History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 199

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 199

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).

The following is the original roll of the company, stars indicating those who have since died :

Captain, Francis E. Porter.

Ist Lieut., John W. Raymond. 2d Lieut., *Eleazer Giles.

3d Licot., *Albert Wallis. 4th Lieut., Moses S. Herrick.

Ist Serg., #Henry P. Woodbury. 2d Serg., *Renben Herrick, Jr.

3d Serg., Benjamin F. Herrick. 4th Serg, Alfred Porter.

Ist Corp, *Samuel Bell. 2d Corp., Hugh J. Munsey.

3d Corp., *George R. Sands. 4th Corp., *John Low.

Drummer, George M. Tucker.

Privates.

Charles B. Allen. *George II. Goodridge. Edward H. Ober.

*W. A. Andrews.

*Samuel Goodridge. *Moses A. Pedrick.

Jesse A. Blake. Samuel Gordon. George II. Pickett.

*A. J. Blanchard. *William E Grant.

James Brown.' Daniel W. Hammond. * George W. Pevier.

Thomas D. Brown.

William E. Choate.

*Josiah T. Ilitchings.

George C. Holden.

Thomas J. Smith. William I. Smith.

Charles L. Darling. *John Dean.

* Henry P. Larcom. Samuel O. Lee.

*Joseph G. Stone. Charles Story. Edwin South wick.

John II. Dennis.

Charles A. Lord. John W. Masury.

*Leonard G. Dennis. Alonzo P. Dodge.

Arthur Meldram.

*William A. Teague. Amos B. Trask. Eben Trask.

Chas. H. Ferguson. William A. Friend.

John E. Moses.

Fred. A. Wallis.

Thomas Gavin.

George A. Mowatt.

William H. Warren.

*Ezra A. Glidden.

John Neville.

William W. Warren. *Sheribiah S. Webber.

1864 .- On the 26th of April, the Fifty-ninth Regi- ment left the State, to join the command of General Burnside. In this regiment were thirty-one soldiers from Beverly, in Companies A, B, C, G and H. Com- pany C was commanded by Captain John H. Chip- man, who had returned to recruit for the regiment.

W'm. H. B. Poland. *J. S S. Rogers. *Godfrey Scott.

*John H. Chipinaa.

Charles S. Homans.

John F. Piper.

*William A. Cleaves. Fred. A. Currier.

*Henry A. Hale. Francis P. Haskell.

Chas. W. Mitchell.

735

BEVERLY.

The Fifty-ninth went into active service at ouce, and within a month were coming back the sad returns of killed, wounded and missing.

Beverly Men in Company E, 23d Regiment.

Captain, John W. Raymond. Ist Lieut., Henry P. Woodbury. 2d Lieut., Daniel W. Hammond.

Sergeants.

Wm. E. Choate. William G. Muosey.

William F. Earley.

Samuel Goodridge, Ir.

Joseph HI. Baker.

Charles Friend, 2d.

Charles W. Mitchell. Charles R. Dennis.

Corporals.

Charles R. Allen.

Thomas D. Davis. Edward B. Perry.

Dennis Carney. James Dedge.1 George Il. Pickett.

John W. Clayton.

Charles G. Fergald.1 Thomas J. Smith, Jr.

Joho J. Daltoo.1 Austia Glidden. Joseph P. Wallis.1

Musicians, Alfred J. Hall and Charles H. Webber. Wagoner, George F. Bragdea.

Privates.

Abbott, Stephen W .*

Dennis, Charles R .*

Maxcy, William. McGrath, Lewis.

Agent, Joseph F .*

Dow, Joha E.

Dupee, Antoine .*

Morgan, Edmund C.

Allen, Stephen B.

Elliott, Charles, 2d .*

Ober, Edward H.

Arnold, James H.

Elliott, Israel, Jr.$

Parker, Charles F.

Ayers, Jacob E.

Barry, Patrick, Jr.

Bassett, Thaddeus.

Batchelder, Ira D.

Berry, Thomas.

Blanchard, Aodrew J. Glidden, Jobn.

Glover, Charles F.

Grush, Addison E. Handley, Michael .*

Higgiobotten, Josephi. Thissell, Levi A. Trask, Albert .*

Holden, Charles. Jewett, George S. Johnson, Joseph H. Jones, Charles W.

Kennison, Benjamin. Lefavour, James A. Leach, Jobn. Liffio, John.

