USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Charlestown > Century of town life; a history of Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1775-1887 > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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
1 The Presidents were, Isaac Fiske (1832-37 ?), Wm. Wyman, 1837-42, and, in closing its affairs, Jas. Hunnewell.
2 The Presidents have been, Tim. Walker, 1829-34 ; John Skinner, 1835-39 ; Benj. Thompson, 1840-42 ; Chester Adams, 1843-49 ; Nathan A. Tufts, 1850-55: James Adams, 1856-80 ; T. T. Sawyer, 1881, and since.
36
A CENTURY OF TOWN LIFE.
represented by four companies (see p. 65). Besides the old Fire Societies (p. 64) there were town engine companies, Hancock 1, Bunker Hill 2, Jefferson 3, Warren 4, Washington 5, with brilliant machines worked by hand, and the "Hook and Ladder," with a carriage of imposing size. The costumes worn by members of these public organizations, when on duty, showed much more lively coloring than is seen now in corre- sponding positions. There were canal boats to Lowell, stages thence and elsewhere, " hourlies " to Boston, and no railroads.
Then, and indeed for years later, from near the Navy Yard to the Neck, there was a large amount of pasture or vacant land along, and especially back of, the hills. A part of Moul- ton's hill was standing; clay-pits yawned between it and the slopes northward, and a beach shaded by willows extended beside the upper part of Medford Street. There were stone- walls, rail-fences, and barberry bushes on the roadsides just beyond the Neck ; and hardly a road-bed was well made or kept, while cobble-stones were the best that the arts of the time could do for the most travelled part of the chief high- way, the Main Street. This was much like such streets found in large country towns. Many of the houses were separated from each other by small strips of garden or grass-ground, and numerous shade trees gave a very pretty effect. Few buildings could be called fine, but many were neat, quaint, and respectable.
Of the inhabitants, only twelve, according to the Directory, were colored, and hardly twice that number were of foreign birth. Elsewhere, however, it is stated that in 1830 there were 96 blacks and 530 foreign, in a population of 8,783. Still, two centuries after its settlement, the town continued to be what it always had been, a place almost wholly occupied by people of English descent.
The census of the town at different times has already been given (p. 24). By 1834 there was a large number of what were then old settled inhabitants, much attached to the place. Local spirit and enterprise abounded, and there was a proper local pride. It was a town in and of itself, with a history that was esteemed, and a future to be kept as good, or im-
37
CONDITION, 1834.
proved. New residents were also continually arriving, and not a few became more permanent than many who moved here earlier in the century, when, although the town attracted a number of well known men or families, it did not long retain them.1
There was so much land then unoccupied by buildings that the town was tried as a place for suburban residences. No person had what would now be thought any large wealth.2 A variety of trades were carried on (1834), but there was no great diversity or amount of manufacturing. Distilling, how- ever, continued to be a somewhat prominent industry, and at the wharves there was a fair business. Within the limits of the town there were establishments of far more than local im- portance, -one of the most complete Navy Yards, with the best dry dock and ropewalk in the country ; the State Prison, improved, and solidly built (277 convicts, Oct., 1834) ; and the McLean Asylum for the Insane, opened Oct. 6, 1818, that to the end of 1833 had received 1015 patients.
Socially, there was probably more informal visiting than there now is. Family and other groups, as is apt to be the case in an old place of moderate size, were larger, and were intimate. No excess of great parties seems to have occurred. Many of the elegancies as well as conveniences of recent times were not found. Parlors in the best of houses were furnished
1 The Hon. Artemas Ward lived (about 1802-10) on Main Street (p. 147) ; the Hon. Sam. Dana (1808-12) in the Kettell mansion (p. 92) ; Jas. Harrison (1802-12) in what was later called the Baldwin house (p. 96) ; Jeremiah Evarts, the distinguished philanthropist, for some years (to 1817) on Chelsea Street, op- posite the Navy Yard ; and the Hon. Edward Everett, while Governor (1836-40), on Harvard Street (p. 129), after living in the Odin house on Winter Hill, then in Charlestown.
