USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Cambridge > History of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1630-1877. With a genealogical register > Part 39
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88
1 What is now the City of Cambridge.
2 Now Arlington.
8 Now Brighton or Boston.
377
EDUCATION.
reported the amount of valuation, the number of children be- tween the ages of three and seventeen years, and the duration of the schools in each of the five districts before described, - 12 months of school taught by a female being reckoned as equiva- lent to 4 months of a master's school.
District.
Valuation.
No. of Children.
Months.
1
1,290,245
350
16%
2
141,340
80
5
3
630,395
362
16%
4
359,535
298
16
5
725,662
557
16g
An entirely new system 1 was adopted Oct. 6, 1834, when the town voted to abolish the five school districts, or to merge them into three Wards, namely, the first and second districts into Ward One ; the third and fourth into Ward Two ; and the fifth into Ward Three. The schools were graded, and designated as Grammar, Middle, and Primary, in each ward. It was ordered that schools should be maintained in the several Wards as follows : Ward One to be in two sections, of which the first should have one Grammar School, one Middle, and one Primary, and the second, schools equivalent to one female school for the whole year ; Ward Two should have one Grammar School, one Middle, and three Primary ; Ward Three should have one Gram- mar School, one Middle, and one Primary. In addition to these a High School was established in 1839 for the whole town.2 In this school since 1854, has been given the instruction contem- plated in the will of Governor Edward Hopkins, who died in England in 1657, namely, " to give some encouragement in those Foreign Plantations, for the breeding up of hopeful youth in a way of learning, both at the Grammar School and College, for the service of the Country in future times." Five hundred pounds of his donation were assigned to the College and School in Cambridge. " Three fourths of the income of this estate,"
1 Concerning this change from the dis- ried it to the greatest degree of complete- trict system to that of regular gradation, ness." Hon. James D. Green, in his Inaugural Address, as Mayor of the City, in 1853, says : "I claim for the town of Cambridge the honor of having introduced it into this Commonwealth, and of having car-
2 The first High School-house was on the corner of Windsor Street and Broad- way ; the second, on Summer Street, between Inman and Amory streets ; and the third on the northcasterly corner of Fayette Street and Broadway.
378
HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE.
says Dr. Holmes, in 1800, " are applied, according to the in- struction of the will of the donor, to the maintenance of five resident Bachelors of Arts at Harvard College, and the other fourth ' to the Master of Cambridge Grammar School, in consid- eration of his instructing in grammar learning five boys nomi- nated by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, and the Minister of Cambridge for the time being,' who are, by the will, ' Visitors of said School.' " 1' Some of the subsequent changes in the management of the "Hopkins Fund " are described in the Report of the School Committee of 1869 :-
" We sometimes hear complaints that our High School is essen- tially a classical school. This we deny ; it should, however, be remembered that it ought to be really more than a High School under our statutes. In 1839, the Legislature authorized 'the trustees of the charity of Edward Hopkins,' who was the second governor of the Connecticut colony, ' to establish in the town of Cambridge a classical school, the main object of which shall be to prepare boys for admission to Harvard University,' and ' to apply one fourth part of the net income of their funds to the support of said school.' This school was accordingly established.2 It was provided, however, in the act above referred to, that at any time thereafter, when the school should ' cease to be supported in said town, the trustees shall annually pay over the said fourth part of the net income of their funds to the treasurer of the town of Cambridge, on condition that the said town of Cambridge shall provide and maintain a school, and perform and comply with the other duties and provisions contained in the next section of this act.' The next section is as follows : 'The town of Cambridge shall annually apply so much of said income as may at any time hereafter be paid to the treasurer thereof, in pursuance of the preceding section, to the instruction of nine boys in the learning requisite for admission to Harvard University ; the said instruc- tion to be furnished in a public school in said town, the instructor of which shall be at all times competent to give such instruction ; and said town shall, so long as said income shall continue to be paid, receive into said school, and admit to all the benefits, privileges, and advantages thereof, free of expense, any number of boys not exceeding nine at any time, wlio, being properly qualified, shall be selected and presented for admission thereto, by the President and Fellows of Harvard College, and the Min-
1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., vii. 22, 23. erly side of Main Street, a few rods west-
2 In a house which stood on the south- erly from Dana Street.
379
EDUCATION.
