History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 88

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 88

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BIRTHS AND MARRIAGES, 1886 .- Number of births, 1296 ; number of marriages, 616.

Under the sub-titles "Libraries" and "Schools " may be found statistics relating to those institutions, and under "BURIAL-PLACES" will appear certain vital statistics.

And here, perhaps, is the proper place to enumer- ate some of the institutions, associations and societies for benevolent, moral, social and recreative purposes, of which Lynn has a large number. They are, gener- ally, worthy of honorable recognition, and some are. deserving of great praise. It would hardly be practi- cable even to name them all here, nor is it necessary, as several are spoken of elsewhere. Yet a little space may be allowed, the name of the organization gener- ally indicating its character. Among them are .- Associated Charities (the object being to discreetly distribute the means contributed for charitable pur- poses.), Board of Fire Insurance Underwriters, 7 clubs for religious, social, political, mutual improvement and recreative purposes. There are also 3 bicycle and 4 boat clubs, and 1 shooting club. Female Benevo- lent Society, Firemen's Relief Association, Free Pub- lic Forest Association, Grand Army of the Republic, Home for Aged Women, Houghton Horticultural So- ciety, Inebriates' Home, Knights of Honor, Knights of Labor, Knights of Pythias, Lasters' Protective Union, Lynn Hospital, McKay Stitchers' Union, 4 Masonic lodges (spoken of elsewhere), Mechanics' Exchange, Medical Society, 9 mutual benefit associa- tions - among them the Workingmen's Aid Associa- tion and the Accident Association, 12 Odd Fellows'

lodges, Press Association, Sanitary Association, Shoe and Leather Association, Teamsters' Union, 10 tem- perance organizations, Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation.

LYNN BANKS .- There are now (1887) in Lynn five banks of discount, with an aggregate capital of $1,100,000, to wit: First National, capital, $500,000 ; Central National, $200,000 ; National City, $200,000; National Security, $100,000; Lynn National, $100,000. There are also two savings banks, namely, Lynn In- stitution for Savings and Lynn Five-Cents Savings Bank, with aggregate deposits, January 1, 1887, to the amount of $4,710,000.

LYNN POST-OFFICE .- The business of a post-office may, perhaps, ordinarily be taken as a fair indicator of the business of the place in which it is located. The Lynn post-office was established in 1793, before which time the mail matter of the people here was distributed through the Boston office. Fifty years ago, that is in 1835, the gross amount of postage ac- cruing at the Lynn office, all told, for the year ending October 1st, was $2,459.28 ; and the increase of bus- iness to the present time is indicated by the following items for the year ending Decemher 30, 1886:

Receipts from sale of stamps, stamped envelopes aud postal cards .. .$50,452.97 Expenditures for salaries, rent, gas, etc. 23,671.88

Excess of receipt ever expenditures. $26,781.09

Number of pieces delivered by carriers .3,214,985 Number of pieces collected by carriers. .. 1,276,030

There are six daily mails, Sunday excepted, to Boston and the South, and four to the East. Fifty years ago the government did not provide carriers to deliver and collect mail matter, a fact that, no doubt, has had something to do with the increase of corre- spondence. The rates of postage were much higher than at present. The postage on a single letter from Lynn to New York, for instance, was 182 cents, a fact which induced many to send by private hand when opportunity offered. But the postage was not required to be paid in advance, a circumstance, one might think, encouraging to correspondence. A penny post began to run about town in 1812; but he was not em- ployed by government, individuals paying him at the rate of two cents a letter. The first postmaster was Colonel James Robinson, and he kept the office on Boston Street near the corner of North Federal. He was a soldier of the Revolution ; was succeeded in 1802 by Major Ezra Hitchings, reared a large family of sons and daughters and died, in 1832, in reduced circumstances, being the recipient, during his latter years, of a small pension.

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CHAPTER XIV.

LYNN -- (Continued).

ECCLESIASTICAL.

Religious Societies, their Formation and Growth-Sketches of Early Ministers -Houses of Worship and their Equipment-Statistical Details.

" The sermon, learned long and cold ; The psalm in graveyard metre told ; But piety, right deep and true, Each exercise ran through and through."

-JORDAN.

CONSIDERING the chief cause of the occupation of bleak New England, it would naturally be supposed that the very first public institution in a settlement would be a church. But Lynn was some three years without a minister. Very likely, however, some sort of public religious services were held, especially on the Lord's day.

FIRST CHURCH .- The first church of Lynn, the fifth in the Bay colony, was gathered in 1632; and it remains at this day one of the three or four of the early churches that have preserved their fidelity to the ancient Puritanical faith. Almost every one of the old churches has become Unitarian or Univer- salist.

