USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Boston notions; being an authentic and concise account of "that village," from 1630 to 1847 > Part 11
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The government became so incensed at this occurrence, they passed a law for the banishment of all Quakers on the penalty of death : four were sentenced to be hanged under this law, and two of them were executed : the others had leave to depart if quickly done ; instead of lessening their number, these measures gained them friends and proselytes ; among those, was one of the officers executing the law : the Quakers finding these laws not warranted by the Patent from the Crown, made such complaints to the King that no more executions ever after that took place.
The first meeting of Friends was on May 4th, 1664, at the house of Mr. Wanton, when a warrant was issued to seize the preacher and report the names of his hearers to the Gov .; on the 9th of Aug., 1675, twelve men and two woyien were
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apprehended at their ordinary place of worship and twelve of them publicly whipped and two paid the fine; at the next meeting fifteen were whipped, among them three women.
These severities on the minds of that peaceful people wrought something like a frenzy on their part, for it appears that Alex'r Coleman, a shoemaker, went into the third meet- ing-house in a BLOODY COAT and Thos. Newhouse went in with a couple of large glass bottles and smashing them to- gether, said " thus will the Lord break you in pieces," to the consternation of the assembled congregation.
Under the new Charter, the Quakers, Baptists and Episco- palians were placed on more equal ground with their neigh- bors, and some laws passed in 1692 exempting them from taxation ; in 1694 the quakers had a lot of land in Brattle St. measuring 108 by 25 1-4 feet for a meeting-house and buri- al place, and built a brick house thereon 24 by 20 feet; in 1708 it was concluded to sell the old meeting-house and build a new one, if they could be allowed to build it of wood; this not being permitted, they built one of brick in Congress Street on the spot where the Transcript printing office now is; the size of it was 35 feet by 30, about 1710 .- It was burnt in the great fire of 1760, and repaired the same year : the Friends were never numerous in this jurisdiction and in 1774, but eleven could be found in the whole town, and probably there is not one, now a resident here ; their proper- ty in Congress St. was sold in 1827, and the bodies in their cemetery removed to Lynn : other buildings now cover the whole area : soon after the latter date, the Friends built a stone meeting house in Milton Place, Federal St. a small and neat edifice.
1649, March 26. On this day it was the misfortune of Boston and a great number of friends on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, to lose one of the greatest, brightest orna-
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ments of human nature ; Gov. John Winthrop died : he had been a firm friend to the colony for nineteen years and exer- cised his great powers for the benefit of the plantation, by faithfully serving them in any office to which his fellow citi. zens called him, as Representative, Lient. Governor and Governor; to all he was ready to render the benefits of his wisdom and counsel : he was bora at the family mansion house of his ancestors at Groton, in Suffolk, England, June 12, 1587 ; was educated for the profession of the law and was commissioned as Justice of the Peace at 18 years of age; his paternal estate was productive of about $30,000 per annum, which he sold and expanded it principally in the service of the colony ; his time, his study and his interests were all devoted to the prosperity of the land of his adoption; with the dignity of a governor he united the perfect man- ners of a gentleman : he did not much favor the system of democratic rule, but maintained, " that the best part of a 'community is always the least, and of that best part, the ' wiser is less .?? When in England, he was of a more catho- lie disposition in religious matters than most of his associ- ates ; but after his residence here, he gave in to the intole- rance of the rulers and elders ; but in his latter days he re- sumed a spirit of moderation ; for in his last sickness when Mr. Dudley desired him to sign an order for banishing one for a heterodox faith, he would not, saying, he had done too much of that already ; he died at the age of 62 years.
The governor's house was in Washington St. opposite the east end of School St. : it was of two stories, built of wocd, which was destroyed by the British in 1775 : his remains were deposited in the family tomb on the north side of the chapel burying ground : a portrait of him is preserved in the Land office in the State House.
On Copp's Hill (at an earlier date, called Snow Hill,) was erected the first windmill used in Boston; it was removed
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from Watertown, as there it could be used only when the wind was from the west, and thence it gained the name of Windmill-Hill.
