History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 245

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 245

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"It appears by such papers as are to be found relating to Willard's case. that a coroner's jury was held over the body of Daniel Wilkins, of which Nathaniel Putnam was foreman.

" It is much to be regretted that the finding of that jury is lost. It would he a real curiosity. That it was very decisive to the point, af_ firmed by Mercy Lewis and Mary Walcot. That Daniel was chonked and strangled by the spectres of John Willard and Goody Buckley is ap parent from the manner in which Bray Wilkins speeks of it. In an ar gument between him and some persons who were expressing their con_ fidence in that John Willard was an innocent man he sought to relieve himself from responsibility for Willard's conviction by saying, 'It was not I, nor my son Benjamin Wilkins, but the the testimony of the af_ flicted persons, end the jury concerning the murder of my grandson, Daniel Wilkins, that would take away his life, if anything did.'

" Mr. Parris, of course, was in the midst of these proceedings at Will's Hill ; attended the visits of the afflicted girles when they went to nscertaio who were the witches murdering young Daniel Wilkins and torturing the old man ; was present. no doubt, at the solemn examination and investigations of the sages who Fat as a jury of inquest over the former, and, in all likelihood, møde, as usual, a written report of the same. As soon as he got back to his house he discharged his mind and indorsed the verdict of the coroner's jury by this characteristic inser- tion in his church records : 'Dan Wilkins, bewitched to death.' The very next entry relates to a ense of which this obituary line in Mr. Parris' church book is the only intimation that has come down to us. 'Dangh- ter to Anne Douglas by witchraft I doubt not.' Willard's examination was at Beadle's, on the 18th. With this deluge of accusationsand tempest of indignation beating upon him, he had but little chance, and was com- mitted. While the marshals and constables were in pursuit of Willard, the time was well improved by the prosecutors."- UPHAM.

This is a part of our town history, and gives a very good idea of the prevailing sentiment on the public mind in regard to witheraft at that time.

John Willard appears to have been an honest and amiable person, an industrious farmer, having a com- fortable estate, with a wife and three young children. He was called grandson of Bray Wilkins, but whether by marriage or blood relation we know not. He

came from Groton ; and whether he was a brother or relative of Rev. Samuel Willard, of Boston, it is for the local antiquaries to discover. If so it would add still greater interest to this narrative. Margaret, the widow of John Willard, married William Towne.

1700. - Ebenezer Stiles (son of Rohert, who married Elizabeth Fry October 4, 1660, came from Yorkshire, England, with Rev. Ezekiel Rogers), came from Box- ford (born on the site of Deacon Cowles' house), and bought a tract of land of "Lawrence Lacy, of Ando- ver, and in the township of Andover, four-score rods long and three-score rods wide." Lacy, in deeding it to Stiles, says it is the same that I had of the town of Andover for "quality." Duality, a state of being two, most of the land is still owned by his dscendants. He was the first of the name settled here (his house stood on the left bank of Beech Brook, cellar now seen), and with his son Ebenezer, Jr., helped form the church here in the new town in 1729, his house just coming within its bound -. This son Ebenezer married Sarah Howe April 23, 1733, and built the house now standing, owned by H. A. Stiles, brother of the writer.

In this same neighborhood, soon after, was Timo- thy Perkins, now G. H. Tufts' place (this house per- haps the oldest in town), and further down that of Joseph Fuller, grandson of Thomas-house now standing called the old Fuller farm-house, and quite ancient.

As this town belonged in four parts to other towns before incorporated, it is only by great labor that these far away days' doings can be brought to light, mixed as they are, with the records of other places and people. The house of Bray Wilkins stood near the end of the walk, as it comes down the hill near the Emerson house, on Pond Road. An old house was taken down by Maj. Solomou Wilkins (near the Weston place), supposed to have been very old, and for many generations the home of Bray Wilkins' de- scendants, also the Thomas house, near by, belonged to this Wilkins family, and is very ancient.

The house in which Mr. George A. Currier now lives was built abont 1710, by a son or grandson of the first Thomas Fuller ; also the gambrel-roof house near by was the home of Timothy Fuller's son, and is older than the town. There was an old house a little south of the Esq. Daniel Fuller house, occu- pied by the Fuller's descendants of the first Robert.

