USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Annals of King's Chapel from the Puritan age of New England to the present day > Part 3
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Bishop White." A. C. Coxe, " Remarks on the American Church." - American Church Review for January, 1872, p. 41.
1 See Mr. Josiah P. Quincy's Re- VOL. II. - 23
marks on presenting a fragment of the Loyalist Samuel Quincy's Diary for 1776, in Proc. Mass. Hist. Society, for January, 1882, xix. 211-214.
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ditions, it is for his own words to tell. We copy here from some of the letters of his exile: -
Dr. Sylvester Gardiner to Col. Oliver Whipple.
HALIFAX, May 9, 1776.
. . . The General gave them [the refugees] all the assistance he could by assigning them some places in the Transports ; but there was not room to carry off any of their effects and but very little of their House- hold furniture, and what they did was chiefly distroy'd or stolen by the Soldiers or Saylors. On their arival at this miserable place, it was with the greatest difficulty they could get Houses to screen themselves from the weather. Houses did I say? they hardly deserve that name ; the wretched inhabitants took every advantage of our Misfortunes, and made us pay at the rate of 50 £ ? ann for Houses that would not before rent for five Pounds, & had the conscience to make us pay 50s. a load for load wood that would not fetch Ten shillings y" load before our arrival.1 . . . I don't believe there ever was a People in any age or part of the World, that enjoy'd so much liberty as the people of America did under the mild indulgent Government (God bless it) of England, and never was a people under a worser state of T'yranny than at present. . . .
The 19th April cut me off from all my Estate in the Country both in Lands, Mortgage, bond, and book Debts ; and now being drove from Boston, have lost all the rest [of] my estate there, both Stock in trade and the income of my Houses, that I have nothing now left I can call my own but about $400 in Cash which I happen'd to have by me. By this cursed rebellion I am drove to this wretched place, and from a state of Affluence (could truly say I did not know a want) to a mere state of indigency ; that is to say, when this poor {400 is gone God only knows what I shall do. For the present I purpose staying here during this summer's campaign, to see if it will give the King's Troops a footing in some part of America ; if it should not, I purpose going to some part of the West Indies or in some Town in England or Ireland, for the severity and length of the Winter in this place and badness of the Houses will render it impossible for me to stay here during the Winter season.2
1 Halifax was at this time a very re- cent settlement. In Haliburton's History of Nova Scotia (vol. i. chap. iv.), we find that a town was built at Chebucto har- bor called Halifax, and settled by officers and privates lately dismissed from the army and navy, to whom large bounties of land were granted, nearly 4000 adven- turers accepting the offer. They set sail in May, 1749, under Hon. Edward Corn- wallis, whom the King had appointed governor. July 14 he organized a civil government, with Paul Mascarene the first member of the Council. Peregrine Thomas Hopson, Esq. succeeded Corn-
wallis as governor, Aug. 3, 1752. Thomas Hancock was Agent for the Province of Nova Scotia at Boston. ( Nova Scotia Hist. Soc. Coll. ii. 64.) The population of Halifax had dwindled till it reached about 1200 in 1776. 1
2 John Perkins to Gardiner Greene. Halifax, Aug. 2, 1776: ". . . In short, one half of Boston is now in England, and they tell me that the Bostonians are so thick about the streets of London that it is imagined selectmen, wardens, &c., will be chosen there according to the old Bostonian method."- Mass. Hist. Soc. Proc., for June, 1873, xiii. 62.
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Dr. Sylvester Gardiner to Mr. James Bowdoin.
POOLE [Dorset], April 10, 1782.
. . . I think my Self hardly dealt by, since I left my country, in which I broke no law. I never bore arms against her, nor entered into any association declaration or Subscription against her during the Blockade of which there were many ; and Since.1 My leaving the Province was rather a misfortune than a Fault ; had I lived in any other Town in the Province except Boston, there would not have been the Same induce- ment for my leaving it. Our accounts were then very disagreeable from the country, whether true or false I dont pretend to say. They breathed nothing but punishment to those that did not leave the Town during the blockade. This is the true and only reason for my leaving the Province at the time I did and remov'd into a neighbouring one. In this I broke no Law of the Province, nor any other Law that I knew of, and where there is no Law, there cannot be any Transgression. In this my conduct was regulated by the strictest rules of freedom and liberty as we then enjoyed it ; and for this innocent action, I have been proscribed, my Estate Seized, without ever being heard in my own defence !? Is this the liberty my countrymen are Seeking after? if so, I am afraid it will end rather in tyranny. It has been said of the Dutch, and I believe with too much truth, that they were fighting so long for their Religion and liberty, until they had neither the one nor the other left. I hope this will not be the unhappy fate of my good countrymen, who when they reflect coolly and will Suffer reason to take place of party rage and preju- dice, they will I am sure make me Such restitution that I am entitled to by the laws of God and my country. . . . God grant us all grace to put an end to this devouring war, so contrary to our most holy religion, and unite us once more in that bond of Peace and brotherly union, so neces- sary to the happiness of both countries.