Trask, Amos B. Trust, Peter. Vickery, Joseph F. Wallis, William, 2d .* Webber, Eleazer A .* Weeks, Stephen L. Whidden, David. Williams, James E .* Williams, Oscar P.

Clark, William T. Crampsey, Israel. Cressy, Benj., 3d. Crombie, Enoch.

Marshall, John D.

Woodbury, Levi J.

Masury, George, 2d.

Yonog, Isaac T .*

* Deceased.

Beverly Men in Company K, 40th Regiment.

Captain, Edward L. Giddings.

Ist Lient., Jeho F. Piper. 2d Lient., Leonard G. Deonis.

Sergeants.

Reuben Herrick, Jr.#

William H. Brown."

Joseph W Stocker.

David M. Carter.

J. Francis Jeoness. Varoum S. Pedrick.

Joho M. Brown .* Albert W. Haskell.

J. Lewis Preston.&

Alfred Corning .*

Samuel W. Greer .*

George W. Heward.

Benjamin F. Cressy.

Eph Hathaway, Jr.

Edmund G. Josephs.

Dexter H. Fawcett.

Chas. H. Henderson.$

George J. Nutter.

George W. Glidden .*

Privates. Holden, Elbridge J.

Prioce, George W.

Blanchard, Heory J.

Howe, George F .*

Selfe, William A .*

Blanchard, Wm. H.

Jenoess, Charles H.

Lord, Charles W .*

Seeley, George S. Stickney, Charles .*

Bryant, George W. Burchstead, John. Butmao, William A. Crampsey, Isaac. Crafts, Samuel 0.$ Donegan, Themas J. Ferguson, Jere. W. Grush, Joseph.%

Lovett, Francis S. Lovett, Josiah W. Marshall, George W. Pickett, Charles H. Pierce, George W. Pierce, George W., 2d.

Taylor, John M. Teague, William A. Thissell, Jonas .* Thissell, Nichelas S. Tuttle, C. Frank .* Webber, Timothy R. Webber, Tristam L. .

Hall, Benjamio D. Harwood. Francis. Haskell, George E.

Porter, Nathaniel, Jr .* Woodbury, Benjamin." * Deceased.

BEVERLY'S WAR RECORD.2-The whole number of men furnished to the army during the Civil War, un- der the various calls, was as follows:

April 16, 1861 -Three months' men 75 June 17, 1861 .- Three years' men (rec. as bounty $17,100) ... 172 July 4, 1862 .- Three years' men (rec. as bounty $9,900) ..... 140 August 4, 1862 .- Nine months' men (rec. as bounty $10 000) 101 March 14, July 8 and December 19, 1864 .- Three years' men and one two years (received as bounty $24,020) ...... 127 Also three years, including re-eulisted, who received ne bounty. 118

In addition to the above we have furnished, for ninety days 86 For one hundred days. 77 Making a total of 896 men, and $61,120 in bounties, of which the State refunded $18,600.

Besides the foregoing, some hundred at least of the Beverly men have served in the army for other pla- ces, aud nearly as many more have served in the uavy.

The whole number of Beverly men who have died in the army and navy is about ninety, or ten per cent. of the whole number enlisted,-a much less percent- age than that of our early California emigration.

A reception to our esteemed veterans was given Angust 4, 1865, when the day was observed as a gen- eral holiday. Soldiers and citizens marched in pro- cession to Standley's Grove (where the tables were spread), marshalled by Col. John W. Raymond, of the military veterans, and Masters' Mates George P. Abbott and George Woodbury, of the navy.

RECAPITULATION .- The number of enlistments from Beverly in the United States army during the Rebellion was 608; in the navy, 74; total, 682. The whole number of enlistments, counting re-enlistments for nine months, one hundred days and three years, was 988. The several calls of the government for men were promptly met, and at the close of the war Beverly stood credited with a surplus of 90 men, suf- ficient to meet her quota on a call of 300,000 men, had it been given. Beverly furnished 32 com- missioned officers from the army, most of whom were promoted from the ranks, A large number in the naval service also received commissions as volunteer officers.

Three military organizations represented our town in the army : Companies E, of the Eighth Regiment; G, of the Twenty-third; and K, of the Fortieth, while the rolls of almost every regiment from the eastern part of the State bore the names of Beverly men.

The effects of the war did not cease with the sur- render of Lee ; indeed, they may be traced to-day in the battle-scarred and maimed veterans yet in our midst.

1863 .- The street railway lines of Salem, introduced there in 1862, were extended through the business portions of Beverly.

