USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Saugus > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscot, and Nahant > Part 1
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Nahant > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscot, and Nahant > Part 1
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Lynnfield > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscot, and Nahant > Part 1
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Swampscott > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscot, and Nahant > Part 1
USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Lynn > History of Lynn, Essex county, Massachusetts: including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscot, and Nahant > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64
Gc 974.402 L993L 1151728
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01102 5134
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyoflynness00lewi_0
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HISTORY
I.s. Miriam
OF
LYNN,
Essex County, Massachusetts :
7
1
INCLUDING
LYNNFIELD, SAUGUS, SWAMPSCOT,
AND
NAHANT.
BY ALONZO LEWIS AND JAMES R. NEWHALL.
BOSTON : JOHN L. SHOREY, PUBLISHER, 13 WASHINGTON STREET. 1865.
1
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1865, by JAMES R. NEWHALL In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.
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PREFACE.
0 1151728
ALONZO LEWIS, the accomplished historian of Lynn, died on the twenty-first day of January, 1861. A few years before his death he proposed publishing a new edition of his work, which appeared in 1844, comprised in a volume of 278 pages. But unforeseen obstacles occurred, and his design was never accom- plished. The few papers left by him came into the possession of the individual whose name is associated with his in the title- page of this volume; but they proved of scarcely any value, consisting as they did of loose notes, mostly in pencil, mixed with surveying calculations, poetic effusions, and all sorts of memoranda ; and a large portion were incapable of being deci- phered. I was, therefore, compelled to lay almost every parti- cle aside, and simply take his former edition, and add to it such matters of interest as were derived from my own ori- ginal investigations. It is probable that he intended to pre- pare his work as it passed through the press, merely taking care to keep just a-head of the printer; though it is barely possible that some prepared pages may have been destroyed by the fire which occurred at the cottage after his decease.
I have not felt at liberty to alter the text of Mr. Lewis - excepting, of course, to here and there correct an obvious error, like an error of the press, or mere slip in transcribing - or in any way make him responsible for matter not his own; and hence have indicated by brackets all the material additions and corrections that I have made.
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PREFACE.
It is quite impossible to avoid an occasional error in a work of this kind. In the multitude of dates, names, and detached facts, where there are no connections and associations to prompt the mind, the most lively watchfulness will not be rewarded with entire success. Errors of the press are particu- larly liable to occur in works where figures are freely used ; because in fonts of type the figures are all of one size, while the letters vary in their proportions, and the printer, who readily distinguishe's a wrong letter by the mere sense of feel- ing is at fault with that sense, when his fingers seize a figure. The closing lines of Mather's Magnalia are so apt, that the temptation to introduce them here is irresistible : " Reader, Carthagena was of the mind that unto those three things which the ancients held impossible, there should be added this fourth : to find a book printed without erratas. It seems the hands of Briareus and the eyes of Argus will not prevent them." And elsewhere he says: "The holy Bible itself, in some of its edi- tions, hath been affronted with scandalous errors of the press- work; and one of them so printed those words, Psalms, 119, 161 : 'Printers have persecuted me,' &c." It is, however, be- lieved, with some confidence, that this volume will be found as, free from errors as a work of the kind can well be made.
It seemed necessary to bring along the histories of Lynn and her municipal progeny - Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscot, and Nahant-in a united form, as much confusion would ensue from an attempt to separate what was so blended; the tables at the close of the volume, embrace all that it appeared requisite to give in separate form.
I have followed Mr Lewis's plan, when giving quotations from old records, of presenting them with all their vagaries of orthography and syntax. Many have been puzzled to find a reason for the diversity of spelling indulged in by the old worthies; they often seeming to have used every effort to
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PREFACE.
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give a word in as many shapes as possible. But I have come to the conclusion that they were either curiously experimenting with the language, or considered the style ornamental.