Dr. Sylvester Gardiner to Col. Whipple.3
POOLE, May 17, 1784.
. I dont believe these infamous Villains [who tried to get hold of . . his estate at low valuation] can be matched without it is from the worst that the bottomless Pitt consists of. . . .
1 This may perhaps refer to some such action as the following, whether adopted or only proposed : -
"State of Massachusetts Bay," 1778.
" An Act to prevent the return to this state of certain persons therein named, and others, who have left this state, or either of the United States, and joined the enemies thereof. . . .
" Pains of death without benefit of clergy. . . .
" Fine of £500 for masters of vessels bringing them, or any one harboring them." - On the Mistaken Treatment of the Tories, see Upham's Life of Timothy Pickering, ii. 114 etc.
2 He was especially aggrieved by the "Seizing and carrying off all my stock of drugs and medicines, by that theif Washington." - Letter from London, October, 1783. Cf. page 311, ante.
3 The following lines may perhaps
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ANNALS OF KING'S CHAPEL.
LONDON, July 20th, 1784.
. . . They are still in a state of Frenzy, and think their Country the land of promise, where every body is pushing to, but the impartial View is in a different light, as a state of Tyranny, & Oppression, destitute of every blessing to be found in this enlightned Age, among the nations of Europe.
The Claims on my Estate, have been most cruel & unjust, & I am at loss to say, who are the greatest Villains, those that made the demands, or those that allowed them. There is not Justly froo due to them all.1
To Paul Revere.
POOLE, Feb. 14, 1785.
Dear Sir,
I have lately received your favour of the Ioth of December & agreable to your desire I have wrote to Col. Hamilton that he would give direc- tions to his attorney MT. John Wheelwright to give you the offer of his House, which I dare say he will, & which you will be made acquainted with.
I Shall always be ready to render you or any of my old friends in Boston every Service in my Power, altho we Should not as you Say agree in Politicks ; that ought not to make any difference between Gentlemen of liberal Sentiments any more than if they did not look like each other. The contrary is only practiced by those whose minds have been tied down by falsehood & error, to criminate the innocent. God forgive all Such & grant they may see their error & for the future practice those duties so essential to true happiness, by doing Justice, loving mercy & to do unto all men as they would they Should do unto them : this is the law & the Prophets, & if he will enter into life keep the commandments, Says our blessed Saviour. My respectful compliments attend all enquiring friends, & I remain as I ever was,
Your friend & very humble
SILV. GARDINER.
Dr. Gardiner2 returned to America and made his home in Newport, R. I., where he died in 1786. The iron had entered
throw some light on the circumstances conto estate, - total, £9,300. (From under which this letter was written : - Mrs. Elton.) ". . . No one in town, I believe, will be moor happy than I shall on your return to see you again in possession of them [the pews]. Thank God, No Confistications have taken place in Church." - John Haskins to Dr. S. Gardiner. Boston, 18 April, 1784.
1 Dr. Gardiner's schedule of losses estimates his loss in real estates in Bos- ton, in timber, stock, etc., drugs, medi- cines, and depredations on his Cobbis-
2 We have already spoken in detail of Dr. Gardiner's family in a previous chapter (ante, p. 147). See Notice of Dr. Gardiner, with an engraving of Cop- ley's portrait, in W. S. Bartlet's " Life of the Rev. Jacob Bailey," pp. 290-293. Also, an interesting sketch of his early years (partly fanciful), by Esther B. Carpenter, in " Old and New," Septem- ber, IS74.
J: Gardiner
" bestest by linploy in the possession of titudes :" binnenrating .
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deeply into his soul, of his disagreement with the son who had differed widely from him in those matters of State and Church which he held dearest, and in his will he wrote: -
" To the said John Gardiner himself, I give only the sum of one guinea out of my estate, and it's my will and order he shall have no more."
