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E STORY OF DUXBURY MASSACHUSETTS 1637 937
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Gc 974.402 D95 & 1135643
GENEALOCY COLLECTION
Willard C. Estes
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00085 1391 m
5
Nathan Chase, Photographer
"John Alden House." Erected in 1653.
THE STORY OF DUXBURY 1637-1937
EDITED BY E. WALDO LONG
OURZUAY
ED JI
THE DUXBURY TERCENTENARY COMMITTEE DUXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS
Copyright, 1937 BY DUXBURY TERCENTENARY COMMITTEE
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be re- produced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in magazine or newspaper.
Printed June, 1937
COMPLETE MANUFACTURE BY NORWOOD PRESS LINOTYPE Co., INC. ILLUSTRATIONS BY FOLSOM ENGRAVING CO.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
T HE Duxbury Tercentenary Committee wishes to express to the many Duxbury citizens who have co-operated with the committee, and to Mr. Edward Bourget, Mr. Elroy Thompson and others of the Writers' Project of the Works Progress Ad- ministration of Massachusetts, its appreciation of their assistance in assembling data used in this volume.
1135643
V
FOREWORD
T HE year 1937 marks the tercentenary of the founding of Duxbury as an independent town. The History of Duxbury, published by Justin Winsor in 1849, contains the annals of the first two centuries.
This volume pays particular attention to the de- velopment of Duxbury during the one hundred years now brought to a close. It is hoped that what is here set forth may interest not only contemporary readers, but those whose duty it may be, one hun- dred years hence, to write the history of the fourth century.
vii
CONTENTS
BOUNDARIES 5
EDUCATION 13
CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL PARISH 43
THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH 53
THE PILGRIM CHURCH 55
THE CHURCH OF ST. JOHN THE EVAN- GELIST 62
THE WEST DUXBURY METHODIST EPISCO- PAL CHURCH 67
CHURCHES AT ASHDOD
METHODIST EPISCOPAL AND FREE
CHRISTIAN SOCIETY (ADVENTIST)
71 ยท
BEULAH CHAPEL
72
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER MISSION HOUSE
(MIRAMAR)
73
THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY 75
CEMETERIES
78
INDUSTRIES AND COMMERCE 87
SHIP-BUILDING 88
FISHERIES 116
ix
Contents
SHOE SHOPS 120
MILLS AND STORES 122
DUXBURY CLAMS 133
CRANBERRIES 140
OTHER INDUSTRIES 142
FRANCO-AMERICAN CABLE
146
THE RAILROAD 159
CIVIC AND MILITARY ACTIVITIES 169
SKETCHES
CAPTAIN DAVID CUSHMAN, JR. 215
CAPTAIN JOSEPHUS DAWES 216
CAPTAIN JOHN BRADFORD 219
HANNAH DAVIS SYMMES
220
CAPTAIN NATHAN B. WATSON
222
FANNY DAVENPORT MCDOWELL 224
CAPTAIN ALEXANDER WADSWORTH 225
DESCENDANTS OF THE FIRST FAMILIES 227
INDEX OF PERSONS 229
X
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
The John Alden House
Frontispiece
Map of Duxbury in 1795
3
Old School House at Powder Point
11
Powder Point School and the Homes of the Westons
21
Duxbury High School
27
Duxbury Civic Center
41
The Hunt House
63
The Ship, Napoleon
85
Ezra Weston, "King Caesar II"
93
Wallpaper in Home of Ezra Weston II 97
The Ship, Hope
101
Barkentine, Benjamin Dickerman
105
A Nathaniel Winsor Doorway
109
Duxbury Fishermen 117
Factory at Millbrook 123
The First Department Store in America 127
The House of Alexander Standish 131
Harvesting Cranberries 143
An Old Drawing of the Landing of the Cable 150
xi
Illustrations
Duxbury from Captain's Hill, 1869 151
The Cable House 157
Check Drawn by Daniel Webster 167
Commission of Captain Judah Alden
171
Typical Duxbury Captain's Home
175
Map of Town of Duxbury, 1879
190
Map of Duxbury Village, 1879
191
Gathering of Elderly People, 1900
198
Descriptive List
199
Duxbury Free Library
205
Duxbury Sea Captains
213
xii
PREFACE
A T the town meeting of December 21, 1931, it was voted: "That the moderator be author- ized to appoint a committee of five to investigate and report at the annual town meeting in March next what action, if any, it will be appropriate for the town to take with reference to observing the 300th anniversary of the year in which residents of 'Duxburie growing to some competente number . sued to be dismissed and became a body of themselves.' "
As the eventual result of the report of the com- mittee appointed in accordance with this vote, the Duxbury Tercentenary Committee was formed on June 12, 1935, to arrange for a fitting observance of the town's tercentenary.