It may be observed that I have not been so prodigal of titles as is common with some. But this should not be attributed to a disposition to detract from the dignity of any one; for the fact is that "Esq." and "Hon." have now come to be so profusely, improperly, and even ridiculously applied, that they have ceased to become any thing like safe testimonials of rank or worth. And it is quite refreshing to see a name without meretricious adornment. It must be a weak name that cannot stand without a crutch; and all titles of dignity, when worn by those whose lives do not become them, are debasing rather than ennobling, impressing all well-ordered minds with a sense of irony. But these remarks may be unnecessary, as it is hardly probable that the omission of titles would be noticed by any, excepting, perhaps, a few who might feel themselves wronged by the omission. Anciently there was more discrimination in the use of titles, if there was not less love of them. Mister or Master was a title of dignity, awarded to magistrates, ministers, doctors, and generally to those who had taken the freeman's oath ; and on some occasions individuals were deprived of it, by special law, as a punishment. Goodman was the prefix of those who had not attained to any dignity, nor had taken the freeman's oath. Military titles were highly prized; and as exposure to perils might be necessary for their legitimate attainment the baptismal font was sometimes resorted to for the bestowal; and it will be by no means a matter of wonder if "Honorables" are presently made in the same way. Conceit and ambition have done a great many worse things. There was a delicate custom that prevailed to some extent even down to the present century, which deserves mentioning - the custom of giving to all respectable women who had attained
A*
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PREFACE.
middle life - those who had never been wedded as well as those who had -the prefix of Mrs. or Mistress. This, however, is not so convenient, in some respects, as our custom, and has occa- sioned errors among genealogists who did not keep it in mind.
In designating a particular century, I have adopted, in place of the old form, a mode of expression that seems more readily to fix the right time in the mind. Instead, for instance, of calling the century beginning with 1600, the seventeenth, and that beginning with 1700, the eighteenth, the first is designated as century 1600, and the latter as century 1700. This seems in accordance with the mode of expression usual in similar cases.
It may not be inappropriate to mention that the types for every page of this volume were set by my own hands. There are divers things necessary to the decent appearance of any work, about which the author has, ordinarily, no occasion to trouble himself; but when he is compelled to assume the burden his labors are greatly increased. The exactness required in everything touching the mechanical department of book making is a source of care and perplexity. And then, in a critical point of view, the late fantastical innovations in the spelling, com- pounding, and capitalizing of words, and the punctuating of sentences, demand constant attention, if any thing like uniform- ity would be preserved. But it may be unwise to volunteer dis- closures that show responsibility. A local work, like this, must always be put through the press in the most economical way, or pecuniary loss is sure to ensue; and the present is issued not without apprehension on the point. But here it is, with its imperfections on its head. It was prepared during hours filched from the duties of an exacting profession, and sometimes from needed rest. Yet the labor was pleasant. And if the reader derives as much enjoyment from the perusal as the writer did from the preparation, and he escapes absolute pecuniary loss, he is ready to declare himself abundantly satisfied. J. R. N. ,
ORDER OF THIS HISTORY.,
CHAPTER I., BEGINNING ON PAGE 9:
Embraces Introductory Remarks - Notices of the Early Voyages and Discoveries in and about our territory - An account of the Indians found here, with brief Biograph- ical Sketches of some of the more prominent -Topograph- ical and general Descriptions, with notices of Natural History and Phenomena- Facts concerning the Business Enterprises and Employments of the Settlers, and their Religious Character, Manners, and peculiar Customs. CHAPTER II., BEGINNING ON PAGE 111:
Carries forward our History, year by year, in the form of Annals, giving all important events under the appropriate dates, from the time of the first settlement, in 1629, to the year 1865 -interspersed with brief notices of prominent individuals, and other matters deemed pertinent.
CHAPTER III. BEGINNING ON PAGE 479 :
Contains Biographical Sketches of various Natives of Lynn who from position, endowments or acts seemed enti- tled to some special notice.
CHAPTER IV., BEGINNING ON PAGE 575 :
Embraces various Tables - Lists of Public Officers, Names of Early Settlers, Religious Societies and Ministers, News- papers and Editors, etc. - together with Statistical Sum- maries.