2 By the long Parish list of 1807, only five persons had an income of $1,000 or over, estimated at 6 per cent on the valuation of their property, as it there is, - Joseph Hurd ($2,538), Richard Devens ($1,994), John Larkin ($1,896), Matthew Bridge ($1,269), and Giles Alexander ($1,224). In 1844, the Town published a list of tax-payers, by which we count 2,777 tax-bills of residents ; of these, 45 are from $100 to $200, 16 from $200 to $300, and only 12 are over that amount, - David Devens, Jacob Foss (the largest), Jacob Forster, Henry Forster, Jas. Gould, James Hunnewell, John Hurd, Wm. Hurd, Reuben Hunt, Caleb Pierce, Gilbert Tufts, and Wm. J. Walker. There was one non-resident, Richd Sullivan, to be added. The largest corporation, the Fitchburg R. R. Co., paid $255.
38
A CENTURY OF TOWN LIFE.
with simple but good mahogany furniture, strong enough, how- ever, to outlive more showy modern articles. Open fire-places for wood, grates for coal, or a stove, warmed the rooms. A tall bronze astral lamp gave light. Mirrors were a greater luxury ; not apt to be very large, sometimes with square pan- elled tops, sometimes circular, and in gilded frames. Bric-a- brac was little known. Many of the houses had more or less garden ; here and there it was very small, but altogether the effect along a few of the older streets was very pleasant during summer. The boys of the town fought with those of East Cambridge and the north end of Boston; and some of the commoner men behaved worse, for more drunkards were seen then than now are, and teamsters not infrequently acted with ยท disgusting brutality, while rowdyism was far from being un- known; indeed the one riot in the Town's history occurred near the end of this period. At the same time a very great majority of the people were orderly, attendance at church was much more general than at present, and every one, it might be said, took part in public affairs. Town meetings in the old Hall (p. 71) were often large, and sometimes lively ; and then and later, as now, demagogues made more than their share of noise, but the substantial citizens were apt, in the long run, to keep proper control. Public expenditures were moderate, and were regulated as honest, sensible men manage their own. There had been no perilous development of municipal credits, and there was very little magnificent public spirit supported by some other person's money.
RELIGIOUS HISTORY SINCE 1834.
With the second half-century also began a period of pros- perity general among the Protestant churches, and that, for perhaps the ensuing thirty years, was, with most of them, their time of greatest success. In the Roman Catholic Church there has been uninterrupted growth to the present time. At first this communion was small ; now it numbers possibly a third of the population. Among the Protestants attendance at first was general ; now it seems true that hardly two-thirds of them
39
RELIGIOUS HISTORY SINCE 1834.
help to support any church in the town, while the Catholics almost unanimously attend their own service, so that their societies have increased from one to three.
Congregationalism,1 that, as already shown, had been almost the sole denomination in the town until about 1810, and that soon afterwards became divided, was still the most prominent for some time after 1834. Through perhaps twenty years from 1840 it was difficult to hire a good pew in either of its three meeting-houses,2 so well filled were they (as was probably true of others). An ideal of the relation of pastor and people could hardly be more fully realized than it was in the ministry of Dr. Budington (1840-54) in the First Church. With the enthusiasm of a young man and of his own nature, as well as with the devotion of a Christian, he labored for it, while the people - the town, indeed - held him in affectionate regard ; nor could the love of Christians for their church be more touch- ingly and earnestly shown than was the love of some of the old members for what they called " the old church," that they or theirs had sustained through many trials. Since 1833, it may be added, the Trinitarians have built three meeting- houses,2 while the Unitarians have (since 1818) built one house (supplemented, 1856-79, by the Harvard Chapel).
All the Protestant societies that have existed in or during the period have been active, but their number has not in- creased. Each of them now has a place of worship 2 that is better, or is in better condition, than ever, and there are few debts, yet in all of them there is a feeling of changed circum- stances. Some serious questions are suggested in regard to the future, and it may be asked how far great freedom of
1 Of Unitarian, a full account is given in its History (Bib., p. S7) ; of Trinita- rian, a condensed account of the First Church on the following pages, and of the Winthrop Church in its Memorial (p. 273, this book). The latter states (p. 9) that its contributions for benevolent objects (besides support of that church) was in fifty years, $155,488. To this should be added the large gifts of two members, - Wm. Carlton, to Carlton College, Minnesota, and Thos. Doane to Doane College, Nebraska. In the First Church parishioners, Walter Hastings (over twenty years) bequeathed a large sum to Harvard College, and Jas. Hunnewell (nearly forty years) was one of the largest private contributors to Oahu College.