It was decided to observe the occasion by the marking of historic sites, by a public pageant, and by the publication of a historical record of the past one hundred years in Duxbury.
The committee includes Harry F. Swift, chair- man, and Mrs. Paul C. Peterson, secretary; Dr. Reuben Peterson, chairman of a sub-committee for marking historic sites; Dr. H. C. Bumpus, chair- man of a sub-committee to supervise publication of
xiii
Preface
the history; Sidney C. Soule, Charles R. Crocker, Miss Mary N. Gifford, William H. Young, George E. Green, Professor Edward C. Moore, Harry R. Bradley, Oliver L. Barker, Miss Elizabeth E. Bol- ton, Mrs. H. Parker Whittington and Walter G. Prince.
xiv
THE STORY OF DUXBURY 1637-1937
Markfull Lane
in the town there is love saw mollathe top There go smule they saw part of the server "Two of them only in the winter there is six ... . Miks which for the above are asone grind but little The books are in small the com is cheifly comisiones of Down lights,- It hout start in bolt
77 7
-
*
DUXBURY
Chingeron Line
Beach
A Mas of the town of Duxbury
B
1
-
Duxbury in 1795 (Original in collection of Duxbury Rural and Historical Society)
BOUNDARIES
D UXBURY was the first town to buy land from the Indians and receive a deed from their chief. The deed to the purchased land still is in ex- istence, the property of the Old Bridgewater His- torical Society.
Bearing the "signature" of Massasoit-a human hand of which the index finger points to the terms of the agreement-the deed reads:
"In consideration of the aforesaid bargain and sale, we, the said Myles Standish, Samuel Nash, and Constant South- worth, do bind ourselves to pay unto the said Ousamequin, for and in consideration of the said tract of land, as followeth :-
Seven coats, a yard and a half in a coat.
Nine hatchets. Eight hoes. Twenty knives.
Four moose skins.
Ten yards and a half of cotton.
MYLES STANDISH SAMUEL NASH CONSTANT SOUTHWORTH"
At the time of its incorporation as a town, the district known to the Indians as Mattakeeset, was called Duxbury by the English in honor of Captain
5
The Story of Duxbury 1637-1937
Standish, whose ancestral home in England was Duxbury Hall.
At first the boundaries were not fixed. It was in response to a petition by "those of ye cheefe sorte, as Mr. Winslow, Captain Standish, Mr. Alden, and many others," according to Governor Bradford's record, that the court on March 12, 1641, "ordered that the bounds of Duxburrow Township shall begin where Plymouth bounds do end; namely, at a brook falling into Blackwater, and so along the Massachusetts path to the North River."
Massachusetts path was the trail leading from Plymouth to the Massachusetts capital, Boston.
In 1656, a part of Duxbury became Bridgewater. Two years later, the western part of Pembroke was added to Duxbury.
On March 6, 1683, the boundaries between Dux- bury and Marshfield were defined in the following terms:
"From the Rock that is flat on the top near the house of Clement King, Northwest to the North River, and have marked several trees in the range and about twelve or fifteen rods North Eastward of Samuel Hatch's house, we raised a heape of stones, and from thence to Green's Harbor fresh, the path to be the bound, and on the Eastward side of said fresh, just above where the said way goes through it, we raised a heape of stones, and from thence on a straight line to a tree of White Oak with the top broken off ... which said tree stands by the Cartway just where an old footpath turned out of it toward Careswell and between the said ways and thence on a straight line to the South West side of Ed- ward Bumpus' land so called, when he formerly lived at
6
Boundaries
Duck Hill, taking in the said lands of the said Edward Bumpus to the township of Marshfield, and these bounds aforesaid to be the bounds betwixt the said townships of Duxburrow and Marshfield forevermore.
"In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands the three and twentieth day of February, 1683.
WILLIAM PEABODY-NATHANIEL THOMAS JOHN TRACIE-SAMUEL SPRAGUE."
In 1713, Pembroke was separated from Duxbury; and in 1813, boundaries between Duxbury and Marshfield were established-in spite of the decree of the four surveyors that their findings should remain as defined "forevermore."
In 1857, a part of Duxbury was annexed to Kingston.