Dr. Gardiner's second son, John, born in Boston,1 was edu- cated a lawyer, being sent early to London, where he studied his profession in the Inner Temple under Sir Charles Pratt, better known as Lord Chancellor Camden, and afterwards prac- tised extensively in the courts at Westminster. An ardent re- publican, he was the friend of the poet Churchill and of John Wilkes, of whom he made a brilliant defence at his trial 2 in 1763. "In gaining his case, Gardiner lost the favor of Lord Mansfield, before whom the trial was held, who procured him the appointment of Attorney-General of St. Kitts as an honor- able banishment." Here he took such an active part in poli- tics as a Whig as to make it expedient for him to quit the island, and after remaining a short time in Jamaica he returned to Martinique, where he took office under the French.3 During the American Revolution, owing to his strong Whig principles, his position at St. Christopher's became so distasteful to him that he resigned and returned to Boston in 1783, where he en- deavored, with some success, to recover a portion of his father's confiscated estates. In a letter to Dr. Gardiner on this subject, he says: " I had an interview yesterday with your friends Han- cock, . . . Samuel Adams, Dr. Cooper, &c., [who] received me with the greatest cordiality, and General Washington, in conse- quence of the letters of the French ministry, overwhelmed me with civilities during the four days I stayed with him." On this visit to General Washington, Mr. Gardiner was accompanied by his son, afterwards the Rev. Dr. John Sylvester John Gardiner, at that time about eighteen years of age. In October, 1783, he petitioned the General Court, " Although the Father hath eaten sour Grapes, yet your Petitioner's Teeth have not been set on edge, - his political opinions have been, and are in total, the very
1 It is commonly said that he was " born in 1731." Ile was baptized at Trinity, Dec. 11, 1737. See ante, p. 147. 2 Ilis grandson, the late Hon. Wil- liam II. Gardiner, possessed a piece of plate, bearing his coat of arms, which had been presented to John Gardiner by his friends, in admiration of the courage
and eloquence displayed by him in this celebrated trial.
3 Manuscript Notice of John Gardi- ner, by his nephew, the late Robert H. Gardiner, Esq. The island of St Chris- topher was alternately in the possession of the English and French, till it was ceded to the English in the peace of 1783.
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reverse of his said Father's," and prayed not to be "visited for the political sins and offences of his said Father." "His efforts to abolish entails, and the remaining rights of primogeniture, as also to simplify and economize the practice of the law, by doing away with special pleading and the somewhat exclusive restric- tions upon the admission of Attorneys - known as the bar- call- justly earned him the title of law-reformer."1 A Fourth of July oration, delivered in Boston, 1785, by John Gardiner, is dedicated " To the First Citizen in the World, The Most Illus- trious George Washington, Esq., late Commander-in-Chief of the forces of the free United States of America, with the most affectionate respect, By his most obliged fellow-citizen, The Author."2 It contains the following allusion to Bunker Hill :
" Again the battle bleeds ; nor do fair freedom's sons give way till their whole stock of ammunition 's quite expended. . . . Regardless of his precious life, disdaining shameful flight, the illustrious WARREN falls, his country's hero and his country's pride ! What though within these hallowed walls his mouldering relicks lie, without a sculptured stone to mark the spot, yet shall his fame be known, his memory live, to latest ages ! "
John Gardiner, his wife Margaret, and children - Ann, John Sylvester John, and William -- were naturalized by special act of the Legislature, Feb. 13, 1784. The Act says: "While a minor [he] was, by his father, sent to Great Britain for his edu- cation, where for a succession of years he remained a distin- guished friend to, and, through a vicissitude of fortune, hath continued an avowed and inflexible assertor of, the rights and liberties of his native country, and a bold opposer of the enemies thereof."
" In 1786, his wife being deceased, he removed to Pownalboro' with his three children, to property bequeathed to him. . . . He ... induced his brethren to resume the legal costume, which had been laid aside. To prevent walking through the street in their gowns, they agreed to robe at the house of Judge Tudor, which was next to the court house. The custom was not of long continuance. It was said to have been given up from a countryman hearing Hitchborn, in his gown, utter a volley of oaths to a man with whom he was bargaining for a load of wood, and expressing his astonishment to all his friends how the Boston parsons would swear. . . . He would attend services at Trinity Church, where his son, adher-
2 This oration was delivered in " the C. Amory, i. p. 270, wherein is a notice of John Gardiner.
1 Life of James Sullivan, by Thomas
Stone Chapel." - Massachusetts Centinel.