In July, a mission service of the Episcopal Church was opened at Union Hall, under the charge of the

1 Holding this rank on their return.

2 From the Citizen, of August 5, 1865.

Bodea, James W. Bray, Benjamin .* Bradbury, Jacob. Breaden, Robert .* Brown, Robert W. Burke, Edward K .* Burke, Thomas .* Caldwell, Augustus. Caldwell, Jacob. Carrice, Charles. Carey, Robert, Jr. Caswell, Joseph W.

Clark, Nathaniel W.$

Luf kin, William H. Lull, Jehn.

Pickett, George A .*

Ferguson, Alfred W.

Floyd, Joseph M. Gavin, Thomas. Goodwin, Joseph D. Glidden, Austin .*

Randall, Lewis J. Reed, Perrio W .* Sands, Stepheo B. Southwick, Lakeman. Stecker, Charles H. Taylor, Charles W .* Taylor, William K.# Thissell, Ebenezer.

Corporals.

Musician, Addison A. Center .*

Andrews, Asa.

Pierce, Thomas L.

Poland, William H. B. Wentworth, Charles A. Poor, William H .* Wilbar, Henry.

Allen, Joseph C.

736

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

rector of St. Peter's, of Salem, the Rev. Wm. R. Pickman. The following year Rev. S. H. Hilliard had it in charge, and in 1865 the church was erected at the corner of Cabot and Bow Streets, with Rev. Mr. Pickman as rector, until his removal to Michigan about a year later. Rev. F. M. Cookson was rector till 1870, and Rev. George Denham till Easter, 1872. From May 13, 1873, to 1878, the Rev. William G. Wells, succeeded by Rev. J. C. Wellwood. In 1885, Rev. Roland C. Smith.

1866 .- June 15th, Capt. John H. Chipman died of disease contracted in the service of his country, through exposure, wounds, and the cruelties of the infamous Libby prison. He was scarcely twenty- eight years old at the time of his death, yet had won for himself and the place of his birth the highest honors. He was a descendant in the third generation from the Rev. John Chipman, pastor of the Second Parish Church, 1715-75.

Captain Chipman volunteered with the Eighth at three hours' notice and left behind him a bride of but two months. He participated in the march to the capital, but was prostrated by hemorrhage from the lungs, and returned home. Rapidly recovering, he once more enlisted for nine months, serving which he returned, but was soon commissioned a captain in the Fifty-ninth Regiment, raising a company, and was assigned to Burnside's corps. At Cold Harbor he was accidentally wounded in the hand, came home on a furlough, but soon recovered, resumed his com- mand, and entered the rifle-pits before Petersburg. Soon after he was taken prisoner, and confined in sev- eral of the horrible pens in which the rebels kept their captives, and was not released until February, 1865. His constitution was now undermined by sick- ness, but he reported to his regiment as soon as re- covered sufficient'y, only to be honorably discharged. A year later he sank beneath his infirmities and soon was carried to the grave, having been preceded there- to, two months before, by his young and devoted wife.

The school district system was abolished, and an improved order of things educational inaugurated.

The first steam fire-engine was purchased this year.

1867 .- The first Methodist Church was organized April, 1867, with Rev. Allen J. Hall as pastor. Ser- vices were held in the town-hall at first, but a church and parsonage were built on Railroad Avenue in 1869, during the pastorate of Rev. J. M. Bailey. The church building was enlarged to its present dimen- sions in 1886, and is a conspicuous feature of the sec- tion in which it stands. In 1870 Rev. C. S. Rogers was settled here; in 1872, Rev. S. C. Jackson; in 1874, Rev. M. E. Wright; in 1877, Rev. A. P. Adams; in 1878, Rev. Daniel Waite; in 1881, Rev. Seth C. Cary; in 1883, Rev. John Capen; in 1885, Rev. James W. Barter.

1867 .- ANCIENT AND MODERN CEMETERIES .- An important addition was made to our cemetery

grounds in the purchase by the selectmen of about ten acres of the Bancroft estate, known as Walnut Hill. This hill, which commands one of the finest prospects in town, lies immediately east of Galley s Bridge.

Fifty years ago there were eight burial places in the township,-two near the second parish church, one in Dodge's Row, one at Ryal Side, one at the Farms and the three in the town proper. The oldest of which mention is made in the records is that near the vestry of the First Parish and intersected by Ab- bott Street, in which lie the remains of the first three ministers of Beverly,-Hale, Blowers and Champney. This was the only burial-place within the limits of the First Parish until 1790.