The Peabodies and Symonds families resided in the east part of the town. Three brothers (Peabody's), as follows: Samuel M. Peabody place, Augustus Curtis place and John Averill place. Samuel Symonds was on the box-factory place many years before the town was incorporated, and remained in the family till within forty years. Samuel H. Wilkins' house belonged to the Elliot family, and east of this was John Willard's, the victim of witchcraft.

The Asa Howe farm has long been in the family, and the house was the residence of John Howe,

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MIDDLETON.

father of Esquire Asa Howe, who was the grand- father of said Asa, now upon the place. Just be- yond this place (the cellar is now seen) was the residence of Isaac Berry, brother of Nathaniel Berry, grandfather of the late Deacon Allen Berry.

On the cross-road, a little east of the farm of David Richardson, (whose house and building were recently burned), was a farm owned by a Berry family, all of whom died of small-pox; the bnild- ings tumbled down; no one cared to go near the place. Their remains were buried in the corner of the field on the other side of the road. The disease was conveyed to them by their dog from Andover, at the house of Peter Towne, (the house is now standing), whose wife died with the small-pox, which is supposed to have been given her in a pinch of snuff by a rejected lover. The Berrys owned a wood-lot a little beyond this house and the dog, in company with the team, rolled as is supposed, on some of the waste thrown out at the back-door. This occurred more than a century ago.

The original home of the Esty family was across the railroad, east of the house of Mr. Walden Batchelder.

The town records of Topsfield, July 2d, 1728. To see what the town will do concerning the families that have petitioned not to be set off to Will's Hill, (their names), Thomas Robinson, Job Averill, John Cummings and Daniel Towne (the latter probably was the one chosen for schoolmaster), which might have a good influence at that time, to bring them into the town limits, though for some years Tops- field pretended to claim to the foot of the hill, by the road below the house of Mr. George P. Wilkins. All these families resided in the neighborhood of Nichols' Brook. There are quite a number of cellar holes now seen in this portion of the town.

North and west of this Nichols Brook settlement, was Boxford, which lost by the setting off of Mid- dleton, six hundred acres of land, and one hundred of their population. Incorporation of Middleton, June 20th, 1728.

The original charter has recently been found, thongh in three pieces, can yet be read ; it is written in a bold and elegant hand. After briefly stating the boundary lines, two years are allowed "to pro- cure a suitable place for the worship of God, and likewise to settle a learned orthodox minister, and hire a scho ,l-master to instruct their yonng."

The town met (as they then had a suitable place), at the house of Dr. Daniel Felch, (cellar now seen opposite house of the late Addison Tyler). (Formerly this place was owned by William Way).

This charter was presented to the people by Jonathan Fuller (a grandson of Thomas). Two years previons to this time the bounds of the town had been contemplated, and probably made for the action of the court to grant their prayer for to be organized into a town, and had mntnally engaged | iel Towne as schoolmaster.

in putting up an oak frame building for a place of worship forty feet square and about twenty-two feet post ; the frame stood several years before being covered, as the location did not give entire satis- faction, but subsequently " voted to finish our meet- ing-house where it now stands," yet it was in bad condition till 1731, and even up to 1802, the house was in the form of a barn with only a few windows, with no inner doors, or porches, or plastering, save the walls, which were plastered to the gable-ends, with no plastering over-head, till the latter date. During this time the great braces of oak timber remained, which went from the floor to the posts about mid- way np, then another long brace from the same mortice in the post up to the great beam overhead, and these beams or plates were only eight feet dis- tance apart, which with all these braces must have caused the interior of the house to look like a dense wood lot. Doubtless a small boy could lay close upon one of these braces undiscovered by the tithing man through the service. The wall pews were sold when the house was first occupied, and the seats in the body of the house gave way to pews in 1802, when there were added, the porches, new windows and a sounding-board or canopy, and all was newly painted, even the roof, after which it went to decay, and was bought by the writer forty years ago, and taken down.

THE FIRST MINISTER .- A meeting was called Tuesday, the 16th day of November, 1729. Lieuten- ant Thomas Fuller was chosen moderator, and the answer of Rev. Andrew Peters to the town accepted, and the second Wednesday in November appointed for ordination. A committee was chosen to join with Mr. Peters in the choice of some neighboring elders to assist in the ordination.

Mr. John Berry, Lieutenant Thomas Fuller and Joseph Wright composed the committee.

