastor, with 
£100 settlement and £100 annually as a salary At the first year's end 
the church numbered one hundred and seventy-nine. He served as min- 
ister here for the long term of sixty-five years, closing it only at death in 
1792. He was followed by Rev. Ebenezer Dutch, who served till his 
death in 1814. Next came Reverend Gardner Braman PeiTy, who died 
while pastor in 1859. Other ministers were Revs, Wasson, Daniel 
Pickard, Thomas Daggett, Martin S. Howard, John C. Paine, James Mc- 
Lean, Augustus C. Swain, 1881, followed by Rev. Bernard Copping to 
October, 1887. 

The present membership of the Congregational church is 241, the 
largest it has ever been. In 1895 the Ladies' Parlor was added to the 
chapel ; in 1008 the church was renovated, new pews were placed without 
rental, and the entire front of church was changed; in 1910 the chapel 
was raised and a gymnasium built; a new organ was also installed; in 
1912 the house of the third pastor Perry was made into a parsonage, 
with extensive repairs ; in 1918 hardwood floors were placed in the church 
building. Pastors since 1894 have been Revs. Louis F. Barry, Alexander 
Sloan, Charles F. Clarke, Arthur Deckman, Andrew Campbell, Archibald 
Cullens. The present pastor is Herbert E. Beckwith. 

Besides the Congregational church, there was organized at Easi- 
Bradford, a Methodist church before its incorporation as Groveland. 
This was formed October, 1831, under direction of Rev. Thomas W. Gile 



286 ESSEX COUNTY 

and Aaron Wait, employed by the Christian Union Association. Rev. 
Charles S. McReading was the first Methodist pastor assigned to this 
charge. A church building was erected the following year. Since then 
the Methodists have had a work in the town for many years, but not at 
present. 

At South Groveland there is an Episcopal and a Catholic church. 

The South Groveland section was started as the result of the build- 
ing of the Groveland Woolen Mills at that point. It is also a near-by vil- 
lage to Haverhill city, and street cars run every quarter of an hour be- 
tween the two places. There is a small retail store business, a postoffice, 
and school and church interests suitable to a place of its size. 

In 1921 the government in the town of Groveland was in the hands 
of the following officers: Town Clerk, Harry W. Vaughan; Treasurer 
and Collector, Frank M. Worthen; Assessors, Charles S. Husten, James 
H. Early, Ralph E. Maddock ; Selectmen : H. W. Hardy, James H. Early, 
Charles H. Pike; Constables: Charles H. Stevens, George L. Nelson, 
Daniel Buckley, William T. Shanahan; School Committee: Stanley P. 
Ladd, Robert H. Cravvrford, John W. Cochrane; Three Warden, Sidney 
E. Johnson; Overseers of the Poor: Samuel H. Nelson, John F. Dorgan, 
C. Russell Cammett, clerk ; Water Commissioners, George Mitchell, Allen 
G. Tv/ombly, George B. Stiles ; Auditor, Elliott C. Dorr ; Moderator, John 
Morris. 

In 1920 the following items from the assessors' report were for the 
town of Groveland: Number residents assessed on property, 536; non- 
residents assessed on property, 182; assessed for poll-tax only, 340; 
value of assessed personal, including bank stock, $358,459; value of 
assessed real estate exclusive of lands, $988,590 ; land exclusive of build- 
ings, $263,167 ; total, $1,610,246 ; tax rate per thousand dollars, $30.40. 

Horses assessed, 120; cows, 221; neat cattle, 53; sheep, 26; swine, 
54; dwellings, 587; acres land, 4,995; fowls assessed, 1895; valued at 
$1,895. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 
TOWN OF SWAMPSCOTT. 



The history of Swampscott until 1852 was merged in the history 
of Lynn, yet it has, from the earliest days of the settlement, possessed 
an identity of its own. Its name, like that of Saugus and Nahant. ante- 
dates the arrival of the Puritans, and is one of those pleasing survivals 
of Indian nomenclature that have remained constant through many gen- 
erations. During almost two and a quarter centuries Swampscott had 
no separate identity as a township, yet it did possess a local individuality 
and a name. The origin of the name is given by Waldo Thompson in 




SWAMPSCOTT PUBLIC LIBRARY 



TOWN OF SWAMPSCOTT 287 

his ''History of Swampscott" : ''It is composed of two Indian words, a 
substantive, Ompsk, and an appellative, Musqui, meaning respectively 
(a standing) rock, and red ; with the local affix 'ut.' Musqui-ompsk-ut 
means literally "at the red rock," and this by contraction became 
M'squompskut, and then, the English dropping the initial "m," Squamp- 
skut, Swampscot, Swampscott." 

The only copy extant of the earliest map of the territory of New 
England, by William Hack, about 1663, is in the collection at Pilgrim 
Hall, Plymouth, Massachusetts. On this map the name appears as 
Swans Gut, a cori-uption of the Indian words that is quite easy to under- 
stand where one had but slight acquaintance with the language into 
which the Apostle Eliot translated the Bible. 

Swampscott has ever possessed a picturesque beauty quite its own, 
which has attracted to it those seeking pleasing home sites rather than 
those in search of industrial centers. While it is generally conceded 
that the first tanneiy in the Colony was located in Swampscott, and 
Thompson records that a brick-yard was established here in 1630, there 
has been no extension of either industry to survive to the present. The 
fishing industry, which flourished for many years, has passed away al- 
most entirely, and the entire township may be termed a residential com- 
munity, where the individual homes, varying from the humble cottage 
through all gradations to the pretentious and sumptuous residence, is 
supplemented by extensive hotels known far and wide for their excellence 
in meeting the requirements of the very extensive summer colony that 
annually comes to this choice section of the North Shore. 

Lest it be assumed that a town having a population of over 8,000 
people, with no supporting industries, may be lacking in enterprise and 
progressiveness, and hence not of healthy growth, we shall present a sum- 
mary of the inventory of the public property of the town at the present 
time, as evidence of its thrift and prosperity: 

Miscellaneous .' $104,420.00 Brought forward $889,307.60 

School 633,400.00 Health 500.00 

Cemetery 7,620.00 Moth 2,022.00 

Police 8,867.00 Poor 70.00 

Street watering 1,050.00 Fii'fe 58,420.00 

Highway 23,580.00 Water 211.208.90 

Assessors 5,245.00 Sewer 34,850.00 

Park 105,125.60 Engineeiing 747.00 



$889,307.60 $1,200,925.50 

Furthermore, we would call attention to the fact that the attractive- 
ness and accessibility of the tovv^n and its facilities for extending hospi- 
tality to the vacation-seeking public causes four thousand to five thou- 
sand summer residents aad guests to visit it each year. 

Francis Ingalls is recorded as the first settler in Swampscott. He 
and his brother Edmund Ingalls were in the first group of settlers who 



288 ESSEX COUNTY 

came in 1629, and have been considered in the narrative of the settle- 
ment of Lynn. While neither Lewis nor Newhall entered into the de- 
tails of the biography of Francis Ingalls further than to credit him with 
establishing a tannery in Swampscott and to receiving, with his brother 
Edmund, 120 acres of land in the division made in 1638, the research of 
Waldo Thompson presents more details. By his will, dated August 12, 
1672, and probated in Boston, November 1, 1672, it is evident that he 
had a wife, Mary Ingalls, to whom he left all his estate, "movable and 
Imovable," for her lifetime; a son is also mentioned. After the death 
of his wife he provides: "Then, after my debts be discharged, and my 
son Joseph beiknap satisfied for his disbursements, that then what there 
shall remain unto Elizabeth farman now living in Andover, my will is 
that she shall have." Francis Ingalls lived near the present junction ot 
Burrill and New Ocean streets, near by his tannery, which was located on 
Humphrey's brook. Again reieiTing to Thompson for authority, the 
house was about sixteen by thirty feet in dimensions, and faced due south, 
according to the custom of the times, and the tannery was built in 1632. 
The vats were extant as late as 1825, and the stone chimney of the house 
and other relics were found when another house was built on the lot in 
later years. Among other early settlers of Swampscott were Samuel 
Smith, W. Witter, John Humphrey, W. Clark, Edw. Richards, Lady De- 
borah Moody, Daniel King, J. Blaney and John Phillips. 

Contemplating the comfort and luxury of the inhabitants of this 
town at the present time, we cannot refrain from presenting by con- 
trast the apparent meagi*e intimate possessions of what may be termed 
a man of fair circumstances in this community in the early colonial days. 
After living over foity years in this settlement, establishing a business 
and providing for a family, his personal belongings, outside of real 
estate and business accounts, are summarized in the inventory filed after 
his death, as follows : "2 coats, 2 pairs of breeches, 1 pair draus, and a 
leather doublet, and a waistcoat, 1 hat and a pair of stockings, 1 pr. shoes, 

3 prs. pillows, 3 napkins, 8 pieces of old pewter, 1 Iron Kittull, a frying 
pan, 1 Bible and another book, a v/amiing pan and dripping pan, 3 chairs, 

4 cushions, a spinning wheel, 2 silver spoons." This inventory is pre- 
sented only to show something of the changes of 250 years, and to indi- 
cate something of the limitations of those times of peril and privation. 
Yet to such hardy, self-reliant and frugal forebears do some of our most 
highly-valued families trace their lineage. 

As early as 1826 Swampscott was designed as Ward 1, Lynn, and 
had a population of 123 males and 120 females. After Lynn became a 
city, in 1850, there was a desire on the part of the people of Swampscott 
to be set off and incorporated as a town. On May 21, 1852, by act of 
the Legislature, Swampscott became a town, and the act was signed by 
Governor George S. Boutwell. This event was celebrated by a proces- 
sion of which Col. Thomas Alker was marshal; it paraded the streets, 



TOWN OF SWAMPSCOTT 289 

with the Salem Brass Band; there was an address by Rev. Jonas B. 
Clark, and the reading of a poem wi'itten for tiie occasion. In the even- 
ing there were fireworks, Dr. J. B. Holden causing a fire balloon to be 
sent up; there was also a torchlight procession, with illumination and 
other demonstrations of satisfaction over the fact that Swampscott had 
passed from the status of a community and had become a town. 

The first town meeting in the newly-chartered town of Swampscott 
was called to order by Waldo Thompson. It was convened in Atlantic 
Engine Hall on Saturday, the fifth day of June, 1852, and resulted in the 
election of the following officers : 

Moderator — Samuel C. Pitman. 

Selectmen — Samuel C. Pitman, Eben B. Phillips, Henry J. Tiling. 

Town Clerk — John L. Seger. 

Treasurer — John Chapman, Jr. 

Assessors — J. F. Phillips, Thomas Stone Jr., Allen Washburn. 

School Committee — Jonas B. Clark, Henry H. Hall, Edward Woodford. 

Overseers of the Poor — William D. Rowe, Mark G. Phillips, John B. Richard- 
son. 

Surveyors of Highways — Allen Washburn, Jonathan F. Phillips. 

Constables — B. H. Davis, Nathaniel Galeucia, Charles Leavitt. 

Tythingmen — William Widger, J. P. Blaney, John WiJkins. 

Measurer of Wood and Bark — Philander Holden. 

Surveyor of Lumber — Moses Gilbert. 

Field Drivers— A. C. Newhall, James Nesbit, S. R. Bartlett, William Galeucia. 

Pound Keeper — Jacob Wilford. 

Board of Health — James Nesbit, J. B. Holder, A. C. Newhall. 

