USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Old Copp's Hill and Burial Ground : with historical sketches, 1879 > Part 1
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F 73 .61 . C7M13
Research Library
TRUSTEES OF
PUBLIC LIBRARY
LITE LVX
OMNIVM
CIVIVM
OF THE CITY OF
BOSTON
11852
18:7-8
OLD COPP'S HILL
AND
BURIAL GROUND;
WITH
HISTORICAL SKETCHES,
BY E. McDONALD,
SUPERINTENDENT, COPP'S HILL. JANUARY 1, 1879.
Copyright, 1879, by E. McDonald.
A. WILLIAMS & COMPANY, 0 BOOKSELLERS, 283 WASHINGTON STREET. BOSTON. 1879.
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OLD COPP'S HILL BURYING GROUND.
OLD COPP'S HILL
AND
BURIAL GROUND;
WITH
HISTORICAL SKETCHES,
2353.69
BY
E. McDONALD,
SUPERINTENDENT, COPP'S HILL. JANUARY 1, 1879.
BOSTON: W. F. BROWN & COMPANY, PRINTERS, 113 FRANKLIN STREET.
504
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
1
260+22
Soph 1 / 79
* F73 17. . CTM 13
OLD COPP'S HILL AND BURIAL GROUND,
WITH
HISTORICAL SKETCHES.
COPP'S HILL.
It is a fact not often called to mind, perhaps, that, of the three hills from which Boston took one of her popular names, and from which one of her main thoroughfares is named, no one retains its original form. Fort Hill has disappeared, and the name given to that locality serves merely to puzzle the young generation. Beacon Hill has long since lowered its summit, upon which glowed the fires from which it took its name. And not even Copp's Hill has been spared : seven feet have been taken from its summit, and Snowhill street has been cut through its western border. Like Boston, Copp's Hill has been known by three popular names : the first, Milfield, or Windmill Hill, was so called because in 1632 "The Windmill, which was used to grind the settlers' corn, was brought from Cam- bridge and placed upon the summit. This was the first windmill erected in the town." It was afterwards called Snow Hill, and then Copp's Hill, which name it bears at the present time ; but it is not known when the hill first took its present name. It was so called from William Copp, who owned a house and lot in the south-east corner near Prince street. Mr. Copp's realty is thus recorded on page 15, in the "Original Book of Possession" of the town of Boston, now kept in the archives of the city at the City Hall :
" The possessions of William Copp within the Limits of Boston : One house and Lott of half an acre in the Mill Pond, bounded with Thomas Buttolph south-east; John Button north-east, The Marsh on the south-west ; and the River on the north-west." The above is not dated, but there is reason to believe it was entered in 1644.
In the Probate Office for the County of Suffolk, there is a record of the will of William Copp, Cordwainer. It was dated October 31, 1662, and proved April 27, 1670. Among the items of bequest are
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Old Copp's Hill and Burial Ground.
the following : "I give to my daughter Ruth my great kettle, and little pot, and chaffen dish." " I give to Lydia my little kettle and great pot." In the inventory is a line appraising " I hour-glass and frying-pan, 12 shillings." The amount of the inventory was almost £1Io, which was quite a large sum nearly two centuries ago. His wife's name, Judith, is spelt Goodeth on the grave stone, and also in his will.
The appearance of Copp's Hill is very different to-day from what it was at the time of the revolution. At that time the hill terminated abruptly on the north-west side in a rugged cliff, almost inaccessible from the water side. Southerly, the ground fell away in an easy descent to the foot of North Square and the shore of the Mill Pond, while to the eastward a gradual slope conducted to the North Battery. The beach at the foot of the Headland, opposite Charles- town, was made into a street with earth taken from the summit of the hill, which was where Snowhill street crosses it. This made Lynn street, our Commercial street extension, and afforded a contin- , uous route along the water. Going north, the rising ground at Richmond street indicates the beginning of the ascent. The foot of the hill, at the north-easterly side, went in old times by the name of New Guinea, on account of its having been exclusively inhabited by the colored people.
Copp's Hill in 1630 is thus described by Dr. Snow in the History of Boston, p. 105: "The hill at the north, rising to the height of about fifty feet above the sea, presented then on its north-west brow an abrupt declivity, long after known as Copp's Hill steeps. Its sum- mit, almost level, extended between Prince and Charter streets towards Christ Church ; thence south, a gentle slope led to the water, which washed the south side of Prince street below, and the north side above Thacher street as far as Salem; eastward from the church, a gradual descent led to the North Battery, which was considered the bottom of the hill. South-easterly the slope was still more gradual, and terminated at the foot of North square, leaving a knoll on the right, where at present stands the meeting-house of the Second Church."
