USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Dedham > History of Dedham, Massachusetts > Part 27
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John Endicott was chosen the first president; Eliphalet Baker, treasurer; Erastus Worthington (through whose ener- getic efforts the organization of the society had been effected), secretary. The centenary of the organization was observed on Thursday, May 27, 1925. Following a reception in the building of the Company, a tour of the town was made and many historical landmarks, with a brief description of each, were pointed out. At 1 o'clock a banquet was held in Memorial Hall. The post prandial exercises were presided over by President James Y. Noyes. Addresses were made by Hon. Wellington Wells, Presi- dent Massachusetts Senate; Hon. Wesley E. Monk, Insurance Commissioner; and Hon. Asa P. French, representing the Board of Directors. The present Board of Officers consists of nine directors with James Y. Noyes as president and treasurer, and Theodore T. Marsh as secretary.
DEDHAM MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY. This company was organized in 1837 as an auxiliary to the Norfolk Mutual in caring for the needs of the insuring public in a class of risks which the Norfolk did not write. At first its business was confined to Norfolk County, but later to include the whole state of Massachusetts.
THE DEDHAM INSURANCE PARTNERSHIP. This com- pany was organized in 1919 for the purpose of conducting an Agency business in connection with the Norfolk and Dedham Mutual Fire Insurance Companies. Its original intention was to act as agents only for these two companies, but the business soon developed and the Partnership became the agency of twenty-one Stock and Mutual Companies. The members of the Partnership are James Y. Noyes, Theodore T. Marsh, and Alvan F. Worthing- ton.
Mason Richards, in the fifties, gave up his store at the corner
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of High and Washington Streets, and became a local insurance man selling insurance for out of town companies. The insurance business was continued by Hugh H. McQuillen, who, after the retirement of Henry O. Hildreth as Postmaster, took him into the business. Later Henry D. Humphrey was associated with Mr. McQuillen and became his successor under the firm name of Henry D. Humphrey & Co. (Francis W. Fay). Others engaged in insurance are: William F. Helmer, John A. Hirsch, Arthur W. Mackay, Ernest D. Fuller, John H. Nay, William G. Street, George Thorley, Francis M. Walley.
DEDHAM CO-OPERATIVE BANK. In 1886 a group of thirty-one men, feeling that there should be a place in Dedham where workingmen could obtain funds at a rate of interest with- in their means, subscribed to a petition for the establishment of a Dedham Co-operative Bank. The first meeting was held in Sanderson Hall, Oakdale, on February 6, 1886. Ferdinand F. Favor was chosen president; Francis L. Babcock, vice president, and Philander S. Young, secretary and treasurer, with a board of twelve directors. At this meeting it was voted to issue its first series of serial shares which have been continually issued and now reach nearly a hundred issues. The first public meeting for the sale of shares was held in Mechanic Hall, East Dedham, on February 16, 1886. The bank continued to operate in East Dedham until May, 1920, when it was removed to the Danforth building in Dedham Square from which it removed in June, 1926, to the present quarters in the Dedham Institution for Savings Building. The Dedham Co-operative Bank has been an important factor in the growth and development of Dedham .*
DEDHAM INSTITUTION FOR SAVINGS. As early as 1831 prominent citizens of Dedham, including ministers, doctors, law- yers, manufacturers, and farmers saw the necessity of providing a safe and profitable mode of enabling industrious persons to invest their earnings in a manner which would afford them both profit and security. The times were hard and money conditions threatened the wage earner on every hand. On March 19, 1831,
* Federal Home Loan Bank. A Dedham home, at 10 Fulton Street, has the distinction of being the first home in Massachusetts to be saved under the "Federal Home Loan Bank" of 1933. The loan of $3,373 averted the foreclosure of the mortgage on an elderly couple's home.
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the Dedham institution received its charter as a Mutual Savings Bank. It was the 15th institution of this type to be established in Massachusetts. The first meeting of the Institution was held on April 21, 1831 in the law office of Jonathan H. Cobb at his residence on Norfolk Street. At this meeting the Rev. Dr. Burgess was chosen chairman and Jonathan H. Cobb, secretary.
