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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
Gc 974.402 B65man 1529105
M. L.
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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01100 8346
1916
WALKS . & .TALKS About HISTORIC . BOSTON
"Here stands to-day. as of yore, our little city of the rocks ; here let her stand forever on the man-beanng granite of the North! Let her stand fast by herself! She has grown great, she is filled with strangers; but she can only prosper by adhering to her faith. Let every child that is born of her, and every child of her adoption, see to it to keep the name of Boston as clear as the sun ; and in distant ages het motto shall be the prayer of millions on all the hills that gird the town; "As with our fathers, so God be with us "
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
COMPILED & EDITED ALBERT W. MANN
HH
PUBLISHED BY THE MANN PUBLISHING CO. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Copyright by ALBERT W. MANN 1917 All rights reserved
Printed by the PURITAN LINOTYPE 152 Purchase St. Boston, Mass ... 1917
1529105
ALBERT W. MANN
Introduction
A native and resident of Boston, educated in her public schools, one of the many thousands she sent forth in de- fence of the Union, a lover of her history and her tradi- tions, the writer submits this volume for the perusal of other lovers of this good old town and of citizens all over the great Republic who hold the name and fame of Boston in reverence.
The early settlers on these Eastern shores, the Pilgrims and the Puritans, were intelligent, liberty-loving. God- fearing men and women, who laid broad and deep the foun- dations of this mighty nation. They were devoted to prin- ciple. They toiled, they suffered, they fought, and, in many cases, they died for righteousness' sake. They were men of like passions as ourselves, with their faults, but their virtues far outweighed their failings, and they left us a glorious heritage of character and achievement.
In the mad rush of these days for wealth, power, and self- gratification, we need to pause and ask whither are we tending? A well-known educator once said: "The biogra- phies of the good and great have, for their direct tendency, the reproduction of the excellences they record." Let us hope that a careful reading of the character and work of some of the men herein recorded may result in a saner out- look upon life and a better and nobler use of our oppor- tunities.
The writer acknowledges his great indebtedness to many sources in the compilation of this work: to the "Boston Globe," the "Boston Post," and the "Boston Budget," for much interesting and valuable matter: to the State Street Trust Company, for permission to copy from their inter- esting historical pamphlets such pictures as might be se- lected to illustrate the articles herein presented; and his sincere thanks to all who have in any way assisted him in this work. ALBERT W. MANN.
Contents
Boston, the Modern Athens I John Winthrop, the Founder of Boston 4 The Settlement of Dorchester and Mattapannock (South Boston) 14
The Early Settlers-How They Dressed and How They Lived and Worked 24
The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company 37
Cotton Mather and the Days of Witchcraft in New England 45 The Puritan Blue Laws 5I
Roger Williams, the Apostle of Religious Toleration 56 Some Items of Historical Interest-First Things 63
Boston Streets, Old and Present Names, and Some Items of Interest Concerning Them 72
Old Boston; Additions and Improvements
78
The Old State House 88
Faneuil Hall, The Huguenots and the Faneuil Family 97 The Stamp Act, 1765-1766 I25
The Boston Massacre I34
The Boston Tea Party 147
The Boston Port Bill, 1774
167
Lexington and Concord, April 19, 1775
176
The Battle of Bunker Hill
187
"The Sword of Bunker Hill" 197
Some Famous Places of Resort for Whigs and Tories of
Revolutionary Days
. 199
How Washington Compelled the British
to
Evacuate
Boston
205
William Cunningham 210
The American Flag .214
The Hiring of Foreign Mercenaries by England to Sub-
jugate America
.22I
Samuel Adams
225
Contents ( continued )
Paul Revere, the Mercury of the American Revolution .236
Benjamin Franklin . 247 John Adams 275
General John Glover, a Revolutionary Hero 281
General Henry Knox, Bookseller, Patriot, General, and Secretary of War 299
The Charles River Bridge 309
The Exchange Coffee House 3II
The Public Garden .315
Boston Schools
.320
The First Church 326
The United States Navy in the War of 1812-On the
Ocean and on the Lakes 335
Daniel Webster and His Home in Boston 353
The Visit of Lafayette to America in 1824-1825 362
The Anti-Slavery Struggle and the Abolition Leaders in Massachusetts .37I
The Visit of the Prince of Wales to Boston 390
South Boston in the Early Fifties
Boston Common . 400
116
Boston Libraries 425
