USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > History of Boston, the metropolis of Massachusetts, from its origin to the present period; with some account of the environs > Part 11
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But, says Mr. Hubbard, whatever gentle words the order was sweetened withal, some of the churches could not swal- low it : the principal men who raised objections were some lately arrived from England, where a vast liberty was allowed by the parliament, which had also sent orders to the West In- dia colonies, that all men should enjoy their liberty of con- science, and had by their letters also intimated the same to those of New-England. Some few of the church in Boston adhered to these principles, which made them stickle much against the calling of this synod.
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This few formed about three-sevenths of the acting mem- bers of the church; they were influenced in a great degree by the opinion of Mr. Cotton, and their opposition to the mea- sure was so determined, that they presented three formal ob- jections to it ; that the interference of the court was unneces- sary, that the order originated with the ministers, and that the decisions of the synod would be binding on the churches, without their own consent. A motion was however made that the church should send its proportion of delegates, and after two Sabbath days' debate, it was carried in the affirma- tive by a vote of forty against thirty. Here arose a great difficulty : some members were in favour of proceeding to se- Ject and send their delegates : but the church had heretofore done all business by unanimous votes, and it would have grieved many to see so important an act as this, carried into operation on a bare majority. To relieve the difficulty, some one proposed that the whole church should attend and see for themselves : but this would appear singular and perhaps be thought disrespectful. Some external impulse was necessary to bring the matter to a conclusion. Mr. Norton, then of Ips- wich, was at hand, and he was procured to supply the pulpit as Boston, upon a lecture day, where was a great audience, and he handled his subject so aptly, and with so much strength of reason and argument, that on the next Sabbath the Boston church agreed to send their elders and three of the brethren as messengers to the synod.
This assembly met at Cambridge and had several adjourn- ments until October 1648, when its sesssion terminated. Its labours principally consisted in compiling what is called the Cambridge platform, which together with the Westminster con- fession they recommended to the court, and which for a long time continued to be standard authorities in the congregational churches in New-England .*
* Hubbard, 532. Backus, i. 185. Magnalia, ii. 181-Emerson, 81. Mass. H. C. 1. x. 3-2. i. 195.
THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY CHICAGO
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
CHAPTER XVIII.
" Great prince and father of our State, receive The well-earn'd honours that thy Rome would give."
IN the beginning of the year 1649, Boston suffered a mourn- ful loss in the death of Governour Winthrop. From the first moment of placing his foot on the peninsula he had been its firmest friend. His resolute perseverance in opposition to Dud- ley's plan of establishing the capital at Cambridge, laid the foundation of Boston's greatness, and the endeavours of Endi- cott and his party to obtain the same honour for Salem, were rendered unavailing through the wisdom and prudence of Win- throp. He was one of the earliest Selectmen and frequently served on that board. In almost every event of any moment we find him bearing part, and except for one short period he was an oracle and favourite with the people. Or, as Cotton expresses it, he was their friend in all things by his counsel, a a help for their bodies by physick, and in their estates by law.
Governour Winthrop was born at the family mansion house of his ancestors, at Groton in Suffolk, June 12, 1587. Hav- ing been educated to the profession of law, he was made a Justice of the peace at the age of eighteen, and soon became conspicuous for his many virtues. In his profession he was exemplary as an upright and impartial magistrate, and in his private character he manifested the traits of a devout and practical christian. He had the wisdom to discern and the fortitude to perform what was right in executing the duties of his office; and as a gentleman was remarkable for liberality and hospitality. These qualities rendered him dear to men of sobriety and religion, and fitted him to engage in the great and difficult work of founding a colony.
Previous to his embarking for New-England, he converted a fine estate of six or seven hundred pounds sterling per an- num into money, which he expended principally in the ser- vice of the plantation. His time, his study, his exertions, his influence and his interests, were all employed in the publick service. He maintained the dignity of a governour with the obliging condescension of a gentleman : his wisdom, patience and magnanimity were conspicuous in the most severe trials,
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and his christian-like behaviour added splendour to all his rare qualifications.
