USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Christ Church, Salem Street, Boston : the Old North Church of Paul Revere fame : historical sketches, Colonial period, 1723-1775 > Part 7
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Letter to the late Rev. Francis E. Webster dated July 26th, 1941.
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THE SEXTON AND HIS DUTIES 1726- 1775
T HE story of Christ Church for the half century immediately preceding the Revolution contains many forgotten names. They were those of the humble citizen bound in his sphere of life by existing con- ditions. In other chapters I have tried to shed a little light on these dark corners and now it is the turn of the sextons. A church is more than a building for, as God's house must be kept fit to enshrine the spirit which it embodies; those who serve as doorkeepers in the house of the Lord certainly are worthy of remembrance.
PIERCE TICKLE 1726-1733
When the Christ Church Parish was organized on April 6, 1724, no record appears of the election of either a clerk or a sexton. The first record of payment to a sexton is August 29, 1726:
That Twenty Shillings be paid to Mr Tickle the Sexton as incouragement for former Services done.
What length of time was covered by this payment we can only guess.
Pierce Tickle! How this name would have re- joiced the lively fancy of Dickens. Who was he? We have little information regarding this indispensable factotum. In 1699 there came from Old England to New England, in the Virginia, a seventeen-year-old bound boy with ten years to serve. It was he who be- came the first sexton of Christ Church. He could write for he signed receipts "Pers Tickell," settling once for
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all the New England pronunciation so much criticized of the name Pierce.
In 1707 he married Jane Ratlief in Boston. As early as 1715, "Peirsie Tekel " was in the town employ to round up stray cattle from the streets and from "going at large in the Common." When he was chosen to be sexton of Christ Church he was therefore a dependable person and entered upon his duties which increased dur- ing the seven years he was sexton.
Some of these duties were: "warning" the vestry when there was to be a meeting; " fetching and carrying" the Communion plate; getting greens and cleaning the church for Christmas. Here might be a good place to state that the "Communion plate " at this time was a pewter set which was later loaned to St. Andrew's Mission at Hanover, where several pieces are still pre- served.
Decorating the church with greens may have begun before 1726, but that is the first record we have of the payment for greens at Christmas time. Cleaning the brasses, candle sticks scattered about the church, and washing the linen, a task probably performed by wife Jane, were also included in his duties.
Large purchases of sand in the early years of the church would imply that the floor was sanded, as was customary in those days; but in 1732, Salem Street, which had been only a rustic lane, was paved, which must in a measure have relieved the sexton of some la- bor in sanding the floor; and the next year, as further help to cleanliness, a large stone step was laid at the Great Door of the church. The purchase of "a Pole to reach Cobb-webs in Roof" rather suggests that some sharp-eyed housewife had protested such an unseemly appearance. In any event the care of such a building as Christ Church, where work was continually going on, was sufficient only to earn for the caretaker his regular
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stipend of five shillings per week with extras on "Sacra- ment Day" and Church festivals. In May, 1729, he was voted seven shillings per week "so long as he does his duty as Sexton, of which he is to be Inform'd by the Church Wardens." His work finished with his death in I733.
JOHN STOW 1733-1738
The duties of the next sexton, John Stow, were defi- nitely defined by the vestry on July 23, 1733, when it was
VOTED That the above Sd John Stow have paid to him for his duely attending his duty as Sexton the Sums of Seven Shillings p Week. Thirty Shillings at Xmas for Greens to Adorn the Church and Cleaning the Candlesticks. Ten Shillings at Easter and Two Shillings & Six pence on Every Sacrement Day for Carrying the plate to the Church & back again to the Church Warden's house. And If at any time, by the Church Warden's Order and Dirrection He warns the Vestry in every Such Case the sum of Two Shillings & Six pence Shall be paid him for his Trouble in executing ye Same.
In this year there arrived from England the Commun- ion silver besides a Bible and Prayer Books. This was when the pewter Communion set was loaned to the Han- over church and necessitated the making of a box to hold the Communion silver which, as we see by the record, was kept, when not in use, generally at the house of the "Eldest Warden." This chest was restored in 1935 and may now be seen in the church vestry.
During John Stow's service as sexton, the first organ was installed in 1736, thus adding to the sexton's labors on account of the rearrangement of the west gallery. He seems to have. served faithfully and well, as his ap- pointment as sexton was regularly confirmed by the vestry and, in April 1735, three shillings per week were added to his salary.
