USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Historical sketch of the town of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1622-1884 > Part 3
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Ten of the colony died of famine, two had been killed
1 This company was under the leadership of Richard Greene, a brother- in-law of Mr. Weston, who, dying, was sueceeded by John Sanders. There were also in this company a lawyer named Salisbury, and the after- wards notorious Thomas Morton, of Merry Mount. The whole company consisted of about sixty men, gathered from London and vicinity. - Adams's Address.
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and one wounded by the savages in their various en- counters, and at the close of the spring, after the visit of Capt. Standish, three of their number, the last of the company, were cruelly tortured to death by their Indian neighbors with whom they had sought refuge.' After the lapse of more than two and a half centuries, it may be possible to form a more favorable estimate of the charac- ter of the men who composed this colony than that which has been usually accredited to them. That they were not the utterly depraved set they have been dc- scribed is very evident. In their intercourse with the Plymouth people they certainly showed a disposition to act fairly. In an expedition made with them under con- tract to trade with the Indians to the south, in the region of Cape Cod, Mr. Weston's people took their full sharc of the labor and privation, acting with energy and hon- orably discharging all their obligations.2 Even their associates in this enterprise offer no complaints in this respect. When one of their number had shown himself a notorious thief, and had committed serious depreda- tions upon their Indian neighbors, he was given up at their complaint, and, as the sufferers declined to judge the culprit, the colonists proceeded to execute summary justice by hanging him. It may be said that this act was the result of fear, but it is hardly fair to ascribe a dishonorable motive when a better one appears in the exhibition of it. They had not that high moral purpose, neither were they actutated by that strong religious faith, that governed their Pilgrim contemporaries. They were not flying from persecution in their own land to seek a home for themselves and their families, wherc they could enjoy comparative freedom of conscience
1 Phinehas Pratt's narrative in Massachusetts Historical Society's Collection, Ser. 4, Vol. IV.
2 Gov. E. Winslow's Relation, Massachusetts Historical Society's Collection, Ser. 4, Vol. IV.
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and life, at the expense of most of life's comforts. They were men with no families, who undertook the enterprise to earn a living, and, it may be, make a fortune with which to return home. More than this, they were under no competent leadership, Mr. Weston remaining behind, and his agent intrusted with the charge of the colony during its early days dying in a short time. Had they come with families dependent upon them, with the result resting upon their own exer- tions, the issue might have been different. Their faults seem to have come from the want of proper training with its consequent improvidence, and the lack of a sufficient motive.
GORGES'S SETTLEMENT .- The natural attractions of Wessaguscus did not suffer it to remain long unoccu- pied, for in the autumn of the same year, 1623,1 or in the late summer, it is not quite certain which, Capt. Robert Gorges, son of Sir Fernando Gorges, aeting un- der a charter from the Plymouth Company, the Council of New England, came with a company consisting, in part, at least, of families and of character superior to that of those who had preceded them, with the evident inten- tion of forming a permanent settlement. They landed upon the northern part of the town, probably near or upon the spot chosen by the Weston people the year before, thinking, undoubtedly, that this was covered by the grant which was so indefinitely described as to be easily susceptible of miseonstruetion. This gave them ten miles of the coast on the northeast side. of Massa- chusetts Bay and extending thirty miles inland. They chose their ten miles evidently to include the entrance to
' Mr. Adams says about the middle of September. In Sir Fernando Gorges's description of New England he says, " my son arrived [at Wes- saguscus] about the beginning of August, 1623." - Massachusetts Histor- ical Collection, Ser. 3, Vol. VI. p. 74.
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Boston Harbor; and this mistake, if mistake it were, was the cause of much trouble in the future.
