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 5
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REBECCA NURSE MONUMENT
as often as Memorial day returns, gather the thinning ranks of their comrades of Ward Post 90, of the Grand Army of the Republic, and a multitude of the people of the town, in loving and tender remem- brance of the honored dead and with fresh consecration to the service and weal of the Union for which they gave their lives.
Danvers had its first post-office in 1836 ; its Savings Bank in 1850. The Town House, built in 1854 at the junction of Holten and Sylvan streets for munici- pal purposes, public meetings and the High School, was lengthened 25 feet in 1883, and was much reconstructed and enlarged in 1896. The original Danvers Peabody Institute building, which was dedicated in the presence of Mr. Pea- body himself, July 14, 1869, was de- stroyed by fire, June 2, 1890, and was suc- ceeded, two years later, by the more clas- sic and com- modious edi- fice of to-day. This was dedi- cated, Oct. 19, 1892, and is still surround- ed by the trees and plants and walks with which its ample grounds had been so tastefully and diligently orna- mented by that honored and public spirit- ed benefactor of the town, Joshua Silves- ter. The State Lunatic Hospital, on Hathorne hill, began to be built in 1874 and was opened for patients in 1878. The fine system of water works for the town, with its reservoir of pure Middleton supplies, on Hathorne hill, was established in 1875. The Monument to Rebecca Nurse, in the family grove cemetery in Tapleyville, was erected and consecrated in 1885, and the Tablet on the same grounds to the memory of her Forty Friends, in 1892. The electric light sys- tem for the streets and buildings of the town was commenced in 1888 and com- pleted in 1890. " Danvers," we read " was
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the pioneer town in this state to establish electric lighting on its own account." And, recently, the war with Spain for the emancipation of the Queen of the An- tilles again appealed to the sympathy of the patriotic citizens, and the enthusiasm of the people, as Capt. A. P. Chase and his brave men of Co. K went forth in May, 1898, to join the 8th Regiment under gallant Col. W. A. Pew, for whatever ser- vice they might render, was lost in joy at their return in April, 1899. First to vol- unteer, the Regiment encamped chiefly at the South, but finally at Matanzas, Cuba.
its ample apartments and admirable ar- rangements ; the Lexington monument, and near it the site of the old Bell Tav- ern, now occupied by a fine new residence built by the late J. B. Thomas ; the little house in which the great Nathaniel Bow- ditch passed a portion of his childhood and in which he began the studies that afterward made him so useful and cele- brated; the birthplace of George Pea- body, and the homes of many a famous soldier, or citizen, or historic family. But we have not yet done with Danvers, whose other attractions are quite as nota-
THE PAGE HOUSE.
In this rapid and somewhat chronologi- cal survey of the history of Danvers, we have had occasion, incidentally, to refer briefly to some of the more interesting old landmarks and other objects or places of note, which, it may be supposed, visitors of the town generally like to see. The stranger will not have far to go to find in Peabody, also, enough to pay him well for his trouble ;- in the first Peabody Institute, with its portrait of the generous founder and other costly treasures he gave to it, including the priceless picture of Queen Victoria ; the massive Town Hall, with all
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ble as any hitherto mentioned ;- the well known house, near the base of Asylum or Hathorne Hill, in which General Israel Putnam was born and spent much of his earlier life, and where was born, also, Colonel David, his elder brother, a promi- nent citizen and " a dashing cavalry offi- cer ;" the old dormer-windowed Page house, at the Plains, which was the home of Col. Jeremiah Page, and of his sons, Capt. Samuel and John,-in one of whose rooms General Gage had his private office in 1774, and on whose roof in that olden time gathered the memorable "tea
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party " of Lucy Larcom's inimitable verse ; the house of Daniel Rea and several of his generations from 1636-and within the last century or two, of Dea. and Capt. Edmund Putnam, and of his son and grandson, Israel and Elias, with others
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REA-PUTNAM-FOWLER HOUSE.