The church here appears to have commenced in a way not in accordance with Puritanical or Orthodox order. But whatever irregularity existed was cured by the decision of a council held in March, 1635, "that, although the church had not been properly formed, yet, after-consent and practice of a church estate had supplied that defect, so all were recon- ciled." The church was instituted by Rev. Stephen Bachiler, who arrived with his family in June, 1632, the chief inducement for his coming probably being that he had a daughter residing here, the wife of Christopher Hussey. There came with him six per- sons who had belonged to his church in England, and to these, with such settlers as chose to join them, he commenced ministrations, withont installation. He was then of the ripe age of seventy-one years, and appears to have retained great vitality, both mental and physical. He was a man of at least sin- gular characteristics ; was high-tempered and ex- tremely tenacious. There was soon serious disturb- ance among his little flock, and gross scandals began to circulate, insomuch that in four months after his arrival the court was appealed to, and that august body thus decreed :

" Mr Batchelr is required to forbeare exerciseing guifts as a pastr or teacher publiquely, in or pattent, unlesse it be to those hee brought with him, for his contempt of anthority, & till some scandles be removed."

This sentence, however, was soon after annulled. But the difficulty was not healed ; other questions and scandals arose, and the court was again appealed to.

Finally, on his promise to leave town within three months, the proceedings were discontinned. He was here about four years. Afterwards he was at New- bury and Hampton, of which latter place he was one of the first settlers. He subsequently pitched his tent in one or two other places. But in 1651 he re- turned to England, where, at the age of ninety, he married his fourth wife, his third still living here, and apparently of a reputation by no means unblem- ished. She petitioned the court for a divorce, but no record of the fate of the petition is found. Mr. Bachiler died near London in 1660, in the one hun- dredth year of his age. His descendants, and there are many hereabout, take some pride in the fact that Daniel Webster, the eminent statesman, and Mr. Whittier, the poet, trace their genealogical lines to him.

Rev. Samuel Whiting, the successor of Mr. Bachi- ler, was installed on the 8th of November, 1636. He was descended from a long line of honorable ances- tors, and was a son of Sir John Whiting, mayor of old Boston, England, in 1600 and 1608. His brother John was also mayor four years and his brother James one year. Samuel, the minister, was born in 1597, and at the age of sixteen was entered at Eman- uel College. He was an apt student, received the degree of A.B. in 1616, and that of A.M. in 1620. Afterwards he received the degree of D.D. His father died while he was in college, leaving a very considerable estate. Emanuel College, as is well known to readers of Puritan history, was called "the hot-bed of Puritanism," and it was while there, no doubt, that he imbibed those principles which grew with his growth, and strengthened with his strength -those principles which so strongly marked his whole life. It is well to bear in mind that what were known as the Puritan principles of that day had ref- erence not only to church, but also to state. It was not only the grand purpose to purify the church of obnoxious rites and ceremonies, but also to free the people from governmental oppression and wrong-to circumscribe the royal prerogatives, defend against the encroachments and reduce the privileges of the aristocracy ; in short, to break down every barrier to the reasonable exercise of individual right, freedom and responsibility.

Mr. Whiting took orders in the Church of England soon after graduating, and became chaplain in a refined and wealthy family in Norfolk. After re- maining there about three years, apparently in great prosperity and happiness, he accepted a rectorship in Lynn Regis as colleague of Rev. Dr. Price. In that situation he remained three years, administering his office acceptably, excepting his refusal to conform to certain required usages in the established church ser- vice ; in brief, he was a Non-conformist, subjected himself to the censure of the Bishop of Norwich, and was induced to resign and remove to the parish of Shirbeck, near Boston, where he again filled the

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

office of rector, and again came under censure for non-conforming practices.

In 1636 his situation became so uncomfortable that he resigned, and prepared to emigrate to America. The same year, 1636, in which he resigned his charge at Skirbeck, he cmigrated to America, arriving in May. He does not appear to have greatly enjoyed the voyage liither, as he remarks that he would " much rather have undergone six weeks' imprison- ment for a good cause than six weeks of such terrible seasickness." A few months after his arrival, No- vember 8, 1636, at the age of thirty-nine, he was installed minister of the little church here at Lynn.

Mr. Whiting was twice married. His second part- ner, she who accompanied him hither, and whose remains peacefully slumber in our old burial-place, near the west end of the Common, could claim family descent more illustrious than his, for she could trace her lineage, without a break, to William the Con- queror. She was a sister of Oliver St. John, the chief justice of England during the commonwealth, and own cousin of Oliver Cromwell. But all the incidents of birth and family on his and her part, incidents which to so many, even here and among us of this day, possess a peculiar charm, seem to have weighed nothing in comparison with their strong sense of dnty.

