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ANNALS OF
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Collections of the Dorchester Antiquarian and Distorical Society.
NUMBER TWO.
ANNALS OF THE TOWN OF DORCHESTER.
BY JAMES BLAKE. 1750.
BOSTON : PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY DAVID CLAPP, JR. Over 184 Washington Street. 1846.
AT a stated meeting of the Resident Members of the Dorchester Anti- quarian and Historical Society, held, pursuant to Notification, at the resi- dence of William D. Swan, in Dorchester, April 25, 1845 : on motion, the following preamble and resolutions were adopted by unanimous vote :--
Whereas a Manuscript bearing the title of the " Annals of the Town of Dorchester," by James Blake, has long been acknowledged as an authentic and faithful sketch of the ecclesiastical and civil history of this ancient town ; and whereas the publication of said manuscript would be of essential service in the diffusion of a knowledge of early New England history ; it is
Resolved, That a Committee of three be elected and empowered to collate the " Annals" with the Records of the Church and Town of Dorchester ; and to make such annotations by way of Appendix or otherwise as shall render more useful and interesting the valuable MS. above mentioned.
Resolved, That the same Committee be authorized to take such order for the publication of said work, as, in their judgment, may be deemed expe- dient.
Voted, That Ebenezer Clapp, jr., James M. Robbins and Edward Holden constitute the Committee of Publication.
Attest,
EDWARD HOLDEN, Librarian.
Entered, According to Act of Congress, in the year 1845, by DAVID CLAPP, JR.
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
PREFACE.
~1140281
A JUST appreciation of the expressions of interest and favor which marked the issue of the first Number of our Society's Collections, has prompted still further efforts on the part of the Association, for the diffusion of our histori- cal treasures. There are yet, doubtless, many rare MSS. which record the history of the foundation and progress of our Colony, Province and Commonwealth; the more valu- able of which, it is to be hoped, will, in due time, be sub- jected to the preserving and diffusing power of the press. In prosecuting this work, in the limited sphere which we have assigned to ourselves, we now present to our readers a volume which, though modest in its pretensions and local in its character, will, doubtless, be hailed with delight in numerous parts of New England.
The original manuscript, from which this publication is furnished, is still extant, and is in a good state of preserva- tion. The esteem in which the work has long been held, has frequently prompted its transcription by those who
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PREFACE.
have been so fortunate as to gain access to the MS. It is gratifying to know, that five correct and complete copies are still preserved.
It may properly be remarked here, that the only title attached to the original work is that which forms the cap- tion of the first page of the text ; the usual title-page and running title being wholly omitted by the author. Aware, as we are, of the general desire, that the New England historical writings of the last century may be preserved in their integrity, the Committee have determined to give as correct a copy of the MS. as could well be made with type ; and, as the result of that determination, the reader will notice a too frequent use of capitals, a sparing inser- tion of the points of punctuation ; with an orthography that sometimes suffers by comparison with the modern standards of the English language. Nevertheless, we are confident that we shall never regret having allowed the testimony of our Annalist to remain unaltered.
Many of our readers will probably desire an introduction to the author before reading his Annals. To such we pre- sent him, as briefly as we may do in the following sketch.
JAMES BLAKE was a son of James and Ruth ; a grand- son of James and Elizabeth; and a great grand-son of William and Agnes, who were among the first and most distinguished of the settlers of Dorchester. He was born
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PREFACE.
at Dorchester, April 30, 1688, O. S. He held many important stations in the service of the town ;- was for many years Town Clerk, Town Treasurer, and principal Selectman of Dorchester; in which offices he continued to serve with ability until rendered incapable of active duty by serious and long protracted disease, which finally re- sulted in his death. Mr. Blake was an ingenious mathema- tician and an accurate surveyor. He surveyed many farms in Dorchester and other towns ; and once surveyed the whole town of Dorchester, when its territorial limits were much larger than at present ; and his projections, skilfully and elegantly made, are among the most interesting deposits in the archives of his native town. For a more particular account of the public services of Mr. Blake, the reader is referred to his " Annals." This work is introduced by an exhibition of the motives and projects of the first settlers, and gives a minute account of the principal events and transactions here for a period of one hundred and twenty years, to the time of the author's death, which occurred on December 4, 1750, O. S. The entries which occur after this date are supposed to have been made by his son, This work was for many years the principal authority for all the early accounts, published, of the town of Dorchester.