Fence Viewers — Allen Washburn, Ebenezer Weeks, F. Griffin. 

Sealer of Weights and Measures — John B. Richardson. 

The whole number of votes at the first Town meeting was one hundred and 
fifty-five. 

The first town meeting in the Town Hall was convened March 9, 
1861, Eben N. Wardell presiding as moderator, and Rev. Jonas B. Clark 
opening the meeting with prayer. 

Daniel King, a merchant, lived in Swampscott in 1642, and purchased 
the Humphrey property in 1651. He died May 28, 1672, and the inven- 
tory filed after his death totaled £1,528 9s. Captain Ralph King built the 
house long known as the "old Blaney House" in 1641, and John Blaney 
was married in 1656 and moved into it. The house, a conspicuous land- 
mark in Swampscott for many generations, was razed only a few years 
ago. In 1651 it was ordered by the Court that "no person who is not 
worth two hundred pounds shall wear any gold or silver lace or any 
silk hose or scarf." 

John Phillips settled in Swampscott in 1650, and from him the Phil- 
lips Beach section of the town received its name, and through him the 
long line of Phillips families was established. He died in 1694 and left 
a widow, Hannah, and two children. John Humphrey and his wife. Lady 
Susan, embarked from Kings Beach, near Black Will's Cliif, when they 
left Swampscott for England in 1641. 

Essex— 19 



290 ESSEX COUNTY 

1832 — Ebenezer Weeks kept a tavern opposite Blaney's Beach. 
1846 — The first post office established, Waldo Thompson, postmaster. 
1852 — Dr. William R. Lawrence of Boston contributed 150 books and 
$100 to start a library, 1879 — A post office was opened at Beach Bluff. 
Thompson, post master. 1879 — A post office was opened at Beach Bluff. 
1881 — Street cars of the Lynn & Boston Horse R. R. commenced run- 
ning, and in 1884 the line was extended to Marblehead. Col. Charles A. 
Stetson was proprietor of the Astor House in New York City. Honorable 
Enoch Redington Mudge was proprietor of the St. Charles Hotel in New 
Orleans in ante-bellum days. 

More than passing mention is due John Humphrey (Humfry) for 
the important part that he took in colonizing this section of New Eng- 
land. He was one of the six original purchasers, from the Plymouth 
Company, of that tract of land extending from three miles north of the 
Merrimac to three miles south of the Charles rivers, and westward to the 
"South Sea." One year later these six gentlemen, namely Sir Henry 
Rosewell, Sir John Young, Thomas Southcott, John Humphrey, John 
Endicott and Syman Whetcomb, had associated with themselves Sir 
Richard Saltonstall, Mr, Isaac Johnson and eighteen others, when the 
Charter of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay in New England passed 
the seals, March 4, 1628-9, which was in the fourth year of the reign of 
King Charles L 

Since John Humphi-ey was active from the beginning of this organi- 
zation, which acquired the corporate name of the Governor and Com- 
pany of the Massachusetts Bay in New England ; to him should be given 
credit — in part at least — for securing a charter which sets forth such 
fundamentals of free government as are contained in the section here 
quoted : 

And our will and pleasure is. And we do hereby for us, our heirs and suc- 
cessors, ordain and grant. That from henceforth forever, there shall be one Gov- 
ernor, one Deputy Governor, and eighteen assistants of the same Company, to be 
from time to time constituted, elected and chosen out of the freemen of said Com- 
pany, for the time being, in such manner and form as hereafter in these presents 
is expressed. Which said officers shall apply themselves to take care for the 
best disposing and ordering of the general business and affairs of, for and con- 
cerning the said lands and premises hereby mentioned to be granted, and the plan- 
tation thereof, and the Government to the people there. 

This Charter permitted the removal of the seat of Government to the 
New World, and was one of the foundation stones in the structure of 
Liberty and Freedom. 

At the election of officers, which occurred October 20, 1629, Mr. 
John Winthrop, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Mr. Isaac Johnson and Mr. John 
Humphrey were nominated for governor. "By a general vote and full 
consent of this Court," Mr. John Winthrop was chosen governor, and in 
the same manner Mr. John Humphrey was chosen deputy governor for 



^^fe.. 



?^ot^-^< 






■4^''.v>, 



f/r 



TOWN OF SWAMPSCOTT 291 

the ensuing year. It was also decided to remove the seat of the govern- 
ment to the New World when the colony was established. 

On the 23d of March, 1630, the last court of the Governor and 
Company to be held on the other side of the water was convened in the 
cabin of the "Arabella" (the vessel that was to convey Governor Win- 
throp) while the fleet lay at anchor at Southampton before departure. 
As it was decided that John Humphrey was to remain in England, he 
was discharged of his deputyship, and Thomas Dudley was chosen to 
fill his place. It appears that John Humphrey was then made treasurer, 
and he remained very active in the management of the company. 

In the spring of 1630, eleven vessels, having on board about 1700 
persons, sailed from Southampton to the new colony. Salem was the 
chief objective point, and from there the passengers scattered through 
Salem, Saugus, Charlestown and Boston, where settlements had been 
made, and commenced new settlements in Roxbury, Dorchester, Water- 
town and Medford. 

John Humphrey was a native of Dorchester in Dorsetshire, Eng- 
land. He was a lawyer, and a man of considerable wealth and of good 
reputation. Governor Winthrop characterizes him as "a gentleman of 
special parts of learning and activity, and a Godly man." By local his- 
torians he is variously designated as ''Mr.," "Esquire," "Honorable," 
"Colonel," "Sergeant Major General" and "Assistant Governor." He 
served as associate justice and was a member of the Ancient and Honor- 
able Artillery Company. He is mentioned as "one of our earliest and 
most efficient benefactors," and as one of the most influential in pro- 
moting the settlement of the colony, securing colonists, obtaining many 
donations and procuring some ministers. Evidently, he was mterested 
m ships and in trading with the colonies, for it is recorded that on the 
2d of November, 1632, a vessel, of which John Humphrey was part 
owner, was wrecked off Cape Charles and twelve men were drowned. 

John Humphrey's investment in the colony was quite material. It 
was agreed that each member of the company was to receive 200 acres 
of land for each £50 invested in the enterprise. In the allotment of 
land he received a grant of 500 acres in 1633 in the present town of 
Swampscott. Later his land holdings were increased, until it is said 
that he owned 1,300 acres of land between Sagamore Hill and the Forest 
river. He was also granted 500 acres of land in the present town of 
Lynnfield, where his holdings gave the name to Humphrey's pond. In 
Marblehead he owned much land, three hundred acres of which was the 
tract that Salem wished to give for the establishment of the proposed 
college, afterwards named Harvard College. That was near the present 
site of the Tedesco Club. John Humphrey was one of the original com- 
mittee appointed to establish the college. November 7, 1632, the court 
"referred to Mr. Turner, Peter Palfrey and Roger Conant to set out a 
proportion of land in Saugus for John Humphrey, Esqr." This land 
was laid out at Swampscott. 



292 ESSEX COUNTY 

The map published by Alonzo Lev/is in 1829 shows the westerly- 
boundary of this farm to have commenced at a point a little east of 
Red Rock, and to have crossed the easterly part of Sagamore hill near 
the present junction of Lewis and Ocean streets, and to have continued 
in a straight line across the present Eastern avenue to a point near the 
Fay estate. Sagamore Hill included all the bluff along the shore from 
the present site of Washington street to near the Swampscott line, for 
the elevation is the same at the junction of Ocean and Lewis streets as 
at Ocean and Nahant streets. It is so shown on the old maps. This 
would include the easterly part of Sagamore Hill in the Humphrey farm, 
and would well conform to the record that in 1636 John Humphrey built 
a wind-mill on the easterly shoulder (one historian says "knob") of 
Sagamore Hill. Where else should he have built it, except on the high- 
est accessible part of his farm? The name Windmill Hill then given to 
the location has passed out of general use. 

John Humphrey married Lady Susan, daughter of Thomas Clinton, 
third Earl of Lincoln. Rev. Mr. Whiting refers to her family as the 
highest among the English nobility. It is evident that the family of the 
Earl of Lincoln was greatly interested in the, new colony. 

Of the four vessels of the fleet that conveyed Governor Winthrop 
to Salem, the "Arabella" was the one on which he took passage. This 
ship was formerly the "Eagle," and was renamed the "Arabella" in 
honor of Arabella, the daughter of the E^rl of Lincoln. Lady Arabella 
accompanied Governor Winthrop on this voyage to join her husband, 
Isaac Johnson, who had preceded her to this country. This is undoubt- 
edly the Johnson to whom John Humphrey referred in a letter to Gover- 
nor Winthrop as "my dearest brother." Lady Arabella died about a 
month after her arrival at Salem. 

Isaac Johnson, brother-in-law of John Humphrey, was a man of 
wealth, who owned property in four counties in England. He establish- 
ed his home in this country near the present site of Boston City Hall. 

In the transfers of property it is shown that the major part of Mr. 
Humphrey's Swampscott farm was purchased by Lady Deborah 
Moody in 1641. Lady Moody arrived in Salem in 1640 and had 400 
acres of land granted to her in Salem soon after her arrival. She re- 
tained her connection with the Salem church, but lived in Lyim (Swamp- 
scott). She paid £1100 for the Swampscott property. She incurred 
the displeasure of the church by "maintaining that the baptism of in- 
fants was unwarranted and sinful." For this reason she was obliged 
to leave the colony, and she went to Long Island, where she became a 
woman of great influence in the Dutch colony. Her son, Sir Henry 
Moody, sold about 400 acres of the farm in Swampscott in 1651 to 
Daniel King. For him King's beach and King's street are named. The 
property remained in the King family for many years, and finally passed 
by foreclosure of mortgage into the hands of Robert Bronsden of Bos- 
ton. The mortgage bore date of February 24, 1693. 



'^^'Scfr:^ 







THE OLD HUMPHREY HOUSE 
Taken from an Old Sketch 










SECTION OF OLD MAP IN BRITISH MUSEUM 
With notes by Governor Winthrop, showing location of ti.e Humphrey house 



TOWN OF SWAMPSCOTT 293 

Robert Bronsden, on September 27, 1700, transferred 120 acres of 
the property including the house in question, to John Burrill, Sr., who 
hved on Boston street. The property remained in the Burriil family 
until 1797. John Burill, Sr., never lived in the Humphrey house, but 
on his death bed, in 1703, he gave the property to his son, Hon. Ebenezer 
Burriil. From 1703 until 1761 Ebenezer lived in the Humphrey house, 
and his son, Samuel, lived there until his death in 1797. In 1798 the 
property was sold to Robert Hooper of Marblehead. It passed to his 
daughter, the widow of Hon. William Reed, in 1842, and subsequently 
it was purchased by Hon. Enoch Redington Mudge. (The above upon 
investigation of Miss Ellen Mudge Burriil). The map published by 
Alonzo Lewis in 1829 gives the names of the original owners (with date) 
of the houses in Lynn and also of subsequent ovvOiers. That map indi- 
cates the location of the Humphrey house with the date of 1634, and 
beneath the name of John Humphrey, 1634, is the name Lady Moody, 
1640. [1641 it should be.] It also gives some of the bounds of the 
Humphrey farm. 