The young conple, as they then were, apparently without one longing look behind, left the bright scenes, the comforts and luxuries of their early homes, crossed the stormy ocean, and bravely en- tered this western wilderness, with stont hearts, to fight the battle of civilization. Nobly did they ad- dress themselves to their chosen work, and great was their success. The beneficial results of their coming did not by any means end with their lives. Children were born to them, and children's children have appeared in every path of usefulness, and adorned our whole history. The entire nation has received benefits hardly capable of being over-esti- mated. Some of their descendants have been con- spicuous in theological, scientific and literary call- ings; others have filled useful and honorable positions in the national civil service; others, again, have risen to eminence in the military profession. One needs only to glance over a dictionary of American biography to learn how meritorions the family has proved.

Mr. Whiting, as might readily be supposed, took great interest in the education of the youth of the town, and, together with his accomplished wife, did everything possible to refine the manners and elevate the condition of every class. He took unwearied pains to advance every material interest-to improve the husbandry, the fisheries, the mechanic arts-indeed, all branches required for the supply of current and prospective wants. And all the time he never lost sight of opportunities to promote the broader interests of the little community, vigilantly guarding against the imposition of wrongful burdens by the General

Court, through misinformation or selfish appliances, and laboring in every honest way to elevate and dig- nify her name. The town grew apace during the forty years he continued so devoted to her concerns ; and it was a healthy growth.

It is not to be forgotten that many of the clergy of that day had very great influence in the direction of public affairs. Indeed, it was common for the execu- tive, legislative, and even the judicial authorities, to apply to them for the solution of intricate questions and the determining of principles. Many, if not most of them, had, like Mr. Whiting, been ministers in the Church of England, and were men of learning and deep thought. The very experiences that induced their emigration often arose from their advanced views of human rights and political liberty. It is to be remembered, too, that at that period the settle- ment of a minister was, nnder ordinary circumstances, expected to be for life; not a mere temporary sojourn, as is so often the case in our day. And it will readily be perceived how much greater the opportunity of the faithful pastor then was to inaugurate and sustain pursuits calculated to be permanently beneficial, the long continuance of his fostering care ensuring results that under frequent change conld never be attained, at the same time receiving his own reward in contemplating the regenerating effects of his godly teaching.

No sooner had Mr. Whiting commenced his min- istrations to the little flock here than the discordant elements that had disturbed it, and the whole com- munity as well, under his predecessor, were harmon- ized, and old and young gathered around him in delightful sympathy and trust-exemplifying the truth that mental strength, coupled with genial manners, is potent to secure confidence and love.

The remains of that good old man were laid away for their everlasting repose in the then quiet village burial-place, overshadowed by ancient forest-trees, where but a small company had then been gathered, but where now lie an innumerable host, all heedless of the stately edifices that one by one have arisen around, and undisturbed by the tramp of the busy multitude. The spot where he rests is marked by a simple granite shaft, rearcd, a few years since, by the Hon. William Whiting, of Boston, a direct de- scendant, who himself rendered such eminent service to our government during the most trying period of the War of the Rebellion, and who has been since called to join his honored ancestor in the land whence none return. In the names of Whiting School and Whiting Street is the memory of this beloved min- ister perpetuated.

At this point it may be well to give the pastoral succession in this, the First Church of Lynn, with the dates at which the pastorates began, and append a few notes on some whose names appear therein.

1632. Stephen Bachiler. 1636. Samnel Whiting.

1637. Thomas Cobbet (colleague). 1680. Jeremiah Shepard.

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1680. Joseph Whiting (colleague).

1832. David Peabody.

1720. Nathaniel Henchman.

183G. Parsons Cooke.

1763. John Treadwell.

1865. James M. Whiton.

1784. Obadiah Parsons.

1872. Stephen R. Dennen.

1794, Thomas C. Thatcher.

1876. Walter Barton.

1813. Isaac Hurd.

1885. Frank J. Mundy.

1818. Otis Rockwood.

REV. THOMAS COBBET, who was settled in 1637 as colleague with Mr. Whiting, was a marked character among the early New England divines-marked for his learuing, piety and uuswerving principles. He was born in Newbury, England, in 1608, studied at Oxford and suffered for non-conformity. He re- mained here in Lynn till 1656, then left and settled at Ipswich, where he died in 1685. Mr. Cobbet preached the election sermon in 1649, and the court voted that " Mr. Speaker, in the name of the Howse of deputyes, render Mr. Cobbett the thankes ofthe Howse for his worthy paines in his sermon wch, at the de- sire of this howse, he preached on the day of eleccon, and declare to him it is their desire he would print it heere or elsewhere." He was a voluminous writer, and among his works was " A Practical Dis- course on Prayer," of which Cotton Mather remarks, " Of all the works written by Mr. Cobbet, none de- serves more to be read by the world or to live till the general burning of the world, than that of Prayer." The elegant Cobbet school-house, on Franklin Street, erected in 1872, is a memorial of this esteemed min- ister.

