USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Duxbury > Historic Duxbury in Plymouth county, Massachusetts, 3rd ed. > Part 2
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By orders lately issued from the War Department in Wash- ington naming the new coast defences throughout the several states, the battery at Lovell's Island, Boston Harbor, is named Fort Standish, in honor, so the report says, of Capt. Myles Standish of Duxbury.
Here is added the will of Standish, which is interesting, as it is about the only writing that has come down to us, that we know was written by him.
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HISTORIC DUXBURY.
The text of Standish's will, a document which will repay perusal :
The last Will and Testament of Captaine Myles Standish, Gent. Exhibited before the Court held at Plymouth, the 4th of May 1657, on the oath of Captaine James Cudworth: and ordered to bee Re- corded as followeth. Given under my hand this March the 7th 1655.
Witnesseth these Presents that I Myles Standish senr. of Duxburrow, being in Pfect memory yett deceased in my body and knowing the fraile estate of man in his best estate. I do make this to be my last Will and Testament, in manor and forme following :
1. My will is that out of my whole estate my funerall charges to be taken out and my body to be laied as neare as conveniently may bee to my two dear daughters, Lora Standish my daughter and Mary Standish my daughter in law.
2. My will is that out of the remaining Pte of my whole estate, that all my just and lawfull debts which I now owe or at the day of my death may owe bee paid.
3. Out of what remains according to the order of this Gouernment my will is that my dear and louing wife, Barbara Standish, haue the third Pte.
4. I have given to my son Josias Standish vpon his marriage, one young horse, fiue sheep and two heiffers which I must vpon that con- tract of marriage make forty pounds -yett not knowing whether the estate will bear it att Present, my will is that the resedue remaine in the whole stocke and that eury one of my four sons, viz. Allexander Standish Myles Standish Josias Standish and Charles Standish ; may haue forty pounds appeece; if not, that they may haue proportionable to ye remaining Pte bee it more or less.
5. My will is, that my eldest son Allexander shall haue a dovble share in land.
6. My will is, that soe long they liue single that the whole bee in Ptnership betwixt them.
7. I doe ordaine and make by dearly beloved wife Barbara Standish,
27
CAPTAIN MYLES STANDISH.
Allexander Standish, Myles Standish and Josias Standish, Joint Exequi- tors of this my last Will and Testament.
8. I doe by this my will make and appoint my louing friends Mr. Timoty Hatterly and Captain James Cudworth supervissors of this my last will, and that they will bee pleased to do the office of christian loue to bee helpful to my poor wife and children by their christian counsell and advise : and if any difference should arise which I hope will not, my will is that my saied supervissors shall determine the same, and that they see that my poor wife shall have as comfortable main- tainance as my poor state will bear the whole time of her life, which if you my louing friends please to doe though neither they nor I shall bee able to recompenc, I do not doubt but the Lord will.
By mee MYLES STANDISH.
Further my will is, that Martha Marcye Robenson, whom I tenderly loue for her grand fathers sacke, shall have three pounds in some thing to go forward for her two years after my decease which my will is my overseers shall see performed.
Further my will is, that my servant John Irish, Jr. have forty shillings more than his couenant which will appear upon the Towne Booke alwaies provided that he continew till the time he couenanted bee expired in the service of my exequitors or any of them with their Joint concent.
March 7th ; 1655.
By mee MYLES STANDISH.
9. I give unto my son and heire aparent Allexander Standish, all my lands as heire aparent by lawfull descent in Ormistick, Borsconge, Wrightington, Maudsley, Newburrow, Crawston, and in the Isle of Man, and given to mee as right heire by lawful decent but surruptuously detained from me, my great grandfather being a vond or younger brother from the house of Standish of Standish.
March 7th, 1655.
By mee MYLES STANDISH.
Witnesse by mee James Cudworth
The landed possessions of Standish were extensive and his property for those times quite large, considering that the mem-
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HISTORIC DUXBURY.
bers of the Plymouth Colony were men of small estate. The appraisal was £358.75. His house and farm were valued at £140. His personalty comprised these articles, which are added not alone because they relate to Captain Standish, but thinking they will be of interest as giving an idea of how the people lived at that early day.
Two mares, two colts, one young horse, with equipments, two saddles, one pillion and one bridle, four oxen, six cows, three heifers, one calf, eight sheep, two rams, one wether, fourteen swine, three muskets, four carbines, two small guns, one fowl- ing-piece, a sword, a cutlass, and three belts.