" Voted, to support the charges of ordination by a free contribution. Voted, to raise seven shillings upon single votes to a hundred-pound vote. Mr. Peters' salary was a hundred pounds per year in province bills ur passable money so long as he should continue his work among us, and that his salary shall rise or fall as money shall."

The town met again the 23d of October (1729), and chose David Kenney moderator ; Francis Eliott, Sar- geant Jonathan Fuller, Isaae Wilkins and Daniel Kenney to receive both money and provisions for the ordination ; the house of Jonathan Fuller appointed for entertainment of ministers and messengers, and the house of Francis Eliott for the scholars.

The next thing in order was to form a church. This took place October 22, 1729, with fifty-two members; eleven more were added the following year. From this we judge the population to have been about four hundred or four hundred and fifty. The November 26th following, Rev. Andrew Peters, a graduate of Harvard College, and son of Samuel Peters, of Andover, was settled as minister, and Dan-

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Of those who formed the church, twenty-five came from Salem Village, nine from Topsfield and eleven from Boxford.

The ordination of a minister, which was for life, was a great event in those days. From all the towns around they flocked to Middleton for a feast ; all doors were opened, and tables loaded with the best of good things, and it was not an uncommon thing for individuals to boast that they had called at every house on the way home, and took something to eat or drink at each, and in some cases they rested on the way till their stomachs were relieved of its unwonted burden.

As near as can be ascertained, the ordination took place on the 26th day of November, 1729. Mr. Pe- ters was then twenty-nine years of age. He remained twenty-seven years. He was a devoted minister, and the church prospered under his ministry. He died October 6, 1756, aged fifty-five years. His remains were interred in the Fuller burying-ground, and a stone marks his last resting-place. For nearly five years before his death he was unable to supply the pulpit from sickness. What his complaints were we have not learned. Very little is recorded of his wife Hannah; her name is not found on the church records. Mr. Peters was of a very social nature, and perhaps a little eccentric.

It is said that Mr. Peters had a negro servant that drove his master's cows to pasture up by the pond, and at that time the road went round by the old Timothy Fuller house (now standing by the grave- yard). Fuller was rather a lawless man, and often loved to bother people, especially those whom he could intimidate. The negro complained to his mas- ter of these insults, and forthwith Mr. Peters under- took to drive the cows, and he found the hectorer of his negro and expostnlated with him, but without sat- isfaction. Then Mr. Peters took off his coat and laid it upon a stump, saying, "Lay there divinity, while I whip a rascal," and gave him a sound thrashing. At another time, when looking after his cattle near Will's Hill, he entered the hut of old Willis, the In- dian (the last of his race in town), and his squaw asked him to take dinner with her. He first asked what she had; she answered, "Skunk." Well, he thought he would not stop then, but perhaps some other time would. Not long after he again found himself under the cover of her tent or shanty, and, knowing that he loved cels, she had prepared a most tempting dish, which he did not decline, and ate heartily ; after which the old, cunning sqnaw came to his side and said,-" You say you no eat skunk, but you eat rattlesnake," and so he had, but without any harm, as all Indians know they are good eating.

Mr. Peters was born near the old North meeting- house, and the cellar of his old home is now visible, and still in the Peters possession up to a late death. Mr. Peters bought the Dr. Daniel Felch place, took down the house, and built a new one back of the

meeting-house, which was taken down about fifty years since; cellar now seen.

We will now follow the succession of pastors and the ecclesiastical history up to the present time.

After the death of Mr. Peters, for nearly three years several votes were passed by the town to supply the pulpit with some young gentleman from month to month (Dana, Brown and others preached in turns); and finally gave a call to Rev. Elias Smith (I think he was from Baintree; not sure). Mr. Smith was then thirty years of age, and was a graduate of Har- vard College and a successful pastor. He was settled January 10, 1759.

We notice a vote passed to give Mr. Smith one hundred and sixty pounds lawful money for his settle- ment (a sort of bonus in those days), and then voted sixty-five pounds, thirteen shillings and four pence for his salary ; and at a subsequent meeting the town voted thirteen shillings, and another meeting soon after thirteen shillings more; and, to add more at- tractiveness to the old meeting-house, voted two pounds for repairs, and this clinched the bargain, and the ordination went on, and money was voted to be taken out of the town treasury to pay its expenses.