There is also a relic of the past in Swampscott that tradition has 
associated with the name of John Humphrey and his wife, Lady Susan. 
That relic is the Humphrey house, whose history has been searched 
thoroughly, until it appears that there is no reasonable doubt that the 
house, which for generations stood near the present intersection of 
Elmwood road and Monument avenue, is the one built by or for John 
Humphrey in the period 1634-37, and referred to by Governor Winthrop 
in his margin notes and "thumb-nail" sketch on a map sent by him to 
England previous to Nov. 20, 1637, and possibly at an earlier period. 
A copy of that map i$ reproduced in this work, and the notes have been 
authenticated by eminent authorities on such matters in this State as 
in the handwriting of Governor Winthrop. This map, with other evi- 
dence presented, should forever disprove the contention that the Hum- 
phrey home was on Nahant street, Lynn, rather than in Swampscott. 
In 1891, this historic house was moved from its original location to 99 
Paradise road, where it now stands. It has been acquired by the 
Swampscott Historical Society, recently formed and incorporated, and 
is in a fair state of preservation, as is shown by the cut. 

The most positive and conclusive evidence of the location of John 
Humphrey's home in Swampscott is shown in a map of the Massachu- 
setts Bay Colony found in the British Museum, London, and reproduced 
herewith. 

A section of this map was published by Rev. George Anson Jackson 
in 1904 in his little book, 'The Ladye Susan." This map is believed to 
have been drawn by Thomas Graves, surveyor, about 1634, and many 
reference marks and margin notes in the handwriting of Governor 
Winthrop. While most of the representations of houses in the clusters 
representing settlements are without detail, there are certain "thumb- 



294 ESSEX COUNTY 

nail" sketches, about one-sixth or one-fourth the size of a postage 
stamp, that show some distinguishing marks of detail. Under one of 
these sketches, representing a house with the door in the center, win- 
dows on either side and a chimney in the center, appears the letter "B." 
In the margin in Gov. Winthrop's handwriting appears the note: "B. 
Mr. Humphrey's feiTne house at Saugus." The location of the Hum- 
phrey house, as shown on this map, is near the easterly end of King's 
(Humphrey's) beach, Swampscott, exactly as given in Alonzo Lewis' 
"History of Lynn." It also corresponds to the location of the Hum- 
phrey house as shown on the map published by Mr. Lewis in 1829. 

This map is a complete confirmation of both the tradition and the 
recorded history that John Humphrey, on arriving in the Colony, "went 
to reside on his farm at Swampscott, which had been laid out by order 
of the court." An examination of this old map under a magnifying 
glass shows that while a very few of the houses indicated are sketched 
as "half houses," the Humphrey house is shown as a house complete, 
with door and chimney in the center. In these essential details the 
sketch corresponds to the main details of the house under consideration. 
The reasonable inference is that the Humphrey house was the most pre- 
tentious in the Colony at the time. This would be fully in keeping with 
the wealth and position of John Humphrey, and would indicate that he 
had provided a home in keeping with the tastes and social standing of 
his wife. Lady Susan, who, like her sister Arabella, had "come from a 
paradise of plenty and pleasure which she enjoyed in the family of a 
noble earldom into a wilderness of want." 

What can be more reasonable than the supposition that Mr. Hum- 
phrey had caused this house to be built for the reception of himself and 
wife even before they arrived here? The land had been granted to 
him in 1633, he was apparently engaged in trade with the Colonies in: 
ships that he owned at least in part, he had been made an assistant to 
the governor before he arrived here, and had the wealth and official con- 
nection to accomplish all this. Admitting the evidence of the VVinthrop 
map, which has been accepted as authentic, we have next to consider the 
date at which the notes and sketches were made. Newbury was made a 
town May 6, 1635, and Dedham September 8, 1636. Neither of these 
towns are shown on this map. Agawam was settled in 1633, and the 
name changed to Ipswich, August 5, 1634. On this map it appears as a 
cluster of three houses (one a half house) , some Indian wigwams nearby, 
and under the name of Agawam. Newtown was named Cambridge, 
September 8, 1634. It appears as Newtown on this map. Weymouth, 
so named September 1, 1635, appears under the old name Wessagusans. 
Lynn, which received its present name November 20, 1637, appears as 
Saugus, which was the original name. The fish weir on the Saugus 
river which was authorized in 1633 is indicated on the map. Mr. Crad- 
dock's farmhouse at Medford is sketched as a "half house." The loca- 



TOWN OF SWAMPSCOTT 295 

tion of Ten Hills farm, Governor Winthrop's farm, is shown, as is the 
windmill and the fort at Boston. A veiy careful study of the map and 
a careful consideration of the points above mentioned, as well as others, 
lead us to conclude that the map was marked and the margin notes writ- 
ten by Governor Winthrop in the summer of 1634, and that the map was 
then sent to England. While there are letters on record from Robert 
Ryce of England, asking Governor Winthrop to send him a map, there 
is nothing to connect those letters with this map, so far as we can 
ascertain. Even if this map was sent in response to those letters, it 
would prove that the John Humphrey house was standing in 1637 ; we 
are therefore quite satisfied that it was built four years earlier, or in 
1634, which was in the fifth year of the settlement of Lynn. 

We extract liberally from an article by Hemy S. Baldwm, which 
presents a valuable and concise picture of Swampscott past and present: 

With a shore line of three and one-half miles and well protected beaches, it 
has always been a favorite spot for fishermen, and the town has been noted for 
this industry from the time of the Pilgrims down to the present. Undoubtedly, 
the earliest settlers of Massachusetts Bay colony came to what is now Fisherman's 
Beach in their small vessels to obtain much-needed supplies of food. Records of 
the town show that all through the colonial days, and even after' the Revolutionary 
War, this was the principal fishing port of New England. At one time there were 
more than 30 schooners, locally known as "jiggers," hailing from Swampscott. 
Residents of the town still living remember when ox carts were driven from all 
parts of New England and even from Canada to Swampscott, for the purpose of 
obtaining supplies of fish. These carts were loaded with geese, eggs, butter, 
cheese and produce, by the inland farmers, who disposed of their articles to the 
fishermen when Swampscott was reached. Here a return load of fish would be 
obtained. Jeremiah L. Horton, now eighty-seven years of age, states that he has 
seen piles of frozen cod resembling cord wood in the yard on Humpkrey street 
where is now located the Swampscott Club. As the demand for fish became 
greater, warranting the use of large vessels, the Swampscott fishing fleet gradually 
disappeared, and today the industry is conducted on a small scale by the use of 
motor boats and dories. 

The Swampscott dory is noted throughout the world as a type of small boat 
which especially meets the requirements of fishennen. It is so constructed that 
it is very seaworthy, and yet can be readily handled and drawn up on the beach. 
On account of its shape, it can be stowed in nests on larger vessels, and for this 
reason has played an important part in the fishing industry of New England. Mr. 
Horton, who has fished in Massachusetts bay since he was 13 years of age, states 
that the first dories were built by a man named Andrews. The distinction of 
designing this type of craft belongs to Mr. Theophilus Brackett of this town. 

It may not be generally known that the Beach road, which follows King's 
Beach from the Lynn line, through Humphrey street and Puritan road, is the 
oldest highway in the country. Most New England coast towns have their 
stories of shipwi-ecks and tragedies of the sea. In January, 1857, a terrible storm 
drove the bark Tedesco on the rocks near the Ocean House. The ship was destroy- 
ed and her entire crew of 12 men were drowned, the bodies of six being recovered 
and buried together in the Swampscott cemeteiy. Up to the middle of the last 
century the population of Swampscott was made up largely of fishermen and 
fanners, but with the advent of better means of transportation, it gradually took 
on the character of a residential town and a delightful summer resort. Situated 



296 ESSEX COUNTY 

on Nahant bay, which tourists have likened to the Bay of Naples, the scenery is 
most attractive. As one leaves the shore, beautiful fields and woods appear before 
the eye. 

Swampscott is fortunate in that three main roads of the North Shore pass 
through the town. The outer road, or boulevard, which follows the shore closely 
and extends through Humphrey and Orient streets' and Atlantic avenue to Marble- 
head or Salem, affords the most charming and varied scenery; while Paradise or 
State road, located more centrally in the town, is a direct route to points on the 
coast and the northern part of New England. The westerly highway lies in Essex 
street, which is the old county road and is still much used, particularly for com- 
mercial traffic. There are more than 30 miles of modem roads in the town, which, 
combined with the many beaches, attract hundreds of visitors in the summer 
season. 

One of the earliest hotels was the Ocean House, which formerly stood on 
Galloupe's Point. This was demolished, and later the New Ocean House, which 
now extends the entire length of Whale's Beach, was erected. This popular hotel 
has expanded until it is now one of the largest and best equipped summer hotels 
on the New England coast. It has become a favorite resort for people from all 
parts of the United States and foreig-n countries. Many professional societies hold 
their annual meetings here. Hotel Preston, near the Marblehead boundary, is 
also an establishment enjoying a wide reputation for superior service. There are a 
number of well-appointed retail shops, located for the most part on Humphrey 
street. The population of the town in 1852 was about 1000, while the last census, 
taken in 1920, shows a total of 8101. The town is supplied with excellent water 
of the metropolitan system, and is considered a very healthy locality. 

Swampscott has a fully motorized fire department, efficient police protection, 
postal delivery; and, in fact, most of the advantages usually found only in large 
cities. Educational facilities are exceptional, there being five modem school build- 
ings, with 52 teachers. At the recent annual town meeting, the sum of $131,000 
was appropriated for educational purposes for the current year (1921). There 
are six churches, representing various denominations, and many fraternal and 
social organizations. The Tedesco Club, Neighborhood Club, Masonic Club, 
Swampscott Club, Catholic Club and the Woman's Club afford an opportunity 
for citizens to meet socially. Recently a co-operative bank has been opened in 
the tovim. 

Among the many prominent residents may be mentioned the name of Prof. 
Elihu Thomson, a founder of the General Electric Company, president of the 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the second time, and a man of world- 
wide scientific reputation. His residence is located on Monument avenue, and 
the residence of Andrew W. Preston, president of the United Fruit Company, 
whose wonderful foresight has brought this company to be recognized as the 
greatest industrial orgarxization in the West Indies and Central America. His 
beautiful home. The Arches, on Atlantic avenue, is one of the finest on the North 
Shore. 

[Abednego Ramsdell, the picturesque figure of Lynn in the Concord fight, re- 
sided in Swampscott near the junction of Cherry and Essex streets. Hearing of 
the Paul Revere alarm, while shooting birds at the shore, he returned home, seized 
his equipment and a little food and (according to tradition) ran to Concord and 
arrived in season to take part in the fight, and there paid the supreme sacrifice 
upon the altar of liberty. He was buried in the Eastern burial ground.] 

From the days of the Revolution down to the World War, Swampscott has al- 
ways furnished her full quota of soldiers and sailors. Even though the town was 
small during the period of the Civil War, Swampscott sent out more than 200 men 
to preserve the Union. In the World War 512 men and women answered the call 
to the colors, many serving at home and abroad with distinction. 



TOWN OF SWAMPSCOTT 297 

A memorial shaft has been erected in Monument square for those who gave 
their lives in the Civil War, and a boulder and bronze tablet were dedicated on 
November 11, 1920, to the heroic dead of the World War. 

We now draw upon certain town statistics, for the purpose of in- 
dicating the steady development in the growth of the town's material 
concerns : 

Building Inspector John T. Lee reported to the board of selectmen 
that 154 building permits were issued during the year 1921, with esti- 
mated cost of construction of $474,275. Of this amount, $361,000 repre- 
sented the cost of 46 dwellings. The permits for erection of garages 
called for an expenditure of $35,000. 

