USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Historic homes and places and genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 1
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01104 3459
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historichomespla01cutt_0
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William R. Cutter
Cutter
HISTORIC HOMES and PLACES -
AND
GENEALOGICAL
and PERSONAL MEMOIRS
RELATING TO THE FAMILIES OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS
PREPARED UNDER THE EDITORIAL SUPERVISION OF
WILLIAM RICHARD CUTTER, A. M.
Historian of the New England Historic Genealogical Society; Libra- rian of Woburn Public Library; Author of "The Cutter Family," "History of Arlington," "Bibliography of Woburn," etc., etc. 1
VOLUME I.
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK: LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
1908
a
INTRODUCTORY.
1136444
The present work, "Historic Homes and Places, and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts," presents in the aggregate an amount and variety of genealogical and personal information and portraiture unequalled by any kindred publication. It contains a large amount of ancestral history never before printed. The object, clearly defined and well digested, is threefold:
Firstly: To present in concise form the history of Middlesex County Families.
Secondly: To preserve a record of the prominent present-day people of the county.
Thirdly: To present through personal sketches, linked with the genealogical narrative, the relation of its prominent families of all times to the growth, singular prosperity and wide- spread influence of Middlesex County.
There are numerous voluminous narrative histories of the county in one form or other, making it unnecessary in this work to even outline its annals. What has been published, how- ever, principally relates to the people in the mass. The amplification necessary to complete the picture of the county, old and nowaday, is what has been supplied in large degree by these. Genealogical and Personal Memoirs. In other words, while others have written of "the times," the province of this work is to be a chronicle of the people who have made Middlesex County what it is.
Unique in conception and treatment, this work constitutes one of the most original and permanently valuable contributions ever made to the social history of an American commun- ity. In it is arrayed in a lucid and dignified manner important facts regarding the ancestry, personal careers and matrimonial alliances of those who, in each succeeding generation, have been accorded leading positions in the social, professional and business life of the county. Nor has it been based upon, neither does it minister to, aristocratic prejudices and assumptions. On the contrary, its fundamental ideas are thoroughly American and democratic. The work everywhere conveys the lesson that distinction has been gained only by honorable public ser- vice, or by usefulness in private station, and that the development and prosperity of the county of which it treats has been dependent upon the character of its citizens, and the stimulus which they have given to commerce, to industry, to the arts and sciences, to education and religion -to all that is comprised in the highest civilization of the present day-through a continual progressive development.
The inspiration underlying the present work is a fervent appreciation of the truth so well expressed by Sir Walter Scott, that "there is no heroic poem in the world but is at the bottom the life of a man." And with this goes a kindred truth, that to know a man, and rightly meas- ure his character, and weigh his achievements, we must know whence he came, from what for- bears he sprang. Truly as heroic poems have been written in human lives in the paths of peace as in the scarred roads of war. Such examples, in whatever line of endeavor, are of much worth as an incentive to those who come afterward, and such were never so needful to be written of as in the present day, when pessimism, forgetful of the splendid lessons of the past, with- holds its effort in the present, and views the future only with alarm.
Middlesex County offers a peculiarly rich and interesting field for such research as is here undertaken. Its sons-"native here, and to the manner born,"-have attained distinction
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INTRODUCTORY.
in every department of human effort. An additional interest attaches to the present under- taking in the fact that, while dealing primarily with the people of this county, this work ap- proaches the dignity of a national epitome of genealogy and biography. Owing to the wide dispersion throughout the country of the old families of Middlesex, the authentic account here presented of the constituent elements of her social life, past and present, is of far more than merely local value. In its special field it is, in an appreciable degree, a reflection of the de- velopment of the country at large, since hence went out representatives of historical families, in various generations, who in far remote places-beyond the Mississippi and in the Far West -were with the vanguard of civilization, building up communities, creating new common- wealths, planting, wherever they went, the church, the school house and the printing press, leading into channels of thrift and enterprise all who gathered about them, and proving a power for ideal citizenship and good government. And, further, the custodian of records concern- ing the useful men of preceding generations, of the homes and churches, schools, and other institutions, which they founded, and of their descendants who have lived honorable and use- ful lives, who have aided in placing such knowledge in preservable and accessible form, have performed a public service in rendering honor to whom honor is due, and in inculcating the most valuable lessons of patriotism and good citizenship.
