History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 156

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1538

USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 156

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He was one of the trustees of the Peabody Insti- tute, appointed by Mr. George Peabody, served as a member of the building committee, and upon the re- signation of Rev. M. P. Braman, was chosen president of the board of trustees, which office he held till March, 1879. At the present time he is chairman of the committee on buildings and grounds, and in con- nection with Mr. Joshua Sylvester, has done much to- ward the laying out and beautifying of the park about the Institute, making it one of the most attractive places in the town. He has also been chairman of the lecture and library committee, and in the latter capacity gave much time and thought to the selection of those books which would instruct and elevate their readers, and cultivate in them a desire for useful knowledge, having the experience gained by many years of reading and study, to help him in this work. From his youth he has shown a great taste for natural history, and during his long life has been a elose ob- server of nature, in all her varied forms. By constant observation and study, he made himself thoroughly conversant with the notes and habits of our native birds, and contributed a series of most interesting and instructive articles to the New England Farmer, on "The Birds of New England." A lover of flowers, he has always taken great pleasure in their cultiva- tion, and has had equal success with plants from widely separated localities, so that in his garden the variously-tinted blossoms of our woods and fields grow side by side with the more gorgeous flowers of China and Japan. Nor is he selfish in the enjoyment of his garden, but freely gives its treasures to all-

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from the little child, who timidly asks for a few flow- ers, to the learned botanist, who solicits specimens for analysis. It has been his pleasure for many summers to arrange a bouquet each week for the church, and the ladies of the Parish showed their appreciation of this work by presenting him with a beautiful engrav- ing. He has not devoted his attention exclusively to the cultivation of flowers, but has also studied the characteristics of our native trees and shrubs. The results of his close observation in this direction are apparent in various articles written by him on our " Native Trees and Shrubs," published in the New England Farmer, in which he shows himself a nice and accurate observer in this department of nature. He has carefully noted the habits of the various in- sects injurious to vegetation, and in an essay read before the Essex County Agricultural Society, gives many valuable suggestions as to the best methods of destroying the numerous insects, which infest the orchards and gardens of the county. Possessing these tastes it might be expected that when the Essex County Natural History Society was formed, Mr. Fowler would be one of its first members. He is now the only one living of the founders of this organiza- tion. At its fiftieth anniversary, held at Topsfield, in June, 1884, he was present, and in an address de- livered on that occasion. alluding to the first meeting of the society, says : " After dinner a stroll was taken in the woods and fields, and among the plants gath- ered was a fine specimen of Blood Root (Sanguinaria Canadensis) which was taken up with a spade, and upon our return it was placed in the middle of the table, with a newspaper under it, when we pledged ourselves to sustain the Essex County Natural Histo- ry Society, and promote its interests." When the Essex Institute was formed by the Union of the Essex Historical and Essex County Natural History Societies in 1848, he was chosen curator of Natural History, and vice-president in that department in 1861, and remained so for several years ; he was also on the Field committee as early as 1857.

Fond of historical research, the rich field of his town, county and State has furnished him abundant material, so that he has not his equal as a local his- torian, and has given especial time and thought to the study of the witchcraft delusion, and the causes which led to its origin and continuance. He has published an " Account of the Life and Character of the Rev. Samuel Parris, of Salem Village, and of his Connection with the Witchcraft Delnsion of 1692." and edited an edition of "Salem Witchcraft, by Rob- ert Calef, published by H. P. Ives and A. A. Smith, in 1861." He has also made a large manuscript col- lection bearing upon this subject, copied from the church and court records of that period. Upham, in speaking of Philip Fowler, of Ipswich, and the bold stand taken by him in 1692 against the decisions of the clergy and magistrates, says: "It is an inter- esting circumstance that one of the same name and

descent, in his reprint of the papers of Calef, and other publications, has done as much as any other person of our day to bring that whole transaction under the light of truth and justice." It is largely due to his research and interpretation of Mr. Parris' conduct in the affair, that has led to a more favorable construction of the motives which actuated him and the neighboring clergy in their treatment of those persons accused of practising witchcraft. Mr. Fow- ler has published in the Historical Collections of the Essex Institute the following articles: "Journal of Captain Samuel Page, in the Campaign of 1779, with Notes ; " " Biographical Sketch and Diary of Rev. Joseph Green, an Account of the Life of Rev. Peter Clark and Rev. Benjamin Wadsworth, Ministers of Salem Village," (now Danvers Centre) ; " Records of Overseers of the Poor of the Old Town of Danvers for the years 1767 and 1768, by the Chairman of the Board, Captain Elisha Flint, with Notes." "Craft's Journal of the Siege of Boston, with Notes."

