Danvers, Massachusetts : a resume of her past history and progress, together with a condensed summary of her industrial advantages and development : biographies of prominent Danvers men, 1899, Part 10

Author: Moynahan, Frank E., 1865-1917. 4n
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: [Danvers, Mass.] : Published in the interest of the town by the Danvers Mirror
Number of Pages: 224


USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Danvers > Danvers, Massachusetts : a resume of her past history and progress, together with a condensed summary of her industrial advantages and development : biographies of prominent Danvers men, 1899 > Part 10


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HISTORICAL SOCIETY ROOM.


structive and are helpful to a study of the past, its events, its famous men, the fath- ers and mothers, their thought, manners, customs, habits, circumstances and life.


Of these many attractions may be men- tioned portraits of George Washington, Queen Victoria, the late A. A. Low of Brooklyn, John G. Whittier, Dr. Amos Putnam, Gen. Moses Porter, Rev. Drs. Isaac and Milton P. Braman, William Lloyd Garrison, Parker Pillsbury, George Peabody, John D. Philbrick, Charles Sum- ner, Horace Greeley, Gen. Israel Putnam and some of his descendants at Marietta,


paign, and flags of the country used on various occasions, with a French Tricolor captured during the Rebellion, and the stars and stripes still intertwined with the ensign of Great Britain, as when last year the Right Honorable Joseph Cham- berlain and Mrs. Chamberlain with their party made their memorable visit at the rooms ; military coats, weapons, or oth- er mementos of many a Danvers hero of the wars, with relics from Gettysburg and battlefields besides ; finely mounted shell cases used by the Marblehead in the re- cent attack on Santiago, with accompany-


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ing illustrations ; Sitting Bull's wampum belt and other Indian regalia ; crane from the old Rebecca Nurse house, coeval with her time ; saddle bag and muslin bands once used by Rev. Dr. Braman ; original manuscript of George Peabody's last ad- dresses in Danvers ; large pewter plate of the old Hancock family ; one of the Tea Stamps that hastened or caused the Rev- olution ; a Chinese Proclamation of friend- liness for the Missionaries ; autographs of Queen Victoria and George Washington, and a hundred notables more with scores of facsimile autograph letters of renowned Kings and Queens of England and other celebrated Europeans, from originals in the British Museum; and pieces from Cardinal Wolsey's Mulberry tree at Scroo- by, Napoleon's shroud at St. Helena, King Phillips' cap, the old and long since vanished North Bridge at Concord, "Old Ironsides," Farragut's flagship, Plymouth Rock, and Mt. Sinai's granite summit. The rooms are crowded with all such things as are above indicated.


But aside from the Library and Museum the Society has each year a very entertain- ing and instructive course of lectures of a historical, biographical or scientific char- acter, or else of a general literary kind, or descriptive of American scenery or foreign countries. It holds also, annually, its New Year's Reunion and Festival, and each summer takes an excursion to some historic spot or other interesting place, in the region round about, for recreation and instruction. From time to time, it has fitly commemorated important events or epochs such as the Battle of Lexington, the Witchcraft Delusion on its Two Hun- dredth Anniversary, Old Anti-Slavery Days, and the Life, Character and Ser- vices of General Israel Putnam as viewed in the light of a hundred years after his death. At these lectures or other occa- sions a long line of distinguished persons from out of town have appeared before the members and friends and have dis- coursed most ably and eloquentlv on varied and important subjects : Hon. Mellen Chamberlain, Parker Pillsbury, Rev. Samuel Way of Leicester, Lucy Stone, Rev. Robert Collyer, Frank B. San- born, Governor Greenhalge, Major


George L. Porter of Bridgeport, Conn., Senator Hoar, Hon. Charles Francis Adams, Hon. Robert S. Rantoul, Presi- dent E. H. Capen of Tufts College, and numerous others of high repute, while many honored members of the Society itself have likewise contributed to the in- terest and success of its meetings.


The present officers and directors of the Society are as follows : Officers-Rev. Alfred P. Putnam, D. D., president ; Hon. Alden P. White, vice president ; Miss Sarah W. Mudge, secretary ; Walter A. Tapley, treasurer; George Tapley, librarian ; Mrs. Charles F. Kenney, cura- tor ; Mrs. Henry Newhall, assistant cura- tor ; Ezra D. Hines, historian. Directors -William A. Jacobs, Rev. Watson M. Ayres, Mrs. Mary W. Putnam, Mrs. Ellen M. Dodge, Hon. Samuel L. Sawyer, Miss Mary W. Nichols, Charles H. Preston, Miss Anne L. Page, William O. Hood. Executive committee-Hon. A. P. White, chairman ; Rev. A. P. Putnam, D. D., Charles H. Preston, Hon. S. L. Sawyer and Rev. W. M. Ayres.