REV. JEREMIAH SHEPARD, who in 1680 succeeded Mr. Whiting in the pastorate, was a man of decided traits, and to a degree destitute of the milder quali- ties of his predecessor. Yet he was successful in his ministry, and his death was deeply mourned. His pastorate extended over forty years. Mr. Lewis says "he was distinguished for his unvaried piety," and " was indefatigable in his exertions for the spiritual welfare of his people." He reasoned deep

" Of Providence, fore-knowledge, will and fate."

His ministrations were characterized by great seri- ousness, and his views of human nature gloomy, al- most to distortion. Rev. Mr. Brown, minister of the Reading Church, in his journal, under date of June 25, 1712, says : "I was ordained past of this church and received the dreadfull charge from the mouth of Mr. Shepard, of Lynn."

Mr. Shepard took an active part in some of the po- litical agitations of the day ; and in the insurrection that deposed and imprisoned Governor Andros, on the 19th of April, 1689, he exhibited quite as much patriotic zeal as could be expected in a minister of the Gospel, as appears by the relation of one who was present, and who, in speaking of the array that march- ed in from the country to the assistance of the insur- gent Bostonians, says : " April 19th, about 11 o'clock, the country came in, headed by one Shepard, teacher of Lynn, who were like so many wild bears ; and the leader, mad with passion, more savage than any of his

followers." The courage and discretion of Mr. Shep- ard no doubt did much for the welfare of Lynu dur- ing that trying period. He was inclined also to watch with jealous eye any approach of trespassers upon the Puritanical domain, and as Quakerism was beginning to make serious inroads, he appointed the 19th of Ju- ly, 1694, as a day of fasting and prayer for the stay of that " spiritual plague." He died on the 3d of June, 1720, aged seventy-two years. His tomb still remains conspicuous in the old burying ground, marked by a plain oblong brick stand surmounted by a heavy stone slab, with an inscription now so eaten by time and the elements as to be almost illegible. But his name is enduriugly preserved in Shepard Street and Shepard School. Mr. Shepard was a son of Rev. Thomas Shepard, who was born in Towcester, Eng- land, in 1605, received an excellent education, came over while yet a young man, and was ordained as first pastor of the First Parish Church of Cambridge, in 1636. He was conspicuous for his fervid piety. In Johnson's " Wonder-Working Providence," publish- ed in 1651, he is spoken of as " That gratious, sweete, heavenly-minded and soule-ravishing minister, Mr. Thomas Shepheard, in whose soule the Lord shed abroad his love so abundantly, that thousands of souls have cause to bless God for him, even at this day, who are the seale of his ministry." He appears to have received the name Thomas in rather a singular way, saying: "The Powder Treason day [November 5, 1605], and that very houre of the day wherein the Parlament should have bin blown up by Popish priests, I was then borne, which occasioned my father to give me this name Thomas, because he sayd I would hardly beleeve that ever any such wickedness should be attempted by men agaynst so religious and good Parlament."

A worthy descendant, Mr. George L. Shepard, of Boston, a son of the late eminent merchant, Michael Shepard, of Salem, has recently published a genealog- ical account of some of the descendants of the family head.

Mr. Shepard was the first minister of the "Old Tuunel," so called. That famous meeting-house was erected in 1682, two years after his settlement. It will be borne in mind that in those days, and indeed long after, a church here was so far a public institu- tion that its temporal arrangements at least were gov- erned by the votes of the town. To illustrate, let us quote some votes passed at town-meeting in 1692 :

"Jannary 8. It was voted that Lieutenant Blighe should have liberty to set up a pew in the northeast corner of the meeting-bonse, by Mr. King's pew, and he to maintain the windows against it.

" The town did vote that Lieutenant Fuller, Lieutenant Lewis, Mr. John Hawkes, senior, Francis Burrill, Lieutenant Burrill, John Burrill, junior, Mr. Henry Rhodes, Quarter-Master Bassett, Mr. Haberfield, Cor- net Johnson, Mr. Bayley and Lieutenant Blighe should sit at the table. " It was voted that Matthew Farrington, senior, Henry Silsbee and Joseph Mansfield, senior, should sit in the deacon's -eat.