He is thoroughly conversant with the early history of the town, and often contributes to the columns of the local paper articles full of historical facts, which will yield a rich harvest to the town's future historian.

He became a member of the New England Histo- ric Genealogical Society, in Boston, in 1862. His literary work has been performed in the midst of his regular occupations, for Mr. Fowler learned the trade of a tanner, and carried on the business in the same establishment formerly owned and occupied by his father, on Porters river.

He was one of the corporators of the Danvers Savings Bank, incorporated in 1850, and one of its first trustees; he was also actively engaged in the formation of the First National Bank, and has been one of its directors since 1863. He was admitted to Jordan Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, March 26, 1823, and is at present an honorary member, and one of the oldest masons in the State.

He has always shown a deep interest in the tem- perance cause, more especially before it became so intimately connected with the political questions of the day. At the annual meeting of the old town of Dan- vers, on the 4th of March, 1833, the subject of intem- perance in the town being under consideration, an order and vote to be presented to the moderator was drawn up hy J. W. Proctor, Esq., instructing the selectmen to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors in the town, which vote was presented to the meeting by Mr. Fowler, who is now the only one liviog of that hand of temperance workers, who, in one of the square pews in the brick meeting-house at the Cen- tre, conferred together as to the best means to arrest the drunkenness in their community. The passing of this vote made Danvers the first town in the State that took action in its corporate capacity against licensing the sale of intoxicating liquors, and it has ever since maintained the same position. Before the general awakening of the public mind to the subject,

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Mr. Fowler was keenly alive to the fact that our burial-places were neglected and unattractive, and it was largely through his efforts, and that of his bro- ther, Mr. Henry Fowler, that a tract of land was purchased to be laid out as a cemetery, and the Wal- nut Grove Cemetery Corporation formed, of which he has been president for many years.

In the year 1832, he joined the First Church dur- ing the pastorate of the Rev. M. P. Braman. When the Maple Street Church was organized in 1844, he became one of the original members, was chosen one of its first deacons, which office he still holds, and has ever been mindful of all that concerned the tem- poral and spiritual welfare of the church. He was a member of the building committee to erect the first meeting-house, and when this new and beautiful edi- fice was destroyed by fire only a few years after its completion, he was one of the members who bravely took up the work of building the present house of worship. He has been clerk of the parish for more than thirty years, and the distinctly written pages of this record will be a pleasure to the society's future historian. Before his advanced years he was a con- stant attendant upon the prayer-meetings of the church, contributing to their interest by his words of instruction and wisdom, and was for many years an efficient Sunday-school teacher.

Although in his eighty-eighth year, Mr. Fowler possesses the physical and mental activity of a man of much younger years, filling with acceptance and fidelity the various offices bestowed upon him by his townsmen. The reading of his favorite books, the cultivation of his garden are as great sources of pleas- ure to him as they ever were, and his interest is un- abated in whatever concerns the public goods.

The record of such a life shows what a man can accomplish for himself.and others by habits of indus- try and patient thought, combined with a desire for the best good of those who are associated with him as fellow-citizens. The public favors he has received have not been obtained at the sacrifice of truth and honor, for in all things he has shown himself an honest man, just and upright in his dealings with others.

Mr. Fowler was married December 3, 1833, to Har- riet Putnam (who was born in Danvers, May 11, 1806) daughter of Moses and Betscy Putnam. Like her husband, she retains in a remarkable degree her youthful feelings, possessing those virtues which make her a devoted wife, a good mother and an earn- est Christian.

