USA > Massachusetts > Gazetteer of the state of Massachusetts, pt 1 > Part 4
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GOVERNORS UNDER THE CONSTITUTION.
1780 John Hancock, to 1785 IS44 George N. Briggs, " 1851
1785 James Bowdoin, 1787 1851 George S. Boutwell, " IS53
1787 John Hancock, Oct. S " 1793 1853 John II. Clifford, " IS54
1794 Samuel Adams, " 1797 1854 Emory Washburn,
" 1855
1797 Increase Sumner, June 7, " 1799 1855 Henry J. Gardner,
" 1858
ISoo Caleb Strong, " ISO7 IS58 Nathaniel P. Banks,
1861
ISog Christopher Gore,
“ 1869
1810 Elbridge Gerry,
" ISI2 1869 William Claflin,
" IS72
IS12 Caleb Strong,
"ISI6 IS72 Wm. B. Washburn, May 1, 1874
ISI6 John Brooks, [823 1875 William Gaston,
" 1876
IS23 William Eustis, Feb. 6, 1825 1876 Alexander HI. Rice. " IS79
1825 Levi Lincoln, " 1835 IS79 Thomas Talbot, " 18SO
1834 John Davis, March I, 1836 ISSo John Davis Long, " 1883
1836 Edward Everett,
" 1840 ISS3 Benjamin F. Butler,
" ISS4
1840 Marcus Morton,
" IS41 1884 George D. Robinson, " 1887
1841 John Davis,
" IS43 ISS7 Oliver Ames,
“ 1890
1843 Marcus Morton,
" 1844 IS)o John Q. A. Brackett.
1807 James Sullivan, Dec. 10, " 1808 "ISIO 1865 Alexander II. Bullock,
1861 John A. Andrew,
4 1865
1645 Thomas Dudley.
1646 John Winthrop.
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
EDUCATION, LITERATURE, AND THE PUBLIC PRESS.
Massachusetts was settled by men of wisdom, who at once deter- mined to lay the foundation of an intelligent as well as a religious commonwealth. Hardly had they fixed upon the territory for their habitations, ere they began to plant a college for the education of their sons. Harvard College, the oldest and best endowed institution in the country was incorporated in 1638 ; and in 1647 a bill was passed in the general court for the taxing of the people of the towns for the support of free public schools, to which every child might have ac- cess. This is supposed to be the first legislative act in the world affording free public instruction through a general taxation of all the people, to the children of all the people. The system of common school education then inaugurated has continued, with various mod- ifications and improvements, to the present time ; and to it the State is largely indebted for the general intelligence and intellectual vigor of its citizens. In 1744 it was made imperative that every town of fifty families should employ a schoolmaster capable of teaching all the English branches, and that every town of one hundred families or more should support a teacher having a competent knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages. The towns were divided into school districts, buildings erected, male teachers employed; and, during several months in the year, the schools were kept in operation. Through the efficient labors of the late Rev. Charles Brooks, Horace Mann, and others, a State Board of Education was established April, 20, 1837 ; and under its direction, teacher's institutes, normal schools, a system of graded schools,- embracing primary intermediate, gram- mar, and high schools, all of which are free, - have been inaugurated. The Annual Reports of the Board of Education indicate steady im- provement in the educational system, and in the condition of the schools.
By the report made January 1, 1889, it appears that the whole number of State common schools was 6,788, and of high schools, 230. The number of teachers was 9,897, - of whom 1,010 were males, and 8,887 were females. The number of pupils between 5 and 15 years was 359,504; the number in the public schools, 358,000. The total amount of taxes paid for the maintenance of the schools for the year of the report was $5,114,402.41. The aggregate for maintenance, new school houses, repairs, supervision, state superin- tendence, reports, books, and other necessaries, was $7,087,206.42, - being an average of $19.11 to each child of school age in the State.
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THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
Normal schools were established by law in 1838; and the State now has six, conveniently situated for the attendence of those in- tending to become teachers. They are located at Framingham, Bridgewater, Westfield, Salem, and Boston, - the latter being the location also of the State Normal Art School.
"Though inany of her sister States," says a late writer, "are now rivalling Massachusetts in the excellence of their common schools and other educational institutions, yet to her belongs the undoubted honor of having first extended her care to the intellectual culture of her humblest citizens, the rich reward of which is seen, not only in the number of splendid names that adorn her literature, but in the distinguished sons she has sent out to form the legislators, pro- fessors, authors, and teachers of other States."