CHAPTER V., BEGINNING ON PAGE 590:
Contains brief Concluding Remarks, alluding especially to
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ORDER OF THE HISTORY.
the progress of Lynn during the last twenty years - and closing with acknowledgments for the friendly assist- ance received during the progress of the work. THE INDEX, BEGINNING ON PAGE 593:
Contains all the Surnames in the book, alphabetically ar- ranged in connection with the subjects. Names are so nat- urally connected in the mind with events that it is thought the arrangement will prove highly useful. A full index is to a work of this kind of the first importance. Indeed a good index is a valuable addition to any work. And the object of the threat of Lord Campbell to introduce a bill into the British Parliament making it penal to issue a book without an index, should be better appreciated by book makers than seems generally to be the case.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Of the Illustrations in this volume little need be said, as for the most part they explain themselves. But of the two Views at the commencement, it may be remarked that in the one taken from the base of Sadler's Rock, every church steeple in Lynn but three, to wit, the Union street Methodist, the Second Uni- . versalist, and the South Street Methodist, is shown. On the extreme left, appears High Rock, with its Observatory; and then come the steeples in this order: Second Baptist, First Universalist, Chesnut Street Congregational, Central Congrega- tional, Boston Street Methodist, First Methodist, Roman Cath- olic, First Baptist, First Congregational; which brings us to the extreme right of the picture. In the View from Forest Place, proceeding from left to right, we have the First Congre- gational, Second Universalist, Boston Street Methodist, South Street Methodist. And thus the two pictures give every stee- ple in town exceping the Union Street Methodist.
HISTORY OF LYNN.
CHAPTER I.
General Remarks, page 9-Early Voyages and Discoveries, 25-Nahant, Grant of, to Capt. Gorges, 30-The Indians, 32-Indian Deed of Lynn, 49-Topography and Phenomena, 56-Shoes and Shoemaking, 86- Ancient Ferry ; Roads ; Iron Works, 93-Peculiar Customs and Doings in Religious Matters, 100.
GENERAL REMARKS.
WHEN the collection of the facts composing this work was commenced, very little was known of the early history of Lynn. It had not even been ascertained in what year the town was settled - the records for the first sixty-two years were wholly wanting-and the names of the early settlers were unknown.
It has been said that the Town Records were burnt, about the year 1690; but that they were in existence long after that peri- od, is evident from an order respecting them, on the seventh of March, 1715, when the inhabitants voted that -" Whereas, some of the old Town Records are much shattered, therefore, so much shall be transcribed out of one or more of them, into another book as the selectmen shall think best and the selectmen having perused two of the old Town Books, and find that the second book is most shattered, and that the oldest book may be kept fare to reed severall years, think it best and order, that soe much shall be transcribed." A few pages were thus copied, and the books were afterward destroyed or lost.
[In 1686, Oliver Purchis was elected Town Clerk. And probably he kept the records in a careless manner, as subse- quently this passage appears: "At a Town Meeting held in Lyn, May 16th, 1704, the town being informed that there was
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HISTORY OF LYNN.
considerable concerns of the town lay in loose papers that was acted when Capt. Purchis was Town Clark -therefore Voated, that the present selectmen, with Capt. Theo. Burrill, should be a committee to sort all them papers and such of them as they thought fit the Towne Clark to record in ye Towne Booke.' The papers were accordingly sorted and some recorded. But though among the rejected ones there were doubtless many con- taining matters that would be highly interesting to the people of this day, yet it is hardly probable that anything of real value escaped.
[The sly censure on Mr. Purchis involved in the vote, should, however, be a warning to all delinquent clerks. And had some who preceded him been a little more sharply looked after it is not likely that we should be so destitute of what we now mourn for as lost. Of late years our records have been kept in a very perfect manner, and it is earnestly to be hoped that the example they furnish may at no time in the future be disregarded.
[It is well to bear in mind, however, that divers matters which are now considered entirely within the jurisdiction of the towns themselves, were anciently taken cognizance of by the General and Quarterly Courts. Town records were hence deemed of comparatively small importance, and often kept with little care; far too little, when it is considered what mischief might arise, for instance, from uncertainty respecting land allot- ments. But the living witnesses were then at hand, and the necessities of the great future could not be anticipated. Yet it is not believed that Lynn has greatly suffered from the loss of her early records. Richard Sadler was our first Clerk of the Writs, acting also, it is presumed, in the capacity of Town Clerk. And he was probably a man of education, as he after- ward became a minister in England. No vestige of his jottings are now known to exist. But should every scrap of his old book - if, indeed, his records ever assumed a shape worthy of so dignified a name - come to light, it is hardly probable that it would compensate for a perusal excepting in the way of curiosity ; for it appears almost certain that a knowledge of all the doings of real importance has come down to us through other channels.
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GENERAL REMARKS.
