History of East Boston; with biographical sketches of its early proprietors, and an appendix, Part 27

Author: Sumner, William H. (William Hyslop), 1780-1861. cn
Publication date: 1858
Publisher: Boston, J. E. Tilton
Number of Pages: 883


USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > East Boston > History of East Boston; with biographical sketches of its early proprietors, and an appendix > Part 27
USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > East Boston > History of East Boston : with biographical sketches of its early proprietors, and an appendix. > Part 27


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Other letters might be added, but lack of room will not per- mit ; and those above given are sufficient to recall that kindness of heart, gentleness of manner, and winning deportment, which so eminently characterized him, and made him loved and re- spected by the old and the young.


Such, in few words, was the life and character of Governor Sumner.1 Fulfilling with ability and conscientious rectitude all the various duties devolving upon him in private and public life, and exemplifying in his character those qualities which mark the Christian statesman and patriot, he is held in grateful remembrance by all who have followed him.


This notice cannot be closed more appropriately than by copying the inscription upon the monument erected to his memory in the Granary burying-ground, which is seen from the windows of the Atheneum, and which was written by the eru- dite Samuel L. Knapp, Esq. A cut of the monument is upon the next leaf.


" The reader is referred to the Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. VIII. p. 105, for a fuller sketch of the life of Gov. Sumner, and for the geneal- ogy of the Sumner family.


*


" Here repose the remains of INCREASE SUMNER. [He was] Born at Roxbury, November 27th, 1746. [and] Died at the same place, June 7th, 1799. [In the 53d year of his age.]


He was for some time a practitioner at the bar ; And for fifteen years an Associate Judge of the Supreme Judicial Court ; Was thrice clected Governor of Massachusetts, In which office he died.


As a Lawyer, he was faithful and able : As a Judge, patient, impartial, and decisive : As a Chief Magistrate, accessible, frank, and independent.


In private life, he was affectionate and mild ; In publick life, he was dignified and firm.


Party feuds were allayed by the correctness of his conduct ; Calumny was silenced by the weight of his virtues ; And rancour softened by the amenity of his manners.


In the vigour of intellectual attainments And in the midst of usefulness, He was called by Divine Providence To rest with his fathers : And went down, to the chambers of Death, In the full belief that the grave Is the pathway to future existence.


As in life he secured the suffrages of the free, And was blessed with the approbation of the wise, So in death he was honored by the tears of the patriotick, And is held in sweet remembrance By a discerning and affectionate people.


Discite virtutem ex hoc, verumque laborem."


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HISTORY.


ELIZABETH SUMNER, wife of Governor Sumner, a lithograph of whom, from an original portrait by Johnson, is on the opposite page, was born on the 5th of August, 1757. She was the only daughter of William Hyslop, Esq., then of Boston, and after- ward of Brookline, and was a woman of great intelligence, of. a remarkably amiable character, and of attractive personal beauty. From her mother she inherited one sixth of the Nod- dle's Island estate in fee, and subsequently became possessed of one sixth more of the fee of the same property from her aunt, Mrs. Chauncy. The particulars of her life and character need not be minutely detailed, for although those virtues which adorn female character were most beautifully exemplified in her, yet there were no remarkable incidents in her honored life which demand the especial notice of the biographer.


She was first betrothed to the Rev. John Hunt, colleague of the Rev. John Bacon, pastor of the Old South church in Bos- ton; but this relation was broken off by his death, from pul- monary consumption, on the 20th December, 1775. On the 30th of September, 1779, she was married to Increase Sumner, then a member of the legislature from Roxbury. It is an interesting fact, that she always preserved her friendly connec- tion with the family of the Rev. Mr. Hunt ; and his sister, who married Samuel Henshaw, Esq., of North Hampton, was through life her most intimate friend. As the wife of the chief- magistrate of the Commonwealth, she distinguished herself by her dignified presence, and by the ease, grace, and entire pro- priety with which she fulfilled every duty, at home or abroad, and no one could more acceptably have filled the station of a governor's lady than she. Highly esteemed and respected abroad, loved and honored at home, she was a noble example of the valued friend and acquaintance, and the Christian wife and mother. Numerous instances come to mind in which her kindness and benevolence were manifested. She gave to Cuff, her servant and the son of a slave, £100, which the writer ex- pended in building him a house on " Tommy's Rocks," where it is still standing; she also enjoined upon the author to give £300 to the Female Asylum, evincing in this, as in other instances, a thoughtful consideration for worthy objects of charity.