Assessors' property report. Valuation of the town of Swampscott, April 1, 
1921. Table of aggregate of polls, property and taxes assessed April 1, 1921: 

Number of residents assessed on property 1 976 

Number of firms, corporations, etc., assessed on property 52 

Number of non-residents assessed on property 375 

Number of non-resident firms, corporations, etc., assessed on property 30 

Number of persons assessed on property 2 433 

Number of persons assessed on poll tax only 1,370 

Total number of persons assessed 3 §03 

Number of male polls assessed 2 366 

Value of assessed personal estate $1,391,298 

Value of assessed buildings, excluding land _ „ 8,360,183 

Value of assessed land, excluding buildings 5,866,327 

Number of dwelling houses assessed _ 1,846 

Note: These items appear in the tabulation below. 

The subjoined tabulation, interesting for the comparisons it affords, 
gives valuation of real and personal property by five-year periods from 
1880 onwards, along with the tax rates. The figures for 1921 are also 
appended : 

Year. Real Estate. Personal Property. Total Valuation. Tax Rate 

Per $1,000 

1880 $1,991,880 $1,133,247 $3,125,127 $7.00 

1885 2,365,280 1,130,863 3,496,143 9.00 

1890 3,001,550 1,857,777 4,859,327 10.00 

1895 3,756,900 1,444,947 5,201,847 12.00 

1900 4,446,900 1,138,275 5,585,175 11.00 

1905 6,030,185 2,117,442 8,147,627 14.30 

1910 8,489,200 2,698,340 11,187,540 $15.00 

1915 10,810,305 5,028,193 15,838,498 17.80 

1920 14,007,916 1,316,938 15,324,854 23.00 

1921 14,226,510 1,391,298 15,617,808 24.00 

Following is the list of elected town officers for the year 1921 : 

Selectmen— Hem-y S. Baldwin, chairman; William E. Carter, John B. Earp. 

Moderator— Daniel F. Knowlton. Tov/n Clerk— George T. Till. Town Treas- 
urer—James W. Libby. Collector of Taxes— Philip E. Bessom. 

Assessors— Edward A. Maxfield, chairman, term expires 1923; Oscar G. Poor, 
term expires 1922; Clarence B. Humphrey, secretary; term expires 1924. 



298 ESSEX COUNTY 

Water and Sewerage Commissioners — George D. R. Durkee, chairman, term 
expires 1922; Harold G. Enholm, term expires 1923; Charles E. Hodgdon, term 
expires 1924. 

Park Commissioners — James T. Lyons, chairm.an, term expires 1922; Stuart P. 
Ellis, secretary, term expires 1923; Archibald Miller, term expires 1924. 

School Committee — Rev. Edward Tillotson, chairman, term expires 1923; Rev. 
John Vannevar, term expires 1922; Mabel E. Hardy, term expires 1924. 

Trustees of Public Library — * Frank F. Stanley; fElihu Thompson, term expires 
1922; Louise C. Stanley, term expires 1923; F. Keeler Rice, term expiies 1924. 

Overseers of the Poor — Joseph F. Crowell, chairman, term expires 1922; Harry 
E. Cahoon, term expires 1923; Edmund Russell, secretary, term expires 1924. 

Board of Health — Dr. Loring Grimes, chairman, term expires 1923; John B. 
Cahoon, term expires 1924; Harold H. Bartol, term expires 1922. 

Surveyor of Highways — Michael J. Ryan, term expires 1924. 

Tree Warden — Everett P. Mudge. 

Constables — Frank H. Bradford, Clarence W. Horton, Charles Walter Burrill. 

Commissioners of Trust Funds — Henry B. Sprague, term expires 1922; George 
H. Lucey, term expires 1922; Granville Ingalls, term expires 1922. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 
TOWN OF NAHANT 

Nahant is a peninsula extending out into Massachusetts Bay, to the 
south of Lynn. Originally, this tract of land (almost an island), to- 
gether with Lynn, included a township adjoining the town of Salem, the 
first landing place of the Puritans. In this large territory the Puritans 
made their first homes, at long distances from one another, "in con- 
venient spots, each family occupying large tracts of land. A few families 
gathered at Tower Hill, Breed's End, Sagamore Hill and Swampscott, as 
well as at Nahant." 

Although Nahant is one of the smallest in population and area of 
any town within the limits of Essex county, it was without question one 
of the very earliest places to be settled by the white race. Its history 
reaches away back more than five hundred years before the landing of 
the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth Rock ; at least, it has been blended by 
both history and tradition that far back. Before taking up the actual 
recorded history of this most interesting locality, it may be well to men- 
tion some of the eai'ly traditions, including the stories of the Norsemen 
voyagers, which say that "Thorwold, in 1004, A.D., spent the winter in 
Narragansett Bay, and in the spring set sail to find his way back to the 
coast of Greenland. Working his way around Cape Cod, which he called 
Kilarames, he sailed northward to the m.ain land, and came to anchor 
near a bold promontory, which projected into the sea, covered with a 
forest to the water's edge. He was so delighted with the place that he 



Deceased, f Appointed. 



TOWN OF NAHANT 299 

exclaimed "Here it is beautiful, and here I should like to fix my dwell- 
ing." Continuing, the story goes on in this wise : 

While at anchor near the promontory, and while preparing to go ashore, the 
Norsemen discovered three small canoes, each containing three natives, whom they 
pursued and killed, all but one, who escaped to his tribe. He, with a just indigna- 
tion, soon returned with others of his tribe to destroy, if possible, the Norsemen, 
who had so cruelly betrayed their confidence. But the arrows and the frail birch 
canoe of the natives were as nothing compared to the battle-screens of the ships of 
the Norsemen, so that the natives soon retired, but not until they had killed or at 
least mortally wounded Thorwold, who only had time to say, "This is my death- 
blow; I desire you to depart as soon as possible, but first take my body to the shore 
and bury it upon the promontory before you where I had intended to make my abode. 
I shall now dwell there forever. Place a cross at my head and also one at my feet, 
and call the place Krossanes." 

Abbot in his "Histoiy of Maine" gives place to this story, saying 
that it occurred at some point near Boston Harbor; doubtless "it was 
the first conflict between the Euroi)eans and the Indians of North 
America in which the White race was outrageously in the wrong." After 
Thorwold's death, his crew returned to NaiTagansett Bay, where they 
spent the winter, and in the spring set sail for Greenland with a cargo 
of wood and furs. 

While this story is interesting, the objection has been raised that 
it lacks any authenticity as to the persons, their deeds and the exact 
location in New England where such a scene is supposed to have been 
staged. That it should have been Nahant is a theory supported by 
sundiy writers. Historian Abbot admits it to have been in Boston Har- 
bor, and Lewis in his "History of Essex County" favors Nahant. 

To connect up closer with established facts in recorded histoiy, it 
should be added that John Smith, in his voyages along the New England 
coast, noticed Nahant, which he called the Mattahunt Isles, and here 
he made a landing. He also refen-ed to the cliffs on the northeast coast 
as the iron mines, as they much resemble iron-ore. Other records call 
the same place Nahant, so named after an Indian chief Nahanton. 

In 1622 Robert Gorges obtained a grant of lands (according to the 
public records) in Massachusetts Bay, in which grant Nahant was in- 
cluded. Before Blackstone and Johnson made their home in Boston, 
settlers had been cultivating the soil of Nahant, and chopping down its 
forests, with which to erect their humble cabins and increase their faims. 
It is believed that this settlement was not far from 1630, a belief based 
upon dates and facts included in the deposition of one William Dixey, 
who under oath, in 1657 wrote as follows : 

Swome saith, that about twenty-eight years ago, Mr. Isaak Johnson, being my 
master, Writt to the Hon'rd Govem'r as now is Mr. Endicott for a place to sitt downe 
in upon which Mr. Endicott gave me and the rest leave to go where we wee would, 
upon which I went to Saugust, now Linne, and there we mett with Sagamore James 
and some other Indians, whoe did give me and the rest to dwell there or thereabouts. 



300 ESSEX COUNTY 

whereup I and the rest of my masters company did cutt grass for our cattell and 
kept them upon Nahant for some space of time, for the Indian, James Sagamore 
and the rest, did give me and the rest, in behalf of my master, Johnson, wt land 
wee would, whereupon wee sett down in Saugust and had quiet possession of it by 
the above said Indians and kept our cattell in Nahant the summer following. 
Desposition given May 1, 1657. 

Isaac Johnson left Lynn for Boston in 1630, becoming one of the 
first to settle there. The first settlement made in Nahant was with the 
full consent of the Indians, both races living in peace together up to that 
time. Thus it is established that the original settlers first obtained a 
title to their land from Governor Endicott to go where they would, and 
afterwards from the Indian Sagamore James. 

Notwithstanding there was far more land than could be used by 
the first settlers, disputes yet arose over boundary lines of the several 
tracts — human nature then being identically the same as today. Finally 
an allotment was made by vote in the town meeting. The minority, how- 
ever, were displeased, and picked out the choicest tracts and purchased 
them from the Indians, as they believed the latter were the only true 
owners. Among these purchases was one by Thomas Dexter, who bought 
Sagamore Hill and Nahant, claiming them as his own to till and pasture 
upon within enclosures which he built. The Lynn people would not 
agree, and trouble arose, resulting in a law-suit. "Nahant was especially 
valuable as a pasture for cattle, as a fence had been put across the north- 
west end of Long Beach, protecting all the peninsula, keeping the cattle 
safely enclosed, besides serving as a barrier to keep out the wolves and 
bears." These great advantages were not overlooked by the settlers at 
Nahant, who believed them worth fighting for. 

Thus it will be seen that there sprung up several classes of claimants 
for this most valuable plot of ground, almost surrounded by the waters 
of the Atlantic Ocean. Thomas Dexter claimed it by right of purchase 
from the Indians. There seems good evidence to prove that he pur- 
chased Nahant, fenced it in, and that a suit of clothes was a part of the 
consideration paid. Another claimant was the town of Lynn, whose 
settlers claimed it by their right of being "first settlers," and who had 
given it to others, to be used in common. 

Still a third class laid claim thereto, on account of having taken 
their lands there, and refused to be held for rental by two parties — the 
town of Lynn and the Dexter family interests. On account of these 
differences, many moved to other parts, rather than longer be annoyed; 
still others, of a more stubborn make-up, refused either to leave or to 
pay rent. One writer says: "The contest for Nahant seems to have 
been both severe and stubborn, so much so that after the town of Lynn 
had voted to allot the land at Nahant equally to the several proprietors, 
it was voted at a subsequent town meeting, 'that the soil should be sown 
down to English grass, and that no house should be left standing.' Such 
an act it is hardly possible to find elsewhere; but in spite of it, the ad- 



TOWN OF NAHANT 301 

ministrators of Thomas Dexter appealed to the decision of the court. 
In 1676, the case was decided against them in favor of the town of 
Lynn." 

The next heard of Nahant in 1687 was when the notorious Edward 
Randolph, English commissioner of Charles U, petitioned *'His Excel- 
lency, Sir Edward Andros, Knight, Governor, etc.," for a grant of 
Nahant. In 1706, Lynn voted to divide its lands among the town's 
people, and received from the court legal right to hold and divide all 
common lands. Before this act of the town, a deed of Nahant had 
been procured by Lynn from the Indians, bearing date of September 4, 
1686, thus making the title of Nahant satisfactory after a seventy-year 
contest at law. 