ister of the First Church in Cambridge, who shall be the visitors of said school for the purpose of seeing that the duties and pro- visions in this section are duly complied with and performed.' In 1854, the trustees proposed to the city to discontinue the Hopkins School, and, pursuant to the provisions of the statute above recited, to transfer to the city that portion of the income of their fund which had been previously applied to the support of that school ; this proposition was accepted by the city, which thereby assumed the obligations above quoted, and the school Committee of that year immediately acted in fulfilment of those obligations, by appointing a Hopkins classical teacher. It is not for us to pass upon the wisdom of the contract thus entered into by the city, but we will ask those who may be inclined to think our High School too much a classical school, whether it can be any less so without a violation of that contract."
It has already been stated that the compensation paid to the pioneer master of the Grammar School was meagre. He prob- ably received about £7 10s. per annum from the Hopkins Char- ity, with a small tuition-fee for each scholar ; in addition to which occasional special grants from the town and colony served to eke out a precarious subsistence. His successors for more than a century, received a very moderate stipend. Nov. 9, 1691, "it was put to vote, whether there should be given by the town, in common pay, annually, to a schoolmaster, twelve pounds, and it was voted on the affirmative, to teach both Latin and English, and to write and cypher ;" and June 27, 1692, "it was voted to pay the schoolmaster twenty pounds per annum in common pay." The Grammar School was made a Free School 1 May 16, 1737, and, in consideration, it would seem, of the discontinuance of a tuition-fee, the salary of the master was increased. It was then " put to vote whether the Grammar School in our town should be a Free School for the year ensuing, and it passed in the affir- mative. Also voted, that the sum of forty pounds be paid Mr. Hovey for his service as schoolmaster for the year ensuing. Also voted, that twelve pounds be paid each wing in our town, to de- fray the charge of their schools in the winter season." This
1 Notwithstanding this vote, the sehol- ars were not wholly exempt from expense. At a town-meeting, Nov. 28, 1748, it was " Voted, that the Grammar Schoolmaster in this town be desired and is hereby em- powered to make a tax on every school-
boy, not exceeding six shillings old tenor, from time to time, as there shall be oe- casion to purchase wood for the use of said Grammar School." If not paid, delinquent pupils were to be excluded from the school.
380
HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE.
salary remained stationary until 1777, when it was advanced to sixty pounds ; but as an offset the master was required to relin- quish all claim to the "Hopkins money." During the Revolu- tion, all values became unsettled and fluctuating. The school- master was partially protected, however, by an agreement that the town should pay for his board in addition to the stipend from time to time established. We obtain a glimpse of the financial disturbances at that period from the records of the Selectmen. For example : Sept. 4, 1780. " Allowed the schoolmaster Kendall his account from July 7, 1780, to Sept. 2ª., £407 4s., including two weeks boarding at £50, per week, and allowing £8, per week, above what he charged some time before, for eight weeks board." Oct. 1, 1780. " Allowed to Mr. Wm. How £90, for boarding Mr. Kendall two weeks, and £55, per week, for boarding him four weeks, £220, being in the whole £310. It is too much, and the account was allowed by the selectmen for pru- dential reasons, but sorely against their wills." Dec. 18, 1780. " Allowed Mr. Kendall's account (schoolmaster's) to this day, at £380, if paid within one week, otherwise to be £400. Soon af- terwards a more stable currency was introduced, and the former was withdrawn. The Selectmen, May 9, 1781, " allowed Master Whittemore's account of £1,000, in old emission, to be paid in new emission at one for forty." Under this new state of things Master Kendall's salary was fixed at thirty pounds and his board, as appears by a vote of the Selectmen, April 7, 1783, " to engage with Mr. Asa Packard to keep the Grammar School in this town for three months, to commence on Thursday next,1 at the rate of thirty pounds per annum, and his board to be found for him, it being upon the same terms that Mr. Kendall kept it." Fifty years later, it appears by the Report of the Auditing Committee, April 19, 1833, that the salary of the schoolmasters (of whom there were then five) was five hundred and fifty dollars, - each providing his own board ; since which time the amount of salary has been more than quadrupled.