The leader of this company is well known in history, but of the men who composed it little has been recorded; even their number is not known, the names of very few being mentioned, and those with a great deal of un- certainty.1
It is, however, a well-ascertained fact that the colony was projected to favor the establishment of the govern- ment more firmly on the New England shore, and to pre- pare a foundation upon which the Episcopacy might rear its future prosperity, and also as an offset to the threat- ened opposition that might possibly arise from the then insignificant attempt at Plymouth. The project, there- fore, carried upon its face the evidence of ministerial and ecclesiastical favor; hence it did not meet with much assistance from the Pilgrims, from whom there have come not the most favorable reports. To further the authority of the Church and to form a legal basis of future action, the colony brought a regular chaplain or clergyman of the Church of England, in the person of Rev. William Morrell, a man of education and stand- ing, of excellent character, with power sufficient for the purpose intrusted to his care, the establishment of the claims of the Church in the wilderness, and also to act as its bishop when the enterprise should develop suffi- ciently to need the services of such an officer.
The plan of the colony was projected upon a scale of magnificent proportions and with machinery sufficient to conduct the affairs of an empire. Capt. Gorges was named as governor-general, with a general oversight of the company's officers in America, and authority by commission to carry out his plans. Associated with him in the government were Capt. Francis West, ad-
1 See " Early Planters about Massachusetts Bay," by C. F. Adams, Jr., Esq.
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miral, Christopher Levet, Esq., perhaps the chief judi- cial officer, and such others as the governor-general chose to appoint, any two of whom, with himself, were empowered to transact any business necessary for the government of the colony. The governor of Plymouth, for the time being, was constituted a member of the government, and immediately upon the arrival of the company, in August or September, Gov. Bradford was notified of the fact, and at once made his arrange- ments to make the new-comers a call ; but before this could be effected, the governor-general, while on a tour of inspection over his extended domains, was forced by stress of weather into Plymouth, where he re- mained a few days, and then returned overland to Wes- saguscus. Very soon, however, he became satisfied with his experience as a ruler in the new settlement and returned to England with a considerable portion of his company; others of the party went to Virginia, and some to Plymouth, while some remained as the nucleus of the future settlement. Mr. Morrell appears to have remained here for perhaps a year and a half, and de- spairing of an accomplishment of his purpose in coming hither, went to Plymouth and took passage for Eng- land.1
In the course of the year 1624, there came in other settlers from Weymouth, England, bringing with them a non-conformist minister by the name of Barnard, who remained with them and died there. The records of this time are so bare and scanty that nothing more than the fact of this addition is known. From this time un- til the arrival of Gov. Winthrop at Shawmut, there is more or less mention of the settlement at Wessagus- cus, and a continual though small accession to its mem- bers. The most notorious event of this period was the
1 Bradford and Hazard.
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arrest there, in 1628, of Thomas Morton, of Merry Mount, as Mount Wollaston was then called, by Capt. Miles Standish, by the order of the Plymouth authorities, taken to that town, and sent to England.1 In 1630 and the following years, the settlement was recognized as a part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and taxed for its support.2 In 1632, Gov. Winthrop, with a party of friends, visited Plymouth, by vessel to Wessaguscus or Wessagusset (it was called by either name), thence over- land. On their way in going and returning they were generously entertained by the people of that place.3 During that year a tax was ordered by the Court, five pounds of which was levied on Wessaguscus, eight on Boston, and four pounds ten shillings on Salem, showing the relative importance of the towns.4 In 1633 it was spoken of as a small village.5 In 1634 it was ordered to pay the charges incurred in taking care of Thomas Lane, a servant of John Burslyn (Bursley), of that set- tlement, who had fallen sick in Dorchester.6
HULL COMPANY. - In 1635 the place came into gen- eral notice and took a prominent position among the towns composing the Massachusetts Bay Colony. On the 8th of July, of that year, the General Court passed an order permitting Rev. Joseph Hull, with twenty-one families, consisting of about one hundred persons, to settle at Wessaguscus, -the largest addition at any one time probably in the history of the town. These set- tlers came from Weymouth, England, and belonged to
