USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Dorchester > Recovery of some materials for the early history of Dorchester : general and particular > Part 1
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RECOVERY OF SOME MATERIALS
FOR THE
EARLY HISTORY OF DORCHESTER,
GENERAL AND PARTICULAR.
PREPARED FOR THE
NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC-GENEALOGICAL REGISTER,
BY SAMUEL G. DRAKE.
OVER
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VS
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BOSTON: OFFICE OF THE NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC-GENFALOGICAL REGISTER No. 56 CORNHILL. 1851.
1518
2 C. C. P. MOODY, PRINTER,-DICKINSON OFFICE, No. 52 Washington Street.
14:000
OLD DORCHESTER.
RECOVERY OF SOME MATERIALS FOR ITS HISTORY, GENERAL AND PARTICULAR.
There is some satisfaction in being able to state with confidence that any New England town derived its name from one of the same name in Old England ; but the curious are not satisfied to stop here ; they will very naturally and properly enquire how the name was originally derived, and how it came to be applied to a particular locality ? The name DORCHES- "ER is derived from a tribe or elan of people who inhabited the region so jamed in very remote ages, who were called DEROTRIGES. Vespasian reduced them to the dominion of the Romans; and what was afterwards called Dorchester was a Roman town which they called DURNOVARIA; which name appears to have come from the two Celtie words DwR or DWYR and VAR, which signified WATER and WAY : hence the waterway, the channel, &c. The name came into use on the establishment of the seat of government here for this part of the country by Vespasian .* So much, it is thought, will not be out of place relative to Dorchester in Old England. That our Dorchester was named for Old Dorchester, sufficient evidence has often been adduced, and we will not trespass farther on the province of the historian of Dorchester by reproducing that evidence here. It is peculiarly remarkable that the people of Old Dorchester, were, as Clarendon asserts, and no doubt truly, " more particularly disaffected to the cause of Charles I. than those of any place in England." And, in this respect, "a seat of great malignity, a magazine from which other places were supplied with the principles of rebellion, and one of the first places fortified against the King." How those principles were perpetuated and adhered to by our Dorchester people, a few years later, the ensuing document will sufficiently attest ; and no presumptive evidence can be stronger, than that the first settlers, very many of them. came from that famous " seat of rebellion," and that they honored it on that account is also evident, from their naming the place they had chosen to abide in after it.
Few except students in the History of New England, are aware, probably, that Dorehester was settled before Boston, or even Charlestown. "When many most Godly & Religious People, in ye Reign of King Charles ye first, did under ye In- couragement of a Charter Granted by ve Sd King Charles, A. D. 1628, Remoue themselves & their Families into ye Colony of ye Massachusetts Bay in New Eng- land. Then it was that the first Inhabitants of Dorchester came ouer, & were ye first Company or Church Society that arrived here, next to ye Town of Salem who was one year before them.
In ve year 1629, Divers Godly Persons in Devonshire, Somersetshire, Dorcet- shire & other places proposed a Remoue to N. England, among whom were two Famous Ministers, viz. Mr. John Maverick (who I suppose was somewhat advanced in Age) & Mr John Wareham (I suppose a younger man) then a preacher in the City of Exon, or Exeter, in ye County of Devon. These good People met together at Plymouth, a Sea-port Town in ye sd County of Devon, in order to ship them- selves & families for New England ; & because they designed to live together, after they should arrive here, they met together in the New Hospital in Plymouth & associated into Church Fellowship & chose ye sd Mr. Mauerick & Mr. Warcham to be their Ministers & officers; the Revd. Mr. John White of Dorchester in Dor- eet (who was an active Instrument to promote ye Settlement of New England, & I think a means of procuring ye Charter) being present & preaching ye forepart of ye Day, & in ye latter part of ye Day they performed ye work aforesaid.
They set Sail from Plymouth ye 20th of March 1629-30, in a large ship of 400
* History of Dorchester, in the County of Dorset, by JAMES SAVAGE, p. 61-66.
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Old Dorchester.
Tons, one Capt. Squeb master, & arrined at Nantasket (Now Hull) ye 30th of May, 1630. They had agreed with Capt. Squeb to bring them into Charles Riuer, but he was false to his bargain, & turned them ashore at Nantasket & their Goods, leaving them in a forlorn Wilderness. They got a Boat of some that had staid in ye Country (I suppose for Trade, for there was some on Noddles Island & at Charles- town that staid in ye Country for Trade with ye Natives, & with their goods, rowed (as I suppose) up to ye Mouth of Charles River, it being about 3 Leagues. They went up the River until it grew narrow & shallow, Intending there to set down, it being about ye place where Watertown now is. They had not stayed here but a few days but ye Rest of their company had found out a neek of land joyning to a place called by ye Indians Mattapan (now Dorchester) so they settled at Mattapan.