Union Bank Building, 40 State Street, 1850 428
The Merchants' Exchange, State Street 430
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes 431
Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D. D. 438
George E. McNeill 441
Temple Place 444
Parker's Restaurant and the Parker House 447
Musical Festivals 45I
The Old South Church 454
Park Street Church 464
The Baptists in Boston-First Baptist Church 467
Tremont Temple Baptist Church 47I
Contents (continued)
The Brattle Square Church 480
The Arlington Street Church 484
The Birthplace of the Universalist Church 487
The Roman Catholic Church in Boston
490
The West End Church
497
The Draft Riot in Boston, July, 1863 500
Christ Church, 1775 .508 Trinity Church 513
The Christian Science Church 519
Methodism in Boston
.521
Ralph Waldo Emerson 523
Some Views on Tremont Street 531
New South Church
539
Old Boston Theatres
541
Albert W. Mann 546
Events Preceding the Civil War
548
Massachusetts and Boston in the Civil War 555
The Boys in Blue Who Saved the Union 564
Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
568
Lincoln and the Soldiers
.569
An Illinois Soldier at the Funeral of Abraham Lincoln. . 571 Boston : Its Area, City Government and Present Standing 574
Walks and Talks About Historic Boston
Hon. William A. Morse
Boston, The Modern Athens
From a speech at the banquet to the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston at Norfolk, Va., Oct. 5, 1904.
Boston is indeed the modern Athens, and well deserves the title, for she has preserved the genius and spirit of the art and culture of her illustrious predecessor. The old Athens erect- ed a forest of majestic Corinthian columns in front of the
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Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
temple of Olympian Jove as a symbol of his might. On Bunker Hill there rises a plain, unadorned column as a sym- bol of the simplicity of the power of right. The old Athens had her Mars hill, where Paul ascended, and gazing on the beautiful, costly temples about him dared say, God does not dwell in temples made by hands." Our Athens has the old South church, where Joseph Warren entered and forcing his way past British officers to the pulpit, while drums of a regi- ment were beaten to drown his voice, dared to denounce the injustice and oppression of his majesty King George in the presence of his soldiers.
Old Athens had her blue Ægean sea, where her ships sailed to destroy the Persian fleet, the conquerors of the east, but on the shores of our Athens was built and launched the iron- sided frigate Constitution that rebuked the haughty mistress of the seas, and in the roar of her cannon, proclaimed the fact that Britannia rules no more. Grand, glorious, the gem of ancient Athens was her temple-crowned Acropolis, its summit rising to heaven and consecrated to the immortal gods, but our Athens, with the diviner light of understanding and conscious pride in beautiful Copley Square, where is gathered together within the granite walls all the best recorded thoughts of all the centuries, holds in reverence this her most priceless jewel, which scintillates with the brightness of her intelligence as she points to the inscription, "Built by the people and dedi- cated to the advancement of learning." Gone are the immor- tal gods of the old Acropolis, but modern Athens, still in the enchantment of her youth and with perfect sublimity of faith, looks toward the future by the power of her genius, deter- mined to reveal more to man of his own destiny and clearer revelation of the purposes of the infinite.
Dear old Boston, we, your sons, hold you in tender remem- brance tonight. Like all your absent children, we ever turn to you in loving thought and affection, and when the sands of life are nearly run, we want our last walk to be in the old fa- miliar streets, we want our last look to be on the old familiar faces, and as the twilight deepens into darkness we want to sink to our eternal night, our soul exalted by memories of you.
The mother may forget the child That smiles sae sweetly on her knee : But I'll remember thee, Glencairn,
And all that thou hast done for me.
John Winthrop
Founder of Boston and First Governor of Massachusetts
John Winthrop, The Founder of Boston
John Winthrop was born in 1588, in the manor house of Groton, County of Suffolk, England. He came of an an- cient and honored family of staunch Puritans. The estate of Groton was a part of the monastery of Bury of St. Ed- mands and was purchased in 1544, by his grandfather, Adam Winthrop, a wealthy cloth merchant of London, shortly after the monasteries were abolished. The son, also named Adam, succeeded to the estate. He was a lawyer, with a London practice, and sat as magistrate, at his manor at Groton, for the County. He had a fine estate, a snug for- tune, and was a scholarly and hospitable man.