It is to be regretted that indifference or unwise prejudices on the part of a very few have interfered with a proper representation of their families, but it is confidently asserted that this work covers all that can be reasonably expected from finite efforts. No matter has been printed that was not first submitted to persons most interested, for revision and correction, and many articles have been submitted to several individuals in order to secure most complete criticism and revision. In some cases family traditions have been put forward, and in these there is sometimes conflict; where such was the only authority, effort has been made to recon- cile as far as possible.
The County of Middlesex, Massachusetts, was incorporated in the year 1643, the same year with the counties of Essex and Suffolk, and, up to the year 1655, included eight towns -Charlestown, Cambridge, Watertown, Sudbury, Concord, Woburn, Medford, and Linn Vil- lage, or Reading-with, at the utmost, a few thousand souls. The population to-day is over 565,000, included within forty-three towns and eleven cities, with a territorial area of eight hundred square miles.
Charlestown, the oldest town in the County, and one of the oldest in the State, was set- tled in 1628, and was incorporated in 1635.
The settlement of Cambridge was begun in 1631, and it was originally designed to be made the chief town or city of the Colony.
Watertown began to be settled in 1630, the same year with the settlement at Boston.
Sudbury was settled in 1638, and incorporated in 1639.
The settlement at Concord was begun in the fall of 1635.
Woburn was incorporated as a town in 1642.
Medford was given her official name in 1630.
Reading was incorporated in 1644:
Within these historic towns were early clustered a considerable portion of that representa- tive class of Puritan pioneers who planted the Colony that has figured so prominently in mould- ing and shaping this illustrious Nation.
Concord, Lexington, Cambridge, and Charlestown, are names quite familiar to the student of the early history of this country.
The descendants of those early settlers are especially proud of their ancestry; for, what- ever the part allotted them, even the most trivial service rendered should command respect and admiration, and those now residents of Middlesex County should esteem it a precious
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INTRODUCTORY.
5
privilege to have their names associated with such an illustrious group of families. Such an honorable ancestry is a noble heritage, and the story of its achievements is a sacred trust com- mitted to its descendants, upon whom devolves the perpetuation of the record.
The courage, fortitude and activity displayed by those hardy pioneers during the early settlement of Massachusetts and New England, were most remarkable. And, when the struggle for National Independence came, the sons and daughters of their illustrious sires were not want- ing in patriotism and devotion, freely sacrificing comforts, life and property, that they might bequeath, to the generations that should follow them, a free and liberal government, "of the people, by the people, and for the people."
The people of Middlesex County were, from the beginning, prime leaders in every patriotic movement, and in all events working for the elevation of humanity. It was within this very territory of Middlesex that the opening scenes of the War of the American Revolution were enacted. Here it was that the contending armies met upon the field of battle, when the ter- rible struggle began. And it was of the men of Middlesex County that Captain Isaac Davis said, when it was proposed to dislodge the British at the Old North Bridge at Concord, on that famous nineteenth day of April, "I haven't a man that is afraid to go." The men of Mid- dlesex on that eventful day conducted themselves like heroes. And, after the battle, the Provincial Congress, convened at Watertown to take measures "for the salvation of the Coun- try," and, on the twenty-third day of April, voted "that an army of thirty thousand men be im- mediately raised, and that thirteen thousand six hundred be raised by this Province." It is the deeds and lives of such men, and of their descendants, that form the thrilling and enchant- ing portion of our country's history.