[Where Mr. Lewis, a few lines hence, speaks of having discov- ered a copy of three pages of the town records of 1638, he no doubt refers to those containing the land allotments. He found the copy among the records at Salem. Now this fact shows that the old authorities realized the importance of perpetuating evidence concerning the division, and hence had the pages recorded where the record would be most secure ; if, indeed, the law did not then require that all transactions concerning real estate should appear in the county archives. And does not this support the view just taken concerning the value of the lost records ? The great utility of a proper record of births, marriages and deaths, was in former times seldom kept in view. Our town books all along bear melancholy evidence of this. And even now, it is hard to make some people realize how important a record concerning even the most humble individual may become somewhere in the future. Very few come into the world, concerning whom it is not of consequence to preserve some exact knowledge, however lowly may be the estimation in which their own modesty induces them to hold themselves.]
In my researches I found several volumes of old records of births, marriages and deaths, commencing in 1675, in a very ruinous condition, and caused them to be bound and furnished with an index. The earliest record of the proceedings of the town, now in existence, commences in the year 1691; and the earliest parish record, in 1722.
I have examined every attainable source of information, to supply the deficiencies of the lost records. I have discovered numerous ancient manuscripts ; and among them a copy of three pages of the old Town Records for 1638, and several in subse- quent years, which providentially happened to be the pages most wanted. I have also found a journal, kept daily for forty- four years by Mr. Zaccheus Collins ; and another, for twenty years, by Mr. Richard Pratt; in which they appear to have noticed everything remarkable during those long periods, and from which I have extracted many interesting particulars. I have transcribed from the records of state and county, as well as from those of town and parish; and from numerous files of unpublished papers. Indeed I have spared neither labor nor expense to make this history complete. Not only have nume-
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HISTORY OF LYNN.
rous volumes concerning early discoveries and settlements in America been consulted, but the manuscript records of towns and parishes in Great Britain and other European nations have been explored.
It would have been quite as easy, in most instances, to have conveyed the ideas in my own words ; but as I was delighted with the quaintness and simplicity of the original language, I thought that perhaps others might be equally pleased. More- over, I like to hear people tell their own stories. Some histori- ans have strangely distorted facts by changing the language so as to fit their own fancies or conform to their own prejudices.
The records and files of our state government furnish much information respecting our early history ; but as they existed when I began my researches, a vast amount of patience was requisite to obtain it. Those papers were then tied up in hun- dreds of small bundles and many of them bore the impress of the mob by whom they were trampled, in 1765. At my sug- gestion they have been arranged in volumes and furnished with an index ; so that future historians will be spared much labor to which I was subjected. The papers in other public offices, and particularly those of the Essex Court, at Salem, merit a similar attention. [It would be more exact, perhaps, to speak of the papers as the records of the Colonial Courts, as there were three distinct jurisdictions within the present county of Essex, to wit, the Salem, the Ipswich, and the Norfolk County Court jurisdictions, each with different magistrates and clerks.] People yet have too little veneration for their ancestors, and too little love for their country, or it would have been done long ago. The Massachusetts Historical Society, at Boston, merit unbounded gratitude, for the care with which they have preserved rare historical books and valuable manuscripts. [And the local historian of Essex County has cause for gratitude to the Essex Institute, at Salem, for their exertions in rescuing many things of interest and importance that were fast sweeping down the tide to oblivion.]
I have given the names of more than three hundred of the early settlers, with short sketches of the lives of many. [And to these, in the present edition, a large number have been added.] I have also collected the names of many Indians and
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GENERAL REMARKS.
their sagamores, the fragments of whose history have become so interesting. This is the first attempt, in any town, to collect the namesJall the early settlers, with those of the Indians who were contemporary with them. I trust that no person who is an inhabitant of Lynn, or interested in the details of antiquity, will think that I have been too particular. A proper attention to dates and minuteness of circumstance, constitutes the charm of history. And the actions and manners of men can never cease to be interesting.
[These initiatory remarks of Mr. Lewis have been considered by some as giving altogether too deep a coloring to the igno- rance that prevailed regarding our fathers, before he undertook his work, and as unduly magnifying his own labors. But it is eminently true that the public in general were very deficient in anything like exact knowledge of our history. And it is astonishing how much of that ignorance still exists. Multitudes who profess great interest in the study of the past, rest satis- fied with knowledge in a most crude and loose form, and find themselves quite incompetent to impart anything like accurate information to the inquirer. The local historian is perhaps most constantly baffled in pursuing family connections ; for it is not uncommon to find respectable people who do not know the names of their grandfathers. This will scarcely be believed; but any one may relieve himself of doubt by experimenting among his neighbors. Those who have had experience like that of Mr. Lewis can well comprehend the moving cause of his expressions. And any of us would be better employed in studying than in criticising his pages. There are, even in this introductory chapter, exquisitely beautiful passages enough to impart grace to an entire volume.]