The desire for a better education in the first two centuries of our country manifested itself chiefly in the establishment of academies, which served the double purpose of fitting schools for college, and of supplying an essential amount of learning for the higher grades of business. Between the years of 1785 and 1873, 114 of these had been incorporated in Massachusetts ; of which some have since been inerged in public high schools, and others have long since become extinct; while in the last State School report, 76 is the number mentioned as still having an independent existence. Several whose names are yet familiar were established earlier, -as Dummer . Academy, Newbury, 1756, - Phillips Academy, Andover, 1778, - Leicester, 1784; while the latest reported is Thayer Academy, South Braintree, incorporated in 1873.
Following Harvard, Williams College, in Williamstown was foun- ded in 1793 : Amherst College, in Amherst, in 1821; the College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, burned in 1852, sinee re-established ; Tufts College, in Medford, instituted in 1852 ; Boston College, 1873; Smith College, Northampton, 1875; Wellesley College, in Wellesley, in 1875; Boston University, in 1869; and Clarke University, in Worcester, 1888. The Institute of Technology, in Boston, was in- corporated in 1861, for the " purpose of instituting and maintaining a society of arts, a museum of arts, and a sehool of industrial science. In 1865, a school for a similar purpose, was established in Worcester principally for the use of Worcester county, -and now bears the name, " Worcester Polytechnic Institute."
The Congregationalist Theological Seminary, at Andover, was es- tablished in 1807; the Baptist Theological Institution, at Newton, in 1825; and the Methodist Theological Seminary, in Boston, in
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
1847, - transferred to Boston University in 1871, and now known as the " Boston University School of Theology."
Including the colleges, seminaries, and academies, there are in the State, 348 private schools, - comprising kinder-garten, commercial art, music, oratory, and the languages, together with those for deaf- mutes, the blind, and the feeble minded.
A further account of these institutions may be found under the head of the cities and towns in which they are located.
As further aids in education, most of our cities and larger towns have established one or more lyceums, or literary institutes, in which lectures on science, art, literature, or history are annually given; while numerous others have taken the form of debating societies, with essays on practical topics, and other literary exercises.
As a means of entertainment, intelligence and diffused refinement, not even the public schools are more useful than the public libraries and reading-rooms, as far as they are made use of. Massachusetts has 2,371 of these, containing 4,542,072 bound books, - an average of over six libraries to each town.
The newspapers, journals, and magazines form a perpetual circu- lating library, and their influence (for good nearly always) is not surpassed, except by the public school - which qualifies people to read them. The printing press set up by Stephen Day in Cambridge, in 1639, was the first in America, though it is not known to have issued any periodical sheet. The first newspaper printed in this country was a small quarto sheet issued by Benjamin Harris, in Boston, September 25, 1690. The first number of "The Boston News-Letter," edited by John Campbell, was published April 24, 1704; and the first number of "The Boston Gazette," appeared De- cember 21, 1719. James Franklin started "The New England Cour- ant," August 17, 1721. In editing and printing this paper he was assisted by his younger brother, Benjamin. The first number of "The New England Weekly Journal," by S. Kneeland, was issued March 20, 1727. " The Weekly Rehearsal," by J. Draper, made its appearance September 27, 1721, -and was changed to "The Boston Evening Post," in August, 1735. These were the earliest papers of the State. The first daily paper established in the State was "The Boston Daily Advertiser," commenced in 1813, by Horatio Bigelow and W. W. Clapp. Among the earliest of the magazines and quar- terlies are " The North American Review," established in Boston in May, 1815: "The Atlantic Monthly," "The Living Age," " The New England Historical and Genealogical Register," "The Boston Medical
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THIE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
and Surgical Journal," " Dwight's Journal of Music," " The Univer- salists Quarterly," "The Andover Review ;" "Education," " Lend a Hand," " The Cottage Hearth," "Donahoe's Magazine," "The New Jerusalem Magazine," "The New England Magazine," with " Wide- Awake," and the still more juvenile magazines, are later comers.
The total number of periodicals published in Massachusetts at the commencement of 1889 was 650. Of these, 54 were dailies, 9 semi- weekly, 424 weekly, 9 bi-weekly, 8 semi-monthly, 137 monthly, 1 bi- monthly, and 8 quarterly.
THE ABORIGINES.