A code of By-laws was adopted on May 4, and a full board of officers elected, the oath of office being administered by the Hon. Horace Mann. The Rev. Dr. Burgess was elected presi- dent, an office which he held for thirty-nine years, and Jonathan H. Cobb, treasurer. The object of the institution as stated by the by-laws was "to provide a safe and profitable mode of enabling industrious persons of all descriptions to invest such part of their earnings or property as they can conveniently spare in a manner which will afford them both profit and security." The smallest deposit which could be made was one dollar and five dollars the smallest amount which could be put on interest .; On April 30, 1832, $500 was fixed as the highest sum that could be received from any one person, an amount which has been raised to $4,000 by statute law. On May 10, 1831 the president declared the Institution legally organized and that deposits would be received. A signboard with the name of the Institution was posted on Mr. Cobb's office. The first deposit was made on May 11, by Miss Sophia Foord and for more than a century this book has been outstanding. Banking hours were from 7 to 9 o'clock on Wed- nesday evenings.
Having been appointed Register of Probate, Mr. Cobb re- signed in 1834, and Enos Foord was appointed his successor. The office of the Institution was then moved to the Court House where it continued until 1847. In 1846 the Norfolk Mutual Fire Insurance Company erected its building at the corner of High and Pearl Streets, and to this building the Institution was moved January 1, 1847, where it remained until the completion of its own building in 1891. From small beginnings the Bank has steadily grown and now has (1936) deposits amounting to $10,950,000 representing 16,400 accounts.
DEDHAM HISTORICAL SOCIETY. On February 1, 1859, Henry O. Hildreth, Calvin Guild, Danforth P. Wight, Jonathan H.
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Cobb, Francis Marsh, and William Bullard met in the office of the Dedham Institution for Savings to form a society "to preserve and transmit to posterity all possible memorials of past and present times." A committee was appointed to draft a constitu- tion and by-laws which were adopted on February 15th, thus organizing what is now the oldest local Historical Society in Massachusetts. A nomination was then made of forty-one citi- zens of Dedham who were invited to associate themselves with the above-named gentlemen in the organization of the Society. Twenty-two responded to the invitation. The first regular meet- ing of the Society was held March 10, 1859, and the following officers were chosen: Rev. Alvan Lamson, D. D., president; Dr. Danforth P. Wight, vice president; Henry O. Hildreth, correspond- ing secretary; Calvin Guild, recording secretary, treasurer and librarian; Jonathan H. Cobb, William Bullard, and Waldo Col- burn, curators. On April 23, 1862, the Legislature passed an Act incorporating the Society, for the purpose of collecting and preserving such books, newspapers, records, pamphlets, and tradi- tions as may tend to illustrate and perpetuate the history of New England and especially the history of the town of Dedham. On February 25, 1886 an additional act was passed giving the Society the power to hold property. Until January 25, 1886 meetings were held in the rooms of the Savings Bank where the Society kept its small library. During the following summer the library was moved to the Court House where quarters had been secured. Here the meetings of the Society were held until the erection of the present building in 1887. At the Annual Meeting, March 3, 1886, Don Gleason Hill, for many years a most devoted member of the Society, announced "the magnificent gift of Miss Hannah Shuttleworth" of a lot of land and $10,000 to be used for the erection of a building thereon, suitable for the purposes of the Society. By means of this gift, and about $1500 subscribed by members and friends, the present fire-proof building of colonial design was erected with ample accommodations to meet all the needs of the Society.
The building was erected under the direction of the Curators, as a building committee, and Edward J. Lewis, Jr., the architect. No formal dedication was attempted, but the building was opened
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on January 25, 1888 with a loan exhibit of historical relics which was continued into February, giving much pleasure to a large number of visitors. The steadfast devotion of Henry O. Hildreth, to whom the credit for the organization of the Society is largely due, is illustrated by two priceless gifts-the president's chair and the reading desk-which he gave to the Society. Mr. Hil- dreth was greatly interested in Joseph W. Clark's gift of the Avery Oak to the Dedham Historical Society. He personally attended to the pruning of the tree and from some of the limbs caused to be made, after the John Eliot model, the fine president's chair. The reading desk was made from oak timber taken from the old Avery house when it was torn down, all of which had been carefully preserved by Mr. Hildreth for the purpose.