The vicinity of Duxbury, described by Governor William Bradford as "a whole countrie full of woods and thickets" meets with a happier characterization by the landscape architect, Franklin Brett, who painted the word picture of the Duxbury of today:
"Seashore with a beach hardly surpassed; most interesting salt marshes intersected with winding water courses tributary to a bay offering every ad- vantage for boating and sailing; beautiful inland country, much of it well wooded and offering at- tractive sites for homes."
7
EDUCATION
RESTORATION of the OLD SCHOOL HOUSE BUILT 0 1800 on POWDER POINT DUXBURY MASSACHUSETTS *****
E. C. Turner, Photographer
EDUCATION
66 N TONE of the brethren shall suffer so much barbarism in their families as not to teach their children and apprentices so much learning as may enable them perfectly to read the English tongue."
Thus decreed the Great and General Court of Massachusetts in 1642, just five years after Dux- bury had become a separate town.
Popular interest had but recently been stirred by the founding of Harvard College, an event which made vivid the reality of the determination of the colonists to educate their children. The beginning of Duxbury as an independent town and the begin- ning of public education were practically concur- rent. It was almost inevitable, therefore, that public education should become one of Duxbury's earliest concerns.
The town was fortunate in having the advice of the venerated Elder Brewster, a graduate of Cam- bridge University, England. The full strength of his influence was directed toward the development of an educated, enlightened youth. It was but three years after his death that the General Court prescribed that the citizens of "every township after the Lord
13
The Story of Duxbury 1637-1937
hath increased them to the number of fifty house- holds, shall appoint one to teach all children to read and write; and when any town shall increase to the number of 100 families, they shall set up a grammar school, the master thereof being able to instruct youth so far as they may be fitted for the uni- versity."
At first, most of the financial support of the schools came from the Cape Cod fishing industry, a fact which has been suggested as a possible origin of the adage, "Fish makes brains."
Many of its early teachers came to Duxbury from Harvard. From time to time, unable to obtain a teacher whom it deemed competent, the town paid fines to the colony and later to the state for its failure to keep its schools open. It was almost two hundred years before women were employed.
The early teachers were as poorly paid as the school buildings were inadequately equipped. Jona- than Peterson, for instance, received as his salary as schoolmaster for the year 1733 the munificent sum of forty-five pounds, one shilling and sixpence. But, with the gathering of experience in a hitherto unexplored field, these deficiencies were remedied. The history of education in Duxbury is a story of constant effort toward improvement.
To widen the opportunity for all children to ob- tain the benefits of schooling, the township was di- vided into quarters, and school sessions in rotation were held in each quarter. Any child was entitled to attend any session.
14
Education
At first, general supervision of the schools was in the hands of the ministers. Then the selection of teachers was entrusted to three agents selected at town meeting. The school committee was first prescribed by state law in 1826.
Among the most interesting accounts of the work of the Duxbury schools of a century ago are the carefully worded reports of school committeeman Stephen N. Gifford. They indicate the earnestness with which officials of that period assumed their duties.
In recording a meeting attended by himself and his two fellow-members, Ralph Partridge and Seth Sprague, Mr. Gifford wrote, under date of May 5, 1844: ". .. we spent several hours in examining Miss W., and did not approbate her ... Miss Hannah B. Guild was examined by Messrs. Par- tridge and Gifford, and approbated."
And an official committee visit was made to the school administered by "Miss Sterns, who appeared devoted to her work; communicates with great volubility. Had a free conversation with her after the school was dismissed. Assured her of our sup- port and assistance."
Something of the severity of discipline used by certain of the teachers is indicated by a forthright protest written in Mr. Gifford's record in May, 1847. The committee visited the Tarkiln school and there found conditions "all right. The school was too still, we think. If anything is to be said against it, we believe that to keep children of such a tender
15
The Story of Duxbury 1637-1937
age sitting bolt upright for one hour and a half is, to say the least, a violation of the laws of nature and tends not only to enfeeble the body but also to produce a corresponding weakness of mind."
But that such discipline was by no means uni- versal is proved by Mr. Gifford's tart comment on his visit to another district where he "found the school a perfect hurly burly. No order or wisdom. Stayed as long as we could under the circumstances and came away sick at heart."
Schoolhouses of the nineteenth century were usually difficult to heat during the winter weather. In the smaller schools, monitors appointed from the boy pupils, were charged with keeping the fires burning in the big wood stoves. On bitter days, the long benches were not infrequently arranged as closely as possible about the stove. But even that measure was not always successful in keeping the pupils warm. Stamping in unison was recognized as an orthodox method for periodically warming cold feet. The gusto with which the exercise was performed usually accomplished its purpose.