Walnut Grove Cemetery.


On the first day of May, 1843, a notice was issued by Henry Fowler, calling on the citizens of North Danvers to meet to take into consideration the establishment of a cemetery in the north part of the town and a committee was chosen to se- lect a suitable site. On May 20, this committee reported favorably on the grove and adjacent lands of Judge Samuel Put- nam and a subscription paper was issued with the result that on May 27, Henry Fowler reported that eleven hundred and forty dollars had been subscribed, and that sale had been found for sixty lots. The members, on Oct. 17, became incor- porated under the general laws and elect- ed as the first Board of Trustees :- Elias Putnam, Gilbert Tapley, Moses Black, Joshua Silvester, Henry Fowler, Nathaniel Boardman, Thomas Cheever, Eben G. Berry, William J. C. Kenney, Daniel Richards, Nathan Tapley, Samuel P. Fow- ler, Alonzo A. Edgerton, John Bates and Samuel Preston. Hon. Elias Putnam was elected as the first President of the cor-


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poration. The name of Sylvan Rest Cemetery was adopted Oct. 26, 1843, which was subsequently, on June 15, 1844, changed to Walnut Grove Cemetery. The cemetery was consecrated on June 23, 1844, and the first interment was on July 27, 1844. The grounds of the cemetery at present comprise about twenty acres, with about an equal frontage on Sylvan, Ash and Adams streets, and over seven hundred lots have been sold. There is a receiving tomb in the Cemetery and the Trustees have in view the erection of a receiving chapel. Generally speaking, the formation of the older portion of the grounds is that of opposite hillsides gently sloping to meet in a central valley, wa- tered by brooks, and well wooded. Add- ing to the natural features of the landscape the work that is being constantly done in the improvement, care and beautifying of the grounds, the Walnut Grove Cemetery is itself the best monument to those men, in whose wisdom and energy it had its origin, and is most worthy of the pride so generally felt in it. To the end that the cemetery may never, through the lack of support, fall into the melancholy condition of a neglected graveyard, the trustees have made special efforts in two directions :- first, to the formation of a " Permanent Fund," the income of which is to be used exclusively for the care of the avenues, paths, bridges, fences, etc., and not for individual lots ; and second, to induce lot owners to endow their lots, either by direct contract or by will, with such a sum that the income thereof shall be sufficient for the perpetual care of the lot.


Governor John Endecott.


Nothing definite is known of his life be- fore he came to New England, except that tradition says he was born in Dor- chester, Dorsetshire, England, in 1588, and came of the gentry class. On June 20th, 1628 he sailed from Weymouth in the ship Abigail, and landed in Salem on September 6th, 1628, with his wife, Anna Gouer, who was a cousin of Governor Matthew Cradock. Soon after their ar- rival his wife died, and on August 18th, 1630, he married Elizabeth Gibson of


Cambridge, England, who had probably recently come ov er in the ship with Gov- ernor John Winthrop. The Governor-and all his descendants, until 1724, spelled their name Endecott, when an "i" was substituted for the "e" in the second syllable.


On July 3rd, 1632, the Court of Assis- tance granted Mr. Endecott 300 acres of land (in what is now Danversport) called by the Indians, in English, Birchwood, and afterwards known as the " Orchard Farm." The Governor, in the following year, planted his far-famed orchard, of which a single tree remains today, and still, after the storms of many New Eng- land winters, bears abundant fruit.


In 1634 the colony was greatly excited by rumors that a commission had been granted to two Archbishops and ten others of the Council, offering authority to them to regulate the plantation of New England, to establish the Episcopal church in the colony, to recall its Charter, and to remove its Governor and make its laws. It was at this time that Endecott cut the red cross from the King's colors, deeming it a relic of popery, and the sword with which he cut out this cross is still pre- served as a relic in the family. In sup- port of this conduct on the part of Ende- cott, the military commissioners, in 1636, ordered that the cross should be left out of the King's colors, and substituted in the ensigns at Castle Island, in Boston Har- bor, the King's arms.


In 1636 Endecott was chosen Colonel, and commanded the first unsuccessful ex- pedition against the Pequot Indians. In 164I he was chosen Deputy Governor, which office he held for four years, also in the years 1650 and 1654. In 1644, 1649, 1651-53, 1655-65 he was chosen Governor of the colony, serving in all a period of sixteen years as such, longer than any Governor who held office under the old charter. In 1645 he was chosen Sergeant-Major-General, which office he held for the period of four years. At the urgent request of his friends in 1655 he moved to Boston, but he and his wife did not sever their connection with the Salem church until 1664.