He was a pattern to the people of that frugality, decency, and temperance, which were necessary in their circumstances, and even denied himself many of the elegances and superflui- ties of life, which he had enjoyed elsewhere. This he did both that he might set others a proper example, and be the better enabled to exercise that liberality in which he delight- ed. His charity indeed was unbounded. He would often send his servants on some errand, at meal times, to the houses of his neighbours to see how they were provided with food, and if there was a deficiency would supply them from his own table. He mingled with his sterner virtues a happy portion of well-timed wit. In one of the very hard and long winters which he endured in this climate, a man came to the gov- ernour with a private complaint that a needy person in the neighbourhood stole wood sometimes from his pile. 'Does he,' said Mr. Winthrop, ' call him to me and I will take a course with him, that shall cure him of stealing.' 'The man appeared, trembling under the terrours of the law. 'Friend,' said the governour, ' it is a very cold season, and I doubt you are but poorly provided with wood : you are welcome to supply yourself at my pile till the winter is over.'
But though condescending and gentle on every occasion of personal ill treatment, yet where the honour of government or religion and the interests of the people were concerned, he was equally firm and intrepid, standing foremost in opposition to those whom he judged to be really publick enemies. He defended the course he had pursued in Mrs. Hutchinson's case, on the ground which he maintained on all occasions : ' I have acted according to my conscience and my oath, and by advice of the elders of the church, and am fully satisfied that it would not have been consistent with the publick peace to have done otherwise.'
His political opinions were not so favourable to the demo- cratical forms of government as were those of some of the wise and good men with whom he was associated. On this subject he has left us these remarkable words; 'the best part of a community is always the least, and of that best part the wiser is still less.' His ideas of the right of a publick officer to exercise his own judgment are thus conveyed : 'When you choose us magistrates, the covenant between us and you is, that we shall govern you and judge your causes according to the laws of God and our best skill ; and as for our skill, you must run the hazard of it : if there be an errour, not in the will, but in the skill, it becomes you to bear it.'
Mr. Winthrop, before he left England, was of a more catho- lick spirit than some of his brethren. After he came to America
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
he yielded somewhat to the reigning spirit of intolerance, but as he advanced in life he resumed his former moderation, and in the time of his last sickness, when Dudley pressed him to sign an order for the banishment of a person who was deemed heterodox, he refused, saying, that he had done too much of that work already.
He met with. much affliction in his family, having buried three wives and six children. These and other troubles join- ed with the opposition and ill treatment he frequently received so preyed upon his nature, already worn by the toils and hard- ships of planting a colony in a wilderness, that he perceived a decay of his faculties and often spoke of his dissolution as ap- proaching, with a calm resignation to the will of heaven. A fever occasioned by a cold, after one month's confinement, put an end to his life on the 26th of March 1649, æt. 62.
Gov. Winthrop's house stood on the spot occupied by the South Row, about opposite to School street. It was of wood, two stories high, and was demolished by the British in 1775, His remains were deposited in the family tomb, on the north side of the Chapel burial ground. His portrait is preserved in the Land Office at the State House. He is judged to have been about six feet high, not corpulent, long favoured, with a dark blue eye, high forehead, long beard, and dark hair, which he wore in the form of a natural wig.
CHAPTER XIX.
"See wide dominions ravished from the deep, And changed creation takes its face from man."
WE consider the death of Gov. Winthrop to have complet- ed an cpoch in the history of Boston. The town had then been settled about nineteen years; its population had become so numerous that they were meditating the formation of a new church : the necessities of the place and the conveniences it afforded for trade, had given occasion for extensive improve- ments in the construction of wharves, and other expedients to enlarge the facilities for domestick and foreign commerce : a foundation was laid for the publick instruction of youth, and a regular system of police established. We propose to give in this chapter a view of the progress of these improvements.