The following tables exhibit the condition of the schools, and cost for instruction, as stated in a " Tabular View of the Public Schools of Cambridge, Jan. 1, 1876," appended to the Report of the School Committee.
1 Mr. Samuel Kendall closed his three 1782, He was ordained at Weston Nov. years' service April 10, 1783, having 5, 1783, where he died Feb. 16, 1814. He received the degree of D. D. from Yale taught the Grammar School more than two years before he graduated at H. C. College, 1806.
381
EDUCATION.
Grade.
No. Teachers.
No. Pupils.
Cost of Instruction.
For each Pupil.
High School .
12
402
$21,700
$53.98
7 Grammar
88
3,445
76,850
22.31
20 Primary
83
3,701
57,400
15.51
Music . . .
1
2,500
-
Superintendent
-
-
3,000
-
184
7,548
$161,450
$21.14
Female Teachers.
Salary.
Amount.
Male Teachers.
Salary.
Amount.
1
$1,200
$1,200
1
$4,000
$4,000
7
1,000
7,000
1
3,000
3,000
7
850
5,950
11
2,500
27,500
25 116
800
20,000
13
34,500 123,950
11
600
6,600
184
158,450
4
500
2,000
Superin- tendent
1
-
3,000
171
$123,950
$161,450
An additional expense of $5,862.44 was incurred for " Evening Schools for Adults." 1
1 In his Inaugural Address, Jan. 1, 1877, the Mayor says that, with 29 schools, 176 teachers, and 7,554 pupils, the amount expended during the year 1876, on account of schools, was : -
" For General Instruction $159,318.00
Instruction for Evening Schools 5,881.50
Furniture and Apparatus for Evening Schools 2,126.47
Care and Repair of School-houses 32,052.43
Alterations of School-houses 1,636.50
Books for Indigent Scholars 3,166.89
Stationery, etc., for Schools 406.77
Truant Officers
5,500.00
Total
$210.088.57 "
700
81,200
Fe- male
171
CHAPTER XX.
INDIAN HISTORY.
IN describing the original settlement of Cambridge by the English, the author of " Wonder-working Providence " calls at- tention to their preservation when "they were in such great straites for foode "; and what " was more remarkable, when they had scarce houses to shelter themselves, and no doores to hinder the Indians accesse to all they had in them, yet did the Lord so awe their hearts, that although they frequented the Englishmens places of aboade, where their whole substance, weake wives, and little ones, lay open to their plunder during their ab- sence, being whole dayes at Sabbath-assemblies, yet liad they none of their food or stuffe diminished, neither children nor wives hurt in the least measure, although the Indians came commonly to them at those times, much hungry belly (as they use to say) and were then in number and strength beyond the English by far." 1 There may have been some Indians in the easterly part of the town, as in old records that section is sometimes styled " Wigwam Neck "; but the far greater number probably dwelt near Menotomy River and Mystic Pond. They were subject to the " Squaw-sachem," formerly wife of Nanepashemet, who is mentioned in " Mourt's Relation." A party from Plymouth visited the Indians at " the bottom of the Massachusetts Bay," whose sachem, Obbatinewat, a subject of Massasoit, " used us very kindly ; he told us he durst not then remain in any settled place, for fear of the Tarentines. Also the squaw-sachim, or Massachusetts queen was an enemy to him." 2 On promise of
1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., xiii. 138.