J. H. Bufford's Lith Boston


WRS. ELIZABETH SUMNER.


301


MRS. ELIZABETH SUMNER.


Mrs. Sumner continued to live in the mansion-house in Rox- bury until 1806, when she removed to a hired house on Bow- doin street, Boston. She subsequently purchased a house in Beacon street, at the corner of Spruce street, where Peter Parker, Esq., now lives, and here she resided with her family until her death, which took place on the 28th December, 1810. Two motives induced her to move into the city. One was that her son had entered into the practice of law there, and it would be much more pleasant, as well as more convenient, to live in Boston, where the small family could be kept together. The other was that the estate of fourteen acres opposite the house in Roxbury, and since called the Dudley land, together with another on the Tremont road of a like quantity, which her father had ordered to be purchased and given to her husband and her- self, in joint-tenancy, and which, of course, became her own upon Gov. Sumner's death, was recovered of her in a lawsuit by the tenant in tail, Joseph Dudley. His entry into the land opposite her mansion-house, the cutting down of the trees which her husband had assiduously cultivated, the opening of public streets through it, and the dividing it into house lots, so de- stroyed the beauty of the place, that it was a strong motive to induce her to quit the estate, and sell the mansion-house in which she had lived all her married life.1


1 The estate descended to Paul, the son of Gov. Dudley, in fee-tail. Paul was the Chief Justice of Massachusetts ; and his name will be remembered so long as the mile-stones stand which, inscribed with his initials, he erected in the year 1735, on the main road from Boston to Dedham. Thomas, the eldest son of Paul, became the tenant in tail. He had several children, but his brother Joseph had none, and wished him to move to the paternal estate and keep up the style of the family. Thomas, whose habits were those of a rough farmer, declined doing this, professing not to be able to take charge of the establishment in the way desired by his brother, and told Joseph, that, if he insisted upon his residing there and supporting the ancient manner of living, he should put his oxen into the governor's carriage instead of the family horses. Joseph urged the matter, and Thomas tried the experiment ; and to show his contempt for ceremony or style, actually told his coachman to yoke his oxen into the family carriage, and then getting into it, ordered him to drive to Woods' the pewterer, in Roxbury street, where he bought a pewter cider mug, and then directed him to " Gee round " and return home. This created so great a laugh, and threw so much ridicule on the family honors, that


26


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HISTORY.


A warm and affectionate remembrance of a mother's piety and many virtues induces the author to make extracts from a letter written by her to him about the time of his reaching his majority, and which will illustrate her character better than many pages of eulogy, while the sentiments therein expressed have lost none of their value or appropriateness by the lapse of time since they were penned.


" MY DEAR, VERY DEAR SON, - I feel happy in having an op- portunity at last to write you a friendly letter. You are.now just entering on the stage of life; you have spectators on every side ; you are to consider them as watching your conduct at all times to see how far you will bear a comparison with your late universally much loved and respected father. They wish you to make good, as far as possible, his place. My ardent desire is to have them gratified ; and the warmest affection that ever glowed in a parent's breast, with the purest motives, the strong-


Joseph told him if he would exchange he would give him the good farm in the woods (the same' one on which the Rev. Mr. Bradford lived), and take the family mansion himself. This exchange was accordingly made, and in order to execute the intent, the entail was broken in favor of Joseph, who occupied the mansion-house and the land in question. The house was situated at the corner of the street where the Universalist meeting-house now stands. When Boston was occupied by the British, the brick walls which fenced the house from the street on both sides made a part of the line of defence, which was continued by a breastwork which ran up the hill toward the meeting-house. This was done through fear that the enemy might come out of Boston, and march through Roxbury street to take the fort on the highlands in the rear, from which the first gun was fired against the town of Boston when it was be- sieged.


.Joseph died without any children, and entailed the estate back to Thomas and his children, to descend in the same manner as if the entail had not been broken. This seems not to have been known, as all the family, and the ad- ministrators, considered that the estate tail having been broken in favor of Joseph, and he having no children, the estate would descend to Thomas and his heirs in fee-simple. These circumstances occurring within the knowledge of the administrators, the purchaser, and the neighbors, the records were not examined, and of course Joseph's will devising the estate back in tail to Thomas's children was undiscovered until Joseph, the tenant in tail and grand- son of Thomas, ascertained such to be the case, and as tenant in tail recovered from Mrs. Sumner the estate, notwithstanding his father had mortgaged it with warranty in fee-simple.