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
'The features which in sixteen hundred and thirty were most prominent on the face of Boston have now disappeared. The hill at the north, rising to the height of about 50 feet above the sea, presented then on its northwest brow an ab- rupt declivity, long after known as Copp's hill steeps. Its summit, almost level, extended between Prince and Charter streets towards Christ's church. Thence south a gentle slope led to the water, which washed the south side of Prince street below, and the north side above T'hacher street as far as Salem street. Eastward from the church, a gradual de- scent led to the north battery, which was considered the bot- tom of the hill. South-easterly the slope was still more grad- ual, and terminated at the foot of the north square, leaving a knoll on the right, where at present stands the meeting-house of the Second church.
This hill was the spot selected for the site of the first wind- mill used in the colony, when it was brought down from Wa- tertown, in August 1632, because it would not grind there but with a westerly wind. Hence it obtained the name of Windmill hill. Most probably it was at some period called Snow hill ; but about the time of the revolution in 1775, it bore the name of Copp, which it retained so long as any portion of it was left standing.
William Copp was the earliest proprietor of that portion of the hill which latterly bore his name. This appears from the following record in the first book of possessions.
" The possession of William Copp within the limits of Boston.
" One house and lott of halfe an acre in the Mill field bound- ed with Thomas Buttolph southeast : John Button northeast : the marsh on the southwest : and the river on the northwest."
Copp's hill was at one time in possession of the Ancient and Honourable Artillery Company. In 1775 the common was occupied by the British troops, and that company was re- fused admittance there to perform their exercise and evolu- tions. Major Wm. Bell, who was then commander, therefore marched the company to Copp's hill. Some years after, a question arose in town meeting, ' to whom this hill belonged :' some one said, ' to the Ancient and Honourable.' Col. Jo- seph Jackson, their treasurer and past commander, was sent for, and declared that he considered it their property, a mort- gage upon it to them having long since run out, and that Capt. Bell, with the company, had taken possession of it in 1775. Capt. Bell was then interrogated by Col. Thomas Dawes, the moderator. Why did you march your company to Copp's hill ? Answer. I was prohibited from entering the common,
14
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
conceiving this hill to be the property of the company, I marched them there, as a place no one had a right to exclude them from. Question by moderator. Supposing a party of British troops should have been in possession of it, and should have forbidden you entrance, what would you have done ? Answer. I would have charged bayonets, and forced my way, as surely as I would force my way into my dwelling house, if taken possession of by a gang of thieves. The late Col. William Tudor, who was then present, said, "Mr. Moderator, The hill clearly belongs to that company, and I wish they would execute a quit claim of it to me for a fair price.' 'The mortgage was afterwards discharged.
The British left a small fort standing on this hill, (near the southwest corner of the burial ground,) which remained a fa- vourite resort for the recreation of school-boys, until the im- provements commenced in 1807, that have terminated in the levelling of the hill, and the erection of buildings on its sum- mit and base .*
Lynn-street and Ann-street, as far south as Richmond- street, occupy what was the foot of Windmill hill on the sea- board. The land between Richmond-street on the north, and Portland and Elm-streets on the south, was a narrow neck, on either side of which was a spacious cove. . Southerly from Richmond-street, Ann-street probably follows the shore, till we reach the Mill creek, where a natural inlet commenced, which extended to and covered what is now Hatter's square.
As near as can be ascertained the name of ' the cove' was applied to all the water which flowed between the head of Hancock's wharf and the bottom of State-street. All the records of possessions north of the former speak of the sea or the bay (as Josselyn called it) for the bounds on the north and east. Then comes Thomas Joy who has the cove south- west ; Mr. Thomas Clarke next has it south, which probably was at the foot of North-square, (for some time called Clark's square.) Southerly from him various owners have the cove southeast, east and north till we come to Edward Tyng, who has the bay on the east, and the cove on the north.
The western extremity of this, which we will call the mar- ket-cove, has of late years been known as the Town dock ; it was formerly called Bendall's dock, from Edward Bendall, who owned a lot near the head of it. His deed gives him the cove north and east, which brought him not far from the cor- ner of Dock-square opposite the Sheep-market : a creek is mentioned near his new house, April 1639. The water flow- ed near to the foot of Brattle-street. The whole of Dock-square
» Whitman's hist. sketch, p. 66. Winthrop's Journal.
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
and Market-square, and the west side of Union-street as far as Creek lane, and all east of that to the Mill creek were daily covered by the tide.