2 Charles River, aneiently called Quin- eboquin, was the natural boundary be- tween these two hostile tribes. The Squaw-sachem seems to have resided on the westerly side of Mystic Pond. A dep- osition of Edward Johnson is preserved among the papers of the Middlesex
County Court (1662), testifying that he was present when the Squaw-sachem and her husband in 1639 " did give and sell unto Charlestown all their lands within the limits of Charlestown, except that on the west side of the Ponds called Mis- ticke, where their wigwam then stood, which they reserved for term of her life," etc.
383
INDIAN HISTORY.
protection, however, he " went along with us, to bring us to the squaw-sachim." Crossing the bay to its northerly side, "we went ashore, all but two men, and marched in arms up in the country. Having gone three miles, we came to a place where corn had been newly gathered, a house pulled down, and the people gone. A mile from hence, Nanepashemet their king in his life-time had lived. His house was not like others, but a scaffold was largely built, with poles and planks some six foot from ground, and the house upon that, being situated on the top of a hill. Not far from hence in a bottom, we came to a fort built by their deceased king, the manner thus : there were poles some thirty or forty foot long, stuck in the ground as thick as they could be set one by another, and with these they enclosed a ring some forty or fifty foot over. A trench breast high was digged on each side; one way there was to go into it with a bridge ; in the midst of this palisado stood the frame of a house, wherein being dead he lay buried. About a mile from hence, we came to such another, but seated on the top of an hill; here Nanepashemet was killed, none dwelling in it since the time of his death." 1 After his decease, his widow administered the gov- ernment of the tribe as squaw-sachem, and married Webcowits, her principal powwow, conjurer, or medicine man. By this mar- riage, however, he did not become a sachem, or king, but merely a prince-consort.
In the " First General Letter of the Governor and Deputy of the New England Company for a Plantation in Massachusetts Bay, to the Governor and Council for London's Plantation in the Massachusetts Bay in New England," dated " In Gravesend the 17th of April, 1629," is this important direction, - " If any of the salvages pretend right of inheritance to all or any part of the lands granted in our pattent, wee pray you endeavour to pur- chase their tytle, that wee may avoyde the least scruple of intru- sion." 2 Accordingly, at the session of the General Court, March 13, 1638-9, " Mr. Gibons was desired to agree with the Indians for the land within the bounds of Watertowne, Cambridge, and Boston." 3 The deed of conveyance, or release of title, I have not been able to find; yet there is sufficient evidence that the purchase was made of the squaw-sachem, and that the price was duly paid. The General Court ordered, May 20, 1640, "that the 134. 88. 6ª. layd out by Capt. Gibons shall be paid him, vid. :
1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., xix. 57, 58.
2 Mass. Col. Rec., i. 394.
8 Mass. Col. Rec., i. 254.
384
HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE.
131. 85. 6ª. by Watertowne and 104. by Cambridge; and also Cambridge is to give Squa-Sachem a coate every winter while shee liveth." 1 This sale or conveyance to Cambridge is recog- nized in a deed executed Jan. 13, 1639, by the " Squa-Sachem of Misticke " and her husband Webcowits, whereby they conveyed to Jotham Gibbons "the reversion of all that parcel of land which lies against the ponds at Mistick aforesaid, together with the said ponds, all which we reserved from Charlestown and Cambridge, late called Newtowne, and all hereditaments and ap- purtenances thereunto belonging, after the death of me the said Squa-Sachem."2 The inhabitants of Cambridge lived on friendly terms with the Indians ; at least, no evidence appears to the con- trary. They paid their allotted dues to the Squa-Sachem, and made full compensation for all losses which she sustained through their default. The Town Records show that, on the 10th of April, 1643, " agreed with the Indians, by the present townsmen, to pay to Squa-Sachem 8 bushels of Indian corn, after next har- vest. It is agreed likewise, that George Cooke being at the charge to make a fence of two sufficient rails in the town line, about half a mile in length, the fence to begin at the outside of George Cooke's land, running out northward to meet Captain Gibbines his fence, to secure the Indian's corn, it is agreed that the town will. pay for the making the fence." Again, Nov. 11, 1643, " Agreed, that the cow-keepers shall pay six bushels of corn to Squa-Sachem, for the damage done to her corn, upon the Sab- bath day, through the neglect of the keepers, in the year 1642."