He was married by Dr. Cutler, May 5, 1726, to Mary
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Stride and the records show that at his death in 1738 he left his wife in very straitened circumstances, caus- ing the following vote of the vestry :
23ª October 1738
Whereas It has pleased Almighty God to Call to himself our late deceased Sexton Stowe at the Request of the poor Widdow, She being incapable to bear the Charges of the Fu- neral
It is VOTED That the sum of Twelve pounds be paid out of the Church Stock for the Charge & Expence of the Said De- ceased Stowe's Funerall and whatever sum may remain out of the Said Twelve pounds be paid to the Widdow.
This charitable act was financed by the vestry by drawing on the "Church Stock," i.e., surplus funds in hand.
The beginning of a Poor Fund is interesting. One Sunday in the contribution box two forty shilling bills were received. An attached paper stated that the money was to be "for the Use of the Poors 1 in ye Alms-house in Boston." This money was turned over to the Alms- house poor. This was followed by a vote "That a poor's book be kept and lodged under the Care of the Younger Church Warden for the Time being." This Poor Fund is still in existence, although owing to radical changes of population no parishioner is living in what would be termed the parish area.
ADAM WARD 1738-1739
JOHN HOOPER 1739-1748
The next sexton was Adam Ward, about whom we know nothing except that his petition in 1734 to the town
1 This record was made by Francis Beteilhe and is one of the few instances in which he mentally translated the French pour les pauvres as. "for the poors. "
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to sell liquor was disallowed and that he served until August 6, 1739, when it was voted
That Mr John Hooper be An Approved Saxon.
His duties were greatly augmented during his years of service until 1748 by the building of the spire in 1740 and the arrival of the bells in 1744. How much additional pay he received for this addition to his regular work is uncertain, but for "warning" the vestry he received five shillings instead of the previous payment of "two shil- lings and six pence."
THOMAS BROOKS 1748-1766
After Hooper gave up his duties as sexton he was suc- ceeded by Thomas Brooks, who had been employed by the town as a scavenger in 1730. He served the parish from 1748 to 1766. He was married by Dr. Cutler, July 4, 1727, to Mary Willitt. Perhaps the only reason by which he may be remembered is what he did on the evening of April 5, 1760. The records state that " seven pounds fifteen shillings were pd for candles, etc. for Illuminateing the Steeple on occasion of Quebeck's being taken."
ELIAS COCKS 1766
WILLIAM BROOKS 1766-1767
Trouble seems to have arisen between proprietors and vestry in the appointment of Brooks' successor as noted in the vestry book of April 3, 1766:
Whereas the Proprietors did on Easter monday vote Mr Elias Cocks to be Saxton, since which it haveing appeared that the
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former Saxton being unable by means of his present Indisposition, has provided a suitable Person to discharge that duty for him. which we haveing Considered, Think it for the Benifitt of the Church, that Wm Brooks be Continued in the Office of Saxton - it was therefore Voted unanimous that Mr Cocks be discharged & Mr William Brooks be Saxton of the Church .- and one dollar was Collected in the Vestry and ordered to be paid to Mr Cocks for his Service the Week past.
WILLIAM COMBDON 1767-1772
William Combdon who followed William Brooks served as sexton from 1767 to 1772. His salary was 3sh./4 lawful money; to this was added the profit from a pall belonging to the church since 1726. As the story of this means of raising money for the church belongs under the biography of Dr. Cutler, there is nothing fur- ther to mention about William Combdon.
ROBERT NEWMAN 1772-1804
The first appearance of the Newman name in the Christ Church records is August 31, 1724, when Anne Newman and Ezekiel Ingby were married by Dr. Cutler. Anne was the wife of Thomas Newman of Norwich, England, who died shortly after his arrival in Boston leaving four children.
Thomas, the eldest, married Mary Thomas, daughter of Peter Thomas, in 1732. He was a large importer who used to watch his vessels come into port from the cupola of his house on the corner of Sheafe and Salem Streets. After the death of Thomas, Mary married John Gibbs as his second wife. Two children of Mary and Thomas Newman, John, born in 1736, who became organist at Christ Church, and Robert, born in 1752, are the only members of the family in that generation to
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ROBERT NEWMAN 1752-1804
Boston the 26 March 1733 Aged Y W Wan Bilo Church Warten of fruit church the fame of Two points Being in fait satisfactions for Copying the Congregation and Vesthop meeting Voles in the
FRANCIS BETEILHE'S RECEIPT FOR COPYING CHRIST CHURCH RECORDS (See page 102)
F
PAUL REVERE
From the Portrait by John Singleton Copley Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
figure in the Christ Church records. The Newman chil- dren went to Master Tileston's school, but Thomas was later sent to school in England. In 1766 a receipt for Robert's schooling in Master Johnny Tileston's own handwriting is still preserved.