Between the inlet, which now forms the Mill creek, and the principal arm of the cove, there was a narrow point of low marsh projecting, in the form of a triangle. This was an- ciently granted to Mr. Bellingham. In 1644 he sold one half to Christopher Lawson, and the other half in 1646 to Joshua Scottow, who in 1650 appears also to have purchased of James Everill another portion of the same marsh, which was the identical spot on which lately stood the triangular ware- house.
THIE TRIANGULAR WAREHOUSE;
VIEW FROM S. E. CORNER OF FANEUIL-IIALL.
The origin of that singular building is involved in a happy obscurity, which has given rise to much curious speculation. It stood at the head of the Town dock, as it was in July last, on the north side of the same. It occupied precisely the space marked by the small triangle, which is to be seen in square He on our plan for 1824, and opposite to the swing bridge, which is shewn on the plan for 1722. It measured on the side facing the dock forty-eight feet : on Roe-buck passage fifty-one, and on the back side fifty-five feet. It was built of brick, on a stone foundation, and had a slated roof. There were two principal stories in the building with a good cellar underneath. The lower story appeared to have been arched. with very many doors and windows. On each cor-
4.
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
ner, and in the centre of the roof there was a tower, such as is represented in the plate, topped with a ball. The centre ball was of wood ; the others were of stone, all fixed on iron spires set in lead. Conjecture has made this edifice to have been a fort built for the protection of the town, or a custom-house for the accommodation of government ; there is, however, good reason to believe that it was not erected for any publick purpose, but that it was built about the year 1700, by London merchants, for a commercial warehouse. It had been a place of considerable business and for some time the publick scales for weighing large draughts were kept there. Of late years it had been occupied for minor purposes, until August last, when it was taken down to make room for the great improve- ments commenced in the vicinity of the market. It was con- structed with great strength, the bricks were of a larger size than those now used, and the foundation stood upon a sandy marsh ; beneath which there is found a solid blue clay, at about thirteen feet below the level of Ann-street.
State-street was a primitive highway. The owners on both sides, about 1640, can be traced. Edward Tyng before men- tioned, owned the North-east corner, which, as we suppose, was the South-west corner of Merchants'-row. William Hud- son, senior, held a house and yard at the lower end on the south side, which appears to have been the only lot between the corner of that street and the commencement of Mr. Win- throp's marsh, which afterwards came to be known by the name of Oliver's dock. This lot was probably situated near the corner of Kilby-street now occupied by the New-England bank. From between that corner and the bottom of Milk- street, a cove run up westward as far as Spring-lane, where there was a remarkable spring. Mr. Winthrop's garden lay on the south side of that lane, and was said to be bounded north with the springate. Mr. Hibbins lay east of him, hav-
ing also the springate north. Then came John Spoore, who had ' the creek' north, and the marsh east of him. These three lots bring us down to the block between Congress and Kilby (late Adams) street. Passing the intervening piece of marsh, (or water course,) we then have three lots which have the marsh still on the north, and at the water side have John Compton's house and garden ' bounded with the cove on the east and the fort-hill on the south.' The lots on the north side of Spring-lane and Water-street are all said to be bound- ed south, either by the springate or the marsh.
We have taken the pains to trace out the above points on the original records, to show how accurately tradition and the memory of our aged citizens agree with the facts thus ascer- tained. They substantiate the account in Shaw's description, which we here insert.
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HISTORY OF BOSTON.
'Oliver's Dock, not many years since, came up to Kilby- street. A fish-shop owned by Mr. Solomon Hewes, used to stand over the water, and parallel to the street. On the side of the dock stood the famous stamp office, occupied by Lieut. Governor Oliver. This small building was tumbled into the water by the patriotic mob in 1765, and with it was over- thrown the scheme of taxation which led to the revolution. The building, now (1817) occupied as a grocer's shop, by J. Welsh, stands on the same spot.