The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Society was observed March 3, 1909. A loan exhibit of historic relics was opened in the rooms of the Society at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. A brief address was given by Don Gleason Hill, Esq., who welcomed a large gathering of citizens and representatives from many historical societies in the vicinity. The exhibition was of great interest and included many rare historic relics and heirlooms, such a collection as can be found only in an ancient community. Public exercises were held in the evening in the First Church before a large and ap- preciative audience. Julius H. Tuttle, President of the Society, presided. The address was given by the Rev. James De Nor- mandie, D.D., of Roxbury. Dr. De Normandie pictured the importance of history which he said has generally been looked upon as a dry and tedious study. Our New England has been rich in events and rich in personalities. We can not help admiring the work done by our ancestors despite certain evident eccentrici- ties. Ancient tradition, old records, old letters, evidence of business transactions, old almanacs, amusing anecdotes, and the family Bible, aid the student in the work of historical research. The speaker referred to the strict laws of colonial days. Any one smoking within two miles of a meeting house was to be fined, but this fine did not apply to persons smoking in the meeting house itself and the pipe frequently helped to keep the worshipper warm. Dr. De Normandie advised his hearers to be diligent in their research work in the future. The records of the past are
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not the same as the present generation, but at heart their humanity is the same. The pioneers were good citizens, staunchly patriotic, and their intolerance was not due to any indifference for the spiritual welfare of their contemporaries.
In carrying out the purpose of the Society to "preserve and transmit to posterity all possible memorials of the past and present times" a library which consisted of sixty-eight volumes, in 1864, has been increased to some five thousand volumes includ- ing standard works on American history, histories of many towns in New England, especially Massachusetts, and genealogies. It also has a large number of pamphlets, portraits, maps, articles of ancient furniture, relics, etc. For many years the Society has given annually a series of seven or eight public lectures on local or general historical subjects. The rooms of the Society are visited by many people from elsewhere. The register of one year shows upwards of four hundred visitors from fifteen states and two territories and some from other countries. In 1890 the Society adopted a corporation seal the design representing the old Powder House and Rock. The first publication of the Dedham Historical Society, issued in 1883, was "A Plan of Dedham Village," a most valuable contribution showing the original allot- ments of land in the center and upper village based upon facts collected by William Bullard and Judge Waldo Colburn.
The presidents of the Society have been: Rev. Alvan Lam- son, D.D., Dr. Danforth P. Wight, Jonathan H. Cobb, Henry O. Hildreth, Don Gleason Hill, Julius H. Tuttle.
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CHAPTER XVIII
INDIAN LIFE IN DEDHAM AND HER PARISHES
Dedham was granted to the first settlers free although the land granted had Indian titles which were held by sachems of numerous tribes. Each section had its big Indian chief of whom Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoags, was the big sachem of eastern Massachusetts. Under the big sachems were numerous sagamores, who presided over the Indians scattered over the territory. Waban was the sachem at Newton, Nehoiden at Need- ham, Magus at Wellesley, while Noanet is believed to have been such a chief in the Springfield Parish of Dedham.
The settlers by Colonial laws, and their own sense of justice, were bound to extinguish all Indian titles. Chickataubut claimed the territory west of the Neponset river bounded northerly on Charles river and southerly on the land of King Philip, sachem of the Pokanokets, who claimed at least a part of the territory of Wrentham and Walpole. The Dedham of today and her original parishes were comprised in Chickatawbut's territory which he early conveyed to the Massachusetts Colony. In 1684 a Com- mittee of Dedham was appointed to treat with Josias Wampatuck, a grandson of Chickatawbut, for a confirmatory deed to this land. After due consideration and conference with ancient Indians, Josias gave the town a quit claim deed to the territory. The deed, which now hangs upon the walls of the Dedham Historical Society, is beautifully engrossed on parchment. This deed, which is long and particular, is dated in 1685.