A town committee met and divided Nahant into two hundred and 
eight lots, the largest containing four acres and six rods; the smallest 
was thirty-eight rods. This division was easily made by making eleven 
strips, or ranges running across the peninsula from northeast to south- 
west, each strip being forty rods wide. 

August 14, 1819, "The Patriot" pubKshed this description of Nahant, 
and the same is worthy of reproduction: 

Nahant possesses advantages as a watering-place superior to any in New Eng- 
land. It is a peninsula stretching two miles into the sea. You approach it by land, 
over a most excellent turnpike road, surpassed by none in the United States; and 
across a beach of unsurpassing smoothness, on whose hard level the wheel leaves 
no mark, and which may be justly considered as one of the curiosities of the country. 

From its bleak bluffs the ocean spreads itself before you in all its grandeur, 
now bearing on its broad and beautiful bosom the white sails of commerce, and no./ 
roaring in rage and breaking its wild wave on the shore. You have here the sublim- 
ity of a sea voyage, with the security of a residence on the land. The rocky shore 
of the peninsula presents another appearance of sublimity and grandeur; the rude 
magnificence and gigantic outline of one part is relieved by the beauty and regular- 
ity of others; and in the cells and caverns which diversify the scenery, an admirer 
of nature may find abundant amusement in exploring the innumerable traces of 
her workmanship. 

On the high grounds of Nahant the air is most pure, refreshing and salubrious. 
The heat of the summer's sun is moderated by luxuriant sea-breezes which never 
fail, from some quarter, to alleviate its intensity. 

Its waters afford abundant sport for fishermen; small fish are caught in sur- 
prising quantities from the rocks; and a short distance in the bay cod, haddock, 
mackerel and halibut reward the labor which pursues them." 

The first hotel v/as opened here in June, 1823, known as the Nahant 
Hotel. This house was sold and rebuilt in 1853-54. The new hotel had 
a dining room service for six hundred persons at one time. Telegraph 
wires connected with Boston, and a special steamer plied the waters be- 
tween Nahant and Boston. In September, 1861, this hotel, costing over 
$100,000, was burned to the ground. 

The first steamboat to enter Boston Harbor was the "Massachu- 
setts," of which the "Columbian Sentinel," July 19, 1817, had this to 



302 ESSEX COUNTY 

say: "The new and beautiful steamboat 'Massachusetts' has by per- 
severance so far overcome the prejudices of the pubhc, and on Thursday 
afternoon, in her excursions around the harbor, she was filled to over- 
flowing with ladies and gentlemen. This boat is one hundred feet long 
on the deck, and measures one hundred and twenty tons." Doubtless 
this boat made frequent excursions to Nahant in 1817. In 1820 she 
made her regular runs there from Boston; the steamboat route was 
really established from Boston to Nahant in the season of 1818, the 
steamboat "Eagle" being the popular steamer at that date. 

The citizens of Nahant tried in 1846 to have the town incorporated, 
and petitioned the legislature to grant such corporation, but owing to 
opposition from the people of Lynn, this was denied them. Then Na- 
hant asked Lynn to appropriate certain funds with which to protect the 
beach and repair the wagon roads ; this, too, was refused. Under leader- 
ship of Frederick Tudor, the citizens of Nahant then sought by public 
subscription to make the needed improvements, and in this way nearly all 
of Willow Road was constructed. The road then from Lynn to Nahant 
was simply a long beach and at high tide nothing more than a ridge of 
soft sand, through which it was very hard to travel. At low tide, or 
even half tide, however, the hard, firm sand made a much easier road. 
Hence, nearly all journeys across were made at low tide. The time- 
table of the first stage coaches to Nahant was changed weekly to cor- 
respond with the tides. On account of this feature it was not long be- 
fore Boston provided boat service to Nahant. 

In 1847 Lynn voted an appropriation of one thousand dollars to aid 
the required improvement in Nahant. By this and other funds, there 
was constructed between Lynn and Nahant a graveled road, though very 
narrow. In 1851 a great sea storm ruined this roadway, submerging 
the beach and destroying the breakwater. In 1848 the legislature pro- 
hibited the taking away of any stones or dirt from Long Beach and 
Nahant. 

In 1853 the inhabitants of Nahant again asked to be incorporated as 
a town, to be called Nahant. This time the prayer was heard and later 
approved by the governor, March 29, of that year. The new town had 
within its limits all of Long Beach, the city of Lynn being only "too glad 
to get Nahant off of her hands." In the settlement between the two 
places, Nahant had to pay Lynn $2,000. The newly-made town had a 
population of three hundred souls, sixty-nine dwellings, and thirty 
voters, mostly all Whigs. 

There was a long road or "lane" from Lynn to Nahant ; a cutaway to 
North Spring ; a street one rod wide to the schoolhouse and Gary's gate, 
called Schoolhouse Lane. Below Whitney's Hotel the streets had been 
laid out by Coolidge. At the time of its incorporation, Nahant had two 
churches, one schoolhouse with forty-eight pupils, four public houses, 
ten boarding-houses, two firms of carpenters and builders, a paint shop. 



TOWN OF NAHANT 303 

a grocery and the little postoffice. There were then no signs of warning 
"Private Grounds," "No Trespassing Here," for the cattle roamed at will 
over the beautiful fields. After a long contest in the courts over the title 
of Long Beach — whether it belonged to Lynn or to Nahant — it was final- 
ly decided that Nahant was the legal owner of such lands. 

Longfellow said in his Journal: "Life at Nahant partakes of the 
monotony of the sea. The walk along the shore, the surf, the rocks, 
and friendly chat — these make up the agreeable rounds." Here it was 
that Longfellow wrote much of that which made his name immortal, 
the "Song of Hiawatha." It was penned in the old Johnson house. 
Here, too, Professor Agassiz and N. P. Willis spent their summers 
mostly. 

The present officers of the incorporation of Nahant are inclusive of 
these: Moderator, F. A. Wilson; Selectmen: H. C. Wilson (chairman), 
Daniel G. Flinnery, secretary ; Charles A. Phillips ; Town Clerk, William 
F. Waters; Treasurer and Collector, Charles Cabot Johnson; School 
Committee: Fred A. Pirie, John S. Tombeno, Frank E. Bruce; Public 
Library Trustee : Henry Cabot Lodge, A. G. Wilson, F. A. Wilson ; Sur- 
veyor of Highways, P. J. O'Connor ; Constables, Fred J. Timmins ; Tre« 
Warden, Herbert Coles. 

Fishing interests at Nahant have ever been looked upon as of great 
value to the people living there. Fishing vessels were owned by Nahant 
residents from the first. The history of the industry in olden times has 
perished with the faithful, brave fishermen. In 1824 a well known 
schooner built at Essex for this fishing enterprise was named "Lafay- 
ette." Among the better-known fishermen and boat-pilots were Caleb 
and Joseph Johnson, who followed the business for a half century, and 
supplied the Boston fish market with thousands of tons of fish. But the 
fish industry has gone from Nahant and summer resorts have taken their 
place. 

From the beginning of its history, Nahant has had its full share of 
destructive sea storms and shipwrecks. An old history of Lynn and 
Nahant gives detailed accounts of many such storms. Commencing with 
1631, Captain Wiggins' boat was wrecked on Long Beach, followed on 
down by the great storms of 1757, 1769, 1772, 1778, 1795, 1827, 1829, 
1836, 1840, 1843, 1851, 1856, 1857, one and all making a sea story worth 
reading, did space permit in this work. Here ships from almost every 
country have gone down to sail no more. Lives in scores and property 
in millions have been destroyed along Long Beach, so popular a resort in 
our times. 

In July, 1847, a postoffice was established at Nahant, the same being 
kept in the Nahant Hotel. Phineas Drew was the first postmaster; he 
was proprietor of the hotel. During the same year the office was taken 
to a grocery store, when W. W. Johnson was appointed postmaster, 
serving until his death, when his son, Edwin W. Johnson, succeeded to the 



304 ESSEX COUNTY 

office. In summer months, mail was carried to this office every day, but 
in the winter months only once a week. In 1887 T. Dexter Johnson was 
appointed postmaster. Before the postoffice was established at Nahant 
^'Johnson's Nahant and Boston Express route" was opened between the 
two points. By many authorities this is set down as the first "Express" 
business formed in the country. 

In 1866 a town hall was dedicated in Nahant, and later a fire com- 
pany was organized. In 1872 a public library was established; edge- 
stones and cement sidewalks were placed in position, street lamps were 
installed, and matters generally seemed to take on "city airs." 

Mention may be made of the old iron mine from which a small 
amount of ore had been taken at an early day, and cooked at the various 
forges, including the one at Braintree ; also the curiosities of the Spout- 
ing Horn, Bass Beach, Spouting Rock, Pulpit Rock, Natural Bridge and 
Swallow's Cave. Each and all have their own peculiar setting, and must 
needs be seen to be understood and fully appreciated. 

From the close of the Civil War period, for many years, this town 
was noted as a summer resort, and to some extent still maintains this 
distinction, but with the many improvements at various headlands, here 
and there all along the New England rockbound and wavewashed coast, 
the popularity of Nahant is not so great as in former years. Former in- 
dustries have long since disappeared. Many of the inhabitants removed 
to other places, where they might work at their trades or callings. Once 
there was a small shoe business here, especially before the improved 
shoemaking machinery came into use, when thousand of pairs of shoes 
were made and many were "bound" by women and girls. It may 
well be stated that to catch fish and make shoes in Nahant is now a 
"lost art." 

As to the patriotism of the people at Nahant, see "Military Chap- 
ters." 

The Nahant Library is open the year round, and is constantly grow- 
ing in interest and number of books and papers. During the last year 
there was an increase of 1,417 volumes. The total circulation of books 
in the children's department for the year ending December, 1920, was 
7,378. The total number of books in the library is 27,263; number of 
volumes circulated for home use, 23,540 ; number of patrons during the 
year 1,147 ; fines paid during the year, $56. These facts have been glean- 
ed from the report made by May W. Perkins, librarian. It should also 
be stated that the reading room is now furnished with thirty-four maga- 
zines and papers, of America's choicest publications. These various pub- 
lications, for old and young, with the numerous stacks of valuable books, 
are kept in a $50,000 building owned by the town. This of itself speaks 
loudly in praise of the intelligence and culture of the inhabitants. 

Among the charming estates found at Nahant should not be over- 
looked that of Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. It is situated at the extreme 
end of East Point. On these prominent acres, overlooking the majes- 





NAHANT— ABOVE, TOWN HALL; BELOW, PUBLIC LIBRARY 



..^:f!vS^^ 



\ v\3BU^ 



o* 



^Xi.O 






rcTO^i 



TOWN OF NAHANT 305 

tic ocean, up to 1861 stood for a number of years what was known as 
the Nahant House, a hotel presided over by Paran Stevens, who intended 
to convert Nahant into a summer watering resort of a most fashionable 
type. September 11, 1861, it "took fire," says Senator Lodge in his re- 
cent autobiography, ("Early Memories") and was burned to the ground. 
As a hotel, it was a failure financially after the first few years. One 
account says that this hotel had hundreds of rooms, with dining room 
space for six hundred diners to be seated at once. There were literally 
acres of piazzas connected with the structure. Here were entertained 
the numerous "bonanza kings" of those early days before the Civil War. 
In this manner the owner of the hotel made much money. 