' The greater part of Quaker-lane (Congress street,) is made land. An aged gentleman, who lived near the spot, says that when the foundation of Joy's buildings was preparing, the remains of the hull of an old vessel, or large boat, with frag- ments of canvass, and tarred rope, were dug up : which shews the place had been once used for a graving yard, or some similar purpose. A relative of our informant, remembered when lighters and boats came up the creek (then so called,) as far as the wheat sheaf, now the estate of Mr. Kendall, the baker. On the spot now covered by the corner of Joy's buildings, stood a shop, improved by one Kent, a tanner. His tan-yard was in the rear, and in front was a wharf, for the accommodation of his small vessels. This was one branch of the creek.
' Another branch may be traced thus :- A Mr. Marshall remembered, when a boy, smelts were caught at the head of the creek, near the meeting-house in Federal-street, where is now the drain and common sewer. A man descended in this some years ago, and groped his way under ground, till he came out at Oliver's dock .- Here were a number of cooper's shops ; the workmen used to soak their hoops in the water, now covered by an oyster shop, and buildings occupied by painters and others. From a view of the ground, there is reason to believe that the greater part of Congress-street, the whole of Kilby-street, and Liberty-square, are built on flats once covered by salt water. In noticing the great storm and tide, in 1723, the writer says, " we could sail in boats from the southern battery to the rise of ground in King-street."
' Another aged inhabitant states, that he has seen a canoe sail, at different times, over the spot which now makes the corner of Congress and Water-streets ; and thinks he has seen the water three feet deep in Federal-street. He remem- bers having heard Dr. Chauncy say, that he had taken smelts in the place, now improved as a garden, belonging to the es- tate of the late Judge Paine, in Milk-street, [at the west cor- ner of Federal-street.]
' Passing on southerly from the bottom of Milk-street to Battery-march, you walk over a spot, which was formerly oc- cupied by Mr. Hallowell as a ship-yard .- Where the Custom-
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house, and the adjoining stores now stand, vessels of great burthen have been built ; and a large and beautiful ship, com- pletely rigged, owned by Capt. Fellows was launched there, within the recollection of many now living.
' In very high tides the water has flowed up to the corner of State-street, formerly called the Admiral Vernon tavern, now occupied by Mr. Sumner as a crockery store. At the bottom of this street not many years since, logs were dug up in a sound state, which, from the knots and remains of the boughs, must have been felled near the spot.'.
The grocery shop mentioned in this account stood at the corner of Kilby-street, which makes the north-east corner of Liberty-square, being very near the centre of Hh. Joy's buildings are on the west side of Congress-street, corner of Water-street. The southern branch of the creek covered a part of the lower end of Pearl-street, and extended across the Atkinson estate, which lay between Pearl and Atkinson- streets, as appears on an ancient plan deposited in the Athe- næum, and is also evident from the course of the larger drain. The head of the creek reached towards Summer-street, and in very high tides, has nearly united with the water from South-street at the late Mr. Ebenezer Parsons' garden, now Winthrop-place. In digging for the foundation of the very elegant stone stores recently erected by Waterston, Pray, & Co. at the corner of Kilby and Water-streets, it was necessa- ry to pass through marsh and dock mud, and the tide water daily filled the trenches, until the discovery that it was all let in by one aqueduct log. The Admiral Vernon tavern noticed by Shaw, was at the corner of Merchants'-Row.
From the south-east margin of this, which we will call the middle-cove, the eastern hill commenced its ascent, and ex- tending gradually to the south and west rose to the height of 80 feet above the sea. Its eastern side was also a ragged cliff, that seemed placed by nature in front of the entrance to the harbour for the purposes of defence, to which it was very soon applied, and from which it obtained its present name of Fort-hill. It was before called Corn-hill. Southerly and westerly it slopes towards Purchase and Atkinson, and down High-street to the foot of Summer-street.
The estates east of High-street had the bay on the east, and when we arrive to the lots now in South-street and Essex, they are said to have the cove on the south, which we call the southern cove. Windmill point at the bottom of Sea-street makes one limit of this cove, and South Boston the other, with Dorchester and Roxbury south, and the neck on the west.
' The neck now so called within the limits of Boston is one inile and thirty-nine yards in length. A part of it has been
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