They began their Settlement here at Mattapan ye begining of June, as I suppose, or thereabout, A. D. 1630 & changed ye name into Dorchester. Why they called it Dorchester I have neuer heard, but there was some of Doreet Shire, & some of ye town of Dorchester that settled here ; & 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 Gov. Winthrop & ye ships that came with him arrived at Charlestown, so that Dorchester Plantation was settled next to ye Town of Salem, being before Charlestown or Boston. The Indians here at Dorchester were kind to our people."*
Though Dorchester was for a short period the most important town in N. Eng- land, excepting perhaps Plymouth & Salem, it was owing to its locality that it held its ascendancy for so brief a space. " It seems," says its Annalist, that " many that were of the first settlers were Trading men, & at first designed Dorchester for a place of Trade, & accordingly built a Fort upon ye hill ealled Rock-Hill, wherein were seueral Pieces of ordinance, near ye Waterside ; but ye Channel being poor & landing difficult, & Boston & Charlestown Harbor being far more commodious, they desisted from that design, & many of them removed afterwards to Boston & other places, so that many families about in ye Countrey had their first rise from Dorchester." t
Hence, that Dorchester should contain a much less number of inhabitants in 1641 than it did in 1637, is very probable. That such was actually the case we infer from the following facts. In 1637, a list of the names of " those that were to have land in ye Division of ye Neck, & other Lands," consisted " of about 104 Names" i In 1641 we have a list of 71 names, and in 1664, another of 102. The two last named lists we have before us, and the last all the names written with their own hands.
Although that of 1641 has been published, the names a e unintelligible to the general reader, having appeared only in fac simile. That is to say, the majority of them are deciphered with great difficulty, and some of them may be read one way almost as well as another. They appeared several years ago in that most valuable little work, BLAKE'S ANNALS OF DOR- CHESTER, (in a lithographie fac simile ) as a sort of frontispiece. Whether the editors of that work were fearful that they might interpret some of the names wrong, if they undertook to put them into type, we cannot decide, but certain it is, they gave us no printed list of the names on the document, other than as above mentioned. That said important list should be printed, no one will probably deny, and that our work is the proper place for it will perhaps not be questioned. Therefore, not having the fear of making errors before our eyes sufficiently strong to deter us, we have resolved to enter upon the hazardous work of rendering into type those venerable names. Then our version may be easily compared with the original, the lithographic copy, and other documents -and eventually the whole list may be settled beyond question.
* Blake's Annals of Dorchester, 7-10. 1 Ibid. p. 16.
# It is printed in Dr. Harris' " Memorials," but we find that it contains only 94 names. Abont 42 of these are found on the list of 1641, which we give.
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Old Dorchester.
In the Preface to the ANNALS before mentioned, the writer, in reference to the lithographie frontispiece says :
" In order that it [the Annals] may be still more valuable to the public, and especially to the numerous descendants of the first settlers of Dorchester, the pub- lisher [MR. DAVID CLAPP, JR. ] has been furnished with many of their autographs, from a page of the first book of Town Records, being the names of the male inhab- itants of the town in the year 1641, which he presents to the reader as a litho- graphed 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."
In regard to our transcript of the names, we would state that we have procured a comparison to be made of the lithographie list with the original, and that it is generally good, but several of the names were easily deter- mined from an inspection of the original, while they were quite doubtful in the copy.
We have added numbers to the names for the sake of easy reference, and to the names in this list which ocenr in the other a * is added, and to those of the same name of whom the monumental inscriptions are given, a t is added. The alphabetical arrangement of the whole is also our own. The numbers prefixed to them show their order on the fac simile.