303


MRS. SUMNER'S ADVICE TO HER SON.


est desire to have you continue to merit their esteem and appro- bation in every situation you are in, or may be placed in, in life, is what alone induces me to write you at this time.


" Perhaps you will say, why do you give yourself the trouble ? I have arrived at the age of manhood; I am capable of acting and doing right without advice; I am free also, and shall act as I think fit. But I check myself. I will not suppose your good sense, or your affection for me, will suffer you to treat the advice of a tender parent with contempt, or even with indiffer- ence. Therefore I go on, and shall endeavor to give you a few hints, which may be useful to you in first setting out in life.


" The most important thing is to fix your religious principles. Upon them let every thing be founded, always bearing in mind the presence of the great God, to whom you must render an account of all your actions, sooner or later. You must be sen- sible that you have great cares committed to your trust. You are not only a brother, but a guardian, to your sisters ; you must act, in some instances, like a parent to them ; they will look to you for advice and protection, even while I live ; and when my eyes are closed in death, and my tongue is silent, to whom have they to look, but to you? You must be brother, guardian, and friend; therefore, be ever kind and affectionate towards them ; and let your words be mild, and your construc- tions favorable, that harmony may be continually with you all.


" I have determined, my dear child, to speak freely, and not only to give you hints, but cautions. I do not mean to wound your feelings in any instance, if I can avoid it; neither have I an idea of making any apology for what I have said or shall say. I am your parent, and have a perfect right to do so, and my conscience tells me it is my duty. The trust you have taken will naturally give you some trouble. Difficulties will arise sometimes from small circumstances, which care and pru- dence may overcome. But there is one difficulty you, with your strong propensity to become rich, will have to overcome : I mean temptation. Take pains to keep every circumstance respecting your sisters' portions clear and plain ; it will then be easy to close accounts when they are of age. No one is per- fect. I have my imperfections and foibles ; so have you. It is a friendly but unpleasant task to point them out. You will, if


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HISTORY.


you are disposed, perhaps, have sometimes an opportunity to convert the interest of your sisters' property to your own use, without calling it your own, and in time it may become so blended as not without trouble to distinguish it from yours, es- pecially if they remain single, and you have it for a great length of time. It is an undoubted fact, that there have been instances where the minor has been at small expense, not equal to his or her interest, and yet the guardian has labored to prove the contrary. In consequence of such management, and other unjust doings, the minor's interest will lessen, or will not accu- mulate, as it would by a just, prudent, and wise management of it.1 The love of self is natural to all; some discover more than others; but let me earnestly and sincerely entreat you never to do any thing which is not strictly honest, just, fair, and upright; then you will have true riches, which cannot take to themselves wings and fly away. You will then have sweet peace of mind, and a clear conscience. What can exceed this! I am not disinterested in what I am now writing; no, I am not. Upon your reputation and prosperity in life, my son, my only son, my greatest happiness or misery will arise. You are young, therefore cannot know much of the world from experi- ence. Still you have advantages over many of your years. You have had the advice of one of the best of fathers; he fre- quently spoke to me of the conversation he had with you, and the advice he gave you on different subjects, which you doubt- less recollect. But what must, most of all, impress your mind, is a recollection of what he said to you on his death-bed - ' William, I hope you will endeavor to do as well as I have done, and as much better as possible. They will be looking at you.'


" My opportunities of knowing, and my experiences, com- pared with his, are small. Still, they may be, if kindly received, of advantage to you.


"After fixing your religious principles as the foundation of every good, then lay down some rules of conduct for life, and endeavor to abide by them. Let the first be with regard to the


1 See p. 25, for the manner in which the author carried out the wishes of his mother.


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MRS. SUMNER'S ADVICE TO HER SON.