" Old age and the infirmities thereof com-


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Ting upon him, he fell asleep in the Lord on the 15th day of March, 1665," and was buried on March 23rd with great 'honor in King's Chapel Burying Ground, Boston. Tradition states that he was buried on the left-hand side of the en- trance to King's Chapel, now under the pavement of Tremont street, and that his


sition distinguished him, more than hi other mental accomplishments or his out ward condition in life. I have seen a let ter from the Secretary of State in Kin; Charles the Second's time in which is thi expression-' The King would take it wel if the people would leave out Mr. Ende cott from the place of Governor. ' "


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F


GOVERNOR JOHN ENDECOTT'


152000


tombstone was in perfect preservation un- til the beginning of the American Revo- lution, when it, with others, was destroyed by British soldiers.


1


Hutchinson says - "Endicott was among the most zealous undertakers and the most rigid in principles. 'This dispo-


W. C. Endicott.


William Crowninshield Endicott, son of William Putnam and Mary Crowninshield Endicott, was born in Salem in the wes- terly side of the house on the corner of Curtis and Derby streets, on November


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ENDICOTT MANSION AND BURYING GROUND.


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19, 1826, and is a lineal descendant in the eighth generation from Governor John Endecott. Educated in the public and pri- vate schools of Salem, he entered Harvard College in 1843, and graduated therefrom in 1847. Immediately he began the study offlaw in the office of Nathaniel J. Lord,


Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts which office he held until 1882, when he resigned. In 1884 he was Democratic candidate for Governor of Massachusett: but failed to be elected. From 1885 to 1889 he was Secretary of War in Presi- dent Cleveland's cabinet. Since that


HON. W. C. ENDICOTT


at that time a prominent lawyer in Salem, and in 1850 was admitted to the Essex County Bar, where for many years he practiced, being a member of the firm of Perry & Endicott.


In 1873 Governor Washburn appointed Mr. Endicott an Associate Justice of the


time Mr. Endicott has led a retired life. From 1867 to 1894 he was President of the Peabody Academy of Science of Sa- lem, founded by George Peabody of London. From 1884 to 1895 he was a Fellow of Harvard College. From 1889 to 1894 a Trustee of the Peabody South-


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ern Educational Fund. On December 13th, 1859, he married Miss Ellen Pea- body, daughter of the late George Pea- body of Salem, and in 1893 he moved to Danvers, and now lives with his family upon a farm which has belonged to va- rious members of the Peabody family.


Since the earliest days the Endicott family have been identified with the town of Danvers. It was only at the end of the last century that Samuel Endicott, the grand fa the r of the subject of this sketch, moved to Sa- lem from the Orchard Farm, now in Danverspo rt, and led an active life as a sea faring man.


Mr. Endi- cott's son, William Crownin- shield Endi- cott, Jr., at present owns the " Orchard Farm," which with the ex- ception of the years between 1828 and 1867 has been continually in the family.


Hon. Alden P. White.


Ex-District


Attorney Alden P. White's ancestry reach- es through typical and familiar county families ; and he cherishes the New Eng- land spirit and traditions with loyal en- thusiasm. He was born in Danvers in 1856, spending ten years of his childhood in South Danvers, now Peabody, and re- ceiving his early education in the public schools of that town, Danvers and Salem. Mr. White graduated with honors with


the Amherst class of '78, and after a course at the Harvard Law School, studied in the office of Perry & Endicott, Salem. He was admitted to the Essex Bar in 188 1 and has been in constant practice ever since, with offices at Salem. In 1890 he was appointed a special justice of the First Essex District Court, resigning to accept the position of assistant to Hon. William H. Moody, during the latter's first term as District Attorney, and was re-appoint ed three years later. Upon Mr. Moody's promotion to Congress, Mr. White was his logical s u c- cessor, and in his adminis- tra tion he ful- filled every expectation created dur- ing his earlier connection with the of- fi ce, taking high rank among the lawyers of New Eng- la n d. Out- side of his of- ficial work, Mr. White has been largely inter- ested in mat- ters of gener- al public concern and has served upon the School Committee of Salem and as a trustee of the Peabody Institute of Danvers. He is a director of the Essex Institute of Salem, and of the Salem Oratorio Society and was one of the found ers of the Danvers Historical Society, of which he is at present an officer. Mr. White has written an excellent history of Danvers for the "History of Essex County."