of his descendants ; the finely situated and dignified old mansion of Hon. Na- than Read and of Capt. Benjamin Porter after him, in full view of Water's River on which the former tried his not wholly unsuccessful invention for steam naviga- tion before the days of Robert Fulton ; "Oak Knoll " on Summer street, where Whit- tier, New England's dearest bard of love to God and love to man, found the delightful retreat of his declining years, and where John Putnam, emi- grant progenitor, pitched his tent more than two and a half centuries ago; the stately stone edifice of St. John's Catholic College, a short dis- tance at the north, or at the corner of Summer street and Spring avenue ; and the " Old Berry Tavern," which, with its newly reconstructed and grand proportions, as well as with its early fame as an hostelry and as a public, municipal, literary and social centre, fronts the Plains Square and Maple street and still extends its friendly welcome as aforetime to all
who may come for the pleasant walks, drives and sights which Danvers offers to visitors. With Moynahan's and Hines' in- structive and exquisite " Historic Dan- vers," or Major F. C. Damon's pretty " Little Book about Danvers" (also illus- trated), in hand, they may betake themselves through the peaceful and flourishing villa- ges and over or along the quiet brooks and rivers, and find in Sylvan, Holten, Lo- cust, and many another street, as well as in such beautiful neighborhoods as the Fern- croft district and in such storied and commanding hills as Hathorne's, Lindall's and Browne's, abundant charms for the lovers of nature as well as the votaries of history. There are few more interest- ing parts of Danvers than Browne's Hill, popularly known as "Browne's Folly " or " Folly Hill," whose story, with its ac- count of Hon. William Browne of Salem, and of the " splendid mansion " which he built on its summit about the year 1740, but which was abandoned shortly after in consequence of an earthquake and was
OAK KNOLL.
finally removed in three portions to the Plains, is admirably told in Mr. Hines' pamphlet article, previously mentioned. His pages contain various extracts from a letter which Nathaniel Hathorne wrote
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about the hill and its house in his own characteristic style, Aug. 28, 1860, and in which the great romancer still indulges his passion for the strange or marvelous, besides telling us that one of the favorite haunts of his boyhood was along the west- ern base where " ran a green and seldom trodden lane " and " a little brook " which he " dammed up till its overflow made a mimic ocean." When he last looked for the "tiny streamlet," it was quite " shrunken," and " dry," but " the green lane was still there " and there it is to-day, though sadly shorn of trees that shaded it many years ago. Hawthorne's entire letter was published anew in the Danvers Mirror of Dec. 13, 1877.
Hon. Robert Rantoul, Jr., Beverly's brilliant and still lamented statesman, wrote in 1852 : "Danvers may well be proud of her history. She is one of a group of towns which has done as much for the liberties of the na- tion and the world, as any other equal population on the continent." But,how- ever rich and blest she may be in the memories of her past, she is still strong in the intelligence, the industry, the energy, the thrift and the virtue of her people. Her farmers of to- day, by their well cultivated fields, as by their own mind and character, give am- ple proof that they are the worthy descen- dants or successors of " The Farmers " of the colonial age. The old ancestral fire still lives in the whole army of her toilers and soldiers of the closing nineteenth cen- tury. In every period of her history, her supreme devotion has been given to the peaceful and useful arts and occupations ; to the Home, the School and the Church. Yet with the same fidelity has she fought, from first to last, in common defence against savage tribes and more enlightened but hardly less brutal foes ; for our free- dom and independence as a nation ; for the honor, integrity and very life of the Republic ; and for the liberty and eleva-
LANE NEAR BROWNE'S HILL.
tion of millions of slaves. During the three centuries scarcely less than 2000 soldiers have gone forth from her soil to serve the country in battle on land and sea, and nameless others of her children afar have joined them in many a righteous crusade. Broad is the cemetery that holds the ashes of all her patriot martyrs. Dan- vers claims them as among her brightest jewels and owns with pride the glory they shed. Hers were the fathers and moth- ers whose lessons and spirit were also strength and grace to the town and were never lost or forgotten by the sons in the baptism of fire and blood. Great and good souls have been here ; wise founders of the state, glorious defenders of the country, eminent counsellors and jurists, honored teachers of youth and ministers of Christ, useful and incorruptible citizens, and saintly women, not a few. Here, from the time when the first l'uritans came from England and landed at Naumkeag, and then began to en- large their borders, has been a continu- ous home of heroes and heroines, and here has been the faith that builds for the future, and still creates and bequeaths the goodly heritage :
" A heritage, it seems to me, A king might wish to hold in fee."