FURNITURE .- Four bedsteads, one little bed, five feather beds, three bolsters, three pillows, two blankets, one coverlet, four pairs of sheets, one pair of fine sheets, four napkins, one table and tablecloth, another table, one form chair, one com- mon chair, four rugs, four iron pots, three brass kettles, a fry- ing-pan, one skillet, a kneading trough, two pails, two trays, one dozen trunchers, or wooden plates, one bowl and a churn, two spinning-wheels, one pair of steelyards, a warming-pan, three beer casks, a malt mill, and personal apparel to the value of £10.
From this inventory it would seem that the carly Colo- nists were living in ordinary comfort; and really, both com- fort and wealth are only relative terms in any age, depending upon the times, the surroundings and the associations.
Besides these articles of household use, animals of the farm, and arms, there were over £1I worth of books, with their appraised valuation, as follows :
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CAPTAIN MYLES STANDISH.
£ s.
History of the World, and Turkish History I IO
Cronicle of England, and Country Farmer 08
History of Queen Elizabeth, State of Europe I IO
Dr. Hall's Works, Calvin's Institutions 1 04
Wilcox's Works, and Mayor's . 1 00
Rogers' Seven Treatises, and French Academy . 12
Three old Bibles
14
Cæsars Commentaries, Bariffe's Artillery . IO
Preston's Sermons, Burroughs' Christian Contentment, Gos- pel Conversation, Passions of the Mind, The Physi- cian's Practice, Burroughs' Earthly Mindedness, do. Discoveries I 04
Ball on Faith, Brinly's Watch, Dodd on the Lord's Sup- per, Sparks Against Heresy, Davenport's Apology · 10 A Reply to Dr. Cotton on Baptism, The German History, The Sweden Intelligencer, Reason Discussed IO
One Testament, Psalm Book, Nature and Grace in Con- flict, A Law Book, The Mean in Mourning, Allega- tions, Johnson Against Hearing 06
Parcel of old books, divers subjects, 4to . 14
Svo . 05
Wilson's Dictionary, Homer's Illiad, Commentary on James Ball's Catechism 12
11 09
It would seem by this quite respectable library that Captain Standish was interested in many different subjects, and would hardly help to bear out the argument advanced by some that he was a Roman Catholic in religion. It also shows that, however much our ancestors valued books of piety in a spiritual sense, that their consciences would not allow them to place an excessive value on them when acting in the capacity of sworn appraisers.
One of the swords of Myles Standish is in Pilgrim Hall,
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HISTORIC DUXBURY.
Plymouth, having been presented to the Pilgrim Society by one of the Standish heirs in 1824. This sword has had quite a history, according to a Jewish gentleman who visited Plymouth some years ago, and wrote this description, which is here appended :
INSCRIPTION AND HISTORY OF THE SWORD OF MYLES STANDISH.
This sword is, without doubt, of ancient Persian manufacture, called by the Orientals Dharban ; viz., meteor, and the material of which it is made is thunderbolt iron. There is not the least doubt that this sword fell into the hands of the Saracens at the time of the defeat of the Persian tyrant warrior, Kozoroi, when Jerusalem was wrenched from him by the Khalif Omar I., 637. The inscriptions and emblems show clearly the above facts. On closely examining the sun and moon engraved on the blade, it will be seen that faces were engraved inside the sun and moon; and on closer examination of the faces, it will be noticed that the engraver did not intend to represent them as human, but lions' faces. History says that the sun, moon and stars were worshipped by the ancient Persians as the celes- tial deities of strength and power, the sun predominant and the lion the terrestrial emblem of the sun, whose head, surrounded by his shaggy mane, resembles the deity he represents.
The present Persian coat-of-arms is derived from the mythology of their predecessors : the sun rising on a lion's back, crowned with the moon and with a circle of stars around her.
Ancient swords and other weapons were said to have often been made from meteoric iron, and it has always been believed by the ancient as well as the modern Orientals that that material had an invaluable virtue of good luck in it, and a charm to its possessor. It is said by Arab historians that the prophet (Mohammed) and his successors were armed with Dharban swords ; that when grasped against the enemies of the religion of the faith- ful, the warrior had nothing to do but face the enemy,- the sword would do the destruction. It was believed by them that the virtue of the metal would strengthen them against the fatigue of the muscles, and charm their lives from the attack and thrust of the enemy.