HON. A. P. WHITE.


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DANVERS.


The Old Berry Tavern.


One of the most essential features of a live and growing community is a good hotel. Danvers has never been far be- hind in this respect, for the reputation of the Old Berry Tavern has spread far be- yond the confines of the town and state, and it has always been a favorite stopping place for travelling men. But popular as the old hotel has been in its more than a century of existence, it has up to the present time lacked all of those modern


some colonial fronts, with porches and porte-cochere, shining resplendent in the glow of electricity and gas in the evening, reveling in the warmth of steam-heat and a dozen or more open fire-places on cold winter days, boasting bath-rooms galore, public and private, all the latest applian- ces of the cuisine, including a separate boiler for steam-cooking, and every room fitted out and furnished in cosy and com- fortable, if not luxurious style. What would our forefathers, who knew the house in old stage-coach days, say, could they


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OLD BERRY TAVERN.


conveniences once looked upon as luxu- ries but now considered necessities. It was to supply this defect that the owners of the property set about in May, 1898, to thoroughly overhaul and remodel the house and add about twenty much needed rooms. The transformation has indeed been wonderful, and from an old-fash- ioned village inn, with its kerosene lamps and stoves, a plain exterior and not too inviting interior, it has blossomed into a thoroughly up-to-date hotel, with hand-


come back to earth just long enough for a glance at the place? What would the late Eben G. Berry, who was connected with the tavern for three-quarters of a century, and whose name it now bears, say, could he but see the result of the labor of his public spirited heirs? He would undoubtedly commend their judg- ment, for he was a progressive man, once thoroughly convinced of the feasibility of a proposed change. Some of our people, alas, unlike him, carry their conservatism


DANVERS.


. 1


MAIN PARLORS


THE


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to the extreme, and there are not wanting those who have discouraged the present owners by predictions that it was too pre-


The house is situated in Danvers Square, at the intersection of the four principal streets of the village. It is far enough back from the streets, how- ever, to be in a degree retired, and the lawns in front of the house and on the side are graced by noble elms and other trees which cast a grate- ful shade in summer and add much to the beauty of the sit- uation. The strip of land on the Maple street side, just be- yond the porte-cochere, must, by the terms of the will of Mr. Eben G. Berry, be forever kept free from buildings, which makes it a park. The house faces the south, as did all the houses of our forefathers, and


The


OFFICE.


SITTING ROOMS.


ONE OF THE


PRIVATE


0


tentious a house for the town. Possibly this may be true, but since the house looks for busi- ness outside of the town, and its mission is to attract per- sons into it, the wisdom of the large outlay which has rendered the house and grounds homelike and inviting may yet be apparent. It was a large venture, for a town the size of ours, we will ad- mit, but the same liberal spirit which characterized the expenditures during the tran- sition period is to dominate the advertising, which all business, more especially a hotel, needs, and there can be, there will be, but one end and that will be spelled " success."


the rooms are bright and pleasant all day long.


The tavern is surpassed by none and


DANVERS.


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equalled by but few in the comfort and convenience of its general plan and is at- tractive as a winter home for families who


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desire to avoid the cares o f housekeeping, as well as a A ROOM WITH summer resort PRIVATE for those who BATH. want to enjoy the beauties of the country, but who are compelled by business to re- main within easy travelling distance of the city. Danvers is but four miles from Salem, with close electric and steam car connections, and of the thousands who yearly visit the historic shrines of that city it is the hope of the proprietor to attract a few to this town, for longer or shorter stays. We are but eighteen miles from Boston, with forty trains daily, the expresses making the run in forty- two minutes. The whole North Shore, with its hundreds of beautiful summer homes, is within easy driving distance and the sweet odors of pine and fir and balsam in any one of a dozen or more ten mile drives. There is a good liv- ery stable, where teams can be had at rea- sonable prices, or private teams boarded.


The present lessee of the house is Mr. Louis Brown, who has had a large experi- ence. His ideas as to how to run a house may be gathered from the appended paragraphs, taken from his souvenir book- let, issued when the house opened last year :-


"' A com- petent chef and as- sistants have been plac e d in the culin- ary de- part- ment, and those


who have p a r- taken of the fare p r o- nounce it un- quali-


DOWN


"THE CORRIDOR


A GLIMPSE


fiedly the best in the county. We believe that a good table, and a clean, well-


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1


ROOMS.


