USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Weymouth > Historical sketch of the town of Weymouth, Massachusetts, from 1622-1884 > Part 8
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1 The town of Weymouth is divided into four principal villages: Wey- mouth, or the " Landing," as it is called, at the head of tide-water on Fore River, South Weymouth, East Weymouth, and North Weymouth, or " Old Spain," a name by which it has gone from time immemorial, and whose origin cannot now be traced, besides several smaller villages, as Lovell's Corner, between East and South Weymouth, and the Old North, central between the Landing, East Weymouth and Old Spain. The larger villages are upon most points separated from each other by wide tracts of unsettled territory, and are governed largely by local interests and influences. Hence there has been from the first a great deal of friction in the management of the town's business, amounting often to almost open quarrel. This has been conspicuously the case in the parish and school matters, and the result has been the various attempts to divide the town. This want of harmony, growing out of its local divisions, has also impaired largely the influence of the town, which, from its population, wealth and business, should be one of the most important in the State. These remarks are intended to explain much of the action that appears upon the records which would otherwise be diffi- cult to understand.
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SOLDIERS' MONUMENT. - After various votes and appropriations, a soldiers' monument was erected upon Burying Hill, in the old North Cemetery, upon the easterly side of the highway, consisting of a plain granite obelisk, suitably commemorating the names and services of those who perished in the Rebellion in defence of their country, and was dedicated in 1868.1
On the 21st of March, 1870, it was voted to divide the town into five wards, for convenience in carrying on the necessary public business. This was accord- ingly done, and it remains thus to the present day. In 1871, March 6, the first appropriation was made for the celebration of Memorial Day, and the vote has been annually repeated ever since.
THE Two HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY. - At the annual meeting held March 2, 1874, a com- mittee was chosen to make arrangements to celebrate the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the set- tlement of the town, and the same committee was also authorized to engage some one to prepare and publish a history of the town. The first vote was carried into effect on the 4th of July of that year, by a public meeting upon King Oak Hill, with appro- priate services, among which was an historical address by Charles Francis Adams, Jr., Esq., whose great- grandmother, Abigail Smith, wife of John Adams, second President of the United States, inferior to none of the honorable women mentioned in the national his- tory, was born and reared within a short distance of the spot where the address was delivered. The occasion was one of great interest, being the second of the kind held in Massachusetts, and was celebrated with
' For a full description of this monument and of the services at its dedication, see the Weymouth Gazette and New England Genealogical Register of corresponding dates.
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much enthusiasm by a large number of the citizens of this and other towns, who were cordially invited to the entertainment. 1
WATER QUESTION. - The last important business found upon the town records is upon the question of supplying the town with water from Great Pond. Many and urgent had been the calls demanding this or some other means by which the inhabitants and the rapidly growing necessities of the town should be fur- nished with an ample supply of water. Efforts were put forward to that end, and a charter was obtained from the Legislature of 1882-3, of sufficient powers to cover the undertaking. On the 18th of September, 1883, a town meeting was called, at which it was voted, by a large majority, to accept the Water Act, and on the 25th of the same month a board of water commissioners was chosen, and instructed to cause to be made thor- ongh surveys and estimates of all work and costs pro- posed by the Act, and to make a report of the same at a special meeting to be called for the purpose. This, one of the most important enterprises ever undertaken by the town, has not reached its present stage without violent opposition. The unfortunate situation of the town in respect to its various villages, with their often conflicting interests, and the jealousies occasioned thereby, has shown itself in this matter, as in nearly every important movement that has ever been proposed, and its success, however much it may be desired, is not yet assured. (The final action assuring it has since been taken, and the work is in progress.)
' This was probably the most interesting gathering ever held in the town, and was participated in by the citizens generally, resident and non-resident, and was also attended by many invited guests from other places. The proceedings were published in full, by the town, with the address of Mr. Adams, and is one of the most important additions to its historical material yet presented to the public.