1 Bradford's Letter Book, Massachusetts Historical Collection, Ser. 1, Vol. III. p. 61; Morton's New English Canaan.
2 Massachusetts Colonial Records, Sept. 28, 1630; also for the following years.
8 Savage's Winthrop, Vol. I. p. 192.
4 Massachusetts Colonial Records, Feb. 3, 1631-2.
5 Wood's New England Prospect; Young's Chronicles, p. 394.
6 Massachusetts Colonial Records.
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the county of Dorset and its immediate neighborhood.1 They were a class of people who soon became promi- nent, and whose families, many of them, retain their posi- tion at the present day. Their minister, Rev. Joseph Hull, became for a time the minister of the town. On the 2d of September, the town was erected into a plan- tation, equivalent, probably, to an act of incorporation, and the name changed to Weymouth, which it has since retained.2 On the following day it was ordered to send a deputy to the General Court, to which office Wil- liam Readc, John Bursley, and John Upham were elected, these three being sent as an accommodation to three strong, opposing elements then existing in the town, consisting, probably, of those who remained of the Gorges Company and friends who followed them, those who came in from other towns in the colony with an in- terest centring in the capital, and a third, embracing those who came with Rev. Joseph Hull and their sym- pathizers; John Bursley representing the first, Wil- liam Reade the second, and John Upham the third. The court influence predominating, Mr. Reade was retained and the others were permitted to retire. During the years 1635 and 1636, commissioners were appointed to estab- lish the bounds between Mount Wollaston and Wey- mouth, of which Fore River and the Smelt Brook formed a part, thence by a straight line running south a little westerly, until it reached the line of Plymouth Colony; also, between Weymouth and Bare Cove, after- wards Hingham, of which line Back River and a creek called Fresh River formed a part, thence on' a line nearly parallel with the western boundary to the Plym- outh Colony line. These bounds, which were the more ancient ones re-established, have remained to the present time with little if any change.3
1 See Appendix A.
2 Massachusetts General Court Records, 1635.
3 Massachusetts General Court Records, 1635.
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Ferries had already been erected, connecting the town with its neighbors on either hand, and bridges were pro- jeeted for the better accommodation of traffie and travel. Roads were built towards Boston, and mills erected upon the streams. A quarterly court was established, to be held in Boston, to which Roxbury, Dorchester, Wey- mouth, and Hingham belonged; and for the better pro- tection of the various towns in the colony from the Indians, it was ordered by the General Court that no dwelling-house should be built more than half a mile from the meeting-house.1 It appears, however, that the latter order was never enforced, or soon became a dead letter, for at this time the people of Weymouth were seattered over a territory from two to three miles in ex- tent. The larger part of the population lived in North Weymouth, commonly known as " Old Spain," extend- ing from the shore of the bay to Burying Hill, more than a mile, while there were quite a number of plantations extending south and east over King Oak Hill as far as Fresh Pond, now Whitman's, in East Weymouth.
Where the first meeting-house was built is unknown, but tradition says in Old Spain, probably near what is now the centre of the village; but this did not long re- main, giving place to a more commodious building which stood upon Burying Hill, near where North Street now passes through it. This remained until 1682, when a third was erected upon the spot now occupied by the meeting-house of the First Parish. The houses of the inhabitants were mostly rude structures built of logs, and thatehed with the coarse grass found at the head of the beaches above the salt water, which was carefully pre- served for the purpose by order of the town.2 In 1642, April 26, the Indian title to the town was extinguished by purchase. The original deed is not to be found, but a
1 Massachusetts General Court Records, 1635.
2 Weymouth Town Records, 1649.
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copy stands upon the records of the Suffolk County registry of deeds, and is a eurious specimen of the sharp trading which the early fathers allowed themselves to indulge in when dealing with the native owners. It was signed by Wampetuek, alias Josias Webecowett, Nateaunt, and Nahowton, sachems.1
CHURCH TROUBLES. - During the early years of the town it was very much disturbed by internal dissensions in the church. From 1635, on the arrival of Rev. Joseph Hull and his company, until 1644, upon the set- tlement of Rev. Thomas Thacher, there was almost con- stant tumult and disturbance, sometimes so serious as to draw the attention of the General Court. About the years 1637 and 1638 there were no less than four claim- ants for the Weymouth pulpit, each with a strong party at his command; the old Gorges settlers, the later comers from Dorchester, Boston and vicinity, and the recent Hull arrivals, while the fourth, coming with a view of harmonizing the differences, only added another element to the discord. The Episcopal ele- ment was still strong, but apparently not enough so to propose a candidate of its own views; the Puritan party, which sustained Rev. Thomas Jenner; the 1635 settlers, under the leadership of Rev. Joseph Hull, an independent, with Episcopalian antecedents; and strong party who had invited Rev. Robert Lenthal, who was suspected of favoring the views of Mrs. Hutchin- son. Rev. Samuel Newman was summoned to heal the breach, but he found the trouble too serious for his powers. The departure of all these contestants, and the settlement of Rev. Thomas Thacher, appeared to resolve the difficulty.2
' This copy of the Indian deed of Weymouth is taken from the Suf- folk deeds, and is also found upon the Weymouth Town Records. (See Appendix B.)