It is the consensus of opinion of gentlemen well informed and loyal to the memories of the past and the needs of the present and future, that the editorial supervision of William Richard Cutter, A. M., has ensured the best results attainable in the preparation of material for the proposed work. For more than a generation past he has given his leisure to historical and genealogical research and authorship. He was the author, with his father, of "History of the Cutter Family of New England," 1871-1875; and "History of Arlington, Massachusetts," 1880; and also edited Lieutenant Samuel Thompson's "Diary While Serving in the French and Indian War, 1758," 1896. He also prepared a monograph entitled "Journal of a Forton Prisoner; England," sketches of Arlington and Woburn, Massachusetts, and many articles on subjects connected with local historical and genealogical matters for periodical literature. He prepared a "Bibliography of Woburn," which was published, and he has been engaged as editor of various historical works outside of his own city. For many years he has been as- sociated with Mr. Arthur G. Loring in the preparation of genealogies which have been pub- lished in the "New England Historical and Genealogical Register." In the present work, he has contributed a valuable chapter on "Historical Homes and Places in Middlesex County." Grateful acknowledgment is here made to him for his services, which have been in the nature of a labor of love. Similarly, Mr. Arthur G. Loring is entitled to gratitude for much painstaking work.
It is believed that the present work will prove a real addition to the mass of literature concerning the families of historic old Worcester County, and that, without it, much valuable information contained therein would be inaccessible to the general reader, or irretrievably lost, owing to the passing away of many custodians of family records, and the consequent disappearance of material in their possession.
THE PUBLISHERS.
Historic Homes and Places
BY WILLIAM R. CUTTER
LONDON AND MIDDLESEX COUNTY, ENGLAND
The great metropolis of London belongs to the ancient Middlesex county of England, and Walter Thornbury, when writing his history of that city, entitled "Old and New London", was so impressed by the fact that "writing the history of the vast city like London" was "like writing a history of the ocean"-the vast area; the multifariousness of its inhabitants; and the count- less treasures that lie in its depths ;- that he asks the question, what aspect should one select? The history of the New England Middlesex, covering its two hundred and sixty-four or more years, though younger by far than its elder, presents from its size, its large population, its multifarious interests, and the number of its cities and towns, a similar impression upon any one who has the boldness to attempt to write on any aspect of the subject.
The New England Middlesex obtained its name from the Middlesex of Old England, one of the most important counties in the kingdom, including within its limits a large part of the present city of London. The English Middlesex, though territorially of lesser extent than many English counties, was probably the most prominent of all in topographical and historical interest, and from the connection that the Middlesex county of England bears to the metropolis of London and the river Thames, the New England Middlesex, from its situation, has a similar relation to the metropolis of Boston, and the river Charles.
The English Middlesex derives its name from its relative situation to the three surrounding kingdoms or counties of East, West, and South Saxons, the first two of which were East-Sex, or Essex; and West-Sex, or Wessex. The English Middlesex, in which the names of London and Middlesex are synonymous, derives its existence from a period previous to the Roman invasion, and the Thames river is a prominent feature of its topography. It has an extent of about seven- teen by twenty-three miles, or about 280 square miles. The English Middlesex was particularly well suited for the purpose of agriculture, and it was a well cultivated county. An old writer (Nor- den) speaking of its fertility, and of the love of its people for tilling its soil; who had rather delve in its dirt, than live in palaces, says; .
"The deep and dirtie loathsome soyle Yeelds golden gaine to paneful toyle."
The crops of the English Middlesex were beans, green peas, barley, rye, oats, cabbages, turnips, wheat, clover, carrots, parsnips, buckwheat and potatoes. Hay-making among the farmers of the English Middlesex was an art conducted in a superior manner to that of any other part of the island. The oldest farm houses in the English Middlesex were of wood, lathed and plastered, with the roofs thatched. These were the sort of houses the New England immigrants had left, and this was the sort of farming with which they were acquainted, and which they sought to put into practice here. The population of English Middlesex, including London, in 1801, was 918,629.
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MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
In common with the old county on the other side of the ocean, at the beginning of the nine- teenth century, the American Middlesex county had a canal for the transportation of passengers and merchandise, the English Middlesex had two, while the American Middlesex had one, which bore the name of the county.