The number of the Indians had been greatly diminished by a fatal disease some time anterior to the arrival of the Pilgrims ; and there are no certain data for determining how many were then dwelling within the limits of the State. The four principal tribes, beginning at the north, were the Pawtuckets, living on the Merrimack River; the Massachusetts, on the bay of the same name; the Pokanokets, in the south-west section of the State; and the Narragansetts, in the vicinity of the Narragansett Bay
In these four tribes, perhaps, there might have been an aggregate of 40,000 people. They usually selected the most beautiful ponds, waterfalls, and valleys for their villages, and supported themselves by hunting, fishing, by raising a little Indian corn, a few beans and squashes, and by the nuts and berries which the wilderness spon- taneously produced. Their implements were made of hard wood, stone, or bone, or sea-shells. They dwelt in wigwams rudely made, and used for money wampum, which consisted of shell-beads strung upon a belt. When kindly treated by the English, they, for the most part, exhibited a friendly spirit in return. In 1674, Daniel Gookin estimates the Narragansetts at 4,000 people, the Massachu- setts at 1,200, and the Pawtuckets at 1,000. The Pokanokets were then nearly extinct. During the war of King Philip (1675-76), most of the hostile Indians were exterminated, and but few, except the Christian Indians remained. The number of these at the close of 1678 was 567 in the Massachusetts, and 1,919 in the Plymouth Colony. By the census of 1765, the number of Indians in the State was 1,569. In 1828 the number in the State was about 1,000, of whom about 600 were living at Mashpee, Gay Head, Christian- town, and Chippaquiddick. The present number is 410; but few of them are of pure Indian blood.
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
CIVIL HISTORY.
Although' Bartholomew Gosnold built a fort and storehouse on one of the Elizabeth Islands (Cuttyhunk) as early as 1602, and the enterprising Capt. John Smith visited and described the coast of Massachusetts in 1614, no permanent settlement was made here by Englishmen until the arival of the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth in December, 1620. These people were Puritans, and zealous advocates of civil and religious liberty. They believed in a church without a bishop, if not a state without a king; and in order to escape the persecution of James the First (who said, that, unless they con- formed, he would harry them out of the kingdom) sought refuge in Holland, where they resided -first at Amsterdam, and then at Leyden - from 1607 until their emigration to America. Their design in coming to this Western World was to relieve themselves from the immoralities of the Dutch, to plant Christianity in the distant wilderness, " better provide for their posterity, and live to be more refreshed by their labors." Obtaining consent of the Ply- mouth Company to settle in North Virginia, they entered into part- nership with some London merchants ; and two ships - " The Speedwell " of sixty tons, and " The Mayflower" of a hundred and eighty tons - being furnished, they left, with many tears, their excellent pastor, the Rev. John Robinson, and their other friends, at Delfthaven, July 12, 1620; and, embarking in " The Speedwell," they sailed for Southampton, where " The Mayflower," which had been hired in London, soon united with them for the voyage across the Atlantic. On the 5th of August the two vessels sailed from South- ampton . but "The Speedwell," being unseaworthy, soon returned to Plymouth, while "The Mayflower," with 102 persons on board, proceeded on her way alone. After a perilous voyage, during which one person died and one was born, the vessel, on the 11th of November, came to anchorage in Provincetown Harbor, in Cape-Cod Bay.
The original intention of the Pilgrims was to settle at or near Manhattan : but the perilous shoals and breakers, and the lateness of the season, induced them to make the nearest port, and here commence their colony; and, inasmuch as they were then outside of any local government, it was deemed advisable to institute some rules and regulations for the guidance and good order of the com- pany. Prior to disembarking, they therefore, in the cabin of " The ‘ Mayflower," Nov. 11, 1620, entered into a solemn compact and agree-
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TIIE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
ment, to which they set their several names. It is in these remark- able words, and is the "first written constitution of government ever subscribed by a whole people : " -
"In ye name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyall subjects of our dread soveraigne Lord, King James, by ye grace of God, of Great Britaine, Franc, & Ireland, King, defender of ye faith, etc. haveing undertaken for ye glorie of God, and advancemente of ye Christian faith, and honour of our King and countrie, a voyage to plant ye first colonie in ye Northerne parts of Virginia, doe by these presents solemnly & mutualy in ye presence of God, and one of another, covenant & combine our selves togeather into a civill body politick, for our better ordering & preservation & further- ance of ye ends aforesaid; and by vertue hearof to enacte, constitute, and frame such just & equall lawes, ordinances, acts, constitutions, & offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meete & convenient for ye generall good of ye colonie, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.