John Winthrop, as a youth, met at his father's table many intelligent men and preachers of the Puritan persua- sion, for the sympathies of the family were with the prin- ciples that led the Pilgrims to emigrate to Plymouth, and, later, were to lead to the settlement of Boston, in which John Winthrop was to have a leading part. There is no doubt but that the conversations and arguments of such guests, made a deep impression on the young and plastic mind and had much to do in shaping his career. At the age of 14 he was sent to Cambridge University, not far from his home. At 18 years of age, he was converted, and be- came an earnest Christian, and at 21 years of age, he sat for the first time as a magistrate, at his home in Groton Manor, showing that he was a good student of the law, for he had already been admitted to practise in the London courts.
His third wife, Margaret Tyndale, was a rarely attract- ive character, and was devoted to Winthrop and her family duties. At this time the spirit of religious persecution was sweeping over England. Many had taken refuge in other countries, especially in Holland, and from these refugees came the little band of Pilgrims, who set sail on the "May- flower" for America. John Winthrop saw, that if he was to be true to his religious convictions. he, too, must fly to some place of refuge, so he made ready to leave his pleas-
4
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Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
ant home, his old friends, his lucrative business, and he joined his fortunes with the men who were to found the colony of Massachusetts Bay.
The settlement of the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth, was made under a patent, issued by the Virginia Company, in 1620 and the Company was called the "Council for New England," and it was from this latter Company, that six well-to-do Englishmen, secured in 1628, a grant of Massa- chusetts, which was defined as having a northern boun- dary three miles south of the Merrimac river, and its southern boundary, three miles south of the Charles river, and extending indefinitely westward. The primary object of this grant was commercial, but among the promoters were men of sterling Puritan views, and as things fell out, the Commercial Company's enterprise was to develop a predominating religious character. and this came about largely through the election of John Winthrop as the first Governor of the Community to be planted in Massachu- setts. It was an important position, needing a good or- ganizer, a man of great wisdom, judgment, integrity and forbearance. All these qualities Winthrop possessed in an eminent degree, in addition to a sympathetic nature, and deeply religious temperament. To lead these colonists meant a great sacrifice on his part, for he stood high in the estimation of his fellow men, he had a fine estate, and a very large law practice. His selection of several hundred persons, composing the company of emigrants, the charter- ing and victualing of so many ships, the employment of ministers, a surgeon and other persons for places of respon- sibility and trust, the purchase of supplies for the settle- ment, the arranging of his personal affairs for a long ab- sence, possibly never to return. occupied every moment of his time. ,
"No event of ancient or modern times is more interest- ing. as certainly none has proved to be more important in its influence on the political institutions of the nations, and the cause of liberty and civilization, than the emigration of this band of colonists in 1630." The ships' rendezvoused at Southampton and it is estimated that the expense of sup- plying them amounted to nearly one hundred thousand dol- lars. Among the emigrants were clergymen, physicians, magistrates, military officers, millers, merchants, mechan- ics, and others, possessed of horses, cattle and other prop-
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Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
erty. "In point of intelligence, social position, firmness of purpose, and an exalted standard of conscience, it was the most remarkable party of colonists that ever left their na- tive shores to lead the way in the establishment of great civil institutions." Just before the fleet sailed, Rev. John Cotton of Boston, in Lincolnshire, the spiritual guide of the emigrants, and who was to follow them to the new world, two years later, preached a sermon from 2 Samuel 8:10, "Moreover I will appoint a place for my people, Israel, and will plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own." On March 23, 1630, four of the ships set sail on their "long and tedious voyage across the stormy Atlantic." The "Arabella" named for Lady Arabella Johnson, a pass- enger on the ship, led the way. On board the same ship were Governor Winthrop. Sir Isaac Johnson, Richard Sal- tonstall, William Coddington, afterward Governor of Rhode Island, Thomas Dudley, later a Governor of Massachusetts. and others, as someone has said: "all devout and serious people in the better walks of life; leaving the strong ties of home and country, like Winthrop, to find freedom of conscience in the new world." After a stormy passage of eleven weeks, they came in sight of the shores of Eastern Maine. Under date of June 8, 1630, we find the following entry in "Winthrop's diary of the voyage": About 3 in the afternoon we had sight of land to the N. W., about ten leagues, which we supposed were the isles of Monhegan. but it proved Mount Munsell (Mount Desert). Then we tacked and stood W. S. W. We had now fair sunshine weather, and so pleasant and sweet an air, as did much re- fresh us, and there came a smell of the shore like the smell of a garden." Coasting along towards Massachusetts, en- countering fog. calm and head winds, at four o'clock on June 12, 1630, they were off their point of destination.