"It was voted that Thomas Farrar, senior, Crispus Brewer, Allen Breed, senior, Clement Coldam, Robert Rand, senior, Jonathan Hudson, Richard Hood, senior, and Sergeant Haven should sit in the pulpit.

17₺

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HISTORY OF ESSEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

"The town voted that them that are surviving that was chosen by the town a committee to erect the meeting-house, and Clerk Putter to join nlong with them, should seat the inhabitants of the town in the meeting house, both men and women, and appoint what seats they shall sit in, but it is to be ninterstood that they are not to seat neither the table nor the deacons' seut, ner the pulpit, but them to sit there as are voted by the town."

The pulpit of the Old Tunnel was capacions enough to contain ten persons. A small bell swung iu the little tower, and in the northeast corner of the gallery was a "negro pew," quite elevated and boarded well towards the top. The colored brethren and sisters were required to sit there, where they might hear, but neither see nor be seen.

Mr. J. Warren Newhall, in his poem delivered at the celebration of the two hundred and fiftieth anni- versary of the organization of the chnich, June 8, 1882, thus speaks of the architecture of this famous old house of worship :

" A modest enpola the roof surmounts Of qunint design-se history recennts. 'Twas said the belfry bere a semblance fair To an inverted tunnel poised mid air ; Hence was the structure the ' Old Tunnel ' named, And for this title evermore was framed. Downward with quite a questionable grace, The hell-rope fell inte n central place Within the nnique auditorium, where The sexton rang the call to praise and prayer. We see no gorgeons fresce on the walls, Through no stained glass the light of heaven falls ; But glinting 'mid the naked eaken beams, Through the small diamond panes the sunlight gleams. No richly cushioned slips the people knew, Bnt plain deal seats, with here and there a pew, Built by some person, who must first procure Permission from the town this to secure. As time advanced these pews more numerous grew, But were not wholly uniform to view,- Some large, some small, ef patterns manifold, By which the owner's taste or means were told.

* * *

In place of dainty desk therein appeared A pulpit, with its lofty form upreared, While like a canopy e'er the preacher's head The seunding-board its hnge proportions spread.

* * * *

In the bleak days of wintry wind and snow, No furnace fire dispensed its genial glow ; To those who fain the service wenld attend, The humble foot-stove was the warmest friend."

To the fidelity of this sketch the writer can well attest from childhood recollection and experience. Of the oft protracted exercises our poet also gives the following graphic description :

" No warning clock prescribed the preacher's powers ; The simple sand-glass told the passing hours, Which, when the tell-tale sand its course had run, Was deftly turned, and sixteenthly begun ! For they proached sermons countless in deductions ; None of our modern half-hour productions. In continuity they excelled, 'tis true ; Always an hour in length, and sometimes two."

REV. NATHANIEL HENCHMAN succeeded Mr. Shepard in 1720. He was born in Boston on the 22d of November, 1700, as is stated on the Lynn records in the handwriting of his son, and, if the date is cor-

rect, must have settled here at the early age of twenty. But there is doubt as to the correctness of the date. He graduated at Harvard in 1717. His grandfather was Daniel Henchman, the same who planted the historical "big elm " on Boston Common, which was destroyed by a gale in February, 1876. And this Daniel Henchman was also ancestor of Frederick Tudor, the wealthy ice merchant, who did so much to beantify Nahant. Mr. Henchman ministered here forty years, and died on the 23d of December, 1761. Rev. Mr. Barton, in his address on the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the church, remarks that Mr. Henchman proved to be a man of very different views from his predecessors, Whiting, Cobbet and Shepard, and adds that his " settlement gave a new and disastrous turn to affairs. Finding here a very flourishing church and society, he left, after forty years' ministry, only eighteen members, and that in the days of the great awakening under Whitefield . and Edwards." In 1745 Mr. Whitefield came to Lynn, and Mr. Henchman refused permission for him to preach in the meeting-house, a step that occasioned a long and bitter controversy. The great revivalist, however, found audience-room elsewhere, one of his out-door discourses being delivered while standing on the platform of the whipping-post, near the meet- ing-house. But yet Mr. Henchman is reputed to have been remarkably genial in manners and to have treated Mr. Whitefield personally with much respect and politeness. It is easy to see that his ministry here was not successful, and that there were serious breaks in the harmony of the parish. He had pecu- liar notions of ministerial duties and ministerial rights, and was tenacious in his adherence to them. He was twice married and the father of five children. His tomb is in the Old Burying-ground, and is, like Mr. Shepard's, marked by a plain, oblong brick struc- ture.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 88

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