DINING


A PORTION OF THE


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lighted, well-heated and well-ventilated room are the best advertisements a hotel can have, and we shall never hesitate or waver in our purpose to keep near the top in these important requisites of good living. The main portion of the present house was built at a period when fire- places were necessary, and thus we find in all the corner rooms on each floor these conveniences. They can hardly be said to be necessary in the Berry Tavern of today, for the heating apparatus is more than ample for all the de- mands that may be made upon it, but they add to the attract i v e- ness and health ful- ness of the rooms, fur- nishing a s they do per- fect ventila- tion. The whole en- viron ment of the place is as home- like as it is possible to make it, and an air o f hospi- tality a n d good cheer perv a de s. It is an ideal spot and its popularity in the past is amply attested by the fact that a public house has been maintained con- tinuously on the corner since 1741. Its future depends upon us, and we shall ex- haust every energy in keeping it always up to the times."


The Berry tavern is one of the old-time taverns, and while no effort has been made to trace it back of the Revolution, it is known in a general way that it was part of the original Porter grant and that a public house was maintained there as


early as 1741. It is positively known that it was conducted during the revolu- tion by John Porter, and, after his death, by his widow, Aphia. Toward the close of the century, said to be about 1796, it passed into the hands of Timothy and Jethro Putnam. Ebenezer, father of the late Eben G. Berry, bought the farm from the Putnams in 1804. The old hotel on the site of the present one was sold at auction in three sections in 1838, and these were removed to make room for the erection of the original portion o f the present hotel. Mr. Eben G. Berry con- ducted the house up to 1870, when he retired from active manage- ment. w a s for a time known as the How- ard house, a Mr. How- ard being the land- lord. Later Elias M a- goon took the lease, and he in turn was succeeded by Edwin A. Southwick, who managed it up to the time of his death in 1895. Mr. Berry died the same year, and during the settle- ment of the Southwick and Berry estates, Mr. Littlefield managed the house. The present lessee, Mr. Brown, took posses- sion in the latter part of 1896.


It


THE LATE EBEN G. BERRY.


Danvers has lately come into promi- nence as a summer resort, not to the ex- tent that its fashionable neighbor Hamil- ton has, distant some four miles, but in a moderate degree its country roads and hillsides are dotted with unpretentious


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DANVERS.


residences which shelter those who hie themselves to the cities as soon as the first frosts come. Of late years many private families have taken summer boarders and the warm weather colony is constantly on the increase. One looking for the excitements of fashionable society should not consider Danvers as a summer home. He will not find such within our borders. But the man of business who wants a place for his family where he can get the greatest amount of pure ozone and the most comfortable place to e it and sleep for the least expenditure of money, will do well to pause and consider the claims of the place. We have not, perhaps, the rural environment of Topsfield, Mid- dleton and Box- ford, our nearest neighbors on the north, but we are in closer touch with the outside world and a man can go to and come from the city at all hours of the day and night.


The " Old Berry Tavern " is not a high-priced house. Its terms are as moderate as it is possible to make them for the con- veniences given.


MAJ. F. C. DAMON.


The rooms are graded in price and any persons interested may secure further information by sending for the souvenir booklet, which will be mailed to them free.


The completion of the hotel marks the end, so far as the Berry family is con- cerned, of one of the most rapid and re- markable developments of property ever known in town. Ten years ago this spring the hotel was a portion of the large landed estate of Eben G. Berry, consist-


ing of about 40 acres, the whole being assessed for but $30,000. The rear land was opened up in 1889, and the first house, the one now standing at the cor- ner of Park and Alden streets, was built in the following year. Today on the ground formerly occupied by this $30,000 estate, the town has taxable property to the ex- tent of $130,525 by the assessors' books -over four-fold increase in ten years. The next decade will see yet another great increase, for there are still about fifty undeveloped lots owned by a score or more of indi- viduals. New streets have been opened up each year, and more are now needed. Following the lines laid down by Mr. Berry in his later years his heirs have given to the townspeo- ple the really beautiful little public house which is the sub- ject of this sketch.


In the work of remodeling they have been assisted by Major Frank C. Damon, who, a s Mr. Berry's trusted agent, aided materially in the develop- ment of his valu- able estate, and, in company with the late John S. Learoyd, managed it as co-executor from the time of Mr. Berry's death in August, 1895 up to the sale of the last lot, its final settlement and divi- sion among the heirs, in August, 1898.


Few towns of the size of Danvers are so fortunate as to possess a public house of the beauty, size and modern equipment of the old Berry tavern, and it is no won- der that the summer of 1899 finds prac- tically every room occupied many guests coming from distant points




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