On the 8th of March, 1643-4, the " Squa-Sachim " with four other Indian rulers, voluntarily put herself " under the govern- ment and jurisdiction of the Massachusetts, to be governed and protected by them," and promised " to be true and faithful to the said government." 3 She is supposed to have died not long before 1662, when a claim was made for land in which she had reserved a life estate.4
One of the Indian Chiefs, who united with the Squaw-sachem in this act of submission to "the government and jurisdiction of the Massachusetts," was Cutshamache, Cutshamakin, or Kucha- makin, who resided "at a place called Neponsitt, within the
2 The original deed is preserved in the files of the Middlesex County Court, 1662, having been used as evidence in a legal controversy concerning the lands con- veyed to Gibbons. Besides the Indian
1 Mass. Coll. Rec., i. 292. marks, it bears the autographs of John Winthrop, John Endicott, Richard Sal- tonstall, Thomas Flint, Thomas Dan- forth, and William Aspinwall.
3 Mass. Col. Rec., ii. 55.
4 Brooks' Hist. Medford, p. 74.
385
INDIAN HISTORY.
bounds of Dorchester." 1 His authority extended over those who dwelt at Nonantum, which was then included in Cambridge. With these Indian neiglibors the English maintained peace. In one respect their relations were peculiarly interesting. When Rev. John Eliot commenced the public labors of his mission, " the first place he began to preach at was Nonantum, near Watertown Mill, upon the south side of Charles River, about four or five miles from his own house, where lived at that time Waban, one of their principal men, and some Indians with him." 2 Eliot had previously devoted much time to the task of acquiring a competent knowledge of the Indian language, and had imparted religious instruction to individuals, as he had op- portunity. At length he commenced his public ministry to the heathen, as thus related by himself : "Upon October 28, 1646, four of us (having sought God) went unto the Indians inhabiting within our bounds, with a desire to make known the things of their peace to them. A little before we came to their Wigwams, five or six of the chief of them met us with English salutations, bidding us much welcome; who leading us into the principal wigwam of Waaubon, we found many more Indians, men, women, children, gathered together from all quarters round about, according to appointment, to meet with us, and learn of us. Waaubon, the chief minister of justice among them, exhort- ing and inviting them before thereunto, being one who gives more grounded hopes of serious respect to the things of God than any that as yet I have known of that forlorn generation," etc.3 My prescribed limits will not admit a particular account of this prim- itive Christian mission to the Indians. Briefly, they were visited in a similar manner, November 11 and 26, and December 9, in the same year. At these several meetings, by prayers, and ser- mons, and familiar questions and answers, an earnest effort was made to impart to them a knowledge of the Gospel. A particu- lar description of the means used, and of the encouraging results, is given by Eliot in a tract entitled, " The Day-breaking if not the Sun-rising of the Gospel with the Indians in New England," printed at London, 1647, and reprinted in the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, xxiv. 1-23. In this missionary work, Mr. Eliot was assisted by Rev. Thomas Shepard of Cam-
1 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., i. 169. He is styled " Sagamore of the Massachusetts," in his sale of land in Andover to John Woodbridge and his associates, and " Sa- chem of Massachusetts " in a similar sale
of land in Dorchester to Richard Colle- cott "for the use of the plantation of Dorchester." - Mass. Arch., xxx. 7, 15.
2 Ibid., p. 168.
8 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc., xxiv. 3.