Their children are, (1) Clara Putnam, born March 20, 1836, married November 25, 1856, George E. Du- Bois, of Randolph, Mass., who died November 3, 1859; their child, Ellen Tucker, born December 16, 1857, married, April 22, 1886, Nathan Putnam Proc- tor, of Danvers; they have a son born June 7, 1887. (2) Samuel Page, Jr., born December 6, 1838. (3) Harriet Putnam, born July 25, 1842.

CHARLES LAWRENCE.

Mr. Lawrence was among the thirteen children of Abel and Abigail (Page) Lawrence, of Salem, Mass. He was descended in the seventh generation from John Lawrence, of Wisset, England, who came to this country and first settled at Watertown, but re- moved to Groton in 1662, where he died.

The subject of this notice was born October 7, 1795, and was graduated at Harvard University in the class of 1815.

About 1833 he married Miss Lucy A. Ward, sister of Thomas Ward, the banker of Boston. Delicate health prevented him from studying a profession or entering upon a business career. He made several voyages to India in early life, and spent a winter or two in the West Indies and Florida to combat dan- gerous symptoms of lung disease.

With his brother and sisters he afterwards left Sa- lem and established a home upon what was then known as the Phillips Farm, Danvers. There for nearly forty years Mr. Lawrence resided and found occupation in open air pursuits, which no doubt were the means of prolonging to eighty-four years a life which was never robust. Gardening was a favorite occupation, and he liad a passion for flowers, which always flourished under his care.

Combined with these pursuits was a love of litera- ture, which did not fail him while life lasted.

Though mixing little with the world, he was always acquainted with the best and newest books, and whol- ly alive to the political questions of his time.

In November, 1820, he was made a member of the Salem East India Marine Society, and was elected corresponding secretary January, 1828, remaining in that position till Jannary, 1838. He was also an original member of the Essex Institute, and through life he felt a strong interest in the welfare and success of that society.

A warm friend, a kind neighbor, a genial and pleas- ant companion ; his charity to the unfortunate was only fully known to the many recipients of his benev- olence. He died December 21, 1879.

GENERAL GRENVILLE M. DODGE.1

Essex County has given birth to but few more remarkable men than General Grenville M. Dodge, now, and for many years, resident at Council Bluff's, Iowa. Perhaps no one of her sons has wrought a wider, and more varied and important public service than has he. He is not yet an old man, but is still in his prime, and is as active and busy as ever. Yet, as civil engineer, military commander, member of Congress, projector of many of the great railroad enterprises of the West and Southwest for the last thirty years or more, and as president or director of most of the companies established to forward and

1 By Rev. A. P. Putnam.

Eng ª by AH. Ritchie

Charte, Lawrence

Eng by AH Fischie

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complete these vast works of internal improvement and national development, he has done quite enough for fame, and quite enough to entitle him to the last- ing gratitude and honor of his country. The story of his career, however much it has to do with practi- cal matters, is yet invested with a wonderfully roman- tic interest, and we are glad to learn that a more extensive biography of him than we can give here, or than has ever been written of him, is in course of preparation by Mr. N. E. Dawson, of Washington, for a large, voluminous work to be entitled, "Iowa in the War." To Mr. Dawson's kindness we are indebted for some of the advance sheets of his full and excel- lent sketch, from which we have culled many of the facts of our hero's maturer life.

General Dodge is a native of Danvers, Mass., and was born April 12, 1831, in a farm-house which was situated a short distance south of the Topsfield line, and which was then the home of the family of Elias Putnam, who was himself born there more than forty years before, as stated elsewhere in this volume. Israel Putnam, the father of Elias, having removed his household, about the beginning of the century, several miles down the road, the premises were let to Captain Solomon Dodge, who had lived in Rowley, Mass., and was a descendant of one of the two brothers of the name who early emigrated from England, and settled in Essex County. There came with Solomon a son, Sylvanus, who had been born. November 25, 1800, at the old Rowley home, in what has long been known as the "Old Dodge House." Not long after the family had taken possession of their new quarters, the mother of Sylvanus died, and by and by, it is said, the surviving members returned to the ancestral seat whence they came. The son was married, November 22, 1827, at New Rowley (now Georgetown), by Rev. Dr. Isaac Braman, to Julia T. Phillips, who was born in that town January 23, 1802. The same evening the nuptial pair rode to Danvers, to enter there upon their early wedded life on the farm where the husband had lived as a little child, and in an L which the Putnams, who had themselves long before returned to the place, had attached to the northern side of the house. Their first child was born to them September 23, 1829, but died ahout two weeks afterward. The second was born April 12, 1831, as we have said, and received the name that had been given to the other, Grenville M. Dodge. He first saw the light in the chamber of the L to which reference has been made, and which, many years later, was detached from the main part of the building and removed to a point about an eighth of a mile further south, on the other side of the road, where it was enlarged, and has since been tenanted by various families. The Dodges remained on the farm about six years, and then went to Rowley, where they lived for a year or two, at the expiration of which time they returned to their Danvers abode, which Mr. Putnam and family had recently left to fix their home two miles below, in the