HUDSON POINT.
Copp's Hill rose gradually from Hudson's Point (which was at the north-east corner of the Hill,) so called from Francis Hudson, the Ferryman. The Ferry was between Gee's noted Ship Yard and
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Old Copp's Hill and Burial Ground.
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Hudson's Point. The Ship Yard, was owned by Mr. Joshua Gee, who also owned the land where the Gas House is, and nearly all the land on Copp's Hill between Charter, Prince, and Snowhill streets. At this Point, Annie Pollard, the first white woman who landed in Boston, jumped ashore. She lived to be nearly 105 years old. It is also noted as the place where the British landed their wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill. It was afterwards used as a fortification, and called the North Battery. The work erected by the British on Copp's Hill,-from which the British opened a tremendous fire on the Americans, which, with the fire that came from the fleet, was enougli to appall even veteran troops, and from which the shells came that set Charlestown on fire,-was on the summit of the eminence which was some seven feet higher than at the present time, and was located near the south-west corner of the Cemetery, nearly opposite the Rev. Mr. Ede's Tomb. "When visited in the year 1776, it was found to consist of a few barrels of earth which formed parapets, and three Twenty-Eight Pounders mounted on carriages, were found spiked within. The Battery was covered with a small earth-work to the rear, designed for the infantry." (An old engraving, which the writer has seen, represents a row of tents covering the side of the Hill between the summit and Charter street.) All traces of these works were re- moved in 1807, when the summit was lowered. Copp's Hill was visited by Christian people nine years before the settlement of Boston. The first visit of the Plymouth Company to Copp's Hill was in 1621, and is thus referred to by Prince, in his chronology, 1621. "The Governor chuses 10 men with Squanto and two other savages, to go in the shallop, Tuesday, Sept. 18 ; at midnight, the tide serving, we set sail ; next day got into the bottom of Massachusetts Bay, about 20 leagues north from Plymouth, and anchor next morning, we land under a cliff (Copp's Hill.) The sachem of this place is Abbatimwat, whereof the present sachem is Josiah Qunicy, Junior."
From Copp's Hill, Burgoyne and Clinton witnessed the fight on Bunker Hill, and directed the Battery.
After the surrender of Quebec, the North Enders made an unex- ampled bonfire on Copp's Hill,-"45 Tar Barrels, 2 Cords of Wood, a mast, spars, and boards, with 50 lbs of powder were set in a blaze ; this, with a similar illumination on Fort Hill, was paid for by the prov- ince, together with 32 Gallons of Rum, and much Beer." Nov. 5th, 1765, the celebration of Pope's day was celebrated by a union of the
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Old Copp's Hill and Burial Ground.
rival factions, who met in amity, and refreshed themselves under Liberty Tree, before proceeding to Copp's Hill, as was customary.
A portion of Copp's Hill, before it was so densely built upon, was used as a Promenade Ground, and a place of recreation, by the North Enders. On Charter street, opposite the gate of the Cemetery, still stands one of the old houses, belonging to Mr. John B. Johnson, which not only has celebrated its Centennial, but still retains the marks of the British bullets. Paul Revere lived and died on Char- ter street, at the west side of Revere Place. On the corner of Sheafe and Salem streets, still stands the house where Robert Newman lived at the time that he hung the signal from the steeple of the North (or Christ Church.)
On Hull street still stands the Old Hart's House, and also the Gal- loupe House. The Galloupe House was erected in the year 1724, about 154 years ago, by a Mr. Clough ; it was purchased by Mr. Ben- jamin Gallop (afterwards called Galloupe) in 1772 ; he died in 1776, just after the Declaration of Independence. The Estate afterwards became the property of his youngest son, Richard, and, at his death it descended to his youngest daughter, who married Mr. William Marble, a well known decorator of Boston, and it was sold by him in 1877, a short time after the death of his wife, to the present owner. This house was occupied by British Troops in 1775. Its timbers were cut in the vicinity of Copp's Hill.