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FIRE DEPARTMENT. - Until quite recently the town, officially, had made no attempt to afford its citizens protection against fire. What had been done was the work of volunteer companies, or of fire districts in which the town government had no part. A half-century or more ago a small hand-engine, called the " Aquarius," manned by a company of volunteers, was located at Weymouth Landing, which was for many years the only protection against fire, other than the primitive hand and bucket arrangement. Some twenty years later several fire districts were ereeted in town, and hand-engines provided for them. At that time the town attempted some action in the same direction, and went so far as to choose a committee to purchase four engines and the necessary apparatus to go with them, for the four principal villages. This was April 29, 1844 ; but on the following May 7 this vote was rcseinded, and the matter remained in its previous con- dition until March 5, 1877, when a committee of three from cach ward was chosen to organize a "fire depart- ment." In accordance with the report of this commit- tec, the town, on the 15th of May, voted to purchase three fire-engines, hose-carriages, etc., two hook-and-ladder trucks and fifteen hundred feet of hose; also to build three engine-houses and construct five reservoirs, appro- priating $18,000 therefor. On the 30th of January, 1878, a vote was passed making a further appropriation of $1,100 for another hand-engine. On May 2, $2,000 was voted for an engine and hose-carriage. In March, 1880, a steam fire-engine was purchased for Ward III., at a cost of $3,200, and in 1883, $4,200 was appropriated for a steamer for Ward II. Thus. it will be seen that the town has made a beginning in this important mat- ter, which only needs to be supplemented by the intro- duction of water from Great Pond, as proposed by recent votes, or from some other source, to afford really effective protection.
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GROWTH OF THE TOWN. - It may be of interest to note the gradual growth of the town expenses from the beginning, when almost every separate item was voted upon in open town meeting and there were almost no general appropriations, until the present time, when the annual expenditure of the town is not far from $100,000. On May 23, 1751, is noted the first general appropriation for the poor, amounting to £20. The highways were provided for by personal labor, and it was not until after the year 1800 that anything like regular, stated appropriations were made. Beginning with the year 1820, the average sums appropriated for expenses, other than schools and highways, were for the ten years from 1820 to 1830, about $1,400; for the succeeding decade, from 1830 to 1840, about $2,000; from 1840 to 1850, about $4,000, an increase of one hundred per cent; from 1850 to 1860, about $7,000; from 1860 to 1870, about $15,000; and from 1870 to 1880, about $25,000, an increase in half a century of nearly eighteen hundred per cent, while the increase of population was but little more than four hundred per cent.
The expenditure for schools, aside from the build- ings, beginning at about $100, had risen in the year 1800 to about $500. From 1800 to 1810, the yearly average was about $700; from 1810 to 1820, about $1,000; from 18_0 to 1830, about $1,000 to $1,200 (in 1821 there were 895 children of school age); from 1830 to 1840, from $1,200 to $2,000; from 1810 to 1850, from $2,500 to $3,500 (in 1842 there were 1,099 children of school age); from 1850 to 1860, from $3,500 to $7,000; from 1860 to 1870, from $8,500 to $15,000; from 1870 to 1880, from $20,000 to $26,000, an increase since 1821 of 2,500 per cent, while the number of school children had increased but about 125 per cent (the census of 1880 showing 2,023 children of school age).
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The increase of population for the first century and a half was very small indeed, the estimate for 1643 being about 1,000. The next estimate is from the Egerton manuscript in the British Museum, and dates about 1675, in which the number of houses set down for Weymouth, in round numbers, is 250; allowing five to a house, this would give a population of 1,250. In 1750 the estimate was 1,200. A census in 1765 showed 1,258, while that of 1776 indicated 1,471, and in 1790 this had declined to 1,469. In 1800 quite a gain was shown in a total of 1,803. The following ten years there was an increase of but 86, while in 1820 the number had increased to 2,407. From this time the gain was rapid, the census of 1830 giving a population of 2,837, while that of 1840 was 3,738, and that of 1850 stood at 5,369. The succeeding ten years showed an increase of over forty per cent, giving a total of 7,742. In 1870 the population was 9,010, and in 1880, 10,570, a gain in the present century of almost five hundred per cent.
The appraised value of the real property was in 1853, $1,138,999; and of the personal, $619,483: a total of $1,758,482. In 1875 the real estate was valued at $3,863,523; and the personal, $2,107,711: a total of $5,971,234. This was the last State valuation.