NOTE .- With regard to some of the many names, dates, figures, etc., which appear in the foregoing pages, there is considerable disagreement among authorities the writer has consulted. In such cases I have endeavored to follow the guidance that see ned to me the best, by no means claiming that in each and every case I have been absolutely correct, whatever the care. With Dr. Rice I have been content to accept Oct. 8, 1672, the day commemorated just two centuries later, as the birthday of the old Village Parish or the First Church, although the Appendix of his book involves the matter in some doubt. The date cannot be far out of the way, and may well stand until a better claim is established. Certain local publica- tions refer the formal opening or dedication of the first Pea- body Institute building of Danvers to July 14, 1870, but, newspapers of a year later show that the event took place July 14, 1869, as I have stated. The grant of land made to Endicott and others by the " Council for New England " in 1628, and confirmed by royal charter, Mar. 4, 1629, how- ever it may have vested power and privilege in the patentees who are named, was meant for the colony, provided. for an increase of the body corporate and politic, from the settlers, and contemplated the rights and interests of all. I have therefore chosen the broader rather than the more exclusive form of statement. The few slight typographical errors which the reader of the sketch may notice will doubtless sufficiently correct themselves.
A. P. P.
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The Churches.
No institutions in the town have more to do with its real prosperity than the churches. They are of a decided econ- omic value to the community because of the spirit of unity and fraternity which they develop. The pastors of the various churches work together for a common end, the uplifting and improving of hu- manity, spiritually and morally. We can- not yet point to a perfect exemplification of the truth of the brotherhood of man, but we do find evidence that there is in the heart of every pastor in this town an abiding faith in this brotherhood, and a desire to bend every energy towards mak- ing the life of' the churches become a means towards realizing the ideal of the Son of Man. We may seek the aid of other agencies in striving to bring about a hap- pier relationship between capital and labor ; yet there can be no complete ad- justment of our social life which shall be permanent which shall be anything more than a carrying out of the purpose for which our churches were founded. The churches exist to make the life of the honest worker as full of happiness and usefulness as possible. To this work they invite the co-operation of all lovers of their kind. Cherishing this ideal, they claim their right to the first place in the time and thought of all those who desire the prosperity of Danvers. Churches of all the principal denominations are main- tained here. There are one Episcopal, two Congregationalist, one Roman Cath- olic, one Universalist, one Baptist, one Unitarian, one Methodist, one Seventh Day Adventist and one Church of God. In addition to the churches the Danvers Mission and the Salvation Army are ac- complishing much good.
First Church of Danvers.
The year 1670 marks the first step taken towards that religious organization which is now " The First Church and So- ciety of Danvers." This was in the form of a petition for a separate organi- zation from the First Church of Salem : the growing numbers at the Farms, and
the distance from Salem, making at- tendance at that Church difficult. The town granted its assent to the petition in March, 1672, and an act of the general court, passed Oct. 8th of the same year gave them the needed authority.
They acted upon this at once. At a meeting of " The Farmers," as they were then known, held Nov. 11th, 1672, it was voted that a committee be appointed " to carry along the affairs according to the court order." To meet the expenses of the new enterprise it was voted to levy taxes on this basis : "all vacant land at one half penny per acre ; all im- proved land at one penny per acre ; all heads and other estate at country price." In Dec., 1672, a vote was passed to build a meeting house "of 34 foot in length, 28 foot broad, and 16 foot between joints."
The meeting house was built accord- ingly, and in 1684 a vote is recorded to make certain repairs upon it, and addi- tions to it, including " a canope set over the pulpit." Later a gallery was added. This house was situated somewhat east of the present site on Hobart street, then known as " the meeting house road."
Rev. Mr. Bayley was preaching at the Farms when permission was first given for a separate parish. He became by vote of the parish the " stated supply," and remained in service until probably near the close of 1679. Rev. George Burrows became his successor in Nov., 1680, and remained a little more than two years, until early in 1683. He was followed by Rev. Deodat Lawson, who came in the early part of 1684 and labored until the summer or autumn of 1688. The church of Salem Village was organized Nov. 19th, 1689, with twenty- seven members, and Rev. Samuel Parris became the minister at the time of the organization. The record of these early years, so far as it is preserved, is in large part a record of contention between the different ministers and the people. A division occurred in the time of Mr. Bay- ley's ministry and was not healed for twenty-five years. The people, in this time, seem to have become habitually quarrelsome and the ministers who came to labor among them do not seem to have
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FIRST.CHURCH.