The earliest decipherable dates on stones in the an- cient burial-place are 1678, 1686, 1683, the last of which is at the grave of Rebecca, wife of Rev. John Hale.

The old graveyard of the Second Parish shows as its most ancient stone that at the grave of Joseph Herrick, bearing date 1717. It was opened 1715, and the first occupants were a child of John Dodge, Jr., and the wife of John Trask. The second cemetery here was laid out, near the meeting-house, in 1803. In the old Leach burial-lot at Ryal Side, is the un- marked grave of Reuben Kennison, the first Beverly soldier killed at the battle of Lexington.

In 1788 a lot of land was purchased near the com- mon, and the first grave there was that of Mary Allen, widow of Capt. Barnabas Allen, in January, 1790. Other stones here indicate the last resting-places of many famous in the eighteenth century and first part of the nineteenth.

An extension of the second cemetery was made in 1829, easterly towards the beautiful Walnut Hill, with which it was joined in 1867, forming one contin- uous tract of about forty acres.

LONGEVITY .- It may be interesting, in this connec- tion, to note some of the examples of longevity in the past, as shown by the grave-stones and the records of the town. On one stone in the Dane Street ceme- tery are the names of five members of the Appleton family, whose combined ages reach four hundred and four years, among them one who died at one hundred and three.

Beverly has had a good many nonogenarians, among those of the past half century being :

Huldalı Davis, who died in 1843, aged 96 years ; Lydia Appleton, 1845, 103 years, 8 monthe, 4 days ; Amos Trask, 1846, 91 ; Mrs. Judith Pick- ett, 1846, 92 ; Lney Gage, 1846, 98 ; Mollie Dodge, 1846, 91 ; Elizabeth Trask, 1849, 92; Anna Woodbury, 1849, 91; Anna Miller, 1851, 93 ; Sarah Trask, 1851, 95 ; Abigail Tarbell, 1851, 96 ; Phyllis Cane (colored), 1852, 90; Elizabeth Lowe, 1853, 96; Rose Larcom, 1853, 94; Mark Morse, 1854, 96 ; Susanna Standley, 1855, 93; Joanna Prince, 1856, 90 ; Asa Oeler, 1857, 91 ; Molly Trask, 1858, 90 ; Elizabeth Prince, 1858, 90; Miss Judith Pickett, 1858, 93 ; Chloe Turner, 1859, 95 ; Susanna Stone, 1859, 91 ; llannah Moulton, 1859, 91 ; Charity Glover, 1863, 93; Betsey Grant (who saw Washington on his visit to Beverly), 1863, 91 ; Eliza- beth Standley, 1864, 92; Moses Howard, 1866, 91 ; Mary Pierce, 1867, 93 ; John Falls, 1867, 92; David Tarbox, 1868, 9G; John Cressy, 1869, 94 ; Sumnel Thissell, 1870, 92; Catherine Lane, 1870, 91 ; Peter Homan

737

BEVERLY.

(who also siw Washington), 1871, 91 ; Sally Adams, 1873, 90; Jacob Groce, 1876, 96; Nancy Reynolds, 1876, 91; Mary Heard, 1877, 91; Willianı Dodge, 1877, 92; John Coleman, 1878, 91; Elizabeth Page, 1878, 95 ; Betsey Morse, 1878, 93; Lydia Stone, IS78, 90; Elizabeth Woodbury, 1879, 90; Nancy Stocker, 1879, 90; John Bradshaw, 1880, 93 ; Jesse Woodbury, 1881, 94; James Stone, 1881, 91; Mary Connolly, 1882, 90 ; Thomas Ferris, 1882, 90; Charlotte Smitli, 1883, 93; Judith Sands, 1883, 90 ; Margaret Brady, 1883, 94; Stephens Baker, 1883, 91; Margaret Roundy, 1884, 96; Elizabeth Wilkinson, 1884, 93 ; Nancy Morgan, 1885, 90 ; Joseph K. Russell, 1885, nearly 95 ; Abigail Young, 1886, 93 ; Lucinda Howard, 18S6, 90 ; Jane Hill, 1886, 90.

There are nearly sixty residents of Beverly, eighty years old and upwards, as follows :

Age.

Daniel Foster.

Andrew Larcom

Mrs. Lonisa Foster. 80

Mrs. Elsie Kent.