Attendance at school during the winter was, of course, dependent on the weather. Bobsleds and pungs frequently were pressed into service to carry the pupils to and from school. But there were numerous times when the drifting snow rendered the roads impassable.
Of the schools of one hundred years ago, one of the most interesting was that at Powder Point. It
16
Education
had several claims to fame. Among these was the fact that it furnished the first example of student government in the United States. And evidence that it really was government by the students is the record of its meetings. On January 6, 1841, the Mattakeeset Republic, as the student government described itself, laid down a rule of conduct for Mr. Edmund Gifford, the teacher. "Voted," read the minutes, "that Mr. Gifford should not go beyond the sound of the bell."
That same meeting dealt with policies of study and prescribed for formal debate the question: "Ought our Pilgrim Fathers to be justified in their treatment of the Indians?" George Bradford and Roland C. Winslow were designated to speak in the affirmative, and George F. Nickerson and Reuben Peterson were to take the negative side.
"Mr. Gifford being sick," reads the entry of Janu- ary 15, 1841, "John Bradford and Jonathan Smith kept school in the afternoon." That they were earnest in their efforts to improve themselves is shown by an entry calling for an extra session at night, "for the purpose of spelling and ciphering." Here, indeed, was student government.
Since the school was located within earshot of ship-building yards and in a town where lived sea captains who could speak with authority about the ports of the seven seas, it was natural that the students should find geography one of the most in- teresting subjects of study. And it is not surprising to discover that whenever a new ship was launched
17
The Story of Duxbury 1637-1937
from any of the neighboring yards, a school holiday was declared.
For a considerable time, sessions were held during the evening, so that daylight hours might be left free for farming and such other work as the pupils were accustomed to do.
The school had been built above a creek, on piles driven into the marsh; and this location gave to it an opportunity which is probably unique in edu- cational institutions-the opportunity to fish through the holes in the classroom floor.
Erected in 1800, the little twenty-four by twenty- six school served a useful purpose for some seventy- five years.
In that same district, on land once held by the ship-builder, "King Caesar" Weston, and his family, Frederick B. Knapp, son of a Plymouth pastor, founded the "Powder Point School for Boys." Opened in 1886, the school offered a cultural and college preparatory course administered by a care- fully selected corps of teachers. The school soon became widely known; and pupils were attracted from all parts of the United States.
Mr. Knapp insisted upon high standards of con- duct as well as learning. He was determined that Powder Point should produce gentlemen who be- lieved in moderation in all things. That insistence was carried even into athletic competitions.
During a baseball game in 1900, a student named Wendell Phillips found himself deeply outraged by decisions of the umpire.
18
Education
"Rotten!" Phillips finally exploded. "Rotten! Rotten!"
"Master Phillips," came the irate protest from the principal on the sidelines, "couldn't you say decayed?"
In 1926, Powder Point School closed its doors as an educational institution. One of its buildings is now used as the National Home for Sailors.
Mr. Knapp's father, Rev. Frederick N. Knapp, was himself the director of a Plymouth school. Both father and son served terms as trustees of Duxbury's first school for secondary education, Partridge Academy.
Erected in 1843 in compliance with provisions of the will of George Partridge, military and civic leader and educator, Partridge Academy served Duxbury for almost eighty years.
George Partridge died in 1828. His will, made five years previous to his death, placed in trust the sum of ten thousand dollars and directed that when this amount had increased sufficiently to permit the erection and maintenance of a school, the trustees were to begin construction.
The will read, in part: "My desire and intention is to provide in my native town for a higher degree of instruction in the mathematics, geography, his- tory, languages and other branches of good learn- ing than the common schools supply, but not to provide a substitute for such schools so important to be constantly maintained. . . . In case of appli- cations for admission into said school or academy
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The Story of Duxbury 1637-1937
being at any time beyond the regulated number, the applicants from the town of Duxbury shall have priority ... free of assessment or expense, ex- cepting fuel and for books, paper and other ma- terials necessary in their education, and not belong- ing to the institution."
The will named as trustees Rev. John Allyn of Duxbury, Rev. Zephaniah Willis of Kingston, Rev. James Kendall of Plymouth, Samuel A. Frazar of Duxbury and John Sever of Kingston. These men were directed to elect two more trustees when the building should be undertaken, and to fill all va- cancies in their number caused by death or resigna- tion.
In 1829, the Massachusetts legislature passed an "act to incorporate the trustees of Partridge Acad- emy of Duxbury."