" In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Codd ye 11. of November, in ye year of ye raigne of our soveraigne Lord, King James, of England, Franc, & Ireland ye eighteenth, and of Scotland ye fiftie fourth, Ano. Dom, 1620."
The names of the subscribers are as follows : Mr. John Carver, Mr. William Bradford, Mr. Edward Winslow, Mr. William Brew- ster, Mr. Isaac Allerton, Capt. Miles Standish, John Alden, Mr. Samuel Fuller, Mr. Christopher Martin, Mr. William Mullins, Mr. William White, Mr. Richard Warren, John Howland, Mr. Stephen Hopkins, Edward Tilly, John Tilly, Francis Cook, Thomas Rogers, Thomas Tinker, John Ridgdale, Edward Fuller, John Turner, Francis Eaton, James Chilton, John Crackston, John Billington, Moses Fletcher, John Goodman, Degory Priest, Thomas Williams, Gilbert Winslow, Edward Margeson, Peter Brown, Richard Britter- ige, George Soule, Richard Clarke, Richard Gardiner, John Allerton, Thomas English, Edward Dotey, and Edward Leister.
From this brief instrument, which embodies the principle that the will of the majority shall govern, has been derived the idea of our State and National constitutions ; and well has it been said, that the cabin of "The Mayflower" was the cradle of American civil liberty. After signing the compact, they chose JOHN CARVER, a man of good judgment and of sterling integrity, governor for one year, and soon after sent out Miles Standish with sixteen armed men to make ex- plorations on the shore. This party, on the 16th instant, went as far as Pamet River, and found Indian graves, a kettle, also some Indian corn, which was very serviceable to them for food and for
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
planting the next season. On the 6th of December, a third explor- ing-party, consisting of Gov. Carver, William Bradford, Edward Winslow, Miles Standish, and others, started in the shallop to sail around the bay in search of a convenient place for settlement. The next day, several of them went on shore at Eastham ; and, early in the morning following, they had only time to cry out "Indians !" when a shower of arrows came flying in amongst thiem. The Eng- lish immediately discharged their muskets, and the Indians fled. They called this meeting with the aborigines, who proved to be of the Nauset tribe, the "First Encounter." Rejoining their compan- ions in the boat, they coasted along westerly, passing Barnstable in a heavy snow-storm, and, turning northerly, came in after dark, with mast and rudder broken, under the lee of Clark's Island, in P'ly- mouth Harbor. Here they spent Saturday, the 9th, in refitting their boat, and the sabbath following in solemn worship. On Mon- day morning, Dec. 11 (which corresponds with Dec. 21, New Style), they landed on a rock upon the margin of the shore, and made an exploration into the interior. Finding clear springs, a running brook, and some land where corn had been planted, they judged it a place suitable for a settlement, and, the next day, returned with a favorable report to Provincetown. On the 16th of December (N. S. 26th) " The Mayflower " anchored in Plymouth Bay, and four days afterwards the Pilgrims decided to settle near what is now denomi- nated the Town Brook. They soon began to build cabins under- neath the cliff, on the left bank of the Town Brook; a common house for storage, worship, and defence; and on the 28th of Jan- uary, 1620, the whole company was divided into nineteen families, to each of which a lot of land was given. On the 21st of the same month, they spent the day, it being the sabbath, in worshiping on shore ; and called the name of the place PLYMOUTH, in memory of the English town from which they last set sail. Here, then, was the first town permanently founded by Europeans, not only in this State, but in New England.
The sufferings of the Pilgrims, from exposures by sea and land, were such, that one-half the number died before the full opening of the spring. Not unfrequently the hands and feet of the men, while fishing in the bay or hunting in the woods, were frozen; and it is said that the whole company was once reduced to a single pint of corn. Of this each person had five kernels, which were parched and eaten. The ruling elder, William Brewster, lived for montlis together without bread. "Of so great labor it was to found New
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THIE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
England." It was fortunate for the colony that the natives of that region had, a few years previous, been mostly swept away by a fatal disease, and, thus the land was left open for possession. Yet they by no means neglected to hold themselves in readiness for defence. They chose the heroie Miles Standish, on the 17th of
STANDISH HOUSE, DUXBURY.