35 Andrews, Thomas * 14 Gibson, Christopher
11 Atherton, Humfrey t
36 Baker, Richard *
57 Grenaway, John
32 Pope \ John
54 Bate, Janes
39 Hawes, Richard
38 Proctor, George
19 Blake, William *
58 Brecke, Edward
70 Hill, John y
43 Sellocke, David
17 Capen, John *
9 Holman. John
1 Stoughton, Israel
69 Sumner, William *
68 Clap, Edmund *
60 Howchin, Jeremy
22 Swift, Thomas * +
31 Clapp, Nicholas *
52 Humffray, Jonas
64 Jones, Allice wyfe of Richard
61 Tilstone, Thomas * + 71 Toplif, Clementt 46 Turner, Jefftrey
28 Clarke, William
51 Jones, Thomas t
21 Upsal, Nicholas
40 Clement, Augustine
50 Lane y William
65 Wales, Nathanaell
59 Collacot, Richard
12 Makepeace, Thomas
41 Waye, Henrie * 48 Wearham, Mr.
45 Weekes, Geo.
55 Dver, George *
33 Ffarnham, John
53 Mnninge, Edmund X
16 Wiswall, John
26 Farneworth, Joseph
10 Patten, Nathaniell
23 Wiswall, Thomas
34 Ffawer, Barnabas
47 Pearce, John
4 Withington, Henry *
27 Foster, Hopestill t
30 Pears, John
13 Wright, Henry
A few observations in reference to the causes which gave rise to the fol- lowing petition will close our prefatory remarks.
That the snecess of Cromwell was highly gratifying to the great body of the first settlers of New England requires no confirmation. and that a gov- ernment had been overturned which had been the cause of their expatria- tion and consequent hardships and sufferings, was viewed with much satis- faction by them. admits of no question. It was easy therefore for them to conform to a government growing out of Cromwell's revolution ; - a govern- ment every way congenial to their habits, wants and feelings. And having gone on under a congenial legislation for many years, a sudden change must necessarily canse much commotion ; especially as they could have no choice of rulers in England. It was certain too that if their oppressors 2
66 Rigbye, John
20 Butler, Nicho
62 Holland, John
42 Smith, John *
18 Capen, Joane, weddowt 56 Howard, Robert
25 Clap, Roger 8 Clarke, Thomas
67 Deeble, Robert
24 Diekerman, Thomas 6 Duncan, N-atha:
37 Maudeslay, John 63 Millit, Thomas 3 Minot, George *
29 Wiles, Michael 44 Wilkins, Bray
2 Mather, Richard * +
49 Petcher, Andrew
5 Glouer, John
15 Phillips, John
7 Hawkins, Thomas
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Old Dorchester.
should come into power, they could expect to be treated at least with coldness and rigor. A change came ; the restoration took place - not a restoration of good government, but a restoration of a government dependent on the will of an unprincipled king. This king's actions soon discovered to the peo- ple, that not only a reckless profligacy was restored, but, what was worse than all, Popery was to be restored with it. With such monsters staring them in the face, it is not strange that the people in " these remote corners of the earth," as they used to express themselves, should be thrown into consternation. Their rights and privileges, as guaranteed by their original charter, were threatened, and they hourly expected a royal mandate, more to be dreaded than death itself. The historian* who has said that the peo- ple of Massachusetts acknowledged subjection to the Parliament and Crom- well, so far only as to keep upon terms with them, misjudged their true feelings altogether ; and instead of giving us the minds of the people, he has given us his own. He only supposed that, under the circumstances, he should have done so.
The people of N. England had reason for their fears. They had cherished the enemies of royalty, and when it was known in the country that Charles II. had been proclaimed in England the people did not proclaim him here.
Thus matters stood about four years before our Petition was drawn up. Doubts as to the course of Charles towards N. England gradually wore upon the minds of the people. They could not resist his decrees, and to submit to them was incompatible with their preconceived ideas of prosperity and happiness. It was in this state of feeling that the document herewith submitted was drawn and subscribed.
Historians have left us but a very imperfect account of the trials, troubles and difficulties our fathers experienced in consequence of the glorious restoration, as Mr. Carlyle significantly terms it. They felt themselves in great jeopardy for years after that event. When it occurred, many of them, probably, had but very little faith in its stability. That this was the case appears strikingly manifest from some documents of that day, now before us. As early as 1662 a letter was received from Charles II., a tolerable copy of which may be read in Hutchinson's Collection of Original Papers. That the letter was very unacceptable to the colony is set in a clear light, by the manner of its reception in a single important town. Copies were probably sent to all the towns, though we have met with but one of them, and that was sent to Woburn. It was thus directed :- " To YE CONSTABLE OF WOOBERNE WHO IS HEREBY REQUIRED TO PUBLISH OR CAUSE THE SAME TO BE PUBLISHED AT A GENERALL TOUNE MEET- ING THERE." How speedily it went from the " Generall Covrt" to Woburn, does not appear, but it was returned with the following endorsement upon it :- "This is to Certify whom it may concern, that I Thomas Dutton of woobovrn do acknowledg, that on request of several inhabitants of the said tovn, did procvre this Letter of the secretary & gane it to the ConstabLe Isack CoLe who refused it, & so i brought it again this 8 of Desember 62. THOMAS DUTTEN." " Witness : Moses Cleveland, John Baker, & willjam Simons."