25
386
HISTORY OF CAMBRIDGE.
bridge and others. In a tract entitled " The Clear Sunshine of the Gospel breaking forth upon the Indians in New England," printed at London, 1648, Mr. Shepard says, " As soone as ever the fiercenesse of the winter was past, March 3, 1647, I went out to Noonanetum to the Indian Lecture, where Mr. Wilson, Mr. Allen of Dedliam, Mr. Dunster, beside many other Christians were present." 1 At a later day, Mr. Eliot was assisted by his son John (H. C. 1656), by Daniel Gookin, son of General Gookin (H. C. 1669), and by others. For several years, the mission was successful beyond all reasonable expectation. The Indians at Nonantum soon became so far civilized as well as Christianized, that they desired to live in a more orderly way. Accordingly a tract of land, called by the natives Natick, or a Place of Hills, was assigned by the General Court, for their ex- clusive use. " In the year 1651, the town of Natick was set- tled. It consisted of three long streets, two on the north and one on the south side of the river, with a bridge eighty feet long, and eight feet high, and stone foundations; the whole being built by the Indians themselves. To each house situated on these streets was attached a piece of land. The houses were in the Indian style. One house, larger and more commodious than the rest, was built in the English style. One apartment of it was used as a school-room on week-days, and as a place of worship on thre Sabbath. The upper room was a kind of wardrobe, where the Indians hung up their skins and other valuables. In the corner of this room was partitioned off an apartment for Mr. Eliot. This building was the first meeting house in Natick." 2 ' In this town was the first church of Indians embodied, in the year of our Lord, 1660." 3
The Christian mission was not confined to the dwellers at Nonantum. Mr. Eliot, and others whom God raised up, both English and Indians, preached the word with success to other tribes. In addition to his other labors, Mr. Eliot translated the whole Bible into the English tongue, which was printed at Cambridge, the New Testament in 1661, and the Old Testa- ment in 1663. He also prepared an Indian Grammar, and translated into the Indian tongue several tracts written by himself and others,4 all which were also printed in Cambridge. It was very properly said by the Rev. Mr. Mckenzie, "Let it be remembered to the honor of our fathers, that the first
1 Coll. Mass. IFist. Soc., xxiv. 41.
2 Bacon's History of Natick, p. 9.
8 Coll. Mass. IFist. Soc., i. 181.
4 One or more of them is said to have been written by Mr. Shepard.
387
INDIAN HISTORY.
Protestant mission to the heathen in modern times began in Cambridge; the first Protestant sermon in a heathen tongue was preached here ; the first translation of the Bible by an English- man into a heathen tongue was printed here; the first Protestant tract in a heathen language was written and printed here."1 The result of all these labors up to the year 1674 was described by Gookin, in his " Historical Collections of the Indians in New England," printed in the first volume of Collections of the Mas- sachusetts Historical Society. Besides Natick, the most impor- tant of all, there were six communities in Massachusetts, exclu- sive of Plymouth, which had long been denominated " praying towns ; " namely, Pakemitt, or Punkapaog (now Stoughtou) ; Hassanamesitt, or Hassanamisco (Grafton) ; Okommakanesit (Marlborough) ; Wamesit, or Pawtuckett (Tewksbury) ; Na- shobah (Littleton) ; Magunkaquog (Hopkinton). There were also seven " new praying towns," where the Gospel had been favorably received about three years: Manchage (Oxford) ; Chabanakongkomun (Dndley); Maanexit (north part of Wood- stock, at that time included in Massachusetts) ; Quantisset (southeast part of Woodstock) ; Wabquissit (southwest part of Woodstock) ; Packachoog (south part of Worcester) ; Wae- untug (Uxbridge). " There are two other Indian towns; viz., Weshakin 2 and Quabaug,3 which are coming on to receive the gospel; and reckoning these, there are nine in the Nipmuck country."4 In these fourteen established towns, there were two organized churches, and, as Gookin estimated, about eleven hun- dred " souls yielding obedience to the gospel."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.