For the purpose of rendering more complete several parts of the original MS., annotations have been made and
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PREFACE.
appended to the work, among which may be found copies of civil and ecclesiastical records of important acts, which are but briefly mentioned or merely alluded to by our author ; together with a relation of historical facts upon points which are not subject to official record, but are sub- stantiated by veritable history or unquestionable tradition.
In order that it may be still more valuable to the public, and especially to the numerous descendants of the first settlers of Dorchester, the publisher has been furnished with many of their autographs, from a page of the first book of Town Records, being the names of the male in- habitants of the town in the year 1641, which he presents to the reader as a lithographed Frontispiece. These names are appended to an instrument conveying to the town of Dorchester all rents and profits of Thompson's Island, for the support of a Free School.
We now suffer the " Annals " to "appear " before the public, with the hope that its reception may warrant a continuance of labors in this part of the work in which we are engaged.
DORCHESTER, SEPTEMBER, 1845.
ANNALS OF THE TOWN OF DORCHESTER.
WHEN many most Godly and Religious People that Dis- sented from ye way of Worship then Established by Law in ye Realm of England, in ye Reign of King Charles ye first, being denied ye free exercise of Religion after ye man- ner they professed according to ye light of God's Word and their own consciences, did under ye Incouragement of a Charter Granted by ye Sd King, Charles, in ye Fourth Year of his Reign A.D. 1628, Remoue themselues & their Families into ye Colony of ye Massachusetts Bay in New- England, that they might Worship God according to ye light of their own Consciences, without any burthensome Impositions, which was ye very motive & cause of their coming ; Then it was, that the First Inhabitants of Dor- chester came ouer, & were ye first Company or Church Society that arriued here, next to ye Town of Salem who was one year before them.
In ye Year of our Lord 1629, Divers Godly Persons in Devonshire, Somersetshire, Dorcetshire & other places, Proposed a Remoue to New-England, among whom were two Famous Ministers, viz. Mr. John Maverick (who I suppose was somewhat advanced in Age) and Mr. John Warham (I suppose a Younger Man,) then a Preacher in ye City of Exon, or Exeter, in ye County of Devon. These good People met together at Plymouth, a Sea-port
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ANNALS OF DORCHESTER.
Town in ye Sd County of Devon, in order to Ship them- selues & Families for New-England ; and because they designed to liue together after they should arriue here, they met together in the New Hospital in Plymouth and Asso- ciated into Church Fellowship, and Chose ye Sd Mr. Ma- uerick and Mr. Warham to be their Ministers and Officers, keeping ye Day as a Day of Solemn Fasting & Prayer, and ye Sd Ministers accepted of ye Call & Expressed ye same ; the Revd. Mr. John White of Dorchester in Dorcet, (who was an active Instrument to promote ye Settlement of New England, and I think a means of procuring ye Charter) being present & Preaching ye fore part of ye Day, and in ye latter part of ye Day they performed ye work aforesaid.
This People being too many in Number to come in one Vessel, they hired one Capt. Squeb to bring them in a large Ship of 400 Tons ; they set Sail from Plymouth ye 20th of March 1629-30, and arrived at Nantasket (now Hull) ye 30th of May 1630, having a Comfortable tho' long Passage, and having Preaching or Expounding of the Scripture every day of their Passage, performed by their Ministers. They had agreed with Capt. Squeb to bring them into Charles River, but he was false to his bargain & would not come any further than Nantasket, where he turned them and their Goods ashore on ye point, leaving them in a forlorn Wilderness destitute of any habitation & most other comforts of life. But it pleased God, they got a Boat of some that had staid in ye Country (I suppose for Trade, for there was some at Noddles Island & at Charles- town that staid in ye Country for Trade with ye Natiues before these adventurers came ouer, as likewise Moreton of Merry-Mount at Brantrey) and put their goods in ye Boat, and Instead of Sailing up to Charles River in a Ship were forced (as I suppose) to Row up in a Boat, it being about 3 Leagues to ye Mouth of ye River. They went up ye River until it grew narrow & Shallow, & then put ashore & built a hut to shelter their Goods, Intending there to set down, it being about ye place where Watertown now is. The Indians upon their arrival Mustered thick, they thought
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ANNALS OF DORCHESTER.
