USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > City of Melrose annual report 1862-1879 > Part 47
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43
APPENDIX.
towns, being chapter three hundred and seventy-eight of the acts of eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, is hereby extended one year.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved May 9, 1870.
The Centennial Fourth.
HISTORICAL ADDRESS
DELIVERED IN
TOWN HALL,
MELROSE, MASS.,
JULY 4, 1876.
BY
ELBRIDGE H. GOSS.
ALSO, THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE DAY.
Pribately printed. MELROSE, 1 876.
ADDRESS.
Mr. Chairman, and Fellow-Citizens : -
In accordance with Congressional act and Presidential proclamation, the people throughout the length and breadth of this good land of ours, are to-day assembled to make a note of passing events; to take a retrospective view of the past; to contemplate for a short time the small beginnings of our ancestors; their hardships, their struggles, their vic- tory. And we are assembled in our spacious town-hall now, to think, to talk, to hear something about Melrose -its early days, its growth, its people, its institutions. And we are here not only in accordance with the President's pro- clamation, but by recommendation, also, of our own, indi- vidual town, through its Board of Selectmen. These towns of ours : do we appreciate them as we ought? Do we fully realize what little independent kingdoms they are, governed and controlled in every minute particular by the people ? Nothing like them was known before our own New England was settled. Neither England nor any other country had known such independencies, such self-governed municipali- ties as have been, and are ours. Virginia, and all the rest of the colonies, excepting New England, were governed in a different manner. They had their counties, towns, hun- dreds, plantations and parishes; but the "municipality in New England was the simplest of all the municipal forms and the best adapted to develop the republican idea." Re- ferring to our early town system, George William Curtis says: "Each town was a small but perfect republic, as solitary and secluded in the New England wilderness as the Swiss
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
cantons among the Alps. No other practicable human insti- tution has been devised or conceived to secure the just ends of local government so felicitous as the town meeting." The choosing of selectmen and other officers at annual town meetings was first adopted by Massachusetts ; and to Charles- town -of which we were originally a part - belongs the honor of establishing the first Board of Selectmen, in 1635, six years after its settlement. Dorchester, two years before, had tried a plan which approached this idea, but the inhab- itants of Charlestown matured and consummated it, and adopted an order, the original of which is still preserved, with the signatures, and of which the following is a copy ; and a fac-simile of which may be found in Frothingham's "History of Charlestown :"-
" An order made by the inhabitants of Charlestowne at a full meeting for the government of the Town by Selectmen.
"In consideration of the great trouble and chearg of the inhabitants of Charlestowne by reason of the frequent meeting of the townsmen in generall and yt by reason of many men meeting things were not so easely brought unto a joynt issue. It is therefore agreed by the sayde townesmen ioyntly that these eleven men whose names are written on the other syde, (wth the advice of Pastor and Teacher desired in any case of conscience,) shall entreat of all such business as shall conscerne the Towns- men, the choice of officers excepted, and what they or the greater part of them shall conclude of the rest of the towne willingly to submit unto as their owne propper act, and these 11 to continue in this employment for one yeare next ensuing, the date hereof being dated this : 10th of February 1634 (1635.)
"In witness of this agreement we whose names are under written have set o'r hands."
Soon afterward the General Court embodied this idea in its legislation, and provided for general town government. Thenceforward, from that day to this, year after year, the people of the towns have met in open town-meeting, and with free discussion upon all questions, elected their Board of Selectmen, and other officers. and transacted all other necessary business. In short, the town-meeting ever has been, and now is, the true glory of New England ; and before
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TOWN OF MELROSE.
the Revolution, it was, indeed, "the nursery of American Independence."