The three inscriptions as seen on the blade (one on the same side with the Persian emblems and the other two on the other side) were engraved
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CAPTAIN MYLES STANDISH.
by the Mohammedans, and at a much later period than the Persian emblems. They are each different in hand and form. The first named of the two is the Mediaval Cufic.
The interpretation is " With peace God ruled his slaves and with judg- ment of his arm he gave trouble to the valiant of the mighty or cour- ageous "- meaning the wicked. On the reverse side of the blade are the two above-mentioned inscriptions, part of one of which only can be deciphered. " In God is all might." The last line that resembles Roman numerals is not intended for a date, as one would be led to suppose, but is of private signification, not known to anybody excepting the possessor who had it engraved. The same with the other on the same side with the Mediaval Cufic. No one can decipher it as this is the key to the charm, and when once deciphered by anybody besides its real owner, it becomes as valueless as a reed. Before closing our remarks, let us notice above the two separate inscriptions, and here we find engraved again a com- bination of circles intending to represent fire, and a conical shaft to remind one of the meteoric metal of which the blade is made.
N. B .- It is not to be wondered at, then, that European and American scholars have failed to decipher the above. Even a medium Arabic scholar, and he more advanced than any foreign scholar in the vernacular language of his country, cannot decipher all the modern handwritings without giving an especial time and hard study, the Arabic language being so divided in itself, unlike any other in the world. Anyone brought up in one calling cannot decipher the hand of others ; and it will at once be seen how difficult and impossible it would be for any professor or scholar to master a language that needs almost a lifetime to acquire it perfectly.
Having endeavored to serve the owners of this valuable relic of the past in giving a faithful interpretation of the inscription thereon,
I remain with the greatest respect their obedient servant,
JAMES ROSEDALE, of Jerusalem Holy.
The Massachusetts Historical Society has a sword that was presented to them years ago as one that belonged to Myles Standish. This may be the other one mentioned in the inventory. There are besides in Pilgrim Hall :
Iron pot brought by Myles Standish in the "Mayflower."
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HISTORIC DUXBURY.
Pewter plates brought in the " Mayflower " by Myles Standish.
There is here a relic of Lora Standish, in the shape of a sampler ; i. e., worsted or silk letters worked on thin canvas.
LORA STANDISH IS MY NAME.
Lord guide my heart that I may doe thy will. Also fill my hands with such convenient skill, as may conduce to virtue void of shame, and I will give the glory to thy name.
Box containing relics found among the ruins of the house of Myles Standish in Duxbury, presented by James Hall, Esq. A piece of the hearthstone of the house of Myles Standish in Duxbury, presented by James Hall, Esq.
There is a portrait of Myles Standish in the possession of the Harrison family in Plymouth that can be traced back a great many years. It is believed by persons who have looked up the evidence, to be a real portrait of the Pilgrim captain.
Captain Myles was the agent of the town of Duxbury, for buying what is now the Bridgewater towns and the City of Brockton, or a part of them, which was then called Saughtucket. He made this trade with Ousameguin, Sachem of Pocanorcket, for the following articles: Seven coats, nine hatchets, eight horses, twenty knives, four moosc-skins, ten and one-half yards of cotton, twenty pounds in money. This sale was dated March 23, 1649.
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CAPTAIN MYLES STANDISHI.
The tailpiece of this article is the Duxbury town seal, designed by the writer and adopted the present year in accordance with Chapter 256, Acts of 1899, of the State Legislature, which compelled all towns to have an official seal. Myles Standish is represented in his military dress, but acting in a civil capacity,-that of transferring the charter and possession of the Colony's territory, as counsel for the English Company to the Plymouth Colonists. The trans- ferring of land under the English laws was a very formal proceeding, and could only be done in full legality by con- veying bodily a portion of the territory from the grantor to the grantee, which was accomplished by the grantor, his agent or representative, breaking off a twig on the premises and presenting it to the grantee, who must accept it in the presence of witnesses. A portion of this formality has come down to our day in the words "lawfully seized," that is, put in possession; and also in the precise instrument that is used at the present time as a deed for transferring real estate.
MASSA
HU
BURY
T
DU
'S
+
+
DUFOURY LEY
GUSNET
CORP
YL
STANDISH
JUNE
17 1637
TED
TOWN SEAL
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HISTORIC DUXBURY.
III.
ELDER WILLIAM BREWSTER.
" LEARNING is more profound When in few solid authors it may be found. A few good books digested well do feed the mind."