Win. Copp was the first European owner of that emi- nence ; after that, it came into the possession of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company by mortgage : in 1775 when the British had possession of Boston, the company was refused by them the liberty of drilling on the common and they marched to their own hill with a full right and liberty ; at a latter date the mortgage was discharged, which vaca- ted their right in the premises : the British built a fort on its south-eastern limb, next to the burial ground in 1774, which has been levelled for building lots.
STATE STREET AS IT WAS.
State Street was a primitive highway ; the owners of both sides in the year 1640, can be traced : Edward Tyng owned the north-east corner, which is supposed to be the south-west corner of Merchants' Row : Wm. Hudson held a house and yard at the lower end on the south side, which appears to be the only lot between the corner of that street and Mr. Win- throp's marsh, which afterwards was called Oliver's dock : this lot was probably near the corner of Kilby St. now occu- pied with the New England Bank ; between that corner and Milk St. a cove ran up westward as far as Spring Lane, where there was a remarkable spring : Mr. Winthrop's gar- den lay on the south side of that lane, and bounded north with the spring-gate : Mr. Hibbins' lot was east of him hav- ing also, the spring-gate north : then. John Spoore had the creek north and the marsh east : these three lots brings us down to the block between Congress and Kilby (formerly Adams) Street: passing the intervening marsh or water course we then have three lots which have the marsh still
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on the north and at the water side have John Compton's house and garden, " bounded with the cove on the east and the Fort hill on the south: the lots on the north side of Spring lane and Water St. were all said to be bounded south, either by the spring-gate or the marsh.
The head of a creek reached toward Summer St. and at very high tides, nearly united with the water from South St., which then flowed to Winthrop place ; the south branch of this creek covered a part of the lower end of Pearl Street, extending across the Atkinson estate : the Admiral Vernon tavern was at the corner of Merchants' Row, up to which the tide flowed.
Ann St. as far as Richmond Street occupies what was the foot of Windmill-Hill, on the seaboard : the land between Richmond St. on the east and Portland and Elm St. on the west was a narrow neck, on each side of which was a spa- cious cove, southerly from Richmond and Ann St. followed the shore till it reached the mill creek, where a natural inlet commenced, which extended to and covered what has been known as Hatter's Square.
As near as can be ascertained the name of " the core " was applied to all the water which flowed between Han- cock's Wharf and the bottom of State St. All the records of possessions north of the former, speak of the Sea or Bay, for the bounds on the north and east : there is named Thos. Joy, who has the cove south-west; Mr. Thos. Clarke next, has it south, which probably was at the foot of North Square ; (which for some time was called Clarke's Square ) southerly from him various owners have the cove south-east and north, till we come to Edward Tyng, who had the bay on the east and the cove on the north : the western extremity of this, which was called Market cove or Town dock; it was formerly called Bendall's dock, from Edward Bendall who owned a lot near the head of it; his deed gives him
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the cove north and east, which brought him not far from the corner of Dock Square; the water flowed near the foot of Brattle St. : the whole of Dock Square and Market Square and the west side of Union St. as far as Creek Lane and all east of that, to the Mill Creek was daily flowed with the tide.
1650. The inhabitants of Boston by petition to the general court expressed a wish to be incorporated as a town, but the records of that session do not indicate that any thing more was done on the subject :- suits at law grew more frequent, and many more crimes were committed on account of the greater number of people from various parts of the world and the increase of trade : at the session of the general court Oct. 1651, an order was passed empowering the town to choose seven commissioners as assistants to be qualified by oath, to hear and determine all civil actions not exceeding £10 in value, and of all criminal actions where the fine should not exceed 40%. the parties belonging to Boston neck and Noddle's Island, (East Boston) and the county court was not to take cognizance of any such actions.
Oct. 1652. John Leverett, Nathaniel Duncan, Anthony Stoddard, William Tyng, Edward Tyng, T. Savage and T. Clarke were chosen commissioners.
INSTRUCTIONS TO THE SELECTMEN OF BOSTON.
The duties of the selectmen were detailed in the following form and power, '24, Ist month : 1651, Directions for the Se- leetmen of Boston commended unto them from the town.