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ing to the ancient faith, was assistant minister, for he said he must hear Jack preach, and would make the responses from his altered book while the people were repeating from the Book of Common Prayer.2
At a meeting called at Faneuil Hall, in October, 1791, at the instigation of Gardiner and other friends of the drama, the Boston members were instructed to procure, if possible, the repeal of the law against Theatres.2 It failed, however, for the time, to accomplish its objects ; the report against the repeal being accepted by 99 out of 143.3"
In religion Mr. Gardiner was a Unitarian, and was a principal mover in transforming the King's Chapel, of which he was a Vestryman from 1785 till 1787, into a Unitarian Society. He had, says Updike, an astonishing memory, was an admirable belles lettres scholar, learned in his profession, and particularly distinguished for his wit and eloquence. He married Margarct Harries, a lady of excellent family, in Wales. He was lost at sea, on avoyage from Maine, whence he was coming as a representative to the General Court of Massachusetts, in the packet "Londoner," off Cape Ann, Oct. 17, 1793. " He had dreamed of being drowned on the trip; but he laughed at such superstitions." #
We subjoin a few letters which have been furnished by the kindness of Mrs. Margaret A. Elton : -
John Gardiner to Dr. Sylvester Gardiner. ST. Kirrs' the 18 Jany 1783.
. . . P. S. If you direct to me to the care of Governour Hancock or Mr Edward Church, Merchant in Boston, your Letters may reach me - but not one word of Politicks for God's sake, as I know not yet the Dis- position of the People there. I am a staunch, thorough revolution Whig, you know - & abhor all Kingcraft & all Priestcraft. Such have
I Willis's History of the Law, the Courts, and the Lawyers of Maine, pp. 117-122.
[The manuscript Notice of John Gar- diner referred to in a foot-note on page 357 has been shown to us by Robert II. Gardiner, Esq. (II. C. 1876). In it we find the interesting statement that John Gardiner gave to his sister, Mrs. Hannah (Gardiner) Hallowell, "a copy of the altered Liturgy, and signed his name to the Preface to show that he was its author."
A fine portrait of John Gardiner by Copley is owned by Charles P. Gardiner, Esq., of Brookline.
In the possession of Robert H. Gardi- ner, Esq. (HI. C. 1876), are two heirlooms
which have more than a family interest and are tangible reminders of two pronti- nent members of this Church before the Revolution. They are the seals worn upon the watch-fobs of his ancestors, Dr. Sylvester Gardiner and Robert Ifal- lowell, the Comptroller of the Customs, and cut with the armorial bearings of their respective families. - EDITOR ]
2 His speech, not delivered, was printed, with learned notes.
8 Amory's Life of James Sultivan, i. 271.
4 Augustus T. Perkins, Sketch of the Family of Dumaresq, in New-Eng. Ilist. and Gen. Register, xvii. 317-324. See also Loring's Hundred Boston Orators, pp. 168-172, for an extended account of John Gardiner.
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ANNALS OF KING'S CHAPEL.
been my Principles since I could judge for myself, & such I trust will be the Principles I shall carry with me to the Grave. I have however borne a Place here under his most Christian Majesty which I have dis- charged the Duties of with the utmost Fidelity & Integrity & without the least View to Gain - & in such a manner as I should have served his Britannick majesty had I been entrusted. . . .
John Gardiner to Dr. Sylvester Gardiner.
BOSTON, 14 July, 1783.
. . . It would be madness for you to think of attempting to return here at least untill matters were more settled, & the Passions of men were more cooled. . . . Were the State to admit it, nothing could pro- tect you from the Insults of the lower Class. . . .
John Gardiner to Dr. Sylvester Gardiner. BOSTON, 19 July, 1783. My dear & ever honored Sir ! 1
. . . Your Plaudits to the Souldiers, when they had returned from the Islands in this Harbour, & had boasted of the Number of Rebells (as they called them) which they had killed, are mentioned here much to your Disadvantage : and the whole Conduct of your late Wife, during the Seige, is mentioned even by your Friends, with uncommon Asperity. In short, you are among the most obnoxious, after the Mandamus Council- men & Commissioners of the Customs. Perhaps a few Years will eradi- cate Prejudices & soften the Temper of this People, who have endured much & freely offered their Lives in the late glorious Struggle with Tyrants & Oppressors, & to their immortal Honor have made their Country free. . ... Jack is with me, & bids you to be a good Whig. Algernon Sidney upon Government is his daily Catachism. Persons who cherish monarchical Principles can never live easily in a Republican Government. My Principles accord more happily with the new State, whose Constitution I think admirable - & here I hope to end my days. . . . I have renounced the name of Englishman. [Speaks of his maladies. ] . . . Die when I will, however, I will not die an Hypocrite, either religious, moral or political. I believe the Gospel & the Divinity of my adorable Redeemer - I have ever loved & constantly adhered to the Truth & my Politicks I think right, & therefore should be a Villain to deny.