2 Sec Ecclesiastical History, in Chapter X. of this sketch.
a
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In December, 1636, the General Court ceded to Weymouth, Grape Island and Round Island, the only additions ever made to its territory.1 During the eight years from the arrival of Rev. Joseph Hull, in 1635, to the departure of Rev. Samuel Newman, in 1643, Weymouth had gained largely in population and had become one of the most important towns in the colony. The records of the latter year, previous to the departure of Rev. Mr. Newman to Rehoboth with a large colony, estimated by some as high as forty fam- ilies, contained the names of more than one hundred and thirty land-owners, representing, most of them, heads of families. These records are imperfect, and probably do not represent by many the whole number.2 It is at this time that the regular records of the town commence, from which date they are comparatively good, probably as full as the average of the town records of the colony. Earlier than this the peculiar circumstances surrounding the settlement conspired to envelop the history in much obscurity. The natural jealousy of the Pilgrims against the adherents of the Established Church, from which they had suffered so much, prevented them from making any fuller record than was absolutely necessary of their neighbors at Wessaguscus; and later, the Puritans at Boston were in the same condition and no better disposed, although on their own territory and under their own jurisdic- tion; while still later, the disturbances produced by the conflicting elements in its own midst prevented the preservation of records that would be of inestimable value at the present time.
PEQUOD WAR. - The Indians upon the territory of the town were never numerous from the first visits of the
1 Massachusetts General Court Records; Weymouth Town Records.
2 See Appendix C.
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whites to its shores, and this was one reason for its selection as a favorable location for a settlement; yet, notwithstanding its retired position, it was not without its share of damage from its savage enemies in other parts of the province, and it was always called upon for its quota of men and taxed for its share of the expense. As early as 1637, of the one hundred and sixty men called for to serve against the Pequods, five were to come from Weymouth; 1 and from this time until the close of the King Philip war, in 1676, the town was always a contributor in men and money to sustain the various expeditions sent against the Indians. From that time the immediate danger was not felt, yet her soldiers were found upon the bloody fields of New York and Canada, fighting for the preservation of their homes, although so far away.
EMIGRATION .- The first large colony sent out from Weymouth was that under the charge of Rev. Samuel Newman, to Rehoboth, and numbered, by the best ac- counts, about forty families .? From that time, but usually in small companies, often but a single family, the tide flowed away, and the town saw its population slowly diminish by the constant drain upon it to supply the calls of the frontier. First Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the western part of this State, Rhode Island, and Connecticut made large demands. Then followed the calls from New York and the other Mid- dle States, and still later the vast West, which have all been abundantly answered, until not a State in the Union, and hardly a county or town, but has one or more of the sons of Weymouth to represent it. This condition of things could not fail to be seriously felt, and the town was severely crippled by it, so much so
1 Massachusetts General Court Records, Vol. I. pp. 174-177.
2 See Bliss's History of Rehoboth.
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that from 1643, for one hundred and fifty years, the gain was hardly perceptible, sometimes a period of gain to be more than offset by a corresponding period of loss, while the actual increase for the whole time was so small as to be hardly appreciable. If the estimate for 1643 of at least one hundred and fifty families be correct, and an average of six to the family a fair allowance, a population of nine hundred at that time against fourteen hundred, the estimate for 1776, will show the truth of this statement.