2 See pages 53 to 59 hereafter, for descriptions.
40
A CENTURY OF TOWN LIFE.
thought and action, and, with many persons, a growing lack of a sense of duty or responsibility, are compatible with efficiency and durability. Remarkable success has been obtained by a church in which there are few rich persons, and a great many who are not, but where every one is taught and held to the personal obligation to do something, even if little. It may also be asked, what is likely to be the final result of abandon- ment of an old order of service in which worship forms a great part, and where this is actively and frequently shared by the congregation, and the substitution of an order in which, as is not unknown, there is a tendency in the meeting-house to have a lecture at one end, a concert at the other, and between them a critical audience.
If briefly summed up, it may be said that within this period the Congregationalists have hardly held their own; that the Baptists and Universalists have done better ; the Methodists have largely gained ; the Episcopalians, as a body, come into being and not heavily increased ; and the Catholics have grown to a remarkable extent.
On April 16, 1882. the Sunday after Easter, and a pleasant dar, a count was made of the attendance at the churches in Boston (Daily Adv .. 18th) showing that the result in Charles- town was that there were at the First Church, 110+88=198; Winthrop, 380 + 270=650 (848 Trinitarian) ; Unitarian, 163; St. John's, 400 +100=500; Monument Square, 250 + 775 = 1,025 ; Trinity, 320 +-601 =921 (1.946 Methodist) ; Univer- salist, 337 + 310=647; First Baptist, 211 (A. M.) ; B. H. do., 400 (P. M.) All except the last two, and the Unitarian, where there is one service, are for the usual two services, making a total of 4.715; that with all the Baptists would probably be 5.000. At the Roman Catholic services there were at St. Francis's, 1,478 + 341 = 1819, and St. Mary's, 950 + 502= 1,452, or in all, 3,271, - about forty per cent of all the attendance.
At a later date (1885 ?) an examination of the town was made to a considerable, vet not the fullest, extent, by which it was found that among Protestants there were 1,311 families not in churches but expressing some preference for denomina-
41
RELIGIOUS HISTORY SINCE 1834.
tions, and 490 not wishing to attend church. On Sunday, May 1, 1887, a pleasant day, a count (for Dr. Towle, Prest. Y. M. C. A.) was made of the attendance at the morning services. At the First Church there were 126; Winthrop, 480 (606 Trinitarians); Unitarian, 170; First Baptist, 290 ; B. H. Bap- tist, 200 (490 Baptists) ; Trinity, 270 ; Union, 130 (400 Meth- odists) ; Universalist, 215; St. John's, 219. At the First Church, and at St. John's, the second service would add con- siderable numbers to these figures, and others would in the same way be increased. The total for the morning is 2,100, and for the day might possibly be 3,500 Protestants (in a population of about 38,000), or thirty-five per cent less than five years before (out of about 34,000). At the same time 400 families attended to some extent the services at the Young Men's Christian Association, but contributed little to the ex- penses. It is said that very few of the families reported (1885 ?) as non-attendants were gathered into the churches. where it seems as if only about one quarter of the Protestant adult population was found, although many others were repre- sented by children in the Sunday Schools. Only a moderate percentage of the young men went to church; indeed, the average attendance of adults at any one ordinary service is now less, it is said, than the number of enrolled communicants. Evidently there is cause enough for serious thought and action.
It is noticeable that attendance at the services on Easter and Christmas has largely increased at the Episcopal Church, while that on Fast and Thanksgiving, the two Congregational special days, has so much declined that only one service is held for all the other Protestant churches. It is, however, a very good arrangement, for all the separated congregations and clergy act in neighborly union. In weekly meetings there are some- times appeals through a lower range of attractions. and it seems as if a more general reliance might be had on those of beauty, dignity, and solemnity.