Sabbath ; this one day out of seven consider as holy time- time not your own, to be spent in mirth and pleasure, or idle company. Reading God's word, religious books, and serious reflections, should be the work of the day. If this day is not improved in this way, it is not in the least likely that another day in the week will be. I ask, then, what will become of those poor souls who do not allow themselves time for reflection ? A sick-bed is perhaps the time they allot for that purpose ; but, who is there that knows whether they will die of sickness ? We are all liable to accidents and sudden death. In sickness, the pain and distress of the body occupies all the thoughts, and disorders the mind. Trust not the morrow, for we know not what a day may bring forth. We may be well at meeting on one Sunday ; the next may find us in our graves. What can be more necessary than reflection ? Without it, who can tell if his conscience approves or disapproves ? To think well on the past, and seriously on what is to come, is the duty of reasona- ble and immortal creatures, such as we are. You know I am not a rigid observer of the Sabbath; no, my conscience tells me, to my sorrow, that I am not enough so. I do not wish you to be so very strict as to fix it as an invariable rule never to see a friend on that day at home, or abroad. Circumstances alter cases. A practice of either is what I want you to avoid. One habit creeps on after another. If you are in company, you must drink, laugh, and be merry, to be thought good company, and insensibly you will be tempted to do what your conscience, upon reflection, disapproves and condemns. Keep the day for the work of the day.


" That you may always be punctual in all your avocations, have sufficient and proper time for the business of the week, · without hurry or confusion. I advise you to be determined, never, when in health, to be in bed at one time more than six hours in summer, and seven or eight in winter. This will give you time, before you enter upon the hurry and business of the day, to offer up grateful thanks in a sincere manner to God, for the mercies of the night, also to pray for his protection and blessing throughout the day. What can be more reasonable than the practice of this indispensable duty ? Temporal favors are to be gratefully received, but more especially the spiritual


26 *


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HISTORY.


gift of his only son, Jesus Christ, through whom we are to ex- pect everlasting salvation.


" To be respected and promoted by the good and great, you must be particular in the choice of company. You have ob- served what a difference there is in it. With some persons you are entertained, improved, and instructed ; in other circles, he who can joke, laugh loud, talk on trifles, drink his bottle, and smoke, is thought a clever fellow. Bad habits are fixed insen- sibly ; therefore avoid those who drink as much as their head will bear. By being always temperate you will have an advan- tage over those who are not, and will avoid ridicule. In con- versation, endeavor to be well informed on your subject; cool, collected, correct, sensible, and, before superiors, modest.


" Perhaps, before many years, you may think of being con- nected with some female. This will be a very important affair for life; upon a judicious choice, then, your happiness will de- pend. I will (against a time of need) mention a few requisites in the choice of a companion : good sense, sound understand- ing, a serious, well-improved mind, good disposition, respectable connections. If your judgment, with fancy, will lead you, in proper time, to such a lady, I think you will have good rea- son to expect domestic pleasure, such as would probably be lasting.


" In giving you this advice, these hints and cautions, I have discharged a duty which has long laid with great weight upon my mind. Accept it, therefore, as a friendly gift; for sure I am, I never could die in peace without doing it.


" I shall now conclude, wishing that you may be to me ever dutiful, affectionate, and kind, that you may obtain the promise of long life. May heaven shower down blessings upon you, and God be with you and direct you in all your ways, is the sincere and ardent wish of your very affectionate mother.


"E. S."


To the answer which was returned to this letter, Mrs. Sum- ner sent the following reply : -


" MY DEAR SON, - I received great joy and satisfaction in being informed that your sentiments on the different subjects I


307


DAVID HYSLOP.


wrote upon were similar to mine. I am also highly gratified with the proof you have given of a wise son, who, Solomon says, will receive the instruction of his mother. Though I must say you have gone rather far in your conclusions, and your in- ferences are not quite just, I will not be particular ; I am in haste to say that I take great pleasure in giving credit where it is due, and freely own that you have great merit for many things. Your application to business, and readiness to assist in the cares of the family, especially your attention, anxiety, and care of me, when sick, is another thing which attaches you more strongly to me. And, generally speaking, your conduct has not only met with my approbation, but applause. Be as- sured I am ever ready to advise, encourage, and assist you in every thing that may be for your good. With great sincerity I can say, that the pleasure and happiness of my children is my grand object in life; and I shall ever pray for the prosperity of you all in this life, and, above all, for your salvation and happi- ness in the world to come.


" I conclude, after wishing that peace, harmony, and affection may be with us all through the various changing scenes of life. That every blessing may attend you, is the wish of your affec- tionate mother. E. S."


The children of Increase and Elizabeth Sumner were Wil- liam Hyslop (the writer), Mehetable Stoddard, formerly the wife of Benjamin Welles, of Boston, and now deceased, and Eliza, wife of James W. Gerard, Esq., of New York.