At the foot of Hull street, stands the North Church (or Christ Church,) from the steeple of which were shown the Signal lights of Paul Revere, by Robert Newman, to notify Colonel Conant and others, who waited on the Charlestown shore, as to which way the British would go, by land or sea. The church was erected in 1723, and is the oldest public building in Boston, with the exception of the old State House, which, however, has been very much altered. The Bible, Prayer Books, and Communion silver, were given by King George the Second, in 1733, and are now in use. The Chime of Eight Bells connected with the Church is the oldest Chime in Amer- ica. They were brought from England in 1744. They may still be heard on each Sunday in the year, as in ye olden time. When Charles River bridge was opened on the 17th of June, 1786, they joined with the guns on Copp's Hill and on Bunker Hill, in celebrating the union of the two towns. The figures of the Cherubim in front of the Organ and the Chandeliers were taken from a French Vessel
THE OLD CHRIST CHURCH.
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Old Copp's Hill and Burial Ground.
by the Privateer "Queen of Hungary," and presented to this Church in 1746, by Captain Grushea. The Church also contains a Bust of Washington, which was the first that was ever made of the Father of our Country
The first Sunday School in America was established in connec- tion with this Church in 1815, in the old Academy next north of the Church, by the Rev. Asa Eaton and Shubeal Bell. The tombs under the Church number thirty-three. In one of them were interred Rev. Timothy Cutter, D.D., the first rector of the Church, and his wife Eliza, both of whom died at the good old age of 8 1 years. In tomb No. 20, once rested the remains of the gallant Major Pitcairn, but they have long since been transferred to Westminster Abbey.
The following anecdote was related by the Rev. Dr. Eaton, in his Centennial sermon delivered Dec. 28th, 1823. "The following fact, which in some ages would have excited the superstitious veneration of ignorance and bigotry, may be worth recording. Some years since, in 1812, while the workmen were employed in the Cemetery (under the Church) building tombs, one of them found the earth so loose that he settled his bar into it the whole length with a single effort. The Superintendent directed him to proceed till he found solid earth. About six feet below the bottom of the cellar he found a coffin covered with coarse linen cloth sized with gum, which on boil- ing became white, and the texture as firm as if it had been recently woven. Within this coffin was another, protected from the air in a similar manner, and the furniture was not in the least injured by time. The flesh was sound, and somewhat resembling that of an Egyptian Mummy. The skin when cut appeared like leather. The sprigs of evergreen, deposited in the coffin, resembled the broad-leafed myrtle ; the stem was elastic, the leaves fresh, and apparently in a state of vegetation. From the inscription it was found to be the body of Mr. Thomas, a native of New England, who died in Bermuda. Some of his family were among the founders of Christ Church. His remains when discovered had been entombed about 80 years. They were placed in the north-east corner of the Cemetery, and the stone so long concealed from observation was placed over them, but has since been lost or stolen. One of the tombs was built soon after the Church, in the year 1732. It is said that Gen. Gage witnessed the burning of Charlestown and the battle of Bunker Hill from the stee- ple of this Church. "Rev. William Montague, rector of this Church
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was the person who received the ball taken from the body of General Warren, who was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill." The first rector of the Church, Rev. Timothy Cutter, lived on the corner of Tileston, and Salem Streets. The spire rises to the height of 175 feet.
On the 17th, of October, 1878, a Tablet with the following in- scription was placed on the Tower of this Church :
THE SIGNAL LANTERNS OF PAUL REVERE,
DISPLAYED IN THE STEEPLE OF THIS CHURCH, APRIL, 18, 1775, WARNED THE COUNTRY OF THE MARCH OF THE BRITISH TROOPS TO LEXINGTON AND CONCORD.
The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company used this Hill on one occasion for parade and drill during the Revolution, having been refused admittance to the Common, the place, in which, according to their Charter, they had a right to drill. During the Revolution it is
"In 1775, before the Artillery Company suspended its meetings, the Common was occupied by the British army, and the Artillery Company were refused admittance. Capt. Bell, therefore, marched to Copp's Hill. Soon after the bridge over Charles River was built, there was a complaint against the street at the foot of this hill. It was supposed the proprietors of that part of the hill enclosed from Snowhill Street, ought to repair the wharf and street at their own expense. This led to inquiry, in town meeting, to whom it belonged ; some one said it belonged to this Company. Col. Jackson, their Treasurer, was sent for, and declared that he considered it their property, a mortgage upon it to them having long since run out, and that Capt. Bell, with the Com- pany, had taken possession of it in 1775. Capt. Bell was then interrogated by Col. Dawes, the Moderator : Why did you march your Company to Copp's Hill ? Answer : I was prohibited from entering the Common ; conceiving this hill to be the property of the Company, I marched them there, as a place no one had a right to exclude them from. Question by Moderator : supposing a party of British troops should have been in possession of it, and should have forbidden you entrance, what would you have done ? Answer : I would have charged bayonets, and forced my way as surely as I would force my way into my dwelling house, if taken possession of by a gang of thieves. The late Col. Wm. Tudor, who was then present said : " Mr. Moderator, the hill clearly be- longs to that Company, and I wish they would execute a quit claim deed of it to me for a fair price." The mortgage was discharged afterwards, and the street repaired by the town."