· There is something so natural in inquiring into the history of those who have lived before us, and particularly of those with whom we have any connection, either by the ties of rela- tion or place, that it is surprising any one should be found by whom the subject is regarded with indifference. In a govern- ment like ours, where every man is required to take part in the management of public affairs, an acquaintance with the past is indispensable to an intelligent discharge of his duties. The knowledge of history was considered so important by the Mon- B
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HISTORY OF LYNN.
arch Bard of Israel, that he commenced a song of praise for its enjoyment. And the relation in which we are placed cannot render it less important and interesting to us. To trace the · settlement and progress of our native town-to read the his- tory of the play-place of our early hours, and which has been the scene of our maturer joys-to follow the steps of our fathers through the course of centuries, and mark the gradation of improvement - to learn who and what they were from whom we are descended-and still further, to be informed of the people who were here before them, and who are now vanished like a dream of childhood -- and all these in their connection with the history of the world and of man -must certainly be objects of peculiar interest to every inquisitive mind. And though, in the pursuit of these objects, we meet with much that calls forth the tear of sympathy and the expression of regret, we yet derive a high degree of pleasure from being enabled to sit with our fathers in the shade of the oaks and pines of " olden time," and hear them relate the stories of days which have gone by. One of the most useful faculties of the mind is the mem- ory ; and history enables us to treasure up the memories of those who have lived before us. What would not any curious mind give to have a complete knowledge of the Indian race ? And what a painful want should we suffer, were the history of our fathers a blank, and we could know no more of them than of the aborigines ? Our existence might indeed be regarded as incomplete, if we could not command the record of past time, as well as enjoy the present, and hope for the happiness of the future. Reality must ever possess a stronger power over the minds of reasonable and reflecting men, than imagination ; and though fiction frequently asserts, and sometimes acquires the ascendancy, it is generally when she appears dressed in the habiliments of probability and historical truth.
Among the pleasures of the mind, there are few which afford more unalloyed gratification than that which arises from the remembrance of the loved and familiar objects of home, com- bined with the memory of the innocent delights of our child- hood. This is one of the few pleasures of which the heart cannot be deprived - which the darkest shades of misfortune serve to bring out into fuller relief-and which the uninter-
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GENERAL REMARKS.
rupted passage of the current of time tends only to polish and to brighten. When wearied with the tumult of the world, and sick of the anxieties and sorrows of life, the thoughts may return with delight to the pleasures of childhood, and banquet unsated on the recollections of youth. Who does not remem- ber the companions of his early years -and the mother who watched over his dangers-and the father who counselled him-and the teacher who instructed him-and the sister whose sweet voice reproved his wildness ? Who does not re- member the tree under which he played-and the house in which he lived-and even the moonbeam that slept upon his bed? Who has not returned, in sunlight and in sleep, to the scenes of his earliest and purest joys; and to the green and humble mounds where his sorrows have gone forth over the loved and the lost who were dear to his soul? And who does not love to indulge these remembrances, though they bring swelling tides to his heart and tears to his eyes ? And whose ideas are so limited that he does not extend his thoughts to the days and the dwellings of his ancestors; until he seems to beco. ; a portion of the mountain and the stream, and to pro- long his existence through the centuries which are past? O, the love of home ! it was implanted in the breast of man as a germ of hope, that should grow up into a fragrant flower, to win his heart from the ambitions and the vanities of his life, and woo him back to the innocent delights of his morning hours. Sweet Spirit of Home ! thou guardian angel of the good; thou earliest, kindest, latest, friend of man ! how nume- rous are thy votaries, how many are the hearts that bow before thy sway ! What tears of sorrow hast thou dried; what tears of recollection, of anticipation, of enjoyment, hast thou caused to flow ? To all bosoms thou art grateful; to all climes conge- nial. No heart that is innocent but has a temple for thee ; no mind, however depraved, but acknowledges the power which presides over thy shrine !
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