These statistics show, in a comparative degree, the wonderful development of the town in material resour- ces, and also its rapid progress in mechanical pursuits, while the indications are not wanting that promise a long continuance of its prosperity.
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CHAPTER V.
Ecclesiastical History - Congregational Churches - The First Church.
THE FIRST CHURCH. - There is no record of the or- ganization of this church. It is simply recognized by its name at the earliest mention as an established in- stitution well known to contemporaneous writers. It has already been stated that with the Gorges Company in 1623 came Rev. William Morrell, a clergyman of good reputation in the Church of England, of culture and learning; that he remained in the plantation for perhaps a year and a half, and then gave up his charge, returning to England by way of Plymouth. He was an amiable gentleman of refinement and remarkable dis- cretion, well suited to have the charge of an English parish, but scarcely adapted to the needs of a New Eng- land settlement at that day. Mr. Morrell brought with him a commission from the Ecclesiastical Court in Eng- land to exercise a kind of superintendency over the churches already existing or which might be established here. This commission was to empower him with authority over all churches in the colony, and as "all " meant only Plymouth, over which he was hardly in a position to claim jurisdiction, he obeyed the dictates of his good sense and refrained from any attempt to exercise his authority.
The conditions under which the settlement at Wey- mouth was made rendered it unnecessary to organize a parish, for it already existed as a matter of fact, and the church was a branch of the Church of England in this remote corner of its kingdom; and evidently to the
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care of his parish Mr. Morrell devoted himself so long as he remained. The religious element does not seem to have been predominant in this settlement, and the surroundings and influences being such as to give but little promise of future benefit, Mr. Morrell returned to his own eountry, leaving the remnant of his flock to the mercy of circumstances. In the following year, 1624, according to " Prinee's Annals," which, from the facilities in the hands of the compiler, seems fairly conclusive, there came in another company, to join the planters at Wessaguseus, from Weymouth, England. These were probably a mixed party, with the independent element predominant, since it is stated that they brought with them a non-conformist minister by the name of Barnard, who remained with them until his death. Nothing
more is known of him or of his administration over this people. There was no need to organize a chureh, since one after the Episcopal form already existed. It simply changed its "rector " for a " minister." There was no need even to throw off the authority of the bishop, since there was no offieer of that order to elaim the rule, and thus for a dozen years affairs remained, the continual influx of planters of various religious ideas preventing, probably, any very decided opinions from becoming predominant.
There was unquestionably some kind of a house of worship erected, probably a rude, temporary structure, corresponding to the dwellings of the people. No mention, however, is made of this, which in a few years was replaced by a more convenient and substantial building crected upon Burying Hill.
In the summer of 1635 a large addition was made to the little settlement by the arrival of a company of about a hundred people, under the leadership of Rev. Joseph Hull, sailing from Weymouth, Eng., but gath- ered from the county of Somerset and the neighbor-
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hood. Mr. Hull came in the interest of the Episcopacy, being a graduate of Oxford of 1612, and as recently as 1632, rector of Northleigh, Devon; but finding that the condition of the plantation was such as hardly to justify an attempt to establish the Episcopal form of worship in the immediate vicinity of so many dissenters, and prob- ably with a leaning in the latter direction himself, he fell in with the current and became a moderate dis- senter. There having been no minister here since the death of Mr. Barnard, the situation seemed favorable for the selection of Mr. Hull to fill that office, and he undoubtedly preached here for a time as minister of the church, but other elements were at work which soon developed themselves as an opposition. There were remnants of the Gorges Company still favoring their old order, while there were many new-comers from Dorchester, Boston and other places, who favored the Puritans and the authority of Gov. Winthrop. These latter seem to have been a strong party, and were evi- dently dissatisfied with Mr. Hull, for they soon gave a call to Mr. Thomas Jenner, of Roxbury, who, in the early part of 1636, came into the settlement and became its minister, while Mr. Hull seems to have removed temporarily to Hingham.