old house now occupied by Augustus Fowler. While Sylvanus Dodge and his family came back to live again in one part of the farm-house, there came from Wenham, Benjamin Dodge and his family to dwell in the other. Sylvanus was then a butcher, and many of the present inhabitants of the town will recall his regular visits at their doors, as, arrayed in his clean white frock, he rode about in his well-covered and amply-supplied wagon and ingratiated himself into the favor of his patrons by his genial spirit and honest dealing. The slaughter-house was a barn which stood at the foot of the hill, a little distance north of the house, where there is now, if there was not then, a beautiful grove. Long afterward it was moved to the plains, and then again outside of the village, where it was finally burnt.

The second sojourn of Mr. Sylvanus Dodge and his family upon the farm continued for only about one year. Thence they proceeded to Salem, where also they spent a couple of years, and next went to Lynn, where they remained one year, living during the twelve-month in three different houses. In April, 1837, they found a home in South Danvers, now Pea- body, where, August 20, of the same year, was born a third child, Nathan P. Dodge. In 1840 they removed to the north part of the old town, and settled for a time in Tapleyville, the native place of their fourth and last child, Julia M. Dodge, now Mrs. J. B. Beard, born January 14, 1843. During their stay at Tapley- ville, Mr. Dodge was made postmaster for South Dan- vers, and accordingly returned thither with his wife and children, and there continued to reside until they all emigrated to the distant West. He held the office to which he was thus appointed for ten years, and through various changes in the national administra- tion, securing the confidence and favor of both politi- cal parties and of his fellow-citizens generally. In politics he was a Democrat, and was an active and earnest friend of such men as Robert Rantoul, Jr., N. P. Banks and George S. Boutwell. In due time he came to be much interested in the organization of the Republican party, and was henceforth to the end of his life its sincere and efficient supporter.

Grenville, the eldest of the three living children, sought his fortunes in the West as early as 1851. Between the ages of ten and sixteen he had worked at gardening, had been employed as a clerk in a store, had attended the common schools, and had also im- proved his leisure hours in fitting himself for college. He entered the Military University at Norwich, Vt., in 1847, and there completed his course of education just before he set out to seek his fortunes in a more distant part of the country. He first settled in Peru, Illinois, as a civil engineer. He participated in the construction of the Chicago and Rock Island, and Peoria and Bureau Valley Railroads; and in 1853 he was appointed assistant engineer of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad of Iowa, now the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Line. In the same year,

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having removed to Iowa City, he explored and exam- ined the country west of the Missouri, and became convinced that the great Pacific Railway would have its starting point where it now is, at Council Bluffs, or Omaha, on the Missouri river. At Council Bluffs, therefore, he decided to fix his permanent residence. He had married Miss Annie Brown, of Peru, Ill., at Salem, Mass., May 29, 1854, and in the following November he left Iowa City, where his brother Nathan from the East had already joined him, for his future home, accompanied by his wife. During the same month he made a claim, and opened a farm in the Territory of Nebraska, on the Elkhorn river, occupying it in February, 1855, but staying there only six months, the Indians driving him away, and obliging him to return with his family to Council Bluffs.