Essex in England is old equally with Middlesex, and was known at the time of the Roman invasion of Great Britain. The waters of the Thames are on its borders. Essex formed a sep- arate and distinct kingdom during a part of the Saxon domination, and was called East- Seaxa, but the time of its first establishment and its termination as a Saxon kingdom are not authenticated. It was also less noticed by historians than any of the others. The county was bordered by Suffolk and Cambridgeshire on the north, by the counties of Hertford and Middlesex on the west, by the river Thames on the south, and by the sea on the east. Its extent from east to west was estimated at sixty miles, and from north to south at about fifty, its circumference . being computed at 225 miles. It contained about four hundred parishes and townships and twenty-five towns, containing, about 1801, 226,437 inhabitants.
Suffolk in England is bounded on the north by Norfolk, on the east by the German ocean, on the south by Essex, and on the west by Cambridgeshire. It is forty-seven miles long by twenty-seven broad. Its form indicates a surface of 1269 square miles. Its appellation is from the Saxon Sudfolk, or southern people, in contradistinction to Nordfolk, or northern people. It existed at the time of the invasion of the Romans, and its history is related to that of Norfolk.
Norfolk in England is an extensive county, famous for its objects of antiquity, its geograph- ical situation on the German ocean, its seaports, towns, seats, agriculture, and manufactured products, and it is interesting to the topographer. The topographical historian is a character peculiar to Great Britain, and topography, or description of the country, forms a large part of the historical work in the books of the early part of the nineteenth century in that kingdom. The district embraced in the English county of Norfolk was older historically than the invasion by the Romans, whose generals established a number of military posts within or contiguous to its territory. Lynn,-a city name familiar on this side of the Atlantic,-was within its limits.
Norfolk in England was separated by rivers from Suffolk on the south, and Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire were on the west. Its shape made it, in a sense, almost an island. The largest diameter is east to west, fifty-seven miles; the conjugate diameter, north and south, thirty-five miles, or 1426 square geographical miles. Norfolk is larger than Essex, and contained a greater number of towns and parishes than any other county in the kingdom. Its population in 1801 was 273,371.
It is to be observed, therefore, how closely the relative location of the New England counties of the first period-the four named Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, and Norfolk-follows those of their older namesakes in England; and how closely, too, the names of our New England towns and cities have resembled those of the older country, whence their settlers came. How closely, too, they copied the ideas and customs with which they were familiar in the mother land. The political and social structure of New England, therefore, was built mainly upon an adaptation of ideas having their origin abroad, and upon things which existed before America was estab- lished. The early Massachusetts Colony, as an outcome of the first settlement, was strictly English in its character, and remained so until long after the period of the American Revolution.
The early New England historians say little regarding the origin of the New England Mid- dlesex county, and Hutchinson, the ablest one of them all, says more than the rest, and what he says is found on a single page of his notable "History of Massachusetts", vol. i. (3d ed.) p. 112. In effect this: That in 1643 the colony had so increased that it was divided into four counties, or shires, named Essex, Middlesex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. In a foot-note he gives the names of the towns in each county, and for Middlesex he gave the eight towns as follows: Charlestown, Cambridge, Watertown, Sudbury, Concord, Woburn, Medford, and Lynn Village (afterwards
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HISTORIC HOMES AND PLACES.
Reading). Each of the first three counties established in 1643 contained eight towns, and Old Norfolk six. Norfolk was not the Norfolk county of to-day, but another. Essex contained Salem, Lynn, Enon (Wenham), Ipswich, Rowley, Newbury, Gloucester, and Chochichawick. Middlesex contained Charlestown, Cambridge, Watertown, Sudbury, Concord, Woburn, Med- ford and Lynn Village. Suffolk contained Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester, Dedham, Braintree, Weymouth, Hingham, and Nantasket (Hull). Norfolk contained Salisbury, Hampton, Haver- hill, Exeter, Dover, and Strawberry-Bank (now Portsmouth). In this list it will be noticed that Essex was east, Middlesex west, and Norfolk and Suffolk north and south, of each other, as implied in their names.