Long before our independence was achieved, the Scrip- ture, "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof," had been cast into a certain bell, - destined to become a most famous one,- and placed upon the State House in Philadelphia. True, "prophetic voices con- cerning America" had spoken as early as 1752, when this bell was cast. Bishop Berkeley, Samuel Sewall, the Mar- quis D'Argenson, Turgot, and others, had plainly predicted the time when the colonies would be free ; the latter saying in 1750, "Colonies are like fruits, which hold to the tree only until their maturity ; when sufficient for themselves, they did that which Carthage afterwards did, -that which some day America will do." And it came to pass that this very bell, which had been broken and recast twice, and been in constant use since 1752, with this heaven-born inscription upon it, should, one hundred years ago, declare Liberty, and ring out to the world the glad tidings, that a new nation had " sprung into existence, proclaiming in language under- stood by every ear, All Men are Born Free and Equal." A century has passed since the declaration thus heralded, and which we have heard read to-day, became a reality ; and we are now enjoying the blessings then fought for and established ; and, at this moment, almost every town, city, and hamlet is commemorating the event. To-day we celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of that all-important, that eventful epoch in our history. It has been said that cen- tennial celebrations are "strikings of the great clock of time, which admonish us to ponder upon the teachings of the past, and rightly appreciate the responsibilities of the present." This is, indeed, the glorious fourth of July : the centennial fourth of July ' and are we not excusable if we indulge in a little self-glorification? But, to do this the most thoroughly, the most satisfactorily, it seems to me, it will be necessary for each to trace the rise and growth of their respective towns, from their small beginnings to their present stand-point.
The Congressional act calling us together, suggests only
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
"an historical sketch of the town from its formation." Strictly adhering to this, we should have nothing to do, now, except with events which have occurred from 1850 to the present time. We occupy too interesting a spot, this domain has been too long settled, to be thus summarily dismissed.
The territory of Melrose originally belonged to Charles- town, which was settled in 1629, and was a far more exten- sive region than now, as it included Malden, Woburn, Stone- ham, Burlington, Somerville, a large part of Medford, a small part of Cambridge and Reading. Difficulties concern- ing the boundaries of the different towns arose very early and were settled by the General Court. July 2, 1633, " Mystic side " was granted to Charlestown, when it was ordered that the "ground lyeing betwixte the North [Malden] Ryvr & the creeke on the north side of Mr. Mauacks [Maverick's] & soe vpp into the country, shall belong to the inhabitants of Charlton [Charlestown]. As " up into the country " did not determine how far the line should go, another order, passed March 3, 1636, was more definite : "That Charles Town bounds shall run eight myles into the country from their meeteing howse, if noe other bounds intercept." This undoubtedly covered our own Melrose territory. As Charles- town increased, its inhabitants crossed over the Mystic River as early as 1640, possibly before, and in that year a mill was erected near Mt. Prospect, by Thomas Coitmore. In 1649, this Mystic side was set off by the General Court and named Malden, from a town in England bearing the same name, whence some of the early settlers came. Johnson, in his "Wonder Working Providence" says that the " foundation stones " of Malden were laid " by certain persons who issued out of Charles Town, and indeed had her whole structure within the bounds of this more elder Town, being severed
by the broad spreading river of Mistick the one from the other, whose troublesome passage caused the people on the North side of the river to plead for Town priviledges within themselves." The act of incorporation was brief, as com- pared with one passed now-a-days. It was as follows : " Upon the petition of Mistick side men, they are granted
.
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TOWN OF MELROSE.
to be a distinct towne, & the name thereof to be called Mauldon." This whole region of Malden above the settle- ment was a dense forest and covered "with stately timber," say the Charlestown records; "and all the country round about an uncouth wilderness full. of timber." It was the home of the Indian and the wild beast. It has been said that when the first settlers at Boston sent out an exploring party, they came as far as the line of small hills below us in Malden, and turning back reported that beyond the hills was a dense wilderness, and that probably nobody would ever penetrate the jungles. If it were possible that those same original explorers, could again come out from Boston, and, leaving Malden behind them, move slowly up the val- ley, emerge from behind "Island Hill " and "Hog Island," behold the beautiful landscape spread out before them, and then on to the first resting place, right here, they would be somewhat amazed. No Indians ! no wild beasts! Nothing but harmless Melroseians! I think that this time they would not, as then, return and report that this was a "waste howling wilderness."