NOTE. - The ministers since 1834, on the authorities given, have been the Reverends -
(First Church), Warren Fay, D. D., dis. Aug. 16. 1839 (pastor 19} yrs ) ; Wm. I. Budington, D. D., ord. April 22, 1540, dis. July 24, 1851 (14} yrs.) ;
42
A CENTURY OF TOWN LIFE.
Jas. B. Miles, D. D., ord. Jan. 2, 1855, dis. Sept. 30, 1871 (162 yrs.) ; F. F. Ford, ins. Oct. 11, 1872, dis. Dec. 3, 1874 ; H. L. Kendall, ins. April 19, 1876, dis. Nov. 13, 1879; Geo. L. Brooks, since July, 1883. (Records, etc.)
(Winthrop), D. Crosby (1833-42); John Humphrey (1842-47); B. Tap- pan, D. D. (1848-57); A. E. Kittredge (1859-63); J. E. Rankin, D. D. (1864-69); A. S. Twombly, D. D., since ins. May 2, 1872. (History.)
(Harvard), Jas. Walker, D. D., to July 14, 1839; Geo. E. Ellis, D. D., ord. Mch. 11, 1840, dis. June 13, 1869; Chas. E. Grinnell, Nov. 10, 1869, to Dec. 31, 1873; Pitt Dillingham, since Oct. 4, 1876. (History.)
(First Baptist), Wm. Phillips (1836-41); H. K. Green (1842-44); Wm. C. Child (1844-49) ; T. F. Caldicott (1850-53); A. M. Hopper (ord. 1855) ; R. W. Cushman (ord. 1857); G. W. Gardner, D. D. (1861-72); W. W. Boyd (ord. 1873) ; J. B. Brackett (ord. 1878); J. W. Riddle (ord. 1881); Geo. E. Horr, Jr., since Apr. 30, 1884. (G. R. Seymour.)
(Universalist), T. F. King (1836-39); E. H. Chapin, D. D. (1840-46); Thos. Starr King (1846-48) ; R. Townley (1849-52) ; A. G. Laurie (1853-63); O. F. Safford (1865-70); Wm. T. Stowe (1871-77); Chas. F. Lee, since Jan. 7, 1879. (Printed acc't.)
(St. John's, Episcopal), N. T. Bent (1840-41); P. H. Greenleaf (Oct., 1841-Feb., 1851); Wm. Flint (1852-Sept. 1, 1855); T. R. Lambert, D. D. (1856-Jan. 1, 1884) ; P. W. Sprague since April, 1884. (Records.)
(B. Hill Baptist), John Blain, settled 1850 ; Emery Page, 1853 ; H. C. Graves, 1857 ; J. B. Morse, 1864 ; L. F. Beecher, 1867; Addison Parker, 1869 ; W. O. Holman, 1874 ; W. M. Weeks, 1882 ; C. F. Nicholson, 1883; R. B. Moody, since 1884. (J. H. Bailey, Clerk Soc.)
(St. Mary's), Patrick Byrne, 1830-43; Geo. J. Goodwin to Sept. 13, 1847; P. F. Lyndon, to May 20, 1853; Geo. A. Hamilton, Aug. 1853, to July 31, 1874. (Enterprise, acc`t.) Assisting, have been M. McGrath, E. F. Gerbi, G. F. Nuonno. John W. Mahon since Aug., 1881; Wm. J. Millerick since Feb., 1882; Wm. F. Powers since July, 1886.
(St. Francis), Geo. A. IIamilton, 1862-65 ; M. J. Supple, assistant, pastor since 1868 ; M. M. Green assistant ; since 1879, Jas. N. Supple. (Do.)
POLITICAL HISTORY SINCE 1834.
The political opinions of the inhabitants, as well as the con- stantly increasing number of voters, are shown by the returns made at elections for governors in the years when presidential electors were chosen. In four,1 while the Whigs carried the
1 The names of those elected are in italies, and the votes were: -
1835, Edward Everett, 532 ; Marcus Morton, 477 ; others, 43 ; total, 1,052.
1839, do. 579 ; do. 820; do. 4; do. 1,403.