There does not appear to have been the utmost har- mony among the inhabitants, for in the following year a council of the elders was called to "reconcile the difference between Mr. Jenner and his people," and the difficulty was so serious that the governor and his council were compelled to step in and arrange matters. This trouble offered a favorable opportunity for a third party to throw itself into the breach in the hope of becoming possessors of the field. These, in 1637, gave an invitation to Rev. Robert Lenthal to become their minister. Mr. Lenthal had recently come from England, where many of the Weymouth people had been under 7
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his ministry; hence the invitation, which he did not hesitate to accept. He, also, remained here for several years, but was in constant trouble and difficulty, and in 1639 was tried for heresy before a council held in Dor- chester, but the result was unsatisfactory, as it settled nothing. An attempt seems to have been made at this time to form another church, the difficulty was so great, but without success.
The Weymouth Church, then, in 1638-9, found itself in this position. Mr. Hull claimed to be the minis- ter, and occasionally exercised the office, with a strong body of adherents. Mr. Jenner still remained, with the official favor to sustain him; while Mr. Lenthal preached as circumstances would permit, and had a large following. This condition of things in a village no larger than Weymouth of that date could not be supported, and in the latter year, 1639, Rev. Samuel Newman, a graduate of Oxford of 1620, and a man of excellent reputation, was invited to come in as a harmo- nizer. How this was to be effected does not now ap- pear; nevertheless he came, and there was displayed the extraordinary phenomenon, for those days, of four min- isters of the same denomination contending for a single pulpit in one small community. This, however, did not continue, for Mr. Hull and Mr. Lenthal retired in 1639, and Mr. Jenner in 1640, leaving Mr. Newman in possession; but the conflicting elements were too many and discordant for his peaceable nature, and after a min- istry of about four years he, with a large body of his friends, removed to Rehoboth, leaving the church with- out a pastor. He was succeeded by Rev. Thomas Thacher, who was settled Jan. 2, 1644, and remained pastor of the church for twenty years, when he removed to Boston, and was afterwards installed as the first pas- tor of the Third Church (Old South). He was the first minister ordained in Weymouth, all of his predeces-
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sors having received their ordination in England. He had an excellent reputation as a preacher, and was also an able physician, a man of talent and education. Under his ministrations the people, by whom he was beloved and revered, enjoyed a long period of rest and prosperity, very pleasant after the vexations of the previous years.
During the pastorate of Mr. Thacher the old meet- ing-house, which stood upon Burying Hill, on the westerly side of the present highway, and nearly op- posite the site of the soldiers' monument, had become so much in need of repairs that the townsmen, Dec. 14, 1652, were directed "to do what was necessary to make it more comfortable, and prevent any further decay." In the early days of the town, until it was divided in 1723 into two precincts, it constituted one precinct, and all parish business was transacted in town meeting. The minister was hired and his maintenance provided by the town; and as it possessed at this time no parsonage, the minister provided his own dwelling, which, upon his leaving, was purchased by the town and sold to his successor, with the condition that should he leave or die without children, the town should have the privilege of buying the property.
Mr. Thacher was followed in the ministry by Rev. Samuel Torrcy, who was ordained Feb. 14, 1665. Rev. Emerson Davis says he preached there from 1656, as colleague of Mr. Thachcr. He was certainly there Nov. 28, 1664. Mr. Torrey was son of Capt. William Torrey, born in England in 1632; educated at Har- vard College, but owing to an extension of the course of study for a year he, with some of his associates, became dissatisfied and left the institution without grad- uation. He remained pastor of the church in Wey- mouth until his death, April 21, 1707, a period of over forty-two years. He was a man of great and acknowl-
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edged ability, of excellent reputation as a preacher, and in 1684 was chosen president of Harvard College, which position hc declined. Three times he prcached the election sermon, - an honor never before conferred.
In 1667 the mecting-house was again repaired, and a bell procured and hung. Up to the year 1671, although there is mueh upon the records concerning the minis- ter's rates and providing for his maintenance, there is no amount stated for his salary. This ycar the matter was thoroughly discussed, and arrangements were made to pay Mr. Torrey fifty pounds per year, and five mem- bers of the precinet became bound for its payment, ten pounds per man. This was to be paid in money, or its equivalent of eighty pounds in current pay. In 1673 ten pounds in wood (twenty cords) was added, and in 1680 his salary was increased ten pounds. In 1682 the meeting-house had become so old and decayed that the town voted to pull it down, and a new one was erected upon land bought of Capt. John Holbrook, the site of the present meeting-house. This house was forty-five feet by forty, and twenty fect between joints, with four gable-ends, costing in all two hundred and eighty pounds. In 1697-8 the town voted an addi- tion of twelve pounds to the minister's salary.