Robert Newman was said to resemble greatly his cousin Isaiah, son of his mother's brother, Moses Thomas. Isaiah published the Massachusetts Spy in Boston and just two days before the lanterns were dis- played he removed to Worcester, where he continued the publication under the name of the Spy. In 1812 he founded the American Antiquarian Society.
After 1724, the name Newman does not appear in the Christ Church records until 1772, when Robert Newman became the last sexton before the Revolution. His father, who died in 1754, had met serious financial re- verses and the children were thrown on their own.
The antecedents of the Newman family in England placed Robert Newman in a different category from those who had served as sextons of Christ Church before 1772. The times were troubled. Men took what work they could get, and Robert, young and adventurous, al- ready with attachments to Christ Church, took the post of sexton at the age of twenty. Writing to his eldest brother, Thomas in England, he said that the times were so hard in the colonies that he was glad to take the post of sexton in the Reverend Dr. Cutler's church. He was twice married1 and had seven children. The oldest, Robert, was killed in the War of 1812. One of his daughters, Eliza Harriet, married a missionary named Wheelock and accompanied him to Burma. The young- est child, Samuel Haskell Newman,2 born 1804, was named for the Reverend Samuel Haskell, rector of
1 He married first Rebecca Knox in 1772. His second wife was Mary Hammon whom he married in 1790.
2 Their daughter, Harriet Hancock Newman - 1846-1929 - carried the lanterns in the annual April 18th service in Christ Church in 1927.
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Christ Church, 1801 to 1803. He married Melinda, daughter of Nathan Hancock, a cousin of the Governor.
I am indebted to Charles K. Bolton's account in the Guide Book of Christ Church for the following vivid description of Newman's assistance to the waiting Paul Revere in Charlestown.
The 18th of April, 1775, is a memorable day in our annals, connecting the history of this church with that of the nation. On that evening a friend of Paul Revere had agreed to display a warning of the British march to Concord to destroy the mili- tary stores secreted there.
" If the British march
By land or sea from the town tonight, Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch Of the North Church tower as a signal light : One if by land, and two if by sea, And I on the opposite shore will be
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm, For the country folk to be up and to arm!"
The sexton, Robert Newman, waited quietly in his home, Salem Street, opposite North Bennet Street, for a report on the movements of the British regulars. Meanwhile Captain Thomas Barnard and Captain John Pulling, Jr., were abroad, searching for news. " Presently from an upper chamber in the rear New- man climbed down by a sloping roof to the yard below, were - in order to reconcile traditional accounts - he would be joined by Captain Pulling," a member of the vestry. Newman had the church keys, and together they crossed Salem Street; Newman entered, and Pulling from the outside locked the church door. In the dark the sexton took lanterns from the closet next to the belfry door, and went
" Up the wooden stairs with stealthy tread, To the belfry chamber overhead ; And startled the pigeons from their perch On the sombre rafters that round him made Masses of moving shapes and shade- Up the light ladder, slender and tall, To the highest window in the wall!"
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His mission achieved, Newman hurried down to the floor below. Leaving the door in front undisturbed, he made his way out by a back window, now concealed by the bust of George Washington." Stepping into Unity Street, he took North Ben- net Street home, and entered his house by a rear window.
Christ Church was now closed for three years and in the interim Robert Newman had to take what work came to hand. He was sexton of Mr. Stillman's " Meet- ing," the Baptist meeting house farther down Salem Street, and in addition he was appointed by the town in 1776 to "ring the bell of Christ Church at I o'clock and at 9 at night."1
In 1778, on the reopening of the church, Newman re- turned to his duties as sexton. In addition he took on many other offices such as constable of the watch, care of the town clock in Christ Church steeple, fireman and funeral porter. His most important military duty was at the time of Shays' Rebellion, when he was appointed by the town " to command a squad of watchmen detailed to patrol nightly the vicinity of the jail in Court sq." in anticipation of a raid from the country to release one of the rioters confined there. Newman was instructed: "In case of an attack your are to cry out 'Fire!' at the jail, and ring the several bells to alarm the town, and pro- vide as many lanterns as you can, for the patroles in their walks."