about 300, but having with them an Old Planter as they called him, one that had stayed in the Country & could speak something of the Indian Language, (I suppose they took him from Charlestown that now is, for they called there & saw several Wigwams, & one English Man in an House where they ate boiled Bass, but had no Bread to eat with it) they sent him to ye Indians, who were persuaded to keep at a distance ye first night, and ye next morning when the Indians appeared, they offered no violence but sent some of their number holding out a Bass ; our people sent a man with a Bisquet, & so they Exchanged, not only then but often afterwards, a bisquet for a Bass, and ye Indians were very friendly to them, which our people ascribed to God's watchful Providence ouer them in their weak beginnings ; for all the Company were not gone up ye River, but about Ten men to seek out ye way for ye Rest. They were now landed upon ye Main Continent in a wild & unknown Wil- derness, and they had brought Cattle with them which if they put them ashore there would likely wander & be lost & themselves likewise in seeking them. They had not stayed here at Watertown but a few days but ye Rest of their Company below had found out a neck of Land Joyn- ing to a place called by ye Indians Mattapan, (now Dor- chester) that was a fit place to turn their Cattle upon to prevent their straying; so they sent to their friends to come away from Watertown, and they settled at Mattapan, & turned their Cattle upon ye Sd neck then called Mattapan- nock, now called Dorchester-Neck. They began their Settlement here at Mattapan ye beginning of June as I suppose, or thereabout, A. D. 1630, and changed ye name into Dorchester, calling it Dorchester Plantation. Why they called it Dorchester I never heard, but there was some of Dorcet Shire, & some of ye Town of Dorchester that settled here ; and it is very likely it might be in Honour of ye aforesaid Revd. Mr. White of Dorchester. Our People were Settled here a Month or two before Governor Win- throp & ye Ships that came with him arrived at Charles- town, so that Dorchester Plantation was settled next to ye
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ANNALS OF DORCHESTER.
Town of Salem in ye Massachusetts-Colony, being before Charlestown or Boston: And ye Church of Dorchester ye oldest Church in ye Colony Except Salem ; and I sup- pose ye only Church that came over in Church Fellowship, the other Churches being gathered here. The Indians here at Dorchester were also kind to our People.
The first Inhabitants of Dorchester came chiefly from ye Sd Countys of Devon, Dorcet & Somerset, and I think from some other places. They were a very Godly & Reli- gious people ; and many of them Persons of Note and figure, being dignified with ye Title of Master ; which but few in those Days were. Their Ministers or Pastors were ye Sd Revd. Mr. John Maverick and ye Revd. Mr. John Warham ; others of Note were Mr. Rossiter, Mr. Ludlow, Mr. Glover, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Terry, Mr. Smith, Mr. Gallope, Mr. Hull, Mr. Stoughton, Mr. Cogan, Mr. Hill, Capt. Southcott, Capt. Lovell, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Pinney, Mr. Richards, Mr. Way, Mr. Williams, Mr. Tilly & others. And among them came Capt. Roger Clap, a very worthy Religious Gentleman, who was then a young man, & to him we are beholden for ye knowledge of many of ye par- ticulars before mentioned, he leaving them in writing among ye Instructions he left to his Children. It seems many of these people were Trading men, & at first designed Dor- chester for a place of Trade, and accordingly built a Fort upon ye hill called Rock-hill, wherein were seueral Pieces of ordinance, near ye Waterside ; but ye Channel being poor & landing difficult, and Boston and Charlestown Har- ber being far more commodious, they desisted from that design & many of them removed afterwards to Boston and other places, so that many families about in the Country had their first Rise from Dorchester, there not being here a large quantity of Land to settle upon, that I suppose ye Inhabitants are but little if any thing more numerous now, than they were 50 or 60 years ago ; young people many of them moving out as they grow up.
These first Settlers of ye Town of Dorchester, took up every one his spot to set down upon, pretty thick together
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ANNALS OF DORCHESTER.
at ye northerly end of ye Town next to ye aforesaid neck of Land, & on ye Easterly side next to ye Sea, leaving many Intervening Spots of Land between their Settlements.
1631-1632.
These years were spent in working themselues into Settle- ments, & Incorporating into a Body to carry on ye Publick Affairs of ye Plantation ; in Granting many Parcels of Land & Meadow to I suppose every particular Person ; but for ye House-lots where they first Set down we have no Re- cords of them, they being taken up as aforesaid.