B REWSTER was one of the best educated, if not the best, of those who came in the " Mayflower." There being no regular minister for the Church for some years he acted in that capacity as the Church elder. He was one of the oldest of the leaders, being fifty-six at the time of the landing. He came from a highly respectable family in England, and had done much there and in Leyden to build up the Church which the Pilgrims formed. The record says that in the year 1632 lands were allotted to Brewster in Duxbury adjoining those of Captain Standish, and northerly from his, on the Captain's Hill peninsula bordering on the bay, including what from that day to this has been called " the Nook." Here was erected his dwelling, the site of which is pointed out in a northeasterly direction from that of Captain Standish. He lived here till his death in 1644, ministering often in the Plymouth and Duxbury churches.
He was a scholar when scholars were rare, having entered, and received a degree from Cambridge College in England. The books of his library show what his scholar- ship must have been. He left four hundred volumes; sixty-
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ELDER WILLIAM BREWSTER.
four were in Latin, and thirty-eight of these were versions of the Sacred Scriptures. Among the works in the English language were many large folios and quartos, some of them having sixteen hundred pages. What has become of this large library is not known. There is one volume or more in the Yale College Library, and very likely others in the old libraries of New England. An elaborate life of Brewster was written by the Rev. Ashbel Steele in 1857.
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HISTORIC DUXBURY.
IV.
JOHN ALDEN.
"THE bluebirds in the spring Sing their sweet welcoming To rouse and charm; Where first John Alden came Their haunt is still the same; Still bears its Pilgrim name: John Alden's farm."
JOHN ALDEN was one of the youngest of the "May- J flower " passengers, being only twenty-one when he came. He was not one of the Church either in England or Leyden, but was hired at Southampton, where the " Mayflower " was fitting, as a cooper, to serve the Colonists for one year. Some say he was smuggled aboard by some of . the adven- turers. Anyway he chose to remain with the Settlement, and became a valuable member. Directly after the landing the Settlement was divided into families for convenience in providing for the whole, and Alden was assigned to the family of Captain Standish, which gave rise to the romantic legend that has been told and retold in prose and poetry ever since: that the Captain sent him with a proposal of marriage to the young and comely daughter of Mr. Mullins, and that he fell in love with the maiden himself. However that may be, he early in the first year wedded the fair Priscilla, whose name and renown has reached our day, and whose fair face is seen in many noted pictures, and at last
37
JOHN ALDEN.
adorns an insurance calendar. Alden proved all his life a worthy accession to the community, filling various offices of trust and responsibility, until he died at an advanced age, Sept. 12, 1686, and was at his death the last surviving signer of that original compact of government made in the cabin of the " Mayflower " at Cape Cod, November, 1620, which President Lincoln said " was the foundation of the Republic." Alden early came to Duxbury,- it is said in
D'EN HOUSE
AL
HE
1631, and settled on land which had been allotted to him near the tidal head of Bluefish River, near the salt marshes and what was called Eagle-tree Ford, made by a fresh-water brook called Hounds-ditch, just before its conjunction with the river. He built his house on a small knoll, and the site of it is now marked by a stone recording the fact. According to Windsor's History of Duxbury, the second house stood a little further to the westward, and the present house, erected by his grandson, Col. John Alden, is still further towards the
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HISTORIC DUXBURY.
west. An illustration of this house is added as seen from Alden Street. It is a remarkable instance for this country that this farm has been held by one family from the first settlement to the present time, and the name also has been perpetuated, so that the poetical quotation at the head of this chapter is literally true, " still bears its Pilgrim name, John Alden's farm." Alden's Bible is in Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth, having the Anno Domini, 1620. Alden's auto- graph is very rare, notwithstanding the many times he must have written it on public documents. He was probably buried in the old burial place of the town, as we know his son, Jonathan Alden, is buried there, as his stone still stands today.
THE STANDISH MONUMENT.
39
THE STANDISH MONUMENT.
V.
THE STANDISH MONUMENT.
" LET the earliest ray of the morning gild it, And parting day linger and play on its summit."
J. HENRY STICKNEY of Baltimore, who died in 1893, and who did so much to perpetuate the memory of the historical places in Plymouth, once said to the writer: "If anyone deserved a monument it was Capt. Myles Standish." And afterwards Mr. Stickney subscribed liberally at different times towards this object.