After the fire had consumed the hotel building, the property was 
thrown upon the market, but no one seemed to care to invest in Nahant 
property. Senator LfOdge's father, Mr. John E. Lodge, made an effort 
to have some one rebuild the hotel. Failing in this, he purchased the 
property himself; but before he developed his plans, fully, he died, and 
the estate fell to the childi'en. Senator Lodge and his sister here 
erected houses of their own, including the present mansion, still so much 
beloved and appreciated in the summer-time by the Senator and his 
family. The sale of this pix>perty, so finely situated, was made to the 
elder Lodge in 1868. The grounds contain many acres, and the resi- 
dence is a veranda-inclosed mansion of attractive architecture, set upon 
the commanding heights of East Point. To what nature had done for 
this place has been added the skill of expert landscape gardeners. The 
grounds extend to the sea on the northeast and south, including the 
cliffs, upon which the suif of the ocean breaks with force of the whole 
Atlantic Ocean. It is truly an attractive estate. Trees, shrubs and 
flowers are to be seen on every hand. Here the Senator delights to spend 
the heated season of each year, when freedom from official cares permits. 

What is to be known as Fort Augustus Gardner, Nahant, is now 
in course of construction. About the time of the Spanish-American 
War, the United States government purchased a tract of land, to which 
has more recently been added much more territory. Here an exten- 
sive fortification is being built, beneath Bailey's Hill. Seventy-six dif- 
ferent land holdings were bought. On these grounds were standing, at 
one time, forty-seven dwellings. The fort is located midway along the 
southern shore of Nahant, and commands an extended view of Broad 
Sound, as well as of the South Shore. Its natural qualifications for a 
defensive station are plain to the observer. Here the first earth-works 
were throv^m up in 1898. Among other objects to be attained by this 
fortification, the government intends making a proving station for 
ordnance tests. 

The old Tri-Mountain House, known far and wide, originally stood 
on a part of these grounds. Work is steadily being carried on in the 
construction of the fortress. The recent abandonment of numerous forts 
in Boston harbor is doubtless due to the fact that Fort Gardner is here 

Essex— 20 



306 ESSEX COUNTY 

being constructed. The site is practically a solid ledge. The bestowal 
of the name is in recognition of the fame and patriotic labors of Hon. 
Augustus Peabody Gardner, who represented the sixth district in Con- 
gress. He resigned his congressional office, during the World War, to 
accept a commission as major in the army. Scarcely had he thus enter- 
ed the service of the United States than he suddenly fell ill, death re- 
sulting shortly afterwards. Deceased was a son-in-law of Senator 
Lodge. 

The sale of property for unpaid taxes is almost a universal thing in 
all towns and cities throughout the country, but the town of Nahant is 
an exception to the rule. Like all towns or cities, it has its delinquent 
taxpayers, of course, but never in the history of the town has the tax 
collector been forced to issue a notice of sale of private property within 
the town, and there are few towns in the country that can make a like 
boast. The "Item" of Lynn says of this subject: 

The assessed value of the town last year was something like $4,149,697. Since 
January 1st, 1921, the delinquent tax has been reduced from $17,000 to about $12,000 
without any extra effort on the part of the tax collector. 

Diplomacy is the method used by tax-collector Charles Cabot Johnson, who has 
served in this capacity for more than eighteen years. When the unpaid taxes reach 
nearly the three-year mark. Collector Johnson personally visits the delinquent and 
in his well known gi-acious manner points out the law on unpaid taxes and how 
trouble, red tape and considerable inconvenience to both property holder and the 
town can be avoided. His advise is always heeded. 

Before the erection of the old stone schoolhouse, the church goers 
usually attended church at Lynn. The Hoods and Breeds were Quakers 
in their religious faith, and were all members of the Society of Friends. 
The Johnson families belonged to the Baptist denomination in part, 
while another branch of the family were devout Methodists. The Rice 
family were of the regular Orthodox Church. The children of these 
families attended Sabbath School in the various churches already men- 
tioned. After the exercises were ended, the children had the long walk 
of over three miles over the beach. If the tide was out, the trip was 
easily made ; but at high tide it became tedious, and it was as much as a 
horse could do to drag a buggy through the sand, empty, while the par- 
ents and children in such times usually had to walk, wading through the 
sands, ankle deep. 

After the completion of the stone schoolhouse, the three churches 
held their services, pastors from Lynn being their preachers. The old- 
est church building was the Independent Methodist denomination. At 
evening, lights were obtained from lanterns and candles. The lantern 
was "a lamp unto their feet and a light unto their pathway." Before 
this church was built, there was erected in 1831 a frame chapel, pro- 
vided by the summer residents, and suitable only for summer use. The 
builders of this chapel were also the builders of the village church. All 
denominations were welcome, as all had contributed. The land upon 



TOWN OF NORTH ANDOVER 307 

which the church was built was generously donated by Caleb Johnson 
and J. W. Page ; Dr. William R. Lawrence presented the bell, and Charles 
Amory gave a communion set. It was written in the eighties of these 
churches: "The Nahant church and the Village church have been en- 
larged and improved, so that but little of the original structures can now 
be seen." A Young Men's Christian Association was organized here in 
1876. 

Preaching and Mass were observed by the Catholic people in the 
old chapel until 1872, when, under Rev. Patrick Strain, of Lynn, a 
church was built and owned by the congregation. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 
TOWN OF NORTH ANDOVER. 



North Andover occupies a part of the original town of Andover. 
The town lines as now maintained were fixed as late as 1855. What was 
called the North Parish, from 1709 onwards became North Andover, 
and that portion of the town as originally known was called Andover. 
North Andover contains about 15,400 acres, all replete with geological 
formations, and with matters of interest to the scientific agriculturist. 
Its rocky period evidently belongs to the most ancient period known to 
any part of the globe. One well-informed writer speaks of the charm- 
ing landscape scenery of this region as follows : 

It is seldom that a more interesting geological formation than this can be found; 
and nowhere, as the result of the hand of nature's work, does a more lovely land- 
scape appear — the view stretching from each one of these rounded elevation miles 
away to the Wachusett and the Monadnock on the northwest, while to the immediate 
gaze the mysterious group stands around as fascinating monuments of an ancient 
age. The explanation which is given of these unusual hills is most interesting, and 
carries the mind back to the time when the great seas of ice covered this hemisphere, 
and left a record of their slow and steady march as a guide to man in his endeavors 
to unravel the mystery of the earth's formation and his own creation. 

It was this territory of which in 1634, by action of the General 
Court, "It is ordered that the land about Cochichewick shall be re- 
served for an inland plantation, and whosoever will go to inhabit there 
shall have three years' immunity from all taxes, levies, public charges 
and services whatever, military discipline only excepted. John Winth- 
rop, Richard Bellingham and William Coddington, Esquire, are chosen 
a committee to license any that may think meet to inhabit there, and 
that it shall be lawful for no person to go thither without their consent 
or the major part of them." 

This land was purchased by Rev. John Woodbridge of Newbury, in 
1641, after a lengthy correspondence with Governor Winthrop. Finally, 
when seeming obstacles were removed, the purchase and grants were con- 



308 ESSEX COUNTY 

firmed by the court. The town was named Andover by some of the 
settlers that had emigrated from Andover, Hampshire, England. The 
earliest roster of actual settlers, probably made prior to 1644, gives the 
subjoined names as original settlers and residents of the plantation: 
John Osgood, Joseph Parker, Richard Barker, John Stevens, Nicholas 
Holt, Benjamin Woodbridge, John Frye, Edmund Faulkner, Robert Bar- 
nard, Daniel Poor, Nathan Parker, Henry Jaques, John Aslett, William 
Ballard, John Lovejoy, Thomas Poor, George Abbott, John Russ, An- 
drew Allen, Andrew Foster, Thomas Chandler. 

Captain Edward Johnson, of Wobum wrote of Andover in 164 as 
follows : 

About this time there was a town founded about one or two miles distant from 
the place where the goodly river of Merrimack received her branches into her own 
body, hard upon the river Shawshin, which is one of her chief heads; the honored 
Mr. Simon Bradstreet taking up his last sitting there, hath been a great means to 
further the work, it being a place well fitted for the husbandman's hand, were it not 
that the remoteness of the place from towns of trade bringeth forth some incon- 
veniences upon the planters, who are enforced to carry their com far to market. 
This town is called Andover, and hath good store of land improved for the bigness 
of it. 

A former set of historians, dv/elling upon the general history of this 
portion of New England, including Andover, wrote as follows : 

The motives and manners and customs of those who founded North Andover 
and its associate towns are interesting and important. They formed a part of that 
large body of dissenters who, under various names, came to New England and settled 
the Colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay. They came, it is true, to enjoy 
religious freedom, but they also sought a civil organization, founded on the right of 
every man to a voice in the government under which he lives. In the charters 
granted to all the towns by the General Court, it was provided that the grantees 
were to procure and maintain an able and orthodox minister amongst them; and to 
build a meeting-house within three years. This was their first motive. In all their 
customs they were obliged to exercise the utmost simplicity, and they voluntarily 
regulated their conduct by those formal rules which in their day constituted the 
Puritan's guide through the world. As an illustration of their character and man- 
ners, in 1651 dancing was forbidden at weddings by the laws of the colony. 

In 1660, William Walker was imprisoned a month "for courting a 
maid without the leave of her parents." In 1675, because "there is 
manifest pride appearing in our streets," the wearing of "long hair or 
periwigs," and also "superstitious ribands used to tie up and decorate 
their hair," were forbidden under severe penalties. Men, too, were for- 
bidden to "keep Christmas," because it was "a Popish custom." In 1677 
an act was passed to prevent "the profaneness" of "turning the back 
upon the public worship before it is finished and the blessing pro- 
nounced." Towns were directed to locate a cage near the meeting-house, 
and in this all offenders against the sanctity of the Sabbath were con- 
fined. At the same time, children were placed in a particular part of 
the meeting-house by themselves, and tithing men were chosen whose 



TOWN OF NORTH ANDOVER '~' 309 

duty it was to take care of them. So strict were they in the observance 
of the Sabbath that John Atherton, a soldier in Colonel Tying's regi- 
ment, was fined by him forty shillings for "wetting a piece of an old hat 
to put into his shoes," which chafed his feet on the march. People who 
neglected to attend meeting for three months were publicly whipped. 
Even in Harvard College, students were whipped, for grave offenses, in 
the presence of the students and profssors, prayers being offered before 
and after the infliction of punishment. 

The domestic economy of the early colonists was simple and in 
many cases rude; their dwellings were small, coarsely constructed, and 
deficient in all those appointments that are now considered necessary to 
the health and comfort of the family; their diet was coarse and com- 
mon. Palfrey tells us that "in the early days of New England wheaten 
bread was not so uncommon as it afterwards became," but its place was 
largely supplied by preparations of Indian com. 

According to town records, the first town meeting was held in 1656 
at the house of John Osgood. All freeholders were expected to attend 
these meetings, and were fined if they were absent without good ex- 
cuse. Perfect order was preserved in town meetings. If any man spoke 
in meeting after silence had been commanded twice, he was fined twelve 
pence. Care was taken that the metes and bounds should be carefully 
preserved, and an inspection of the same was made every three years. 
Discipline regarding meeting house seats was very strict. Young peo- 
ple were not allowed to be out abroad from home Saturday and Sunday 
nights. Factories were early encouraged to locate in the settlement. 
In 1686 Henry Ingalls was allowed to set up his saw mill on Musketo 
river. 