TOWN GOVERNMENT. - Like that of nearly all of the early settlements, the government of the town was of a very simple pattern. Town meetings were called as necessity demanded, at irregular intervals; and townsmen, afterwards known as selectmen, chosen at times and in number most convenient. The officers seem to have been their own recorders, since no regu- lar clerk appears for twenty or thirty years. Meetings were notified upon training or lecture days by public call, and such business was transacted as the time demanded.1 When and how the first land grants were made is not known, but probably upon the earli- est settlement the lands were divided as the needs of the settlers appeared; that remaining was held in com- mon. A large portion of the north part of the town was occupied, and as early as 1636 there is record of a division of great lots at the lower end of Fresh
1 The records of the town meeting held Nov. 26, 1651, contain, quite in detail, the manner in which the town adapted itself to its changed cir- cumstances, and adopted by-laws and regulations for its government which proved sufficient for its wants for more than a hundred and fifty years. Until this time there were only such officers elected and such business transacted as the circumstances of the occasion demanded; no clerk or assessors appear before this time; now these officers were recognized as a part of the town government, and the local business of the town as- sumed a regular and established form.
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(Whitman's) Pond, some two or three miles from the shore of the bay.
In 1643 a partial record of the then property own- ers was made which has been preserved.1 Most of the early records are filled with regulations respect- ing cattle, cutting of timber, and such public mat- ters as seem to be called for. The earliest officers, after townsmen, named upon the records, are fence- viewers, and the number and prominence of the men appointed to this position show it to have been at least no sinecure. There was the strictest scrutiny into the character and purpose of those who came among them. As early as 1646 a vote was passed forbidding any inhabitant from taking as an inmate any stranger with- out giving the town an indemnity bond against damage, under a penalty of a fine of five shillings per week; nor could he sell or let to any such person house or land, without having first tendered the same to the town at a training, lecture, or other public meeting.2
During those early days frequent regulations were made for the preservation of pine and cedar, indicating a waste of that material. In 1648, Widow Hillard was required to give the town security against harm from the charges of her children. At the first settlement, the town set apart the shore land between high and low water marks for thatching purposes, thatch being at that time the most important material for roofing pur- poses, and there appeared to be a necessity to provide for its preservation; and when the General Court after- wards ordered that all lands to low-water mark should belong to the proprietors of the adjoining land, this regulation of the town was respected, and an exception made in its favor.3
The highways were a matter of prime importance at
1 See Appendix C. 2 Town Records.
8 Town Records.
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an early date, and as far back as 1649 the inhabitants were required to work them at the call of the "way warden," under penalty. In 1650-1, March 1, a vote was passed requiring the officers to post notices of the assessment of rates, and all persons liable to taxation were required to bring in lists of polls and property under penalty. March 10, 1651, the town voted to fine all such as should be tardy at town meetings six pence for each hour the meeting continued. The rates were to be laid so that the town bills could be promptly paid, particularly Capt. Perkins's ten pounds for six months' schooling, which is the first notice upon the record in relation to school matters.1
About this time the town business had accumulated to such a degree that it became necessary to adopt more systematic measures in relation to its conduct.
Regular meetings were to be held on the first Monday in March and the last Monday of November, for the choice of officers and general business, while unimpor- tant matters could be regulated on lecture days without notice; and all military affairs were to be decided upon training days. The townsmen were also required to make report of the action taken at their meetings. The first annual town meeting was held Nov. 26, 1651, for the choice of town officers, and the townsmen are now for the first time called "selectmen," a title which they have since retained. The powers of these officers are given upon the record with minute detail, and the business of the town seems to have been settled upon in nearly the same form that it bears at present.
The necessity of a town clerk was apparent, and Deacon John Rogers was chosen "recorder," his special duty being that of clerk to the selectmen. At this time there is a record made of those entitled to the great lots
1 Town Records.
3
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ncar Whitman's Pond, numbering about sixty persons. Jan. 24, 1652-3, two thousand acres were set apart as town commons, running across the town from Braintree to Hingham, and near the centre from north to south; at the same time Thomas Dyer was chosen to record births, deaths, and marriages, and William Torrey re- corder of deeds, etc. The town records seem at this time to have been in two divisions, each with its clerk, one for the personal and the other for the general record. In 1663 there is a record of the names, number of lot and acres, of each person who was allotted land in the first and second divisions, beginning on Braintree line.1 (See Appendix C.)
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