Perhaps the records of Woburn may throw some further light on the affair ; and did our limits allow, we could add much more about the state of things here then, growing out of the restoration. But justice cannot be done it in one page nor two, and we must leave it for some future historian of Massachusetts to do ; for notwithstanding the many splendid works upon our history, " general and particular," many subjects of the greatest impor-
* Hutchinson.
7
Old Dorchester.
tance are left untouched. It is easy to state great results, for they are monuments everywhere, but what produced them, is quite a different thing.
Besides what may be found in Hutchinson's History, there are a few items of interest in Morton's Memorial, relative to the affairs of the times under consideration.
In the notices of the signers of our petition I have aimed at brevity, and intended to give nothing concerning them which is common elsewhere ; and it is hoped that, what is here done in that particular, may render assistance to such of their descendants as may now or hereafter seek for this kind of information. In this department the Editor acknowledges with great plea- sure, the very important assistance he has received from his Antiquarian friend, MR. WILLIAM B. TRASK, of Dorchester, to whom the Register had before been much indebted for his accurate transcript of all the early inserip- tions of that town. And in this connection we will observe, that, it must be borne in mind, respecting what is added to the names in these lists, that no pretension is made of completeness, nor have we presumed to supply anything beyond the records of the town, the wills, &e., in Boston, except in a few instances. In our desire to avoid the frequent repetition of those vexations adverbs, perhaps, probably, &c., we may have sometimes erred, but we have used our best judgment, and hope and are willing that others may do better.
Our dates are given strictly according to the records ; and if we have not double dated sometimes between the 1st of Jan. and the 25th of March, it is because the record is not so dated. Having used no abbreviations not obvious from their situation, no explanation is deemed necessary.
To the Honrd. Gournr. the Deputy Gournr. together with the rest of the honrd. magistrates & house of Deputyes. Assembled in Generall court at Boston this nineteenth day of October, 1664. The Petition off the Inhabitants of Dorchester : Humbly sheweth :
First of all That wee doe acknowledge it with all Thankfullness to God & to yourselues as a great merey, that the Lord was pleased to put it into yor harts, in your late session to expresse & declare, That it is yor resolution (god assisting) to beare faith & true Alegiance vnto his majesteye, And to adhere vnto our Patent the dutyes and priuilidges thereof, soe dearly obtained & soe long enjoyed by vndoubted right in the sight of god & men : Lik wise we doe acknowledg it a fauor from god in directing The Honrd Counsill in a late meeting of theers at Boston to giue forth such a declaration wherin they doe recite the sence of sundry perticu- lers, what or power and priuilidges are granted to vs in the said patent, as this is one that, full power & authority is granted to this collonye for making and execut- ing all lawes for the gourment of this people not repugnant to the lawes of Eng- land, Another is that it shall be lawfull for this gournint by all fitting meanes & if need bee by force of armes to deffend orselues against all such as shall attempt the detriment or anoyance of this plantation or the inhabitants thereof; some lawes they recite that are established & printed in reference to the former. i. e. to vphold & maintaine the said goverment.
All which considered it is our humble request vnto this Honrd Court, That as you hane expressed & declared your resolution, to adhere to ye patent & ye privi- lidges thereof, for there may be a constancy therein & noe declining from the same, ffor you know how vncomfortable & dishonrable it would be first to expresse such a resolution as affore mentioned, & afterward to act contrary, wch wee hope is farre from yor intention, And we pray god that such a thing may neuer bee. It is well known how his Royall majesy by letters to this collony doth confirme the said pattent & charter, & promisethi that wee shall Injoy all the libertyes & priuilidges granted in & by the same, wch may be a further & great incouragmt to yorselues to adhere to your proffessed resolution, & to take courage by your authority & wis- dome, that all the people within this jurisdiction may also doe the same.
Next of all, full power being granted by the patant for making & executing all lawes not repugnant to the lawes of England, some one of the lawes here estab-
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Old Dorchester.
lished being this : That noe injustice shall bee put vpon any church officer or member, In point of doctrine worship or Discipline, whether for substance or sir- cumstance besides the Institutions of the Lord" Therfor it is our Humble request that the liberty of or churches & faithfull ministry in this collony may bee still continued, without the imposition of any such Injunetion not ordained of god, weh consciences truly tender would be troubled withall, but that as hitherto our churches & ministers haue bine freed from such human Inventions & impositions, soe they may bee still, it being well knowne to the world that to be freed therefrom was one spetiall cause that moued many to remoue from their deare natiue country Into this wilderness, & how lamentable & grieneous it would bee to be here bur- dened & encombered againe with such matters is easy for any to Judge.