" Having chosen you for orderinge the towne affaires, this year ensueing, though we doubt not to confide in your wis- dom, fidelity, and care, in seeking and promoting the good and welfare of the towne, yet according to court we com- mend unto you the following instructions :
First, in generall we require your special care that the
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good and wholesome orders already made, which you have the records of, be observed and duly executed, and what other acts and orders, shall be established for future benefit of the towne, that you allsoe cause them to be published and put in execution, and further according to power given, and several lawes of the country to be found in the book of printed lawes, under these titles, Townships, Ecclesiastick, Freemen, High-ways, small Causes, Indians, Corn-fields, Masters and Servants, Pipe Staves, Swyne, Weights, Meas- ures, and any other order in force which concerne your place to regulate yourselves and carry on your worke, and where you finde defect of power to bring your desires to a good is- sue for well ordering the towne, you may draw some good orders in forme to be approved by the towne, and so to be presented to the Generall Court and our Deputyes for con- sideration.
Secondly, there are some particulars necessary to be con- sidered of and ordered by you-as first about accepting and entertaining new inhabitants into the towne and herein,
First, it is required that you make some effectuall orders, with such penalty as you have powers to impose, that none transplant themselves from other parts of the country to in- habit here without giving you notice thereof.
Secondly, to enquire of such as so present themselves for inhabitants, what calling or employment they will undertake, and if they will live under other men's roofs as inmates, then to deal with them, according to the order of such per- sons, comprehended under the title of Towneshipes.
Thirdly, if such persons were poor and impotent, such as had reliefe in the district whence they came, then to deal with them according to the ordering of settling poore people under that title of poor."
These instructions were by an annual vote continued in force many years.
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Dec. 8th, 1708. The selectmen made proposals to the Town respecting a charter of incorporation for the encourage- ment and better government of the town, and thirty-one of the most respectable citizens including the selectmen, were chosen as a committee for draughting a new and improved system of government, and on the 14th of March, 1709, they made their report, which being read to the citizens collected in town meeting ; on the question being put, if the town will refer the consideration of said scheme to some future meet- ing warned for the purpose-it was voted in the negative; on the question, do the town accept the scheme or charter now proposed-it was voted in the negative.
Most of the principal inhabitants were in favor of the pro- posed charter, but the people adopted the opinion of one of the speakers, who closed his objections to it, by saying, it is a whelp now, IT WILL BE A LION BY-AND-BY, knock it in the head !
A NEW CHARTER OBTAINED FOR THE COLONY.
However patient the people were under the administration of Sir Edmund Andros, some of the principal men had thought it an object to endeavor to obtain relief from their sufferings by a representation of their grievances personally to King James. It was proposed, " that some one should be ' sent with an address of thanks to the king for his gracious 'declaration, wherein he does promise us the free exercise ' of our religion and that he will maintain us in the enjoy- 'ment of our rights and possessions : " Mr. Increase Mather (then pastor of the old North Church in conjunction with his son Cotton, ) was selected for this purpose : he departed April, 1688, notwithstanding the machinations of Randolph to thwart him by a writ on some false or paltry charges. Mr. Mather kept concealed to avoid the writ, and when all ready to sail, some of his people carried him disguised on board at night.
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Mr. Mather was the favored man of all the clergy, on whom the mantle of the departed Cotton seemed to have rested : his influence on the character of the town, particu- larly in the vicinity of his residence, was equal to that of his beloved exemplar : " Ardent, bold, enterprising and perhaps 'ambitious ; conscious of his own power, religiously sensible 'of his obligations to exercise it usefully ; born and trained 'in a young colony struggling with hardships, and foreing its ' way through peril and fear : his mind fashioned by a father ' who for conscience sake had quitted all and settled in this ' hopeless land, who had all the zeal and firmness which ' characterized the puritans of that age, a race eminently 'formed TO DO AND TO DARE; " thus gifted and educated, he became peculiarly fit, to have an ascendancy and exer- cise a control among his associates by his wisdom and judg- ment : his scholastic advantages in youth were the best in the country and by travel and study abroad, it had been perfect- ed ; he had been driven from place to place for his religious tenets ; presented with the strongest temptations on a change of creed, yet he returned to labor in the service of this infaut state : his talents, learning and virtues united to a rigid pie- ty, gave him a moral power which few can ever equal.