He was proprietor of Pew 78 in the south gallery of Christ Church in 1780, but in 1793 was allowed the privilege of buying a pew on the floor by paying the difference in price. At this time he received no salary as sexton and the price of his pew was remitted.2
His connection with the town watch terminated in 1795, but he retained his post of sexton until May 26,
1 Commissioners' Records, Boston.
' The secrecy which surrounded events before the Revolution in which Newman took part may be the reason why the remittance of his pew rent was unnoted in the records. I have always thought that it was a tacit acceptance of Newman's patriotic service.
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1804, when he came to a tragic end by the premature discharge of a pistol which he was handling.
He was buried in Copp's Hill Burying Ground in a tomb belonging to Isaiah Thomas, but the stone does not bear his name.
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PEWS, LOGWOOD AND GENTLEMEN OF THE BAY
O NE of the characteristics of the Georgian in- terior of Christ Church is the high box pews, each with its little door and the name of the first owner. The first sale of pews netted £1230 for forty- five pews to fifty-three purchasers, some being for por- tions of pews. The prices ranged from £30 to £20 according to desirability of location. The purchaser re- ceived a deed for his pew which, on payment of an annual tax, entitled the pew owner, now a "proprietor," to one vote at a proprietors' meeting, usually held on Easter Monday. If the tax was not paid, the proprietor lost his right to vote and the pew, upon proper compensation for what had already been paid in taxes. The pew came back into the possession of the church. Sometimes through careless bookkeeping or lack of follow-up, there had to be housecleaning by "warning" the proprietor of the consequences of his delay.
At first, pews were of various heights with different colored linings ; but not until 1802, by vote of the vestry, were they required to be all of the same height and with white linings for the wall pews and, for side or middle pews, green, and each pew topped with a cherry rail. At first the pew numbers were painted, the brass numbers being a 19th century addition.1 However, in 1806, when, owing to the increasing congregation the central aisle was closed and long "slip " pews replaced the box pews, the old doors, hinges and panelling were retained, fortu- nately for the restoration in 1912.
1 December 20, 1829. Recommendations " for Capping the Pews with Cherry-tree wood, - that the numbers be of brass instead of paint and that the fastenings be on the inside of the pew door, instead of a But- ton on the outside. "
Proprietors' records.
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The first sale was for floor pews only, as it was not until 1726 that seats were provided in the galleries for which Thomas Bennett was paid seventy pounds. In 1728, owing to increasing financial difficulties, the prices for pews all over the church were raised. This source of income was a continual worry to the wardens, as it was a vital factor in the church economy.
As early as 1726 each pew owner was taxed ten shil- lings "to get the windows hung." This same year they were obliged to raise the rector's salary.
Therefore, in visualizing the interior of Christ Church in the early years, we must remember that it had not the symmetrical aspect which it assumed later on; but more important than the fabric of the church are the people who first became proprietors.
A quick glance at the first pew list shows that out of forty-five pews eight and possibly more were bought by workmen who had labored in building the church, includ- ing Tippin and Bennett, the master builders; ten were bought by sea captains. Boston was a great Atlantic port with a harbor so large that ships could enter and leave under their own power, two hundred sail at one time being a not unusual sight; and it was these same sea captains who wanted a church home in their regular trips to and from the mother country and up and down the coast. Even non-Episcopalians bought some of the pews.
Although women played a small part in the early years of the parish, three were among the list of original pro- prietors : Mary Gibbs, widow of John Gibbs, a member of the first vestry, whose son continued an active mem- ber in the parish; Mary Tomlins who had half of the pew with the Honorable William Clark; and the Widow Bedgood who took over her husband's pew after he was washed overboard while bound home from Barbados.
The rector's pew at this time was pew 27, south side
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of the middle aisle. The wardens sat in pews near the entrance, not in the body of the church as today. The staves which now mark the wardens' pews were made in 1912 by James M. Gibson of Newport, Rhode Island.
Pew number 30, in the right center aisle nearest the chancel, was voted in 1733 to be the Governor's Pew. Its democratic simplicity1 was far removed from the semi-royal canopied box which was fitted up for the Governor in King's Chapel, for it was voted by the vestry
That ... Two Old Cusheons be putt to Use in the Pew Nº 30 Whenever the Governor or Lieutt Govr is or are present; And that the Church Wardens order the place to be made convenient for ye Same.