The emigrants had reached the little settlement of Salem, then two years old. "There Winthrop expected to find ample means sent out the year before with which to es- tablish his new community, either there or elsewhere, but in this he was bitterly disappointed."
In the expedition headed by John Endicott in 1628 to Naumkeag were six ships, and in the Company were 300 men, 80 women and maids and 26 children, bringing with them 140 cattle, 49 goats, farm implements, and household goods. Winthrop expected to find houses built, crops
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Wl'alks and Talks About Historic Boston.
planted and everything in a prosperous condition, but saw nothing but misfortune on every hand. A shipload of food had not arrived. During the previous winter, sickness had carried off So of the company. The rest were so ill and hungry, they were scarcely able to move. They were in such a desperate condition that Winthrop had to take care of them, as well as of his own company, making over 1,000 souls, that he must carry through the Winter and he had not sufficient stores to do that. He at once sent back to
1
Winthrop's Ships
England for more food. His destination was Boston Har- bor, where was a small settlement at Mishawan (Charles- town) a kind of picket post, sent out by Endicott, to hold the ground against all other comers. But according to Winthrop's understanding, his charter embraced, not only Naumkeag, but Massachusetts also, should a favorable location be found, so with his vessels, he sailed up the Mystic river six miles, to the present site of Medford. He noted the land carefully, and the final decision was that Charlestown was best suited for all the purposes of his party. In the last days of June his company disembarked. Governor Winthrop moved into a great house that had been built there, as did also some of his prominent asso- ciates, while the multitude set up cottages, booths and
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Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
tents about the Town Hall. On August 23, 1630, the first court was held, a meeting of the Governor and his Coun- cillors or Associates, as they were called, numbering 18. It was the first representative government in the Colony, and this may be called the birth of the "Great and General Court of Massachusetts." It was a religious community. With but few exceptions, all the members of the little band had emigrated to America because they could not con- scientiously worship according to the rules of the Church of England. They did not separate themselves entirely from the church and so stated in a petition to the clergy before leaving England. What they desired and asked for was a church reform without a separation. But the Church of England did not heed their petition, and the Puritans continued to stand for Congregationalism. As religious men the first question which they settled was the support of their minister. Sickness swept away several of that little band at Charlestown, among others Lady Arabella Johnson. Following the sickness came other trials and hardships. Their stock of provisions was getting low, the springs began to dry up. At last only one spring remained and that could be reached only when the tide was out. In
this extremity there came across the Charles river from Shawmut, William Blaxton (Blackstone) whose home was on the Southerly slope of Beacon Hill, and who was known as the hermit settler. He was a man of education, but very eccentric. He settled in Shawmut about 1625 and was about thirty-five years of age. He was rather tall and slen- der in form with a pale and thoughtful face. He told Gov- ernor Winthrop of a fine spring on the peninsula and invit- ed the colonists to change their settlement to its vicinity. The majority voted to accept the invitation and the colonists moved over in September 1630. "In 1634 he sold 44 of his 50 acres to Governor Winthrop for $150, the money being raised by a tax levied on the inhabitants. He retained 6 acres for his homestead, which one hundred years later was owned by Copley, the famous portrait painter.
The 44 acres became "Boston Common." The General Court at this time decided to name the town. In honor of the ancient East county city where their favorite minister, the Rev. John Cotton, preached, and from whence came several of the prominent emigrants it was called "Boston."