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possessed any great wisdom for establish- ing peace and concord. Probably, too, the nature of the organization, which consisted of a parish with no church ; so that everyone, however slight his interest, while he was taxed for its support, had also a voice in its management, contrib- uting somewhat to the result. It is not surprising that, under such conditions, there should have arisen great differences and that these should have resulted in fierce contention and even in great bit- terness of spirit.
With the organization of the church better things might have been expected, but they did not come at once. The quarrels of these early years seem only to have fanned the flame which finally broke out in all its fierceness in the times of the " witchcraft delusion " in 1692. The ministry of Mr. Parris ended in July, 1696. More than two years elapsed be- fore another minister was settled. It was difficult to find a man willing to under- take the work, but the experience of waiting proved, apparently, a good thing for the church. Rev. Joseph Green was settled as parish minister, Nov. 10th, 1698. His call, had, however, been pre- ceded by several occasions of fasting and prayer, when special days were set apart for this purpose ; the effect of which had been to unite the people and make them more ready for the better things in store for them. The change came almost at once. It was the turning point in the life and service of the church. If the first twenty-five years may be character- ized as years of contention and strife, it is pleasant to add that in the now two hundred years since Mr. Greene's induc- tion to office there has not been another serious quarrel. The pastorates have been, with one exception, long ; and the mutual relation between minister and people always a happy one. Mr. Green continued in service until his death on Nov. 26th, 1715. He sought to restore and maintain peace in the church and community after the unsettled condition before his coming. He was specially fitted to do this and the church prospered under his leadership. He also interested himself in matters of the general welfare
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of the community. Among other things a school was established and a school house built in large measure by his insti- gation and through his efforts. He is buried in the Wadsworth cemetery. " Reckoning from the time he began his preaching about a year before his ordina- tion, he completed the 18th year of his ministry upon the last Sabbath before his illness."
Rev. Peter Clark was called by the church to become its minister on Aug. 7th, 1716. He was ordained June 5th, 1717, though he began his regular preach- ing somewhat earlier than this. His minis- try was an eminently successful one and covered the long period of fifty-one years. " Mr. Clark was a man very unlike his predecessor, and yet well fitted to serve the people among whom he came. He had a sharp and vigorous mind, with a taste for theological discussions. He has left numerous published discourses and essays, largely upon points of controversy, and amounting in all to several volumes. Mr. Clark died June roth, 1768, and is buried in the Wadsworth cemetery, by the side of his wife, who died three years before him.
After a period of four years in which there was no settled minister, Rev. Ben- jamin Wadsworth was ordained Dec. 23d, 1772," almost exactly one hundred years after the first organization of " Salem Village." During this time the number of families in the parish had more than doubled. Dr. Wadsworth's ministry con- tinued for more than fifty-three years, and until his death on Jan. 18th, 1826. He is described as " a man of fine personal appearance and with the bearing of a thorough gentleman of those days. If he had the weaknesses of a conservative temper he had also its strength. He was steady and judicious in his work. He did little that ever needed to be undone either by himself or by any one else." His ministry had a marked effect in moulding Christian character. He was buried in the cemetery which bears his name. It was under his ministry, in 1818, that the Sunday school was organ- ized with Deacon Samuel Preston, super- intendent. This has continued until the
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present time without interruption, always rendering efficient service in the work of the church.
Rev. Milton P. Braman was ordained and settled April 12th, 1826 and remained in active service until March, 1861 : thus completing nearly thirty-five years of service. Dr. Braman's name has become very closely identified with the Church because of his vigorous preaching. " He had marvellous power in the pulpit : there was his strength. His presentation of the great truths of the Gospel system were not only correct and clear, but they were powerful." A number of his sermons, together with some of Dr. Wadsworth, have been gath- ered by Dr. Rice, into a volume which is now in the " Ministerial library," belong- ing to the Church. In 1832 the Ladies' Benevo- lent Society (then called the North Danvers Female Benevolent Soci- ety) was organ- ized, with Mrs. Braman as Presi - dent and Miss Susan Putnam as Secretary. Its object was the re- lief of the poor in supplying cloth- ing but it has ren- dered valuable service in many particulars and still continues its work.