John Picket. 80

Mrs. Lucy K. Shaw 80

Mrs. Johanna P. Foster

Mrs. Adaline A. Wallis

Israel Trask

Paul H. Ober

John Clark 81

Mrs. Eben Smith

Mrs. Serena Ingersoll 82

David P. Roberts

Mrs. Robert Goodwin

Sullivan Brown 81

Francis A. Smith 81

Mrs. Abigail Prince

John O. Standley 82

William Ferguson 82

Mrs. Mary Preston.

Oliver D. Kinsman 82

Samnel Odell 82

Franklin Haven

Mrs. Nancy Webb. 82

Lyman Mason. 82

Mrs. Betsey Lefavour. S2

Hiram Preston. 83

MIrs. Emeline Caldwell 83

Israel Elliott

Mr. Corson 8-4

Mrs. Nabby Sheldon

Edward Burley 84

George Babcock 8-4

Mrs. Mary Vickery. 84

Ebenezer Rogers. 84

Mrs. Theresa Haskell 84

Mrs. Sarah O. Perry 84

Mrs. Abby Pedrick 84

Charles Marshall 85

Mrs. Mary Glidden 85

John Porter (died September ;, 1887) 85

Mrs. Sarah C. Tracy 85

Robert Goodwin 85

Mrs. Augusta Goodrich 86

Richard Clark 86

Benjamin Ludden. 86

Benjamin Preston (born the last day of the last month of the last century).

87 Mrs. Mary Kendall 87

Mrs. Nancy Sargent 87

William Endicott. 88

Mrs Hannah Leach 89

Mrs. Nancy Woodbury

Mrs. Nancy Trowt.

Thomas Hanners

Hannah Batchelder 91

Henry Wilson. 93

MIrs. Lydia Elliott .nearly 93

1868 .- Miss Joanna Quiner, who was born August 17, 1796, and died September 20, 1868, acquired more

than local fame as a sculptor, after she was forty years of age. Said the editor of the North American Re- view, July, 1843 :

" In a town more remarkable for the sober good sense and unostenta- tious manners of its inhabitants than for their tastes in the fine arts, the discovery of an undoubted genius is a remarkable event and deserving of record. Miss Quiner, of Beverly, with proper patronage and advan- tages, would take no mean rank among American artists. Without in- struction or cultivation of any sort, her talent for modeling in clay has already attracted much notice."

She died in poverty without having secured that recognition of her genius it so richly deserved. Her portrait, painted by Frothingham, was presented to the public library, and a highly appreciative sketch of her life and work appeared in the Citizen of about the date of her death.

Memorial Day, 1868, Post 89, G. A. R., placed iron " markers " at the head of every soldier's grave. They then identified one hundred and fifty in all; a list of names is given in the Citizen of November 2, 1868.

1869,-The Roman Catholic Church, organized this year, purchased and remodeled the house of worship formerly occupied by the First Baptist Society, and built a parsonage adjoining. It was dedicated in 1870 by the Very Rev. P. F. Lyndon, Vicar General of the Diocese of Boston, assisted by Rev. Fr. Singer, of St. Patrick's, Montreal, Rev. Fr. Haskins, of Boston, Rev. Fr. Delehanty, Rev. Fr. Higgins and Rev. J. J. Gray, of Salem. The first pastor was Rev. Fr. Sha- han, who was succeeded by Rev. Fr. Keiley, he by Rev. W. J. J. Denvir and he by Rev. W. H. Ryan.

At the Farms, in 1887, a handsome church was built for the Roman Catholics in that section, at a cost of eleven thousand dollars. It is one hundred and ten feet long, sixty-five in width, with seats for five hundred people.

It was dedicated October 9, 1887, by the Very Rev. Archbishop John J. Williams, assisted by several others, and is known as St. Margaret's.

1870 .- January 14th. This date died Charles Da- vis, at the age of seventy-four, a prominent and wealthy citizen who, at his death, left hequests to the Essex Institute, of Salem, and to the First Parish Sunday School, five thousand dollars each. He pass- ed most of his life on the homestead farm, inherited through his mother, near the head of Bass River. The old house here has a connection with witchcraft times, as having been the residence, in 1692, of Thomas Gage, who made deposition against one Dr. Toothaker. It is related that during the War of 1812 a brick oven containing rows of bean-pots stored full of Spanish dollars was bricked up, and the treasure there secreted was not disclosed till many years had passed. Not far away lies the homestead farm of Roger Conant, who came here in 1635, one of the "Old Pianters."