The project was first started as far back as the latter part of the decade 1860-70. Mr. Stephen M. Allen, a lawyer by profession, who came to town about that time and bought land about Captain's Hill, first suggested the idea, and the ground was dedicated Oct. 10, 1871. The railroad was then just completed, or made ready by extra exertion so that the guests were transported as far as South Duxbury, there being quite a ceremony on this occasion. The under- taking was incorporated May 4, 1872, under the name of the Standish Monument Association; five months later, on Oct. 7, 1872, the cornerstone was laid with appropriate exercises, ten thousand people, it is said, being present. A very full account of the proceedings on this occasion is given in a book of newspaper cuttings at the Boston Public Library,- 4443.67. The monument was then begun and
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HISTORIC DUXBURY.
worked upon at different intervals for a number of years, Nathaniel Adams and L. Miles Standish of Boston giving much time and money towards the object. It was built up to about seventy feet, and then came to a standstill for a long time. The illustration of the Standish grave in the old cemetery gives an idea of its appearance at this time. In the year 1889 another start was made and the outside of the monument completed, with the granite statue of Myles Standish placed on the summit. Up to this time there has been expended $36,000, and of this amount twelve or fifteen gentlemen had contributed $30,000.
Nothing more was done until 1898, when the interior of the monument was completed by putting in the iron stairway, making an observation room near the summit, a room at the entrance, bronze doors and ornamental windows. This was done with money given by the Commonwealth of Massachu- setts. The stone steps and granite columns outside and making the road was done by a testamentary bequest left by Mr. Stickney of Baltimore, for the purpose.
The monument was designed by Alden Frink, architect, and is unique in its conception. Its lines and proportions have been commended by professional people who had but slight interest in the object, the town, or its surroundings.
The dimensions are :
Diameter of base
28 feet
Diameter of top
16 feet
Height from foundation to parapet
1 16 feet
Height of statue on top
14 feet
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THE STANDISH MONUMENT.
The monument is constructed of rough granite from the Hallowell quarries. The arch of the entrance is built by stones contributed by the several New England States, and bear their names. The keystone was presented by President Grant, and represents the United States.
Hereto annexed are the names of the officers of the Asso- ciation who have brought the monument to completion, and in this connection the writer would mention the late Mr. George Bradford, who in 1890, when the Association was re- organized, was the only survivor of the original incorporators. Mr. Bradford was the contractor who built the road from the town road to the summit, and he lived till the summer of 1898, when the monument, was substantially finished, being the only member who had seen its beginning and its com- pletion.
The monument is the highest one built to the memory of a single person this side of Baltimore, and has been raised mostly by private subscriptions. The situation is a sightly one, on a hill that is not high for an easy climb, and is enough elevated when reached to show well-defined views of the scenery about it. The tract of land which the Association owns, over twenty acres in extent, could be attractively laid out in paths and open places that would make it a hand- some park, and they would do it if they had the funds. It is to be hoped that the list of benefactors will increase, that this may be done, which would add much to the enjoyment of the many people who seek this seaside resort for pleasure and recreation.
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HISTORIC DUXBURY.
OFFICERS OF THE STANDISH MONUMENT ASSOCIATION.
President : Gen. Wilmon W. Blackmar.
Secretary and Treasurer : Dr. Myles Standish. Building Committee :
Gen. Wilmon W. Blackmar. Dr. Myles Standish.
J. Myles Standish. John B. Hollis.
Architect : Alden Frink.
Executive Committee :
Geo. Bradford, Esq. Wm. J. Wright, Esq.
J. Myles Standish, Esq. Rev. E. J. V. Huiginn.
Chas. C. Richmond, Esq. Rev. Edward E. Hale.
Arthur Lord, Esq. Moses P. Parker, Esq.
John B. Hollis, Esq. Dr. Myles Standish.
Geo. E. McNeill, Esq. Winthrop P. Soule, Esq. Gen. W. W. Blackmar.
STANDISHI RELICS IN PILGRIM HALL.
43
CAPTAIN'S HILL.
VI.
CAPTAIN'S HILL.
" SCENES must be beautiful which daily viewed, Please daily, and whose novelty survives Long knowledge, and the scrutiny of years,- Praise justly due to those that I describe."
C APTAIN'S HILL, on which the monument stands, was part of the farm given Captain Standish by the Plymouth Colony. At its foot in plain sight is the place where stood his house, where he lived until his death; and the house said to have been built by his son in 1666 still stands near by.
The hill is about two hundred feet above tide water, and is the highest eminence in the vicinity. It has had a history apart from and since the time of Standish, as it was used as a place for signalling in the Revolutionary and 1812 wars, and a few years back was clear of trees and underbrush, when used for pasturage, as at that time cattle were more plentiful than now.
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