GREATER BOSTON
Boston proper now exceeds its original limits, and has appropriated two municipalities once within the borders of Middlesex,-Charlestown and Brighton. Several cities still within Mid- dlesex county,-Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, and Malden,-are its congeners, from their geographical positions. Near by are the cities of Medford, Melrose, Newton, Waltham, Woburn, and Lowell. Other cities easily reached are Lynn, Salem, Haverhill, Beverly, and Gloucester, the large town of Brookline, and the cities of Quincy, Brockton, Taunton, Pawtucket, New Bed- ford, Fall River, and Providence, and many large and small towns, are within easy reach of Boston, not to omit in the list its own county of Suffolk, with Boston and Chelsea and Revere. Greater Boston thus means large portions of four counties, namely, Suffolk, Essex, Middlesex, and Norfolk, all located about Massachusetts Bay-the body of water which gave the name of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay to this part of the present State of Massachusetts.
Massachusetts is a name derived from the Indians, the name of a tribe whose abode was in the vicinity of Massachusetts Bay, and signified, in their language, Blue Hills.
The Blue Hills, so easily seen from Boston Harbor, are 710 feet above high-water mark, and are in the town of Milton, in Norfolk county. The range has been a noted landmark for sailors. From the summit is had a full view of Boston and its environs, Massachusetts Bay, the Cape Cod peninsula, and the Wachusett Mountain in the interior, fifty miles distant.
Previous to the American Revolution, Massachusetts was a colony and province of England, and its laws and customs were largely those of the mother country. After 1693 the smaller colony of Plymouth was included within its borders. The other nearby colonies of that period were Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Maine till 1820 was a part of the state of Massachusetts.
The parish of the old country was established here in the colonial period generally under the name and privileges of a town, and during the provincial period (when English customs were the model) towns, where large enough, were divided into parishes, which, in a sense, were little towns within a larger town. This system was thoroughly established in Massachusetts by 1750, and emigration had then begun to the newer towns in New Hampshire, and probably in Maine. This emigration was due to the natural increase of the population, and the desire for more farms. The settlement of the country from the time of the Puritans increased at a greater rate than is to-day imagined, and by 1700 the province was well supplied with farms, was well stocked with domestic animals and fruits such as were commonly known in the old country, and the only interference with agricultural prosperity (the mercantile element being greatly in the minority) were the frequent wars with their enemies, which harassed the land for many years.
Authorities: County histories were more common in Great Britain in former times than in Massachusetts. More than a century ago county histories and local histories of great merit were published in great numbers in the older country. Such works were remarkable for their cost, for sumptuous bindings, for beautiful illustrations, for accurate typography, for size, and thor-
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MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
oughness of research. These English writers gleaned all that was practically known of the early period in their own country. I name a few titles:
"The History and Antiquities of the Town and County of the Town of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, including an Account of the Coal Trade of that place, and embellished with engraved views of the Publick Buildings, &c." By John Brand, M. A., London, 1789. Two vols.
"A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Town and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, including the Borough of Gateshead." By E. Mackenzie. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1827. Two vols. bound in one.
"The Beauties of England and Wales; or, Original Delineations, Topographical, Historical, and Descriptive, of each County." By John Britton and Edward Wedlake Brayley. London, 1801-1818. 18 vols., and several additional parts.
"The Beauties of Scotland: containing a clear and full account of the Agriculture, Com- merce, Mines, and Manufactures; of the population, cities, towns, villages, &c., of each County". By Robert Forsyth. Edinburgh, 1805-08. 5 vols.
"The Beauties of Ireland: being Original Delineations, Topographical, Historical, and Bio- graphical, of each County." By J. N. Brewer. London, 1825-26. 2 vols.
"Historical Collections, being General Collections of Interesting Facts, Traditions, Bio- graphical Sketches, Anecdotes, &c., relating to the History and Antiquities of Every Town in Massachusetts, with geographical descriptions." By John Warner Barber. Worcester, 1839.
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