1871 .- Israel Whitney, a son of Dr. Elisha Whit- ney, died November 12th, aged seventy-four years; one of Boston's most respected merchants, and of Beverly's cherished sons, As a shipmaster, he was

738

HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

for many years in the employ of Israel Thorndike. His adventures as merchant captain were sometimes perilous, as when his ship "Beverly " was burned at sea, despite his heroic efforts to save her, and when he was exposed to great suffering in an open boat, for several days. Leaving the sea, he became interested in manufacturing, was for thirty-four years director in the Massachusetts Bank and for thirty years a di- rector in the National Insurance Company, besides having other interests in Boston.

He left nine children, six sons and three daugh- ters. His appreciation of the natural beauties of his native place was emphasized by early residence here, after his retirement from maritime life, in one of the most delightful retreats on the shore, near the mouth of Sallow's Brook.

1872 .- On the 28th January, died an old and highly-respected shipmaster of Beverly, Capt. Samuel Endicott, for a long time president of the Bank, and for forty years one of its directors.

Capt. Endicott was the seventh in the line of di- rect descent, from Gov. John Endicott, who came to Salem from England in 1629, as follows:

(1) Gov. John Endicott, (2) Samuel, (3) Samuel, (4) Samuel, (5) John, (6) Robert, (7) Samuel. He was born July 18, 1793, and was the son of Robert and Mary (Holt) Endicott, his mother being a daugh- ter of Rev. Nathan Holt, of Danvers. Capt. Endi- cott was a fine specimen of the shipmasters of the old school, and sailed for many years in the employ of that eminent Salem merchant, Joseph Peabody. He was for several years in command of the famous ship "George," whose arrival from Calcutta in the spring was as regularly looked for and realized as the recurrence of the months, and which was largely manned by Beverly sailors.

Two worthy citizens, whose lives of probity and industry as mechanics endeared them to all, passed away in January ; Deacon Joseph Wallis, at the age of sixty-five, long connected with the First Baptist Church and Sunday-school, and Reuben Herrick, at the age of sixty-seven years. Deacon Wallis lived in the house of Mr. Herrick, who had three sons in the Civil War: Reuben, Jr., who lost his life, and two others, Benjamin T., and Frank S., who served in the Union Army.

The new almshouse was finished in February, which is located on the side of the cedar-covered hill near Essex Street, commanding delightful prospects by sea and land. The main structure is fifty by sixty feet, with three stories, mansard roof and base- ment. It contains every convenience of the times, thirty-six furnished rooms for inmates, offices, etc.

The town owns real estate adjoining, to the extent of twenty-seven acres, the cost of which, with the buildings, was about twenty-five thousand dollars. Owing to its eligible location, and its natural ad- vantages, this property could, probably, be sold at any time at a price exceeding its total cost.

The town early gave attention to the condition of its poor, and the few paupers lived well, " boarding around " after the manner in which teachers of conn- try schools are even yet entertained. One of the con- ditions of contract with a pauper, in 1723, was that he should be "kept as a Christian ought to be kept," and doubtless he was. The name of a certain Joshua Turland frequently appears in the town records as the first supported at the town charge, heing enter- tained first by one substantial citizen, and then by another. The first almshouse was built in 1803, though the town voted to provide one nearly a cen- tury earlier. This was situated in Charity Court, near Essex Bridge, and during the latter years of its existence its hospitalities were severely taxed by numerous representatives of the genus "tramp." It was a comfortable old house, and gave a pleasant home to the poor and friendless, who had acquired a right of residence.

A notable character deceased January 17, 1872, in the person of a life-time inmate of the almshouse,- Hector Ross. This "child of natural and unbiased affection " was born in the poor-house, October 9, 1809; his mother, Joanna Stoutly, and his father, a French West Indian of color, reported of fabulous strength. Hector himself was of great strength (im- agining himself a Hercules), and though a little "off color," and in intellect a " little below the average," he was yet a great favorite with the children. Two or three generations have been amused by his vagar- ies, his droll stories and his comic songs. He had a quick wit and retentive memory, but his hallucina- tions possessed him completely. He claimed to re- semble the great Bonaparte (and his profile was in- deed markedly Napoleonic), although his color was that of rich mahogany. He firmly believed himself the rightful heir to immense wealth, which various citizens of the town, now one individual and now an- other, retained from him in their possession.

SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION .- There is nothing on record in regard to the education of the young prior to 1656, when a meeting-house was built and used as a school-room, which arrangement continued for eighteen years. In 1674 a school-house was built on the town's land near the meeting-house, twenty by sixteen feet and nine foot stud, which was also used for a watch-house. Samuel Hardie was the first school-master, at a salary of twenty pounds. He kept the school several years.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 199

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