When Malden became a town, in 1649, all its northern part (the territory we now occupy) was a tract of over two thousand acres of undivided land; and came to be known as "The Commons." In time it was very desirable both as woodland and pasturage, and a variety of action was taken by the town looking to its preservation and utility ; and in Town Meeting, Nov. 20, 1694, it was "Voted, That ye common shall be divided : bottom and top, yt is, land and wood"; and, Nov. 26, a committee of three, Maj. Wm. John- son, Capt. John Smith and Capt. John Brown, reported to the town the manner in which it should be done. A com- mittee of seven were chosen to proceed with the division. It was ordered that this committee " employ an artis to lay out the lots." Every lot was to "run 82 poles in length," and there was to be allowed "two poles in breadth between every range of lots for highways." "Every proprietors name to be written distinctly, and ye lots be well shuffled together, and one man chose by the town to draw them out of a bag. The first name drawn to have the first lot."
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
This division was thus made in 1695, when seventy-four freeholders then in Malden received their respective allot- ments.
That this part of Malden known as "the Commons " was settled before this division of land was made in 1695, is very evident from the order laying out the first road through Malden by the General Court, in 1653, hereafter to be referred to ; and in the Malden records at this time, March 26, 1694, there is a report by a committee "to run lines between the Common & proprietors lands," as follows : "Run ye bounds Round Reedy pond ye bounds are first a great buttenwood tree before Joseph Lines dore-and so bounded Round with seuerall trees marked with letter C next common." This "Reedy Pond" is supposed to be a small pond very near the boundary between Melrose and Malden ; and there are those now living who remember to have heard it thus called, and who also remember the large buttonwood tree referred to. Another vote passed May 18, 1694, was "that Samuel Greenshall Injoy his hous and ye land yt stands on and so much land about It as ye Commite shall se cause to lay to It"; clearly showing that a Samuel Green had a house, and lived here thus early. A year later, when the division was made, in speaking of lot number 64, the phrase is used " part east against Redding Rhode & part on ye west of ye Greens farm." And it was not long after this division before a number of other families came here and settled; so that we had on our territory at the beginning of the year 1700, or very soon after, the families of six or seven different names.
In later years, as time rolled on, we were no longer " The Commons," but known as North Malden, and so re- mained until the year 1850, when, after several Legislative hearings, and a long struggle, an act incorporating the town of Melrose, was approved by Gov. George N. Briggs, on the 3d of May. Three years later, in 1853, after another severe contest, a part of Stoneham was set off to Melrose, giving us the greater portion of what we call the "Highlands"; and we now have a territory, roads and all, of nearly or quite thirty-five hundred square acres. Our name, Melrose, was
9
TOWN OF MELROSE.
adopted at the suggestion of our townsman, William Bogle, Esq., who had then been living here a few years, coming before the Boston and Maine Railroad was built, and when he had to go back and forth by the stage-coach, which com- menced running between Reading and Boston in 1798. Mr. Bogle evidently had two or three objects in view in offering us our name ; - one, a sweet sounding one, that had not been in common use, we being the first to adopt it in our country; another, as a memory of his native land; and still another, because of the great resemblance of our town to Melrose in Scotland : taking the "Abbey" out of the scene, and the similarity of the two places, the situation of the surrounding hills and the valley, is very striking.
OLD FAMILIES AND HOMESTEADS.
Although Melrose as a town is young in years, her terri- tory has been occupied over two centuries. We have houses that are, parts of them, very nearly if not quite two hundred years old ; possibly older. Here originally lived the Lyndes, the Greens, the Uphams, the Barretts, the Spragues, the Howards, and the Vintons. At a later date, but still far enough back to be called old settlers, some before, and some about the time of the Revolution, there came the Pratts, the Grovers, the Emersons, the Edmundses, the Herrings, and perhaps others; a very large part of these came from families that originally settled in Malden centre. Then still later the Larrabees, the Boardmans, the Hemmenways, the Tainters, the Fullers, and some others came to North Malden. Mr. Aaron Green very distinctly remembers, at a period about sixty years ago, when there were only thirty-five homesteads, all unpainted, in Melrose, and, recently, he very kindly pointed out to me where they stood, or are still standing. The dif- ferent branches of the earliest settlers I have mentioned occupied a very large share of these homesteads. This was thirty years before the Boston and Maine Railroad was built, which was opened through Melrose in 1845.