In the settlement of Dedham there is no evidence that In- dians were still living in what is now Dedham Center, although 'Wigwam plain" and "Wigwam pond" are early mentioned in the records of the town. In the years immediately preceding 1620 (1617-1619), a dreadful pestilence raged from Narragansett Bay. to the Penobscot river and in parts of Massachusetts few Indians were left alive. Had Indians been living here some subordinate sachem would doubtless have claimed the land and demanded a price from the white settlers. In the settlement of Concord in
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1635 a Squaw Sachem demanded for the six miles square of ter- ritory, some fathoms of wampum, some hatchets, hoes, knives, cotton cloth, and skirts, besides a present for her husband, Web- cowet, of a suit of clothes, a hat, a white linen band, shoes, stock- ings and a great coat.
We now know that local Indians did not roam with their squaws and children but usually had two places of residence; a winter home where they were protected from the cold blasts of winters, and a summer home where they fished, caught game, gathered wild fruits, nuts and roots, and planted maize, beans and pumpkins, which with dried fish, venison and bear meat fur- nished their winter food.
While in the settlement of the town no Indians were to be seen here, yet it is more than a tradition that they once had a summer home around Wigwam pond, as the name given to this sheet of water signifies. That they buried their dead near the pond is quite probable although no burial place has been found there .*
It is a tradition, which is doubtless true, that Indians lived on Powisset plain, south of Scoutland, in that part of Dedham which is now Dover, yet the fact is not established by the Dedham records. The first mention of Powisset plain is made in 1662 in a grant of land, in the Natick Dividend, to Edward Richards "upon a plaine cald nowisset upon the left hand of the cart way that leads to the meadow." The occupancy of this plain by the Indians was doubtless many years before the settlement of Dedham.
The oldest established Indian village, near the original set- tlement of Dedham, is located on the estate of Augustin H. Parker, on Willow street, in Dover. The proof of this Indian settlement is found in the grant of a parcel of upland to Joseph Kingsbury, Senior, in 1644, "upon the northside of Charles river over against Noannet's wigwame." A previous grant is located "beyond nowanet's ware in an elbow or turn of Charles River."
Investigations made by Charles H. Mitchel, who has made a life study of the Indians in this vicinity, reveals a fireplace,
* Haven in the notes to his Centennial Address states that the old Indian burial place was at the foot of Wigwam hill.
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some fine Indian relics, some weapons, including a tomahawk made of greestone, chisels and corn pounds, also, on a hill facing the rising sun and Charles river, some Indian graves.
The Indian's weir was built of stone walls, on each side of the river, going down the stream until they nearly met; at this point a large cage, called an eel-pot, was placed which was formed of twigs fastened to hoops by strips of tough bark. The wall guided the fish down the stream into the cage where they were often taken in great abundance.
Noanet's village extended from the junction of Dedham and William streets, to Turtle Island, where stone chips are still found showing that it was once a work place for the making of stone implements. In imagination we can see the Indian braves com- ing here in the early spring to have the arrow maker sharpen, or make new arrow heads for their bows before the opening of the hunting season. When the Boy Scouts gather for a meeting it may be of interest to know how the Indians assembled on like occasions. Roger Williams says of their manner of sitting. They set round double or triple or more. I have seen more than a thousand in a round where the English could not seat nearly half as many. Every man had a pipe and in deep silence gave atten- tion to the speaker. Major Gookin, who was an assistant to the apostle Eliot in the Indian Mission, tells us that the Indians were at first clothed in skins of beasts, also some had mantles of feathers of birds quilted artificially, but they soon learned for the most part, to sell their skins and furs to the English, and buy of them for clothing a kind of cloth called "duffel" and colored blue, or red, or purple.