February, captain of their military force, and soon after mounted the great guns from "The Mayflower " on Burial Hill. On the 16th of March (O. S.) they were surprised by the sudden appearance of Samoset, a friendly Indian, who, stalking in amongst them, cried out, " Welcome, Englishmen !" which was the first word coming to them
48
GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
from a native since arriving on the coast. Through the influence of this Indian, and Squanto, who had learned a little of our language while a captive in England, the colony, on the 22d of March, entered into a treaty of peace with Massasoit, the father of King Philip, which remained in force for half a century. On the 5th of April "The Mayflower" left for England. Gov. Carver died, William Bradford was chosen governor in his place, and Issac Allerton assis- tant; and on the 12th of May following, Edward Winslow and Mrs. Susanna White were married, which was the first marriage in the
FIREPLACE, STANDISII HOUSE.
colony. "The spring," says Gov. Bradford, "now approaching, it pleased God the mortalitie begane to cease amongst them, and ye sick and lame recovered apace, which put, as it were, new life into them, though they had borne their sadd afflictions with as much pa- tience & contentedness as I thinke any people could doe."
Purchasing the interests of the London merchants in 1627, the Plymouth colonists became the sole proprieters of the land, and con- tinued a distinct government until 1691, when, by the charter of William and Mary, it was united with the Colony of Massachusetts and Maine.
49
THE STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS.
The civil basis of the other settlements of the State was a patent, signed by King James, Nov. 3, 1620, incorporating the Duke of Lenox and others as the Council of Plymouth, and granting to it that part of America which lies between the fortieth and forty-eighth degrees of north latitude. Two years afterwards a settlement was commenced, through the efforts of Mr. Thomas Weston, at Wey- mouth; and another, by the influence of the Rev. John White, at Gloucester, 1624. This colony, under the direction of Roger Conant, removed the next year to Naumkeag, which was subse- quently called Salem. At the same time a plantation was begun by Capt. Wollaston at Merrymount, in Braintree.
On the 19th of March, 1628, the Council of Plymouth gave to Sir Henry Rosewell and others a patent of an immense tract of land in- cluded by two lines, -the one three miles north of the Merrimack, and the other three miles south of the Charles River, -and extend- ing from the Atlantic westerly as far as the South Sea, or Pacific Ocean. By the royal charter, which passed the seals March 4, 1629, granting this land, a corporation was created under the name of " the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England."
In the year following, seventeen ships, with more than fifteen hundred people, mostly Puritans or Nonconformists, and some of them persons of distinction, arrived at Salem, with Mr. John Win- throp as governor of the colony. They settled at Dorchester, Rox- bury, Watertown, and Cambridge ; and during the summer of that year, attracted by a fine spring of water at Shawmut, Mr. Winthrop and some other leading men erected there a few cottages, and thus laid the foundation of the metropolis of New England.
The ensuing winter was one of great severity. The houses of the colonists were uncomfortable, and their clothing and provisions scanty. Many perished by the cold, and others subsisted by shell- fish, and the roots and acorns which the wilderness provided. As many as two hundred died before the closing of the year, among whom were the Rev. Francis Higginson of Salem, his colleague, Mr. Skelton, and, soon after their arrival, Mr. Isaac Johnson and his ex- cellent lady Arbella, who, as one has said, " left an earthly paradise in the family of an earldom to encounter the sorrows of the wilder- ness, for the entertainments of a pure worship in the house of God, and then immediately left that wilderness for the heavenly para- dise."
On the 19th of October, 1630, the first General Court was held, in
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GAZETTEER OF MASSACHUSETTS.
which it was enacted that those only should be made freemen who belonged to some church in the colony, and that freemen alone should have power to elect the governor and his assistants. The former law was repealed in 1665. As emigration steadily increased, and as it was soon found that the freemen could not easily assemble to trans- act business in person, it was ordered, in 1634, that these should meet only for the election of magistrates, who, with the representa- tives chosen by the several towns, should have the power of enacting laws. And thus began the system of democratic representation in the colony. Ten years later the magistrates, or assistants, and the deputies, after much discussion, were organized into separate branches in the government.
Though escaping from intolerance in the mother-country, the colo- nists themselves, with all their virtues, had not learned from the gospel to be tolerant ; and, near the close of 1635, the Rev. Roger Williams, Minister at Salem, and, two years later, Anne Hutchinson and the Rev. John Wheelwright, were, for heretical opinions, ban- ished from the State.
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