Early in 1855 his father, Sylvanus Dodge, went on from South Danvers, followed in the autumn by the mother. They lived, in the winter of 1855-56, at Omaha, which the reader will remember is on the western bank of the Missouri, directly opposite Coun- cil Bluffs on the eastern ; and in May, 1856, they, too, sought a home on the Elkhorn, but at the expiration of eighteen months they returned to be with Gren- ville, and Council Bluff's has been the home of the family from then until now. The father had taken an active part in settling the territory and organizing the government of Nebraska, and was subsequently made the Register of the United States Land Office for the district where he had lived. He died about sixteen years ago, surrounded by his wife, children and grandchildren, and greatly respected and beloved by all who knew him, while his last days were made happy with the thought that, after all the toils and struggles, changes and pilgrimages of seventy years, his household was finally established in a secure home, and had risen to prominence and prosperity.

Grenville, after his return from the Elkhorn to Council Bluffs, in 1855, busied himself for several years in civil engineering, banking, real estate and mercantile business. He was active and influential in advancing the interests of the rising town, and organized for it a military company, known as "The Council Bluffs Guards." He was chosen its captain, and at the breaking out of the war he tendered the services of this company to the Governor of the State, as the nucleus of the First Iowa Infantry. The Gov- ernor deemed it best that this organization should remain where it was, in order to protect the exposed western frontier border; but accepted the individual services of Captain Dodge himself, and sent him to Washington to arrange for the arming and equipping of the Iowa troops. The result was that Captain Dodge, gaining the confidence and favor of Mr. Cam- eron, Secretary of War, was remarkably successful in his mission, and at once returned to raise the Fourth Iowa Infantry Regiment, of which he was duly com- missioned as the colonel, and also the Second Iowa

Battery, which took his own name. With this com- mand he marched, in July, 1861, to Northwestern Missouri, and drove out thence a considerable force of insurgents, who were under the lead of Poindexter. During the next month he reported with his regiment and battery to General Fremont at St. Louis, and, in October, was ordered by him to the frontier post at Rolla, Mo., where he was placed in command. At the head of the Fourth Brigade of the Army of the Southwest, he advanced upon Springfield, in the same State, and captured it. Pursuing the enemy south- ward, he led the advance, was in the engagements at Cane and Sugar Creeks, in February, 1862, and on the 27th of the same month, defeated Gates at Black- burn's Mills, Ark. He hore a very prominent part, and stubbornly met the very brunt of war, in the famous battle of Pea Ridge, where the rebel power was broken in Missouri and North Arkansas. Here he had three horses shot under him, and was severely wounded ; and for his gallantry in this fight he was made brigadier-general, at the request of Major-Gen- eral Halleck, who had succeeded Fremont in charge of the Western Department. After recovering from his wounds he reported by telegraph to the War De- partment, and was assigned to the command of the District of Columbus, Ky. Soon after receiving this appointment, he accomplished with great vigor and success the rebuilding of the Mobile and Ohio Rail- road, which had been wholly destroyed by the rebels, and then, in June, he had a sharp skirmish with a body of the enemy, handling his forces with such skill and effect as to call forth the hearty commenda- tion of both Halleck and Quimby. In further recog- nition of these services, he was honored with the command of the Central Division of the Mississippi, with headquarters at Trenton, Tenn. While here his troops captured various towns, and defeated Villipigne on the Hatchee river, after which his command was enlarged, and his headquarters were again established at Columbus. He signalized his return to this post by another signal victory, capturing General Faulkner and his forces near island No. 10, and taking many prisoners.

In the autumn of 1862, immediately after the battle of Corinth, he was charged with the Second Division of the Army of the Tennessee, in the district organ- ized and commanded by General Grant. Perhaps it was here that began the strong friendship which, for so many years, has subsisted between our hero and the great chieftain. General Dodge was soon assigned to the command of the District of Corinthi. In the spring of 1863 he defeated the Confederate forces under Forrest and other conspicuous rebel officers. He raised and equipped large numbers of colored troops. His education and experience as a civil engineer proved of invaluable service to him and the cause in rebuilding the railroads destroyed by the enemy. But he knew how to smash things as well as to repair them, as when he shortly conducted the im-

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 156

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1 Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1538

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1538