Thirdly, The patent expresly granting that the yeilding & pajng of the fift part of the oare of gold & siluer shal be for & in respect of all dutyes & demands & ser- uices wtsoeuer, Therfore we humbly Intreat that the Inhabitants of this collony may not bee vrged & compelled to make any other pajmts but what is by patent exspres- sed, vnto any person or persons wtsoeur but such as doe here reside & dwell, & are by the country chasen to labor amongst vs in this church & eiuil gouermt. for the low estate & condition whervnto the chardg of this wilderness worke & the afflieting prouidences of god haue brought many vnto is knowne to bee such, that small por- tions & sallaryes euen much below there deserts are afforded to many that labor amongst vs both in church & comon wealth, And therefore to impose further taxes & paiments on the country weh the patent requireth not but freeth vs from, seemeth to bee difficult vnreasonable if not impossible to bee borne, & therfor we humbly desire it may be prevented
Much honerd we haue none other on earth to flee vnto but yourselues into whose hands vnder god wee haue eomitted the care & presernation of all our pretious things, hoping that this great trust by god & his people by you shalbe duly obserued : we also engage orselfe to assist as we haue hitherto with or persons & estates so farre as the Lord shall enable vs. vnto whom we also pray for his spetiall guidance & grace to be with you in this soe great a work .*
[In our copy of the names, we have adhered exactly to the original, noting wherever there is uncertainty in what is said afterwards. For the sake of conveni- ence of reference they have been set in alphabetical order, the numbers against them showing their precedence on the original paper. By which it would seem that no order of rank was aimed at in procuring the subscribers. Who drew up the Petition does not appear, and it is difficult to say whether it be in the hand- writing of any one of the signers or not.]
93 Andrews, Thomas, sen.# 20 Bradley, William 15 Clap, Nehemiah
94 Andrew, Thomas, junr. 74 Browne, Edmond
28 Baall, ffrances 24 Capen, Barnard
60 Ball, Mathew 79 Capen, John, sen. * +
47 Cumin, David
101 Baker, John 8 Capen, John, Jr.
1 Curtis, Richard
78 Baker, Richard * 23 Capen, Samuell
45 Dier, George *
12 Bird, Thomas t
51 Clapp, Nicholas *
2 Davenport, Thomas,sen
22 Burd, iosplı
10 Clap, Ebenezer
4 Davenport, Thomas jun
33 Blackman, John
50 Clap, Edmund *
30 Elder, Daniel
98 Blake, James t 7 Clap, Ezra
71 Enens, Mathias
5 Blake, Will *
11 Clap, Increase
99 Euens, Richard
64 Boulton, Nicolas VR
13 Clap, Nathaniell
43 Fisher, Anthony, sen.
* There was a similar Petition by the inhabitants of Roxbury, dated 25th 8th 1664, headed by the venerable ELIOT. The other names were John Bowles, the mark of Edward Bridg, Phillip Torrey, Robert Pepper, the mark of Petter Gardner, Samvell Williams, Samuell. Scarbrow, John Franklyn, the mark of Thomas Waterman. Joseph Grigges, Samuel May, the mark of Nickcolas Williams, the mark of Joseph Wilsion, Christoper Pecke, William Lion, Moses Craff's, Daniell Eynsworth, [thus far antographs. The following are all in Mr. Eliot's hand] Abraham Newell sen., Samuel Finch, Samuel Ruggles, Hugh Clark, John Clark, Uzijah Clark, Thomas Foster, Robert Prentice, Isaak Newcel. John Pepper, William Curtis, Isaak Curtis, Samuel Davis, Abraham How, John Totman, John Bridg, Jabesh Totman, John Lyon, Robert Harris, James Frizul, John Mays, seur., lohn Nucli.
They "request the honored Court, both magistrates & Deputyes to stand fast in or prsut libertys"; & they would pray the Lord "to assist them to stere right in these shaking times."
69 Clap, Samuel t
102 Clap, William, senr.
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Old Dorchester.
31 Foster, Ilopestill, jr.
SO Leeds, Rich t
37 Swift, Obadiah
35 Swift, Thomas * +
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