As we examine the voting and tax-lists of to-day, we see the reason for so long an array of the names of Upham, Lynde, Green, Sprague, Barrett, Vinton, and some others
2
10
HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
mentioned, nearly all of which have streets named in their memory. They were the original, early settlers of this beautiful spot. Here they lived and had their farms, their homesteads ; and after generations, leaving the old homes, built new ones, many of which are still standing, venerable and antique. How changed the scene to-day in this com- munity, as compared with those early days, or even a hun- dred years ago. Where then was only the few old fashioned homesteads, distant neighbors to each other, with, perhaps, fifty souls all told, now a thriving town of over four thou- sand inhabitants ; then the quiet and seclusion of a thoroughly rural and farm life, now the activity of a growing and in- dustrious community.
It is extremely interesting to think about these old fam- ilies of ours. "The sacred tie of family, reaching backward and forward, binds the generations of men together, and draws out the plaintive music of our being from the solemn alternation of cradle and grave," says Everett. I had in- tended, if possible, in a somewhat particular manner to trace out the farms and homesteads of most or all of the original settlers of Melrose ; this would require time and much patient research of musty documents and records-and it could not be done in the short time allotted me for my task. I can only touch upon these matters, and give you a few items which I have gathered concerning them. A partial collec- tion of materials for such a history and description has been made by our townsman, Artemas Barrett, Esq., who intends to finish the search and give us the result if his life is spared long enough. It is a difficult undertaking, requiring much patience, research and leisure ; our hope is that his desire and intention may come to a successful fruition.
The Lyndes are one of the oldest of our families, and have owned, in former times, nearly all of the southern part of Melrose. They all descended from Ensign Thomas Lynde, who came to Malden soon after its incorporation, and was the eldest son of Thomas, who came over and set- tled at Charlestown, becoming a freeman in 1634. On the old road, now Washington Street, there stands the oldest of the Lynde houses; and it is, also, the oldest house in
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TOWN OF MELROSE.
Melrose, known as the Jabez, or Jabe Lynde house. Tra- dition says that it is over two hundred years of age; and this may be so, for we shall see that this territory was occu- pied by the Lynde family as early as 1653; whether so or not, there are many here who remember its old fashioned style; its little diamond paned windows with leaden sashes, and its wide front door through which its huge fire logs of the early days were drawn. A few years ago this house was altered over, and is now known as the "Grundy house." Near by, back from this same street, is the Jonathan Lynde homestead, which is very old indeed, and by some has been thought the oldest of the two. Jonathan died a few years ago at the age of 85, and his brother William is now living there, at the age of 83. In this old house was born our townsman, Mr. Aaron Green, whose father once tilled this farm for a number of years. The Joseph Lynde house, a large portion of it, on the plain yonder,-that place that ever looks so charming, its buildings so clean, white and beauti- ful,-is a very old one. In the cellar of this house, there is, indeed, a relic of "ye olden time," which I have examined. It is an oak log, a little larger and taller than a barrel, scooped out like a mortar, with an iron hoop around the top; the pestle is gone. In this the corn was pounded and ground. As the Coitmore mill was built in 1640, and was not over two miles distant from any of the Lynde houses, it would seem as if this must have been in use before that time ; possibly economy caused them to use it, notwith- standing the nearness of the mill, so that it may not be so very ancient; however that may have been, no one seems to be able to say ; and I only know, that there it is, a curious relic of by-gone days. The Warren Lynde house, a little way this side, on Main Street, stands on the site of the old homestead, in which he and his brothers and sisters, -one of the sisters being the mother of Artemas Barrett, - were born; as was also their father, Benjamin, before them. The old house was burned many years since and the present one built. Mr. Lynde tells me that an old cellar-hole existed on the road, now Sylvan Street, up to the time when the Wyoming Cemetery was laid out, when it was filled ; he
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
has ever understood this to be where lived one of the early Lynde families, but does not know which one; it was not far from the old original road of 1653. The John Lynde house, on "Louisburg Square," at the junction of Lebanon, Grove and Lynde Streets, was built by John's father, Joseph, considerably over a hundred years ago, and is now in good condition ; and the magnificent elm tree standing in front of it was set out by the builder of the house very nearly a century ago. The oldest living representatives of the various Lynde families, is the William Lynde already mentioned, who is 83 years of age.