From the earliest times. North Andover has been a thriving town. 
In the pioneer days, its soil attracted a first-class set of people who took 
hold to win in a struggle which was no small undertaking. Farming and 
kindred branches were the chief occupation of its sturdy settlers. Farms 
have run from ten to three hundred acres. Of course it is not to be sup- 
posed that after hundreds of years of constant use, this soil is now 
any where near what it was in its virgin state, but with careful manage- 
ment, rotation of crops, etc., it has been kept up fairly well to the 
present time. 

Manufacturing commenced in this town in 1671, when Joseph Par- 
ker and Stephen Johnson dammed the Cochichewick river for the pur- 
pose of gaining sufficient water power to propel their mills. From 
that date on, through the first century of- the town's history, a large 
number of mills of various kinds were in operation for a term of years. 
They then went into decay, or in some instances were washed down 
stream by the floods. Grist mills were ever encouraged by the authori- 
ties, and they necessarily multiplied as the settlement increased. Then 
came the attempts at powder-making and paper-making, while woolen 



310 ESSEX COUNTY 

mills, spinning mills, fulling mills and the weaving rooms all had their 
part in the development of the town. Arthur, John and James Schofield, 
Englishmen, came in first to establish a successful business in the 
woolen industry. They set up carding mills on the Cochichewick and 
Shawshin rivers. Later came Nathaniel Stevens, who operated heavier 
in this line. This small beginning eventually became the great and well- 
known Stevens Mills. Stevens was a native of North Andover, bom in 
1786. 

The old Isaac Osgood site was later (1836) occupied by the machine 
shop of Charles Barnes, George H. Gilbert and Parker Richardson. 
This shop was the beginning of a prosperous manufacturing village. 
Just below this "Mashine Shop Village" was built the North Andover 
Mill, near the old stone mill, which was in use in 1828 by George Hodges 
and Edward Parker. In the eighties the three large woolen mills on the 
Cochiechewick river employed about three hundred and twenty-five 
operatives and worked up over 1,500,000 pounds of wool annually. 

At this time (1921) the industries are limited to the silk factory, 
by the North Andover Silk Mill, the thread and yam mills of Smith & 
Dove, and the North Andover foundry and hay-scale manufactory. The 
town is connected with Haverhill by electric cars. The present post- 
master is Michael F. Cronin. 

While Salem has had the name of being the headcenter of all that 
was strange and terrible concerning the presence of witches away back 
in early days, yet this delusion was fully as prominent in and about 
Andover and North Andover as anywhere else. A belief in a personal 
devil and his agents on earth was a common belief among our forefathers 
from England. In Finance, in 1374, this delusion in an epidemic form, 
so to speak, broke out, and had its followers with tens of thousands for 
more than two centuries. The supernatural seemed to have possessed 
an incredible charm, and sorcerers wei-e considered as important as 
lawyers or doctors in a community. All Europe was influenced by this 
delusion, and sorcerers and witches by the thousands suffered death by 
fire annually. In the reign of Francis I, more than one hundred thou- 
sand "witches" were put to death. Traditions of these delusions still 
had place in the early settlement of Essex county. Frightful judicial 
discipline was applied in this county in 1692, but let it be recorded that 
here in Andover and in Essex county, the fearful delusion was suppress- 
ed and stamped out for the first place in the world. The tragedy of 1692, 
usually attributed to Salem, was in reality enacted in North Andover 
to fully the extent that it was in Salem, if not worse. As other chap- 
ters from other writers on this subject will appear elsewhere in this 
work, no further references will be made in this connection. 

A public library was established in North Andover in 1875 by the 
donations of General Eben Sutton, aided materially by many local con- 
tributions. This is in the Merrimac manufacturing district. In 1878 a 



TOWN OF NORTH ANDOVER 311 

fine libraiy was established at Ballardvale, J. Putnam Bradlee furnishing 
one thousand volumes. The Stevens Memorial Library was established 
in 1907, at the corner of Main and Green streets. It was the gift of 
Hon. and Mrs. Moses Tyler Stevens. 

North Andover was incorporated in 1855, and has ever since been 
well governed by prudent and efficient officers. The present town 
officers include the following: Town Clerk, Joseph A. Duncan; Town 
Treasurer, George H. Perkins; Selectmen: Peter Holt, Alex M. White, 
Fred Leach ; Overseers of the Poor : Peter Holt, John T. Campbell, Alex 
M. White; Assessors: Peter Holt, Patrick P. Daw, Edward E. Curley; 
Superintendent of Schools, Dana P. Dame; Superintendent of Public 
Works, Richard H. Ellis ; Chief of Police, Wallace E. Towne ; Constables : 
John H. Campbell, Wallace E. Town, James H. Goff, John P. Walsh, John 
R. McEvoy; Keeper of Lock-up, John A. MoiTissey; Highway Surveyor, 
Willard H. Poor; Tree Warden, William L. Smith; Superintendent of 
Town Farni, George L. Barker ; Forest Fire Warden, William L. Smith ; 
Fish W^arden, Joseph Hinchcliffe ; Collector of Taxes, Frank A. Mackie ; 
Auditor, James W. Elliott. 

The present tov/n clerk's report for last year gives statistics of in- 
terest as follov/s: Whole number of deaths in town of North Andover 
during year, 95 — male 39, and female 56. The persons who died seventy 
years and older m the year w*ere : Maiy Hazeihurst, 70 ; Joseph A. Jette, 
76 : Mary Kennedy, 70 ; Maria D. Kimball, 87 ; Mary Ann Greenwood, 88 ; 
Mary Reeves, 81 ; Ann M. Grover, 88 ; Catherine Devitt, 79 ; Louisa Hol- 
royd, 84 ; Jannette G. Jewett, 81 ; John Morris, 72 ; William Freeman 
Hodgetts, 70; John Mesei-ve Coftm, 76; Emma J. Phillips, 74; Susan 
Pratt 81; Hannah Lees Andrew, 74; George A. Brocklebank, 76; James 
Davis, 79 ; Emma Hanson, 81 ; Sarah Frances Carr, 78 ; George F. Cun- 
ningham, 73; Daniel Perley Stiles, 70; Richard Oliver, 79; George Gil- 
I'eii; Davis, 76; Samuel A. Smith, 76; Ellen F. Mahoney, 73; Annie 
Brady. The whole number of births during the year was 113 — 64 
males and 49 females; foreign parentage, 62. The assessors' report 
shows: Aggregate value real estate, $5,474,275; personal, $1,821,884; 
State tax, $23,460; State highway tax, $3,195.81; Special State tax, $1,- 
148.40; Bay State street railway tax, $159.80; county tax, $14,382.21; 
town grant, $167,863 ; overievyings, $478.52 ; total, $211,587.74. 

Poll tax assessments, $8,865 ; tax assessed on real estate, $158,753.- 
10; on personal estate, $52,834.64; rate per thousand, $29; abatement 
authorized, $2,711.84; acres of land assessed, 14,109; dwellings, 1,072; 
hens, 277; cows, 697; neat cattle, 197; swine, 53; dogs assessed, 238; 
persons liable to military duty, 1,047. 

The United States census returns for the past three decades give 
North Andover figures as follows: In 1900, 4,243; in 1910, 5,529; and 
the last (1920) enumeration placed the population at 6,265. 

North Andover has always been the home of numerous uplifting 



312 ESSEX COUNTY 

associations and societies, including temperance orders and debating 
societies, as well as benevolent and secret orders, among them the 
Masonic Frateraity. It really sounds stiange today, when we have 
national prohibition well under way, to solve the curse of the Ameiican 
saloon, to read in the annals of any given county in the commonwealth, 
such as Essex, about the formation of a temperance society in North 
Andover as early as 1825, nearly a century ago. Such a society was 
organized by Rev. Bailey Loring, through whose influence lecturers were 
secured here in the persons of E. H. Chapin, Hosea Hildreth and Lucius 
Manlius Sargent. In 1841 there were established both a lecture course 
and a debating club. 

To "provide and maintain an able orthodox minister among them" 
Vv^as the highest obligation that rested on the founders of towns in all 
New England. To provide meeting houses was another great and vital 
feature. These buildings, according to the land grants and charters, 
must be erected within three years from date of settlement. A new 
meeting house seems to have been constructed in North Andover in 
1669, and there are records showing that there had been "a first" 
meeting house erected there about 1646, and that it stood near "the Old 
North burying-ground," on the high land opposite the house of Gover- 
nor Bradstreet. The second meeting house served until 1711, and the 
third church was used until 1753, when the fourth building was raised. 
Its cost was £300 sterling. January 1, 1754, the pews were sold, the 
highest bringing seventeen pounds, and the lowest six pounds. These 
seats were always sold according to location, after having taken into 
account the social and financial standing of persons seeking a pew. Per- 
haps these good old brethren had not read or heeded the Scriptures, 
wherein it is written that God is no respecter of persons, but looketh 
at the heart. With these early church seating "committees" it was 
rather a matter of finance. 

Another church building was erected in 1835, costing $11,000. The 
clock and bell were taken from the old church and placed in the new one. 
In 1844 an organ was introduced, and the old clarionet and violin were 
discarded. 

The original membership of this church, as established in 1646, 
was made up of ten male members, including the pastor: John Wood- 
bridge, teacher; John Osgood, Robert Barnard, John Frye, Nicholas 
Holt, Richard Barker, Joseph Parker, Nathan Parker, Richard Blake and 
Edmond Faulkner, The following is a list of pastors down to 1870 ; Rev. 
Johen Woodbridg, 1645 — 95; Rev. Francis Dane, 1648 — 97; Rev. Thomas 
Barnard, 1697 — 1719 ; Rev. John Barnard (son of last named) 1719 — 57 ; 
Rev. William Sjniimes, 1757 — 1810; then came Rev. Bailey Loring, who 
served until Rev. Francis Williams was called in 1850; the eighth min- 
ister was Rev. Charles C. Vinal from 1857 to 1870, and he was succeeded 
by Rev. John H. Clifford. 



TOWN OF MERRIMAC 313 

The Trinitarian Cong-regational Church was organized at North 
Andover, September, 1884, by a small company of men and women who 
came out of the Congregational church, which had become Unitarian in 
its belief. The present membership is 300, and the Sunday school has 
an attendance of about 140 pupils. Reginald Andrews is present superin- 
tendent. The church edifice is of wood, erected in 1865, and to replace it 
an expenditure of $50,000 "would have to be made. It contains a fine, 
expensive pipe organ among its fixtures. The pastors have been as fol- 
lows: Revs. Jesse Page, seven years; L. H. Cobb, D.D., seven yeare; B. 
F. Hamilton, seven years; R. C. Flagg, five years; George Pierce, three 
years; H. H. Leavitt, eleven years; H. E. Barnes, D.D., five years; and 
J. L. Keedy, sixteen years, and still pastor. 



CHAPTER XXX. 
TOWN OF MERRIMAC. 



The history of the town of Merrimiac extends back only to 1876, at 
which date it was separated from the West Parish of Amesbury. It is 
situated on the north side of the Merrimac river, for which it was 
named. Its territory is about two and one-half by three miles in extent, 
and is bounded on the four sides by the Merrimac river, the city of 
Haverhill, the New Hampshire line, and the town of Amesbury, from 
which its territory was carved. Here one finds plains, valleys, hills, and 
the majestic flow of the MeiTimac river, all vying with each other to 
make charming the landscape scene — a thing of beauty, which it has 
been said is a joy forever. No wonder a Whittier could have been pro- 
duced here, for poetic inspiration seems on every hand. 