After the death of Mr. Torrey a call was given to Mr. Peter Thacher of Boston, a grandson of Rev. Thomas Thacher, the former minister, at a salary of seventy pounds and a " convenient settlement." It was a custom of those days to grant the minister upon his settlement a certain sum to pay his expense of removal or "setting up housekeeping," equal usually to one or more years' salary. This did not appear to be quite satisfactory, and the sum was increased ten pounds, with his firewood added. This call was accepted, and Mr. Thacher was ordained Nov. 26, 1707. He was a popular preacher, and very highly esteemed by his
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people, among whom he lived in great harmony until 1718, when a prospect of a call to Boston introduced a disturbing element, in consequence of which he was dismissed, and afterwards settled, as colleague of Rev. Mr. Webb, over the North Church, Boston. He was a graduate of Harvard of 1696. His manner of leaving Weymouth was very unsatisfactory, and the cause of much ill-feeling on that account. During the ministry . of Mr. Thacher the town purchased a parsonage for the minister of Zachariah Bicknell, which has been a per- manent establishment in the parish since that time.
On March 27, 1719, the town concurred with the church in a call given Feb. 26 to Mr. Thomas Paine, of Barnstable, to be their minister upon a salary of ninety pounds and the use of the parsonage. He was ordained Aug. 19, 1719. He remained the pastor until April 15, 1734, when he was dismissed. It was during his min- istry, in 1723, that the south part of the town was set off as the Second Precinct. This withdrew a large part of the population and property, so that it was with great difficulty that the parish expenses were met, and in consequence much trouble arose with Mr. Paine during the later years of his service, which was eventu- ally the cause of his leaving. For several years his family had resided in Boston, while he performed his official duties in Weymouth. Mr. Paine graduated at Harvard in 1717, and was, in point of ability and acquirements, the equal of any of his predecessors, with the possible exception of Mr. Torrey. He was of a kind and amiable disposition, and won the affec- tion of his people to a remarkable degree, and had it not been for the unfortunate pecuniary condition of the parish there would have been no occasion for his leaving.
In August, 1634, after the dismission of Mr. Paine, a call was extended to Mr. William Smith, of Charles-
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town, to become the minister, at a salary of one hundred and sixty pounds and three hundred pounds settlement, the latter to be paid one hundred pounds annually for three years, all in bills of credit. This invitation was accepted, and on the first Wednesday of December he was ordained as pastor of the First Church and Parish in Weymouth, which office he retained until his death, Sept. 17, 1783, in his seventy-seventh year. He was a graduate of Harvard of 1725. The following epitaph upon his gravestone gives, probably, a correct estimate of his character: "As a Divine he was eminent As a Preacher of the Gospel eloquent and devotional in life he exhibited the Virtues of the Religion which he had taught in Death felt its Supports and closed a long and useful life with hopes full of immortality." Prepossess- ing and conciliatory, he soon became a favorite, espe- cially among the young. He was lively and animated as a speaker, and through his long ministry of nearly forty-nine years -the longest on the record of the church -he was highly esteemed and beloved. He, however, is best known as the father of three daughters, who married three men, all of whom became eminent. Hon. Richard Cranch married Mary, the eldest; Abi- gail became the wife of John Adams, the second President of the United States, and was the mother of John Quincy Adams, the sixth President; the third daughter, Elizabeth, married Rev. John Shaw, of Haverhill, a man of standing and reputation.
He was minister through the Revolutionary war, with its stirring scenes, and died just as the day of peace was dawning upon the land. The difficulties of the times, with a divided town and a fluctuating currency, made it often hard to raise the amount necessary for his support, and the records are largely filled with endeavors to arrange this matter. At the commence- ment of his ministry, in its second year, he had a long
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