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Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
In the sharp, frosty weather of a New England antumn. Winthrop, and his fellow colonists, raised their roof trees in Boston, and it was with much foreboding they looked forward to the coming winter. The new location was a rough, uninviting place, its surface uneven, and covered with a scrub growth and hideous thickets in which wolves and bears nursed their young in sight of all beholders. Marshes surrounded it on three sides. Governor Winthrop's first house in Boston, was located on State Street, where now stands the Exchange Building. It had been framed in Charlestown and was moved over. A little later he changed his residence to Washington Street, opposite School Street, the site of the Old South Building. He was induced to make the change because it was in the immediate vicinity of a never failing spring of excellent water, where now is Spring Lane. Many of his associates located near him.
Winthrop's garden extended to Milk Street. That was 100 years before the Old South Meeting House was erected. The removal from Charlestown in September, did not give the settlers time to erect substantial dwellings, and many had to pass through the rigors of a New England winter in tents. The few houses that were constructed, were of the roughest materials, with roofs of thatch, and chimneys made of sticks and mud, and these houses were filled to overflowing. The exposure of the voyage, the poor and in- sufficient diet, and unsanitary condition, brought on an epidemic of fever, dysentery and scurvy, which proved fatal in a large number of cases. From the Governor's house, where a considerable number appear to have been shel- tered, 12 corpses were carried out to be buried in the flinty frozen ground. Such was the scarcity of food, that the men sconred the shores for clams and mussels, and scraped the snow on the wooded hills in search of nuts and acorns. There was the howling of wolves at night, and their in- roads by day, on their fast dwindling stock. There were not many Indians in the vicinity, but these few were friendly. In those dark days the strength of the homesick and strick- en people was John Winthrop. He was the valiant soul that gave them all courage. He tended the sick. He la- bored with his own hands to help the suffering. He shared his food with whoever was in need of it. He quelled the turbulent. He chastised evil doers with inexorable justice. He kept alive the flame of hope. To the Indians who came
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Walks and Taiks .lbout Historic Boston.
among them, the Governor put on a "brave front." The crisis came February 5th, 1631. As the Governor was dis- tributing with his own hands, the last handful of meal in the barrel, to a poor man, distressed by hunger, they spied the ship at the harbor's mouth, laden with provisions for them all. On account of the floating ice in the harbor, the ship anchored off Long Island. She had on board 20 im- migrants and 200 tons of goods. Food was immediately carried by boats to the starving colonists and four days later the ship anchored off the little settlement. "On the 22d of February, 1631, a day of General Thanksgiving was held." The long and bitter winter finally wore away and with the coming of Spring, they commenced to look for land which would yield an adequate return in agriculture. The land of Boston was too uneven and rocky for cultiva- tion. Farms were apportioned to the settlers bordering on the Charles, Mystic and Neponset rivers, and crops were planted. The Governor had one assigned to him on the Mystic river of several hundred acres, extending from Charlestown to where Medford now stands. He built a substantial stone farmhouse, where he spent most of his time in Summer and called the place the "Ten Hills" be- cause ten well defined hills were visible from it. He built and launched on the Mystic, a craft of 30 tons, which he christened "The Blessing of the Bay," in which he made voyages, on the business of the Colony, going East to the coast of Maine, and west as far as New York. Into his pri- vate life were to come happier days, for in November 1631, his wife, whom he was obliged to leave behind in Eng- land, arrived with four of his children. It was a time of re- joicing in the little colony.
When the ship arrived off the town, she was saluted with artillery. The Governor, on landing, was honored with a guard, and most of the people from the nearby planta- tions came in to welcome him, and brought and sent for days, great stores of provisions and fat hogs, kids, venison, poultry, geese, partridges, etc., so as the like joy and mani- festations of love, had never been seen in New England.
"The next day the following entry appeared in the Gov- ernor's Diary : 'November 11. We kept a day of Thanksgiv- ing in Boston."
The next few years, while full of labor and care for Gov- ernor Winthrop, appear to have been prosperous and hap-
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Walks and Talks About Historic Boston.
pv. He now felt that New England was his home, his country, for when he left England his manor house in Groton was sold. Ile received no salary as Governor, and when requested by the freemen for an accounting; he con- founded them by showing that he had spent out of his own pocket for the good of the community $6000 a good part of his fortune. He was truly the one man, the mainstay. He surrounded himself with strong men. His justice and broadmindedness made him, at all times, a tower of strength. In 1634, a representative government was es- tablished in Massachusetts, the second in America.
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