DAVID HYSLOP, the son of William and Mehetable Hyslop, and the owner of one sixth of Noddle's Island, was born on the 28th of Dec., 1755. When a youth, he David Hyilon fell down the kitchen stairs which led to the cellar, and broke his leg, which, from lack of proper medical attention, made him a cripple for life ; he also had an impediment in his speech.


308


HISTORY.


Notwithstanding his infirmities, Elizabeth Stone, of Concord, Mass., married him in September, 1793. He had no children by this marriage. After the death of Mrs. Hyslop, which took place at York, Maine, 6th June, 1808, he was persuaded by Joseph Woodward, who had been a servant of his uncle Chauncy, to marry his amiable and comely daughter. All his friends advised him against this connection, both on account of his infirmities and the discrepancy of their ages, he being two years more than double her age of twenty-one years. Not- withstanding this, however, he married Miss Jane Woodward, on the 9th of October, 1809.


By this second marriage he had several children, David, Jane, Mehetable Stoddard, and Mary Ann.1 The two latter died in infancy, but David and Jane survived their father. Jane died under age, soon after her father's decease. Her brother was thus left sole heir to his father's property with the exception of the homestead in Brookline, which Mr. Hyslop devised to his sister's (Mrs. Sumner's) children, subject to his widow's life- estate. David died just before his majority, and his mother, being his next of kin, inherited her husband's undevised estate, the whole of which, by her second marriage to John Hayden, passed out of Mr. Hyslop's family, which brought it.


Mr. Hyslop died on the 16th of August, 1822, aged 67. He was a devout Calvinist. During the whole course of his life he made it a part of his duty to attend the Thursday lecture in Boston ; his first wife usually accompanied him into town on those days, but while he was at the lecture she was at the cir- culating library, selecting novels and other books for the week's reading. He also attended all the ordinations, councils, min- isters' meetings, and religious gatherings within his reach, and although of a retiring, modest temperament, honored the relig- ion he professed. The first Mrs. Hyslop was a kind and attentive wife. His second was in no way distinguished but


1 David, born 27th October, 1810, and died 29th September, 1831; Jane, born 4th January, 1814, and died 13th September, 1823; Mehetable Stod- dard, born 11th of February, 1817, and died 15th June, 1818; Mary Ann, born 30th July, 1818, and died 11th February, 1819. - (Sumner Genealogy.)


309


DAVID HYSLOP.


by her attractive appearance, amiable disposition, and the remarkable affection which she manifested to him in all his relations. He had so much confidence in her, that he left her as guardian to his children. On the 22d of May, 1825, she mar- ried a widower, John Hayden (born July 11, 1768, died July 15, 1844), who had two sons, but she had no children by this connection.


After the death of the first Mrs. Hyslop without issue, Mr. Hyslop and his friends looked upon his nephew, Wm. H. Sum- ner, as the nearest male relative, and consequently the heir of his property.


After the Thursday lecture was finished, Mr. Hyslop's prac- tice was to repair to the law office of his nephew to consult with him and ponder over his estate, with a view to making a will. Here he dictated his wishes to his nephew, who tran- scribed them, and frequently, on Thursday, Mr. Hyslop looked over it, and made such alterations as the change in his inclina- tions from time to time moved him.


In this will, after leaving his mansion-house, horses, carriage, plate, furniture, and other movables, and homestead at Brook- line, to his wife for life, providing for her maintenance, and giving her an outright present of $10,000, and to each of the daughters of his sister, Mrs. Sumner, a handsome portion of his estate, after the death of his wife and children without issue, he gave the Boylston estate in Brookline, on which he lived, to his nephew, William H. Sumner, and the residue of his real and personal estate. As this will was made after much medita- tion, and was left in the possession of his nephew, who was appointed sole executor, and as it was never a subject of re- mark after it was sealed and so left, it was presumed that this will would take effect. Consequently, the announcement by Dr. Chaplin at the funeral, that Mr. Hyslop had made another will, created great surprise. This change of purpose in Mr. Hyslop can hardly be accounted for; it can only be surmised from the following facts. When Mrs. Hyslop was con- fined with one of her children, her nervous system was so shat- tered that Mr. Hyslop was advised to put her under the care of Dr. Chaplin, who kept a private establishment for the insane, in Cambridge. After so doing, her husband was accustomed to




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