Mr. Smith once had a call from Marblehead, which he refused, saying,-" I would not leave my little flock in Middleton for all Marblehead." He was one of the trustees of Philips Academy, and so remained till his death, which took place October 17, 1791, aged sixty-one years. His was a ministry of nearly thirty-three years. His remains were placed in the tomb near his house.1 Two of his daughters were school-teachers, and one of them taught in the old Fuller house, which stood a little south of the house now occupied by Jeremiah Fuller, referred to before.

Rev. Elias Smith owned the farm which belonged to the late Abijah Fuller, but his house was moved about sixty years ago to the turnpike road, and now owned by George A. Currier. This, however, is but half of the house; the other half was the same size, and stood at right angles with the other, one facing south, the other west. Timothy Fuller owned a mill just below Smith's farm (the old dam is yet visible), which flowed the meadow in front of his house. Few men dared to tackle Fuller in the law, as he was almost always successful, and he was very often in the law, in which he had plenty of money to spend to gratify his overbearing spirit. But Mr. Smith beat him this time, to the great satisfaction of the people. Smith employed as counsel John Adams. Probably this trial took place before Adams was President of the United States.

Perhaps it would be well here to state that it was the practice in those early times in New England to seat the meeting house (so-called) once in a year ; or

1 This tomb was built about a century ago by Captain Joseph Peabody, of Salem (the millionaire), and Mr. Smith in company. Penbody mar- ried two of Smith's dangbters, whose remains rest in the tomb with their father.

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MIDDLETON.

twice, at most. While the wall pews extended all around the house, and were sold to some of the first families in town (and occupied by their descendants till since the remembrance of the writer), the body of the house contained seats, and a committee was chosen to seat the meeting-house. First, regard was had for old age, and they were probably seated up towards the pulpit. Next in order were those who paid the highest rates. The question as to who was the richest, and, by good rights, deserved the higher seat, when so little care was taken in assessing taxes, for which no compensation was made (till within six- ty years), was a most difficult question, and many were dissatisfied : and on some dark and stormy night the seats were all torn down, and so found on the fol- lowing Sabbath morning. Says an old lady (who first entered the church on Sunday morning and the first to discover the wanton act), "If judgment begin at the house of God what will the end be ?" The town met and voted to build them up; again they came down : now they voted to build them up, and if they come down again, each man should build up his own seat. After this they stood till 1802.

After the death of Mr. Smith, the town hired, from month to month, preachers till October 23, 1793, when they settled Rev. Solomon Adams, a graduate of Harvard College, who remained twenty years. He died September 4, 1813, aged fifty-two years. His remains rest in the tomb with his predecessor, and the last of our ministers, whose remains are found among the people of their charge.

The health of Mr. Adams failed some few years he- fore he gave up preaching, and with great difficulty he ascended the high pulpit, by reason of a palsy shock, and an extra rail was spiked on to the great protruding timbers near the pulpit to raise himself up step by step. He would often forget the order of ex- ercises, and put the singing in where it did not be- long. During this time Deacon Benjamin Peabody (brother of old Captain Joseph, the millionaire of Salem) would read a sermon while Mr. Adams would offer the prayers and, with the help of Peabody, would conduct the other exercises.

Adams owned the farm of his predecessor, which, with school-teaching and his little salary, gave him a comfortable support.

" There is an intention of marriage, entered with me, between the Rev. Solomon Adams, of Middleton, and Miss Abigail Fiske, of Walt- ham, July 14th, 1794.

" BENJAMIN PEABODY, Town Clerk."

Mrs. Adams and her young family the writer well remembers ; their pew in the church was the first at the foot of the pulpit stairs, which was at its right- hand side. Some ten years after Mr. Adams' death the widow sold the farm to Mr. Abijah Fuller (a de- scendant of the first Thomas who had located on this very site one hundred and sixty-one years before), who took down half of the old house and sold the other half to be moved to the turnpike, as before

mentioned, and built the house now standing, owned hy Charles O. Frost. Mrs. Adams, in conveving the house and farm to Fuller, sold also the old eight-day clock, supposed to have been bought by Adams soon after his marriage. This clock remained in the fam- ily till after Mr. Fuller's death, when Mr. Edward Page, of Boston (who married a daughter of Rev. Solomon Adams, of Boston, and granddaughter of the old minister), and moved the clock to Boston, where it now gives the correct time, as it did nearly a a century ago.