Before construction of the building had been be- gun, there were several changes among the trustees. The resignation of Dr. Allyn and Mr. Frazar re- sulted in the election of Rev. Josiah Moore, George P. Richardson and Gershom B. Weston. The mem- bership was then brought to the prescribed number of seven by the election of Thomas Beals and Benjamin Alden.
These seven men selected as a site for the pro- posed academy a lot owned by William Freeman and immediately began construction of a building which was completed and equipped by Decem- ber 16, 1844. The trustees engaged James Ritchie as principal. Fifty of eighty-two applicants were
20
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Center: Original home of Ezra Weston I, "King Caesar." Extreme left: Home of Ezra Weston II, "King Caesar II." Extreme right: Powder Point School. Foreground: Weston Wharf.
Education
accepted as students and the first classes were held in January, 1845.
Mr. Ritchie resigned as principal in 1849. The post was held next by William B. Edson, then suc- cessively by George Bradford, Ellis Peterson and William Wheeler of Boston. Mr. Edson and Mr. Peterson were Harvard graduates.
In 1856, Rev. Josiah Moore, one of the trustees, was elected principal, and Miss Julia Stetson his assistant. At the end of seven years, the efficient Miss Stetson resigned and was succeeded by her sister, Emma. When advancing years and failing health caused Mr. Moore to resign as principal in 1870 and to content himself with the less rigorous duties of trustee, he was succeeded by another Harvard graduate, Edmund Wright, who served until 1878. Mr. Wright's term was interrupted by illness, during which F. J. Worcester of Boston acted as principal.
During these early years of the academy's life, death and resignation caused numerous changes in the personnel of the board of trustees. Citizens who served terms on the board included Seth Sprague, Captain Daniel Winsor, Captain Briggs Thomas, Dr. James Wilde, John S. Loring, Hambleton E. Smith, Elbridge H. Chandler, Dr. John Porter, Captain Joseph Wadsworth and George W. Ford.
Rev. James Kendall, one of the original five trustees, resigned in 1854, at the conclusion of twenty years of service, and was promptly made honorary trustee. George P. Richardson gave the
23
The Story of Duxbury 1637-1937
academy twenty-nine years of service before re- signing in 1862. Rev. Josiah Moore continued as a trustee until 1878, resigning then after forty years of constructive work. The long periods of service of the majority of the trustees was indicative of the devotion with which they undertook their duties.
The terms of the principals, however, continued to be brief. In 1878, Edmund Wright was succeeded by Rev. Edward B. Maglathlin who, in turn, was replaced in 1883 by Charles F. Jacobs. In order to study in Europe, Mr. Jacobs resigned in 1889. George R. Pinkham, who succeeded him as princi- pal, withdrew at the end of two years. Thomas H. H. Knight then took over the post.
After having served as assistant for eleven years, Miss Emma Stetson resigned in 1886, while Mr. Jacobs was principal. She was succeeded by the principal's sister, Miss Stella C. Jacobs. From 1892 to 1903, the position was held by Miss Hannah Davis Symmes whose work and personality left a deep impression upon those with whom she came in contact.
Rev. Frederick N. Knapp had taken the trustee- ship left vacant by Mr. Moore; and in 1886, he was joined on the board by his son, Frederick B. Knapp, founder of the Powder Point School. Later mem- bers of the board included John H. Parks, Horatio Adams and William J. Wright.
The academy was self-supporting until 1881. In that year, the town and the state each contributed $150 to the maintenance of the school, and the
24
Education
amount of the appropriation was increased gradu- ally until 1903, when it was $1000.
In conformity with state laws governing the dis- bursement of school funds, the courses of study at the academy were brought gradually under the direction of the school authorities of the town. The trustees and the school committee worked together.
In 1898 Principal Knight resigned to accept an appointment at the Boston English High School, and was succeeded by Herbert E. Walker, the present president of the Duxbury Rural and His- torical Society. Since Mr. Walker already had served for some years as a teacher in the academy, he was entirely familiar with its purposes and problems. He remained as principal thirteen years.
During his term, stenography, typewriting, draw- ing, and athletics were added to the academy pro- gram. After school hours, military drill was avail- able to those who desired it.
The scope of the work of the academy at the be- ginning of the twentieth century is explained in the 1899 report of Principal Walker to the school com- mittee.
"The lowest class," he wrote, "is called the gram- mar class, because the pupils take the work of the highest class of a grammar school in a well organized system of public schools. The second, third and fourth year classes are called respectively the junior, middle, and senior classes, the same names having been in use when the course in the academy was three years, instead of four as at present. The subjects
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