Rev. Charles B. Rice was installed over the Church, Sept. 2nd, 1863 and re- mained in service until Sept. 2nd, 1894, when he resigned to accept the position of Secretary of the newly organized " Board of Pastoral Supply." Dr. Rice's work in the Church, the community and the town is too recent to need comment here. He was a wise, careful and able leader and the Church continued its
helpful ministry during the thirty-one years of his term of service.
Rev. Curtis M. Geer was installed Jan. 31st, 1895 but resigned after a little more than two years, April 8th, 1897, to accept the position of Professor of History and Economics in Bates College, Lewiston, Me. Rev. Harry C. Adams, the present minister, was installed Sept. 22nd, 1897.
Nine Churches, at the least, have been established within the territory embraced by the original Salem Village Parish. There have been six meeting houses, be- sides a chapel built in 1835. The first built in 1672, or soon after, gave place to a new one that was first used July 26th, 1702. The third house was built in 1786 and used through the winter though not finished until the following spring. This house was destroyed by fire Sept. 24th, 1805. The fourth, " The Brick Meeting house," was built in the summer of 1806, the corner stone having been laid on the 16th of May. In 1838, this house w a s judged to be un- safe, owing to a settling of the walls. It was therefore taken down and a new house erected, which was dedicated Nov. 31st, 1839. This house was burned Jan. 28th, 1890, just after it had been thoroughly remodeled and refurnished. The present house of worship was dedicated Sept. 2, 1891.
REV. HARRY C. ADAMS.
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The parish has, for the greater part of the time, from the very first, provided a house for its ministers. The present par- sonage was purchased in 1834 and has since been used as a parsonage. It was built probably, with the exception of the
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rear portion, within a period of not more than twenty years following 1734. The records of the parish, which in the early days were for the most part the only pub- lic records of the village, have been cop- ied by the town for convenient reference and for preservation. The records of the Church have been rebound and put in a very enduring form, while retaining the original writing, by the new Emery pro- cess.
REV. HARRY C. ADAMS.
Rev. Harry C. Adams was born in New Marlborough, Berkshire Co., May 27th, 1860. He graduated from South Berkshire In- stitute, New Marl borough in I 882, Williams Col- lege, Wil- liamstown, in 1886 and Hartford Theologi c a l Seminary in 1889. M r. Adams was ordained and settled over the Congre- gational Church in Turners Falls, Oct. 29th, 1889 and was its pastor for eight years. He was married to Miss Anne V. Dyer of Washington, Duchess Co., N. Y., Oct. 3d, 1889. Mr. Adams was installed over the First Church of Danvers, Sept. 22d, 1897.
Baptist Church.
The beginning of Baptist history in the town of Danvers goes back farther than the organizing of the present Baptist
Church at Danversport. We are told in Dr. Isaac Backus's History of the Bap- tists, that about the year 1730, Mr. James Bound, a Baptist, came from England and settled in Salem Village, now Dan- vers. For a time he was the only resi- dent who held that belief, but at length a number of people came to hold the same views. These finally removed and formed a Baptist Society in the town of Sutton. Few Baptists, if any, were left, and nearly half a century passed before the organiz- ing of the Baptist So- ciety in Dan- vers. This was organ- ized during the Revolu- tionary War, Nov. I 2, 1781. Its organization was due mainly to the efforts of Dr. Ben- jamin Foster, a native of Danvers, a son of Con- gregati o n a l parents, and a brother of Gen. Gideon Foster. On being c o n- verted to the Baptist faith, during his college course, he often revisited his na- tive town, preaching as opportunity came, until, with the spread of Baptist senti- ments, the society was formed.
BAPTIST CHURCH.
Besides standing for the principles commonly known as Baptist, this society proposed to pay no attention to " parish lines " or " boundaries of this nature fixed by man " and to compel no person to pay for the support of church or society, each one contributing freely according to his ability. Members came from the ad- joining towns of Salem, Beverly, Wenham,
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