Then again the town was without a minister about three years, when Rev. Ebenezer Hubbard was set- tled November 27, 1816, and dismissed April 30, 1828, -he remained twelve years. His salary was five hundred dollars. He owned a farm near the church, now the Richardson place. Mr. Hubbard was a very pleasant speaker, and gave great satisfaction, espe- cially to those who liked liberal views of Christian doctrines. Long sermons were listened to by a full house, discontented ones who had signed to other places of worship out of town (for, by the law then, all all must pay a minister tax somewhere), came back, and there was a great show of prosperity outwardly, but soon the storm came, by the unwise speeches and words dropped by Mr. Hubbard, a meeting was called, and, as Mr. Hubbard was settled for life (and the last of our ministers so settled), they voted him five hundred dollars to relinquish the bargain between them.

We well remember his farewell discourse, in which he said "you would have plucked out your own eyes and have given them to me, but now you are offended because I have told you the truth."

Mr. Hubbard was born in Marblehead, and a grad- uate of Harvard College of the class of 1805. He resided for some time in Ipswich, had a call from Boxford in 1808, which he refused on account of in- sufficient salary being offered, and subsequently set- tled in West Newbury in 1811. After leaving Mid- dleton he was settled in Lunenburgh, Mass., and re- mained but a few years. He made the last call on us in Middleton in the spring of 1835. He had an in- teresting wife and family. While here he lost a son about fourteen years of age, whose remains were laid in the old tomb, with the consent of old Captain Peabody; and when the latter's widow died, a few years ago, at an advanced age, and, by her son George, her remains were brought to this tomb as the last to be laid therein (before the last great slab was to cover it forever), the body of Mr. Hubbard's child was discovered, and great inquiry was made as to who it was, this inquiry was soon settled by the writer, as this young man was an intimate friend of his.

Then for the fourth time the three years again elapsed before the call was given to Rev. Forrest Jefferds, in 1831. Meanwhile, students from An- dover, and a Rev. Mr. Farley and others, had sup-

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

plied the pulpit, and but little interest was taken in religious matters, except by a few who had, with the Andover students, re-established the Sabbatlı-school, we say re-established, because Solomon Adams, son of the old minister, had started the school as early as 1819, but it was soon run down when he and David Russell, its main supports, left town.

This call, however, was subsequently voted down by one majority (after one or two meetings of tie votes) of those who desired unevangelical preaching. When the last vote was made known, Deacon Joseph Peabody said, "Those of you who approve of such preaching as we have had for the last four Sab- baths, please to withdraw to the southeast corner of the house," and leading the way, they then and there resolved to leave the house of worship occupied by them and their fathers a hundred years. Till within a few years the house had no warming appar- atus; now the stove, Sabbath-school library, church furniture and the old tankards and cups, together with the church funds and even the church records must be given up. The records were subsequently return- ed, though not for twenty years, and after the death of one of the two male members who did not go with the church. There were only four of the church members left behind. Such fidelity in bearing testi- mony to the truth, as shown by these now outcasts, was a wonder after such unevangelical doctrines had been preached by the two last settled pastors. Such occurrences, however, took place in a large number of towns in New England about the same time.

Those few left behind soon died ; none were even added to their number; the parish held now and then a meeting on the Sabbath ; never 'organized a Sabbath-school, or held a meeting, and subsequently passed a vote calling themselves the First Universal- ist Society, by which name they now are known. The old house stood some fifteen years longer and became very dilapidated, and was sold to the writer for sixty dollars and taken down and sold for fire-wood. A few of its boards and timbers are still preserved as relics.

This was the saddest day the Church had ever seen. They hired the Centre school-house for a place of worship. Mr. Jefferds cast in his lot with them, and was settled May 2d, 1832. The same year the new meeting-house was built ; the builder was Jacob Dodge Wenham, (which is now occupied as a dwelling-house by Mr. Samuel Peabody, son of Joseph, before mentioned), costing two thousand dollars, of which only about seven hundred dollars could be raised on account of the poverty of the people. The balance was given by outside parties, through the intercession of Mr. Washington Berry, (God bless their memories), whose sympathies were enlisted in our behalf, and for many years the Home Missionary Society aided us in the sum of two hun- dred and fifty dollars per year. In twenty-eight years the society had not only become self-supporting, but had out-grown their house of worship, purchased.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 245

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