John Gardiner to Dr. Sylvester Gardiner.
My dear & ever-honored Sir,
APRIL 224, 1784.
. .. It is supposed that the present most indecent & improper Act relating to the Refugees will be repealed by the next General Court. But, supposing the worst - supposing it be not repealed, you can, under
1 All his letters begin in this way.
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the present Act, prefer a Petition when you desire [or, ' arrive '] - and let it be a manly one. State the Principles you were educated & brought up in, that you had enjoyed your Property under the British Govern- ment ; - that at the Time you withdrew the regal Government was not abolished by any Act of the States ; - That, as you had adhered to that which was then the only acknowledged Government, you were afraid, from the Confusion & Violence of the Times that you should have been insulted & injured, & therefore that you withdrew for the present, never then supposing that Things would have been carried so far or urged daily to such Extremes as afterwards took Place. That, upon Reflection, no man could suppose that you could really wish ill (however erroneous your political Tenets or opinion may have been) to that Country you were born in & where all your Property lay. And that now, convinced of your mistakes & sorry for what has passed, you hope that your Country would in your old age once more admit you to her Bosom & enable you, by your future Conduct, to convince every one how much you wish to die in her Peace & see her happy. Something to this or the like effect I would humbly propose : - but if you should differ from me, I would throw your Thoughts upon Paper in the best way I am able. But if I could have the happiness to see you for one Hour before I die I should then die contented. . . . May the Giver of every good Gift look with mercy upon us !- & bless & preserve you, however he may dispose of his unworthy Servant. Your sincere, faithful & aff. though much injured Son.
John Gardiner to Dr. Sylvester Gardiner. 4th MAY, 1784.
. . . Understanding from my Brother that he had put Mr. Haskins & his Son in Law, Doctor Cost1 into the Pews at the Chapel, on Condi- tion of their paying the Taxes, & giving up one or both when the Family or any of them might be here, I applied to have one of them as soon as my Family, whom I daily expect, should arrive here. This occasioned Mr. Haskins to call upon me & ask me to spend an afternoon with Him. . .. He behaved exceeding civil & shewed me your Letter to Him, written in January last, desiring Him to keep Possession of the Pews. I was satisfied. He offered me a Seat for myself, saying he would make one of his Children (of whom he has 13) go & sit else- where : - but it will not be proper for me to separate from my Family, & as there are a great Number of Places of religious Worship in this Place & thank God I am no bigot - all Sects of protestant Christians are to me alike, tho' I prefer certain Services in the Church of England to any other, & particularly the Communion Service. . . .
The British army, they say, destroyed above 500 Houses during the Siege, & there is such an Influx of Foreigners & Strangers in the Town,
1 Dr. Thomas Kast is here referred to.
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that Rents are now higher here than in any City in Europe, & no House to be got. . . .
The Rev. John Sylvester John Gardiner, born in 1765, was sent to England with his brother William, and placed under the instruction of the celebrated Dr. Parr, who superintended his education until his eighteenth year. He was rector of Trinity Church, Boston, from 1805 until the time of his death in 1830. As a divine he was conspicuous for his virtues and eloquence; as a classical scholar, pre-eminent. He wrote the English lan- guage with great purity and elegance, "and was not without a happy talent for poetry." 1
The name Dumaresq has already appeared once or twice in the foregoing memorials of the Loyalist families of this period. A fuller account will here be of interest by its connection not only with the history of that time, but with names familiar in the present generation.
The Dumaresq family, of Norman origin, has been settled in Jersey for the last six hundred years, holding from the earliest historic periods offices of trust and distinction in the public service.2 Philip Dumaresq, second son of Elias Dumaresq and Frances de Carteret, his wife, was first a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy. At the death of his mother, having in- herited a part of her fortune, he left the Navy, and bought a ship in which he made voyages between Havre, Jersey, and Boston, and brought to this country many of the Huguenot families, the descendants of whom are still to be found here.
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