Mr. Mather's exertions and remonstranees with king James II. were unavailing, and he determined to wait the result of the expedition of William to gain the throne of England, which was successful Nov. 15, 1688; when he expelled his father-in-law, from the kingdom. With the new king, Mr. Mather had an audience and obtained some few favors and the " royal promises " for more : he improved every oppor- tunity to secure friends to the settlement : he gained over many of the nobility and principal commoners ; with the whole body of dissenting ministers, whose political weight at that time was considerable.
Before any important result had taken place, the general
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court thought best to send over two additional petitioners on their behalf ; Elisha Cook and Thomas Oakes, both practi- tioners of medicine in Boston, just rising into eminence in their professional sphere, and also eminent in the political arena : they united with Mr. Mather, and the result of their joint labors were, a grant for a NEW CHARTER, which em- braced the colony of New Plymouth, the Province of Maine and the country of Nova Scotia, with the lands between the two latter joined to Massachusetts.
Sir William Phipps was appointed the first governor under the new order of things ; he arrived in Boston with the new charter, Saturday, May 14th, 1692, towards evening; on Monday he was escorted from his house in Charter street,* corner of Salem street to the State house, by the Boston regi- meut, companies from Charlestown ; magistrates and citizens of this and the neighboring towns : the charter and gover- nor's commission were then read, when the venerable old charter-governor Bradstreet, resigned the chair : after read- ing the commission of the Lieutenant Governor, and admin- istring the usual oath of office. the Governor was escorted to a public hall for dinner, and from thence to his residence.
The charter named the persons for councilmen for the first year, and made provision for a House of Representatives : writs were issued without delay and the first court under the new charter convened June 8th, 1692; a party was forin- ed for opposition to the charter, but a majority of the court " thankfully accepted it and appointed a day of solemn 'thanksgiving to Ahnighty God for granting a safe arrival to 'his Excellency the Governor and the Rev. I. Mather who 'have industriously endeavored the service of this people, 'and have brought over with them a settlement of govern-
. This name was probably given to the Street on account of Sir William Phipps' residency being there, and bringing over the new charter.
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'ment in which their Majesties have graciously given us ' distinguishing marks of their royal favor." The court al- lowed four members of the house to be returned from Boston, which, continued to be the number sent until the revolution in 1775.
It is probably a deep cause for congratulation, thanksgiv. ing and praise to the supreme ruler of nations, that England possessed a superior power by charter over the politic course of the first emigrants to this part of our land; causing them to respect the lives and liberties of those, who could not agree with them in every thought in their religious matters ; for if we look at the severity of treatment exercised towards their own kindred of pure and pious brethren, who differed from them on trifling points; their treatment of Quakers, Baptists and Episcopalians; and take that as a criterion and a sample of a government it would have been their pleasure to establish here, we cannot be too grateful for the check that was given to them : and if the pro-warranto was termed by them, as an "instrument of death," the result has worked gloriously for all future generations, by giving to them, a full freedom to worship the God of Heaven and earth, accord- ing to the dictates of their own conscience ; and for allow- ing every man to be answerable to his MAKER, and to his maker ONLY, for his thoughts in religious matters.
FRENCH PROTESTANT CHURCH.
The French protestant of the Catholic Church suffered severe persecutions for the truth of the faith in them, until the edict of Nantes was issued by Henry IV. giving them great relief from their oppressors : which ediet was confirm- ed by Louis XIV. but the conditions of it were soon violated: they were deprived of all offices and hundreds of their churches desolated.
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In 1662. John Touton, from Rochelle in France, made application to the court in behalf of himself and others, ex- pelled protestants, for liberty to inhabit here, which was readily granted. Multitudes were driven from their country ; some fled to England and Ireland and some to America : those who arrived in Boston, probably came in the summer of 1686, for contributions were made on their behalf at Salem in September of that year : in Cotton Mather's memorandums are minutes of two discourses by a Mr. Laurie, delivered September 12th and October 7th; from the tenor of which, he undoubtedly was one of them.