The ancestor of all the Greens in Melrose was Thomas Green, who settled in Malden as early as 1651. He very early owned a farm of sixty-three acres at the " Highlands," and it was probably this farm, then in the hands of his son Samuel, that is referred to as being exempted when "the Commons " were divided in 1695. However early the orig- inal Thomas may have owned it, from that day to this, a portion of the same farm has been in the possession of his descendants. His grandson John lived here when he died in 1736. How long he had been here I do not know, but in his will he left to his son John "my dwelling house and barn, and the land adjoining, that lyeth on the west side of the country road that leadeth from Malden to Reading, that was my grandfather's"; and to his son Jonah, or Jonas, "all my land on the east side of the country road aforesaid." This old homestead was on what was known as "Back Lane," which led from the old road spoken of to Stoneham, before the county road from Stoneham to Lynn was built. John's property was inherited by his son John, - the Johns were thick in the Green family,-who built and lived in what has been known for many years as the "John Green House," on Franklin Street near Main, which still stands, though moved from its original site, back from the street, and modernized. The house of Jonas Green, son of the Jonas with whom the land was divided in 1753, still stands in its original condition, on the right hand side of Main Street, over "Reading Hill," almost to the line between Wakefield and Melrose. The oldest descendant of the
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TOWN OF MELROSE.
Green family living with us to-day, is Mrs. Nancy Green Emerson,- mother of Mr. James G. Emerson, - who is now 87 years of age.
The Barretts are one of our oldest Melrose families. Deacon Jonathan Barrett, son of James, who was born in Malden in 1644, and grandson of James who first settled in Charlestown in 1635, came to Melrose about 1705, and built his homestead on or near " Barrett Lane," now Porter Street. His grandson, Joseph, built on the present Porter place, and his homestead still forms a part of the residence of Mr. Charles Porter. His son, Captain Jonathan Barrett, bought the house on Vinton Street, now known as the " Mountain House," in which he commenced the manufacture of shoes, and was the first and only one who carried on that business until he died, when he was succeeded by the late Mr. George Emerson. Capt. Barrett was the father of Artemas Barrett, Esq., who is with us to-day, and who was born in this same old " Mountain House," as were also others of the Barretts, among them Mr. Jonathan Barrett, also with us. An uncle of Artemas, Peter Barrett, was the father of Augustus, until recently one of our citizens, now of Claremont, N. H. The oldest living representative of these families now with us, is Mr. Charles Barrett, aged 70.
The Spragues are one of our early families. In 1629, three brothers, Ralph, Richard, and William Sprague settled at Charlestown, and their names are first on a list of the inhabitants for that year. John, the oldest son of Ralph, settled in Malden, near the Coitmore mill, which was for many years in possession of the Sprague family. The young- est son of John, Phineas, came to Melrose not far from the year 1700, as his son, Phineas, was born here that year; and the homestead was on what is now Foster Street, and the residence of Liberty Bigelow, Esq., stands on its site. The grandson of our first Phineas, also named Phineas, was the Revolutionary patriot of whom so many anecdotes are told, and succeeded to the old farm and homestead on Foster Street. In later years, previous to the ownership of Mr. Bigelow, it was known as the Cotton Sprague place, Cotton being a son of Phineas. The old house still standing at the
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
corner of Foster and Vinton Streets, near the Barrett home- stead, was known as the Jonathan Sprague place, Jonathan being another son of Phineas, and brother of Cotton. Here in this neighborhood, around the Barrett homestead and manufactory, was situated "the village," where, fifty years and more ago, the people from different parts of the town would congregate for social chat and pleasure. The nearest house to "the village," after the Sprague houses just men- tioned, was that of John Larrabee, -the great-grandfather of our present Town Clerk, John Larrabee, Esq.,-situated on Vinton Street, now the residence of Mr. Smith W. Nichols.
Many interesting things might be told concerning the third Phineas Sprague who lived on Foster Street. Mr. Artemas Barrett has many of his original papers, some of which have been printed. His account of the fearfully dark day, from a diary he kept, will only now be given.
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