In 1791 a sharp controversy arose between former senior warden Dr. Amos Windship and James Sherman, then senior warden, regarding this pew. The matter came to such a head that the law was invoked and a statement regarding the pew was made by James Sher- man in which he stated that "Pew No. 30 was from the first Settlement of Christ Church in Boston devoted wholly to the use of His Excellence the Governor and other Gentlemen and so continued until August 1791."
Some of the wealthier parishioners bought more than one pew, as did William Price, who not only kept his pew in King's Chapel and later on in Trinity Church, but re- tained his pews in Christ Church over many years. The Revere pew, No. 54, was not bought until 1808 by Paul Revere's son, Joseph Warren Revere. Some pews were called free pews for transients, and in 1812 pews in the north gallery were altered to accommodate "Black People."
1 Instead of being a box pew like the other pews in the church, pew No. 30 is a long, narrow pew extending to the south aisle.
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GENTLEMEN OF THE BAY
Of all the pews in the church the most interesting, however, is the large double pew under the pulpit. The sea captains coming into Boston harbor dreamed per- haps of a landmark all their own, for they were the first to propose a spire. In 1726 an offer to bring home from Honduras logwood, to be sold for the benefit of the church toward raising a fund to pay for a spire, came to naught. Owing to a breach of the Charter, "the Church did not reap any benefit at all from the Gentle- men's generosity."
Logwood was a very valuable commercial article as it was the source of black dye and commanded a high price. It gets its name from the form in which it is imported from the West Indies.1 It is still used as a base for black dye.
In 1727, however, another offer was accepted by the vestry, who voted June 9,
to procure a Vessell or Vessells that are convenient to fetch the Logwood from the Bay.
That a Pew be expeditiously built next to the Pulpit and lin'd handsomely For the use of the Gentlemen of ye Bay of Hondoras who have been or Shall be Benefactors to this Church.
That the Pew which is building for the Gent" of the Bay be handsomely lin'd with red Chany 2 and that Six prayer-books be bought and Constantly kept for their Use.
What happened in the next few years to delay the building of the spire we do not know. In any event, on December 26th, 1732, the vestry voted :
1 Through the courtesy of the American Dyewood Company, samples of different types of logwood were sent to the writer for the collection of articles relating to the building of the church.
2 A woolen or worsted fabric used in the 18th century in upholstering. There are many variations in spelling.
"Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony " George Francis Dow.
.
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That at & by the desire of Mr Bond & other Gent" of the Bay, present, They perceiving the pew fix't for them to be too Large and few to Sitt therein; For the good of the Church, Consented, & Consent to have it divided into two parts, One of them to remain for the Use of the Said Gentn & the other for the benefit of the Church.
In 1737 negotiations again were under way which in- duced a vote from the vestry that the Bay pew
Be imediately Restored (according to the first Grant) and be Constantly kept for the Use of the Said Gent" of the Bay: And that a Letter of thanks be Sent at first Op- portunity.
For the first shipment after this date, the church re- ceived two and one half tons of logwood which sold for thirty-two pounds per ton, a generous gift. The net pro- ceeds of the sale of logwood up to August 3, 1737, amounted to £323:17:8 which, together with a legacy of £50 from Captain Hitchcox, was voted: "to be lay'd out towards finishing and handsomely Compleating the Steeple." In October the Gentlemen of the Bay were treated to a collation for which the church paid nine pounds.
The contributions of logwood continued to come in and were sold for the benefit of the church. Early in 1740 preparations were well forward for the building of the spire, and another shipment of logwood was ready when the vestry could engage a vessel to bring it.
On the 15th of August 1740, the steeple was finished but the generous contributions of the sea captains con- tinued. In 1742/3 a consignment of logwood was ready for shipment, the Gentlemen of the Bay being only re- quired to put it on board the vessel and receiving there- for "a Cask of Brandy as a present To be used at ye Discres" of the Mast' of ye Vessell."
Until 1759 the Bay Pew remained as provided in pre- vious vote; but on September 5, 1759, the vestry unani- mously voted to divide the pew and sell the two pews
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n
thus made for the best price they could get, and so it remained until the alteration in 1806. At the restoration of the church in 1912, the pew came into its own and now bears the inscription :
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