In these years great was ye Straits and Difficulties these People met with for want of Provision for themselues & Families ; and as Capt. Clap expresseth it, "Oh ye Hunger " that many suffered, and saw no hope in an Eye of Reason " to be supplyed, only by Clams, & Muscles, and Fish ; " and Bread was so very Scarce, that sometimes ye very " Crusts of my Fathers Table would have been very Sweet " unto me : And when I could have Meal & Water & Salt, " boiled together, it was so good, who could wish better. " And it was not accounted a strange thing in those Days, " to Drink water, and to eat Samp or Homine without " Butter or Milk. Indeed it would have been a strange " thing to see a piece of Roast Beef, Mutton or Veal ; " tho' it was not long before there was Roast Goat." And yet this people were very contented under their outward wants so long as they could enjoy the worship of God without any molestation : they did not meditate a Return to England, but as ye Sd Capt. Clap saith, " I do not Re- " member that ever I did wish in my Heart that I had not " come into this Country, or wish myself back again to my " Fathers House ; Yea I was so far from that, that I wished " & advised some of my Brethren to come hither also ; " which accordingly one of my Brothers and those two that " married my two Sisters, sold their means and came hither. " The Lord Jesus Christ was so plainly held out in ye " Preaching of ye Gospel to poor lost Sinners, and ye Abso- " lute Necessity of ye New birth, and Gods Spirit in those
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ANNALS OF DORCHESTER.
" Days was pleased to Accompany ye word with such effi- " cacy upon ye Hearts of many ; that our Hearts were quite " taken off from Old England & set upon Heaven. The " Discourse not only of ye Aged, but of ye Youth also, " was not, How shall we go to England ? (though some " few did not only so discourse but also went back again) " but How shall we go to Heaven ? Haue I true Grace " wrought in my Heart ? Haue I Christ or no ? O how did " Men and Women, young and old, Pray for Grace, beg " for Christ in those Days ; and it was not in vain : Many " were converted, and others established in Believing ; many " joined unto ye Several Churches where they liued." I mention this to show what sort of people they were that came first into this Country, what their Spirit & Design was, what a fervent loue and zeal they had for God & his Instituted worship, how contented under their Straits and Difficulties, while they enjoyed ye Gospel & ye free Pro- fession of their Religion.
1633.
This Year they had a Meetinghouse for ye Public wor- ship of God, but we haue no Account when it was built. This Year this Plantation began ye Practice of Choosing men, that we now call Selectmen or Townsmen. They Chose 12 this year to order ye Affairs of ye Plantation. who were to have their Monthly Meetings, and their orders being Confirmed by ye Plantation were of full force and binding to ye Inhabitants. There were many orders made this year concerning Cattle and Fences &c., & Penalties annexed; besides many grants of Land. This year a fort was ordered to be built on ye Rock upon Rock-hill, & ye Charge to be paid by a Rate.
This Year ye Plantation Granted Mr. Israel Stoughton liberty to build a Mill upon Neponsit River, which I sup- pose was ye first Mill built in this Colony, and ye Sd River has been famous for Mills ever since.
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ANNALS OF DORCHESTER.
1634.
This Year they Chose 10 Selectmen to order ye affairs of ye Plantation, namely Mr. Newbury, Mr. Stoughton, Mr. Woolcott, Mr. Duncan, Goodman Phelps, Mr. Hathorne, Mr. Williams, Go. Minot, Go. Gibbes & Mr. Smith; and gaue any Seven of them power to make orders to bind ye Inhabitants until Repealed by ye Inhabitants. This year they also appointed a Bayliff, namely Nicholas Upsall. There were also many grants of land this year.
1635.
This Year were 9 Selectmen Chosen, namely William Phelps, Nathl. Duncan, Mr. George Hull, Mr. Dimocke, William Gaylard, Mr. Roger Williams, George Minot, John Philips & Mr. Newbery. And Walter Filer, Bayliff. Be- fore this year the orders of ye Plantation were Signed John Maverick, John Warham, William Rockwell & William Gaylord, or two of them ; from this year and forward that method ceased. There were many Orders & Grants of Land this year.
This Year arriued here on Aug. 16th the Revd. Mr. Richard Mather, that was a long time after Pastor of this Church, and with him a great Number of Godly people that Settled here with him. There came with him 100 Passengers, & 23 Seamen, 23 Cows & Heifers, 3 Sucking Calues, & 8 Mares, & none Died by ye way, though they met with as terrible a Storm as was almost ever heard of.
1636.