Pierre Baudouin (the ancestor of the Bowdoin family,) fled to Ireland : from thenee to Maine in 1687, and soon af- ter to Boston : the first notice of their church is in the Mag- nalia, where is a record of " a French congregation of protest- ant refugees, under the pastoral care of Monsieur Daille: 27 who continued its pastor till his decease, May 20th, 1715, aged 66 years : " he was a person of great piety, charity, af- 'fable and courteous manners and of an exemplary life and 'conversation : " he had three wives, the first he lost Dec. 14, 1696, and the second August 31, 1713, the third outlived him some years ; his will directed his body to be decently buried, according to the direction of his executor Mr. James Bowdoin, " with the restriction, that there be no wine at my 'funeral and none of my wife's relations have any mourning 'clothes furnished them except gloves : " all the Boston min- isters were presented with gloves and scarfs : his books he gave to the church : £100 for the use of the minister and $10 put at interest toward building a church.
From the foregoing notice of a meeting house it appears that the French church in School St. on the lot next east of the Universalist meeting house was not built till after 1715; the lot had been in their possession since Jan. 4th. 1705, conveyed by -Mears to John Tartarian, Francis Bree-
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don and Jean Depuis, elders and the rest of the congrega- tion : on the 7th. of Feb. John Portree, F. Breedon and John Dupee petitioned the selectmen for leave to build a meeting house of wood 35 by 30 feet on that land, but " it was not 'convenient to grant the same, " but they had the free use of a new school house, large enough for a numerous congre- gation : they built a brick building about 1716.
Mr. Daille's successor, was the Rev. Andrew L. Mercier ; he published a church history of Geneva in 1732, from which we learn he was there educated : his church did not in- crease sufficient to support the expenses of a separate house of worship and the meetings were discontinued : on the 7th. of March 1748, the whole property was conveyed to several gentlemen, as trustees for a new congregational edifice : the transfer being made by Stephen Boutineau, elder, Zach. Jo- honnot, Jean Arnanet, John Brown, Andrew Johonnot, James Packouett, Wm. Bowdoin, Andrew Sigourney, members and Mr. L. Mercier, minister : Mr. L. M. after that resided in Dorchester but returned again to Boston, where he died, March 31, 1764, aged 72 years.
DEATH OF THE REV. JOHN WILSON.
The death of Mr. Wilson, the first preacher of the first church in Boston, occurred Aug. 7, 1667, at the advanced age of 79 years ; he led an amiable and spotless life, his heart was full of compassion for the distresses of his fellow men and his purse was continually contributing to the re- lief of the needy : he was an humble and consistent chris- tian, anxious to do all the good in his power through the whole measure of his long and important career, and so gen- erally beloved by the multitude residing in his vicinity, that being at a general muster of the military, a gentleman said to him, Sir, I can tell you a great thing ; here is a mighty body
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' of people and there is not seven of them all but what leves Mr. ' Wilson ; on which he instantly replied, smilingly, Sir, I'll 'tell you as good a thing as that, here is a mighty body of pro- Eple and there is not so much as one of them all, but Mr. Wilson 'loves him."
Mr. Wilson was educated at King,' College, Cam., Eng., where he obtained a fellowship, but was deprived of it for nonconformity to the Eng. Church : he studied law three years : and then theology, and was settled in the ministry in England : in 1630 he came to this country and preached under a great tree in Charlestown : the same year he re- moved to Boston and was ordained as pastor of the first church. He often exercised his talent for peetizing and giving off-hand acrosties and anagiam's, coupled with a religious idea or with advice, and thereby gained quite a name as a poet in those times.
Mr. Wilson was quite unfortunate in many of his concerns and attachments ; losing a wife and some of his children under trying circumstances : two of his associate ministers died ; some of his houses burnt down; and the errors which were creeping into the calvinistick rules of the church, gave him great sorrow. He left property valued at about £420. For another notice of him see page 64.
REV. JOIIN DAVENPORT.
John Davenport was born 1597, and educated at Ox- ford. He came to New England. June. 1637, and senled as the first minister at New Haven : he removed to Boston on the decease of the Rev. John Wilson, and was installed his successor, Dec. 9, 1668, and died suddenly, March, 16.0 aged 73. " His intrepidity saved King Charles' judges, What- " ley and Gotle, who fled to New Haven in 1661 and who ' were hidden in his house, whilst he was preaching in pub-
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