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Old Copp's Hill and Burial Ground.
said a cordon of troops ranged from Copp's Hill to the South Battery. Salutes were fired from Copp's Hill at the completion of the Charles River Bridge to Charlestown, in 1786. It is said that on Jan. 24, 1793, an ox was roasted on this Hill for the feast in honor of the French Revolution, and the horns were taken and placed on top of a pole some 60 feet high before raising it in Liberty Square. Sir William Phips, who lived on the westerly corner of Salem and Charter streets, and for whom Phips' Place was named, arrived at Boston on the 14th of May, 1692, with the new Charter for Massachusetts, and a com- mission constituting him Governor. It is said that on this corner Major Pitcairn breathed his last, at the residence of Gov. Phips. On Charter street was born the hero of the Essex, who took such an active part in the Revolutionary War.
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On the corner of Prince and Salem streets, stands what is said to be the oldest apothecary shop in the city : it was erected by Robert Fennelly, in January, 1797, and has been occupied for the past thirty- five years by the well-known druggist, Henry D. Fowle.
The British in 1775 had a battery on the corner of Prince and Salem streets. In Salem street was the printing-office of Zachariah Fowle ; in which was printed the Old " Massachusetts Spy " in 1770. The Second Baptist Society held their first services in a house on Sheaf street ; in 1743 the first services held by the Methodist Society in a hired room in Boston, was held on the south side of Sheaf street.
John Hull, the coiner of the first New England shilling, is said to have coined it at his house in Sheafe street. The Old North Meet- ing House, the second Church built in Boston, erected in North Square, was erected in 1650, destroyed 1676. In North Square was the mansion of the Clark family (afterwards occupied by Sir Harry Vane) and that of the Hutchingson family, built by the Father of Governor Hutchingson about the year 1710. The first Universalist Church was built on the corner of Bennett and Hanover streets.
"The remains of an arch was found while laying the foundation of a house on the east side of Henchman street, some forty years ago, and may still be seen in the cellar of the house opposite Hench- man's lane. It was part of a Brick arch of large dimensions that, at the time of the French wars, was built by Capt. John Grushea, who commanded the British Privateer "Queen of Hungary," and was used for a place of deposit for captured goods. The opening
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Old Copp's Hill and Burial Ground.
was at the water edge, and was discovered about the time that Lynn street was filled in ; at this point there was originally a high bank." On Unity street still stands the Brick Mansion House bequeathed by Dr. Franklin to his dear sister, Jane Mecam, and by her in trust, to Rev. John Lathrop, D. D., and Benjamin Summers, for her daughter, Jane Collis, and at the death of her daughter, Jane Collis, to her grandson, Josiah Flagg, and great-grand-children Franklin and Sarah Green. On Prince street, opposite the Gas House, stands a brick mansion (now owned by John Gourly,) that has passed its centennial. This house was claimed erroneously to have been the house in which Major Pitcairn died ; it was afterward occupied by the father and uncle of our present City Clerk.
COPP'S HILL BURIAL GROUND.
Copp's Hill Burying Ground was the second place of interment, (King's Chapel being the first.) This ancient Cemetery is by no means a unit, although it appears so to a visitor at the present time. It is made up of four tracts of land, purchased at four different times, and was formerly known by distinct names for its different parts as fol- lows : The Old North Burying Ground, Hull street, or the Old North (the Cemetery where the Gasometer now stands was also called the Hull street Burying Ground ; Charter street Burying Ground, and the New North Burying Ground.) The Cemetery is bounded on the north-east about 314 feet by Charter street. This street has been known by that name since 1708, and took its name from the Charter of King William 3d, under which Maine, Plymouth and Massachusetts formed but one Colony.