1843, Geo. N. Briggs, 622 ; do. 777 ; do. 135; do. 1,534.
1847,
do.
662 ; Caleb Cushing,
841;
do. 239 ; do.
1,742.
43
POLITICAL HISTORY SINCE 1834.
State, the Democrats ruled the town. Another element, how- ever, began to appear here, as it did elsewhere, eventually to control the country, and even change the politics of Charles- town. In 1851, R. C. Winthrop had 995 votes ; Geo. S. Bout- well, 932; John G. Palfrey, 176 ; others, 2; (total, 2,105). In 1855, H. J. Gardner had 1,127; E. D. Beach, 759; J. Rock- well, 311; S. H. Walley, 276 ; (total, 2,473.)
In the next four presidential elections, including the last sepa- rate vote by Charlestown, great changes in political thought, as well as in numbers, appeared. A great many civilians were employed in the Navy Yard, and whatever political help was to be got that way was not apt to be neglected by the Demo- crats, who held the national administration until after the election in 1860. A similar course, it is very likely, affected the Republican vote during the war, and in a greater degree, for there was a far larger force in government employ. A much stronger reason, however, existed in the immense popu- lar movement by which the latter party was supported. It will be noticed that Charlestown was Republican notwithstand- ing any influence of the existing administration, in 1860, and continued so for years after the end of the war. For some time before that eventful period, all phases of political feeling were actively shown, from marked subserviency to the parti- sans of slavery to open help in trying to stop its extension, - from " copperheadism " (only a mere trace of it) to a generous patriotism and enthusiasm worthy of Bunker Hill, felt by all sorts of people.
In 1842, a notable municipal change occurred ; a portion of the territory of the town was annexed to West Cambridge, and a larger part incorporated (March 3) as the town of Somerville, leaving the area of this town one of the smallest in the State. Fcb. 22, 1847, a city form of government was established ; 1
The votes for electors were about as follows: -
1860, Republican, 1,785 ; others, 1,52S ; total, 3,313. 1864, do. 2,765 ; do. 1,198 ; do. 3,963. 1868, do. 2,642 ; Democratic, 1,784 ; do. 4,426.
1872, do. 3,014 ; clo. 1,635 ; do. 4,649.
1 The vote on accepting a City Charter was, - yes, 1,127 ; no, 868 ; majority in favor, 259.
44
A CENTURY OF TOWN LIFE.
Hon. Geo. W. Warren was chosen mayor,1 and various changes in schoolhouses and other things ensued. Among many sub- stantial citizens there was, in a few years, a belief that the place was too small for a separate municipality, and that its interests would be promoted by annexation to Boston.2 An Act of the Legislature to that effect was passed (April 29, 1854) and accepted (C., Oct. 2) by the voters of both cities, but rendered inoperative, it was said, through a failure (in C.) to certify returns. The City record (of C.) is suggestive ; the figures of the vote, given below, are from the Daily Advertiser, and show the deep interest in the subject, as 2,529 voters (there were 2,722 in 1851) gave their opinion. The plan de- feated had been considered over twenty years before, and, after intermittent effort, was actively revived about as long after- wards. Another Act was passed (May 14, 1873), duly voted on (Oct. 7), and annexation effected (Jan. 1, 1874). A score of pamphlets on the subject, described in the Bibliography, fully set forth reasons for and against the measure, and furnish some of the liveliest political writing about the Town. That the reasons were thought to be good and sufficient is shown by the votes at the two dates, said to be the only times when op. portunity was given for such an expression of opinion. That there was strong opposition appears in the Valedictory Ad- dress of the last Mayor, who declared that, on the day of voting, " the people of this ancient and historic municipality virtually said we are not capable of governing ourselves, and bowed to the God of Mammon, and yielded up, with their in- dependence forever, that trust which was bequeathed to them to transmit to posterity." The number of municipal offices lias been much reduced, cases before the courts are tried in Suffolk, the bridges are improved, and a few other changes
1 The Mayors have been the Honorables Geo. W. Warren (1847-50), R. Froth- ingham (1851-53), J. Adams (1854), T. T. Sawyer (1855-57), Jas. Dana (1858-60), HI. G. Hutchins (1861), P. J. Stone (1862-61), C. Robinson, Jr. (1865-66), L. Hull (1867-68), E. L. Norton (1869), W. H. Kent (1870-72), J. Stone (1873).