Noanet* chose wisely the site for his village; here was
* Noanet's name is variously spelt as Nawanitt, Nowanut, Nowanit, Noannet, Noanett, and Noanet. If we reflect that the American Indians had no alphabet and that all our Indian words are, as written, merely phonetic representations of sound according to the sounds of letters in the English language, the surprising thing is not the variety of these spellings but their essential uniformity. In 1661 "Waborne (Waban), John Speene, Nawanitt, Peter Indian and divers others" are named as defendants in an action for "illegally possessing and improving" lands of the town of Dedham. This was no mere petty case of trespass, but a step in the long controversy which began in 1651 between the town of Dedham and the Natick Indians rciative to the ownership of an extensive tract lying partly in the western part of what is now Dover and partiy in the eastern part of what is now Natick. Noanet appears again in a deed of 1680. not as a party, but, again with Waban, giving a certificate of title; the recital being that "Mr. Waban chief majes- trate of the Indians at Natieke and Nowanut, ancient Indians, hereby testify that the land aforesaid is the land of John Magus and Sara Magus according to Indian Law and Custom." (John W. Worthington's Annals of a Dover Woodlot [Ms. ])
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upland with a slope to allow the water to run off, wood for burn- ing and a beautiful brook, which now bears his name, to furnish water for all family purposes. Wherever there is a combination of "hill and grove and water" there is a spot of beauty. Indian settlements were noted for their beauty. "The winds were the Indian's playfellows, the stars of the heavens his guide, the for- ests his home, the rivers his pathway and the broad lake his place of pastime." Noanet's wigwam was probably eight or nine feet high covered with bark. The door was a hanging mat or piece of bark which was lifted in passing in or out, and then fell down of itself. A fire was kindled on the floor and the smoke escaped through an opening where the poles, which formed the frame- work of the wigwam, came together. The wigwam was furnished with baskets, in place of shelves and drawers, in which clothing and provisions were kept. Some of the baskets were elaborately made of various colored twigs, of corn husks, sweet grass and wild hemp, and some were ornamented with pictures of animals and flowers made into the fabric. For ornaments there were decorated mats, the head of a deer, and deer's feet and horns and eagle's claws stuck around the wigwam. Bags made of hemp were numerous. The bed was a rude slab raised about a foot above the floor and spread with mats on which were laid a bearskin or a deerskin. The household utensils consisted of pots made of clay, dishes made from soft stone, spoons made from bone and ladles and bowls fashioned from wood, with large water pails made of birch bark.
The skin of the moose furnished a leather strong, soft, and light, from which snowshoes were made. Among other animals sought for their skins were the beaver and otter, both of which were found in the woods. The raccoon, still found in the surround- ing woods, was an object of chase with the Indians as its fur was of little less value than the beaver. Other animals were the mink, the bear, the wildcat, the fox, the weasel and the wolf so much dreaded in the early settlement of Dedham. Wild turkeys were plentiful. This bird feeds on various grains and berries, but the acorn is its favorite food and wherever acorns are abundant there turkeys gather in large numbers. The early records of Dedham, 1650, refer to the place where the turkeys gathered, as "Turkey Island." Pigeons which feed on beech nuts and. acorns,
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as well as strawberries, were numerous. They flew in flocks by the thousand and were easily captured by the Indians. While the English used years and months the Indians knew only about the moon which they saw grow larger and smaller. So they counted their months from moon to moon. Each month had a name given it for a special thing that happened during the month. In January winter holds the woods in such an icy grip that on quiet nights the trees made a cracking sound so the Indians called this month the "Moon of the Cracking Tree." June was called the "Moon of the Strawberry" and September the "Moon of the Falling Leaf"; December was called the "Moon of the Winter," etc. etc. The Indian counted with his fingers. By opening and closing both hands he meant ten. When he wanted to count to twelve he raised two more fingers. For one hundred he opened his hands ten times. The Indian notched a stick for anything he wanted to count, days, months, animals, etc. The Indians had their story teller, who told the stories of his people to the children that the stories might live. When the boys and girls had grown to be men and women other story tellers would tell the stories to their children. Indian children select a special friend when they are young and the two are companions all through life.
In the spring the Indians cut a little opening in each maple tree and fitted into it a wooden tap. Into the gathered sap red hot stones were dropped to make the sweet water boil. In this way maple sugar was made, of which the children were allowed to eat all they liked in the spring. In carrying water from Dwight's brook the early Dedham settlers learned to use the wooden yoke made by Indians to fit across the shoulders. This the Indian boys and girls used in gathering sap. With one of these yokes a person could carry two buckets of sap or water at a time with a bucket hanging from each end of the yoke. A broad leather band fitted to the forehead enabled the Indian to carry a pack on his back. At each end of the band a long buck skin strap was fastened long enough to tie around a large bundle. The Girl Scouts, who visit the site of Noanet's Village, will be interested to know what the women and girls did in this Indian village life. The women and children dug the ground over for planting maize, beans, squashes and pumpkins in the spring with
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