On the north-west it is bounded by Snowhill street about 324 feet, above which the Cemetery rises some twenty feet, being buttressed by a heavy wall of masonry. On the south-west about 330 feet it is bounded by Hull street, which derived its name from John Hull, the famous mint-master, through whose pasture it was laid out; on the north-east, it is bounded by Marshal place, about 120 feet, on the north-east again, about 127 feet, by private property ; and lastly, on the South East, about 123 feet, also by private property, and the Hull street Primary School. The oldest portion, that which has been generally called the North Burial Ground, is situated at the north- easterly part of the present enclosure, and is the ground concern- ing which the following order was passed, Nov. 5th, 1660. " It is
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ordered that the old Burial place be wholly deserted for some con- venient season, and the new place appointed for burying only made use of, and was recorded Suff. Deeds, lib. 53, fol. 153, as follows : ' John Baker and Daniel Turell, sell to the selectmen of Boston, a lot of land, 294 feet on the northerly side, 252 feet on the southerly side ; in breadth on the easterly end, 126 feet. Butting on the way that leadeth from the new meeting-house in Boston towards Charles- town Ferry, on the north ; on the land of Wm. Phillips, southerly ; on the land of John Baker and Daniel Turell, easterly ; and on the way that leadeth from Senter haven to Charlestown Ferry, westerly :'" and was dated Feb. 20th, 1659-60, and was not recorded until sev- enty-six years afterwards. The south-easterly of this part was that chiefly used for the burial of the Town's people, while that near Snowhill street served for the last resting place of the slaves and freed persons. The date of the first interment is unknown ; it was probably used soon after it was purchased. The oldest inscription is dated 1661 and 1678. It is a double stone, which was recently dug out of the earth by the present Superintendent of the ground, and had probably been covered over with the washings from the hill more than a century ago, and is six months older than any other original inscription in the ground.
The only entrance to the enclosure was then from Charter street, for, to the south-west of it, was situated the pasture of Judge Sewall, which really belonged to his wife, Hannah (the daughter of John Hull) as part of her inheritance. "Mrs. Sewall's father, the famous mint-master, where the New England shillings were coined more than two centuries ago, his daughter Hannah is said to have had for her marriage portion her weight in silver shilling pieces struck from the New England die." When this piece of land was con- veyed to the Town, the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company advanced a claim upon it under a mortgage held by that organiza- tion ; but the dispute was adjusted in a satisfactory manner, and the Town proceeded to use the land for the purpose for which it had been purchased. Some forty odd years after the first purchase of land, it was found necessary to enlarge the Burying Ground, and the tract of land adjoining it and fronting on Hull street, was purchased by the Town, of Judge Sewall and his wife. (Suff. Deeds, lib. 25, fol. 97. The Deed is dated December 17th, 1707 ; in consideration of £50. paid and the release from payment of an annual quit-rent of 40
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shillings for a certain cedar swamp in Brookline, Samuel Sewall and wife Hannah, sold the Town of Boston, land for enlarging the north burying place. It adjoined said place, northerly, measuring 250 feet ; southerly it bounded on Hull street, measuring across, in a straight line to the burying place, 140 feet. On Hull street it measured 180 feet ; westerly on Snowhill street, 170 feet. These purchases com- prise what is now called the Old North Burying Ground. The north- westerly side formerly communicated with Lynn street by a steep and very abrupt bank, which will be well remembered by the boys of fifty years ago, who used to claim that territory for their play-ground ; and perhaps the memory of the boys and girls of that date may carry them back to the wishing-rock, which stood so conspicuously at the corner of Snowhill and Charter streets, and the time when they formed in groups, wished, and then went round the rock singing. It is related that on one occasion while the children were going round the rock, as usual singing, the ground suddenly gave way, and several of them were precipitated into a well underneath their feet, which no one remembered anything about, and was rescued by some men standing on the street near by.
The portion of Snowhill street, now leading from Hull to Charter street, was merely a foot-path, or private passage, until some forty years ago. In the year 1832, Mr. Jacob Hall and others, purchased a portion of land bordering on the north-west side of the old ground, and by permission of the city authorities, established the Hull Street Cemetery (on the site of the gasometer,) and erected rows of tombs ; at the same time relinquishing their right to the above-named por- tion of Snowhill street, and making an arrangement with the city that the street should be a public walk or mall 33 feet in width. This Cemetery was discontinued in 1853, and the remains were re- moved to Mount Hope Cemetery, in Feb. 1861. Where Snowhill street now is, there was formerly a row of tombs with steps at each end of them, and a walk from one end to the other over the tombs ; when t] . street was cut through, these tombs and tablets were re- moved inside of the fence. In 1809 another addition was made by the purchase of land known as Jonathan Merry's pasture, and called the New North Burying Ground, and is now known as the Small Ground. The deed was dated Dec. 18, 1809, and was recorded in lib. 231, fol. 199, and is as follows: For $10,000, Benj. Weld and wife Naby sold the town of Boston a parcel of land, bounded south-
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