2 The votes on Annexation were, 1854, Charlestown, yes, 1,412 ; no, 1,117 ; majority, 205 ; Boston, yes, 3,333 ; no, 1,373 ; majority, 1,960. In 1873, C., yes, 2,240 ; no, 1,047 ; majority, 293 ; B., yes, 5,960 ; no, 1,868 ; majority, 4,097.
45
BUSINESS SINCE 1834.
have followed, but the right of suffrage and the blessings of liberty have not been seriously impaired.
Since annexation, changes have naturally followed in what might be called the individuality of the place, noticeable in society as well as in local politics. For the exercise of the latter a considerable number of offices remain, but they differ in influence as merged among the many of a large corporation, instead of being far greater means of control in a body, even if that is comparatively small. Of one form of change, hardly political, indeed, but public, there is evidence afforded by ex- amination of the Auditors' Reports of Boston, where it appears that the valuation (1874, p. 288) of Real Estate in Charles- town was $26,016,100 in 1873, and in 1886 (Rep. '87) it was $23,075,700, or $2,940,400 less; and that Personal (same dates) declined from $9,273,528, to $5,682,000 (382 %), or a total decline of $6,531,928 (about 183 %). In 1873, to a population estimated by the assessors (Rep. '74, p. 7) the av- erage was $1101 + per head, and by the census of 1885, with the valuation of 1886, it was $730+ (about 33,5 % less).
BUSINESS SINCE 1834.
At the beginning of the second half-century there was a fair amount of local business, but not much on any large scale. Many persons, as has since been the case, lived in the town and had various occupations in Boston. Farmers and traders came with their produce to the Square, and made it the live- liest place of traffic. There were sufficient banking facilities, and the local shops had relatively a greater importance than at present. With the introduction of railroads in the State, a fresh development occurred here, as elsewhere. The line to Lowell, opened in 1835, extended through what was then the westerly part of the town, but a mile or more distant from its frontage on deep water. To connect the two, the Charlestown Branch Railroad Co. was incorporated (April 9, 1836), and built from Swett's wharf to a junction not much over a mile distant, near the McLean Asylum, the chief work on it being a wooden bridge in that direction from Prison Point. Short as
46
A CENTURY OF TOWN LIFE.
was the line, it was not opened until the latter part of 1838, the national financial crisis having a severe effect. Supple- mentary to this road was the Charlestown Wharf Co. (inc. Mch. 31, 1836), that was authorized to hold wharf and other property from the Navy Yard to the State Prison, and did hold a great deal within these limits. Six years later the Fitchburg Railroad Co. was incorporated (Mch. 3, 1842), and acquired both the Branch road and much of the land of the other com- pany. In the two last mentioned there was a considerable local interest, some of which was transferred to their far larger successor, that began a remarkable development at the lower end of the town, by which, in the course of forty years, a station on a side-track was changed to an important railway terminus. The Wharf Co. had a paid up capital of $293,550, the Branch Co. less (although more was authorized), and both had a moderate business, no great part of which was far reach- ing. The Fitchburg Co. at once largely increased it. A line was opened to Fresh Pond, and ice, a staple product of New England, was brought in great quantities to the wharves, and shipped to southern ports and abroad. Communication was speedily established with a wide interior country, so that public convenience required (1847) that the terminal station for pas- sengers should be moved from the northern end of Warren Bridge, where one of brick had been built, to the southern end, in Boston, and at a large cost this change was effected (1847- 48). In Charlestown, additions to the territory were made, from time to time, by purchase and by covering flats or the river, the most important of these operations being in connec- tion with the estate of the Hoosac Tunnel Dock and Elevator Co. (inc. April 29, 1879), which was at length bought (1887), and exceptionally good terminal facilities at deep sea water secured, including enormous sheds and an immense grain ele- vator. A large area between the river, Chelsea Street, and the Square is also to be added.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.