There is no record showing the exact date of the coming of the first 
settlers to this part of Essex county. It is known that Edward Cottle 
was a settler here very early, if not indeed before anyone else. Samuel 
Foot and John Pressey came respectively in 1659 and 1664. Henry 
Tuxbury, Thomas Nichols, John Grimpsen and Thomas Sargent had all 
settled here before 1670, while the Aliens, Fowlers and Morses were 
known to have been here in 1700. Merrimac at an early day was known 
as Jamico, and was not known as Merrimac for fully a century. After 
it was considered safe on account of supposed Indian raids, and along 
about the opening years of the eighteenth century, the settlement was 
increased by the coming of the Davis, Clement and Kelly families; and 
about 1722 others came, including Abraham Merrill, from Newbury, and 
his three men — grown sons, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But before 
these had settled it has been found that a grant of land was issued to 
Thomas Harvey, a ship-carpenter and builder; his settlement was in 
1666. Perhaps no better list of early immigrants and actual settlers 



314 ESSEX COUNTY 

in this part of the county can be given than to take the names of those 
who united in the support of their church in 1726: 

Abraham Merrill, David Sargent, Jonathan Sargent, Samuel, Jr., Henry Dow, 
Benoy Tucker, Elias Colby, Philip Sargent, Jr., Richard Goodwin, Philip Sargent, 
Timothy Sargent, Samuel Poore, Jacob Sargent, Jr., Henry Trussell Jedidiah Titcomb, 
Samuel Foot, Joseph Harvey, Jonathan Cleark, Jacob Pressey, Daniel Sargent, Sam- 
uel Davies, William Davies, Joseph Lanckester, John Pressey, William Fowler, Eze- 
kiel Colby, Thomas Beedle, Samuel Colby, Jr., Jonathan Davies, Jo Davis, John Bart- 
lett, Jr., Abner Whittier, Ephriam Pembert, John Pressey, Nathaniel Merrill, Micah 
Lanckester, Joseph Bartlett, Eben Aboot, Nehemiah Heath, Samuel Dilver, Thomas 
Beedle, Jr., James Ordway, John Ordway, William Sargent, Jr., Joseph Pregett, 
Jeremiah Fowler, Joseph Currier, John iBartlett, Sr., John Hoyt, Abner Brown, Eph 
Davies, Samuel Hunt, Samuel Hadley, Thomas Stevens, Jr., Jacob Sargent, Titus 
Wells, Samuel Juell, Thorn Colby, Nathaniel Tucker, Thomas Bartlett, John Fowler, 
Thomas Wells. 

Benjamin Hadley, Jacob Hoyt, Thomas Davis, Joseph Hadley, William Pressey, 
Charles Sargent, Pliilip Rowell, Samuel Martin, Joseph Moody, Thomas Rowe 1, 
Timothy Colby, John Harvey, David Coope, Joseph Collins, William Moulton, John 
Davies, Joseph Shoort, Thomas Dow, Benjamin Tucker, Francis Davies, John Straw, 
Richard Kelley, John Nichols, John Blasdell, Jonathan Ferrin, Henry Trussell, Jon- 
athan Kelley, Israel Young, Thomas Fowler, Cap. John Foot, Charles Sargent, C. 
Feavor, Jonathan Colby, John Martin, George Hadley, A. Colby, D. Hoyt, Jo. Sar- 
gent, Ezra Tucker, John Lanckester, John Foot, Jr., Jonathan Clement, Jonah Fowler, 
Jonathan Nichols, Nathaniel Davies, John Whittier, Samuel Stevens, William Har- 
vey, John Sargent, Chas. Allen, Timothy Hoyt, John Hunt, Isaac Colby, Robert Ring, 
Jo Davies, Jr., Isaac Rogers, P. Call, Jas. Dow, V. Rowell, Andre Rowen, Robt. 
Beedle. 

In 1824 a postoffice was estabhshed in West Amesbury, with Ed- 
mund Sargent as postmaster. In 1857 a postoffice was established at 
River Village, with Ebenezer Fullington as postmaster. Of recent years 
the postmasters in Merrimac have been as follows: George Prescott, 
Alexander Smart, died, and was succeeded by his widow; then George 
Ricker, and present postmaster, Martin B. Crane, since October, 1913. 
This office has one rural free delivery route, connected with Amesbury 
also. Business last year v/as $4,200. 

Merrimac was incoiporated in 1876, approved by the govei'nor on 
April 11, of that year. The first selectmen chosen were: William H. 
Haskell, S. S. Blodgett, Alexander Smart. In keeping good his word, 
William P. Sargent, then of Boston, donated a newly built town hall 
which cost $20,000. This stands on a lot donated by Messrs. Haskell, 
Goodwin, Poyen Gunnison and Clement. Sargent's Hall was dedicated 
in the autumn of 1876. Donations were made : For land for cemetery 
purposes by J. A. Lancaster ; a thousand volumes toward establishing a 
public library, by Dr. J. R. Nichols, and the town gave the funds for the 
erection of a suitable tablet to the memory of William P. Sargent, who 
gave the town hall. 

The municipal affairs of the town have been faithfully administered 
with the passing years, by good and efficient men. The town owns its 
water work and electric light plants and is fully up to the standard 



TOWN OF MERRIMAC 315 

in educational matters. The 1920-21 town officers include the following: 
Selectmen and Overseers of the Poor : Homer R. Sargent, James F. Pease 
and George B. Crofut; Assessors: Frank E. Bartlett, Willis H. Scott, 
Herbert N. Noyes; Town Clerk, Clifton B. Heath; Town Treasurer, 
Frank E. Walker ; Auditor, A. Raymond Waterhouse ; Collector of Taxes, 
Fred W. George; Constables: James P. Donahue, Fred 0. Bailey, Leon 
N. Dow ; Inspector of Animals, Charles E. Welch ; Inspector of Slaughter- 
ing, Charles E. Welch ; Inspector of Wires, Warren A. Bailey ; Sealer of 
Weights and Measures, Edward S. McKay; Tree Warden, Charles R. 
Ford; Forest Warden, Charles R. Ford; Burial Agent, John E. Bean; 
Superintendent of Streets, Edward F. Goodwin; Engineers of Fire De- 
partment, John W. Growcut, Roswell J. Eaton, Willard L. Fowle; Sworn 
Weighers : Byran H. Sargent, Alice J. Hoyt and Edward S. Preble ; Fish 
Warden, Forrest A. Morse ; Moderator, Clarence 0. Libby. 

The town is well supplied with churches and lodges, which organiza- 
tions are mentioned elsewhere in this work. The churches include the 
Baptist, the Church of the Nativity, the Pilgrim Congregational, and the 
Methodist Episcopal churches. 

In 1921 the town of Merrimac supported the following industries: 
Automobile and carriage body manufactures — J. B. Judkins & Company, 
Merrimac Body Company, Walker Body Company. Carriage makers — 
William F. Carter; Heel makers — James M. Cushman; Wood Heel Com- 
pany. Bankers — Merrimac Savings Bank, First National Bank, Econ- 
omy Co-operative Bank. 

At one period or another, the factory interests in what is now 
Menimac have been quite extensive. In the early days of Amesbury, 
agriculture was the chief occupation of its people, but later saw mills 
and catching the salmon and sturgeon became a larger industry; then 
ship-building commenced in the West Parish. At a very early period 
brick-making was a business of no small importance in Merrimac, as 
understood today. A trade with the West Indies was also one of con- 
siderable proportion. At Merrimacport, earthenware was made as. early 
as 1790. Among the makers of such ware was James Chase, and later 
his son Phineas ; subsequently came Smith Sargent, in about 1825. Tan- 
neries and coopershops were common away back in the twenties and 
thirties. In 1883 the Bay State Felt Boot and Shoe Company, under a 
patent process, commenced to produce felt-foot wear. From 1885 on 
many years this company produced 12,000 cases of shoes per year. 

Carriage-making has usually been counted the great manufacturing 
business of Merrimac. In 1887 the following paragraph shows the out- 
put of vehicles in Merrimac to have been as indicated by firms : 

H. G. and H. W. Stevens began in 1869; carriages, 415; carriages repaired, 600; 
value, $185,000; men employed, 100. J. A. Landcaster & Co. began in 1858; car- 
riages, 438; sleighs, 112; value, $70,000; men employed, 30. Clement & Young be- 
gan in 1884; carriages, 75; value $18,000; men employed, 12. John B. Judkins & 
Son, began in 1857; carriages, 200; value, $80,000; men employed, 50. William O. 



316 ESSEX COUNTY 

Smiley began in 1882; carriages, 75; value, $12,000; men employed, eight. Loud 
Bros, began in 1866; carriages, 200; sleighs, 125; value $82,000; men employed, 32. 
C. H. Noyes & Son began in 1845; carriages, 90; value, $18,000 men employed, ten. 
S. C. Pease & Sons, began in 1861 carriages, 300; value, $100,000; men employed, 42. 
Samuel Schofield & Son began in 1879; carx-iages, 75; value $18,000; men employed, 
11. Harmer & Doucet began in 1873; carriages, 175; value, $74,000; men employed, 
50. 

Daniel M. Means began in 1881 carriages, 75; sleighs, 15; value, $15,000; men 
employed, 12. Moses G. Clement & Son began business in 1849; carriages, 200; 
sleighs, 60; value, $45,000; men employed, 19. George Adams & Sons began in 1857; 
number carriages, 200; sleighs, 100; value $35,000; men employed, eighteen. H. M. 
Howe (late Hough & Clough) began in 1879; carriages, 75; value, $20,000; men 
employed, 15. C. E. Gunnison & Co., began business in 1879; carriages, 250; men 
employed, 20; value, $35,000. At Merrimacport — William Chase & Son began in 
1838; carriages, 50; sleighs, ten; value, $15,000; men employed, 11. Willis P. Sar- 
gent began in 1854; carriages, 40; value, $6,000; men employed, 3. George Gun- 
nison began in 1882; carriages, 50; value, $9,000 men employed, 7. A. M. Colby 
began in 1868; carriages, 150; sleighs, 40; value, $30,000; men employed, 19. 

Different manufacturers made their own style of vehicles, some plain 
and some fancy, some cheap and others high-priced One shop mads 
gears, while others made bodies, and another set of shops ironed, and 
still others were engaged in painting wagons and sleighs. 

The first application of machinery these shops made to any consider- 
able extent was when John F. Foster engaged in the business. In 1867 
he formed a partnership with Henry Howe in the manufacture of wheels. 
In 1870 the plant was burned to the ground, and within forty-nine days 
it was rebuilt and in operation again. Here about five thousand sets of 
wheels were produced annually. February 17, 1882, the firm of Foster 
& Prescott lost their entire works by fire, and never rebuilt. All, in 
all, the carriage and sleigh factories here have been the commercial life 
of the town for a large number of years in its history. 

Like so many New England towns, Merrimac's history would hardly 
be complete without mentioning the fact that there were many years 
when boot and shoe factories flourished here abundantly as well as in 
most ^f the towns in the county. Moses Goodrich and Charles Sargent 
made boots and James B. Hoyt made shoes on quite an extensive scale. 

The population of Amesbury in 1875, the year before it was separ- 
ated and Merrimac was formed, was 1,987 ; in 1880 it was stated by the 
United States census reports that Amesbury had a population of 3,355 ; 
in 1885 it was 4,403 ; in 1880 the population of Merrimac was