This Year were Chosen 12 Selectmen, namely Mr. Stoughton, Mr. Glover, Henry Withington, Nathl. Duncan. Geo. Minot, Rich. Collicut, John Holman, Mr. Hill, Will. Gaylard, Christopher Gibson, John Pierce & Mr. Jones. And afterwards they ordered that 10 men should be Chosen. 7 of whom should make orders & bind ye Inhabitants, being first Published on a lecture Day & not being then disal- lowed by ye Plantation. . Joseph Flood, Bayliff. There were many orders & Grants of Land this year. This
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ANNALS OF DORCHESTER.
year made great alteration in ye Town of Dorchester, for Mr. Mather & ye Godly people that came with him from Lancashire wanting a place to settle in, some of ye People of Dorchester were willing to remoue & make room for them, & so Mr. Warham & about half ye Church re- moued to Winsor in Connecticut Colony, and Mr. Mather & his people came & Joined with Mr. Maverick and that half of ye Church that were left, and from these people so united are ye greatest part of ye present Inhabitants de- scended. When these two Companies of people were thus united they made one Church, having ye Sa Revd. Mr. John Maverick, & ye Sd Revd. Mr. Richard Mather for their Pastors, and entered into ye following Covenant, viz.
" Dorchester Church Covenant made ye 23d Day of ye 6 Month 1636.
" We whose names are subscribed being called of God to Join ourselues together in Church Communion ; from our Hearts acknowledgeing our own unworthiness of such a priviledge, or of ye least of Gods mercies ; and likewise acknowledgeing our disability to keep Covenant with God, or to perform any Spiritual Duty which he calleth us unto, unless ye Lord Jesus do enable us thereunto by his Spirit dwelling in us ; Do in ye Name of Christ Jesus our Lord, & in trust and Confidence of his free Grace assisting us, freely Covenant & Bind ourselues, Solemnly in ye presence of God himself, his Holy Angels, and all his Servants here present ; That we will by his Grace Assisting, endeavour constantly to walk together as a Right Ordered Congrega- tion of Christ, according to all ye Holy Rules of a Church Body rightly established, so far as we do already know it to be our duty, or shall further understand out of God's Holy Word: Promising first & aboue all to cleaue unto him as our Chief and only Good, and to our Lord Jesus Christ as our only Spiritual Husband & Lord, & our only High Priest & Prophet & King. And for ye furthering of us to keep this blessed communion with God & his Son Jesus Christ, & to grow up more fully herein ; we do likewise
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ANNALS OF DORCHESTER.
promise by his Grace assisting us, to endeavour ye Estab- lishing amongst ourselues all his Holy Ordinances which he hath appointed for his Church here on Earth, and to obserue all & euery of them in such sort as shall be most agreeable to his Will, opposing to ye utmost of our power whatsoever is contrary thereunto, and bewailing from our Hearts our own neglect hereof in former times, and our poluting ourselues therein with any Sinfull Invention of men.
" And lastly, we do hereby Covenant & promise to further to our utmost power, the best Spiritual good of each other, & of all and every one that may become members of this Congregation, by mutual Instruction, Reprehension, Ex- hortation, Consolation & Spiritual watchfulness over one another for good. And to be subject in and for ye Lord to all ye Administrations & Censures of ye Congregation, so far as ye same shall be Guided according to ye Rules of Gods most holy word. Of the Integrity of our Hearts herein, we call God ye Searcher of all Hearts to Witness ; Beseeching him so to bless us in this & all our Enterprises, as we shall sincerely endeavour by ye assistance of his Grace to obserue his Holy Covenant in all ye branches of it inviolable for ever ; and where we shall fail, there to wait upon ye Lord Jesus for Pardon and acceptance & healing for his Name's sake.
" RICHARD MATHER, NATHA'L DUNCAN,
GEORGE MINOT, HENRY WITHINGTON, THOMAS JONES, JOHN POPE."
JOHN KINSLEY,
This Year ye General Court made a Grant to Dorches- ter of ye old part of ye Township, as far as ye great Blew- hill ; and ye Town took a Deed of Kitchamakin Sachem of ye Massachusetts for ye same.
1637.
The 10 Selectmen were Mr. Glover, Nathl. Duncan,
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ANNALS OF DORCHESTER.
Mr. Jones, Mr. Bates, Rich. Collicut, Mr. Holman, Edwd. Clap, Roger Clap, Wm. Sumner.
This year ye Gen. Court made a second Grant to ye Town home to Plymouth Line, called ye new Grant.
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